Nathan Lane
Appearances
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
No. I'm sure I got nervous. Like, oh, I better be funny. Something like that. I'm sure.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yes, as Irishmen, sure. The dark humor and self-deprecating. And also something that I, Samuel Beckett vibe, we bring to every party.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Oh, well, it was, you know, my father was an alcoholic, became an alcoholic. Really, I was born, my mother had me when she was 40. And not long after, he started drinking really heavily and essentially drank himself to death. And my mother then sort of had a kind of breakdown after his death and her own mother's death. And she... eventually was diagnosed as bipolar.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Then it was called manic depression. It was a difficult childhood in that I had to grow up fast. I sort of became the adult. My two older brothers were going to college. They were sort of on the way out, although they were very much involved. And
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
But when I was going to high school, it was just my mother and myself, and she was going through these phases of depression and manic behavior and in and out of mental hospitals. And I never really had much of a relationship with my father. He died when I was 11. I can remember saying to my brother, my oldest brother, Dan, You know, we were going to the funeral, and I said, I was upset.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I said to him, I said, I can't cry. I'm supposed to be crying now. My father died, and I can't cry. He said, that's all right. He said, you feel how you feel, and that's not important. Yeah.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah, yeah. I mean, this is... And he was not the healthiest guy in the world himself. Yeah, you know, yeah, he was, well, you know, he was a teacher. And he certainly, and he was my oldest brother who got me interested in the theater and reading. And, you know, he became sort of a father figure.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yes, you find your... You know, you have to find the person who laughs at your jokes and gets it. And gets what you're talking about.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
I think, you know, honestly, I can remember as a child, like, doing, they would say, I would get up and do impressions. I would try to entertain the family. And I had, like, a bad club act. And then I was in a, you know, a grammar school play. I remember getting a laugh in that and thinking, oh, this was like blood to a vampire. Yes, yeah.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And then in high school, I started to do plays and it was social. It was finding your people. But it was just I didn't I didn't think it could be a profession. Right. Nor did I. And and then nearing the end of high school, I realized maybe I could. My brother would also not only encouraged me, but he took me to see theater in New York to see theater. plays on Broadway and off Broadway.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And sometimes with classes that he was teaching, he would take a class and I would go with him. And I would, you know, that first experience of watching the curtain go up and the lights on the stage and thinking, I'd like to be a part of that. I think maybe I could do that. Yeah. And the excitement of just the ritual of it all.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
People quieting down as the curtain goes up and there's, you know, nothing quite like it.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
No, I'm, you know, I'm here making this multicam mid-century modern. And every Tuesday night when we tape it, it's like you feel the adrenaline and you think, you know, you want it to go well. And there's because of this process, which is sort of a whirlwind process. And I was saying to someone today, it's really more of a writer's process. It's their sort of rewriting. This is multicam.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And they rewrite throughout the week. Yes. It's sort of thrilling. It's all flying by the seat of your pants. But it's also like, is this acting or am I just repeating what you said to me three seconds ago? Right. But somehow it all comes together. But I certainly, before we start, I feel that kind of the thing you feel before a live performance. The thing you felt as a kid. Yes.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
No, I, yeah. I thought he had to talk you into it or that you were... No, okay. I'll, forgive me if you've heard this before, but... Originally, you know, Mike, the great Mike Nichols and Elaine May have wanted to do that, an American remake of La Cacha Fall for a very long time and then finally gotten the rights. And it was supposed to be Steve Martin and Robin Williams.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And Robin was going to play the part I wound up playing. Then Steve, there was another obligation. It wasn't going to work out. And then Robin decided, I've just done Drag and Mrs. Doubtful. I'm sorry. I've been ignoring you people. No, no, they're to be ignored. They are to be ignored. I can only make one new friend at a time.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
So I don't know what you're doing with the rest of the afternoon, but maybe lunch and I can deal with you and your childhoods. But so Robin decided after Mrs. Doubtfire, maybe I shouldn't play the drag part and that the acting challenge would be playing the more subdued character. And so it opened up that role. And and he might came to see me and laughed on the 23rd floor.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I had met him briefly once. And, you know, it's like meeting God. And then he came backstage, which he had never done. And he said. dear boy, I'd like to talk to you about a movie. And I was like, oh, you want to go see one?
