Kristin Davis: Safari Memories
46:39 Share

Picture this. You're halfway through a DIY car fix, tools scattered everywhere, and boom, you realize you're missing a part. It's okay, because you know, whatever it is, it's on eBay. They've got everything. Brakes, headlights, cold air intakes, whatever you need, and it's guaranteed to fit, which means no more crossing your fingers and hoping you ordered the right thing. All the parts you need at prices you'll love. Guaranteed to fit every time. eBay. Things people love.

We all wish hiring was easier. I know I do. Robert Half Research indicates 9 out of 10 hiring managers are having difficulty hiring. If you have open roles,

Chances are you're feeling this too. That's why you need Robert Half. Their specialized recruiting professionals engage their skills with their award-winning AI to connect businesses of all sizes with highly skilled talent in finance and accounting, technology, marketing, and creative, legal, and administrative and customer support.

At Robert Half, they know talent. Visit roberthalf.com today. I wish it was Keanu Reeves, okay? I wish with every fiber of my being that it was Keanu Reeves, but it was in fact not. But let me tell you, I would have lent Keanu $100,000 to put at it, okay? Hey, everybody. Literally today, we're going to have some sex in the city.

We are Kristen Davis, an old pal of mine, just the beautiful, smart, funny, great actor. And I'm just going to warn you, it gets insane when we get together. So if it devolves, if this conversation devolves into just a gossip festival, don't blame me. I gave you fair warning.

I'm both compelled and dreading what is about to happen with my favorite person, Krista Davis. Do you like my booth, my professional booth? I do. I do. How did you create it? What does one do? One comes to the actual studio in Santa Barbara, so it's convenient. Nice. So I'll do it here in the studio in Santa Barbara, or I'll do it at SiriusXM.

um a main studio complex in la um got it and you know back in the day i started in my basement right before covid you're so smart i mean you're always really smart about things but how how did you come to think i should do this um you know what it what it was is i what i would um

Sometimes I would guest host like Ellen's show in the day or Jimmy Kimmel. I've guest hosted a couple of times and some other things like that. Good Morning America, I did. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was super. And I enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed the conversation of it. But I also realized that I wouldn't like, like I love doing whatever Kelly Ripa's show.

Yeah. But then I don't want to do the cooking segments.

I don't want to do the stuff that they got to do to pay the bills. It's kind of icky to me. So I was like, what could I do where I have my own talk show and only do the stuff I want to do and talk to only the people I want to talk to? And so here we are. There you go. That was super smart. You were on the early side. Yeah, yeah, it's great. I mean, and also I like it because it's very like...

free-ranging. You have experts. You have people you know. You have people from your past, like Francis Ford Coppola. You're getting to just pick and choose, which I love. Yeah, it's super fun for me because you know me. I love talking to people. I'm curious. And today, earlier today, I talked to Matthew Modine. I haven't seen Matthew Modine since he broke my nose on the set of... Oh, my God! When did he break your nose?

He broke my nose in a stunt fight. And it's so funny because I was telling, and he was apologizing to me. Not that he needed to. It was just one of those things. But I remember working on the movie, our first thing we ever did, Atomic Train. And it was one of the gnarliest stunts I've ever done.

where I was jumping between two moving train cars. Insane. Yes, insane. I couldn't believe you were doing that. It was, yeah, I jumped into your arms, I believe.

You did. It was awesome. But I was like, why is he doing this? I mean, I could tell that you loved it, but it was also scary. I was scared. I was petrified. And I remember thinking the only time I'd been hurt during a stunt was Matthew Modine. And that led me to jumping between two train cars to jump into your arm.

You were there for me. I was there for you. And then you were there for me later when we went to South Africa and Zambia. Oh my God. We had so much fun in Holiday in the Wild. So Holiday in the Wild, y'all, is out there on Netflix. It's still, it's an evergreen as they call it.

It is. Right? I mean, do you keep hearing it all year? Do people love it still and watch it all the time? So much. I mean, just recently, before Christmas, people have been commenting in my Instagram posts that weren't even about that, about, oh, I just watched Holiday in the Wild. I thought,

is so amazing and adorable. So I'm just going to put some pictures up. So I put pictures up of us, like, you know, behind the scenes type pictures because it was so beautiful, you know, where we were in South Africa. So beautiful. And I think it's like my, possibly my most liked post that I've ever made on Instagram. Really? Like it's bizarre. Yeah. It was millions and millions of people. Like I watch it every year. I mean, who,

Who would have thought? I couldn't even believe they let us make that movie. Well, they only did because of you, because you were, I mean, tell the story though about a little bit about how, so you've been an activist forever with animals and elephants then in particular. So you developed this script. My favorite thing is like, they had to have come to you at some point and say, yeah, we're going to make it in Agoura.

