Jerry O’Connell: Let It Loose
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Where I can let it loose, man. And you're how old at this point? I'm 11 years old, man. Hey, everybody. Welcome to Literally. Jerry O'Connell is here. Or as I like to say, Kush from Jerry Maguire. People forget about Jerry O'Connell. Like some of the disparate stuff he's been in. Jerry's got season 14. Season 14 of The Talk. New episodes air weekdays at 2 p.m. on CBS.

in Paramount Plus. And he's also notoriously just one of the great dudes. So let's get cracking with Jerry.

Save the gold. This is gold. This is, I don't know if it's gold. It's gold. By the way, speaking of gold, that watch, what do you got going on? Oh, it's a Timex. It was $40. That's amazing though. That's so sick. I know. A $40 Timex. I know. You know what it is? I took it to my, I took my watch, my other watch to my watch guy and he went no charge. He changed the battery. And I was like, dude, you gotta charge me something. You could have charged me a hundred dollars. I would have paid it.

And he was like, no, there's no charge. And I was like, oh God, I got to buy a watch now. So he had this and I was like, oh, let me get that. And I really like it. I wear it all the time. No, it's really good. It's so good. I know, I know, I know. I mean, I brought in the bad boy today. Yeah, I love it. I brought in the Paul. I love it. Paulie Newman, baby. Do we have to sync up here? We're good. So this is all in. I love it. My man Jerry's wearing a Timex. Yeah, gold.

It's not real gold. It's like you and I, but we take a licking, we keep on ticking. Yeah, it's a, no, it is a digital watch. I was telling you I had another watch that I got a battery changed in and they, you know, wristwatches are like, it's just not happening anymore. You know, I think everybody has clocks on their phones and they don't really need them. And so anytime I have anything that's wristwatch related, I try and give this guy in my neighborhood money, you know, right there.

And I brought my watch in and he changed the battery and he told me no charge. And I was like, dude, you got to charge people. You can't do this. There's no way to run a business. I know. And he was like, no, it's okay. I didn't really do anything. And I was like, oh gosh. So I had to look at all his watches and I saw this digital gold Timex. I'll, I'll throw it up on your Instagram. It's really good, man. It's really good. I've gotten into the watch game a little bit recently. It's, it's a,

It's, it's, it's cause you know, guys, we have, you know, our, our girls is, is, is Rebecca like a shopper? So Rebecca is my wife. Um, my wife, uh, my wife, um, pretty woman. My wife is a, um, is a shopper. My wife, I took her as a shopper. My wife shops a little obsessively. It's a, uh,

It's funny. And talking to her about it, you know, we all have our obsessions. Yes, we do. Everyone's compulsive about something. Yeah. And my wife is compulsive about shopping. And now it has taken the form of boxes coming to the house and packages. Of course. And I know I'm in trouble if a package needs to be signed for, if it can't just be left at the front door.

And so, you know, it is interesting. My wife makes, earns a living. My wife earns more money than me. So I'm really not in a position to say, you know, you have to stop this. But I do say, hey, is everything okay? There's a lot of boxes that I'm signing for. Do we need to talk about something? Right, yeah. How many kids do you have? We have two kids. We've a set of twin girls. They're 14. Oh my gosh. They're right in it. It's really crazy. What are they into?

You know, um... They're big Taylor Swifties, for sure. Gotta be. Rob, I don't want to start any fights here. They are not Swifties. Wait a minute. Yes. My children are not Swifties. How can that possibly even be? You know, there are some kids out there I know because my daughters and their friends are not Swifties. They all went to the SZA concert the other night. Okay. Um, they're...

SZA fans, they like Frank Ocean, they like Childish Gambino. Oh, yeah. Who doesn't? You know, I don't want to offend any fan groups. I especially don't want any, I are coming your way. I know your podcast is very popular, but my children have no interest in Swifties at all. I said when, you know, it was an event when Taylor came to town and all that stuff. And I said, you know, should I be saving up for tickets? And they went, we're not interested. We don't want to go.

We're not into that. I don't know if it's because they're 14 and a little mature. No, they're 14 and they're iconoclasts. I get already, they're like, you know, that's for everybody else. That's what you want. I mean, when you're 14 and when something's, things can be too popular. Yeah, maybe it's that. You know, I do find if I see any teenage girl these days walking around,

anywhere, I immediately think it's my children. They have this look now where they let their hair air dry. They wear baggy pants, very loose fitted jeans and crop tops. And they wear chunky sneakers, big chunky sneakers or Adidas Sambas. That's the look.

And they don't wear belts, but they will use a shoelace as a belt. I'm not kidding. This is what the kids are doing now. I'm trying to keep you up to date here. A shoelace? I swear to you. Someone give me, has anyone seen a shoelace as a belt? Oh, yeah. There's a lot of hands going up in the booth. That's what they do. It's insane. I've offered to buy my, it's not like I'm not allowing them to use belts. I've, I offered to buy them belts. When we go out and they buy jeans, I say they're very loose fitted shoes.

Would you like a belt to go with that? And they go, dad, no one wears belts. I'll just borrow a shoelace. Everyone knows that. Okay. So that's what they do. Okay. Do you have the balls to, to, to take that trend on your show? I do not. Oh, you should though.

