"Keri Russell"

Summary

SmartLess Podcast Episode Summary: "Keri Russell"

Release Date: October 28, 2024
Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett
Guest: Keri Russell

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1. Welcome and Introduction (01:15 – 02:13)

The episode kicks off with the trademark playful banter among the hosts, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. They introduce the concept of the show, emphasizing their spontaneous and humorous interactions. The hosts warmly welcome Keri Russell, highlighting her accomplishments and friendship with the hosts.

Notable Quote:
Will Arnett (02:13): "You guys, this is my friend, Keri Russell."

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2. Keri Russell’s Career Journey (02:13 – 34:00)

Early Career and Mickey Mouse Club:
Keri shares her beginnings as a dancer in Colorado and her unexpected audition for the Mickey Mouse Club. She recounts the challenge of transitioning from a child actor to adult roles, expressing initial doubts and the pressure of early fame.

Notable Quote:
Keri Russell (22:19): "I was willing to do it. And, yeah, no. So rolled the window, and that's what I did. And they called me back."

Transition to Adult Roles:
Post-Mickey Mouse Club, Keri discusses her role in "Felicity" and how it paved the way for her acclaimed performances in "The Americans." She highlights the importance of taking breaks to recalibrate, which allowed her to return to acting with renewed passion.

Notable Quote:
Keri Russell (30:03): "The Americans was just a slow burn. It became this dark unravel of a marriage."

Recent Projects - The Diplomat:
Keri delves into her role in "The Diplomat," detailing her experiences filming in London. She shares memorable moments, including a raucous dinner with fellow actors and the enriching environment of London that fuels her creativity.

Notable Quote:
Keri Russell (14:22): "London in the summer is a delight. It is so breathtakingly beautiful."

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3. Personal Life and Coping Mechanisms (34:00 – 42:17)

Managing Anxiety:
Keri opens up about her struggles with anxiety, especially during high-pressure situations like talk show appearances. She describes how physical activity and supportive friendships help her maintain balance.

Notable Quote:
Keri Russell (42:31): "I do something immediately. I do something outside. Even if it's cold. Physical activity really helps me."

Balancing Family and Career:
The conversation shifts to Keri’s family life, highlighting how she manages career demands while raising teenagers. She emphasizes the importance of downtime and maintaining a supportive home environment.

Notable Quote:
Keri Russell (60:01): "My kids start school for the first day tomorrow, so I'm getting everyone ready."

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4. Behind the Scenes Stories and Interactions (42:17 – 62:07)

Experiences with Co-hosts:
Keri shares humorous and heartfelt anecdotes about her interactions with Jason, Sean, and Will. These stories reveal the depth of their friendship and mutual respect, showcasing their ability to support each other both personally and professionally.

Notable Quote:
Will Arnett (46:06): "And it really funny... it broke me. But also the truth was, yeah, man, you're here to do a thing."

Cocaine Bear Project:
A significant portion of the discussion revolves around Keri’s involvement in the film "Cocaine Bear." She narrates the spontaneous decision to participate, influenced by her friends’ encouragement and the creative process behind the movie.

Notable Quote:
Keri Russell (57:08): "When I read Cocaine Bear that next day, she texted me, and just as Margot and she says, are you fucking doing this movie? I was like, are you fucking doing this movie? What? I was like, now I'm definitely doing this movie."

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5. Future Projects and Closing Remarks (62:07 – 64:28)

Upcoming Roles and Personal Goals:
Keri hints at future projects and her continuous growth as an actress. The hosts express their excitement for her upcoming endeavors, reinforcing the strong bond shared among them.

Final Thoughts:
The episode concludes with warm farewells and plans for future meetups, underscoring the genuine friendship and mutual admiration between Keri and the hosts.

Notable Quote:
Will Arnett (61:51): "Carrie Russell, you just brightened up our day. It's so great seeing you. It's always a delight."

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Key Insights and Themes

• Navigating Early Fame: Keri Russell’s journey from child star to acclaimed adult actress offers valuable insights into managing fame and personal growth.

• Mental Health and Coping: The discussion highlights the importance of coping mechanisms, such as physical activity and supportive relationships, in managing anxiety and stress.

• Balancing Personal and Professional Life: Keri emphasizes the significance of downtime and family support in maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

• Creative Collaboration: The camaraderie among the hosts and their shared experiences shed light on the collaborative nature of the entertainment industry.

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Conclusion

This episode of SmartLess provides an intimate look into Keri Russell’s life, both professionally and personally. Through candid conversations and heartfelt stories, listeners gain a deeper understanding of her resilience, dedication, and the strong friendships that support her journey.

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Note: All timestamps are approximate and based on the provided transcript.

Transcript

[Sean Hayes]

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[Jason Bateman]

Hello, listener. We're in the middle of a songwriting operation here with Sean P. Hayes.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay, it goes like this. We are three guys talking today.

[Jason Bateman]

Hey, hey.

[Sean Hayes]

We. One of us just might be gay.

[Jason Bateman]

Hey, hey.

[Sean Hayes]

There's just two. Can I just Stop.

[Will Arnett]

Wait, can I just.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Sorry. Might be gay.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Cause nobody knows which one of the three of us is.

[Will Arnett]

You think that nobody knows which one of the three of us. No.

[Jason Bateman]

One of us is definitely gay. Can you work that?

[Will Arnett]

Okay, so everybody knows.

[Jason Bateman]

5, 6, 7.

[Will Arnett]

What are you talking about?

[Sean Hayes]

We are three guys talking today. One of us is definitely gay.

[Jason Bateman]

Hey. Hey.

[Will Arnett]

Welcome to Smartless Smart.

[Keri Russell]

Less. Smart Less.

[Will Arnett]

Smart. Less.

[Jason Bateman]

So, Sean, you're still in New York City?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I am.

[Jason Bateman]

Would you ever consider living there full time?

[Sean Hayes]

It's funny you say that. No, because Scotty and I had a long conversation about it.

[Jason Bateman]

Can we have the short version?

[Sean Hayes]

Yes.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, this is what this is. The rhythm of the question answered.

[Will Arnett]

Walk us through. You're sitting in a chair. Scotty brings a couple Pop Tarts. He puts them in front of you, says, shawn, I want to talk to you about something.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes. Right. No. For the first time ever, I've been kind of getting used to it. Like, I underst. Because I associate the city with work and work only because I've had some extra downtime. I was like, oh, I finally get it. Like, I'd never walked through Central Park. I walked through Central park all the time. Now I was like, God, this place is huge. And it's beautiful, by the way. You know what I do when I walk? I started walking in Central park at dusk, you know.

[Will Arnett]

Okay.

[Sean Hayes]

And what I do is I flex my lats and hold my head up really high because I'm scared somebody's. You know, to make myself appear bigger than I am.

[Jason Bateman]

You know, the lats will do it.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, because you think your lats are scared.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

It's like a cobra, you know, you flare out the bed.

[Sean Hayes]

That's right. That's exactly right. You make yourself seem bigger.

[Will Arnett]

Hey, I'm gonna fuck. We got one right here. We got a live one right here. Oh, fuck. Are you crazy? Look at the lats on this guy.

[Jason Bateman]

Look at the fuck. Like, batwing.

[Will Arnett]

Abort.

[Jason Bateman]

The Great Will Speck knows how to flare out the old back bat wings.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, I do, though.

[Sean Hayes]

I get scared when.

[Will Arnett]

Quick question.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

The. The blanket that's draped over the. The. The chair behind you. Who did it?

[Sean Hayes]

I did it.

[Will Arnett]

You did that?

[Jason Bateman]

You fold it and then you drape it?

[Sean Hayes]

Yep.

[Will Arnett]

And you did the drape and it's fine.

[Sean Hayes]

It's nice. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Do you. You're not. You're not a pillow. You're not a pillow. Karate chopper. Yeah. Thank you. Sorry, jb. Yeah. You're not a karate chopper.

[Sean Hayes]

Scotty probably a little bit more than me. Yeah. I don't care about that as much.

[Jason Bateman]

But a little bit more. So you're saying you're both going around chopping pillows?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. That's not a euphemism.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, this is. Listen, but, you know, it's. Sean and Scotty have nice things. Look, look, look. Look at. Behind him. There's lovely. We've got. We've got stuff on the. On the. On the. On the bookshelves. Other than books.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. Jb. Have you been to their apartment in New York?