They did try. Yes, they did. And I said, you know, because I mean, the way that it went down was so weird. Like I went to a meeting, you know, people will say like, we want to have a meeting with you, but let's have lunch, you know? So I went to a meeting and the writers of the film were there and they're, and they're like, we just want to talk to you about the elephants. So for me, I'm so excited, right? I don't realize that they're going to,

write a script. Like it never entered my mind. Do you know what I'm saying? Like they were not open about it or whatever, that that was their idea. So I'm just yakking like I do, you know, asking about elephants and I will keep there for a week. Right. Like, and then this and then this and this country and that, you know, whatever. So I'm telling them that I'm just so excited because I was expecting kind of like an industry lunch. Right. I'm just so excited that someone's asking about the elephants, you know, so I'm going on.

they're asking a lot of questions, you know, Brad is there. Right. And there's, he's asked me a lot of questions and I'm just having the best time. And then they're like, we should, you know, make, make, we could make, I think originally they were going to try to make a Hallmark movie. Cause Brad was still working for Hallmark. And I,

I thought to myself, I don't really feel like this is a Hallmark movie. It just didn't really make sense to me. But I said, you know, let's try. Okay. Because a lot of people see the Hallmark movies. And I thought, you know, this could be a whole new audience for the elephants. Right? Because that was kind of...

One of my big missions with the activism, first of all, I love elephants. I love animals, as you know. But at the time that I became acquainted with the organization in Kenya that I work with, the Sheldrakes, it was 2009 when I found with my friends an orphan baby elephant. And we took this elephant. We found her. We transported her. We got her to the nursery in Nairobi. And they said to us when we brought her there, oh, it's probably poaching. And I was like,

poaching, you know, these are some crazy elephant people. Like, I just thought, I didn't think poaching was happening anymore. Yeah, exactly. It just seems like that can't be going on anymore. Right. Yeah.

Right. So I was like, oh, okay. And then we left her there. We knew she was in good hands. And then she had health issues because she'd been by herself for days and days. Like her eyes were infected and all kinds of things. So I kept texting with them, like, do I need to send more money for the vet? What do I need to do? How can I help? And little by little, I started following them and learning, no, poaching is on the rise. And it was such a horrible time in that no one was covering it. Right.

Like none of the, you know, kind of, you know, traditional press was covering elephant poaching in Kenya. And it was to the point where the people on the ground were really worried that they were going to be extinct. And so as I started following based on this one elephant and learning more, I became more

obsessed with trying to get the word out. And luckily my publicist, Amy was also with me when we found the baby elephant, she became obsessed as well. We tried everything to get someone to cover it. And they would say, well, we'd love a cute picture of you and a baby elephant, but we don't want to talk about poaching. You know? So we were like, well, okay, we'll take it. You know, like we were just like little bits, little bits. And in my mind, like the, the nightmare that I would have was

that one day we would wake up and the cover of the New York Times would say like elephants extinct in the wild. Like it would be too late. Right. You know? And I just, I just couldn't, I just couldn't bear that. You know, I just couldn't, couldn't bear that this kind of part of the world that we take for granted as always being there and having these beautiful wild animals. I mean, you went on safari, you know,

what I'm talking about. Like you just think that this incredible miraculous world is just going to live on, but it's not going to live on unless we protect it, you know? So luckily so many people mobilize in so many different countries, but especially Kenya has been a really great example. There's so many people around the world who support these elephants and support David Sheldrick wildlife trust, which is my group. And I mean, it's just been tremendous. So Kenya now is a huge success story, but

Not every country in Africa is sadly. So a lot of the elephants that used to have free range, there's too much, you know, development. There's too many people. There's people poaching them still like, you know, still in Kenya. My, my group, the David Sheldon wildlife trust has, I think at this point, 11 vet units all across the country. And they're still treating poison arrow wounds, um, uh,

which are like they snare the elephant's foot and the elephant can't graze and slowly dies. It's horrible. Anyway, it's still happening. See, you asked me about elephants, so now I'm off. But so when I went to this lunch, the same thing happened. I had no idea that they were going to write a script, right?

And they had to make it a romance. And then we had to make it a Christmas movie. So I still was like, oh gosh, is this going to work? And then when we were talking about Leading Men, they were like, well, we'd love to have Rob Lowe as the pilot. And I was like, well, yeah, I'd love to have Rob Lowe as the pilot. Never entered my mind that you would do it, right? I was like, yeah, that's a great idea. Let's see. And then you did it. So it happened. And that's really thanks to you. Oh, well, I loved working with you. I think you're the greatest...

San Diego is a place that inspires positivity like no other place. So this is an ad for San Diego. I'm reading it. I just need to take a break from this and say San Diego is so cool. It is literally amazing.

Like my favorite, one of my favorite cities in the world. And my son Matthew and I, whenever we get a moment, go to San Diego. San Diego's good vibes and unique outdoor lifestyle offer a wide range of experiences to make your trip unforgettable. Everyone can enjoy the outdoors. Yes, that is true. Over 70, this is the real key, 70 miles of coastline to explore unparalleled scenery from deserts to beaches to

And there's so much to do for kids and parents alike, just like my son and I. Whether it's kayaking, a trip to the world-famous San Diego Zoo, or a day at Balboa Park, and what I would add, the greatest sport fishing in the United States. Whether you're soaking up San Diego's rich cultural experiences like the La Jolla Playhouse. How about that? There's plenty to keep you enriched when you're not enjoying the beach. And with its proximity to Mexico, you're sure to find some of the best and most authentic places.

