"Robert Downey Jr.”

HBO's biggest series, The Last of Us, returns with a new season on Max. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the show picks up five years after the events of the first season as Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.
CNN calls The Last of Us exquisite, fully realized, and worthy of the hype. And The Daily Beast calls it a riveting and suspenseful triumph.
Based on the groundbreaking video game, the Emmy-winning HBO

original series The Last of Us

premieres Sunday, April 13th, 9pm

on Max.

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.

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 programs subject to terms and conditions.
Details at lowes.com slash terms. Subject to change.
Hey, everybody. You're listening to SmartList, hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and myself, Sean Hayes.

I know. I wish my voice was more masculine, too.

This show is about learning through laughter and the brains of people around the world who are far smarter than us three idiots.

And each week, one of us brings on a guest who the other two don't know about.

So with that, let's jump into the SmartList rocket ship and let's blast off into the universe together. Ooh, I think I just turned myself on.
Smart. Blast.
Smart. Blast.
Smart. Blast.
Welcome back to Smartless yeah welcome it's nice to be here jason do you have a recital today your mat your hair is matted down are you dude are you going to court have you got a are you trying to be did you catch a case oh there it is there it is i was trying to pin my wing back you know what i can do put on here. Let me help.
Let me put on my workout headband. Hold on.
This is great. You're going to love this.
Oh, God. You're going to love this.
With the glasses and everything, it's kind of a really good look. Oh, look at that.
Do you wear that working out for real? Yeah, I've got to keep my hair out of my face. Wait, you wear that headband to work out? Yeah.
Well, I've got blue. I've got red.
I've got white. Someone's American.
I've also got some fuzzy Birkenstocks that I've been wearing around the house. What does red mean? Does red mean just handjobs? Yeah.
Open for HJ is just a more economical way to say it. Blue, you know, we keep it with the the b's that's for bj and then white uh means there's really no bad ideas oh my god our listener our listener logged off quite a while ago i know so how funny is it that we have today why don't hang on why don't we have your your camera well because because i have a special guest our Our special guest is en studio.

Should I take off my headband? No, our guest really enjoys it. And they're going to tell you why in a second.
But our guest, we have said this before, like, no, this guest requires no introduction. But truly, this is.
But this one we need to carve out 20 minutes. We need a big introduction.
So we have, I produced a musical number. Now this, this person has done it all and has been, is a multi Academy Award nominated actor, is a, has acted in over 4,000 films, all of which are the biggest films that have ever been on the face of the planet.
4,000. Was also a cast member of Saturday Night Live.
Has literally done everything that show business has asked him to do. He has done it and given back tenfold.
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, your friend and mine, Mr. Robert Downey Jr.
Oh, look at that. Son of bitch.
Holy shit. It's on like conky dong.

Don't remove

the headband. It's very

Charlie Sheen

platoon send up movie.

Wow, it really is actually.

Robert,

we met like quite a while

Bob, Robbie.

We met quite a while ago. Throbbing knob if you don't mind.

Throbbing knob.

But then you have to remove the junior because that would be embarrassing uh so i think that we met the very first time was at the sag awards when you won over me when you were on ally mcbiel and we had to do press in the back and you were the kindest nicest person i'd'd ever met that night. It was awesome.

And I was like, I can't believe I'm meeting Robert Downey Jr.

It was so cool.

And my next question is... Last question.

No, I think that was it.

I forgot that you'd done Ally McBeal.

You did a few, how many?

You were on for a while, right?

I got out of the jert.

Yep.

Yeah.

I went on to the show. The shert.
I remembered an old pager number, and I got kicked off the show. I love that journey.
Oh, the pager days. And then you just got to go down to a payphone and wait for them to call and make sure no one takes the payphone.
There's only one there. Buddy, can you step back? I'm expecting a call.
You know? It was a lot of stress. I don't know what version of Raleigh Studios Manhattan Beach you were at, but we had dressing rooms with landlines.
Oh, yeah. No, I was at the Hilton at the 405 in Sunset.
In the revolving bar? Yeah. Yeah.
How is this phone not getting tied up in its own cords when this bar has turned 18 times since I paged him back? How long has it been? It's been 45 Getty centers. That's how long it's been.
Robert, I'm taking quite a bit of supplements each day. Amanda, my wife, has got me.
Dying for them to kick in. Yeah, she's just got me.
She's got a bunch of people that she trusts, defers to, respects, that understand medicine, Western and Eastern. And I am the proud recipient of some of that thing.
But I am swallowing about 30 supplements a day as a result. You're about at that with me, aren't you? I've seen your kit.
Yeah. Are you at 30? It varies.
But look, I know Amanda and I know that whole circle of alternative medicine.

You might be responsible for a couple of these doctors that I'm having to listen to.

Just put your hand out and take it.

Particularly nowadays.

I mean, you know, you go get blood work and they say, oh, your iron's a little this or that.

And there's all these new things that the deeper you go into looking at a panel, the longer you can sustain.

