"Tony Hale"
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I got my COVID booster shot today. I'm feeling a little low from the side effects, but you know what I don't feel low for? An episode of Smart Less! Smart Less. Smart Less. Smart Less.

I was just in dad hell. Uh-oh. Yeah, take a deep breath. Yeah, take a couple deep breaths. Oh, my God. I'm all sweaty and my hands are dirty, which is the worst part of it all. Look at the way he holds his hands like a surgeon. I haven't been able to wash my hands. Like working on a car. I just got a 150-pound delivery from UPS, which was Maple's new I'm Not a Little Girl Anymore basketball hoop. Sure. Oh, I have that.

And I just spent the good part of three hours assembling just half of it. Okay. I had to, I had to punt and I'm going to have to do the other half tomorrow or after this.

And, guys, have you ever had an Ikea injury, you know, where you really haven't screwed in a bolt or anything for, like, maybe ever, and your forearms the next day are just ripped to hell? I'm going to have, like, this is not Ikea. This is a real big boy hoop. Why not get one over the garage, like, when you just put it on the garage? Well, I'd have to assemble that, too, Sean. Oh, like the Cunninghams had.

-Yeah. -Listen, first of all, IKEA. I've always said IKEA is Swedish for argument. 'Cause anytime you go into an IKEA store on a weekend, you just keep going like, "We don't need that." -It's so true. -"Well, we've already got the one in the other room." We've already got the other thing. I really feel proud. There's a certain pride that comes with the finishing of the assembly. -For sure. -And this one-- I always feel pride when I finish.

We're talking about the same thing, right? Yeah. So I'm going to feel like... Well, I'm not going to extrapolate on your metaphor there, but I'm going to feel so good when this is done, but it's made me late, my hands are dirty, and I'm only half done. Again, I think we're talking about the same thing. Yeah. And almost more importantly...

I have not had the time to do my prep for my guest today. Oh, that's okay. Yeah, so you're a guest. I think this is today. This is my guest, I think, right? It is your guest. Yeah, it is. Boy. Yeah, and so this is going to be my first raw dog. Still talking about the same thing.

Boy, this is a long subject. Now we're talking about a different thing. Wait, first of all, I missed you guys last night. I was supposed to see you for dinner at a friend's house. I know. Well, you know why I didn't make it? Because I kind of partially pulled my back.

You did. And so it's all about old man for me today. That's a game. But, Jason, and then I stopped by Will's house on the way home, and I texted you, hey, I'm stopping at Will's if you want to come by. You did. I ignored that text because I was so pissed off at my back. That's all right. You didn't even answer him. No, I don't do that sometimes. Well, it didn't necessitate. No, here, guess what? I'm going to read you the goddamn text right now. Listen to how this does not trigger a response at all. Okay.

Missed you tonight, period. We left because Scotty's tired, period. Stopping off at Will's to say quick hello if you feel like jaunting over, period.

Well, I don't. And thanks for the update. Well, we got it now. 24 hours later, he got it. Hey, speaking of good friends. Yeah. So, Sean did come over last night with Scotty. Well, we said good friend. It's not like you just got back from the hospital and everyone's got to stop by. Yeah. I texted Jason about that. No, but Will's, your house is...

Spectacular. Oh, thanks, man. It is just unbelievable. Good for you, Will. Thank you. Thank you. It's so beautiful. It's taken a long time. But, Jay, I think you're really going to like it. And we're talking about Monday doing a hang, a chamois with everybody. Oh, sorry, listener. Just hold on one second. Will decided to take your time to make some plans. What is it, Will?

A week from today, what are we doing? I almost did a spit take. By the way, we just talked about you putting together a fucking basketball hoop for your daughter. Yeah, but that's... Oh, you think that's cute? But that's podcast worthy. You think that's cute? I'm not just fucking filling up my file of facts with next Monday's plans. Just open and fill up your Google News alerts with links about cute dad moment. Jason Bateman put together a fucking basketball hoop. I'm self-effacing right now. I'm talking about how soft I am. I'm texting Amanda right now. I want to get a photo of you putting that together so badly. So badly. Oh, yeah.

That would be so great. But all the damage I did to my daughter. I'm trying to do good things for my daughter, and the damage I did yelling at her while I'm putting this thing together. She's asking to help. Do you think by you asking for help that you're helping? By the way, that's a great impression of you. Inflections on the wrong words.

All right, let's get to our guest. That is a good impression of you. It is. I love seeing you frazzled. Our guest has a great daughter that I bet he's nicer to than I am to mine. Okay. Or at least assembles more things for. So here I am, just raw dogging it right now. Please stop using that term. Our guest, I don't have my Wikipedia in front of me, but I should know enough.

He, okay, so it's a man. That part I did research. Well, you gave it away a while ago, but go ahead. No, no, did I really? Yeah. He has a daughter? Yeah, that was earlier and then before that. But anyway, keep going, man. No, no, no. Tell me who you think it is. What do you mean? I don't know who it is, but I know that it's a he because you said he. Okay. So it's a he. Oh, my God. Boy, here we go. He's a father. He's an actor. Do you know him? No.

Yeah, man. Okay. And he's great. Okay. He's nice. Okay. Do you want to just say his name so we can start? No, not yet. He's funny. What time today did you hit fuck it? You just...

I spent all I had putting up half the hoop. How's your back now, by the way? And you know what? We're going to find out a lot about this guest, and we're going to give him a chance to tell us. But I'll tell you what I do know. I love him. Okay. And Will loves him. Yeah. A lot.

How does Sean feel about him? Sean, I don't know if you've ever met him, but you may have. We're going to find out in a second. Let's just get on with it. Will, it's our long-lost brother, Tony Hale. Come on, Tony. What's up? What are you talking about? I live for Tony Hale. Have you guys met? Many times. Really? With me? No. Not with you, no. No, okay, good. Actually, no, we did meet with you because it was at a party.

Years ago at your house, and I went up to you, Sean, and I said... At my house? No, at Jason's house. Okay. And I said, oh, Sean, I'm a big fan. And you said, oh, I'm a big fan of yours. Come to find out later, you never watched Arrested Development, so you were lying. No. Well, I'm not a lie. I can still be a fan. He's seen the commercials, Tony. Okay. Okay.

Two-tone. Oh, man, you've probably seen Veep. I love Tony. That's another thing I could have put in the intro that I could raw dog. He's been on Veep. Well, if you had said Veep, I just would have known immediately. Exactly. But wait, Tony, hang on. I just got to absorb this for a second. I'm so happy to be here. Guys, that was really hard not to laugh. It's really, really hard not to laugh.

Tony, are we talking about the same thing? That made me laugh out loud in my mouth, in my hand. I'd forgotten when you were just, when you hadn't revealed yourself, I'd forgotten what a heavy breather you are. And so I just heard. Well, asthma. Asthma, thanks for bringing it up. Oh, shit. Really? Yeah. I meant that in a good way, by the way. Oh, you did? Oh.