Cali Baja cuisine, happiness is calling. Plan your trip at SanDiego.org. Funded in part with City of San Diego Tourism Marketing District Assessment Funds.

Literally with Rob Lowe is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

Who can resist the good things in life? While luxury is enjoyable, it's not always affordable. And that's where Quince comes in. Quince offers a range of high-quality items at prices within reach, like 100% Mongolian cashmere sweaters for $50, washable silk tops and dresses, organic cotton sweaters, and 14-karat gold jewelry. The best part? All Quince items are priced 50%.

50 to 80 percent less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. My producer Sean, big Quince fan, here's what he had to say.

Quince offers great products at great prices, and the quality is impossible to beat. I love the chore coat. I have the linen long sleeve. I love that one as well. Couldn't recommend Quince highly enough. Give yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince. Go to quince.com slash rob.

for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash rob to get free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash rob. I mean, they kind of had me at we're shooting in Africa. Right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean... It's amazing. I mean, you know...

We all do projects for different reasons sometimes. Yeah. And for me, between you doing it and being out there rugged... How about the day where... So there's no... All the elephants in the movie are actual elephants. They were never told where to go, never told what to do, nothing. Right. Which was the whole point. Exactly. So we are...

we have to do our, our, our sort of our, our out of Africa, uh, picnic scene. Right. By the way,

hole. Yeah, I love that scene. I love that scene by the watering hole and the elephants as we're starting and beginning to think about maybe falling in love with each other, the elephants come out of the bush and it's this magical magic. Africa's magical. All you do is put a camera on it and it's so magical. But, you know, we had to have...

the only people who could be out of the cars to shoot the scene were the cameraman and you and I and everybody else had guns in case, you know, elephants are wild and you don't know what they're going to do.

In case we're charged, it was... I'm thinking, why is it every time I'm with Christian Davis, my life is in my hands? What is going on? It is insane. Or we're in Kenya and Zambia, which is... No, no, wait. South Africa and Zambia. And I mean, do you remember also, remember the place with the cliffs that we had to take that crazy road that had washed out? Yes, yes. Okay.

Like they had scouted it. They'd scouted this location at the base of the mountains near Hootsprite, which is a beautiful Hootsprite, a beautiful like by Kruger kind of adjacent to Kruger National Park. So really incredibly gorgeous, really rugged spot.

But the place that they wanted us to film where you could see the mountains in the background, the road had washed out between them scouting the location and us arriving. We had to psych ourselves up every day to get in our four-wheel drive and go up like this crazy...

Like, I can't believe we even made it up there. And then do you remember the one day? I don't know if you were still there, but like weather came in and there was a scene where I had to go out in the night to go check on the elephants. And literally my hair is just like this. And I'm like, we're not going to be able to use this. They're like, yes, we will. And I'm like, but I can't.

I have to scream. You can't even hear it. Like, no, like it'll be fine. No, of course it was not fine. We did not use it. Like just the elements were so intense. Right. Do you remember the day that we did it? The, the day we had a snake wrangler. Oh my God. Yes. He found the world's, the world's most dangerous snake on our set.

In the grass. Under the blanket in the grass that you and I were about to lay on. No, true. Thank God. Thank God he was there because I remember him being very low key. And I was like, oh, whatever, because I've been to every country in Africa pretty much at this point. But we were in a pretty remote. There were no other people walking around or whatever. It wasn't.

like a regular safari type of a place, right? And I remember he was so low key. And then that one day he was like, oh yes, I did it. And we were like, what? But that's what I love about you. Like, you know, you have been in the industry for so incredibly long and sustained yourself in doing so many different things with such a great attitude, which is, I don't know if I actually asked you this or if I just like soaked it up from you. But like one of the things I've learned from you

Not so much atomic train because atomic train, I was kind of deer in the headlights. I don't know if you remember this, but I was really like kind of scared to talk to you. I was just like, oh my God, I'm standing here next to Rob Lowe. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I'm going to try to act like I know what I do, but I really don't know what I'm doing. And also the crazy like run. They'd be like run on the bullhorn. Remember, we have to run through the mud and whatever. It was insane. So I was just like trying to hang on.

And I remember talking to you about you were building your house or redoing the house in Santa Barbara, right? And you were like, lovey, lovey, spending too much money. And I was like, this is such a trip. Well, we love her. We love her. We don't care. Cheryl can do whatever she wants. But I just, you know, you had so much like...

I mean, obviously charisma, but like also just, um, you had a great attitude about it. Like you were not out there complaining in the rain, you were wearing your Prada raincoat that Cheryl bought you and you had your umbrella and you were just sitting there. And I was like, this is a great attitude, you know, because for me, I was like, why, why, why are we out here in this crazy rain? But, you know, I love that about you. And, and I love that, you know, then we go to Africa where like, you know,

I didn't 100% know if everything was going to work. Yes. You know, I was like, please, God, let everything work. I had gone on my little prep trip to talk to the different elephant people, but I couldn't control the rest of it, right? Like the locations and, you know, there's a certain element that I couldn't really manage. You know, I was kind of like...

very busy with the elephant people, like calming them and promising them that we would respect the elephants. And we did, thank God, but it wasn't easy. As you said, everyone had to stay in the car. It wasn't normal filmmaking at all, but everybody rolled with it, which was really amazing.

