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Craig Ferguson
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Diedrich Bader
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Craig Ferguson
NBC Nightly.
Diedrich Bader
News legacy isn't handed down or NBC News.
Craig Ferguson
I'm Tom Brokaw. You hope to see you back.
Lester Holt
I'm Lester Holt.
Diedrich Bader
It's carried forward. Tom Yamats is there for us. Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with breaking news right now. We look for a constant and from one era to the next, Trust is.
Craig Ferguson
The anchor for NBC Nightly News. I'm Tom Yamas. A new chapter begins NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas evenings on NBC.
Diedrich Bader
See we're leaving today and entering a world of Cinderella Castle sightseeing, Tron light cycling, jungle cruise bunning, pirate swashbuckling, Everest climbing, Dapper Denning soaring, soaring. Fireworks show of I'm not crying, you're crying. World of favorites for whatever you love, Infinite worlds await at the most magical place on earth. Walt Disney World Resort.
Lester Holt
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days?
Craig Ferguson
Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted?
Lester Holt
If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past.
Craig Ferguson
Discover is accepted at 99% of places.
Lester Holt
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Craig Ferguson
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Lester Holt
Welcome to the now it pays to Discover.
Craig Ferguson
Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the.
Lester Holt
February 2024 Nielsen report.
Craig Ferguson
This is me, Craig Ferguson. I'm inviting you to come and see my brand new comedy hour. Well, it's actually it's about an hour and a half and I don't have an opener because these guys cost money. But what I'm saying is I'll be on stage for a while anyway. Come and see me live on the Pants on Fire tour in your region. Tickets are on sale now and we'll be adding more as the Tour continues throughout 2025 and beyond. For a full list of dates, go to thecraigfergusonshow.com See you on the road, my dears. My name is Craig Ferguson. The name of this podcast is Joy. I talk to interesting People about what brings them happiness. Here's Diedrich Bader, a great actor who's been in everything you've ever liked. I'm not kidding. Listen to this. Enj. When Diedrich. When I was.
Diedrich Bader
I knew it. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
It's not about me. It's about you. It's about you, and I'm just.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, we'll see.
Craig Ferguson
No, it is. Because I want to tell. I want to start with this, because when we were working together on the Drew Carey show and you were playing Oswald Lee Harvey, which is still maybe the best name for Gary Turner. I think it's great.
Diedrich Bader
You gotta laugh every time.
Craig Ferguson
Well. Cause it's funny. It's stupid and funny. Stupid and funny gets funnier the longer you say it.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, that's so true.
Craig Ferguson
But Oswald Lee Harvey, which is on a par with Count Alucard as a stupid name, but you were playing that fairly early on in the run. Now, I'm gonna say. Cause you were the only person I'd heard of when I started that show. Cause you had done the Beverly Hillbillies. You played Jethro in the Beverly Hillbillies and you were really good at it.
Diedrich Bader
Well, thank you.
Craig Ferguson
And that was a hit movie, wasn't it?
Diedrich Bader
No, that was a bomb. Otherwise I wouldn't have been on the Drew Carey Show. Be a major movie star. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
I don't know. I mean, you can be a movie star and being a bomb. You are a movie star. You're in everything.
Diedrich Bader
No, it didn't make enough money to be attractive to hire me. Success breeds success. And people only want to be associated with success.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
That may explain my life a little bit. My friends. So people. I see. That's why I have no friends. But you were the only one I'd heard of. And I remember. Do you remember when we did the Full Monty episode of the Drew Carey Show?
Diedrich Bader
Yes, of course.
Craig Ferguson
And we all got naked.
Diedrich Bader
Yes.
Craig Ferguson
And then we went to Las Vegas in Tim Allen's plane.
Diedrich Bader
Yes.
Craig Ferguson
And everyone got trashed.
Diedrich Bader
I got incredibly trashed.
Craig Ferguson
You were the drunkest. Remember I'm saying this, and I'm Scottish. You're one of the drunkest people I've ever seen.
Diedrich Bader
The fact that I could stand was.
Craig Ferguson
I was amazed at how drunk you were.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
But you were, like, walking around, being loud with very stary eyes.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
You were very scary dancing.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
And then you threw a plastic bottle.
Diedrich Bader
I was remembering that this morning. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
You threw a bottle off the, like, the top floor of a hotel. And it landed on the swimming pool three stories Up.
Diedrich Bader
Oh.
Craig Ferguson
It was normal. I was like, if that. And I remember sitting. Kathy, who was the only other person not drinking.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I was like, that could have killed someone, Kathy. She said, I know. And then we agreed we were the lamest people in Las Vegas. So dumb.
Diedrich Bader
Well, you totally took care of me, by the way. There's no way I would have made it into a hotel room.
Craig Ferguson
I. I was scared.
Diedrich Bader
We slept together.
Craig Ferguson
We really didn't. Well, I was.
Diedrich Bader
I mean, there wasn't a lot of.
Craig Ferguson
Sleep in this after nobody slept at night. I think I slept a little bit.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. A couple hours.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. But I mean, how did you guys do that? Given the fact no one was on cocaine as far as I knew. Or were you guys on cocaine?
Diedrich Bader
Oh, no, no.
Craig Ferguson
So I.
Diedrich Bader
Drew wasn't into drugs. Just booze.
Craig Ferguson
No, he was just a boozer. And not much of a boozer, really.
Diedrich Bader
No, he was kind of a lightweight. But Ryan Stiles is the Keith Richards of the unbelievable. He has a hollow leg.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. He can stand and drink.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, yeah. My problem was that time. And every time you did see me drunk was when I tried to keep up with Ryan. I'm not blaming. I take responsibility for how much I drank. Totally.
Craig Ferguson
But I don't see. I remember you being drunk that much.
Diedrich Bader
A couple of times. No, but every time.
Craig Ferguson
Every time you were drunk, it was because I thought.
Diedrich Bader
You're saying no is that I was trying to keep up with them.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
Just as kind of a guy thing. And once you get into it, then you're like. And then he's just pouring. And he's fun, as you know.
Craig Ferguson
He's really very, very fun. But here's his trick. When he gets drunk, and even when he's not drunk.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Doesn't move that much. Have you noticed? He just kind of.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, my God, stands. That's totally his trick.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. Is his trick is he doesn't and move his legs or even face. Yeah, he just, like, says funny things.
Diedrich Bader
He just eyebrows a little bit, and it's hilarious. Yeah. And it gets funnier.
Craig Ferguson
And he's very improvy.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, he's very good at that.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, he's very good. Did you do that improv? Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Diedrich Bader
I never did. But I will say the funniest comedic improvisation that I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Right. Was when we had the final Drew Carey show dinner and you were invited. We had it on La Cienega at some fancy restaurant.
Craig Ferguson
Oh, yeah.
Diedrich Bader
It got like a private.
Craig Ferguson
It was a private Room.
Diedrich Bader
And it was at the end of the ninth season, which you were not on.
Craig Ferguson
I wasn't on. That I was making Saving Grace.
Diedrich Bader
You were amazing that you showed up. But at that point, the cast had gotten so fractious. Only Ryan and I were speaking to each other.
Craig Ferguson
I think Kathy and I were still.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, no, no, no. But I mean, as far as everybody. That. We were still talking to Kathy, but there was a lot of acrimony.
Craig Ferguson
It was tense. It was like family at that point.
Diedrich Bader
It was like family. That's my point. And, Craig, you were so funny. There was something about the awkwardness of the situation. You literally were the funniest person. Dulcie speaks about this. My wife speaks about this all the time.
Craig Ferguson
Really.
