Side Dish: More with Steve Zahn

0:00Have you ever opened the fridge, stared into it for three to five minutes, and somehow convinced yourself that there's nothing to eat? I feel like I do this at least once a week, and then I remember I have a freezer full of food, and realize the problem is not that there's nothing to eat, the problem is that I have to decide what to make. It's one of the reasons I really like having butcher-box around. I can keep great proteins stocked in the freezer, so when it's 6.30 pm and everyone's hungry, I already have a plan, or at least the beginning of a plan. Butcher-box delivers 100% grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild-cot-seed food, and so much more, all source to standards that they can actually tell you about. And the boxes are customizable, which I really like. In our house, we're always going through a lot of salmon. Just unlike salmon, the kids like salmon, I like salmon, so sock-eyed salmon, good to have around. And it's also great when we're having people over because I can pull something out of the freezer and actually make a meal rather than panicking about running through the grocery store. Go to butcherbox.com slash D-O-M to get 20% off your first box, plus your choice of free

1:06ribeye, New York strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year, with free shipping always. That's butcherbox.com slash D-O-M. Again, that's butcherbox.com slash D-O-M. Make sure to use our links so that they know we sent you. I've talked about how managing my mental health has been such an important part of my life. And for me, medication has always been part of that conversation too. Finding the right treatment and the right person to help guide you through it can make all the difference. If you've been thinking, yeah, I should probably look into this, but I don't know where to start. Tuck-eye-a-tree makes the first step feel a lot less overwhelming. Tuck-eye-a-tree gives you access to real psychiatric care with licensed clinicians who can diagnose and prescribe medication if it's right for you. One thing I also appreciate is that all 800 plus tuck-eye-a-tree clinicians are in network and accept major insurers, so you can use your existing insurance instead of paying expensive out-of-network costs or another monthly subscription.

2:10And getting started is really straightforward. You complete a short online assessment, get matched with the clinician who fits your needs, and you can schedule your first visit in days, not months. Head to tuck-eye-a-tree.com slash JTF to complete the short assessment and get matched with an in-network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. That's T-A-L-K-I-A-T-R-Y dot com slash JTF to get matched in minutes. Tuck-eye-a-tree dot com slash JTF. Hey, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Here's a little side dish from this week's episode of Dinner's On Me. This week I was at first of all in West Hollywood with actor Steve Zon, who you might know, from Hulu's Chad Powers and from Apple TV's Silo, as well as films like Reality Bites and that thing you do. Over scrambled eggs in Chilli Kiles, Steve and I talk about the decision he and his wife made early on to leave New York City for a more rural lifestyle, and what it's like to

3:10build a career outside the traditional Hollywood bubble. To get back into the conversation, you're pulling up a chair as Steve and I reminisce about his quick stint on season 6 of Modern Family, where he played one half of a strange couple that moves in next door to fill in Claire. What I saw you Steve was when you were on set for Modern Family. Yeah, that was great. We didn't do any scenes together. No. I just would see you in the makeup trailer. Yeah. You and Andrea coming through. Isn't that great? That show, just doing, I don't know how many days I was on it. You did four episodes. Okay. I looked it out. It was pretty quick, right? I mean, I don't know if that was in there. Did it feel quick? Yeah. No. You guys, that was the most insanely civil, happy, like this is how you do it. It does, we were a happy group. You don't have to be a miserable one. You don't have to work. You don't work with Eric and I.

4:11That's where the misery came in. I don't know, I'm just kidding. Oh, that's so much fun. Yeah. Yeah. You guys were great. You and Andrea were great. And we just like, we'd do like one take. We'd do like, it was like really? Like a student film. Basically like a student film. Yeah. It was really fun. You guys were so great. The wacky neighbors. Yeah, I was really fun. And I mean, you're in one of those shows, man. It's like, it's rare. A water cooler show that everyone knows. Well, yeah. And I did four shows and I still put so many people. Yeah. Like, hey, you're the neighbor. No way. Yeah, it's crazy. I did one episode of Friends. What did you draw, Friends? I'll be in Germany and someone will come up and say, hey, Friends. No way. I played Phoebe's husband.

