>> James: WELCOME BACK. OUR GUEST TONIGHT IS AN EMMY
NOMINATED ACTOR, WRITER AND PRODUCER AND GENIUS, OUR FRIEND
ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE ON PLANET EARTH, MR. DAN DAN IS
HERE TONIGHT! HOW ARE YOU, DANNY? WELL --, YOU KNOW WHAT? RELATIVELY SPEAKING, ALL THINGS
CONSIDERED, I AM WELL. I HAVE A ROOF OVER MY HEAD, FOOD
ON MY TABLE AND I'M DOING ALL RIGHT. >> James: CAN I BE HONEST? YEAH. >> James: I'M A LITTLE ANNO IT
BY HOW GOOD YOU'RE LOOKING DURING ISOLATION. >> HAD I KNOWN YOU WERE GOING TO
DO A FULL SUIT AND TIE, I WOULD HAVE MET YOU THERE. >> James: I'M NOT ONLY TALKING
ABOUT THE ATTIRE. MY ONLY THOUGHT GOING INTO THIS
IS WHAT IS DAN'S HAIR GOING TO LOOK LIKE DURING OUR SESSION AND
HERE IT IS, IT LOOKS INCREDIBLE. >> LET ME JUST SPECIFY, THAT
THIS IS NOT WHAT MY HAIR LOOKS LIKE DURING ISOLATION. >> James: OH. I WORKED ON IT TWO AND A HALF
HOURS AND I DO FEEL LIKE, IN THESE TIMES, TALKING TO YOU,
USUALLY THERE IS A WONDERFUL TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO HELP YOU
THROUGH THIS PROCESS. >> James: I KNOW. I HAD, LIKE, A HAIR DRIER
OUT, I HAD ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT HAIR PRODUCT. I MEAN, IT WAS A WHOLE THING. I'M OUTSIDE TANNING JUST SO I
CAN TRY TO COVER UP THE BAGS UNDER MY EYES, IT'S A PROCESS. >> James: YOU LOOK
SENSATIONAL. I MEAN, THIS IS ME. PEOPLE WOULDN'T KNOW THIS, THIS
IS ME DURING THE AD BREAK. NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, AND
HONESTLY, LOVING IT. >> I NEED A PAPER TOWEL TO BLOCK
MY FOREHEAD. IT'S FINE. WE'RE DOING GREAT. >> James: NOW, YOU HAVE HAD
QUITE AN EXTRAORDINARY WEEK IN TERMS OF YOU FINISHED YOUR SHOW,
YOU FINISHED IT AND I TOLD YOU PERSONALLY HOW MUCH I TRULY
ENJOYED THE LAST EPISODE OF THAT SHOW, AND THAT'S NOT AN EASY
THING TO DO TO GET THE FINALE EPISODE OF A SERIES RIGHT. HOW HAVE YOU FELT THIS WEEK? >> YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN
SURPRISINGLY EMOTIONAL. I THINK, YOU KNOW, I -- WE, WHEN
I WAS WRITING THE SHOW, I WAS, YOU KNOW, EMOTIONAL WRITING THE
GOODBYES, THEN YOU SHOOT THE GOODBYES AND YOU EDIT THE
GOODBYES AND AT THAT POINT I THOUGHT THAT'S THREE DIFFERENT
GOODBYES THAT I'VE NOW GOT IT OUT. AND I WAS DOING REALLY WELL UP
UNTIL MONDAY, AND THEN IT SORT OF HIT ME THAT AS OF THAT
TUESDAY, IT WOULD ALL BE DONE AND ALL OF OUR WORK AND MY
FAMILY THAT I HAVE, YOU KNOW, GENETICALLY AND, YOU KNOW,
THROUGH THE SHOW, WE WILL BE -- WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED OUR TASK,
AND IT REALLY HIT ME IN A POWERFUL WAY, AND I THINK, YOU
KNOW, WHAT I DIDN'T EVER CONSIDER WHEN WE WERE MAKING THE
SHOW WAS JUST HOW MUCH OF AN EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT FANS WOULD
HAVE TO IT. SO TO READ THANK YOU LETTERS
FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST, YOU KNOW, POURED THEIR HEARTS OUT TO
US OVER THE YEARS AND IN THIS LAST WEEK HAD REALLY SORT OF
EXPRESSED THAT IN THESE LONG, BEAUTIFUL LETTERS, AND I WAS
READING IT, AND IT ALL HIT ME, AND THEN OUR CAST GOT ON A ZOOM
TOGETHER AND WE WATCHED THE LAST EPISODE, AND THEN THE LITTLE
DOCUMENTARY ALL TOGETHER AS A TEAM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF
TEARS IN THAT LITTLE QUAD ZOOM MEETING, AND IT'S EMOTIONAL TO
SAY GOODBYE. I'M NOT GOOD WITH CHANGE, JAMES. I DON'T LIKE IT, I'M VERY
