Ep41 - Bryan Cranston / "Last Flag Flying"

the New York Film Festival this year. His name is Brian Cranston and he's right here. Brian, thanks for coming on the show. How are you, Chris? I'm good. Often I will ramp up into the movie at hand, but I really want to dive in on this one because I love this film. Uh. It is from an author that I really love as well. I don't know, have you read many of Darryl Ponnickson's books, Well, just kind

of know what. When I knew I was going to do this, I wanted to go back and read Last Detail and uh, and then Last Flag Flying was also you know, in the same Vivieau. In fact, it's a it's a sequel as as a sequel to Last Detail, and those are the only Took books I've read so far. He did another one called Tom Mis Died for Our

Sins that I wholeheartedly recommend. It's like this adventure tall tale kind of imagining biography of Tom Mix classic cowboy of old and uh, he just has such a way with words, you know, And that's that's why I gravitated towards his work to begin with. And then I tracked down Last Flag Flying. I read it before I saw the film. It's a hard book to find, actually, yeah, I guess it. It had maybe one printing. And now they're like they go for eighty bucks a pop or

something if you can find. They're coming out with her coming out version. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie, though, because I was curious about what your you guys were gonna do. And uh, as I say, he's got such a great way with words, and it's a dialogue heavy story, and I note I recognized that when I was reading the book, and as well when I read the Last Detail has the same vibe. You can understand why, you know, how Ashby was interested in

making that into a movie. Years ago, and I didn't realize until I saw the film that this was perfect for Richard Lincolater. It didn't strike me while reading the book, but when I saw the film, I was like, Oh, this is such a hangout movie, you know what I mean. It's it's it's like Days and Confused or Boyhood or the before movies where you can just kind of hang out with these characters and have conversations about life and stuff. So I'm curious what you thought about that quality of

the film. No, that's really what attracted me to the screenplay. The idea of working with with Rick was I on my list. But if if the screenplay didn't measure up, then you know, I would say, well maybe maybe the

next one. You know. Um So, this one really struck a chord, and knowing that it was intended to be a sequel, but um Jack retired and you know, Randy's off in Canada somewhere, and the other actor, I'm sorry I'm blanking on his name, but he he passed away, so there wasn't going to be a sequel of the

last detail. Um So, Rick wanted to take this same milieu, the same sensibility of three men with a history in the military and who reconvene for another task, and in this case it's Um to help the youngest member of the trio, Doc played by Steve Carrell, to to bury his son. And my character, Sal is one of those knee bouncing, kind of all consuming kind of guy, never shuts up. Uh. It can be charming, but he can

also be incredibly irritating. Um. He's one of those guys who would have been diagnosed as bipolar and a d h D and and anything else. But he's constantly eating or smoking or drinking. He's he just wants everything. He consumes life in every form. He says no to nothing and UM. So it was a lot of fun to play and Rick, you know, as a master at being able to separate the characteristics of each character and and

tell you what your lane is. And by staying in those lanes, Fish and Steve and I were able to have a blast. We would do what was written in and we improvd a lot. And UM really bonded during this movie. Yeah, as you say, the script was written, they went away from doing just a full blown sequel, although they maintained many of the same story beats uh,

But nevertheless, you know. And also it's interesting because Last Flag Flying the book was actually more of a sequel to the movie than the book because Kurdusky dies in the book but not in the movie, and he's alive and well and he explains that page one and Lass Flag Flying. But uh, you know, given that it's not a sequel per se, you still are playing but dusky of a fashion, I guess is a way to put it. So did you look at Nicholson at all or did

you just stay away from that? And how did you and Rick talk about making this character his own guy? You know, Nicholson is such an indelible personality that I certainly didn't want to go back and revisit the movie and see what he did because it would seep into the performance. Um, I don't want to do a poor imitation of the great Jack Nicholson. So I wanted to do a poor imitation something else. Um No, I just wanted to kind of find out who that guy was.

And you know, for me, the character of sal is consumed is all consuming, but for a reason he's um. He's trying to drown out the demons that seemed to try to rise up within him. And he found that if he drinks enough and self medicates enough, then I think it it staves off those those that viciousness and and he can cope with the day. Um. He's not a very um, you know, self reflecting kind of person.

