The Big Suey: A Kitten With a Toy (feat. Hank Azaria)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Big Suey – “A Kitten With a Toy” (feat. Hank Azaria)

Overview

In this episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (aired December 8, 2025), Dan, Stugotz, Chris Cody, Pablo Torre, and guest Hank Azaria deliver a wide-ranging, humorous, and occasionally heartfelt conversation. They cover Hank’s obsessive hobbies (including his Springsteen tribute band), stories from The Simpsons and other showbiz adventures, the peculiarities of streaming in today’s media landscape, and bring in plenty of sports talk with Hank’s trademark voices and New York sports misery. Throughout, the panel explores the intersections of fandom, personal passion, and career with quick wit and memorable stories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hank Azaria on Comic Con, The Simpsons, and His Many Voices

• Comic Con Experiences: Hank shares how attending Comic Con as himself helps raise considerable funds for his foundation and connects with diverse fans. He brings memorabilia representing the vast array of voices he’s done ([04:31]–[04:57]).
• The Birth of Moe on The Simpsons:
  • Origin Story: Hank explains that Moe Szyslak’s voice was born from a hybrid of young Al Pacino and Bruce Springsteen, adapted after a theater role ([06:32]–[07:11]).
    • “Fun fact: halfway between Bruce Springsteen and young Al Pacino, you got Moe the Bartender.” – Hank Azaria [07:11]
• Voiceover Beginnings: His initial professional voice work was as "Hollywood Dog" in a failed Fox pilot, which (somewhat accidentally) led to his Simpsons casting ([05:20]–[05:49]).

2. Sports Talk – NY Pain, Hate-Watching, and Character Reactions

• Hank’s Jets Obsession: Despite 15 playoff-less years, Hank describes the masochism of NY Jets fandom: “Very early on in the season, you are going to switch from rooting for the team to win to analyzing exactly how it's gone horrible…” ([07:34]–[08:04]).
• Football Analysis – in Character:
  • Moe the Bartender on Bills-Bengals: “Bills is them…them peoples is annoying.” [08:48]
  • Chief Wiggum on Daniel Jones’s Injury: Delivers a rambling, clueless police call, riffing on police euphemisms for “fat” and stadium perks ([09:35]–[10:58]).
• Spoiler Avoidance Rituals: Obsessed with preserving the “magic” of live sports, Hank describes elaborate efforts to avoid spoilers and how he watches games while exercising, sometimes hate-watching the Jets and savoring the ritual ([30:25]–[41:13]).
  • “I find every bit of news so disturbing these days that I'm quite good at avoiding [spoilers].” – Hank [31:44]

3. Hank’s Springsteen Cover Band: A New Passion

• Personal Obsession and Family Impact: Singing as Bruce Springsteen has become a genuine obsession for Hank, much to his wife’s complicated feelings ([11:52]–[12:39]).
  • “I'm like a kitten with a toy with the mic.” – Hank [12:39]
  • He discusses the emotional and therapeutic impact of performing Springsteen songs (“primal, teenage anger and sadness” unlocked through rock screams) ([44:27]–[45:42]).
    • “It was almost like I unlocked sadness and anger I didn’t know I had going back from age 15.” – Hank [44:36]
• On Stage and On Tour: Hank relishes giving himself a late-life creative challenge, secretly forming the band for his 60th birthday and continuing because of the joy and charitable impact ([13:47]–[14:36]).
  • He describes funding and running the band himself, making all creative decisions, and finding fulfillment outside big corporate projects ([46:09]–[46:17]).
  • Performances are listed at EasyStreetBan.com, with upcoming gigs in New York and Colorado ([46:17]).

4. The Reality of Today's Streaming and Project Discovery

• Brockmire’s Journey: Hank details how his IFC series Brockmire struggled with visibility after shifting from a Netflix to Hulu deal, lamenting the “buried” nature of many quality shows in today’s fragmented media ([21:30]–[24:50]).
  • Production was grueling: “Eight episodes shot in three weeks” [23:08].
• The Gilded Age ‘The Artist’ – Another Hidden Gem: Hank unveils his new, ultra-niche dark comedy, where he plays Thomas Edison (using Superintendent Chalmers’s voice), available on the near-invisible “the network dot stream” service ([26:22]–[29:28]).
• Meta-Commentary on The Modern Media World:
  • Pablo notes the irony that their own podcast/studio exists on similarly “outsider,” indie principles ([28:48]–[29:56]).
  • Hank shrugs off struggles with visibility: “What do I care? They gave me donuts at the craft.” – Hank [30:06]

5. Family, Fandom, and Catharsis

• Sports Rage and Family Reactions: Hank describes scaring his family with outbursts at the TV (“Screaming is at the top of their lungs…It took some getting used to—like, what? They come running, what's the matter? The Jets is what’s the matter.” [41:32]).
• Springsteen as Therapy: Beyond the lark of fandom, performing becomes deep emotional work—joy and catharsis rolled into one.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Fandom & Voice Acting

• “I descend from exiles who lived on an island. I cannot tell you how much I hate the cold. But I am made to feel warmer by my New York friends arriving in Mass…” – Chris Cody [02:49]
• “Technically, ever since I can't fit into the largest size of the police uniform that they make, so I could go on disability if I so chose.” – Hank as Chief Wiggum [09:57]
• “He seems to have hurt his lower…what do you call…The leg. Right, the leg.” – Hank as Wiggum improvising football injury [11:24]

On Cover Bands and Passion

• “My wife was sort of traumatized by it at first…She spent a lot of her 20s dating guys in rock bands…I can't believe you're going to do this now.” – Hank [12:13]
• “No screaming like Bruce in the house before 7am…Now I have to run concert dates by her.” – Hank [14:47]
• “It's like a kitten with a toy.” – Hank on his Springsteen musical obsession [12:39]

On the Pain of Jets Fandom

• “Pavlovian trained to scream the F word at the Jets. Such ridiculations occur with their penalties and their quarterbacks who miss throws…You cannot help but scream the F word.” – Hank [40:25]

