Diane Kruger: The Power of Names
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Discover automatically doubles the cash back earned on your credit card at the end of your first year with Cash Back Match. Now that's a real crowd pleaser. Everyone knows how it ends. Double the cash back. See terms at discover.com slash credit card. Hi, Diane. How you doing? Good. How are you? Where are you? I'm in Santa Barbara and you're in Paris. We're in two great places. Santa Barbara sounds pretty nice right now. Well, Paris sounds very nice to me. Hey, everybody. Rob Lowe here.

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The talented Diane Kruger joins us from Paris, from gay Paris. She will be here with us imminently. Ms. Kruger is also a first-time author, a children's book. By the way, I hear children's books are among the hardest books to write. So that's very impressive. Her book is called A Name from the Sky. You know, like, actors have credits. They work with lots of people, and it's all... And when I...

sort of pick a credit and obsess on it. It doesn't mean that I don't like the rest of their work. It just means that they were in something that I freaking cannot get over. And such is the case with Mrs. Kruger. That's saying something. That's not nothing. Anyway, let's get to it. Diane Kruger, what brings you to Paris? We're actually here for almost a year as a family. I was here making a movie over the summer. And now Norman is about to start his spinoff.

Filming in France. Total coincidence. So this is the Walking Dead spinoff? Yeah. Well, yeah, his character. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's the Daryl spinoff. Yeah. In France? I know, right? Who would have thought? Daryl of the woods. Mind boggles. Right? He's in the Bois de Boulogne.

Probably. And it is very scary. You know, that show is legendary for a number of reasons, but not the least of which is it was one of the hardest shows in the world to shoot. Like crew members who I work with are like, oh, I did seasons three and four or whatever I wanted to. It's like they still have the like tick bites, the mosquito bites. They're like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, Georgia in the summer is definitely a force. I would love to get him in a secret room and talk to him about Frank Darabont and the season one versus season two. I... And look, you can't argue with success. I'm not going to argue with success. That first season was unbelievable. You know, and Darabont is...

You know, listen, he made the only one of one of the few perfect movies, Shawshank Redemption. They say it's a perfect movie. So, yeah, you know, Norman loves that movie. He always quotes it, too. It's funny. We'll see how it goes here. Norman did say, you know, then in heavy prep, he did say that the French team seems a little overwhelmed by the idea of like blowing up the Eiffel Tower or something like that.

Oh, yeah, for sure. I working in America versus working in Europe is is super different in a lot of ways. I did a show in London recently and like the scene would be two people at a table and somebody pulls out a gun and there's a squib, whatever. And you would have thought we were doing this.

the beach landing from Saving Private Ryan. And I was like, on my show, 911 Lone Star, we'll have a plane crash sequence before lunch. Totally. So true. But, you know, there's a charm to it. In my movie that I just finished, I play a pilot, right? And so I had

hours and hours and hours of training in simulators. And I had to actually learn to push all these buttons to truly have it look like I'm flying the plane. And at one point, I was like, it was just so complicated. It's all in French and yada yada. And I was like, why don't we just shoot it in a studio? And I press any button and it does what you want it to do.

- Yes. - And they're like, "No, no, no, no, we have to make it look like it's real." It was such a pain in the butt, because when you push certain buttons, the simulation, like the sky, like I'm actually flying the plane, right? So the sky, it will tilt or the clouds will turn into rain or whatever was required in the scene. So if you made a mistake,

Or whatever. It wasn't lined up right. You had to start over. It took forever. And let me ask you, because I did something where I was playing an EMT, you know, emergency tech, gnarly rescue dude. And so you go through boot camp and you learn how to suture and you know how to do it. And meanwhile, what you realize is.

This is the anti-Daniel Day-Lewis school of acting. But in all honesty, what you realize, if it were a play, that's one thing, but it's edited. It's going to be cut. They're going to be on a close-up. They're going to be on an over-the-shoulder. They're going to be all as they should be, not cutting to avoid the fact that the actor doesn't know how to suture. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it's going to be in other things. And all you do is you put your hand below the frame and you're doing...

framey framey, unblow, movie to movie, nobody, blah, blah, bibbidi, bibbidi, and put your hand up, snap a glove and fucking people think you're a genius. Come on. Yeah.

I mean, I agree to a certain extent. I mean, it was fun to learn all that stuff, but yeah, I definitely, after day 53, I definitely got a little frustrated with flying a plane or trying to fly a plane. What movie is this we're talking about? What is it? It's a French film called Visions, you know, and...

