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Late Night with Seth Meyers - Season 13 - Episode 27: Joel Edgerton, Elle Fanning, Edgar Wright
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00:05From 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, it's Late Night with Seth Meyers.
00:12Tonight, David Harbour, star of Broadway's O'Mary, actor John Cameron Mitchell.
00:18An all-new, closer look.
00:25And now, Seth Meyers.
00:28Good evening, everybody. I'm Seth Meyers. It's Late Night.
00:31We hope you're doing well.
00:32And now, if you don't mind, we're going to get to the news.
00:34When asked during an Oval Office meeting yesterday if he had any top picks to take over the Iranian government,
00:41President Trump said, quote,
00:42Well, most of the people we had in mind are dead.
00:45Some for a while now.
00:49According to a new report, President Trump exposed a CIA surveillance operation
00:53on the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
00:57Eight months ago in a post on Truth Social.
00:59So if you're wondering how Truth Social is doing, it took eight months for someone to notice.
01:06The son of the late Ayatollah Khamenei has reportedly emerged as a frontrunner
01:11to replace his father as supreme leader.
01:14Man, can you imagine going through all of this to get rid of an evil leader
01:19and you just end up with his son?
01:21That would be the way...
01:22No, no, no!
01:23No!
01:25Take it down!
01:27Take it down!
01:30President Trump reposted a picture yesterday of himself wearing sunglasses with the caption,
01:35quote,
01:35I stand with Trump, the most badass president of all time.
01:39I don't know.
01:40When you're, like, 30, you look badass in sunglasses.
01:43When you're 79, people just try to help you cross the street.
01:49Oh, yeah, those are the real square ones, too.
01:52That's...
01:53Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back this week
01:55on comparisons of the military operation against Iran
01:58to previous U.S. conflicts in the Middle East
02:00and said, quote,
02:01This is not Iraq.
02:02This is not endless.
02:04To put it in Hegseth terms, it's just a bender.
02:11President Trump said in a post this week on Truth Social
02:14that the U.S. has a virtually unlimited munitions stockpile
02:18and added, quote,
02:19Wars can be fought forever.
02:21Or, to put it in Hegseth terms, a bender.
02:26A picture has gained attention online this week
02:28that shows President Trump with a red rash on his neck,
02:31but I think that's just his body rejecting his FIFA Peace Prize.
02:37It burns! It burns!
02:41Ah!
02:45President Trump this week reposted a photo
02:47of Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr
02:49and U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach
02:51discussing Barr's proposal to put Trump's face
02:54on a new $250 bill,
02:56and that is the perfect currency to plaster his face on.
03:00I can't think of anything more useless.
03:03What is anyone using a $250 bill for?
03:08Buying a vowel?
03:12Here's a little something for you, Venom.
03:16Duncan today began offering a new sugar-free energy drink
03:19called Duncan Zero, which, by the way,
03:21was Mike Scollins' nickname in high school.
03:27I had your sister was dating that Duncan Zero.
03:32Mike's a writer on our show,
03:33and it might feel mean that we would make that joke about him,
03:37but he wrote this next one.
03:40Maybe after you hear it,
03:41you'll realize why we have to attack him
03:43in the body of the show.
03:45And finally, a Florida nudist colony
03:47was recently listed for $2.5 million,
03:50but you can probably lowball them.
03:57Duncan Zero wrote that one.
04:00That was a monologue, everybody!
04:04Got a great job.
04:06For you tonight,
04:07you know him from Stranger Things in the newsroom,
04:10as well as movies such as Thunderbolts and Violent Night.
04:14He's starring in DTF St. Louis,
04:16with new episodes airing Sunday on HBO
04:18and streaming on HBO Max.
04:19David Harbour is here!
04:21What is somebody's back?
04:24He's a multi-talented actor, writer, filmmaker.
04:28You know he's the original star of Hedwig
04:29and the Angry Inch in shows like Shrill
04:32and Joe vs. Carol.
04:34He's starring in O' Mary at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway.
04:37John Cameron Mitchell is here, everybody!
04:43Great show, great guest.
04:45Before we get to all that,
04:46Republicans in Congress who said Trump would end foreign wars
04:49have a new strategy for defending the Iran war,
04:52claiming it's not actually a war,
04:54even though Trump himself calls it a war.
04:56For more on this, it's time for a closer look.
05:02As you all know, before Trump took office,
05:05our military was run by liberal, bleeding-heart, tofu-eating wokesters,
05:08they forced our troops to wear rainbow-colored uniforms
05:11and swap their weapons for books on critical race theory.
05:16But those days are over because President Kick-Ass Now
05:19and Forget Names Later is in charge,
05:22along with his Secretary of War, Pete Drain the Kegseth,
05:26a.k.a. the bad guy from every Steven Seagal movie,
05:29and they have one, they have one mission,
05:32bringing lethality and warfighting back to the U.S.
05:36a mother-
05:37President Trump signed an executive order
05:39to rebrand the Defense Department as the Department of War.
05:43We've renamed the Department of Defense
05:47into the Department of War.
05:49The Department of War.
05:50I love the name. I think it's so great.
05:52We're unleashing the warfighter to be ready,
05:55trained, disciplined, accountable, and lethal.
05:59Every day, we have to be prepared for war.
06:01We're training warriors, not defenders.
06:03We untie the hands of our warfighters.
06:05Maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.
06:08Restoring the warrior ethos.
06:10We're going to go on offense, not just on defense.
06:13Maximum lethality, not tepid legality.
06:17Violent effect, not politically correct.
06:20We're going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.
06:24Yeah, did you hear our secretary of white rapping?
