JUNE SQUIBB — on doing stunts in ‘Thelma’ and manifesting a romcom with Robert De Niro
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Hi, it's Jesse.

Today on the show, you know her from her buzzy lead role in the film Thelma and from her Oscar-nominated performance in Nebraska. It's legendary June Squibb. I never really did the dating thing after my husband died. I tried a few times in New York and I tried a few times out here. And I would get so bored. I just, I really did. That's an awful thing to say. But so many people bore the shit out of me.

This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I got to meet June Squibb briefly when she was doing the award show rounds for Alexander Payne's film Nebraska. She was celebrating her first Oscar nomination at the age of 83, and she was the belle of the party in every room she was in. It seemed like every time I glanced over at her seat, a new luminary was clamoring to say hi and congratulate her.

I was so excited to meet her, not only because I loved her performance in Nebraska, but also because I knew that she had appeared in Gypsy on Broadway with Ethel Merman. I mean, come on, let's talk about the stories there. But I was also drawn to her because she had this giddy, can you believe this is happening to me, exuberance that was just completely intoxicating. You just wanted to be near her and bask in this moment with her.

Now, even though June Squibb has been a professional actress for years, both on stage and in film, there was something so incredible about witnessing her having such a huge moment in her 80s. I mean, people were calling this her big break, like 83. I always assumed when I was reaching my 80s, I would be winding down considering retirement. But after meeting June, I'm heavily rethinking all of that.

Anything is possible. And I mean anything. In the past year, she starred as a title character in the action movie Thelma. Yes, you heard me right. Action film. She also just completed her second leading role ever in Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.

It's a film about a woman, played by June Squibb, who decides to take on her late best friend's story as a Holocaust survivor as her own. It's highly anticipated. I cannot wait to see it. All of these opportunities as she's entering into her mid-90s. I was over the moon when she accepted a meal with me to talk about this incredible time in her life.

Hi! So good to see you. I gotta scoot it a little more on. You're gonna look great. I do! I brought June Squibb to Zinc Cafe and Bar in West Hollywood. I wanted a place where I could just sit across the table from June Squibb, someplace low-key where I could ask her about her career spanning seven decades over coffee and sandwiches. So that's exactly what we did.

Zinc is just off Melrose, but it looks, feels, and tastes like you're eating at someone's cozy home, which is just the vibe I was looking for from my conversation with June. Okay, let's get to the conversation. I was with my husband. We were going to a film festival in...

And it was a, we were flying from LA and like, you have to like take a shuttle van to a smaller little terminal at LAX. So it was a very quiet terminal. Not a lot of people, not a lot of people going to Denver and at the beginning of November. And there was this guy wearing a hat that said June Squibb.

And so, of course, I was like, I need to know all about this, where you got this. He had just been at your birthday party, your 95th birthday party. He was a cast member of the movie Saturday Night, Saturday Night Live. Oh, yes. Gabriel LaBelle. Yes, I remember. Yeah, he plays Lorne Michaels in the movie. Yes, yes. And he said, yeah, he went with a friend to your 95th birthday and had a great time and got a hat that just had your name on it.

It was such a talking point. He wore it for the entire festival. It was such like a... Somebody told me that. They said that Gabriel loved your hat so much he wore it to a film festival. Yeah. Well, now I won't. If there's any extras hanging around, give me one. Jesse wants a hat. I want a June Squibb hat. How was your birthday? Oh, it was great. It was great. It was a lovely woman, Kiwi Smith, a writer. She did Legally Blonde. Yes, I know that. That was hers. You know her then.

And she has this lovely house in Los Feliz. And she's friends with Rebecca, who is the Magnolia person in L.A. And so they called me and said, do you mind if we do a birthday party for her? I said, no, are you kidding? Do you like celebrating your birthday? I do. And I celebrate it even more.

That wasn't it. I had a dinner party at a restaurant for friends, and then my agent took me to lunch. Oh.

on the day of my birthday. You did more for your birthday than I did for mine. I just turned 49 last year. That's a biggie. The big one's coming up next year. 50's a biggie, yeah. But, I mean, you did more on your 95th than I did on any of mine. I'm impressed. But it was such fun because I was able to invite, I invited about 40 people of my own, and then there were about 150 others there.

