Ring Ring Ring Ring, May I please speak with Zoe. Hello, lamar Let's patch in Hannah. God, I forgot what it was like working with you. Guys. Hey man, thank you for being here. Thanks for having me, guys. Good seeing everybody. So good to see you. How are you? You have a new show coming out in the midst of the press for it, um, I'm having a lot of fun. It's exciting. It's called an angle on it that you haven't told any other press outlet. I'm not going to ask a question, because like, I'm not a journalist, but just give us a weird angle. The angle on it is and the reason I wanted to do it with. In the pilot, there is a section called a penis montage because we do we do. We're a nudy magazine. We're essentially the first playgirl and I'm the publisher of it, and we need to find the male centerfold. And so I read in the script that there was gonna be a penis long times to see what that looked like, and what like was a group of as we all know, extras are the greatest people on every set of all time. But now I saw almost no underpaths like it was like thirty five dudes or something like that who were wanting to be in the show and get a bump for showing their penises. Just one naked dude after the next, and so it was it's real. It's not like prosthetic. Those were real hawks, um, And it was probably the hardest I've laughed in a really long time because the immaturity spikes and you're trying to be professional and cool and like a long haired dude and take off his underpants and you're here it is on. It brought out the true twelve year old in me and it was scream funny. So the show is really great. It's really fun. I'm excited for people to watch it. So I just want to know what music that peanis montages, So it's all hits from the seventies, which you'll love. I love it already. Yes, So the music was great, but obviously what was Look when it's cut together, it feels way smoother because obviously, as you guys know, there's never music while you're shooting. So the sound over the montage was the slapping of guys hitting their own butts and sting their thighs, with me going like this when a d s being like, everybody, keep it together. The next guy is Carl and Me being like, don't make an appropriate joke, don't make a joke, don't make it. There's like an intimate the coordinator. They're trying to like make sure you're professional and you're making her dog heard. Yeah, And then when you're sitting there being like, don't left, don't left, don't left, don't laugh. And then there's like a bigger guy with a ponytail and being like, hello, everyone, nice to meet you. And then he takes his shirt off and I'm like, I cannot believe. On God's great Earth take The fans have been the fans have been messaging me ever since the announcement of your show. They've wanted to know how many times in this show do you show your hog? Every episode? About forty times? You know, this is a dream role for you. This is oh yeah, they're building this thing is kn' kong to only. The only thing that could be worse than coming on set and having to pull your hog is that what we're calling it right now? Your hog out is then to have um, the big fancy actor of the show look at it and then laugh hysterically. Yeah, yeah, not wrong. Now the problem was the kind of guy who's willing to show his hog In the most part, he's got something to show. So you're loving at somebody where you would go, hey, at five ft four, about a hundred and thirty five pounds with long, greasy hair, well done, I have judged you in correct, not washing his hair right. Yeah. I learned about seeing the amount of genitalia in the person is that you really can't tell you. There is no like indicator. It's not like, well, that's a thick bodied man. Therefore, Yeah, can people look at me and they judge me correctly? I will say, you know what I mean? What is that? What is correctly? Strong? But it's fast. I get the job done quick myself. Your wrists little, Yeah, I have dainty wrists and skinny fingers, massive biceps, and you got swarms in you you've been working out? Hell, yeah, don't. I'll try to get my life together. I have I have. Would you like to see my hug? Sure? No, what does happened now? I'm yes, I would love it if you show it. Incredible. Speaking of how about Ralph in passing? What a sad thing he was in his nineties. By the it's amazing. I thought he was a lot younger and one of the mysteries on my card. I thought he was in his seventies. Yeah. You remember your first scene with him, Jake? Uh? Yeah, I was there. Yeah, he was so uh. You know, he doesn't talk on screen obviously, as we all know and they all know, but he was a really present actor and he was joking in between. So it's funny being part of it. There's such a different take than people watching him, right, Yeah, really a solid actor. You know. Obviously it seems like it's a bit because he doesn't talk, but we all know there's people who don't listen in scenes, and there's people who listen. Yeah, he was so good even though he didn't talk. But I'm shocked, meaning he was probably late eighties while he was doing that. Yeah, I'm in my late eighties. There's no chance I'll be doing anything. You're Ralph and his nineties is me and my fifties. Well, get used to Jake now, because this is it. Man, I am on the farewell tour. Like, didn't you have something to do with him being on the show, Like, wasn't it your idea? For that character. It was a soft pit I want. I pitched Liz that I think it would be really funny if Nick went to a park and had a magical friend who never talked but Nick believed he could hear them, so that you could get like exposition out from Nick. But they came up with the whole pitch of that episode where Zoe and I go in like the hot tub. That was all the writers, and I think that's what really made the character. But I just like Nick having a character who never talked back but Nick could hear. That was what I remember was that that episode on the page was not working yet and they were like it ended up being such a good episode, was like the first one that Ralph was on and then um they were like, how about you guys getting a hot tub? And we're like what so much that show was like that though, of like, well we figured it out. Yeah, if you're if you're just tuning in, folks, we are talking to Jake Johnson. He was a cast member on New Girl. People tune in halfway through podcast by the way, Yeah, we are commercials. Yeah we call it station identification. We got we got back, We're back. If you didn't. If you didn't, if you just to keep the first it was all about hogs. So you know what it was. It was broadcast and started minute we got we got Jack Johnson from Drunk History Fame. Jake, you've done, You've done a lot before we go back to the beginning. Let's keep that. Let's keep that. I want to talk about Dennis Farina, another another actor that you got to work with. He played your father on New Girl. UM. In the spirit of UM, I mean, one of the more iconic actors that we have in our in our universe. UM, God rest his soul. Please tell us the story of Dennis and Max Greenfield for sure? Can we tell that story? Yeah? I think so. But do you remember, lamourn that it was a big moment where because you guys obviously remember rehearsals, we didn't overly commit as actors. And now that we've all done, you know, at that time, I hadn't done a lot of more. I hadn't done as many jobs. But you start seeing the scripts were being rewritten, so we were reading them for the first time. A lot of the time we would get pages and it would be the night before we'd be walking into rehearsal, and I viewed it on that show is that's just the first time we're doing it. But when we were doing Virgins and do you remember how committed Dennis