On The Art and Therapy of Singing

• “I started to actually cry. It was just real joy for me…like introducing [the band] to the music…It’s like a family. All the parts of show business I like, without all the parts I hate.” – Hank [45:42]
• “Singing this is scientifically proven…very healthy for your vagus nerve. It’s very calming and energizing at the same time.” – Hank [44:22]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:31] Hank on Comic Con, fan interactions, and The Simpsons
• [06:32] Birth of Moe Szyslak’s voice (Pacino x Springsteen)
• [07:34-08:04] The fate of Jets fans and “hate-watching”
• [08:43-10:58] Football analysis and Simpsons voices riffing
• [11:52-12:39] Hank’s Bruce Springsteen band and family reactions
• [13:47-14:36] Secret birthday band formation; finding purpose in passion
• [21:30-24:50] The Brockmire tale: “Buried on Hulu,” now on Netflix
• [26:22-29:28] New project: The Artist, streaming woes, and Chalmers-Edison voice
• [30:25-41:13] Hank’s spoiler-avoidance rituals; watching sports for catharsis
• [44:27-46:17] Singing Springsteen as therapy, music’s personal meaning

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Final Thoughts

This episode balances goofiness with sharp insights into show business, creative passion, sports pain and devotion, and the strange new world of streaming media. Hank Azaria’s humor and honesty shine, whether he’s dissecting Jets trauma, mocking streaming entropy, or explaining the healing magic of belting Springsteen songs. For anyone navigating middle age with persistent obsessions—or just curious about what makes one of TV’s classic voice actors tick—this episode is a can’t-miss.

To find Easy Street Band tour dates: easystreetban.com

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Memorable Closing Exchange

“I've learned to ask for what I want. And if you ask, you receive.”
– Hank Azaria [47:58]

Transcript

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Hank Azaria]

Wow.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Chris Cody]

Fair enough.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Hank Azaria]

Game day is everything.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Hank Azaria]

Hate Smirnoff.

[Dan Le Batard]

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[Hank Azaria]

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Welcome to the Big Sui presented by DraftKings.

[Chris Cody]

Why are you listening to this show?

[Hank Azaria]

The podcast that seems very similar to the other Dan LeBatard podcast. I'm sorry, I'm not going to apologize for that. In fact, the only seems to be this imaging.

[Chris Cody]

I have been tempted in restaurants just walking past tables to grab somebody's fries that if they're just there. That hasn't happened to you guys.

[Hank Azaria]

I've done it. And now here's the marching man to nowhere Fat face and the habitual liar.

[Chris Cody]

I descend from exiles who lived on an island. I cannot tell you how much I hate the cold. But I am made to feel warmer by my New York friends arriving in Mass to support what it is that we're doing around here. As I get a scarf I never wear tangled in my headphones.

[Pablo Torre]

That was embarrassing. What happened.

[Chris Cody]

I don't know how to wear a scarf. Exactly. Hank Azeri is here. And before we get to Hank and his many voices and his many Emmy award winning talents, I just want to play. Michael Irvin's reaction to the University of Miami getting into the college Football Playoff. I told y', all I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. He answered yesterday with James. I'm leaving the Potter's house right now.

[Hank Azaria]

While I was getting the last bit.

[Chris Cody]

Word from the Lord, my phone just started saying he.

[Hank Azaria]

God said, I ain't gonna even wait.

[Chris Cody]

That long before I got out of church.

And it all started coming in because we got in. Yes, sir. But we got in.

[Hank Azaria]

I'm heading home now.

[Chris Cody]

I'm gonna get in the locker room and we gotta talk about this right here. I'm telling y'.

[Hank Azaria]

All. I see sought the law.

[Chris Cody]

Any hurt. Any answer and he delivered.

[Dan Le Batard]

Amen.

[Chris Cody]

It's about how I thought that would sound. Hank, it is delightful to see you. You are usually very tired after you've done Comic Con.

[Pablo Torre]

True.

[Chris Cody]

What is. What is that experience been? What? Tell me, how many of these have you done? What does that look like? Why do you go? Who do you go as?

[Hank Azaria]

I go as myself. It's amazing thing at Comic Con I go, really? Because they pay a lot of money and I have a foundation and it's a. It's a really sweet way to. To. To raise money for charity and. And you meet fans and you lay out a table. I have like 30 different. Whatever you want to have signed, like all Simpsons characters or whatever. Brackmire. Whatever it is, it's there.

[Chris Cody]

What's the most popular?

[Hank Azaria]

What are the most simple things are the most popular?

[Chris Cody]

You've done 150 voices on the Simpsons. Is that an accurate number?

[Hank Azaria]

That is a problem. I used to say I don't think it's accurate, but I actually do think it is accurate. Yeah.

[Chris Cody]

You didn't have any voice experience, did you, before that?

[Hank Azaria]

Well, a lot. Just growing up being a. Yeah, tons, actually.

[Chris Cody]

You didn't have any professional voice experience?

[Hank Azaria]

I did one thing. I had done a voice at the time. Roger Rabbit was popular way back when. And fox, in the early days of themselves, wanted to do a pilot that was similar. Was an animated dog called Hollywood dog. When everybody else was real and I was a voice of Hollywood dog. That was my first voiceover gig. And then they knew me, probably didn't go anywhere, but they knew me from that. So then I auditioned for the Simpsons. Was the first voice I did there.

[Pablo Torre]

I'm sorry, I'm stuck on Hollywood dog. So I'm finding out that there was a reverse who framed Roger Rabbit premise.

[Hank Azaria]

I know it was not reverse. Roger Rabbit was animated and then everybody else was real, Though there were a lot of other cartoon characters because they had this dog that was animated running around Hollywood. And everybody else was real and I was the voice of the dog.

[Pablo Torre]

Has anyone ever requested I'm sorry, I'm.

[Chris Cody]

Lost Hollywood dog at comic con?

[Hank Azaria]

Hollywood dog? No. Well, somebody once handed me some art from it to sign. I don't know if it was a comic con or not, but people will find whatever there handed to you.

[Chris Cody]

So what? Where did you think the voices were gonna go when you did? You said you did Mo. The Mo was the first voice you did on the Simpsons.

