
Join your host Brett Goldstein as he talks life, death, love and the universe with the fabulous actor, producer & director STEVE ZAHN!
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Brett Goldstein
Look out. It's only Films to be Buried with. Hello and welcome to Films to be Buried With. My name is Brett Goldstein. I'm a comedian and actor writer director of Tumbleweeds and I love film. As David Viscott once said, if you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed, and you have the courage to get through all of Kill Bill, the Whole Bloody Affair without ever going to the toile. 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 Ken Bambles. But this week we have the actor, comedian, writer and producer and legend. It's Mr. Steve Zan. You can still watch my film all of youf, which I made with Will Bridges and Imogen Poots on Apple tv. Thank you to everyone who said such nice things about it. Watch it again if you've seen it once. But if you watched it for the first time, watch. We really hope that you love it. We're very proud of this film. We hope you love it too. Shrinking Season 3 will premiere Wednesday, January 28th on Apple TV. Head over to the patreon@patreon.com Brett Goldstein where you get an extra 20 minutes with Steve. We talk beginnings and endings. He tells me a hell of a secret. You get the whole episode uncut, ad free and as a video. Check it out over@patreon.com BrettGoldstein so, Steve Zahn. You might know him from the White Lotus or Dallas Buyers Club or about 100 other roles across film and TV. I first saw him in one of my favorite films, out of Sight. He's fucking brilliant. Be sure to check out Anaconda, which he's in Christmas Day. And Steve's new film, she Dances that he co wrote, produced and stars in. That will be in cinemas March 27. This is my first time meeting Steve. We recorded this on Zoom the other week. We had a lovely time and I really think you're going to enjoy this one. So that's it for now. I very much hope you enjoy episode 381 of Films to be Buried With. Hello and welcome to Films to be Buried With. It is I, Brett Goldstein, and I am joined today by a legend of the game. You know him from Joyrider. He's a daddy day carer. He's a national security error. He saved Silvermann. He's a White Lotuser. He was the thing you did. He's coming into Anaconda. He's a Sahara. He's War of the Planet the Apes. He's a diary of a wimpy killer. If I said that. He's a reality by it, sir. And to me. I first discovered him and loved him in one of my all time favorite films, out of Sight. I can't believe he's here, but he is. Will you please welcome to the show. It's the great, the amazing, the brilliant. It's Steve Zahn.
Steve Zahn
Yay. Thanks, man.
Brett Goldstein
You're welcome. It's very nice to meet you, Steve Zahn.
Steve Zahn
It's nice to meet you.
Brett Goldstein
Am I saying your name right?
Steve Zahn
Yeah, I go Zahn. Zan Zane. I'll answer all of them. It's spelled Zahn.
Brett Goldstein
Okay. I'd hate to have been this bigger fan of yours and realizing in that moment when I finally meet you that I Don't know how to say your name.
Steve Zahn
See, I do that all the time. I'm the worst.
Brett Goldstein
I like.
Steve Zahn
I'm the worst.
Brett Goldstein
Listen, I've loved you since out of Sight, which is one of my favorite films. And I'm sure you know this and maybe have heard this, but because of the soundtrack, which had snippets of dialogue on it, which I listen to all the time.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, it's great.
Brett Goldstein
I've had your voice in my head for long, like, years of my life having you go, yup, in my ear.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, that's great. Yeah. That was really thrilling when I heard that for the first time. I was so excited to be on a soundtrack.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. So cool. You haven't. You haven't. You haven't stopped. You haven't stopped, young man. Are you a workaholic? Are you okay?
Steve Zahn
No, no. You know what? I work to live. I really do. So there's been definite, you know, low points and slow points and, you know, there's periods of independent film that don't pay anything and where you're like, oh, man, I have to sell something. And then I've always kind of lucked out. Just kind of like, I've always been able to. To tread water and just keep my head, you know, above. I don't know how that happens, but show up early and have an opinion and don't be a dick.
Brett Goldstein
There you go. That's a pretty good set of rules. I mean, have an opinion. I mean, you don't even need that one. I just say, shut up and be nice. Sharp and time. Be nice.
Steve Zahn
That works. Hit your mark and be nice.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah, yeah. Do you have an opinion? Did I need one?
Steve Zahn
Yeah, yeah.
Brett Goldstein
No, have it. Have an opinion, but also just be nice about it.
Steve Zahn
Just in case. Just in case. In your back pocket.
Brett Goldstein
Yes.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, yeah.
Brett Goldstein
I call it having a. There was a. There was an actor that we worked with who had a smaller part on a thing, but every time it was, like, his coverage, he'd do so much funny shit. So much funny shit. And it was always like, how much did he bring in his bag today? That was what we'd say.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
How big he's brought today?
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Sometimes I go, I brought a little suitcase for me today. I hope that's okay. Got some ideas in it.
Steve Zahn
That's great. Yeah, yeah. Because we're all plumbers. Right?
Brett Goldstein
Come in, come in. What you got? What are you working on at the moment? Are you allowed to talk about. Are you filming at the minute?
Steve Zahn
Oh, my God. It's been really Good for me. Lately I'm working on a show in London. I've been here since August. It's the fourth season of Silo, which is an Apple show, this kind of post apocalyptic show that I'm in.
Brett Goldstein
I hear this show is amazing. I'm afraid I haven't seen it yet, but so here. It's amazing.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, no, it's really good.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
So I'm finishing that.
Brett Goldstein
Forgive me for not knowing. Have you always been. Have you been in all four seasons or are you.
