"Taron Egerton"

Summary

Podcast Summary: SmartLess Episode Featuring Taron Egerton Release Date: June 30, 2025

Podcast Information:

• Title: SmartLess
• Hosts: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett
• Description: "SmartLess" connects and unites people from all walks of life through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. Each episode features a mystery guest revealed by one of the hosts, leading to authentic and improvised conversations filled with laughter and insights.

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1. Welcoming Taron Egerton

The episode kicks off with a playful and somewhat chaotic introduction as the hosts welcome Taron Egerton to the show. Initial attempts at setting up the podcast equipment lead to humorous exchanges, setting a lighthearted tone for the conversation.

Notable Quote:

• Taron Egerton [03:12]: "Good morning, good day, good evening, listener."

2. Early Life and Acting Beginnings

Taron delves into his upbringing in Aberystwyth, Wales, highlighting the cultural richness and challenges of acclimatizing to new environments after moving at age 12. He shares how joining a youth theater at 15 was a pivotal moment, helping him find his "tribe" and igniting his passion for acting.

Notable Quotes:

• Taron Egerton [19:03]: "I joined the youth theater when I was 15, and it just felt like the universe clicked into place."
• Jason Bateman [21:03]: "It's one of the few places where it doesn't matter who you are… everybody's welcome."

3. Breakthrough with "Kingsman"

Taron discusses his breakthrough role in the "Kingsman" franchise, describing it as a life-changing project that catapulted his career. He recounts the serendipitous nature of landing the role, including unexpectedly working alongside stars like Colin Firth and Michael Caine.

Notable Quotes:

• Taron Egerton [26:13]: "When I read the scene, I knew that was my part."
• Guest Taron [47:28]: "I'm really grateful for it. It was the thing that made my name."

4. Navigating Fame and Personal Life

The conversation shifts to the complexities of handling sudden fame. Taron shares his experiences of balancing public expectations with personal well-being, emphasizing the importance of mental health and the support from his family. He candidly discusses the fluctuating nature of his availability and emotional state amidst his career pressures.

Notable Quotes:

• Taron Egerton [33:55]: "There are days when I feel robust enough to be available… and days when I just don't."
• Will Arnett [35:00]: "It's awesome to be successful. It's awesome to do what you love."

5. Cultural Insights and Perspectives

Taron provides insights into Welsh culture, particularly the significance of male voice choirs and community gatherings. He contrasts this with his experiences in America, describing the warmth and inclusiveness he perceives in the U.S., which enhances his love for the country and its opportunities.

Notable Quotes:

• Taron Egerton [16:03]: "It's much older than English… filled with throaty, guttural sounds."
• Guest Taron [51:25]: "I love America. I bought a home in America."

6. Upcoming Projects and Creative Aspirations

Taron enthusiastically discusses his upcoming project, "Smoke," an Apple TV series where he plays an arson investigator. He expresses his excitement about exploring new narratives and his aspirations to possibly direct or write in the future, acknowledging both the allure and challenges of such transitions.

Notable Quotes:

• Guest Taron [57:32]: "It's definitely different from anything I've done before."
• Will Arnett [56:39]: "Do you see yourself doing different stuff, like directing?"

7. Personal Anecdotes and Light-hearted Moments

The hosts and Taron engage in humorous exchanges, sharing personal anecdotes and engaging in playful banter about hobbies, karaoke preferences, and other light-hearted topics. These moments showcase the authentic and comedic chemistry among the hosts.

Notable Quotes:

• Taron Egerton [59:09]: "I hate being ellipses. And then on the back, just put me."
• Jason Bateman [60:14]: "Call a grown-up. No, that's a good-looking male."

8. Closing Remarks and Future Engagements

As the episode wraps up, the hosts express their appreciation for Taron's participation. They discuss the launch of his new series "Smoke" and share final thoughts, maintaining the episode's upbeat and friendly atmosphere.

Notable Quotes:

• Taron Egerton [62:35]: "Thank you for having me."
• Will Arnett [64:06]: "Smartless is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted…"

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Conclusion: This episode of SmartLess with Taron Egerton offers an engaging blend of personal storytelling, professional insights, and genuine camaraderie. Taron's journey from a small town in Wales to international stardom provides listeners with a deep understanding of his character both on and off the screen. The hosts' humorous and relatable interactions further enhance the episode, making it a must-listen for fans and newcomers alike.

Highlights:

• Cultural Deep Dive: Exploration of Welsh traditions and their impact on Taron’s personality.
• Career Insights: Detailed account of Taron’s rise in the acting world, particularly through "Kingsman."
• Personal Reflections: Honest discussions about the challenges of fame and maintaining personal well-being.
• Upcoming Projects: Sneak peek into Taron’s new series "Smoke" and his future creative aspirations.

Final Thoughts: SmartLess continues to deliver authentic and insightful conversations, and this episode with Taron Egerton is no exception. Whether you're intrigued by his acting career, interested in his cultural background, or simply enjoy the hosts' dynamic interactions, this episode provides valuable and entertaining content.

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Note: Advertisement segments present in the transcript have been excluded to focus solely on the core content of the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Will Arnett]

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[Jason Bateman]

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[Sean Hayes]

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[Taron Egerton]

Be great at this.

[Sean Hayes]

This is your first podcast, the both of you. Sean.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, just first time out. Yeah, first time out. What do we need to know?

[Taron Egerton]

Well, you just go ahead and talk into that big foamy black thing in front of your lips.

[Will Arnett]

And what do I do with my microphone?

[Jason Bateman]

Microphone.

[Sean Hayes]

Wow.

[Jason Bateman]

Welcome to Smartless Smart Less.

[Will Arnett]

Smart.

[Taron Egerton]

Good morning, good day, Good evening, listener.

[Will Arnett]

Wherever we had, we had a real robust in house smartless text chain going this morning.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, that's right.

[Jason Bateman]

Fascinating. I love talking about that stuff.

[Will Arnett]

Talking about all the scary stuff going.

[Taron Egerton]

On in the world, like AI Listener. I don't know if you've heard about this. The acronym is AI. It stands for Artificial Intelligence.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, go back.

[Taron Egerton]

And it's coming and it's going to be freaky.

[Will Arnett]

I wish the Listeners could see how dead your eyes were when you were.

[Taron Egerton]

Shut up, Will. This is serious, okay? No, it's coming. And so what?

[Will Arnett]

Now I'm running for the hills by a pistol. What are we doing?

[Taron Egerton]

Or I guess double down on just chatting with folks. Like we're doing, you know? Yes, I guess you can kind of robot us, can't you? I mean, you've always called me a robot. Will.

[Will Arnett]

Sean, there is no way. Jason, it's me, Will. I'm here.

[Taron Egerton]

You look so good today.

[Will Arnett]

It is a pleasure to be on Smart.

[Taron Egerton]

I'm excited for our next guest.

[Jason Bateman]

Wait, do I have any. Do I have any good dad jokes?

[Taron Egerton]

Are you gonna try to lighten things?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I got one ready for this guy.

[Will Arnett]

Will, no. Open up the phone.

[Jason Bateman]

What do you call it? What do you call a teacher who never farts in public?

[Will Arnett]

What's that?

[Jason Bateman]

Private tutor.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, my goodness, Sean, that's really fun.

[Jason Bateman]

That is fun.

[Taron Egerton]

I've taken that one. I'm going to ride that for a week.

[Jason Bateman]

I know how that feels.

[Taron Egerton]

I was going to say, speaking of which. No. Sean, do you have a call back.

[Sean Hayes]

Today or a photo shoot or something?

[Taron Egerton]

Because you do look great.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, thanks. Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

What's the occasion?

[Jason Bateman]

I didn't. I took a shower and no way. What? It looks like. Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

There we have it.

[Will Arnett]

Wow.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. I took a shower.

[Taron Egerton]

Now, when you shower, do you shampoo your hair and condition it?

[Jason Bateman]

I don't condition. I've never conditioned my hair. I just shampoo.

[Taron Egerton]

Okay.

[Jason Bateman]

Or I get the shampoo.