06:28We're doing maximum lethality, not tepid legality.
06:32Violent effect, not politically correct.
06:34We're going to serve and protect while fully erect.
06:37Also...
06:39You guys, also...
06:44Somebody needs to tell him, like, rhyming is woke.
06:49That's like poetry stuff.
06:51He's fully doing poetry stuff.
06:54The point is, America's done playing nice.
06:56That's what got us in this mess in the first place,
06:59according to renowned military historian,
07:02Donald J. Trump, Ph.D.
07:04So we won the First World War.
07:06We won the Second World War.
07:08We won everything before that and in between.
07:11And then we decided to go woke,
07:12and we changed the name to Department of Defense.
07:14So we're going Department of War.
07:16I think it's a much more appropriate name,
07:18especially in light of where the world is right now.
07:22Exactly.
07:22Everybody remembers how woke America was in 1945.
07:25I mean, sure, the president was Harry Truman,
07:27who dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.
07:29But if you read your history,
07:31you would remember the names of those bombs
07:33were they and them.
07:38The point is, America's done with being polite.
07:40We're done with euphemisms.
07:41We're calling it the Department of War.
07:42We're calling our troops warfighters,
07:44and we're calling our missions warfighting,
07:45because that's what it is now and forever.
07:48War!
07:49I wouldn't call this a war
07:50as much as I'd call it a conflict.
07:52Strategic strikes are not war.
07:54It's a defensive operation.
07:56Nobody should classify this as war.
07:58It is combat operations.
07:59This isn't a war.
08:00I don't know if this is technically a war.
08:02I don't know if this is technically a war.
08:05A war is when my Meemaw
08:06hides my porcelain doll collection
08:08because I refuse to clean her CPAP machine.
08:11Just put it in the dishwasher, you old crone.
08:15And give me back my yadros.
08:22They are too worth money.
08:25Come on, guys.
08:26Didn't you hear it's the Department of War?
08:28Our troops are warfighters.
08:29This is a war.
08:30Trump and Hegseth have both called it that.
08:32We may have casualties
08:35that often happens in war.
08:37We have unlimited middle and upper ammunition,
08:41which is really what we're using in this war.
08:43We set the terms of this war.
08:46We didn't start this war.
08:47But under President Trump,
08:49we are finishing it.
08:51Yeah, we didn't start this war.
08:52This was going on long before Trump took office.
08:54Remember when Joe Biden slipped on those stairs?
08:57That's because Iran switched his shoes
08:59with rollerblades.
09:01Cover the steps to Air Force One
09:03with grease and banana peels,
09:04and don't get me started on Trump's up hand.
09:07You think that's because he's 79
09:09and takes aspirin every day?
09:11No, it's because Iran made the lid
09:13on every jar in his kitchen extra tight.
09:16So he has to spend hours trying to twist it off
09:18if he wants his peanut butter.
09:20And this just in, he wants his peanut butter.
09:22That's why he always sounds like this.
09:25God bless the United States.
09:33Someone had their peanut butter.
09:35The point is, Trump and Hexed have both been clear.
09:38This is a war.
09:41It is not the intention of the U.S. government to invade.
09:44That is not what is happening.
09:45These are isolated, strategic, large-scale attacks.
09:48I'm sorry, you say it's not the intention
09:49of the U.S. government to invade?
09:51Did we not just invade?
09:53We are not invading.
09:54Are you seeing boots on the ground there?
09:56Because I'm not.
09:57And I've been told directly by the State Department
09:59and the White House that that's not the intention.
10:00I didn't say boots on the ground.
10:01I mean, we just killed the leader of the country.
10:03That's what an invasion is.
10:03That's not...
10:04Okay.
10:06Targeting strategic military strikes and invasions
10:08are two totally different things, according to military technology.
10:10They're calling it a war.
10:11The president has called it a war.
10:14And targeted airstrikes have...
10:16Strategic strikes...
10:18Strategic strikes...
10:19Strategic strikes, and according to the White House,
10:20and I just talked to them, I talked to the Secretary of State.
10:23Strategic strikes are not war.
10:25Okay, I see it now.
10:26It's not a war unless you're actually on the ground.
10:29It's like when you were growing up
10:30and you'd annoy your siblings by putting your hands in their face
10:32and saying, I'm not touching you.
10:35I'm not touching you, but I'm not touching you, though.
10:38Just bombing someone doesn't count as a war.
10:40You have to send troops in.
10:41That's why in Independence Day,
10:42when the alien ship blows up the White House,
10:44the president goes on TV and says,
10:46no need to panic.
10:47It's not an alien invasion.
10:48It's just an alien strategic strike.
10:52Look, I get that you guys don't want to come off
10:55as shameless liars for telling voters
10:57that Trump would end foreign wars,
10:59but this is getting confusing.
11:00Can someone please take another shot at this?
11:02How about Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen,
11:05one of the biggest supporters of the insert euphemism with Iran?
11:09Can you please clarify, Senator,
11:11is this a war or is it not a war?
11:13Did the president not run on not starting a war with Iran?
11:17He ran on two things, ending wars.
11:20He's ended eight of them.
11:21And he also ran on keeping America safe.
11:24This isn't a war.
11:25We haven't declared war.
11:27Everybody wants to say war with Iran.
11:28Hold on.
11:28I want to play.
11:29The Secretary of Defense,
11:30who calls himself the Secretary of War,
11:31said today this is a war.
11:33Is it really not a war?
11:34What he declared on us was war,
11:36meaning us as Ayatollah.
11:38He declared war on us.
11:39We are not at war with the Iranian people.