[Jason Bateman]

No, never invited.

[Will Arnett]

That's terrific. Oh, it's great.

[Sean Hayes]

I invited you. I asked you. You had to work. But I said you and Franny come over when Franny was in.

[Jason Bateman]

Just the ones.

[Will Arnett]

Have you been in recently at all, jb?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. You have. January. Yes, in January. Okay.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, my God. Please come over. Anything?

[Will Arnett]

No, no, no, no. Why start now, Will?

[Jason Bateman]

You've been there a couple times after you guys got back from Istanbul. Did you go through there?

[Will Arnett]

I keep it. I. I keep a. I keep a few things there. Just because I'm there so much.

[Jason Bateman]

Do you really?

[Will Arnett]

No, I don't, you dummy. Hey, wait.

[Jason Bateman]

Sean, what'd you just pull up in Frame there. Is that. Oh, that's what they were talking about with Scotch. Is it apple juice?

[Sean Hayes]

This is apple juice. It's so good, right? With a lot of ice.

[Will Arnett]

Apple juice with ice, yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

You have a real. I don't. I'll bet you a half a dozen max of our listeners know someone that drinks a glass of milk or three every day and apple juice on ice.

[Sean Hayes]

That's right.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, you are. You are absolutely. You are Mr. Americana.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, you got it.

[Will Arnett]

Not just that. It's like 1973 in your house.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I have Pop Tarts, too.

[Will Arnett]

No, we know.

[Jason Bateman]

Slippers.

[Will Arnett]

And then you have. You guys have a. I got jb.

[Sean Hayes]

I got JB a pair of these.

[Jason Bateman]

Yes, you did. Wait, we've got a guest waiting.

[Will Arnett]

You know what, Sean? We do have a guest. I do want to say this. Sean, you were the first person. And now I do it. This is years ago. And he's wearing slippers. And I go, hey, man, are you wearing slippers at dinner?

[Jason Bateman]

No way.

[Will Arnett]

And he goes, yeah. And he wore them out. And I kind of went like, I guess it's okay to wear slippers out. I've never done that, because I'm just.

[Sean Hayes]

Going to my house to go sit down and eat and then go back to my house. Right. You know what I mean?

[Jason Bateman]

Sweatpants is the universal sign for when you've hit fuck it, right? When you're wearing sweatpants outside.

[Will Arnett]

Well, jb, we live in an era now, though, where everybody, you know, they call it athleisure to try to dress it up. So. And it's a huge. It's a huge industry. Athleisure. It's a huge quarter of.

[Jason Bateman]

Stop saying that. Well, I've never heard it before.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. So when you see people out during the day and you're at the fucking Beverly center and they're wearing stretchy pants and a stretch up, and you're like, are we in a. Are we in a workout class together? And they're like, no, I just walk around the world like this.

[Sean Hayes]

Right? But it's so comfortable.

[Will Arnett]

I know. No, I know it's comfortable, but so are my fucking pajamas. But, like, what am I doing?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, well, naked, we're not.

[Will Arnett]

I always feel like, yeah, we're not at your house, man.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, we're not at all.

[Sean Hayes]

I could never do it. But I get like. I don't like jeans or pants that are super tight. You know that they're constricting.

[Will Arnett]

Sure. Could go anywhere. Go ahead.

[Sean Hayes]

I get wanting to wear athletes humble.

[Jason Bateman]

Brag, saying he needs a lot more room in there.

[Will Arnett]

I just. I just think that the whole. I think that there's an entire segment of our population that it's hit fuck it. It's not even fucking that they think that it's appropriate to, like. By the way, you know, I wear shorts out sometimes and a T shirt, but I. I'm not like.

[Keri Russell]

I don't say.

[Sean Hayes]

Jason, how much longer do you have to go on the show?

[Jason Bateman]

Two weeks.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, that's it. Can you believe it?

[Will Arnett]

And then it's all coming on now. Is it beard and hair at the same time?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, over the course of two or three days. Yeah, because we got to do the.

[Sean Hayes]

I can't wait to see you clean. Shaving and clean.

[Will Arnett]

I know.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm going to look so weird.

[Sean Hayes]

Will you miss this look?

[Jason Bateman]

I'll look old probably, right?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Do you think I'll look older than.

[Will Arnett]

Sorry, I meant to say der.

[Jason Bateman]

Right. Because one.

[Will Arnett]

Our guest liked it.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. She seems like she's in a good mood.

[Will Arnett]

She's in a very good mood.

[Jason Bateman]

You know what?

[Will Arnett]

Let's get to her. She's so much white. I want to hear what she has to say about your face and your beard coming off and stuff. And I'm really excited because I love having a good friend on here. Especially like an old friend, somebody who likes to laugh and have a good time.

[Jason Bateman]

Mix it up.

[Sean Hayes]

Do we all know her? Do we all know her?

[Will Arnett]

Somebody. I don't know how well you two guys know her. She and I have been friends for a number of years, and I'll tell you why. Because you'll guess once I say why, but she is, and I don't like it. You know, there's this thing now where people say in the world all the time, oh, my God, you're my favorite human. That expression drives me crazy.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, that's funny.

[Will Arnett]

It's almost up there with wearing fucking stretch pants.

[Jason Bateman]

There are dogs that outrank you. But as far as humans go, people use that.

[Will Arnett]

You're my favorite human. Just say person. You're one of my favorite people. You don't need to say human. But anyway, she is one of my favorite humans.

[Sean Hayes]

Human.

[Will Arnett]

So I'm gonna use it. I'm breaking my own rule because I'm a hypocrite through and through. And she's just such a wonderful person. She's so fun to laugh with and talk to. She's super smart, super cool. But then when you look. So I want to say that I love her as a person, and I also love and respect her as an artist, as a performer. She's so amazing. She's been nominated for umpteen Emmy Awards and she's won Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards for lots of different stuff. You might remember her from Mickey Mouse Club. From the Mickey Mouse Club. You might know her from Honey, I Blew up the Kid. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for that. She's gonna kill. You might remember her from a lot of different things. You might remember from her two episodes of Roar that she did with Heath Ledger back in the day. But you're definitely gonna remember her. Definitely.

[Jason Bateman]

Hand on buzzer. Hand on buzzer.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. Yeah. You're definitely gonna remember her from her show, which is going to a second season soon, the Diplomat. You also know her from the Americans. You know her from Felicity. You guys, this is my friend, Keri Russell.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my God. Sean. Did you say Martindale?

[Keri Russell]

Margot Martindale.

[Will Arnett]

Margot.

[Keri Russell]

Who is equally as great.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my God. Hello, Carrie.

[Keri Russell]

Carrie.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, my God, it's so Margot Margo.

[Will Arnett]

Martindale.

[Keri Russell]

Margo Martindale would be my favorite guest.

[Will Arnett]

Margot was busy, so we got Carrie.

[Keri Russell]

Understood, Understood.

[Jason Bateman]

I get it.

[Will Arnett]

But. And I didn't even want to. And I couldn't mention Matthew because if I said once I say Matthew, then I know then everything is up. So I had to like, work backwards. And I know you're going to kill me. You're not going to kill me for the Mickey Mouse Club.

[Keri Russell]

I love that.

[Sean Hayes]

You were on the Mickey Mouse Club.

[Jason Bateman]

Were you on when?

[Sean Hayes]

With like Britney Spears and all those.

[Jason Bateman]

Gosling on that as well?

[Keri Russell]

Oh, yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

No way. With them. You were on. All of you were on the same thing.

[Keri Russell]

Oh, yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Crazy.

[Keri Russell]

Ask me anything. This is. I mean, that is gold. That is pure gold.

[Will Arnett]

Carrie, Hi. First of all. Hi, Carrie.

[Keri Russell]

Hi.

[Sean Hayes]

So nice to see you.

[Keri Russell]

It is so nice to see you. So nice to see all of you.

[Jason Bateman]

And you. Are you home?

[Keri Russell]

I just got home. I've been. I've been filming in London and I just got home just a few days ago. So I'm home getting kids ready for school. My teenagers helped me set this. All this stuff up.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, they did? Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Are you good at. Are you good at adjusting time, different time zones or are you like still on jet lag?

