Regina Hall

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Speaker 1 Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang.
So excited to talk to Regina Hall today. I love Regina.
I love her work. And we're going to talk about a lot of fun things today.

Speaker 1 We're going to talk about her incredible range as an actress. We're going to talk about the difference between phobias and phonias.

Speaker 1 We're going to break down what it's like hosting award shows. And we're going to discuss her new movie, her great new P.T.
Anderson movie, One Battle After Another, which is in theaters this week.

Speaker 1 But we always do this before we have our guest. We talk to someone who knows our guest, who

Speaker 1 wants to speak well behind their back. And we have a great guest today, the extremely talented Andrew Rannels.
Andrew was Regina's co-star on Black Monday.

Speaker 1 He is the imaginary father of the imaginary twins, Dawn and Dawn, that they seem to share.

Speaker 1 A little inside joke on set. And you know him from Book of Mormon.
You know him from Girls 5 Ebba, you know him from Too Much, Lena Dunham's new show. He's just a real peach.

Speaker 1 So let's get him on.

Speaker 2 Andrew, Andrew,

Speaker 2 are you there?

Speaker 2 Amy.

Speaker 3 There you are on your set and everything.

Speaker 1 There you are. It's so good to talk to you.

Speaker 3 It's great to talk to you. Thank you for asking me to do this.

Speaker 1 Are you kidding? Thank you so much for doing this. I know you and Regina are good buds.

Speaker 3 We really are.

Speaker 1 And she has such a great rep.

Speaker 3 She really does. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't say like, oh, she's the best.
It's always a good idea to hang out with Regina Hall.

Speaker 1 Okay, we're going to get to Regina, but first of all, I'm very, very excited to talk to you.

Speaker 3 To me?

Speaker 2 Of course.

Speaker 1 I hope I can get you in the stewed one of these days. I would love it.
I mean, I haven't got a chance.

Speaker 1 I feel like you and I have probably crossed paths and like been in the same room at a fancy event, but I am a very, very big fan of your work.

Speaker 3 Well, that's very generous of you to say because I am a huge fan of your work. And I always get very nervous when I see you.

Speaker 1 Oh, tell me why.

Speaker 3 Well, I just get nervous that I'm like, should I talk to her? Should I not talk to her? Am I talking to her for too long? Oh, should I, you know, it's like, should I get in, get out?

Speaker 3 It's one of those things.

Speaker 3 Cause it usually is at some event that like, there's a bunch of people around and it's like, I don't know, there's like a receiving line of people who want to like talk to you.

Speaker 3 And I just sort of, I choose to do the like.

Speaker 1 Well, I will say, if, if you have chosen not to talk to me, I appreciate that because

Speaker 1 I have a lot of social anxiety, which does not look like I do, but I, I do in those events and I get overwhelmed.

Speaker 2 Same, same, same.

Speaker 3 One of the first like big parties I went to when I first moved to LA, I was very lucky and I walked in with Jessica Lang.

Speaker 3 And I know, right?

Speaker 1 You floated in with Jessica.

Speaker 3 I floated in with Jessica Lang and Jessica Lang just wanted to like hold on to me because I'm sort of tall. And

Speaker 3 I think she likes that. I think she likes that.

Speaker 3 So then all night I got to be the gatekeeper to Jessica Lang and people, people I really respected who didn't know me were coming up to me and saying, could you introduce me to Jessica Lang?

Speaker 3 And I was like, Absolutely.

Speaker 1 You were like, Let me check with Jessica first.

Speaker 3 Yeah, it was that was. So, I guess my advice is if you can go to one of those events with Jessica Lang, do it.

Speaker 1 That makes sense. God, I would totally two would make a very nice couple, I have to say, a handsome.

Speaker 3 I think we, yeah, I've got to, to, to be with her a couple times and it's, um, it's always successful. But, you know, how's this first segue? You know, who's very good at those events? Regina Hall.

Speaker 2 Ooh.

Speaker 3 tell me why. You go to a party with Regina Hall, and she, first of all, everybody loves her, so that's great.

Speaker 3 And she just sort of, I don't know, she just kind of floats above it and just has a very kind of

Speaker 3 just kind of like chill attitude about everything. Now, whether or not that's actually what she's feeling, right?

Speaker 3 I'm not sure because, you know, we all, you know, process those things differently, but it is really fun to go to those events with her because she just kind of, she just sort of always is herself.

Speaker 3 And I will say from like, you know, we got to work together for three years on the show, Black Monday, and on Showtime. And whether it was like 4 a.m.
in the makeup trailer or 3 a.m.

Speaker 3 on a night shoot, she always maintained the same level of like cool and,

Speaker 3 you know, happy to be there and like sort of calmed everybody down. Because Don Cheadle and I on that show often had to do some like really wacky stuff.

Speaker 3 And she not only could match that, she, you know, oftentimes like outdid us in that arena, but then also

Speaker 3 just brought like all the heart to it. She really like anchored it in a way.
And it was such a good lesson of like how to be, you can be absurdly funny.

Speaker 3 and really broad, but still have a lot of thought and heart behind it, which I learned a lot from working with her that like you can, you can do all of the clowny, silly stuff, but unless there is some kind of heart to it, it, it just looks like faces.

Speaker 1 You know, I think that way about you too. Like, I feel like there's, you know, there's the sometimes there's the exceptional, eccentric, really kind of out there funny person who's their own island.

Speaker 1 But for the most part, I find that people that are very good at comedy have a switch or a gear where they can really like they're just very good at um being in the moment and being present when asked to do that and it and it's kind of the theme that i want to talk to regene about today is her career is really

Speaker 1 really diverse and really wide her range she's done a lot of different things and she can do really dumb fun comedy totally

Speaker 1 and very deep grounded stuff and that's not a lot of people don't have that range.

Speaker 3 I don't know. It sounds maybe trite to say that she has a light to her because that usually is reserved for people who get murdered.
But she does have a, she really lights up a room.

Speaker 3 She really lights up a room and not in a way that she's going to get murdered.

Speaker 1 No, not in that way.

Speaker 2 In a different way. In a very different way.

Speaker 2 In a better way. In a very different way.

Speaker 1 You know.

Speaker 1 This, I absolutely loved you in Book of Mormon. I was lucky enough to see the original cast and you in it with Josh and so many other great people.
And

Speaker 1 but you bring something up that I always wondered about and I haven't been able to ask anybody who's been on Broadway for as long as you have. For sure.

Speaker 1 Why is it unprofessional to see who's in the audience?

Speaker 3 Well, in theory,

Speaker 3 you should be,

Speaker 3 I guess, connected to your co-stars

Speaker 3 and telling the story.

Speaker 3 But I think over time, you know, you're doing it eight times a week and you get to a place where you know eyes.

Speaker 3 I mean, you know, that's the tricky part about one of the tricky parts about live theater is that of all of the whatever 1200 people that are in that audience, somebody's looking at you at all times.

Speaker 3 And I just know that from an audience member, like sometimes you drift to like an ensemble person, whatever, you're like, you're not watching the action. So you do kind of always have to be on guard.

Speaker 3 Yeah. That like, okay, somebody's watching.

Speaker 1 So but you never used to do what I used to do, which is literally peak.

Speaker 3 Oh, well, I mean, we got to a point where I could look into the audience at certain points and be like, oh, look, who's there?

Speaker 3 And sometimes the worst is when you make eye contact with that person.

Speaker 2 Oh, oh, yeah. Ooh, that's rough.

Speaker 4 That's rough.

Speaker 1 That's rough.

Speaker 3 I made direct eye contact with Oprah Winfrey, and I thought,

Speaker 3 I don't, that probably wasn't a great idea. And I reflexed, I smiled at her as if there was no fourth wall.

Speaker 2 You went hi.

Speaker 1 You went Oprah.

Speaker 3 It's like I'm doing like a nightclub act. I was like, oh, it's Oprah.

Speaker 3 I remember smiling at her. And she smiled back because she's polite.

Speaker 1 She could probably, she's probably had a lot of experience with intense eye contact.

Speaker 3 Tears. I mean, the reactions to

Speaker 3 her must be extreme.

Speaker 1 You are so incredible in the Book of Mormon.

Speaker 1 Oh, my gosh. I mean,

Speaker 1 you've written two books. You have.

Speaker 2 I You have.

Speaker 1 You are, you are, you're constantly in so many good things. Like we mentioned Girls 5 Eva, the show that you did with Tina.

Speaker 1 You also are just in Lena's new show, Too Much, where you play her husband, which was so satisfying to see.

