Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men / The Handmaid's Tale / The Invisible Man) • #387

Summary

Films To Be Buried With – Episode 387: Elisabeth Moss

Released: March 18, 2026
Host: Brett Goldstein | Guest: Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Invisible Man)

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Overview

In this episode, Brett Goldstein welcomes actor, producer, and director Elisabeth Moss for a lively, revealing, and often hilarious discussion about the films that have shaped her life. Known for her iconic TV roles and smart film choices, Moss steps into her dream role as both guest and Patron of Brett’s podcast. The pair cover the emotional goodbyes to long-running shows, lessons from childhood movies, the transformative power of music in film, and why she’ll always check her Patreon tier. Moss brings warmth, profound insight, and a genuine enthusiasm for cinema, making this a must-listen episode for film lovers and Moss fans alike.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Fan & Patron: Moss’s Introduction

• [04:26] Moss reveals she’s not only a fan but also a “Phantom,” the highest Patreon tier.
  • Elisabeth: “I can't give, like, the $6 category. He's going to be like, I do an Apple show too... So I was like, I think I have to do the highest one. And then I was like, now I can never cancel. Because if he sees that I cancel... now I’m in for, like, life.”
  • Brett jokes about obsessively checking if she stays at the highest donor level, setting a playful tone.

Career Retrospective: Three Decades, Three Epic Shows

• [07:00] Brett marvels at Moss's rare feat: three landmark shows—West Wing, Mad Men, The Handmaid’s Tale—spanning nearly two decades.
• [10:17] Emotional Goodbyes – Moss recalls the final days on each show:
  • West Wing: “I loved it so much, but I was very much a guest there.”
  • Mad Men: Describes a bittersweet, multi-day farewell: “We said goodbye to everybody... It felt like the real end of an era.”
  • Handmaid’s Tale: Focused on directing, but poignancy came during an intimate second unit shoot where they “burnt the cloak... It started to snow, and it was very perfect and beautiful.” Moss notes recent motherhood shifted her emotions about endings.

Acting Process, Mad Men Magic, and Collaborations

• [15:12] Moss explains the Mad Men phenomenon: “It appears as if nothing happens... but it was the most thrilling.” Brett and Moss both stand in awe of the show’s hypnotic, slow-burn narrative.
• [16:35] On Peggy Olson’s Journey: “Happy and constantly... thrilled. Like, way more than happy and honored and constantly. Pleasantly surprised.”
• Emphasizes devotion to great writing (“word for word” performances) stemming from Sorkin (West Wing), Mamet, and more.
• [21:03] Hilarious recounting of her chaotic Speed-the-Plow Broadway run—five different Bobbies—including William H. Macy and Raúl Esparza.
• Acting vs. improv: “I get really, really nervous. No... I would rather have lines to say that somebody else has written.”

Craft, Choice & Taste

• [27:17] How does Moss pick projects?
  • “It's writing first. And then the people that I'm doing it with... More and more, it’s about people... that are going to challenge me and teach me something.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“I just loved how funny [Peggy] was. I’ll always just love her so much. I just – I can't believe I got to do that, you know? …That writing – oh my God, that writing – it was word for word.”
— Elisabeth Moss on Mad Men [18:08]

“It was genius... We burnt the cloak. We like, put the cloak on the fire and burnt it. And it started to snow and it was very perfect and beautiful in exactly the way I would have wanted it to end.”
— Elisabeth Moss on her final Handmaid’s Tale shoot [13:25]

“I had to sit there between my parents and watch this man who had just recently played my father do things under a piano.”
— Elisabeth Moss on seeing The Piano at age 10 [58:16]

“The Strangers... It is the scariest film ever made... and it takes place in the day. That’s just so messed up.”
— Elisabeth Moss on what scares her [43:08]

“I don’t want to answer [what’s the worst movie]. It’s not because of the actors... it’s because of all the other people that worked on the movie that I feel bad about.”
— Elisabeth Moss on not naming a “worst film” [66:13]

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Film-Related Favorites: Moss’s Picks (with Timestamps)

First Film Memory

• Top Hat (Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers) [37:18]
  • “I was really obsessed with Ginger Rogers... My whole family were jazz musicians... So Gershwin was like, for me, the tops.”

Movie That Made You Cry

• Planes, Trains and Automobiles [39:37]
  • “Just every time. I can't get over it.”

Film That Scared You Most

• The Strangers [42:08]
• Paranormal Activity (runner-up) [44:07]

Critically Unloved Film You Love

• Only You (Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr.) [44:55]
  • “Great script... It’s a movie that I’m surprised isn’t on the level of... Notting Hill or Pretty Woman.”

Childhood Classics That Don’t Hold Up

• Dumbo [47:40]
  • “All those early Disney films are very dark... Dumbo is really disturbing and they’re mean to the elephants... And then there’s this crazy psychedelic drug scene.”

Film with the Most Personal Meaning

• Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996) [49:42]
  • “The use of music in that film was, for me, very eye opening as a budding... producer, director.”

Movie You Most Relate To

• Devil Wears Prada [51:46]
  • “I shouldn’t relate to this the way that I do... But do I think some of those things? Yes.”

Sexiest Film

• Out of Sight / Oceans 11/12/13 (Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney) [54:11]
  • “The sexual tension... is just the best. And [Soderbergh] does that just so well.”

“Troubling Boners / Worrying Wide Ons”

• The Piano [58:03]
  • “I had to sit there between my parents and watch... this man who had just recently played my father do things under a piano.”

Film You Can Watch on Repeat

• About Time (Richard Curtis) [65:13]
  • “So beautiful... I can watch it over and over and over again. I find it very comforting, even though it can be a little sad.”

Film That Made You Laugh Most

• The Thick of It (TV) [67:15]
• Austin Powers (film) [67:31]
  • “People laughed so hard in that theater you couldn't hear the movie.”

Objectively Greatest Film

• Jerry Maguire [60:59]
  • “It’s got it all... great writing, great performances, Cuba Gooding Jr... a film you can watch over and over.”

Film for Movie Night in Heaven

• Defending Your Life (Albert Brooks) [72:57]
  • “I think it's a relevant choice... but it might bring a little bit of levity to perhaps a slightly tense situation of being in this afterlife.”

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Death & Afterlife Segment

[29:11–36:31]

• Moss’s imagined death: Gives an epic TV monologue, dies on set at age 179 on Stranger Things (never wins the posthumous Emmy).
• She prefers to believe in eternal consequences and reincarnation over “lights out,” influenced by motherhood and a recent Patton Oswalt episode.
• Heaven is filled with her family (“Yay. Oh, they're all dead”), a running theme throughout.

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Podcast Playfulness: Star System & Rapid Fire

Throughout the episode, Brett jokingly awards “stars” for Moss’s answers—sometimes five at a time—culminating in a faux-competitive tally (Moss: 50 of 179, Brett: 4) [69:39]. Their chemistry is lively and full of comic asides, especially about Patreon pressure, “worrying wide-ons,” and which movies get repeated viewings.

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Key Timestamps

• [04:26] – Moss discusses her Patreon status and Brett’s response
• [07:00] – Three era-defining shows; luck vs. taste in career
• [10:17] – Final days/shoots on West Wing, Mad Men, Handmaid’s Tale
• [13:25] – Burning the Handmaid’s cloak in snow—her “perfect and beautiful” ending
• [15:00] – Mad Men’s “nothing happens but everything happens” brilliance
• [16:35] – On Peggy’s arc, surprises, and writerly gifts
• [21:03] – Multiple co-stars in Speed-the-Plow and her love of precise writing
• [27:17] – How Moss chooses roles
• [37:18] – Moss’s first memorable film: Top Hat
• [39:37] – Movies that make her cry: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
• [43:08] – Scariest movie: The Strangers
• [47:40] – Childhood movies that don’t hold up: Dumbo
• [49:42] – Most personally meaningful film: Romeo + Juliet
• [51:46] – Movie you most relate to: Devil Wears Prada
• [54:11] – Sexiest films: Soderbergh/Clooney collaborations
• [58:03] – Most awkward “troubling boner” movie moment: The Piano with her parents
• [65:13] – Most rewatched film: About Time
• [67:15] – Funniest film / audience experience: Austin Powers
• [69:39] – High “star score” joke and death-in-coffin scenario
• [72:57] – Movie to show in heaven: Defending Your Life

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Elisabeth Moss proves as thoughtful, genuine, and quick-witted as she is talented.
• Her film choices reflect an artist’s fascination with storytelling, connection, and emotion.
• The episode offers a backstage look at TV’s golden era, honest talk about endings, and a playful, intimate rapport between two true cinephiles.

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Watch Out For

• Imperfect Women — Moss’s latest Apple TV show (premiered March 18, 2026).
• Conviction — Her just-announced Hulu project set in New York [74:22].

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Closing Note

Whether you’re a Moss devotee, a cinephile, or simply love hearing creative people discuss the movies that made them, Episode 387 is rich in laughter, insight, and genuine affection for the art of film.

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Transcript

[Elisabeth Moss]

Refreshing Wild Cherry Cola meets Smooth cream. The treat you deserve. Pepsi Wild Cherry and Cream Treat yourself. Protein is now at Starbucks and it's

[Brett Goldstein]

never tasted so good.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You can add protein cold foam to your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or Matcha.

