← Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
00:58:39
Actor Nathan Lane feels it’s about f***king time he was asked to be Conan O’Brien’s friend. Nathan sits down with Conan to discuss his storied career from Broadway to iconic film roles in The Birdcage and The Lion King, honoring actress Linda Lavin in his new series Mid-Century Modern, and being tested for vertigo at the Dizzy Institute. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com. Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847.
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- [00:00]
Conan O'Brien
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Nathan Lane
Hi, my name is Nathan Lane and I feel it's about fucking time I was asked. Conan O'Brien's friend.
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Conan O'Brien
The bell Brand new.
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Nathan Lane
Shoes Walking loose climb the fence Books.
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Conan O'Brien
And pens I can tell that we.
- [01:18]
Nathan Lane
Are gonna be friends Yes, I can.
- [01:22]
Conan O'Brien
Tell that we are gonna be friends hey there. Welcome to Conan O'Brien needs a friend, joined here by Sonam of Session and Matt Gorey. And man, things are getting heated in here because Matt Goerley just made a suggestion and you said. Because we were trying to think of what do we talk about here up front? Well, let's go back a little further and preface it with that. You. You always want to have something nailed down that we're going to talk about. And Sona and I are a little bit more loosey goosey, frankly. Chill. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I guess the difference would be you two are always saying, let's just talk about anything because in the podcast world you can literally just talk about anything. And hey, man, that's what happened, man. We laid out what was happening in the moment, which was nothing. And isn't that great. And everyone gets a podcasty award. Podcasty. I come from a different world of thinking about things and planning them and writing them beforehand on such shows as the Simpsons, Saturday Night Live. Boring. Seven different. Never heard of them. Yeah, anyhoots. My point is, I was taking a second to try and think of something and you said after a long pause. After a long pause. Yeah, no one's chiming in. And you said, well, it's windy out here in la. Pretty stupid. And yeah, but no one attacked you for it. We just sort of was like, not that. That's not it. And then Blay got upset and Blay, you said, well, listen, I think That I. You always like, I want this podcast to be the best it could be.
- [02:56]
Nathan Lane
I.
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Conan O'Brien
What I said was, he said, it's windy out. And you said, no. And then you didn't say anything else. I didn't put him down. I didn't go after him. That's right. You just let it pass. You leaned in because you'll sometimes make suggestions. That's right. And it's a little bit like whack a mole. This gray haired, gray bearded blaze sticks up. Whack a mole. Whack a mole. Where all the moles are Blay. And I whack a blay. Whack a blay. And I just, I bash you down and sometimes I go after you for a while because it's fun sometimes. But you said if I had said that. That's right. You'd have gone after me. That's right. And I had said that right before I said it. I literally had the thought of, I think this is a suggestion Blay would make. And I, I don't mean that in a bad way. I just. Well, what other way could you possibly. Well, I still said it, didn't I? Yeah, you said thanks. No, that's a real vote of confidence. No, I didn't mean it that way. I still said it. Did not. But I pointed out that the difference is in presentation. I pointed out that what Goerli did is Goerli quietly went, well, we could talk about how it's windy out and he has. It's a little dry. I undersold it. He undersold it. He's back from the mic and I'm like, yeah, right, we're not gonna do that. And I pointed out to you, blay, when you make a suggestion, although you have a naturally loud speaking voice, you will never be lost in the desert, ever. That's true. And I will say, hold it. I'm not done. I'm not done. You don't get the speaking stick ever again. So what you do is you have a loud voice anyway. You lean into these. Are these Heifelwasse microphones? What are they? Heifelwasse. Are they Steibenscheibesa? Dynamic? Dynamic. So let's get the Heifelwasses. They're better. These are very, very sensitive microphones, cardio. And what you do, Blay, is you take your whole body. You're a large man, a large, powerful man, and you lean in and you almost deep throat the microphone and you would have said, hey, we can talk about how it's windy out. And people listening in their cars would be crashing on the 405, the 10. All across this great nation, cars would be going off. You know what I mean? But this is what makes Blay magical, is you are able to do this open hearted. I had to come at it as like, I know I'm gonna get hit for this. That's what I meant, like, I'm gonna. I think I'm gonna get hit. So I had to. I'm confident about it. And I have to say, I think Blay, you're the MVP of this entire place and you made this place go around. Yeah, yeah. And can I say something? El, your favor? No, I think it's a great. Pointing at me when they. You don't need to point at me when you're addressing. Yeah, stop pointing at me. It's very aggressive. This is a compliment, but you have an unearned confidence. No, no, that's not a compliment. No, no, no. You know what a compliment means? No, A con. Wait a minute. Isn't a compliment where you really get someone? No, no. A compliment is a nice thing you say about someone and you don't qualify it, you just compliment it. Well, anyway, you are. Every time you light the fuse and the TNT blows up in your face, it's a new. It's like it's happening for the first time and you're just like, this should go well, Blay, you're the coyote who's never learned. You've opened up 700,000 Acme boxes. Charlie Brown in the football. Yeah, Charlie Brown in the football. And you just keep going for it. I don't know if you've ever. If you've ever said this on Mike, but you did say once. You're like, I love it. And you said this completely. Honestly, I love it when you come running through the door with a wet fart and. Which came. I don't know what that means. Even now, I don't know why, like, hey, everybody. And then just look at me. And then just you. I never said that. What I'm trying to say that that's coming out. You did say the. It's out. You did say the wet part. Take it out. You.
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Nathan Lane
You're going to edit it out.
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Conan O'Brien
Don't worry, boss, I'll definitely take it out. Just drive and drop it. All I want to say here is. All I want to say here is if it's a. I. First of all, I disagree. It's about presentation. I do think there is. Do you think your presentation could be better yes, let's try. But, but can I just try it Pitch Wendy, the way you think. I'm self conscious. Okay, you got it. You got this. What should we talk about? You guys just sit over here. The lights are, you know, I, I feel like I have to lean in to. To be like. To be hurt. You don't. To be. To be hurt or hurt you don't. Cuz you do get hurt. You don't psychologically being back here. Don't you think Eduardo, I've been back there. Eduardo, back me up. You don' we have to lean in to be part of the conversation. Is that not true? Eduardo never yells. Yeah, I, I listen to that voice. Listen to that voice. And can I say something? I'm going to back up my boy here. I'm going to say this, but when you speak Eduardo, I am like, oh my God. I want to hear what Eduardo has to say because he has, he always says you've got a beautiful voice, you're very calm, you're centered. You're not. Your whole tone of voice is not begging for acceptance. I'm gonna back up my boy here and I'm gonna say I admire. I think he's brave. I think he knows. I think that's true. I agree. No one knows what a compliment means. No, no, he is brave like a lemming is brave. A lemming that just throws itself mindlessly off a cliff. Those brave lemmings to his point being in the shadows over here. Yes. You don't know. It's like a game of jump rope.
