Summary
Amanda Peet joins the SmartLess hosts to discuss her 25+ year acting career, recent personal challenges including a breast cancer diagnosis and her parents' deaths, and her expansion into writing and producing. She reflects on overcoming stage fright, her creative process, and balancing family life with a thriving entertainment career.
Insights
- Reframing anxiety as usable energy rather than something to overcome can paradoxically improve performance and reduce self-consciousness
- Success in creative fields often comes from accepting lower-status work early on while building skills, rather than waiting for ideal opportunities
- Personal tragedy and vulnerability can become powerful creative material when processed through humor and honest storytelling
- Dual-career partnerships in entertainment require intentional support systems and flexibility to manage competing professional demands
- Writing and producing offer creative fulfillment and control that acting alone may not provide, even for successful actors
Trends
Established actors expanding into writing and showrunning as a path to creative autonomy and longevityVulnerability and personal health narratives gaining prominence in prestige publications and mainstream mediaMulti-hyphenate entertainment professionals (actor-writer-producer) becoming the industry standard rather than exceptionMental health and psychoanalysis as normalized professional development tools in creative industriesIndie film production attracting A-list talent seeking more meaningful, character-driven projects
Topics
Acting Career Longevity and ReinventionStage Fright and Performance Anxiety ManagementWriting for Television and FilmShowrunning and Creative ControlCancer Diagnosis and TreatmentParental Care and HospiceWork-Life Balance in EntertainmentPsychoanalysis and Mental HealthIndependent Film ProductionNew Yorker Essay WritingBreast Cancer AwarenessParkinson's Disease CareFamily Dynamics and Sibling RelationshipsCasting and Agent RelationshipsCreative Process and Character Development
Companies
Apple TV+
Amanda Peet's hit show 'The Chair' is releasing a new season on Apple this spring
Netflix
Amanda Peet created, wrote, and showran the series 'The Chair' which aired on Netflix
The New Yorker
Published Amanda Peet's personal essay about her cancer diagnosis, parents' deaths, and family experiences
HB Studios
Acting school where Amanda Peet studied starting at age 13 under teachers who recommended Uta Hagen
STE Agency
Talent agency that represented Amanda Peet early in her career and advised her on appearance
Cedars-Sinai
Hospital where Amanda Peet's breast cancer was diagnosed and treated
People
Amanda Peet
Guest discussing her 25+ year career, recent health challenges, and creative expansion into writing and producing
David Benioff
Amanda Peet's husband; co-created Game of Thrones; supportive of her creative pursuits including writing
Sean Hayes
Co-host of SmartLess podcast; worked with Amanda Peet on films including 'Identity Thief' and wheelchair comedy
Will Arnett
Co-host of SmartLess podcast; discussed his own film work and creative process with Amanda Peet
Jason Bateman
Co-host of SmartLess podcast; recently appeared in 'Dinner Time Lies' series; worked with Amanda Peet on films
Sandra Oh
Co-star in Amanda Peet's series 'The Chair' where she played the lead role of department chair
Steve Conrad
Creator and showrunner of 'Dinner Time Lies' series; praised for daring, character-driven storytelling
John Hamm
Co-star with Amanda Peet on current project; described as supportive of her family needs during production
Uta Hagen
Renowned acting coach whom Amanda Peet studied with during her junior year of college
David Cross
Released his ninth comedy special self-published on his website and YouTube; known for sketch comedy work
Quotes
"As soon as you want to be good, you're dead."
Mira (quoted by Amanda Peet)•Early career discussion
"I am where I am, and literally use it. This is energy. So don't try to get over it. Just flip it and forget it."
Will Arnett•Stage fright discussion
"I am so fucking into acting right now."
Amanda Peet•Career reinvention discussion
"I think because I had terrible stage fright, it was much easier for me to book things like a Chapstick commercial or Days of Our Lives."
Amanda Peet•Early career discussion
"You have no idea what anybody's going through. At any time."
Jason Bateman•Reflection on Amanda's hidden challenges
Full Transcript
Hey everybody. Hey. Oh my goodness. Are we in a good mood today? We are. I mean. You were shot out of a cannon. I was shot out of a cannon. We're all fired up. We get to do some potting today. And I'm so excited you two are here for this. You're going to have such a hoot. What we do is that little phone thingy in front of your mouth. You just speak into that. We're going to have somebody of interest coming on soon. You're going to be able to ask any questions that you might have. And they should respond in a somewhat informative way. Nobody's left. Nobody's left. Nobody's going to listen now. You think they've turned the dial? Well then let's hurry up and get the guest out here. Come on. Welcome to Smartlist. What is that from? Well, hi. Hi. Hi. That's like a bit. We all do smart list. Oh my. Jesus. Isn't that a, isn't that the only thing they use that in sports things? Yeah. Hey, Sean. Yeah. Are you doing an ad for all American guy? You just took a big gulp of milk and now you took a bite of an apple. Yeah. I just got back. What happened? You ran out of pop tarts? Dude, hit the horn again. There you go. Hey, did Archie give you that app or something? Is that next to the fart one? No, man. I've had it for a long time, embarrassingly enough. Somebody gave me a box of pop tarts outside the stage door. Did they really? Yeah. It was the greatest gift. We're proud. There was a bow around it. And I thought that was the nicest gift ever. And yeah. Did security tackle them? No. Remember when we went on a tour and that somebody handed me a sandwich and I ate it? And Jason was like, I think I kind of do. I think I do. I remember that. We got in the car. You're like, why would you ever eat a sandwich from somebody off the street? You're trying to get me to remember the time that you ate a sandwich? No. No. I just kind of heightened it if it's not, if it's dragged across the finish line. Needs a little punch. By the way, it should be noted. I texted JB. I'm going to embarrass him. The boys and I, Archie and I watched that first episode of DTS. He's so good. I can't even, wait, listen. Jason, you're so good at playing a simp. Go ahead, Sean. I mean, I just, I almost, Jay, it's like one of those incredible, powerful performances that I felt like when I saw Willie do his movie too, where I'm looking at you right now. I've known you for 75,000 years and I don't know who you are. Like it was so unbelievably. A different person that I did not believe I was watching you. Sean, you finished it last night. I finished the whole series. Yeah, last night. How do you have all the, how do you have them all? I gave him mine. We finished the first episode and I turned to the boys and I literally looked at my go, how many episodes away are we from Jason getting pegged? I mean, that's pretty close. I could go on and I was in tears at the end because I was so proud of my friend, Jay. Everybody's great. Linda Cardellini is amazing. David Harbour really great. David Harbour is great. Everybody's great. I'm not comparing anybody, but Jason, you were so good in this part. I really appreciate it. And it's so, I mean, what were you? And it's not surprising. It should be noted too, because you know, when people go, you were really good. Always hurts. But I texted Jason yesterday last night about like what a huge swing it was to do this. I mean, Will, wait until you see. I don't say it in another word. I don't know what he does. I knew when one came out last night and I couldn't watch last night. So, right. I mean, it just. But it's this guy, Steve Conrad, this writer, director. Well, we'll leave the subject. I'm not the subject. Sorry, listener. But this guy, Steve Conrad, this writer, director, he's just so creative. Incredible. And like daring and. Yeah, daring. But like without being obnoxiously like, oh, look how Al von Gard and, you know, it's like, it's so. It serves the characters. It's so relatable that it makes it absolutely almost impossible to watch because it's so cringy and real and awkward. Yes. And so much so I woke up today. I started doing just regular whatever tasks, thinking about DTF, St. Louis and these characters. And I'm like, were you sitting on Scotty's face? Those are his regular tasks. From where do you shake? Wait a minute. The viewers will understand what I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah. That's a little precursor what happened in the show. But anyways, incredible. You're very nice. Thank you, men. Willie, it's nice to have you back in the States. You made this. Was there any issues at the border or was it pretty smooth? Still good. Still good. Still good. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. All right. So I'm in good, I'm in good standing. Your bronze are still, you haven't run out of that. No, it's good to see. It's a little streaky. Fresh news. I can't get behind. I can't see. And my feet, obviously my feet are always a mess when I get sprayed. I used to go to that thing all the time. Did you used to go to those things? Remember though? We'd go in the boxes. I've never done it. No, I've literally never done it. Do you remember the episode of Rest of Development when David Cross had to blow himself or blew it? He says, I just blew myself. Yeah. He had to put on his own blue man makeup. Yes. I just read this morning, David's got a brand new comedy special. His ninth one is self-releasing on his website and on YouTube. I forget the date, but it's probably on now. I love David Cross. Go see it. Oh, that's a great watch. Yeah, I just like it. Click it. Like it and forget. I love D. D Cross. Wait, one time really quick. I went into this. DC, remember he used to, sorry, just remember, DC, especially first year, we'd do something and David would go like, that's so late. Like we just kind of, Jason, I was, would describe something we didn't go, that was pretty lame. And we'd go, we'd go, oh, sorry, street cred. We started calling him street cred, which he actually ended up liking. Hey, street cred coming up. Yeah. Anyway, God, I love him. Shall we? Yeah. I thought you were going to say something, Shawnee. We'll come. No, it was that subject went too far away. It's about the tanning thing because I used to, I was so wide out when I would have to have an event to go to or something. My makeup lady from Will and Grace, she would come over and cake on tanning stuff on my face. But she forgot to do my... Was it Patty? Yeah, Patty Bunch. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, she's the best. And she forgot to do my hands. So, and I won a SAG award. And so you know, you do the line, the photos. I'm holding up the SAG award. And my hands are as white as snow and my face is as orange as the sun. That's up there with sometimes in a particularly unemployed summer, I will play a bunch of golf. And the tan difference, you see it now, between the glove hand and the non-glove hand. Nice. Yeah, that's funny. It's very ugly. All right, great. Super hashtag relatable. Yeah, first world problems extreme. We just lost 50,000 listeners. Today, we have one of my favorite actors. She always has been. I've had the great fortune of working with her a couple of times. And it is as good in person as it is on film. She is not only an actor, but also a producer and a writer, but not just any writer. This is a playwright and recently a columnist, which we will talk about. It's very exciting. After more than 25 years of doing great work, it's even greater right now. She's got a new season of her hit show on Apple starting this spring. She's got a brand new film being released, has a very fancy publication of her essay dropping and has successfully gotten through yet another year of marriage to a real ding-dong. She's a unicorn, folks. And here she is. Please welcome my longtime nearest and dearest friend, Ms. Amanda Pete. Ken out here. Boy, do we have stuff to talk about. Hi, Shawnee. Hi, honey. How are you? I'm okay. Oh my gosh. You've got a mic set up and everything. You guys, I did almost like 25 spit dates. And I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be here. She is prone to a spit take. Look at you with a microphone. Look at you. Oh, should I put that down? No, no, no. Sean has his? No, no. Oh, you guys all have yours. You're not doing video. This is video. I'm just done. That's the one we sent you, isn't it? I've just never seen you in this environment. So it's all new to me. It's so great to see you. I'm so excited. She was like, seen you in so long. She said, she sent me a text. She said, can I look like a slob? I go, yeah, I'm on PJs. I'm always on my PJs. Do you know that you're being recorded as your voice? He only travels in PJs. Wow, you are really tan. I know, I know. I get that a lot. As you know. Smoking and sun, not good. I know. Yeah. Okay. Wait, wait, is it still happening? Will, we're still chipping? It's still really annoying that you're so good with addictions now, I guess. You've got it all handled. You can just chip away at the cigarettes and it doesn't take over. Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty good. I can't do a little of anything. I know. Me neither. I can't either. I generally can't either. Amanda, how are you with sugar? I'm really bad with sugar. I mean, it's not great. I don't know. Yeah, what's the one thing? I need it out. If you could go to an addict's circle meeting, whatever it's called, what would it be for? Amanda, what's the thing you want to kick? I can't say it. I think I'm really... I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. Why, we talk about poor here all the time. That is something I don't have a problem with. Yeah. No, what is it? I'm addicted to exercise. Really? No, for real. That's a kidding. Are you kidding me? Sean, right? Right. It's a relief. You know me at all? Sean, it would be sugar for you? Oh my God. I can't not go a day without eating tons of sugar. Have you tried to just get it out of the house? Like, have you tried the thing where it's like proximity? Well, then like I eat an apple. Like, okay, well, that has sugar, but the good kind. But then I'll have a Snickers right after this. Just a full-grown Snickers. Do you know when I had a Snickers since Halloween when I was 14? But you know what, I texted these guys the other night. I came home after doing two shows, and I had a plate of spaghetti and a donut. On the same plate. On the same plate. Don't you think you're burning enough adrenaline that two shows, like it just probably just... It's a one-man show too. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You burn it. You earn that. He sent the photo of the pasta, of the spaghetti bolognese, and then a chocolate donut with a bite out of it. So then I facetimed him just because I wanted kind of verification because I thought that he'd set it for the photo for effect. And sure enough, donut is on the plate. He's eating them both simultaneously. Yeah. Spaghetti with donut chaser. I often think how when, you know, I have an 11-year-old, I often think of how one of the great, great pleasures of being an adult, a grown-up, is that you can eat your dessert before your meal. Sure. Yeah. And there's no rules. Well, actually, I said, if you remember, as Sean, I said to you, are you at an 11-year-old's birthday party? Yeah. And I said, I stopped by on the way home from work. Yeah. Amanda Pete. Southie. Yes. South. Oh my God. Amanda. I work... You worked with Amanda. Amanda and I worked together first, almost 30 years ago. We did a film called, I know, sorry, sorry to say that. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Wait, let's... I don't feel good about it either. 30 years ago. Do you guys, do you guys both still have your, your, your Boston... Sad cards? ...Boston accents? They almost took our sad cards away. Really? They came on Saturday. What did you work on together? Southie. It was called Southie. It was a film. Oh, South. It was a film about South Boston. Oh, I didn't know that. How are you? Good to see you. Good, good for you, Amanda. Hey, Pete. You're doing good, huh? Wait, Amanda, did you do the accent too? You still have it? I think I might have... Do it just a little bit. Just do a little bit. I can't even fucking remember. Honestly, I can't even fucking remember because I was in... They're gonna kick me out of the condo. They're gonna kick me out of the condo soon. That was terrible. Wow. No, that was good. Yeah, that was good. Condo is good though. Condo. Still rolling. Still rolling. Still rolling. Still rolling. Wow. You said it yourself. Rude, rude. Wait, was Donnie Wahlberg the star of that film? So Donnie Wahlberg was a star. Donnie Wahlberg, Rose McGowan, you, me, and directed by John Shea. And Mira. And Mira, which we had been talking about. By the way, Sean, I was saying... I was about to do a play after Southie, and I was telling her about how I have terrible stage fright, and I was trying to just chat with her about it, and she had... You know, she was a chain smoker, and she just said, As soon as you want to be good, you're dead. Wow. By the way, that's a good quote. Isn't that deep? Yeah, she was cool. I just want to be good. She was no nonsense. She was