[Hank Azaria]

Yeah, Mo was. I was. I love Al Pacino. Young Al, you know, Godfather Dog Day afternoon, the best Al. I'm dying here. Everybody's coming down on me here. That out. So I was doing a play in Hollywood at the time. I was playing a drug dealer and I was using my Pacino voice. And I got the audition for this cartoon show. So I did this voice there and they said, make it gravelly. So to me, gravelly was Bruce Springsteen. So fun fact, halfway between Bruce Springsteen and young Al Pacino. You got motorbike. There's a mid range in There.

[Chris Cody]

I want to talk football with some of Hank's characters. I was trying to get together with him yesterday to watch some football, and all he was insistent upon is, I've got to watch the jets, and I've got to watch the Jets. And I'm like, why do you want. Why do we have to watch the Jets? 15 straight seasons without making the playoffs. Why do we want to and have to watch the Jets?

[Hank Azaria]

You like an actual answer?

[Chris Cody]

Yes.

[Hank Azaria]

Like, I'm a Jet fan. I can't help it. Believe me, I've tried to rehabilitate. I can't stop. And what Jet fans know is that very early on in the season, you are going to switch from rooting for the team to win to analyzing exactly how it's gone horrible, which is fascinating in its own way. And then you complained about that. And so, you know, you're really up to the minute on. On how it's gone wrong.

[Chris Cody]

Aaron Glenn, you're not a supporter. I can't imagine that you're a supporter.

[Hank Azaria]

Jury's still out, I suppose. I mean, is it? Yeah, I mean, there's a chance he could. They've won. They're three and three in their last six games. Maybe he can.

[Pablo Torre]

You were transitioning slightly there into, like, a corrupt Southern defense attorney. As you were thinking about how to spin Aaron Glenn's tenure, I detected a vowel being elongated there.

[Hank Azaria]

The voice went a little higher. Aaron Glenn, though. Jury's still out. I mean, it doesn't look great, but they're gonna give him another year, I'm sure. So let's see who knows?

[Chris Cody]

I want to analyze some of the games yesterday with some of your characters.

[Hank Azaria]

Let's do it.

[Chris Cody]

How did Moe the bartender feel about Bill's Bengals?

[Hank Azaria]

Yeah, I hate them bells. Bills is them. Them peoples is annoying.

[Chris Cody]

Josh Allen's pretty good, though. Josh Allen?

[Hank Azaria]

Yeah. That's part of what's so annoying. He's like Superman running around, and if he doesn't throw it, he runs it. Then he flew one time to see him fly, he flew once.

[Chris Cody]

They were down 14 to three, and twice he converted fourth and fours on plays that were just pulled right out of his ass.

[Hank Azaria]

Impossibly annoying, you know, and the fact that he was drafted, I don't know. He wasn't that year when it was all drafted. And they get this guy, he would just throw it as hard as he could every time he couldn't hit, as we used to say, the side of a barn. And now he's the best guy out there. But the Bills Will find a way to lose. That's what you can always take comfort in.

[Chris Cody]

That's not true. They won yesterday, though.

[Hank Azaria]

I mean, ultimately, they'll find a way to lose.

[Chris Cody]

Ultimately. Okay.

[Hank Azaria]

In the end, what.

[Chris Cody]

Does Chief Wiggum have any thoughts on Jacksonville beating up the Colts and Daniel Jones leaving with an injury to the leg that wasn't fractured, the femur that wasn't. To the Achilles that wasn't attached to the femur that's fractured.

[Hank Azaria]

Yeah, well, I, you know, I have a lot of sympathy for impaired people. You know, I'm. Technically, I.

I. Technically, ever since I can't. I can't fit into the largest size of the police uniform that they make, so I could go on disability if I so chose.

[Chris Cody]

For being fat?

[Hank Azaria]

Yeah. For me. Well, we don't say fat, then. We say. We say. We say waistline. Challenged in. In police ranks. So I have a lot of sympathy for anyone who's, you know, got those kind of challenges. And I. I don't really care about.

Football, per se, but at stadiums, you get. Cops get a lot of free food, which is why I go to the game.

[Chris Cody]

Concessions. Concessions are what you're big on.

[Hank Azaria]

I met every game, but I've never actually seen any of the game.

[Pablo Torre]

I do. I do like the idea, though, of Police Chief Wiggum having to call Daniel Jones's injury over the police walkie talkie.

[Hank Azaria]

Well, let's try that. We have a. We have a man who seems to have hurt himself. And now it's not me this time. It's a guy. He runs around in very, very tight pants, which I do, too, but his are tight for a different reason. And he seems to have hurt his lower. What do you call the lower part? The lower region. There's a right and a left. The leg. Right, the leg. He seems to have hurt his leg.

[Chris Cody]

I think he tore his Achilles, didn't he? Daniel Jones did.

[Pablo Torre]

He tore.

[Chris Cody]

Is that. I don't know.

[Hank Azaria]

I don't know. That's Greek mythology. I don't know anything about that.

[Chris Cody]

When you came in here, Pablo was talking to you, and this seems impossible to me that you are now actually a frontman for a band. I don't know how your wife feels about the endeavors that you partake in, because you do so obsessively when you do them. Hank is now performing. I haven't seen it yet.

[Pablo Torre]

It's incredible.

[Chris Cody]

You've seen it. Like, he performs as Bruce Springsteen in a Bruce Springsteen cover band. And I suspect he sounds a great deal like Bruce Springsteen, like, because he Can. He can mimic voices. But this is now becoming an undertaking that's been an obsession. Correct. It's become unhealthy for you and your family.

[Hank Azaria]

You put a lot. And there's a lot to respond to in there.

Give me. I put me on the clock. I need like eight minutes. Yeah. To be honest, my wife was sort of traumatized by it at first, which surprised me. I guess she spent a lot of her 20s dating guys in rock bands and didn't have the greatest experiences. And he's like, I can't believe you're going to do this now too. And yeah, due to Springsteen, I keep hitting the mic.

[Chris Cody]

Good Lord, you're an amateur. It's like you've never been around a microphone before.

[Hank Azaria]

I'm like a kitten with a toy with the mic.