When your doctor checks your blood, does he look especially at your Iron Man? Oh, God. I usually sniff after a real powerful joke.
Oh, is that what you do? Yeah. Is that your trademark? If you were a recording artist, would he be looking at your albumin? Nice.
Now, do you feel – I'm still on the supplement thing. I don't feel bad, but I don't know if I feel great because I haven't – knock wood, I haven't felt bad for a long time.
I can't attribute this to the supplements. I don't know whether it's just because it's that or because I'm not eating a cheeseburger every day or I'm no longer drinking or any of those things.
Are you still going the vegan, Bateman? Are you still doing it? No. I did that to drop the cholesterol and I did it for six months and I dropped one point.
You had a scary, you've got a very high cholesterol. I know that because we share the same doctor and she she gives me results i hope you're cool with that um but my question robert is do you you believe so there's a question in here yeah i was just gonna say i'm famous for all that you so you believe in all this stuff you're you're still taking them or you just kind of like i don't know if they're working or not all i know is i'm not dead yet so why screw with it i'll be i'll just keep doing what I'm doing.
Uh, well, I mean, look, some of it is pretty irrefutable. Uh, you can go by how you feel, or you can go by the recommendations of people that are smarter than you.
But again, these are, you know, desperate times, desperate measures. It's very odd.
And tell me if you can relate to this since March and, and, and knock wood and we've done everything we're supposed to do and I've lost a friend to COVID and folks we know obviously have gotten it and it's a big deal. But it's also odd how few other things have come up within my circle of friends or people I know since because the threat has been so homogenized and made into this one thing that I don't, usually you get a summer cold.
Right. But strangely, at least in the areas where people are following all the guidelines and the protocols, all that sort of stuff is just down.
Just because people aren't interacting with each other, do you think? Probably. And then you have to go to what's the real element here is an unprecedented psychological shift and uh and having done actual time um there's something very interesting about having your your movement limited and all that and for kids and all that stuff and stuff so i think a lot of it is you know there's an immunological response to um these crazy circumstances do you think yeah it's funny you bring that up, like being confined and talking about doing actual time.
People talk about quarantine. When you hear people going like, oh my God, I've been stuck in my beautiful house for the last six months.
Are you like, dude, shut the hell up. No, I'm not.
Because what everyone's going through is what they're going through and it's specific to them and it is a big deal. How long were you given time to think about it all? How much time did you spend being quiet in a room? How long were you incarcerated, I think is what he's trying to say.
Yeah, I mean, just ask the question. Yeah, how long were you locked up? Wait, you're still mumbling.
That was that lascivious tone. Mache mumble.
That sounded like dungeon foreplay to me. How long do you want to be logged up? I did 12 days once, four months, 13 days a second time, and then something like three years or two and a half.
I forget. The last time it didn't matter because it was right what does that mean it just means you're not in county you're not in some awful spot you're just in a actual prison where you have significantly more freedom for how long i don't know i think well i know that judge myra god bless him through the book the gavel his wig and the at me.
His wig. So I think I had a three-year suspended sentence.

But then I appealed it.

It turned out he had over-sentenced me.

Really?

And I don't blame him for it.

I would have done the same thing.

Really?

But you weren't three years in a jail cell, were you?

I think it was 26 months or something like that.

Wow.

Wow.

See, I've done things in my life not to avoid prison, but I'm fingers crossed i'm like oh god that'd be so hot yeah yeah so so hot just for a weekend i would imagine knowing you as i do um i'll bet you can probably say that you grew uh mentally and spiritually to the positive uh the positive in a way that you would never take back.

You're probably better now than you ever were because of that focusing of the mind during all that isolation. Yes? Well, first of all, I probably deserved it.
So that helps. Second of all, it's very monastic and rather dangerous and isolating and, you know, it's awful.
It's traumatic. But again, for someone who's never been told to stay at home and drop ties with their family and miss birthdays and funerals and weddings and not see the birth of your sister's baby or whatever.
Um, it's, uh, you know, it didn't bother me. Sorry.
Right. Well, that, well, that's, that's what I'm trying to gently ask is that it, it, you probably found the growth in it to the extent that there is some of that isolation, getting back to what Will was talking about, about all the, it was kind of this quarantine thing.
Uh, quarantine thing. We're reading articles.
We're hearing things about how people are finding the plus and the minus of isolation. And it is a choice, I would imagine.
What you went through was something completely different and quite a bit more severe, obviously. And public.
Yeah. But I would imagine you found some real growth

during the quiet time, just sitting there thinking with no choices, no ability to distract. Yeah.
I think I've said this before, but here's a crazy thing too. If you've had a trippy life, and I think all of us can agree that just being in the entertainment field is, you know, we know the psychological breakdown of folks like us.
Something about having a cell door closed behind you. Wow.
This is when I was in Twin Towers and the glamour slammer. You will never be safer than you are when a correctional officer or the sheriffs lock you down in that room.
As long as you trust your celly, you will never be safer than that. Because until the morning when they pop them open.
Yeah. Wow.
Wow. One time, I remember, Sean, this was a while ago you told me this, and I think you're over it now, but I remember you telling me that one time at the Four Seasons they fucked up your room and they put you next to the elevator.
and i thank you for bringing that up will yeah because a lot of people think my pain isn't real either sure and uh i was just so i went i'm i didn't walk i marched to that front desk and i said you weren't even sure if you could hear the ding yeah do you hear that ding because it's in my head is it loud it's loud enough in my head it must be in now. Knowing it was there.
Because you know what you're going to hear in the morning, sir? And the repeated trauma, too, because I heard they'd given you a 2 p.m. check-in, but housekeeping hadn't really gotten down into the...
Dude, don't do this to him. I'm so glad I didn't bring the story up.
Thank you. No, wait, I want to say that because I come from a family of several addicts.
And I've had this conversation with Will several times too. I always find I'm fascinated with how the brain works about that.
And so I always ask people like yourselves, if I had a drink in front of you or was doing a line of Coke, which I've never done, or a smoke pot or whatever it is, in front of you now at this stage after all you've been through is that a trigger for you are you enough have you

