Transcript: Idris Elba on Good Hang with Amy Poehler

Hi everyone, welcome to another episode

of Good Hang. I'm very excited about our

guest today. It is Idris Elba. Idris is

in studio and we're going to talk about

a lot of great stuff. We're going to

talk about growing up in the 80s. We're

going to talk about Stringer Bell, of

course. We're going to talk about um

cringe comedy. He's going to try to

convince me to go to aa. Um so, uh

there's going to be a lot of fun to be

had. And uh we always start our podcasts

uh the same way. We ask somebody who

knows our guest to zoom in and give us a

question so um they can kind of help me

get to know them. And we have a real big

star zooming in today. It is John Cena.

John,

look at your suit. You look so nice. Can

you hear me?

This episode of Good Hang is presented

by Walmart uh school supplies. We all

remember getting them. I remember

Trapper Keepers and so many colored

pens, but now I'm sure there's a million

more things to get. And thankfully,

Walmart has essential back to school

supplies starting at 25. Plus, all the

latest tech starting at $9. Who knew?

Hello Kitty pencil cases, Nintendo

notebooks, foodshaped erasers,

Chromebooks, keyboards, and more at low

Walmart prices. They even have Lilo and

Stitch headphones. Who knew?

shopwmart.com

to score their favorite back tochool

tech and supplies.

[Music]

Oh, you got the your beautiful

background. You guys have spent so much

money on this production. I want to be

able to see it. It was just a dollar

that cornered. I want you to be able to

see my fake plants and my fake food.

They're great. And it's so good to see

you. What's in the fake mug? This mug?

You know what's in in this in this real

mug is real berries tea. A wonderful

Irish tea. My favorite tea to drink.

Awesome. Excellent. Not even a sponsor.

What do you have? Drinking my own

drinking my own urine.

John's drinking a a yellowy liquid. What

do you got? What do you got in there?

What are you drinking? No, it's my own

urine. I'm going through Howard Hughes

phase.

Okay. All right. How are you? How's it

going? It's great to see you. We haven't

seen each other in person since we did a

movie together. Well, we No, we bumped

into each other. We did. That's right.

Yeah. Yeah. Some some conversations

among friends about wine and and good

stories and sunsets and all that, which

I'm very grateful for. I loved working

with you. I would love to do it again.

You're constantly working and doing such

great stuff. And I like I've I think of

our time together very very fondly. That

was a really good time on the movie

Sisters. That was a great where you were

busy and I was kind of just playing

Pizuzu in the background. So I had a lot

of time to hang out and it was really

really fun. So and that was a actually

the first time I'd been in a location

because of course Sisters was a massive

ensemble piece. So like you're in you're

doing work and I'm like in a lot of the

shots just fully tatted up. But a lot of

my days weren't a lot of heavy lifting.

So you kind of gave me my first vacation

in like 15 years. So I really I'm

grateful for that. I know cuz no one

works harder than you. You are you work

hard. Well, you're about to talk to

somebody who I think wins that argument.

Really? He he beats you in the hard work

category. Idris is a robot. Period. And

stop. Like I every hard, you know,

there's always somebody at the next

level. Idris is crazy. Like he he goes

he goes. Yeah. That's amazing to hear

from you because I know how you approach

your work. It's very professional, very

serious. You love it. You have fun and

everybody feels fun when they work with

you, but you work really hard. So,

you're telling me that Idris is even

more of a machine. Yeah. He just like I

need to shut down like when I'm when

it's time to go. All right, cool. And

I'm like a a nineto-five person. Idris

will work a full day and then fly to

Vegas to DJ for the whole night and then

fly back to work the next morning and

then fly go to the studio and make new

music. like he just uh I'm like I need

to be put in my lane and be like, "Okay,

this is the day's work. Go out and get

it." He's everywhere all at once. I

don't know how he does what he does.

That's one of my questions is literally

how do you stay awake? Honestly, he does

live an AM and PM life. Like an AM PM

life, you know? Like he's doing his last

set at 4:00 a.m. and then he's on on set

and insane when the camera turns on.

Like he's he's and he's a he's a great

human being. I I I can't say enough good

things about it. Your movie Heads of

State is coming out on Amazon and um

thank you very much for that. I

appreciate it. You're so welcome.

Hope everybody watches and enjoys it. It

looks so great. And you play um a

fictional president of the United States

and he plays the prime minister of the

UK. Yes. Um never know if I should say

England, the UK or Britain. So that's

why I hesitated. We got all three. So

you're covered. Great. Covered. Um, and

I have to say it's so it's it's looks

like such a satisfying

um timely and fun and juicy film because

I would like you to be president. Will

you be president?

And I'm putting you on the spot. Uh,

they they don't let folks who wear coats

like this have a chance. That's true.

That's true. You did ruin your chances.

myself out of the position. Yes, indeed.

You're wearing a very striped coat and

they're not going to let you in. Um, but

um, yeah, that was your first time

working together. We worked together on

a movie called The Suicide Squad, of

course, where we played superheroes that

were like uh a buddy comedy almost like

he's got he's the head down guy. I'm the

aloof ignorant guy. And Peter Saffron,

the producer of that movie, was like,

"This is good. We need to do this

again." And the thing about heads of

state that's very fun. And you said, you

know, you play a fictional president, he

plays a fictional prime minister. You

being a writer would know that is the

sooner you can define those characters

and what they stand for, the more fun

you can have. So basically what we have

in Heads of State is a buddy comedy. It

looks so fun. And and also I I mean the

Can Can Idris I'm gonna ask him about

accents, but can he do a Boston accent?

Cuz you're a Boston boy. Yeah, but my

Boston accent sucks. It does. I need to

have like Yeah, I need What? You lost

it, John? What? You think you're better

than us? What you

Yes, I do. I do think I

It's gone away. It's been I I don't

know. Uh what? You haven't watched the

Karen Reed trial and gotten and brushed

up on that. My family was My phone would

not stop with that. You have no idea.

I've taken the shape. I saw him.

Uh I I maybe I knew if I stopped

drinking my own urine and start drinking

some some uh some Sam Adams. It doesn't

come back to you. The Boston doesn't

come back. 100% comes back. Every time I

go to West Newbury to see my family, uh

my wife is literally like, "What

happened? You talk different." And it's

you go back and you just get into the

vortex. There's just some friends who

you can't say their name without having

the accent. You cannot. Yeah, I try but

you cannot. Um, okay. So, what question

do you want me to ask Idris today? Is

there anything you want to know about

Idris that you didn't get a chance to

ask him or something you think I should

ask him? So, that great question. Idris

is somebody I respect and admire and the

re a lot of the driving force there is

because he's still so motivated. M

somebody who's been an on-screen

performer and a great one for decades

and literally has so many achievements.

It would be the same question if you if

you gave me a question to ask you like

what keeps you going and uh in the

stories that Idris has shared with me.

He comes from very humble beginnings.

