Kevin Bacon and Maya Hawke Discuss Celebrity Marriage and Upbringings
18:40 Share

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey there, this is Desi Lydic. While The Daily Show is off this week, we put together some special highlights just for you. We'll be back next week, but in the meantime, enjoy this episode. Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is an award-winning actor who is starring in the horror film Maxine and Beverly Hills cop Axel F. Please welcome Kevin Bacon. ♪♪

There I say, okay, okay.

Okay, that -- Dare I say "beloved"? That's what that sounded like. -Oh, thank you. It's nice. It's nice to be loved, you know? It's funny. People talk about what a pain in the ass -- They ask you about what a pain in the ass it is to be famous. -Yeah. -And I'm like, "You know what? It's the greatest thing." People will stop you on the street and say, "I love you." And you go, "Who gets that in life?" -Yeah. -You know what I mean? It's like, I never take that for granted. So, thank you. You're very kind.

My first question. Is it a pain in the ass to be famous? Didn't we already go over this? Oh shit, oh yes, yes.

It's funny watching that clip right there. You get to be a bad guy in the new Beverly Hills Cop. And then also in Maxine, you get to be a bit of a scumbag in that as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very real scumbag. What demons are you exercising? You know what? It's funny you say that because, I mean, I'm not afraid of being a bad guy in a movie. You know, there's a lot of people that go, that's like a gross thing. I don't want to do that because they think it's going to somehow reflect on them.

them personally. And I've always thought, "Oh, they're just gonna let the work speak for itself." You know what I mean? I'm an actor. It's not about me being me up there. It's always about me trying to --

walk in somebody else's shoes. So when I look at these two guys, they're completely different men, the character in Maxine and the character in Beverly Hills Cops. So to me, it's just great parts, and I just want to be them. And I'm exercising some demons. Yeah, okay, yeah. That's where you were going for, right? There's a darkness there, right? Yes, there is, yes. Is that...

Is that something you had to grow into? Like, when you started out acting, were you comfortable taking those roles, or were you in your head about how you would be perceived? I was never in my head about that. No? I was always about, like... I just was always about doing something that was edgier and darker and more of a stretch. And listen, it's like the greatest thing, because you live your life, and then you get to pretend to, you know...

hate somebody without hating them or kill somebody without killing them or, you know, do, like, questionable things and then just go back and live a, you know, hopefully, you know, a decent life. We should give more people shitty things to do on camera. Maybe. Yeah. You might be onto something there. You get to work with Eddie Murphy on this. You never worked with Eddie Murphy before. No, never worked with Eddie Murphy, and it's really cool because, you know, he's just...

I mean, he's just Eddie Murphy. He's just that guy, you know? He's so great. He's so cool, the way he comes on the set. And, you know, the other day, I was on the flight flying back. I can't remember where I was coming from, but I was watching YouTube and a clip from one of his comedy specials

And I don't know if you ever had this experience on a plane where you're laughing so hard, it's something -- you feel bad for the people around you. -Yeah. -And I was literally trying to tamp it down. And tears were rolling down my face. I mean, he's just --

He's great. And so to be on camera with him and to be in a scene like that was just so much fun. Usually for me on the plane, I'm weeping. Is that true? Yes. Okay. It could be a comedy or a tragedy. I'm weeping. And I'm not trying to hide it from other people. I'm looking for any kind of comfort I can get. Fear of flying? Just fear of facing my own personal demons and...

And emotions, yeah. Maybe you should take on some bad guy parts. You know what? If they would offer me any single role, I would say yes to it. They're afraid to let me even walk on to most roles. They're just like, you know what? Stick behind that desk and talk about politics, shall you? It's interesting, because Beverly Hills Cop came out. The last Beverly Hills Cop movie was 30 years ago. Right. How do you think... I mean...

How do you think Gen Z is going to relate to a movie like this? A lot of these folks didn't come up with the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. Okay, this is going to tell you how old I am. Remind me... 34. Let me guess, 34? No, remind me what Gen Z is. Gen Z is post-millennials, so... Well, I don't know what a millennial is. Oh, boy, geez. I'm not... I'm serious. I don't.

It's the phone generation. It's the generation that came up always knowing the Internet. -What are they gonna think of the movie? I think -- I think the movie is -- is -- is really fun and really cool. And I would think that, you know, it's -- there is a certain amount of nostalgia in it, for sure. -Yeah. -But probably, with a -- with a franchise that's that well-known, you've probably heard your parents or maybe your grandparents talk about it.

