A Conversation with Jake Johnson

Welcome back to our show! We're so excited to welcome Nick Miller himself to the podcast. Jake reminds us of the long shoot schedules, why it took three seasons to feel confident enough to buy a new car, and how he became obsessed with bits that never made it to air. If you'd like to ask us a question, please send us an email at [e-mail]. Follow us on Instagram @welcometoourshowpod.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Ring Ring Ring Ring, May I please speak with Zoe. Hello,
lamar Let's patch in Hannah. God, I forgot what it
was like working with you. Guys. Hey man, thank you

(00:29):
for being here. Thanks for having me, guys. Good seeing everybody.
So good to see you. How are you? You have
a new show coming out in the midst of the
press for it, um, I'm having a lot of fun.
It's exciting. It's called an angle on it that you
haven't told any other press outlet. I'm not going to
ask a question, because like, I'm not a journalist, but
just give us a weird angle. The angle on it

(00:53):
is and the reason I wanted to do it with.
In the pilot, there is a section called a penis
montage because we do we do. We're a nudy magazine.
We're essentially the first playgirl and I'm the publisher of it,
and we need to find the male centerfold. And so
I read in the script that there was gonna be

(01:13):
a penis long times to see what that looked like,
and what like was a group of as we all know,
extras are the greatest people on every set of all time.
But now I saw almost no underpaths like it was
like thirty five dudes or something like that who were

(01:35):
wanting to be in the show and get a bump
for showing their penises. Just one naked dude after the next,
and so it was it's real. It's not like prosthetic.
Those were real hawks, um, And it was probably the
hardest I've laughed in a really long time because the
immaturity spikes and you're trying to be professional and cool

(01:56):
and like a long haired dude and take off his
underpants and you're here it is on. It brought out
the true twelve year old in me and it was
scream funny. So the show is really great. It's really fun.
I'm excited for people to watch it. So I just
want to know what music that peanis montages, So it's

(02:16):
all hits from the seventies, which you'll love. I love
it already. Yes, So the music was great, but obviously
what was Look when it's cut together, it feels way
smoother because obviously, as you guys know, there's never music
while you're shooting. So the sound over the montage was
the slapping of guys hitting their own butts and sting

(02:41):
their thighs, with me going like this when a d
s being like, everybody, keep it together. The next guy
is Carl and Me being like, don't make an appropriate joke,
don't make a joke, don't make it. There's like an
intimate the coordinator. They're trying to like make sure you're

(03:02):
professional and you're making her dog heard. Yeah, And then
when you're sitting there being like, don't left, don't left,
don't left, don't laugh. And then there's like a bigger
guy with a ponytail and being like, hello, everyone, nice
to meet you. And then he takes his shirt off
and I'm like, I cannot believe. On God's great Earth
take The fans have been the fans have been messaging
me ever since the announcement of your show. They've wanted

(03:24):
to know how many times in this show do you
show your hog? Every episode? About forty times? You know,
this is a dream role for you. This is oh yeah,
they're building this thing is kn' kong to only. The
only thing that could be worse than coming on set

(03:46):
and having to pull your hog is that what we're
calling it right now? Your hog out is then to
have um, the big fancy actor of the show look
at it and then laugh hysterically. Yeah, yeah, not wrong.
Now the problem was the kind of guy who's willing
to show his hog In the most part, he's got
something to show. So you're loving at somebody where you

(04:08):
would go, hey, at five ft four, about a hundred
and thirty five pounds with long, greasy hair, well done,
I have judged you in correct, not washing his hair right. Yeah.
I learned about seeing the amount of genitalia in the
person is that you really can't tell you. There is

(04:32):
no like indicator. It's not like, well, that's a thick
bodied man. Therefore, Yeah, can people look at me and
they judge me correctly? I will say, you know what
I mean? What is that? What is correctly? Strong? But
it's fast. I get the job done quick myself. Your

(04:55):
wrists little, Yeah, I have dainty wrists and skinny fingers,
massive biceps, and you got swarms in you you've been
working out? Hell, yeah, don't. I'll try to get my
life together. I have I have. Would you like to
see my hug? Sure? No, what does happened now? I'm yes,

(05:16):
I would love it if you show it. Incredible. Speaking
of how about Ralph in passing? What a sad thing
he was in his nineties. By the it's amazing. I
thought he was a lot younger and one of the
mysteries on my card. I thought he was in his seventies. Yeah.
You remember your first scene with him, Jake? Uh? Yeah,

(05:40):
I was there. Yeah, he was so uh. You know,
he doesn't talk on screen obviously, as we all know
and they all know, but he was a really present
actor and he was joking in between. So it's funny
being part of it. There's such a different take than
people watching him, right, Yeah, really a solid actor. You know.
Obviously it seems like it's a bit because he doesn't talk,

(06:03):
but we all know there's people who don't listen in scenes,
and there's people who listen. Yeah, he was so good
even though he didn't talk. But I'm shocked, meaning he
was probably late eighties while he was doing that. Yeah,
I'm in my late eighties. There's no chance I'll be
doing anything. You're Ralph and his nineties is me and

(06:25):
my fifties. Well, get used to Jake now, because this
is it. Man, I am on the farewell tour. Like,
didn't you have something to do with him being on
the show, Like, wasn't it your idea? For that character.
It was a soft pit I want. I pitched Liz

(06:47):
that I think it would be really funny if Nick
went to a park and had a magical friend who
never talked but Nick believed he could hear them, so
that you could get like exposition out from Nick. But
they came up with the whole pitch of that episode
where Zoe and I go in like the hot tub.
That was all the writers, and I think that's what

(07:08):
really made the character. But I just like Nick having
a character who never talked back but Nick could hear.
That was what I remember was that that episode on
the page was not working yet and they were like
it ended up being such a good episode, was like
the first one that Ralph was on and then um
they were like, how about you guys getting a hot tub?

(07:30):
And we're like what so much that show was like
that though, of like, well we figured it out. Yeah,
if you're if you're just tuning in, folks, we are
talking to Jake Johnson. He was a cast member on
New Girl. People tune in halfway through podcast by the way, Yeah,

(07:59):
we are commercials. Yeah we call it station identification. We
got we got back, We're back. If you didn't. If
you didn't, if you just to keep the first it
was all about hogs. So you know what it was.

(08:20):
It was broadcast and started minute we got we got
Jack Johnson from Drunk History Fame. Jake, you've done, You've
done a lot before we go back to the beginning.
Let's keep that. Let's keep that. I want to talk
about Dennis Farina, another another actor that you got to

(08:43):
work with. He played your father on New Girl. UM.
In the spirit of UM, I mean, one of the
more iconic actors that we have in our in our universe. UM,
God rest his soul. Please tell us the story of
Dennis and Max Greenfield for sure? Can we tell that story? Yeah?

