Side Dish: More with Simon Helberg

Summary

Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Side Dish: More with Simon Helberg

Episode Date: June 11, 2026
Location: El Condor, Silver Lake, Los Angeles

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Overview

In this special “Side Dish” episode, Jesse Tyler Ferguson sits down with Simon Helberg for a candid, laughter-filled conversation. They reminisce about the casting process for The Big Bang Theory, openly discuss their experiences with anxiety, the challenges and rewards of balancing creative ambition with fatherhood, and the personal impact of live theater. With El Condor set to close, the conversation reflects a nostalgic, heartfelt, and irreverent energy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Casting Stories: The Big Bang Theory

• Faxing Sides & The Audition Grind
  • Simon and Jesse share memories of auditioning in the pre-digital era, with Simon joking about calling his fax a “sides machine.”

    “I used to call my fax machine a sides machine.” – Simon Helberg (03:00)

• Uncertainty & ‘Soft Landings’
  • Simon and Jesse recount the classic TV casting confusion: waiting for news, learning key developments through Nikki Fink’s Deadline column, and feeling the industry’s “amateur hour” side.

    “Behind the sort of curtain of all this glamour is just the most kind of amateur hour bullshit. It’s insane.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (04:43)

  • Simon points out how anticlimactic these victories feel, given the lack of communication and delayed notifications.

2. Managing Anxiety in Hollywood

• Perfectionism and Mental Health
  • The conversation turns vulnerable as Simon and Jesse discuss the anxiety that intertwines with creative work.

    “I have a recipe that works even though it requires a certain amount of like self-immolation and flagellation...but it gets me where I need to go.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (08:46)

  • Jesse describes the relief and self-acceptance that medications like Prozac can bring:

    “If I have to lose like 0.1% of some flair, but I gain like 50% of calmness in my life, I’ll take that.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (10:07)

  • They reflect on how showbiz, for all its apparent glamour, can deeply tax personal well-being, and why self-care is critical.

3. Self-Worth and Career Success

• Linking Accomplishments to Identity
  • Both speak honestly about the pressure to keep outdoing themselves and the danger of tying self-worth purely to external achievement.

    “My entire worth is so entangled in what I am able to do…If I’m not doing something at the highest level…I feel I have no meaning as a human being.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (10:46)

• The Complicated Nature of Complaining in Showbiz
  • The hosts discuss the contradiction of voicing creative struggles while enjoying visible success, and acknowledge the broader impact of these challenges for anyone in demanding careers.

    “It’s also something that’s hard to complain about because it is one of those jobs that is considered something that you, quote, unquote, sign up for.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (12:42)

4. Fatherhood and Creative Life

• The Grounding Impact of Children
  • Jesse and Simon reflect on how having kids shifted their perspectives on ambition and calm, even though the chaos of parenthood presents its own challenges.

    “As soon as I had kids, everything did just calm down...There was like a recalibrating.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (15:49)

• Balancing Theater Gigs and Family
  • Simon shares details about bringing his children along for theater runs, and the pain of distancing as they get older.
  • Both agree on the importance of modeling passion and perseverance for their kids—teaching them to see things through, even when work takes them away at times.

    “It’s very important for your kids to see that you’re following things that make you happy...But you also have to make decisions that are good for the family.” – Simon Helberg (20:10)

5. Live Theater—Adventure, Inspiration, and Discomfort

• Performing in the Park & Theater Stories
  • The episode is peppered with joyous and humbling stories of summer theater in New York, including sleeping on the street for tickets, doing challenging outdoor shows, and working with acting legends like Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.

    “I remember doing Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino...We would have to dunk our wrists into buckets of ice coming off stage.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (23:24)

• Learning from Icons
  • Simon recounts how Meryl Streep’s admission of insecurity during rehearsals made him feel comforted and less alone in creative anxiety.

    “Letting yourself be just a bad actor. I’m certain Meryl Streep in the rehearsal process has never been seen from the outside as a bad actor, but the fact that she feels that way is...freeing.” – Simon Helberg (27:55)

• The Risks—and Rewards—of Artistic Vulnerability
  • Simon describes bombing on stage in front of thousands and how peer support (or discomfort) can be both bonding and hilarious.

    “[Lupita Nyong’o] said one night, ‘You are so brave’...Because she was on stage with me, and I was just bombing in front of 2000 people every night.” – Simon Helberg (30:31)

  • Both agree that learning from greats and from failure is a key part of staying youthful and creative in performance.

6. Memorable Moments & Stories

• The Infamous Stoned Dinner
  • Jesse tells a hilarious story about accidentally getting high before a dinner at El Condor with Jim Parsons, feeling wildly paranoid, and having to confess to friends at the table.

    “I have to tell you, I’m wildly stoned right now. And they would not let me off the hook.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (33:58)

  • Simon joins in the laughter, noting that eating weed edibles before going out can be risky.