[Brett Goldstein]

Try it today at Starbucks. Look out. His Only Films to Be Buried with. Hello and welcome to Films to be Buried With. My name is Brett Goldstein. I'm a comedian, an actor, a writer, a director, a loose button, and I love films. As Anne Lamott once said, almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes. Like, you know the people in the paddling pools that sort of lived there in Minority Report and had to be unplugged. Every week I invite a special guest over. I tell them they've died. Then I get them to discuss their life through the films that meant the most to them. Previous guests include Barry Jenkins, Kevin Smith, Sharon Stone, and even Lambos. But this week we have actor, producer, director and believe it or not, films to be Buried with. Patreon and it's Elisabeth Moss. You can still watch my film all of youf, which I made with Will Bridges and Imogen Poots on Apple tv. Don't miss it. We're very proud of it. We hope you love it. Shrinking Season 3 is also on Apple TV. We are up to episode 8 this week. You can watch all three seasons and all the new episodes every Wednesday on Apple tv. We hope you love it. Head over to the Patreon if you want to be like Elizabeth [e-mail] BrettGoldstein where you get an extra 20 minutes with Elizabeth. We talk beginnings and endings. She tells me a secret she's never told another human being. You get the whole episode uncut ad free and as a video. Check it out [e-mail] BrettGoldstein so, the great Elisabeth Moss. You might know her from Mad Men, the Handmaid's Tale, the Invisible man and countless incredible performances across film and tv. Her new show, Imperfect Women makes its global debut on Apple TV today. Don't miss it. March 18 the series will premiere with the first two episodes, followed by a new episode every Wednesday through April 29. This is my very first time meeting Elizabeth Moss. I've always been a big fan of hers and boy was she fun. We had such a good time. I really think you're going to like this one. So that is it for now. I very much hope you enjoy episode 387 of Films to be Buried With. Hello and welcome to Films to be buried with. It is me, Brett Goldstein, and I am joined today by an actor, a director, a producer, an award winner, a Mad Mena, a West Winger, a handmaid tailor, a Top of the Laker, a shining girl, a veil, and a queen of Earth. Her smell is her own. Listen up, Philip. She's Shirley. She's in one of the best horror films of the last 20 years, the invisible Man. She's a French dispatcher. She's a seagull. She was a girl Interrupted. She's one of the all time greats. She's in the square. She's the one I love. She is. Can you believe it? She's here. I can't believe it, but she is here. So please welcome to the show the legend that is Elizabeth Mark. Yes.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you. Yay. I was so curious. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the podcast and I was very curious how you were going to do my intro. I'm very impressed.

[Brett Goldstein]

I knew the pressure was on when I heard you'd listen. Now, Elisabeth Moss, I'm such a huge fan. We have just met, but before we recorded, you told me something that has never happened in the history of the show, which is that not only have you heard this show before, but you are the first guest I've had on that is a Patreon.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yes, I am. So I am a huge, huge.

[Brett Goldstein]

If true.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You can look, I think then I had to get the app. What category am I?

[Brett Goldstein]

You're a Phantom. You're the highest category you can be.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you very much.

[Brett Goldstein]

I can't believe this.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you very much. So for your listeners and some viewers, I wanted to listen to some of the Patreon. Is it Patreon or Patreon?

[Brett Goldstein]

I mean, no one's ever told me anyway.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No one cares. So it's Patreon. Patreon. And I wanted to. I wanted to listen to some of the additional stuff to get an idea of what that was, because I'm a huge fan of the podcast, but I've only listened to the actual, like, the regular episodes. And so I was like, okay, I better go listen to that. And I joined yesterday. And then I was like, wait, is Brett going to see this? Is he going to see, like, what category I'm doing and, like, how much I'm giving? And I was like, I can't give, like, the $6 category. He's going to be like, I do an Apple show too. Like, I know you make more than. And so I was like, I think I have to do the highest one. And then I was like, you went phantom. I went phantom. And then I was like, now I can never cancel. Because if he sees that I cancel, he's gonna be like, well, why'd she cancel? Or if I downgrade, he's gonna be like, well, why did you downgrade? So now I'm in for, like, life.

[Brett Goldstein]

You're in for life. And I feel bad for you because you've also put it in my head. I never thought to look, but now I will look every single day to make sure he's being handled. Every morning, I would check.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, no, Lizzie.

[Brett Goldstein]

Still a phantom. Is he still a phantom?

[Elisabeth Moss]

What if I just really mess with you and, like, some days, like, some weeks just go down.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You're like, why did she go down?

[Brett Goldstein]

I'm gonna be going into work. Does anyone know? Is Elizabeth Moss okay? Anything going on in her life seems. No reason.

[Elisabeth Moss]

And then if I like an episode, I'll go back up for a little while just to mess with your head a little bit.

[Brett Goldstein]

This is great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. No legitimate fan. You're gonna find out for real whether or not I am because of my.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. When you.

[Elisabeth Moss]

My amount of preparation for this. So the truth will reveal itself before

[Brett Goldstein]

we get into all of that. Thank you. I'm delighted. Can we talk about a few of your things you've done, please?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Sure.

[Brett Goldstein]

I mean, you are one of them people. There's a couple of you in the world. You've done Minimum 3.Minimum 3 hugely successful cultural zeitgeist shows that ran for years. Three of them in one lifetime. And you're only young. That's extraordinary. Why did that happen? Is it because you're lucky or because you got very good taste?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I think a bit of both, probably. And thank you for saying that. It kind of blows my mind when you say it out loud, too, because I.

[Brett Goldstein]

West Wing was how long? Nine years.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That was. Yeah. No, well, it was six seasons or seven seasons maybe, and I was reoccurring on that. But I was on, like, pretty steadily for the first four years and then was, like, off and on a little bit, and then it was nine years on Mad Men and nine years on Handmaid's Tale. I know. It's so wild.

[Brett Goldstein]

Such big chunks of your life.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, I know.

[Brett Goldstein]

And Handmaid's Tale, you also produced, right?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. At one point, I thought about it, and I realized that with just the two shows, with just Mad and Handmaid's tale, that was 18 years of my life. And I was like, I mean, I'm not that old. I was like, how did that happen? I'm 107.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, I'm 107. When you started well, either of those shows, did you have the sense they would run so long?

[Elisabeth Moss]

No, definitely not. Definitely not. I don't know if anyone does. Right? I mean, you just don't know for sure. I mean, every one of them. West Wing, I remember there being a very distinct feeling of, you know, Aaron Sorkin wasn't Aaron Sorkin. He had done a few Good Men. But it was so smart and it was so fast. And it was definitely something that I don't think anyone felt like, well, this is going to be a slam dunk. And I don't think it was right away a massive hit. I don't think so. I think it was a little bit of a slow burn.

[Brett Goldstein]

You know what turned it around? It's when you got kidnapped.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you for saying.

[Brett Goldstein]

I think that's what I think it was. People were like, oh, shit. Well, now I'm invested.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I appreciate that. I don't know if that was the only thing, but thank you.

[Brett Goldstein]

I think that was it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Okay, let's just go with that. That's fine. And then on Mad Men. Oh, my God. I mean, that was like, well, no one's gonna watch this. It was about an advertising agency in the 60s on a network that no one had ever heard of, with no one famous in it. And it was not that fast of a show. That first hour is pretty slow. And then you don't even find out the twist until obviously the end that he has this family. And so that was definite gonna run for a long time. And then Handmaids. Yeah, I guess. Same thing. We're gonna try to adapt this first person narrative book from the 80s about an extremely touchy subject that's really, really dark.

[Brett Goldstein]

It does sound like a commercial hit.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No, on a streamer.

[Brett Goldstein]

Break it down.

[Elisabeth Moss]

And there weren't streamers. Besides, Netflix was the only one at that time, so it wasn't what it is now. Hulu wasn't what what they are now. So, yeah, it's always a crapshoot. You always feel so lucky.

[Brett Goldstein]

Can you tell me for the record, Mad Men is in my top three.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, wait. I want to know what the others are. Because I'm waiting for you to do the TV to be buried with.

[Brett Goldstein]

TV to be buried with.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I will be your first guest.

[Brett Goldstein]

Maybe we'll do a phantom episode for the patrons of TV to be buried with. But truly, when you're. Well, this Is a big question that maybe you don't. Can you remember your last day on each of those three shows? And was it similar feeling of leaving a family, sadness? Was it very different? Basically, my question is, was it different on your last day of all three shows, or was that feeling similar?

[Elisabeth Moss]

That is such a good question. And I know you'll appreciate this. As somebody who does press, I've actually never been asked, which is very unusual. Yes, Good job. So, yeah, they were. I remember each one of them and they were all different because they were so far apart. So I was a different person for each one, you know, and I was at a different stage in my life on each one. And it was a different group of people on West Wing because I was a reoccurring. I didn't have quite the same attachment. And, you know, I dipped in and out. So I loved it so much. But I was very much a guest there. So it wasn't quite the same feeling of this is ending. It ended for me every time I did an episode because I never knew if they were going to ask me back.