[Taron Egerton]

Every time you shower, you shampoo your hair?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Who doesn't?

[Taron Egerton]

People who look good.

[Will Arnett]

I don't.

[Jason Bateman]

What do you mean, every time?

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, Every time you shampoo your hair. Every time you shower, you get that fluffy, shitty hairdo. Like shower.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And you're getting rid of the natural oils, okay? You're washing away your natural oils.

[Taron Egerton]

Well, you need some clump.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, you need your natural oils.

[Taron Egerton]

Need your natural clump.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, but what about.

[Will Arnett]

You gotta get Lorenzo's Oil, okay? That's what that movie was about, Lorenzo's Oil.

[Taron Egerton]

Do you know. Can I reference one of my own projects, please? Thank you very much.

[Will Arnett]

Here we go.

[Taron Egerton]

Of a picture called Paul. Not widely seen, but I did play Secret Service agent. Last name Zoil. And in one of the last scenes of the movie, I finally introduced myself. First name Lorenzo.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, my God, what a sweaty joke.

[Taron Egerton]

And I was told by the director to.

[Will Arnett]

You're right.

[Taron Egerton]

No, it was actually Greg Mottola.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, Greg Mottola, right. Yes.

[Taron Egerton]

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

[Jason Bateman]

But it was you.

[Taron Egerton]

And, yeah, he says, you know, I think it's the first time he's ever really heard this himself. Like, so, in other words, play a beat once, you say Detective Zoil. Lorenzo Zoil. And then, like, play a beat of like. Oh, my God, that sounds like the movie, Right?

[Jason Bateman]

Like a little wink.

[Taron Egerton]

And so it was so. It was funny. I do recommend a rental on that.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Paul.

[Taron Egerton]

It's called.

[Sean Hayes]

It's called Paul. All right.

[Taron Egerton]

Seth Rogen plays an alien.

[Will Arnett]

I'd look for, like, a free stream, maybe. You know what I mean?

[Taron Egerton]

Try 5 minutes of free and then go ahead and rent.

[Will Arnett]

I'd get on a VPN and stream illegally.

[Jason Bateman]

If it's 299, I'll buy it.

[Taron Egerton]

What else? Okay, I'm back in Atlanta.

[Guest]

Oh, yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

I'm in my final week here. Are you so excited you're in Los Angeles? I'm very. I'm very excited. I'm very excited to be. To be done. It's been a great project, but I am excited to come home, see you folks again.

[Will Arnett]

What, are you done Saturday?

[Taron Egerton]

I'm done on Sunday. Today's Wednesday.

[Will Arnett]

Sunday. I'm flying home Sunday, too. I'm leaving today, but I'll be back.

[Taron Egerton]

Wait, you're. You're in.

[Will Arnett]

I'm in la, but I'm going to New York today for a few.

[Taron Egerton]

And then you're going to be back on Sunday?

[Will Arnett]

I'll be back Sunday.

[Taron Egerton]

I'll be back in the.

[Will Arnett]

In the.

[Taron Egerton]

After midnight.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, I'm glad we're caught up with schedules. Wait. Oh, so you're not coming back?

[Sean Hayes]

That is so shitty.

[Will Arnett]

God, Sean, that's so.

[Jason Bateman]

So rude.

[Guest]

I know.

[Taron Egerton]

It's so judgy fighting.

[Jason Bateman]

So, listen, what about Sunday? Were you there, Jay, or just Will?

[Will Arnett]

Just me.

[Taron Egerton]

Oh, where?

[Jason Bateman]

I thought you went to. To Sunday Funday.

[Will Arnett]

Sunday Funday.

[Taron Egerton]

You were not there, I guess.

[Jason Bateman]

Sean, I couldn't go.

[Will Arnett]

We had a very robust conversation, actually, kind of about a lot of the stuff we were talking about this morning. We were talking about AI and we were talking about the future.

[Sean Hayes]

What did you discuss?

[Will Arnett]

The present. We discussed the fact that we're all human.

[Jason Bateman]

No. Oh, for. On Sunday, Scotty rented a boat. We went out on to the ocean. And he finally got to his boat.

[Will Arnett]

Doesn't that sound like a.

[Taron Egerton]

Managed to wedge his little talk notes in. Oh, really?

[Will Arnett]

Doesn't that sound like a Focus feature? Doesn't that sound like a little indie film? Scotty rented a boat, you know, Chico.

[Jason Bateman]

And companion with Paul.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

Is he still. Is he. Did he make it back home or they still search?

[Jason Bateman]

No, we, we all. We all were gonna go. And you guys used to have a boat, though.

[Taron Egerton]

So you toying around with maybe getting another one?

[Jason Bateman]

I don't know. Maybe.

[Will Arnett]

Does Scotty pilot the boat?

[Jason Bateman]

Well, he did this one for a little bit, but it had a captain. Yeah, it had a little captain, but.

[Will Arnett]

He likes to get behind the. Does he wear a little cap?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, you know, he. No, he doesn't wear a little cap, but he likes to drive big machinery. So for one birthday, one year. No, there's.

[Will Arnett]

He's with the wrong guy. Know.

[Taron Egerton]

He.

[Jason Bateman]

I. For his birthday one year, we went to Vegas because I knew that. And in Vegas there's a place that you can go where you can drive bulldozers and like, really, you can like excavate land.

[Taron Egerton]

Have you guys ever done that or Will, have you ever done that? I've done that. It's incredible driving those big things.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, right.

[Will Arnett]

I've never driven an excavator, but I drove like a big.

[Taron Egerton]

Here comes an ad for gmc. Get ready.

[Will Arnett]

Well, GMC trucks are professional grade.

[Taron Egerton]

Are they?

[Will Arnett]

So if you working your way around.

[Taron Egerton]

A work site, what. What happens with the Denali?

[Will Arnett]

Well, the Denali hd. Or are you talking about the new Sierra Ev?

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, God.

[Taron Egerton]

So, Sean, how was the Vegas trip?

[Jason Bateman]

That was a while ago. That was. We drove trucks and what else did we do?

[Will Arnett]

Did you win any money, by the way? He's just doing a lot of things. The driving the boats and then going. Driving the trucks. It's different. Just different characters from the Village People. If I'm. If I'm right.

[Taron Egerton]

I mean, any ride alongs for the cop outfit.

[Will Arnett]

What did that.

[Taron Egerton]

Clearly he's not doing a lot of working. Or are you?

[Jason Bateman]

No, these are just the things.

[Will Arnett]

By the way, you're listening to this. You're listening to this podcast and you're in. You're in a truck or you're working somewhere and you're like these Hollywood elite.

[Jason Bateman]

What are you talking about? Anybody can rent a boat and anybody can rent.

[Will Arnett]

I'm going to Vegas to. To make belief I'm driving, renting boats.

[Jason Bateman]

You can buy like 100 bucks to go. To go drive these things in Vegas.

[Will Arnett]

You'Re so out of touch. I was thinking I was coming back home. I was at 45,000ft and I was coming home, and I was thinking about how out of touch shocked me.

[Taron Egerton]

You're looking out the windshield to the past. The pilot.

[Jason Bateman]

I just spit out my tea.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my God. That came out of my mouth.

[Will Arnett]

You know, Sean, I would say, though I would like to. I actually, upon further reflection, Scotty would look good. Like a little sailor outfit.

[Taron Egerton]

Sure he would.

[Will Arnett]

I'm just saying, like. Like an old school.

[Jason Bateman]

All right, I'll make a note.

[Will Arnett]

Can we make that? Can we make that happen?

[Jason Bateman]

Yes, we can make it happen. You can wear, like a striped, like.

[Will Arnett]

You know, like the bib thing that goes on the back.

[Taron Egerton]

No shirt, no shirt. Tits just resting over the top. And then here comes Sean in a little Gilligan outfit.

[Will Arnett]

Toast safety. You guys should go as the Skipper and Gilligan for Halloween.

[Jason Bateman]

That's really funny, you guys.

[Guest]

That would be.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, my.

