TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest is Will Arnett. He co-wrote and stars in the new movie "Is This Thing On?" He was one of the stars of the series "Arrested Development," played the title role in the animated satirical series for adults "BoJack Horseman" and was Batman in the animated "Lego Batman" series. He also co-hosts the podcast "SmartLess" with his longtime friends Jason Bateman, who also starred in "Arrested Development," and Sean Hayes, who has a small part in Arnett's new film. Another longtime friend of Arnett's, Bradley Cooper, directed the new film and plays Arnett's self-absorbed best friend.
The story is adapted from the true story of the British comic John Bishop. The film's title - "Is This Thing On?" - has a double meaning. It's what a lot of people say when they first get to a microphone. It also refers to whether Will Arnett's character's marriage is on or off. The movie is a hybrid of comedy and drama, focused on the anger and resentments that can undermine a marriage and how your sense of identity can change if you're lucky enough to discover work that is meaningful to you.
Arnett plays a middle-aged father of two whose marriage has fallen apart. He and his wife, played by Laura Dern, are separated, and he's feeling lonely and miserable. One evening, while aimlessly walking down a Manhattan street, he sees a restaurant with a comedy club downstairs. Admission requires a $15 cover charge, but if you sign up to perform, the cover charge is waived. So he signs up because he doesn't have the cash. When his name is called and he gets on stage, he has no clue what to do. He freezes for a while and then starts talking about the current state of his life.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IS THIS THING ON?")
WILL ARNETT: (As Alex Novak) I think I'm getting a divorce. Yeah. What tipped me off was that I'm living in an apartment on my own.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: (As Alex Novak) Yeah. And my wife and kids don't live there.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: (As Alex Novak) That was probably the biggest clue.
GROSS: Will Arnett, welcome back to FRESH AIR. Thank you for coming today. And that scene is so good. It's so much fun to watch you feel so uncomfortable. And you're actually very funny, even though you're totally insecure and unprepared to be doing stand-up at that point in your story. So I know in preparation, you went to comedy club open-mic nights. Did you stay in the audience or perform?
ARNETT: No. I performed. I went to the Comedy Cellar almost every night for about six weeks and performed under the name of Alex Novak kind of in an attempt to understand what it was like, A, to do stand-up because I'm not a stand-up and I'd never done it before, and B, to see what it was like to do it through the eyes of somebody who's never performed in any capacity, really. So that was kind of - that was the assignment for me.
GROSS: Why didn't people recognize you?
ARNETT: (Laughter) Well, I think some did, Terry. Some people recognized me and were confused as to what I was doing because I would - they'd introduce me as Alex Novak. And I'd sort of reinforce that, say, hi, I'm Alex Novak. And people would laugh nervously, the people who did recognize me. The people who didn't recognize me, I guess, was just because they're not fans of my films or TV shows.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: Certainly, people - you know, a lot of my set, especially that first set that you played in the clip where I'm talking about getting divorced, I think it did confuse people. And people would be googling me in real time, trying to figure out what was going on, thinking, like, oh, wait. I didn't know this guy got married again (laughter). You know what I mean?
GROSS: Right. Not again.
ARNETT: Yeah.
GROSS: So did you try to be good or try to be stumbly?
ARNETT: Well, I tried to be sensitive to the material. So I was using sets that we had written for the film. So I'd go out and I'd do the first set, and then during the day, I'd be at home a couple blocks away in New York, rewriting the sets and trying to figure out - really trying to get it to a place that worked for the context that we were looking for, which is this guy who's never done it before. So I'd go and I'd rework it and rework it. And then, you know, one night, I might go out and go around the corner to the Underground - all part of the Comedy Cellar - and do the third set, and then go around the corner downstairs to the Underground and do the first set again and just keep working on these various sets, but always trying to track, you know, his development as a stand-up and - so that all of those pieces work. And not just his development as a stand-up 'cause those sets are also affected by where Alex is in our story and where he is in - you know, with his relationship with his estranged wife and all these things. And they all affect how he performs and how he is on stage.
