Andrew Scott

Hi, my name is Andrew Scott and all of his are about being a brilliant friend what what is that that means I'm happy in Irish Hey there. Welcome to Conan O'Brien needs a friend joined by son of Cessian. Hello, Sonna. Hello, Matt. Gory. How are you, Matt? Hi, Doc. Hi, Doc. I'll just let it go. Do you guys ever see our videos come up when you're you know, oh yeah, you see the videos come up of us doing the podcast and I see too when they put out the photo of me with the guest. I'll be with Billy Eilish. I'll be with you know whoever the guest is. But I think Billy Eilish came to mind because I was looking at the photograph and my hair is insane. Yeah. And I realized that for years and years and years I would do a show and I'd you know, run a comb through my hair and kind of you know, make sure the quaff was working. And I don't do that at all with the podcast. And sometimes it's insanity. We have a wall out there pictures of me with different guests. And my hair is all over the map. It really is. I mean, it's mood hair. It's just insanity. And I don't know. I got self conscious. I think the other day some maybe it was the Billy Eilish photograph popped up on my screen. I don't know what's going on up there. I look like Shem from the three stages. Yeah. If he were a ginger. And then I started to think, you know, do I need to do something about this? Do I need to get it under control? Or is this just what it is now, man? It's it's podcast, man. I have to get make sure my hair looks decent every time we do it. No, you don't. No, no, what I'm saying. So I wasn't saying your hair looks bad. It's just I don't think you have any control over what's happening on top of your head. I certainly do, sir. What do you mean? I put so much product in my hair. And I have to make sure that it's it's like kind of so I'm seeing your hair after it's been treated and cared for. I'm just and I'm saying this. Sony, you know, this is also a compliment because your hair is powerful. It is the source of your strength. I have the most iconic hair on this podcast. I was saying so good. Yeah, that's I'm kidding. But I mean, you have abundant luxurious, powerful hair. It is. And but what do you do? What do you do to it? Okay. So I get out of the shower to make it so angry and crazy. Do you taunt it? I start off. I put in argon oil to moisturize. It's argon oil. What is that? It's argon oil. It's an argon a gas. It's a gas. No, argon ARGAN. Oh, okay. Oh, what is argon oil? It's like from it's like Moroccan oil. It's like the it's like really nice oil and it's moisturizing. You can use it on your skin. And then after that, I put in like seven other products. Like I put in a leave in conditioner. I put in a styling cream. I put in some gel. And then I twirl it. Then I blow dry it. And then then you use a defibrillator. Clear. Bang. Clear. Bang. I do so much. And hostage negotiator. Yeah. But it's been dry lately because I ran out of I ran out of argon oil. Wait, wait. What would it be like if you didn't use all that? Terrific. Okay. So this stuff is expensive. It is expensive. Yeah. It's because it's imported. It's expensive. You have to get it from Morocco. That's the best way to do it. Have you been to Morocco to shop for argon oil? I have not. But I would love to go and I would go just to shop for argon oil. I think if they knew that people in Morocco knew you were coming to get more of their oil, I think they would try to keep you from showing up because it's just a massive drain on their oil supply. I just picture huge reservoirs of argon oil being poured over your head just to tame your hair for two hours. Well, maybe it'll help your hair too. You think I should put argon oil in my hair? I think yes. Oh, and then slick it and party it down the middle and put on glasses and go, it's a new look. That'll be biofile. Yeah, I would love to go to Morocco to just buy some more argon oil. Yeah. Okay. I'm not going to happen. Not on my dime, that's for sure. Hopefully. Do you direct order it from Morocco? No, but you can only get it because they're, I guess they're just trees that only grow in Morocco. And then they cultivate oil. They're cutting down trees in Morocco to tame your hair. No, they're cutting down forest for us. That's why there's a desert. It was beautiful. Yeah, no, it was like Ireland there once. And so Sona started to try and tame her hair. Oh my god, it was like the shire. There were monkeys going from tree to tree. And then Sona was born. We need these trees. You've not been using it since I was born? I think I was an infant putting on argon oil. I think you were born with all that hair. I really do. I don't think you were a bald baby. I wasn't. I didn't think so. I didn't think so. Your hair was born maybe a two months before you came out. That funny. Your mom was breeding it. Well, she'll be here soon. Yeah, that's right. That's the image I want all of you to have. That's actually born with a handle. When it was a rip core, a rip core. Yeah. And so anyway, that's insane. So it's dry now because you're no argon. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've run out. I gotta go get some. All right, we gotta get you some. All right. Insane. In just insanity. And one of the most disturbing images out of hundreds and hundreds of episodes we've done. Yes. Sona's hair coming out months before she comes out and then her mom combing it and braiding it before her son is born is freaking me out. I feel like this is the second time he's done it. You've done a whole bit about my birth where one time you were talking about my mom crushing me. What? Do you guys remember? He just kept yelling. I crush you. I crush you. I crush you. Yeah, with her strong pelvic muscles. Don't say it. Don't talk about my pelvic muscles. I crush you. Yeah, it was, I don't know why she was crushing you, but I do remember the phrase. I crush you. My mom in apology. No, don't think so. I love your mom. She's fantastic. Yeah, because this is like a show expense, though, like based on like the blade way of doing things. Can I use my corporate card to buy argon. Absolutely not. No, because that's just going to encourage blade to buy more, you know, whatever Star Wars gloves and Iron Man assholes and then charge us for them. So, no, I kept it straight in this because you know what you did and it was wrong and your mother's been implicated as well. No, no, you cannot buy argon oil on our dime. It's not going to happen. All right. Okay. I'll stop you. All right. We've got to get into this because we have an amazing show today. My guest today is a fantastic actor who has starred in Sherlock Fleabag. I mean, so much more. I adore this fellow. Me too. I think he's one of the greatest actors alive. I'm serious about that. Now you can see him in the new movie Pressure. I'm just on cloud nine that he's here today because I have not met them then. Andrew Scott, welcome. You may not be aware that there is an Irish television show that's in Irish language, exclusively, that they make in Ireland. Yes. It's called Ross Neroon. Ross Neroon. I was on Ross Neroon. And then it got canceled. Yeah. You're in the last season of Ross Neroon. I was closed. I'm the one that ended it. It was flourishing. But no, I went. I did some taping in Dublin. We found out that there was a possibility I could be on Ross Neroon. I said, yes. All my lines are in Irish. What we used to call gay like, but they're all in Irish. So did you have to