This is a former automotive assembly

line worker uh who you know he was just

talking the other day about how he moved

to New York and work the door at a club

and then we go after hours with all the

club folks to a special place that they

just lock the door and leave at 7 in the

morning like he's everybody in life has

such an interesting story and Idris is

no different. But to be where he's at

and to still

go like he does. I just want to know. I

don't I don't want to know the secret

because everybody's story is different.

But I really want to know what keeps him

so driven. You know what I love about

you, John? And by the way, I hope

someday you come do this. You say this

houndstooth jacket. I agree. It's this

houndstoothoth jacket that you're

wearing and the urine that you're

drinking. No. Um, no. What I love about

you is you love people.

You are a curious person about people.

you care and see like in my experience

with you, you're very interested in how

all different types of people approach

life. Everybody truly does have a story

and you can learn from everybody, you

know. Um, thank you so much for doing

this. It really means a lot that you

gave the time and um, I can't wait to

see your movie and um, see you in

person. Let's like have a decant some

wine somewhere. This is the soft open to

an actual good hang. All right. Thanks

so much, John. It's so good to see you,

Amy. Thanks so much. Thanks, buddy. Talk

to you soon. Bye.

This episode is brought to you by Degree

Cool Rush Deodorant. I'm a big fan of

people owning their mistakes. Like how

last year Degree changed their Cool Rush

formula, and man, we're mad. One guy

even started a petition. So, Degree

listened, admitted they messed up, and

they're now bringing the OG Cool Rush

scent back. It's clean, crisp, and

fresh. No wonder it's been the number

one men's antipersperent for the last

decade. And it's in Walmart, Target, and

other stores now for under $4. Just look

for the light blue one. Degree Cool Rush

is back. And it smells like victory for

everyone.

What?

Wait. Oh,

we're twinning. Wow. We cue a slow slow

motion music.

You know, there is a part of me that

always tries to think about what the

guest would wear. And I do try a little

bit unconsciously to just dress for my

guests. Oh, no way. You're joking. You

did it. Look at us. We did. I I could

take this off and do the t-shirt. No, I

feel like we got We have to stay. We

have to stay in this now. I'm so

thrilled to talk to you today. Well,

thank you. And I You know, we are the

same age. I think I'm older than you.

No. 1972, babe. 1971. Oh. And we're ver

we're both Virgos. And when's your

birthday? September 16th. I'm September

6th. And I saw that and I want to ask

and start asking you a question which is

what does it feel like to be a Virgo?

What does it feel like? Do you do you

identify as a Virgo? Do you see do you

see qualities in Virgo that you feel are

yours? Okay. So if I'm really honest, I

have this weird statistic thing, right?

Let's just get this straight. That's

what I understand. Okay. There's like

how many billion people on the earth,

right? Yeah. Are we suggesting that

everyone this is very Virgo of you? I

know but everyone that was born in that

particular time period around that time

has similar traits. I mean this is the

logic that I

find myself wrestling with. I understand

you're a challenger. You're a Virgo. It

makes sense.

Or is it that everyone you've met that

says, "Hey, are you Virgo? I'm a Virgo.

Do you do I do?" And then that becomes

the myth. Would this make you feel

better? Beyonce is a Virgo. Do you want

to be in the club now? Uh, yep. That's

what I thought. No, I knew she was a

Virgo, actually. Yeah. Yeah. Well,

Virgos see each other. They recognize

each other. Yeah, it is. Okay. We don't

have to get into it. No, we can. But,

but you are in your 50s. I want to ask

you, what is it like being in your 50s?

What do you think of this decade? Um,

really interesting, right? Because, you

know, we were born uh when we were 10,

11, the 80s happened. Our consciousness

was born at the same time on one of the

coolest decades generationally ever.

Yeah. And we were born into that. Some

of the coolest things, art, music,

culture, some of the craziest world

politics that set the dynamics for where

we are right now all happened when we

were sort of like our emotions were

blossoming and our adolescence were

growing. I mean, we're a very unique

generation. Okay. I I agree. I love

being Gen X. I feel proud of it. Do you

feel I feel like I exactly what you

said. I feel like we straddled these two

different worlds. Like our young world

was like our parents and now we're in

future robot times. That's true. Which,

you know, partly we invented because

it's like robots, toys, 2001. What was

that going to be like? And we're to see

it. We got it. Yeah. I know. We We

watched movies about flying cars and

it's going to happen. And it's

happening. robots that talk and aliens.

Don't know. Do you believe in aliens?

Yeah, of course. Oh, but not astrology.

Well, uh, astrology is based on some

weird alien science. Okay. That has left

us left behind. Aliens left behind.

Yeah. Yeah. like you know did you know

that these anyway um I was going to say

that the other part about being 50 is

that I don't love that at this age the

age of being wellness and consciousness

is so upon us yet our bodies fail us the

biggest bummer I mean the fact that you

can get hurt just getting out of bed

that is the part that just feels like

well I mean what you have to do you have

to use your body still a lot you use it

a lot in this movie that we're talking

about, head of state. How do you stay Do

you have to do like what do you do to

stay flexible? That's what we have to do

is stay flexible. Do you do yoga? Do you

do um what do you do for your

stretching? Cuz I'm trying to get my

more stretching going. I'm quite

I'm I'm not very I'm not very flexible.

Like, do you have tight hamstrings?

Yeah. Uh tight uh hip flexors. Hip

flexors. Yeah. So, mine are my

hamstrings, which is embarrassing

because I'm so short. There's it's like

to not be able to touch your toes.

Same height, same idea.

Same age. Yeah. So, do you do pigeon?

The pigeon pose.

No. What does that look like? It's the

yoga pose where you get your like where

you get you stretch your hips basically.

Do you know that pose? So, you're

sitting on your bum and you got your

legs like that. Put your knee up and you

kind of lean over your knee. I don't do

that. Okay, good. I do uh Well, it's the

squat.

Just squatting. Yeah. You know, like the

like be before we were homo sapiens

squat. You know, you do you can squat.

That's that's impressive. It is actually

your knees can handle that. No. Yeah.

Getting down's easy. That's the thing.

Getting up. You got you got a guy who

helps you get up because you can't get

once you get down, you're stuck. No. My

pride is too There's no guy helping me

get up. I'm like,

I'm okay. And everyone's like, uh, we're

ready to shoot. We're just waiting for

Idris to get out of his squat. Get out

of his squat. Good thing about squatting

though, not to be graphic, it's good for

the pooping. I was going to say number

two, but we can go. It's really good. A

lot of people know that. But I mean, I

feel I feel like my 50s to your point

age-wise like or like emotionally,

mentally, spiritually, I feel great.

Feel good. Yeah. Right. I feel finally

like I'm figuring myself out in a way

that's very real. I have a lot um a lot

enough wisdom and enough ahead of me and

you're kind of the oldest youngest

person and the youngest oldest person.

That's right. That's so true. And you

know your influences change. You know

what I'm saying? I think in my 30s and

40s like I was sort of like blown with

the wind a little bit with what was

influencing me, what my goals were. And

in the 50s I'm like no that wind have to

pass around me. I'm not getting as in

easily influenced. Yes, you Yes. Exactly

right. You're like a steadier tree. But

it does hurt to get out of a car after a

long

You know what though? I uh Wellness.