Okay. You don't have, have you had asthma for a long time? I have since I was a kid. Oh, that's right. I knew this. I knew this. Of course I didn't know this. What do you mean you knew this? We talked about it on your podcast. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, wait. Was Tony on Hypochondriactor? Yeah. Oh, no way. This is a crossover episode. He played Gary Walsh on Veep. Uh-oh. We already did the intro, Jay. We already did the intro. He won an Emmy in 2013 and 2015 for Veep because I know he didn't win for Arrested.

I was sitting next to Tony when he won. Yeah, you were. But Jason was in front. And Jason was in front when they called. Remember, Jay, when he got his first Emmy? How about that? He's not going to remember. I don't remember anything. I know. Okay, listen. Tony, guess what, guys? His birthday is September 30th, and he's 51. Good. Good, good, good. I don't need the Wikipedia to tell me his wife's name is Martel. I love her and I miss her. And Loy is still your daughter? She's not. Oh.

Oh, man. We had a hard breakup. Didn't work out. She's 16 now. She's a junior in high school. She driving? Because Franny's about to start driving. She's driving. Yeah? How did that go for you and Martel?

It's been a journey. It's the highways that do freak me out a little bit, the LA highways. So I was driving home just now. I picked up Archie from school with his pal, and I was driving back, and I was coming up Coldwater, and I see these two teenagers...

trying to make a left-hand turn in rush-hour traffic. And so I stopped to let them go because they were trying to take a left in front of me and to go the direction I was going. And everybody else coming down cold water was not having it. And these kids, they pulled out, then they went back. And I just stopped and I held and I kept flashing my light and I put my hand out the window like, guys, go. And I could see that they were barely 16.

And it made me so nervous for them. And then they finally, one other person-- They were confused by your kindness, right? Well, yeah, but the people the other way-- And I just thought as they went out, I just-- I wanted-- Of course, as you know, it's single lane. I wanted to pull up to them and teach them a lesson and literally go like, "Guys, you need to know something. Just be careful, please." You're just being-- I was so nervous for them as a dad. -We're such old men now. -I know. Right? Just a few years ago, you would have just been honking and saying, "Get that!"

Get the hell out of the car. I know. So, Tony Hale. So, to Tracy. This is so fun. This is so fun. This is amazing. Tony...

Tony and I met first. I just want to say, I know Jason, he's your guest, but I'm going to hog this. I want to say Tony and I met. Go, please. I'm unprepared. Oh, good. Martel, his wife, used to work on SNL. And so our wives. Started the night live, Tracy. Started the night live, Tracy, which is a longstanding live sketch comedy. Okay, okay. When do they shoot that? Oh, my God.

So they knew each other before. So then Tony and I went out to read for Arrested Development, which is a longer story, and we kind of had a little bit of a... We kind of knew each other a little bit. Like, hey, hey. We had that familiarity. From the halls of SNL? Because our wives knew each other. And it was...

nerve, we were both, it was very nerve wracking. We were both staying at what was then the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City and we walked to our test together. Yeah. Do you remember that? For Arrested Development. For Arrested Development. Tony and I walked over. You both got it. That's crazy. We both got it. Wait, so you walked, you walked

Down. Sean's just now learning that we both got down. We walked in the back gate. What's that called? The galaxy gate. Yeah, yeah. And we went in the back together, and then we walked over and read with you and with Portia and Jessica and everybody. Yeah. And then we both got it.

And then we walked back and then we were like, I guess we're staying for a little bit. Did you, correct me if I'm wrong, did we shoot the pilot right after we had that callback? Well, yeah, Tony, remember the next night, I'm good with stuff like this, Jason will tell you. The next night we had a read through. What year was this, Will? This is the spring. 2003. This is late February of 2003. Tony knows. Wait, how do you know the month, freak? By the way, by the way, in this spring, it's going to be 20 years since we shot the pilot. Really? And when does it come out?

Turn your camera off right now, Sean. Anyway, so that's Tony and I... It's been shelved for 20 years. And then, and I will say this, and I've told this and I've said it high and wide. Frame it up better. There is nobody on the set, and Jason, you're there, and I'm sorry to say, but there's nobody who cracked me up, and I think you'll attest to this too, the way Tony hailed it. David Crutch. Oh, Tony, yeah. No, I...

I listened to David's podcast. You guys did with him. And, and, and well, when you said the best joke that he said, and when he said, um, I don't, I don't know what you said, Jason, like, how are you doing? He goes, good. And he goes, well, it's going to be good. Yeah. That was, remember that? That was so funny. But Tony, Tony would do this thing where he'd be getting ready to like, he and I would both be off camera ready to enter a scene. And he,

Jason, you know that thing where he starts getting into Buster. So you'd be talking to him about something. He goes, I think we're rapping later. And then you hear the scene and go, okay. And then you bring up the Tyrannosaurus Rex hands. And you bring his hands up like this. And then I'd have to come in after him and I'd be in here. Tony, fuck me, Tony. You're so goddamn funny. He tucks the chin and brings up the T-Rex hand and then he's in.

I took it really seriously. Well, tell me about that. Is that because I haven't worked with you before or since, unfortunately, but it was your, are you that disciplined with everything you do or, or did you think at the time, this is a big deal, a big show. I better keep it tight because this feels large.

Yeah. I was, I think I was so, I think all that. I was really overwhelmed. I was really intimidated. And I was like, I gotta, I gotta do the work. And so I would go back to my hotel room and I would just like practice in the mirror and all that stuff. And like,

Because I will say, I went up to Mitch and I asked a very actor-y question. Mitch Hurwitz was the boss on the show, Tracy. Mitch Hurwitz, yeah. And he was a guest on here, too. Sweet Tracy. And I asked him, I said, what does Buster want in life? And he said, I know, it's a really actor question. And he goes, all he wants in life is safety. And so then I just kind of like thought everything that threatened his safety, he would just like panic. Yeah.

And so he was always in a state of defense. Like his chin would go back, his hands would go back, and he was just constantly waiting what's going to come at him. That's really funny. Sean, you have to know, you'd be doing a scene, and then you'd be like, and even when you were rolling, and if Tony was behind you, and you'd be having a conversation, like, and then you'd just hear, oh. Yeah. You could always hear what's going on inside. He'd sort of verbalize it.

And I have a really fat chin, which actually helped because it was just like, no, you do not. No, you do not. I have a question about, I heard about, like, I don't know the process on Arrested Development. It sounds like it was, obviously, I've heard so many stories. Oh, it was a good time, Sean. Good shows. Good episodes.

And I'm sure you, I like it as much as you love Will and Grace. Save it though, you know. I'm curious, Sean. Have you seen, I mean, have you literally seen anything? I saw the first two. I laughed out loud. Oh, you did see the first two? Yeah. That was enough. Yeah, got it. You're that person. You're that person. You're that person. Got it.

So there's a problem and it gets resolved. Okay. So, but on Veep, I heard that there's an actual, I don't know if this is true, I've always wanted to ask you this, that there is a process, an actual rehearsal process, like a lengthy one. Can you describe that to me? Because I'm kind of really interested in that where you got to improvise scenes even though they were written or did you improvise them first and the writers would write from what you came up with?