(09:08):
I think so. But do you remember, lamourn that it
was a big moment where because you guys obviously remember rehearsals,
we didn't overly commit as actors. And now that we've
all done, you know, at that time, I hadn't done
a lot of more. I hadn't done as many jobs.
But you start seeing the scripts were being rewritten, so
we were reading them for the first time. A lot

(09:29):
of the time we would get pages and it would
be the night before we'd be walking into rehearsal, and
I viewed it on that show is that's just the
first time we're doing it. But when we were doing
Virgins and do you remember how committed Dennis Farina was
to rehearsals And we remember that there was a scene
we did on like a bed where he like gives

(09:50):
us a talk and the crew applauded after a rehearsal
because of his performer. I remember being like, they've never
done that, especially with you. You were notorious for kind
of phoning in rehearsals. Um, yeah it was you. Yeah,

(10:12):
I'm trying to make fake news. I feel like everybody
was on the same call, very tired. If you were
not professional, you you laughed halfway through every take when
you initiated improv memorial walk into the scene, the scene

(10:34):
would be he would be starting and he would go
his line would be like the waters here, and you
would go, hold on. I just was I just talked
about this in an interview. They said, like, ask me
questions about what you remember from the show. I said,
I remember having anxiety because going into a scene with
Jake Johnson, I would go, I know I'm gonna do

(10:56):
a bit, and I know I'm gonna laugh and I
know he's gonna kill me. It's like, I know he's
gonna kill me for he's gonna kill me on camera.
It's like those were some of the best days, but
also the worst because I was like, damn it, man,
you're a professional. You're supposed to be able to handle this.
You're one of the few guys that you would break
midway through your own bits before you got it out.
So even it was funny, it would be like, if

(11:19):
you can't get through it, just say you hold on,
hold on. You haven't ever done to take yet, Jake.
I want to say you're one of the most committed
people to long term bits I've ever met. I thank you,

(11:41):
which we're still over text doing bits that we started
on the first season of New Girl, and I still
will try to make those bits happen with other people.

(12:01):
What are you talking about is the uh we when
we started off pretending to be fake managers and try yeah,
go and I are still doing it. I don't know
how personally about families and stuff like that. I'm fine
with you. Yeah, yeah, you tried to sign my kids. Yeah.

(12:23):
The photo of Ton and daughter doing a funny video,
so I just want to letter know I did sign
your daughter, I think right before she was born. I'm
boarding your son. Take I'll take Jonathan too. He's a hunk,
the whole group. I know it's a little and do
your contract is really bad. That's the thing. I don't

(12:49):
do dempers as a manager. I don't do tamper cent
of the work and you don't take cultures on their
behalf or anything. It's like, I'm busy with my own ship,
to be honest. But so it started out with us
both competing to sign Max Winkler's dog is three legged
German shepherd to a contract Hamlet and um, and then

(13:15):
it went from there. That was That was one of
my favorite bits, and it's still going on today ten
years and and going the thing that I missed the
most about New Girl, um and doing other shows like
the show Minx was great, but it was only three
and a half months so and movies are so different.
And what's so different about New Girl which was so crazy?

(13:38):
It was how long we shocked and then how much
press we had to do over the summer. Yeah. Actually
from the second that show got picked up until we
were canceled, we were around each other so much that
just doesn't happen in my professional life anymore. Yeah. Yeah,

(13:58):
it was like you guys were my family. I saw
more than my family. For me, it was by in
the first couple of years, I lost my mind because
I was not used to You're gonna get used to
it and you figure out how to be up. But
it would be like you I remember waking up exhausted
driving to work. You're there from the dark to the dark,

(14:19):
and then as soon as you have to come back,
and then they would be like some email from todda
Dare at Publicity being like good news this weekend, we
have another event at twentieth century something. Holy sh it, man,
it never ends really quick before we before we get

(14:40):
into the actual interview, because all this was just bullshit. Um,
Jake tell us the Dennis Farina's story with Max. Um.
The Dennis Farina's story with Max was he came on,
he was very weak. Going back to the long term bits, right,
we were all in bits and me and Max's bit
that we really still do to together as well is

(15:01):
that it's kind of who can out dumb the other, right,
And where Max is at his funniest is when everybody
hates somebody stop, like, you know, like he would just
hang out in my trailer and there would be a
lot of times where I'd actually asked him to leave,
and not because I was mad at him, but just like,

(15:24):
you know, I just got in trouble about some malts,
like my brain didn't feel it. I'm so tired. Can
I have an hour of lunch alone? And he would
be like no. So we were in that mode and
I wasn't kind of bully mode, and we were messing
with each other. And then I don't remember how it started,
but we were doing some joke about the fact that
Dennis Rainey was a real tough guy and he was

(15:46):
an actual detective. Yeah, he was at Chicago detective Yeah.
And then Max said something of the extent, and I
don't want to like I don't remember all the details,
but it was something about, like I wonder, as a
detective of you're like doing a steak out, Like what
do you do if you see like naked meeople? I say,
like do you keep steaking out? They were cry laughing,

(16:10):
you know, and that's what was like obviously being a
heightened version of himself, and you know, he's hilarious, and
I was like dying laughing somehow. I think either I
convinced him to tell Farina or I told Farina and
we asked him, and we were in such overtired state
of everything was funny that we forgot who we were

(16:30):
talking to. And Farina did not find it funny er charming.
I was like the idea that as a police officer
he was a peeping tom and he did not see
that we were being ridiculous, and he aided Max for
the quite in a way that didn't come out of
Max's mouth. And then he either that connected with you more,

(16:54):
either that or I sold Max out. I really don't remember.
It really might have been. It might have and I
asked him, and then I said, Max wants to know.
Remember he hated Max in a way and Max would
say that, you know, Farina would finish the day would
all shake hands and Match would be like, he squeezed

(17:15):
my hand so hard. Well, the thing about Max is
that like I very rarely would like see him like
really like ruffled, like he's like a guy that's joking
around all the time. And whenever Farina would come on
an episode, I'd see Max like truly nervous agree, He's like, yeah,

(17:37):
Dennis for Annis here like he does. He's not a
guy who gets serious, but like he was scared. But
those the annual bits that keep getting heightened and heightened.
Day after, I'm like that ship was so funny, and
I'm like I'm realizing now, like, oh, that's never gonna
happen again. You know, you get like, you get like

(17:58):
I'm sure I'm like woke, Like you get closer to
the people, but then you're leaving, you're gone first time
you come back, and then you do it, and then
you do it press virtually yes, so you're like, I
don't get to kick it and hang out and have
a drink and I don't get to know you guys
inside it out, So we know how to press each
other's buttons, we know where everybody else is. Funny, you
then know zones you don't go, you know zones you

(18:19):
can go. Because it really felt like a t Yeah,
it was. It was a team. It was ladies and gentlemen.
We'll be back with more Jack Johnson, Olcole and we're

