Josh Peck
Appearances
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
The following podcast is a Dear Media production.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Well, you did intimate or you did sort of preview that we were in New York together last week. What a dream. A dream. But we were going to go Schwitz and Colt Plunge and the Great Live Method. And I had a feeling because I could just see my little mensch, my little tatala. He was not feeling his best. And so around five, he said, I'm out. Can't do it. I said, OK.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
So I did this wonderful talk at Meta. Heard of it. And and then I you know what? I treated myself to a show. Just a nice one of one, me out, party of one, a show. Me, Denzel Washington, and Jake Gyllenhaal. How good was Denzel? I've been telling this story because I really can't stop thinking about the show. It was amazing. So Denzel and Jake Gyllenhaal are doing Othello on Broadway.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
And it's amazing because you... The curtain comes up and Jake Gyllenhaal's on stage and he was excellent, like fabulous. And he gets a big round of applause. But about 10 minutes in, Denzel walks on stage and people lose their minds. Like I would. It's really special. And the best part was this older woman, lovely from Connecticut, of course, is next to me.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
And she goes, I've been waiting six months for this. Yeah. I bought this ticket on American Express early. I'm so excited. I go, me too. I bought mine an hour ago on StubHub. For half. Less, less.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
third row the best oh my god wow I thought about you because I know how you get Nick's tickets like 10 minutes before right oh you didn't even tell me so you ended up getting a great deal beyond it was 150 bucks with like 30 bucks in fees for a single ticket in the third row of the theater
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Oh, you only do that on StubHub. I do that on Google Flights. I do that on a hotel. I check up to like an hour before. Oh, my God. I didn't even think about that.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Love you. Convincing. But yes, what? God, this would be such a good question, Paige. Well, we can remember this. I think we should do a double pregnant.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Flights go up, but hotels sometimes go down depending on how occupied they are. Interesting. Yeah. All right. So Othello, did you meet Denzel? No, I didn't. But I'm sitting there and she's so excited. And then it's the first act. And the first act's about 90 minutes before the intermission. And so the intermission begins and the woman turns to me and goes, I'm not sure I love it. Yikes!
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Because it was obviously it's Othello and it's Denzel. So they updated it to like more modern era. Of course, they don't mess with the writing at all. It's Shakespeare. But they modernized it the way we've seen, you know, a dozen times before. She goes, I thought they were going to be in costume. I think she thought it was going to be like, to me or not to me.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I was like, oh, honey, you picked the wrong production. She's like, I think I'm going to go. And I'm like, okay. She leaves halfway through? I actually respected that. Like, if it ain't for her, you don't got to suffer through an extra half, right?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Look, I'm not speaking on a journey here because I have a deep love and respect for Adam Sandler and everyone involved in those movies. Those movies are car wrecks. I mean, they're beyond bad. Even the first one, right?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
OK, so Paige's mic is live now. Why is it? I think that, as Ben mentioned with the wonderful Queen Claudia, my queen, Paige, that I am so, so blessed to be with. That whenever we have to go out of town for any reason whatsoever, we have to pay. You have to make us pay. Yes, it's true.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I'm a fan of the man. I'm a fan of Kevin James as a person. I've not watched too much of his work outside of, I've not watched too much of his work, but I like him as a dude. But you've seen King of, have you seen any King of Queens or no? We covered this last week. Not really.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I guess you didn't see any of them. I love Jerry. But yeah, I'm not. And obviously, like.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Nothing. I told you. I led you. We did this game last week, Paige, where I was like, I'm not actually. And by that, I mean, I have seen an episode or two, but I don't actually like it. Like Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, King of Queens. Yeah.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Clearly. I love it. Olivia, you ever walked out of a film?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
The most absurd thing is you were 13 in 2013. Whoa.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
We're old. I mean, I'm definitely old. You're born in the 90s, kid. So is my wife. I'm 80s. Yeah, but like 80s is cool, man. Like you're ill.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I am fascinated by that. Like it is something I really, really try hard not to do is to anyone who's like a generation before me. And especially with my kids of like back in my day type shit, it was better in my day type shit. I mean, literally people will say things like, oh, that's valid or that's Sigma. And I want to end myself.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I want to be like, if you talk like that again in front of me, I'm going to laugh in your face. But I'm like, Were they thinking that when I was like, oh, word, that's dope. Like, yo, that's mad crazy. Or like, right? No, because those are cool. It's that's cool lingo.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
so right yeah it was cooler josh it was cooler you could also kind of grow in private whereas like now your journey throughout life as exhibited in your social media every friend who follows you is like oh they're going through like an awkward you know stage 100 yeah too much judgment Has Max started, Max said bro for a minute and we like put a stop to that immediately, right Paige?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Yeah, but I... Is that true? I mean, I get to see you and got to go see a show when I was in New York. So it's, you know, obviously there's some fun things too, but... And I'm just like, who's better than me? You know, I'm not at some sports bar eating wings and ogling girls' ta-tas and, you know, screaming for the Patriots. I'm here working.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
What if baby, Baruch Hashem, Baruch Hashem, baby software is into like extreme sports? I'm talking skateboarding. I'm talking base diving. Like, would that?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Was it a part of your personality, John? I was just looking for anything to distract from my size. It was just a walking magic trick. Oh, look at over here. What's over here in my ear? I remember that I had rollerblades, but I was also too fat to grind. But I wanted to project that I knew what was up.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
So whenever we'd pass a skate shop, like at the mall or whatever, whoever I was with, I was like, oh, wait one sec. Like, got to see something. And so I would go in and I would ask them, I'd be like, do you have grind plates? Which were the plates you put on over your bearings to protect your skate from all your grinding. And they would go, yeah, yeah, we do. And I'd be like, cool.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
And they'd be like, do you want them? And I'd be like, not right now. I'm just checking inventory.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
We have covered this. Yes, I was too fat to blade, but... To blade! I did. I did blading in New York and then one because I was sort of like reasonably overweight. And then around 14 in the craft service at Drake and Josh is when I put on an extra 50 on top of the already 50. And that's when she put a stop to it because of compound fractures.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
You're doing the least. I also feel like, are you very, like, I feel like a big cheerleader when Paige, and she doesn't do it as much as I do, but when she does go out with her friends or has a trip, I am like, rah, rah, cheerleader.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Just gizmo gadget store. So good. Oh, I loved it. I loved it. Should we get to some stories? Yeah. Do we have anything big going on? Is there anything like big gossipy in the pop culture? Anything you're talking about with your sisters and your group chat with Maddie page?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Well, here's one. Empty nesters spice up 25 year marriage by meeting new woman, becoming a throuple. Our kids love their new bonus, mom. I always call us empty nesters. Sorry. Bianca and Phillip Luna were about to become empty nesters when they decided to include a third person in their relationship. The Texas couple fell in love with Delaine Diem and became a closed triad or a throuple.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
We like to call it the power of three. When we work together, we can knock out pretty much anything.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Phillip, 52, and Blanca, 49, had been married 25 years, during which they had a wonderful time being a family and raising their three children. But it was time to spice things up. We started trying to meet other couples, just trying to date. For me, it was figuring out my sexuality. How much am I willing to explore with my husband there? And how open are we about having this conversation?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
They met Delane in 2017. She's very intriguing. Very gorgeous. Yeah, they're crushing it. They're up a close triad. Be each their own. Good for them. Good for them.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
They need this. They need that. Oh, you're paying. Speaking of, Jessie from Mormon Wives hit me up this morning. She's ready to come on in April for season two of Mormon Wives.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Okay, that's good, right? Yeah, that'll be fine. Fantastic. Fantastic. Love. Well, also, there could be a dead passenger on your next flight. It's a lot more common than you think. Suppose you board a plane more than a couple times a year. Chances are good you've flown the friendly skies with a dead body for company.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
With the spooky scenario making headlines more than once already in 2025, most recently after a couple flying on cutter airways wound up sharing their row with a blanket-draped corpse for hours, passengers can't help but wonder if they're next to find themselves uncomfortably close to an abnormally quiet seatmate.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Yeah. They ordered the pasta and I really wanted to try it. It's okay. Can you bring that? It's already heated up. Well, men fall in love almost twice as fast as women. New research reveals. Here's how quickly it happens. The findings reveal that the average man takes a little over four weeks to fall head over heels, while women move much more slowly at 1.92 months. It's almost a double.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Let me ask you this. Is there a code amongst friends where you have your friend? Let's say they're like a really like a strong five, right? They're not a piece. But they're just they're shooting too high outside of their their demo, like their their weight class as far as looks go. You ever tell them you ever go like, you know, Janine, you're a five. You know, it's interesting.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Yes. No, like, listen, I wonder if I... I don't know if I've ever taken the equivalent to a golf trip. Have I?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
You're saying life has a way of beating you up. I think so. Sure.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Oh, there's nothing that makes me happier than when like really pretty people hit that age of like, and by that, I mean, this mostly applies to women, but like when they hit that age of like early thirties and they still haven't found, they're like, you know, Kevin Costner, they're like perfect 10 and looks 10 in the bank, 10 in the job. And then they settle. They start settling. That's so hot.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
But that's a stretch. Like, you're not a waifu, Gentile supermodel. But if you were like, let me think of a stretch. Who's your top locator? Vince Vaughn. You're better looking than Vince Vaughn. But let's say that. No, let's go with your, like, if you said John Mayer, I'd be like, that's a stretch, but you're in the ballpark. Right. I appreciate you.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
My big brother who lives in Florida does come out for something called the Big Smoke, which is the cigar convention in Las Vegas. Wow. Sick. And he goes with all his buddies. And so I will usually fly out. Yeah, usually once a year. Recently, it's been fly out, fly back, same day. Wow. Yeah.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
And for you, oh, who is your doppelganger? Leno. Jay Leno. No. Who's your actual, like. Granny, Vinny, Vinny Chase. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's like me at my best.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Ow. I mean, God, I get it. Yeah, probably. I hear you. Should we do a speak pipe? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here, we'll get to a speak pipe. If you want to get advice, leave us a message. Go to speakpipe.com slash good guys. Keep it brief. Brevity is key. Let's hear from Ashley Jo.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
There's something weird when it's like. When it's like Frank Cepheopian marinade.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Melinda's Thai sweet chili. Frank Cepheopian marinade.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
What about like, couldn't you get someone a great, this would be probably a hundred bucks.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
But in the past, it'd be like 24 hours, and I'd go, we'd eat some meals, schvitz, have a cigar or seven, and I'd lose $100 at Blackjack.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I think you set the woman up and you get there early. You do a background that she wouldn't know you're in your office and you bring a little pashmina, some kind of shawl, some kind of blanket, wrap it around yourself and you FaceTime her, right? The moment you're supposed to be walking in, you go...