learn it phonetically? Yes. I had to learn it. They had two cards that a horse could read. I mean, literally, it was. It's the most insane language. Completely insane. And I thought, well, this is going to be cool. And I get there. And I talked to this very cool woman who's the producer, super efficient, super smart wicked sense of humor. And I said to her, well, what's my part? You know, I'm coming in. Am I the dashing? You know, she went, no, you're an idiot who delivers balloons to the bar. And yeah. And I said to her, listen, as a joke, I said to her, listen, there's a good chance that before the day is out, you will fall in love with me. This is what happens when I work with me. And she said, I'll fall in love with you if you get this done in half an hour. Don't burst the balloon. Yeah. Yeah. And don't touch the balloon. And it occurred to me that I've been to Ireland a number of times. And what always occurs to me is that my formative experience was performing There was a show I did once with a bunch of other Irish comedians years and years and years ago. The show's over with, we're at the American Ambassador's Residence in Phoenix Park. We get into a cab. The cab driver's funnier than all of us, and it's just, you throw a stick and you will hit 75 of the funniest people you've ever met in your life, and they'll tear your face off. Another vicious. Yeah, vicious. But you grew up in. I grew up in Dublin. Yeah, yeah. My father was from the west of our very rural island, and my mother was from Northern Ireland. But yeah, I was 100% Irish. Have you confronted your Irishness? It's like. I think it increases. I think if you get. Because when you're in Ireland, you don't think about it, but if you're an Irish person outside of Ireland, you're much more aware I think of your Irishness than you would be. Of course, if you were just surrounded by everybody else who's out there babbling. Other babbling people. Mildly depressed, but also euphoric people. I do think there's a reliance on storytelling and babbling and being funny because it keeps the people alive and pleading keeps the people alive. So if everybody's emigrated, the way you talk about them is you create this stuff about them and you keep them in the room, you know, in the room. So I do think. I was just back there filming actually in Ireland for the first time in a long time actually, and everybody's funny. Yeah. Everybody's funny. It's the language. Yeah. It's just the way use of language. So I need to say this right up front. I intended to say it right up front, but of course we started talking immediately about Russian room. By the way, every single podcast in the view I do, Ross Neuropa, again, share was just here and we talked about Ross Neuropa. Well, she brought it up. She brought it up. She said, "Have you ever done Ross Neuropa?" And I said, "Shut up, share." I am a. Andrew, I am a mega fan to a disturbing level and I know exactly when it started, which is my son really got into the remake of Sherlock Holmes with Benedict Cumberbond. Yeah. Benedict Cumberbond. And by the way, in the States, that's the sobriety test. You don't even have to get out of the car now, they say, who's in the Sherlock Holmes game? You got butted next to your butted up? I'm a little off. I can come up with a start. So Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and then you are his nemesis Moriarty and the second you walked on camera was an epic moment for me because. and jump in here if you know. if you. Yeah. This performance you gave, which has been much discussed and it really puts you on the map. You are frightening, terrifying and funny and I've always thought all the best villains are charming and funny. Totally. It's important. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're Moriarty. There's this iconic scene where you walk into that. there's a full swimming pool. And you're being very clever and you have that beautiful lilt in your voice and you're very. and then at one point you say, "I believe the line is, you get enraged and you say to Holmes, I will burn your heart out of you." Burn the heart out of you. But then you're kind of pleasant again and I. I think I have. I don't know how many times I've watched that scene, but you are so great in that role and then these things just came one after another, Fleabag, the hot priest in Fleabag, was an iconic standout role. And by the way, if there were five people you'd asked me a month ago, "Who would you like to meet that you haven't met?" One would be you and the other would be Phoebe Wella Bridge. Who I've never met, who I absolutely adore. She's keeping us at a distance, which. Quite right. Did you mention Russ the Roed? I did. Just saying. Serenity on the face. She apparently was booked, then she saw me as the balloon boys in Ross Maroon. He popped those balloons. Yeah. And she was out. But how would you believe that? I'm serious. You have to watch it. It's a fright. Did you arrive? I had the balloons and the guy at the barth is thinking I'm an idiot and calling me an idiot and we get into a dispute and I'm quickly ejected from the bar. That was my big. And then was a year and a half ago, I hear, "Oh, they've come out with a serialized version of Ripley." That. I have watched Ripley, which I believe is how many episodes is it? Eight episodes. I think I've watched it three times. Three. Your performance is stunning. All the performances are great. One of the things I also noticed is that you can freeze frame any second of those eight episodes and have that mounted on the wall and it's a credible black and white photograph. It's maybe. I'm not someone who walks away from a project and says, "Oh, the cinematography." That is one of the most spectacular pieces of television, filmmaking, so that got me your vanya, which is. You play every role, which I don't understand. Sometimes I watch people, usually it's in athletics where I say, "Well, that's a different species, but I don't know how you did that." Then I'm delighted that one of my best friends in the world, one of my oldest and best friends, Lisa Kudrow, has done this brilliant third version of the comeback. I don't even know you're in it and then you walk in as her new, very mysterious, strange boss. Okay, all my favorite people are in more projects. Andrew, if I do nothing else but compliment you in this talk, it will be a very boring interview. You're forgetting it's a bond villain, too. Oh, I know. I know. I left that out just to humiliate you. He works bond in every. I try. You do. Well, I mean, you can take it or leave it, but no, no, he's. He will be talking to a historian about the Battle of Gettysburg, and he will say, "How do you think James Bond would have done an anticość?" You were fantastic. That's what we were. Yeah. So, you've had this well-deserved run, but like all people, you have an origin story, and we got to go back to that because you apparently were a very shy kid. Yeah, very shy. Yeah, very shy. And you had a pronounced list. Yeah, I had a sort of really strong list, which I think a lot of kids do, and they sort of grow out of it. It's kind of cute, but. Yeah. So, I went to sort of, "Elecution." Less than that. And then you do, like. When I bring up list, is it just come back? What? What are you talking about? What? I don't know what you're going to say. Say Benedict Cumberbatch right now. But yeah, I had a list. And so, yeah, you have to do this terrible thing called "Elecution," which