So, yeah, I imitate Bruce. I've been talking like Bruce since I was a teenager. Since like hero were same as Al Pacino, you know, and they all grew out of hero worship. Bruce was no exception. And. But singing like Bruce is a whole different thing that takes actual effort and. And attention and music and singing lessons and tremendous amount of. But I really love it. I am obsessed with that. It's like. It's like having. It's like a kitten with a toy.

[Chris Cody]

Well, where does it rank, though? With career joys. Because at this point, that Simpsons money is pretty good. You don't have to be doing anything.

[Pablo Torre]

And I want to make this clear. Hank seems insanely rich and he's doing this clearly just because he has like some side quest check.

[Chris Cody]

Nobody that he was like, it's not. It's not. It's not a small thing he's doing late in life.

[Hank Azaria]

You know, it's.

[Chris Cody]

He has chosen to run a band, a band that tours to go on.

[Pablo Torre]

Stage with the possibility of it not going well. Like you're opting in to like a high stakes thing regularly.

[Hank Azaria]

That was scary at first. I did it. My birthday is on a lark. Just have fun. And I. Surprise. I've told Pablo all this. It was like a reverse surprise party. I turned 60 and. And thought it'd be fun to tell my friends. We're all Springsteen fans. Oh, I got a great cover band coming. Didn't tell them I had been working for months to front it and it went so well. And we raised some money for charity that night and thought to keep doing it. And then I have gotten obsessed with it. I mean, I love Springsteen to an obsessive level and did it wasn't even on my bingo card. Like I could do that. And tribute bands are real things. I'm not like impersonating Bruce. I sound like him. I tell stories about myself and Bruce in the idiom of Bruce, the poetry, spoken word of Bruce. And we try to sound as exactly like the E Street Band.

[Chris Cody]

But what does you obsessed look like when I say Kate must be going a little bit crazy with your pouring yourself into projects that aren't your family?

[Hank Azaria]

Well, I told, I was telling you guys before we hit the air that you know, she understands, you know, there can't be a lot of groupies, but also not zero groupies. That's not fair. Can't be too much drugs, but not no drugs. No, Bruce doesn't do those things. But she, I, I have had. There have been certain. Like at first it was no screaming like Bruce in the house before 7am because where we'd rehearse obsessively. And now I have to run concert dates by her and my, my, my chief of staff, Lauren. Everybody has to sign offers before I blunder into, you know, Wichita to do a gig.

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[Hank Azaria]

Checkout. Don.

[Chris Cody]

LeBatard. While there's nothing official and conversations are still.

[Hank Azaria]

Ongoing. Was that a fake chef.

[Pablo Torre]

Dirt? Because it was pretty.

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Good. I feel like there's.

[Chris Cody]

Legs. Yeah. Tried at the beginning and then I lost confidence in.

[Pablo Torre]

It.

[Hank Azaria]

Good. It was.

[Pablo Torre]

Good. Nothing.

[Chris Cody]

Official. Conversations are still ongoing. St it is trending towards Nick Sirianni remaining the head coach of the.

[Hank Azaria]

Eagles. This is the Dan Lebatar show with the.

[Chris Cody]

St.

Is this taking up the majority of your professional time or interests passions these days? You have a couple of different projects that major media entertainment centers make it very difficult for viewers and listeners to.

[Hank Azaria]

Find. Yeah, I only like to do things that are like. You really got to search to find these things. Yeah, it's mostly what I spend time doing, but I don't spend all that much time at. We play like twice a month and I don't let it. Like I don't go out on tour for four months or something. I might eventually when my son's in college maybe, but. But I do spend the most of my time doing that. But Pablo's right. I'm luckiest man in show. Literally luckiest man. Maybe not even a show business, maybe in the world. And the Simpsons doesn't end. And so I can just do things like.

[Pablo Torre]

This. What's it like for Bruce Springsteen to open yet another Simpsons residual?

[Hank Azaria]

Check.

We're in the.

[Chris Cody]

Money.

[Hank Azaria]

Yeah. Hey, Patty, look at this. Look at the zeros. Look at the zeros. I'm gonna draw little smiley faces in.

[Chris Cody]

Them. I was very excited to see that Brockmire is finally on Netflix, this passion project of yours, and that you've allowed us to go on a glorious ride with this character. This character that was, I think Pablo, you probably talked to Hank about this on Pablo. Torre finds out. But the Brockmire project of him falling in love with old timey baseball radio announcers and then deciding to make one debaucherous and lecherous and addicted to things. Finally, this is going to get an opportunity because it was on Hulu. But for some reason, it felt like Hulu didn't have quite the reach that that Netflix does now. And this seems like a real. This seems like a real cool opportunity for the Brockmire franchise that you birthed out of nothing.

[Hank Azaria]

Really. Oh, it is. And never.

[Pablo Torre]

Mind.

[Hank Azaria]

Irvin. Michael Irvin praying for Miami. I had a. I don't know who prayed for Brockmire to actually get on Netflix and be seen, but I want to thank him. And no, it was. You know what? It's actually interesting and sort of current to today when we made our Brockmire deal, which we were lucky to make with ifc, which is an AMC company, not to get too inside baseball here, but we got. We were lucky enough to get a deal at the time. They had their deal with Netflix when we signed on, which was 120 million subscribers at the time. And that's how Portlandia became a hit, because people would actually watch it on Netflix. By the time we aired, they had switched their deal to Hulu. And IFC and AMC decided, we're gonna. We're gonna make our last stand as a cable TV channel. We're gonna only release it once a week on our IFC channel, which, I don't know. Nobody saw it. And I literally went in and begged them weekly, like, please, it's a good show. We might even get some nominations. Can you please let people see it? And we just went down with that cable channel ship. And then ever since then, you know, it's kind of been buried on Hulu. And we were just. I didn't even know. My social media lady called me and said, you know, you're getting released on Netflix this week. I'm like, I am. Christmas came early for.

[Chris Cody]

Me. So buried on Hulu, though, like, how does this work? Explain to me. This is something that you did. Brockmire was made guerrilla style in how many weeks? Like, each season took how many weeks to make because you had to do it on such a small.