I think a little bit of both. Armando Iannucci, who created it, he would give us... Wait, how do you say his name? Armando Iannucci. Oh, crap. Here's the day. Armando Iannucci. No. Armando Iannucci. Isn't it Armando Iannucci? How many years did you guys work together? Yeah. This is probably seven or eight, right? Armando. This is V. I think it's Armando Iannucci. You

You think? So he was a passive producer? We would call him Arm. We would call him Arm. Arm. I didn't care about his full name. Yeah. But I think it's like, I'm pretty sure it's Armando. By the way, by the way, we just found our promo clip, so. Armando Reginucci. But he would kind of give us a scenario. Because Matt Walsh was also in Veep, you know, who's like a master improver and he helped create UCB and all this stuff. And so he's,

All of us had to kind of get in the routine. Like, it's not necessarily about coming up with funny bits. It was just kind of, he just wanted to see if it gelled and then out of that, funny bits would come. But as you guys know, we never rehearsed on Arrested. We rarely had any rehearsal on TV. Yeah, that's why I was asking, just because on Veep, so you would rehearse, what, a week before you even...

started shooting? - We would fly down, 'cause we shot in Baltimore, so we'd fly down a couple weeks before we'd shoot and just go to this room. - For every episode, a week for every episode? - No, no, no, no. No, it was like, we would do five scripts or something like that and just kinda feel those out, yeah. - I see, got it. - Wow, that's so interesting. - Wait, wait, wait, sorry, sorry. Totally confused here. What happens? So there's a script that's written

Yeah. There's a script that's written. Ish. So yeah, the script is, they have a really good idea of the script and then a lot is written, but then they kind of throw out, they, they, they say as to kind of throw away the script and just kind of play with the scene. So it's like, we would do some of the lines and not do some of the lines, but it was more of just like, if the, if the story's working, if the relationships are working, um,

If bits do come out, but like... You guys sound like storytellers. Oh, boy. So wait, so then they would then see what you guys would improvise in addition to what is written, and then if the improvised dialogue is worthy of being included in this half-written script, it would. Yes? Yeah. Well, thanks for making it sound less fun, but yeah. And then a week later, you then have a complete script, and that's the script that you would then shoot? Yeah.

Yeah, but even in that complete script, if stuff came out, it was a very open environment. You should see Jason explain to kids on how to get on a bouncy house. He really sucks. So you go and the air is pumped up and it keeps... I want you to unlace your shoes. And then your socks because of... Lay them outside. Your ligaments and the buoyancy...

Now, Tony, I saw, I remember seeing a long time ago, didn't you do Drunk History like even more than once? Yeah, several times. Yeah. I love that show. So fucking funny. And I learned a lot too. By the way, dumb, dumb question. Cause I know nothing about that show other than it's hilarious and you're a great...

They really make you drink until you can't. Oh, I wasn't the storyteller. I know, I know. But I mean, like the people that are. Yeah, yeah. I think they get them really drunk and then they have them kind of retell. Just like they're totally. Tell the story. And it's.

And the thing is, there's stuff that I learned from that show that I never knew. Just the way they said it, it was just... About puking? About puking, I learned a lot about how you throw up your meals. Tony was a Sigma Chi fraternity. Okay, here we go. He's back on Wikipedia. He went to Samford University, which was started by Red Fox. Sure, sure. And his son...

I was... I actually... I was... I'm in Nashville right now because I'm doing a movie here with my friend Seth Worley, and it's like two hours from Alabama, so I went and visited some friends from college and then Martel's family, so I was just there. Come on. Oh, that's nice. Did you go back to the Sigma Chi fraternity house? I did not. Where you got your journalism degree in 1992? Okay. Well, he didn't get his degree from... You know, he doesn't know how college works, but hey, Tony, so you've always had...

Well, I'm here to learn. Both you and Martel are from the South, as you just sort of alluded to. Do you ever, and you maintain deep Southern roots. This is so fun. This is so fun. You have a lot of credits on here. It's just so, because I don't know why. We've done a couple of episodes of Samantha Who. Okay, we got to get past this. This is fantastic. We'll be right back. All right, back to the show.

Tony, so talk to us a little bit. So you're from the South, you grew up in the South, and then you go, you moved to New York. We meet in New York. How did that happen? What was the move from college to New York? And what was your goal? Okay, so I moved to New York in 95, didn't know anybody. And then I, the very first theater show I did in New York was Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, where

where we did Taming of the Shrew in a parking lot. Wait, are you being serious? I'm dead serious. That's hysterical. And then we did that. And then I had every job. I cater-waitered all that stuff. I actually really liked cater-waitering better than waiting tables. And so I cater-waitered all these jobs, and then I started doing commercials. And my type was the guy who wasn't all there. That's how I was described. Now become the Tony Hale type. Which really hasn't much...

So that didn't really change. And so then I started doing commercials and enjoying it. But it took me six years to find an agent who would send me out for TV and film because they saw me just as a commercial actor. Well, Sean, you did commercials for a long time, didn't you? A lot, yeah. Was there a lot of sort of, like, there was a thing there, like a little stigma being like a commercial actor and the difference between that and doing film and TV? Yeah.

Yeah, it was just they were kind of putting you in compartments and it was just tough to get somebody to send me out for TV, film and theater. And there was this casting director named Marcia DeBonis. Oh, yeah. Oh, the great Marcia DeBonis. Yeah. And she actually, I don't know if you, she's the one who I'd found. Cast, arrested. Yeah, I'd found a manager like a year before or something. So I was kind of being sent out for stuff. And then since she cast a lot of commercials, she thought about me for this role and brought me in.

That's right. Marsha did the, she did the, handled the New York casting for Arrested Development. Yeah. Yeah. And the whole thing, and Mitch said when I was, because Buster massaged people a lot and he's, and I was, in the audition, I was massaging my knees and,

And Mitch, since the camera stopped here, he didn't know what I was doing down there. And it piqued an interest. So it looked like you were doing something else. Yeah, maybe. But I was just, I mean, I don't, do you guys have much memory of that?

that shooting that pilot because I know we shot it at that. It was down south, right? At the... The Ballet Studios in Manhattan Beach. Yep. It was at... Was it at Manhattan Beach Studios? Yes. Because the only memory I have is I ran out... I remember running out of underwear and I had to go to Old Navy to get underwear. Oh, man.

How does one run out of underwear? Is it because you have too many mistakes in the day? I shit my pants five times. Don't start with Jason. Don't start with Jason. You got to take care of the business before you leave the house. Who goes shit in the middle of the day? Tell me about showering. Do you shower before or after? Oh, my God.

You know, Tony, it does say here that your father taught nuclear and atomic physics and served in the military. Yeah, he did. And he went to West Point. He went to West Point. Good Lord. And then he taught nuclear physics after...

after he was done at West Point. No, yeah, he taught there after. And then he was in the military for 20 years. And we moved around. We lived in Germany and everything. Will, do you feel as bad as I do that you don't know this about Tony after all the years we've worked together?