Yeah. So I found people were like really

that doesn't work. It's like astrology.

But grounding mats. I love a grounding

mat. I have a biomat. Do you have a

biomat? Uh no. Grounding. Oh. Is that

the same thing? What's a biomat? Well,

it's like a heated mat. Oh no, this is

not heated. This is just grounded. So

okay, talk talk to me about this. So

basically, you know, the earth's

frequency, electromagnetic frequency is

a thing and it vibrates at a certain

thing. You know, when you have a radio

and it hasn't been grounded into the

earth, it will have static the moment

you ground it. It stops that static and

our bodies work in a similar way. And

the information suggests that

inflammation and blood circulation works

better when you sleep. on a grounding

mat or if you're under a desk bare foot

or and by the way, you can do the same

thing if you just stand in your garden

in the grass for 20 minutes. Well, have

you heard the young people say touch

grass? It's like a term basically which

is like get off your phones, get off the

internet and go outside and touch grass.

I I didn't think it meant that grass. I

thought it was different. It's a real

grass. Yeah. I was like that's the JX in

there. Touch

grass. Yeah. You go touch it. Pot touch

pot. That's what they're saying. Don't

touch that. Okay. That whole touch grass

thing, I was like, "Dude, this is a

little much. My algorithm is all messed

up. I didn't realize." Yeah, that's

exactly what it is. Is the idea of just

like actually getting your feet on the

ground. But it works. And it works for

our age because inflammation is a real

thing. That stiffness you're feeling. Do

you cold plunge?

You've got to get into that, dude. I do

it all the time. How often? I try to do

11 minutes a week. What? Not all at

once. Why do you do that? It's really

helps with inflammation. It is a huge It

is I don't It's really helped with

anxiety, any anxiety, depression, and

inflammation cuz you're like flooded

with a seroton, you know, you are like

it's like natural. Yes. I'm not going to

run. I can't run. I'm not going to run.

I've got to get some kind of feeling

that I've like had this, you know, like

big burst and the cold plunge does it

for me. And like I don't like to do it.

It's not like you I don't like to do it.

All right then. You know it works with

you talk about shrinkage.

[Music]

It's like Wait, what? Oh, no. This is

not only very uncomfortable, but really

killing my ego.

What? Just do it on your own. Just do it

on your own time. Yeah, I'm not doing it

like naked at the gym. Hell no. I'm

telling you, it will change your life.

I'm telling you, you're you know what?

You're going to look back at this

interview and you're going to be like,

"Remember when I was in my 50s and Amy

told me to call a plunge?" And I said,

"What?" And now it's changed. It's going

to change your life. Okay, I you know

what? I'll listen to you because I think

we have a lot in common and there's some

observations that you are making that is

really making me think. So, also I

imagine something about you and I'm tell

you kind of like a forced austerity like

you you don't you're not afraid of

difficult things, right? Yes. No, I am

not afraid of um difficult things or

challenges that make me uncomfortable.

Yeah. And to choose your own discomfort

is like a privilege at our age.

You're going to be uncomfortable. So,

but I'm going to be in charge of it.

Yeah. I agree. I agree with that. I

agree. I actually um what I also enjoy

about my 50s, I'm 52, 53 this year, is

that I really want to learn more. Yeah.

I I want to learn. And it's about, oh,

that's new, but how is it connected to

what I already know? You know what I

mean? And how that that cusp is really

interesting to me. You know, like we

talk about AI and all that stuff. I

refer to it as like, wow, that's the

future that we talked about as kids that

was just in our imaginations and here it

is. Well, I want to stay in the present

and I want to talk about the future. But

if you will indulge me, a little bit of

past because and I promise I'll make it

fast. But I'm such a huge fan of The

Wire and I know you talk about it all

the time. It is many years ago, 20 plus

years ago. You you've talked about it

over and over again, and I won't make

you talk about it too much, but I it's a

series that changed my life. I watched

it three times, the series three times.

Um I could talk to you about it forever.

And also I feel like not to keep making

comparisons, uh, we are dressed the

same. We are dressed the same. But, um,

I was on a show that meant something to

a lot of people still and like, you

know, almost 20 years later, they come

up and they keep engaging in it. And so,

you must get that too. You must all the

time have people say to you what I'm

saying to you. What is that like?

Um, I mean the truth is that I actually

don't speak about the wire as much as

people might think, even though I am

definitely at least once a day someone

says, "Bro, string a bell, the wire,

whatever it is." Yeah. Um, and it, you

know, it really does,

it surprises me how much impact that

show had. Um, in a good way. It

surprises me continuously. um that you

know multigenerationally it's still

being talked as people that are weren't

even born then

watching the wire and be like yo I saw

that that's incredible um I feel proud I

bring a sense of pride I feel a little

bit though if I'm really honest like I

didn't watch the wire I've heard this

that you didn't watch it I didn't watch

it and I feel bad it's not that I'm not

a fan of it I was there I made a show

that was you know was so intense and so

real and so important and even though we

didn't realize I didn't realize the

importance of the show while making it.

Yeah. Rarely do we right uh but um

I didn't participate in its celebration

as a viewer as a fan and so I feel a

little bit like Well, could you start

celebrating it now? No, man. Why? I

mean, you can't watch it now. No. I but

I bet Idris I bet you have I bet you

have a feeling about it that might you

might be kinder to yourself and it

watching it now it's not that okay so

why why can't you watch it it's more

that um again like I felt the presence

of it all my you know life since the

wire right in terms of its impact in

terms of what and I also was there

making it so to me it was almost a bit

like I was stringer belt I'm Stringer

Bell. But I also feel like when Stringer

Bell No spoilers. Well, look at this

point. Okay, let's get ready. If you're

listening, spoiler, Stringer Bell dies.

Yikes.

Watching it. Well, they got to catch up.

It's been But when uh Stringer Bell

died, there was a part of me and that

died with that character. And it's weird

for me to go back and watch it. I don't

like being overly conscious of what my

performance is like or whatever because

it makes me conscious about doing it. I

like being in it rather than watching

it. I hear you. That is that makes me

sad that you can't you can't enjoy how

good you are in the wire. You're so

good.

Idris.

Okay. I know. Okay. I'm going to turn

into like from my twin. I'm taking this.

Thank you. Okay. Okay. Because Okay.

just a few few questions which is

Stringer Bells. Can you just tell me for

the super fans that are listening and

again if you haven't watched the wire

skip through this part and how dare you

but um that final scene when you are uh

when you were killed by Omar and brother

Mazone and you just have this moment

where you have it's a beautiful acting

moment where you have to decide where

you have to realize that Avon has given

you up like it's just your brother. I

mean, it's so Shakespearean this this

entire show, but that relationship in in

in um specifically and you have the

tiniest moment that flashes across your

face where you you know, you're resigned

to the fact that not only are you going

to die, but you're going to die, you

know, by the hands of someone who you

really love. And the acting with you and

Wood Harris in that scene previously

when you're on the rooftop and you're

is such good acting and and I just want

to I have no question here. No, but I

guess the last line I think about on the

crafty table is what you wanted to know.