(18:41):
back with Johnson, Um Jake, I remember talking to you
in a surfer voice for at least three hours straight. Yes,
well also for seasons. Uh okay, I love you guys

(19:07):
are so stupid. But I would walk in and it
would be like five in the morning or no, I
mean I would have been there for like an hour
at that point, but you walk in for your call.
I'd be like, what are you doing today, Jake, And
you'd be like, of course, I'm catching lots of ways, bro.
I honestly think for me, you know. And obviously sometimes

(19:29):
we all got in trouble for doing too many bits
on that show. But in watching you know, and seeing
it come up or people like refinding it, those were
the fucking bits and that connection is what people really like.
But we did all makeep to their laughs. Like I
remember Lauren's bit was always you would pretend to be
early confident and stumble over. Your bit came Winston, like

(19:55):
Winston was an alpha male who was competing with Max
about running, and by the end Winston couldn't get a
sentence out because he would start doing the bid I'm set.
I'm like, yeah, those bits on a show like that
on single cam when you're there and you know, they
were so open to improv and so open to changes,
I'm like, man, that gave so much to it. Now

(20:18):
going into the you know, going into your beginning on
New Girl, we all talked about our and I know
this is something that you've talked about in interviews and
we've all spoken about it. Um, did you see this
coming in the beginning when you how did how did
you get onto the show? And two did you did
you think it was gonna be this thing? This chemistry? This? Yeah? So, Um,

(20:39):
I had done I had met Liz Merriweather. I did
an indie with Max Winkler called Ceremony, and she was edited.
She was writing a script with her with Liz, Max
and Akiva I think it was called The Adventures Handbook,
and they were doing it at Henry Winkler's house while
Max was editing Ceremony. So Liz had seen that footage
and then she and I got to know it other

(21:00):
and she put me in no Strings attached. And then
when that movie opened, it opened number one one weekend,
and then it was that Sunday she texted, uh, Fox
just picked up my pilot would do audition for it.
And so I had never been close to a TV show.
I'd never tested. I am not what they call a
good auditioner. So I was pretending to do call with

(21:22):
Liz where I'm like, absolutely I would be, I think
to my name, but it depends on the dates. Then,
you know, when I found out Zoe was the lead
of it, I knew we had a fighting chance because
at that time, when you know you don't have somebody
who could carry a show, you know, it's just a

(21:45):
whole different beast. And so we had a we had
a true number one, We had a true shot. So
I thought number one, someone say number one and a
true number four A uh, were not at that time
my contract sir, Thank you Damon. I actually remember you

(22:14):
were the only person when because I was reading with
everybody when once I was casting, you were like the
only person. I got multiple emails from so many friends
saying I recommend Jack Johnson for the role of Munick. Yeah,
it was Rember, Jeremy Connor and also Max Winkler. Yeah.

(22:36):
I remember being really nervous for our chemistry read because
but it's funny, like it's you know, I've talked about
it and pressed before, but you know, you had a
big say in casting. You know, as the show went on,
we became a whole thing and it became new, but
like we had, we had to be approved by you,

(22:58):
and it was a really trippute thing to be a
scene with somebody and then right like you know, if
you didn't like a cast member, we weren't getting in.
And so it was a really neat feeling to be
like just and like, you know, I've known you. I
knew I was gonna have to be with people like
a lot, which was true to be true, and um,

(23:19):
it's cool, like I feel like we got like such.
I mean, we got so lucky with this cast, really,
but you knew more about the world of uh TV
and the business way more than I think any of
busted at the beginning. And so it was really nice
to remember when you and I did scenes and we
both knew it was pretty good, right, I think you,

(23:40):
like wrote back to Jeremy, he was great. I was like,
I think I got a real shot. I think, well
you were really what was cool about you? And I
mean it's still cool about you. You're so unique. You're
totally like and and you feel like a real like
your characters feel like real people, you know, you know,

(24:02):
and the way that you play Quirks is in such
a like genuine way, like rather than I would say,
like a lot of people that would have come into
read for that part. We're more playing like at the
comedy rather than playing like the reality of the situation.
And you were like playing the reality of the situation,
and then it's that much funnier, you know. But I

(24:26):
remember those early days, you know how much we used
to text and talk about the characters and talk about lamour,
And I remember you came to my house during your auditions.
Max and I used to sit around and like literally
call each other and like just like there was so
much passion for making this thing work. Then we all

(24:46):
just got like season three, we all just forgot about
it because we're like we've always done this. We all
really gave a ship, and those characters in those connections,
they didn't happen by chance, like we really and we
all fall for and Liz Merriweather really care. It was
really about that show. I think that's what makes things

(25:08):
work in general, Like when you really put your all
into things, tends to work a little crazy, Yeah, but
you're right, but you have a shot. How does happen?
How did this happened for you? Jake? I mean, people
are still complementary of you, obviously, because you're really skilled
at what you do. What were you doing before New Girl?
Why didn't it happen earlier? Jake? You were for eight

(25:34):
when we started this. I was fifty three years you know.
I was doing tons of theater and live stuff and
trying hard. There's a rumor that you were the before
guy in a Tampex commercial. Was the before guy? I'll
give me the read of it, Chicken. You know, I

(25:58):
was doing commercials. I was trying, um, yeah, and honestly,
it's a really hard business. I just remember one day
we had a really like long you know, they on
set and there's some weird vibe going on and it
was just tough. I don't know what was happening. Don't
remember that part of it, but I remember you and
I walking back to our trailers and discussing it and

(26:22):
then taking a breath and going, yeah, but we can't
forget that we won the lottery. And I just remember
that it was like season one, and it was that
idea of like because it was our first time on
a for me, especially on a show like that, and
I and it was like, okay, yes it is. This
is challenging and difficult, and that's real. Those are real

(26:43):
things we're experiencing. But the big picture is we are
so lucky and I've wanted this for so long and
it's happening, and you don't forget that. Really funny, It's
funny you say that because the pandemic kind of redid
that for me. Also, it was the new look. The
Girl was hard. It was a grind. It was great, um,

(27:03):
but we did big hours and people watching and think
like every second is a blast. It was. It was
a hard job. We were trying at a job like
we'd work sixteen you would we would make you would
basically do content for a nine hour episode that would
get cut down every week, and you weren't allowed to
recycle bits, and we were asked to improvide. We were

(27:25):
asked to experiment. Liz was working our ass off, our
staff was working our ass off. But I've gotten to
a point where, you know, I just got burned out
with acting and I forgot that feeling of loving it.
And you know, because you put so many hours in
and so mmuch pressed and you start going like what
the fuck am I doing? Just to do just and
all sound stages at the end of it, once you

(27:48):
pass the magic of it, they're all the same, all crews,
they're past. Uh. And then the pandemic hit and it
all went away. And I remember that thing you were
talking about, Hannah, of like doing this is the fucking lottery,
goofy if you're gonna do it like I love it,
because when it went away, I was very quickly like,

