"Claire Danes"

Summary

SmartLess: Claire Danes

Original Air Date: November 17, 2025
Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett
Guest: Claire Danes

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and open conversation, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett welcome the acclaimed actress Claire Danes to reminisce about her prolific 30-year career, her New York origins, family life, and dedication to both her art and authenticity. Listeners are treated to candid, funny, and thoughtful takes on acting, work-life balance, self-care, and the quirks of stardom—all seasoned by the signature SmartLess blend of improvisational wit and real talk.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Self-Care and Daily Routines

• Intro Chat on Facials and Pedicures
  The episode kicks off with a light-hearted debate among the hosts about facials, manicures, and the “luxury” of self-care. Claire joins in to share her own approach:
  • Claire Danes:
    • Gets facials occasionally, usually as gifts (10:04).
    • Consistently gets weekly pedicures:

      “I do get my nails done weekly. Because it's like my office. I get a lot of work done there.” (10:12)

    • Enjoys taking her children to the salon, even bribing her son to join her when he was small (11:08).
• Hosts’ Quips on Self-Care:
  The hosts riff on their histories with mani-pedis and the discomfort (and comedy) of self-pampering (04:01-06:29).
  • Will Arnett:

    "You live like a pampered prince... people knew how you live..." (05:42)

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2. Claire Danes’ Family Life

• Third Child “Surprise”
  Claire opens up about her unexpected third pregnancy at age 44 and the blend of emotions it brought:

  • Felt both surprised and somehow “naughty” for getting pregnant later in life.

  • Jokes about the “oopsie-daisy third baby” and balancing a family with a teenager and toddler (12:36–14:37).

  • Daughter Shay was a “double blessing” and loves wearing tutus (14:48).

  • Claire Danes:

    “Suddenly I felt like a funny shame... like I had been caught fornicating past the point I was meant to.” (13:01)

• Experiences in New York City
  Claire describes her life in a brownstone in New York, the artistic environment she grew up in, and her parents’ creative pursuits (19:41–21:14).

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3. Early Artistic Roots & Beginnings

• Artist Family Origin Story

  • Parents were both artists who lived and ran businesses out of a Soho loft (20:41).
  • The loft doubled as a toddler school ("Crosby Kids") while her father’s “Overall Construction” business inspired the name of her current production company.

• Journey into Acting

  • Claire always wanted to act, starting with dance before transitioning to acting classes at age 10.
  • Got her start with student films, Law & Order, and then the groundbreaking TV drama My So-Called Life (21:26–23:16).

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4. My So-Called Life and Breakout Stardom

• Cult Classic Status
  • My So-Called Life was critically acclaimed but canceled after 19 episodes.
  • The show's dedicated fans led to reruns on MTV, helping it find its audience post-airing (27:54–28:46).
  • Claire reflects on how the sudden visibility and attention were both exhilarating and anxiety-inducing:

    “I just thought, oh God, like, I don't know, it made me anxious.” (52:22)

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5. Family Relationships & Show Business

• Mother as Manager
  • Claire’s mom managed her early career, a situation she calls natural for child actors but one that needs redefining as a child grows (28:55–29:24).
  • The family moved to LA right after the Northridge earthquake, making for a “wild metaphor” as they entered a new life (29:44–30:13).

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6. Heritage and “Finding Your Roots”

• Claire discovered on the genealogy show Finding Your Roots that her grandmother studied theater and that she has a relative who was hanged as a witch in Salem (33:22–34:36).
  • Humorous banter about dream-penetrating witches ensues (35:00–36:50).

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7. Acting Methodology, Major Projects, and Collaborations

• Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996):

  • Describes set as “charged and alive,” shooting for months in Mexico City (37:06–38:30).
  • Had to read and speak iambic pentameter for a month straight, even reading cereal boxes in verse (38:13–38:23).

• Research & Preparation:

  • For roles like a pediatric neurosurgeon, Claire immerses herself—reading medical literature and sitting in on actual surgeries (38:52–41:06).

    “I sat in on a brain surgery.” (38:56)

  • She explains the “timeout” protocol in real surgeries (41:06).

• Sustaining Heavy Roles:

  • Playing complex, weighted characters (e.g., Homeland) can be exhausting. She credits good writing and familiarity with collaborators for making the process more manageable (44:49–44:55).

• Travel and Parenting While Filming:

  • Shares the challenges of raising kids while working globally, from having a toddler in Cape Town to crockpot lunches in Berlin and Casablanca (45:15–46:11).

• Location, Location, Location:

  • These days, job location is a top priority for family stability (47:04).

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8. Directing & Producing

• Claire is an enthusiastic producer, loving the creative decision-making process, but does not aspire to direct, finding it “really hard” (60:17–60:46).

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9. Life Balance & Personal Care

• Finding Time for Herself:

  • Yoga, book club, and social lunches with friends are her key “me time” routines (61:22–61:39).

  • Claire Danes:

    “I like the yoga a lot. I like a little hot yoga. Yeah, I have, like, lunch with my friends.” (61:25)

• The hosts banter hilariously about their loathing for hot yoga’s sweat and communal puddles (61:49–62:42).

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10. New Series: The Beast In Me

• Show Premise:
  • Claire stars as a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer reeling from tragedy, paralyzed creatively, and tangled in a cat-and-mouse dynamic with her enigmatic neighbor (Matthew Rhys) (63:58–66:43).
  • Show is described as “dark and troubling,” “Hitchcockian,” and “fun” (67:03).
• Collabs:
  • Working alongside Matthew Rhys (“just a dreamboat… the loveliest human”), and reuniting with Homeland’s showrunner Howard Gordon (67:17–67:45).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Claire on Late Motherhood:

“Suddenly I felt like a funny shame ... like I had been caught fornicating past the point I was meant to.” (13:01)

On Acting Research:

“I sat in on a brain surgery.” (38:56)

About Romeo + Juliet Fame:

"I thought I was supposed to know how to be, like, a movie star and really didn't. And now I realize, oh, don't worry about it. It's not really a thing." (52:34)

On Directing:

"Directing seems really hard." (60:46)

On Balancing Work and Family:

"Now it used to be script, director, actor, and now it's location, location, location." (61:01)

On Collaboration and Inspiration:

"Nobody gets to just, like, you never get to a point where you're actually confident. I mean, you're never phoning it in, like, ever." (59:38)

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Segment Timestamps

• Facials, Pedicures, Self-Care: 01:49-11:27
• Late-in-life Motherhood: 12:36–14:37
• Artistic Upbringing & NYC Origins: 19:41–21:14
• Early Acting & My So-Called Life: 21:26–23:50, 27:54–28:46
• Family as Managers: 28:55–29:24
• Roots, Heritage, Witch Ancestry: 33:22–36:50
• Romeo + Juliet & Method: 37:06–39:10
• Brain Surgery Research: 39:10–41:06
• Work-Life Balance, Travel, Family Dynamics: 45:15–47:04
• Producing & Directing: 60:15–60:46
• Personal Routines (Yoga, Book Club): 61:22–61:39
• The Beast In Me (New Show): 63:58–67:45

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Tone & Style

The entire episode radiates the signature “SmartLess” balance of irreverent humor, emotional openness, and admiration for their guest. The hosts keep it playful and supportive—often poking fun at each other while drawing out thoughtful and genuine insights from Claire. Her candidness is apparent, whether she’s talking about the joys and pressures of fame, the grit of family life, or finding grounding joy in daily rituals.

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Conclusion

Claire Danes’ groundedness, humility, and intellect shine throughout this episode—revealing an artist who has weathered fame, navigated complicated roles, and prioritized authenticity and self-care. Her rapport with the hosts is lively, genuine, and, as with all things SmartLess, gloriously unscripted.

Transcript

[Jason Bateman]

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[Sean Hayes]

Smart. Smart.

[Claire Danes]

Less.

[Sean Hayes]

Smart, less so.

[Will Arnett]

Listener, you've missed 10 seconds of this. Of this. Another attempt at us doing a podcast where I mentioned how fresh Will looks, and then Will seemed to imply he knew his way around the verbiage of a facial. And I. I had a facial scheduled for the other day because my wife.

[Sean Hayes]

What was the dude's name?

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, you.

[Will Arnett]

My wife's very diligent about getting me facial. Making sure I get a facial every, like, six months. And I gotta say, I don't push back a lot.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, because you. Because it feels good.

[Sean Hayes]

Because it's comfy.

