- 11 hours ago
Anthony Mackie ('Twisted Metal'), Bowen Yang ('Saturday Night Live'), John Goodman ('The Conners' & 'The Righteous Gemstones'), Kelsey Grammer ('Frasier'), Ricky Martin ('Palm Royale') and Theo James ('The Gentlemen') join THR in Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter. The stars talk about overcoming fears, subverting expectations and the emojis that define them in this updated roundtable format hosted by Yvonne Orji.
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00:00I tell my boys, I'm like, yo, I'm the coolest mother, I'm, I'm the dad everybody wants.
00:05Yeah.
00:06And my sons don't watch Marvel movies.
00:08They don't watch.
00:09They have no idea.
00:11Like, I'll FaceTime Sebastian.
00:13I'm like, yo, man.
00:14I'm like, yo, say what's up to my son.
00:15And he's like, hey.
00:17Dude!
00:19Hey, everyone.
00:20I'm Yvonne Orji, and welcome to the Emmy-nominated Offscript with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:25We are here back again at the beautiful Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, California.
00:31A place where for many years, countless friends have gathered to share a drink.
00:36Oh, thank you, baby.
00:37Maybe even share a room, but definitely share a laugh.
00:40Well, today is no different.
00:42We brought together six actors from TV's biggest comedies to toast each other and open up about their Hollywood journey.
00:49You'll hear from John Goodman of The Righteous Gemstones and The Conners.
00:53Kelsey Grammer of Frasier.
00:55Theo James of The Gentleman.
00:57Anthony Mackie of Twisted Metal.
01:00Ricky Martin of Palm Royale.
01:03And Bowen Yang of Saturday Night Live.
01:10As always, they are on the record, but maybe just a bit off script with The Hollywood Reporter.
01:17Hey, Mikey, they're all yours.
01:20Thanks, Yvonne.
01:21Hi, I'm Mikey O'Connell.
01:22Welcome to the Comedy Actor Roundtable.
01:24Let's get started.
01:25We're going to jump right in.
01:27What's the funniest or strangest feedback you've ever read or heard about yourself?
01:32Oh, no.
01:33Oh, somebody criticized my toupee one time.
01:39I forget what film it was.
01:42Because you weren't wearing one.
01:43Yeah.
01:46That's not the hair department.
01:47I don't own one.
01:48I got told I look like Justin Bieber.
01:50And since then, everything I wear, I try to look, you know, 50 and above.
01:58Terrified that I will resemble the Biebs.
02:01Yeah, thankfully, I do.
02:02You're like, well, he's a nice-looking kid.
02:03Yeah, I know.
02:04But it was when he was about 12.
02:06You're like Bieber on age two.
02:07Yeah, exactly.
02:11Yeah, I think they, now that you say that, they were talking about me in an article and
02:16they put a picture of Enrique Iglesias.
02:18Oh, yeah.
02:20That happens.
02:21Yeah.
02:21It happens.
02:21I shaved my head once for a movie and I was told that my head was too perfectly round,
02:28that I look like the brown ball on the pool table.
02:32I was like, well, first of all, that's a compliment, sir.
02:34I don't have any divots in my head.
02:36Yeah, perfection.
02:37But then I never shaved my head again because I was like, it's too perfectly round.
02:41I've received many reviews, many of them very bad.
02:45So it would probably be one of those.
02:47I did a production of Othello years ago and Christopher Plummer did Iago, James Earl Jones
02:54did Othello, and I played Casio.
02:58And I think the review basically said, and Kelsey Grammer was just fine as Casio.
03:03And that, to me, just sucked.
03:06You would have been a great Desdemona.
03:07You would have been a great Desdemona.
03:08I would have been a great Desdemona.
03:10I had a woman tell me how much she admired my work on Cheers the other day.
03:13Oh.
03:14There you go.
03:15Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:16Probably, like, some comment that was like, that guy's got an underbite.
03:21And I'm like, yeah, I do.
03:22A little bit.
03:24It draws a little bit out.
03:25Very specific insight.
03:26Very specific feedback.
03:28It's strange feedback.
03:29Yeah.
03:29I can't qualify.
03:30I bet it was a dentist.
03:31But now with social media, it's crazy because you just never know what you're going to get.
03:34And people wear behind a fake picture and they can just say whatever they want.
03:39Yeah.
03:40Would you set up a fake account just to troll people who troll you?
03:44I just boss.
03:45Too much, too much time.
03:46I've been wanting to do it so bad.
03:51When I read that, who was it?
03:53Kevin Durant started a fake account just to troll people that were trolling him.
03:59I'm like, I salute you, my man.
04:02Just five minutes a day, like right after your shower.
04:05Boop.
04:06You know?
04:07Okay.
04:07Too much work.
04:08You can have 50 good comments and then that's one comment that can ruin.
04:14So it's really good to just block.
04:16It feels good.
04:18John, I read that you consider yourself a people pleaser to this day, which I feel like could get you in trouble in Hollywood.
04:25Has it ever?
04:26To my detriment.
04:27Yeah.
04:28Yeah, it's one of the many things I'm working on.
04:31Yeah.
04:32I mean, I'm not going to smack somebody in the face for no reason, but it became too much where I became devoid of any personality and just trying to help.
04:43And then there's a lot of things to a lot of layers that cost a lot of money to fix.
04:49Hollywood likes to put people in lanes.
04:51And I'm wondering, what are the parts that all of you are still occasionally offered that you're like, please, no, not this again?
05:00I'll tell you this.
05:01I was the most famous actor on The Wire who wasn't on The Wire.
05:06And when The Wire was on TV, I was every criminal, every drug dealer, every rapper, every bad boy.
05:16And I was like, I went to Juilliard.
05:19Like, stop it.
05:21I didn't.
05:21I'm not on The Wire.
05:23I couldn't.
05:24I auditioned.
05:25I didn't get on The Wire.
05:27Every black dude was on The Wire except me.
05:30So that was my thing.
05:32After that, I put my foot down.
05:34And I was like, no, like, gangster hood dudes.
05:38I didn't want to do that.
05:39Just because I did such a great job on The Wire, I've proven I can do that.
05:43So I don't need to do it again.
05:45You're so good at that.
05:48Wait, what part on The Wire did you audition for?
05:51I auditioned for Marlowe.
05:53And all of those dudes, because I lived in New York at the time, all of those dudes were my friends.
