Transcript of Colman Domingo New

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Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Good Hang. We have an awesome guest today, the great Colman Domingo, and Colman and I have so much fun. We, we talk about his beautiful mother Edith and how she shaped his life. We talk about our shared love of dancing and why it means so much to us. Uh, we talk about peptides, what are they and who's taking them. And we also celebrate the fact that he's working with Steven Spielberg in his new movie Disclosure Day, which is coming out this week. Big summer hit, blockbuster baby. Speaking of Steven Spielberg, Steven joins us as our guest today who's gonna talk to us about Coleman. He's gonna talk well behind Coleman's back. And if you don't know who Steven Spielberg is, pfft, I don't know what to tell you. You know, 50 years ago he made Jaws. Last year he was producing Hamnet, and he's made every single movie in between. So Steven Spielberg, Mr. Spielberg, uh, are you there? This episode of Good Hang is presented by Palmolive. Family time isn't just the big moments. It's weeknight dinners, sitting around the table, everyone talking at once. So when the plates are empty and the sink is full, use Palmolive Ultra.

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Oh my God, I'm on Good Hang. Good Lord.

We gotta get you into the stewd.

We tried. We weren't— We couldn't schedule it.

Dang. Yeah, we were like, "We don't have time." Yeah, I tried.

I gotta make a few more hits before I agree to getting on your show.

We were like, "We just wanna see one or two more things from Stephen before we say yes." Yeah, I know.

I know. I love the audition process.

Stephen, you are my subconscious. Like, the work that you have made is in my brain. You have— You shaped my entire life. You are a Gen X director through and through.

Oh, thank you. Thank you. I love that I'm in your subconscious, and yet you can still be funny. With my plethora of comedies, you know?

Well, I mean, I feel like I've gotten a chance to— Been lucky enough to see you at— places and events and shows and stuff. And I got to see you recently at the SNL 50th.

That was great. That was just great. It was hard to believe. I mean, I was there the first show in 1975. I was in the audience.

Get outta here. Really?

Yeah, it was the very first show. Yeah, I flew all the way to New York 'cause it was in the air. It was one of those things where my generation suddenly was being included in something that was going to define to find us. And, um, it was just an— I just somehow knew I had to be there for it. And I just, you know, got a ticket and went in the audience and watched.

Where did you sit and watch? Were you on the floor or were you up in the balcony?

No, I didn't know anybody. I just, uh, I was, I was in the stands. Jaws had come out in June. I, I think the first, uh, SNL show was in October or September.

October 11th.

Yeah. And, uh, and I was there and it was incredibly— it spoke to me. And, uh, I— after it was over, I'd left with audience, and somebody came running up and grabbed me and dragged me kind of backstage to Belushi. And so John said, you're the guy that made the shark movie? And I said, yeah. He says, you got to meet Danny. And he dragged me over to Danny, and that was the beginning of my first— the first event that I really became a formal groupie. Because I, I've always, I've always, I've always gravitated toward comedy and stand-up and comedians and And I go, you know, Robin Williams was one of my dearest, closest friends of my whole life. And Albert Brooks and I sort of started out together. And so that sort of, but I'm not the funny guy. I'm a good audience for all of you. I'm your best audience.

Well, you're here today to talk about Colman Domingo. And he's a new friend of mine. I actually met him on a dance floor, which I wanna talk about because we were kind of, we met just like at a party.

Makes sense. So makes sense.

But when did you first meet, Colman? Where did you guys first meet?

I was going to make a movie about Ira and George Gershwin. And I was gonna make a movie about the process of writing and staging, uh, Porgy and Bess. And, um, I had a script, and I was excited, and I was casting it. And I was looking for, um, Todd Duncan, who played Porgy. And I met a lot of actors. And when Colman came in to the meeting, that was the first time I became certain— first time I met Colman. But I intended after that meeting to cast him as Todd Duncan.

Oh, wow. I mean, Stephen, people must come in to meet with you, and you must feel their nerves. So how do you get people to relax when they're having a meeting with you.

Well, you know, it disadvantages me if somebody comes in and I can't find them in a 15, 20, or 30-minute meeting because of whatever expectations they bring to the meeting, how nervous some of them are. Some of them aren't nervous at all, but a lot of them are. And I had this problem only because of success, because success creates a kind of false front. It's kind of like, you know, I've always seen myself early in my career career being successful, but also feeling a little bit like a fake Western street on a Hollywood backlot where you walk around behind the facade and there's just a bunch of 2x4s holding up the facade. And people— if people only knew how nervous I am and how nervous, stressed I get, they wouldn't be so nervous in front of me. And I really was. And I just— I came up with a method which I used for a couple of pictures, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark. And I decided that all the actors that I audition in person, I'm gonna meet them in a kitchen and we're gonna cook. We're gonna actually cook. And so, for a couple of movies, starting with Raiders, everybody that came in met me in a kitchen, and we were cooking stuff.

And that was how everybody relaxed around good food.

That's so smart because you're also— you're just getting to do something. Like, it's like, "What do I do with my hands?" basically, is what you're thinking half the time when you're stressed.

Yeah, everybody becomes so real when they're covered— they're covered in flour. And flour and, you know, and you're trying to break an egg and the egg spills out on the counter. I mean, everybody becomes the best version of themselves.

Although, there must have been people like, "Good news, you have an audition.

Bad news, you need to learn how to cook in a week." Well, the good news is you're gonna be part of a recipe, but the bad news is you're only here for 30 minutes and you're not gonna be able to eat what we make. Yeah, yeah. So, all the actors that came in at the end of the day were able to actually, feast on what we had prepared starting at 9 o'clock in the morning, right?

So you meet Coleman, and now you guys are— And did you work together on any other films after that?

What happened was I was— I had actually cast a lot of the movie, and then I had a— Something that doesn't often happen when I'm that far down the line, but I had a kind of second thought. About the project, and I decided not to continue making it. That's the only reason Colman and I didn't work together then. But remembering Colman as well as I did, I cast him in Lincoln playing Private Greene.

Right.

And that was the first time we actually professionally worked together.

And what is it like working with him?

Kind of like riding in a Waymo where you don't have to do anything but sit in the backseat. 'Cause the car drives very well by itself. And Colman is— When he graces your set, he brings kindness, and he brings collaboration, and he brings love, and he brings a real sense of, "Let's have fun while we're working hard. While we're working hard to be serious, can we also have fun?" And he makes a director look forward to going to work the next morning.

Oh, what a dream. It's a dream. I mean, I'm sure you're at the point in your life and career too, where you can tell, like, Sometimes, you know, people are motivated by a lot of things, as you know as a director, and you have to kind of find out what motivates them. But when someone has talent and ease—

Yeah.

—it's not always the case.

No, it's not always the case. I've been lucky. I've had actors, I've had a lot of actors who have been such great collaborators, you know, to work with, even on really, you know, trying projects. But Colman isn't about himself. He's about the whole. You know, he's about— It's like the play is the thing, as Shakespeare said. He's about the play. He's about the whole. He's as interested in the actors he's playing opposite, even more so than he is about his own role in the whole. And that's rare. That's really, really rare. He is so full of empathy. And because my movie deals— Disclosure Day, you know, deals a lot with the importance of empathy, Colman was a very easy choice for me to make to invite him to be part of this company and part of this ensemble.

We cannot wait for this movie. Another hit, Stephen.

Huge! Knock on my wooden head.

Listen, I'm calling it right now. Okay? Now, I don't believe in jinxes, and I call it as I see it. And I'm telling you something, than this movie is, everybody is ready for this movie. It looks so good. I still don't really know what it's about, which is great. I think it has to do with aliens, but you tell me, I don't know.

Well, what can I say? Here's looking at you, here's looking at you, kid.

Do you have a question for me that I could ask him? Big or small. I've been thinking about that.

I— You know, he's such a success, and he's so consistently successful. I'd love you to ask him, was there ever a film he auditioned for that he didn't get and he was desperate to get?