Diedrich Bader
As being the funniest comedy set anyone has ever done. Because there was something about the awkwardness of it that sparked you. And everything we said that was passive aggressive to each other, you picked up on and made a joke out of. And it was hilarious. It was like you were trying to make things better.
Craig Ferguson
That's exactly like my family life when I was a kid.
Diedrich Bader
You were just trying to make things better.
Craig Ferguson
I was just trying to make things better. I swear to God. Passive aggression is the Scottish thing.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
So it's like. Well, and the interesting thing is I also don't remember my childhood, and I was sober.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. Right. That's most of your childhood.
Craig Ferguson
Well, not all of it, but a fair amount of it. My childhood. Your childhood is very different, though. You're like. You're dc, Right? You're like government family. But your father a spy or something.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, I guess I can say that now. Yeah. He was in the CIA. And he was in the CIA, right? Yep. And he was Chief of Staff at Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He ended up being Assistant Secretary of State during the Clinton administration.
Craig Ferguson
So was he like. Did he do black ops and stuff like that? Was he, you know, away from home?
Diedrich Bader
He did go away from home. All of the stuff that he did in the field was before I was born.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
But then he always kept a hand in. And he. Oddly enough, he was on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, better known as the Church Committee, and really went after the CIA. And because he was in the CIA at one point.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
He was able to use his contacts for those that were within the CIA who were upset with the way the agency was going.
Craig Ferguson
So the implication being that there is some corruption in the intelligence community, because I frankly find that hard to believe that anywhere that humans have power that there would be any kind of form of corruption is unbelievable to me.
Diedrich Bader
And I think his greatest claim to fame, the thing that was brought up in his obituary, was that he was the person that supplied Senator Fulbright, the senator from Arkansas, with the information about the Gulf of Tonkin, which made Robert McNamara retire, that it was a lie.
Craig Ferguson
Wow.
Diedrich Bader
That was in his obituary.
Craig Ferguson
So that. I mean, that's a very impressive resume and a very kind of specific world.
Diedrich Bader
Yes.
Craig Ferguson
And I was always kind of intrigued as how you. Why you weren't drawn into that. It feels like the gravitational pull of that kind of thing would be very strong. Were you tempted at that point?
Diedrich Bader
No, I was never, never tempted, I think because I saw how the sausage was made. The thing that it did prepare me for in Hollywood was something that you had alluded to earlier in this podcast, which is the cyclical nature of a career.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
The shifting sands. My dad liked to call it the magic hat. So if you have the magic hat on, everybody loves you. Yeah, but it's not you, it's the hat.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. That's very Hollywood.
Diedrich Bader
That's Hollywood.
Craig Ferguson
It really is as well. But, I mean, your career is. I mean, you have had a stellar career.
Diedrich Bader
Thank you.
Craig Ferguson
I was quite jealous as I watched you.
Diedrich Bader
How is that even possible? You have an amazing show.
Craig Ferguson
You were on great shows. You're on Beep, which is an amazing show. You're on BoJack, which is, like, seminal.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
I mean, it's like rewriting the whole.
Diedrich Bader
No, that's a truly awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Is it something.
Diedrich Bader
And I would say Better Things was also. I don't know if you saw it, but Better Things is also a good show.
Craig Ferguson
I did not see Better Things, actually.
Diedrich Bader
Better Things is a very solid, beautiful show.
Craig Ferguson
So the kind of thing that. There's always been a great depth to your work, which I don't think you were used, and I feel this a little bit. A couple of actors, actually. I didn't see that you getting used that way in the Drew Carey show when you were playing Oswald Lee Harvey. It was a very. It was a fun show, but it was kind of two dimensional in many ways.
Diedrich Bader
No, it was entirely two dimensional. Yeah. We were like hot house flowers. We weren't real people. We were just vehicles for jokes. That said, I totally enjoyed it.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, me too. Well, not totally, but a lot of it.
Diedrich Bader
I think I enjoyed it more than you did.
Craig Ferguson
I think you probably did. I think that it's funny. I remember.
Diedrich Bader
And I don't think it was because of the size of the part. You had a good part, and you were A rock solid performer. Like, you fucking kicked ass every week and it like, rock star every week. So I don't think it was the size of the part. I think it's because you were more ambitious than me.
Craig Ferguson
Definitely. I. I was. I don't think I still suffer from that, but I did.
Diedrich Bader
I did have, I think, at the time.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, definitely.
Diedrich Bader
And from my perspective, I'm not. No, I think.
Craig Ferguson
No, I think you're right. I think that I was looking at you guys and I felt like you were all doing better than me, which is what ambitious people always think.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
He's like, everybody's doing better than me. And that's so true. It's just like. It's stupid.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
And then, like, after I had gotten maybe. I don't know, I was about 18 months into the. Doing the late night show, and I ran into. I think it was Jerry, the director. Jerry used to do the show. And he said, wow.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
If ever a guy, you know, it was him. And Drew.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Said, if ever a guy needed a show with his name on it, it's you, Craig. And I went, really? So I'm standing next to Drew Carey from the fucking Drew Carey show for nine years. He's like, yeah, it's different. No, I don't think it's any different at all.
Diedrich Bader
No, it's not.
Craig Ferguson
I was, though. You didn't suffer from that ambition. Did you not feel. I mean, you were coming off the Beverly Hillbillies big, giant movie? Did you not feel. Was your ambition not burning hot at that point?
Diedrich Bader
Well, I was disappointed by the reaction of the Beverly Hillbillies. I thought I was gonna be a movie star for a brief time. And then I dipped back into television, frankly. Cause I ran out of money. And then I only did the Drew Carey show because I was trying to drive. I never told you this story.
Craig Ferguson
No, I don't know this story.
Diedrich Bader
So the Drew Carey show was my second pilot of the season. I was on the revamping of Margaret Cho's show, but then about. I didn't believe in the show. About halfway through the show, my agent came and said, I have to go. And I was like, the Drew Carey.
Craig Ferguson
Show or the Margaret.
Diedrich Bader
Margaret Show? Margaret Cho? And I said, how do I get off this show? And he goes, you're halfway through the pilot. And I was like, yeah, this is really a mistake. Everybody knows it. And he goes, okay, well, so we're going to second position with something. So I was like, okay, great. And I tested for a pilot called Partners. Tate Donovan did It and Jon Cryer got my part.
Craig Ferguson
Okay.
Diedrich Bader
But anyway, they lowballed me over at Sony, who I'm working for right now actually on Lucky Hank.
Craig Ferguson
They totally lowballed. I'm working for them too.
Diedrich Bader
Sony's great. Yeah, I love them. They're my favorite people. Yeah, I love it. But they totally lowballed me. And so I called my agent and I was like, that's. I mean, our quotas are. I mean, they just have the quote and they're not coming back. And he goes, well, you know, you gotta get something else. And we'll just fight him off.
Craig Ferguson
Use it as a bargaining check.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. So he goes, there's this show, a stand up. Have you heard of Drew Carey? And I was like, no, no. And he goes, well, he did well on this other stand up show. And I was like, I don't watch that stand up show.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
And I was such a TV snob, if you remember. Like, I'm much better now that I have kids.
Craig Ferguson
And it's like you are one of the people that I would say grew the fuck up since I met them. I mean, you honestly, I mean, you were never. You were always a very nice man.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, thank you.
Craig Ferguson
But no, you. But like you grew up. It's so patently obvious. Like when you had your kids, you're like, oh no, wait a minute. Yeah, reset. Fucking button going on.
Diedrich Bader
Anyway, so I went on the Drew Carey show pilot and they wanted to test me. So we put em against one another. And Sony did come up to my quote and so did the Drew Carey show. And I just showed up for the test and I did it like, blah, blah, blah. Cause my test for the Sony thing was the same day. So I just was like, okay, yeah, this is the morning thing. And then I'm gonna go. Like some people would have a cup of coffee and a shit and go. I was like, I'm gonna test for a show.