Speaker 3 I do. We've graduated from being like the messy kids to now being like the still kind of messy adults.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 1 I ask all of my guests if they have a question for our guest. And

Speaker 1 like I said, I hope someday to get you in the hot seat. So

Speaker 1 do you have any question you think I should ask Regina today? A story you think she might want to tell? Something you don't know about her? Something you think people should know about her?

Speaker 3 Her career is so diverse and she bounces between all of these things.

Speaker 3 Like this Paul Thomas Anderson movie that she is, you know, that's that's coming out that it's wildly different from anything she's done in a lot of ways. And

Speaker 3 as much as I

Speaker 3 assume that she's like the architect of that, that she's like making these choices and doing these things, like, I wonder, yeah, I do wonder, like, did she seek that out?

Speaker 3 Was she like, I want to, I'm going to switch this up or is this something that just sort of builded, it was built sort of naturally? You're right.

Speaker 1 I don't think we know enough about like Regina's origin story. When I was learning about Regina, I know she wanted to maybe be a journalist at one point.
So I'm very curious when she started acting.

Speaker 1 And then also, yes, the her career is really feels like a flow, basically.

Speaker 3 And also, you know, obviously, like, who does she like better? Does she like me better or Don Cheadle?

Speaker 2 I think that's an important, I think a lot of people probably wonder that.

Speaker 1 Yeah, and maybe you can stay on the Zoom while I ask her that.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I'll take my camera off and then, you know, and then I'll surprise her and be like, I knew you were going to say Don. Regina and I would annoy the cast that we

Speaker 3 she she told everybody that we were married at one point. And some people, some people who didn't really know me very well thought that that was true.

Speaker 3 And then she, she sort of in a who's afraid of Virginia Wolfway, created children for us

Speaker 3 that we would talk about, Dawn and Dawn.

Speaker 3 And we would reference Dawn and Dawn, our twins.

Speaker 3 And who had the twins and where are the twins and how are the twins doing?

Speaker 1 She's so good. I can't wait to talk to her.
I really am

Speaker 3 excited for you to talk to her.

Speaker 1 Your time. And how tall are you, Andrew? 6'2.
Oh, congratulations.

Speaker 3 Thanks. Thanks so much.

Speaker 1 I just, that's so great. I did, I, I like Jessica Lang, a tall man.

Speaker 4 Jackpot.

Speaker 2 Sign me up.

Speaker 1 It is so great to talk to you. Thank you so much for your time.

Speaker 3 Thank you very much. And thank you for being so generous and so lovely.

Speaker 1 And I hope I see you at some event sometime soon and we just totally ghost each other.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I'm not going to look at you. I'm just going to be taking care of Jessica.

Speaker 1 Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Thank you.
Bye.

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Speaker 2 Woohoo!

Speaker 2 You're wearing normal pajamas. I am.

Speaker 4 I am. I was like, how can I be dressy and comfortable? And it's so hot out.
Because I was going to be in sweats.

Speaker 1 You look great.

Speaker 4 But not for you.

Speaker 1 You know what I am saying?

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 2 I love it. Some hair is like that.

Speaker 4 Yeah. If she's not beat, I don't want her.
That's what I said.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I need two hours.

Speaker 1 I need you to have two hours of hair and makeup before we hang out. Wow, you look gorgeous.
This lighting is nice.

Speaker 4 This is great lighting. Isn't it?

Speaker 4 You know what I realized? I'm not aging. Lighting's just getting bad.
Because in my bathroom, I have really good lighting in my bathroom.

Speaker 4 And in my bathroom, I'm something else.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 4 In my car,

Speaker 4 not so much. But in my bathroom, I'm like, I'm chef's kiss.
But in the car, when the sunlight, so it's the lighting.

Speaker 1 I always say this about, I mean, I'm probably saying something very obvious, but when I go into dressing rooms, I'm like, I can't believe the dressing rooms aren't better lit.

Speaker 1 I would buy so many more things. It would just be better for business.

Speaker 4 It was a dressing room where I honestly, for the first time, discovered like the depth of my cellulite. Yeah.
That's the truth. It was in a dressing room.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 It's super sweet.

Speaker 2 It's when I started running.

Speaker 4 I started jogging. I said, I was shopping with my boyfriend at the time and I screamed.
I'd never seen, I did.

Speaker 2 I said, if this were

Speaker 2 out at night,

Speaker 2 and I went and I said, baby,

Speaker 4 and he was like, what happened? He didn't, you know, they don't notice. No, they don't.
They just notice the legs.

Speaker 2 They don't care what's on. They don't care.
They don't care.

Speaker 1 I feel that way too. One time when I got a mammogram, I turned to the person and I was like, it's just, it's shocking how this hasn't gotten better.
How has this not gotten better?

Speaker 1 How have we still had to literally squeeze?

Speaker 2 I don't have a lot of boobs.

Speaker 4 I was like, what are you getting?

Speaker 1 And it's even

Speaker 1 worse.

Speaker 1 It's sometimes worse when you don't.

Speaker 4 It's larger. And

Speaker 1 they're both worse, I guess. But like, sometimes if you can't, if you don't have a lot to put in the machine, that we're squeezing it between two metal.

Speaker 4 No, like a waffle.

Speaker 1 And that there's nothing to look at.

Speaker 2 No.

Speaker 4 And then they're like, if you just move your arm a little, like, it's not like you're, it's a, it's a, it's, you're kind of contorting your body in a very.

Speaker 1 And I said, and I remember doing it very, you know, like, lucky me, I have a nice place to get my mammogram. I'm very grateful and privileged to have a nice place to get a mammogram.

Speaker 1 Not a poster on the wall, not a

Speaker 1 piece of art to look at it.

Speaker 4 No distraction.

Speaker 1 I was like, you guys don't want to put even an inspirational

Speaker 4 minutes to get the right angle because it's not just getting it in there. It's getting it in there.
I need a little bit. And I was like,

Speaker 4 there's no, there's got to be a better way. Yeah.

Speaker 1 It's shocking to me how much.

Speaker 2 My brightest gave up.

Speaker 4 They were like, well, fuck it. If we've got something in it, then we've got something in it.

Speaker 2 Because after a while,

Speaker 4 they just couldn't get a photo.

Speaker 1 No, they can't get it.

Speaker 4 And then what about when it comes out cloudy? And they're like, we need another one. And we need an ultrasound.

Speaker 1 Also, they're like, they squeeze you in the tightest vice ever. Yes.
They say, don't move.

Speaker 4 Yeah, don't move.

Speaker 1 And then they leave the room because there's too much radiation. Yeah.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 4 That's the truth. Right.
So it's just you.

Speaker 4 Your nodes and your breasts and the rest of your body exposed.

Speaker 1 And not a like, you don't even want to play an old episode of Everyone Loves Raymond.

Speaker 2 There's no sound.

Speaker 4 There's no music.

Speaker 1 I know. No music.
There's no music.

Speaker 4 There's nothing.

Speaker 1 I remember talking to my great dentist. I love my dentist, but I remember saying...
I do love a dentist.

Speaker 4 I do.

Speaker 4 I love a dentist too.

Speaker 1 You like your dentist? I do. And I get nitrous.

Speaker 4 A lot. I like my dentist.

Speaker 2 I do too.

Speaker 4 And my dental hygienist.

Speaker 2 I love her.

Speaker 1 Did you work as a dental hygienist?

Speaker 4 A dental assistant. Like, yeah, I just handed the instruments over and cleaned them and stuff.

Speaker 1 Do you feel like you have healthy teeth?

Speaker 4 I do for the most part.

Speaker 4 I grind my teeth. Oh, yeah.
And I didn't know that when you grind, you can get a little recession from the grinding.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Do you wear a thing? I wear a thing now.
Yeah. We're with Regina Hall and we're just

Speaker 1 talking about teeth and boobs. We're right into it.

Speaker 1 But

Speaker 1 I feel like the last time we saw each other was on a dance floor at Rashida Jones's.

Speaker 4 That was the last time, but there was a time, I think, after too.

Speaker 1 What was that?

Speaker 2 Uh-oh.

Speaker 4 It was on a street and you were directing.

Speaker 4 And it was on a cul-de-sac.

Speaker 4 And I was like, what's going on down there? I think they're filming something.

Speaker 2 Oh, yeah.

Speaker 4 Around the corner from, yep. And I walked down the street and I was like, who's directing? And they said, Amy Poehler.
And then I made my way.

Speaker 4 I made my way. It was very exciting.

