Hello, listener, this is Jason Bateman, along with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes for the podcast called Smart Bliss. That's a place you're looking for. You found it. Congratulations. It's not a real high concept podcast. One person invited guests. The other two don't know who that guest is. And then we chat. Here we go, Saad. Smart, smart list is brought to you by AutoZone, got an issue with your car battery visit AutoZone, America's number one battery destination, buy online at AutoZone Dotcom and pick up your battery today.

Get in the zone, AutoZone. Jason, you missed this last time.

Look what I got. That's a baby yota. It's a baby yota. And there's a message on here. Is that from the Mandalorian show? Yeah.

I learned this from my friend Michael Cohen in the Cohen family. Not that Michael Cohen, but look. And he recorded this.

Welcome to Smardon is the best podcast in the world with my dear friend Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman. And he went, William, I like it.

William Yeah. And baby Yoda said that. So he's the voice of baby Yoda. Yeah. Yeah. Could you not tell sounds Latin. I didn't know baby. Yo, he is baby Yoda is Latin. I got to watch that show.

I'm developing new show.

It's Baby Yoda nanny and it's a nanny who works who is just after.

No it's just the doll that you leave with your kids and tell them they're watching them.

Yeah. It should be noted. Jason's haircut. Have you good.

Finally. It looks good. Right? Well, this is guys, listen, this is just rolled right out of bed. Such a thick head of hair.

I know it's so thick, but it's a very boyish look he's got going right now, isn't it? Very boyish.

I know I'm trying to get respect as an adult, but that's why sometimes I try to grow up my facial hair. But that takes if you push it cost me a year actually to grow that because you're just seeing the world.

I'm a man. Oh, man. Deal with it. All right. So speaking of men, sure. We have a man today.

This is funny man, family man. And for the next hour, he's a smart list. Man.

Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Sandler, Adam Sandler, the one and only I did.

I'm sorry, but look at that.

That's a man. Look at this. Amir is gross. It's gross. Good to see you all your move and dime bags or something with a beard like that.

Wow. It started off early in the pandemic and I just kept going because I gained a lot. So I was covering that.

Gained a lot of weight of knowledge of knowledge.

Yeah, yeah. A lot of weight but weight. I just read a report yesterday that said belly fat is now officially medically proven to lessen your life if you have a lot of belly fat, no matter how much other fat you have. Let's see it, John.

Let's see a shot and scream. You guys don't like cookies once a week. He brings it up.

There it is. The bagel that's I don't know who made the cookies, what you call it, the bagel, the biggest squeeze the belly button together, make a circle.

And yeah, I sometimes I say to my husband, I'll switch, I'll pucker this up.

I'll go fuck that belly half. Can't make that. Oh, that's good. All right. So Adam. Yeah. Do you have a plan aside from pushing like a bench press, somebody bounce your plan? Is it going to be diet? Is it going to be exercise?

Well, this is what I'm doing and I just kind of started this. So at the beginning of the pandemic, my buddy was doing the eight hours a day eat thing, the intermittent fasting.

Yeah.

So so I was doing that during a pandemic, but I was starting eating at like five in the afternoon.

So I was going deep into the night and then I'd wake up kind of sick. So then that I got some bad information. I thought he I said to him any time and he said, yeah, didn't pick the hours. So I did.

He responded while chewing.

I think he looks great. But so anyways, I started again, I just I'm trying to calm down and I'm doing one in the afternoon to around seven.

Seven thirty.

I quit and then you're then you're done chewing until the next morning or afternoon.

I until the next one o'clock rolls around. Oh buddy. That's so good. That's a good one. But I eat a lot during the six and a half hours of work.

Yeah it does for my body. It doesn't work for me. I tried doing that. I was on a strictly ice cream diet.

But yeah, you got to try it longer than a couple of days. Well, you know, what do you do. Well, you look good. Well thank you.

Because like I said, I've been doing the walk and I've been working out and I've got this real kind of what I refer to as my jailhouse gym in my garage.

Now, Jason's seen it is a disaster, but but there's weights and like homemade stuff you did. Oh, there's weights. And then there's like baby carriages and stuff. Just crap everywhere. It really looks like I have a question at him. How long have you been flying a spacecraft?

Oh, is that look like that looks like a control. So this is in my house, fellas. I just got the Philadelphia.

Oh, wow. What are those? Why do you have. He's got some Nike's in a plastic box. Those are LeBron James shoes.

The man who owns this house knows LeBron I so do you know the man in the house? I know. I haven't met him yet. He's pandemic's. So you rent it. He leaves. Oh you're renting.

I don't know I. I just got here two days ago, but he's left those shoes there for people to admire that are renters. I think he was just letting me know that I'm not the only Sugai famous person here. Exactly. Wait a second. Wait a second. Adam, I have to ask you this, because I've never brought it up. I've only met you a handful of times over the years. We don't know each other that well.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for you, and I think that you're awesome and hilarious. Same thing.

And I, I it sounds like something really insulting about. No, no, no.

One of the one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed and I've I've quoted this a thousand times, maybe more is years ago you were on Letterman. Yeah. And he said to you, I don't tell me if you remember this.

He said to you, you came on Letterman and you said, you know, Dave, he said, how are you doing? He said, you know, I'm doing OK. But last year I said something and you said to me, What are you, an idiot? You really burn me. And I was thinking about it all.

You're just I wish I had a better comeback back. So I've been thinking I finally have a good comeback. And he said, OK, you said so ask me again. So Letterman says you what? Are you an idiot? You said no.