Craig Ferguson
Well, the Drew Carey show was kind of like a cup of coffee. The shit was the whole idea of the circle.
Diedrich Bader
The whole process. Yeah. The circle of life. So. And then I went off to the Sony thing and then I didn't get the Sony thing and I got the Drew Carey show. And my agent called me to tell me I got the Drew Carey show. And I yelled at him. I was like, what have you done?
Craig Ferguson
Jesus, that's crazy. And then the show was a hit.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. Nine years.
Craig Ferguson
Nine fucking years. I didn't do the last year. I didn't do the first year either.
Diedrich Bader
You didn't do the first year, Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
I joined after that. I was only meant to be in for, like, three episodes or something.
Diedrich Bader
The first year wasn't good. And I hope I'm not crushing fans of the show, but I really didn't like the show. I actually tried to get off the show.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
In my defense, I had done seven pilots before the Drew Carey show, so I thought, I'll just get another show and I'll be fine. Looking back.
Craig Ferguson
Oh, my God.
Diedrich Bader
Thank God. They didn't let me.
Craig Ferguson
It's the hat.
Diedrich Bader
It's the magic hat. It's the magic hat. So, yeah, they didn't let me off. And I wasn't crazy. I loved Drew and I loved Ryan, and Kathy was great, but I didn't love the scripts. I didn't love my part. And I thought, this is to speak to what you were saying about the ambition. I thought, like, I'm a second banana on a show. I should be the first banana and I should get off the show. Bruce didn't let me off the show. And I'm very grateful for that because.
Craig Ferguson
Bruce Halford, who was the showrunner. Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
The creator of the show, was so much better. And I was trapped.
Craig Ferguson
And also I had arrived, and then everything was right. Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
And I'm not joking about that. It actually made the show happen because you were a great antagonist to him. It made his work sheer. Fucking hell.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. Right. There was more sticks to throw at the protagonist.
Diedrich Bader
The voiceover thing, it's nothing against Kevin Pollock. He's fantastic.
Craig Ferguson
He's a great actor.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, he's great. So. But he was a voice, and we saw him at the end of the first year. It was a dumb gimmick.
Craig Ferguson
Well, he was. If anyone doesn't know, he was Drew's voice. He was Drew's boss in the first year of the show. But you never really saw him. It was just on a kind of, like, speakerphone.
Diedrich Bader
That's right.
Craig Ferguson
And then he turned up for the last episode. But at that time, and Kevin said this to me himself, he said I was too expensive at the time. They couldn't afford me, so I was doing a lot of movies.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. He was a legit movie star at the time.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I think they offered Mr. Wick to Hugh Laurie as well.
Diedrich Bader
No kidding?
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, I believe so. And I think Hugh said, no, I. I'm better than that.
Diedrich Bader
That would have been a mistake. I don't know.
Craig Ferguson
I think he'd have been pretty good.
Diedrich Bader
Don't get me wrong. He's amazing.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. But.
Diedrich Bader
But I think that that wouldn't have worked. I. I think that you were.
Craig Ferguson
I think, personality wise, I think what happened the. For me, the Drew Carey show was at its best in that second, third, fourth.
Diedrich Bader
Those were the best years.
Craig Ferguson
Those were the good years. Yeah. When we were, like, doing the live episodes and doing the big musical numbers and all that.
Diedrich Bader
And also the episode that you were talking about, the Full Monty episode. That's an excellent episode.
Craig Ferguson
It's a great episode. Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
That scene when we're all on the couch and you come in and you talk about your addiction to the ponies and Oswalt thinks that you sleep with ponies.
Craig Ferguson
It's pretty good.
Diedrich Bader
It's so true.
Craig Ferguson
Remember John Carroll lynch and Drew dancing to the harp music to Wendy as well. It's like. But you look at John Carroll lynch as well, that guy who's gone on to direct these serious movies, and he's big. And you've done that too. You carved a legitimate career after the show.
Diedrich Bader
Thank you for saying.
Craig Ferguson
Well, it's true. I mean, but none of us were part of that kind of. Whose line? Improv world. I mean, Ryan did it. It was kind of. Ryan and Drew really were.
Diedrich Bader
Whose line was really Ryan, let's face it. Well, Drew was funny because he laughed.
Craig Ferguson
Drew was funny because he laughed. And he liked being around everybody doing it.
Diedrich Bader
And he's genuinely fun guy, so he's a nice guy.
Craig Ferguson
But Ryan's the improv genius.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, my God, he's a genius. Yeah. He's truly incredible. No, they asked me to do the show a number of times. I'm sure they asked you as well.
Craig Ferguson
No, I don't think they ever did ask me to do. Or maybe they asked me to do it once. I'm not sure. I like. Because I'm Scottish, I like to go, they never asked me and they lived to regret it. But I don't think they did live to regret it. And they probably.
Diedrich Bader
I'm fine in the dark.
Craig Ferguson
I'm fine here, sitting in the damp. They never asked me, but I think they probably did ask me.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, probably. I'd be shocked if they didn't.
Craig Ferguson
Well, I don't know. I was never that comfortable in, weirdly enough, for what I did later on. I was very uncomfortable with improv. Very uncomfortable with that group improv. I always felt, I can't really do this.
Diedrich Bader
It is a different beast.
Craig Ferguson
It is.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I mean, did you like the experience of doing it?
Diedrich Bader
One of my favorite parts about acting is knowing what I'm gonna say.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, Isn't that great?
Diedrich Bader
I love it.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
I don't know what I'm gonna say right now.
Craig Ferguson
Y. Yeah. And so it's a little unnerving, but if you get to practice what you're going to say and do it in a high voice, do it. This is very hard to figure out.
Diedrich Bader
What you're actually saying. Seeing what you're actually saying as opposed to what you're saying. All of that, all text analysis, all that kind of stuff you can really dive into that doesn't happen in life. In life we just blurted out.
Craig Ferguson
I think I just realized why you've done so well as an actor, because you say words like text analysis and stuff like that. I'm like, oh God, he's a fucking real actor.
Diedrich Bader
For God.
Craig Ferguson
He's a proper actor that does things.
Tom Yamas
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Lester Holt
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Diedrich Bader
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Craig Ferguson
Down or NBC News. I'm Tom Brokar. I hope to see you back here.
Lester Holt
I'm Lester Holt.
Diedrich Bader
It's carried forward. Tom Yamas is there for us. Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with.
Craig Ferguson
Breaking news right now.
Diedrich Bader
We look for a constant and from one era to the next.
Craig Ferguson
Trust is the anchor for NBC Nightly News. I'm Tom Yamas. A new chapter begins. NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas. Evenings on NBC. Hello, this is Craig Ferguson and I want to let you know I have a brand new stand up comedy special out now on YouTube. It's called I'm so happy and I would be so happy if you checked it out. To watch the special, just go to my YouTube channel. He Craig Ferguson show and it's just right there. Just click it and play it and it's free. I can't. Look, I'm not gonna come around your house and show you how to do it. If you can't do it, then you can't have it. But if you can figure it out, it's yours.
Diedrich Bader
I've trained.
Craig Ferguson
You had. Did you train?
Diedrich Bader
Yes.
Craig Ferguson
Where did you go?
Diedrich Bader
I didn't train. I went to North Carolina School of the Arts. That's in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
Craig Ferguson
That's pretty fancy, isn't it?
Diedrich Bader
It's fancy dancing. Yeah. Yeah, it's fancy dancing.