Farina was to rehearsals And we remember that there was a scene we did on like a bed where he like gives us a talk and the crew applauded after a rehearsal because of his performer. I remember being like, they've never done that, especially with you. You were notorious for kind of phoning in rehearsals. Um, yeah it was you. Yeah, I'm trying to make fake news. I feel like everybody was on the same call, very tired. If you were not professional, you you laughed halfway through every take when you initiated improv memorial walk into the scene, the scene would be he would be starting and he would go his line would be like the waters here, and you would go, hold on. I just was I just talked about this in an interview. They said, like, ask me questions about what you remember from the show. I said, I remember having anxiety because going into a scene with Jake Johnson, I would go, I know I'm gonna do a bit, and I know I'm gonna laugh and I know he's gonna kill me. It's like, I know he's gonna kill me for he's gonna kill me on camera. It's like those were some of the best days, but also the worst because I was like, damn it, man, you're a professional. You're supposed to be able to handle this. You're one of the few guys that you would break midway through your own bits before you got it out. So even it was funny, it would be like, if you can't get through it, just say you hold on, hold on. You haven't ever done to take yet, Jake. I want to say you're one of the most committed people to long term bits I've ever met. I thank you, which we're still over text doing bits that we started on the first season of New Girl, and I still will try to make those bits happen with other people. What are you talking about is the uh we when we started off pretending to be fake managers and try yeah, go and I are still doing it. I don't know how personally about families and stuff like that. I'm fine with you. Yeah, yeah, you tried to sign my kids. Yeah. The photo of Ton and daughter doing a funny video, so I just want to letter know I did sign your daughter, I think right before she was born. I'm boarding your son. Take I'll take Jonathan too. He's a hunk, the whole group. I know it's a little and do your contract is really bad. That's the thing. I don't do dempers as a manager. I don't do tamper cent of the work and you don't take cultures on their behalf or anything. It's like, I'm busy with my own ship, to be honest. But so it started out with us both competing to sign Max Winkler's dog is three legged German shepherd to a contract Hamlet and um, and then it went from there. That was That was one of my favorite bits, and it's still going on today ten years and and going the thing that I missed the most about New Girl, um and doing other shows like the show Minx was great, but it was only three and a half months so and movies are so different. And what's so different about New Girl which was so crazy? It was how long we shocked and then how much press we had to do over the summer. Yeah. Actually from the second that show got picked up until we were canceled, we were around each other so much that just doesn't happen in my professional life anymore. Yeah. Yeah, it was like you guys were my family. I saw more than my family. For me, it was by in the first couple of years, I lost my mind because I was not used to You're gonna get used to it and you figure out how to be up. But it would be like you I remember waking up exhausted driving to work. You're there from the dark to the dark, and then as soon as you have to come back, and then they would be like some email from todda Dare at Publicity being like good news this weekend, we have another event at twentieth century something. Holy sh it, man, it never ends really quick before we before we get into the actual interview, because all this was just bullshit. Um, Jake tell us the Dennis Farina's story with Max. Um. The Dennis Farina's story with Max was he came on, he was very weak. Going back to the long term bits, right, we were all in bits and me and Max's bit that we really still do to together as well is that it's kind of who can out dumb the other, right, And where Max is at his funniest is when everybody hates somebody stop, like, you know, like he would just hang out in my trailer and there would be a lot of times where I'd actually asked him to leave, and not because I was mad at him, but just like, you know, I just got in trouble about some malts, like my brain didn't feel it. I'm so tired. Can I have an hour of lunch alone? And he would be like no. So we were in that mode and I wasn't kind of bully mode, and we were messing with each other. And then I don't remember how it started, but we were doing some joke about the fact that Dennis Rainey was a real tough guy and he was an actual detective. Yeah, he was at Chicago detective Yeah. And then Max said something of the extent, and I don't want to like I don't remember all the details, but it was something about, like I wonder, as a detective of you're like doing a steak out, Like what do you do if you see like naked meeople? I say, like do you keep steaking out? They were cry laughing, you know, and that's what was like obviously being a heightened version of himself, and you know, he's hilarious, and I was like dying laughing somehow. I think either I convinced him to tell Farina or I told Farina and we asked him, and we were in such overtired state of everything was funny that we forgot who we were talking to. And Farina did not find it funny er charming. I was like the idea that as a police officer he was a peeping tom and he did not see that we were being ridiculous, and he aided Max for the quite in a way that didn't come out of Max's mouth. And then he either that connected with you more, either that or I sold Max out. I really don't remember. It really might have been. It might have and I asked him, and then I said, Max wants to know. Remember he hated Max in a way and Max would say that, you know, Farina would finish the day would all shake hands and Match would be like, he squeezed my hand so hard. Well, the thing about Max is that like I very rarely would like see him like really like ruffled, like he's like a guy that's joking around all the time. And whenever Farina would come on an episode, I'd see Max like truly nervous agree, He's like, yeah, Dennis for Annis here like he does. He's not a guy who gets serious, but like he was scared. But those the annual bits that keep getting heightened and heightened. Day after, I'm like that ship was so funny, and I'm like I'm realizing now, like, oh, that's never gonna happen again. You know, you get like, you get like I'm sure I'm like woke, Like you get closer to the people, but then you're leaving, you're gone first time you come back, and then you do it, and then you do it press virtually yes, so you're like, I don't get to kick it and hang out and have a drink and I don't get to know you guys inside it out, So we know how to press each other's buttons, we know where everybody else is. Funny, you then know zones you don't go, you know zones you can go. Because it really felt like a t Yeah, it was. It was a team. It was ladies and gentlemen. We'll be back with more Jack Johnson, Olcole and we're back with Johnson, Um Jake, I remember talking to you in a surfer voice for at least three hours straight. Yes, well also for seasons. Uh okay, I love you guys are so stupid. But I would walk in and it would be like five in the morning or no, I mean I would have been there for like an hour at that point, but you walk in for your call. I'd be like, what are you doing today, Jake, And you'd be like, of course, I'm catching lots of ways, bro. I honestly think for me, you know. And obviously