[Will Arnett]

It's comfy. It feels good. I feel weird with, you know, I got a tiny bit of prepubescent facial hair on my. On my face. And I wonder if it's. I'm just wasting my time in there. I don't know.

[Jason Bateman]

They do a lot of guys like that. I forget to shave a lot of times, too. But, you know, I just got one last week and it was really bad.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, well, that's what I was going to ask. How. How often am I the only guy here?

[Jason Bateman]

No, I get him. I get him like once or twice a year. But the last one I had, I didn't. This is no offense to anybody. I just didn't understand a lot of what she said. So she was, you know, anybody take any offense?

[Will Arnett]

She shouldn't understand Her.

[Sean Hayes]

Unless you want to understand. If you want to do an imitation of what she said, then we'll decide if it's offensive.

[Jason Bateman]

I do not want to. I just Am stating a fact. I did not understand. It's probably my fault.

[Sean Hayes]

I was trying to drag you into deep water.

[Will Arnett]

Let me just. Can you just reveal what continent she may have been from?

[Jason Bateman]

Well, that's something. Easter. Eastern Asia, but not Eastern European because.

[Will Arnett]

It'D be a different. A different accent, but.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, anyway, I feel like I've had.

[Sean Hayes]

A couple facials in my time as well. I think I've probably had eight total in my life, and I think they've generally been Eastern European. An Eastern European bent.

[Jason Bateman]

That's right.

[Will Arnett]

Wait, you're saying you're in. You're under. You're under oath now, sir.

[Sean Hayes]

You need to understand.

[Will Arnett]

Only eight facials in your life.

[Sean Hayes]

Maybe 10.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

God, I don't know.

[Sean Hayes]

Honestly. Honestly.

[Jason Bateman]

Really? You don't like.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I. I do like them, and it's one of those things. It's kind of like massages. I always forget. I fall asleep, I do it, and then I go, oh, this is great.

[Will Arnett]

How many times have you had your fingers and toes done while they're.

[Jason Bateman]

While the facials.

[Will Arnett]

No, no, no, no.

[Sean Hayes]

Are we talking. Are we talking Manny Petty?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, bet.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay. I would say.

[Will Arnett]

I would say less or more than your face.

[Sean Hayes]

I got my first. My first time I ever had a pedicure manicure was when I was 30. No. But I was about 31. Probably 32. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So it's been. It's been, what, 30 years?

[Sean Hayes]

Over 25 years.

[Claire Danes]

So.

[Sean Hayes]

Like, 25 years. And so I would say I probably have. I don't know, 25.

[Will Arnett]

So more on the. On the fingers and the toes.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Really?

[Sean Hayes]

Generally not the fingers, generally just the. The toes because they get kind of gnarly.

[Will Arnett]

Right. Can you do, like, gnarly? You like an open toe shoe?

[Sean Hayes]

I used to. Remember, I used to. I used to wear a lot of flips.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, you don't wear socks ever.

[Sean Hayes]

And I never wear socks, so my heels get kind of gross. They'd get cracked.

[Jason Bateman]

Do you wear underwear?

[Sean Hayes]

Yes. Okay, why are we focusing on. Jason never wears underwear.

[Will Arnett]

No, he. There was a stretch there through Arrested Development where I went commando.

[Sean Hayes]

And then he would go to the. Then he'd go for a pee, and then he. And then he'd wrap his unit in toilet paper for the half an hour so he could soak up all the driplets.

[Will Arnett]

And then rushing to get back on.

[Sean Hayes]

Camera and I don't want to spot 20 minutes later. Like in between, between setups he'd like pull out this disgusting toilet paper and put it in a 35 gallon trash can on set. True story.

[Will Arnett]

So, wow. So Manny Petties often facial? Not so much.

[Sean Hayes]

Not often. I mean I probably got one, I got one in the spring. Manny Petty. I like going at like 9am I go to a spot I've gone to a few times. I like going at 9am this is disgusting. Right when they by the way, says you, you live like a pampered prince. If people knew how you live.

[Will Arnett]

Dude, I don't have a, I don't have a target time. I like to hit my Manny Petties on, you know, at my. What was that? My spot? Is that what you said? I have a spot.

[Sean Hayes]

I have a spot over here and.

[Will Arnett]

It'S fingers and toes at the same time. You ever go in for just the one? One or the other because you rush for time.

[Sean Hayes]

Feet, Just feet. It's primarily feet I also like because.

[Will Arnett]

They rub your feet so it feels so.

[Sean Hayes]

But I would say in 25 years, probably 25 times. That's average of once a year.

[Will Arnett]

Shawnee, you.

[Jason Bateman]

I've gotten a Maddie Petty. I, the last one I got, she scrubbed my calves so hard I broke out into hives after it was over. Huh.

[Will Arnett]

I'm definitely Eastern European.

[Sean Hayes]

That's not a thing.

[Jason Bateman]

No, that was on Larmont.

[Sean Hayes]

But that's nothing to do with her doing that calves. Yeah, it was terrible.

[Will Arnett]

Well, listen, thanks for the weird morning chat.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, wait, hold on one second. I forgot. I, I, I have something I need to say and announce. I'm going to be doing a show.

[Will Arnett]

Called Sorry, we're out of time.

[Sean Hayes]

Great having you on.

[Will Arnett]

Whatever you're doing.

[Sean Hayes]

We never got to it.

[Will Arnett]

All right, so this is, this is a one act, where is it? Williamstown?

[Jason Bateman]

No, this is a show called the Unknown. It's a one man play which is now, I guess people are calling them solos. It's written by David Kale, directed by Lee Silverman. It's at Studio Seaview in New York City for 10 weeks only. Tickets are on sale now at the UnknownPlay.com Wait, when does it start? January 31st.

[Will Arnett]

January May I just say publicly here I've said to you privately, I just think it's so frickin admirable and badass that you raised your hand and said yes. I know to doing a one man show is like a lot of work. I mean, you know, seeing Krasinski do His thing, our buddy Billy Crudup has done done it.

[Jason Bateman]

Laura Lucy. Yeah. By the way, that's the same writer, director of that show.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I just. It's like, what a monumental thing to take on.

[Claire Danes]

Just. I'm so.

[Sean Hayes]

I'm just checking my schedule. I can't wait.

[Jason Bateman]

Unknown.

[Sean Hayes]

Who knows what will happen.

[Will Arnett]

I'm so proud of you, Shawnee.

[Jason Bateman]

Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

[Will Arnett]

It's very easy to sit back and not do anything and just enjoy, but you're challenging yourself and it's rad.

[Jason Bateman]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Will Arnett]

I'm not going to come, but I do think that it will probably be good.

[Jason Bateman]

All right, well, thank you for that.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Who you and who's your. Who are your co stars?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, so it's.

[Will Arnett]

That's my friend who listens a lot.

[Jason Bateman]

The UnknownPlay.com. that's where you get to Unknown.

[Will Arnett]

The UnknownPlay.com. and it starts the end of January. Get your tickets now. I will be there with bells on.

[Jason Bateman]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Will Arnett]

Yep. Let's get to our guest. We're going to ask her what her hygiene routine is. I'll bet it's significant because you know what?

[Sean Hayes]

This is called self care. It's not hygiene. It's self care, by the way.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, self care.

[Will Arnett]

She's been impressing critics and audiences for over 30 years, you guys, achieving incredible success, yet finds herself even more relevant today than ever before. Okay. She's been awarded multiple Emmys, Golden Globes, SAGs, all that crap. And she's been named one of time's most influential people in the world. That's something none of us can say, never will. She's Yale educated also. You can't say that. She's a proud mother of three. You can't say that. And she's very kind to the women of Afghanistan.

[Guest Introducer / Announcer]

Have.

[Will Arnett]

Can you guys say that? Huh? Guys, let's welcome Chris and Clara's girl, the one and only Claire Danes. Come on out. Hi, guys.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my gosh. I'm such a big fan.

[Guest Introducer / Announcer]

Right?

[Will Arnett]

I mean, she's everything. Let's go.

[Claire Danes]

It's really nice to meet you.

[Will Arnett]

The gang and you. We are.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. You have all had more facials than I have, I think.

[Will Arnett]

Truly.

[Sean Hayes]

Is that true?

[Will Arnett]

Come on.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Really?

[Claire Danes]

Occasionally. Like, I'm gifted a facial by. I don't know.

[Will Arnett]

Right. Like a start gift from an agent.