[Taron Egerton]

We'll be Marianne and Ginger. Come on, Willie.

[Jason Bateman]

That's really funny.

[Taron Egerton]

All right, let's. Let's wake up our guest. I'm sure he's completely passed out by now. Guys, I'm very excited, slash nervous for today's guest because I've always wanted to meet him for quite a while now.

[Will Arnett]

Okay.

[Taron Egerton]

He first hit my radar coming out of the Royal Academy of dramatic arts in 2012. Okay. Then he quickly became the lead in a very stylish action franchise I can't mention, because then you know who he is. He voiced one of the most successful animated films.

[Sean Hayes]

He went on to play one of.

[Taron Egerton]

The most iconic musicians of our time, was nominated and won all kinds of awards for that. He's done.

[Jason Bateman]

Can we text about him today? Sorry, go ahead.

[Taron Egerton]

I'm going to go back to the top now.

[Will Arnett]

No, no, no. Don't, Please don't, please. I'm.

[Taron Egerton]

He has done and is doing a slew of cool stuff since then, but most recently, this hot shot has knocked me down and out, literally killed me in the incredibly satisfying and remarkably successful Netflix film called Carry On. Guys, please say hello to Taron Edgerton. You guys didn't know? You thought there's no way he knows him because he says he's looking forward to meeting him.

[Guest]

And then I switched it and I tricked you.

[Will Arnett]

It was less of a red herring and more of a lie. You know what I mean?

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, but fun. Fun to lie.

[Jason Bateman]

My sister loves that movie. Taryn.

[Will Arnett]

No way.

[Taron Egerton]

Which one, Sean?

[Jason Bateman]

Carry on. Carry On.

[Taron Egerton]

Great film. Great bad guy in that. Let Taron Talk. Good morning.

[Jason Bateman]

Hi, Taryn.

[Guest]

Good day. How are you guys? Thanks so much for having me on.

[Taron Egerton]

Very excited you're here.

[Will Arnett]

Very honored.

[Guest]

Oh, it's lovely. It's nice to see you, Jason. You good?

[Taron Egerton]

Good to see you. I love the shaved head. Listener. He's got. He's got a real tight. Like a. Like a swim team, almost marine type of shaved head. I've done it twice and I loved it.

[Guest]

That's it. Streamlined. Yeah. Getting to where I'm going quicker. I just finished a movie where I had a kind of shaved head. So it's still growing out.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

So you're keeping it?

[Guest]

I think so, for now, yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

Through the summer, because it's warm through this.

[Guest]

Although it doesn't get that warm when I grow it out anymore. I'm not blessed like you guys are. Well, you guys. You guys got three very fine heads of hair.

[Taron Egerton]

No, it's all fake.

[Jason Bateman]

Snap.

[Will Arnett]

Snapped on.

[Taron Egerton]

Now where do we find you? You're in Los Angeles.

[Guest]

No, I'm not. I'm in Wales. I. I got back from Australia a couple of weeks ago where I just finished the film, and I've come home to see my family. So I'm here for.

[Jason Bateman]

That's nice.

[Guest]

Before.

[Taron Egerton]

I've got questions about Wales. Yeah, you know, we're. We're kind of friendly with Gareth Bale.

[Guest]

Yes.

[Taron Egerton]

Wales's own Gareth Bale listener.

[Guest]

That's a celebrated son of Wales.

[Will Arnett]

Celebrated.

[Taron Egerton]

Very celebrated.

[Guest]

And you've had Matthew Reese on the.

[Will Arnett]

Podcast and we've had Matthew Reese. Yeah, we've had few. We've had a few. Very distinguished. And now we've rounded it out. We've had the most distinguished Welshman alive.

[Taron Egerton]

I think Sweet Willy's done some time there in Wales.

[Will Arnett]

I don't want to call it done some time. I was able to enjoy some time in Wales for a few months many years back in Cardiff. Beautiful country, man. Beautiful.

[Guest]

Yeah, it's gorgeous. So I'm from Aberystwyth, and it's a stunning part of the world. I'm further north, a couple of hours north. But when I finish a job, I like to come back and. And just decompress, spend time with.

[Will Arnett]

Is that on the way to Snowdonia? Is that this in that kind of.

[Guest]

If you're coming from Cardiff.

[Jason Bateman]

It is.

[Guest]

Yeah, it is right on the street.

[Taron Egerton]

Snowdonia is a place in Wales.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

Wow.

[Guest]

Snowdonia is a place in Wales. And the mountain at the center of that area is called Snowdon. And I think it might be the Third or second highest peak in the uk, I think.

[Jason Bateman]

Sounds like a Game of Thrones, which.

[Taron Egerton]

Would make it good 60 or 70ft tall.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Yes, exactly, exactly.

[Taron Egerton]

Now tell me about what if you're a dummy like me and you're like, hey, I don't know whether I should go to England or I should go to Wales.

[Will Arnett]

God, that is different.

[Taron Egerton]

What would be the biggest difference? And be careful here because you're, you know, you're surrounded by Welsh. What's the big difference between Wales and England? What, what would be.

[Guest]

Well, I'd say there are quite distinct cultural differences. We have a language here that we still speak, you know, really speak? Yeah. In certain parts of the country, people speak Welsh sometimes as a first language.

[Taron Egerton]

So you go, it's not, it's not English.

[Guest]

It's not English. It's, it's.

[Taron Egerton]

Well, what's it sound like?

[Guest]

It's much old, so it's much older than, than English or, you know, as I understand it. But it's really, it's filled with kind of, lots of very kind of throaty, guttural sounds.

[Jason Bateman]

Is it like, is it like you really didn't know?

[Will Arnett]

It's got a lot of consonants next to each other as well.

[Guest]

Yeah, exactly. So it's. So it sounds, so it's, it sounds more like, like Scots Gaelic or Irish Gaelic than English.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jason Bateman]

Can you give us just a little something?

[Guest]

The one that I'm always asked to do is the name, like the, the village that I was raised in is the thing that I'm always asked to do on talk shows and things because I was raised in a village called.

[Taron Egerton]

Wow.

[Will Arnett]

And then you get there and you bang a right. Yeah, exactly. Wow.

[Taron Egerton]

I wonder what that, what is it derived from? Like, it sounds almost German but also real Nordic.

[Guest]

Yeah. There are bits of. You see strange little crossovers between other languages in Europe. So there are things like you'll just find odd words that are very similar. So German for rabbit is Kanning and Welsh for rabbit is Kuningen. So there's like really strange little bits of crossover that you find.

[Taron Egerton]

I got you.

[Jason Bateman]

That's interesting.

[Guest]

Wow.

[Taron Egerton]

Anything specific about your Welsh upbringing that has kind of shaped your perspective on your, your career, like managing kind of the, the silliness and the nonsense sometimes that we all kind of enjoy. Slash navigate. Anything, Anything about your Welsh upbringing that is specifically suited you for that?

[Guest]

Well, I think I'm from a fairly kind of, you know, I'm not from an. A particularly affluent part of the world. I'm from a Very normal town. Quite blue collar, as you. You'd probably say. And I come from a place where people are quite, I think, quite down to earth. Quite relatable and real. You know, a lot of my early adult life and the end of my teens was spent kind of. I don't know, we've got like the most pubs per square capita of anywhere in the country, really.

[Jason Bateman]

Really.

[Guest]

And it's. And it's. And it. Less. Less now. But I remember when I was coming up, you'd still see groups of older gentlemen who'd kind of spontaneously break out into song and sing kind of, you know, lovely harmonies and things. We have a tradition of male voice choirs here in Wales. And that's something that I think has kind of seeped into who I am.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Will Arnett]

Right.

[Taron Egerton]

Would that explain your ability to sing?

[Guest]

I think in part. You know, most Welsh people have a go at some point. I think we have. Choirs are a big part of school life, certainly in my experience anyway. And I think that's something that I. That I've definitely carried forward into my life. Cause I've done a couple of bits of singing. Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So, Taryn, so then how did you come from this sort of small town in Wales? You know, sort of out. You know, out in the sort of rural area, if you will.