05:58So one of my dear friends still to this day, Jamie Hector, got the role.
06:02So I would be, it got to the point where it was a joke between him and I.
06:05I would go around and people would ask me for pictures.
06:08And I would take pictures as him.
06:10So people, it was just like you with Enrique.
06:12Like, people would, I'd be like, oh my God, I have this amazing picture with Jamie Hector.
06:16And I'm like, get the fuck away from me.
06:17They're like, Jamie Hector's an asshole.
06:19I'm kind of still amazed that, like, the assistant trope is still so present in Hollywood for, like, someone like me with, like, an effeminate voice.
06:32It's like, I think they're still out there.
06:34And it's okay.
06:35It's like, it's fine.
06:37And it's just, it does, if you think too hard about it, you go, oh, is it just, like, an ornamental thing?
06:43Like, are we just, like, ornamental people, like, in society?
06:46And so, I can't think too hard about it.
06:49Otherwise, I get, I spiral.
06:50I've heard you recently say that you sort of swindled your way into Hollywood.
06:58Did I?
06:58You're swindling your way into the rules.
06:59I read that.
07:00You read that.
07:01I read the head of your grade.
07:03How do I swindle my way?
07:05Scamming your way through Hollywood.
07:06So, what is the biggest scam that you've run?
07:10Oh, my God.
07:11Show us the way.
07:12I don't know.
07:13I feel like that was probably just my self-deprecating way of being, like, oh, I don't really know how I figure into this.
07:20Like, that's what, I feel like I have my safe haven at SNL where I get to just sort of write whatever I want for myself.
07:26And I am, there's a little bit of anxiety around, like, leaving the nest and kind of being at the whim of other people and kind of giving that up.
07:37There is sort of a power loss.
07:38How did you get, what was your SNL entry?
07:40Was it just kind of auditioning and doing the, yeah?
07:43It was auditioning.
07:44And then Lauren brought me on as a writer for one season.
07:48And then he made me the cast after one season.
07:49And he said, you know, this was always my plan.
07:52Like, if I were to throw you out there without a paddle, then it would have set you up for failure.
07:55And it would have been, it would have been a sad story.
07:59And he was like, I just wanted to make sure you knew how the sausage was made.
08:01So, therefore, you could succeed as much as you possibly could.
08:05So, it was very...
08:06I think you're awesome, man.
08:07Oh, thanks, Ricky.
08:08You too.
08:09Everyone here is fucking awesome.
08:10Ricky Martin.
08:11Shut up.
08:13That's pretty, that's pretty cool.
08:15Thanks, I'm Ricky.
08:19No, but Ricky, your last two roles were so different.
08:24But they had one through line.
08:25And that was shirtless in Florida or L.A., subbing for Florida.
08:30Is that by design or that's what you're going for?
08:33Is that what Hollywood expects of you?
08:35You have a tattoo of that thing.
08:36Actually, that's a very important part of the deal.
08:42No, I mean, it's, that's the way it was written.
08:46And the first one was the assassination of Johnny Versace.
08:49And, you know, it was Miami in the 80s.
08:53So, I guess you wear your Speedos and you wear no shirt.
08:57Yeah, yeah.
08:57And then, now is Palm Beach in the late 60s.
09:03And you're a pool boy.
09:07You're a caretaker.
09:09And Carol Burnett, the character, wants you half naked.
09:15And I guess, I don't know, you just go with it and you own it.
09:19But it's endemic to the story.
09:20It is part of the story.
09:21So, you don't think about it twice.
09:23These are very deep, deep characters.
09:26And the story behind them are very intense.
09:29And that's the kind of thing I like to do.
09:31It's based on a book, was it?
09:33It's based on a book.
09:34And is that fiction or based on a book?
09:36No, it's fiction.
09:37Everybody wants to be part of this social club.
09:40It's the wealth of Palm Beach and the glamour and the fashion, but also the darkness behind it.
09:47And their secrets and their pain.
09:52And this character knows everyone's secret.
09:57And it's a very powerful character.
09:59So, I'm very happy to be half naked.
10:01Half of the show, I don't care.
10:03I missed all that.
10:05I was just in West Palm.
10:06There was no half naked Ricky Martin.
10:10It's always, always in one specific house.
10:14I went to the breakers.
10:15I was like, what?
10:16I was just there, too.
10:17Yeah, I didn't see that either.
10:19That's stupid to me.
10:19I saw a lot of things.
10:221960s, 1960s.
10:24Theo, you went straight into The Gentleman from White Lotus,
10:27which is the show that every actor seems to want to be on these days.
10:32Did that experience open any doors that you previously felt were closed to you?
10:37Yeah, definitely.
10:40100%.
10:40I think because it's comedic, but then there's, you know, it tackles fairly complex issues.
10:48You know, first season, second season, and his other seasons as well, of course.
10:51You know, with that season, it's about sexual politics, gender, love, animal versus kind of, you know, ephemeral.
11:03It's complex, and yeah, it definitely opened doors for sure.
11:08And I love playing that character.
11:10You know, he represented Americana to me in its best and, you know, the problems with it.
11:16You know, he's kind of front-facing, front foot on the ground.
11:20He's, you know, his energy is outward.
11:23He's charming.
11:24But then beyond that, he's quite calculating.
11:27So with The Gentleman, I kind of wanted to do the opposite, which is, you know, very British and a twat.
11:36Looking back on all your careers, when was the time that you felt like you took your biggest risk?
11:45I did hosting Saturday Night Live.
11:49Oh.
11:49That was the risk?
11:50The first time?
11:51The first time.
11:51I was scared to death.
11:54I didn't think I could do it.
11:55I thought I'd die once I opened the door for the monologue, but it happened, and it was turned out to be the most fun I've ever had.
12:06And you were such a mainstay.
12:08Like, people were clearly so happy that you were coming back.
12:11It made me feel at home.
12:12It was wonderful.
12:13But that's really nice.
12:15But I was, that's probably the most fear I've ever had.
12:19Fuck you.
12:19No, we'll look for it.
12:21No, we'll look for it.
12:23What were you afraid of?
12:24Were you afraid of the live episode?
12:25Oh, just stinking on ice.
12:26Yeah.
12:27You know, not being funny.
12:28Yeah.
12:29Being fat on camera.
12:30Wait a minute.
12:33Just the wars.
