"Natalie Portman"

SmartList is brought to you by Audi. It's not every day you get excited by a new car, but the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron is more than a new EV.
It's a new way to experience driving. Embrace the thrill of the drive with effortless power, serious acceleration, and the most advanced tech of any Audi ever.
With an all-new panoramic digital stage and legendary Audi performance, it's impossible not to love the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron. I should know.
I drive one. Learn more at AudiUSA.com.
Whether you're traveling, advancing your career, or just love learning, speaking a new language can create incredible opportunities. Rosetta Stone makes it easier and more immersive than ever.
I'm excited to learn Spanish. I took Spanish in high school, but I don't remember a lot of it.
But the reason is I live in California and there are millions and millions and millions of people that speak Spanish and I love it. I love to learn.
I love challenging my brain. I learned piano for so long, which is like a language.
So that part of my brain is already excited

to learn more languages. And so I'm super excited to see what's in store for Rosetta Stone and my Spanish speaking abilities.
SmartList listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life.
Visit rosettastone.com slash smartlist to get started. Lowe's knows that taking on more projects should be rewarding.
That's why loyalty members get more every day with rewards for every home or business purchase. Plus, shop weekly member deals and get access to free standard shipping.
So what are you waiting for? Join for free today. Lowe's, we help you save.
Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Details at lowes.com slash terms subject to change.
It's good to be here. I i have nothing it turned out i thought that i had an open will thought he had a nice well let's weigh in but this is it no but this is it yeah this is welcome to the process we're podcasting right now we've got absolutely nothing by the way this is the we've got we've got bennett and rob.
Everybody say hi. Hi.
We've got the whole, all of us. Like a party in your ears.
And we're trying to think of a way to start the show here before we get into the funny music. Let's take some calls.
Something to feel, some suggestions. Let's pick up that line from Des Moines that's on line three.
Caller, welcome to Smartless.

What's your question?

I just want to know how old you guys are.

Okay, I am...

Why'd you go fuck yourself?

Okay, we lost that caller.

We're picking up, oh, from Denton, Texas

on line five.

Good morning.

Good morning.

I love it when you talk about food.

Yes. Welcome to Smartless.
Smart. Less.
Smart. Less.
Smart. Bless.

Hi, guys.

Hi.

Is this our first chat and giggle of 2024?

Well, we don't want to date the episode, but yes.

Well, but, I mean, for us personally,

the listener don't listen to this part,

but I think, hey, Sean will,

this is our first of the year, isn't it?

Yeah. That's nice.
Happy New Year, guys. Oh yeah that's nice oh you guys look a full year older wait what nothing um what did you guys do how is your new year will will took a lesson in um uh social socialism no Socialization? Socialization.
Have you been enjoying your personal life? Shawnee, do you feel rested? I'm just getting sick, I think, unless it's allergies. I don't know.
Oh, could be COVID. COVID's flying back.
I tested it. I tested it.
I don't have it. You had it before, right? I had it the first time ever a year ago, yeah.
Yeah, I remember that. And Willie, you still haven't had it, right? No, I've never tested for it.
I've never taken a test. Are you serious? No.
What do you mean am I serious? Of course I've taken a million tests. No, I've never tested positive.
I've been, I've had the flu, but I've never tested positive. But I'm like, remember the summer we thought that maybe I had it? Yes.
When you guys were out in long island jb i love long wait who was i just talking to some somebody at the globes the other night who has got a fancy house out in the hamptons pretty close to yours and they're like oh boy every time i hear annette call it long island trying to to keep it real. Listen, Will, just admit it.
You're doing real well. You've got a big-ass summer house.
You've got six cars. You've got a bunch of gold bonds down in the Seychelles.
He's got six bicycles. Did I tell you this? I think so.
Last summer or the summer before I was pulling into the Sag Harbor

and I was in my GMC pickup.

It says Sierra 84X, by the way.

Okay.

Don't drop down.

And you're trying to keep it real by saying you're driving a pickup truck,

but let's be clear, it was a freebie because you are the voice of GMC.

Well, it's been over 25 years.

