BILLY CRUDUP Drove to Texarkana In A Cadillac

Summary

---

Episode Overview

Podcast: Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers
Episode: "BILLY CRUDUP Drove to Texarkana In A Cadillac"
Date: December 2, 2025
Hosts: Seth Meyers, Josh Meyers
Guest: Billy Crudup

In this deeply nostalgic and hilarious episode, Seth and Josh welcome actor Billy Crudup for a lively conversation about unconventional family road trips, growing up with a larger-than-life, scheming father, the roots of his acting career, and the delicate art of family vacationing. The episode oscillates between heartfelt recollections and riotous anecdotes, painting a unique portrait of the Crudup family and the universal chaos of traveling with children and siblings.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meyers Family Thanksgiving Recap

• Pittsburgh Family Adventure (02:18-11:10)
  • Seth and Josh recount a recent generational family trip with their parents and Josh’s kids: “It was one of the most special weekends I've ever had...and I'm so tired.” (Josh, 02:27)
  • Pittsburgh highlights included lunch at Mount Washington, a zoo visit, and attending a Steelers game—a rare family win, punctuated by the stadium tradition of playing “Renegade.”
  • Emotional moment: Dad teaching grandson Axel to wave the “terrible towel.”

    “Dad looked back and mom was like. You could see tears in your father's eyes.” (Seth, 04:55)

  • Humorous chaos: Kids’ endless sports questions (“Who has the ball?”), foosball table hijinks, and farm visits that upstage city sights.

2. Introducing Billy Crudup & Shared Neighborhood Lore

• Apartment Connections & Birth Stories (13:07-15:20)

  • Billy and Josh’s families have lived in the same New York apartment building; Josh’s son Axel was famously born in its lobby.
  • Billy’s wife (Naomi Watts) filmed a movie (with a giant dog) outside the building, much to the kids’ delight.

• Crudup on Talk Shows: The Dad Story Origins (15:32-17:20)

  • Billy reflects on a viral late-night story about his dad's dubious past:

    “My dad should have been incarcerated for a number of different reasons. I don't know what the statute of limitations is.” (Billy, 15:55)

3. The Crudup Family Road Trips: Hobo Tours in a Cadillac

• Unplanned “Vacations” to Texarkana (16:55-19:48)

  • Dad would impulsively load the boys into the car for mysterious trips, often ending at Holiday Inns, with little to no forethought or involvement from their mom.
  • Brothers sat in back with a cooler, handing their dad Miller High Lifes as they drove.

• Dad’s Cons and Motel Antics (17:59-19:48)

  • When lacking reservations, Billy's dad would charm or con hotel staff with intricate stories and nicknames (Quattro, Disco, Brooks).

    “Tom Crude up here. I got a reservation. Got me my three boys...Call him Quattro...Disco. Do a little dance for him.” (Billy, 17:59)

  • Reflections on being performers or “puppy dog eyes" in dad's schemes, and the hazy sense of adventure and impending chaos.

4. Nicknames, Dances, and Family Lore

• Family Nicknames & Game Show Memories (21:02-22:33)
  • Billy’s childhood nickname: “Disco” (for his dancing), brother “Quattro”—but now feels outdated.

    “No, definitely not. Especially the way that I dance at 57 is not disco.” (Billy, 21:18)

  • Seth’s family: “Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine” and “Charleston.”
• Game Show Nostalgia:
  • Affection for The Gong Show and obscure vintage game show characters, blending their childhood pop culture with present laughs.

5. Growing up Crudup: Showbiz by Necessity

• Family Career Trajectories (26:55-29:22)
  • All three Crudup brothers ended up in showbiz, which Billy attributes to “adaptivity” born from a “peripatetic” upbringing and necessity.

  • “We know nothing else than show business...Part of having that kind of peripatetic life...is there's an adaptability that comes with it that ends up working really to your benefit in show business.” (Billy, 28:24)

• Finding Stability in The Morning Show (30:36-35:49)
  • Billy describes how rare and valued his steady gig on Apple TV’s The Morning Show feels, especially after years as a “three month jobber.”

    “But having had some time in the business, having a secure job with the morning show has been phenomenal...” (Billy, 34:21)

  • Bonds formed on set during the COVID “hazmat” era.

6. Crudup Family History: Textile Mills, Mobs, and Bookies

• Mob Ties & Booking Schemes (35:57-39:12)
  • Early childhood on Long Island; dad’s brushes with mobsters in the garment district, and betting/bookmaking schemes.
  • Dad’s failed “Coffee Elite” additive business—“a front for his booking operation.”

    On Coffee Elite business: “It was a coffee additive that he would sell to, like, big institutions like prisons...a front for his booking operation.” (Billy, 38:05)

• Breakdancing Sidetrack (40:00-41:17)
  • Billy’s brief stint in a breakdancing crew with his brother in Florida (“we did once...”)

7. Maternal Stability: Theater, Culture, and “Safe” Vacations

• Mom’s Influence & Love of Theater (41:23-44:09)
  • Mom preferred structured, “safe” trips (Disney World, visits to grandma) and introduced the boys to theater, including the original production of Waiting for Godot.

    “She has seen 99% of the shows that I've done, whether it was in high school, college, graduate school, or after.” (Billy, 43:32)

• Favorite Roles, Maternal Preferences (44:24-45:16)
  • Billy shares his mom’s favorite of his performances: classic romantic leads like “Arcadia,” less so the “drooling, PTSD” roles.

8. Relationship with Dad & Showbiz Ambitions

• Breaking the News on Acting (50:36-54:09)
  • Billy’s dad was cool to the acting idea until the paychecks came; grandfather was supportive and a steady male presence.

    “So my dad was pretty dubious of all of it until I started getting paychecks. And then it was like, wow. Yeah. I mean, this acting thing.” (Billy, 53:02)

• Dad’s Schemes: The Brocabella (54:14-56:12)
  • Anecdotes about failed inventions (e.g., Brocabella, an umbrella hat endorsed by Lou Brock), side-of-the-road seafood sales, and hustling Farrah Fawcett posters.

    “His idea was to get Lou Brock to endorse it...Turns out there was a very limited market for the Brocabella.” (Billy, 54:40)

9. Family Beach Trips & “Forced Nap” Memories

• North Carolina Beach Timeshares (62:44-64:42)
  • Extended family vacations at Atlantic Beach—screened porches, surf fishing, “romantic” forced midday naps (which Billy later realized were for adults to recover from all-night parties).

    “There was something beautiful about it because we were in these kind of tiny rooms...Peaceful. Before the party started.” (Billy, 64:17)

10. Sibling Mayhem & Respect for Mom

• Acknowledging Chaos (66:25-68:53)
  • The Crudup brothers were “a train wreck”: home alone, constantly fighting, mom working hard with little support.

    “Oh, my God. Oh, we were a train wreck.” (Billy, 66:38)

  • Billy’s deep gratitude now as a parent:

    “When my son was younger and my mom would come over...I’m so sorry. Everything we did. Tommy doesn’t know yet. Brooks doesn’t know yet. I know now. And I’m so, so, so very, so sorry.” (Billy, 68:25)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dad’s Road Trip Schemes:

  "On the occasion that he would time it poorly and it would be a holiday weekend and all of the motels were full...he’d say, 'Hey, y’all, just keep it quiet. Just listen. Follow my lead.' ...We end up here, and the reservation is not confirmed. I got the three boys here again. Quattro, Disco, and Brooks down there. Disco. Do a little dance for him.”
  — Billy Crudup (17:59)

• On Parental Tears at the Steelers Game:

  "You could see tears in your father’s eyes. Cuz he, you know, he grew up going to those games with his dad. And now...with his grandkids. The through line runs deep.”
  — Seth Meyers (04:55)

• On Showbiz Survival:

  “Part of having that kind of peripatetic life...is there’s an adaptability that comes with it that ends up working really to your benefit in show business.”
  — Billy Crudup (28:24)

• On Gradually Earning Dad’s Approval:

  “So my dad was pretty dubious of all of it until I started getting paychecks. And then it was like, wow. Yeah. I mean, this acting thing.” — Billy Crudup (53:02)

• On Sibling Chaos:

  “Oh, we were a train wreck. I broke my thumb on my brother's head because I was trying to hit him...my mom, she had to hold down jobs. We were latchkey kids...but essentially it was just me and my brothers fighting, you know, and so she'd come back to a train wreck each and every day.”
  — Billy Crudup (66:38)

• Final Rapid Fire Questions:

  • Ideal Vacation: “Relaxing.” (Billy, 71:13)
  • Favorite Transportation: “The subway.” (Billy, 71:17)
  • Best City Pitch: “Best fucking city on the planet.” (Billy, 72:23)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:18 – Thanksgiving Recap, Steelers Game Emotions
• 13:07 – Billy Joins: Neighborhood Crossovers, Axel’s Lobby Birth
• 15:32 – The Infamous Dad Story & Unsuspecting Family Trips
• 17:59 – Dad’s Hotel Con Artist Routine (& Nicknames)
• 21:02 – Nickname Origins, 70s/80s Childhood TV
• 26:55 – All Siblings in Showbiz: Adaptability from Upbringing
• 34:21 – The Morning Show: Stability and COVID Bonding
• 35:57 – Family Geography: From Long Island to North Carolina via Mobsters & Bookies
• 40:00 – Brief Breakdancing Crew Days
• 41:23 – Maternal “Safe” Vacations and Love of Theater
• 50:36 – Dad’s Reluctant Showbiz Approval
• 54:14 – Brocabella & Side Hustles
• 62:44 – Atlantic Beach Memories and “Forced Naps”
• 66:25 – Chaos with Three Boys; Respect for Mom
• 71:04 – Speed Round Finale

---

Episode Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is classic Meyers Brothers: loose, affectionate, self-deprecating, and full of sharp sibling banter. Billy Crudup matches their energy with vivid, wry, and frequently surreal family stories—never shying from the messier moments, but always returning to laughter, resilience, and appreciation for family bonds, no matter how odd or unconventional.

