WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

Don Gavin has Boston in his bones, so much so that he’s still cold even after moving to Florida. Marc reminisces with Don about their stand-up days in New England, where Don’s kindness and encouragement of younger comics helped earn him the moniker The Godfather of Boston Comedy. But it didn’t start in Boston for Don. He drove cross-country to become a comedian. Don tells Marc about that journey as well as the timely story of what it was like doing comedy on a cruise ship and falling ill. Don also explains why his 2011 comedy album Live with a Manhattan never got a proper release and is finally getting out into the world. This episode is sponsored by Lights Out with David Spade on Comedy Central, Nationwide Pet Insurance, and The Last Degree of Kevin Bacon on Spotify. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a good thing Marc cleaned the garage before Don Cheadle came over, otherwise Don might not have lived through this episode due to his life-threatening cat allergy. With no airborne irritants to cause problems, Don and Marc were free to talk about Don’s days at CalArts, why he loves playing golf, what he learned by portraying Miles Davis and Sammy Davis, Jr., and how Hotel Rwanda got him engaged in global activism against genocide. Don also shares stories about Boogie Nights, the MCU, and his Showtime series Black Monday. This episode is sponsored by Scotts Turf Builder Thick'R Lawn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Being sixteen is tough for almost everyone. But when Thora Birch was sixteen, she went from being a familiar child actor to the girl from an Oscar-winning phenomenon, American Beauty. That movie changed her career, but it was her follow-up movie, Ghost World, that changed her whole outlook on life. Thora and Marc talk about how she adjusted after that period, what she focused on when she stepped away for a little while, and how she’s reintegrating herself into show business with the goal of expanding her artistic pursuits, while also spending some time on The Walking Dead. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and SimpliSafe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Filmmaker Peter Berg and Marc never would have predicted their respective futures when they were living together in a shared apartment back when both of them were just starting out in Hollywood. Now, after they embarked on wildly different careers, their paths converged again, with Pete directing Marc in the new movie Spenser Confidential. Pete explains that once he started acting, he got the idea to write his own movie from James Mangold, learned the ins and outs of directing from working on Chicago Hope, and came to form a partnership with Mark Wahlberg that has lasted for five consecutive films. This episode is sponsored by Dave's Killer Bread, Greed from Sony Pictures Classics, and Stamps.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show business paid off early for Carol Kane. She was in her first movie at age 17 and got an unexpected Academy Award nomination for Best Actress when she was 23. Carol tells Marc what it was like to break into the business working with directors like Mike Nichols, Hal Ashby and Sidney Lumet, and develop friendships with co-stars like Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Ellen Burstyn. They also discuss her roles in beloved projects like Taxi, The Princess Bride and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as her new series with Al Pacino called Hunters. This episode is sponsored by Dave on FXX and SimpliSafe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Juliette Lewis spent much of her life facing her fears. She was a natural introvert who was suddenly thrust into the spotlight as a teenager. She had anxiety about going to public places. She saw herself getting into trouble and wondering if she could survive. Juliette and Marc talk about how she learned to manage those fears (with help from the Rolling Stones) and how she still confronts them whenever she acts or performs with her band. They also talk about some of the movies that shaped her life, like Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers and Kalifornia. This episode is sponsored by Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band, Dave on FXX, and ZipRecruiter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Pally watched his dad put his own show business ambitions aside while he personally washed out of a high school band and quit the basketball team. So Adam was used to the idea of things not going the way they were planned. But it was when he joined the school AV club that he found his comedy voice and got in on the early wave of the UCB in New York. Adam tells Marc how taking acting classes prepared him to be comfortable with embarrassment, which helped on shows like Happy Endings. He also explains what he learned from working with Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project, what he loves about his new show Indebted, and how the sudden loss of his mom still hangs over everything he does. This episode is sponsored by Zoro.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ronan Farrow needed to come to terms with a lot of things. He processed the pain and trauma that existed in his family during his upbringing. He came to an understanding with his own ambition and drive. And he realized that the deck is stacked against victims and survivors of abuse the world over. These things all contributed to his current work as an investigative journalist, his Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting, and his bestselling book about it all, Catch and Kill. Ronan also talks with Marc about going to college at age 11, serving in the Obama administration, working in Afghanistan, and being a Rhodes Scholar. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Scotts Turf Builder Thick'R Lawn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some people are born into stunt performing, some achieve it, and some have it thrust upon them. For Brett Smrz, it’s all three. He was born into a family of stuntmen, including his uncle who died doing a stunt. Brett was given his uncle's name, but instead of following his namesake into the family business, Brett wanted to become a race car driver. Then he lost his leg. Brett tells Marc the story of how he rebounded from that life-changing accident to become an elite Hollywood stunt driver, with work in movies like Ford v. Ferrari, Ant-Man, and Michael Bay’s 6 Underground. This episode is sponsored by Duncanville on Fox, SimpliSafe, and Zoro.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Schwartz was afraid to do plays in high school. In fact, if it wasn’t for his college girlfriend pushing him to audition for the school improv group, his life would be dramatically different. Ben talks with Marc about his early comedy ambitions which prompted him to sneak into MTV looking for a job, get an internship at the UCB, and become a page for The Late Show with David Letterman. Ben also explains how his confidence grew on camera playing Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Rec, why his mind is blown doing the upcoming show Space Force, and how he’s gravitating toward things he loved as a kid, like Sonic the Hedgehog. This episode is sponsored by Duncanville on Fox, Zoro.com, Capterra, and ZipRecruiter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.