Yeah, and I sat regally by the pool and people came to me, you know. What is it like to have moments like that when you kind of look back at a crazy career, such a long career, and also you're in such a moment of that career, like today. I mean, you are the star of Thelma, which is fantastic. I don't know if I should talk more about it.

to look back and just think all these people that I've collected over the years who are fans of mine. I mean, it must feel so good. Well, it does. I enjoyed the birthday and I wasn't sure because I knew there would be a lot of people that I didn't know, but it was so warm and loving. And I felt like, but Gabriel, I remember him being there, sitting there talking to me. I had never met him before. Yeah. What a great way to celebrate. Yeah. Yeah.

I just watched Thelma last week and it is so good, June. It's so wonderful. You're so great in it. I'm very proud of it. You should be so proud of it. I really am. I am.

I guess I didn't realize, but it is. It's your first leading role. In a film. In a film. Because I have done leads on stage. Sure. But years ago. We're going to go back to that because that's where I'm... I know. You're doing now. My route to the theater. And you're doing it now. I'm doing it now. I'm going back to the theater next summer to do some stuff. And I really have... I have so many stories I want you to tell about your time on stage. But it's... I mean, it's really exciting to see...

you know, you at this point in your career doing something so different and so new and really holding a film with people I've been watching for years, like Parker Posey, you know. Richard. Richard Rountree, who just recently passed away. To be able to be part of one of his final projects must have been really wonderful. Oh, I think we all feel if this had to happen, to have been there with him during this last film was...

It was just, I think, more than any of us could ever have asked for. He became that to us. We all loved him so much. And I think he really wanted to say to his audience, look at what there is in this man that you had no idea was even there, you know? And I think that was important to him. Yeah. Well, that's what I love so much about the film is it really...

You know, I was talking about this. I had Kathy Bates on the podcast last week. Me too. And we were talking, you know, she's having this great run in Matlock right now, which is wonderful. And a lot of the themes of that show are how people of that age sometimes feel as if they've disappeared. And she uses that to her advantage as Matlock, you know, solving these crimes. And what I love so much about Thelma is it really was, you know, taking...

these people who sometimes feel like, okay, I, people aren't seeing me fully and yet they're, they're, they're taking control of their lives, but also just, you know, sort of that reflection on what we can and can't do when our bodies sort of stop letting us do those things and how our will is sometimes stronger than our bodies. And it's such a,

first of all, hilarious film, but also I just felt the themes were so poignant as well. Well, I think, and I felt, you know, when I read it, that this was important, that it was important that this be said, that this be told. And I think the audiences, the older people who see it are just...

exhilarated by it. They just love it. And the young ones always say to me, I'm going to take my mother. I'm going to take my grandmother. Or I have. It's very important. Just to talk a little bit about what the film is, I want people to, if they haven't already seen it, be enticed to go. It's about this woman, Thelma, the title character, who is scammed out of a $10,000

$10,000 of cash. But, you know, she scammed out of this money and then decides to take it into her own hands to get this money back and goes on this adventure with her friend, played by Richard Roundtree, um,

It is inspired from things like Mission Impossible and James Bond. And it's just so fun to watch you in these scenes. And at the same time, you're doing your own stunts, a lot of your own stunts. You know, you're making your way through this store, and at one point there's an obstacle, and you're on this bed, and you do sort of a soft roll across the bed to sort of protect your joints. I mean, it's just...

Fantastic. And how much of that physical stuff did you do? I really did most of it. And that was not what they had planned because they had thought, well, we'll just tell June to start these things, stop, and we'll get a stuntwoman. And I felt that was not a good idea. And I wanted to drive the scooter. I wanted to do these things. And as I read the script, I think I can do, you know, I felt I could really do everything. Yeah.

But for one thing, remember when I ran the scooter into Richard? Yes. This scooter thing? They told me specifically, all right, go up to him, stop it, get off, and we'll have the stuntwoman come and ram him. And I thought, well, this is dumb. I can do this. And I rammed in it. He did not know it was coming.

