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The following podcast is a Dear Media Production.
She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire.
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Fantastic.
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And he's a serial entrepreneur, a very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostick.
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Are bringing you along for the ride.
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Get ready for some major realness.
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Welcome to the Skinny Confidential.
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Him and her.
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Hello, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Skinny Confidential, him and her show. Today we have the one and only Rainn Wilson. Rainn is an Emmy nomination and SAG award winning actor, writer, producer and New York Times best selling author. Best known as Dwight Schrute on NBC's the Office. He gained early acclaim on HBO Six Feet under and has appeared in films like the Meg, Jerry and Marge Go Large and Code 3, as well as a series including Star Trek Discovery, Dark Winds and Utopia. Lorne and I have wanted Rain on this podcast for a very long time. Not just because we're a fan of his work as an actor, but we love what he's doing now in the spiritual, mindful space. And we love what he's done with his Soul Boom book and now the workbook. So check him out. This episode goes all over the place. We talk about the Office, but we also get very spiritual with Rain. We go into wellness, we go into health, we go into mindfulness. And it was a really great, impactful conversation that I think you guys are going to enjoy with that. Rain Wilson, welcome to the Skinny Confidential. Him and her show. This is the Skinny Confidential.
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Him and her.
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It is strange sitting with some people because, like, we grew up watching you and it's weird to sit here with you.
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Not that, like, you're not so young that you say you grew up watching me.
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Okay.
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It's not like you were four watching the Office.
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No, but it's like we were like, yeah, 18.
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Still growing up, but you know what I mean? Like, we were young.
B
All right, fair enough.
C
The way he got me to be his wife was through the Office.
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We binge watched it together and I made her like, sit down and watch.
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It with me because when I saw the Office and I saw that that was his sense of humor, I was turned on.
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Wow.
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It was like an early Netflix.
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That's like the highest compliment the Office has ever gotten as a show. And it's gotten plenty of compliments.
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So you guys, it brought you guys together.
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That's amazing.
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We were making out to you and Michael.
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Oh, that's okay. That's gross.
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It is really full circle to have you here and I was excited when we got the opportunity to interview you because I love to tell people's stories, and I. I think that it would be really cool to get all the behind the scenes and the context of everything you've done. What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be an actor?
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Wow. You're going way back.
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Way back.
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Wow. The first moment that I wanted to be an actor. You know, this sounds crazy because I played an iconic role of a comic sidekick on a sitcom, but when I was a kid, I grew up watching sitcoms. I mean, that's kind of all my family did night after night after night, even the bad ones, through the 70s and early 80s, you know, Bob Newhart Show MASH, watched every episode, Taxi. I love Cheers, all of these great shows. And it was always, like, the comic sidekick characters that I would be like.
I want to do that now. I had no idea how to get there. I didn't know, like, what does that mean? My dad worked in the sewer construction in suburban Seattle. I didn't know any professional artists. He was kind of a wannabe artist, and he would paint and write weird books and stuff like that. But I had no idea how to be an artist. But I was like, you know, I want to. I want to be like Radar O'Reilly on MASH. He says all the. Comes in and just says a bunch of funny lines and is kind of a clown. And I always knew I was a little bit of a clown myself. And, you know, maybe I could do something like that. So fast forward to high school and especially this one high school I went in suburban Chicago. We moved, and I started doing theater. And I was kind of like, oh, this is the next best thing. At least I can perform. I can make people laugh. I can improvise. I can do physical comedy and stuff like that. But I. Even then, it wasn't like, oh, this is my trajectory is to be on a sitcom. But I just kind of. I kind of knew it in my bones. I was like, I think I could do that.
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Did you ever think you could make a living at it or you just wanted to do the thing?
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I had never met a single person in my life growing up that had ever made a check from doing art. So I knew a lot of people doing art. Like, I knew people that played guitar. My dad painted, you know, some big crazy paintings. I. I knew people that aspired to be artists in some way here and there, but I never knew anyone that had gotten paid for it. So it just wasn't on my radar. Then I went, you know, then I was a theater geek. I Kind of gave up being a chess team geek and a bassoon plane geek and model United nations dork and went all in on the theater geek world. And then I started going to theater of classes and training and ended up at NYU for theater training. But even then I was like, well, I guess I'll be an actor in the theater. I'll go do a Christmas Carol at some theater and I'll get 380 bucks a week and you know, play Burt von Hooverstein or whatever.
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So out of curiosity, what did you think you would do to support yourself? Like, it sounds like the acting is like your passion, but you obviously had to live. So what were you, what were you doing at the time?
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I, I really did. I, I worked so many odd jobs. I mean, it's crazy. I, I worked, I was a handyman's assistant at an apartment building. I delivered marine supplies. I was a busboy, a dishwasher busboy, then waiter at a variety of restaurants. I did cater waitering. My wife and I had a dog walking service that lasted all of a month. The list goes on and on and on with a crazy job. I once had a job counting cars from a freeway overpass on the carpool lane with a clicker for a study from the University of Washington. I spent a couple of weeks sitting on a freeway overpass. You name it, I did it just to kind of pay the bill. So, you know, in terms of being an actor, I didn't know what I was going to do. Maybe teach acting on the side. I didn't know how that worked.
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Do you learn how to be funny or is there an art and a science behind being funny?
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Both.
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Yeah.
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So you can learn a lot about being funny. You could take an improv class and you kind of, it's a laboratory to study like what works, what's funny, what's not. It's like, oh, specific things are funny. Oh, yelling is not funny. You know, unless it's Steve Carell, then it's pretty funny. But, you know, and so acting classes, improv. I suppose if you tried standup comedy, you'd kind of learn what's, what's funny and what's not. But, you know, I also think that comedy in a lot of ways for people like me, I was kind of a dork. I never really fit in. You know, had a.
You know, troubled childhood home life. You know, it's a coping mechanism, it's a survival mechanism. Like I was never going to be the best looking guy in the room or the most popular or the most Successful, but I could make people laugh. And then I took my first acting class, and then I made the girls laugh, and they invited me to sit at their lunch table. And then I was like, okay, I'm in.
C
So it's almost like you, when you associate that you would have invited me.
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To say your lunch table. I made you laugh.
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Oh, yeah.
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In an after class, if.
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By the way, this is my friend behind here, my producer, Taylor, since I was 12 years old. And the reason I keep him around this long is because he's making me laugh.
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He's an absolutely terrible producer.
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Taylor seems very stressed out, though.
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He is the Dwight of the office.
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He is.
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Yeah. This is.
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Let me, like. So we've worked together. We've known each other since we were 12. All of us. All you guys.
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Yep.
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We haven't been together that whole time, but we. But we've all known each other since middle school.
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Where was this?
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In San Diego, in, like, Del Mar area, you know, as we grew up down there.
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Wow. I didn't know successful people came from San Diego.
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Yeah. Zingo and San Diego. San Diego. San Diego. People are punching the air right now.
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I love San Diego, especially old school. Like, San Diego in the 90s was, like, so good. Magic Land.
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So good.
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Yeah.
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I will say now that if I discovered San Diego as a grown man with, like, I would be like, I'll never leave in. But since we grew up there, the San Diego people are.
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But yes, you would have sat at my table. I would have wanted you at my table. Because funny. There's nothing better than funny.
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Yeah.
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But, yes, Taylor is. He's worked with us for forever, known as Forever. And he has his own HR department siloed specifically around him. Yes. There's a whole team that just makes sure. Yep.
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Support Taylor.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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So. So you associated, like, happiness sort of with being funny?
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Well, I wouldn't say happiness. I would just say it became a survival skill and.
A coping mechanism. So I don't know if you know the great social scientist about happiness, Arthur Brooks, Dr. Arthur Brooks. He's amazing. He has a column in the Atlantic, and he always talks about how, you know, people that grew up in kind of difficult situations often use comedy as a way to cope and to get by because you can't laugh and cry at the same time. Or you can't. You can, but you can't. You can't laugh and feel despair at the same time. And so laughter is something you bring to yourself to get by difficult situations. And it's not like I Was like beaten or tied to a radiator or anything like that. It was just an unhappy marriage that I grew up in and.
A
Is that what you mean when you said troubled childhood?
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just my parents, they got divorced the second I left for college. They never should have been married in the first place. It just was not a happy household, that's all. And, and in school I found that it was a way for me to get noticed, get attention, make friends. So I leaned in. You know, I think that's that way with a lot of, with a lot of people that, you know, are funny people or consider themselves working in comedy.
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Being funny is number one. I think it's number one.
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Wow.
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I gotta tell you that. Okay. It's important. That's why I told you I had to gauge a sense of humor before I dated him. It's really important.
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He passed.
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Yeah, he passed.
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Well, I think, like, you know, you know, I believe one of the cornerstones to like a long term relationship is being able to laugh together a lot.