Speaker 1 Do you remember that? I do remember that. That was pre-COVID.

Speaker 4 It was pre-COVID.

Speaker 1 Okay. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 And then everything else has been a blur.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Because I, cause I was trying to.

Speaker 4 Like that breast exam.

Speaker 1 Everything else has been, felt like a mammography.

Speaker 1 Everything was like, this is going to really hurt. It's really weird.
It's going to take a long time. Yeah.

Speaker 4 And everybody's going to be. And you're going to be exposed to all things.

Speaker 2 Totally, totally.

Speaker 1 But I feel like we've had a couple of times. So Rashida Jones often had a pajama jammy jam, as she talked about in this podcast, and she had a dance party.

Speaker 1 And I feel like we've had a couple good good times on the dance floor together dancing in pajamas

Speaker 1 do you you're you like to dance

Speaker 4 here's the thing

Speaker 4 I do like to dance I wish I were a better dancer I'm not a good I can hold a beat sure but I I would love to be able to do and Rashida does them very well she can learn choreograph dances and I wish I had that gift yeah her and her sister Kadata can do less Kadata's a great dancer too

Speaker 4 routines from the 90s they can get a choreographer in front of them them and they're able to

Speaker 4 dance

Speaker 4 and learn that choreography. I can't do that.

Speaker 2 I can't.

Speaker 4 No. I was having a conversation with Sheila E and she was like, excuse me?

Speaker 1 I know. You just dropped that.

Speaker 4 I know. And I did, did you see how I dropped it like suddenly? Like I said nothing.

Speaker 4 Because I was like, yeah, so when Sheila and I were talking, E, you know, I know.

Speaker 4 I did, we were, I did a one-on-one interview. And so she was my subject.
And she's

Speaker 4 so amazing. And I was asking her, did she understand her impact on girls when she first came out? Cause like the drums, we hadn't seen a lot of women playing the drums necessarily.

Speaker 4 But anyway, she said everything for her moves very separately.

Speaker 1 She can feel all

Speaker 4 she feels every limb and every portion. Everything is separate for her.

Speaker 2 Ooh. Yeah.

Speaker 1 So if you feel like you're not maybe the strongest at choreography,

Speaker 1 what part feels like you're like, that's a good skill? Like I can do that well. Can you memorize fast?

Speaker 1 Do you have a good ear?

Speaker 1 Can you sing?

Speaker 4 I think I can, but I'm going to tell you.

Speaker 4 You know, because I used to tell me that I had a terrible pitch.

Speaker 4 I disagree with that.

Speaker 4 And then I went on, I think it was Cordon and I

Speaker 4 was like, I, and I, they started and then I joined in the harmony and boy was I off.

Speaker 4 So I'm not a harmonizer. Okay.
I'm a soloist.

Speaker 1 Yeah, no one else sing when Regina's singing.

Speaker 4 But I have a good gift for

Speaker 4 I can remember a face.

Speaker 1 Hey, that's good. Yeah.

Speaker 4 Not a name.

Speaker 4 Terrible with names.

Speaker 1 But you'd be able to. You.

Speaker 4 Remember me?

Speaker 1 I want to talk to you about so many things today, Regina, Regina, because

Speaker 1 the theme today for me with you is range.

Speaker 1 Like you are, you can do it all. And how to approach you and your career and your work is really interesting because you can come in through a lot of different doors.
And it's, it's,

Speaker 1 well, first of all, let me just say that you have a great rep. Like everyone loves working with you.

Speaker 4 Oh, I thought you were talking about my agent.

Speaker 2 I was about to say he is ugly as anything.

Speaker 2 I was like, I've got a good team. But yes,

Speaker 1 a great reputation. Does it matter to you,

Speaker 1 like how you like when you go to work, like what matters to you, like how you show up and how other people show up?

Speaker 4 I think for me, like if I, when I, when I'm working,

Speaker 4 I think of everybody who put so much work into it before I got there. Writers, you know, people who write, that's once it's written, selling it, like sitting with studio notes.

Speaker 4 There's so much, you know, this, you've done it all, directors that goes into it.

Speaker 4 So for me to come and be like anything less than like excited for what like they're bringing a vision together in addition to what I get to do and have fun, then I think it's, I won't take it if I don't think I could come and bring something to the environment and to the work.

Speaker 4 So I think that that's important for me.

Speaker 1 Okay. What kind of kid were you? Because you grew up in D.C.

Speaker 1 And, you know, went to Fordham, went to NYU to be a journalist. Like very, you were not a kid who, were you around actors or anyone who was acting?

Speaker 4 No. Because I just, we didn't, I guess we had, I was like, we didn't have any, but

Speaker 4 yeah,

Speaker 4 I wasn't exposed to it.

Speaker 1 And you weren't studying it in school?

Speaker 4 No, we had our plays. Okay.
I went to Catholic school. And so we had the nuns who I loved.
I loved my nuns. I love.

Speaker 1 What do you love about nuns? Because my mom went to Catholic school and she was very afraid of her nuns.

Speaker 2 Oh, I think I had some.

Speaker 4 I was respectfully afraid. I mean, I certainly had a reverence where I wouldn't cross a line, but I wasn't afraid of being hurt.
I was more afraid of them telling my mom and then getting in trouble.

Speaker 4 So I didn't. I didn't have that.

Speaker 4 I found my nuns to be very,

Speaker 4 I mean, they were, I wouldn't say they were strict, but they were

Speaker 4 they were loving, I would say. Yeah, I would, yeah, they were loving.

Speaker 1 And then, is it true that you thought about perhaps becoming an I did.

Speaker 4 I did several times when I was in high school, and then again, when I was older, and I was too old,

Speaker 1 you were too old to

Speaker 4 39. That was a cutoff.
I was 41. They were like, it's not a backup plan, miss.
Get on out of here.

Speaker 4 But it's for that particular, for that particular order.

Speaker 2 Okay, got it.

Speaker 4 Because they're different orders. Yeah, with some orders, it's a sleeping partner number thing.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Right.
Four.

Speaker 2 I don't know if anybody knows what you're talking about.

Speaker 1 Wait, you can only have slept with four people?

Speaker 4 Yep. Amy, can you make it?

Speaker 4 You don't have to count them, you know.

Speaker 2 No, I can't.

Speaker 1 I don't want to brag, but

Speaker 2 whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on.

Speaker 1 So there is an, there's some orders where there's a number that you can only have had a certain amount of partners.

Speaker 4 Some are could be a certain amount of partners. Some might be how many attachments that you have.
Some, you know, in the world, it's hard and some is age.

Speaker 2 Yeah. Wow.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 But, but what made you, Regina,

Speaker 1 as a young person, what was attractive about that life for you? What did you think about? What was the fantasy of that life?

Speaker 4 I thought if, wow, if you, you know, you'd spend your life in prayer, prayer for others, I would imagine, because it's unless you were like healing, because they don't, you're not really attached to anything material, right?

Speaker 4 So they're, they wouldn't have an outward striving, yeah.

Speaker 4 Of like, oh, right, the, the, the thing of like, you know, success, whatever that is. And

Speaker 4 no romantic heartbreak, right?

Speaker 4 You don't want to say love because that part is beautiful, but it's the other side when

Speaker 4 whatever trauma, whatever reasons, things don't make it. And And then

Speaker 4 you had that singular focus. I'm sure that it's not that easy.
I'm just saying

Speaker 4 that was what I romanticized it would be if I did it. And then I thought that was like lovely.

Speaker 1 And

Speaker 1 how is your faith like now, many years later?

Speaker 1 young Regina, looking out at the world that way, figuring that might be a way in which I can manage my own world.

Speaker 1 How do you practice your version of loving God now? What does it look like?

Speaker 4 I mean, I think I really believe, if you believe in past lives, I believe I had a past life

Speaker 4 where I was that. I believe I've come from that.

Speaker 4 So I believe it probably exists within me because it has existed.

Speaker 4 And so it.

Speaker 1 It feels familiar.

Speaker 4 It feels familiar. And so there's a certain peace in that familiarity.

Speaker 1 And it makes sense to me then that you're...

Speaker 1 you know, for a while thinking about going into journalism because it's just like quite, it's like the idea of like unpacking big questions finding out the truth being curious like all that stuff feels like it's connected when did you decide

Speaker 1 okay i'm i'm happy that i have my journalism degree but i want to be an actor what when did that change happen what

Speaker 4 well my parents were like you're not gonna just my parents were divorced but they were just like you're not gonna be in new york partying because i had also I had left the nun life behind.