That's a whole segment. Look, I know how hard-fought segments are to come by. Look at you. You should be at a podium telling us what to do. You're absolutely right. I mean... Somebody's been doing this a minute, everybody. Come on. You're absolutely right. What we just did...

is that's what I watch the talk for. Right, right, right. That's it. Jerry O'Connell, this gorgeous man, comes out with a shoelace belt. Yeah. Dude, I want to unpack that. You know what? It's going to be a segment tomorrow. But I will say, you know, not to make everything serious here, my children are also, and you're very open about everything, my children are also at the age where they're starting to go to parties and drink a little bit, Rob. Sure. And it's really...

it's funny that's a new chapter for my wife and I and um it's funny just this weekend I dropped them off at a party and I was like beforehand I have to say like hey guys you know I can't tell you what to do and what not to do you know but like try not to get like wasted and I see a lot of their friends getting really wasted my one of my kids got really wasted once and I was like

And guys, you know, it runs in the family and we all have issues and, you know, just know you're doing it because you don't feel comfortable in a situation. Try to be who you are and know it's going to be nervous walking into any situation. If you see new people, try to introduce yourselves. Don't use alcohol as a crutch. I realized like, you know, because we all remember when we were young.

And we felt uncomfortable as everyone does. And then you had a drink and you were like, oh, this is who I am. Oh, yeah, for sure. This is, oh my gosh, this is the real me. This is the real me. I wasn't, I can't believe I never did this before. I tapped into who I am finally. Hey, everybody, I'm here. I'm me. And I try to explain that to my teenage daughters as much as possible because, you know, my kids are,

You know, there are no saints, but they have a couple of friends who just hit it hard a lot, you know? And I try to explain like, hey guys, this is like straight up being uncomfortable in situations. I know exactly this feeling. And if you can figure out how to get through that uncomfortable feeling without a substance, by the way, it ain't just alcohol these days. So funny. I'm going to sound like a real geezer now, but because

marijuana is now legal, which is still new to an old man like me. I still have to remind myself that the reason the traffic is so slow is that marijuana is legal. But by the way, you know, I don't want to like be a nerd with anybody. I don't smoke. Sorry, everybody. But like I have like such a keen smell. I can smell it. If I'm doing 70 on the highway, I can smell the cars that it's coming from on the highway. Like I said, every car.

I'm like, every car is like a Cheech and Chong sequel. But, you know, there's a lot of that with the kids because it's legal. So they get it in gummies and all that stuff. And I can just, I can't tell them what to do. I can't stop them from going to parties, but I can tell them about my insecurities when I was their age. That's all I can do. Yeah. The, the,

kids figuring out their relationship. I talk about a lot on the show. Yeah. Their relationship with drugs and alcohol is such a big, big, big, big part. And it's such a big part of parenting. And, you know, it isn't one size fits all. Everybody's different. Every kid is different. You know, some are just naturally going to not have an issue. Others are born to have an issue. You know, and it's so great that we live in this time because in my time, you know,

My parents, you know, I love you guys if you're listening, but they partied pretty hard. And when I started partying,

no one, no parent pulled me aside and said like, you know, I mean, it would have been like, hey, what are you doing? Like, stop that. Cut that out. You know, it was, I'm trying to be insightful. You know what I'm saying? As a parent without having any guidance whatsoever. Yeah. And it's also like you said, the peer group, you know, I mean, I'll never forget

rolling into Malibu from Dayton, Ohio as a teenager in the eighth grade, cool girl birthday party. And her big birthday gift was like two grams of Coke. And I was like, what the living hell is going on here? Yeah, that's crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy. Is it? I mean, is it? I guess it's different than Ohio. I mean, I think it's the same. I think these are problems that everybody runs into, though. I don't think it's just...

Oh, for sure. I think teenagers are teenagers anywhere you go, you know. But it's all a function of what you can get your hands on. Believe me, if people could have gotten their hands on, you know, Mick Fleetwood's bag of Coke in Ohio, they would have. By the way, no disrespect. Mick Fleetwood just got taken down on this podcast for no good reason at all just now. He has nothing to do with anything. But you know what I mean. But in Ohio, it was, what are you going to get, Johnny Bench's?

You know, Bindle. Johnny Bench's Bindle. So that's a novel right there. I mean, that's a series of books. That's like Daisy, Daisy's whatever in the six. Yeah. Daisy Jones in the six. I like it. Yeah.

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Tell me about what's going on over at The Talk. So I work on a talk show on CBS called The Talk. It is a panel of five of us, and it's a daily show, and I love it. It's funny. I came into this business as an actor, as a young actor, as a very young actor. I was in Stand By Me. Oh, yes. And I never thought I would be doing this, and here I am.

You know, it really happened. What was the genesis of it? Kelly Ripa. I love Kelly. I was doing a play in New York, a Broadway play. Yeah, drop DC on it. You got to do it. It was just a play. It was a Broadway play. They'll never take it away from you. I was doing a Broadway show, and this was back when Regis, God rest his soul, was her co-host. And Regis had to take a little time off.

And they called me to co-host. I mean, I'll tell you the long sort of... By the way, you're kind of describing what to me would be kind of a dream scenario. You do...

the, the, whatever the, what's the name of the show now? Cause Kelly and Rip, whatever they've changed it a thousand times now. It's a Kelly markets or husband. Yeah. Okay. So you do that show in the morning and then you do your play at night. Right. That's the, that would be the dream career actually. Yeah, it really would be. Um, cause you know, you make your money and have fun and talk politics and riff and satisfy your curiosity and,

And then, and make your money and then you go and lose your money, but you have your artistic thing and Broadway. I'm going to actually give you my drunk-a-log here. This is a good story. I was booked on as the third guest on Kelly and Regis. This is 12, 13, 12 years ago.

and they bumped me. Now, for those at home who don't know what bumping means, it means you're at the end of the show, the last segment, and I was there to talk about this Broadway show. I said it was Broadway, right? Yeah, was it on Broadway? It was on Broadway. It was a Broadway show. And...

They ran out of time because, I don't know, Frank Drescher went over, like whoever was the first guest. Jim Belushi went over. Yeah, those are perfect names for that time. What time is this? 19? Yeah, it was like 90. It was somebody... 90. You know, those are great. You can't do better than Belushi or Drescher. No, it was somebody famous. It was like Will... It was somebody famous and they just went over. No, it's too early for Will. Too early for Will. And, um...

