Michael Arden

I knew she was amazing.

People loved her.

And I knew that my grandfather like had her cassettes in his truck.

Shout out to Jim.

But I think that was partially why I was able to have such a good time on that tour is because the other guys were like, oh, my God, Barbie's coming in.

What am I going to say to her?

And I was like, hey, what's going on?

I really like to meet the Fockers.

You know what I mean?

And that became her joke, our joke that I was the kid who didn't know who she was.

And in a way, I think that probably helped me be relaxed around her.

And we just had a great time together.

And she called me Smartass.

That was her nickname for me.

Because I would always kind of like...

And, you know, we'd finish and she'd be like, what do you think?

I'd be like, Barbara, I have some notes.

And, you know, we just had a really good time.

She was awesome.

Michael, you've spent years building your life through roles that often sat close to outsiders, people carrying loneliness, longing, distance from the world around them.