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I was waiting for this moment.
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What if I got the hiccups?
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Hey, what's going on everybody?
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From 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 close out another season with Paul Dano.
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He's an actor you know from acclaimed performances in films like The Batman, Little Miss Sunshine, Prisoners, There Will Be Blood and many more.
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You can also catch him in his role as Burt Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's new semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans, currently in theaters.
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Paul Dano, welcome to the show. Hey, man. How's it going? Uh it's going good. I'm excited. I'm nervous.
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Nervous, how are you around spicy food before we started?
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so I I I like spicy food.
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I like, you know, I like Szechuan food. I like Indian food.
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Um I don't eat a lot of wings with hot sauce, but you know, I like spicy food okay.
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I had to cut back a couple years ago.
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I wasn't sleeping so well.
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You know, the doctor said maybe a little less spicy food.
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Easier to cut back on a little spicy food than it was on the wine.
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So I I chose to to cut to cut back on the spice, but uh you know, I'm I'm I'm curious. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm.
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Um do you just take a bite or do you try to chow the whole thing?
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Is there a Is there a um are there rules of the game? There You know what?
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We're in the abstract over here.
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There are no rules to the game, but I kind of mirror the guest.
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Like wherever you go, I try to match whatever experience you're bringing to this whole thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, this is yummy. This is nice. Yeah. There we go. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
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So I imagine it was a uniquely singular experience for an actor to play Steven Spielberg's dad in a film directed by Steven Spielberg.
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How did you sort through the madness of that performance?
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You know, working alongside a filmmaker as they unpackage their own life and artistic ambitions.
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To work with him in itself, I I haven't been that nervous for a meeting in a long time.
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And and I remember my wife being like, "Who are you meeting with?
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You know, why are you acting this way?"
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And I was like, "Steven Spielberg." She was like, "Okay."
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And then he tells me what it's about in the first Zoom and you know, when I first met Steven, his dad had only passed about 8 months beforehand.
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So, you could really see in his in his eyes, you know, what he was talking about.
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And that really kind of made me um you know, made my heart sing.
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I was like, "Oh, wow, Steven's got a lot on the line here." And he was an open book.
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I mean, the family archives were available to us, home videos.
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I mean, photograph You know, it was insane to be sort of let into Steven's heart and in his life in that way.
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I told Steven on the last night of filming it would take me a few years yet to to fully process you you know, what what we all just uh did together and that that he would ask me to play his dad, you know. Mhm. Mhm. It's yummy. It's nice.
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I can feel my You know, so I sweat when I eat anything. Uh-huh. Okay. Okay.
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that's usually to do with like quantity and pace though.
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So, we're we're taking it easy.
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I especially sweat when I eat spicy food.
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So, I'm curious curious where we'll go here because I just just felt the like the water works right The You know, yeah. Um Yeah. It's happening. It's happening. Yeah, it's coming. Yeah.
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So, you've been at this for a long time, beginning in adolescence, being on the Broadway stage with Inherit the Wind.
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And then by the time you were 16 years old when you won an Independent Spirit Award for your performance in L. I. E.
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What influence did Paul Schrader's book Transcendental Style in Film have on you at a young age? Hmm. Okay. All right, nice.
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So, I grew up I think when I wanted to be an actor, I think I thought it meant being on the stage.
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I grew up in Manhattan, where we are today.
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So, I remember going to the theater when I was a kid.
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And the movies I liked I was obsessed with Jim Carrey when I was a kid, but I'm not that, you know, but that was like, you know, I loved Terminator 2, right?
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And uh Halloween, but like I'm not, you know.
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So, like I think Paul Schrader's book and it really opened the door to foreign film, which really just sort of opened the door to like becoming like a movie dork.
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It opens up the language, right?
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Like if you you you know, you you try different hot sauces and like the language of you know, hot sauces and spices. up, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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So, it's like just the more, you know, um you get around to, I think the the the yeah, uh the more fun it becomes.
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This is the sauce you like. I do like this one. this one. All right.
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But do you like it the question? I do like it. It's good.
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This is fun cuz, you know, it's really um you uh start feeling sparkly. Right? It changes you.
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Like physiologically, yeah, you're going through it.
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It's already starting, Paul. It's already starting. I feel sparkly. Yeah.
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How did Nirvana's Something in the Way like shape your interpretation of the Riddler?
