Claire Danes

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What we are all witnessing is terrifying and enraging and illegal, but we are also seeing neighbors helping neighbors. And if you want to help, there is a directory of local organizations and mutual aid groups that you can check out at standwithminnesota.com. Minnesotans, you're in our hearts. Okay, I'm with the show. Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Very excited about our guest today. It is the incredible Claire Danes. I cannot wait to talk to Claire today. She is such a pro. She's so good at so many things, and I know she's going to be a good hang, and we are going to get into it today. We're going to talk about her big brain. We are going to talk about the lasting effect of my so-called life and how people still love it even to this day. We're going to talk about her stint on law and order and what that was like. And we're going to hear about how she met Boschiat in an elevator when she was a New York kid. So much to talk about before we do. We always like to speak to somebody who knows our guest, who has a question for me to ask our guest, and we talk well behind their back. And we have a great one today. The incredible Mandy Patinkin, Mandy actor, singer, activist. Now podcaster, you can check out his podcast. Don't listen to us out now with his wonderful wife, Catherine, and his son, Gideon, and Mandy. Hi. Can you hear me? This episode is brought to you by Caesar. Dog parents, what do you have on the menu tonight? If you're looking to serve your favorite four-legged friend, high quality, wet dog food, be genuinely excited about, we say just eat Caesar. Whether it's a protein-rich beef recipe on Monday or a savory chicken and vegetable dinner on Wednesday, Caesar offers a variety of delicious meals made with freshly crafted, slow-cooked ingredients, all designed to support your dogs every day nutrition without compromise. That's real variety, real ingredients, and real excitement at meal time. So if you're looking to serve a meal, your dog actually looks forward to every single day. They should totally just eat Caesar. Learn more at Caesar.com. Your dog will thank you. Hi, Amy. Hi, Mandy. Don't look at me, I'm eating something again. Oh, yum. What are you eating? Murray's tuna. Oh, perfect. Vegetarian chop liver on Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast. Wow. That's a lot of flavors. Well, I love the cinnamon raisin and I eat that because my trainer tells me not to eat this other bread that this is the one he wants me to eat and I'm feeling good and so I do what he says. You're a podcaster now. Yes, I'm a podcaster. You will be talked to podcasters as well. I can't stand talking to someone who doesn't have a podcast. Trust me, Amy. I know. Right when you see them. You're like, what are you doing with your life? It's unconscionable to even think of doing that. It's horrible. So I wouldn't even, even hearing you say it upsets me. That's not an option. You do a show with, um, uh, don't listen to us with Catherine, your wife and your son Gideon. Yes. And, um, congratulations on that and they, and they don't listen to me. So it always, the title is always in operation. How, how has it been? Well, what have you been learning about yourself and in the process of making it? It's great, Amy. It's just great being with your family 24/7, never too great. I know. I know. I'm working. Yes. You know, be at home, work with them. You know, just like, you know, my son, you know, just can't get enough of his parents. It's just, it's a total joy. 24/7. It's just like being in paradise. But before we get to Claire, just one more time because I know Gideon will want me to get the log line. How would you describe the podcasts? Oh, just the podcast to describe the podcast is, uh, just, uh, it's a podcast. It's undescribable. It's just an extraordinary podcast. Um, it, uh, has, uh, my wife who I love. I've been with her for seven, 47 years. If I can stay with her for 47 years, you can tune in and stay with her for 47 minutes. And my son, Gloria, son Gideon, he, it's all his, and then the one mistake is having me at the table as well. I am such a humongous fan of your work, Mandy. It meant so much to me that I was talking to you today. And we're talking today to Claire Danes, who I know you absolutely love. I adore her. If, if I, if I had a daughter, it would be Claire, uh, can you tell me where you two first met? We first met in the rehearsal room in Winston, Salem, North Carolina. I believe that's where we met. I think that's where we were where we had the first read through of homeland. And I think that's where, I think that was the name of the town where we shot the first three seasons. Pretty sure it was Winston, Salem, but I could be wrong. I'm at that age. I don't just look at it. It's the same thing inside the brain. It's just, it's just wiry gray, white mess up there and, uh, I'm pretty sure, I know it was North Carolina. I sure was like, no, no, it was Charlotte, North Carolina. So that's interesting. So you met in rehearsal for the first time and obviously you, I'm familiar with each other's work. Um, what was your first impression of her? Well, I knew, uh, she was of the highest pedigree. And so I just, uh, was thrilled to be with her and, um, I knew that I wanted more than anything for her, both as Mandy and the character Saul, uh, I wanted her to feel safe with me. And I wanted her to feel protected by me and I wanted her to trust me. And I knew that was a tall order, uh, but we sat down, uh, with, with our director to just have our first read through. And she finished the first scene and she said something that I never forgot. I just left. She said, well, that was some of the worst shmack thing I've ever done. And I never, I never heard that word shmack thing and I loved it. And, uh, I never heard her say it again because, uh, I think she's brilliant. I even thought she was brilliant when she thought she was shmack thing. So, um, she is, uh, she's as good as they come, uh, you know, in the arena, she's a thorough bread, uh, which leads me to my second thought that I had to offer you. Would you like that? Or do you want to run this? No, I love, I love. Oh, I don't think with you and I that I'm ever going to run anything. I think Mandy, whenever you're going to be running it, but I can, I can shut up. I know. I love, I heard that you wrote down a bunch of questions for her, which I love because I too have so many questions for her. How many of you have on that page? I have, I wrote down the one, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Okay. Great. No, no, eight. Perfect. I, I, I, I, I understand why you can, you can buy these questions, probably, just go to your website. I have his for sale, but I understand why you have all these questions for her because she is, to your point, thoroughbred is a perfect word like so incredibly gifted and also your story tells, tells me that she also does not take herself too seriously. It's that combination that's incredible to be around. She was a kid actor, you know, and, and the thing is, as you've known from working with kids, the, the magic of them, it's literally magic. They sit there, they play, they play with the other kids and then the director goes action and they're there with a believability that if you worked at this craft till the day you died, you would never get to be that good the way these kids are. And she's one of the rare ones that took it into adulthood and, and she has that, she just believes, she just believes in a way that is, I'm transfixed. I had to do the least work in my life because all I would do is just sit and listen to it. It can really feel the love between you two. So let's get to those eight or nine questions. You got it. So the next one that I wrote down, wait, what was the first one again? Oh God. I know it was going to be a challenge. The first one. I