Summary8 min read

Podcast Summary: Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim

Episode Title: Utkarsh Ambudkar
Date: April 21, 2026
Host: Ego Nwodim
Guest: Utkarsh Ambudkar
Network: Big Money Players / iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this heartwarming and candid episode of "Thanks Dad," Ego Nwodim sits down with actor, rapper, and writer Utkarsh Ambudkar. The conversation traverses fatherhood, cultural identity, growing up with immigrant parents, breaking generational patterns, the joys and chaos of raising kids, healing, creative life, and a mutual love for the performing arts. Ego and Utkarsh reminisce about their backgrounds, swap stories about family and career, and dig deep into what it means to be present and vulnerable as a parent.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking the "I Love You" Barrier in Immigrant Households

[03:00 – 04:30]

Utkarsh describes his father as a "serious" PhD-holding biochemist, someone who didn't grow up outwardly expressing emotions.
He recounts initiating the "I love you" exchange in his 30s, motivated by seeing that "all these white people are saying I love you to each other" ([03:12]). After he broke the seal, it became much easier for his family to express affection openly.

"I was like, you guys, I'm up. We have to start saying I love you to each other... They started almost immediately." (Utkarsh, 03:12)
Ego shares a similar turning point, inspired by a Kanye West lyric about "giving flowers while someone can still smell them," saying she broke the seal at age 19 or 20 ([03:39]).

2. Childhoods in Maryland & the Power of Place

[05:07 – 06:32, 11:51 – 13:37]

Both grew up in Maryland—Ego in Baltimore City and Utkarsh first in Baltimore, then moving to Columbia and later Gaithersburg.
Utkarsh notes the diverse, blended nature of his Maryland community: "it was us and, like, Jewish people and black people, and we all just kind of like, got bused to different schools" ([12:19]).

3. Parenting: The Chaos, Empathy, and Learning Curve

[07:26 – 10:35, 29:15 – 30:53]

Utkarsh has three children, including a stepdaughter. He opens up about losing a pregnancy, gaining empathy for his own parents as an adult, and navigating being an only child now parenting multiple kids.
Utkarsh jokes about "horizontal parenting": "I have a low threshold for, like, energy. I do a lot of horizontal parenting." ([08:04]).

"I'm like a lie down and like, I got a toothache and then my 2 year old will bust out the dentist kit... a lot of kits, you know." (Utkarsh, 08:13)
He acknowledges there's "a lot more empathy" for his parents, especially given their immigrant journey.

"My parents came to the US and were essentially existing in a new country... While they were figuring out what to do with me, T-ball, soccer, basketball, whatever..." (Utkarsh, 08:25)
On raising mixed-race children today:

"My kids are different. They're brown in a different world now." (Utkarsh, 30:53) "They just look like these ethereal Moana creatures... They move through the world with this confidence and this ease that I never had." (Utkarsh, 29:47)

4. On Sibling Dynamics (and Not Having Them)

[08:52 – 09:31, 34:32 – 36:36]

Utkarsh, as an only child parenting siblings, finds the dynamic foreign and amusing.

"I have three kids and I have no context of what having a sibling is like. So I'm like, why do you hate each other?" (Utkarsh, 08:53)
He expresses longing for siblings as an adult to help with the responsibility of aging parents.

"I want to be able to call little sister and be like, yo, go check on mom and dad... I want backup." (Utkarsh, 35:18)

5. Creative Life: Acting, Music, and Directing

[13:37 – 21:33]

Discussion of Utkarsh’s new animated album "Too Beautiful" and its accompanying visual, "Spaceman A Love Story":

"It's 22 minutes long...a short film set to music...based on the immigrant experience and love and the commodification of art..." (Utkarsh, 14:08) "The album's on Spotify. The short film is called Spaceman: A Love Story." (Utkarsh, 15:41)
Utkarsh directed his first TV episode on "Ghosts." He describes the dual challenge of acting and directing in the same episode, humorously recounting forgetting to memorize his own lines due to preparation overload.

"Director me tried to fire actor me several times." (Utkarsh, 20:33)
He talks about the importance of representation and the evolution of diversity in Hollywood.

"The immigrant story is still something where people are like, ooh, not so much anymore. They kind of... Diversity is taboo again. Whites are back in vogue.” (Ego & Utkarsh, 17:00)

6. Upbringing, Perfectionism, and Culture

[24:38 – 30:53]

Utkarsh reflects on the high standards set by his parents and the pressure as an immigrant child:

"If you get a 98 out of 100, it should have been 110." (Utkarsh, 24:40)
He credits hip hop and black culture for much of his creative upbringing, navigating an identity that often required 'choosing a side' in terms of cultural belonging:

"Thank God for black culture. Because, like, it was like, when you're Indian in the 80s and 90s, you pick one or the other. You're either in Tim's or you're in boat shoes. There's no in between." (Utkarsh, 26:11)
Stories about cultural confusion and the racial landscape of Maryland schools, including being called the N-word in elementary school and being "adopted" by black classmates ([27:41]).

7. Guilt, Honesty, Substance Abuse, and Family Healing

[31:04 – 33:46]

Utkarsh admits to always being honest with his parents, though sometimes it did not go well (e.g., adolescent relationships).
He discusses his journey to sobriety, how it shook his parents, and how their response (especially his father’s research and support) deepened their relationship.

"I think our relationship has only gotten more honest and deeper and, like, way stronger." (Utkarsh, 33:05)

8. Discipline, Confessions, and Milestones

[45:52 – 46:36]

Instead of traditional punishments, his parents made him quit a job when his grades slipped.

"Everybody else is being forced to get a job. And you—I have to quit mine." (Utkarsh, 46:25)
Memories of high school: prom, homecoming mishaps (e.g., showing up with a Tasmanian Devil tie and no corsage), and first loves ([47:17 – 50:04]).

9. The Core of Parenting: Encouraging Bravery, Vulnerability, and Joy

[37:18 – 39:54]

Utkarsh wants his children to feel safe coming to him with anything; he handles family dialogue about mistakes (like accidents) with humor and candor to create a shame-free environment.
He is determined to break cycles of fear and instill courage:

"We just try and instill a feeling of freedom and bravery and, like, being afraid is okay... we're gonna walk as far as we can... if we get too scared, we're gonna walk back together and we're gonna keep going one step further every time." (Utkarsh, 38:03 – 38:23)
Both discuss delusion as a necessary element for artists, and the visceral need to perform ([40:00 – 41:30]).

10. Generational Patterns: What to Pass Down and What to Change

[52:20 – 55:27]

Utkarsh highlights safety, stability, and discipline as the best parts of his childhood he wants to maintain, while also striving for openness, risk-taking, and creativity with his kids.
He shares quirky family memories, like dissecting rats at NIH as an eight-year-old for "take your kid to work day."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the immigrant family "I love you" barrier:

"All these white people are saying I love you to each other, and they say it in the movies, and it's really messing me up." (Utkarsh, 03:12)
On only child parenting:

"I have three kids and I have no context of what having a sibling is like." (Utkarsh, 08:53)
On sibling dynamics:

"Watching my children sort of effortlessly go from saying I love you and hugging to just taking swings at each other and then barreling out of that naturally—I think you learn a lot." (Utkarsh, 34:53)
On the challenge of directing and acting:

"Director me tried to fire actor me several times. Actor me, like, staged a coup on set. It was crazy." (Utkarsh, 20:33)
On the pressure of representation:

"As a person of color and trying to make it in Hollyweird... you have to do significantly more than your quote-unquote peers." (Utkarsh, 24:40)
On artistry and delusion:

"If you put me on stage with a mic, I'll always say, no, thank you. And then I'll get up there and... you won't be able to get me off stage." (Utkarsh, 41:21)
On the evolution of his relationship with his parents:

"I don't ever want to alienate them... they're my parents... in many ways, they're my heroes... they're just human beings like me trying to figure out what... not to get pissed on by your kids, basically." (Utkarsh, 33:08)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:00-04:30 | Breaking "I love you" barriers in immigrant families | | 05:13-06:32 | Growing up in Maryland, school, and locality | | 08:04-10:35 | Fatherhood learning curve and parenting "real talk" | | 13:37-15:41 | Making an animated album: "Too Beautiful"/ "Spaceman" | | 17:00-21:33 | Directing for "Ghosts" and dual-identity on set | | 24:38-26:51 | Perfectionism and the cultural pressures in entertainment | | 27:41-28:08 | Navigating racial/cultural identity as a kid in Maryland | | 29:15-30:53 | Raising mixed-race children and changes in social climate | | 31:04-33:46 | Family honesty, substance abuse, and healing | | 34:32-36:36 | On only-child-to-parenting-multiple-kids shift | | 37:18-39:54 | Parenting philosophy: bravery, vulnerability, and humor | | 41:21-43:30 | The inexplicable artist's drive; creative life | | 45:52-46:36 | Discipline at home: non-traditional punishment | | 47:17-50:04 | Prom, homecoming, and first love stories | | 52:20-55:27 | What to pass down as a parent; family work memories |

Tone & Style

The conversation is characterized by playful banter, self-deprecating humor, honesty, and a mutual openness about missteps and growth.
Both Ego and Utkarsh weave in cultural commentary with affection, tackling tough topics (immigration, race, family anxiety, the creative hustle) with both seriousness and levity.
The vibe is warm, relatable, and deeply human.