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Sure.
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And share the same kind of jokes and inside jokes and sense of humor around things. So, yeah, I mean, like, I think, and you know, like when the world starts to go to shit, which it does time to time, comedy, I think is what brings everybody kind of back together. It's like we can all. Everyone starts to kind of look like, okay, this is absurd, let's laugh about it. Right, right. Like it's the thing, it's the great connector of people.
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What was the first big break that you had when it came to comedy?
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Well, listen, I went to theater school, so I was doing, I was just making plays and playing characters. You know, I played Hamlet, you know, in, in acting school. I wasn't necessarily like, funny guy.
C
Got it.
B
Now, did I excel at doing comedy? Yeah, I did better in, you know, comedic roles and stuff like that. But I didn't do stand up, I didn't do improv. I played characters. And then I spent 10 years doing theater in and around New York on tours and regional theaters and stuff like that. So, you know, my career was about transforming into characters. And if you need to get a laugh, you've got to find a way to get a laugh. And a lot of the characters that I played were funny. And then when I came out here to la, you know, I found a niche. You know, I had struggled making a living in the theater. In fact, I was in New York 10 years. And I think your audience will appreciate this. I calculated it for those 10 years. I never made more than $17,000 in a year doing acting.
C
Wow.
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For the first 10 years of my career now, I had unemployment and I would weigh tables and cater and drive a moving van. That was another one of my big jobs, side hustles. It wasn't until I came to LA doors started opening for me because I had this ability to create weird, interesting characters. Hence eventually Dwight Schrute. But I played a lot of other characters before and after Dwight.
C
I think people don't understand how hard and difficult the theater is. It's I, it's. To me, it seems like I. And again, I don't know. But like the most difficult kind of form of acting, it would seem, it's live. What advice do you have for someone that has to get up in front of people in front of a live audience and be comfortable?
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Well, you know, the whole idea of acting and a lot of acting training is figuring out how to not be self conscious. Right. So, but you can. This, this applies to public speaking. It applies to being on came. It applies to having a conversation on cameras and with microphones in a podcast.
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Public speaking used to be my biggest fear in the world.
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Yeah.
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And that's now. I obviously do it a lot, but it used to terrify me.
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Right. And probably because you're so self aware, you're like, what do they think of me? How am I standing? Should I put my hands in my pockets? Oh, I was going to say the other thing. Why did I say that? I should have said the other. Like it's a self consciousness that makes being up in front of people difficult. So when you study acting, part of the study of acting is learning how to sync yourself in your character so that you're living, breathing, thinking as that character and you're not kind of going like, how do I look? Do I look okay? Does that sound weird? Maybe I should stand more like that. You're just, you're in the bones, you're in the skin. You're behind the eyeballs of the character and, and you're pursuing what the character wants and pursuing that intention. So you can bring those same skills in terms of public speaking. And in front of an audience, you're also in service to something larger. When you're an actor, you're trying to help tell a story. It's bigger than you. It's not about you, it's about the scene. It's about what's the point of the scene? Where are you trying to go? What's the style that the scene needs to be played in? So there's Something bigger than you driving it. And it's the same way with public presentation. It's like let the thing that you're trying to impart be the most important thing. So it takes away from that self consciousness.
A
This is like. Is the Daniel Day Lewis characters. He just like sunk in too deep and too far. Is he just like so deep in there behind the eyes?
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There's a lot of actors that. There's a lot of actors that, that do that, that go in way, way.
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Like he becomes Abe Lincoln for like a year.
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Can you imagine being married to him? You have to like turn into the. The wife. What's her name? Martha. I know that's George Washington. You have to like really like really get into it with him.
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Do you do that? Is it like that? I mean, like when you're playing someone for a long time, is it like that deep or is that you can kind of come in and out, take the pants on and off?
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No. I mean, obviously I wasn't like walking into the set of the Office as Dwight Schrute and like living as Dwight for 10 years. But I have, I have tried that on films before. I did this film no one saw, even though it's really good. It's called Hescher. It's with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Natalie Portman. And it's in a legion of independent films that I've done smaller films that no one ever saw, but. And I played this kind of pill popping dad who was kind of catatonic with grief. And I was like, you know, the only way that this is going to work is if I'm just like, if I stay there, I'm not going to like go and action. You know, I mean, like, I have to just. I have to bring it with me, you know, so.
A
Because it was such a heavy kind of emotional thing.
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Yeah. And it's not something you can fake and it's not something you can push or indicate, you know, Now I'm so sad. Like, you have to, you have to go there, you know. And so I spent several weeks on that film just. And I told the crew and people like, hey, I'm going to just kind of be in my own space and just kind of in my own. And crews are pretty good with that, you know, leaving you alone when it's clear, like you want to have some space. And I feel like it helped, it helped the role. But I don't, I don't do that a lot.
C
That's a hard one to have to play catatonic person. That's yeah, that's. That's a tough one.
B
Yeah.
C
When you get out of that kind of role, how do you undo it?
B
Yeah, you have to exercise it and really let it go. I have friends who have really struggled with. With that, like, letting roles go or taking it home with you, even, you know, and. And it. And it bleeds into your real life. But I think people that struggle with that have. Are mental defectives.
C
Sometimes you take home a role.
A
I would love to hear. I would love for you to elaborate on this.
C
I'll elaborate later.
B
Okay.
C
Sometimes you take home a role.
B
What role is that?
A
What role is.
C
Depends on the night, but I don't.
A
Know what you're saying.
B
Let's go there.
A
Let's go to it.
B
Okay.
C
When you had your first big break, what was the audition like for that?
B
Well, I. The break that I had came before the Office, and it was a show called Six Feet under, and it was on hbo, of course, and that was a really big show. And HBO was just breaking open at the time. The Sopranos was on Sex and the City, Entourage, you know, all these incredible shows were coming out the Wire all at the same time. And it was like a new way of experiencing television.
A
That was a crazy moment in time. All those shows coming out at that time.
C
There are so many good ones.
B
And it was all in the early 2000s, and people were like, holy.
A
Those are still. Like, when you look at, like, top 20 lists, like, eight of the ones you just named are still on the list.
B
They're still up there. Yeah, absolutely. So Six Feet under was another great show that was at the time. There were a couple of guys on the show already, Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall, who played Dexter later, and they were on Six Feet under. And I just wanted to be on the show. And I auditioned. This was when I was a really struggling actor just trying to make pay the bills. I auditioned for small role after small role and kept not getting cast. And it was so frustrating. I just wanted to be. And I think there's a life lesson here, by the way. You waiting for it. Yeah. Buckle up, kids. So I auditioned for, like, you know, the flower shop owner and auditioned for the pizza guy and auditioned for, like. And I remember auditioning for gay choir member number three, and I didn't get cast as gay choir member number three. I'm like, geez, what? You know, what do I have to do? I just want to get on the show somehow. Just a role on the show. And as I was leaving the audition, I saw this breakdown of a new character they were introducing named Arthur, who was a mortician's intern and was very young, but was the love interest of the older mom. And it was very kind of naturally odd. And I read the description. I was like, oh, my God, I could totally play that. So I went to the casting person. I bravely kind of sucked it up. And I went over to her, and I was like, hey, do you think that maybe I could audition for this other role? And she's like, I don't know. Let me check. And she went and talked to the producer, and she's like, yeah, come back in an hour and you can audition for it. And like, here's your. Here's your pages. So I had, like, an hour to, like, get a sandwich and, like, prepare. But I just like, I know I can do this role. I know this role is mine. And, you know, I went back, and after two or three auditions, I got it. I ended up doing 13 episodes on the show, and that's what opened the door for the Office. So the Office didn't come out of nowhere. It really came out of me playing the supporting role on Six Feet Under. And the showrunner of the Office, Greg Daniels, had seen me on it and was very interested in me. And so in. The life lesson here is like, rejection is God's protection, right? Had I gotten to play the pizza guy or gay choir member number three, I never would have gotten to play Arthur, and I never would have played Dwight Schrute. So all that rejection was there for a reason. It was there for a purpose and, you know, opened up a career for me.
C
What was that like, getting the call to play such a big role on the Office?
A
Or was it big when you got the call? Or did you guys not even know if it was going to.
B
Yeah, I mean, we were a little show when we started, and NBC didn't know what to do with us. And when our first season, as you know, is. Is six episodes, so that's how much they believed in us. Like, yeah, we're going to order six episodes of this weird show. It was a very weird show at the time. Everything was big, bright sitcoms like Friends, you know, and we were like, you know, mockumentary and fluorescent lights and bad haircuts and beepers and cubicles.
C
That's what it was so great about it. The essence of it felt real. Yeah, it's relatable.
B
Yeah.
C
It was like. It was. It didn't feel like it was a set.
B
Yeah.
C
You know.
B
Yeah.