And, you know, maybe you go back and watch the originals. Yeah, yeah, I love it. Now, you're also in Maxine. A great horror franchise. This is the third. Yeah. It's compelling to go back. Friday the 13th was one of your first roles. It was, yeah. Second role, I believe. You have a great death where I think you get knifed while having sex and the knife goes through your neck. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

-Awesome, man. -Yeah, it was great. It was great because, you know, horror movies, especially back then, were often kind of thinly veiled morality tales. It was a way to pick whoever were the type of people that,

somebody decided should not should die and those people were usually people that did drugs and had sex right. And I so I did that's why I wanted to die was like how dare you exactly and you know the funny thing is is that in those days like those those are the cool people that you know what I mean, but those are the ones that always had to die in the in the in the horror movies and so I had you know the one to the one to punch had yet. I mean I had sex

-That guy had sex first and then smoked a joint, and then the arrow went through the throat. -If you got to go, pick it that way, right? -Can I tell you something weird? You know, sometimes, you know, there's people that have photographs that they want you to sign, you know, right? And the number-one photograph that I'm asked to sign is me dead.

With an arrow sticking out of my throat. Really? Yeah. And I'm always like, don't you have anything of me alive? No. That's the image? Is that your fear? That at the Oscars in memoriam, that's the image that they show? My fear is that I don't make the in memoriam. Kevin Bacon, judging by the reception you had, you are going to be there. You think so? And they're not going to show you dead. They're going to show a picture of you having sex at the end. You deserve it. You deserve it. All right.

Listen, hopefully that's how I die. Hopefully that's how you go out, man. Yeah. I was going to segue into your marriage, but it feels weird now. Does it? Yeah. You know why it feels weird? Why? Because married people don't have sex. That's why it feels weird, because that's the overall perception. It is the overall perception. Yes. I will say, you're all over TikTok, Instagram, Instagram.

You look like you're living the best life, I will say. You and your wife, Keira Sedgwick. Yeah. You're singing, you're dancing, you're playing with alpacas and goats. Yes. It feels like you've hacked it. I'm curious, what advice do you have for somebody who wants to be successful on TikTok and also save their marriage? Wow, that's a heavy lift. I don't know. Listen, I...

I never give marriage advice because it's just -- We don't know, man. We're just -- Marriage doesn't work. Let's face it. How many people stay married? It makes no sense. Nobody's -- Then everyone gets to -- You should think of it as something that you're just doing for a while. And then if you turn around and, you know, 36 years later, you're still doing it for a while, then whatever. You know, then we'll -- You keep doing it for a little while longer.

So switch the vows. So not till death do us part, but till maybe September? Yeah, exactly. Right. Don't put too much pressure on the whole idea. That's why when people ask both of us about it, we're like, no, no, no, no. We're not going there. Do you get that? Oh, yeah. Constantly. Is that right? Yes. How do you do it? How do you do it? How do you do it? And not just in the public space.

situation or in a press situation from like jet, you know genuinely young people, especially young actors in relationships who are looking at the idea of 2 actors being in a relationship and and and you know is that is that going to be hard and I really I just don't have any advice. My one piece of advice is silly is my one piece of advice that we usually give is just don't take advice from celebrities on how to stay married.

Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is an actor and musician whose new album is called Chaos Angel, and she stars as Anxiety in Inside Out 2. Please welcome Maya Hawke. Cheers. Cheers.

Okay, so in Inside Out 2, you play Anxiety. Am I pronouncing that right? I've never heard of Anxiety before. Yeah, it's a very sophisticated name. Not a lot of people know about it, but yeah, you're pronouncing it just right. Yes, yes. Anxiety. Anxiety. Is that right? Yes, that's exactly spot on.

Anxiety. How do you go about playing anxiety? You're channeling essentially an idea and a general emotion. Yes. Well, it's interesting because they're both ideas and general emotions, but also they're really well-rounded characters. For example, within the movie, Joy, played by the fabulous Amy Poehler, cries. Joy cries. So Joy is a full character, and so are all the other characters. So it is kind of a...

single emotion but it's also a whole person which is a very weird thing to play but basically what I did is that in my own personal life I have a voice in my head

going at all times, telling me all the things that I'm doing wrong, always 100%, and all the things I'm worried about and all the ways that maybe I could improve the things that I'm worried about and kind of correct the trajectory of my crashing plane. And I just kind of tapped into that voice and put it into the character. So I didn't do any research, no homework.

No scientific follow-ups no consultations with special tests specialists. Just just listening to the guy in my house like oh, no, it's not going to be OK you're going to be bad you're going to bad job at the show tonight. Oh yeah, your coats weird. You're doing great. You really you really brought that character out.

