Stephen Presents: Dave Franco

Summary

The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert: "Stephen Presents: Dave Franco"

Release Date: August 20, 2025
Guest: Dave Franco
Main Theme:
A lighthearted and candid conversation with actor Dave Franco, centered on the quirks of public intimacy with his wife Alison Brie, on-set adventures making their new horror-romance film "Together," and a comical behind-the-scenes look into Stephen Colbert and his staff’s pedicure culture.

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Episode Overview

This episode features an interview with Dave Franco, known for "21 Jump Street," "The Disaster Artist," and his latest horror-romance film "Together." The discussion ranges from viral moments with his wife, the comedic and bizarre difficulties of shooting their new film, and a detour into the surprisingly competitive world of WikiFeet and office pedicures. The conversation is marked by Steven Colbert's signature wit, amusing tangents, and Franco's easygoing humor.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Viral Intimacy: Alison Brie Clips Dave Franco’s Toenails

• Topic Introduction (04:03 – 04:27)

  • Colbert and Batiste bring up recent paparazzi coverage of Alison Brie clipping Franco’s toenails in a public park, sparking social media reactions about the intimacy of such acts in public.
  • Colbert jokes about the practical need for someone else to cut one's nails:

    “Are your hip flexors so tight that you can’t clip your own toenails?” (04:32, Stephen Colbert)

• Franco's Perspective (10:07 – 10:36)

  • Franco doesn’t find it weird, saying,

    “Best pedicure of my life.” (10:35, Dave Franco)

  • Colbert comedically wonders if this will become a new part of his own marriage.

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2. WikiFeet, Pedicures, and Office Fun

• WikiFeet Anecdote (05:10 – 05:27)

  • Colbert recounts discovering he's rated on WikiFeet, boasting a perfect score, and how this inspired an office-wide pedicure party.

    “I had a five out of five. I mean, I don’t want to brag, but I mean, I’m just... I’m in it for the love of the game.” (05:26, Stephen Colbert)

• Pedicure Party Details (05:37 – 06:40)

  • Jon Batiste describes how the staff enjoyed dry pedicures at work:

    “We just sort of put our toes on their knees and they gave us this. Filed away, filed away.” (06:14, Jon Batiste)

  • Over 30-40 staffers participated:

    “A lot of people. 30 or something. Like 30 or 40.” (06:30, Jon Batiste)

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3. Dave Franco’s Career and 21 Jump Street Memories

• Looking Back on 21 Jump Street (08:18 – 09:33)

  • Franco fondly recalls his breakout role as Eric Molson and the offbeat characterization:

    “The writing was so great. And they created this character for me that was really ahead of its time... the coolest kid in school, but he's also like a Greenpeace activist.” (08:32, Dave Franco)

  • Shares a funny story about improvising a song for the party scene:

    “Mother Earth is dying. And when it rains means that beautiful bitch is crying. Reduce, reuse, recycle.” (09:23, Dave Franco)

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4. Making 'Together' – A Horror, Romance and Comedy Mashup

• Acting and Intimacy Challenges (10:44 – 11:44)

  • Franco explains the film’s unique premise: a couple infected with a sickness that literally fuses them together when separated.
  • Real-life awkwardness:

    “We were very conscious about not drinking too much water to try to avoid frequent bathroom [trips]. But inevitably, one of us would have to go, and we would drag the other one with us. ... I just remember... she was peeing and I was standing above her, attached to her.” (11:14–11:39, Dave Franco)

• Film Prop Collector (13:01 – 13:39)

  • The most memorable prop was a life-like bust of Franco’s head, created for a scene where something is violently pulled from his mouth.
  • Franco jokes about his wife’s interest in the bust:

    “Kind of the most romantic she was with me all shoot was when she met my bust... She was getting everything she needed from it, and it didn’t ask for anything.” (14:16–14:21, Dave Franco)

  • Ultimately, their director now displays it behind him during Zoom meetings.

