Adam Scott

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" with Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)

Episode: Adam Scott
Date: April 29, 2026
Host(s): Ted Danson (Woody is “listening” this episode)
Guest: Adam Scott

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes acclaimed actor Adam Scott to reminisce and riff with Ted Danson. The conversation weaves through Adam’s varied career—anchored by stories from Severance, Party Down, Step Brothers, and more—the quirks of acting, their mutual admiration society, the pains and joys of fame, the evolution of their crafts, and deeply personal stories about family, mentorship, and finding meaning outside Hollywood. The two veterans share advice, hilarious memories, and honest vulnerability about self-doubt and success.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. On Aging & Processing Information

• Both Ted and Adam joke about the challenges of aging, hearing loss, and retaining information.
  • [01:20] Ted forgets his hearing aids; Adam admits constantly asking people to repeat themselves.
  • Ted: “I now realize that... If I have to read to retain information, I have to study it.”
    Adam: “For me, it’s auditory... I just get drowsy... reading anything. I will fall asleep.”
    (01:20-03:21)

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2. Severance: How It Happened and Its Impact

• Ted confesses binge-watching Severance ([03:21-04:09]), praising its uniqueness and how it subverts expectations of claustrophobia.
• Adam discusses the show’s origin:
  • Dan Erickson ("brilliant, cool guy") had the whole concept mapped out; Ben Stiller brought Adam on board (call during Sundance 2017).
  • Importance of “taking time with characters” and not rushing the storytelling.
  • The “hallways” on set: literal mazes, major character in the series—actors would actually get lost on set.
• Memorable Anecdote:
  • Getting lost in endless hallways, yelling for help:
    Adam: “I would have to stop and just yell like, it’s Adam, I’m here. I don’t know where I am.”
    (07:01-07:40)
• On working with Ben Stiller:
  Adam: “He’s always... after excellence, and that’s inspiring... With a show like Severance, it requires a lot of focus and every day is challenging in its own way.”
  (21:54-23:54)
• On acting: The challenge of playing two versions of the same character (“innie” and “outie”):
  Ted: “Just the elevator ride, getting in and getting out... Very subtle, lovely thing.”
  Adam: “Thank you. Thanks, man.” (25:00-25:15)

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3. Directing, Creative Growth & Lessons From Great Directors

• Adam on never having directed a feature film (yet), but having done Adult Swim opening-sequence recreations with his wife ([14:37-15:59]).
• On Adam McKay (Step Brothers director):
  • Changed Adam’s career perspective—“no preciousness,” keep it loose, improv, “we’ll use the good takes.”
    Adam: “It completely turned everything upside down for me. ... the lack of preciousness... Let’s just throw it all up against the wall... That was really the big takeaway: this can be fun.” (16:26-18:41)
• Richard Jenkins & Mary Steenburgen on Step Brothers: “Real enough to behold insanity around us in a believable way.”
• On Ben Stiller as a director:
  Adam: “He’s my favorite director... I trust him wholeheartedly.” (21:58)
• Working with Scorsese on The Aviator:
  Adam: "Everyone feels like they're a part of the whole thing... doing the really small, essential work with the camera and the actor." (27:07-29:02)
• Ted recalls working with Spielberg and Tom Hanks on Saving Private Ryan ([29:02-31:22])—meticulous planning, scenes as “forced chess moves.”

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4. The Craft of Acting & Dealing With Success & Fear

• Both share insecurity and the need to “shake it up” every few years.
  • Adam: “Every 5–6 years I hit a ceiling… reassess... Am I still enjoying this?” (16:26)
  • Ted: “Success breeds fear if you’re not careful... You’re comfortable doing something and going to the well...” (36:57-37:22)
• On getting “typecast” or “stale”: After Parks and Rec, Adam craved something different.
• Personal stories illustrate how big hits (Body Heat for Ted, Parks and Rec/Party Down/Step Brothers for Adam) gradually change self-perception and outside recognition.
• Both discuss the isolating experience of sudden fame (“frog in boiling water”; [54:11-54:55]) and feeling “othered.”
  • Adam: “Once [recognition] actually started happening, I found it to be far more isolating than I ever expected... you are being watched and it's weird.” (74:54-75:52)

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5. On Vulnerability, Reviews, and Awards

• Reading reviews: Both admit harsh critiques live on longer than compliments; discuss developing a “rhino skin.”
  • Ted: “You’ll only really, really remember the negative ones.” (77:49-78:00)
  • Memorable negative reviews:
    • “Mr. Thinks he’s so Wonderful. Danson was the beginning of one review.” ([78:07])
    • "Too tepid. Ted."
  • Adam: After seeing a review start with “unfortunately, comma, Adam Scott…”—devastated, but enduring.
  • Both: Good reviews can mess with your head in performance, too ([81:26-81:59]).
• On awards season:
  • Ted shares a harrowing story of being sick at the Golden Globes and hoping not to win because he couldn't physically give a speech ([84:43-86:52]).
  • Adam: “When you’re there… of course you want to win… but just being anywhere in that conversation... Everything else is just like gravy.” (83:02-84:30)
  • Ted: “The only good thing about winning, really, is that… it’s very relaxing. If you win, you can just go, ah, that’s nice… and go to sleep.” (82:46-82:59)

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6. Family, Upbringing & Real Lives

• Adam’s childhood in Santa Cruz; dad was a marine biologist and professor ([43:01-44:36; 74:01-74:38]).
  • “Moving to LA from Santa Cruz was like going to a different planet.”
  • Early influences: Raiders of the Lost Ark inspired Adam to act.
  • High school: Did theater and tried to stay “cool” by joining sports—despite not excelling at them ([46:25-47:19]).
• Ted’s early Hollywood career: little parts, teaching, struggling with auditions before Body Heat ([50:36–52:29]).
• Adam’s path: American Academy of Dramatic Arts, background work, years of striving and hustling ([49:24-51:01]).
• On balancing family while working away (with grown children):
  Adam: “It’s a bummer... you’re imposing it on them... but they come visit now, 19 and 17." (67:09-67:55)

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7. Party Down and Cheers Connections

• Adam’s confession: "I stole every move of yours from Cheers for Party Down... Washing shot glass. Cutting lemons. Pop a pretzel in your mouth as you're walking over and talking to someone." (56:12-56:53)
• On the cult status of Party Down:
  • “After it was canceled... then we had fanatical fans.” ([57:02–57:13])
  • Stunning ensemble (“Jane Lynch, Megan Mullally... Lizzy Caplan...”) and talented creators.
• Discussion shifts to Cheers—cast and writing praised.
  Adam: “I rewatch it every few years. It's just perfect... Never jumped the shark... Never went stale.” (59:37-61:06)
• “Sam & Diane” relationship as a comedy template; the writers’ brilliance in shifting dynamics when the cast changed ([61:32-63:13]).

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8. Meaning Beyond Acting: Passion, Activism, Worldview

• Ted on ocean activism:
  • Motivation came from family, neighborhood battles against offshore drilling, and a responsibility that came with fame ([72:35-73:45]).
• Adam’s political engagement:
  • Openly Democratic, deep family roots in discussing current events, dreams of being a campaign reporter if not an actor ([87:16-88:22]).
  • On Trump: “A menace and will be a permanent stain on our country... the quicker we can get to 2028, the better." (88:07-88:22)
• Both reflect on channeling energy from fame or recognition into positive action outside career.
• Neither has found a satisfying hobby—even as they both “try” everything (“garage is full of golf clubs, bikes, camping gear…”).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Approach to Craft:

“It completely turned everything upside down for me... The lack of preciousness and the idea of, let’s just try it all. And… cut together a great piece.”
— Adam Scott, on working with Adam McKay ([16:26])

On Set Life for Severance:

“Literally, I would have to stop and just yell… 'It’s Adam, I’m here. I don’t know where I am.' And so someone would have to come and find us, depending on who was lost.”
— Adam Scott ([07:40])

On Fame:

“Once [recognition] actually started happening, I found it to be far more isolating than I ever expected… You are being watched and it's weird.”
— Adam Scott ([74:54-75:52])

On Learning from Failure:

“You’ll only really, really remember the negative ones.”
— Ted Danson on reviews ([77:49])

On “Stolen” Bartending:

“I stole every move of yours from Cheers for Party Down... Slicing glasses, washing with towel…and a shot glass. Pops a pretzel in your mouth as you're walking over and talking to someone.”
— Adam Scott ([56:12-56:53])

On Award Season:

“The only good thing about winning, really, is that… it's very relaxing. If you win, you can just go, ah, that’s nice… and go to sleep.”
— Ted Danson ([82:46-82:59])

On Meaning After Fame:

“I had a little bit of it from my parents... There was a sense of history… that kind of was there... I met a gentleman who was an environmental lawyer... and we started something out of relationship and enjoying the conversation.”—Ted Danson ([72:35-73:45])

On Political Moment:

“Trump is a menace and will be a permanent stain on our country. The quicker we can get to 2028, the better.”
— Adam Scott ([88:07-88:22])

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Timeline Highlights

• 01:20 – Aging, reading, and hearing loss banter
• 03:23 – Ted confesses Severance binge-watch
• 07:01 – Getting physically lost on the Severance set
• 14:37 – Adam on directing dreams
• 16:26 – McKay’s “throw it all up against the wall” method
• 21:54 – Ben Stiller’s directing style
• 27:07 – Working with Scorsese & DiCaprio
• 36:57 – The challenges of typecasting and change
• 43:01 – Adam's Santa Cruz upbringing
• 56:12 – Adam’s “Cheers for Party Down” confession
• 59:37 – Adam’s admiration for Cheers & “Sam and Diane”
• 72:35 – Ted on ocean activism
• 74:54 – Adam on the “isolation” of fame
• 77:49 – Handling critical reviews
• 82:04 – Awards season and its ego toll
• 87:16 – The current political moment

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The Tone

Candid, personal, deeply respectful, warm-hearted, honest, funny. Ted and Adam interact like long-lost friends—generous with stories, self-deprecating with their insecurities, and genuinely grateful for the craft and each other.