[Claire Danes]

Yes, something like that. And I'll go.

[Jason Bateman]

A start gift.

[Claire Danes]

And I enjoy it. But I. Yeah, I forget to. But I do. I do get my nails done weekly.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay.

[Claire Danes]

Because it's like my office. I get a lot of work done. I never do the fingers. I experimented with the gels for a little while, but that was quite stressful because, I don't know, it just was.

[Will Arnett]

It's also a whole different look. Right. I mean, I've got two daughters, and I'm starting to get educated on the gels versus. Let's have discipline and let it grow out naturally. I feel like it is a cultural statement to have gels on.

[Claire Danes]

It is. And you can't. You have to go back to get them off. So that is the hard part. That made me feel kind of panicked and claustrophobic.

[Will Arnett]

Or you can be on the volleyball team, and then they just come off naturally.

[Claire Danes]

Right. Well, but I don't play enough volleyball.

[Sean Hayes]

I like the way JB couches it in. Oh, my daughter's helped educate me. Like, bullshit. Where you live? Bateman. Nice Fucking trouble.

[Will Arnett]

My weekend gel sessions.

[Sean Hayes]

How many times does he go like, oh, well, my kids. Really? I'm like, no, you like it.

[Will Arnett]

I like gels. You like it.

[Claire Danes]

I used to drag my son Cyrus, our eldest son, with me to the salon, and I got he at about five. He. He had had enough, but until then. And then I had to bribe him with, like, an iPad. No, no. But I just really enjoyed that experience of going with him.

[Will Arnett]

What about all fancy dancing? Does he get the feet. Feet and toes done?

[Claire Danes]

Very, very occasionally.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. Got to keep your man tight, you know?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Or are you the kind of gal that likes their guy to have a little bit of. A little bit of dirt under the nails?

[Claire Danes]

It depends what kind of dirt.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

If it's, like, cute upstate dirt, sure.

[Will Arnett]

Right.

[Sean Hayes]

That's very cute dirt.

[Will Arnett]

Some women. Some women, they're kind of turned off by a guy that actually keeps himself very clean and very. I'm one of those guys. I would turn a woman off. I respect it. I understand thread count. I understand candles and silhouettes and things like that.

[Claire Danes]

I'm for it, but. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

I'm not like, a man's man.

[Sean Hayes]

No, no. That's a quote.

[Will Arnett]

You won't find me on a horse.

[Sean Hayes]

And, like, hang on a second. I'm emailing this smartless merch people right now. We got a new hoodie coming out.

[Will Arnett]

I'm not.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm not a man.

[Sean Hayes]

Claire, where are we finding you? What part of the world. What side of the United States are you on right now?

[Claire Danes]

I live in New York City.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes.

[Will Arnett]

So, yeah, this looks like it could be a brownstone, too.

[Claire Danes]

It's a Brownstone. We've been here. Not for very long. We've been here about a year. Cause we had this oopsie Daisy third baby.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, she's gonna love her. You gotta be careful.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm not. Yeah, that was. I was so old when that happened. I was 44.

[Jason Bateman]

How old is the baby?

[Claire Danes]

She's two now.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, wait, you got pregnant at 44?

[Claire Danes]

I sure did.

[Will Arnett]

Golly. Good for you. Good for Hugh.

[Claire Danes]

I didn't think it was possible. I really didn't.

[Will Arnett]

It's very rare.

[Claire Danes]

So. No, I was terrified. But it was okay.

[Will Arnett]

Can I use the term blessing? What? A blessing.

[Sean Hayes]

It was a total blessing. How did you find having a surprise, as you said, a surprise blessing at that point?

[Claire Danes]

Well, you know, it was actually really interesting because I did not foresee this at all. And it was weird. Suddenly I felt like a funny shame, really. Like people are gonna know I'm in love. Yeah. Like, I was naughty. Like I had been caught, like, fornicating past the point I was meant to. No, it was weird because I was. And I. And it was. It was like I found an edge that I didn't. I hadn't been quite conscious of. Like, there's a certain. Like I was going outside of the parameters a little bit.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Claire Danes]

Which is just. And that was wild.

[Will Arnett]

What's the age spread with the kid right before it?

[Claire Danes]

So Cyrus is 12. He'll be 13 in December. Rowan, our second boy, is 7. And then Shay. Yeah. So there's about five years between each, but it's a trip. I mean, I have a teenager and a toddler.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And this last one is a girl.

[Claire Danes]

A girl? Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Wow.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, I know. I got really, really lucky. Yeah. My OBGYN was like, you know, you're having another boy, but.

[Will Arnett]

No, turns out you would have been pissed off. You definitely would have been pissed off.

[Claire Danes]

I would have been delighted. But I am more delighted that I. Yeah. That she's pretty cool. And. And she loves a tutu.

[Guest Introducer / Announcer]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Who doesn't?

[Will Arnett]

Who doesn't? I am noticing that this five year gap is very good. My eldest has just left the house for college and the fact that I've still got a 13 year old. So I've got another five years of, like, before. Before I get really, really depressed.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Is great. Instead of just usually that usual gap of what, two, three years or something like that.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

You get built in. I say I've got a 5 year old and an almost 17 year old as of next week.

[Claire Danes]

Right.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

It's kind of A trip.

[Sean Hayes]

It's great. It's amazing.

[Jason Bateman]

I have a five year old dog.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, but she's with your dog. You're going to be moving into a 33 pretty soon. I mean, let's be honest. Sorry.

[Claire Danes]

Do you take him to get pedicures too? Do you have to bribe him with the iPad as well?

[Sean Hayes]

No, I don't go. I don't go often enough.

[Claire Danes]

Despite what Sean, about his dog.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh yeah, exactly.

[Will Arnett]

How often do you get Ricky's toes done?

[Jason Bateman]

Once a week, I'll bet you.

[Sean Hayes]

Once a week?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Once a week.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

You know, and that's, that's. And that's a thing. Th. Those. That nail grinder for a dog I like. I don't know how they sit still for that.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, they, well they. You tie. You. You tie their neck around the thing so they stay on the. On the table.

[Will Arnett]

What? You know, what are you doing?

[Sean Hayes]

Monster.

[Jason Bateman]

And then Ricky gets up. No, I'm kidding.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, great.

[Claire Danes]

Here.

[Sean Hayes]

Come from the letters from PETA. Here we go. Way to go, Sean.

[Jason Bateman]

No, because he's a golden door. So you have to brush him out every week and all this stuff. Even wash them. He gets real dirty. Anyway, who cares?

[Will Arnett]

Well, when's the last time you washed your own dog, Sean?

[Jason Bateman]

When he was a puppy?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah, years ago.

[Jason Bateman]

You're absolutely here.

[Will Arnett]

When's the last time you walked your own dog?

[Jason Bateman]

Every. Almost every day.

[Will Arnett]

Liar.

[Jason Bateman]

I swear to God, I love you.

[Will Arnett]

You actually do live in a. In an area with sidewalks, front yards. I would walk dogs. I'd have a dog.

[Sean Hayes]

Sorry, Claire. They'll be right with you.

[Will Arnett]

What about dogs? You have a dog there in the city?

[Claire Danes]

I had a dog. I had a schnoodle for about 16 years. His name was Ouija, but he.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, great name.

[Claire Danes]

And then we adopted a cat when we were filming a season of Homeland in Morocco. Harold Hamza. And he was a bit of a nightmare. He pissed on everything.

[Will Arnett]

Those Morocco cats.

[Sean Hayes]

Is he still with us or.

[Jason Bateman]

No.

[Claire Danes]

You know what? After a really rough five years of dealing with this like urine soaked sofa furniture, I had to re home him, which was very stressful. I've done that and not obvious, but found this saint in Indiana, this woman who has a cat sanctuary. And then three months into that arrangement, which was actually ideal, we got weekly photos and reports and things. He died. He had like there was clot or. I don't know, I think he was depression. The whole thing was wild. From the rough streets of Casablanca to a pretty cushy situation in Indiana. Yeah, yeah. And then. So when Weegee died, we had Harold Hamza, and then we adopted another cat, Merry, as in like Christmas. Our son Rowan named her that when he was, like, three, in the middle of the summer. It was very confusing, and we said, why did you. Why Mary? Everybody thinks it's Mary. It's not. Yeah, he said. I just thought it was a good name for a cat.

[Sean Hayes]

That's a great reason.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Anyway.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, Claire, how do you and Jay. How do you guys know each other? Did you work together?