For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In

This episode of “Thanks Dad” is a heartfelt, funny, and insightful exploration of how family shapes us, what it means to be a modern parent, and the struggles and triumphs of balancing ambition, heritage, and healing. If you want to hear two performers break down the universal and specific challenges of loving, learning, and growing up—both as someone’s child and as someone’s parent—this conversation is a must-listen.

Loading summary

Transcript631 lines

[00:00]
Ego Wodem
This is an iHeart podcast.
[00:02]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Guaranteed Human.
[00:07]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.
[00:16]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?
[00:20]
Joey Dardano
Oh, no.
[00:21]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
[00:27]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
[00:28]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
Anyways, get a quote@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
[00:32]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.
[00:34]
Ego Wodem
The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection
[00:44]
Debbie Brown
this mental health awareness month. Tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you. To hear more, listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
[01:15]
Ego Wodem
I'm. We're gonna get it.
[01:16]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
This is up.
[01:18]
Ego Wodem
No, I just saw something on this paper that I'm like, this is not true. But we're gonna talk about it. Oh, we're starting.
[01:27]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to We Got Dads.
[01:31]
Ego Wodem
Everybody got a dad.
[01:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
My name is Utkarsh Ambudkar. I'll be your host for today.
[01:36]
Ego Wodem
I'm gonna do your intro.
[01:37]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No.
[01:38]
Ego Wodem
You want to host.
[01:39]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
That's not what they told me. Anyway, welcome to what's up, dad?
[01:43]
Ego Wodem
What up, pops?
[01:44]
Joey Dardano
Hey.
[01:45]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Hey, guy.
[01:45]
Ego Wodem
Hey. I'm gonna do your intro. You deserve it.
[01:49]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Fine, let's do it. And then I'll reveal myself.
[01:52]
Ego Wodem
Okay. And the mic is not going to be in the right place for the rest of the podcast. This episode will have to be canned because he. When he does put it, bring it down. It's going to be in the wrong place, but we'll have a nice talk.
[02:04]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
I'm okay.
[02:05]
Ego Wodem
Okay. My next guest. You know from this, you're distracting me, and you're making it very hard, and I already struggle with these. My next guest, Utkarsh. I can't look at you. He's being distracted.
[02:16]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Fine. Just let's be normal.
[02:18]
Ego Wodem
My next guest is an actor, you know, from the CBS hit show Ghost and his new animated album, A Love Story. It's Utkarsh and Bukar.
[02:28]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Hey. Hey, what's up? Hey, dad.
[02:32]
Ego Wodem
No, I'm not a dad.
[02:34]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
What? What are we doing here then?
[02:35]
Ego Wodem
We're just. We're Gabby told.
[02:37]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I Was meeting my father today.
[02:38]
Ego Wodem
Do you not know him?
[02:39]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I do. I do. Very well.
[02:40]
Ego Wodem
What's his vibe?
[02:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
His vibe is as opposite from this one as you can get.
[02:45]
Ego Wodem
So very serious.
[02:46]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
He's a serious man. He's a scientist. PhD.
[02:50]
Ego Wodem
Doctor. Player hater.
[02:52]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Technically a doctor.
[02:53]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[02:53]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Research, biochemist. And he's the kind of guy who will talk to you about science all day, all night. Yeah, but that's about it.
[03:01]
Ego Wodem
No emotions. Is he giving? He has them for sure.
[03:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But he's learned. He learned how to say I love you.
[03:06]
Ego Wodem
Who taught him?
[03:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I did.
[03:08]
Ego Wodem
Okay, can you tell me more about the first time you said I love you and made him say it back?
[03:13]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think I was 30 and I was like, you guys, I'm up. Like, we have to start saying I love you to each other. If I'd grown up in India, maybe it would be different, but all these white people are saying I love you to each other, and they say it in the movies, and it's really messing me up. And to their credit, they started almost immediately.
[03:30]
Ego Wodem
Really?
[03:30]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And now I love you. Poor. They just. They pour from the skies.
[03:34]
Ego Wodem
Isn't it crazy when you break the seal? Cuz I broke the I love you seal.
[03:38]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
How old were you?
[03:40]
Ego Wodem
I was 19. 20. And it's because there was a Kanye lyric and. I know, but there was a lyric that said people never get the flowers while they can still smell them. And I thought, yeah, yeah, yeah, smell me. Smell, smell, smell this love right now. I'm gonna tell you. So. Yes.
[04:00]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
How'd that go over?
[04:01]
Ego Wodem
Fine and awkward. I. One of my brothers, when I say it, he's like, ditto.
[04:06]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, you get dittoed.
[04:07]
Ego Wodem
He does love me, but he doesn't have tools. He goes, it's not that he doesn't have tools. I think he is like, ditto. Yes. Okay, that's also.
[04:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Do you ever say, like, say it to me. Say it back. Say it now with a little.
[04:24]
Ego Wodem
With a little gun emoji. I would like, say it back. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, say, say it back.
[04:29]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[04:29]
Ego Wodem
And then he will. But it's the text.
[04:32]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
You've never gotten audible. I love you from him. We need to call him. Right?
[04:35]
Ego Wodem
I was gonna say, should I call? He won't answer, but should I call?
[04:38]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
What's his name?
[04:38]
Ego Wodem
Screens my calls. We shan't say, okay, we'll keep him unfamous.
[04:42]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I bet it's. I bet it's Barry.
[04:44]
Ego Wodem
Barry, like, the killer is there.
[04:46]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, like, what's his name, your SNL guy?
[04:49]
Ego Wodem
Bill Hader. My snl.
[04:51]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
They're all your guys, aren't they?
[04:52]
Ego Wodem
I don't know all of them, but he's nice. I.
[04:55]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Bill, hit a bagel.
[04:56]
Ego Wodem
Bill. Should I. He. You tell him, tell him.
[04:58]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Bill Hader. What are you doing, man? Get your head out of your ass. Give this girl some work over here. Podcast America.
[05:06]
Ego Wodem
I didn't say I needed work.
[05:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Give her a call, see how she's doing. Of course. You're from Baltimore, Maryland. Yep. I grew up born in Baltimore.
[05:13]
Ego Wodem
Not Baltimore, Ohio. Not Baltimore, Ohio, but I'm from Baltimore, Maryland also.
[05:18]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And then we moved to Columbia, Maryland.
[05:21]
Ego Wodem
We didn't.
[05:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And then we moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland.
[05:25]
Ego Wodem
You're a Maryland boy? Through and through. Did you go to University of Maryland?
[05:27]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I didn't. I went to New York University. I know a subsidiary of University of Maryland.
[05:34]
Ego Wodem
Of course. Famously. And your. Your co star Sheila went to nyu. I remember because you and I did a film together and we. This is one of the conversations we had. And now you guys work together. What are the odds?
[05:46]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Sheila Carrasco, so funny. I'm so happy she's on the show. And weirdly, yeah. Brandon Scott Jones, who plays Isaac on the show, he's from Maryland. Rebecca Wasaki, she's from Chevy Chase, who
[05:57]
Ego Wodem
plays head, which is Maryland, not my SNL guy.
[06:00]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Okay, and who dodged that one? And then frickin. Richie Moriarty, who plays Pete and I actually went to high school together at the same time. Didn't know each other cuz he was class president and I was this guy. Yeah, but he was a senior when I was a freshman.
[06:16]
Ego Wodem
Well, that's why he didn't know you.
[06:18]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, maybe.
[06:19]
Ego Wodem
Maybe it's more because he was a senior and you were a freshman.
[06:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I mean, come on, seniors don't talk
[06:23]
Ego Wodem
to freshmen in high school.
[06:24]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, he had no reason to talk to me.
[06:26]
Ego Wodem
He's from. He's from Maryland.
[06:27]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
He's from gaithersburg, Maryland, Maryland. 500 yards away from where my parents live now.
[06:33]
Ego Wodem
That's crazy. How did I feel? Like you and I did not discuss the Baltimore of it all.
[06:38]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, you were pretty cagey. You were standoffish. Oh, yeah, it was tough.
[06:42]
Ego Wodem
You can't.
[06:42]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Bernadette Peters was there and I think. Of course.
[06:45]
Ego Wodem
You can't say things like this on my podcast.
[06:48]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I thought this was my podcast. I thought this was.
[06:51]
Ego Wodem
Go ahead, dad, be for real. You can't. People are gonna believe you.
[06:55]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, no, no. We were in Toronto.
[06:57]
Ego Wodem
You know, the Internet. You know how the Internet works. It's gonna get clipped.
[07:01]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Stop Interneting. Okay. Cheese his cup.
[07:03]
Ego Wodem
Literally. World's best Internet dad.
[07:06]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I found this over there. It was that. This was the guy from Not Dante's Peak. What's his name?
[07:13]
Ego Wodem
Kurt?
[07:13]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Keith. I don't know. Sorry. Keith sounds like some Kyle McLaughlin. Yeah. I got the K sound right.
[07:21]
Ego Wodem
You knew that much. You do. You're not just the world's Internet dad. You have real kids.
[07:26]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Since we did that film. At the time, I had. We had Tiare, my stepdaughter. And then on that job, we found out that we were pregnant with our boy.
[07:35]
Ego Wodem
I do remember Boomi.
[07:36]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I was very excited because we had sort of. We had not sort of. We lost our first pregnancy.
[07:41]
Ego Wodem
I didn't know that.
[07:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Which happens to a lot of people. Very tough. And then we had another baby girl. So I got three now. Two girls and one boy.
[07:50]
Ego Wodem
Three, Two girls, one boy. That's very sweet. You've got a whole family now.
[07:55]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I'm a. I'm a. I'm like, I'm a thanks dad kind of guy.