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This episode is a must-listen for fans of character-driven comedy, lovers of Hollywood lore, or anyone hungry for insight into the humanity—and humility—behind award-winning careers.

Transcript

[Ted Danson]

There's an actual place where it feels like everybody knows your name. A Caribbean paradise where the price of admission is love. When you visit this island with an open heart, you not only get the best beaches, the sunniest skies and the tastiest food, you make friends with the loveliest people in the world. It's no secret that Arubans love their island home. So take care to show it some love yourself. If you do, you might just find everyone on the island will know your name. Plan your trip [e-mail] Royal Caribbean takes

[Adam Scott]

next level to another level. Go all in on the world's boldest ships. Filled with mind blowing entertainment, world class dining and the largest water parks at sea. And just when you think it couldn't get any better, you'll stop at our award winning private island. Perfect day, Coco Cay. It's an unreal adventure for everyone in the family book. [e-mail] Big Time, Best time, all the time. Come seek the Royal Caribbean ship's registry Bahamas. But I stole every move of yours from Cheers for party down.

[Ted Danson]

Welcome back to where everybody knows your name. Whether he is running from the powers that be in severance or playing an over the top, what can I say, Douchebag in Stepbrothers, Adam Scott fully commits. He is an astonishing actor and I can't take my eyes off him. He stars in the horror movie hokum in theaters May 1st. Here he is, Adam Scott. God bless. Okay, the God bless us. I just realized I forgot my hearing aids. So so far we've talked about my diet because I'm old and my hearing aids.

[Adam Scott]

God, hearing aids. I'm gonna. I feel like that would be the answer to all my problems. I feel like I don't. I have to ask people to repeat everything and I can't tell if it's

[Ted Danson]

because focus maybe or.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, I can't tell if it's hearing or just processing. I'm just not taking one thing and processing it into the information that my brain needs to understand. So I need. Do you know what I mean?

[Ted Danson]

I do. But mine is writing the written word. I now cannot. I thought I was just a crappy student. For whatever reason. I now realize that I can read for pleasure because it just washes through. If I have to read to retain information, I have to study it like

[Adam Scott]

a higher graph, you know, I totally hear that. For me it's.

[Ted Danson]

Did you hear it?

[Adam Scott]

It's auditory. No, I need you to repeat it. Actually for me it's auditory. But reading Also, and I think this must be an age thing. I just get drowsy in the first, like, four minutes of reading. Reading anything. I will fall asleep. Because it's hard and you're sitting in one place. It's hard and you're sitting in one place and focusing on one thing. And then it's just time to take a nap.

[Ted Danson]

Okay. I binged.

[Adam Scott]

You binged. Oh, no.

[Ted Danson]

Yes, I binged you. Because my guilty secret was I hadn't watched Severance, so I sat down and I watched six of. I was going to watch two.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

And I watched six.

[Adam Scott]

Really?

[Ted Danson]

Yes. Of afternoon and early evening.

[Adam Scott]

Wow.

[Ted Danson]

And it is astounding.

[Adam Scott]

Thank you for watching it.

[Ted Danson]

You're welcome. But I had to, because the world watched it and it is one of those, what the fuck? Right. What am I seeing?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. What the hell is going on? Sure.

[Ted Danson]

Kind of thing. Can we talk about it a little bit?

[Adam Scott]

Of course. Talk about anything.

[Ted Danson]

You're doing our Hebdon season three.

[Adam Scott]

We're going to start shooting season three soon. Very soon.

[Ted Danson]

Great.

[Adam Scott]

So you watched the first six episodes of the first season. Wow.

[Ted Danson]

Yes.

[Adam Scott]

Great.

[Ted Danson]

And Mary and I are continuing. We're totally hooked. And thank you.

[Adam Scott]

Thank you for watching.

[Ted Danson]

How did this come about? Because it's one of those. Were you on a need to know basis as an actor or did people come in and tell you everything from the very beginning because it was mapped out or was it completely mapped out?

[Adam Scott]

Pretty much. Dan Erickson, the creator of the show, had the whole world and.

[Ted Danson]

Out of his brain. Out of his book or anything?

[Adam Scott]

No, no. It was an original idea of his. And he's brilliant and. And such a cool guy. Yeah. He had the whole season mapped out. He had like a. A longer story mapped out. And then kind of we sort of decided at a certain point, he and Ben decided to end the season where the season, the first season ends. And he originally had thought of going a little further. And then season two sort of was similar. And I think that the way the story has ended up being told is part of the reason the show has a certain feeling and tone to it, is the pace it takes and the time it takes with the characters. And I think that's ended up being key, is that giving the audience time to really become involved with the characters.

[Ted Danson]

Yes.

[Adam Scott]

As with anything, it's the most important thing, particularly if the story is a big ask in the story is a big reach. You need to be involved.

[Ted Danson]

This is not doze off. Come back and know where you are. Because it's the same Moment over again. It's not. You are. And it's also a big ask before you start watching it. Once you're watching it, it is no longer a big ask. But to think that you're going to be in this one basically space with two or three of you as actors and blank hallways that you walk down, you think, oh, this will be claustrophobic. And it is so not. You are so glued to everything.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, good.

[Ted Danson]

Which is, I think also a testament of how they shoot it. The hallways are like. Is it like a major character in the piece?

[Adam Scott]

Yes, I agree. I think the production design is incredible. And there really is just miles of hallway in New York on those stages. Where.

[Ted Danson]

Where do you shoot it in New

[Adam Scott]

York and at the.

[Ted Danson]

In. In Brooklyn? No, where did.

[Adam Scott]

The place we shot it were these stages up in the Bronx. And we're moving for season three actually to some new stages. But there's, you know, there's one stage which was all hallways and then in the center was the sort of office with the green carpet where we, you know. But the hallways, like a maze surround this. The office set. So getting to the office, the hallways were constantly being moved and changed around depending on what we were shooting. So you would never have the same route to the office. And you get fucking lost because it

[Ted Danson]

almost the same scorch you from the.

[Adam Scott]

Literally I would have to stop and just yell like, it's Adam, I'm here. I don't know how. Where I am. And so someone would have to come and, and find us, depending on who was lost. But I think, you know, when Ben Stiller first called me and told me about the show, it was like January 2017. I remember because the Muslim band had just. We were up at Sundance and we were watching the Muslim band unfold on CNN and in our like apartment or hotel room or whatever we were in. And Ben called me and I remember stepping out into the snow and he said, so I think that's like January 21, 2017 or something. It was right after inauguration. And he said, I have this thing, not sure when we're gonna do it. And he. But here's what it is. And he just told me the like three sentence idea of the show. The conceit of you go to work, you don't know who you are, then you leave and you go home and you have no idea what you did at work. And sort of just threw that out there. And it just stuck in my mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it. And it wasn't even you know, it was like two years later that I ever saw any material. But it was that great idea of Dan's that I just couldn't shake. It was like a great Twilight Zone episode or something, you know? And I think it all comes down to a great idea, you know?

[Ted Danson]

And you had known Ben.

[Adam Scott]

I knew Ben from Secret Life. Walter Mitty from 2012.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Which was an amazing film.

[Adam Scott]

It is amazing film. It was so good. Yeah, it's so good.

[Ted Danson]

And you, you, you were your normal effortless dick.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Total asshole. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Which is how I think I first met you.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

On.

[Adam Scott]

Good point.

[Ted Danson]

Step Bro. No, Step Brothers.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, right. Because Mary was played my mom.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And Mary's like a contemporary of mine and she's playing my mom.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And looks younger than I. Than I do.

[Ted Danson]

She sends much love.

[Adam Scott]

Please tell her I said hello to Love Marriage.

[Ted Danson]

That was an astounding for people. Usually when you go visit your loved ones on a set and you're not part of the production, it's a measure of your love that you actually hang out even for 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Not on Step Brothers. There was sofas that had been pulled around Video Village where the director and the, you know, producers, everybody watched the monitor while you were off in another room acting. There were sofas so people could come sit and watch. Like a theater production.

[Adam Scott]

Cause no take was the same. I would come and watch on days I wasn't working. Cause watching John and Will do their thing was just. And Adam. Incredible and just so fun. Yeah. That was Katherine Hahn. Oh, my God. Katherine Hahn. Like on that movie. It was immediately. It was like, oh, my God, this is the superstar.