11:41The Ayatollah who declared war on us,
11:43we've already taken him out.
11:44Now we're eliminating the threat.
11:46So we're not at war with Iran.
11:48So the Ayatollah declared war on us,
11:50but we didn't declare war on him,
11:51and also we killed the Ayatollah who declared war on us.
11:55It makes sense that this guy has two first names
11:57because he can't make up his mind.
12:00I mean, maybe I'm being harsh.
12:02I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue.
12:03Let's give Mark or Wayne,
12:04whichever one's talking today, another shot.
12:07Can you clarify, are we at war?
12:10This is war, and we're taking out the threat.
12:13And if you're part of the threat,
12:15then you're a target.
12:16Okay, thank you.
12:17That was clear.
12:18It is a war.
12:20Got it.
12:21You can see this is war.
12:22We haven't declared war.
12:23They declared war on us, but we haven't...
12:24The president called it war, Secretary Hicks.
12:25Senator, when you talked to him just now,
12:27you said this is war.
12:28They called it war.
12:29They called it war.
12:30What I was saying, okay, well, that was a misspoke.
12:32I'm sorry.
12:34Did a classic misspoke.
12:38Always do it.
12:39You know what happened?
12:39Mark was thinking with the brain,
12:40and Wayne was talking with the mouth.
12:47For argument's sake, let's say, hypothetically,
12:49that the war is over because the Ayatollah is dead.
12:52In that case, I'm sure every breathalyzer's best friend,
12:54Pete Hegseth, dialed down the rhetoric earlier today.
12:58B-2s, B-52s, B-1s, predator drones,
13:01fighters controlling the skies, picking targets.
13:05Death and destruction from the sky.
13:08All day long.
13:10Oh, it sounds so much like a war to me, you guys.
13:15Just admit it.
13:16Stop getting so defensive when we call a war a war.
13:19This is like if during the whole
13:20Am I a Clown to You speech at Goodfellas,
13:22Joe Pesci was in full clown makeup.
13:25They'd be like, yeah, man, you're a clown.
13:28There are two reasons they're all talking
13:30in Orwellian circles like this.
13:32One, if they acknowledge it's a war,
13:33they also have to admit that it's illegal
13:35since only Congress can declare war.
13:38And two, they don't want to admit that Trump lied.
13:41He said he would keep us out of exactly
13:43these type of open-ended wars,
13:45and specifically forever wars.
13:47We ended the forever wars in Iraq and Syria
13:50and Somalia and Afghanistan.
13:52You're not going to have a war with me.
13:54We will expel the warmongers from our government.
13:57We just fight forever.
13:59Sometimes we don't fight to win.
14:01You know, we'll stay around the country for 15 years,
14:03just bomb the hell out of everybody,
14:05make everybody miserable.
14:07Nobody knows why we're there, you know,
14:09the wars that never end.
14:10My God, he's so philosophical.
14:12I like when Trump starts sounding like one of Wooderson's
14:14stoned friends in Dazed and Confused.
14:16You know, sometimes we don't fight to win, you know.
14:18We'll stay around the country for 50.
14:20We'll just bomb the hell out of everybody, you know.
14:23Make everybody miserable.
14:24Nobody knows why we're there.
14:25You know, the wars, they never end, man.
14:28Once again, Seth threw in a reference to a movie
14:31that he thought would work, and it didn't really land.
14:35Seth's really over his skis this week,
14:37dialing it back.
14:38He thinks everybody remembers the 90s,
14:41but he does, they don't.
14:44Struck out with a Dave reference on Monday,
14:47and now he's back on Wednesday.
14:50Eating with Dazed and Confused,
14:52and he was so, he was so,
14:53you should have seen him earlier,
14:54he was so confident.
14:56And the writer said,
14:57I don't know, Seth, and he goes,
14:58trust me, we're gonna be out there,
15:00we're gonna be out there.
15:01And a lot of people are saying it worked,
15:03a lot of people are saying it.
15:16He won't even say later,
15:18he'll say it wasn't sympathy applause.
15:21The point is, people are tired of pointless wars.
15:24Trump knew that,
15:25and shamelessly exploited it
15:27by claiming he would stop so-called forever wars.
15:30So I have to assume that,
15:31at the very least,
15:32he's insisting this war with Iran
15:33will be short, contained,
15:35and limited in scope.
15:36President Donald Trump wrote late last night
15:39on Truth Social
15:40about the U.S. stockpile of munitions.
15:43We have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons.
15:47He said wars can be fought forever
15:49and very successfully using just these supplies.
15:52I'm sorry,
15:52is that supposed to sound like good news?
15:54You're saying it like you're expecting us all to cheer.
15:57Yeah, the war can go on forever.
15:59You're like the guy at the party
16:00who forces everyone to play Settlers of Catan.
16:02Good news, guys.
16:04I just got the expansion pack
16:06so this game could go on forever.
16:07And before you nerds come after me,
16:11I like board games, okay?
16:12I just don't want to be forced to play one at a party.
16:15I already spent half my day
16:16pretending to lose to my kids at Connect Four.
16:18You know how hard it is to act like
16:20I don't see three red circles in a row?
16:24Oh, you got me again.
16:25I can't believe I missed that.
16:26I didn't miss it, dude.
16:29I'm just a great dad.
16:33Sorry I got so heated, everyone.
16:34That whole thing was a misspoke.
16:38What we're seeing play out
16:39is the absurdity of life inside the Trump cult.
16:42One minute, they all have to pretend
16:43Trump is a working-class savior
16:45who will end foreign wars.
16:46The next, they have to pretend
16:47the war he started isn't a war,
16:49even though he's the one calling it a war.
