Bob Odenkirk Returns

Summary

Podcast Summary: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Episode: Bob Odenkirk Returns
Release Date: August 11, 2025

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Introduction and Reunion

Timestamp: [00:03 - 07:27]

Conan O’Brien kicks off the episode by reminiscing about the challenges of building lasting friendships despite his numerous celebrity interviews over 25 years. He introduces Bob Odenkirk as a longtime friend and esteemed guest. The conversation delves into their shared history, highlighting their first meeting in 1988 at Saturday Night Live and the unique "weird twin language" that bonded them.

Conan O’Brien ([07:24]): "Bob and I would just hide in an office and talk gibberish to each other."

Bob’s Broadway Success

Timestamp: [07:27 - 11:24]

Conan expresses immense pride in Bob's recent Tony-nominated performance in the play Glengarry Glen Ross. He reflects on Bob's evolution from a comedic writer and actor to a respected Broadway performer, praising his ability to blend humor with deep emotional impact.

Conan O’Brien ([10:42]): "I was watching you on this huge stage on Broadway. Everyone, you know, applause when the curtain comes up, you have this scene. Your opening scene is incredible."

Bob shares insights into his preparation for the role, discussing the influence of Robert Smigel and the importance of balancing comedy with the play's serious undertones. He also touches on his experience working on Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, emphasizing the rigorous training and dedication required.

Bob Odenkirk ([11:03]): "The first thing I did with the Saul script and really with the Breaking Bad script was I just deconstructed it like a writer."

Creative Processes and Collaborations

Timestamp: [11:24 - 18:53]

The duo delves into the intricacies of acting and improvisation, highlighting their mutual appreciation for each other's creative talents. Conan shares anecdotes about their improvisational attempts and the challenge of maintaining authenticity on stage.

Conan O’Brien ([04:17]): "Possible. Yeah. You could be the Oppenheimer of improv."

Bob discusses the humor embedded in Glengarry Glen Ross, crediting fellow actors like Bill Burr and Michael McKean for bringing depth and laughter to the production. They explore the balance between comedic elements and the play's dramatic essence.

Bob Odenkirk ([18:14]): "We get so many laughs with this thing. And a lot of it. I give a lot of credit to Bill Burr because."

Personal Struggles and Healing

Timestamp: [30:27 - 37:20]

The conversation takes a poignant turn as Bob opens up about his heart attack in 2021. He recounts the terrifying experience, detailing the swift actions of his colleagues and the critical medical interventions that saved his life. Conan expresses deep concern and admiration for Bob's resilience.

Conan O’Brien ([32:10]): "But I have to go from that to this, which is in 2021. I remember where I was, but I suddenly."

Bob describes the physical and emotional aftermath, emphasizing the importance of gratitude and living in the present. He reflects on how the ordeal reshaped his perspective on life and work.

David Cross ([41:03]): "You should feel this every day because this is true, too. It's true that our world is filled with concern and worry..."

Work on Nobody and Future Projects

Timestamp: [37:20 - 53:22]

Bob discusses his role in the Nobody movie franchise, highlighting the realistic and gritty portrayal of action sequences. He shares behind-the-scenes insights into the choreography and the emotional depth of his character, showcasing his growth as an action star.

David Cross ([45:17]): "And I have an opportunity to leave. I could walk away, and I don't."

Conan praises the authenticity of Bob's performances, comparing them to classic action heroes while appreciating the human vulnerability depicted. They humorously speculate about future installments and potential collaborations.

Conan O’Brien ([50:58]): "But you just want to do stuff and you don't know what to do, and you decide to just stay in your hotel..."

Personal Life and Family

Timestamp: [53:22 - 66:59]

The discussion shifts to Bob's personal life, including his recent move to a new home and his relationship with his family. Bob talks about adjusting to his new environment and the joys of parenting, while Conan shares humorous anecdotes about interactions with Bob's family.

Bob Odenkirk ([60:00]): "I have, you know, I know I talked a lot about my parents and how hard it was to live with them..."

Conan and Bob engage in playful banter about parenting challenges, societal expectations, and the humorous side of raising children, intertwining personal stories with lighthearted jokes.

Conan O’Brien ([65:05]): "I was taking a ride. I was back. I was back from my college reunion..."

Closing Remarks and Friendship

Timestamp: [67:06 - End]

As the episode nears its end, Conan reflects on Bob's significant impact on his early career and their enduring friendship. He expresses heartfelt gratitude for Bob's support and achievements, celebrating his friend's successes both on and off the stage.

Conan O’Brien ([72:00]): "Bob, I'm so happy for you... Have a nice day. Have a nice week."

Bob reciprocates the sentiments, emphasizing the strength of their bond and the mutual respect they share. The episode concludes with light-hearted exchanges and affirmations of their lasting friendship.

Bob Odenkirk ([75:00]): "Thank you, buddy."

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Notable Quotes:

• Conan O’Brien ([07:24]): "Bob and I would just hide in an office and talk gibberish to each other."

• Conan O’Brien ([10:42]): "I was watching you on this huge stage on Broadway. Everyone, you know, applause when the curtain comes up, you have this scene. Your opening scene is incredible."

• David Cross ([45:17]): "And I have an opportunity to leave. I could walk away, and I don't."

• Conan O’Brien ([32:10]): "But I have to go from that to this, which is in 2021. I remember where I was, but I suddenly."

• Conan O’Brien ([65:05]): "I was taking a ride. I was back. I was back from my college reunion..."

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Conclusion

In this heartfelt and humorous episode, Conan O’Brien reconnects with Bob Odenkirk, celebrating his friend's theatrical accomplishments while delving into personal anecdotes and shared memories. Their candid conversation highlights the depth of their friendship, the resilience of Bob in the face of adversity, and the mutual admiration that has sustained their relationship over decades. Listeners gain insight into the challenges and triumphs of both comedians, making this episode a standout installment of Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend.

Transcript

[Conan O'Brien]

When you're saving up for the things you really want, you gotta make smart choices. You know, the other night I cooked dinner instead of ordering takeout for the sixth time in a week. And there were a lot of choices involved. Do I have paprika? Do I have enough onions? You know, is caramel gonna go in this? Oh, God. The State Farm personal price plan is another smart choice you can make. It can help you create an affordable price when you choose to bundle home and auto insurance says jfk. It's made for you by you. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on ratings plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amounts of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state. Back when my wife and I were shopping for a home, I remembered, yeah, it's exciting. It's fun.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

But also, there's so much you got to worry about and think about. Homes.com is home shopping the way it should be? Yeah. It's more than a website. It's your partner in finding the perfect home. Get to know potential neighborhoods with Homes.com's comprehensive neighborhood details. That's good to know.

[Bob Odenkirk]

You don't want to buy a house and everyone sucks.

[Conan O'Brien]

No, it's the worst when you buy a house and everyone sucks. Homes.com features the listing agent on each listing so you can easily connect. Plus agent directory and profiles offer a detailed look at each agent's experience so you can find your perfect match. Sometimes someone's like, yeah, sure, I'm a housing agent. And you're like, really? You don't look like one. You know what I mean? You're wearing, like, a towel. What's going on? You're soaking wet.

[Bob Odenkirk]

He'd live there.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. Go to homes.com to learn more. You want the facts? That's not their slogan. I just made it up. Homes.com. we've done your homework.

[David Cross]

Hi, my name is Bob Odenkirk, and I feel chocolate chip about being Conan o' Brien's friend.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Fall is here. Hear the yell Back to school Ring the bell Brand new shoes Walking blues Climb the fence Books and pens I can tell that we are gonna be.

[David Cross]

Friends.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I can tell that we are.

[Conan O'Brien]

Gonna be friends hey there. Welcome to Conan o'.

[David Cross]

Brien.

[Conan O'Brien]

Needs a friend. Slightly different situation Today I am in New York City. I made up a name for it. I call it the Big Apple. Just came up with it yesterday. And I'm sitting here with David hopping. How are you, David? I'm good. David, of course, grew up in a cornfield, completely unfamiliar with the city, but it's overwhelming for you. He keeps looking up at the skyscrapers, clutching his cardboard suitcase and saying, g, G, G, G Garch. How did they build them? They're so tall. Yeah. Anyway, he said, they're like silos with windows. And I said, just take it easy, David. You'll get used to it. And this is nice. We have a connection back to LA with my perpetual chum for life, my ride or die, buddy.