is, you know, all about your. But part. It's basically speech and drama, and so the speech part was sort of. I'm still talking with the drama part, was suddenly I was able to be kind of not shy and do all these kind of weird things, and then I kind of love TV and all the kind of stuff. And so. What were you watching on TV? Like, just like the Muppet Show, was there nothing, you know? Not just exclusively the Muppet Show. To this day. To this day. You've never seen anything. You did that. You watched all the Muppet Show and then you did Vanya. All the words. All the words. The Muppet Show is extraordinary, though, right? I didn't see the Jim Henson documentary. Yeah, because we had Ron Howard in here. Oh, did you? Yeah, for that. I mean, I got to know the man a little bit. Did you really? In another lifetime. Yeah. I was. He was a Muppet. Yeah, I was a Muppet. [laughter] I was in the day. Yeah. I'm related to the eagle. No, a very good friend of mine from college was Lisa Henson and her dad used to come and visit us. And then he was very nice to me, and then one day, because I ran the college Sheeran magazine and he said, "Hey, Conan, do you want one of the chairs from the dark crystal for the lampoon building?" And I said, "Well, sure." And he said, "Well, come down and pick it up," and so we rented a van and my friend's Jessica Marshall and Mark Genneman, I jumped in a van and I'd never done anything like this. I drove from Boston to New York. Oh, come on. We went to this warehouse and they said, "You know, a guy with a cigar, I was like, you have the dark crystal pronged." No, so I am. And it's still there to this day. Yeah, amazing. It's just an incredible man, just what he would have done. That's what I. Watching this thing. I mean, just. I guess that's what. Well, even as a kid, you're sort of fully formed, I think, you know what I mean? So, you know, when you're doing all that stuff when I was a kid, you just sort of know. You become maybe more accomplished, but all the stuff is there with you, I think, when you're eight years old. I think there's something that he really recognizes being out, because he understands up sort of. You know, something I talk about endlessly in acting, which is about playfulness, is the sort of. You're really required to be. It's just to be like, "I'll do that way in." Sure. You know what I mean? And then you just slot yourself into different sort of scenarios and different sort of tones of drama or comedy or whatever it is. And you are very artistic. Yeah, artistic, yeah. So, you drawing painting? What are you doing? Drawing. Yeah, lots of life drawing. My mother was an art teacher and, yeah, just drawing all the time. It's something that I'm still really interested in. Yeah, so that was kind of. Kind of, you know, that weird thing where you get terrible partying exactly. Once you're out the party you're okay. Yeah. Yeah, and so the drawing the drawing is a wave Um, I don't know it's practicing For a team of beings. Yeah Yeah I'll be there in a minute and I just have to draw you Still everyone stay still You said something that really struck a nerve with me, which is we come fully formed That's something that my father used to say to us. He used to say all of you are who you were when I brought you home from the hospital Um, meaning when you it's like buying a A phone that already has the software. Yeah, all that stuff and your parents really like to think I mold the child and I Create the child and they get very you get to school about it. And it's always been clear to me that they are who they are They come what you can do is you can you can fuck it up. Yeah, but oh and you can also nurture and I'm still deciding which way to go Yeah, my kids, but yeah They got to earn it I'm my time is precious But you know that's but you said you can fuck up the software completely couldn't you look you know you go like If you have this very sad idea what something wants wants to be Um, you know somebody I think that's I think that's what my parents were both very good at actually but no because the three There's got two sisters my sisters my elder sister Sarah is very sporty and my younger sister And it's very artistic but in a sort of slightly different way to the way Um the way I was artistic and they were both very good at going okay Well, you do that and I think some of the real damage you can do is by going I don't know making your My phone is some cell phone Nicely done Nicely done right because you just secured a deal with apple although I've already secured it. That's why that's pretty Dan you that's what you paused before you said that you had to get it the right order Yeah, right Well Let me just say that Haynes underwear The best underwear Because that's the only deal I could get Mr. iPhone over here I'm wearing six layers. Oh you wearing hands Hey, let's be honest. I would kill for a Haynes deal. I'd take anything at this point Haynes is American right? It's Haynes of I don't really have Haynes. I don't only wear American underwear Very patriotic I check people's underwear constantly just to make sure they're patriots These colors don't run. Yeah, yeah, exactly North Carolina Um, that's thanks for that info North Carolina. Thank you. Thank you Eduardo So you grow up you're working on electrocution with that yeah, you never grew up but also I love that you said about play because that's all any of this is Yeah, and I constantly remind people that I have you take me at at 12 years old and I'm what I'm doing now is Certain things have been articulated and developed. It's the same thing. Yeah, yeah, right. I'm just Plet I love to play and I will play with anybody. Yeah, I someone on the street will talk to me and if they're Funny, I'll spend 20 minutes with them. Yeah, yeah, it's just the same thing and it's a love of play Which we then get very high-faluten you or Vaña you become five and it's extremely impressive and it takes this amazing talent and discipline You're still playing you absolutely are and I hate the idea of high-arts and low-arts. I really do. I think it's nonsense Yeah, and actually all the people who were you know like with Shakespeare any of those people like Shakespeare I always feel has been sort of hijacked by academics, you know, and anybody, you know I always find out because the very for I was we used to do when I was a kid We used to do these used to get to do Shakespeare in these little Irish competitions, you know like just extracts from Shakespeare So you do 10 minutes of it and you sort of I don't know you just understood you just I kind of understood it in a way Didn't understand all the words and but then I take what happens with some of those big guys is after if there are 250 books written about how to Speak the language of Michael Patrick King and Lisa could rose to come back, right It would drown it would kill it. There isn't a way of doing it There isn't a way of doing it. There's a And so what what I think happens with sort of some of those with theater particulars There's this idea that it's that you're not present that not everybody is possessed of the thing that An actor needs to possess which is just to my mind just playfulness and the stuff that I love to do Is to be able to just do lots of all the different stuff because I wouldn't you? Well, it's also it's seeing that yes, I love Shakespeare, but I also love the Muppet Show. Yeah, that I love Some of the more, you know refined cinema But