16:52They lied, not just to their own voters,
16:54but to the entire...
16:54United States.
16:55This has been Closer Look.
17:02We'll be right back with David Harbour, everybody.
17:09For more of Seth's Closer Looks,
17:10be sure to subscribe to Late Night on YouTube.
17:22The rest of the night is an Emmy- and Tony-nominated actor.
17:25You know from shows such as Stranger Things
17:27and The Newsroom and movies like Thunderbolts,
17:29Black Widow, and Violet Knight.
17:31New episodes of DTF St. Louis air Sundays on HBO
17:34and stream on HBO Max.
17:35Please welcome back to the show
17:36David Harbour, everybody!
17:53Hello!
17:53Hello!
17:56Hello!
17:58You're, you know...
17:59It's so proud.
18:00They're a lovely audience.
18:02It's lovely to see you.
18:03I like, you know, New York actors.
18:05You're a New York actor.
18:06But, of course, you work out in New York City,
18:08and you're just back from Ireland?
18:10I just got back from Ireland.
18:12Yeah, we're doing a little pre-production
18:13for a movie out there,
18:14so I just flew in last night.
18:15And how do you take Ireland?
18:17Are you enjoying it, your time over there?
18:19Yeah.
18:20I mean, I've only been there for a couple days.
18:21I haven't spent much time.
18:22People are really lovely.
18:24Yeah.
18:24But I think it's just that accent.
18:26Yeah.
18:26It's just so charming.
18:28It is charming.
18:29I mean, it reminds me a little bit
18:30of the Lucky Charms stuff when I was a kid.
18:32Like, those commercials are so sad,
18:34and I'm sorry to be...
18:35But it is adorable.
18:36Yeah.
18:37And I do find myself overextending myself
18:39just because they talk that way.
18:41It's really lovely.
18:42I think even when they're a little bit mean,
18:43it sounds lovely.
18:44Yeah, it doesn't matter.
18:45Yeah.
18:45What they're saying is how they say it.
18:46I was with my parents and my brother.
18:48We were in a Dublin taxi.
18:50I've told this story,
18:50but my mom asked a lot of questions
18:52when we're on vacation.
18:53Okay.
18:53And at one point,
18:54my dad was like,
18:54all right, that's enough.
18:55And then she kept asking questions,
18:57and the taxi driver was like,
18:58all right, that's your last question.
19:00Like, even he was like, you know,
19:02and she was like, oh.
19:04Yeah, it's adorable.
19:05Like, if my dad had said that,
19:07open the door, walk back to the hotel.
19:09Of course.
19:09So, Stephen Conrad,
19:11we're talking backstage.
19:11This is the creator of your new show.
19:14He's a real, unique, awesome voice,
19:16and it's very different
19:18than sort of the giant
19:19and incredibly popular things
19:21you've been doing recently,
19:21but this is a completely different thing.
19:23Are you so excited to be working on it?
19:25Yeah.
19:25I mean, I've been with this thing.
19:27You know, I met with Steve
19:28like three and a half years ago,
19:30and we started talking about this thing,
19:31and I think the thing was,
19:32you know, I've been dealing
19:33with a lot of teaching kids
19:35how to deal with a lot of negative things
19:39in the world, like Vecna.
19:41Yeah.
19:42And, like, Dr. Doom.
19:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:44Things like that.
19:45They're, like, basically PSAs
19:46for, like, young children.
19:48Yeah, exactly.
19:48And so I wanted to take on middle age.
19:50Yeah.
19:51You know, which is the real villain.
19:52Yeah.
19:53And something that we'll encounter.
19:55It's the villain they don't think about.
19:56Exactly.
19:56It sneaks up on you.
19:58You'll be begging for Vecna.
19:59Yes.
20:00Exactly.
20:01You'll be begging for it.
20:02That's exactly right.
20:04So now, I'll use the transition for middle age.
20:06You are, and I want to make sure,
20:07so you're doing a lot of belly work in this show.
20:10And you're showing it off.
20:12You're shirtless a lot.
20:13I do a lot of belly work.
20:15Oh, please.
20:16Oh, please, look at this.
20:17Now, that's wonderful.
20:20But one thing...
20:23Okay, it's robust.
20:24This is a very supportive audience.
20:25Very supportive audience.
20:27But now, you do want to...
20:29You've gone out of your way to clear up the record.
20:31This is also a prosthetic belly.
20:32That is true.
20:33This is not my actual belly.
20:35Yeah.
20:36See, they're so dis...
20:37They've been lied to.
20:38I know.
20:38You feel manipulated and betrayed.
20:40I understand.
20:42It's so close to my actual belly
20:45that I don't need to be wearing a prosthetic at all.
20:49But they asked me to gain, like, 11 pounds,
20:53and I was like, no.
20:55I have to be ripped.
20:58And so I chose to wear a prosthetic belly.
21:01It's fantastic.
21:02I mean, the guys did an amazing job.
21:05But underneath that belly is basically the same thing,
21:08just 11 pounds less of it.
21:10It's like you wearing a David Harbour Halloween mask.
21:13That's correct.
21:14That's correct.
21:15But you...
21:16This is the video.
21:17This is how you proved to the world
21:18that it was a prosthetic belly,
21:20lest there were any doubters out there.
21:21Can we just show it real quick?
21:22Oh, yeah.
21:22Sure.
21:33Now...
21:34You know what worries me?
21:40You know what that's like after a long day at work, too?
21:44All sweaty and airy and peeling that thing back.
21:47It's lovely.
21:48You know what bums me out is everybody was repulsed,
21:50and I'm sure there's one person in America right now
21:51who's like, oh, I like that.