sometimes we all got in trouble for doing too many bits on that show. But in watching you know, and seeing it come up or people like refinding it, those were the fucking bits and that connection is what people really like. But we did all makeep to their laughs. Like I remember Lauren's bit was always you would pretend to be early confident and stumble over. Your bit came Winston, like Winston was an alpha male who was competing with Max about running, and by the end Winston couldn't get a sentence out because he would start doing the bid I'm set. I'm like, yeah, those bits on a show like that on single cam when you're there and you know, they were so open to improv and so open to changes, I'm like, man, that gave so much to it. Now going into the you know, going into your beginning on New Girl, we all talked about our and I know this is something that you've talked about in interviews and we've all spoken about it. Um, did you see this coming in the beginning when you how did how did you get onto the show? And two did you did you think it was gonna be this thing? This chemistry? This? Yeah? So, Um, I had done I had met Liz Merriweather. I did an indie with Max Winkler called Ceremony, and she was edited. She was writing a script with her with Liz, Max and Akiva I think it was called The Adventures Handbook, and they were doing it at Henry Winkler's house while Max was editing Ceremony. So Liz had seen that footage and then she and I got to know it other and she put me in no Strings attached. And then when that movie opened, it opened number one one weekend, and then it was that Sunday she texted, uh, Fox just picked up my pilot would do audition for it. And so I had never been close to a TV show. I'd never tested. I am not what they call a good auditioner. So I was pretending to do call with Liz where I'm like, absolutely I would be, I think to my name, but it depends on the dates. Then, you know, when I found out Zoe was the lead of it, I knew we had a fighting chance because at that time, when you know you don't have somebody who could carry a show, you know, it's just a whole different beast. And so we had a we had a true number one, We had a true shot. So I thought number one, someone say number one and a true number four A uh, were not at that time my contract sir, Thank you Damon. I actually remember you were the only person when because I was reading with everybody when once I was casting, you were like the only person. I got multiple emails from so many friends saying I recommend Jack Johnson for the role of Munick. Yeah, it was Rember, Jeremy Connor and also Max Winkler. Yeah. I remember being really nervous for our chemistry read because but it's funny, like it's you know, I've talked about it and pressed before, but you know, you had a big say in casting. You know, as the show went on, we became a whole thing and it became new, but like we had, we had to be approved by you, and it was a really trippute thing to be a scene with somebody and then right like you know, if you didn't like a cast member, we weren't getting in. And so it was a really neat feeling to be like just and like, you know, I've known you. I knew I was gonna have to be with people like a lot, which was true to be true, and um, it's cool, like I feel like we got like such. I mean, we got so lucky with this cast, really, but you knew more about the world of uh TV and the business way more than I think any of busted at the beginning. And so it was really nice to remember when you and I did scenes and we both knew it was pretty good, right, I think you, like wrote back to Jeremy, he was great. I was like, I think I got a real shot. I think, well you were really what was cool about you? And I mean it's still cool about you. You're so unique. You're totally like and and you feel like a real like your characters feel like real people, you know, you know, and the way that you play Quirks is in such a like genuine way, like rather than I would say, like a lot of people that would have come into read for that part. We're more playing like at the comedy rather than playing like the reality of the situation. And you were like playing the reality of the situation, and then it's that much funnier, you know. But I remember those early days, you know how much we used to text and talk about the characters and talk about lamour, And I remember you came to my house during your auditions. Max and I used to sit around and like literally call each other and like just like there was so much passion for making this thing work. Then we all just got like season three, we all just forgot about it because we're like we've always done this. We all really gave a ship, and those characters in those connections, they didn't happen by chance, like we really and we all fall for and Liz Merriweather really care. It was really about that show. I think that's what makes things work in general, Like when you really put your all into things, tends to work a little crazy, Yeah, but you're right, but you have a shot. How does happen? How did this happened for you? Jake? I mean, people are still complementary of you, obviously, because you're really skilled at what you do. What were you doing before New Girl? Why didn't it happen earlier? Jake? You were for eight when we started this. I was fifty three years you know. I was doing tons of theater and live stuff and trying hard. There's a rumor that you were the before guy in a Tampex commercial. Was the before guy? I'll give me the read of it, Chicken. You know, I was doing commercials. I was trying, um, yeah, and honestly, it's a really hard business. I just remember one day we had a really like long you know, they on set and there's some weird vibe going on and it was just tough. I don't know what was happening. Don't remember that part of it, but I remember you and I walking back to our trailers and discussing it and then taking a breath and going, yeah, but we can't forget that we won the lottery. And I just remember that it was like season one, and it was that idea of like because it was our first time on a for me, especially on a show like that, and I and it was like, okay, yes it is. This is challenging and difficult, and that's real. Those are real things we're experiencing. But the big picture is we are so lucky and I've wanted this for so long and it's happening, and you don't forget that. Really funny, It's funny you say that because the pandemic kind of redid that for me. Also, it was the new look. The Girl was hard. It was a grind. It was great, um, but we did big hours and people watching and think like every second is a blast. It was. It was a hard job. We were trying at a job like we'd work sixteen you would we would make you would basically do content for a nine hour episode that would get cut down every week, and you weren't allowed to recycle bits, and we were asked to improvide. We were asked to experiment. Liz was working our ass off, our staff was working our ass off. But I've gotten to a point where, you know, I just got burned out with acting and I forgot that feeling of loving it. And you know, because you put so many hours in and so mmuch pressed and you start going like what the fuck am I doing? Just to do just and all sound stages at the end of it, once you pass the magic of it, they're all the same, all crews, they're past. Uh. And then the pandemic hit and it all went away. And I remember that thing you were talking about, Hannah, of like doing this is the fucking lottery, goofy if you're gonna do it like I love it, because when it went away, I was very quickly like, oh yeah, I remember who I was before I got acting jobs, A fucking weirdo. I was before a guy and now and now you've become a professional weirdo. You