You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes

Guest: Skeet Ulrich
Date: November 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this rich and candid episode, Pete Holmes sits down with Skeet Ulrich—acclaimed actor known for Scream, Riverdale, The Craft, and As Good as It Gets—just after finishing a film together. Their conversation dives into Skeet’s passionate approach to acting, the “weirdness” of showbiz, emotional honesty, parenting, personal history, and even tales from working with Jack Nicholson and David Blaine. Both honest and playful, it’s a revealing look into the actor’s heart and craft, peppered with stories, philosophy, humor, and memorable anecdotes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. On Set Dynamics and Acting Philosophy

• Leadership On Set:
  • Pete commends Skeet for his generosity and professionalism, noting that, unlike some stars, Skeet genuinely fosters a team environment rather than pulling "Diamond Elite" status.
  • Skeet shares he’s “more introverted than you would expect” (10:32) but cares deeply about the work, the crew, and the “traveling circus” that is a film set (06:47).
• Preparation and Process:
  • Skeet reads his scripts “probably triple” nine times and even memorizes his scene partners’ lines for depth and security (10:56).
  • He admits his meticulousness stems from insecurity:

    "All that stuff comes out of insecurity, you know, it comes out of not wanting to suck… I just work so freaking hard because I don't want to be bad." – Skeet (12:02)

• Emotional Honesty:
  • Both discuss how acting isn’t lying but excavating truth:

    "I take offense to people saying that actors are liars, because I think really, we're brutally honest about how we feel." – Skeet (14:26)

  • Skeet describes transforming real nerves into character motivation:

    "I get worried if I’m not nervous." – Skeet (12:46)

• Influence of Training:
  • Shares NYU/Mamet approach—scene analysis, finding “actions” rooted in reaction not just intention, and inhabiting the space between lines (18:46).

2. Portraying Darkness and Collective Experience

• Elizabeth Smart Role:
  • Details the intensity and complexity of playing a kidnapper in the Lifetime movie—how emotional honesty and nonjudgmental immersion allowed him to portray such evil without compromising personal boundaries (16:02–22:22).
  • Emotional, true story: Elizabeth Smart visited set, froze seeing him in character, confirming the chilling accuracy of his portrayal (16:08).
• Acting and Empathy:
  • Pete and Skeet reflect on how great acting is an immersive act—"If I were you, I'd be you."
  • Collective consciousness in drama and comedy:

    "A comedy is always funnier around a group of people… That’s collective consciousness." – Skeet (24:09)

3. The 'Meaning' in Acting and Life

• Drawing on Personal History:
  • Skeet notes his difficult childhood and estrangement from his father, and how he funneled unspoken experiences into metaphor through acting (76:07).
  • Therapy and “analysis” helped him process and release traumas, underlining art as an avenue for healing (71:08).
• Importance of Meaning:
  • Pete realizes, through Skeet’s example, that infusing one's work and life with meaning and consideration makes everything richer (11:02).
  • Both stress the value of connection and the irreplaceable human element in storytelling, despite growing AI (79:34).
• Acting as Controlled Vulnerability:
  • Skeet describes feeling foolish when acting to nothing, but that’s “part of the job” (63:45) and embracing feeling vulnerable and exposed (57:01–57:24).

4. Memorable Anecdotes

• John C. Reilly Baltimore Story (40:19):
  A wild night at a theater—real-life chaos during a Wes Craven movie, a mass brawl, and a guy brandishing a revolver—all cemented as a lasting memory shared with John C. Reilly.

  “...this melee, like a 200 people bar fight… [John C.] was like, bro, bro, remember? I tell that story almost every day.” – Skeet

• Christopher Walken Eating a Raw Fish (42:49):
  Skeet walks in on Walken eating an unscaled fish like Gollum, and relays stories of Walken's eccentric methods to embody roles—like submerging himself in a river during lunch (43:49).

• David Blaine as Roommate (83:01):
  Blaine lived with Skeet while making his first special, showing obsessive skill—maneuvering cards through a deck one-handed—and magnetic, soulful presence (83:41).

  “He had this way of looking at people—not just women, but people—in a way that was, like, profound.” – Skeet (85:41)

• As Good as It Gets—Film and Set Stories (49:57):
  Details about scenes cut from the film, working with Jack Nicholson (who’d treat every prop as if it was his age to embody old age—55:21), and a wild anecdote of a fellow actor getting shot and saved at DiCaprio’s house (51:30).