21:55He's like, I might get that one on the old VHS
21:58and save that one.
22:02There's a moment.
22:03Linda Cardellini, the great Linda Cardellini,
22:05is in the show,
22:06and this is a great moment
22:07where she, as your wife, is realizing,
22:10look at your bellies on the celery.
22:13She's just gone grocery shopping.
22:15This is not the face of a happily married woman.
22:17Yeah.
22:18It's a tough marriage.
22:19This is funny, though.
22:21This particular scene, you know,
22:22a buddy of mine watched the show
22:24and texted me and said,
22:26I was wondering throughout the show
22:29whether or not it was your real belly,
22:31whether or not you gained weight,
22:32or whether it was a prosthetic,
22:33and then I saw that celery scene,
22:35and I realized you just got fat.
22:38And I was like, no, man, it's a prosthetic.
22:40It's 11 pounds of rubber right there.
22:43Do you at least feel the responsibility
22:45to tell the makeup team after you get a text like that?
22:47Like, FYI, it's so good.
22:49You did a great job.
22:50People are like, hey, you've got to stop.
22:53You've got to cool it with the calories, Harbor.
22:56It sits so nicely on the celery.
22:58It really does.
22:59To watch that scene, it just bounces on the celery
23:01in such an organic way.
23:04That's not what they mean by organic vegetables.
23:07I know, no.
23:08I have a lot more to ask you.
23:10Stick around.
23:10We'll be back with more David after this.
23:24We bought, like, a three-month dance pack,
23:26and then he didn't even go, like, not even once.
23:29But I didn't want it to be a thing
23:30where he felt like he had disappointed us
23:32because we'd paid all that money, so I went.
23:34Oh.
23:35I'm, uh, I sign.
23:36I do the big stage at the 314 Fest every summer,
23:40the big, like, R&B hip-hop stage,
23:42and, you know, they just want me to sign the lyrics,
23:44but I wanted to give the deaf audience, like,
23:46a richer experience.
23:47Oh.
23:47So I wanted to link the lyrics to, like, a rhythm and groove.
23:51And I got really into it.
23:54Wow.
23:54And then I renewed the pack.
23:57Oh, for you.
23:58Yeah.
23:59We're back, and we're here with David Harden.
24:02That was a clip from DDS St. Louis.
24:05This is a show about male friendship.
24:08You and Jason Bateman play a couple of guys who connect.
24:12And it's very sweet, and I feel like maybe a lot of women
24:15would observe that men at any point in their life
24:18sort of connect over very childish things.
24:21Like, you guys spend a lot of time, like,
24:22on swing sets in the show, riding bikes.
24:25We ride bikes, recumbent bikes.
24:27Yeah.
24:28We play Speed Cornhole.
24:33We do some hip-hop dancing together.
24:36Do you feel, while making the show,
24:38do you ever feel like, you know what,
24:39I wish that I was just, like, in real life
24:41doing this stuff with Jason Bateman?
24:42For sure.
24:43I would have literal days on set
24:45where I couldn't believe this thing
24:46that would well up inside me of, like...
24:49I mean, it is very hard as, like, a 50-year-old man
24:51to make...
24:52I don't know.
24:53I find it hard.
24:54Maybe it's not hard for other 50-year-old heterosexual men,
24:56but, like, it's hard to make a new friend.
24:59Yeah.
24:59To feel like, you know, people already have lives,
25:01and they whatever.
25:02And then Jason and I, we had never really met,
25:04and then we got together on the show.
25:05We started working together,
25:06and I just, like, loved him so much.
25:08Yeah.
25:08He's such a strange, unique individual.
25:12And I really, yeah, wanted to be friends with him.
25:15So the whole shoot was just trying to, you know,
25:18have a chance to have dinner or something.
25:19Yeah.
25:21You play a sign language specialist in the show.
25:24That is correct.
25:24That is, you know, that's a high bar,
25:26because now you were, you know,
25:28you have to take it serious.
25:28Did you know any sign language coming into it?
25:30I knew three curse words from high school.
25:33Okay, gotcha.
25:34But then I worked with a sign language person
25:38on, like, the basics and phrases and things like that.
25:41And then I worked with somebody who does sign language
25:43for, like, the news.
25:45Right.
25:45And sign language for concerts,
25:48because there's a moment when Floyd signs at a concert.
25:54And I wanted that to be,
25:56if you've seen these videos of these viral,
25:58you know, people going crazy.
25:59They're fantastic.
26:00They're fantastic.
26:01Well, because they have to, like,
26:02because they really do, like, bring the music
26:04to what they're doing.
26:05Yeah, and you have to know what you're doing
26:07and have a facility with it.
26:08So I worked really, really hard on it.
26:10And it is very, very challenging sign language.
26:13Do they, I mean, the instructors
26:14who are giving you, you know, this guidance,
26:17they obviously want it to look good on camera.
26:20Are they harsh in their judgment of you early on?
26:24Are they like, you're not close yet, David?
26:26Yes.
26:26Yeah.
26:27And even when you're doing it, too,
26:29like, you'll, you know, you'll do takes,
26:31and then they'll come up and be like,
26:33no, terrible.
26:33We're going to go back.
26:34We're going to go again.
26:35Worse than, you know, the hardest director.
26:37No, they're terrific, though,
26:39because they, you know, they,
26:40I want to be as respectful as I can
26:42to that entire community.
26:43Yeah, of course.
26:44So I was, I really appreciated it.
26:46Everybody poured so much heart into it,
26:48and it was just, it was just a joy
26:50to sort of get to explore some of that world.
