0:00
It's still working that last one, but why not press forward, right? Why why not?
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Hey, what's going on everybody?
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For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones.
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It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
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And today we're joined by David Harbour.
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He's an Emmy and Tony Award nominated actor perhaps best well known for his portrayal of Jim Hopper in the Netflix mega hit series Stranger Things.
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His latest though is the highly anticipated Marvel Studios action spy thriller Black Widow which is set to hit theaters and Disney Plus premiere access on July 9th.
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David Harbour, welcome to the show.
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Thank you for having me, I think.
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Yeah, what is going through your mind right now as you prepare for this adventure? I'm very concerned.
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I was walking over here and I I wasn't eating a lot today, you know, I was preparing my stomach for this and then I decided to have a really big chocolate chip cookie right before I got here which I think was a terrible idea before hot sauces.
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So, I'm I'm kind of nervous, but we'll see how this goes.
1:01
It's Oh, see there goes the alarm. That's it.
1:03
Everybody out of the building.
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Can't do the wing challenge. Conserve energy.
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Conserve energy, turn off those cameras then. This is the one. This is the one. Okay. Well, that's not bad. There's no problem, man. I got this.
1:48
So, in Black Widow you play the role of Alexei Shostakov, a Russian counterpart to Captain America who's hilariously void of the conventional superhero virtues.
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And I'm curious, how do you as an actor think about the traits that make a heroic character a hero versus the weaker qualities that make them human? Hmm.
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That's an interesting question.
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Um I guess I'm always interested in flawed characters much more than I am in capable characters.
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The people that I tend I tend to fall in love with people or my heart goes out to people who are I find beauty in people's flaws.
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I find beauty in their inadequacies.
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And I think true like love and when you think about someone and you sort of obsess about them, it's because of their frailty.
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I think it's what binds us.
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And like Alexi has a lot of that.
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You know, his neediness and his remorse comes out in this very bombastic egotistical way where a lot of people that feel less than sort of act big like they're big big shots.
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And so I found that really charming about him.
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I just find a lot of these little, you know, moments within him that are kind of as you say weaknesses or flaws.
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I think that's what I always start with.
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And then the superpowers kind of take care of themselves, you know, like I got to jump 40 ft in the air and there's a guy with a wire who like pulls me up.
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So that's, you know, that's kind of easy. Okay. Okay.
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I see where we're headed. But I'm good with this.
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So I've heard you talk about playing Hamlet at 19 in a way that sort of feels like a fever dream of angst and artistic expression.
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I'm curious, what do you think what do you think is the best on-ramp to Shakespeare for people watching who've sworn off the works after reading Macbeth in 10th grade?
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10th grade, an on-ramp to Shakespeare. I love that. God, I don't know.
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You know, I mean I'll tell you my personal connection to Shakespeare.
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I don't know I wonder how it holds up, but when I was in eighth grade a buddy of mine dragged me to see Henry V that Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in and that like changed my life and changed my experience and relationship to Shakespeare.
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And it really was my on-ramp to Shakespeare.
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I didn't know much about Shakespeare except as you say like reading Romeo and Juliet when I was in high school and hating it like everybody else.
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So, this really changed my Something about the swelling music and you know, Derek Jacobi comes out with a match in the beginning and lights I mean it's just really it's very well done.
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So, I would I'd recommend that one.
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And then you once said that as a young actor you're broken into two types, a Romeo and a Mercutio.
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Can you break that down and which one are you?
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I mean I'm definitely a Mercutio.
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And I guess this is my relationship to film in general.
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There's just dudes that are just good looking and they sort of they're kind of the popular kids.
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Like I was never really that popular in high school.
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There's that table of like guys who like played football.
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And there's that table in the actor world too where they just look great.
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They're always kind of in shape and they just show up on film really well.
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And then there's guys like me who like you take a picture of them and they're weird.
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They have like one eye open kind of and like a little bit of a double chin and I've always been that way but you use that freak in you to bring something special because things don't come as easily to you.
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But I do think in in general you tend to find those actors along the way and you can spot them and you can be like oh hey man, you're my fellow weirdo, my fellow Mercutio.