---

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This is a must-listen for fans of Billy Crudup, anyone who’s survived a weird family road trip, or those interested in the fine art of parenting and growing up under less-than-ordinary circumstances. You’ll laugh, you might choke up, and you’ll come away with a new appreciation for the creative chaos that forms a family’s deepest stories.

---

Transcript

[Josh]

Support comes from Airbnb. Hey, posh.

[Seth]

Hey, Sufi.

[Josh]

You got the holidays coming up. Mom and dad are coming to stay with you. Are you bummed out that they're gonna both be on your couch?

[Seth]

Well, they're not gonna be on my couch. We've got two bedrooms here, and my mother in law will be staying in the second bedroom. But then the issue of. Yeah, where to put our mom and dad came up. And Airbnb, take em to the curb. Did you say Airbnb is the perfect solution because it is the holidays?

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

There is something being in a home that feels righter than being in a hotel. At least from my way of thinking.

[Josh]

More right, Maybe to my way of thinking, I would say more right. But that's okay.

[Seth]

Well, sometimes we just say things in a way and it sort of adds a little personality. But I guess you can.

[Josh]

Like your personality is like. You're bad at grammar. Yeah, keep going.

[Seth]

So mom and dad, we found a lovely little apartment nearby, and they will be staying there. And it's a short walk from where we live, so I'll be able to wake up, make some coffee, put Woody on his leash and walk over there and sit with them, have a cup of coffee, and then they'll come over to our house.

[Josh]

Can you see them coming? Like, if you will, you see them walking down the street and then will you have time to, you know, hide?

[Seth]

No, they're coming and it's the holidays. Our doors are open to them.

[Josh]

But that's lovely.

[Seth]

Our bedroom is not. So we found them an alternative which is just perfect. They've actually stayed at this apartment in the past, and they're very happy to be coming back.

[Josh]

It's great. Well, I'm very happy that Airbnb is providing homes to allow our families to be close while not being so close that we're under the same roof. Your home could be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] a host. Hey, buddy.

[Seth]

Hey, SUV.

[Josh]

How are you?

[Seth]

I'm good.

[Josh]

So just timeline wise, you will have already listened to our Thanksgiving episode. Yes, if you're a listener.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And so right now, we're gonna tell you a little bit about what happened after we recorded that episode.

[Seth]

Yeah. We had really an epic weekend in Pittsburgh with Mom and dad and your two boys.

[Josh]

It was a real. The generations met. It was. It was generational. It was. It was deeply important to me. It was one of the most special weekends I've ever had. It was so exhausting. I'm still so Tired. I'm so tired. Like to have your kids and your parents and want it to all go perfect requires so much energy and. Yeah, I'm so happy it went well and I'll remember it forever. And I'm so tired.

[Seth]

Well, also something that makes you tired is that you're middle child, your youngest son, Axel, Woke up at 4:30.

[Josh]

4:30, first night he wanted me to sleep in bed with him and he woke me up at 4:30 and, and then I, you know, we had this like story box. I'm like, listen to that. He's like, okay, but I don't want to, I don't, I won't wear my headphones. And that was very unkind. Oh, but then also. Yeah, and we talk about this a little bit. There was also a foosball table in the basement. You know, of, of the, the home we had rented through Airbnb was a wonderful home. And the foosball table in the end was a real positive. But in that moment, I wish it wasn't there.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah. I mean we did a lot of great, you know, Pittsburgh things. We had a great lunch up in Mount Washington overlooking the city. We went to the zoo that we went to, you know, as little boys when we were, you know, certainly the same ages as your boys. And it all culminated, of course, with a Steeler game which we have kind of been, you know, drawn blanks the last few years. We've, we've been to see some losses.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And we saw a win and a relatively comfortable win by the end, which.

[Josh]

By the end it was comfortable and, and it wasn't, it wasn't nail biting. And there's this tradition at Steelers games. We're late in the game to charge up the defense in the crowd. They play Renegade by sticks, which is a slow starter, and then turns into a full banger and everybody goes crazy. And by the time they played Renegade, the game was well in hand.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And I can't remember the last time we were at a game where that was the case.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And dad and Axel were waving. Their dad was basically teaching Axel how to do Renegade with terrible towels. And you took a video of it from behind. And I've maybe watched it 50 times and I think I cry a little every time I.

[Seth]

Dad looked, mom and I were sitting in the row behind you, Ash, Axel. And dad. And dad looked back and mom was like. You could see tears in your father's eyes. Like.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Cuz he, you know, he grew up going to those games with his dad. And now you Know, then he took. Went with us and now to go with his grandkids. It's really the through line is. Runs deep.

[Josh]

It was fantastic. I our friend Kevin Cohen, who's a Steeler fan, I wrote him, I'm like, is this a, a normal adult reaction that I'm choking back tears during Renegade? And he's like, you're a lunatic. And then I sent him the video and he wrote back goosebumps. The only downside is that before every play of the game, Axel would say to me, who has the ball? Yeah, before every play. So he wasn't.

[Seth]

No.

[Josh]

Again, they'd never seen a football game from start to finish. So this was. And, and I will say, like, I think they energy level very impressive. Yeah.

[Seth]

Oh, absolutely.

[Josh]

But it was very like that thing of like you. Then again, nothing's worse than that moment where you realize that by introducing your K to sports, you have to talk about sports more than you wanted to.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Cuz they got lots of questions and questions like, who has the ball?

[Josh]

Who has the ball? And then I feel like every time we got in the car, Ash was like, who is stronger, sh. Otani or Aaron Judge? And at some point in the weekend I just said, I don't, I can't talk about this anymore. And it's really funny when you just say to your kids, like, I don't care.

[Seth]

Right.

[Josh]

It doesn't matter. I don't care.

[Seth]

Yeah, Well, I mean, I feel like you just need to put a marker down and be like, Aaron Judge. Yeah.

[Josh]

But then they just trust me, that's the most. Tell me you don't have kids without saying, I don't have kids. Like, just put the marker down. That will put an end to it. Good man. Put the marker down. The other really funny thing is, you know, we did all these Pittsburgh things and then we have cousins, the McChesney cousins. They're out in Mars, Pennsylvania, which is only about like 30, 40 minutes outside of the city. But they, they, they're on a farm.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And so we drove out there and you know, because ultimately like, well, you know, what dinner are you going to get in Pittsburgh? That's better than seeing family.

[Billy Crudup]

Right?

[Josh]

And we just went out there, they ordered pizza from a local place and I feel like the kids got to like drive an excavator and start a bonfire and it was so funny. They were like, oh my God, that's the. That was the best part of Pittsburgh. Yeah. Like, it's just a farm, bro. But they loved it so much.

[Seth]

Yeah. Well, They, I mean, they like getting out of New York City.

[Josh]

They do.

[Seth]

And if you go to Pittsburgh and you're in the city, it's still, you know, it's a city. It's. You know, we were. We were staying in a great neighborhood. Yeah. We were staying in Shadyside, which is great for walking around little shops, little restaurants so much that you didn't have to drive to, but still a city. And I think those boys just like, they like their open spaces.

[Josh]

They like their open space. It is very funny to remember. They're also, of course, Alexi's kids. You know, that's when they're like, oh, man, pet a rooster. The other most. The funniest, like they're Alexi's kids is we went to a really great store called Steel City where we always stop in to buy gear. And it's not licensed gear, so it's like Steelers, you know, Pittsburgh colors are black and gold. So it's a lot of really cool black and gold stuff. And I really like it.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. And.

[Josh]

And we went in there and I put on like a. I guess you'd call it like a satin jacket. It looks like an old sort of 70s pirates, like, warm up baseball jacket. And I put it on, and I will say I was feeling a little bit. And then I was almost about to get it, and I said to Asha, what do you think about this? He goes, I don't like it and mom's not gonna like it.

[Seth]

You. Someone at some point gave you a sort of shiny black jacket.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And Alexi promptly gave it to me. She was like, seth isn't gonna wear this. And I. And I wear it and it's. I love it. So. Yeah, okay.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Well, I mean, I like that she knows who can pull stuff off.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And it's often not me. The speaking of family trips, the other. The one harrowing part of this incredible weekend was having to wake the kids up. We couldn't get from the stadium to the airport in time to get home Sunday night. And we had a great dinner afterwards, so it was great. I'm glad we stayed. But then I had to wake the boys up because they had school on Monday. I had to wake them up five in the. And with that said, based on how often Axel wakes me up, I did have a perverse joy and shaking him awake at 5 and being like, it's time to go. And he was like, I'm like, yeah, it's time to go, though. I'm like, oh, no, it's time to go. Yeah, But. But we got him home and we got him to school and only an hour late. So that was pretty good.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

It was also the other great moment with the boys was there was a Steelers returned an interception for a touchdown. And it was like an 80 yard run.