5. Parenting, Connection, and Vulnerability

• Single Parenting and Bonds:
  Skeet shares he raised his children mostly alone, emphasizing boundaries as security for kids:

  "A screaming child is screaming for someone to give them boundaries…" – Skeet (35:15)

  • Finds fulfillment in the close, loving relationship with his kids, speaking multiple times daily even now (33:33).
• Making Amends as a Parent:
  Pete describes drawing books with his daughter to process big feelings and moments when he misses the mark, connecting it to emotional honesty in acting (38:22).

  "I can’t always do it right, but I can always make it right." – Pete (38:18)

• Human Connection at Conventions:
  Skeet, guided by Matt Lillard, makes a point of genuinely connecting with every fan at Comic Cons, believing a brief moment can change a kid’s trajectory (80:21).

6. Humor, Vulnerability, and Personal “Weirdness”

• Laughter as a Relationship Barometer:
  Skeet shares how, since falling in love, laughter has been a daily joy and emotional check-in with his partner (90:46).
  • Pete: “Laughing is different from just quietly feeling something. If you’re laughing together, you know you’re facing the same direction.” (92:15)
• Onstage and Onscreen Vulnerability:
  Both discuss feeling foolish in acting or standup—Pete’s rule: “You don’t want to do nothing, you want to do nothing after you did something that scared you.” (31:22)
  • Skeet’s college standup routine involved a laugh track to mask his nerves—a unique early “weirdness” (67:25).

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Preparation:
  “That amount of hours I spend… comes out of insecurity, you know. It comes out of not wanting to suck.” — Skeet (12:02)
• On Emotional Honesty:
  “I take offense to people saying actors are liars… really, we’re brutally honest about how we feel.” — Skeet (14:26)
• On Parenting:
  “A screaming child is screaming for someone to give them boundaries because they don’t know the world.” — Skeet (35:15)
• On Scream’s Impact:
  “I never suspected that this would be something that, 30 years later, we would fill Q&A panels…” — Skeet (29:53)
• On Human Connection:
  "You can change a kid’s trajectory in those two minutes, if you’re open to seeing them." — Skeet (80:21)
• On Laughing with a Partner:
  "I've laughed more in the last 10 months than I have in a decade." — Skeet (91:47)
• On the Meaning of Work:
  “We’re meaning-making machines.” — Pete (61:00)
• On Acting Vulnerability:
  “Part of our job is feeling like a fool.” — Skeet (63:53)
• On AI and Storytelling:
  "There’s something about the human element that is irreplaceable." — Skeet (78:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:21 – 07:00 — Set life, professional tone, and acting approach
• 11:02 – 15:00 — Preparation, insecurity, emotional honesty in acting
• 16:02 – 23:00 — Playing the Elizabeth Smart kidnapper, research, empathy for characters
• 24:09 – 27:40 — Collective consciousness, meaning, and audience connection
• 28:29 – 31:55 — Scream: making of, cultural aftermath, "did you know it would be a hit?"
• 33:27 – 38:56 — Parenting philosophies, boundaries, loving bonds
• 40:19 – 45:35 — John C. Reilly theater story; Christopher Walken’s on-set quirks
• 49:57 – 56:06 — "As Good as It Gets": scenes cut, Jack Nicholson’s acting process
• 57:01 – 61:00 — Acting as a symphony, learning from comedy
• 63:45 – 66:51 — Feeling like a fool, overcoming vulnerability in acting
• 67:25 – 68:46 — Skeet’s standup laugh track story
• 75:31 – 77:04 — Skeet’s self-therapy and funneling feelings into art
• 80:21 – 82:27 — Human connection at conventions, changing trajectory for fans
• 83:01 – 86:43 — David Blaine as a roommate, card tricks, attracting people, meaning in magic
• 87:09 – 89:38 — Table reading with Jack Nicholson & Vince Vaughn
• 90:46 – 92:30 — Finding new love, laughter, and partnership

Tone and Style

The overall tone is warm, open, funny, reflective, and occasionally poignant—marked by respect, mutual admiration, and a willingness to discuss deep vulnerabilities alongside lighthearted anecdotes. Pete steers the show with signature, gentle curiosity, drawing out Skeet’s “secret weirdness.”

Final Takeaways

This episode is a masterclass for creatives on the value of vulnerability, preparation, and meaning in work—whether acting, parenting, or simply relating to others. Listeners are gifted both deep craft insights and wild, memorable stories, leaving no doubt about the humanity at the heart of entertainment.

Sign Off:
“Keep it crispy.” – Skeet Ulrich (92:47)

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