Some of us have to do homework, some of us are naturals. I don't know. You just find the voice within and you let it out there. Exactly. You're playing Anxiety in Inside Out 2 and your new album is called Chaos Angel. That's true. Is everything okay? Yes. Yes. Yeah, I'm a sleepy. You're a sleepy. You're dealing with a lot of open emotions. I feel like does the idea of your album is very personal. Yes. And

releasing it that sounds it gives me nothing but nightmares the idea of releasing something so personal like that does that give you putting out your edited journals yeah exactly is that how you view it i mean kind of i mean edited and obscured but yeah yeah but no it doesn't really give me anxiety because i am not uh like you know i'm not like making a there's no like public scandal that's being revealed by my record you know it's not like it's like a flaw do you wish you had i wish i'm actually

I'm actually if anyone's interested or open to offering me a public scandal to incorporate into the lyrics of my next song I'd be very open but no so it doesn't make me that nervous I have always been pretty open with my emotions as a person that's a that's kind of a mainstay characteristic of my crazy inside out house that's going on up here my headquarters so to speak but yeah I'm just

I'm open with my emotions. I'm very happy to talk about things. And so I really am just feeling very proud and grateful to have gotten to make a record that is coming out and to get to be in a movie this cool and like this kind of double rainbow of both popular, good, and smart. Yeah. Yeah. Well said. I mean, it is...

It is a remarkable thing to be able to both to act and also to do music at the same time. You grew up in an artistic household. I agree, it is remarkable. It's remarkable, Maya. How do you do it? I mean, it's just, I don't know. I have an extra lobe in my brain. It's extra lobes, I knew it. Did you ever, growing up in a

a household that has so much art and artists. I follow your dad on Instagram and I feel like he's constantly telling me how to be a better artist. I love it. That is the vibe of his Instagram. He has transitioned from actor to guru. Yes. What is he going to tell me to do today? I don't know. Did you ever, growing up in that household, feel the rebellious spirit to go against the grain and become like an actuarial scientist? No. No? No. I mean, I think the weird thing

weird thing that people misunderstand about rebellion and there are a few counter examples to this but like people don't normally rebel against fun stuff like it does happen okay but rarely like it's only the really weird brother who's ever like yeah my dad was so fun he took us to the trampoline park all the time and all he wanted to do was talk about rock music and trampolines and so I became an accountant like I

That's an unusual thing. It's usually like the accountant's kid who's like, I'm the trampoline guy. Like, I don't know. Like, it's mostly, rarely does one rebel against fun stuff. That's true. That's true. I usually shied away from it in high school, but that was mostly because I was fun stuff, risky stuff. I was a nerd in high school. So the idea of drinking or doing drugs or actually having a sustained relationship with somebody was very scary to me. Very. What about a brief relationship? I had a brief relationship. You did? And then I had a very long relationship. Okay, nice. Which I think is what happened. This is too much about me, Maya. I think that's what happens to nerds.

I'm hearing that anxiety in my voice now. You're like, you're bringing it up, you're bringing it up, you're bringing it up, Jordan. The first song on your album, Black Ice, has a very interesting, moody beginning. It does. Yes, can you tell us a little bit about that? Oh my God, yeah, it's so weird. Yeah, it's weird. I'm worried for some reason. The first time I heard about this, I was like, ah, no, really? But now I'm talking about it a lot, and I'm worried it's going to come back to bite me in the butt somehow. But I was taken to see a psychic because I had depression as a child. And I...

And the psychic was like a magical psychic who like laid crystals around you and helped you talk to your spirit guides. Yes, it was a very normal childhood. In case anyone got the wrong impression from everything else about me, I had a really conventional childhood. And so anyway, this psychic...

did this kind of long session with me at the end. And there were like two dogs there and like three women. And they helped me talk to my inner spirit guides and remove my shield that was over my heart and do all this kind of stuff. And I have a recording of it. And the recording I only heard like 15 years later and was really taken aback by it because I...

It was both extremely positive, and I was like, wow, I'm so lucky that I got to, like, have this kind of help as a kid and help through my anxious teen years, you know, kind of like the way that Inside Out is focused on. But I was also like, you...

freaking weirdos. Like, why are you telling me that I am an angel? I am not and will never be. I am a disgusting little gremlin and have been and always will be. And so it was like, because these women were really being like, you are an angel in human form. You are perfect. Your job in the universe is to make other people around you feel happy and good. And I listened to it as an adult and I was like,

- I want that to be my job! - Which is go away, you're 11 at this time? - Yeah. - Wow, I guess you have an experience like that, you're like, I need to become an artist and put this into words. - Suppose so. - Yes. Hang in there, it feels like,

It feels like a gift to a friend. That is basically the idea. I like-- I've heard two different takes on the song. I like the idea that it's either a present me singing to a past me comforting the past, so it's like you're comforting yourself, or me singing to a friend of mine. That first one sounds cool. I should have said the first one. No, no, no.

I like both I like both and I will not reveal what one it is or else I offer up the opportunity to accidentally reveal the who the bad guy in the story is. I want to know no I can tell you this is the scandal you're looking for I know I know but it's not the scandal that the people want. Fair enough.

Explore more shows from the Daily Show Podcast universe by searching The Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch The Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount+. Paramount Podcasts.