I cut my teeth on Warner Brothers cartoons. Yeah the timing the Characters the kinds of attitudes that people are playing and I think there's no difference between a great Warner Brothers cartoon and I really good Shakespeare on it. It's it's Exactly the same thing and actually he even says it and in hamlet He says he literally is a thing about how you should speak the language is so extraordinary It just says just speak a trippling in the tongue and stop shouting it out and stop doing it all that kind of stuff So I think because I started and I didn't train formally I kind of have to put your your dukes up a little bit about about Not the way I'm talked about because but the way I the way I suppose not to let my Access to whatever I do for a living to be to be um influenced too much by by the series is yeah with which other people talk I always think the word calcify Yeah, right things harden someone starts using a bunch of $50 words describing your process and what you do They're not doing you any favors. No, it's absolutely you know, and it's nice that they see all that in your work But it's best that you not know about it and they because you want access to anything that's going to make you Enjoy be spontaneous see a possibility and I never think it I think it's so true and you just keep that alive and the longer you work You know because I don't you're not really supposed to play as an adult. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, you're supposed to know Which is like the opposite of playing right? Yeah, you're supposed to you're supposed to like have you have to know the answer And like any of the any of the any of the great adults. I think other ones are like I don't know let's keep keep learning because I'll be really boring at the stage I mean, I'm nearly 30 years Acting you know sort of professionally. I want to you want to keep being like You know isn't this cool. Isn't this cool? Isn't this cool? I get to do this yes exactly this is also not to be sort of false in the sense that you go I don't know anything, but you can still know things you can still go on my instinct You know you definitely have instincts, but actually it's having more confident in in confidence in your instincts Like when you when you're doing like it when you're hanging out with kids and they're playing watching them Play is amazing. They're not they're not thinking We're gonna do they just go okay you be the thing you be the thing you start with a yeah My mom did this because she was an art teacher. She was an incredible teacher my mom and she used to teach people how to draw And she said when you when you when you um people start to draw they immediately start You know drawing like a the most tentative line possible because they don't want to make a mistake Yes, it's that the best thing you can always do when you're starting to draw. It's just it's to be sort of loud confidence and wrong So start with a really strong line and even if that line is completely wrong You've drawn over the line You know you've drawn over that that line will actually still be there, but the people appreciate the mistake Yes, so yeah, you start with a bit of confidence, you know the way kids do that and you can you can redraw It just but don't not draw but also I mean I did this kind of comedy for what are almost 30 years on television You know where people come on I interview them and didn't tend to there's a band and I would pray for mistakes Yeah, yeah, because mistakes were such gifts. Yeah, and then you get to a point where you're like oh my you know here Someone will misspeak. I'll misspeak. I'll try to say Bennett at Cumberbatch. It doesn't come out right We then get off on a jag if you acknowledge it and then it becomes about drunk driving and then it becomes yeah And then it gets called back when we're talking about That's the joy of it and people know instinctively as you know from from doing theater so much of your life There's something about audiences where they know the truth I always think that about making mistakes in the theater about people We're worrying about forgetting lines. Mm-hmm. There's no better atmosphere There's no more attentive atmosphere than when you think somebody has made a mistake. The whole audience is like, "Oh my god, something is happening here." And the actor's fear is that, "Oh my god, everybody's gonna think I'm terrible person." But actually what I think the audience is fearless. It reminds them that they're remembered while the other lines. Yeah. Yeah. That's really true. I'm saying, "Wait a minute. The head braid is pretty good." You know what it means to think, "Oh god, this is this is sort of live." So it's kind of all right. And once you get over that idea, we're making a mistake. The weird stuff that happens makes the day the day you know what I mean. And I always think it's weird as well. Do you like in comedy, do you feel like you guys dissect the audience as much as we do in the theater? Oh, I used to. Yeah. I mean, I would be, and we'll get to this because You know, we'll be talking about this a little later in the interview, but it's like the way a meteorologist dissect a weather system. I used to, you know, tonight. Pretty good. Now I felt like they were and then you get to be like someone who studied wine all their life and you just sip some wine. Instead of being like, oh my god, I love this is a great, I'm here in Tuskegee. I just had a great sip of, you know, of Pinot noir. Instead, you're like, the audience when they first came out, they were, yeah, no, you know what, there's enthusiasm, but it's kind of a froth. It's not, now, then I would say on the upper right hand that I couldn't get them. There was sort of a tentativeness, but then I felt like they were a little judgmental, you know, and you're like, shot. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do the thing. Just do the thing. It's like when you go and see somebody in a play. It's a lesson I learned really, really on. I was really on. I started the Abbey Theater when I was about 1920. And exactly that. Someone would come to see the, come to see the play. And they were like, oh my god, I love, and I was like, we're just gonna get this laugh that we've got. You know, the thing, you know, well, you always should be in the last line with the audience was incredible. And this, I really talked to them, don't do that. Don't, don't, don't, don't do that because they don't, they don't notice. I don't understand. It's not that it didn't happen. It probably was a greater show, last night. Right. But like, who cares? And when you're in the audience and you're laughing at something, you're not thinking, kind of, which not personally was laughing as much. You don't really care. No, no, no, I'm not aware of this. The biggest mistake of thousands and thousands of interviews in front of audiences that I've done was a guest would come out and they would start, you know, talking and saying some of their stories. And then they would say, I'm sorry. And this is boring. I'm sorry. Yeah. And you could feel the audience leave. Yeah. You know, always thinking to myself, that's such a rookie mistake. Don't tell them they're getting a bad show. Yeah. And also, in terms of etiquette, after someone's seen you do a show, they don't want to hear you go, I know. I just felt like today. No, they saw you do what you had today. Totally. I mean, sometimes they love it. They're just not demonstrative. I