12:34Live.
12:34Because I admired the show so much.
12:37And, yeah, I was definitely afraid of getting kicked out of the studio before the hour and a half was up.
12:46But it worked out.
12:47And how was the lead up, the week of show?
12:50No, it was so busy.
12:53Did you feel nervous at that point?
12:55Oh, absolutely, yeah.
12:56But I had such, I was working with such wonderful people.
13:01And then the stage painters, everybody took care of me.
13:03It was very scary, but so rewarding.
13:05And it's just so much fun.
13:09I would let everybody know, I'm a mess right now.
13:11I'm super nervous.
13:13That's okay.
13:14Help me here.
13:16I think they appreciate that.
13:17I think that's what they want to hear, is that if you're like, if the host is feeling uneasy about anything, like, let's help them out.
13:23Oh, really?
13:24Yeah.
13:24I think so.
13:24That's good, anyway.
13:25There's a lot of care there, I think.
13:26Then you did it subsequently in the future.
13:2913 times.
13:30What?
13:31All right.
13:31You've done it 13 times.
13:33Oh, wow.
13:33In the old days.
13:34So, and so once you've done it once, did it feel lazy?
13:39Yeah, second, I was still scared, but it felt like coming home again, because we still had some of the same cast members.
13:45Kelsey, did you have a good experience yesterday?
13:46I did it a couple of times.
13:48I liked it.
13:49I had a great time.
13:51I'm trying to think.
13:51Phil Hartman was still alive then.
13:53And Rob Schneider was on the show, and Adam Sandler, and Farley, too.
13:58Oh, wow.
13:59Yeah.
13:59Holy shit.
13:59Yeah.
14:00I had a great time with them.
14:01I was so impressed with them.
14:02And, of course, I couldn't get through it.
14:04I kept cracking up.
14:05There was a, Schneider's skit was, something smells good in whatever, in Assville or whatever it was.
14:13I said, honey, what is that smell?
14:15And I said, just give me the cat's ass, will you?
14:18So, I'd grab a cat.
14:20Oh, it's better.
14:21I couldn't get through it.
14:23I just started laughing the whole time.
14:27I really enjoyed it.
14:29And Shaquille was on one time with me.
14:31And so, at the end of the final tableau thing, you know, good night, everybody, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
14:37He picked me up.
14:38Oh, wow.
14:39And I thought, holy shit.
14:41I said, you know, I weighed 230 pounds at the time.
14:43And I said, shit, isn't that kind of hard?
14:47He said, no, you're as light as a feather.
14:51And you're right about that nervous thing.
14:53You did it so much, though.
14:54So, I've never been a stand-up guy because I was too scared of it.
14:58I just thought, I would hate to fail in that.
15:02I hope my monologue's always stunk.
15:04I even sang one.
15:07But I got through it, and then I read later that Tom Hanks said the most important thing you'll do is the monologue.
15:14Oh, now!
15:15Oh, great.
15:15Now!
15:16Now!
15:17Now!
15:19I just wasn't good at it, so I thought, well, we'll just get through that.
15:24And we did one with Kirstie.
15:26Kirstie Alley hosted the show, and we all sang the Cheers song with her.
15:29That was great.
15:31Yeah.
15:31Great job.
15:32Anthony, what's your biggest risk, man?
15:34I feel like you've had such a diverse career.
15:37You started out working with Spike Lee and Catherine Bigelow, all these huge directors.
15:42You're a Marvel guy, and now you're playing this, like, action, comedy, post-apocalyptic thing based on a video game.
15:49Where do you feel comfortable, and where do you feel uncomfortable?
15:52I will say my biggest risk was probably the, I would say, the saddest moment of my career.
15:59I did this show where it was 40 pages of dialogue, and it was just me.
16:05It was me against me talking to me.
16:08And, you know, you get in the rut of people being like, oh, you know, play this guy 20 times, or do this 20 times.
16:16And I was like, I want to see if I still got it.
16:20Like, if I'm a fail, I want to fail going down guns a-blazing.
16:24And I read the script.
16:26I was like, I want to do it.
16:27I went to go do it.
16:28And honestly, did some of the best work I feel I've done as an actor in my 40 years of acting.
16:39And nobody saw it.
16:41Was it a movie?
16:42No, it was a show on Amazon.
16:45A show.
16:45And it really just humble-sauced the shit out of me.
16:50And ironically enough, it was this dude, something he said that a friend of mine sent to me, that it really just, it turned everything around for me, for my career, the way I perceived my career, and the work that I wanted to do.
17:06Did you go to NOCA?
17:08I did.
17:08Man, it's a great place.
17:10It was an amazing school when I was there.
17:13We had to create and evolve out of nothing.
17:17And we did some of the craziest work, and clown work, and just everything.
17:22So we're performing artists in New Orleans, and a lot of people went through this.
17:28Yeah, Harry Connick Jr., all the Marcelluses.
17:31I met Wendell Pierce, who has kind of been like my older brother since I was 13.
17:39Wendell Pierce pulled up to NOCA in a Porsche, and he had on a white linen suit with a white hat.
17:50And he was coming to talk to the students.
17:52I'm 14 years old, and I'm like, who is this black dude in this Porsche with this linen suit?
17:57Right, so I run up to him after he talks.
17:59I'm like, man, I want to be just like you.
18:01I'm going to do everything you did.
18:02I'm going to go to everything you did.
18:03He's like, all right, kid, good luck.
18:06And he puts on his hat, and he gets in his Porsche, and he's like, skirt!
18:09Blew my mind.
18:10Wow.
18:11Oh, man.
18:13To this day, every time I see him, I'm like, fucking Wendell Pierce.
18:17He's so helpful.
18:18Yeah, he's huge.
18:20I mean, we grew up in the same neighborhood.
18:21So, you know, everything he did, he went to NOCA, I went to NOCA.
18:24He went to Juilliard, I went to Juilliard.
18:26He started on the stage, I started on the stage.
18:27Everything he did, I literally was in such awe of him that I just chased him around like he had carrots in his ass.
18:41I actually played against myself, and I, similarly to you, I put everything in it.
18:46I feel like I did some of my best work, and I always remember, you know,
18:51and I didn't watch the show before the, you know, before you go to the premiere or whatever, blah, blah, blah.
18:58Because, you know, at the time, everyone was like, yeah, fuck yeah, this is fucking awesome.