have no idea what the first one was. What did I say? Okay, okay, forget it. Look at me. Well, yeah, Amy. I'm so sorry. You start, you start in the middle. Don't even ask me my name anymore. just please, have a little, you know. Sorry, Mady. Okay, and Yiddish, it's called Rachmanus. Have some Rachmanus for what you're dealing with here. Regarding her children. I'm very curious because she's married to an exceptional young man, a young in my book, and young and everybody's book. I would like to know who is better in the family at setting boundaries for the children. Ooh. Is it Claire or Hugh? Hugh or Claire? Her great actor husband, Hugh Dancy. Now I would like you to ask her something that only she would know. What is Mande's father's favorite chewing gum? (laughing) That does, that question seems like what you have to answer to get into an exclusive private club. You are right on the money and how did she commemorate the answer to that gift to me? - Excellent. - Which was one of the great gifts that I've ever been given. - Wow. - Oh, here's a good one. How often does she feel she peas she needs to pee before every take or every scene? - Love that. - It's not a downside. It gives everyone a chance to breathe. We all know that, you know, there's a rest period coming up. (laughing) So is it okay? Okay, that was it. Okay, these are great. These are great questions. And they all speak to what I'm learning about her. And, you know, I've known Claire over the years through friends and loved my time, spending time with her. But what I've learned about her is, she's a really considerate person. She's a very considerate person. She really considers other people. I think it's what makes her a good actress and human in the world. - You know, the gift of that one of the great gifts of the television series in my humble opinion is that you get to be there for a long time and you really get to know each other and you get to know each other's strengths and also each other's fragilities. And she learned mine. I sort of wear them on my sleeve but she learned them quickly and she just took care of me. She knew how to take care of me when I needed holding and when I needed, you know, and she knew how to leave me alone when I needed to leave me alone time. - Beautiful. I know she's going to be so excited that we talked. I don't know if she knows. This might be a surprise to her. - I didn't tell her. I'm short, recently at a political event for Mamdani, which I was thrilled that she was there. But I didn't mention, I hadn't known about this at that point. - Oh, that's great. I think she's going to be so happy that we talked. - Please, take my phone number. - I will. - I'm going to take your phone number and I'm going to call you for advice on a lot, but basically on most things in life. - And you're welcome while I was there. And you're just the dumbest fucking person I've ever had. - Thanks, Mamdee. Take care. Bye. - Have fun. Bye-bye. - This episode is brought to you by Visible. Got a resolution to save? Kick 2026 off right with Visible. It's a one-line wireless plan with unlimited data and hotspot for $25 a month. Taxes and fees included. All on Verizon's 5G network. It's the ultimate wireless hack to save money and still get great coverage and a reliable connection. Now for a limited time, new members can get the Visible plan for just $19 a month for the first 26 months. Ring in the New Year with code switch26. Share the savings with a deal that is too good to keep quiet. Switch now at Visible.com. Terms apply, limited time offers subject to change. See Visible.com for plan features and network management details. - Woo-hoo-hoo! - Ah! And you do talk about this being a number eight business a lot. The end and-- - Anyogram? Wait, you're pretending you don't know the any remiss? - I know now because of you. - Do you know what your number is? - I did it last night. - Yes! - Don't tell me what it is I want to guess. - I too. - You're an eight! - I'm an eight. - I'm an eight. I screamed. - Oh my god. - Oh wow. - Freaking out. - Yes. - Claire Danes just walked in with a balloon. By the way, thank you. These are beautiful. - Yeah, you're welcome. - I'm a beautiful eight balloon. - Yeah. - I'm going to bring it into frame. - Yeah. - Look at that. A gorgeous eight balloon. In reference to the fact that we are the same anyogram number. - Well, I didn't know that when I bought the balloon. I just knew that you were an eight girl because you do talk about it pretty much. - This is an intervention and everyone's like, and now you've got the balloon and now shut up about it. - It's an eight prevention. - Oh my gosh. - But you're so welcome. But I was so excited that I got to be your twin eight sister. - Listen, if you're going to start with anyogram, we're going to go because I'm very pleased that you're an eight. - Okay. - That makes perfect sense to me. - Does it? - Yes. - I'm very new to this visit. - You're in a bad mood. - Did you read the descriptions of it and feel like it was you? - Sure. But I also worry that I might just be a little impressionable and, you know, kind of absorb and accept and make it work. - Interesting. Well, that's not very eight like is it? - It's not. But perhaps you've got a wing, you know? - No, you can get a wing. - I just learned it. - I don't know. - I don't know what my wing is. - I'd love to see what your pie chart looked like. - Okay. - Like what you actually, what were your big, I wish you had told me you were taking the test because I would have sent a text that said, send me your pie chart, send me your pen. - Okay, I'm sure I can find it again. - What's your sign? Virgo. - Okay. - What are you? - I'm Aries Virgo Rising. - Oh my god. - Like Claire, run all of the things. Run all of the things. Do all the things. Be sure I do all of the things. - I mean, do you find yourself to be like a, I mean, we know each other, but we don't know each other. - Yeah. - And I've had the pleasure of being around you a lot, a lot, and humongous fan of your work of course. - Oh my gosh. - And thank you. And we were very excited that you said yes today. And do you think you're an organized person? Like are you an organized? - I've gotten much more organized over time, but I do love the container store. - I love the container store. - So much. - A good container will change your life. - Jenna, why are you laughing, Jenna? Why are you laughing so hard? But, and what I love about, when I love the idea of figuring out what things, what do things mean to you in life? - Because they actually, it's a paradox. They don't mean anything and they mean a lot. They can be really valuable tools and they think they do carry energy, like I really do believe that. And they can transport you. They can be little tiny time machines. - Yes. - But, okay, of course you're an organizer, of course you're Virgo, of course you're Aries, of course you're an eight. Claire Danes is here. - I mean, Claire, if I did not love you already, I mean the theme of, I feel like the theme of today is, I've always felt like you and your work were ahead of its time. - That's very nice. - That's very, very nice. - You've always brought me as an artist into worlds that I didn't know I was ready for. You're an intellectually curious person who's interested in interesting things and therefore you kind of, you're drawn to those things, almost like, you know, like the cartoon character when the pie's on the windowsill. Like, I feel that with you. You're drawn to interesting things. - I am. That's true. Thank you for saying that. That's actually very, very touching and meaningful that you say that really. - Well, I can sense it from the choices you made as an artist and, you know, it is like my so-called life and homeland and temple grandin' and the Beast and Meat, like all these projects and the way you, you're kind of leading us into some new territory always. It feels like a new territory