I got bumped. And when you get bumped, it means you woke up early, you brushed your hair, you put on makeup, you waited in the room, you chit-chatted for an hour, and then someone came to see you probably along the last 30 seconds of the show and said, I'm so sorry, we're not going to get to you today. We ran out of time. We have to do a... Cooking segment. We have to do a kitty litter segment. It's a product placement thing. We have to. It's a must hit. It's a must hit.

And, um, I was livid. I was really angry. I got back on the subway and I was like, I'm allowed to curse here? Yeah. I was like, fuck this shit. Yeah. Fucking shit. And I got on the train and, uh, I was like, I'll never do that show again. Fuck those people. I'm on, I was doing a Broadway. Yeah. I told you Broadway. Um,

And I left. And I was on Broadway and I was drinking very heavily in these days. And then I went out one night after our show and I was drunk. And my phone rang and it was the booker of Kelly and Regis. Still the booker there. I'm sure you've met her. Kelly Burkhardt. She's got... Yeah, she's been there forever. Yeah, she talks sort of like this a little bit. She talks like the person who ran the...

The men's warehouse. I was going to say... You're going to like... She talks like... You're going to like the way you look when you come and do this show. No, I was going to say Catherine of Romancing the Stone. Catherine Turner. Kathleen Turner. Kathleen Turner. Yeah. And she called me up and it was around 1 a.m. and she went...

NPH, Neil Patrick Harris missed his flight. I need you to come in tomorrow. And I went like in the back of like in my head, I was like, no, man, fuck you people. I told you I'm done with you. Like I didn't say that. I was like, it's 1 a.m. I'm drunk. Like, no. And she was like, please, this is a favor. I'm so sorry about last week. It won't happen again. I promise it won't happen again.

And so I was like, oh man. So like, you know, I still went out and drank all night. And then the next day got up a little late, you know, the show starts at nine. It's live. It's called live with Kelly and Mark or Kelly and Regis at the time. And I got on the subway and I went up there and I like, like to arrive just before nine. Cause I didn't want to like deal. I was also hung over. I was still probably still drunk. I didn't want to deal with everybody. And, um,

Everyone was like really like in my business putting makeup on me and putting mics on me and I was like guys I have an hour and i'm probably getting bumped for fran and um Kelly came out kelly rippa and grabbed my arm and we're walking and she's like wow you You smell like you've been partying and I was like kelly. I was out late like you called me one What do you want? And she said, okay. Well, we'll just have fun out there and uh, she was like, you know what we're talking about and I was like No, not not really. I have some things and she went. All right, we'll just wing it

And then I was standing with her and they said, live with Kelly and Regis. Filling in for Regis today is Jerry. And I went, oh, I'm hosting the show? And she went, yeah, you're hosting. And then we walked out. And my first time doing it, I was...

Not sober. Unreal. And I was, I had a slight panic attack. Slight? Like, you know how like when you wake up in the morning after a night of drinking and your heart is racing and that fear, it's the fear. That's the craziest thing about partying is when you wake up, the fear the next morning. So the fear hit me on television.

But I took some breaths and I was like, now's not the time to have a panic attack. And she's the best. So Kelly started talking and then I fell into a rhythm and said a couple of funny things. And at the time I had two very young children and I just told stories about them pooping themselves and, you know, being a dad of babies and that stuff. And Kelly said to me, hey, listen, you're really good at this. I'm going to ask you to come back a bunch of times. You're really good. I really enjoy this with you.

And I was like, oh, I'm sure I said something like, oh, I'm in a play. In Broadway. Broadway. And Kelly said to me, looked me dead in the eye and grabbed me. Kelly's an actress, young actress, young actor, just like you, young actor, just like me, young actor. Kelly grabbed me and went, hey, man, I'm telling you, this is a good gig. Don't, like, if you're asked to come back, come back. You're good at this and you should do it. And that really, it, yeah.

it, it, uh, it motivated me. So I did it. I'm going to say over a hundred times. I knew you, I knew you had done it. I wasn't aware it was that much. Now listen, this is where, this is where I was never interested in co-hosting. I was an actor. And by the way, Rob, you and I come from a time where you either did movies or TV, let alone hosting and acting. That was not even a possibility. Uh,

Rob, there was a time when you and I were coming up where we wouldn't do talk shows because you wanted to seem mysterious. You know what I'm talking about. Oh, yeah, totally. Oh, God, yes. And, you know, here I am in Kangaroo Jack telling, you know, my publicist, I don't know if I can do Leno. Like, I mean, I want to, don't I have like, what if I want to play a serial killer? I'm going to go there and tell a funny story about the kangaroo. Like, do I have to do it? Is the studio making me do it?

So, anyway, I did it a bunch of times. Kelly was looking for a new host. And listen, Rob, you're not the only one in the room with a manager. I have a manager too, okay? Actually, I saw your famous manager on the phone there. But I have a big-time manager. And my big-time manager said to me when one of her co-hosts stopped working with her, he said, I got to tell you, they're going to ask you to co-host a bunch.

This is your job to lose at this point. That's what he said to me. And I had never been the front runner for anything in my career. Rob, I'm, you know, not to get too inside baseball, but when you're an actor...

You either audition or you don't audition. It's called offer only. But I've always been an auditioner and I've always been someone who, all right, I guess we'll see him. And then they see me. And I mean, I'm not saying this to be boastful, but I'm very good at auditioning. It's something that I don't get nervous auditioning. I did get very nervous for an early screen test I did once. And I swore I would never get nervous in an audition again. I would just...