(28:11):
oh yeah, I remember who I was before I got
acting jobs, A fucking weirdo. I was before a guy
and now and now you've become a professional weirdo. You dare,
I say, Jake, you know a heartthrob um, So when
did you become Oscar Isaac? Like, at what point? It

(28:36):
was after David Krummelt's right, then you are all beautiful siblings? Yeah, right, right, right. Well,
here's the truth of localis there are not just the
fact that there's a truth about it. Keep going. There
are every white man with the beard, your hair, nd them,

(29:01):
and they are a lot of us. Hannah and I
looked just like like because we both have brown hair
and bangs. Right. It honestly gets as far as that
where you know everyone's a while somebody there's always like
a new actor where they're like, you're the blank but
with the dad Bob, And I'm like, who is this

(29:23):
person just talking about a white guy with brown hair
and a beard, twenty one years old? We look nothing
a lot, and I'm like, what has I know? We
talked about the early on in our in our process
when we do press and stuff, sometimes we get shocked

(29:43):
by the fan reception of of New Girl because we
weren't out as much we would We were working so much,
were impressed so much, and then we go to one
of these events at tc AS or something like that,
or an award show, and and you're hit with thousands
of fans just love who are calling you by your
character name, who loved the bits they are quoting the show.

(30:04):
Now there's this reemergence of the show. Yeah, I mean
it's it's everywhere. It's almost like we just started. By
the way this whole like during the pandemic, New Girl
got a second life. Yeah, especially Yeah, I think now

(30:24):
the way that things you know are just streaming, people
discover them. I think. Yeah, there are like a lot
of young girls who come up to me and they're like,
are you still shooting the show? Yeah? They think it's
a new show and it's something they can binge that's
not done in a day, rights you. Yeah, because we

(30:46):
made so money we were in the network model. I'll
tell you what's trippy about the new era of the
Netflix New Girl fans is And I don't know if
it's generational, but I do feel like men who are
discovering it out are admitting that they like it, and
then when it first came out would essentially apologize for

(31:06):
liking it. Yeah, Like as a dude, my big experience
that I would always find so annoying with another dude,
would they'd be like, I'm not a girl. My girlfriend
loves here's some funny stuff. And I'd be like, thanks,
I like Schmidt, and I don't have to apologize for

(31:29):
being like you're literally not in a bar quoting the
show to me. Like it. You know it more you're
a fan. You I really like that. Like dudes can
say like I like it. It's like, well good, it's
for everybody just wanted to be called New Girl. That
did not mean it was only for girls. Yeah. With

(31:50):
the re emergence of this show, you know a lot
of fans and girls, yes, yeah, yeah, and fans you know,
because it's new to certain people, to a newer general ration.
People always ask me, happened yesterday? Happened the security guy.
I was at a Laker game. The security guy comes
up to me and he goes, he goes, hey, man,
y'all doing Uh, y'all doing one of the reunions? Yeah?

(32:11):
I said, I don't know. I have no idea that
y'a gotta do a reunion. Man, and he goes, he goes,
I'm on episode. He goes, I just finished that. Y'all
did four episodes, four seasons, right. I said, well, we
got a lot more to go. He's like what? And
it was like this confusion, you know, he thought we
had ended that like season four or something like that.
He wanted to know if we were doing it. Is
a grown man. He wanted to know if we were
doing a reunion. I gotta put you on glassmore because

(32:34):
the reason you're telling this long story is just to
get free Laker tickets. And I think nak on the nose.
I don't think that security guard existed. Jake, Yeah he did.
His name was His name was Johnny. I was at
the Laker game where in Nike sneakers and then no,

(32:54):
that's not that's not vitamin water, which I really love.
Especially Jake, you gotta stop this. You got can I
put Thish sell my story about how when I was
at the Lego game because I'm a diehard fan of
the Lakers, shout out to Lebron James and all those guys.
U scheme to free kombucha sent to the set. So
I don't know that was talking Jake. We were like,

(33:16):
we both love this kombucha. Let's pretend to be a publicist,
and so we got some, like you did. I got
some because of it, that's right. You were like, come
to my trailer, you will not believe. And there was
an entire case of healthy kombucha sent for us. And

(33:36):
the moment fall enough in the past where I'll look
at contact us on the back of things and I
redden like, hello, this is Jake Johnson from New Girl.
I played he named Nick Miller. I love your sweet
and sour sauce my mind. They would send cases and
then we'd have too many cases. In kambucha. You got
to drink it within a month, so you're like walking up,

(33:59):
you want a case. So your microbiome is on point,
do you still wait, do you still drink that? Jake's
not as much. I have an addictive personality. I get
very addictive things. I go really hard on it, and
then I drink like I was like having like nine

(34:20):
gambooches a day, and I think I'm turning yellow and
I'm like, I'm done with this trash. I don't even
like the takes. What are some of your addictive websites?
But this is the new addiction right now. Water water,
water in the first water got on a day. Let's go,
gotta do it. You gotta get, you gotta you gotta
have a baby smooth skin. When you gotta finish your question.
You were asking an important question. I was asking an

(34:41):
important question. Um. I started off by talking about my
experience of the Lakers game back. We don't need to
go over and again. Oh we don't have to Okay, okay,
dot com Center, Okay, would you be open to a
reunion of the show. I can't believe you're asking this question.

(35:05):
You know you know that when you get asked that
question the morning and you're doing what would you say?
I say, Hell, yeah, yeah, look here, sure, who knows?
We would need Liz to come on board see what
she would be writing. It would be very important. Who's
directing that? What's the studio behind it? Do we do
it on Fox? Isn't the streamer? What does that actually mean?

(35:27):
If we're all on my director's chairs doing like a talk,
that would be a lot easier. Um, isn't you know?
Is it a series? I have no idea. In term
the Friends Reunion, they say like a fountain and talked
about the wouldn't do it? I wouldn't do that. That
was funny because well, I'm like, if we did that,
it would be so weird because it only ended like

(35:49):
four years ago. They're going back to something that ended
twenty years ago to see the couch from the remember
that long? That that? But Jake, Um, so, yes you would.
So I'm just marking that down. Here, give me a
sick so, Jake, while Lawrence taking the notes? There, you

(36:14):
do the best drunk person of any actor I've ever
worked with, and I've worked with a lot of great actors.
What's your inspiration? Not you, Jake, What's what's your inspiration
behind that? Growing up around drunk people, who's your favorite

(36:36):
drunk person? I had an uncle Timmy, who was my
favorite drunk. Growing up. He was a true old world
drunk drunk where you know, puking in his hand, putting
in his pocket on holidays, you know, the multiple sweaters
at once, the real red face, the hoboes beard, and

(37:01):
every year on my birthday and I'm not gonna do
it now. It's because it's the joke is a long
winded one that he would tell me the same joke,
and so it's like a little boy, you have to
get a call and my mom would be like, hey, Jake,
it's your uncle Timmy, and I'm like hello, maybe a
joke and a year it was the same joke, but

(37:21):
he wasn't doing like the deep comedy bit of like
it gets funny. After ten. He never remembered he told
me the joke because the years went on and I'd
be like twelve, he'd be like, happy birthday, but let
me tell you, and I'm like, he's doing it again. Yeah.