[Ted Danson]

Yes. She was 100% amazing.

[Adam Scott]

Amazing.

[Ted Danson]

And you were going, got it. Got her. Got it. And what is she doing to John C. Rock? You know, it's like, oh, my God. Where'd that come from?

[Adam Scott]

It was great.

[Ted Danson]

Do you notice as fans come up to you about that movie, that they haven't watched it two or three times? Without exaggeration, they've watched it 16 times. It was.

[Adam Scott]

If I wasn't in it. That's what I I. It's one of those movies I would be watching over and over again, too. Yeah, it's really. And Mary's so funny, and she is.

[Ted Danson]

They would delight because they. Adam McKay would. My understanding was you would shoot the script first in the morning as written, but then all hell would break loose after they figured. They got that. He would shout out what he wanted you to say next.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

Which would make an Immediate left turn for the entire cast to try to catch up with this new development. But they loved telling Mary to say the word fuck. And this her. What the fucking Fuck.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

That's quoted to her.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. She screams it in the front lawn, right? Yeah, yeah. Amazing. That was so fun. So fun.

[Ted Danson]

You're such a wonderful actor. I'm sitting here kind of soaking up your face because I haven't seen you for a while, but I see you on, you know, I see you on Parks and Rec. I see you in the Good Place, and so. But you have that. Let's talk about your face for a minute. Okay. First off, it's one of those you. Not your face, but you are your face. I either want to make you laugh. I want to find out some amazing thoughts you're having. You're like. And I sat there thinking, it's like a chalkboard that you can erase completely and put another chalk something else in.

[Adam Scott]

That's very beautiful.

[Ted Danson]

You are astounding the way. Here's another way, better way, more complimentary way of saying it. You have the ability to go absolutely anywhere that you're called to in a script. And that's kind of my feel. You were so nimble as an actor. You can be incredibly funny. You can be incredibly bright, serious, smart, tragic, scary. All of the above.

[Adam Scott]

I'm not great with compliments, but getting anything coming close to a compliment from you is something that I will forever treasure and remember. So thank you.

[Ted Danson]

That's very good deflection, by the way. I know that bit.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, coming closer.

[Ted Danson]

You know, that move is. You know, it's like. Can we not. Can we change the subject here? Coming from you? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that will do. Because I like compliments. And I'll take that as your opening compliment.

[Adam Scott]

Yes, that's my opening salvo. Yes. A crowded field of compliments that are yet to come.

[Ted Danson]

I will remind you.

[Adam Scott]

And we are going to talk about hour long, so. Okay, great.

[Ted Danson]

Please.

[Adam Scott]

So strap in.

[Ted Danson]

Strap.

[Adam Scott]

Here we go. We're going to talk about Cheers at some point, too. Correct. Okay.

[Ted Danson]

All right. But while we're on Adam McKay for a second.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Talk about some of your other directors. My question is, you have directed and you're about to direct. You have. How many. How much have you directed films?

[Adam Scott]

I've never directed a movie. I would love to.

[Ted Danson]

But you are about to. Or is that, like, bullshit?

[Adam Scott]

No, I'm not. I'm not sure if we're gonna actually. You know, it's. Getting a movie going, is really hard. I've come close a couple times. No plans right now to direct a movie I've directed. My wife and I created these adult. These specials we did on Adult Swim where we re shot and shot for shot, recreated opening credit sequences to 80s television shows.

[Ted Danson]

And I've not seen that.

[Adam Scott]

And then made these, like, dumb little mockumentaries about the making of the is. It was. They're really fun and super stupid in a really fun way. But my friend Lance Bangs and I directed those, so I kind of really fell in love with it then.

[Ted Danson]

And it sounds like you want to if you can get something off.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, I would love to, but, yeah, I just. I haven't. It needs to be the exact right thing because I want to also act in it. So it needs to be the thing you're ready to dive into for three years. And so I just haven't quite found the right thing.

[Ted Danson]

Okay, my question still holds.

[Adam Scott]

There's something.

[Ted Danson]

Adam McKay is such a. Has such a specific. Even though he bounces around and, you know, serious and funny, what would you take away from him as a wannabe director? Oh, and some more directors that you've worked with, some amazing people. Sure, that's my question.

[Adam Scott]

I mean, with McKay, it completely turned everything upside down for me. When I worked on Stepbrothers, I kind of go through these cycles where every, like, six years. I've been at this for 33 years now almost. And it's almost like every five, six years, I hit some sort of a ceiling and have to reassess, like, why am I doing this? Am I, like, am I still enjoying this? Or am I just reaching, like, going for something because I decided this is what I was gonna do? So am I still chasing this thing because of that, or do I really feel like I'm actively growing and I have something and offering something, and kind of emotionally and mentally engaged with this thing. And so. Because sometimes you feel like you're not. You're like, what? What am I doing? And I happened to be at one of those spots when Stepbrothers came along, because I had been at it for a long time and things weren't quite clicking. But then being on that set and seeing these guys and the way they work, and like you were saying, they do a scripted take and then they just screw around and improvise. And the thing that really ended up having a huge effect on me was the lack of preciousness and the idea of, let's just try it all. And it's a very simple idea which Is we'll just use the parts that work. We'll use the good parts. Everything else, who cares? We won't be in the movie. We'll just throw it all up against the wall and use the things and cut together a great piece. And so I had always. I was always so.

[Ted Danson]

Me too, by the way.

[Adam Scott]

Precious about everything.

[Ted Danson]

I was bored at a proper board at my butt.

[Adam Scott]

Me too. Was it Cheers that helped you figure out how to just sit down?

[Ted Danson]

No, I think it was actually Damages. Cause Half hour comedy, three Camera is a musical.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

There's a metronome going, particularly Cheers, where

[Adam Scott]

everyone's on stage together. Right.

[Ted Danson]

But it's a dance. There's a dance step as a rhythm that you cannot really get out of. You can try to ground it as you can do all these things, but there's a going, which does make you focus in a way that when you're not in that kind of dance situation, it's like, oh, you still have the board up here or the. The red, Whatever.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Because you have to play that particular note at that particular time.

[Ted Danson]

Yes.

[Adam Scott]

But I think even this sort of reframed everything for me to the point where I would approach something like that completely in a completely different way after working with these guys, because it just. It made me kind of loosen my grip on the bat and take my foot off the gas a little bit and figure out how to have fun and try stuff. And it helped me get better. It got me interested in comedy. I mean, it took me a while to even wrap my head around it while we were making stepbrothers. And I felt like I finally got the hang of it by the time we were finishing the movie. But so with McKay, it was really. That was really. The big takeaway was, this can be fun. You can just try all kinds of stuff. And it was just a whole new approach anyway.

[Ted Danson]

Right. Richard Jenkins, who I know you've worked with again, and Mary talked to each other like the second day, went, what the fuck are we doing in this movie? We can't compete with that.

[Adam Scott]

Right.

[Ted Danson]

And came to the realization, oh, our job is to be real enough. Yeah. To behold insanity around us in a believable way. And it's true, you know, no matter how great those two guys are, the three of you had to be rooted and grounded and believable and not as insane.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

You know that's right. Which is a tough.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Tough way to go, you know? Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Because if everybody was insane, then there would be nothing to grab onto.

[Ted Danson]

Right?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Who else have you taken away from?

[Adam Scott]

Well, Stiller directs a lot of Severance and Walter Mitty, like we said, and Ben.

[Ted Danson]

Wait, I forgot. He directed Walter.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, my God.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Wow.

[Adam Scott]

I know. It's. He's. He's.

[Ted Danson]

What's the takeaway there?

[Adam Scott]

I think he's one of our great filmmakers. And. And I love that. That people are. Since Severance came out, I know a lot of people already felt that way, but Severance really, you know, Escape it. Dannemora. Did you see that as well? That limited series. That's really worth watching. It's.

[Ted Danson]

Let's do it again. Escape.

[Adam Scott]

Escape at Dannemora. It was that the Paul Dano and Benicio del Toro. It was a true story about guys that escaped from prison in, like, 2015 that Ben directed. And it's excellent in a completely different way than Walter Mitty or Severance or Zoolander. I mean, it's incredible that this is the same filmmaker. I think that Ben, for me, is my favorite director I've worked with because I trust him wholeheartedly. I trust his taste and his competence. And he's always, you know, there's no one working harder on the set than Ben is, and he's after excellence, and that's an inspiring thing to have on set to follow. Right. And with a show like Severance, it requires a lot of focus, and every day is challenging in its own way. And those are attributes. Those are the things that make it really fun, is the sort of mountain we have to climb every day trying to figure out a scene or. Or kind of nail down the tone for one particular thing or the other.

[Ted Danson]

And continuity must have to be talked about.

[Adam Scott]

Yes. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Continuity to what? Where am I? Who am I? Yeah, you know, what do I know? When did I know it kind of thing.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. That's something that we constantly have to remind ourselves of and talk out. But I think also with someone like Ben as an actor, you can completely let go, because I always have that little director in my head. Whether you're a director or not, as an actor, you have that person in your head kind of keeping track of what you're doing and criticizing what you're doing as you're going.

[Ted Danson]

Makes it hard to be in the moment.

[Adam Scott]

Yes, it does. Shut the fuck up. Yes, I'm working. Oh, that was terrible. What are you doing?