[Sean Hayes]

Yes.

[Guest]

The middle of nowhere, mate.

[Will Arnett]

Middle of nowhere. I didn't want to see. Almost.

[Guest]

You're fine.

[Will Arnett]

You're fine. Okay, okay, okay. So middle of nowhere, Wales, beautiful country, but middle of nowhere. And then you end up. And now you're Taron Edgerton, movie star. So what? That's a kind of a long way to go. What was the first step in that. To sort of move from there in that direction.

[Guest]

Well, thank you. Thank you very much. That's very nice of you to say, but I. So it was a lot to do with the town I'm from. Actually. The town I'm from is called Aberystwyth. And we had a couple. We have a great art center. And I joined a youth theater there when I was 15. I moved from one part of Wales to another when I was 12. And I had a couple of years where I really struggled to acclimatize and make friends and meet new people. And I joined the youth theater when I was 15. And it just felt like the universe clicked into place. You know, I found my tribe. I felt like I had an aptitude to something which wasn't a feeling I'd really had before.

[Taron Egerton]

Was that something. Sorry to interrupt you, but was that something that, like, your parents were like, oh, poor Taryn is not making friends. And we keep moving around and maybe.

[Sean Hayes]

Joining this theater group.

[Taron Egerton]

Honey, you meet some friends or was it a passion you had for acting?

[Guest]

No, I don't. I think it was. I think I just was watching other people do it from afar and started to get that itch and that craving and. And I always. I was. I think I always even. Don't get me wrong, even though I was struggling to kind of acclimatize in a new place, I was still an insufferable attention seeking, class clown, you know? So it was. It was like an appealing personality thing.

[Will Arnett]

Can't relate.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

You know, it's funny, Sean. It's not dissimilar. It's not dissimilar from you. I'm. I'm all bits aside.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

And what I was going to say was it occurs to me, and this is nothing new, it's not breaking news, but there is a recurring theme here that we hear from a lot of people, a lot of performers, of how many times people, when they're younger, join a local theater group, a local theater, whatever, and how important these things are in our communities for being an outlet, not just an outlet for kids, not as a conduit to superstardom, but just a place for kids who don't feel like they fit in to find their voice and how often we hear it and how important that is and how much we need to protect that and.

[Jason Bateman]

Because it's one of the few. I think so, too. I think it's one of the few places where it doesn't matter who you are, what color your skin is, who you are, your gender, anything at all, everybody's welcome.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, team sports, too.

[Jason Bateman]

Team sports for sure. And sports, too.

[Sean Hayes]

And we will be right back. So I just finished this job and so I was out of town. I was living in an apartment. The mattress that was there and the bedroom wasn't working for me. And so already had this great relationship with Helix over these years. They've been incredible supporters and advertisers. I reached out to my guy over there and I said, I need another mattress, please. So bought another one for this place in Atlanta and the job. Just my whole work experience, it's just, you know, a good night's sleep makes you a better person, and in my case, hopefully a little bit of a better actor. All right, so. And if not, if you don't like the project, you can blame Helix. I'm joking, of course. Listener. I couldn't Be a bigger fan. Helix offers a variety of mattresses that are designed to fit your unique sleep needs. Whether you're a side sleeper, need extra cooling, Want something more supportive? Helix has you covered. Helix really makes it easy to find the mattress that helps you finally get the rest you've been looking for. Like, for me, I needed better sleep, so I could not suck so much as an actor. And, and I think they straightened me out. You'll see, you'll watch the show and you'll go, oh, my God, that guy. I mean, it seems like he had a great night's sleep because look at that acting. So go to helixsleep.com smartless for 27% off site wide exclusive for listeners of Smartless. That's helixsleep.com smartless For 27% off site wide helixsleep.com smartless this is an advertisement from Better Help. Now, I'm a man. I have mental health. Or sometimes what would be the opposite of health? Mental illness. No, I. Listen. We all kind of fluctuate between feeling good, feeling weird, feeling bad, feeling up, feeling down. It's. It's a, it's a. It's a. It's a constant changing thing. You know why? Because we're not robots. All right? So there's a stigma that comes around asking for help or seeking help, getting help, accepting help, all that. That's all a bunch of garbage. That's old. We are current, we are new, we are modern men, and we need help just like everyone else. So reaching out to better help is a great way to do it. You're just. You're there on your phone.

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You.

[Sean Hayes]

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[Jason Bateman]

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[Will Arnett]

So you joined this local youth theater and you find a place where you find your people, as it were.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Jason Bateman]

That's exactly what it felt like.

[Guest]

Found my tribe and you know, what ensued between the ages of 15 and 19 were just these really blissful years of being really creative, really social, really out of my shell, and it was all kind of tied together through drama. So I was, you know, I was getting involved with Shakespeare plays and more contemporary stuff and I just felt that I was in my groove, in my lane. Really, really loved it. And by the time I was about 17, I think I knew that I wanted to go to drama school. And so I auditioned. And this ties back to me being the insufferable attention seeker. The first year I auditioned, I was, I was, I was rejected everywhere. And, and from the limited amount of feedback I got, they said that I was a little, a little under prepared and a little maybe a little cocksure on myself. And that really, really took me down a couple of pegs. And the following year.

[Will Arnett]

But you took the note. But you took the note and recovered.

[Taron Egerton]

I've gotten that note. It's debilitating.

[Guest]

Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think so. I think so.

[Taron Egerton]

Bubble pop.

[Will Arnett]

Did you Have. Was there. Was. Was there a. Was there a mentor in there? Was there a person in that journey or multiple people who you can identify as people who encouraged you and pushed you the right way?

[Guest]

Totally. There's so many people. I mean, the first people that spring to mind are my family. So at that time, we were still. We still rented the family home. I've never wanted for anything growing up, but I'm not from an affluent background. And my. Each. Each audition for drama school cost somewhere in the region of 40 to 60 pounds. And my. My auntie paid for one, my father paid for one, my stepfather paid for one, my mother paid for one, and I paid for one. And. And it was a real family effort to get me to this handful of auditions.

[Taron Egerton]

And I'm like picturing Charlie Babbitt and Charlie and Chocolate Factory in the same bed, like. Yeah.

[Guest]

And then. Yeah, the second year it all came together and I got a few offers at different drama schools and. Yeah. And the rest is. The rest is history.

[Will Arnett]

What monologues did you do for your auditions? You remember?

[Guest]

Well, weirdly, really weirdly, I was required to sing a song and I did your song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. And then I did. Did Edmund Thou Nature Up My Goddess, which is a kind of classic, flashy villain turn from King Lear. And I. I actually can't remember what my modern piece was, but.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, that's so cool. And what was your growing up? First of all, two things. One is when you said you were singing and stuff. I have a little tidbit.

[Will Arnett]

I don't know, Sean, I thought you were gonna say. When you said your song. You're gonna say my song, like Five Dollar Foot Long. Isn't that the subway?

[Sean Hayes]

This is Anthem, not his song.

[Jason Bateman]

Five Dollar Foot Long. So no one little tidbit. I don't know if it's true, but Irish dancing, you know, have you ever seen Irish dancing when they don't.

[Taron Egerton]

The ankle slapping.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Where they don't move the upper part of their body. They don't move the upper part of their body. Do you know why?

[Taron Egerton]

Why?

[Jason Bateman]

Because I don't know if this is true, but in Ireland, dancing used to be against the law or something like that. And so the. The police used to walk by the pubs and so they didn't see the upper part of their body moving. They would just move the bottom part of their legs. And that's how it. That's what I heard.

[Will Arnett]

God, I hope it's not.

[Taron Egerton]

What do you mean, you heard? On what website are you Diving into.

[Jason Bateman]

I heard that growing up, because I'm Irish.

[Will Arnett]

Can we just. Can we conjecture wherever we want now?

[Jason Bateman]

Can we just sort of, like I asked, chat.

[Taron Egerton]

That's.

[Jason Bateman]

I mean, I don't know if that's true.

[Taron Egerton]

That's true. That's one of the dumbest things I've ever.