I mean, it'll be cool. And I'm literally flying that plane. Could you fly a plane now? Like if we're going somewhere and there's a heart attack in the pilot, do you go up into the cabin and figure out how to fly it now? Could you do that? I wouldn't trust it, but at least I know which button to push to get the autopilot going, you know? Oh my God. That's great. Now you have so many things coming out that I can't keep track of all of them, but I hear you have a children's book coming out. What is it called?

I do. It's called A Name from the Sky, and it comes out on October 25th. During COVID, one of the things that happened is that I started writing a children's book about the meaning of names. So my mom happened to be there because when I work, she comes to take care of Nova. And she told me all these stories about me as a child and what I was named as and everything.

It just like started, you know, this whole thought process for me about names and we as parents, you know, the names we choose and the aspirations we have for children. And anyways, so I wrote a children's book called A Name from Sky. I love that.

And that's coming October 25th. Yeah. And so it's what my name and Nova's Nova, Tennessee, Nova, Tennessee. But you're right. And it's it's so funny. Naming kids is hard. Yeah. I mean, it's like you feel the weight. You kind of like feel like the weight of the world. And like I've known, for example, say Gwyneth Paltrow. I've known her since she was 17 when she named Apple Apple. Everybody was like ridiculing her and going Apple. Meanwhile, like I can't imagine.

Apple not being Apple. And what you realize, and my brother, my first niece, he went with the name Mabel. And I remember like, Mabel? Is she like an 80-year-old hostess at a roadside diner? What are you doing? And because names conjure up things for people. And now I think Mabel is the greatest name I've ever heard. And

it's Mabel. And, and you people, it's me. You know what I mean? You grow, you grow into the, to the name you're given. And then the other thing is, um, long time listeners of the show know that I'm obsessed with quoting Lorne Michaels, the great Saturday night live producer. Cause he's very quotable. And I remember, um, having a hard time naming my second son because I felt like I'd gone through all the names and every name I thought of reminded me of some asshole I knew when I was a kid and I didn't, whatever. And, and,

Lauren has kids, too, and he was naming his kids. And I said, any advice? He goes, I think the king's names work the best, which made me laugh. Henry, you know, Charles. That's funny.

I think the king's names. Nova is not a king. She's a star. She's a star. Yeah. I mean, you know, in Latin, Nova means new beginnings, which seemed very, you know, it was very talent for us. You know, Norman already has a son from a previous relationship. And, you know, it's kind of we had to relate in life. And so it felt like very,

meaningful. And, you know, I love the idea of the brightest star that changes all the time. And you, you know, it's a new beginning each day, you know, that kind of thing. But I also feel like children, no matter what your name is, even if it's Henry or John, like something super common, there comes that moment when you're like, Oh, I hate my name. And people make fun of you. And you don't know why. We do. I mean, I just I hated my name. It was very uncommon where I grew up.

And I just think that, you know, when your parents tell you that story of what they thought about when they named you, it really gives you power, you know, and makes you realize how much they

They thought about who you were going to be and what you can do in your life. That's right. And by the way, I love the name Nova. That's the greatest. That's a great name. Yeah. One thing I've noticed is you've done like 500 movies with Liam, it seems like. I've done two, yeah. Oh, two, 500. It's the same number. It's the same. Close. Yeah. You know, it's kind of fun to meet. I don't know about you, but it's kind of nice to...

meet an actor down the road a little bit. You know, it's been 12 years and I mean, I have really great memories of him. He was really kind back then and you know, it's, you know how it is. Like you don't really stay in touch, but then you meet again and it's kind of your, you're picking up right where you left off. You know, it's like time did not pass. We're talking about Liam Neeson, who incidentally is one of my favorite people on the planet. I love him so much. He's so cool. Yeah. I saw

Liam in Anna Karenina. Oh, on Broadway hit legendary. Wow. Production. And with Natasha Richardson, they met during that play. And wow. Yeah. And, um,

When he came on stage, he, I mean, I'll never forget, he had, like, overalls on, like, no shirt and overalls. And he was, I mean, it was like Liam in his prime. And it was just, he had this big, hulking, ripped, amazing shirt.

And it was it was really, really something. And I remember when he got offered Schindler's List. Wow. What an actor. And the fact that he I was I'm obsessed with the arc of all actors careers and that, you know, Anna Karenina, Schindler's List. And then at 60, 60 finds himself one of the biggest action stars in the world. You just don't know where the road leads.