I feel... What if Will's like, not really. I really don't care about it. I mean, I will say... What if Will said, yeah, and his mom taught such and such, but like that you knew everything about Tony and I don't. No, I didn't know that. I got to say, I'm a little embarrassed to say that Tony and I did not know that. Yeah, that's terrible. I love that kind of stuff. Did you ever get into that with your dad? Like, did you ever talk, like...

Did any of that interest you? Because it interests me. Being in the military? No, that astrophysics part. Nuclear physics. But that's like a double whammy for a military guy and a nuclear physicist to hear his son say, I want to be an actor.

You know, when my grandfather was an opera singer, so my dad had a real appreciation for the arts. So he always, always supported where I wanted to go. Do you have memories of that, of your grandfather being an opera singer? He passed away when my dad was six. Okay. Nice call, Will. He hit too high of a note.

Don't say nice. It's not like Tony's sad about it. These guys are real jerks, Tony. Sorry about this. But they always supported me, which is not always the case. So I'm really thankful for that. Your mom was the one that really was against the acting stuff. Go ahead. No? She loved it too. She did. I'm looking for controversy. He wants a real gotcha episode here with Tony.

Wait, let me just go through a couple. You guys talk to him for a second. I'll find out what mom was doing during all this. So wait, wait, wait. You know, it says here, let me tell you, let me tell you what else it says here. Oh my God. Six nominations for Veep alone. Yeah. There on the Emmys. SAG Awards, three nominations, another six for Veep. Tony, how many Emmy wins for Veep? Two? Two. Yeah. For you or the show?

For him. For him. I think, oh, for me too. Yeah. But for the show, I think it was too. I'm not sure. Yeah. That's so great. Such a funny show. It was a really, really fun experience. I watched some of those outtakes between you and Julia and I die laughing. They're so funny. There's one scene where she has to, she has to, she asked me to break up with her boyfriend for her.

In the first season. And she's so close proximity to me. And it's almost, I mean, I remember all these moments when I'm arrested. It's so impossible to not laugh. You were great about not laughing, though. It's just shaking. I wasn't in Veep.

- Julia said to me once, "You know you're not watching the show, you're in the show, Tony." 'Cause I was laughing so hard I couldn't keep it together. - Wait, was she fantastic at not breaking? - She would always dig her nails into her hands to stop laughing. - I'd do that. I'd pinch my thigh skin.

But I brought blood. You do a couple of psychotic things to not laugh. Well, I used to not be able to look at Jeffrey Tambor straight in the eyes when he would do scenes with me and he'd yell at me for like, they'd be staring at like, you know, the side of his cheek or the tip of his nose. He was so dry. My thing is though, I don't know about you guys, but there was times that we just trusted Mitch's, the

the grid he had in his head because there were so many levels to what was going on. I had many times no idea what was going on. And I just had to trust his guidance. Most of the time, especially the last couple of years. Just so complex. Very complex. There was a joke. There was a joke. Well, somebody asked me once, what was your, one of your favorite bits? And aside from Tobias being in the blue man group, which always made me laugh hard. The, the one joke when Ian Lesser,

The doctor. Besser, right? Besser. No, Ian Roberts. Ian Roberts, yes. Yeah. Ian Roberts came out. One of my favorite jokes. And he would, and Jessica would say, is he okay? And he'd go, yes, he's okay. And then he says, but his hand has been severed. And they would get all mad. And I just thought that was so hilarious the way he delivered it. Well, then I was on a podcast like at the San Francisco Sketch Fest years ago in front of an audience. And I was saying that was my favorite joke.

Somebody raised their hand and said, "No, no, no, that's not what he said." He says, "No, he's all right." Meaning he has an all right hand and not a left hand. So 15 years after the joke is when I finally get it. - That's hysterical. - And you were in the scene. - And I was in the scene. - Uh-huh.

I mean, just so many things I missed. I love how they would just so proudly lean into cheap jokes. You know, like the C word was the name of the yacht, right? S-E-A-W-A-R-D, C word. Yes.

And then she... And the blue handprints on the wall. And then we'd call her the C word, right? We'd call mom, or she thought we were calling her the C word. So I remember, you know, you called the great Matt Walsh, who was with you on Veep, who's a hilarious guy and one of the founding members of Upright Citizen Brigade, and Ian Roberts as well. And I just...

Those doctor moments were so dry and so funny. - So good. -Ian is so good in those moments. I can't imagine anybody else doing it and he would do the whole like, "Yes, well, we lost him," and everybody starts crying. They just literally meant that they lost him.

And those moments stick with me too. Those like guys like that coming in who are just absolute assassins. Hilarious. And Mitch just would just go, he would think of stuff that I would never even consider. I mean, obviously that a seal bit off my hand, but one is that when Jessica was on house arrest and she couldn't smoke,

and she needed me to inhale the smoke out of her mouth and then blow it out on the balcony. And you had to run out on the balcony and blow it out. And I had to run on the balcony and then come back like a baby bird and just, you know, suck it out of her mouth. Just the most disturbing image. But Sean, you know what? Just keep watching. Just the two. Just the two episodes. Don't worry about it. Okay. Yeah.

You're going to love it. Sean, how did you get when you couldn't stop laughing? Did you just go for it or did you keep yourself laughing? Either Will and Grace program. Wait, were you on that? Yeah. Sean. I've got to see that.

No, I would, I would, I had, I'm the easiest. I can't, I'm not, I'm the opposite of a rock on stage. I laugh at anything. That's so good. Tony, you know, one of the, one of my memories of you, one of my vivid memories and still alive today is, is what a kind person you are and how kind you are to people in your life and people around you. And it's one of the, it's one of the great things about you that makes you such a lovable and amazing person. And, and,

I remember being... When we were shooting the show, so many great moments. We were so sweet and kind. But I remember when we first had Liza on the show. Oh, yeah. Minnelli. And...

Liza came in and out over the years and was very open about being-- going through moments in her life and whatever and was just-- And you and Martel took-- You know, you knew that she was in her hotel by herself. And I remember you guys describing-- You guys went and picked her up for dinner one night. - What? - Mm-hmm. Yeah. And she was in the back seat with no seat belt on. She's like a kid. Remember like we used to do back in the '70s? She kind of leaned forward. I remember you describing between the seats.

So smoking in Martel and Tony's car as they're driving to dinner. She insisted that she wanted to sit in the back seat and rolled the windows down and just immediately started chain smoking. And I was like, please, I was like, please don't stop. Like you can smoke as much as you want. And she, where'd you guys go? We went to the hamburger Hamlet. Sure.

And so she got in the back seat and she was talking about her music and talking about this concert she did at Radio City Music Hall. And I was like, by the way, I'm still absorbing that Liza Minogue, my girlfriend. The whole thing is just incredibly surreal. Sure.