[Claire Danes]

We don't really. I mean, we've had a conversation, maybe.

[Will Arnett]

But it is sort of surprising because we've both been banging around in this thing since we were kids.

[Claire Danes]

I know it's a little weird.

[Sean Hayes]

You guys had a conversation. Where was the location? Jason would be right with you. I'm not asking you. I'm asking Claire, because I want to get the truth.

[Claire Danes]

I think we had a conversation on the phone, and I don't even really know why, but we did.

[Sean Hayes]

Were you surprised at how short he was? Sorry, go ahead.

[Claire Danes]

No, do you know what? I know how long ago it was, because it was. I think it was, like, the same day that my parents delivered my schnoodle to me. They went and picked him up in Kentucky. They live in la. I live in New York, but I was filming in la, and they delivered this tiny little animal to me in my hotel room in la. And I had just talked to you for, you know, curious reasons. It was a nice conversation, but where.

[Jason Bateman]

Did you grow up?

[Claire Danes]

I grew up in New York. I grew up in soho. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, in the city.

[Claire Danes]

In the city.

[Will Arnett]

Ergo, the name of your company. Yes. Is that. Is that the address of the place you grew up in? Crosby.

[Claire Danes]

Crosby. Well, actually. Okay, yes. I grew up on Crosby Street. My parents were artists, and they moved to SoHo, you know, in the late 60s. And when it be. You know, because it. There were all these factory buildings that were closing down, and you actually had to legally prove that you were an artist to live there because there was concerted effort to, you know, transform.

[Will Arnett]

And they're trying to retroactively now charge all these finance bros that have gone in there and bought these artist lofts for.

[Claire Danes]

Really?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. Anyway, like, you now have to prove that you're an artist to maintain this sweet deal on those places.

[Claire Danes]

Oh, I didn't.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, they're trying to get it through. I don't think it'll happen.

[Jason Bateman]

Wow, that's fascinating.

[Claire Danes]

But then they went on to do different things, and my dad was a. He had been A photographer. We still had a darkroom in our loft my entire childhood. A vestige of his, you know, from his time as a photographer. But he was a contractor and had a company called Overall Construction. And now my production company name is Overall Production. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. And my mom ran a toddler school in our loft called Crosby Kids.

[Sean Hayes]

Wow.

[Will Arnett]

Huh.

[Claire Danes]

So that was weird.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. So. And then I, like, was. Then I started acting and got jobs, which was very successful.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. How'd that start? What was the impetus for that?

[Claire Danes]

I always knew I wanted to act, and I danced as a kid. And occasionally dance companies would come to my class looking for young talent, and I would get hired, and I started, you know, performing every so often in these black box theaters on the Lower east side to 12 people.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

And loved it. And then started taking acting classes. At least Strasburg, which is, like, down the street from me now, which is very funny.

[Will Arnett]

And how old were you?

[Sean Hayes]

Same. Same. I was the same.

[Claire Danes]

Oh, Really? I was 10, but it was like, on a Saturday. And most kids were there because they're. You know, it was either that or, like, tennis class. But I.

[Sean Hayes]

Right.

[Claire Danes]

Was just so invested in the experience, you know, like the. Such an earnest Nelly about it. And then there was a performing arts junior high school called ppas. Professional Performing Arts School. It was its first year of its existence, and I went. And then I met kids there who were professional performing people and discovered what a headshot was and what an agent was and how to get them. And actually, that dark room came in handy because the woman who was renting it out kind of swapped rent money for headshots. So she took my headshots. And then I. I had done some student films when I was a kid, and so I had, like, something to show an agent. And, you know, my first job was Law and Order. You know, like New York.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

That's cool. And how soon after that did you get? What? I'm a huge fan of, and I'm sorry, you get asked all the time about it. My so Called Life.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Which I used to watch all the time.

[Claire Danes]

Oh, that's so nice.

[Jason Bateman]

Did you. Yeah, I loved it. I loved it. Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

I was 13 when I did the pilot.

[Will Arnett]

Wow.

[Claire Danes]

And then it did not get picked up. And I. Yeah, I'd gone to public school my whole life, but then made a chunk of change and couldn't afford to send myself to private school, so I went to this fancy school called Dalton.

[Jason Bateman]

Sure.

[Claire Danes]

And then halfway through my freshman year, they actually did pick up the show and I went to make the rest of it in LA and stayed there for four years. My parents followed me. My brother is seven years older, so he was already at college at this point, so we were kind of available to have this adventure.

[Will Arnett]

And so were you working in correspondence with Dalton or did you enroll in a different school?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, for that first year. And then eventually I went to Le Francais in la.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, yeah, In Culver City.

[Claire Danes]

Barely there. Yes.

[Will Arnett]

On Motor.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, you betcha.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I tried to get in there.

[Claire Danes]

They wouldn't have me, but yeah, like maybe went five days a year. But I was mostly, like, tutored from that point on sets.

[Jason Bateman]

We'll be right back.

[Sean Hayes]

Today's episode is sponsored by Ashley. They don't just sell incredible furniture. They're also making an impact in vulnerable communities. Here's a tough over 7 million kids are affected by the welfare System, and over 368,000 are currently in foster care. So together with Ashley and Sirius xm, we made a donation to four others, an organization working to end the child welfare crisis in America. You know, partnering with Ashley in our live show. First of all, they just made our set look really good. They made us really comfortable and they kind of made us look legit because otherwise it would have been, you know, milk crates and, you know, cardboard boxes. And Ashley made it look like a real, kind of looked like a living room. Made it really comfortable, made our guest, John Mayer really comfortable. And then he thought that maybe we're professional, we're not just a bunch of clowns. To be honest, there was a point where I got so comfortable, I forgot that I was in front of an audience. I was sitting back on that nice Ashley couch and I was just hanging out with my buds in my living room. Anyway, Ashley offers timeless, well crafted furniture with white glove delivery right to your door. Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley.com to find your style.

[Jason Bateman]

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[Sean Hayes]

I remember my so called life. It had it kind of had that. It was critically acclaimed and so it was kind of like sputtered a little bit. It had to. It lived in this weird place where everybody loved it but the network didn't know what to do or something.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I mean, am I right about that?

[Claire Danes]

Nobody really watched it while it was on. And we didn't even complete a full season. We didn't make it to the 22, you know, mark. We got canceled at 19 episodes. But then it had a pretty, you know, the people who did watch were devoted and passionate and they made a ruckus. And then it got bought by other. It aired like it was on mtv.

[Sean Hayes]

It was on mtv.

[Claire Danes]

That's why I saw it was. And then it found its Audience kind of after the fact.

[Sean Hayes]

Tom Preston picked it up. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Now, am I right that your mom was your manager during this period?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, kind of like by default. I mean, she was. You know, I was a kid, and she was with me all the time and. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

When did that. I ask only because my parents were my manager as well. And it was. It was complicated. Was it. Was it. Did you. Did you. Did you disengage from that before it became.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, it was, you know, it. That it made sense for a period of time, and then it made more sense to just be mom and daughter.

[Will Arnett]

Right. Yeah. It wasn't uncommon. Most kids, their parents. Yeah. Yeah. But then once they start, you know, you're paying them a percentage, and then that's kind of weird. And.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

It changes your relationship with your parents. Yeah. I mean, by definition, you're the employer.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's complicated.

[Sean Hayes]

Hey, grab me a coffee real quick.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

But I was very. I mean, we were all just so stunned by this. You know, nobody anticipated this at all. We were just, like, totally naive. And, you know, then they. Weirdly. We moved to LA the day after those. Northridge. That Northridge earthquake.

[Jason Bateman]

1996.

[Claire Danes]

94.

[Jason Bateman]

94.

[Sean Hayes]

Sorry.

[Claire Danes]

God, it was a wild way to parachute into our new reality there. Cause everybody was just ashen and traumatized.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. That must have been horrified. Like, two days before, you're set to leave, your bags are packed, you see on the news the place we're going just got shaken. Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. And then it was a week of aftershock, so we landed, like, you know, and it was like. It was a very apt metaphor for what we were feeling already, you know, But. But. Yeah, so. And. But then my parents really loved it. My mom went to grad school in her 50s. They came back to their. Their art, so she went to a school called Otis. And my dad built, like, his and her studios in their backyard. And then, you know, full circle, you.

[Jason Bateman]

Just jarred my memory because my father was. My dad was also a photographer, and he.

[Will Arnett]

Cue the tire screech.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh.