Ooh. Oh, yeah. I mean, he— I bet he has an answer to that because I know that he— I mean, when I look at his career, he's really done a ton of different types of work. I mean, Colman, talk about empathy. He can play— He has a huge range. He can play, like, just a love bomb of a person, and he can play a really sinister, scary person too. Yes. Okay, that's a good one. Well, Stephen, thank you so much for your time. It really means a lot. I know Colman will be thrilled that we talked, and I can't wait to talk to him about what it's like to work with you.

I can't wait.

I can't wait to watch this. Woo-hoo-hoo! This episode is brought to you by Visible. How many of you are currently listening to this podcast on your phone? If you are chronically ill, If you're constantly online like we all are these days, your wireless network should be too. With Visible, you get unlimited 5G data and unlimited hotspot, all powered by Verizon's 5G network. The perks of big wireless for half the cost. Visible isn't just a wireless plan, it's unlimited wireless designed to always keep you connected and no contract holding you back. Switch today at visible.com. Plans start at $25 a month. Or get our premium Visible+ Pro plan and save $10 on your first month. Your first month when you use promo code HANG, an exclusive offer for podcast listeners. Terms apply. See visible.com for plan features and network management details. Woo-hoo-hoo! Oh my God, Coleman Domingo is here, and he brought me—

I bought you a meal. I bought you an egg.

Okay, now I've been starting to get gifts, which is not required.

That's when it becomes ridiculous, right? When someone finds out what you like.

That you like something. Okay, let's discuss this.

For the listeners, what did you bring me? I bought you a fake egg. It's like cute.

It's a keychain. Look at that. Okay. I'm going to describe this while I show it. It is a fried egg on a keychain. Yes.

Do you like fried eggs? I love fried eggs.

Oh, good. Me too. Sunny side up.

I love a sunny side up because it gets things moving. That's why. Not to start off there and just go to my bowels, but I guess that's where we're going.

Let me ask you about your sunny side up. Do you like to— because this yolk— is very exposed. Do you like to flip it once and get like— I like it.

I like that in a little crunch. Me too. Exactly. And then like, so you get— then it bursts with a little hot sauce on there. A little—

this is a rubber egg. Also, Coleman brought me, um, um, plastic silverware in case I wanted to pretend to eat it. I'm not a crazy person, Coleman.

I know this is fake. Okay. Oh my God. Okay, where should it go? This is now gonna get ridiculous.

Well, I don't wanna brag, but we got a couple A-list stuff up here. We got some pee pods from Jennifer Lawrence. We have— Where did the raspberries come from? Oh, the raspberries. Where did they come from? Oh, MoMA. The MoMA sent us fake raspberries.

MoMA's very good.

Let's put it next to MoMA's raspberries.

I think that's good. Raspberries and eggs. Wait, there's another egg! And there's an egg here! There's another egg there! Look at that, look at that. Oh my God. Okay, that's too cute. Oh my God, I made the board. It's so good. This is already a good hang, a good hang with Amy Poehler.

And you know, Ina gave us— Ina Garten gave us that giant chicken.

That's actually really good.

Isn't that a really good chicken?

It's really good. I'm really fascinated by all of this.

I know, isn't it cool? It's very satisfying. It's good.

And I think— When did— Now, you didn't know I was gonna interview you. When did the fetish start? Tell us about your childhood.

Coleman. Yes. I don't know, but it's like good art. I don't know how to explain what I like, but I know it when I see it. Yeah. I love that egg that you brought me. You're very welcome. Because it's realistic. I don't like children's fake food. I'm an adult.

Grown people's fake food. Exactly. What are you? You're not nuts. It's so good. It's so— Colman Domingo was here.

I was really thinking about what to wear because I knew you'd look incredible.

Do I look good? I'm fine. I'm wearing a lime green sweater situation. You can wear anything. Really?

You look incredible in everything. You have the best style. Thank you. And it like, the style is bigger than just clothes. Like you have a way of moving through the world where you like, I find clothes and fashion to be kind of confusing for me. Like I'm always trying to figure it out. I don't always feel like it's a world that I understand or that I'm a part of. But whenever I see you wearing whatever you're wearing, It's like an invitation. I think it is. I think it literally—

that's what I think it is. It's like, okay, even like what I was supposed to wear, there was a jacket with this. And I thought, "Oh, no, I'm gonna go hang with Amy. She's a friend." Gotta show those guns, baby. I gotta show the guns. I gotta sex it up a little bit. No, I should not.

That's what I emailed you.

I was like, "If you're gonna come, bring it." You gotta bring it.

Bring that sex.

That's what our viewers want. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. So, but I thought like, "I just wanna feel relaxed with you." Yes. The jacket was just all like, you know, buttoned up, very serious business meeting. Yeah, but I was like, no, I want to feel a little sexy.

And that's— but it's— that's exactly the point. Like, the clothes never wear you. Like, you are always like, how do I get into this feeling? Right? This character? Yeah. And that is what I have learned about, about wearing something. Like, figuring out how to dress is like, basically, how do you want to feel?

What do you consider your style to be? When you wear a suit, I can always tell you look so sexy and beautiful in yourself. God bless. Yes, exactly. You didn't know that this was going to happen today, did you?

I mean, I hoped. I hoped. No, but you believe it.

But you do, because also I can tell that you feel very comfortable in your body. It's comfort. I think you stay— listen, Diane Keaton did that. Diane Keaton was like— she perfected her style in a way that was just her own. Yeah. And she was always cool and chic and had these masculine vibes to it. And that was her. Who are you wearing? Oh, Paul Smith today. Heard of him. Yeah, Paul Smith.

Right? Okay, we got— we're kind of new friends. We're getting to know each other. And I feel like I was trying to remember when we first met, and I think we first really met nonverbally on a dance floor.

That's exact— You do remember it. I do. It was at a Night Before party. Right. One of the Emmy— The Emmy Night Before parties. And we just— I don't know, the DJ was killing it that night. And you and I— You were wearing a suit, actually. Ooh. You were wearing a suit, and you and I, we just cut it up. And I was like, "Oh my God, Amy Poehler can dance her ass off." Oh my God, thank you for saying that.

Right back at you. I mean—

We were killing it.

Why do you love to dance? I always love to ask people who love to dance why they love to dance.

You know, I grew up— Growing up, I think my parents used to always throw the best parties. So New Year's Eve was always at our house and we didn't have— we lived in a row home in Philadelphia. And so the basement, we had a bar down there. Oh my God, we had a basement too. We really did. Those dark, dank basements.

Were your poles carpeted?

Oh, absolutely carpeted. We had a black Sheba velvet on the wall. Like, you know, she's like some Black woman with an afro and tits out and a panther. And I would always look at it and just confused.

Like, remember, like string art? Yes, absolutely.

All of that was down there. Everything was down there. Our Christmas toys were in the back, but that's a whole other thing. Yeah. Um, but it was really, we would have dance parties down there. So we'd go down there and the music was cranked up and we danced to, we just danced. So my, I come from a family that loved to dance. My mother, before she passed, my mother passed in 2006. One of the things that my sister, um, always loves to tell me is like, just the week before my, my mom was dancing in the aisles of Pathmark. Oh, she was dancing like, you know, playing whatever music was playing. She was dancing in the aisles. I'm like, so the idea that that's my sister's memory of my mother dancing. So I come from a family I come from people who like can dance anywhere. Like I have zero shame. Me too.

And in fact, you know, I get, it actually helps me expel a lot of my social anxiety. Yeah. Like I'd rather dance than talk.

Yes. Same here. We danced like, do you remember that show Dancing on Air?

Oh, well we had danced. Well, you were from Philly.

Dancing on Air was Philly.

Dancing on Air was Philly. Dance USA? Dance USA. Yeah, exactly. With Kelly Ripa. With Kelly Ripa. Exactly.

Yeah, exactly, exactly. But like you and I danced like from that generation of dancing.

Yeah, we're the same age basically. Yeah, we're the same age.

When you cut, you tear it down 100%.

We really move.

And it's like, because they don't move like that anymore. We move like we were trying to hurt somebody.