[Keri Russell]

I'm jet lag. But I really love the early morning. So even though I'm still getting up at 4, it's like such a quiet time in my house with. So I love just like pitter pottering.

[Will Arnett]

I can tell you something about Carrie and Jason. You're Gonna appreciate this. Shauna goes to your question, which is she's so disciplined, it's crazy. She can just, like, kind of do anything. She's like, what's the task? Okay, so I'll do this. So I'll get up early and I'll do the thing like she just does.

[Jason Bateman]

Are you a Capricorn, Carrie?

[Keri Russell]

I'm not.

[Jason Bateman]

What are you?

[Keri Russell]

I'm an Aries.

[Sean Hayes]

I don't know.

[Jason Bateman]

We don't know. That's annoying. All I know is about my own sign.

[Keri Russell]

Really?

[Will Arnett]

Out of the not shocking depression. Mom.

[Jason Bateman]

My wife can come in here and break you. My wife would ask you your rising and your moon.

[Keri Russell]

I don't know any of that, but I'm into it. But I don't know any of it.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait, Carrie, do you remember that one time. This is like decades ago, and you know what I'm going to say? You were with an acting coach and you came out and I was going in, and that's when we first met. This is like 25, 30 years ago. Like a super long time ago.

[Keri Russell]

Which acting coach?

[Sean Hayes]

I don't remember, but it was her house. It was this acting coach's house. And it was like a back. It was like a guest house in the back. And you were coming out and I was going in. I was like, oh, my God.

[Will Arnett]

Careful. Because a lot of people listen to this.

[Keri Russell]

It was that. Well, she. No, she's not. She's like a really intense teacher that she did like Al Pacino and stuff like that, right?

[Sean Hayes]

Maybe I don't.

[Jason Bateman]

Good grade.

[Keri Russell]

And it was behind in her house. Like, not Venice, but like kind of adjacent Venice, right, Sean?

[Will Arnett]

You don't remember her name either?

[Sean Hayes]

I don't.

[Will Arnett]

Sean, do you wish some of those classes had stuck? Like, you wish some of the.

[Keri Russell]

I fucking wish.

[Will Arnett]

Some of that would have been so fun if some of that had worked for you.

[Keri Russell]

I mean, Sean, I wish some of those glasses would have stuck now.

[Jason Bateman]

Sean. But yeah, Sean, for me, what type of stuff? Like, would you go in there with a specific set of sides for an audition that's coming up?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, for sure. Or I got a monologue. I need a funny monologue and a dramatic monologue, right?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. Carrie, do you remember what you were doing it for? Were you up for auditioning?

[Keri Russell]

I had no idea. Maybe a movie or something that. I don't know. I mean, I did it like once or twice probably.

[Sean Hayes]

This is right after Felicity.

[Keri Russell]

Oh. So it was probably like just once or twice because a friend of mine was going anyway, so. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Now what about what? You know, Will is threatening to move to. I can't keep up. It's either. It's either. It's usually England, I think now it's Portugal. But he would like to live in England, I think. As would I. I think. Where did coming back from there leave you? I mean, would you go back?

[Keri Russell]

So I've spent the past three summers filming there, which I know is, you know, a little bit of a unique existence. Like, you have a nice place to live. You know, you're working, you have a job. So there are a lot of things that are extra nice. You know, it's not like you're. But it is. London in the summer is a delight. I mean, it is so, like, breathtakingly beautiful. I tend to live north and, like, by the heath. And I wake up early morning and I walk in.

[Will Arnett]

Heath is such a great area to live in.

[Keri Russell]

Is magic. It is so magic.

[Will Arnett]

I agree.

[Keri Russell]

And I've loved it. I've really, really loved it. And actually, I don't think. Well, I don't know. I don't think I'm telling tales out of school, but my last week there, we had this. So I'm on the show called the Diplomat, and it's about the ambassador in London. Who's the. I'm friends with the real one, Ambassador, Jane Hartley, who's just, wow, amazing and smart and cool. And the last week she said we were like, let's go to dinner before I leave. And so we went to the River Cafe, and that great actor. Fuck, what's his name on the Bear, who plays the cousin? Eben. Eben joined us and we just had this, like. It was just such a fun, raucous dinner. And Rufus Sewell, who's on my show, too, and. And it's just full of everyone who was. Everyone was at this restaurant that night. It was like one of those magic, wild moments. And so I love London.

[Jason Bateman]

Could you see yourself living there full time? Like, would your whole family?

[Keri Russell]

Well, I don't know, because I wonder if it's. You know, I love coming back here, too. You know, fall in New York is so good. And I ride.

[Sean Hayes]

Are you in New York now?

[Will Arnett]

But if you. She's in New York. You live in Brooklyn. She lives in Brooklyn.

[Sean Hayes]

Not same. Oh, fantastic.

[Will Arnett]

Not same. Sean, you live at Zabor's. But where are you.

[Keri Russell]

Sean, where are you living in the city?

[Will Arnett]

He lives, like, if you take a left at the Plain Bagels, you're uptown. But if you. If you. If you lived in London. I don't Know if you could. Because first of all, Matthew, as a Welshman, I mean, he's. He'd get in too many fights.

[Keri Russell]

Oh, my God. Right, yeah, he. But no, but he's.

[Will Arnett]

He's at the pub. We know. I know. Matthew. He's at the pub and then all of a sudden, before it's all over, he's in a fight with a bunch of Englishmen. Right.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, there's definitely a rivalry, but he loves London too. But I.

[Will Arnett]

Of course, of course.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, what about your teenagers? Have they done some time there?

[Keri Russell]

They have, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

What'd they think?

[Keri Russell]

They like it. I mean, but they kind of like you guys probably. You know, they travel wherever we work, so.

[Jason Bateman]

So in the summer they can be with you.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

And would they. Or would they be like. Because I, you know, I've got a 12 year old and 17 year old and they just.

[Keri Russell]

Oh, I have exactly the same.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Keri Russell]

Plus an eight year old. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Lucky you. But they're like, you know, they've got. They've got their lives, you know, and they got their friends and they got their places they like to go. It's like, well, great. I'll see you when you get back, Mom.

[Keri Russell]

Oh, definitely.

[Jason Bateman]

Right. It's hard to get them away. Nor do you really want to disrupt them.

[Will Arnett]

Jason. Kids names real quick. Oh, sorry.

[Sean Hayes]

Crazy. Both the girls.

[Will Arnett]

Both the girls. Both the girls. This is a fun game. This is a fun game. But wait, wait, by the way, Jason and Sean, have you guys. Have you guys spent any time up near Hampstead Heath, like in that area?

[Sean Hayes]

No, I love London, but it would blow your mind.

[Will Arnett]

It would shift everything you think about living in London.

[Sean Hayes]

What's it called?

[Will Arnett]

Hampstead. Because it's like. It's like.

[Sean Hayes]

I'm gonna look it up.

[Will Arnett]

It's like a massive, I wanna say park. It's kind of doing it a disservice by calling it a park. But in effect it is that. It's super cool and it's got a bunch of like little lakes in it and stuff where you can swim.

[Keri Russell]

It's wild.

[Will Arnett]

It's wild. It's like a wild park. It's incredible.

[Sean Hayes]

Carrie, could you live there or no, you're happy.

[Keri Russell]

I really love it. I really love it. But I have to say, you know, we shot there.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Keri Russell]

When the strike happened, we had to make up for things, so we shot there over the winter. And it's different in the winter. You know, it's because work in the winter. It's. Even if it's snowing or it's freezing. It can be sunny and it's bracing and you can still ride your bike or whatever. It's raining all winter, but it's raining every day. And rain all day is different than.

[Will Arnett]

And cold. Right? That kind of cold that gets into your bone. Even as a Canadian, I'm like, fuck, I'm freezing.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. So I do love it. And it's so lush and it's so green and the people. There's a real. I don't know, it does have a different culture than we have, but it was just a joy.

[Jason Bateman]

Where did you start? Where did. Where did you grow up?

[Keri Russell]

I moved around a lot, so I was born in California.

[Jason Bateman]

The law kept catching you.