    “True paranoia is always a part of my existence.” – Jesse Tyler Ferguson (34:21)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the highs and lows of TV casting:

  “It’s always like behind the sort of curtain of all this glamour is just the most kind of amateur hour bullshit. It’s insane.”
  — Jesse Tyler Ferguson, (04:43)

• On self-imposed pressure and mental health:

  “If I have to lose like 0.1% of some flair, but I gain like 50% of calmness in my life, I will take that.”
  — Jesse Tyler Ferguson, (10:07)

• On acting, vulnerability, and learning from legends:

  “Letting yourself be just a bad actor...the fact that [Meryl Streep] feels that way is...freeing.”
  — Simon Helberg, (27:55)

• On parenthood and perspective:

  “As soon as I had kids, everything did just calm down...There was like a recalibrating.”
  — Jesse Tyler Ferguson, (15:49)

• On creative risk:

  “‘You are so brave’...Because she was on stage with me, and I was just bombing in front of 2000 people every night.”
  — Simon Helberg (30:31)

• On the accidental stoned dinner:

  “I have to tell you, I’m wildly stoned right now. And they would not let me off the hook.”
  — Jesse Tyler Ferguson (33:58)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:40 – Big Bang Theory casting process and industry confusion
• 08:34 – Open talk about anxiety, medication, therapy, and the need for calm
• 10:35 – Discussing the trap of conflating self-worth with career
• 14:25 – How fatherhood has recalibrated their lives and ambitions
• 18:01 – The difficulties and joys of pursuing theater as a parent
• 23:24 – Backstage challenges with Al Pacino in Shakespeare in the Park
• 27:47 – Meryl Streep's rehearsal insecurity; the universal actor’s fear
• 30:31 – Bombing on stage with Lupita Nyong'o and owning vulnerability
• 33:58 – Jesse’s infamous El Condor “stoned dinner” story

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Conclusion

This dinner-table conversation is by turns vulnerable, irreverent, and brave—a real look behind the curtain at the pressures, joys, and comedy of an actor’s life. Whether reliving the chaos of casting, confronting anxiety, navigating the work-family balance, or swapping theater war stories, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Simon Helberg remain grounded, honest, and very, very funny. The episode is a celebration of friendship, resilience, and the stories that only a meal together can spark.

Transcript

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Spring break planning at our house is it's definitely an adventure. Our kids have very strong opinions and they're always on different sides of the spectrum. Beckett has very strong opinions about the ocean. It has to be a certain temperature and the wind has to be blowing

[Simon Helberg]

a certain way if he's gonna get anywhere near it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

He doesn't want sand on his feet. Sully, on the other hand, he will roll around in the sand and doesn't

[Simon Helberg]

care about the water temperature.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And he, you know, he could be just sitting amongst seagulls and he's happy. Justin and I, we just want to air conditioning and wifi. Honestly, juggling all the details of a trip can be very stressful. And while I'm thinking about our plans, I also start thinking about our house while we're away. And it hits me. Maybe we could list our place on Airbnb while we're gone. It always sounds great, but I don't know if I can manage all the details myself. That's where Airbnb's co host network comes in. You can hire a vetted local co host to handle all the behind the scenes details, managing reservations, guest communications, and even providing on site. So hosting feels manageable even with everything else going on. So if you're traveling this spring, it might be the perfect time to list your space on Airbnb and maybe earn a little extra cash while you're gone to put toward that extra future travel someplace with air conditioning and Wi fi. If you're ready to host but could use a little extra help, find a co [e-mail] host you have one new

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[Jim Parsons]

You could say that again.

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[Jim Parsons]

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[Simon Helberg]

Wow.

[Jim Parsons]

I am clearing the rest of the day.

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[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Hey, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Here's a little side dish from this week's episode of Dinner's on Me. This week's guest with Simon Helberg, who

[Simon Helberg]

you probably know from the Big Bang

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Theory and the AMC dark comedy the Audacity. We met up at El Condor on Sunset Boulevard, the legendary Silver Lake spot that's been serving margaritas and enchiladas for over a decade now. With El Condor set to close its doors later this summer, it felt like the perfect time to settle on their Front patio and soak in the hip east side vibes. Now, to get back into the conversation, you're pulling up a chair as Simon explains his casting process for the Big Bang Theory.

[Jim Parsons]

I got, like, cocky. Not cocky, but I got. I got excited because Studio 60 was, like, coming together. And I think that I already had it, or I can't remember, but the original Big Bang came along, and it was Jim's. It was when they would, like, fax the sides, and I just remember the sides.

[Simon Helberg]

I used to call my fax machine a sides machine.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Because that's the only thing I would come in on.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah, exactly. And it came out.

[Simon Helberg]

My sides machine's running.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Got an audition.