dare, I say, Jake, you know a heartthrob um, So when did you become Oscar Isaac? Like, at what point? It was after David Krummelt's right, then you are all beautiful siblings? Yeah, right, right, right. Well, here's the truth of localis there are not just the fact that there's a truth about it. Keep going. There are every white man with the beard, your hair, nd them, and they are a lot of us. Hannah and I looked just like like because we both have brown hair and bangs. Right. It honestly gets as far as that where you know everyone's a while somebody there's always like a new actor where they're like, you're the blank but with the dad Bob, And I'm like, who is this person just talking about a white guy with brown hair and a beard, twenty one years old? We look nothing a lot, and I'm like, what has I know? We talked about the early on in our in our process when we do press and stuff, sometimes we get shocked by the fan reception of of New Girl because we weren't out as much we would We were working so much, were impressed so much, and then we go to one of these events at tc AS or something like that, or an award show, and and you're hit with thousands of fans just love who are calling you by your character name, who loved the bits they are quoting the show. Now there's this reemergence of the show. Yeah, I mean it's it's everywhere. It's almost like we just started. By the way this whole like during the pandemic, New Girl got a second life. Yeah, especially Yeah, I think now the way that things you know are just streaming, people discover them. I think. Yeah, there are like a lot of young girls who come up to me and they're like, are you still shooting the show? Yeah? They think it's a new show and it's something they can binge that's not done in a day, rights you. Yeah, because we made so money we were in the network model. I'll tell you what's trippy about the new era of the Netflix New Girl fans is And I don't know if it's generational, but I do feel like men who are discovering it out are admitting that they like it, and then when it first came out would essentially apologize for liking it. Yeah, Like as a dude, my big experience that I would always find so annoying with another dude, would they'd be like, I'm not a girl. My girlfriend loves here's some funny stuff. And I'd be like, thanks, I like Schmidt, and I don't have to apologize for being like you're literally not in a bar quoting the show to me. Like it. You know it more you're a fan. You I really like that. Like dudes can say like I like it. It's like, well good, it's for everybody just wanted to be called New Girl. That did not mean it was only for girls. Yeah. With the re emergence of this show, you know a lot of fans and girls, yes, yeah, yeah, and fans you know, because it's new to certain people, to a newer general ration. People always ask me, happened yesterday? Happened the security guy. I was at a Laker game. The security guy comes up to me and he goes, he goes, hey, man, y'all doing Uh, y'all doing one of the reunions? Yeah? I said, I don't know. I have no idea that y'a gotta do a reunion. Man, and he goes, he goes, I'm on episode. He goes, I just finished that. Y'all did four episodes, four seasons, right. I said, well, we got a lot more to go. He's like what? And it was like this confusion, you know, he thought we had ended that like season four or something like that. He wanted to know if we were doing it. Is a grown man. He wanted to know if we were doing a reunion. I gotta put you on glassmore because the reason you're telling this long story is just to get free Laker tickets. And I think nak on the nose. I don't think that security guard existed. Jake, Yeah he did. His name was His name was Johnny. I was at the Laker game where in Nike sneakers and then no, that's not that's not vitamin water, which I really love. Especially Jake, you gotta stop this. You got can I put Thish sell my story about how when I was at the Lego game because I'm a diehard fan of the Lakers, shout out to Lebron James and all those guys. U scheme to free kombucha sent to the set. So I don't know that was talking Jake. We were like, we both love this kombucha. Let's pretend to be a publicist, and so we got some, like you did. I got some because of it, that's right. You were like, come to my trailer, you will not believe. And there was an entire case of healthy kombucha sent for us. And the moment fall enough in the past where I'll look at contact us on the back of things and I redden like, hello, this is Jake Johnson from New Girl. I played he named Nick Miller. I love your sweet and sour sauce my mind. They would send cases and then we'd have too many cases. In kambucha. You got to drink it within a month, so you're like walking up, you want a case. So your microbiome is on point, do you still wait, do you still drink that? Jake's not as much. I have an addictive personality. I get very addictive things. I go really hard on it, and then I drink like I was like having like nine gambooches a day, and I think I'm turning yellow and I'm like, I'm done with this trash. I don't even like the takes. What are some of your addictive websites? But this is the new addiction right now. Water water, water in the first water got on a day. Let's go, gotta do it. You gotta get, you gotta you gotta have a baby smooth skin. When you gotta finish your question. You were asking an important question. I was asking an important question. Um. I started off by talking about my experience of the Lakers game back. We don't need to go over and again. Oh we don't have to Okay, okay, dot com Center, Okay, would you be open to a reunion of the show. I can't believe you're asking this question. You know you know that when you get asked that question the morning and you're doing what would you say? I say, Hell, yeah, yeah, look here, sure, who knows? We would need Liz to come on board see what she would be writing. It would be very important. Who's directing that? What's the studio behind it? Do we do it on Fox? Isn't the streamer? What does that actually mean? If we're all on my director's chairs doing like a talk, that would be a lot easier. Um, isn't you know? Is it a series? I have no idea. In term the Friends Reunion, they say like a fountain and talked about the wouldn't do it? I wouldn't do that. That was funny because well, I'm like, if we did that, it would be so weird because it only ended like four years ago. They're going back to something that ended twenty years ago to see the couch from the remember that long? That that? But Jake, Um, so, yes you would. So I'm just marking that down. Here, give me a sick so, Jake, while Lawrence taking the notes? There, you do the best drunk person of any actor I've ever worked with, and I've worked with a lot of great actors. What's your inspiration? Not you, Jake, What's what's your inspiration behind that? Growing up around drunk people, who's your favorite drunk person? I had an uncle Timmy, who was my favorite drunk. Growing up. He was a true old world drunk drunk where you know, puking in his hand, putting in his pocket on holidays, you know, the multiple sweaters at once, the real red face, the hoboes beard, and every year on my birthday and I'm not gonna do it now. It's because it's the joke is a long winded one that he would tell me the same joke, and so it's like a little boy, you have to get a call and my mom would be like, hey, Jake, it's your uncle Timmy, and I'm like hello, maybe a joke and a year it was the same joke, but he wasn't doing like the deep comedy bit of like it gets funny. After ten. He never remembered he told me the joke because the years went on and I'd be like twelve, he'd be like, happy birthday, but let me tell you, and