[Brett Goldstein]

Right.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You know, Mad Men was very momentous, that feeling of ending, because we definitely knew it was over, over, over. And I would not play that character again ever. And we all finished at the same time. We had this great last day that was scheduled last couple of days, where everybody got to do their last scene in the last couple of days, which was really genius. I know. It was really cool. So over the course of two or three days, we said good goodbye to everybody. So it felt.

[Brett Goldstein]

That makes me cry thinking about it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I know. It was really dramatic.

[Brett Goldstein]

So what? So your last scene where you walk out with the box, that's your last scene.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So it's really interesting. So my last scene is actually with. It's part of the montage at the end where everybody's, like, having their final moments. So, like, I think Pete's, like, getting off a plane or something. And then, like, I can't remember what everybody's final moment. Mine is with Jay. My God, I'm forgetting Stan. And I'm on the phone, or I'm typing, I'm typing, I'm typing. And then he comes up and he hugs me. That's like my actual final moment in the show. And that was the final moment that I shot. But what's interesting is everyone thinks the hallway is the final moment because it was kind of such an iconic moment that no one anticipated ever that becoming the moment that it became. So I'm fine to think of that. As the final one, too.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. So was that incredibly emotional. That must have been moment.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It was. And I was, like, 32, so I was younger. And it just felt like at the end of this era, I had done that from. From 23 to 32. So it's this massive, like, very formative part of your life. Yeah. And so it felt like the real end of an era. And then Handmaids, I was directing, so I was. Yeah, so I was directing that night. So I was in. I was acting and directing, and I was always focused on the work and the job and. And getting us done and getting what we needed to get, and I wasn't in. The final shot was a wide shot, and, you know, it was. I don't even remember if I was in it or not. And so it felt like more like I was doing a job, like I was at work on a regular day. But then what was cool is. So that was the final official main unit night. But then we had a second unit day that we had to do. And that was really, really cool because the second unit day was, like, just a core crew. So it was just. It just. You know how it is on the last day when, like, everyone and their mother shows up, and all of a sudden there's, like, a bunch of people there that you're like, hi. You know.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You know how it is. I'm not gonna, like, say anything bad, but, you know, it's just kind of like it feels everyone's. It's. There's a celebratory atmosphere, and it doesn't feel like a normal night.

[Brett Goldstein]

All.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You know, all of a sudden it feels weird and unusual, and you're spending most of the time trying to get people away from the monitors, like, so you can work, you know, and trying, like, to, like, make sure nobody loses their mind. So then we had this. We had that night, and that was fine. And then we had the night where. The next night where it was just us. So it was really the people who work on the show and who have worked on the show for so long, and I wasn't acting. And it was all just, like, bonfires and setting off a bomb and like, an explosion and then little inserts and stuff. And the last thing we ever shot was we burnt the cloak. We, like, put the cloak on the fire and burnt it. And it was very intimate. And it started to snow, and it was very perfect and beautiful in exactly the way I would have wanted it to end. And then the last thing I'll say is the reason why I was so different too, though, is because I had just become a mom in, like the last year.

[Brett Goldstein]

Congratulations.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you. And I was very ready to, like, kind of go be with her and start this. Really not start, because I had already started, but really embrace this new part of my life and start a new chapter. So it felt like the right time. It wasn't as sad. And we also then made a sequel, so I didn't have to say goodbye anyway.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh,

[Elisabeth Moss]

yeah. So that's my long winded answer. Yeah. So it wasn't really a goodbye. Anyway,

[Brett Goldstein]

long story short. We're still making it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Long story short. Still there.

[Brett Goldstein]

Question for you about Mad Men, where you weren't a producer, or maybe you were later. I don't think you were.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No. No.

[Brett Goldstein]

And as someone who loves Mad Men and loves your character and thinks it's so, I really think that program's incredible. And one thing I find so fascinating about Merv Men as a writer is that it's such a hypnotic, compelling. I love it so, so much. And so often it appears as if nothing happens. Like I'm in terms of, like, plot. An episode goes by and I'm totally engrossed. And as a writer, I'm going, but what happened in that? Like, what? Nothing. I don't think anything happened. And yet it was the most thrilling. I truly still can't fully work out how Mad Men works as a writer. I just fucking love it. And then something, one big thing would happen this season.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

And then anyway.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, but I know what you mean. You'd be like, I guess there was a meeting about that account.

[Brett Goldstein]

They had a meeting. Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

And then did someone get in an argument?

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Like, nothing plot wise ever happened. But it was so thrilling.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I know, I know. And it was so dense and rich. I know.

[Brett Goldstein]

Anyway, my question to you is, as the actor of Peggy, were you happy with. I'm assuming it was a surprise to you. Constantly. What was? What was? Unless you had more involvement in the story, I'm assuming you did it right. So were you happy as in. I'm as viewer, very happy with Peggy's story. Were you happy as the steward of it?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, happy and constantly. I mean, thrilled. Like, way more than happy and honored and constantly. Pleasantly surprised and. Yeah. And just. I mean, the first inkling I got that I was gonna have more to do than be just Don's secretary was after a few read throughs in a few episodes in. And we would. Yeah, we. We would, you know, get the script, hopefully the day before the read through and the Read through was the day before we started shooting, so it was very late for us non producer, lowly actors. But very normal. It's very normal. And so I remember a few read throughs in. Matt showed me on his laptop the opening titles for the first time. Oh, wow. Yeah. And my billing was second. And I didn't know that it wasn't in my contract or anything. And I was like, what? I was like, what? I was like, why am I second? And he was like, you know, I think he was like, because there's some stuff, you know, happening and all that. And he didn't really tell me much, but that was the first time that I was like, huh. I think I might, like, I think I might have. Yeah, like, I think I might have, like, more to do on the show. And then that first season, yeah, I just had so much. So much cool stuff to do, which in an ensemble like that, when there's so many good actors, you know, you're just so grateful every time you get a great storyline. Yeah. And then as it went on, by the time we got to season four, I just was so enamored with her and so proud of her and thought she was so. Yeah, I thought she was so funny. Like, she was hilarious. Especially, like, the cockier she got. And when she got a little, like, big for her britches, there was like a scene I did with Slattery where, like, I put my feet up on the table and I just thought I was like, this character's. This is a comedy. This character's hilarious. And I'm saying that because I'm not taking credit for it. The writing was hilarious, you know, So I just loved how funny she was. And I just. I'll always just love her so much. I just. I can't believe I got to do that, you know, I love it. And that writing. Oh, my God, that writing, like, it was word for word. It was one of those worlds, you know, And I had come off of. And I come off of Aaron Sorkin, which was also word for word. And in the middle of Mad Men, I did a Mamet play, same thing. So it was very much like a.

[Brett Goldstein]

So that's why the Handsmaid tale is all improvised.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Exactly. I was like, enough with this. No, I was like, I'm just not

[Brett Goldstein]

going to say what you feel. Just say what you feel.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No, I was like, I'm not going to talk at all. I'm just not going to talk at all. I'm just going to put a muzzle on. No, it was word for word. And people would always ask us, like, how is that? Blah, blah, blah. And I would always say, like, if you read a line like that, and if you get a speech like that or you get a scene like that, you don't change a word. It's perfect. And you say it the way that it was written. Cause it's perfect. You know, it's such a pleasure. Oh, it was such a pleasure.

[Brett Goldstein]

This mammoth play was Speed the Plough, correct?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

I did Speed the Plough back in the day myself, and it was my favorite play that I ever did. Yeah, when I did plays back in the day, I loved doing Speed the Plough. So fun.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, my God, that's so. Wait, which character did you play?

[Brett Goldstein]

I was Charlie, the one who's trying to. I could have gone across the street. The guy.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Who's the savvy one? The savvy one or the one. Well, they're both, like, man characters. Not the boss. Not the boss. Okay, good, good. Yeah, I got it. I got it. I got it. You had the stuff with Karen.

[Brett Goldstein]

Mm. Mm.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No, you were the other guy.

[Brett Goldstein]

The scene in the middle is Bobby. Bobby and Karen in the middle.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Okay. So you were the one.

[Brett Goldstein]

And then I'm the one talking Bobby out of it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Okay. So you were the Raul Esparza part. In my world.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Great. That's. That's a great. That's a great part.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fun.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That is so funny.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fun and funny. Did you love it?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I loved it. I loved it. Oh, my God. Yeah, I loved it. I mean, I had this. I had a. Interesting ride on that play. I had five, I think, five different bombies.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Because Jeremy Piven was the first one.

[Brett Goldstein]

Right.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Then he exited the play.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

And then you're going to have to pay a lot on Patreon to hear the rest of that story.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, my God. We're all going to be phantoms.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You're going to have. No, it's going to be. No, you need to think. I'm talking $35 and above. And then I had. We had a wonderful understudy who stepped in. Then I had Norbert Meal, but. And then I had. Yeah. And then I had William H. Macy. So I guess four. I guess.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, wow.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. So I had this, like, amazing experience of.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's quite fun.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It was really cool. And Raoul and I were the constants the whole time. And we were on this wild ride. And so it was highly unusual, but very fun. I mean, I. Yeah. I mean, Mamet, I love.

[Brett Goldstein]

How long was your run? How long did you do it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It was. We opened, I think with five different people. I think we closed when we were supposed to close. We did not close early, which was a big accomplishment. I think it was four or five months. Four months or something.

[Brett Goldstein]

Great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's so fun. Your little one grew three inches overnight.