[Jim Parsons]

This was post. Remember? You used to have to flatten them, though, did you, that this. This. We were in a little bit of a better time. We had flat paper, but this was. So the sides came through, and it was for Sheldon, and it was just three, four pages of dialogue. And I was like, oh, I. I'm not going to audition for this. Because I was already, like, I think I was already up for Studio 60. And it was like, tomorrow.

[Simon Helberg]

And it was.

[Jim Parsons]

It was this ma. It was Jim's model. He had it. He did it in the pilot. And it was like. I was like, I'm not. I can't do that by tomorrow. And I didn't go in. And Jim got it, which was the way it was always supposed to be. And then the next year, they redid it. They came around. They had this character. I said this a million times, but I was doing pseudo 60, and I was like, I don't want to do another failed pilot, another nerd, another character like this. And I'm happy. I'm on this Aaron Sorkin show. And I kind of shied away from it. And then I got sort of coaxed into, like, trying and going. And then I got it, and I. And of course, Studio 60. Just so you didn't know at that

[Simon Helberg]

time that Studio 60 was canceled, or was it?

[Jim Parsons]

No, they never. I don't know if they did this with you guys, but it was very classy. They would do this thing where they just were sort of like, we never told you what our plans are for next year, so have a great summer. It was like, that kind of thing. And, like, I remember going, like, an ambiguous end to the upfronts, and. Cause I knew that Big Bang got picked up, but they hadn't canceled Studio 60. I remember we waited. We had to wait to see the lineups or whatever to make sure But I wasn't a regular on. Anyway, all of this to say it's always like behind the sort of curtain of all this glamour is just the most kind of amateur hour bullshit. It's insane.

[Simon Helberg]

It's insane. I know.

[Jim Parsons]

It just couldn't get an answer from anybody. Even getting Big Bang was such a sort of soft landing. Like, I tested, and then I didn't hear anything. And a week went by, and then I had to call my agent. Like, did you ever hear. And it was sort of like, hold on one second. I'm on hold. She was like, oh, yeah, okay. Yeah. They said, yeah, it's, you know, it's yours.

[Simon Helberg]

What? No, that's not how you found out.

[Jim Parsons]

Hello?

[Simon Helberg]

That's not how you found out.

[Jim Parsons]

It really is. Cause you know how they give you, like, five business days to. Well, you don't, because you're only a success story. They're like, no, I've only been told in the room

[Simon Helberg]

when they do the poppers, like the streamers come down.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. They take you in the jet in the gym.

[Simon Helberg]

Didn't you go in the gym burrow? I did go in the gym burrow.

[Jim Parsons]

See, we didn't do that.

[Simon Helberg]

And then the sign come down saying, you're hired.

[Jim Parsons]

Right. Right. And then Les Moonvest comes out, puts away his baseball bat.

[Simon Helberg]

They bring you the big check.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah, exactly. No, it was. It was. So they give you like a. You know, you have to sign away your life before you go in there. You sign it as though you've gotten it, which is also very strange.

[Simon Helberg]

Very strange.

[Jim Parsons]

So you're like, okay. And I get this amount of these episodes produced. And then in the second season, we get this. We go to this rate, and we do. And you're like, looking seven years into your future. But they also tell you, we can let. We have five days to let you know, and we can test however many people we want. But I was the only one testing. But I think, again, I probably said this a thousand times, but I think, like, I left. It went great. But I think that then someone was like, no, we have to. Let's get somebody else. And so there was.

[Simon Helberg]

Let's see who else is out there.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. And so there was this, like, five days, and Kaylee got cast right away. She was at my test with Jim. Testing with Jim. I was like, oh, hi, Kaylee. I kind of knew her. And I said, jim, nice to meet you. You know, he didn't read with me. He read with her. She was testing against another woman the next day. I Looked on like Nikki Fink. Remember Nikki Fink?

[Simon Helberg]

Yes, Nikki Fink. Target all my news.

[Jim Parsons]

She was like the, the sleuth of it became deadline.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

But it was in the days of like, that's how cool. Exactly. That's how I found out Big Bang got picked up ultimately. And that's also how I found out that Kaylee got cast. And I was just kept checking Nikki Fink, like, did they cast my role? And, and so this week went by and, and then I got this sort of like lob, like a, I had to ask like, do you want to go out again? And they're like, oh, okay, yeah, sure. And so that sort of set the tone. For a minute there I was just confused. But you know, you never know what.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Anyway, now for a quick break but don't go away. When we come back, Simon opens up about how he managed his anxiety while working on the Big Bang theory and we discuss how we balance fatherhood in our careers. All right, be right back.

[Simon Helberg]

So good, so good, so good.

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[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And we're back with more dinners on me.

