"Jennifer Garner"

Listen to The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell, a new podcast on Audible. Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell joined forces to interview luminaries of entertainment, sports, business, politics, and more to learn about their paths to success.
These deep yet casual conversations reveal unexpected stories that may just change the way you think. Featured guests include our friend Jimmy Kimmel, the longest-running late-night TV host.
Isn't that interesting? David Chang, who is on our show, who's fantastic. He's the renowned chef and founder of the Momofuku Restaurant Group.
Listen to The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell on Audible now. Go to audible.com slash unusual suspects.
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.
Life these days moves at lightning speed, but we all need a moment to recharge for what's ahead. That's where the all-new Nissan Murano comes in, the ultimate space to catch your breath and re-energize.
With available features like massaging, leather-appointed seats, a panoramic moonroof, a Bose

premium sound system, and ambient

lighting, the Murano is thoughtfully designed

to be your personal sanctuary,

readying you for whatever the day brings.

Because sometimes the greatest rush

is not rushing at all.

Discover it now at NissanUSA.com.

Features listed are available

upgrades. Hey, guys, listen, I'm super high energy this morning.
I'm high energy. You think you're high energy? I'm high energy.
No, I'm probably the highest I've ever been. I just got a call from the High Energy Institute.
Guys, I shot the coffee into the back of my knee. I'm on fire right now.
Listen, I just pulled my car here. I didn't even have time to let it drive.
You didn't even turn it on? I just had two pints of Haagen-Dazs.less? no, no, no wait, why are you well, we do have a very great replacement waiting whenever you're ready to. It can, doesn't have to be now.
It can be next year or whenever. I feel fucking sideswiped.
I got it. I feel sideswiped.
I just want to give him a heads up. I want to, oh, you already know.
You're not retiring. Okay.
No. What I was going to say was, Jesus.
Sorry. How excited we are for Shawnee winning the Tony.
Oh, well, there's that. I mean, good boy.
Sean Hayes, you won. Yeah, Sean Hayes won a fucking Tony.
Tony, best actor for Goodnight Oscar. We don't have that level of class here.
I know. It's so...
That's very nice. Very nice.
Remember when you said you were going to go do this play in Chicago? An idea that you had, you got this great writer, and gosh, you're scared, and you don't know how it's going to go. Doug, what's his name? And then it went well, and you got great reviews, and there was a possibility of it going to Broadway.
You weren't sure. Remember you and Scotty were in that shitty apartment in Chicago, right above the fire station? Yeah.
Yeah, the police station. It's got such a deal on it.
And you were so – And then you go to Broadway and you're not sure – Quick name of the theater, Jason. Name of the theater.
Tabasco, the spiciest seats in the West. And then you do a great job that you get great reviews and then like don't talk about Tony nominations because you jinx it.
And then you got a great job that you get great reviews and then, like, don't talk about Tony nominations because you jinx it, and then you got a nomination. Unbelievable.
Unbelievable. He's never going to win, right? They can't give Sean Hayes a Tony.
But they give him the drama dust in the outer circles, but in the Tony, he's not going to get it. And then...
But yours is spelt with an I, right? And it's dotted with a heart, right? I mean, it's like more of a certificate than an award. The Tony Tony Tony's.
Tony Tony's done it again. But no, that's very kind of you.
Sean, fucking congrats, man. That's very sweet.
You guys already have showered me with so much love and praise in our texts and things. So thank you.
And it is wild. It's wild to, Jason, what you just said about doing the week we shot that documentary, or the two weeks we shot that doc series that it's now airing.
I was trying to memorize lines. Where do we see that, by the way, if somebody wanted to see that? If somebody wanted to see that doc, where would they go? It's Max.
Oh, Max. That's where they'd find it.
Sean, not only are you learning, we arrived, we did those shows on the weekend, and the next day you flew to Chicago. That's right.
And the next day I flew to Chicago to do it. After the last show.
But, Jay, you were sleeping or something, and I asked Will to run lines with me. Yeah.
Oh, really? And Will ran lines with me on the couch, and I was like... Yeah.
That's so bizarre to me. Bizarre.
That's why I got i got the special um you got a certificate i'm on the tony yeah they engraved just a little spot it just look underneath it it says ran lines with it says will's name sketched into it but we just could not be prouder and the fact that we've both seen it and can attest to its quality is is also uh well and i i you know you get so nervous when you get up there and you receive an award and you forget to thank people and I really honestly forgot to thank two of my best friends in the whole world, you guys. Oh, wait, what? And my family too.
No, I was actually taken by how together you were up there with that. Oh my God, I was a wreck.
You're an incredible actor because you seemed not nervous at all. I love when you said Scotty.
It's Scotty, right? And you were so funny. So funny.
Yeah, and the only one-liner I had ready should I had one was, this has got to be the first time an Oscar won a Tony. Yes.
And in the room there, eh, didn't land so well. On TV, it played great.
So who cares about the room, right? But the rest... Listen, I was watching that thing and I was just thinking, you see all these theater people and they got there in the biggest night and I thought, man, this is showbiz for losers.
You know? Will texted that. Will was texting me in real time while he was watching the Tony Awards saying, this is the first time I've ever watched the Tony Awards because of you.
You better win. But it was wild.
Also, when they call your name, it's that weird thing where you watch TV your whole life, whether it's Oscars, Emmys, Tonys, whatever, and you watch other people walk up there. You're like, oh, that's so nice.
I'm a big fan or I love that show or that whatever, that actor. And then when you're, while I was walking up the steps, it was like, I'm not supposed to be walking.
Like other people walk up the steps. I'm not supposed to be you.
Didn't you get used to that walk with the, what is it, half a dozen Emmys you've won? Golden Globes, SAG Awards, all these other things. I was just thinking, between us, we've won a handful of Golden Globes and Emmys and SAGs and Tony.
I mean, that's amazing. Isn't that cumulative? We didn't answer it to be an EGOT group.
No, but between the three of us, we've won all these, I mean, I haven't won any but you guys and then I, but between the three of us. But you ran lines with both of us.
I've run lines with both of you guys and you've both been won. So yeah, if you look at my thing, like, yeah, technically I've never won an award, but you know, that's We won, hey, we all three won a Webby.
We did. We did.
We did. How about that?

A few of them.

We did. A few of them, yes.
A few. Guys, thank you so much for saying that.
Truly, truly. Yes.
Thank you for all the love and support you've shown me and the show by talking about it on the podcast. And you guys are the best.
I love you very much. No, we love you.
And anyway, we had to talk about it because it was just, it was too important. And now we can get to our regular scheduled program, which is the fantastic Jennifer Carner episode.
Can't wait. Welcome to Smartless.
Welcome to Smartless. Welcome to Smartless.
That is very sweet, you guys. Thank you.
Shawnee, are you happy that we're on day two of your days off? Yes. This is your weekend right now.
Monday, Tuesday is your weekend. It is Monday, Tuesday is my weekend.
How's your eyeball? Have you been performing? I don't know. I'm going to go back after we're done here.
I'm going to go back and see if my retina is detached. Isn't that crazy? Yeah, but did he re-stick it last week? Well, I don't know.
Do you got, we talked about vasovagel, right? Where you get sick and you faint. Yep.
Yeah. Yeah.
He puts the anesthesia in your eye and then opens it and sticks something in your eye to keep it open. This is an eye doctor or just a fellow downstairs? It's a proctologist.
This is the guy. And then he shoots lasers in your eye and it's kind of painful.
Like from the hip? Yeah, he shoots from the hip. Yeah, and he puts those Star Wars sounds in it to make me, to soothe me.
He does, huh? Pew, pew, pew, pew. Yeah, that guy's not an accredited doctor, Sean.
But, Sean, you've been doing the show, right? What did you have, like one day off or two days off after the eye surgery? I've got Mondays and Tuesdays off. No, no, but I mean after you got your lasers your uh your lasers yeah yeah i did the laser thing on tuesday and had two shows the next day you did seven shows after the laser thing yeah did you bump into any any any cast members or set decoration no uh no set decoration no i did okay but i'm supposed to bang my head you know when i try to get those voices out of my head cut that and I just grab my head now.
That's good. Not as good.
Do you feel like it might be a nice kind of homage if eventually you end up using your mom's eye? Well. No, I'm serious because I know that Tracy's got it, right, Trace? I could use that.
Trace, get it shined up. I could finally see how my mom saw.
No, you're not going to have to do that. I think you're okay because you made it through last week.
I know. I made it through one week.
So we're going to find out what happens today after we're done here. And then I'll let you guys know because I'm sure you'll be on the edge of your seats.
Hey, quick question. Jason, are you those those sauna sweatsuits that looks like things are you trying to are you trying to cut weight it's just a just a crappy uh overthrow it's a little cloudy today um you know speaking of proctologists guys um our next guest wait what it's not my guest um j, me and you have the exact same glasses on today.