I'm like, he's doing it again. Yeah. Do you think it was specific to you that, like every year he's like, you know who like this? You know? I don't know, but I do know you think everybody got that. I did like the joke too, so it might have been specific. It was the long and short of it was. It was how to get an elephant into a hole full of ashes. First thing you gotta do is you gotta get an elephant. Once you steal that elephant, then you gotta dig a hole the size of three elephants. And then you gotta burn a bunch of paper and fill the hole up with ashes. Then you gotta take peanuts and you gotta align them all the way around this hole so the elephant goes and once it gets to the edge, you run up and you can't get right in the ashole. And every time, and he would take about fifteen minutes for that joke. But when you got to kick get out in the ashole, I would always go like, I'm crying laughing, man, I am well done to me. You've done it again. The inspiration behind your long term coming into um uh no, I think it's my brother Dan Um Dan and I growing up we um We did bits for years on end, to the point where like my mom worried about us and would say like, would you guys please ask each other real questions? But we did. I mean I was just in Vegas with him. We went and saw the band Chicago by the way, they rock, Yes, and we were kind of going there, and we weren't sure if we're going in terms of the long term bits. We decided to go to Vegas to see Chicago. I bought Chicago shirts. We were pretending to be the biggest CTA Chicago Transit Story Authority fans of all time. Uh. I wasn't sure if we were doing a bit or we were really excited, you know. I was like, we're so deep in this that we're literally find in Vegas to see Chicago. It was even in the band still they've been playing for fifty What the funk am I going to see the band Chicago. We got to the theater. It was an older crowd obviously. No, I'm the oldest gentleman on this zoom, the oldest person here. I was the young boy there, like the front row of like the babes churring on the band. I'm not kidding, we're in their seventies. Yeah. The show started and I'm really laughing. I'm like, this is a room full of like sixty plus and the band was okay. It started slow. Then they take an intermission after like twenty minutes, and my brother and I are dying. We're like, who takes a break your didn't, and I know why those motherfuckers came out and killed the second half. There was no irony, there was no bit. We were just going, like the lead singer came out and goes, I'm not gonna take you to the magical eighties and he did horn section, the full horn section. Yeah, and it really was. But my brother and I spent the entire weekend in a bit. So like when I get home and Aaron was like, how's your brother, I'll be like, I'm not sure. But it was really fun. So you had there was something that there was something. There was a poster on your wall in Nick Miller's room of a band right there that you selected personally because it was a friend of yours. I always I always try to get it, at least in that show. It's kind of faded, but I was really excited about being able to influence the background and and try to get people on it. It was so neat to me that I was on network television that I couldn't believe it. So my high school buddies, Oliver Roley, his band was Past Control. I got his post on the wall. Billy bund Growth was in j c. Brooks in the Uptown Sound. We got that on the wall. Aaron had a guerrilla drawing. She drew a gift for me. I got that on the wall. I remember the little one with the little I probably fans out there if you can catch these images, screenshot him, tag us in him, post them. We want to we want to see some of these things. Speaking of super smart smart bits. So I'll never forget. I don't know what it was like halfway through the first season being I don't know it. I'm telling you it's acting advice. I have never forgotten um because I was standing there in the you know whatever, nine inch heels feet, you know, near bleeding, and Jake was laying on the couch holding a beer and that's how he got to spend his day compared to mine in the scene, and I was like, you're so lucky. You're so lucky that their writers did this for you and you get to sit there comfortably. And Jake, do you remember what you said to me? Yeah, you're like with no one wrote this for me. I made this decision in the pilot. I understand that this is gonna be long days and this could go on for a long time. I want to be seated with a drink in my way. In the pilot, it was probably like episode four when I'm like these four day if you noticed, by like season three, my character starts wearing. In terms of shoes in your trailer, actors always get a thing they call warming shoes, which are just really comfortable slippers, and all of a sudden, like we're talking about Las got him still walk into the scene with them and in a pair of sweat pants. And if I'm here for fourteen, a lot of the days you're spending on other people's coverage on that show, which I've never experienced since, where you're sitting there for ten hours you don't talk in a scene. They would feel the need to bring us all in for the cold open part, like everybody every week, and it would always be and I was thinking about this, how similar all the cold opens really end up having to be in. They're like, well, we've realized that only certain things work. So a lot of times it was like one character coming into the loft living room setting up the man story and then yeah, and then everybody coming in and saying maybe one line, and whoever that person was had a lot to do and then but a lot of times you're like either in the background or they'll be like, I figured you'd be eating cereal in the background, Miller, we're doing a lot of those exposition scenes because that big monologue is either you were Schmitt mostly, so I would be you know, you guys carried more of like exposition stuff, so I'd be like literally drinking the beer would be a soda water and I'd be sitting there. And then at one point I would go, like, without being disrespectful, if she's talking, let's say he's a he's doing a monologue and it's really to like Hannah's character, and the guys are just there because they have their A story and we're in the B story. Should I be here at six I am? Or I'll tell you this in three takes. You're gonna make that monogue last for four hours. You blame me. I blame Microsoli. I love Mikerosoli. Mike would call me Michael. Sometimes, just like you said, someone would be doing a monologue and I'd be I'd be way in the background, full makeup, like wardrobe and everything, knowing I'm not gonna say anything till after lunch, and I would go, can I go to my trailer. It's like, hold on a second, We'll just give us a second, and I'll go, man, I'm not supposed to be here right now. And then during you know that call when it says, oh, you're not used after lunch, he would come in and apologize, Hey man, look man, here was the catch with here was at none of us felt disrespected by the other one never been there. So I'm doing if it comes in and does a monologue and I'm mostly talking to Jess And in the end of the scene, Lamarin pops in and says like, I like puzzles, I don't need you stand me of us doing every all every improv cross coverage singles a two shot so at the end and the single you can stund like puzzles bring him in later about the bring me in first to say that I could go yeah, and the like where we're like, You're like, do you care if I like like pop out of my room and you know, say this thing about whatever, And I'm like absolutely not, Like that's like like we would they just have to bring you in for like to tie you into the