5:12I was an ice skater. I was in the ice, the ice cupades. Okay. Yeah, ice cupades. And I was Canadian. Okay. And she married me because I... I think they're in this episode. I was gay. But then I show up. And I'm like, I'm Phoebe's husband. They're like, what? She goes, no, I married him because he needed a green card to come in. Okay. But then I come out to her straight. It's hilarious. It's really funny. I just remember one line. She's like, how are your parents taking this? I'm like, they're cool. My brother's straight. So it's just a reversal. It was really funny. I love that. Anyway. I mean, that was such a... I mean, that show was such a colossal cultural moment. It is still. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I'm going to... Later today is James Burrow's memorial service. I think I'm going to see a lot of the cast of friends there. I would say...

6:12Probably Lisa, I assume. Say hi. I will. In Jennifer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did a movie with her. It was one of my favorite movies. What did you do with her? No one's seen it. It's called Management. I don't know. Stephen Belver wrote it. Great fly right. Directed it. It was so much fun. It was just one of those like... Whoa, hey, what's your... You know, what's your favorite... You know, whatever. You know, like, that's impossible to answer. What's your favorite movie? Yeah. But that was one of my favorite movies. Really? It was just... Couldn't stop laughing, man. I mean, we just couldn't... It was so fun to make. So interesting. Isn't it? Yeah, I mean, it definitely puts into perspective the meaning of what success is. And, you know, when you are in this industry, specifically like it's a writer or an actor or a director, you know, you put out a product or something that you're proud of and it's really about, you know, how you feel about it.

7:16It affects you and hopefully it affects other people. But, you know, we do base success in this industry specifically on how much money it makes or how... Right. Yeah. So it is... It does... You know, it's interesting that the things that people do respond to are these things that maybe didn't have an impact in the way that executives might have wanted them to. But... I think it felt something and they said, oh, you've got to watch this movie. Yeah. And that's how it works. Right? I mean, that's how it works. Yeah. You watch the movie and go, oh, I have a friend that's going to love this. And it's just the old way of... You can't get away from that. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Steve Zahn talks about the Wild Tonal Balancing Act of Chad Powers and why he thinks season two is even better than season one. And the scene partner who completely surprised him.

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9:24And we're back with more dinners on me. Chad Powers specifically has a tone that I really respond to. It does play like a drama that's very funny. Yeah. And the stakes are incredibly high. And people mean what they say. And it's like, you know, they are... It's very rooted in reality. And then the premise on top of that is wildy ridiculous. It's sort of like this is not far meets Ted Lasso or something. You know, how is this going to work? How is this going to work? And that was so compelling to me. And I was like, yeah, absolutely did this. This is insane. Yeah. And I'm so glad I did. Yeah, it's season two. I'm so happy we're back for season two. Because the season one ends on a clip hanger. I'm not sure if you're going to make it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The whole thing. Or they should heart attack. I live. Yeah, you live. But like season two is better than season one. You think? Yeah. I know. It's such a...it's crazy. And it's not Ted Lasso.

10:25It's, you know, people... Oh, it's a football... No. The tone is much more... He's bounded down than it is. You know, it's kind of raw. No TV show, like Friday Night Lights was not about football. It was about families. You know, Ted Lasso was not about soccer. It was about... It's something I've been saying, you know. I mean, that's the same way I felt about... About chat hours. It's...it's... And it's got a grey tone. It's got a grey tone. And you all are grey. It's so fun. I love the relationship between you and your daughter. Oh, Harry? Yeah. She's grey. She's... At first, I was like... I was like... I don't know. What are you doing? Like, I was... She was so good that it confused me. It was like... The first couple scenes we did together. She was so understated. Yes. I had to lean in to hear her. You know, and that kind of... And then, when I watched...

11:25And then we just headed off. We're very close. And then, season... I watched it. And I just... I just... I'm centered along as Ted's just going... You are a master. Yeah. Totally had me. Oh my God. And now I know what you're doing. Yeah. I missed it. I was... I was sitting right in front of you. I was pretending to be... Is it an under-... I've had these moments, too, with the actors. We're like, I'll be in a scene with them. I was like, I don't know if this is... And then, somehow, I watch it on film. And it's... It's the opposite of what I expected. Like, the film has captured them in a way that they know... That they know what they're doing. And they're not explaining it to anyone else. No. But they know how it's going to look. My instinct is to go like, I'm doing something. So this is the thing. You know, it's intentional. I'm sucking intentionally. It's like the Steve McQueen. Yeah. Like Steve McQueen was on... Like, bizarre... I was like... Is he... Amazing? Or does he suck? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, you know what I mean? Like, in the greatest game, you're like, what movie are you in?