Speaker 2 You were like, before I was in the night. I was in New York and I was was partying and I loved partying.

Speaker 4 You know, and good, I had great friends and from college and like

Speaker 4 we finished.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 4 And then it was like, what am I to, you know what?

Speaker 2 We were going.

Speaker 1 You were probably in New York at the same time, like in the 90s.

Speaker 4 New York in the 90s. It was great.

Speaker 1 It was great.

Speaker 4 It was great. And so we used to go out a lot.
And then my mom was like, well, my dad was like, well, what are you doing? You have to get a job or something.

Speaker 4 I either had to get a job or go back to school.

Speaker 4 And so I went, I was like, I'm choosing school because I could arrange my classes to still party.

Speaker 4 But work, I couldn't do it. I did work for six months.

Speaker 2 Ooh, what was your job?

Speaker 4 I was working at a director's office and their office was in their home. And so they really had to

Speaker 4 carefully vet who worked there. So I was like an assistant.

Speaker 1 Was that like your first job in near the industry?

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 1 And it was working with a director.

Speaker 4 Yeah, he was a commercial director. He did TV commercials.
And

Speaker 4 one day I fell asleep with my elbow on a button on the computer and it was blinking. It was just like all X's, whatever was at the end.
And the screen was blinking.

Speaker 4 And I woke up because I had been out too late.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 4 I was like, and then my roommate and I were like, we are going to raise money. And

Speaker 4 I don't know. And I was like, we have to quit our jobs.
Our jobs are holding us back. Yeah.

Speaker 4 And then I had to borrow money and my parents were like, what are you going to do? So I was like, I'll go back to school. Okay.

Speaker 4 So you went back to study journalism then and I went back to study journalism and my dad had a stroke and passed away very suddenly my first few months.

Speaker 1 First few months. And so you didn't, you stopped going to school after that?

Speaker 4 No. I finished because I knew he'd wanted me to, but I had a friend who said, do you want to make extra money doing commercials? And she was like, I introduced to my manager.
I met her manager.

Speaker 4 That manager, I couldn't show up for auditions because I was like, I'm doing my thesis. I can't show up to an audition.
But I did. And then I took a class in acting.

Speaker 4 And I think it was very healing for me after my dad to be out of my head a little bit. And that's how.
And then I was like, oh, I love this. So then I finished NYU

Speaker 4 and then decided to go to Columbia's bartending school

Speaker 4 because I was going to need to pay for acting school. Yeah.
And then I went to acting school. I remember my mom.
Where did you go to acting school? You just don't want a job, huh, baby?

Speaker 4 And I could have been a professional student. I did love school.
I study at uh at um

Speaker 1 at bill esper i could see you also being a great bartender

Speaker 4 oh my gosh i could see you but i don't know how to make any drinks because you were supposed to spit those drinks out in class i was really tipsy after every class yeah

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 so much of bartending is faking like yes faking the like you're just making the drink yes but it's about the chit chat yeah and i do like people yeah So I love to converse and meet.

Speaker 4 I find people to be fascinating.

Speaker 1 Okay. So back to commercials.
You're auditioning for commercials. Any commercial?

Speaker 2 Did you get any commercials during that time? I did.

Speaker 4 What did you get? I got.

Speaker 1 That was a big deal to get a commercial in the 90s.

Speaker 4 It was national.

Speaker 4 Shit.

Speaker 4 McDonald's.

Speaker 2 What?

Speaker 1 You got a national McDonald's commercial?

Speaker 1 How much money did you make from that?

Speaker 1 Because that could pay. That could change your life.
A national commercial.

Speaker 4 Yeah. It was.
Yeah. My my line, I had to say, and some McDonald's fries.

Speaker 4 You were ordering them, or I was at a movie theater watching,

Speaker 4 we were watching a movie about McDonald's, and then

Speaker 2 you were watching a McDonald's movie?

Speaker 4 No, we were watching a movie about something, and they were running. Maybe I don't even remember, but he says, I could go for a Big Mac.
Yeah, I think the movie

Speaker 4 watching, and then I said in some McDonald's fries.

Speaker 1 And what do you remember about being on the setup?

Speaker 4 Like, you know how sometimes you can remember the feeling when you're shooting something what was it were you nervous i was nervous yes i was nervous i remember i was like i don't know if i like my hair because they did these rods but now i look back and i'm like that hair was just fine yeah um

Speaker 4 i thought everyone was gonna recognize me i thought that commercial was gonna air i was outside like this

Speaker 1 you were like waiting waiting for people to be like

Speaker 1 did you just do a mcdonald's commercial not one nobody that's a big get it was a big get That is a big get. And it ran for a while.

Speaker 4 It did. It ran for like, you remember how they had to pay for your cycles? I think I made like

Speaker 4 over a period, like 30, 40,000, 30,000.

Speaker 1 Yes, back then you could make

Speaker 2 you could.

Speaker 4 And there were some people who made like, yeah. But I made like, I think I made like 30.

Speaker 2 Yeah.

Speaker 1 And if you could get a commercial and it could run and your residuals were nice. Yes.

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Speaker 1 It's been like really interesting to look at your range. Like we talked about.
I mean,

Speaker 1 you have done all different kinds of work. You've done, you've been in big, huge franchise.

Speaker 2 Should I interrupt?

Speaker 4 Yes. I love this woman.

Speaker 4 No, I want to say that. You know what?

Speaker 4 No, no, no. I have to say it because I have to say

Speaker 4 how profoundly

Speaker 4 inspiring you are, right?

Speaker 4 That's across all cultures, races, and genres. You know that too.
Thank you for saying that. In terms of comedy, yeah, because it's like, you know, ever you say Amy Poehler, it doesn't matter, right?

Speaker 4 We all know who it is.

Speaker 4 And so

Speaker 4 when I would watch you and Tina, I'd be like, they're beautiful, they're funny. And so you, you know, you're always looking at people who you admire.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 2 I think

Speaker 4 also how much fun they're having, right? And so

Speaker 4 whether it's conscious or subconscious, like, and Maya, Rudolph,

Speaker 4 who's also hilarious, but

Speaker 4 to see women be so funny and so like

Speaker 4 beautiful and yet not vain

Speaker 4 because you can't really have that right when you're doing comedy. You have to be like, you can't be like,

Speaker 4 I don't know, but that was profoundly like

Speaker 4 impactful and inspirational.

Speaker 4 I don't even think without me, without me knowing it at first. And then

Speaker 4 it became like, oh my goodness, I love them.

Speaker 1 Well, you know, thank you for saying that. It does mean a lot because I have followed your career and been and been so impressed by how genuinely and deeply funny you are.
You are really funny.

Speaker 1 And also,

Speaker 1 you have played incredibly subtle, grounded, interesting characters, including the film that you're in, the new Paul Thomas Anderson film that you're in that we'll talk about.

Speaker 1 Like you are playing deep, complex characters and also getting to swing the other way. That's very inspiring because it's very hard to not be

Speaker 1 just limited or like, you know, to come in through the comedy door and never leave that way. Yeah.

Speaker 4 Have you found that to be like, was that, did that happen in the beginning like when you were doing more comedic stuff did you think after scary movie i think after and the interesting thing with scary movie is after scary movie

Speaker 4 then it was like oh she only does broad comedy

Speaker 4 so then you have to say well can you get a um you know a grounded and a lot of them i just you know I mean, a lot of stuff you don't get, right? Isn't there like time?

Speaker 1 Well, I'd be curious, because I was thinking, like, what is Regina when you were, you know, we all have this thing where

Speaker 1 we get scripts sent to us or parts sent to us and we scroll down to see what people are thinking about us. And sometimes it's like, okay.

Speaker 4 I got my first part job I got was a stripper and I just was like, I'm going to get inundated.

Speaker 2 I haven't been asked to be done.

Speaker 1 And I'm offended.

Speaker 1 I'm serious.

Speaker 2 I literally was like watching.

Speaker 4 I'm just, I do remember I had an Asian. I love her so much.
Her name is Jamie. And she said, we've gotten a foreign film for you.

Speaker 4 I haven't read it yet, yet, but we just got the offer. This was after Scary Movie, and I was like, oh, gosh, I'm international.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 4 this is before emails. Remember when you had to pick your scripts up?

Speaker 1 Oh, yeah. Physically go to someone's house.

Speaker 4 So I physically went to the agency and it was in the bin because I wasn't at the point where they were messengering them to me. So I got the script and I remember it.

