Joel Edgerton | Club Random with Bill Maher

Summary

Club Random with Bill Maher — Joel Edgerton

Episode Date: January 12, 2026
Host: Bill Maher
Guest: Joel Edgerton

---

Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, Bill Maher welcomes acclaimed Australian actor, writer, and director Joel Edgerton to Club Random. Together, they explore the quirks and realities of Hollywood, the global reach of Australian talent, changing attitudes in entertainment regarding casting and representation, the universal struggle with grief and resilience (through Edgerton’s latest film Train Dreams), parenthood, addiction, the evolution of fame, and the pressures of modern life. The episode blends humor, philosophical reflection, and industry insights, encapsulating Club Random’s spirit of unfiltered, meandering conversation.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Australian Actors and Global Influence

• Australian Accent vs. American TV (03:00–04:12)

  • Edgerton recounts how growing up on American TV made it easier for Australians to master the American accent and access Hollywood roles.
    • “There was this policy in Australia which actually inadvertently helped all of us... We were inundated with American TV.” — Joel Edgerton (04:12)
  • Maher reminisces about Canadian TV quotas and how the exposure to U.S. content shaped performers abroad.

• Success of Australians in Hollywood (07:34–08:40)

  • Discussion about the extraordinary success rate of Australians, more so than the British in recent years.

2. Entertainment Industry: Awards, Casting, and the "Woke" Moment

• Awards and Recognition (08:40–09:41)

  • Maher reflects on perpetual nominations and never winning, poking fun at the awards process:
    • “Sweetheart, I’ve been nominated for 33 Emmys, and they would never give it to me. That’s not a gag number. It’s a real number.” — Bill Maher (08:55)

• Authenticity and Identity in Casting (10:28–15:41)

  • Debate about cultural appropriation, representation, and the quota system in Hollywood.
  • Maher critiques the policing of casting decisions, noting the hypocrisy and impracticality:
    • “At some point they’re only going to let Danish princes play Hamlet.” — Sean Penn via Bill Maher (11:53)
    • Edgerton supports authentic casting for specific roles (e.g., CODA’s deaf characters), but favors nuance:
      • “The truth on screen is always better than anything you can make up.” — Joel Edgerton (15:43)

• Artistic Freedom and Realism (13:56–15:41)

  • Maher warns against overregulation in art, likening it to creative repression in authoritarian states.

3. Train Dreams, Grief, and Ordinary Lives

• Exploring Grief and Resilience (16:05–21:50)
  • Edgerton describes personal resonance with his Train Dreams role and the impact of loss:
    • “As an actor, I’ve always tried to hide behind funny walks and costumes. …[This role] was just a far more personal thing for me.” — Joel Edgerton (17:07)
  • Both discuss how audiences perceive grief and hope differently depending on life experience.
    • “Young people…see the film as quite sad. People who have experienced loss…see the film as quite hopeful.” — Joel Edgerton (20:08)

4. Historical Perspective and Human Progress

• Comparing Past and Present Hardships (26:53–32:05)

  • Maher and Edgerton reflect on material progress and lost perspective among younger generations.
    • “Life does get easier. …100 years ago, a hot shower was a rarity.” — Bill Maher (27:16)

• Human Nature and Environmental Impact (32:23–34:50)

  • Maher: “Homo sapiens are serial killers. …We are not the only human species. There were six or seven; Homo sapiens wiped them all out.” (32:23)
  • Shared concerns about humanity’s exploitative relationship with nature.

5. Upbringing, Privilege, and Money

• Childhood Jobs and Perspective (38:43–41:19)

  • Both exchange stories about tough first jobs and how early experiences with hardship shape gratitude.

• Parenting Guilt and Intergenerational Change (44:01–47:00, 65:13–74:19)

  • Edgerton confides about the daily parental guilt and the shifting standards of parenting.
    • “Guilt is huge, dude. In my life, like every day I’m like, am I a good parent? Am I not a good parent?” — Joel Edgerton (73:04)
  • Discussion about how their own upbringings compare with modern parenting and children’s lack of perspective.

6. Addiction, Empathy, and Recovery

• Personal and Observed Struggles (50:00–56:47)
  • Both share their experiences with and perspectives on addiction and dependence:
    • “You find a drug that goes, ‘Hello, we belong together.’” — Joel Edgerton (52:19)
    • Edgerton details a short period of opiate addiction, gratitude to his father for intervention, and empathy gained.
    • Maher contrasts addiction to marijuana (non-addictive for him) with his past struggles (e.g., cigarettes, cocaine).

7. The Nature of Fame and Social Media

• Public Scrutiny and Caution (61:03–64:38)

  • Both joke about how today’s celebrities must guard every public moment for fear of instant viral scandal.
    • “Anytime you or I or anyone in the public eye just leaves the house…anything could happen.” — Bill Maher (62:11)
  • The shift from mysterious celebrities of the past to unfiltered modern visibility.

• Navigating Press and Public Image (63:38–64:38)

  • Edgerton says he intentionally gives boring TMZ interviews for self-preservation.

8. The Enduring Power of Merit — and the Oscar Discussion

• Film Stardom and Changing Metrics (83:10–86:42)

  • The decline of the traditional "movie star" system — now, it's about the project more than the star.
  • Praise for Tom Cruise, Cate Blanchett, and a humorous exchange about DiCaprio being "too pretty" for certain rugged roles.

• Awards, Career Milestones, and the Subjectivity of “Winning” (87:10–89:53)

  • Maher on how award victories are just opinions, not facts:
    • “If you win an Oscar, it’s just someone’s opinion.” — Bill Maher (89:28)
  • Edgerton acknowledges Train Dreams as a career watershed and reflects on the evolution of his craft.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the influx of foreign actors:

  • “We used to think oceans could protect us, but there are too many Hemsworths and not enough sharks.” — Bill Maher (03:38)

• On casting controversies:

  • “At some point they’re only going to let Danish princes play Hamlet.” — Sean Penn via Bill Maher (11:53)
  • “And that’s why we call it acting. Yeah, it’s acting.” — Joel Edgerton (81:39)

• On grief and the ordinary hero:

  • “Train Dreams puts at the centre of the movie 99.9% of who the audience is… and celebrates the majesty of that.” — Joel Edgerton (20:55)

• On environmental destruction:

  • “Matthew Arnold once said, for people who don’t say there are miracles, a tree is a miracle. We’re just used to it.” — Bill Maher (30:14)

• On parenting guilt:

  • “Guilt is huge, dude... every day I’m like, am I a good parent? Am I not a good parent?” — Joel Edgerton (73:04)

• On addiction:

  • “You find a drug that goes, ‘Hello, we belong together.’ …It’s a different rhythm for different people.” — Joel Edgerton (52:19)

• The stoned vs. sober Congress:

  • “Whenever [I have] an important decision to make, I think about it sober. Then I think about it stoned… If they agree, then I will pass it into legislation.” — Bill Maher (48:13–48:24)

• On evolving standards in film & society:

  • “It is a defining, like, watershed in your career… You just see, like Matthew McConney, for example... it’s not quite an exact science giving out awards, let’s put it that way.” — Bill Maher (87:42–88:25)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Australian actors and TV’s influence: 03:00–04:12
• Casting, authenticity, and woke culture: 10:28–15:41
• Train Dreams and grieving ordinary lives: 16:05–21:50
• Modern progress and generational perspectives: 26:53–32:05
• Human nature & environmentalism: 32:23–34:50
• Addiction and empathy: 50:00–56:47
• Parenthood, guilt, and generational change: 65:13–74:19
• Fame, public scrutiny, and social media: 61:03–64:38
• On Oscar, merit, and career shifts: 87:10–89:53

---

Language & Tone

The conversation maintains a candid, comedic, and self-deprecating tone, typical of Maher’s off-the-cuff style and Edgerton’s disarming Aussie modesty. They mix industry anecdotes, philosophical musing, and total honesty—never straying far from a joke, but returning often to vulnerable observations about art, life, and parenting.

---

Summary Prepared for those seeking a deep, detailed window into Bill Maher and Joel Edgerton’s reflective, sharp, and sprawling exchange—distinctively funny, self-aware, and illuminating for fans of film, culture, and the odd yet poignant randomness of life.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. And yes, I know another website ad. Well, stay with me on this one. This one actually makes sense. Squarespace is the all in one platform for anyone who has an idea, a side hustle, a passion project, or a career that deserves to look professional. Online, you can claim your domain, build a beautiful site, offer services, get paid, send emails, everything in one place. Use code CLUBRANDOM to get 10% off your first website or domain. Squarespace makes something worth looking at. Well, it's a new year with big goals. Same problem. Know when it's time to shop, chop or cook. That's why Factor works. Factor sends you fully prepared meals. Head to FactorMeals.com random50off and use code RANDOM50OFF to get 50% off your first Factor box. Plus free breakfast for one year. Offer only valid for New Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase. Today is why we wear the uniform abc. Tonight, the rookie returns to ensure the safety of all Angelenos.

[Joel Edgerton]

Try not to mess it up. I'll do my best.

[Bill Maher]

But don't do your best. Do my best. And for the first time ever, this is a global operation. It's an international sting.

[Joel Edgerton]

LAPD has agreed to help the FBI.

[Bill Maher]

Track down terrorist target. Nothing like a day in the job.

[Joel Edgerton]

To remind you how quickly life can change. Get out of there.

[Bill Maher]

The rookie season premiere tonight to 9 Central on ABC. Next day for Hulu subscribers. I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of Green in all its forms. I get it. And for fellow lovers of, well, green, the Club Random merch store has you covered. Grinders, papers and Zippo lighters, all designed to support your relationship with Green. Wink, wink. Whatever and whatever philosophy comes with that for you. Head to club random.com and bring home some random. He's just too pretty.

[Joel Edgerton]

What are you saying about me?

[Bill Maher]

Well, you're fine. You're a nice looking guy down the middle.

[Joel Edgerton]

Club Random.

[Bill Maher]

No, but I'm actually not.

[Joel Edgerton]

Because you just caught me at a low intelligence point. I was like, oh, that was a joke.

[Bill Maher]

Joel? You here?

[Joel Edgerton]

I'm here.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, none of that Australian accent here. At least you can do is speak American. Oh, my God. When you're in our country. Oh, my God, I'm gonna call ice on you.

[Joel Edgerton]

No, I was watching your thing about Australians. Oh, come on. You're right though. I was just skiing in Japan and I didn't actually feel like I was in Niseko. I didn't feel like I was in Niseko. There were Australians everywhere working in the hotel. All the ski instructors, New Zealanders or Australians.

[Bill Maher]

I met a bunch of them last night. I was out at a Golden Globe party.

[Joel Edgerton]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And boy, they like me in Australia. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that whole bit was so. That was 10 years ago. It was when Trump was first talking about immigration. And, you know, we did this as the, you know, classic mode of satire. I went off on a rant how it's really the Australians who are coming at it. But there is that little bit of truth in it, is that they have done so well with acting jobs. The best line was, we used to think oceans could protect us, but there are too many Hemsworths and not enough sharks.