We both kissed her on Arrested. And we both kissed her. And she's talking about this concert and she says, I sang and I said, what did you sing? And she said, I sang the song Liza with a Z. And I was like, oh, and I didn't know that song stupidly. And so she broke out in the song in the backseat of our car. And she sang it. And just started singing it. And she had done it so many times that she could hear the orchestration in her head and she'd go, Liza with a Z, bada bing.

Just smoking. And I was like, well, we can die. It's time to die, guys. She's just in the back hammering darts. She's like...

And I was just like, I don't know what's happening, but I'm just going to keep driving. I remember you coming back after that weekend being like, well, we had a crazy weekend. But then she told it, then she would like go and just talked about her mom and she loved her mom and...

Talk about being, she grew up on the MGM lot. That was pretty much her childhood. And I mean, but her stories never came from a place of ego. They always came from a place of like, listen to my life. Like this, this was my life. You know? You guys had some other big guest stars on there too, right? Marty Short was on there. Yeah. Marty Short. Yeah.

created me yeah yeah he had lost use of his legs from a tragic weightlifting accident right he was clean and jerking and he got it up high and then too much and both legs went out from underneath them snapped in half and so he hired a bodybuilder to carry him around the rest of the time i remember a bodybuilder yeah and he would try to get the nuts he would like shoot for the nuts yeah the guy would shoot him down so that he could get nuts what was the name of the bodybuilder oh

That's a great name. We had Carl Weathers. We had Super Dave Osborne. We had... Our buddy Ed Begley was so hilarious. Yeah. Obviously, Henry Winkler, who's just... Obviously, Henry. Scott Baio. Bob Loblob. Yeah. God.

Yeah, we really... We got to watch them all again. And we'll do it with Sean. It'll be new to you, Sean. It was a real embarrassment of riches, wasn't it? It really was. Yeah, it was. Now... Well, go ahead, Sean. Yeah, I was going to say, when you're... You're always, like Will was saying, always so funny. Always working, by the way. And when you're not working, what are you doing? Because I like to know what rounds a person out. I actually got into...

Making rope bowls. Hang on. Oh, I could get into that. Can I show you? I'll show you a picture of them. A rope bowl. So a friend of mine, a friend of mine. How much weed are you currently smoking these days? Are you selling it or just smoking it now? Just for personal use. I started doing them over the pandemic because my friend Shauna on the show I do, Mysterious Benedict Society on Disney+.

Shout out. She gave me one of these as a wrap gift and I was like, oh, this is the coolest thing. And so I started doing these over the pandemic. Oh, yeah. So look, these are, do you see them? Yes. What?

Let's see. Now, rope? It looked like pottery. It looked like a hammock. No, they're made out of rope. Really? And I really, it's incredibly therapeutic. Are they malleable? Like, can you move them? Yeah, yeah. And you paint them, and it's just like the best. What would you put in a rope? His weed. A lot of his weed. Not food. It's not food. A lot of my weed is...

And I just, but it's like a decorative bowl. - Is it like crochet? - No, it's like you do like a disc and then you kind of mold the rope as you're sewing it and it becomes a bowl and then you get a leather, so I got a leather press. - Wow, you're all in. - To do these things.

And then you put a tag on there and I like to give them as gifts. Would you sell them maybe on Etsy? Do you have a little site? I don't have an Etsy shop. How about at a farmer's markets that you go to? No, for $5. Slice off a piece of soap and sell that with it? With some money. Hunk of soap with your bowl, ma'am?

Tony Hale, I love you so much. By the way. Now, does Martel help with this or does she mock you? No, she mocks me. But she likes to do these kind of number, these painting things. Well, paint by numbers, yeah.

- Yeah, and so we had a table and then I would do that and she would do that over the pandemic. - And then Loy is doing what while she's watching her parents go off the end? - Just shaking her head, yeah. - I kind of get it. I kind of want to take up crochet or something like that, you know? I get like the mindset of like, you check out. - I put on these headphones, I listen to music and it's just super meditative. And it's also, I'm not a painter, but I get to paint the road, so that's kind of fun. And it's just very like soothing.

Yeah. Sean, you should do that. Or tie like a stone to your leg and then go to the marina. Yeah, and see how many times you can get back up to the surface. Okay. You guys, can somebody give me a lift? Hey, wait. So, Tony, so you're doing that, but if you're not pressing the leather, what else are you doing? Are you reading these days? Are you doing like... Are you watching telly? I watch a lot of YouTube. Oh.

Arts and Crafts Station? No, I... Okay, this is... You are so controversial. Tony, you are so controversial. I'm not a big... I have to... I do like TV, but sometimes it's too heavy. You know, it's like... Do you watch comedy? Some, but Martel watches really... Like, she loves Ozark. She loves, like, Handmaid's... She likes heavy stuff. Really? I have...

it really affects me. So it's like horror movies when people are like, oh, wasn't that great? I'm like, no, someone's after me now. You know, it's like I can't detach. What about heavy reality shows? Like these guys are tired of me talking about Alone, like these survivalist shows. I love it. I never got into it. It's too heavy, isn't it? But here's the thing also is sometimes when these stories are so heavy and people are like, oh, well, Tony, it's just, and Martel's like, you're an actor. Like, why can't you detach yourself

Because in my mind, I'm thinking, yeah, that might not be happening, but someone's had that same experience somewhere. And I'm watching a visualization of that. And it's too much. You have paralyzing empathy. So I'll watch paralyzing sometimes. I'll feel everybody's feelings for them. But it's like I – there is – on YouTube, sometimes I'll watch compilation videos of like X Factor auditions or –

I watched this movie. Really? The voice. But I only want to see when they win. I only want to see like when they turn the chair and they come up. I don't want to see any of the rejections. Yeah, I get it. Well, now talk to me about this because I battle with this sometimes about exposing myself to news. Yeah, yeah. Nudes? Yeah.

Exposing yourself to nudes? To nudes. Because if somebody doesn't have a great physical... Body. News, like if I... I can take certain news, but other news about people that are going through just... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially children. Abject hunger, you know, or kids that are sick or something. Like, how do you... Do you try to keep yourself... Yeah. Not the head in the sand or anything, but... No. Like, I just...

It just kills me. It's too much. For me, now keep in mind, that's me. I think other people can really absorb it and can detach from it. Oh, I thought you were speaking for everybody. Yeah, I'm speaking for everybody. I represent the human race. But you had Bill Maher on recently, and I listened to it. The amount of absorbing, I think he can have that kind of detachment probably.

I just can't shake it. So like, I'll do, I'll do something called, um, it's like the, uh, like the skim. It gives like a sense, like an email and it'll give like, uh, the highlights of the day. Right. And so no review of the news. Yeah. It's like an, yeah, exactly. And so I watched David Muir every night.

-Oh, yeah. -On ABC. But any deep dive and kind of-- I just can't-- It's hard for me to let it go. You feel like, "Well, what else can I do? I'll donate or I can be charitable or whatnot." But if you get into all of the real micro detail of the suffering, it's hard. See, Jason got me into Alone, so I started watching some Arctic something. So I started watching like five, six episodes.