gotten beyond the fact that actually not only is it not a trigger i see that and i'm like i really

don't want anything to do with that or is there still a part of you that that likes that or wants

that it's been long enough where to me like we had some guests over and it was my my buddy's uh

50th birthday and before that there was some guests visiting who have a couple kids and one

Thank you. long enough where to me like we had some guests over and it was my my buddy's uh 50th birthday and before that there was some guests visiting who have a couple kids and one of them had to go out of town i could tell i was just like all right get two bottles of white get two bottles or get one bottle of rosé get two bottles of veuve cliquot le grand dame i know i take me back to paris the way you just said that oui.
I still know the experience the same way that if you're allergic to a medication, but you know that it would take the edge off for someone else, you would say, you know what? I have some of that. And you want that for someone else in a way.
That's the caretaker in you. You're a very good caretaker, I will say.
So I was there for one of those, and you were offering somebody wine, and then you were like, Arnett,ett come with me and i went down with you to get the bottle of wine and then you held it for half the trip upstairs and then i handed it like a relay race how long ago was that four days ago four days ago oh wow and by the way that's just still an experiment because nothing happens when it happens right you know you let's say you get insulted and two weeks later listen to the podcast really two weeks later like we were saying that's when you have the comeback and you're really ready to go confront that person right because you've had time yeah anyway we we know what to do and i got your i got your boy here and we keep an eye on each other and there's a great community because also the other thing that's fascinating in my brain too is whatever part of the brain that is wired to addiction once you've kind of curbed that or even if you haven't and then fame hits like for example you were always famous you were always working you were always in the public eye but then when this marvel thing happened and now you're literally a viable gigantic global product now in the world does, because they say fame can be a drug too, does that trigger anything or does that replace it? And do you have to be careful about that? It triggers all the character defects, but you don't have to worry about that until you're at that part of your recovery. But to me, more than anything, I was just like, I had something that I was like, wow, leave it to me to fuck this up.
Right, right, right, right. And so I knew my own inclination.
I was going to say the other thing is you brought up, and Robert, you were just alluding to it, which is, you know, the thing, and you hear this a lot in AA and in recovery, that community is the opposite of addiction, right? Right. And that's what's so important.
And, yeah, so, you know, we joke about having the hot potato bottle of wine. But to answer your question, from my side, if I'm there, I don't feel threatened.
I don't feel like I'm just going to rip the bottle off, the top off the bottle, and I'm going to guzzle it under the table. But we can't be too sure.
We can't be too sure sure and there's still enough time left in the day to do it. But I know that especially if I'm there and he's there, that I'm really good.
And if it's Robert or if it's one of my other friends and he's got a million people in his life and I have a million people in my life, that's the key to it. And if I'm there with a red headband, you know that the rest of the day is going to be taken care of.
The rest of the day is a party. That means that it's Ozark season four.
We're on the front of the boat. I think it should be you and a headband dancing, slow dance for opening credits.
Now, Robert, you're too humble to be comfortable with this question, but were you aware, was it a conscious shift in your incredible inner power to shift your addiction to having fun, your hedonistic instincts, and drive those into work, into family, into friends, into the support work you do with other buddies that struggle. I mean, it is incredible what you have done on the backside of what you have been through and you have doubled all of your success, experience, influence, affect over the people that you care about and an industry.
Um, was it conscious say, okay, I know I got an engine here. I just, I should point it a more responsible way.
Or are you just like, oh gosh, look, this is happening again for me. I'm not going to screw it up this time.
And, you know, and it was less proactive and just kind of playing defense. Sometimes you know that whatever the usual mosh pit.
Just if you could slow down the response, that would be great. To match how slow the question is.
By the way, I want Will to interpret this his own way while he's riding the mic like he's about to gobble this knob. Oh, wait till he starts grabbing the bottom of it.
Okay. Slower.
Half the time, whatever all that maelstrom of all my rationalizations and all that, sometimes it just goes away and you see something clearly you have a moment of clarity if you're lucky enough to get that you can squander it and i've done that a bunch too sometimes you get it and you also realize that you're redlining the hubcaps are off and you are not even gonna forget make it to any destination you're not even gonna make to the next filling station and you're going to be stuck and i think also part of it was a function of age because i wasn't a kid anymore i was in my early 40s and i was like oh my god this again yeah but i really wanted all that dumb stuff that let's just face it we all think we want and then we get it and we go down the k-hole of realizing that it was never really that it was just about feeling you know useful and occupied and wanting to maybe have a leadership position just because if you're in a leadership position you're more obliged to not drop the ball right so yeah well that yeah i love that and i was gonna say jason you know, it's funny that you asked that question because I will say that as your friend, I've noticed that you have turned a lot of energy and stuff that you otherwise used to pour into late night activity. and you channeled that, you made a decision.
We've talked about it and I've seen you make that decision.