19:02Yeah, everyone was like, okay, I'm feeling pretty good about this.
19:04I remember going down to the bar.
19:07I was, like, ready to go to the premiere of it or whatever.
19:10And I looked at my phone, just on nothing, like New York Times, something else, and I was like, oh, God, I'll have another drink.
19:18And I was just like, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.
19:24And then that's if I could turn up to the thing, which I knew had been kind of destroyed, you know, like, ha, ha, ha, ha.
19:32Do you guys feel that, like, it's a little bit better to play opposite yourself because there are fewer variables there?
19:37Like, you are kind of on both ends knowing where you're coming from?
19:42I would say it's the hardest thing.
19:44It's so hard.
19:45Because for me, I look at acting like a game of tennis.
19:48Like, when you hit the ball across the net, you need somebody to hit it back.
19:51Like, you can't volley by yourself, and you're just hitting a wall if you are.
19:54Like, you're looking at yourself going, like, I'm not getting anything.
19:56I'm not getting anything.
19:58You're shit, man.
19:59Oh, my God.
20:00This dude sucks.
20:01You know, so it's weird when you don't have that other person to act against.
20:08What a surprise.
20:09What a surprise.
20:09You want to do something that can really.
20:11And you can lock yourself into performances that you find you don't like on the other side, can't you?
20:17Right.
20:17You do something, and then on the return side, you're like, yeah, but I don't have enough time, or I wanted to do something else.
20:24Yeah, it's tricky.
20:25You and John are both playing characters that you originated in the 80s.
20:30What could you get away with then that you can't now, and is there anything vice versa?
20:37You know, honestly, I don't think there's anything you couldn't get away with then that you can't get away with now, honestly.
20:41I mean, I always tried to keep the level of the comedy up above a certain, you know, quality.
20:49So it was never my thing to go scatological or to go, you know, diminish anybody, to try to make the level of comedy sort of aim up or play up to the audience.
21:02So I don't, I'd have never really been cursed by, oh, that was inappropriate, or that was like, oh, what a terrible thing to do.
21:08I mean, the only thing I ever felt foolish about was trying to do a James Mason impression on Saturday Night Live, which sort of went rather well.
21:16But it was still, you know, it was still rather embarrassing.
21:21I was at the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Phil Hartman was just going crazy, you know.
21:29He just made me giggle.
21:30Was he Kirk Douglas?
21:31Yeah, he was Kirk Douglas.
21:33Ned Land.
21:35What a funny man.
21:38But now, I've never really encountered it, but I've never done jokes below the waist.
21:44I mean, we always had a standing rule about the Frasier show was always we'd never make a joke about, you know, genitalia.
21:52It just wouldn't happen.
21:53We might suggest such a thing, but we would never really, you know.
21:56There was one scene where Frasier undid his belt because his dad told him to if he was feeling like he ate too much.
22:03It's about it.
22:05Below the waist.
22:06John, do you feel the same?
22:07I feel like the original iteration of Roseanne pushed a lot of new ground.
22:13Yeah, and perhaps it did at different times then.
22:19I don't, I think Roseanne kissed Mariel Hemingway one time or vice versa, and that was pretty much unheard of at the time.
22:28None of us wanted the word stupid.
22:34We said the, I think Roseanne first said it was just because we're poor doesn't mean it's stupid.
22:40And we tried to cue to that, and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
22:46Ricky, you've been working in entertainment since you were 12, in like every corner of the industry.
22:53Is there still something that's on your list of things to do that you're really trying to, dying to try?
23:01Yes, I would love to do film.
23:04I think that's, that's what I'm getting ready for, and I knock on wood.
23:09It's my dream.
23:10It's my dream.
23:11And I need to go back to theater, of course.
23:14I need to go back to Broadway, something I really want to do.
23:18Or did you start when you were 12?
23:20What was?
23:20It was a boy band.
23:21But for me, it was theater, because they told us what to wear, what to say, what to sing, how to move.
23:26Yeah, yeah.
23:27So it was stagecraft.
23:29Five years of being part of the boy band, traveling around the world.
23:32It was, it was beautiful.
23:34A great way to learn.
23:35I learned a lot.
23:36Yes, of course.
23:37Until I was 17.
23:38And then, and then I went, I went as a soloist.
23:41I started doing theater in Mexico.
23:43I did TV series in Mexico, in Argentina as well.
23:48It was Latin America.
23:49It was acting.
23:50But then something happened with music that I had to serve the wave.
23:55Because it was very powerful.
23:56Well, something definitely happened with music.
23:57Right?
23:58I mean, something happened, right?
23:59It happened the hell out of music.
24:00It was very, very, very powerful, very beautiful.
24:02And, and, and it was all a preparation to where I'm at today.
24:06What can I say?
24:07This is, this is, I would do it all over again.
24:10It's been a very beautiful life of entertaining.
24:13I would do it with you.
24:15Let's do it.
24:16Shirts on.
24:18Shirts on.
24:19I would do it with you.
24:22What's on everyone else's bucket list?
24:24Theo, I heard recently that you want to play Henry VIII, which seems very against type.
24:30That's aggressive.
24:31I thought you were going to say a gamut of inappropriate things I'm saying.
24:34Too bad question.
24:35Yeah, I would.
24:39I like the, I've always been fascinated by him.
24:42The idea of someone who, because he became maniacal, he became, you know, obese and covered in boils and a terrible dictator.
24:53But you didn't start that way.
24:55So the idea of, of, of seeing someone evolve to that and what power does.
25:01And, and Britain at that time is an interesting, you know, it's a very interesting period of history because.
25:07He's fascinating.
25:08Yeah.
25:08They were, they were, they were kind of small fry.
25:09That's extraordinary.
25:10Yeah.
25:10And Henry VIII kind of put them back on the kind of, do the European scene.
25:14His contribution to music.
25:15I mean, green, green slaves.
25:16And also the, the, the, the single syllable per note.
25:20Yeah.
25:20They went away from the glissando stuff.
25:23Oh, he said, no, no, everything's going to be one syllable, one, one note.
25:27One note.
25:28And that, that changed the whole, everything about religious music, everything about it.
25:33Handel's Messiah, so I mean, based on that.
25:35He's an extraordinary contribution.
25:37And he could fight like a son of a bitch when he was young.
25:39He's very athletic.