[David Cross]

Hell, yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Sona love session. No Goerli today because she's off at a. I think. What is he doing? He's at a. Oh, it's like a festival where everyone just looks at their old 40 fives. Is that what he's doing?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Wait, is he. Is he at, like, the Renaissance Fair? No. Where is he? What do you mean he's at a fair? Is he at a fair?

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm sorry. You're probably new to me. I made something up, so just to.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Have fun, I thought, like.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, no, you're new to this.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I thought, oh, my God, did he miss work because he's at the.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know what I'd love to do? I'd love to do improvisation with Sonam of Cessi. Like, hey, welcome to my ice cream shop. Wait a minute. This is an ice cream shop? I thought we were on a stage. Curtain comes down. Boo. Boo. Conan was good, but who was that lady?

[Bob Odenkirk]

No. They'll be like, oh, she just redefined improv, you know?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Possible. Yeah. You could be the Oppenheimer of improv.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Oh, God.

[Conan O'Brien]

Just say, like, what are you talking about? This is not. No, we're on a stage. This is not an ice cream shop.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Audience. She just blew through my mind, man.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Or I could say, like, can you list all the flavors for me? And then it just derails the whole sketch because you're just like, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, rocky rose.

[Conan O'Brien]

Hey, you're good at this.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Rainbow, sugar.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're a good improviser.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I'm. Now. Now I'm out. Okay. Mint chocolate chips. Hazelnut, pistachio. Hazelnut. Coffee. Coffee with chocolate chips.

[Conan O'Brien]

David has one corn. Corn flavor. That good one, David. Was that your. Was that your impression of corn flavor? I like corn flavor. I'm gonna go see the Broadway show Smash. I did. I went last night. Yeah. Yeah. And was it much like the TV show? It was. Yeah. Okay. There's so much he's not saying. Anyway, what's that Sona? Do I work out? Yes, I work out.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Oh, I didn't ask that. You did. Are you working out when you do work out? Like, do you go to the gym when you're on the road? Not as much.

[Conan O'Brien]

I've been too busy. There's been a lot to do and so that my schedule gets thrown off.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Well, it feels like you could sneak in like a half hour workout if you really were serious about it.

[Conan O'Brien]

What?

[Bob Odenkirk]

What?

[Conan O'Brien]

Kind of hard to do. What's that? What's that?

[Bob Odenkirk]

What's that?

[Conan O'Brien]

You're right. I gotta. I gotta get to the gym. People, when they meet me on the street, they expect me to be jacked. Sona?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah?

[Conan O'Brien]

We've got a big show today. Big show. We got a really big shoe. Remember Ed Sullivan?

[Bob Odenkirk]

No.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, can we put crickets in?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Oh, wait, sorry. We're improving. Yeah. I remember when I used to watch Ed Sullivan as a kid and we had a big shoe. I remember that.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Bob Odenkirk]

There you go.

[Conan O'Brien]

Good improv. Sona, remember the time you and Ed Sullivan went to that ice cream parlor and you got strawberry, vanilla, coconut, pistachio, hazelnut, creme de caramel, Oreo crunch, vanilla flipple, sab, dab, jab, dab flipple. Okay, Sandler came in.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Suck at improv. What?

[Conan O'Brien]

What's that? Greatest man who ever lived. Oh, no.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I said. I said you suck at improv. You're welcome. What? I can give you notes. I'll give you notes. It's all right. You know what?

[Conan O'Brien]

You should be my guest today.

[Bob Odenkirk]

What?

[Conan O'Brien]

What's that? My guest today. You're the worst. Why are we. You know what I love? Whoever invented the technology that allowed us to talk in real time to someone in Los Angeles. It leads to this. They think, oh, this will be amazing. People will be doing surgeries from across the coast. No, two idiots. Two idiots are gonna be talking over each other. What's that? Huh? What's that? I knew you were, but what am I? Blah, blah, blah. I'm rubber, you're glue. My guest today is a writer and actor who stars in the new movie Nobody 2. He is a very old friend of mine and it's really meaningful that I get to talk to him today. Thrilled he's with us. Bob Odenkirk, Welcome. Last night. I'm here in New York. I went last night to see your guys production of Glengarry Glen Ross. Blown Away. Really fantastic. Michael McKean is in it with you. Bill Burr. Who are we talking about here?

[David Cross]

Oh, Kieran Culkin.

[Conan O'Brien]

Kieran Culkin, of course, Howard Overshaw. I mean, really.

[David Cross]

And John Piricello.

[Conan O'Brien]

It is just a spectacular cast. I mean, all of you were great. It was really special for me because to anyone who doesn't know listening to this, Bob and I met in 1988 when I first came to Saturday Night Live, and immediately we realized you and I have a weird twin language. We're two complete left brain weirdos who are cartoonish and silly. And so Bob and I would just hide in an office and talk gibberish to each other.

[David Cross]

Oh, see, that was what. That's why I called your producer about today. I was like, what does he want to talk about?

[Conan O'Brien]

I know. No, no. Well, I want to get to a bunch of things you're doing.

[David Cross]

This would just be gibberish. And I have a weird thing I've had so much fun doing. Podcasts with friends, David Cross's podcast and things, and letting it devolve into gibberish.

[Conan O'Brien]

Right.

[David Cross]

But there's something weird Conan, I've been feeling about, like, not wanting to do that in public anymore.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. Well, it's called you don't wanna be medicated by the state. You know, you don't wanna be taken away. And I understand that completely. But you know what it triggered for me last night in a nice way, was you and I had this. We just loved being weird together and we had all these adventures. We were just talking about when we were in the show. Happy, happy, good show together. Back in the day at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, summer of 88. Robert Smigel. And just this really fun thing that we tried to do. And then we had some time off and you and I drove down to Springfield and visited the house, Lincoln's house in Springfield. And then I'm the exact height that Lincoln was. And you became obsessed with. I should talk as Lincoln and you should talk as his law partner, Herndon. Yes, and Herndon had big mutton chops. And this is one of your specialties, is you can go into these great characters, as everyone knows. And you and I walked around Springfield together and you were like, I tell you, Abe, I think you're gonna run for president. You're gonna win. Yeah. You know, and I was going like, well, I don't know. And it was just. Why?

[David Cross]

Who are we amusing?

[Conan O'Brien]

We're amusing no one. I think we're just making ourselves happy. But I think we did that for a couple of hours. Last night was special for me because you're in this. I mean, I'm so glad it's Been acknowledged. You got a Tony nomination playing Shelley Levine in this classic David Mamet play. And you killed it. You absolutely killed it. And it was so. Because I flashback to. Wait a minute. I remembered. I think in 1990 or 89 or 90, you did a one man show called Half My Face is a Clown. Yeah. And again, we were still writers trying to figure out, do we get to be in front of people? Should we be in front of people? Are we too weird to be in front of people? And I went and saw you do your show. There are bits in it that are still. I have such fond memories. And I remember at the time watching you and thinking, bob's doing it and he's really funny. This is great. I was telling you last night, it's kind of. You didn't make a break with your past because I can see moments where you're accessing.

[David Cross]

Oh, there's no question. There's things in Glengarry Glen Ross that I'm doing physicalizations or to get sort of conceptualizations of a moment of an emotion or. Yeah. That are. That could be in Half My Face is a Clown or Happy. Happy, good show. Or any of Those early or Mr. Show. Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Like there are things you're doing that you're accessing that people would think, well, this is really funny. But it can't belong on Broadway in front of a sold out crowd. And you can't be Tony nominated for it. Yes, you can. And also, I mean, clearly you built up these incredible chops doing Saul. Saul.

[David Cross]

Yeah. Saul. Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Better Call Saul. And before that, Breaking Bad. And you were around these masters and you, you worked it and worked it and worked it and it was, I.

[David Cross]

Mean, well, you know Smigel, Robert Smigel, our friend who's the reason I even got on Saturday Night Live. And I think the reason I was able to stay there for any length of time was he came to the dress show and I said to him, Cause I'd been asking this question, am I being too silly in this role? And he said, for Glengarry? Yeah, Glengarry. And he said, yes, Bob, you are. And you gotta chill out. You gotta tone it down. And I'd been waiting for someone to give me that response because that's what I felt. But our director, who was, to his great credit, let us run free.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

You know, I think he maybe hesitated. He didn't. I don't know, he didn't want me to feel hemmed in. Hemmed in?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, you're editing yourself.