Speaker 4 It was Playa Hatas, which she was reading as Playa, the beach.

Speaker 4 No.

Speaker 4 Yes. Playa Haitas.

Speaker 4 Playa Haitas. That's what she said to me on the phone.
And I said,

Speaker 4 it's Playa Haitas. I was like,

Speaker 1 she was like, so it doesn't take place on the beach?

Speaker 4 She was like, no, and it's not a foreign film.

Speaker 4 There's nothing foreign about it.

Speaker 4 And so,

Speaker 4 and so I didn't end up doing playa hiatus.

Speaker 2 Playa hiatus.

Speaker 1 Playa, playa haitas.

Speaker 4 It's a foreign film. She was so excited too.

Speaker 1 Jamina. Do you feel like you were getting after Scary Movie? Were you getting a lot of the same stuff offered to you?

Speaker 4 Probably like more broad, like, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 Yeah, like, I was, I was laughing because I was like, I bet Regina and I would be in a movie where we'd be playing like stereotypical versions of, because I still, you know, to this day, someone's like, we thought of you.

Speaker 2 We think it's great. And I'm like, okay.

Speaker 1 And I read the part and I'm like, oh,

Speaker 1 I know, one of those characters that is just like, usually very, like, let me speak to the manager, very nuts, and very, like, get her out of here.

Speaker 1 Yeah. And, and I feel like we would probably be cast in a movie where we would be.

Speaker 4 I'd be the one that you wanted to speak to the manager over. I'd be like, they'd always have it, like, there's some hood chick, and she's always like, and I'd be like, yeah, and I would be like,

Speaker 2 totally.

Speaker 4 Because you just can't do that. All this.
You're like, what else?

Speaker 2 So, okay.

Speaker 1 Well, that, that leads me to my question. So we always, we do this thing on the show where we talk behind, well, behind someone's back.

Speaker 1 We kind of try to find out more about them through people that know them. And so we talked to Andrew Mannels today.

Speaker 4 My baby daddy.

Speaker 2 I heard you were twins together. Don and Dawn.

Speaker 2 We had ship. We don't know where.
Where are our kids?

Speaker 2 Don and Dawn.

Speaker 4 I love Andrew. I love Andrew.

Speaker 1 I know. He's so, what do you love about him?

Speaker 4 Oh, he's just, he makes me smile. He makes me laugh.
He's funny, so talented. Yeah.
But he's just such a nice human being. Like, I love Andrew.

Speaker 4 Like, I knew he was my baby daddy from the first moment I saw him.

Speaker 1 Yeah, I know. I can tell you have a special connection.

Speaker 4 I love Andrew. Like, one day we did a scene and I said decad instead of decade, and it was late.

Speaker 4 And then every time we had to do it over and it would come to the word we couldn't say, you know how that happens?

Speaker 2 You get the giggles and you couldn't stop.

Speaker 4 I have a clip of that. Jack God,

Speaker 4 and I was like,

Speaker 4 I was, it was just, we couldn't stop. And he was like, don't, don't look at me.
And we couldn't do it. We couldn't do it.
We had to break.

Speaker 1 He loves you and he loves working with you, loved working with you. And you guys work together on Black Monday.
And

Speaker 1 he talked about like one of the questions is kind of like what we talk about, we're talking about now because whether it's, you know, girls' trip or love and basketball or one battle after another, your new film, You've done big budget, you've done small independence like

Speaker 1 support the girls, you've done scary movie, you've done big and small, like

Speaker 1 dramatic and comedic. And he was just saying, like, I want to ask Regina, does she feel like she's the architect of this? Or does it feel like part of a kind of a bigger flow?

Speaker 1 Like, like, are you feeling like you're adjusting the dials on those all the time? Or are you just kind of seeing what's coming up next?

Speaker 4 i mean at a certain point you have more options right as your career i mean i think it was i mean i would love to say i was an act architect i think it was probably accidental because in the beginning you would just you kind of said yes yeah totally i got a job yeah flyia height when does it when does it start

Speaker 4 when does fly

Speaker 1 if that would have been my first offer i would have been there so i'm it's kind of been like I know it is kind of funny in retrospect when people say like you know what what made you make that choice and it's like they just they just asked

Speaker 4 no and it and it went well but that's kind of how it was i mean scary movie was a little i think best man and then love scary movie was different because i was a huge fan of the weighans and i i mean i would really wanted to work with keenan but

Speaker 4 and then that just ended up having but it's it's i will say for the beginning it was kind of an accident everything was an accident

Speaker 1 when that movie comes out and it's a huge hit you've been in a couple films that are just like giant hits right away scary movie girl strip like where you're just on this train

Speaker 1 what is that like to just have you know do something and then suddenly it's like oh we've got a franchise

Speaker 4 you know nothing i don't know i'll ask you this nothing necessarily feels like that in real time yeah that's right it's kind of like what is what's discussed later yeah it's later i think in real time it came out it did well And I was like, you know, that's great.

Speaker 4 But I did die in the first one. That's right.
And I was, and we, you know, and I, and, and I didn't expect to come back for the second one. It was like, I didn't have a deal.
I didn't.

Speaker 1 Remind me how they got you back after you died.

Speaker 4 It was a near-death experience.

Speaker 2 Right.

Speaker 4 They described it as a near-death experience. And then I became psychic, but I really wasn't psychic at all.

Speaker 4 Brenda just swore she was psychic.

Speaker 4 But I think,

Speaker 4 Yeah, that was like, it's kind of like, you know, you don't know who knew. Yeah.
I mean, and that was kind of.

Speaker 1 Did you feel that way about Girl's Trip 2, which, I mean, I can remember when that came out, Tracy Oliver, who I got the pleasure to work with, we produced a show together called Harlem

Speaker 1 for a couple years on Amazon.

Speaker 2 And Tracy's. Megan.

Speaker 1 Yes, Megan. And Tracy's so talented.
And

Speaker 1 I just remember that feeling very exciting when that was a big,

Speaker 1 big hit. What was that experience like?

Speaker 4 That was great. You know, I will say this.
This is going to sound crazy to many people, but my dog got really sick right before, and my dog passed away like four days after Girlship came out.

Speaker 4 And he had been really sick. And I loved my dog, Zeus.
So it was a bit of a blur. I was very sad.

Speaker 4 I was very sad because I had lost,

Speaker 4 I had lost my little, little, fat little baby. You know, he was a little bulldog.
And so

Speaker 4 I was very happy it did well.

Speaker 4 Yeah. I remember because at first I was like,

Speaker 4 I think I was not, I think the girls were a lot more

Speaker 4 optimistic. I was like, should we be coming out in the summer? That was my thought.
I was like, against,

Speaker 4 I mean, he's not like he's very talented, but Chris Nolan

Speaker 2 and Dunkirk.

Speaker 4 I was like, we're coming out the same day.

Speaker 1 But sometimes that counter programming can really be.

Speaker 4 Sometimes. And at the, and I guess at that time it did.
I guess because I was, I'm, you know, I'm a, I'm a Nolan fan. So I was not.

Speaker 4 So yeah, it was, it was, it was, it was great.

Speaker 1 But sometimes you've had a day and you're just like, I can't go see Dunkirk tonight.

Speaker 1 You're like, I can't do it.

Speaker 1 I had my day was Dunkirkian. Yes, right.
And I need to laugh.

Speaker 4 Yeah, I don't need Dunkirk again.

Speaker 4 Yeah.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah.
Because I remember Tina and I did a movie called Sisters and it came out against Star Wars.

Speaker 1 Oh. And so it was like, hmm.

Speaker 4 I have a film I'm coming out in, an animated film. Ooh.
SpongeBob?

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 4 And that's coming out the same day as Avatar.

Speaker 2 So I was like,

Speaker 4 that's.

Speaker 1 But I like that programming. I like that.

Speaker 4 Tell me how.

Speaker 2 Because I don't understand that.

Speaker 4 Tell me, tell me.

Speaker 1 I like it.

Speaker 4 Do you like an Avatar?

Speaker 1 I like an Avatar Spongebob

Speaker 1 choice because

Speaker 4 I feel like I would take my kids to see Avatar as well.

Speaker 1 Dude, how much avatar are we going to get?

Speaker 4 But the thing is, this is the last Avatar. So

Speaker 4 You've got to go see it. But he hasn't filmed anymore.
And it takes like.

Speaker 1 I mean, is it the last avatar? Yeah. I mean, how many times do we get fooled by that? Right, that's true.
The last time I feel safer now. And I don't know.