[Seth]

Yo. It was amazing. And I will say when, you know, as soon as the ball got picked off, you were on your feet watching the field.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And just riveted because, you know, you don't know what's going to happen. And there was a lot of space between, you know, for our defender to run. And turns out there was a lot of space.

[Josh]

It looked like, you know, it was that moment where everybody felt like, oh, there's a chance. Like, there was a moment where like, oh, my God, he's got a chance to go and. But it's you. You know, it's weird in football to have a long play and, you know, it was probably like a 6, 7 second play, right?

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Easy. And then it's. The boys were between me and dad, and I turn to face them and Ash is covering his face and Axel is fully bawling. And it turns out that what happened in the eight seconds is when Axel immediately started waving his towel, hit Ash in the face with his towel, and then Ash just fully punched Axel in the face.

[Seth]

Yeah. And then Axel turned and Ash was sitting in a chair. And Axel took both of his hands and put them on Ash's face and pushed them as hard as he could, pushing his head into the back of his chair. And yeah, they were. They were both crying and you were so happy and so excited. And when it was a touchdown, you turned to be like, yay.

[Billy Crudup]

And they were both.

[Josh]

Yeah. And then immediately I'm on my knees being like, yeah, that was. You probably didn't like that when he squeezed your face. Yeah, that would have. I bet that. I bet that ruined it a little bit. Anyway, though, incredible, incredible weekend. And then a very fast turnaround to having you guys come on for the Thanksgiving show, which is yet to happen in real life.

[Seth]

Yeah, can't wait for that.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Well, love you, Pashi. It was so special to be with you.

[Seth]

Absolutely. We've got a great episode here, though. Don't snooze on this Billy Crudup episode, you know, from the morning show. I mean, that's where he's cutting his teeth these days.

[Josh]

I think if I can translate what Pashi's saying, he's like, suvi, shut up. It's time for credits.

[Narrator/Poet]

So enjoy family chips with the M Brothers.

[Billy Crudup]

Family chips with the My best brothers. Here we go.

[Josh]

Yes.

[Billy Crudup]

Hey now.

[Seth]

Hey.

[Josh]

Hey. Yes.

[Billy Crudup]

Look at these headphones you guys have.

[Josh]

I mean, you got bad ones.

[Seth]

I mean, I just on purpose, Billy, I just started a second podcast and the producers over there were like, I always feel like when we see people with like the full cans and whatever, it's a bit much. And I was like, oh, let me.

[Billy Crudup]

Tell you, you guys look like pros. And whatever kind of silver shielding you have on there gives you an extra edge.

[Josh]

Yeah, you know what? I didn't think we looked like pros until I saw what you were wearing.

[Billy Crudup]

You son of a bitch. You sent me these.

[Josh]

We did, yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

They aren't branded, they're family trips branded. Look at this. What is that?

[Seth]

Oh, wow. That really goes all the way. Almost goes touch in the inside of your skull.

[Josh]

Those are attached to a Walkman, a Sony Walkman, which is really cool. Look, this is a family podcast, so I think we need to start with the fact that my family lives in an apartment that your family used to live in.

[Billy Crudup]

That's true. I thought you were going to talk about my language.

[Josh]

No, where that's on. Go do your worst.

[Billy Crudup]

It's true. We used to live in that very apartment. And you guys moved in, I don't know, 15 years ago or something.

[Josh]

No, it's less than that because we moved right when my 7 year old was born, like 6 months after we moved in.

[Billy Crudup]

Right in the lobby.

[Josh]

In the lobby. And one of my favorite things is you were on my show and my son Axel was famously born in the lobby. And I remember walking in being like, I wonder if Billy knows that story. And I walked in and you asked the best question, which was, who were the two doormen on duty?

[Billy Crudup]

Yes, absolutely. And I want to. I think it was Ramon who was there delivering it at the time.

[Josh]

Yeah. And still, I'm still a member of the family, far beyond what any regular New York City doorman is.

[Billy Crudup]

I mean, that's a big thing to do to deliver a child into the world. Especially in the lobby, even. It's a very nice building, don't get me wrong. The lobby, it's ready for, I don't know, eating and delivering babies. There's no problem with that lobby?

[Josh]

No, it's smaller than I think most people picture when they think, when. When they hear the story. I think maybe people in the rest of the country are picturing some, like, grand, eloquent New York City Plaza Hotel lobby.

[Billy Crudup]

There is some kind of seating there. I don't think I've ever seen anybody sit there and, like, wait, or maybe, like, read the paper. It's not that kind of lobby.

[Seth]

It's a good lobby for, like, if someone forgot something upstairs and it's cold outside, you'll, like, sit on the wall on those little couches, waiting. Like, that's a great point, Josh.

[Billy Crudup]

That must have been what the architect was thinking. He was like, what do I do? On the chance that someone needs to run back up on a wintry day?

[Josh]

Yeah. And then. But then another connection is your lovely bride, Naomi Watts, then shot. Oh, yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

Then the dog movie was outside there.

[Josh]

Yeah, it was interiors. So the kids got to, like. I mean, you know, even though they have a father in show business, like, nothing's more exciting than this.

[Billy Crudup]

Was that a pain in the ass, though, for you guys? I mean, I know the kids were excited.

[Josh]

It would have been a pain in the ass, but there was a giant dog more than made up for it.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. A very beautiful, playful game.

[Josh]

So anyway, those are, like, just natural connections. And then I want to say, and I hope you don't think I'm blowing smoke here. Every now and then, I see someone do a talk show appearance on another talk show. That makes me so jealous. You told a story about your dad on Fallon recently, and I was like, God, that's a real.

[Billy Crudup]

That came out of nowhere, too.

[Josh]

Yeah, I could tell that you weren't planning on telling.

[Billy Crudup]

That's not typically pointing you out with. Hey, so quick sidebar. My dad should have been incarcerated for a number of different reasons. I'd like to share with them. I don't know what the statute of limitations is. Yes, he's passed, but it could be passed along to the family in some way. But our story, I mean, it was interesting when I was thinking about this, talking to you guys today, the number of family trips, I, I. It's hard to call them family trips because occasionally it would seem like, hey, come on, boys, get in the car. We're gonna go for a drive. Then all of a sudden, we're at Holiday Inn, you know, in Texarkana. And are we going on a vacation? I think so. Let's see if we can get some at the gift shop for you. You know, we'll spend a couple days outside, find a camp, find a campground somewhere. We always had a cooler in the back. Me and my younger brother would sit in the back of the Cadillac and. And feed him. Miller High lives as we rolled down the interstate.

[Seth]

Yeah, I mean, Texarkana, that's a pretty good drive. Because you're from.

[Billy Crudup]

Well, we were living in Dallas at the time, so he would head back to North Carolina if we got that far. But they. They. There was never anything planned, you know, that I can recall or certainly that was. My mom was a part of. I don't think she would have been on the kind of hobo tours that we would go on. The. We'll just see how it goes. Guys, get in the car.

[Josh]

And was that. He did not. So he didn't have, like, a second purpose for these trips that he was trying to, like, use you guys as cover of. This was a vacation.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, well, most certainly, Seth, but I. You know, I mean, that is a guarantee. The. I think. But at 8, 9, and 10, I was not entirely privy as to what those might be. He would just disappear for a half afternoon and, you know, we'd get full reign of the Holiday Inn and do what kids do, you know, it's pretty.

[Seth]

Fun getting, you know, full reign of a Holiday Inn. We used to love just like hotels and running down the hallways and vending machines were. Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

On the occasion that he would time it poorly and we would. It would be a holiday weekend and all of the motels were full. You'd see him, like, we'd amble up to the. The counter and he'd say, hey, y', all, just keep it quiet. Just listen. Follow my lead, like. All right, Say, how y' all doing? Tom Crude up here. I got a reservation. Got me my three boys. We got Tommy over there. Call him Quattro. That's. He's the oldest. The middle. That's Bill Disco Brooks. He's quiet. He's the one on bottom there. Brooks, pop your head out. Four of us are on vacation. We got a reservation under Crudup. C R U D, as in David, U P, as in Paul Person. Look through their thing. Nothing. Nothing. Well, I made the reservation. My secretary called two weeks ago, confirmed last week. He doesn't have a secretary. I mean, he doesn't work with anybody. We'd be sitting there going, you know, but looking a little more gaunt than usual. And then you go, oh, God, now what in the world am I going to do now? I make a reservation at a beautiful hotel like yours. You know, we're at Best Western or whatever it is. We end up here, and the reservation is not confirmed. I got the three boys here again. Quattro, Disco and Brooks down there. Disco. Do a little dance for him. Is there a damn thing any of you can do for those three boys? I mean, what in the world and the manager come on and say, well, let me just check with one of our affiliated hotels. And sure enough, he'd get a reservation somewhere. It was just. I like a constant BS guy and did it with a certain kind of charm that he didn't get into too many fights.

[Seth]

Were you guys more performers in those moments or were you meant to put on sort of puppy dog eyes?

[Billy Crudup]

You know what? I think our dad, he did a good enough job making it never feel dangerous. I mean, there were. There were a couple of times where you'd kind of go. Like he had a sawed off shotgun next to his bed. And he would say things like, ah, just don't touch it. Like that was the whole gun talk. Like, not why there. Why, why, why, why might you need a riot shotgun next to your bed? And why would it be? In any case, the way that he would relay those stories made it feel like it was just a kind of charming, natural, colloquial way of living.