26:52You have also taken on, I mean,
26:53I think probably level of difficulty,
26:56you know, American Sign Language
26:57is the most difficult,
26:57but you also have attempted a Boston accent
27:00for not being a person from Boston.
27:01Now, attempted makes it sound judgmental,
27:03because you were in The Equalizer,
27:06and you played a Boston guy.
27:07Now, you know that, like,
27:08those of us from Boston are,
27:09you think, you think the Sign Language community
27:12is hard on people.
27:14Do you feel like after you did it,
27:16did you, did you get any pushback?
27:17Because I thought it was good.
27:21I don't believe it.
27:22No.
27:23I don't believe that read.
27:24Take it again.
27:25Take it again.
27:28Wait, wait, wait.
27:30So, yeah, so how did I do?
27:31I thought it was great.
27:34The look at the end, horrible.
27:36But up to that point, well done.
27:37We'll cut to you.
27:37We'll cut to you, yeah.
27:38Okay, okay, good.
27:39But let's let them decide.
27:40Here we go.
27:41Oh, boy.
27:42Hey, yeah, wait a second, Mr. Sunshine.
27:44Um, what do I look like to you?
27:46A chauffeur?
27:51This is our town.
27:53You're a guest.
27:54It's really good.
27:56Wait, I'm so mad.
28:00You know what the key is, though?
28:01You know the key to the Boston accent?
28:03It's simple.
28:04Yeah.
28:04It's just every time you feel a little nervous,
28:06you just throw in the F word.
28:07Yeah.
28:08It's just F-bomb.
28:08It also helps to put a gun on the table.
28:10There you go, dude.
28:11There you go.
28:11I'm so bummed when we played it,
28:13I was so bummed that I didn't think ahead
28:14and record myself going like,
28:15Hey there, mister.
28:18Hey there, mister.
28:19You're in Boston now, buddy boy.
28:21Yeah, I got a gun.
28:23Yeah.
28:23There we go.
28:26Hey, it's always so great to see you.
28:28Congrats on the show.
28:29You're the best.
28:30Thank you, buddy.
28:31David, I'm a new episode of DPS,
28:34St. Louis.
28:34They're Sundays on HBO,
28:36streaming on HBO Max.
28:37Stick around to your head.
28:38Thanks, Cameron.
28:38That's all.
28:53Our next guest, a very talented actor,
28:55writer, filmmaker, and Tony winner.
28:57You know, he's the original star of Hedwig
28:59and the Angry Inch as well as shows like Shrill
29:02and Joe vs. Carol.
29:04He's starring in O'Mary at the Lyceum Theater on Broadway.
29:06Please welcome to the show my friend
29:08John Cameron Mitchell, everybody.
29:21Hello, friend.
29:23How are you?
29:24I just moved through a space
29:25that was probably a band.
29:27Oh, yeah.
29:28There used to be a band here,
29:29and now it's just a walkway.
29:33Now, this is very exciting.
29:35This is an 11-year gap between Broadway shows for you.
29:38Yes.
29:39You were doing Hedwig on Broadway 11 years ago,
29:41and now you were doing O'Mary.
29:42And how is the return to the Broadway grind treating you?
29:46Well, as the oldest Mary.
29:48Yes.
29:49You were the seventh Mary in this show,
29:51and you were the oldest.
29:53The oldest Mary.
29:53It's a new administration,
29:55and I will be turning 63 during the run.
30:00Wow.
30:02Wow.
30:04Oh, there it is.
30:06I mean, come on.
30:08You're stunning for 62.
30:10Stop it.
30:15By the way, you're stunning.
30:16You're stunning for any age.
30:17I'm not going to put any qualifiers on it.
30:19Stay out of the sun, everybody.
30:21So, but it's a grind.
30:23I feel like people do not appreciate
30:25the kind of grind it is.
30:27Well, I mean, Hedwig was harder,
30:29but this is really hard.
30:31Eight shows a week.
30:32Even rock stars come in and go,
30:34Beyonce don't do eight shows a week.
30:36Right.
30:36But it's like, you know,
30:37you got to be a nun,
30:38as Ethel Merman said,
30:40when you do the show.
30:41And so most of my time is lying around,
30:44preparing, resting,
30:45watching reruns of The Wire.
30:47Yeah.
30:47That's a good way to prepare.
30:49And that means, like,
30:50so when the show's over,
30:51I think all of a sudden people think,
30:52like, oh, my God,
30:53everybody probably goes to the bar
30:54and celebrates.
30:55But, yeah, those days are over.
30:56Those are the old days.
30:56That's Patti LuPone.
30:58That's Elaine Stritch.
31:00Yeah, they put that to bed.
31:02Yeah.
31:02But you were talking about rock stars.
31:04You also had another person
31:05who I feel like,
31:06as far as, like,
31:07what I recently seen them do physically,
31:10gold medalist Alyssa Liu came to the show.
31:13Yes.
31:17First of all,
31:18much of an incredible
31:18to meet her in person,
31:19but did she have a take
31:20on what you guys were putting
31:21yourselves through every night?
31:22She said nice hair.
31:24Wow, yeah.
31:25It is nice hair.
31:26You and her, I feel like,
31:27you both see it as a, you know,
31:29as basically a palette.
31:30A palette, a frame.
31:32Yeah.
31:33To our talent.
31:33But, you know,
31:34she doesn't do eight shows either.
31:36Yeah.
31:36That's good.
31:37You know what?
31:37It's time to take her off her high horse.
31:41This is, we mentioned,
31:43you're the seventh Mary.
31:44This is an incredible show
31:45written and originated by Cola Scola.