[Hank Azaria]

Budget. The first one, we made eight episodes in, like, three weeks. And then we.

[Pablo Torre]

Got. That's.

[Hank Azaria]

Crazy. It was absolutely insane. I've never worked like that. The first season, I only memorized because we had all eight written ahead of time because we had to, like, financially, we had to have it completely down to a science, what locations we were going to be at. There was no margin for error, and I only had memorized, like, two thirds of it. And, man, did I pay for that. The first I Had to spend every waking hour on the weekends memorizing what I didn't know. Then we made sure to write them so that I had them two, three months ahead of time. I can't tell you how insane this is in the television world. Nobody does this so that I could spend three months memorizing it. Like 120 page play. Like, I knew the entire season was in my head. So that wherever. Whatever we shot that day, I was ready with it. And we. I think by the end, they, like, took pity on us and we had like five weeks to shoot eight.

[Chris Cody]

Episodes. Because it was the passion project that was you. You hadn't done anything quite like.

[Hank Azaria]

That.

[Chris Cody]

Right. Would there ever been any. Anything close to what all of that.

[Hank Azaria]

Was? I mean, I had produced a couple of things that I started in a show called Huff and on Showtime, like 20 years ago. That was a lot of. But I didn't create that. I didn't, you know, help write that. And I just. I genuinely produced it and starred in it. That was a lot of work too. But this was. Yeah, it's. I guess I don't really do things halfway. This Bruce thing has sort of taken. It's one of the fun things about it for me is to do something for myself that normally big corporations pay me for. And it was nice at age 60 to sort of. It felt like a gift I was giving myself, but that's how I have.

[Chris Cody]

Fun. How does this work, though? Like, is there such a thing of something great? Brockmire's Great Feeling sort of undiscovered, and then you get on Netflix and it has a rebirth. Like, is there a chance that now what happens with this is that the reach people discover comedy's not being done as well. I know that the studio got all sorts of popularity, but it just seems over the last 10 years, comedies being done less well everywhere is being tried less often elsewhere. Brockmire is really funny. Is there the possibility that Netflix allows it to have a.

[Hank Azaria]

Rebirth? Maybe, if Michael Irvin prays for.

[Chris Cody]

It. But what are the stories? What are the history of Netflix having something and then making it bigger than it was.

[Hank Azaria]

Before? I don't know that I've heard of it. I know that things. I know that.

I've been at this 40 years, some odd. I know that things either stand the test of time or they don't. I don't know how that translates into dollars and cents, but people look back and you know, what was it? The year that Dances With Wolves, which is a very fine movie, but it Beat out Goodfellas for best picture. Whatever you like. Now, that wasn't right.

So I'm not sure if it'll, you know, pop. It'll break into Netflix's top 10 and become like a viral hit again. But I imagine more people will discover it. And as you say, it is really good. So I'm just glad that people will get to see.

[Chris Cody]

It. You have another project that you're here to promote that is also hard.

[Hank Azaria]

To find, actually harder, which I didn't think was.

[Pablo Torre]

Possible. I don't even know about this project. That's how hard it is, apparently, to.

[Hank Azaria]

Find. This is actually really good. It's a. It's a very, very. It's a dark comedy called the Artist set in the Gilded Age, starring Mandy Patinkin, Janet McTeer. I'm in it. I played Thomas Edison in it, oddly, also not on my bingo.

[Pablo Torre]

Card. How do you work up the Thomas Edison.

[Hank Azaria]

Voice? It's funny. You ask Pablo. I. I was reading it out loud. I'm like, I don't have. My voice. Does not have enough gravitas. Especially because he's sort of the straight man in this. It's a very sicko. And it's set in the Gilded Age, and they use the C word like every page. Thomas Edison doesn't say it, but I reacted to it quite a lot and it just didn't seem right as my voice and too moderate, I don't know. And so I came up, I was like, it needs to be deeper and it needs to be more erudite and have weight. And it's. Superintendent Chalmers is what it.

[Pablo Torre]

Is. I was gonna say. I didn't wanna. Didn't want to out Thomas.

[Chris Cody]

Edison. He doesn't sound like Thomas Edison a great inventor. He sounds like a.

[Hank Azaria]

Superintendent. He' Superintendent Chalmers. But apparently Superintendent Gary Chalmers always wanted to be a great inventor and he admires Edison very much. So I cast.

[Pablo Torre]

Him. Just as a matter of clarification, I'm finding out also that in the Gilded Age, they use the C word a.

[Hank Azaria]

Lot. In this version, they did. It's absolutely. It's really good. And then it's this. It's. You have to go. Go on your computer and it's the network dot stream. The network dot.

[Pablo Torre]

Stream. I feel like I'm about to illegally Hank your stream a football.

[Chris Cody]

Game. Hank, you're at the top of your game. Why is it that I and. And young people would have trouble finding in the age of streaming what your passion projects.

[Hank Azaria]

Are? These are not. This was not. I was A hired gun on this. I had the same reaction you did. I'm like, what is this? And then I read the script. I'm like, this is good. And then I saw another show this guy Aaron Rappaport did with John Leguizamo. I'm like, that's really good. So I'm like, okay. He seems to know what he's doing and it came out really good. It's just that I don't know what the deal with this little streaming service is, but I imagine they're hoping to punch through. It's what we were talking about before on the air, that there's many ways to skin this cat.

[Pablo Torre]

Now. Well, you are that way. I mean, what I'm. I'm now basically going through me. Yes. I am now on the network stream. And I'm realizing that, yes, you use your actors, you use Hank is area and all of the people inside of Hank is area to make people aware. And by the way, as much as we are Dan, we are the last people on earth who should be making fun of like some independent thing. Like literally. That's the premise of what this studio is in New York is like, hey, can this be plausibly a place where real people show up and consider it also legitimate? It is funny though, when the URL itself is like, so you have to. So it's like dot stream. Okay, very good. It's like.

[Hank Azaria]

It'S. It's designed streams.

[Sponsor Announcer 1]

Existed. It's the zone.

[Pablo Torre]

Of. Of streaming.

[Chris Cody]

Services. No, but we're not the demo.