[Brett Goldstein]

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[Elisabeth Moss]

Do you have trouble with sticking to like. Like that kind of. I mean, that's a whole other ball of wax.

[Brett Goldstein]

No, but I did. No, no. When it's like, listen, when it's mammoth, it's like. Yeah, exactly. If it's Mad Men, if it's mammoth, if it's anything like that.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

You don't want to change it. But I did used to go, I. The thing I forgot. I've just remembered that I would have a sort of ritual that was mad because in the middle it's three scenes. Big scene, big scene, big scene. And the middle scene I'm not in. And we were doing it like off West End and in the Edinburgh Festival. So like small venues and there's no kind of room to go to. So I'd just be behind the curtain while there and I would just run the next scene.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, that's smart.

[Brett Goldstein]

Which is a long fucking scene. But I would like after a week, I do know it. But then you get in your head, like, if I don't run this, I'm not going to. I'm not going to remember it. You know what I mean?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Totally.

[Brett Goldstein]

Just fucking. Just a madman facing a wall with his fucking.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yep. With all those amazing like dashes and pauses and how the dash is different from the thing and like the cutoff is. I mean. Oh, so much fun. So much fun.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

But since then I have sort of primarily worked on things where we change the lines all the time.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Yeah. Which is also fun.

[Brett Goldstein]

Which I also love.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, it's also fun. I mean that's a whole other. It's like that's its own skill. I don't like improv. I get really, really nervous. No. And I've done a fair amount of it on film and I don't think I like It. It's. Because it's just really hard. It's so hard. I would rather have lines to say that somebody else has written. That is brilliant. Coming up with my own. I just. I'm not a writer. I don't want to be a writer. And so I find that. I find that a whole other skill that's so difficult.

[Brett Goldstein]

I mean, everything you've done is good. You did those three massive shows and then even the shorter shows. Top of the Lake. Fucking brilliant. Top of the Lake.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you.

[Brett Goldstein]

He's fucking brilliant.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you.

[Brett Goldstein]

And then you've done films and if we can talk about the Invisible Man.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Hands up. Hands up. I think it's one of the greats.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thanks.

[Brett Goldstein]

I think it's one of the greatest. We had the director on this podcast. He was wonderful.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I know I haven't listened to that one. Actually.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's a really good one.

[Elisabeth Moss]

He's lovely.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's one of the great. He was lovely. I think that film's so smart and you're so brilliant with it. And it, like. And the scene in the restaurant is. Is one of the all time great scary scenes. It's fantastic.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Half of me says thank you. Obviously, I didn't come up with it, but. Yeah. Did he tell you how we shot that?

[Brett Goldstein]

No. Is it just a. Tell me.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It's so low rent. In fact, so many of the scares in that movie are, like, old school. Like you would think. It was like the 1920s silent film. Like, there was the man in the green suit. Like, there was a fair amount of fancier VFX as well. And we had, like a motion control camera for, like, the fight and stuff. So there was like, some of that. A lot of it was like super, super basic. And like, that was literally, I was like sitting there and I had to pretend there was no knife. And then there was a guy crouching by the table. And I'm doing my best attempt at seeing my sister. Sorry for the spoilers. Skip forward a minute from here if you don't want to hear this, but my sister slitting her throat. I'm trying to imagine what that feels like to see. And so I'm trying to act that. And then this guy is, like, crouching by the table. And then he just goes like. And hands me the knife and I have to, like, grab it. It's like.

[Brett Goldstein]

So that is a phenomenal performance.

[Elisabeth Moss]

The whole. It was really like. There was another scene where. Do you remember the footsteps on the. On the sheet? Like, there's like, footsteps on the sheet. This was where we got, like, real Buster Keaton. Like, there was a guy who had these plastic feet. He just walked forward with his hands, like, making these prints. That's it. And I have to. And then another person, like, pulling the sheet slowly, and I have to act like I'm horrified while these people do these ridiculous things around me.

[Brett Goldstein]

You're a very good actor.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't know. Very good faker.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, my last question. Given this list of all these greats, and there's many, many more on there other than you being other than an element of luck, of course. Sure. But not only are you brilliant, but you choose fantastically. What is it? Is there one thing? Is it different every time? Is there something? How do you know? Because you seem to have very good taste. How do you know when you read something? Given that most things are shit, how is it that, you know, this one's. I want to do this one.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't think it is any one thing. I think it's a combination of things or maybe just a sort of select few things. And it's probably changed over the years. You know, Mad Men was brilliant. Everybody wanted to be in it. I didn't choose to do it. Like, I had 10 projects to choose from. I auditioned three times, and I got it. Like, I was so excited that I got the part, you know? So it was like, that wasn't as much of choosing. That was like, well, obviously, everybody wants to be in Mad Men. Everybody in New York wanted to be in Mad Men. That was, like, the pilot to be in. And as I've gotten older and done more things, I think it's writing first, of course, and that can be whether it's funny or dramatic or smart or minimal or whatever it is. And then the people that I'm doing it with, it's less about the character as far as, like, oh, I have to play something different, or I have to do something I've never done before. I don't worry about that as much because I don't think there's anything wrong with, like, having something you're interested in exploring and continuing to explore that until you feel like you're done. And I don't want to be, like, prescriptive that way. Like, if somebody asked me to be something about advertising, I don't think I'd be like, well, no, I can't. If it was a good character, I'd be like, yeah, sure, let's do it. But it's about, I think, more and more the people I work with. So more and More it's about whether it's the showrunner, the writers, the cast, the producer. It has to be people that I feel like are going to challenge me and teach me something, are better than me, are going to expect something of me, that are going to lead, are going to be partners. It's more about that more and more, I think. And yeah, writing. Always, always writing.

[Brett Goldstein]

Elizabeth Moss, I've forgotten to tell you something. And I should have said it. I should have said it earlier, but I guess there was a clue. When you signed up for the Patreon, the name of the category you're in probably was a clue.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Just thought it was cute.

[Brett Goldstein]

You've died. You're dead.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Dead, dead, dead.

[Brett Goldstein]

You're dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Huh. Interesting. Okay. Okay, okay. Yep.

[Brett Goldstein]

Probably explain some things. How did you die?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Explain the title of your podcast. Yes.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, in a way, I guess there's a clue in that, in a way.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Let's see. Okay. I died. First of all. Wow. Second of all, I died. I would like to say that I died with my. Surrounded by my family and friends, because that's the proper serious answer. But I find that kind of sad.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, I never loved that idea, but you can have it. I just think sort of mean to your family and friends kinda is.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It's like, so they all had to watch you die. Like, that's kind of a bummer for everybody. Yeah, exactly. Like I get away with it. They have to, like, watch me die. So I'm gonna. I died doing what I love and I performed a beautiful monologue and it was heart wrenching and the entire crew was in tears.

[Brett Goldstein]

It was in a TV show or a film.

[Elisabeth Moss]

A TV show that isn't going to be also shown in theaters.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, so Stranger Things. Okay, it was Stranger Things. I died on Stranger Things, the monologue on Stranger Things.

[Elisabeth Moss]

And after I delivered this beautiful monologue and there was a single tear that went down my face and the grips are crying because, you know, if you get the grips, you've really done a good job. And I died on camera, so it's all captured on film. And then I was actually nominated for an Emmy. I didn't win, but.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, you win. You didn't win. You didn't win the posthumous Emmy? Come on.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No. It's a really tough category.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's mad. That's mad not to win it posthumously.

[Elisabeth Moss]

The female lead category is stacked.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Fuck.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You gotta do a lot.

[Brett Goldstein]

Sorry to think like a producer here, but you have.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No.

[Brett Goldstein]

Was this the. No, no, no. Was this the last Setup of the show or like, what are we going to.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I know what you mean.

[Brett Goldstein]

What happens to the show?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I know what you mean.

[Brett Goldstein]

Like, I'm worried that. What? Part of why you didn't win that Emmy is because the story stopped making sense? Because your character just disappeared. Like, were we at the end of the story when you died?

[Elisabeth Moss]

It was. At the end, it was actually scripted that I die. And then I just did it because I'm That. Yeah, because I'm that good of an actor. So I was like. I just. And then I just was like, oops. I actually died. Oopsies.

[Brett Goldstein]

God. And then no wonder the grips were crying. Jesus.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay. That's a great death.

[Elisabeth Moss]

This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which means you're probably multitasking, maybe even scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving homes without expecting to get them. But Redfin isn't just built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home with agents who close twice as many deals. When you find the one, you've got a real shot at getting it. Get [e-mail]. own the dream.

[Brett Goldstein]

Do you have a preferred age that this happens, that you die doing a monologue on Stranger Things?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Well, I don't. I don't want it to be now, if that's okay. I thought it had to be now. I thought you were telling me I'm dead now, so I would be dead now at 43.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, we live in a. Time is meaningless.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Okay, good. Good, good, good, good. So I would like to be over a hundred.

[Brett Goldstein]

Just any 79.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It's a little. No, not unless there's been some advancements in maintaining one's body and health. I don't want to be, like a shell of a person. Okay. 179 is fine.