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I've got, you know, whatever. I've got scarlet fever. And you just go, you were right. I'm so sick. I'm dying. And I should have worn my coat all those times you mentioned it. And she goes, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I know I tried to tell you. You're right. You're right. And then you storm out of your office and go, what are you, nuts? I'm fine. Stop it. Stop it.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I love a setup. An elaborate prank joke. Yes. And then it's over. That's what she needs. It's over. Yes. End it yourself. Checkmate this woman. End her. Yes.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
And even though, like today, right, like we're freezing in L.A., in actuality, it's 55. It's chilly, but it's 55. So, yeah, if you don't have a jacket on, like, it's not the end of the world. And I looked this up because I suspected, and it is true. No, cold weather alone does not make you sick.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
However, cold weather can create conditions and make it easier for viruses and other pathogens to spread and cause illness. That's right, mom. I'm not putting a hat on. I'm not going to get sick. Correct. Correct. I know.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
It was something about wearing like a full down. I mean, you know, where we live by the beach. So it drops below 60 and people are like, oh, thank God. Let me get out my Canadian goose. I'm like, let me get my Montclair. Are you well? I know they just want a cute layering moment. I'm like, hun, or like it'll rain for 11 minutes. And I'll be like, oh, word. The hunter rain boots are coming out.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Nuts. Too good. Too good. Should we get to our What Are You Nuts? Yes. Our What Are You Nuts moment of the week are our gripes with people, places, and things, both big and small, whatever's sticking in your craw. Ben, take it away.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
The open secret about cigars or so I've heard is the longer, girthier ones are actually usually smoother. Because if you think about like a longer rifle barrel, right? Or a penis. Maybe, but like the shorter ones are like you get because it's closer to where it's ignited. The punch comes in harder, but if it's longer, it has a longer time to cool down and kind of smooth out.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
It's like a smoothed over, like almost like a limestone. Like it's the way it's carved.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Yeah, it's like built into like the side of the hill. The structure. No good. Josh, what about you? My what are you nuts is super petty and super short, but you know how people will go, oh, your name's Florence? My grandmother's name was Florence. Who cares? Who cares? What are you nuts?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
It's so good. There's so many things we say and it's like, who cares?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
A longer one or a darker one would be called a Maduro in some respects, which is more of like an H or like an Anejo. Did I just channel Hilaria Baldwin? How do you say Anejo?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I had no idea. I'm not really an aficionado. Like I'll smoke one every month and a half, either with my wonderful father-in-law and my brother-in-law. We'll watch UFC fight and we'll smoke and or or with my big brother. But otherwise, like I can't ever push myself to really do it. But I like it. I like the vibes. I like a clubhouse.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Fuck yes. I like smoking during a meal. Yeah, I'm in. I'm in. What's the perfect meal to smoke to?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Yeah, or I think, like, I think about where people, like, Asian countries do smoke a lot. But I think about, like, Middle Eastern food, right?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
You know, you're at the Shook. You're at the Bazaar.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
You know, you're having something with, you know, five, seven, eight, nine spices and one piece of chicken.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Is hookah making a comeback? First of all, hookah is hot, hot, hot. And I just like the process, the hot coals. We used to go for hookah every week, and we would get double apple mint. Oh, so good. Damn it.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I love it. We need hookah. We need more hookah, Josh. well you are omitting that i was we would first nourish before we nourished our lungs we would nourish our spirit at a at a men's only 12-step meeting of alcoholics anonymous me and the bros from 8 to 9 30 in the evening we'd go there first and then we would go to a little spot called the spot
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Which is an outdoor hookah lounge, which is the hottest hookah lounge in all of the San Fernando Valley.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
It was chicken. The chicken and cheese nachos were off the hook, but mostly we would do like a... A typical Persian Middle Eastern food plate, like a chicken sultani, a kube de beef. And then with like the nice rice, the Shirazi salad, a charred tomato. And you obviously had your own tips for the hookah, right? They give you, yeah, they give you disposable tips.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
And yeah, it's all outdoors and it's the effing coolest. And there are armed guards because you cannot trust the people who are smoking there. Yeah. It's such a vibe.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Number one bad for you. Is it the worst? Is it the worst thing for you? Very bad. No filter. Not good. NG. Not good. Sorry. What were you saying, Paige?
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Hell yes. I want that. I want a Schvitz episode. All the things we love doing. This is our Patreon.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Cold plunge. Yeah. A 60 minute cold plunge. We induce hypothermia. Yeah, we die. I'm down. Yes, I love it. Paige, you have spectacular ideas. But I do want to get a special pregnancy episode with our two pregnant princesses in April, if we could. Yes, I would love to. We must. You know, I'm not going to argue with you anymore, Ben.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
I think we can both agree that our Galaxy S25 Ultras shoot an 8K resolution. It just does.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Good. I hate when we argue. We really did argue the other week, and it was hard on me. Fine. I dig it back. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Olivia didn't say a thing on the group chat. I was like, Olivia, pipe in here. Defend me. I think she's on bedside.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
What are we filming? Our subscription model where we record episodes in odd places. Correct.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Yes, we start hopping trains like hobos. Love it. It's literally like having a mixing studio in your pocket. So listen, if you want this beautiful, look, I don't want to make you jealous, but I have one, okay? If you want one of these, all you got to do is go to Samsung.com right now and get your Galaxy S25 Ultra. That's right. Go to Samsung.com right now.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Audio Eraser is compatible with common video formats accessible in Gallery. Helps minimize sick select sounds. Results, they vary. Galaxy AI features by Samsung free through 2025 and requires Samsung account. Log in.