[David Cross]

And he was like, no, it's fine. It's great. And he very much wanted to do a humorous version of the play. He wanted as much comedy to come from the play as he could. He said that multiple times. So. But I think Robert was right. So after Smigel saw the show and called me and we talked, then I just kind of dialed it in more because obviously, at the end of that play, Shelly asks for your empathy, you know, and if you've been too ridiculous and I get close to it, it's hard to say that to the audience and now feel some degree of impact for this guy's, you know, destruction, Self destruction. And so Robert helped me dial that in. And I think. I'll tell you, one of the things that helps me to be as fun and big as I am in this play is the size of the room. Like, that is a big room we're in with a play with people talking.

[Conan O'Brien]

Unlike Saul, there's not. Or the Nobody movies. There's not a camera three inches from your face. And so some amount of projecting and being big. But I just thought, whoever had the idea, I don't know how it happened, but. And particularly you and Bill Burr, you're both playing these characters that you feel like Mamet wrote them for you. That's how it felt to me. And I was so happy because I was watching you on this huge stage on Broadway. Everyone, you know, applause when the curtain comes up, you have this scene. Your opening scene is incredible. Like nuclear energy from you. That. And I'm just thinking, how did Bob remember all this? Yeah, I mean, that's what. I'm just amazed by it.

[David Cross]

Yeah, Well, I got good at that doing Saul. I mean, Saul taught me how to learn a script, and I had no choice. And I was so scared. Conan. I love my voice out of sort of stress. The first week of Saul and Rhea Seehorn was so great. And we spent so much time together, she and I, and she really helped me through those early weeks. And. Yeah, so I learned that the ways to do that, which is essentially. I mean, if it's well written, if the thing is well written, even with the repetition that Mamet likes to use, it feels like people slipping and tripping over their thoughts. And even. Even with that, it's a story. It builds, it has one thing, goes to the next. Even the trips in there, the vocal and the. The words that repeat themselves feel like they make sense, whether the person's nervous or excited or whatever. That's why there's a reason. There's an emotional reason. And so. So it's really kind of. It's weird. Conan. The first thing I did with the Saul script and really with the Breaking Bad script was I just deconstructed it like a writer. Like if we were going. If someone had said to you, rew. And you know, that's what I did as an actor, it was like, what is he trying to say? What is his subtext? What is he. Where is he going? Down a dead end and then he goes back and starts again. And so it all comes from writing. And I got good at that. And I got. And there is also a kind of a weird muscle training that your brain. It gets better at memorization.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, also, it's music when I'm watching. And the thing is, in comedy, we know there's a music to it. And sometimes we have these ideas and thoughts, and it's just because you and I love music. And we've always been kind of fascinated with wanting to play music and do music. And then it's that thing that so many comedians. We want to be a rock star. And some, you know, early on in our lives, people assessed our skills and said, you should try comedy. And it was. There's a music to this stuff and there's a music to. And if you tune into that, I would think that would help because the patterns in Glengarry Glen Ross and Mamet is just. It is. If you can hear the music in your head and I can tell that you guys all are hearing that. And it is a. It could be a vocal performance. That's what it is. It's a vocal performance.

[David Cross]

And sometimes when I was learning it, actually, I would sing it into my little recorder to help memorize it. And you. And while you're singing it, it's not a. It's not the most melodic thing you've ever heard, but it's got a. It's got this like lyrical rhythm and kind of like melody that you find that helps you to memorize it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Cross]

And I also would say Kieran, of all the people, is the one I most think about when I think about that kind of a sing song version of his words and how he does it. By the way, Kieran never saw the film, never saw the play. So his performance is.

[Conan O'Brien]

He's just lazy. He's lazy. It's just late. You're giving. You're putting him up on a pedestal. But Kieran is famously. Just doesn't prepare well. He's sleepy.

[David Cross]

It's not the same.

[Conan O'Brien]

I also love. I said to him once it was on this podcast that I was talking about him on Succession. His character on Succession. And I noticed that. I said, am I wrong, or is your character just completely unable to sit? He can't sit on a couch. He can't sit for a minute. And he was like, no, no, no. That's it. That's it. He. You know, not that it's all of it, but I noticed a lot that he's constantly squirming and constantly. And he uses his body so well. And last night in the play, there's a really funny moment where he's trying to get away from someone. He's headed for the door. And then finally he gets to the door and the person says something that stops him, and he just slumps. And it's. I mean, it's like a Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin thing. It's really funny.

[David Cross]

You know, there's. We get so many laughs with this thing. And a lot of it. I give a lot of credit to Bill Burr because. And that first scene with Bill and Michael. So my scene comes on and there's laughs in there, but it's desperate desperation. And then you get Bill Burr and Michael McKeon and great laughs written in. Mamet wrote these jokes in. And these guys are nailing every single one. Not to mention, you know, finding other moments along the way. And the audience, because it's Bill especially, know, like, oh, well, he's a comic. I think this is pretty damn funny. Well, that's definitely funny.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm allowed funny.

[David Cross]

I'm allowed to laugh. And so from that point on, they're looking for us to provide some comedy. And it's been so much fun. And I don't think you'd ever see a funnier version of this play. But at the same time, I think we're getting at the core of what it's about. You know, I don't think we're dropping the meat of it just. Cause we're finding all the humor within it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, it's funny because just as we were talking about music and stuff, I remembering. One of the first things I heard you do when we were first meeting each other and we're in our early 20s, was you used to do this character called Rocker. And he was a heavy metal rocker. And it was such. It was so. I forget what he did, but he'd be like, no, he'd be like. Cause he sang sort of like. He talked sort of like Axl Rose sings. And I always wanted you to do Rocker. And he'd be like, rock and roll. And I just delight.

[David Cross]

Well, every time I see a guy. The other day, I saw a guy walking down the street in Greenwich Village, and he had. He just looked like an old English rocker. And all I could think in his mind, all day long, he's just saying, rock. Rock and roll, man. All day long. That's the only thing going through his head.

[Conan O'Brien]

You also did a guy, Michael used.

[David Cross]

To do old people. Oh, yes, I'm old.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm old. Oh, I'm old. And now we're getting old. It's not so funny anymore, is it?

[David Cross]

I'm old.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm old. Yeah. There's so many little things that we would go into.

[David Cross]

So mean to people.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

But comedy should have a little bit of.

[Conan O'Brien]

I do a thing where I'll be driving around. David, you've seen me do. I'm in a car and I'm driving around, and they're just people. You're in Manhattan and you're in an Uber, and people are all over the place. And I'll be like, better than him. Better than him. I'll be in a car, like. And it's a guy who just is constantly making sure that he's better than everyone and someone better than him. And then they're pushing a baby carriage, and I'll go, like, better than the kid. Better than. Yep, yep, still good. Better than. Better than. And, like, literally, you know, anyone else heard it out of context, you'd be a monster. No, no. There's so much stuff I do, which is my take on a monster. And then sometimes you can think, is he a monster or is he doing his take? I hope he's doing his take on a monster, and I think I am. But who sits in a car and goes better than him? And the one thing I did that only you tuned into was the miso soup horse. I used to go, one of my characters was the miso soup horse, and it was a horse that just went, miso, miso soup. And you would laugh and like, every other writer was like, would you fucking shut up Me so me so soon. And Bob would get that. Had that great laugh. And I'd be like, well, at least he'll be my friend when this is all over. I got to watch. You came out with nobody. And one thing I would not have guessed if you had told me, okay, I meet this guy, Bob Odenkirk, and future man came to me and said, let me tell you about Bob. In the future, he's going to be on Broadway. He's going to Be Tony nominated. I'd be like, yeah, that tracks. I can see all of that happening. He's gonna have a sketch comedy show that becomes the formative sketch comedy show for a lot of people, along with David Cross called Mr. Show. I'd say, like, yep, tracks. He's going to be an action star. I would say, you know, I like you, future man, but clearly you have a brain tumor, because, you know. And when nobody came out, I was like, oh, I gotta. Cause you told me about nobody before it came out. And you said, conan, there's something I want you to see. There's something I want you to see. And you said, there's something I'm doing now that I think is going to surprise you. And I was like, whatever. I didn't know what you were talking about. And nobody came out. And when it came out, I was just, oh, he's so good at this. And the bus scene was this thing that really got me where you get beat up and thrown off the bus.