[Josh]

The way dads were.

[Billy Crudup]

The way dads were. And, you know, it wasn't until there were, you know, he got too drunk driving that Tommy would have to take over that people, you know, at 13 or 14, we'd be like, I don't know, man, this. I know you're smiling and all, but this feels funky.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Did you mentioned on Fallon you were called Disco because he liked to dance? How did Quattro. What was behind?

[Billy Crudup]

He was Thomas Henry Crudup iv.

[Josh]

There you go. Quattro.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah.

[Josh]

My dad won and Brooks never got a nickname.

[Billy Crudup]

I'm sure he did. Well, Brooks will be listening now going, you don't remember my freaking nickname?

[Seth]

Does anybody still call you Disco?

[Billy Crudup]

No, definitely not. Especially the way that I dance at 57 is not disco.

[Josh]

Nothing's worth. I will say Disco is the worst nickname for somebody who likes to dance. Cause immediately people can figure out how old you are.

[Seth]

Well, mom and dad used to call me Gene. Gene the Dancing Machine.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, yeah. Are you kidding me? That was the best. From the Gong Show.

[Seth]

From the Gong show, which I didn't know was from the Gong Show. And then it just sort of like crossed my radar. Like somehow I was like, what is that from? And Googled it and saw Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine.

[Billy Crudup]

And they caught. They. They called Seth Charleston.

[Josh]

Nobody liked it when I danced or sung. They called me Silent Bob later.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, I loved the Gong Show. Was it the Sandman who would come out?

[Josh]

Oh, no, no, that was the Apollo.

[Billy Crudup]

That was the Apollo. That was Showtime at the Apollo.

[Josh]

There was the Unknown comic on the Gong Show. The Gong.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, yeah, the unknown comic. He was here with the paperback. Great, great stuff.

[Josh]

I mean, it's just. I mean, that was an interesting thing of, like, growing up, you know, for us. We grew up in the 80s and would watch, like, old 70s game shows, right? And there was a real sense of, like, I think things were better then.

[Billy Crudup]

I just feel like, can you imagine, like, in the 70s too, during, like, the crisis in Iran, the oil shortage and everything going. This is so much better now.

[Josh]

Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Support comes from Olipop.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah?

[Josh]

Yeah. What flavor you go with, bro?

[Seth]

I went with the crisp apple.

[Josh]

I went with the vintage cola because I like vintage tastes and I like Olipop because unlike regular sodas, this comes with the benefits of a functional ingredient blend. Also, I think it's got. It's a yeti.

[Seth]

It is a yeti. It's the holiday cans, Sue.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

These are limited edition cans. And this year they have added this crisp apple to the lineup.

[Josh]

And you know who's excited? My kids, because you know what their soda intake is during the year?

[Seth]

Probably zero.

[Josh]

Limited. I was gonna say limited, but they can have an Olipop, my man.

[Seth]

There's only 2 to 5 grams of sugar per can, and each one of these cans has up to 9 grams of fiber, which is gonna support your digestive health. You know, if you're looking to buy some of these Olipops, if you're looking to get some of these yetis to help you celebrate these holidays, you can get a single can from the refrigerated section. You can get a four pack from the soda aisle or a 15 pack from Costco. For the ultimate holiday celebration.

[Josh]

It's the giving season, Paji. So we want to make sure that everybody out there listening gets a free can of Olipop. Buy any two cans of Olipop in store and we're going to pay you back for one.

[Sponsor Voice]

What?

[Josh]

It works on any flavor, any retailer, including the yeti. Limited edition cans. You just go to drinkolipop.com trips Olipop.

[Seth]

Is sold online, drinkolipop.com and Amazon and available in almost 50,000 retailers nationwide, including Costco, Walmart, Target, Publix, Whole Foods, KRoger, and H E B.

[Josh]

Support comes from Cash app. Hey, Baji.

[Seth]

Hey, Sufi.

[Josh]

You know, sometimes during the holiday season, our hearts get very big. You know what I mean?

[Seth]

Yeah. We like to give. We like to help those around us.

[Josh]

We like to see the best in people. But guess what? That's all well and good, but you also have to remember that scammers are out in full force this time of year, and they're getting more creative to trick people into sharing their payment info through methods like fake shopping sites and giveaways that are too good to be true.

[Seth]

Well, luckily Cash App's 247 fraud monitoring helps detect and alert you for unusual card activity should someone gain access to your card. So you can and act fast if something seems off.

[Josh]

You can also lock or unlock your Cash App card instantly right in the app for extra control and peace of mind. Stay one step ahead of scams this season and keep your money secure with Cash App. For a limited time only new Cash App customers can use our exclusive code to earn some additional cash for real. Just download Cash App Use our exclusive referral code Secure10 get your profile send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you get $10 dropped right in your account. Terms apply. That's money. That's Cash App Cash App is a.

[Seth]

Financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton bank member FDIC Promotions provided by Cash App, a Block Incorporated brand. Visit Cash app LegalPodcast for full disclosures.

[Josh]

Support for family trips comes from Lowe's. You want the hottest Black Friday savings and Lowe's has them. Shop amazing deals like up to 50% off. Select major appliances, plus get an extra 25% off when you bundle. Select major appliances and save $80 on your choice of a DeWalt 20V, Max Drill or Impact Driver Kit. Now just $99. Shop Lowes Black Friday Savings before they're gone. Valid through 123 25. Selection varies by location. Select locations only while supplies last. See Lowes.com for more details.

[Sponsor Voice]

Ford BlueCruise hands free highway driving takes the work out of being behind the wheel, allowing you to relax and reconnect while also staying in control. Enjoy the drive in BlueCruise enabled vehicles like the F150 Explorer and Mustang Mach E. Available feature on equipped vehicles. Terms apply. Does not replace safe driving. See Ford.com BlueCruise for more details.

[Josh]

Here we go. So you're the middle of three.

[Billy Crudup]

I'm the middle of three. My older brother Tommy is a year and a half older and he's worked in the business for a while. He was a talent booker for Rosie o' Donnell and Rachael Ray. Tony Danza.

[Josh]

So he, by the way, another crossover because we're in the old Rosie o' Donnell Studio. That's where we showed up.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, are you now? All right, Well, I wish he was still there. I mean, I'm happy for you guys. That's great.

[Josh]

Thank you.

[Billy Crudup]

Wonderful.

[Seth]

Also, Rosie's in Ireland and my younger.

[Billy Crudup]

Brother Ro is in Ireland. Right. I think she appears to be staying there now.

[Seth]

Yeah, I think so. I think she's making a real go of it. I wish her luck.

[Josh]

I wish her the best.

[Billy Crudup]

Couldn't agree more, Josh.

[Josh]

Hard to fail, but to both have means. And the name Rosie o', Donnell, seems like she's going to lock it in Ireland.

[Billy Crudup]

It's gotta be great. And my younger brother Brooks, he was a producer as well and a writer and has two kids now and lives in Connecticut. He's three and a half years younger, but my older brother and I were about a year and a half apart.

[Josh]

So there's this. I promise this is going somewhere. There's this John Le Carre book called A Perfect Spy, and it's about a spy, and he's telling the story of his life, and his dad was a con man. And it's basically a book about how if you have a con man for a father, like, being a spy is like a perfect natural. Right. And so it's funny to me that all three of you are in showbiz. Cause I feel like that's ultimately like the modern version of spycraft is like.

[Billy Crudup]

Funny is a lovely word for it, Seth. It's just pure desperation. We know nothing else than show business. Yeah. And, you know, part of having that kind of peripatetic life where you never know where you're going to be the next year. And you're, you know, sort of guaranteed one thing for about six months and then something changes is there's an adaptability that comes with it that ends up working really to your benefit in show business. Because I don't think people, you know, it's. It's hard to comprehend. Willingly join a profession that you're fired every three months. And that's what happens to actors, you know, and that's. They're. You're. I mean, you're an anomaly in so many ways to.

[Seth]

No kidding.

[Billy Crudup]

Teed that one up for you, Josh. Nobody has been luckier than you, Seth.

[Seth]

Nobody, Seth. Nobody's luckier than you, Seth. Just.

[Josh]

Would one of you tell my wife?

[Billy Crudup]

She doesn't listen. In lash.

[Josh]

I'm just like, do you not realize this is the only showbiz job that's like a home game, like, two miles north of the apartment.

[Billy Crudup]

That's right. How long is your break? Do you guys have a break?

[Josh]

So many breaks.

[Seth]

He's off, like, 14 weeks per year.

[Josh]

It's.

[Billy Crudup]

It's. Oh, my gosh.

[Josh]

I know. I want you both to know.

[Billy Crudup]

I'm aware of how I know, but that's. It's a. It's a rare thing. And I'm sure, like, when you were starting out as a comic or getting into Saturday Night Live, whatever it was, you were aware that the chopping block is, like, in your dressing room.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

There's no. So there's a part of growing up with a guy who, you know, as frustrating as he was for my mom and people around us in so many ways, it prepares you for this kind of lifestyle. And so it's been a huge benefit to me, you know, emotionally and psychologically, to be able to navigate it, because I don't know what else I'd be doing if I wasn't an actor.