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Catches up with you a little bit. Mhm.
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Oh yeah, it does kind of hit you a little bit later though, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay though.
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This is only number three though of 10. Okay. Ace my confidence here.
5:33
What's the most harrowing experience you had as a young man and member of an underground New York City poker club?
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Like did you ever see Oh my god, how do you know about this stuff?
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Did you ever see a guy researched. Thank you, David. play together? No, no. I I I wish. I wish.
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Did you ever see though like a brazen armed robbery attempt or or like a play in a specially high stakes game or anything like that?
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Yeah, I used to play in some high stakes game.
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I never saw them go down.
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Well, one of the reasons those places got shut down cuz they were sort of sanctioned, I mean, under the table by the cops for a long time.
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And then what happened was guys would break in.
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And a guy broke in, I guess a couple guys broke in with shotguns and just accidentally one of them went off and shot an old guy.
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It's not as romantic as you think it is.
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Like Like actually that movie Rounders, you know that movie? what's in my head.
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Those guys who wrote that movie I used to play with.
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And I know the guy who is Teddy KGB.
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And he does not look like John Malkovich.
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He looks like a kind of dumpy like little dude.
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But yeah, there was a real real beautiful moment in the underground poker scene in New York that I wish lasted forever.
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I didn't know you'd be asking me like real questions. This is What is this? Hot Ones Barbacoa. Okay.
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Almost like a pleasant downshift from the last one.
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There's a different quality in the hotness, right? Mhm.
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That's not There's no measure of that.
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But this one feels more peppery and this one's more like I don't know.
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Like it's just a different quality.
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Yeah, like a a morning fog kind of spice or something. Yeah, exactly.
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A morning fog type of spice. Yes.
7:12
So there'd be anarchy in the comments if we didn't take a wing to discuss Stranger Things, the pop culture phenomenon that's won more than 60 major awards since premiering in 2016. Wow.
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Why did you call the Byers family dog Chester one of the worst actors you've Oh my god, I hated that [ __ ] dog. I hated that [ __ ] dog. So bad.
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Take after take it would like wander off or do something.
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And then I just remember the trainer like on the sidelines going Come on!
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WE GOT TO MAKE OUR MONEY!
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WE GOT TO MAKE OUR MONEY!
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UM, YEAH, I walked up to them and I was like, you know, the buyer should probably have that dog put to sleep in the next season.
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We never talk about it the whole rest of the show, but they just wind up not having a dog. We have to kill it.
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We should find it in the upside down though in one of these future seasons. There he went.
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He crawled through the tree.
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And then in working with Winona, I've heard you say that sometimes to get into the Hopper character, you'll you'll get angry and she'll intuitively go there with you.
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What does that actually mean or look like on set?
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For acting to happen and for it to resonate in a real way, like I think the reason why you go watch a movie and you go like, "Ooh, that was good." Or like, "That's cheesy.
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It doesn't do anything for you."
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Is because like actually drama happens.
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The only way drama happens is if two people actually experience something real together.
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So in a sense like you have to bleed a little bit.
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And like, you know, the construct of this very but the construct of character is Love you, Haddy. Okay, okay, okay, okay.
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I'm so I've been doing so much press where it's just like, you know, "Who'd win in a fight with Captain America and Red Guy?"
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I'm like I'm like, "Do I talk about real stuff?"
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I'm so confused right now. Okay, okay, okay.
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I won't apologize anymore.
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So the um the construct of character exists only in in the page and in your mind and in the structure of the piece.
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What exists on the screen is David and Winona.
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Theoretically at its best dramatically is when David and Winona are actually mad at each other.
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A lot of work nowadays I feel like people don't like that as much.
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They Everybody wants, you know, everybody be get along and I feel like there's a lot of there's some danger in that interaction.
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And so what I find with Winona, she knows that beauty comes from mess.
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The lotus grows from the mud, right?
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So let's sling some mud at each other.
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She's very willing to do that and it's I found it sort of hard harder and harder in a certain way to find people who are willing to do that. Pineapple and ginger? All right. This one's good. I like this one. I like the ginger. Little pineapple ginger. Mhm. I like it. Oh, that's good.