Are you remember that? I kind of do. Yeah. Yeah. It was one of my favorites. I do say so it really got I'm not kidding. I've repeated it fifteen hundred times.

I used to get so nervous on Letterman. You guys all the Letterman blackout. Yeah. Blackout nervous. That was the one guy that got you nervous, right. Yeah. I get blackout for sure.

Every time I show Letterman just from growing up in high school and thinking he was the best of them all.

Yeah, for sure.

So I used to be on the side of that stage and Biff was like, OK, OK, it's coming. And I start going, holy shit, like my whole head with spinning. I feel like I was going to faint the whole time walking out. And then you'd see Dave in person. You're like, Oh my God, there he is.

It was so overwhelming. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Does that exist for you at all anymore? I mean, you put yourself in the wings right now, about to go on for talk show like tomorrow. Yeah.

Do you like you can't shake that. You know, it's always going to be a part of you. Right. You if you just learned how to manage it, not that great.

I my whole career from starting I did standup when I was 17 and stuff and I had that same weird thing where I wish I never took the gig right before I started panicking and spinning. I forget all my lines. I notice everyone else was like laughing and having a good time. I'm like, oh my God, everyone else is ready. And and then then rare occasions I go to myself in the daytime, I go, don't do that.

Don't don't do do that thing. When you panic, just just overcome that.

Now get over that and then your question or stuff like why. Why. Because I go through the exact same thing and I'm like, why are we, why do I. I choose this. Yeah.

No wonder we're always like, why did you choose this week. It comes up a lot. That's a good one. Yeah, I stick around.

Well he's got like three of them but. But it's a good point. Like Adam, I think what's cool is you actually kind of sometimes you use your nerves, you can see it even in an instance like that, you use it to your advantage. And yeah, you very accessible because you're not trying to put on you're not a different character as you are who you are.

You're very authentic in that way, which is great. Like, yeah, yeah. You're fucking nervous because you're on Letterman. You should be. I'm nervous. Yeah. Yeah. But you are, you are nervous for this bullshit today.

I was nervous. Yeah I was. I mean I liked it though. I listen to the episodes. They're all great. Come on. It's exciting. I know. I'm psyched to be here and I, and I don't know this. I'm the same way as you guys. I'm the same way.

Every move you make, you go. Didn't I already proved myself to the to help I trying to prove myself for you.

What the fuck am I right. Here we go again. Yeah, exactly. The only thing that can happen is it can go back, you know.

But that quality that Will's talking about, that you have that's so, so personable and and so kind and so authentic and so honest. So human, has it always been like that or do you think that it's gotten even better now that you are incredibly successful and some of the ease has come into your life because you've basically won? Have you gotten even nicer or, you know, like some people I'm sure you've worked with, as I have, people actually get mean and entitled when they get successful?

You seem to have gone the other way.

Yeah, you guys all seem the same. Also, it's like I had a I think when I was young, I didn't know what I was doing as a comedian. I didn't know what I was doing as an actor.

I was a little all over the place. I think I was a little more aggressive back then because I guess I wanted this so bad. You know, I wanted to work or I wanted whatever the hell I wanted. And I probably was mad at myself for not being great. I was a little more aggressive in my early twenties. And then I started going. By the time I was like twenty eight thirty, I started coming down and being able to just relax a little more.

But it took a while, like you guys know, Colin. Comedic, hilarious, I think he's one of the greatest comedians and he kind of when I went to NYU.

Used to emcee the shows and he would talk to me after my my show because I think the reason they used to hire me, I used to bring a crowd. So they even though I was that good, there was this place called the Paper Moon, and I used to bring a crowd. So they used to from NYU.

And Colin used to say it is so much funnier hanging out when we're talking in the daytime, you just you're doing something weird up to you're not really being yourself.

And and I used to try to go, OK, I've got to be more myself. And then I would just panic right away and start doing something else. I just didn't I guess I wasn't comfortable with being myself and then took a while to get to sit in it and just be OK with not getting a laugh and but plowing through and that kind of stuff.

Where did you go to NYU for drama or for acting or.

Yeah, yeah. I went to Strasberg, say, yeah, OK, so I have a godson who's also going to New York right now to Tisch and he not only has to go through drama classes and comedy and all that stuff, but he he has to go through musical theater classes. And so when I saw you do Opera Man for the first time. Yeah. One of the funniest characters I've ever seen, I was like, holy shit, Adam Sandler can really sing.

And then you would bring out the guitar and sing like Brad's always hilarious. So please tell me you did musical theater in college, because in my mind, that would be one of the funniest things in the world that I auditioned for everything at NYU.

I didn't get anything you didn't want to see. You do Technicolor Dreamcoat or something? I did as a kid, though. I was in Oliver. I was in Oliver. I did. I played they named the guy. I didn't really there wasn't really. I have two lines. And they said, I think Charlie Bates that's a your Charlie Bates. And I was like, I'm Charlie Bates. I kind of wanted to be the Dodger. Right.

And they were like, well, you're not him. You're Charlie Bates. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I thought so too. You got to pick a pocket or two, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How about Smitty on The Cosby Show? Was that your first that's not your first role.

My first thing I ever did was Showtime at the Apollo. I did standup. I did. Wow. Five minutes. Yeah. And I was wasn't that great.

But I tell me like the first, first joke you told her and if you'd like I could tell you mine. OK. Oh the one that worked for me back then was that it was something I heard my father say to my mother but and I used it. I pretend it happened to me. I said I was driving up here in a cab and the driver killed the dog on the way. I said he didn't hit the dog with a car.