[David Cross]

Yes.

[Conan O'Brien]

And then I think you. I don't know, if you take a belt off and you tie it around and you get back on the bus. And I thought, this is tapping into something that's always in Bob.

[David Cross]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

Rage. There's a rage. There's a determination. We were all, at one point, low men on the totem pole at snl. And there was a. And feeling like we don't belong or maybe feeling like we're not gonna last.

[David Cross]

A chip on my shoulder.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. And chocolate chip. And. But I see it. And then I think, you know, but what's amazing is this role came along when you're completely established as a great actor, so you've got that part, and then you're kicking ass, and there's a rage. And the. I saw nobody, too, and really loved.

[David Cross]

You saw it?

[Conan O'Brien]

I saw it, yeah.

[David Cross]

How did you see it? Because I was sure they've been very protective of it.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, they are really protective. They sent me a link. I was trying and trying and trying and trying to watch the link. It wasn't letting me. And clicking on it. And there's all these codes you have to put in, and it's like getting into the Pentagon. I think I'm. I feel like I'm trying to access nuclear weapons. But anyway, long story short, I finally get in with a lot of help from young people who know how the Internet works and how computers work. Yeah.

[David Cross]

And they know the whole Alphabet.

[Conan O'Brien]

Oh, that was low. Just because I'm an ape. I don't know the alpha An Irish ape. When Bob sees me, he sees me. He sees one of those immigrant cartoons of a. Of a dirty irishman from 1870 who looks like a giant gorilla but has, like, red mutton chops.

[David Cross]

This is why I was nervous about the podcast, is because I thought, you just make me laugh for an hour, and I would. That's all that people would see as Bob is a gibbering, giddy. Now you've. You've gibbling fool.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're. You're.

[David Cross]

Is that a word, gibbling?

[Conan O'Brien]

It is.

[David Cross]

I'm a gibbling. It's a gibbling.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're a gibbon.

[David Cross]

But I honestly, you, Conan, you make me laugh so hard, and it's such silly stuff. And I have to say, the thing that I'll never forget laughing so hard at is the impersonation of the alien from the movie. Oh, Enemy mine.

[Conan O'Brien]

Enemy mine. Yes.

[David Cross]

It was 2am I probably ate too much, you know, Thai food, so I had some kind of Sugar Rush.

[Conan O'Brien]

2Am 3am Lou Gossett Jr. Is in the movie. Along with.

[David Cross]

This had nothing to do with the.

[Conan O'Brien]

Dennis Quaid and Dennis Quaid.

[David Cross]

This had nothing to do with who was hosting the show.

[Conan O'Brien]

No.

[David Cross]

Anything to do with.

[Conan O'Brien]

No one was hosting the show at all.

[David Cross]

In fact, the movie wasn't even recent.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

And you started doing the alien, the.

[Conan O'Brien]

Pregnant Lou Gossett Jr. And he's an alien who you've seen as evil, but then you realize that his species can have a baby, which comes late in the thing.

[David Cross]

This is real. Cause I never saw a movie.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is real. And then there's this part where he's becomes. He's gone from, like, vicious monster, and he's gone from, like, the, you know, the monster in Terminator and not Terminator, but Predator, to suddenly. It's as if at the end of Predator, the monster is like. And rubbing its very pregnant belly and making very maternal faces. And it blew my brain. And all I could do was. I mean, we had work to do. Yeah. And you and I are howling because I'm rubbing my belly and making.

[David Cross]

I'm with child.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'm with child. And which may not even be. I don't think it's even in the movie. I'm with child. Because no alien would know that saying.

[David Cross]

Was in the movie. That would be the.

[Conan O'Brien]

I don't know. But anyway, to fans of Enemy Mind. I'm sorry, that in.

[David Cross]

And then people being like, this one line. I think we might be pushing it.

[Conan O'Brien]

We got a tweet.

[David Cross]

I'm with child. Does he need to keep saying that. He says it 12 times. Yeah, I counted.

[Conan O'Brien]

This really cool, vicious alien is like, I'm doing Kegels. I have a cream I rub. I'm eating for two. I have to eat two human skulls. Burp. Conor, Brian needs a Friend is brought to you by Airbnb. One of the best things about traveling is getting to immerse yourself in a new culture and see the real side of whatever place you're visiting. That's why I'm obsessed with Airbnb's new experiences. You can find authentic experience that allows you to explore a city like a local, not a tourist, and meet new people along the way. Blay, you went on an Airbnb experience recently, right? That's right. I had a great time in New York. Tanisha and I did an Airbnb experience at Paulie G's, an awesome pizza joint. We got to learn how to make our own pizzas. They let you put on as many toppings as you want. What did you put on? I bet you put on some meats. I did some. Dude, I went all meats. Don't call me dude. Don't ever call me dude again. Okay? Sorry, sir. I put on all the meats. The teacher was really great and very patient and the pizzas were delicious. I think I ate about five pizzas. Okay, well, listen, it really enlivens the travel activity that you're embarked on. You name it, you can do it with Air B and B experiences. So. And this is exciting. And I think I would do this. I really would. You could live life to the max with Airbnb experiences. Yeah, okay, sure. So if you want to feel a little more like a local and connect with other like minded people when you travel, head to Airbnb to book your next experience. Really? Travel, travel, be immersed. That's the whole point here. You never know where Airbnb experience might take you. As a T Mobile member, you can take the perks with you because you're traveling with magenta status.

[Bob Odenkirk]

That's cool.

[Conan O'Brien]

I love saying it.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I know I could tell.

[Conan O'Brien]

Ask me my status.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Hey, Conan, what's your status?

[Conan O'Brien]

Magenta status. It starts the moment you take off with free in flight Wi Fi. So you can stream your favorite show on the go. Plus you're covered with 15 gigabytes of high speed data in over 215 countries and destinations with experience beyond plan.

[Bob Odenkirk]

That's cool, man.

[Conan O'Brien]

This magenta status sounds amazing. Blay, tell me. I think you get magenta status. What's it entail? What's included in magenta status? Yeah, I have T Mobile. I have had T Mobile for a long time. I love it. And, you know, when we went to Thailand, I got great coverage and great high speed data, which means that I could. I hear it's up to 15 gigabytes. That's. How did you know? That's the word on the street. Wow. I hear people going 15 gigabytes.

[David Cross]

Yeah, that's incredible.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, but it was great. I was connected and it really helped. Well, this sounds great. Find out how you can experience travel better@t mobile.com TravelToday qualifying plan required. Wi Fi where available on select US airlines. Terms and conditions apply. Introducing Searchlight Pictures. New movie the Roses. Perfect couple. Ivy and Theo Rose, played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, have it all. Successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But when Theo's career comes crashing down, just as Ivy's fame starts to skyrocket, a tinderbox of fierce competition and growing resentment ignites, threatening to destroy everything they've built if they don't destroy each other first. Directed by Jay Roach of Meet the Parents and written by Tony McNamara of Poor Things, the Roses is a sharp laugh out loud comedy about love, rivalry, and what happens when success becomes a battlefield. Also starring Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Shoothi gatwa and Kate McKinnon. All's Fair When Love is War in theaters everywhere August 29th. The point I want to make about which is really fun is I love the Nobody movies. I love the second one.

[David Cross]

Or the Rage.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, I like talking about rage. But you know what? You're able to access that. It's your new place.

[David Cross]

It's the only gift my father gave me. Is that true on some level? Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

You had a very.

[David Cross]

Well, my dad was funny, but not in the way I am. He was funny in a. He was good with a line, like a jokey line.

[Conan O'Brien]

But you had a complicated relationship with him.

[David Cross]

Well, we had a distant relationship. It was more like a pen pal who never wrote to me and I never wrote back. Seriously. He was able to go from zero to 80 in like two seconds, right? And I think I can do that. And it actually lends itself to acting and all kinds of things. And it's kind of a. I. I said, david Carr, the great journalist, once he, he had come to see Better Call Saul and he was watching a scene and afterwards he said to me, I. I don't know how you do that. I said, I know how I do it. He goes, oh, yeah? How do you do it. I go, I have poor emotional boundaries.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're being honest. But it's funny too.