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And can I call you? And he did. And then so the next day it was this is happening and it's Elaine is writing the adaptation and Robin Williams is going to play the other part. And I said, so I would I would be the drag queen. And he said, yes. I said, well, that's that's a very good part. And he said, yes, it is. And I said, okay. And I couldn't believe it was happening.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Now, this is, you can cut me off at any point. No, no, no. I love this. It's a long story. So we also kind of did a, he wouldn't make it, he wouldn't refer to it as a screen test, but they wanted to see what I would look like in drag and all of that. And he made it fun. And I sang a song and, you know, many outfits by the great Anne Roth, the costume designer.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And then I was supposed to do a funny thing happen on the way to the Forum. They were building this around me. And Scott Rudin called me, the producer of Forum, and he said, He's not going to make that movie. That's never going to happen. He's it's never going to work out. You know, it's and he went on and I and and I had to because of the scheduling, I had to turn it down.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
I had to say, you know what? I can't really leave these people in the lurch they've been building and the time frame now that you're talking about. I couldn't, I can't do that to them.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah. I will not co-star in your film. So, so I said, okay, I, you know, and I told them and, and then I would hear from, I would see Mike Nichols. I was, this is, I was talking about this the other day. I would see him from time to time. He would like it once. This was, this was afterwards. There was a, there was a period where there was a period where maybe Robin wasn't going to do the movie.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
this is how long this went on. And maybe, you know, he would say, how do you feel about Billy Crystal? I'm nobody. You know what I mean? And I would say, I love Billy Crystal. Why are you asking me? You know, and then, you know, one day he came up to me and we were at a benefit and he said, Robert Redford. I said, is he here? He said, no, Robert. He said, Robert Redford as your husband.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I said, well, if you can work that out, all my dreams will come true. And so, and then, so anyway, finally, I think Robin, it was, yeah, he was going to play the other part. And then he calls me, he was in Ireland and he says, Nathan, and I'm in my dressing room at laughter of the third, 23rd floor. And he says, Nathan, I keep, I'm meeting people, but I think you're the person.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I said, I said, Mr. Mike Nichols, I have no power here. Perhaps if you called Scott Rudin, something could be arranged. He said, yes.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
He called you dear boy. Yeah, and it has a power to it. Oh, yes. And so the next day, Scott Rudin said, you really want to do this movie?
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And he said, it means we have to postpone a year. And I said, I know. I said, I know. I turned it down. He said, OK. And then it wound up, of course, helping us with Forum, because by the time Forum opened, the movie had come out. And I was not just this New York actor who was, you know, had lucked out in getting this the lead in this musical.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
But it was always the guy from that film that's doing well. Right. So it was Jason Alexander, Jason Alexander. And so it so it's one thing helped the other. And, you know, so I'm grateful to Scott Rudin, Mike Nichols, Robin Williams. It was, you know.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah, we just did this thing at the Hollywood Bowl. I think it's airing soon. It was a 30th anniversary, I can't believe that, concert of Jennifer Hudson and a lot of people from the original cast and the new people and people from the Broadway show. It was quite the extravaganza. But it was fun to be reunited with Ernie Sabella, who played Pumbaa, and he's an old friend.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah. Again, sort of like, you know, as a kid seeing those Disney films and I was always sort of fascinated by the voice actors. And so to wind up doing that and with a movie that started as something called King of the Jungle and nobody seemed to be excited about it. And and and then auditioning for Hyenas, you know, three hyenas. And then Ernie happened to be there.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
You know, we were both doing Guys and Dolls on Broadway at the time. Yeah. And he he had gone in first and he was going to leave. And he said, I'll I'll stay with him and get lunch. We and I said, well, would it be all right if he came in and we read together? Because it's three hyenas and it'll give me someone to play off of and, you know, might be fun. And.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And then, you know, like two months later, they said, well, we're developing these two, you know, sidekick characters that are the comic relief and a warthog and a meerkat. I said, great. My dream. My dream. You know, and then we started. It was like a two year process. And you they show you drawings. And we said to them, well, what do you how do you want them to sound? And and they wanted it.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
him to be lower pitched and me to have a higher pitched voice. But they said, you're doing Guys and Dolls, so they should be like Damon Runyon characters, you know, in the Serengeti. And so Ernie was just doing, he does a combination of, no one will remember, a character actor named Wallace Beard. Oh, yeah. Who used to talk like this. And then also a little bit of Michael Gotso from The Godfather.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Who's really high up here? You know, Michael. You know that he does. So he does a combination of that. And I'm just doing a, you know, Brooklyn Jewish meerkat. That old thing. That old thing. And yeah, that's how to sort of how they came to life. And then Ernie used to this was the big joke was that we would.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
