Hank Azaria Talks Conan, Walken, Pitt, and Springsteen

My agent forbade me from doing. Oh really? This is where the question for you comes like, you don't want to do that. It's crazy over there. You're going to enter a situation that is crazy political and you're going to be like a lamb at the slaughter in there. I wanted to act, not just because I enjoyed the voices like we were talking about earlier, but it was a deeper, darker, like, I really wasn't too comfortable being myself. I preferred being other people. And so to get up and voice whole thing was, if you want to really act well on stage or film or TV, you have to be going to expose yourself, like really be yourself in front of people, which I absolutely could not do. I couldn't do it. I showed my 16 year old son, the godfather, for the first time. So I've been working on my video calling on the profession. Oh good. It's good for disciplining people. His name is Halsey. Halvathorin, come over here. Hanka's area. Hanka's area is in most things you see. He's in a lot of movies, a lot of TV shows. And of course, he's the full course, the full Monty of 800 episodes of The Simpsons. He's in each and every one. He's very good. He did a show, Brock Meyer, that was very well received. He's been in and out. I've seen him over the years. What a cool dude. And what a great time we had just blowing it up with him. Yeah. He's got a great ear and he just throws his voices out. And it's from some of his characters. It's really fun to watch. Oh yeah, I did a lot of impressions. Yeah, impressions too. We'll get into the old timey impressions. Oh yeah, that's right. I'll just say two words for you people who were born in the 50s. Boris Karloff. Oh, that's right. That's right. All right, well, have a good time with them. You'll have some laughs. Hank Azaria. Hello, I got pitched a script once where it was, I think it was a Japanese woman who was a thought that maybe I was her dad in the script. I like that. In the script? The script. She was seeking me and thought maybe I was her dad. I don't know. We should roll because I have a story along. We are officially. Once I pop on, it's on. We were riveting. We had some pretty cool stuff going. I know. I'm like, I don't feel bad. They're going to waste it. But I think we're still locked and loaded. Hank. Hello, gentlemen. Thanks for coming on our show. We're really happy to see you. I feel like you're a brother for me. I apologize. I apologize. I'm going to interrupt you. My brother from another mother. Because when I hear you and I see you do these things and you inhabit them and I just totally relate to how much fun it is. And that certain voices make you really happy. More than other voices. Yes. That's a tremendous compliment coming from you. And yeah, I'm going to say thank you. I'm going to say thank you. I'm going to say thank you. I'm going to say thank you. I'm going to say thank you. And yeah, I know you. I've enjoyed your voices a lot over the years. Thank you. Yeah. Incredible. What about this voice? That's a good voice. That leaves you in a sword. David, we used to run into each other a lot back in the day. And he used to say to me. Please don't think funny. He used to say to me, hey. Hey, can I do voices on the Simpsons? Listen. Beep beep beep beep beep beep. That's good. That's good. You need that. By the way, what a dumb thing to say to the guy. Everyone's like, can I have you on that? I don't think you really would be. I think I was kidding. I think you were just having a little fun. Even though the Simpsons is still on. I don't know if you know this. Still on. I knew that. Right. And still funny. That's the hardest part. The writers do an amazing job. They really do. I don't know where they reach for some strange storylines these days. But you can't blame them after like 800 episodes. I think when Cohen and left, I think he was secretly hoping it would all collapse. That was the craziest thing. Like, that he left to host a late night talk show. I mean, he had never even done stand-up. You know, it was pretty out of the blue. Even though we knew him, we knew he was funny, but for Lorne and like, who's it going to be? And Cohen and to have it work. Yeah. Who was the head of NBC that just decided? Was it Warren Littlefield? I was very excited about it. Yeah. It wasn't Tartarsos. He was gone. Brandon Tartarsos. Brandon Tartarsos. Yeah, that. I know. That was his birth name. They covered it up. Fun fact. But yeah, Conan and I were writing Hans and Franz the Girlie Mandelma, a movie, and they were considering me to do that job. And I was completely conflicted, you know, at that time. And then when Conan got it, because you hung out with him enough, it kind of made sense. And then, you know what I mean? Yeah. He was the only writer at The Simpsons that would like sort of work the room with the voice act. Like, you know, you knew Conan was hilarious. Was the other guys that was sort of a Harvard hasty putting, you know, almost MIT vibe to approach things? Kind of slightly tortured. Yeah. Yeah. Sort of on the spectrum. Me and, you know, but Conan was just hilarious. But remember, do you guys know Jay Cogan? Remember Jay Cogan? Was he on SNL for a while? Or there were a couple that came from SNL, George. George Meier. George Meier, yeah. Which Robert Spiegel used to say, because George was very hard on the show itself. I was there my first year. And so he would kind of go around, kind of as a joke and go, show, dine. You know that? That became famous. We knew that at The Simpsons. Oh, it matriculated over there. Yeah, I think there were another couple of SNL writers that came to The Simpsons and they sort of, they busted George on that. Yeah. And we would be picked it up as sort of a catchphrase. Show dying. Farewell show. So long. Conan get up and act out like the voices or does he just pitch ideas? He wouldn't do, he's not a voice guy really, but no, he would just, neither, he would just kind of break into comedy. You know, while we were recording, he just would just be hilarious. Now, it's wait. He would violently convulse. I mean, Conan would be standing there and he's just doing, and he's like, yeah, I'd be like, the guy's like, what? You know, it's like a sudden convulsion. He would snap his head a little bit like that. Yeah, yeah. Was it from SNL to The Simpsons or the other way around? I think Conan, is SNL to The Simpsons for Conan? Because then I think he went straight from The Simpsons to his late night show. Oh, yeah. But Conan would do things like, maybe, would he do this at SNL? He would just kind of yell out non sequiturs. Sure. In the writer's room. And then they would actually, then he'd like, it was like a game to turn it into an actual bit. Like he kept saying, jump jump, jump jump. What are you saying? And he just would say, and then that became like the name of Patty and Selma's pet lizard or something. He just would like free associate and turn them into bits. Yeah, he'd grab me and go, what do you think you're doing on the side of the show? Like, you know, everything was like bits and stuff, you know? But it was funny because also I was new and he knew he could push me around. Did he? Did he, was he? Well, it's 6'6", 225. He could push a lot of things. Yeah, he'd pick 12, 103. He's just under seven feet, 302. Well, that brings