cool. That's kind of cool. As soon as you want to be good, yeah. Isn't that amazing? Yeah. Yeah. Wait, wait. Tell me about the stage fright. I guess I have that. I guess we all have that a bit. Yeah, I have it every night. But we figure out how to not flip out at an early stage. Trig. Just trig. Right before you get on. Is it... Yeah. You know what I do? My little sort of trick I've always done for a long time, especially when you're going to do something kind of live or whatever, and you're like, I got to get out there, and I just go, I am where I am, and literally use it. This is energy. Okay. And I just... So don't try to get over it. No. That's incredibly annoying. And bring it in. Yeah. Just flip it. Just flip it. And just... Flip it and forget it. Can't you just flip it? Yeah. No. I don't have those kinds of nerves to it. Honestly, that's a good impression of me. Now, has it always been like that? Here we go. Let's go back to the beginning, Amanda. Yeah. Do we have to? Kid. Yeah. You were a kid. Was it always going to be this? Like, did you have a plan for this, or did you just kind of wing it, and like the entertainment world kind of came your way? Or was it like, no, let's set the oars in this direction and start rowing? I think both parents... That's good. That's enough. Thank you. That's our... And we'll go to our first break? No, both parents are off-crowd. Both parents were as far from the entertainment businesses you could possibly be. What kind of... Corporate lawyer, Yale undergrad, Harvard Law School. My mom was a social worker, psychotherapist. Wow. And I feel like they saw acting in the beginning, similarly to just, oh, so you want to start modeling? You want to join the circus? You want to be a hooker. Right. Yeah. Sex worker. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Sex worker. Did you work to sort of convince them that that wasn't the way you were seeing it and what your intentions were? Or did you just kind of like hide your pursuit? Yes, I think I was constantly trying to make it appear less frivolous. But interestingly, apropos of what we were just saying, I think because I had terrible stage fright, it was much easier for me to book things like a chapstick commercial or days of our lives. Like as soon as I was lucky enough to get an audition for something like a Clifford Odette's play or something like that, I was like this. You're just shaking. And I couldn't do what I was doing in class in real life. So literally stage was like that was your kryptonite, but being in front of camera was less… No, sorry, I didn't explain that right. So anything high brow, I was terrified. Oh, gotcha. So and then anything that was considered more low brow. You killed it. I could kill it. And so then I was undoing what I wanted to portray to my parents. Because I'd be like, well, I'm on a Skittles commercial and they'd be like, I arrest my case. How about that? That's actually that's a good strategy to overcome. Like don't overvalue something. Maybe like find something about whatever you're going to be doing that's giving you the nerves that sort of undercuts it. Well, yeah, I mean, not to get too like deep about it, but both my kids were given offers to go play. And then you know, you have three. Oh, sorry, the two that are home and play soccer. At different times in their soccer careers, were offered to play in a higher soccer team and were like, no. Oh, why? Why? Because they were too nervous. It's really so it's catching. So I gave them my fucking anxiety. Does Ding Dong David come along with some really helpful fathering advice to these young nervous, you know, anxiety riddled kids? Yes, I feel like it's a good balance. We love David. We do love David. Just because he's not in front of the camera for my sister, Tracy, David created Game of Thrones, your husband. Yeah. Sorry, I don't understand the conceit. My sister. Every once in a while we have to remind the audience. Good. Thank you, Will. It's helpful. But wait, Amanda, did you, when you were growing up? Oh, go ahead. No, you go. No, Willie, go. No, no, no, no. I'm sorry. You guys are so polite to each other. Wait, Amanda, when you grew up with a mom in that field, did you, did she kind of try to psychoanalyze you all the time? Like did you, did you have somebody to talk to? Was it therapy constantly in the house? You know what I mean? Okay, to be honest, I was, yeah, I was very, very close with her. And very, very similar and was sent to the therapist right when I came out of her vagina. Oh, wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. As an infant, I was like, talk therapy, let's go. Yeah. You came out with the car keys, you're like ready to go. Did you ever feel like you were getting a free analysis from her? Or was it like, I can't really share with her my feelings because she's just going to psychoanalyze me? I think that she... Like was it a plus or a minus? Okay, my sister would disagree. For me, it was a plus. I didn't feel like she was looking at me as like a test dummy for her psychological theories. And she was even in psychoanalytic training in the 90s when I was in college. And I thought it was really intellectually interesting what she was talking about and really, really helpful. And I think because she felt like her mom was a clinical narcissist, she was hell bent on being a good listener and seeing my sister and me for who we were. That's how I feel. I think my sister felt a little bit more like there was this like psychobabble orthodoxy. That's older sibling. That's older sibling. Oh yeah, my older sister. Did you think about through that process, did you think, oh, maybe this is an area that I want to go into? Did you consider doing that yourself? I always think acting is a little bit of that area. Sorry, that question was for Amanda. Sorry. No, Sean, go. I, yeah. No, no, no, go ahead. Yeah, I mean, I think when I look back, I was in, this is very unusual. I was in psychoanalysis at age 13. So I went to the shrink four days a week. Wow. Talk about first world problems. And I think the idea of psychoanalysis, that there are these inciting incidents that set you on a path on a trajectory and that's storytelling. You're basically creating a narrative. I mean, old school shrink switch, I do not creating it. It's, but I think it's very similar to storytelling in every way. And then we create, and then that create that narrative and those, those sort of neural pathways get deeper and deeper and deeper, those grooves. And if, and if you're, the danger is that if you don't do that, I'm not advocating either way or whatever. I don't have a really position, but that, that if you, that those things get so deep that that becomes your story, entrench in your mind about who you are. I am this. This is the way, and you can, that can often lead to, I think, as you get older. You know, you, I know I speak for myself. The story that I've been telling myself about who I am for the longest time is become this thing that I've, I'm like now at this age, almost 56 and going like, wait, I gotta, I gotta look at that because I've been, I've had this narrative and I'm not a reliable narrator on this and you know, truly. Yeah. Nor is any 13 year old, by the way. And so it's, it's blame, there's a lot of blame, right? When that idea that there is an inciting incident that happened, that something happened to you, it, it takes away what it doesn't count is style of thinking. How you, you know, it's nature nurture. How were you born? You, I was born with a much more anxious mindset than my sister. And I think the idea that in your childhood, this A, B and C happened, it's, it can involve a lot of blame. And so I think it's maybe for some people harder to take accountability. I don't know if this is out, sort of what you're saying, Will, like you're sort of like. Yeah, I think so. I just think that we all have, first of all, we, everybody has their own sort of chemical makeup. And so you can have two people, like you were saying, you and your sister, you can have two people who grew up in the same environment with the same parents, the same thing. And they're completely different. We see it in our own kids. I certainly see it in mine and they react differently to stuff. And then, and, and this true in my experience that I've grown up in, and I take, do things differently. And I'm only now at this age started to go like, wait a second, all the stuff that I thought, like I didn't do that early on. I didn't go to psychoanalysis when I was young. Thank God. Well, maybe, but also, but also now, now I got to sort of retroactively, like I'm much more actively really searching to try to unlock a lot of the stuff that made me who I am today. Good and bad in, in trying to understand it a little bit and go like, why do I do that? Why do I make