GROSS: You know, the kind of story this is about two people who are dissatisfied with their lives at the moment and are, like, looking for a new sense of identity, which they feel they're lacking - why did you want to, like, tell the story from a more middle-aged point of view? And I know it's based on a real comic and, you know, a British comic, who I think is well known in England, but not here. John Bishop is his name. What appealed to you about the idea of a middle-aged couple looking to, like, find new identities and find some satisfaction in their work?
ARNETT: First of all, when I met John Bishop and he told me the story of how he became a stand-up - and, you know, he is a very successful stand-up in the U.K. He's a really funny guy. He's a really funny stand-up. I was drawn less to the idea of him kind of becoming successful out of nowhere and more to the idea of he found a thing that allowed him to kind of reconnect to himself and his wife. He had gotten so far down the road in his life and that he and his partner, his wife, Mel - he described that there was no big event, that there was nothing. That they had just simply - you know, you can say whatever you want - grew apart or whatever, but they weren't communicating. And they were frustrated in their lives, and they were frustrated with their lot, but they didn't have the language to even talk to each other anymore. And that was the thing that really got me. So we ended up - you know, we focused less on - in our story, Alex does not become a famous stand-up.
John told me recently that for him - you know, that becoming a successful stand-up was really the icing on the cake of which was reconnecting with his wife, with Mel. And so that stuck with me. I don't think it's uncommon. I think it's a real reflection of what a lot of people who are middle-aged, I guess, do go through. And you get - I think that sometimes you get resigned to the idea that this is your lot, and this is what it's going to be. And sometimes it's really a matter of you need to find the language or to start to really connect with who you are.
GROSS: There's a scene - and I don't think I'm giving too much away here - when they're trying to stay together or get back together, where your character asks his wife. He said, like, I know this about couple therapy, that, like, one of the standard questions is tell me something about myself that you hate about me. And I think, like, that's the kind of thing that could really go bad. I can imagine that becoming a real nightmare. I can also see a bit of, like, self-reflection being the result of that and self-knowledge that you weren't aware of before. I'm wondering if you've ever tried that approach, and how did it go?
ARNETT: (Laughter) I think that there is - from my own life, at this stage, I'm much more willing to be honest about where I am. And certainly, Bradley and I, this is something that we talked about, which is it's really important. Something that maybe you sort of avoid when you're younger, I think. And as you get older, you just kind of - you get to the point where you're like, you might as well just say and be honest. And you have to allow people to have their own reaction to what you say. And sometimes, so to instigate that, you have to say, like, all right, tell me the thing. Like, what is the thing that I do that drives you crazy? Just say it. And at the risk of blowing it all apart. And I think that's really important. And I think I'm much more willing to get into the deep water now myself than I was when I was a younger man, for sure.
GROSS: I'd like to offer an example of that from having heard you talk about this on "SmartLess," your podcast with Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman. And Bradley Cooper was the guest on this episode. And of course, Bradley Cooper directed your new film, "Is This Thing On?" So Bradley Cooper had been talking about how he really admired how angry some of your jokes were, that you would joke with people and say things that, you know, sounded angry in general or angry at them. But you were so funny and you knew these people so well that it was just, like, great fun.
So he figured, OK, I'm going to fit in by doing something similar, except it didn't come off that way. It just came off as, like, really rude (laughter). And so what I'd like to do is play a clip from that episode of "SmartLess" and hear what Bradley Cooper had to say. And then I want to ask you your perspective on it, OK?
ARNETT: OK.