(37:42):
Do you think it was specific to you that, like
every year he's like, you know who like this? You know?
I don't know, but I do know you think everybody
got that. I did like the joke too, so it
might have been specific. It was the long and short
of it was. It was how to get an elephant
into a hole full of ashes. First thing you gotta

(38:02):
do is you gotta get an elephant. Once you steal
that elephant, then you gotta dig a hole the size
of three elephants. And then you gotta burn a bunch
of paper and fill the hole up with ashes. Then
you gotta take peanuts and you gotta align them all
the way around this hole so the elephant goes and
once it gets to the edge, you run up and
you can't get right in the ashole. And every time,

(38:24):
and he would take about fifteen minutes for that joke.
But when you got to kick get out in the ashole,
I would always go like, I'm crying laughing, man, I
am well done to me. You've done it again. The
inspiration behind your long term coming into um uh no,
I think it's my brother Dan Um Dan and I

(38:45):
growing up we um We did bits for years on end,
to the point where like my mom worried about us
and would say like, would you guys please ask each
other real questions? But we did. I mean I was
just in Vegas with him. We went and saw the
band Chicago by the way, they rock, Yes, and we

(39:07):
were kind of going there, and we weren't sure if
we're going in terms of the long term bits. We
decided to go to Vegas to see Chicago. I bought
Chicago shirts. We were pretending to be the biggest CTA
Chicago Transit Story Authority fans of all time. Uh. I
wasn't sure if we were doing a bit or we
were really excited, you know. I was like, we're so

(39:30):
deep in this that we're literally find in Vegas to
see Chicago. It was even in the band still they've
been playing for fifty What the funk am I going
to see the band Chicago. We got to the theater.
It was an older crowd obviously. No, I'm the oldest
gentleman on this zoom, the oldest person here. I was

(39:50):
the young boy there, like the front row of like
the babes churring on the band. I'm not kidding, we're
in their seventies. Yeah. The show started and I'm really laughing.
I'm like, this is a room full of like sixty
plus and the band was okay. It started slow. Then

(40:11):
they take an intermission after like twenty minutes, and my
brother and I are dying. We're like, who takes a
break your didn't, and I know why those motherfuckers came
out and killed the second half. There was no irony,
there was no bit. We were just going, like the
lead singer came out and goes, I'm not gonna take
you to the magical eighties and he did horn section,

(40:40):
the full horn section. Yeah, and it really was. But
my brother and I spent the entire weekend in a bit.
So like when I get home and Aaron was like,
how's your brother, I'll be like, I'm not sure. But
it was really fun. So you had there was something
that there was something. There was a poster on your
wall in Nick Miller's room of a band right there

(41:03):
that you selected personally because it was a friend of yours.
I always I always try to get it, at least
in that show. It's kind of faded, but I was
really excited about being able to influence the background and
and try to get people on it. It was so
neat to me that I was on network television that
I couldn't believe it. So my high school buddies, Oliver Roley,

(41:25):
his band was Past Control. I got his post on
the wall. Billy bund Growth was in j c. Brooks
in the Uptown Sound. We got that on the wall.
Aaron had a guerrilla drawing. She drew a gift for me.
I got that on the wall. I remember the little
one with the little I probably fans out there if

(41:45):
you can catch these images, screenshot him, tag us in him,
post them. We want to we want to see some
of these things. Speaking of super smart smart bits. So
I'll never forget. I don't know what it was like
halfway through the first season being I don't know it.
I'm telling you it's acting advice. I have never forgotten

(42:06):
um because I was standing there in the you know whatever,
nine inch heels feet, you know, near bleeding, and Jake
was laying on the couch holding a beer and that's
how he got to spend his day compared to mine
in the scene, and I was like, you're so lucky.
You're so lucky that their writers did this for you

(42:27):
and you get to sit there comfortably. And Jake, do
you remember what you said to me? Yeah, you're like
with no one wrote this for me. I made this
decision in the pilot. I understand that this is gonna
be long days and this could go on for a
long time. I want to be seated with a drink
in my way. In the pilot, it was probably like
episode four when I'm like these four day if you noticed,

(42:50):
by like season three, my character starts wearing. In terms
of shoes in your trailer, actors always get a thing
they call warming shoes, which are just really comfortable slippers,
and all of a sudden, like we're talking about Las
got him still walk into the scene with them and

(43:11):
in a pair of sweat pants. And if I'm here
for fourteen, a lot of the days you're spending on
other people's coverage on that show, which I've never experienced since,
where you're sitting there for ten hours you don't talk
in a scene. They would feel the need to bring
us all in for the cold open part, like everybody

(43:32):
every week, and it would always be and I was
thinking about this, how similar all the cold opens really
end up having to be in. They're like, well, we've
realized that only certain things work. So a lot of
times it was like one character coming into the loft
living room setting up the man story and then yeah,

(43:52):
and then everybody coming in and saying maybe one line,
and whoever that person was had a lot to do
and then but a lot of times you're like either
in the background or they'll be like, I figured you'd
be eating cereal in the background, Miller, we're doing a
lot of those exposition scenes because that big monologue is

(44:13):
either you were Schmitt mostly, so I would be you know,
you guys carried more of like exposition stuff, so I'd
be like literally drinking the beer would be a soda
water and I'd be sitting there. And then at one
point I would go, like, without being disrespectful, if she's talking,
let's say he's a he's doing a monologue and it's

(44:34):
really to like Hannah's character, and the guys are just
there because they have their A story and we're in
the B story. Should I be here at six I am?
Or I'll tell you this in three takes. You're gonna
make that monogue last for four hours. You blame me.