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Nathan Lane
You don't know when to jump in, when to jump out.
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Conan O'Brien
And you don't wanna triple and be the idiot that stumbles upon the rope. He knows that you're probably gonna shit on him for his ideas, but he still will pitch them anyway. That's what I'm saying. I'm self aware, but that's why I say he's brave.
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Nathan Lane
So you know.
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Conan O'Brien
All I know is that the most powerful salvo in the world was lobbed at you and it bounced off of you, which is Harrison Ford told you said shut the fuck up. Blay. And Tom Hanks and Tom Hanks, both of the most iconic stars of the 20th and 21st century told you to shut the fuck up. Yes, that's right. And it was like watching someone shoot a spitball at an aircraft carrier. I think we should make you two medals of valor for those that you get to wear, you know, it didn't affect you at all. Anyone else would be in the hospital for the rest of their lives if both of those stars had told them to shut the fuck up. That's right. This is a really. Can we please put on the rap light? For God's sakes? We put the rap light on like, though. Are we gonna talk about the wind? Shut the fuck up, Sona. Shut the fuck up, Sona. All right. My guest today is a Tony Award winning actor who has starred in such movies as the Producers and the Birdcage. Now you can see him in the new Hulu series, Mid Century Modern. I'm delighted he's here. I'm thrilled. Nathan Lane, welcome. I'm gonna start by saying there's a moment that I had with you that is very important to me. And you're not gonna be aware of this, but it meant the world to me. And you've done very nice, very many nice things for me over the years, including doing this amazing thing on our final late night show, which was fantastic. Uh, you are what the Irish call a mensch. But you. Just before we started the podcast, you very sweetly came over and you offered your condolences about my parents passing away last month. And it reminded me of this very special moment in my life when my mother came to town. She didn't come to New York often. She was, you know, pretty much stayed in Boston, but she came to town. And the biggest thing to do at that time in New York, it was the biggest thing in the world, was go and see the Producers. And I told my mother, I'm gonna take you to the Producers. And my mother couldn't believe it, because even in Boston, they knew that this was a huge deal. So we went and we saw the Producers. And one of my favorite memories of that night is we saw the Producers. And my mother was not a. You know, she's from central Massachusetts. She mostly stayed in Boston. She didn't go see Broadway shows. She's now seeing the biggest thing in the history of Broadway. It's you. It's the whole full original cast. Matthew Broderick, I will never forget, at the end of the show, she was doing that. Clapping. That's not down here, it's up here. My mother, who basically looks so much like me, imagine me in a wig clapping like this. So then we, we get up and someone very kindly came over and said, would you like to say hello? And I said, well, I'm always shy about those things, but I thought, well, if it's possible. And I said, oh, hi, Nathan. We went backstage. Hi, Nathan. And this was the. I mean, literally kings, Queens Presidents, everybody would come backstage with the producers every night. And I came over and I said, nathan, this is my mom. And you said, Mrs. O'Brien, and you gave her this big hug. You acted like it was the biggest thing in the world. I. My mother was transported into another realm and may have hastened her death. That was saying 20 years passed, but I think she could have lived another, she could have lived another five. And so I'm accusing you of murder. No, it is. I had, I don't know why I ruined things. It was the nicest and I'll never forget it. I'll never forget it. It was a beautiful moment. And you are, you're. I mean, people know Nathan Lane, the famous person from television, movies, Broadway, but you are a extremely sensitive person, probably to your own detriment. I'm think you know what I mean. You're not a thick skinned soul. And in that moment, I could just see what a lovely, fantastic person you are.
- [12:59]
Nathan Lane
Well, that's. Aside from the murder accusation, that was an incredibly kind movie thing to say, you know, you know, as someone who, in the public eye, you know, as you especially, you know, when doing a Broadway show eight times a week and people, when people do come back, it is awkward because they don't, unless they're theater veterans and they understand the etiquette of no matter what, even though it was a terrible show, you hated it, you say, that was the greatest night of my life and thank you for a wonderful performance. And you leave, as opposed to walking in and saying, I have some issues with the play. Yes, you know, there are those people, but you have to, I think as you get older, you learn to be gracious. And also you have to take the ball and say, I'm so glad you're here. And you fill, you fill in. And then if they're able to say something, that's great, but you make them feel good about what they just experienced. I mean, very often what you want to say is, I wish you were here last night. You know, the matinee didn't go so well. You know, you've got to make it a positive.
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Conan O'Brien
But what's interesting is that what you're doing is you've just done a show where you're giving it all you've got. I mean, yes, Matthew was working hard in that show, but come on, I mean, you're using your instrument in every single possible way. And then I don't think people realize when they come backstage, you're putting on another show for them. You're worried about them. You're making sure that they get what they need, which is kind of insane, you know.
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Nathan Lane
Well, you know, you should be taken.
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Conan O'Brien
Away by helicopter the minute you're done with a performance.
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Nathan Lane
Yes. You know, it's that, that's a part of the gig, you know, and you, and then, you know. Yeah, you go off and go, go to, immediately to bed. But yeah, it's, I mean, it's why I, I don't want, I wouldn't want to do. I don't want to. I wouldn't want to be in the middle of a musical anymore. Eight times a week. I, I just, it's for, It's a young man's game. Because it's just, it's like being the.
- [15:15]
Conan O'Brien
A quarterback in my career, I always had a real problem with the transition to I'll just curl up with a good.
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Nathan Lane
Yeah, no, you can't. Yeah. When you're with that kind of energy. Yeah. Yeah.
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Conan O'Brien
And so what would, what did you do? Did you have a trick for. Because I'm just thinking, I mean, so many Broadway references. I mean, I saw you before I even started the late night show. I think I saw you do laughter on the 23rd floor. And I was like, I don't know how he goes to sleep tonight. Like, I don't know how he.
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Nathan Lane
Well, there was just many years of, just a lot of drinking that.
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Conan O'Brien
Let's point out there, if you're out there and you have trouble sleeping, drinking and you know the message we have.
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Nathan Lane
For you, that really helps. You know, I think it's just, look, you know those days when I would, you know, you would go out. You would, you would. If it didn't go well, you would go out and have drinks.
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Conan O'Brien
Yep.
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Nathan Lane
Or. And if it did go well, you went out and had drinks. Yes. And you know, you could get away with it in your youth.
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Conan O'Brien
Yes.