me to actually a question I want to ask you guys. Please, we love questions. See, I really do admire you both very much. And I love SNL, you know, I think I was 11 in 1975 when SNL premiered. Yes, yeah. And it premiered very close to when PBS first aired Monty Python as well. We were like right next to each other. And then we had a lot of people that were like, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. We were like two when PBS first aired Monty Python as well. We were like right next to each other. Yep. I remember that whole era, those two. Yes. And it's, which totally blew my mind. I couldn't believe adults could be that silly and smart and funny. Like gave me hope for the world, literally those two shows. And so, you know, SNL to me, it still has this like mythic, it's the apex of comedy to me. And you know always wanted a I never auditioned. I don't know why I never got myself together to do it. I think partly it's because I didn't start writing until much too late into my life you know like figure it out. And then I was dying to host like I was supposed to host at this NBC show a long time ago and then the show got cancelled like right away. And I was like I was I do these charity poker things sometimes and I was playing in a game at the table was like Brian Cranston and John Hamm and Amy Schumer and Don Cheadle and I can't remember who else and they're all talking about they're all trading stores but when they hosted SNL and after about 10 minutes I went yeah I think I'm the only one here that's never hosted the show. And so then for the rest of the game every time I lost the hand it was maybe if you'd hosted that hand might have gone better for you. But then there was a time when I was. That was John Hamm right. That was Hamm. Yeah because that's his sense of humor. Everybody happily joined in on it. But then there was a time when I was like in my mid 30s I was like you know what I want to like go back I'm an audition I'm just going to get my shit together. I don't hold but I'm going to just get my shit together and audition. And my agent forbade me from doing. Oh really? This is a question for you because like you don't want to do that. It's crazy over there. You're going to enter a situation that is crazy political and you're going to be like a lamb at the slaughter in there and. You know was that around the Chris Alley years? Janine Garofalo. I wonder when it would be because. Would it be 90? Would it be the rep of like I might have been there. It was like 2000, 2001, 2002 in there. Okay so Will Ferrell had arrived and was about to exit I guess. Well was it as hard as all that you do hear stories about how it could be really rough? Yeah I would just say it all depends I mean I think if your skill set seems perfectly adapted for it. So it's kind of like it's still based on characters, reoccurring characters, voices, you know so I don't know. It would be very interesting to see you host it. I put you on the cast now. I mean you know there is no. Let's say what this is about for me if you can make a couple of calls I would highly appreciate it. Casts would be fun for you hosting would be fun also but. Lauren what are you doing? Oh I'm just looking at the list of show folk that the ones that got away. Hank, Azaria, never just really really like really wanted him but his agent didn't want him to out. Cockblock me. Cockblock me. No I never got that far. Up next it's Red Flair and his new band. Dropping hits every week. Find the new slots. 18 plus be gamblerware. That's right. Hi everybody I'm Maury Povich on my podcast on par with Maury Povich. I'm going to sit down with the icons, the stars and the faces at the very center of today's big cultural moments with everyone from comedians Josh Johnson, Dan Soder, Leanne Morgan, to newsmakers Don Lemon, Joy Reid, Aaron Parness and so many more. So join me for new episodes every week because nothing is off limits. Great conversations. They're always on par. Follow and listen to On Par with Maury Povich wherever you get your podcasts. 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So and they did they had set it up and then it got cancelled like it was one of those in the eight seven they aired two and goodbye. I did an animated show for NBC and they said Dana's buddy Brad Gray made a deal to put on NBC and I'm like this is about a deadbeat dad. It's not like a family show. It's a cartoon. It's weird. I said maybe it's more for HBO and they're like he goes no I got a deal with NBC. We'll do it. So it like helped him in a weird way. Meanwhile NBC was like this isn't really a family show. They called me ahead of time. It's airing in July. We're going to air two episodes back to back and cancel it. I was like that that kills it. They're like it won't anyway so two and out and I was like oh my god. I've had two of those two almost exactly. Everything I ever did fail. Everything I ever did fail except the except in the Wayne's World. Every pilot. Every series. Everything. I'm just I don't want to. I'm just sort of curious was there potentially any conflict of interest with this person. It said oh you don't want to do SNL. I think he was being genuine. Okay. So I felt I regret it. I think he felt like it would have been a step back in my career. And I disagree. I should have had more balls. Well Phil Hartman the late our awesome friend. You would have been like a Phil. He was 38 and didn't even mean to think because we're always a lot of times even today's cast. You know Marcelo's 28 and he's playing somebody who's 60. You don't mean it's usually you're aging up but Phil was just perfect. You know. Used to be they go we need a dad type. We need a younger but now every game show host dad straight man to the host. Yeah. Also and also can do all these other things you ask him to do. You know. So I don't want you have any regrets though because you had you've had or having such an amazing career in my mind. It's too it's too late. I have the regrets. I think I think if I wrote more I would have just done I would have said screw you. I'm just going to put together something to do it even just for fun. Would you hate it if you audition and didn't get it. Well I mean I'm used to it. Aren't we all used to that at this point. Actually you never think you're going to get. No if you never audition you never get you know you never lose. You just do it and you walk away and you and they call and you go what's this about. Didn't you have an audition today and I go I already wrote it off as it's not happening. And I know it's happening. Oh wait let me look what was it again. So you know I'm the opposite. I'm like all over it to a point where I have to calm down. When I started I was like when I was in acting class obviously I didn't finish all of them but the was I in class with you for a while. Was I was on Ivana. Yes. And Roy London. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's where you said the Simpsons thing. Maybe that's Roy. Roy London. Yeah. I actually didn't get Roy London Hank. I got passed down. Roy London. J.V. Roy London because Brad was Brad Pitt was with our management and they said go to in Shanling went to Roy London. Watched like he was the best. And I go this would be great. And they go great. You're going to go over here in this room and this is the spillover room. And it was Ivana. Well in fairness everybody started that way. David you had. Oh is that what happened. Oh you don't start with Roy. You like yeah you had to do like the farm system and then they would bring you. I stayed in AAA but actually Ivana was good. I liked her. She was great. Yeah. Yeah. And she got me to do better. Yeah. So Roy London. How would you describe because what I met him a few times in his philosophy of acting was so unique I thought. And I don't know if you how how will you describe it. I'd have a way to describe it but I want to hear you. Well I was interesting. I really needed him badly because I was in there for like three years and I I I went because I was already on the Simpsons and had done a few things and Roy like sized me up right away once I got out of Ivana and said OK you're not allowed to do any voices or even be particularly funny in here. You're just going to be yourself. And I was like oh that's terrible. Yeah. That's terrible. Well I didn't even real I realized that I you know I'm a mimic at at heart. That's really the basis of everything for me. And I wanted to act not just because I enjoyed the voices like we were talking about earlier but it was a deeper darker like I really wasn't too comfortable being myself. I preferred being other people. And so to get up and Roy's whole thing was if you want to really act well on stage or film or TV you have to be willing to expose yourself like really be yourself in front of people which I absolutely could not do. I couldn't do it. And neither could Peter Sellers. Yes it's true. Posture syndrome. Yes there's certain about. Do you know Danny are you like that at all. Like do you totally. Yeah. I was cast in things. I had a T-notto face for about three weeks. So I was cast in things as the straight man playing myself. And I was just absolutely awful. But the lines were like when I did a sitcom with Mickey Rooney and Nathan Lane in New York. I was the straight man in the first day at the read through. Mickey pointed at me said you're the straight man. You know I'd been doing stand up. Everything you hear me bang. The straight. No joke. So I would just my question I would ask questions. I was just the guy going what are you doing. When's he coming home. And I sucked. I was terrible. But yeah it's fun to do a character. I think a lot of people like Rob Lowe said he would love to be in prosthetics and playing a character more than anything. He's more a version of himself. Yeah it's the opposite. I mean you could you're so versatile that you could do but you've done a lot of things where you're acting as a as yourself using yourself. And you're great. Thanks to Roy. I mean I did have a breakthrough in there one day. Yeah. What happened. What was the breakthrough. You know he finally like I was never like three years and he started everybody in that class would have their turn maybe two three times a year where you were sort of the focus. You know it wouldn't be like you'd spend they spend they spend the whole three. By the way I was in class when Brad Pitt had his breakthrough. That was an unbelievable thing to see. Oh it was like one day one class. He didn't come much. But yeah he was like sort of having a little trouble and then Roy just kind of said this or that and all of a sudden you saw Brad Pitt appear before your eyes. Same I saw Sharon Stone have a similar breakthrough in that class. Sharon Stone was almost the point where she was in there for months and you almost you know that person in class you want to kind of pull him aside and say maybe you shouldn't do this because I don't know that you're getting a hang of this. It's not getting better. Yeah. She was like in my opinion she was kind of one of those people and then one day she just like had this breakthrough and she was unbelievable in this scene and like ever after she was incredible. But Roy saw him up there in front of Roy and I'm doing we're doing a scene from a play a Lanford Wilson play called Burn This that Malcovich actually the aforementioned made made famous one by the way and doing the scene and he goes there right there I do a line and go what happened you're going along fine and then it's like you jump out of your body like what happens to you. I was like to be honest I hear myself give like a tinny line reading. I think in my mind I was trying to do like my version of how I imagined Malcovich would do the scene because that's my shtick you know not like I was imitating him but but it's still not exactly genuine right that's how Nicholas Cage works you know is that right like sort of outside in like he just says in this next scene I'm going to do Daniel Day Lewis I go really and so it's kind of a wide shot with a woman he comes in he drops to his knees he's going to do Daniel Day Lewis from the name of the father and he doesn't tell the director or anybody he just comes in drop to his knees why why why total commitment you know yeah so that's how he does it he just thinks acting should be should be an art form rather than just realism you know well I'm kind of with him on that like I'll you can do that to play around or try a thing or a weird take or you know sometimes just having another actor in mind you know Woody Allen used to say that he thought he was doing such a direct Bob Hope impression that people are going to bust him on it yeah you know but Bob Hope and his mind threw a Woody Allen filter is quite a unique thing I didn't even know I get the connection but I know that Woody was it was different but it was this is kind of pause you know right before because I why aren't we quietly humping you know it's in Bob Hope is like yes I gotta go he's sort of scared the nervous coward yeah yeah and and halting speech before the fear comes out it's just the fact that I'm terrified might get in a way you know all that stuff exactly have a good Woody Allen story too that I can tell you Roy said please he gave this amazing thing he said so I heard myself give a bad line reading and I like froze and I basically wanted to quit acting in that moment let alone the scene and Roy tells me this story goes look when I was like 15 years old is Roy talking I'm at the my I love my dad very much and I was having lunch with my mother at our country club and I see my dad coming into the 18th hole in the golf green and he's finishing his round at golf and he me and my mom see him grab his heart and fall to the ground on the 18th green and by the time we got to him he was gone he was wow he was dead and he said no that was 35 years ago when he told the story he said sometimes when I tell that story I'm filled with emotion as if it just happened you know and sometimes I'm just reporting a thing that was really painful for me but I don't have much emotional connection to it because it's been a long time and he said he said to me that's what acting is he said you're not some takes or some nights on stage you're going to really feel it and just be in there and he said in some nights you're not he said but instead of like listening to yourself be in it or not if you just he said sometimes every time that I tell that story though to somebody they understand how devastating it was for me whether I'm filled with emotion or not he said as an actor if you don't feel it just make sure your scene partner gets where you're