He got out and stabbed. That was my big that was my guarantee that that happened because my mother my mother was they were in the car and my brother goes, the man my father said, this guy killed the dog driver the other day. My mother goes, what happened? He hit it. And he goes, Dog, he stabbed it, you know? And so I went, Oh, God, that's a pretty good one. What's your shot?

Oh, I was terrible. Is nowhere near as talented or funny as you are. I was horrible. These guys know the one that I won't repeat, but the other one was and it's long. So you can and it's like it's like twenty seconds long. OK, so it's is long for a joke.

So I would go, you know, they say on Mars the atmosphere is like ninety five percent carbon dioxide and five percent oxygen. So I imagine one day when we live there will breathe something like this. And they didn't laugh at that, they had no. I left. Solid. Did you hold your finger up? I like to go to Adam.

What about this discovered by comedian Dennis Miller thing? Did that happen at the Apollo? I can't imagine.

You know, what it was. So I did stand up when I went to NYU and then Dennis did really discover me. He just told Lorne Michaels about me. He said, there's a young kid who's funny. But when I was young, I went to school with Anthony Quinn son Lorenzo. He was in my acting class and he told Bill Cosby about me. And I got an introduction to the casting agent over there whose name was Barry Moss. Do you guys remember Barry Moss?

I feel I used to cast a lot of stuff back in the day.

Right. So he he got me an audition and I played Smitty on four episodes while I was going to NYU. That was my first and that was that big.

I mean, the show was enormous. Was the biggest show on the planet.

It was incredible. And that's where I developed the whole spinning thing right before going on. I was I was spinning like, oh, my God, I got six lines. I've got a choke so badly. And I became friends with Malcolm, though he used to call me down to be like, You got this man.

Yeah. He's such a good guy. Yeah. Wow.

So then how long after that did SNL happen? How old were you when that happened?

SNL happened when I was twenty three. I moved out to graduate at NYU and then I moved to L.A. and and I was living out in Van Nuys and gorgeous. Yeah. Yes. Right on the water table. And I lived with four guys from from NYU also. And then somehow I got Saturday Night Live and moved back.

Where did you go and audition in L.A.? Did Lauren. Chicago. Chicago. When I auditioned, it was me and Chris Rock and Dana Gould and a couple other guys at Second City or at the Chicago Improv. Oh, it's going to propagate. Yeah.

And then I remember Lorne was there and Smiggle Robert Smiggle was there and Marci Klein and a couple of others. And Chris Rock got it immediately after after the show. And me and Rock know each other since we're like 17 also. And so I saw Lorne run over the rock and I was like, oh, man, OK, he's got it, I'm out. And then I, I was flying home and no one talked to me. I was flying home.

And I remember on the planes used to put a credit card in and it was like twenty five bucks a minute and stuff. Yeah. Right. So I was scared to use that because I knew my father would kill me for wasting money. But I was just flying and flying and I was like, I got to call my agent man. So I put the credit card in and he called and I said, Did they say anything? They liked you.

They thought you some of your writing was good. I said, Oh, OK. What's that mean? They were like, well, they want maybe you want you as a writer. And I said, What do you mean? I think I was like, insane. And I was like, I want to be, but I want to be a star.

And I love the guy next to you on the plane. Probably just like, oh, boy, yeah, this guy wants to be a star.

You can't talk quietly on a plane, but I want to be a star. Yeah, but get in line. We all know. Yeah. And I don't know.

So eventually I got hired as a writer, a writer for what, like a year and then and then on camera I did a thing called writer feature player and and me and Spade and Schneider had that and and you would do that. I'm sure you guys all know this stuff, but you would write right for everyone else and then give yourself a line like as the delivery guy and try to get on and score and, you know, and you'd score after ten shows, they started going, all right, that guy's OK.

Let's let's give him a couple shots. Right.

Got used to see that a lot with J.B. Smoove. He would always put himself in the sketches. Oh, yeah. I always see JB on there. And you'd be like, oh yeah. But how cool you go for your your audition.

It's there with Lorne and Mercy, of course. And Smiggle. And you couldn't have known, of course, that would become this like lifelong partnership. Yeah.

I mean, how incredible. How wild. Right. When you look at that moment.

Yeah, sure, man. I mean, Smiggle was in fact, I heard later that Smiggle was kind of in my court, that he was going that that one kid was funny. He I think we need that on the show. Somebody young. And they were like, well, we already have David and Rob. We don't need any more of that. Yeah. And so as Michael and Jim Downey I heard with would stand it up for me a little bit.

And Lorne, like me, he thought I was good. He just didn't know what to do with. I was I wasn't easy to digest, I was mumbling up there and I was a nervous wreck and I had stuff like I used to be when somebody heckled me, I used to, like, yell at them and not say anything funny. And it's funny you're getting pissed off and. Oh, well, I, I turned it into something good, but in the beginning I used to just be psychotic and get like challenged people to something like a curse at him and see the way he just dropped his face right.

Then it just got like deadly fucking serious. I love like there there's just there's no middle with you. Like he's either super sweet and like I can't get my way and then just drop the gloves and I'm going to fucking kill you.

Yeah. I love those swings. I don't even know how that happened. I just because I don't want to fight anybody, I'd probably get killed, but I was always ready to go. Have you been in a lot of fights as a kid or.

When I was a kid, when I was a kid, now I would literally just run so fast. Any time I feel it coming, I start my heart's pounding through my chest and I'm like, oh, shit, I got to get out of here. But back then, I am back as a kid. Yeah, I'm sure you guys did the same.