You've poured it into your life, into your kids,

into your home and into your work and you actually made a conscious decision.

Am I right about that? Uh, yes. But well, as you say that I start thinking about, oh my God, I'm so lucky that I've got an opportunity to work in this business.
Cause if I didn't, what would I do with all that ambition? Uh, what would I do with all of that? I want to do the right thing now with all of this energy and all of this, uh, sort of drive. Uh, I just, I, I, I worry about, um, maybe that's why I worked so hard and try to diversify.
I said, I don't want that, uh, that, that portal to go away. But you know, one of the things is it, and you guys both kind of alluded to it, and one of the great things about Downey is that he does seem very calm.

And he does have very, for a guy who's been through a lot, he has a lot of sage. Well, calm, maybe not.
But he's got a lot of sage words. But the flip side is that he is constantly of service.
And that's a big thing. And, you know, I see it.
And he's such a great example. I've told him, too.
I'm amazed and in awe of how much of service he is to other people in and out of whatever. He's constantly of service in his life.
And I think that that removing that sort of constantly worrying about the sense of self allows you that room to grow. Would you agree that you don't have to be as aware or thinking about what am I going to do? Yeah, it's just a Jedi mind trick played on self for the highest good.
And, you know, let's not split hairs here. Bateman, you and I should have both been Hollywood casualties.
We were raised to go, oh my God, the shadow of our dads, the thing that that, the pressure is killing me. Oh, now I've got it.
Now I feel empty. You know what? Let's, uh, let's make a mockery of this opportunity.
I appreciate being coupled with you, but you, my friend have, have gone past the most incredible self-imposed adversity. It's just going to make for an incredible book.
If you ever put it down one day. Rise mushroom coffee, isn't just a morning brand day 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 at risesuperfoods.com slash smartless. That's R-Y-Z-E superfoods.com slash smartless.
Don't just wake up, awaken with Rise. 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 popped, perfectly salted.
Shop Skinny Pop now. 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-hour sweat and odor protection,

you can get comfortable with uncomfortable.

Pick up Doveman Plus Care Dry Sprays

at your local Target or Walmart today.

Did you guys ever cross paths when you were younger? We did. I remember being at a house once that you rolled in for just sort of a drive-by.
This is going to be great. We lost you to the bathroom.
Were you with Leif? No, Leif was not there. Okay.
But I do remember you coming in, and I was excited because I thought, oh, well, here we go. I get to get my party on.
But you went into the bathroom and then came out, and then you were off to the next spot. And I was like, ah, I missed it.
I wonder if you left anything behind the toilet for me. You know what one of my moves used to be? A lot of this of this too is called the old living amends.
Like some of this, I feel it's important to host your life. The people you love and this and that, you're meant to take care of them and make sure their needs are met and it's compensatory.
I used to be known as the guy who would go into my girlfriend's roommate's bathroom and go, I'm going to piss in this potpourri. I wonder how long it'll take him to realize what I've done here.
Just to be funny or just because? Just because it was irreverent and weird, but usually there would have been a little tinge of resentment like, you know, Amber shouldn't have said that to me so i wonder how long until this little basket of dried flowers is gonna smell like a fucking panther's dick uh all right let's shift for one second can we talk a little bit about work family balance um are you happier now that i think this i don't know much about your career but just from the outside looking at it i'm assuming that the marvel thing is at a slower speed now or or or you're done with that now yeah that's all done okay so then i'm assuming you're able to spend even more time with the family now are you are you a more comfortable ratio work family balance sure but quiet as it's kept the last three to five years once you're in a big ensemble where it's like working with mercury to get everybody in one frame let alone in the same city for a day out of six weeks um i would be at home more often now the the big missing integer here is Downey Esquire. Your wife.
Who really was such a part of the turnaround and the best mirror and partner for me. So we're out here.
She's up in her office. Nothing has slowed for the strong of spirit during this time because you can get a lot done remotely.
You just don't have those natural breaks where you get to drive somewhere or hang out in the hallway or stand by the cooler for a minute so i think for a certain type of personality uh this has been a relentless pride swallowing siege of a time but very productive i am a little bit more the i'd like to be of service all day long will they notice when I'm sneaking away to take that hour and 17 minute nap after i've had a handful of custom colored m&ms yeah and what is that custom color well if you go to dylan's candy on lane street oh yeah that's right he has like platinum status at Dylan's Candy. Is that still your not-off-drug sugar? So you just mainline an hour's worth of sugar and then you sleep? It's for the kids, baby.
It's for the kids. Last year, Danny came out and he was here with the kids for like a couple weeks before Susan got here.
And it was sugar time went every night until 11. He's like, I don't know, understand.
The kids aren't going to sleep. And I'm like, yeah, you're letting them eat Reese's peanut butter and M&Ms until 11.
So first of all, I have bad indulgent instincts, but I'm always working on them. So it's like I'm always on demerit status.
So I'm like Avis. I'm number two.
I try harder. I'm always trying to make up for winning.
What is the thing that Susan yells at you for giving the kids uh yeah it would be um too much pirate booty or pretzels after they already had a snack or xc wants seconds of the ice cream or whatever i'm just like yes yeah i eat ice cream almost every day go ahead right okay particularly lately and you know my here's my um here's my four-word answer. Double staten calm down about this just double up the stat baby we got this downy yes darling do people call you robert or bob or what do they call you robert thank you so robert sean you know why they call him that i have no idea what so no i didn't know people called you something for short like a nickname well when they earn it they get it okay so yeah so go ahead with the so anyway dj yeah so wait exactly um so to jason's point earlier about balance of family work and life and all this stuff i always ask other actors this because I fluctuate between that fire in my belly of wanting to prove myself as an actor and stretch my, you know, wings and...
You're not talking about your IBS right now, right? Oh, no, I was going to bring that up. That's actually where I'm going.
Fire in your belly, okay. I want to interrupt your question with a question.
How many times have you and hubby almost got divorced since you woke up this morning before noon uh twice and now man it's not around the fence around the fence we're just we're just making it 14 years we're in mediation it's so true we're you're at about 500 since quarantine since lockdown right i'll do do this. I said this to the guys.
I do this almost every morning.

