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Club Random with Bill Maher

Cary Elwes | Club Random with Bill Maher

16 Feb 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?

0.79 - 23.806 Bill Maher

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24.308 - 35.252 Bill Maher

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35.452 - 57.561 Bill Maher

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57.541 - 67.669 Bill Maher

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68.138 - 96.689 Bill Maher

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96.709 - 119.104 Bill Maher

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119.152 - 143.372 Bill Maher

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143.392 - 150.864 Cary Elwes

Look, you're talking about one of my favorite movies, okay? No, I'm just... I consider Kubrick like... We're not arguing.

151.245 - 181.935 Bill Maher

Pulling kale. Pulling Kyle. Excuse me. Sorry, I mean... Hey. Hey, Bill. How are you? I'm good, man. How are you? You've aged well. You look very similar to when I first saw you on the screen. Thank you, Bill. Been a fan for a long time. Oh, thank you. You're a lot of fan. Thank you. I found out when I told people you were coming on. Thank you, Bill. All right. Well, that's it.

Chapter 2: How does Al Pacino influence Cary Elwes' career?

524.593 - 545.195 Cary Elwes

You know what I'm talking about. Okay. So anyway, so I'm kind of not working in New York, which again is not great because, you know, you're starting to like figure out what you're going to eat, how you're going to make the rent, all that stuff. Yeah. I'm in a restaurant with a friend and he starts having a heart attack at lunch, my friend. And I'm like, what's going on? Are you okay?

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545.215 - 563.065 Cary Elwes

He's like, Al Pacino, three o'clock. I'm like, what? He goes, Al Pacino, over there, over there. I look over, and sure enough, Al's there. This is Café des Artistes, which my friend was paying for. I couldn't afford that lunch. I remember it. You remember Café, right?

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563.085 - 571.877 Bill Maher

Was that with the crayons on the table? I don't know. I think it was. What was this? It was one of those where they had, like, the tablecloth was paper.

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572.437 - 572.638 Cary Elwes

Really?

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572.838 - 585.366 Bill Maher

Yes, and there was crayons. You were supposed to, like, draw. It was so... It was so. It was, you know. Anyway, so there's Al. That's why they hate us in the Midwest. Who can fucking blame them?

585.386 - 607.536 Cary Elwes

There's crayons on the table. Be artistic while you're ordering. Anyway, so there's Al. And he's entertaining. He's got like 12 people at a long table. And he's at the head of the table. And my friend, who's an actor, Also not working, by the way. He goes, hey, we're actors. We should go say hi to Al. I'm like, no, we really shouldn't. He's with friends. Let's not do that.

608.257 - 631.383 Cary Elwes

And as I'm saying, let's not do that, he's up and out of the chair. He's over there. And I'm like turning the color of your curtain right here. I'm just so embarrassed right now. I'm like, oh, God. I look over and I see him gesturing. Al's like, who is this guy? Are you a waiter? What is this? And I see him point, my friend point to me. saying that over there.

632.064 - 656.607 Cary Elwes

And Al looks over, and I can see him looking right at me. Now I'm really mortified. Why is he blaming you? Because he's saying, come over to come and say hello. Oh, oh, oh. Well, so your friend succeeded. He did well. I'm wondering, is this really what Al wants, to have people come up and introduce themselves, strangers, all the time while he's having lunch with his friends? And I walk over.

658.038 - 684.518 Cary Elwes

And my friend says, oh, Mr. Pacino, that's my friend, Cary, always, he's an actor. And he goes, oh, yeah? What are you doing right now? And I said, well, you know, I'm going up on auditions and I'm between jobs. And he goes, oh, so you're drifting. And I went, oh, great, this is great. Michael Corleone just called me a drifter. This is exactly my day is working out as planned.

Chapter 3: What insights does Cary Elwes share about his acting journey?

1174.718 - 1199.82 Cary Elwes

And he used to go up to the curtain on the stage while everyone was taking their seats. And to build up his courage, Bill, he would open the curtains and go, you're about to see a performance you've never seen before tonight. And then that gave him the strength to go out there and do that. He said that to himself. To himself. Yeah. To give him the courage and the strength.

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1199.84 - 1201.402 Bill Maher

Don't we all do that in our own way?

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1201.603 - 1202.404 Cary Elwes

Yeah, we all do.

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1202.424 - 1203.966 Bill Maher

You kind of have to psych up.

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1204.006 - 1206.99 Cary Elwes

Psych yourself up. Right before you. But he had terrible fright.

1207.03 - 1231.316 Bill Maher

Your close up is coming after lunch, Mr. Elwes, right? Are you going to go have a big fucking heavy lunch? No. No. You're going to go to your trailer. Yeah. I've always hated that. when I thought I was gonna work in the morning. That's funny. When we're fresh. Right. And they waste all morning doing the master shot, which they never use.