Good Guys
Love is NOT Blind with Paige O'Brien Peck
Oh, my God. I can't speak really because my wife's literally sitting across from me. You have to. I was going to say, what's it like just being watched as you record? The wonderful Paige O'Brien Pack is here with me, but she has healthy boundaries and doesn't need to be in front of the spotlight every second. So when I offered her to come on the show, she's like, meh, no need. So shout out, Paige.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
He's a big tech entrepreneur. Ungestupt, as our people say. Yeah. And he's handsome. 6'7"? 6'8"?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
I'm not going to ship you off. I'm going to fly you. Anyway, look, the thing with Now Brief with Galaxy AI, what I love about it, it's not just in the mornings, it's in the evenings too, right? So it'll tell you the weather for the next day.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Now Brief is, it's my cup of tea. It makes me feel very official, very important. And if you want to feel all those things and more, get your Galaxy S25 Ultra at Samsung.com. Now Brief displays daily select information from select apps, may require internet connection, Galaxy AI features by Samsung free through 2025 and requires Samsung account login.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
speaking of relationships, what do we think? I think Ben and I, Ben, you'd agree. We'd love to hear what you feel about the Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, Misha Goss, right? Are you up to date on this? Oh my God. Tell me what's your feeling.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Queen, I fell in love with you on the Out and About podcast, the great Joey Camasta. But this is, you're having a moment, aren't you?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
I think we'll see. They definitely don't. Neither of them are looking great right now. But I think Ben's wife, who has a big pod, you'll have to go on her pod when she comes out to L.A. or you're in New York, much bigger than ours. If that's even possible. Really? Crushes it. Ben. I know.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
She and her co-host, her sister Jackie, brought up a great point. They're like, if you have to ask how much she weighs, you can't lift her.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
You can't ballpark this person? Wait, he asked her how much she weighs? Or the trainer or something, but apparently it kept getting back to her.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Do you think the LA food is as good as New York? No.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Yes. So tell us about, we are a very pro smoking podcast and you are clearly pro smoke. Tell us about your smoking journey where you brought in this new pack of American spirits. I've never seen this before. Are these made specifically for the queen of Melrose?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
You ever smoked the ultralights and the silver pack?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Yes. Smoked the 100s. Did you smoke before ever? Played some Mahjong. Of course, I'm a drug addict.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So now like Ben and I can attest maybe, you know, once a month, every other month, like I can smoke a stogie and not, you know, not trip on it.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
And that's like a ritual, right? You sit outside, you have a stoop. What are we talking?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Oh, speaking of, we're entering into Lent. We are, yes, we are. As a wonderful Catholic, tell us, what are you giving up? Nothing.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Ben, could you, I mean, Ben is semi-kosher. He doesn't eat pork and he tries to be observant. What would be the thing you'd give up for the 40 days, Ben? Wow, 40 days. Is that right? I'm married to a Catholic. I'm married to an O'Brien.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Yes. What would you give them? Do I have a third on the way? Do they have your eyes? They do. Here, you want to see it? Let me see the babies. They're gorgeous.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Yes. And Ben's about to have his first in May, a beautiful boy.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Oh, I lost 100 pounds, but I did it the old-fashioned way before there was those things.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Ben's from Harlem too. He's from 62nd and Madison. What?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
We should get to a story because the New York Post, our local newspaper, has a story that goes, My boyfriend has a micropenis, and here's what our perfect sex is like. The girlfriend of a man brutally mocked by his mates for having a micropenis has leapt to his defense, stating, No complaints in the bedroom department here.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Penny Talbot said of her boyfriend, I don't know why she had to name him, of two years, Jake. But said everything is A-OK. He is at a lovely 2.9 inches. And she said for her, it's not just about penetration and climax, but the foreplay and everything that leads up to that. And yeah, they're having a great time. Really?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Speaking of, we have an obsession here with the great Shaquille O'Neal because the man knows how to make a dollar. And we respect that. He'll do a corporate gig, what have you. You've worked with him.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
You know Deontay, Ben? Of course. Yeah, so all of his unbelievable, gorgeous, spectacular walkout ring walk looks was all the queen.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So you're there. Your father's mob adjacent. The FBI starts sniffing around, right? Some things. I'm a fan.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So I want to get your opinion. We do this thing called a speak pipe where people call in and want advice from us. They like to ask questions and whatnot. So I thought we could take one or two for our What Are You Nuts moment of the week. Great. If you want to leave us a message, get advice from us, go to speakpipe.com slash good guys. And our first is from Anonymous.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
That's good advice. Next one from an anxious girly.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
oh man this is sad do you want me to tag i'll tag in really quick you're you're gonna mess this all up you're gonna ruin this because of your expectations trying to control people places and things out of your control and i hate to break it to you but any sort of projection of what you once thought of this is how it's gonna go and i want to be engaged in less than a year and blah blah blah get over it that's just not live in the world that is instead of the world you
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
I hope he pops it too. I met my wife, we were young. I was 24, she was 20. But, and we got engaged. I was 28, 29. So, you know, we were in our early 20s. So I had that runway and she didn't pressure me. And then her aunt and her mother once pressured me and I was like, fine, I'll do it.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
We're for Klempt. We're for Mished. We're all the things. The Queen of Melrose is here. Welcome, girl. Hey, how you doing, Joss Pack? How you doing, girl?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
he screwed up asking the parents. Like when the day that I asked my wife's father for permission to marry his daughter, I was like, I'm married now. Cause there's no waiting or turning back. So I was like, I asked him on a Tuesday and I proposed to her Thursday morning or something, you know, just do it.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So our final segment is What Are You Nuts? We'll introduce it first and give you time to think about it. It's our grievances or gripes with people, places, and things. Things big or small sticking in your craw. So anything currently that you're just like, what are you nuts? Like, why would you do that? Why is this thing nothing too big or too small? So think about it.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Ben and I will go first so you have time to think of yours. And then also... I wanted to give you a moment. You were nice enough to possibly, you brought me some things because Coachella's coming up, Burning Man. Did you want to throw me something for the pod?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Great. So should we wait till we're done? Yeah, let's do that. Let's do that first. Okay, perfect. Okay. So, and that'll be, first of all, plug away. Where will they see that video? All of the great Cosmo life, the Queen of Melrose.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Follow Queen of Melrose on all social media platforms.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Two stores, both on Melrose, one on Fuller, and where's the other one?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So subscribe to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, all Queen of Melrose.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So our What Are You Nuts moment, Ben, do you want to get us started?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Nuts. So my Woody and Nuts is actually will be teed up by a story of yours. Will you please just share with us about your time being in season one of Cops? First season, babe. First season queen.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Have you ever been in there? I went to the one on Santa Monica, the original. That was the one. That's where they all worked. I mean, Ben, imagine like, I know the Palm in New York was popping, but this was like Don Rickles at the bar, Carson. Like when I went there, I saw the first time I saw Denzel Washington eating with his family.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Listen. That's terrible. You commit a crime. What can you do? You deserve a residual. People are making money off this cop.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
This is two people who make no residuals off their appearances. Queen, do you have a what are you nuts?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Second time Schwarzenegger was eating there when he was governor. No secret service. around. I found that weird. But he was crushing it 50-50.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Two jewels, both big and tall, no subject, too small for the good guys. A mother's dream, premium podcast team, make it your weekly routine, it's the good guys. And if you don't give us five stars, what are you nuts? What are you nuts? Yeah, we're the good guys, they're not the great guys. We're just the good, good, good. Oh my gosh.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
You know, we had a similar upbringing. I was on Drake and Josh and Ben's the son of a caterer.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
I'm going to say boo-boolicious. Let me help you. You need your help with the headphones here, Dad.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
You're speaking our love language. Is this great? I'm telling you, I remember this Russian guy, Russian guy, I know who got sober, would always talk about the TikTok liquor store. And he said, I would drink a half a pint.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
We're a bunch of married stiffs over here. Olivia's been in a long-term relationship. Ben, you know, has a beautiful baby on the way. Baruch Hashem. I have two. I have a third on the way.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
So you are single, ready to mingle? Yes. Where are we at?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Clip it. Period. Speaking of that, what do we think about that? Because recently at the Oscars, you know, Halle Berry came 20 years later and recreated her famous kiss with Adrian Brody. Yes. On the red carpet. Of course, it was in front of his girlfriend. So, you know, a little different than 20 years later. What do we think about that?
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
Yeah, well, Israelis are not known for punctuality. Right. What do you mean, noon? Noon! Noon! I see you at 1.30, maybe. Yeah, right.