It's been over 25 years that I've been the voice of GMC trucks featuring the GMC Sierra with the six-function multi-trop tailgate. So anyway, this guy comes up to me as I'm putting Denny in his car seat and goes, Oh, you really do have a GMC? And I go, What, man? I don't know the guy.
It's a little stranger. It was pretty absurd.
Jason. Wait, Sean, so you think that you're getting sick? Well, I had an endoscopy yesterday.
What is that? You had a colonoscopy yesterday? No, endoscopy. Is that above the belt or below the belt? That's above the belt.
So I don't know if my throat is sore because there's something shoved down. Well, of course.
Careful with the jokes right now. It's very early in the show.
No, Sean's talking about going to a place where he paid money to have somebody stick something down his throat. And then he got an endoscopy.
By the way, I can't even believe I walked right in. He sure did.
That's what he said. What did this fella tell you was the problem? And he claimed he was a doctor.
Did you check his credentials, by the way? By the way, he's the best doctor in the world, Dr. Trezon at Cedars.
Oh, here we go. And wait, and Jay's gonna love this.
I had my, oh, where's my Invisalign? Oh, I have it. Oh, let's wait for your Invisalign.
Funny, it's hard to find the Invisalign. I had it on.
I forgot to put it back on. You should just paint a stripe on it so you stop losing it.
That's not a bad idea. Don't put in your Invisalign for the podcast.
No, I have to. I have to keep it wearing so i just don't so no i do i have to keep it on he's got to wear it all times so i just got to do the same thing anyway so his doc his name is dr trezon and i said he goes do you have anything like metal in you do you have anything blah blah blah you're all good i said no i just have my plastic you know teeth lining thing i guess i go i guess you could say i have my trays on.
Oh, my God. Yeah, that's really good.
Did he think you were flirting? No, no, no. No, but he was so sick of me making jokes.
I just made bad joke after bad joke. And I was sitting there.
Have you had an endoscopy with the thing down your throat? I did it at the same time that I got my colonoscopy. Yeah, so they put you, like...
I did. Yeah, you did.
They used the same two. They used the same tool yeah are they offering a twofer right now it's the best time to do it you imagine you're already out it's the the devil lies in the sequencing you'd really want to do the endoscopy first is that correct i guess something i don't think it but i but i said so i had this thing they make you bite down on this thing and your mouth to keep, right? Sure.
And so they can stick the camera down there. And so I'm sitting on my side with pillows in a gown with this thing.
And I said, bad joke after bad joke. I go, I haven't been like this since college or something like that.
And he goes way in the back of the room. He goes, yeah, we're probably going to want to stop talking for a little bit.
Yeah. He's had it with you.
He's totally had it. He's the best doctor.
He couldn't get that propofol. He's like, double the propofol.
Let's get this guy under. How good is that? How great is that when you wake up from that propofol now? Oh my God.
That little twilight? You're just like, I've never felt so good in my life. Yeah, I get real chippy.
I got a bunch of jokes for the doctor. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
You just, I can't stop cracking jokes. But the thing is, you come out of that thing and you feel light.
You haven't eaten for 24 hours. Right.
And you feel rested. You've just had a 45-hour long nap.
To quote somebody, the likes of which have never been seen. Oh, boy.
No. Yeah, and then we, oh, God, okay, sorry.
Okay, that's it. Ten minutes of patter.
let's please get to our guest today you fucking wrote down 10 minutes of patter too no i just looked up there 10 minutes of batter today we have with us a seasoned people we have a seasoned we have a seasoned veteran of the industry oh but she's not old oh she has has an Ivy League education with a degree in psychology, but she's never practiced. Oh, gotcha.
She is incredibly funny and can light up a room with her smile and her warmth, but she's known as one of our best dramatic actors. She's been a major movie star for over 30 years, but it has always been second to her interest in academics and activism.
She's got an Academy Award, a couple

of Globes, countless nominations. She can

even explain the Middle East to you or sell you some

perfume. And Sean, she can even

swing a lightsaber. Gang?

Wow. What? Uh-oh.
Natalie Portman.

What? Got it. No, Natalie.

I knew it. Good morning.

I knew it. Hi.

Wow. Oh my god, you guys.

Yeah? Literally

as I revealed myself,

I got a thing on my computer that says, low battery. You're going to back to sleep soon.
Yeah. One minute.
Excuse me. One minute.
She's grabbing for the cord. Oh, yeah.
Go get it. All right.
So, Sean, here's a little. Okay, guys, Sean.
You better watch it on the Star Wars stuff. She's in a lot of movies.
She doesn't want to talk about Star Wars, okay? Don't say Star Trek. I got shit for giving you shit with the Adam Driver episode.
And keep Scotty out of this fucking interview, all right? And don't start going like, Scotty's got a question for you from down deep. Did the planet Trigulon actually have...
Tighten up. Hi, Natalie.
Hi. Look who's back.
Are you all plugged in?

We weren't talking about you.

I'm going to do a whole move.

We're changing the background.

Oh, it's so pretty.

Well, yeah, what we're exposing here is a very nice zoom room she's created at the house.

Yeah, you've got a nice flair going.

Beautiful flair coming in.

Oh, there she goes.

We lost her.

And we've lost connection.

All right.

All right, stand by. Good till there.
As Jason would Oh, there she goes. We lost her.
And we've lost connection. All right.
All right, stand by.

Good till there.

As Jason would say, good till there.

That was great.

Good till there.

Every time, by the way,

every time we're on Rust in Development,

we'd go, and action,

and somebody would go up and go,

like, right after we started,

Jason would always go, good till there.

Good till there.

Never did it. Robbie, we lost her on, right, right.
I feel like right. I feel like right.
I feel like right. I feel like right.
I feel like right. I feel like right.
I feel like right. I feel like right.
Good till there. Good till there.
Never did it.

Robbie, we lost her on.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's probably the battery.

Just the bad.

So it's going to be a second, guys.

The battery just.

Yeah.

Battery just cut.

If you want to keep chatting, you can, but we're probably going to need her walk her

through tech.

So.

All right.

We're back.

Do you hear us, Natalie?

I do.

Fantastic.

Oh, we do too.

One last thing.

It sounds a little bit more echoey in this room.

Do you mind just pulling the mic a little closer,

maybe just a little higher if you have, like,

some books on the desk to put it on?

All right, that's not better.

I'm really sorry, y'all.

No, no, no.

Oh, no.

Zero problem. But are we going to title this episode How Dare You, Natalie Portman? Is that true? We're not going to do that.
We workshopped that while you were gone, Natalie. I just don't think it's sticking.
We're rolling, guys. Not a problem.
Okay, so we lost you for a second, but it was just like driving over a canyon and here you're right back. Yeah.
Oh, Natalie.

Hi, Bateman. Hello there.

Good morning.

Oh, I love she called him Bateman.

Yeah.

Well, you know, we've worked together, so we can do last names.

I can even go Herschelag, you know?

Wow.

Have you?

Good memory.

Me too.

We did a movie in which we had the same hairdo.

Oh, my God.

That's right.