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Nathan Lane
But that, that changes as you get older. It's, it's. Yeah, you just go to bed a little later. It takes a while to come down from all of that.
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Conan O'Brien
I used to go to sleep at 1:32 in the morning. Sure. And yeah, it was.
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Nathan Lane
Well, wouldn't you talk to your wife? Wouldn't you?
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Conan O'Brien
I wasn't married at the time, but I knew who she was going to be. So I'd call her, she'd say, who is this? And I'd say, it's your future husband, Conan O'Brien. And she would say, I'm not a fan of that show. He seems needy. But I think what's.
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Nathan Lane
Remember the one Time I saw you, we were at the Angelica Cinema.
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Conan O'Brien
You know what? I know exactly what you're talking about.
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Nathan Lane
And I was like. It was like seeing your teacher, you know, at the supermarket. I was like, it's Conan and I can see his legs. And you were with this gorgeous woman.
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Conan O'Brien
That's my wife.
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Nathan Lane
And it was so. I was happy to see you, but I was like, this is awkward because he doesn't have cards. He's not going to ask me that question where I have a great bet. I wrote.
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Conan O'Brien
I thought what was awkward is that I did immediately produce cards. Nathan, I understand you're at a funny thing happen at the Forum. Now. Tell me. I understand you have a funny story about avocados. And then I threw the commercial while we were standing waiting to see a movie. Yeah, no, I. My wife and I, Liza, we ran into you and it is strange when you see someone outside of the weird, I don't know, bubble, whatever we live in. We were waiting for the movie to start. I remembered you seemed a little downcast, you know, have we met? I thought maybe it's me. Like, Nathan's thinking, oh, Jesus, bring down the moon. Conan O'Brien. I can't do it.
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Nathan Lane
No. But I'm sure I got nervous, like, oh, I better be funny. Something like that.
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Conan O'Brien
I'm sure it was just the high. There's high stakes when you're in a movie lobby. But, you know, it's so funny because I relate. There are many ways in which I think you and I could probably relate. As friends. As friends. But as also. I think we're both Irish. We both come from. We were raised very Catholic, I believe. And I know that my self defense mechanism that I learned very early on was to just beat up on myself and hate myself. If I get to me before anyone else gets to me, then I beat them to the punch. And I always kind of sensed that when I would hang with you, like, oh, I think Nathan and I have. There's a kinship here.
- [19:03]
Nathan Lane
Sure.
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Conan O'Brien
I know you had a. There was alcoholism in your family. And I know this is a dark thing to bring up. It's funny because there was. There was in my family because we had. There had been alcoholism throughout the family tree. My parents. I grew up in a dry house, which is a thing you see in some Irish culture, which is they're so afraid of it that you can't even have a rum cake in the house. Like there was nothing. There was. No, you couldn't. So I grew up kind of being told that it's it will. It will kill you if you get near it.
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Nathan Lane
Yeah.
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Conan O'Brien
And it was the way people talk about, like, fentanyl now, that was how wine was treated when I was growing up. It just wasn't in the house. And then if company came over, my dad had a little, like, rusty key, and we would open up a little cabinet and take out what must have been the shittiest bottle of wine in the world that he had just capped. The last time someone had had a glass, didn't know how to store it, blew dust off of it and gave someone, you know, basically vinegar.
- [20:04]
Nathan Lane
Yeah.
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Conan O'Brien
There was a lot of ways where I feel maybe we would relate.
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Nathan Lane
Yes. As Irishmen. Sure.
- [20:11]
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
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Nathan Lane
The dark humor and self deprecating that, you know, and also something that I. Samuel Beckett vibe.
- [20:19]
Conan O'Brien
Well, you said every party, you said. I love this quote. I was reading an interview with you and you said that you. You felt like you grew up in a bad Eugene O'Neill play.
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Nathan Lane
Yeah.
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Conan O'Brien
And then later you revised that. But why don't you elaborate on that?
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Nathan Lane
Oh, well, it was, you know, my father was. Was an alcoholic. Became an alcoholic, really. I was born. My mother had me when she was 40 and. And not long after, he started drinking really heavily and. And essentially drank himself to death. And my mother then sort of had had a kind of breakdown after his death and her own mother's death. And she eventually was diagnosed as bipolar. Then it was called manic depression. It was a difficult childhood in that I had to grow up fast. I sort of became the adult. My two older brothers were going to college. They were sort of on the way out, although they were very much involved in helping. But when I was going to high school, it was just my mother and myself, and she was going through these phases of depression and then manic behavior, and it was an in and out of mental hospitals. And then. And I never really. I never really had much of a relationship with my father. He died when I was 11. And I can remember saying to my brother, my oldest brother Dan, you know, we were going to the funeral and I said I was upset. And he said, what's. And I said to him, I. I said, I can't cry. I'm supposed to be crying now.
- [21:53]
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
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Nathan Lane
My father died and I can't cry. He said, that's all right. He said, you feel how you feel. And it doesn't. That. That's not important.
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Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
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Nathan Lane
And which was ahead of its time.
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Conan O'Brien
By the way, for him to say that. Yeah, I mean, this is.
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Nathan Lane
And he was not the healthiest Guy in the world himself. Yeah, you know, yeah, he, yeah, he was, well, you know, he was a teacher and, and he certainly, and he was the. My, my, this is my oldest brother who got me interested in the theater and reading and you know, he was, became sort of a father figure.