for you too, which is very exciting. Of course, you're an anyogram eight, you're a challenger, you're incredible. But I'm sorry that we're the best, but we are, and I'm sorry to all the other numbers. But, like, it, and I just want to say this as we, like, as we get this thing started, finally, which is, you have the ability as an actor to stay in your body and be in your brain. Those are two very hard things to do. - Oh my God. - This is so, Claire. - Claire, you're so smart. - This is so nice. This is so nice. This is so nice. - It's hard to balance those two things, body and brain. And that's why I'm obsessed with the fact that you love to dance. - I do love to dance. - I love to dance. - Me too, and for me, it gets me out of my brain. - Out of my brain. - Yeah, yeah. - Chains. - Yes. And I don't dance as much as I, I don't dance enough anymore. I had a good wiggle the other night all by myself in my bathroom. I really needed it. - Yeah. And that's where I've seen you probably the most is on the dance floor. - Yeah. Well, we're a friend Rashida's a pretty great dancer. - She's had some parties, and we've danced in our pajamas together, and I feel like there's been some awards shows where we've been on the floor, like we're dancing, regulates. What does it do for you? How does it, what does it do for your body? - I got it so funny, well, because it's my son's birthday today. My eldest son, he's turned 13, and it's like a superpower I have to, I just like a little tiny wiggle in public. He will cross the Oh, yeah, it's just, but, yeah, I can mortify him within a millisecond. And even worse is you just have to go, "I'm a good dancer." People think I'm a good dancer and they're like, "Mom, please, mom, everyone's watching your dance." Yeah, but what does it do for me? Well, I mean, the best is when you enter that, like, flow state, when you, yeah, when it's, when it's, there's no thought, and you're just totally synchronized with whatever sound is coming into, you know, through your ears. I love watching toddlers dance, you know, when they jump, they do that thing, they do the bouncing thing, and we all do it. And um, Shay, my, my baby, she, she's very kind of in her head and dream me, and sometimes she'll do this kind of dance, and my, that's fabulous. Anyway, how old is she? She's two and a half. Okay. I heard something that's amazing, which is that kids from three, like, from three to four, three to five are considered them like on mushrooms, like hallucinogenic mushrooms, because they're like, the floor is lava, and like, I'm feeling the music, and they're like, "Why do we die?" And they're like, "Oh, you are tripping." And it's so true that she's, very, oh, she's really fun. You are a real dancer. Well, but never, not like a formally trained one. I had this amazing teacher here in the city, a woman named Ellen Robbins, and she was great. And like, from the age of four on, I worked with her. I say that, like, intentionally. It sounds ridiculous, because I was a tiny human, but she really took every kid very seriously, and over the course of the year, you would work towards choreographing your own piece, and you would choose the theme and the music, and I was a moth to flame one year. Yes, I was. It was a lot of it. A lot of it. A lot of it. A lot of it. I'm clinging up and opening again, and finding your life. Little Claire in dance class, at four. You are a New York kid. Yes. I'm really always interested in kids who grew up in New York. What was, so-ho? What was your version of? It was. Little kid in New York. It was funky. Yeah. And, you know, a little rough. Yeah. I was born in '79. My parents were artists. They moved to the bowry in the late '60s, and my dad's mom, Claire, my name, after, died when he was a kid. And then I guess he kind of had this money, finally, and they bought a lawful building with another couple that they still own on Crosby Street, where I was growing up. So it was, you know, we had a swing. We had a trapeze. I would roller skate, I know, it was- It's kind of how we picture- It was like a roller ring. To be living. I had some shame about it too, and I had cousins who lived in the suburbs, and all I wanted was to be in a cul-de-sac, and have, like, a basement, and carpet on the floor. Yeah. We forget that when we're little. We don't want to be- Different. Interesting. No. We want to be exactly the same. But, you know, it was, it was also very cool, and, you know, Basque outlived in our building, and- Yes. Like, did you meet him? I remember him. I remember being really little, and, you know, I- he was kind of- it was very sweet. Like he was very charming and kind of tender. That's what I remember about him and the elevator. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. The hearing was just around, and, uh, yeah, but there was also, um, violent, and the mafia still existed. So we were on Crosby and Prince, so just on the other side of Lafayette, that was the different world, and felt quite active, and- Did you become a vigilant- are you a vigilant person or a vigilant kid because of- On the street? No, in life, like- Yeah. Was there some hyper-vigilance that was created because of that? Yes. Because of New York- and also, I have very, like, funky- Groovy-artist parents. Totally. So- Hi. There was a rigidity that developed- Yes. Love and- Yes. Speak in my language. Yes. And, uh, like, a hyper-observance, yes. Yes. For sure. And so you go- and speaking of vigilance and hyper-observance, you were on law and order as a young person. Who was? How old were you? I was 12. Sure. I played a teen- But, yeah. It was amazing. It was amazing. And I played a teenage murderer. Yeah. My mom was a prostitute, like, high-end, and her, like, him was grooming me to basically do the same thing, but he was kind of presenting himself as a modeling agent, and he was, you know, and I took these photos of me and- Typical and- And my mom found out about it, and she intercepted, and I was furious, and I took the scissors from the dark room and stabbed him. Perfect. I think that's what it was. God, I would have killed to have been- That was what I wanted to do so about, really? A teen order. A long order. Yeah, a long order. I then dated a boy by another guy, a kid, another character. He met an audition who also had been a teen murderer on long order. That was, like, our cute story. And now he was on long order. I know. Which is wild. I know. And he had so much good, like, gear, like, swag, long order swag. We have a giant button that goes dun-dun, that the kids really, really like. And we do have to hide sometimes. But that show is, and it's just, first of all, I just employed so many actors. And it still does. It's the total institution. I was also very sure the day after it aired, there was, like, a screening party. It was just, like, it was going to be a problem for me to ride the subway, like, 'cause I was going to be a soul for animals. And it was fine. It was fine. It was fine. It was fine. Yeah. No, it was, it was pretty comfortable. Still, for me. No, you've been in my so-called life. How old were you when you auditioned for that? I was 13 when I did the pilot, and I was, and then it didn't get picked up. Yeah. And I'd gone to public school my whole life, but then, like, had made money from these acting jobs, and I could afford to send myself to private school, so I went to Dalton. And, but yeah, then, but in the very start of my freshman year, we got this call saying, 'Oh, no, they are going to pick it up.' So I was only physically there for a semester, and then we were off to LA. Wow. And was kind of tutored from that point on. Now, I mean, I know you've talked ad nauseam about the experience you had making that show. And it is still so zeitgeisty that show. It's really. It was a very special thing for me. When you were making it, it felt like a special sparkly thing. And I remember reading the pilot, I guess, before