[Brett Goldstein]

She's 179. Okay, lovely. Do you worry about death?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't worry. Yeah. I don't worry about it. I've thought a lot about this because it's, like, the most probably serious question on your podcast. I don't worry about it, but I don't like the idea. Especially I think, obviously, since, again, not to get dark and depressing, but since becoming a mom, of course you think about things in a different way. Your idea of time and how long your life is just takes on a different perspective. Of course. And so I don't worry about it because I think that would be bad if I sat around worrying about death every day. But. But I don't like the idea, but I'm not scared of the dying itself part necessarily. I just don't want to, like, leave the people I love.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, 179.

[Elisabeth Moss]

They're all dead.

[Brett Goldstein]

Will be long gone. You'll be fine.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That's true.

[Brett Goldstein]

You'll be desperate. You'll be desperate for the rapture to come.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That's great.

[Brett Goldstein]

You'll be desperate.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Absolutely. I'll be like, can I stop seeing everyone I love die? What? Great point.

[Brett Goldstein]

What do you think happens? What do you think happens after you die?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't. Obviously, I don't know. But I'd like to believe that it's not just like, lights out and blackness and you just never, ever get to be you again. I'd like to believe that that's not true. I don't think that's true. But actually, your Patton Oswald episode, I just listened to, like, a lot of interesting stuff in this area that I was like, ooh, they're really kind of getting into to some things about the old souls. That was really cool. I do believe that what you. Yeah, he's great. I do believe that what you do in this life has to affect whatever happens. Like, I do think I'm not a person who's like, yolo, like, it doesn't matter. Like, whatever. I do think there are consequences to your actions. I don't know, obviously, exactly what happens.

[Brett Goldstein]

Interesting. As in doesn't have to be this. But you mean like a heaven and hell type thing?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Exactly.

[Brett Goldstein]

Right.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I would hope that it's not.

[Brett Goldstein]

The consequences are in the afterlife, not in this life.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Well, I think probably both. Probably both.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Interesting.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I think. I mean, what do you think? You've probably talked about it.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, I think. I don't think there's punishment in the next part. I think it's. I think it's all. I think it's all love. But I do think. But I believe in reincarnation. I do think you have to come back. I think if you were. If you were bad, the consequences. You have to come back and you probably have to live a life that maybe one of your victims lived. You know what I mean?

[Elisabeth Moss]

That sort of.

[Brett Goldstein]

You have to experience. So I guess that's quite a big punishment, really. It just doesn't happen. You get a break in the middle. You get a break in the middle,

[Elisabeth Moss]

you get like a breather.

[Brett Goldstein]

You get like a little holiday, and then they go. Right, off you go, okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You know that little Timmy that you bullied? Well, guess what?

[Brett Goldstein]

Guess who you are, little Timmy. Oh, no, he had a terrible life. Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I think that makes a lot of sense. I think reincarnation definitely makes more sense than not. You know, lights out. To me, just blackness, like nothing ever happens again. Doesn't make sense. But to me. But yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, I got news for you.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, good.

[Brett Goldstein]

There's a heaven.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Wonderful.

[Brett Goldstein]

There's not a hell. You're going to heaven.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Perfect.

[Brett Goldstein]

And they're very excited to see you. It's filled. Heaven's filled with your favorite thing. What's your favorite thing?

[Elisabeth Moss]

My family.

[Brett Goldstein]

Ah, your family are there.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yay. Oh, they're all dead.

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, they're all dead. They've been waiting for ages.

[Elisabeth Moss]

They've been there for 50 years.

[Brett Goldstein]

They're like, you took your time. Elizabeth, thanks for joining. Oh, someone's finally decided to join us since they worked on how to make your body and face last longer. Really took advantage of that. Yeah, you come in. They're very excited to see you. They've missed you. They want to hear about your life, but they want to hear about your life through film. And the first thing they ask you is, what's the first film you remember seeing? Elisabeth Moss.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So I think the first film I probably saw was probably like an animated Disney film. But the first film. Film that I remember seeing wasn't like that kind of thing was Top Hat, the Ginger Rogers. Fred Astaire. Yeah. When I was little, really little, I was really, for whatever reason, really obsessed with Ginger Rogers. And I think her autobiography was probably one of the first more grown up books I read. And I just loved those movies. So Swing Time and just anything that had Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, I just was. Yeah. Just enamored by. Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Did you want to be Ginger Rogers?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't think I was a dancer. I was a ballet dancer when I was younger. Yeah. So when I was like 5 years old. So I loved dancing, but I didn't really, like, have any aspirations to be like a ballroom dancer or anything. I think it was just the magic of them and the aspirational nature of them, the music. I was really. My whole family were jazz musicians.

[Brett Goldstein]

What?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. And they were all musicians and in jazz and blues. And so I grew up with a lot of jazz music. So anything that was like, where did you grow up? Louisiana. Yeah. Laurel Canyon.

[Brett Goldstein]

Wow.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. So Gershwin was like, for me, that was the tops. Like, Gershwin was the tops. Ella Fitzgerald, all of that. Glenn Miller, all of that, like, kind of music was what I loved to listen to when I was like a kid. Kid. So I think it Was the music, too. The costumes. It was just very, like, magical, you know?

[Brett Goldstein]

Wow.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

What? Dreamy. That's a dreamy childhood.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

They're all jazz musicians.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Wow.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

I've never. What an unusual life.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I know. I know. So my family were all artists, or are all artists, but they. Not in acting. Nobody in film or tv.

[Brett Goldstein]

And you didn't. You didn't play an instrument or learn.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I learned the piano a little bit.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

But I was too busy dancing because I was very, very serious about ballet and acting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Always. Always wanted to act.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the film that made you cry the most? Are you a crier?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yes, definitely. I would say it's changed a bit over the years, so the one that always works on me is Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The end.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fucking.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

I could watch the last 10 seconds of that and it'll make me cry.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Just every time. Just every time. I can't get over it.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's killer.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Killer.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it's killer. Just his face. His face and his hands.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I get chills. I get chills just talking about it. And his speech. It's the end. And it's also his speech where he's like, I like me. Ugh. And if, you know, if it's not your first time watching it and, you know, chills just kills me. So that's the one that, like. That's the one that always works on me. I would say that the thing that's changed is I used to be very tough about dark material. And I used to be very, like, just anything. I wouldn't flinch, like, very much. Can watch, like, a lot of dark stuff. Since becoming a mom, I've become quite sensitive to anything involving kids. So, yeah. You know. Huh. So I used to be, like. When people come up to me and be like, hammy's Tale is so dark, like. Or I just had a child, or I was. I couldn't watch it when I was pregnant. I'd be like, okay, I guess that's. You know, I get it. And. But would part of me, like, not quite understand. And now, like, I can't even think about Sophie's Choice. I can't think about it. I can't think about that scene.

[Brett Goldstein]

Hell, yeah. Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So that's definitely changed.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's. I don't have children. And my friend Joe Kelly, who I. Who I've written a lot of stuff with, I'm always recommending Filson. I'm going, it's the best film ever. And then he'll start it and he'll be like, a child died and he has children. He's like, why are you sending me this? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry. It's like our running thing that I'm always recommending. Yeah, this one's good. A child dies in it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Totally. It's a funny thing, you don't think about it, because I've seen. Spent most of my life not a mom. You know, 20s and 30s, all not a mom. So I'm very much more familiar with that side of things. And you. It's not. You just kind of don't think about it. It's kind of fine. You're like, yeah, it's sad. You don't want it to happen, but it's not something that's, like, going to upset you.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's sad. I'm not saying it's not sad, Joe.

[Elisabeth Moss]

The Theoretically, I get that the kids should not have died.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is the film that scared you the most? You've been among the great horrors. What scares you? Do you like being scared?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I do, definitely. I don't watch them necessarily on my own because I will legitimately get scared, but I do love a scary film. That's the one thing I don't get. Like, I'm not scared too easily. I think the scariest film ever made. I can't imagine it's not. This is Strangers. Have you seen that?

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, the home invasion.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Have you seen that one?

[Brett Goldstein]

I mean, I hate home invasion stuff. I don't think I've seen Strangers because I really don't like home invasion stuff because it's so scary.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't think you should see this then.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I genuinely don't think you should see it. Number one, it is the scariest film ever made. And two, it is all about home invasion. That's all it is. And it's so brilliantly done. It's so simple the way that it's done. And then he does the Director's Maze. Brian Bertino directed it, wrote and directed it. And he does the most terrible thing that he can do, which is one of the scariest scenes, which I won't tell you, which it is. Takes place in the day. And that's.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, like, that's so. It's just so messed up because everything scary happens at night. And we've all agreed upon this. You can't do it during the day. Because if you do it during the day, then it's like, well, now what do we do?

[Brett Goldstein]

That's why your restaurant scene in Invisible Man Is so great because you're like, this is a scene that is the gap between the scary scenes.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That's true.

[Brett Goldstein]

This is just two people in a very busy restaurant. We can all relax, brightly lit.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Nothing bad's gonna happen here. Everything's fine. That's right. That's true. That's fair. Yeah. So strangers.

[Brett Goldstein]

Strangers. Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

You know, there's, like, five sequels which I assume you haven't watched.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I have not watched them, no. I don't think the original director did all of them. I'm not sure. Yeah, I think it's one of those.

[Brett Goldstein]

Renny Harlan just did a trilogy of them.