[Hank Azaria]

Either. I think somebody had a lot of money and said, I. I want to put out.

[Pablo Torre]

Content. It's like self publishing and God bless. By the way, like that sentence is. Is truly my relationship with why I work for Dan.

I want to make content. And I. I am content. That is.

[Hank Azaria]

Me. That's what this was. And I don't. What do I care? What do I care? Dan is a nice script and they shot the things and it gave me donuts at the.

[Chris Cody]

Craft. I want to talk to Claude from Along came Paulie about Chiefs.

[Hank Azaria]

Texans. Oh, my. Let me think for a moment, chief. Oh, I did not see this game. Don't spoil. That was late.

[Chris Cody]

Game. Oh, you know what? I'm sorry. Yeah, that's my. Don't tell me. So Hank's got this funny.

[Hank Azaria]

Thing. Hold.

[Chris Cody]

On. Let me tell the audience what Hank does here. Hank. Hank does this thing. I think he exercises while watching some games. And so he waits. He does not know what happened in the late games yesterday. He wants to know what happens in Packers Bears, he does not know and so he.

[Pablo Torre]

Avoids. How does exercise preclude you.

[Hank Azaria]

From? Well, Pablo, I'm going to answer clothes, who was in very good.

[Pablo Torre]

Shape. I didn't want to say it.

[Hank Azaria]

But I record the games and then play them back while I'm on the treadmill or the elliptic elliptical. You say.

[Pablo Torre]

Elliptical. You're making your way through the world on Monday morning hoping that no one.

[Hank Azaria]

Spoils. I'm down to a science. Or to not have anything spoiled. All alerts are shut off. Nobody bothers me. Any friend who spoils, as they say in Goodfellas, you know, they get whacked so hard they don't do.

[Chris Cody]

That. I almost ruined Chief Texans because I forgot that that's how you killed you. So you watch. You only watch the one o' clock game. So as we sit here now, what are the games that you're most interested in knowing the results of that you do not yet know? The results.

[Hank Azaria]

Of? Bears, packers and Chiefs Texans. Yeah, and I know I haven't even seen the Nick game from two nights ago. I still have magic nicks in the.

[Chris Cody]

Pipeline. And you've been able to avoid the result of magic jokes as.

[Hank Azaria]

Well. All of everyone who knows me is so terrified of spoiling anything, nobody says a word to me about anything. And. And I. I find it easy to avoid. I find every. Every bit of news so disturbing these days that I'm quite good at.

[Pablo Torre]

Avoiding. All right, so Wendell Carter had three.

[Hank Azaria]

Assists. No, I'll tell you, don't blow through me. This is ruined for me.

[Dan Le Batard]

Now. Holidays. Fun holidays. As a dad, tough travel gifts match. But don't get me started on matching pajamas. It's hot in Miami. My wife says, why don't you want to do this with us? My daughter's crying anyways. School, parties, hosting a family. Next thing I know, I basically put Christmas on my credit card and have no idea what I spent where. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch, rated Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app. At 25, Monarch's the All in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface. On your laptop. Laptop. Or on your phone. Right now, just for our listeners, Monarch is offering 50 off your first.

[Hank Azaria]

Year. A massive.

[Dan Le Batard]

Deal. Monarch showed me how fast the holiday budget was disappearing. Flights, gifts, late night online shopping, and helped me pump the brakes before the bill hit. Now my wife and I do quick money check ins, look at our holiday spending category and actually enjoy the holidays without starting January and the new year in panic. Don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use code [e-mail] in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with code DAN. And don't give me those matching.

[Pablo Torre]

Pajamas. I.

[Sponsor Announcer 1]

Swear.

The World cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 94, 48 teams, these giant stadiums, the whole continent turning into one massive party. I cannot wait. But actually getting tickets to any of this, yeah, that party is brutal. That's why the gametime app has been a total lifesaver. It gives the advantage back to us, the fans. You can track price drops in real time, get alerts when seats open up, grab tickets the second they hit the app, all backed by the game time guarantee. I'm on the app looking at World cup matches in Miami because, you know, I'm not missing that. I'm scrolling through every section in the building. Behind the goal, midfield, lower ball, upper ball, and the deals are good. I had great seats locked in within minutes. The experience. Experience is so simple and intuitive. Two taps and I'm done. And the price. No surprises. Fees are included. The CPUs are my favorite feature. You get a full panoramic look before you buy. And I love zone deals. Gametime picks a seat and you save even more. Take the guesswork out of buying soccer tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code DAN for $20 off your first purchase terms. Apply again, create an account and redeem code dan for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket. Go download the Gametime app.

[Pablo Torre]

Today.

You ever find yourself late night scrolling, adding stuff to your cart you absolutely don't need? And then you see it. The beautiful glowing purple shop pay button.

[Dan Le Batard]

Boom.

[Pablo Torre]

Checkout.

[Hank Azaria]

Done. You didn't even have to get.

[Pablo Torre]

Up and find your wallet. That, my friends, is Shopify magic. That little purple button means that store is powered by Shopify. Which doesn't just make it easy to buy, but ridiculously easy to start and run your own business, too. Whether you're a giant like Mattel or Gymshark or just launching something weird from your garage like Greg Cody's garage, Shopify has your back. Let's be real. If we can run a show with this much chaos, you can run a business with Shopify. With hundreds of beautiful templates. Tools for payments, inventory, analytics, marketing. It's all in one place. And yes, that purple button. It's why Shopify has the Best converting checkout on the.

[Dan Le Batard]

Planet.

[Pablo Torre]

Shopify. It's how real businesses get built. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you.

[Hank Azaria]

To head over to.

[Pablo Torre]

Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com batard go to shopify.com batard shopify.com.

[Hank Azaria]

Batard.

Don LeBatard David Sampson weirdo because he was not. He was not the fun substitute teacher who'd wheel out a TV and play a VHS tape of Armageddon in science class. He was the weird one who would eat an egg salad sandwich while clipping his toenails into the trash can and ranting about Ronald Reagan stugats. The guy kept talking about how his ass was smooth, smoother than a newborn's cheek. He wouldn't stop bragging about his bare buttocks to me. This is the Dan Levatar show with the.