[David Cross]

Yeah. But it's kind of true. And it is actually kind of true of not all actors, but a lot of actors who are able to. Can't help but slip between sort of emotional responses that are maybe a little too intense. And you could say that that's a wonderful skill that they're putting on display. And it's shocking and surprising, and it grabs you, and it involves you, and it. And then, of course, in real life, it can be very bad and not healthy and really be a sign of poor health, mental health.

[Conan O'Brien]

But I have to go from that to this, which is in 2021. I remember where I was, but I suddenly. Someone came in the room, and they said, bob Odenkirk had a heart attack. And, I mean, I'm always hearing about people I know tangentially through this business who've fallen sick or something, but I had a real response of, I know Bob. This is really upsetting and horrifying. And initially, I couldn't get a read on. Are you gone? I started to hear, this is really serious.

[David Cross]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

And then I know your brother Bill, who's hilarious, and Bill, love you, and shout out to Bill Odenkirk. And I got in touch with Bill, and he told me, we think he's gonna be okay, but it was bad. And I turned out that you were completely out. You were out.

[David Cross]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a weird thing that happened. And so one of the tributaries to the Widowmaker got completely blocked, and I went out.

[Conan O'Brien]

Were you in the middle of a scene or.

[David Cross]

No, we were in a break. And it was during COVID shooting, so we were separate from the crew. And luckily, I didn't go to my trailer. If I'd gone to my trailer, I wouldn't be here, because. No, they don't bother you when they knock. They wait for up to an hour.

[Conan O'Brien]

Right.

[David Cross]

You know who takes an hour to masturbate?

[Conan O'Brien]

You know, when I've had my heart attacks, it was just masturbating. It was that. That's what I was doing. Yeah. All my heart attacks happen while masturbating.

[David Cross]

But I sat where we were sitting. Ray and Patrick were right there. I've told this story too many times.

[Conan O'Brien]

It's okay.

[David Cross]

And this thing happened, and I went down. I turned gray right away and did worse. What your body does when it stops going, oh, nothing matters anymore. Wow.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

And I was just gone. And Ray held my head up off the cement and they started screaming, but people were far away because of COVID So the crew later told me, you know, we thought they were laughing. We thought they're laughing very loudly at something. It took a few seconds to realize people were screaming. And luckily we were at the studio, and our medical officer was there, Rosa Estrada. And she came out of her office. She'd done two tours with the Army. She immediately did CPR properly, really well. Broke my ribs. And the medical officer of the show, the medic, was there too, but he kind of froze up. He was very freaked out and later apologized to me, but he then also helped out. And they all switched off, essentially. They weren't able to get an AED for 15 minutes. So because CPR was done so well, and because they also had that breathing mask, you know, those two things, as well as my training for nobody, which made some of the other veins to my heart larger, sort of enlarged, like bigger than you would normally see. Because I did so much training, that meant that blood was able to get.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're getting oxygenated blood to your brain.

[David Cross]

And my heart, the heart starts to die right away, right? It starts to scar up and die. But because those other veins were feeding blood through my heart, the heart didn't scar up. So my heart has almost no scarring at all.

[Conan O'Brien]

That's fantastic. Yeah.

[David Cross]

For 15 minutes of just people doing this. And then they had the aed, and it took three hits for the AED to work, which is a lot. It's kind of super scary. And that's where some of the fear and the real. Well, everything about it was really scary. And in fact, Tony Dalton, who played Lalo and his good friend, he was there. They were all there, everybody gathered around. And he said, I saw a guy die from a heart attack. He had an airport.

[Conan O'Brien]

And you.

[David Cross]

Same exact thing is what you. I saw it again. I'm like, well, he's dead. This guy's over. And so it was the three AD hits that also super freak people out, because that AED device does a thing. It talks. It says, no heartbeat detected. Step away from the body. 10, nine, eight, seven, down to one. And then it shoots. And then your body jumps off the ground. And then there's like some recoup moment. And then it goes, no heartbeat detected. And so they also check you. Then it's a step away from the body because you can't be near it, right? You can't be touching it or you'll get shocked. And so the fact that that had to be done three times made everyone Feel that this thing was maybe not working. Yeah. And so then we were very far from a fire station. I'm going to tell this story. I've told it too many times. I apologize. Just go to the next clip.

[Conan O'Brien]

No one heard the other times. This is the first time. We're the first time people really.

[David Cross]

25 minutes for the ambulance to get there.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

Jesus. And then, well, they were far. And then they took me to a great hospital, Presbyterian in Albuquerque. And then at 5am in the next morning, I think they put me in a coma, you know, I think they put me in a stasis state. Then at 5am they went in through here, which you can't even see that scar anymore.

[Conan O'Brien]

You went in through your wrist?

[David Cross]

Yeah. They went in, pushed it out, cleaned it out, put in two stents.

[Conan O'Brien]

Jesus.

[David Cross]

They used just a bristle brush that.

[Conan O'Brien]

They got at the hardware store. And they don't clean it. They don't clean it between procedures.

[David Cross]

I told them, you know, it's just sitting on the shelf for months. There's dust on it. Did you wash it? Did you rinse it?

[Conan O'Brien]

Nothing. They keep it in their glove compartment.

[David Cross]

They said, we were in a hurry.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

I said, well, you were worried about me. And they. No, we had other projects. They call us.

[Conan O'Brien]

There's a toilet that needed work. You say that you.

[David Cross]

Look, everybody was really scared for. For all legitimate reasons. I'm super lucky, Conan. CPR was done really well.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

Three people switched off because you can't do it for. If you're doing it well, you can't do it for more than two and a half minutes, three minutes, because you're exhausted.

[Conan O'Brien]

Right.

[David Cross]

So you need someone to hand it off to. So there's three people who switched off. Jesus. And then this AED device, which every studio there has now. But at the time, there was none in any of the studio buildings on the whole lot. But our Rosa had one in the trunk of her car that she'd been trying to return to her friend. She had borrowed it and she had tried to return it and her friend wasn't home or it wouldn't have been in the car. And her car was parked, you know, as those lots are huge, and she had to run and go get it. So it just. So many things happen that we're lucky. I have the stories that my friends told me. Ray, of course, Patrick, Vince. The degree to which I could see how shaken they were from having been there. I kept asking them, tell me the story. Because I had no memory at all. Nothing. It was Just a blank. It was just wake up and I'm leaving the hospital a week later. That's my first memory, is talking to the doctor on my exit interview. So I was there for a week. I was awake the next day at 1 o', clock, but groggy. But I don't have any memory of any of the hospital at all. And I don't have any memory of the day, the whole day that we shot. So we had shot all day. One of the gifts that it gave me, this is so weird, is for the next couple weeks, I had memory challenges and a lot at first. Like, I didn't know where I was. I would not be scared at all. I would wake up and be like, well, wow. I mean, honestly, Conan, it was like, if I. It's like, look at this world. Yeah, this place is amazing.

[Conan O'Brien]

Well, this is Sirius XM in New York, and it really isn't. And so, I mean, you know, you're talking about a blade of grass, sunlight. Yeah. You know, just life, butterflies. But SiriusXM New York. No, No, I don't care if you just came out of a death coma.

[David Cross]

It really was. And this happened. And my memory came back a little, a little bit more every day. But I didn't wake up the way I do normally, which is whatever I went to bed, afraid of, scared about.

[Conan O'Brien]

Concerned about with you right away, right there.

[David Cross]

Not to mention my own brain's natural fallback position. What should I be worried about? What should I be worried about? Literally going down the list, I think this is something I got from my mom. How is this person doing? How is that person doing? What can I do to help this person? What can I do to help somebody in my life who I'm concerned about? And just who should I be worried about right now? You know, And. And what should I be worried about? And I just didn't have any of that. The world was a wonderful place. I had people I loved around me. I had a job that I can't believe. A magically wonderful job that I get to do. And that carried with me for months. For months.