the same mistakes? Why do I do this stuff? And good man. Yeah. It's better to be self-aware enough to want to figure it out than just float along for Right. And maybe you just wouldn't have had the emotional intelligence that you have now to really do a lot of deep and honest analysis and introspection, you know? So it's, it's, you know, yeah, good time. When you're ready. Yeah. We'll be right back. This is a paid ad by BetterHelp. If you've been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, anxious or unsure that is okay, those feelings are more common than we think. Whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone. Having someone with you to listen and understand can make all the difference. Whatever is keeping you up at night therapy with BetterHelp can provide you with tools to help you check in with yourself and gain support from experienced professionals. BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform. Just take a short questionnaire to identify your needs and preferences and BetterHelp will handle the initial therapist matching work for you. You can also feel confident knowing BetterHelp therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully qualified. You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash smartlist. That's betterhelp.com slash smartlist. And now back to the show. Well, Amanda, speaking on keeping it deep and heavy now. Oh, shit, sorry. Yeah, no. What about when you're playing parts and stuff like that? Are you enjoying and exploring and utilizing all the different parts of you and injecting them into these characters where it's appropriate? I am so fucking into acting right now. Or do you like playing completely different people? Oh, I'll do anything. I like both. Right, but I mean, what's like your strategy? Do you think about, okay, how do I create an entirely different person? Or, okay, I recognize a part of myself in this character and so let's explore that part of myself and we'll just call her whatever this character is called. Well, I'm mostly given parts right now at this moment that are more, probably more like me. And yes, sometimes when right before I do a take, if I catch myself thinking about how to trying to be good. If I think like I'm trying. Is that similar to, is that similar to trying to be good or thinking about how to play it? Yes, like orchestrating anything. Or orchestrating a result. Yes, I try to pretend that David or Sarah Paulson are there at the video village. And that they'll call bullshit. So I say, okay, now you have to do one where they have to, they're gonna have to guess whether it's real or not real. That's not real. Whether it's really you or not really you. And that's the strategy for this moment. Yeah, because a lot of a lot of actors work so hard to let you know they're not acting that it looks like acting. Are you right? Yeah. Whereas, whereas if you focus on just like a performing for one microscopic lens that for some people it's themselves, right? Like for me, it's that case. Like I know I'm going to watch my performance here and I'm not going to be able to get away with anything. You know, I'm not going to give myself any sort of, you know, relief. Like it's got to be super, you know, like I'm watching. For you, that microscope is David and Sarah. It's never Amanda. Never my best friend Amanda. No, I can trick Amanda. I can trick her. Stop it. No, you can't. No, I can't. The other Amanda. Sorry, just to be clear, the other Amanda. Oh, sorry. I'm very close with JB's wife. Yeah. Can we talk to the other Amanda? No, Amanda and Jason were in what movie together? There were two, right? Was it just two or was it more? Oh God, oh my God, I forgot about the, I forgot about the first one. I mean, she came out of the gate with Sophie and she forgot about your shit. Yeah, thanks. Which one did you forget about? Which one did you post cement over? I forgot about the, I forgot about the wheelchair one. You don't remember the title? Oh, I know that one. We'll wait. In fact, I think it was- I remember that one too. What was it originally called? With Armisen's in that too, right? Is that the one in Charles Groton? I couldn't act with him because he was too funny. It was released as the X. But what was it called originally? I think it had a better name or is it anyway? What was the director's name? Jesse Peretz? Yeah, Jesse Peretz. Look at me. I can't believe you know that. Look at you. I know. Well, Amy was in it, right? Amy was in it, yeah. Shawn, you didn't see it? I have to, I have to have my cue. To the cue. I played an asshole in a wheelchair. What? And Amanda and I played- A week away from that. We play ex-boyfriend, girlfriend, or kind of I wanted you to be my girlfriend back in the day, but now we meet up later in life and we were on cheer team together when I wanted you to be my girlfriend. Oh my God, Shawn laughs. Wow, Shawn. And there's a moment in the film where I'm in my wheelchair and we see each other and I go, hey, do you hear, hey. And I say, hey, remember the move? And I lift you up over my head with one arm as a seat. You're sitting on my hand up over my head as I'm sitting in the chair. Did we, we did that for real, didn't we? Or were you on cables? I feel like we may have done it for real. Cables, why? Because your hand, your arms- Because I'm so fine. I mean, I've seen your nearly atrophied arms. I don't think that's- Yeah, they're aesthetic. Yeah, I couldn't do that with my children. But I feel like we may have- No, we rehearsed over and over again and- We did that for real, didn't we? Yeah, we did. You mean there were a couple of grips wearing green suits holding her? Nowadays, I have to. But it was very fun. That move. Yeah, Charles Groden. He was, I love Charles Groden. And then we did Identity Thief. Yes. Remember that one? I sure do. Oh, Identity Thief. The thing I remember about that the most is Amanda breastfeeding maips in the hotel. Yes. Yeah. That's what I remember. Jason's Amanda and I do. Again, again, says a lot about your acting, J.B. That's what she remembers. That's a great, that was a great movie. I love that Identity Thief. Yeah, that's a great movie. That's so much fun on that. Ms. McCarthy crushing it. All right, let's get back to the beginning. Let's roll through this a little bit. We're going to pick up the pace here where there's so much time. Metta, you grew up in New York City. You were born in New York, grew up in New York. Right? Yep. What's a school in New York? Born and raised. Where did you grow up in the city in Manhattan? In Manhattan, yeah. Oh, yeah. 11th and 5th. Oh, look at that. What is the most New York thing that is still a part of your everyday? That's a good question. What do you think you, because you lived there for a while. I'm working here. Right, yeah. What would be the thing that that city gifted you in your persona? Psychoanalysis, of course. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Everybody's looking inside over there. Bagels. Yeah, what do you, when you leave New York City, what do you miss the most? Just the whole McGillicuddy, the subway, the rubbing shoulders with other people. Where are you right now? That was by mistake, by mistake. I mentioned... Oh, God. I'm in the bedroom. I mean, are you in New York or Los Angeles? Oh, sorry. Oh, sorry. Jesus, I'm in Los Angeles. Yeah, we live in Los Angeles now. Yeah. All right, so you're starting out... JB, are we on a snack break? I'm sorry. That's the last bite. I thought I moved the microphone far enough away. I apologize. What is happening? So you grew up in New York, and you say to your parents, and your parents are a million miles from showbiz, and you go, hey, I think I'm going to be an actor. Now, were you doing any sort of like jobs before you got started that maybe you could say, well, but this has kind of taken off for me, and I won't have to be doing X anymore. What? No, I was doing school plays. I did all the school plays, and because I went to a tiny Quaker school, I was one of the best singers there, which is saying nothing. It was a short order, not a tall order. Then as soon as I got to college, I started, I sort of walked in confidently to all these auditions, and I never got a single play. I auditioned for 20 plays. Yeah. Oh, wow. It was as if they had already decided they already had their own click. Yeah, they were like, no, no, no, these parts are reserved for people who are good. But were you not studying drama? I took a teenage acting class that my mom found for me starting when I was 13 too, as well as being in psychoanalysis. No, but what about college? Where was that? Where was that acting school when you were 13? That was at HB Studios. So eventually my teacher- HB Studios. Yes. What's that? Yeah, so a lot of actors get this started. So eventually my