And same hair.

We should sort of band. Well, you part yours in the middle.

No, it's not meant to be in the middle.

It really isn't.

You know, I look like a water yak when it goes down the middle.

Well, we've been through what it looks like in profile when it's just the outline.

Yeah, on the Smartless logo, I look like a dickhead.

Yeah, a literal dickhead.

But let's not.

By the way, let's talk about our FaceTime last night, Will, for two seconds. Was I on it? No.
No. And he literally never seen any human being eat this fast.
He's talking, he's talking, he's talking. While I'm talking to him, he's making a sandwich.
Maybe 30 seconds later, the entire sandwich is gone. It's a ham and cheese sandwich.
Gone like that. Was it small-sized bread or something? No.
It was a big fucking sandwich. It was a big fucking sandwich.
It was a big fucking sandwich. Yeah, big sandwich.
I just hammered it in like four bites. And then he went on a hike.
I needed fuel. To go on your hike.
You know? And I went on a hike. Did you strap on the heavy hands and the heavy ankles and walk up the hills? Yeah, I wore the weight vest.
And did you zip into the rubber suit? I wish. Do you ever talk on your hike while you're on the phone? Do you ever pass anybody? What? What kind of question is that? Meaning like when you're walking and you talk to people on your hike? Because I don't like it when people are like, I do do sometimes what are you doing tonight and I'm like just call me when you're done I'll roll calls I'll roll calls sometimes uh what if you got one of those you know they use them for motion capture where you wear the helmet with the camera that's looking back at you and you could do you could do facetimes while you're walking facetime yeah but you know what I mean when people are like talking to you I do of course I do I'm that guy And what happens is also is that that street is, I will have, and you don't always look the best because it's quite straight uphill and you get quite tired.
Jay, we've done it before together. And remember Amanda's mom used to do it every day.
And people go like, yeah, man, I see you. I saw you out there the other day.
I'm like thinking like, I just look like a sweaty slob that was huffing and puffing my way up. At noon on a weekday.
Actually, you saw me there a couple weeks ago. You pulled over.
Yeah, yeah. But you pulled over because you didn't know it was me.
You thought I was just a hot guy walking up the hill. That's what you said.
You said, hey, hot guy, and then you saw me. You went, I mean, ha, ha, ha.
Hey, well, ha, ha, ha. That would mean hi, guy.
Hi, guy instead of hot guy. Hi, guy.
This, our guest doesn't need to hear us. Oh, wait, really quick.
Sorry. I guess our guest does need to hear us.
No, no, just really quick. One of the most embarrassing moments of my entire life, I was driving off the NBC lot.
This is decades ago. And there was this really good-looking guard.
And I rolled down, and a friend of mine was in the car with me, and I looked back just as I passed him,

and I went, whew, like that.

And I noticed the guard saw me do that,

and all of him and the five other guards were laughing so hard

because they knew it was me that checked him out

and was so embarrassed.

That's my story.

Well, we always need something to cut.

Will, your guess? I don't know. Why? That's pretty good.
I don't know if you're going to want to cut that. All the way there and no destination.
That was so embarrassing. I'll tell you who never gets cut.
Oh, great. Is our guest today.
This person is not going to get... Because you're going to want to see this person and the people who hire this person want this person to be in every frame of everything they do.
Because this is somebody who has been in many frames for many years. This is a person who's done the, it really run the gamut.
Started in New York. First professional job was an understudy.
The Queen's job. Yeah.
And then moved into TV. Did the whole thing.
Paid her dues in TV., guest stars on all the biggest shows and pilots and shows that lasted three episodes and six episodes. And then got a show that clicked and clicked in the biggest way that people, it's not Fran Drescher, clicked in the way that people just loved and couldn't get enough of.
And guess what happens when you do that? People start saying, we need to put you into our film. And boy, did she start doing films.
Big, huge commercial films. Big, huge award-nominated and winning films.
This person has done it all. All while being a mom to three kids and maintaining a consistency over time, which is really the mark of somebody who's incredible.
Guys, I haven't given it away yet, but you know her from Alias. You loved her in Daredevil.
You knew her in Pearl Harbor. Is this Garner? You liked her yesterday.
It's Jennifer Garner. The Jen Garner.
Look at her. She's back up.
She's back up. Look at her.
Hello. I usually have a baseball.
Okay, wait a minute. Jennifer Garner.
Yeah, you always have a hat on. I always do.
Yeah. You, me, and Jason have the exact same glasses frames on right now.
Listener, we've had a lot of nice people on this show. Sure.
None as nice as Jen. Bateman, I'm so happy to see you.

Hi, guys.

I got so nervous.

Do people get nervous when you're about to introduce them?

No.

I have a runny tummy right now.

Always.

Well, let's not.

People do, I think, I don't know if people get nervous,

but I think that nerves are always a good sign.

Okay, great.

It means you're ready.