C
So. So when. When you start to see the momentum of the Office. What does that look like? Was it a long time or did it pick up quick?
B
Well, the first season we barely stayed on the air. The second season, they ordered like another, like six episodes. I mean, it was just the minimum that they could order. Very low budgets. Steve Carell had quietly become kind of a movie star during that time because 40 year old virgin had come out and Little Miss Sunshine and Anchorman, so he was kind of on his way already. And then we just got one more episode here, one more episode there. We kind of thought we'd be canceled and do kind of be like Arrested Development. Like, oh, we did a season or two of a really funny show. People will eventually discover it, but that's all it's gonna be. And then little by little, we just started picking up momentum and the ratings just started going up. I remember back in the day, there was this hotline you could call to find out the ratings, the TV ratings of the night before. If you called after, like 1:00 clock p.m. and I remember every, every time, every day, every week at 1 o', clock, we go, beep, boop, boop, boop, boop. Like, these are your ratings for last night's television. And we'd hear if we went up or down. And we, like, we were ticking up. We're like, we're ticking up. You guys were ticking up. And then all of a sudden we got the back nine, then we won the Emmy, and then we were just off to the races. Yeah.
C
Did you. Did you always get it? Like, did you always get how funny and amazing the Office was, or did it take the public court of opinion to.
B
Oh, no, we knew.
C
You knew.
B
Oh, yeah. Yeah, we knew. We knew we were creating something really special and outrageous and unlike kind of anything on TV before.
A
How much input, I'm sure, on a lot. But did you have on your character and, like, presenting the way that Dwight presents, or was it the right. Or, like, did, you know, like, hey, this is the way I got to do this thing.
B
I had a lot of input on it. And I, at that point, remember, I had been. I had spent 10 years doing theater in New York, so I played lots of different characters. I'd spent three or four years in LA doing little crappy little roles on, like, Law and Order and CSI and other, you know, pilots that no one ever saw, little, little crazy horror films like House of a Thousand Corpses and stuff like that. So I had a lot of experience playing characters. But I came in with a. With a haircut and the glasses I wanted, and the beeper and the. And the little calculator wristwatch, and the kind of the. The look and feel of Dwight. And, you know, I even. I brought in. I had a meeting with the writers, and I brought in pictures of my family because a lot of them were farmers back in the day, and that contributed to Dwight being a farmer. And Greg Daniel's relatives had been farmers, too. So he was really interested in, like, having, like, a socially awkward farmer in the workplace. Like, how does that work? You know, there's some comedic value to that. So I had a great deal of input. And let's not forget, we had an amazing template, which was the British Office, which is a brilliant show in its own right. And Mackenzie Crook, who played Gareth on that show, Dwight was a kind of a mirror image of him. So there was so much great stuff that he brought to the table in creating that character as well, that, frankly, I stole some of his best bets.
A
Do you have any favorite or. Favorite episodes or Dwight moments that are like, you remember them and, like, that was the best version or the best one?
B
You know, I think one of the reasons the Office has stayed alive for so long is that it has these little human moments that are maybe just 5, 10, 15% of the show. They're very small percentage of the show, but that's what touches the heart and keeps the audience coming back. And there was an episode called Money where it's the first time they visit Dwight's Airbnb at Schrute Farms. And he's heartbroken because Angela has left him because he put her cat in the freezer. And he's sitting on the stairwell with Jim, and they have a scene, and Jim gives him some advice and, like, pats him on the shoulder. And. And Dwight is looking the other way and doesn't know that Jim has left. And then Dwight just. And Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby, was, I think, wrote it and was directing it. Brilliant director. And then Dwight reaches out to put his arm around Jim, and Jim is gone. And he didn't know it. And then he kind of fumbles and, like, looks around like, that was weird. And, like, he would have hugged Jim, but Jim was gone. And like, that. That kind of, like, missed connection, like, is this beautiful little human moment that a lesser show would have had Dwight hug Jim to have like a. Oh, look, they're hugging. And then you wouldn't. Where do you go from there once Dwight has hugged Jim? How do you. How do you continue to tell stories where they torment Each other.
C
You're so right.
B
So it's this one little moment that in that moment was kind of the key to the whole show, to the brilliance of the show.
A
It had depth. It wasn't just like, haha, laugh comedy. It was like there was depth and feeling to it.
B
And you see it and you laugh a little bit like, oh, he missed him. And it's like a ha ha. But you're also touched and it kind of gets. It plays both.
A
And that's the one where you're like crying like a ghoul and then he opens the door and you're acting like. Is that right?
B
Yes. Yeah, yeah.
C
When you thought about him as a character, like, what are the personality quirks and traits that you really wanted to bring to the role?
B
Well, I really love the idea of someone who's utterly unselfconscious, takes themselves incredibly seriously, no matter how ridiculous what they're saying is.
C
We all know someone like that.
A
We all know Taylor.
B
We need a camera on Taylor.
So I knew that that would be funny. I always, you know, I'd always begged them to write me more physical comedy, too. I always liked it when Dwight hurt himself or tripped over something or got to do something with some physicality because I had studied in theater school, going back to theater school, a lot of, like, clowning, like, again, learning about comedy, like, clown is a. Is a way to learn about comedy. Not like Ringling Brothers, Giant Red Shoes and Big Red Nose, but, you know, building physical comedy routines. You know, the Italians call them lazies, you know, and I wanted to do more and more of that. So I think that was. That was amazing. And then the writers were so great and they gifted Dwight with this incredible love story with Angela, you know, and the Dwight Angela story. I never would have thought to do that. And they, they brought that to the equation. And, you know, that ran for like eight of the seasons.
A
This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all in one website platform for entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or managing a growing brand, Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website, engage with your audience, and sell anything from products to content to time, all in one place, all on your own terms. I love Squarespace as a platform so much because it gives you, the individual, the ability to control your destiny. Owning your own content, owning your own platform, whether that's an E comm store, a blog, if you want to sell courses, subscriptions, if you want to build a newsletter, this is so Important one thing about Lauren and I personally is we control the platforms we distribute our content on. We have our own e comm sites, we have our own newsletters, we have our own RSS feed that produces this very show that you're listening or watching now. And we own the platform. So many creators and entrepreneurs are dependent on third party social platforms. Here's the problem with that. These are tools that are great to grow, but they're also tools that you do not control. You're at the mercy of their changes, their algorithms, their bands, whatever it may be. With Squarespace, you don't have to do that. Squarespace makes it easy and cost effective to stand up your platform right now. In the early days of the Internet, you had to get all these different designers, encoders and platforms and hosting and it was a total mess and it was so cost prohibitive. So now you can do it all cost effectively and in one place at Squarespace. So check them out. Go to squarespace.com for a free trial and when you're Ready to launch squarespace.com skinny to save 10 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain, again, that is squarespace.com skinny let's take a quick break to talk about one of our favorite supplement brands, one of our favorite brands in general, and that is Symbiotica. Taking Symbiotica supplements is one of the easiest ways I've found to stay consistent with my health goals, even during a busy summer. This weekend we had to travel to Florida. I had to go to Tampa with Lauren and then we had to go to Miami. We were seeing friends, we were doing dinners, we were having meetings and we were running around. But here's the biggest problem right now, traveling in this season. Everybody is sick. Everybody's coughing, everybody's sniffling in the airport. Everyone's blowing their nose. It is obscene, it is absurd. And I'm not going to lie. I was nervous to travel because I hate getting sick. I'm the biggest baby. I would rather break my arm than get sick again. Carson. But I didn't have to worry this time because of course I had my trusty Symbiotica products. Some of the standout favorites that I always travel with. They have this elderberry syrup that comes in these individualized packets that is incredible. They also have this vitamin C packet that I think is the best vitamin C on the market. They also have a liposomal glutathione. This is is going to be the master antioxidant for the body. And of course they have the Essential Vitamin D3 and K2 supplement. These are things that I take without fail every single time I'm traveling. They're things that I'm using constantly in the winter seasons when sicknesses are on the rise and when people have all these viruses. And I take them because I do not like to be sick. And I like to give my body the best fighting chance to fight off any viral disease or illness or sickness or whatever's going around, especially with kids in school. So check them out. You can't go wrong. They have such an incredible slate of products. Go to symbiotica.com TSC today to get 20% off plus free shipping. That's C-Y-M-B-I-O-T-I-K-A.com TSC to get 20% off plus free Shipping.
C
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A
We had Oscar on the show.
B
Okay.
A
And he came in and we did a whole accounting bit in here in this office. It was actually pretty funny. And he played him, but he was saying like, you, you guys, over time it like became like, like a really tight knit group, like almost like a family in some ways. Like, you guys were with each other so often for so long.
B
Yeah.
A
That it's like. And I imagine when that ends, that's got not only from an identity perspective, but also just doing that together for so long, that's gotta be kind of challenging.