[Jim Parsons]

No, I, that was always my, my, my worry which is I think part of the like just the OCD brain and the sort of magical thinking of it all where you're like I have a magic, I have a sort of a recipe that works even though it requires a certain amount of like self immolation and flagellation like that, that I have to torture myself but it gets me where I need to go. And then, and I think that that's true for some people or it works until it's, it's just not sustainable anymore. And, and so yeah, so like, but I had the same thing, you know, and when I did take these certain drugs during like anti anxiety Anti. I don't remember even what they were. They were like, heavy, though. There may have even been like an antipsychotic. It dulled me. Bloated, nodding off like that. And I was like, oh, I can't do that. It took me a while to realize what was happening, but I was like, okay. So I went off that and I kind of was off and I found a great therapist and I kind of got things moving in a much. Just regulated. And then, and then like after the pandemic, I just kind of had another. I just sort of like went off to work and like lost my mind. And now I'm on Prozac. And it's, it's great.

[Simon Helberg]

It's great.

[Jim Parsons]

It's so great. Because doesn't. I just got to a place where I was like, you know what if this. First of all, you can always go off of it.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

And yeah. But I was like, if this, if I have to lose like 0.1% of some flair, but I gain like 50% of calmness in my life, like, I will take that because I don't want to act anymore. Because for me, it was actually acting was, it just became paralyzing. That was my anxiety. It was just about work. Just all about work was part of it.

[Simon Helberg]

Do you think being a part of something that was so successful for so long and the expectations to sort of take your career to another place from that, it's kind of like. I mean.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. I mean, yeah. But I also think it's just from a kind of a blueprint, a sort of misguided conflation of like, self worth and accomplishment and that my entire worth is so entangled in what I am able to do that I don't, I feel that I am not, I have no meaning as a human being if I am not. Yeah. If I'm not doing something at the highest level, I don't. And I'm not saying that that's not like a humble brag. It's like, it's a, it sort of like, was a curse.

[Simon Helberg]

Have you been that way in other parts of your life?

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. Yeah. So like. And again, it's sustainable until you either burn out or you're not the best, or you're not, or you don't feel good about what you're doing, or you, you get somewhere, but then like, how you gonna stay there? How you gonna.

[Simon Helberg]

Right.

[Jim Parsons]

So. And it's just not a great reason to create, you know, Like, I don't wanna. I, I, I like doing it because it's a fun way to express yourself and to sort of bring people into, like, the human condition. And it feels.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Exciting and cathartic. Not. I'm not. And then when it feels terrible, it's just so sad, you know, Like, I don't want to go work anymore.

[Simon Helberg]

Right.

[Jim Parsons]

It's gonna be so hard anyway. And I feel like it's also hard.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's hard.

[Simon Helberg]

It's a difficult thing to criticize and I guess complain about is the wrong word. But, like, I think that, you know, this industry. I mean, I know looking from the outside, many people think this industry is, like, the sort of blessed thing that, like, we get to do this thing and get paid. Yeah. Very handsomely to do it. But there is a lot that it costs certain people. I mean, not everyone has this experience, but, like, I have, you know, watched people struggle with what it takes from them to do this. And, like, some people leave the business, and some people, it's. It's such a deep passion of theirs. They want to stay in it, and they have to figure out how to do that and yet still take care of themselves. It's a very complicated thing. And it's also something that's hard to complain about because it is one of those jobs that is considered something that you, quote, unquote, sign up for.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. Right. And it's also kind of intrinsic in what the job calls for. So it's probably. I don't know what comes first, but, like, the people that go to. Who decide they want to perform probably are. Already have a certain disposition and are already kind of an open wound in some way.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Or are trying to repair something or trying to just also just deal in deep things. And not to say that other people don't have that, but you. You. If you are. If you are kind of of that nature, and then you're put into these situations where you have to recall it or do it over and over or you're on a big stage or it's just sort of. It's unusual. It's not like. So I don't really. I mean, I'm sure there are people who are very stressed out about, you know, my groomer is late and I have nothing to wear to the awards or whatever. And, like. And I look older and whatever. All of these things. That's fine. But I think also that there's, like, a pain that probably a lot of creative people have that everybody has, but creative people sort of, like, surf it a little bit, you know, I. Which is cool, noble, and hard. And I Don't know.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

I don't know.

[Simon Helberg]

Has. Has being a father.

[Jim Parsons]

No, it's done nothing for me.

[Simon Helberg]

Change.

[Jim Parsons]

I was going to say no effect.

[Simon Helberg]

I mean, it's got to, obviously, you know. Yeah. Ch. Change it for the better or worse or both or.

[Jim Parsons]

No. I think it's. Doesn't it just make you. Doesn't it just put things into perspective so often for you? Like.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

I mean, kind of just grounds you.

[Simon Helberg]

You also got to be a father during. Yeah. How old are your kids?

[Jim Parsons]

They're now 12 and 14.