It means you're prepared. Give me a great set.
It means that you're in the moment. Hi, Jennifer Garner.
We've never met before. I know.
That is so weird to me because I really remember you from the Venice days and the whole, yeah, your whole compound. Yeah, I was in the compound with everybody who was in your show.
Wait, you guys have never met? What compound? I know, isn't that weird? When I was living out with Bradley, Bradley and I were in the back, and Ron Rifkin and Iva were in the front. And where were you, Jen? How could you never meet if you guys were that close? I would kind of skulk around to try to avoid him, but...
Wait, were you living in the same building, Jen? No, no, I wasn't. It's just, like, Ron and Iva, Ron Rifkin and his wife were in one part of this compound.
And Ron was on Alias. He played Sloan and Bradley Cooper was there.
Right. So when Transpo was driving the van in the morning, picking up all the cast members, you're surprised.
Oh, you must not have seen the show. No, no, no.
It wasn't that kind of. Sometimes I saw Will taking out the garbage.
Yeah. By the way, I didn't take out the garbage.
That's why Ron got mad at me. Do you know that story? No, but I'm not surprised.
I thought that's why you brought it up. You don't want Ron Rifkin running after you.
Ron, I used to, we were, I guess, working on Arrested Development at the time, and I was never there first thing in the morning on Monday, whatever it was, or or Thursday mornings. And at this point, Bradley moved out and Robbie Bates had moved into Bradley's place.
Right, right, right. Right? So Robbie was there and I go, and all of a sudden like Ron was kind of, I go, I think Ron's mad at me because I haven't taken the trash out because I don't get.
Why is it your job? It was anybody's job, whoever could do it, but Ron would do it right at 5 p.m. The moment you're allowed to put it the night before he would put it out and i'm like i didn't get home till seven eight o'clock from work so i think he's mad at me and robbie's like oh you're reading into it you're being crazy i'm like okay and like two months later uh uh who was it who i saw i saw i saw somebody um and they they said to me, oh, I ran into Ron Rifkin at a party and he says that you never take the trash out.
I said, I knew it! And I said to Robbie, I'm like, who's crazy now? All right, if we don't cut me... You don't want that story? Checking out the NBC guard.
You don't want the Ron Rifkin trash story? I love Ron Rifkin. People just listen to it in double time.
See, Jen, there's nothing to be nervous about. We don't let you get a word in edgewise.
I know. We just like talking.
It's Jennifer Garner, everybody. Yeah, I know.
Finally, you're the most delicious person. You are so sweet and kind.
Yeah. What's with the 1950s microphone? I don't know.
This just came. You, you, you're, you're lovely guys sent it.
We sent it over. So Jennifer Garner, and I was, again, can I call you Jen? Yeah, unless you're going to use the whole thing.
Does anybody call you Jenny? No, very few people. There's a first AD that I love who calls me Jenny.
Like people like that, just random people in my life. But I never mind.
Well, you call Aniston Jenny sometimes. I always find it very cute.
I think it's very, very affectionate. Yeah.
I like Jenny as a nickname for Jen. Yes.
In a weird way, but I didn't grow up as a Jenny. But I bet Jen Aniston would agree with me that we, you know, why weren't we named like Savannah or Ireland or something? Savannah.
Well, I also call, Jason, I also call your wife Mandy. Nobody else calls her Mandy, but I like calling her Mandy.
But so, Jen, I want to go way back because I love your trajectory. It's so great.
And I mentioned it in the lead-in when I was reading about you. All the frames.
Yeah, well, I also, I felt very similar in that, like, I could, when I looked at all the stuff that you did and the shows that got canceled and the three episodes and this stuff, I, that was my pain for so many years as well. You had all these near misses.
You think like, oh, this is the, I'm so excited about this show. And then before you know it.
Yeah, this is the one. Before you know it, JB, you what it's like too.
Oh, my God. All of a sudden it's gone.
And you're like, what? I remember I did a movie. My first movie movie was Mr.
Magoo starring Leslie Nielsen as Mr. Magoo.
Oh, my God. I remember that.
Sure you do. I do.
And when it was coming out, I knew so little that I thought, well, I guess I get to go to the Oscars this year because I'm in a movie. I seriously was like, well, I guess.
Get a dress. I better get ready.
I better go shopping. Is it true that Leslie Nielsen, every day of his life, walked around with a little fart machine in his pocket? He did.
There was a fart machine. Oh, my God.
I think that's so awesome. That'd be good.
There's also this guy, and I can't remember who it was. Or there wasn't a machine, but there was farting.
Oh, boy. Maybe there wasn't a fart machine.
I was going to say, Jay doesn't need a machine. There's a guy, I feel like, it's not Jeffrey Tambor, but it's somebody like that, equally hilarious, that his bit his whole life is to walk around with a little bit of loose change in his pocket, and he just drops it as he walks by people.
Why?

Which is because you can't help

but go, oh, sir, you

you know, like, you just keep walking.

It's a fun bit.

It keeps it fun.

So you're shopping

for the Oscars after Mr. Magoo.

Happy birthday.

It's another great bit.

Just say that like in an elevator. Out of nowhere.
Sorry, Willie. So you're ready to go to the Oscars after Mr.
Magoo. What was the thing? What had you done before Mr.
Magoo? Had you done a bunch of shows before then? What was the first? And by the way, weren't you a theater nerd too? Yeah, I was a theater nerd. Well, let's go back then, Will.
Let's go back. You started as a, you weren't a theater major to begin with.
Is that true? Correct. I was a chemistry major.
Wow. Wow.
Wow. Do you have like that kind of the brain that loves that still? No, no, no.
I don't think I had it then. I just think my dad was a chemical engineer.
He's a retired chemical engineer, and I come from a chemistry town. Like it was Union Carbide, Dow, DuPont.
Wow. Yeah, there are like five people left.
No, not really. Do you have a like a...
Oh, the drinking water must be delicious. It's all different colors.
Rainbow flavors. Do you have a sci-fi brain, though? Do you like sci-fi because of alias and all that, or no? No.
All right, well, you don't have to be... No, I'm just thinking.
Like, you would think that, but no, I just... Your girls aren't taking chemistry yet, are they? Franny's taking chemistry.
I don't know how she's doing it. Oh,'s a junior.
Yes. So then she is, yes? She's, yeah.
Or she's done with chemistry. Yeah.
How old are yours? Franny's 16 and Maple is 11. Oh, wow.
Okay, I have 16, 14, and 11. Are you helping out with chemistry at all? No, no, no.
No, you didn't retain any of it. I don't remember.
I mean, truly, I can't help with that homework of my high school junior. Not even, I can hardly read it.
What about math? She had her AP, her BC, Calc, AP, whatever, her exam yesterday. Yeah, definitely.
Derivative, like I don't even. When's the last time you dealt with a parabola? You know what I mean? Today? I mean, what time? I feel like we really shouldn't have to do it.
Jason, I haven't seen you in a long time. I know.
You know? Remember when we used to work together like once every like eight or nine months? Yeah, remember when we worked together all the time? You guys did Juno? We did Juno. What else? But before that, we did The Kingdom.
Well, you did The Kingdom, of course. Was Kingdom before Juno? Kingdom was before Juno.
Didn't we do a third thing together? We did, and I always forget, and I actually looked it up, because we didn't have scenes together. That's why.
Oh, it was the Ricky Gervais thing? It was Invention of Lying, yeah. Yes.
Ooh, I love that movie. Yeah.
And now, a word from our sponsor. 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.
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. When you upgrade to Doveman Plus Care, awkward moments become no sweat.
Like when you're nervous on the first day of work, so you introduce yourself as honk instead of hank. Doveman antiperspirant dry sprays help neutralize odor-causing bacteria that thrive on stress sweat.
And, more specifically, it helps me confidently take on the role of office clown,

you know. And today I brought my own horn.
With 72 hours sweat and odor protection, you can get comfortable with uncomfortable. Pick up Doveman Plus Care dry sprays at your local Target or Walmart today.

And now back to the show.

So you become a theater nerd. You're at Denison.
You switch majors. You don't want to become a clinical engineer.
You become, you're working on the sets. You're doing all this stuff.
And then what? You're like, all right, I graduate. I'm out of here.
And I'm going to go and work all the time? Okay, so then I worked at a Shakespeare festival in Atlanta, Georgia, the summer after I graduated. And while we were there, there was a musical, because I really, I loved musicals.
And there was a musical, a new version of, what's it called? Taming of the Shrew. Okay.
No. What is Taming? Taming of the Shrew is the name of the, which is Kiss Me Kate.
There's Kiss Me Kate, but apparently there needed to be another one. So it was called Dancing with the One I Love.
And so that show was taken to a theater in a strip mall in Fort Lauderdale. Sure.
Called the Brian C. Smith Off-Broadway Theater.
And you. This is next to TurboTax.
It literally was. It was shut down for tax evasion later.
Oh, no, sure. But I went down with that show and performed there.
And I was there as a non-equity performer because I had been hiding from my equity card because I could work more, you know? Yeah, right. So I was working as a non-equity performer.
So I didn't have, they didn't have to put me up. So in exchange for being someone's roommate, I was in charge of the laundry for the entire cast.
And there were 35 men. We did eight shows a week.
So I washed and ironed all there. But I got really good at ironing.
No way. Yeah, I did all of the washing, drying, all of the dry cleaning.
I can't touch anyone's dirty clothes. I love dirty clothes.
I can't do it. I want to iron your little poncho so badly.
What if your hand goes in the wrong spot? Oh, gosh. How dirty can it be? You got to look for the waistband.
Grab that. Oh, my God.
Do you love that? Of all household chores, do you love ironing? Like, do you love that? I have a friend that loves ironing. Yeah, I get that.
I got really into it at the time. I was so...
I just ironed all the time. So, yeah.
It used to be one of my chores on the weekends. I just learned a new hack is to...
If you have, like, rings on a wood table, something like that, and you put, like, just a damp towel on it and you iron it and it'll bring the ring mark off. Who taught you that? Oh, my God.
I learned it on the TikTok. Hey, so listen.
YouTube shorts? Yeah, YouTube short shorts. They're called culottes.
So, Jen, so you're in Florida, you're doing a ton of laundry and Hollywood calls? I was in Florida. I was doing a ton of laundry.
And after it was over, I was driving north to audition for- Back to Georgia. Yeah.
I was driving up north to audition for Utah Shakespeare for the next summer.