B
It was amazing. I remember we had this guest director come on the set once and we were on season like six or seven or whatever and it was in the morning and we were all like hugging. High five. Hey, how was your weekend? And like just getting along, laughing, goofing around, like. And we had been working together for like at that point, like 130 episodes into the show at that point, and the director was just like, oh my God, I've never seen this before. It's like I've shot on 100 TV shows. I've never seen a cast that loved each other as much as this.
A
That's what he said.
B
Yeah. And then he said, like, you know, I just came from this other show. I won't say what show it was. And you know, and half the cast wouldn't talk to the other cast and they, the other half and they wouldn't come out of their trailers unless someone else was there. And there was like all this kind of like, you know, competition and some people refused to work with other people. And I won't say what show it was. Desperate Housewives. There you go. There's your headline on People magazine, people.com right there.
A
We just had Terry Hatcher on the show.
B
Oh, I did a thing. I did a theater thing with Terry Hatcher. She's wonderful.
A
Wonderful.
B
She's delightful.
A
We had a great time with her.
B
And a very talented actor.
C
It seems to me, too, like, that there was almost like, a really an energetic vibe of gratitude on the set. Like, it seemed like you guys were so excited, but also, at the same time, so grateful to be there. And so there. It felt like you guys were, like, really just appreciative. And sometimes on a set, you can feel as if you were when there's, like, diva behavior going on. Does that make sense?
B
That totally makes sense. Yeah. I think us almost getting canceled, like, three or four times made us, like, really grateful. Like, oh, we get to do this. And every day was a gift. We get. Are you kidding me? We get to do these incredibly funny scenes. I mean, it wasn't always. Sometimes it was grueling and long days, and. And sometimes it was boring because you'd just kind of be in the background of each other's shots all day long, you know? And absolutely, there was. There was. We knew we were. We got to be part of something really special.
C
When you're in the background. I've never asked an actor this. When you're in the background of shot for, like, hours on end, are you. Are you sitting there, like, just pretending to do something, or are you actually doing it?
B
Well, one of the things we clamored for was, like, get these computers working, please, so you could do something so we can at least, like, surf the web and look at, like, fantasy football scores.
C
Taylor would not be looking at that. He'd be looking at something else. Oh, fantasy dot com.
B
Not football. Different kind of fantasy.
A
Yeah, different kind of fantasy HR department.
C
So did they get the computers working?
B
They did, yeah.
C
And then everyone's just on the web looking at whatever they want.
B
Part of the problem is they got the computers working. And then there was a while when you could play poker online and you could spend actual money. It was kind of. Then they kind of shut that down. I think you can do it in certain states, like you said.
A
Yeah, it's legal in some states, but now. But for a while, there was. Floodgates were open.
B
The floodgates were open for a while, and I was on these poker sites with, like, actual money that I had put in, like, being in the background and Then they'd be like, we need a reaction from Dwight on this. And I was like, just gimme a minute. I just went all in on this hand and like, they're like, action. I'm like, fuck. And I'd have to. That was not good. So I stopped that. That was very short lived.
C
What was it like for you guys to win all these awards and get all this acknowledgement and accolades? Was it as amazing as it looks from an outside perspective?
B
You know, the first rush of going to those first award shows, first couple of like Emmys and Golden Globes and stuff was. Was amazing. Yeah, it was amazing. And especially, I mean, think about it. I'm like, I never made over 17 grand in a year. 10 years doing theater in New York and then cut to like five years later and I'm on an Emmy winning TV show and going to like the Golden Globes with like George Clooney. Like, it's, it's, it's. You're just like, whoa, what the. You know, and it's, it's. It was pretty crazy. Yeah, but, but it is astonishing. And people are gonna roll their eyes at home, but it is astonishing at how then it starts to become work, you know?
C
What do you mean?
B
Well, you do two, three, four years of the award shows and like you gotta get dressed up and it takes an hour and a half to get in. And then you're waiting in these long lines and then you can't get to your table and they. You, you keep losing the award. I lost three Emmys in a row. And.
A
But you have to be there.
B
You got to be there and be smiling and like, if, even if you don't feel like it and it even. That starts to become work.
C
Going to a word show, you lose. Like, what do you practice your face? If you lose in the mirror? You have to sit there with like a smile on your face.
B
Like, it's the worst.
C
Like, what do you do?
A
Have you seen that clip of. I don't know if it's real. I don't know if it's. Maybe it's real. That clip of Quentin Tarantino when he was, when he was up against best director, it was, it was him and then Ben Affleck one and it pans. The Quintino spits out his water was like everywhere. I don't know if it was.
B
He probably planned that or joking or.
A
Not, but it was funny.
C
You have to keep like, yeah, like.
B
So you, so you're like. And they. Because everyone has a camera on them, you know, and they're like, and the Emmy goes to. And I'm like, and inside my heart is going, like, and the Emmy goes to. They're tearing open the envelope.
Jeremy Piven, like, and then it's like, yeah. Way to go, Jeremy. Right on, bro. Right on.
A
Do you guys really, like, have no knowledge of who's going to win until that moment?
B
Yeah. No one does.
C
Nobody knows when you're at the award ceremony. Was there tons of actors that are really famous coming up to you guys being like, I love the Office. I mean, there had to be like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can imagine.
A
That's also got to be.
B
That was amazing.
C
Yeah, that's pretty kind of iconic.
B
Yeah. Ben Affleck was one. He came up to us at the Golden Globes, like, love your show, man. Oh, my God. I've seen every episode.
C
How do you know what to do when the Office ends? Did you have a plan? Did you want to take a break? Like, what was your energy when it went away?
B
I was just, you know, again, like, it's. It's kind of a hard thing for some people to understand because they'll see me, like, on the street, and they'll be like, dwight. It's like, I'm not Dwight.
C
Right.
B
Like, I played Dwight. I get that for nine and a half years.
A
Yeah.
B
Of a long acting career. Tons of roles before Dwight, tons of roles after Dwight. Like, be a little more respectful. Like, I'm the guy who played Dwight, but I'm not actually that. Dwight is a beet farmer in Pennsylvania. But a lot of. For a lot of people, they don't quite get. Get that. And I. And I understand that, and I completely understand. So I just wanted to play other cool roles. That's it. You know, I had enough money, so it wasn't really about, like, oh, I need to kind of, like, chase another show. But, you know, I did a bunch of shows that didn't work out. I did a show on Fox called Backstrom that was a detective show. It did 12 episodes, and then it. We didn't get high enough ratings, and that went away. I did another show on Amazon called Utopia that no one saw because it was a show about a pandemic that came out during a pandemic.
A
Dicey.
B
And that was no fun. And I did a bunch of independent films. I did some bigger films and studio films, too. And. But, yeah, I wanted to develop stuff. And at the same time, I had this interest in spirituality, so I started a digital media company called Soulpancake. That was a YouTube channel for a Long time. And now Soul Boom. I wrote this book, Soul Boom. We had the Soul Boom podcast. And so, you know, and we did stuff with Oprah, and we did stuff on mental health, and that's another interest of mine. So I really wanted to also do make sure I'm spending some of my focus not just playing wacky characters, but trying to make a difference in having kind of deeper conversations about what it means to be a human being. So there's a lot of my work in the last 11 years since the Office has been in that space.
A
How did you initially become so interested in mental health and the things surrounding all of the.
B
Can I swear on this podcast? Because I was really fucked up in my 20s, and I went through a really hard time. And we talked earlier about the Artist's Way, and the author of the Artist's Way, Julia Cameron, has a quote that's attributed to her. And as soon as I saw it, I was like, that's so brilliant. She said, I come to spirituality not out of virtue, but out of necessity. And when I was really struggling with mental health stuff and, you know, anxiety and depression and alienation, loneliness, addiction, especially like in my 20s and early 30s, I. I turned to spirituality as a salve, as a path forward, because I didn't know where else to turn. I didn't have any money. I couldn't afford therapy. There weren't like, podcasts and apps and all of the resources that there are now back in the 90s and early 2000s. So, you know, it was 12 step meetings and. And reading Buddhism and trying to meditate and pray and find a spiritual path that really helped me out of some really dark times. And I've always had an abiding interest in, like, you know, why are we here? What's the meaning of life? Like, what? You know, even when I was a kid, it's like, yeah, but why? Well, we're here just to enjoy it, and you have consciousness and there's life, and then you live 80 or 90 years. Why 80 or 90? Why not 800 or 900? Like, what? Where were we before? Where do we go after? Like, these kind of larger questions always were a part of my life. And then when I found a spiritual path, it helped me a lot through some difficult times, and I wanted to share that.
A
So what is something that you have learned that you wish you knew in your 20s that maybe some of the younger listeners or even listeners that are struggling now could. Or viewers could benefit from?
B
Oh, my gosh.