[07:59]
Ego Wodem
This is perfect. You've got kids. What are you learning about yourself through fatherhood?
[08:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, man, it's. I'm. I have a low threshold for, like, energy. I do a lot of horizontal parenting.
[08:13]
Ego Wodem
Oh, yeah.
[08:13]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I'm like a lie down and like, I got a toothache and then my 2 year old will bust out the dentist kit. I get a lot of kits, you know.
[08:20]
Ego Wodem
Yes.
[08:20]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
A lot of doctor kits, dentist kits, a lot of drawing, stamping.
[08:25]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[08:26]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But I'm learning so much. I mean, this is the truth is like you learn about your own parents and you're like, this must have been very difficult. And especially because my parents came to the US and were essentially existing in a new country.
[08:40]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[08:40]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
While they were figuring out what to do with me, T ball, soccer, basketball, whatever, what have you. So I think there's a lot more empathy for that and for them.
[08:49]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I can imagine. Where do you fall? Do you have siblings?
[08:52]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, I'm an only child.
[08:53]
Ego Wodem
You're an only child.
[08:54]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So that's the weird thing too. I have three kids and I have no context of what having a sibling is like.
[08:59]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[08:59]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So I'm like, why do you hate each other? What are we doing here? What is.
[09:04]
Ego Wodem
Well, I see little kids now. The siblings that are like, the kiddos are like really getting along. I see this in a lot of families, but I feel like I saw. I didn't get along with my siblings in some magical, like, that's big bro. This is my big sister kind of way. It Was like fine. But I like also TV reflected that at the time growing up it was like siblings, they're tussling. But now I see kids and like I don't know what the parents are doing. The siblings are getting along like the kids.
[09:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It's, it has nothing to do with us. It's all whether or not they're bored enough to spend time with each other or not. I have no clue what I'm doing right or wrong at any given time.
[09:41]
Ego Wodem
Yeah, okay.
[09:42]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Other than obviously feeding, wiping butts, things like that.
[09:45]
Ego Wodem
Sure, sure.
[09:46]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But yeah.
[09:47]
Ego Wodem
Your first diaper change, were you nervous? Did you feel equipped? Did you just go for it?
[09:53]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
You know, my wife had gone through it already with our, with our oldest one, so she was like a good coach. She for sure let me do my thing. But yeah, you're always scared. You never know what's going to happen, especially with the boys because that thing will go. I mean, this is common knowledge.
[10:11]
Ego Wodem
You've been peed on then for sure.
[10:13]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Several times. Yeah. You get pissed on on, farted on, burped on. It's. It's awful. It's disgusting.
[10:19]
Ego Wodem
Kids are gross. Really disgusting. Now that you know, I didn't get the. Getting peed on feels like to me the odds of getting peed on as a parent and this is so ill informed because I don't have kids. This is where my ignorance comes from. I'm like, it's like the same odds is getting like shat on by a bird. But it's not.
[10:35]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, no. It's like the same odds is like putting on socks that match. It's like very high odds. Yeah, the girls too. Girls are. I mean, look, it's all inside baseball stuff, but I mean all that stuff, sort of, it really does melt away. I have a two year old girl, she climbs into my lap, she plays with my beard and she says, papa, I love you, papa, oh, papa, I love you. And she'll put her head on my chest and I'll go, dude, you shit on me anytime you want. We are good to go.
[11:05]
Ego Wodem
Oh gosh, this is exciting.
[11:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So this has all occurred since you and I worked together.
[11:10]
Ego Wodem
A lot has happened. I mean, that was my friend. That was seven years ago. Almost. Almost.
[11:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Before the pandemic, I believe.
[11:18]
Ego Wodem
Pre pandemic we were in Canada shooting
[11:20]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
a film in Toronto and now here we are. Dude, you're freaking crushing it.
[11:26]
Ego Wodem
No, you are.
[11:26]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I mean, we're doing okay, I think.
[11:28]
Ego Wodem
Utkarsh. How many seasons of ghost is it now?
[11:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
We're going into season Six. I'm on hiatus now, you know, that's crazy.
[11:35]
Ego Wodem
And so rare in the year of our Lord 2026. Six seasons on a TV show.
[11:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. It's a big deal.
[11:42]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. That is great.
[11:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I'm excited.
[11:44]
Ego Wodem
I'm excited for you. And you're working with such great people. And her shout out from Maryland. What part of Baltimore are you from? I can't fathom that. We never talked.
[11:51]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I was born. I was born in University of Maryland Hospital.
[11:55]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[11:57]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Like in Baltimore. Like, right where Camden Yards wasn't a baseball stadium. It was just a park. And there was a gas station that. Behind that gas station.
[12:07]
Ego Wodem
Where did you guys. You. Oh, you live. Oh, you lived in Baltimore City. Yeah, I'm a county girl, so we were there.
[12:12]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And then when I was 3 or 4, moved to that suburb, Columbia, and it was all. It was a great community.
[12:19]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[12:20]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It was mostly like. It was us and, like, Jewish people and black people, and we all just kind of like, got bused to different schools.
[12:27]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[12:28]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And then they. My parents both work at nih, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, and they were like, we gotta get closer to work because my mom was commuting two hours a day.
[12:39]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[12:40]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So then we moved to Gaithersburg, Rockville, which was a bit of, like, a culture shock.
[12:46]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I would say. I've never. I don't even think I've been to Rockville.
[12:49]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, it was like the difference between, like, all of a sudden, you were like, if I have a Jordan jersey and Tim's, I'm good to, like, if I'm not wearing Abercrombie and Fitch, I'm not. I don't even exist.
[13:00]
Joey Dardano
Oh, okay.
[13:00]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I'm not. You're not going to catch me dead in Abercrombie and Fitch.
[13:04]
Ego Wodem
I used to work at Abercrombie and Fitch.
[13:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Wow.
[13:07]
Ego Wodem
And that is a confession. No, no, it's shade. And that's okay. And it's okay because that's something that I'm. I can't believe is true, but it's true. And I have to be honest with the listeners.
[13:18]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I would rather wear, like, a Bugle Boy jumpsuit with cigarette burns in it than Abercrombie and Fitch.
[13:24]
Ego Wodem
You know what? That's okay. If you were wearing Abercrombie and Fitch as a father of three. No.
[13:30]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
You kick me in my throat.
[13:31]
Ego Wodem
No, I will never do. I will not. I will not kick you. I'm not going to kick you. Because you're not wearing it.
[13:36]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, I'm not wearing it. No. No, no.
[13:37]
Ego Wodem
Now, what inspired you, though, to make an animated album? Because I know you do music. I knew that.
[13:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. I love making music. It feels great. And we just sort of like. I had worked with this guy, Alex Salsberg, who's a great animator, illustrator, and we had done this video called Boohoo during the pandemic. And then I just put this album together and I was like, let me get Alex again. Because I love his style. It's so strange and visceral, and I love the way it makes me feel like kind of those old Ren and Stimpy cartoons and Rocko's modern life, very strange style of animation. And then we had time, and Ghost Season 1 had just happened, and I was like, you know what? I could. I do have the resources to just make this entire album animated. It sort of fits in this weird space. It's 22 minutes long. It's essentially a short film set to music. And he and I came up with this story based on the immigrant experience and love and the commodification of art and what that means. And so it's a spaceman who crash lands on Earth, meets a girl, finds a community of artists, and everything is, like, brand new to this guy. He's, like, using Q tips as, like, the world has opened up to him. Eating pizza is gigantic. And then, you know, his. The guys from back home try and come and essentially take him away from this new community. And at the same time, he's being used because he's so unique to make money, and he loses his way. So it's just. It's the. It's the story of, I think, what most artists go through. You show up, you're like, what's going on? Somebody's like, you're pretty good. And the next thing you know, you're sort of losing the fire that started the whole thing to begin with. So how do we get our spaceman back to Love is part of this story. And it's set to this new album that I made with this guy, Kyle McCammon, and it came out. When is this gonna air, Dad?
[15:34]
Ego Wodem
I don't know, Poppy. I don't know.
[15:37]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Anyway, it's available right now.
[15:38]
Ego Wodem
It's a. It'll be available.
[15:39]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
You can watch it.
[15:40]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Okay.
[15:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
The album's on Spotify. It's called Too Beautiful. The short film is called Spaceman A Love Story.
[15:46]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[15:47]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And it's full indie. Like, every share, every. Like every anything counts. So if you've been a day one and you, please do it, go to
[15:58]
Ego Wodem
the comments Below, like, comment, subscribe.
[16:01]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Subscribe to the how you're doing to your welcome, pops.
[16:04]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[16:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And just remember to thank your dad and also tell me which song is your favorite song and which song that ego sings is your favorite song.
[16:13]
Ego Wodem
Because I do sing a song on the album. You'll know the voice when you hear it because you'll be like, turn this off.
[16:18]
Joey Dardano
No, never, never turn this off.
[16:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So that happened. And then Ghost is kicking. I got to, like, direct my first episode.
[16:26]
Ego Wodem