Richard, he didn't know it was happening. And I just, and then I zoomed off with it, and I kept thinking, I hope they get this on camera. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I'm doing it. Yeah, yeah. But that was kind of the attitude I had. Yeah. And they loved it. It was just they were so worried at the beginning about what I could or couldn't do. Well, sure. Yeah, I did a...

the movie Cocaine Bear with Margo Martindale. Yes, yes. And she did a lot of her own stunts too, but there was some of it that was just too hard for, you know, even me to do. You know we lived next door to each other for 30 years. I do, I do know that. Yeah, yeah, I would talk about that too. You know, I know her so well, and I'm sure we both, we feel the same about so many things, you know, that I could understand her wanting to do that. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

And I know that she was very instrumental in maybe getting your role in Nebraska. Is that right? She first told me about it because they had sent it to her. And Margo got the script and she said, I'm too young. She said, you're the one that should be doing this. And so she gave me the script and she said, read this and see what, you know, and I read it. And I thought, well, she's right. Yeah.

Are you hungry, June? I am. Good, me too. Would you like a drink to get started? I'd like a decaf coffee. Okay, come over here, Mom. Yeah, sure. Decaf black coffee for June, and I'm going to have Arnold Palmer. Arnold Palmer with black iced tea? Thank you. That's great. Okay.

What are your, what are you like known for? What are your specialties? So we just changed our menu. We added meat to our menu. Oh, you were a vegetarian before? We were all vegetarian before. I didn't know that. But now we have meat. So I would suggest the grilled chicken, the pan-seared salmon. Shrimp tacos are excellent. If you like shrimp, the grilled chicken and the salmon. I suggest to everyone. Okay.

I love it when I do this. I always ask people to tell me their favorites, and then I choose the one thing you haven't said. Do you ever do that? I think I'm going to do the Zinc Club, the salami, prosciutto, roast turkey. Sounds really good. Would you like soup or salad or fries? I'll do salad. Sure. Yeah, balance it out. I'm going to have the grilled cheese. Sure. Yes. And I guess a salad. Sure.

Thank you so much. Wait, so I want to finish this. Margo Martindale said, I'm too young. You should be doing this. Yeah. But the thing was, they really didn't think that I was at all right for it. Only because you had played a sweeter character for the same director. Sort of a vague, blah-ish character. You know, and Kate certainly is not that. No. Kate was full of it.

And my agents kept at them and kept at them and kept at them until finally, and this was way in the process,

They said, okay, we'll send her a scene and I think two scenes and tell her to film them and send them back. And it was like... You had to self-tape? Yeah. Alexander didn't even... No. Alexander. No, I mean, they were so, you know, we'll be nice to June and let her do that. Well, Alexander said he saw it and he thought, oh my God, she could play Kate, you know. And so that's what happened. Yeah.

And he told me later on, he said, the minute I saw your audition, I knew you were her. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, June tells me about being told to give up acting and making her feature film debut in Alice at 61 years old. Okay, be right back. This episode of Dinners on Me is brought to you by Nissan.

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Hi, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the host of the podcast Dinners on Me. Spring is here, and you know what that means. Longer days, backyard hangs, and of course, firing up the grill. And when I'm planning a get-together, Whole Foods Market is my secret weapon for making it both fresh and effortless. Let's start with light or fair because, you know, sometimes you want something crisp and bright after those rich winter meals. I'm going to be making a whole foods market.

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Make Whole Foods your destination for all spring gatherings. Make Whole Foods your destination for all spring gatherings. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I do want to go back to some of your early life and talk about your Broadway career, if we could. I made my Broadway debut at the age of 21 in the revival of On the Town.

Oh, my God. Which I just, I love doing. And, you know, musical theater for me was my first love. Yeah. Loved it so much. Of course, the one credit of yours that really just jumps out at me, that I'm sure you've talked about ad nauseum, is, you know, doing Gypsy. Gypsy, yeah. With Ethel Merman playing, which stripper was it? Elektra. Elektra, yes. How old were you when you did that? I think I was 26.

I think I was 26. Incredible.

And were you, you weren't in the original cast. No. You were a replacement, but Ethel Merman was still on the show when you did it. She played the whole run. She did, okay. On Broadway, yeah. And then they were reopening at the Imperial, and that's when I went in. And we had eight months in New York, and then I did the road company because she was doing it, and they wanted me to do it, so I did it. And it was like another eight months of doing it with her then. That's incredible. Wow.

What was that audition like? Did you meet the whole team? It's funny. No. I was at a bar with my agent, and this young man came in, and my agent knew him. And he was the stage manager for La Plume du Matin.

And so my agent said to him, what are you doing now? He said, Yvonne Constant is leaving and we have to replace her. So I'm doing auditions for that. And Martin said, well, June could do that. And he said, can you do point? And Martin looked at me and I said, sure. I had never been in a pair of point shoes in my life ever.