(44:55):
I blame Microsoli. I love Mikerosoli. Mike would call me Michael. Sometimes,
just like you said, someone would be doing a monologue
and I'd be I'd be way in the background, full makeup,
like wardrobe and everything, knowing I'm not gonna say anything
till after lunch, and I would go, can I go
to my trailer. It's like, hold on a second, We'll

(45:16):
just give us a second, and I'll go, man, I'm
not supposed to be here right now. And then during
you know that call when it says, oh, you're not
used after lunch, he would come in and apologize, Hey man,
look man, here was the catch with here was at
none of us felt disrespected by the other one never
been there. So I'm doing if it comes in and

(45:38):
does a monologue and I'm mostly talking to Jess And
in the end of the scene, Lamarin pops in and
says like, I like puzzles, I don't need you stand
me of us doing every all every improv cross coverage
singles a two shot so at the end and the
single you can stund like puzzles bring him in later

(45:59):
about the bring me in first to say that I
could go yeah, and the like where we're like, You're like,
do you care if I like like pop out of
my room and you know, say this thing about whatever,
And I'm like absolutely not, Like that's like like we
would they just have to bring you in for like
to tie you into the store, like you have to

(46:20):
be the scene. But you don't have to be there, like,
and would be there for each other when there was
a scene and when yes, of course, and we were
always in the cross cover when we had like an
important moment. Yeah. But in terms of like the comfort stuff,
I started realizing I could be standing because in the pilot,
Um Damon and I were mostly like standing next to
each other, and we were always on the other side

(46:41):
of the couch. So like there would be like a
move where I'm like, honest to God, my legs are hurting.
So I'm like, and I'm here all day, and I
don't think I had like, you know, if I didn't have,
like there'd be entire scripts where Nick would just ask
questions early on and every one of my lines would
end with a question mark, and so it would be

(47:02):
like one line I would ask this, and then like
it'd be like Nick reacts, I'm like, I can do
this comfortably sitting with my legs. Um, your character is
known for saying stupid, ridiculous things on the show, Um
iconic lines you give your cookie I got you could
That's like, I don't it's not scripted that way. This

(47:25):
is Jake, I mean, But to say the way you
said it, that's a jake, that's a that's a no
one would read it the way you you you read it,
um anything, any any one of those lines stick out
to you in particular that you just love doing the most,
or you're constant reminded of it, or no what In
terms of that, what I really like is with each
then partner, it was a different show. So like if

(47:48):
you and me had our story together, there was a
vibe on set, there was a vibe together. Remember early
on we always ended up slapping each other, Yeah, because
each other's yet so And then there was did something
in a grocery store? Were and I got a headache
after that ship like, all right, we need to find
another bit Zoe went Zoe and I were together. I

(48:09):
knew those bits with each person, you would know that rhythm.
But the the reason I never liked the Cold opens
because when you throw everybody together, it was too much
like the mixing of the world where I'm like, I
knew how to like do bits with Damon and then
you'd like pair them up with somebody else and then
like Zoe and I do bit and then if it's
Zoe and I, I know what those are. But with everybody.

(48:31):
You've got all these funny people and most of them
aren't doing any of the bits, and then you're actually
viewed as being annoying when you start improvising cracking jokes
and laughing because you're slowing down to day. But I'm
like everybody, we've all got our own like secret languages
rather than like the lines or something. I remember, I

(48:52):
remember what it felt like to do on certain days
where you'd see a script and I would be like, Oh,
I'm in a story with this person and that guest start,
so may go fine, I know what that tone is,
I know what that vibe is gonna be. Uh, And
it always felt so different depending on who the people
were with. You just reminded me of that episode where
we're slap for getting Joel. If we could figure out

(49:13):
the name which episode that was in, We're We're having
a slap fight contest and the kit it was about
we were doing something with the horse tracks. Yeah, and
I remember this Dennis Verna called it was with Dennis right, Yeah,
I remember, Jake. I remember I realized something about you

(49:34):
in this moment when we were doing the slap fight bit, right,
that you won't and we talked about this earlier. This
was my reminder that Jake won't stop the bit. He
will keep doing the bit. My face was hurting after
the first lap, and I was like, but I have
to slap him back, and then you slap me back
even harder, and I was like, this is hey man,

(49:56):
Like you said, like, hey man, could you grow less hard?
And I'm like, well, we're in a two shot, like
it's funnier you can see. Damn, this motherfucker is heavy handed.
He doesn't understand this. Jamie Fox tells the story about
Hello cool J about doing a bit about Jamie like
cool J wants to fight for real in the scene

(50:18):
of any given set day, Jamie cool J, hey man,
this is acting. Doesn't that happen in that Holly wrestling? See? Yes?
Oh I borrow my hand for it was a real fight.
No not, I hit my hand against the wall. What
was different about that and what kind of got tricky

(50:40):
about it was m and we did so much improv
and so many bits and what Max and I did,
which I didn't realize honestly until after the show, which
was really disrespectful to guest stars. We would do bits
while they were calling, like quiet on set because we
were all so comfortable with the show that you would

(51:02):
memorize those lines so quickly you would know the tone.
You would also know like if I forget my lines,
I'll say salami sandwich, and somebody else will say something
and then we'll get back other people. I forgot that
other people weren't there that much, so like before that,
while we're sitting backstage, we didn't give them a chance
to like think, I'm calling a big d asking about

(51:26):
his hair out with your hair looks great, and he'd
be like, so we're wrestling, and like yeah, and then
joke jumped out and the scene starts, and I don't
think he knew the level of wrestling. So it wasn't
a fight. It was just we hadn't communicated what we
were doing. Yeah, but you really broke your hand. I
actually remember part of the problem. I mean, well, I

(51:48):
can't say it's problem, but that you were so you
were kind of acting like a tough guy about it,
so you couldn't tell how much it hurt you. I
could tell because I knew you really well, and you
were like, all of a sudden, you weren't laughing anymore,
and like normally you're always laughing. And I was like, oh,
he's really hurt. But like to the untrained person, like

(52:09):
the person that doesn't know you, you'd think like, oh,
the bit was still going on, just still doing a bit.
Well what happened was it's not good. It hurts so bad.
It started to swell up. So the adrenaline was going
in a way where I didn't quite feel anything yet,
but my hand was getting really weird. And obviously, like
I especially then it's changed since I've had kids, and

(52:32):
you know, as it's gone. But like I did not
care about health for a lot of years of my life,
so my body would just be like you just try
to disconnect from your body, So do you have like
a weird well like trying to think about it um
But so that I remember being like, it's fine, it's
not a big deal. But in between lines, I would
look down and because I broke a bone here, they
started becoming this bubbling thing. And Josh green Bomb was

(52:55):
our director who's a friend, and he and I are
always doing bits, so I was like, it's the problem
with living in bits too long. It's the boy who
cried Wolf when the wolves are coming to attack you.
Everyone's like, are they being broken? I've spent many moments
of my life being attacked by wolves, being like, goddamn it.

(53:15):
I felt this house. La Mourn and I were doing
a bit where we were talking. He was shooting a
commercial in Pasadena and he's like, hey, I'll come bye,
we'll hang out after. And I was like, oh, you're
doing a commercial. You're rich, so you come over, bring
me steak and lobsters. And he came over and he
brought a lobster live like I'm not cooking this. I

(53:40):
was like getting out of my house and he was like,
you said lobster and where did you go? How? Like
how long did take you to find the lobsters? Well?
I told lobster in a bag to my hume. No,
I told I told production to get me. I thought
they were going to bring me cooked lobster. Oh. Interesting.
And was the saddest part about the whole thing one

(54:02):
what was happening to the lobship. But the other sad
part was that the p A who dropped it off
was was vegan and was looking at me like I
was the worst and I didn't know what she was doing.
I was like, why is she staring at me there
and I look, it's a live whole lobster in my
bag and I lost it. I was like, what the
what am I supposed to do with this? This is
way beyond the bit, This is way beyond the bit.