[Elisabeth Moss]

They might all be great. I have no idea. But the first one is so scary that I was like, I'm good. I'm good now. No more. So have you not seen Paranormal Activity or any of those?

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, I love Paranormal.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Yeah. That was. My other response, was Paranormal Activity.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love ghosts. I love ghosts. I don't like people being tortured by people.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

People being tortured by ghosts, I'm okay with. I don't like it when it's people being horrible to people.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So people being tortured by things. Okay. By dead people is fine, though.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fine. Absolutely fine. It's dead. They've got their reasons.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Who knows what they're dealing with on the other side.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. We don't know if your widow is right. They're dealing with consequences.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Exactly.

[Brett Goldstein]

Who saw their.

[Elisabeth Moss]

They're pissed.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. They gotta do some torturing.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is the film that you love is not critically acclaimed. A lot of people don't like it. But you love it unconditionally.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. I love this question. So I actually had to look it up because I wasn't sure what the response was to it. And it has, like, a halfway decent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whatever that means. So it's not like the worst critic response, but it's not great. Is only you, the Robert Downey Jr. Marisa Tomei movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

Love that film. I love that film. Love that film.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Okay. I'm so excited that you've seen it because the number one thing is I don't think a lot of people have seen it.

[Brett Goldstein]

I saw it. It was like a film you'd get out on VHS back in the day.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Absolutely.

[Brett Goldstein]

Me and my sister would get it out a few times.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I'm pretty sure I first saw it on VHS with that cover. And she's, like, dancing in the white dress.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Love that movie. Great script, great idea, great plot, great lines. Robert Downey Jr. Is like, in his just element as, like, the charming, funny, kind of nerdy, but also kind of hot. So, like, you know, he's just being his best Robert Downey Jr. And she's just being like, just such a wonderful, funny, zany, sweet character. And then it's a great love story that has, like, a great kind of concept and idea. I just. It's a movie that I'm surprised isn't on the level of, like, you know, this is a little later, but like a Notting Hill or maybe like. I don't know, it's just. Yeah, like, this is just as good as, like, Pretty Woman or any of these other, like, classic rom coms.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love that you said that. And I hope people watch it now.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Me too.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's a great show. Good.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I'm just excited you've seen it, because I just was like, I don't think. I just don't.

[Brett Goldstein]

I haven't seen it in so many years, but I definitely loved it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Well, holds up, by the way.

[Brett Goldstein]

I hope it holds up.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Watch it last year. Totally holds up.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, great news.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Still great.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's great news.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Bonnie Hunt's in it. She's fantastic.

[Brett Goldstein]

Always fantastic.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Fisher Stevens, I think, is in it.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fantastic.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It's great.

[Brett Goldstein]

Fantastic.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. Break through the busiest time of year with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Tread Pl. Powered by Peloton iq. With real time guidance and endless ways to move, you can personalize your workouts and train with confidence, helping you reach your goals in less time. Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go explore the new peloton cross training Tread [e-mail].

[Brett Goldstein]

what about the other end of the scale? A film you used to love, but you've watched it recently and you do not like it anymore for whatever reason that may be.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Elizabeth Moth.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. So this is, for me, this is a film that I watched because I was looking for films for my child and I was.

[Brett Goldstein]

How old is your child, may I ask?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Fine. She's almost two. Dumbo. Like the original. First of all, all those films, all of those early Disney films are very dark. If you try to watch the Lion King now, like the original, if you fast forward through all of the scary parts or dark parts, there's really only about six minutes of watchable material.

[Brett Goldstein]

That's probably true.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It's like Hakuna Matata. And then maybe they kind of run around a little bit and the rest is just like, ooh, ooh, ooh. Scary, scary, scary.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it's Love scenes or scary scenes?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Kind of the same with Dumbo. It's really disturbing and like they're mean to the elephants. And then the elephants are mean to the elephants. The humans are terrible. And then there's this crazy psychedelic sequence in it.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. Drug scene.

[Elisabeth Moss]

There's this crazy drug scene that you're like, okay, well I don't, I don't like this, let alone the child. And then there's of course, Baby Mine, which is like the most. Which. That's the best part of the movie because it's the best song that Disney ever did. But it's also the saddest part of any movie ever.

[Brett Goldstein]

I said, she's in jail.

[Elisabeth Moss]

She's like in this jail and she's like comforting her child. Child. It's so devastating. So that's something that like is probably still good, but it's not what I remembered.

[Brett Goldstein]

Just constantly fast forwarding it and covering your child's eyes.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Trying to.

[Brett Goldstein]

Don't. Don't do drugs.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Mommy's not going to end up in jail. Don't do drugs. Don't ever go to the circus.

[Brett Goldstein]

I guess, like it's no flying with your ears. Yeah, that looks fun, but it's dangerous.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Bambi. Same thing. You gotta fast forward through a lot of that.

[Brett Goldstein]

Bambi. Horrific. Mm.

[Elisabeth Moss]

They're dark. They're real dark.

[Brett Goldstein]

They're really dark.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Mm.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is the film that means the most to you? Not necessarily the film is good, but the experience you had seeing it made it always memorable and special to you. Elizabeth Moth.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, this was hard because that's kind of any film that you love that is the experience. Right. That it changes you in some way or means something to you. So this was hard because I had so many answers for it. Ultimately, I think I'm going to go with Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, which I saw, I guess when I was like, I'm probably going to get this all wrong and someone can fact check this and I'll be totally wrong. But I was a teenager, let's just say, and I saw it several times in the theater. The thing that, besides, I mean, obviously I was in love with Leonardo DiCaprio like any self respecting teenager. But. But the thing that changed me or sort of affected me was the idea of how to put music to film and what he did with that. So that Radiohead song that plays when you first see Leo, when you first see Romeo, and the way that that song fits so perfectly with that moment, the score that's playing when they see each other through the fish tank. The. There's. I mean, when doves cry. Like, the use of that. The use of music in that film was, for me, the, like, very eye opening as a budding whatever, producer, director, whatever I was gonna, 20 years later, 30 years later become. It was the first time I really saw how the impact of that on the screen. Using modern music, not just score to highlight a moment or tell a story and tell part of the story and to just make it come alive and to. To toe the line between, like, the music video and film. So that was something that I definitely. That definitely changed how I thought about it. And 30 years later, 25. 30 years later is still something that I. I feel like affects me directly when I'm making choices as a producer or a director.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, that's a fantastic answer. You can have five stars for that.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you very much.

[Brett Goldstein]

Five stars.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I should hope so. I'm taking $29 for this phantom status. It'll be at least five.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the film you most relate to? Elisabeth Moss.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Okay, so it's gonna be like a sort of, I don't know, debatable response, but I think that I shouldn't relate to this probably the way that I do. But I can't get over Miranda Priestly, Meryl Streep's character in Devil Wears Prada. I feel like you might relate to

[Brett Goldstein]

her to the Devil.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I feel like there are things that she says in that film that I think. And I don't say because it's not nice to say them out loud, but there are things that I think that are in that voice. So when I watch her, I identify with her and relate to her in the way of, like. All right, well, I'm not going to say that out loud because that's not nice to say, and that's not how you're supposed to treat people. And I actually do believe that. But do I think it, like, do I wonder why? Why we're still waiting?

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Do I wonder if that, you know, why it's taking so long? Like, do I want to hear all about why you couldn't do this? No. And so there are definitely lines that I'm like, yeah, I get that. I get that. I don't think I'm the only one either. I think it's. But we're just. We don't say them because.

[Brett Goldstein]

Do you think that's why that film's so popular?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Well, yeah. I mean, it's just also, like, a great script and great characters, but she's I mean, yeah. I mean, she's. Of all the films she's done, all the incredible characters she's done, that one is just so iconic.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, I'm giving another five stars for that answer.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, it's good.

[Brett Goldstein]

Thank you for being.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Do they add up?

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it is good.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Or is it?

[Brett Goldstein]

I don't normally.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Five o'.

[Brett Goldstein]

Clock. There's normally no points. Sometimes it's points, but for some reason it's come out of stars this episode. So that's new.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That's good.

[Brett Goldstein]

Currently, you're in the lead with 10 stars because no one else has any stars.

[Elisabeth Moss]

No one else has any stars. I was gonna ask, is it like 5 and then you get 5 more? So you get 10, or is it just like you continue to get the five star rating?

[Brett Goldstein]

No, you've gone up to 10.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Great, good.

[Brett Goldstein]

You're at 10. I'll tell you at the end what it's out of. What is the. What's the sexiest film you've ever seen? Elizabeth Moss.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So this is kind of a cheap answer, I feel like. And I feel like it's obvious, but when I think about it, it is what comes to mind. And it was hard. Top hat. What was that?

[Brett Goldstein]

Top hat.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Top hat. I love a man in tap shoes. I love a small man in tap shoes. No, I gotta go with Steven Soderbergh. Anything. And particularly Ocean's 11, 12, 13 and out of Sight.

[Brett Goldstein]

Out of Sight.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, like anything. Well, really anything with George Clooney, but particularly George Clooney plus Soderbergh. And then if you can also add Brad Pitt and also Ed. Julia Roberts, then we're doing really, really well. And they can also be walking around the casino. This is also really good.