Speaker 1 And that one, I just, it's going to take so long. That's the other thing because movies are so long.

Speaker 4 Well, SpongeBob is only, it's short. I mean, 96 minutes.
It is, and it's hilarious.

Speaker 1 Yes, and it's in and out. But I mean, when you see it, I just like, the other thing is, like, what do you, I could only go to that movie at starting at 4 o'clock.

Speaker 1 There's no way I'm going to go to an 8 o'clock movie of Avatar.

Speaker 4 But of SpongeBob, aren't they asleep by then, too? The kids? You got to get them in and out of there by 12. One.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 SpongeBob, you got to do like a 6 p.m. probably.

Speaker 2 At 6 p.m.

Speaker 1 But I think are you going to get a lot of adults?

Speaker 4 That's a good idea because

Speaker 1 going to SpongeBob.

Speaker 4 But don't you think those adults would see Avatar too?

Speaker 1 I'm just.

Speaker 4 Not this adult. Not that.
So we got one. We got one, everybody.

Speaker 1 I'm going to say it right now. And I'm sorry if I'm going to like cause problems.
I'm not going to see the new avatar.

Speaker 1 I'm not. I don't.
I'm not gonna see it.

Speaker 4 Well, we're not on IMAX anyway. So the avatar took the IMAX.
So we're gonna be on.

Speaker 1 I also don't like IMAX.

Speaker 4 Yeah, those are the same.

Speaker 2 That is so intense. It's too loud.

Speaker 4 Well, we're coming out. One battle after another is coming on IMAX.

Speaker 1 Okay, except for that one.

Speaker 2 Right. Yeah, that one.

Speaker 1 Okay, but so before I get to that movie, because it looks so great. And I mean, Paul Thomas Anderson is just such an incredible director and your cast is incredible.

Speaker 1 But I want to talk about award shows because you and I are, we've both hosted stuff.

Speaker 4 I love, yes, I love it.

Speaker 1 And I love when you host. You are so good at it.

Speaker 4 Well, I mean,

Speaker 2 what do you like about doing that?

Speaker 4 I mean, I don't know that I do.

Speaker 1 I know what you mean.

Speaker 1 I know what I mean. It's hard.

Speaker 1 And it's a little bit of like diminishing returns like the more you do it like when you yeah when you pull it off the first time you're like they want it again and they are like come back and do it again it's like i don't know how you all have managed to do repeat performance and honestly be amazing each time thank you right back at you yeah and i feel like you have something that hosts need that you just kind of can't teach which is you have to be a little

Speaker 1 a little ambivalent, a little relaxed. You can't care too much about it.

Speaker 4 No, because people can feel that. I know.

Speaker 1 They can feel it in the room. They can feel it in the room.
So what do you do to kind of keep that vibe going or you or like fake that vibe when you're out there doing it?

Speaker 4 I do. I mean, I don't know.
Let me ask you if you feel this. You know, you're nervous, but once the curtain goes up, you're like, well, here it is.
Yes. There's nothing you can do.

Speaker 4 I mean, it's at that point, it's just, you know.

Speaker 4 It's like that breast exam. It's on.
The shirt is off.

Speaker 2 We got to do it. The machine is open.

Speaker 4 We got to slap them on in there. I think it just kind of,

Speaker 4 i mean you got to feel that what you've got is enough i think i think that's what it is you've got to just feel like well what i have is enough because i always feel like the minute you feel like you panic yes that's when it's going to be

Speaker 1 the host like a host whether it be you're having a dinner party whether you're having a wedding whether you're hosting the bt awards whatever is the thing

Speaker 1 if you're having fun right i and you set the tone people relax but if to your point if you you, and I mean, you were hosting the Academy Awards during a very hectic

Speaker 1 year, the year of the slap, very stressful. You and Amy and Wanda.
And you guys had to handle like this crazy live thing.

Speaker 1 Are you the kind of performer when something like that happens where you, like, how do you, how do you adjust? Do you just

Speaker 1 like try to stay in your body? Do you disassociate? Do you, what do you do? How do you adjust when those kind of things happen?

Speaker 4 I mean, I mean, it was wonderful to have them, you know, and not be doing that alone. Yeah.
And they were great.

Speaker 4 I think you just are like, let, we just, you know, the show must go on. Right.
I think there's just something about the show must go on mentality that you just are like, it is, we, here we go. Yeah.

Speaker 4 And because you're at that point, you are thinking of your audience. You want your audience to

Speaker 4 continue to enjoy the show. And you don't, and that's the thing about a live show.
You know, anything, anything can happen

Speaker 4 anyway when you're doing anything live. So I think you have to just always be prepared for that.
Totally. Whatever that ends up being, you just ride it out.

Speaker 1 Yeah. I mean, it's a skill.
It's a skill to be able to do that and to not let things kind of throw you. And you're so good at pivoting in real time.
Like

Speaker 1 whether you're accepting for Kevin Costner in real time, which was amazing, like a beautiful poem

Speaker 4 and an incredible that is my fault because they said, Regina, you should read this backstage. And I was like, no, no, no, I got it.
Right. I was like, no, no, no, I got it.

Speaker 4 And I didn't realize what they had written. And I think it was that discovery in real time.

Speaker 1 But it was very human and very light, lovely, like because you were real, you were accepting for Kevin Costner, who wasn't there at the time, because he was dealing with weather in Santa Barbara, which was real,

Speaker 1 which was real. Destructive weather that people were, you know, and you were, of course,

Speaker 1 doing what anyone would do, which is like doing like this fun, gracious kind of light tease to the person who won until you realize in mid-sentence that you're like, I see this is more serious.

Speaker 1 And it was

Speaker 1 beautiful, Pippet.

Speaker 1 Do you remember? I forget what award show it was.

Speaker 1 Maybe it was the Emmys and Jimmy Fallon's prompter went out.

Speaker 2 Do you remember that? No.

Speaker 1 Yes.

Speaker 1 And I mean, he was, he, he, he handled it so well. He just was like, hey, I can't read the prompter.
And he just kind of riffed for a second.

Speaker 1 And I thought, oh.

Speaker 4 Oh, I do remember that.

Speaker 1 He just kind of made a thing about it. And I remember like for hours after, just kind of lying in my room thinking, that is a living stress dream.

Speaker 1 That you would just walk out to all these people and just the prompt.

Speaker 4 And the prompter. I know.
And even for two seconds, because it's like the beginning. It's right when you need, it's right when when you are like, I need to engage them.

Speaker 4 I'm letting them know what this night is going to be like. And then you don't have a prompter.

Speaker 1 Back to dentistry.

Speaker 1 Have you ever had dreams that your teeth fall out?

Speaker 4 No, have you?

Speaker 1 You have.

Speaker 1 It's a very typical stress dream

Speaker 1 that you're, but like you go to talk and your teeth fall out.

Speaker 4 Oh my God. I'm stressed thinking about it.

Speaker 1 I know. I'm sorry to bring it up.

Speaker 1 Do you have, what would be a typical stress dream for you?

Speaker 4 I probably am not sleeping if I'm that stress stream. Okay.

Speaker 4 I think that's what happens.

Speaker 1 Do you, are you a good sleeper? I love to talk about sleep. I love sleep.
Here's the thing.

Speaker 4 I love sleep.

Speaker 2 I want more of it.

Speaker 1 Okay, let's talk about how to get you there.

Speaker 2 Okay.

Speaker 1 What's your bedtime?

Speaker 4 Well, there's the answer.

Speaker 4 Too late. It's too late.
There's a lot to do sometimes when I get home.

Speaker 2 Okay.

Speaker 4 Or it's that last dateline episode that I've never seen and I want to get that last one in.

Speaker 1 You cannot watch a dateline

Speaker 1 late at night. What happens? Well, it's just bad for dreams.

Speaker 4 Oh, I have great dreams. Okay.
A lot of times it's spouses. Have you seen that? Have you noticed that?

Speaker 1 That is true. And I was talking about this with Zarna Garg a couple weeks ago on this podcast.
That's Zarna.

Speaker 1 That women who are, I think, Zara, great, that women who are married are much more likely to die earlier. And yes, to get

Speaker 4 from stress. Oh, yes.
Yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 1 But it shortens your life if you're married. You know that.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 Yep. Sucks it right out.

Speaker 4 Sucks it right out. Because you're caretaking and you're thinking of.
And a lot of times women

Speaker 4 are nurturing. So they're giving so much.
But the men, they fare better.

Speaker 2 They do a manly life.