[Jason Bateman]

To take photos of all of us as kids all the time, and blow the pictures up and put them up on the wall. And put them up on the wall.

[Sean Hayes]

Zoom lens, what's going on?

[Will Arnett]

And when you put those photos just above the sunshade in the car so he could just look at him when he's going down the highway, you guys.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, wait, did he process his own photos, Sean?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. So he had a dark room in the basement.

[Claire Danes]

Sure.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. And he would develop. He Would develop them there and then, you know, he would put them on the wall of the house and it was really cool, but weird for them. So did your dad do your photos and your headshots and all that?

[Claire Danes]

No, no, he didn't.

[Jason Bateman]

No.

[Claire Danes]

But no. I mean, he didn't really take many photos of people. He likes a landscape.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, I see, I see, I see.

[Claire Danes]

I mean, I'm sure he does take photos of us, of course, all the time, but that's not.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Claire Danes]

People don't tend to populate his images.

[Will Arnett]

But so with. With. With. Am I right? Was your mom. Your mom was a sculptor? Is that.

[Claire Danes]

No, my mom does. Yeah. She was a textile designer initially, and then. And now she does. She has a lot of etchings. She does do a lot of sculpture and she paints. It's.

[Sean Hayes]

But.

[Will Arnett]

But both being artists, would you just sort of kind of. Obviously it's in your blood, but did you kind of think. Think from a very, very early age that arts is going to be your path? Because I think your brother's a lawyer. Is that right?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So, like, where. How was it? Was it kind of predetermined or no? Or no?

[Claire Danes]

Well, it was a pretty creative environment, that's for sure. I mean, they had a lot of art materials everywhere. It was fun. We had also. We had. Even before the baby school, we had a trapeze and a trampoline and a swing. Wow.

[Will Arnett]

These dirty hippies.

[Claire Danes]

Yes. Yeah, it was like that. And all of our furniture was, like, found off of the street. And my dad collected these old signs, so it was funky. And they had fun tools. They had a light box. And, you know, I was at a very unfair advantage with my, like, school projects because.

[Will Arnett]

And your brother just said, screw it to all of that. I'm going into law.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. I mean, he's creative. He was very athletic. He was. I don't know. Yeah, it was. But then I did that show. I did that show, Finding youg Roots.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh.

[Claire Danes]

Oh.

[Will Arnett]

What'd you find out?

[Claire Danes]

Well, many things, but my dad's mom, Claire, who I'm named after, she died when he was nine. So there was very, very little information about her. I knew nothing about her. And people, of course, ask, you know, are there any people in the performing arts in your family? Know a lot of visual artists, a lot of academics, but not, you know. But it turns out she. She went to Northwestern. It must have been in, like, the 40s.

[Jason Bateman]

So I. Northwestern in Chicago.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. And got her easy shunt, like, studied theater. And wrote her master's in the role of dance and Shakespearean drama and had directed plays and acted in them. And I had. No.

[Jason Bateman]

How about that?

[Sean Hayes]

So it was in your DNA a little bit.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. I was very moved by that.

[Sean Hayes]

Did she like her time in Illinois?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, I have no idea. I don't know anything beyond that, but yeah. Anyway, I also had. My ninth great grandmother was hanged in Salem for being a witch.

[Jason Bateman]

What are you talking about? Is that true?

[Claire Danes]

Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, you're great.

[Will Arnett]

You found this on the show?

[Claire Danes]

Yes.

[Will Arnett]

Well, how did they. How did they find that out?

[Claire Danes]

What do you do through, like legal doctors?

[Jason Bateman]

Through other witches.

[Claire Danes]

Through other witches.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

You were crystal ball, you idiot. Hanged. Hanged.

[Claire Danes]

Hanged. I know I learned that word. I didn't know it before then.

[Jason Bateman]

So. So wait, so did she practice witchcraft and all, I mean is that.

[Claire Danes]

No, no. Actually, she was the oldest woman to be hanged. She was 72. She was a widow. And I think she was just like low hanging fruit. Like she was just an easy scapegoat.

[Sean Hayes]

How about that one? Crossing the road?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, yeah, I think maybe. I mean, who knows? But yeah, like there are reports. Cause she went to court and everything, but people accused her of. Of what was it? Of like cursing their cows and then put it like. And then the cows would rear on their hind legs and she would penetrate people's dreams and like. Yeah, she didn't do anything.

[Will Arnett]

What is it? What year is this, I wonder?

[Claire Danes]

A long time ago. I don't know.

[Will Arnett]

Like, would it be the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, maybe 1700s? No, it's after 18, probably early 1800s. In Salem.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

North Carolina.

[Jason Bateman]

No, no, Salem, Massachusetts.

[Will Arnett]

There's a few different Salems.

[Jason Bateman]

Okay, all right.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure they certainly do. Between 1692 and May 1693.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, you got a Google machine.

[Sean Hayes]

Yep.

[Claire Danes]

Is that right?

[Sean Hayes]

I have access to Google. That's what it says.

[Claire Danes]

Wow. Okay. Well, I was way off.

[Sean Hayes]

More than 200 people were accused of claims.

[Will Arnett]

That's it. Oh, the Salem witch.

[Sean Hayes]

30 people were found guilty. 30. 30 were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. Wow.

[Sean Hayes]

And your. Your ancestor was one of them.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

For cursing. For cursing cows.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

And dream penetration.

[Claire Danes]

All right, she had it coming, guys.

[Sean Hayes]

Let's go around the corner, everybody. Your dream penetration. Go ahead.

[Claire Danes]

That's so.

[Sean Hayes]

That's different. Sorry, Different.

[Jason Bateman]

Different accent on the. The second word.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So marching through the canon of. Of your career here. Let's, let's.

[Jason Bateman]

So impressive, by the way.

[Will Arnett]

Let's. Let's Go. Let's go to 96. Let's go to Romeo and Juliet.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, my gosh.

[Will Arnett]

The. The working with Baz Luhrmann was like, what was that set?

[Sean Hayes]

Like?

[Will Arnett]

Was it. It was. I remember when that film came out, I was like, oh, my God, like the production design and like this big swing on this classic. And like, was it. Was it nerve wracking or exciting to be on something such a big swing and it was such a big project.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, all of the above. It was a total dream. I loved was intense. We filmed in Mexico City and I haven't been since. I loved it, but it's like it's an unruly, vibrating, brilliant place. And yeah, it was. The whole thing felt very charged and alive and scary and fun. And Baz was wonderful and he was very clear about making this accessible and exciting for everybody. The way Shakespeare, you know, also intended his work to be every once upon a time.

[Will Arnett]

Had you done some Shakespeare prior to that and have you done after?

[Claire Danes]

Um, no, I haven't. And I hadn't. There was like a month where I read everything in iambic pentameter, you know, like the cereal boxes.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Claire Danes]

But yeah, it was. No, it was amazing.

[Will Arnett]

So you did. So then I hear you're saying you did some research there for at least a month.

[Claire Danes]

I think I read a book on iambic pentameter.

[Will Arnett]

There's my question. How diligent are you? What kind of actor are you? Are you the one that, like, does a massive amount of research and you got tons of research? I'm a little nerdy about it.

[Claire Danes]

But not every role asks that of you.

[Will Arnett]

Correct.

[Claire Danes]

I mean, I don't do it for the sake of it. I do it if I, you know, actually need to learn something. Like right now I'm about to play a pediatric neurosurgeon, and so I'm like, reading some books on neurosurgery. I sat in on a brain surgery.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, my God. No way.

[Jason Bateman]

I want to know all about that.

[Will Arnett]

I wouldn't be able to do that.

[Sean Hayes]

Did you pass out?

[Claire Danes]

No, but. But the.

[Sean Hayes]

I asked that because I heard about somebody recently who sat in on one of those.

[Claire Danes]

I think it happens a lot. Yeah, I think it happens a lot. And. And the surgeon's assistant did say, like, you may think you're a badass, but if you have the thought, oh, I might faint, you're fainting, and we can't have that happen. So please let me know the second you feel it. Yeah. And I don't know, there was Like a half an hour. I was very. I was doing some conscious breathing.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait a minute. So you're standing there while the brain is open and they're working on the brain. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

What was the moment that started to get you a little bit? I might be starting to pass out here. Was it lifting of the scalp?