You never know. I know. And he really went after that. He tells a story that he wanted to do something different and he read the script and he happened to be at a dinner or something or some film festival with Luc Besson, who was producing it, Taken. And he went up to him. He said, well, I'm probably not on your list, but if you...

you know, I'd love to do this movie. And apparently Natasha said, you know, it's going straight to video. He's like, I don't care. I want to do it. He just told the story. So it's really fresh on my memory, in my memory. And yeah. And so I guess he, that's how he got it. And he also thought it was going to go straight to video. The rest is history. Exactly. Never know. I am. I talked to who I want to talk to.

I feel, oh yeah, it was the executive who was in charge of the movie at the studio who said, I read the script. When it got to the speech where the famous iconic speech where Liam goes, you're going to be taken.

You know, he's talking to the, you know, and then when he talks to the guy and says, I have a very specific skill set, which makes me laugh to this day. That famous line, the guy was like, I knew we were making this movie. Literally, it didn't matter what happened before or what happened after. I just knew that speech in a trailer would work. And it does. It's one of the great, I remember seeing Liam give that speech on the phone. I will come and I will kill you with my skill set. Whatever.

It's the best. Yeah, well, there you go. You never know, right? You just never know. ♪

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So I love Inglorious Bastards. It's a great movie. Thank you. I did not know until I was doing my research on you that apparently...

And tell me this is true, that Quentin was not really by, was like, eh, Diane Kruger, maybe. I don't know. Is that true? Yeah. I mean, that's what I heard anyways, you know, because I obviously, for obvious reasons, when that movie came around and he was casting, I was like, well, obviously I want to, I want to audition for this. And I kept hearing, no, no, no, no. He doesn't believe you're German. No, no. He wants to cast so-and-so. The role is written for so-and-so.

Okay, okay, okay. Yeah, that didn't work out. That didn't work out until at the time Harvey Weinstein called me. I'll never forget. And he said, listen, I got him to audition. He wants to audition you, but you have to fly to Germany. Like what? I was in New York. And he said, yes, he won't see you in the United States. You have to fly yourself to Germany. And, you know, and I did. And so it was, you know, one of those where you go,

even though it wasn't written for me, I felt like it was like, I feel like I knew that part, you know, and it was such a tough audition. You know, it's, I felt like I'm walking into a hostile, hostile environment from the get go. And the pay, he made me learn so many pages. Like, I feel like,

They were probably like 12 pages in English and then 12 pages of the same scenes in German. Jesus. And he was reading with me. It was just him and me. Nobody was taping. It's just the two of us. But it was one of those great auditions where when I was in the room, you know, I'd learned my lines. I was so prepared. And I just knew what I wanted to do with the role and everything.

You know, his dialogue is like poetry. It really is like a very specific, there's a very specific tone to it, a very specific melody. And I think that's why sometimes roles like this, when they're not American, are tough to cast because a native German, I mean, I'm native German, but somebody who hasn't lived in the U.S., you know, it's very difficult.

difficult to understand the underlying meaning, right? The irony, the humor in his writing. Yep. Yes. And so I felt like while I was auditioning, I felt the atmosphere just turn, right? He was like starting to laugh and I could feel him just like be happy, which made me, of course, happy. And yeah, the rest is history. God, that's...

I always love, well, I don't love, but in fact, I hate when, when the feedback comes in that they're not interested. Right. And you're like, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, and, and then what I love is, is when you, like you knew, you knew the only problem was the auteur didn't. Yeah. One, one minor, minor problem. Yeah. Um,

And I look and the other thing is, is, you know, there's a world in which you're like, I'm sorry, I'm not flying myself to Germany to do it. And you did. Yeah. I mean, I definitely felt a little like, really, I have to fly there. You know, it definitely was like, am I doing this? But then I was like, you know what? A world like this is not going to come along. And at least I can say I tried and I was lucky enough to be able to do that. Right. So why not?

Yeah, it's really true. It's a great lesson for all actors out there that, you know, there always comes a time when you just got to like suck it up and go do it, particularly if you feel like it's the role of a lifetime and you believe in yourself and you have a way in. I mean, I had that on the West Wing when I, they, I mean, I know that they saw me as a curiosity, period. There was no way I was getting that part.