[Simon Helberg]

Okay. Yeah. I mean, I always. I wonder what it would have been like to become a father while I was doing Modern Family. I think it would have. I mean, obviously, you know, Ty Burrell always is saying. He would always say, you're living the life I wish I could live because he had kids at the very beginning of Modern Family. And so the entire time he was doing the show, he was learning how to become a father. And, like, all these opportunities that I was taking, like, going off to Monaco to, like, accept the award on behalf of Modern Family at their film festival, like, I was the person that got to do that because I wasn't tied down with kids. And, like, he was just so jealous of what I was doing. But there is a piece of me that feels like it would have grounded me, at least in those last few years when things started to get really crazy in a really very helpful way. Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. No, you're right. I think as soon as I had kids, I, like, everything did just calm down. Believe it or not, in my mind. I mean, things get crazy because having kids is crazy. And. But everything made sense and everything. This sort of. There was like a recalibrating. So I. I felt. I mean, it just was incredible. And it. It just showed me. It's like I had to be a bigger person in certain moments.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, I share a hilarious story of a dinner I had at El Condor with Jim Parsons. Let's just say it didn' as planned.

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[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Be right back.

[Jim Parsons]

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[Jim Parsons]

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[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And we're back with more dinners on me.

[Jim Parsons]

Did you just get back from. You were. Were you. You were doing Truman Capote show, right?

[Simon Helberg]

How.

[Jim Parsons]

How did that go? I heard such good things.

[Simon Helberg]

It was exhausting. I mean, it was.

[Jim Parsons]

It was.

[Simon Helberg]

It's basically a one man show. It is a one man show. I had another actor with me, but she didn't have any lines. It was more of this, like, presence and smart.

[Jim Parsons]

Keep an actor nearby, but don't.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't let him speak. But. But yeah. I mean, I can't technically call it a one person show because Charlotte Danbaugh was with me, but she. I was like, charlotte, you're not holding your weight with lines.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah, yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

I mean, I'm really.

[Jim Parsons]

Look, you gotta let me call this A1.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm really proud of myself for doing it. I want to try and maybe do it here or in London or something.

[Jim Parsons]

It's incredible. I mean, it. It's. And you've been doing a lot of theater, like, recently, right?

[Simon Helberg]

No, I have more so, in fact, I need to stop.

[Jim Parsons]

Do you.

[Simon Helberg]

Justin's like, you need to. To be.

[Jim Parsons]

How does that work with, like, with your family?

[Simon Helberg]

With the family? That's a great question. It's hard. It's really, really hard. I mean, I've been lucky enough that the kids are young enough that I can bring them along with us for part of the time, but now that, you know, they're getting deeper into school and, like, Beckett's gonna be starting first grade next year, it's gonna be harder. It's like, I am.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

I think I have sort of. I've had a really lucky run of doing theater that I really care about the past, like, six years. And I think it's gonna have to start changing soon. I'm gonna have to, like, really start making decisions about what I can do. That takes me away from the family.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. Because it's.

[Simon Helberg]

That's.

[Jim Parsons]

That's.

[Simon Helberg]

What about you for Vancouver? I mean, is it.

[Jim Parsons]

I can go back and forth easily enough because it's two and a half hours, same time zone. I can come back on weekends, but, like, it feels like to do a play, especially if it's not in the same city.

[Simon Helberg]

Right.

[Jim Parsons]

You're just gone.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah, you are. I mean, you can't.

[Jim Parsons]

You can't go back and forth. And you.

[Simon Helberg]

You can, but it's. It's like, very limited and it's exhausting and it really does take a toll on. On you. I mean. Yeah, I was lucky enough that my show was. Was dark on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays. So I was able to come back for some. For some long breaks. But, you know, it was hard. My kids were. They'd be so excited when I'd come home and then I'd have to leave again. And I think there's something really important about instilling in my kids that we. It's important to do things that you're passionate about and see them through.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

I mean, I've had this conversation with other actors who spend time away from their children working, and I always ask for advice on, like, how do you cope with that? And I think this is for true with, like, not just people in the entertainment business, but a lot of people have jobs that take them away from their kids. I mean, my dad was in the naval reserves and was away a lot.

[Jim Parsons]

Like, wow.

[Simon Helberg]

You know, I mean, sometimes it's a necessity and they have to be away, and sometimes it's something that's just a passion.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

But, like, I think the advice that I got from actors was that it's just. It's very important for your kids to see that you're following things that make you happy. I mean, obviously you have to make decisions at a point where it's also decisions that are good for the family. But.

[Jim Parsons]

No, you're right.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's like seeing things through.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. Being a role. It's a big role. Modeling. Yeah, I. I totally. I totally agree. Especially when you're. If you're lucky enough to be in something creative and something where you can maybe pick and choose the jobs you are going to do. It's true that modeling, that responsibility is. Is important, but I think doing, like, I'd love to do theater in New York, but I just know that my kids have to. They have to be grown. I just can't.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

I couldn't go away for that amount of time. But like, doing. You did something in the park, right? This last.

[Simon Helberg]

I did, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Well, that's something you could do.