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5. Lighthearted Banter and Notable Quotes

• Dave Franco’s Praise for Colbert

  “You are an absolute legend. ... Everything you touch turns to gold. You are one of the sharpest, funniest people on the planet. And I am honored to be here.” (07:34–07:57, Dave Franco)

• Stephen Colbert’s Response

  “Really kind. Thank you very much. This is gonna be a nice 10 minutes.” (07:57, Stephen Colbert)

• Joking about Public Intimacy

  “Is that something that you and your wife would do?” (10:15, Dave Franco) “We haven't done it yet.” (10:17, Stephen Colbert)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Dave and Alison Brie's Public Toenail Clipping: [04:03–04:49], [10:07–10:36]
• WikiFeet and Staff Pedicure Party: [05:10–06:47]
• 21 Jump Street Memories and Song: [08:18–09:33]
• Together—Prosthetic Attachment and Filming Stories: [10:44–11:44], [13:01–14:21]
• Dave’s Praise for Colbert: [07:34–07:57]
• Funniest Moments, Public Intimacy Banter: [10:07–10:36], [13:01–14:21]

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Memorable Moments & Tone

• The episode is consistently playful, self-aware, and delightfully offbeat, swinging naturally from the absurd (celebrity feet ratings, office pedicures) to genuine discussions about creative work and the challenges of collaborating closely with a partner.
• Franco’s deadpan humor and readiness to poke fun at himself pairs well with Colbert’s quick wit, creating an atmosphere of warmth and comedic spontaneity.

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Conclusion

"Stephen Presents: Dave Franco" is a riotous blend of behind-the-scenes oddities, self-deprecating humor, and unique celebrity insights. The episode excels at letting listeners in on both the private and professional quirks that make Franco and Colbert such engaging figures. Whether you’re a fan of offbeat anecdotes, the craft of acting, or just want a primer on what’s weird about working at "The Late Show," this episode delivers.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, everybody. Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with nut meat. Okay. You know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios. The don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth, instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty smooth.

[Jon Batiste]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Jon Batiste]

We can't disparage the nuts. You.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.

[Jon Batiste]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios.

[Dave Franco]

I love.

[Stephen Colbert]

I love crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?

[Jon Batiste]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Jon Batiste]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious. I get em.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Jon Batiste]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Wonderful pistachios has every snack style covered. Right now. There's an obsession with jalapeno lime. There is an obsession session. It's almost a disorder. It's spicy, it's zesty. It's basically a flavor roller coaster in a nut. Snacking on the go. Grab a bag of no shells. Feeling contemplative and want to work for it a little. So earning it, they're saying if you want to earn your nut, crack open those in shell beauties. Either way, it's snacking like a champ. So the next time hunger strikes, don't hold back. Unless it's a hunger strike. And Then it's important that you do, because whatever you're doing that for, I'm sure it's a worthwhile cause. Snack like you mean it with wonderful pistachios. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more.

[Jon Batiste]

That was a wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Jon Batiste]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Jon Batiste]

No, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Jon Batiste]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nut me, nut. Nut me with nut meat.

[Jon Batiste]

We're nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty.

[Dave Franco]

Good. Possibility means you have a chance. Passion opens the door to all possibilities.

[Jon Batiste]

When I feel like anything's possible, I feel kind of giddy.

[Dave Franco]

I want to be an astronaut, an.

[Jon Batiste]

Artist, an actress to visit another country.

[Dave Franco]

All I need is a backpack and a pair of shoes and I'll find.

[Jon Batiste]

A way I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.

[Dave Franco]

I've never felt like more things are possible than right now.

[Jon Batiste]

In the right shoes, anything's possible.

[Dave Franco]

Dsw.

[Stephen Colbert]

Countless shoes at brag worthy prices.

[Dave Franco]

Imagine the possibilities.

[Jon Batiste]

Hey, everybody. You're listening to the Late Show POD Show. I'm here with Stephen. We've got a fun podcast today.

[Stephen Colbert]

What is it?

[Jon Batiste]

We have Dave Franco.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, that was a lot of fun.

[Jon Batiste]

Lot of fun. Nice guy. Yeah. The reason why I'm picking him is because he and his wife got sort of caught from Page Six giving each other.

[Stephen Colbert]

Clipping each other's toenails.

[Jon Batiste]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Or she was clipping his. I don't know.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

We don't know if it's reciprocal toenail clipping, but it was thought of as a too intimate thing to have happened in public.

[Jon Batiste]

It was a public park. Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Right. I don't know if Evie's ever clipped my toenails.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah. And it's sort of like, would you need that?

[Stephen Colbert]

You know, are your hip flexors so tight that you can't clip your own toenails?

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah. I don't know. Come on, come on. You can reach down there. You don't have to be.

[Dave Franco]

You can be upside down, but this isn't holding together.

[Jon Batiste]

But the reason I bring this up is I have to formally thank you for the pedicure party that happened between the past two intros. Oh, my gosh. So much fun. Steven treated the staff to a pedicure party at work on a Friday.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes. Because one of my writers, and I won't say who, one of my writers who sometimes appears on the show wore open toed shoes on the show and their feet suddenly got featured on WikiFeet.