[Joel Edgerton]

Oh, man. Born the Barrier Reef. I mean, it's. You know, what's interesting is everyone tells me they're like, oh, you know, what is it about Australians and acting and.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, what is it?

[Joel Edgerton]

Well, you know, one of the things is accents. Australians doing an American accent.

[Bill Maher]

I asked Chris Hemsworth about that. He said it's cause we all watch the tv.

[Joel Edgerton]

That's exactly what it is.

[Bill Maher]

You watch American TV when you're a kid and it's just second.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You don't even have to try that hard. Right.

[Joel Edgerton]

There was this policy in Australia which actually inadvertently helped all of us, which was there was no real barrier for how much local content there needed to be. There was no mandate how much local content there had to be on tv. So I would wake up in the.

[Bill Maher]

Morning and Canada has that. They do, yes.

[Joel Edgerton]

France has it at the cinema.

[Bill Maher]

Definitely Canada. There used to be a great show, sctv, Second City tv, that was done in Canada. Martin Short was on it. Lots of great people were on it. Eugene Levy, and they used to make fun of. They had. Because there was. The law was that the Canadian law was certain amount of content has to be about Canada.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So they were spoofing that with. They had these Canadian brothers with their a. You know, it was all just.

[Joel Edgerton]

We had like, Skippy. Did you ever see Skippy the Bush Kangaroo?

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Joel Edgerton]

What we'll say, obviously, we were inundated with American tv, but you never really got much of Australian tv.

[Bill Maher]

Was that a cartoon or a one?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, it was about this kid and his dad and his dad. Dad flew a chopper.

[Bill Maher]

And this is Flipper with a kangaroo. Weird.

[Joel Edgerton]

Flipper with a kangaroo. Yeah, it's exactly that. It's exactly that.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. They probably saw Flipper and Skippy the.

[Joel Edgerton]

Bush Kangaroo was actually also a bit like Lassiers. And if any of the Kids were in trouble in the bush. Skippy would come back and literally be like. And the guy would be like, what's that, Skip? And he'd be like, what? The kids are in trouble. The guy could understand kangaroo. You're right. But when I come home from school, I would sit in front of the TV and I would watch Happy Days.

[Bill Maher]

Yep.

[Joel Edgerton]

Gilligan's Island.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

Brady Bunch. Ugh. What else? Eight is enough. And then as I got a bit older, actually, my first celebrity sighting was Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains.

[Bill Maher]

That's my boy.

[Joel Edgerton]

Alan Thicke.

[Bill Maher]

Alan Thicke, the father.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, Alan Thicke.

[Bill Maher]

He's a great, great friend of mine.

[Joel Edgerton]

Oh, really?

[Bill Maher]

One of the greatest guys.

[Joel Edgerton]

Well, I spotted Kirk Cameron. First family vacation we went on was.

[Bill Maher]

He went nuts.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes, he's.

[Bill Maher]

Have you seen him? Not nuts, but he's a super, super hardcore Christian.

[Joel Edgerton]

Speaking of New Zealanders, have you seen his channel part? Who does the. He explains, you know, creationism through the banana video. Have you seen that? No.

[Bill Maher]

Watch the.

[Joel Edgerton]

Anyone watched the banana video? It's like he explains why the banana was obviously created for the human hand and how it's perfectly encased and thing. And then as he starts to eat it, he doesn't realize how phallic the whole thing is.

[Bill Maher]

The banana video was plainly created for girls to practice blowjobs on. Plainly. That is how. That is my interpretation of the Bible. And it's not any stupider than what anyone else would find in the Bible, so I'm just going to go with that.

[Joel Edgerton]

But I thank all of them for this. You know, my niece is 10 and she can do a flawless American accent. And her. And like, you listen to young Australian kids playing with each other and they sound like Valley Girls.

[Bill Maher]

Just naturally not even trying to do it.

[Joel Edgerton]

No, they just like effortlessly fall into this sort of play accent that they do. All from television. Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I mean, again, I could see how American actors could be pissed at this. I mean, when you go down the list of people who have just succeeded, I mean, even more than the British, really, I would say, in this century, certainly, I mean, starting before that. But, like, I don't want to, like, go down the list of names or leave somebody out, but it is an extraordinary success rate. And, you know, I mean, you're obviously having a moment right now, which is great because, you know, I've been watching you for years. Always was a fan, you know, big ones like Black Mass and the Stranger and just lots of shit. And, you know, you're always in something you're always good. But it is funny the way careers work, because I do feel like you never know. What's the thing that's kind of like. Oh, you know, just hit, like, on a certain different level. Yeah. And for some reason, you know, train dreams. That's the one you're. I mean, we're both up for an award. You know, we're both Golden Gloves.

[Joel Edgerton]

Thank God we're not in the same category. So we're gonna have a civil conversation. How do you feel? Let me ask you. How do you feel going in to me? And maybe it's. Cause I've always set my ceiling quite low in life. Like, being nominated, to me is a win.

[Bill Maher]

Sweetheart, I've been nominated for 33 Emmys, and they would never give it to me. That's not a gag number. It's a real number. It's crazy for Politically Incorrect. For real time for my standup specials, for producing, for writing, for performance. Obviously, it's something I said. Well, it's everything I said.

[Joel Edgerton]

Well, you said enough to get the nomination. But then there's something you've said, because I speak freely.

[Bill Maher]

And this Woketown fucking hates that. And that's okay. I made my peace with that. But so I know how this goes. This is not. This is not something I would ever. I have good standing if I win this, by some miracle to go. What people always say. I can't believe I'm shocked. I really should be shocked if I win this.

[Joel Edgerton]

But, you know, like, from my seat, the admiration I have for guys like you that actually get up and say what you feel.

[Bill Maher]

There are no other guys like me, Joel. No, there are no other guys like me. Yeah, but go ahead.

[Joel Edgerton]

You know, like, I'm a guy that gets, you know, gets a job, gets a script, goes to work. My success is based on other people's ideas and hopefully along the way, their wisdom to put me in something or not. And hopefully the right things, you know, Actually, one of the other things I have to. I have to say I really admired is your whole thing about the casting culture.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, you mean the quotas?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, the one. The appro. You know, actors appropriating and.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, that too. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

Who's appropriating what?

[Bill Maher]

And the epicenter of woke stupid is this town. It really is. And things like that. I mean, like appropriation. We used to love that. You know, it was called culturally sharing. We thought it was a great idea when we, you know. Now, obviously, if you steal something, I mean, you know Elvis, did he steal from black culture? He Sang the way he sang. He grew up in the South. I mean, the culture's mixed, you know, it's just pointless to hate him for it. And, you know, America was more racist, obviously, by far at the time. So it was like, oh, we got a white guy who sounds black. We like black music. But ooh, we don't want to put that on the radio. It'll corrupt the kids. Whatever they were thinking in the 1950s, this is the 1950s. But, you know, yes, to say that, you know, I mean, they were mad at who did the movie about Leonard Bernstein with the Junos. They called it Bradley Cooper. Bradley Cooper, Yes. I mean, Junos. Do they even know how stupid they sound? I mean, what could be? They actually used that word. They made up this horrible word and then were like, oh, but we're the good people. We're saying, whoa, no Junos. You know, it's just so silly. They got mad at somebody for playing Castro who wasn't Cuban. Sean Penn had the great line, he said, you know, at some point they're only going to let Danish princes play Hamlet.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, well, this is what I was thinking. But to solve your other problem about Australians coming to America, I started. Started wondering if I would ever have gone to drama school now because, you know, I went in there with this optimism, optimistic point of view that being an actor was, you know, I could try and be anything I wanted to be. Obviously I would draw the line somewhere and more now than ever. But, like, am I going to be in a position where you won't have to bother with the Australians here? Because, like, we'll only get to play. I'll only get to play like mid level intelligence Australian dudes. Right.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, that is where it was heading. But, yeah, I think they put the brakes on it a little. I mean, we. We have had a little bit of a. Oh, come on. But I mean, they do. I mean, there's a. Now there is a quota system. And I understand why they would have this. Everything that is unjust. And certainly lots of stuff that went on with representation of minorities was unjust in this town for the longest of times. Yeah, I mean, there was a time when Oscar White had meaning. It did not anymore. And they refused to give that up because they love being the people who are the social justice warriors. Okay. But, you know, I understand where this is coming from, but, you know, ultimately you do not want to tell artists how to make art. This is what they did in the Soviet Union, this is what they did in communist countries. The last place you want people making a lot of rules about how you can make your art, who you can hire to do your art. That is not what art is about. And that is. And no artist, no matter how liberal, is going to like that. Yeah, people want auteurs want to auteur.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. I think, you know, there's certain examples of it where I totally get it. Like, you know, you see a movie called Coda Koda was. I think it was going back two years. Troy won best supporting actor. A film about a girl who's a coder, who's essentially like a person of hearing, who grows up in a family of hearing impaired people. And the entire cast who are playing deaf characters are played by people who really are, you know, hearing. And that, to me was like, yes, that's exactly the thing that should be done. Because, like, it makes sense watching someone like me kind of go, I'm gonna pretend that I'm.

[Bill Maher]

That it makes sense for that.

[Joel Edgerton]

And it's about the cutting off of opportunities for people who are deaf, actors who are going, well, where was my audition? You know, where was I even gonna get a look into that thing?

[Bill Maher]

The way the arts have progressed is that we have and I think for the better of enjoying movies, just as a fan made movies more realistic. I mean, if you look at movies from the 30s, 40s, 50s, I mean, there's Spencer Tracy playing a Mexican. You know, he's just. They just kind of darken his face and he talks like this. It's like that's just where they were. That's where everything was in movies. If I shot you, there was no gore. Yeah. You just went down.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You didn't see what we see. Okay. Now we're at a realistic phase. If I was the director of this movie, as an artistic decision, I would cast the deaf people.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Because it's going to make the.

[Joel Edgerton]

It'll make the movie better.

[Bill Maher]

I'm working in real. Yes. We're in the realistic age now. It's gonna make the movie better. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So it's a case by case.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes. The truth on screen is always better than anything you can make up. It's always much better.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I mean, people don't always like the truth, but yes. I think movies, when they're done well, movies that are about something that are substantive, you know, they get at a truth in a way that doesn't put people off.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. You know, Train Dreams was a good example for me of, like, I guess as I get older, I'm like, all right, well, what's suitable for me to play. Not. Not looking at it from the perspective of conversation we just had. But, like, what do I connect with? You know? And the director of the film didn't realise I had read the novella, like, five years earlier.

[Bill Maher]

Oh.

[Joel Edgerton]

I tried to get my hands on the rights to it. And, of course, the film deals with one of the worst possible losses you could ever go through. Lots of trees close to you. Lots of trees. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, mostly trees. But then there's the thing with the wife and the kid.

[Joel Edgerton]

And I'd become a dad since the director reached out to me. And so.

[Bill Maher]

Oh.