the audition, and just having a very profound, you know, experience, and it was really powerful to have some woman, some writer person, so perfectly articulate my internal life. And that was when he holds, when he mentioned, who still a dear, dear friend and just wildly inspired, hilarious, loving person, wrote wicked, yes, just this little India wicked, yeah, which is basically crazy, like teenage girls, you know, and their, their intimacies and their friendships. Yeah. And when he was, when he was the creator of the show, she was, yes, she was the creator of the show, and we were both working so hard. We barely saw each other, but we were, you know, in this very deep relationship in our imaginations, you know, yeah. Did you chemistry read with Jared Leto for no, no, no, no, he just got hired and then you guys had to kind of get fined to find the chemistry there. He was like in the Nakzima commercial. That was very exciting. Yeah. He was so hot. Oh, my God. He was ridiculous. You know, Jordan Kalano is like, because also one of those names, it's always incredible, the full name. Yeah. And there was also a character and the show called Tino that you never saw. Anyway, there are so many, but I, but do you have a theory because you know now with perspective, like what, what do you think resonates still with, with Angela's like, well, it's still radical. I don't think it remains ahead of this time, like why, why, it shouldn't have been made. It almost wasn't made many times and, and it just willed it, wills itself into existence. I don't know. It's not very often that we spend that much time, intimate time with a, a teenage girl. Yeah. Not really. Not really. We're seeing the world from her, from inside of her. And really through her vantage point when she's, and she's so earnestly wrestling with big stuff, you know. Yeah. Um, and, and it's, I, yeah, it's just so well-balanced and it's so, it's so of her, you know, but it's, there's some zingers, there's some really well-crafted lines. You know, I was rewatching that moment, the like beautiful moment where that is played over and over again on TikTok every day of my life, because it's on my FYP, but of, um, of when Jordan comes over to Angela and says, "Can we go somewhere?" and you say, "Sure." And he walk off with him and he takes your hand in front of everybody and that feeling of being chosen publicly is a big, major, yeah, for a young woman and a young man. But why the show I think separates itself from others is also, editorially, we know what all the other characters are feeling in that moment, like we cut to everyone else's feeling about not being chosen or the wrong person being chosen. Like everyone's having, feeling like we're, we're feeling everybody's pain, psychic pain or joy in that moment. Oh, that's, that's a very well-stated, uh, yeah, well, well-analyzed scene. I've watched it for a lot of many times. Um, no, and it, yes, it was, it was, I feel wildly fortunate that that was my entry point. Meet new grippy setting mist from Mavily New York. Just plump, dewy, hydrated skin that still feels like your skin. Try new grippy setting mist from Mavily New York. Maybe it's Mavily. And you've worked with what I imagine, only imagine are really some very interesting, complicated and maybe at times difficult people at a young age. I, I project on you that you have to like figure out how to be self-possessed and be your own artist and your own, you know, like protect yourself and also be among these like really complicated adults. Do you feel like there was some inner, clear thing that helped you navigate all that early stuff? I feel like kids are doing that all the time anyway. What? Every kid. Okay. You know, I think this is, um, I don't know, I, also, I remember people, I never felt like a kid. And now, now that I am a parent and I have actual children, I'm like, yeah, no, I for sure was a kid. There's no way. Do you think you're gonna, I sometimes think I, I never felt like a kid either. No, I, I was about eight or nine. I was like, I'm in charge here. I did. I was like, these people, but like I just remember being like, no, I'm okay. My first memory. I don't know if it's real or not, obviously no idea, but was pre-verbal, I, I was an infant. I remember where, I, where I was, I was, I was by my, the windows on our, on our loft and cross the street. I, overlooking Lafayette Street and I had been handed to some other adults that I didn't know very well. And they didn't know how to hold a baby. And I remember having, I was like, okay, this is one of those grownups who don't know how to do this. They're uncomfortable. Wow. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just gonna have to wait it out. Yeah. Yeah. And then I remember my second, my, yeah, my, and then my second memory was being on the kitchen island and I was just about, I just was starting to have some language, but not quite enough. And I was kind of playing straights with my mom and I wanted to get to the, to the counter, like the other side of the kitchen. And she was really frustrated and she, and I, and I felt such empathy for both of us. And I was like, this week, this cannot continue. Like I really, really need to crack this language thing because I mean, poor us. This is too hard. Amazing. Yeah. It was like that always and people would say like how, you know, I, you know, it's so remarkable that you can deliver performances at such a young age. I was like, what are you talking about? I feel like I've been here for this has been an internity. Like I've been here. Yes. This is so many years. Yes. And it felt very rich. I was like, I've got enough material for four lifetimes. It makes total sense to me because when you're in little women and you're dying. I was like, she's been here before I had to re-shoot there. I can't. I can't even. Just my side. Oh. Because apparently I got too excited about the death rattle because of course I read like five stages of dying. I like and really studied whatever illness Beth had. Sure. And I got a little carried away. Um, I told the little story to Matthew Reece and he calls me, um, death rattle Danes. But Julie Danes and the director lied to me. I only learned this like last year literally and said that that Coke had spilled on the negatives of the film and that we needed to re-shoot. Well, that's a nice thing. It was really because she needed to like, like, calm the death rattle down a little bit. I got. Yes. So that's a factoid. By the time you were 20, you were already in 13 movies. So that's a few movies. That's a lot. And you went. I did not know that. Okay. Went to school. Went to Yale. What did you study there? I thought I was going to be a psychology major and then it ended, it ended up being like a lot of lab work involved with that, um, that's not what I meant. Yeah. Eventually I think I would have been, I didn't complete my time and I never had to declare a major. I had, I think, I would have been an English major, which is what I meant. You know, I didn't want it to be the science part was less interesting to me than the character studies. Do you have a bit of like a sliding doors fantasy that you would be a therapist in another life? Well, my best friend in the whole wide world from the age of nine on is a therapist. Um, congrats. Thank you. I did pretty well. Best friend I chose. Nice, well, at nine, um, and, and actually it's really fun. We do kind of play Barbies together with my characters. Like if I'm starting a project, we'll think about it in those kind of formal terms and she'll diagnose her and, oh, it is, it's actually very handy. Yeah. And occasionally at lunch, like I'll see her kind of, it'll be, I see her shift from Ariel, you know, into, and she'll ask, she'll say, is it okay if I, you know, go into actual formal therapy mode with you now? Yeah. I dream. I dream. I dream. Um, so, so yeah, I, I, I mean, that, so, okay. So I'd wanted to be