25:40And of course, he would always say to his wives, you know, don't lose your head.
25:42Ah.
25:43I did have a question about music related.
25:47The theme, the Frasier theme, how did that come about?
25:50Oh, that was just a whim for me because I thought, I've always wanted to sing a theme song.
25:54Yeah.
25:54So I said, I'm singing it.
25:56And they said, okay, we weren't even going to have one.
25:59I said, well, we're having one.
26:01And then, and then you gave them that or you vibe with a bunch?
26:03No, it just came off with the, the, the, the songwriter for the show, the guy that kind
26:08of did the incidental music and stuff as well, Bruce.
26:10So he, he put together an idea and then I, I sort of looked at it and I thought, well,
26:15I guess I could sort of jazz it up.
26:16Yeah.
26:17But what's kind of interesting is, uh, Joni Mitchell wrote a song called, uh, you know,
26:23my analyst told me that I was right out of my head the way he described it.
26:26Better I'm dead in life.
26:27And we kind of thought about that song when we were first shooting the pilot.
26:34So then it came up, but an interesting runaround is, um, um, they're, they're going to shoot
26:39a movie about, um, Cameron Crowe's shooting a movie about Joni Mitchell's stroke and how,
26:44what, how she, what she went through.
26:45And he's going to take a clip from Frazier and put it in the movie because apparently
26:49she helped, uh, recover her ability to use language by watching Frazier.
26:53Oh my God.
26:54And she's absolutely blown away by it.
26:57She's sort of very moved by it.
26:58Yeah.
26:59And of course, I mean, she was, you know, miles of aisles and, you know, free man in Paris
27:02and all that stuff.
27:03I mean, her music just blew me away when I was just, oh, and I was just thinking the,
27:08the most challenging two things I've ever heard actually really were not so much that review.
27:13One was after I just played beast my days in Marvel and they came up and said, we have
27:18the most wonderful next film planned.
27:22And we were, I mean, this was, uh, Lauren, uh, Lauren Donner, uh, and she said, uh, we're
27:29going to go back in time.
27:30And so I, I suddenly had that sinking feeling of, oh, so I won't be in it.
27:37So my performance as beast will not be in it.
27:43That's what you're telling me.
27:45So sure enough, it went back in time.
27:47I was gone.
27:48Well, that was really exciting news for me.
27:51The other, my most favorite statement I ever heard was when I was in my forties, somebody
27:56said, you are the worst boyfriend I've ever had.
28:03That's a great review.
28:05That was fun.
28:06Tell me about a time where you most wanted to walk off a job.
28:11I walked out of stage once.
28:13I left the tour.
28:14I was exhausted.
28:15I was sad.
28:16I was depressed.
28:17I was not happy with what I was doing.
28:19I had been working for two years, nonstop, 200 shows in two years.
28:26And I was in Australia and we still had two more, two more weeks to go.
28:30We had to go to Argentina to do the final.
28:32And then everybody was going home and I said, I'm not going to survive.
28:35I'm not going to, if we go to Argentina, I'm going to collapse and I'm going to collapse
28:39bad.
28:40I need to go home now.
28:42Please listen to me.
28:43I need to go home.
28:44I was banging my managers, everybody.
28:46You're crazy.
28:46We're almost there.
28:47Come on, let's do this.
28:48And I'm like, no, no, no, no, you don't understand.
28:51If we don't go back home now, this is going to get ugly.
28:54And I went back home and it was the best decision I ever made.
28:58It was the best decision.
28:59How much did it cost you?
29:01It was a lot of money.
29:02It was a lot of money, but it was my health.
29:05And it was my state of mind, my mental health, physical health.
29:09And I just wanted to be home.
29:11I wanted to be with my dogs.
29:13And this is not only two years.
29:14This is a decade of not being able to say no.
29:18Yes, let's do it.
29:19Yes, let's do it.
29:19Yes, yes.
29:20People pleasing, people pleasing, people pleasing.
29:22And that last show, I was angry.
29:24I was not enjoying the music.
29:28I was not happy with the applause.
29:30The arena was full, packed up.
29:32Every stadium was full.
29:33And I was just sad.
29:34And I couldn't take it anymore.
29:36So I went back home.
29:38And we're still here.
29:39This is 20-something years ago.
29:40Oh, wow.
29:41I just needed a break.
29:42And if you're numb to all that stimulus in the arena, if that's doing nothing for you,
29:47imagine.
29:48Huge.
29:49Imagine.
29:50Oh, my God.
29:50Yeah, yeah.
29:51Huge.
29:52I mean, I feel like a lot of people reach a point in their career like that where they're
29:56like, I'm just doing it for myself now.
29:58Has anyone else had that sort of like moment where they're like, oh, I'm not going to take
30:02this part that my agent really wants me to do.
30:04Or I'm going to take some time off even though I'm really like hot right now.
30:09I've had kids help that for me personally because I was very into, yeah, I think, you
30:15know, you're a product.
30:17You're kind of selling a product, which is yourself in some ways, especially when you're
30:20starting out.
30:23But I guess having kids suddenly, you realize that some of it doesn't matter.
30:28Do you know what I mean?
30:29Like, it doesn't matter in the broad scheme of things.
30:31And that gave me a bit of perspective.
30:33Because when I was a young actor, I was just like, ah, rather hungry.
30:36You know, I have to jump from job to job and fucking all that stuff.
30:40But it gave me a bit of perspective.
30:42I'm like, I don't want to take your kids out of school or do that just because it seems
30:48sexy or whatever at the time.
30:50That gave me a bit of perspective.
30:52And obviously stopping taking all the class A drugs helped as well.
30:56So I'm joking.
30:57I'm joking.
30:57I'm joking.
31:01Anyone else?
31:05No, I would agree with that.
31:06My kids changed a lot for me, dude.
31:10My dad, you know, dropped out of school in eighth grade.
31:13My mom went to a Negro-appointed high school.
31:16So looking at that, I left home with $435.
31:20So I want to give my kids the opportunity of leaving home with the advantage that all my classmates
31:29had when I got to school.
31:31Like, I had a classmate who, you know, backpacked across Europe for a year after high school.
31:37I was like, how the hell?
31:39You just walked across a, what?
31:41That's a thing?
31:44That's a thing?
31:45That's a what?
31:46That's a thing?
31:47Like, coming from New Orleans, every day was a, you know, an idea of how are you going to eat?