COMFORTABLE JUST WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE. SO TO SAY GOODBYE WAS TOUGH, BUT
I THINK -- YOU KNOW, I THINK PEOPLE LIKED IT, AND THAT'S
ULTIMATELY THE MOST MEANINGFUL THING THAT THE END OF ALL THIS
IS PEOPLE LIKE THE WAY IT ENDED. >> James: NOW, YOU MENTIONED
JUST BEFORE, YOU TALKED ABOUT LETTERS THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED
FROM PEOPLE. THERE WAS A VIDEO THAT GOT
POSTED THE OTHER DAY WHICH, I THINK I'VE WATCHED FIVE TIMES
BECAUSE I THINK IT IS ONE OF THE MOST MOVING THINGS I'VE EVER
SEEN. THIS WAS A -- ALL OF THE CAST
WAS SAT AROUND A TABLE, AND I'M WRITING THINKING THIS WAS A
SURPRISE, RIGHT? >> YEAH. I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS HAPPENING. >> James: YOU WERE GIVEN
LETTERS FROM MOMS AND PARENTS OF LGBTQ KIDS WHO WERE WRITING TO
YOU, THANKING YOU FOR THE HELP THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN THEIR
COMMUNITY, AND PEOPLE SHOULD SEEK OUT THIS VIDEO AND HAVE IT
BECAUSE NOTHING THAT I EVER SAY CAN EVER DO IT JUSTICE. I FOUND HOW MUCH IT MOVED YOU, A
REALLY, REALLY QUITE BEAUTIFUL THING TO WATCH. TALK TO ME ABOUT THOSE LETTERS
AND WHAT THEY MEANT TO YOU. >> YOU KNOW, I THINK, AS A GAY
PERSON, ALL YOU TRY TO DO IS REPRESENT YOUR EXPERIENCE AND,
IN MY CASE, I HADN'T NECESSARILY SEEN MY EXPERIENCE REPRESENTED
THAT MUCH ON TV, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, ALSO, WHEN YOU'RE GIVEN
THAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITY, YOU HAVE TO RUN WITH IT AND YOU HAVE
TO TELL STORIES AND YOU HAVE TO SORT OF CUT THROUGH THE B.S., IF
YOU WILL, BECAUSE I THINK THAT, FOR SO LONG, QUEER CHARACTERS ON
TELEVISION, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN MET WITH EITHER TRAGEDY OR THE
BUTT OF A JOKE OR A CARTOON OR CARICATURED. SO FOR ME IT WAS ABOUT TELLING A
VERY TRUTHFUL AND THOUGHTFUL REPRESENTATION OF MY LIFE AND MY
FRIENDS' LIVES, AND I THINK, TO HEAR THAT THOSE STORIES AFFECTED
PEOPLE IN SUCH PROFOUND WAYS AND AFFECTED CHANGE IN PEOPLE'S
HOMES AND MADE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S OVERWHELMING
BECAUSE I THINK BACK TO MY OWN CHILDHOOD WHERE I DIDN'T
NECESSARILY HAVE THOSE PEOPLE AROUND AND I, YOU KNOW, WAS
FEELING LIKELY UNSURE ABOUT WHERE I WOULD GO AND WHAT I
WOULD DO. SO IT'S A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT
THAT WAS VERY OVERWHELMING, AND IF I TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT IT,
I'LL GET EMOTIONAL AGAIN. >> James: BUT I UNDERSTAND
WHY. IT'S INCREDIBLY MOVING. >> YEAH, AND THE LETTER WAS SO
BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. YEAH, IT WAS WONDERFUL. >> James: WELL, IF WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT LOVING MOMS, YOUR MOM TWEETED THE OTHER DAY, AND I
WANT TO READ THIS ALOUD TO GET THIS RIGHT, SHE TWEETED THIS ON
THE NIGHT OF THE FINALE OF THE SHOW, SHE TWEETED, TODAY I
REGRET EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF WORRY BACK IN THE UNINFORMED
'80s, WONDERING HOW THE WORLD WAS GOING TO TREAT MY BRILLIANT
LITTLE BOY. LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT HE WAS
GOING TO KICK THAT OLD WORLD'S ASS TO THE CURB AND CREATE A
BRAND-NEW ONE. >> YEAH. >> James: IN THE HISTORY OF
HEARING YOUR -- >> WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO
ME? >> James: I'M SAYING, LIKE,
HEARING YOUR MOM TALK ABOUT YOU IN THAT WAY IS AN INCREDIBLY