[Brett Goldstein]

So you want Ocean's twelve. Ocean's twelve is your sweet spot.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yes, that's what you do.

[Brett Goldstein]

You get European, you get casinos, you get George, you get Brad, you get Julia.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, yeah. And you get all of them. And then you get them all in suits, which is great. And then. Yeah, I think it's just. But there's something about Soderbergh, the way he does that. There's just the sexual tension, you know, of two characters meeting is always, to me, sexier and more interesting, of course, than the actual, like, act, which has its place, but is often more embarrassing than anything else. The tension of the two characters just looking at each other is just the best. And he does that just so well.

[Brett Goldstein]

I mean, outside it would be my otz's.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, that's correct. That's A good answer. That is a correct answer. Five stars. I don't know if you knew, but there was a star system on this end as well.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, I get five stars. This is fantastic. Well, you're in the lead with 10, but I'm now on five. Oh, great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. Don't give up.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay. It's out of 179, but. Okay, what is. There's a subcategory. Obviously you know this because you're a huge fan of the podcast.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yes.

[Brett Goldstein]

Troubling boners. Worrying wide ons a film you found arousing that you weren't sure you should. Elizabeth Moss.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So now I get to answer ask you this question, which I could have googled, but I forgot. Which is. I don't. What is it? What is a widon? I don't know. Should I just Google it?

[Brett Goldstein]

That made me.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I'll Google it. No, I'll Google it.

[Brett Goldstein]

A wide on is the equivalent. It's a female Bonaire. Oh, it's.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I still don't get

[Brett Goldstein]

says. It said. It said.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I'll go look it up. There's.

[Brett Goldstein]

This is way we casually like troubling boner. Way more than Wydon.

[Elisabeth Moss]

This is way more expensive than $29. I'm gonna Google it. This is not a category in the Patreon. This is not a triple X category. I'm gonna google wide on.

[Brett Goldstein]

I think you might be the first guest to have asked about the Wydon. I don't know if everyone all this time has been thinking, what's a wide?

[Elisabeth Moss]

No, they just don't want to ask because it's so embarrassing. And to get you to explain it, which I've taken great pleasure in. But there's no way that everybody knows. There's no way that everybody knows what white on is. There's no way. Is it a British thing?

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, it's the female equivalent of.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I get it.

[Brett Goldstein]

I get it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You don't have to repeat it. I got it the first time. It's okay. We're all good. We all get it now.

[Brett Goldstein]

Did I lose. Did I lose? 5 stars for the explanation of a wide angel.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Definitely down four. Definitely darts. Just for the second time. The first time you were holding it five. But when you tried to go in again.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay. But you didn't seem to have understood, so I was just wanted to make sure we were clear again. So now you know what it is.

[Elisabeth Moss]

We're good.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is. What is your worrying wife film? Elizabeth Moss.

[Elisabeth Moss]

This is kind of a slight alteration, I think, on the question, but it Is what occurred to me was When I was 10 years old, my parents took me. I had done a film with Harvey Keitel where I played his daughter.

[Brett Goldstein]

What was the film?

[Elisabeth Moss]

It's called Imaginary Crimes. Small, tiny indie film. A nice little movie, but so they were like, oh, there's a new Harvey Keitel movie out. Let's go see it. Him and Holly Hunter. And seems to be maybe about music called the Piano. They're all musicians, so I go to see the piano. Yeah, the piano seems to be about music or something. So I go see the piano with my mom on one side and my dad on the other. And I was about 10. I know because I'm the exact same age, same birthday as Anna Paquin. And I don't remember a lot of it because I blacked out. But I had to sit there between my parents and watch. I haven't seen the film since because it was so embarrassing that I have not been able to look at it. But there's. From what I vaguely remember, a lot of sex in it. And I had to sit between my parents and watch this man who had just recently played my father

[Brett Goldstein]

do things under a piano.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. So it's kind of a slight alteration to the question in the sense of I was obviously not turned on or having a white on or whatever it is, experiencing a white on.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's huge, huge day.

[Elisabeth Moss]

But it was very embarrassing and not appropriate.

[Brett Goldstein]

I'm gonna give you five stars.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Nice. 15.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, 15. You're on 15. I'm on four. You then worked with Jane Campion? Yeah, yeah, in Top of the Lake. Did you ever tell her this?

[Elisabeth Moss]

You know, I don't know if I did. I must have told her. And I also work with Holly.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love her. Was she amazing?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, yeah, she's the best. She's the best. They're both the best. She, Jane is like just the most. She's just very special person. She's very caring. She's very personal. You know, she gives great advice. Like.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, nice.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. She's a really good actors, director. Of course, she remains a dear friend. Like, she's a special person.

[Brett Goldstein]

Nice.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

I'm happy to hear it. What is objectively, objectively the greatest film of all time might not be your favorite, but it's the pinnacle of cinema.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I think this is your hardest of the questions. I think this is your hardest because it really puts. Because you want to answer, like the smart answer. Like you want to be like Godfather or like nobody wants that. But that's like everyone's agree a Citizen Kane. Like, everyone's agreed that these are, like, the best films, but I don't want to do that. So I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna go with Jerry Maguire.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love Jerry Maguire.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. I mean, it's got it all. It's got it all.

[Brett Goldstein]

It does have it all.

[Elisabeth Moss]

It has it all. It's got drama, it's got comedy. It has, obviously, romance. It has incredible needle drops, sports, great writing, great performances. Cuba Gooding Jr. In that movie is just one of the classic performances of all cinema. Like, it's a film you can watch over and over. It's a film you can watch, I think, in different parts of your life and take different things from it. If you're more into a competitive time in your life, maybe it's more about that. If you're more career oriented, maybe it's about that. If you're more into romance, maybe it's more about that for you. But it's a film that holds up. I mean, Cameron Crowe, he.

[Brett Goldstein]

I love Jeremy Byrd so much. I don't think. I know. This is one of the reasons I love it. I don't think they should be together. I don't think he really loves her.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You're not correct.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, chaps, please. But I like. I think it's interesting. I think when he goes back to get her, it's because he can't be alone. And he loves the kid. He truly loves the kid.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Oh, you think that, like, the first time or like the final time? Like, if you think the final time, he shouldn't be.

[Brett Goldstein]

When he says, I want to talk to my wife, I still think he doesn't actually love. I think he likes her very much, and he loves her kid, and he doesn't like being alone, and he misses what she brought to his life. But I don't think he loves her.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That's not correct.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

You're just not correct. I think that that is the point of the first. Like, you know, how they get together the first time and then they break up. So I think that Cameron is exploring that. The first time that he does, he just wants to be with the kid and he doesn't want to be alone. And he is used to being with somebody, and there's something great on paper about it. But then when I think, what's so great about what Cameron, I don't know him, so I shouldn't call him Cameron. But what Cameron Crowe does is he explores that, goes through it, they break up, and then they do end up together. So you do get your, like, classic Hollywood love story ending. But you've explored the, like, option of what you just said. But you think that's it, that that's just the end of it.

[Brett Goldstein]

I think that's what is interesting about it, is I think he doesn't. He experiences. Things change, his circumstances change, and he certainly succeeds in the career part, but maybe it's more about, like, real love. Like, it's like, they're a good team. They're a good team. They are a good team. But I don't think he feels the thing that she wishes he felt.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Mm. Interesting. I mean, I think that's a different movie. Like, I think that the one that you're talking about, The movie that you're talking about where they, like, don't end up is, like, a different movie, but

[Brett Goldstein]

they do end up together. It's just that.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, but you don't think. You think that it's fine that they end up together, but they.

[Brett Goldstein]

I think he's thinking, as the guy for the walk at the end, he's thinking, yeah. Oh, God, I've done it again.

[Elisabeth Moss]

That's so sad. It's so sad. But it's interesting and, like, pessimistic. This sounds like it's a little bit more reflective of maybe some of your own problems.

[Brett Goldstein]

No, I don't know what you're talking about. That's another five stars. I really love it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Five stars?

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah. You get five stars for that.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Okay, perfect. Good. Yeah. Yeah. That's not the movie people want to watch. But people don't want to watch the movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

He doesn't sell it. When he pitched the film, he would have just said, they end up together. What he doesn't say is they end up together and they probably shouldn't. That's what he's thinking.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Nobody wants to watch that movie. That's not the right movie. That's a different movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

What is the film you could or have watched the most over and over again?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I have kind of, like, two answers with this because one affects the other answer that you may ask me later, so I might save one and hopefully it applies later. I think that a film that I have watched over and over again that I could watch right now is about time. Do you know that movie?

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, my God. Yeah. The Rishou Curtis film.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Right.

[Brett Goldstein]

Made me cry so much. So much.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

I can't bear it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So beautiful. Donald Gleason is, like, so beautiful in the movie. It's just, like, surprising. One of those films that you're. Again, it should definitely Be something that is a lot more people, I think, have seen. Although I do think it's one of those films that has become more of a classic as the years have gone by. Beautiful script, beautiful performances, heartbreaking, like you said, kind of wonderful. Life lessons about appreciating what you have and being in the moment and enjoy, you know, the being. I don't know, Just very effective. I mean, Richard Curtis, God love him so much, but that one, I just. I love that movie.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah, you're right. It's not. It should be more beloved.

