Episode 1084 - Shauna Duggins

Ke Huy Quan’s remarkable Hollywood story continues to add more storybook chapters. From coming to America as a refugee to his global stardom as a child actor to leaving acting behind for several decades to a comeback that earned him an Oscar. Now he follows that up with his name above the title of a new action comedy, Love Hurts. Ke tells Marc how all of these memories play out for him and how the vivid recent ones illuminate older memories such as fleeing Vietnam, reuniting with his family in LA, and his dejection when he couldn’t see a way to get back into acting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Helmi 20251h 21min

Noah Wyle spent 11 seasons in a fictional medical environment on the show ER. So what made him want to return to a trauma ward setting for his new series The Pitt? Noah tells Marc the reason, which had a lot to do with what he heard from real doctors, as well as why it’s meaningful for him, as a third generation Los Angeleno, to shoot the show in LA. They also talk about Noah’s compulsion to amass memorabilia and arcane collections and whether it counts as hoarding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Tammi 20251h 19min

A lot of people know Erin Brockovich’s story thanks to the movie based on her legal work in a groundwater contamination case. But the story that really guided her life is one central to her Kansas roots: The Wizard of Oz. Recorded while the worst of the LA wildfires were still raging, Erin talked with Marc about the lessons she took not just from fantasy stories but from the reality of communities that turned hopelessness into action and from the clarity that can emerge in moments of crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Tammi 20251h 13min

Sophie Buddle is living in LA and doing comedy all around the United States, but since she spent most of her life in Canada, she’s in a unique vantage point to give Marc the lowdown about the country to the north that he might one day call home. Sophie and Marc also talk about go bags, crisis management, work visas, crowd work, monologue writing, and tall poppy syndrome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Tammi 20251h 21min

Bill Burr is trying to put things to bed. Whether it’s the anger he’s held onto throughout his life, or the sadness from he’s uncovered from his childhood, or even his old tensions with Marc, Bill’s been working to move on from the past. Bill and Marc talk about reaching the age where it’s time to put up or shut up, staying calm during chaotic moments, and taking stock of losing many of their peers. They also discuss Bill’s upcoming Hulu special and his Broadway debut in Glengarry Glen Ross. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Tammi 20251h 21min

After evacuating her home and consoling family members who lost their house in the LA fires, comedian Mo Welch acknowledges that she’s visiting Marc’s garage while still somewhere on the trauma spectrum. But she’s not a stranger to that spectrum, nor to processing it, having just made a standup special that’s also a documentary about meeting her estranged father. Mo and Marc talk about her childhood instability and the comedy path that was her salvation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Tammi 20251h 21min

Richard Gadd created the Netflix series Baby Reindeer as a way to work through traumatic events in his life that were hard to process. But it became equally difficult to process the runaway success of the show and the impact it had on his life. Richard talks with Marc about how his early days doing standup in the UK and writing stage shows for himself were underscored by a lack of boundaries and a feeling that something was missing inside of him. He also explains why his follow-up to Baby Reindeer is a personal gamble. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Tammi 20251h 18min

Mike Leigh’s films are known for their observant depictions of the working class, their tragicomic tones, and their improvisational construction. But there are some misconceptions about his work that Mike would like to clear up. He does so while talking with Marc about his life-changing introduction to foreign films, his method of collaboration with his actors, the difference between realism and naturalism, and some details about the making of Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy, Naked and his new film Hard Truths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Tammi 20251h 18min