Good Guys
Mob Adjacent with The Queen of Melrose
The queen bought a tent. I'm not going back to my room. Wait, before we move on, Olivia, Ethan, the wonderful Ethan is in the position of Adrian Brody. You cool with the Halle Berry kiss or what?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I knew I could fake it, but I wasn't quite sure that if I was put to the task, if I had like all the tools that the people I looked up to seemed to have. So I went to this teacher who, her name is Sharon Chatton. What's going on? I'm so sorry. This is my spirit animal right here.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm going to be honest. I lied to your wife when I first got here because when you opened the door and you were like, come on in, and I saw the animals, I ran to my car. I said I had to get my phone. That's her tech.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Can we get rid of them? I'm going to be fine.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Dude, I did a show. Tommy, Tommy, move, bro. No, Tommy's great. I did a show called Turner and Hooch on Disney+. It was like the movie. It was a Tom Hanks movie from the 80s about a hard-charging detective and his crime-fighting dog. And this was 150 pounds. Don't worry, it's canceled. This was a 150-pound French dog du bardo, right? A French mastiff.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I totally am. I remember us walking by Matt Damon and looking at his face and thinking, wow, that's very believable. I'm pretty sure Jake said some wild shit to that guy. Jake has always been that way.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I remember when I had my first meeting for the part, they were like, you're not allergic to dogs, are you? And I was like, me?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
because that's what you learn in my first days of acting i'm 10 years old auditioning for commercials in new york right and they would say what are your special skills and i'm like skiing never been skiing you just say whatever the rule is say yes and if you get the part learn it no way this is a real thing yeah
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So I'd spent this time getting ready and I felt really solid about where I was at. And it was all to get to this point where I was like, listen, I have no idea if I will have the ability of like the people that I admire. But at least I'll know that I did everything in my power to have all the tools. So I can never say, oh, like I didn't do enough. I did enough.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So the audition comes, and it's a monologue, basically a two-page monologue from a different movie, playing a professor who is giving this sort of dissertation about space and atoms splitting, and pretty dense, because we're auditioning to play scientists. And I work on it and I put it together and I send in the audition and I jokingly write to my agent.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm like, listen, I don't get parts like this, but I think this is pretty good. But, you know, call me when they're making American Pie 5. That's so funny. And I'll never forget, two weeks later, I get a text from my agent, and she writes, Nolan saw your tape. He likes you. We're in the hunt. Whoa.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I totally am. I saw you with Pete Holmes and so many great interviews. It was excellent. Thank you so much, dude. Thank you. I'm so proud of the show. I know. I messed up. So sorry. Just amateur stuff. Okay.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
This is crazy. Okay, so where were you and how did you feel? I was just in my apartment and I remember I got it. And the truth is, in this business, you have to subsist on hope. And you have to take these little signs that you should keep going. And sometimes it's just a callback. Even if you don't get the part, sometimes it's just like a really nice compliment from someone you respect.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Not some BS, just lip service, but someone seeing you and being like, I like what you're doing. Like you're moving in the right direction. Cause sometimes that's all you get for six months, a year, two years. So I knew in my head, I'm like, it's gotta be enough. He liked you. That's it. You don't get it. Okay. But the master liked you. And then every two weeks I would get a call
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
you're still in, in, in the mix. They're still talking about you. They're casting the bigger roles. And then it comes out like Matt Damon, Killian Murphy, Emily Blunt. And I'm like, there's no roles left. I didn't get it. But almost three months after I auditioned, I got the call. Like you got it. And you're going to New Mexico for two months. And yeah, it's cool. So you get that call. Yeah. Okay.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Dude, I will never forget this moment. There's a scene where Matt Damon has to be really annoyed because we as a scientist are taking too long to figure this thing out. And we're walking down the hall and just the scene was us walking down the hall and him sort of glaring at us with the stare of just like, get it together.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I remember us walking by Matt Damon, looking at his face and thinking, wow, that's very believable. That's so funny. Totally. What's it like working with Matt Damon? Great guy. Really? Yeah. We, on the last day of shooting, I remember just randomly, we were all in some, it was me and like two other actors and Killian and Matt and we had lunch together.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like there was nowhere to go like back to trailers or anything. We were sort of stuck in this one room and we just ate lunch and shot the shit. I asked him questions about Goodwill hunting. Bro. Okay.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think I like... The great... Bless him. The great Robin Williams had this really funny joke when he won the Academy Award for Good Will Hunting. He said to Gus Van Sant, the director, thank you for being so subtle. You're subliminal. And sort of the thing about Gus Van Sant is that people say is he's so great at casting that he just kind of says, I cast you for a reason.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Go forth and do your thing. He's not really like super hands on. He lets the actor do the role. And I think I just asked him something about that. Like, was that really true? And did he just let Robin do whatever? But the famous, you know, the famous scene in Good Will Hunting where, Robin Williams talks about his late wife and how she used to fart in bed and how he used to have to like ignore it.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But it was like one of the things that made him miss her most was this random moment. And you see you cut to Matt hysterical laughing like it's it's too good. It can't be acting. It's got to be.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Oh, my God. Please. I'm like, listen, Matty Boy. Matt. Could you imagine if I did what you did to me with Hug Me, Brother?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I told you everything. That was the E break. And ever since then, I was like, don't ever do that again. Okay. I wonder, I know I cringe sometimes almost 10 years later remembering I did that exact same thing to Ice Cube once.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah. I was like, where Chris Tucker says, Debo be like, shut the fuck up. I'd be quiet. But when he leave, I'd be talking again. And he looked at me and finished the line. He's like, I'd be talking again. And I was like, shout out, Mr. Cube.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I know. But it's just a little. But you just think back on it.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So what was the thing that he laughed about? No, I just remember we wound up talking about that scene because that's sort of been like... There's clips on Instagram where he's talked about that Robin Williams improvised that.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And so he kind of got to have this real sort of reaction to it. So we just kind of chatted about that.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Wow. I'm trying to think. I... I mean, I've gotten to work with some really cool people and been incredibly lucky. I have a small part in this Al Pacino movie. So I got to spend like five days with him. All my scenes were with him. And he was like right at sort of that perfect point where he was in his 70s. So he was like he was still like so like as sharp as sharp can be.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And yet he was also like there would be times in the middle of the scenes where he'd be like, oh, wow.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I was like, you're full of Pacino right now. And it was just cool. You pick up these things. There was a scene in Oppenheimer where Kenneth Branagh, who's a brilliant actor, director, and true British actors played Hamlet and so many of the great parts for a man. And And he does this scene where we're all surrounding him.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And he's talking about he was a scientist who had been smuggled in an airplane out of Europe to the US to help sort of work at Los Alamos. And it's just maybe a half a page of two paragraphs of dialogue. And it was to be that close as far away as we are and just see the subtleties and the way he like in each take would just change it slightly.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So it was real and in the moment, but still like consistent. I was like, this is some of the best acting I've ever seen in my life. That's such a cool feeling, dude.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
That's so funny. Wait, can we talk about the last time? One of the last times we were together was in Mexico. Oh my God, for the wrecked thing. Do you remember that?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
That was the last time we saw each other? I think we really broed down on that trip because there were a lot of influencers and people, but we knew each other. And so I remember we kayaked. Okay.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
That was the first time I ever went kayaking.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
We had a nice time. And I'll never forget, you said you were like super fit, like, you know, and you kind of like, yeah, you had a little six pack and you knew it. I was shredded. I wish I was there. I'm coming back. I'm coming back. I like it. This makes me feel more comfortable. And I remember you were, I'll never forget this moment.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
You're looking in the mirror and we're like, I think it was like an hour before we're about to leave. And you kind of like are looking at your six pack and you go, ate well this trip.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I remember like, I don't know. I think she was working and couldn't come. Oh yeah. I brought my buddy too. Greg. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Oh, yeah. I mean, I would love to hear from you guys, too. I'd love to hear how you met. I want the whole back story. I'm great. I'm great at a dinner date. It's everything. I mean, it's a cataclysmic change, and it's a thing that I always wanted, to be honest. I don't want this to sound like... I didn't always know that I would be married, to be honest.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Maybe that's just being from a single mom, so the traditional family unit was not modeled for me, so it wasn't something I aspired to. But I always knew I wanted to have kids. And I knew I didn't like being an only child. Like, I was lonely. And so I always knew I wanted to have, like, two or three kids at least. And then, obviously, I met my wife.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I knew almost instantly, like, this is my person. And her family is incredible. And it just all started to make sense. Yeah, I love being a dad, and I love being around right now because they always say, Brendan Schaub, I think, is quoted saying this, like, you kind of get them until they're 10, because that's when they're obsessed with you.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And then when they get older, it's wonderful new challenges and new experiences, but they're in sports and life and academics and their friendships, but 10 and under, they're your dude.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I thought so. I thought so at first. When my second son, Shai, was born, I'm like, you're all right. No. At first, you're just like, I'm so cool with Max. And Max was almost four, so we had, like, broed down.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm like, me and Max have been to every Dave and Buster's in a 30-mile radius, dog. Like, we have experience.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
It's a good time. It's the best one. It's the only reason we go. You guys are going to be great parents.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But is that a, is that a thing getting baptized on your wedding day? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I know it usually happens at birth.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah. You know, religious Jews basically do a version of baptism every month. Really? Do you know that? In which way?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Well, I know, I believe men have a version of it as well, but I know women who are Orthodox in Judaism do something called a mikvah, which is once a month, it's sort of like a dip in a holy bath in a female, like basically an all-female spa in a sort of blessed body of water, and they sort of like do a cleanliness, sort of just a cleansing once a month. I did hear about this.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