[Ted Danson]

But mine's worse. Mine is, oh, you're really good.

[Adam Scott]

But then the second you think you're like, oh, I really nailed that moment, you're done, you're out you're out with Ben. I found that I could completely let that go because I trust him wholeheartedly, you know? Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Fantastic. You are really good in it.

[Adam Scott]

Thanks.

[Ted Danson]

Just the elevator ride, getting in and getting out of the elevator. The difference of you. Well, I don't really know what it is yet, but that transformation to the person who only knows work, to the person who only knows real life.

[Adam Scott]

The innie and the outy.

[Ted Danson]

Wonderful. Very subtle. Lovely thing.

[Adam Scott]

Thank you. Thanks, man.

[Ted Danson]

I heard you had a concussion. I know you've talked about it, but you. So how did you get a concussion

[Adam Scott]

on this show in season two? There's. I don't want to spoil it for you, but there's a fight and I screwed up, and I was being slammed into a wall, and we had, you know, rehearsed the fight, choreographed the fight or whatever, where I supposed to bring my arm up to absorb the. The slam into the wall. And I didn't pull my arm around in time, so my head absorbed the slam.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Got my bell rung and. And it's in the show. The. The head slam. Looks like a real head slam. Because it is.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. The actor in you goes, yeah, you're being carted off of the hospital. Please use that.

[Adam Scott]

Oh. Everyone was crowded around, making a fuss, and Ben came up. He's like, are you okay? Are you. Are you okay? And I'm like, yeah, I think I'm all right. He's like, great. It looks amazing.

[Ted Danson]

So, yeah, actors, that's right. Your wife is leaving you today. She wants, you know, all your money and tells you to off. And part of you is going, oh, God, that's going to be great.

[Adam Scott]

I can use an acting class.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, I can use this.

[Adam Scott]

This is really gonna. I'm gonna be able to nail this scene.

[Ted Danson]

Give me one more director, creative type.

[Adam Scott]

Well, you know, I had a small role in the Aviator with Martin Scorsese, and that was really something to watch. That guy. I don't know if you've seen any of his movies, but they're. They're very good. That was incredible, you know, because I,

[Ted Danson]

you know, Leo's fun, too.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Again, that was also someone to. When I saw how hard he works and how he's always thinking of the next thing that he could be doing to add texture or detail or anything to a performance. He's, you know, this is six weeks before we start shooting. He's kind of gathering everything he can to add to the character and the role in the movie. But watching Scorsese work was incredible. And how collaborative he is with all the actors, right? He gets these great performances in his movies. And when I was there, I was like, oh, this is why. Because everyone feels like they're a part of the whole thing, right? He has people, even in something like the Aviator, where it's, you know, we were in this huge set. He was keeping the little. A little dome around the actors and letting us improvise. And then he would, like, choose the lines that are working. And so we all have lines that are in a Martin Scorsese movie. And you feel like you're a part of this whole process, his process. And that was a real eye opener for me as well, is that even in the midst of this giant, giant production, he is doing the really small, essential work with the camera and the actor because he's, you know, that's what matters the most. If you don't buy that, you're not gonna buy all the other stuff, right?

[Ted Danson]

That's so cool.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, it was cool.

[Ted Danson]

I had a moment kind of like that with Steven Spielberg. And my Leo was Tom Hanks. And I had two days, or maybe

[Adam Scott]

I was on Catch Me if youf Can.

[Ted Danson]

No, on Private Ryan.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, Private Ryan.

[Ted Danson]

I was a Concord soldier. They flew me over and back because I had only two days or something. The rest of them were in boot camp, right? You know, for like weeks before they started shooting.

[Adam Scott]

But you got to.

[Ted Danson]

I got to observe how smart. And actually, it was cool because I. But backing up for a second, it was my taking stock of myself. It was after Cheers and Becker and I tried another half hour and I just felt like, oh. And it didn't work out, but it was like, oh, I've stayed at this half hour party too long. I'm no longer funny. I'm not amusing myself. The people doing really amazing funny stuff. I'm going to stop doing this. I'm going to. I went to my friend Jeffrey Katzenberg and I said, you don't have to pay me. You can be as small as you want, but put me into a movie because all I want to do is no tv. Now go back to that. And I got a small part in Saving Private Ryan. But I remember seeing Stephen sitting outside. This was a two or three weeks before they went over to start shooting. And he was going through a script, and I said, what are you doing? He said he was going through the script to make sure there was every scene had to lead like chess when you have a forced move. Every scene had to be there to make the next scene work. It had to be there. It didn't have to be there. It was cut. And then to go watch him shoot was almost the same version of that. He was so fast. They were working outside, and he had an amazing DP and all of that, so the lighting setups weren't long and arduous. But, man, he. You. You had to know your lines because he was just zipping.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Through, Right.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Moving fast.

[Ted Danson]

And watching he and Tom work, it was really. It was really. I'm really glad I got to do that.

[Adam Scott]

I bet. And so was it after that. Was that sort of the path that led you to Damages?

[Ted Danson]

Almost. There was one step that I hate giving him credit for, but Larry David.

[Adam Scott]

Right.

[Ted Danson]

Who I love and adore, but, oh, my gosh, we saw his. The pilot, you know, in this very horrible situation of an attic in Martha's Vineyard, and it was hot. And. And people. The 10 people crowded around because there was no TV. It was on his laptop, and he

[Adam Scott]

was like, I want to show you the thing I made.

[Ted Danson]

Yes. And we were all new friends. And so. Yes, of course. And a couple people fell asleep. And I looked at it going, oh, my God. Poor guy. This sucks. This sucks. But I really like him. So at the end. What do I say? Mary loved it. But I was going, hey, if you ever need us to play ourselves, because it was clear that that's the way he was going. Love to. Anytime. Call. Oh, Lord, this sucks. And then he did call and the second episode, and it turned out to be the thing that rehabilitated my sense of loving to look for the giggle. All of a sudden, it was so different from what I was used to. There was no metronome going. It was like just a completely different approach. Completely just improvised play.

[Adam Scott]

And you were funny in a totally new way.

[Ted Danson]

Yes. And it was just so rehabilitating. And then Damages came along, which had the same effect. Oh, good. We're talking about me now for a second. Yeah, yeah, Take a break. Think of.

[Adam Scott]

Absolutely. This is my happy place.

[Ted Danson]

Damages gave me the thing. It took the board out of my butt, you know, in that it was brilliant writing, but literally, you would be called to the set for a scene and would be handed warm pages, you know, of the scene that they had just rewritten.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

So it was like, well, I can't be expected.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

You know, and so it was like I had carte blanche and I had an acting coach for the first time in my life a week.

[Adam Scott]

Sorry, what is that like? What is that like?

[Ted Danson]

It was brilliant.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

What Was weird. Was the writers, the Kesslers. But Glenn and Todd came up to me a week before we started shooting and said, would you mind going to our acting coach? And I was like, oh, man. I guess I really miscast.

[Adam Scott]

Were you rehearsing?

[Ted Danson]

Nope. So you maybe a read through.

[Adam Scott]

Okay.

[Ted Danson]

Right. And then they pointed out that it was Glenn's acting coach and other people and all that. So I. And I was smart enough to go, yes. Of even though I was dying inside. And I went, and he was brilliant. And he had me read a page of a scene and he said, okay, okay, thank you. And he said, okay, I can tell you a really, really nice actor. By that I mean when you start talking, I know you will go until the end of the paragraph.

[Adam Scott]

Okay.

[Ted Danson]

You know, I. You know, you're nice. You're gonna do what's written for you

[Adam Scott]

and get the job done.

[Ted Danson]

And you're gonna get the job done. You're playing a billionaire sociopath.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

And there's in within. You need to have an irreverence to the material. You need to have in your mind. You know what? I've said this line. And fuck you. I don't particularly feel like saying the next line, which is kind of the. Obviously you can't. You need to basically. You know.

[Adam Scott]

But you need to have that.

[Ted Danson]

But you need to have that. You know, maybe I'll say it, maybe I won't. And fuck you. Because that's kind of the billionaire who can do anything he wants anyway.

[Adam Scott]

Always in control of any relationship.

[Ted Danson]

Maybe I'll say this next line, maybe I won't. And it was so freeing.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I bet to me that I all of a sudden started to love acting again.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

What a great role. Yeah, I remember it was so. You were so frightening in that role because. And part of the reason it was almost like when Harrison Ford finally played a bad guy in what Lies Beneath. It was almost disillusioning to see him do that. Seeing you play this sociopath who's has such a fragile ego.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Was. Was frightening. And part of the reason it was was because we grew up watching you play Sam Malone and sweet, nice Ted,

[Ted Danson]

who'll make you laugh.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. It was so scary because you felt like this guy will do anything to protect his money and himself. That's so interesting that that's the path that got you to. That brought you to Damages. I didn't know that. That's super interesting that you were having a moment of sort of like the

[Ted Danson]

same thing you described when you talked about Needing to revamp something. Not quite.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I mean, that's the joy of being. I don't know about typecast, but the joy of success. Being successful at something has its downside.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, too.