12:26Yeah. Like, and he's brilliant. Yeah. You know, Glenn Powell. Title character chap powers. I think... He's so good. Yeah. That again, you don't even think about it. You're focusing on other people. You're focusing on Perry and Neen. You know. Yeah. He's... It's that good. Yeah. How do you... And a guy in his position? That's the show you do? Yeah. I told him, first time in Met him, I was like, dude. Big swing. You're taking a big swing. Yeah. Yeah. You're neither a connector, you don't. Yeah, yeah. You know? Yeah. It's cool. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Steve tells me about inviting his, that thing you do, co-star, live Tyler to his farm. And how he got the attention of Ben Stiller, leading to his role in the cult classic film, Reality Bites. And the role he was up for in a cult classic film that he didn't get. Okay, be right back.

13:28One thing I've learned about having a home that you really love is that sometimes even the smallest thing makes a room feel, oh, not quite right. And for me, that's often been the rug. For starters, figuring out the size of the rug you want is it's so confusing. You look at a room, you measure, and then you order one. And suddenly, it's either floating in the middle of the room or swallowing up the entire space. There's apparently a very specific mathematical formula to this that I have never been taught. And that is why I was intrigued when I found out about Ernesto. They make custom size rugs that are cut to the inch for your exact space. So you're not just hoping that a standard size is going to work. I have a very odd shaped hallway that is a bit wide, but also very long. And I want to run her for it. And I've tried to put rugs in the space. They either look like a tiny little landing strip in the middle of the room or like they're going wall to wall. And it's just not the right size. So I am absolutely so excited that Ernesto can help me with this sort of odd space that I'm navigating.

14:29Visit Ernesto.com and order five samples for only $10. And you'll get $50 toward any rug you choose. That's er nesta.com. And we're back with more dinners on me. The Tyler came out and visited me and I got a very tractor. Really? Yeah. Oh, that's very sweet. I have to show you a picture of it. Please do. Please do. Which is so great. I was friendly with Andrew Anders, our mutual friend, Andrew Anders, who you did a modern family with. Yes. Was dating Matt LeVlocke. I went out to his farm a few times and he put me on like... on vehicles that do other things. You know, vehicles that also know, vehicles that also plow, vehicles like vehicles that you ride but also that accomplished tasks. Right. And I did understand the appeal of it.

15:33I did understand it. Like I was into it. Like what was the vehicle? Like an excavator or something like that. Like this thing? It was one of these. No, I don't know if it was an excavator. I think it was like a... I don't know. Like just something that you get around the property on. Like a side by side. Sure. Like a little Jeep. Yeah, I think it was. But I feel like he used to do things as well. I accomplished tasks. Here it is. Ring things around of Hellamuse. Oh, like a little Bob, a Skidsteer. Sure. I don't know. So, so, live one of the pictures. Sure. Okay. That was like a classic, Kentucky picture. Okay. Let's see. Oh. Well, that's classic. Oh, my God. What's happening with you? What happened? I put a little thing in my... You sure did. I was missing a tooth. You sure did. This is hilarious. And while they adorable. Yeah, that's her. That's great. That's fun.

16:33That's great. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And that's her on a tractor. It's beautiful there. It's great. Yeah, it's really fun. Oh, I feel tired. Well, that's just cool. Yeah. There's was some kind of 많이 atmosphere at the store. I just thought about more than what you could tell by the difference. I don't see why, but, to be honest. Would that look up to Ed? John, you look up lost to me. Definitely not. I voorstied bearing the payment. And I like with the parents and the kids, Dr. Walgerman. Waugh. Let me talk about the picture at the hospital. Yeah. Thank you. What happened? It's like a moment of a game these kids are so massive. Uh oh. Why? ZAE Nic Hadond. Sure. Everything's going to be crazy. and an obvious inner diaper and our diapers is so soft and wet and it's down to our knees and it's above our fireplace. And I look at it now and I see the trees behind them. And they're like this, and now they're like this. And it's a great reminder of like, wow, I am so insignificant man. And look, I'm older. Now these trees touch.