teacher said, you know, you really need to study with Uta Hagen. And so my junior year at college, I auditioned for Uta Hagen. Now, what about in college, were you studying drama? No, I was studying American history. Yeah. So never went into the drama program, because I bet if you had, you joined the drama program, they might have felt obligated to put you in a program. There wasn't a drama program. What's happening, Sean? That's Scotty. Oh, that is Scotty? He's just striking the set. He's just striking the set. American drama. That's it, we just striking the set. All right. So then you start auditioning. Okay. So college starts to beat you up a little bit and tax your confidence. Meanwhile, you're like, I auditioned for 20 plays. I'm not getting anything. This is for me. What's the, did you go out and get an agent? How did you start auditioning? I hadn't really admitted it quite yet. I still think, and I had, it's almost like, what people say, like a self-hating Jew or something like that. I was like a self-hating actor. Right. I couldn't quite admit that I wanted to actually do this as more than a hobby. And was it the same for you, Sean? Oh, no, I'm just, I'm wrapped. Oh, I thought you were like, yes, I relate to that. No, I'm just like, yeah. Oh no, Sean was a prodigy. No, no, I mean a little bit. Yeah. Like, well, you know, when you're young, you never think you're good. You know, like you're just like hanging on by a thread. I mean, I'm never more confident than when I was young. And then like all the old enough to realize, oh no, Jason, you're full of shit. But also because you worked all the time. Like I had this similar, I moved to New York and I didn't get anything for years. Like, why the fuck did I keep doing it? Nobody wanted to hire me for that. But Amanda, you went out, but Amanda, at some point you went out and got an agent, right? You started auditioning? Yeah. So then once I was in Ute's class, all the, I was in an adult class at age 18. And so people had headshots and agents and they taught me what the, the, what's backstage magazine, but also the Ross reports where you could look up, there was a little booklet and it had every agent in New York City. And I just would start crossing them out and I would take the subway and go to make a day. Make submissions. Yeah. And I would go in person with like full makeup. Yeah. You had to. You wanted it. Right. And I did the same thing. And flipped my headshot under the sink. And they'd be like, thank you. We got it. Stop pushing it under the door. Stop pushing it. Yeah. We don't take unsolicited headshots. You know what? I've never, I've never told anybody this story. This is absolutely true when I was like 23 and I had like a headshot. It was just terrible and like nothing of fake resume. Did you look worse than you look now? Can you put your hands through your hair please? Sorry. Fix it. It's off your forehead. There you go. Cute. Pet head. And I went, I went up to 30 rock. This is before the advent of like high security and stuff. And I went to 30 rock and I went, it might have been even 92 and I went in and I got on the elevator and I went up and I put my resume on the desk at 8H. At SNL? At SNL. Honey, not everybody knows what fucking 8, wait to be, to be a, Well you do, you did. Spoken by Studio 60. I actually didn't know that. And have they called her? So you thought you were funny? I don't know. I mean you're right, but I just, I didn't mean. But talk about confident and unwarranted. You wanted to be on SNL early. I thought about it, but I had no, I didn't do sketch or anything. Anyway, this interview is not about me, but I did go and do that same thing. I went and I put the thing on embarrassingly enough and I watched him. I just had this image of me sliding my, just like you said, a man is sliding my headshot and resume underneath the door waiting three seconds and it just comes right back. With a bunch of piss on it. No, just a big sharpie on the outside of the envelope. And you guys, you guys not only that, but eventually, so I auditioned for agents, you know, like I did monologues in their offices and eventually I got repped and the teen rep walked me to the corner of 57th and 7th with one of her colleagues and said, and we were, she was saying, congratulations, we want to rep you. And we started giving me the lay of the land and then was like, um, and the other thing we just wanted to know. So for your, you have a little bit of, you got a, we got a mustache a little bit here. We were just wondering what can we do about that? Oh my God. Oh my God. Was she right? She was right. Really? Oh my God. Wait a second. So how old are you? Don't name her, but what agency? What agency was that? It was STE at the time. STE. It became her. And how old? Right, right. 18, 19. You were 18. 19. And you had a little bit of a fuzz there and, um, and so. I think it must have been more than a fuzz because I've seen a fuzz. Okay. What was the strategy on removal? Was it bleaching or waxing? She's like, she's like, no, watch, she's like, no, watch this. I'm going to grow it out. Take that. What was the strategy? Jamie wants to do it. No, I want an answer to that. Did we bleach it or did we wax it? We did everything. We did Nair. We did bleach. We did laser. Fuckin, you fucking name it. I did it. Wow. Yeah. Isn't that something? I would pay so much money to see my face like and see myself try to handle that. Yeah. Uh-huh. And be like, oh yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Was that so, so that you were. I had an agent recommended nutritionist to me once. Yeah. And I was like, this was last week? Got it. That was about 18 months ago. I know the guys have, it did a lot for me and I was like, cool. Hey, um, I had, I had a, I had a really big shot agent not too long ago pitch to, uh, another person that I work with, uh, say, hey, uh, if it's ever appropriate, um, uh, and you feel like you can kind of squeeze it into the, to, to, to the conversation, as Jason, if he'd ever consider highlights, highlights, it would really open things up for sort of like real sexy kind of leading man. And I was like, motherfucker, are you, did you do it? No, no, agent, king, king agent. And did you do it or no? No, I did not, Shawnee. I have not colored my hair since the, um, incredible, um, Frank Stallone vehicle, Philly boy on CBS in 1990. You have, you have so few grays too. You have so few grays. It's so, um, they're coming. I do, I do feel like they're coming. And I, I, there, there, there are a few that are trying to fight their way. Okay. So wait, um, now, uh, so you get this note about the stash, you're addressing it, or you're feeling like, yes, this is great. This is a good thing or wait a second, is that what this business is going to be? My feelings are hurt. I'm not getting a lot of stuff. Even though I just got a new, I should quit. Did you ever feel like quitting at any moment in your career? I think more later, I think it was more later. I think because, because the opportunities weren't what they were, what you wanted, or it was just like, oh, I'm good. I have nothing left to prove to myself. I've had incredible success. And next. It sure wasn't that, Jason. Well, it could be. You've had incredible success. Well, I'm going to go rest on my way. I completed everything. Take another look. Yeah, I think, um, well, you know, like once I started writing a little bit and when I was shooting the chair, which, you know, when I was behind the camera and all the ladies, like Sandra Oh, and everyone had to get there earlier and I could roll in in my snow pants with my mustache and my hair and just be, and, but still be the boss. I was like, this is fucking great. What have I been doing this whole time? Right. And then, yeah, that's okay. So then that, so then the latter. And it's really fun to have, you know, to have last cut, final cut. Right. Well, let's, let's, let's, let's talk about that. Let's talk about the, how did, how did the chair come into your orbit? So, so, so folks, she was the creator, the writer, the show runner for the Netflix series called The Chair starring Sandra Oh. And so was this, there was this, how did, how did it come to you? Tell us about that. Because I went to friends in Manhattan on 16th street and there was a teacher who was there when I was there, who was really lovely. And in the New York times, there, it was in the New York times, there was a huge mischievous because he was in a math class and he was pointing to something and he made a Nazi salute joke. Who's he? It was the teacher and it became at friend seminary at my Quaker school, this huge controversy. Friends is a school. Friends is a school, Manhattan friends is a Quaker school. And it was the beginning of- It's a joke you broke, your love life's DOA. Oh, yeah. You know, I can't believe they still go there. All those six friends. Jen's gonna, Jen's gonna figure it out. Sorry, go ahead. I like this idea of having a woman of color who is the boss of a white dude who transgresses. And it was sort of the beginning of cancel culture and all that stuff. And I knew this teacher to be a lovely, kind Quaker-leaning human being. And the fact that he's, you know, incited this whole controversy, I thought this is such a good story. What can I ask, what's a Quaker? I mean, I know what a Quaker is. I know what Quaker Oats are. They make oats. Yeah, that's all I know. But what's a Quaker school? What does it mean? What does that- You know, it's a Christian denomination, but I feel like they're the greatest. They really take the word literally. So, you know, there's no priesthood, you know, in a Quaker meeting house, anyone is allowed regardless of your religion. There's no priesthood because the idea is nobody is closer to God than anybody else. Oh, got it. It's called a popcorn meeting when someone stands up and speaks because- Also great fiber. You want to talk about a denomination that's got colon health? You need to go no further. Oh, was I getting boring? Was I getting like- Yeah, yeah, that's our job. We got to pop it in every once in a while. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, but what- Poop farts. Yeah, you gotta do it. We're just dumb dudes. Hey, what about- What made you think that you could be the boss? The writer. Yeah. The show runner. Yeah, what made you think? Everyone would love to like- God damn thing. Would like to have their own show on Netflix. I mean, like how great. Well, first of all, I watched David and Dan do it. Yeah, I was like, Jesus, these two guys can- Yeah. Yeah. Holy shit. Exactly. No, I was like, oh my God, I better not fuck this up. I think it's just like the love of actors. That was it. That was like my starting point. Scary though, right? Clearly, immense writing talent, and we're going to get into that. But like where did the writing talent come from? You didn't study it in school? I did. You did? Okay. Yeah. American history and American literature? Well, I just took a lot of creative writing classes. And then acting just sort of took over, but I was always kind of dabbling. And then I think when I married David, he was really encouraging. When Studio 60 got canceled, he was like, take a stab. Let's go. Yeah, especially you, and that was Aaron Sorkin, wasn't it? So you had, you had, you just been under that. I mean, my God, those scripts. Yeah. Incredible. Incredible. So wait, all right, while we're on the writing thing, let's talk about this incredible essay that was just published by the New Yorker a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't read it- Oh, I got to read it. Or look for it, do so. I mean, you tell me, Amanda, is this not the equivalent of an Oscar for an actor to be a writer and to get published in the New Yorker is the zenith of accomplishments, yes? Lost my mind. I can't read this. I lost my mind. What's the name of the article? It doesn't have a name. It's- But what would you name it? You know what I mean? Like, how do I find it? Just Amanda Pete, New Yorker? Yeah. Oh, there's a start. Yeah. Have you ever used the internet? Sorry, I should just- I have read it and it is not only is it an incredible piece of writing, but the subject matter, it is nonfiction. It is about our guest and her family and mortality. And tell them the rest of it if you're comfortable, because it is just stunning. And it left me with real wet cheeks at the end. Thank you, JB. And I mean facial cheeks. Sorry, I need to be clear. Will, where's your thing or do you- I know it so far away. You missed it. Prow, pow, pow, pow. Jason, just say facial cheeks. And I had, and I ended with real wet cheeks afterwards. Facial cheeks. The boys will put that together. Sure. I can't believe that actually worked. And we will be right back. And now back to the show. Amanda, tell us about some of the things that are revealed in this. I mean, deeply, deeply personal. Well, so on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, this last Labor Day weekend, I went to my breast surgeon. I have what's known as dense and busy breasts. Guys, I'm not going to hit that softball. Y'all leave that to you guys. I feel like you're looking at my search history. Okay. You can really see that up. Okay. No, you guys for real. It's a real thing. And it means you have to get tested all the time because- Do you mind telling me what, because I'm super into medical stuff. Like what is that condition? What is, if you don't mind- I guess it just means that you're, it means that on screens, it's hard to detect cancer. Okay. Because it's, I guess it's a little bit like a forest or something. I don't know, but there's like too many, it's too dense and busy. Like vascular and cardiovascular kind of things. Yeah. Yeah. But all jokes aside, that's scary. That's a scary- Yeah. So I was used to going, I go all the time. I go every six months. I get ultrasounds and as well as mammograms. And so she found something on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and went right before I left. She said, I said to her, do you think, if you were a betting woman, what would you say? And she said, I think it's cancer. Oh my God. So I went home- But you had to wait for the results for the test. Yeah. Yes. So then she said she was going to walk it over to Cedars because it was a holiday weekend. I was like, I talk about Xanax. So I came home and then the next day, David went down to San Diego while we were waiting to hear from the doctor because the kids had a soccer tournament and my sister called and told me that my dad was about to die. So I flew to New York and my poor sister had just dropped her last kid off at college and- So she's in a great mood. So she was dealing with a lot of closure and loss. So my dad passed away and- I'm so sorry. Thank you. The essay is really, really funny. It actually is. This is her superpower. It has the most devastating things in it and the most hilarious stuff in the middle. It's really something to watch. So anyway, when I got on the plane to come back to LA to get ready to get all the tests and go through the whole process of having breast cancer, I was like, surely I can write about this. Surely this is a weekend from hell that there's gotta- It's gotta be- But you're not thinking New Yorker. You're thinking just sort of a cathartic kind of let me just- Yeah, I wasn't thinking that far ahead. I was just like, this can't be that common. I mean, not that like I- The weekend from hell. Yeah, the weekend from hell was sort of what I was thinking. Yeah. And we mean, while my mom was also in hospice, so both my parents were in hospice at the exact same time. So, you know, I just- It's all this past year. Just now. Six months. Yeah, just now. Yeah, six months. And I was very lucky. Everything's, you know, I'm clear. I did radiation. I have extremely lucky the cancer they found. It was cancer. I mean, I didn't know this. I'm so sorry. Yeah. Oh, thank you. Yeah. So I was, like I said, like very, very lucky. No one knew this, right? I mean, it is in the article is your first mention, the first time you've gone public with this, yes? Yeah, I think because, you know, we didn't tell the kids right away because, you know, Frankie, we dropped Frankie off at college the week before. So we, and as some people know this, but cancer, most types of cancer, it takes a while to find out what, where you are. Like what is your treatability? What kind of breast cancer do you have? How big is your tumor? And that tells you how to treat it. Yeah. But, and, you know, I found out later, now I know so much more about breast cancer that and other cancers too. I mean, there are types of pediatric leukemia where you don't find out for a year whether you have a treatable, you know, course, but the waiting is insane making. Yeah. It's just insane making. So yeah, we didn't want to tell the kids for a while until we knew whether I was going to do chemo and what the course of treatment was going to be. So I wanted to keep it a secret because I wasn't even telling my children. So yeah. Wow. And then, and then your, your, and then your dad passed while you were waiting for the, while I was on the plane. Yeah. He actually passed. Yeah. But you got there in time to say goodbye. Yes. And yeah, it's all, it's all in the article. It's still in the essay. It's like, it's so, it's so well written. So wait. So then, then now you, now you get home, you're starting your treatments, your, your, your mom, you're being a saint. She's living with you in hospice. Yeah. Jason, Jason has come and seen my mom many times. So she, yeah, she's sing, she was single. My parents got divorced