- 6 hours ago
Hot Ones - Season 29 - Episode 11: Oscar Isaac Has Beef With Spicy Wings
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00:00I'm not even focused up here at the moment.
00:02I'm just kind of like, what's happening?
00:05Subtrained.
00:05Lots of plates spinning over here.
00:07Yeah, yeah.
00:14Hey, what's going on, everybody?
00:16For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans,
00:17and you're watching Hot Ones.
00:18It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
00:21And today we're joined by Oscar Isaac.
00:22He's a Golden Globe award-winning actor
00:24whose work spans everything from the Broadway stage
00:26to beloved indie films
00:27to the biggest box office franchises in Hollywood.
00:29You can also catch him starring
00:31in the rage-fueled dark comedy series, Beef,
00:33which returns for its second season
00:34on Netflix, April 16th.
00:36Oscar Isaac, welcome to the show.
00:38Hey, Sean, I'm very delighted to be here.
00:41At least in the beginning.
00:43What's going through your head
00:44as you prepare to take on this gauntlet?
00:46Just surrender.
00:47Just surrendering the war with reality.
00:50I'm here.
00:52I'm ready.
01:15I'm ready.
01:16All right, we're in.
01:19Meow.
01:20OK.
01:22What a little cat.
01:24Garlic delight.
01:33so beef creator lee sungjin says that the second season of the show is about the internal
01:39repression of rage you see in the workplace a different engine from season one's road rage
01:43clash as an actor what's it like to play someone who's constantly suppressing their beef rather
01:49than acting on it yeah it was interesting because i think like i was a couple weeks in
01:54i was finding myself getting really hoarse and i was having trouble getting air out and i was like
01:59i feel like it was just so strangled and so it was manifesting itself as like a very strangled
02:05feeling and that was like not on purpose it just i think was from playing somebody that's being so
02:09squeezed you know sonny's just so great at that humor of people kind of being squeezed and they
02:16make these sounds as you learn which is what life is really life squeezes us and these are the sounds
02:34we make
02:34that's yummy you like that one
02:37i like pickled things so i've heard you describe acting as humiliation management
02:44can you unpackage that
02:49yeah you know it's a that's the that's kind of like the tightrope walk right that's why it's a
02:53little bit of an extreme sport because you put yourself out there there's no separation between
02:58you and the work you know and you arrive in a room with lots of people there's lights on and
03:04expecting you to find some sort of honest moment or whatever that is and but you know i mean they
03:09say
03:09public speaking is people are more afraid of that than death like anything yeah so that's part of
03:14the thing of just like you put yourself out there and and you know some people deal with it by
03:19like
03:19punching themselves in the face before a take and some people want to humiliate themselves more
03:22some people need to control everything and so that for me it gives me a lot of empathy for
03:28the way people need to manage those things to try to arrive to somewhere that's interesting to them
03:32how easy is it for you to switch into iambic pentameter like is there a metronome we were just
03:38talking about iambic pentameter yeah is there like a metronome in your head that you can lock
03:43into to describe hot sauce flavors or is it something that requires a lot of work with the
03:47script i mean a little bit of both but it's we we naturally speak if you speak english you kind
03:51of
03:51naturally speak in iambic pentameter if you start to break it down like you know we naturally speak
03:56in iambic pentameter if you start to break it down you know but up but up you know it just
04:00kind of
04:01keeps going in that way and it's just fun to see if you can force things into that rhythm and
04:06it can
04:06sometimes elicit almost like chris walken-esque readings of things because you're like that
04:13splits right in the middle and you know it's fun
04:15a little sweetness
04:22this is like a lull so i get the guard down
04:26oh before the you're recognizing
04:28you know too much
04:34so and working in the star wars franchise i've heard you say that a tie fighter is more comfortable
04:38than an x-wing from an actor's perspective what is like the difference in those cockpits
04:44the x-wing is a lot tighter i think it was also just the nature of the way we filmed
04:48those scenes