SPECIAL THING, AND HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU WROTE THAT? >> I WAS A COMPLETE MESS. IT COMPLETELY KILLED ME. I WAS, YOU KNOW, TEETERING ON
THE BRINK OF BEING OKAY. IT WAS THE LAST DAY, I WAS
FEELING A LOT OF EMOTIONS, I WAS TRYING TO KEEP THEM IN CHECK. AND THEN MY MOM TWEETED THAT AND
I READ IT AND COMPLETELY FELL APART AND HAD JUST A SOLID CRY. IT'S BEEN A LOT OF TEARS, WHICH
I DON'T THINK ARE A BAD THING, BUT IT WAS HEAVY, YOU KNOW. IT'S PRETTY HUGE FOR SOMEONE TO
HEAR AND I THINK TO HEAR HER SAY THAT SO PUBLICLY, I THINK IT
ONLY MEANT SO MUCH TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, TOO, BECAUSE IT'S THE
POWER OF SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE AND
I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE I THINK THERE'S SO
MUCH FEAR ASSOCIATED STILL TO THIS DAY WITH PARENTS LOOKING AT
THEIR QUEER CHILDREN AND WONDERING WHETHER THEY'RE GOING
TO TURN OUT OKAY AND, YOU KNOW, FOR HER TO SORT OF SAY THAT AND
CHAMPION ME IN THAT KIND OF WAY, IT'S VERY LOVELY AND BEAUTIFULLY
WRITTEN, I MIGHT ADD. >> James: BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN. YEAH. >> James: DID YOU ALWAYS FEEL
THAT SUPPORT AT HOME? I MEAN, WHO WAS THIS YOUNG DAN
LEVY IN TUN INFORMED '80s. >> ECCENTRIC, JAMES. >> James: WAS HE? YEAH, A BIG ECCENTRIC. I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S A REALLY
TRICKY THING TO BE -- ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND YOU DON'T
KNOW WHY YOU'RE FEELING ODDLY SORT OF DIFFERENT THAN OTHER
PEOPLE, YOU DON'T HAVE THE TOOLS. SO IT WAS A REALLY STRANGE TIME,
AND I DIDN'T -- I WAS VERY, YOU KNOW, ANXIOUS SOCIALLY, I THINK
BECAUSE IT ALL STEMMED FROM JUST NOT FEELING VERY MUCH A PART OF
THE GROUP. BUT WHAT CAME FROM THAT, I
THINK, WAS A CURIOSITY AND A FASCINATION WITH PEOPLE AND WITH
STORIES AND STORYTELLING, AND I THINK, IN A WAY, IF I WERE TO
CONNECT THE DOTS OF MY LIFE ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHEN I WAS A
KID, I THINK BEING ABLE TO SIT ON THE SIDELINES AND BE THE WALL
FLOWER FOR SO MUCH OF MY YOUTH LED TO THIS VERY INTENSE
FASCINATION WITH HOW PEOPLE OPERATE AND HOW HUMAN BRAINS
FUNCTION AND HOW EXCITING THAT COULD BE IN TERMS OF
STORYTELLING AND GETTING TO TELL STORIES OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND
THEIR LIVES. SO IT ALL, YOU KNOW, FORTUNATELY
LED TO JUST A VERY POSITIVE OUTCOME. BUT A LOT OF THAT WAS THROUGH
SUPPORT, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, PARENTS HAVE TO BE SUPPORTIVE. I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S WHAT OUR
SHOW, THE MESSAGE OF OUR WHOLE SHOW IS ABOUT. THAT'S THE TAKEAWAY IS LOOK AT
THIS TOWN, A TOWN WHERE THERE'S NO HOMOPHOBIA OR BIGOTRY OR
INTOLERANCE OF ANY KIND. LOOK AT HOW THESE PEOPLE HAVE
GROWN AND THRIVED AND LOOK AT HOW MUCH JOY AND LOVE COMES FROM
JUST LETTING PEOPLE BE WHO THEY ARE. IT'S NOT A HARD CONCEPT AND,
YET, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I KEEP HEARING MORE AND
MORE ABOUT, LIKE, GROUNDBREAKING STORYTELLING. IT SHOULDN'T BE GROUNDBREAKING. IT SHOULD BE JUST HOW IT IS. SO IF THAT PHILOSOPHY CAN AFFECT
SOME SORT OF CHANGE OUT THERE IN THE WORLD THROUGH A TELEVISION
SCREEN, THEN GREAT. >> James: I CAN REMEMBER WHEN
MY -- MY SON'S NINE NOW, AND I REMEMBER ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER
HE WAS BORN, AND I, FROM THE SOUND OF IT LIKE YOU, I GREW UP
IN A VERY SUPPORTIVE HOUSEHOLD WHERE, YOU KNOW, MY PARENTS WERE
PRETTY CHILL, PRETTY HANG LOOSE ABOUT PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING,
AND MY SON WAS ABOUT NINE DAYS OLD AND I SAID, DAD, YOU KNOW,
WHAT'S YOUR BIT OF ADVICE? AND HE SAID -- AND I THINK ABOUT
IT NOW TO THIS DAY, AND MY DAD JUST SAID -- MY DAD JUST SAID,
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO LOVE THAT BOY TOO MUCH. HE SAID, NO ONE ENDS UP ON A
THERAPIST'S CHAIR GOING, MY PARENTS WERE JUST TOO SUPPORTIVE
OF ME, THEY JUST LOVED ME TOO MUCH. AND THEN HE SAID, ONE WAY OR
ANOTHER, YOU WILL BE WIPING HIS ASS FOR THE NEXT 35 YEARS. ( LAUGHTER )
>> THAT IS PRETTY STELLAR ADVICE. >> James: IT REALLY IS. YOU MENTIONED JUST NOW, THE
WHOLE CAST GOT TOGETHER ON A ZOOM TO WATCH THE F FINALE AND T
BRILLIANT SCREEN. IS THE CAST GOOD WHEN IT COMES
TO TECHNOLOGY? >> MY DAD I DON'T THINK WILL
EVER UNDERSTAND. I GOT A TEXT FROM MY MOM SAYING
YOUR DAD'S PHONE FROZE, CAN YOU CALL THE LAND LINE TO WALK HIM
THROUGH HOW TO RESET HIS PHONE? SO THAT'S WHERE MY PARENTS ARE
AT. BUT I THINK WHAT PEOPLE ARE
REALIZING IN ALL OF THESE KIND OF ZOOM CHATS NOW IS THAT THE
MUTE BUTTON IS A REALLY IMPORTANT BUTTON TO KNOW
WHERE -- YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LOCATE IT IN ORDER TO TURN IT ON
AND OFF. SO WE WERE WATCHING OUR FINALE,
WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, VERY FUNNY BUT ALSO VERY SWEET AND TENDER
AT TIMES. >> James: YEP. AND KATHERINE SIGNED ON LATE,
AND KATHERINE IS GOOD WITH TECHNOLOGY, SHE IS A PRO. BUT SHE DIDN'T -- SHE WASN'T
AROUND WHEN WE WERE HAVING THE MUTE CONVERSATION. SO WE WOULD JUST END UP
HAVING -- SHE WOULD BE TALKING, AND THEN I WAS, LIKE, YOU MIGHT
WANT TO MUTE -- MUTE THE -- THE -- AND THEN I WOULD HAVE TO
GET THE PHONE OUT AND TEXT. SO AT LEAST AFTER EVERY
COMMERCIAL BREAK SOMEONE FORGOT TO TURN THE MUTE BUTTON OFF, SO
THERE WOULD BE THIS SENTIMENTAL MOMENT AND YOU WOULD HEAR ONE OF
US CHATTING IN THE BACKGROUND TO A FRIEND. IT WAS MESSY, BUT I WOULD
HAVEN'T HAD IT ANY OTHER WAY. IT WAS VERY US. >> James: FOR ALL THE FANS, WE
WOULDN'T HAVE HAD A SINGLE SECOND ANY OTHER WAY.
I haven't had a chance to watch yet so I've marked it as a spoiler in case he talks specifics about season 6.
More from the episode here!
I totally laughed, watching Dan answer silly questions with Corden bc it reminded me of “For Your Consideration”, where at the end all of these talented, hard working actors are interviewed but asked ridiculous questions and then Harry Shearer was even placed on an infomercial. lol. Dan is so talented and so wonderful, but what did I watch ? Imho fans would have loved to hear what he was doing now in greater detail. Last night just proved that I would watch Dan Levy doing absolutely anything - even if it were just brushing his teeth. Or just sitting around in swim trunks. :)
This is delightful. Thank you for sharing it.
The hair comment is so real. My poor mother gave my first (and hopefully last) Corona Cut™ over the bathroom sink this morning so I FEEL YOU DAN
And he's so sweet. It's wild to think the show was "groundbreaking" for literally just being an intolerence/bigotry free zone. Excited to see what he'll do next!
Ready to binge-watch season 6!