And when I was on my way there, I met a casting director in Philadelphia at a restaurant and he said, you should come and read for this little movie. Anyway, I ended up in New York for a couple of days.
And while I was there, I went on an audition. And I actually, I opened the backstage.
I went on a bunch of auditions. And because I was so green and so fresh off the bus, like West Virginia girl, I just got everything that day that I went on.
They were all these little non-equity jobs. It was just one of those days, you know, where it's just like, it's my first day in New York.
Hi, y'all. I'd hire you right now based on this interview.
It's unbelievable, right? So somebody said you should meet an agent. I met this agent.
She said, I want to send you to the roundabout to see if you could get an understudy job. And so anyway, then I did.
And then I started working at Isabella's. Do you remember Isabella's? On the southeast corner of 77th Street and Columbus Avenue.
Yes. That's a bar? Yes, I do.
A restaurant? Yeah, it was across from the Natural Museum of History. Yes, I know Isabella's.
Yeah. Did you ever get loaded in there, Will? I sure did.
But that was a different lifetime. So how quickly after that were you back on the bus out to Hollywood? A few years.
Because I only wanted to do theater. Right.
And you have this amazing singing voice that not a lot of people know that you have, but you do. No.
But so that was the dream to do musicals on Broadway, never to go out to Hollywood. I mean, it was just to be in theater.
I didn't really, I mean, I love dancing. I don't really have a voice that could be a professional singing voice unless it's like the range from, you know, here to here.
But Broadway quality. Yeah, I don't have like a Broadway voice.
But I have a karaoke voice. We've done karaoke, sort of.
Fancy karaoke. But anyway, yeah, then I was super broke and I had just finally auditioned for a TV thing this agent sent me on.
And she said, well, they want to test you for this.

And I said, I'm understudying right now.

And she said, they'll give you $150 a day cash per diem.

And I so badly needed that cash.

I was so broke that I came to L.A. to test for something.

And I got that job.

And it was to play Melissa Gilbert's daughter in a Daniel Steele miniseries. So then I did that.
Yeah. I was up for the same part.
Wow. Melissa Gilbert was one of my first crushes.
Yeah, no. You guys are so tied to each other because I was just thinking, Jay, you worked with Melissa Gilbert on Little House.
Yes, sir. That's right.
That's when things all started to happen for me. Testosterone in my career.
I kept calling her Laura. I remember in hair and makeup, I kept calling her Laura.
Did you really? Yeah. She taught me everything.
I'd never been in front of a camera. I'd never paid attention to any of it.
She taught me what a call sheet was, who to talk to for things. She taught me about the camera turning around.
I had no, I was totally clueless. She was really good to me.

That's so sweet.

That's so nice.

Did you guys, did you stay connected with her at all after?

Yeah, I have.

You know, she's in government and politics in Michigan.

Yeah, I had a fundraiser for her, yep.

Married to Timothy Busfield.

Yeah, very happily.

The great Timothy Busfield, yeah. Couple of gingers.
Yeah, yeah. Found each other.
Well, my son's a ginger, so I always have a soft spot. One of my sons.
Sweet, sweet ginger. Sweet able.
So you do the movie with, now you've, and then she's taught you everything you need to know about showbiz in half an hour. So then I'm in.
So now you're in. No, then I went back to New York, and I was still, you know, and I would, every time I would get some kind of play, I would be so broke.
I would get, like, an episode of Law & Order or of some dumb thing, and I would take that job because I needed that top of the show. Well, you did Law & Order, right? I did.
Scale plus 10. Scale plus 10.
Scale plus 10, baby. You're just so stoked.
But also, you're working in the city. And as you know, like you, like you're working in the city.
You're so excited that you get to shoot in the city. And you end up like shooting on, you're like, I was just here yesterday buying milk.
And now I'm here shooting. You know what I mean? It's so crazy.
Isn't it? When you first are going up somewhere and you see big caravans and a whole set and a base camp and you're like, wow, there's a movie shooting there. And you're like, wait a minute, that's me.
Do you remember that? I still feel that way a little bit. I still get that way.
Driving up to a location and just seeing all the trucks. It's like, oh.
Yeah, because I remember moving to Los Angeles for the first time, seeing that, just waiting tables. And you're like, that'd be so cool.
What are they filming over there? I'd love to be a part of it. Yeah.
So right off the bus from West Virginia, you're in New York, you're very green. How did you find the city? Was it scary or did you adapt immediately? I was pretty happy.
I mean, I just, I really went right into it.

I just would pay my $20 to stand at the back of the Broadway house to watch every show that I could by myself like this. And I would go to museums.
And I mean, I just was, I was nerding out. So you weren't going to the discos and the bars and the...
No, I wasn't doing that. But my mom always told me that the more people you make eye contact with and smile at during this day on the street, like strangers, the happier you are as a person.
Oh, the cuckoo clock, sorry. But so as I was walking down the street.
Does that go off every time you quote something cuckoo your mom says? Yes. It would be very busy.
Quiet. Wait, by the way.
Of course it's 10. That was cuckoo.
There's a lot of wisdom in that because I like that your mom said that and I was just listening to a thing today because it lends itself to the cuckoo clock. Can we get locations on the cuckoo clock? I wish Melissa Gilbert had told you about sound while rolling.
I've got to deal with that. Cuckoo.
So there's a lot of wisdom in that. I like this idea that it's kind of you know, you get what you put out there.
And so, and I think that that's true. If you go out and you make eye and you smile at people and you kind of you project joy, you're going to get joy coming back your way.
Right, okay. But when you first move to New York.
Well, that's crazy. Yeah, that's insane.
That is very hard on the population of New York. It's very tiring.
I was like, hi, hi, how you doing? Nice day. I like your shoes.
I mean, it was a lot. I was a lot.
They were a lot for me. You can't compliment people's shoes in New York.
But where was your first apartment? Do you remember? What part of the city? Yeah. I lived on a woman's kitchen floor on 85th and Broadway.
Wow. She had a studio, but the kitchen was kind of its own alcove.
And I had a little futon and my suitcase for nine months. Wow.
Like a puppy. What year, what year was that do you think? Like a puppy.
What year? 94. Okay.
Why were you on 85th and? No, I was, I lived at, I lived at 87th and West End with five other people. That was like 90, 91.
And then by 92, I was living on the Upper East Side in a railroad apartment with two other people. Wait, are we falling asleep? Jen, I'm on 81st and Broadway right now.
Oh, no way. No way.
Who cares? Wait. That's a nice apartment.
Is that your apartment? Yeah, it's brand new. And all he does is watch TV in there.
Yeah. So you do this.
Now you're living there. You're living in New York, and you're doing some— You're doing Law and Order.
You're doing Spin City. Can I go back and watch your Spin City episode? Yeah, you do.
I'm shocked that you haven't. I know.
I know. And then where does Alias fall into all of this? Well, sorry, you meet J.J.
Abrams because you do Felicity. Yes.
So a few years go by, and I had been working probably seven years by the time I met J.J. and did Felicity and Alias.
And how'd you meet J.J.? I just auditioned for Felicity for a guest spot. Oh, gotcha.
Wow. And then it was like, he remembered you.
But I had heard, and JJ's a friend of the show, so he's listening. I had heard that you, that he wrote Alias with you in mind.
He did. I know.
Isn't that cool? He gave it to me and I stood in one spot in my kitchen and read the pilot. I didn't even move.
I was so, it was, it's still, I think it's the best pilot, I think. That's awesome.
He's such an incredible director, too. Yeah, it turns out.
It's such a great, it is a great pilot. And it was a great show and you were great on it.
What about just his general energy? I mean, it's pretty infectious. It's so positive.
Yeah. He gives you his full attention.
He's super sincere. I just, there's not a lot like him.
And is that where you met our lovely Victor Garber that we have in common? Yes, that is where I met our lovely Victor Garber. Although I'd been a big fan of his.
I'd seen him in art. I'd seen him in the one with Billy Crudup

that started with an A at Lincoln Center.