It doesn't hurt as much to get hit when you're little. I like the idea that Lauren's going like, hmm, I guess we could use a nervous mumbler. Now, what about is it true that they fired you and Farly in ninety five or is that overstated?

No, I mean what happened was it was kind of the end of it. People were we were repeating ourselves. I'm sure there was a new guy running NBC. He didn't he didn't like the young guys that much. He didn't like us. I think he didn't like Norm McDonald and he kept saying we've got to get rid of them, that nobody likes them. And Lorne was standing up for us saying they're trying to defend us and kept us all in a while.

And then I got a call from my manager. You know, everyone at Brillstein great. Kind of represented every guy on the show and woman on the show. So I got hey, maybe it's time to move on to me kind of call. And I was like, I don't know, man. I think maybe I'll do another year or something. They were like, Yeah, but maybe you should move on. I was like, nah, I want to stay.

I think I'll stay. They kept going. I think it's time to move on. I was like, do I have to move on? They were like, it's good if you move on. I was like, OK, OK, now I got you. All right, I'm moving on. And so it was kind of like a fake quit fake, trying to get up, beat them right. Firing me.

That was like me and every high school I went to swear to God, really, you get kicked out.

I'm like, no, I didn't get kicked out. We just they just asked me not to return.

What did you do to get in trouble growing up? I did all the stupid stuff.

I was, you know, smoking cigarettes. And I grew up in Canada, so there are a lot of woods to escape to. Yeah. Yeah.

So I was always out there like, you know, drinking airplane bottles and small pots.

And I was just but also I was a wise ass. I was like I said to my dad actually once I was such a wise ass. And of course the worst, the infraction or the bigger the joke that you can make, and especially at the teachers expense, the bigger the laugh you'd get from the audience or as I call my classmates. And so I would fuck around and they get really mad. And years later, I remember my dad was was out here and I just built this house and it was like everything.

And my dad was like, wow, this house is beautiful. And I said, Yeah, who knew that fucking around could pay off?

And he finally had to admit, like, you're kind of right. And I was a pain in the ass, you know what I mean? Like my poor dad. I sure. Sure, man. You figure out how to channel it. Yeah.

You know, Sean. Yeah. I like to keep dinner. Interesting for the fam. Not the same old, you know, mashed potatoes that mom used to make.

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And I got to admit something to you, because this is one of the reasons I like Blue Apron and don't just keep this between you and me.

Yeah, I like to think of it as my own little competition cooking show.

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All right, so then were things sort of set up in a way where transitioning out of that show and into other possible sources of of employment or kind of set up like, were you feeling confident or did you go right into was it happy? Gilmore was was first out of there? I think I did. Billy Madison when I was on the show, by the way, when I got fired, I was confident until I got fired. And then I was like, oh, no.

Yeah, that's the way that works. Right. I can while I was there. Go on. These guys don't get it when I got married and they don't understand. And then right when they were like, yeah, go do it on your own, that I was like, oh shit. First of all, you humiliated that people don't want you and you got to tell people like, yeah, I'm not on the show and they're looking you in the eyes, God, you got fired and you're like, no, you know, you're making up shit.

But it's like doing what we do. You're effectively getting fired at the end of every single job. You have to go find another job. And if you're having a really good year as an actor, you get fired like six or seven times, you know, like you've got six or so and you have like there's no guarantee. There's no diploma that you can kind of show. Man his job interview after job interview. And it's it's I remember buying the attitude that I realized I should have been renting when, you know, things kind of dried up.

And I was really confident until they just didn't want me anymore. And it's like, well, now you got to build up a whole ego and and coping mechanism to get yourself confident. That's not reliant on employment. That's really hard to do.

Oh, God, yes. Sit in a bench and being shook up. I'll tell you. I know. No kidding. I love you. When I was a kid, I thought you were incredible. I swear to God, I thought you were shit. You guys too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He wanted to look like you. I wanted to fucking be like cool and calm and funny like that. And I and I always thought you were awesome.

I'm not like you. I loved your sister too. Thank you.

Do you remember Jason's show? You that show. It's your move. Did you ever see that? I was like a spin off of silver spoons?

I think so, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think I know more is on the whole family was after that.

Ah, Valerie.

Jason, when Jason got his star on the Walk of Fame out here in Hollywood because you're a big Hollywood guy.

And so when he was in Hollywood, we're worried because he's a liberal elite. And so anyway, so I get up and they ask me, he has been to say a couple of words.

And I said, you know, when I was growing up, I remember watching Family Ties and seeing Justin Bateman and thinking, man, I wonder if she's got a brother, but I love them. We felt the same way when this comes up all the time.

We used to always look at Jason be like, oh, man, that guy's kid was a smart ass.

He was confident that, oh, I was so confident. I thought I was such hot shit. And then the phone stopped ringing. I did not know what to do with my quantize was a whole regroup. I just had to build it back up from zero.

Jason, I had lunch like decades ago at the Chateau Marmont, which houses the liberal elite. That's right. And Jason said to me, I don't remember this day. You said to me we were just talking about careers and whatever the ups and downs. And you said none of it is up to you. None of this is up to you. Yeah. Yeah. To try and control things that are out of your control.

It's not a meritocracy. You know, like in sports, like if you're a 300 hitter, you're guaranteed employment in enacting or any form of pardon the term art. It's so subjective. You can't you can't rely on well, I'm the best at singing or painting or it doesn't matter the best in who's I, you know.