I go like this. Hey, Scott, do you want to make out? So, yeah, like, do you still have the fire in your belly to be an actor, to, like, prove yourself, to that ambition that still drives you? Do you still have that after all of your success? I have an ambition to do things that I've thought I could do well, but haven't done before, kind of like your boy Bateman has been.
And I think like any of us, you don't want to ever give up a juicy role. But the other thing is I'm really good.
I'm like a first AD. I think through this script I've been sent with an offer and i realize you know what this really is 47 days in a tank right 22 days of nights right 15 hours a day 18 hours a day whatever well that i've got that i've got don't be crazy what are you how dare you insult the day, Sean.
Next question. No, no, no.
I love the way you can predict how many nights are in it, too. You can probably predict there's going to be a lot of base camps that are far from set, so I'm not going to have the trailer near me.
Okay, so this is what I'm saying is all of that. Yeah, here, let me answer the question.
The question is, you know, are you still feeling it? And my thing is I'm never feeling it until I get there.

When the first clapper goes, I wake up.

Once the first clapper goes, I'm there.

Sure, totally.

But what if it all went away?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Okay.

How about that?

Because I have a lot of hobbies and I like tweaking on a bunch of stuff.

Name one.

Why are you so angry, Sean? Jesus. I know.
No, I want to know what they are. More than hobbies, I have other interests and things that I felt drawn to.
So to be clear, A, any actor's a liar. If they say, how'd you feel if it all went away? I'd be fine because I'm Wilson.
Yeah. Nice.
Or actors who announce their retirement. I'd like to announce my retirement.
To make shoes. First of all, this would be worth it.
Guys. It'd be pretty funny if every year's show business just retired people.
Yeah. I'm sorry, this year, so-and-so and so-and-so have been retired.
And you're like, wait, what? It's like the Premier League. league you get relegated yeah uh what would be number one on that hobby list that you'd go to the first day your career went all the way i would dive even deeper into the martial arts and start uh opening up some studios and are you serious dojos rdjs dojos academies can i tell him Dojo is Japanese, right yes he's corrected me on this before oh so dojo is not what does dojo mean then did i fucking stutter that's for dojos for karate and and you're doing wait dojo is for not for kung fu which which is what Downey does, kung fu.

Yeah, anyway.

Forget hobbies.

I want all of us to name another interest.

So I'll name one, but we got to go around.

Okay.

Mine would be technology-based climate crisis solutions.

Now you.

Me next.

Ditto. More candy commercials.
Mine would be a private jet fund. Oh, nice.
Not true. Give us a real one.
Come on, brother. I know you deep moth.
Yeah, I think that. Sports, hockey, crap.
Definitely sports, hockey stuff. But I think that, I don't know, I'd probably spend more time...
I'd like to go back to school and study history. So would the rest of us like you to do that? American history or world history? World history, European history.
That's cool. I like that.
Yeah, that's what I spend most of my time reading. Give it to me, Hayes.
I play piano.

I've studied piano my whole life

and thought that I was going to be a composer and a conductor and all that.

And then, as they say in the business,

I took a left-hand turn,

and here I am talking to you fine.

You're in the piano business?

Yeah, selling them.

I don't mean playing them.

No, so I really enjoy that.

I went away from it for several years, and now I've kind of discovered it again.

So I started playing a lot lately.

Love it.

Jason, what's the thing that you would do?

I would – I'm incredibly interested in politics for all the obvious reasons lately.