[Josh]

It's interesting. I mean, this is obviously. Morning show is probably the most consistent I've ever had. Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

100%. And I never expected it. In fact, there was. I remember maybe in 1995 or 1994, actually, when I just got out of school and I, I a. My agent said, you gotta call back for this television show. And they want you to fly to LA and do a screen test. And in order to do that, you're going to have to sign the deal. And all I had read was the sides. So I didn't know anything about this show. And the. I couldn't. I mean, the character didn't seem terribly interesting. And they were asking for seven years.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

In this contract to go out. And I was, like, beside myself. I was like, yes, I want to make money. I want to be a professional. But that's not something that I understand how to do, like, commit to a project that I haven't read for a character that I don't understand about a show that is going to be on network television. So I actually, after the discomfort of that experience, I stopped kind of auditioning for pilots. And I thought, as long as I can make enough money doing plays or parts and movies and live in New York, I'll try to do that. And full well knowing that that was a long shot, too, and I was more likely than not going to be out in LA working pilot season. Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes. Have you guys been to the Palazzo in. It's across from the. The Grove in Los Angeles.

[Seth]

Yeah, I've never been in there, but.

[Josh]

I know of it.

[Billy Crudup]

Okay, then you've seen the exterior?

[Seth]

Yes.

[Billy Crudup]

Stucco, kind of orange. Well, my son's mom was working on a show out here. She was doing Weeds. And so I'd come out, get a little place during the summers, and that was the. The short term rental place that was the most affordable, close to, you know, where she was working, too, and living. And the second summer I was there, Paul Rudd was there as well, and he had a child that was about a year younger than mine. And I was like lamenting going into the gym and just the smell of desperation and nobody's even working out. It's just pure sweat, flop sweat. The desperation of living in la, wanting to be an actor. And I came and I was talking to Paul and I was like, oh, man, this is tough. This is kind of a depressing place to live. And he's like, no, you don't get it. The Palazzo. It's like Italy with a touch of pilot season. So I was certain at a point I'd come out here and do what most actors do. You come out here and you work during pilot season, try to land a couple pilots and see if any of them get picked up. But I was so intimidated by the prospect of signing away seven years to something. I had no idea what to do. Especially since I was like 80 grand in debt. Getting classical training, you know, about character work with, it just seemed impossible. But having had some time in the business, having a secure job with the morning show has been phenomenal. It has really been a huge gift to me.

[Josh]

And it also seemed, I mean, you know, I will venture that almost everybody on that show, certainly the, you know, the top line cast, all appreciate how rare this is.

[Billy Crudup]

There's no question about it. It's. People are really happy and lucky to have that job. It's really ambitious. So people work hard. I mean, it's ambitious in its scope. They try to, you know.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

Observe a lot of different things that are going on. All with beautiful hair and great costumes, you know, so all of that and gorgeous camera moves and, you know, all of that is kind of complicated to execute. And so everybody works really hard. But there's a genuine affection and appreciation between the cast and the crew about how lucky everybody is. And I'll tell you, we did it during COVID And that crew is as badass as, you know, anybody I've ever worked with to spend six, seven months in, like, Hazmat gear. Well, you know, imagine managing a Steadicam while you've got all of Those masks on and the protocol on and still trying to compose a shot. You know, it was, it was. It kind of. It really bonded us. And I never anticipated an experience like that. I mean, back to the point that we were making before, we're like three month jobbers. So the notion of being together with people over seven years, even though it's only been four seasons, it just never occurred to me. And it has been. It's been fucking awesome.

[Josh]

That's great.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah, I feel lucky.

[Josh]

You mentioned Texas as well. Like where. So was like home though eventually in North Carolina. Where will we.

[Billy Crudup]

No. So I was born on Long island and my dad was from a small town called Henderson in North Carolina that had a yarn mill. And his dad was the vice president of. My grandfather was the vice president of marketing at the yarn mill, essentially because his brother in law owned the yarn mill. And my.

[Seth]

You're saying yarn mill.

[Billy Crudup]

Yarn mill.

[Seth]

Okay. I didn't know where they made yarn.

[Billy Crudup]

But now that could be the wrong.

[Seth]

I'm learning something.

[Billy Crudup]

It could be a cotton mill. No, it was a yarn.

[Seth]

Okay.

[Billy Crudup]

It was a textile company. Harriet Henderson Textiles. I said, you know what? It's good that you questioned me, Josh, because now I'm gonna have to go back. There's a lot of things that I misspeak about. He didn't call me disco, he called me hip hop. That's right.

[Josh]

No, but he's buying hip hop.

[Seth]

I just wanted to be sure.

[Billy Crudup]

Actually, come to think of it now, me and my younger brother, we had a breakdancing troupe for about a year and a half in. In South Florida. That'll come later, but that's great.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah.

[Seth]

Note make, note made.

[Billy Crudup]

Don't worry, I've got my cardboard back here. So he. My. My dad, as a way to try to rebel, I think against. My grandfather worked for the competing company Burlington. And Burlington Coat Factory is a big like. But Burlington Textiles, they would sell the fabric in the garment district in New York. So we were born on Port Washington, or I was born in Port Washington and that's just outside of New York. And my dad would take the train in. And that's where he discovered his love for the more colorful side of New York. Because during the 60s and 70s, the garment district was replete with mob guys. And my dad thought they were awesome. I think my mom has a good story about going to a mob boss's funeral and thinking, tommy, I'm not sure what we're doing with our lives now. What precisely is this? And my dad was like, oh, no, he's great. Great people. I mean, he was also convinced, by the way, that. That sports betting, because he was a bookie, that sports betting would be legal in the states at a certain point. And I swear, of the million ideas he had, my brothers and I can't believe that he got that right. He was just 40 years too early and he was full of shit anyway. He just wanted to make it seem like, you know, he knew something. But this is legit. Yeah, he was right about that. And so when they got divorced the first time, we moved to South Florida, where my mom was from, in Miami. So I spent three years there, first grade, second grade, third grade. And then they got remarried to each other. Because my dad, you know, set up another con that there was a new business opportunity in Dallas, Texas. It's called Coffea Elite. And it was a coffee additive that he would sell to, like, big institutions like prisons to turn one pound of coffee into ten pounds of coffee, you know, with a little bit of additive.

[Seth]

Yeah, that is Elite.

[Billy Crudup]

It didn't go far. It is exactly. It's elite. And he had a little office, but it was a front for his booking operation. So they got divorced again. And then we went down to South.

[Josh]

Just at one point, she's like, I think this is just watered down coffee.

[Seth]

This is bad coffee.

[Josh]

And he said, I think you're being a buggy again.

[Billy Crudup]

Incorrect, incorrect. The word is elite. So when she got remarried, we moved down to South Florida, where he was from. That's where I went to high school in Fort Lauderdale.

[Josh]

Gotcha.

[Billy Crudup]

And then I went to college at the University of North Carolina. So that's where the North Carolina roots, you know, for me really started.

[Josh]

So I'm assuming breakdancing was second round in Florida.

[Billy Crudup]

That is exactly right.

[Josh]

As much as I wanted to think of a second grade, absolutely nailed it. But I mean, a year and a half, that's no small thing. Like, how many times were you actually performing in front of people? Or was this a.

[Billy Crudup]

We did once.

[Josh]

So One gig in 18 months is.

[Billy Crudup]

That we did once. You know, at that time, Seth, there weren't answering machines, so I'm sure we were getting. Fielding a lot of call. Interesting. But we were in school. We were in school. There's no. Our mom worked, so there's no.

[Josh]

Most of the booking calls for, you know, breakdancing troops famously come during the day school hours.

[Seth]

What was your crew? Did you have a name for your crew?

[Billy Crudup]

Not that I recall.

[Seth]

Did you have a breakdancing name?

[Josh]

Did you.

[Billy Crudup]

It was not that I recall.

[Josh]

Josh, by the way, both disco and quattro work.

[Seth]

They totally work.

[Billy Crudup]

When you're doing head spins, it's hard to remember things.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

Whatever your name is.

[Seth]

Or if you do, they just fly right out of your head.

[Billy Crudup]

When you pop and lock, it all gets shook up. But we tried for a little while. My high school friends still make fun of me about it, amongst the many things. But, yeah, that.

[Josh]

Do you ever. Do you have any memory of a family trip with all three of your. You and your siblings and your parents?

[Billy Crudup]

I have a memory of us driving west. I'm trying to think, you know, with everybody together, it was rare because as I told you before, like, my mom at a certain point was like, your vacation plan seem a little unpredictable to me. Maybe I'll let you guys take this weekend and I'll plan a proper one where we go down and visit my mom in Florida or something like that. Or she would take us to New York to see Broadway shows. It was like, really my introduction into theater and what I loved about theater.

[Josh]

And was that something that your mom also loved?

[Billy Crudup]

My mom loved it. It. She loved it. And she grew up. My grandmother was from Coral Gables, and they had terrific theater down there, and so they were frequent attendant. In fact, she saw the first production in America of Waiting for Godot. And that's a very. It's a very strange play. And I was doing a production of it with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in New York about 10 or 15 years ago.

[Josh]

I was at it.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, you were at it. You said, there you go. So they were.

[Josh]

I think they were one of my. One of the. My first month of shows. They came on together as guests.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, did they? Yes, that was a big. They. They were making the whole tour. We were doing two plays at once. Not. Not saying that they wouldn't have come on you. Solely.

[Josh]

Reaction was like, yeah, they were doing everything they did.