store, like you have to be the scene. But you don't have to be there, like, and would be there for each other when there was a scene and when yes, of course, and we were always in the cross cover when we had like an important moment. Yeah. But in terms of like the comfort stuff, I started realizing I could be standing because in the pilot, Um Damon and I were mostly like standing next to each other, and we were always on the other side of the couch. So like there would be like a move where I'm like, honest to God, my legs are hurting. So I'm like, and I'm here all day, and I don't think I had like, you know, if I didn't have, like there'd be entire scripts where Nick would just ask questions early on and every one of my lines would end with a question mark, and so it would be like one line I would ask this, and then like it'd be like Nick reacts, I'm like, I can do this comfortably sitting with my legs. Um, your character is known for saying stupid, ridiculous things on the show, Um iconic lines you give your cookie I got you could That's like, I don't it's not scripted that way. This is Jake, I mean, But to say the way you said it, that's a jake, that's a that's a no one would read it the way you you you read it, um anything, any any one of those lines stick out to you in particular that you just love doing the most, or you're constant reminded of it, or no what In terms of that, what I really like is with each then partner, it was a different show. So like if you and me had our story together, there was a vibe on set, there was a vibe together. Remember early on we always ended up slapping each other, Yeah, because each other's yet so And then there was did something in a grocery store? Were and I got a headache after that ship like, all right, we need to find another bit Zoe went Zoe and I were together. I knew those bits with each person, you would know that rhythm. But the the reason I never liked the Cold opens because when you throw everybody together, it was too much like the mixing of the world where I'm like, I knew how to like do bits with Damon and then you'd like pair them up with somebody else and then like Zoe and I do bit and then if it's Zoe and I, I know what those are. But with everybody. You've got all these funny people and most of them aren't doing any of the bits, and then you're actually viewed as being annoying when you start improvising cracking jokes and laughing because you're slowing down to day. But I'm like everybody, we've all got our own like secret languages rather than like the lines or something. I remember, I remember what it felt like to do on certain days where you'd see a script and I would be like, Oh, I'm in a story with this person and that guest start, so may go fine, I know what that tone is, I know what that vibe is gonna be. Uh, And it always felt so different depending on who the people were with. You just reminded me of that episode where we're slap for getting Joel. If we could figure out the name which episode that was in, We're We're having a slap fight contest and the kit it was about we were doing something with the horse tracks. Yeah, and I remember this Dennis Verna called it was with Dennis right, Yeah, I remember, Jake. I remember I realized something about you in this moment when we were doing the slap fight bit, right, that you won't and we talked about this earlier. This was my reminder that Jake won't stop the bit. He will keep doing the bit. My face was hurting after the first lap, and I was like, but I have to slap him back, and then you slap me back even harder, and I was like, this is hey man, Like you said, like, hey man, could you grow less hard? And I'm like, well, we're in a two shot, like it's funnier you can see. Damn, this motherfucker is heavy handed. He doesn't understand this. Jamie Fox tells the story about Hello cool J about doing a bit about Jamie like cool J wants to fight for real in the scene of any given set day, Jamie cool J, hey man, this is acting. Doesn't that happen in that Holly wrestling? See? Yes? Oh I borrow my hand for it was a real fight. No not, I hit my hand against the wall. What was different about that and what kind of got tricky about it was m and we did so much improv and so many bits and what Max and I did, which I didn't realize honestly until after the show, which was really disrespectful to guest stars. We would do bits while they were calling, like quiet on set because we were all so comfortable with the show that you would memorize those lines so quickly you would know the tone. You would also know like if I forget my lines, I'll say salami sandwich, and somebody else will say something and then we'll get back other people. I forgot that other people weren't there that much, so like before that, while we're sitting backstage, we didn't give them a chance to like think, I'm calling a big d asking about his hair out with your hair looks great, and he'd be like, so we're wrestling, and like yeah, and then joke jumped out and the scene starts, and I don't think he knew the level of wrestling. So it wasn't a fight. It was just we hadn't communicated what we were doing. Yeah, but you really broke your hand. I actually remember part of the problem. I mean, well, I can't say it's problem, but that you were so you were kind of acting like a tough guy about it, so you couldn't tell how much it hurt you. I could tell because I knew you really well, and you were like, all of a sudden, you weren't laughing anymore, and like normally you're always laughing. And I was like, oh, he's really hurt. But like to the untrained person, like the person that doesn't know you, you'd think like, oh, the bit was still going on, just still doing a bit. Well what happened was it's not good. It hurts so bad. It started to swell up. So the adrenaline was going in a way where I didn't quite feel anything yet, but my hand was getting really weird. And obviously, like I especially then it's changed since I've had kids, and you know, as it's gone. But like I did not care about health for a lot of years of my life, so my body would just be like you just try to disconnect from your body, So do you have like a weird well like trying to think about it um But so that I remember being like, it's fine, it's not a big deal. But in between lines, I would look down and because I broke a bone here, they started becoming this bubbling thing. And Josh green Bomb was our director who's a friend, and he and I are always doing bits, so I was like, it's the problem with living in bits too long. It's the boy who cried Wolf when the wolves are coming to attack you. Everyone's like, are they being broken? I've spent many moments of my life being attacked by wolves, being like, goddamn it. I felt this house. La Mourn and I were doing a bit where we were talking. He was shooting a commercial in Pasadena and he's like, hey, I'll come bye, we'll hang out after. And I was like, oh, you're doing a commercial. You're rich, so you come over, bring me steak and lobsters. And he came over and he brought a lobster live like I'm not cooking this. I was like getting out of my house and he was like, you said lobster and where did you go? How? Like how long did take you to find the lobsters? Well? I told lobster in a bag to my hume. No, I told I told production to get me. I thought they were going to bring me cooked lobster. Oh. Interesting. And was the saddest part about the whole thing one what was happening to the lobship. But the other sad part was that the p A who dropped it off was was vegan and was looking at me like I was the worst and I didn't know what she was doing. I was like, why is she staring at me there and I look, it's a live whole lobster in my bag and I lost it. I was like, what the what am I supposed to do with this? This is way beyond the bit, This is way beyond the bit. And Jake want nothing to do with it. Took it back to her friend's house. They ended up taking it to the ocean, which I do believe was the wrong ocean. Yeah, amazing, Yeah, it was meant to be in the Atlantic. Yeah, that was a drive where we couldn't make it. So hopefully hopefully he survived. Um. Okay, so now he's an invasive species u ocean. Um, let's move off from New Girl for a second. For a second. You've you've done, man. You know, obviously, working working with people, you become friends and family, but you also become fans. Dude, Spider Verse. Man, I love that. I love that movie. I don't I don't hate animated shows. That movie all the time. Um, tell us about tell us about that? How like do you get recognized more for that or or that's a huge that was a huge deal. Like do you get recognized when that ever to come up to you talked about Spider verse or is it strictly new girl? Um, people talk about Spider Verse. Good, all right, we're back. You've just tuned in before. He loves Spider Verse, gave me about it all the time. Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who were the kind of the people behind that whole version of the rethinking of the Spider Man world. It was great. It's we're doing the new one now. Um, they're really talented, so talented, it's like, and when we all know his actors, there's a really big difference between getting like a great script and a medium one. Yeah, you know, it's really funny, like you just see it and you just it's a really like it's funny because I remember doing that. Phil would be like, hey, man, I wrote you some stuff. Um, well we'll figure it out in the booth. It's not quite ready. And I would read it and I'd be like, this ship is ready, say these words. It's good. Until it was a really nice thing about like, yeah, good coming, it's great material, it's great stuff. What about your writing? Uh, Jake, I know you wrote Ride the Eagle. Yeah, thank you did. Trent Trent o'donald directed that we did it together. It came out. Uh this last year during the Pandemic. It was great. We Uh, it was funny. So Trent, who was a new girl, you know. I think he directed like fifty episode something like a lot, a lot love him. I think he think he's such a secret to the success of that show. And he asked her to have a moment. I've been teasing him because I think he's becoming kind of like a little bit of a mogul. He's got like a bunch of shows and he's always like, well, text about getting together and he's like, well, I'm at the law working on another ship. I don't know that guy, but he's so wildly talented. What happened was in the Pandemic, we both really just missed working in bits and being on set, so we financed it. We made the whole movie for two or fifty grand I think we shot it in like nine days and it was really just it was a blast. So we did have a fan question. The question is you did a movie. No, yeah, um, since you did a movie right the Eagle with Darcy Carton, Susan Surrandon, J K. Simmons, when did you discover you had a talent for not casting your real friends in your movies, all out your new girls. The fan question, like, we didn't get the call Marmars was directing, and you didn't call Lamar got Lamar angle Zale. You guys cast me in some ship. You know, I don't make anything. Okay, you don't, don't. We do have one thing called Nick's Box that we're going to come to when we come back from her Welcome and we're back with Jake Johnson. I have to just say, because you're talking about your movies, you were I feel like the only person that between seasons would just go off and be in these huge, ginormous films while the rest of us were like no energy, I don't think like a center with Tom Cruise and coming back and that for me was always the most exciting thing. It was like the kid coming back to school that had had like the best summer, well that one specifically, So um oh you came back and you were super fit too, very into health. Yeah. No, I wasn't into health. I was super fit because he wanted to work out together and I was very afraid of Tom Cruise. But that job happened because you know, I think if you get an opportunity to work with Tom Cruise, you take it. Yeah, but look this this interview is spitting in a way that's not reality. We were all working I understand I'm the one being interview, but if we were doing this Vulture and they were doing it, we all did projects over the summer sky. Really who else was doing stuff over this? I'm and I'm just saying that it was like a Jurassic Park and what to speak for yourself and maybe remember but moving with Arnold Schwarzenegger that happened writing these questions? You too, that's the problem we are. Um, Okay. We have a thing called Knick's Box, or as I like to call it, your box today it's Jake's Box. This is a segment where we crawled into the back of Nick's closet and pull out some memories that the cast and crew New Girl have kept hidden for years. Uh, Jake, what's your favorite memory from your time working on New Girl or worse memory? Aren't just your most prominent memory? You know, honestly, and you know I've said it, We've all obviously I've done a ton of press for this. Oh, but it was working with all you guys and it was Max, and it was Damon, and it would be the Wriggles of the world. It was you know, when we talk about the long bits, I don't remember a lot of the episodes. I don't remember certain lines. Um. I don't remember a lot of the drama. Like you know, you'd have like a hard day and somebody Maddie for screwing up a line. It's like you didn't hit the joke. All that ship faded away from me. And what I really remember about it was, you know, so many laughs and so many hours of doing stuff where you'd get slap happy and you'd be acting really immature. Um. And it was probably annoying for those outside of the circle of actors, you know, because they're holding bloom mikes. But like there were many times I just couldn't stop laughing. Or you're off camera and someone's doing a performance and you guys have done a bit that like like I remember, like other actors would make sounds during performances to try to throw you up. So like if I was this thing, I would hear like whoop, whoop. You're like, you know, that is quote unquote really bad, but it made it so, it made it the experience so joyful, and I do feel like what people take from it is there was a lot of joy, and there was a lot of laughs, and there was a lot of like genuine fun. We were heaven where people say like, how much are you like your character? And the truth is, I don't think any of us are really like any of our characters. But our joy was real and our bits were real, and I think people can feel that when I watch a show that I like, you feel like you get a sense that like that that must have been fun to do, and a lot of New Girl was really fun to do. Yeah, And that's kind of my big takeaway from it. I don't really There'll be moments, things will come up, like even Trent or Ralph passing away. You know, I got hit by a way of saddness. But I don't really remember much of the stuff we did besides like being on set when he was around. Now he's being happy that he was there and just being like, oh yeah. It was always like fine. Though you would say certain episodes and you'd be like, oh great, like these three people are here now, cool, Jake. People don't remember what you did for them, They remember how you made them feel and that's what's important. That's the takeaway. I'm gonna take off you come back anytime, are you. Honestly, that's my same takeaway. I don't remember all the like any drama or anything. I don't remember at all. I do remember