[Simon Helberg]

You could take your family to New

[Jim Parsons]

York for the summer. Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Do you want me to sign you up for the park next year?

[Jim Parsons]

Yes, sign me up. Is that all you have to do?

[Simon Helberg]

That's all you have to do.

[Jim Parsons]

I slept in the street to see the Seagull when Meryl.

[Simon Helberg]

With the. Meryl Streep.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. Kevin Klein, the Mike Nicholas one.

[Simon Helberg]

Wow. Yeah, I saw that production too.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah, I was. Well, we were. I was. Was like 1990. 19. 2001, I think it was.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah. 2000. Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah, that was.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah, it was a crazy cast. Marcia Gay Harden, Natalie Port. Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Hoffman.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah, it was crazy.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

When you worked with Meryl Streep and Florence Jenkins.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

What was the movie?

[Jim Parsons]

Lawrence Foster.

[Simon Helberg]

Florence Foster Jenkins.

[Jim Parsons]

Right. Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Which you were so great in, by the way.

[Jim Parsons]

Oh, thanks.

[Simon Helberg]

Did you tell her that?

[Jim Parsons]

I did tell her that, yes.

[Simon Helberg]

What was her response?

[Jim Parsons]

She was. She felt.

[Simon Helberg]

She didn't care.

[Jim Parsons]

She felt. It was like, I should have slept in the street tonight. No. Yeah. It was like this summer, too. Oh, my God.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

But. Yeah, that was. Yeah. I just remember she did a cartwheel when she did all the talk.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

All the theaters and Chekhov, they're going to riot.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah. It was so good.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. But, yeah. Oh, my God. All those actors. But, yeah, I mean, that's. It seems. It seems like that it would just be a great time. Do you enjoy that because you've done a bunch of stuff.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Is it. What's it like? Like, is it different than just doing theater?

[Simon Helberg]

It doesn't feel like regular theater because you're. It feels like summer camp.

[Jim Parsons]

Okay. Because of the.

[Simon Helberg]

Just the outdoors, just the outdoor element of it. And it's just. It's, you know, that you just don't have the comforts that any you have. Would normally have during any sort of theater. I mean, it could be so hot. They literally have, like, buckets of Gatorade offstage. I remember doing Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, and, like, we. They. They put us in these very hot, you know, period costumes, and we would have to dunk our wrists into buckets of ice coming off stage.

[Jim Parsons]

Because you regulate your body.

[Simon Helberg]

Yes.

[Jim Parsons]

Oh, my.

[Simon Helberg]

It was really intense.

[Jim Parsons]

How was that? So when was that?

[Simon Helberg]

What year that was?

[Jim Parsons]

Oh, gosh.

[Simon Helberg]

I was doing Modern Family. It was, like, after, like, the first season. Modern family, so it's 2010. Wow.

[Jim Parsons]

How was it working with him?

[Simon Helberg]

I mean, first of all, he's such a theater beast. Like, he loves being on stage. He. He's incredible. I mean, he was. He was incredible.

[Jim Parsons]

He.

[Simon Helberg]

He. He only rehearsed half the time getting really emotional.

[Jim Parsons]

You're becoming Pacino as you ate Pacino.

[Simon Helberg]

We were doing it in rep with Winter's Tale, and he was only in the Merchant of Venice, so he. We had to split up rehearsal time and then also time on stage in the park. Like, some nights he'd be off when I was.

[Jim Parsons]

And you did both.

[Simon Helberg]

And I did both. So he was really antsy because he wanted to, like, have a. Like a run and he would have to, like, you know, Al Pacino had to, like, sit in the wings waiting for his time stage. But he would get very antsy about time he didn't have in the rehearsal room. So he would just show up on days when he wasn't needed and, like, run lines in the other room.

[Jim Parsons]

Wow.

[Simon Helberg]

Like, that's the type of actor he was.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And is. I spoke about him like, he's no longer with us. No, no.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah. But speaking of, like. But of being, you know, you're talking about being inspired on Big Bang Theory and, like, kind of, like trying new things. So just like, just being.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Feeling free.

[Jim Parsons]

He's a very experimental.

[Simon Helberg]

He's a very experimental person.

[Jim Parsons]

Like.

[Simon Helberg]

So, again, this is like early Modern Family, but I was very inspired by him on stage and just how free he is and, like, how open to, you know, if you throw a different line to him, like, he's not. He till take you somewhere else. And his staging was never the same, like. And, like, not in a way that was, like, meant to fuck with anyone else, but he was just very free on stage and obviously very imaginative.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And I remember coming back to Modern Family and so just being wildly inspired by that summer. And, like, that's doing my first take of a scene and just like, I'm gonna fucking incorporate all this stuff I learned. And they were like, what are you doing? Why are you. Why are you talking? Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Do you remember what episode that was? Do you ever watch? Cause I feel like I have things like that, too.