10:04
All right, David, while you enjoy that wing, we have a recurring segment on our show called Explain that Graham.
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We're going to deep dive on our guest's Instagram, pull interesting pictures that need more context.
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So, we'll pull up the picture on the monitor. Look at that.
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That's all us the bigger story.
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Do you have a favorite penguin fun fact or observation about wildlife in the Arctic?
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got a I got a penguin fun fact.
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Penguins are very necessary. I love penguins.
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They're very necessary for the environment. I love Antarctica. I love penguins.
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I want to protect the penguins.
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They're disgusting They're absolutely disgusting.
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Cuz when you go on these um Antarctic glaciers and you see penguins, it's nothing but [ __ ] and blood.
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There was another really cool thing about penguins when So, they have these things down there in Antarctica called leopard seals.
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Do you know what these are? they're vicious. Vicious.
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So, they're like There was one that, you know, they grow like 12, 15 ft long, these things. And they eat penguins.
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And we were on one of these glaciers walking around and literally from the ocean, like 20 ft away from this leopard seal, who just came out of the ocean, like the biggest thing I've ever seen, looked around, got and then proceeded to puke up a penguin skeleton and then like slither back in the sea going It's like terrifying. Terrifying.
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What are we on, number We're on number six.
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Oh, I'm kind of enjoying this. Tiki hot masala. Mhm. Yeah, that's good. That's good.
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We're start We're starting to get there. Yep, that's good.
11:47
Yeah, we're not messing around anymore.
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No, going forward it's starting to happen.
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Now I see why people are so upset about this show.
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So, Elizabeth Olsen, who was actually on the show recently, she did a semester at the Moscow Art Theatre School.
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We talked to her if she had like a preference between the Stanislavski method or the Chekhov organic performance.
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And I've heard you likewise talk about Russian influence.
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Is there a playwright or a theater practitioner that you think informed your technique or process more than others?
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For me it's like Lee Strasberg or bust. Like I'm a devotee.
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He's American method, it's the Actors Studio where Lee Strasberg caught Everybody's relationship to things is different.
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So, the literal relationship is not very important.
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What's important is the metaphorical relationship and that is very much the American method.
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It's not about actually like being the character cuz you can't.
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It's about your metaphorical relationship acting as if you're the character.
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But yeah, it was very much Strasberg what came out of the Group Theatre, probably the greatest theater of of America.
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And then like Lee Strasberg sort of took it in this other direction where they all argued with him and hated him and fell out, but I think what he was doing, you know, through the '60s and '70s was just the is just the best acting training there is.
13:13
I'm starting to feel it like leave its thing on my tongue though.
13:15
There's a accumulative effect. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Okay.
13:31
A little more serious this one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.
13:41
I haven't been drunk in like uh 15 years.
13:43
Well, I'm starting to feel it. It gets trippy. Good way to like trippy. Yeah. Okay.
13:50
So, growing up in White Plains, I know that you connected with the outcasts, your D&D, video games, and graphic novels.
13:56
What are the necessary components for the perfect Dungeons & Dragons party?
14:03
Um oh god, the necessary components.
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I mean, I guess you have to have like a good party of people, and that means a mix.
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Like, you need people that are going to play by the rules, and then you need people that are going to break the rules and be horrible, and you know, not do what you tell them to do.
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If you have too many good students, it's just not that fun.
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And if you have too many rule breakers, you can't get anything done, and nothing moves, and you can't have any fights.
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It's all just like sitting around looking at curios in some shop or something.
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And then you do need like an indefinite amount of time.
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You need just like a day where there's no limits.
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You can go to like 6:00 in the morning and just like dig in.
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Like, any degraded activity, like poker or whatever.
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Like, you want to get that sweet spot where you feel like you should be doing something else, but nobody knows you're doing it still.
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So, you can just get lost in the degradation. That's part of the joy. Woo. Yeah, that's good.
15:05
Well, this next one Should we go for number three? This is the bomb. This is the one.
15:18
Don't psych yourself out. Okay. Child's play.
15:42
Yeah, you breathe differently, don't you?
15:44
it affects your respiration.
15:44
And I don't think it ever goes back.