and she was single and living in New York. And so she has Parkinson's disease. So once she was wheelchair bound, we, David, being, all jokes aside, the mench to end all menches moved my mom here and we took her in. And so she was living here for the last seven years. I mean, your stuff that you write about, your connections with her right there at the end, or just, just everything. That's so beautiful. That's amazing. I had no idea all these years that your mom was living with you. You never, Yeah. talked about it in any way. And you're like managing this, you know, vibrant career that is after all these years, even more vibrant and, and writing, writing and doing stuff. And you're shooting that show in New York, right? You're shooting your show with him in New York. Yeah. At the same time. Shooting with him. Yeah. They were been, they were really lovely. Like last summer when my, before I found out I had breast cancer, um, Chopper and John Hamm were very beautiful about my mom being in hospice and letting me go back and forth all the time. Like I have very special bosses, I have to say. Well, this is really amazing because every time, I didn't know any of this was going on. So every time I see you, I always laugh. I was such a great time with you. Same here. Same here. And you, and you always so positive and have so much light about you and around you. This is Annex, you guys. No, it's not just on a drip. It's not down or dripping. No, it's like you're always, you're always laughing. Well, there's Ritalin. She does a sidecar of Ritalin as well. Sidecar. Sidecar of Ritalin. It's true though. Oh my God, the sidecar of Ritalin. She is the light. She is sunshine. You're such a joy. Like it's just amazing that to know what just, like just goes to show you have no idea what anybody's going through. At any time. Right. Yeah. I think my mom, thank you first of all, but yeah, my mom is, is that way, like a very Jewish sense of humor. Like very, we're asking about what I miss about New York. Like she has that very New Yorkie. Sharp. Naradic, Jew, sharp, witty sense of humor. And throughout her Parkinson's, you know, I mean, it's a horrible disease. I know you guys probably know a little bit about it. And she never really lost her sense of humor. That's amazing. That's so great. So I have a good model for all, as, as Carrie Fisher said, always look for the humor. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. All right. So we're going to take a look at that essay for sure. Are we going to a clip? Or for the, Yeah, I did say like you were about to go to a clip. For the folks who don't know how to read, and just enjoy their dose of Amanda Pete on the screen. They've been enjoying your friends and neighbors quite a lot. As I would imagine, as I did, You, you are too, Amanda, not withstanding the, the, the hours spent with John Hamm. Because that, because that can be tough, you know, this guy, that would be trying. You the nightmare. Let's face it. Let's face it. Well, you know, maybe this is people catch on, people catch on and, and we'll finally be rid of them. But until then, you guys are great on this show. The second season is, is coming up here in the spring, as well as your new film. Let's talk about your new film. It's called fantasy life. Release March 27th. You are a producer and you are a producer on that. And also the co-star. And you were awarded. What were you awarded for that? Hold on. I don't want you to have to say it yourself here. I believe it was some sort of special award at South by Southwest. The film on the audience award as well. I mean, this is, and I saw it the other night and it's effing great. It's a, it's a real naturalistic, you know, let's put it this way. If you loved Will Arnett's film, and I know all of our listeners did, you will love this film too. It's got a lot of the same really great naturalistic sort of texture to it, if you will. No one's swinging for the fences with some like, what is it? Come out. My performance crap. It's really effortless quality. How does it come out, Amanda? I was swinging for the fences. With a literal bat. But you always, you never ask the audience to watch your performance, you know, you're never screaming. Like, hey, look at me act. It's, it's so easy to watch. I'm screaming deep inside. Look at me. Whatever it is, it's working. Deep inside. Was that a great sense of accomplishment? Because you've been doing great work on, this is what your first film in, in 10 years, was that important? Can I just say something about that? Is that true? People keep saying that. Can I just say something? Yeah. It's not like I chose to not work in a movie for 10 years. I just couldn't get arrested. Yeah, but you're no longer, you know, pushing your headshots under doors and stuff. I mean, as you said, you've got this healthy, sexy indifference guys. And you, you're, you're busy doing things that are a little bit more important to you, I would imagine. Yes? Honestly, it's really just what is the writing good. And in this particular case, this indie writer came to me with this idea of this was before Baby Girl. It's basically like a sort of a upper crust mom who has. This is Matthew Shearer? The upper crust mom, yeah. Yes, but Matthew Shearer, it's like you, she has an affair with a mani, basically. She has a higher mani for her kids. Yes. And when I read the script on about page 15, this neurotic, speaking of neurotic Jews from New York, he has a scene with his shrink where he's talking about his OCD with Jud Hirsch, where he, and he's having these self-hating Jew intrusive thoughts where he sees like a Jewish guy on the subway with a big nose like David. And he says hook, no, hook, no, hook, no. And he thinks he's going to say it out loud. And I was like, well, this is brilliant. I want to do this. Oh, wow. Just do it. Just fucking funny. That you're sold. It's really a lot funnier than how I'm pitching it right now. No, it's, but again, it's not asking for laughs. It's really tasteful. Alessandro Naval is in it with you as well. How funny is he? Yeah, he's great. He's great. Wait, when does it come out? March 27th. March 27th. Mm-hmm, which I believe has already passed. We are doing this a little bit ahead of time. But yeah, we are- No, I know that obviously. Yeah, go out there and grab it, y'all. Now, what is my next question? Here I come. I'm coming out of the play here. I know. Jamie, just go off script a little bit. Just, you know, what do you do for fun? Well, you know what she does for fun. Yeah. Dense and busy, dense and busy. Dense and busy. Oh, no, that's what Will does for fun. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, I'm mad at what does the rest of the day look like today? No, that's a great question. Yeah, let's do that one. This is the most hard-hitting journalism. You guys are so boring. No, you're not. Are you out of your mind? I'm really bored. No, I want to know. I want to know because I want to- First of all, I didn't know anything that you've gone through in this past six months or a year. And now I want to know, like, what do you do all day? Because the kids are away, right? What do you do all day? Like, because- You're about to start- Are you about to start press for both the film and the show? Yes. Yes. And is that something that you like? Do you like going out there and doing all the chat and giggles? What do you guys think? I feel like when you're proud of it- It all depends on sleep. If I slept, I'm great. I'm going to do anything. I'm tired. I don't want to do it. Do you have trouble sleeping? Let's talk about sleep because- Yeah. Yeah. I think as you get older and smarter, and the brain works better, there's more stuff to think about. Sleeping gets harder. Yes. I just read somewhere that it used to be- By red, you mean TikTok. Uh-huh. It's on TikTok. By the way, it's true. I think I did see it on TikTok. Where the- Where you sleep- It used to be hundreds of years ago, people only slept for three or four hours, got up, and then there was a second sleep. Says who? TikTok. That is true. Yeah. He's right. And then so that's kind of what happens to me. I sleep for a little bit. There was a time in New York you can look at, where people used to go and they'd walk around in the middle of the night. It would be- I remember reading this, there was a book about it, about these people would walk around at like 1 a.m., and there'd be like a kind of a nightlife that people- Yeah. Because sort of before the advent of widespread- They've got to get your eight hours. Electric bulbs and all that kind of- That people would go to sleep earlier, and then often wake up in the night and they would have like a reprieve from their sleeping. I am definitely looking that up. Are you guys, are you ruminators when you wake up? How do you keep