I would just almost like beta block that out of my system. Yep. That makes sense. And, um, so I try to be loose and try to like, I auditioned for a lot of commercials in my time. I don't know if you ever did commercials, but when you audition for commercials, uh, this is when commercials in their heyday, you would go on quite possibly 20 commercial auditions a week. And if you booked two a year, you were making bank huge money. And so, um,

I got to a point where I didn't care about commercials and I knew how to quickly engage and get a job. Like I've become very good at job interviews. You're a closer. It's not even a closer. I wouldn't like go so Glengarry on it. I just, uh, I know what they were looking for and I could give it to them in a room and I'm easy. You know, that said, I had never been the front runner for a job. And, um, you know, I spent a lot of months, uh,

co-hosting with her. And I didn't get that job. Ryan Seacrest got that job. And he's very good, very talented, very professional. The ratings were great. It was obviously the correct choice. I would have been a mistake. But after that, I was like, now I have to succeed in date time. It's so funny how it's like... It's almost like... It's almost like, I don't know, like dating someone, like asking someone out and then...

You're right at the threshold. And then they say no, and then you're like, I'll do anything to be with you. Oh, please. I love you. It's like, I'll do anything. Oh, God, just be with me, please. I'll even work at CBS Radford. I mean, it's, no, I love it. But it's, then daytime became sort of something I became, I studied and I wanted to work in.

And I'm so sorry this story is taking so long. Cut me off. But during the pandemic, they had a change of cast at the talk. Yep. And they asked me to come in temporarily. And I came in temporarily. And soon after, they asked me to come in permanently.

And I really enjoy it. I really have a fun time doing it. It's really fun. It's really interesting. You and I are, I mean, we're not the same. I'll just say it for the sake of my ego. We're the same. Rob, you and I are the same, man. We're the same. We're very much the same in many ways. But when you're an actor, when you're a gig actor, you have no idea where your next job is next week. I mean, look, here's Rob Lowe here. His manager calls him and he's busy.

picking up his phone, he's like, well, what is it? Is it a job like that never leaves you? It never leaves you, Rob. No, never, never leaves. I mean, it doesn't matter. Henry Fonda thought he'd never work again to the day he died. It never leaves you. So the fact that I've had a job for three years at the same place every day, I've been on a few series where I've had that, but in this day and age, and I say in this day and age, because when I came to Los Angeles as an actor, I

series had 25 episodes a season. They all shot either at Warner Brothers or at Radford or within a three block radius. Yeah, those days are over. Those days are over. Now everything shoots out of state, out of country, out of continent. And I'm very grateful to work a few exits away from where my children who are beginning to drink go to school. And I go to work every day. I have a lot of fun. And it is fun to talk about

topical stuff, you know what I mean? Like what happens that day, you get to go and say a couple of things about it. No, it's for, it for sure. It's, it's, um, in the few times that I've done that, it's been really, really, really fun. And you just, and I'm going to tell you something, uh, crazy though, being that, um,

We're all very honest here. I do feel like I failed as an actor a little bit. Isn't that crazy? You still have plenty of time. I know, but like, you know, I've had a few television shows...

that have been canceled early and that like i'm not going to talk about them because it's so funny when i hear other actors talk about well you're going to talk about one of them because it's on my notes please i've tried to like not talk about them circled you know because i do feel like i do feel like it is an obsession with self when i hear actors talk about a show that got canceled years ago and how it still bothers them because no one knows what they're talking about

And so, I mean, I will answer any questions that you have, but it is funny. It, um, like doing the talk and I do have a fun time doing it. It's so funny. Maybe it's just a, uh, like a discontentment I always have with myself. Like I'm never happy. I mean, I swear this is the happiest I get. Here's what you go. Hey, Jerry. So I got a movie for you. You get to play, uh,

A Czechoslovakian double amputee who's in the process of transitioning. Shooting in Moldova, right? And it's shooting in... Moldova? Yeah, it's shooting in Bratislava. Let's go. I'll do it. It's 16 days. I don't need to read the script. The whole movie is in 16 days, and you're getting Schedule F. Congratulations. You're back in the movie business. I mean, yeah, I know, and that's what you're saying, but I mean...

I'm just talking one way. It's never going to be released. I'm talking one actor to another. It's just, you know, it's like, I'm, I'm, I'm what, what I'm trying to do is connect with you through the insecurities that never leave. You know what I'm saying? It's like funny. It's really, I got another offer for you. It's coming in. Hey, this is, it's good. It's the Marvel universe though. So it's, um, you're going to be shooting for 37 weeks, um, in Atlanta, starting in the summer, of course. Yeah.

You'll be in a full rubber suit. They're only paying you $75,000. And by the way, if you ask for more money, they're just going to put somebody else in the rubber suit. Congratulations. You're back in the movie business. I'll do it. I'll do it. I'll do it. It is pretty interesting. It is interesting. So I am very grateful and I love the talk. Okay. Well, here we are. Camp Wilder. Oh, boy. Jay Moore. Yeah. And Hilary Swank. Correct. Correct.

Yes. Hilary Swank has two Academy Awards. Yes. Also a former member of the Lowe family. Yes, yes, that is correct. Actually, that's the first time I met your brother. That's right. He was dating my co-star, Hilary Swank. It was a TV show. It was called TGIF. It was a comedy block that they had on ABC on Friday nights, TGIF. Nothing says comedy like TGIF. Right. Thank goodness it's Friday. Not thank God it's Friday. Thank goodness it's Friday. Yes. And...