coming from and it's a way to completely relock back into the scene it's okay to report on life as an actor on stage two and after that I was totally freed up to like you know even when I felt like I sucked I felt like I could still stay in the scene and make something that worked interesting yeah yeah it's good you picked up a lot it really really helped oh I couldn't I couldn't do I couldn't have done anything really it made all my Simpsons characters funnier because I felt like I like I said I just doing Chief Wiggum which is a fun voice this is just my impression of Mel Blank's impression of Edward G. Robinson you know and but then all of a sudden I was like well what if I really were a cop how would I really hand I felt like I could put myself more into these even stupid characters and it made things funnier and and better which is something I think you do naturally Dana in in these voices did you ever have to like feel like you had to step up the acting or once you got the voice you just clicked in um kind of depends on the character I mean I think uh for me like with George Bush Sr. I was just trying to learn it with the audience I didn't have a very good one when I first was assigned it because my character won the election and so I was very you know and then as I went further I was more playful with it because I was in a one-shot and the studio was quiet there wasn't any editing where I throw anyone else off so I said that area that thing and then I would start tagging it and then it became it literally became probably er two years before we're not going to do it before I he left it was like not god do it and it it worked because the audience is coming with me but if I when I was doing Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life parody I was just trying to be a really good Jimmy Stewart actor completely channeling him as much as I could and and sometimes you just feel it when you're doing a character you feel there there there's an earnestness in Jimmy Stewart's thing everything is just sincere you know at least in It's a Wonderful Life yeah every everything is just sincere well we have Hank Azera on here and a lot of people are saying a lot of nice things about him so I don't I don't know I mean do you ever do like just why don't you you do a special uh with it where you do sketches I get I did I've written a one-man show I've actually become one of those people and yeah that's kind of close what he's saying anyway that's not bad and actually it's pretty it kind of talks about what I just told you about that I think class thing and I go in a lot of kind of you know as one man shows well sort of darker things about how it was the things that were funny weren't so funny and how it was equally my desire to be anybody else with myself that drove me to do characters and voices yeah and you know so yeah I did that I hopefully put that up in New York this year let's put it up oh really yeah what's do you want to give us the title of it Hank I think it's called listen never mind which is what my mother used to say to me all the time listen never mind she's the listen never mind yes no she's the most dismissive person I ever knew she had a dismissive catch phrase which was listen never mind oh never mind it's not worth it isn't it well it's like uh mama really hungry listen never mind this people starving but they also didn't make any sense like mama I think I might uh twist a manka listen never mind it's almost jump kipura which doesn't make any sense but I like the other people starving you're like do I have to join them can I eat and then they're still starving exactly you're gonna play a lot of different characters in the play or yeah it's it's really like a life story it's like a lot of the origins of the voices this was that guy and that was that person and and you know stuff like I was you know I do a young young al Pacino impression you know godfather al talk yeah that's good yeah I'm dying here everybody's coming down on me yeah yeah I love it I was doing a play in west Hollywood when I got the Simpsons audition I was playing a drug dealer the one that voice so I auditioned for mold a bartender with this voice and they want they said can you make it gravelly we like the and so to me gravelly is Bruce Springsteen to have been imitating since I was 15 years old that's really that's fantastic if you if you take young al Pacino woman and and Bruce Springsteen and the other and you mix them right in the middle there that's motorbike tender he's a mayor shop there yellow so it's a lot of that kind of relaying little origins of voices like that I love that stuff I love kids to enjoy that I had in the early days of when Trump came out I was on some talk show and I said it's really it's Regis Philman and Brando coming together you know anyway you're ready for this and then I'm gonna turn it over so well anyway you know I mean you can see how those two together I showed my 16 year old son the godfather for the first time so I've been working on my video calling on the impression oh good it's good for disciplining it more his name is Halsey hell vittore come on me and Dane were just talking about Brando in the field at the end when he like the kids playing when he dies with the teeth we were just saying I don't even know if they knew what they were doing that take copa's like do whatever you want on this one you know and we in your mind is brando the greatest film actor or or you have another favorite good one well he was so all over the place you know there were some that were just baffling I mean Vito Corleone is definitely one of the best ever and he was to me like in streetcar and on the waterfront he was way ahead of his time so was Jimmy Stewart actually in my opinion like his performance in its wonderful life was breathtakingly realistic and so in here and when they all sounded like that they all sounded like you know oh that's right yeah but oh and the darkness well before his nervous breakdown with the with you it was saying why do I have to have all these kids I mean the movie is way heavier than people think and the theme of the movie is so evergreen I mean just it was a flop to nobody it was so ahead of his time nobody liked it when it came out capricorn they called it yeah yeah yeah yeah well it's a wonderful life you're talking about yeah yeah bombed basically yeah yeah yeah just get it out of here then they sold that movie out of my theater I think it only really had its life by the time it came public domain I think tv's or where everyone could just see I think that yeah they're burning it off at Christmas or something I maybe I heard this too and then everyone got into it yeah you know the Grinch never worked again after that one all right whatever oh I mean the border call off Grinch no just the Grinch the Grinch they've been a lot of Grinch's let's I like those old tiny actors as Bill Hader calls them but I do a bit about the world's first sociopath that people know they had mental problems in ancient times and I'm just using Peter Laurie and no one has busted me on it you know like just just they go where's where's Steve I don't know what's that hand coming out of the ground it's Steve I killed him am I weird I don't know but you got to stop that so anyway it's just you can use those characters and no one really