[Keri Russell]

Then I. Yeah, then I grew up. I spent 13 years in Arizona and then Colorado, and then my parents moved to Texas. So I moved. I moved around.

[Sean Hayes]

Where was the first place you said?

[Jason Bateman]

Arizona, California.

[Will Arnett]

California, then Arizona, then Colorado. Sorry, are you getting an email Coming in. Are you distracted? What's going on? She said it like a second ago. Wait, so, Carrie, so you grew up and so. And I knew that about. I always think of you. I always associate you with Colorado because I think you.

[Keri Russell]

That was my high school.

[Will Arnett]

High school, yeah.

[Keri Russell]

And probably that. I dated a hockey player for half a second from Colorado. That's probably what you remember.

[Will Arnett]

That's what I remember too. You know, I remember all the hockey stuff.

[Jason Bateman]

And we will be right back.

[Sean Hayes]

So I remember when I first started out, I used to work at a box office for a ticket printing company. And then as I moved to la, I worked at a production office. So I've worked at a lot of offices. There are many different types of offices out there. One thing's for certain. Choosing the right candidate for any office is a huge responsibility. Well, if you're hiring and want to find the best candidates for your office, you need ZipRecruiter. And right now you can try it for [e-mail] Smartless ZipRecruiter is the hiring site employers prefer the Most based on G2. How fast does ZipRecruiter smart technology start showing your job to qualified candidates immediately. ZipRecruiter's powerful matching technology works fast to find top talent so you don't waste time or money. You can invite top candidates for your job to apply to encourage them to apply sooner. Remember, if you want to find the right candidates for your office, you need ZipRecruiter. See why 4 out of 5 employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Just go to the exclusive web address right now to try ZipRecruiter for free. Ziprecruiter.com smartless Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com smartless ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire. You know, guys, life is full of reasons to celebrate, right? Like saying yes to your new home, getting the keys to the dream car, or finally taking that vacation you deserve. With the State Farm personal price plan, you can keep celebrating when you create an affordable price just for you by bundling home and auto. So bring out the confetti and break out those happy dance moves. Bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price plan. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts, and savings and eligibility vary by state. Being in control of your health means being super mindful of what you put in your body. From food to supplements, everyone is always trying to find the best option out there, which is why you've got to check out these supplements from Thorn. Whether it's their B complex creatine, magnesium, bisglycinate, or vitamin D5000, Thorn's got all the supplements you need to help promote and maintain your individual health goals. So for me, I'm a Greens plus, Collagen plus kind of guy. I need some energy in the morning. So with a daily greens plus, my morning is energized with 28 powerhouse ingredients that promote, promote physical endurance, cognitive performance, and energy production. And then, you know, I need glowing skin. So I use Collagen plus because it gives my skin that glow, that kind of healthy glow. It gives my hair a little healthy shine and wrinkle reduction. And that's why I use the Collagen plus. It really works. Give your body what it really needs with Thorn. Start your health and wellness journey [e-mail] that's t h o r n e.com these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

[Jason Bateman]

And now back to the show.

[Will Arnett]

How did it happen that you became part of the Mickey Mouse Club?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, so I was a dancer, like with all my little dance friends in Colorado, you know, like preteen teenage years. And that was my sport. And that's all I did. And a bunch of my friends went to, like a giant casting Call. And we stood outside of, like, the Denver Convention center with thousands of little kids and their moms or something, and we just stood in line and some dude, like, said, hey, do you want to read a little script of a mermaid brushing her teeth with chocolate or something?

[Will Arnett]

And was he part of the audition or was this just at the back of a van?

[Jason Bateman]

He just rolled the window down.

[Keri Russell]

I was willing to do it. And, yeah, no. So rolled the window, and that's what I did. And they called me back.

[Will Arnett]

Wow. I mean, that is really. First of all, that gives a lot of hope, I think, to people who are like, oh, should I bother going for that thing? Thousands of people. Well, you could end up being Keri Russell. I mean, you can't be Keri Russell. Nobody else can be. But, I mean, you've built an incredible life with really impressive credits. You've done amazing things.

[Sean Hayes]

Was that audition something you wanted to do or did your parents tell you about it?

[Keri Russell]

I wanted to. I mean, I don't think I knew what it really was. I just went with a bunch of my best friends, pals who were, you know, going, and they're like, let's go do this thing. And by the way, I can't sing. I had never really been an actor. And so they said, do a little dance. Like, do your. A skit and sing a little song and all.

[Sean Hayes]

Right.

[Keri Russell]

Because I think they wanted kids who weren't. So, yeah, they didn't like it.

[Sean Hayes]

Still waiting to hear.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, still waiting to hear.

[Will Arnett]

Her friends, like, years later, was like, she didn't even want to go. I really was the one that wanted it. I was the one. And she got it.

[Sean Hayes]

Wait, I want to ask you something. Care. Because it has to do with how Will introduced you, which is like you do. When you came, you just came on. You weren't Margo Martindale when you came.

[Will Arnett]

On, by the way. You haven't been Margot Martindale for a minute.

[Keri Russell]

By the way. I. And, well, I mean, there's no one better than Margaret Martin.

[Will Arnett]

Sean, we adore. She's the best. I love Margot Martindale with all my heart.

[Sean Hayes]

Me too. Everybody does.

[Keri Russell]

Me too.

[Sean Hayes]

But. But your energy and your work ethic and you're like, you do have so much energy. Even talking to you now. And with the kids and working and traveling and getting up at 5 in the morning and working 14 hours, like, where do you get that drive? Where do you get the energy?

[Jason Bateman]

Youth. It's youth.

[Keri Russell]

Youth.

[Will Arnett]

Methamphetamine.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Because you do have to find it. You do have to find it, even though you're tired, you have to find it.

[Keri Russell]

Well, I think. Well, number one, I don't work all the time. Like, I like long breaks and I spend a ton of time on my own. I like to be alone a lot. I. I have amazing friends. I have a group of core friends that I love and we do stuff all the time. But other than that, I work, I spend. I have a ton of downtime. So, for instance, the Diplomat. I'm not going off to do tons of movies in between or on a Broadway show or something. That's my time to just be home and wander and read books. That's what keeps me sane.

[Will Arnett]

But it is a good question because. So Carrie and I did this show with. With the great Mitch Hurwitz years ago. Yeah. Called Running Wild, which was. And we had a lot of fun. That's how we got to know each other. And it was crazy. We were trying to make this thing happen and we were shooting just crazy hours out on Long island. And, And Carrie, I remember we. We were legitimately like the first couple weeks, we were shooting like 16 hours a day, trying to get these, you know, get this thing off the ground, which. And I remember Carrie, like going either before work or after work to the gym. And she had a little kid at home. She had like a three year old at home and doing all the thing and had all this dialogue and doing all this stuff. And I was like, it was so impressive how hard, how dedicated she was to just. Like I said, she's just a doer in this way that JB. I can see the smile on JB's face. He's just like, yeah.

[Keri Russell]

Why? Because you are as well? Is that what you're saying?

[Will Arnett]

Because he's a machine.

[Jason Bateman]

Sounds like. Sounds like you. It's like it's either going and really trying to accomplish a ton or just total power down. Being by yourself, just like staring at the wall, doing something really inane and refilling the tank. Right?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, I just clean out closets. I listen to my little nerdy news podcasts.

[Will Arnett]

He doesn't do that either.

[Jason Bateman]

There's a stab.

[Will Arnett]

He goes. He watches TV and he locks the door and nobody's allowed to bother him. And you're probably not grumpy, but I will.

[Sean Hayes]

Amanda serves his food under the door.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nobody can tell. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he's not interested in anything. But the question is, Carrie, so you do the Disney stuff and then that leads to what? How long? That's like three years. I Wanna say teenage years?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, teenage years. And then this seriously is the truth. Whenever the girls looked like they were having sex, they were like, get that one out of here. And the boys stayed till they were like 25. They're like, that one, she's out.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, wow.

[Will Arnett]

Really?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. Seriously, she looks like a breeder.

[Jason Bateman]

Get her out.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, she looks like a breeder. Yeah, get her out.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. And. But it was. It was so fun. I mean, it was. It was so cheesy, looking back, but it was so fun. And all those kids.