It lasted, I think, 16 episodes and it got axed pretty quickly. That was on me. I take full responsibility for that one. It lasted two seasons if it were a Netflix hit. 16 episodes. That's two seasons, bro. Yeah, it is different. What Rob is referring to is that we used to work basically 10 months a year on a television show and that is no longer the case. It's now two to three months a year. So Hillary Swank... Right. I'm still very friendly with her. She's the best. So I remember...

vividly this moment in her career. And it's a great, it's such a great, it's why we at the end of the day, love what we do and why this business for all of its problems. And there are so many of them, but why it's still kind of magic. I remember she could not get arrested after this fiasco. It's my bad. It was my bad. And, and I remember, um,

She read, she read, she had this pilot she wanted to do. Oh boy. Big, big, big, big, big, big, big pilot. We were all like on tenterhooks hoping Hillary would get this pilot at CBS. Sure. And she did, it was being heard. What's one other person? I can't remember who it was. Are you, are you running lines with her? Is your, is your brother running lines with her? Chad's running lines. I'm sure he's doing the whole thing, propping her up, doing the whole thing. And she doesn't get it. And the feedback,

From Les Moonves, who was then the king of everything. Boy. Was Hilary Swank. She can't do drama. She's just too multi-camera. Wow. She won two Academy Awards. Yeah. Immediately after that. It is pretty funny. It is pretty funny. It's, yeah, you hear a lot of that early on, especially with failure. Yeah. But you know what's funny? I'm a man of a particular age now, and failure's...

I'd say 90, 99% of it, man. You know, I mean, it's just, it's coming. And, um, I don't know when I became okay with failure. I guess it comes with age. I don't know what happened. You know, um, I, I am not okay. Wow. Maybe you're more competitive than I am. Oh, bro. Oh, bro. Yeah. So,

So competitive. Don't you think there's nothing more you don't you do the best that you possibly can do? And then if it fails and that's well, that's a different thing. That's success. That is success. It's all about what your definition of failure is. Right. So we're going to do things that don't work. They're going to be jobs that we don't get. Yeah, there's going to be all that stuff. But that's not failure.

for me, as long as I try my best, I'm curious, I'm doing what I want to do with good intentions, and then you get out of the results. You can't be in the results business.

All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I'll never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel.

You know, it's really funny. When I was in Stand By Me, you know, this is another big bummer for me as well.

I grew up in New York City, in Manhattan. Well, you went to the performing arts school, right? No, I went to professional children's school. I auditioned for the performing arts school. Another failure. Oh, there are different things? Yes. Oh, whoa, whoa. This is too good. Performing arts school is LaGuardia. It's the public performing arts school, which I auditioned for, and I did not get in. I mean, this is like- What was your audition?

I don't remember. Oh, it was like, you know, music man, Indiana, Gary, and they did give me a cold script and I, it was for a Southerner. And I remember I didn't do an accent. I just thought it was too cheesy. And looking back, I should have done an accent. Anyway, that was, that's a failure. That was a failure. Yeah. Thank you. Um, but it's good. Cause I grew from it. Um, I still don't think about it every day. I mean, it's not like I'm mentioning it on a podcast 40 years later. Um,

You can't watch a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial now without weeping. Right. You know, what's funny is maybe a big issue of mine is so I was I had done my father worked in advertising. I had done some background work in a commercial that he worked on. But I took classes every weekend at a place called HB Studios in New York, which is a fine acting studio. It's still there.

Herbert Berghoff, Uta Hagen, acting studios. It's really, it's great. It's renowned. And I did a weekend, like, teen class there. And then I went to an open call for Stand By Me. Wow, an open call. And I got called back. Wow. And I got called back. And I got called back. And then I got flown out to Los Angeles to screen test. And I got it. Wow.

You know, I didn't just get it. I, uh, there was an actor who lived on my block. You know, New York is a very, I grew up in the West village. It's very artistic Chelsea. Yeah.

So there was a guy who was an actor named Blake Brocksmith who lived on my block. He was in the Flamingo Kid. Remember that Gary Marshall movie? Of course I do. Difficult to find. You can't find it streaming. Really? I've looked for it. Yeah. Really interesting. You can only buy it on DVD. Wayne Gretzky's wife. Yes. On the diving board. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Janet. Janet Jones. Janet Jones and Matt Dillon. Yep. Sweet Ginger Brown. Remember he gets gin at the end of it. Sweet Ginger Brown. But.

But, uh, he was an actor in that. And my mother said, Hey, he's going to screen test. Will you work with him for a couple of weeks on this script? Like I had no one in my family who was in entertainment. My mom was a teacher and he really worked with me for two weeks on the two or three scenes sides. They called them. And, uh,

He gave me tips like, hey, when you fight with Corey Feldman's character in the audition, don't talk to him until you have the fight scene. And then even if he tries to talk to you in the hallway, then explode on him when you see him, you know. And, you know, I'm telling you, that'll get you the part if you just unleash on him. And I got the role. Amazing. I go out to Oregon. Yeah. Rob Reiner, River Phoenix. Yeah.

Corey Feldman, Will Wheaton, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Shamasco. Remember Casey? Casey Shamasco. I'm still good friends with him. Love him. And we do the movie. And Rob, I got to tell you, I was a child who was, they called me hyperactive. That was the term then. Now I guess it's ADHD. They don't say hyperactive anymore.

And every school, every class I was in, there were conversations that I should be on Ritalin. There were conversations he doesn't sit on. Like, he speaks out of turn. He blurts things out. He's never quiet. He's unable to focus. I mean, so many conversations with my mom leaving principal's offices, like with her saying, can you just fucking sit on your hands? Can you shut up?

Can you be quiet, please? Can you not blurt things out? I mean, what's going on? And I got to set and I mean, we were probably shooting the first day and it was the scene where we're throwing stones in the can. I don't know if you recall. We're like goofing around in the junkyard and I ad-libbed. We were rolling and we're four boys and I was goofing around and I got into it and I ad-libbed something.