[Simon Helberg]

I do. Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

That's really cool.

[Simon Helberg]

There's an episode I was very hungover for as well. It was after, like, the Oscar Vanity Fair party, and I basically rolled in, still smelling of tequila, and Julie Bowen was like, wow, you had a night. I was like, oh, yeah. And every time I see that episode, I can't describe the episode, but I do know if I see it, because I don't remember it.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

But I was like, I should. I should have been fired.

[Jim Parsons]

Well, it's. You were. You know, I mean, hungover is just means.

[Simon Helberg]

Right.

[Jim Parsons]

We're drinking.

[Simon Helberg]

I was continuing it.

[Jim Parsons]

That's so funny. Yeah. Because I have episodes. Like, I had the same exact kind of experience when I went to make the movie with Meryl, where I came back, and I was like, well, life is different now. Like, I was in London, you know, and it. And I just remember the same thing. Like, this of, like, I. I've got a different approach to all this. And it's like, which. That. That's kind of. That's like, magical.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

I mean, because that's the thing that used to happen when we were young. You know, like when you're a kid and you're. You're just learning something, and it always feels like. I think I figured out, and that does go away. But when you work with people like that, it feels like it never went away for them. And it's. It's just so great to steal from them and to be like, so you. So this is how you do it. Like, it's incredible. And it's. It's not even something that can always be articulated. It's just.

[Simon Helberg]

I remember Meryl talking about. I said meryl, like, we're friends. I mean, there's only one Meryl Streep. Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

Merrill Lynch.

[Simon Helberg]

Merrill Lynch. Sorry, just to clarify, I'm talking about Merrill Lynch. No, but I remember watching Meryl Streep talk about acting specifically on stage and really just sort of in any rehearsal process and talking about how painful the rehearsal process is and how you just feel like the worst actor because you don't know what the fuck you're doing.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And listening to her say, that was so.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Freeing. I was like, oh, my God, Meryl Streep feels that way. Like, that's how I feel. Like, I feel like, what am I doing? This is terrible.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And, like, letting yourself be just a bad actor. And I'm like, I'm certain Meryl Streep in the rehearsal process has never been seen from the outside viewer a bad actor.

[Jim Parsons]

Right.

[Simon Helberg]

But the fact that she feels that way is.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah, exactly. It's. I feel like that's. You want. That's. That's all I want is to work with people who feel, like, a little bit scared.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

I guess you just don't want it to be over empowering. Where it, like, shuts you down or shuts your experience down. But that. That sort of exhilaration of, like, yeah, trying something is pretty incredible.

[Simon Helberg]

I just did Twelfth Night last summer in the park, and Lupita Nyong' o played Viola, and she was great.

[Jim Parsons]

Oh, yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And there was this one piece. We cut the play down from, like, it's normally like a two and a half hour play. We cut it to 90 minutes. So there was a lot of material we had to take out. And there was this. There was this scene. We probably needed a little bit more connective tissue, but if we put too much in, it was gonna need a lot more. And it's like we just kept taking stuff away, but we still needed this beat to happen. And it was a beat involving me where I was meant to be wooing Olivia.

[Jim Parsons]

Oh, yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And I didn't know how to do it with no dialogue. All the dialogue had been taken out. And it was also done in a very contemporary style. So I was. My character was on a cell phone a lot, and I was doing duolingo and, like, doing. Taking selfies and, like, being, like, a douchebag, like, influencer. Anyway, I ended up.

[Jim Parsons]

You were playing what's his name?

[Simon Helberg]

Aguchik.

[Jim Parsons]

Yes.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah. I ended up trying to fix this moment of, like, wooing Olivia and, like, basically cock blocking Lupita's character, who is disguised as man by, like, bringing on this, like, really tacky

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

teddy bear with

[Simon Helberg]

a mylar balloon that said I love you. And Olivia's name spelled, like, phonetically, like, wrong. And, like, it was just this moment. And I tried so many different things. At one point, I was, like, rapping because Lupita had had this moment of, like, rapping her love letter. And I was like, what if I come in trying to do that? So I was just trying all these things in front of an audience. Wow. And they were all bombing, so bombing in front of 2000 people every night was, like, crazy. And Lupita was getting so nervous for me. Like, she. She was like, I'm. I'm very. I'm. I'm uncomfortable, like. And I was like, don't. For me. She was like. Because she was on stage with me flattering, or she did say one night. She was like, you are so brave. And I was like, is that.

[Jim Parsons]

You don't want to hear that?

[Simon Helberg]

Because she's like, I just wouldn't do it. I wouldn't. I wouldn't try that choice.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

I would go, like. I would just, like, try and get off stage as fast as possible. It's like, well, that might be what

[Jim Parsons]

I ended up doing.

[Simon Helberg]

And I ended up. We had to, like, finally, like, settle on something that was, like, fine, but it wasn't great.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

But every night, Lupita behind me, I could just feel her dying for me when I was, like, when it would be sort of like a muted response.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And then I started getting enjoyment out of her discomfort.