an actor from the age of five onwards. And then people would tell me, you know, most actors actually don't make that much money. So fairly insecure, which is career choice and continues to, and I had a practical side. And I thought, okay, all right, fine, I'm going to be a therapist and I'm going to live in the suburbs. I was going to live next door to Ariel. We were going to share a pool and we would have two slides in our respective yards that would go into the same pool. I would be a therapist and do acting workshops, yes, to like nourish the soul. And that was my plan for a good year and I made an actual announcement one night at the dinner table. And I said, look, guys, who am I kidding? There is no plan B. I am an actor, money or no money. This is, this is my calling and my parents are like, ah, I'm sure, um, and I was so serious. It's ridiculous. And I really meant it and I went to, you know, I took Saturday acting classes at least Rossburg, which is in my neighborhood and I pass almost every day and it's a total trip. But yeah, anyway, so yes, but actually, my favorite class was a graphic design class, my very favorite class and then I thought, oh, maybe if I weren't an actor, I would be a, that kind of person. I can see that. I can see. I can see all of these things like what, what I love about your work is that it feels, and again, it just feels like when you're watching you work that there's just real life that exists in your life. Like you have a real life, you're a real person, the same real person. I'm trying. And then so then when we're watching you play people when you're, they feel like real people. A little bit, you just kind of can't explain if people have it or they don't or they feel like they've actually existed on the earth and had a real life. And people that are kind of in just a different sphere of, I don't know. And there's something that feels like you have taken care of other parts of your life. It was, it was good for me to do that. Yeah. I had time out. Yeah. I needed to not have so much responsibility, and I needed to just like, like around a little bit. Yeah. And like get stoned and play Mario Kart. Right. Um, uh, I need to go away. That was, that doesn't need to go as important as, you know, the, the work I was doing in class, which was also really, really wonderful. And, um, and I also felt like validated as a thinking person. Um, I feel like you've spoken about like the kind of wonderful things about perspective and getting older. What's the best thing about being the age you are that it's perfectly okay to have the same breakfast every morning, um, to exercise, um, for 45 minutes to an hour, um, how's your bone density? I don't know. And I should know and I don't lift enough weights, no, no, we have to lift so many weights. I'm, I, I like lifting my own body weight. I really like yoga these days, but it's not enough. Apparently I have to lift natural iron and you run your big runner. I used to run more the third pregnancy really kind of a dent. So when people don't know you had a pregnancy a few years ago, yeah, kind of a surprise. Whoa. Whoa. Out of the blue. That, whoa. Did you, um, burst into tears like, oh, no, I have to get pregnant again. Totally. Yeah. I called my OBGYN in convulsive tears. Yeah. Um, yes. No, I, it was, it was a pure, like it was all meltdown. Oh, no. You had what a, what I could 12 year old, or like a 10 year old and a six year old or something. Yes. I mean, he must have been around 11, 12. Yeah. I, I, there are five years apart. Each kid, none of this was by design, um, but yeah, I didn't know it was physically possible. I was 44 and, um, and actually Rowan was very hard earned. I had to do two rounds of IVF, like it just was so unlikely. So this is a funny story that I'm going to share about my best friend. Okay. Um, yeah. And this is Ariel. And this is Ariel. Okay. Ariel. Yeah. She gets named checked a lot in these things. Well, she is your therapist. And she's, and she's other people's therapist too. Oh, I would like to be honest. I'm just ruined her career. I like her to be honest. Um, but, um, yes. So we, we had this like a spa day scheduled and, and I admitted to her and I wasn't, I wasn't coping very well with the heat. I kept, I was like, I'm sorry. I'm such a pussy. I'd got to get out of here. Anyway. I wasn't going to say anything. And finally I admitted I was like, you know, I, I totally lost my mind last night and just decided that I was pregnant. I went down this crazy rabbit hole and finally like looked up what are the odds of naturally conceiving at 44 and they're like less than 1% and I was like, so that obviously is ridiculous. And she said, Whoa, that's really weird because I had this dream last week. She said it was really vivid. And I told people about, I mean, I didn't say it was you, but I this dream where I was pregnant and I looked down and I saw my distended belly and I said, Oh, I'm, wait, but this is a really, this isn't my torso. This is a long torso. This is Claire's torso. You have a great torso. Thank you. But yeah, and she was in, she was this dream where she looked down and saw that she was pregnant but she wasn't pregnant. She was in my pregnant body. And then the, you know, I had two strong cocktails when we had dinner. And then first thing the morning hit the CVS and it was just like, bold, hot blocks, you know, yeah, pregnant and I burst into tears because for me, the thing would just be like, you know what you know now. You know what you know. Well, that was, that was fairly, deeply humbling because I realized, Oh, I am not authoring this thing. Like, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. This is really, this is the illusion that I am like driving this thing. Yes. So you had to surrender. I really did. Yeah. And then this beautiful girl emerged and she's the best and none of it was up to me. And I'm just delighted. Yeah. But she was disruptive. We had to move. It was a thing. It was a lot of work. Well, it's still a lot of work. And like her origin story will be, I bet will just like naturally be like, you really wanted to be here. She did. And she psyched. Like, she is all about it. She's having a great time. Yeah. I'm an equivocally like into this living business. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it is, that's the thing about, I think about the best and more thing about late forties for me mid fifties is you kind of know the deal. So it's like, okay, that's going to be this. Uh-huh. And okay, this one's going to hurt. Yeah. Or, yeah. You know, there's still stuff to discover certainly. But there is a sense of. It's amazing to have so much of your life, like, established and, you know, yeah. Um, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's basically you've, uh, you've come through things. Mm-hmm. And you've, and you've made it, made it through something. Yeah. And there's a lot of, um, I don't know. I don't know how we're in that and joy in that. And it's also sad because I'm really, really aware of time now. Me too. It's really like the thing I, I crave, I crave time is my, time is a thief. Yeah. And it's, and it's, it's actually, and I'm sure you're this way too, more and more with work or with any project, it's the thing I care about the most, how much to, and, you know, it makes me think about your work on Homeland, which was a 10 year commitment. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of time. A lot of time. Hard work. Yeah, it was. Hard work. And, and we were all over the planet like we were in so many different countries, um, and I had two kids. Yes. And I was like fighting terrorists while deeply pregnant. It was weird. Did you have, um, a thing like you liked to do on that show when you saw on the call she were like, ooh, today I get to do this. You know, because like, it was like today, oh, and you know, maybe it was like today I get to school the after a while, like, you know, a few seasons in people, new Carrie Matheson and every, it was almost like an anthology series like we would reimagine ourselves every year. But, you know, so a new set of actors, you know, I'd walk into a room and they would, like, get quiet and be chastened and I like had this cool, this power that, you know, I, I had earned overseas and, you know, and, and that was pretty funny, you know, and never have I ever had that experience in my life, nor will I ever again, even in a fictional realm, you know? But that was like, amazing to have that kind of swagger, yes, yeah. And what was that? What was hard to shoot? Like was it like, I mean, just like balancing life, I'm sure, and traveling all over because it shot everywhere, it shot, yeah, especially when Brody died. It's got that secret, a spoiler alert, Claire. I remember, so we, it was also like really rough, just really graphic, like they really went there over, like, come on, intense, it was so intense, but like he dies on a crane. I know. But then the crane, when we were filming broke, oh no, so like we really hung up by that. But I don't know, it was like landing in a new, because that was in, where do we shoot that? That was in Morocco. But yeah, so the first three seasons, we were mostly in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was standing in Ferdici, and then we would make these jazz, like we would shoot a month in Israel or Morocco or something. But then when we, when we had to really redefine the show in a more met, you know, Macro way, we then became this traveling, you know, enterprise. So we were shooting in Cape Town for half a year, which was standing in for Palestine and Afghanistan. The next year we were, there was a year in Berlin, then a year in New York, which, yeah, that was kind of, that was actually very strange to be home and really stressful, because like people expected me to go to dinner, like my friend, like, you're here. Let's hang out. I'm working, so I have to get tied up and beat up tomorrow, and then I can't do this and live my life. There was something nice about being on location and just being allowed to, like, give myself entirely to it, because I didn't have any energy to spare. Yeah. That was actually weird. That was the weird, almost the hardest season, because I kept, like, I, you know, there was this illusion that I was living my life and I couldn't. Yes. Yes. We, then we were, I don't even, then it was a full year in Morocco. Wow. What was it? What's Morocco like? Pretty great. Pretty great. I was nervous about spending so much time there, and I, I grew to really love it. Cyrus went to school in all these places too. So he still can't eat couscous because he ate it at every meal and every day for six months in the school. That must be very cool for him to have his memories of traveling. Yeah, I wonder what he, you know, what can, he would, he can consciously recall. I think that he was, like, five years old. - So maybe way to that. - So maybe way to that, he could. He also, his first school that he went to was in Berlin, and he was around three. And he started to have temper tantrums like half in German, and he was like, "Nine, nine!" And he'd be like, "Whoa, suddenly this is like, this is a lot scarier in this language." And he would, around that time, like when we would come home and we'd be at the playground at Washington Square Park, you know, he would tittle over to other tiny people and say, "Hi, my name is Silas. I speak English." Because it was like not a given. Another person would-- - To disease speak another language? - Nine. If I could, you know, put a chip in my brain and be able to speak in a different language. - Oh, same. - Batten fly. - Yeah, fly. - I mean. - Yeah. - Yeah. - But the language almost feels like it has the same thrill level. - And you know what I love about speaking other languages? As you have to do like a version, like a funny-- you have to move your body and your face in a version that feels insulting. - It feels stereotypical. But you have to get the language right. - Well, there is that kind of-- - Yes, you have to. - Or if you're telling you have to just circulate or like, there's all these different things, and why people move the way they do. Getting back to moving. - Yes, yes. I love learning dialects for this reason. Look, I think humans are humans. And you know, it is mostly a universally shared experience, whatever that is. - Yeah. - But it's also true. But there are real differences. And we do like see the world through these slightly different-- these different filters. And it does shape us and inform us. And that is also kind of an answer. - Well, I'm really into those kinds of differences, again, without appropriating them or getting them wrong. But because we are in a monoculture now, everything is the same now. So now it's like, I'm like, whoa. The way you express this thing or the way you-- language still feels sometimes like a way of getting into some new little world. - Yes. - And it's so-- I delight in the ways that we're not the same anymore. - Yes. - Because everything is the same. We fucking store is in the same city and in the same pit. - And it's also kind of sad that we're not-- I mean, that is what we do, you and I do. And I think a lot of different-- - I don't do. - Well, you do. You totally do. You imagine yourself as being a different person. - True, but dialects are their own real. I mean, that's real. - That's real acting. - Now, look. - Clear. - I can't just-- I can't just riff, though. Like, I'm this oo-oo-ee person. If I have a good coach, I'm all about it. - Do you like to improvise when you act or-- - I even have that many opportunities to-- - Oh, interesting. - I don't-- - I guess in more dramatic stuff, it's hard to do, right? - They don't let you. - They're very strict about it. - Because they're on the crane. - They're like, he's up on the crane, you can't. And you're like, just give me-- I just want to riff. (laughing) - Oh, yeah. Crane work is pretty strict. But no, I don't know. I would be really intimidated by that, actually. - That'd be scary. - That'd be scary. - That'd be scary. - That'd be scary. - I mean, I did one episode of Portlandia. And they did give me pages, and then they disappeared. - They were like, "Don't look at those." - Yeah. - And I was like, "But wait, I learned them." And they were like, "Oh, sorry." - You should've known that. - And they were like, "You know what? We're just gonna do it "as we wanna do it in the moment." And I wanted to vomit. - I worked at SNL, and it's like where I realized like, "Oh, preparation is this thing that people do." No, it's this thing. It's this thing that when people bring it to the process and someone says, "And also, let's try this." It's hard to not feel like, "Wait, wait, what are we doing?" It is a learned skill to just assume that things aren't wrong if we are not doing what we prepare. - Yes, I mean, I'm ridiculous. I mean, I'll go to the writer and say, "Is it okay "if I like put the comma here rather than there?" And I'm like, "Don't come to me with this bullshit." Like, "I'm sorry." But I think actually because I started as such a young age, my socks are still up to my knees a little bit. There's still that little girl who's just wanting to do a good job. I don't know if that's because I was actually a little, like a literal, literal little girl, say that five times a week. When I began, or maybe that's just in me, and what have been, if I started at 30, but I don't know. - Yeah, you do such a good job. - Thank you. You're so good at your job. - You are so good at your job. - Thank you. - Good at your job. - And you are so good at your job. - I love listening to your show. I listen to it a lot. - Thanks, Eric. - Because you love podcasts. - I love podcasts. - Me too. - But you have one of the very best ones. - Oh my God, thanks. - And it's really wonderful. - It's