has oh yeah let me hear it call off I will start still a movie now I get the new them to oh yeah where you were even shadow that was as a joke I just went should I do bought a call off he was the original mommy and then cracked up and said no you have to do that it's like really it's um so yeah and yes Peter Laurie you can use for sure Professor Frank is just uh it's just a naughty professor the giant littlest version of course yeah they're so old that nobody I think their original voice is not nice I know that's that's a really great use of your your gift well do the cop this alone as I already said yeah do the cop with a bad stall on you know and a little towed down stall well yeah certainly nasally there when I you know and you do people like that like Boris Carloff is it kind of informed like what was in that guy's brain that somehow he decided to talk like that because it's almost feminine or or in bizarre wings back like waters where is where who is that person that's talking about I mean I think that's just the way he talked I really very compelling yeah those guys are very distinct I mean they were Laurie and Carloff I'm big fans of both of them they were unbelievable actor they were just oh yeah talk about you know free to be themselves on camera they were just like and they they brought a lot of you know reality and grit to these weird old-fashioned things yeah I mean there's it's it it's sort of I don't know if it's a trope at this point but doing for young impressionist doing modern movie stars I just make a joke that I do a Timothy Chalamet but I just go what's up man you know I'm not doing it at all but there was a cavalcade you know between John Wayne and Kirk Douglas and all those old movie stars they just had really weird voices who do we have we're wow we have the same amount of who's today that's got a very interesting who's Kerry Grant well who's the guy that talks like this yeah yeah we don't have one we don't have any Grant was great with that well I don't believe it in my day I used to do uh Eric Roberts fucking Greenwich Village man yeah yeah they cut off my fucking dumb Charlie fucking dumb I used to do yeah Mickey Roark too I used to like to do oh really I know what you're doing counselor but don't do it it's from body heat yeah body heat body heat you know Pope Greenwich for diner great movie yeah let me do it I do it for you for the counselor and then this thing he kept using in all his movies right but now Mickey sounds like why do all the why do all actors end up sounding like this what is this you know like Pacino was like this you know I'm now I'll sounds like this what is that maybe they're projecting a fainter voice or something I have a theory that as the testosterone goes down in their older gentlemen they make their voice super alpha you know maybe I'm 97 how are you doing you know it's like I guess that's great ass exactly I hope it doesn't happen to me that's all I here's another thing I want to ask you about it or does it seem like most actors get more theatrical movies starts like Al Pacino which I I love Scarface I'm possessed by actually as a as an operatic movie what you got I don't mind you know all that stuff and then Christopher Walken also if you see him in the Woody Allen movie and where he kind of made a character out of him but those are sort of recent times big big time big voices actors theories do they I mean Daniel Jeff Goblin sort of similar yeah I mean some of them get more subtle you asked me why I mean Daniel Day Lewis is amazing I personally think Robert Downey Jr is maybe the American genius of our time I mean I know he's Iron Man and everything and that's what we think of him is now but I don't there's nothing the guy can't do really yeah he's he's he's freaky good freaky good but yeah Chris Walken I don't know he's amazing like some of these guys just real shatner they realize that they're sort of bigger than life and they lean into it like Nicklson sort of did the same thing later in his career once people pick up on it they almost turn into that more they turn into the impression more yeah well the rhythm of what Christopher Walken did is just so effective I don't know waiting for the wood I mean it's like it's a brilliant song I look at him as musically just brilliant talks in high coos which he is gifted that way he comes from musical theater I really wonder like I worked with him once I wanted to ask him but I never got the nerve I'm like do you plan this shit or is it just what comes out you know what I mean yeah but I didn't have the nerve or does everyone expect this is how we're hiring you we want you to sound like this because it's so but was he improvising you mean or just doing the rhythm of that voice in such a he I mean I didn't work with him much but he would no he was Steve pretty much stuck to the script and yeah it was kind of a little different each time but it's just that delivery I just I wondered if he planned it out although did you see him in Severance yes yeah it was very very small yeah yeah he can do whatever he wants yeah I love I did I was he was in Wayne's World too and that was kind of a thrill at the time I'm dressed as Garth and then he would come up and his first line was Garth and the way he would say it was so like he was gonna kill me gath long long pause you know so I I decided to do Lou Costello that Mike and I both went you know one of the that thing of fear but gath is like I'm really it's got three syllables that kills me when I was on the room gath gath he says he sounds like him to me in the brief times like that it's not like only when he's on camera he he was asking me if I ever worked with an actor dog and uh oh yeah memory caught me up guard but but he was doing pauses it was an odd question and then he continued to ask questions and I was like this is great and I wish this was shot everything he's saying is funny he does he is really he does have that rhythm in real life yeah he asked you did you ever work with an actor dog yeah the funny part was a lot of stuff we were waiting for a scene and we were in the dark and there's about four characters in there waiting for action they're like holding and uh there's a pause and he's in the dark and then he goes David I can't really do when we goes hey did you ever work with an actor dog and I go uh we're going to follow it I go I have there is exactly that's the funniest part I go there is one in this movie in some other scenes and he goes that he goes they're good they they really they know what to do they're well trained I go yeah and then he paused and he goes hey have you ever worked with an actor cat and I go an actor cat I go no I don't I mean and then we're all kind of giggling going is he serious I go I don't I don't think so because he goes he goes they're no good because you tell them what to do and they don't do it but if you yell or something to an actor cat they jump but that's that's every cat would do that they'll go into the details and I go yeah and then he goes ever work with an actor mouse and I go I don't think there are that many and he goes he's faking it up at all for I did mousetrap remember mousetrap oh yeah Nathan Lane yeah yeah and uh who was the other guy in that it wasn't Broderick by the way that's your bro so he goes you tell a mouse to go up take a beat