[Billy Crudup]

Were you misunderstanding? What I meant was they were doing the shows, and occasionally they would do promotion, like, in every possible outlet. So when I told my grandmother that I was doing that, she was like, oh, no. I saw that the first time. I didn't understand it. I'm sorry, I won't be coming to this one. But they were. They were big theater fans. And so my mom kind of introduced us to theater in that way, and I became really invested.

[Josh]

Did your mom. We'll get back to the trippy check. But does your mom continue over your career? Would she come to New York City?

[Billy Crudup]

She's at everything she is at everything. She has seen 99% of the shows that I've done, whether it was in high school, college, graduate school, or after.

[Seth]

Do you like her to come once a show's up and running for a bit? Does she want to be there on opening night?

[Billy Crudup]

She likes to. Typically likes to come opening night. Yeah.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

And she'll come after with some friends or before. But she doesn't like to see previews. Typically, Josh. She doesn't want unfinished work. She doesn't want to see the process.

[Seth]

Yeah, look, I get it. Neither does our mother.

[Billy Crudup]

No, she's just waiting for it to become more finished.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Josh]

If you. Lie detector. If she was taking a lie detector test, what would you say was her favorite of yours?

[Billy Crudup]

She would probably say all of them.

[Josh]

Okay, well, that's. By the way, that's what our mom would say.

[Billy Crudup]

But she. She has had some favorites. It's a good question. Probably some of the earlier stuff. Well, that was probably some of the 90s stuff. There was this play called Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, where I got to play this romantic lead who he's brilliant and he dies a heroic death. She always loved that. I liked the more awkward characters, like Lucky in Waiting for Godot, who's drooling all over himself and has PTSD and then spews nonsense for 10 minutes. My mom is like, I don't like seeing you in that part.

[Josh]

We can do the Arcadia guy again.

[Billy Crudup]

Exactly. Please.

[Seth]

Hey, we're gonna take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors.

[Josh]

Support comes from Miracle Maid. Hey, Paschi.

[Seth]

Hey, Sufi.

[Josh]

I have some bad news about your pre Miracle Maid sheets.

[Seth]

What's that?

[Josh]

Well, traditional bed sheets can hold more bacteria than am. Think about the thing you would definitely not want me to say the most right now.

[Seth]

Oh, no.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah.

[Josh]

It's toilet seat. Oh, not exactly my sheets. Yeah, but not anymore. Cause you got miracle made.

[Seth]

Oh, well, thank goodness. Yeah.

[Josh]

They have silver infused fabrics that actually Prevent up to 99.7% of bacterial growth.

[Seth]

You know, these sheets, thanks to this antibacterial silver technology, Miracle made sheets stay cleaner and fresher up to three times longer than regular sheets. That means fewer odors, fewer wash cycles, and way less laundry.

[Josh]

But wait, say our listeners, upon hearing about this luxurious comfort. What if I'm not prepared to pay a luxurious price?

[Seth]

Oh, yeah. Well, these are the sheets for you.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Yeah. They don't have that steep price tag, souf. They don't cost the same amount of money that they're paying for those sheets. And five Star hotels.

[Josh]

Okay, good. No, they're not interested.

[Seth]

It's a much better deal. Plus they're smooth, breathable, and ridiculously comfortable. And I speak from experience.

[Josh]

Yeah, Pasha's got a miracle made face right now. I was looking at your face throughout the podcast. I don't think I can even notice one. Bacteria. Yeah, no bacterium.

[Seth]

I don't even know what it is. I'm so well rested, I don't even care anymore.

[Josh]

Upgrade your sleep or give the gift a better rest. Go to try Miracle.com trips to try Miracle made sheets today you'll save over 40%. When you use promo code trips, you'll get an extra 20% off plus a free three piece towel set. They make an amazing gift and with a 30 day money back guarantee, there's no risk. That's Try Miracle.com trips code trips@ checkout. Thanks to Miracle made for sponsoring this episode. Support comes from Aura Frame. So aura Frame, for those of you who don't know. Hi, Pashi, by the way.

[Seth]

Hi, Sufi.

[Josh]

This is a beautiful frame that has photos that you could upload and, and you know, if you got parents, heck, if you want to look at your own children, you can just load up the aura frame. And the thing that I cannot say enough about is how easy it is to load up the photos on your aura frame straight from your phone. This is not a stressful thing. This is not, you know, you're not plugging wires from your computer into your aura frame. It is just easy as pie. Would you not concur with that statement, Paschi?

[Seth]

I would concur. And also the other thing that I think is often overlooked with this technology in these aura frames is that it's easy for me to upload pictures to mom and dad's frame. Yeah. From Los Angeles, I can go to the Aura app and I can take some pictures from a trip that Mackenzie and I just took. And all of a sudden it just, they will appear on their frame, they will delight mom and dad. And yeah, it could not be easier.

[Josh]

This isn't a present where you give your parents a, a new piece of technology and then you tell them you're gonna love it. Just read the instructions and you'll figure it out. You can even preload the photos onto the frame so that when they open it, they're ready to go. Like it's immediately giving them what you want them to receive. And that makes it a very special holiday present.

[Seth]

Yeah. I mean, all the times in the past you've taken a picture on your phone and you said, oh, we should get this printed and we should frame this. And then you don't. Those days are over.

[Josh]

With an Aura Frame, it's really fantastic. And Aura Frame is thinking of you. Gift box included. Every frame comes packaged in a premium gift box with no price tag. For a limited time, visit auraframes.com and get $45 off Aura's best selling Carver mat frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code trips at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code code trips. This exclusive black Friday Cyber Monday deal is their best of the year, so order now. Before it ends, support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.

[Sponsor Voice]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast. Smart move. Being financially savvy. Smart move. Another smart move having State Farm help you create a competitive price when you choose. Choose to bundle home and auto bundling. Just another way to save with a personal price plan like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.

[Billy Crudup]

We find Vecna, we end this once.

[Josh]

And for all together on December 25th.

[Billy Crudup]

We have a plan. It's a bit insane. Everyone in the he knows where we are. Watch out.

[Josh]

Get ready for one last adventure. We stay true to ourselves, stay true.

[Billy Crudup]

To our friends, no matter the cost.

[Josh]

Found you. Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 begins December 25th. Only on Netflix. Here we go. What about your dad? Was he a good audience member for your stuff?

[Billy Crudup]

No, he, you know, he didn't really get my sensitivity. I was, you know, I was the feelings guy and. Which is what I parlayed into a mediocre career. And so he said, essentially, when I was in undergraduate, I could tell that they were disinterested in me pursuing acting in any way. My grandfather I was very close with, he would come and have lunch every week. We had lunch at the same restaurant every week for four and a half years. I stayed an extra semester just so I could figure out what the hell I was going to do. But in the meantime, I told him, well, I was a communications major and speech communications at Chapel Hill was a pretty broad liberal arts education. You could go to broadcasting, marketing and. But little did they know, they also had a performance studies concentration, which is like a very niche skill set, an academic skill set where you take non dramatic text and you find ways of performing it.

[Josh]

I took a performance studies class at Northwestern and It was the best class I ever took.

[Billy Crudup]

Well, Northwestern was a great one. 100% Northwestern. It was one of the best in the field at the time in terms of that. Our little troupe went to Northwestern one time because there was some big competition. Oral interpretation of prose and poetry. That was my big thing. Reading a chapter of Western Civ was like pulling my nails out. But I could sit there and rehearse a poem and try to figure out that for however long. I mean, I loved it. And I couldn't explain to anyone why that would be of any interest. So I was just a communications major. So when I decided to go to acting school, it really was about getting a master's degree so that I could teach. Because at that point, most of the mentors in my life were teachers and people that I really admired. You know, like, my dad's job was not one you really want to pursue if you're looking for stability. And so I didn't have a whole lot of other models. And so teaching seemed like a. A. A great opportunity to me. So my dad was pretty dubious of all of it until I started getting paychecks. And then it was like, wow. Yeah. I mean, this acting thing.

[Seth]

Hot.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. So you're doing a runner. You're playing. You're playing Steve Prefontaine. I think I might be in Los Angeles. I was like, why would you be in Los Angeles, dad? Like, what. What business do you possibly have in Los Angeles? I've got a couple of things working on out there. Might come to set. See. See if Tom's around. Tom Cruise was producing it. Tom was never around Tom. Tom came around a couple times. He was very present, very supportive of me, but he was working on other projects.

[Josh]

It was really huge mistake to think a producer by the name of Tom Cruise will be on set every day. Nobody wants.

[Billy Crudup]

I learned that. I learned that the hard way. Yeah, but. But he was still very, very supportive. And once I was in that movie, I think it was. It was probably fair to say that because the guy I was playing was an athlete and my dad was an athlete, that he felt closer to me in some way in trying to. It's probably another reason why I was interested in it, frankly. But in any case, once I started making money, then he was all for the acting career. And he was like, I'm just glad.

[Josh]

You'Re doing what you love.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. And additionally.

[Seth]

And that it pays you a lot of money.

[Billy Crudup]

I have a couple of business opportunities I think you might be interested in. We have a new. I bought the rights to a product that has. It didn't do so well in the marketplace the first time. An inflatable ice chest. It's not a flotation device, apparently, and does not insulate, but I got a couple ideas about it. He also. He came. There used to be those umbrella. Those rainbow umbrella hats.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

His idea was to get Lou Brock to endorse it because Lou Brock was a baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals. Get Lou Brock to endorse it and call it the Brocabella. And he did it. He got the Broca. Turns out there was a very limited market for the Brocabella. Again, not a device that really provides a lot of shade.