That sounds about me in my mid-twenties. Still making my peace with it all.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And you can also do it in a body of water. Like you can go into the ocean and do sort of the same version. It has the same sort of religious value. Amazing. Yeah. Oh, I love that. I want to talk about God with you. I love the clips.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I feel lucky, right? My access point to God and spirituality is the 12-step program. So I got sober at 21 years old. And it's not a prerequisite. You don't have to have a higher power, but it's helpful. And so it's allowed me to sort of look back at what was my relationship with God before that. And I think I always believed in God. I just wasn't sure he was a fan of me.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, I wasn't sure he was aware of me. Like, it just, I didn't wrestle with it. I believe that there was some higher thing at play here. But, and for the most part, it felt, when I did think about it, it was punishing. Like, I had done something out of character. I had lied, cheated, stole, you know, in the way we do most, you know, high school kids, young people do.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, done something out of character that didn't sit well. I didn't, I talked, you know, I...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
No, I just think it was like, I didn't, you know, there's this great sort of modern day philosopher named Alain de Botton. And he talks about that when you have kids, you know, as early as two, three years old, we're teaching them, I mean, basically as soon as they get teeth, right? You're like, you're teaching them about oral care, right?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like hygiene and how to brush their teeth and then how to, you know, in the bath, how to wash themselves and like comb their hair and do all these things. And we teach these things, and it's an imperative before they're five years old. We don't really teach kids about spiritual health in many respects, right?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
A connection with something bigger and access points, however they find their journey sort of reveals themselves. So I just didn't have it laid out except for very sort of...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
typical religious sort of you know you go for passover and the high holy days but there wasn't really an access point at a young age hebrew school and uh and so when i finally you know got sober and i started to understand it um for me it was revealed that like uh There was an opportunity to act godly right now, like right here on earth.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And when I act out of character, what I'm doing is I'm robbing myself of that sunshine of the spirit.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But I remember, because I remember distinctly having that idea and knowing you could dance.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And that's like, to me, any of like the, I mean, you could say the Abrahamic religions, but really like Buddhism, Hinduism, and 12-step, and whatever your access point is where like the end result is you're a good person, it's just like...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
repackaged ancient truths and it's like whatever your access point is like if the the means to the end is that you're like a good person and you're kind to other people like i'm like cool get there however you need to got it i i was sitting down with this guy and he said something to me that was really really profound and i think you
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
You had no idea about that at all. That was fun. That was an especially fun time because it was like the media center apartments. It was called something, but they weren't like anything fancy. And I remember distinctly like being around the early days of George and Logan and Jake. And I think Logan had, like, a whiteboard or, like, a vision. Not a vision board, but, like, a schedule.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Well, I think, I guess... That was certainly my thoughts early on, and I think recovery allowed for me to have my access point into spirituality. And, you know, my wife's Irish Catholic. I'm Jewish, right? And so, you know, she says Catholic prayers with my kids at night sometimes. And initially, like, it did strike me just because it was more foreign to me.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Growing up, like, we didn't say in our father or what have you, right? We said, like, we say Jewish prayers. And, but what I realized is, is my wife and her family and like these beautiful people, I'm like, oh, we're just calling it different things, but we're talking about the same thing.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah, I think he was, like, yeah, Jake was not even 18 yet, I don't think. They were young. Yeah. Super young. And here I am, like, I'm 28, and I'm seeing them, like, they've got, like, a proper setup. And I was, like, oh, no, how old was I? No, I was, like, 25. Yeah. Yeah, I don't think you were... I don't know when I started doing Vine, 26 or something, but right around there.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
What do you think about, because in recovery we talk about, to what you were touching on before, this idea that faith without works is dead. In the sense of like, I heard early on when I got sober like, your best thinking got you a front row seat in AA. So don't think for a while, right? Just like sit down and listen. Yeah. Yeah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Just like sit down and listen because, you know, and I remember there was this old guy. He had like 60 years sober, and I would pick him up because he was in a nursing home. He was in his 80s, and I would take him to a meeting, and he fought in World War II, like great gristled guy.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'd love to have two drinks with him as well. And, and what I learned, you know, they would say, um, Esteemable acts build self-esteem. So don't overthink anything right now. Just help make the coffee. Stack the chairs. Get busy. You can't think your way into right acting. You have to act your way into right thing. And that's how it was revealed for me.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I'd love to hear what you thought of this, because it's been asked to me before, like, The sure knowing of existence of a higher power of God, to me, it's above my pay grade. Like I can't, my brain wants to go there and it wants to start intellectualizing things, right? Because that's how I like kind of start justifying and blah, blah, blah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm like, I just act as if God exists and somehow my life is better.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
It would lead you to, you know— drugging, drinking, doing all the things. It would be my choices.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But I'm looking at this kid going like, oh, he's probably going to be very successful. And the entire crew's become incredibly successful.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I appreciate it, and I couldn't agree with you more. When people are wrestling with this idea, or even just something basic, like, I've got to get out of my head. How do I get out of self? I'm too bogged down in just me and what's going on with me. I'm like, help somebody move. I'm like, go pick up someone from the airport in L.A. ?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm like, and by the way, like, not that we're in it for, not that we're in it for like the kudos that you get, but like what it means to someone. I mean, I don't live far from the airport. I live like reasonably close compared to where we are here. But like when my wife goes, when I land and I don't have to walk to that Uber station and my I'd go just like, I got you. Like, I got nothing to do.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'll come grab you. I'm like, thanks, babe. It means a lot when people do that.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And there was it went in both directions. And just to say to honor the anonymous portion, like I'm in no way a representative for 12 step. I always I knew you had Steve on and I love what he says. You know, when someone loses a bunch of weight and gets in great shape and then eventually puts the weight back on, no one blames the gym. You know, so I always feel the need to say that.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, I love talking about recovery and whatnot, but I'm in no way a representative of 12 step. It just worked great for me a day at a time. And, uh, but yeah, I mean, to your point, all those things, I think that, uh, I think for me, what's great is that it was just very tangible things.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I felt like what was a hard access point for me in traditional, like going to synagogue or even church growing up, was just that it felt like... Things I learned in recovery was like help your fellows boat to the other side and yours too will cross. You know, analysis is paralysis. Restraint of pen and tongue. You know, like just like give it a beat.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I was a fan and I was incredibly lucky that it was the birth of kind of social media as we knew it. And for years, people had brought up like, try YouTube, do something like that. But I didn't know how to edit. The barrier to entry was too scary because I'm like an older millennial. So tech and everything still kind of trips me out.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like you can't control your first thought, but you can control your first action. You know, simple things.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think so, in whatever their access point is. And I think, to your point, first and foremost, it's modeling that. I work with this foundation called Feed the Streets where four times a week, I try to do two times a week, but we go out and do feeds on Skid Row at MacArthur Park and just feed the homeless.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Anytime. Tuesdays, Thursdays, we're there at 7 a.m. on 5th and San Pedro. Ooh, that's early. I'm just kidding. Just imagine it.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
That's so funny. And I bring Max to the L.A. Mission and all these places just to, like, Shy's still a little young, but just to, like, model it and not to, like, push it on him, but just to, like, show him kind of, to me, what life's all about. Please go. Please go.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And so I remember one day I sent one to my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and she's like, why don't you make one? Like, we love watching these at night. Like, make one. And I did, and it did okay. And I made, like, two more. And I remember I get a text from my buddy Cameron, and he goes, okay, popular page. And I was like, well, what do you mean?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think, yeah, like, a good life is the result of good living, right? Like, your character is your destiny. I love that, because it's... Yeah. And the beautiful thing is like I, you know, again, I act as if right. Like when I pray at night, I get on my knees because I just humble myself to something bigger than me. And it's like a physical reminder.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And the beautiful part is, is like I'll be on like a great thing where I'm like, you know, praying and mindful and doing like some spiritual reading in the morning. And then I'll just be like, nope. For a couple weeks, I'm like, no. Don't want to. Lazy. Don't want to. And the beauty of the thing is, God's just like, cool, see you soon.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
You'll get driven to your knees quick. Because I'll be on that spiritual freeway, and then I'll see an exit sign for money. And I'll be like, God, trust me.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
He's like, you're on the popular page of Vine. Like, yours is one of the biggest of the day. And I was like... Right. And that's crazy. So casual.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Oh, please. Yeah. I was on everything but skates. I was having a good time. Cliché, anyone? Child star for one? No, yeah. I mean, you know, I was just getting after it. But I also, like, obviously, as chronicled in my story, like, I was a really heavyset kid. Like, my first foray into overindulging in things to numb my feelings was...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
evident at 10 right at 11 12 i mean clearly i mean obviously there are bigger people who it's either not a thing for them like it doesn't affect them they just have a love of eating and indulging and it's not it doesn't affect them negatively um but for me i think what it revealed was at a young age just allowed me to kind of just kind of numb out and not think about things and then i got in shape but i had the same mind and so then you know what was that like