and go to the right and they do it they're smart he thinks they're smarter than cats which they maybe are and then once he's getting into how smart the actor mouses are then they go rolling and then we never never came up again did you ever work with Anthony Hopkins he's another character I never did but I know people who collect Nathan Lane stories it was Lee Evans by the way that's oh that's oh yeah mouse hunt with Nathan Lane um mouse trap yeah mouse uh oh yeah I just forgot we would just Nathan Lane stories oh I just uh Anthony Hopkins is also no I never oh he's on yeah he's got to go up there read reads the script 200 times does no reason really nothing reads it he said 200 times he has the entire script memorized he had a Polaroid this is in the early 90s of his character and he take it out of his pocket it was kind of crumpled up Polaroid shot of himself and they're going speed and he would just put it up against his face look at it and then put it on his face and go and then put it back in and then he would be the character so he's got his own way that's like Hannibal Lecter like I know there was a little bit of uh that Dennis Hopper movie what was that blue velvet a blue velvet yeah definition um yeah I there's people who collect Chris Walken stories you know yeah like you know that actor Titus Welliver uh I just played uh that great detective series um sounds like a fake books anyway he does an unbelievably good walk and impression and uh apparently like when he and Grace Jones were shooting that Bond movie where they played like villains together you know you had like Grace Jones had like blonde hair and yeah they're shooting uh like in the Swiss Alps or something and he and Grace Jones walked into some you know local little tavern or whatever and you can imagine and he had like white hair I think and she had and uh so the locals all kind of turned around and stared at them yeah you might imagine and apparently Chris Walken broke the ice with cold slaw for everyone there's no story you could you could say where you'd have to say which one is real and which one is a fake walking story no it's yeah indistinguishable also I think Titus happened to him personally he was doing some film with him and it was their day off no it this is I got this from the person though this wasn't like a second hand story and they're they're shooting somewhere and it's the day off and Chris is uh they're walking somewhere and Chris is like waiting he's in the river like he's in a creek or something he's just standing in water you know like a pool or I don't know where he was but it was odd and they said hey Chris are are you okay because he was just standing in there yeah and apparently he went today I am an alligator today I'm an alligator yeah all right we're back in five I was hanging out with him for this photo shoot in New York it just ended up on a couch with him for like an hour and he was just interesting he saw my phone don't have a phone no you know well do you have tv don't watch it night no you don't watch tv what do you what do you do what do you do at night he goes magazines magazines every night you read like that's how I'm doing it and then I asked him do you paint he goes of course I paint I'll all act as paint that's funny a great story like monsters inc stays with you forever and Disney class is where you'll find your next great story from the return of the award-winning hit series rivals welcome to the naughtiest show on television to the unmissable crime drama high potential gotta dead body gotta go a lifetime of great stories awaits this spring on Disney plus 18 plus subscription required teas and seas apply this episode is brought to you by Expedia and Visit Scotland start your story in Scotland experience the pool of wide untamed landscapes and fresh cuisine that feels rooted in place discover castles steeped in legend and feel the genuine warmth from locals you meet in a place that will stay with you long after you leave start planning your own Scottish holiday today at Expedia dot co dot uk slash visit Scotland welcome to Paris pizzeria your blind date is already at the table and there she is cousin Brenda what are you doing here you're married anyway substitution brought to you by Paddy power cousin Brenda makes me for Beth the office crush oh get in you might not always pick the right starter but your sub can still deliver because with Paddy's super sub your bet rolls over to the player coming on Paddy power valid on selected leagues and markets only pre-match and in play bets on qualifying player outcome selection zoning teas and seas and exclusions apply hitting plus scummelware dot org some of them the most uncomfortable moments of my life have been spent like that like in between takes with legendary actors or like we just run out of small talk after like two or three days and then you know like Gene Hackman for example oh wow oh is that a bird cage yeah oh my god it's mean hack that incredible move perfect cool you were great in that thank you very much uh Mike Nichols amazing but yeah Gene Hackman and um you know he just doesn't suffer fools really which you turn into around I get very like wound up around people I admire you know I mean he's intimidating go ahead he's a big he's one of my favorites he was amazing and he was very nice and then but he just doesn't once the small talk was done he just didn't feel the need uh you know what you're not like how did you're like you just said with Chris what you're but you're there together for many minutes like waiting for action or whatever you're doing yeah yeah brother there's no world of no phone so it's not like people go back to their phones it's like sitting in silence and sometimes you just got to let them just sit there well you're just thinking what could you say to Gene Hackman at that moment in time that he would sit up go yeah and start you know like turn them on basically like get really excited I did a movie called the ultimate of this I did a movie called mystery Alaska it was this hockey movie hockey and uh Bert Reynolds was in it okay and that is one scene with Bert and Bert Reynolds uh absolutely had like an old-fashioned movie star freak out meltdown like just screaming at the top of this line really yeah why or just tell the story he uh oh my it was oh it was the weekend he was nominated for boogie nights okay oh boogie nights yeah shooting in the in the canadian rockies near Calgary in like the middle of the middle of nowhere and we had to get shoot him out so that he get back to lane to press you know for the Oscars that week yeah and so uh we rehearse the scene a little bit and uh Bert also had one of those old actor voices at that point he says the director which was uh Jay Roach oh Austin Powers yeah yes if you like I can stand up on this line Jay says yeah maybe it's not just my savior shot because because that fuck over there said it's gonna be a long fucking night it's pointing at a producer who I guess it said it's gonna be a long night oh because oh because Bert just made a suggestion kind of I think just because we were night shooting and I guess Bert was feeling codependent because we had to shoot him out by midnight to get on a helicopter to go to the Oscars yeah and he literally he like flipped out on the guy just absolutely flipped up sure