There's a whole thing, a trend on TikTok about how, like, showing the difference between how Gen X and Gen Z dance, because Gen Z barely moves. They barely move. And Gen X, like, clear the dance floor. Oh, did you have high school dances? And what was playing? What music was playing at those?

Listen, they had high school dances. Now, I went to high school with Will Smith, by the way. They had high school But I was a nerd.

You went to high school with Will Smith?

With Will Smith, yeah. Incredible.

Same grade?

Uh, he was one right above me.

Oh my God. What was he like in high school? You know, he was a cool kid.

He was actually a cool kid. He was actually very friendly, and everybody really liked him. And he performed at the Wynn Ballroom in Philadelphia, he and Jazzy Jeff. But I was a bona fide nerd. I didn't do any of that stuff. Oh, man. No, no, no. I didn't come— I didn't turn into this until, like, second year of college. 'Cause I decided I didn't want to be like that anymore. I was very shy and bookish and very awkward.

So you weren't like, Tearing up the dance floor in high school?

No, no, no. I was dancing at home with my siblings, but in high school, I didn't go to any dances. I know. This is where it gets sad. Mm-mm. I didn't go to any dances.

You didn't go. You're feeling too shy.

I went to my prom, but I got there late because my prom date, Terri Hayes, was very late getting her dress made. So we got there very late. So I didn't even dance at my prom. Okay. Okay. This has gotten very tragic.

Very tragic. No, well, because I feel like— I feel like that this idea of coming into your own and like feeling your power, getting into your sense of power and like who you are and all this stuff is like the theme of the, for me, your career, your life, your interview. Because I find your, my experience with you, I feel like you really have worked very hard to know who you are and to like show that person to the world, basically.

I mean, I think, listen, that started, I think one of my first jobs was at Barnes Noble bookstore in Philadelphia. And I would take care of the self-help section. This was when I was 18 years old. Self-help and travel. Those were the sections I took care of. And I would be in the corners and I'd be reading these books on how to become a person, to be very honest, because I felt I was awkward. I wasn't— I wasn't gregarious or anything, but I knew I wanted to become something else. And so I went to self-help books and I was like, "Oh, to become a different person, you have to do certain things or adopt certain traits." And I think while I was becoming an actor as well, it was very useful. So I was actually trying on these different things in the way I dressed, the way I expressed myself, the way I walked around. I spoke, you know what I mean? Where I pitched my voice, all of that stuff. So I feel like all of this was— has been a bit manufactured, you know, because I didn't have— I was— I didn't have it before.

Well, you know, you've talked so much about your mom, who seems so amazing.

Oh, you would've loved her. You would've loved her.

I bet. And what would she tell you in those little awkward times? Like, what would she— how would she reassure you or— or just like gently kind of walk by, you know, alongside you while you were feeling awkward? What would she say?

I'll tell you this. I have to tell you a story now because of that, because you just made me think of this. When I was a kid, I used to always suffer from like really terrible asthma. And one time I was hospitalized and it was right— and I went in right before, maybe about like November 1st or something like that. And I was in the hospital and, you know, just breathing and stuff like that, getting myself together. And then when I came out, when I was healthier, I came out and they picked— my mom picked me up at night and we're driving through the city and there's all these lights up, all the Christmas lights and stuff like that everywhere. And she said— and I said, "Oh my God, look at all the lights." She says, "You know, they all put up their lights to welcome you back home." Oh, come on. And so this is the mother that I had. She would make me believe that I was very special and that the world was set up to do me more good than harm. Constantly. She was constantly going against any narrative of what the world was and telling me that I was special, that I was useful, that I can be whatever I wanted.

I can travel because I was always— I always had my head in a book. I was looking at images of ancient Egypt and Rome. And she said, "When you grow up, you can go to those places. Go to—" So I always had a huge imagination because of my mother. Yeah. So, so it was in all those moments when she was just like, when I wasn't feeling great about myself or anything, she would tell me how smart I was. Yes. Um, that was the thing. She always told me I was smart. Yeah. She always said, you're, you're so smart and you're so handsome.

That kind of early conditioning, it makes— I mean, I'm saying the obvious, but it's like a— it's like actually a privilege. I'm learning more and more it's a privilege to have had a parent or parents that said that to you. Yeah.

Because it's— was your parents like that as well?

Absolutely. Where they would be like, you can do that whisper of, you can do what you want to do. You're smart, you're capable, you're useful, you're You're— you— You have purpose. You have— Yes, exactly. There's a reason why you're here. All that stuff. Like, when it's said out loud, it changes the course of your life. I think it does.

I think I've been given so many beautiful moments by people throughout my life who told me something that I didn't— maybe I didn't see in myself. Even how I became an actor. One of my early college teachers— I took an acting class just as an elective too. Again, my mother said, "Take a class for fun. Take something to get you outside of yourself." And so we thought about an acting class. "Acting class." And I took this class, and then this teacher, Chris Wolfe, he said to me, first time I ever heard this from anyone, truly, he said, "Have you ever thought about acting as a profession?" I was like, "I don't even know what that is." Like, I don't know how— I'm a kid in West Philly.

I don't know anything. Yeah. What were your parents' jobs?

No, my parents— my mom was— my mom worked at a bank. For a long time, she cleaned houses, and then she kept going back to school. Eventually, she worked in customer service at, like, First Pennsylvania Bank. My dad sanded hardwood floors. He was my stepfather, and he was just a blue-collar worker. I would work with him in the summers and make some extra money. So they were very— very much like, just like, just good working-class folks. And they wanted you to go to college and do better than them. And, you know, so they were just like, at least trying to prepare you for things. But I'd never heard until I got to college that someone said, "I would be curious if you followed this path as an actor," he said, "because I think you have a gift." And I realized that I'd never heard someone tell me I had a gift at something. Right. And so suddenly I was like, I was like, "Gift?" And he said this. It was like a challenge. He said, "I'd be very curious if you followed that path." That was like mic drop.

I mean, because we— I mean, I don't— I want to get into this this early, but Colman and I are both Enneagram 8s.

Yeah, we are. Yeah, we are. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

And we love a challenge.

We got that from—

Tina Fey was like, "What's your Enneagram?" Tina made Colman take the test on the set of The Four Seasons. Take the test! He got an 8. I was thrilled.

And please explain that again, what the 8 means.

Oh, God. My audience is going to be like, "But we're the challengers." I guess the point is he challenged you. I'd be so curious what you do with that gift. And that is a motivating factor for us is like a little bit of a challenge is exciting for us. Yes. Sometimes it's like our way through. Like we like a little challenge. I mean, we're so easy. Everyone, everybody has their ways that like we think we're not manipulated, but we respond well to when someone says, I bet you can't do that. Oh my God.

We're like, I bet I can do that.

Yes, it's true. It's true. I'm the same way when someone's like, mm. Maybe, maybe that's not for you. I'm like, no, it's 100% for me for the rest of my life.

Oh my God. Where are you from?

From Boston. I'm right around the park.

We were, you know. But see, it's a city of underdogs as well. Like Tina and I, we always talk about that. We're like, there's something that Philly in us, like, yeah, you don't see—

Philly makes Boston look like London, England. See, Tina and I always talk about it.

It's true.

It's true. Philly is wild.

It is wild. I mean, look at their mascot. I mean, it's just like, I mean, you're a Phillies fanatic. I mean, that's insane. I don't even, still don't even know what that is.

It's an insane person.

I mean, we have the Mummers Parade. We have the Mummers is like just drunk Irish people on New Year's Day.

The only time I've ever been called a C-word to my face is at the Philadelphia airport. Wait, what? When Tina and I were, when Tina and I were touring and we wouldn't give a guy, um, uh, one of the weird like, you know, autograph people there when they follow you around the airport and gets really stressful. And we were like, oh, you're stressing us out a little bit. And, um, and then he flew along the C board and Tina turned to me and she goes, welcome to Philly. And I was like, yes!

It was like a badge of honor though. You're like, yeah, exactly, they like me here.