[Jason Bateman]

No, but isn't that interesting? It me makes. Makes sense because they don't move your upper body, your upper body's stiff.

[Taron Egerton]

No, we're not sure because there's windows that only go down to waist height throughout it. We understand.

[Will Arnett]

I hope it's not true. God, I hope it's not true and that you've been saying this forever.

[Jason Bateman]

All right, so you read a book. So the other thing is, what was your View from Wales? What was your impression of America? And was that different than when you actually arrived?

[Taron Egerton]

How early did you see Will and Grace? And did that inspire you to take the trip across the Atlantic?

[Guest]

A huge part of my formative years.

[Will Arnett]

I did.

[Guest]

I enjoyed that show very much.

[Jason Bateman]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Guest]

I, I mean, it was like it, you know, certainly when I started acting, it's the perception of America is like, I don't know, I suppose the land of plenty, I guess. And, you know.

[Jason Bateman]

And was that always the destination?

[Guest]

No, absolutely not. No. When I went to drama school, I thought, I thought I'm gonna be a theater actor and I thought, I will get a couple of guest spots on the telly and that will, that will pay my rent or pay the mortgage. And I really mean that. It was a shock when films happened.

[Taron Egerton]

So that was the adult, that was the life goal, the adult, the occupation, sort of career goal was I'm gonna be a working actor in the theater and a guest spot here or there on television and we'll, we'll subsidize and.

[Will Arnett]

Keep the lights on.

[Guest]

Yeah, I mean, that would be incredible. You know, that was, that was the dream. And, and so I remember, I remember very clearly getting an offer for a drama school and sitting at the kitchen table with my mother and saying, you know, people who go, who went to this drama school are on, are on the tv. And it was like a mind blowing.

[Jason Bateman]

West End.

[Guest]

Yeah, the West End, you know, the West End. I remember I did a summer season production of, of Oliver when I was about 14, 15, and they had actors come up from London to play the adult roles. And they were, you know, actors who'd been on the West End. And they, it was like, you know, it was like Humphrey Bogart had just stepped into Avarice. You know, it was that level of kind of grandeur and friend.

[Jason Bateman]

For Tracy, the West End is the London version of Broadway. Just so my.

[Guest]

Exactly.

[Taron Egerton]

So then, Taryn, was there enough. Enough time for you to be comfortable with where you are today? Because, dude, you're.

[Sean Hayes]

Are you even 30?

[Taron Egerton]

Like, you're not.

[Guest]

I am. I'm 35.

[Taron Egerton]

Okay, so then the amount of time was.

[Sean Hayes]

That's not enough. That's not a lot. It's not enough. Like, you know, how long.

[Taron Egerton]

What is it? It's like. It's like 15 years, I think.

[Sean Hayes]

Somewhere in that ballpark. Yeah.

[Guest]

And you know what? I think there are times where it's like, with the attention that comes with success, as you will have all experienced. There are days when you're really, really good at dealing with it. And there are days where you feel robust enough to be available to everybody who comes up to you and asks for a photo or wants to have a conversation with you or asks if you'll record a bit for their daughter's 16th birthday. And then, of course, there are days where not even. Because something's bad's happened in your life, there are days where you just. You know, I think there are days where I find it much harder. And the common denominator is. And I think what people don't always realize about, you know, people in our position is normally the days where you feel less good about being available to the public are days where you feel terrible about yourself. Your relationship to self is so weak, whether it's because I listened to one of your episodes the other day, Sean, you know, you. You said that you'd eaten, I don't know, some Mac and cheese at 11pm at night. Good point.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

So that's when I have to narrow down the episode.

[Sean Hayes]

But the guy.

[Guest]

The guy who wakes up the next day is not going to be as good at being the guy to take selfies as the guy who's just done 10 weeks eating chicken, broccoli and rice and is kind of, you know, ready to go. You know, that's my experience of the world anyway. So in answer to your question, Jason, I find it at times, I love it. If I feel psychologically emotionally robust enough to be available for people, I'm great at it. But it chops and changes.

[Taron Egerton]

Where did you have to be? And you probably still. It's an ongoing thing. Are you helpful to. Where you. To your family and your friends, like, where you are right now? You can't just, like, slide into Wales, you know, fresh off the set, down in Australia and expect everyone to be as kind of easy with the, with.

[Sean Hayes]

The light switch as you are. Like, do you have, you have to.

[Taron Egerton]

Help them kind of intellectualize what's happened to their dear Taryn as well.

[Sean Hayes]

Right. Like now you're known all over the.

[Taron Egerton]

World and you've got all this money and all this access and so I.

[Sean Hayes]

Mean there's a bit of a responsibility.

[Taron Egerton]

On your end to make them comfortable with it too.

[Sean Hayes]

Question?

[Guest]

Well, I think my, I'm lucky I'm from a. Well adjusted, you know, my family are well adjusted and cool and I think we're very empathetic and understanding. So they really see I feel very seen very clearly by my family and by the people who are important to me in my life. And I guess I feel like, I guess I feel like. I don't know, sorry, I got distracted because I don't know if that was.

[Will Arnett]

Like a getaway car, some sort of souped up engine.

[Taron Egerton]

Mr. Hayes.

[Guest]

And you know, to that point, Jason, it's like, you know, it's easy to kind of lament the drawbacks of being famous or noteworthy, but it's, it's, it's fucking. It's awesome to be successful. It's awesome to do what you love. It's awesome to be involved in.

[Taron Egerton]

Right, right.

[Guest]

Telling stories and to have the money.

[Will Arnett]

It's also really weird and it's, and it's okay to say it's, it's very weird. And I don't know if you guys have done this. I, I've. Quite literally. And I'm sure members of my family are listening, sisters and, and, or mom or whatever. And where I, I've had moments where I've said, hey, I'm really sorry that I put you in this position. I didn't do it on purpose. But I'm. You find yourself almost apologizing like, well, sure, because you.

[Taron Egerton]

Everyone's involved. I mean, you know, will you walk down the street with your kids and you know, photographer gets up in your face, you kind of know how to flow with it. But maybe your kids aren't even thinking about the fact that their dad is famous. And that's like weird.

[Will Arnett]

Can I tell you something funny that Abel, my 14 year old, who's a really funny kid, said the other day we were talking about another friend of all of ours who's very, who's very well known globally and he's. And he was talking about them and he said, oh man, thank God we're not that famous.

[Taron Egerton]

And what I found, started drinking again.

[Will Arnett]

What I found really funny about it was A, about like his sort of perception of where everything was on. On a scale and B, the we of it all with.

[Taron Egerton]

To me it's a circus group.

[Jason Bateman]

I love that. Wait, so go ahead.

[Guest]

Yeah, no, I was going to ask. I. I'm excited to hear. I'm excited for your project with the one that's based on the conversation with John Bishop.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Is this thing on?

[Will Arnett]

Right. Yeah, that's.

[Guest]

So that when I heard about that, it was such a. Such a collision.

[Taron Egerton]

You're familiar with him? Yeah. Taran.

[Guest]

I know. Well, I know him. I've said hello to him a few times in passing at various things. My family are from Liverpool, so, you.

[Will Arnett]

Know, there you go.

[Guest]

Anyone. Anyone from that part of the world is, you know, I kind of feel a vague affinity with.

[Taron Egerton]

But congrats on the championship. Let's get it out of the way.

[Guest]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, I mean, it's obviously a terrible thing happened.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah.

[Will Arnett]

But, yeah, some people were injured, Celebrations, great. But yeah, yeah, John. John's an amazing guy, proper Scouser. I mean, you know, just a really cool dude and got to know him a little bit and then we've through that sort of, you know, inspired this listener.

[Taron Egerton]

This is this they're talking about, the main figure that is the inspiration for Will's upcoming film with Bradley Cooper.

[Jason Bateman]

That's right, yes.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We just finished. Yeah. So, yeah, it was a lot of fun and he's such a great guy and his life is fascinating.

[Guest]

Did you write some.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's cool. With. With Mark Chappell, who's a. Who's a friend of the podcast Chappie.

[Taron Egerton]

We got it.