We're doing a show eight times a week and we go in to record very early and, you know, we're tired. And so I'd be having coffee and we're going to start and Ernie would just start making fart noises in the middle of, you know, he'd say, just to make me laugh and get me going. And then they put it in the movie. Which is why Pumbaa is the first flatulent character in a Disney film.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
To make you chuckle. Yes. You know, little, you know, we improvise. They use a little of it. I mean, apparently, I don't even remember half of it, but they, apparently I said, you know, what do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula? For some reason, it must have been a long day. And then they made it a song.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I think it might be hard for you. Sure. It's funny you say that. My husband was here visiting and we had dinner. I had a birthday recently and we were sitting there and I said to him, you know, it's taken me such a long time to say.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
You know, I really appreciate, maybe it's age, I just appreciate, I have a lot of gratitude for what I've been able to accomplish with the, you know, so much about luck.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
an opportunity when it and you know as aina garden says be ready when the luck happens and yeah but you you know i i the the amount of talented writers and actors and directors i've gotten to work with and and it's you know it's i'm very grateful and and uh and and it's something to
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Not only be proud of, but just not that you're resting on your laurels, but you feel like, you know, I have accomplished something. Yeah. And then it's meaningful to people and whether it's, you know, the Lion King or the Birdcage or these... you know, huge, there were huge things in my life and that it, and they meant something to someone is, you know, means everything.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And they're not going to buy, Nathan, that you can't get them a ticket. What do you do about that? The sanitation workers were a big demographic for that show. But, yeah, you know, that kind of thing. I mean, like, you know, there's Hamilton and either that was sort of another one. But that was I think that show was kind of it was about, obviously, Mel Brooks, you know. Sure. Yeah. That genius.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And but it was also kind of a zeitgeist hit. You know, you would come out of a long period of the dark British musicals and there hadn't been anything that was kind of a return to old fashioned musical comedy. Unapologetic. Unapologetic, you know, you know, a sort of a Valentine and yet satirical at the same time.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And and with, you know, one of arguably one of the greatest comic plots ever conceived. Yes. And so we need this thing to fail.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Isn't it? It's just the beauty of that. So, you know, and I certainly was this huge fan of the film. I literally saw the film for the first time in a revival house here in L.A. And with an audience filled, screaming their heads off. And I was like, Zero Mostel, I've never seen anyone so huge on screen. Yeah. Physically and emotionally, and yet truthful. Yeah. And gritty and just hilarious.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And the combination of him and Gene Wilder. And so the notion that when all of that started percolating, I started to hear he's writing a musical. David Geffen is trying to talk him into writing this musical based on the movie. And I thought, well, it is a backstage story. It makes sense, you know, and. And then somebody mentioned, you know, they had talked to him about it.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And then I was in, this was the weekend, I hate to mark it this way, but it was the weekend Princess Diana died. And he wasn't my husband then, but my now husband and I were at the Ritz in Paris. We went down to the pool and in the pool was Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft. And my husband's favorite actress was Anne Bancroft. And he turned to me and he said, that's Anne Bancroft.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
He said, I'm too nervous. I can't swim in front of Anne Bancroft. He went upstairs. So I said, okay. And then I went to the pool and I had met them. Thank you. This is like the benchmark laughter on the 23rd floor. They came, they had come to see it because there was a character based on Mel in the play about which he said, that character based on me, it's a tissue of lie.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
But I loved it. Anyway, he, you know, we said hello and I got in the pool and she and was swimming laps. She left and he stayed in the pool with me, which I thought odd. And then he swam over to me and he said, I'm working on a musical based on my movie, The Producers. And I think you and Marty Short are the only two people in the world to play those parts. And I was like, wow.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
I said, that would be thrilling. I would be so honored. And then, you know, time passed. He had to write it with Tom Meehan. And then, you know, Marty had just done, you know, brilliantly, Little Me. He won the Tony. And he spent a lot of time in New York. Didn't want to be away from the family again that long. And so... Someone brilliantly suggested Matthew Broderick.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I thought, in some ways, that's a better combination. Yes. His energy and my energy, as it turned out it was. And he was sensational. And it was the beginnings of this journey that we took together, being in the middle of that tornado. Yeah. And you think... Oh, you know, you know, you'll never the hype. You know, how can you live up to the hype?