It's, you know, the one I'm talking about.

Arcadia?

Arcadia.

Thank you.

Whenever we have dinner,

whenever Victor and I got to dinner,

he's a very close friend of both yours and mine.

He was at your premiere party

or your opening night party.

Yes, he was at the opening night.

And any time we go out to dinner, I'll always say super, super loud, oh my God, were you in Titanic? And everybody looks and he's, you motherfucker, fuck you, buddy. Fucking asshole.
Everyone's looking for Leonardo DiCaprio. Did you guys see him in Godspell? Yes.
With Martin Short and every other Canadian actor that we've had on the show. Every Canadian actor.
And they're all still super close, that entire cast. They are really, it's like 40 years later.
I love that. Wait, am I showing my dumbness by wondering why would they all be Canadians? It all really started.
So Godspell was this thing on Broadway. It was a huge sensation.
Wait, wait, Jen. Jen, before, I hate to interrupt you, but I have to.
Jason, we've had at least five members of that production on the podcast who have talked about the fact that they were all in that production. No recollection at all.
I just thought maybe Godspell was written by a Canadian. It's a Canadian story.
Yeah, Jesus. Jesus, it turns out, was a Canadian.
Everyone knew it. You've heard it here.
Wait, Jesus is in Godspell? Oh my God. Godspell's not one word? Or is it two words? How do you spell? How do you spell God? G-A-W-D? Oh my God.
You know, I used to see Victor, too, back in the Alias days through Bradley. All the time, yeah.
Yeah, and we would have dinner out on the west side with that little me and the rest of the cast of Alias all the time because Bradley was on Alias. Mm-hmm.
I felt like a sort of an eighth member of the cast, if you will. You were.
No, you won't. You were.
You won't. No, you won't.
So, so Alias comes about and then I remember the time when Alias came out and it was so good and it was so kick-ass and there was so much written about. First of all, you just, you were the lead of this show and you were a kick-ass lead too.
Yeah. Like you, you just kind of, it's like you were shot out of a cannon and you were beating fools up and knocking people out and karate chopping heads and doing shit and like all this spy stuff.
And I remember the stories about you, your training regimen and how insane it was at the time. I still think about it to this day sometimes.
I'm going to admit to you something. I think about it sometimes when I think about getting up and working out before work.
And I'll think about you, the stories of you are embedded in my mind, and I don't know you, working out before doing alias. I swear to God.
That is really hard. Wait, you would work out before shooting 12 hours a day? Yeah, I would.
Because Carl Lumley, who was on the show, I started saying, like, it's so hard for me to keep a workout. Our hours were so insane.
And I said, and I need to be warmed up, and I just can't seem to get it all done. And he is such a stately, gorgeous man and a theater actor and somebody I just respect so much.
And at the time, like, I had all these. I had Ron, I had Victor, and I had Carl all on the show.
So I was looking up to them so much for anything. And Carl said, you can always do half an hour.
You just set your clock. Just get up and do it.
You can always do it. And so from that day, I was just like, oh, okay, then I will.
And so just no matter what, I would crank my clock earlier, 345. You know, I would do anything to show up to work warmed up because there was so much action and I didn't know when things were going to happen and I just wanted to be ready for whatever.
Now I don't do that. Now, like a six and an occasional five, but I don't, you know, not really.
But isn't it depressing how much harder it is to stay in shape as we get older? I mean, it's almost like it doubles the amount of time you have to spend at it almost every year. I remember you solidly running six or seven miles every day.
It never helped. Never helped.
It's still running like I'm being chased. I also remember you spinning upside down in a car and just losing it on the side of the road.
And then you, I remember you. Who were you pregnant with when you threw up? Was it Violet? No, you already had Violet.
I was nursing. That was the issue.
It was so hot where we were shooting the kingdom. Like we were in Arizona and it was August and September and 120 on asphalt.
And we were wearing big boots and hats and bulletproof vests. And we, I went, that's the only time, knock on wood, I've ever had to go to the hospital during shooting.
I would get so dizzy. I couldn't see.
And I was nursing. I should have, you know.
No way. But I see, but on your your instagram i see like you working out all the time it's so inspiring like first of all what your mom you work constantly you work out you're doing all these things i see you do so many things like is there i ask this question a lot because i find it fascinating is there a thing or a person that inspired you to be ambitious and to have to have this drive like where does that come from to just do all of these things? I don't know, but don't you feel like you get older and you look around and there are people you admire and just like that moment with Carl, like something just like makes you realize, oh, I can do that.
I can reach for it. I can go harder.
I can reach for that. I can be more.
Yeah. Why not you? Jen, you're my Carl.
That's what I'm trying to tell you. Oh, good.
I'm so glad. I'll see you at, let's set the alarm.
Let's FaceTime. You can join me.
But when you were younger, was there like a family member or a person where you just like something clicked in your head and you're like, wait a minute. I like how they live their life.
I like how they kind of make the decisions they've made. I mean, I don't know.
I have pretty great parents. Like they just, I'm pretty great.
Yeah. Do you find that your children are as motivated as you were at that age? They are, each of them in their own ways.
The hard thing is that you think it's going to be your ways and their ways are things I could never do and um are they're amazing but they are not they keep forgetting to be me yeah yeah do you well they because it is fun watching like do you find do you well sean do you find your dad oh period sorry sorry that was just it just that one question sorry sorry

nope Sorry, that was just it. Just that one question.
Sorry. Sorry.
No, but it is funny watching our kids, and this kind of goes out to everybody, like watching our kids go about it a different way than we went about it. Yeah.
And I constantly find myself wanting to say like, hey man, maybe if you, and then I just go, no, no, no, no, it's okay. He's gonna do it his own way.
I'm just here to kind of act as bumpers on either side to keep them within a certain range. Well, that's interesting though because my, because of the way we were raised and my dad left early that old story, because of that, my two brothers who have kids are phenomenal dads.
Wow. They're amazing.
Yeah. I mean, it doesn't always go that way, though.
That's right, but I mean, that was the inspiration to be a great dad. Can I tell you something that happened the other night that I found really nice? I was with Jason and Amanda and Maple, who's 11 now, Maple, right?

Yeah.

And we were just talking about something,

and Maple was so honest and comfortable in this way,

and whatever, we all spent a lot of time, so... When she told you to shut your mouth.

When she said shut your stupid mouth.

Your stupid Canadian mouth.

Yeah, you were saying something dumb.

And I've been trying to keep from her that I'm Canadian for a long time.

No, but she said, we started talking about something, and she was really candid with you guys and with us in this way that felt that I really, I kind of loved, it was such a reflection of you and Amanda. And I love seeing that in kids when they feel this level of comfort to share and be able to speak openly.
I think that's so important. That's really rare.
And it was really heartwarming. Yeah? Well, that's nice.
Thank you for saying that. I'm always surprised at how little children really take from the parents.
This whole question of nature versus nurture, and I think I've hammered this one before. But, you know, whenever somebody says something nice about my kids, it's my instinct to deflect anyway.
But, um, I do think it is them. It is nature.
It's not nurture. I think you can affect your kid probably 5% left or right, you know, but for the most part, you get what you get.
Cause like, you know, Jen, I'm sure you've got, you've got, you've got three to compare against. I've only got two where they're same parents,

same roof, same upbringing,

and they're wildly different.