04:49because uh especially on the first one it was outside on a gimbal and so you know i'd be kind
04:58of squashed into this x-wing like the sun bearing down and like the cameras kind of they're like
05:03really high up and uh and that was just it was really intense and they're screaming like okay look
05:10left look great he's like all right the guy just died be afraid but not too afraid be heroically
05:15afraid you know so and i'm just kind of like moving on this like on this horrible ride uh and
05:21then the x the tie fighter there were you know the way we shot that they'd kind of made a
05:26lot more room
05:27in it so the camera could go around and i'm back to back with uh boyega on that one and
05:31that was
05:32actually it was like one of the first things that we shot and and i just remember the whole thing
05:35being a bit lighter so in my mind tie fighters are the way to go
05:44which one is the smokey dragon
05:48edgy or edgy yeah we're getting edgy over here getting dangerous
05:55right so when you have a particularly critical or taxing scene circled on the script like for
06:02example victor frankenstein's deathbed what is the day like and the build up to it like is it
06:07different from other days on the call sheet or more similar than one would think yeah it's an
06:12interesting one that you bring up that day i spent it you know i was like i want to focus
06:16i'm not going
06:16to really you know expend a lot of energy i kind of want to just maintain myself in a state
06:20of as much
06:21relaxation as i can be so that i'm available for stuff to come up and i listen to my sad
06:26sack music
06:27and i you know looked at pictures of people that have passed and people that mean something to me
06:32when i was at someone's deathbed you know just kind of bringing up some of those things and i went
06:36in
06:36and we shot the scene and it was five or six takes and caramel was very happy with it felt
06:44everyone
06:44felt really good there were some tears in the crew it's like we got it great and then the way
06:49that
06:49yermo edits he's kind of quilting the movie as it goes he's got like a pretty full edit with music
06:54on it
06:55the very next day which is kind of terrifying but he's like you want to see it you want to
06:59see it
06:59and i'm like okay and i was like and i i watched it and i just was like was that
07:05take four that we
07:06used he's like yeah that was take four i was like i don't know if that was take four he's
07:09like it's
07:09take four and then we looked and it wasn't take four it was like it wasn't the right take but
07:13then
07:13i saw the take and it wasn't that much better either and i was like all right and i was
07:16sitting
07:17down we were gonna shoot an insert and then he's like he comes and sits next to me he's like
07:20what's
07:20matter i was like well you know i'm i'm feeling a little i'm feeling a little insecure and he's
07:25like well you are an actor and i was like no no i know i know but i just feel
07:28like maybe i should
07:29have like looked up and said you know i'm sorry or i shouldn't he's like no no those are all
07:32ideas
07:32you know you were really in it and and i i my spidey sense says that it's great and then
07:37he's like
07:38go take a break and we're gonna shoot this insert and i went to my trailer and i just relaxed
07:41and i
07:41made a phone call or whatever and forgot everything and came back in and he was set up for something
07:46else i was like what's this like we're gonna do it again we're gonna do your close-up again
07:48i was like wait he's like you know if nothing comes then i'll just make fun of you for the
07:52rest
07:52of your life and so i didn't have time to like listen to anything or think of anybody or you
07:57know
07:57and we just did it and a lot of different things came out and that's what ended up being in
08:03the movie
08:03so you know it's it's one of those funny things where you try to control it and it's not totally
08:10up
08:10to you how it comes out you know and it's usually better when you get out of the way
08:19i love you amario i feel i think i'm good so far so far so good i'm all right if
08:26you're all right
08:26yeah is it true that your costume in x-men apocalypse was so heavy and claustrophobic that
08:32you'd have to retreat to a cooling tent in between takes i would i would i did the i one
08:38of the big
08:38reasons i did the job i was like fassbender jennifer lawrence and mcavoy and all these amazing actors
08:43yeah and then i never saw any of them because i was so overheated and like i couldn't turn so