[Conan O'Brien]

Here's the question I have. Cause I've noticed this. I lived in New York on 9 11. And everybody was on their best behavior after 911 in New York City. And it was just a beautiful thing. And you'd go to a restaurant, people said, you've gotta go out, you've gotta keep the city going. You'd go places and the person would come over to take your order and you'd ask them how they're doing, where do they live? And then you'd make them sit down and they'd join. I mean, it was just this happening. And I think it lasted five, six weeks. And then people started bickering. And I just thought, oh, I see. This is what humans revert. Are you able to still access the gratitude, the feeling of, I'm safe.

[David Cross]

Yes, I am good. Yes, I am. I mean, I think I have to make an effort, but it definitely. Especially as my memory came back. Cause of course, the first thing you're concerned is, well, maybe I'm not gonna get it all back, and then I can't act and stuff. But I was getting it back a little at a time every day, and I could sense that I'll be okay. But I've gotta remember what this state is like. I've gotta remember the value of this. This should be a part of your day, every day.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes.

[David Cross]

You should feel this every day. At some point, somehow, you should get yourself here because this is true, too. It's true that our world is filled with concern and worry and danger and things you should pay attention and be concerned about. But this also should be something you touch base with as often as you can.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, I've said, I realized this a bunch of years ago, that humility, gratitude, these words get thrown around a lot, but it's not something you achieve. It's stomach crunches, you know, you gotta. Or stretching. You gotta do it every day or every other day or it doesn't. There's no, like, I feel, gratitude. Check that off. You've gotta just keep going back at it. Because human nature and also modern media isn't. I mean, you pick up any device, you turn on the tv, and we are programmed to receive bad news all the time. So. Yeah, you're absolutely right. But, I mean, talk about. You do have a lot to be grateful for in addition to your career. But just. If you were looking at your career, I would say I said this. I heard that people were giving blurbs for your book, your autobiography, which I really loved. And so I wrote on it. I'm hard pressed to think of anyone who's had a more fascinating, unpredictable, like, great career arc than Bob Odenkirk. And I meant it because I knew you, like, when you were, you know, you had one jacket. You had that leather jacket and your glasses, and you were very intense.

[David Cross]

I was really proud of myself that I could put everything I owned in one bag.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yes. Well, I remember going to your apartment. We went to your apartment once, and it was super small, as all of our apartments were. And just you could, like, touch all the walls. You know, you didn't have to move, but you had. I can remember, your brown leather jacket, you know, your jeans, your sneakers, your glasses. And I think that's everything you had. And we. We were hobos. But I look at you now, and I was like. I was watching the choreographed fight scenes, which are so great in Nobody.

[David Cross]

It's fun to do. And I'm gonna tell you, it's the closest to a comedy writer's room is doing a stunt fight. And any of the stunt fights I've done, it's the most like, oh, this is what we did at 2:00am first of all, you trained the fight. You choreographed the fight. And I did contribute to all these fights. And in fact, the bus fight, so much of that I pitched to start, which is, he bangs his head. I hit my head in the first three moves. I hit my head. I miss. I have to miss somebody. Punch and miss.

[Conan O'Brien]

Cause you're also. Your character has been out of it.

[David Cross]

For a little bit, right? Yeah. And I have to degrade as the fight goes. I have to get slower and weaker, not stronger. And I get thrown out of the bus and I go back in.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

I have an opportunity to leave. I could walk away, and I don't.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay. And I'm not gonna give anything away, but in Nobody, too. And I don't think I'm giving anything away because I've also seen the trailer, and. But for reasons that'll become clear when you see the movie. It's organic, but you end up at kind of like an amusement park kind of place. And what's fun is that that's where you are. You're with your family. And so all the fights are happening in this environment. I mean, there's a scene you incorporate whack a molecule into a, you know, Jean Claude Van Damme fight scene. And it's. So. It's two things. It's really good fight choreography. It's really fun to watch. It's satisfying, because the biggest, most important element to me of a fight scene is you really want to hate the dick who's getting beaten up. Yeah. And.

[David Cross]

But part of that was. And it's in the trailer. So I don't think this is a spoiler. When the guy whacks the girl in the back of the head, I said, can you make that just as small as, like, he. Even the guy who. Let's say the real guy who does that is like, why did I do that. That was dumb. What an asshole. I didn't need to do that. Like, he didn't even think about. He wasn't thinking.

[Conan O'Brien]

He just watched her on the back.

[David Cross]

Of the head, like, get out of here, you guys.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

And it's the smallest thing. Even. He probably thinks, I shouldn't have done that. That was a dick move. But he also. It wasn't. I didn't hurt anyone. Nobody got hurt. Her hat went like this.

[Conan O'Brien]

But that was.

[David Cross]

But you go, fuck no. You know, because little things like that do happen in your life, and you can't do anything about them. You have to walk away from them.

[Conan O'Brien]

I know, but what was so smart about that is it's your daughter. And I think what's really smart about that is it taps into something. If you have kids, I don't care how old your kids are. They can be little. They can be, you know, 25. If someone's mean to your kid or shoves your kid or does anything to your kid, it awakens something in you. You want to kill that person. And so you're trying to leave. It's a small thing. You're de Escalating, which we use a lot. Let's de escalate. You've clearly, like, I don't want to have any trouble. You're leaving. Swats your daughter. And it's just this great moment. Cause you're walking out, and your wife says, and I leave. You leave. As you know, like, it's your opportunity.

[David Cross]

I could leave.

[Conan O'Brien]

You could leave. And then your wife says, sees. There's a look in your eye, which is. I've seen that look back at SNL when they didn't put your sketch on. And you're. I'm gonna try and let. And you can see he's not gonna let this go. They just. It's your daughter. And you go back in and clean house, and it's. But using all the stuff that's in an arcade, which is really fun.

[David Cross]

And so that guy who gets it with the claw and I've gotta. These stunt actors are so great.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[David Cross]

You see how real he makes that. And the punch. If you watch how he takes that punch. First of all, there's a thing about, like, he doesn't just clear off. He, like, goes, yeah, he's like. Like a. Like, he's got some strength. He's not just here to take a punch. He's a guy who's like, watch this happen.

[Conan O'Brien]

Right?

[David Cross]

You know, like, he. Those guys are so good.

[Conan O'Brien]

Is it as much fun to do that as I think it is.

[David Cross]

It is. Oh, it is. You laugh your ass off.

[Conan O'Brien]

Damn it.

[David Cross]

They say cut. Everyone laughs and goes, I can't fucking believe that.

[Conan O'Brien]

All right, I gotta call you on something because you were on the pod. You were on the pod. Let me say one thing. You were on the pod. For now, I feel like I'm in because your character, Shelley Levine talks over people, and I'm doing that to you right now. But it's because it's important. After when Nobody Won came when the first Nobody came out, I had you on. I loved it. We had a great interview. And I said at the end, if you ever make another one, you got to put me in it. And you went, yeah, yeah, I'm not in it. And that's a. Don't be needy. But I just want to be beaten. I want someone to beat the shit out of me.

[David Cross]

Well, we'll do one.

[Conan O'Brien]

Just. Can you do a third?

[David Cross]

Yes. I don't even have to be me.

[Conan O'Brien]

Just. Just. I know, but I mean, when there's nobody, three comes out. Yeah. I just want to be. Put me in clown makeup. It won't be me, and I'll be a small, but I just want someone to. To beat me to death.

[David Cross]

We'll make it happen.

[Conan O'Brien]

The last thing I'll say about the Nobody franchise that I appreciate is that there are many. Like James Bond beats a bunch of people up in a room and then walks into the next scene looking like a million bucks. You. You are a real human who's just fought 10 guys, and you've been hit as often you've. As. As much as you've hit someone. You've taken as many hits as you've given, and you can tell progressively as it goes through. I mean, Wile E. Coyote as gets a reset after every scene. He can blow up, and then he walks back in the next scene, and it's a fresh Wile E. Coyote opening the Acme Rocket boot. Acme Rocket boot box. But you. You can tell, like, you just take a lot of punishment because you're a real person who's fighting all these people. And.

[David Cross]

Well, I want to do a scene in the next movie, if there is another where he goes through a metal detector and his body pins.

[Conan O'Brien]

And then you fight all the TSA people. All right, I'm going to have to wrap this up because we have talked and talked. Well, this will be heavily edited.