And a lot of times we would watch it while we're eating dinner, right? We'd put it on the next episode. Yeah, sure. While they're skinning a squirrel. That's exactly right. And the guy hadn't eaten, one of the guys hadn't eaten in like seven days, and he finally kills this, I don't know, marsupial badger, I don't know what the hell it was, and he cooks it, chars it. He's like, oh, and he eats the whole thing.

And it's just really, and he cooks the hat and he eats the hat. It's just so disgusting. And then, of course, he gets a stomachache, dysentery. So you skipped seasons. You didn't start, I know where that is. There's no way that you got there. He started with the free stuff on Netflix. I started season six. Oh, man. Yeah, I did the same thing. That's what got me hooked. And then I went and I bought them all over on, what is it, History or something? They're on Discovery Plus, man.

I love Discovery+. So do you watch it or do you constantly imagine what would I do in that situation? Like how would I react to that situation? Oh, I would encourage the helicopter pilot to not even touch down. Are you kidding? It's Jason's dream. Jason's dream. He's by himself and he doesn't have to eat. It's like the most amazing thing.

No, no, I would completely fall apart. I'm so soft. I can't even put together a basketball hoop. Yeah, because the contestants for Tracy, the contestants get dropped off in a helicopter in the middle of nowhere and the helicopter flies away. They have a camera. Someone's not with them with a camera. They have a camera. They film themselves, yeah. And that's part of the battle they talk about a lot is as they go deeper into the day count.

Sometimes it's obviously the hunger, but also it's the solitude gets them and they start feeling... They do lose a lot of great water weight. I mean... But, you know, I'm too emotional about the animals in there, so that's why it's hard to watch that. Not the humans, just the animals. You mean that you couldn't kill the animals to eat them? Correct. What do you think's happening when you're going over to Chin Chin, man? Yeah, I know. Well, I don't want to see it, like Jason's saying, I don't want to see it, but I'll eat it. So, head in the sand.

That's terrible. How long are they out there for? Well, the longer you're out there, the closer you get to the big prize. I think the longest has been 100 days. I may be wrong, but average is probably like right around 70, 80 days, something like that. These guys lose like 60 pounds in three months. That's amazing. That's interesting. How do they charge their phone? Okay, well, that's a great question. They're not having to see the whole point. To film themselves, idiot. To film their stuff.

Oh, now I'm the idiot. Okay, well, listen. They have like a pack. They have like a whole pack thing. Well, you know what I noticed? Like they keep their food. They were like, oh, the guy's like, oh, the mice got into my food. I'm just like, you have that airtight Pelican box that keeps the camera equipment in. Put your fucking food in there, dummy. You know what I mean? Do they have enough battery for that whole month? Tony, I don't know what their battery count is, man. Okay. Okay.

I don't know what's going on. It's a hand crank battery that they've got to save enough energy for. Dear Discovery, upon watching your show, I must admit that I was concerned about the battery. And we will be right back. Back to the show.

Tony, what is the... You've done a laundry list of so many movies. I've got it here in front of me, Sean, if you're interested. What is one of the... Other than Veep and Arrested, of course, those two stand out. What's one of the best experiences you've had on a set or with another actor, and who was that? If somebody said...

Pinpoint the highlight other than Arrested and Veep because we all know how great and special those were. Is there like a moment or a person that really kind of, wow, that totally inspired you or blew your mind? Unless it's an Arrested story involving me. Go ahead. I really, side note. I mean, Arrested was so crazy fun and wild and overwhelming and all that stuff. But

But aside from that, I would say I did this movie called Nine Days with this director, Ed Sonoda. And it was such a beautiful movie and he was so good at what he did and so calm and the movie is so beautiful. And that's one of those that really I think about a lot. And I just did Being the Ricardos with Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. Watching them really...

boldly take over those iconic roles. That was really cool to be on the sidelines and watch that. Really cool. And tell me, what are you doing right now? You said you're doing a show over on Discovery Plus? That's Disney Plus. It's Mysterious Benedict Society. It's based on a children's series. Well, here I'm doing a movie with my friend Seth Worley called Sketch, but I did that...

And that's, it's based on this series by a guy named Trenton Stewart who wrote the books. And it's just a beautiful, beautiful story. And I get to play twins. Do you really? You do? Yeah, I get to play twins on the show. An evil one and a good one? He's complicated, but he's like, yeah, the good one and like a one that's had a lot of trauma. Like a soap opera. Well, wait, tell me about that because there are, I bet there are certain characters that you would not play. Am I right?

Uh, I don't know if I think if I'm honest, I think I probably would have said that in the past, like I would have drawn a line. But until I hear the story, I don't know if I can draw a line of like what I wouldn't play, you know, because it's would it be would it would it would it be based on whether it's it's gratuitous or unredemptive or, you know, like, could you play a serial murderer?

Yeah, I could. You answered that really fast. But he's got a heart of gold. He's got a heart of gold. No, I could, but it's like, and even if it's not redemptive, I mean, you look at Veep, for instance. She wasn't a serial killer, but you see that equation of this is what happens when you live a life of narcissism and never giving away. You end in isolation and you end up bitter. Yeah.

And so that wouldn't be considered redemptive, but what a great story to show that equation. - Right, right, right. - What are the, I mean, you have done, you're so known and obviously celebrated and you've won awards for your comedy. - Oh, that's very nice. - Well, it's true. And you've done these sort of, you know, great, played these great iconic characters, comedic characters.

Is there a part of you that's like, "Okay, I really want to do--" Because we asked this, we talked about this when we have people on the show all the time. Do you have this thing in your sights of like, "I want to do a great this, like a great dramatic role that really shows this." Is that something that kind of burns inside you?

If I'm honest, I think when I was younger, I was kind of, I would say that, but I think I had different motivations of wanting to, I don't know, get attention or I don't know what it was. But now I think it's,

I don't know if you guys feel this way, but the older you get, things just get a little simpler. And it's like, and so it's not necessarily about those big markers. It's about, I would obviously love, I love working, but I like, it's so much more about relationships. It's so much more about connecting and

who you are on set but i mean obviously good stories you want to i want to be careful as i really believe quality of the work experience right the quality of the people you're but that's that's really the stuff that is has longevity to it i mean the work obviously is good but it's like what how you impact people on set and all that stuff i i don't know that's kind of

As I get older, that's where you see the power in that. I feel you on that. And like you guys, I think it's like so, I mean, your podcast is so fun and just how you guys are with each other and the laughing and just like, and even like you touring. I mean, that's like, there's so much, so much beautiful, like life-giving power to that. Tony, I gotta tell you, it's so crazy. I mean, you know us, it's so weird that we're doing this.