[Ted Danson]

I mean, it's not just that people typecast you. You type your comfortable doing something.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

And going to the. Well, that's right. It's cool being an actor.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, it is.

[Ted Danson]

It is.

[Adam Scott]

But you're totally right. I. I did the. After five years of Parks and Rec, I felt the same way. Like, you can feel it kind of settling in and you feel like you want to try something different, but it's not like you're encouraged to try something different. You have to decide that that's what you're gonna do. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

That's interesting. Well, that. All right. Parks and Rec. Mike Shore.

[Adam Scott]

Yes, Mike.

[Ted Danson]

You know, Mike Shore, Morgan Sackett, all of those folks. Amy. Oh, my God, I'm so jealous because Mike is going off Amy again.

[Adam Scott]

I know. They're doing a great show.

[Ted Danson]

They are again. And they have to go to Greece for three weeks to shoot it. Bummer.

[Adam Scott]

Poor guys.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. But we both have him in common. The Good Place. And that Good Place was a remarkable show. You were part of that. Incredible.

[Adam Scott]

I remember I worked on that before it had come out. Like, we were shoot. I was shooting episodes with you guys before it had started airing. So no one knew what this thing was going to be. And it was a big swing because season one there was that, like, neighborhood they had built on the universal law. And I was like, what is going on? What are they doing? And it was so. I mean, it was so cool and just creating a whole new universe. It was so great to see it come out and become this juggernaut, you

[Ted Danson]

know, and kids watch it.

[Adam Scott]

Kids.

[Ted Danson]

The 12 year olds.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

Each new generation of 12 year olds.

[Adam Scott]

Yep.

[Ted Danson]

Love it because it's just. It's about. It's about something. And it's funny and silly and fart humor.

[Adam Scott]

Yep.

[Ted Danson]

And it has. It's taught in colleges for. In ethics.

[Adam Scott]

Isn't that incredible that kids find something that they. That they connect to in it, like 12 year olds? And then it's the. The philosophy of the show is also hooking adults as well.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

It's really amazing.

[Ted Danson]

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[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

Not Santa Paula. Where did you grow up?

[Adam Scott]

Santa Cruz.

[Ted Danson]

Santa Cruz.

[Adam Scott]

Have you been to Santa Cruz?

[Ted Danson]

I think I have, but I get confused. It's up north, halfway between here and San Francisco. Ish.

[Adam Scott]

It's more like, it's like an hour and change from San Francisco.

[Ted Danson]

So it's south of.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, south of. It's like Monterey Bay. It's, it's Monterey is here and then Santa Cruz is.

[Ted Danson]

Right. So you ain't in, in Los Angeles anymore. No, you don't have that at all.

[Adam Scott]

Moving to Los Angeles from Santa Cruz, it was like going to a different planet, you know, one went.

[Ted Danson]

The rest of the world wasn't too sure whether they liked us. LA is a handful.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

So Northern California particularly has a attitude about Southern California.

[Ted Danson]

Rightfully so. Although San Francisco has a smidge of Boston in it. It's got a lot of old money.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

And there's a class structure.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

Still in San Francisco.

[Adam Scott]

I don't know San Francisco as well as I should. Growing up near San Francisco, clearly I don't either.

[Ted Danson]

And I, and I just almost made that up, but not quite.

[Adam Scott]

Well, it sounds really good to me.

[Ted Danson]

I was there in the 60s, I went to Stanford. So I have a glimpse of it,

[Adam Scott]

but not a real one.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, okay, but what, so you're, you're, you're five years old. What do you do? You go running out on your bicycle. Are you suburban? What is your upbringing like?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, I, I, I just got interested in movies and TV shows at a, at a really young age. And why I remember really focusing in when I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark as a nine year old, that, that was really the moment of that's what I'm going to do. Because it looked fun.

[Ted Danson]

But having, oh, you looked at Harrison and went, oh, he's an actor and I would like to be doing what that guy's doing.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, but rewatching it. I just rewatched Raiders in the past few days and this time going through it, I really saw the connection that he's making with the audience. And I still get those same feelings watching that movie. And I was really connecting with him. And because he's vulnerable in that movie, he's scared and he's not great at fighting people. He makes it, but he's like, he was a teacher. My dad was a professor. He's a retired professor. And so I had all these connections to it, but I think that was the special thing about that character and about those movies was this was a guy who didn't necessarily want to be fighting this person and was just getting by by the skin of his teeth. And I think as a kid, there was a lot to connect to there. And so because of that vulnerable underbelly, all the other stuff is even more fun. And there are big jokes in that movie. So it was hearing the audience laugh. It was a full entertainment. Right.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

So that really got me going.

[Ted Danson]

So you're nine. What's the next step towards today?

[Adam Scott]

School plays. And then I just started doing, like. I was always busy, particularly in high school. I was very involved in the theater department and was always working on something that was my focus. And, um. Popular kid, I think I. I was very, very conscious of cultivating a social life and a. Like, I managed to be on the water polo team and the swim team because I didn't want to be classified just as. Because the drama crowd, the theater crowd, they were sort of socially looked down upon. And so I wanted to have one foot there and then wanted one foot in the popular kids as well.

[Ted Danson]

So who doesn't look good in Speedos?

[Adam Scott]

There you go. Well, I can tell you. Not me. That was really tough. I was briefly on the diving team and on the diving team, not only do you have speedos on, but you have to get up out of the pool, step up on the diving board while the audience watches you, and walk to the end of the board and jump and go in. It's.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And you're 15 and you have speedos on. It's a real drag.

[Ted Danson]

I was. I'm embarrassed. No, I'm not. I was proud of my Speedos. I. I wore Speedos when Mary. Before Mary met me, I was. I was. Had about a good 10 years of speedos, but that was.

[Adam Scott]

People were wearing Speedos back.

[Ted Danson]

They were. They were.

[Adam Scott]

I've got two now, a little bit.

[Ted Danson]

I've noticed.

[Adam Scott]

I bet you looked great in Speedos, too.

[Ted Danson]

Here's what happened, Mary. The first time I put him on, when we're together and my kids were all together on a vacation, all the kids are finally together. And Mary looked at me and said, no. And my daughters went, oh, thank you. Thank you so much for saying no to his Speedo.

[Adam Scott]

So no one had dared say no to the Speedos up to that point?

[Ted Danson]

No.

[Adam Scott]

And what. What year was this when in the.

[Ted Danson]

We met in 92.

[Adam Scott]

Okay. So you had been wearing Speedos for a while.

[Ted Danson]

Probably weighed them. Wear the past. The.

[Adam Scott]

Well, no one Dared tell Ted Danson not to wear Speedos up to that point.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

So it's actually a brave move on Mary's part.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, no, it was the right move. Okay, so you're. You're. You're. You're cool jock, you're doing plays.

[Adam Scott]

I was not. I did not excel at swimming or water polo or diving. I was bad at it, but I.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, but you're on the.

[Adam Scott]

Did it. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Okay, so you graduate. Do you know by the time you graduate high school, you're really going for it?

[Adam Scott]

Yes. And I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts here in la. Yes, it was in Pasadena.

[Ted Danson]

How did you know to do that?

[Adam Scott]

I didn't. I. It was the only place I applied to. I don't even know where, how I heard about it.

[Ted Danson]

Right.

[Adam Scott]

Maybe my theater teacher, Kathy Warner at my high school handed me a pamphlet. I have no clue. But I was like, okay, I'm gonna audition there. And I got in and then moved down here and.

[Ted Danson]

By yourself?

[Adam Scott]

By myself.

[Ted Danson]

Woof.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I mean, was there a campus?

[Adam Scott]

There's a campus in Pasadena. And I lived in a guest house. Someone's house nearby. And went. Went to school there for two years. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Wow. And made friends that you have to this day.

[Adam Scott]

Yes. And. And then after that, moved to Hollywood. At the time, I didn't have a car or anything, so Pasadena was a long way away from Los Angeles. So it felt like I was.

[Ted Danson]

You were in a bubble.

[Adam Scott]

Yes. And so then came here in 93 and started, like, trying to get an agent and doing background work and all that stuff.

[Ted Danson]

We're very similar in that. Mary went from Waiting Tables. She also went to Neighborhood Playhouse. And she. But anyway, she went from, in essence, Waiting Tables to starring with Jack Nicholson in and being directed by him. Boom. But I did a little. Little steps.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, me too.

[Ted Danson]

You and I could probably trade who you guest starred. What? You guest starred on everything. Yeah, everything.

[Adam Scott]

Everything. I had two lines on ER and, you know, every. NYPD Blue and everything. I'm sure I auditioned for Becker. I'm. I auditioned for. And. And I mean, I. You know, it took forever. How long did it take for you to get Body Heat? Like, how. Where was that?

[Ted Danson]

Okay. Two years, three years. In New York.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I moved to New York in 73. I got an understudy part in a theater off Broadway show and did that for like a year and a half. And da da da, da da. Soap opera, commercials. Couldn't get arrested, really, in theater. Then I moved to la, but. And I started Teaching.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, really?

[Ted Danson]

Which scared the crap out of me because somebody told me to do it. It was called the Actors Institute and it was a kind of a weekend transformational thing. So it wasn't about teaching an acting class. It was about making sure you knew who you were putting out into the world. You know, you think you're doing this, but you're really walking in with this big fuck you on your shoulder. Let's talk about that.