good. - Yeah, really. - Speaking of wonderful. - Okay. - We do a thing on this podcast where we talk to someone who knows our guest. - Okay. - We talk to Mandy Patinkin. - Mandy. Mandy, who I saw the other night. I hadn't seen him for a long time. - Yeah. - We guys were celebrating last year together. - We were celebrating one, Donnie. - I mean, he is, I mean, you could tell in the show, but I also loved knowing that outside of the show, the relationship you two had. - Yeah. - It felt very paternal, very respectful. - Yeah. - There's a lot of love there. - I love him madly, truly deeply. And also, he's just an amazing person to act with. - How come? - Okay. He's very musical. But this was a weird thing. In the first read-through, we barely met each other. And it just like the music worked. My cadence and his cadence were in really good harmony with each other. And that was like, nobody can take credit for that. That was just really good fortune. And I played this manic person. I'm almost like getting into it now that you're saying that I'm thinking about it. So she's like a stone skipping, you know, on the water. And he's, you know, has a much, you know, has this like low pulse rate. - Yeah. - As all and is so steady. And is her ballast and, you know, this counterpoint. Yeah. - Well, he adores you. He calls you a thoroughbred. - Oh, well, thanks. - He's just a really, really, really good performer. - Yeah. - I don't quite know how he does what he does. But it was also always fun to see him at the gym, the hotel gym, or whatever weird apartment complex we were living in, like singing his Yiddish songs, prepping for his tour, like on a stair master. - Right. - It's just, it's, yeah. - So I just love a big man. - Yes. - I do. - Yes. - I love a big man. Sometimes I love feeling small. Like in relationship, do you know the, like, the idea of like big and small? - No. - Which is basically like, some days you want to feel big and some days you want to feel small. So some days you want to be like, I'm going to take us, get us to the airport. I'm in charge of whatever I'm big today. And other times you're like, I want to be small today. And it's like being taken care of, but also can just kind of feel physical. Like sometimes when you're like at, you know, I don't know, you're bossing it up all day at work. You want to come home and feel small. And vice versa. And being able to have someone kind of do that with you. - It's like CEOs who go to the doms. - Exactly. It's a subdom thing. So those are all Mandy's questions. No, we're just kidding. So Mandy wants to know, are you still? Okay. So we had 10 questions for us. - That's a lot of-- - We're not going to, we can't get to the-- - That's a lot of questions. - This is Mandy had 10 questions. - Yeah. He really over-prepared, which is very nice. But also we couldn't get on the Zoom. And he was eating when he was on the Zoom too. So it was like mixed messages. But he was so-- - He was eating the lockers that he had made use. - He was eating it delicious. - The mayor, the cinnamon raisin, bagel, I believe, with some other stuff on it. - Okay. - And it looked delicious. - Okay. - He likes being a butter on an apple too. - Oh, that's a great snack. That's a great snack. Okay. So you had a couple questions. - Okay. - Who is better at setting boundaries for the kids? You are here. - Oh, goes back and forth. - Okay, that's good. - So Cyrus wants to wear shorts. He's like a gaffer all the time. - There's a whole thing that-- Do you-- or you're not on TikTok, I'm sure. - No. - Oh, congratulations. - Thank you. - But there's a whole thing about middle school kids. - Not wearing-- - Not wearing shorts. - It makes me so upset. - Let go. - I'm here to tell you, my boys are older. Let them freeze their bun or uneas off. Don't say one thing. Don't-- don't mention a coat. - I told you. - Okay. - So-- - Don't mention a coat. - So I've said 50 or below. You have to wear shorts. You see, is more tears in a bagel. - Really? - This year below you have to wear pants. - Yeah, sorry. - Yeah, sorry. - Okay, thank you. - Now, he was kind of being more permissive. And that number went down to 40. - Yeah. - There's literally a whole scientific thing about middle school kids waiting for the bus. And what scientific I mean, it's on TikTok. - Yeah. - About kids waiting for the bus. - With shorts. - Boys love shorts in middle school. - Yeah. - It's a whole thing. - What? - Okay, whatever. - And they run hot and they're not going to get cold from the cold. You know that. And just let them do it. - And they will grow out of it, I promise. Then it'll become obsessed with like sweats and sleeping and being warm and they'll always be freezing. - Yeah, okay. - All right. - Just a warm period. - I got that. My family, thanks you. - Okay. - But I actually think that you and I are pretty. We're very lucky. Like, we're well made. matched humans and I think our parenting styles are pretty level and equal as well. A lot of that. That's good. You guys are a really, really special couple. Thank you. He's a swell dude. Yeah, you can tell. He's a good guy. And you tell you have a lot, like a lot of love and a lot of like for each other, both those things are important. We do. And so many children now. Yeah. So many. Yeah, number. Yeah, number. Okay, Mandy's next question. And this now, now Mandy's referring to himself in the third person. What is Mandy's father's favorite chewing them? Oh, it's the black licorice. Oh, I embroidered something for him. That's what he was asking. How did you commemorate? Because he would chew it as Saul because I think he mentioned at one point that I'm forgetting the name of the brand. Did it come like in a tin? Blackjack. Blackjack. Blackjack was the gum. It was the kind of gum. Okay. And you made, and you embroidered something. I went, I went hard on the embroidery for a while. Let's talk about this embroidery. Okay. You embroider. Do you? I don't really. There was a point when I embroidered everything around me. I embroidered an umbrella. That was weird. So my mom taught me and, you know, it started because in my thirties, I was away from my friends. We were at that, everybody was having babies and I was really missing them. And so I embroidered onesies from my friends babies that I embroidered their name and then an image that related to the name somehow. But it was really more about just communing with them. Embroidery by hand. Yes. Okay. And we started with the onesies and then it just, then it went, hey, wire. It's a great onset activity. Yes. And I could did it a lot more before I had children and I also found the contrast amusing and enjoyable, like, that I would be fighting terrorists as carry and then I would go back to my seat and embroider. Knitting or crocheting, do you like? I went on a knitting jag to then that didn't take. So I, I embroidered onesies for, of course, all of my kids and I have one for Shay. This third child, she's, she's, she's, it's not, she doesn't wear onesies anymore. Right. I've missed that chance. It's okay. I'm confessing. I'm actually confessing too. You know, I mean, it's by my bed. I'm always supposed to do it. I have done, you know, anyway. We've done it all. Okay. No, no more. Well, you got to start giving. I don't know. I have. That's what I tell every woman. And then I want to talk about the beast to me, okay. Because I love the fact that you are producing on this and I want to know what that experience has been like producing. I loved it. It was just really fun. Yeah. Like, you know, higher people who I admired and trusted and you have a, I mean, you, like you said, you've been producing, probably, you've been producing without credit for a long time. And you've been producing and seeing, you've been on sets for a long time. Yeah. And you're realizing, like, oh, I want to, I want, I want to bring my system here. Yeah. And that first week, I was just, I was, I was, I was