[Joel Edgerton]

Even though I'm playing Logger, I'm like, you know, trudging around, pretending I'm a tougher guy than I really am. On an emotional level. It's wrapped up in my greatest fear. And I was like, well, I realized how much as an actor.

[Bill Maher]

Mm.

[Joel Edgerton]

I've always tried to hide behind funny walks and costumes. As in, like, really, really, like, not show any side of who I really am because I feel like that's a little bit dull and just, like, be like. Black Mass is a good example. You know, playing a crazy, like, you know, FBI agent or playing Buchanan in Gatsby and all. They're not. They're, like, energetically, you know, like. Cause I love character actors. I've always loved character actors. Train drones was just a far more personal thing for me.

[Bill Maher]

Again, it's not my field. I love being entertained. And if it's entertaining, I don't care if it's from the method acting or, you know, I love Black Mass. You know, I love the character. I love the whole movie. Yeah. So I didn't really care. But then I like train dreams too.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, and that's obviously. I mean, you are obviously on a deeper emotional level because it's an emotional movie. It's a hard movie to. If somebody says, and, you know, whenever you're out to dinner with people, hey, you've seen any good movies? And if somebody says, yeah, I saw. Blah, blah, blah. And I go, oh, My first question is always, what's that about? Just tell me what it's about.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, the train pitch. Kind of like the Being on the Bus pitch, the quick pitch. It's not an easy one.

[Bill Maher]

It's not an easy one. No, I mean, what would you say? Like, a guy 100 years ago has a rough life and, you know, he's born nothing special and dies nothing special in this world. And in between, I'm a studio exec writing the check right now in between he gets glimpses of happiness which. What? Which then disappear. But, you know, the reason why it hits such a nerve is that. And here's a deep question, like, it shows that there's a lot of grief, at least in America, and I'm sure in a lot of places in the world. I mean, that's what people connect to. It's like this. This. It's a movie about grief and people are. You know, why are so many people in this modern world hurting so bad that they relate to this guy who's got a really rough life from 100 years ago? Yeah, that's the question.

[Joel Edgerton]

The question. Well, the answer.

[Bill Maher]

A lot of sadness out there.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And, you know, here's the one thing that I think sets Train Dreams apart, is we go to the movies and we watch stories about extraordinary people, generals or, you know, superheroes. And talking about Australian movies, interestingly enough, someone pointed out Australian movies, which are quite small in their scope quite often, unless you're talking about George Miller or Baz Luhrmann, say, American movies are about people who are gonna save the world or save the universe. An Australian movie's about the person that's gonna save the local cricket club. And it's true, but you can root for them just the same. And it's a little bit more. Kind of a smaller bubble, much more relatable. But Train Dreams puts at the centre of the movie 99.9% of who the audience is, which is the ordinary human being born nice, not gonna have a plaque, not gonna have a monument built about them, and celebrates the majesty of that. Now, what I have noticed, too, is that young people who haven't experienced. It's not about age. I mean, young people can experience devastating loss. Generally, the people who haven't experienced any of the real blows that knock you to your knees in life see the film as quite sad. People who have experienced loss or some kind of grief see the film as quite hopeful. Because what it does is also show you the power of rebirth and regrowth. And as Clint the director.

[Bill Maher]

Like a forest.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And the analogy is very clear.

[Bill Maher]

Well, it's plain that that's what he was going for, I think.

[Joel Edgerton]

You know, and the idea of just having to get up some days and put one foot in front of the other because there is an alternate, which is you tap out of life, or you just find a way to absorb yourself back into the world. And I believe that the world moves and turns and swallows events up, and each day makes it a little bit easier. You Know, this is a little bit grim, but there's something beautiful about the resilience of human beings.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Which we all need, you know, I mean, no one, no one wins the game of life 11 to nothing.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

If you win it at all.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And there's so much suffering right now and it's so relative, you know, I have days where I'm like grumble about this and that and then the perspective of life. Obviously I think we all. I don't know about you, but I often find at my own fault and sometimes to my own saviour, compare myself to other people. I think it's a natural human thing. It's like I'm okay because, you know, if you compare yourself to people below you in their suffering or whatever, that somehow.

[Bill Maher]

In other words, you're saying to yourself, I really shouldn't. I don't deserve to feel bad because this guy has it worse than me.

[Joel Edgerton]

Why am I playing a violin for myself?

[Bill Maher]

That's stupid.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, exactly.

[Bill Maher]

Pain is painful. Yes. We could acknowledge rationally, in our rational mind, there are of course people doing worse than you. And whoever that guy is, is somebody doing worse than them. Yeah. You know, there's a lot of shit.

[Joel Edgerton]

Out there and the cruelty of kind of having the schoutenfreudes or like looking at people above you like you wanna dismantle them or something because they're for some reason, even though they're disconnected to you, they're the reason for your pain or your suffering.

[Bill Maher]

No, you shouldn't feel guilty about if you have legitimate. Some legitimate to feel bad about. And we all do in this game of life. There's also, I feel, among each succeeding generation, which actually has it easier in most ways, there is a complete lack of perspective about what actually is hurting you and what is actually painful.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I guess what I'm saying is these kids are such pussies. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. And yes, I know another website ad. Well, stay with me on this one. This one actually makes sense. Squarespace is the all in one platform for anyone who has an idea, a side hustle, a passion project, or a career that deserves to look professional. Online, you can claim your domain, build a beautiful site, offer services, get paid, send emails, everything in one place, no tech meltdown required. What I like is the design. Squarespace doesn't just give you templates, it gives you taste. Their new AI powered builder gets you started fast. Then you can tweak it exactly how you want. Clean, sharp, no built in the basement vibes, and if you're offering services, consulting, events, bookings, Squarespace lets you schedule, invoice and get paid without juggling five different platforms. So if you've been putting off building a site, go to squarespace.com clubrandom for a free trial. And when you're ready to Launch, use code CLUBRANDY to get 10% off your first website or domain. Squarespace makes something worth looking at. Well, it's a new year with big goals. Same problems. No one has time to shop, chop or cook. That's why Factor works. Factor sends you fully prepared meals designed by dietitians, cooked by actual chefs, and they're ready in about two minutes. No prep, no mess? No. Is paprika a good replacement for chili powder? No. But what I like about Factor is actually what's not in the food. No refined sugars, no artificial sweeteners, no refined seed oils. Just real ingredients, lean proteins, colorful vegetables, healthy fats. Kind of stuff you're supposed to eat when you're trying to feel good. There's variety, too. Over 100 rotating meals every week. High protein, calorie, smart, Mediterranean even. Options built for strength and recovery. We always have a few Factor meals in the studio, and they make a great quick lunch for the team. Head to FactorMeals.com random50off and use code RANDOM50OFF to get 50% off your first Factor box. Plus free breakfast for one year offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase. Make healthier eating easy with Factor. But it's true. I mean, the things that they complain about and think are rough, you know, as they're ordering from grubhub every day and they have their food brought to them. And you know, remember during COVID like we're all in it together. No, we're not. Half the people are sitting home in their pajamas during this crisis and having other people bring them the food, but they're just sitting home in their pajamas day drinking and eating takeout food.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Other people. Yes. Are having it rough.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Like your character. Not quite that much. And that's another thing they lack perspective in knowing is like the advances that we have made in the hundred years since. I mean, when. When is that? It's right before World War I, when the movie starts.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. Early 1900s.

[Bill Maher]

The early 1900s. Right. And we see it up until the space age, which is great. Yeah. Because you see the perspective of a character and life does get. It just does get easier. I mean, 100 years ago, a hot shower was a rarity yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

But, you know, you realise too, by, you know, we made the movie, you think it's kind of special. We had a special time doing it. It's not until you share it with an audience, start having conversations with people, you realize why it resonates. You know, there's stuff in the film that talks about how fast the world is moving and changing. And, of course, we're talking about 1900s. So what's fast and moving about the world is a man goes to the moon. And there's telephones and there's different modes of transport. I remember.

[Bill Maher]

And antibiotics.

[Joel Edgerton]

Antibiotics.

[Bill Maher]

And toilets.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And socks.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. There's a thing about a guy, he drops dead. And the narrator in the film says that if he'd have experienced this, sort of like, you know, five years or a decade later, they would have caught it because of medical advancement. You know, I, at one point in the film, stare at a chainsaw and don't know how to start it. And it's like me staring at AI, wondering whether it's gonna change my industry and how the fuck do I use it. And I remember my grandmother, when I first pointed a video camera at her, and she froze. And I realized she froze because she thought I was taking a still photo of her.

[Bill Maher]

Oh.

[Joel Edgerton]

And that was a baffling move of technology for her. And now look where we are. It's fucking crazy.

[Bill Maher]

My dog, I think, used to think it was a gun. No, really. When I would try to take a picture, my first dog, Blackie, loved that dog. But he was definitely. And I think he probably. I mean, I got him as a rescue. He may have been in the house.

[Joel Edgerton]

Someone's gonna shoot me at some point.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. There may have been a gun that went off. I mean, he was deathly scared of the.

[Joel Edgerton]

So when you point a video camera and he tries to get out of the way.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I only have one fleeting picture of him. It's just like, him, like, darting out of frame. He just was very, very strange. But see, now this. I hope this is not inappropriate, but I did really enjoy this movie. But, like, from my perspective, which I admit is not the normal. Never been married, no kids, never liked kids. Okay. So, like, who I really felt for was the trees. Cause I've always been an environmentalist.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I've always been. I'm a PETA board member for over 30 years. I love animals, anything in nature. So, like, I know people cry at this movie where I was, like, tearing up. Was the thing about These trees are 500 years old and we're cutting them down. And it does something. That speech that Macy has about, you know, it does something to a man's soul. You think you're just lying.

[Joel Edgerton]

That's a man's soul whether he likes it or not.

[Bill Maher]

Right. But you're cutting into this miracle of nature.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Matthew Arnold once said, for people who don't say there are miracles, a tree is a miracle. We're just used to it.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I'm not saying I'm an atheist, I'm not saying who made the tree. I'm just saying it is a miracle of a sort and we are just used to it.

[Joel Edgerton]

Well, the film has a sort of a spiritual kind of resonance with nature that's not religious, you know. And there's the follow up line of Bill Macy's after that thing about it hurts a man's soul is we are but children pulling bolts out of a Ferris wheel, presuming ourself to be God.

[Bill Maher]

That is an amazing line. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

Our relationship with our harvesting of nature. And I have this big thing about, you know, and I could talk about shipping as one of them, the Internet as one. Nuclear technology is another. AI Now, AI is all the electricity that you.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, it's sucking up all the energy. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

The brilliance of the human mind or the finite minimal percentage of us that can create these incredible things. But what we don't know is what happens next. You know, and there's this beautiful, naive character, a young logger in the film is talking about. Yeah. He's saying, like, there's so many trees here, we cut down all of them. By the time we finished cutting them down, the next one would have grown up as big, as tall as the rest of them.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

You're like, yeah, but no, no, not really.