- [22:34]
Conan O'Brien
Those Sweet James billboards are everywhere. You know, everywhere I drive I see, I see them all over. They're everywhere. I've crashed into a few of them. They're hard to avoid. And then I call Sweet James. Yeah, that works out. No, it sounds like I'm joking around and I probably am. But the work they do is pretty serious. When you're hurt in an accident, insurance companies that promise to protect you will try to deny your claim or pay you the least amount possible. We all know that Sweet James Accident Attorney is a world class law firm with over 25 years of experience taking on billion dollar insurance companies on behalf of their injured clients and winning. They've recovered over $1.5 billion for injured accident victims with a 98% winning record. That's crazy. That's a high percent. I wish my name was Sweet James. My life would have been different. Sweet Conan. Yeah. Having the right attorney by your side after you've been hurt in a car, a truck or a motorcycle accident can mean the difference between $2,000 and $2,000,000. Sweet James have some of the best attorneys in the country. They've been awarded best attorneys in America. I mean I've never won that award. Well, you're not an attorney. I know that's probably the reason. Yeah. If you're hurt in an accident, call Sweet James at 809 million. 809 million or visit sweetjames.com the all new Nissan Armada Pro 4X is an unshakable fortress powered by a twin turbo V6 engine, ready to propel your adventures to new heights. Yeah. Your voice changes when you do a car. I'm trying to become Will Arnett, but I can't do it. He's like the all new Nissan Armada Pro 4X. No, listen, I'm going to explain this car to you because this car is fantastic. It's max 8,500 pound towing capacity, has the power to haul all your favorite toys on your next big adventure. You could steal the Statue of Liberty with this. It's incredible. I'm not saying do that. I'm just saying this thing, that's a lot of hauling power. Nobody gets left behind. With the Armada Pro 4X's premium interior that seats up to eight passengers. That's crazy. I don't know. Eight people. Going big never goes out of style. No terrain is too tough for the all new Nissan Armada Pro 4X. The most capable armada ever built. Built for the most rugged of terrain, the all new Nissan Armada Pro 4X gives you freedom to explore further. Shark Cryoglow is the only. I'm gonna say that again. Only LED mask with under eye cooling in the US only Cryo Glow uses high energy blue and red LEDs. Deep penetrating infrared and Instachill technology to soothe and firm under eyes. Complete with four unique treatments developed with dermatologists. Backed by clinical testing and FDA cleared. Iqled technology provides dermatologist optimizing treatments of red, blue and deep infrared light with four unique modes. Better aging skin clearing, skin sustain and under eye revive for a completely customizable routine. Hell, I'd want all four. Insta Chill technology soothes with three adjustable chill levels for a customized under eye treatment. I've used this. You've used it since they sent us one and I took it. And you look fantastic by the way.
- [25:53]
Nathan Lane
Thank you.
- [25:54]
Conan O'Brien
I feel fresh faced. I've been using it pretty consistently. You know, there's eye holes. So you could just like wear it and just go about your day. You look kind of crazy, but you can just, you know, watch some tv. You look like when Hannibal Lecter cut off someone's face and put it on his face. But it was cooling. Yeah, it really. You really feel it working. It's actually really nice and I love it. I'm gonna keep using it. Cryoglow all the Kids are talking available@sharkbeauty.com there's this thing that happens. I think it's true of a lot of performers where they take whatever they've been given and then they realize. My experience was. I just went down a checklist when I was a kid and mostly it was things I wasn't good at. You know, literally. I mean, I remember doing like a mental rundown of. Well, it's not gonna be anything in the athletic field. I think that's quite clear.
- [26:48]
Nathan Lane
Yes.
- [26:49]
Conan O'Brien
It's not gonna be. I'm not really a ladies man.
- [26:53]
Nathan Lane
Me too.
- [26:57]
Conan O'Brien
So I just keep clicking things off. And you figure out what weapon you have in your toolbox. And you must have figured out at a.
- [27:06]
Nathan Lane
And you find your group. You know, you have to find the person who laughs at your jokes and gets it. Gets what you're talking about.
- [27:14]
Conan O'Brien
Still looking. It's a quest. An epic quest. Yeah, but when? So you figure out fairly probably, what is it? High school. You Realize, like, I like to get up there. I like to be in front of people.
- [27:27]
Nathan Lane
I think, you know, honestly, I can remember as a. As a child, like doing. They would say I would get up and do impressions. I would try to entertain the family. And I had like a bad club act. And then I was in a, you know, a grammar school play. Yeah, I remember getting a laugh in that and thinking, oh, this was like blood to a vampire.
- [27:48]
Conan O'Brien
Yes.
- [27:48]
Nathan Lane
And then, and then in high school, I started to do plays and it was social, it was finding your people, but it was just. I didn't think it could be a profession.
- [27:58]
Conan O'Brien
Right. Nor did I.
- [28:00]
Nathan Lane
And then nearing the end of high school, I realized maybe I could. My brother would also not only encouraged me, but he took me to see theater in New York, to see plays on Broadway and off Broadway. And sometimes with classes that he was teaching, he would take a class and I would go with. And I would, you know, that first experience of watching the curtain go up and the lights on the stage and thinking, I'd like to be a part of that. I think maybe I could do that. And the excitement of just the ritual of it all, people quieting down as the curtain goes up and there's nothing quite like it.
- [28:39]
Conan O'Brien
Do you still, I mean, after all of this, all of these crazy hits of dopamine and success, can you still access that when you're in a show?
- [28:49]
Nathan Lane
Oh, absolutely.
- [28:50]
Conan O'Brien
Isn't that amazing that it's still. You don't get. Oh, yeah, I know this is old. This. I'm just doing. Getting in the old number 42B, you know.
- [28:59]
Nathan Lane
No, you know, I'm here making this multicam mid century modern. And every Tuesday night when we tape it, it's like you feel the adrenaline and you think, you know, you want it to go well. And there's. Because of this process, which is sort of a whirlwind process. And I was saying to someone today, it's really more of a writer's process. It's their sort of rewriting.
- [29:26]
Conan O'Brien
This is multicam, and they rewrite throughout the week.
- [29:29]
Nathan Lane
Yes, it's sort of thrilling. It's all flying by the seat of your pants. But it's also like, is this acting or am I just repeating what you said to me three seconds ago? But somehow it all comes together. But I certainly, before we start, I feel that kind of the thing you feel before, the thing you feel doesn't.
- [29:49]
Conan O'Brien
Yes, you get it doesn't go away. No, I didn't realize this, but when you did the birdcage that was a big boost. Step up. You were doing well. Very well. Established Broadway. But you did the Birdcage. But with Robin Williams, Mike Nichols had to talk you into it. Is that true?
- [30:11]
Nathan Lane
No, no.
- [30:12]
Conan O'Brien
By the way, we do very bad research here. And your name is.
- [30:19]
Nathan Lane
Your name is Jason Alexander.
- [30:21]
Conan O'Brien
Jason Alexander. And you did.
- [30:24]
Nathan Lane
And I'm wearing the wig today. No. Yeah.
- [30:30]
Conan O'Brien
I thought he had to talk you into it or that you were. No. Okay.
- [30:34]
Nathan Lane
I'll forgive me if you've heard this before, but originally, you know, Mike, the great Mike Nicholson, Elaine May had wanted to do that, an American remake of La Cacha Fall for a very long time and then finally gotten the rights. And it was supposed to be Steve Martin and Robin Williams, and Robin was going to play the part I wound up playing. Then Steve. There was another obligation. It wasn't going to work out. And then Robin decided, I've just done Drag, and Mrs. Doubtful. I'm sorry, I've been ignoring you people.
- [31:08]
Conan O'Brien
No, no. They're to be ignored. They are to be ignored.