[Jason Bateman]

Did it lead to anything tangible, like. Or was it just a great thing to have on your resume and you just started to do more sort of traditional auditions and.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, I mean, from that, like, because you're under this old school, like, Disney contract, I had to do some movie, like the sequel Honey, I Blew up the Kid, which was a sequel to Honey.

[Will Arnett]

So that was part of your deal.

[Jason Bateman]

Ah, interesting.

[Keri Russell]

You know, it was like the old school system, like, we hired you under this umbrella, so if you record an album, if you make a movie, like, you are ours, you know, we own you.

[Will Arnett]

Interesting.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, it was a little bit like that.

[Sean Hayes]

Interesting.

[Keri Russell]

You know, like the kids now, like.

[Sean Hayes]

All those American Idol kids and whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Keri Russell]

Like, or. Or whatever. All those new Disney shows are now.

[Jason Bateman]

Felicity was quite some time past that, but that was also on abc. I was under the same umbrella. That wasn't part of the same feel, was it?

[Keri Russell]

No, that was. It wasn't on abc. It was on. Thank you. Wb.

[Will Arnett]

It was wb. I remember. Cause it was their big hit show and they were a young network, and then all of a sudden they had a hit, like a legitimate hit. That was. And that's where you met the great. Our friend, the great JJ Abrams.

[Keri Russell]

That's right. Yep.

[Will Arnett]

And that was JJ's show. And Matt Reeves and you guys created. You guys made that network in a.

[Sean Hayes]

Way, kind of amazing.

[Will Arnett]

You legitimized them because it was a great show. JJ got. Got heralded. You got heralded. I mean, everybody kind of went like, Keri Russell, you were, you were. You exploded onto the scene. I remember. You guys remember. I remember.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. Every magazine, everybody knew who Kerry Russell was.

[Will Arnett]

Just like, yeah, that must have been. Even though you'd been doing it for a while, since you were a teenager, having that kind of thing happen must have been startling. I don't want to put words in your mouth.

[Jason Bateman]

And at an age where it's pretty challenging. Things are challenging already at that age. Right. Kind of like figuring out who you are.

[Keri Russell]

First of all, the reason the show was so good was what JJ and Matt did. It was so. It was so sweet. It was like such a sweet little something of a show. And it was their writing that was so good. But, yeah, for luckily. I mean, I can't imagine the kids now with all of the social media. Back then, it was just occasional paparazzi weirdos, you know. But, yeah, I am sort of a nervous person anyway around people I don't know. So that only made that worse, and that was hard.

[Jason Bateman]

But people coming up to you on the street and stuff like that.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, well, I mean, people were generally pretty nice to me, but I just think if you're an anxious person, it doesn't help, like, ye. Having more people looking at you all the time. So I think that was something to sort of navigate a little bit. But then it all worked out because after that show ended, I took a big break and I didn't act anymore. I didn't think that's what I wanted to do anymore, really.

[Will Arnett]

So was that a conscious decision? You were like, hang on a second. I need to.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

No way.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

And where did you think you were going to go?

[Keri Russell]

Well, I thought I was gonna go back to or go to school. Cause I hadn't gone to school and. Cause I graduated early from high school because I was on college.

[Sean Hayes]

You mean college club. Oh, yeah. Okay.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. Because when you're on the Mickey Mouse Club, like, if you're a kid, you're tutored on set so you can finish as quickly as you can.

[Sean Hayes]

Same with Mr. Bateman.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, we know about that. Sometimes they have buses to do that, too.

[Jason Bateman]

And then. But, but. But. So, God, most kids. Me part of it. Like, as soon as the. The kid show is done, there's a panic like, okay, what's the next show going to be? Like, what's. What's my career going to be now that I'm kind of like, almost an adult?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

And you're dying to get another job and get back into that television series Cocoon, you know, the safety of employment. You were the opposite. You were like, not only do I not want to. I don't even know if I want to do this occupation anymore.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. So doing that show, that was back in the old days when we would do 22 episodes. Now the nature of television tends to be like, eight or 13 episodes. But we were still doing Network 22 episodes. And especially back then, we were working because Matt Reeves was one of our first directors and set up the show. We were Shooting at film. You know, we were shooting on film in the beginning, but really, yes, we.

[Will Arnett]

Were working on film.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, we were working 18 hour days, you know, five days a week. So my Friday as a 21 year old would end about five in the morning and then I would start again at 5 on Monday. And I loved that job and it was great. And I'm so thankful. I'm still really close with a few of those people, but in many ways it was life arresting. Like I. I wanted to be with girlfriends and whatever, kiss boys or do simple stupid things that I knew I was sort of missing. So when it ended, I had no time to spend any money or do any of that. So I took the money I had saved and rented this amazing apartment. One bedroom apartment in the Village, which was really great still back then. And I had no furniture. I moved to New York with two giant boxes of books. I got mattresses, I put them on the floor and I did all those things I wanted to do. I had two really great girlfriends there. And we would go out dancing and get drunk and like walk home drunk in the snow and we would watch the Bachelorette and eat shitty food and like, I mean, it was everything I wanted it to be. And I got to just fucking be a kid and that's great. And I think that's what I wanted.

[Jason Bateman]

Did you end up going to school?

[Keri Russell]

I didn't. So I thought that's what I was going to do and that's probably what I should have done. I still think about it, but I think I just sort of did it myself. Like I just read what I wanted to read about and took all that time off. I took, I think a couple of years and then just slowly started inching my way back in. I took a job where I wasn't the lead. I took. I was like a part of a family. And actually we shot in London with Mike Binder and I was just a part of these sisters. And Joan Allen was the lead.

[Will Arnett]

Right, right. And I was like, was that the upside of anger?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. And I was like, you know, she's cool and smart and classy and if I can watch her, if she's managing her life okay, you know, maybe it's possible. And. And she was. And so then I slowly.

[Jason Bateman]

She stuck with it. What was, what was the other industry that you were thinking about maybe going into?

[Keri Russell]

Oh God, I. I don't know. I think I just wanted to learn. I think I wanted to just go to school. I think I'm interested in every. I, I feel Like, I could do it lots of things.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Keri Russell]

You know, I. I'm curious. You know, I. But I'm. But I'm generally agreeable. You know, I. I'm curious about a lot.

[Jason Bateman]

But you didn't, like, start, like, one particular career that you were thinking, maybe I want to kind of go into? And then, like, that was kind of like, yeah, it's not that great. And then you went back to acting. Like, did you.

[Keri Russell]

No, I didn't.

[Jason Bateman]

Yes. You never really started anything. Okay.

[Keri Russell]

No, I didn't.

[Will Arnett]

But you didn't get into, like, microplastics or anything. That's a big industry. Apparently.

[Jason Bateman]

It's a growth industry.

[Will Arnett]

It's everywhere. Yeah, it's a growth industry. Wait, Carrie, this is kind of to carry nj because I'm always interested, curious about people who start performing when they're younger and are able to sustain it. When you were doing Mickey Mouse Club or jb, you were on various shows when you were a kid. Were you cognizant of. And did people talk amongst you and your peers and your friends or your families, like, hey, how can we make the jump to adult actors?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah. How conscious were you?

[Will Arnett]

How conscious were you that there's a sort of a bar there? That there's kind of. There's a separation between being a kid actor and then making it a life and a career? Would you.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Were you aware of that?

[Keri Russell]

I wasn't. Were you?

[Jason Bateman]

No, I was scared shitless of that transition. Yeah. Yeah. I thought no one's gonna. You know, you're. You're a kid actor, so why would anybody want to see you do adult acting when you're an adult? Like, you gotta start over, you know, that's not gonna be an easy transition. And it wasn't. There was. There was a. All through. My 20s was just a. Just a barren waste field.

[Will Arnett]

And that's why you shaved your pubes till you were 22.

[Jason Bateman]

Right.

[Keri Russell]

And I.

[Sean Hayes]

And I did. For different reasons.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah. Oh, it feels nice.

[Jason Bateman]

Guys. I could still play young.

[Sean Hayes]

Hey, it's me, J.B. check it out.

[Keri Russell]

I don't even have pukes.

[Will Arnett]

Check it out.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, my God. That is really funny.

[Will Arnett]

Wait, so Gary. So you go. You do upstream.