mean, we have this, we have this culture now of everybody standing up. Everybody stands for it's too much. Sorry. Sorry. No, no, no, no, no, standing ovations, standing ovations. You cannot go to anything without being standing. Where's the thing you've ever seen? Everybody's standing there. And also you go to any daytime and also late-night show and everybody stands up for everything. You're going to watch a cooking segment. And everyone stands. And I think, huh. Well, you know, it used to be that an actor could be in the theater or performer could perform most of their life and get one standing ovation and boy, did that mean something? Yeah, meant something. Yeah. Because it's a thing. Because it's completely without meaning. When you're on the stage, though, I say this, man, you're like, it's not fucker in the fucking fourth row. It's not Sunday. Because when everyone's standing and one person isn't, yeah. Exactly, you're like, but I sort of admire it. I sort of admire it because it doesn't mean they hate this. No, it just means they just didn't want to stand up. Yeah, they're tired. They're drunk. Yeah, they're like arthritic. I have got so used to standing ovations. I'm sorry. I just have. When someone's not standing, sometimes I'd berate them. Yeah, that sounds weird. And they're like, "Sir, I have no legs." Well, that's awkward. Well, you could still lift him, someone. You could have come with a lifter, if you enjoyed it. But you didn't care enough to hire someone. So you're struggling all these things when you're a kid because I'm always interested in this part because it's fascinating to me. I do think that turbulence and anxiety and some level of some of that stuff just has to be part of the stew. Like you like it or not grow up. Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think you kind of really have the other stuff with the other stuff. Yeah. You know, you've got to be, it's not, it's not, you know, it's, it's supposed to sensitivity is the word. Like, yeah, you've got to be, you've got to be, you can't have one with that the other. So I suppose I'm pretty, what is the thin skinned? I do think Irish people are pretty sensitive as well. Yeah, I think it's soft. I think it's in the culture, which I think it allows the people to be so brutal because you know, it's both. Yeah, that's that it's always all the thing, all the things are both. Yeah. And I always think it's, I mean, speaking for myself, I'm incredibly thin skinned. And then I can be a viking. I have both in me. Yeah. But and it's hard to reconcile them both, but that's what that's what it is. It's exactly what it is. And it's sort of it's not what you're saying about. I think there's something when you're become well known. It's interesting that you say about talking to people on the street, which is still incredibly important to me. That's one of the things that I think would frighten me is not having that access to just talking to people every day. I think it seems like an awful thing to just be so sort of successful or so recognizable that you have to be in this sort of prison the whole time. Yeah. So not to be able to get out and go have a laugh at people. And that's why I sort of hate. It's funny that you were saying that as well about when people say, "Oh, this is boring." Like when you talk to people and they say, "Oh, I don't have this. Interesting a job as you think I bet you do." And then maybe not as interesting a job, so to speak, but people always have a story that they kind of want to tell. And so being able to have the access to those people, to for them to feel like, so what do you do? And then people tell you incredible things. And that's the stuff that I love. And I don't know if that's about being an Irish or whether that's just being interested in people or whatever, but or if it's just being an artistic, I don't know what it is. But you know, that's the, that I think is the thing that you want to. I would be very, very lost with Irish. That's right. I mean, you've had all this success, movies and television. And I read that you make a real point of doing theater regularly. You love, I mean, this is something we have in common. I love being in a theater. I also love sort of nothing in an old theater if you know what I'm saying. "There's this extraordinary moment I want to see the amazing Mark Rylens in Jerusalem." I mean, there's this extraordinary theatrical sort of trick he did. I'm trying to think if there's something here too. So he had a fight for him, yeah. He was playing a giant. He was by giants. It was sort of about folklore in the English countryside. And so many had a lighter. And he was telling this story about a giant talking to a child. And to make this sort of, this theatrical sort of gestory, he put this cigarette lighter down on the ground like here. Yeah. Put it down here, like on the ground. He sort of stood it up. He spoke down to this cigarette lighter. The cigarette lighter. And so you immediately in this, it was in the At the World Court theater. You immediately had this sense of scale. Yeah. That's just, that's got nothing to do with CGI or, you know, so much. I'll never wash this pen cap again. And he's a real pen washer. So, I know you love to wash your pens. He has, he is. Every time I see him, he's rubbing away. But yeah, that's just that sort of stuff. And the audience go, no, it's amazing how when you see someone come up with something like that in a moment and you realize it's all the tools change, but the task doesn't. But you know what, you've got now we have AI and CGI and super computers. And you can create all these effects and you can put it in the round. You can do all these things. But basically, you're getting the same effect as Mark Ryland's putting a pen cap on the floor or a, you know, a lighter and standing there in that moment, you know, you can delight the human brain with the old ways as well as with the new. It's the same thing because the audience are going, this is what I find so moving. I never don't find it moving, which I think is why I love the theater. It's that adults are going into a theater. Willfully, and there are people are turning off the lights and somebody is telling them a sort of lie that they know is a lie, a story. And they're saying, tell me, tell me a story. So the liveness, the mistakes and the humanity of it is the thing that really, really delights the audience. Of course, visual effects, I mean, all that stuff is amazing too, but it separates the audience a little bit from the performer. Whereas if someone said, I could, I could do that with a pen. If I just had access to my imagination. Yeah. So actually it bonds the performer and the audience member. Whereas if you've got too much, you know, stuff, they think, well, that's not something that anything to do with me. That's just something that I can be impressed by, but not necessarily connected to. I don't know. It's a, it's a, it's a, so the grand scheme of a big theater juxtaposed was that it just a one tiny human performer. It's sort of beautiful to me as well, you know what I mean? Yeah. I, uh, you will keep getting these opportunities to do, you know, movies and all kinds of projects you want. But I love that you're saying, yeah, this is what I need. Yeah. I need this. I need to be in these life productions because that's just, it's like touching home base. You just got to touch it. It's just what it is. And that's what, when we did Vanya, you