So he said, well, great. He said, you look good for it. So I went to the audition. And at that time, they called me to come in and sing. So I went in and sang, and I didn't bother with the shoes anymore. And this guy, after I had sang, this other guy came up to me in the house.

and said he was a stage manager for Gypsy, and they were replacing a role, and he said, go downstairs, come back up, and do some striptease dancing. Well, again, I didn't know what the hell I was doing. So I went downstairs, and luckily a friend of mine, a real dancer was down there, and I said, what is strip dancing? She said, oh, just dip a lot and do your bumps and grinds and dip.

So I went upstairs and they played strip music. Now I was on the stage, I guess, I don't even know what theater, but one of the big Broadway theaters. And I'm, you know, dripping like, and bouncing and doing all these things, bumping and grinding and everything.

And they called me that night and said, we want you to come into Gypsy. And it was Electra. So you did it well. Bake it until you make it is what they said. And you sure did. I did. But we all did. It was like, of course. Oh, I would say I could do everything. And then I would just deal with it in the moment. I found myself in several auditions I should not have been in. Like auditioning for the ensemble of cats. I can't dance. Yeah.

I can't dance. I cannot dance like that. And just kind of slowly walking out of the room when it got a little too difficult for me. I was like, they're not going to even remember I've left. But yeah, fake it until you make it. But we had such balls. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Was theater your first love? Yeah. Yeah. I never... That's what I kind of understood. I never thought in terms of film. I really didn't. Yeah. And I always thought I would end up on stage in New York. Yeah. Yeah. It never occurred to me I'd be doing that. So it just always was something you wanted to do. I know you told stories about your...

Was it your mother taking you to bars and having you stand in a bar? My grandparents. Your grandparents? My father's parents used to take me around to local bars because I loved tap dancing. I would get on the bar and tap dance, and they would get free beer. Wow. And that's really what it was. It was the free beer that did it. So those were your first performances. Yeah. Tap dancing for beer for your grandparents. On those old wooden bars. Yeah. And I loved that. Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Shh.

Oh, great. Thank you. Okay, that looks good. That looks good. I don't think... Do you need cutlery? Yeah, we'll take some cutlery, please. That looks good. Yeah. That girl cheese looks amazing. It is. Okay, back into some of these questions I've got. You turned 21 in 1950, which was a very interesting time for...

for women. From what I understand and from what my grandparents have told me, it was a time when you kind of chose a career or a personal life and you didn't always have both. What were those early years for you like? Obviously, you got married at 23 and you had a very successful career on Broadway. But what was it like for you? Well, my first marriage lasted seven years.

We were at the Cleveland Playhouse together. That's where I met him. And we did go to New York, and I loved it. I couldn't have been happier. He hated it. So I think that was one of the first big signs. I think I gave up on the marriage before he did, really. And I was successful, and he wasn't. And I think by then, I had really come to the conclusion that

The best person to tell me what to do was me. Yeah. And I was then unmarried for seven years. And there was a lot of great stuff in that time and a lot of not so great stuff in that time. Sure, yeah. What were those years like for you before...

You know, when you're on your own, you've had a relationship and you've closed the door on that. I raised hell. You what? I raised hell. Good for you. I really did. I mean, I can imagine some, you know, in your 30s in New York, successful theater actress, you know, I'm sure you were having a fun time. Oh, yeah. Oh, I was. Good for you. Good for you. I love that. I think I wore myself out. That's why I got married again. All right.

I remember the year, the summer before I met my husband, Justin, I was doing Shakespeare in the Park in New York City. So I spent the summer there. Modern Family had had one season. So that was a big success. And I was doing Shakespeare in the Park with Al Pacino and, you know, living my best life in New York. And I had a summer of fun, for sure. And I'm so... Justin always says, I'm so glad you had that summer before we settled down because...

I needed that. What made you decide to get married again? Obviously, you met someone wonderful. Meeting someone, yeah. I don't know. And I realized that I didn't want to have a child. And I was 40 when I had my child. But...