17:35It's really cool. I mean, it's, I can see the appeal of it. But you have to, you know, you have to like that. I would say you have to want that. I think I would maybe feel a little stir crazy, but I think I would actually adapt to that lifestyle much better than my husband would. Yeah. Even when we moved from Los Feliz, which is a fuzzy neighborhood here in Los Angeles to Encino, which is more residential, I mean, it's a bit of a suburbia, not quite suburbia. I wouldn't call it suburbia, but it's definitely quieter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He got nervous that like we were doing not too simple. Like he was like, I'm going to feel stir crazy, even just in Encino. So, but I can understand the appeal, space, and being away from the industry for sure. Have you all, you've always lived? We always did. So, robbing my wife. Yes. And I met years and years ago. Any ortho, right? Yes. Okay. We met doing the National Tour of By-By-Burdy.

18:36Who did you play? You go. Um, okay, wow. You go Peabody. Wow. The Romantic League. Yes. Jean Sacks directed. It was like, oh, I don't. Tommy Tune and Anne Ranking. I remember that tour. I didn't see it, but I remember one of these going on. We went out for like 13 months. So, and I met her on that. And we moved to home. And then she played. She played, it was like Mary Sue. Okay. You know, she was in the 12th announcement. Yes. Yeah. She was one of them. And, um, and when we got back, you know, it's that, that, that tour money. You're like, I'm really rolling in it. Yeah. Cause I haven't, I've just saved up money. Because you also get a Pardium. Right. Yeah. And there's, there's loopholes. You can like stay with other friends and save your rents. You save them so much money. Thank the Pardium. Oh yeah. And I got a moment. And so we decided we're gonna buy a cabin. Okay. A weekend place in the Polkanoes.

19:36Nice. And we did. And then we didn't work. And then three weeks later, we're like, we have to get out of our apartment. We have to move out here. So we were forced to move to this cabin, and we were doing shows in New York. So we commuted. So we were forced to, but then it became a way of life. Yeah. And back then, no one did that. Oh, now everyone's doing that in New York. Because everyone has things out of it. So we were kind of the first of, and then, you know, we did more jobs and things, and then we bought a farmhouse just across the river in Jersey. And then we went, moved to a farm. So we always had this existence outside. For me, it's like, well, I'm not, I don't purposely step away from the industry. Because I feel like- Well, that's all we're all saying here in town. I mean, why are you not here? Everyone's talking about it. Well, here's the thing. Like, I always kind of felt like maybe I was missing out on stuff.

20:37For sure. But it was the sacrifice, right? It was like, why, I love this life. And I want to live here. I like to, I like to darken it. I like to fish. And I like to fix stuff or whatever. But I know that I probably did miss out on being a part of a group of people that worked together or whatever. And I don't know what that is. So it doesn't bother me. Yeah. But I don't know. I don't know. Sometimes I think like, I see, I see. Why something feels like that? Really feel outside. Yeah. I've always felt like that. Yeah. Well, that's, I mean, that's interesting. Because your career would like say differently. Like, could I just look at your career? And I feel like you've always been like kind of part of the cool projects and like doing a lot of the really interesting, you know, you look at your timeline. And there's like every decade is like three or four super significant moments.

21:39Yeah, no. And so I feel like even, you know, it's just proof and point. I mean, like, you don't necessarily have to be in this city to be to how that worked. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But we said like, I don't think knowing what everyone is doing and what is the new thing or whatever doesn't necessarily make me a better actor. No. But, but, but living with, in my little town and maybe that makes me a better actor. Yeah. Because, you know, because I'm just out there. Perspective, too, I think, is always great. I mean, listen, it's working and I don't want you to change it. Don't worry about what we're saying here. Would you, when you first started though, like with reality bites, for example, yeah, that were you, you were living where? I was in New York. Okay. So that was, well, no, reality bites we were at the cabin.