GROSS: OK. Here it is.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "SMARTLESS")
BRADLEY COOPER: And he was like, hey, man, do you remember we had dinner the other night? And he goes, how'd you think that went? And I was like, I remember being at the dinner thinking I was so funny. And I thought, these two guys who were my heroes thought that I was so funny. I don't know if you remember this, Will. And you're like - I was like, oh, I thought it was great. I thought I was killing it. He goes, yeah, man. And Will Arnett is telling me, he's like, you were a real [expletive], man. And I was like, what? He's like, yeah.
And by the way, have your dogs gone out to the bathroom? And I was like, what? What time is it? It's 4 o'clock. Oh, no. I think they have to go to the bathroom. They're literally standing by the door. And that was, like, the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol. And I'll just never forget it. And I was like, oh, the guy that I think is doing mean humor is telling me, like, the truth about that. And it was like, it changed my entire life. And that moment was when I stopped...
SEAN HAYES: Oh, that's great.
COOPER: ...Pursuing this sort of mean humor thing.
JASON BATEMAN: Wow.
COOPER: Yeah, I'll never - do you remember that, Will?
ARNETT: I do remember that, yeah.
GROSS: OK, so that was Bradley Cooper on the podcast "SmartLess," which Will Arnett cohosts with Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman. Were you surprised he told that story? And I really want to hear your perspective on it. And I'm curious, like, what made you think that it would go OK and be helpful? Because there's the flip side of that coin. It could go really terribly. And he could just be very resentful of you and angry at you and just kind of dig in deeper in defiance.
ARNETT: Well, yeah.
GROSS: I mean, it saved his life. But you don't know the outcome when you go into it. So yeah.
ARNETT: Well, it's funny. I mean, I don't know if it saved his life. First of all, he did it all. I didn't save his life. I did not know he was going to bring it up, of course. And I was surprised. But I'm also not surprised because Bradley is somebody who - he does sort of, especially as we've gotten older, he's one of those people who tries to be as open as he can about his experience and honest as he can about where he's at.
So having said that, I think that is an example of, that day when I went into his place and we had that conversation, I had to be willing to risk it all because I love him. And, you know, I wanted him to be OK. And I know what it takes, that sometimes you have to, you know, be brutally honest, within reason. I don't want to hurt him. I'm not there to judge him for what he's doing. I'm there to be as honest as I can because I want him to figure out a way.
And luckily for me, but also mostly for him, he was open enough to the idea of this. And that's really a testament to him and his ability to recognize in that moment. It's got nothing to do with me. I'm just a messenger. And, you know, the only reason I did that is because I've been a beneficiary of so many great people in my life and in incredible relationships that I have, especially with a lot of great men in my life, who've been honest and loving to me.
GROSS: My guest is Will Arnett. He stars in the new film "Is This Thing On?" We'll be right back. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF WOOKIE'S "SCRAPPY")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with Will Arnett. He cowrote and stars in the new movie "Is This Thing On?" It's directed and costars his longtime friend, Bradley Cooper. Will Arnett also starred in "Arrested Development," "BoJack Horseman" and "The Lego Batman Movie."
Your voice, I don't think it's just me, the way I hear it. Your voice has gotten deeper over the years. Am I right about that?
ARNETT: Yeah, probably. I think. Has yours?
GROSS: Oh, my voice has completely changed. Yeah.
ARNETT: Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I realized the other...
GROSS: I used to talk more...
ARNETT: Yeah, I listened...
GROSS: (Laughter) I was like an octave higher, I think.
ARNETT: Really? You think it's gotten higher?
GROSS: No, no. In the past it was, when I started.
ARNETT: Oh, yeah, yeah. Because I noticed it with Howard Stern, you know, who I've known for a long time. And I listened to some old clips. I'm like, Howard's voice, yeah, I think that that's what happens. But certainly, yeah, it has I think it has gotten deeper.
GROSS: Were you a smoker?
ARNETT: Well, I mean, no comment. No, I...
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: Who do you work for, Terry?
GROSS: (Laughter) The tobacco industry.
(LAUGHTER)
GROSS: So is how you're cast differently with the lower voice?