[Keri Russell]

Wait, wait, Jason, wait. Have you read. Because I actually. Speaking of the creepy kid actors, which, by the way, all kid actors, the whole thing is so creepy. But there's this amazing book that someone gave me, which I loved. Are you familiar with Sarah Pauly at all?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely.

[Keri Russell]

Now she's a director, but, you know, kid actor she wrote this book called Run towards the Danger, which is a collection of stories, and it's sort of unraveling her time and kind of understanding what that was all like. And I thought it was great.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Keri Russell]

And a lot of other things. But I do think it affects you and speaks probably to a little bit of what Will is saying, like, what he's seeing as, like, work ethic. But I just think when you're a kid actor, you know, you are. You have to show up. You're not allowed to have the flu. You're not allowed to. You fucking show up and you do it, and you. You know, you don't complain. You don't go.

[Jason Bateman]

Adult responsibility.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Keri Russell]

You're adultified. So you are jb.

[Will Arnett]

JB taught me a lot of. I will. This is truly. And I mentioned this a couple times early on. We were doing Arrest and Development in the first season. At one point, I was like. I got to the point, it didn't take long, where I was like, hey, what time were you rapping today? Like, you know, I got in early in the day. I'm thinking, like, what time am I out of here? And Jason turns to me and goes, we got you for the whole day. Right? And it really funny as that was, the timing of it was perfect. His delivery was amazingly shitty, and it was perfect and hilarious, and it broke me. But also the truth of it was, yeah, man, you're here to do a thing, and you've got this, like, yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

You'Re doing the thing you wanted to do.

[Will Arnett]

And it really, honestly, I never forgot it. And I carried it with me for the rest of my. And to this day, my working career, which is like, I'm there to do the thing that I gotta do not to fucking get out. And I feel equally pissed off when I feel like, yeah, I feel equally pissed off with people when they're, like, trying to get out. And I'm like, fuck you, dude.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what you signed up for.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

We'll be right back.

[Sean Hayes]

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[Will Arnett]

You'Re.

[Sean Hayes]

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[Jason Bateman]

All right, back to the show.

[Sean Hayes]

So, Kerry, what about the anxiety thing? Because I have a little bit of that too. I'm much better at it, at dealing with it. But how do you deal?

[Will Arnett]

Okay.

[Sean Hayes]

I mean sometimes these guys know it's, it comes out quite often. But how do you deal with it? Like do you have tools that you your go to? Tools.

[Keri Russell]

I wake up in the morning and I do something immediately. You know, I do hopefully like something outside. Even if it's cold. Some kind of physical activity really helps me. Even if I'm, you know, sometimes it just overtakes and you're like, fuck it, here I am. You know what really helped me one of the first times, this is absolutely true. Right. The beginning of Felicity times. Before I had ever had to do any of that stuff, I had to go on a talk show. My first talk show was Rosie O'Donnell had a talk show back then. I think it was like a daytime talk show.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, sure.

[Keri Russell]

I had never done anything like that. I kind of am a nervous person in that situation.

[Jason Bateman]

Anyway, that's horror for me.

[Keri Russell]

And it's like, it's a lot of energy coming toward you in the stage and all the people and bugs. And I got back there and the stage manager is like, come over here, come over here. And I was like, uh oh, uh oh, it's overtaking me. Here it comes. And the stage manager must have told Rosie O'Donnell, who was so lovely, like, she's nervous. So she came back and was like, hey, are you nervous? And I was like, oh, no, no. And so I went out. This is really absolutely true. I went out. She was being completely nice. But as I was answering questions going, yes, I'm from Colorado. Blood. A tear. No way, no way. I watched the interview. I'm smiling and I just gently wipe it away. And I'm from Colorado, but I'm having a full like panic. I go back to the hotel, which was, you know, they flew you to New York and did the whole thing. And I locked myself in the bathroom. And I was just mortified that I had done such a bad job and was so embarrassed and beating up on myself. And my awesome friend, Canadian friend, Will Arnett would love. We had gone out for drinks after or like, maybe the next day. And I remember Alana said. I said, oh, my God, I did such a bad job on this thing. And, you know, I was so bad. And she said, you know who I just saw on David Letterman? Kim Basinger was on David Letterman. And she was so nervous. And I remember I liked her so much because I thought I would be nervous on that thing too.

[Sean Hayes]

It's very real.

[Keri Russell]

It made me, like, stop hating the nervousness about myself so much. And I went, I'm nervous. Like, what are you gonna fucking do? And people who are like, so. No offense to everyone who's so funny and good, but, you know. Cause you guys are all so good at it. You guys are so good at it, but not everyone is so good at all.

[Jason Bateman]

But the dirty little secret is that even the flashy sort of funny, sort of, I don't seem very nervous person is petrified underneath. They just have this flashy coping skill that is basically acting. They're just able to act twice, right?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. You don't know what I'm thinking, Will.

[Keri Russell]

You are very easy, though, in front of people. You are very. And you're.

[Jason Bateman]

He is. But he's so. So. He's a fucking mess inside. He is a mess.

[Keri Russell]

He is a mess.

[Jason Bateman]

I'm gonna admit it right now. Just like I am a fucking disaster inside. And so is Sean. We're all. We're fucking nut jobs. We're all crazy.

[Sean Hayes]

Crazy.

[Jason Bateman]

And you just figure out different ways to fake it.

[Keri Russell]

Fake it.

[Jason Bateman]

And then you get comfortable with that and it kind of becomes a part of your personality too. Like, all this little suit that I put on to kind of deal with it is also just kind of me too.

[Will Arnett]

Well, I'll get real with you. So my version, through a lot of kind of work and exploration over the last few months, this is totally honest, is I first went away to boarding school when I was 12.

[Keri Russell]

You did?

[Will Arnett]

I didn't know that about.

[Keri Russell]

Where did you go, Will?

[Will Arnett]

I went to all boys up in Canada and I went to all boys playing school. I'm not gonna give them the benefit of telling you.

[Keri Russell]

Okay, but, like, what area.

[Will Arnett]

Sorry, where is north of Toronto?

[Keri Russell]

Like up by Muskoka. Like up.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. A little east of Muskoka.

[Keri Russell]

Okay. Okay.

[Will Arnett]

North of Peterborough, Ontario.

[Keri Russell]

Okay.

[Sean Hayes]

That's them to come pick you up again, right?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. But south of Finland Falls.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, right.

[Will Arnett]

So you could just to narrow it down, eh? Like right near Stony Lake. But I'M not gonna say where. So.

[Jason Bateman]

So there you are.

[Will Arnett]

So there I is, age 12. And I think that one of the things.

[Keri Russell]

I know that.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah. And one of the things about that is when you're a young. When you're that young. I. I can't imagine my sending.

[Keri Russell]

Can you imagine?

[Will Arnett]

No, I can't. And it.

[Keri Russell]

Or seven, when they go seven.

[Will Arnett]

Well, my roommate, first year, my. When I seventh grade and I was 12, my. My first roommate, he had just come from England and he had been at boarding school since he was seven. Wow. So he'd been there for five years.

[Keri Russell]

I mean, I know it's a way of life, but can you imagine sending your kids?

[Will Arnett]

And he was very. And by the way, he was a very sort of troubled kid, and I felt badly for him. But my point was, at that age, and I don't know if it's dissimilar from being out on your own and working at that time, I learned how to cope with being, you know, with not having my mom and dad around and how to manage certainly in a situation with other. Basically other boys my age. You know, there's a lot going on. It's kind of very Lord of the fliesy in a lot of way. Not right. Wasn't that bad, but you know what I mean?

[Keri Russell]

I do. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And so I think that that skill or whatever, that thing that I put up, I carry Survivors of my life. Yeah, yeah. I think that's what it is. I do. I've sort of been spending a lot of time breaking that down this summer, which has been interesting.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, whatever it is, I like it.

[Keri Russell]

Thank you.

[Sean Hayes]

We all like.