And it's not going away. It's going larger and larger and larger so i i would probably go that direction hayes i have a request yes anything jason and will know um slower my dad i'm doing a documentary about my dad bob senior He is hell-bent on me recreating this song I sang for the Kiwani Solo Festival when I was 15.
Schubert's Fischerweise. Oh, yeah.
It sounds familiar. I probably couldn't recall it, though.
How does it go? What does that mean? Does that mean you sang a song in German? Yes. Oh, boy.
Here we go. What's up? He wants me to do it.
As part of the documentary? He's hijacked the documentary because he saw a cut of it and said, it's got no rhythm. What we need is some German singing underneath this sequence.
He's the best. He coming he's coming here next week anyway i brought a pair of lederhosen with me sure lederhosen literally and i don't know if you have a piano handy but the only way i could do this and record it and film it because i told daddy can hijack the documentary that chris smith is actually directing As long as we can film him hijacking the documentary we're doing about his life.
That's hilarious. Would you consider accompanying me? I don't have to consider it.
Of course I would do that. Thank you.
Oh, my God. That's my get.
I got my get from Hayes. Can you get me the music? Yes.
No. That's the only thing.
That's the caveat. Can you get me the music? What are you in, sing? I got my...
Last question. Will, you've done a fantastic job of driving this interview today.
Thank you. Did you come with any questions, host? No.
I don't think he's asked to... Drive it.
We're just supposed to be lobbing bombs from the sidelines. No, you're not.
But I thought that you guys kept jumping on and saying stuff so i was just letting you you know we love so i wanted you to feel that you were free i know i know i mean listen letting it breathe i have a bunch of hard hitting questions i want to ask robert here we come east side or west side of manhattan what's your favorite upper east upper east side must speaking of manhattan that does remind do you have fond memories of your brief stint on saturday night live i have memories i it was in a what how did that happen yeah so how did that process happen that was one of the questions um anthony michael hall was cast he said i want my boy to be on the show they're like like, yeah, that's not how it works. It's not? That's not going to happen.
Didn't you see Weird Science? It's Anthony Michael Hall here. I'm saying my boy Downey's on the show.
They're like, well, let's see. All right, but listen, he's great.
You're going to love him. He'll come audition, whatever.
But then we're going to need Belushi and Aykroyd's old office, and we want bunk beds in there with NFL sheets. Is that going to be a problem? They're like, let's do the audition first.
And by the way, I'll tell you a really fun part. We were doing the show, and it was the MTV Awards, and all I remember is at one point, we're in a drop-top DeSoto with a driver with white gloves on.
I'm sitting with Anthony Michael Hall in the back seat and David Lee Roth is shotgun. And we're going somewhere to do something stupid.
And I said, you know what? I'm right where I'm supposed to be. Where did you go and what did you do? Where it went gets sadder and sadder and more pathetic and starts opening up some old wounds.
So let's do it. Don't go too far, but we've talked about Leif Garrett.
We've talked about on camping trips and stuff with bikes on the top so they can ride into town and get messy. So you can tell a little bit about what happened.
Downey's probably got some nice Leif stories. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
We had good times with that man. Should get Leif on the show.
I love a bit of Leif Garrett. I'll tell you.
I do love him. Yep.
He would appreciate that do-rag you're rocking right now. Yeah, right.
It's got to come down a little lower for Leif. Yeah, bring it a little lower.
There it is. That's our boy.
Right. Just above the eyebrows.
Hey, guys. Do you ever open up your underwear drawer and just go like oh you know what that's the same underwear 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 weight, the perfect classicloved brand makes underwear for men now, too. Try Skims Cotton 3-inch Boxer Brief.

They're the perfect weight, 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 Skims Stretch Brief will change your mind.

So I got the Boxer Brief in 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. Do you own a business that's ready to thrive? It's time to let Intuit QuickBooks take things like unpaid invoices and tracking expenses off your plate to take things to the next level.
Intuit QuickBooks is an all-in-one business platform that can help with day-to-day tasks like invoicing and expenses. Manage and grow your business all in one place.
Intuit QuickBooks, your way to money. Money movement services are provided by Intuit Payments, Inc., licensed as a money transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Hey, guys, it's spring cleaning time. Let's start with your mop because that overgrown winter hair isn't doing you any favors.
At Sport Clips Haircuts, they've got pro stylists who know men's hair,

TVs playing sports 24-7, and a place built for guys to get a great cut without the hassle.

No appointments, no stress, just a fresh cut and a place made for you. So shake off the winter

scruff and step into spring looking fresh because they got you covered. Sport Clips, it's a game

changer. One serious question and then we can stop with the serious questions.
When you, because when I first started learning more about you and your dad and how he was a filmmaker and he was an actor and he brought you on and then you guys did drugs as a kid and blah, blah, blah. And then you guys went through all of this journey and you just revealed on this podcast that you're doing a documentary about him.
How did you come around to forgiving him? Like, how did you come back around to having a relationship with somebody who, like, I'm sure you went through the stages of blaming him and all that stuff, because I still blame my dad, and I don't know how to get over it. The doc is a hit piece, right, Donnie? You have not forgiven him.
You're going to drag him across across the coals it's a gotcha gorilla style never-ending interview and it's you in a frozen wink at the end oh dad you're gonna get this later and laugh um well first of all the forgiveness thing was uh if you have empathy, it's too hard to say in that my experience is your fault. But I'll tell you something.
I'll just tell you this story because this is what life is like, right? My dad and I decided we were going to follow George Hamilton around while he was doing a La Cage Aux Faux traveling company. Sure.
Seems like a plan. Okay.
And we started doing that. Then my buddy Ashley Hamilton was there.
And then dad started filming stuff of George and Ashley together. And my dad said, you know, the real story is these two fucking guys.
Right. Which I thought was father and son.