ARNETT: Well, you know, when I was - I think I always had kind of a gravelly or whatever you want to call it, sandpapery. Some people might call it annoying voice. I don't know, Terry.
GROSS: (Laughter) I would not.
ARNETT: There are people. And so when I was younger, when I first moved to New York, I looked much younger than my age. I had a sort of a baby face. And weirdly enough, I knew back then that it was going to - that it didn't quite match, and it was maybe going to affect getting roles. At least that's what I would tell myself if I didn't get a role. I would think (laughter) it was because of my voice. So it took a while to kind of grow, I think, grow into it a little bit.
GROSS: I think your voice probably helped you get all the voiceover work that...
ARNETT: Sure.
GROSS: ...That was basically the way you made a living for several years. And...
ARNETT: Yes.
GROSS: Yeah. And so you were so funny with Conan O'Brien on his TBS show. And, you know, you're both so funny. So I want to play a clip from that show, and that goes back a few years to 2021. And you were talking about your voiceover work, and then you demonstrated some of your voices. So OK. And we'll hear Andy Richter, Conan's sidekick on that show, say a few words during the clip. So here's you and Conan O'Brien in 2021.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CONAN")
CONAN O'BRIEN: You've got the best pipes in the business. Your - his voice...
ARNETT: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: ...Is so incredible.
ARNETT: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: I try to get voiceover work, and I'm like, (impersonating child) buy this product.
ARNETT: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: That's the response I get.
ARNETT: Yeah, yeah.
O'BRIEN: I don't get the...
(LAUGHTER)
ANDY RICHTER: Well, they also like the ads to be more specific.
ARNETT: Yeah. Yeah, I know. That's true.
RICHTER: That was a little vague.
ARNETT: But that's obviously for Granny Smith apples, right?
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: I - yeah. (Impersonating child) Granny Smith apples are real good.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: You know, it's - no, I do - voiceover is a great thing, and I do a lot. And I actually - to be honest, coming here today, I'm kind of behind on a couple of jobs. And I just, you know - would you mind while I'm here - 'cause you guys are mic'd up and stuff, if - would you mind if I just did a couple...
O'BRIEN: You want to do some voiceover right now?
ARNETT: Yeah. If that's OK. Don't worry about it. Just...
O'BRIEN: I don't think it's appropriate to actually...
ARNETT: You guys have lots of equipment here, and I brought my setup with me.
O'BRIEN: You brought - OK.
ARNETT: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: That's ridiculous.
ARNETT: I brought my setup, and I'm just...
O'BRIEN: I can't believe I didn't see that back - wow.
ARNETT: I'm going to need this just a little - yeah.
O'BRIEN: So you're going to just do a voiceover or two.
ARNETT: I'm just going to do a couple things, and just stay within three, two...
RICHTER: You might want to plug those headphones in.
ARNETT: ...One. Innovative, creative and tough as nails. That's the American spirit. And that's the all-new GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Yeah.
ARNETT: OK.
(APPLAUSE)
ARNETT: We got that. Yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
ARNETT: We're just going to keep rolling here 'cause we're rolling. We're...
O'BRIEN: Let's roll another one.
ARNETT: We're really rolling here.
O'BRIEN: Here we go.
ARNETT: Hey, girl, I love your smile. Crest white strips.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: Yeah. That's good.
O'BRIEN: That was good.
ARNETT: We're banging them out. We're banging them out. We're - oh, we're not done here. Hang on. Just - we're still rolling here. Here we go. We're in three, two, one. Flenaman's (ph) racist butter. Spread it all around.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: Wait a minute.
ARNETT: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: That couldn't be a product.
ARNETT: Yep. Yeah.
O'BRIEN: Is that butter for racist people, or is the butter itself racist?
ARNETT: I don't know. I do not know, and I don't care as long as the check clears. OK. So let's do it.