But the rest of it, like the elements up in Hootsprite. And then we went to Zambia, which was a whole different ball of wax. And then we went down to Cape Town, which was so glorious. Most beautiful city in the world. I mean, incredible to film in, incredible to be in. And then you guys went down and did the shark thing. And I was like, please, God, let Rob come back from the shark thing. I did. I was happy to come back from the shark thing. Totally. I was like, no one can tell him no, but is this really a good idea? Yeah.

I like that you're fine with me wandering around in the Savannah with lions, but you don't want me in a cage with sharks. That's true. That's about my own fears. That's totally my own fears. Because you didn't see me near the sharks, right? No, you were not having any of that. Not a while. I was not. I was like, good times. Go on. Just please come back. Just please come back in one piece. Yeah, no, it's funny. You're different fears, you know? Well, the...

I love that we have that in common and that continues to be a thing we will always have together. I know. I love it too. I want to do part two, but I don't know how we would, but I would love to. I never put this together. So I have a great, so we both had the mutual friend, Aaron Sorkin. Yes. And did I ever tell you, I don't think I ever told you the story that one time he got mad at me

And well, one of many times he got mad at me and vice versa. We love each other. We love each other. We love each other. Yeah, me too. And he was, and he was, he was like, of course. And he was like, well, I don't know. I mean, it's very hard for me to talk to somebody who's done such work as atomic train. I forgot that I never told you that story. That's classic. I don't know that he ever brought it up when I was around him. I mean, by the way, how great is that? He might've been thinking it again.

They had me at Atomic Train. Like, I'm like, wait a minute. So I get to do a movie where there's an atomic train and I get to ride it? I'm in. I'm sorry. They had me at Roblo. They were like, you're going to play the wife of Roblo? I was like, okay. And then I was like, Atomic what? Atomic what? What are we doing? What? Yeah. But yeah, that was a trip and a half, that job. Oh my gosh.

Yeah, those were the days when they made these gigantic... It was big. At that point, it was the most money, biggest budget thing I had ever been in. Yes. What? Uh-huh. Wow. Maybe the stand. Maybe Stephen King's The Stand.

Okay. Which was like 12 nights of television. Wow. Wow. But, you know, yeah, they had me at Atomic Train. The greatest title. I know. It was fun, though. It was fun. And do you remember? I remember this one thing. Because I feel like we were there forever. I'm sure it wasn't forever. But, you know, we were in Vancouver. It was forever. Yeah.

November, October, November, December, like not the best months. And there was one time when we were trying the longest sequences, right? Of like when the train might come and how are we going to get out of the way? And what were we going to do with the kids? Oh my God, this train is atomic. It's atomic. Right. Oh my God. What does that mean? And it would rain and then it would not rain. And I remember they were like, we're going to call it like microbursts or something like that.

some name and you in some scene that we did by the cars and I'm like mad they kept telling me like be madder and I'm like okay and you're like well the microbursts are coming again and I was like are they are they are the microbursts coming again

boy, is the atomic train coming. I mean, it was so crazy, but you were very grounded. You were very grounding, a grounding presence within it all, which, you know, that was another thing where,

It was just a great, it was a great learning experience for me, you know? Well, and you know, it's funny. So it was you and I and a very young, and I'll never forget this. When you think you're never going to age, you think you're always going to be 20. And I remember coming to the set and they're like, and this is who's playing your daughter. And it was Mina Suvari right before American Beauty. And I'm like, wait a minute.

She's my daughter? What the hell? I know. I know. You were very... I know. I know. I was super like... I know. Wow. And what's amazing is you immediately got Sex and the City. She immediately got American Beauty. And I immediately got The West Wing.

Oh, I didn't realize the West Wing connection. That's insane. Yeah. Wow. I mean, I remember her. She was young, you know, and I remember being like wanting to, you know, caretake that situation or whatever, whether I was asked to or not. And I remember she had gone home to test, I feel like, for American Beauty and came back with the script.

And I was like, wow. Yeah. Oh my gosh. And then it obviously went insane. We all got on that great,

where we would see each other at the Golden Globes. That was fun. That was really, really fun. I love seeing you. I love seeing you. It's always... I think the thing that's funny about the award shows is they are weird and so amped up. But on the other hand, you get to see all your friends. Yes. It's such an old home week. You're so right. That is the best thing about it because I had not really seen...

Because, you know, I knew Sarah when she was playing Annie. I know. And when you guys went on like the Democratic, you know, remember when you were like on tour with the politicians? Oh, yeah. Fascinating. I mean... With Downey? I remember going to Capitol Hill back in the days when I was doing all that stuff. And I remember we took... I remember Sarah meeting Joe Biden, who had just gotten... Wow. He had just gotten hair plugs. And he...