But it's like, I think it's so fun and just like you can see that it gives you life. You know, like that's like, as you get older, like that's the shit that matters. And it did come from that pure place that you're talking about where we had no idea, dream, or goal about the end result. It was all about, well, how can the three of us stay better in touch during COVID? You know? Sure. And so we just kind of got a little bit more official, you know? Yeah, but the element that you have of the surprise is,

Because like there's two of you that are coming in with an energy of like what's coming. Right. And it's like that provides that, ooh, that, oh, what gift are we going to get today? And not as like to build up Arrested, but that's how I did feel like also on Arrested. Like we never ever knew. The whole show was just one big surprise. We never knew what Mitch was going to throw at us. And it gives you this like –

It doesn't fit any formula. It's always the surprise of it. I remember, Tony, between seasons one and two, when we were all in... We were at a hotel in Century City, and we just found out that we won those, that we got nominated for... Do you remember that? We were doing, like, the press that morning, early.

all of us and, uh, I don't. Okay. Well I do. And Tony, you and I were, you and I were staying at that, that hotel right there in Century City. I remember this. And then Jason, you came over the night before. Oh. And then early that morning we went and did a bunch of press and that's when we found out that we had won. Um, we, not won, that we got all these nominations for the show. And I remember, so we're downstairs, we're really, really happy. Um,

And then Tony, we were talking to Mitch and stuff. And then we're going to walk back and go, what's going on? He goes, well, Mitch just told me that I'm going to lose my hand to a seal. And I remember, and I was like, for the whole, he's like, yeah, I guess for the whole season. Yeah.

Yeah, I was actually pretty upset about it. I know. Since you were talking about it, I remember now a picture of us down there. Oh, you do? Yeah, we were down there, and it was – I remember that from a picture. But, yeah, I remember when he told me that. So you just said to Mitch, you said, so Mitch, so we're going to do another season? No, I had an idea. I think I had an idea, a really bad idea. I think I might have even said, hey, what if like –

What if like Buster's on like Dancing with the Stars or something like that or something just really out there? And he's like, yeah, I'm thinking about having a seal bite off your hand. And I was like, and I just, I didn't even know how to compute it. What is the, did you ever have like a massive injury on that or Veep or anything that's like...

Anything go absolutely chaotic and hurt yourself? Oh, for real? He means for real. For real. Oh, for real. You got to keep your knees bent with Sean. His questions, this guy is a real maverick. Yeah, yeah. I love that. It's a surprise. These are award-nominated questioner. Sean is.

Did I? I don't think so. And then start thinking about your favorite theater story and anything crazy that ever happened on stage. But let's hear about anything ever. Did you ever hurt yourself, Tony? No, but I do remember.

He's the best. Go ahead, Tony. Hey, Tony, any terrible memories you want to relive? I'm trying to talk about anything other than Arrested Development. I know. I'm sorry, Sean. It's not a terrible question. Tony, have you ever broken a bone? Honestly. No, it's a real question. I have. How'd you do that? I stubbed my toe. Oh, bless it. Walk us through that. laughter

Were you going for pee-pees in the middle of the night? No. I was talking.

I was stepping over my dog door. Oh, are you okay? Say it again. I was stepping over my dog door. You can't step over a dog door. You'd go into the... Well, no, because it was locked to keep the dogs in, and then I stepped over it and tripped and fell out. Oh, dog gate. Oh, dog gate. Oh, dog gate. Yeah, yeah. Oh, dog gate. Yeah, so sorry. Dog gate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. All right. That's understandable. Any theater stories? Any horrible... Any horrible theater stories? Yeah, yeah. Oh.

Never forget a line up on stage. Well, I did. I did. Well, you did that. Yeah, you did that play with Molly, didn't you, Sean? Molly Shannon, yeah. Yeah. But I did two years ago, I did a one-man play in San Francisco at ACT called Wakey Wakey by Willie Now.

And I was so petrified that I was going to forget a line. And I remember every night. Yeah, one man show, you got no help. Yeah, just feeling like I was going to forget everything. And then by the grace of God, I just, I always had, thankfully someone was off set in case I did. But I started memorizing like six months before because I was so panicked. I was going to forget a line. But that makes me think, Jason, I'll never forget being on set. Because with lines, I have to,

I have to kind of take some time with them to absorb. I remember you reading the script the morning of and then getting them. Is that correct? Like you would just skim the page and you have it? Yeah, he's like a crazy, he has a crazy amazing brain. My brain works for one thing and it's that. Willie's really, well, Will's got the Mary Lou Henner dates stuff down and also he can remember lines. So he's got two uses versus brain. I only have the one. I mean, that show really taught me

was pretty foundational for me. Just kind of a lot of lessons from that show for me, which is great.

I'm with you. Oh, me too. My God. Yeah, I think, and I think for our listener, you have to understand for us, and Sean, you're saying it, and you're sort of saying, let's not talk about Arrested too much. Oh, no, no. I'm kidding. But for us, it was such a seminal moment. Yes, I love hearing about it. If you hear us making it about ourselves or whatever, we're just showering love because we're so happy and giddy to see Tony, and it brings up so many memories that are really important to us.

big memories from our lives. And we had this shared experience in our life that was a really big thing. And we used to spend more time together than our own families. And we just haven't been able to do that since then. I love hearing about it. I really do. Yeah. It's also like, I'm sure you can relate to this, Sean. It's also, you think back to that time, I mean, almost 20 years ago. And it's hard not to be embarrassed of kind of how

I would react to certain things or because I was in this very overwhelmed state. Thankfully, I was playing a very overwhelmed character, so that kind of worked. But just like I knew I had never been on a studio lot. I had never, I didn't know, I just didn't know anything. I never had that much free food offered to me during the day. I was just like, what's everything? Nothing was computing, you know? And I would just walk around and... Your own parking space, yeah. Yeah, my own parking space.

Just to kind of, and that thing of like, you give something so much weight growing up of like that sitcom, that weight. And then when you get it, you're like, why am I still anxious? Why am I, I thought I was going to feel differently. I was, and it's just from that. Well, why, why, why did you feel, still feel anxious? Just because you felt then now that I have it, now there's pressure to now to deliver. Is that what it is? Well, I think there's, it's a, it's a, it's a few things and, you know, thank God for therapy, but it's like,

I really don't think I was very present for most of my life. I don't think, I never really, I would always be looking ahead of like, well, that's coming. That sitcom's coming. That big thing's coming. Yeah. And then I got it and I had to go, oh, crap. Because the thing is, if you're present and if you're in that time,

Then when you get something, it just kind of unfolds rather than carry all this weight. And I've said this several times, and I apologize if anybody has heard me babble about it, but it's that whole thing of like, if you're not practicing contentment where you are, you're not going to be content when you get what you want. And I think that really...

hit me unarrested, you know? Yeah, I think that there's a very similar... I was talking about this with somebody the other day. You can't be... I try really hard, and not perfectly. I don't do it... I don't execute it perfectly. But I really think about this idea that I can't be at the effect of circumstances. And meaning that my happiness can't be...