Craig Ferguson
Is that. So did you come to Hollywood straight after that or did you go into theater?
Diedrich Bader
I was going to go into theater and then I got a pilot in between my sophomore and junior year. A Western. We were on vacation in Santa Fe, met a casting director at a dinner party. Short story, long story short, I got cast in this pilot and then in a western. In a western.
Craig Ferguson
It was my fucking dream.
Diedrich Bader
It was really Fun. Honest to God, I was gonna be a stage actor before that time.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
But it was so much fun to dress up like a cowboy.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
And I was sag. And a lot of my friends that had graduated who I thought were much more talented than myself, that were in New York and trying to be stage actors are having a very hard time.
Craig Ferguson
And it's very difficult. The stage world, I think it's even more cliquey than Hollywood.
Diedrich Bader
I think my father's idea was that I move out here because I'm already sag, go like Stalin, do a five year plan and then move to New York if it doesn't work out. And I thought that was a pretty good idea, so I did that.
Craig Ferguson
So your dad, who's this very interesting government figure, was cool with your going into show business?
Diedrich Bader
His idea. It was his idea for me to drop out of North Carolina School of the Arts and just get started.
Craig Ferguson
See, he was a kind of out the box thinker then, wasn't he?
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. And I think he knew me.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
And he knew that I was gonna be. I mean, you know, his thing. When he brought up the idea, he said, you know, you got a job at a dinner party, I think you'll be okay. And then he paid my rent for the first two years, which really, really helped.
Craig Ferguson
That does help.
Diedrich Bader
So. Yeah. Cause I didn't need to get a straight job. I worked enough where I could feed myself. This is after the first three or four months when I tried to make it completely on my own. And I had trouble at the beginning. I got a job in two weeks, my second pilot. But I went through the money really, really fast because I thought I was made. I thought I paid my dues. It'd been two weeks. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
You know, that's a common thing though. They used to say like the buy a house in LA is just after the TV season starts and shows get, start getting cancelled and the actors who thought that they were going to be.
Diedrich Bader
No, I just burned through it and, and you know, I, I bought every type of thing that you could put into your body and as you know, like you run out of money really quick.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. But you, you were never like a druggie or anything.
Diedrich Bader
Weed and, and a lot of booze.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I never even saw you with much in the way of weed. Not like the way weed is now. Like the entire. You didn't.
Diedrich Bader
Smells like, like weed all the time. I know. Well, I just shot in Vancouver. The Vancouver is so much weed. Like, I smelled cigarette smoke and I was like, what the Hell is that?
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, it's weird. It's like. It's like a flashback when you smell just tobacco. Yeah, I know. I mean, you. New York smells like weed. Most of LA smells like weed. Chicago, Denver.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Oh my God. That's just like. You can get high just going there. So you get off the plane and you're like.
Diedrich Bader
The reason that you didn't say it was that I quit. I had told Dulcie when we first really got together, my wife of 26.
Craig Ferguson
Years, I was going to say, you guys got married when we were doing Drew Carey, right?
Diedrich Bader
That's right.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. Between the second and second and third season.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, she wanted me to quit and that was basically like. If we go forward, because I smoked a lot, she just like put her. It was basically like.
Craig Ferguson
She's a very sensible person. Yeah, I always. It's very one of those. I mean, look, you're married to her, you know her better than me, clearly. But she always seemed to me someone who had their shit together. It was kind of like an impressive.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Organized person.
Diedrich Bader
More than anyone else has helped me with my career because of just not just being encouraging, but also pushing me in a way and disciplining me.
Craig Ferguson
See, I think that that is very important in a career because I was much more scattershot and much more ambitious until I met Megan, who we've been together 18 years and you knew me before that. And all I could think of was that success, it must be success. And success is a big hit. And money, it's not creative fulfillment. There's no other side to it. It's a two dimensional thing. It's a one or a zero.
Diedrich Bader
I understand that though.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I think for young people, I think it's okay.
Diedrich Bader
And also it's. That's what Hollywood tells you.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. There was somebody I talked to. I think it was Peter Meddack. Do you know the director? Peter Meddack?
Diedrich Bader
I know his name, Peter.
Craig Ferguson
He directed a lot of episodes of the Wire.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, that's true.
Craig Ferguson
But he made a couple of great movies. A movie about the craze and he made a movie called the Ruling Class with Peter o' Toole back in the day.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, yeah.
Craig Ferguson
It's a great movie, right? I think that's his first movie.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. Oh, no kidding.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, and he's forgetting. Talks like, you know, is sort of. Well, for my purposes, he talks like a, you know, an old Nazi from 1950s movie. He doesn't talk like this at all, but a sort of version of this. He's like, well, you know, see, it's the singer's Craig. You know, the movie Twister makes $150 million. The movie Fanny and Alexander makes I don't know what, $50. Therefore, the movie Twister is a better movie than Fanny and Alexander. Yes or no? Of course the answer is no. And you get that I like guys like that. I like guys like that who. Who kind of See, and I think that that comes with age and experience and wearing the hat and not wearing the hat.
Diedrich Bader
That's right. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Do you.
Diedrich Bader
It's best.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
If you have a career where you have worn the hat and then you don't wear the hat and then somebody gives you the hat again.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
And that's when you're really appreciative of the hat.
Craig Ferguson
That's nice to have it back.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
I think of it. It's kind of like the. The Sean Connery Zardoz.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, we bring it up all the time. Yeah, but.
Craig Ferguson
But that's like Sean Connery.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. And yet he's in a Mankini. At one point, he must have been thinking, what the fuck is happening wearing a fucking Mankini.
Diedrich Bader
It's a Mankini.
Craig Ferguson
I have a fucking Jardos. Now, I know that some people love the movie Jardos, but I don't think Sean loved it. We were talking about Sean Connery the other day.
Diedrich Bader
We totally were.
Craig Ferguson
Right. Cause you met him and I met him. When did you meet him?
Diedrich Bader
I met him at an awards thing. He was getting a lifetime award. This is during the. Right before the Hillbillies came out. And I had a publicist because it felt like I should.
Craig Ferguson
Right. Okay.
Diedrich Bader
And so I went to a bunch of parties, and one of them was this award that he was given. And F. Murray Abraham told the story about the director of Name of the Rose who was supposedly very abusive to basically everybody in the crew and the actors and really just awful. And would lose his shit continually, which is really a terrible thing for a director to do.
Craig Ferguson
Yes. Terrible thing for a director.
Diedrich Bader
You're the one who's supposed to be in control. That's the idea. You're not allowed to.
Craig Ferguson
You shouldn't even raise your voice.
Diedrich Bader
You really should. But anyway, Connery said nothing through the entire time to this guy. He just did his job. And he talked to the actor. He was fine, but he just did his job. He didn't say anything to the director. And then the director took a big stick and was about to hit a horse that wasn't doing what he wanted the horse to do. Right. And Connery grabbed his wrist and pushed it down. And you could tell that the director really was, like, fighting you. But Connery's a big fella.
Craig Ferguson
Mr. Universe.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. So he's holding him down. He goes, not the horse fuck line. You just. Yeah, okay. Just.
Craig Ferguson
Right away, Mr. Connery. I was telling you, my wife. We had only been dating a short period of time, and I had to give an award to Sean at some big Hollywood do.
Diedrich Bader
He's getting the award all the time.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, he was getting them every week. Nice.
Diedrich Bader
It should be.
Craig Ferguson
And I was giving him this award. I gave him the award. And then we get introduced afterwards. Meghan's wearing her dress and went over and you said, craig, it's very nice to meet you. Thanks for the award. That was really very pleasant, what you said. Thank you. And I said, thank you very much, Sean. This is my wife, Megan. And he said, very nice to meet you, Meghan. And her tits blushed.