[Chris Cody]

Stug.

Which way do you want Chiefs Texans to go? Even though it I want the.

[Hank Azaria]

Texans. I'm tired of the whole Chiefs.

[Chris Cody]

Thing. And which way do you want Packers Bears to.

[Hank Azaria]

Go? That's a little more Pick them. For me, this is probably the.

[Pablo Torre]

Most insane segment ever.

[Hank Azaria]

Done. I'm more.

[Pablo Torre]

Excited. What would you hope that this game that the audience knows.

[Chris Cody]

Already. It's a fun game. It's a fun game. If we want to do. If we want to talk around that.

[Pablo Torre]

Magic. Is there any more a solipsistic.

[Chris Cody]

Approach? I mean, does a mean want to give Hank any information on that Knicks Magic game from a couple of. From a couple of days.

[Hank Azaria]

Ago? Spoilers? Don't spoil it for me. They lose twice to the Magic already and this was their chance for redemption. But don't ruin for me the.

[Pablo Torre]

Fact that you know anything about the previous history of the Knicks and the Magic is itself I.

[Hank Azaria]

Want. I don't miss any games. I.

[Pablo Torre]

Just.

I'm realizing that you are you are arguably more committed to sports than people who are watching the games live because you're fighting to preserve that childlike sense of.

[Hank Azaria]

Wonder. I like not I guess I like. I don't like watching what I know it's going to happen. Anything. Movies.

[Chris Cody]

Tv. Once it's spoiled, though, does that mean that that no longer is something that accompanies you on the treadmill? Once a friend spoils it, that's it. You're not even going to watch it. You've lost that. As an they are actively your friends, by spoiling it, are actively making you less healthy because they're keeping you from being Able to your daily.

[Hank Azaria]

Exercise. You're being sort of facetious, but that's kind of literally true. I put it like. Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. Now I got to like listen to. I got to listen to Springsteen when I work out.

[Chris Cody]

Today. So how do you do. How do you watch it though? Do you speed through it or like, do you. Do you. Do you. Will you watch Texan Chiefs the fourth quarter? Will you watch the whole. You'll watch a three hour football.

[Hank Azaria]

Game. It depends. I will watch. I have this so down to a science. Depends on what I'm watching. I mostly root for like as a Jet fan, you. You normally don't care about the jets quite early in the season. Although I will watch just to see. Just. I kind of hate watch the Jets. Okay. And I'm very drawn to that. Then I'm always rooting for. I have two fantasy football teams I.

[Pablo Torre]

Enjoy. What are their names? Team.

[Hank Azaria]

Names. We're in one league that is Godfather themed and the name of my team is. It was an Abortion. Michael, my.

[Chris Cody]

Team.

What a great question Pablo asked you and how delighted you were to receive.

[Hank Azaria]

It. Oh.

[Chris Cody]

Yeah. Wanted to tell everyone that my.

[Hank Azaria]

Whole life has led up to that pretty much. And my other team, it's hard to.

[Pablo Torre]

Beat. It's an.

[Chris Cody]

Abortion. I think you opened with what is going to be the.

[Hank Azaria]

Winner. The other team. I'm on with my cousin Jack and we are the Jerk Cousins is the name of our.

[Chris Cody]

Team. When you say you hate watch the jets, that makes it different than how you watch the Knicks and the.

[Hank Azaria]

Mets. Yeah, basketball I have a little bit less patience for. I've always felt like the only thing worth really watching about a game unless you're there is the last five minutes. But I will quite often usually watch the first quarter, just see how things are going. Then I'll kind of speed through the game and then I'll. If it is a close game at some point in the fourth quarter, I'll watch it in real time and of course, you know, blow through the commercials, et.

[Chris Cody]

Cetera. Do you have any instances where something happened during one of these sporting events that had not been spoiled for you and you fall off of the treadmill mill that you're. That some. Something about your equilibrium gets knocked off because you don't usually run.

[Hank Azaria]

Emotionally? No, but I've never fallen. But another reason why I watch on athletic devices is because I get so worked up watching the Jets, Mets and Knicks and I scream profanities into the house. I've been told to tone it down like my son has to tell me. My friends are coming over this afternoon, so please take it easy. When you watch the.

[Chris Cody]

Jets. So that happens yesterday too. Jets, Dolphins. That happens. Are you. You don't care like that. It has to have stakes, right? It's not a lost Jet.

[Hank Azaria]

Season. No, I will. I will. I am a Pavlovian trained to scream the F word at the Jets. I mean, they're so worthy. Such ridiculations occur with their penalties and with their quarterbacks who miss throws that literally I would make. You cannot help but scream the F.

[Pablo Torre]

Word. Do you scream as yourself?

[Hank Azaria]

Yes. Yes. I don't. I don't mess.

[Pablo Torre]

Around. There's a deeper. There's a deeper meaning there, I think. I dare say that Hank is.

[Hank Azaria]

Not. Momo don't care about the Jets. You know, Wiggums don't.

[Chris Cody]

Care. None of the.

[Hank Azaria]

Characters. No, they don't care. Comic book guys, he yells at, you know, content that way. Worst episode ever. But no sports is for.

[Chris Cody]

Me. It's just. Frank, does your family understand this side of you or just merely tolerate this side of.

[Hank Azaria]

You? They don't understand it. They do tolerate it, I guess, because they love me. But it has at times, like real, like someone scream that scared them, you know, Somebody screams. Can I curse on.

[Chris Cody]

This?

[Hank Azaria]

Yes. Screaming is at the top of their lungs. It took some getting used to. Like, what? They come running, what's the matter? Like the jets is what the.

[Chris Cody]

Matter? Tyrod Taylor. We're in the Tyrone Tyrod Taylor portion of the.

[Hank Azaria]

Schedule. It's mostly directed Woody Johnson, quite frankly, these days. You know, it's. That's another reason why I'm. That's what I'm reduced to is like doing like the complicated math of how would the trickle effect from Woody Johnson ruin everything? Has created this horrible play I just.