I don't know. He was... The man I married was such a great... He was an acting teacher. Yeah. And I think that part of me said, you need him. You know, that this is somebody that is going to be valuable in your life. Really? Right. I just love the chapters of your career and how, like, at 61... 61? 61. You finally...

made your film debut with Woody Allen in Alice. That was your first film audition? Yes. Wow. I went to my agent. We were all at once getting all this film work in New York. And I went to my agent and I said, look, I know a lot of my friends that do stage that are doing these new films that are coming in. I said, I think I should be doing some. He said, okay. And a week later, I had an audition for Woody Allen. Wow. But what happened was

Do you know Ellen Lewis? How do I know that name? Casting director. Yes, yes. She worked for Juliet Taylor and Juliet did Alice and he hired me. And then Ellen Lewis went off on her own and she was casting Scent of a Woman. So she brought me in for that and I got that.

Then she brought me in for Scorsese's Age of Innocence, and I got that. And like all at once, everybody, you're a film act. I mean, all at once. But it was one, two, within a few months, I had shot three films. Big ones. Well, and Santa of a Woman was a fairly big role. I mean, it was not just, the others were small. You know, I was the housekeeper.

Right. For Woody. Yeah. And for Martin Scorsese, I was a maid. But for Scent of a Woman, I had a role that really kind of mattered, that people noticed. So it was just all at once. I mean, and I didn't understand it. I mean, you know, I am a film actress now. Oh, okay. I know it took, you know, on this planet, 61 years before getting your film opportunity, your first film opportunity. Right.

When you line it up like that, I'm like, gosh, you really got in easy. You just shift it up. And then in and out. You didn't pay her dues at all. No, not for film. Not for film. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, June tells me about her next leading role in Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut. And we hear about who she'd want opposite of her in a rom-com. Do I sense someone has a crush? Hmm. Okay, be right back.

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I mean, obviously I know a lot about Schmidt, but before your kind of, it's so weird calling it a big break because you were 84 when Nebraska came out and it was such a huge moment. But what was your career like before Nebraska? Did you just sort of imagine just a life and doing more film and maybe were you going to think about dating? Like what was going on?

Well, I never really did the dating thing after my husband died. I tried a few times in New York, and I tried a few times out here. And I would get so bored. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I just, I really did. That's an awful thing to say. No. But so many people bore the shit out of me. What is a dating pool like for someone who's lost a husband at that age? Very slim. Very slim. It is very slim. Mm-hmm.

And I'm sure that's a part of it, too. Have you considered joining Tinder? No. Okay, just asking. Just asking. But yeah, I mean, it was such a shift when Nebraska happened. Did it feel like, obviously you're working with the director he'd worked with before, but did it feel like a big moment when you were doing it? I think to all of us. Yeah. This wasn't just me. I think Bruce felt it.

Will certainly felt it. It was a new thing for him. Forte, yeah. Forte and Bob Odenkirk. I think that everybody involved with it that had something to do felt that this was something very special. The crew felt it, believe it or not. Yeah. They were going around as we were shooting, and you could hear them talking about the Academy Awards.

Really? Yeah. That seems like bad luck. Well, maybe it was, but, you know, it was like crazy. Everybody, but everybody felt this is something very special. No one knew what it was going to be or, you know, I don't know that Alexander did it. Right. He's really one of my favorite filmmakers. I love him so much. I've never met him. Oh, he's great. I talked a little bit about how Margo Martindale

sort of was part of the story of you getting Nebraska, but what's this about Beanie Feldstein also maybe being someone who helped you with Get the World of Thelma? - She did it. - Why, how? How did this happen? What happened? - Well, she and I had done Humans together.

The film? Yes. Yeah. We're very good friends. We were at her wedding. Oh, you were at her wedding? Oh, yeah. Oh, that's nice. You know, really close. But anyway, she's family friends with Josh, who wrote it, directed it, et cetera, et cetera. And she was at their house, and he had just finished the script.

And they were talking about Josh's new script. And so he told her about it. She said, well, who do you want to do that? And he said, well, I would love June Squibb, but I don't know how to get a script to her. She said, I'll get a script to her. She texted me, I'm sending you a script. I texted back, okay. And that was it. That's incredible. And the script came, I read it, and I knew I had to do it.

And I had someone read my scripts, too. And she called back and said, you've got to do this. You've also done so many incredible genres, from musical theater to... I'd classify Thelma as an action film. Would you? Yes, of course. To, you know, kind of darker comedies. Are there other genres that you...