[David Cross]

I just got to say one other thing. When I was training for Nobody and I trained for. Probably you could say Three years. And when I would go do Better Call Saul, I would train for twice a week. But when I was in la, I would train three times a week at the actual stunt gym. And I didn't think the movie was gonna get made, but they were offering me free training with this great guy Daniel Bernhardt, who trained me. And it was like free. You know, I learn about exercise. I didn't know shit about it. And so I'll take that, you know, and then you can call me and say we're not making the movie. And I'll go, all right, thanks for the free gym hours. And the whole time I'm doing it, I'm thinking about you and Smigel and Sandler and everybody I knew from comedy. And if I were to get to make this movie.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[David Cross]

And you were to go see it in spade. I kept thinking about Spade. I don't know why he would go see it until like, what the fuck?

[Conan O'Brien]

Yep, that's exactly. And you know what I had that feeling of it was such a mind blower because it was as if you heard there's this incredibly sensual movie out. It's got really heavy sex scenes and all the women are losing their mind. Cause the guy's so incredible. And you're like, who? You know, who is it? It's Conan O'. Brien. What? What year? He's 62. Are his eyes still kind of creepy and is his lips still fit? Yes. How's his skin? It's okay. Wait a min. Are his legs disproportionately long? Yeah, but man, the way he goes at it when he takes his shirt off. But only the difference was you completely owned it and it was great. And there's no like, ah, good for Bob when people are buying movie tickets, especially worldwide. So.

[David Cross]

Well, I just, I. I promise you I thought of you guys often keep us in our exercising and thinking that's just a reason to be doing this is if I could pull it off, that would blow my friends minds.

[Conan O'Brien]

Here's how I'll end this. You are a really. You loom large in my early career as one of the funniest people I ever got to work with. And it was really meaningful to me back then because I was sometimes doing stuff on this frequency that you really appreciated and I felt like this guy gets it. And I felt like you were doing the same thing. And I've told you I've memorized moves of yours from your first one man show. But Bob, I'm so happy for you. Thanks for all your also Weirdly, even though I'm proud of you, I know that can sound condescending, but I'm really, I'm like, I know him and he's killing it. And just seeing you on that Broadway stage last night, watching your movies, watching your stuff. So go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Have a nice day. Have a nice week.

[David Cross]

Thank you, buddy.

[Conan O'Brien]

Bob Odenkirk, Tupac. Peace out. Mattress Firm's sleep experts use their extensive training and expertise to match you with the perfect sleep solution. Snoring will match you with the right bed and base for quieter nights. Sleeping hot and waking up like a boiled potato. Well, boiled potato. I've never had a boiled potato. I have. Usually I haven't fried anyway. An Irish guy gets stuck on potato. There are mattresses designed to let hot air and humidity escape so mornings aren't spent peeling off the sheets. Sharing a bed with someone who tosses and turns like an angry sea captain. Mattresses. Well, I've spent the night with an angry sea captain. Mattresses with motion isolation technology help keep the chaos on their side of the bed. Hello. Sagging or dipping? No, thank you. Please. Mattress Firm offers beds with edge to edge support to help everything stay even. Plus, they'll even set up your new mattress and haul away the old one. That's important. Yeah, you gotta haul that old one away. Don't let a hoarder in your family keep the mattress. He said from personal experience. Oh, no, no. I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything. You don't know who I'm talking about. Could be my wife. For the great sleep you deserve, visit Mattress Firm during the best sale of the year. They make sleep easy. This back to school season. Spend less on your kids with Amazon. Okay. I remember back in the day when my kids were going off to school. You're going through it now, Sona.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah, but they're really young. But we still need stuff.

[Conan O'Brien]

You gotta get the backpacks and you gotta get the crayons and the.

[Bob Odenkirk]

The lunchbox.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah, we didn't let them have lunch. Raise them up to be hungry. No, we all love our kids. We really do. But they have a magical talent for making our wallets weep. Especially when school season hits. Thankfully, Amazon's got everything you need for back to school. Big selection, all at low prices. Lunchboxes, school snacks, backpacks, water bottles, uniforms, apparel, noise canceling headphones. I never got to take those to school.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Me neither.

[Conan O'Brien]

They would've helped me with Ms. Smith. More on that later. Whether your kid's growing two inches a week, diving into new after school activity every month, or losing supplies faster you can label them. Amazon makes it easy to restock and stay ready all in one place and without breaking the bank. With low prices and fast delivery, you'll save time, money, and maybe even a little sanity this school year. Remember, with Amazon's low back to school prices, you spend less on your kids because every dollar you don't spend on them is a dollar you haven't spent on them. I never thought of it that way. Wow. Shop back to school at Amazon and spend less on your kids. Sona? Sona, are you there?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah, I'm here. I'm here.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, listen, there's a reason I'm talking to you right now, okay? Oh, God. Which is I am in New York working hard while you're hardly working, not funny and interviewing people. Just interviewed Bob Odenkirk.

[Bob Odenkirk]

You know, I love Bob Odenkirk.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, well, don't say it like you don't like me. And take your hands away from your mouth. What are you doing?

[Bob Odenkirk]

What? You can see. Okay, you can see me. I didn't know you could see me.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay. And hello, first of all, how are you, Sona? Nice to see you.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Thank you.

[Conan O'Brien]

Second of all. Second of all, let's not waste time on that. Second of all, I'm here in New York and I'm working hard. You know, supposed to. Hardly working. Funny joke. And I am talking to you because I worry that when I'm away from our home base, when I'm away from the Larchmont, California studios, that you guys are goofing around and you're not toeing the line. And so this is a little drop in to make sure that you're making it happen, but you're still there.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Do you think you keep people in line here? You think that you're like you? People get stuff done here in spite of you. I mean, you come in, everyone's like, working. You come in and then you just start, like, saying all these jokes and doing all these bits, and everybody has to just stop working and. And watch you.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah. Yeah. It must be tough when the master of his craft comes in the room and delights a crowd with his magical skills. Must be awful. Oh, shit, here comes Beethoven. Fuck. Oh, no. He's got his piano. What's this? A symphony that will endure for all time. Oh, God. When can I get back on Etsy so I can buy that. Buy that little leather pouch?

[Bob Odenkirk]

No, I'm gonna say morale is high here. People just seem to be in really good spirits. Eduardo, we're hanging out.

[Conan O'Brien]

Super productive today.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Since you're not here, can I sit in your chair?

[Conan O'Brien]

Sure. Okay. Wait a minute. Hold on. Okay. She can. Sure. Yeah.

[Bob Odenkirk]

All right. Now we're talking.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, that's cool. Now, what does it feel like to be? I mean, in a sense, you know, you're now Conan o'. Brien. What's it like? I don't know.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I feel a lot more anxious and needy.

[Conan O'Brien]

I. Your skin's breaking out.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I'm suddenly filled with self hate. I don't know what happened to my skin. I just have a hankering for potatoes.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, I think you went too far. This is now. This is now. Hate speech. But hate speech everyone's okay with. People are fine with you going after the Irish. No one cares if you go after the Irish. Not even the Irish.

[Bob Odenkirk]

But you guys did that. Like, why is the mascot for Notre Dame like this? Like, I'll get you. And then there's Lucky.

[Conan O'Brien]

I'll get you, Hell puncher. Yeah, we're. We're ridiculous people, and we know it. Whereas you are proud Armenian.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yes, I am.

[David Cross]

And.

[Conan O'Brien]

And how are your boys doing? I want to ask about them. Mikey and Charlie boys are good.

[Bob Odenkirk]

You know, we moved into a new place, and they're adjusting. There's a park, there's a pool. They just want to do things.

[Conan O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Bob Odenkirk]

So we let them do things.

[Conan O'Brien]

Are you adjusting to your new place?

[Bob Odenkirk]

I am. I like it. It's cool. I. You know, I know I talked a lot about my parents and how hard it was to live with them, but, you know, they let us live with them for over four months, and I. All I did was complain about them, so it was very. Like. What?