[Will Arnett]

I stayed vague enough that I didn't start crying. So that's after the show. So, Carrie. So you do all that and you think you're gonna quit and you think you're gonna do it, and then you go. Because you have. Not only do you carry over from, excuse the pun, from being a child actor to then having success in your 20s, but then you decide that you're gonn shift gears or not do it anymore or whatever, or go to school or try something else, and then you end up having a third act, which you're in right now really successfully, which is you start doing a bunch of films and you have two really successful television shows. It's really unusual to be able to sort of carry that on in all these ways. And I would say that you too, I pointed to Jason and Kerry. You guys are very unique in that way that you managed to carry that on.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, kind of remarkable, actually.

[Will Arnett]

What was the thing where you went like, okay, now I'm in gear. I want to start doing more and kind of. What was. Was there a job? Was there a particular thing that kind of fired you up?

[Keri Russell]

Well, the Americans was just a. The writing was. So I have to say, even in the beginning, it was a slow burn. It was. You know, I really think the show became good about episode five in the first season, and then it started becoming this other thing, which was really this dark kind of unravel of a marriage. And I always thought the spy stuff was just a way to push and pull the marriage, like sleeping with other people.

[Will Arnett]

So when you went into it, then you were thinking you were going, hey, we're going over here. And you ended up kind of going over here. Is that what.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, I didn't know. I was like, first of all, why do you want me to play this tough Russian spy? What, don't you want Rocky's wife? That lady with the short blonde hair? I'm like, me? What the fuck? I was like, oh, God, that's hysterical.

[Sean Hayes]

But she's not available.

[Will Arnett]

I'm getting drugged with my friends walking in the snow. What do you want?

[Sean Hayes]

Me?

[Keri Russell]

I don't want fucking this shit.

[Will Arnett]

I'm still hung up on that image of you and your friends drunkenly walking down 7th Avenue.

[Keri Russell]

It saved my life. It really did. So that was just lucky, total luck. Just getting to do that show and then meeting Matthew and all of that, you know, that was just good writing. So fun to be a part of something that was well received. And then I took another long break. I feel like that's what keeps me in. It is I go in and out. I take little pockets where then I'm just home doing laundry and, you know, seeing my friends and taking pictures.

[Will Arnett]

After the Americans.

[Keri Russell]

You do after the Americans.

[Will Arnett]

And it's on the Americans that you met Matthew and the great Matthew Reese, who we've had on the program, who is just an absolute love that guy. Love Matthew.

[Sean Hayes]

So cool.

[Will Arnett]

I just. I always just. I just love seeing his face. I love hanging out with him. I had a nice lunch with him about a year ago.

[Keri Russell]

With Chris tk.

[Will Arnett]

With our mutual friend Chris TK Yes.

[Keri Russell]

Who's equally as great. Oh, my God.

[Will Arnett]

Who's equally as delightful.

[Keri Russell]

Oh, my God. Delightful.

[Will Arnett]

And that was a lot of fun. And so you meet Matthew, and you guys are on the show together. And then. And then, of course, it makes sense. And you guys. It makes sense to me, by the way.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, he's great. He Is really, really great.

[Jason Bateman]

You guys had not. Had never met before the show?

[Keri Russell]

We had met, which he reminded me about, which I don't know if he told you guys on the show, but he.

[Will Arnett]

I think I remember this.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, we. We had gone to fight training or something in the first week. Well, you know, we screen tested everything, blah, blah, blah. Did the fight training. And so I'd known him just like that, you know, and then we were having lunch after doing some kind of crazy fight training, and he said, we've met before. And I said, no, I remember this. We have. And he said, we, you know, we were at that kickball party in Rustic Canyon.

[Will Arnett]

Yes.

[Keri Russell]

And we were the last people at the barbecue or whatever. And I was trying to get you to stay. And so I was trying to open a beer without a beer. He tried to do it with his thumb. And I knew exactly. I said, oh, my God, of course I remember. You left a drunk message on my machine. And I was moving to New York that day. And so it had been 10 years had passed.

[Sean Hayes]

Wow.

[Keri Russell]

And then. Yeah. And then game was on.

[Will Arnett]

That's so crazy. Well, so, Sean, don't feel so bad that she didn't remember seeing you in the garden of the acting teacher. She didn't remember meeting her husband.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I get it, I get it. I get it. I have one of those faces. But I love a good love story. So to the extent you feel comfortable, what changed from the. You know, when you try to open the beer for you, you had the.

[Will Arnett]

Kickball player, you didn't clap. Do you do a lot of other hipster stuff at parties, like playing kickball that are like, ironic games?

[Sean Hayes]

No, but, like, what. What. What changed for you 10 years later that didn't spark for you the first time?

[Keri Russell]

Who knows, Shauna?

[Sean Hayes]

Who knows?

[Keri Russell]

Okay, I'm trying to think. I'm trying to think.

[Sean Hayes]

No, you don't have to answer.

[Jason Bateman]

It's probably a haircut. Matthew had his haircut better.

[Keri Russell]

Number one. You know, I don't ever want to go back to my 20s. I'm not saying there are certain things about our bodies now as they're aging, but I like who I am so much more now than anything. Like, I look at my girlfriends, I think they are so beautiful now. I don't ever want to go back to 20s. I love our age now. And I think in our 30s or when I met him again, which would have been in my mid-30s or about then, I just was a different person. You know what I mean? And I wanted something different.

[Will Arnett]

I Also think that Carrie. And this is a compliment to you, Carrie, which is that you probably don't remember because you're such an authentic person. And I don't think that, like, I think you'd remember somebody if you actually had a real conversation. You really connected in that way.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

And not through a beer.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. You're not distracted by shiny moving objects at all. Like, you're really a real person. Go ahead, Sean.

[Sean Hayes]

No, I'm distracted by shiny objects.

[Jason Bateman]

Anything with frosting on it, it's gonna get his.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, my God.

[Keri Russell]

Shiny pretty things are nice, too.

[Sean Hayes]

Right? But. But Mission Impossible Incredible. I'm a big fan of this.

[Will Arnett]

Well, did the mission. Sorry, did any of those.

[Keri Russell]

It's awesome.

[Will Arnett]

Did the mission end up being possible? Because they didn't do it right. So I think that.

[Sean Hayes]

Well, you never knew what the rabbit's foot was. You never knew what the rabbit's foot was.

[Will Arnett]

No, but I kind of want to, like, I want to be like. Well, turned out it was. It's kind of like never ending story. Did the movie end?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, it sure did. Sure did.

[Jason Bateman]

Hold your arms.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So, I mean, class action. Lawsuit much?

[Sean Hayes]

I mean, but I love that. And then when you were. When it was revealed that was you in Star Wars, I mean, I was blown away. Like, that was the.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, fuck, here we go. Sorry, Carrie.

[Keri Russell]

No, I love it. Go.

[Sean Hayes]

I mean, I was watching it and even Scotty and I were like, who is this? I recognize your voice, but I couldn't because we didn't see your face. I was like, did you ever reveal yourself? I don't think you.

[Keri Russell]

Well, J.J. never wanted me to reveal my face, or I never wanted to reveal the face. And then at a certain point, I think it was the studio or someone said, you have to show her face. And JJ was like, no, it's. That's my whole idea is it's like it was like that girl. There was some cartoon with a girl on a motorcycle from when he was a kid who always had a helmet on. And then he was like, well, what if we just show her eyes? And so that was. But I think they wanted me to take the helmet off.

[Will Arnett]

But, yeah, you know, it was like, yeah, we got Kerry Russell. We're not gonna not reveal.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, yeah. But with such a kick ass. Amazing.

[Will Arnett]

It must have been just knowing, Sean, that she was from Endalore. I mean, that must have been for you, right? Knowing how many moons it was away.

[Sean Hayes]

It was incredible.

[Will Arnett]

From Tatooine. You must have been like, just. It was so funny, right? I mean, as an adult, paying attention to a kid's story must have been so cool for you.

[Sean Hayes]

I loved it.

[Will Arnett]

I loved it.

[Sean Hayes]

And then I haven't seen Cocaine Bear and I really, really want to see it, but I heard it's great and it's been out for a while.

[Keri Russell]

It's so stupid and crazy and nuts and Margo Martindale is. Is. I mean, you guys, what she does, she's the greatest. It's ridiculous and wild and it was just an antidote to Covid and everyone being stuck in their houses and the.

[Jason Bateman]

Great Liz Banks and our friend Liz Banks.

[Will Arnett]

We love Banks.

[Jason Bateman]

You guys were in Ireland? I want to say. No, she just called me.