31:48You play Mary Todd Lincoln.
31:50That's the face of an active alcoholic.
31:52Right there.
31:53You are a frustrated cabaret star.
31:56And it's really,
31:58how did you approach the role?
31:59Especially knowing that others
32:00had approached it.
32:01Well, I saw Jinx Monsoon do,
32:03who I know is on here
32:04and is an old friend
32:05who also played Hedwig.
32:06And I realized
32:07it could be done in different ways.
32:09So you don't want to do
32:10exactly the same
32:10as the great Cola Scola.
32:13So Sam, the director,
32:15really allowed me to make it my own.
32:17And my version was that
32:18she's kind of self-schooled.
32:20She's home-schooled
32:21in a finishing school
32:22and she's failed miserably.
32:23Yeah.
32:25And so she has pretensions
32:27of fanciness
32:28and then just collapsed,
32:29falls in through the cracks.
32:30She's a self-taught idiot.
32:32She's a self-taught,
32:33active alcoholic,
32:36well-elocuted nitwit.
32:38And then I'm just going,
32:40you know, thinking back
32:41to the things that,
32:43not to date you,
32:44but there was something
32:45called Carol Burnett.
32:46There was, right?
32:48And, you know,
32:49I thought, what would...
32:50There's a real, like,
32:51a Carol Burnett,
32:52a color to this show
32:54and costumes.
32:55And the shtick,
32:57the full Pratt Falls.
32:59I mean, Madeleine Kahn
33:00was my comedy idol
33:02of all time.
33:03Yeah.
33:04As good as it gets.
33:06And I actually,
33:08she, you know,
33:09I asked her to be
33:10in the Hedwig film
33:11and she was sick at the time.
33:13And God bless Madeleine Kahn.
33:15But she also had
33:16this weird comic thing
33:17that's like,
33:18what's the least you can do
33:20to get the biggest laugh?
33:21Right.
33:22You know, for her,
33:22it would be one eyebrow,
33:25one tiny...
33:27Whereas someone else
33:28would be,
33:28you know,
33:29trying to get that laugh.
33:29And it's like,
33:30I like the minimal absurdity.
33:34And I do the same
33:35with Mary.
33:36And I feel like
33:38it's very close to Hedwig.
33:40The character's very similar
33:41to Hedwig.
33:42Yes.
33:42Meaning unappreciated,
33:46angry, horrible person
33:47who, you know,
33:50is betrayed by various men
33:51and then makes space
33:53for themselves
33:53to pee on the rest of the world.
33:55Yes.
33:56They're, you know,
33:57they're both outlandish,
33:59boundary pushing.
34:00O'Meary.
34:01Wig wearing.
34:02Yes.
34:03I also heard your aunt,
34:05who's a 91-year-old nun.
34:07Yes.
34:07Came to see O'Meary.
34:08She is my biggest fan.
34:10Fantastic.
34:10Even when my parents
34:11were scared of my very sexual film,
34:13Short Bus,
34:14Sister Terry was right there
34:16in the front row.
34:18And it's like,
34:19Terry, don't go see this.
34:20She goes,
34:21No, Chani,
34:21if your parents are not there for you,
34:23I'm going to.
34:23And she showed up.
34:25I know.
34:27I mean, you know,
34:28the first scene,
34:28somebody themselves.
34:29Um, I said,
34:33I said,
34:33Terry, what did you think?
34:35She goes,
34:35Oh, Chani.
34:36She's from Chicago.
34:38Chani, we come from
34:39such different worlds.
34:44That's the nicest way
34:45to say that.
34:47You mentioned your parents,
34:48though.
34:48Your parents were supportive.
34:49They were.
34:50They were scared
34:51of the sexual side.
34:52Yes.
34:52My dad was a general
34:53in the army.
34:54Yes.
34:54And he was totally cool.
34:55Yesterday was the 12th anniversary
34:57of his passing.
34:59Loved him very much.
35:00Rest in peace.
35:01And he was very proud.
35:02He wanted me to be a general
35:03like him,
35:04but when he saw me directing
35:06Nicole Kidman
35:07in Rabbit Hole,
35:08he's like,
35:09You do what I do.
35:10Yeah.
35:11You know?
35:11Oh, really?
35:12The approach was the same.
35:13Make jokes,
35:14relax everybody,
35:15know everyone's name,
35:16and delegate authority
35:17so you don't have to do anything.
35:19There's a giant plot point
35:20in Hedwig
35:21is the fall of the Berlin Wall.
35:22Yeah.
35:23Your dad was actually with,
35:24when Ronald Reagan,
35:26explain the story of context,
35:27this is your father
35:28right there, right?
35:29Yes.
35:29My dad was the military commander
35:31of Berlin,
35:32the American commander.
35:33So when Reagan was like,
35:35Mr. Gorbachev,
35:36tear down this wall,
35:37my dad was right there going,
35:39Yes, sir.
35:40And then,
35:40and my mother
35:42was behind
35:44Nancy Reagan.
35:45So there's Nancy Reagan,
35:46and there,
35:47so that's your mother.
35:49And my mother's,
35:50she was very funny.
35:51She's like,
35:52Well, you know,
35:53Gorbachev,
35:54all that,
35:54tear down the wall,
35:55but I was pretty much,
35:56Nancy,
35:56tear down this hair.
35:59It is very,
36:00it is very unkind.
36:02It also,
36:02I mean,
36:03it looks like,
36:03I mean,
36:03she looks like the shadow
36:05of Nancy Reagan.
36:07Hedwig.
36:08She never cast a shadow.
36:11This is 25 years,
36:13Hedwig,
36:14the film.
