Dinner’s On Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Guest: Justice Smith — On Surviving High School and Not Giving a Damn at 30

Date: December 2, 2025
Location: Destroyer, Culver City, CA

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jesse Tyler Ferguson shares a meal with acclaimed actor Justice Smith. Over inventive dishes at LA restaurant Destroyer, they dig into the confusion of your twenties, the confidence that comes at thirty, growing up in a family of artists, surviving bullying at a predominantly white arts high school, navigating queerness, and the joy (and awkwardness) of high school reunions. Justice reflects on his acting journey—spanning everything from Generation to Pokémon and his latest blockbuster, Now You See Me, Now You Don’t. The conversation is candid, funny, raw, and, at times, deeply moving.

Highlights & Key Discussion Points

Turning 30: Shifting Perspectives

• Celebrating Milestones
  • [05:23] Justice recently turned 30, and Jesse reflects on his upcoming 50th birthday.
• Perceptions of Age
  • Justice: “29, I felt really old. … 30, you're the youngest of the 30s. … All my friends who are in their 30s, I'm like, still a baby.” (05:44)
  • Describes how hitting 30 brings a newfound sense of not caring about impressing others, echoing his older sister’s advice: “Being 30 is like, you finally, like, don’t give a fuck anymore about, like, depressing people.” (07:36)
  • Jesse: “Figure out who you are in your 20s.” (08:00)

Family Background: Growing Up Surrounded by Art

• A Big, Unconventional Family

  • Justice is the middle child of nine siblings (four older, four younger), oldest is 45, youngest is 16. (08:05-08:23)
  • “My dad is a whore. My dad gets around.” (08:24)
  • Most siblings come from his father's side; only one full sibling.

• Artistic Roots

  • Parents supported the family through singing and performing in bars, lounges, karaoke shows, and competitions. (10:03-10:55)
  • “They always instilled in me this never give up on your dreams kind of mentality.” (11:09)

High School Years: Bullying and Finding His Place

• Transition to Performing Arts School

  • Grew up in Orange County, started in public school, transitioned to a charter performing arts school. (17:48-17:53)
  • School environment was predominantly white, with few Black students and a large LGBTQ+ community. (19:34)
  • “In the art scene … it was just a bunch of, like, girls and gay boys … I was just like, these are my kind of people.” (18:22)
  • Faced microaggressions and discrimination related to race even among otherwise socially liberal classmates: “They could only be so liberal, you know, they could only be so understanding.” (20:29)

• Navigating Sexuality and Bullying

  • Never had to hide being queer: “I didn’t really have to hide that.” (21:20)
  • “Most of my bullies growing up were girls. Girls can be really vicious.” (22:22)
  • Shares a particularly hurtful bullying incident:
    • An improv class exercise where classmates staged his “coming out party” before he had come out himself:
    • “She had made everybody act as if it's my coming out party before I even knew what my sexuality was … It was so fucked up. It was so mean.” (23:14)
    • Jesse: “That is really fucked up … That’s a bit traumatizing.” (23:47)
    • Justice reflects, “I spent most of my 20s unpacking the trauma of high school.” (25:39)

High School Reunion & Cathartic Reflections

• Returning as a Star

  • Justice attended his 10-year high school reunion “just to rub my success in everybody’s face.” (24:49)
  • Irony: “But then I went, and nobody who bullied me was there.” (24:56)
  • Jesse reassures: “They all know. They all know that you’ve done so much in 10 years.” (25:03)

• Lingering Effects of Bullying

  • Justice: “Some of the people who bullied me in high school, I don’t even think they really knew that they were bullying me because I had, like, a desperate need to be liked. So a lot of times when I was being bullied, I would act like it was funny and, like, it was okay.” (25:11)
  • Spent 20s “unpacking the trauma” and is only recently feeling he has healed. (25:39)

Career: Queerness, Code-Switching, and Acting Versatility

• Typecasting and Roles
  • Often played romantic leads opposite women in his 20s, despite being queer:
    • “To be a marginalized person is to study the dominant culture, you know? Like, I know what straightness looks like. I know how to perform straightness like most gay people do … It's like our level of code switching.” (28:56)
  • Jesse points out, “You were given the opportunity to do so many roles that did not bring your sexuality into the storyline at all.” (26:51)
  • Justice self-describes: “Technically bisexual—but I'll never date a woman again. Not because I’m not attracted to them, but because I don’t like the feeling of having to be ‘the man’ in the relationship.” (27:49)