Yeah. But I think about Stringer's last

line because it's such a it's such a

testament to David Simon and the writers

of that show. The writing was so

incredible when Stringer says like, "I

guess there's nothing I can say to

change your mind. Get on with it then."

Mhm. Mhm. You know, paraphrasing, but

it's his entire arc as a character. He

spent the entire show trying to convince

people to like that there's another way

of doing things. It's Can you just tell

me about that scene and shooting it with

rest in peace, Michael K. Williams?

Yeah, man. I mean it was a really

interesting time. I mean, yes, testament

to the writing, David Simon and the

poetry of of what um we're saying about

beheading the man, the character that is

offering a slightly different

perspective on this chaotic town,

chaotic situation for, you know, um

the residents, the people of Baltimore,

but also the the the towns across

America in this sort of um I would say

what's the word you know not culture but

that lifestyle that this is a perpetual

thing that keeps going and then along

comes a spider where he's like hey let's

try something different let's turn this

into this and crawl out of this hole but

we kill that character that's why the

wire is so good because the system is

the the machine

people keep trying to get up out of the

machine and the system keeps pushing

them down, but the system is also using

puppets to do it to each other. Right.

Right. So, the system isn't really

prevalent. It's the the the strings, no

pun, are holding Brother who, you know,

has his reasons. You've got Omar who has

his reasons. But the system has made

everyone

blindfolded and Stringer was like, "No,

no, no, no. Take them off." I know,

right? Um, I know Stringer had a plan

and what do you ever think about or did

you guys ever talk about if Stringer

stayed on lived as a character what he

would go on to do like Yeah, we did.

don't mean a lot because Stringer is a

real person who is still alive and

Stringer went on to become a very

successful businessman who you know will

remain anonymous forever but

successfully built a lot of businesses

and um you know crawled out of this the

hole. So in dramatic terms on the wire

you know it wouldn't have made sense

right for Stringer to get out although

in reality Stringer did get out. Wow.

Okay. But that's not dramatic enough,

you know? I mean, that

that's not the story. No. And it was

like a season three gut punch. And it

also I mean, good shows do that is they

sacrifice. They sacrifice. Yeah. And I

was for it. I I I had I've told the

story. I had reservations about how

Stringer was dying. Yeah. I mean, you

know, that, you know, there was various

ways that David Simon wanted to depict

that and I was a little bit against some

of that, but the actual beheading of the

of Stringer was an important move, I

think, you know, just to illustrate to

the world that, hey man, take the

blinkers off. You know what I'm saying?

And um yeah. Okay, last question. the

character of Bod that played by JD and

your like mentorship with him

uh is one of the of the many incredible

relationships on that show like that is

a heartbreaker. It's a heartbreaker what

happens to Stringer and it's eventually

a heartbreaker what happens to JD's

character Bod. What was it like working

with him like a young actor like that?

Amazing man. Like you know we he was a

he's a fly dude and he was a fly dude.

He was the fly young kid on the set. Um

him and Michael B. Jordan actually. Um

and um you know

cuz he was a little bit younger than us,

you know what I mean? He was like fresh

and green and he would hang out with his

big brothers and uh I remember one time

he challenged me. He was like, "Yo, man,

I could drink you under the table." I'm

like, "Jay, leave it, man." He's like,

"No, I'll drink you under the table."

And literally I drunk him under the

table. Like he sat under the table. He

was like, "No, I can't I can't [ __ ] with

you no more." Like did you hear my

accent? Like do you know where I'm from?

Like drinking is I'm from London, man.

Uh but um no, but actually just in real

life, we had that real dynamic. You know

what I'm saying? Like again, he was a

young he lived in um New Jersey as well.

So we would travel up sometimes together

on a train and whatnot. Okay. So

mentoring is important to you like

you've done it a lot now. And before we

move on to um Head of State, the movie

that comes out on Prime. Thank you.

Heads of State with the great John Cena

Priyanka. Um uh but uh you can you talk

a little bit about the stuff you're

doing with the King's Trust? Love I love

the work that you're doing there and

that was an important thing to you when

you were young. Yeah. Yeah. I mean

basically I'm paying it forward you know

like the King's Trust at the time

Prince's Trust gave me an opportunity

via a check and some resources. What did

you do? What you how old and what and

they scholarship? 14 15 years old. I

auditioned to get into the National

Theaters youth program which is called

the National Youth Music Theater. Uh and

they were doing a production of Guys and

Dolls and I got in I my drama teacher

encouraged me to go for it. I went in I

got the audition but I didn't realize

you had to subsidize your your uh board

because they flew around the world. We

were going to Japan. We went to

Greenland. I mean we Wow. taking this

production. It was a semi-professional

production but you had to pay for it. M

my parents couldn't afford it and my

drama teacher said, "Hey, you know the

prince's trust?" I'm like, "Sorry, you

talking about Prince Charles? Well, you

want me to audition for Prince Charles?"

"No, no, not for Prince Charles, but he

has a trust where he helps young

people." And I was like, "He's never

going to help me. Why would I'm a kid

from East London, blah blah blah."

Anyway, I auditioned. I got the gig and

I got the the money that he helped me

with and the resources to help, you

know, get me into this theater thing.

And ever since you know I mean without a

doubt that really structured how I

thought my sort of myself as an actor

you know it was a professional theater I

was singing around the world and this

was what I wanted to do just at that

point in my age where I I wasn't sure I

liked what made you think it like for

what what was the thing did you were you

watching movies and like what what made

you know you wanted to be an actor two

things really it was my teacher Miss McI

and I went to a boys school. Okay. She

was a lovely

blonde, blue-eyed teacher. Interesting.

See what's going on. Um, but she was

this really lovely nurturing figure in

my life at the time at in boy school

where no one really took drama

seriously. It was sometimes it just

takes one teacher to change your life.

Real focus. And she was like, "You can

go for it." It was mentorship, right?

And um and also there was an actor

called Paul Barber who was in a film

called The Full Monty. Oh yeah. Yeah.

And uh he's a black actor in that film

and he came to this school just to sit

amongst the boys and say, "Hey, what do

you think about acting?" And we were

like, "Aren't you the guy that takes

your clothes off in the full monty?" Da

d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d

d d But I was just like gassed. I was so

moved by his storytelling and the fact

that he came, he's famous, he's on TV,

he came to our school to talk about

acting. So those were the two real like

if I can remember junctions where I was

like, "Okay, acting might be a thing."