08:48i just
08:48got put in this cooling tent and sometimes someone would come by and be like hey oscar you know and
08:53by the time i turned around they were gone already so it was uh it was a very challenging uh
08:59it was very
08:59challenging but i'm thankful for the cooling tent is it true that your uncle a huge star wars fan
09:06brought custom shirts for the cast when he visited the set a gesture that moved jj abrams to make him
09:11an extra in the film he did my uncle my uncle he had made these star wars shirts and he
09:18he was such a
09:19such a huge huge fan and and a collector and actually speaking about shirts i'm wearing this shirt which
09:25is hidden temple toys which um my dear cousin ed and his wife jen they have this collectibles toy shop
09:33in selma north carolina and sadly my cousin last month lost his life in a car accident and he was
09:42like an amazing superhero of a human you know and i do believe you are what you love and he
09:48really loved
09:48superheroes and he loved collectibles and uh and he was just like a protector of of people that are
09:55less fortunate and people that are vulnerable and like a beautiful beautiful man so and he was always
09:59like oscar you gotta do hot ones you gotta do hot ones man i was like i don't know man
10:03i don't know
10:03if i can handle it he's like you gotta do it man don't be a pussy and uh and so
10:07you know to get to
10:08be here and i was like all right i'm taking you with me ed i love that and thank you
10:12ed for the referral
10:13by the way yeah okay how we doing do you know that sounds like just don't embarrass me dad please
10:23don't embarrass me all right so this one is called homegrown hell here okay six spot
10:32and these are the ones for the season because you change them every season right
10:35so you're you're getting used to these a little bit now yeah this is the second to last shoot of
10:39this season so about to say goodbye all right actually to this lineup right here so savoring every
10:45last drop oh i've got it you know it's always so sad to say goodbye to these ones but there's
10:50no
10:50color changing at all on the lips i mean you've got you got it down i'm practiced you know i
10:55put my
10:5510 000 hours in at this good well we all gotta be good at something that's true this is what
10:59i got
11:02which theater was more essential in your journey as an actor the coconut grove playhouse or the old
11:08area stage theater oh wow that's a that's a very sweet question um without a doubt area stage i
11:15love that coconut grove was just always such a staple there which has since is gone uh but area
11:20stage john rodez and maria rodez um i remember that was the first time i even saw uh a play
11:28that wasn't
11:28like a musical or anything straight play a friend took me and i watched uh i saw oleana david man
11:35it's
11:35oleana i just my mind was blown i was 17 and i waited afterwards to like meet the artistic director
11:40i was
11:41like to work with you sir and uh and then a about a year later i auditioned for like an
11:46original play
11:47and i i did that and i got i got to do that play and i became really close with
11:51john he became a mentor
11:52to me and we did quite a few plays after that together and um that's where the first domino
11:58fell yeah yeah we keep in touch and he came up to see me do a play the last play
12:02i did a couple
12:03years ago and yeah and they have an acting school down in miami okay now we're getting silly right
12:22yeah i mean i guess i'm pretty numbed out already so good place to be on this i'm not feeling
12:28too many
12:29sharp hits but i see what's coming for me i just feel this one in my chest you know i
12:33was gonna say
12:34it's staying neck up for me right now but uh we'll see what happens later in the day yeah hopefully
12:38we
12:39can catch the same wavelength at some point over here so you've collected the infinity stones of a-list
12:44directors from the coen brothers to ridley scott to guillermo del toro and that's kind of just
12:50scratching the surface yeah yeah starting to come it's waving and saying hello hello i'm here of the
12:56directors you've worked with which one would you say requires the fewest number of takes in aggregate
13:00before moving on to the next scene oh that was paul schrader it was like one two max
13:07soderbergh as well i mean that was like one of my very first things i ever did and he just
13:11he's
13:11editing it in his head so much that he knows exactly the snippet that he needs i remember i