Diedrich Bader
Not even physically passing.
Craig Ferguson
I didn't even know that tits could blush. She just went, oh. And they lit up like it was fucking Halloween. I didn't even know these things could do that. She went, well, were they. They don't do it for you. But that's Sean Connery. I was like, oh, my God. He could make women tits blush.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, that's. That's. That's quite a scout.
Craig Ferguson
He was fucking great. Yeah, for me, he was. He and Billy Conley were kind of like the Jackie Robinson thing. You know what I mean? What for you was. What did you watch when you were a kid? And you go, I want a piece of that. I want to be able to do that.
Diedrich Bader
My origin story is that we were living in Paris. My dad was a European. Paris. We were living in Paris. He was a European representative for the Ford Foundation. This is shortly after he brought down Robert McNamara. He was told to basically get out of town.
Craig Ferguson
Right. Not only can you not have the hat, but you better get the fuck out of town for a while. Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
You really lost the hat. Yeah, it just rolled down the street. You're not going to get that hat. He ended up being fine, but. But yes, that we. He was definitely out. But anyway, I basically just learned English. I was little, and then there was French.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
And so I was really deeply alienated by the whole thing and kind of a troubled little kid. Little loner, weird kid.
Craig Ferguson
What age are you at this point?
Diedrich Bader
I am about three and a four. Three and a half.
Craig Ferguson
Four. Okay.
Diedrich Bader
And my mom paid for my siblings to take me to the movies. And I very Quickly figured out that that was the deal because my sister would bring all of her stone friends and they would, you know, we would go see Fred Astaire movies, which I. Which I totally love. But I really love Charlie Chaplin.
Craig Ferguson
How interesting.
Diedrich Bader
And there was something about the combination of the pathos, the physical comedy and just the warmth that I really love the sweetness. Now a lot of people think it's too treacly. Buster Keaton is probably for the hardcore fans, and I'm a huge fan, don't get me wrong. For the hardcore fan, he's just comedy. It's very little sentiment. But for me, I love the sentiment. I was a little kid, you know, and the first one I saw was the kid. So I was like, this guy's.
Craig Ferguson
This is. And I could hang with this guy because he hangs out with kids a non creepy way.
Diedrich Bader
I worked up a little Charlie Chaplin act in my room and our apartment. And then I guess about a year later we went to the theater. My fake auntie. Auntie. Sh. Took me and I.
Craig Ferguson
This is my fake auntie.
Diedrich Bader
Who is fake aunt. My mom's.
Craig Ferguson
Oh, your mom's friend. That Can I.
Diedrich Bader
But anyway, she took me to this one theater that I love the most because there was a live musical accompaniment. The guy improvised music to whatever was playing. And it was my favorite because it was just like being in the theater in the. In the original time.
Craig Ferguson
This is weird because, I mean, this sounds like you grew up in the 1920s in Paris. This is like, this is what, 1970s, 70s?
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, yeah, 70s. Somewhere in there. Anyway, so the film burned. Got caught and burned.
Craig Ferguson
It went on fire.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. And everybody booed and the lights came back on and I ran in between the audience and the screen. Cause nobody boos Charlie Chaplin. Like I just wasn't going to allow that to happen. So I jumped in between and I did my little Charlie Chaplin act. The organ player played.
Craig Ferguson
And you did it for the audience?
Diedrich Bader
I did it for the audience.
Craig Ferguson
The French audience.
Diedrich Bader
That's French audience.
Craig Ferguson
And were they good? Did they love you?
Diedrich Bader
I got a standing ovation.
Craig Ferguson
Jesus, that is so great. Now I think we have to make a movie of your life because that is such a great origin story, don't you think?
Diedrich Bader
It's crazy, right?
Craig Ferguson
It's lovely.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, it's funny.
Craig Ferguson
Do you actually have memory of it? I mean, do you.
Diedrich Bader
I. You know, there's so many questions about recovered memory. I actually did recover this memory by watching Chaplin, the biopic with Robert Downey Jr.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
There is a scene in it where his Mother who was played by Charlie Chaplin's actual daughter. Geraldine Chaplin in the movie plays her own grandmother. Grandmother who has a nervous breakdown on stage when Chaplin himself is about three or four.
Craig Ferguson
That's right. She was very ill. She was ill.
Diedrich Bader
And anyway, she had a nervous breakdown on stage. And everybody started to boo. And he thought, no one is gonna boo my mother. So he jumped on stage and started doing a pantomime act. Cause he had no act. It was the only thing that he can think of. And I was sitting in the theater, and I was like, chef on Frank Miller.
Craig Ferguson
Oh, my God. That's amazing.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. And then I remember.
Craig Ferguson
That's amazing.
Diedrich Bader
I remembered.
Craig Ferguson
And your family remember it.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
That's crazy.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. But typical of my family. Like, I called my mom. I was crying. I called my mom, and I thought, I just want to check something, because I had this incredibly powerful experience. It was like an epiphany for me. And I just want to double check and make sure that it actually happened and that I wasn't making it up. And she went, oh, yes. Yeah, yeah. And I go, did you ever think about telling me that?
Craig Ferguson
That she was like, oh, yeah, that happened.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, no, that happened. Yeah, Auntie. Sure that she took you? And I go, yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's what I thought.
Craig Ferguson
That's crazy.
Diedrich Bader
And she goes, yes. Now that happened.
Craig Ferguson
Do you know the story about Chaplin and Michael Caine? Michael Ken told me this story, which is what. They were both from the area, the Elephant and Castle in London. Like, very poor slum area in London. And in the late 1960s or 70s, they were knocking down. Must have been in the 70s, actually, they were knocking down the Elephant and Castle, the area in London. It was called that because it was. It was in the Middle Ages. It was called l' Enfant de Castile. The. But the Londoners couldn't pronounce that elephant castle.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, that's hilarious.
Craig Ferguson
And it was a big.
Diedrich Bader
The children of the castle.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. So they were knocking down this area, and Michael, who grew up there, was walking around it, and, you know, he thought, I'll go and see it before they knock it down. So very early in the morning one Sunday, he's walking around the Elephant castle. It's all kind of deserted and stuff. And he comes around the corner and fucking Charlie Chaplin is there, an old man. And he said, Mr. Chaplin, what. What are you doing here? Yeah, yeah, I'm doing the voice. I can't do Charlie Chaplin. And Charlie Chaplin went, but. And then you came up.
Diedrich Bader
No, no, please.
Craig Ferguson
But he said, well, I, I thought I'd come around to look at the old neighborhood before they knocked it down. And the two of them. There's something wonderful about that.
Diedrich Bader
That's so sweet. Two huge, huge.
Craig Ferguson
Oh my God. And from obviously very different eras.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, but still. But then walking around together, sharing a childhood, that's really fascinating.
Craig Ferguson
Both of these people. And this is kind of where I want to lead you a little bit. Is that both of these people? For me, I never met Chaplin, and I presume you didn't either. But I've met and spent time with Michael Caine, who is a fucking diamond of a human being. I've heard he's just amazing.
Diedrich Bader
I'm really delighted to hear that.
Craig Ferguson
And what's great about is that he's one of the few people I've met that retains the mystique. I know how films are made. I've made them. You've made them, We've been on them. I know how the sausage is made. But he keeps the glamour. I wondered for you, is there still an area of this business? Cause you've, I mean, you've really proved yourself in this game. Is there still any kind of like, you know, the feeling you used to get when you, you would see the star's handprints? I used to kind of get that. And I don't anymore. I'm like, yeah, just the guy putting his hand in concrete. Doesn't matter. You hear stories about people. Is there anyone who still does it.