- [31:12]
Nathan Lane
I can only make one new friend at a time, so I don't know what you're doing with the rest of the afternoon, but maybe lunch and I can deal with you and your childhoods. But. So Robyn decided after Mrs. Doubtfire, maybe I shouldn't play the drag part, and that the acting challenge would be playing the more subdued character. And so it opened up that role, and Mike came to see me and laughed around the 23rd floor. And I had met him briefly once, and, you know, it was like meeting God. And then he came backstage, which he had never done, and he said, dear boy, I'd like to talk to you about a movie. And I was like, oh, did you want to go see one?
- [32:05]
Conan O'Brien
I hear Conan's hanging out at the Angelica. He's in the lobby.
- [32:10]
Nathan Lane
Who is this Conan and can I call you? And he did. And then. So the next day, it was, this is happening, and it's. Elaine is writing the adaptation, and Robin Williams is going to play the other part. And I said, so I would be the drag queen. And he said, yes. And I said, well, that's a very good part. And he said, yes, it is. And I said, okay. And I couldn't believe it was happening. This is now. This is. You can cut me off at any point.
- [32:35]
Conan O'Brien
No, no, no. I love it.
- [32:37]
Nathan Lane
It's a long story. So we also kind of did a. He wouldn't make it. He wouldn't refer to it as a screen test, but they wanted to see what I would look like, in drag and all of that. And he made it fun. And I sang a song and, you know, many outfits by the great Ann Roth, the costume designer. And then I was supposed to do a Funny thing happen on the way to the Forum. They were building this around me. And Scott Rudin called me, the producer of Forum, and he said, he's not going to make that movie. That's never going to happen. It's never going to work out. You know, and he went on. And I had to. Because of the scheduling, I had to turn it down. I had to say, you know what? I can't really leave these people in the lurch they've been building. And the timeframe now that you're talking about, I couldn't. I can't do that to them.
- [33:29]
Conan O'Brien
That's a crazy thing to say. No, Mike Nichols.
- [33:32]
Nathan Lane
Yeah.
- [33:32]
Conan O'Brien
I will not co star in your film.
- [33:34]
Nathan Lane
So I said, okay, you know, and I told them. And then I would hear from. I would see Mike Nichols. I was talking about this the other day. I would see him from time to time. He would, like once. This was. This was afterwards. There was a period where. There was a period where maybe Robin wasn't gonna do the movie. This is how long this went on. And maybe, you know, he would say, how do you feel about Billy Crystal? I'm nobody. You know what I mean? And I would say, I love Billy Crystal.
- [34:06]
Conan O'Brien
Why are you asking me?
- [34:07]
Nathan Lane
You know, and then, you know, one day he came up to me. We were at a benefit, and he said, robert Redford? I said, is he here? He said, no. He said, robert Redford as your husband. And I said, well, if you can work that out, all my dreams will come true. And so. And then. So anyway, finally, I think Robin, it was. Yeah, he was gonna play the other part. And then he calls me. He was in Ireland, and he says, nathan. And I'm in my dressing room at laughter on the 23rd floor, and he says, nathan, I'm meeting people, but I think you're the person. And I said. I said, Mr. Mike Nichols, I have no power here. Perhaps if you called Scott Rudin, something could be arranged. He said, yes.
- [34:59]
Conan O'Brien
He's like an evil serpent. Yes.
- [35:04]
Nathan Lane
I don't mean to make him sound like that, because. No, no, no, he was.
- [35:08]
Conan O'Brien
No, but I know what you mean. He had a. Well, an aura, an iconic status.
- [35:15]
Nathan Lane
Oh, yeah.
- [35:16]
Conan O'Brien
And so, yes, I could see him. He's someone who can just say, yes.
- [35:20]
Nathan Lane
He'S your dear boy.
- [35:21]
Conan O'Brien
Yeah. And it has a power to it.
- [35:23]
Nathan Lane
Oh, yes. And so the next day, Scott Rudin said, you really want to do this movie? I said, well, why wouldn't I want to do this movie? And he said, it means we have to postpone a year. And I said, I know. I said, I know. I turned it down. He said, okay. And then it wound up, of course, helping us with Forum, because by the time Forum opened, the movie had come out, and I was not just this New York actor who was, you know, had lucked out in getting this. The lead in this musical, but it was always the guy from that film that's doing well.
- [35:59]
Conan O'Brien
Right. So it was Jason Alexander.
- [36:01]
Nathan Lane
Jason Alexander. And so it. So it. One thing helped the other. And, you know, so I'm grateful to Scott Rudin, Mike Nichols, Robin Williams. It was, you know, I'm going to.
- [36:16]
Conan O'Brien
Introduce someone who was. One of the things I always say is a. Is a hallmark of a great career is that depending on who you run into in any age group, they're excited about a different thing. My co host today, sitting with me, David Hopping, who's here accidentally, because Sona couldn't be here. He lost his mind when he found out that he was gonna be in a room with you because of the Lion King. And we were walking in. Blay was like, do you mind sitting in today? And I was like, with Disney royalty, of course I want to sit in here.
- [36:54]
Nathan Lane
Yeah. We just did this thing at the Hollywood Bowl. I think it's airing soon. It was a 30th anniversary. I can't believe that concert of Jennifer Hudson and a lot of people from the original cast and the new people and people from the Broadway show is quite the oh, that's so cool extravaganza. But it was fun to be reunited with Ernie Sabella, who played Pumbaa, and he's an old friend.
- [37:23]
Conan O'Brien
And I also think I had some experience with this, working on the Simpsons, but people don't realize that voice work. None of it works if it's not there in the voice. I don't care how good the animation is. I don't care how good the story is if the actor who's doing the voice can't capture it. And I saw this on the Simpsons. These people are just brilliant who do those. You know, it's Hank Azaria and Dan Castaneda, and this whole if it's not there, you don't have anything. And so to be one of those iconic Disney voices is pretty amazing.
- [37:58]
Nathan Lane
Yeah. Again, sort of like a, you know, as a kid seeing those Disney films, and I was always sort of fascinated by the voice actors. And so to wind up doing that and with a movie that started as something called King of the Jungle. And nobody seemed to be excited about it. And then auditioning for hyenas, you know, three Hyenas. And then Ernie happened to be there. You know, we were both doing Guys and Dolls on Broadway at the time. And he had gone in first and he was gonna leave. And he said, I'll stay. We'll get lunch. We. And I said, well, would it be all right if he came in and we read together? Because it's three Hyenas and it'll give me something to play off of and, you know, might be fun. And then, you know, like two months later, they said, well, we're developing these two, you know, sidekick characters that are the comic relief and a warthog and a meerkat. I said, great.
- [38:59]
Conan O'Brien
My dream, my dream, you know.