Steve Zahn
No, I came in in season two.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. So season two, three and four.
Brett Goldstein
Do you love the cast and the crew? Is it. Is it to keep coming back?
Steve Zahn
It is. And I love London. It's my favorite city in the world.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, great.
Steve Zahn
I live. I live in Hackney. I live out in Victoria Park Village.
Brett Goldstein
Ah, you're cool. You're a cool guy.
Steve Zahn
I'm a regular at the Empress across the street. And you know the ginger pig and the bottle apostle.
Brett Goldstein
Man, you're just. You're totally a Londoner.
Steve Zahn
That's great. I love it here.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, that's cool. That's good.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, so you're near the end of Silo?
Steve Zahn
Yeah, next week. I'm done.
Brett Goldstein
And you have a film coming soon, correct?
Steve Zahn
I have a film coming out Christmas day called Anaconda.
Brett Goldstein
That's how. On Christmas Day?
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
With Jack Black.
Steve Zahn
With Jack Black and Paul Rudd and Tandaway Newton.
Brett Goldstein
I'm really excited.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, it's. It's. It's one of those big things. Huge. It's really funny and so dumb.
Brett Goldstein
Right.
Steve Zahn
It's kind of perfect for right now.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, good.
Steve Zahn
It's just stupid.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. Okay.
Steve Zahn
Really funny. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
You ever written, you ever written.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, the first thing I've written once I co wrote a movie with my partner Rick Gomez and it's called she Dances. And it's a movie that we made and it comes out in March. It's a tiny movie that's going to have a theatrical release March 27th. Yeah. So that's.
Brett Goldstein
It's really exciting.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
You made one of the ten films for cinema. That's so cool. That's the dream.
Steve Zahn
This is. Yeah. No one. Doesn't happen anymore, man.
Brett Goldstein
Doesn't have anymore. That's amazing. That's fantastic. Did you. Can I ask? Because I'm obsessed with film. Did you make it, then sell it or had you pre sold it? Like how. How did you get distribution?
Steve Zahn
We had financed. We had some people that financed it, low budget, and then we made it and then we found a distributor.
Brett Goldstein
Amazing.
Steve Zahn
And someone bought it and decided it should be in 50 to 75 houses in 10 markets. And we're going to be at Palm Springs next in January. And that's great. It's that, you know, when it's your baby.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
It's completely different experience. And I'm a late. I'm a late bloomer to the whole producing and that whole thing.
Brett Goldstein
So having made your own film, has it, since you've gone back to acting something else? Has it changed the way you feel on set? Like, are you much more like Jesus, leave.
Steve Zahn
No, like, now. I read scripts really fast. Hey, will you read this script? I'm like, right away. I'm not going to let you sit.
Brett Goldstein
That's nice.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. What you produce, it's a completely different ball game. You really understand, you know that you just solve problems all day, which is kind of fun. But it can be, obviously, really trying and hard.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
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Brett Goldstein
Steve, Fuck. I forgot to tell you something. I should have probably told you when we were trying to sort out your headphones. You've died. You're dead.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
D, E, D, dead. How did you die?
Steve Zahn
I had this experience recently. I was with my son, his girlfriend, and we were sitting in the living room and I was laughing. They make me laugh. Sounds really funny.
Brett Goldstein
It's good.
Steve Zahn
And I was laughing to the point where. And if you. If you know me, you know that this happens a lot where I literally have to crawl out of a room. Like, I laugh that hard and I'm sober and I. I was laughing so hard I had to leave the room. So I got up and I went for the kitchen and I. And right as I Got to the kitchen. I coughed. I remember going, yeah. And I lost all of my oxygen that anything left in me. And I. I passed out and I hit the floor and I didn't die. I came to with blood everywhere, and I had to go to the emergency room and I had to, you know, convince the doctors that I didn't have a heart attack. And I was laughing and no one believed me. True story. But I thought. I remember thinking sitting there in the
Brett Goldstein
emergency room up to this point was true.
Steve Zahn
It was absolutely true.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
But I thought that would be. That. That's it right there. That's how you go.
Brett Goldstein
You wish you hadn't woken up.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, I died laughing. How do he die? He was laughing so hard. He died. I think it's possible he.
Brett Goldstein
He died laughing. Well, to be fair, I think it was more the contusion to the brain as his.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, I would have.
Brett Goldstein
That would have hit the floor.
Steve Zahn
It would have been like, you know, like. Yeah, curved, you know. Yeah. Next snap back, but he was laughing. Does that work?
Brett Goldstein
Does it? It's a great death and it has never happened before. And I'm really happy to hear it.
Steve Zahn
I mean, it could be like I was laughing so hard. I. I didn't know it. Wandered into the street and I got hit.
Brett Goldstein
Bus. Which do you prefer? Chin free brain or hit by bus?
Steve Zahn
You know, like, just the mirror. I was. I was. It's just the. The mirror. The mirror bent over, like, and got hit. That's it.
Brett Goldstein
Jesus Christ. Well, the only thing that. Listen, I'm all for this death. Not.
Steve Zahn
But it was quick.
Brett Goldstein
It was quick. It's good for you. I worry your son and his girlfriend are never going to make a joke again. Do you know what I mean? I think they're going to feel like they.
Steve Zahn
No, they do. They always tell me. They always tell me to sit down.
Brett Goldstein
Right. Okay. Do you worry about death? Steve said.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. I'm sorry. Well, no, I don't know. I'm getting a little older now, so it's like, you know, things start. Your body starts changing and all that, and you start going, wow, wow. But I don't. I. I'm pretty. Yeah. I don't dwell on. I really don't.