He is one that's ready for a party, ready for action, ready a fight, ready for something anything, because I think that's his connection to feeling, and that's his humanity. It's it's in instant kind of gratification. He's almost a throwback to a child like um personality that he wants that that energy, that excitement right now because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but right now, I allow

I want to feel it. And it contrasts really nicely with the brilliant job that Steve Correll did with Doc, who he had such courage to just sit in it and and be that person and not feel he has to emote, not feel, he has to drive the energy or the story just to let it evolve. And then contrast that with Lawrence Fishburne and his brilliant work and the way he was standing in judgment of sal and

trying to forget the past and his culpability to it. Um, and he too, I think was hiding behind what he has now become as a member of the church, and I think he was not wanting to remember the bad things that happened back in Vietnam when we were babies. And You're exactly right about just the contrasting UH styles and the different lanes to be in. And you three actors as well, I mean, you, Stephen Lawrence seemed like

very different personalities. So I'm curious what the what was the camaraderie, Like you said, he got along great, but just what was downtime like on the set, you know, between takes, what was what was that vibe like for the three of you. It was a lot of fun, you know. I was having so so much fun being sal being just a jerk in many ways and getting away with innuendo and things like that. That, Um, it

was fun to do that. Um Ule Vasquez is another great actor I've worked with before on The Infiltrator and he played the colonel in this um in this film that we have to appeal to Um off screen, Yule is a very funny guy and he was keeping us laughing as well, and so it was it was a fun set. It was a light set. We're all we've all been doing this for quite some time, and Rick is so easy going and his manner of direction is miniscule. You know, he wanted to We talked about it early on.

We had about a weaker ten days of rehearsal where we just read through it and whatever um it conjured, as far as uh suggestions or changes or bumps along the way, we were able to voice that. And what he agreed with he corrected, and what he didn't he gave justification to it. So we then realized, good, good, right, Okay, I see that's you know, so we had a really good understanding before any of the cameras were rolling. We shot this in Pittsburgh, and um, it was a blast.

It was really a lot of fun. One of the things that you know, we we got together a few times, we went to a Pittsburgh Steelers game. We also um when we gathered a whole group of us gathered to watch the results on election night in November of last year sixteen. And yes, yes, it was quite a shocking, quite a shocking that No, it was. I know, Steve and I were chatting a lot in the car ride over and in the car ride home, neither one of us. Yeah,

I imagine. Well regarding Steve, actually, his range is so interesting, specific typically this year, because he's also in this film Battle of the Sexes, playing you know, much broader character and Bobby Riggs and you're right, his kind of quietude in this film and just it's interesting to see the choices he continues to make as he branches out as a film star now and he's there, he's I was so impressed with with him in and just dropping into that guy and being and it really works so well

because the three different energies that these three men bring to this story and orchestrated by Rick link Ladder, you know, he just is a a great, great orchestra leader and brought it all together and it's it's it's a really important film. Yeah, it's a male bonding film, but it's very emotional. Women are gonna like this movie because they're seeing men vulnerable and raw at times, um honest as

all the way through. Yeah. Well, on that note, I mean, I was reminded of the film again recently when our Commander in chief announced his for lack of a better word, strategy uh for the ongoing Afghanistan conflict, and the characters in this film they talk rather directly and frankly about America's repeated mistakes in war, and uh, you know, there's certainly a cynical view taken of the pageantry and the dishonesty that kind of keeps the military this shining thing

beyond reproach. And I feel like those elements of the movie are very intriguing today and promises the film will resonate in some way today. I'm just curious your thoughts on how a film like this will resonate in this climate. Well, I think the backdrop of the film is that. And what these men had in common was that they were all in Vietnam together. Mueller, Lawrence Fishburn's character and my character Sal were in the Marines and really tight buddies,

excuse me. And Doc was a Navy medic who was assigned to this Marine Corps battalion, and um, we kind of took advantage of him as the story and got ahold of his medical case and in there we found all kinds of goodies and you start to realize, well, they did this to self medicate, to be able to put a lot of the troubles that they were facing, the the ther responsibility of excuse me, of of their commanding officers. Um, there's there's a disenchantment that is naturally

present with many military personnel. And yet I just finished a USO tour where I was on army basis and air Force bases in Germany and Great Britain, and I gotta tell you, I was really impressed with these men and women in the military. Um, the bright and personal and personable and respectful, and I came away thinking better of them and not to be so derisive of the younger generation. And you know there's been a lot said