loving doing bits with you guys. I just miss you guys. I mean obviously because we're doing a rewatch podcast. Like, I love working with all of you guys so much, and I love, you know, the camaraderie with the crew and the writers, and that was my favorite part two. So mine was just that there was no pressure. It was no again, we're we're friends, and now you work on a project, You're like, Okay, I can't suck. I can't you know, are they gonna? Are they gonna give me ship? Like real ship, like a new girl? If I sucked, if I did something, you would call me yeah. It's like this was part of the part of the bit. On other projects. If you came in and we were having like a bad mental day and you couldn't remember it, I would know this is going to make everybody else have the best day and they're gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna be the guy in the corner getting railed on. But it's funny. Max not knowing his lines was one of the funniest thing. He would He would curse himself out. He would call fuck Max. And I don't know if you guys felt this before doing this kind of rewatch. I don't remember storylines, so I don't remember like arcs. I don't remember, like you know, there'll be something. I'll be doing an interview for something and they'll bring up something. They go like, how do you feel about that decision? And I'm like, I don't even like and I'm not trying to be disrespectful about it. I'm like, that's not what I remember about. Yeah, I remember the whole package, the final product, the final twenty two minutes, Like we were there for fifty hours what they cut in and like eight eight hours, but like and you know, if you're doing a scene and they cut it down to a minute and a half. We performed that scene especially, it was like a big dinner table scene. We were there for twelve hours doing bits and the entire comedic bits were cut out, But I like those are I don't even know. Like I had a memory the other day when we were at the bar uh that that little dancer Tario. Maybe I say that wrong the more you know how I'm talking about. So it's started to know how it started. But when one of when somebody would go, oh, whoever this single like Terrrio Dance, and you know, the editors or whoever didn't like it. I don't think any of it's in the show. But doing Terrio was like for four months what I looked forward to going to work that when somebod would come in a scene and be like, bad news, I've been fired. All you have to do is off cameras go oh, you know likes For me, I'm like, I'm about to get a show like I'm gonna see somebody full on Tario. And the other joke was like if you get somebody off their game. I always loved in that show, like all right, like I threw off a really weird line, how are they going to get back on story? And for me, the like skill was you take a really weird improv, but then you're driving you got another line like get us back and make it usable. That's it's so fun. Like do you remember Dike that we made up a song and convinced Lettlemore and that it was single, and I remember I was I'm gonna bout like a sexy dancer. It was like, oh my god, really do know that something? And he's like, I'm just go again. I was like, my god, I almost saying dance. But then the beauty of that show and honestly, it's just like mix the show I'm doing. We don't really improvise, so you can add like a line or two, but we would be doing that, Oh my god, I'm a sexy as dancer. They would call action, and the thing is, we're al still going like this the first chance if if you two are talking in that scene and I'm gonna get a beer, well I'm gonna then go excuse me, I'm gonna get a beer sexy as dancer. Well, guys, line might have made it all of a sudden for some reason, Jet makes us a sexy has a dancer, and it was like, that is so funny and whenever you can sneak something really weird and he would make it into the show. That always felt like such a point of pride if you like did a really weird improv and then it was in and you'd be an a d R and I would be like, ohn't has made it on the network television? That was probably like the ultimate? Yeah, what's the ultimate? When when you you have a bit that's weird and it makes it up and it makes it and then it starts. I was like, that was always when you talk about like the shared experience, I'll never it's That's the thing I think about the most with this show is very few people will understand what it was truly like because they only see that twenty two minutes or they read in you know, and an interview that you've done, and that's what they think it all was about. I remember maybe it was the end of season one, season two. That time kind of blurs, but you showed up, you drove up to the trailers in like a brand new car. Then it would have been se alexis Yeah, no, season two, I got rid of the that's right, and we were like like a convertible, right, like you could take the top down or something that I thought it was. I was like what, and You're like, you know what, I think this is real, Like I think this show is staying around and I feel finally comfortable to do it. And I looked across at my like real beat up first car that I came to l A with that the side mirror was like in the glove box and you're like, you know, I think it's safe and Hannah, then you said how did you get that? And I gave you my contact? That's right, you still I still used today. I showed up in Alexis a week later, but I remember you took me for like a spin around a lot and you're just like, this could be your life. You can do it here now. I remember if he with new cars like about the same week. Yeah, because for me, I knew season one well. It was funny with that show because Max had a really good instinct about what was going to happen in a way that I didn't. We're early on. He would be like midway through the pilot, I remember getting really nervous I was gonna get fired, and he's like, you're not getting fired. The show is gonna be fine. And then when we got picked up he would say season one, he'd be we'll be here at least five years, and I'm like, how the fund could you say? He's like, look at the ratings. I'm like, dude, we could be gone next week and so for me, it took after we got picked up and we were guaranteed thirteen more into season two. That's when I remember being like, no matter what, now, I've been thirty episodes of a television show. That to me was you know, when I moved out to l A if you told him I was gonna be thirty episodes of a network show. I did it. Let's go homeixus drive around in a convertible and head home. You guys did it wrong? Though? I got mine for free? That was the play. Oh my god, option yeah, are did driving a Lamborghini though, Hey, listen, let's not talk about my cars now, okay, let's not talk about guys to buy the house. And then you're like, but let me see the garage. Guys, if you're just tuning in, we had Jake Johnson on our show. Um you if you decided to tune in fifty five minutes into this episode, UM, Jake, this has been a great man. Great to see you, guys. All right, great to see you by you've been listening to Welcome to Our Show, a New Girl recap podcast. Welcome to Our Show is a production of I Heart Radio, hosted by Zoey Deschanel, Lamar and Morris and Hannah Simone. Our executive producers Joel Mooney. Our engineer and editor is Daniel Goodman. Welcome to Our Show theme song was written by zoe Deschanel, performed and produced by Zoey Deschanel and Pierre de Reader. Follow us on Instagram and Welcome to our Show pot. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email us at Welcome to Our Show podcast at gmail dot com. Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and share far and wide. Thanks for listening. We'll hear you next week.