Really? No way. No. It was like, you know who likes this? Rob Lowe. Really? And, you know, and it was one of those things where in the like you say in the room and I read with Aaron Sorkin, like you read with Quentin.

And in the room, you could feel the temperature when I walked in and then you could feel the temperature when I walked out. And it was like somebody had cranked it up 25 degrees. And it just feels great. And, you know, I think careers always have that. There's always going to be naysayers. I guess what I'm saying is there are always going to be naysayers. Yes. Yeah.

And, you know, I don't know about you. I mean, you've been around a little bit longer than me and obviously lived such an amazing life and career. But I feel like, I don't know if it's because I just feel that way, but certainly when I started out, you know, I started out as Helen of Troy. That was the beginning. Good Lord. Yeah, exactly. And people were like, well, she's never going to do anything after that, you know? And then the movie started.

wasn't received as everybody had hoped. And, you know, for so many years, that stigma of there's just nothing else that girl was ever going to do, you know, like stuck on me, like fucking glue, you know, excuse my language. So it took forever. And thankfully I'm European, right. And I made European French films and all that. So that kind of helped change my,

But man, that was, you know, Hollywood definitely likes putting women in a box, you know? Yeah, that was, I remember that movie like it was yesterday. I mean, that's, you know, Helena Troi, talk about iconic, right? I mean...

Just Brad in that wig alone. Probably might not have been a wig with Brad. He has a wig. It's so funny. I feel like he can grow his hair long overnight. I don't remember if it was a wig. I think you might be right. I don't, maybe he didn't wear a wig. I know Orlando Bloom had like extensions, but I don't remember Brad. So you get, so, so the other thing about Inglorious that I love is the,

I'll never, the certain movies you never forget where you were when you saw them or what you felt when you saw them. And I remember watching the first sequence with Christoph Waltz and the farmer and turning to the people I was with and said, that actor's winning the Academy Award this year. Literally, the scene wasn't even half over. And he did. Yeah.

one of the great throwdown and look, and what also is amazing is he's been working forever in Europe. Yeah. But completely unknown here. Well, to be honest, to be fair, I didn't know him either. Right. And

He did a lot of like TV, like mediocre TV shows and stuff, you know, so like my mom had heard of him. I asked her, you know, when I joined the movie, but I'm not sure that he was like a household name, you know. But he's a working actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And that's the other thing I love is I love journeymen, working actors, as you say, maybe from mediocre projects and they get the chance. They get that chance and.

I, to this day, cannot name another performance that even comes close to what he does in that movie. It's bonkers. Yeah. And, you know, it was funny that, you know, like Quentin knew he always said that he wasn't sure he was going to be able to make this movie if he didn't find someone like Kristoff. Right. And I will say, like.

Quentin just has this gift of finding actors, maybe because he likes to act and he just loves actors himself, you know, but that was such a rare find. And he knew it. Like I remember at the table read, you know, which was, you know, how they are. It's like tons of producers and the studio and it's very nerve wracking. And he had asked him to,

just read it, like not give any intention. And it was kind of odd because he had asked all of the other cast members to, you know, you give a little bit, obviously, right. Want to come in, make it come off the page. But he was super like flat. And I remember being like, that's so weird. Like I didn't see that part as being so, you know, normal. And so I didn't know what to expect. And I remember so well, like being on set and having my first scene with him and I

I mean, just like being like so taken aback of what was happening.

I, you know, I couldn't stop staring myself. Like I had to remind myself, oh, it's your turn to talk right now. You know, it was just so amazing. I know it's that's so when. So I'm curious at the table read, he's doing it flat. And did it did it play like it like it played? I mean, that's a long, amazing opening of the scene. Did it play or was just like whatever? It was kind of like whatever. Like he was just reading it. Yeah, totally. It was it was I mean, not bad, like not bad.

like people were not like what's happening, but it wasn't like it was not jumping off the page. No, not at all. And supposedly had told him like, I don't want anyone to know. Like just like he had told him, don't, don't read it better. I mean, you know, just read it flat. Yeah. Yeah. I know that. I, I, I get that. That makes sense. Oh my God. And by the way, the farmer,

is giving one of the great performances of all time. Yeah, Denis Ménouché. I've made like four movies with him. He's become kind of a big star here in France. He was, that's a find too, because he really hadn't done anything before. And look at Léa Seydoux. That was kind of one of her first gigs too. She doesn't even speak. It's an amazing, amazing movie. I have to ask you this. The movie theater...

is a set, right? Or no? Yeah. Okay, here's what I don't get.