[Jason Bateman]

Magic word of the day.

[Will Arnett]

And Bradley, of course, too, so the three of us. Yeah, yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

And so if. Had you. Had you not gotten into the Royal Academy, was there. Were you sort of getting ready to maybe do something else? Because that was right. At the age when you kind of had to decide, right.

[Guest]

Oh, man. Like, that's a conversation that happens regularly in the. In my family. You know, we have a lot of pinch me, I'm dreaming moments while I've been away filming the. That. This at the house I'm in now. We've been renovating for a long period of time and it's kind of just coming to fruition. It's just coming together and, you know, it's been made possible largely through what's happened to me in my life. And we did have that conversation over dinner the other day, you know, What? What the fuck would you have done if you hadn't been an actor? Because I can't. I can't do anything else. I can't do anything else. Getting ready for this podcast was so stressful because it involved me opening a MacBook and changing the settings and plugging a mic into the device. These things are totally beyond my abilities. And the world's weakest millennium.

[Will Arnett]

Well, first of all, it should be noted, Taran, we've done over 250 episodes. I don't know if you watched Sean this morning trying to do it. Yeah, he couldn't connect again over 250. Imagine if he was our pilot.

[Jason Bateman]

I can't connect thoughts, let alone a computer.

[Taron Egerton]

So then, Taran, it would be safe to say you probably would have been more on the labor side of things.

[Guest]

Well, I don't know. Honestly, I really don't know.

[Will Arnett]

You mean pushing a wheelbarrow?

[Taron Egerton]

Is that what you're swinging a hammer? You know, or whatever it is.

[Guest]

Yeah, maybe.

[Jason Bateman]

Wow.

[Guest]

Yeah. Swinging a hammer. There's people who'd laugh at the prospect of me swinging a hammer. I can't put up a set of shelves. I don't know. I think. I think I'd have figured something out. But it's true that acting is the only thing that I ever felt a huge.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Kind of cosmic pull towards, and I love it. I absolutely could have been.

[Taron Egerton]

Could have been singing.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

Now, I did not know this. You correct me if I'm wrong, because I'm just, you know, Wikipedia is my research partner. You sang with Sir Elton John. Recorded the song that won an Academy Award for best Original Song.

[Sean Hayes]

That's right.

[Taron Egerton]

I mean.

[Sean Hayes]

Huh.

[Will Arnett]

Wait, what?

[Taron Egerton]

So did you see you sang with.

[Sean Hayes]

Him on that song?

[Guest]

Yes. So he.

[Jason Bateman]

It's in the movie Rocket Man. I love the movie.

[Guest]

Thanks, Sean. I think it's the credit song, and it's a song that he and Bernie wrote for the movie that we sing as a. As a duet. I think it's like. It's like a call and response sort of deal, you know, and, yeah, they want to. They won an Oscar for it. Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

They. You, You. You saying how you. It's a duet. Do you get to. You get to hold the Oscar for a couple of months, a year?

[Guest]

No, I think. I think the Oscars are reserved for the. For the chaps who wrote it, you.

[Will Arnett]

Know, but still, I mean, we'll talk about a pinch me moment.

[Taron Egerton]

I mean, did you sing with him, the studio, or did you do your part and then later they recorded his Part.

[Guest]

No, we went in and sang. We went in and sang together in the studio. Yeah, it was. It was a lovely. It was a lovely experience.

[Jason Bateman]

That's pretty wild.

[Taron Egerton]

Of course, by this time, you guys were probably close buddies, because was. Was he a part of your early research, auditioning, etc. Etc.

[Guest]

Yeah, so I. It. I sang. I'd say the animated movie that you mentioned when you intro'd me is called Sing. And I sang. I'm Still Standing in that movie. And then in the Kingsman sequel, Elton came along and played himself. And through that, through those two things, the conversation around me playing him in Rocketman came about and grew from there.

[Taron Egerton]

So, wait, wait, did the two of you kind of have that conversation on the set and you guys decided, well, maybe we should go out and kind of pitch this together?

[Guest]

Matthew Vaugh, who directed the Kingsman films and has produced a couple of other things that I've been in as well, he had. He. David Furnish and Elton had formed a friendship, and I think the. The Rocketman project, in its. In the iteration it was in at that time, because there was a different director and a different actor attached, had stalled and.

[Taron Egerton]

Oh, I see.

[Sean Hayes]

Okay.

[Guest]

And we were there to kind of step in, but basically.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, that's cool.

[Taron Egerton]

Wow.

[Guest]

Nothing if not opportunistic.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. I love that.

[Taron Egerton]

Well, listen, I mean, it's the right place, right time. That's a famous, you know, part of our.

[Jason Bateman]

And the movie. Like, when I saw the movie, you were so great in it, and I love. I love that movie. I have noticed the picture locked, because I did. No, but when I was watching, it was like, oh, well, the next logical move is to make the movie a stage musical.

[Guest]

Yes, I've thought the same thing.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah. Right. I mean, it's like, done. It's all done. And so I just didn't know if you wanted to ever. If you were part of that conversation or whatever.

[Guest]

No, no, I'm sure it's a. Curtis and David and Elton, you know, they obviously. I know that they've got various irons in the fire with theatrical endeavors, and I'm sure it's occurred to them.

[Jason Bateman]

You're.

[Guest]

You're friends with Elton, right?

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, yeah. We. We. We've hung out for many.

[Guest]

I don't know whether they've ever considered it seriously, but I don't think it would involve me. It's one of those things that I'm so. It was such a moment in my life and something I'm so fiercely proud of that I'm. I just Wouldn't want to touch it.

[Jason Bateman]

For sure. You already did it. Yeah, you already did it.

[Sean Hayes]

We'll be right back.

[Jason Bateman]

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[Taron Egerton]

A completely different experience with the success of a project than what you experienced on your other projects that have been equally successful. I mean, you know, I would imagine that the Kingsman process was probably more startling and challenging to you because it was the first big splash into public viewing.

[Guest]

Yeah, that was. I mean, you know, I'm really grateful for it. It was the thing that made my name.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, great.

[Guest]

I, I really, that first film especially, I really, I do think is kind of cool.

[Taron Egerton]

And they're incredibly well made. I mean, we can do a whole.

[Sean Hayes]

Podcast on the process of making those.

[Taron Egerton]

Things with the stunts and the intricacies of the camera work and stuff.

[Sean Hayes]

It's just stunning stuff.

[Guest]

Yeah, it was really well done, but. But it was a lot. I was 23 and I remember I was making a TV show. I was a year out of drama school and I was filming a TV show for sky in the uk and I remember I got an email from my agent and at the time it was called Huntsman and Son. And it didn't have the script, but it had two scenes in it. And it was. One of the scenes was the scene where I first meet Colin Firth's character in the pub. And I didn't know Colin was involved. I didn't know Michael Caine was involved, didn't know anyone was involved. But I read the scene and I don't know how you guys, but I don't know about you guys, but I find that whenever I'm excited about a piece of writing, I start reading it aloud. And that's how normally how I know that it's something I do that, you know, and, and I was, I know the street corner I was on in London and I was reading this scene and I started reading it aloud.

[Taron Egerton]

What are you selling?

[Jason Bateman]

Newspapers? Yeah, I really was a sandwich board.

[Guest]

No, I was in Ho. I was in Hobon. And, and I just popped pop the email open, started reading it. And as, and as I read, I'm. I kid you not, I read the scene and I thought that's, that's my part.

[Sean Hayes]

I've Got to get that part.

[Jason Bateman]

Wow.

[Guest]

That's my part and I've never actually had it since. I've never had that level of service.

[Taron Egerton]

They say nowadays you manifested it. Yeah, well, it felt like these hippie dippy kids.

[Will Arnett]

No, come on, man. You put it. You got to put it. I tell you, a film of yours, Taryn, that I really love. I love all the. Your films and you're good.

[Taron Egerton]

Carry on.

[Will Arnett]

Sorry, I never saw that one. Is that the one.

[Taron Egerton]

Is that the one where you thought you were.