Brett Goldstein
What do you think happens after you die?
Steve Zahn
Yeah. I don't know, man. I guess I'm. I. I hope that there's something. Right. But at this point, I don't know. I don't know.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
There's a place we go to. I know that there. I don't think there's a Bad place that you go to.
Brett Goldstein
Okay, I agree with that.
Steve Zahn
I don't believe in that. Maybe we go back out into some kind of thing.
Brett Goldstein
Do you want to know what happens?
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Well, there's a heaven and you're going to it.
Steve Zahn
Oh, awesome.
Brett Goldstein
And you're right. There is no bad place. There's heaven and it's filled with your favorite thing. What's your favorite thing?
Steve Zahn
My favorite thing? Well, like fishing.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, my God. You're going to love heaven. You know what heaven is? It's fucking lakes. It's seas, it's calm, it's beautiful. It's every type of environment you want to fish in. There's fly fishing. There's deep sea fishing. There's sitting on the dock of a bay. Fishing. There's fishing in a pond. Fishing. There's fisher price fishing. There's all the fishing and all the fishermen are there. And women. And they're very excited to see you and they want to talk to you about your life through film. The first thing they ask you, what's the first film you remember seeing? Still Steve Sahlin. Can't even say your first name anymore.
Steve Zahn
The first film I remember really thought about this. It's like I have to go back to Michigan. So I was probably three. And I remember watching Peter Pan.
Brett Goldstein
The Disney.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. And I remember not caring about anything but the pirate. That's it. I didn't care about anything else. I didn't care about the story. I didn't. Nothing. Nah, not into it.
Brett Goldstein
You were Hook all the way.
Steve Zahn
It was all. It was all the pirate stuff.
Brett Goldstein
Right. Did you then see Hook? Was Hook your dream movie?
Steve Zahn
I didn't. Yeah. No, no, it didn't like. It didn't. It didn't make that kind of. That was just the first one I truly remember. You know what I mean? So it didn't have this kind of. I don't have a tattoo of it.
Brett Goldstein
Right. Do you have siblings?
Steve Zahn
I do have siblings. I have two sisters.
Brett Goldstein
Older, Younger one.
Steve Zahn
Older one younger.
Brett Goldstein
Okay. Did you all see Peter Pan together, do you think?
Steve Zahn
Yes, we did. It was mandatory viewing in my house. It was on Saturday night, I'm sure.
Brett Goldstein
Did you then play Peter Pan, as in around the house?
Steve Zahn
I played Hook.
Brett Goldstein
You played Hook?
Steve Zahn
I played the pirate. I wouldn't play Peter Pan.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah, you don't give a fuck about Peter Pan.
Steve Zahn
I played. I needed a sword.
Brett Goldstein
Right.
Steve Zahn
I was the kind of kid that there was a show called Daniel Boone. Right. And I would wait on our TV box and I would wait for Daniel Boone. To start. And I would put a coonskin cap on, and I had a belt with this, and I had cowboy boots. And I would set up my sister's table and chairs in there. And they're fake. You know, there's little kitchen, play area. And I would just wait for the song to come on. Like, Daniel Boom was a man, was a big man. And I would have a fake fight
Brett Goldstein
with nothing, with the air, just with
Steve Zahn
me and, like, fake people around, go over the table. That was it. I don't think I watched the show. I just had a fake fight. To the song.
Brett Goldstein
To the song. So that was me. So you as an actor, you was an actor then?
Steve Zahn
I don't know. Maybe. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
What's the film that scared you the most? Do you like being scared?
Steve Zahn
Yeah, I'm gonna say there's a couple movies, but, like the Shining. Yeah, that's pretty.
Brett Goldstein
It's pretty scary.
Steve Zahn
There's another movie, though. It's called the Changeling.
Brett Goldstein
Yes.
Steve Zahn
And it's with George C. Scott. And it's a great ghost story. And I think I was younger when I saw that, and it scared the pants off me.
Brett Goldstein
What. What is the premise of the Changeling?
Steve Zahn
The Changeling is. It's a. George C. Scott is this. I think he's a pianist. Yeah. And he loses his wife and his daughter in a car accident. And so he moves to a different city. He rents this big mansion, and he's going to, you know, change his life, get a new life going. And he's in this house that is haunted. And because of his experience, the ghost of this house feels like it has a connection with him. And he's trying to solve the mystery of why this kid. It's a kid in his house. He's. He's solving the mystery, and then he solves the mystery, and the kid's spirit, you know, goes away, but he's tormented by this. It's a great movie. It's a great movie. It might not be a great movie, but it's a great story.
Brett Goldstein
Have you ever done a horror?
Steve Zahn
I've only done, like, Joyride was a thriller.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, yeah. Is great.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. John Doe.
Brett Goldstein
John Doe. The great John Doe.
Steve Zahn
Like a really. Yeah. Really good movie. And I think that's the closest that
Brett Goldstein
I've come to, like, you know, Joyride is great. John Dahl is great.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, it was. It was a great movie. Yeah, it holds up.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. But most of his stuff does. He's very good.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
What about crying? What's the film that made you cry the most? Are you a crier?