That's so cool. Have you always wanted to direct or been interested, Curious, you know, I don't know.
[16:32]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Let me. With snl, right? You write so much, you do your own material all the time. Do. It sort of feels like directing is part of that package that you get where you're like, this is how I see it. This is how I want it to be. And especially with us, whose stories are kind of unique as far as Hollywood is concerned, still, you wish they weren't. But, like, the Immigrant story is still something where people are like, ooh, not so much anymore. They kind of. Diversity is taboo again.
[17:00]
Ego Wodem
Whites are back. Yeah, yeah. Whites are back in vogue. Okay.
[17:05]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Good job, guys. Yeah, I had a good run. Yeah, I had a really good run.
[17:10]
Ego Wodem
Oh, I'm here to let you know that they're wrapping up Ghosts.
[17:13]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, no, they're not wrapping up. They're replacing me with Jason Biggs.
[17:17]
Ego Wodem
There we go.
[17:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
He's. He's been waiting and he's been.
[17:21]
Ego Wodem
He's like, tap me in, tap me in.
[17:23]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Okay, I'm ready to go. But in wanting to, like, sort of write, create, do that whole month multi hyphenate thing, a lot of times, like, I sit in rooms and they're like, we love the story. We want you to be a part of it. Do you have any interest in directing? And the answer, very foolishly, has always been, oh, I've never directed, but I'd love to try. Which to a high level executive, Disney is like, all right, cool. Maybe we'll just. We'll talk. We'll talk later.
[17:47]
Ego Wodem
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[17:48]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Or we'll find you somebody else.
[17:49]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[17:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So I wanted to get that tool in my belt. And Ghosts is the safest, most loving and really supportive crew that you could ask for. I know how the show works. I know how my cast operates, and I know that I'm in the hands of people with this guy Michelle, who's our dp, Matt, who's our first ad, our writers, our showrunners, Amy Reisenbach and cbs. Like, nobody's trying to Trip me. So I got really lucky with a lot of people who are like, we see all of your weaknesses and we're going to help cover them up. And the thing that you do well, which is comedy and timing and sort of the music of a show, we're going to help enhance that. So I. It was cool. I got to take, like, a DGA course, which had, like, very cool people on this zoom. I was just sitting there. I don't care. I'm gonna just wga can yell at me. Phylicia Rashad was on my class. That's cool. And she kept falling asleep.
[18:49]
Ego Wodem
Why are you gonna out her? But Ms. Felicia, it was fine.
[18:53]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But Ms. Felicia, every time you woke up, you said something and we all took notes. I just want. You could have slept through the whole thing and you'd have been fine, because every time you spoke, all of us just stared at you with awe.
[19:04]
Ego Wodem
And maybe the sleep was like, been here, done this, done it before. Here's something brilliant to say.
[19:11]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I should be so lucky to be able to fall asleep in during a w DGA course and then wake up and just be like, nah, I don't agree.
[19:21]
Ego Wodem
We didn't think you were paying attention.
[19:23]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, no, no.
[19:24]
Ego Wodem
Oh, my eyes. I could do this with my eyes closed. That's the vibe. That's the vibe. So were you nervous on the day doing directing?
[19:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. I mean, I over prepared, which felt good. Like, it felt like you get all these floor plans and you draw and you're like, oh, this is where this goes and that goes. And then I'd sen the first AD and the writers and everyone. Richie Keane, who's our production director, producing director. I was like, is this right? Does this work? And everyone's like, yeah, it'll work. These are some issues.
[19:53]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[19:54]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And they're like, oh, my God. Yeah, I didn't even think of that. I suck. What do I do? And you keep going back to the drawing board. The most awkward thing is that this episode that I directed, I also act in a lot. I'm like 80% in this.
[20:07]
Ego Wodem
Oh, okay.
[20:08]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So day one in the morning, I had Danielle, Rich Danielle and Eyes Brandon. Anyway, I had a scene with people that weren't me, and I was like, this is great VFX and I'm crushing it. And we're an hour ahead of schedule, and then scene two comes, and I'm acting in it, and I had forgotten to prepare any of the lines. Oh, like, half the job I didn't.
[20:32]
Ego Wodem
So you were pissing the director off.
[20:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
We did yeah, Director me and actor me did not get along. Yeah, Director me tried to fire actors several times. This guy, actor me, like, staged a coup on set. It was crazy.
[20:44]
Ego Wodem
Damn.
[20:45]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, they had hr. Had to come through. It was weird. But I. Yeah, I. I forgot to memorize my lines, which. Everybody up. And luckily they were all like, well, obviously you forgot to learn your lines because you're clearly, you know, preoccupied. But the shame of that immediately gave me memorization powers. But I remember the first ad. Matt was just laughing. This helped too. He laughed at me in front of everyone.
[21:11]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[21:11]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And he was like, you don't look like you're having fun.
[21:14]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[21:14]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
He's like, this. You wish you didn't do this, didn't you? I was like, yeah, I don't like this right now. This feels bad. But him laughing and being able to take the piss and that being the general vibe of our set really helps.
[21:28]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[21:28]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It's not cutthroat. It's not get it done. It's just like, oh, you fucked up. That's funny.
[21:33]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[21:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Like, because we all know you can deliver, so to watch you fall in your face is actually quite humorous.
[21:47]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.
[21:56]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?
[22:00]
Joey Dardano
Oh, no.
[22:01]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
[22:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
[22:08]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
Anyways, get a quote@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
[22:12]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not
[22:17]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
only legal, but encouraged.
[22:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It's the Enhanced Games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.
[22:25]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.
[22:32]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds.
[22:35]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
[22:45]
Iris Palmer
I'm Iris Palmer, and my new podcast is called Against All Odds. And that's exactly what the show is about. Doing whatever it takes to beat the odds. Get ready to hear from some of your favorite entrepreneurs and entertainers as they share stories about defying expectations, overcoming barriers, and breaking generational patterns. I'm talking to people like award winning actress, producer and director, Eva Longoria.
[23:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think I had, like, $200 in my savings account and my mom goes,
[23:12]
Ego Wodem
what are you going to do? And I was like, I'll figure it out.
[23:14]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
We had a one bedroom apartment for like $400 a month and we all could not afford. Like, I was like, how am I going to make $100 a month?
[23:20]
Iris Palmer
I'm opening up like I've never before. For those of you who think you know me from what you've seen on social media, get ready to see a whole new side of me. Listen to Against All Odds with Iris Palmer as part of the My Cultura Podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
[23:40]
Joey Dardano
If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.
[23:46]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Portia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man. They holding K. Michelle back from fighting. Drew Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's gonna be interesting.
[23:59]
Joey Dardano
On the podcast Reality with the King of I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise. The drama, the alliances and the tea everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this at the end of the day when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more. Listen to Reality with the king on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
[24:39]
Ego Wodem
So are you a perfectionist at all?
[24:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think you have to be if you've. Yeah, you are. My parents are both PhD biochemists who came from India and hung their hat on education and what their son would do with it. And yeah, I'm the cliche of like if you get a 98 out of 100, it should have been 110. So that is very much my mentality. And then you know too, like as a person of color and trying to make it in Holly weird or whatever, this is very blessed to be where I'm at. But like you have to do significantly more than your quote unquote peers to be seen, heard and for a lot of these pre existing notions or blah, blah, blah, you guys are so sick of diversity. It's true though.
[25:27]
Ego Wodem
Sorry.
[25:27]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
If I could change the color of my skin for you, I would.
[25:32]
Ego Wodem
You would?
[25:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, no, no, I can't. Yeah. No. If I could like press a button and be like, I'm green, like maybe but point is, is I've. I think I've had to find several different ways to get in and still maintain my connection to something higher. Where it's like the authenticity is there and you can look in the mirror and be like, cool. I'm good with that work. And also I feel like I'm playing at a level that, where I'm growing and. Yeah, you gotta, like, gotta learn how to rap. You gotta learn how to.
[26:05]
Ego Wodem
I mean, what can't you do?
[26:06]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I mean, yeah, these are all things. These are all things that I think were like, sort of forced.
[26:12]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[26:12]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Where it's like, well, what are you gonna do? They're not. There are no roles available. So I guess I'll just go perform with this hip hop group and we'll go to south by and do all these shows and I'll open up for, of all people, Moby. Like, then I'm opening up for Public Enemy and then there's some off Broadway play. And then the next thing you know, I'm VJing for MTV and then I'm speaking at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and all this. I mean, thank God I had hip hop and rap. Thank God, like, honestly, thank God for, for black culture. Because, like, it was like, when you're Indian in the 80s and 90s, you pick one or the other. You're either in Tim's or you're in boat shoes. There's no in between.
[26:51]
Ego Wodem