It was so like, he's very charming. This is 30 years ago. Right. Wow. And Sarah was like all a Twitter. She was like, oh my God. Oh my God. It seems like another lifetime ago in a way. I mean, do you feel that? Do you feel like you've had like numerous lifetimes?

numerous lifetimes. And then like the, the six degrees of separation of all of it, you know, Kim Cattrall and I did a movie called masquerade together, which I love that movie. It's it. I love that movie. It wasn't, it got good reviews, but kind of the studio kind of dumped it because they thought it was too sexy.

I know. Can you imagine such a thing? Oh, it was pretty gratuitous. I know, but it was great. It was sexy. Like, I wish we had sexy movies now. Do you know what I mean? Nobody has sex scenes in movies anymore. I know. Apparently, the baby girl. I haven't seen it yet, but I mean, apparently. Oh, I've seen it. I take it back. I take it back. Was it sexy? It's pretty great.

It's pretty great. I can't wait. But it's so unusual that we even talk about it. Do you mean like we have to even like, we're like, oh, thank God someone made a sexy movie. Like it's an unusual thing now. It's so brave. She's so brave. She's brave. What on earth? That's brave now. And in our day, it was required.

Right. There was the page 73 rule. Do you know what the, did you, do you know what the page 73 rule? No, no. In the day, the sex scene was always on page 73. Like you'd get a script and you're like, oh my God, how gratuitous. It might have to be in this. Let me check. And you didn't have to read the whole script. You just went to page 73 because that mid second act.

What do you do in the second act, which is notoriously the toughest sledding in storytelling, mid-second act. I know. Right. They blue lagoon it. Oh, my God. Beach under a moonlit night. Wow. It's a 70s, but now it's brave. So brave. It's just so interesting how things have changed and continue to change so much. Right? Yeah. What do you make of it? I don't know. Look, I always feel like

you know, out of chaos comes opportunity. Again, you go back to attitude. You know, my attitude is always, you know, make the most of it in disruption is actually a great time to build new things. And if you can be one of the nimble ones, if you can be one of the forward-thinking ones, and if you can be one of the fearless ones and not entrenched and not trying to recreate yesterday, but try to imagine tomorrow,

It's your time. And that's the way I'm kind of looking at it as I see so much change in it. I mean, not just our business. It's everywhere. It's around the world. We're living in a... Right. Look, we're going to go back and go, this is what it was like before the Industrial Revolution. Right. In 30 years, people are going to go, wait a minute. So when I went to... There was a doctor? Wait, there's a... Wait, wait. So when I got sick at... Wait, a human being looked at me?

Wait, there was a person? It's crazy. Or like, oh, so when I got a car to go LA, somebody drove it? Wait a minute. You trusted your life in a vehicle. My God.

To a person? Oh, my God. I know, but like, are we... I just am worried about like relationships and humanity. You know what I mean? Like within all of the changes, it worries me. I know it's probably not helping me to worry about it, but you know what I'm saying? Like... I do. This is so much change. So much change. I mean, look at it this way. Like if you... When you have the ability to put on your goggles and then the suit, which will be coming...

Which enables you to feel tingly. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. When you get in your goggled cocoon on your couch and you can be like, you know what? I want to go to Tanzania and I want to run around with the elephants tonight. And you do it. I mean, that sounds good. Well, then the other side of it is... But how does that...

I don't know how we're going to do that and keep personal ownership of ourselves or whatever, right? Yeah. I mean, my worry is everybody's going to be a pod person. Nobody will go anywhere because they won't have to. But then you look at it this way. That's not good. I always butcher this democratization. I said it right. The democratization of experience. Which is not a bad thing. No, it's a great thing. It's like not everybody gets to like Machu Picchu.

I got to, but now everybody will be able to. And there's all, I mean, it's all that kind of stuff. And you take the good with the bad, but it is going to be, it's going to be hard. I'm curious to know what it means for our kids. How old are your kids now? Seven. The little one who was six months old when we went to South Africa is now seven.

Obsessed with basketball. Amazing. And Gemma is 13. Wow.

I know. Adorable. But on Earth, it goes so quick. What is she into? It goes so quick. So what is Gemma into? What's your role? Well, lately, so she's 5'10". Wow. Amazing. Beautiful. I know. I know. I have to look up at her. And she plays basketball, though she does. She's not obsessed like the seven-year-old. And just recently, she was in a play. Uh-oh. And she loved it. Uh-oh. I know. I know.

I'm like, Oh Lord. But you know what? I feel like it's such a great experience in the teen years because it's such a collective thing. She had been on the crew before and she loved that as well. She's not so much a performer. Like I've got to perform. She's more like, I just wanted to be part of the ensemble. So I'm, I'm encouraging it as experience, you know, and as like a, such a good bonding thing for the teens, the tween teens, um,

And they have a great theater at our school. And, you know, it seems good. So, I mean, at one point she was like, mommy, you know, could I be an actor? And I was like, no, I'm so sorry. You can't. And she said, but you were. And I said, this is true. This is true that I was, but, you know, different time. Like it's so different.