[Jon Batiste]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Which is something I did not know about until I found out this person was on WikiFeet. Which was. I don't know if it was good for this person or bad for this person, but it became a subject of much conversation. And then I found out that I'm on WikiFeet.

[Jon Batiste]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

And that I had a better foot score.

[Jon Batiste]

I think you might have a perfect foot score.

[Stephen Colbert]

I had a five out of five.

[Dave Franco]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

I mean, I don't want to brag, but I mean, I'm just. I'm in it for the love of the game.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I'd have feet either if I wasn't being scored. You know, I just love having feet.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And toes and tootsies. But the fact that my feet were nicer than this person's feet, I thought maybe I should do something about that. So I offered this person like a professional pedicure to try to bring up their game. And then it was a rehearsal and people said, well, what about the rest of us? Went, sure, bring him a pedicure. So we brought in. So I wasn't actually there for what.

[Jon Batiste]

Happened in the 11th floor conference room. Some very nice ladies came and it was dry pedicures. They didn't have, you know, they didn't have the tubs. But some very nice ladies sat up in the conference table chairs and we just sort of put our toes on their knees and they gave us this. Filed away, filed away.

[Stephen Colbert]

Panned up the Lord.

[Jon Batiste]

I do. I'm wearing boots. I'm wearing boots. But they're great.

[Stephen Colbert]

You often wear boots?

[Jon Batiste]

Yes, but I did a hot pink. It was really fun.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, nice for the summer. Yeah, sure.

[Jon Batiste]

But, yeah, we had some buddies in there and I was just getting my toesies done in the workplace. I had my laptop on my lap.

[Stephen Colbert]

How many people? How many people came?

[Jon Batiste]

A lot of people. 30 or something. Like 30 or 40. Yeah.

[Dave Franco]

Maybe 40 people.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah. Yes. A lot of writers came and we don't come into the office on Fridays, so people really.

[Stephen Colbert]

You know what that cost the show? What, $40 million.

[Jon Batiste]

Yeah. For our toes. For our toes.

[Stephen Colbert]

For your toes. There it is.

[Jon Batiste]

Anyways, thanks for the pedigree party.

[Stephen Colbert]

You're most welcome.

[Jon Batiste]

Just a taste of what fun we have at the late show.

[Stephen Colbert]

Absolutely.

[Jon Batiste]

And this is Dave Franco.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen, My next guest tonight is an act from 21 Jump street, the Disaster Artist and the studio. He now stars in the new horror film together. Please welcome back to the late show, Dave Franco. Hey, good to see you again.

[Dave Franco]

Me too.

[Stephen Colbert]

Been a little bit. You were here a while back, 2018 or something like that. You did a walk on bit for something we're doing with your brother James. How you been?

[Dave Franco]

I've been all right, yeah. Anything new with you?

[Stephen Colbert]

No, no, no, nothing. Nothing so far.

[Dave Franco]

For real, though, I do also want to start by saying you are an absolute legend. I have been following you. I have been following you since the Daily show to the Colbert Report, to this show. Everything you touch turns to gold. You are one of the sharpest, funniest people on the planet. And I am honored to be here.

[Stephen Colbert]

Really kind. Thank you very much. This is gonna be a nice 10 minutes.

[Dave Franco]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Good. But.

[Dave Franco]

Yes, Back to when we first met.

[Stephen Colbert]

Sure, whatever. I can move on to the next question. Whatever you have to do. Whatever. I'm following you. How you been, Dave? You seem good.

[Dave Franco]

I'm pretty good, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

You know, one of the things I just want, like, who the hell is that? That guy's so funny. Is that I've said this to you before, but when you were in 21 Jump street back in the day, you were so funny. Here you are as the character Erik Molson. What do you remember about making that movie?

[Dave Franco]

That movie was Lightning in a Bottle. I mean, the writing was so great. And they created this character for me that was really ahead of its time where he's like the coolest kid in school, but he's also like a Greenpeace activist. And so I remember there was this sequence at my character's house, this party sequence, and the directors, they came up to me and they were like, hey, we think it would be funny if your character was the type of guy who kind of busted out an acoustic guitar at his own party and kind of for forced everyone to circle around to listen to him sing. And they were like, can you play guitar? And I was like, I can play like two or three chords maybe. And they're like, can you sing? And I was like, no. They're like, cool. So we're gonna film in like 30 minutes. If you could come up with something, that would be great.

[Stephen Colbert]

Come up with a song.