And everyone was laughing. I got to laugh, you know? I was familiar with that. And then Rob Reiner went, cut, cut, cut. And I was like, oh, shit, here it comes, you know? Here comes the principal. Here it comes. Like, sit on your hands. Jerry, don't do that. Say the lines, all that stuff. And I was like, here it comes. And Rob Reiner came over and went, Jerry! Big booming, you know, big booming voice, Rob Reiner. And I was like, yeah, Rob? And he went, more of that. I love that. Keep going.

Keep going. Take it further. And I got to tell you, Rob, a light bulb went off of me and I went, this is my spot. This is me. I need to be on a set. I need to be on a set. I can't be in a classroom. I can't be in a lesson. I can't be at a piano class. I need to be on a set.

Where I can let it loose How old at this point? I'm 11 years old, man Wow, 11 years old And I gotta tell you, the light bulb went off So anyway, we do the movie Rob, it's the best summer of my life It is the best summer of my life There's soda And I have people telling me to go crazy It's hilarious I have adults coming up to me Adults who are big time sitcom stars Meathead All in the family Yes Saying to me

That was so funny what you did. Do that again. More like this. Why don't you try this? Say this line. And it was my spot. It was my spot immediately. No parents who were in the business. I mean, I guess a weekend class, but just it's where my energy needed to be and where I felt most comfortable. And it was funny. I came back home for the summer. Both my parents worked. So my grandparents came with me and, um,

My father, who was in advertising and I think probably had aspirations to be in the business or whatever everybody does, you know, everyone's got a script or something. I remember I came home and I was telling him stories that they let us ride on the crane and let us

I did a stunt and they gave me a stuntman patch and it was so great. And it starts off, you do a master dad. And then they come in for closeups and, um, you know, you play things broadly in the master, but then when they come in for closeups, you want to take it down a notch. I was explaining to him everything I'd learned, everything I loved. And my father said, um, hey, listen, don't, uh, you're going to go back to school. I'm in public school in New York city at this time. He's like, don't go around telling people you're in a movie and everything. This is,

This movie's never coming out. It's never getting released. No one will ever see it. You had a great experience and it's over. And like, enjoy the experience of that. And, you know, don't talk about the movie all the time. It's never going to see the light of day. And I remember being so bummed out. Like, I really thought people were going to go see this movie. I really felt... Listen, it felt good when we were doing it. I mean...

I thought we had something, Dad. My father was like, it's just not going to happen. Just let it go. And so I spent a year trying to get it out of my head. A year later, a year later, it came out a year later. I saw the matinee with my grandparents who came to the shooting with me in an empty movie theater on Madison Avenue. And it was the first show. It was at noon. And I remember the only person in the theater was the young lady who sold us our tickets. Wow.

And we sat there and the movie was good. You know, I mean, what do I know? But I'm 12 at the time. My grandparents were talking the whole time like, oh, that's where they had lobster for lunch that day. I remember that day. Oh, that was the day they had ribs. Remember the barbecue they had for lunch? That was a great day. But the lady stopped me when we were walking out. It was an empty theater. And she went, were you in that movie? And my grandfather said, yeah, we were there for the shooting. They shot it in Eugene. It was great. They served ribs.

And she said, come here, come with me, family. And it was my grandparents and I. And she went to the ticket office and gave my grandfather the matinee money back. It was probably like, we're talking like 15 bucks tops. And she was like, movie stars don't have to pay. Come on, man, you don't have to pay for that. And she stopped me and she went, hey, that was a really good movie. And I went, oh, thank you. And she went, no, I'm telling you, like, I see all the movies that come here. That was a good one. That one's going to last.

And that was the first glimmer of hope. I was like, oh, maybe people will see this movie. Like, I mean, first of all, it was in the theater. So my father was wrong there. It made it to the theater. But her saying, hey, that was, I see all the movies that come here. And that was one of the good ones. It was really funny. But, you know, what's funny is I talk about what a wonderful experience it was. It was actually a real, oh, man, this is, I hate to get, um.

I hate to bum everybody out, but afterwards, I didn't really work, you know? I mean, I didn't... Again, my parents weren't... Well, you weren't in L.A., right? I wasn't in L.A. You're an 11-year-old kid. My parents didn't know, you know? Yeah. And I didn't really work after that. And I got to say, I couldn't believe...

everybody just moves on after that. I thought they were all going to be my best friends forever and ever after that, you know? Yes. Yes, I know exactly what you mean. You know, it was at a very early age, I don't want to say I became a little cold, you know? I was like, oh, so. You're like the Grinch. Your heart just went shrunk. You know, it just, I couldn't believe we were such best friends. And listen, this happens in our business because you work so intensely for such people.

short period of time and now I'm more used to it and listen I'm sure I work with young people now and they're like oh this is the best two months ever working on this movie with you in Moldova um yes but if only I could see you without the rubber suit but it's um it's funny I couldn't believe everybody just goes their separate ways after that isn't it amazing I remember that

And I think it has to do with the age. I mean, you were 11. I was just turned 18. And it's the same with, and it was boys, outsiders, stand by me. They're very similar thematically. And those are your, they're your like beyond your brothers. It's next level. And then it's over. And that I had the very, very similar, similar experience. How did it affect you? I was, I cried like a baby.

The day I left the set and went home. Like, like, cause I, I, and some part of me knew that it would never be like it was. Cause we were like a family, like an actual, actual family. It was, it was super intense, super emotional, super long shoot and ginned up by Coppola, you know, to make us, you know, even more, you know,

emotionally entrenched in the process. Sorry to pry, but entrenched in the process of rehearsal process. All of it. Like a hanging out afterwards process. All of it. Going to dinner process. All of it. Yeah, for sure. And so we... Before shooting, after shooting, during... All of it. We rehearsed for a month. Wow.

Let me just interrupt you there for a second. People always ask me, like, tell me about Stand By Me. They want to know about it, as I'm sure people say the same thing about Outsiders. With you, Rob Reiner, for two weeks, before we shot anything, we rehearsed, we...

hung out. We played games the first week. Then the next week we went to every location and we blocked every scene out. Now, looking back, I think it's because he came from sitcoms, which is you rehearse for four days and then you shoot on Friday nights.