Completely different. I mean, so completely different. And no one in our generation ever thought like, I really want to be famous. I really want to be on social media. There was no social media. There's just so much more pitfalls in certain ways, I think. I mean, your sons are doing great, though. Johnny's doing so great. I did the same thing you did. I tried to beat every creative instinct out of them.

Well, that's what I told her too. I said, listen,

When I was young, and I also, for me, and I don't know how you would describe this for yourself because you had a different timeline, but for me, sobriety and acting kind of went together, right? The reason that I got sober young was because I wanted to act and I knew that I couldn't really do both at the rate that I was drinking, right? And it saved me in so many ways, that I had a passion, that I had a dream, that I had something that was more important to me than drinking. So

So those two are intrinsically linked for me. And I can't really imagine like if I hadn't had the dream of acting and, you know, when I say dream of acting, I mean like Broadway was the height of that dream. You know what I'm saying? There was no, there was no film, television, whatever in that dream, but whatever it was, it was still a very lofty dream, you know, obviously, um,

And drinking just didn't go. And so it gave me a reason to quit drinking. And so once I quit drinking, then I had to, of course, pursue my dream. And that was really all I cared about in the entire world, which I don't know if that was true for you or not. I mean, you seem much more well-rounded. No, no, no. I was not well-rounded because I know we've talked about this, that you knew you wanted to act from the time you were a little kid.

Yes, 10, yeah. And I was the same. So I knew it 9 or 10, same. Right, right. And all I wanted to do, it would be like, you see those little kids out there dribbling basketballs 24-7 and they think they're going to... Yeah, I have one. That's what I was with acting. That's what I was too. That's what I was too. My journey was...

I liked the drinking and mixing it up. I loved it so much. I did. I did. And then I realized it was messing up my personal life. Oh, good. That's good.

Literally with Rob Lowe is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states. New job? Growing family? Need a change of scenery?

When life gives you a reason to move, start with Opendoor. Request a cash offer in minutes. No prep work or showings needed. Or list with us and test the market with the cash offer to fall back on. You choose. Sell your way at Opendoor.com. That's Opendoor.com. Terms and conditions apply. Opendoor Brokerage LLC and Opendoor Brokerage in California DRE 020-61130.

At Comcast, our commitment to the military community goes back to our founder, U.S. Navy veteran Ralph Roberts.

Today, we honor his legacy by partnering with organizations to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses succeed in today's digital world. Delivering the internet connection, skills, and support they need to advance economic mobility and open doors to new opportunities. Visit comcastcorporation.com slash military to learn more. Comcast, proudly supporting our military community because your service matters.

When your schedule is packed, it can be difficult to put a wholesome meal on the table. That's where HelloFresh comes in.

With 50 delicious weekly recipes, HelloFresh has something for everyone. Each box is fully customizable to fit your preferences and delivered to your door, so you can skip the grocery store and make something wholesome, easy, and affordably. Need something delicious in a flash? Try 15-minute meals that come together in three simple steps or prep and bake meals that are low on prep and mess.

No time to cook? Dig into ready-made meals that go from fridge to fork in three minutes so you can eat well without the hassle. Go to HelloFresh.com slash HelloFresh 10 free now to get a free high-protein item for life and up to 10 free meals. One per box with active subscription. Free meals apply as discount on first box. New subscribers only varies by plan. But you and I both came to sobriety and...

recovery, it's sort of the same time. I was 26. You were younger, weren't you? I was younger. I was like 23 when I started to try to stop. It didn't happen right away, but I had the insight that I needed to stop, and then it took a while to actually do it. Because you don't get a lot of support when you're in your 20s, especially back then. It's a miracle that my son, John, I'm not speaking out of school. He's open about it, but

You know, he stopped drinking at, if you can imagine, as the head of his frat's social committee senior year. Wow. And you want to talk about a, and living in the frat. Can you imagine a, talk about like setting yourself up for failure. But he did it.

So I have amazing, like such empathy in people. Amazing. Like, it's like, I want to say, yeah, but all those kids are drinking so much before. It's like they've had a career of it already.

That's why they end up- It's true. It's true. And that was true for me where I was in South Carolina. There was just liquor everywhere. You know what I'm saying? It was just very, it was, yeah. Anyway, that stuff's sometimes scary. Okay, I know what I- To think about. I just have, when I talk to you, I keep having flashbacks of things that we've done together. Tell me the story and you might have to just name the name. Fuck it. This is what we do. We make gossip headlines. Oh God. That's what we do together.