[Claire Danes]

The residents were prepping the head for the actual surgeon to come and do his work. But.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

So they cut the scalp and they peel it back, and they bore four holes into the skull. Yes. And then there's, like. I think. Think it's called the derma or something. There's a. There's a thin layer of. Of skin that they have to suture. They suture the corners, and then they hoik it up like a tent. And then you have the brain ready.

[Will Arnett]

But wait, you. What about the part where they take, like, a bone saw and they cut the piece of the scalp?

[Claire Danes]

That's right. So they do the four holes, and then they cut with a saw, and then they lift and they never.

[Jason Bateman]

And the brain's exposed.

[Claire Danes]

Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my God.

[Claire Danes]

Yes.

[Will Arnett]

Wow.

[Claire Danes]

It was. I actually. I really understood in a different way that we are vehicles.

[Jason Bateman]

Yes.

[Claire Danes]

We are cars.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

And we are not our bodies. Like, we experience ourselves and the world through our bodies.

[Will Arnett]

Just something that carries your brain around.

[Sean Hayes]

That was like.

[Claire Danes]

That was a profound thing.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

That, you know, to really know that on a different level. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

So did the person that you watched. Was it a success and all that?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, she had a brain tumor, and then she didn't. But it was a lot of tumor. It took a long time to suction that out. But isn't it wild, like the kind of access we have? It was very embarrassing. Cause they have something called a timeout where everybody in the room has to announce themselves and say why they're there.

[Will Arnett]

I was like, really?

[Sean Hayes]

Just to make sure everybody's cognizant.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm Claire. I'll be playing. Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Be playing you in a month. And I'll.

[Will Arnett]

Wait a second. There's. In the operating room. There's a. Let's go around and introduce ourselves.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. Just so everybody's accountable.

[Will Arnett]

They don't already know each other, this team.

[Claire Danes]

They do. I think it's just a ritualistic thing just to kind of get everybody focused.

[Jason Bateman]

And then they announce what the procedure's gonna be, and so everybody knows they're in the right room. It's like, you've heard all those stories.

[Claire Danes]

It's not a big deal. It's just. Right.

[Jason Bateman]

You've heard all those Stories about, like, they took off out the wrong kidney or they took out that something went wrong. It's because that's why they announce everything. So this is why we're here. This is what we're doing. This is who I am. This is what we're. Yeah, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

I mean, the people that do this, that's surgeon. Incredible.

[Claire Danes]

I know. And I have to say, like, our sets are so much more protected than, you know, look, I was vetted. You know, I had a badge and everything, but I wasn't anybody. But it felt relatively porous. Like, you know, on a set, the feeling can be so serious. Like, we are actually saving. It was much more serious than it.

[Sean Hayes]

Was in the old Claire. I went to an event recently, and it was a very sort of Hollywood event, and they had dogs and looking under the cars and stuff, and I'm like, nobody's coming for our stars.

[Jason Bateman]

Right, right, right. It's so true. Everybody's over it. Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

I was very humbled by it. But. But. Yeah, so. So in those kind of cases, I will do. Yeah. Like, for Homeland, I. I had to figure out how to be a spy and got to go to Langley and meet those guys and also had to figure out what it was to be bipolar. That was fascinating. When I played Temple, I had to learn about autism. That, you know. So, yes, in some cases, you have to do something.

[Will Arnett]

I've got a nice little sitcom for you, you know.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Multicam. And, you know, it's just.

[Sean Hayes]

This is JB's dream, by the way. Sorry, Claire. He's just walking through his dream. Jb, what time do you roll into your parking spot on the sitcom 10am Right.

[Will Arnett]

Don't you. I mean, you have played taken on voluntarily a lot of very heavy part, and you do them incredibly well. Does it ever get exhausting to be believably in a space of weightiness? 12 hours a day for years on end?

[Claire Danes]

It's hard when you're first figuring it out, you know, and once you are sort of oriented within the character and you've kind of made sense of her, it gets a little easier. It was very cool on Homeland to play somebody for so very long, you know, like, you had kind of played your backstory. You lived your backstory, so. And you know, the actors that you're working with so very well, you know, like, it was just. That was amazing to have that fluency and that juice, you know? Yeah. Finding the momentum is always the toughest part. But I have to say, if the writing is good, it holds you it carries you doing a kind of technically easy scene, but with bad writing is so much harder than doing an exacting scene that is really well constructed and with a team that can actually support you.

[Will Arnett]

You guys were together for how long on that show? Eight years.

[Claire Danes]

It felt like. I think it was like we did eight seasons, but it was about a decade in total.

[Sean Hayes]

And you and the great Damian Lewis, too, right? I love that character.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

I don't know him, but I just am a fan.

[Will Arnett]

And what about the travel on that? Did that. Was that.

[Claire Danes]

That was a lot.

[Will Arnett]

Was it nice to visit those corners of the world the way that I'm imagining you were traveled and looked after?

[Claire Danes]

It was. It was nice. But I was also, you know, I'd like, just gotten married when we started the show. I had Cyrus in my second season. And then I had Rowan, I guess, you know, a few seasons late. I guess I had Rowan in our penultimate season. So, like, making a family while globetrotting in that way was challenging. And Cyrus, you know, grew up all over the place. Like he was a toddler in Cape Town. He went to kindergarten in Berlin. He went to school in Casablanca and. And can't eat couscous to this day. Cause he had it every day, you know, at lunch, you know, like when he was a little guy in a playground here in the city. You know, come up to people, their kids and say, you know, my name is Cyrus. I speak English. You know, it was just not a.

[Will Arnett]

Given that what is. I had a mom who was a flight attendant for Pan Am. And so we did a bunch of traveling. And as a consequence, I don't like to travel because I did it at an age where it was just inconvenient. Cause I was so small and I missed my friends. What is his relationship with travel nowadays?

[Claire Danes]

Well, now. Well, then Homeland ended and it was very like, careful what you wish for. Cause of course I was desperate to just be anchored at home. And then I never got to leave the, like, immediately we wrapped and then we were, you know, in the COVID era.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, right.

[Claire Danes]

That was a trip. And now. And now we're working really hard to figure out how to remain employed and local. It used to be like script director, actor, and now it's location, location, location.

[Will Arnett]

That's how you decide what you do.

[Claire Danes]

Kinda. I mean, I'm sort of making a joke, but basically for the next 10 years, we just have to find jobs in the neighborhood.

[Will Arnett]

What about going back to some of your theater stuff, doing that? I mean, I know it doesn't pay the bills as well. But imagine you guys are all right.

[Claire Danes]

I mean I definitely be open to that. But yeah. Lately it's been limited series in West.

[Will Arnett]

2 hander with the Tony award winning Sean Hayes.

[Sean Hayes]

I love this. I love this casting. Jason, keep going.

[Will Arnett]

What is it? It's a two hander. You and Sean Hayes.

[Claire Danes]

Okay, I do it.

[Will Arnett]

This is a new take on the odd couple.

[Sean Hayes]

I love it so much.

[Will Arnett]

We're going to switch roles every every four weeks. We'll be right back.

[Jason Bateman]

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[Will Arnett]

And now back to the show.

[Jason Bateman]

But you know what? Jason's right. You would be good at comp. I saw you in Portlandia. Cause I was a huge fan of that show. You were? So you played like.

[Claire Danes]

Oh, that's right. I forgot I did that.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. You played like an acting coach or.

[Claire Danes]

I did. I played a terrible acting coach.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I remember that.

[Claire Danes]

A wildly pretentious acting coach.

[Jason Bateman]

That was enjoyable. That's really funny.

[Claire Danes]

Oh, that's great.

[Will Arnett]

Armon. Fred Armisen, he's this guy. This guy. This guy's royalty. He's just put out an album. I hear of sound effects.

[Claire Danes]

Amazing.

[Sean Hayes]

Sounds about right. Yeah, that's about right.

[Claire Danes]

Yes. Check and check.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, that's funny.

[Claire Danes]

I didn't know that.

[Will Arnett]

I love. All right, we're leaving Baz Luhrmann and we're moving on to Francis Ford Coppola with the Rainmaker. Let's talk about. Did we.

[Sean Hayes]

Can I just say something about Romeo and Juliet before we get off of it? So you do that and it has such a huge impact and. And by the way, lasting impact, that film. It must have been a bit of a life changer. I mean, you had already sort of made a lot of waves with my so called life in that area. And then you do this and Romeo and Juliet just must have changed everything. You're much more visible. You must have felt that like your life.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, I did feel it. And I have to say, I didn't quite know what to do with all of that. I was a little thrown by it.