So this was a family movie called Mr. McGoriam's Wonder Emporium.
Oh, my God. That's right.
So this was a family movie

called Mr. McGoriam's

Wonder Emporium.

Oh, yes.

I read that script.

Did you really?

Yeah.

It was a great script.

Zach Helm, what a writer.

It was a good script, yeah.

And Dustin Hoffman was in it.

We had a great time with him.

We were in,

where were we, Vancouver?

Toronto.

Toronto.

In Toronto.

That's the same thing, right, Will?

Vancouver, Toronto's

kind of the same.

First of all,

how dare you say Vancouver, Toronto, same thing. How fucking dare you? You're kidding.
You're not kidding. The people of Toronto loathe you.
Wait, wait, when did this movie come out? I forget. This was, was it 90s or 2000s? 2000, I want to say six, seven, something like that.
Boy, it's just, how are you with dates? Arnett's just incredible with it. I swear to you, I have no, I can't tell the difference between 97 and 07.
I just have no idea what's going on between the two. I'm with you.
Yeah. This year, I was like, if it was 2014, I would be like, uh-huh, it's 2014, yeah.
Natalie, where are you right now? I'm in Los Angeles. Oh, you are, okay.
Very good. Yes.
I didn't get to run into you the other night. We were at the Swanky Globes.
Yeah. And you were amazing up on stage.
What about doing the presenting stuff? How do you like that? There's always some patter, some little quippy joke you got to do, and it oh it's so so stressful do you i i never like it what about you i was very lucky that they didn't try and make me do anything like funny quirky right we just kind of said the nominees banter stuff i get really uncomfortable with that yeah that's the best that's the safest way to go because some people who try to do something

that they don't feel comfortable, it shows, right?

Yeah, I once had to carry Aziz Ansari out on stage

at Golden Globes once.

That was part of our bit.

I don't remember what followed that,

but I just remember carrying him out

and literally smelling my SAG card burning in my back pocket.

I just felt like, oh, that's over.

There it is.

What year was that, Jason? Forget it. Moving on.
So, so, he doesn't know. He doesn't know.
Natalie Portman, my God, it's so great to have you here. I mean, thank you.
So glad to be on. Where do we even start with? Oh, I've got a series of questions if you want me to start.
I know. I've got a series of questions if you want me to start.
I've done some prep. The last time I saw you, Natalie, I was interviewing as the guest host of the Jimmy Kimmel show.
Yes. And it was super fun.
Not so long ago. I know.
It was like a year ago. Wait, wait.
So you were the guest and Sean was the host? Yeah. Come on.
Yes. Yeah.
And how hard was it masking the disappointment that Jimmy wasn't there for the entire... Well, she's got skills.
She's got an award. She's got an award to prove it.
It was a delight. It was wonderful.
It was for Thor. And if you remember, Scotty, my husband, did some bit with you in the...
He was dressed as Thor in the audience. It was great.
Oh, what a highlight for Natalie. Jesus Christ.
You were probably like, oh, God, I got to do a bit like Thor. I think about it often.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Do you remember your questions? Do you remember your questions for her, Sean, at all? Oh, God, I don't.
I don't. I was enamored.
I'm enamored. I'm such a massive fan.
Thank you. And so many things you've done.
She's the goods. I think you asked me about how I got my muscles for Thor.
Oh, yeah. How did you get your muscles? Tell us.
We didn't see the episode. CG.
No, really? No, yeah. No, I don't buy it.
You trained. Well, didn't you like...
I worked out, but... Yeah.
You didn't have Thor level. Well, they made me 6'4", which is pretty...
Or they made you 6'4". Great to know that that's possible.
Yeah. Yes.
Now, that reminds me, during my incredible research for this, when you did Black Swan, you went, now you studied ballet when you were a kid, but you did like six months of training for that, I want to say? Yeah, it was actually almost a year of training. And yeah, it was really fun.
Because you had to or you wanted to? Like, what kind of actor are you? Do you love to do the research or do you just like to kind of wing it? I think it depends what the research is. I mean, like, I mean, if I'm lucky enough to get to work on something that I want to learn all this stuff, that's like the most fun.
Like Jackie, like that was a huge responsibility. You had to study had to study study study and make sure you you got that as accurate as possible yeah that's super scary have you played real people before no i'm too much of a coward i'd say no to all of i mean even things that are even close although i in air i played a real guy but no one has tape on him.
So I could just kind of do whatever I wanted to do.

You do a real great impression of your uncle too, right, that nobody knows.

Including me.

He doesn't even know who he is.

How do you expect him to play another person?

I feel like we kind of glided over that too quickly.

His name is John and he's a fantastic man.

Remember Pete Serafinowicz? It just made me think think remember Pete Serafinowicz did that thing years ago where he did 50 impressions in under a minute and they were all of fictitious people which was the best We'll be right back Guys, we all need to drink water every day I mean, we have to drink water to stay alive, right? So why should it be boring? Like, I like sparkling water because it didn't have all the sugar and the added, you know, chemicals and everything like that that soda has. So sparkling water gives you the bite that you're looking for.
But with Waterloo sparkling water, you get a little flavor in it, like a fruit flavor, and it's so delicious. With authentic flavors and lively carbonation, Waterloo sparkling water brings full flavor artistry.
What's flavor artistry, you ask? It's all about custom-crafting, multisensorial flavor experiences of aroma, taste, and mouthfeel that make you say, Wow! Waterloo waters are crafted, not formulated or off the shelf, just purified sparkling water and non-GMO project verified natural flavors with zero calories, sugar, or sweeteners. I love it because guess what? I've been open about this.
I've gotten kidney stones, so I have to stay hydrated all the time. I constantly drink water all day long,

and it does get boring until Waterloo.