[Dave Franco]

Yes. So what we came up with or. What I came up with was Mother Earth. Mother Earth is dying. And when it rains means that beautiful bitch is crying. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's beautiful, you guys. You know you can make something of that. As I said, you and your lovely wife made a little news the other day.

[Dave Franco]

Go on.

[Stephen Colbert]

Did you see this? This right here. Let's check it out. This surprised a bunch of people. This headline was for an intimate moment in public. Alison Brie cuts Dave Franco's toenails in public. Part. Fans have thoughts on TMI video.

[Dave Franco]

What are your thoughts on it? Is that weird to you?

[Stephen Colbert]

I think it looks like a very healthy relationship. There's nothing wrong with that.

[Dave Franco]

Is that something that you and your wife would do?

[Stephen Colbert]

We haven't done it yet.

[Dave Franco]

Have you asked her?

[Stephen Colbert]

No, I think.

[Dave Franco]

I think you should give her a choice.

[Stephen Colbert]

You know what? I'm just gonna see. I'm just gonna test the relationship with this one because I do not clip my nails very often, and they are like Fritos corn chips down there.

[Dave Franco]

Here's all I'm gonna say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Dave Franco]

Best pedicure of my life.

[Stephen Colbert]

Fantastic. So this is like, not only. Not only do you display in public like this, but you're doing the new movie together. Together.

[Dave Franco]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's a horror. It's a horror film.

[Dave Franco]

It is a horror movie, but it's also romantic. It's a little funny. It's got a little bit of everything.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so you had. You worked together before?

[Dave Franco]

We have, but not this intensely. Okay. We really kind of cranked up the intimacy on this one where, you know, there was a day on set where we were literally attached to each other with a prosthetic for, of course, one of the premises.

[Stephen Colbert]

And we're not giving anything away is.

[Dave Franco]

You slowly start to kind of merge in a way. Yes. So you were literally attached for about 10 hours. And because of that, we were very conscious about not drinking too much water to try to avoid frequent bathroom.

[Stephen Colbert]

Sure.

[Dave Franco]

But inevitably, one of us would have to go and we would drag the other one with us. And I just remember there was a moment where she was peeing and I was standing above her, attached to her. And I remember thinking we could not have made this movie with anyone else. And then I handed her some toilet paper and we went back to work.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah. Yeah. Clearly. Clearly. Good relationship. Okay, we have a clip from together. Is there anything we need to know about this?

[Dave Franco]

So like you said, it's like we play this codependent couple. We get infected with something that makes it so that when we're apart from each other, we start to feel sick. So we need to be near each other at all times, and then we slowly start to fuse. And this is kind of an early stage of that.

[Stephen Colbert]

Jim.

[Dave Franco]

Ooh.

[Jon Batiste]

What are you doing?

[Dave Franco]

Well, I'm not doing anything.

[Jon Batiste]

What is that?

[Dave Franco]

Stop, stop, stop. What the.

[Jon Batiste]

What is it? Mildew or something? Ow. Ow. I know.

[Dave Franco]

What do you want to do?

[Shopify Advertiser]

A three legged race?

[Dave Franco]

Sorry. Slow, slow.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's disturbing. That's disturbing.

[Dave Franco]

That's about 0.01% of how disturbing it gets.

[Stephen Colbert]

I understand that there's a prop from this film.

[Dave Franco]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

That you kept. One prop that you kept.

[Dave Franco]

Sure. Do you want to reveal it or should I set it up or. Oh, I can kind of describe this. Yeah, yeah. Basically, there's a scene where there's something being crammed into my mouth and then violently pulled out, which I did practically for a lot of it. But there was one thing the director wanted that was just kind of unsafe for me to do. And so we created something to make it possible.

[Stephen Colbert]

Jim, can we see what they created? So that's nice. That's nice.

[Dave Franco]

As you can tell, that was a point in the filming process where I fully lost my mind. Every single day on this set was very emotionally and physically taxing. And as you can imagine, my wife and I would go home at the end of the day and not really have the energy or the desire to be romantic. And so kind of the most romantic she was with me all shoot was when she met my bust. The.

[Stephen Colbert]

Looks like he's having a good time.

[Dave Franco]

She was getting everything she needed from it, and it didn't ask for anything.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I. And I understand that you wanted this.

[Dave Franco]

Well, I did not want it. You didn't want this.

[Stephen Colbert]

She wanted it.

[Dave Franco]

She may have wanted it, but our director actually took it home with him, and it's now on his office wall and it's behind him during Zoom meetings.

[Stephen Colbert]

You. You live a weird life. Dave Franco. Dave, thanks so much for being here. Good to see you again together. Opens in theaters on July 30th. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

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