But I want to say, but, but you getting out of Philly, you go to San Francisco. But, but I just want to stay with one thing that I love, Colman, about you is like also So there's like these, um, there's a shy kid trying to find his way, mom who told him he was special and the Christmas lights were for him. You go from Philly to San Fran. Why San Fran? Why do you move there?

Because, uh, I had a couple college buddies. It always happens. This is usually the story. I have a couple college buddies, actually 3 of them that were living in a studio apartment in the Tenderloin District. They were like, San Francisco is amazing. I was struggling in school. I was working 2 jobs and trying to matriculate. And I was like, my mom was like, you know, you can take a semester off and you can always go back to school. And so I had these friends of mine that moved out to San Francisco. They're like, come out. I was like, great. Like literally come out. 'Cause I was also, that's another sidebar. I, I just made my own joke. I was gonna come out, you know, to San Francisco.

You're like, come out and also shoot.

Just come out everywhere. Sure. I mean, Great. So then I moved to San Francisco and it was 4 guys living in a studio apartment in the Tenderloin District. And if anyone out there doesn't know the Tenderloin District, you know, they have—

Yeah, tell everybody about that.

You know, ladies of the night and, you know.

Yeah, it was a really wild and exciting time in the '90s.

Very exciting. But '90s, that's when it was like crisp. Yeah. Rough.

What was your rent? Do you remember how much your rent was? Oh, I do remember my—

it was— for that studio was $625. Split 4 ways? Split 4 ways. And we were just like there to like— and I literally slept— this is also a term. Terrible joke, but I literally slept in a closet.

And every morning you'd come out of the closet.

Because that was it. We had a walk-in closet. And so I was the third guy, fourth guy moving in there. And I literally slept in a walk-in closet.

And you're too tall. I mean, for people that don't know or can't, or haven't been next to, had the pleasure of being next to you, you're 6'2". 6'2". That's right. Congrats.

Tall drink of water. That's what they say.

Because all these teeny tiny actors, there's a lot of actors. There's a lot of little actors. Yeah, there are. And, you know, I kind of get it because, like, you know, it's— It's good for camera? I love being in a scene with a 6'2" gentleman. It's kind of hot, right? Also, it's just a great view. Like, it's a great angle. Like, when we turn around, the camera's gonna be up here. Okay, so you go to San Fran, you're there, you're working as a bartender, you're writing plays. Do you remember the first play that you wrote?

What was it about? The first play I wrote was called Up Jump Springtime. And that is the title of a Stan Getz and Abbey Lincoln song. And it goes, "I was out promenading and high hopes were fading that dreams ever really come true. Then up jumped springtime. I got a look at you." And it was a play that I wrote. I adapted a bit of a novel and I sort of embedded my work in there as well. It really was about coming of age as a young queer man. And I had 3 actors. We play all the roles. Wow. We play Men, women, lovers, mothers, fathers, sisters, whatever. But it was really about the experience that nobody was writing about at the time.

It must have felt so good to be a successful playwright while you were also auditioning and being an actor.

I think so, but to be honest, I didn't consider myself a pla— I considered myself a writer at that time, and then I grew into becoming a playwright.

What year was this that you're writing? What year?

I started writing about 1997. The last play— I've written plays and musicals. I've written musicals. The Donna Summer musical. Oh, I wanna talk about that. That's— I wrote a musical about that.

You wrote the book for the Donna Summer musical. Yeah, I know, right? I mean, again, in that high school world of like, the dances we were at or we weren't at, Donna Summer, her music was so important to our generation. Yeah. And to every generation. But I feel like Donna Summer doesn't quite get spoken about enough. She doesn't.

And she was one of the greatest singers, I think, that has ever walked this planet.

I agree.

Because also her voice, she could do anything with her voice. Yeah. She could sing, She could sing opera, she could sing country, she could sing, you know, disco. I think that her voice— I mean, she even famously talked about her voice.

She was like, "No, I make music, and you just never know where I'm gonna be angled in that way." And then before we move on to you, like, the career stuff, I just wanna pause to talk about— 'Cause is it around this time that you meet your husband?

Oh, no. I met my husband 21 years ago. So, in 2005, I met my husband.

Okay. So, not in San— You met him in—

No, funny, it's a weird thing 'cause I lived in San Francisco for 10 years, moved to New York, I go back to San Francisco to do a show at Berkeley Rep. I go to Berkeley, California. I'm crossing paths, going into a Walgreens with the most beautiful person I think I've ever seen. Not even just beautiful esthetically, but like, just energetically. We never speak. 3 days later, I'm trying to buy a used computer on Craigslist. I couldn't stop thinking about him. And I thought about posting one of the Craigslist missed connections ads. Oh, it's so analog.

It's so analog, right?

I used to read them like crazy. And I get to the second page, Turned the page, and third one down, I remember exactly the placement, and it said, "Saw you outside of Walgreens, Berkeley." He placed it just an hour before I looked. So we were looking for each other, and then we met. And I'm so uncool. We met 3 days later, had our first date, and I literally was like, "I think I love you. You're gonna change my life." That's how uncool I am, though.

But that's so good. That's so direct. Also, everyone that took a look at Raul, like, everyone would be like, "I love you," immediately.

Maybe he got that a lot. Like, "I love you. You're gonna change my life." I get it.

You gotta lock that down really fast.

Yeah, that was, that was it.

But I'm sure, like, but that's you. Like, you're very, I mean, what I'm learning about you, you're in the moment. And also you're, one of the many, many things that I love about getting to know you is you, there's not a lot of like, like you, people know how you feel. Yeah. There's no question. That's a, but that's a love language. Mm-hmm. Like, I'm gonna just tell you how I feel now. I'm gonna take that risk. I'm like, that's, that's what vulnerability is, is like, I'm just gonna tell you right now. I love you. I love you.

Like, that's amazing. Like, no games at all. I'm always telling people to like, don't play any games. Just be straight up.

Just be straight. If you don't like it, you don't like me, or whatever, just tell me.

Then move. Then that takes time away from, you know, just move away, get out the way then. Yes. Because the people who will receive that, they're going to be right there with me.

And so you guys have been together 22 years, 21 years. You know, here at Good Hang, we only allow a few spouses to come. Because, you know, you don't want to have, you don't want to have everybody's wife and husband around. And we've had the the most amazing group of people we've had. Raul's here today. Yeah, he is. We've got— He's in the green room. Hi, Raul. Hey, Raul. Hey. Hi. I love you. Um, Raul's here today. We had Carol Burnett bring her husband, Brian, and we've had Viola Davis's husband, Julius. Oh, that's great. And that's it. That's it.

That's it for the good hang.

That's it. That's it. No more spouses. No.

Raul's like a cat. He's sort of like, you know, you barely even know he's here.

Well, and the cheekbones.

Cheekbones. What? We bought them for the cheekbones.

I mean, both of you guys are like cheekbone city. You guys could open up a cheekbone shop.

That's our next adventure. It is true. And it's funny because sometimes when we're with other people, they can't even tell that we're— it's, I guess it's a compliment. They can't tell that we've been together for so long. Yes. And they can't tell that— they can't tell because we're still like very in love with each other. Yes. And we have fun and we're touchy-feely. Yes. But also then Even when we're in groups of people, they're like, "Oh my God, how do you guys know each other?" "Oh, that's my husband." They're like, "Oh my gosh, that's my bro. But that's also my husband. He's like a lot of fun." Yeah.

And I wish you two could have children together. I know. Just the two of you.

We'll wait for the science to happen. Many things can happen.

Faces alone.

You just want those cheekbones on the baby.