[Will Arnett]

Were you?

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

What was the big jarring thing? Was it the press? Was it people stopping you on the street?

[Claire Danes]

It was the attention. It was a different kind of attention. And I just, you know, didn't know how to focus, like how to work with it or where to direct it or. I was a tiny human still.

[Sean Hayes]

Right. And then it's like, oh, look who's Getting coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf type stuff, right?

[Claire Danes]

Like, Yeah. I just thought, oh, God, Like, I don't know, it made me anxious.

[Will Arnett]

You're sharing yourself with a whole world.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. And I thought I was supposed to know how to be, like, a movie star and really didn't. And now I realize, oh, don't worry about it. It's not really a thing.

[Will Arnett]

What did you do about that? I think I read that you're a friend of therapy, like, all of us. Was that helpful?

[Claire Danes]

Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Yes. I've been in therapy since I was 6. I'm a new Yorker.

[Sean Hayes]

Right, right.

[Claire Danes]

And it's a great resource. If you have a great therapist, it can be.

[Will Arnett]

Have you been with the same therapist the whole time?

[Claire Danes]

Dangerous. If it's not. Since I was about 18, yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

No way.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, wow, that's great. I'm going right after this, actually.

[Claire Danes]

I go in and out. Like, I take very substantial breaks, but I'm back in now and I'm glad of it.

[Will Arnett]

Have you ever lied to this therapist?

[Claire Danes]

Maybe by omission?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

I don't think I've ever explicitly lied.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, I just forgot to mention that.

[Claire Danes]

But, yeah, there's sometimes.

[Sean Hayes]

Claire, I asked Sean once. Sean, remember I asked you if I ever came up in your therapy?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Everybody does. Everybody in your whole life does.

[Will Arnett]

How do I do, Sean?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Well, it's private. It's private. It's confidential.

[Sean Hayes]

Private. Dude. Yeah. What are you doing?

[Will Arnett]

I'll call your therapist. I'll just. Therapist? Owen McCall.

[Jason Bateman]

Hi, Nikki. Jason.

[Will Arnett]

Did I guess, right? Is it a man or a woman?

[Jason Bateman]

Me. It's a woman.

[Will Arnett]

All right.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Nikki. Huh? Nikki Glaser.

[Jason Bateman]

Nikki Glaser.

[Will Arnett]

Unbelievable.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, we got it all sorted out.

[Claire Danes]

She'd be an amazing thing.

[Jason Bateman]

She would.

[Will Arnett]

Bet she would.

[Sean Hayes]

She would be.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

All right, let's do Francis Ford Copa, then. I want to get to Stephen Daldrey.

[Claire Danes]

Okay.

[Will Arnett]

You know, I do like these directors. I mean, you've been in some great, great movies. You've worked with so many great actors and directors. I mean, golly, what do you think is the. What is the most impactful thing you've absorbed, learned from any of these actors? You don't even need to say which one it is. What do you think is.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

What changed your life and how it applies either to you in life or professionally?

[Claire Danes]

Okay. Okay, here's a story. So, my first audition ever, I was 12. It was again, in some theater, not like, Lower east side kind of situation. And I don't know what's happening. And there is a guy in the, like, having his audition. I can only hear him, but he's like. It sounds like an exorcism is happening. It's like he's thrashing about, you know, and he comes in and he's, like, dripping with sweat, and he's just, like, vibrating this manic energy. And it was Philip Seymour Hoffman, but I was like, holy shit, what's supposed to happen in there?

[Sean Hayes]

What am I supposed to be?

[Claire Danes]

What am I following? Like, what am I walking into? What do they expect of me?

[Will Arnett]

I loved the reading for the kid that same day.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, but. Yeah, so I don't know. I mean, I didn't know how. I mean, I sort of knew how extraordinary these people were when I first started, but not like I do now. I don't know how, you know, wildly rare and absurd it is to get to collaborate with people of that genius.

[Will Arnett]

Have you noticed that? You know, like, from, let's say, Meryl streep to Leonardo DiCaprio, like, is there. There are so many different ways to go about doing what it is that we do. Some, as we were talking about earlier, some are very, very specific and surgical about it and very prep oriented, and others just sort of just kind of wing it and keep it all natural. And the performances are equally great. Has that been a bit of an eye opener for you?

[Claire Danes]

Okay, so the thing I remember about Francis is that he. He kind of asked a lot of you, but it was all in a playful spirit. So he gave everybody the homework assignment of writing 6 pages of backstory for their character, you know. Okay. And I remember there was a scene where I was meant to be very distressed and crying and the big. And I sat on the chair, and it was actually like a block of ice that was, you know, and that he thought might help elicit some, you know, some feeling. He had a teamster scream at me, and I kind of was like, okay, I didn't need it, But I was 17, I guess. But actually, I was very touched that he just cared that much. Like, that he was invested, that he felt present with me, that he was committed to creating something special with me. That was the thing that actually got to the feeling was that. I don't know that I. And I remember on that set, it was something kind of magical that happened and ineffable. Suddenly you landed on that set and you were held by it. Like, you were oriented. You felt grounded in whatever reality you were meant to be in the place. And that was his doing. But I don't know how he did it exactly. And the same is true of Baz. A totally different approach. He did not have Teamsters yell at me. And actually it was almost surgical, the way in which he directed. I mean, he knew exactly. It was very prescriptive.

[Sean Hayes]

But was it result oriented?

[Claire Danes]

No, he just was very. It's so detail oriented, you know, and he builds the world and it's really ornate and it's really hyper considered and stylized. But he wants a free feeling performance from his actors, and that's why it's often exciting the work, because it's that contrast.

[Sean Hayes]

Right. So it creates a sort of a.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, but, yeah, I mean. And I have to say, there are.

[Will Arnett]

What?

[Claire Danes]

There are a lot of directors, too. Not these guys. These guys are brilliant, but I think I'm always surprised by the number of directors that are actually really terrified of conflict and visceral feeling. They would rather you not, you know, and they don't even know that they're guiding you away. Like, they want you to make choices that's gonna take you further from actual expressive feeling, you know, and, you know, and you're like, but why are you doing this? Well, because you want to be at a remove from it. Like, you want to, you know, so there's those directors, too.

[Will Arnett]

It's too good, too real.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Sean used to pay a guy to yell at you, right? Yeah. You put an ad in Craigslist or something.

[Jason Bateman]

I still do.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

I still just get to yourself on.

[Will Arnett]

A block of ice, too.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

But I think.

[Claire Danes]

I think even, you know, the privilege of working with people like Meryl and Leah, like, is. Yeah, they're insanely gifted and they're, you know, and capable, but they're also, you know, figuring it out, you know, like, nobody gets to just, like, you never get to a point where you're actually confident. I mean, you're never phoning it in, like, ever.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, no. That you're producing a lot of the stuff that you do as well. And what about. Did you ever get behind the camera on Homeland?

[Claire Danes]

No, no.

[Will Arnett]

Any desire?

[Claire Danes]

No, not really. I mean, I kind of. If I had the time, I would like to shadow a director just so that I could learn more about the parts of the process that we don't have access to. Because I'm curious, but not with the intent of really doing it myself. I am enjoying producing. I like, you know, being part of the convers, like those consequential conversations about what it's gonna be in its entirety.

[Will Arnett]

Right.

[Claire Danes]

But, yeah, I don't Directing seems really hard.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Good way to put it.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Yeah, it does. So, Claire, you know, aside from. I love what you said, now, it used to be script director, blah, blah. Now it's location, location, location. I love that. That's so interesting and true. And I get it.

[Claire Danes]

It.

[Jason Bateman]

But how does that. So that factors in with your days consist of momming and parenting and being home with the kids. Yeah. And making sure everything's taken care of.

[Will Arnett]

With your husband when you're not working. Right. It's one or the other.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

You try to just bank the hours.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. So did you get any time during the day when you're not working to do something for you?

[Claire Danes]

Yes, for sure.

[Jason Bateman]

Besides mani pedi?

[Claire Danes]

I like the yoga a lot. I like a little hot yoga. Yeah, I have, like, lunch with my friends.

[Jason Bateman]

Good, good, good, good. Okay.

[Sean Hayes]

Sure.

[Claire Danes]

Book club.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, really?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. Wait, so you go to yoga and then you read a book? I mean, God damn, I wish I was like that.