So there it is.

So it's not a nurture. And from the minute they were born, too.

Their personalities were already intact.

That's why I don't have kids.

I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night

and have them killing me.

Right, yeah, exactly.

You could have an axe murderer

and you'd have nothing to do with it.

It's like, well, you just get what you get.

Sean recognizes that if he had other,

that they would want to kill him.

And I think that that is a great reminder. It's probably true.
And we will be right back. Rise Mushroom Coffee isn't just a morning brand-aid to help you wake up and crash later.
It helps you stay energized and focused while supporting your overall well-being. Rise Mushroom Coffee is a unique, powerful blend of six functional mushrooms that helps with all-day energy, sharper focus, healthy digestion, and immune support.
And with over 200,000 five-star reviews, odds are you won't be disappointed. I have a friend that comes over sometimes in the morning and we chit chat and we hang around my kitchen.
And every single time he comes over, he's one of those coffee people who's like, can't like start his day without coffee. I'm like, hey, you got to try this new Rise Mushroom Coffee.
Tried it, loved it, ordered it. Happiest I've ever seen him.
Try Rise Mushroom Coffee with 15% off your first order atyesuperfoods.com slash smartless. That's R-Y-Z-E superfoods.com slash smartless.

Don't just wake up.

Awaken with Rye's.

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. 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. Now that we're on this, what do you find challenging as a parent? And I know the list is long because I have three kids as well.
But doing what you do, and again, our jobs are no, lots of people have very busy jobs no matter what it is you do. If you work in an office or you work outside or whatever it is you do.
But what are the challenges that you find? Our job is just a selfish job, honestly. Yeah.
You know, it's really, it's not, even in the best of circumstances, we're really like, well, it's all about me right now. I'm in production and I've got to go to bed or I've got to, I can't be there because my production, this, my, you know, and it's like, that doesn't, that's not the way, and the travel and that's not the way kids' lives work.
If something is happening for them, it's happening for them and you're missing it. And that's, that's basically it.
Um, so there's so much, I mean, there's so much challenging, like teenagers and what they all have to absorb and go through. And, you know, if you like, when I go to my kids' schools and I'm there, I have three kids at three schools.
And when I go and I see the energy swirling around and the kids chattering and arguing and back and forth and what's important and like struggling for hierarchy, I just think, oh my gosh, it's so exhausting. I forget what they've been through by the time they come home every day.
What do you do about the social media stuff? This goes out again to everybody, but Jen, what do you do about the social media stuff with your kids? Because I find it challenging. Well, so far, and I say, because it feels like there's judgment inherent in what I'm saying and there isn't.
It's just so far I have not, I don't have kids on social media, like traditional Instagram, TikTok, all that stuff. I don't know totally everything they're on.
So, you know, I could be totally wrong. Yeah, there's some workarounds there.
There are plenty of workarounds. But they're not checking for likes and they're not posting themselves.
And I think, you know, your rules are very different for your first than they are for your third. So don't hold me to it.
But that is kind of my goal. I just say to them, guys, show me the evidence that it's good for a teenage brain.
Just show it to me. And then, you know, some people say, well, my kids really, that's how they converse.
They converse over Snapchat or whatever. So far, I've been able to avoid it.
And, you know, we'll just keep down that, you know, and Ben and I are on the same page about it. We'll just keep down that road as best we can.
Yeah. Yeah.
We're trying for the same thing or sort of a limited version of it all. I want to go back to, for a second, because, you know, one of my stock questions, the theater, I need like a terrible theater story that you have, like a favorite horrible something that went wrong or a horrible like set that something happened on a set.
Mostly theater stories. He's just looking at check boxes.
Or any kind of personal tragedy. Any sort of personal, big regret, something embarrassing.
No, I like, I think theater stories that go wrong are hysterical. Unearthed trauma would be funny.
They're super relatable. I mean, I like, I think theater stories that go wrong are hysterical.

Unearthed trauma would be funny. They're super relatable.

I mean, I run when I, like, I basically, my instinct,

I just have a lot of, and so I run onto stage or I run, you know,

like I just do.

So I was doing Cyrano at the Richard Rogers with Mr. Klein, Kevin Klein.

It was heaven.

It was wonderful.

But I got into a spell where I fell at some point every night.

And there was this, the back, the upstage was this huge staircase

that was like two stories straight down, fully exposed.

And I would come like really fast. It was so fun.
So I'd go, and the last 10 steps on the elbow or I would fall in the fifth act or I'd fall at the curtain call. I just, once I started, I couldn't get my feet back under me.
And people would say to me, hey, I saw you in Cyrano. Oh, man, you were amazing.

You know, I was there the night you fell.

It was every night.

And I'd have to be like, mm.

Did you start padding up?

I mean, I should have.

You know when stunt doubles take a stair fall and they're like, well, I put a powder puff under my wig.

Uh-huh.

Now, did you end up coming up with a funny line at the bottom of your tuck and roll every night?

No, because it was so serious. You can't, you know, you just have to.
It was so serious. Oh, my God.
It was serious. You're a no-yes.
I want to know about, Jen, I love you mentioned Kevin Kline. He's one of those guys that I've always admired and think is so great.
What was that like? I've never come close to the guy and I just. I don't think any of us have.
Have you guys ever seen him out? Never. Not once.
And I lived in New York for 20 years. I never saw him.
He lives way up on the Upper East Side. He's married to Phoebe Cates.
I've never seen them out. Ever.
They're like king and queen of their neighborhood. He has a big show on Apple coming out, I think, that they shot in London.
Anyway, he is the most literate. He's one of those people that is just always taking in art.
He's always reading. There's always a play in his back pocket or something.
He's always taking in poetry and using it as a reference, it makes you kind of panic. Yeah.
You gotta get him on the show. Of course he is.
No, wait. He's my idol.
So wait, Jen. With everything that you've done, everything that you've accomplished, is there something, is there a role or a thing or something you're like, you know what? I've always wanted blank.
I've never gotten that. I still want to work for it.
This was kind of it, guys. You know, I'm a friend of the pod.
Yeah, sure. This was kind of it.
I'm a listener. Oh, guys, when you had that Simon...
LeBon? Yeah. LeBon from Duran Duran.
That was cool. Yeah, he's very cool.
He's very cool. It's like that Chris Farley Saturday Night Live talk show.
That was cool. When you guys had that was cool.

No, you know what?

When my kids go to college

I keep

you know, I feel like it's healthy

to have something

you're looking forward to

besides it's just panicking.

Yeah.

So I think I want to

go to New York

and try to be

you know, there's always

like a little old lady

in a musical.

That's my dream.

When the girls go off to college

it's time to go to New York

and try theater.

Do it.

Yeah.

Right?

I'll see you there.

What are you want to do? Let's do it together. We'll just do, we'll start with love letters.
Great. Right? Sean, that's a good one.
Why don't you reimagine the odd couple as just a girl and a guy instead of two guys? I'm not Rappaport. I'm not Rappaport.
We could call Pete Burke. He could direct us.
Direct us in The Odd Couple. Could you imagine? It becomes War of the Roses.
We blow up the whole stage. So, Jen, when did you do the Apple TV, your limited series that you produced, too? A year ago, right now.
I was in production. The last thing he told me.
The last thing he told me. The last thing he told me out now on Apple TV+.
It's out now. Yes, it is out right now.
We shot it a year ago here in LA with a sometime in Austin and sometime in Sausalito. How'd you like Austin? I love Austin.
Austin's just, what a beautiful city. It's so cool.
And then you have everyone's drawn to the lake. It's so nice.
Sorry, I just gotta say just because I keep Austin weird. Anyway, so...
Getting paid by the Chamber of Commerce there? People used to have those bumper stickers. I mean, I'm really dating myself as an old Jen.
They still do.