yeah Bert's a scary that was pretty intense what you just did sorry I didn't mean to scare you no no I mean use that the next time you're in a movie I go oh do what you did I'm flying the wall well thanks for a lesson I didn't commit but I can relay it yes it was terrifying but the point is he flips out we calm him down and we're waiting they're setting up the lights and we couldn't go anywhere because where it was a snowstorm and we're in this set and all of us were together the crew and the cast the producer everyone and I sat there for 20 minutes and Bert sits next to me because we're waiting to shoot and I racked my brain for like what do you possibly say to somebody yes okay I want to know David what would you say then we're gonna find out what happened David what would you say in that moment it's like a game show I'd say who do you think the Cardinals are gonna pick in the draft I would say you know Bert that guy over there you're right fuck that guy that's what I would have done that that prism is talking shit to me earlier too Bert yeah so what happened I thought I missed many things like that and I'm sitting there literally just I can't get him a walk away because I'm terrified to make him angry I don't know what to do and finally he broke the silence I swear to god this is true lean into me very quietly he said I yeah I never told Sally I loved her whoa I said what wow I should uh I should I said oh you mean you're talking about Sally Field aren't you wow because they were like famously yeah a couple yeah but like 25 years before that right so why he chose that moment to break that silence with that statement I will never know it felt like you know sometimes when people have PTSD or redundant things they need to get out you were like fresh meat you were someone to tell and obviously he intuited that you were a very decent person right right so that would be very positive spin on that story I didn't think you're right I'm trying to be positive I think it's nice here's what I would have said as a backup look I I don't I don't mean to fan out but your your performance and deliverance is one of the greatest things ever put on film anyway I gotta get this can I get something that catering would that work they would have yes that would have actually worked they have chili I'll get you a chili cup or some other more obscure movie maybe you know but yeah sharky's machine sharky's machine with Gleason but Jackie sorry about um apparently James L Brooks offered Bert Reynolds the Nicholson role in terms of endearment that's what I read too and he turned it down to do like stroke race or something I don't understand that they might have been still upset about that that might have contributed to the what wait last thing I know we gotta get going but sharky's machine they cut off his hand cut off his thumb am I crazy when I was a kid I think it's pinky because was he it was he a lone shark or a fixer or something he was a cop he was a cop oh he's a cop and he's getting too close to like the mom I've seen yeah I got too close to the heat yeah so and it turns out one of his fellow cops betrayed him and they like they got him and and uh they need to know where he's fallen in love with who is that gorgeous actress Rachel Ward oof and she's this prostitute who knows too much and he's got her stashed somewhere and they need to know where and they start chopping off his fingers by the joint you know you know it's funny this is a side story but these beautiful well-known actresses almost every movie they're like and this scene you're just gonna be completely naked and they're like okay rolling and it's like you know what I mean it just at some point it just stopped but for a while there I was like is everyone just going along with this I guess I think it was you couldn't really fight it some actresses drew the line but yeah back then it was sort of standard I've never do a scene where you had to be naked with someone like yeah sex scene or whatever it's one of the weirdest things ever it's one of the grossest for them that's weird I did I did this thing with Kelly Lynch okay and she had a nudity clause so it couldn't be her so you had to be the well I I mean they didn't hit your cause that you had to be didn't show any of my money money parts but no but at one point we're doing this scene and it's like a porno it's like a porn like okay now you know they like the director like yells I should now kiss down her body okay now like he'll direct you like how to you know nuts what foreplay to engage crazy yeah so then they call cut and you're doing that with with Kelly and she goes out and they bring they bring in this this body double oh oh oh wow and they say hi this is uh this is Jennifer hi nice to meet you and the robe off she's naked and she gets in bed and and then do the stuff that now they can show the nudity like okay so kiss down her body okay okay go back now kiss back up and now like okay fondler brass snap and so and you do that for a take like cut great we got it and and she's gone and you never see her again I'm sure that there are prostitutes and johns who had much more of an exchange did you find yourself hanging out you know for the close-up so like okay it's the moment of he's in he's just he's penetrated you and and you want her reaction you could tell the the size of the member but he's like oh do you know what I'm saying so you can be there go no honey I'm bigger than that so can you react more yeah it's it's gonna be it's gonna be quite a thing so I'm a little bigger and you're close up or the director it's whatever he's into he's like now kiss up her elbow and kind of chew it a little bit well it was kind of like that you know it's like okay that's how you do that but the funny thing is the movie I'm watching let's say I watch that movie I think it's Kelly Lynch so she's not really saving anything it's like oh those are boobs they don't show her face but I guess those are her boobs totally I mean yeah but you know yeah I missed the old I missed the old fashion movies where the woman would pound the guy's chest you're an impossible beast and then they'd make out yeah then it's that's four possible beast that's what I like Dana I like those we've never brought up that subject of reaction shots on simulated sex before that's a first yeah that's a good area I just wanted uh I'm going to break ground here no no I brought up the thing of you being on set going I need a little bigger reaction please I'm Dana do you need to ask like anything other than well I would just do this for real quick because I um you're very interesting to talk to and this is an impossible thing to ask people but in no particular order top five movies all time no particular order because saying one two three four five we've talked like I you know it's this very boring list godfather one and two there's two good fellas for sure which I like to think of as godfather three I replace the actual godfather yeah okay those those are all it's a wonderful life absolutely is in my top five okay you can go to ten if you've got so many I don't know those are really uh huge um ones that I just like um long time when I I appreciate Jaws a lot yeah that's a great film I appreciate Alien a lot yeah I love I love um probably the time I saw it I was 14 when I saw uh 2001 a space Odyssey