Crystallization of that. And ever since,

you know, I realized that, you know, I

can do exactly the same. It's an

intervention moment of just a young

person who isn't sure. Yeah. Having a

conversation and being like, let's

examine what you want to do. I mean,

sometimes it kind of scares me. Uh uh

well, not sometimes. It's it what is

scary is that the slightest change um

changes the direction of your life,

especially around that age. And the

positive version of that is what you

talk about, right? which is like you see

someone that you want to emulate and you

just realize like this is the way my

life's going to be and then in the same

way like the tiniest bit of nudge the

wrong way and you're off on a track and

then you're that's so true it's you know

in our generation right you know human

empathy we got a lot of our sort of

magic from TV and those are unilateral

moments where we all sat watch the same

shows whatever they were and those were

our influences right all at the same

time whether it's America Europe we were

all watching the same sort of thing the

fawns, happy days, you know, whatever it

was right now. Uh, and and if a hu if if

an uncle or an auntie spoke to you about

what you want to do, you know, that

conversation meant something because you

weren't getting a phone. You weren't

staring at a phone, which has all these

different influences. Now, right, young

kids are influenced by so much. They're

just over stimulated. And a lot of it is

negative. A lot of is pitting themselves

against things they'll never be able to

afford or have. Uh this elevated sense

of self where you know in our day I

think I hate to say in our day. Well,

we're really feel we're really sounding

really old right now. If we're going to

talk about phones, we're screwed. We

are. I mean, my phone is my best friend.

Yeah. Yeah. Right. I mean, I don't want

to talk about my best friend like that.

I've got an AI voice as my best friend.

Yeah. So, you know, we're you know,

we're we're sucked in, too. Yeah, we

are. But the truth is though, we at

least had the benefit of the monoculture

and we had human intervention that

actually could have that ripple

butterfly effect. But the monoculture

different in the UK and the US and I'm

constantly surprised by how com how

comedy when we were growing up we were

not watching the same things really.

There were so you weren't watching the

funds. Okay. I was watching Happy Days,

but there must have been there must be

American shows that you comedy shows

that you hear about that didn't make it

over there because I know when we were

watching British comedy, it was like

contraband. Like it was given to us on

VHS tapes like Benny Hill. Well, Benny

Hill. Oh my god. That was what we got.

We got Benny Hill non-stop, which is

like I guess it was it was Monty Python,

Benny Hill, and But there were like so

many shows like um Mash. Okay. I loved

Mash. You watched Mash? Did you watch

the Norman Leer shows like uh All in the

Family? Um see All in the Family. Yeah.

Which was based off of the um British

show. Um huh. Yeah. That that famous

British show. famous British show called

Family. Um something I'll get it. But

but there was like all these like um

famous like the Jeffersons um Good

Times. Do you know them? We I No. Later

on in life they weren't Yeah. Did you

get Desmond's? No. Desmond's. Wait, I

don't even know what Desmond's. Desmonds

is the barberhop show, man. It was a

black show. It was comedy. It was like I

don't want to say the Cosby's, but it

was a family that run a barber shop. It

was hilarious. Yeah. So we there were

versions of each other's comedy at the

time that we didn't know about each

other, which I think is so interesting

cuz we're so aligned, but there was

something specific about UK and US

comedy at the time in the 70s and ' 80s

where you like found out about people's

stuff and it felt like you were seeing

it for the first time. I mean, I can

remember like learning about Yeah. Steve

Kugan, for example, and no one knowing

who he was or like um I remember coming

to New York. New York City. Yeah. In the

early '9s. Mhm. And speaking with my

accent and black folk, black people were

saying to me, "Wait, what? Why are you

speaking like that? Yo, listen to this

dude." They didn't know. No idea. They

didn't think that they were black

British people. Yep. Wow. America

continuing to really represent.

No, but to your point about monoculture,

like our shows, you know, our culture

did not, you know, ABC was not picking

up Desmonds. You know what I'm saying?

It wasn't We did not know. We We We had

really flat versions of each other. It

felt like like Americans were like, you

know, confident and loud and taking up

too much space and the Brits were

reserved and polite, artistic, secretly

better than us. I mean, and I do think

that the accent gets you the accent gets

you People think people with British

accents are very smart. This is this is

a this is true. Actually, you're right.

We somehow give a sense of that the way

we speak is makes us more intelligent.

You're right. I've dined off this for a

long time. I would too. I'm not that

smart. I was going to say the growing up

is realizing that British people are not

any smarter than you. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

That's not what I What it How do we get

there?

That's That's being an adult. Being

adult. You're right. You're right.

Facing the truth. It is because it's so

hard to get tucked in. But you have the

I want to talk about your comedy your

your like what you were watching as a

young person and getting into comedy

because you've done quite a bit of

comedy and you know you're doing more of

it now which I think is so cool. But for

a second about accents you have had to

do a lot of accents a lot of different

accents where you're playing Nelson

Mandela or you're playing like you know

an African warlord and you're playing

all and you do them really well. Is

there one that you can't do like

American?

That is not true. Your American accent

is no one knew you were British. Well,

you know, when we watch the wire, no one

Idris, this is, you know what it is. The

truth is when I was doing the wire that

I was not British. I was like, uh,

living in Brooklyn, then New Jersey and

in the depths of New Jersey near Newark.

And at that junction, you know, I'd

lived in America for 4 or 5 years. Like

my accent shifted and Alexa Fogle, uh,

the casting director of the wire, she

was like, "By the way, don't come in

here with that British accent." Now I

see why you don't watch. Now I get it.

You don't watch The Wire because you're

thinking about your accent. Of course.

But also, I'm here to tell you it's And

I I have a thing about Brits and their

accents. You do? Yes. Okay. because they

win a lot they win a lot of awards and

their their accents are like let me tell

you something sir like they you're like

you don't everyone knows and it's like

well I like how you say HBO you've said

HBO

H H HBO HBO that's good um thank you I

haven't done any sort of regional

English or um English accents like um

you know Wales

Oh, or you know, liver puddle or any of

those. I'd love to. Yeah, but boy, if I

get them wrong. Let's try it right now.

No,

I'll go. You go first. Okay. Puddle. I

want to think about Paul McCartney.

Just think about the Beatles,

right? That's all you need to do. Okay.

Liverpool. Liverpool. Hey, Liverpool.

Hey. Hey, lad. What's going on? No. Oh

my days. See, you're too hard on

yourself. No, cuz I'm going to get me.

I'm asking you to do it. Anyone

listening, no one's going to meme you.

Okay, do Welsh. Can you do Welsh? Tom

Tom Jones. Oh. Oh, yeah. Um,

well, I'm Welsh.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Hello. Boy, boy from

Wales. Boy, that is so they I can't go

back to Wales now ever.

Okay. So, talk about comedy, your

relationship to it, because I think

people probably

think you're very serious.

Yes. And I've learned that you're not.

So, I bet people assume you're mad,

you're serious, you're tough. I'm an

actor. Yeah. and they come up to you and

they and they take you and you probably

were like, I like to have fun like every

day. I'm a little goofy. I'm very goofy.

You are. You're a little You're a

goofball. Yeah, a little bit. But, you

know, I like playing dramatic roles. I

do. I just also when it comes to comedy,

most of the comedy I've done has been

the straight guy that isn't meant to be

funny. So, when I did The Office, Yeah.