(54:25):
And Jake want nothing to do with it. Took it
back to her friend's house. They ended up taking it
to the ocean, which I do believe was the wrong ocean. Yeah, amazing, Yeah,
it was meant to be in the Atlantic. Yeah, that

(54:47):
was a drive where we couldn't make it. So hopefully
hopefully he survived. Um. Okay, so now he's an invasive
species u ocean. Um, let's move off from New Girl
for a second. For a second. You've you've done, man.

(55:10):
You know, obviously, working working with people, you become friends
and family, but you also become fans. Dude, Spider Verse. Man,
I love that. I love that movie. I don't I
don't hate animated shows. That movie all the time. Um,
tell us about tell us about that? How like do
you get recognized more for that or or that's a

(55:31):
huge that was a huge deal. Like do you get
recognized when that ever to come up to you talked
about Spider verse or is it strictly new girl? Um,
people talk about Spider Verse. Good, all right, we're back.
You've just tuned in before. He loves Spider Verse, gave
me about it all the time. Chris Miller and Phil Lord,

(55:53):
who were the kind of the people behind that whole
version of the rethinking of the Spider Man world. It
was great. It's we're doing the new one now. Um,
they're really talented, so talented, it's like, and when we
all know his actors, there's a really big difference between
getting like a great script and a medium one. Yeah,

(56:14):
you know, it's really funny, like you just see it
and you just it's a really like it's funny because
I remember doing that. Phil would be like, hey, man,
I wrote you some stuff. Um, well we'll figure it
out in the booth. It's not quite ready. And I
would read it and I'd be like, this ship is ready,
say these words. It's good. Until it was a really

(56:35):
nice thing about like, yeah, good coming, it's great material,
it's great stuff. What about your writing? Uh, Jake, I
know you wrote Ride the Eagle. Yeah, thank you did.
Trent Trent o'donald directed that we did it together. It
came out. Uh this last year during the Pandemic. It

(56:56):
was great. We Uh, it was funny. So Trent, who
was a new girl, you know. I think he directed
like fifty episode something like a lot, a lot love him.
I think he think he's such a secret to the
success of that show. And he asked her to have
a moment. I've been teasing him because I think he's
becoming kind of like a little bit of a mogul.
He's got like a bunch of shows and he's always like, well,

(57:18):
text about getting together and he's like, well, I'm at
the law working on another ship. I don't know that guy,
but he's so wildly talented. What happened was in the Pandemic,
we both really just missed working in bits and being
on set, so we financed it. We made the whole
movie for two or fifty grand I think we shot
it in like nine days and it was really just

(57:39):
it was a blast. So we did have a fan question.
The question is you did a movie. No, yeah, um,
since you did a movie right the Eagle with Darcy Carton,
Susan Surrandon, J K. Simmons, when did you discover you
had a talent for not casting your real friends in
your movies, all out your new girls. The fan question, like,

(58:05):
we didn't get the call Marmars was directing, and you
didn't call Lamar got Lamar angle Zale. You guys cast
me in some ship. You know, I don't make anything. Okay,
you don't, don't. We do have one thing called Nick's

(58:27):
Box that we're going to come to when we come
back from her Welcome and we're back with Jake Johnson.

(58:50):
I have to just say, because you're talking about your movies,
you were I feel like the only person that between
seasons would just go off and be in these huge,
ginormous films while the rest of us were like no energy,
I don't think like a center with Tom Cruise and
coming back and that for me was always the most

(59:12):
exciting thing. It was like the kid coming back to
school that had had like the best summer, well that
one specifically, So um oh you came back and you
were super fit too, very into health. Yeah. No, I
wasn't into health. I was super fit because he wanted
to work out together and I was very afraid of
Tom Cruise. But that job happened because you know, I

(59:35):
think if you get an opportunity to work with Tom Cruise,
you take it. Yeah, but look this this interview is
spitting in a way that's not reality. We were all
working I understand I'm the one being interview, but if
we were doing this Vulture and they were doing it,
we all did projects over the summer sky. Really who

(59:58):
else was doing stuff over this? I'm and I'm just
saying that it was like a Jurassic Park and what
to speak for yourself and maybe remember but moving with
Arnold Schwarzenegger that happened writing these questions? You too, that's

(01:00:24):
the problem we are. Um, Okay. We have a thing
called Knick's Box, or as I like to call it,
your box today it's Jake's Box. This is a segment
where we crawled into the back of Nick's closet and
pull out some memories that the cast and crew New
Girl have kept hidden for years. Uh, Jake, what's your

(01:00:47):
favorite memory from your time working on New Girl or
worse memory? Aren't just your most prominent memory? You know, honestly,
and you know I've said it, We've all obviously I've
done a ton of press for this. Oh, but it
was working with all you guys and it was Max,
and it was Damon, and it would be the Wriggles
of the world. It was you know, when we talk

(01:01:09):
about the long bits, I don't remember a lot of
the episodes. I don't remember certain lines. Um. I don't
remember a lot of the drama. Like you know, you'd
have like a hard day and somebody Maddie for screwing
up a line. It's like you didn't hit the joke.
All that ship faded away from me. And what I
really remember about it was, you know, so many laughs

(01:01:30):
and so many hours of doing stuff where you'd get
slap happy and you'd be acting really immature. Um. And
it was probably annoying for those outside of the circle
of actors, you know, because they're holding bloom mikes. But
like there were many times I just couldn't stop laughing.
Or you're off camera and someone's doing a performance and

(01:01:51):
you guys have done a bit that like like I remember,
like other actors would make sounds during performances to try
to throw you up. So like if I was this thing,
I would hear like whoop, whoop. You're like, you know,
that is quote unquote really bad, but it made it so,
it made it the experience so joyful, and I do

(01:02:13):
feel like what people take from it is there was
a lot of joy, and there was a lot of laughs,
and there was a lot of like genuine fun. We
were heaven where people say like, how much are you
like your character? And the truth is, I don't think
any of us are really like any of our characters.
But our joy was real and our bits were real,
and I think people can feel that when I watch
a show that I like, you feel like you get

(01:02:33):
a sense that like that that must have been fun
to do, and a lot of New Girl was really
fun to do. Yeah, And that's kind of my big
takeaway from it. I don't really There'll be moments, things
will come up, like even Trent or Ralph passing away.
You know, I got hit by a way of saddness.
But I don't really remember much of the stuff we

(01:02:54):
did besides like being on set when he was around.
Now he's being happy that he was there and just
being like, oh yeah. It was always like fine. Though
you would say certain episodes and you'd be like, oh great,
like these three people are here now, cool, Jake. People
don't remember what you did for them, They remember how
you made them feel and that's what's important. That's the takeaway.