So I think he felt most comfortable as a director blocking things out. But these days with budgets and how they make movies, you get there the day of, I mean, I'm talking huge movies here. You get there the day of and they go, they say, okay, let's put this on its feet. And that's the first time you're meeting someone you're having an intimate lovemaking scene with. I mean, there's no rehearsals gone, gone. Um, so I think that's a testament to young filmmakers out there that,

you want the real emotion, you want the real stuff, get some rehearsal time. Yeah. It's just tough to pay people. You know, it's tough. Like Rob, it's like, could you imagine trying to say, Hey Rob, will you come to, where did you shoot outsiders? Marfa or something? Yeah. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa. Will you come to Tulsa a month early and rehearse with these kids? You mean like, dude, I got a podcast. Are you crazy? Yeah. I gotta go get a new battery in my watch. Um,

I, uh, so it's, it's just changed. The, the business has changed, you know, but, um, it's so interesting to hear that there's two films, classics. Sorry, I'm allowed to say it. I'm in one of them. You're in two of them as far as I can tell. Um, what's the other one? Jerry Maguire. Oh, I thought you were going to say Kangaroo Jack or Camp Wilder. Camp Wilder, man. No, Jerry Maguire is one of my favorite movies ever made. It's in my, it's in my top, it is in my top,

10 of all time and might even be in my top five. Yeah, it was a good one. It was really, really exciting to watch that. It was also exciting because it was my first film after Stand By Me. That is insane. So now, mind you, I know you're saying that is insane, but I was only nine years older.

I mean, only nine years in between Stand By Me and Jerry Maguire. Crazy, right? That is really... Jerry Maguire is a really interesting story. And by the way, a good audition story. Young actors, if you're listening, listen up. I went in there and auditioned on tape and for Cameron Crowe to play the agent, Bob Sugar, played by the aforementioned Jay Moore. It all comes back to Camp Wilder, everybody. Yes.

And I auditioned a number of times and then I auditioned with the star of Jerry Maguire and it was, uh, deemed that physically I looked more like a football player. Um, and so I auditioned for the agent, by the way, killed it, nailed it very loose, got notes, did their notes, a little tip, everybody. Um,

If you get notes in an audition, do them almost to the nth degree to like almost like a joke because it shows every like directors as a trick give you a direction like, oh, play this sad.

Um, even if it's like a happy scene, play a little more sad, like start to cry because it shows them that you listen to them and could take direction because a lot of actors sort out what they're doing and are only able to do that. That's right. And so I got some direction where I was told to take it away and I did it. And James Brooks, the famous producer was in the room and everything and everybody loved it and I killed it.

And then I was asked some questions about like my physical appearance and everything. And they were like, Jesus, you know, I'm a, I'm a tall guy, you know? And they were like, man, you look, did you ever play football? And I was like, no, you know, no. And then I left and I could tell they were like, not feeling it. They didn't think I looked like an agent.

I remember walking to my car and the structure and I was like, what a bummer. That was my shot. It would have been so great to follow up Stand By Me with Jerry Maguire. I'm going to do a movie like Kubrick every nine years. And somebody ran out and said, hey, will you come back in? And I went back in and they said, hey, can you do a Southern accent?

And, uh, you said, no, I said, can I do a Southern accent? And they said, we'd love you to read for the quarterback. And then, uh, I went in and did it. And, uh,

gotten another i mean as rob lowe called it a classic you'll either surf or ski yeah that's right that's what my character said he was uh he was a quarterback yeah we are singing that ridiculous song with the guitar yeah so i love that movie like you can't even imagine it's all cameron crowe he writes it um he's there for every minute he lives it he breathes it he knows every moment um

He worked very closely with Tom Cruise. It was really amazing to watch a star work. You know, the only job I had done, you know, only film I'd done before that was Stand By Me. And, you know, I... No stars. You know, it was just kids, you know. Sorry, Kiefer, you know, I mean... He wasn't a star yet. But it was amazing to watch just Tom take his time.

read through things just be a star you know be really nice to everybody be gracious show me what a star does um um he wears it he wears it extraordinarily well he's a star he's he's a real leader you know yeah because you know we've also worked with stars and listen i get it who don't want to be bothered you know and uh listen they have a lot to deal with and tom cruise is not that guy he's really um he's uh

generous with everything and works everything out. And it was funny, like watching him and Cameron Crowe work out like, oh man, you know, I really, um, I picked something up when I worked with, with Tom Cruise. And that was, um, Tom Cruise plays a lot of his emotions through smiles. Like his, he's obviously got, um,

the best smile ever in the history of mankind of all humanity. And I remember like my character, he's listening to Jay Moore's character, talk to him and he knows I'm not signing. My character is signing with him. It's an amazing scene. And if you watch him, he's like smiling through it. So he's doing Tom Cruise. He's doing, but he's playing it and you can see the vein in his head. And it was just, I was like, wow, look at him.

Doing him, but doing him while ingesting this terrible news. It was... It's one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Yeah, it was a real experience. Don't you pick the phone up at first? Is you or... No, he picks the phone up and it's Bob Sugar saying, hey, is he in there? You know, let me know. And he can hear him. That's right. And it was just... Tongue-tongue goes like... Just grunt if he's there. Yeah, it was just a great experience. It was really funny. It was...