A
I guess there's a lot.
B
But there's so much. I think, listen. Some really basic stuff that anyone can start with and people probably your viewers, are already on board with. This is meditation and gratitude. So I fitfully tried meditation, but I didn't have an active meditation practice. Like, I have to meditate every morning for me to have a balanced day. I just. Maybe other people don't. I just have to. It's kind of like going to the gym. You never feel like doing it, but then you go. And then, you know, 45 minutes later, 14 minutes later, you feel. No, you feel great the rest of the day. Right. It stays with you. You know, you feel, like, in your body and. And meditation works the same way for me. And gratitude. Like, learning a gratitude practice. I have a text chain with a bunch of buddies every morning. Just turn your mind out of, like, what's not going right to what is going right, and it's a tiny little shift, and it doesn't feel like anything. But if you start practicing gratitude and sharing gratitude. You know, my wife and I do this thing. We've kind of. We used to do it back in the day, and now we do it. We're starting it up again, which is like, three at the end of the day, three things we are grateful for about the other person, especially being very specific. Not like, you're so kind or whatever, but, like, you were really nice when you'd said xyz. And then one thing that we wish we had done different over the last 24 hours. So you take a little bit of accountability for yourself.
C
Whoa. Are you gonna be able to do that? Because we're gonna start tonight.
A
We do a thing called, like, rose and thorn. With our kids.
C
With our kids.
A
Oh, same type of thing.
B
Yeah.
A
And then somebody else said, we go do rose Thorn, and then rose bud. Like, with the thing that. What is that? The thing that you're.
C
The thing that, like, there's something that bloomed in your day.
A
Yeah.
B
Oh, wow.
A
But, yeah, we tried to do.
C
I mean, but I kind of like what Rain's saying. I think that you and I could start saying three things that we're grateful for about each other. Is that what you said? And then one thing that we could.
B
Have improved on and that. And to try and keep it specific. Like, when you brought me that coffee when I was really stressed out. That was so nice of you to do. As opposed to, like, you're so kind. You're not a big bro. Like, a specific thing, and then to say, I wish today that I had. And it doesn't have to be about the other. I wish that I could have just breathed more throughout the day because, you know, I wish I wouldn't have looked at my phone so much. I wish that I would have given you a hug, you know, in between podcasts, you know, something like that.
A
But it sounds like also with your gratitude practice, you have invited a group of trusted friends into that. Is that not only for accountability, but I guess also to remind each other it.
B
And it increases intimacy too, because when you say, like, I'm really grateful for hummingbirds, you. You're let into someone's heart, you're led into their experience of that they love hummingbirds, or they're grateful that their kid came back home from college and, you know, they went surfing or whatever. You. You. You learn about people. And we have so many devices and obstacles getting in the way from us connecting and having deeper intimacy and vulnerability. You know, anything we can do to deepen that is. Is crucial.
C
I also think that the practice that you're saying that you do with your wife, that it would be cool to do that in front of your kids too. Because with my kids, when they hear me talking about my husband in a positive way, I think that's really healthy. So I even think, like, we should try what he did in front of our. Our kids. I think they would like that.
A
It sounds like too, like even what you told us about your family and like, just to. It's important for children to see a loving household and parents, I mean, if they're. If they could see something positive like that, that's the relationships they're going to later hopefully seek. Right?
B
Yeah.
A
And so, like, sometimes, you know, a lot of parents, like, go in the room to show that affection, or they go in the room to kind of share the argument, and the kid never really understands what the parents to model it.
B
Yeah. One thing I did with our son Walter is anytime I struggled, I shared it with him. So I don't want Walter to just see the positive good one. So I would go to him and say, hey, Walter, I just want you to know, like, I spent a month trying to get this role on this movie. And I auditioned and I met with the director, and then I auditioned again, and I really wanted it. I thought I was gonna get it, and I didn't get it. And I'm really disappointed right now, and my heart is really sad. I'm really hurting. And it was. It was really hard. And sometimes this business that I'm in really sucks. And just let him witness that and understand that the parents are. They're dealing with stuff, and. And guess what? And then they move on. Because we get disappointments and we get obstacles, we'll get failures, even, and we move on. And that's what builds resilience. So the kids need to see that in the parents.
C
And modeling that in front of them is so important. That's a really, really good point to show. Show what you're struggling with instead of trying to hide it all the time.
B
Yeah. Yeah.
C
I like. You love meditation. I would love to know what your specific practice is. Is there a certain amount that you like? Is there someone that you meditate to? Do you just sit with your thoughts? What's your practice?
B
I have the simplest meditation possible. I'll set an alarm for anywhere from like, what I feel like for nine to 16 minutes. And I always. I won't say always, but 90% of the time, I do it outside because I find it to be much more powerful outside than inside. And I'll sit in the yard, and I just close my eyes and attempt to quiet my mind. That's it. Focus on my breath, you know, let my spine be long. Have an open heart. Have my palms up on my lap. And, you know, for me, it's this kind of shift that happens when I recognize that I am not my thoughts. My thoughts aren't me. I spend a lot of time with my thoughts kind of bouncing around like popcorn or like a pachinko ball, you know, throughout the day. But that's not Rainn Wilson. That's just something that my mind does a lot throughout the day. So when I can detach from my mind and almost kind of, like, see it from an outside perspective and kind of witness myself thinking and then witnessing my mind quieting and witnessing myself being in peace, there's this kind of, like, perspective shift. You know, in. In Hinduism, it talks about, like, meditation is like letting your thoughts be like a candle in a still room, you know, and the idea that. That we. Our consciousness can be a still candle despite all the chaos around us. So I get a taste of that for 15 minutes in the morning. I won't say it stays with me all day, but it greatly helps my day. I'd love to do it twice a day. I know people that do it morning and then, like, late afternoon or early evening. And that's also a lot of benefit to that.
C
I've been doing this trick to my husband where I pretend like I'm still sleeping, but I'm actually meditating.
B
So.
He gets up and makes you a coffee Then.
C
So he'll go deal with.
B
We have a bunch of kids, right?
C
But I pretend like I'm. Pretend like I'm sleeping, but I'm really just closing my eyes and meditating. It works really good.
A
The. The kids. Yeah, it's like five, three in four months right now. So it's our mornings.
B
Oh, my gosh.
C
With you, if you have a monkey mind that's chaotic. You're so right, though. Being still with your own thoughts is. It's like a way to, like, just clear your mind and. And. And check yourself almost. And it's so helpful throughout the whole.
A
Day, or even just to recognize what you're thinking about constantly and kind of acknowledge that and kind of like, be like, oh, that's recurring over and over. Like, maybe there's more to that.
B
A lot of people say, well, I can't meditate because my mind is just so busy and crazy. It's like everyone's mind is busy and crazy. That's not the point. You. But you. You. You witness your mind being busy and crazy. Let it go. And even if you just are allowed a few moments of stillness and quiet, that can be enough to kind of revitalize you. Yeah.
C
You wrote a workbook. Soul Boom. Workbook. What is in the workbook that people can do to encourage spirituality, especially in such a digital world?
B
Oh, you mean this little thing right here? That little thing that I happen to bring with me?
C
Yep.
B
So I wrote a book called Soul Boom, why We Need a Spiritual Revolution two years ago. Will you read it? Yep.
C
I love to read. I will read. Definitely both of them.
B
Do you guys ever listen to, like, audiobooks? Because it's on audio, too.
A
I will read the audiobook.
B
I did.
A
Okay, then I can do it. I can't do it when it's the weird narrator. You know the one?
B
The weird narrator.
A
Yeah. I can't. I need it to be, like, the author.
B
It's got to be the author.
C
I want the book. I'll read the book.
B
But so there's that book, and then this is a companion workbook that's coming out now in November 2025, whenever you're listening to this. And we wanted this to be, like, the artist's way for spirituality. We wanted a workbook that can be your journal. There's journal entries. There's art. It's interactive. It's about anxiety and mental health. There's a chapter right there. There's beauty, nature, and art. It's finding your soul, finding values, virtues, and morality. It's an exploration of all of these spiritual themes, whether you're a born again Christian, whether you're an atheist, whether you're something in between, we want it to be for everyone. Even if you already have your faith, it can deepen your faith. But for those who are on some kind of spiritual journey, we want the Soul Boom workbook to be a catalyst for them to kind of explore issues of the soul and. And meaning and purpose on a larger scale.
C
This, to me right now, in this second of time, is more important than ever. Because the problem is whenever you feel bored or you don't want to sit with yourself, people are immediately picking up their phones and they're distracting.
B
And you had Jonathan Haidt on your show.
C
We did.
B
I was listening to his episode. That was a great conversation you had.
C
It's so important. It's so important.
A
We love talking to him. It's alarming in a lot of ways.
C
Scary.