31:54That's a struggle.
31:54So having kids now and looking at my kids, I'm like, I never want them to experience the struggle.
32:02I want them to have the pain.
32:04I want them to know what it takes that the regular American man experiences trying to put a meal on the table.
32:10But I don't want them to have the pain.
32:12I mean, the struggle.
32:13You know, so it's a dangerous negotiation.
32:16You know, you can't spare them.
32:19You kind of have to set them up, not for failure, but for the idea that they're going to have to fight for it.
32:24You're going to have to fight for it.
32:25Because it doesn't.
32:25Yeah.
32:26Yeah.
32:26If you just give them anything, they don't fight for it.
32:28Yeah.
32:29You know, yeah.
32:30I tell my boys, I'm like, yo, I'm the coolest mother.
32:32I'm the dad everybody wants.
32:35Yeah.
32:36And my sons don't watch Marvel movies.
32:38They don't ask.
32:39They have no idea.
32:41Like, I'll FaceTime Sebastian.
32:43I'm like, yo, man.
32:44I'm like, yo, say what's up to my son.
32:45And he's like, hey, dude.
32:49Like, it's just, it's really, they don't, to them, I'm dad.
32:54Of course.
32:55You know, and that's what I've been working so hard towards.
32:59But what is that cutoff point when you decide to coach soccer as opposed to filling the coffers for their future?
33:09Yeah.
33:10Do you think living in New Orleans helped as well?
33:12Or just kind of a little bit of, you're not, you know, here or whatever?
33:16Yeah, living in New Orleans, I mean, the cost of living in New Orleans is 35 cents.
33:21But as in, sorry, I mean, with your kids being kind of, in a nice way, not super interested.
33:27Yeah, they're out of touch.
33:29They're out of touch completely with the world of the business.
33:34And all of their friends are like normal friends.
33:37All of their friends' parents are like working class people.
33:40So it's not an idea of, oh, well, you know, me and, you know, Jamie Foxx's son are hanging out on a yacht.
33:49Like, no, it's, you know, it's not plumber to the stars.
33:53It's like, no, my boy is a plumber.
33:55And when our kids get together, it's like his kids and my kids, just regular little, you know, kids.
34:02And that's something that I've experienced that I've always wanted to curate for them by living in New Orleans.
34:08It's the only city in the world you sit on your couch and you hear a tuba.
34:12It's like, yo, bro, yo, bro, it's the second line coming down the street.
34:16So I make a, you know, an iced beverage and I pull him outside and we walk down the street with a second line, you know, then we walk home and we're like, man, that was amazing, you know?
34:29And it's really cool.
34:30And then, yeah, it's just, it's those experiences that you have to, you know, tap into.
34:36What is the best feedback professionally that you've gotten from your children or in your case, obviously, the most humbling?
34:43Lack of feedback.
34:44Lack of feedback.
34:45You saw my movie?
34:47Nah.
34:48Come on, dad, you can do better.
34:50Oh, no.
34:52At what?
34:54Last night was better, dad.
34:56Last night performance.
34:57With your shows.
34:58With my shows.
34:59Last night performance.
34:59In theater, no, in the Vita, there were like five or six.
35:02Like, yeah, last night was better, dad.
35:05That's how it goes, huh?
35:06Yeah, some days are better than others.
35:08Good, that's true.
35:10I'll make a note of it.
35:11My kids are most thrilled about cartoon performances.
35:15Yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:16My voiceover.
35:17Right, right, right.
35:18I've got a new, I'm playing a toilet bowl on the Patrick Starr show next week.
35:22They're thrilled about that.
35:24That would be bad for you.
35:24My nine-year-old wants to come and see, watch the recording and see how it goes.
35:29That's true.
35:30Yeah, that's great.
35:32Owen, I'm going to throw another quote that you have back in your face.
35:37Okay, uh-oh.
35:38You said in the same interview where the other made-up quote happened that you, this was the season that you sort of really let go on SNL.
35:47What does that look like in the writer's room and on stage?
35:51I think I kind of threw out any preconceived notions that I had about myself because I think I was absorbing other people's expectations, right?
35:59Like, I think I was playing a lot of campy, loud, broad characters for a while.
36:07It's a sketch show.
36:08Like, there's room for that.
36:09It kind of celebrates that more than anything else.
36:11But, like, look, I will reveal to this table, we wrote, like, and it was a purely loving tribute to Sylvester Stallone.
36:20But, like, we were, like, talking about Stallone, and I was like, I think I've got a Stallone.
36:25I think I've got a Sly.
36:26I'm not going to do it here.
36:27But, like, that was, like, I think internally to the people that work at the table read, like, they saw that.
36:32I think people were like, I don't know you could do that.
36:34Like, I think people are kind of locked into an idea of what any of us as performers can do.
36:40It's, like, that type thing we were asking about earlier.
36:42And I think letting go of this season has meant kind of building from scratch again, which has been really nice.
36:50I never thought I'd have that reset.
36:53It's not comfort.
36:54I think if you're comfortable at any place or if you're comfortable at SNL, then, like, that's probably not a good sign.
37:01But I think that's what I probably meant by that quote.
37:05I remember saying that.
37:08I read that.
37:10Can everyone tell me about the weirdest fan interaction they've ever had?
37:18Mine have always been good.
37:19I mean, honestly, never bad.
37:21I was doing a front page on Broadway about six years ago.
37:24And during previews, a troupe of four or five people came in to the second row, and they went to the first row.
37:36And they started telling me how much they loved me.
37:38At one point, they had drinks on the stage and shit like that.
37:41That was pretty weird.
37:43Jesus.
37:43Really loud.
37:45And I just wanted to jump down there.
37:47Oh, my God.
37:49Yeah, I kept going and got off.
37:53And then they threw them out.
37:54But that was strange.
37:59That's the one that springs to mind anyway.
38:01I'm sure there are many more.
38:02I had one where I was at a bar, and these people were sitting in the opposite.
38:08And we were just having a glass of wine, whatever.
38:10And the girl goes, excuse me?
38:13And I was like, oh, God.
38:14Here you go.
38:16Your fly is undone.
38:19Also, love the show.
38:21But in a cutting way, I was like, do you?
38:24I'm very confused about this whole interaction.
38:27Lift up my phone.
38:28Oh, my God.
38:31Something similar on Broadway as well.