I go, you're right.

The father and son story is more interesting than the play.

He goes, yeah.

Matter of fact, fathers and sons throughout time,

this is a real, that's a subject.

And I was like, yeah.

And so for people who don't know,

the movie Birdcage with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams

is based on La Caja Fall.

Correcto.

So I say, yeah, like even. Fuck you, Sean.
Fuck you. We're done.
So I say to Senior, I go, yeah, like even you and me, that's a story. He goes, yeah, it's a story anyway.
So, but fathers and sons in general. And then he said, you know what the real interesting story is? And then he told me about this other father and son sean flynn who was errol flynn's son actually did all the stuff that his dad did in the movies he was in uh going into cambodia or crossing the laotian border he was a photojournalist a real adventurer and then he got lost and probably taken prisoner and probably executed.
And I was like, wow.

And so then he started sending me like bit reels on what he thought the documentary

that had nothing now to do with Ashley and George

about Sean and Errol, the Flins.

And I'm like, what is he driving?

And I said, so I thought maybe I could trick him

into me doing a documentary about him while he thinks we're doing a documentary about other fathers and sons. Uh-huh.
And then I got busy and went and did a couple movies. And then came back and Chris Smith, who's arguably the greatest documentary maker around right now, one of the top guys, he started getting into it.
And I said, I really like this. And he liked it even more when my dad started saying i'm gonna show this clown how to make a doc or whatever because he's like i love it because your dad only cares about the moment and just because the documentary is about him doesn't mean it isn't a project and so if we're going to do a project let's do something he goes documentary so.
Everyone was just sitting there talking. You should be walking around.
And so all of a sudden we're shooting stuff like people talking about my dad by a duck pond. And he's like, cut back three weeks later when the ducks are big.
And then like the screen says three weeks later and the ducks are big. Or we're sitting at a table and I'm like, you know, dad, I just really want to save when we're going through all that stuff, he goes, look at the cane.
The cane's got a lizard head going tight on the lizard head. And I'm just like, I fucking love him so much.
He is a, a true, or so my missus who I thought would be super skeptical because this is not cheap. She watches the first cut.
She goes, you know what? I understand your dad now. I can't wait.
I can't wait to pretty great i can't wait you're in it you're part of the documentary you're you're literally in it um so robert is there is there a camera shooting the camera that's shooting the documentary is there yeah oh that's great when do we get to see this well how close are you to dung well he's coming out next week he says we got about six or eight days of shooting left i was like well hold on a minute now what does chris smith say chris says look we need two different budgets the budget for the movie i'm doing about your dad and the budget for the movie your dad is doing based on the fact that he doesn't think my movie is any good even though it's a documentary that's it wait so let me ask you something robert has the has the shift happened yet where the son now becomes the parent um look i let's just agree that the meditation on one's closest family associates in this case the father-son relationship it is i even know. Part of the reason that I keep, this is so numinous, look it up to me is because I feel drawn to figuring out all this stuff that is entirely unconscious that I won't really figure out.
Like I said earlier, you know, it's like two weeks later, you realize what you would have said. This is going to be like years from now.
I'll probably have a smidge of an understanding about what it all meant. And I also know that he's leaving breadcrumbs.
I know it. I know that intuitively he is doing part of this to leave some sort of incomprehensible, perfect messaging to me, or at least that's what I'm expecting.
You know, on that, it's something I bet we've all been thinking about because we're all roughly the same age. How much, Robert, do you think, and thinking about your dad and looking like that is, that's the tree, I am the acorn.
How much do you think you're going to change between now and the end of your life?

Or do you think, and I throw this out to you guys too.

Do you think that there's like, we do a lot of changing, obviously when we're teenagers

and whatnot, but like once you become a certain age, I feel like the moves are not that big

anymore, or maybe they are.

What, how much, how much big, how many more big moves do you think you're going to be making i stopped i stopped growing at 17 years old yeah yeah yeah pretty much the same sense i would agree with that yeah you're not going to hear anything out of me yeah yeah i don't need to hear anything i was being kind taking it to both you guys robert yes dear yes please the growth it depends on what happens so all anytime i've grown it's been either the uh things were too painful to not change or i was confronted with something that if i didn't adapt i was going to perish so it could be illness it could be but i always leave open the possibility of some great new inspiration i totally believe that we're following this little golden thread of things where, I mean, how, how did the four of us wind up here today? How many things had to go right for this? I think about that stuff all the time. Yeah.
But, but do you have anything sort of, and I'm not asking you to, to, to say what it is, but is there something that you kind of have earmarked that this is, this is one thing

I'd like to change before I'm done? Or are you pretty content? You strike me as something,

it's okay to say that you're not going to be calling yourself perfect, but like I would,

I wouldn't be surprised if you said that you were content. You seem to have really put the work in.