Diedrich Bader
For you that I get starstruck or that I'm just.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, maybe starstruck or just retains the mystique. Who kind of still has the glamour on, either personally or. But I'm thinking more personally, like interacting with people. No, no. It's funny that, isn't it?
Diedrich Bader
No, I have yet to see the glamour of this business. I too totally worshiped it from an outsider's perspective. I used to go to Men's Chinese when I had a particularly intense audition before. I would go and I would stand in Jimmy Stewart's shoe prints at Man's Chinese and just look up at the sky and say, show me the magic, Jim. Show me the magic. Because he was my favorite of the speaking actors.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, the so called talkies.
Diedrich Bader
As if that'll ever catch on.
Craig Ferguson
Never.
Diedrich Bader
But I have yet to see glamour. I mean, one moment I think was fairly glamorous. In early screenings of Miss Congeniality 2, I went to Withalsey. I should say we went to a theater way out in like Glendale or something. I can't quite remember right now, but anyway, we went up to where the projectors were because that's where Sandy was, and there was Sandra Bullock in the middle of the room on her phone looking amazing and like a movie star waiting for the lights to go down so she could join the audience. And I think that was the one moment where I was like, that's actually pretty cool.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. It's funny that it does go away.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. Cause it's just a lot of desperate people trying to work.
Craig Ferguson
I just went. You know what did it to me was late night, because every night you met everybody. Yeah. Giant star comes in. Not every night, but a lot of times. Giant stars come in. Giant stars come in. Giant stars come in. And the douche to mensch ratio is the same as anywhere else in the world.
Diedrich Bader
In the world.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. It's just like, oh, yeah, some guys douches, some guys mensches, and that's just the way it is. But there are people, for me still, who kind of transcend it a little bit.
Diedrich Bader
Okay, who's that?
Craig Ferguson
Well, Robin Williams did that for me a little bit even. Although we became friends, there was a. It seemed to me he had a magic. Maybe it's genius. Maybe that's what it is. It's not really about glamour and show business, but it's about the next level of real talent.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Or when you see somebody doing a thing, like, every now and again, I would see that I could even do it. I could do it. And I'm not saying I could even do it with you, but I can do it with you. There were times when I would. Like when I was watching BoJack, when you turned up in BoJack as the agent's assistant, I was like, oh, that's fucking gorgeous.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, thank you.
Craig Ferguson
And it was great. I mean, that show, for me, I'm such a fan of that show.
Diedrich Bader
It's a really great show.
Craig Ferguson
It's a very dark, strange ride.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. I don't think there's been a darker comedy.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I mean, who was it you were working with on that?
Diedrich Bader
Bob, the creator of the show, and I did a show together called Save Me that was a total piece of shit.
Craig Ferguson
Okay.
Diedrich Bader
And he knew it at the time and I knew it at the time, but he couldn't say anything. But I just talked about it all the time.
Craig Ferguson
So he appreciated that and couldn't wait.
Diedrich Bader
To get you into it when he had his own show. Then he brought me in, and he was like, you, candor was so refreshing that there was somebody who knew that they were on a piece of shit while they were in.
Craig Ferguson
Was one of those shows. BoJack, I thought that you lived in terror of your name turning up in it.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, yeah. Cause he skewered everybody.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, mine did.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, really?
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I was watching it one day. I was like. I think it's, like, it's deep into the season with BoJack's way off base, and the reporters are looking for BoJack, and they go to an AA meeting, and they say, have you seen any celebrities at an AA meeting? And somebody goes, I thought Craig Ferguson was. And the report says, oh, try to be swanked by association, are you? And I was like, that was good.
Diedrich Bader
That was not bad.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, for a bush.
Diedrich Bader
Especially since you're not anonymous. You're recovering, and you're pretty clear about it.
Craig Ferguson
But the AA thing is anonymous, and I don't. I can't and wouldn't.
Diedrich Bader
No, no, of course. But. But what I mean is that he picked the one, like, who's in recovery, who was up, and then there was a.
Craig Ferguson
There was a whole bunch of people after that as well. They just ran a list of douchebag celebrities that have gotten sober, me included.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, okay.
Craig Ferguson
And. And I kind of loved it, but as. As a skewering, it wasn't bad. It wasn't a skewering at all. Okay.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Lester Holt
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Diedrich Bader
The NBC Nightly News legacy isn't handed.
Craig Ferguson
Down or NBC News. I'm Tom Brokaw. We hope to see you back.
Lester Holt
I'm Lester Holt.
Diedrich Bader
It's carried forward. Tom Yamas is there for us. Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with breaking news. Right now, we look for a constant and from one era to the next.
Craig Ferguson
Trust is the anchor. For NBC Nightly News, I'm Tom Yamas. A new channel chapter begins NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas evenings on NBC.
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Craig Ferguson
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Diedrich Bader
I.
Craig Ferguson
Think if you're an actor, the way you're an actor, which I admire greatly, is that I don't see you being you everywhere.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, I don't think I'm being anywhere. I hope not. I'm really trying to be somebody else every time. I work really hard at that, in breaking up my own rhythms and try to pick up the rhythm of the with the writing. I really work hard on that. I mean, that's why, I mean, some people don't even know I'm in Napoleon Dynamite because yeah, God, have you still got those pants? Everybody else. My one regret in show business is that I've been there.
Craig Ferguson
They're the greatest fucking pants I've ever seen.
Diedrich Bader
I Picked them out of a lineup. Jerusha, who was also the co writer but was the. What, Wife of Jared, the director, was also the costume director. That's how small.
Craig Ferguson
It was a pretty low budget movie.
Diedrich Bader
Right. She sold me three different pairs of pants and I was like, no, that was thousands of stripes, guys.
Craig Ferguson
They are amazing. So. But is that a thing that you do when it comes to, like, publicity? Because you're. You're happy. You sit here. This is you. I know you.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
But I haven't seen you do a ton of like, you did my talk show, but I didn't see. I haven't seen you do a ton of them. Do you do it in purpose or.
Diedrich Bader
You not so into. I mean, it's strange to say this as an actor, but I'm not so into talking about myself. I'd much rather talk about a specific project. And if I do that, then Twitter has kind of changed this. Like, I feel like I.
Craig Ferguson
You're quite present on that.
Diedrich Bader
Yes. Also, it is a side of me. It's the funnier side, the kind of goofier side. But sometimes I open up about other things that I'm actually feeling. But most of the time I try to be light and airy. I try to be a positive force.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
And in Twitter, that's particularly difficult because it's a dark place.
Craig Ferguson
It is a dark place. It used to be. It was funny. I was talking to Josh Robert Thompson recently about the. Who was the guy who did the robot on the late night show? Who's fucking genius.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
And we were talking about how early on Twitter was kind of great. It was fun, it was very light and it went very dark. And I think probably it was the, the. The politics of 2016 and. And that. That kind of.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, I think it drove. I think it predated that a little bit. But I think as you were alluding to earlier, it's. It's the ratio. And you know, you get a lot of responses from being negative. And so people tend to.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
Be more negative, I think, just to get the attention. They equate negative attention and positive attention.
Craig Ferguson
In the same way as being the same way. Yeah, I don't do that.
Diedrich Bader
No. No. It's so strange.
Craig Ferguson
Negative attention is deeply stressful.
Diedrich Bader
Well, because we're performers.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
So there's a part of us that wants the audience to laugh. We want that love. Right. That's your life.
Craig Ferguson
If they don't like you, then you're out of business.
Diedrich Bader
Exactly. And it's also like if we were to stand on stage and people were to literally boo. And we got the same, like, feeling out of that. That would be strange.