The actor that you were dating...

who you loaned $5,000 to? I am not going to tell you that name. I am not going to tell you that name. I feel so bad that I told that story, Rob, because like, then, like now he's a con artist. He's not a con artist. He's like an out of work actor, people. Like, I can't name the name. I can't name the name. I'll tell you the next time I see you. Okay. So here's, okay, we can, we can turn it into a guessing game and the viewers can, the listeners can call the low down line and they can say, who do you think it is? Who do you think

Christian Davis was dating who is an out-of-work actor that she lent five grand. He immediately then bails, never to be heard from again, and becomes famous. It took a while for him to become famous. Let me say that. So he was like someone where I felt, you know how you can feel like talented people and- They're going to happen. You know-

Yeah, I really felt that. And I also had other mutual friends with him. So it wasn't like just me. Like I saw some headline. I mean, first of all, this was my very first interview.

episode of my podcast, right? And I have on the girl, Sarah Winter, who was our very first guest star on Sex and the City. And she adorably came with all these great dating stories. And it's my first podcast. I'm just trying to roll with it and engage in the conversation. And it feels so private. You know what I mean? And I haven't seen him. I don't know. I want to go through the...

the 90s hot guy list so badly. I don't think he would have been on

been on the 90s hot guy list yet. I don't know. I don't know. But let me say this. People like the Daily Mail reached out to someone. He was hot. He was hot. Yes. He was hot. He was very hot. I think he still is very hot. He's married now. I'll give you some clues. But I think it's definitely someone that I think everyone would agree is hot. Does he have...

If there was a list of names, like John, Frank, Rich, like if there was a list of names, would his name stick out in a list? You are so bad. Yes, it would, wouldn't it? This is the thing.

Can I tell you the joy of this conversation? Yes, please. First of all, your phone. But second of all, this is before social media and stuff, right? Where you could just do shit. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. You could hate people. You could do stupid things. You could make some stupid mistakes.

decisions and no one would know. That's right. Yes. Which is why I kind of want to kick myself for bringing it up because it's like, oh, what I was going to say was that so the Daily Mail reached out to someone that I used to date, publicist, who actually I know who reached out to my publicist and said, oh, they're going to run a story that it was this person. It was not that person. I didn't even know that person. Oh, I pulled my headphone out. That's how excited you got me, Rob. Okay, well, you have to be careful on podcast. It's no one famous. I know I have to be more careful.

But I still want to have fun. Do you want to know my... Here's my story along the same line. So I have Josh Brolin, who is one of my favorite actors of all time.

Love him. Oh, and he's one of the nicest. He just, I mean, he's literally one of my favorite actors ever. He's so great. And one of the nicest guys. And he's written a book, which is amazing, his book. Amazing. Oh, great. Yeah. Yay. Underneath the Engine or something like that. But it's fantastic. Okay. He's a real writer. Like a serious, amazing writer. So I have him on the podcast. Okay. And we're talking and it's great. He's moved back to...

Montecito, where I live. He grew up there. He's moved back with his family. Oh. All good. Nice. So I invite him to come over and

and bring the family and he does and they bring me this amazing little thing of muffins and it's great and I have a muffin and it's great. We have the greatest thing that I have on this podcast. It's great. Fast forward to, I'm paying, I'm listening to him on his tour promoting his book and someone asked him, I'm living in Montecito.

He goes, well, it's changed a lot. I mean, there's a lot of different types of people up there. I was invited to a weekend of somebody's house. I can't say, but he's very famous and been around a long, you know, he's kind of a legend. And, uh, you know, and, uh, and I brought a bunch of muffins and, uh, you know, and, and, and, you know, I'll give him the muffins. And the guy was like, Hey, uh, I want this muffin with a glass of milk. And I thought, yo, bro, you can, you can just get the glass of milk yourself.

And then now it's like, I'm like, am I the muffin man? But maybe he takes muffins everywhere, Rob. You might not be the muffin man. Am I the muffin man? I think. Did you find out? Either way, I have to ask him. I haven't seen him yet, but I'm going to ask him. But it's my favorite thing. Wow. Like,

is when the nexus of podcasts, press, personal, and you're wondering, am I the muffin man? So right now, you have some guy who you used to date wondering if he's the flim flam artist. I mean, look, in my mind, right? I hope he's wondering that, but I don't even know that he would remember this, right? Did Alec Baldwin call you? Did Alec call you? It is Alec Baldwin. Oh my God. This is one of the

the things that's out there this is the thing Alec Baldwin was so rich by the time I dated Alec Baldwin okay can I just say that straight out like one of the best things about Alec Baldwin when I dated him is that he had the most incredible house in Amagansett like I remember I was at work and I was like Sir Jessica I just don't know if it's gonna work out with Alec and I but I just really love that house which is literally like one of the only times I have felt that way do you know I'm like I don't want to break up with this person because I like his house like it's

So embarrassing to say that out loud, but it's true. I so would never have needed to lend Alec $5,000. My God. Okay, so I'm back. Not Alec. So I'm back to thinking it's Skeet Ulrich. I'm back to thinking it.

Listen, I have never met Skeet Ulrich in my life, but you're not on the wrong path. I know. Well, believe me, I know what this genus is. You do. You understand the type. I know the type. You understand the type. Oh, I know the type. This guy drove a motorcycle. Oh, yeah, or a Jeep. Sure, yes, he did. Yeah, no, it was a motorcycle.

motorcycle because it crashed. This is partly why the lending of the money came up. I was at his little apartment and you know, he was auditioning all the time because he was like someone where you could feel that it was going to happen. Something was going to happen. Right. Um, and it had rained back in the day when it rained, you know, and he had crashed his motorcycle. So he had no way to get around to go to his auditions. And what

All at his house were like, you know, I'm going to disconnect your electricity notices. Right. So they were just like scattered around. I think that's why people think that he was conning me. But I don't think he was conning me. I just think he was like an out of work actor who didn't clean his house. So I was like, you know, my mommy part of me was like, well, you know, this is terrible. You can't get to your auditions and you're so talented and you're not going to have electricity soon. And let me help you.