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I mean, it's existence personified, right? It's like anything outside of myself is not going to fill me up. And it's also like if I am not the problem, then there's no solution, right? All I have is power over me, right? So like if it's out of my control and it's making me unhappy, then I need to change the way I think about it. the way in which I look at it.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Because, again, like, there are no new ancient truths. Like, I believe it's just the packaging for where you're born, the culture in which you're raised in, or what your access point is. And I think the gift of hitting a bottom, whether it's spiritually or, like, literally, because you, like, can't drink anymore, you can't use anymore...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
is a major gift and i feel bad i don't know how you guys feel like i feel bad for pricks and you know like i feel bad for like you know like there'll be people where they just kind of suck because they're hurting but they're not particularly like they like but they survive and i'm like i don't know if you're gonna hit a bottom i think like i feel bad for those people that
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But yeah, in the early stages, it just and I remember this sort of the turning point was maybe six to eight months in. think it was like that rare moment before like people like Logan and batch really blew up. And so I was the number one person on the app. So I'm like really feeling myself. And, uh, but I get, I finally get a call from my agent and manager.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
they have these, these, maybe they have deep trauma. Maybe they have things that have perpetuated themselves into these, they present themselves into these like negative habits, these things that, where they lash out at people and it like,
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But I just think my whole thing is like, I feel bad because I'm like, you may not ever be in enough pain to really look at this. Because I think pain is a great motivator. And that's my appreciation for hitting a bottom is it drew me into like looking for a better way.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I know that's like a really... Yeah, no, I hear you. It's such a hard thing. Me and my best friend in the world, Happened to both like we grew up together since we were 14 and we both got sober. And I think it's like only allowed for our relationship to, you know, we really speak that language of the heart, you know, with each other.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And and we had a third friend and our third buddy that we grew up with, unfortunately, never did get sober. And he's in as bad of a place as possible for someone like who has an affliction like that.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
and we look at it we think about it like why were we the lucky ones and we both had moms who were like the greatest and you know really like did everything to try to uh give us a foundation of love and you know your mom you know your mother's prayers got you in here and our third buddy just didn't have that and i i don't think you can point exactly to any one thing that's a
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
They're like, you know, we've been trying to make you not just the Drake and Josh guy, like so that you're able to do other things that aren't just super broad and comedic. And like, you're, you're being a
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Shy on your own, buddy. Bro, Shy's so flipping cute. It's starting to switch, Max. Turns out you maxed out. I'm going back to Shy.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
are gonna have it what was that one thing that you wish that your father would have implemented in you that you didn't get a chance to um you know don't eat seconds no i'm kidding i just wanted to be fit it's everything it's be you know so much of it is just like being around Right. Like just them knowing you're in the house. Right.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And like the way I treat my wife, you know, that that my actions reflect who I am and not like that. I disrespect their mom, which I like see guys do. And then they're like, I don't know why my son's a piece of shit. I'm like, really? Like the greatest person, like the matriarch in their family, like you're actively disrespecting on a regular basis. Right. So I try to do that. And I was nervous.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, I remember my wife and I, we didn't find out what the gender was. Right. And everyone in our family does that. And, you know, I know we're more rare now, but I highly suggest it. It's very fun. Yeah. And so. So did you wait until it like it was presented? Yeah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Wow. Awesome. It's so fun. I would assume. It's so fun. And, but of course for, you know, almost 10 months, I'm like, I hope we have a girl. Cause like, I'm like George, I'm razzle dazzle.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
weirdo in your car like talking to your phone like just being dumb like is this is this a good look for us and I said let me get back to you so I call a buddy I was really lucky my friend worked in the early early stages of social media for a company called the audience my buddy remember that
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
The baby comes out and I'm like, there's no business. I'm a musical theater kid. I went to performing arts high school. I'm like, I don't know how to raise a boy. Like I'm not great at throwing a football. And of course we have the kid. And, uh, and I'm like, of course it's a boy. Cause this is, to me, it felt like this cosmic thing.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
comeuppance right like okay now it's your turn to like raise men and all the the growing up that i had to do on my own but i had amazing models like i have a big brother from the big brother foundation that i've had since i'm eight dan he was the best man at my wedding you still talk today 30 years wow 30 years this year together and he's one of the greatest men ever you know
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'll choke up talking about him. Oh, I love that. Because he just showed up. If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet him? When did he come into your life? My mom got me a big brother from the Big Brother Foundation, the Jewish Big Brothers Foundation. And he, every other Sunday since I was eight years old, picked me up, take me bowling, take me to a Yankee game. Get lunch.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
If you don't mind me asking, I've never even heard about this.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And were you already in the field in acting? I was living in New York doing like off-Broadway theater.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I never met him. I never had one. So the entire foundation, you know the movie Role Models? Oh, yeah, yeah, with Adam Sandler. No, with Sean William Scott.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And it's basically the whole foundation is for a child who grows up without a mother or a father. They would get a big brother or a big sister. And the people are like really vetted. Obviously, background check put through like six months of training. And I just think it's such a unique foundation because these people are giving the greatest commodity, which is time.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Young. It's even crazier now that I think about it. I was eight. He was 24, 25. Like, could you imagine, like, being that selfless at that age?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Did you ever ask him, like, what possessed him to do that? He grew up in a great family. I think, like...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
the spirit of giving and charity was big in his family growing up and he was like you know he was uh he works in finance and he was like i was like a young stockbroker working uh in the financial district like all the typical pitfalls of like chasing money and fast life and and he said you know it just occurred to me that this could be really meaningful to do wow and
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And so, yeah, he's been in my life and he's been an incredible model. And then honestly, my wife's dad, my father-in-law, Ken, who's just, I mean, four kids and just, he's the guy that picks you up from the airport. Any time of day, any time of night, he's just there. And so I feel very, it's also about being aware of like,
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
if you weren't as, uh, if you didn't get things in the typical way, like how did life, how did the universe put things out? Can you be aware of like, Oh, I can get this. It's just from not the typical source.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Really early. Really early. And I called him and I was like, Rami, what do you think? And he's super smart. And he's like, listen, don't let anyone tell you they know what this is because I work in it and even I don't know what it is.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So I have those models and I try to model it with my kids. And it's just about what I think being a man is, which is like showing up for people. Like your word is your bond. I say that to my kid, even at five years old, I'm like, like Max, like we keep our word, you know, things like this. And just, I'm like, that's what's really important.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And then when he needs literally practice, he goes to talk to his grandpa. Yeah. Plays the throw ball. Yeah, he used to be a professional football player. I'm like, go talk to Papa. Oh, wow, that's so sweet. But if you want this, you come to me.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I've spent a lot of time there. Really? For work, yeah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Oh, because you're from France originally? Yeah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But it's a thick French Canadian accent, right? Yes. Yes.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But I'll tell you that being able to go to your audience every day, create content for them, connect, see what they like and what they don't like and everything in between is powerful. So do this. Do it every day.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
You know All Dressed? Yeah, I do. They're really good.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think whatever those big, big wounds were from just growing up, just being alive and as a result of my circumstance, I... For today, as best I can tell, I think they're pretty healed. But it's maintenance, you know? And there are just moments where I just can be doing better, and my wife has no problem telling me. And there's work to be done.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And then, you know, there's just sort of the theme of this conversation to a point like we're in a crazy business. And sometimes I can't believe that it still hurts.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
No, I'm trying to think of how best. Sometimes I want to walk away from it because of ego. When I feel frustrated and I want to be like, I'm leaving you before you leave me. Right. That's deep. Yeah, that's deep. And that's just my ego talking because luckily I've had some semblance, some version of success. And I've been incredibly lucky for 20 plus years.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like there's reason enough to believe like, Good or bad, I will find a way to survive in this thing for, you know, till I retire, let's say like there's there's good data to support it. Maybe, maybe not. But there's there's data there. And maybe I'll never get to some heights that the people who I love and look up to get to. But it's like I'm very pleased with what I've been able to do.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So, no, but I also can accept moments where I am not as busy as I'd like to be realizing like, yeah, but like I'm getting to enjoy this moment with my family. And like if I was... You know, in a business where like next week they could be like, you are going to Europe for four months. You're going to work every day. And everything in your brain goes like checking every box.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, yes, like starring in something, working every day. How exciting. And yet there's always going to be a part of my brain that goes like, but what are you missing? You're going to miss these moments with your kids. Do you ever think they're going to travel with you? No, no, they could. But even if they were there, right? So if you're on set 12 hours a day, you're missing the subtle moments.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think there was, I remember one thing I found extremely, uh, sort of, I was really pleasantly surprised by, and I think Logan was one of the first people who did this. Cause Logan did not give a shit about telling you how hard he was crushing. Yeah. And shout out. The confidence, dude. Dude, I'm going to tell you, I'll tell you a quick story.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think you were in this thing about like what really made me, what cemented Logan, who he is to me and why I appreciated him. And, you know, we were friendly and we would do these little things. And then he shot a short that you guys had put some money behind. Remember at Greg Sipes' apartment in Venice Beach?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I like it all, and I also think anything you can use as an edge in a really particular... Traditional show business isn't merit-based, whereas social media, if it gets the most likes, it does the best, there's a good chance that it is the best. But in TV and movies, it's subjective, right? You could be perfect for the role, but the lead also has your same energy and kind of look.