Craig Ferguson
That would be. That would be odd. Thank you so much. Oh, bless you all for coming.
Diedrich Bader
Hang him.
Craig Ferguson
Throw cabbages.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, exactly.
Craig Ferguson
I, I, Lou, obviously this is. If it was a. I would have thrown a cabbage there.
Diedrich Bader
Yes, of course.
Craig Ferguson
So I had to say, no cabbages, of course. What about directing?
Diedrich Bader
Oh, sometimes I think about it, but other times, I'm just so satisfied with what I do, you know, I think.
Craig Ferguson
I'd like you to think about it more.
Diedrich Bader
Really?
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. Because you have a very good personality for it. I mean, even talking about it, like, first of all, you're positive and you also, you see things and you. You do things like text analysis, which I think a lot of fucking directors could do well doing that. But I think also you have this thing. I'm gonna do a massive name drop right now.
Diedrich Bader
Fantastic.
Craig Ferguson
All right. So I was directing this movie, and I did a very bad job on it. But I was talking to Warren Beatty before. I had lunch with Warren Beatty.
Diedrich Bader
Boom.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. Yeah, There he goes. And I had lunch with Warren Beatty. Cause somebody had set us up on a lunch so he could help me. Cause I was in the movie and I was directing the movie. And so he was. I said, I need to talk to Guy.
Diedrich Bader
He's supposed to be astonishingly bright.
Craig Ferguson
He's amazingly clever, man.
Diedrich Bader
That's right.
Craig Ferguson
Hits on every waitress that serves them. Oh, unbelievable.
Diedrich Bader
Ridiculous. It's like Gene Simmons.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah.
Diedrich Bader
It's just crazy. Have been.
Craig Ferguson
I don't think he even knows he's doing it. He's like, yeah. You know, you look fabulous.
Diedrich Bader
That.
Craig Ferguson
This is the greatest omelette I've ever seen. I was like, for God's sake.
Diedrich Bader
But shameless.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. Unbelievable. I'm like, I don't even know.
Diedrich Bader
Subconscious. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
I don't even know. I don't think he is hitting on these people. I think he's just so kind of.
Diedrich Bader
He just is charmingly charming.
Craig Ferguson
Anyway, whatever it is. But he was talking about directing the number one thing. He said, don't try and impress anyone. The less you say, the more they're gonna be impressed. That's interesting, he said, because everybody turns up on the movie set and they've all got a call sheet. And on that call sheet is written bold type right at the top, director, and then your name. So they're already impressed. All that's gonna happen is you're gonna disappoint everyone. Yeah, yeah. Like, oh. And I think that You. I wouldn't have said this about you when we were doing the Drew Carey show.
Diedrich Bader
I was out of control then.
Craig Ferguson
You weren't out of control. You were younger.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
And you were a nice guy. And I don't wanna hold with any idea that there was anything wrong. There was nothing wrong with you.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
But you clearly are a human being who's made a transition, who grew up.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
And I think that. That you have stories to tell. And even when you. When you told the story of you as a little kid in Paris, that's a tin better visual. Think about it.
Diedrich Bader
Thank you. I will.
Craig Ferguson
All right, good. So when you're making your movie, I would like to be angry Parisian. I don't want this kid in my movie theater. I think it'd be fine. I think I could do it. I could grow a mustache or not, depending on. Yeah, but just acting, then you don't see it as a. Well, that's the wrong thing. I don't mean just acting.
Diedrich Bader
Oh, I know what you're saying.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. No, I mean, I find my job very complex, and it never gets easy in a way where I kind of stop thinking about it. I find every day interesting. And, you know, I'm on this new show called Lucky Hank.
Craig Ferguson
With Bob. Right. With Bob.
Diedrich Bader
And an incredible cast.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
And we did one episode, episode five, where we were all together. It's a bottle episode for those people that aren't in show business. It's basically when the show. The studio tells you that we have no more money. And so they do an episode where everybody's caught together.
Craig Ferguson
Right. The snowed in episode.
Diedrich Bader
The Snowed in episode or something. You'll see it on TV shows all the time. In show business, they're called bottle episodes. That's just the short thing. So. So the writers of Lucky Hank, who were exceptionally good, had all of these characters out in the show in the first four episodes, and they were kind of like just a lot of strings. And you didn't know if Hank was the thing that pulled it together or why they were necessarily connected. And in this one episode, they just pull the string and they realize that it's been there the entire time, and it pulls everyone together with them. And there's a scene where it's 12 pages at a table. That's a long, very long time.
Craig Ferguson
It was like 25 minutes.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah. And so we're just sitting there talking, and it reinvigorated my sense of my profession and the beauty of it in one day. It was so beautiful to see all these actors interact and create something new every single take. To push each other, but also push the reality of what we're making get deeper and deeper every take. And one of the things that drives me completely bonkers about those that don't take our mutual profession seriously is when they're off camera and they stop acting. It drives me completely bonkers. Like I was. Would prefer you not to be there. And I can act to tape. And I have asked for this before because actors will just like, you know, they're just gonna. Their line or whatever.
Craig Ferguson
Oh, you mean so the camera's on someone. Right.
Diedrich Bader
Camera's on the other actor.
Craig Ferguson
They're.
Diedrich Bader
They're sitting off camera and for looks, basically so that your look looks like. But they're. They're not acting and they barely know their lines or they don't know their lines and they're just reading it. It's so distracting to me that I would prefer to have a piece of tape and have the script supervisor read and I will look at a piece.
Craig Ferguson
Or a tennis ball or something that.
Diedrich Bader
It'S like, you're the best actor ever. I will make you look good. Honest. God. But don't be here right now. Cause you're not doing it right. And this ensemble with Bob as the lead, every single take was great. Even when it was coverage of just one person had two cameras on them and it was their close up. And there are 10 actors in the scene. Everybody acted their hearts. Bob was crying off camera.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. That's just a waste of resources.
Diedrich Bader
He had already done his close up. But somehow he tapped into something and he just kept going. He just kept tapping into it and he was just 100% there and everyone was right there. It felt magical.
Craig Ferguson
But that's part of the attraction. Like at the very beginning for a lot of people.
Diedrich Bader
That's right.
Craig Ferguson
I think is the collegiate band Brothers feeling of what it's like to be in an ensemble cast.
Diedrich Bader
That's exactly right.
Craig Ferguson
When you and I were talking going back to those early days of the Drew Carey show, that second season, third, fourth season, round about that period, maybe the episode 25 to episode of 100, there was a time when I think we were in that space.
Diedrich Bader
I completely agree with that. I think we lost it probably about mid fifth season. And then we were just doing a job. But for those, it's like. Like the rock and roll movies when they have, you know, the band gets together, then they have their peak hits and they're really great. And then they just keep playing.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. And they Keep playing and they keep.
Diedrich Bader
Playing and they keep playing. And then the inevitable happens. The drummer dies. Yeah, and the drummer dies. The drummer's always going to die. But when it's good, it's really beautiful. And you're like, oh, this is rock and roll. This is really good. Like, if one person is off, the band is off.
Craig Ferguson
Right.
Diedrich Bader
But when they're all together, it all clicks. It's amazing.
Craig Ferguson
Yeah, it's beautiful. And I think that that's kind of odd. Even as a viewer, when you watch shows, you can see, like, there are shows that just come out of the gate and they're amazing. And then, you know, season 10, you're like, you know, really? When they introduced. What is it? The Simpsons did the dog with sunglasses on a skateboard, like, okay, here we go. Yeah, yeah. But I think that there is a kind of lie. Carrie Fisher used to say this. And I think it was a brilliant thing to say, amongst many brilliant things, that Carrie Sheffish smart. Ah, she was wonderful. Did you know her?