[Adam Scott]

Sure.

[Ted Danson]

It's one of those kind of situation. I was so scared about teaching, I would throw up before every class. That auditioning was like, effortless.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I could. It was like, oh, what a relief.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, that's great that you had that.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, it really was. I think it transformed my early LA days.

[Adam Scott]

Sure.

[Ted Danson]

But I got Body Heat within maybe six months of being amazing. Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

What a great movie.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

But Body Heat was a big hit.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, it was.

[Adam Scott]

So that must have been an incredible

[Ted Danson]

feeling because it wasn't yet that my career wasn't there then. My career was like. I almost loved being in class as much as I enjoyed being paid to be in something. It wasn't until Cheers and fame and money came along that all of a sudden you went, oh, I don't want to lose this. That's when career. I didn't think about career, really.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah. You were going from lily pad to lily pad.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Just.

[Ted Danson]

Thank you, Lord. Look what I get to do.

[Adam Scott]

Totally. And then that kind of happened to me too. Is that suddenly I was like, oh, this is what a career is. What have I been doing for 15 years? I. And I realized that I was keeping a fable going in my mind that everything was going great. All that, that whole time, just as like a survival technique. And then when things finally started to coalesce, I was like, oh, okay. Is that what you're saying with Cheers? You were like, oh, this is a career now.

[Ted Danson]

This is a. Yeah. I think success breeds fear.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ted Danson]

If you're not careful or whatever. How did you deal with being recognized? How did you deal with success, fame?

[Adam Scott]

It happened so gradually for me. It was so frog and boiling water for me that. That it didn't really happen until it was like Parks and Rec, party down. And stepbrothers were all out in the same, like, year and a half, two year period. And suddenly I was like. The thing that immediately came to mind when it started happening is it felt like I had something on my face. Like I must have something just. Cause you can sense people turning their heads as you at the airport as you walk by. But then Parks really kind of solidified that.

[Ted Danson]

And severance must be a whole different.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, it's completely different. It's a different now. You're different people.

[Ted Danson]

You're famous, People love it. And it's. And you're also in a cult.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Really?

[Adam Scott]

That's right. Finally, I'm in a cult.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, finally. Hey, just. I'm sorry, I'm leaving you. And then backing up Cardi. Oh, my God, we love that.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, thanks. Can I tell you something about Party Down?

[Ted Danson]

Yes.

[Adam Scott]

Is that when we started Party Down? I'm the bartender of the catering crew. Right. And I don't know how to bartend and I don't know how to make any drinks, so I didn't know what to do because being the bartender, it's where everyone comes. They order the other, you know, Lizzie and Martin and Ken, they come. Ordered. Incredible cast. Ryan Hanson. They come and order drinks and stuff, and we have conversations about what's going on at any particular party. Then they go. So the bartender is sort of the meeting spot for everyone. So there was a lot of time to fill and I didn't know how to. What to do. So I just remembered everything you do on Cheers and I just ripped it all off. Slicing glasses, washing with towel. And a shot glass. Washing shot glass. Cutting lemons.

[Ted Danson]

Lemons.

[Adam Scott]

I think sometimes you would eat the lemon and then throw the rind in the traps.

[Ted Danson]

Yes. And pretzels.

[Adam Scott]

Pretzels. Pop a pretzel in your mouth as you're walking over and talking to someone. Open a seltzer. Drink a seltzer.

[Ted Danson]

I find eating and drinking makes my acting better because you can't fake 100%, so you're tempted not to fake anything else.

[Adam Scott]

Eating and drinking and just slicing a lemon and taking the lemons and putting them in a thing as you're talking makes the acting look so much better. But I stole every move of yours from Cheers for Party Down.

[Ted Danson]

That's funny.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

So good.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, yeah, thanks.

[Ted Danson]

So funny.

[Adam Scott]

It was fun. It was really fun. And we didn't think anyone would ever see it.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, my God, though, It was amazing. Didn't you have fanatics, fanatical fans, I

[Adam Scott]

mean, who just loved it eventually, after it was canceled.

[Ted Danson]

That was weird. What did you do two years.

[Adam Scott]

Two seasons, and then 13 years later, we did another one. Yeah, 13 years. Yeah. It was crazy.

[Ted Danson]

Do you not love Jane Lynch?

[Adam Scott]

Jane Lynch? Megan Mullally?

[Ted Danson]

Megan, that's right.

[Adam Scott]

Unbelievable.

[Ted Danson]

Unbelievable cast.

[Adam Scott]

Unbelievable. Lizzy Kaplan. Ken Marino. Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, Megan Mullally, Jane Lynch.

[Ted Danson]

It was brilliant. Who wrote.

[Adam Scott]

Who created that John En Bomb? Paul Rudd, Dan Etheridge and Rob Thomas created it. And John En Bomb was the showrunner and wrote the majority of them, but they all wrote episodes and stuff.

[Ted Danson]

All Rudd. You hate them, don't you? Hate them?

[Adam Scott]

I can't stand them. He's a.

[Ted Danson]

It's obvious, I guess, horrifying person. One of my favorite actors.

[Adam Scott]

I know he's great. And we've been.

[Ted Danson]

He's very. He reminds me of you. Sorry. Or you remind me of.

[Adam Scott]

Both.

[Ted Danson]

Both. Because you can go. Both of you can go anywhere.

[Adam Scott]

Well, that's very kind to be compared to. To Paul in any way, but we've been friends for a long time, and they created the show originally for him. And I think Steve Carell maybe in the Ron Donald role, in Ken Marino's role, just like. And then tried to sell it, couldn't do it. And then those guys went off and did other things, obviously. And then we all did it together later on.

[Ted Danson]

I have no problem with hand me downs, by the way. I've lived off hand me downs.

[Adam Scott]

Absolutely no problem whatsoever. Especially when it's something like party down, which it was so fun. And I think thinking that no one would ever see it and no one watching it at the time made it all the better and all the more fun, you know?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. I'm trying to think, was there a strike or a pandemic or something? But we were so grateful. I can't remember which one. We caught up to it.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, cool.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, my God.

[Adam Scott]

Thank you. So nice. Oh, thanks. Thanks for looking at it. Can we just talk about Cheers for a sec? Because it's called where everybody knows your name.

[Ted Danson]

Also with Woody Harrelson.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Is he here? And I'm just not seeing him.

[Ted Danson]

He is listening.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, how's it going? How's it going, Woody? I've never met Woody Harrelson.

[Ted Danson]

You haven't? Oh, shoot.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

He's one of my favorite human beings.

[Adam Scott]

I remember once when Naomi and I were on our honeymoon, we were on. We were on Maui. We got married on Kauai and then went to Maui for a honeymoon. And we're looking for pot and didn't know.

[Ted Danson]

For the kids.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Didn't know where to get pot and didn't know anyone on Maui. So a friend of ours gave us Woody's phone number, and so we called and left a message. And then like an hour later, someone called us back and left us a message that they're out of town. And sorry, we can't help you getting pot. So that's the closest I've come to meeting Woody.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, I'm sure they thought you were a narc.

[Adam Scott]

Probably.

[Ted Danson]

Nice try.

[Adam Scott]

Probably. Probably. But cheers. I rewatch it every few years. It's been a couple years, so I'm almost due. It's just perfect. And you guys. It never jumped the shark you managed. Is it nine seasons?

[Ted Danson]

Eleven.

[Adam Scott]

Eleven seasons. And it never went stale.

[Ted Danson]

We had world class writers.

[Adam Scott]

World class.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And that set and the. Yes, it's on film. And it. It's just. It's perfect.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, it really was. It really was. I. And the theme song, even, it was like, oh, my God, I think you could have gotten another year of people watching. If you just put up the set and play the theme song, people would tune in because it was so comforting.

[Adam Scott]

Yes. But it's also the characters that were just.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, they really.

[Adam Scott]

You and Shelley Long and then you and Kirstie Alley. It's unbelievable, that love story of Sam and Diane. It's cliched. At this point, everyone's chasing Sam and Diane, trying to find a relationship that feels that alive and that crackling and that funny. And you guys, like. It's just. And then having a completely different conflict and completely different relationship. When Kirstie Alley comes in, finding a whole new. That's really hard. That's possible.

[Ted Danson]

They were so smart. They saw Kirsten and I were like a fair fight. We were opposites, so that kind of spark work. Because we were truly opposites. But Kirsty and I were, like, kind of cut from the same cloth, so it was like, no, that won't kind of work. You need to be a triangle.

[Adam Scott]

Interesting.

[Ted Danson]

So they always made us a triangle.

[Adam Scott]

What do you mean?

[Ted Danson]

I was trying to get her. She was.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, you mean you and Shelley were fighting?

[Ted Danson]

Yes, we were a couple.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

And it worked because Shelly and I were like oil and water. So the sparks flew because we were such opposites and the characters were such opposites. So that worked. But then, curse the alley. The person and I were closer and similar. And so they wrote a character where I was chasing her, but she was chasing somebody else.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

So it was always that triangle. They were just so smart to know they couldn't repeat a Sam and Diane relationship.