Just those cheekbones on that baby. Maybe we'd have four cheekbones. Was deine Haut braucht, ist was deine Haut braucht. Pigmentflecken reduzieren und vorbeugen durch innovative Wirkstoffe und höchsten UV-Schutz. OIBOS Anti-Age, dein neues Duo gegen Pigmentflecken und Hautalterung. OIBOS, individual skincare. Kaffee in seiner besten Form mit der neuen Qubo One Kapselmaschine von Cibo. In jeder Qubo-Kapsel steckt Spitzenkaffee aus besonderen Anbaugebieten. Für Espresso, Kaffee-Crema oder Kaffee-Grande auf Knopfdruck. Die neue Qubo One überzeugt mit Premium-Design, kompakter Größe und kleinem Einstiegspreis ab 29 €. Dank innovativer PressBrew-Technologie wird jede Tasse besonders aromatisch mitsamt dicker Crema. Entdecke jetzt die Qubo-Kapselmaschinen in deiner Cibo-Filiale und auf cibo.de. DEBORAH: When I've been looking at your career, which you've done so many things, so many different parts all over the spectrum. Like, Colman, you just— you play really intense, like, kind of joyous, love bomb characters. You play deeply complicated and oftentimes scary and terrifying characters. You can do it all. You have done so many different parts. But what I love is your— Your path is the one that I recognize, because we're the same age, of like what all actors kind of did to start. Because you didn't have an in, you were just like, "How do I get started?" Making the work.

And so you do— You're like learning on the job. And I mean, you're even in Law Order, which is like, you're not an actor if you weren't in Law Order.

Exactly, exactly.

What did you play? Do you remember your character?

I was on like 3 or 4 Law Orders. I was on— Different characters? Oh, yeah, yeah, exactly. I remember the Law Order Criminal Intent. Of course. And I played a schizophrenic heroin addict. Okay. I played an attorney. I played an attorney on one of them with Dennis Bucaterris.

You went from the schizophrenic heroin addict to an attorney? Yeah, exactly. That's acting.

Now that's acting. I also was a bartender at a leather— at a gay leather bar. Great.

Exactly. Like, I'm like unpacking the various ball gags as you were telling them about 'Cause you know, what I love about Law Order is that they're so busy.

They're so busy when the cops are talking to them. Like, they're just like, New Yorkers, they don't have time for anybody. They're like, "I'm sorry, I gotta pack these bags while you're talking to me, officer.

What?" "I gotta get the fruit off this truck. I don't have time for that dead girl." It's incredible.

I love watching it in particular for that. I'm like, the walk and talk. We're too busy for these officers to talk to us. I love it. Totally. So I was a very busy bartender.

Yes, exactly. And was it exciting to get those parts at the time?

That was a big gig. Because if you didn't get Law Order, you felt like you were garbage. You were like— I know, I know.

I never got on Law Order. No! And I— is my dream. If I could go back in a time machine, if I could back to the future my life, the one thing I would do differently, and maybe it would change my whole— maybe it would change— Book a Law Order. I would book a Law Order.

I would! That was my goal. But listen, when I lived in San Francisco, the gig was to get booked on Nash Bridges. 'Cause that was it. That was it.

Yeah. I played every—

With Don Johnson. Every dumb criminal on that show. I played one of them. Exactly. And yes. And I, I literally wait, there's one episode and people can watch it. It's my favorite episode of me. I kidnapped Don Johnson's daughter, and then he found me. And I happened to be wearing a Coogee sweater while I was working out. Okay, sure. I was wearing, like, you know that Bill Cosby Coogee sweater? I was wearing a Coogee sweater while I was working out. And he busts through the door, and I'm like, "Oh!" And I throw the weights off, and I'm running. Then he kicks me in the ass through the window. And then he picks me up, he slaps me around. He's like, "Where is she? Where is she?" I'm like, "Ah! Ah!" It's my favorite episode. It's so crazy and rabid, and you're like, "What is happening?" You're wearing— A Coogee sweater while I'm working out. I'm bench pressing. I was like— But also, I was a young actor, so I didn't question it.

I'm like, "You must know more than I do." Yeah, that's what we're wearing.

And at the time, I didn't work out, so I don't know. I thought people worked out in Coogee sweaters.

Acting is so embarrassing. I love it so much. This is the '90s. I love it. Okay, then you go to New York. You're doing a million plays on Broadway and the West End. And I do have some important theater questions because I have such respect for people who do that grind. It is such a grind. It is. It's the hardest job. I mean, to have the hardest part of your day be at the end of your day, to have to show up every day and do the same thing, and you're not getting paid a lot of money when you're doing theater, and you are, you know, you're like being asked to do a lot. But I'm always curious about a couple things. I'm like, "Oh, Colman will tell me the truth." Okay. Yeah. Have you ever thrown up on stage? No. No, I haven't. 'Cause these are some of my stage fears, like my anxieties. What do you do if you have to, in the middle of a scene, go to the bathroom? The bathroom?

You just, you just hold it. You hold it. You hold it.

Although I did, there was a situation where your character went to the bathroom.

You said, you know what, listen, I like, I make sure before I go out, it's a practice. Yeah, you have to go, you have to make that happen. Yes, whatever.

Number one, number two, it's got to happen. You gotta have an egg over easy.

You gotta make it happen.

You're gonna make it happen. Have you ever forgotten lines? On stage?

No, no. But I've had to work with some people who sometimes would flub some things. You'd have to— you have to help support it, make it up.

My biggest nightmare, which is like someone skips ahead. Oh, yeah. When you're in a scene. Oh, I've had that.

Oh, I fully had that. They skipped ahead. I'm like, oh, wait, wait, wait. Exactly. That's a whole thing. I was living stress dream. Yeah, exactly. Oh, no, it's true. And it happens. But that's— but I think that's the joy of it, too. For sure. So you see, you're like, you got— that makes you wily. And you're like, I got to work on my feet. I got to get that storyline back in there. I got to make that cue happen somehow.

I love it. You're such a challenger. Um, have you ever forgotten a prop? Like, been like, gone in a scene to see—

Oh, yeah. I forget my props.

And you reach in your pocket for the—

I think I forgot a gun. I forgot a gun. And I was like— And you were like— I just had to hold it like this. I was real strong. They're looking at me like, "Where's the gun?" And I'm like, "It's right here. Tough." You didn't just point your finger. I didn't point the finger. I kept— I was smart enough to not do that, but I just was strong. And I was like— threat. But there was no gun.

Exactly. Um, have you ever had to say, is there a doctor in the house?

No, but, but somebody said that on my flight the other day, and I was like, they did? And I literally thought, well, I played a doctor before, and I thought, I thought, that's not what they want. They're like, I'm sorry, if someone needs a medical emergency, is there a doctor on board? And I was like, literally for a second I thought, what? I literally thought I was a doctor for a second. I swear to God, I really thought about it. I'm like, I can't do I didn't do anything. I legit didn't do anything.

When did you play a doctor?

I played a doctor on The Knick.

Oh yeah, that show was great. Exactly, yeah. I mean, it must be, to be a doctor, and when you hear, this is why you know you're not a doctor. Because when you hear, is there a doctor on board? And you're like, ooh. But a real, a regular doctor must be like, oh God.

They must be.

They must be.

But also you start thinking like, doctors do different things. There's not one, right? So you think like, well, I have a doctorate. But you really do.

Yes, right.

I have a doctorate. I have a doctorate. You have a doctorate.

I mean, I do not have a doctorate yet.

I have a doctorate. And I feel like—

But it just must be like, oh God, can I pretend I'm not a doctor? You're like, I'm just watching this movie. I just, yeah, I wanna finish.

I wanna finish this.

Yeah, I'm almost done with this season of Summer House. Like, wait, you have a doctorate?

Yeah, I do. I just got two in a month. Isn't that crazy?

Oh my God, congratulations.

It's kind of greedy though too, I think. I just got one from Swarthmore College. I'm a Doctor of Arts as of 4 days ago. Fantastic. And I got one from my alma mater, Temple University. Oh, that must have been really something.

It was really wonderful. You went back and like, did you have to give a speech?

I gave the commencement address at Temple and I gave a little acceptance speech at Swarthmore. And I think what I loved about it, especially right now, I feel like something about being with young people and students and just like, come on, because I feel like they really need to hear some words out here. Like, how's it going to be? And they need to be inspired.

Like, what was your kind of, what was your What's your organizing principle for your temple talk?