I look, I mean, you know, 70% maintenance. I want to, I want to head in the direction that you have so expertly gone.
I want to write and direct, even though it just sounds like the worst, worst job in the world. But I think I have to, even if I just do it once.
Like Don Cheadle directed one of my favorite movies of the last five years, Miles Ahead. He plays Miles Davis, and Ewan McGgregor plays this guy who's trying to get an interview

and all miles wants to do is go get the coke that this guy owes him and it's but they learn a lot about each other and it's yeah i loved it he's he don chito was amazing okay and i was like don dude what did it feel like because you i mean the role and the thing goes hated it i was like why he goes terrible, the directing part? Just the short shooting schedule, the budget, the billion decisions. You know, because like on set, we're shooting like, you know, whatever, you know, Rhodey and Tony and like between takes, he's like playing cards and talking smack.
And it's just like it's the easiest job in the world. He's like rolling off a log.
He's such a natural.

And then that is nothing.

You're answering 30,000 questions a day

that people should be walking over to you

to tell you that they have an answer.

First of all, you've got,

obviously you've got the capacity for it.

You don't need me to tell you that.

And you are really an artist

and you do have a real understanding

and that has grown kind of to what, Jason,

you were saying.

Your perspective has changed in the last 10 years, certainly in the last 20 years, right? I mean, a lot. And the discipline that you have is, cannot be underestimated.
Sure. But certainly you have a lot of discipline, but also like your desire to to artistically express yourself at any given moment is constantly there.

It's right beneath the surface or it's on the surface or it's out there, right? I mean, that's something that you're always kind of doing. And I mean that as a compliment.
And I can't imagine that that would be such a difficult thing for you to do to write and direct. Do you think the writing would be more difficult than the directing or vice versa? The writing, I think anyone who's been even near a good writer, you see that they just get lifted up into this space where they're really just channeling the best connective ideas that are out there somewhere somehow, you know? Some people are really good nuts and bolts writers, i mean it's just the best dude my dad says this anybody can act few can direct nobody can write so if you're a writer by his estimation you are top of the food chain funny i actually know the guy who wrote that jesus help us.
That probably takes us to a commercial, I'll bet you. Yeah.
No, but to all that, and I go on and on almost every episode about— You do. You sure do.
Anyway, thanks, Robert. Hold on.
Give my man his tears. I go on and on about how brilliant Jason Bateman is.
Wait, when? And Ozark. Oh.
I'm so far up his ass, I'm going to leave Scotty for him. Let him finish, guys.
But I always ask you, Jason, too. I always think about this.
I guess I haven't asked, but we've been talking to Robert about this. I don't know how you can divide your brain into conceiving the direction of a scene and then shelving that and going in front of the camera and acting.
It just seems like so much overload on the brain.

I don't know how you do it.

And you do it so brilliantly.

Honest, quick answer is that you do all the directing.

And then when it's time to act, you just do the acting.

So like between.

Hang on.

I got to write this down.

So you just direct and then you act.

Yeah.

Okay.

Between action and cut.

Number two is act.

Is that right? Yeah.

Between action and cut, it's the acting. Everything else is the acting everything else is the directing Sean what do you like that I do take your time I like you in hats more than your hair thanks man I'll take it okay guys I always tell Will he's the funniest person alive no no no no I'll tell you this he'll second that.
I'll tell you this. He's the person on earth

that I have ever met

who enjoys being himself the most.

And it's infectious.

Yeah, nobody...

But I found that

Will laughs the hardest

at nobody but himself.

That's self-love.

We're all looking for it.

It's true.

I actually,

I don't think I've ever met a person that doesn't love every second they spend with Will Arnett. Yeah.
That is true. It's true.
Come on. Maybe they know how close we are, so they don't talk to me how much they hate you.
Yeah. I see people coming up to me on the street going, I just don't like them.
I don't get it. I'm not a fan.
Yeah. Not for me.
Not for me. I don't get it.
This is a great Hollywood like, hey, what do you think of the movie? Nobody wants to have an opinion in case they're wrong or they'll lose their job over it. So it's like, what do you think of the thing? Wasn't for me.
I mean, I don't get it, but I definitely see how people. So you didn't like it.
How great was it having Down here today? My gosh. You believe it? What a luck out.
you thank you thank you thank you please say hi to susan i will thank you most of all you're my new friend i know these other guys pretty well robert uh i adore you i truly do i i am a been a huge fan of yours in business and now i'm a huge fan of yours in life for real. And I just love you.
Likewise. Thank you.
And I also love your business. Oh, God.
Fuck, I said it wrong. Now get in the car.
Thank you for coming and doing this. That was a great episode, right? Having Downey.
Incredible. Love him.
Thank you. No, we got to pretend you're not here.
How great was that, right? He was amazing. I've been a fan for so long.
Nice going. You know what? We can't pretend that Downey's not here.
This is the first time we're ever doing the goodbye with the guest in the house. That's right.
Let me just be one of the people saying how great it was. Witnessing his own funeral.
How great was it having Downey today? It was great. Oh, my God.
He nailed it. Well, he's still here.
So I guess he's taking it. I mean, it's all downhill from here.
Oh, my God, the ratings. Look at the spike.

Do you think so?

I can't wait.

I'm making a documentary about him making a documentary about his dad who's making a documentary about his own life.

And Jason, I wanted to ask you, will you do wardrobe on it?

Redhead bands for everybody.

That was so fun.

I just want to say, because I want to be the first to say bye.

Bye.

Smart. Less.
Smart. Less.
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.