And then so Adam. So kind of taking that like one of the things that I think is really awesome about what you've you've done, you've had incredible success. But is is you know, I've tried to especially in the last couple of years, I don't want my work to define who I am as a person or how happy I am. It's about family. And I know you're a big family guy. Sure. I got a lot of really close friends.

And even in your work, you do stuff that you want to do and you do stuff because, you know, it's going to take time and you know that it's you know, it cuts into school and all that kind of stuff. And it feels like you gear everything towards making it fit your life and making sure that you're happy and you're happiness. You're truly not a Hollywood guy. I can say that. And you don't define yourself by it.

Right? I kind of you know, I lucked into having the career of getting the right stuff and get to do it. And not everybody has that luxury. I'm sure more people would do what I'm doing if they could just, you know, just say to the head of a company, hey, let me do it in October, because it's you know, I got a lot of luck on this. Right. But you earned that position. You really have.

I got that after a while. After a while. Yeah.

Let me let me really quick ask you something about that and then back to what Will is saying, because when you were younger and you broke into film for the first time and how much of. That success was like, you know, agent business driven and you were just along for the ride and how much of it was self generated and kind of ambitiously coming directly from you?

I was ambitious in a weird way. I just I always kind of got in the beginning have maybe maybe next time they would hire somebody else when I would do auditions and stuff. I remember auditioning for a few movies as a kid and when I was like twenty one, twenty two and they'd always pick somebody else and I was like, God damn, these guys don't get it man. And I was such an asshole, you know, and whoever they picked out would be like, oh yeah.

And like I was hot mistake after mistake.

And then I, I wrote Billy Madison with Tim Herlihy and when we were on Saturday Night Live and I gave it to Lorne and Lorne was already doing Tommy Boy with Chris and so funny. Oh boy, that's awesome. And he's he was it was the first time he and Chris had an either or kind of thing. And Lauren said, we're doing Tommy Boy, we can't do Billy Madison. Actually, Tommy Boy used to be called Billy the Third.

It was a really Bobbi's. Yeah. They were like to the two Billy movies and we would look at each other like who's get to pick and why they and they picked, you know, Tommy Boy. And I was going, oh man. And I guess that's done. We'll write another one. Herlihy And then like. I was in this movie called Airheads, and the producer of that one called me like five months later, he's like, I read this script you and that he wrote called the Billy Madison.

Do you want to do that? And I said, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why? What do you mean? He's like, I could get that done for you for like six million dollar budget. I was like I was like, I get six million dollars, you know. No, not you. I don't know what any of that shit meant, but he got it. Fuck. And he did Problem Child at Universal, which was a low budget movie and made a lot of money.

So they said get some more of those kind of things. So somehow Bob Simon's got this movie, I, I asked Laura and I said that movie you said you didn't want to do. Is it OK if I do it with this other guy? He's like, do anything you want. So I did Billy Madison. And then that kind of got me going.

I mean, I remember when I first said that every thing that they talk to me about do. And after that I was doing my goofy voice and and being very, you know, the same Billy Madison again. And then I had that happy Gilmore thing that made Herlihy wrote. And they were trying to talk me out of that. They were saying there was a movie called Ed with Woody Harrelson Monkey.

You know, not. No, no, that's a TV. It's the one with Matt, Matt, Matt LeBlanc. And and they roll with the monkey.

With the monkey. And they were like, do that. That's more like Billy Madison. I said, I think I let me do I'll do that one after I do the Gulf one. Is that OK? And they were like, no. And so I had to make a stand and say, no, no, no, we got to do this Happy Gilmore movie. And I know it's the funniest movies ever know.

A hugely successful thanks. I did good.

I'm psyched that that's in my I go down in history, as with all the other great comedy movies, and I think it's kind of cool.

But then the success was so one after the other. After the other there was. Was there a strategic consideration when Punch Drunk Love came about? Was or was that more of a rehash? Did did Paul Thomas Anderson come to you? And only in hindsight do you see it as a great strategic sort of balancing thing, offsetting the goofiness. Yeah. Did you think ahead and kind of seek out something that might counterbalance all that? That was all luck, I mean, in my head.

Well, you did, Strassburg, right. So I, I thought I was good at acting. I was like, oh, I'm going to surprise somebody someday and really act. But it wasn't even on my mind. I kind of liked Eddie Murphy and I wanted that kind of career and I just wanted to be a comedian. And then I was doing, I think little Nicky or something like that or.

Yeah, something like that.

And and Paul was friends with Tom Cruise. They did Magnolia together. And I met Tom Cruise when Nicole Kidman hosted SNL. You know how you get to meet everybody because SNL. So I met Cruise and I my God, I cruise had a Yankee hat on, like dip down low.

And he looked up and he goes, Hey, man, I was in love with him. Like, Oh, my God, I'm in love with Tom Cruise.

That makes two of us, of course.

Anyways, Tom called me up. I'm on my side.

He goes, Hey, my friend, I'm doing a movie with my friend Paul.

He's a great director and he's interested in doing a movie with the can. I put him on the phone and I said, Yeah, yeah, sure, man. And he gets on. And Paul was very nice. And he was going, Hey, I loved Billy Madison. And I go, OK, man, thanks. I didn't know who he was. And he's like, and I just love your movies and your albums. And I said, OK, ok, cool man.

OK, yeah. I didn't know what he was talking about. He's like, is that he goes, is it OK if I write you a movie? I said, you can do whatever you want man.

That's that's great to stay away from my house. But he was, he was sweet I can tell you was funny.