I love Planet of the Apes boom I love Redford in the 70s I love I love all the president's men all the president's men is definitely in my top 10 at least we've seen it recently my wife and I hadn't seen it in a few years and holy shit does it hold up totally it's so relevant than then it's so brilliant and relevant everything um three days the condor butch casting Sundance kid um oh the sting I would put way up staying the redford Newman Redford got Newman got more subtle as he went along as an older actor but Redford was always we haven't had a blue eyed wasp held back movie star that well we just watched the horse whisper the other night you know and uh he just had a he had he's his movie star I don't know I mean they never gave him an acting award but he's and he was he was behind all the movies he Sidney Pollock and he were collaborating and finally he does ordinary people so anyway he's an interesting god rest his soul character no I I did quiz show for him oh that's right yeah my first big movie that I got and uh thanks to Roy London and I just ran into um John Turturro who is in that as well just the other night another great great actor he's incredible uh but um yeah but they don't make him like Redford and Newman anymore or burr Reynolds I used to love Charles Brunson too yeah that guy was awesome and the modern era who are you are you a Christopher Nolan or Tarantino or both who's your favorite director or do you like who's the guy who did um sideways and descendants oh Alex um the director yeah Alex isn't Alex no Alexander Payne oh yeah it is Alex yeah uh Nolan at his best I'm a I'm a comic book geek and so I love what he did well the reboot that first reboot with Christopher Rebelle you Chris yeah but when Christopher Nolan gets too plays with time too much it drives me crazy I can't handle well that's that I saw Dunkirk I felt the same way I couldn't deal I liked it but but then I saw it a few years later there was a reissue and I I kind of knew what was happening in terms of that so then I fell in love with the movie all those time jumps that you're not sure there was inception and then there was tenet right yeah those get very yeah those are yeah tenets they get meta on themselves to a point where like you can't yeah I don't get what's going on anymore inception I like tenet was a challenge but I do like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood a lot oh I you know Tarantino at his best is pretty I loved Once Upon a Time and I saw it live in times I had no clue I knew nothing about it when I saw it yeah and so I'm thinking you know this is heading towards you know Sharon Tate disaster right and my mind was so blown by that like alternate ending of like yeah I just what a great use of a movie star like Brad Pitt to just like erase history like that and yeah save the day I remember your white little face you were on a horsey are you I'm as real as a hot dog yeah I that whole movie and you know Leo is so great in that too let's face it I'm a good god damn it has been don't cry in front of the Mexicans he's incredible too I always want to dislike Leo de Caprio and then I see I'm like I've got to give it up it's just it's great not good he's great doesn't make sense good looking has it all then he's yeah yeah that's true anyway well we kept you a little longer but I love I love talking about movies and everything you feel feel good about yourself I I read that you would be it would have been a therapist maybe if you oh yeah I was all set to go back to grad school for psychology and then I've got the Simpsons basically so I still have it so that's that's that run once you've talked about it just it's it's incomprehensible that it's lasted this long and stayed at this quality and you're the 89 all the way through it's extraordinary yeah I took I took over the crown from there was a ceremony last year where I was dubbed luckiest man in show business I took the crown away from Alan Beck who proceeded really yeah one thick uh well that's uh yeah I don't know I yeah that that that whole thing yeah but you're brilliant at it so I mean it's it's not like they could take let's get an actor and have him do a funny voice you know it's a little now AI can probably do it but that's a little other story I know we have AI on after you I'm a digital copy of Dana Carville right now so we joke but yeah you know the tests put the hand in front of the face you ever heard that no they show them on zooms these people that are fake interviewing for things really go put your hands in front of your face they go why would I have to do that you just put your hand in front of your face and they can't go like that I don't know why and they talk about it and they won't do it and they go thank you that's all they can't do it so that means that's terrifying they don't want to show that's not weird yeah you're finding these little glitches yeah well the sooner they'll fix that too yeah that's it that's an easy I could fix that this is still baby AI this is infant AI yeah just wait eight more months it'll be a mature okay not scare us I'm scared no it's really true I don't I'm not I think it's really cool I read this thing we're like and the algebra better than I thought you know the shit that can go wrong is intense of course and but there's only like a 20 chance of that it's like 80% likely that it will all be fine and just yeah that's a little too high for me yeah I thought it was more coin flip yeah um well when you think about like would you get on a plane if I said listen you got 80 chance of landing that you're not going to cry yeah I get on a plane thinking I have a 1% chance so I mean I'm not I don't like fine where's all the fixing cancer and everything AI come on now let's go well they're going to give us fusion energy unlimited clean energy and they're going to cure all these diseases cancer and Parkinson's and all that let's hope it does that in the first few weeks when it doesn't see us as the disease well that every science fiction movie we had in 2001 the AI turns on the humans yeah the only problem with the earth are humans is we've seen it and you know Isaac eyes them off and all these science fiction books and everything no so we're named Hal so I take it really personal based based on how the computer no no it's despite despite that I just like the name I love Hal Ashby and Hal Holbrook oh okay I like we're looking for an age name that's cool yeah all right thank you guys hey guys if you're loving this podcast which you are be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app give us review five star rating maybe you can share an episode that you've loved with a friend if you're watching this episode on youtube please subscribe we're on video now fly on the walls presented by audacy and executive produced by Danny Carvey and David Spade Heather Santoro and Greg Holtzman Matty Sprung Kaiser and Leah Reese Dennis of audacy our senior producer is Greg Holtzman and the show is produced and edited by Phil Sweetek booking by Cultivated Interaction special thanks to Patrick Fogarty Evan Cox Mora Curran Melissa Wester Hilary Shuff Eric Donnelly Colin Gaynor Sean Cherry Kurt Courtney and Lauren Vieira reach out with us any questions to be asked and answered on the show we can email us at flyonthewall at audacy.com that's audacyi.com