Would love to do. I keep saying now I want to do a Western. You want to do a Western? I've never done a West. Have you ever done one? I haven't, no. And I just think that would be, I used to ride when I was a kid. Oh, did you? Oh, yeah, a lot. So I was a fairly good rider. I don't know that I could now. I suppose once you got me on the horse, I probably could stay on. Yeah.

But I think, you know, there's always the saloon keeper or the brothel keeper or something like that. I just would love to be there, live that, you know? Yeah, for sure. I could totally see that. Like a revival of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas or something. Yeah.

Bring all your skills together. All your stripping, your singing. Singing, dancing, western. I mean, what about a rom-com? Yeah. Romantic comedy. Yeah. And if you could do a rom-com, like who would your dream love interest be? My love interest? Oh, God. I guess Robert De Niro wouldn't be bad. He's very, very talented, very handsome. Yeah. He's aged very well. He's very funny. Yeah.

I find people who are really serious, like super serious, to be hilarious. In fact, that's sort of what...

That was the basis for my character in Modern Family. I just thought sometimes when people are so serious and so straight-edged, they can be really funny because they just take everything way too seriously. You all were so brilliant doing that. Oh, my God. Thank you. I love doing it with you. I know. The short time I did. But, oh, my God, I love watching it. Thank you. It was so fun. Thank you.

There were so many incredible jobs that you did after Nebraska. I mean, you showed up everywhere all of a sudden. You couldn't turn on the TV or see a film without seeing June Squid. I know you were about to do something with Scarlett Johansson. We did it. You did it already. How did it go? Oh, I think it's going to be great. I've seen it twice.

And some people have seen it and they're really loving it. So I think it's going to be very special. And this is her directorial debut. Well, it was so great because she, as an actress, really knew where I was, where I was going, what I was doing, everything, you know. And I think she and I both took chances. And I think that's kind of great.

I mean, if you feel that confident, you know, with your actor and your director and the whole thing. And I think we did. I think we took some chances. Can you tell me a little bit about what the movie is?

Yeah, it's an older woman who lives in Florida with her friend, and the friend dies. And her friend was in the Holocaust. So this is a large part of it. So she moves back to New York, and she's very lonely. And she meets a young woman, and they become very, very good friends. She thinks she's going to a singing group in a Jewish community center, but

And she ends up in the Holocaust Survivors group. Oh, wow. And they assume she is a Holocaust survivor. So she then says she is and starts telling her friends stories. Oh, wow. As if they were hers. It's like Dear Evan Hansen, but...

An older person. An older woman, yeah. And it's the Holocaust. Wow. And it's about grief, and it's about remembering the Holocaust. And it's about friends, what friends mean to you, you know. It's... Sounds so interesting. It is. It was all shot in New York City, all locations. Wow. Did you visit Margo Martindale? Did you visit your old neighborhood? No.

I had dinner parties at Joe Allen's. Good for you. Oh, my gosh. I wish I had run into you. Marco and Bill came. Perfect. And other friends I had. I just adore you so much. I think you're fabulous in Thelma. You know, obviously there's a bit of buzz around you. Like, this might be another fun award season for you. But whether or not that happens, you are just incredible in it. And I...

I'm so happy that you are doing such rich work at this time of your life. I think it's really inspiring. I said the other day, it's wonderful to feel relevant in your industry. You are so relevant. There's a hat that you have your name on that I'm trying to get a hold of. I would buy a June Scoop hat on eBay if that's where I had to get it. But fortunately, your team's going to get me one. Yeah, no, sure get you one.

Listen, if she'd known, she would have brought it today. I know, I know, I know, I know. It's so funny. And I told Gabriel, I was like, I'm going to have to get a hat myself. And I almost stole his. Thank you for doing this. Oh, well, thank you for inviting me. This was fun. Anytime. Dinner's on me, of course. This episode of Dinner's on Me was recorded at Zinc Cafe and Bar in West Hollywood, California.

Next week on Dinners on Me, he has three Tonys, two Emmys, and a SAG Award. You know him from the cult classic The Birdcage, on stage in The Producers, he was Pepper Saltzman in Modern Family, and his upcoming TV show from the creators of Will & Grace, Mid-Century Modern.

It's Nathan Lane. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners On Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad-free. Just click Try Free at the top of the Dinners On Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today.

Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and A Kid Named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Angela Vang. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Del Schee composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Ballans-Kolasny and Justin Mikita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.