Love. Yeah. I really feel like the more that I distill things of what I care about right now, what I inspire people to do is to love more. And whatever that means, I feel like that encompasses a lot. Yeah. If I'm talking about love and service. Yeah. And if people can attach themselves to that in whatever way it is for them. So I feel like I'm talking a lot about that because I feel like that's what we need to hear. I don't want to be, oh, you know, make this world yours. Do this. I'm like, I don't need to do all that. I say, but if you do it with love, whatever you're doing, just participate and feel like that, you know, you have a voice and you can, you can be the change, you know, there's, and don't be afraid of what's out there. There's probably jobs out there that aren't even, don't even have a name yet that you wanna create. So I feel like I just wanna inspire that with their imagination as well.

You know? Well, I mean, the word that I've heard described, a word that is used to describe you a lot is empathy, is the empathetic way in which you in which you not only work with people, because you learn a lot about somebody by how they work. But that makes perfect sense that that's what you would be talking about. Because I mean, in all the characters that you've played, you have the— even characters that feel like they're really the villain of the story, there is— you are always approaching them with that— with basically that they're a human being.

I think so. I think I have to love every character that I play. And I feel like even though the villainous ones, or like, whether I'm playing a pimp or a mistress, Rustin in The Color Purple or Joe Jackson. I feel like I never try to take the lens of what everyone else says about the person. I do my study and my research, and I find out who that person is and find my way in. Usually that person's connected to some part of me in some way.

You're working Color Purple, you're working in Michael— like, the work you've done, the work you've done on stage, Rustin, how did that change? I mean, that portrayal was so beautiful and also just like a part that met you at the time when you were ready for it. Did it feel like that?

It did. It felt like we were meeting each other when we needed each other. Like, this role, this moment to pull Bayard Rustin out of the— For people who don't know, Bayard Rustin was the organizer of the March on Washington. He was an openly gay man at a time, of course, when it was not cool to himself or his body or him having momentum in this world. And he defied all that. And he was brilliant. No one could deny that he was brilliant. He was brilliant and he was smart, but he was always on the sidelines of history. And I felt like, and I can, maybe I'll say it in this way too. I felt that my career was very similar in that way. I would show up, I would do the work. I was a practitioner, but I was always sort of a bit marginalized. And then in a way, just like, oh yeah, that's great. But that, that serves that purpose, but it's never the engine or something. But I knew I could be the engine. And so when I finally got this opportunity, it felt like we were meeting each other. We're like, "Oh, I know this guy.

I've lived with him.

He's a part of me as well." And then also, I just have to talk to you about Sing Sing. Okay. Coleman. Coleman, I watched that on an airplane. And I love to cry on an airplane. Me too.

Me too. It's the best thing.

I love— I bet we're similar. I like to cry by myself on an airplane. Yeah. And hopefully under a blanket. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That must have felt like such a work of— talking about love, like, it must have felt like a— What was it like to make that film?

I think that's exactly what it felt like. It felt like I knew that I had the opportunity to help tell the story of these men in a really complex way. Mm-hmm. Incarcerated men. Yeah. These men were incarcerated, you know, with this beautiful arts program in the center of it. And they hung onto it like it was their, um, It was a new path for them to exhibit empathy and joy and dance and art and all this other way, all this other stuff. So it was really like healing them in many ways. And I worked with a group of formerly incarcerated men who went through the program. And I really, you know, led this film and we produced it as well. But I knew it was something that like, you know, I think I got paid like $150 a day. And we had a very tight schedule.

Yeah, it looks like a labor of love. And this is the kind of work that you're like, oh, this is work.

That's why I can do that other high-profile work, and I can put my attention on work like this that's very necessary. And so we created with, like, we locked arms together, and that's what it felt like, locking arms. And it was a great, beautiful challenge for me because these men had the lived experience of being incarcerated and going through this program. And it was the first time that I think I was challenged with actually giving even more of myself, of, like, putting myself in those circumstances. Like, yeah, I could be wrongfully accused of something. I could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A lot of people in prison prison or not, they don't belong in prison. You know? So, I can find that part of myself. So, I think it was a bit more bearing of my own soul in that work. And I think that's what the difference is for me. I can see it, which is why I feel like I haven't watched the movie that often because I feel like when I watch it, I feel— You know when you watch something, you're like, "Oh, it takes you right back to those feelings." Yeah, it's basically what I always—

I have, like, a somatic experience if I'm watching something I've done, much more than remembering, like, even the plot or story, or, like, I just remember the feeling I had making it. Yeah, that's exactly it. Yeah, that must have been an intense experience.

It's pretty intense.

Yeah. I mean, it's so— You're so good in it. You're such a natural leader. Thank you. And you can tell in that film that you're leading people through the film while being in the moment in the character.

Well, the funny thing is, I did that movie after Rustin. Yeah. And I really felt like I was—

Were you doing them at the same time, basically?

A little bit. A little bit. 'Cause I had to do pickups for Rustin right after, and then I started The Color Purple, but— Oh, my God. I literally felt like sort of that trio of— of films really ignited that true leader in me on sets. You know, I feel like— And as a leading actor too, I sort of— I literally moved into my leading actor phase in a way. And like, sort of— But I feel like I needed all those years of supporting and being sort of that utilitarian actor in plays and things like that. I needed all of that. But I was always— Even when I was doing work on stage, I was always the Equity deputy. So I was always the one that everyone came to to make— to right the wrongs or— advocate for actors or practices or something like that. So I was always the one being willing. But now I really had the role and the opportunity. And so then I took that into my leadership of Sing Sing, and it just kept going.

Such incredible work. I loved it so much. I wish we were friends then, 'cause I would've texted the shit outta you. Okay. So, as we're wrapping up, and we're gonna talk about your new movie, Disclosure Day, which is gonna be a gigantic hit. Holy shit. And Four Seasons, which I love you on. Let's get to it. Add to the fact that you've worked with and have been influenced by and shaped by amazing women. Yes, truly. Your mother being the first, Edith, who I just— everything I read about her, I just love. I love her face, and I love— I just— she just seems like a wonderful person. Oh, thank you. And I love the story of Edith writing letters to Oprah Winfrey, who, of course, was a producer in The Color Purple version that you did. And can you just tell that story about how your mom wrote letters when you were—

Oh my God. I love that story. Get this. My mom would— she would— when I was starting out as an actor in San Francisco in the '90s, I would call my mom. We would talk a couple times a week, and, you know, I would have my struggles as an actor. And she's like— she would always say, "Well, you know, I wrote Oprah today." I was like, "Why?" And she said, "Well, you know, she can help you." I was like, "What's she gonna do?" "Well, she helps people, you know. She just right away, she can help you." She's the lady that helps people.

You're so good.

You're so good. If Oprah found out how good you were, she could help you. And I was like, okay, whatever. So anyway, so then like over and over again, this was like maybe I would say 8 times my mom wrote Oprah and I was, and I was so frustrated. Oh my God, will you please stop writing Oprah? I'm like, that's, it feels crazy. So anyway, cut to years later. I just have to sidebar say this. My mother always, she was like, she was so hopeful. She would say, "Oh my gosh, I just need— I just want Spike Lee to know you and Steven Spielberg. And they should— they would love you. They would just love you." And I'm about to cry thinking about this. But she always had that much faith that people, even if I didn't see it, she thought, "These people, if they just got to know you, they would love you the way I love you." Oof.

Yeah, that's— that's wild.

And literally, I'm like— because I look at my life now and all these people are in my life. Yeah. Amazing. So sometimes— So sometimes I do believe that sometimes people have dreams for you, you don't even have you have for yourself. And at some point they meet. Yeah. And so I had this moment, I was in Maui with Oprah walking on her beautiful mountain. Incredible. And we're hiking. And suddenly I said, oh my God, it just occurred to me. I said, my mother used to write to you over and over again. And she says, really? I said, yeah. And she, she sort of stops and she says, wow. Oh, I don't know if I got the letters, but I know I got the message. And then we just continued to walk hand in hand. And I really do believe it's like, I know that, like, how can I say it? I think that I know that like when I lost my mom in 2006 and I lost my mom and my stepfather in the same year, I just, I knew that like my friend Melissa said, when I was very bereft and I said, what am I gonna do with all this love?