A
But also what I liked about talking to him is, and with you too, is there are tools and there is hope to kind of navigate through these and get back to kind of some of how we maybe were, I guess, designed to engage on this platform or in this world.
B
Right.
A
And I think there's a lot of escapism going on, and I think some of that escapism is causing stress and anxiety and anger and obviously our attention spans. And so I think this is really important right now.
B
Lauren, I kind of. I interrupted you. You were talking about how in this day and age, with all the devices, that something like this where you kind of slow down and go deeper, and it requires kind of a deeper level of attention.
C
If I didn't have spirituality in my life, with everything I do, I don't think I would be able to perform at the level I perform it. I think it's so important. At the same time, it's like, I don't want to be preachy to anyone. I'm just saying what's worked for me is being able to sit with myself in the morning. I cannot wait to fill out your workbook. I'm a huge fan of the Artist's way. I love the morning pages. If I don't have space to sit with myself and my own thoughts, I don't have a life. And I think that, to me, why moving to Austin has been so good for me is it's been like. It's almost been like. It's eliminated a lot of distraction, and I've been able to sit with my thoughts. And so I'm like you. When I get asked, like what's the secret? What's the hack? It's like meditating. And you could have your own version. I mean, Gabby Bernstein says she meditates for five minutes in the car. Some people meditate for 20. Whatever it looks like just being able to sit still is such an important way, in my opinion, to spend your time.
B
And let's not forget about nature. Like, sometimes people just take a dog walk in the woods or on a path or in a park or something like that. And that's its own kind of meditation. And, you know, nature is everything. It recharges our batteries. It reminds us about God. It reminds us about what's important and where beauty lies. And, you know, this fragile ecosystem that we have to take care of and tend with a great deal of attention. So there's, you know, throughout the book, too, we try and, like, always bring, you know, nature and getting back in touch with nature as a way. As a remedy for what you're all the distraction you're talking about.
C
Can you give the audience a tool that's from your workbook that they could do tomorrow? Maybe your favorite something that they could do in the morning when they wake up?
B
Here's a great one. We have two ways to use your phones that have spiritual underpinnings. One is a sacred photo swap. So taking a photo of something that is sacred to you, because I love that word sacred. Like, we think about sacred, like, oh, as a church or a cathedral or a mosque or a synagogue or something like that. Or maybe it's a battlefield or Gettysburg or something. But there can be sacred. A sacred tree, you know, or a place where you got married, or a brook that you stand by, you know, and remember a loved one or something like that. These places can be sacred to take a photo of something that's sacred to you and send it to someone and ask them to send a photo of something that's sacred to them. So having a sacred photo swap.
A
I'm gonna start sending you sacred photos. Lauren.
C
It better be of my face.
B
He's gonna send you pictures of his butt.
I got your sacred right here. But we have another one similar to this of, like, Beauty Alert, you know, and it's the same thing. Like, something unexpected. Moments of beauty. You'll be in a parking garage and you'll see, like, the swirl of the architecture and be like, wow, that's like a. That's like a stem or a leaf or a shoot of grass. Like, and you take a picture and then send it to your gratitude list or to your loved One of like a beauty alert that you saw could be, you know, a dandelion growing through a crack or something like that. So. So that we start to attune our minds to see what's sacred around us and to see what's beautiful around us and, and to be able to share that, that's a way to harness the phone for good.
C
I think that's genius. Because the more little moments like that that you can be grateful for, for that are simple. It builds a muscle.
B
Yeah, exactly.
C
And it adds up. Just like you said, meditation adds up. So you can only meditate.
B
Gratitude adds up.
C
It adds up and it sounds like.
A
And it does. It gets you to look at the world in a more positive way.
B
We are wired to see things as threats and dangers and as something. Potential sources of unhappiness were wired that way. That's what kept us alive for millennium, you know, oh, a twig snapped. That could be a bear. It's going to eat my face or oh, I'm stuck in traffic, I'm going to be late. They're not going to like me. Did you spin out in your head like we're wired for anxiety and the modern world is making it harder and harder and harder to get out from that. And you know, for all my talk, you know, I. I spent a good deal of my day like overwhelmed, freaked out. So, you know, these tools that can counteract that natural inclination to look for the worst or to look for bad outcomes or to, you know, look for what's wrong or broken or where potential threats are. We have to hone those habits. You do them enough times, they become habitual.
C
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A
Okay.
C
Our towels are so thoughtfully designed. They're vegan. They're cruelty free, because your skin deserves the best. I, a long time ago wrote a blog post about how a lot of people are washing their face and then they're drying their face with the same towels that they're using on their body. Or they're using a towel that maybe has a bunch of, I don't know, detergent in it. So I wanted to create something that was fresh to remove your makeup, to remove your oil without irritation. I wanted it to be buttery soft. I wanted it to be 100% sustainable bamboo, silky soft. You never have to worry about buildup with these towels. It's just like a breath of fresh air for your face. So how I use them is two ways. The first way is I will cleanse my skin with an oil cleanser and then I'll exfoliate it. And I'll do this in the shower or in my sink. And then if I get out of the shower or I'm done with my sink, I'll take my towel and I'll pat it across my face and my neck to dry my skin off. My skin feels so much cleaner doing it with a facial towel than using some random towel that who knows where it's been. So if you want to support a healthy skin barrier and you want something really sensitive, especially if you have acne. Acne. Or you have hyperpigmentation. This has a really gentle texture. It's absolutely beautiful. I'm such a fan. I've been using them for a long time. I know you guys have maybe seen them in my Instagram stories. Each box includes 50 disposable face towels. And like I said, they're made from 100 sustainable bamboo. This is the travel size. It's like a little box that you can throw in your makeup bag. And then we also have the one that can sit on your vanity. It's a box that you want out. It's so cute. It's baby pink. And I should tell you, the towels are shaped like a doily, so that's fun too. Go to shopskinnyconfidential.com to grab your face towels today.
It seems like you're really lit up and excited about this. Like, you can feel the energy of you being so excited about it, which I think is cool. I could tell. I could tell. Yeah, it's almost. It's like what you, you. It seemed like office, same thing. You had such a passion for your acting and everything, but it seems like this is almost like a new era for you. That's like, really exciting. And I think the world is in dire need of this.
B
Well, you're so kind.
C
And I don't say that in a self righteous way because I'm in dire need of it too.
B
Yeah.
C
I'm just saying, like, it's. It. It is so important. We're so caught up in scrolling and worried about what other people are thinking and.
B
But also, let's not forget how broken our political system is right now.
C
Yes.
B
And how.
A
I've seen some clips of you recently talking about it and I wanted to.
B
Bring this up and how disunified it is. So what is a unifier between the political left and political right? Like gratitude and what's sacred and what's beautiful and what we appreciate and connecting heart to heart with people. You know, the Internet does not underline that. So we have. We have to really lean into that. Getting to know our neighbors, building community at the grassroots. You're absolutely right. This is stuff that's really turning me on. I'll love to play kooky characters for the rest of my life and I hope I get to getting to have like, conversations like we're having now. Is, you know, we do that on the Soulboom podcast as well. Like it. I get so jazzed about it.
A
You've done this publicly, but I'm also curious privately, when you have people in your life that come to you and they're highlighting the negative and how terrible things are and the reason things should be, like, how do you kind of walk them back to a place of gratitude and get them to kind of see the world in a. In a more positive light? Like, what do you say to them specifically?
B
That's a very. That's a great question. I don't have an answer for that. I don't know what to say to people. We have to look for that precious point of unity that unites us, because everything in the world wants us disunited. You know, Jonathan Haidt talks about this all the time, but what gets us to click on our phones is outrage. So you have these media companies and you have Facebook and Meta, Google, you know, Tick Tock and, and, and. And all the news companies and entertainment companies, you know, what, what is outrages us and is outrageous, gets us to click. And the more we click, the more ads they sell. So they're in the business of outrage, and they're winning, you know, so if you find yourself outraged a lot, and there are things to get outraged about, don't, don't get me wrong. There are great injustices in the world that we need to deal with. But if you find yourself living in outrage, you have to think about, like, they're winning. You know, the phones are winning, the algorithms are winning. You know, the news media is winning, the social media is winning, Politics is winning, because partisan politics wants us feeling the same way, wants us outraged at the other, the enemy, at the person who's wrong on the other side.
A
There was a Congress, a congressman or a senator. I didn't catch the whole thing from Tennessee. Maybe people can look it up. And he was talking about how years ago, you know.
Left or right, they'd fight like cats and dogs, but then, like, someone's mother would pass away and either left or right, they'd call and say, I'm so sorry, and they'd cry together at the funeral, they still came together. Or like, they'd fight and cats and dogs disagree vehemently, but then they would come together later and be like, okay, we're going to the picnic this weekend. And he says, unfortunately, we've lost a lot of that. But now because of the attention, some of this polarization gets in the business of that polarization, his worry is like, I don't know if it ever gets back to. To that, because the business, to your point, from a lot of these companies and Scott Galloway talks about this all the time, of the polarization and the inflammatory content that's out there makes money, and it gets us to click, click, click more and more. So he was like, I don't know if we're ever going to get back.