(LAUGHTER)
GROSS: That's so great. And, like, the first one we heard was for GMC trucks. And you've done a lot, or you did a lot of voiceovers for them.
ARNETT: Yeah.
GROSS: And, you know, it's done in the style of, like, a rugged man who likes driving over tough terrain and wants a vehicle that can handle it.
ARNETT: (Laughter).
GROSS: So you have the voice for that, but do you ever feel like that kind of man?
ARNETT: (Laughter) Great question, Terry (laughter). It's not necessarily how I see myself, but, yeah, I still work with - I still do the - I'm the voice of GMC trucks, and it's something I'm really proud of. It's been a long time. I've been doing the ads for GMC since 1998.
GROSS: That long?
ARNETT: Yeah. I've been the voice of GMC trucks since - actually, this is the anniversary month, December of 1998. And...
GROSS: I never realized that was you.
ARNETT: Yeah, yeah. Well, because my voice changed and...
GROSS: Changed from doing those commercials (laughter).
ARNETT: Maybe. But I do - it is something that - yeah. I - there's something that I - first of all, I love working with the brand, and they are great trucks. I mean, look, they're - Terry, I - they're professional-grade.
GROSS: You don't have to advertise them.
ARNETT: They are professional-grade.
GROSS: Yeah. Does it hurt your throat to do that?
ARNETT: No. The only time that it really gets - got strained was - in that way where it didn't hurt, but I had to kind of be careful was when I was doing the LEGO animated films. And we did two "LEGO" films and a "LEGO Batman" film - standalone film. And doing the voice of LEGO Batman for extended periods of time was stressful. So I would book a - I'd do a session, and then I'd have to make sure that I had nothing to do for the rest of the day and basically wouldn't talk because there was - you know, it was hours in there going through the script and doing stuff and (impersonating Batman voice) as this, as Batman.
GROSS: My guest is Will Arnett. He co-wrote and stars in the new film "Is This Thing on?" We'll continue the interview, and our TV critic David Bianculli will look back on the year in TV after a short break. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE MCKENNA'S "LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Let's get back to my interview with Will Arnett. He co-wrote and stars in the new film "Is This Thing On?" which was directed by his longtime friend, Bradley Cooper, who also co-stars in the film. Arnett is best known for his starring roles in "Arrested Development," "BoJack Horseman" and "The Lego Batman Movie." He also co-hosts the comedy podcast "SmartLess" with his friends Jason Bateman, who also starred in "Arrested Development," and Sean Hayes, who has a small part in "Is This Thing On?" When we left off, we were talking about his voice-over work. In addition to "BoJack" and "Lego Batman," he's done the voices of characters in "Monsters Vs. Aliens," as well as voice-overs for countless ads.
How about your voice on "BoJack Horseman," where you play - this is a world of showbiz with animals and birds portraying the characters. And you're a horse who, when the series starts, is, like, a washed-up actor who was briefly famous for his role - what sounds like a pretty bad sitcom. And, you know, he sits at home in the first episode watching videos of his old show. And he's bitter. He drinks too much. And it's such a funny series, like, satirizing everybody in show business - the agents, the directors, the actors - and all of their insecurities. Did you do something with your voice for that character?
ARNETT: No. It's funny because that's one of those ones where I've had people say, wow, you really sound like BoJack. And I'm like, well, yeah, it's my voice.
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: Funny.
GROSS: And you wanted BoJack to sound more human, probably, too.
ARNETT: Yeah.
GROSS: 'Cause he's already not human, so you have to humanize him.
ARNETT: Yeah. That's exactly right. There's enough going on with the fact that he's a horse and that it's animated. So I think it was important to just try to - the way he spoke to be much more naturalistic.
GROSS: Did parts of BoJack's life remind you of your own when you were at a low point?