I was describing this about. To someone about growing up in Baltimore. Genuinely. I was like, in Baltimore, growing up, everyone was either black or white, not because they actually were black or white. It was like, you're black or you're white. Yeah. And I had a friend who was Filipino and he was telling me this story once in class where I think he was like, oh, I'm not black. And his classmate, a black dude, was like, but are you white? And it was just like, okay, so then you're black. That was Baltimore growing up.
[27:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
That was my experience.
[27:22]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[27:23]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, this I remember Chris called me the N word. And then Ashley, Georgia, Regina, Terrence Showers and Micah Harding Shout out were like, where are you from? And I was like, india. And they were like, we don't know where the fuck that is, but come on in. And it was like, that was literally in third grade. And I was like, okay, I left
[27:41]
Ego Wodem
out the part where they called him the N word also.
[27:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I'm not joking.
[27:44]
Ego Wodem
I just was like, I won't say
[27:46]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
that, but it happened.
[27:47]
Ego Wodem
That's what happened.
[27:47]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I was like, so we don't like when they call us that.
[27:50]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[27:51]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And then you sort of take it on and I'm like, I, I, it was a, my identity got confused. It's like Martin Luther King Day. And I'm just like, so all about it. I didn't know. This is eight year old me just being like, oh, man, eight year old me was confused.
[28:09]
Ego Wodem
Shout out to growing up in Maryland. I mean, but I think to your point though, there's something about like just being, it's almost strategic in a way though, too, to be like, yes, it's the perfectionism, but it's like, all right, I gotta get better at something else as well. I gotta like pad my resume, my skill set. I can't just be a good actor. I have to be able to do a lot more than that.
[28:34]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Of course, I'm sure you feel the same way. Like, and watching your career grow and seeing you pop and which sketches are really taking off. Like, I know you understand what I'm talking about. Also, it's like, it was really validating. I had my birthday while I was directing, so I turned 42 while I'm on set learning a new craft, executing something I've never done before at a high level. And it's like, all right, good, dude. Like, you, you know, you're, you're slower, your knees hurt, but you're still learning. Like, you're still growing as an artist and as a human being, and you're actively fighting off dementia and Alzheimer's.
[29:14]
Ego Wodem
It's good. Come on, new skill.
[29:16]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, man, new skill. Rewire those brains. Yeah, brain. But I will say, just to bring it back to the kids, that's the biggest hurdle I've had to jump over is like, my kids are not growing up in the same country or the same community as I did. And so, so much of that fear or whatever of like, oh my God, they're going to be treated differently, they're going to be looked at a certain way, they're going to be discriminated against, called names. None of that exists. God bless these children.
[29:48]
Ego Wodem
Like, in the community where your kids
[29:49]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
are growing, where we are now, because. And part of it is also because they are, they are mixed. So they're like Samoan, white and Indian. And so they look, they're literally aapi. That's like what my children are. They just look like these ethereal moana creatures. So. And they move through the world with this confidence and this ease that I never had, and they have. And I think so much of that is my wife and teaching me how to, like, let them fall, let them get back up, like, instill in them. And me, too. Like, I want them to be fearless, so. Whereas, you know, my parents were conservative emotionally in a country where they're like, yo, don't rattle feathers. Don't rock the boat. Like, you know, they got robbed really early on, so they were really about safety and, like, all that stuff. We're like, yeah, go, dude, go. Walk, try. Yeah. Run, jump, fall. Let's do this. So that's been the biggest thing to unlearn is like, my kids are different. They're brown in a different world now.
[30:53]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. And also brown in a different way.
[30:56]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, they're brown. Yeah.
[30:57]
Ego Wodem
In a different way. But do you. Did. Did you feel like you could confide in your parents growing up, though?
[31:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yes. I think I always told them the truth, but it almost never went the way I wanted it to. You know what I'm saying? Like, if you're afraid and you're naturally kind of a nervous person, like me telling my mom at 14 that Elaine Goldstein and I are dating, that's a red flag.
[31:21]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Because. Are you going to marry Elaine Goldstein?
[31:24]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[31:24]
Ego Wodem
That's what your mom's asking. What, are you going to get Elaine Goldstein pregnant?
[31:27]
Joey Dardano
Yes.
[31:27]
Ego Wodem
Get her pregnant.
[31:28]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I'm like, I don't even know what.
[31:31]
Ego Wodem
What you're talking.
[31:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I don't know how buttons work. Like, I wouldn't even know what to do if that was, you know, offered to me. I would get scared and probably lie down.
[31:39]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[31:40]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Go to sleep.
[31:40]
Ego Wodem
Horizontal. That's. Yeah, yeah.
[31:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Have a nap.
[31:44]
Ego Wodem
I was just saying that, too. I'm like, napping. I forgot how good napping is for escapism.
[31:49]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. Bye. See you later.
[31:51]
Ego Wodem
Oh, bye. I used to do that all the time. Be like, I'm stressed. I'm going to take a nap. Bill got to get paid. I'm taking a nap.
[31:57]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
You have to.
[31:58]
Ego Wodem
You have to recharge. But you. But you were always honest, which is.
[32:02]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I generally have always been like, yeah, just sort of like, hey, I want to be an actor. Well, that's not going to happen. Yeah. But I really want to do it. Well, if you want to do it, you have to apply to 14 different schools, and half of them have to be academic. And you do all this acting stuff by yourself because we don't know what it is. So they, you know, I think they supported, but always from a cautious place. The only thing I didn't tell them about was when I was getting wild with, like, I'm Sober now. A long time.
[32:32]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[32:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Quite a while. But that part was, I think, jarring for them. When I called up and I was like, hey, I gotta go to summer camp for 28 days and stuff like that.
[32:45]
Ego Wodem
And were they. Did that send them into a panic?
[32:47]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think it devastated my mom. I think it's really scary. And my dad, God bless him, like, I think he was also very scared, but he educated himself completely. Like, read every book, super supportive. And I think our relationship has only gotten more honest and deeper and, like, way stronger.
[33:06]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[33:06]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So it's just us three, right?
[33:08]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[33:09]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So I don't ever want to alienate them or keep them out of my life and vice versa. I want us to. I mean, they're my parents. Right. And in many ways, they're my heroes. They're not. They're flawed individuals. They're just human beings like me trying to figure out what. You know, not to get. Try not to get pissed on by your kids, basically. It's like, just that simple.
[33:30]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[33:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So, you know, hopefully the. They. They see that I'm trying to, like, instill in my children the same kind of their good qualities. Right. And sort of shift away from the stuff that wasn't working for us as a family.
[33:46]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Did you feel, obviously, they're cautiously supportive in your performance endeavors? They were. Did you get to study whatever you then wanted? Because I know you said you had to go to college that was, like, academic adjacent.
[34:01]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, no, I got. When I got into nyu. For acting. It was for acting. Yeah. They were like, oh, that's a good school.
[34:07]
Ego Wodem
Okay. All right.
[34:08]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I was like, we know that. Okay.
[34:09]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[34:10]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I was like, I guess I'll go to New York. And so I went there and just sort of tried to figure it.
[34:14]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Okay.
[34:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[34:16]
Ego Wodem
I love how close you guys are and how.
[34:18]
Joey Dardano
Yeah.
[34:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
The thing they don't tell you is, like, they came up with one person to take care of, and now I got to take care of two. So it's not fair. They could have had some more kids.
[34:33]
Ego Wodem
And you wish that. Do you wish you had siblings for real now?
[34:35]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I do.
[34:36]
Ego Wodem
Because seeing your kids makes you.
[34:38]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think siblings would have been a huge asset to generally my entire upbringing.
[34:43]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[34:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think. And by the way, like, I think my parents did try, so it's not like they were like, we just want the one.
[34:49]
Debbie Brown
Right.
[34:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, this guy sucks. We don't want anymore.
[34:53]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[34:53]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But I think you learn conflict resolution. You learn how to share, or that life probably isn't fair. I think you learn a lot about Getting in where you fit in. Like, watching my children sort of effortlessly go from saying I love you and hugging to just taking swings at each other and then barrel barreling out of that naturally. Like, I think you learn a lot.
[35:18]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[35:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I also, at this stage, at this age, we're like, I'm a young family. I'm working seven months out of the year in Montreal. I've got a lot of beautiful blessings that come with responsibility at home. And my parents live across the country in Maryland. Like, you want backup? I want to be able to call little sister and be like, yo, go check on mom and dad. Like, go help them with the mattress.
[35:44]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[35:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Like, I want, like, a mattress. Go. Dude, that mattress flipped. Go change the filters for the ac.
[35:51]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Another conversation I was just having about parents match.
[35:55]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I need you to go see if the contractor is, like, doing the bathroom stuff. Like, whatever it is. Like, you. I wish I had backup.