But that's like Picasso saying, is it OK if I paint you a painting right there.

I know it was the luckiest thing. And then and honest to God, I fell as I was it was like eleven o'clock in the morning and I had nothing to do. And Magnolia just came out and I said, I think that's that kid's movie. Wow. Paul, I'm going to go see that. And I went alone and I was in the front row, sold out with all of real film kind of people. And I was looking up at it.

I was going for I was fucking terrified as I write, this guy's fucking better than me and I don't want to fucking be in. This is I'm going to ruin his movie, whatever the fuck you know. I was like, holy shit. And I called him up and on the way home, I was like, holy shit. I just saw your movies. Like, Yeah, yeah, I was like, fuck and the frogs in the shit.

I was so excited about everybody. And I was like, oh fuck man. It's so. You're right, that movie Mandingos, yeah, yeah, I'm almost done, I'm going to get it over to you. I was like, well, when the fuck is that Kyle? You know, I started to get very excited and then he did it. So cool, man. I lived in this.

I rented a house on the top of Bel Air Road with my buddies, and he came up and he knocked on the door and he's like, I got the script. And I said, Here's my present to you. And I go, Oh, OK. He goes, go ahead and read it and tell me what you think. You're going to stay. Here he goes. Now, I'm going to go for a drive or something like that. And I just sat in the other room and I read it and I was like, oh, my God, man, I don't know if I can fucking do this.

No way.

And so he comes back after his drive and you got a bunch of notes, right?

A couple has called. Exactly marked up in the movies.

That's true. No, I was fucking scared. Like like. Yeah. You know, when you get something and you just go, she's man I always said I can do this ship and this is too much man. And he talked me through and got me this incredible though.

I mean he's yeah. His taste is just unreal. And I love that. He's a huge comedy nerd too, apparently. Oh man. Yeah. And then he can see the amount of acting it takes for you to pull off believably. What you do is, you know, right in line with his with his tastes and his abilities. And I just I'm such a big fan of his. And then the Safdie brothers, you know, I mean, uncut gems is just absolutely stunning.

I don't mean to.

But they had fun talking, Betty. And you talking at Aniston's was a great night.

I just I'm crazy about those guys as well. And I love the two of my favorite filmmakers. Well, that would be three. Put you as a lead in their films, and I hope that you take as much pride in that as you deserve.

So that was an incredible performance. It really was. It was it was it was so nuanced and deep in this.

It was you guys, you know, honestly, you could do it. You guys could do it, too. I know you're all great. All three of you guys are great actors and funny as shit. And who's better. Yeah.

Is there one that's better number one show. OK, definitely one. We're fighting for the silver over here. Yeah. You don't need you're both solid, but for sure I'm number one.

So the I would imagine that you, you, you love the, the creative process of doing a drama and also the process of doing a comedy. I'm not going to ask you which is your favorite, but what would be your ideal ratio between comedy and drama and like kind of like fun films with your friends versus kind of working for a director?

I'm starting to get a lot of serious kind of offers and. Yeah, and I love reading that stuff. And I but it is more of a decision in my brain. I'm like, shit. Once I say yes to that, then it's fucking it's a whole other thing in your trailer and yeah, I can rock and you got to sink into shit that makes you uncomfortable. And it's slightly humiliating out there in front of people doing some of the shit they want you to do and.

Right. Right. And and so it's a decision. But I like I want I want to do that stuff. But I also love doing the comedies shit. And the fact that, you know, I just did it the probably the goofiest movie I've done in a long time that, you know, shit I would have done when I was twenty three. And but I still I'm still happy doing Jubi. Happy Halloween. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What is it. What is. I don't know anything about it on Netflix. Right.

It's coming out on Netflix and it's Halloween movie and it's all comedians and all it's like and our kids will love it.

Yeah. And my, and the kids I do that because I get excited for kids to laugh and stuff like that and shit I've been doing my whole career and I still love that stuff.

But being able to do both, I mean, good God that you can make, you know, an eight year old laugh and you can make, you know, a 70 year old cry. I mean, like, come on. Like not a lot of people can do that. That's right. All Thank you.

I, I'm lucky I Adam, you said I read somewhere a long time ago. You said I'll do this for as long as they let me. Yeah.

And they love that and they keep letting you because you're incredible and talented and likeable and winning. And is there a time when you actually tell them that you're done or you're still having the time of your life? Like what? What else? Because you work more than anybody. Like you never stop working.

I, I don't know when I'm going to stop. I look at like, you know, I know Dustin and I know Nicholson and Pacino and those guys and those guys, they're addicted to work, too. I mean, I had lunch with Pacino and he still gets excited about shit. And he just I read this amazing script and he still wants to kick ass. And I, I, I kind of think I could stop. And then I when I'm start like this pandemic man, what would not work in.

Holy shit, was I losing my mind and fucking every day becomes the same jumpy shit in my fucking family certainly wanted me to work. They were like, Jesus Christ, he's fucking insane. Get him out of here.

I heard you were out on the golf course a little. Yeah, we heard we heard from a friend that. Oh, I hit it to your buddy.

Yeah. Who is your buddy that I almost hit by the Time Warner. Tell Tommy I'm sorry. Okay.

Hey, Sean, you seem kind of frustrated. What's going on? Oh, sorry, man. I just this huge bug hit my windshield earlier. You know how you're driving and it just hits and it's like bam right in here for sure. Yeah, well, you don't need to get pissed off about it. Just use your wipers and get it off. Yeah. But you know, the wipers are so loud and yet loud wipers. Yeah. Looks great.