[Sean Hayes]

It sounds like. Doesn't Giamatti. Didn't Paul say that that's how his day is, kind of like.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I think so.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Do you live with Paul Giamatti?

[Claire Danes]

Yes.

[Will Arnett]

Hot yoga. It just sounds so nice.

[Claire Danes]

Now you can't do it.

[Will Arnett]

Well, it's. First of all, yoga itself. You're sweating because you're stretching is just sort of like being trapped in a hot car, you know, Torturous. But then to actually. Well, we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna preheat the car.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

It just seems like. What the fuck you.

[Sean Hayes]

Jason, it's your nightmare. It's sweaty.

[Will Arnett]

And the smell of the unwashed and then getting sweatier. Guess what? And then you gotta walk across the floor when you're done.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

You do take carefully your shoes outside. And you're splashing through the fucking puddles of these.

[Claire Danes]

So it sounds like you really know it.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, dude, you've done this. I knew it. And I was like, I'm good. That'll do it.

[Claire Danes]

It was just one class for you?

[Will Arnett]

It was maybe one and a half, something like that. Yeah. I just. If I'm gonna sweat, I wanna be active. I don't want to be holding a pose and feeling my pores open while I'm still.

[Claire Danes]

I love.

[Jason Bateman]

Really hit hard.

[Will Arnett]

I want to get to this trailer for the Beast In Me. Rocked my world. I watched it three times in a row. I cannot wait to see the show, which is out now, November 13th. It launched. I'm assuming it's doing very, very well. But this looks like you, you got that pain in the ass Matthew Reese. But besides that, it seems like such a pain. Oh my God. I know. It's the shame of Wales, right? And, and just. And talent free. I don't get it.

[Sean Hayes]

I know. Never got it with Reese.

[Claire Danes]

He's a little wooden, but you know.

[Sean Hayes]

I'm gonna text him.

[Claire Danes]

You know, he has a charisma.

[Will Arnett]

So, so good. I can't wait to see you two go at it. Is it as good as it seems? It's gotta be.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, it's. I think, I think it's fun. Yeah, I had a blast making it.

[Will Arnett]

Where was that shot that looks like it's in A Taste of New Jersey. New Jersey.

[Jason Bateman]

Who do you play in it? Cause it's about a guy who's a murderer or something or. Right.

[Will Arnett]

She's a writer.

[Claire Danes]

I'm a writer, yes. A pretty successful writer.

[Guest Introducer / Announcer]

And.

[Claire Danes]

I won the Pulitzer. Was kind of, of cresting in my success and my wife and I and our small boy moved to a pretty affluent suburb on Long island. And then tragedy strikes. I'm driving the car with our 6 year old son in the back and we get hit by a drunk driver and my world is ended. The marriage dissolves, falls apart. And I am kind of creatively paralyzed. I can't produce any work and am rattling around in this, you know, gorgeous but neglected home, needs a lot of work and suddenly I can't afford to pay for it. And suddenly this man moves in next door who's a pretty controversial figure, like a real estate scion and you know, very famous, very moneyed and you know, and this is magic and a little problematic maybe. And he has a wife who had committed suicide and there's a lot of talk about his involvement with that.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm all.

[Claire Danes]

And he wants to create a jogging path in our little suburb. And I'm the cantankerous writer. I'm the only one who objects. And it's dumb, but he can't let it go. And he insists on taking me out to lunch to persuade me to, you know, agree to this thing.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

And we get to. And then suddenly we were sort of repelled by each other, or I certainly am of him, but weirdly like kind of excited by each other. Also a little dangerous. And I tell this story about my son and the guy who's responsible was just under the limit when he finally had the breathalyzer done and was never held accountable and still lives in town. And he can see I've kind of avoided feeling the difficult feelings and just fixated all of my grief on this man. And that man has committed suicide. And I don't know what to think of that. And I decide to write a book about him really as a way to, to figure out if he did in fact, kill this guy on my behalf.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, I love.

[Claire Danes]

But also because he just wakes me up creatively.

[Sean Hayes]

It's dark. This is dark and troubling. I think the most troubling thing about it is it's produced by Conan o'.

[Jason Bateman]

Brien.

[Sean Hayes]

That to me.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

That he got his grubby little fingers in your ears.

[Will Arnett]

You want to talk about a pain in the ass. You want to talk about a talent free.

[Jason Bateman]

Talk about a jockey.

[Will Arnett]

Son of a.

[Claire Danes]

But it's kind of like a cat and mouse story and it's a little Hitchcockian and, and it's fun.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, it looks great.

[Will Arnett]

What a great scene partner you got there with all those scenes with Matthew.

[Claire Danes]

It's just, it's like the snake and.

[Will Arnett]

The mongoose had you guys, did you guys know each other beforehand, you and Matthew?

[Claire Danes]

No, no. But just a dream boat, right? I mean, he's the loveliest human.

[Will Arnett]

Charming, kind, and talented.

[Claire Danes]

So smart and so very good at what he does with the, with the acting business.

[Will Arnett]

Easy, Will. Easy, easy.

[Sean Hayes]

No, I like Nice guy. He's a great guy.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, you're taking. Well. Okay, back up. And you're. And you're back with Howard Gordon there.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was fun.

[Will Arnett]

Very, very cool.

[Jason Bateman]

Who's Howard Gordon?

[Claire Danes]

He was one of the creators of Homeland.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, that's right.

[Claire Danes]

Yeah. And he did 24 and X files and.

[Will Arnett]

Well, listen, we owe you three minutes and 40 seconds.

[Jason Bateman]

We're over.

[Will Arnett]

It's like I could, I could, could violate the time even further. You're, you're fantastic. Thank you for doing this.

[Claire Danes]

Oh, my pleasure. This is so fun. Thank you, guys.

[Will Arnett]

You know.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Everybody watch the Beast in Me. It's on Netflix.

[Sean Hayes]

The great Claire Danes cla.

[Will Arnett]

We love you. Thank you.

[Claire Danes]

Love you guys too. Thank you so much.

[Sean Hayes]

Thank you so much.

[Claire Danes]

Thank you, thank you. Thank you. All right, bye. I don't know how to do this. I, I, the thing, right?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Claire Danes]

Slam it.

[Will Arnett]

Claire Danes.

[Jason Bateman]

Lovely, lovely woman.

[Will Arnett]

Been a part of our world for a very long time. That's, that's that's 30 plus years.

[Jason Bateman]

I know. My so called life when, when it was on MTV was such a, was such a huge show for, you know, our age. I mean, it was a, it's like a game change. It was like, it was like our Dawson's Creek. You know what I mean? Anybody?

[Will Arnett]

7Th Heaven, Dawson's Creek. I gotta say, I missed it.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, I loved it.

[Will Arnett]

Which is not too surprising.

[Sean Hayes]

It came out here.

[Will Arnett]

He gums.

[Sean Hayes]

No.

[Jason Bateman]

Wasn't Jared Leto in that too?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes. Yeah, that's right.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Isn't that crazy?

[Will Arnett]

What a couple.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

No, she's been. I, I just, you know, this is a hard business. It's even harder for women for some stupid, unfair reason. And the fact that she's stayed, stayed so relevant at such a high level, doing such great work.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Since she was a kid in stuff that, that ain't easy. It's really, really admirable. She's had an incredible career thus far and seems not anywhere she's a big deal.

[Jason Bateman]

She's one of the, she's one of the greats.

[Sean Hayes]

She's just got a big life in general. She's got three kids and she's doing so much.

[Will Arnett]

And yeah, we didn't even get into her charity work that she and her mom do for the women of Afghanistan too, which is pretty cool. But what a delight. What a delight. You know, I mean, you know, guys, it's not that hard if you guys just, just, just concentrate a little bit more. You could be charismatic, you could be warm, you could be, you know, people that, that, that people want to talk to and are charmed by after you're done speaking to them.

[Sean Hayes]

There's no way.

[Will Arnett]

No, I think you could do it. Of course you could never do it. Yes, you could. I want you to listen this interview back and just focus on her and just focus on just her magnetism. Okay. And how she's just, she's engaging and she listens.

[Sean Hayes]

How am I ever going to do it.

[Will Arnett]

For you, Sean?

[Sean Hayes]

By.

[Will Arnett]

No.

[Jason Bateman]

You know what I'm doing? I'm, I'm just, I'm hanging, I'm hanging by coming up with a bunch.

[Sean Hayes]

Come in with the buy. I'll allow it.

[Jason Bateman]

Bye.

[Sean Hayes]

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