36:15And,
36:17the,
36:18the,
36:19it was originally
36:20an off-Broadway show,
36:21and then,
36:21of course,
36:22years later,
36:22it did find its way
36:23to Broadway.
36:24And,
36:24they weren't,
36:25they weren't ready for us.
36:26It was too radical.
36:27So this is,
36:27and by the way,
36:28it doesn't,
36:28I mean,
36:28it's not a million years ago,
36:29it's just late 90s,
36:30but the show,
36:31would you say,
36:31was the show too gay
36:32for Broadway?
36:33It was,
36:33it was too queer.
36:35It was also the punk rock,
36:36which wasn't on Broadway.
36:38Drag wasn't really on Broadway
36:39at the time,
36:40even though there's nothing
36:41more Broadway than drag.
36:42Of course.
36:43And now we know,
36:45every drag queen from drag race
36:47is now on Broadway.
36:48Yeah.
36:48But at the time,
36:49we did it knowing
36:51that we were not going
36:52to really make any money
36:53on Broadway or even the film.
36:55It would never be up
36:56for an Oscar at that time
36:58because it was a kind
36:59of homophobic,
37:00you know,
37:01vibe.
37:01And,
37:02but it freed us
37:03to make something
37:04we wanted to make,
37:05so we didn't,
37:06we didn't change it
37:07to be more mainstream.
37:08Right.
37:08So it was more itself,
37:10and people had to come to us
37:11rather than us going to them.
37:13And now it's opened
37:15in mainland China.
37:17That's amazing.
37:18You know,
37:19it's all over the world now,
37:20and I can go to any city,
37:22country and meet fans
37:24and people who have played
37:25Hedvig,
37:26and I've done that in Thailand,
37:27Korea, Japan, Australia,
37:29and now Shanghai.
37:31I was like,
37:31have they read it?
37:33It's about someone
37:34escaping communism.
37:37I mean,
37:37it speaks to how good it is,
37:38how good the music is.
37:39They're like,
37:39we don't care.
37:40And the 25th anniversary.
37:4225th anniversary,
37:43which is amazing
37:43in its own right,
37:44but this is even more exciting.
37:47You're doing a movie tour
37:48that you're going to be touring
37:49with the film.
37:51I am.
37:51And doing a Q&A with people
37:53so they can come watch the film.
37:55And are you active
37:56during the showing of the movie?
37:58Sometimes I do
37:59a stoned director's commentary.
38:02Like, live with the movie?
38:04Live on the side of the stage
38:05with a mic
38:06and an edible.
38:08Or a glass of wine.
38:09And then I'm like,
38:11hey, look at that.
38:12Look at the hair
38:13coming out of my nose.
38:14I forgot about that.
38:19We have something in common.
38:20Well, a couple things.
38:21We were both graduates
38:22of Northwestern University.
38:24And we learned our trade.
38:26We learned our trade.
38:27Genuinely, like,
38:28look, I did the improv troupe.
38:29You did the improv troupe.
38:30It's called Meow.
38:31It's very,
38:32certainly there.
38:33It's very well-regarded.
38:34It was life-changing for me.
38:36But you,
38:37I wanted it very badly
38:39the minute I saw it.
38:39You kind of had to be
38:40dragged into it.
38:41I was scared.
38:42I was more of a classical
38:43director, actor,
38:45who refused.
38:45Blind.
38:46Blind.
38:47I would never improvise.
38:49It was all the sacredness
38:51of the word.
38:51And our friend,
38:53Eric Gilliland,
38:54who is showrunner of Roseanne
38:56and a mentor to Cola Scola,
38:58too, who...
38:59Mentor to many.
39:00Mentor to many,
39:02including me,
39:03because he said,
39:04I want you to do
39:04the improv comedy show.
39:05And I'm like,
39:06well, I couldn't possibly.
39:07I'm more of a classical person.
39:09And he,
39:10I did an audition.
39:10And I refused.
39:11And he cast me anyway.
39:13Yeah.
39:14And forced me to improvise,
39:15which led me to the sad
39:18and, you know,
39:20non-lucrative jobs
39:21like Hedwig,
39:24where I did get to improvise
39:26and loosen up
39:28and become a better person.
39:30So Eric,
39:31who sadly passed
39:32about a year and a half ago,
39:33that's the last time
39:34I saw you at his memorial.
39:36And he was a very beloved person,
39:38Eric Gilliland.
39:39Yeah.
39:39Remember that name?
39:39And he laid a...
39:41He, again,
39:42he put his,
39:43he put himself
39:44into a lot of people
39:45who are making great work today.
39:46So we're very lucky
39:47for that much.
39:48It's great to see you.
39:48Congrats on your run.
39:50It's great to have you
39:51back on Broadway.
39:52Don Cameron Mitchell, everybody.
39:53O'Meara is playing
39:54at the Lycian Theatre
39:55on Broadway.
39:56We'll be right back, everybody.
40:07Come join the audience
40:08at Late Night Live
40:09in Studio 8G.
40:10For tickets,
40:11head over to
40:11LateNightSethTickets.com.
40:13Follow us at Late Night Seth
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40:17Subscribe to Late Night Seth
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40:19Find us online
40:20at LateNightSeth.com.
40:22And subscribe to
40:23the Late Night Podcast,
40:24featuring a closer look,
40:25guest interviews, and more.
40:27Available wherever
40:28you listen to podcasts.
40:36I want to thank my guests,
40:38David Harbour,
40:39John Cameron Mitchell.
40:40Thanks for all the watching.
40:41We love you, everybody.
40:55you
40:56you
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