ARNETT: No. And it's funny. That's a question I get all the time. There was - there were times when people would - I remember, like, there's, like, photos of my house went online. And people would say, like, it just - it looks like BoJack's house, and I'd just think, that's so absurd. There's a lot of, like, retrofitting from people going on about BoJack and trying to hang it on my life. And they're very, very different. I loved making that show. Raphael Bob-Waksberg's an incredible writer, the guy who created it. Just an amazing guy. And wonderfully written, and I loved every moment of it. But it's had this, like, sort of strange afterlife. And I think a lot of that is due to the fact that a lot of people responded to it, which is amazing. But I also think there's this kind of rush to people to try to connect dots that aren't there.
GROSS: Sure. We always do that when we project a character's life...
ARNETT: It's insane.
GROSS: ...Onto the actor who's portraying that. And I do that maybe too much when I interview actors, you know, 'cause I always want to kind of connect the life and the work to see what created the sensibility that we love in the performer. And, you know, I think I probably hit a lot of wrong notes in trying to do that.
ARNETT: Well, no, it's not wrong. I think that that's natural. But, I mean, that's the work, right? Like, that's the job, is to try to figure out, certainly for - as a performer, you are trying to find moments where you can connect with it. But at the same time, the job is to try to figure out a way to find your way in to, you know, portray that character. And it's funny. It's like - I did a show, "Arrested Development," for many years, where I played a character who's completely untethered to reality.
GROSS: I've heard of that show.
ARNETT: Sure.
GROSS: (Laughter).
ARNETT: And so I played a character called Gob, Gob Bluth. He's a failed delusionist. And he's very, again, like, as I said, untethered, and he doesn't know how to live in this world that we live in. And it's funny that people go, oh, yeah. You know, there are parts of BoJack, I'm sure - is that you? And I'm like, well, why don't they say that about Gob or a character I played on "30 Rock" or - and who knows why?
GROSS: Because it was more absurdist.
ARNETT: I guess.
GROSS: It's more absurdist than BoJack.
ARNETT: I mean, obviously, it's about an actor, too.
GROSS: Yeah.
ARNETT: And also, BoJack was an actor and...
GROSS: Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
ARNETT: So I do get that. But, you know, apart from that, it's just no (laughter).
GROSS: "Arrested Development" was, like, your big breakthrough, right?
ARNETT: A hundred percent. A hundred percent. Yeah.
GROSS: Yeah. How did it change your life?
ARNETT: How long is this program? I'm looking at the clock.
GROSS: (Laughter) In every way?
ARNETT: Every possible way, yeah. I mean, that was 2003, and I'd been living in New York for about 13 years at that point. And leading up to "Arrested," the few years leading up, I'd had a - I'd done a bunch of pilots. I'd had a series that went on to air and aired twice, and that was canceled. And I'd had tons of frustrations, like a lot of other performers. My story's not that different. Just, you know, it's tough out there, etc. And "Arrested Development" came along and really changed my life.
GROSS: So when you got the script - however much you got for "Arrested Development" before the audition - did you have any sense of how to play the character? It's such a quirky way that you play him. And, you know, he's kind of, like, lost in his own world. He uses his, like, little magic tricks in some totally inappropriate ways. Like, this is not the time for you to, like, barge in and do a trick.
ARNETT: Yeah.
GROSS: And so, you know, your performance, the way, like, you shaped the words on the page and embodied it physically just being given a script, it's probably hard to do that without all the other actors there and without really understanding how unusual a series it was and how off-kilter the comedy was.
ARNETT: Well, yeah. I'll take it a step further. I didn't even have the benefit of reading the full script. I was given sort of a slight character breakdown, I suppose, that didn't really say how he behaved. It just kind of said who he was. He was the eldest of four kids of this family that had fallen on hard times. Their father had lost all their money, etc. And I was sent these sides. So the thing that I grabbed on to - and I was really lucky. You know, every once in a while, something comes along that you just - there's something about it that kind of grabs you.