Great, great. Because you know wipers aren't supposed to be loud. Yeah they are. And it's not like brakes. Loud wipers work better.

That's a hundred percent wrong. Are you using washer fluid. Because if you're out a washer fluid you will get some of that noise. If you're out of washer fluid you can get some at AutoZone. It is really easy to fill it up. I'm using the washer fluid.

How do you think the bug ends up smearing? Come on. Right. Well, how old are your wipers? I don't know.

Jason, how old is my car? I'm not sure. But I do know that you're supposed to change your wipers like every six months. When you say change, you mean ignore. Right. You need to get some new wipers in auto zone. You can go to the store or you can get them delivered from AutoZone dotcom. They got wiper blades from last from Bosch.

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And now back to the show.

Are you a big golfer because I'm finding that that is keeping me off the streets a little bit during this pandemic.

You've been playing a lot. Yeah, well, you know, I bet you a long time ago, like twenty years ago, you were friends with Bril. Yeah, I think back then and I was at a party and I saw some thing that they interviewed you on, like a show. And you had you golfed on it. And I saw you at the thing. I said, dude, I just saw you did you got a great swing and you kind of like, OK, OK, that was it.

But I remember going, oh, that fucking guy knows how to golf. He's got a great swing. He does have a good I didn't have a career at that point.

He's got he's got a great swing. We we both taken it up in the last couple of weeks we've been a little irritating to our significant others. Yeah.

It's a long day. Golf day. Right. Are you addicted to it or is it just you just kind of slap around now?

I tell you, buddy, what happened to us? I'm a member of Rivière and I fucking live right, right down the street. So so I. I haven't golfed since I've had kids. I don't golf that much, just like you're saying. Well, because of the whole five hours away and they stare you get when you get home over like a fucking kid while they're in school.

We got a house while they're in school, right. That's right. That's supposed to be it. But I get I still get nervous leaving the house and. Yeah, coming back to a I can hold the mood so I know what you guys are talking about because when I make banana bread.

I'm like, oh, why do I pull it out at the right, like, what is the I do I leave it in five, another five minutes doing. It's crazy just like that.

Well, listen, I know you must feel guilty about paying all those dues over there. Reverand not using the course.

So Will and I want to help you out. Yeah. You just kind of getting a little bit more active out there.

So you just let us know you guys are playing real well, a lot like in the 80s, 70s. No. Well, he is.

I'm playing like shit. But Jason's game is getting together. But what we've been doing is we've been calling guys that we know who we know belong places because we don't. That's where you come in.

Hey, you're playing these days. And then they go, yeah, we go. Well, Jason, we're we're available on Wednesday. Willing to keep you company.

Oh, man. Adam, I'm always like I always ask funny parents this like. Well, and Jason are two of the funniest people I know. They always make me laugh so hard. And I've we've always talked about do their kids find them funny to your kids? And you're obviously fucking hilarious.

Your kids find you funny or not at all or like do they get your sense of comedy? Do they watch your funny movies, you know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm pretty good at home. I'm happy when I make a laugh, because when I'm asking you to practice something or that kind of guy they like they don't like him, but they like the funny me they get I do pretty good. Oh good. I make them comfortable and I definitely try to be funny a lot and try to get laughs.

I don't always, always score like I try to take them out of the movies. I think growing up that was my move to when I felt my father about to fucking go nuts on me. Of course I said a few jokes to lighten them up. I think I do that with the kids too. And I seem upset about something. I go to the jokes. You guys do that 100 percent.

Adam, who's the disciplinarian then? If you if you make them laugh or ones I mean, as Jackie, the one that's laying down the law, do you do both?

I heard you guys talking about this. You're lighter than Amanda. I'm lighter, but I would imagine you might be similar to me where you're super you're the you're the class clown, you're the joker. But then you can swing all the way to the other side. And I really get serious if you need to. And there's really nothing in between.

Oh, yeah. I think I get really fucking nuts when they just scared eyes at me when I'm like, no, you have to know this, right? When I start raising my voice that Jack, you would not do like Amanda would not do that. She covers the whole middle ground and I'm like the bookends.

Jackie cuts me off in the middle of that too and starts going. She takes a weapon out of your hand.

You got. Yeah, she's like, they can't understand the weapon, I guess is my fucking loud. Right, you know, semi angry tone. All of a sudden she's just like, stop, stop. You can't they they don't understand what you do doing that. And just like they have to know this.

All right. Listen to how loud I am. Yeah, exactly. And then it goes away and then I'm a kiss ass most of the time. I like keeping them fucking happy. I, I like when they're happy and laughing and but I put some pressure on them not not about.

I don't know if you guys have this, but everything I did, I would just go outside and practice and fucking basketball, baseball, even bike riding.

I would just like be in my own fucking world, just driving in circles, trying to hop off a curb, trying to find really whatever the fuck that was. And I don't see my kids want to do that as much as me. So I'm like, there's nothing you want to get good at, right? I do that. That's shit. And they're just like not just not what you want us to get good at. We want to get good at what we like, you know.

All right. Well, Enclosure, one last question for you. What makes you happiest in all of these all of these areas of your life there? It seems like there's so much harmony and everything is kind of kruzan and there's so many things to bring you. Happiness, I'll bet you'll say family or some garbage like that.

And by the way, this is Jason looking. This is going to be informative. He's looking for something to make him happy. So he's looking for whatever kind of. I just find him.