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Something in the Way is a great song and I listened to a lot of Nirvana and but yeah, that chorus for me was it's like, what are we all trying to you know, Something in the Way what are we all trying to get through, you know?
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Um and I think it's about the two sides of trauma and one person had, you know, a little more um resources to deal with their trauma, Bruce Wayne, and and my guy just didn't quite have, you know, um uh didn't didn't have the nurture, but he probably didn't didn't have the nature either for for being real. Yeah. Yeah.
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All right, are you ready to move on here to sauce number four?
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You're doing great, by the way.
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This one is the Los Calientes barbacoa. Okay. Mhm. I like this one. It's too crunchy. I like that one.
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Yeah, so far these two are probably the ones I would take home of the four. I shouldn't say that.
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We're not going to No, you know what though?
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We're sending them all home with you anyway. That's fantastic.
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Can't wait to have a couple friends over and say Now you guys Now you guys Yeah, you should have like a viewing party for your episode.
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Have the friends over and see how they match up, you know, to the control experiment with you on the show. Yeah. Yeah. Um okay, yeah, yeah.
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So that one's growing still. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
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And who knows the cumulative effect that we have going on, too, you know? Who's to know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's happening.
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That's interesting though.
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That one for me so far has the longest after Mhm.
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Not even the heat, but just the the taste. Just yeah.
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The whole the whole thing.
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The trail it leaves behind. trail so far, yeah.
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So I love this quote of yours.
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Some characters lead from their chest or their head more or their dick more.
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What's the difference or can you explain the difference between a character who would say lead with their chest versus one that would lead with their dick? So right.
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I mean, well, what do you how do you interpret if somebody who leads with their dick? Well, so No, really.
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Like, you know, cuz I think it's I think it makes sense.
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Here's Here's Here's how it aligns for me actually.
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So we had Cate Blanchett here earlier this year and she was talking about how when she played Bob Dylan, the thing that snapped the character in focus for her was just putting like a heavy weighted sock between her legs.
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You know You know I mean?
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So it makes me think about the ways in which these like sort of small things can like snap a character into place and then that had a direct dick connection and then I saw this quote and then I was like, oh, I wonder what Paul's perspective on the whole thing is.
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Yeah, no, that's absolutely it.
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I mean, it's as simple as that.
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It can It can be I mean, I and I think physical's even better cuz that kind of just gives it to you, right?
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It's like wearing different shoes makes me feel a little different, right?
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This film Prisoners was very much about the opposite of that.
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It was somebody was frozen, you know, trauma in the past and so the body is you know, he carried his stuff in his like up here more where somebody uh I don't know.
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I think it makes sense without explaining it though, no? Yeah, yeah.
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Well, you know, it's an actor thing, you know, like it's a little bit in the abstract.
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I got you know, but It is and I guess that's why you you you do it, right?
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Because it's like it's just allowing some kind of little access that maybe is is actually not meant to be like intellectualized and and overly articulated.
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It's more like, oh, like rather than the let's just go there to the to whatever physical component, you know, feels helpful. Makes sense to me. Yeah.
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Are you ready to move on here?
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You're at the halfway point already. Okay. You're crushing it. Oh, this one's oily.
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Yeah, so it's oil-based sauce here with Fly By Jing.
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I mean, I love Sichuan peppercorn.
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When you get the real Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, when you get the real you know, peppercorn that tongue thing that happens, but this one and it's cuz of the oil, my lips are Yeah, you know, feeling it.
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Where does performing "You Still Believe in Me" alongside Al Jardine and Brian Wilson, where does that fall on your list of musical accomplishments? Nice. Okay.
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Yeah, that was pretty cool.
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I mean, I love that song. I chose it.
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They said, "What song you want to sing?"
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For some reason that track really gets me.
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I think it's the second track on Pet Sounds.
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I don't know if I can remember at this point, but maybe my favorite experience I've had as an actor, uh, Love & Mercy, and I think it's cuz of the music.
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You know, I was nervous, but I think it went went well enough.
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Uh, Brian was a super sweetie to me.
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Is it true that you met Bong Joon-ho when he was jumping up and down in the crowd at a show that your band was performing at in Brooklyn?
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Uh, actually, yeah, it is.
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So, so I was a big fan of his.
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Um, he had a film called Memories of Murder quite some time ago.