[Bill Maher]

And I mean, if There are trees 500 years old, there are trees that were, I think, something like 2 or 3,000 years old or something crazy like that, that they do exist. And, you know, thank God we do protect, I think here in California some of that. I mean, those sequoias, we got to.

[Joel Edgerton]

Visit a few of them, but they're in like really protected areas.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Joel Edgerton]

But I do remember, like before I saw Oppenheimer learning when I was in school about the moment that Oppenheimer, you know, this obsession with getting a thing done, creating a thing and then watching it take shape, as in watching the thing explode and then realizing, what have I done tonight?

[Bill Maher]

The atom bomb. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, mankind, you know, is a destroyer. There's no two ways about It, I'm not saying this with any political dimension. It's just a fact. Homo sapiens are serial killers. I mean, we are not the only human species. There were six or seven human species. Homo sapiens wiped them all out. Then they wiped out Australia. Great example. When man land of Syria reached Australia, okay, they came out of, we know they came out of Africa, they went to northern Europe, those mostly the Neanderthals and so forth. When they got to Australia, fossil record shows there were lots of large species of animals. A thousand years later, there are none. In a thousand years, they wiped out all the big game of Australia. That's who Homo sapiens are.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, we're hungry.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, and we're hungry and we don't care.

[Joel Edgerton]

You know, one of the things I talk about with train dreams is I am constantly reminded of how we forget that we are part of this, the planet, you know, because, you know, here we are wearing shoes and we, we have, you know, we create alcohol and technology and everything in between.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Joel Edgerton]

That we forget that we're also just one of the animals on the planet. And we take and we take and we take whatever. For whatever reason. People say it's partly because we have opposable thumbs, but the koala has two opposable thumbs. So why isn't the koala running the universe? I don't know. Brain, you know, the brain, our ability to have language, all the reasons that make us able to communicate, share stories, continue a history, pass on knowledge and create.

[Bill Maher]

You know why all that happened? Because we discovered fire. Once they had fire, they could cook the food. And once they cooked the food, they killed off most of the bacteria in the parasites. So evolution wise, we needed a much smaller digestive system and it went to the brain. We got a bigger brain.

[Joel Edgerton]

Nice.

[Bill Maher]

And we used it to fuck each other up. But that is, that is why a.

[Joel Edgerton]

Bigger brain than actually what we use, what, 5% of it or whatever.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. And that's still way, you know, maybe if we. We probably would be better if we used a larger percentage.

[Joel Edgerton]

We wreck everything. We wreck everything for our own pleasure.

[Bill Maher]

We do great things too. I mean, let's not pretend that we don't love our lives. And it's not just us, you know, oh, these rich Hollywood, you know, show business type. No. I mean, yes, we have very privileged lives and we do something we love and we're so lucky about that. But there's been millions and millions of people who are just really enjoying their life because they live in the 21st century and they do have toilets and they do have antibiotics and they do have Starbucks or whatever. You know, it's just. Life is very convenient, very easy in a way it just never was before. And very comfortable. Yeah, I mean obviously yes, there are people who are suffering and we should do everything we can to help them. But life in general, even in the last 25 years, we have lifted like astounding percentage of people out of what they used to call extreme poverty, which is, you know, living on a dollar a day, literally defecating in the street. Used to be a thing a billion people around the world did and now it's just on my block apparently. No, but like you know, we do progress.

[Joel Edgerton]

But how do you, how do you. Okay, here's the thing is, you know, I, I could, I could. I constantly, when I talk about things, try and remind myself to use first person kind of go rather than go, you know, we as people or you know, we this we. That is like from my perspective, I don't know how it happened and by various set of circumstances and my parents influence and where I grew up and socioeconomic blah blah, blah, I landed in a position where I can for a living do something that I'm very passionate about that I wake up most days if I'm going to set and I'm like, I am actually not dragging myself to work with any kind of ambivalence or grumpy.

[Bill Maher]

You have one of the fun jobs.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

That's one of the greatest things that we can be lucky to get in this life is a career instead of a job. I've had jobs. I know what a job is and I know what a career is. It's not like you don't work in your career. I work very hard. Not here plainly, but like in my real job I work, but it's still a career and it's still the kind of, it's still fun. It's a fun thing that we do. We're fucking in show business.

[Joel Edgerton]

We're lucky.

[Bill Maher]

There's people who like work on an assembly line and they chop the heads off of chickens all day long. Yeah, it's like the logging thing. I mean there's some like really soul killing jobs. I don't know how people do that work at factory farms where they're just killing creatures all day long. It just has got to do something to you.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. I knew a kid, he was one of my friends at school. He's sadly not with us anymore. And he wanted to be a vet, wanted to be a veterinarian. And so he wanted to work with animals and he was looking for jobs that involved animals. And he got this job in a lab and his job was to inject disease into rabbits. So it was like, in order to get a fast track to the university degree he wanted.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

Actually do the opposite of what he wanted to do.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that's the shit. My great people at PETA are always trying to get started.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. Fucked up. What was the worst job you ever did before you started, like, clicking your heels and moving in the direction you wanted to? You didn't have a shitty job.

[Bill Maher]

I wasn't a guest star on Married With Children. No, I'm kidding. That is a complete joke. I loved being a guest star and Married With Children.

[Joel Edgerton]

But did you ever have, like.

[Bill Maher]

Of course.

[Joel Edgerton]

What were that kid.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, my God. Well, I mean, I was always the kid who, like, had. It worked, like after school, like that. Like, I realized looking back, every kid needs an identity. Okay, I'm quite athletic, but I didn't really. I was too short to play basketball.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. Mentally.

[Bill Maher]

And I fucked up that audition when I was a freshman. I could have, if I worked at that. I went on for track. I was like, oh, this is boring. Just.

[Joel Edgerton]

So you had aspirations of being an athlete?

[Bill Maher]

No, it's just like you're looking for an identity in high school. And I still play basketball. I mean, I played on the baseball team for a while. There was just too much rules and too much after school. They made it like a living. Like, you know, if you were on the team, it was just too much. I couldn't. I wanted to. You know, I had to get home and do homework and shit. I was so. And then, you know, could I be an actor? I was too shy for that. I knew I wanted to do a comedy. So, like, I kind of settled in on my identity being like the poor kid who works after school. So I always had mowing lawns, raking leaves, shoveling driveways, whatever the season was. I was doing something in the neighborhood to make money. And then I was the delivery boy for the liquor in the drugstore. And, you know, I worked. I stocked the A and P in college. I worked at Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips. This gross. Like, it was a fast food place with fish triangles of God knows what kind of fish product was in that.

[Joel Edgerton]

They swim around in triangles sometimes. Some of the shapes.

[Bill Maher]

And I had a. Throw them in this vat of grease which splashed back up and burned your arms.

[Joel Edgerton]

Have you got any scars from the time I did?

[Bill Maher]

Yes. I think I Do I have still stories?

[Joel Edgerton]

See, that's a good reminder.

[Bill Maher]

It is. I am so glad. I had my difficult. From the time I left high school till the time I moved out here, 10 years I lived in slums everywhere. And it's so funny when you're a white kid, middle class white kid from the suburbs, you just don't think of yourself as poor or. I didn't. And then I look back and I'm like, I was extremely poor. I was living in the shittiest places. I had no money. You know, I was living on shitty food that I didn't want to eat. That was fast food. Like, of course I was poor. And it's good. I'm glad.

[Joel Edgerton]

What's your relationship with money like now? Are you free?

[Bill Maher]

I got plenty of it.

[Joel Edgerton]

I've seen, I've walked around here.

[Bill Maher]

I like it better than having none.

[Joel Edgerton]

I mean, most people wouldn't even live in a house this big as your, like what I call your playroom here.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, my playroom. But I like.

[Joel Edgerton]

Okay. So my dad was very, very. Came from very work class back in. My grandfather drove trains and he met his wife, my grandmother, she worked at the kiosk train did five kids in a three bedroom house in Granville. And I think my whole family, I don't know how long it's gonna take. My kids will probably inherit something different, but. But you know, to see yourself as blue collar when you start out that way. But my dad became a lawyer. He was gonna become a farmer and he became a lawyer. And then by the time I finished high school, we went from being what I would consider like on the. Just below the kind of middle, middle class line to being upper middle class. Wow. From the age of 0 to 18, that's the trajectory I had. But I had a job as a porter at a hotel. So I'm very generous with my tips at hotels because I'm like, you know.

[Bill Maher]

I love tipping big.

[Joel Edgerton]

I worked at a, like a. My first job was wrapping Christmas gifts at a, at a, what do you call it, like a department store.

[Bill Maher]

That's gay. That is super gay. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. I'm just saying.

[Joel Edgerton]

And no audition process, as in like you could do that job. And it's like my first job I had to do is wrap a lawnmower. I'm like, who the fuck are you doing to me here?

[Bill Maher]

Like wrap a lawnmower.

[Joel Edgerton]

She's like, I just want it. I still want it to look like a lawnmower, but I Still want it to look wrapped? I'm like, well, I could do that.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I can top that, Joel. When I got out of college, I wanted to move to New York to start my comedy career at the comedy clubs. And I had no money, so I. There was this thing in the Village Voice, Rent Free situations. Now, the first two interviews I went out on, I realized in my naivete after about an hour that they were old queens who were looking for a young boy to live. Okay. But I finally got one. I lived with, in the maid's room, the ambassador to South Africa, or at the time, delegate, because they were thrown out of the un And I took. And I was the bodyguard for their three children. I took them to school. I picked them up.

[Joel Edgerton]

Did you have a curly ear thing? Did you be like, kids are coming out?

[Bill Maher]

I did not. We didn't. This is 1979. Now, some people have said I was an au pair. I resent that deeply. I was not an au pair, but I kind of was. And I hate kids. So, like, I feel like, to answer your question, the worst job I ever had. It was certainly that. Taking those three brats to school every day, picking them up, making sure they were safe. They got right from the bus, you know, right to the door of the school. And then, you know. And I understand why. He was a diplomat. Yeah. And it was the Upper east side.

[Joel Edgerton]

What if they were trouble? What was gonna happen? What was gonna happen?

[Bill Maher]

They were in trouble. They were just.

[Joel Edgerton]

No, I mean, if someone tried to.

[Bill Maher]

Attack them, oh, they would have been fucked.

[Joel Edgerton]

You would've been like.

[Bill Maher]

Like, I'm Marsh Vega, or whatever that Israeli training system is. I have no training. I was this kid right out of college. I don't know why they hired me at all.

[Joel Edgerton]

No question. In the early stages, like, do you like kids?

[Bill Maher]

No. I think I gave a great interview.

[Joel Edgerton]

I did love kids.

[Bill Maher]

Love them. Yes. I definitely lied so much. I told them I was married and that my girlfriend. I did have a girlfriend, but she was overseas. I said she was my wife. Cause she at some point did come and visit. And we were in the maid's room. It was like. It was about the size of this room that we're in from here to there. I mean, it was literally when the bed was in the wall, when it came out. You only had this much space to walk by.