And there was a line in it. There's a scene where my character, Gob, enters a scene where the character of Michael, played by Jason Bateman, is talking to the captain of this ship. And Michael says to Gob something to the effect of, you know, how are you, Gob? And on the page, it's written, incredible. I'm having an incredible year. And it was so - I don't know why. It was so funny to me. I just kind of got it for whatever reason. And I just remember, and I did it in the audition and subsequently in the pilot. I just understood the bravado of that. Who says that - right? - about they're - when they're asked, how are you? And I just thought, what a kind of sociopathic blowhard...
GROSS: (Laughter).
ARNETT: ...Goes, incredible. I'm having an incredible year, right? It says so much. It's clearly somebody who is, you know, covering up for a lot of deep pain. And I just got it, and that was it. It was that line that was my entry point for the character of Gob
GROSS: My guest is Will Arnett. He stars in the new film "Is This Thing On?" We'll be right back after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF PAUL SIMON SONG, "ONE MAN'S CEILING IS ANOTHER MAN'S FLOOR")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with Will Arnett. He co-wrote and stars in the new movie "Is This Thing On?"
Let's talk about your formative years. Your father, James Arnett or Jim Arnett - I don't know which...
ARNETT: Yep.
GROSS: Yeah.
ARNETT: Both.
GROSS: So - OK. So he was a graduate at Harvard, and he was for a few years president and CEO of Molson breweries. So when you - I know a lot of people, they look at their parents' lives and they think, I want a different life. And your life is very different. You're both very successful, but you went in an opposite direction. Not corporate, not law, and it's a more artistic world. Did you feel like he led an interesting life but you wanted a different life, or did you see his life as - it must be uncomfortable to be asked this question when your father's alive. So I realize - I don't want you to (laughter)...
ARNETT: Well...
GROSS: I don't want to ruin your relationship with your father.
ARNETT: No, no. You - no. I'll do that.
GROSS: (Laughter) Yeah. You'll ruin it yourself...
ARNETT: I'll ruin it myself.
GROSS: ...Or you'll ask - answer the question?
ARNETT: I don't need any help. No.
GROSS: (Laughter).
ARNETT: No. My dad - you know, I have a lot of respect for what my dad did. My dad came from - both his parents were teachers. And his dad, at one point, was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse on - you know, in Manitoba, not even in Winnipeg. And my dad worked really hard, and he got everywhere on his own merits. You know, he got into Harvard on his own. He became a partner at this law firm Stikeman Elliott in Toronto on his own as a kid from Winnipeg. And he didn't have a fancy background. So I've always respected how much of a sort of a self-made guy he is. And he's always - you know, my dad said to me once - I asked him once years ago. You know, he's long since retired, and I said to him - I said, why didn't you move to the states 'cause you could've made a lot more money in the corporate world as a - you know, you see how CEOs are compensated in this country and how absurd it is. And he said, 'cause I have an obligation to give back to the system that allowed me to come up. And that's the kind of guy he is.
GROSS: You went to a prep boarding school, and you were expelled for being a troublemaker. What kind of trouble did you get into?
ARNETT: (Laughter) A lot of it was - Terry, I hate - I'm loath to admit, a lot of it was smoking related.
GROSS: What were you smoking?
ARNETT: Cigarettes.
GROSS: Oh, OK.
ARNETT: Yeah. I was never - like, I was never, like, a real sort of weed guy. It was smoking, kind of bad grades 'cause I was goofing off, defying curfews, all stuff like that. And there were a group of us, and I think that they just - at a certain point, people say, oh, you were kicked out. And I always maintain that I was asked not to return.
GROSS: (Laughter) Great - a great distinction.
ARNETT: There's a distinction.
GROSS: Yes.