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
The great thing, as you said, you know, all these people, it's Barbara Walters and Kofi Annan are here after the show. You know, you go, really? Wow. It's Bishop Desmond Tutu. Loved it. He's coming up the stairs. So you go, wow. Mrs. O'Brien is here. Alan Greenspan. Yeah. And, you know, it was people like that. You couldn't believe it. But the people I loved would be like Harvey Korman. Sure.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Coming back and saying, when you did that little piece of physical comedy and you go, these are people who understand what it is we're doing in a way. Also, these are people that you watched...
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
It's not going to get better than this. Tim Conway. Yes, exactly. I met him. You know, these people you idolized. Or Carol. I mean, Carol Burnett, you know, came back and she got emotional. And she said, you know, this reminds me of the old days of what Broadway was like. And it's like, you know, Mel is throwing this huge party and you and Matthew are the hosts. And it's, you know, it just was...
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah, it was that, especially in the beginning, that show, you know, the joy of it and the anarchy of it, like anything could happen. Yeah. Because it had that, you know, that tone to it. Yeah, that's kind of a once in a lifetime thing. No, it's not, because I've got a new idea.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Oh, Spartacus. The musical. Spartacus the musical. And I think you're perfect. Yeah. Not as Spartacus. No. I'm his lawyer.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Well, you know, in the theater, she's a beloved figure, Tony Award winning actress. Famously, I remember seeing her in Neil Simon's play Broadway Bound. She played his mother. And, you know, it's one of the greatest stage performances I've ever seen. And we knew each other just in passing. You know, I was just a fan and we would see each other occasionally.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And we'd always say, I hope we get to work together someday. Yeah. So when this happened, it was this whole thing has been an incredibly happy experience, a rare thing. And it's all the people who, you know, Jimmy Burroughs. Yeah. The director. I've always again.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Taxi. Yeah. You know, and it's created by Max Muchnick and David Cohan, who created Will and Grace. And they've put together this tremendous writer's room with Jimmy there and what they're doing. And then just the casting is everything. And so Linda was... I don't know. That's another podcast, maybe. But it's been... It was... tragic and shocking and then emotional.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And then they took a week, they pushed a week so that they could write an episode that deals with the death of her character and also where the show is going to go going forward. And they did a beautiful job and it was overwhelmingly emotional. But she was... You would not believe she was 87 years old.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
I mean, she was just... And then you put her in front of an audience and, you know, she was, as Jimmy would say, with a joke, she was like a heat-seeking missile. She was just brilliant.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah, no, she was just I mean, in general, she was a great actress. I mean, she could do drama or comedy, but she was so brilliant. This this sort of thing. And and and we just it's just been a very happy family. Matt Bomer and an actor named Nathan Lee Graham, who are sensational. And Matt, who I feel like he's going to be the.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
The revelation for a lot of people because, you know, he's a big, handsome glute, but also a wonderful, serious actor. But he's riotously funny. Yeah. And so it's been... It was an ordeal to get through because... And then we did this very emotional episode and we felt like we honored her. And then I started to get vertigo. And I'd had it...
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Hi, my name is Nathan Lane, and I feel... It's about fucking time I was asked to be Conan O'Brien's friend.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Since we've done therapy, I thought we'd now get to the more medical side of my life. I can handle that as well.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Isn't it always? So I had this about a year ago, what's called positional vertigo. And then there's a thing called the Epley Maneuver, which, you know, sounds like a bad off-Broadway play. The Epley Maneuver. Playing at the village gate. Anyway, and it usually goes away after a couple of days and some Dramamine. So this time, it really hit me. And I went to an ENT. They gave me a cortisone shot.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
But I'm holding on to walls. My equilibrium really thrown. And so I Google vertigo. And the first thing that comes up is vertigo. the Dizzy and Vertigo Institute of Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. And the pictures look nice and they look professional. Never go by the picture. And I'm like desperate. So I go back. So I make an appointment and I go back to the ENT the next day, Dr. Schnittman.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And Dr. Schnittman says it's not positional vertigo. And I said, well, I'm going to the Dizzy Institute. Right after this. This isn't real. Which sounds like.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And so he says, that's where I was going to send you. And I said, great. And so I go and it's a very, it's a real serious place. And they were incredible. And they put me through a series of tests like a NASA astronaut. In a chair, you go upside down. All these tests, eye and ear coordination. And they said, what you have is called labyrinthitis, which is a virus you get in the inner ear.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I got it in the left inner ear, which was causing severe vertigo and nausea.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