Steve Zahn
I'm a huge crier. Yeah. I'm the worst of all time. I truly am. I asked my kids, you know, this is gonna. This is horrible, but it's the truth. If there's anything I'm saying during this thing, this is the absolute truth.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
The movie I made, she dances. I did it with my daughter. She plays my daughter. It's kind of a personal movie. My whole family's in it. Our home movies from when kid. The kids re up there. That's. That's in the movie. So that just. That just kills you right there.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
And it's a movie about overcoming grief. And I've seen this movie 50 times. 60 times. Right. Destroys me every time. Okay, so that's. That's that. But it's true that that is the truth.
Brett Goldstein
The truth.
Steve Zahn
But I, you know, if I watch, like, the Deer Hunter, you know, the end of that movie, I'm in, I'm sobbing. But there's. There's plenty of movies out there that just make me, you know, I'm excited about.
Brett Goldstein
She dances. I didn't realize it was so personal.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
That's a big deal.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
You put it all out there.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
What's the film that you love? People don't really like it. It is not critically acclaimed, but you love it unconditionally.
Steve Zahn
This one's hard, man. But I think I'd answer it wrong. Like, I would say, like, Roadhouse.
Brett Goldstein
That is a totally fair answer. That's a fair answer. Not a critically acclaimed film, but it's a great film.
Steve Zahn
The old one, right?
Brett Goldstein
Patrick Swayze, great movie.
Steve Zahn
It is the craziest movie ever. Yeah. Like, it's insane.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
Right?
Brett Goldstein
I mean, sweeping up eyeballs.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. I don't know if you want that the answer to be campy, but it kind of falls into that kind of, you know, because. Brilliant. If that was on right now, I would watch it.
Brett Goldstein
Roadhouse is Daniel Boone for grown ups.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, it is. Maybe that's why I like it.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. You just like the soundtrack and you can fake punch people. On the other hand, is there a film that you used to love very much, but you've watched it recently and you've thought, oh, I don't like this anymore, because you've changed.
Steve Zahn
I'm gonna say Red Dawn.
Brett Goldstein
Another Patrick Swayze. Tell me, Thomas Howe, is that the school gets taken.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. It's ridiculous. I used to love it because, look, my mom went in the 80s, right? There was. There was the whole debate, like, VHS or Beta. And my mom is like consumer Reports lady, okay? So she does all her research, even back in the 80s without the Internet. And she was like, steve. I was like, mom, vhs. And she's like, steve, Beta. The Beta quality is like way up here. VHS is. It's not going to be around. Beta is going to take over. And so we bought a Beta and the only movie we had was Red Dawn. That was it. I was like, mom, yeah. There's so many Beta movies. So we watch Bread dawn at my house, like my buddies and I in the summertime in high school. And we would like, turn the sound down. We knew it that. That well. But if I watch it now, I go like, this is silly. Like Russians parachuting Cubans. You know, like parachuting in Colorado. Dumb.
Brett Goldstein
I love that. That was the only film we had that. I mean.
Steve Zahn
Yes, that was it.
Brett Goldstein
It is a perfect film for a teenage boy though, isn't it?
Steve Zahn
Yeah, it is. Is kind of perfect.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
Like, what would you do? I'd never. You couldn't be in my group, man. You couldn't cut the mustard if Russians
Brett Goldstein
parachuted into your school.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. What'd you do? Let's get these wrist rockets. Russians hate wrist rockets.
Brett Goldstein
You do that.
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Steve Zahn
It is an honor to share.
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Steve Zahn
It is our larger honor.
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Brett Goldstein
What is the film that means the most to you? Not necessarily the film itself is any good, but the experience you had seeing it will always make it meaningful to you? Steven Zahn.
Steve Zahn
Whenever I see Silence of the Lambs, I remember watching it with my girlfriend. And she can't watch movies like that. She was horrible and would pace and want to know what happens and talk constantly and get up and move and it was insane. And I just wanted to watch the fucking movie. And at that moment, I knew that I would marry her. And I still am married to this woman. And I knew in that moment that I would never watch a movie ever again with her. And we really don't watch movies together because I can't do it if she sits in the room with me. We're watching my show, she'll go, does he. Does it? Does he die? Like, I'm not gonna tell you and I have to tell her. And then we get in a big fight. So we don't watch stuff together.
Brett Goldstein
You've answered, like the question I've sort of had all my life, which is, could you marry someone that would talk through films? And the answer is yes, you can. You just can't watch films.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, you can, you can.
Brett Goldstein
You just. You just have to watch films separately.
Steve Zahn
There are certain things. There's a. There's a ground where we can meet and we can watch stuff, you know,
Brett Goldstein
what is that ground? Like reality tv, I assume that's something.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, it's kind of like. It's kind of like, you know, the, the Murdoch family murder show.
Brett Goldstein
Yes.
Steve Zahn
It's an eight part thing.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
And we'll binge it.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
We watch that stuff.
Brett Goldstein
But a proper film, you're like, I'm going in the other room now.
Steve Zahn
If there's any kind of story. Because she's a writer. She. She's a writer, right. She. She writes novels and she's. So she wants. She's always, you know, putting together stories and, you know, she's constantly writing. So she wants to know how long you been married? Since 94. 31.
Brett Goldstein
31 years.
Steve Zahn
We met in 1990. Wow. And so we've been together a long time. Her name's Robin Peterman.
Brett Goldstein
Robin Pierman.
Steve Zahn
I just. Just for the people if they want to buy our books.
Brett Goldstein
Where did you meet? How did you meet?
Steve Zahn
We met doing the national tour. A musical, Bye Bye Birdie.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
With Annie Ranking and Tommy Tune. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
I love and Ranking.
Steve Zahn
And we did 13 months on the road.