- [39:02]
Nathan Lane
And then we started. It was like a two year process. And you. They show you drawings. And we said to them, well, what do you. How do you want them to sound? And they wanted him to be lower pitched and me to have a higher pitched voice. But they said, you're doing Guys and Dolls. So they should be like Damon Runyon characters, you know, in the Serengeti. And so Ernie was just doing. He does a combination of the. No one will remember a character actor named Wallace Beery.
- [39:32]
Conan O'Brien
Oh, yeah.
- [39:33]
Nathan Lane
Who used to talk like. And then also a little bit of Michael Gotso from the Godfather, who's really high up. You're on him, you know, that he does. So he does a combination of that. And I'm just doing a Brooklyn Jewish meerkat.
- [39:50]
Conan O'Brien
That old thing.
- [39:52]
Nathan Lane
That old thing. And, yeah, that's sort of how they came to life. And then Ernie used to. This was. The big joke was that we would. We're doing a show eight times a week. And we'd go in to record very early. And, you know, we were tired. And so I'd be having coffee and we're gonna start. And Ernie would just start making fart noises in the middle of. You know, he'd say, just to make me laugh and get me going. And then they put it in the movie, which is why Pumbaa is the first flatulent character in a Disney film.
- [40:35]
Conan O'Brien
So that's literally just screwing around.
- [40:37]
Nathan Lane
That was screwing around to make you chuckle. Yes. You know, little. You know, we improvise. They use a little of it. I mean, apparently, I don't even remember half of it, but they. Apparently. I said, you know, what do you want me to do dress and drag and do the Hulu for some reason. It must have been a long day. And then they made it a song.
- [41:00]
Conan O'Brien
Now here's where the businessman in me says, you need a piece of that.
- [41:04]
Nathan Lane
Yeah, well.
- [41:05]
Conan O'Brien
And I bet Disney is very easy to negotiate with. Hey, Disney. Get him on the phone. Yeah, you let me talk to them, okay? I'll handle it.
- [41:15]
Nathan Lane
All right.
- [41:16]
Conan O'Brien
I've got an in with Disney. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a Disney guy. Yeah, big Disney guy. I'm curious about this because I have a tendency to squish things down if things are good. I tend to just squish it down like, okay, well, that was a nice thing that happened, but let's just squish that down and put it over here and not think about it and stick to the work. And it's sort of kind of a self flagellating again. God knows where this nonsense comes from. I suspect we know, but are you able. I would want this for you. I would want you at this stage to be able to say, wow, God, I've done so much good work and I am Nathan Lane, or feel some of that.
- [41:56]
Nathan Lane
Well, you know, and I think it.
- [41:57]
Conan O'Brien
Might be hard for you.
- [41:58]
Nathan Lane
Sure. It's funny you say that. I had, my, my husband was here visiting and we had dinner. It was my, I had a birthday recently and we were sitting there and I, and I said to him, you know, it's taken me such a long time to say, you know, I've, I really appreciate, maybe it's age. I just appreciate. I have a lot of gratitude for what I've been able to accomplish with the, you know, so much about luck and opportunity when it, and you know, as Ina Garten says, be ready when the luck happens. And. Yeah, but you, you know, I, I, the, the amount of talented writers and actors and directors I've gotten to work with and, and it's, you know, it's, I'm very grateful. And it's something to not only be proud of, but just not that you're resting on your laurels, but you feel like, you know, I have accomplished something. Yeah. And then it's meaningful to people. And then whether it's, you know, the Lion King or the Birdcage or these, you know, that were huge things in my life and that it, and they meant something to someone means everything.
- [43:12]
Conan O'Brien
I mean, you know, jumping back to. I was in New York doing the late night show when the producers happened and it was a cultural phenomenon that rarely happens. I mean, it was A lightning strike. But it was more than that. It was. There are hits on Broadway, but something happened and everyone agreed that this is the greatest thing that's ever happened in New York City. And it was lovely to be around that. And then I remembered thinking, oh, Jesus, you and Matthew have to walk around and everybody wants a ticket. Every policeman, every guy who's there to open a manhole cover. And they're not gonna buy Nathan that you can't get them a ticket. What do you do about that?
- [44:02]
Nathan Lane
It was very. The sanitation workers were a big demographic, but, yeah, you know, that kind of thing. I mean, like, you know, there's Hamilton, and that was sort of another one. But that was. I think that show was kind of. It was about, obviously, Mel Brooks, you know. Sure, yeah, that genius. And. But it was also kind of a zeitgeist hit. You know, you would come out of a long period of the dark British musicals, and there hadn't been anything that was kind of a return to old fashioned musical comedy.
- [44:42]
Conan O'Brien
Unapologetic.
- [44:42]
Nathan Lane
Unapologetic. You know, sort of a valentine, and yet satirical at the same time. And with, you know, arguably one of the greatest comic plots ever conceived.
- [44:58]
Conan O'Brien
Yes. And so we need this thing to fail, which is such a great idea, isn't it?
- [45:03]
Nathan Lane
It's just the beauty of. So, you know, and I certainly was this huge fan of the film. I literally saw the film for the first time in a revival house here in LA with an audience filled, screaming their heads off. And I was like, 0Mostella. I'd never seen anyone so huge on screen, physically and emotionally and yet truthful.
- [45:32]
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
- [45:32]
Nathan Lane
And gritty and just hilarious. And the combination of him and Gene Wilder. And so the notion that when all of that started percolating, I started to hear, he's writing a musical. David Geffen is trying to talk him into writing this musical based on the movie. And I thought, well, it is a backstage story. It makes sense, you know, and then somebody mentioned they had talked to him about it. And then I was in. This was the Weekend. I hate to mark it this way, but it was the weekend Princess Diana died. And he wasn't my husband then, but my now husband and I were at the Ritz in Paris. We went down to the pool, and in the pool was Mel Brooks and Ann Bancroft. And my husband's favorite actress was Anne Bancroft. And he turned to me and he said, that's Anne Bancroft. He said, I'm too nervous. I can't swim in front of Ann Bancroft. He went upstairs. So I said, okay. And then I went to the pool, and I had met them. This is like the benchmark. Laughter on the 23rd floor. They came. They had come to see it because there was a character based on Mel in the play about which he said, that character based on me, it's a tissue of lies. Anyway, they were very great.
- [47:00]
Conan O'Brien
I loved it.
- [47:01]
Nathan Lane
But I loved it.