13:16was i remember following benicio who did a movie called che che bar and i was following him into the
13:20united nations and i think he there was someone behind me he goes in the door kind of hits me
13:26and
13:26then i keep going then someone else literally like falls and gets stuck in it and i keep going and
13:29he's like moving on and i was like did you see that he's like yeah yeah yeah anyway next thing
13:34you
13:34know so that i was you just never know what's going on in there is it true that you and
13:38director alex
13:39gardland debated what the robot's private parts should be called in ex machina and if so
13:44do you remember how you landed where you landed yeah this so this is my dad my dad's a doctor
13:50and uh i you know it's an incredible script it's so amazing and i showed it to him and he's
13:55like
13:55i don't buy it and i was like like the whole thing he's like yeah i was like why he's
14:00like
14:00and it was just because of this he's like you wouldn't call it an uh you wouldn't call it a
14:05cavity
14:06and he's like he's like ew you wouldn't call it a cavity i'm like what do you mean he's like
14:10it's an ore of a cavity is like a cavity too you know you'd call it a an orifice or
14:15uh
14:16yeah and i was like all right dad and if i if what if if i change that then it's
14:20awesome he's
14:20like yeah and so i think we went with orifice hole i don't know i don't know what we went
14:27with
14:27i'm not sure but it was as long as it wasn't as long as it wasn't cavity and you know
14:32speaking
14:32of cavities mine are kind of lighting up right yeah yeah yeah but not enough to stop me yeah i
14:37feel
14:37like this it'll change the situation and then i won't be able to recover so i'm gonna i'm holding
14:42off as long as i can all right then i will too we'll see if we can hold off after
14:46this one all
14:47right this is the bomb beyond insanity yep and this has not changed at all no you talked about out
14:53with
14:53the old and with the new except for this one which always holds down or the ingredients or the style
14:58it's always the same exactly every single time it's our control in the experiment
15:10that's so gross
15:16looking over can we get a thumbs up there it is
15:22yeah okay okay okay so you've been an incredibly prolific actor over the last couple of decades
15:29stacking up dozens and dozens of credits along the way so what i want to do here is test your
15:35recall
15:35what i'm going to do is i'm going to give you the tagline to an oscar isaac film and then
15:40i'm going to
15:40challenge you to try to connect the tagline to the name of the movie if you're ready what's that
15:48to erase the line between man and machine is to obscure the line between man and gods totally
15:55do you know which oscar is a movie
16:00um i said that no it's a tagline in a movie it's a tagline a movie that i was in
16:05yeah
16:06yeah give it to me one more time yep to erase the line between man and machine is to obscure
16:12the
16:12line between man and gods a little wordy um i'm smart enough bing bing bing bing bing one for one
16:21that was good that was good how about this one new york city 1981 a dangerous place to build an
16:27empire right that was you were using the context clues right there they'll get harder they'll get harder
16:34let the past die right kill it if you have to yeah um let the past die kill it if
16:43you have to
16:44want to go back in time it's gotta be like a something about uh going back going
16:50to the past can you one more time with it let the past die kill it if you have to
16:57apocalypse is x-men it's the last
17:00time oh i'm sorry i don't know i'm sorry make no apologies make no apologies you seem so disappointed
17:10beyond that would sit beyond fear destiny awaits it begins
17:16doom there you go yeah no fear back on the office only monsters play god frankenstein there you go
17:24he's playing the hand he was dealt um uh card counter you are doing great using the context here
17:34how about this warrior hero the untold story of the man behind the legend the man behind the legend
17:43that what's this what is the man behind the legend it's a legendary man did i do a legend it's
17:53an
17:54robin hood a legend oh god yeah i'm just thinking about myself you know i'm just thinking about
18:01i'm just up in here too much right now i get it one last one it's about others it's about
18:05serving
18:05others it's russell crowe he's the legend every couple meets their match every couple meets their match
18:16is this the beef 10 one what a pro i mean i haven't seen it bro all right i mean