I know that I was a good son. If I know, if I wasn't anything else, I was a good son. And she said, we're going to put the love into everything that you do.

Yeah.

Yeah. And, and let— and that will be— you'll do it in dedication to your mom. And so literally, I feel like because I've been leading that way, I've been meeting every person. It's like my, my mother's own Wizard of Oz. I've been meeting every person that she laid out for me. Yes. And that they've loved me the way that she loves me. Yes. And so that leads me to like, with like with Disclosure Day, it's like she wanted me— she wanted Steven Spielberg to know me. She didn't know Steven Spielberg would love me. But we love each other now. And he's my family. You know?

I love that. I love Edith so much. Beautiful.

When I tell you— And I don't say this lightly. You would love her. She was fun and sweet and liked to dance. I think I'm a lot like her, to be honest. And she talked to everybody. She would really— When I was a kid, it was annoying. I was like, "Mom, can we just go in and out of the bank?" And she was like, "How are you? How are you doing?" She flirted with everybody too. She was like, "Look at your shoes." 'Your legs, you are so cute, Amy.' Oh my God, she would do that.

Well, you know what's kind of fun? When you're a woman of a certain age, I just realized it the other day, I was like, 'Watch it, Amy.' You get to a certain age where you start going, 'You're beautiful. Look at your butt. Wow, he's got nice arms.' And everyone's like, 'Oh, that little old lady is so nice.' That was my mother. But you gotta be careful.

You gotta be careful, exactly. You just go, "Wow, look at her face." But also, my mother was old school, so she would reach out and touch it too. She would latch on the butt.

Oh yeah. My grandmother used to be like, "Oh, look at the chest on him." And I'd be like, "Nana, you can't touch." So now you're becoming that woman. And I'm becoming that. Good. And how is it like working with my wife for life, Tina Fey?

We have such a good time together. The wildest thing is, it's funny, when I first met Tina— She's shy too. She's very shy. But I thought— I didn't know what to think of her when I first met, because I thought she was I thought she's very— she's like a scientist, especially when it comes to comedy and being very thoughtful. But she's also very— I find her to be very tender and very sweet. She's very sweet. She's very sweet. And she's more touchy-feely than I knew. And I love that we've sort of become— I feel like she's becoming one of my good friends. Yeah. Because I love— I text, she texts right back. She's always in my corner. She's just— once I found out she's a Taurus too. She's a Taurus. What are you? Sagittarius. Oh. Yeah, Taurus. Once she said she— I found out she's a Taurus, I'm like, "I got you figured out.

I lived with one for 21 years, so I got you." She wanted me to ask you, "What peptides are you on?" What's your— I'm not on any, but I feel like I want to.

I feel like—

She's like— She's in the writers' room right now, and she said, "Ask Colman. The writers want to know where does he get his energy?

What peptides is he on?" They all think I'm on something because they're like, how are you possibly doing all this stuff?

But it's just, it's like natural energy. We gotta get peptides. I mean, my dream is that while I'm recording these podcasts, we're all getting peptides at the same time.

I feel like we should because I think peptides, like whatever peptides is doing, I don't know. People are looking good.

You know what I love about peptides is people are like, I'm getting all these peptides and it's like, what's in it?

And they're like, I don't know. Yes, that's everyone.

Everyone's doing the same thing. And like you're just shooting it in and they're like, hope for the best. Hope for the best, I don't know. Okay, you're getting them every day and it's what's in it? It's called B1. 1, 2, 8. Yeah.

But you're right. No one can describe what it is.

No, no one knows what it is. No. In fact, it's better not to know. Just like, let's just go. Let's just peptide it up.

Let's just do it. Peptide it up. You and I, let's do it.

Peptide this shit up. Okay. You are in the big movie of the summer. It's, I mean, let's, Steven Spielberg. Hmm. So we have this thing where we talk to people before our podcast and we find out more about them. We talk well behind their back and we talk to Steven Spielberg. Oh, you know you did. Yes.

You did what?

Yes, we talked to Steven Spielberg. I was very nervous. Wow. I actually, I realized as I was talking to him, I was like, I almost was like, "Mr. Spielberg." You know? And I said to him, like, "Your work is in my body. Like, your work is in my subconscious forever. You've shaped our childhood. Every single summer, every version of, like, an unknown world, you brought us into." He's just so— He's singular. He is. What— And you've worked with him a couple of times. Yeah. So, before we get to the great stuff he said about you, what is so great about working with him? What's it like to work with him?

He's just lovely. He's funny and warm. He gives you— He's got a sparkle in his eye that makes you believe that you can do anything. Even if he's giving you the wildest task of saying these lines while going through an explosion, and there's, you know, the camera work is all intense, He looks at you and believes you can do it. And so you have that belief. You're like, "Oh, great. We're going to make something together. We're taking a leap of faith together." He's really just lovely, and he's kind. And he's right there with you. He likes his portable monitor, and he's right in the action with you.

He's not at chairs. He's not at video village.

No, there's no ego about the work. And he's also just like, "You know, what do you think about this?" Or like, you know, you can bring your ideas. He'll be like, "Oh, let's think about that." So he's very collaborative. And that's what I enjoy about him. It's his thing.

Kindness.

And the way— and also he feels like, how can I say it? He feels like he's just starting out. Like, he's that excited. He's like, "Oh, let's try that. Let's— oh, I have an idea." He's like, "Oh, Coleman, I have an idea." "Okay, great." And he's like, "Okay, let's try it." And so, he feels like he's a kid assembling his favorite craftsmen around, and he's playing with you. You're all playing together, you know?

I mean, this is like a big— it's gonna be a big summer movie.

Like a blockbuster. But also, I think it's a movie we all need right now.

For sure. It is a movie—

after I saw it, I've seen it twice now, and I've cried both times. That'll just tell you. And I won't tell you why I cried, but it really did feel like it's a movie that's trying to connect us again. All of us. You know, especially like the idea of inviting the idea that there's— where there's something bigger than all of us that we're a part of. So I think that's what I— why I cried. I called him right after and I said, "You really care about us. You really—" I care about humanity, you know, and what we're wrestling with right now in our times. And then what can unite us?

Well, he said the same thing about you. He basically was like, yeah, let me tell you, you know what, forget about Steven. Let me tell you what he said.

What did he say about me?

What did he say about you? Well, first of all, he said that— no. Real Housewives episode now. Okay. That would be really funny. This is the first podcast where I'm like, he actually said some shit about me. He was saying that working with you is like working with a self-driving car. Like, you know that you're going to— Like, you have it, you're in the zone. Like, there's very little that he has to do because he has such faith in you. But what you lead with as a person on set in an ensemble is empathy and love and respect. So, like, what you get is this very skilled actor actor, but also a really wonderful person. And I think the privilege of when you get to a certain age and you work, you get to want to surround yourself with those kind of people. Like, that's important. And it's not always the case. I think when you're younger, you're kind of like, "Maybe complicated, difficult people are there to challenge me in different ways, and I'll learn something from them." I know for me anyway, like, as I get older, I'm like, "Also, I want to be around people." That's it.

Good people. Like, uh— Life is short. Yeah, life is short. Um, it should— this should be fun. Um, how lucky are we? Truly. So, um, and his question was— his question was kind of like a— because we were talking about auditioning, and I was asking him like, how do, how do people not get nervous around him? Like, how does he deal with people's nerves? Because he must have people coming in being like, nice to meet you. Um, and he wanted me to ask you, did you ever not get a part that you tried hard to get? And like, what did you, what did you do with it when you— like, what did you do with the feeling when you didn't get it? So many.

Oh my God, there like most of my career, I was booking a lot. I really felt like I was like, even things you felt like you really wanted or you really were skilled for, at some point you had to divorce yourself from the idea of getting the role. You're like, okay, I'm prepared for this, but it's not up to me. It's like someone— because, and maybe that's the thing I pride myself on. I'm like, when they want me, they want all of me. So that means they want— it's okay if they want someone else. So for me, I, it became a practice of being very sober about it and saying, you know, it's okay if they didn't want me because like what I give is very different than that other guy. Yeah. It's not that he was better than me or Booker T. No, he was useful to them and all that he was going to bring to it. And that's cool. So for me, it was like, and maybe that was a healthy thing that I needed to give myself so I can give myself grace and like, and be, and continue to be a practitioner of this art form and not let it be about my ego.