your brain from being like, death? We're all going to die. And then- Catastrophic thinking. Do you have catastrophic thinking? Yeah, yeah. You do. I mean, I've been, yeah. But so how do you stop yourself, Sean, when you- So you have two sections of sleep with a thing in the middle. So what- I went back to bed. Are you able to put your phone away? No, no. I play games or I'll read or do whatever on my computer. Like I'll look, read stuff that I find interesting, but most of the time I'll play games. But doesn't the blue light- Didn't people tell you not to put the blue light? I have glasses that soften the blue light. No, but it's okay. So that's a great look. You've got the glasses on, the CPAP, and the- And then you got the, what's it called, the Beetlejuice? What's it called? That's hot. A jewel heist. What's the game you play? It's more about sugar. Candy Crush. Candy Crush, Candy Crush. That's hot. That is hot. But it's more about what that's doing, the sort of firing all those things in your brain. In that moment, if you were to wake up and pick up a book, you might find it easier to go to sleep. I know, but I don't know. Will is constantly pushing reading on this- On this hierarchy. I'm sorry. I'm gonna- Mostly about World War II, though. Not recently. No, World War I now, or are we into Vietnam? Which direction are you going? The last, you know what? The last couple of weeks, I've been into a more sort of modern noir. Which I did one of those things. I said, what are the best modern noir books of the last 10 years? What would you say? And what'd they say? Yeah. And they sent me a list of books and I- Sean said, you know noir? And I just read about it. Oh, sorry, Sean. Hang on. Sorry, Sean. A little late, a little late on the draw there. Is that fiction or nonfiction? Fiction. It's been like sort of like crime and yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been interesting. I know it's so good that you read all that well. That's so good. Do you read a lot, Amanda? I try. Yeah, I try to read a lot. David reads a lot. David reads a lot. David and I have exchanged books. I know. We've handed each other books before. And now he's listening to the rest is history. Do you know that podcast? Yes. He's obsessed. Yeah, it's very good. It's really fun. I feel like- What is a book, like an audio book or something? It's a podcast and they talk about history, but in a very accessible- Oh, like for dum-dums. Hilarious. For dum-dums like me. Wait, for dum-dums like me. Yeah, like I'm doing the one on Iran right now. And they're so, they're, well, David, they're so funny. Very, very interesting. They're not as funny as you guys, but they're funny. But where do people have the time to listen to podcasts? On the finger dinger. Like, were you even in the car? No. You do the thing. I watch the news when I'm on the thing. But, JV, if you look, well, look at it this way. You dedicate, I'd say 80% of your time that you watch TV, which is about 80% of your day, is you're watching news. The other 20 you're watching sports. I keep waiting for him to get caught. No, no. And my point is, if you were to delegate some of that time to- Sitting in a chair, in a room with headphones on, staring at the wall. While you're on the exercise machine. Or I do it in the car. Well- In the car. Yeah, in the car. And listen to these guys. I think that you'd find it pretty interesting. But I can't finish it. My car rides are like 15, 20 minutes. Is that okay? You just pop in, pop out. That's good. I feel like I do that with them, especially if you're interested in one section. Will it hold my place? I don't want to have to start over when I get back in the car. I just take a screenshot of where I am, and that's how I know how many minutes have gone by, and then I return to it. Of course you do. You can always do it in an easier way. I love that you do that. Boy, that says everything. Really? Yeah, that taught me a lot. In a great way. I'm scared. No, no, no, no. It's very, you're just, it's very methodical, and I really appreciate that. Well, she's a Capricorn. I'm a Capricorn. You know, we think shit through. Fuck that. I need to give a shout out to Amanda Anka and say that I'm a Capricorn. Yeah. Yeah. I know. She's aware. What are you guys, Sean? She knows you're rising, and you're whatever. No, she still needs more information, apparently, to tell me exactly what I am. I am cancer. How about that? Oh, wow. In every situation. Yeah. In every situation. That, for now, she's going to be close to the mic. I'm like a modern-day Fred Norton. I'm like a low-ranked Fred Norris from Howard. Hey, Sean, what's your rising? I don't know what that means. Okay, me neither. Will, what about you? Sean, you're going to have a joke for what's rising, and Sean, something about my parents. Torrius. Torrius. Will, you know what your rising is? I forget, but Amanda Anka does that. She's got it all on us. She's got a full forecast for all of us. Amanda needs to be here so she could, yeah, she could tell us what's what in the coming months. You're right. I had to send Amanda Anka like a year ago or whatever, like what time, I had to ask my mom exactly what time the day I was born. I did all this stuff. She needed to have all this information. She wanted to know if you were a good match for her or not. She already knew. She already knew. Yeah, she's sticking with me. I love her so much. She better. And you don't want to know who else I love so much. Yeah. The other Amanda in my life. Amanda Pete, today's guest. And we want to thank you for your hour. And eight minutes. We love you. We certainly do. I love you. I love all three of you so much. I love you so much too. We love your husband, your three kids, the whole thing. I love you. And your talent. Thank you, JB. So go out there, read that essay in the New Yorker, watch your movie, Fantasy Life, watch your show, Your Friends and Neighbors, and stay tuned for the next half of this incredible woman's career and life. Oh my God, I'm going to start crying. I'm going to cry. I know. We love you. We do love you. Have a great day. And I'll see you in better hours. Thank you so much. I love you gentlemen so much. You're such a light. I'm going to hug you so hard when I see you. Is that a sin? Yeah, I'm going to say squeeze me. Squeeze me. Okay. Love you. All right. Bye. Love you guys. Bye. Love you too. Bye. Bye. Bye. That was Amanda Pete, one of my dearest, longest friends. I know. She is. One of my all-time faves. Yeah, right? She's a great person. Super funny. Yeah. And like I said, she's always so bright. You know, it would ever know anything's going on ever. She's always, not that that like, you know, it's just somebody who knows how to. I know. Always walk in a room and light it up. Yeah, for sure. And on screen too, like I just, she's just always sort of ground stuff that I watch. And always kind of elevates it, kind of smarts it up. You know what, JB? I have a recollection of before you guys were friends, before you'd worked together, that you always admired, you used to talk about her in this way, that she was for you like kind of like the gold standard. And she was like one of those people you wanted to work with her really bad. Yeah. You know what? You know what? In the best way. Yeah. It tailioni was like that for me too. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And still to this day. Like I just think there's a Julia Roberts is like that too. There's a strength and a style of humor and also of drama that, I don't know, I don't kind of remind me of each other. But yeah. She is a treasure. And Sean, right about now is when you start to say, hey guys, have you ever... Yeah, you start to say, hey, you start to combing. I'm looking. Do you remember the time that I... Do you remember? Hey guys, do you want to know what my favorite film of hers was? And then he kind of works it in that way. I'm coming. I've been combing. Oh God, wait. Combing. We're going to cut out this pause and the waiting. Oh, are we? Yeah. Okay. You know that David Benioff, husband of hers, you know, that's... They've got kind of like a dual... It's a double barrel shotgun over there of talent and accomplishments. And they're sort of... You know... Yeah, sorry. You know what? You know... Yeah. I thought that'd be a great tea up there for one of you guys. I know. Wait, yeah, it's not about you. Okay, we've got a caller. A caller is... Oh, you know, one of my favorite jobs that I've ever done in Amanda P. Happened to be in it. We talked about it earlier. A real treat. My friend, my favorite Amanda P. Played my wife in. Bye, Danny D. Thief. Bye, Danny D. Thief. That was pretty good. Smart. Smart. smart. SmartLess is 100% organic and artisanly handcrafted by Michael Grant Terry, Rob Armjalf, and Bennett Barbicow. Smart. Lass.