Tell us about that. Uh, how'd you get

that job? I mean, I got that job because

I think John Kazinski, he was a big wire

fan. And he was like, "We need that guy.

We need that guy." Uh Paul Fig. Yes.

Paul Fig, great director, guy. Great

director. He um uh but it was part of

that casting process for me. And you

know, it was described as this guy who's

like stringer bell. He's real serious as

a businessman, but you know, you don't

laugh at anyone. You don't suffer fools

and and I was like, okay. But first of

all, the UK office incredible. Oh, hu

the biggest fan. better than the

American office? No. What? Different.

Not better, but but in in many ways like

I like I I've talked about this with

Mike Sher who created Parks and Wreck

and who went on to who started working

on the American Office and and did Parks

and Wreck and many other shows. And I

remember when he was going to do the

American Office, I thought this is a

terrible idea. Like cuz the the British

Office was so good. It was a complete

specific POV and we thought no way. But

then we heard that Steve Carell was

hired and I knew Carell from Chicago and

I was like he's funny. He's really good

and suddenly it was like oh this is just

going to be a different version. So I

would say I can't I can't compare the

two, but I do have a special place in my

heart for the British version because it

was the first one I saw. Me too. And the

cringe humor. This is what is cringe

humor. And I think the Brits do cringe

humor better. Not better but do it well

because we're so repressed. Totally.

Because anything is like embarrassing,

we're like, "Oh my days." And in America

where it's like our larger person is

embarrassing. Well, us again. No,

America's embarrassing. There, I said

it. Well, no, no. What I mean is is that

Americans are okay with big

personalities coming in. That's that's

part of the comedy,

you know, fabric. However, I really

loved working on The Office because I

did get to be in a comedy, right? And I

the the guys working on the show

basically tried to make me laugh all the

time. And the joke was that I you're not

going to get me. And the more silly they

got, the more I stayed straight. And

that was became the the comedy. It was

amazing. It was a lot of fun. So you're

good at keeping a straight face. No, I'm

I'm a proper I want to be in the stupid

side. I want to be doing stupid [ __ ]

But the gig was that I

I stayed really serious. Mhm. Even just

now you got very serious.

It was a lot of fun. It was amazing. It

was amazing. And then since then, some

of the com comedy stuff I've done is

really playing a straight guy. Yeah. Um

in Heads of State. You get to you get to

get in. But we're still playing on the

trope of repressed British prime

minister, right? Doesn't like this big

American personality. And we still play

with that. So, but yeah. But but but

like do you want to do more comedic

stuff? Do you like it? Isn't it fun? It

is fun. Because I got to say like your

job a lot of the stuff you do it

combines a lot of things I I don't want

to do. Running

shooting nights like Yes. So many night

shoots on the wire. Like I watched and I

was like crying. Crying um like jumping.

But you've said that you like all this

action stuff. You like doing stunts. I

do. I do. What do you like about it? Um,

it's a choreography. It's a dance. You

know, I love learning a new fight and I

like I'm always convinced that I can

make it look realer, you know? You know,

you see someone that's like kicking

butt, but I want to make it look a

little bit more real. Um, I love it

though. I love the the, you know, the

technicalities of it. Yeah. Yeah. I like

fighting. Do you Well, I mean, I like to

fight.

That's mainly it. I mean, I I mean, I

think about like I I I I do I do

sometimes have fantasies about doing an

action film that requires very little

talking because that's the one thing I

like about action films is like your day

is just walking like the foreign

identity like the like a shooting day is

just him walking from one train station

to the other wearing a leather jacket.

What a dream. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um so in

this movie you're working with John

Cena, the great John Cena. The great

John Cena. Tell me about uh you and John

worked together first in Suicide Squad.

Yeah. Yeah. How do you guys get along?

What do what do you think about John? Uh

you know, I think everyone had a bit of

a crush on John Cena, right? The

wrestler. You know, he's like this big

personality, cool big wrestling type.

And then, you know, I watched him

transition into acting and thought,

"Wow, like yeah, you know, the wrestlers

tend to be great at performance

regardless. So they end up transitioning

to acting in really cool ways and I felt

John was one of those transitions that

did really good. I liked him. Then when

I got to work with him in Suicide Squad,

I mean first of all when you ever met

John Cena I did. He was in a movie that

me and Tina Fey were in called Sisters

and we spent like a couple weeks

together. He's a Renaissance man dude.

He loves wine and art and classical

piano. He's a very sweet like artistic

tender guy. I find him to be very

emotional and sweet. I agree. And it

turns out that, you know, when I met

him, I thought he was going to be this

goofy, big character, and he's like,

"Hey, Idris, how are you? Nice to meet

you. I'm a really big fan of your work."

And I'm like,

"What's going on? We acting." I'm more

goofy than John is. You You did the

thing that happens to you where people

are like, "Idris is very serious." You

were like, "John is so funny." And Tom

was like, "I'm kind of serious." Yeah,

he's very serious. And you were like,

"I'm a goofball." Yeah. When I first

when we when I walked into his trailer

one time, we're going to just run some

lines and then I was like, "Oh, there's

a there's a grand piano in here. What is

that?" He's like, "Oh, yeah. I'm

teaching myself to uh learn classical

piano." Anyway, so about these lines.

I'm looking at him like, "What? What

now?" First of all, he has fingers the

size of like, you know, like one of

John's fingers, you know. So, playing

the piano. Yeah. I was like, Anyway, I

was fascinated. Giant finger piano. He's

a really

lovely guy. Um, I think he and I knew

that, you know, working together, we

could play into the dynamic of, you

know, I'm I'm not naturally comically

funny, but I can play against someone

that is really trying to, you know, is

really funny in that way. What is

naturally comically funny? I mean, like

it's kind of um but but it's an you

bring up something very interesting,

which is like I think sometimes people

don't realize that playing the scene is

like pretty much the same if you're

doing a comedy or a drama. Like just got

to play it real. Yeah, that's true. Have

you hosted SNL? Yes. And how was that

experience? It was a classic. Everyone

talks about it. Yeah. Sorry. No. Who was

the musical guest? Uh, Khaled. Oh, yeah.

Khaled. Yes. And how what year was that?

Sorry. What year was that? It was the

year that I did that very famous film I

was promoting. Yes. What year was that?

Because we'll never be able to find out.

I have a laptop here. We can never find

it out. What year did I host? Can we

find out? And what is the name of the

British show that all in the family was

based on? You're going to come back.

Jenna, please tell me. Um, okay. That's

what happens in We can't let things go.

I know. Forget the memory is it's done

because we have too much stuff to think

about. This is true. The storage is

full. Sometimes I like to think about

dragging files in my brain to trash.

Like, I'm not going to need to know that

anymore. I don't Wow. Because I mean the

dragon files, dragging it to trash to to

make some room. Don't you feel like all

the lines you had to learn as an actor?