about that younger generation. You know, they just show up and they want a trophy, that kind of thing, and no, the good ones will rise to the top, just like any other generation. And UM, I gave me a lot of faith it. You know, your your role in the military when you sign up is to follow orders, and

you can't not do that. There has to be control and order, and you just hope that the people at the top, the people who are making the decisions, UM that may put you in harm's way, are doing so thoughtfully, respectfully and and sometimes painfully. Making those decisions and if

there's a lot of trust to that. Uh. And also I just I revisited an interview you and I did a couple of years ago around Trumbo when, uh, you know, Trump had just recently at that point announced his intention to run and everything, so it was all very different climate at the time. But your quote to me was that he was a quote wake up call for America. I just wonder, this sounds like such a cheesy question,

but are we still asleep? Um? You know, in my in my estimation, yes, I think I think there has to be um less of a focus on the individual and more of a focus on what is best for our country and and by extension of that by the world. We're so interconnected financially globally, the climate change. I just can't believe people are denying this reality. Um. But um.

The other thing that I learned when I was doing All the Way and playing Lyndon Johnson was that during his time there was a lot more civility in politics. That it was very common actually for men and women in Congress on the opposite side of their ideological fence to be able to share drinks together and and meals and meet their families and have picnics and all these

things was a group effort, Republicans and Democrats alike. And by doing so, by breaking bread with the opposing team, let's say, um, when it comes time to work out a deal, you are less likely to throw that person under the bus because you know, Yeah, I like him. I I don't think he's out to destroy the country. I don't think he's a an insane person. Uh. He and I just have a different approach of how we

see the the avenue to to improve the country. Okay, So if he's a good guy and I believe that he loves the country, and I believe he believes that I love the country, well, then let's sit down and figure this out without the name calling, without the vitriol, without the aggression that we find now it is so bad now, and the the stakes are high, but it is so the climate is so bad that Chris, if you and I were in opposite parties and you had a fantastic idea that would really help the country, I

can't support it. I it's I I can't cross it doesn't Yeah, and that has to change. That really has to change. It's not about individuals winning it's about what's best for the country. And if we can get back to that and infuse it with with more civility, I think will be better off. Well put Well, I want to squeeze some other things in here. Squeeze. Let's squeeze. We have a couple other movies here in this year. You're in this remake of the in Touchables called The

Upside with Kevin Hart that played the Toronto Film Festival. Kevin, if they can bottle that guy's energy, I would buy it in a store everybody. In fact, he's thinking of how to bottle his energy right now. He is entrepreneurial by nature. He is a clean liver, he's a hard worker. Um. He is really really good in this movie The Upside. And I knew he would. I didn't know before I

met him. I'll be honest, because of you know, the stand up was funny, but it was kind of open and brash, and here it is and this story he needs to really drop down and expand his foundation and and really be real and honest and not performing. And we met a few years ago and I said, you know, this is not a comedy and he goes, no, I know, And I realized within probably five to ten minutes, he was not only in control, but he knew what to do, why he was wanting to do it, and he knew

how to do it. And I just got a sense of absolute confidence from him that he was going to do a really good job. And it's true in many cases that comedians can make really good dramatic actors. The opposite is not necessarily the truth. Dramatic actors cannot just roll in and do comedy. So he has that going for him, so that his natural ability to be affable

and friendly and fun comes out. And there's a lot of laughs in the upside, But what really makes it work is when he feels the weight of the character and the responsibility and the trouble that his character is in, and how does he navigate his way out of it. The upside is really it's kind of I call it. It's it's a it's a love story between two straight men.

Neither one thinks that they have a future, and it's the other person that has the key to unlock that thinking, and it's that friendship that enables both of them to feel, ah, this is now, I can go on and live my life. And it and make it something, make it important. Yeah, you're also in The Disaster Artists. You play a it's a little cameo version of yourself. And you've worked with James Franco a few times now. How does he strike

you as a director. Well, he's good. I like him as a director because you know, there's a sense, like Richard link Ladder, Um, he wants to cast it well and make sure that his actors understand the role. Make sure you're you know, the the avenue that I want this character to go down. And as long as you're both understanding that, then he lets you alone. He'll he'll trust that you get there. Um. So I worked in The Disaster Artist, which I haven't seen yet, which is yeah,