It was Portland.

Yeah, the bumper stickers are still a thing.

Yeah.

But good callback. Great job.

I'm so old.

I'm such an old.

All my musicals.

I've just realized that I'm old.

Jen, do any of the kids want to go into this business?

Have you got a sense of it?

I think we may have one, but I don't know if that child knows it yet so I'm not gonna and how do you feel about that will you be encouraging if and when the light shines on him or her what about you Jason what are you gonna do I feel like Franny Franny's starting to get interested in directing which is really exciting to me so we're like watching movies together and talking about all that stuff. It's kind of like my dad and I were.
I know, just like about a year ago, right? Yeah, yeah. Maple, I think, is interested maybe in acting, but neither one is like, you know, frothing at the mouth, super passionate about it.
I'm not a big fan of kids going into this business only because you could spend all of that time studying for a career where if you're the best at it, you're guaranteed employment.

You know?

And this is not that.

Or any form of the arts, pardon the term, you know, it's all so objective, you know?

So I don't know.

It's tough.

It's a tough business to make a big thing. You certainly can't say no if they become adults and that's, you know.
Correct. Yeah.
I'll be encouraging if they're overwhelmed with desire for it. But kids acting, little kids on set, I don't know.
Well, that's the other weird part for me too. It's sort of heady where you're trying to train yourself to be other people at a time when you're learning who you are.
Yeah. And it's kind of heady.
That's profound. Yeah, it kind of messed me up a little bit.
I never thought of that. It should be done a little bit later, I think.
Do you feel like sometimes you're like, am I a werewolf? Am I a werewolf also? Yeah, listen, when I don't shave, when I don't shave every other day, or I let my grow. Yeah.
Yeah, just scrape the plant. Yeah, no, it is a little schizophrenic, definitely.
Well, thanks for bringing it down. Yeah.
Let's just take a break. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
She also told, so we're going down the Tig Notaro highlight reel.

She just told this great story the other day.

She went to a party, a bunch of people she didn't know.

And she came out on the second story balcony

and she just screamed downstairs to a bunch of party goers

that she didn't know, they didn't know her.

She just said, hey guys, sorry, excuse me.

Hi, yeah, up here.

I just want you guys to know, I'm going to bed in like 10 minutes, okay?

And they just went back into the upstairs balcony.

And everybody's like looking at each other.

She and her friend,

well, she and her friend,

who was she talking about?

She and her friend were doing what they call party bits.

And she agreed to go to this party,

into this house of somebody she didn't know.

And she would walk into the kitchen

and just kind of like slap the wall and go like,

hey guys, there are like six people in the kitchen.

Hey guys, I'm probably going to turn in

in about 10 minutes.

And they're all like, uh, okay.

By the way, such a fucking, God, Sean, how fun is that?

That's such a good bit.

I love that.

What are the other bits?

I want to know where it is.

I want to do the thing where I want to drive around

all the fancy neighborhoods in Los Angeles, like Beverly Hills and Bel and then drive up to crews who are gardening and stuff and go, hey guys, you can knock off for the day. And then just be like...
Don't worry about the front, guys. Don't worry about it.
I talked to the guy. You guys are good to go.
And start wrapping crews who are doing work. As if you live there.
Yeah, as if I live there. That's a good party bit.
Not bad. Jen, what's the rest of your day today? You're not working on something, are you? No, I'm not working on anything.
No, what is my day? I'm going to... You worked out at 3 a.m.
I worked out this morning. And actually, I actually have a boxing session after this.
Oh, you work out all the time i box at pete's gym do you really is he still going in there this is pete berg he still goes in there who's pete berg peter berg is a is an actor director director oh peter berg yeah i was like um and has been uh has been ripped to shreds for years yeah he's always in incredible shape He can really box. He can, right? I don't get it.
Yeah, he can really box. I boxed this morning, and then my 14-year-old has just started boxing at a gym.
I'd rather play rock'em, sock'em. Oh, remember that.
Remember? Remember that? Sean, what time are you working out today? And be honest. God.
Look around. Look around.
Look around. A couple weeks.
Look around. So wait, Today's Tuesday.
You have a show tonight, yeah? No, we're off Mondays and Tuesdays. So, do you have two on Saturday, two on Sunday? Are you doing seven? We're doing seven, yeah.
Gosh, that's nice. Yeah, it's really, really nice, yeah.
Yeah. Well, what's normal? Eight.
Eight. And where's the eighth show? On a Tuesday night? Tuesday, yeah.
It be tonight, Tuesday. Yeah.
But we don't, yeah. That's really nice.
It's really nice. It actually feels like you have a weekend.
Jen, what are you and Jason, when you and Jason do your show on Broadway, when you guys move to New York, let Jason get into the deal because you guys will be on four shows a week. Oh, I know.
We're going to do only matinees.

That's it.

I heard, I don't know if this is true, but I heard Dolly Parton,

somebody came up to Dolly Parton and asked her if she wanted to do some big musical.

I can't remember the name of it.

And she said, sure, I'll do four shows a week.

They're like, no.

Wouldn't you say yes to Dolly Parton? Yes, Dolly Parton.

Who wouldn't buy a ticket even if it's four shows a week?

Yeah.

I would buy a ticket for the show I don't go to just to have the ticket to go to Dolly. Yeah.
Did you ever go to Dollywood? Is that West Virginia? No, it's in Tennessee. It's in Tennessee.
It is so, it's so great. All the rocks have Dolly music, playing Dolly's music everywhere you go.
Rocks have speakers? The rocks have speakers. It was the first time I'd ever seen that.
And I was like, the rocks are singing Dolly Parton.

And I took my grandmother, Exie Mae, and I hoisted her up over a, like a merry-go-round horse.

And I just, I can't believe I did it now, thinking back.

Like, I'm so glad I didn't break that little lady.

But Exie Mae was in heaven.

All right.

So after boxing today, there's then, I would imagine you're going to pick up at least one of those kids. Well, yeah, I've got to pick up some kids.
I have this little company called Once Upon a Farm. Yes.
Yeah. So tell us what that is.
Tell me about that. I don't know about that.
Oh, it's actually, it's awesome. It is this all super clean, super organic kids and babies food and it is pureed and it's cold pressed so it's not like...
Garbage. Yeah, it's not garbage.
There's no sugar added. There's nothing added.
It's just pure goodness. I would eat all of that but I would put the sugar in it.
Yeah, sure. You would shake it a little.
You actually, you don't need it because it's all fresh and it's not cooked down so it has the great texture. He loves sweet and low though.
He just loves Sweet and Low and everything. You can add a little Sweet and Low if you want.
You put it in a blender, Sean. That's your business.
Sean, put it in a blender and then he'd add some Reese's peanut butter. What is it? This is Sweet and Low right there.
Oh, there is Sweet and Low. Oh, that's Scotty.
Thanks, Scotty. Good to see you.
Sweet and Low. That's a great nickname for you.
All right. So you're going to go and work on...
So I have that

stuff today. I have calls and

stuff like that. Alright, but wait, let's get

I want, trying to get to the evening time and I want

to know, I like asking this

what do you curl up and watch that you're

a little bit embarrassed that you're watching?

Oh, well... Not because

it's a bad show, but just because it's...