ARNETT: There's a real distinction there, Terry. But - so yeah. It never really - it's funny. I went to boarding school when I was 12. And again, my dad, who came up through public school system in Winnipeg - my dad was really - he was a little reluctant to send me there because he thought it was a bunch of rich kids. And he struggled with it, this idea, 'cause he was bound and determined that even though he did well and he was successful, that we weren't going to - that his kids weren't going to be a bunch of spoiled brats. And that was important to him. And so when I left, he wasn't all that upset that I left, to be honest.
GROSS: You are mostly known for comedic roles and - although, in the new film "Is This Thing On?" you play somebody who is just getting started in comedy. There are funny moments in the movie, but it's also just a character study about how people change and come together and then maybe break apart and then come together or not. So you didn't intend to be a comedic actor, as far as I know. You wanted to be a dramatic actor. Did you have to learn things? Like, you have great comic timing, and you're naturally funny. And I've heard you on "SmartLess." You were really funny on that. Did being funny in real life - was that mostly like your training to be funny in roles?
ARNETT: I didn't have any training. And there have been times where I regretted that I wasn't, like, in a sketch group or that I didn't do improv as part of an improv group in some sort of more formal setting. You know, a lot of my friends came up through Second City and ImprovOlympic in Chicago, etc.
GROSS: Well, that includes Amy Poehler, who you were married to for 10 years.
ARNETT: Yeah. That's right. And she created Upright Citizens Brigade, which has been an incredible training ground for plenty of really successful and funny people whom we all know. So, you know, I do wish that I'd had that. At the same time, I kind of fell backwards into comedy. I wanted to be a serious actor. I'd gone to Lee Strasberg. I - you know, I was young and I thought that I wanted to do stuff that would sort of be - I don't know - important or dramatic or emotional or whatever that heck it was at that age. And then I started reading sitcom pilots because I needed to pay the rent. And weirdly enough, I was, when I started doing that, kind of 24, 25. At the time I thought, well, I'm not going to do a sitcom. It's, like, beneath me 'cause I knew nothing at that age, right (laughter)? Just - and so hilarious now to think back on how embarrassing that position is. But anyway - and I started reading for sitcoms. And that - doing that, I was like, oh, you know, OK. And I could kind of understand the timing. And there was something about it that I kind of got.
GROSS: Can you look back to your first audition? How nervous were you? What was the part? What was your confidence level? How did you present yourself? Even if it was a kind of front you were putting on, did you present yourself as confident? Did you dress for the role?
ARNETT: I can think back on it.
GROSS: Did you sleep the night before?
(LAUGHTER)
ARNETT: I can think back on a lot of those early auditions, like, first sort of paying gigs for, like, a sitcom and being very nervous and almost, like, out of body, like, feeling - not being present and just because I'm so nervous. But I also think that, like, in the last year, you know, doing this movie has reminded me a lot. It's brought me back to that place. And I feel much closer to that kid I was when I was 20, when I first moved to New York. And, you know, doing something like this, where all the stand-up stuff aside - which was its own kind of thing - but doing all these scenes that were really vulnerable and revealing and felt very scary. And, you know, it's funny. Nervous and excitement, those two senses, they're really close to each other.
And so I was excited. But I was - also didn't know. And I've realized now as I'm older that I don't have all the answers. And I'm not sure if I knew how to do it, and I was scared. I was intimidated at 54. And I've been doing this a long time. And I was - you know, I was unsure if I could do it or if I could be available in that way, be vulnerable in that way, too, in these scenes. I can remember being a younger man and being a younger actor and feeling nervous. And I kind of am back to that now, which is I think I've shed a lot of that stuff, and hopefully a lot of the ego stuff, over the last year, especially doing this movie where I've - it's good to feel nervous.
GROSS: Will Arnett, it's been a pleasure to talk with you. Thank you so much. Congratulations on the new film.
ARNETT: Thank you so much, Terry. I really appreciate it.
GROSS: Will Arnett co-wrote and stars in the new film "Is This Thing On?"
After we take a short break, TV critic David Bianculli will look back on the year in TV. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF PERHAPST SONG, "ALAMAND") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