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2003, I can't remember the exact year. It's incredible.
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It's a [ __ ] great film. It's a really good film.
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And then he was in New York to promote his film called Mother.
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So, this is like 2008, 2009, maybe 2010.
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And, uh, I had a friend who knew him and was at his screening, and then they were like, "Oh, we're going to go see Paul play afterwards."
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And I was playing, and I saw a large Korean man dancing in the back of the room, and it turned out to be Bong, who I was a huge fan of.
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And we got to hang out afterwards, and then we started like a pen pal relationship.
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And then, eventually, a few years later, like we got together when he was in Brooklyn once, and he showed me a drawing of a pig.
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And he said, "This is going to be this movie, you know."
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And I was like, that just the drawing of the pig, I was like, "That's, you know, I'm there."
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Like, the I mean, I was just like, "Bong and a pig?
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Like, yeah, like yeah, for sure, you know."
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Um, so yeah, that's a that's a fun memory.
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All right, are you ready to move on here to sauce number six, back half?
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This is the turmeric bomb. Okay. Chocolate ghost pepper.
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Yeah, that one's different. Yeah. Yeah, okay.
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It's kind of another level, you know. Yeah.
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I'm definitely feeling on the back of the throat Mhm.
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Yeah, definitely more of a scratcher. the front, too. Yeah. From all sides, yeah. Getting warm. Yeah, it's coming. Mhm.
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This is This is more fun than I thought.
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I'm like, okay, this is I mean, I know we're going to be hurting, Yeah. but like, okay. So far, it's a vibe.
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Well, it's fun to like really taste it, right?
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And not just have it be about and me looking silly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
11:57
So, there's a really nice comment in the Paul Dano Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters Segment That You Did for GQ, which reads, "Paul Dano has one of the best curatorial instincts in the industry.
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It's a good sign when you see his name on a poster, not just because you know he'll crush the performance, but also because he picks the best movies to star in."
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I know this question is a bit in the abstract, but how would you best describe the science behind picking and sequencing roles for yourself? Well, that's nice.
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I didn't hear that before that somebody said So, somebody said that, that's nice.
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Um uh I think I'm just always really gotten off the one like the whole thing, meaning that it's not just about the character and not just about me, but it's like who are you in it with, what are you making, and are you excited to like potentially see that?
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But, I do think even when I was younger, I would probably lean towards frankly a if it maybe even a smaller part if I thought the thing was really and I don't know why except that that was me.
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I don't know that it always felt good or sane or like a a way to build a career or something.
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So, after doing the Batman, first of all, if Steven had asked me to do anything, I would have done it, but like the fact that Bert is so different from the Riddler, it was like what I needed. A gear shift. Yeah, right? Like that's good for me.
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It's like, okay, I've done this, you know, uh more operatic uh you know, psycho thing, and now this like really contained decent you you know, that I couldn't dream up.
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Like it just luckily worked out that way.
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It's It's like a Do I don't know if you get this.
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Sometimes you get this when I eat like a lot of sushi, like really good raw fish or there's like a slight high. Listen. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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I almost think that's like why I'm still doing the show 19 seasons later.
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I'm like chasing the dragon with that kind of like hot sauce head high that you get. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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So that's that's why I was laughing.
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Get a little like sort of weightlessness feeling. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's kind of a vibe. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's good. It feels nice. It's really It's nice. The Cosmic. Disco. Good label.
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Uh once you've taken that breath I like your hand rub after every bite that you take. No. Observe it.
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I know, but That's get That's getting That's getting somewhere. Yeah.
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We're getting uh granular over here, but yeah, that's Yeah. Ooh. It's getting good.
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And I think like it's funny cuz I was kind of It has a sweetness up front. Yeah.
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Oh, you got to rinse that.
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Okay, it's getting there.
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Yeah, you kind of forget.
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You kind of forget and then it has that sweetness up front, so you almost like kind of forget about it. in the back.
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The tip of my tongue is back loaded. It's getting there.
14:53
So I've always been intrigued by an actor's transition to directing, a leap that you made in 2018 with your directorial debut Wildlife.
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How would you define like a good actor's director?
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Like are there qualities that you tried to absorb from directors that you enjoyed working with in the past to help inform your approach when you took the seat? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, no, for sure. And that's yeah.
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That's um That's one of the advantages as a quote first-time director that I really had, right?