[36:03]
Ego Wodem
Yeah, that would be. That is nice to have the shared responsibility. And then. And then it would just be an annoyance, though, if you had a sibling, which I know some people do, who's like. Like, this sibling is not helpful.
[36:14]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Well, that's why you have more than one sibling.
[36:16]
Ego Wodem
You gotta.
[36:16]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
How many do you have?
[36:17]
Ego Wodem
I have three.
[36:18]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So there's four of you?
[36:19]
Ego Wodem
There's four of us total.
[36:20]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
That's dope. Because two of them can off as long as you have times.
[36:24]
Ego Wodem
I feel like each of us are like, okay, we've fallen off. You two. Have you guys tagged in? It is. It is nice. And that's not to rub it in your face. You've done well with the children.
[36:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Thank you.
[36:34]
Ego Wodem
You've done well. I don't know them. They just sound delightful.
[36:37]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
They're cool. They're good.
[36:39]
Ego Wodem
Did you always know you wanted to be a dad?
[36:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, I think so.
[36:42]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[36:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Thanks, dad.
[36:44]
Ego Wodem
You're welcome.
[36:45]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think. I think I was always interested in it. And then one. It's not for everyone, obviously. But then I think it was. It's just. It's my bag. I like it. I enjoy the. I just like having little me's running around. Oh, we get to hang out and be betties and be besties.
[37:05]
Ego Wodem
Do you want your kids to see you as a friend?
[37:08]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No.
[37:09]
Ego Wodem
No.
[37:09]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I want them to be terrified of me. Lies. I want them to shiver.
[37:13]
Ego Wodem
Imagine being scared of this guy.
[37:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I want them to feel my power.
[37:18]
Ego Wodem
No.
[37:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Fear my wrath. Yeah. I want them to trust that they can come to me with anything. We do these things and it's really helpful. Do you know how much I Love you. Yes. Do you know I'll always be there for you? Yes. Do you know that you can tell me anything? Yes. Do you know that I pooped my pants today? No, you didn't. Yeah, I did. Three times. Like, I try and.
[37:41]
Ego Wodem
Like, you're the one pooping your pants.
[37:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I try and shit my pants often so that they don't feel like it's. It's the thing they should be ashamed of.
[37:49]
Ego Wodem
You've your pants three times in a day. Who am I to judge?
[37:53]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Because I certainly come on now, and I shit my pants, and they look at me and they go, thanks, dad. It's great.
[38:00]
Ego Wodem
Thank you for these plugs.
[38:03]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, I. I try. We just try. And I just try and instill a feeling of freedom and bravery and, like, being afraid is okay.
[38:13]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[38:14]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Like, we're gonna walk as far as we can walk, and if we get too scared, we're gonna walk back together and we're gonna keep going one step further every time until we get to where we gotta be.
[38:24]
Ego Wodem
Dang. You got it unlocked. Did you read this stuff in a book or. This is off the top of the
[38:27]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
dome experience, I think.
[38:29]
Ego Wodem
What are we.
[38:29]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It's some combination of both, but for me, like, I just wanted somebody to tell me to swing. Yeah, just swing.
[38:36]
Ego Wodem
What were you being told if you weren't being told to swing? Was it like, be careful, be careful, be careful.
[38:40]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think it was, like, a lot of be careful and a lot of just, like, after the fact, like, you strike out and someone's like, just swing. And it's like, yeah, I know. But we all know it's so hard. You have to train someone's heart, mind muscle to be brave, to face the thing. Otherwise you freeze up every single time. Like, if we didn't know what to do with a microphone, every time we were in front of a mic, even if we had this talent, we'd be like, no, no, no, no, no. You get scared, you start sweating, you start shaking. I don't know if that's how I used to be.
[39:14]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[39:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Even at the beginning, knowing I wanted to do it, I was so afraid.
[39:18]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[39:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I needed. I didn't really have anyone to be like, yeah, that's how it goes. We're going to keep going. I kind of had to do that by myself. So I. I don't. They don't need to.
[39:31]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I love that. I love that what you. What you're instilling in them. I'm finding it fascinating, though, that even with the fear, don't hide yeah. Don't hide. It's okay. Even with the fear of pursuing this, you still did it. And so what do you think that was inside of you that made you, with all the fear and the shaking and the sweating, to, like, still pursue this? Because it's so easy to not.
[39:54]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I needed the attention way more than the fear.
[39:57]
Ego Wodem
There we go.
[40:01]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I needed to fit in. No, I. I honestly, I think it's just some delusion where you're like, I. I've explained it several times, but the best way is like, I'm here now with you, and I'm sort of. I'm like, I'm existing. I go to the grocery store, I go pick up the kids, I drop them off, I do all that. And then someone's like, hey, you got to go on stage at 9 o'. Clock. You're going to go rap or freestyle or do improv or something.
[40:31]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[40:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I go, oh, my God, no, no, I can't. Why do I do this to myself? I don't know. How did I pick this profession? This is so stupid. Like, I'm sick. This is how I felt when I wrapped at the Oscars. You idiot. Why would you say yes to this? And then something happens with me and God or whoever or whatever wizard is controlling or helping, and I walk out on stage and it's quiet, it's calm. It's so beautiful. And I realized, like, oh, I've just been on land. I'm a fish on land all through the day. And when you put me on stage, it's like dropping me into water. And I'm like, I just. That's just what I was supposed. I'm supposed to do. And then everything else is like, get. Is like noise.
[41:21]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. If.
[41:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
If you put me on stage with a mic, I'm generally. I will always say, no, no, thank you. And then I'll get up there and I'll. You will not be able to get me off stage.
[41:30]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[41:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So I don't know if that makes sense at all.
[41:33]
Ego Wodem
It does. It sounds like you're describing, like, just some inexplicable draw to know that that's. Yeah, yeah.
[41:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Some foolish purpose.
[41:42]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Which I think that's. What is that YouTube for me? Yeah, I think so. Actually. I don't know if I was ever ner. I used to be a ballerina and I loved. I loved rehears. I know. I hated rehearsing, which is probably why I love improv.
[42:00]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Right. Yeah. Yeah, me too.
[42:01]
Ego Wodem
You get your reps in, but sure, I. I hated, like, Rehearsing. But I loved doing the performance, loved being on stage. So fun. I don't. Yeah, but, so, but you do have to have a level of delusion to pursue this whole thing.
[42:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, yes.
[42:16]
Ego Wodem
If you hadn't done this, would you do something else? Like, is there. Is there not a plan B? You don't have to say you had a plan B. But like, is there something else that you would have done that's not on stage that you might have been able to enjoy?
[42:28]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think it's obvious. I would have been probably point guard in the NBA. I think I would have.
[42:36]
Ego Wodem
I'm not one to tell anyone they can't achieve.
[42:39]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I probably wouldn't.
[42:39]
Ego Wodem
What something.
[42:40]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Probably would have been starting point guard for the Washington Wizards. Totally National Basketball League. Totally professional.
[42:47]
Ego Wodem
Great.
[42:48]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I mean, at worst, what about champion?
[42:50]
Ego Wodem
What about not on stage? What about not on stage? No audience. Only people that know your name are your co workers in the Office and the FedEx delivery person who has to come to your office sometimes.
[43:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Maybe education, okay. Maybe I could have got. Or like, honestly, if I had done the plan the way that it was laid out for me, I'd be sitting in the lab right now somewhere with a pipette, doing some gene therapy or doing something, trying to do great work to help people. But yeah, I would have been in a lab and the politics of a lab, trying to get your papers published so that you get tenure and all that stuff.
[43:30]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[43:30]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I would be in that world which is not. Not too dissimilar from any other field like Hollywood or field. Because everything is sort of merit based and things like that. But the only thing that had been laid out before me was science.
[43:44]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[43:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Other than that, since I'm 12 years old, this is what it is.
[43:47]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[43:48]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But the NBA thing is real. Just to let you know. Real. Hey, hey, I'm 42 now. I could give you buckets.
[43:58]
Ego Wodem
Did you play basketball in high school?
[43:59]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No. What happened was.
[44:01]
Ego Wodem
Okay, no, no, no.
[44:02]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Because I broke my wrist, okay. And I didn't get on team. And then, then I auditioned.
[44:06]
Ego Wodem
Because you broke your wrist. You didn't get.
[44:08]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Only because I. Because broken wrist.
[44:10]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[44:10]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And then I auditioned for the play. The Taming of the Shrew play.
[44:15]
Ego Wodem
Okay. The Shakespeare. Okay.
[44:17]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And that's when I caught the bug and I was like, this is way. Quite frankly, this is. Comes way easier to me to. Than basketball because it's about community. Whereas in basketball I'm hurting a lot of people's feelings. I'm in.
[44:31]
Ego Wodem
Basketball is not about community.
[44:33]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I'm in the state of constant domination. The power is getting to my head. Whereas the way.
[44:38]
Ego Wodem
I wish we had a basketball here right now and a court and we could cut to it.