Speaker 4 That's like, I don't even know why y'all don't want to get married. Y'all should be begging to run down an altar.
Like literally.

Speaker 1 Yeah, right. Men should know that it's going to add.
They should do like a, you should do like a very like,

Speaker 1 you know, there's all these like podcasts and books and classes of like maximizing your potential they should just do it about getting married they should just say you get married you live five more years 86% of the most successful men are married

Speaker 4 I'm just saying

Speaker 4 that's got I mean that's gotta be you know they need that grounding they need that home base and women don't no no

Speaker 4 Because they find it in friendships. Yeah.
You know what I was saying? And tell me this.

Speaker 4 Anyone else in here? Have you noticed that men,

Speaker 4 oh, there was a study. If you ask men who their best friend is, most of them say they're wives.
Right. And if you ask a woman, she's really got her friends.

Speaker 4 She'll be like, Lisa, you know, Amy, like they really, they have, they have it. And for men, it'll be their wives.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 I do feel like women have, you know, tribes. And

Speaker 1 we're in our 50s, right?

Speaker 2 So we're kind of in the middle 30s oh we're in our 30s wait let me check yeah but yeah we are 39 39 yeah

Speaker 1 and we are in the watery middle we're in the watery middle

Speaker 1 water is so important resource water is a sponsor it is water please yeah water it's don't go don't go water don't go do you worry about um like are you uh

Speaker 4 Totally into climate change, yes. Yes.

Speaker 1 And do you, are you like a prepper? Are you, do you think about

Speaker 4 totally aware and I'm like, fuck it at the same time. Yeah.
Because I'm like, what can I do? I can't, I can't live in the stress of it. Yeah.

Speaker 4 But am aware enough to be like, if there is something that can be done, I will do it.

Speaker 1 If there was a zombie apocalypse, oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 Let's just say, I don't, I can't live in buildings and just take me out. I'm going to go at some point anyway.

Speaker 1 I feel this exactly the same.

Speaker 2 I would just be like, let me be the first to go.

Speaker 4 Just, yeah. Like, don't bite me because I don't want to be alive and dead, but just, just somebody somebody just run me on over, however, whatever is the quickest way, right?

Speaker 4 But I don't want to just survive, I haven't slept.

Speaker 2 Let me get up. I hear something.

Speaker 4 You've got a gun. We've got one candy bar between us.
It's got to last for like 10 days.

Speaker 1 No, we should do a zombie movie where the two of us immediately get killed. For example,

Speaker 4 we're trying to get killed the whole movie.

Speaker 2 No one will kill us.

Speaker 4 Can't even get bitten by a zombie.

Speaker 2 We can't, yeah, no.

Speaker 1 That's a good idea. I know, because I feel, but there, but what are you like in a crisis? Because I'm projecting on you.
I feel like you'd be very level-headed.

Speaker 4 I think I'm pretty calm in a crisis.

Speaker 4 At least most crisis, but I have a metaphobia, so it depends on

Speaker 4 that crisis. I'm not great in.

Speaker 1 Let's talk about that. I know.
I love a phobia.

Speaker 4 Do you have any?

Speaker 1 I don't think so. I don't have a real phobia.

Speaker 1 I think I have like intrusive thoughts that maybe is phobia adjacent, like fear of uh stuff but i don't have an actual fear of clowns i don't love clowns you don't i don't mind i don't i don't love them i i don't i definitely don't want to be around a clown but i wouldn't i wouldn't scream in that way they're just they see it's a lot it's a lot

Speaker 1 um i don't like any people that are like performing

Speaker 1 clown stuff

Speaker 1 but i respect them and i wouldn't scream if i saw one right but emetophobia emetophobia is

Speaker 4 well, I have two phobias. I have ametophobia.
Ametophobia. Yeah.

Speaker 4 And then claustrophobia. Ametophobia is a fear of like

Speaker 2 throwing up. Yeah.

Speaker 1 If someone throwing up, are you throwing up? I have some friends who have that. We won't talk about it anymore because it makes people stressed.
Yes. For people listening, we won't talk about it.

Speaker 1 But it's real.

Speaker 4 It's real. And so is claustrophobia.

Speaker 1 Okay. And so claustrophobia,

Speaker 1 how does that manifest in your everyday?

Speaker 4 My, you know what? I only am claustrophobic claustrophobic if I'm like, I can't get out. So like I can do a small space if I can get out of it.
But if it's a small space and I'm like an MRI,

Speaker 4 I got to know I can scoot out.

Speaker 1 But you can't in an MRI.

Speaker 4 Exactly. That's why I can't do that.

Speaker 1 So do you take a, do you take a, a nightnight pill when you?

Speaker 4 No, I do the open MRI. There's an open? Yeah, there's, which is wider, which is wider.
Well, you can scoot out. You can scoot out.
And I don't let them leave me alone. Yes.

Speaker 4 They have to sit there with me and then I have to talk to them.

Speaker 4 They have to talk to me.

Speaker 1 And are you feeling, do you know, do you have a sense of where your claustrophobia came from?

Speaker 4 I remember it starting when I got

Speaker 4 a face.

Speaker 4 What do you call those?

Speaker 1 Facial?

Speaker 4 Not a facial.

Speaker 1 Oh, I know exactly what you're talking about. So actors often have to get

Speaker 1 like a plaster

Speaker 1 cast of their face.

Speaker 1 And it is terrifying.

Speaker 4 And that's when I didn't have it before that I remember, but I remember when they were both on me

Speaker 4 plastering me. Yeah.

Speaker 1 Plastering my face. I know.
Neither sound. It's a very

Speaker 1 weird thing that people don't know, which is a lot of actors have to get, especially if you're doing any prosthetics. Yes.

Speaker 1 And I'm sure makeup artists have made it better and better and easier and easier. But back when we were doing it, it was like stick two straws in your nose.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 And they do your mouth and then they're patting you and your ears are covered and then they're trying to go fast and then it has to harden. That's right.
And then once it hardens, they can remove it.

Speaker 4 And the thing wasn't that. I just was like, what if a fire comes? They forget about me and run out.

Speaker 1 Wait, because like, wait, this is a really interesting thing your brain is doing.

Speaker 4 So my brain creates scenarios.

Speaker 1 It wouldn't be the fire that would be the problem. It would be that you've been left alone.

Speaker 4 I've been left and I can't get and I can't get the thing out.

Speaker 2 Right. That's a good idea.

Speaker 2 That's what happens.

Speaker 4 That's what happens to me.

Speaker 1 Okay. So I do want to talk talk about one battle after another because, I mean, you've worked with a lot of great directors.
Paul Thomas Anderson is amazing. His films are really,

Speaker 4 yeah, he's like, he's my favorite.

Speaker 1 What was it like to shoot it? It was shot in all in LA. All in LA.
Like really.

Speaker 4 In different parts of California. Yeah.
Not LA, California. It was great.
Yeah. You know, it's wonderful to, I mean, the cast is amazing.

Speaker 1 And how did you like working with Leonardo DiCaprio, Leo?

Speaker 4 Well, he's,

Speaker 4 you know, the thing with Leo is

Speaker 4 he's not very experienced. He's green.

Speaker 4 And so you've, when you were.

Speaker 1 You're like, oh, no, sweetie, that's crafty. That's crafty.
That's not set.

Speaker 2 Exactly. And you went the wrong way.

Speaker 1 No, yeah, I had to do a lot of that.

Speaker 4 No, that's the lens.

Speaker 4 Don't look into it.

Speaker 4 Because he was doing a lot of that. Yeah, yeah.
Once we got past that, though,

Speaker 4 he was great. He's great.
He's great.

Speaker 4 Yeah, no, it was sad, but it was also sweet.

Speaker 2 It's endearing. Tender.
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 4 And he's got a lot riding on this because he's never had a big movie.

Speaker 2 No. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 Oh, he sounds sweet.

Speaker 4 He is.

Speaker 1 And then you're making another scary movie.

Speaker 4 Making another scary movie.

Speaker 1 Which is like a perfect example of your career. You have this like, you know, kind of prestigious, very like intense.
And then you're going to go do that dumb fun

Speaker 1 because I imagine it's real big, dumb fun.

Speaker 4 Oh my gosh. Yes.
Yeah. Yes.
It is. And like, you know, I think for us, it's like, well, let's see how far we can push humor in 2025.

Speaker 4 You know, that's a, that's a big thing. But, you know, the great thing is you get at everybody.
Yeah. That's what comedy,

Speaker 4 that's where it lives, right? Getting at everybody.