The flavors are so delicious.

The black cherry is delicious.

I had it.

It's so yummy, and it feels so good going down.

Give Waterloo Sparkling Water a try.

Look for Waterloo Sparkling Water next time you shop. Learn more about the flavors from Waterloo Sparkling Water

at drinkwaterloo.com. Have you met All Modern? All Modern thinks making your space modern with fresh furniture and decor should be easy.
That's why All Modern's team of modern-obsessed experts hand vets each design for quality. And not to mention they offer fast and free shipping.
Yep, that means you can upgrade your home in days, not weeks. So whether you're updating your living room with a plush new sofa, setting up an alfresco dining area with a modern table and chairs, or designing a cozy fireside retreat, All Modern has everything for your modern outdoor escape all in one place.
That's modern made for real life. Shop now at allmodern.com or visit them in store in Linfield and Dedham, Massachusetts or in Austin, Texas.
You and we deserve snacks that are better for you and incredibly delicious and that's where Skinny Pop Popcorn comes in. Skinny Pop uses quality ingredients to bring you the light and tasty flavors you love.
The original ready-to-eat popcorn is made up of just popcorn kernels, sunflower oil, and salt. That's it.
In addition to the original popcorn, Skinny Pop also offers a variety of delicious flavors from white cheddar to sweet and salty kettle popcorn. Skinny Pop popcorn is always non-GMO gluten-free, and there are many vegan options, too.
So stop everything and add Skinny Pop to your grocery list. It's okay.
We'll wait. So for me, whenever Scotty and I are going to watch a movie at home, I mix the original popcorn with the kettle popcorn because the kettle is a little more sweet, but the original is a little more salty.
Do you get what I'm going for? It's kind of like how I cut my apple juice with water.

Anyway, Skinny Pop Popcorn,

deliciously pop, perfectly salted.

Shop Skinny Pop now.

And now, back to the show.

I want to ask just a question about the Globes again,

about the award shows in general, because you look so, I love your dress on the Golden Globes by the way. It's beautiful.
And do you like, do you like, it's a common question, but do you like the dress up and all of that as far as Globes? Or would you like, you know what, I'd do it, but I'd rather be home in my sweats. Or do you enjoy it? You know, I used to think it was kind of oppressive and like why do women have to spend all this time and discomfort and, you know, the men get to like roll out of bed and wear something they're warming and like aren't, you know, sucking in their stomachs or whatever.
And now having kids, I feel like it's a pretty,

it's pretty fun to like have people like make you feel good and.

Yeah, and go glam.

Go glam after you're just like.

I don't think you own sweats.

I own so many sweats.

You do, really?

Yeah, and I really kind of only wear them in real life,

which has been, we moved to Paris last year

and you really can't wear sweats in Paris.

You do get kicked out of the country.

Mm-hmm.

You just get your visa taken away.

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Do you live in Paris now?

I live in Paris now, yeah.

Wow.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What a switch.

Yeah.

It's a really different lifestyle.

Now, how many languages do you know?

I speak Hebrew and English, obviously English.

And my French is, like, fine.

Like, I can do everything I need to do.

It's just not grammatically correct or sophisticated in any way.

That's okay.

At least they're not judgy.

Did you know any of it before you moved there?

Yeah, I took it in high school.

But like how many years?

I took it in high school too, but I can't.

Yeah, I took it like four years.

Well, that's good.

Yeah.

You didn't do it like I did where you take French 1 and French 2 twice.

Because the first time you took them, it didn't count towards your credits.

And then I was like, oh, you know what?

Now that it's credits, I'll just take the two years that I already know so that my class is easy. That's...
A dumb guy. That's smart.
Yeah. It's a complicated language.
It is. Why? Willie, you know it fluently, don't you? I do speak a lot of French, yeah.
But I don't want to... Listen, it's not here.
Ask her a question in French. It's not time for me to show off.
Ask her a question in French. No, no, no.
Yeah, I want to hear that. Let's hear it.
Let's have a call. Alors, vous habitez où à Paris? Oh, j'habite au 7e.
Oh, d'accord. She lives in the 7th.
Arrondissement. But when you come back to L.A., do you love L.A.? Because I feel like I don't love L.A.
when I'm here, but when I come back here, I'm like, oh, I'm just used to it here. I'm used to a good thing here, and I'm reminded how much I really do enjoy this city.
I do love L.A. I mean, I love L.A.
because I feel like you discover it. You know, like there's – it's not an obvious city.
Yeah, because you're always driving. Yeah, but like you have to like find the good stuff.
You know, like a city like Paris or New York like announces itself. Like you can just, here you've got to kind of like search and find the good, good interesting stuff.
And there's lots of it. You're like, oh, I've been driving by that cool little restaurant my whole life and I never stop.
Yeah. Have you ever been to the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena? I was there yesterday.
You're kidding. Don't you love that place? My favorite place in the city.
Yeah, mine too. Wait, I've never been.
Will you guys take me? Yeah. And I'm kind of a garden nut.
You've never been? Oh, my God, Jay, I'll tell you how. That's so exciting.
Yeah. You're going to have, like, the best discovery.
Wait, don't you think that's weird that you just said that and I brought up the garden? That's wild. Jay, don't sell yourself short.
You're not a garden nut. You're just a nut.
Yeah, that's true. Many different nuts.
But do they have a Japanese garden there? Because I may have been there to look at that. They do.
And wait, what's the... No, truly, because there was a moment where I was so into a Japanese garden that I went to go look at a few.
And there's one at UCLA I went and looked at. And then maybe it was the Huntington Gardens, the other one.
What's the Chris Farley Beverly Hills Ninja? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Remember that? Yeah, sure.
Shot at the Japanese garden when they go to Japan. Really? It's just the Huntington Gardens.
No way. It's the best.
No way. It's important.
Just maybe have a rewatch before you go to the visit. I will, I'll brush up.
But I sometimes, Natalie, I sometimes go there alone just because I love it. I love walking around.
It's the best place in the city. I know.
There's so much. The Desert Garden is like walking on the moon.
And then you know what I do afterwards? I go to the Pie and burger for a burger and a piece of pie. Clever.
Only a few blocks away. You call me before you do these semi-suicidal walkabouts.
You know, I'll walk with you. Okay, come.
I'd love it. I would love it.
It's so peaceful and beautiful. Sean, what do you think about? What do I think about what? When you're walking're walking through the garden.
What you're going to have on the burger. Yeah, what's running through your mind.
What kind of pie? What is your go-to pie, Sean? I think about Natalie Portman. I think about what she's doing right now.
Thank you. Why are we all together.
Yeah, we should do this together. Yeah, I would love it.
It's so fun. Sean, Jason, how great would it be to be walking in the Japanese garden and hunting garden and run into Sean and Natalie walking?