Like sometimes I'm like it just has

taken up too much space in my head. I

No, I don't. No. No. That's Are you good

at learning lines? Uh I'm good at

learning the sense of things and then

the lines will follow. Yeah. I hate when

like it's like, "Okay, you have to go to

this address at 5:00 to pick up that

person." I'm like, "What?" But if if I

understand that you and I having a

debate about something, I'll remember

the lines based on that. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. But SNL which was the classic

not that far not that long ago.

So in 2019 when you hosted SNL. Yes.

What was that like? Was it fun doing it?

Like you had good you had a good time

man. I had a most amazing time. It was

really hard work but I had the most

amazing time and I was a comedy giants

you know. But see, SNL growing up was

not big in the UK when you were growing

up, right? That's right. It's It's

really true. It's really true. And now

they're I think they're starting one

over there. Yes. Yeah. I'm trying to be

a main Really character. You want to be

in the cast? Yeah. Is that weird? You

know, no. Just go in there and say, you

know what? If you showed up and said I'm

in the cast, everyone would be like,

okay, I assume he is. I'm doing it. And

they all see how goofy I am, how the

writer sessions, how really funny I am.

come up with the wackiest [ __ ] Well,

that was always the toughest thing,

Idris, is when a when a host would come

in and be like, "I'm really funny." And

be like, "Okay."

Like, dude, be like, "Okay." They'd be

like, "I I know I'm usually pretty

serious, but I love to do characters."

And I was like, dude, let me tell you, I

was that guy. I I remember the first

writing meeting. I walked in and

everyone was like, "Hey, I just man, we

love you, man. What's going on?"

Drinking their coffee. Do you want to

you guys? What are you into? What are

you thinking? They're, you know, half of

them are hanging. They're like, "Okay,

what do you do? What do you want to do?"

I was like, "Yo, man. I got this idea

about these football presenters."

And they're like, "Mhm. You mean

football as in

what kind of football? I'm losing."

Yeah, man. But they were kind. Yeah.

They were like, "Idris, thank you so

much for your ideas. You know what?

There's so much here to work with. We're

going to regrit. We're going to come

back. You take a break." Yeah. Do you

know what? Do less. They were like, "You

know what? Take a break this week. Have

fun." I had a great meeting with Pete

though in his office. Walked in.

[Music]

What's up here? What's up, man? What you

want? Yo, I love that [ __ ] that you was

talking about, man. I love football. And

it was actually a really good week. I

had the most People don't know that you

walk around from office to office and

you just kind of go into everybody's

office. Yes. And um you're just like

meeting it's like speed dating or

something and you're just like getting

people's ideas and I'm sure you got

pitched a lot of like I have an idea

where you're a guy who uh you know Yeah.

You're a bouncer and you throw people

out of a club. Okay. I have another idea

where you're a boxer and you beat me up.

I have another idea. I bet you got a lot

of like I got I got a lot of um what do

we do? Like a a James Bond

Bond. I'm really trying to stay away

from that. Like come on, man. It's James

Bond. like, "No, I want to stay away

from that." You're like, "I just want to

play g I just want to play like little

giggly characters who are real

goofballs. I want to be really

unrecognizable." Mhm. And everyone's

like, "Oh, [ __ ] This guy doesn't want

to do his he doesn't want to pitch his

fast ball. We want to do some stringer

bell [ __ ] you know, where you're like

Stringer Bell in the hood, whatever."

But before we wrap it up, I want to talk

a little bit about your relationship to

music because

um I feel like we've been talking a

little bit about it today, but you know,

like there's this musicality to the

stuff that you do and it's obviously

influenced by your your actual love of

music. You talk about it a lot and how

it, you know, talk about acting coming

at a certain time like music came to you

at at a young point in your life. When

did you start like what what speak to

how important music is to you and when

you especially when you were a young

person in growing up in East London.

Yeah, I mean definitely music um was my

first love first love. My dad I have

this record a picture of me holding a

Marvin Gay album. I'm four years old and

I'm about to put it on the turntable.

That was like my earliest memory of

music and listening and being able to

put the record on. Um, by the time I was

like 14, I was convinced I wanted to be

a radio host. That was what I wanted to

do. I wanted to talk on the radio and

play music. And at the same time, I was

getting introduced to acting and what

and the first show I did was a musical.

I was singing. All right. I wasn't

musical. I didn't play learn to play the

guitar. I could play the drums, but I

could I wasn't really a musical guy in

the sense of, you know, making music.

Okay. I just loved music. And at the

same time I was doing uh acting, I

became a radio host on pirate radio. And

I was on pirate radio around 15 16 years

old. Shouldn't say that, but yeah. And

um it was the ' 80s. Nobody cared. We

had jobs at 12. You could go to jail

though back in the day for being on

pirate radio. Oh yeah, man. The mean

streets.

That'd be pretty funny if they were

like, "What are you in jail for?" And

you were like, "Being on the radio." And

everyone was like, "Oh, drive time 6 to

8." What? Yeah, they got me. They got

me, man. Hard times. But no, you could

go to jail for pirate radio. And but the

truth is, you know, I think the music um

because I really leaned into playing

music and then I started buying

equipment, drum machines. This is the '

80s. This is where the drum machines

were growing and that electronic sound,

you know, music and acting was like

doing this at the same time. So music

became my sort of uh my guilty pleasure.

Yeah. Yeah. Mhm. And like for just for

you just for me. Yeah. And and when I

would DJ, I would love it. I I you know

actually coming to New York because the

vinyl shops that's when I started to

really come to New York late 80s early

90s. A lot of time you talk about the

spirituality of house m like house music

is really important to you. Yeah. Yeah.

really like it's that what is it about

it that hooks you and what do you think

it how how does it hook people? It's uh

it's the mono moment, that mono moment,

that you know,

and everyone feeling that new instrument

coming. It's a bit like being at church.

I don't know if you're religious. I'm

not, but that spiritual vibe of adding

layers of a mono moment everyone can

join into is like magic. When I'm on a

DJ, well, I, you know, I just played

Coachella with Cascade. Shout out to

Cascade's amazing DJ. I think we have

15,000 people. Wow. And we're doing a

back to back. And it's it's a spiritual

moment to have that many people going,

"Let's go." I mean, it's just And how do

you stay up so late? Yes. Because you

have to stay up so late. Yes. Yes.

That's what DJs do. I know. It's such a

nighttime activity. No. Come on, Amy.

You got to come out with me one time,

man. Let's go. I mean, I would have to

go to bed at 700 p.m. and wake up at

4:00 a.m. and meet you out. Like there's

no way I could get to the other side at

4 a.m. Have you Have you been to IA?

No. Ah, that is seems okay. Life begins

at 50. All right. I be okay. First of

all, I I would only want to go with

someone who knew I well, but I I'm

already stressed thinking about how late

I would have to stay up. Like I'm

already like even thinking about I would

have to take the longest power nap.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But it's incredible.

Do you think uh that whole power nap

thing really works? No, I can barely

nap. I mean, I I truly I would have to

go to bed at 700 p.m. and then be like,

I'll see you at the club at 4:00 because

But it is it but the I mean I' I've I

love to dance. I love music, but I just

I can't do the I can't do the hours.