at a blast. I was like, I like everybody here and I'm like, all right, because, you know, I asked them to the dinner party, right? Yeah. And, yeah. And it was so nice to like, I don't know, not be surprised by the home that suddenly I was discovering on the first day of filming, like I have to have a say on what that house would actually be. Um, yeah, I, I really enjoyed it and it was just like a lot of Zoom calls and that's okay. Yeah. Right. But they were conversations I wanted to have and be a part of and yeah, so it's, on this next gig, I'm more of an actor for hire. So you're playing neurosurgeon and can we talk about the pit? Sure. Because you love it. I do love it. Well, no, Wiley. I mean, no, Wiley. Okay. Did you watch E.R. when it was on? No. But I would think I was a little too little. Yeah. It was on. Maybe while I was shooting myself called life. Is that right? I don't know. Maybe I'm getting that time wrong. But, yeah. Um, yeah, I was aware of it, but I didn't watch it. But no, he feels so credible, but I really think all those hours he put in as a TV doctor, have a crewed. Totally. And he has a kind of gravitational, you know, gravity now. Yeah. He does this. He, it feels like he's doing, he's doing his blocking without thinking. I am so convinced. Totally. And, uh, no, and I just think it's, it's also like, feels a little throwbacky. Yes. Like it's so nice to watch excellent TV love love. You've made excellent TV. Thank you. But I enjoy watching excellent TV. It's my favorite thing to watch TV or better than movies, sorry, TV is better than movies. I love movies too. I love movies too. I love movies too. I love movies too. I'm a little worried about movies. I really am a little bit worried about movies. Well, they got to get their shit together. Don't you get it? I love movies. I love movies. I love it all. Is there anything that you want? Or a big podcast? Is there anything you watch like just for like kind of brain, check out fun? Yes. Okay. I know you asked this sometimes. So I had a prepared answer. There is the only person that's ever prepared. I want you to know this. Of course. But, but is it, okay, Tim Robinson? Yes. So he's, he has this, there's this one sketch. Yeah. I'm from the show. Oh, focus group. Incredible. You just got to, oh, you just got to, oh, from the, let's watch this all the time in our family. Do your kids watch it? Well, so, so all the kids are allowed to watch this. So Cyrus is, so we took the little guys in and then then we have like special mature viewing hour. And it started with like the Simpsons and then it was, this is always the gay way. Only murderers in the building, Omib, which is basically Scooby Doo for grownups and, and it's great. And, and then, and it's, and then he, English has been introduced him to Monty Python. And stuff. He got really into that. Yes. Um, but now we've been watching mostly because of this focus group, um, his latest show, which is the chair company. Yeah. Which there was a, so not safe work. And that show, I mean, the whole genius of the show is that it takes you in very quickly to places that you are not prepared for. So, we're all like cuddling in bed. And then there is this shine erect penis and he says, close your eyes, everybody close your eyes. We all, we all, yeah, it was intense, we're still recovering. It was intense, but it was great. So we do love that show. I think that, like, what, Claire, what I understand why you would like this, because number one, I think you are, like, I've known you to be a very fun, funny and like comedy. You love comedy. You. Yeah. And you're good taste. Thanks. And there's a tiny bit of a disruptor in you that I imagine is fun to watch. Yes. I think you're right. Speak. And the other thing that we've been watching is the latest South Park, which you talk about. What? What? They're just saying the thing. Just a chicken in a henhouse. Oh. Fuck no. It's a fox in a henhouse. You didn't get that right. Let me check it in a henhouse. Well, thank you. This was amazing. This was so nice. This is so fun. Birthday present to me. No one's ever brought me a balloon. Thank you for bringing a balloon. And again, for people that are sick of me talking about the Enneagram. I don't know what to say. But let me just read you this as we wrap up and see if any of these land. These are things that annoy an Enneagram eight. Are you ready? Sure. People who talk just to talk. That's very annoying. That is deeply annoying. And I have a podcast. Yes. Fake people. Oh. Beyond. I mean, I'm like, I literally, if someone's like, I'm a, I'm a piece of shit or whatever. I'm like, okay, okay. But fake. No way, babe. People who aren't on time. I have to have some tolerance for that because I am not the same. I was late today that China's always the most punctual person. And then this one really scratches an itch for me. Others asserting power in a situation where they have none. So I went through a period in junior high where I became like a vigilante and I would like rough. I would like confront the bullies for eight hate bullies. Yeah. Really? And I went to the principal's office one time because I like, I like, I hit a bully. I love the bully. And it's exciting. And we've talked through it the bully and I and um, and actually we made some progress. And then he was so deferential to me and soak and he would open doors like he was really you know, but um, I had to stop that because it was like going on my record. But yes, I mean, so I think I, yes, that, that, that, that, that makes sense that there would be an end. I am fair to see that I stand up to bullies and that everybody sees it. Like that's it. That's it. fantasy that I stick up for people in public. - So there was a bully in elementary school and I admitted to my mother at one point that like myself soothing fantasy. It would, there'd be a circle of people and this boy and I would wear the center of it and I was just beating the shit out of him. Yeah. And I was like, is that okay to have that fantasy just like your thoughts are your own? (laughing) Enjoy them. - Which is a nice, a nice bit of mothering there. - A nice bit of mothering there. - Yeah, really. - I've come full circle back to New York, back to the apartment. - Did help, it was nice. - Yeah. I could talk to you forever, Claire. - I could too, thank you. (laughing) - Thank you so much, it was so fun. - Thank you so much, Claire Danes. That was so fun. I could have talked to you forever and ah, you're so interesting and smart and funny. So thanks so much for that time. And for the polar plunge today, I guess I just wanna remind everybody how good law and order is, especially the first 10 seasons. Okay, just go back and watch fine Claire as the young, you know, child maniac and just go back and here's a little tip. Whoever you recognize, they did it. (laughing) So it's a young actor, just starting out, they're the murderer. So take that tip with you and go check out a little show called Law and Order, I can't get enough of it. (laughing) And you know, it sees kind of new things that I'm gonna fill you in on when you take the time to listen to the polar plunge. So thanks so much for listening and see you soon, bye. (clapping) - You've been listening to Good Hand. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman and me, Amy Poler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spelaine, Kaya McMullen, and Alayah Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell and Jenna Weiss-Berman, original music by Amy Miles. ♪ All I ever wanted was a really good hey ♪ Imagine setting your makeup, then forgetting it's even theirs. Meet new groupy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. Jaldemist technology locks in your look for up to 24 hours, with flexible all day comfy grip. Just plump, dewy, hydrated skin. That still feels like your skin. Try new groupy setting mist from Mabelie, New York. - Maybe it's Mabelie.