Holding hands, walking through the Japanese garden.

Arm in arm.

I would look around for where is the camera.

What are you guys shooting?

Yeah, right.

Sure.

All right, Natalie, let's get into the teeth of this interview here.

God, it's going to be hard hitting.

Let's see here.

It's all on Wikipedia.

No, because mom nor dad were into the business, right?

No.

Dad's a fertility doctor.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

I'm just saying it's a really interesting documentary. I remember there was a TV movie when I was little where everyone, they realized that the fertility doctor

was like messed up because everyone had the eye patches

at the playground.

Yeah.

And they realized that there was like one genetic donor

for all of the children in the neighborhood.

So all the kids had eye patches.

Oh.

Anyway, nightmare.

Wow.

I'll see you next time. donor for all of the children in the neighborhood so all the kids had eye patches anyway nightmare wow so what so what was it was it uh well wait so you you're minding your own business uh somebody saw you in a store or something they said hey do you want to be a a kid, no, but you did think, well, maybe I'll go get an agent and start doing commercials, maybe? Jason, you know so much about me.
But that's not accurate, right? It's like kind of, I'm around the facts, but not really nailing them. Yeah, no, I really liked them.
I was 10 years old. Yes.
And I like, I'm from Long Island. I'm from the real Long Island.
Not on a second. Not out there where all you elites are.
I never went to the Hamptons until I was like 35. Me neither.
Johnny Range Rover. Me neither.
By the way, for what it's worth. Uh-huh.
I grew up in like the mall. Yeah.
And yeah, a lot of kids I grew up with were like auditioning and doing commercials and stuff to make money for college. And I told my parents, like, I want to do that, too.
And they were very reluctant because they are just, like, you know, kids who are actors end up in... Yeah, like Jason.
Robbing liquor stores. Yeah.
Like me. End up in trouble.
Yeah. For the golf addiction.
And, yeah, and I convinced them to let me, and then they let me, and... But it was purely to finance a future education.
Like, it wasn't, you didn't have, like, some, like... Not even.
It was just because I wanted to. I mean, my dad, my dad, like, insisted on paying for my college and stuff anyway, so it was just really fun for me.

And yeah.

And did you start with,

did you start selling cereal?

I never got commercials.

I always tried out.

Wow.

Really? But I never got anything like

of the like children's things.

I just got straight into the professional.

That was number one.

And that was Luc Besson, right?

Wait, was that your first job? That was my first job. That was my first job.
No way. Yeah.
I did one. I was an understudy in an off-Broadway musical before that.
What was it? That was my one thing. It was called Ruthless.
Wait, and you want to know who else was cast as the understudy in that? Lindsay Lohan. No.
Correct? No. Sorry, Britney Spears.
Britney Spears. No way.
Britney Spears was the under... I took over for her.
No way. When I was 10.
And then I got... Yeah.
That's crazy. I didn't know that.
Have you seen her since? I did. So you were 11 when you did The Professional? I was 11.
I turned 12 while we were shooting. Oh, my God.
That is so crazy. So you've seen Britney Spears since? Yes.
And you guys did a little high five about, look how far we've come. We did.
We did. We threw a New Year's party together when we were 18.
No way. Oh, wow.
That's cool. Yes, way.
Hang on a second. That sounds like a good party.
It was a good party. You guys at 18, that must must have been like...
99? 1999? Good. It must have been an enormous party.
Was it huge, that party? It was a good party. What month? What month was...
What month's your birthday? Oh, my birthday is June. June 1st.
I thought you were asking what month they had their New Year's party in. Oh, it was New Year's.
I thought you said it was a birthday party. It was a New Year's party? It was a New Year's party.
Okay, so 99. Oh, my God.
Okay. I used to love throwing parties.
God damn it. Right? Remember parties? Remember when we used to throw parties? Now the only parties we throw are for the kids.
Yep. That's it.
Bouncy houses. Yeah.
Yeah. Snacks.
Were you worried at all when you became a young actor and you're doing the professional, your first film job, which is insane, still insane to me. Were you worried that you would end up, were your parents worried that you'd end up like on a camping trip on, you know, mountain bikes with Leif Garrett? Like, did that ever, like, was that a concern for you? Like, that would be.
He's taking a shot at my trajectory. By the way, that was a fun trip.
It was a fun trip. I know.
But were you worried? Were your parents legitimately worried? Did they think like, oh, this is going to peel you away from work, from school? I'd rather, I mean, not work, but from school and that kind of thing. Is that what it was? Oh, yeah.
Yeah. I mean, they were very concerned.
they would, I I mean my mom was like with me all the time and made sure that no one got near me and yeah and I wasn't allowed to miss school so I always was shooting on like vacations and then yeah when I went to college my dad was like okay that was cute time to time Time to move on. Really? Let's find another job, a real job.
And then when you majored in psychology, was that because that was the occupation that you wanted to go into? Or was it just like, no, this is something that I'm interested in? Yeah, I feel like it was more like most people who study psychology, which is like, I want to know why I'm crazy. Yeah.
I'm fascinated by it. I wish I'd studied that.
I'd have some answers. I don't know, but don't you think like acting and the thing that we do is kind of a form of psychology? Totally.
You know, because it's the study of human behavior. That's all we do.
It is very similar. Did you have a specific role model mentor ideal when you did take the time off kind of when you went to school? And the one that comes to mind potentially is Jodie Foster.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Did you ever talk to her about it? You know, I talked to her much later, which was amazing.
I did a speech at a women's march about being, like, sexualized as a young actress. And she reached out to me after that.
And we, like, talked. And it was amazing.
And she's just, yeah, she's still a role model. She's pretty cool.
Yeah. Now, are you also like um just going back to the whole comment that you said about this being sexualized as a as a young actress and how awful that must be do you now have all these years having worked in the business do you recognize a personality when they walk into the room as a dangerous one now that you have been around it for so long you're like you know