[44:45]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Do you play? No. Oh, my God.
[44:48]
Ego Wodem
I barely. Oh, I'm bad.
[44:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I wish we could cut to a court right now.
[44:52]
Ego Wodem
I would just be watching on the sidelines.
[44:54]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Send it to the Washington Wizards.
[44:56]
Ego Wodem
I was gonna say the Washington Post.
[44:58]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I don't think they can send it to the Washington Post.
[45:00]
Ego Wodem
I think they don't care.
[45:00]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Send that to Al Jazeera. Right. And let's go. Dude, did you.
[45:05]
Ego Wodem
Did you like science in high school? Because I was a biology major and I didn't, like.
[45:09]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Really?
[45:10]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[45:10]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No aptitude for it. Couldn't do it. Couldn't remember a goddamn covalent bond to save my life.
[45:15]
Ego Wodem
I haven't heard that phrase since 1995.
[45:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It was a bad year. Covalent bonds.
[45:22]
Ego Wodem
I'm like. I'm always. When I'm telling people, I'm like, I don't know anything. Photosynthesis, Calvin cycle. What's the thing? Pythagorean theory, math. A squared plus B squared equals C squared. And why do we need it?
[45:35]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No idea.
[45:36]
Ego Wodem
Why do we need it?
[45:37]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Pythagoras.
[45:38]
Ego Wodem
No one knows.
[45:39]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No idea. It probably helps in architecture, right? Maybe design, perhaps Physics, Potentially. So none of those things piqued my interest. They were. I was very bad at them, actually.
[45:51]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[45:51]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
My grades were awful.
[45:53]
Ego Wodem
How did your parents take that? Bad grades and feel that they're. Did you get in? Did you get punished?
[45:57]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[45:58]
Ego Wodem
What was punishment like for you?
[45:59]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Punishment was so opposite of what regular punishment is.
[46:03]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[46:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Like, I got a job at a movie theater and I was stoked to get my, like, whatever it was. 450 an hour. And then you get one ice cream bar and you. Maybe you get to go see some movie. But they made me quit that job because I got a C in Bio or AP Bio. Honors Biology. And they were like, you gotta quit. And I was like, everybody else is being forced to get a job.
[46:25]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[46:26]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And you. I have to quit mine. They threatened but never followed through. Thank God. With, like, taking me out of all the school plays and everything. Okay. That would have been devastating.
[46:35]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[46:37]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Because that really was my happy place.
[46:39]
Ego Wodem
And they realized that.
[46:40]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think so. I think they're not. They're like, what do we do?
[46:43]
Ego Wodem
This kid is.
[46:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Everyone likes what he's doing. He's fine.
[46:46]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. You know, so then. But you never got. So punishment was like, you have to quit your job.
[46:51]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I'm sure I Was grounded. I'm sure things were taken away, But I'm gonna be honest. Like, I never. I didn't like. It was conservative. They were safe.
[46:59]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[46:59]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So, like, I didn't get a car till way later. I didn't get a license till later. Like the normal people. My curfew was always much earlier than everyone else's, so, like, I didn't have. There wasn't, like, a lot of things to punish.
[47:15]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[47:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
You know what I mean? Yeah.
[47:16]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Did you go to prom?
[47:18]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I did go to prom.
[47:19]
Ego Wodem
Do you remember what it was like for you?
[47:22]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I thought it was fun. Did you go to prom?
[47:23]
Ego Wodem
I did go to prom. I love how you're like, yeah, sure, prom. Because somebody. It's such a, like, thing for people being like, oh, my. My high school prom. And I remember being like, yeah, cool. That's kind of. I'm like, sure.
[47:35]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It was. It was fun. I think it was a huge deal for me at the time. I think I very much thought I was gonna marry the person that I went to prom with, be with them forever and ever. I really did.
[47:46]
Ego Wodem
You did, because you were in a relationship or you thought that's what prom represented?
[47:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, I was. We were like, boyfriend, girlfriend.
[47:52]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[47:52]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I was like. It was first girlfriend. Like, first. Well, not first. Like, love. That type of thing.
[47:58]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[47:58]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Read between the lines. And I very much was like, oh, yeah.
[48:02]
Ego Wodem
Read between the lines.
[48:03]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[48:03]
Ego Wodem
People.
[48:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[48:05]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[48:05]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[48:06]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[48:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And I was like, me and her are locked in. This is what we're doing. And so it was a. It was a special night.
[48:13]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[48:14]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Homecoming, freshman year was a different story. I went with somebody. My parents don't know anything. And this girl was like, let's go as friends. I was like, cool. And I didn't bring a corsage because I didn't know.
[48:28]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[48:28]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I, like, showed up with a Tasmanian devil tie and an oversized suit. And I was like, let's go, Halloween costume.
[48:36]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
Yeah.
[48:38]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I was like, I came to have fun.
[48:40]
Ego Wodem
And she's like, you are embarrassing, basically.
[48:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
And her mom had to go to the giant or shoppers and get a fake corsage. They didn't even have any flowers left
[48:53]
Ego Wodem
because at homecoming, everyone had gotten them.
[48:55]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So she got her a fake thing. This poor girl is crying.
[48:58]
Ego Wodem
I think it's her fault.
[48:59]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No.
[49:00]
Ego Wodem
F her for saying, let's go as friends. So she got a friend who came in a big suit.
[49:05]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I came looking like a cartoon character. And by the way, feeling real good about it.
[49:11]
Ego Wodem
So when the corsage moments happening, are you, like, Fuck. I fudged up. Are you kind of like, what's kind of still none the wiser having to know.
[49:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I was so. I was mortified and I was like, oh, my God, these guys are like wearing aqua de Geo and cool water cologne. And I showed up in a fucking Taz tie. What am I thinking? This is not the bar mitzvah circuit. Oh. So because Tasmanian devil died, a bar mitzvah. Crushed. Crushed, but not so much.
[49:40]
Ego Wodem
And no corsage for the girl, but you got it right. Prom. You had the corsage.
[49:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Prom was like tux.
[49:47]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[49:47]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
We got the limo, all that stuff. It was fun.
[49:50]
Ego Wodem
You thought you were going to marry her. That is absolutely. First love.
[49:54]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, it was good. Sweet.
[49:56]
Ego Wodem
Very sweet. That's very.
[49:57]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It was really nice. I miss that guy. That guy was great.
[50:00]
Ego Wodem
So pure, so wide eyed.
[50:02]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Full of love, romance.
[50:04]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[50:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Making mixtapes with John Mayer on it. And Body is Wonderland. Like a lot of your bodies of the wonderlands.
[50:14]
Ego Wodem
Oh, my goodness.
[50:15]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. Yeah.
[50:15]
Ego Wodem
That was a. That was an iconic song, though. You have to give it up to that acoustic version. Are you a romantic in general?
[50:22]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I think at. I think so. I think I. I'm. But romantic about lots of things. I think that human beings like that my work. I want to bring a lightness of being and a joy and a sense of, like, harmony and camaraderie. I think I often err on the side of. Of trusting the good in people. But yeah, I mean, I. I guess I'm a romantic. Things change over time. Obviously. Time passes. People let you down. Yeah. You let other people down.
[50:50]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[50:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So you're kind of like, am I romantic or am I kind of like, what does this mean?
[50:55]
Ego Wodem
Yes.
[50:56]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But I think generally, yeah, if. If romanticism is just seeing the. The brighter side of things and. And hoping for the best, I think I kind of. I'm like that. Otherwise I don't know how I would succeed in our industry.
[51:11]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. I mean, some people are so existential about it and they still get work
[51:17]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
though, where it's like, existentialism is fun.
[51:21]
Ego Wodem
Yes.
[51:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, To a certain extent. Like, if you're like, dang, dude, I really just want to, like, let's see how. How far I can go down the rabbit hole before, like, jumping off a bridge seems like a good idea. And then you're like, oh, that's it. That's the end of that thought. Yeah. Yep. Now I want to jump off the bridge because none of this means anything. And that's not even real water. That's just molecules, which is made of me, which doesn't. The Pete Holmes route. God bless you.
[51:43]
Ego Wodem
This is the. Science is actually in there. I just want to say, because I'm like. You are hitting me with words that I'm like. I'm like, I studied this and I don't. Molecules. I do know things.
[51:55]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Once you hit terminal velocity, it's just like, whatever, what have you. You know what I mean? This is legit. I'll hear Pete Holmes and. Or like, how Jim Carrey used to how we're all nothing and everything means nothing. I'm like, bro, part of me definitely on board with that. And I just want, like, an alien to beam down or something to happen. An angel to come up and be like, not Pete. This is like, sorry, dude, you're wrong.
[52:20]
Ego Wodem