[Elisabeth Moss]

And for some reason, I can watch it over and over and over again. I find it very comforting, even though it's a little. Can be a little sad, but I find it very comforting.

[Brett Goldstein]

Lovely answer.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you.

[Brett Goldstein]

What's the worst film you've ever seen?

[Elisabeth Moss]

I don't want to answer this one.

[Brett Goldstein]

And I give you five stars for that. What is.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Wait, I want to explain why I don't want to answer because it's important. I do think there are films that are terrible. I'm not saying that. But my thing on why I don't want to answer is because it's not because of the actors. I don't want. It's not because I'm worried about slagging off the actors or the director because they can take it. We've all had, you know, things were not. We knew didn't work out. It's because of all the other people that have worked on the movie that I feel bad about. You know, like, what if, like, the boom operator or the, you know, whatever is, like, listening to this podcast and goes, oh, I worked on that movie, like, and now that person thinks it's the worst movie they ever saw. And it's those people that I feel bad about, you know, so, yeah, there you go.

[Brett Goldstein]

It's a trick question anyway. You shouldn't answer it. What is the. What? You're very funny. What's the film that made you laugh the most? Elizabeth Moth.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you. So my answer for this is actually a TV show, but I will come up, I will say a movie. My real answer is the Thick of It TV show.

[Brett Goldstein]

Ah, Fucking great. Okay, fair enough.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Funniest TV show ever made.

[Brett Goldstein]

Yeah.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Most brilliant, obviously. Love him so much. Showrunner Veep is like, my other favorite TV show, but that. The whole. That. That. It makes my skin hurt how funny that show is. But if I'm gonna say a movie, until you do your TV shows to be buried with podcast, I would say the film that I saw that, like, people laughed the Most at that was like an experience in the theater that I've never heard people laugh like this since was Austin Powers, which I haven't seen in years. So I don't know if it still has that. But that movie, seeing that in the theater, I have never heard people. Book of Mormon, when I saw that was the other one that people laughed at the same way I have not heard people laugh like you couldn't hear the movie. People were laughing so hard in that theater. So that felt like a moment that people were having. Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

I forgot to also mention that you're in the Last Supper, which was a seminal film for me.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Am I?

[Brett Goldstein]

Well, it says you are. Are you in the Last Supper? Are you not in it? Because I was like, who's she in the Last Supper?

[Elisabeth Moss]

Well, okay, so this is on my.

[Brett Goldstein]

On your.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Like IMDb on my. But I don't know what I was in that. I think I was like, what year was it?

[Brett Goldstein]

You're in it? Because I was like, is she in it? But I guess you were very, very young. So maybe you're just a little girl in the background.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah, exactly. I think I must have been like a little girl in the background. Like, what year was that movie?

[Brett Goldstein]

95.

[Elisabeth Moss]

So I was 82. So I was 13. Wasn't like that little. I was like 13. I don't know what I was in that movie. I have no idea. I've never seen it. I don't know.

[Brett Goldstein]

Is it. Yeah, it's a great. Yeah, I saw it while I was a teenager, but I loved it. It's such a cool.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Well, I was in that movie then.

[Brett Goldstein]

I was in that movie and you were fantastic in that movie.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Even though neither of us were seminal,

[Brett Goldstein]

neither of us is sure you're in it.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I was a pivotal. Pivotal part of that film. And the reason most likely why it worked.

[Brett Goldstein]

Now, Elisabeth Moss, not only have you got let's knee jisks. No disk chop these at 5, 10. So you got 10, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35. You got 50 stars out of 179, however. And I got four stars. So it was a pretty. It was a pretty even match. Now, however. However, you've been wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I've loved this. I appreciate how long we've talked. It's been wonderful, however, endless. When you were 179 years old and you were in Stranger Things, much like the Handmaid tale, it never really ended. And they did Stranger Things because they do it for TV and the cinema. Thanks to Ted Sarandos, He Put TV back on the cinema. And for the final scene, your final scene to shoot, you had a monologue, long monologue. It was 20 pages. It's the future. People have a much bigger attention span. And you do, you do this 20 page monologue and the grips are weeping and not just because the boom operator's arms are tied. From your 20 page monologue, people are crying because of. Your acting is so magnificent. And at this Stage in your life, 79, everyone you know is dead. Everyone you loved is dead. You have gone full method. You've become a method actor. And where's the death scene? You're like, I'm gonna die. You say your last words and then you clutch your heart. Clutch your heart. And then you fall down and you die. And they go, and cut. Everyone claps, claps, claps. I'm walking past with a coffin. You know what I'm like? And everyone's standing around clapping. And I go, guys. And they go, what? And I go, you know, she's a method actor now. And they go, oh, fuck. And I go, it did not occur to you she wasn't moving anymore? And I go, are you joking? I go, yeah, it was in there. She did a whole interview about it in Variety that she was gonna go method because everyone she loved was dead and there was no point in being herself anymore. She's obviously died for real. And they go, ah. And I go, did you get everything you needed? They go, yeah. To be fair, the lime producer had cleverly scheduled this for the end of the day. I had a feeling. I go, well, help me get her in the coffin. But your body, because of the advances of science, has changed rapidly in the future. Everyone's much bigger. You're like three times the size of what used to be like a giant to me. I'm the same size I always was. You're now a giant. But most people are giants. I'm like, fuck. I only brought an old school sized coffin and Elizabeth's now a giant, obviously. Can you guys help me? Have you got any, like, axes and stuff? And they go, yeah, yeah. And the medic's got some scalpels and go, we'll chop her up. Everyone's standing around chopping up bits of you, trying to stuff you in the coffin, trying to get you in the coffin, and managed to get you in the coffin, but it's absolutely rammed in there. It's rammed. There's only enough room for me to slip one DVD in the side for you to take across to the other side. And on the Other side. It's movie night every night. What film? Before you answer this question, I have a little surprise for you. You didn't win the Emmy posthumously, sadly, but you did win the Oscar because Stranger Things played in a cinema and you won the posthumous Oscar. What film would you like to show your family in heaven when it is your movie night? Elisabeth Moss? Go.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I think it has to be defending your life.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, okay. A meta choice. Okay.

[Elisabeth Moss]

A what choice?

[Brett Goldstein]

A meta choice. They're all there going, fucking now. We've got to defend our lives. Mm.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

And you're like, yes, family.

[Elisabeth Moss]

I think it's a relevant choice and I think. But it might bring a little bit of levity to perhaps a slightly tense situation of being in this afterlife. And God knows what's happening there.

[Brett Goldstein]

So I thought maybe all these consequences you might pay for the next life.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yes.

[Brett Goldstein]

Just let's have a nice time.

[Elisabeth Moss]

We'll worry about little Timmy in a second. Let's just. Let's have a little time with Albert Brooks. By the way, my backup answer, which you can cut, is broadcast news.

[Brett Goldstein]

Wonderful, Wonderful. Beautiful.

[Elisabeth Moss]

If there's a double disc in the coffin, I would take both. There's not.

[Brett Goldstein]

Good.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Fine. Fair enough. I think defending your life.

[Brett Goldstein]

Okay, Elizabeth Moss, I've enjoyed this more than you can ever imagine. Would you tell the listeners at home or in their cars or at the gym or whatever people do what to look out for that you are in and have made? Coming soon or out.

[Elisabeth Moss]

In fact, today I have a show coming out. I pretty sure today in our world here, I think so called imperfect women on our favorite Apple tv.

[Brett Goldstein]

Love apple.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Mm. Love Apple. And I'm gonna go make a new show. I'm gonna make a show in New York actually called Conviction for Hulu.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah. So I don't have a lot to say about it yet, but I'm gonna go start making that this summer, which I'm very excited about. Cause I live in New York, so I get to be home, which is gonna be really nice.

[Brett Goldstein]

Oh, great.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Yeah.

[Brett Goldstein]

Elisabeth Muss, what a pleasure. Thank you very, very much for doing this. And I will be checking my Patreon every day to see if you jump ship. Have a wonderful death. What a lovely time. Thank you very much.

[Elisabeth Moss]

Thank you. Goodbye.

[Brett Goldstein]

So that was episode 387. Head over to the [e-mail] BrettGoldstein for the extra 20 minutes of chat sequence and video with Elizabeth, go to Apple podcast. Give us a five star rating, but write about the film. That means the most to you and why It's a lovely thing to read. Makes everyone cry and we really appreciate it. Watch all of you and Shrinking and Imperfect Women all on Apple tv. Thank you so much to Elizabeth for her time and for being a Patreon. Thank you to Scruvious Pip and the Distraction Pieces Network. Thanks to Buddy Peace for producing it. Thanks to Adam Richardson for the graphics and Lisa Lydon for the photography. Come join me in a couple of weeks for another amazing episode with a very, very special guest. That is it for now. Thank you all for tuning in. In the meantime, have a lovely week and please now more than ever, be excellent to each other. Sam. Martha listens to her favorite band all the time. In the car, gym, even sleeping. So when they finally went on tour, Martha bundled her flight and hotel on Expedia to see them live. She saved so much she got a seat close enough to actually see and hear them. Sort of. You were made to scream from the front row. We were made to quietly save you more Expedia made Made to Travel Savings vary and subject to availability. Flight inclusive packages are atoll protected.

[Elisabeth Moss]

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