15:46
I think I'm forever forever changed over here. Damn it. Wow.
15:51
I'll breathe like this for the rest of my life?
15:53
God, it's still happening. Damn.
15:57
I mean Yeah, well, it's serious. Mhm.
15:59
Oh, yeah, it's still happening. It'll grow. It just yeah. I like the I like that. Unfolds, I like that. Wow. Oh, yeah. Oh, wow, wow, wow. Okay.
16:15
Ask me more questions so I can keep talking.
16:17
I've seen you post uh pictures of Iberico ham in Spain, and then you were posted prosciutto in Venice.
16:22
What is your Mount Rushmore, your top four cured meats of all time?
16:31
Your top four cured meats of all time. Wow.
16:37
God damn, that is the hardest question I've ever been asked, and you saved it till we're almost done with the hottest sauces.
16:43
I knew you'd get harder as you go.
16:48
Top four cured meats, I can't even think of a single cured meat right now.
16:49
I mean I mean like I can't even think of a single one.
16:54
Like there was a pepperoni pizza I had like a million years ago that I remember was nice.
17:01
Ha, this is still happening. It's still unfolding.
17:03
I haven't even taken a second bite yet.
17:07
Is there a dive bar or restaurant spot that you miss the most thinking back about your inglorious days in the East Village? Oh, yeah. God, yes.
17:13
I got to have one more bite of this just cuz I'm Then I'm going into crazy, right? Come on.
17:17
like I'm No way I can do die. Maybe. Um yeah, I got one.
17:23
Oh man, I got some good ones. Okay.
17:28
Oh, my dog fat Oh my god. Okay, I'm on Avenue A.
17:34
I lived on 12th Street between A and B.
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And so on Avenue A between 12th and 13th, there was a place called Korova Milk Bar.
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Korova Milk Bar used to make milk drinks that were that were a very alcoholic.
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And they were all based on This is horrible, but this is the East Village. We can go there, right? go.
17:55
They're all based on on dead like child stars or whatever.
17:59
I used to love that place.
18:03
And they would play Clockwork Orange in black light. It was a horrible place. Those were the days.
18:08
Those were the days in Manhattan.
18:10
It was also, yeah, I mean that was back when we were still we were still dark, you know?
18:13
We weren't the mall we are today. Ah, so good.
18:19
I'm very proud of myself, I have to say.
18:21
I was not I I really did not think I was going to be okay with any of this.
18:27
And it seems like you're downright enjoying it.
18:30
I am kind of enjoying it.
18:30
This is actually a lot of fun.
18:37
It's still working, that last one, but why not press forward, right? Why not?
18:42
Where else do we have to be? Okay.
18:46
This one is the Scorpion Disco. The Scorpion Disco.
18:49
Those of you keeping score I think that was a bar in the East Village.
18:51
I think this is the top bar in Still labor. Still intense. Now it's really burning.
19:13
What's your best advice for how to care for white's tree frogs as pets?
19:15
You once said in a Q&A with Play Bill that you're very passionate about keeping and breeding them as a child.
19:23
Oh my god, you do your research.
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Not only do you cook amazing wings, but you do your research. Yes, okay.
19:29
I love white's tree frogs, Australian white's tree frogs.
19:37
I build your own terrarium.
19:37
I build my own terrariums. Hell yeah. I wanted them to breed.
19:42
The only way a white's tree frog will have sex is if they're rained on for 20 hours a day and if they have a foot of water.
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So, I had to make a terrarium with a sump pump and rain pipes and it would rain on them for 20 hours a day and they still didn't have sex cuz I guess they have to like each other, too. All right, David.
20:09
What are you doing freaking that up? This is the last dab.
20:17
We call it the last dab because it's tradition around here to put a little extra on the last wing.
20:22
You don't have to if you don't want to. Ooh. But don't do that. Oh, you're insane.
20:30
Yeah, it's affecting my whole body. I like it.
20:35
I seriously haven't like I'm sober for a long time.
20:38
Yeah, and this been drunk for a long time.
20:41
And this kind of it it's bringing you back feels. Yeah.
20:45
I feel like a little bit like out of control. Yeah.