- [47:02]
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
- [47:02]
Nathan Lane
Anyway, he. You know, we. We said hello, and I got in the pool, and she. And was swimming laps. She left. And he stayed in the pool with me, which I thought odd. And then he swam over to me and he said, I'm working on a musical based on my movie, the Producers, and I think you and Marty Short are the only two people in the world to play those parts. And I was like, wow. I said, that would be thrilling. I would be so honored. And then, you know, time passed. He had to write it with Tom, man. And then, you know, Marty had just done, you know, brilliantly Little Me. He won the Tony, and he spent a lot of time in New York, didn't want to be away from the family again that long. And so someone brilliantly suggested Matthew Broderick. And I thought, that's an. You know, in some ways, that's a better combination. You know, his energy and my energy. As it turned out, it was. And he was, you know, sensational. And it was the beginnings of this journey that we took together. Being in the middle of that tornado.
- [48:14]
Conan O'Brien
Yeah.
- [48:14]
Nathan Lane
And you think, oh, you know, you'll never. The hype. You know, how can you live up to the hype? The great thing, as you said, you know, all these people. It's. Barbara Walters and Kofi Annan are here after the show. You know, you go, really? It's Bishop Desmond Tutu. Loved it. He's coming up the stairs.
- [48:37]
Conan O'Brien
So you go, wow, Mrs. O'Brien is here.
- [48:40]
Nathan Lane
Alan Greenspan. And, you know, it was people like that. You couldn't believe it. But the people I loved would be like Harvey Corman.
- [48:48]
Conan O'Brien
Sure.
- [48:49]
Nathan Lane
Coming back and saying, when you did that little piece of physical comedy, and you go, these are people who understand what it is we're doing.
- [48:58]
Conan O'Brien
These are people that you watched when you were a kid. To me, that was. Nothing will ever be more magical than when I get to meet the people that I saw. Sadly, there aren't many left, but I saw them on TV, and they made me laugh when I was 8, 9, 10, 12, 15. And if they noticed me in any way and saw what I was doing and liked it, I think, okay, I can die now. Oh, sure. It's not gonna get better than this.
- [49:29]
Nathan Lane
Tim Conway.
- [49:30]
Conan O'Brien
Yes, exactly.
- [49:31]
Nathan Lane
I met him. You know, these people you idolized or Carol, I mean, Carol Burnett, you know, came back and was. She got emotional and she said, you know, this reminds me of the old days of what Broadway was like. And it's like, you know, Mel is throwing this huge party and you and Matthew are the hosts. And it's, you know, it just was. Yeah, it was that the, especially in the beginning, that show, you know, the joy of it and the, the anarchy of it, like anything could happen because it had that, you know, that tone to it. Yeah, that's kind of a once in a lifetime thing when that.
- [50:11]
Conan O'Brien
No, it's not. Because I've got a new idea.
- [50:15]
Nathan Lane
The sequel.
- [50:16]
Conan O'Brien
Spartacus. Oh, Spartacus the musical.
- [50:19]
Nathan Lane
Spartacus the Musical.
- [50:20]
Conan O'Brien
And I think you're perfect. Not as Spartacus.
- [50:23]
Nathan Lane
No, I'm his lawyer. You know what? You all can't be called Spartacus.
- [50:35]
Conan O'Brien
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- [53:06]
Nathan Lane
It is.
- [53:06]
Conan O'Brien
I think you need some online therapy. It's convenient too. You can join a session with the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life, plus switch therapists at any time. That's a great convenience. Your wellbeing is worth it. Visit betterhelp.comconan to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P.comconan so now you're working and it's nice cause you're working with this cast, you're making its multicam. So you're making mid century Modern. Am I correct? Linda Lavin was part of this?
- [53:44]
Nathan Lane
Yes.
- [53:44]
Conan O'Brien
And she has since passed.
- [53:45]
Nathan Lane
Yes, she has.
- [53:46]
Conan O'Brien
I the show Alice is how I got to know Linda Lavin and that was her iconic TV role. How much did you work with her?
- [53:55]
Nathan Lane
Well, you know, in the theater, she's a beloved figure, Tony award winning actress, famously. I remember seeing her in Neil Simon's play, Broadway Bound. She played his mother. And you know, it's one of the greatest stage performances I've ever seen. And we knew each other just in passing, you know, as a, I was just a fan and we would see each other occasionally and we'd always say, I hope we get to work together someday. So when this happened, it was this whole thing has been an incredibly happy experience, A rare Thing. And it's all the people who, you know, Jimmy Burroughs, the director, I've always, again, one of these, Jimmy Burrows, one.
- [54:40]
Conan O'Brien
Of these guys that, I mean, cheers.
- [54:43]
Nathan Lane
Going back to the Mary Tyler Moore show, Friends, Taxi, you know, and it's created by Max Muchnick and David Cohan, who created Will and Grace. And they've put together this tremendous writers room and with Jimmy there and what they're doing and then just the casting is everything. And so Linda was. I don't know, that's another podcast maybe, but it was tragic and shocking and then emotional. And then they took a week, they pushed a week so that they could write an episode that deals with the death of her character and also where the show is going to go going forward. And they did a beautiful job and it was overwhelmingly emotional. But she was, you would not believe, she was 87 years old. I mean, she was just. And then you put her in front of an audience and, you know, she was, as Jimmy would say, she was with a joke. She was like a heat seeking missile. She just. She was just brilliant.
- [55:55]
Conan O'Brien
There is that thing, I always heard it about George Burns, that when he was, you know, famously almost made it to 100, but when he was like 96, they said you could wake him up, he could be sound asleep on an airplane and you could wake him up and he could do 10 minutes because that thing doesn't go away. I mean, I know that God knows what'll happen to me, but whenever, if I'm in a coma and any of my writers come by or people come by and poke me, I will start doing a bit and then they'll kill me. Yeah, yeah. Then they'll stuff. But what is that? I mean, we just. That's. I think it's.
- [56:37]
Nathan Lane
Yeah. No, she was just. I mean, in general, she was a great actress. I mean, she could do drama or comedy, but she was so brilliant at this sort of thing. And we just. It's just been a very happy family. Matt Bomer and an actor named Nathan Lee Graham, who are sensational. And Matt, who I feel I like, he's going to be the revelation for a lot of people because, you know, he's a big, handsome glute, but also a wonderful serious actor. But he's riotously funny. And so it was an ordeal to get through because. And then on top, we did this very emotional episode and we felt like we honored her. And then I started to get Vertigo and I'd had it. Since we've done therapy, I thought we'd now get to the more medical side of my life.
- [57:35]
Conan O'Brien
I can do that. I can handle that as well. I think it's a zinc deficiency.