Brett Goldstein
Wow.
Steve Zahn
In 19. Yeah. So it was like eight shows a week for 13 months, man.
Brett Goldstein
So. So Robin Peterman with acting at the time in the show with you.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. She did a lot of Broadway, a lot of dancing. A lot of, you know, and then once we had kids, that kind of ended. And then she, she was like, I'm going to write books. I was like, really? Yeah. Right now she's New York Times best.
Brett Goldstein
I'll be in the other room watching films on my own.
Steve Zahn
Oh, man. If it wasn't for this stuff, I'd be digging holes, dude.
Brett Goldstein
How long into the 30 month tour? Right away you were kissing. Right away, you're in love. Right away.
Steve Zahn
No, no. She walked in, she was a week late. She was on a chorus line to her, right? And then she came in. Her. She. They had to give her another week and she came in and I was bummed out because I thought, man, I don't like any of these girls. This is like, this is prime, man. And then she walked in like smoking and swearing. I was like, right there. I like that. So it was pretty quick.
Brett Goldstein
I loved Anne ranking. How was she as a person? She was great.
Steve Zahn
She was awesome. She. I would, I would stand off stage and watch her every night. I had, I had an entrance after this dance and I always came up and watched her dance. She was absolutely beautiful and really cool and theater and, you know, raspy voice and, you know, really amazing. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Nice. That's pretty cool, man. That's cool. You've been married 31 years. Well done.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
What is the film you most relate to?
Steve Zahn
Jeremiah Johnson?
Brett Goldstein
Tell me for why it has got
Steve Zahn
to be top five. For me, I love Robert Redford Sidney Pollock movie. It's really solitary nature, simple. And I. First time I saw that, I was like, oh, that's. That's me. That's me in. In another life, you know? You know, another one that's like, that is. Is never cry wolf.
Brett Goldstein
I don't know. Never cry wolf.
Steve Zahn
So good, man. It's like 1986, 5. But a guy that just goes up in Alaska and he's just a buffoon and has to study the wolf. And it's beautiful. It's a beautiful movie.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. So do you like to be alone fishing?
Steve Zahn
Yeah, yeah, I do. I live on a farm in Kentucky and I'm really happy not seeing people. And that's why I love going to work. Because then I love the camaraderie and I love the circus. That's my favorite thing about working. Like. And I learned that during COVID right. We went to work and it sucked because we couldn't hang out, we couldn't joke around on set. And I was like, this is miserable, horrible. And so. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
How does it work with Robin Peterman. If you like to be alone, or do you like to be alone together.
Steve Zahn
We're both kind of hermits. We both ultimately kind of are. You know, we kind of like that. And we work. We. We're good in our cave together. It works well.
Brett Goldstein
So you're kind of separate, but together you're in the same place.
Steve Zahn
Yes.
Brett Goldstein
Doing your own.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, she's. She's writing and doing that I'll be out here doing. I know. When she's in a deadline. I don't go in the house back there. I go around. I go in this door. You know, if I have to take a leak, I don't take a leak. Back where she's writing.
Brett Goldstein
No, thank you.
Steve Zahn
No, I go. I take an extra. Because out in the country, you don't pee inside.
Brett Goldstein
Kidding me.
Steve Zahn
It's crazy.
Brett Goldstein
You got a whole farm to be.
Steve Zahn
That's weird.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. You got to fucking water the crops and shit.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
What is the sexiest film you've ever seen? I mean, you're in one of them outside. Mm.
Steve Zahn
That's a pretty sexy movie.
Brett Goldstein
It's a very sexy movie.
Steve Zahn
That's really good. I mean, I was going to say like nine and a half weeks.
Brett Goldstein
Great answer. Of course.
Steve Zahn
I mean, I mean, it's kind of like ding, ding, ding. Yeah, of course.
Brett Goldstein
But it works.
Steve Zahn
It's pretty hot. Cheese. Yeah. Amazing.
Brett Goldstein
Amazing.
Steve Zahn
That's done. All they do. Betty Blue.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, my God. Betty Blue.
Steve Zahn
Come on. What?
Brett Goldstein
One of the greatest openings.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Betty Blue is an excellent answer. Hasn't come up for a while.
Steve Zahn
I'm going to go with that one.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
I keep throwing out three answers.
Brett Goldstein
Sorry. Breaking rules. There is a subcategory to this question.
Steve Zahn
Yes.
Brett Goldstein
Troubling boners. Worrying Wydons. A film. You were aroused by that you weren't sure you should. This is the Sound of Music. It depends what you're troubled by. The nuts. It's super troubling. If it's the children. It's not okay if it's nuts.
Steve Zahn
You know. You know, the older daughters were. I had a crush on them. They could sing. They were really. They were. And then Julie Andrews was like, I like that short hair. Kind of like. She was like, I liked her.
Brett Goldstein
She wasn't messing around.
Steve Zahn
I just remember as a kid, that was one. That was one of the first movies I saw, too, in the theater.
Brett Goldstein
Nice.
Steve Zahn
It might have been the first one, Sound of Music. It might. But I said that to my daughter, and she was like, you can't say that. Like. What? It's like that's dad. That's. That's. That's weird.
Brett Goldstein
That's not weird. It's a great. It's an all time classic. It's a beautiful movie.
Steve Zahn
You know when they're flirting, they're dancing, they're dancing out, you know, with what's his name, Kurt. Peter.