know, that, that one of the beautiful things about that was because that's, you know, check off. and very serious high art. And check out this so funny, like genuinely so funny. And it's a kind of a ridiculous idea that you, and it started as a mistake, was this. We thought there's eight characters in the show, and I was reading with the director and the writer. And we sort of allocated the parts, and we were just reading, 'cause I was just gonna play one part, and we were like, "Oh, which part might it be?" And we were sort of playing, the three of us were playing all the roles, and we sort of misallocated the roles. So I ended up sort of going, and I was like, "Okay, I'll just act, just sit here, "I'll just act with myself." And it was so weird because it was two, the two characters in the play that proclaimed that they were the most opposite to each other. And so it seemed completely absurd that this person was, and anyway, that was kind of interesting, and then we were like, "Oh, maybe we could do it with two people." And maybe actually, why don't you try it with one person? Anyway, the whole thing sort of, I was a bit reluctant because I thought, "Does not just seem like, let me do it." Sort of, you know what I mean? I think the exact quote, the exact quote, 'cause I talked to someone who was there with, "I got this." (laughing) That's what I said. Oh, remember, you tried to just mess us all today and do this alone. Yeah, I did, I did, I did try to, and I still think I could do it all. I'm learning about the electronics. Electronics. Electronics. Electronics. I know you have your electronics. This is an electronics over there. I think that's proof I know what I'm talking about it. (laughing) Yeah, but yeah, like, all that stuff. So you see, so, you know, to do that. Anyway, so, why am I trying to do this? No, because you're talking about how it all be expanded to you playing all these roles. Yeah, so then you do all the, you do those things. So anyway, I did all the, I ended up playing all the parts and like, how do you do it to, how do you, how do you make the audience feel? Number one, that they understand it. But also, how do you teach an audience about, and we have this really fun moment at the beginning, 'cause I really wanted the audience to sort of not feel like, okay, we're watching check off, like this, what do you need to, yeah, yeah. Because people were like, what do I need to know? I mean, I don't, it's Russian, I'm like, worthy of this. Yeah, what's the thing? So we did this thing where I came out, and I came out and the audience was like, what the fuck is this going to be like? It's going to play all the part. So we did this sort of fun thing. It was such a good thing to do, where I sort of turned off the house, okay, my turn off the house, that's a little trick. Yeah. We turned off the house lights. So they go, okay, we're on darkness now. And then I just turned the back on, I just turned the back on, and I looked at them and they were like, oh, I was like, I can see you, you can see me. This is a bit weird. And they're already laughing before they, sure, before they know. You told them, let's, don't worry, don't worry. It's chill. It's gonna have fun, yeah. It's fun. And I can see you, you can see me, and I love fucking that up alongside something which is like at a great masterpiece. Here's what fascinate me is if you, if you're playing that many roles, and you go up on a line, can you ask one of your other selves? (laughing) - I'm gonna apologize. - Can I apologize? (laughing) Or do you ever say, I can't work with this guy? - Yeah, I say that a lot. - Yeah. (laughing) - To know it's so, what are the great, it was actually nearly the best thing about it is, if you do go up on a line, it was blessed, you could just make it all up. You could just, you could just go, okay, I fucked up it up, okay, well, I'm just gonna keep talking, because nobody, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not having messed anybody up, and then I'll ask a question that isn't in the script, and I'm gonna make that person answer, and we're just gonna go back to that question. (laughing) - That's kind of great. - That was great, that was great. - That's right, you don't have other actors around you going, what? - Yeah, exactly, what are we doing? - What are we doing? - Yeah, what are we doing, yeah, yeah. - I wanna talk about this, again, interesting process now where you've made a movie, and I was told I could access this movie, I could watch it yesterday, and they said, you know, it's this whole system now, it used to be they just give you a DVD or something, or a screener, and they said, here's this system, and this code, and then you're gonna get this number, and you know, you're calling different people, 'cause I don't know much about electronics, but I didn't know nothing about the movie. - Yeah, right, yeah. - I just know it's called Pressure, and I will watch you read the dictionary, so it's like, Andrew Scott Pressure, I'm in. So finally, the movie start, I don't know anything about it, and I realize, oh, it's about World War II, and it's about the buildup to D-Day, and then I realize your character's on screen, and he's being called you, this very important job, and I realize, wait a minute, 'cause I'm a history buff, I think I know about this. - Oh my gosh. - I knew about it, which is, you know, the allies are gonna launch the D-Day invasion to try and save Europe, and they've got the largest armada in the history of civilization. - Wait, are you just saying you know about D-Day? - Yes, I think it must be about D-Day. - I do, okay, and that's the end of the interview. (laughing) I know two things, electronics and D-Day, no, but I know that what I was aware of was that what's the thing that's perilous that they really need to know, which is, invasions over water are almost impossible, they usually fail, they only work when the conditions are right, but it's 1944, you know, meteorology is still kind of in its infancy. They need to know the weather's gonna be okay, and Churchill says there's this one guy who I think is a genius who could do it, and they bring Captain James Staggan, and I'm like, I actually know this story, not as, I didn't know enough about it, I kind of knew about it, and that's what this movie's about, which is a great story to tell. - Yeah, it's really a great story to tell. - It's a really interesting story. It sounds kind of weird, it's a movie about the weather. (laughing) - Coming soon with "Header knew you." Guys talking about the weather in a room. (laughing) - Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to the cellar. (laughing) - Cell baby, cell. - But yeah, it is, it is a quite weird thing, but the weather comes into our lives. Like it's sort of, it's, people think it's a, what a preposterous thing to, you don't have a movie about. - Yeah, yeah. - 'Cause it's sort of like a movie with the weather, but it's also kind of preposterous to sort of not have a movie about the weather. It influences, our influences every day, you know, what we're, you know, what we wear, where we go, where we're gonna have our kids birthday party, where we're gonna go in our holidays. Like what, our mood, like it's something that, it's sort of, it sort of changed my attitude towards the weather, but of course they would be thinking, okay, well, if we have to, if we have to land on the beaches in Normandy, we need to know that these kids are not