Diedrich Bader
I knew her a little bit, yeah. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
She was very much in parts. When the late night show started, I had just written a book and she read it and she.
Diedrich Bader
American on purpose?
Craig Ferguson
No, before that. It was a novel I wrote called between the Bridge and the river. And it was a kind of magical, realist thing. And it's never gonna make any money or anything like that, but I really wanted to write.
Diedrich Bader
Cool.
Craig Ferguson
And she read it, and she was very positive about it and really kind of introduced me, in a way to Hollywood that I hadn't been before. She was just amazingly supportive.
Diedrich Bader
Wow.
Craig Ferguson
And she did that for tons of people.
Diedrich Bader
That's so cool.
Craig Ferguson
Like, she had this kind of, like, artist colony at her house. And you would go up and you'd meet, like, I met the weirdest people I like about Courtney Love up there and all that stuff you meet, like. Not that Courtney Love. Well, she is a little weird. I think I'd say that if she was here, but.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah, I don't think that's a big surprise.
Craig Ferguson
No, it's not. Nobody's surprised.
Diedrich Bader
Wait, what? But.
Craig Ferguson
But I just met a wild array of different people and lovely. But she said when I put on that metal bikini when I was 24, I didn't realize I was making a pact with the universe to look like that for the rest of my life.
Diedrich Bader
Wow. Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
And it was like, it's a moment in time. Why can't you let it be that? And I think that with a sitcom, when it all comes together, or a movie that all comes together. That, that's why, you know, when people talk about AI, I'm like, it doesn't frighten me because, you know, because it's still got. There's too much a for the eye to matter. You know what I fucking mean? It's like.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Why is it, you know, like puppet.
Diedrich Bader
Shows have been around a very long time?
Craig Ferguson
Yeah. I think that, you know, this is going to be funny because the robot says it's funny.
Diedrich Bader
Yeah.
Craig Ferguson
Good fucking luck, robot.
Diedrich Bader
Whitney Ballier says that jazz is the sound of surprise.
Craig Ferguson
And that's fucking great.
Diedrich Bader
I would say the comedy is that.
Craig Ferguson
And Robin Williams used to say the good comedy was jazz.
Diedrich Bader
No.
Craig Ferguson
There we go, full circle.
Diedrich Bader
That was good.
Craig Ferguson
Diedrich, you're a joy. It was beautiful to talk to you, man. More power to you. I'm really looking forward to seeing Lucky Hank.
Diedrich Bader
Thank you.
Craig Ferguson
Well done.
Diedrich Bader
Thank you.
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Joy Podcast Episode Summary: Diedrich Bader
Podcast Information:
Craig Ferguson opens the episode by reminiscing about his time working with Diedrich Bader on The Drew Carey Show, particularly highlighting Bader's portrayal of Oswald Lee Harvey. Bader humorously reflects on the character's quirky name, stating, "Oswald Lee Harvey, which is on a par with Count Alucard as a stupid name, but you were playing that fairly early on in the run" (03:10).
Bader discusses the impact of The Drew Carey Show on his career, noting that despite the show's initial struggles, it provided him with significant exposure. He shares an anecdote about the "Full Monty" episode, where both he and Ferguson got intoxicated in Las Vegas, leading to memorable on-screen antics. Bader admits, "I truly enjoyed it, even though it was entirely two-dimensional" (11:24).
Diedrich opens up about his upbringing, mentioning his father's prominent role in the CIA and later as Assistant Secretary of State during the Clinton administration. He reveals, "He was able to use his contacts for those that were within the CIA who were upset with the way the agency was going" (09:22). This background instilled in him a strong sense of ethics and resilience, preventing him from being drawn into corruption despite the high-stakes environment.
Bader recounts his early passion for acting, inspired by legends like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. A vivid childhood memory includes saving a Charlie Chaplin movie screening in Paris by performing a impromptu pantomime act, earning a standing ovation from the audience (35:00).
The conversation shifts to the nature of ambition in the entertainment industry. Bader reflects on his decision to join The Drew Carey Show, initially hoping to transition into a more substantial role but ultimately feeling confined to a secondary position. He candidly shares, "I tried to get off the show because I thought I should be the first banana" (16:40).
Craig Ferguson relates to this sentiment, discussing his own struggles with ambition during his late-night show tenure. Both acknowledge the cyclical nature of careers in Hollywood, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and recognizing when to pivot.
Bader delves into his craft, highlighting the challenges and rewards of acting versus directing. He emphasizes the importance of knowing his lines and the discomfort he feels with improvisation, stating, "One of my favorite parts about acting is knowing what I'm gonna say" (20:34). They discuss the complexities of directing, with Bader expressing interest but preferring to focus on acting due to his passion for the craft.
Notable moments include their discussion on improvisational skills, where Bader praises Ryan Stiles as "the improv genius" and credits Drew Carey with bringing a unique energy to the show through his genuine humor and laughter (06:11).
The episode features stories about interactions with iconic figures like Sean Connery and Michael Caine. Bader shares a touching story about meeting Connery at an awards ceremony, where Connery effortlessly diffused a tense situation by preventing a director from mishandling a horse on set. Craig Ferguson humorously recounts his own encounter with Connery, highlighting the actor's charismatic presence and ability to make others feel special (30:45).
They also discuss Michael Caine's meeting with Charlie Chaplin at the Elephant and Castle in London, illustrating the mutual respect and shared childhood experiences between the two legends (37:00).
Towards the end of the episode, Bader reflects on the evolution of the entertainment industry, particularly the loss of glamour and the increasing challenges posed by social media. He criticizes the superficiality of platforms like Twitter, noting, "I have yet to see the glamour of this business" (40:35). The conversation shifts to the importance of genuine talent and passion in sustaining a fulfilling career, with both hosts advocating for authenticity over superficial success.
Craig Ferguson concludes the episode by celebrating Diedrich Bader's contributions to acting and expressing anticipation for his upcoming projects, such as Lucky Hank. Bader reiterates his commitment to the craft, emphasizing continuous growth and the joy found in creating meaningful performances.
Diedrich Bader on The Drew Carey Show:
Diedrich Bader on Acting:
Diedrich Bader on His Childhood Incident:
Craig Ferguson on Sean Connery:
Diedrich Bader on Hollywood's Nature:
Craig Ferguson on Social Media:
Career Resilience: Bader's journey underscores the importance of perseverance and adaptability in the volatile entertainment industry. Despite setbacks, such as The Drew Carey Show initially being a gamble, he leveraged these experiences to build a robust career.
Influence of Family: Bader credits his father's ethical stance and professional background in intelligence for instilling a strong moral compass, aiding him in navigating Hollywood's complexities without succumbing to corruption.
Authenticity in Acting: Both hosts emphasize the value of genuine performance over superficial accolades. Bader's preference for scripted acting over improvisation highlights the balance actors must maintain between spontaneity and preparation.
Changing Dynamics of Fame: The episode touches on the diminishing glamour in Hollywood and the challenges posed by social media's superficial interactions. There's a yearning for the authentic connections and the mystique once inherent to celebrity culture.
Joy through Creativity: Central to the episode's theme is the joy derived from creative expression and collaboration. Bader's anecdotes illustrate how creating meaningful art and sharing laughter contribute significantly to personal happiness.
This episode of Joy offers an intimate look into Diedrich Bader's life, both professionally and personally. Through candid conversations, shared memories, and reflective insights, listeners gain a deeper understanding of what brings joy to a seasoned actor navigating the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment. Bader's stories serve as a testament to finding happiness through resilience, authenticity, and the enduring bonds formed in the creative process.