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Hey, I thought that was great. It was okay. But Logan and I were friendly, and he's like, would you do this for me? And I'm like, yeah, of course. Let's have fun. So it's like one of those things where I'm playing this old guy, so it's like two hours of aging makeup, and I'm there, and we spend the whole day doing it.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And there was this lovely special effects makeup artist, this woman who was great. And there was this other guy who was a makeup guy, and there was just a bad energy about him. And so we're filming, and we're in our friend's one-bedroom apartment, right? So I just have a jacket, and I change into the clothes, and I throw my wallet in my jacket pocket.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I'll never forget, we shoot all day, we're finishing, and it's heavy glued on. It's a process to take it off, right? You need help. And any good makeup artist will be like, I've got the chemicals that you'll need, the special thing, and we'll slowly kind of take it off so it doesn't rip your face off.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I'll never forget the special effects lady had to go, but she gave the guy who was covering all of the stuff that we needed to remove it. And I'll never forget, I keep saying that, but I'm coming in to take it off, and he throws me some makeup wipes and goes, I gotta go. And I'm like, weird. And I'm taking it off, and it takes about half an hour, and I'm like, I don't have my wallet.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And they're like, really? And I just was like, hey guys, whatever. And I remember randomly it was Christmas time. And so I'd pulled out like a bunch of money because I was like, I don't know, going to tip some people and like, just like, you know, give some gifts. And Logan felt, like, uniquely bad. He's like, let me just take care of it. And I was like, no, no, no. Are you crazy?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, this is not your fault. This guy just ripped me off. And I'll never forget that night. Like, I just see a PayPal notification for, like, double what was in my wallet.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And he's like, that's wrong. What happened? And you were doing me a favor. And, like, here you go. And I'm like, man, I really, I respect that. Just... Just did the right thing.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Don't get me started on the LA Fitness Hall of Fame. These basketball players can be...
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And that might get distracting. People will be like, wait, is that the lead? Is that the best friend? So we're going to get someone with darker hair. They're not as good, but what are we going to do? And that can be maddening. And so I think if you have social media followers and it gives you that edge because they know you're going to help publicize it, great. But I'm so glad to have both.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Oh, gosh. I think my favorite guest was obviously loved having Miranda and Drake on like their family. We have so much history. But my favorite guest is Miss Pat, the comedian. Do you know her? She's insanely funny. It was a clip that kind of went viral because I was like telling her about, you know, me getting sober at 21. And she was like, what? She's like. My kids love that show.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So you was high. My kids were watching the white crackhead. I'm like, that's going to get a lot of years.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
She's a genius. And I just love her as a person. So that was just, we had an insane amount of fun. That's great.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Totally. I've loved, I am a big podcast consumer. I probably listen to two to three hours of podcasts a day. Like just on my, you know, it was an hour drive here and then I'll go work out for an hour and listen and I'll take a walk at night and listen. So who's your favorite podcast to listen to? I listen to a bunch of different ones. I like, right now I'm listening to Rick Rubin's podcast.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
You know, the famous producer. Yeah, of course. It's called Tetragrammaton. Wait, he has a podcast though? Uh-huh.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
dip a toe in and do a part that I'm really excited about and working with people that I'm excited about and then also not have to chase things I'm not excited about and get to be here midday on a Friday or go hit up Nick Antonian and be like let's put together our dumbest ideas today and shoot and we have something finished in a day as opposed to in 18 months and then it didn't quite come together and you're watching it and you're like why did they pick that take and
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
It's so good. He interviews some of the best people. And then I love comedy podcasts out and about. And I listen to your guys pod. I consume it. So, yeah, I'm a big fan. And, you know, it's what's great is like last year or two years ago, getting to do Oppenheimer and then walk off. That's it. And start. You know, I did the show How I Met Your Father for a bunch of episodes with Hilary Duff. Nice.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah. Awesome. And, you know, so it's like I get to do something super serious and then go be on another sitcom and loving that and then go do my pod and be here and do, you know, social media videos. So I think what I've become addicted to or what I found is like my true love is is to be an artist and to be creative and. in a variety of ways.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Like, even if I was just doing, I mean, I love being an actor, but if that was all I was doing, I think I would get a little bit tired at times. Would you ever do music? I don't know. Just because of the stigma.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Drake calls you and goes, dude, what the heck? Oh, my gosh. Like, I just like I mean, but then if you can be like, you know, obviously this is the best version. But if you can be Joaquin Phoenix, you know, and doing it and walk the line and playing Johnny Cash like that, if a part calls for the ability to sing, that's amazing.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I love. I would love. I've only done theater when I was younger. I would die to do it. There's not much of a scene here, so I'd have to move to New York. It's New York, yeah. But, I mean, they do, like, they have the Mark Taper form in the Geffen Theater here. Why don't you create your own? I would love it.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I mean, I was in New York and I was recording my pod because my my co-host, Ben Soffer, lives in New York. So we knocked out a couple episodes. We're supposed to get dinner, but he was under the weather. And so it's like six o'clock. He's like, dude, do you mind if I go home? I'm like, no problem. So I saw I'd walk by Times Square and saw that Denzel and Jake Gyllenhaal were doing Othello for nine.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I think it's like I think nine weeks on Broadway. I didn't know they did theater like that. Oh, yeah. Dude, Denzel's been doing Shakespeare for 40 years. Like, he is as true of an actor as an actor gets. Wow, I didn't know that. Got on SubHub, single ticket, which is always the key, like, because no one wants to be me, like, at the theater alone. But I don't care.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I got like third row for like in two hours. And I just got to watch them be incredible for three hours. I mean, it's Shakespeare. So if you're not into that, it's not for everyone. But for me, it was like and you see like, you know, Jake Gyllenhaal plays the lead. He plays Iago and Othello. And so the curtain comes up and he's standing there and he gets a huge applause. And he's excellent.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So good. And about 10 minutes in, Denzel saunters on the stage and people lost their minds. Right. Like you just couldn't believe like I'm seeing him live.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
funny story of me in Vegas at 20 years old, like on some, like just cliche, like, you know, college, even though I wasn't in college, college bro trip to Vegas. And I'm like, had had a couple sips and we decided like, we got to go see circus so late. Cause that's normal. So we go to Vegas and I just was like, I wasn't inappropriate in any way.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I was just in the audience and I was just being a bit too vocal. Oh, you're a heckler. No, I was like, Oh, shit. I was like, yo. Yo.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
You know what I mean? But this could be like – Isn't his nickname something Jesus, Street Jesus? Street Jesus. No, it's not Street Jesus. No, no, no. I think it is.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
No, it is Street Jesus. Hold on. Masvidal's nickname. Because obviously he was BMF. Fight Jesus? It's either Street Jesus or Fight Jesus. Oh, it's Game Bread, which I know was way off. No, no, no. That's his Instagram.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah, but then it was... I don't know. Some hardcore MMA fan is just going to... Because he did the backstreet... What is it called?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
AI said so. Google Gemini said that. I think it's real. I think it's right. Sponsorship. Sorry. It's the best sponsorship. I'll help you. Oh, please.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
This episode brought to you by the Holo app.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
nah i don't i don't mess with that i think you should be free i don't know i don't you're selling church then i don't want to say that immediately turn on them no no shout out i mean i think like it's uh i'm a big fan of mark walberg's but i don't know i i don't know this out i shouldn't talk about it i don't actually know and i don't want to spread no no that's fine because
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah, there's like I've heard this about like there's obviously different forms of meditation. And then there's transcendental meditation, which is more of the mantra base where you repeat a mantra over and over. And it's proven super beneficial for a lot of people.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But I think there's like their whole thing is like it's a course and it's not a prohibitory amount of money, but it does cost some money. And you do it once. It's not like they're going to keep hitting you up. And I think their whole idea, to your point, is like. if we give it value and it forces people to like, kind of be like, I paid for it. I'm committed. It, it, it allows more access.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I don't know. I think there's different schools.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
natural habit of doing that if i hear something that's like not good to my ears i'll throw like a judgment at it but we don't know maybe the founder is like no actually we've realized that it impacts people more when they pay because they like hold their self-value to i don't know i don't know what the i do think in general anything spiritual is better off poor like the enterprise of itself because then when people are dealing with like a war chest and have to allocate funds i think it makes people are people and things happen
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I got it on a deal. I had to take it. This guy can't sit comfort blocks. I gotta get going just in a couple of minutes to pick up the kiddos. No worries. If that's cool. That's fine.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
It was a spectacular experience. He's been very generous to me and a great friend. And also, we kind of like... Speaking of sort of higher order of things and whatnot, I think we came into each other's lives at a really special time. He was getting sober then, and I had been sober for a couple years, so it felt like just being around each other was a good thing. But it was really fun.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I mean, first of all, I wish I could go talk to Chubby Josh and be like, dude, one day you're going to be able to pass for Stamos' son.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Funny enough, the movie that I did with Al Pacino, where I had the small part, was written and directed by a guy named Dan Fogelman, who's a great friend, genius writer. Most recently, the creator and showrunner for that show Paradise was Sterling K. Brown on Hulu.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But also did This Is Us. Wow. Wow. He has a lot under his belt. Oh, my gosh. Like, crush. And Only Murders in the Building.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
So, like, of the highest order. Good friend. Best dude. Yeah.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
wish we were better friends that's so funny he's the greatest dude and so I did that and I remember I got the audition and I emailed him and I said hey dude I just like I because he was a producer on the show I was like I just want to see if like there's anything I can do like are you guys seeing anything and in the auditions where you're kind of thinking like ah people are missing something like any any suggestions would love it like but obviously nice edge nice edge
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Oh, man. Um... I've never, I don't have one. I don't think. He's still trying to work with all of them.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Well, it wasn't like I put in a good word. It was more like, can you help me to like not waste your time?