It's not easy to be an actor and a DJ.

Like it is not. No, but I I think

there's a cell there's a energy cell

that gets awakened with the the

naughtiness. Yeah. You know what I'm

saying? Okay. Abisa. Yeah. Sound Aisa

sounds very sounds very

sounds very stressful. No, you'd love

it. Trust me. You know, flipflop

sunshine all day.

You can have a ice ice bucket thing. An

ice bucket thing. Why do I? No, you

know, like the plunging thing. Oh, yeah.

I could do You know what? If I could pl

if I could cold plunge in a bea, I would

be You can do anything in a believe me.

That's what stresses me out, Andress.

Okay, so we're going to finish with um

two questions because we always start

our um our podcast with asking somebody

to speak about our guest. I I always

talk to somebody who knows our guest to

give me a question, ask them. And so, we

talked to John Cena before this. Yeah.

and we just talked we just zoomed with

him and um he wanted me to ask you and

it's such a John question I think and

it's so indicative of what you talk

about like both of you have such an

incredible work ethic you really you

know you work hard you're very

professional both of you are um like for

for lack of a better term like going for

it you really have a a a lust for life

and learning like you said and his

question was kind of like basically you

work really hard What motivates you?

It's such a it's such a what question.

What motivates you?

Um, okay. I mean, look, I don't want to,

you know, end on a low note, right? But

I became, you know, successful around

the age of 35 years old, okay? And up

until that point, you know, life wasn't

always great. There was some very tough

times. you know, I've spoken publicly

about some of the times I've gone

through. Um, both my parents, you know,

working class, didn't have much at all.

All right? So, I've been, you know,

reasonably, I would say poor or just

reasonably, you know, um, living a life

that is very opposed to where I'm living

for longer than I have been famous or

successful. And there's part of it which

is like, I don't want to let this go, so

I just keep chucking for it. But the

second thing is really and truly is that

I used to work nights on the night shift

at Ford Motor Company in Dagenham East

London. Okay,

that is grim. It's a grim job. All

right. Nothing compares to doing that.

So when I get an opportunity to come and

work with you, to come and work on a

set, it doesn't even feel like work.

Yeah. Now to everyone else, it's like

you guys are working really hard. But

actually, yeah. It's not that hard. It's

not that hard. I mean the stuff we did

compared to real real hard jobs.

Exactly. It's not we I agree. And

obviously we get to do very different

things, you know, in a job like that. I

did the same thing every night. Every

night for two straight years. My dad did

the same job for 25 years. So I consider

this a privilege. This ain't work. Yeah.

So what motivates you is a is gratitude

basically. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And what is

making you laugh these days? How do you

go? What do you watch, read, you know,

listen to that? Like, like where do you

where are you finding your comedy? Uh,

the studio was really funny to me.

Self-reerential, but I loved it. I

thought it was really good writing. Um,

I'm laughing at myself letting go of

some of my tough man [ __ ] and being a

bit goofy. I I I actually enjoy when

people go, "What?" Yeah. I enjoy doing

that. I've seen you do like you're doing

some really like I have a really fun Tik

Tok idea I want us to do later. Oh wow.

Um I have to talk to your team about it.

I didn't you no shy. No. Yeah I do. And

and and listeners if you don't know this

as we wrap up but but Idris and I are

wearing the exact same thing right now.

We're wearing what what how would you

describe this color? Petrol blue. Yep.

It's a I was thinking you know um do you

watch football soccer?

Is right at the end of a really great

game. There's a tradition where the

greatest players against each other

trade. Okay, let's trade shirts. We're

going to trade. We're going to trade

shirts.

Let's do it, buddy.

All right. Trade. Okay. This is

exciting. This is exciting. And I have a

feeling this is going to this is not

going to fit. No, I get this. You're

Let's see how far you can get into my

dress. Tech Technically, you don't have

to wear it because usually it's full of

sweat. By the way, the shirt smells

great. Listeners, if you wanted to know,

the shirt smells great. Oh, wow. Okay,

hold on a minute. Oh, I like this look.

I was just trying to get one sleeve.

Just one sleeve. This one's good. Just

tiny jacket. But tiny jackets are funny.

Tiny jackets are so funny. Look, we did

it. We traded. Okay, this is funny. Good

comedy where like Yes, but I don't

laugh, right? Okay. Very straight. I

just want to get this.

Yeah, play it very straight where you're

we're in some kind of shrinking machine

or you know what it is? It's a body

switch comedy is really what it is.

Okay, we should be Let's go away, buddy.

Let's go.

It was uh

So, the wire

Well, um I enjoyed uh working for H

because you know I watched it nine

times. Well, I don't watch it. I and I

have to say Stringer when he did that

scene. I'm just going to show you.

Oh my god. Okay, sign us up. We're

ready. We're ready.

Thank you so much for this time

together. Good times. This was so good.

My jacket is completely ripped.

Literally can't even get it over his

wrist. I can't get it over his wrist.

It's cuz I'm tired.

He's just his his No, I really can't get

up.

Okay, you're going to hear from my

lawyer because a very expensive jacket.

Thank you. That was so fun. Thank you so

much for doing this. I really, really

appreciate it. And congrats on your

movie. Thank you.

Okay, today's Polar Plunge is brought to

you by Wayfair. Here to help you make

your home your happy place. So, that was

a great interview. Idris is so much fun.

Um, I hope I wasn't too much of a wire

geek when I was interviewing him, but I

could have asked a million more

questions and made the entire episode

about that, but I tried to, um, restrain

myself. But we did talk about a lot of

other things and we talked about British

comedies. And so, uh, I thought I could

use this polar plunge, um, to talk about

shows that maybe you didn't know about

that you should try to find somewhere on

your TV or your phone. Um, Brass Eye,

The Day Today, Allan Partridge, Look

Around You, French and Saunders.

We also um realized that the show that

All in the Family was um based on was

Till Death Do Us Part. It took us the

entire episode to get it and it's

because we're in our 50s. So, um but uh

yeah, there's a lot of British comedy.

Oh, and um and Desmond's. I'm going to

check out Desmond's now that um Idris

has uh has brought it to my attention.

So um a lot of good comedy in the UK,

especially in the 80s and 90s that we

that didn't always come over here. So

check it out. Uh but you know what you

really should check out is Wayfair

because it makes you turn your home into

a happy place. Express your style,

create a space you love. Cozy sofas,

smart essentials, free shipping, easy

setup. Head over to wayfair.com. Find

something that's just your style today.

That's w a yf air.com.

Wayfair. Every style, every home. Okay.

Thanks for listening. Bye.

You've been listening to Good Hang. The

executive producers for this show are

Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss Berman, and

me, Amy Polar. The show is produced by

The Ringer and Paperkite. For The

Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Cat

Spalain, Kaia McMullen, and Aia Xenerys.

For Paperkite production by Sam Green,

Joel Levelvel, and Jenna Weiss Berman.

Original music by Amy Miles.

Really good. Hey