gonna be drowned in me, these are the conditions are gonna be able to land safely. So they need somebody to say, this is what it's gonna be like, don't go on that day, 'cause then you'll surprise them. That will be a good day to go. They'll see it coming on a blah, blah, blah. So they have this very particular day that they wanted to do it. And this guy, very, very resolute kind of man, stood up, he was a real hero and he was like, no, no, you're not going on that day. And they were like, we are going on that day. - Well, that's the thing that the movie gets really, I think, right, the enormous pressure. - Yeah, the huge thing. - Meaning, this isn't just, should we do the podcast today or should we move it to tomorrow? - Yeah. - It's close to that. (all laughing) - Second, the pressure is similar. - You have Andrew, you have no idea what I deal with the day and the day out. I am Eisenhower. - Oh my God. - Oh, jeez. - And I need the decision today. Let's proceed with Andrew Scott and the 40 minute chat. And that's up, boss. And go and fail. (all laughing) Body is everywhere. - No, but, you know, it was, it's this huge decision and it really does come down to the entire unified allied command looking at this one guy and saying, well, we need to go, we need to go now and it's all set and just, oh, we need is you're okay. And he says, can't give it to you. - Yeah, I won't give it to you. I can't tell you what I'm saying. So who's this extraordinary? He's sort of, he's not a particularly affable person. And I love those kind of cinematic characters that aren't necessarily nice, but are good. - Do you know what I mean? - No, he's a very good man, and he's doing the right thing, but he is not a people pleaser. - Oh, it's not. - And I'm fast, 'cause I just, I spend so much of my life trying to make sure everyone in the room is okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I'm fascinated by people who just don't give a shit. Just don't, he's here. What are you doing? - No pleasantries. - No pleasantries. - Yeah, yeah. - People go to shake your hand. There's not time for that. - Well, I mean, it's great. I think because I'm a little bit similar to you as well. And I think that's a good part of the Irish guy. - We're both great actors. (laughing) - I didn't catch the human sight. - Have you seen Myvanya? Did you see Inner Scotchus said we're very similar? (laughing) Hello? - What's wrong with this? - They're too little. - Yeah. - You got a lying down ovation. (laughing) - People try to actually find lower ground when I finish a play. - They went to Death Valley. - Is there a basement here? (laughing) - Level. - It's drilling often when I, but no, but what I loved about it was, it's historically, it's a true story. It really happened. It's something no one's gonna talk about. And people know the one D-Day story, which I understand you were a very small part of Saving Private Ryan. - Tiny was not like one of your early things? - Yeah, they shot that in the south of Arden on Courtaweach, yeah. So basically, nothing. Tom Hanks rolled over me and I'm like, "My father, please help!" (laughing) - Well, was your line? - My line was, "Nobody's where they're supposed to be." - Oh, yeah. - I know that movie's very well. - I know that line. - Oh, yeah. - That's crazy, that's you. - Nobody's where they're supposed to be, but your head gets blown off. - I don't think people cared enough to know if my head got blown off. I was just, I always say, I was the guy in green. (laughing) - My god. - But your character, you did manage to shout and it actually made it into the Saving Private Ryan. Yeah, the weather was key more on that later Comes back and he shoots you and you're an American No, it's it's I'm I was thrilled it was like I have I knew nothing and it's an interesting story And then I like oh, this is great. Yeah, it's really great. Yeah, yeah, and a terrific cast Yeah, really good. Yeah, Brenna Brenna Fraser and Chris Messina and Carrie Conn and Damien knows great people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I Damien Lewis says is it he's Henry the eighth I believe he's Henry the eighth in Wolfhole, yeah, yeah, he's so good and that became great actor. Oh, yeah, the same thing we're talking about He's genial, but he'll cut your head. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and smile. Yeah, it's like all those characters It's I always think that's what you want as an actor is you want whatever you're presenting to be the opposite of what you're feeling Sometimes, you know, they're the ones that you know whether it's Someone who's a cold harsh and it's incredibly benign or the opposite Why do you have people expect you to kind of walk into a room sometimes to be a little bit more sinister because you're so Friend, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't mind that Your waiter comes right away My waiter's don't Well, this has been an absolute thrill for me and Like I say if you bump into Phoebe Wollabridge any time soon, please tell her This guy my my list is almost down to no one at this point, but she's on it, okay, but up to today it was the two of you and So this is a bucket list a moment for me. I hope you'll come back anytime. Um, I'd love to come back Yeah, just and and trust me. I am gonna get you my clip from not from Ross Neroen. Maybe we can find it You found it Here we go This is just a photo Look that's how they dressed me that's what happens when a hero returns to his country You came in off the street with that and incredible we have the clip if you want to put on your head phone Yeah Listen to he thought he was an actor until he saw this always learning Here we go. There we go. Lots of balloons small doorway Dude which oh my god, it's a doll. We had a chin. Huh balloons your toe, which how do you it go in your skill? Quigga euro Did it ferdin? How could I make you a COD cash under delivery near suckling tada lumpsa so a PMT Pog mohone So I couldn't have held it. I can't do it again. I'm all alone. I bet you told me you're all the mr. tada contraption this might have had crockle at the balloons in the dish. I just got a Gora bondon lekkie brick in it Oh No, they just said told me to say balloon, but They also they She mill they just went out of their way and God bless them. Yeah, because no one deserves it more than I do, but There is no way to be cool in that scene Yeah, I remember I remember it's saying like what if you know Colin Ferrell showed up She'd be like what would you know we'd make him the love interest We're not giving him some second balloon You know, but yeah, I was How is his Irish? How was this absolutely beautiful? Standing ovation Andrew, I can't thank you enough just a joy to be with you today. Joy to be with you guys too. Thank you so much for having me. Oh my god Hey, let's start a segment. I thought that I knew everything about you Conan Mm-hmm. I discovered back in December that there's a way to distract you from anything. Is that true? It's true. This is you're being real now. I'm being real. This is real. This is the real me Okay, and that is to put you in front of a TV and turn on the hallmark channel Wait, where were we when this happened in New York? That's right. It was December So it was like the Christmas hallmark movies. I have to say I am powerless around a hallmark movie I don't know what it is, but I start watching them and then I love to call out what people are gonna say Yeah, and I'm right a