Fail Better with David Duchovny

Episode: The Many Lives of Peter Weller
Date: December 2, 2025
Host: David Duchovny
Guest: Peter Weller

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking and candid episode, David Duchovny sits down with the multitalented Peter Weller—best known for his acting (notably “Robocop”), his work as an art historian, professor, jazz musician, and writer. Anchored by the podcast’s theme—how failure, not success, truly shapes us—they explore creativity, self-knowledge, the courage to walk away, and the wisdom gathered from accepting one’s limits. The discussion crosses art, music, acting, spirituality, and parenting, weaving a rich conversation about identity, reinvention, and what it means to “fail better.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Inseparability of Art and the Artist

• Art as Manifestation:
  • Weller quotes, “You can’t separate the art from the artist. The art is a manifestation of the artist. So there’s no such thing as art. There’s the artist.” (02:04)
  • Discussion touches on authenticity and the personal imprint in creative work, yet notes that an artist doesn’t need to “be” their subject but must “understand it and dig it.”

2. The Writing Process: Impulse vs. Editing

• Zero Draft Mentality:

  • Weller shares advice from Jane Bolker’s book on writing dissertations (04:09), advocating for small daily writing bursts and embracing “zero drafts.”
  • Both discuss the magic in respecting creative impulses. Duchovny reflects:

    “Why would I disrespect my impulses so much to rewrite myself so much?” (06:07)

• Multiplicity of Selves:

  • Duchovny muses, “A book becomes all your different selves—all the times you sat down...It’s an aggregate…written by lots of different dudes.” (07:15-07:42)

3. Jazz, Acting, and the Meaning of Failure

• The Epiphany of Limits:

  • Weller candidly recounts realizing he would never become Miles Davis, despite his skill and training.

    “I was just too analytical for jazz...I couldn’t get out of the practice mode to invent.” (13:52)

  • Duchovny draws a parallel with his own academic ambitions—and accepting limitations with peace:

    “I realized I’m not going to be Harold Bloom...Maybe I could be a good teacher. That’s different. But I’m not going to blow the horn like that guy.” (21:57-22:00)

• Walking Away & Self-Knowledge:

  • Duchovny challenges “limitless” cultural messaging:

    “The culture today is going to say to you, ‘No, Peter, just break through…You are Miles.’ But you looked inside and said, ‘I’m not going to get to that ultimate place of creativity through this horn.’” (14:41)

• Finding Your True Medium:

  • The two agree on the liberating experience of discovering an expression mode uniquely their own—acting for Weller, writing for Duchovny:

    “There could be no comparison because there is only Peter Weller and there is only me. That’s your instrument. I’m sitting across from your instrument.” (23:21)

4. Acting as Creative Freedom

• Letting the “Bird Fly”:

  • Weller movingly describes being pushed “out of the cage” when working with Diane Keaton or Diane Wiest:

    “I gotta let the real Peter Weller go here. I gotta let this bird fly out of this cage, else I’m lost.” (25:34)

  • Duchovny echoes, recalling his own epiphany opposite Juliette Lewis:

    “She was so free and so… weird. And it wasn’t fake… Just like, oh my God, that’s what it is.” (28:00-28:49)

• Chemistry & Authenticity:

  • Weller: “When you see it, ladies and gentlemen… that was fantastic. And those two people have got great chemistry. Part of that…is that facility of letting the bird fly.” (29:01-29:24)

5. Learning and Craft—Lessons from Notable Teachers

• Uta Hagen and Kazan:
  • Weller details formative lessons from Uta Hagen’s “Respect for Acting”: The critical importance of physical life and action in performance.

    “Kazan would say, ‘If the stage directions say, write a suicide note, write the damn suicide note.’” (34:12-36:46)

  • Emphasis is placed on honesty, simplicity, and giving oneself permission to truly feel and act.