[Joel Edgerton]

But doesn't have background checks or anything like that. I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, just exactly.

[Joel Edgerton]

You seem like a good guy. Look after our kids, put their trust.

[Bill Maher]

In this bearded college dude. Right out of. Yeah. Yeah. I never thought of. You're so right. Like no checks at all.

[Joel Edgerton]

No. Now it's like no skills. Full background checks, no skills, everything. I've got four year old twins.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Joel Edgerton]

And we had like, by the way, like, you know, for years. I never realized how much of a legend my mum was. How the greatest job, the most dignified job in the world is a mum. Like a dedicated mum.

[Bill Maher]

True.

[Joel Edgerton]

And I treated her terribly. Was so misbehaved. And my brother and I, a year and a half apart. I don't know how she did it all by herself. You know, my dad was around, but he was around.

[Bill Maher]

What do you mean you were a troublemaker kid?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, it's just like, you know, we were like any two boys, like fighting all the time. Disobedient.

[Bill Maher]

That's.

[Joel Edgerton]

And now I have two kids and I have my mother in law live with us.

[Bill Maher]

Oh.

[Joel Edgerton]

And we have a nanny that helps us with the kids. So my wife and I both have, you know, very busy lives. And I meant like when you're suddenly going, I'm gonna hand my kids over to people like my mother in law, I trust. Like I know where to find her. And she can't run that fast anymore. Right. But like, you know, people you don't know and you're getting people to care for your kids. You like, you want to vet them.

[Bill Maher]

But yeah, I mean, you do know they're a person.

[Joel Edgerton]

You must have just seemed like a nice guy. I was like, yeah, is my kids.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, unbelievable. It's just so funny how people were just rougher and more quaint back in the. I mean, you're so right. I mean the. In crazy. The crazy levels of what I call not just. I. Many people call safetyism.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, the excessive, over excessive focus on everything in my car. Drives me fucking nuts. I mean, I'm pulling out to the end of the driveway, I'm looking at the road. If a car goes by before I pull up. Beep, beep. Yes, I see it. Stevie Wonder isn't driving this car. I'm driving this car.

[Joel Edgerton]

It steers for you too. Have you noticed that, like if you drift in the lane, it actually like starts steering for you?

[Bill Maher]

Well, I don't drift into the lane, Joel. I mean, that's.

[Joel Edgerton]

I mean, me, I don't even know why you're.

[Bill Maher]

Why are you drifting into the lane?

[Joel Edgerton]

This is like ever so slightly. Ever so slightly.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I see. If you just pass over. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

What about waymos? Have you been in one?

[Bill Maher]

There's A great example of rationality, brain versus emotional brain. Right. Like my rationality side. Is that the left side or the right side? One of the. One side of your brain, you know, is more the rat. And I'm glad I have that. And I'm glad. I feel like I'm a balanced person. Because those two halves are, you know, equally strong.

[Joel Edgerton]

They're in communication with each other.

[Bill Maher]

They are. I've said this before. Whenever an important decision to make, I think about it sober. Then I think about it stoned. Yeah, those are the two houses of Congress.

[Joel Edgerton]

And who wins?

[Bill Maher]

If they agree, then I will pass it into legislation. Then you can send it to my desk and I will sign it. But they have to agree.

[Joel Edgerton]

And you're like, what is this piece of.

[Bill Maher]

And they don't always. And you know who's almost always right?

[Joel Edgerton]

The stoner.

[Bill Maher]

It is.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I swear to God it is. Like, I'll be thinking of something and I'll get stone and be like, oh, that is stupid. Why am I doing it that way?

[Joel Edgerton]

With Venmo Stash, a tag on one hand and ordering a ride in the other means you're stacking cash back. With Venmo Stash, get up to 5% cash back when you pick a bundle of your favorite brands. Earn more cash when you do more.

[Bill Maher]

With stash.

[Joel Edgerton]

Venmo stash terms exclusions apply. Max 100 cash back per month. See terms of Venmo me stash terms.

[Bill Maher]

TaxAct is here anytime you want to easily file your taxes. TaxAct is here for the early birds who like to knock them out as soon as the season opens and for the procrastinators who like to wait until the very last minute. Tax act is also here for the middlers who file right in the middle of tax season. No one ever talks about the middlers, but taxact sees you and Taxact respects you. Tax act, let's get them over with.

[Joel Edgerton]

New year, same extra value meals at McDonald's.

[Bill Maher]

So now get two snack wraps plus.

[Joel Edgerton]

Fries and a medium soft drink for.

[Bill Maher]

Just $8 for a limited time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California. And for delivery.

[Joel Edgerton]

See, what is the thing about that, like, the creative, creative mind. The rigidity of the creative mind and. And stimulants and the possibilities there. And where does it tip into, like, thinking it's a great idea and it being a terrible idea?

[Bill Maher]

Well, I mean, you know, balance drugs get a bad name only because of the people who do them, who fuck up with them. And they give a bad name to people like me and many other people who don't fuck up with them. And I've, you know, obviously people. Some people have much more of an addictive personality. Yeah, I don't. I'm lucky about that.

[Joel Edgerton]

You feel like you got a nice balance and equilibrium of things.

[Bill Maher]

I've been smoking it for 50 years and I've never gotten addicted, right? No, no, but I'm actually not because.

[Joel Edgerton]

You just caught me at a low intelligence point. I was like, oh, that was a joke.

[Bill Maher]

But it actually isn't because I know the difference between addiction. Because I smoke cigarettes for 20 years.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, me too.

[Bill Maher]

An addiction ended. Coke for a couple of years. An addiction. An addiction is. Didn't. Come on. Didn't you have a coke period?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, never? No. Something else. Yeah, something else.

[Bill Maher]

Good for you. Something else.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, no, that's. That's a big dark story.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, come on. What could it be? Heroin?

[Joel Edgerton]

Nah. So, yeah, like something. Something in that world.

[Bill Maher]

Opium. Yeah, Opium.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Wow. You know what I remember in college.

[Joel Edgerton]

Short period, but like.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Where'd you even get it?

[Joel Edgerton]

Where? Yeah, I'll give you his number.

[Bill Maher]

I never. Nobody, ever.

[Joel Edgerton]

I deleted the number. That's my old man.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I'm not in the drug world anymore, but when I was. I don't remember anybody ever saying, hey, there's some opium going around. Would you like some? I did it in. We did try it in college when we did everything. I never got it.

[Joel Edgerton]

I tell you what I think it is, is too, like, you know, as a kid, you go through all these phases. Well, from. Again, I said this before, I'll talk about me. I went through all these phases where I was a good kid, good kid, good kid. Apart from the way I treated my mum. But like, as in behaviourally, like I wasn't interested in alcohol or drugs. And then, you know, I tried. You know, you go to college, you know, I've got to try this drug. And you go, that didn't stick to the wall, you know, and then you try this. It was like that didn't do anything for me. But, you know, so you get in this pattern of going, just try stuff. And then every now and then I think with people, they find a drug that goes, hello.

[Bill Maher]

Right, so true.

[Joel Edgerton]

We belong together.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, you're right.

[Joel Edgerton]

And we belong together. Yeah, we belong together.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And it's a different rhythm for different people, but it doesn't always suit. I had this theory and for me it was really a case, a really short burst of peer which thankfully. And speaking the love of my parents, my old man knows me too well. And he recognised it and he was like, what are you doing?

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Joel Edgerton]

And I owe him a lot for that.

[Bill Maher]

And got you off?

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like big time.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that's a much more serious drug. I mean, this. I was gonna say it's different than an addiction, because an addiction tells me when to do it. This has never said to me, do me now. I just do it situationally. 3, 4 days easily go by when there's no reason to smoke. And I never even think about it. Right? So it's different. But it is, you know, kind of the love of my life. I mean, we love each other. Sometimes we forget each other's sentences.

[Joel Edgerton]

You know what I think too, is I have this theory that, like, a lot of friends who've been through that situation where they hit rock bottom, you know, And I'm sure you know a ton of them too. I mean, you live in la, but you know, where you really have to have your most despairing point, and then you realize that you have to turn around, but you're literally the bottom. I always thought there's wisdom in how do you recognize the bottom is coming and turn around. And I think that a lot of people really have to, like, really hit the bottom hard. Like really s their face on it. And for it to crack a few bones and a few vertebra before they look up and go, all right, I've got to change things. But how do you make that curve shorter? And I don't see it coming.

[Bill Maher]

I think in. We're talking about the psychological element, in the physical element, there are designations. I think four of them. I won't remember their names exactly. But in a hospital, if you're like serious, chronic.

[Joel Edgerton]

Oh, the pain, the pain.

[Bill Maher]

Well, not pain, not.

[Joel Edgerton]

This is like the addiction.

[Bill Maher]

No, the level of how serious your malady is, whatever it is this like chronic serious. I forget the other designations. Doctors, please help me out here. But you know, like. Like degenerative. Maybe it's, you know, and then, you know, Andy Dick. But I'm sure that there's that same thing with the psychological element. Like, there is like depression, you know, that's a level. I mean, I've been depressed, but I wasn't depressed because I lack serotonin. I don't think I was depressed cause my life sucked. Okay, that's one level. And you know, then there's suicidal, you know, where like, you get to that point or. And of course, you can do these also. Things with behavior, you know, like, are you a functioning alcoholic? There are, there are functioning drug addicts. Yeah. And then there. No, it is got you fired. That's a level, you know, okay, now you're on the street, that's another level. You know, they're just levels. And at where, at what point do you arrest them? And there are some points, some people where that point is. Yes. Just lying on the gutter.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. But I'll tell you what. My experience, my. My short lived experience taught me a lot about empathy. Because I was a private school boy, as in like, you know, where I grew up, ended up at a private school, figured like my life was like fantastic. That anybody I saw on the street, for example, I saw them as like, especially if it came to drugs, I'd be like, you made bad choice, you made poor choices. Never really considered it, like a deeper combination of things, you know, Willpower is obviously a big part of anyone's life in regards to so many things, but there's also like, there's other shit going on, obviously.

[Bill Maher]

There's so many factors. Yes.

[Joel Edgerton]

But to not judge people as a combination of just bad choices, but to actually kind of have an open mind to go, you have a story, I don't know. But I'm not gonna judge you for it.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. I can't get into the head of someone who can't resist something because I can't, you know, I mean, cigarettes was hard, but I did it. That was the hardest one. But like, I easily can when dessert comes around at the restaurant, you know, like, you sure you don't want a bite? Not even one? Not really. I mean, do I know it? Would it taste delicious? Yes. Do I care that much? Is it easy for me to say no? And for some people it is not for food or for whatever their drug is. It's just not that easy. So I don't. So I don't judge.

[Joel Edgerton]

I don't think there's a dessert Anonymous, is there? I think there actually is. There's actually like, you know, not to downplay it, but like I know somebody who's in the like eating disorder issues. I had a dream. 1. I just remember I had a dream once. So Cate Blanchett I worked with on a play called Streetcar Named Desire, Legend. And we did bam together.