[Will Arnett]

Your character wore a ball cap.

[Jason Bateman]

What a choice.

[Will Arnett]

Listen, what a. Oh, man. Oh, ball cap. Did you guys see what he's doing? No, I was just. No, we're not gonna cut that. We're gonna loop it. Did you guys see Taran in Tetris? I loved that movie, man.

[Jason Bateman]

I haven't seen it. I wanna see it.

[Will Arnett]

Such a great, cool film about how that game came about.

[Jason Bateman]

I love that game.

[Will Arnett]

It's a fascinating story, isn't it? It's a really fascinating story.

[Guest]

Yeah, it's cool. I think you're one of about 27 people who saw it, so I'm really thrilled.

[Will Arnett]

Thanks for it. It's a great little movie, man.

[Taron Egerton]

It's about the guys that designed that game.

[Guest]

Yeah, it is. It's about. Well, it sounds so dry. It's about the guy who licensed the game for distribution in globally from memory and his relationship with the designer who. Who designed, you know, designed the game in Russia before the war in 89. So, yeah, it's a fun. It's a fun movie. Yeah. That was really stunning.

[Will Arnett]

It's amazing. And people are trying to sort of muscle their way into. To grab the license for it because they understand the impact of that. It's going to have. It's fascinating for.

[Jason Bateman]

Well, I do like the game, so I'll watch the movie.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, thanks for caller so much. What did Tracy think of the game?

[Taron Egerton]

Does it cut into your Candy Crush hours?

[Will Arnett]

The irony is that you do have such a crush on candy.

[Jason Bateman]

It's so true. But wait, go back to the America thing for just a second, Taran. Okay. No, because I want to know, like. So I got your impression that, you know. Cause I'm always fascinated with the perspective of people in other countries that come here and work here. What was it like when you first worked here? And was it everything that you thought it would be or what was not?

[Guest]

It was better. I love America. I bought a home in America.

[Will Arnett]

You feel comfortable here?

[Guest]

I absolutely do. And you know, whenever I have, you know, meetings with Prospective, I don't know, directors or writers. Quite often people ask, what is the perception of America now, given everything that's happening?

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, we'd like to know that. Please go ahead.

[Guest]

And I don't know, I think it depends on who you are. But my experience of America, regardless of where you go, and I've visited, you know, various places, not just New York and la, but the people in America, from my experience, generally just. It's just a wonderful place. It's a place. I remember when I first landed in New York, I had a really weird feeling that I was like. I don't know if it's because I've watched Home Alone too many times, but it felt like coming home, you know, there's a warmth and an. I think historically there is an inclusiveness at the heart of what America is. It seems to me that I really love about it and.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, melting pot.

[Guest]

Yeah. And I. I have nothing. I mean, as I say, I have a house in California that I. That I, you know, split my time between. And I, Yeah, I love. I love being in the States. Why? What is it? What's your fear, Sean?

[Jason Bateman]

No, no, I. I like to know different people's perception because I find it fascinating. I mean, when I go over to London or people ask the same thing, what do you think of London? What do you think of England? Whatever. And I absolutely love it over there. I mean, I haven't been to Wales, but I need to go to Wales.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, I'd like to go to Wales.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Guest]

And I mean, it strikes me that like, you know, you have such microcosmic identities when you move from one place to another in a country. If you spent a weekend in Liverpool, it's going to be vast different from your experience, you know, in Edinburgh or whatever, Right?

[Jason Bateman]

And I walk around London. Last time I was there, just a couple months ago. And I'm like, you know, everywhere you go, it's incredible history, which we don't have here. And so. And I talk to people about it and they're like. And this one, this one girl I know over there, she's like, yeah. I always forget to look up. I'm like, what do you mean?

[Taron Egerton]

Or look left.

[Will Arnett]

I always look good, Jason.

[Jason Bateman]

I always forget to look up and look at these historical buildings. Cause everybody's just so used to it. So fresh eyes is really cool. That's what I've always asked people who aren't from here. What do your fresh eyes see, you know?

[Taron Egerton]

Now, Taryn, you know, you are managing to knock off really great Commercial projects, really good, sort of like artistic projects. Like, is this just dumb luck? No, you're doing some sort of really good, deliberate work in choosing what. What you do, what is. What is. What does the perfect project kind of look like to you? Is it. Is it about the part? Is it about the people involved? Is it, you know, theater versus streaming versus theatrical? Like, what. What, what, what. What do you. What do you look for?

[Guest]

I don't know. I mean, you. You operate within the constraints of what you're. Of what you're asked to do, and you can. All the grass is always greener. I could be, you know, I could let a side of myself out where I would lament not doing certain things. And there are things that I would love to be doing, but you have. You have to focus on the things that are available to you. And I'm so lucky. And I do get offered things that feel. I try. I know that I try and look for things that feel different from a character perspective. So I'm not comfortable. I don't like the idea of being pigeonholed. Yeah. Put in a box or whatever. I mean, in fact, you know, when we did Carry on, my. My biggest concern about.

[Will Arnett]

The only thing happened when they rolled credits is I wish they would carry on this.

[Taron Egerton]

Sequel. Sorry. We'll get him out soon. He's running around the balcony. Go ahead.

[Guest]

Yeah, I was. I worried that it was too. That it was too good. Too vanilla or whatever. It was too near. To me, it was a kind of Average Joe guy. And I suppose the actors that I look up to and really admire and revere, the actors who try and stretch themselves and, like, with a ball cap.

[Taron Egerton]

Right. Do have a limp and a missing tooth and a weird accent. Oh, I heard that. So.

[Guest]

But I try and look for things like, you know, when I. When I. After Elton, I, you know, went and did that. The show for Dennis Lehane, Blackbird, which I felt satisfying because it felt.

[Will Arnett]

Oh, my God.

[Guest]

I definitely like doing things that feel different. I suppose I'd aspire to be some, you know, like a. I like character actors. I like actors who are different from one thing.

[Sean Hayes]

Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

Character actor. Yeah. And unfortunately, you're too goddamn good looking to be a true character act. So you have to act your way into that perception, and you're doing it, and you're getting opportunities now with scripts that lend itself to that. And so, you know, it's.

[Will Arnett]

I'm gonna ask you the Jason Bateman question, which is, you've been doing it now for a while, and you've done a lot of great work. Do you see yourself doing different stuff, as in directing?

[Taron Egerton]

That's a great question.

[Will Arnett]

Or writing something?

[Taron Egerton]

That's a great question. It's kind of where I was.

[Guest]

No, I mean, you know, I, I feel, I listen, I listen to you guys talking with Jude Law and I. He summed it up.

[Taron Egerton]

One of the old timer. We have got to get a collar on that guy. He's disrupting the record.

[Guest]

No, go ahead.

[Taron Egerton]

Please, go ahead.

[Guest]

But I feel that way. It scares me, you know, and I have such admiration for anyone who, who makes that leap because I, I'd love, I'd absolutely love to do it. Of course I would, but I.

[Taron Egerton]

What's going on with Smoke? What's going on? This is the Apple show that's coming out June 27th.

[Guest]

Yes.

[Taron Egerton]

What drew you to it? What is it about? Is this gonna be different than the thing that immediately precedes it, like as you're just talking about doing?

[Guest]

Yeah, I think so. I think it's definitely different from anything I've done before. So. It's created by Dennis Lehane, who was the creator, showrunner of Blackbird. And when we finished shooting that show, he approached me about doing another story. And it's one of those. The trailer's out, it's just come out. But it's one of those that's really hard to describe. But the, the user friendly logline is. I play an arson investigator who is having very, very limited success catching two prolific arsonists in a fictional town called Umberland. And a police detective is brought in to help him solve these arsons, basically. And that role's played by Jurnee Smollett. And what you learn over the course of the show is that he is harboring some secrets. And it's one of those shows where I don't really know. This is the first bit of press I'm doing for it, and I have no idea how to promote it without kind of giving it away. But is there enough in there to craft some sort of log line? But basically, for anyone who's seen Blackbird, it's a kind of sisterpiece, I suppose.