38:33I was doing Les Mis and Italy Live Theater.
38:36I love that.
38:38And she was dying in my arms.
38:40And it was that final moment of final breath from the last row of the audience.
38:47Ricky, I love you.
38:49No.
38:51She resurrected?
38:53And she went back to death.
38:54And she was like, cancer started laughing.
38:56It was fun.
38:58Or like in the silent moments.
39:00In the silent moments.
39:01When you hear someone just be like, come on.
39:03Leave the story.
39:05Or the candy wrap.
39:09Cameras.
39:10Cameras.
39:12Anthony, is it Marvel?
39:13No.
39:14Actually, I was in Vancouver shooting Alter Carbon.
39:18And this is a very long story, so I'm truncated drastically and miss a lot of points.
39:23See this young lady across the bar.
39:25So I tell the bartender, yo, tell her, come over and say hello.
39:27She makes her way around the bar.
39:29And everybody in the restaurant is like, he's so nice.
39:32Because I went to this restaurant like every day because they had an oyster happy hour.
39:36She comes around the bar.
39:38She's like, can we take a picture?
39:39Like, look, I can't take a picture with you.
39:41Everybody in the restaurant is looking.
39:42She goes, oh, no, she starts crying.
39:44And everybody in the restaurant is like, you're an asshole.
39:46And I was like, well, give me your phone.
39:48If you're discreet, I can hold the camera down and take a picture.
39:50She goes, oh, my God.
39:51And everybody in the restaurant goes, yay.
39:53Right?
39:53So I take the picture.
39:54And I tell her, you have photo approval.
39:57If you don't like it, we can take another one.
39:59Everyone heart melts.
40:00She looks at it.
40:01She goes, ah, ah, ah.
40:02And she pukes from here all the way down to my shoes.
40:12And this is after two dozen oysters, a lobster.
40:16She runs out of the restaurant.
40:18The waiter comes and he's like, dude.
40:23He scoops me up.
40:25He takes a tablecloth, wraps me and takes me back to the oyster wash off.
40:30And he closes me down in the oyster wash off.
40:34The shaker table.
40:34The shaker table.
40:35Shocked you?
40:36He said, they take my clothes.
40:39He goes across the street to, like, TJ Maxx and gets me, like, some sweatpants and, like, a graffiti's T-shirt.
40:45Fuck.
40:45And I come back out.
40:47And this woman, like, I'm sorry.
40:49Can I take a picture?
40:52Same lady.
40:53No.
40:54Another lady.
40:55Wrong timing.
40:56Who saw me walking out thinking I'm leaving the restaurant.
41:02Raw oysters from here.
41:04Oh, delicious.
41:06Before we wrap things up, we're going to do a lightning round.
41:10What did everyone spend their first big paycheck on?
41:15Your first sort of, like, I'm doing okay, splurge.
41:18I bought a house.
41:20Big dog.
41:21Yeah.
41:22First one.
41:23More than a cashmere sweater, but okay.
41:25You're going to have to buy a house.
41:26I built my dream car.
41:28I found a 1964 and a half Mustang in Tuxedo, New York.
41:33Brought it back down to Brooklyn to Christian Camargo's garage and worked on it for, like, three years and built it myself.
41:39Yeah.
41:40That's cool.
41:41Yeah.
41:41That's really cool.
41:42I also bought a home, and I gave the down payment of an apartment for two of my best friends.
41:48Oh.
41:49I will rock with you, Rick.
41:51Yeah.
41:51Yeah.
41:51Yeah.
41:52Yeah.
41:53It's gold.
41:55You're like, this is pretty apartment.
41:57That's pretty cool.
41:59Yeah.
41:59Should we hang out more?
42:02I bought similar.
42:03I bought an MGB GT for 12.
42:06Oh, that's nice.
42:07It didn't run, but over the years, I've done it.
42:10You still have it?
42:11I still have it.
42:12Oh, dude.
42:12Come on.
42:13We're going cruising.
42:14Awesome.
42:14Beautiful car, yeah.
42:15The most gratifying thing was able to get my mom a house.
42:19That was great.
42:20Yeah.
42:21It's been cars and real estate this whole time.
42:24I was just going to say, like, I bought Gucci shoes.
42:28Equally great.
42:29One man's Gucci shoes.
42:30Your shoes are.
42:31Your shoes.
42:33What's the inevitable question that you always get asked that you just never want to hear again?
42:38Cock size.
42:38I'm sorry.
42:42That's interesting.
42:43What do you think?
42:45Cock size.
42:46I thought he said cap size.
42:48He was so ready.
42:50He was so ready.
42:52He was so ready.
42:53His sleep shot was pulled back.
42:55I'm glad I shot her.
42:58He's like, somebody go ask this shit.
42:59I got it.
43:00Oh, I'm ready.
43:00I'm ready.
43:01I'm ready.
43:01Oh, my God.
43:01My, it's usually, honestly, the most difficult one to answer is, you know, how do I get an acting career?
43:10You know, that's what I get asked most of the time.
43:12And I said, well, act.
43:14Go out and find a place to act.
43:15That's what you got to do.
43:16If you really believe in it, just go do it somewhere.
43:19Do it at your church.
43:20Do it at your local playhouse.
43:21Do it at your school.
43:22Whatever it's going to be.
43:23Get somewhere with a great play and read it.
43:25Read it out loud.
43:26Look in the mirror.
43:28Do what you got to do to make sure that you're connected to the emotional life of a character.
43:32And if you're any good at it, you'll find out pretty quick.
43:36He answered it.
43:37Never ask it again.
43:40Mine is take a picture.
43:42Can I take a picture?
43:45I've had many experiences.
43:47Because you don't know what social reality you're tying yourself to.
43:50You don't know what that person is going to use that picture for.
43:53You don't know how.
43:54Because of the Kardashians, we're kind of put in this reality where we're looked at as tools, as vessels, as opposed to artists.
44:04And there's been several experiences now where people have taken a picture with me and used them for ways that I don't deem the right way.
44:15So because of that, I choose not to be a part of your social reality.
44:21It is interesting there, the melding of actors and celebrities where there used to be more difference.
44:28Completely different.
44:29People, they're conflated into the same thing.
44:31Right.
44:31But it's like, I have no interest in that other part.
44:33Right.
44:34It's the job.
44:35It's what I do.
44:36Yeah.