18:21all right two
18:23i got two six out of eight is good on the show it's a recurring game that we play all
18:27right and
18:28you're does it mean i'm just like so egotistical and i just i just know them like i got this
18:33but you
18:33know what the work paid off good good as long as it paid off are you ready to move on
18:41here to
18:41it's already ready ready so up next is a squash reaper x sauce okay you're in the night spot okay
18:48baby okay i'm just trying not to shit my pants right now i feel like that's the feeling that i'm
19:02having so i'm not even focused it's the plight of every hot one's kind of like what's happening
19:08subterranean lots of plates spinning over yeah yeah yeah there's some techno tectonic shifts can
19:13you give us one highlight and one low light of having a cat as a co-star like what are
19:17the pitfalls
19:18and what are the rewards of sharing so many scenes with an orange tabby for inside lewin davis most of
19:24pitfalls yeah i'd imagine um there was uh like six different cats that all had different skills sets
19:33or just what you know we're just naturally areas of specialization exactly like this one is basically
19:38kind of dead so just uh if you just needed to docile cat yeah and then but the one that
19:44they'd
19:44often give me was like the more feral one uh and they would tie it they would tie it to
19:49me with like
19:49this wire so that if it did run out it wouldn't get away and i had to run down the
19:54steps to try to
19:56catch a sub the subway and almost every time it would jump and then because it couldn't get away
20:03get really pissed at me and then just attack my legs and you're tethered so you can't even
20:08i couldn't get away we're both like that yeah that was uh that was awful and be careful around your
20:14eyes
20:14um and uh yeah the uh the animal trainers god bless them seem to be more like animal agitators
20:23they would like get them really nervous and then give them to me you know uh so that was that
20:27was
20:28tough but we got through all right oscar okay you know the you know the drill i do
20:43okay vamos all right let's see how you do a little
20:46little dip okay and with that salute salute
20:57and this is like the millions and the millions up there we're up in the clouds
21:02but the good news is the wings of death are behind us you have conquered the hot ones gauntlet and
21:12to
21:12close things out it's been such a remarkable journey through your acting career through the
21:17spice but to close things out i want to bring it full circle your high school yearbook quote was i
21:23like to be different and i'm into the arts when you look at me you can tell how accurate is
21:29that to
21:30the oscar of 2026 like does that yearbook quote i mean let's just hear it again i just gotta hear
21:36it again
21:36sure it's i like to be different i'm into the arts when you look at me you can tell
21:42does that hold up 25 years later i mean look at me you can tell when i look i'm into
21:48the arts
21:51the dark arts
21:53and you know what you've conquered the dark arts of spice today and now there's nothing left to do but
22:00roll out the red carpet for you this camera this camera this camera let the people know what you
22:04have going on in your life beef season two no beef season two uh april 16th this guy's good
22:16you're really good april 16th like sean said beef season two it's uh it's gonna be good and uh you
22:25can tell when you look at my eyes it's good that's the guy who's into the arts yeah this guy's
22:30in the
22:30arts he knows he knows what's good sweet man i did ask for the bad bunny of the coconut ice
22:44cream
22:44oh when i saw that i'm like that's my jam we do have that i heard hold on and we're
22:50quick on the draw
22:50or at least i think i've earned it i think i've earned the uh yeah you've earned this
23:08you didn't have to i gotta eat some of yours now yeah for that you gotta give me some of
23:14your
23:14the plot there we go great job great job thanks buddy hey what's going on hot ones fans you know
23:28you can catch me every thursday interviewing celebrities over the wings of death but if
23:33you're looking for a little more scoville-laced action tune in tuesdays for hot ones versus it's
23:38the show where celebrities go head to head they either tell the truth or suffer the wrath of the
23:43last dab so tune in tuesdays for a front row seat to the fiery fights and celebrity clashes that's hot
23:49ones versus tuesdays on first we feast don't miss it
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