[Taron Egerton]

Well, Dennis Lehane, I mean, it's this guy. Tip top. Now, Taren, you're drunk. You're out at a karaoke bar. You're feeling good. What's your go to karaoke song?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Faith, George Michael.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, yeah, you gotta.

[Taron Egerton]

I bet that's good.

[Guest]

Faith. George Michael is good one.

[Taron Egerton]

Didn't take you a long time to answer that. How many times?

[Guest]

No, That's a long. That's a long standing one. And it depends on the mood as well. You know, if it's like a kind of. I don't know if I'm looking for a bit more gravitas, maybe a couple of radio head numbers like Bones Jesus or Sulk or, you know, really dirty. Maybe like Black Star, something like that.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah. Off the first album.

[Will Arnett]

I love that you have a few available. Jason never would do it.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, mine's just. I'm just on the Uber app looking for a ride out of there.

[Jason Bateman]

Mine's. Mine's the. The theme to the Greatest American Hero.

[Will Arnett]

Is that true?

[Taron Egerton]

Okay.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I remember that. Believe it or not, I'm walking on him. Remember that song?

[Will Arnett]

Mine is no joke. Mine is Crazy by Patsy Cline. Always really crazy. Yeah.

[Taron Egerton]

What do you mean, always? How much time are you doing in a karaoke?

[Will Arnett]

I'm doing a lot of karaoke, man.

[Taron Egerton]

Once a week.

[Will Arnett]

You don't know my life.

[Taron Egerton]

I don't.

[Guest]

Do you sing, Jason?

[Taron Egerton]

I don't. Not even in the shower. Next question.

[Jason Bateman]

Which is why I want to want him. I want to hear you sing so bad.

[Will Arnett]

Not even start drinking again. You have. There's so little joy in your.

[Taron Egerton]

Literally, the last time I sang was in a karaoke bar doing press for horrible bosses, too. And I think. I think I was still drinking, wasn't I?

[Will Arnett]

Maybe.

[Sean Hayes]

I don't know.

[Will Arnett]

No, you weren't.

[Taron Egerton]

No way.

[Sean Hayes]

Right.

[Jason Bateman]

And you did. And you did karaoke.

[Taron Egerton]

I did. And Sudeikis, this guy, you know, this guy's a natural performer.

[Will Arnett]

He's a talent. He's. He can sing and dance.

[Taron Egerton]

I. I'd love to see a. A smackdown between you and Sudeikis.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, he. I think that. I think Taran would take him down, though.

[Taron Egerton]

But that would be a real. That'd be a heavyweight.

[Guest]

He's got a voice. He sings.

[Sean Hayes]

He's got a voice.

[Taron Egerton]

And he's also just got, like. He's. The guy's not uncomfortable with the. With the microphone in his hand. Yeah, he's great talent.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah.

[Guest]

Yeah. I. I sort of find it easier when there's a character I can hide behind. So the show. The show, they wrote in a whole bit in this new show I have coming out called Smoke, where my guy is obsessed with karaoke.

[Sean Hayes]

Oh, really?

[Guest]

Partly because they knew I could sing. And I find. I noticed that. I find it much easier to do it on set as a character than if I do it in my own personal life.

[Will Arnett]

Life at a pub or something.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah.

[Guest]

I Find it quite strange, stressful.

[Will Arnett]

Yeah, right.

[Taron Egerton]

No, we're all like that. I, I, it's, it's called I hate being me. Also a good thing for a blank bumper sticker. Will you, if you got a second one?

[Will Arnett]

No, it's blank T shirts that I have.

[Jason Bateman]

I hate being me is so true.

[Taron Egerton]

I hate being ellipses. And then on the back, just put me.

[Will Arnett]

We love you, Jason. We love you.

[Taron Egerton]

Thank you. I'll tell you who we do love.

[Jason Bateman]

Taryn Anderson.

[Will Arnett]

You are something else. You are something else.

[Guest]

Thanks for having me.

[Taron Egerton]

To anyone who cares in Wales, if you see Gareth Bale, tell him to send me the money. And, you know, best of luck with.

[Will Arnett]

With Smoke, Smoke, Smoke on Apple tv. It's on Apple tv.

[Jason Bateman]

I can't wait to watch that. When does it come out?

[Guest]

It comes out on the 27th of June.

[Jason Bateman]

Day after my birthday. Oh, for my birthday.

[Will Arnett]

We'll watch Tracy. Sean's birthday is the day he was born.

[Jason Bateman]

Is that, that's pretty.

[Sean Hayes]

That's safe to say.

[Taron Egerton]

Are you registered anywhere, Shawnee?

[Jason Bateman]

I, I, I'll, I'll email you. Yeah, yeah, I'm registered.

[Taron Egerton]

Taran, love you. I love seeing you again. I miss you, my friend.

[Jason Bateman]

Nice to meet you, Taran.

[Taron Egerton]

Say hi when you come back to la.

[Guest]

Yeah, I will, mate. Take it easy.

[Will Arnett]

Pleasure.

[Taron Egerton]

All right, my friend. Thank you very much. Bye bye.

[Guest]

Bye, you guys.

[Jason Bateman]

Bye.

[Taron Egerton]

Bye.

[Will Arnett]

Bye. Okay, so anyway, so Tar was amazing. Yeah, it was so good. I love having Taryn. It was so good.

[Taron Egerton]

Oh, you just trying to get to your buy? You excited about your buy?

[Will Arnett]

Yeah. No, no, but it was just because like he was once he was gone and then it was like the rush to see who was going to talk for us.

[Sean Hayes]

How plus was he?

[Taron Egerton]

Is Sean, I think. Did Taran leave a mark on you?

[Will Arnett]

Will? He did. I liked him a lot. I liked him a lot. He's got a great vibe.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah.

[Sean Hayes]

Breathing heavy.

[Will Arnett]

He said he was single. Right. I'm passing out.

[Taron Egerton]

Somebody lay me down. Call a grown up.

[Jason Bateman]

Call a grown up. No, that's a good looking male.

[Taron Egerton]

Hey, another.

[Will Arnett]

I'm just saying don't objectify Terrence.

[Taron Egerton]

He's a good guy. Very, very good guy. Great actor.

[Jason Bateman]

A very smart, good hat on his shoulders. Focused. Isn't like, like, you know, he doesn't seem like he'd fall off the rails in any.

[Will Arnett]

And he said he's intentioned to be very low temperature, like a very even keel.

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, yeah. Not some ninny.

[Will Arnett]

Okay.

[Taron Egerton]

You know, whales should be proud.

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, whales.

[Will Arnett]

I'm sure they are. I'm sure they're beyond proud.

[Taron Egerton]

So, Sean, how's the search going?

[Jason Bateman]

Oh, good. This Sunday. This Sunday, Scotty and I are going to my friend Kevin's birthday party in Ojai.

[Taron Egerton]

Oh, yes.

[Will Arnett]

This is a really long.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, so it's north of here. It's called Ojai. Not to be confused with no way.

[Will Arnett]

No, no way.

[Taron Egerton]

Don't even say that.

[Jason Bateman]

What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Dude, Sacramento.

[Taron Egerton]

What are you doing?

[Will Arnett]

What? Yeah, no, but you know what.

[Taron Egerton]

Wait, what was that father joke you said at the beginning? The dad joke. So good. The teacher.

[Jason Bateman]

Yeah, I said what? Oh, wait, where is it? Oh, yeah.

[Will Arnett]

Private.

[Jason Bateman]

What do you call a teacher who never farts in public?

[Taron Egerton]

Yeah, private tutor.

[Will Arnett]

You know, he did that. He did the. He did the Rocket Man.

[Guest]

Will.

[Will Arnett]

Right. Which was such a great. And one of my favorite songs ever.

[Taron Egerton]

Good.

[Will Arnett]

Goodbye. Smart Less.

[Guest]

Smart less.

[Will Arnett]

Smartless is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Rob Armjarv, Bennett Barbico and Michael Grantieri. Smart Less.

[Rob Armjarv]

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[Bennett Barbico]

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