[Bill Maher]

Another awesome actor from Australia who's taken our jobs, but she certainly deserves it.

[Joel Edgerton]

Again, not enough sharks. And I don't think she goes in the ocean. Not enough sharks.

[Bill Maher]

But if there were. But I mean, and I give up to so many of them. They are so good. I mean, you know, try to be better than Cate Blanchett, but she's so good.

[Joel Edgerton]

And then while we're doing the play, she would also pull up after some evenings and give a speech. And she would have, like, give an incredible speech about the environment or. And we're like, you just did three hours on stage playing Blanche and then you make this speech. She's a. You know, she was running the theatre company. She just seemed like an unflappable, incredible human being with just an aptitude, an ability to do so much.

[Bill Maher]

So she played Blanche to your Stanley Kowalski. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen that. Yeah. Where was that at?

[Joel Edgerton]

Bam. We did. We actually did the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Oh, we did Sydney. And then we did the Kennedy center, which I don't know if we would do now.

[Bill Maher]

I don't know that we'd be doing that. You mean the Trump Kennedy Center?

[Joel Edgerton]

The Trump Kennedy Center.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. Get it right.

[Joel Edgerton]

We're going to reap. Boot that one.

[Bill Maher]

One call to ICE and you're gone. You're gone.

[Joel Edgerton]

Two cast members may not be included. We have to get what's his name back who was here back in that 50s movie playing a Hispanic. The. So I had a dream one night about Kate. And don't worry, it's not a saucy. Not a saucy.

[Bill Maher]

I'm fascinated already.

[Joel Edgerton]

And it was that Kate was so perfect in my mind. And in my dream, I'm about to go to rehab and I'm in this room and I'm feeling really shameful. And I'm fucking trying to pretend I'm not there. Cause I think everybody's gonna recognise me. And I look up and across the room, I see Cate Blanchett. And we're all in a holding room to go to rehab. So I'm like, oh, fuck, Cate's going to rehab. And I go over to Kate and I'm like, kate, why are you here? Because I think she's perfect. Why are you here? And she goes, food. And I'm like, fuck you.

[Bill Maher]

That's interesting that even in your dream you're famous.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, right?

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. In your dream.

[Joel Edgerton]

I'm never not famous. It's done.

[Bill Maher]

Now in your dream, you're worried about getting recognized?

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, I'm, like, worried about. You know, actually, that's something really interesting.

[Bill Maher]

But it is. But you know what? I've had the same feeling in a dream. Because what is a dream? It's us processing our fears, right? And what we're Apprehensive about. And that is something we are apprehensive about. Don't get caught in public doing something weird, even though we're not doing anything weird.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. I mean, speaking about this, like, this is alcohol for anyone who doesn't get it.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. All right. Just.

[Joel Edgerton]

Taxi. That's. That's the.

[Bill Maher]

It's alcohol. The labs don't associate with us breaking the furniture just because we're telling you that we are drinking alcohol. But people who don't drink alcohol sometimes break the furniture.

[Joel Edgerton]

The one thing about conversation, the middle of social media that I love is that it puts the power in the hands of the average individual, the unseen individual talking about the ordinary person. There's good and bad things about that.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, it would be great if the unseen person wasn't usually a fucking idiot. But. Okay, I take it. Theoretically, you're right.

[Joel Edgerton]

But don't trip over on the sidewalk. Don't do something dumb. Don't be mean to people because they'll talk about it. I mean, and it's like, you should hold those values. True. Regardless of what outside judgment is. But. But it's a good reminder that, you know, we call it in Australia, any tall poppy syndrome. You can be cut down very easily. And like X or Twitter or any of those social media platforms are there to remind you.

[Bill Maher]

Like, you have to be anytime, Stay.

[Joel Edgerton]

In your lane and be normal. Like, stay in the human lane.

[Bill Maher]

Anytime you or I or anyone in the public eye just leaves the house. Just leaves the house. There is potential. Maybe it's a very small percentage of potential, but as opposed to just being.

[Joel Edgerton]

Home, they could all come undone.

[Bill Maher]

Anything could happen. Many is the time I've said to my. And I try to do, be aware, like, okay, you're stepping out of a limousine. Don't show your vagina. I've said that to myself many times, and they caught me once or twice. And of course, TMZ runs that one over and over.

[Joel Edgerton]

Oh, and they rerun it.

[Bill Maher]

He's showing my cooperation getting out of the car. But I'm not the only one who's had that happen where they show their cooch getting out of a car. And, you know, the really classy ones, you know, smart ladies like Beyonce and Taylor Swift, you never see Zendaya. You never see anything bad. No, because they're smart, they're classy. They know that they're always trying to get you at something.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So they're just always on point when they're out.

[Joel Edgerton]

Do you believe that? I mean, the old days Pre all this stuff, no one knew much about actors, musicians, comedians. Like, of course that's a fact. Yeah. And it was mysterious. Well, now it's the opposite.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, well, we have. I mean, we've passed the age of tabloids to obviously the age of not just tmz, but self promotion, which I happen to love. And get my news from what?

[Joel Edgerton]

Tmz.

[Bill Maher]

I love tmz. I love Harvey. I love the show.

[Joel Edgerton]

I gave a very boring interview to TMZ the other day. Very sanitised. They won't run it.

[Bill Maher]

Well, when you're on tmz, you want. You. You want to be boring. You don't want to be the thing that's interesting.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

You just want to be on there because you're Joel and you're fan. I saw it. You're signing autographs outside of Kimmel. Kimmel, yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

Very boring, very pleasant, very polite.

[Bill Maher]

I was like, great.

[Joel Edgerton]

This is a way not to be seen.

[Bill Maher]

Your publicist is thrilled that it was not interesting. You don't need interesting. Especially right now when you're at this moment where you're probably gonna. You're definitely gonna get an Oscar nomination. You might win it. You're right at that age where they want to give it to the guy, you know, and it's. And it's. The woke. People will love it. Cause it's about grief. I'm telling you. It's all lining up in your favor, Joel. I'm telling you. You put in the time, you put in all this good work. It's like time we give him his Oscar, you know? So don't fuck it up now.

[Joel Edgerton]

All right, all right.

[Bill Maher]

We're not fucking it up here, by the way.

[Joel Edgerton]

Right?

[Bill Maher]

Good.

[Joel Edgerton]

We could, but we're not.

[Bill Maher]

Because we're just real.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And we're not bad people. So as long as bad, not bad people are being real, there actually is nothing to be afraid of. Yeah, honestly, there is. I mean, when I walk out of a limb, I'm not gonna do something stupid, because I'm not stupid.

[Joel Edgerton]

No.

[Bill Maher]

And yet there's still that idea.

[Joel Edgerton]

You've got a very nice looking vagina.

[Bill Maher]

Apparently.

[Joel Edgerton]

I watch your 10. Vagina.

[Bill Maher]

We're even saying vagina. We're completely politically correct here. Anyway, what's your next role? This is a really.

[Joel Edgerton]

My life is completely free for now, you know? I see. Really? Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that's gonna change.

[Joel Edgerton]

I'm writing. I write and I make stuff. My life has completely changed since I had two little people that you would hate to children.

[Bill Maher]

How old are they for.

[Joel Edgerton]

And I'm not. I'm not leaving them in your care.

[Bill Maher]

You say they're for. Definitely not. Even though I have the credentials.

[Joel Edgerton]

I'll give you a little, like, earpiece.

[Bill Maher]

Like, I have references from South Africa. I'm telling you. Hey, you know what? I didn't have any references. I didn't have any skills. I didn't fuck it up. No, those are fine. There was never any trouble.

[Joel Edgerton]

None.

[Bill Maher]

I was always on time. I got them to their school, I got them back. I took them to their stupid activities. And I was supposed to teach them French also. That kind of fell by the wayside. Well, I kind of lied about that, too.

[Joel Edgerton]

Du parensais.

[Bill Maher]

Like, I would speak them French to them. Like they would learn French with their new bodyguard, slash au pair.

[Joel Edgerton]

Did you speak French?

[Bill Maher]

You know, bonjour. I mean, well, I took French my whole time. They started us on. No, they started us in third grade, and I was still taking it my freshman year at Cornell, and I still couldn't get it. There are some things you just can't do. And for me, learning a language, thinking in the other language instead of always thinking in English, having to translate, you can't do it that way. Some people hear a foreign language and they pick it up, and I'm like, are you fucking kidding? At the normal rate people speak. Could I ever understand French?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, no. My kids speak Spanish, like, fluent Spanish. And therefore my mother in law is Filipino Spanish because they're being raised by the nanny. Yeah. But my mother in law speaks Tagalog Spanish and English.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I see.

[Joel Edgerton]

She speaks only Spanish to them.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that's the time to get it in their head. Cause when they're kids, it's easy and.

[Joel Edgerton]

It'S beautiful to hear them speak Spanish.

[Bill Maher]

So they're bilingual already?

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And I feel ashamed that my promise to myself when they started was I'm gonna stay up with them. And I had duolingo. Have you ever done duolingo?

[Bill Maher]

Please don't be ashamed.

[Joel Edgerton]

No, but duolingo has this sort of guilt aspect to it, where you do a course and like every day you do, like, a few lessons. I love guilt.

[Bill Maher]

Joel, please.

[Joel Edgerton]

I'm riddled with guilt. I was raised Catholic.

[Bill Maher]

What are you, Jewish? Don't be.

[Joel Edgerton]

No Catholic.

[Bill Maher]

I was too. Yeah. Catholics have a lot of guilt.

[Joel Edgerton]

I did my Holy Communion when I was 10.

[Bill Maher]

So did I 7 when I did it. And I'm like, they raised the age.

[Joel Edgerton]

Well, I was around 10. My parents were 34, 35 at the time that I Did my communion and we had this long house. Speaking of which, like, you know when you say, like you thought you were a king as a kid, like you were rich. And my brother and I went out recently to try and look at the house that we grew up in that was up for sale. And in my mind it was a palace. It was fucking huge.

[Bill Maher]

Everybody said that.

[Joel Edgerton]

And then we went there and it felt tiny.

[Bill Maher]

Cause you were two feet tall, everyone says the same thing.

[Joel Edgerton]

And I was like, all right, well, we don't necessarily want to buy it, but it was lovely to go there. But it was reminding me of all these things. There was a little church down the road we used to go. And so did the communion. Because of the insistence of my grandparents, my parents wanted to please them. My parents weren't really super religious, so it's like, why load me up with all this guilt? Anyway, I realized that every Sunday my brother and I would run down like we were like Ned Flanders kids. Like, let's go to church, let's go to church. And they were like, not today, not today. And of course church is on a Sunday. And what happens on a Saturday night is my parents would be out dragging us young kids along drunk. I'm 51, I've got 24 year olds, I still take my kids out and do all that stuff. But they were 35 year old kids, I call them kids. Anyone younger than me is a kid. 35 year old people with two young kids, hungover on a Sunday, going, I wanna fucking go to church. And it raised my level of. I'm like, God is gonna fucking punish me.