So the ENT put me on prednisone, and then I had to do a series of exercises, you know, and what's called vestibular therapy. And again, we had to cancel a week so I could get over this, and now we did the taping we were supposed to do last week, last night.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
I said, I told this to Tina. I ran into Tina Fey. I told her about the Dizzy Institute. She said, you don't want to go to that parking garage. It's a very dangerous place.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
No, thankfully. Thankfully, I feel great. And it's yeah, I made a recovery. But it was it's a weird thing. Yeah. Yeah. It's but it's been it's it's you know, my I have a dicey history with the multicamp. Most people do. The first one was not my fault. It was Mickey Rooney's series called One of the Boys. Dana Carvey and I did, I'm sure. Yes. You've discussed this with him.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah. Bang. Zoom. I heard it all. But that was 13 and out. And then I did an episode of Frasier and I was nominated for an Emmy. And they said, you know, if you ever want to do this, we'd love to develop something for you. I said, OK. They had won the Emmy five years in a row. We did. It was not the right fit. 13 and out.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Then I did a show with a writer for CBS, Jeff Richman, an old friend, wonderful writer from Modern Family. He wrote a show, you know, did not work out. And you didn't really get much support from Les Moonves, Salt of the Earth, Les Moonves. Right. So, you know, I was like, that's it's just never going to work out for me. That's fine. You know, I tried.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
You know, it's a miracle when those when friends or those things come together. Yes. And this time I have to say working with. But these are the best of the best. Yeah. Jimmy Burrows is standing there with an eye for comedy that's, you know, it's incredible in how they're putting this all together and the writers and the thing. And you're like, I can't believe this.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And it feels like, and I love these people. And that's really important at this point in my life. Yes, yes. That we're, As Marty says, it's about the hang. You know, they're an example on like when I did Only Murders in the building. They set the tone. Like you feel good about going to work and having fun and doing good work.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah, yeah. And you get in this format, you're getting something else. Yes. People are more relaxed. This is nice. This is a real, much more real conversation than, you know, when you're playing to an audience.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Well, will you be my friend? No. No.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Well, that's – aside from the murder accusation, that was an incredibly kind and moving thing to say. You know, as someone who – in the public eye, you know, as you –
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
You know, especially, you know, when doing a Broadway show eight times a week and people when people do come back, it is awkward because they don't unless they're theater veterans and they understand the etiquette of no matter what, even though it's a terrible show, you hated it. You say that was the greatest night of my life. And thank you for a wonderful performance. And you leave.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
As opposed to walking in and saying, I have some issues with the play.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
You know, there are those people. Right. But you have to, I think as you get older, you learn to be gracious. And also you have to take the ball and say, I'm so glad you're here. And you fill, you fill in. And then if they're able to say something, that's great. But you make them feel good about what they just experienced. I mean, very often what you want to say is, I wish you were here last night.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
You know, the matinee didn't go so well. Yeah. You know, you've got to make it a positive for them.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yes. You know, it's that that's a part of the gig, you know, and you and then, you know, yeah, you go off and go to go to immediately to bed. But Yeah, it's I mean, it's why I don't want I wouldn't want to do it. I don't want to I wouldn't want to be in the middle of a musical anymore. Eight times a week. I just it's for it's a young man's game because it's just it's like being a quarterback.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Yeah. No, you can't. Yeah. When you're with that kind of energy. Yeah.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
Like, I don't know how he... Well, there was just many years of just a lot of drinking. Let's point out there, if you're out there and you have trouble sleeping, drinking is the message we have for you. That really helps. You know, I think it's just, look, you know those days when you would go out, if it didn't go well, you would go out and have drinks? Yep.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And if it did go well, you went out and had drinks. Yes. And, you know, you could get away with it in your youth. Yes. But that changes as you get older. It's, yeah, you just go to bed a little later. It takes a while to come down from all of that.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
But I think what's- Remember that one time I saw you, we were at the Angelica Cinema. You know what?
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
And I was like, it was like seeing your teacher, you know, at the supermarket. I was like, it's Conan and I can see his legs. And you were with this gorgeous woman. That's my wife. And it was so, I was happy to see you, but I was like, this is awkward because he doesn't have cards. He's not going to ask me that question where I have a great bed I wrote.
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Nathan Lane
I thought what was awkward is that I did immediately produce cards.