1231.376 - 1232.258 Cary Elwes

Right, right, never.

1232.799 - 1248.197 Bill Maher

And then, okay, after lunch, okay, so now I'm hungry. but I can't eat, because you can't act. That's hilarious. Or, by the way, fuck, if you're right after eating. I don't know why people try either one, but they do. That's hilarious. But isn't it right?

1248.257 - 1256.413 Cary Elwes

It's true, always. No, it's always unpredictable. You're on their timetable, yeah?

Chapter 4: How do different acting styles compare between Olivier and Brando?

2465.215 - 2467.763 Cary Elwes

It's what works for the individual. Absolutely.

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2468.044 - 2494.521 Bill Maher

Yeah. And by the way, people think atheists care a lot more about the subject than we do. Right. Really, we just don't give a shit. It's hilarious. No, it's true. Yeah, it's great. I was singing some songs at my birthday party the other night, and one of them had some religious-y, and I said to the people, just because I'm singing these words, I don't give a shit.

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2496.143 - 2498.306 Bill Maher

My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, I love this song.

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2498.326 - 2499.628 Unknown

One of the great spiritual songs of all time.

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2499.648 - 2529.218 Bill Maher

I'll sing along. I don't even believe that. It's like my sweet Lord can't wait to see you. That's not me. But the song is good. Mostly we don't care. We're not dogmatic about like there definitely is no God. There could be anything. Plainly there's something other than Just, well, whatever, because we're here. And is it all a dream? Is it the Matrix and we're not really living it?

2529.398 - 2553.662 Bill Maher

Or is there an alternative universe like this on another planet? Are there other planets? How did it all begin? What was before the Big Bang? I mean, I could give you a million questions that nobody can even come close to answering. Atheists are just people who go... Yeah, so we don't give a shit. And the rest of you are like, no, I think I know. Yeah. I think I know. I think I know what it is.

2553.702 - 2561.154 Bill Maher

That's hilarious. And I think I know who it is. And I think what happens is reincarnation. I think what happens is you. I don't know. Nobody knows.

2561.534 - 2575.742 Cary Elwes

Nobody knows. And if you do have the answer to that, you need to share it with all of us. No, I just believe in, I believe there is a God. I don't know if it's a male or female, I don't know. I have never met him.

2576.343 - 2583.511 Bill Maher

So I'm just saying I- If there is even such a concept as a God, it must be so beyond male and female, right?

Chapter 5: What is the nature of purgatory according to the speakers?

2983.849 - 2991.6 Bill Maher

Purgatory's like the middle. No, I know, but you're on your way to eternal damnation. I know, but still, yeah. What is purgatory like? I know in hell it's like, I don't know.

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2991.58 - 3011.66 Bill Maher

a devil hot poking you with a haven't been there i know but like we have a no but i'm just saying like people have a a mental picture of hell like you're in it's fucking hot it's the flames right the devil is poking you with his pitchfork it's just pain right like internally And heaven, we know that.

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3011.821 - 3030.261 Bill Maher

Cloud, God, whenever somebody dies, they do a cartoon of them and they're like doing the thing in heaven that they did on earth. Like Bob Hope is up in heaven with a golf club. Right. So I know what heaven is and I know what hell is. What's purgatory?

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3030.922 - 3033.484 Cary Elwes

I think purgatory, the idea is that you're on your way.

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3033.524 - 3034.906 Bill Maher

Oh, I know the idea.

3034.946 - 3051.583 Cary Elwes

Right. Dude, honestly, I didn't pay much attention to Sunday school. That was the thing for me. There was so much mythology attached to it that I was like, you had me lost on the third Sunday school class.

Chapter 6: How do Cary Elwes and Bill Maher view the impact of Hollywood on gun culture?

3051.643 - 3052.224 Cary Elwes

You know what I mean?

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3052.244 - 3074.151 Bill Maher

I don't know if you want to get involved with me on a business level, but I'm telling you, if you think... I think Purgatory is wide open. Series, epic movie. I'm thinking Ridley Scott. That's hilarious. I see you. I've worked at some shows that seemed like Purgatory. Yeah, they really did. No, I think we need a guy just like you.

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3074.191 - 3076.715 Unknown

You're the right age to run Purgatory. Okay.

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3077.035 - 3103.306 Bill Maher

You're neither a good guy nor a bad guy because you're in Purgatory. That's excellent. And it's about the dichotomy. Sure. I'm thinking Al Pacino. That's hilarious. That's hilarious. Too funny. As the OG purgatory dude. Oliver Reed is in there somewhere. Well, we wish. I know. Al could still do it.