I'm just going to say it. I've done enough. I've gone on record. I love the movie. That's the worst set I've ever seen. That movie theater, not the interior, the movie theater with the red walls and it's too big. It's way too big. I'm sorry. That's a horrible set. Tell me I'm wrong. Go back and watch that movie. That movie's amazing. I have to go back and watch it. I didn't shoot it. So I don't know.

Yeah, I guess. It's a bad set. I don't know what's going on with that set. Okay. There's so much. The other thing I love, I always tell young actors that it really is true that the cliche that there are no small parts, only small actors. Because for my money, everybody talks about the Bear Juice scene. It's a great scene. Rad's great in it. And Eli's great in it. But to me,

The scene is stolen by the German officer who ends up getting his head bashed in. To me, he's amazing in that scene. He has that moment where I think Brad's trying to make fun of him and going, what's on that? What do you have there on your neck? What are the decoration for? And I think he says, for valor or something like that. And it's so it's such an amazing moment that

And it's one word. And to me, the you know, Brad's got the extended jaw and Eli's got the big speech and it's completely stolen by a guy with one line. I mean, I will say that there was a lot of rehearsal in the on this movie. Quentin is is, you know, he's allergic to people in the background or small parts not doing their part.

Like the scene in the tavern, you know, when he, when, when they like the big shootout that we rehearsed that scene for about a good 10 days. And when we were filming it,

It was kind of like a play. We all had to be in the scene the entire time, whether or not we were on camera or not. It was exhausting to film it, as you can imagine, because you're on all the time. But from playing the game, from doing shots and smoking, no matter if the camera was on me, on Brad, or on a day player,

We were on the entire time. And I really do believe that you feel that, you know, you can tell everyone was engaged. His attention to detail. How long did it take to shoot that? So that seems what, 15 pages, would you say? Yeah, that's the really, I think it took a good five, five or seven days, like more than a week for sure. I'm surprised it didn't take more than that, actually. But yeah, that's unbelievable.

Unbelievable. And that's in Fassbender had done what at that point? He, that was sort of early ish Fassbender, right? Yeah. But he'd done that one movie. I can't think of the name now. Uh, you know, where he lost all that weight. Um, people were excited about him. I remember that. I remember when they told me he was cast that, that people were like, Oh, hunger, right? Yes. Yes. Yeah. So people are really excited about him. Um,

And I totally got why. Like, he was just a star on set. Like, people were just all over him. He was amazing. He's an amazing actor. He's one of my favorites. For sure one of my favorites. I mean, the guy's in, I could name five movies off the top of my head that he's a killer in. Just a killer. Yeah. Yeah.

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All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel. ♪

♪♪♪

Quentin, I love that he makes people give up their phones. Was he doing that on that movie where you have no phones, right? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. He gets personally offended. I feel like late in the game, someone snuck in a phone and it went off. And he just, I think he called the day if I remember correctly. Like he just like left. Like he was so upset.

And, you know, I get it to a certain extent. I mean, I totally get it. Like, he is so engaged in his movie making. I mean, it's his world. That's all he wants to be and do. And it's his life, you know. And he wrote it and he's like, so I get it. It's so disrespectful having a cell phone go off in the middle of a tape. It's amazing going from...

The great directors like a Quentin or I, and what you're describing. And I did a movie with Steven Soderbergh a couple of years ago and, and the way they, the vibe on the set, because they have the same, for the most part, they have the same people, you know, they have their, their Spielberg is the same. They have a team, they have a team and everybody knows the vibe, but the attention to detail on those movies is incredible.

Unbelievable. I mean, I've also then on the other bit on sets where literally the dolly grip while he's pushing the camera is checking the Dodger score. Oh, my God. Literally. What? Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. Yes. Yeah. I mean, I guess not every movie set is the same, but yeah, I that's pretty tough for me to accept. I remember, you know, working with an actor who.

out of the periphery of his eye saw someone from the makeup and hair team way, not in his eyeline, way off in the distance reading a magazine. And was like, I'm out. I mean, that, by the way, that ship, that protocol etiquette ship has sailed. Unless you're working for Quentin. I mean, it's all hands on deck. People are checking their phones. They're, you know, they're, it's just, it's just unbelievable. I mean, look at it this way. It's the modern day equivalent of