B
I think it'll get back there if people demand that it gets back there, and if they elect people that are good, common sense, decent people and loving people that want to build bridges and actually be public servants. So if we're electing people that don't fuel outrage but are actually serving the interest of their constituents, you know, they'll listen, politics will listen. But it's the constituents that are going to drive that conversation.
A
I'm going to give you a weird example, and what alarms me about some of this, I'm going to use a Housewives franchise reference.
B
Here we go.
A
So these franchises over the years, like, the energy, the fights, the whatever, it gets amped up every year, right? And so new people come on the show. And if you're a new cast member, it's like, well, how do I stand out? I gotta come in in an absurd way and create a lot of rage and Colorado fights and drama, because that's what gets attention. I worry that that's happening now in politics, Right. You're getting people that are representing us, both sides that know some of that polarization and absurdity is gonna get them the most airtime, which is then gonna get them the most attention, which is then gonna get them, you know, in their world, more power. And I think that, like, many of these people have figured out how to do that. And unfortunately, I worry that it's. It's the. It's the less rational people in that world than, you know, maybe the more moderate middle, where we all kind of like, more identify. And so it's like, it's almost like rewarded if you. Yes. If you're acting in absurdity or anger or polarization, same way in these realities.
B
You'Ll get more news items, you'll get more outrage, you'll get more clicks, even if you are on the extreme right or the extreme.
A
Because if I came into one of these housewives, for instance, like, hey, I just want to be friends with everyone. I don't want any drama, and I just want to kind of play. They'd be like, you're off the show, buddy. Like, they want. They want that night fear that that is now playing out in our political system.
C
I think though, it starts with self accountability. Turning off the news and instead choosing to spend 20 minutes with your own thoughts, but putting down the phone and instead consuming all this negative content. I think there has to be some kind of self accountability that you have for yourself. Which is why I think this workbook's so important. Because you, you're in charge, in my opinion of what you see. If I want to put my phone down and put it on airplane mode for five hours before I go to bed, I can do that.
B
Yeah.
C
I don't have to let it enter my space.
B
Right.
C
So I think there has to also be some type of. Of self audit or our friend Gary.
A
Vee will say, like, listen, my algorithm is like baseball cards and garage sales.
B
Yeah.
A
Like wine and like he's like, your algorithm is telling you something about yourself.
C
It's telling you who you are. It's a reflection.
A
It's like, it's true. Like looking in there and it's just.
C
It'S like looking in a creek.
A
Yeah. Taylor, what if you open his. It's just like buttholes, well shaped. Twerking, healthily shaped. Oh my God, cloudly dressed women.
C
When I pulled up your. Because I wanted to like prove a point about, about Taylor's algorithm, it is literally all ass. Like that is all it is.
B
I recently rigged my phone to be a. A dumb phone. So using the screen time on my iPhone, I gave someone else's screen time password. I don't even know my screen time password.
C
Okay.
B
I don't have an app store.
C
Okay.
B
I took off email off my phone.
C
Good for you.
B
So because I was talking to this guy and he had a flip phone, I was like, I'm not ready to do a flip phone. But he's like, just because you get an email, that means you got to answer it. You're answerable to just all these people that want something from you. Like, and he's right. Like, I'll sit down and look at my emails when I damn well please on my laptop later. And I'll spend 15 minutes or half an hour or whatever responding to emails and then I'm. And then I'm done. I don't want you to be able to kind of get your hooks in me all day long. And I took off social media, I took off all games, I took off the YouTube app. I still look at my phone way too much just with texting. I took off news. I just left one or two news items so I could just get News updates, which are the one or two.
A
That you left like that.
B
I don't want to say because then.
C
You can't say anything because everyone's. Everyone's going to assume.
A
I'm just wondering if.
B
Hold on. No, because if I say Fox News, people will be like, oh, that's who he is. And if I say cnn, CNN or msnbc or like, oh, that's who he is, like. So I literally can't say what insights are on my phone, but I try and get news from reliable sources and not biased sources.
A
Off social, isn't it? It's truth social.
B
I took off social media so I still can get. I can get podcasts and I have, you know, Google Maps and I can. People can text me.
C
And that's called protecting your peace.
A
I hope everyone does that except anyone that works here at Dear Media. I keep that email unlocked.
C
No, I think that when someone comes into your text message or your inbox and expects a response, that is being reactive. If I don't want to respond to texts, I'm at the point. If I don't want to respond to a text, I'm not responding.
A
You're absurd, though. You've had this autoresponder of email saying you're working on a project. It's been the same one for six years.
C
Six years. I have an autoresponder. So I thank you so much for reaching out. I'm working on creative. I'm sorry, I don't want.
A
And then she will respond to an email chain three months later. Like, what do we got to do here? Like, we solved this three months ago.
C
Text, like three months later.
A
Listen, I think, though, I have to live in the moment. More absurd actually than email is the text. Because the email, everyone, there's like a little bit of an understanding that it'll take time to get to.
B
But text, people want.
A
They want it right away. And it's. And I find that actually harder to keep up with because you can kind of categorize.
C
There's an autoresponder for text. Thank you so much for reaching.
A
Text is hard.
C
Especially busy living my life with these.
A
Spam accounts that get in. It's like. It's unbelievable.
C
It's unbelievable. I'm very.
B
You have a beautiful watch.
C
Oh.
B
But you're wearing it on the wrong wrist. It's driving me crazy. Why is that not on your left? You know why?
A
Because me, because I'm left handed and I know they make watches like Rolex, they'll make one for the left hand. See that so you know, you can wear. But it's a. When you're left handed.
B
I got you. You don't have to say anymore. And you can't write if you're right handed.
C
This left handed excuse. Every single time we sit down at the restaurant, we have to sit in certain places.
A
I'm over the. I read a statistic. I don't know if it's true that left handed people die earlier because. Dad, stop fighting the world. The world is designed for.
C
I'm grateful.
A
Right handers, the doors, the way they also. Dinner. No, nobody wants to sit next to a left hander at dinner because right and left, we're banging elbows the whole time. So I go to the left.
C
I've never noticed once. I've never noticed.
A
That's because I will sit to the left.
C
Okay. All right.
A
So you never get banged on the elbow. But yeah, that's why. And I know like she never gets. It is annoying because these like the pushers or whatever are supposed to be on the other side. They're designed that way. But I have to.
B
That's. That's tough. Yeah.
A
Yeah. But thank you.
B
Sacrifices we make anyway. Sorry.
C
No, I love it.
B
That's silly.
C
Looking ahead, going ahead. What kind of legacy do you hope that all of the work that you're doing right now leaves behind?
B
Well, one of the things I talked about in Soul Boom is that we've thrown the spiritual baby out with the religious bathwater.
C
What does that mean?
B
So a lot of folks have jettisoned religion over the last 30 or 40 years. Right. In our generation. I'm a little older than you, but my generation and your generation and younger generations stop going to church, stop going to organized religion and in the doing in getting rid of that because there's, you know, religions have done a lot of bad in the world.
C
Yeah.
B
You know, there's a lot of good reasons why people have left their, their church or their mosque or their synagogue. And. But there are spiritual truths that we've also jettisoned. That's the spiritual baby we've thrown out with the religious bathwater. Like the, like, you know, getting back to compassion, building community, the importance of family, finding what's sacred. The stuff that we've been talking about, like, you know, understanding that we're here, we have a purpose. There is what they call psychologists now call this the saddest thing you're ever going to hear call a hope deficit. Young people have a hope deficit. They don't believe that change is possible. They don't believe that There is hope in the future with climate change, with political division, with mental health epidemic. And so we can. You know, spirituality teaches us that there's something larger than ourselves, that we have souls that are on an eternal journey, that we're here for a brief amount of time, and that we can be of service to others and bring joy to others. And these are tools that we can use that gives our life meaning and purpose. And you have a generation that is unmoored from meaning and purpose. So these spiritual tools in Soul Boom and in the Soul Boom workbook, I think they're just crucial for our personal development, but they're crucial also for the bonds that we create and the connections that we make, the community that we make. And it's not just an airy fairy. Oh, it feels good, and oh, Kumbaya, we should hug more like. They're very specific tools to make your life better and make your family better and your community better. And we need it now more than ever. This isn't about, like, convincing anyone to be a part of any church, although organized religion has a lot to offer. And I'm not saying don't be a part of any church. I'm a member of the Baha' I faith, and that's very important to me and has brought me a lot of purpose and meaning and focus. But these tools we've kind of jettisoned, and we need to get back to them.