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3103.867 - 3104.248 Cary Elwes

Yeah.

3104.268 - 3105.41 Bill Maher

Not so much Oliver Reed.

3105.55 - 3113.176 Cary Elwes

No. This is the strangest conversation I've had with anybody in a long time. It's riveting.

3113.196 - 3122.727 Bill Maher

I keep telling people Club Random is not like the other podcasts, and they just won't listen to me. I mean, I don't know what I have to do.

Chapter 7: What insights do they share about the evolution of filmmaking and storytelling?

3123.308 - 3144.683 Bill Maher

I'm doing it. No, it's great. I'm getting high and talking to somebody I like. Oh, thank you, Bill. And I just don't ever want to, like, have an agenda. It's like, it would be as ridiculous... for me to do this show with an agenda, which again, the other shows do, and that's fine. It's what we watched on TV for 70 years, talk shows.

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3145.024 - 3162.729 Bill Maher

You have a card, you have questions, but it's like if I went out to dinner with you, which I would love to sometimes, like if I showed up with a card, Before we order, Carrie, I understand that your new project is... That's hilarious. But actually, you know what?

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3162.749 - 3163.11 Cary Elwes

That's hilarious.

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3163.491 - 3166.095 Bill Maher

What is your new project? Maybe we should be plugging something.

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3166.115 - 3172.506 Cary Elwes

Okay. Stranger Things? No. Are you plugging that? That's over. Been there, done that. But I did work with somebody I worked with. Dead Man's Wire. We want to plug that.

3172.666 - 3180.201 Bill Maher

And Day Come, Oh, Don't Ring. I'm a professional, too. Not just at Pothead. although I'm gonna have a pot break.

3180.502 - 3188.737 Cary Elwes

Yeah, it's actually, Bill Skarsgård is the lead. He plays this guy called Tony Kiritsis. He's great. So he's the son of?

3189.178 - 3221.155 Bill Maher

Stellan. The best. The best. I was at the Golden Globe Sunday, and when he won, I was like, fuck, I have a chance. This woke town, I can't believe they nominated me. I can't believe that. It's hilarious. But if they gave one to Kellen Skarsgård. Stellan, yeah. Stellan, even he won it. And then a kid, the kid from the British show, the genius show on Netflix, Adolescents. Yeah, great.

3221.175 - 3230.485 Cary Elwes

The kid's amazing. He's amazing. They gave it to Skellen and they gave it to a kid? Anybody could win this thing. And then I didn't. Anyway, so it's called Dead Man's Wire. It's directed by Gus Van Zandt, who you had on the show.

Chapter 8: What personal experiences shaped Cary Elwes' views on family and acting?

3230.505 - 3247.155 Cary Elwes

Yeah. And it's based on a true story about a kidnapping that took place in Indianapolis in 1977. And Bill plays this guy. Real story. Real story, which I didn't even know about. I didn't either. Bill plays this guy called Tony Kiritsis, who believes that his mortgage broker has screwed him over.

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3247.215 - 3262.955 Cary Elwes

So he decides to take matters into his own hands and kidnaps his broker and holds him hostage in a police standoff for 63 hours and ends up airing all his grievances on TV. On live TV.

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3263.075 - 3280.213 Bill Maher

I mean, it's a very apropos movie, even though it's about the 70s for an era that we live in now where income inequality is such a big issue and people are fed up with, you know, I mean, what is the big issue now? They call it now affordability. Right. That's the new word. Right.

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3280.193 - 3308.725 Bill Maher

Which I mean it was always a word and it was always valid but right now it's like the thing affordability and just people having the idea that everybody is ripping us off and somehow like half the country can you know afford Taylor Swift tickets and you know half the country is working three jobs. Right. So in that atmosphere You know, this thing that happened in the 70s, very timely.

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3308.965 - 3312.432 Bill Maher

Very timely. You know. Very timely. So I thought it really resonated.

3312.612 - 3336.172 Cary Elwes

Oh, you saw it? Yeah. Oh, cool. Of course. Yeah, it's very much like a 70s film. Gus wanted to shoot it like Dog Day Afternoon and French Connection. He wanted to give it that. gritty feel to it. So it's really a film. It's not a movie. It's more like cinema. And we're very proud of it. Al Pacino was in it. He plays the guy who's the owner of the mortgage broker.

3336.632 - 3339.136 Cary Elwes

That must have been a nice full circle moment.

3339.156 - 3351.722 Bill Maher

It was. It was a nice Easter egg for me, definitely. No, but like You didn't have any scenes together? No, but I came and I showed up when he worked. And you reminded him of what happened?

3351.802 - 3355.708 Cary Elwes

I don't have to. I mean, you know, Al's a very important part of my life.

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