You know, which the only reason it was a mistake was that you don't want to do that with someone that you're dating because then it changes the dynamic and you can't really write that ship. I tell you something, what you've described to me. Yes. Yes. Can only be one person. You couldn't have painted a picture any better of this person in that era. I didn't know. I'm not sure you guys have ever dated.

But what you have described can only be Keanu Reeves. I wish it was Keanu Reeves, okay?

with every fiber of my being that it was Keanu Reeves, but it was in fact not. But let me tell you, I would have lent Keanu $100,000 to put at it. Okay? I would do anything for Keanu Reeves. But no, sadly, no. No, not to that level. Keanu was on a special level all his own. Yes, he is. Not to that level. It's true. Your podcast is going to be sick, by the way. How many of you... Because if this is any indication...

You're going to get so many listeners. He's the absolute funniest, sweetest, greatest.

that's because I'm talking to you, Rob. I mean, I only, I, this whole journey is such a trip, right? Like, I mean, our careers in general, but the podcast era is, is very fascinating because you really have to create it, you know, like, what do you want to, because it's technically a rewatch, but I'm not literally rewatching it to use your word, your title of your podcast, because it's too minutiae. You know what I'm saying? Like I can't get into

And then this line and then that line, I just feel like that's just too much. So I'm just talking about my memories. And I had the first guest star on. And then I've had Michael Patrick King on, our writer, director, producer. We love him so much. So much fun. Then I had Cynthia. So much fun. Sarah Jessica, we're trying to schedule. Cannot wait. But I also want to have, I'm having Mel Robbins on.

Great, great, great. I know. I was fascinated by her. I don't know exactly how we're going to talk about the show, but I'm game, right? Yeah. People who are interesting. I want to have people who are interesting. And then also my dream is to have the fans. And maybe they wouldn't come on for the whole show, but questions from the fans that might...

bring up good memories or whatever, or things they wondered about or like to connect. I want to connect. You know, I feel like we have this amazing thing that we've all been a part of and it's so rare and we're so lucky to have it. And I want to, because it's come on Netflix and all these new people are watching it, which is a wonderful thing. And I want to connect with,

you know, with people about it and talk about the themes and the, the relationship things that we had in the show that are still so relevant, you know, like today, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. No, it's, it's great. It's, it's a great idea. The show six in the city is so beloved. You're going to have so many people into it. Um,

And it's going to be amazing. And you're born to do this. And you're going to have fun. Thanks, Gerard. Yeah, you're going to have fun. And this was fun having you on. This has been amazing. So much fun. We've gone off the rails. You and I have gone crazy together, which we do when we get together. Thank you. We love you. I love you too. We love everything about you. You're the absolute best. I love you. Thanks for coming on. You are. You are. Ooh.

my joy, so much joy. I'm aspiring to be like you. I have a smile on my face that is going to last for at least the rest of the day based on that conversation. I just love

She didn't want to break up with Alec Baldwin because she loved his house. This might be my favorite thing. You know the stuff you think about like at the end of the night, you're like in the shower or you're just about to go to bed and you think of something, you laugh out loud. I know that's what it's going to be for me today. Thanks for listening. And Jesus, more fun to come next week right here on Literally.

You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Sean Doherty, with help from associate producer Sarah Begar and research by Alyssa Grau. Engineering and mixing by Joanna Samuel. Our executive producers are Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Nick Liao, Adam Sachs, and Jeff Ross for Team Coco, and Colin Anderson for Stitcher. Booking by Deirdre Dodd. Music by Devin Bryant. Sports and Media by Devin Bryant.

Special thanks to Hidden City Studios. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on Literally.

With 50 delicious weekly recipes, HelloFresh has something for everyone. Each box is fully customizable to fit your preferences and delivered to your door, so you can skip the grocery store and make something wholesome, easy, and affordably. Need something delicious in a flash? Try 15-minute meals that come together in three simple steps or prep and bake meals that are low on prep and mass.

No time to cook? Dig into ready-made meals that go from fridge to fork in three minutes so you can eat well without the hassle. Go to HelloFresh.com slash HelloFresh 10 free now to get a free high-protein item for life and up to 10 free meals. One per box with active subscription. Free meals apply to discount on first box. New subscribers only varies by plan.

This season, a new hot deal has arrived at Metro. $25 a line for four lines with all the data you need. And four free Samsung Galaxy A15 5G phones. Getting Metro's best deals is easy. No ID required, no activation fees. Get a new number or keep your own. It's up to you. That's four lines for $25 a line. Plus four free phones. Visit a store or go online today. Only at Metro by T-Mobile. When you join Metro Plus Tax, for a limited time and subject to change, max one offer per account.