C
It's funny, because as you're saying this, I'm thinking what I want to instill in my children. And I think one of the number one things is a spiritual practice. I think that's really, really important. And you're. Especially when it comes to hope.
B
Do you pray with your family?
C
I don't. I don't pray, but I meditate every single day with my kids in the morning.
B
And why don't. Why don't you pray?
A
I pray for my family. I pray.
C
I. I don't. I am. I don't. I'm not religious. I wouldn't describe myself.
B
You don't have to be religious to pray.
C
I. I pray in my head, but I don't pray with my family. I'd be open to that.
B
Yeah, that might be. First of all, meditation is more powerful when you do it in a group and more effective. As weird as that sound, we're all kind of, like, connected. And when you sit in a circle with a group of people, they've done brain scans, meditation goes deeper, lasts longer, and is more effective in a group. So you can try meditation with I know you have a four month old.
C
No, that's a four month old.
A
Loves it, by the way. But meditating with a four month old when they're calm is one of the most calming things.
C
Oh, my God, it's so energetic.
A
Like, I did it this morning.
C
It's amazing.
B
So Anne Lamont, the great theologian, thinker, writer, humorist, she has a book called that I love called Help. Thanks. Wow. And it's the three kinds of prayers. Help. Like God, help me something, you know, creator, spirit, source, love, universe, beauty, science, art, whatever you want to call it, you know, help me. I'm struggling. Please help. Thanks. It's like to the Universe, thank you for this incredible conversation and getting to meet two incredibly well quaffed new podcast friends. Thank you, Universe. And Wow. Which is like, look at the stars. Wow.
C
Is that.
B
Look at the willow tree. Look at all these butterflies. You can share that with your kids.
C
Is that. Would you. Is that praying to you?
B
Yeah.
C
Huh. That's amazing.
B
Yeah. It doesn't have to be. Our Father, thou art in heaven, that hallowed be thy name, which is a beautiful prayer, but it can be connecting on those three levels and you share that with your children. You know, hey, look at these beautiful butterflies. Where do you think they came from? The creative source that made all of this incredible beauty and love and nature and science and art and music and thank you for that. Let's just open our hearts to that for a few minutes.
C
It wasn't on my bingo card for rain to encourage me and to inspire me to pray with the family. No.
A
Well, listen, I'm very.
C
I love this, like, amazing.
B
Dwight Schrute got you to pray.
A
No, I was thinking.
C
And got you laid.
A
Bringing it, bringing it full circle. Dwight Schrute got me laid and got me spiritual. No, but I mean, life is. I mean, I listen. Meaning this, I'm very grateful to you one, for coming on this show and doing this with us, entertaining us, making us laugh, early days of our relationship. But also for helping us think in a deep, in a deeper and different way about a lot of these. Because I think what you're doing is really important and I think more of it is needed. So thank you for doing this.
B
You guys are awesome. You're so good at this. You're so genuine.
C
Well, gee, there's not like a fake.
B
Bone in your body. Both of you just like the most. They are so genuine. Like what you see, what you get. And I love that you have good hearts.
A
Well, I mean, funny. I mean, we like incredible hair.
C
Very Nice.
B
I wish you could see their hair. It's just incredible. Incredible. The collagen quotient in this room is off the charts.
A
No bullshit. We started this show and I tell the audience all the time, we've been doing it a long time, but we started it because we were and still are trying to figure out the answers to life. Right. And we want to meet interesting people that can help us along. And so the benefit we have is we get to meet so many different kinds of people. The Jonathan Heights, the world, all the.
B
People, the Y farmers.
A
But you, you. It's, I think at the core of it is like, you know, we get to maybe learn the lesson before it airs. Right. But we're learning at the same. Like, the message here is just as relevant to us as it is to the audience we're trying to present for. So in a selfish way, we're doing it. But also the benefit of a few people listening here and there.
B
You guys are so sweet. Thank you. Thanks for the kind words.
C
Everyone go buy your book Soul Boom. But also get the Soul Boom workbook.
B
Out now or out soon. I don't know when.
C
No, we're going to make sure it's. It. It's where you could say out now because we're going to make sure it adds right up.
A
Or at least for pre order, though we will get it all.
C
By the way, I just want to tell you that if I had heard this podcast.
B
Yeah.
C
And heard you speak, and I'll say this on air, I would be running to buy this book. Like, I think this is amazing.
B
Wow.
C
I think, incredible. I have an idea for you. I'm just going to throw it out there.
B
Okay.
C
Can the next one be for kids?
B
Oh, that's good.
C
I know, I know.
B
Oh, I did it with a co author, my good friend Shabnam Magarabi, whom we do a bunch of work together. No. But you know, why not? As I'm walking out, we like, we need a solar panel.
A
Kids do these workbooks now. And they.
B
And they.
A
We get them and they.
C
And I think because my daughter's journaling every morning. She's five years old. Like, what if I could give her something that would light her up spiritually at a young age?
A
Started before we go through all of the. You know what I mean? Like, I gotta clean up a lot of. From my. From my earlier. I would love one kid. It would have been nice if I could have had a little more gratitude when I was like between that 5 and 25 range. Right.
C
I would love one for kids.
B
Hey, get a kid exercising gratitude at age 5 and they're going to have a much richer life, right? Yeah.
C
Okay. So please, if the next time you come on the show or you can come on anytime, but the next time, I would love to talk to you about kids specifically to be preventative instead of having to be reactive.
A
Thank you. Rain, where can everyone find what you're doing with the book? Available everywhere?
B
Yeah. Go to Soul Boom podcast. The Soul Boom book, Soul Boom workbook, Olboom. On all the social medias and substack.
C
Don't email him. He won't respond. He won't.
B
Do not email me.
C
Don't email me either.
B
Don't email me.
C
If you want to email me, you can email Michael.
A
I'm going to delete my email app.
C
Rain, thank you for inspiring us for coming on. You're amazing. Come back anytime. Really?
B
Anytime, Anytime. You guys are the best. I am your new biggest fan.
A
I am gonna go watch that episode of the the Stairs.
B
Yeah, it's called Money Money. Check it out.
A
Good name, too, for the episode.
B
Thanks, guys.
Date: December 8, 2025
Hosts: Lauryn Bosstick & Michael Bosstick
Guest: Rainn Wilson (Actor, Writer, Producer, Author)
This episode features a wide-ranging, intimate conversation with Rainn Wilson—best known as Dwight Schrute on "The Office", but now deeply invested in the world of spirituality, mental wellness, and personal growth. Rainn opens up about his unconventional path into acting, the deeper motivations behind his humor, backstage tales from "The Office," and his transition into spiritual authorship with "Soul Boom." The hosts and Rainn dive into tools for gratitude, the importance of deeper purpose, how to combat digital distractions, and the challenge of maintaining connection and hope in a noisy, divided world.
Origin Story & Early Influences
Building a Career in Theater → TV
Breakthrough Moments & Lessons
The Rise and Creation of “The Office”
“Comedy is a survival skill. I was never going to be the most successful, but I could make people laugh. It was the way in.”
— Rainn Wilson [07:00]
Personal Struggles as Catalyst
Tools for Personal Practice
Modeling for Kids and Openness
Challenges of Distraction & Overstimulation
Soul Boom (Workbook)
Political & Social Polarization
On the “spiritual baby and the religious bathwater”:
“We’ve thrown the spiritual baby out with the religious bathwater… In getting rid of religion, we’ve lost spiritual truths—compassion, community, purpose…”
— Rainn Wilson [78:47]
On Prayer and Non-religious Spirituality:
“You don’t have to be religious to pray… Anne Lamott says three prayers: ‘Help, Thanks, Wow.’” [82:30]
On Modern Connection:
“The internet does not underline heart-to-heart connection. We have to lean into getting to know our neighbors, building community at the grassroots.” [68:21]
Adorable callback:
“Dwight Schrute got you to pray… and got you laid!”
— [84:04]
Gratitude circle:
“If the next time you come on, I would love to talk about kids specifically—to be preventative instead of reactive.”
— Lauryn [87:00]
The conversation was warm, humorous, and irreverent—with Rainn’s signature wit balanced by moments of vulnerability and wisdom. Lauryn and Michael navigated easily between playful banter, personal storytelling, and practical advice.
Rainn’s hope for his legacy:
“These spiritual tools in Soul Boom… they’re crucial not just for personal development, but for the bonds and community we make. We need it now more than ever.” [80:00]
The hosts’ take: Lauryn and Michael repeatedly affirm how timely Rainn’s insights are, expressing gratitude for his honesty and for a conversation that “reminded [them] of what really matters.”
Soul Boom and the Soul Boom Workbook are available now. You can follow Rainn’s continuing work in spirituality, media, and mental wellness across platforms and on the Soul Boom podcast.