bunch of the time you got it like 90% of the time I call out lines like now get back here young man and then the person will say now get back here young man And it's it's thrilling I mean, it's the same high that a gambler in Vegas would get on really yes I get very excited and we were going somewhere like there was a car picking us up But we couldn't leave until we found out if this woman quit her job as a lawyer to go Build ice sculptures. Yes. Well first of all We didn't wait to find out what was going to happen. That's true We knew what was going to happen The uptight lawyer is gonna realize that the most exciting thing in her life is making ice sculptures with this guy At Christmas time in their little Christmas village And I knew that was going to happen, but I had to see it happen. Yeah, it's one of those things where you know I have to see that happen. Yeah, and and I love how there's no jeopardy She her mom runs the law firm. I love how this is coming back to me instantly I'm not kidding like I didn't know you were gonna bring this up Her mom runs the law firm and she's dreading telling her mother her mother keep saying of course and you're gonna take over the law firm Because that's which and then she's loving making this ice sculpture with this guy, which I think is a loser thing to do And anyway, what I'm sorry. You just burned a lot of ice sculpture This isn't like Timmy Chalamet with the ballet. Oh, okay. I went very specific with ice sculpture And if you've got a problem with that ice sculpture people Yeah, I said ice sculptorists by the way, that was really embarrassing. Can we edit that? No, I want to do I want it Or ice sculptor's zisms. Anyway, um she has to go to her mom and you think oh This is gonna be the real tension in the show she goes to her mom and says I just want to make ice sculpture I don't really and she said this is the line I called out she said but it was always your dream to be a lawyer And I shouted out no mom it was your dream and she went no mom it was your dream and I It was an erotic high for me. Oh, I swear to God. I had to go and shower myself off after that I was I needed it. It was in the room. They was in the room. He saw me go Conan tried to call HR, but it was just a whole mark. We're the only person who does that It was um she said but that was always your dream honey and I shouted no mom It was your dream and she said no mom it was your dream Scrub scrub scrub scrub Scrub scrub scrub and then we were off to our obligation. Uh-huh, but I needed to see that happen. Yeah That and you've texted son and I before I can't remember what movie it was But you were like I thought commercial for a movie on lifetime. I need the lifetime app Oh, yeah, I do remember that. Oh, I needed my fix So I'm just I find it to be endlessly fascinating. I really enjoy it. Uh, it calms me down It it I just I'm so happy. They have a formula and it's clearly working Oh, it is very formula formula is so precise and they never vary from it Someone's uptight someone's in touch with themselves uptight person. They don't get along. I mean whatever We've seen it a million times. Yeah, yeah, they always live in Christmas town, US. I know. It's a little too g-rated for me I've evolved now. What about this? What if they could make this is something we have a production Company maybe we could get into this yeah a homework show that has all of those hits all of those points And is very much like that, but the sex is really down and dirt I mean you see everything a slam it a slam it a slam it a Thwab it a thwab it a you see it all so it's like I didn't know you like making ice sculptures I do make liking ice sculptures. You seem kind of uptight before while I'm not uptight now Wab it a Wab it a Wab it a Shamba Shamba. Yeah, and it's all like double entendre titles like Christmas came early and then her name she's this So no she was ready to go You had that right away in there. It was already in there. I do think these would do well. Ballmark. Yeah, Jingle Balls ballmark ballmark Like balls. Yeah, like yeah ball you get balled ballmark ball. No, no, no, please blaze Can I tell you something? This is really Sona's area. This is not something you jumped in Literally, you were just watching she were just watching Venus Williams play tennis and you jumped in with a racket So now I'm honored. Sona does this you Sometimes it's not so like instead of ballmark. I'd just say bone mark, but it's not that good No, no, no, you get the point. No, the thing is but what about this idea be serious for a second an idea where you it is Very G-Ray. It's the same thing that people are all, and then, but when it comes to the moment where they start to kiss, and you just cut to a current blowing, you cut to the curtain blowing, but then you pan back, and they are both naked, and I mean, it's just a hot clown sash. It pans over, pounds up, and then pans back, all clothes gone, oiled up, chamada, bamada, lambada, hamada. And it just goes on for like 15, 20 minutes. Oh my God. And then they're back to, well, I think, you know, we got a new, someone helping us out at the Cuckoo Clock store. I thought you were an uptight corporate lawyer. I was, but man, we just went at it. And then you pan to the curtain, or you can to the Cuckoo Clock, and then you pan back, and everyone in the store is doing it. Oh my God. Yeah. 19 people. Yeah. The guy that runs the Cuckoo Clock store, the people buying Cuckoo clocks, the guys that make them, they're all naked, bang, and a hang in a wagon, a bang in a wagon. What channel will this go? Oh, we don't go on any channel that wants to make money. Any channel would want this. It's like pay per view. Netflix would take this, wouldn't they? No, Netflix actually, I don't think it is. Oh, they don't do porn? It's like straight up pornography. Yeah. What do you mean? I would say Netflix would definitely do that. I don't know who does. I'm talking software. I've seen it. I've seen everything stuff. I've seen it. No, it's a valid question. I'm not some animal. What? No, I mean, I want it to be very, very, you know, like you just want butts. No. It gets into a gray area when we start showing things. Yes. Well, that's what I'm saying. Well, I saw an eye. We're just wondering because that can be covered up with things can be covered up with Christmas snow. What I'm saying is I want to see, no, seriously, I want people going at it hardcore. And then, oh, look, some icicles formed near where the penis would be. Or just some snow or a reindeer wandered in and it's it's feeding off some acorns right near their crutches. This is a show. This is a format. This is a lot of money. Get on it. Get on it. This is our idea. Don't try and steal it. Peace out, Tupac. Oh, we're just done. Conan O'Brien needs a friend with Conan O'Brien, sonum of Sessian and Mac Gorley, produced by me, Mac Gorley, executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Leo, theme song by The White Stripes, incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples. Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns, additional production support by Mars Melnick, talent booking by Paula Davis, Gina Batista and BrittCon. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco Hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of Sirius XM when you sign up at SiriusXM.com/Conon. And if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien, Needs a Friend, wherever fine podcasts are done with it.