[Conan O'Brien]

You're a very ungrateful person. And I say that out of love. I mean, that's one of your better qualities. But you are ungrateful. You're not gracious, and you take things for granted. There's a lot of GS going on here, you know?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Are you having fun in New York? I miss the trips that I used to take down.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is great. I'm really. I mean, I'm slamming you left and right. All these missiles are landing. I'm ecstatic. I will say I've been having a good time. You've been walking around with me. I have. Talk about Conan in Manhattan. Yeah. You thrive here, and people come up to you left and right. It's selfie central. It is. I think I've taken 3,000 selfies, but I don't you know, as I've always said, I like talking to people. I'm cool with it. But it gets very silly because we went and saw Bob Odenkirk's Glengarry Glen Ross last night with Bill Burr. And it was just. I wanna see that fantastic production. Really great. And then in intermission, there's just this line formed to get selfies. And I'm standing there doing selfies for everyone. And I thought I should start even if I just got a dollar for each one. Is that a bad thing to put out there? I feel like people would talk. I don't think it would go over well. I know I'd have one of those little old time change makers on me that the ice cream man had in the 60s. Yeah, yeah. That's what I wanna do. I wanna monetize it. Okay. That's the kind of spirit I'm bringing to selfies.

[Bob Odenkirk]

A dollar. You think. You think a selfie with you is only worth a dollar?

[Conan O'Brien]

I think it may. I think that's optimistic. I think that's optimistic.

[Bob Odenkirk]

If you could put any price on taking a selfie.

[Conan O'Brien]

I think a dollar is aiming high. He'd put a dollar. If you do a bogo, buy one, get one free. Yeah, yeah. Did you say there's a term for that? Bogo. Bogo. Yeah. God, I want get what the kids are doing. You guys are amazing. Bogo. Etsy. What's that new thing? Internet. It's crazy. What's happening?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yolo.

[Conan O'Brien]

Sona. Yeah, yep, I know about. And fomo. Yolo.

[David Cross]

So fomo.

[Conan O'Brien]

Bogo. Yolo. Go, go. Yeah. Jubjub, flip, flap, chip chop. Yeah. How are you, Sona? I'm glad to see you. I do miss you, you know that.

[Bob Odenkirk]

I miss you too. When I see you. New York, I really miss. You know, I think I had like a. When I kept. When we kept going to New York, I started getting very like, ugh, New York. And now I'm kind of craving it. I miss it a lot.

[Conan O'Brien]

You're freaked out.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

When you were my assistant before freaked out. I saw the light and got David involved. But no, he just knows. He just gets things done. But anyway, first time I took you to New York, you flipped out. You hated it. And you. Because you just weren't used to New York City. You were very uncomfortable there. Cause you're such an LA person and. But the one thing I remember very clearly, you needed to go somewhere and I said, well, just take a cab. You said, I can't take a cab. I'll be sitting on a seat that other people have sat on. And I thought. What, what, what are you talking about?

[Bob Odenkirk]

What is this narrative you've weaved in your mind? I sit on so many seats. You said that I've interacted indirectly with so many butts in my life that you think I'm the one.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is a clear memory I have. Don't say this didn't happen. I'm not saying you didn't want to take a cab.

[Bob Odenkirk]

It didn't happen. The use. First of all, cabs aren't gross. Like, they're gross. But I also, I take, like, lifts all the time. And I don't have a problem with that. I think.

[Conan O'Brien]

So what was your beef with New York cabs?

[Bob Odenkirk]

I mean, they're gross. They're like, dirty. But at the same time, I think that you're making it seem like I'm like, prissy, like, oh, I can't sit there. It's. I mean, yeah, I guess to a certain extent there was a lot of, like, I don't like cabs, but I think that. I think there was.

[Conan O'Brien]

You say, that's improved, now you're better, you're over it, you're fine.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Kind of, yeah. But I also, I think that I got overwhelmed when I would go to New York. Like, it was overwhelming. It's an overwhelming city. And then when you're like, me, and you just want to go out and do stuff and you don't know what to do, and you. And you decide to just stay in your hotel, you feel like you're missing out on everything.

[Conan O'Brien]

And it just, I think it also. Not only in New York, which is an overwhelming city, but you're with Conan o', Brien, a beloved figure. And I think that was overwhelming for you as well. I mean, oh, Conan, I want to sleep with you. Oh, there he is.

[Bob Odenkirk]

What? Remember, you think. Wait, do I remember random people coming to you and just saying, like, oh.

[Conan O'Brien]

You know, you're with me all the time. And they're like, oh, my God, I can't believe it. And you know, I had a sex dream about you just an hour ago, and it's 4 o' clock in the afternoon. You know, that kind of thing, whatever.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Never heard anyone.

[Conan O'Brien]

Just people like, I want to get. Give you money. You're. You're a Christlike figure.

[Bob Odenkirk]

It was more like, can we take a picture? And you'd be like, yeah, sure. And then you'd be like, do you need anything else? They're like, no, I gotta go.

[Conan O'Brien]

That is so mean. Is there any other thing I could do for you? I could write you a chat. Why don't you join me?

[Bob Odenkirk]

Let's sit down and have a drink. And they're like, I just wanted.

[Conan O'Brien]

Okay, okay. Now you're making me seem needy. And that's as crazy as you being someone who's a germaphobe. Okay, Sona, I checked in on you. I miss you. I know. I give my love to Tak and your lovely boy. So they still like their. Their Uncle Coco?

[Bob Odenkirk]

They love Uncle Coco. They talk about you all the time. Did I ever tell you. I showed them, like, oh, you. I sent you a video. You sent them a video back, which I had to play with that for them like 150 times. And after I did it, one of them, I think it was Mikey, went, uncle Coco is kind of funny, huh? And I was like, yeah, he is kind of funny. Like, I don't. You know, in their mind, you're just like this funny guy, but they don't realize you're. You've been working.

[Conan O'Brien]

I was taking a ride. I was back. I was back from my college reunion, and I was in Boston, and I was in a. I was taking a. I think an Uber and somewhere, and the driver is just driving me, not really paying attention. And then we're. I'm. I always chat with the people, so I'm chatting back and forth. And then I made kind of a joke, and the guy laughed, and he said, you have a sense of humor. He didn't, you know, he from another country. He's learning the language. You have a sense of humor. And I was like, whoa. Still got it. All right, Sona, be well. And I'll be checking in with you in about 20 minutes.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Okay? I'm excited. I like sitting in your chair. Maybe you can sit in my chair from now on and I'll just sit in yours. It's like first chair.

[Conan O'Brien]

Getting used to other people's chairs. I like it.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Yeah.

[Conan O'Brien]

All right, but your fear. Okay, don't say butts.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Oh, sorry, but lots of butts set in all these chairs, and I'm fine sitting in them. So, you know, I guess I proved you wrong.

[Conan O'Brien]

You gotta go Beethoven. Out. I gotta get my piano outta here.

[Bob Odenkirk]

Not Beethoven.

[Conan O'Brien]

You'll see Beethoven, the dog from the movies. All right, I'll talk to you later, Sona. Bye.

[Sona Movsesian]

Conan o' Brien needs a friend. With Conan o', Brien, Sonam of Session and Matt Gourley, produced by me, Matt Gourley, executive executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Leow Theme song by the White Stripes Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising Producer is Aaron Blair and our Associate Talent Producer is Jennifer Samples, Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick. Talent booking by Paula Davis Gina Batista. You can rate and review this show on Apple Podcasts and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign [e-mail] Conan and if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O' Brien needs a free end wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

[Conan O'Brien]

This is Comedy Bang Bang the Podcast, the promo and in 30 seconds I'm going to tell you why you should check out the show. I the host Scott Aukerman have a light hearted conversation with famous celebrities like Jon Hamm, Alison Williams, Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Alexander, Natasha Leone, Bob Odenkirk, just to name a few things go a little off the rails when different eccentric characters and oddballs drop by to be interviewed as well. Each week is a blend of conversations and character work from your favorite comedians as well as some new hilarious voices. Comedy Bang Bang the Podcast Listen every Monday wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bob Odenkirk]

When it's this hot, you need a snack that's cool, fun and delicious like Maimochi ice cream.

[Conan O'Brien]

Maimochi is little scoops of ice cream.

[Bob Odenkirk]

And flavors like strawberry, mango and cookies and cream wrapped in soft dough. It's creamy on the inside and chewy on the outside like a sweet ice cream dumpling.

[Conan O'Brien]

My mochi is gluten free and only 70 calories a piece.

[Bob Odenkirk]

The perfect guilt free snack this summer. Grab a purple box of my Mochi ice cream and feel joyfully chill with the coolest treat around.