[Adam Scott]

I remember watching her first episode as it aired, and I think it's in her first episode where she's walking back to the office and she tells you to stop looking at her butt. And it's just like, oh my God. As a kid watching Cheers, it was like. It's crazy that I remember that moment, but it was just like throwing down the gauntlet. These two characters were going to go at it for however long. And it ended up being longer than it was with Sam and Diane. Just, just amazing.

[Ted Danson]

She played Kirsty, played woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Better than anyone I've ever seen. She was really, really, really great. And now some of these people are gone.

[Adam Scott]

It's so George Wendt.

[Ted Danson]

George? Yeah. Bizarre.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. What a cast. Just unbelievable. And just a template for, for comedy.

[Ted Danson]

How'd you meet Naomi?

[Adam Scott]

We met at a bar, which is, I know, romantic. I was doing a play downtown and where are we?

[Ted Danson]

New York?

[Adam Scott]

No, here. A bar here? Yeah. I was doing a play at the Taper downtown.

[Ted Danson]

Oh.

[Adam Scott]

In 1998. And I was at a bar with a castmate. Saw Naomi across the room. I said, I want to meet, meet her. And he said, oh, I know her. Her friend, whoever she's standing with. So we go over and introduce ourselves. And Naomi said, nice to meet you. And turned to her friend and said, I. I need to go. And she left. And so then, if I'm remembering correctly, I had my friend ask them if they would come to our play on closing night, like the next weekend. And it was after the play, at the closing night party that we actually, like, met and hung out and talked for hours.

[Ted Danson]

The two of you?

[Adam Scott]

The two of us, yes.

[Ted Danson]

Because she liked what she saw, I guess. Talented person.

[Adam Scott]

I guess so. I guess I didn't completely embarrass myself.

[Ted Danson]

Right.

[Adam Scott]

And then I remember there was an after party at Amanda Donahoe's house, the actress Amanda Donahoe. And we played with a dog in the backyard and talked for like three hours.

[Ted Danson]

That talking for long stretches of time to someone in the opposite sex. That's a good sign. That's a really good sign.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Because it doesn't happen that way usually. She was immediately.

[Ted Danson]

Sorry, forgive me. Was she an actor?

[Adam Scott]

No, she was in tech. Then she was late 90s tech boom and then eventual collapse. But she was, she was at a tech company, one of the first companies that did streaming video ixl. And she was immediately fascinating. She had gone to Stanford, Media studies, I believe. And so she was incredibly smart. Still is incredibly smart. And so immediately, if you're talking to someone who's deeply intelligent, it makes you seem more intelligent just because you're sitting near them.

[Ted Danson]

So that even if you have to fake a few nods, oh my God.

[Adam Scott]

Like I had to Pretend like I knew what she was talking about while I'm thinking about my hair.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

You know, which is important. Absolutely. So anyway, that's how we met. And then we've been hanging out ever since.

[Ted Danson]

Very cool. Yeah. Three kids.

[Adam Scott]

Two kids.

[Ted Danson]

Two kids, yeah. What's that like when you go, I'm going to New York to work.

[Adam Scott]

It's a bummer because it's, you know, it's a sacrifice for them and you're kind of imposing it on them, like you're not gonna. Your dad isn't gonna be present for.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

10 months.

[Ted Danson]

Was there a time when they could come with you?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Did you ever all pack up and.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, when they were really little, we would go off.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And now they're the age where they can come on their own and hang out and visit. 19 and 17. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Oh, my God.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. But when severance started, they were, you know, in middle school and elementary school. It's already been six years or seven years, so.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

They've kind of grown up with me being in New York part of the time.

[Ted Danson]

Do they like to come see you work or. Not really.

[Adam Scott]

I think they're curious. They have more curiosity about severance because it resonated with their friends and stuff.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

But other than that, they have absolutely no real interest in.

[Ted Danson]

In. It's a service table.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, exactly. Were your kids fascinated at all by

[Ted Danson]

when they were young? Because they could be part of the audience. They actually kind of enjoyed it. And we had parties all the time because there were three producers. Jimmy, Les and Glenn and their wives would throw different big, huge parties throughout the year.

[Adam Scott]

Jim Burrows.

[Ted Danson]

Jim Burrows. Les and Glenn Charles. And so it was a very party oriented kind of. Which welcomed kids.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I think it was something insane. Over the 11 years we had 120. Cheers, children.

[Adam Scott]

Wow.

[Ted Danson]

You know, that's incredible. Yeah. A fertile time in our lives.

[Adam Scott]

I remember on parks, every Halloween they would have a big party where all the kids would come and they. The kids would do a parade through the parks hallways. Oh, that's really cute.

[Ted Danson]

That's great.

[Adam Scott]

That was really fun.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah. Then there's a period where they're. Do you want to come? No.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Well, I'm working with, you know, Johnny Depp. I couldn't say that. Mary could. And. Oh, you know. Oh. Yep. Oh, whoop you. Yep. Yeah. But it's who you're working with.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. Not you.

[Ted Danson]

No.

[Adam Scott]

Nothing interesting about you working.

[Ted Danson]

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[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Acting, obviously. What else?

[Adam Scott]

It's kind of work and family. I've never been able to nail down a hobby or a real. I mean I've tried everything. Our garage is filled with my attempts at finding a hobby or something that I could. There's like golf clubs and bicycles and it's just all camping gear. It's just never. Nothing is ever. I've just either too busy or I'm interested in, you know, doing something with the family. It seems like the time is always filled. I've just never peeled off and found that thing. Do you have something you go to.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, I think I. For me, it was ocean activism because. I had a little bit of it from my parents, my father, who was an archaeologist, and all of that kind of it went over my head. But there was a sense of history. There's a lot that's come before you. This is not about you, it's about your stewardship. That kind of was there, but.

[Adam Scott]

And conservation is part of his life.

[Ted Danson]

Yes, huge part of his life. He was a Republican back when Republicans were conservationists.

[Adam Scott]

Right. Believe it or not.

[Ted Danson]

Believe it or not. But then fame and a lot of money from Cheers and ooh, I need to be responsible somehow. At the same time, we moved into a neighborhood that was fighting offshore oil drilling or oil drilling along Santa Monica Bay. And I met a gentleman who was an environmental lawyer and we defeated them. And we started something out of friendship, out of relationship, and enjoying the conversation.

[Adam Scott]

I remember that as a Cheers fan and just being aware. I remember your activism for the oceans and it really had an effect. It was great that you were doing that. My dad is a marine biologist.

[Ted Danson]

Really?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah. Retired marine biologist. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Where did that all take place? Santa Cruz.

[Adam Scott]

Santa Cruz. He was a professor at Cabrillo College, just junior college in Santa Cruz. And so we were always going out into the tide pools and going on sabbaticals out into the Sierras and all that stuff. But yeah, marine biologists are really, you know, they have a special place in my heart, but.

[Ted Danson]

No, they do. My brother in law was a marine biologist.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, is that right?

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

It's funny. Marine biologist is a fairly common occupation for characters in romantic comedies I found.

[Ted Danson]

Right, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

I'm a marine biologist. Isn't that cute?

[Ted Danson]

So cool. What is that again?

[Adam Scott]

I don't know. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I didn't know Marines had. Yeah, biologists.

[Adam Scott]

Right? They do. It's interesting because I found when I started getting recognized out in the world, I. It's something I always kind of fantasized about. Like, you know, you're trying your best to be an actor. You getting famous is certainly part of the fantasy of the whole thing is like, wouldn't that be great? I found it. Once it actually started happening, I found it to be far more isolating than I ever expected. It's not a part, it's not a feeling. I. It really took me by surprise that when people are looking at you, it doesn't feel like love or whatever you thought it would feel like. It feels like your other. Like you're separated and you are being watched and it's weird.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

So that's really interesting that you're saying, take all of that energy and push it or pull it into a different direction.

[Ted Danson]

I had a realization early on, even before I came out to LA and started working and getting stuff and I would. Was part of a workshop that. It was that thing that I later was asked to teach here in la. But you'd stand up and you'd do a monologue and they. In this version of what I'm talking about, they would have a casting agent come New York, and you'd all do your monologue and then you'd get feedback from the guy who invented this workshop and the casting director. And the first time I got up, I was fucking rock star. I was just hit it out of the park. People were just, you know, And I could tell it as I got off and people were just looking at me with this huge admiration. And I excused myself to go to the bathroom and I kind of hid in the bathroom for a while and felt embarrassed and alone and not great. The next weekend, following weekend, same kind of setup, different casting agent. I sucked. I really bombed. And I separated myself, went to the bathroom and sat there and felt very isolated and alone and not so good. And it was like, well, fuck, yeah. Either way.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ted Danson]

Gonna have to work on this.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. What a great lesson to learn then. Yeah, I kind of. That's a similar lesson to realizing that reading anything about yourself is a futile exercise.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Because whether it's positive or negative, it's. It's not.

[Ted Danson]

And you'll only really, really remember the negative ones.

[Adam Scott]

100%.

[Ted Danson]

Can I give you a couple quotes?

[Adam Scott]

Sure, please.

[Ted Danson]

Headlines?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Mr. Thinks he's so Wonderful. Danson was the beginning of one review.

[Adam Scott]

Christ.