You know, I remember being blown away when looking at pictures from crew from crews in the 40s where they wore suits and ties. Yeah. It's just the same thing. It's just it's like all of our society, our whole society is devolving. But don't get me started. I'll go on. I mean, I've definitely been I've definitely been guilty of, you know, having my phone on set. Not not every set. You know, I don't do that. But I mean, in between.

takes or a dolly person checking the phone while they're working that's that's that's tough to accept yeah i mean look and i and i'm on my i'm on my phone all the time too so i'm i'm as guilty of it as as next um the uh oh and god i forgot eric abana was in that was in troy with you what a great actor he is what a great actor he's another he's so awesome yeah oh um

Nicholas Cage or Nicholas Coppola, as I like to call him. You know, when we were doing Outsiders, he's Francis's nephew and he would show up, Nicholas Coppola. And...

Then I remember like four years later, it was Nicolas Cage and starring in Valley Valley Girl. And the rest is history. Are they going to do there's all these rumors about a new national treasure. Have you heard anything? Yes. No, no. I haven't heard anything about the third movie. It seems a little late in the game now. They they did try to make me do like a day on the TV show. But I just I wasn't available. But, you know, I had a great time on that.

movie primarily because of Nick. I don't know what your memory is of him, but I found him to be so fun and so nice and so hilarious. Hilariously quirky and crazy. One of the most hilarious. Yeah. Quirky. I mean, at one point,

It's funny that people always talk about, like, Leo and his posse or the Brat Pack, but nobody ever talks about the fact that Nick Cage, Charlie Sheen, and Cary Elwes formed a club called the Stingrays. And they all have tattoos. They have a tattoo that they all had, and it's a stingray tattoo.

In a shower. Okay. Go figure. But like, where's that? That's legendary Hollywood stuff that nobody talks about. I'm so curious about that because when I worked with him, obviously that was long in the past, you know? Yes.

So I don't really know much. I mean, he would tell some cool stories, but I don't know him like that. You might, but I don't. Yeah, those were great, great days. You also work with one of my favorite people, Dennis Hopper. Yes, my first movie. Oh, my gosh. Then it says 2002.

And he was, I got to know him really late in life. Um, and I know obviously never knew the crazy Dennis Hopper, you know, of legend. Um, and he was just a lovely, lovely, we, I think, I feel like we both got sober at the same facility. Um,

And that's how I met him through sobriety. And he was absolute. He was the absolute greatest. And getting him talking about Apocalypse Now stories was maybe my favorite thing. I agree. He told a few of those. Yeah, I loved him. I mean, he definitely had a temper and he was still a little crazy. Amazing. I mean, I have some great stories about him for sure. He was he hated my co-star and I.

He was so upset that he wouldn't, as days went on, he wouldn't even talk to him. And this big scene was coming up between the two of them. He didn't want to do it because he thought he was, you know, he just didn't like him and he didn't think he was any good. And I mean, that whole movie was a disaster, by the way. But regardless, he told the producers, I'm not doing the scene. I'd rather do a talking to a goat. And that's what's in the movie. He did the scene talking to a goat.

Come on. No, for real. It was, it was pretty amazing. That's, that might be one of the great stories I've ever heard. Yeah. Talking to, I'd rather talk to a goat. Yeah. I might have to use that. I might have to use that. I've got some actors sometimes I'm like, really talk to a goat.

And I can say it's good enough for Dennis Hopper. It's good enough for me. Yeah. You've worked with so many great, great actors. I mean, you really have. Ed Harris. Yeah. I feel, yeah. Ed was, I call him like a mentor. I mean, he wouldn't, but I was very green, you know, when we did that movie and he played Beethoven and he was just, you know, I was still trying to figure it out and just trying to get a grip of my emotions and how to, you

dose them and handle them and all that stuff. And he gave me some pretty great advice and he was very generous with me. I'll never forget. And, and he prepped with me. He wanted me to do really well. Like I really appreciated him as a person. He's one, he's so funny. Like,

I remember filming in Budapest and, you know, one of the great cities, great food, great everything. Right. And I remember getting there and checking into the hotel and was kind of late. I said, Oh, I'm not going to stay in. I'm going to go and get some great goulash or whatever, you know, going out. And as I'm, the hotel is right in the center. And as I'm leaving, I'm,

I'm crossing the street and there's like a McDonald's like on the corner, you know, bright neon lights. And there's Ed Harris eating a burger in Budapest. You know, like, I remember knocking on the window. I'm like, really? This is your first meal of the day? A burger at McDonald's in Budapest. It's, or when I'm abroad in places like that, I call McDonald's the American embassy. Oh,