Brett Goldstein
When they're out in the back and it's like the Nazi game going on 70.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. Yeah. And then he ends up being a. Yeah. And discovers them and.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. Oh, my God. Okay. What is objectively the greatest film of all time might not be your favorite, but it is the pinnacle of cinema.
Steve Zahn
I know everybody probably says this, but, like, I don't think you can get. Okay, I'm not going to say the one I was going to say.
Brett Goldstein
Was it the Godfather?
Steve Zahn
It was. Yeah. But no, no, I'm not. I'm not saying that. I told you I wasn't going to say it and I'm not going to say you said it.
Brett Goldstein
But if it had been something else, I'd have said say it. But it was the Godfather.
Steve Zahn
Okay, here's.
Commercial Safety Announcer
Here it is.
Brett Goldstein
Here.
Steve Zahn
Ready? Here it is.
Brett Goldstein
Only because everyone says, I watched this
Steve Zahn
movie about a year ago and when it was over, I thought this might be a perfect movie. I don't know if it's the greatest movie of all time, but it's hard to be a perfect movie, right? Acted, well written well, the score, it shot like impeccably unbelievable. And the story is just rock solid. It's Peter Weir's master and commander.
Brett Goldstein
Great answer. What a great answer.
Steve Zahn
That's a great movie.
Brett Goldstein
Great. Peter Weir is fucking brilliant.
Steve Zahn
He. He is one of the most underrated. Like, correct. Like you want to talk about legends in film.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah. He's with that guy Rob Reiner, I think, in that they've done so many different types of films that people don't think of them as. They're not in the list, but they should be on the list of fucking genius.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Truman show and Master. And Commander. Dead Poet Society.
Steve Zahn
Dead poets.
Brett Goldstein
Fearless.
Steve Zahn
Fearless. That's one I haven't seen in a long time. Like that movie. Amazing, those performances in that. I mean, come on, there's a movie. You want to cry.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
It bust you up.
Brett Goldstein
Peter Weir. Let's give him a round of applause. People are talking about Peter Weir enough.
Steve Zahn
I agree.
Brett Goldstein
What is the film that you could or have watched the most over and over again?
Steve Zahn
That. Well, I mean, Jeremiah Johnson. I've seen that a million times. I could just do the dialogue. I mean, honestly, the Deer Hunter. I've watched that so many times. I think that's like a. You know, it's like a Bible. It's kind of like. It's kind of a cornerstone of a lot of my peers. Right. Like, I could. I could text Sam Rockwell right now, and it could be just a random line from that movie, and it'd be the. The front half of it, and he would end it.
Brett Goldstein
That's very sweet.
Steve Zahn
Like, it's.
Brett Goldstein
It's. It's.
Steve Zahn
That's what we wanted to do. You know what I mean? When we were young actors in New York, we were like, that's what I want to do, man. And that time was already gone, in a way, but that's what we strived. That's was. That was the goal, you know?
Brett Goldstein
Who's your gang? Who's your, like, school year if it's you and Sam Rockwell.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, Sam was part of it. Rick Gomez, he was pounding the pavement in New York. Ethan Hawk. Ethan Hawke was at my wedding. You know, he's in. She dances. He plays my best friend.
Brett Goldstein
This feels, you know, it's like, amazing.
Steve Zahn
You know, Josh Hamilton, Robert Sean Leonard. Phil Hoffman was a part of that whole crew. He was a naked angels downtown. It was all those guys that, you know, we. We all. We all competed for parts and then ended up at the same bar, you know. It was just great.
Brett Goldstein
That's nice.
Steve Zahn
Back in the day. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
Were all those people. All those people you've mentioned are brilliant. Did you. Did you know they were brilliant way before? Like, were they always brilliant? Or was any of them like, oh, wow, I didn't know you turn out this good.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, no, I think we all had a mutual respect for each other. I mean, that's a great question.
Brett Goldstein
Thanks, man.
Steve Zahn
It's like. Yeah, it's. It's like Ethan had already done movies, you know, he had done. When I met him, he had already done Dead Poets, and he had done oh, I see. You know.
Brett Goldstein
Okay. And Robert swelling.
Steve Zahn
But. Yeah, I was never surprised. Like, of course. You know, and then we were like, where are all those other guys? Here they go.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
You know, there's just. It just chipped away. It's like. It's like, now there's this. There's this really cool group of guys. Like, it just. I don't know. It's comforting. It's nice to kind of reach a point in your career where, you know, you have these friends who are amazing.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah, that's nice. Really cool. On the other end of the scale, what's the worst film you've ever seen.
Steve Zahn
Okay. I was in Healdsburg, Sonoma county, and I was visiting my partner and his wife. Right. Rick and Jenny. And we were, we were watching this movie, really excited about it. I might have been a little buzzed, but we were watching it and it was one of those things where you're like, I think this is, this is going to be genius. This is like an independent kind of cool. And maybe I'm just slow here, maybe I have a little jet lag, I don't know. But. And then like 3/4 of the way through the movie, no one has said anything right? And I just said, oh my God, this is horseshit. We just started laughing and I don't think it's horseshit. And I know the filmmakers probably going to hate them, but it was called Lamb. You ever see that? It was like a, a movie made in Iceland.
Brett Goldstein
I think I know what it is. I haven't seen it.
Steve Zahn
And it was kind of beautiful and interesting, but it just like, wait a second, she had a kid and it's a lamb and is it killing? And the goat comes down and kills the. I, I, I couldn't. It was, maybe it was the night. Maybe it was that night. And that's horrible. It's not the worst movie. It's actually shot beautifully. Yeah. Maybe it's Roadhouse. Maybe that's it.