- [57:41]
Nathan Lane
Isn't it always? So I had had this about a year ago, what's called positional vertigo. And then there's a thing called the Epley maneuver, which sounds like a bad off Broadway. The Epley Maneuver playing at the Village Gate. Anyway, and it usually goes away after a couple of days and some Dramamine. So this time it really hit me. And I went to an ent. They gave me a cortisone shot, but I'm holding on to walls. And you really. My equilibrium really thrown. And so I Google vertigo, and the first thing that comes up is the Dizzy and Vertigo Institute of Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. And the pictures look nice, and they look professional.
- [58:32]
Conan O'Brien
Never go by the pictures.
- [58:34]
Nathan Lane
And I'm like, desperate. So I go back. So I make an appointment, and I go Back to the ENT. The next day, Dr. Schnittman. And Dr. Schnitman says. Dr. Schnitman says it's not positional vertical. And I said, well, I'm going to the Dizzy Institute right after.
- [58:56]
Conan O'Brien
This isn't real. Which sounds like Nickman says, it's don't go to the Dizzy Institute.
- [59:01]
Nathan Lane
Like it should be run by Jennifer Coolidge.
- [59:03]
Conan O'Brien
Exactly right.
- [59:04]
Nathan Lane
And so he says, that's where I was going to send you. And I said, great. And so I go, and it's a very. It's a real serious place. And they were incredible. And they put me through a series of tests, like a NASA astronaut in a chair. You go upside down. All these tests. Eye and ear coordination. And they said, what you have is called labyrinthitis, which is a virus you get in the inner ear. And I got it in the left inner ear, which was causing severe vertigo and nausea. And so the ENT put me on prednisone. And then I had to do a series of exercises, you know, and what's called vestibular therapy. And again, we had to cancel a week so I could get over this. And now we did the taping we were supposed to do last week, last night.
- [60:03]
Conan O'Brien
So how are you feeling now?
- [60:04]
Nathan Lane
A little dizzy? No, I feel.
- [60:08]
Conan O'Brien
I picture when you go to the Dizzy Institute, all the furniture is made of rubber. Like every, you know, anywhere you fall, it's you're boing. You're fine.
- [60:18]
Nathan Lane
I said, I told this to Tina. I ran into Tina Fey. I told her about the Disney Institute. She said, you don't want to go to that parking garage.
- [60:28]
Conan O'Brien
It's A very dangerous crash.
- [60:32]
Nathan Lane
Smash. Anyway, it's. Yeah, no, thankfully. Thankfully. I feel great. And it's. Yeah, I made a recovery, but it was. It's a weird thing. Yeah, yeah, it's. But it's been. It's. It's. You know, my. I have a dicey history with the multicam.
- [60:52]
Conan O'Brien
The first one, most people do.
- [60:54]
Nathan Lane
The first one was not my fault. Was Mickey Rooney's series called One of the Boys, Dana Carvey. And I did, I'm sure, yes. You've discussed this with him?
- [61:03]
Conan O'Brien
It comes up occasionally, sure.
- [61:05]
Nathan Lane
Yeah. I was the biggest star in the world.
- [61:08]
Conan O'Brien
1940. Yeah. Yeah.
- [61:10]
Nathan Lane
Bang, zoom. I heard it all. But that was 13 and out. And then I did an episode of Frasier, and I was nominated for an Emmy, and they said, you know, if you ever want to do this, we'd love to develop something for you. I said, okay. They had won the Emmy five years in a row. We did. Was not the right fit. Thirteen and out. Then I did a show with a writer for cbs, Jeff Richmond, an old friend, wonderful writer from Modern Family. He wrote a show, you know, did not work out. And you didn't really get much support from Les Moonves.
- [61:47]
Conan O'Brien
Right.
- [61:47]
Nathan Lane
Salt of the earth, Les Moonves. So, you know, I was like, it's just never gonna work out for me. That's fine. You know, I tried. You know, it's a miracle when those. When friends or those things come together that way. And this time, I have to say, working with. But these are the best of the best. Jimmy Burroughs is standing there with an eye for comedy that's, you know, it's incredible. And how they're putting this all together and the writers and the thing. And you're like, I can't believe this. And it feels like. And I love these people, and that's really important at this point in my life is that we're, as Marty says, it's about the hanging. You know, they're an example on, like, when I did Only Murders in the Building, they set the tone. Like, you feel good about going to work and having fun and doing good work.
- [62:41]
Conan O'Brien
Those are all people that the minute it starts to get unpleasant, they're all gonna walk. And you're in that category, too. There's no reason at this point for unpleasantness. I mean, that's why I adore doing this. It's not a volume business. We're not cranking out. I'm not talking to three people a night, five nights a week, 40 nights a year. This is people that I love, that I really want to talk to and have a real conversation with and get to know a little better. And if this started to turn into, oh, God, I don't want to know. You kind of have to, because they're moving. Okay, well, they're being real difficult. No, there's no reason anymore.
- [63:23]
Nathan Lane
Yeah, yeah. And you get in this format, you're getting something else. People are more relaxed. This is a real. Much more real conversation than, you know, when you're playing to an audience. Yes.
- [63:37]
Conan O'Brien
I want to wrap this up because I have to. And we've gone much longer than we normally do, which is always an indication that I'm having the time of my life. And I have one wish for you is that I. When I brought up a little while ago in the interview, are you able to own sort of what you've achieved? You said, well, I've been very lucky. And I. Da, da, da, da. And I say, yes, that's all true, and that's the great perspective to have. But you're also a crazily talented person who has integrity, and you're a very sensitive person, and you have made this happen, and I just want to leave that. That little nugget with you and hope that you can hang on to it and then go hate yourself five minutes from now.
- [64:22]
Nathan Lane
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Well, will you be my friend? No, no, no.
- [64:28]
Conan O'Brien
Just. Just. No, I don't see it. I really don't see an upside. I don't see an upside.
- [64:33]
Nathan Lane
You know, I know I thought I was pushing it, but, you know, I was just going by the title of the podcast.
- [64:39]
Conan O'Brien
No, it's a. It's a fucking gimmick. God bless you and thank you.
- [64:45]
Nathan Lane
Bless you. Thank you so much.
- [64:49]
Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien, Sonam of Session and Matt Gourley, produced by me, Matt Gourley, 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 and Brit Kahn. 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 up@siriusxm.com Conan and if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien needs a friend wherever fine podcasts are downloaded. This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax Taxes was getting frustrated by your forms. Now Taxes is uploading your forms with a snap, and a TurboTax expert will.
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Nathan Lane
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Conan O'Brien
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- [66:21]
Nathan Lane
Available with TurboTax Live full service.
- [66:23]
Conan O'Brien
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