[Bill Maher]

Me too.

[Joel Edgerton]

He's gonna punish me. And each week went by, I was like, I can't go now. Cause when I go, the punishment's gonna be worse.

[Bill Maher]

No, I mean, Catholic upbringing traumatized me. You know, we were talking before about getting from trained dreams, about like how hard life is compared to 100 years ago. My life has been a dream. And I was very fortunate. I had a very Leave it to Beaver upbringing, did that show.

[Joel Edgerton]

Were you Eddie Haskell?

[Bill Maher]

Ah, you know this show? Yeah, that played in Australia?

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, that was one of the ones.

[Bill Maher]

Cause that's from the. That's really old. That's from the 50s. Black and white.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, I'm not kidding. Like, like. And Mr. Red. Mr. Red, the famous Mr. The Talk. I can sing all the jingles.

[Bill Maher]

Green Anchors?

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, Green Anchors. What else?

[Bill Maher]

Let's hear it. You said you could sing all the jingles, but Green Anchors is the place to be. No, you don't Remember that?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, no, I caught me on the line. I don't know that One life for.

[Bill Maher]

Me.

[Joel Edgerton]

But you know, I mean. Okay, so sorry I interrupted you. Eddie. I called you Eddie Haskell, which is an insult.

[Bill Maher]

It's funny.

[Joel Edgerton]

Cause he's the naughty neighbor, right? He's. Yeah, he was the irascible neighbor.

[Bill Maher]

It's funny because.

[Joel Edgerton]

So that's suitable.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, he's. I mean, beaver is beaver. He's the, you know, the.

[Joel Edgerton]

He's the good freckle kid.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, he's the typical 50s kid. I mean, this is the completely white world of the 50s. Yeah. I mean, you could not find a person of color within 100 yards of this set. I mean, that's just where we were in the 50s.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

We don't think it's good, but like, we, you know, talking about your thing with guilt before. Yeah, there's too much guilt. There's no reason for you to feel guilt. I'm sure you're like a better parent to your kids than like everybody was in my era as far as like, how much time you spend with them. I mean, my parents in that generation, they didn't feel any obligation. Yeah. It's like we brought you into this world. You have a roof, you have clothes, you have food and you have your own life. And we were better. I had such a free range childhood of doing whatever the fuck I wanted. Just be home by 6.

[Joel Edgerton]

I remember when dinner is my dad, I think the story goes that he broke his arm jumping over the fence trying to get there on time for my brother's birthday. And he said his job as a groom when you get married was just to show up. Like, no planning, none of this. Like, Christine and I got married at city hall. We, we just did like the kids, us, we didn't want to like, bother with all the stress of like, you know, napkins and who do we invite and all that shit.

[Bill Maher]

Well, then you got a really cool bride.

[Joel Edgerton]

She's amazing.

[Bill Maher]

My wife is incredible because not a lot of chicks go for that.

[Joel Edgerton]

She is the best. Really. Punching bubble white.

[Bill Maher]

A lot of women really think that the wedding day is the greatest day of their life. And like, that just has to happen perfectly.

[Joel Edgerton]

It should be for you.

[Bill Maher]

It should be. Yes.

[Joel Edgerton]

And maybe because she's in the world of like, she runs a magazine, She's a chief editor of Australian Vogue.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, really?

[Joel Edgerton]

She deals with a lot of people. I deal with a lot of people where like, you know, there's a lot of people watching us and maybe being in a Wedding is nice just to be not watched and not about.

[Bill Maher]

Absolutely.

[Joel Edgerton]

My brother got married and I remember somebody like wrote to him, he's like, why aren't I on the invite list? He's like, fucking hell. Like, you're gonna like give him grief about.

[Bill Maher]

No, it's. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

But guilt is huge, dude. In my life, like every day I'm like, am I a good parent? Am I not a good parent? And I remember this and my, you know, shout out to my parents who are just fucking divine. But I remember I was with my mum and my dad and my. My mum knows that I have these big chunks where I'm working and these big chunks where I get to spend time with my kids. And my mum was like, see, you know, said to my dad at one point, see, this is something you didn't get. And I remember thinking, that's not what he needs to hear. Because, like, he's very special to me. And I kind of know more than ever now why there were certain times I didn't get to see him. And so I think a lot about that when I'm a parent going, you're.

[Bill Maher]

Like the logger guy.

[Joel Edgerton]

Kids don't understand money.

[Bill Maher]

The logger guy.

[Joel Edgerton]

The logger guy.

[Bill Maher]

He goes away for a couple of months at a time. Yeah. Which is shit.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And acting isn't shit. But I'm sure you miss your family. Yeah. Yeah.

[Joel Edgerton]

And then come back with a roll of cash.

[Bill Maher]

You come back with a roll of cash and you have like oodles of time at home uninterrupted, which most people in their nine to five, kind of 50 weeks a year job don't have at all.

[Joel Edgerton]

And then the wife's like, so it's just. Aren't you going to log? Isn't there some logging to be done? Like. Right. But we, you know, like, so it's just, you know.

[Bill Maher]

And I mean, I just see so many parents fucking up their lives and their kids lives because they're too much in their kids lives, which fucks up their lives. Yeah. And they're really fucking it up on both ends. Kids don't need to be supervised to that degree. And it fucks up your life. You need to have a life too. So if your life is. Yeah, you're. I mean, I just watched J. Kelly. Did you see that? I mean, you see, you know, like so many movies I've seen. He feels very bad about his kids who don't like him. Cause he wasn't there. You know what? Daddy was a movie star. I'm Sorry. He wasn't there all the time. You just. My father worked nights. I never saw him during the week either. It didn't fuck me up. So. What?

[Joel Edgerton]

Sorry.

[Bill Maher]

You know what?

[Joel Edgerton]

I think it did, Bill. I think it might have, you know, like. But also, like, you could. I mean, there were so many examples of people who have mistreated their children and they've gone on to, like, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Exactly.

[Joel Edgerton]

And people who were the best parents in the world and the kids, you know, did awful things.

[Bill Maher]

Exactly. And, you know, life is just this very complicated mixture of advantages and disadvantages. There's privilege, and there's pretty privilege, and, you know, I could name a million privileges.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And, you know, you just either make the best of it or you don't. And as some wise person once said, if you're looking for an excuse, you'll find one.

[Joel Edgerton]

And don't we all filter everything through our own ego? It's like everything that happens around us and near us and adjacent to us or whatever, we're like. It's got something to do with me when it really doesn't all the time.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, Joel, this is the wrong town to start throwing accusations about narcissism. And not to push it on Jake Kelly, which I did enjoy.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

I enjoy George Clooney in anything. I enjoy Adam Sandler. I work with George, but it is George Clooney.

[Joel Edgerton]

He directed me in Boys in the Boat.

[Bill Maher]

Boys in the Boat.

[Joel Edgerton]

Gorgeous George.

[Bill Maher]

Right. I always think of the clitoris when I hear the name of that movie. But. But it is a good movie. Okay, but like. And I enjoyed the movie, but, like, yet another. Another movie about the business itself. Yeah. I mean, there's been a lot about. I mean, the navel gazing in this town is extraordinary. Like, it wasn't a bad movie or uninteresting or unfeeling. I enjoyed it. You know, I mean, he plays basically himself, this movie star. So it's a smart idea for a movie. But, you know, I mean, I don't feel bad for the character. I don't feel bad for his kids, who, you know, just.

[Joel Edgerton]

Dad.

[Bill Maher]

You weren't there. Yes. Cause he was making a classic. You fucking brat. That's what happened.

[Joel Edgerton]

And you're having an argument around a really nice swimming pool. But it's a great movie. I mean.

[Bill Maher]

And then he came home and gave you a great life, which, you know, dad could have worked for the electric company. Okay, get the fuck over yourself.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Your dad's a movie star. And, you know. Okay, so, like, that's who he is. We can't change who we are.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, there's just so much like. Of this shaming, a lot of it. You know, people wonder why so many young men vote for Trump. Well, maybe because, you know, he's one guy who doesn't make you feel guilty just for being born with a dick. You know, it's true. It's a lot of his appeal. They make you feel, you know, a lot of. Not me. I'm old enough to remember when it was the reverse, so I get the backlash.

[Joel Edgerton]

That's what it's like to be born without a dick.

[Bill Maher]

If you're.

[Joel Edgerton]

That.

[Bill Maher]

I don't remember, but if you're 22 years old, if you're 22, you don't remember a time when it was the reverse. So you've only seen the backlash. You've only seen white men bad.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, well, you know, I remember when, when he first got voted in and, and, and the realization of the un, this sort of lack of awareness of, of the way dudes felt in the world. And I was like, you know, the whole seat at the table thing, and it's like the presumption of position in the world and friends of mine in Australia are talking about this whole, whole thing about going, you know, like, work hard for what you fucking get, be good at what you do to prove that you deserve your seat at the table. But the anger of, you know, that sort of phase. I think we're talking about the same thing anyway. Yeah, I'm a bit muddled, but, like, you go, you know, I'm all for inclusivity. And then you speak to the same person, like, a few months later, and they're like, I'm fucking terrified. And it's like, why don't you just be fucking good at what you do? And if you're an artist, paint the right pictures, tell the right stories, make the best music, like, do the best you can do, and prove that the seat you were sitting on you can still sit on.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, in this country, because we have such a horrible, sorry history, levels of reparation are, to my view, completely appropriate. Yeah. But at the end of the day, you also have to acknowledge things have changed enormously in this century and that ultimately merit, you know, is something that we're going to have to reinstate to where it formerly was. It's important, and it kind of got bypassed. And the people it's supposed to help by forgetting about it are often not helped by it.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes. You know, well, the pendulum swings in certain ways too. And I do believe that, you know, sometimes, like, with the casting conversation too, it's like the pendulum swings so far. You're like, now shall be nervous about this. It's like, you know, with the pendulum, like. Like shifts and changes. But in terms of merit, like, merit is just a thing. And it's like. I mean, I don't know how you solve that problem. Especially two white dudes sitting on a.

[Bill Maher]

Coffee talking about it. Okay. But again, that's the guilt thing that I'm not gonna buy into. Just because we're white dudes doesn't mean we can't have opinions.

[Joel Edgerton]

No.

[Bill Maher]

Or that we can't have this discussion. I mean, apropos of that discussion about appropriation, I remember John Leguizamo was sitting here. I love John. I think he's enormous talent. But I did point out to him that he was very angry when James Franco was gonna play Castro. But he himself played characters. He played Luigi. He's not Italian. Yeah, he played. Or Mario. Whatever it was. He played, like, Toulouse Lautrec. He's not French.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

You know, like, that to me is very hypocritical and typical of the far left woke. That they just. They don't see it when they. It's always okay when I'm making fun of it, but I can do it.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And like, don't be ridiculous, because you yourself have played these parts that are not you.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And that's why we call it acting. Yeah, it's acting.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I was the pharaoh of Egypt.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. In what?