I mean, I still watch Seinfeld

pretty much all the time. But that's nothing to be embarrassed about.
It's just that I've seen them all a thousand. But I'm watching Diplomat.
Oh, I love Carrie. Carrie Russell.
We love Carrie. Oh, I heard that's really good.
Love her. Yeah, yeah.
She's so little Felicity. What's that on? The Amazon? Netflix.
It's on the Netflix. On the Netflix.
Very nice. The kids and I are about to start Jury Duty.
We just need to get someone in the house to pass AP exams, and then we're going to watch Jury Duty. I hear that's good.
That's got... Jury Duty's a show? Yeah, it's James.
Marsden. James Marsden.
James Marsden, that's right. He's the only one who knows what's going on, and the rest don't? No, they all know.
He's just playing himself as like a, he's playing a bratty actor. He was prepping for it.
We shot Party Down together at the beginning of last year and he was getting ready for it. And he was like, what am I going into? This is going to be a disaster.
And is it ethically okay to be messing with this person? And there's one person who thinks he's just part of a documentary and has no idea that everyone else is in... Yeah, is in a way process.
That sounds really cool. They just think they're on jury duty.
He thinks that they're making a documentary about this particular trial and he's the only person and everything else is made up. Oh, wow.
Yeah, it's pretty cool. There's so much to watch.
And that's good for kids and adults. I mean, I don't know that it's appropriate for kids, but I feel like my kids have probably been exposed to plenty.
Even Sam's watching the R-rated movies now. My 11-year-old is at times.
Yeah, I think from time to time. Yeah, it squeaks through there.
But you know what? Now, do you curse in front of the kids? I find that I'm starting to get very, very loose with all of that. Very loosey-goosey.
I don't. Yeah.
On purpose? Or you just don't curse? Do you curse a lot? You don't seem like you do. I learned to curse.
I didn't used to, but I can. And I do.
I mean, maybe occasionally something slips out, but I really don't want them to curse in front of me because I feel like like you need to know that there are grown-ups you talk a certain way around, or that you behave a certain way around, and it might as well be me. I really love that.
You're a good mom. I don't know.
You're a good mom. You know what you're doing.
And you also have a busy day, and we've taken up way too much of your time. Way too much of your time.
You have so many things to go do more important than talking to us.

But what an absolute delight to meet you.

But you started our day with a nice, big shot of sunshine.

Yes.

Thank you, Jen.

At least I didn't show you my bad hair.

Let's take a look.

I can't believe that it's any.

How can it be bad?

It's long.

Let's take a look.

I don't know. We're going to.
Is that a scrunchie? Do you have a scrunchie on your wrist? Yeah, you got to be ready. I like to do a scrunchie.
I'm always doing scrunchie bits. Oh, yeah.
Watch him do a scrunchie bit. Yeah, I think my hair...
And then he's ready to go. I'm ready to go.
Thank you for that. And then stretch out the ponytail.
You got to stretch it out. No, I always take...
Yeah, you do this. I'm always doing this with it, you know, like you're doing.
Jesus. Hey, guys, did anybody see where I part? Where my hair, where I left my hair.
I love when Sean will pick up somebody's purse at a party and just throw it over your shoulder. You go, guys, anybody need anything from CVS? Yeah, I'm just running to CVS.
And which way is out?

Is it that way?

How do I get out of here?

Also, anytime there's a candle anywhere on a table, whatever,

Sean always grabs the candle and then he goes like this.

He'll shield the wind from the front of it.

Shields the wind.

And I go, guys, the bathroom, which way is the bathroom?

Yes, which way is the bathroom?

The dumbest bit.

The candles.

Same bit.

We've now truly wasted your time.

I've learned so much.

Thank you, guys.

Sorry, Jen. No, we've learned a lot.
Thank you, Jennifer Garner. We love you.
It's So good to see you all. Thank you, Jennifer Garner.
Love you, Jennifer. Just adore all of you.
Nice to meet you. I adore you.
Last thing he told me on Apple Plus with Jennifer Garner, go and watch it immediately. Yes.
Do the right thing. Do the right thing.
Bye. Bye, Jen.
Bye. Guys, how do you feel? I feel like I got a personality shower.
Yeah, I feel better. You know, if I'm all clean.
Speaking to a flower who is just easy breezy, lovely, gorgeous, fun, funny, talented. Right in the day.
She made me feel better. Yeah.
She made the day better. You know, I IMDB'd her page while we were talking.
It's unbelievable. Like, she has 8,000 credits.
Yeah, she's been at it for quite some time. Like, remember 13 Going on 30, which we didn't even ask her about? Yes, 13 Going on 30.
That was the movie I was thinking about. She did with Ruffalo, right? I think so, yeah.
Is that right? Yeah, what about dresses? Wasn't there a bunch of dresses? Did she do that one? 19 dresses? 21 dresses? I don't know. 17, 25 dresses.
No, that was... Remember, she was in Dallasallas buyers club with the buyers club oh my god she was 13 going on 30 i'm pretty sure it was yes a ruffalo listener doesn't want to hear us going down there her w i am well i just looked it up i was like oh my god she's no she's done so much and she's always so you i always feel like she's one of those people, whatever she's in, whether it's in a movie or on TV or at something or even on a commercial, you're always like, boy, I'm delighted to see Jen Conner.
Yeah, absolutely. One of America's sweethearts.
Absolutely. Even if she's asking me what's in my wallet, she's brightening up my commercial break.
It's true. I know.
Yeah, she does a bunch of those things. And it's so delightful.
And that's almost... I don't mean...
She's got that it thing that everybody talks about where you look at her and you're like, oh, she's my friend. I don't want to be friends with her.
It's just condescending. No, no, no, no, no.
Yeah, you want to talk to Jennifer Garner. I feel like my day would feel better.
Guess what feel better guess what we just did sure but you know but but conversely you know what would be awesome is to see her in some gnarly dramatic part where she's just fucking ripping somebody apart just saying you son of a bitch you just just unleashing what if she's i bet she's got that man why well it's just to see you like to see, you know, zero to a hundred, right? I don't know. Sometimes.
I don't know if everybody needs to do everything to do the thing. Be good at the thing you're good at.
Well, put it this way. Can you imagine her in a bad mood? No.
Right? So wouldn't it be fun in a character, in a part, to see her just like... Yeah, I guess so.
It'd be like so shocking. Yeah, for sure.
Yeah. Like if you were to see me in a part just being super nice and genuine to somebody.
I wouldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it for a second.
But if I was doing a good job, it would be nice to see... They'd give you an Oscar.
If you did that, you'd get a Lifetime Achievement Award for that. Well, no, that's right.
I don't believe it. Yeah.
Do you know what I mean? I would say, like, when I see her. Here he comes.
Oh, boy. Here he comes.
Fuck, Sean. I can see you coming from a mile away.
Because you know why? Because it always starts with, can I say, here comes the bye. Because if I find a friend, if I find a friend, can I find a friend? Well, I never, what? Whenever I see a friend.
Here comes the bye. Because if I, if I, can I, well, I never, whenever I see it.
Whenever, Scotty and I, I know. I know.
Wait a minute. Why don't we just, why don't we just go back? Start again.
Why don't we just go back to saying goodbye?

Why don't we just say, hey, what a great show.

I'll see you guys later.

Never happens.

Bye.

Why don't we just do that?

So, so, so, so, so, so when I see Jennifer coming towards me, I always want to say hi.

I never want to say.

Oh. Bye.
Bye. Jennifer, coming towards me, I always want to say hi.
I never want to say bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart.

Smart. Smart List.
Hey friends, Jason here. We're so excited the SmartList

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. I need directions for paying down debt.

Starting root.

Apply for a SoFi personal loan and consolidate your debt into one fixed payment. Huh.
Turn right into a positive outlook and get $5,000 to $100,000 as soon as the same day you sign with no fees required. Got it.
You could get out of high interest credit card debt with a SoFi personal loan. View your rate at SoFi.com slash debt in 60 seconds with no impact to your credit score.
Loans originated by Soite bank in a member FDIC terms and conditions at sulfite.com slash debt NMLS 696891.