Not. I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility. We don't know There's Pete. So much left in store. Uarsh. What from your childhood do you want to emulate in your parenting of your children? Because I recognize you're like, I want them to be brave. I want to tell them to swing. What's something that you're like, this is something I did get. And I'm trying to give them kind of a To a. I think, you
[52:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
know, it's very, very. It's not a juicy answer, but financial stability, safety at all times. That's discipline. I think those things are really good, basic things.
[53:10]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[53:11]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
For kids, a lot of it's different. We. I'm in it. You know, I'm. I'm raising my parents. I'm my parents. Well, that's. And you do kind of become your parents.
[53:20]
Ego Wodem
Parents, so.
[53:21]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But a lot of. Of my children, you know, I'm reminded so much. My boy reminds me so much of me as a kid. My little girl reminds me so much of what I believe my mom would have been as a child. And I'm like, oh, my God. I'm like, raise my mom. My mom is my baby. Like, they look exactly the same. What's happening? I love you so much. And I look at my mom like, I love you so much.
[53:43]
Ego Wodem
Holy.
[53:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
What's happening? And then my oldest, like, being a stepdad is a whole nother frontier. It's wild to just, like, have this girl who I've known for many years now, who's like eight. We're, like, in our. Each other's lives for eight years, and she's in many ways more like me than any of the other kids.
[54:04]
Ego Wodem
Oh, wow.
[54:04]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
She's so. She's the One who wants to. Like. She wakes up at 5:30 in the morning and comes to set with me. She's the one who's like, we're writing a comic book together. She's the one who's been on TV with me, who wants to be on tv and did yo gabba gabba with me. She's the one doing all the plays and singing and like, like, talking about music with me. Like. Yeah, so that's wild too. Of just being like, like, what? What is it even? What is this? What does it even mean? And then I get existential, and the next thing you know, I'm like, you know, back in the molecules. But again, you.
[54:38]
Ego Wodem
You can. You can take the boy out of the lab, but you can't take the lab out of the boy.
[54:42]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Never.
[54:43]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Resonates.
[54:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
They made me. They made me dissect rats when I was eight years old.
[54:49]
Ego Wodem
That's. We had. I think we dissected it. Was it a roach?
[54:53]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I used to go to NIH and they would poke a rat in the neck, cut it open, and I would take out the salivary glands with my mom and like, her postdocs. That's what I did for take your kid to work day.
[55:06]
Ego Wodem
Oh, did you? You didn't, like. You were not happy about it?
[55:09]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, I loved it. You were kidding me. I was chopping open a rat. It was incredible. Okay, so eight years old, and I'm like, is this green? What's the green stuff?
[55:16]
Ego Wodem
Oh, so the tears were fake?
[55:18]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Super fake. I was so stoked. I loved going to my mom's work. But I think that's what I would instill in my children, like how to dissect a rat at a young age.
[55:27]
Ego Wodem
Stop. Okay. About the stability that. Would you buy? Would you. Are we gonna buy their first cars for them?
[55:35]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, they'll get. I don't know.
[55:38]
Ego Wodem
I never know what to. This was. Now we're in. That's nice. But what about me time? That's a segment. Okay, let's do it unofficially. There's no music cue. I just say it and it's. And then we're here. Do you. Do you buy your kids their car? Their first car?
[55:54]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I want to say no.
[55:56]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[55:56]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I want to say that they're functional. Functional enough at that time to just like. We get one car and it just passes down like how it was with me.
[56:05]
Ego Wodem
The youngest getting the shortest end of the stick.
[56:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Oh, yeah. The youngest is getting that 2028 freaking Honda Civic, baby. And the year 2042.
[56:15]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Okay.
[56:16]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. So you get a 12 year old car and they're like, it doesn't even have a touchscreen. It doesn't even talk to me in a British accent. Sorry, where's the hoverboard? So, yeah, I think so.
[56:32]
Ego Wodem
It's no. So it. So it's. It's no.
[56:35]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Mike's going to get past Charmed Life. A life that I could never imagine having lived. Lived at their age.
[56:40]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[56:41]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
My son's first basketball game ever was courtside at a Lakers game. I was 41. And it was also my first time sitting courtside at a Lakers game.
[56:53]
Ego Wodem
And one. And you were happy to have him there, but also jealous.
[56:57]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
The ref gave this little motherfucker the ball to hold and this dude is looking at me like, papa, take the ball. Because poor, sweet Boomi, My son thought that having the ball meant that he was going to have to play against LeBron James.
[57:11]
Ego Wodem
Oh. He's like, I can't.
[57:12]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Because he, the whole time he was like, papa, I don't want to play against Bron James. Actually not Braun. Ron. I don't want to play Ron. I cannot play Ron James. He's very big. I'm like, just, I can't take the ball from you. I can't be the father that took the ball from his son.
[57:26]
Ego Wodem
And then that's circulating social media and they're like, look how mean he didn't.
[57:29]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I'm just like whispering and like, just hold it for 10 more seconds, bro. Just hold it, bro. I got your back. I got you. I'll get you a Twizzler right after this shit. Just, just don't give me the ball.
[57:38]
Ego Wodem
The trauma that would have been if they had actually been like, go out there and shoot with LeBron. Like, it's okay, it's okay.
[57:44]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
No, no, no, I will, I will. Ron, come here. Ron.
[57:48]
Ego Wodem
What a charmed life.
[57:49]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
So it's like, how do you give them everything like that? That is an incredible thing that he won't even remember happen. I will forever. So I guess I'm giving it to myself as much as I am to him.
[58:00]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[58:00]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
But no, in a perfect world, they work and they've saved money and we've taught them that and they're getting their own vehicles for themselves or they get a hand me down.
[58:12]
Ego Wodem
Okay. It could be that 12 year old car that doesn't have the British accent. Sounds to me. I'm. No, I don't know. I don't have kids, so it doesn't, it doesn't matter what I think, but sounds to Me like, you and your wife are doing a lovely job, so.
[58:25]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah. She's a beast. Yeah, she's really. She. She's so good at it.
[58:29]
Ego Wodem
It. Yeah.
[58:29]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah.
[58:30]
Ego Wodem
You learn a lot from her.
[58:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It sounds like I learned how to be adventurous. For sure. She's the one who got the whole family to bungee jump in New Zealand. We jumped off a bridge. I'm not jumping.
[58:42]
Ego Wodem
The kids. Not the kids.
[58:43]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
My 11 year old, she was 10.
[58:45]
Ego Wodem
Okay.
[58:45]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
My 10 year old jumped off a bridge with a bungee cord attached to her. Like my kids zip line in Montreal. And I mean, they zipline like 60ft in the air. I'm on the ground.
[58:57]
Ego Wodem
Oh, I'm scared.
[58:59]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
My three year old, when Bumi was three, he was doing Space Mountain.
[59:02]
Ego Wodem
Yeah.
[59:02]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Like, they're just different kids.
[59:05]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. Oh, brave. Yeah, for sure.
[59:07]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
It's cool.
[59:08]
Ego Wodem
Yeah. That's so cool. Thank you so much. Ukash.
[59:11]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Hey, guys, thanks for being here with me and Ego on. Thanks, dad. Remember to like and subscribe.
[59:17]
Ego Wodem
They don't say that anymore, by the way. You're gonna age yourself.
[59:19]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
What do they do?
[59:21]
Ego Wodem
What do they do, Matt, that the. In the YouTubers do they say like and subscribe anymore?
[59:26]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
I mean, also I might be aging myself, but I think they. I think that they do.
[59:30]
Ego Wodem
Everyone here is too old.
[59:31]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Okay, listen, listen, you. Wherever your podcasts are available, you can just eat this up, okay? She's had some great guests like Bowen Yang and Will Ferrell and Utkarsh and me and former president Gerald Ford. Three quarters of Boys to Men.
[59:53]
Ego Wodem
Yeah, that was a juicy one, guys. Look out for that episode.
[59:56]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
She's crushing. I wish. Did you actually have Boys to Men?
[60:00]
Ego Wodem
No, motherfucker.
[60:05]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
See ya.
[60:06]
Ego Wodem
Thinkstad is a production of Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and I Heart podcast. I'm your host, Ego Wodem. Our producer is Kevin Bartel Belt and our executive producer is Matt Apodaca.
[60:25]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.
[60:34]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?
[60:38]
Joey Dardano
Oh, no.
[60:39]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
We help people come customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Together we're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.
[60:45]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.
[60:46]
Liberty Mutual Spokesperson
Anyways, get a'@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.
[60:50]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
[60:53]
Ego Wodem
The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection
[61:02]
Debbie Brown
this Mental Health Awareness Month. Tune into the Podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you. To hear more. Listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
[61:24]
Joey Dardano
I'm Joey Dardano and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions.
[61:31]
Ego Wodem
Nuisance Psych.
[61:32]
Joey Dardano
I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. This is help from a hypocrite. The worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite Wednesdays on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021, and I'm Conkey, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new called the 1021 podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers. We also love sports and with the World cup right around the corner, we'll be breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
[62:30]
Ego Wodem
This is an iHeart podcast.
[62:32]
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Guaranteed Human.