It was really interesting too, because I went to, um, I just got to see a set that was like, you know, you rehearse it and then they light it for a couple hours. Hours. Janusz Kaminski shot it. Academy Award winning director of photography. Yeah. And I remember we did one scene on a plane and they had like a, like a, like the sun was like moving. Like, so they had someone moving the sun and it was like fucking beautiful. And I was like, it was like a, it was like a,

It's like a Hallmark card or something. And I was like, this is a scene where we're talking about football. And it was just, it just, it's just how it's done. It's just, it's the A, it's the A game. It's the A game. It's the NFL. You know, and I've, you know, I've since worked on television shows where, you know, you're doing airplane scenes and it's, you know, some grip next to you going, you know, someone with a flashlight, like,

You know, we're dry eyes. Got special effects. You got the dry eyes now. Yeah. And it's like, it was fun to see how the big leagues do it, you know? I made it to the big leagues. That's great. It's just one of the great... And that movie, it's one of those movies that never, again, never gets made today. It gets made, but it doesn't get made like that today. And it doesn't get made with those people today. You know, it's funny, not to diss on... I'm going to sound like an old man now, but, you know, scripts are different now. Yeah, yep.

But scripts in my day were heavily rewritten. They went through passes. People did passes of scripts. And I think because a lot of movies now are made for streaming, I think scripts are just...

put together differently. I'm not saying one movie is better than the other. I'm just saying that the process is, the development process is very different than it was in my day. You know, I also wrote a screenplay that went through a number of rewrites and it was in the studio system and eventually got made. So I saw the old school system and I don't

I haven't developed through the streaming service, but I got to think they don't develop things the way they used to. It's just, it's a different development process. Sorry for getting so deep. No, it's all of it is all of it. I just can't, I just, sorry. I can't get over the visual of you with the guitar. Seeing the Cushman theme. Yeah. Cush, Cush, Cush. Yeah. Cush lash. Cush lash. Yeah. Did you make, was that in the script? Um, I couldn't play guitar and I was asked to.

And I said to Cameron Crowe, I was like, I can't play guitar. I still can't play guitar. And he was like, I don't care. That's what was amazing about it. He was like, what do you know? I was like, oh, he wanted me to sing...

The Nirvana song. Something in the way. Underneath the bridge. Something cuddly. Tarpa's cuddly. It's okay to eat fish. Because they haven't got no feeling. Oh, yeah, yeah. And he wanted me to sing that. So I had to go to a guitar lesson. And the guy was like, hey, it's an easy song. It's three chords. And I was like, I can't fucking play this, man. Like, I'm not...

Johnny, be good. I'm not John Mayer. Like, you got the wrong guy. And Cameron Crowe was like, no, it's good. It's like, I don't care. And I was like, you don't care if this sounds terrible? And he was like, it's okay. It's okay. More than okay. Something in the way. It was really fun. Nirvana was so popular. If you have not seen Jerry Maguire, I'm sure everybody, it is, I cannot recommend it highly.

Highly enough. This was great. Thank you for coming, man. No, man, this is a lot of fun. I mean, it's usually the tables are usually turned. I'm rolling up to where you shoot the talk and it's one billion degrees all the time there in that parking lot. And I'm coming in getting ready to come see you and the gals. No way. I'm a big fan. I love...

I love you. It's an honor to be here. You're an inspiration. I love it. Keep going. And vice versa. And I know I'll be seeing you on the talk because I love coming and talking to you guys. So next time, get your questions ready now. Start thinking. Oh, yeah. Okay. Start thinking. Thanks, everybody. Don't forget, Jerry's got season 14. Season 14. 14 of The Talk. New episodes air weekdays at 2 p.m. on CBS.

in Paramount Plus. What's that? Oh, it's the lowdown line. Hello, you've reached literally in our lowdown line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me, Rob Lowe. 323-570-4551. So have at it. Here's the beep.

Hello, Rob. This is Deanna, originally from New York, now living in New Hampshire. I'm a longtime fan and a faithful listener. I typically don't enjoy those cheesy holiday-type movies, but I will admit to watching them during the holiday season. One of my favorite go-to holiday-type movies is Holiday in the Wild.

This is a movie that no matter how many times I watch it, it absolutely just warms my heart. Africa is at the very top of my bucket list and so are the elephants. When I am finally able to visit Africa, I would love to have the experience in a raw, natural way. I wonder if you'd be so kind and talk about the movie, your experience in Africa, experience working with the lovely Kristen Davis and your son. Thank you, Rob, for creating that beautiful heartfelt movie.

Oh, thank you. I love that you love that movie so much. You can find it on Netflix. It just has an amazing life. It's taken on a life of its own and its success is something I'm very proud of for the reasons that you articulated beautifully. It's Africa. It is filmed in the wild. I mean, I think that seeps into the DNA of the picture. Africa is, it defies words.

And I've been very lucky to have traveled there a bunch and to make a movie there. Oh, my. I mean, what a mess. Like, we would literally stop shooting for the day. And on the way back to where we were staying, we go, do you want to go on a safari? Yeah, let's take a little drive. And we would. I safaried every day making that movie. All of the elephants in the movie are real animals.

wild elephants and that is all kristen davis who has been one of the elephant activists since day one she produced the movie it was her idea to raise awareness on on the plight facing um elephants in africa so uh that is also a reason that the movie works so well um and she fought to have us

shoot in Africa with real live elephants as opposed to like Agora Hills, California with Hollywood elephants, which we could have done for sure. So my hat is off to her because she is an amazing, amazing woman. And I'm glad you liked it so much. And if you haven't seen it, check it out. It's a very sweet movie. So thanks for listening and we will see you next week. And thanks, Jerry. You're the best. See you next week on Literally.

You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Nick Liao. With help from associate producer Sarah Begar. Research by Alyssa Grawl. Editing by Jerron Ferguson. Engineering and mixing by Rich Garcia. Our executive producers are Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and myself for Team Coco, and Colin Anderson for Stitcher. Booking by Deirdre Dodd. Music by Devin Bryant. Special thanks to Hidden City Studios.

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