[Seth]

Did Lou Brock wear this hat in any advertising?

[Billy Crudup]

There's a picture of it. Yep, absolutely.

[Josh]

The weird thing is, like, as Portmanteaus go, that's a bad one. It doesn't. It's not fun to say. Brocabella is, like, worse than Umbrella.

[Seth]

Like, it's.

[Josh]

It's fun when you. You know, when you come up with something fun to say, like, then maybe you got a shot.

[Billy Crudup]

He thought it was great. We also had about, you know, 2,000 of those Farrah Fawcett posters. He was. You know, we'd be going to soccer practice or something, and he'd pull off on the side of the road and pull out a. A. What do you call, like, sandwich board? What do you say? Yeah, yeah. And I'd say, what's happening? He goes, well, some Alaskan king crabs fell off a truck, and we are going to move them. Takes about half an hour, and they're on the side of the road. I'm in my soccer outfit. And sure enough, a state trooper would pull up and my dad be like, all right, just get in the car real quick. Gotta talk to this man. He'd either pay him off or the guy would tell him to get lost. So, you know, we're always selling something. But I thought the Brocabella could have been a real hit.

[Josh]

It's really. It is funny, like the age you reach where you realize nothing falls off a truck because you know what I mean?

[Billy Crudup]

Where you're like, oh, no, I'm looking around like, well, nothing fell off the truck here, dad. Yeah, I was looking for you.

[Josh]

Until you're like, eight, you think every truck might just be, like, hit the wrong bump and then just like, you're gonna have all this free bounty.

[Billy Crudup]

Exactly. Well, a lot of movies do. That is the premise for the opening sequence.

[Seth]

I will say, I've been. Our mother has a Convertible. Volkswagen convertible. And I've ridden around with her a couple times recently, and she says she doesn't like to be on the highway with the top down because she's sure something is gonna fall off of a truck and hit her on the head.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, like that is her legitimate. Somebody's gonna fall off a truck and catch her. I got you.

[Seth]

Yeah, she's very. And we. Last time we were home, she. We were, like, leaving this place we'd never been before, and we had to get on the highway for, like, two miles, and she was very nervous.

[Billy Crudup]

White knuckling it the whole way. Yeah, actually, that was the first car. Well, it probably isn't the Rabbit. What's.

[Josh]

What. What?

[Seth]

A Cabriolet.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, okay. No, the first one I had. Oh, that's what you've got.

[Seth]

No, no, no, no, no. She's got a bug.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, a bug. Okay. Yeah, the Cabriolet was. That was the nicer version I had the Rabbit. It was a hand me down from mom, but I like that car.

[Josh]

I'm going to go just take a quick side trip back to Broadway because there is a production that I to this day, kick myself for not having seen, which was Pillow Man.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, yeah, that was a good one, man.

[Josh]

And I didn't even. Wasn't even aware of it. But when I saw In Bruges, I kind of became obsessed with Martin McDonough and literally bought the plays to read the plays. And when I saw that cast and read that play, I was like, God damn it, I love.

[Billy Crudup]

That was something else, his writing. I read the first page and a half, and I said, I don't know what the hell this is about, but I'll do anything to be a part of it. And I didn't know John, the director, John Crowley, or. Or Martin. So I went and auditioned for them, and then when I got the part, they had already cast, I think, Jeff Goldblum and then Michael Stuarg, who was. He was at Juilliard, graduated the same year I graduated nyu. And there. There's a lot of crossover in the teachers there. So our dialect teacher and our singing teacher, they bought. Taught at both schools. So there was, like, a familiarity We. We had. We knew a lot of the same people, and there were. Many of them were friends. So my friend Joel Delafuente, he ended up. His wife was from Juilliard in that same class. In any case, I'd known Michael, and I'd seen him originate the part of Lewis and Angels in America, because before Tony Kushner took it to Broadway. He had Juilliard try out Angels in America and then NYU did Perestroika, which was the follow up one. So I had already. I mean, it was incredible to see. Actually. Ben Shankman played Roy Cohn in the Perestroika one. And he's a phenomenal actor. Many other people too. But I had seen Michael's work already and he, he's just such a badass. And so to be a part of that company doing something that. The design of that particular production was of a really high caliber. They had, they had done it once in England with, with the same director and. But a different cast and the same production design. So they knew what worked about it. And I, I'd never been a part of or haven't seen a show since that was as terrifying to be in the world with as. As Pillow Man. In fact, we had a guy had a heart attack during one of the stories. It's so unnerving. There's the, the. I want to say it's the little Jesus story, but I can't remember. It's one of them where this young girl decides that she wants to reenact the crucifixion of Christ. And it's just horrifying. But I'm just telling these stories behind. They're acted out in tableau up like this space. So it's a kind of macabre thing that you don't often get in the theater. And that was one of my all time favorites.

[Josh]

That's fantastic.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah, it was great.

[Seth]

Very.

[Josh]

We, you know, our parents were very similar and, you know, we grew up in suburban New Hampshire and they brought us to New York to see Broadway shows.

[Billy Crudup]

Starting when? At what age?

[Josh]

I mean, we're teenagers, I would say.

[Seth]

Yeah, I mean, we saw the original Angels in America and Perestroika.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, did you really? Yeah.

[Josh]

And it was like you just realized like, what a. I don't know, man, that, you know, again, that's like such a. I don't have to say like what a seminal work that was, but like, you just could tell even as a teenager, like, oh, this is no question about him.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah, that's Arthur Miller. You know, that's the kind of American iconographic theater you want and anticipate and hope for. You know, you've seen it before. Sam Shepard, boy. There was a production of Buried Child brought from Steppenwolf that was of the same caliber where you go, oh, wow, this is what you can do with theater. You know, the, the kind of scope that is Intimidating and exciting, and there's nothing. There's nothing minimal about it. It's all heightened, deeply theatrical stuff. It's a rare and hard thing to do. And there's few people who do it well. So when you get a chance to see it, it's electric.

[Josh]

Do you. Your mom's still with you? Yes, she is with all of us. Do you ever travel with her as she.

[Billy Crudup]

She'll be listening. Did. Did we. Yes. But they were the same kinds of trips that they were, safe trips, you know, Disney World, going to the grandparents place, going to the. The beach for a summer. They weren't the kind of.

[Josh]

You needed a balance, I feel like. Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

There was no gunplay in those. In those trips. No. No con jobs. If they didn't have the reservation, my mom would say, it looks like we're gonna have to go to a different hotel.

[Seth]

If you were going to the beach or going to Disney, would it just be your mom and the three boys.

[Billy Crudup]

Or would it typically.

[Seth]

Okay.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. Dad would be working. We did have a couple of summers that I remember when I was much younger at the beach in North Carolina where the whole crew was together. But that was pretty rare.

[Seth]

Yeah. And would you just get like a house on the beach or something?

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. My grandparents, being from North Carolina, they had a big extended family. So even though both of my parents were only children, I didn't have any aunts or uncles or cousins growing up, but both of my grandparents did. And they would all go in on a timeshare at this place called Atlantic beach near Morehead City in North Carolina. And it was, you know, great, these very simple houses with screened porches and we'd go out and fish, surf fish during the day and then cook things if we caught some flounder or something. Or my dad would go buy a whole bunch of shrimp and we'd. He'd boil them in beer and just throw them out on newspaper and we'd have shrimp and John Butter and cocktail sauce and, you know, it was very romantic that I do recall that there was a forced nap every afternoon, which I thought was for the kids until I got older and I discovered it's because the adults were up drinking all night and they needed to recover at some point during the day and do a little disco nap to make me.

[Josh]

Through to the amount. I want to say it's nap time to my kids who are way too old for nap time.

[Seth]

Was it called forced nap?

[Billy Crudup]

It was not. Okay, it was just called nap time. But I have to tell you, there was Something beautiful about it because we were in these kind of tiny rooms, and the. You know, it was just the. The screen and so you'd hear the ocean and you would. You'd fall asleep. You'd watch a storm roll in. It was really kind of beautiful and romantic when I think about it. Think back on it now. Peaceful. Before the party started.

[Josh]

I know I'm at a certain age where I just. Now I reminisce back to naps I've taken.

[Billy Crudup]

Taken. That was a good one, man, let me tell you. I couldn't agree more. I mean, what's better than a good nap? You wake up feeling like you can actually do things. I'm going to take a nap after this.

[Josh]

Good.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Every now and again, I'll be on the couch and I'll just fall asleep, and I can't tell if I'm wearing socks or not. Like, I'm in a perfect.

[Billy Crudup]

I know what you mean.

[Seth]

Of rest. And it's like, gosh, I don't even know. Maybe I have them on, maybe I don't. But this is just perfect.

[Billy Crudup]

I feel that way about my legs being crossed sometimes. I can't tell. Are they crossed? Are they not crossed? Was one of them going to fall asleep? That's where you know it. Yeah. Do you nap on purpose, Josh, or do you. Just.

[Seth]

Rarely on purpose, but on the couch sometimes it'll. It'll come for me. I don't. I don't like falling asleep on the couch. Like, at night, when I know I'm going to have to then get up and go through the works to get into bed. But sure, sometimes, like on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, it'll come get me.