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I've seen how people do it and you can take you know you take something for the road with you and you're like oh oh yeah that's oh it's tingly. Yeah yeah.
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Um I think one of the things I was most looking forward to about directing was creating like how I wanted my set to feel.
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I always call like a temperature like each set has a different temperature.
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I really like when you walk from your trailer to a set and you can feel like the energy change.
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You know maybe sometimes you bring that but I think with certain directors you know it's like and there will be blood like you know that that set had a temperature and that's a good feeling.
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And I mean I can feel my nose dripping.
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I brought I brought a burp rag.
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I brought my kids burp rag in in case I needed it.
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Well it's a good thing you did apparently. Yeah okay.
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And you might need it for this next one which is the bomb beyond insanity.
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And this is here every year.
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How observant you are yeah every single year we've kept it around yeah it's the one and you'll see why.
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I know this is one of the ones that I want my beloved publicist over here to try out with you.
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know what that doesn't happen enough that doesn't happen enough when you guys come in you know. All right. Oh darn I am.
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Okay that one's pretty good. I mean wow. Oh it's intense right. Oh there you go. It's happening.
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Oh man you know we're talking about like the tails before like this one I feel like just leaves scorched earth you know. Woo.
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I was waiting for this moment.
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What if I got the hiccups? Woo. Okay. Oh my god all right.
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I know you need time to get the hiccups. after. Uh I know. I know.
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So, director Bong Joon-ho once joked that Korean movie audiences come to celebrate you for your strong chin, and there are more than just a few viral supercuts with titles like Paul Dano gets beat up a lot.
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What are the hallmarks of a good fight sequence in your opinion?
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Like, is there a real art to getting slapped around on camera?
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This movie called Knight and Day. And Tom Cruise is in it.
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Let's talk about the Should we? Nah.
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Does it I mean, you're the pro.
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You and I want you said you were going to mirror me.
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You reached for this first. what though? I did it instinctively. You know what I mean? I did that, yeah.
18:14
Well, that felt nice in the moment.
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We'll see We'll see what happens now cuz it could it's already coming back, but okay. So, Cruise. Cruise.
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We got to talk about Cruise.
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So, watching him do stunts was truly an informative moment because I saw how much he thought about what the audience is going to feel.
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And literally the impact they're going to feel. What is like felt.
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And that's the beauty of those Mission Impossible movies.
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Like, compared to the CGI fest.
18:47
You feel those stunts, right?
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Yeah, even like Top Gun, like him actually getting in the jet, you know, and flying that around. I think it's fantastic.
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Like, you feel it and he's working hard to give that to you.
19:00
So, it's the first time I think I really cuz again, I was probably I came more from like All right, my first film was an indie drama, like whatever, like I was like, okay.
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Like, that's the art, you know, it's like, whoa, okay, Cruise, you know.
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I mean, I feel it on the outside of my mouth. Yeah.
19:15
Uh where's the where's the head high at at this point, you know? That's different. Yeah.
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I think I think this one kind of grounded me a little bit and just kind of really was about the the the more physiological and not psychological, yeah. So, it gets worse. Let's see. Let's see. Let's see. You need garlic.
19:48
Sean, don't be afraid to what There you go.
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We're waiting for you to I don't mean to make you self-conscious about it. I'm right here with you. Right here with you. Woo! Yeah. We got it. We got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
20:02
Between films like Okja and Swiss Army Man, what would you say is the seminal fart scene of your movie career?
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There aren't many actors who can credibly answer a question like always been one of that to be asked this question.
20:14
When people say to me, "Is there anything that we haven't asked that you'd like us to?"
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I always think, "I wish they would ask me about what my most important fart on camera is." Yeah.
20:26
The opening of Swiss Army Man is definitely one of my favorite scenes that I've gotten to film.
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You know, the the intent was, "Can the first fart make you laugh and the last fart make you cry?"
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And I thought, "By God, if we could do that."
20:44
Now, I don't know that we did, but I thought, "Well, if we're going If you're going to work towards something in your life, that's that's something to work towards."
20:52
Now, am I forgetting, cuz you mentioned other things, am I forgetting about other film film film farts?
20:56
Cuz of course, the first thing I think of Oh, well, you know what?
20:59
Actually, I do have a follow-up, because you know, I apologize for this line of questioning, but in a 2007 interview with Playbill, you called your biggest on stage mishap a rather audible fart I let go but was able to use it in a scene.