I have not seen it yet. I've been out of town for every screening. Um did you see The Room? I saw The Room, which is phenomenal. It is just a wonderful movie in all for all the wrong reasons. Um uh yeah, and this is this is you know, a story about the making of the Room, and um it was. It was a tremendous amount of fun. And of course we we acted together. Uh in the movie Why Him that came out last Last Christmas, which is

a blast to make and uh, I love dogs. I wanted to just briefly mention working with Wes Anderson on that you've frequently throughout your career you've done voice work. How does that work strike you? I guess is it? It seems like the kind of thing you could kind of shift down and kind of you think, you know, you'd think be exactly, But that's why I wanted do you speak to it? Yeah, you know, an actor has

to go through so many hoops. We're grateful to be where we are, but when you're working on camera, you have to physically go to out of the country. You have to where do wardrobe calls and makeup calls and hair call, and you're up early and you're there all day and and so there's a lot of logistics to it, and that can be trying because hours are long in many cases. Um and then you have an offer to do a film where it's just your voice and it will take about, oh about a collective twenty hours in

the booth. You're close to home, you don't you can roll out of bed, you don't have the shower, you don't have to shave. You could be in your pajamas and you're there in front of the microphone. So the idea of it is very enticing to many actors, male and female. The issue is is that when you get in front of the microphone, you realize, you know what this this is a performance, This is not any different

from any other performance. And then you start asking and reviewing the script and with the director and and talking about the character and where does the character. So I find it very challenging to be able to convey a fully realized character using only your voice. Um. And so you'll find most actors if you see videotape of actors doing voice work for a movie, you'll see them acting

it out and really being present. And that's to make themselves feel good that they're contributing and and delivering a full performance. Yeah, regarding the pajamas thing, I bet the sound guys would kind of prefer you show up in pajamas. I heard the story from my sound editing instructor in the film school about Rutger Hauer showing up to a looping session all leather, every little crackle. Can you take

off your jacket? He's like, no, okay, it's funny. I have to talk about Breaking Bad, because I'm sure you're asked about it constantly. But it's my favorite show still in recent memory. I just it had me hooked. I was desperate for the next week's episode. Do you miss the energy of that show? Being on that show? Working on that show? I miss the brilliant writing. I miss the camaraderie and love of the family that you make um for six years, six months out of the year.

For six years, we're with this group of people, cast and crew, and you go through life. You go through marriages and divorces, and births and deaths, and high school and college graduations. From when they started they were little kids, so you go through a lot and and I missed the storytelling. But I must be honest that I don't

really miss playing Walter White in the show. And the reason is the brilliance of Vince Gilligan and his writing staff wrote such a complete and satisfying beginning, middle, and end to the story that the only way I can equate it is that if you had a beautiful meal appetizer and a drink and a salad and a main course and a dessert and a little espresso after after dinner, durnk Oh. It's just fantastic and you're done, and then someone brings you more food. It's like, oh, no, I

I I really I'm good. I can't possibly, I'm kind of I'm I'm feeling really good. If I ate anymore, I would not feel good. Um, And I think that it would I look at it like gluttony. It would be too much. It ended so perfectly that it was like, oh, very satisfying. So instead of reopening that and and I've been asked many times, are you going to do any more breaking bads? And I'm thinking the enemy died? You remember if he died, It's like maybe they want you

on better call. So you've you've you've mentioned before like how how you envision something like that being just like a brief encounter And that's something really honest and small, and yeah, what are the odds we would see something like that happen? I don't know. I think that could be pretty good, but I don't know as at this point,

I really, I honestly don't know what they're thinking. I mean, I think it should be in the last year, right, it should be in the last year, last episode maybe, but it's you know, if Peter Gould, who was running the show with Vince Gill again, it's so they're they're both so dedicated to and protective of the show and the and the you know, the authenticity of it, and and they don't want to do anything that would make

it cheesy and stupid. And that's why I think that if Walter White shows up on Better Call Saul, it would be more honest if it was just a passing, just a brush by, something, a little engagement, and that would be honest because then two years later or whatever, how much later they wouldn't recognize each other. It was how many people do we pass by or leave the coffee counter or whatever and we don't recognize them? Again? Yeah, exactly, something something like that. But I do know that if

they called, I'd be there. Uh. Note to Vince. The last thing I wanted to ask was just the evolution of TV. You've probably been asked this before, You've Uh. I could just read off a list here that I made actually, Chips, Air, Wolf, Hill Street Blues, Baywatch, Falcon, Chrest, Matt Luck, l A Law, Seinfeld, Walker, Texas, Ranger, Chicago, Hope, x Files, Viper, that show Viper, which I actually loved