Yeah, okay. My Ed Harris, my only Ed Harris story is my wife before she retired was one of the great makeup artists who specialized in doing men. And she did Al Pacino and Alec on Glengarry Glen Ross. And so I went to visit and I was sitting in the makeup room, but I was reading the paper. And I guess Ed had come in.

and hadn't seen me and was like saying to my wife you know who is still is an amazing looker i mean she's just like i mean i was like wow and ed going so see really you're dating that rob low guy you still dating him and i just and i just folded the paper yeah ed she still is he also has a great moment in glengare another movie i'm obsessed with it's like like inglorious

One of the great opening sequences of all time, Alex famous, always be closing coffees for closers only that speech, which I got to be there to watch. He gets in Ed's face and all those guys. I was there. So this is not apocryphal. I was there. Those guys hated it. They hated being clinicked by this young, handsome, amazing actor. They hated it.

And part of it was the characters hated it too. Right. So there, you know, but, but it was also personal. It was, nobody's going to tell me it wasn't. I saw it. And Ed in particular, and there's this great moment where, um, where Ed goes, what's your name? He goes, what's my name?

My watch costs more than your car. That's my name. And he does it right in Ed's face. And Ed does this little, and Ed doesn't have any lines. He can't react. This is not, you know, it's David Mamet. You're not going to be, you're not reacting. If you have no lines, you got to shut up and take it.

And you could just see him seething. And he does this great little thing with his hands where he sticks it in Alec's face and goes like, meh, meh, meh, meh. Like puppet, sock puppet hands. And I thought that was pretty cool. He got to get back at Alec a little bit without having any dialogue today. Any lines, yeah. Yeah, it was pretty cool. What...

How was your COVID experience? You've been in Paris this whole time? No, no, no. We, um, I was working in LA when we got shut down. And so we were kind of in LA for a year and a half. Yeah. So actually it was, I mean, you know, given the circumstances, it was, it was, uh,

A lovely time for the family in a way, you know, Norman and I, I don't think since you've been dating really had to spend ever that long of a time, you know, uninterrupted. And our baby was very young. And you made it, you made it together. And we made it. You made it. Right. How was it for you? It was, I worked the whole time. What? Yes. I worked more during COVID than I did in my career.

It was insane. I did. Yeah. A bunch of different. I mean, I did too. I started this podcast. I filmed two seasons of a massive show. It's 911 Lone Star. It's the Ryan Murphy action show for Fox. It's massive every day. And I did something else as well. How come they didn't shut down? We were the, well, COVID happened.

Everything shut down March 12th, I remember, because my birthday is March 17th. So March 12th, the country shut down, basically. And that happened to be our hiatus. And by the time we were ready to get up and running, they had figured out the protocols. But we were one of the experimental shows to come back and see if it could even be done. Right. Yeah.

And we were able to do it. And I escaped having COVID until just literally like about eight weeks ago. I finally got it. Oh, wow. Yeah. How was it? It was like a super, super, super, super duper, uber horrible flu. And I got over it. But the thing that was really...

the thing that I was the headline for me was how long it took me once I was clear and, um, testing negative to get my, um, energy back. That was really gnarly, super gnarly. Like I'm, were you vaccinated by my ass? Fully vaccinated, fully everything. And, um, I, I'm the kind of person that

happily works out every day, loves it. Or like I can go from 18 holes of golf to the gym to a surfing session and not think anything of it. I could not do anything except get through my day and nap. And I thought, is this going to be my future? And it took like three weeks and then it came back like that. Wow. Super exhausting. Yeah. I mean, we finally all got it from our daughter. She came, you know, she got it at school. I'm assuming she's

But just now, like over Easter. And I have to say, I had just gotten my fourth shot two weeks before I, you know, I had no symptoms because I just knew because of, you know, I was getting tested for work. And so I, you know, called Norman. I said, you have to get Nova out of school. I'm testing positive. Like, I'm sure she has it. Sure enough. And then he tested positive as well. For me, it was like,

One night, didn't feel great, but I've definitely been sicker in my life. Woke up like nothing ever happened. Like nothing. Amazing. And then Norman, he only had three shots and he was pretty sick for three days. Like fever and stuff. I literally have a Q-tip stuck up into my cerebellum. Like...