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Do you happen to remember that production?
21:15
I mean, it was a 15-year-old interview.
21:18
Sean, I just try to use, you know, what's happening in the moment, you know, but also like yeah, that's funny.
21:23
I mean, you know, we we I've got a four-year-old so tooting is a big point of humor in our house, you know. Right, you know.
21:33
It's like a through line, you know, you know, it's followed you from your career to home. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Where it belongs. So, this one you pour? Oh, wait a second.
21:46
I think I got to finish off my look though cuz Oh, yeah, yeah, you got a whole Oh, there we go. too much.
21:51
It's Let's get it really Okay. All right. Extra sauce. Here we go. So, Pour it on the wood.
22:03
That's what I do, you know, I've I've messed up going straight to wing too many times. Okay.
22:08
Dab that nice little back corner of the wing there.
22:11
And I guess we really go for it, huh?
22:13
Let's go for it, you know, it's the finale. All right.
22:26
And this one kind of nice up front, little peppery, little bit weird, but then nice long tail.
22:32
Oh, I have a time delay, I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. And again, what's this?
22:35
It's I feel it on outside of my face.
22:39
Yeah, yeah, I'm full numbing of the lips. Yeah. But somehow Yeah.
22:44
we've made it through this winding spice journey together.
22:46
We've talked about your commitment to prep, your rigorous approach to every role, but I imagine being an actor sometimes is like taking on the wings of death.
22:56
As analytical, as much of a plan as you can have, when it all comes down to it, sometimes you just got to jump in and take a bite.
23:02
Throw caution to the wind.
23:06
So, to close things out with your brain on fire, your mouth ablaze, how much of the acting experience, in your opinion, is just being able to say, "Fuck it."
23:17
when the director says, "Action." Ah, that's a great. And you know what? It's true.
23:20
Like, man, I do not think the first thing I want to do is embarrass myself, but you got to be willing to embarrass yourself.
23:25
It's just like, you know, it's like, "Fuck, you just might embarrass yourself."
23:28
You really, you know, that's it. And lesson learned.
23:32
I mean, I've been doing this for a while, and Steven's film last year, there were times when I would just have to say, "I'm just going to have to do it."
23:40
On action, you know, like, you know, and and it just it's going to come out.
23:44
You just have to trust, you know, cuz you do all this work.
23:47
Some of that is I mean, it's all going towards it.
23:49
Some of it is, frankly, like, you're just trying to build up a reservoir of stuff to let out.
23:54
But, you you know, confidence, too.
23:56
It's like, "Okay, I'm Burt."
23:58
You know, and whatever it takes for you to believe that.
24:02
But, yeah, you just kind of ultimately have to let go.
24:06
And it's taking me a long time to get to that place of of trusting like something will come out today, Paul. And let's go. Let's go.
24:16
Hopefully, let let it out. Let it happen. And you know what?
24:18
Something was let out today.
24:21
Paul, coming in here, taking on the Hot Ones gauntlet, and putting an exclamation point on season 19.
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Now, there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.
24:31
This camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going on in your life.
24:36
Uh like like in my life right now, like Paul, personally, or like movies and stuff? Yeah, like I got a baby. Uh uh uh No. Uh yeah.
24:45
Yeah, see the I mean, the Fabelmans, man, is I think Steven's is I think it's really good. I really like it.
24:50
I think I think you should check it out. THAT'S IT. GOOD JOB.
24:59
ALL RIGHT, I'M GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER SIP OF THIS. YEAH.
25:01
Really fun and good and good questions. Thorough. I like it.
25:04
You You got people in a vulnerable place and ask a real question.
25:09
Try to Try to get something out of me. Yeah.
25:17
Thank you so much for watching today's video.
25:19
And Hot Ones fans, I have a very exciting announcement.
25:22
The Hot Ones Shake Shack collab is finally here.
25:25
The Hot Ones cheese fries, the Hot Ones burger, the Hot Ones chicken, all made with a Shack sauce that includes Hot Ones the classic along with the Last Dab. It's very spicy. It's very delicious.
25:41
And it's available for a limited time.
25:43
Now through the end of the year at Shake Shacks nationwide the Shake Shack app.
25:48
Be careful around your eyes and don't forget to order a milkshake.