Pegged to something outside because then it's you're in for a shit, right? Because it's gonna go up and down and nothing's in a straight line And you can't if I'm at the effect of other things I I have to it's not like I'll see it, you know, I'll believe it when I'll see it, you know It's almost like I gotta believe it and then I'll see it. My happiness has to come from here. Mm-hmm And and it doesn't matter if I actually whatever happens outside of me It's gonna happen

How do you guys avoid falling into complacency or being more comfortable than is healthy with

normalcy or mediocrity like in other words how do you how do you balance contentment and also staying uh ambitious and driven and and have goals and prepare for future and balance i think which is you know the easy but how do you how do you know how do you know what it is until you have the the clarity of retrospection right yeah and i think i think that's a great question because

I'm glad you really glad you asked because it's not that I'm not, it's not that ambition or dreaming is wrong at all in our business. I feel like there's a subliminal messaging of like, you will have value when this happens, right? You will have value if this big thing comes into your life. And the truth is my value before any of this happens, the exact same as my value. Now your value when it's your value doesn't change.

And so I think with ambition, many times what I did is associated my value to getting that. Yeah. Your outward value as opposed to your internal value. No, I connected it. Without knowing it, my internal value, I can go back to that reunion and be like, hey, look what you made, you know, whatever. But it's like my internal value would be better if I got that stuff. When in actuality, that internal value is the exact same. Yeah, of course. But that's not the message you hear, I think, in the business. Does that make sense?

Yeah, for sure. No, certainly because you get, well, and it's easy to fall into, it's a trap. You can fall into it very easily and it's very easy to, again, sort of peg your, your, your value, if you will, that let's say, I'll say happiness, uh, uh,

to outside things. Yeah, and you're also, in this business, you're also, you're constantly being asked, like, what's next? You know, what's next for you? Which is a great question, but you kind of don't go up to a dentist and say, what's next, you know? True, but this is a unique, this business is unique in that, at least for actors, and also directors, and I guess anybody, it's very a la carte. Like, you don't have one job that lasts

30, 40 years like a dentist would. It is sort of you're constantly getting hired and fired because the jobs come to an end. So it is a natural question, but it is an annoying one to have to manage all the time. But then sometimes when you do a show, when you do a show, it becomes much more sort of a prefix, you know? Yeah, and I wouldn't even say it. I wouldn't say it. I wouldn't say annoying because I didn't mean that. It's not annoying, but it's a challenge for me

to not always be looking to next. -Right. -You know, it's like-- -Of course. -It's easy to fall into that when, yeah, it is piecemeal together. Absolutely. Is Loy at all interested in going into this business?

She is, not, but she did just get cast in Steel Magnolias at her school. No way. Yeah, she's excited to do that. But she wants to, I mean, this could change, but she really is interested in education. Oh, cool. Would you encourage her in this business if she did go that direction?

I would be lying if I didn't have probably an anxiety attached to it and have to do a couple more therapy lessons. But I –

You know, it's that whole thing of like you never want to dictate your child's path. So I would have to just – I would be curious. That's the thing. Like one thing that we're – with parenting is rather than being reactive, be curious. And just, you know, be like, oh, well – because what I want to do is react and be like, well, let me teach you these lessons. Right. And I just need to kind of shut up and just listen. Yeah. It's hard. I haven't seen her since she was –

I know. Six maybe or something like that. You guys, though, made me laugh so hard. Like it is – there's a – I don't know if you guys watch – Sean, don't feel bad because I don't watch the episodes myself much. But I do every now and then will watch the blooper reels that they gave us because that's the stuff that I remember. I'll watch those. And there's one blooper of Will and I coming in and Liza's in the room.

and we have our robes on, and we couldn't even get any two words out and just busted. But it was such a organic breakdown that it just gives me so much joy to see all the time. -There was a ton of laughter on that show. -Oh, I really, really loved it. Isn't that why we do what we do? -I mean, those moments. -Yeah. I told you, I've said this to David before, and I'm gonna say it to you just so you can hear. We've talked about it, but the hardest I've ever laughed

actually laughed in my life anywhere. This is not just on set, just anywhere at any time, was that scene when it was supposed to be an intervention for Lucille and we all end up getting drunk and you're on the piano with your hook and David went and got his-- his jean shorts and he put them-- He's dancing next to you and I'm on the table and Jason's got the wig on, he's got Franklin's wig on and it was just like--

Nobody said anything. It was just mayhem. They just sort of went like, go mayhem. And it was late on a Friday night and I had tears. And you were just, and Tony was going like, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee. And he was hammering on the piano like Buster's all happy. And David's dancing next to him with no shirt on and the thing. And I was, phew.

I remember driving home and like an hour later, Mitch called me and I was in the car and I picked up, but I was still actually laughing by myself. That's so good. Tony, I mean, you guys were there for the hardest laugh I've ever had. Oh man, that was so, so fun. Anyway, hi Sean. Hey.

So the show is Press Development. It's on Fox, what, Thursday? Sundays at 8, 9.30. Catch it on Roku. Tony, this is way too much time. It's already 5.45. You've given us bonus. It's so crazy. We went over. We apologize. And again, to our listener, I'm so sorry that you had to hear us just fawn all over Tony and talk about the old days, but...

I loved it. We just love you so much. We do love him. You guys are the best. Tony, you're such an incredible, incredible talent. But even above and beyond that, you're such a wonderful, sweet, sweet, just great person. Big, huge heart. Love you so much. Just love you so much, man. Yeah, same. Please say hi to Marshall, Lloyd. I will. I will. I love you too, Tony. Thank you, guys.

Thank you, Sean. I do. I love you, too. I'd love to see you soon. Let's do it. All right? Let's do it. Hey, guys. We'll do a reunion. Let's do a reunion special, right? An Arrested special. Do you want to say that? I think we just do. Would you guys do it, by the way? I'd do anything for Arrested. Why wouldn't you do that? Always. Would you do it, Tony? Yeah. I'd go back to work tomorrow on that show. Yeah, me too. Sean, come on. Come join us. Hi, Mitch. Hope you're listening.

Tony, love you. Love you, Tony. Love you guys. Thank you very much. Talk to you soon. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for having me on. Bye buddy. Bye bud. Um, guys, sorry. Who was that? Who was Anthony? Jay, Jay, that was such a great call having Tony. Um,

Yeah, that was great. I love that man. Again, I apologize if it was to our own little clubhouse. No, it's really, really fun to be flying the wall. I could hear stories. I wasn't even there, and I could hear stories like that all day long, just about who was on, what would happen. There's also anything that he says I can listen to because he truly is... He's so genuine. I think we say this a lot on this show, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to really find...

truly a nicer person yeah that he's that we've interviewed and we've interviewed a lot of nice people but tony is uh is just made of all good stuff um i've interviewed him a few times on like when i guest hosted like ellen or i think camel once or something but um yeah he's i've hung out with him a few times yeah so he's just so genuine and sweet and nice and uh

He was so funny, he would make us laugh, and he was a great laugher, and you could really get him. I had a really good theater story to share, but maybe I'll do it next time. Let's hear it.

Is it about the time that you got an audition for Bye Bye Birdie? Bye Bye Birdie. That was good. Bye Birdie. Bye, guys. Bye. Smart. Worse. Smart. Worse.

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