[Billy Crudup]

You sound like a professional.

[Josh]

My. The. This morning, my daughter, who's 4, has to sleep with socks. And if she doesn't have her socks on at night, realizes it, an hour into the night, she'll start screaming that her socks aren't on. And then this morning, she had this conversation. I heard her having a conversation once. She goes, my feet are so hot at night. And she's like, well, I think that's the socks, honey. She's like, yeah, maybe I should try it without. I'm like, what has this been for?

[Billy Crudup]

Wow.

[Seth]

Like.

[Josh]

Like, we thought your feet were cold. So, anyway, no more socks. Moving forward.

[Billy Crudup]

That's. Oh, congratulations, Seth.

[Josh]

Yeah, well, we let her come to the conclusion on her own. Yeah.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. That's the way to do it.

[Josh]

Did your. Do you think. Especially since you said your mom will be listening, do you think. Because Again, I would say a mom with three boys, that could be a lot. Do you feel like you were well behaved or just a full.

[Billy Crudup]

No. Oh, my God. Oh, we were a train wreck. I mean, my. I broke my thumb on my brother's head and Because I was trying to hit him. And it sounds like comeuppance is what it sounds like. I remember my poor mom was working too, right? So my parents had been divorced, and my dad. There was no income coming from my dad. She never got any support from him. You know, it got a lot of promises or, you know, cutouts from magazines saying, I'm gonna take you guys all on a cruise that looks like that.

[Josh]

But there was no point that the barracabella was legal tender, Right.

[Billy Crudup]

Always. That was an albatross. I mean, all the things in the basement were just weighing the number of storage units he had, probably in the southeastern part of the United States, rivaled the size of any major arena. But my mom, she had to hold down jobs. We were latchkey kids, you know, so it was us to come home of tus. To come home after school, make some snacks or something before she would get back for dinner and do whatever chores we had to do. But essentially it was just me and my brothers fighting, you know, and so she'd come back to a train wreck each and every day and. And so to the point. It's so vivid, and you can't know it until you've got kids yourself. But when my son was younger and my mom would come over and it would give me half a second to go walk around the block or whatever and get some fresh air, inevitably I'd come back in and say, I'm so sorry. Everything. Everything we did. Tommy doesn't know yet. Brooks doesn't know yet. I know now. And I'm so, so, so very. So it's interesting. Like, as soon as you say that there, it's clear that they were happy to do it all, as long as there was a sorry coming at some point.

[Seth]

Yeah. And.

[Billy Crudup]

But when you're going through it, my God, we put her through hell. She did a damn fine job keeping it together.

[Josh]

God love her. What's your name? What's your mom?

[Billy Crudup]

Georgeanne.

[Josh]

Georgeann. Good work, Georgeanne.

[Billy Crudup]

Attaway, Georgeanne.

[Josh]

It is. It's been a full delight to talk to you, Billy.

[Billy Crudup]

You guys, too. I am, as you know, great admirers. And Josh, I haven't had a chance to tell you, but great admirer of yours as well on Kimmel is spectacular.

[Seth]

Oh, thanks.

[Billy Crudup]

And your collected appearance the other day. That was for brothers who like to pick on brothers. That was some high class content.

[Josh]

It was joyful. It was joyful to do as well. Also, we're very excited. Jay Kelly, also talk about a good group of human beings in that cast.

[Billy Crudup]

Man, that was awesome. And that was just. That was a lucky chance that, you know, a good director said, hey, do you want to do a weird part? And I was like, hell, yeah. And I was actually in London at the time. I'm about to go back to London. I've got a very cool play that a screenwriter named Eric Roth, who has written some of the most, you know, incredible things, I mean, recently collaborated on A Star Is Born, but also wrote Forrest Gump and stuff. He decided to write a play, and it's a stage adaptation of High Noon that we're gonna do on the West End. Yeah. So starting in about a month, we're gonna start rehearsals. So if you're in London starting December 17th.

[Josh]

Ah, I think. I think I literally might be in London for the first time in like a decade. But right before that.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah, but we'll go through March and. And Noah's movie, J. Kelly with George Clooney and Adam Sandler. I mean, I'm sure you know Adam. I had never met Adam before I met George. And George is awesome.

[Seth]

He's from.

[Josh]

He. Adam's from our. Or.

[Seth]

We are.

[Billy Crudup]

He's your.

[Josh]

Yeah, we're from his hometown. I should say so.

[Billy Crudup]

He. Well, were you guys on Saturday Night Live the same time?

[Josh]

No, he was. He was before my era, but has been nothing. But he's a prince.

[Billy Crudup]

Just an absolute gem. So to be around those guys has been that. That. That was fantastic for me.

[Josh]

Before we let you go, Josh is going to ask you our speed round questions.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, this is great. I usually like to take my time.

[Seth]

You can only pick one of these. Is your ideal vacation relaxing adventurous or educational?

[Billy Crudup]

Relaxing.

[Seth]

What is your favorite means of transportation?

[Billy Crudup]

The subway.

[Seth]

If you could take a vacation with any family, alive or dead, real or fictional, other than your own family, what family would you like to take a vacation with?

[Billy Crudup]

I have so many bad things in my head right now. Pass. I'd like to return to that one.

[Seth]

All right, we'll come back to it. If you had to be stranded on a desert island with one member of your family, who would it be?

[Billy Crudup]

Well, I mean, obviously my wife.

[Josh]

Yeah, that's a good answer. Don't run from the obvious.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah, that's the obvious answer, but I think I'd have a good Time with my son, too. Okay, great. My brothers and I, we would last about an hour and a half.

[Seth]

Okay, but maybe that's just out of your misery then. Cause who knows how long you'd be on that desert island, so. Fair enough.

[Billy Crudup]

Great point. A lot of angles to these questions I'm not thinking about yet.

[Seth]

What do you consider your hometown?

[Billy Crudup]

New York City.

[Seth]

If you had to. If you were the head of the board of tourism and you wanted more people to come to New York, how would you pitch that city?

[Billy Crudup]

Best fucking city on the planet. All right.

[Seth]

Okay. We're gonna have to clean up the language for the New York mass marketing purposes.

[Billy Crudup]

I liked the heart and everything, but that's not New York.

[Seth]

All right, fair enough. Do you want to go back to a family? Do you want to go on a trip with. Or. Seth has two more questions.

[Josh]

I'll let you off the hook and just ask you the last two. Have you been to the Grand Canyon? I have.

[Billy Crudup]

I mean, it's just unbelievable.

[Josh]

All right. That follow up was. Was it worth it? And it seems like you.

[Billy Crudup]

Oh, hell, yeah. So, you know, when I answered very quickly, because of the whole speed pressure of this.

[Josh]

Sure.

[Billy Crudup]

But I do. I like a little bit of adventure, but I really like education. In fact, my son and I went on safari, and it was a long, long story that we got there. I certainly didn't plan it, but somebody planned it for. For us. And when we were out, we were in the Okavango Delta, and I. I've ever since Wild Kingdom, which was. Yeah. Sort of National Geographic show back in the 70s. I have been obsessed with those kinds of nature shows, so I watch them all the time. So just to be out there and have somebody teach you about the land and the terrain and the kinds of things they're looking to observe so that they can track animals, the most spectacular. My son was like, don't worry, dad. We're going to see. We're going to see some animals. I was like, you don't understand. I don't need to see anything. I just learned that most of the sand that makes up the Okavanga Delta comes from the desert, from winds that are blown thousands of miles away. Can you believe that? And he's like, You don't go back.

[Josh]

To school and be like, we saw sand.

[Billy Crudup]

Exactly. So I do. I do like the educational one as well.

[Josh]

All right. Thank you for cleaning it up.

[Billy Crudup]

Yeah. And if I. If I. If I can think of the family that I would like to vacation with, it'll come to me.

[Josh]

Well, you can always send us a voice note after the fact.

[Billy Crudup]

Can we. Can we get this going again? Because I'd love to, too.

[Josh]

It's the best to see you, man. I hope we run into each other soon.

[Billy Crudup]

Me, too. Thanks a lot for having me, guys.

[Seth]

Yeah. Break a leg out in the West End. And, yeah, congrats on J. Kelly. And, yeah, this has been fantastic. Thank you so much.

[Billy Crudup]

Thanks, guys.

[Josh]

All right. Bye.

[Billy Crudup]

Take it easy. Bye, Sam.

[Narrator/Poet]

We get the word from PA and at a moment's notice and to Texarkana Hotels expecting us at front desk they'd say no dad would signal Billy whom he'd nicknamed Driscoll and Billy be dancing again Try to get some sympathy so they would let them in Never once had a reservation but they would always get a room at the Holiday Inn if you drink and drive out on the road Then they turn to the eldest bro I know William was quattro when dad drank those hot lives again. Daddy always loved the wise guys in the mob but guess who didn't love them? Would that be Billy's mom? And so the two divorced Was that the end of the dream? Well, not so fast. Cause Billy's dad had a get rich quick scheme Coffee Elite was a scam Take a pound of coffee coffee and turn it into 10 he remarried his first wife again but no one was to surprise when the ship never came in I blame his fake secretary and I blame those who couldn't see what the rockabrella it could be when dad drank those pilots.

[Seth]

Again.

[Narrator/Poet]

Dad drank the highlights Go sleep in the back, Sam.