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I was lucky that we had a relationship because what I've come to learn about the audition process is the biggest mistake you can make is trying to do what you think they want. Because for me, it's... What I now know as an actor is how to do script analysis, is to be a detective.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And if the writing is good, or even if it's not great, the writer has put hints into that scene and into the script in general of what they're looking for, what that scene calls for, who your character is. And so once I get clear about what the writer has asked of me, then it's up to my interpretation about how to satisfy that.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I think where I've been led astray at times is where I've gone in thinking like, I bet they want to see this. And suddenly I'm doing kind of like a people pleasing, forward energy, please cast me type of like, wouldn't you like it like this? Instead of being like, listen, I'm an actor. I did the work. I'm honoring the text, which is my job, right? Because these are the instructions.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Um, and you're, you've invited me in here to have a, um, what would be like to have an opinion, right? So like, here's my opinion on what I think would be an interesting way to play this.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
stamos where you're like oh i'm catching this was it was there testing involved oh yeah i auditioned twice and then they go okay it's now five of you guys are going to first you have to test for the studio who's paying for half the show and then the network who's paying for the other half if you don't mind me cutting off i'm so sorry yeah what was the note that they gave you when you said what is missing
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I don't think, I think Dan was like, Dan's not, I think it was early enough in the process and he was like, you do kind of look like you could be his kid. He's like, just go in there and do what you do. I know you.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I had worked with Dan. Are you saying John? No, no, Dan. Dan is the one who worked with Al Pacino.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And so we had a good thing. And obviously it helped that he was in my corner. And so I audition. I get to the test. And you audition for the studio first. There's five of you. And then they go, OK, the next audition for the studio is tomorrow. And you show up and now there's only three of you because like two of the people, the studio said, no, we didn't love them.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And so you're like, oh, man, fallen soldiers. And yeah, it's a it's a crazy process that I think is becoming much less popular. I think basically now it's just like because. it's not set up to do a good job because it's so fricking scary. Cause then you walk into that test, by the way, you've made a deal, right? Cause the last thing they want to do is give you the job.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And now you go, well, now that I know you want me, I want double.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm going to have a condo in Valley village. i'm gonna get a five series of bmw heard of it it goes into the audition again like sir you're like in your head you've already spent it you've been on set so then i just remember the final audition was with stamos and he walks in and he's just being affable and nice to all of us but i don't know in my head i felt like i got like
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
a couple extra seconds than everyone else. You're that connection a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. And this was one of the great things. And again, it's as actors, like we're gambling addicts because you lose nine out of 10 times, but it's that one time you're like that one time at the Bellagio, I took them for everything.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I mean, you know, and I also don't like, I used to do that thing where, and you guys tell me if you do this, where I'd be like, I really got to show up. I got to prove myself so that they invite me back.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And I auditioned and you're in front of 30 people, maybe 20 people, president of the studio, like all the decision makers. And I remember I was walking in my car and you never hear this quickly. And I get a call from Dan and he's like, a couple of people want to talk to you. And it's John and the rest of the people going like, you got it. And yeah, it was awesome.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I appreciate it. It was a great time. And it's funny because those two other guys who were in the audition with me who didn't get it, I was against one of those guys a year and a half later for another show, and he got it, and I didn't. And the same thing with the third guy. So, yeah, because we're all like we kind of all look alike.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
We're kind of like funny, like nice looking guys for like average guys. Nice looking average, you know, and like and so it just goes to show it's like not personal. Like on that day, it was my day to get it. But and a year later, it was his.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
that's why that's when it gets really good when like you find your can like i'll be on set with guys who are like a lot of guys in oppenheimer who are like journeyman actors who've been around for like 20 30 years have had success but never like insane but just worked and like then you get past all that and you're just like like can you believe we're still here my god like how did none of us get our real estate license yeah
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Right. My life was in the, I just want to keep getting invited. Yeah. Instead of, I'm going to treat this like this is the last time I'm ever going to get to do it and be present and enjoy it. So like.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
um i have my the good guys my podcast with uh my co-host ben soffer um crushing hope to have you guys on would love to have you love that so much fun uh available everywhere podcasts are available and uh yeah i have two i have two uh shows coming out but i can't say what yet okay thank you bro i really appreciate it that was so much fun thanks guys
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I just, I try to be present. I try to really enjoy it. And I try to... I got to have this great small part in Oppenheimer in the Christopher Nolan movie. Crazy. So good. Such an honor and incredible to be a part of. And then, of course, I stayed friendly with one or two of the people in the cast. So we're joking around when he's getting his next movie that's shooting right now in the works.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And they're like, yo, bro. Because, you know, Nolan likes to work with some of the same people. And I'm like... And actually, one of my buddies is actually there right now doing another kind of small part. And it's amazing. But I'm like, I did it. Like, if he invited me back, oh, my God. A dream. Would be amazing. I would hopefully have a few more lines. But whatever, whatever. No judgment.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
But, like, just be happy to be there. But, like... I did it. I had my moment. I got to be on that set for two months. I got to work with the master. I got to like I really I'm so glad I was present so that I can sit there and, you know, joke with my boys, but not feel like jealous at my friends. They're shooting or, you know, just be be at peace with the opportunity that I got.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
The really long, long story short is there was six years of buildup to that, right? Which was... It was six years of buildup in that I looked at my life, my work at 30 or maybe 29 years old, and I was like, I need to go back to class. I need to work on this thing that I love, that I've been doing my whole life, because I probably have bad habits. Wow.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
And if I had to best define it, I felt inconsistent. Like if the material was perfect and very like me and I like, and the director was cool and there was enough time, like, yeah, there would be moments where I'd be like, oh, I love this. But then there would just be times where I'd be like... That just didn't hit the mark.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I would say that ability to be the character. Like I felt like things had to be close to me for me to do well.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Yeah, I would say, like, I was comfortable, like, playing, like, one of my favorite, I did this movie, The Whackness, years ago, where I played, and it was with Ben Kingsley, and it was, like, this amazing moment, and went to Sundance, and it was this thing I was so proud of, but I was playing, like, a hip-hop, a pot-smoking hip-hop head in the 90s from New York.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
I'm like, at 20 years old, I was uniquely ready for that. I got this.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
Totally. But then all the actors I look up to, they are these chameleons, man. And I'm like, how are you doing this? How can you play a guy in this movie and then do a total 180? And so I spent six years in class just getting crushed.
The George Janko Show
The Josh Peck Interview | EP. 109
It was... I had this dirty little secret I was carrying around that I was lucky enough to have a really nice amount of rare success in this business up until that point. But I felt like I'd never done the work. Like the great plays that you hear about in conservatories and just like... I didn't feel like I had that strong foundation.