22:43You are? We already, we were out there. So even at the beginning of your career, it's like you were like, I was doing, you know, play at playwrights horizons. I'm going to drive in. I do a player at playwrights horizons. I do a little bit. I did a play called Sophistry. Okay. With, with Ethan. Yes. Johnson Mark Sherman wrote it. He was in it. Call of stuff. Lockhart. Oh, no way. Dick Latessa. Dick Latessa. Oh. Just a great human being. Yeah. He was awesome. She was a real theater kid. Yeah. At the beginning of your career. Yeah, that's it. That's all I wanted to do. You met Ethan at ARC, right? No. I was at ART and then I came to New York and it was Sophistry. Oh, okay. Got it. And I got that part and then we hit it off and we became very close. And then we worked like for two years straight on everything. We did Sophistry. We did reality bites. We went back to Sophistry. We had a little theater group of, um, a company.

23:44Yeah. Called Malapar. And we released the theater that was like three doors down. It was like on the corner there. It was like an old, burlesque. Which street? Which street? On New York? Just three doors down from playwright's horizons. Okay. So playwright's horizons was, well, it's in the same, I think it's the same way. Yeah. But that street has changed significantly. Oh, I mean, it was, that's a old theater. Yeah. So this, you were talking about like nine, nine years. Yeah, yeah. It was great. It was a shit box. Oh, my God, man. So I'm in a movie, you know, like I never thought I'd be in a movie. Right. I just thought it'd just be in theater. Did you, did you, were you a part of that because of your relationship with, with Ethan? Yeah. How did that happen? Um, me, I think Ben came to see the play. You're doing his office street. And then I auditioned and Ben liked me.

24:45And I remember coming to LA and doing the whole like test, you know, and I was like, you know, the other guy, you know, we're all, like, man, you know, that, remember the old days? Yeah. It was different. So different. Yeah, the first time I came to LA for a job, I, I was to test for the sitcom called The Class that James Broll is directed. And it was like, I remember going into the, the room where we were all waiting before the test for the network in the studio. And when the other actors who were reading from my role found out that I had been flown in from, from New York, I was immediately like so much more of a threat because they all knew each other because they, I was my first time in LA. And they flew me because I was doing a musical. They flew me into test for it. And they were like, what, I haven't seen you around. Like, I was like, oh, I'm in, I'm in New York. And they're like, I mean, there, there's one. Yeah. And then I got it. Yeah.

25:45Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember those, was it like, oh, it was me, like I was up for office space. And I went, and I went, yeah. And I remember like going to the kind of last, you know, audition with Ron. Ron Livingston. Yeah. And we were both like, hey, my, yeah, your mom is a minister. My dad's a minister. Like, we hit it off and it was just really cool. And now we're friends, you know what I mean? So it's just, it's just interesting. Like, reality bites of no wily. No way. Yeah. It was the two of you at the party. And then in the end, you know, everything just kind of, we all get other jobs. And it's just interesting. That was a little more from my conversation with Steve's on.

26:47If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check it out on Dinners on Me. This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at first of all in West Hollywood, California. Next we gun Dinners on Me. You know him from Broad City, Narcos. And he's currently starring in the film Matchbox, The Movie. It's Arturo Castro. We'll get into how impactful Broad City was on his career and the lessons he took from the creators of that show. And what it's like starring alongside the likes of Jessica Biel and John Cena in a huge franchise film. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music and Artignment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. And Barry engineered this episode. Hans Dail Shee composed our theme music. Special thanks to Tameka Balanced Kalazny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.

27:53On days off from Jesus Car Superstar in London this past summer, we would head out to the English countryside for a little family reset. The boys were in heaven. They were running around, looking at farm animals, getting as muddy as possible. Justin was thriving, taking runs in the morning. And I finally had an excuse to sit quietly with my kindle for a few minutes without feeling guilty. Now, trips like this always remind me that vacations aren't exactly cheap. So here's something I really didn't think about until Airbnb. While you're away, your home could actually be working for you when you listed on Airbnb. It's such a practical way to bring a little extra income and put it towards your own travel plans. And if the idea of hosting sounds intimidating, Airbnb has this great thing called the co-host network. It's made up of experienced local hosts who can help manage your listing, take care of your home, and help your guests have a great stay while you're away. So you can enjoy your vacation without worrying about what's going on back home.

28:55Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host.