what I can see that man or woman coming towards me or we're going to work together or maybe they

something else and you recognize it so you've learned to adjust or how to deal with that

no no I haven't it's perfect um I feel like it's still surprising that it exists um but um

yeah but I feel like that kind of like projection of seriousness protected me in a way because I

Thank you. surprising that it exists.
Um, but, um, yeah, but I feel like that kind of like projection of seriousness protected me in a way. Cause I feel like it was almost like a warning signal, like, Oh, don't do shit to her.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. She'll sniff you out and call you out.
Not that anyone ever like, um, you know, deserves it or is asking for it, but like you can, um, You know, I felt like that was my conscious way, unconscious way of doing it. But with people, yeah, I feel like the biggest sign is when people talk shit about women.
I'm like, if they talk shit about anyone, even if they're just like, oh, she's really difficult or she's, I'm like, that's like a flag for me. I'm like, there's more to that story.
And when I walk away, what are they going to say about me? Yeah. Like, there's, yeah, talking shit in general.
Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah.
And now, a word from our sponsor. Hey, guys, do you ever open up your underwear drawer and just go like, oh, you know what? That's i've been wearing for a year but you're too lazy to do something about it like i am until you have to until there's like holes and stuff in it well switch up your underwear when you do with skims yeah the much-loved brand makes underwear for men now too try skims cotton three-inch boxer brief they're the perfect the perfect classic cotton feel, and the design is nice and simple.
Hitting the gym, wear the Stretch 5-inch Boxer Brief. It gives you all the movement you need for working out.
Don't think you're a briefs guy? The lightweight, sleek, and super comfy Skimm's Stretch Brief will change your mind. So I got the Boxer Brief in three different colors, and they're great.
They fit perfectly, and I like that it's snug. You know, I don't like loose like underwear on me.
So it's nice and snug. It's Skims.
It's the best. Shop Skims men's at skims.com and Skims stores.
Let them know we sent you. After you place your order, select the podcast and the survey and select our shop in the dropdown menu that follows.
Hey guys, you want to know an easy genius hack to improve your life? Eat more Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Ugh.
Sure, there are countless life coaches, gurus, and thought leaders out there, but none of them are sharing this simple secret. Eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup brings a burst of joy to your day.
They've got the perfect ratio of sweet chocolate to salty peanut butter that's sure to satisfy, and there's no wrong way to eat one. It's all about whatever makes you happy.
I should speak, right? I love them. Shop Reese's peanut butter cups now at a store near you.
Found wherever candy is sold. Our show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
Hey guys, everybody should have a support system, right? Who's your support system? My support system, as you well know, talk about it all the time, is Scotty and of course my two besties, Will and Jason. Whenever I have a problem, an issue, I talk to them about it and if they're not available, I will talk to a therapist and I've been going to therapy for a long time and it's always great.
So think about your favorite leaders, mentors, and idols. They don't have all the answers, but they do know when to ask questions or seek support from their community.
In a society that glorifies hyper-independence, it's easy to forget that we're all better when we have a support system behind us. Therapy can be a source of support for any area of your life.
It's time to shift that focus from doing it all to knowing that we're better when we ask for help. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving over 5 million people worldwide.
Access a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists

with a wide range of specialties.

Easily switch therapists anytime at no extra cost.

Build your support system with BetterHelp.

Visit betterhelp.com slash smartless to get 10% off your first month.

That's betterhelp.com slash smartless.