6. Process, Well-being, and the Ongoing Creative Struggle

• Staying Engaged on Set:

  • Weller shares his committed, almost meditative engagement with his work:

    “I sit on the set. I never leave…I have to pray and meditate every day…I have to make friends with that big bubble of worry.” (41:57-43:45)

• Navigating Anxiety and Self-Doubt:

  • “My mind will tell me this is not a good place…there’s a ball of worry I wake up to.” (43:09-43:47)

7. Addiction and Spirituality

• Grappling with Addiction:
  • Weller speaks openly about his journey:

    “If you survive it, and I have so far, it led me back to a spiritual path…there’s a whole lot to be grateful for here.” (45:39)

  • The discussion explores how drugs and hallucinogens briefly opened spiritual doors, but ultimately, “I’m glad I picked them up, I’m glad I put them down.” (46:13-48:08)

8. The Old (and Lost) New York

• On Authenticity vs. Performance:
  • Duchovny laments how NYC has become “performative…It’s giving me a New York experience…rather than…what New York actually is.” (48:26)
  • Weller recalls the city as a “vortex of the world” (50:09): its uniqueness, its challenges, and why it called to so many.

9. Parenting: The Best and the Worst

• Navigating Fatherhood:
  • Weller shares the joys and heartbreaks of raising a 14-year-old son:

    “Having a teenage boy as a father is like standing with your legs apart asking to be kicked in balls.” (52:23)

  • Both discuss the futility and compulsion to try to protect their kids from failure—knowing failure is what builds resilience:

    “I want to protect them from all this failure when I know that failure is the best thing that could ever happen to them.” (54:10)

10. Wisdom and Closure: Miles Davis and the Wren

• Duchovny brings up a favorite quote from Miles Davis:

  “There are no wrong notes… What seems a wrong note in the moment becomes the right note, depending on your reaction.” (57:08)

• Weller and Duchovny exchange a beautiful Chinese parable about the wren—reminding us that freedom often comes from being overlooked, undervalued, and humble.

  “Only the little wren, worthless and unlovely, is free.” (56:36, Chang Hua)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Artistic Identity:

• Peter Weller: “You can’t separate the art from the artist…No, it is Caravaggio’s life up there.” (02:07)

On Writing and Multiplicity:

• David Duchovny: “A book becomes all your different selves…this book is written by lots of different dudes.” (07:34-07:42)

On Recognizing Limits and Pivoting:

• Peter Weller: “I was just too analytical for jazz…I couldn’t get out of the practice mode to invent.” (13:52)

On Letting Go in Acting:

• Peter Weller: “I gotta let the real Peter Weller go here. I gotta let this bird fly out of this cage, else I’m lost.” (25:34)

On Process and Worry:

• Peter Weller: “I have to pray and meditate every day…my mind will tell me this is not a good place.” (43:09-43:45)

On Parenting and Worry:

• David Duchovny: “I want to protect them from all this failure when I know that failure is the best thing that could ever happen to them.” (54:10)

On Freedom:

• Chang Hua via Duchovny: “Only the little wren, worthless and unlovely, is free.” (56:36)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:02-04:09]: Art, artists & authenticity
• [04:09-07:15]: Approaches to writing and creative process
• [11:40-17:27]: Discovering personal limits, leaving music for acting
• [21:54-26:48]: Parallels between jazz, writing, and life; originality and influence
• [32:17-36:46]: Method acting, Uta Hagen, and Kazan’s lessons
• [41:56-43:47]: Work ethic, anxiety, and meditation
• [45:39-48:08]: Addiction, spirituality, and survival
• [48:26-50:57]: The changing soul of New York City
• [51:14-55:19]: Fatherhood, joys and pains of parenting
• [56:36-57:08]: Parable of the wren, Miles Davis and “no wrong notes”

Tone and Takeaways

Candid, intellectual yet grounded, flowing with humor, humility, and warmth, Duchovny and Weller’s conversation invites listeners to reconsider the culture of “never give up”—and to make peace with changing directions, letting go, and “playing your own instrument.” The freedom in failure and the courage to be yourself—these are the episode’s abiding lessons.

Listen if:
You’re fascinated by the creative process, wrestling with limits, love personal stories of artistic and intellectual reinvention, or seek comfort in stories of self-knowledge, recovery, and the perennial dance between worry, parenting, and acceptance.