[Chris Cody]

Saw. But how does this change changed? Like your viewing experience, your relationship with sports to hate, watch a team you love. Because this is not your relationship with the Knicks and the Mets. I mean, maybe it.

[Hank Azaria]

Was. It does goes. It goes off and on, you know, since Steve Cohen has purchased the Mets, it's much more about just enjoying the product. I don't know what changed at MSG, but somehow Mr. Dolan decided to hire Leon Rose and World Wide west and let them do their.

[Pablo Torre]

Thing. He went to build the sphere. Dylan got distracted by the kitten cat toy. That is the.

[Hank Azaria]

Sphere. Yes, Maybe that is what happened, but I'm grateful that they have a good product. Now we can enjoy them.

[Chris Cody]

Again. The sphere is flailing like they're realizing that it's really hard to pay a million and a half dollars in electricity a month and have to pay for the upkeep of 100,000 LED screens. And like they are really struggling when you don't have casino money or hotel money. You got to fill it only with. With Bruce Springsteen's cover band because you need the. You need the events to bring people play to.

[Hank Azaria]

Sphere. I'll play this. I can play.

[Chris Cody]

This. One of the highlights. I want to hear more. I really do. I know you did talk about this with Pablo, but this is new to some parts of our audience. The Bruce Springsteen cover band experience. You just said it's at the top of your list in terms of things that you've gotten to do because you don't. You legitimately don't have to be doing anything creatively. Never mind, you know, memorizing 120 pages in a couple of. A couple of months as if you were doing a play. You're basically making all of your own creative choices. And this is a passion project that offers you. Nobody wants to pay for this. Like nobody's going to help you with this. Only customers who would come see it would pay for it. But it's not something that you're embarking on something that is strictly you funding your own.

[Hank Azaria]

Imagination.

I've actually given this thought. There's many levels. I love this music very much. It's a way to literally keep it alive. I mean, I got very, very nostalgic turning 60. All that music from that era started meaning a different thing to me. At the top of that list being Bruce music. I've discovered that singing this is scientifically proven your vagus nerve. It's very healthy for your vagus.

[Pablo Torre]

Nerve. Really.

[Hank Azaria]

Likes. It's very calming and energizing at the same time time. It's like a chanting.

[Chris Cody]

Meditation. Even singing like him, huh? Because that doesn't seem relaxed. His form of song doesn't seems less relaxing, that it's less meditative than the average singer's soothing.

[Hank Azaria]

Voice. Well, there's something about a rock and roll scream. Like the certain Bruce sometimes really screams at rock and roll scream. And I discovered in trying to imitate it and unlock it, like especially he cuts loose on songs like Darkness on the Edge of Town. There's like a primal, I think teenage anger and sadness that is contained in that sound. It was like therapy. It was almost like I unlocked like sadness and anger I didn't know I had going back from age 15. It really is like sound therapy and there's nothing like playing. I love this.

[Pablo Torre]

Music. If I could describe for the audience the smile that just stretched across Dan's face as he revealed that actually this is all about your buried childhood trauma. Dan's like, could we have not started with this? He would have spent the last.

[Chris Cody]

Hour. The idea that he taking that catharsis in screaming for something he's buried for 45 years in the depth of his soul. And feels it while singing like that that realize it. Didn't realize it before but realizes as the sound comes out of his mouth. That's.

[Hank Azaria]

Unbelievable. It was. I started to actually cry. And it's so. It's just real joy for me. And to play with all the kids in the band earlier. Our kids. They all could be my children. They didn't grow up with this music. They ought to learn it. So it was like introducing them. And now they love this music and it's like a family. It's all the parts of show business that I really love without the. All the parts I hate without the.

[Chris Cody]

Bureaucracy. So you're so. The fact that you're doing it on your own, funding it yourself allows you to make all the choices for yourself and doesn't have any interference. Where do people.

[Hank Azaria]

[e-mail]? no, we're easier to find. Just go on our website easystreetban.com and you'll see. We're playing in the city. We're playing at Sony Hall January 11th. We'll be in Aspen and Crested Butte over the holiday.

And we got a bunch of dates.

[Chris Cody]

Next. These are undertakings. Correct to tour.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is.

[Hank Azaria]

No. No one's.

[Pablo Torre]

Dying.

But your family is having to go to Crested Butte with.

[Hank Azaria]

You. Do well there that. See, this is another great thing. They love to ski. My wife and son. So they were going to Aspen anyway. I usually sit it out because I don't like it. So I saved the money, but I booked two gigs. So I get to go play rock and roll. And they ski. You.

[Pablo Torre]

Know. I'm sorry. I've googled what Crested Butte is. This looks like a nice.

[Hank Azaria]

Place. It's beautiful. It's.

[Pablo Torre]

Amazing. Hank is not slumming.

[Chris Cody]

It. Wait a minute. You know Hank's family is skiing in some sort of whatever the equivalent is of a third world.

[Hank Azaria]

Nation. We.

[Pablo Torre]

Play. But I'm like, what is that? North.

[Hank Azaria]

Dakota? We play working class towns too. We do. We. We go.

[Chris Cody]

Everywhere. Hank, it's lovely to see you. We're out of time. There's never enough time. Thank you for being with us. I'm glad we didn't ruin Chiefs Texans for you or Packers.

[Hank Azaria]

Bears. I thought for sure it was going to get.

[Pablo Torre]

Ruined. So I'm looking forward to still contemplating doing that right.

[Hank Azaria]

Now. Don't do it, man. You know, ask any of my friends. You don't, you know, you don't want to earn my wrath like.

[Chris Cody]

That. Look at him. That sounds.

[Pablo Torre]

Threatening. I.

[Hank Azaria]

Know. I get really.

[Pablo Torre]

Pissy. You've sort of described towards the end here a cult. You have all these people who worship you as Bruce Springsteen who they've never met otherwise. And now you have all these people who are sort of distorting reality to make sure that Hank Azaria gets a bespoke version of professional sports. Most popular thing in.

[Hank Azaria]

America. I look at it more like I've learned to ask for what I want. And if you ask, you receive.

[Chris Cody]

Sometimes. Nice seeing you.

[Hank Azaria]

Buddy. Good to see you too.