Brett Goldstein
Life is complicated.
Steve Zahn
Pretty bad. It's pretty bad. Might come around.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
Might be the worst and the greatest of all time.
Brett Goldstein
Not bad to make both lists in one film. You've done a lot of comedy. You're very funny. You're about to be an anaconda. Very funny. What's the film that made you laugh the most? Steve Zahn or Zane?
Steve Zahn
I'm gonna say Raising Arizona. Great film, I think. Can I throw out another one?
Brett Goldstein
Yeah, of course.
Steve Zahn
Bottle Rocket.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
Wes Anderson.
Brett Goldstein
Bottle Rocket. First one made you laugh.
Steve Zahn
I remember I was on a plane when I saw Bottle Rocket. I had flown to LA to audition and it was a crazy in person audition. It's insane. It was Jack Nicholson at Redwood, right?
Brett Goldstein
Wow.
Steve Zahn
Yeah. And one of the guys that was there and I don't know his name, he, he came out and I was like, oh, wow, that's crazy. That guy's in there for this part. And so I went in and read. I didn't get the part, but he didn't either. And I got on the plane and the guy that was, I was flying back to New York sat next to me. It's true. And it's back when they were like, would you like to watch a movie? Here's your case.
Brett Goldstein
All right. Yeah, yeah.
Steve Zahn
Remember? And it was like, would you like to pick from the movies? And I was like, oh, bottle racket.
Brett Goldstein
Interesting.
Steve Zahn
Put it in. He watched the movie. I watched the movie, and I laughed so hard on that. I was just like, I was out of my mind. And at the end, you know, we give our things back, and he just turned to me and he said, it was so fun watching you laugh. And I don't even know what you were watching. He said, and he hated his movie, right? He was. He didn't laugh at all. And he said, oh, my God, it was so great laughing. So what did you watch? I said, bottle rocket. And he said, that's what I watched.
Brett Goldstein
Wow.
Steve Zahn
And I thought, how crazy, right? We went in to read to the same part, and yet completely opposite, right? He was. He was just like, really?
Brett Goldstein
What. What happened to that guy?
Steve Zahn
I don't know. I don't think he was an actor. I think he was like a. A designer.
Brett Goldstein
Okay.
Steve Zahn
Like a famous designer. Then that. They were like, come see if you can. That.
Brett Goldstein
That is really interesting, though. Tells you a lot. Steve Zahn or Zane, you've been wonderful. However, when you were hanging out with your son and his girlfriend, they're funny. They're both funny. Your son's funny, his girlfriend's also funny.
Steve Zahn
Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
And they made you laugh, and you really started laughing, and you were like, come on, guys, give me a break. And they carried on being funny. You're like, no, no, no, no, no. You start crawling around the floor. You guys, stop it. They're making jokes, making jokes. You stand up and you're laughing so much, and you head towards the kitchen, but then you pause to cough, but you have no air left. And so all the oxygen goes from your brain. You pass out, you smash to the kitchen floor. They run in. Oh, my God. You wake up again. Oh, sorry. And they go, God, you scared us. And then you go, ha, ha ha. You start laughing again. They go, dad, Jesus. As you get up and you're laughing and you laughing. No, they've stopped me. They go, you're so silly. You go, no, no, no. You run out into the street. They go, dad, dad. You're like, ha, ha ha ha. And then you bend over. Ha ha ha. And then the mirror of a number 55 bus goes. Takes your head off. Your son, his girlfriend scream, ah. The people on the back scream, ah. Coming out your neck. I'm walking past with a coffin. You know what I'm like. And I go, what's all the commotion? And your son and Gavin screaming, oh, dad. He just laughed his head off. Laughed his head off. That sounds like a good way to go. The bus driver goes, I don't think it was the laughing that killed him. And he comes out. He's out. He's furious. He's like, this is. This is going to be a lot of paperwork. I go, don't worry about it. We'll get rid of the body. Can you give me a hand? All the people off the bus come lift you into the coffin, but it's a fucking mess. Your head's been crushed under the bus. There's bits of you everywhere. I'm, like, peeling you off the pipe. It's a nightmare. I had to stuff all of you in. The coffin's smaller than I expected. There's only enough room in this coffin. It's absolutely round in there. It's only enough room for me to slide 1 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 are you taking to show the fishermen and women when it is your movie night in heaven? Please. Steve Zant.
Steve Zahn
Wow. Because you phrased it. I'm sharing it with everybody. And it's not just for me.
Brett Goldstein
Not what life is.
Steve Zahn
And there's a great movie.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
And I'm pretty sure it's called Way Out West. It's Laurel and Hardy and it matches my death.
Brett Goldstein
Yeah.
Steve Zahn
There's a great scene where they hide the deed and stands. I think it's stance, you know, I always mix them up. The little guy and they stick it down his shirt. And then the woman is going after the deed and he's just, like, laughing hysterically. There's this great scene where he's just like. And he's brilliant. And it's a really great, funny movie. And when I was a kid, my dad, he was a chaplain at a university. And on Friday nights, he would. We had a screen and he would bring home a projector and a 16 mil and he would bring us and bring movies and we'd make popcorn and he would play us. Lauren Hardy movie.
Brett Goldstein
Wow, that's so cool. Yeah.
Steve Zahn
Different movies, too, but I always remember he always had a Laurel and Harley.
Brett Goldstein
That's really beautiful, man. They're gonna love that in heaven.
Steve Zahn
I think so.