Yeah. If you had to put usually where do you find yourself the most sort of just serene. And this is a great day.

Well thought. I would have to say when shit's going good at home, everything is good. That's you know what I mean. When kids and your wife or your partner are happy and there's nothing else to be concerned about, you're just fucking free to be who you are as a kid, you know, like, that's what I feel like. Shit. I'm making a movie. This is great.

When I'm fucking making a movie and I get a call from home and something's off, I'm like, I'm fucking lost, totally lost until that shit gets resolved.

Right. And you got to act good. And the other actors are joking around and you kind of like what?

Like you beat behind and you're looking at your phone because you're like, fuck, is this thing going to resolve itself. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You fucking heart, heartache, heartache for no reason.

And then all of a sudden I doubled mine because I now have like an ex-wife. So I want to make sure that Amy's happy and also my partner. And I've got like way too many people. I'm worried about her. Happy now. Sure, sure. Yeah. Sounds like a complaint. Listen, I'm a very lucky guy, but still.

Yes, absolutely no know. We all are. But the debt definitely ups and downs in my own brain. I can't I never have a fucking twenty four hour happy day. I don't see that ever, ever coming my way. But I have what I'm what I'm working. I'm pretty like. All right, let's have about you guys when you're working.

Are you like this is great.

Are you kind of like when the phone is off because you're working and it's when you're on set and you're in that thing, that is a great space when you're really in it. I remember for me one of my happiest times was when when James and I were first doing Arrested Development.

And so people you didn't text as much back then. It was because everybody's trying to flip phones. I remember, and got a new flip phone. I was so psyched.

And to a pager pager thing. Well, we had those that we had those for. And I just remember, like, you'd go to you'd go to work, you leave your trailer or whatever your address when you go on the set and you're on there for like four hours and you're not contacting the outside world and this thing working in you're in it, that is a happy memory for me.

But if you know that there's that there's something a little sideways back home, you still can't 100 percent enjoy it, stay in a little bit ahead at home and making sure that that's all running smoothly. And it will be smooth again tomorrow, too, because I'm not just, you know, you know, I'm doing something proactive to keep it going forward and staying ahead of it. I've been trying to do lately.

My wife's what I know. I go on Tuesday, I got a pretty big scene, but blah, blah, she'll go, OK, and then she'll kind of block shit. She should not bring shit up to me on a big day. Oh, that's nice. That's pretty nice. And then yeah that's nice anyways. And then I run lines with her.

Yeah. Well all the time it's. Yeah. She's good at finding shit that I wasn't going to do in the scene and come on like well don't you know what that line means. Oh that's awesome. She does that for me. Yeah. Scott.

Yeah I do it all the time here. You do that with Scotty constantly. That's nice. Are you good at memorizing your lines out them. Not too good. How about you. Jason's the best in the biz. The best of all is really good at it too.

That's how fucking TV shit that's got to be shit. Yeah. Fucking unbelievable. I'm surprised at Saturday Night Live didn't kind of grind that in on you or were you just looking at the cards the whole time.

But they tell you to write.

I would do the panic thing like before Latymer. Well, I remember I did this shit on Weekend Update where I did costumes crazy I'm crazy pic arm and all this shit.

And I had to do this thing where I was I'm crazy under the desk guy. So I remember in my head I went, when you're crazy under the desk guy, there's no cue cards because you go going under the desk and you got to remember your shit. And I remember I fucking live. I went under my desk and he was like, my head's going, holy shit, there's no fucking clue cause you're in trouble, man. And I.

I think I remember most of them and got it done, but no, I like knowing the cue cards were around. You were tight with Wally, right? Was well, he. Yeah, I know. He just texted me out of the blue the other day. Oh, yeah. He's doing well.

I just got him fucking some other business he's doing right now.

I don't know. He's. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't heard from him yet. But while he was the guy that he's got an amusement park now I think he just got an amusement park.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh. John Kennedy's work.

And it's nice. Adam, you're incredibly generous to give us all this time. Thank you for saying yes to doing the show. And thank you for asking me guys on your show. It's a great thing you're doing and getting to hang out all the time together.

And you're a great guys. We're pretty lucky. We're we're very appreciative. So looking forward to seeing on the golf course tomorrow will be there probably at eight thirty on the call.

Yeah, well, we're going to warm up first. I know you don't like to warm up, but we will warm up. Right, right on.

Man, we love you. Say hi to your love. You, pal. You too. Thanks, buddy. You guys OK right now. All right. Later, guys. Oh, he's fantastic. What a good, decent guy, so engaging like I could listen to him talk for hours. And by the way, how he's talking about all that anxiety that he has. I'm like you. I totally get that. I relate. Yeah.

He's steady state, so human when he's had many opportunities probably not to he's able to stay very loyal to his friends. He's also putting up a great product. He's got his family with him like he's just been so smart the way he's kind of put all these pieces that are available to him into a certain direction that I would imagine perpetuates so much happiness for him. And so people that are close to him and obviously is his audience as well as a good human being.

Yeah, yeah. He's a well-rounded, smart guy and he's got a sort of happy life. And for me, anyway, I like looking at the people who are having a happy life because it's not defined by what they do, but it's defined by so many other things, starting with family and what they do with the things that are available to them in their life, whether it be, you know, really expensive, nice things or not.

What you do with what you've got, I think is is a good test. Yeah. Thank you to Adam for joining us. That was that was so good to see that. You better take us golfing. You better take this golfing.

And thank you, listener, for joining us for another hour of smartness. Oh, baby smart.

Smart bombs.