All right, back to the show. You want to get to Star Wars, Sean? No, I'm not going to go on her.
I was going to apologize in advance and then say, Natalie, we're really sorry, but Sean has some shit that he needs to do. No, no, that's okay.
It has to do with the planet Voltron or whatever. No, no, no.
You know how much I love you and I love everything you've done. So I just will say like a blanket statement about Star Wars and the Marvel Universe and any kind of big movie that you're a part of.
Because I grew up in Chicago with like big dreams of like going out to L.A. and being, you know, working as an actor.
And so you get here and I still have that awe of like, oh my God, I can't believe I'm on a lot. I can't believe I'm on a set.
I can't, like it's never goes away. And so my question to you is like having grown up in it and Jason too, when you're a part of Star Wars or the Marvel universe or whatever it is, are you still at all, like me, the little kid from Chicago, like, I can't believe it.
Or are you just like, I got this job, here's the work, I'm going to show up on time and do my job. Do you know what I mean? Can you separate it at all? Or are you still in awe? I'm pretty in awe.
Like, when I got to, I feel like it was luckier to do the last Thor because it was, like, I have done so much now that I can understand how different it is. Like, the technology and stuff makes me amazed.
And also having kids now, getting to bring my kids to the set and, like, you know, they get to fly on wires and watch me fly. How old are they? I have a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old.
30 and 40. No, I'm kidding.
12 and 6, is that what you said? Perfect. Love it.
Yeah, so now they're starting to, well, does that, do you think about them when you consider parts too? Like, oh, this one I'm going to get major cred for, for them. Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. Like, main consideration is what they'll think.
Yeah. Was there, who in that, who in the room at the Globes do you think a selfie with would have given you the best points with your 12-year-old? I mean, would it have been Taylor? No, my 12-year-old's a boy.
I'm like, there were no soccer players in that room, so. Right.
He's a big soccer fan? Oh, Matt. And, you know, hang on, who's his team? He loves Real Madrid and he loves Arsenal.
Really? And PSG, of course. Of course, PSG, sure, sure, and he loves Mbappe.
Sure, sure, sure, PSG. And Mbappe might go to Real Madrid.
And Angel City here, of course. Yeah, sure, sure.
Oh, right, wait, you're part of Angel City. Yeah, she's a part owner in a soccer team, Willie.
Yes, I know that. That's right.
Women's soccer, right? I'm a huge, yes. You're a huge soccer fan? Massive.
I'm a massive Liverpool supporter. Liverpool.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I watch every, but I, but, and there's talk.
I don't want to get into Mbappe, maybe go to Liverpool or Real Madrid. Is that right? Yeah, yeah.
That's what the word is yesterday, according to Sky Sports.

Oh, man.

Hope not.

Hope not for us in Paris.

I'm like your 12-year-old.

Like, for me, it's about athletes. Like, if somebody, you know, you meet all these people,

but then you see an athlete and you're like, oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

I don't know what to talk about.

What would I say if he talks to me?

You know, I got to meet Jurgen Klopp,

who's the manager of Liverpool,

and I nearly cried.

That was recent, too,

and I'm over 50.

I got like that at the Globes.

I was like, you know,

all those famous people.

And there's Neil Katyal,

who's like our old solicitor general, right?

I got as tongue-tied as I am right now

talking to him.

Who is that?

He was... who's like our old solicitor general, right? I got as tongue-tied as I am right now talking to him.
Who is that? He's just a real smart lawyer that is on MSNBC. He's argued lots of big cases in front of the Supreme Court.
Yeah, that's really cool. I could talk to those people for hours.
And it's all I wanted to talk to. Okay.
Yeah. All right.
Moving on. Oh, but you will be excited about this Star Wars story from the Globes.
I met Mark Hamill for my first time at the Globes. Are you kidding me? First time.
No way. And he called me his mother.
He was like, so glad to meet my mother finally. Wow.
Wait, I can't believe you didn't meet him before that.

Never.

But why?

Wouldn't he have been like a consultant on Phantom Menace and all those other ones? No.

He never, they never brought him around and I never, I don't know.

That's why I would have, did somebody get a photo of that?

We got a photo.

His daughter took a picture of us together.

That's amazing.

No way.

Oh, shit. We'll hold.
We'll hold. We'll hold.
That's her next appointment. Yo.
That's crazy that she met him for the first time. Yeah, I wonder if anybody...
Okay. This is...
It's a UPS delivery, guys. And did you tell them to just leave it there it or did you bust them in I think they can just leave it this is a sign only okay that's so crazy that you know so then you met Mark Hamill what if the guy was like hello med men we're here with your cannabis we have the whole truck where do you want us to put it your high powered weed butt is here.
What? So no one got a shot of Luke with his mother except... No, they did.
Somebody did. No, no, but just Luke's daughter, right? There wasn't like any media that got a shot of that? No media.
Wow, that's like a money shot, man. Wow.
Now, talk to me about directing. Do you love it as much as acting? Do you love it more, less? I do love it.
I think I love both things. And I feel like it changes the way I act after, yeah, after directing.
In what way? I try and do more different options. Because I feel like I was always trying to, like, hone my my performance, like do the same thing just better each time.
Yeah. And then when I had to watch myself back in the editing room, I was like, it's the same thing over and over again.
Like I want a choice. Yeah.
So then I was like, so now I try and like do different things. So a director in the editing room can be like.
But then you've only got one take of you doing that particular choice you don't have seven good versions of that choice you know that you can play with the editing room you know yeah I mean you can try and get that like main choice yeah when you get the camera work and acting right and then oh do it again this is this is