20:48
Not sure what I'll do next. Oh. Oh, my lips. Come on, baby. There we go.
21:01
I can wipe a little of that Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's heavy. That's heavy. Okay. All right, man. Let's do it, right? Cheers, David. Hey, cheers. Cheers. Whoo. Ha.
21:27
I love on the super hot sauce how you kind of smile and laugh your way in. So crazy. Oh. Oh, wow.
21:43
But thankfully, David, we've reached the conclusion of our spicy food adventure today.
21:47
And just one more question for you.
21:50
You know, we've covered a lot of ground from Broadway to frogs to Marvel.
21:55
And what I really like about you is that you're so honest about the journey, so honest about the highs, the lows, the rejection, and the pain, and the humiliation that can come with pursuing a career in acting.
22:06
So now with your blood slowly roasting inside of you, your tongue and brain on fire, I'm curious.
22:11
What words of enlightenment or caution do you have to other creative young people who are interested in a calling in the arts?
22:22
I remember hearing this when I was coming through and I would hear actors come speak to you at college or whatever, and they'd go, "Only do it if you have to do it."
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And I'd go like, "I will never say that when I become an actor."
22:33
Because even if you want to do it, you should try it.
22:34
And now I feel like I say it all the time.
22:36
Only do it if you have to do it.
22:37
Because there is I feel like I I could have had a very happy, simple life doing all kinds of other things, but at the time I just couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.
22:48
Only do it because you need to do it, not because you want to be famous.
22:52
Do it because you have something to express.
22:56
And then just be tenacious.
22:59
You don't even don't be that good.
22:59
You just got to like stick with it.
23:04
And speaking of sticking with it, working your way through the gauntlet, the Hot Ones gauntlet.
23:09
Came in here with mixed confidence, coming through the other side dominating the board.
23:14
And look at you, David Harbour.
23:19
Taking on Hot Ones and living to tell the tale.
23:20
Now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.
23:24
This camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going on in your life. WHAT? WHAT IS THAT?
23:31
THIS IS THIS IS THE THE CONFESSIONAL.
23:32
You get me drunk on hot wings and you okay.
23:37
Hey, uh I got uh some movie on HBO Max directed by Soderbergh called No Sudden Move, which I'm very excited about.
23:42
But of course, the big one is go see Black Widow, Marvel Studios Black Widow in theaters and on Disney+ July 9th. GOOD JOB, DAVID. GOOD JOB. WOO! THANKS, GUYS. WOW.
24:12
HEY, what's going on, everybody?
24:12
This is Sean Evans checking in with some very exciting First We Feast news.
24:16
Now when I'm not over here choking down chicken wings on Hot Ones, I happen to be a huge pizza guy.
24:22
Sicilian, Neapolitan, deep dish, dollar slice, frozen pizza. I love it all.
24:29
Which is why I'm excited to announce that First We Feast has a brand new show, Pizza Wars, where pizza master Nicole Russell takes on contenders in a battle royale of different pizza styles.
24:40
I'm on there judging the deep dish episode, naturally.
24:42
But the show has other great guests as well, including buddies like Babish and Frank Pinello.
24:48
But that's enough chitchat.
24:48
Let's let the sizzle reel do the talking. All right. Roll the tape.
24:58
The misconception is that if you get a lot, it's good.
25:01
Bite for bite, this is the best eating experience I've ever had on one of these things.
25:05
My opponents and I will be taking on a new piece of theme challenge every episode.
25:10
I wish that I could give you both trophies, but they only gave me one.
25:12
Do you guys have an extra?
25:16
They don't have an extra. Don't get it twisted.
25:18
This is a competition and I want to win.
25:19
But I'm also here to catch up with a few of my friends.
25:23
I couldn't have done this episode with nobody else.
25:27
Learn some new tricks to use at home.
25:29
You got to slice the garlic thin.
25:29
So thin that it liquefies in the pan.
25:31
Nona, thank you for that. Thank you, Nona.
25:35
And eat a whole bunch of pizza. Salute. HERE Y'ALL. OH MY GOD. WOW. This is WHAT YOU WANTED. SO GET READY, PEOPLE. Pizza Wars is coming.