(01:03:16):
I'm gonna take off you come back anytime, are you. Honestly,
that's my same takeaway. I don't remember all the like
any drama or anything. I don't remember at all. I

(01:03:39):
do remember loving doing bits with you guys. I just
miss you guys. I mean obviously because we're doing a
rewatch podcast. Like, I love working with all of you
guys so much, and I love, you know, the camaraderie
with the crew and the writers, and that was my
favorite part two. So mine was just that there was

(01:04:00):
no pressure. It was no again, we're we're friends, and
now you work on a project, You're like, Okay, I
can't suck. I can't you know, are they gonna? Are
they gonna give me ship? Like real ship, like a
new girl? If I sucked, if I did something, you
would call me yeah. It's like this was part of
the part of the bit. On other projects. If you
came in and we were having like a bad mental

(01:04:22):
day and you couldn't remember it, I would know this
is going to make everybody else have the best day
and they're gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna be the guy
in the corner getting railed on. But it's funny. Max
not knowing his lines was one of the funniest thing.
He would He would curse himself out. He would call
fuck Max. And I don't know if you guys felt

(01:04:46):
this before doing this kind of rewatch. I don't remember storylines,
so I don't remember like arcs. I don't remember, like
you know, there'll be something. I'll be doing an interview
for something and they'll bring up something. They go like,
how do you feel about that decision? And I'm like,
I don't even like and I'm not trying to be
disrespectful about it. I'm like, that's not what I remember about. Yeah,

(01:05:08):
I remember the whole package, the final product, the final
twenty two minutes, Like we were there for fifty hours
what they cut in and like eight eight hours, but
like and you know, if you're doing a scene and
they cut it down to a minute and a half.
We performed that scene especially, it was like a big

(01:05:28):
dinner table scene. We were there for twelve hours doing
bits and the entire comedic bits were cut out, But
I like those are I don't even know. Like I
had a memory the other day when we were at
the bar uh that that little dancer Tario. Maybe I
say that wrong the more you know how I'm talking about.

(01:05:52):
So it's started to know how it started. But when
one of when somebody would go, oh, whoever this single
like Terrrio Dance, and you know, the editors or whoever
didn't like it. I don't think any of it's in
the show. But doing Terrio was like for four months

(01:06:12):
what I looked forward to going to work that when
somebod would come in a scene and be like, bad news,
I've been fired. All you have to do is off
cameras go oh, you know likes For me, I'm like,
I'm about to get a show like I'm gonna see
somebody full on Tario. And the other joke was like
if you get somebody off their game. I always loved

(01:06:33):
in that show, like all right, like I threw off
a really weird line, how are they going to get
back on story? And for me, the like skill was
you take a really weird improv, but then you're driving
you got another line like get us back and make
it usable. That's it's so fun. Like do you remember
Dike that we made up a song and convinced Lettlemore

(01:06:54):
and that it was single, and I remember I was
I'm gonna bout like a sexy dancer. It was like,
oh my god, really do know that something? And he's like,
I'm just go again. I was like, my god, I
almost saying dance. But then the beauty of that show

(01:07:16):
and honestly, it's just like mix the show I'm doing.
We don't really improvise, so you can add like a
line or two, but we would be doing that, Oh
my god, I'm a sexy as dancer. They would call action,
and the thing is, we're al still going like this
the first chance if if you two are talking in
that scene and I'm gonna get a beer, well I'm

(01:07:38):
gonna then go excuse me, I'm gonna get a beer
sexy as dancer. Well, guys, line might have made it
all of a sudden for some reason, Jet makes us
a sexy has a dancer, and it was like, that
is so funny and whenever you can sneak something really
weird and he would make it into the show. That

(01:07:59):
always felt like such a point of pride if you
like did a really weird improv and then it was
in and you'd be an a d R and I
would be like, ohn't has made it on the network television?
That was probably like the ultimate? Yeah, what's the ultimate?
When when you you have a bit that's weird and
it makes it up and it makes it and then

(01:08:20):
it starts. I was like, that was always when you
talk about like the shared experience, I'll never it's That's
the thing I think about the most with this show
is very few people will understand what it was truly
like because they only see that twenty two minutes or
they read in you know, and an interview that you've done,

(01:08:42):
and that's what they think it all was about. I
remember maybe it was the end of season one, season two.
That time kind of blurs, but you showed up, you
drove up to the trailers in like a brand new car.
Then it would have been se alexis Yeah, no, season two,

(01:09:03):
I got rid of the that's right, and we were
like like a convertible, right, like you could take the
top down or something that I thought it was. I
was like what, and You're like, you know what, I
think this is real, Like I think this show is
staying around and I feel finally comfortable to do it.
And I looked across at my like real beat up

(01:09:24):
first car that I came to l A with that
the side mirror was like in the glove box and
you're like, you know, I think it's safe and Hannah,
then you said how did you get that? And I
gave you my contact? That's right, you still I still
used today. I showed up in Alexis a week later,

(01:09:46):
but I remember you took me for like a spin
around a lot and you're just like, this could be
your life. You can do it here now. I remember
if he with new cars like about the same week. Yeah,
because for me, I knew season one well. It was
funny with that show because Max had a really good

(01:10:06):
instinct about what was going to happen in a way
that I didn't. We're early on. He would be like
midway through the pilot, I remember getting really nervous I
was gonna get fired, and he's like, you're not getting fired.
The show is gonna be fine. And then when we
got picked up he would say season one, he'd be
we'll be here at least five years, and I'm like,
how the fund could you say? He's like, look at
the ratings. I'm like, dude, we could be gone next

(01:10:27):
week and so for me, it took after we got
picked up and we were guaranteed thirteen more into season two.
That's when I remember being like, no matter what, now,
I've been thirty episodes of a television show. That to
me was you know, when I moved out to l
A if you told him I was gonna be thirty
episodes of a network show. I did it. Let's go
homeixus drive around in a convertible and head home. You

(01:10:53):
guys did it wrong? Though? I got mine for free?
That was the play. Oh my god, option yeah, are
did driving a Lamborghini though, Hey, listen, let's not talk
about my cars now, okay, let's not talk about guys
to buy the house. And then you're like, but let
me see the garage. Guys, if you're just tuning in,

(01:11:18):
we had Jake Johnson on our show. Um you if
you decided to tune in fifty five minutes into this episode, UM, Jake,
this has been a great man. Great to see you, guys.
All right, great to see you by you've been listening

(01:11:39):
to Welcome to Our Show, a New Girl recap podcast.
Welcome to Our Show is a production of I Heart Radio,
hosted by Zoey Deschanel, Lamar and Morris and Hannah Simone.
Our executive producers Joel Mooney. Our engineer and editor is
Daniel Goodman. Welcome to Our Show theme song was written
by zoe Deschanel, performed and produced by Zoey Deschanel and
Pierre de Reader. Follow us on Instagram and Welcome to

(01:12:01):
our Show pot. If you have a question you'd like
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