Yeah. It's like it never ends. I'm checked every three days. It's been every three days for two and a half years. And it's like, I wonder when it's going to end. It may never. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. I'm sorry it took so long for you. That's crazy. But I guess it's a good thing. I thought I was not going to get it. I thought maybe I have a blood type or maybe all the vaccinations or whatever. I thought I was never going to get it. And sure enough, whammo. So we were able to get through it. But I look back at the footage. This is a

It's a new show I have on Netflix coming out in April. And I look at it, at some of the shots, and I'm like, oh, boy. You can see it. Okay. Oh, my God. Yes. Really? Can we do some special effects? Because I look like a sick mofo.

So how long do you have to take a break now? Is it five days or is it still 10 days? It's five now. Five, right? Yeah. Okay. It's officially five. And, you know, it happened on a Wednesday. So Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you know, wasn't so bad as those things go. Tell me, okay, you're in Paris. What is your favorite part of Paris? Because I love that city so much. It's such a great city.

I love it here. I mean, you know, I used to live here for 25 years. Oh, I didn't know that. That's a long time. So you really know it. I went to drama school in France and started out really making French movies. So I've had a place here right up until I was pregnant. And then I sold my place to the late Karl Lagerfeld because it was a poor school. No way. Yeah, I walk up and it was right. We were neighbors. And he wanted it. He bought it for his assistant.

And, you know, if I was pregnant, I was like, oh, you know, we'll just buy another place that's more kid friendly when she was born. And as things go, of course, it's not so easy to travel with a kid and Norman being an American and working a lot there.

that didn't happen. So truly this has been the biggest gift. Like it's just total coincidence that his show would go here. And I, you know, this is my first French movie in almost two years because of COVID and we're in the same, we're renting a place that is on the same street that I used to live at and he's loving it. Nova, you know, he's going to school here for the few, for the, for the year. We're loving being here. It's so nice to be out of New York for a minute.

Well, this has been so great. Thank you for coming on the show. Thank you. This is great. I'm going to read the book. I'm going to get it and read it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Take a walk around the city for me, please. What a lovely person. Great stuff. Really, really great stuff. I hope you enjoyed it. All right. Just one more thing before we end today's episode. Let's check the lowdown line. Hello. You've reached literally in our lowdown line.

where you can get the lowdown on all things about me, Rob Lowe. 323-570-4551. So have at it. Here's the beep.

Hi, Rob. This is Lori from Ann Arbor. Go blue. My question is, if you prefer comedy or drama, I love that you seem to transition seamlessly from comedy like The Grinder, which was canceled way too soon, and Austin Powers, etc., to bad influence. Do you prefer comedy or drama, and which do you find harder to do? Keep up the good work. I enjoy your podcast and your books as well.

Thanks so much. Bye. Thank you. As an Ohio State Buckeye, you sound like a very nice person.

for somebody from Ann Arbor. Here's the problem. I like them both equally. And I'll tell you why it's an issue. Because if you like one more than the other, you kind of just end up doing one more than the other or you're known for that and you don't have to push to be able to do both. I'm really lucky that I can do both, like to do both, and that people know that I can do both. So I do both. In fact,

As we're recording this, I am shooting season four of 9-1-1 Lone Star. Drama, intense, you know, hero stuff. And shooting a new show from Netflix called Unstable that is a goofy, insane, absurdist comedy. And really, if I can't service both my hero and my nerd character,

then that I just don't feel fulfilled and it enables me to go back and enjoy whichever one I haven't been doing. So, um, which is why I've designed this for myself to be able to do a drama and then on my hiatus, do a comedy and just rinse and repeat. Um, but I love the fact that you like them both. And, um, that's, uh, that's really gratifying because, um, a lot of folks don't get that opportunity and I've been blessed to do it. Thanks for calling. By the way, um,

Don't forget to send a link of our show to your group chats because a couple people have come up to me and gone, somebody sent me a link of the podcast. I didn't even know it was on and I just love it. So I would love that. Pick somebody you think might enjoy what we're up to here. And in the meantime, I will see you next week because we have amazing stuff coming up. And you have been listening to Literally With Me, Rob Lowe.

You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Rob Schulte, with help from associate producer Sarah Bagar. Our research is done by Alyssa Grahl. The podcast is executive produced by Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Joanna Solitaroff at Team Coco, and Colin Anderson at Stitcher. All of the music on this podcast was composed by Devin Bryant. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on Literally with Rob Lowe. ♪

This has been a Team Coco production in association with Stitcher.

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