But isn't it, doesn't it feel like it's a learned skill? That's hard to do when you're young.

It is learned because also when you're young, but also there are times when you're, I mean, listen, I've had moments where this There were things that I thought I was perfect for, and I didn't get, and it shattered me. But to be honest, I'll be very honest, Amy, I never really imagined the place that I'm in right now in this industry. I just wanted to be a working actor.

And also, you're so famous and successful too.

I got so famous, Amy.

But you're right. And also the contentment part, that's the goal. Yeah, like satisfaction and contentment, it's the hardest thing to find. It can, you know, it doesn't matter what you do. Yeah, hell is wanting more. It's like hell.

That's suffering, man. It is suffering. I think the— listen, I got, I got a beautiful, beautiful, um, message from this guy when I was turning 50. This guy was driving me in a car in Toronto and he was 70 years old, and I said, do you have any— yeah, any words of wisdom for my 50th? He said, he said, listen, I wish I knew this years ago, he said, it's important to— you want to hope for everything but want for nothing. And I was like, oh, to eliminate want. Oof. You know? Yeah. So I know that, like, I, when I walk into a room, like you say, I walk into these rooms or on sets, I don't really want anything. Yeah. I hope that it can be— there's other things that I hope that it can be, but I'm not coming to get something. Oh yeah. You know what I mean? I'm coming to hopefully be in service and to, and also to give something. Yeah. I think that's the best we all can be. So if everyone's coming from that place, we all win. Yeah. You know, it's only, the problem is only when somebody's coming in just like to want, want to take shit and that's ego in the room.

And then it's a, that's some dark forces and you try to just protect yourself against that. You know? Mm-hmm.

We gotta talk about those egos offline. Exactly. Those dark forces. Okay. I love that you're, we're the same age, by the way. Cuz I, I've said this before. We look good. Don't we?

We look, we look great. You look great. You look great.

Thank you. But we're making 50, look 55. We're doing good. 56. Look pretty good. I'm turning 55 very soon. I'm older than you. You're 56, right? Yeah. And I like, what's your favorite part about your 50s? I love my 50s. You know what's funny to me?

Lately it feels like things are moving faster. Like I just turned 56, but I'm like, am I gonna be 57 this year? It doesn't make any sense.

And once you get past 55, I don't like the second half of the decade.

Because like we like, you don't like it.

I'm 54, 55. Yeah, you turn 50 and then you're like, and then you're like, I'm hitting, I'm about to hit 60 soon. Yeah, and then you're like, And you're like, you know what? 60, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67.

I feel like my 50s are my best. Me too. Yeah. I felt my 40s, I was, it was, it was fine.

Yeah. 30s were awkward. It's getting better.

It's getting better. Yeah. I agree. But also I feel like we have to, you have to be conscious of, you have to take care of yourself.

Right. That's right.

And in a different way, um, show up in a different way for yourself.

That's right.

Yeah. So I feel like we're getting better. Yeah.

I feel like the, our, our obsession with youth is, is like, I think it's changing. I think our generation is helping. I think what one of the legacies of Gen X, I've said this before, is that, of which we are proudly proud members of. We're not boomers, we are Gen X.

We're Gen X, we rock. Yeah, we don't give a shit. We really don't give a shit. We don't give a fuck generation. Exactly. We were like fuck around, find out generation. Exactly.

We were tough. We are tough. We really are. And we, and we, and nobody remembers us and nobody gives us any respect.

Nobody gives considered respect.

It's true, we're the toughest generation. The Gen X president. Anyway, um, but we don't care. We don't care. We don't care. The system is broken. We always knew that. But one of the things about it is like, is that, um, we've— oh, I've completely lost my train of thought. I'm too old. I forgot what I was talking about. Who cares? You know what? Who cares? Who cares? Who cares? Okay, last question. Okay, last question. Coleman, what has been making you laugh these days? I know you love to laugh. You love comedy. Yes. What are you listening to, watching? Like, what do you go to when you want to check out, laugh? Like, dumb, highbrow?

What is the thing? I always go back to watching Melissa Melissa McCarthy in Spy.

Oh my God. Okay, let's watch her right now.

I got it on the laptop. Spy is my— any clip. Spy is— I will watch it.

Melissa McCarthy is so funny.

She makes me pee on myself. She's so funny. Have you guys met? I love her. Yeah, we— she came to— I saw— I met her backstage at SNL when she was there for Jack Black. And I just like— I really— I think we're becoming friends because we exchanged numbers, but I really want to be her friend.

Give me a little credit. What do you think I'm going to do, run over there and be like, hey, I'm a crazy lady? Where's the buffet? I'm from the Midwest.

Where's Blue Man Group?

Mr. Lucas here, and I need to get close to him.

Yeah, because she's like— she comes across as this mousy woman who works for the CIA, and then you find out she's an agent as well. And then she goes on this whole journey. Like, she was really, like, you know, laying back, and then you find out she's the most wildest one of them all.

She's wild. Yeah. You like—

She's got all these great disguises, which are really— one is funnier after the next one. Burn is in it.

She's out of control. This is a comfort movie for you. I will watch it at any time.

That and The Color Purple. I know, it's very weird. Very— ooh, Color Purple. I watch like the Whoopi version of it. Oh my God. Or this. So either I want to cry hard or I want to laugh harder.

Oh God, I'm with you. I kind of— that— I'm the same way. I want to cry or want— you know what I don't want to be anymore? Bored. Scared.

Don't want to be scared? No, I don't want to be scared. No, I don't want to be scared. I don't want to horror anything. Horror movies. No more No more horror, no, no, no.

No more. I just saw the other day, there was some new thing. I won't even say it. And I was like— You don't want that. I don't want that. No more movies about being attacked in your own home.

No, no, no, that's terrible. Those are terrible movies. I never watched those movies. Me neither.

I don't want that. I don't want that. No. No more. We either wanna laugh or we wanna cry, like laugh or cry, period, the end. That's it. Yes. Well, I feel like you should do a movie with Melissa McCarthy.

I think I should too. I would love that. Yeah, God, you're so funny.

Colman. Oh, thank you. You're so— you can do anything. Thank you. You can wear lime green, you can pull it off. Well, thank you for my egg.

Oh, this has been so great, so fun.

We've been talking for an hour and a half and it just went by so fast. It's so good. And I, I just love being able to call you a new friend.

I feel that way too.

Thank you for doing this. Congrats on everything. I'm always excited about whatever you're doing and like a true, true fan of your work.

So thank you. I'm a fan of you in every single way. Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this. I appreciate it.

Coleman, thank you so much. It's so fun to be around you. You're just a joy. And, and thank you. Thank you so much for doing the show. And, you know, Coleman and I talked about a lot of things. We have a lot of shared similar experiences being pretty much the same age growing up on the East Coast. But we did mention Dance Party USA. And for those of you that haven't seen any clips of that, do yourself a favor and go to YouTube and watch Dance Party USA. It kind of was like a very suburban version of American Bandstand, like Soul Train, you know, without about the soul. Um, and it was on in the '80s, and it just— there's such incredible hair, um, such '80s hair, tons of hairspray, incredible outfits, and it's just kids dancing, um, to the hits at the time. And what was so fun about Dance Party USA was, of course, Kelly Ripa was on there. We— that was the first time I saw Kelly. She— I think she went by a different name, but, um, but also, uh, They just would, like, talk about the relationships that they were having and that people were dating and breaking up.

So it was like a soap opera with no lines and lots of dancing. Dance Party USA, check it out. It's a time capsule. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Good Hang and all the episodes, and can't wait to do more for you. Thank you. Bye. See you soon. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show On the show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Alea Xaneres. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles. I like other women, but it's really good, hey.