[Keri Russell]

She was pitching me this completely other legit, serious, really good idea for this limited series. And, you know, we're just on with these writers and having these serious conversations and then texts me the next day and just says, hey.

[Jason Bateman]

Or I've got this.

[Keri Russell]

Do you know that I'm talking this crazy movie called Cocaine Bear. Do you want to read it? I was like, sure. And I told my girlfriends, I have these few girlfriends in New York here, and I was up in the mountains with them and they said. I told them. I pitched them the idea for the story and they said, if you don't do that movie, we're not going to be friends with you anymore.

[Jason Bateman]

Wow.

[Sean Hayes]

Ah, really?

[Keri Russell]

Really. And it was so fun. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Margo Martindale and I traipsing around Ireland, out of control. We were out of control. Having the time.

[Jason Bateman]

Why did you go shoot in Ireland? I forget.

[Keri Russell]

Because the COVID numbers were down, right? And because it's an island, I guess. And because it's a good match for that forest we were looking for.

[Will Arnett]

Margo's one of those people. She's so years ago, she wanted. Krasinski was doing a movie and he wanted her for this before, like the don't talk movies or whatever, or quiet, quiet place. Quiet time. Quiet place.

[Sean Hayes]

Quiet.

[Jason Bateman]

No, I think it's look who's talking.

[Keri Russell]

Don't talk.

[Jason Bateman]

Look who's talking.

[Sean Hayes]

Time out.

[Jason Bateman]

Who's talking to in place.

[Will Arnett]

And he said. And so I said to Margot, I said, hey, John, Krasinski wants to get in touch with you. Is that okay? And so she talked to himself. And then she called me and she goes, I'm gonna do this fucking guy. I'm gonna do his move before she. It better work out. Cause you better not have fuck put me on with this fucking guy. And it's gonna be a big. She literally, like kind of like, pseudo threatened me. And, like, I was like, I just put you in touch with him. It's not my fault. You didn't have to do it. She. I'm doing it because of you.

[Keri Russell]

When I read Cocaine Bear that next day, she texted me, and just as Margot and she says, are you fucking doing this movie? I was like, are you fucking doing this movie? What? I was like, now I'm definitely doing this movie.

[Will Arnett]

Margo's doing one of the hardest. One of the hardest laughs I've ever had in my life was doing that series, the Millers with Margot. And we did this episode. It was this thing where Beau Bridges was doing this, saying this thing, and Margo and I started laughing, and she got me laughing. I couldn't. It's the first time in my life I was like, I don't think I'm gonna recover from. No, I don't think we're gonna get it. I don't think I can do this. I think it's a wrap. I have to go. And I couldn't look at her. She had me laughing.

[Keri Russell]

I know, I know.

[Will Arnett]

She's a delight.

[Keri Russell]

She's a delight.

[Sean Hayes]

Cara, what are you excited about that's coming up? Other than the Diplomat, what are you gonna do the rest of the day?

[Keri Russell]

So I'm gonna be honest. I stayed up late, too late last night. So I woke up in the morning, I had leftover Indian food. It was fucking delicious. I'm having a beer with it.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, I love that. Gosh, you're so cool.

[Keri Russell]

I'm gonna. We made our first. It's kind of chilly here in New York this morning, right?

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Keri Russell]

So we made our first fire and it was just.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, nice.

[Will Arnett]

And you don't even have a fire place.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

No, sorry.

[Sean Hayes]

That's great.

[Will Arnett]

That's fun. What a fun day. So the rest of the day, you're going to be kind of cozy. Kind of cozy.

[Keri Russell]

My kids. My kids start school for the first day tomorrow, so I'm getting everyone. I'm going to make a nice dinner, family dinner, early dinner for everyone, early to bed.

[Will Arnett]

What are you going to have? What are you going to make?

[Keri Russell]

Yeah, I'm going to make skirt steak and a bunch of vegetables and rice and.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I love that. By the way, I've never been to Brooklyn. I should. I want to come. I want to go check it out. We.

[Keri Russell]

We could have you. We could have you.

[Sean Hayes]

I might go walk around there.

[Will Arnett]

Carrie, I'm coming to New York in a couple weeks. For real.

[Keri Russell]

Will, remember When I ran into you.

[Will Arnett]

Which time?

[Sean Hayes]

On the streets with your car.

[Keri Russell]

Oh, no. You were shooting something.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, yeah. We were shooting in Brooklyn and you were coming home and you were drunk.

[Keri Russell]

Wandering home drunk.

[Jason Bateman]

And I was like, well, what's up, dude?

[Will Arnett]

Dude, I was shooting and there was a whole, like, the crew we were doing, and she.

[Keri Russell]

What were you shooting?

[Will Arnett]

One of those Ninja Turtle movies.

[Jason Bateman]

She just blew right by the lockup.

[Will Arnett]

Huh? And we were shooting right on the river overlooking the city. And here comes Keri. And of course, nobody stops her. Nobody on the crew stops her. Cause they're like, oh, it's Keri Russell. And she just walks through. Basically walks through our set. It's like, what's going on? Hammered.

[Keri Russell]

Hammered. Just walking home. Walking home.

[Will Arnett]

I know, but I was gonna say, I'm coming in a couple weeks. Let's have dinner and. Or lunch. You, me and Matthew.

[Keri Russell]

Can you do it? I would love it. I would love, love, love, love.

[Will Arnett]

Fucking done.

[Keri Russell]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, God, Carrie, I wish we would just hang out forever.

[Keri Russell]

We will. I would love to see you. We have chance encounters from mutual people, satellite people, but I would love to see you.

[Will Arnett]

Okay. Well, Carrie Russell, you just brightened up our day. It's so great seeing you. It's always a delight.

[Keri Russell]

Always. Let's all see each other. Let's see.

[Will Arnett]

Let's do it.

[Jason Bateman]

Say hi to Matthew for us, please.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, please say hi to Matthew. And I'm going to reach out. I'm going to reach out to you in the next.

[Keri Russell]

Please, please, please, please do. Please.

[Will Arnett]

I won't hesitate.

[Keri Russell]

I would love, love, love it. Okay, Bye, guys. Thank you.

[Jason Bateman]

Bye, Carrie.

[Sean Hayes]

Bye.

[Will Arnett]

Thanks, Carrie.

[Jason Bateman]

Bye. Just a delight. Just a sunny delight.

[Will Arnett]

How cool is she? She's just a Sunday afternoon.

[Sean Hayes]

She's just drinking a beer.

[Will Arnett]

Drinking a beer and eating some Indian leftover Indian food because she's a little hungover.

[Sean Hayes]

She seems like one of those people that everybody wants to be friends with.

[Will Arnett]

Sean, she's so fun. When we did Running Wild together, and she would be. We had so much fun. She's the kind of person doing her off camera would be throwing shit at me.

[Sean Hayes]

Like a super easy, fun hang.

[Will Arnett]

Really, really fun, really prepared, really in it. Really just disciplined and professional, but cool and real. You could laugh with her and then you could tell her, you know, she and I both. There were times where we were both going through stuff in our personal lives, and we were. And she was such a good friend to me, and we would talk about stuff and really just awesome.

[Sean Hayes]

I love it.

[Will Arnett]

Awesome.

[Sean Hayes]

And she. And by the way she drives her entire career. Like she makes the decisions. And, but speaking of driving, by the way, I sent you guys a video when we were in New York of a, of an Uber driver. Do you remember that?

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, I do remember this.

[Sean Hayes]

Remember that? And, and he was, he was really kind and he was from China. And his real true. This is a true story. His real name, name is spelled B A I Y I. And I got in the car and I asked him how you pronounce it and I sent it to you.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, wait. Spell it again.

[Sean Hayes]

B A I Y I. Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

And how would you pronounce that?

[Will Arnett]

And how did he say that he pronounced Sean? Sean. I'm glad you brought this up. How did he say that he pronounced it by. By smart less smart less. Smart less is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Rob Armjarf, Bennett Barbico and Michael Grant.

[Keri Russell]

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[Will Arnett]

Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Visit ssga.com for perspectives containing this and other information. Read it carefully. DIA Subject to risk similar to those of stocks, all ATs are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Alps Distributors Inc. Distributor.