Acting as Healing: Generation and Personal Growth

• On Generation (HBO Max) and Chester

  • Playing Chester was liberating: “I felt like I had unlocked a side of myself I didn’t even know I had … so unapologetically himself.” (33:42)
  • The show was set in Anaheim, the city where Justice grew up—it felt “healing” and aligned, bringing a sense of closure. (35:15-36:07)
  • “I often find that every project that I do has a weird parallel to what's going on in my real life.” (35:23)

• On Pokémon and ‘Signs’

  • Justice describes odd “cosmic” connections between his life and roles; for example, suggesting the Pokémon theme song in his first film, then years later starring in Detective Pikachu. (36:12)

Blockbuster Adventures: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t and More

• On Landing and Filming Big Franchises
  • Jesse praises the all-star cast; Justice says, “It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a film … nonstop fun.” (38:09)
  • The established cast was welcoming; Jesse Eisenberg immediately invited him for lunch in his trailer on day one—“They really don’t have to do that.” (38:09)
  • Magic training for a month, though ultimately, “I learned all these card tricks for, like, no reason.” (40:56)
  • The director insisted on practical magic effects, which Justice loved. (40:20)

On Press Junkets, Interview Repeats, and Favorite Music

• Inside Baseball on Press Tours

  • Jesse and Justice make fun of repetitive junket questions and share strategies for surviving them. (41:22)
  • Jesse: “What makes a modern family modern?” (41:32)
  • Justice: “I’ve had people ask a question that’s been asked before; they ask it, like, ‘I bet no one else [asked this].’” (42:01)

• Justice’s Hidden Talent—Songwriting

  • Jesse is a big fan of Justice’s single on Spotify: “You have a much better voice than I ever did or will.” (42:24)
  • Justice has been working on music for years; his released song was about an ex-girlfriend. (42:50)
  • They bond over Broadway; Justice reveals he used “I’m Not That Smart” (from Spelling Bee) for auditions, not realizing Jesse originated the role. (44:01)
  • “That’s you? … I would sing that song all the time.” (44:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Turning 30:
  “Being 30 is like, you finally, like, don’t give a fuck anymore about, like, depressing people.”
  —Justice Smith, 07:36

• On Identity & Bullying:
  “Some of the people who bullied me in high school, I don’t even think they really knew that they were bullying me because I had, like, a desperate need to be liked.”
  —Justice Smith, 25:11

• On Acting While Queer:
  “To be a marginalized person is to study the dominant culture, you know? Like, I know what straightness looks like. I know how to perform straightness like most gay people do … It's like our level of code switching.”
  —Justice Smith, 28:56

• On Playing Chester in Generation:
  “I felt like I had unlocked a side of myself I didn’t even know that I had … so unapologetically himself.”
  —Justice Smith, 33:42

• On High School Reunion:
  “I literally went just to rub my success in everybody’s face. But then … nobody who bullied me was there.”
  —Justice Smith, 24:49

• On Movie Magic:
  “We had magic lessons … I like learned all these card tricks and then … I wasn’t doing any card tricks in the movie.”
  —Justice Smith, 40:56

• On Finding Out Jesse Originated 'I’m Not That Smart':
  “That’s you? I would sing that song all the time … I prepared that song over and over to … build the courage to audition.”
  —Justice Smith, 44:01

Timestamped Topic Guide

• [05:23] The birthday conversation: Feeling young again at 30
• [07:36] Shifting priorities and caring less about others’ approval
• [08:05] Justice’s nine siblings and family dynamics
• [10:03] Artistic parents and growing up with music/performing
• [17:48] Early high school memories and shifting to an arts school
• [19:33] Navigating race and identity in a predominantly white space
• [21:20] Experience with coming out and school life as queer
• [23:14] Trauma of a “forced coming out” prank
• [24:49] Ten-year reunion: Revenge (and its absence)
• [26:51] Acting, queerness, and typecasting
• [28:56] Bisexuality and gender roles in relationships
• [33:42] Embracing vulnerability in Generation
• [36:12] Life imitating art (Pokémon connection)
• [38:09] Making Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
• [40:56] Learning magic for film
• [44:01] Broadway musical ties—‘I’m Not That Smart’ revelation

Closing

• Touching notes on food and sharing gratitude: “This was a lot of fun. And also, the food was great.” —Justice Smith (46:42)
• Jesse promises, “Dinner’s on me!” (46:45)

If you want to catch new episodes a week early (and ad-free), subscribe to Dinner’s On Me PLUS on Apple Podcasts, and join Jesse next week for a chat with Josh Hutcherson.