[Ted Danson]

The other one was too tepid. Ted.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, God. Was that like a review for. It was Becker.

[Ted Danson]

I got gone to New York with Mary and did all the press, then was going to the airport in New York to fly back to LA for the opening night party of Becker. And we're in this hired car. They drove you to the airport in a limo, back and forth. And so I watched Mary. We're in the backseat and there was the limo driver, had all these, all the papers stacked up between Mary and myself. You're like, oh, no, Mary. I watched Mary slowly start putting newspapers on the. Far away from me.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, God bless her heart. And then. And then eventually you picked it up and read it.

[Ted Danson]

Well, I twigged on. I said, what are you doing? And she.

[Adam Scott]

And then I'm sure that's all that you were thinking about at the party.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah, yeah, it was. But it also. It's one of those liberating things of like, well, fuck it.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

[Ted Danson]

Guess what? We have whatever 20 shows to do and fuck it.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. You know, I remember that play that I was doing when I met Naomi.

[Ted Danson]

Wait, that was a part lie. Sorry, it sucked. Go on back to you. It was hard at the party, and it did suck. Sorry.

[Adam Scott]

But I would imagine that eventually you were able to cycle it into.

[Ted Danson]

And it does become literary. You know, the fear of being not liked is way worse than not being liked.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

So it was. Of course. Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And it kind of helps get that rhino skin going a little bit to absorb something like that. I was just going to say this. That play I was doing, I remember it was kind of the biggest thing I had done up to that point. And so I looked in the review and Variety, and I remember reading the review, and it was positive, and I was like, oh, this is great. This is great. And they were going through the cast and I hadn't been mentioned yet. And I was like, huh. Oh, that's weird. I mean, I have a big role. And each paragraph was another actor. And it was glowing about all of them. And I was like, huh, okay. Oh, they must be saving me for last. And then the last paragraph. You know how you can, like, see your name in a paragraph before you read it? You can. I was like, oh, here it is. And the paragraph started with unfortunately, comma. And then I saw my name, and I just was like, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. And I closed it.

[Ted Danson]

You had to go perform that night?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah. And so I just threw the paper on the ground. And this is what a good friend. Rudd. Paul Rudd is. Is that like clockwork? Ten minutes later, he calls me. He had a movie opening that day, object of my affection, which was a huge deal for him. And I don't know if he saw this review or not. I'm assuming he did, because he called me just to laugh about what people were saying about him and his movie and all the negative stuff.

[Ted Danson]

He had found Such a sweet guy.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Because I was devastated. Devastated. I never read the paragraph. It was just unfortunately was enough. And having to go out and do it over and over again. But then I found doing another play, I got a great review and was. And read it and was like, oh, my God, this is amazing. And then going out and doing it, I couldn't get that out of my head either. And it fucked me up, too.

[Ted Danson]

So, you know, how are you with award season? That fucks me up.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. It's long. It keeps going.

[Ted Danson]

It does keep going.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Good. Half year.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

I mean, it's incredible that we're in that company and that we're being considered for all this stuff. So, you know, you just have to be grateful for it and just thankful that it's happening at all and just keep going.

[Ted Danson]

Go through it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

What?

[Ted Danson]

I. I hate that I get thrown so smack dab into my ego.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

And it's either way.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Win is. Can be detrimental. The only good thing about winning, really, is that you can. Don't have to be philosophical. It's very relaxing. If you win, you can just go, ah, that's nice.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Thank you.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

And go to sleep.

[Adam Scott]

Yes.

[Ted Danson]

Otherwise, you're working very hard.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. I mean, you know, when you're there, of course you want to win, you know, because you're seeing people, like, across the aisle from you getting up and going up there, and you're like, oh, my God, this is really happening for people. But then it's all just being anywhere in that conversation. And the fact that we made this show that we thought was so weird and people, like, we didn't know how this thing would be received at all. I thought when the billboards first went up, I thought people were just gonna make fun of it. So the fact that we're there is incredible.

[Ted Danson]

It is wonderful.

[Adam Scott]

And you just have to be happy with that. And everything else is just like gravy and Tramel and Brit won Emmys, which is just. I was surprised at how. I mean, I knew, of course, I knew I would be thrilled for anyone, but I was so moved when those two won Emmys for their work. Watching them work as hard as they did. Over the years, we've all been working together. It was just one of the great moments I've experienced watching them walk up there and receive those things. So it's all a win. Truly.

[Ted Danson]

It is.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

I'm embarrassed to say I still get slammed into my ego. You know, I'm great. I'm wonderful. Right up until they start reading names.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, how can you not?

[Ted Danson]

The last time was a year ago. A couple years ago, I was sick as a dog and, I mean, really couldn't get out of bed. But the Golden Globe, the Carol Burnett award, Golden Globe thing, I got that. And it was not a competition. It was just, you got it. And then, you know, and it was just two of us getting awards. And so I had to go. But, I mean, I wasn't going to go. But I got phone calls from agents and managers and producers saying, no, you have to go. So they sent doctors with IVs, and I got jacked up on steroids that night. I was flying high. There wasn't a bone in my body that ached. I was just flying high and then went home and crashed. And then two days later with the Golden Globes, where I was nominated, and I was out of it, I literally was holding Mary's arm and saying, don't, don't, Don't.

[Adam Scott]

Don't leave me.

[Ted Danson]

And she went, there's a step. There's a step here. People would say hi to me and talk to me, and I'd look at them and I'd turn back, who the fuck is that? That's Jodie Foster. I was just not present. And then we sat down and Mary said, do you have. Did you think out of his speech? I went, yes, I have it right here in a little piece of paper. And I started looking at it, and I was like, why did I write thank? Thank what? I can't even. This doesn't even make sense. I couldn't make the words that I'd written for him.

[Adam Scott]

Right.

[Ted Danson]

And Mary said she was just praying

[Adam Scott]

that you wouldn't win. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

And then we both started to pray that I wouldn't because she said, first off, I was so sick that you would have. You would be unhirable.

[Adam Scott]

Did you have the flu or.

[Ted Danson]

Yes. Something.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ted Danson]

Massive.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Oh, God, that's terrifying.

[Ted Danson]

We were home so fast.

[Adam Scott]

Did you lose?

[Ted Danson]

Oh, massively, yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Good.

[Ted Danson]

Fortunately. Saved my career loss.

[Adam Scott]

How great that you had an award show. Rooting against yourself.

[Ted Danson]

That's like, especially your wife.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, my God. Yeah. That your wife is rooting against you. You're rooting against you.

[Ted Danson]

God, with all that's going on, all the sadness and the anger and the fear right in our face all the time. How's your heart?

[Adam Scott]

This is a tough time. It's a tough time to. You know, I'm a Democrat. I've been. My parents were proud Democrats. I grew up in a household that discussed what was going on in the world. And I read the newspaper every day from an early age. I think if I wasn't in entertainment, I would want. I would like to think I would be able to have the, you know, work up the bona fides to be a political journalist. There's nothing romantic. More romantic to me than going on the road with a campaign and reporting from the road of a, of a political campaign. There's something about that whole world that, that is fascinating to me. The past 10 years have been tough. I think Trump is a menace and will be a permanent stain on our country. And the quicker we can get to 2028, the better.

[Ted Danson]

So thank you.

[Adam Scott]

Thank you, Ted. Thanks for having me.

[Ted Danson]

I appreciate. Yeah. And really nice not to just go,

[Adam Scott]

hey, I know this is the longest conversation we've had. We've known each other for a long

[Ted Danson]

time and we've acted together. Yeah, I know.

[Adam Scott]

I'm so happy to sit down.

[Ted Danson]

And me too. I admire you greatly. I really have a lot of respect and an actor and our entire group because we are part of a group.

[Adam Scott]

Well, if you would have allowed me to name people in our profession who I admire, you would certainly be one of them.

[Ted Danson]

Thank you, Adam Scott. I had so much fun talking to you. Hokum is in theaters May 1st. Check it out if you're feeling brave enough. That's it for this week. Special thanks to Team Coco. If you enjoyed the episode, send it to a loved one rate and review on Apple Podcasts. If you don't mind, once again, you can watch our full length video [e-mail] teamcoco see you next time. Where EVERYBODY KNOWS your name.

[Adam Scott]

You've been listening to where everybody knows your name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson. Sometimes. The show is produced by me, Nick Leow. Our executive producers are Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and myself. Sarah Fedorovich is our supervising producer. Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel with support from Eduardo Perez. Research by Alyssa Grohl. Talent booking by Paula Davis and Gina Bautista. Our theme music is by Woody Harrelson, Antony Gend, Mary Steenbergen and John Osborne. For 45 years, Dish has been connecting America with the best in family, TV, entertainment and advanced technology at an unbeatable value. And that commitment continues with our new 45th anniversary special offer. Get the lowest price in satellite TV starting as low as $89.99 a month. In a world of rising costs and hidden fees, DISH stays transparent, reliable and honest, just like our founders intended. Learn more by calling 888-add-D dish or visit dish.com terms and conditions apply. Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. One thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. For decades, Angie's helped millions of homeowners hire small, skilled pros for the projects that matter. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust.

[Ted Danson]

Find a pro for your project at Angie Combination.