[Jim Parsons]

Right. That's.

[Simon Helberg]

So I would always turn to leave and, like, look her in the eye and she would get pleasure out of me, like, clocking her discomfort as long

[Jim Parsons]

as two people were enjoying it.

[Simon Helberg]

Exactly. So, yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

That's really funny. Yeah. Yeah. That seems like a very good time to do.

[Simon Helberg]

It was a lot of fun to

[Jim Parsons]

do stuff in the Park. Oh, this has been so great, too. I'm so happy to. This is such a great setup you have. I know. It's a good gig.

[Simon Helberg]

I'm happy you came to me and to. To Los Feliz, our old. Our old hood.

[Jim Parsons]

It's. It's good to be.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, and I was telling you before.

[Simon Helberg]

Before we started this at this place, El Condor, it's. They're closing in August.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. That's very sad.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

August 31st.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah. I mean, that's. That's kind of the bummer about this is because a lot of people I meet who listen to this podcast, like, oh, I try a lot of these restaurants that. That you've gone to, so I guess until August, June, and they'll be around for, like, another months.

[Jim Parsons]

But I hope everybody I know swarms it.

[Simon Helberg]

I know. It's such a special place. It truly is, like, one of my favorite restaurants.

[Jim Parsons]

It is.

[Simon Helberg]

You know, I had a crazy meal with Jim Parsons here.

[Jim Parsons]

Really?

[Simon Helberg]

Where I had accidentally gotten stoned before.

[Jim Parsons]

Accidentally.

[Simon Helberg]

Accidentally got stoned before. We. I. I had these. These plans with Jim and Todd, because Jim and Todd lived right down the street from me. And so we'd had these plans on the books for, like, two weeks to have dinner together. And we were going to come here, and I had a friend staying with me, and she gave me a little bit of a brownie. I ingested some weed, and she's like, it's very mellow. And I was like, okay, great. But she's like, a very experienced weed consumer, and I'm just not.

[Jim Parsons]

And eating it is.

[Simon Helberg]

And eating.

[Jim Parsons]

It's a whole other thing.

[Simon Helberg]

I had some around. I'm gonna say 11am and I was out for the day. Like, I had to. I had to lie flat. Yeah, I slept hard for, like, probably like 4pm and then I think right before I took the. The. The. The weed, Jim texted me saying, are we still on for tonight? I said, yes. And then I ingested weed and then was out. And Justin was, like, waking me up. He's like, we have this dinner with Todd. He's like, should we cancel? I was like, no. I literally confirmed with him just a few hours ago. Like, I can't bail on him now. Yeah, I was like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. So, like, I was drinking coffee and, like, really trying to, like, wake up, but I was stoned out of my mind. And we go. And he's like, do you want us to pick you up? And I was like, yes, because I can't drive.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

Like, and Jess was like, I want to have a drink. So he was like, yeah. And Jim wasn't drinking at that time.

[Jim Parsons]

Yes.

[Simon Helberg]

And so they pick us up. And I was like, I'm just gonna, like, I'm just gonna roll this. I'm gonna, I'm gonna roll through this. I'm not gonna, like, I'm gonna be fine. I'm like, really? Just focus. And we get in here and we sit in the back. And I was like, I can't do this. Like, did you tell them? I have to tell you, I'm wildly stoned right now.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

And they would not let me off the hook. They was like, you know, like, have you ever been to stone? It's like, it's like you get really paranoid. They knew that that's where I was. They were, they were with me.

[Jim Parsons]

Oh, yeah.

[Simon Helberg]

I would say something, they'd be like, why are you yelling? Yeah, Like, I would like.

[Jim Parsons]

No, that's. Yeah. I'm a lightweight. I'm a real lightweight.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

True paranoia is it's always a part of my existence.

[Simon Helberg]

But.

[Jim Parsons]

Yeah. That you got to be careful eating that.

[Simon Helberg]

Yeah.

[Jim Parsons]

And then going out. Well, I thought that's. It could have been a really a great TMZ moment.

[Simon Helberg]

I know, right?

[Jim Parsons]

Gone awry.

[Simon Helberg]

My God.

[Jim Parsons]

Well, yes. Everyone should come here and eat sober or high. It works just the same.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That was a little more from my conversation with Simon Helberg. If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check it out on Dinners On Me. This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at El Condor in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Next week on Dinners on Me. You know her from her Emmy award winning performance in the Handmaid's Tale and HBO's the Leftovers. It's Ann Dowd. We get into her new Hulu series,

[Simon Helberg]

the Testament where she reprises the role

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

of Aunt Lydia and will reflect on her decades long career as one of Hollywood's most brilliant character actors. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Behr engineered this episode. Hans Dale. She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tameka Balance Kolasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.

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[Simon Helberg]

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