Speaker 1 I think so. I mean, like, what I asked this of all my guests, but what do you mean?

Speaker 4 Why do I have an urge to do this?

Speaker 1 What is it called? It's called, what's the word when you... Mesophonia.
So I don't think it's a phobia. I think it's a phonia.

Speaker 1 I don't know what's the difference. But yeah,

Speaker 1 misophonia is what you're doing.

Speaker 4 Can you look up the the difference between phobia and phonia?

Speaker 4 Maybe I'm hyped.

Speaker 1 I have a laptop here.

Speaker 4 And she is part of that generation like myself of pre-technology.

Speaker 1 That's right. Where I

Speaker 2 would

Speaker 4 be going to the microphiche.

Speaker 2 Remember micro.

Speaker 2 Remember microfiche? Yes.

Speaker 1 Okay, mesophonia

Speaker 1 is a condition where specific sounds, condition,

Speaker 1 where Where specific sounds trigger intense negative emotional reactions such as anger, annoyance, or anxiety. Wow.
I don't know if it's intense, but for example, if I'm listening to a podcast

Speaker 1 and someone needs to take a drink of water and they're really dry mouthed, you can hear it. Not only can I hear it, but I really can't listen to the person.

Speaker 4 So you have also, you must have an incredible ear.

Speaker 1 I do have a, I have a good ear and I can hear things pretty well.

Speaker 4 Now look up phobia and just see what that definition is.

Speaker 1 Phobia. Let's see what the Latin word of phobia is.

Speaker 4 Phobia meaning. What if I was like phobia?

Speaker 1 In an extreme or irrational fear or aversion to something.

Speaker 4 So it's fear and the other one is anger and disgust.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 1 But just about sounds. Just about sounds.
Because like phonograph and Sony.

Speaker 4 That makes sense.

Speaker 1 But you want to know what causes phobia?

Speaker 2 What?

Speaker 1 It's genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and traumatic experiences. So there you go.

Speaker 4 That experience of that thing,

Speaker 4 of that face thing,

Speaker 4 I also was like, they could be doing anything. I can't see.

Speaker 4 Right? I just heard fingers, and then, like, you know, I could have been ass up in like 30 seconds. Not that I, not that I thought that, I didn't think that.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 But if I think about it now,

Speaker 4 anything could happen. They were very nice, both of them.

Speaker 1 Treatment is CBT, exposure therapy,

Speaker 1 Medication.

Speaker 4 How are you going to, you know, so I just have to get in small spaces, claustrophobia, and then just be forced to send it sitting there, huh?

Speaker 1 So you don't like to get smushed.

Speaker 4 I love getting smushed. I don't mind getting,

Speaker 4 I don't mind getting smushed. I just need to know I can get out.
If you put me in a small closet and I know it can't get locked, then

Speaker 4 I can get in there.

Speaker 1 Yeah.

Speaker 4 I can get in an elevator just fine unless the elevator gets stuck.

Speaker 1 Oh, has that happened?

Speaker 4 And one day I was panicking. I just hadn't hit the open button.
Because, you know,

Speaker 2 you know,

Speaker 1 if the board doors don't open, it's very stressful. Yeah.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 And I was like, you know, because it's the can't get out part. It's not the actual.
Because I can do, can you do roller coaster rides where you get strapped in?

Speaker 1 Okay. I can do them.
I don't feel a phobia from them, but I hate being shook that much.

Speaker 1 Like the shaky, like, I don't do roller coasters. I feel it's too short.

Speaker 4 Where is it shaky for you?

Speaker 1 Just the, I don't, I don't, like a roller coaster to me is like I get nauseous. I feel like all like dizzy.
Yeah. It's not worth it for me.
The feeling of I love them.

Speaker 2 I, you love them.

Speaker 4 I get on them and like, and I want to get off. And when it's going chick, chick, chick, chick, I'm like, I want to get off.
I want to get off.

Speaker 4 As soon as the first drop happens and I make it, I'm like, woo. Now I can't enjoy it because I worry about someone throwing up on it.

Speaker 1 But if roller coasters are like a way to shake it up,

Speaker 1 what is, and I asked my guests this, what is something that you're listening to, watching? Where do you go to laugh? Because I know you love to laugh. You have a great sense of humor.

Speaker 1 You're deeply funny. Who makes you laugh?

Speaker 4 I have comfort watches. I've seen Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally 5,000 Times.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 And Heartburn. I kind of like Norhead.
Isn't it? Heartburn is hard to talk about. Heartburn talks about

Speaker 1 Meryl in that movie.

Speaker 1 And Jack, they're so cute.

Speaker 4 And you know, Jack, stop. You wanted it to work.

Speaker 4 What about when she would have, when she had that pregnant belly and then that little baby and she had to sing and she had to leave? That movie, I love. I think that movie is not.

Speaker 4 I don't know if it's underrated, but I say it's underrated.

Speaker 1 I think you're right. It is so good.

Speaker 2 Check out Heartburn, everybody.

Speaker 4 Check out Heartburn.

Speaker 1 It's so good.

Speaker 4 And it's so honest.

Speaker 4 you know when she came back even you know what i loved the um

Speaker 4 the delivery scene when he was talking to her and he cried and you were like it's gonna be different and they had the baby he was right back out there he was right back out there in 10 minutes just ruining him he couldn't even and so she couldn't she couldn't she couldn't do it anymore no people are complicated people are complicated and it's not good or bad but it it is it is can i stand it and there was a little bit of her that that was too compromised in that film,

Speaker 4 in that story, or Efron's story. And I love, I love Heartburn.
Even before the, even in the beginning, when it was like, should we get married? Remember Behind when she had the cold?

Speaker 1 Yes, so good. So human.

Speaker 2 So

Speaker 2 funny. Yeah.

Speaker 4 She's funny, too.

Speaker 1 Oh, Meryl's so funny. I mean, Meryl's everything.
Meryl?

Speaker 4 Meryl.

Speaker 2 I mean, there's words.

Speaker 1 Meryl.

Speaker 4 Meryl, Rebonis.

Speaker 1 Meryl.

Speaker 4 Yes, just Rabonis. I mean, love Meryl.
That was a great memo.

Speaker 1 Well, I have to say, Regina, it's been so great talking to you. And I have to say that the Catholic Church's loss has been our gain.
I really appreciate you doing this. Thank you so much for coming.

Speaker 2 It's so great to talk to you.

Speaker 2 I know.

Speaker 1 And I'll see you on another dance floor, hopefully soon.

Speaker 2 Yeah, absolutely. Okay.
Okay. Thanks, Hannah.

Speaker 1 Thank you so much, Regina Hall. You are awesome, and it was so great to talk to you and so fun.
And

Speaker 1 today's Polar Plunge is presented by BMW Certified. Visit bmwusa.com slash certified dash pre-owned to learn more.

Speaker 1 For this plunge, I want to talk about

Speaker 1 a film that we mentioned briefly that Regina was in, but it's just great if you get a chance to check it out. It's called Support the Girls.
And it was 2018.

Speaker 1 It was just kind of this slice of life indie film about a bunch of young women working at like a sports bar. And Regina is just so great in it.

Speaker 1 And I just wanted to take the plunge moment to remind you to check that out in wherever it's streaming.

Speaker 1 And just a fine example of Regina at her best doing big, hilarious moves and deep grounded dramatic acting. So check that out.
But don't forget.

Speaker 1 that today's polar plunge was presented by BMW Certified. In a world full of uncertainty, BMW certified pre-owned vehicles are the real deal.

Speaker 1 They come with a BMW certified warranty, genuine BMW parts, and an additional three years of 24-7 roadside assistance. Learn more at bmwusa.com slash certified dash pre-owned.

Speaker 2 Bye!

Speaker 1 You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler.
The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite.

Speaker 1 For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spilane, Kaya McMullen, and Aalaya Zanares. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss Burman.
Original music by Amy Miles.

Speaker 1 This episode is brought to you by Happy Egg. A happy hen makes a happy egg.
And what makes a hen happy?

Speaker 1 Well, Happy Egg partners with family farms across the Midwest to raise happy hens outdoors so they can run, stretch, and flap their wings in the sunshine. And I know what you're all thinking.

Speaker 1 You're thinking, where's the proof, Amy? Well, the proof is inside the shell.

Speaker 1 A tasty orange yolk it's the difference you can see and taste visit happy egg.com slash Amy to find happy egg near you and crack open happy this episode is brought to you by L'Oreal Paris.

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