this is now the

code

forgot to drop

off the lighters

we have your

lighters

so

let's listen

let's listen

oh

okay

yeah go

yeah go

you gotta go

side

I called it

this is

fantastic this is the. This is the best.
This is the best. Hi.
Hi. Welcome, hi.
You guys, I need to fix my life. Any pointers? I'll be over at noon.
You might need a house manager that can cover IT and deliveries. Great.
Awesome. No.
I like you keeping it real. We love the little pauses.
Now listen, speaking of take after take after take and directing, May, December, you're so brilliant in that movie. As always.
I'm going to jump all around with the movie because it was fascinating. The very last scene, hopefully spoiler alert, stop listening if you haven't seen the movie, but the very last scene, were you as the actress within the movie, the part doing take after take after take, that was so interesting.
So what was going through your mind, that must have been like so surreal for you to have what we were just talking about, being a director and an actor and then doing that. Well, it was really, yeah, that last take, I mean, that last scene was very...
I didn't really realize while I was reading it that there was going to be like a 17-year-old kid in the scene. And all of a sudden, it gets a set, and there's this actor and like his mom.
And I'm like, oh. And then there's like a snake, like a real snake.
And I was like, didn't think about that either. And I was just like, oh boy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that was written that you do take after take, right? Yeah.
Yeah, it was written that way. So that's what I was thinking about.
Yeah, yeah. I mean, the whole tone of the movie, too.
Like, when the first, in the first, I think it was the first music cue, when she goes to the fridge and she opens the door and there's this push-in with the music, I was like, wait, what? What's going on? And then you're along for the ride, and it was so fantastic. And the one scene that you should win every award for and i'm sure everybody comments on it so i'm sorry is the monologue straight to camera in one take it was just a class in like you know a master class in acting and the craft and everything it was just thank you perfection is todd haynes as as stunning as as i think he is I love him.
I love him. He is, I mean, like you were saying, the music choice on that refrigerator scene is like so key to like let everyone know that it's okay to laugh, you know, because you're kind of not sure and then it's such a tension release and he's just the most brilliant.
I love him. And he's a really awesome person, too.
But, like, think about all the incredible directors that you've worked with. It does set you up to be, like, an incredible director.
Because you can just cherry pick from all of them. And, you know, toss out all the stuff that you don't like.
Like, it's why I'm amazed more actors. Well, you had that too, right? Well, I haven't worked with the level of directors that you have.
Your first film you ever did was with Luc Besson. I mean, that's insane.
I was very lucky. I was very lucky.
It's true. What a way to start.
But it's a real time suck and, you know. Directing.
Yeah, I mean, you know, you got all the prep, the shooting, and the post instead of just the shooting part. But needless to say, more to come from you with directing? I intend to, yes.
Yeah? Yeah, actively working on it. What about you? I would love to.
She's gone. Oh, bye.
She's gone. Hey, listener.
Well, it looks like we lost Natalie for the final time, and we decided that we weren't going to call her back. Right, guys? Yeah.
We're not going to torture her anymore. She's clearly having some Wi-Fi issues, but we got more than enough from the incredible Natalie Portman.
Yeah. And, I mean, she's just amazing.
She's a powerhouse. She can do it all.
I mean, I wish... By the way, she's a mom.
She's a mom. She's an actor, an activist, a director, a Harvard grad.
Yeah. And she's just like the nicest, funniest person.
I wish you guys could both work with her. She's such a mega...
You know, know i use this sometimes she's one of those people she falls into the mega talent category and you know and she everything she does is everything she's never been bad never been bad always been classy yeah um never gotten all you know tangled up in the nonsense of this business no which don't you think it's weird that she she was talking about discovering places in Los Angeles, and the one place I say she was just there yesterday? Don't you think that's weird? Yeah. You think she's lying? What? No.
What are you accusing her of? No, I'm saying, like, that's so wild that I call that out. I'm just kidding.
Of course. Yeah, it's bonkers.
So, Jay, I'll take you to the Huntington Gardens. You will? You get the sense, Jay.
You know what I like to do is that you get the sense that you're, and you've done an admirable job considering that you've not only grew up doing this stuff, but that you still stayed living here and this was your life and that you ended up quasi-normal. And that she's done it in a way that, like, she was very insulated by going back to school and by continuing with her studies and going to college.
and she seems to have held on to this kind of like this sort of sane center that she has. That's what she – you know, she says that she projects like a serious friend.
It's not that. She projects this person who seems very centered and has a solid – Yeah, she's self-contained.
It doesn't seem like she needs anything from this business to become fully formed. Well, you don't need to be validated by what you do.
First of all, we've talked about this before, but certainly by this business. Forget any business, but certainly ours.
If you need that to make yourself feel better, you're fucked.

Yeah. Totally fucked.

She's one of the great ones. It's wild that she lived in Paris

and here, which means she's

bi-coastal.

Paris, not on the coast

in a different country.

Bi-continental.

Bi-continental.

Bi-country.

Smart. By Continental.
By Continental. By Country.
By Country.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

SmartLess is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Michael Grant Terry, Rob Armjav, and Bennett Barbaco. Hey friends, Jason here.
We're so excited the Smart List has officially joined the SiriusXM family. We can't wait to announce new surprise guests who we know that you'll love.
If you want to be the first to hear new episodes ad-free and a whole week early, subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts Plus on Apple Podcasts or visit SiriusXM.com slash podcasts plus to start your free trial today. power, serious acceleration, and the most advanced tech of any Audi ever.
With an all-new panoramic digital stage and legendary Audi performance, it's impossible not to love the all-new Audi Q6 e-tron. I should know.
I drive one. Learn more at AudiUSA.com.
While Hilton is always expected to have top-notch service, you'd be surprised at the unexpected places they're offering it now. They've partnered with AutoCamp, which offers insanely cool airstreams in iconic outdoor destinations.
Hilton also has an exclusive partnership with small luxury hotels of the world, providing Hilton Honors members access to luxury boutique hotels across

the globe. And they've added romantic and refined nomad hotels and graduate hotels in your favorite

college towns to their portfolio. Explore all the new ways to stay with those Hilton Honors

points you've been saving at Hilton.com. Hilton for the stay.