44:36But the assumption that you're that as well is frustrating.
44:39Right.
44:39I have people tell me all the time, well, this is what you signed up for.
44:44I'm like, I'm like, that's crazy.
44:46That's like telling a girl that because she got put on a cute dress and went to a bar, she signed up for me to harass her all night.
44:53No.
44:55No.
44:55In this day and age, we literally learn that we have to respect everyone's no.
45:00So if I tell you no, respect it.
45:03And there's a reason for that.
45:04For me, it's not to make it about work again, but it is always people asking, what is the week like at SNL?
45:10Because it's such a long answer.
45:12Because it's like, you have to go down.
45:13It's that question.
45:15I'll tell you Monday.
45:17What's that?
45:17Make a form letter.
45:18I know.
45:18It is like, it's like what Kelsey's saying.
45:20It's like, it is a long, it's, it's like if you give people that advice about acting, it's like, that's the advice they don't want to hear.
45:27No, I know.
45:27You know what I mean?
45:28And like, I'm about to give you such a boring, dry, like, rundown of what the week is like.
45:32And you know, it's, it's, it's when you feel like you've disappointed them in your answer that you feel like, oh, well.
45:38Totally.
45:39Or in your answer, they're like, yeah, yeah.
45:42I really didn't want an answer.
45:44I just wanted a picture.
45:46Shut up and take a picture.
45:48Get in the full ready for the picture.
45:49There's a game and it probably doesn't happen with you guys, but it's like, where do I know you from?
45:57Yeah.
45:58Oh, you want to, and I'm like, I don't know, yeah, whatever.
46:01And it's a fucking, and then you're getting up and they're like, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait.
46:04And it's a game and blah, blah, blah.
46:06And then, you know, they expect you to reel out your CV and they're like, no, I've never heard of that.
46:11It's not shit.
46:12No, no, no, it's a game of kind of, it's like if someone's going to just say, you know, oh, hey, notice, whatever, that's fine.
46:21It's an interaction, but a kind of, a frisson that someone wants to happen in a kind of sexy way.
46:27You know, what is this?
46:30That's, I find that irritating.
46:32That question.
46:33Ricky, are you gay?
46:34Are you kidding me?
46:35You don't know by now?
46:37What are you talking about?
46:39Are you sure?
46:41It's a wrap.
46:42I read that.
46:44I read that.
46:44I read that.
46:45I read that.
46:45I read that.
46:46I wish people would ask me.
46:50No.
46:53And to end things on a very serious note, what is the most frequently used emoji on your phone?
47:01You better not say eggplant.
47:04No!
47:05I'm not an eggplant guy.
47:07I think for me.
47:10There is such a thing.
47:10There is such a thing.
47:11I'm more of a cucumber guy.
47:14I'm a cucumber guy.
47:15You think I'm a cucumber guy?
47:15It's got the slices.
47:17I'm a realistic shape.
47:19So no more.
47:19Realistic shape.
47:21It's more phallic.
47:23The upside down smiley face.
47:25It conveys so much.
47:27It conveys a lot.
47:28I mostly just use it with my wife.
47:32It's just a heart one.
47:34Aw.
47:34Aw.
47:35Come on.
47:37I'm single.
47:37I'm single.
47:41Oh, fuck knows.
47:43The kind of face.
47:45You know, like that face.
47:47Because I'm often cringing myself and other people around me out.
47:50High five.
47:52Feet and peach.
47:54Oh.
47:55Oh, the peach.
47:55Peach and peach.
47:57I heard that peach.
47:58The peach.
47:59Yeah.
47:59The peach.
47:59Yeah, nothing like a nice peach.
48:01Feet and peach.
48:03We know where you're from.
48:07Cucumber, cucumber, cucumber.
48:08Cucumber.
48:09Cucumber, peach, cucumber, peach.
48:13Very interesting.
48:15That's so good.
48:17You know, I've been trying.
48:18There's a face.
48:19Like, I call it the gas face.
48:21Or like the bullshitting face.
48:24Like when you look at somebody and you go.
48:26Yeah.
48:27There's no emoji for that.
48:28There's no emoji for that.
48:28So they need that.
48:30So I usually do the side eye face where it's a smile.
48:34Like that.
48:35That's a good one.
48:36But that's the closest you can get to this.
48:38Right.
48:39We got to work on that.
48:40I know.
48:40I know.
48:41We got to call.
48:42I don't know how that little emoji would look.
48:45It would have to be like the little yellow dude that you can make black.
48:48Right.
48:48And he would have to go.
48:50You should copyright it.
48:51Yeah.
48:51You should just do it.
48:52I know what I'm doing right now.
48:56There's a future in that face.
48:57Two.
48:58No true soul.
49:00Mine is none.
49:01I don't use them.
49:02I refuse to use them.
49:04I was told recently that using punctuation is aggressive.
49:08And to me, I think it's so lame that we have reduced our communication skills to emojis and stuff like that.
49:17I find it diminishes our ability to communicate.
49:20Right.
49:20Yeah.
49:21And so I'm a punctuation guy.
49:23Is it because your last name is Grammar?
49:25Probably.
49:27It was when I was in sixth grade.
49:30It was.
49:30Well, just get Mr. Grammar to answer.
49:32Oh, okay.
49:33That's an object of a preposition.
49:36Blow it out.
49:37I think it's important for us to communicate as well as we possibly can in the best possible way.
49:46So I find it.
49:48I am annoyed by emojis.
49:51I don't like getting them and I never send them.
49:53Fuck, you should have gone first.
49:56You all degraded us.
49:57Well, I'm going to change my answer.
50:01You're cutting this up, right?
50:02Thank you all so much for doing this.
50:04Let's raise a glass.
50:06Ah.
50:07Thanks, Yvonne.
50:07Thanks, Mikey.
50:08Thanks, Yvonne.
50:09I drank all mine already.
50:12Gentlemen.
50:13All right, we're back.
50:14We're back.
50:14Wonderful to see you, man.
50:15Cheers.
50:15I'm here.
50:16Really a pleasure.
50:16Cheers.
50:17Cheers.
50:18Well, that was an exciting conversation.
50:20And I guess I did drink that drink.
50:22When that happened.
50:23Hey, Janice, I have another.
50:25Until next time, I'm Yvonne Orji, and this has been Offscript with The Hollywood Reporter.
50:32We'll see you next time.
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