Brett Goldstein
And no one else has brought it. Steve Zun, what a pleasure it has been talking to you. Would you please tell people what to look out for in the Coming months, starring, written or directed by you.
Steve Zahn
Anaconda comes out Christmas, Christmas time. They're doing a show. Yeah. With Jack Black and Paul Rudd and Tandaway Newton and those guys. All those guys are old friends. It was like doing that movie was insane. We just hung out and just. That was so great. I'm doing a movie called Chad Powers.
Brett Goldstein
Oh, yeah.
Steve Zahn
It's a football show. Yeah.
Brett Goldstein
I played a coach, Jamie. Jamie Lee, who was one of the writers on it. She works on Ted Lasso with me.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brett Goldstein
That's lovely. Yeah.
Steve Zahn
So that show I'm shooting, second season, my movie, she Dances, comes out March 27th.
Brett Goldstein
Sounds brilliant.
Steve Zahn
And Silo, that's coming out next summer. You know, keeping busy.
Brett Goldstein
Steve Zion, what a pleasure. Thank you for your time. I know you're a busy boy. I really appreciate it. It was really fun to talk to you and thank you.
Steve Zahn
Yeah, this was a blast. Thank you. Really fun.
Brett Goldstein
I hope you have a wonderful death. Thank you. Good day to you. So that was episode 381. Head over to the patreon@patreon.com BrettGoldstein for the extra 15 minutes of chat secrets and videos with Steve, go to Apple podcast, give us a five star rating. Right. About the film that means the most to you and why is it lovely to read? It helps numbers and my neighbor Maureen really appreciates it. You can still see our film, all of you, on Apple tv. And you can see shrinking in January. Thank you so much to Steve for his time. Thanks to Scrubius Pip and the Distraction Pieces network. Thanks to Buddy P's for producing it. Thanks to Adam Richardson for the graphics and Lisa Layden for the photography. Come and join me next week for more amazing guests. That's it for now. In the meantime, have a lovely week and please, now more than ever, be excellent to each other.
Steve Zahn
Sam,
Brett Goldstein
Nine one one.
Steve Zahn
What's your emergency?
Commercial Narrator
You need to send the police.
Steve Zahn
He's going to kill me.
Commercial Narrator
He killed all the others.
Steve Zahn
Who killed the others, ma'?
Brett Goldstein
Am?
Steve Zahn
He found me.
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Podcast: Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein
Guest: Steve Zahn (The White Lotus, Silo, Out of Sight)
Release Date: December 17, 2025
In this engaging, candid episode of Films To Be Buried With, host Brett Goldstein welcomes beloved actor, writer, and producer Steve Zahn. Through laughter and insightful conversation, the two traverse Zahn’s life and legacy via films that shaped him—from childhood obsessions with pirates to creating personal indie films with family. Expect reflections on work, friendship, grief, love, the art of crying at movies, and even a hilarious near-death experience. Zahn is open, funny, and deeply genuine, offering both filmic revelations and personal anecdotes that honor the show’s playful but profound theme: our lives, as told through the movies we love.
[01:30-09:14]
[11:18-14:49]
[15:35-16:50]
[17:43-19:27]
[19:27-20:41]
[20:43-21:24]
[21:34-22:58]
[24:53-27:25]
[28:30-29:44]
[30:33-32:15]
[32:30-34:13]
[34:23-35:16]
[38:16-39:19]
[36:51-38:12]
| Title | Context | Time | |-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Peter Pan | First film memory; obsessed with pirates | [15:46] | | Daniel Boone (TV) | Childhood role-play inspiration | [16:50] | | The Changeling | Most scared he’s been by a film | [17:59] | | The Shining | Another scary favorite | [17:54] | | Joyride | Closest he's acted in a horror | [19:00] | | She Dances | His indie film, most emotional film; made with family | [20:09] | | The Deer Hunter | Consistent tearjerker & touchstone with acting peers | [20:23], [34:45]| | Road House | Beloved "bad" film, guilty pleasure | [21:27] | | Red Dawn | Film he "outgrew" watching on Beta as a teen | [21:52] | | Silence of the Lambs | Most meaningful screening (with his wife) | [24:53] | | Jeremiah Johnson | Film he most relates to | [28:30] | | Never Cry Wolf | Kindred spirit to Johnson, solitude themes | [28:59] | | Nine 1/2 Weeks; Betty Blue | Sexiest films | [30:49], [31:02]| | Sound of Music | “Troubling boners"/childhood crushes | [31:40] | | Master and Commander | Objectively greatest film | [33:04] | | The Godfather | Almost picked as greatest film | [32:48] | | Raising Arizona | Comedy that made him laugh most | [38:27] | | Bottle Rocket | Another laugh-out-loud comedy | [38:36] | | Lamb | "Worst" film experience | [37:43] | | Way Out West (Laurel & Hardy)| Film he’d take to heaven for movie night | [42:40] |
[42:47]
Steve Zahn is open, wry, and straightforward, reveling in the messy humanity of movies, family, and career. There’s humor laced with earnestness, a genuine love for his craft and life, and a humility about his journey. Brett Goldstein matches this with warmth, sly jokes, and deep cinephile enthusiasm—creating an environment where Zahn’s best stories shine.
This conversation is a treasure trove for fans of movies and character actors alike, filled with honest talk about joy, loss, craft, aging, and what really matters—family, friendship, good work, laughter, and watching movies that make you feel alive.
Memorable Quote for the Road:
"Show up early and have an opinion and don’t be a dick." – Steve Zahn [05:49]