when it was out. You've been a TV throughout your career, You've been you had a first front row seat for this evolution of TV to what it is now, and I just want to know your thoughts on that evolution. I think it's wonderful. Um, audiences now are far more sophisticated than they were in the late seventies when I started. All through the eighties. You know, the shows that a lot of the shows that you mentioned are shows that

that would be laughed at right now. It's it had its time and purpose, but they were simplistic, and they weren't sophisticated. They weren't filled with nuance and idiosyncrasies of characters. They were more distinctively white hats or black hats. And um, that's just not believable. And audiences demand a higher quality of writing and performance and production values, and they're getting

it the outlets now. You know, as a producer now I have I have three shows with Amazon, and I love those people over there because they want to have a high quality output of production. But yet they don't step on the creative process. They tell you what is wrong in their notes or what they're confused about or they'd like to see more of, and then they leave it up to you to deliver the goods to make

the actual creation work. And and I love that, And you know, I'll continue to do UM television and film and theater. I'm going to do a play in London at the end of this month. UM We've already started rehearsing and it's going to be Patty Chayevsky's Network brought to a live theater at the National Theater in London. And so that happens from November to the end of next year March of eighteen. And you're playing I play Howard Beale as Hell, and I'm not going to take

it anymore. And on television, I just finished doing Curb Your Enthusiasm. I wanted to ask you about that because I just saw the trailer and you show up in the trailer. How was that? It's fantastic. I can't wait for that to come back. You know, I learned a lot about comedy from Larry David, from Jerry Seinfeld and Julie and Jason, and being able to be on Seinfeld and watch how and they crafted a joke like it

was like they were architects. I mean truly, it was refining the timing, the beat, and you know that's that sentence is not getting a lamp because there's one too many words in it. Take this out and now do it perfect good. It was just just really brilliant. And so when Larry invited me to join the cast of you know this season, uh for an episode, I jumped as I don't care, I don't even I didn't even ask what the character is. Just I'll tell me when to show up and I'll be on your show. I'm

honored to be on the show. And it's very funny, and the and the production of it is a blast. You know, you have Jeff Garland and and you know Richard and everybody who's just so funny, and you know, it's it's I can't wait to see it myself. Yeah, is it? Is it a character? Or are you getting yourself? It is it is a character. I'm not playing myself. I wait for that. Well again. This movie is Last Flag Flying. It is opening the New York Film Festival

tonight and it opens in theaters November. The Disaster Artist is December one. And the upside, I think we're we're waiting to find out a day. Upside is going to have a qualifying period at the end of this year and then it open sometime in the first couple of months of next year. There you go, keep an eye out for that and check out curb your enthusiasm when it's on TV. I guess go to London if you want to go see Network. I'll try to make it

out there myself. I'd love to see you as Outward Bill. Anyway, his name is Brian Krasson. Thanks again for coming on the show, Sarah. Chris ask the question, am willing just surrendered to God? What the hell happened? The mule or the mall? First class drink? We have some visitors among does here today. We were in the service together with your past there. I haven't seen these minute decades. Was a dog period in my life that went down awfully quick.

Drinking for tuna. You've got old and boring shue down a lout on me because of my son. I came here. How do you guys? A year ago we joined the Cores and then two days ago they told me that he had been killed. It's gonna be buried in Arlington, And I was wondering if you guys could come with me. Yeah, called to you just God for second desert. Why I'm taking Larry home with all due respects her. He deserves to lie Arlington. You're gonna take that that kind of

making fun cutting off your nose despite your face. Did you look at these faces? They've already been spidered. I thought we were going to a funeral. We are going to a funeral. It just looks like it's gonna take a little longer to get there. If you're gonna do drap the cop into the roof of your call, we could do that thing that made Larry different from the rest of us. He had happ Oh said that if there's one minute that's not too terrible, I'd like to

try to enjoy it. As homeless can hardly walk, let alone handle a big rig with a hydraulic loop. This is a rental with an automatic transmission. You guys ready for an adventure. Let's go when you I love it. It's like the official center of the city. Didn't it come into you here and out of you. You're worried too much. That's why your hair went so great? Could you resist a man in this uniform? I don't think I could be there for your brothers. That's all it

really matters. Get out of the okay you want to play, let's play. Hey killed, I won't bury your has a right