[Joel Edgerton]

In Ridley Scott's exodus. I mean, you know, like. And it's a really interesting, you know.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, Ridley Scott's exodus. Amount of fucking. Okay, you want more?

[Joel Edgerton]

No, no, no, I'm good.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Joel Edgerton]

But the.

[Bill Maher]

That's what they all say.

[Joel Edgerton]

But, you know, like, it is an interesting conversation because the. The. The.

[Bill Maher]

The.

[Joel Edgerton]

I wouldn't take the experience away in the world partly because of what it taught me. Love Ridley. Like, fucking one of my favorite people in the world.

[Bill Maher]

What a filmmaker.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And like, you know, to speak to him on the phone and. And kind of, you know, he's like, come. You know, anyway, I did the movie, but at the same time, I'm like, all right, well, you know, what is doing that movie take away from someone else. And, like, I wasn't even that famous a dude. It's not like, you know, the short version of that is. And we talked about it earlier is just really about, like, on one hand, it's like what suits you as a character is one thing. What you are taking away from somebody else is another thing. And it's like there's a financial aspect that everyone can lean on and say, you know, the movie will only get made if it's just. But as Coda proved, like the success of that movie was the authenticity of the movie.

[Bill Maher]

You know, we are pretty much past the age when it's about who's in the movie. Yeah, it's mostly about the movie.

[Joel Edgerton]

Who are movie stars anymore?

[Bill Maher]

Right? That's what I'm saying. Yeah. It's Tom Cruise. Okay.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

But even Tom Cruise, if the movie was shit, I don't think it would do well. Yeah, I don't think people are gonna come out to see a 65 year old Scientologist in a shitty movie. They will come out to see that in Maverick, which was entertaining in a popcorn way. And you know, I love. I'm a huge fan of Tom Cruise.

[Joel Edgerton]

Me too.

[Bill Maher]

You know, he's obviously got a little wire loose there in the head. That's fine. But like, what a movie star. What a filmmaker.

[Joel Edgerton]

Beautiful legend, dude.

[Bill Maher]

Legend. And entertained me a million times, which I'm always grateful for. You know, I just want to be entertained. I really am.

[Joel Edgerton]

Now I want to be entertained. I also think that there are countless examples of movies that have movie stars front and center, that if the story isn't good, of course they don't make money. And then countless examples of movies that star people that aren't that famous, that if they're really good, I mean, honestly.

[Bill Maher]

They could have done Train dreams with Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Joel Edgerton]

They did.

[Bill Maher]

He was terrible.

[Joel Edgerton]

They had to reshoot it with me. They tried it with Timmy. Terrible for it.

[Bill Maher]

But you're the same age as Leonardo DiCaprio.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And we're good, very good friends. We did Gatsby together. We're very good friends. And I'm so happy.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Joel Edgerton]

For him constantly.

[Bill Maher]

It wouldn't have worked the same way. He's just too pretty.

[Joel Edgerton]

What are you saying about me?

[Bill Maher]

Well, you're fine. You're a nice looking guy down the middle. But we can believe you living in the cabin.

[Joel Edgerton]

This is something though. I do think that at some point.

[Bill Maher]

And Revenant was one of my favorite movies of all time.

[Joel Edgerton]

Revenant's amazing.

[Bill Maher]

Where he does play a guy from a million years ago, but it's, it's different. He's eating a fish raw right out of the river, you know, it's just, it's just not the. It's just not the person we can relate to.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Who could bite into a fish right out of the river.

[Joel Edgerton]

I mean, I could. They're just too slippery, you know, couldn't get a hole, couldn't get a perch. But no, I mean, but it's, it's a good question. Is like at some point and he's too movie starry.

[Bill Maher]

Well, he's already a movie. We just see him as a movie star.

[Joel Edgerton]

Imagine you went to Sundance and saw like, you know, like a $3 million movie starring Tom Cruise. It just. Somehow the metrics don't compute.

[Bill Maher]

It doesn't.

[Joel Edgerton]

But mind you, that would maybe be one of the most radical movies you could pull. But there are certain things, I mean, back in the day, I think the studios told you who the movie stars were, right? Pre social media, definitely the news outlets. And there was like, all right, these are your movie stars. Now it's in the hands of everyone on, you know, social media. I mean, you're who's hot, who's not.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, train dreams got crazy numbers on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Like, and Rotten Tomatoes is the.

[Joel Edgerton]

Is the popular 95% Vox populace. I think if my mum knew how to write a review on there, 96%. I actually just.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, that's a crazy number for anything, but especially when it comes from the viewers.

[Joel Edgerton]

You know, it's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful film. You know, it's very un. Australian. To cycle back to almost the very beginning of our conversation, one thing is Australians don't do is we like to be complimented by other people. We're not good at complimenting ourselves and when people compliment us, we often stare at our shoes, which are generally flip flops. But.

[Bill Maher]

So you see yourself as modest.

[Joel Edgerton]

I do, I do. I actually, you know, but at the same time.

[Bill Maher]

How egocentric of you, huh?

[Joel Edgerton]

How are you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But like, it is comfortable for me to say that I love this movie. I'm so glad that I'm in it. And I know, and I've said this to numerous people, that I look back on my life whenever it's getting close to its end, which is, you know, kind of suitable for the film itself, and go, it's one of my favourite experiences ever.

[Bill Maher]

It's not just a terrific movie and has touched so many people in a way very few movies do. But it is a defining, like, watershed in your career like that, I would guess. I've been an observer of show business for a long time. You just see, like Matthew McConney, for example, where we Was the AIDS dude.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

AIDS. Automatic Oscar. Okay.

[Joel Edgerton]

The McConaissance, not that he wasn't great.

[Bill Maher]

The McConnaissance, but they also vote on. They just. It's not quite an exact science giving out awards, let's put it that way. Yeah. So it has to be sort of the right thing that the voters think makes them feel like the good people.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And. And this one, like, hit. It just. It just walks that line perfectly. It is actually a good movie. It also is gonna, like, attract those people who want to vote for the right movie.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, after 12 years a slave one, which I'm sure is a great movie, but some of the people who have voted for it on the. On the panel admitted we didn't see it, we just voted for it. We knew it was the right thing to do. So, like. But like, this all aligns up because you deserve an Oscar. And after that, even if you don't get the Oscar, even if you get just nomination, which you definitely will, then your career, you know, like, for whatever reason. Look, I'm the last guy to think that awards should mean anything. Cause it's really just an opinion. And it bugs me that people talk about it. It as if they, you know, like I always say, when the Eagles won the super bowl, they won it. If you win an Oscar, it's just someone's opinion.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

You didn't actually win anything. It's someone's opinion.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. We'll change our opinion if we win at the Golden Globes. By the way, if I win, I.

[Bill Maher]

Have a whole different take on it. But. But I do think you're at this other level and it's a. It's a perfect time because I always think that actors over 50 are just working on a different level. It's just one of those 10,000 hours thing.

[Joel Edgerton]

It's the rings of the tree.

[Bill Maher]

It really is. Like, they're just on a level of like, you know that famous story when Jack Lemmon said to the director, you know, what do you want me to do? Not act? Exactly.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, we don't see the acting at all. And, you know, you see it in younger people. And it doesn't mean they're not good, but you just see this different level. So I just imagine for the next decade you're gonna get some amazing scripts.

[Joel Edgerton]

Oh, thank you, man. Yeah, I feel that way with. You know, I used to, when I went to drama school and I was a very sanitised young man, and everyone was like, ah, you know, like to be a great actor, you have to be through some kind of suffering. And I'm like, I had a pretty crazy upbringing, like, like it's gonna make me a shit actor. And then, you know, as I get older, I realize it's not about suffering and trauma and all that stuff. It's just the experience of life can give you the understanding of some things, the empathy towards other things, the appreciation of life, the patience to observe and look into things without being too self obsessed that you can be open to slip into the skin of other people if that's what your job is. And so it's not really about like, I need to have been through hell and locked in a basement and beaten by my parents to become a good actor.

[Bill Maher]

I also think people should know, and I can say this from experience. Cause in the 80s, when I was first out here, I made my living doing silly movies and, you know, TV shows. And to spend all day in makeup, like mostly just wasting time in your trailer, just sitting around. And then there's a lot of stress on a movie set. It's not like. And you're away from home and very, very often you're doing things you don't want to do. I remember like getting very sick once. Cause I had to. We were shooting in the Bronson caves. You ever shoot there? They used it for every cave and ever seen in a movie. And I'm lying on the ground after this supposed explosion in the movie and all this smoke that I was breathing in for two days. There's a lot of shit. I mean, it's great to be a movie star. It also is. I mean, it's not like there's no work involved, no. Or nothing that like every day is just tits and champagne. It is not.

[Joel Edgerton]

Anyway, it's like, you know, I feel like being an actor is like, like five minutes of a day, right. Good and bad will remind me why it's excellent to be an actor. When I say good and bad, it's like the good thing is like, yes, I'm doing the right thing.

[Bill Maher]

Sometimes you're working like five minutes.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah. And if you didn't, if you didn't give me that five minutes, that reminded me I'd probably go, I'm finally gonna go do something else.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. John Cleese once said, making a movie is like spending eight weeks waiting in an airport. Anyway, I can't thank you enough for doing my little ridiculous show.

[Joel Edgerton]

I can't believe I'm even here. It's such a pleasure to meet you. You too.

[Bill Maher]

This was so much fun.

[Joel Edgerton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And I wish you luck on Sunday.

[Joel Edgerton]

Thank you. You too.

[Bill Maher]

Because your interests don't conflict with mine.

[Joel Edgerton]

Good luck with your business. I'm gonna pat a cat in that. Thank you, man. Club Random have you ever. You've been at the Golden Globes a hundred times.

[Bill Maher]

No, never. They never even had my category before. Club Random.

[Joel Edgerton]

Well, the holidays have come and gone once again.

[Bill Maher]

But if you've forgotten to get that.

[Joel Edgerton]

Special someone in your life a gift. Well, Mint Mobile is extending their holiday offer of half off unlimited wireless.

[Bill Maher]

So here's the idea.

[Joel Edgerton]

You get it now, you call it an early present for next year. What do you have to lose?

[Bill Maher]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch limited time 50% off regular price for new customers. Upfront payment required $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for 12 month plan taxes and fees. Extra speeds may slow after 50 gigabytes.

[Joel Edgerton]

Per month when network is busy.

[Bill Maher]

See Terms Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need.

[Joel Edgerton]

There's a reason millions of companies like.

[Bill Maher]

Mattel, Heinz and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into Sign up for your $1 per month [e-mail] specialoffer.

[Joel Edgerton]

Tired of juggling sales tools or spending hours on prospecting just to book a few meetings? Meet Apollo, the Go to Market platform for finding leads, connecting with buyers and closing deals all in one place. Apollo gives you access to over 210 million contacts and AI that handles all your busywork, finding leads, drafting emails, and even prioritizing your day. So stop paying for five different sales tools when one does it all. Visit Apollo I.O. and sign up free today.