Dakota Johnson

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iPhone 11 or later required. Readiness score is for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. Heart rate accuracy based on Apple conducted study August, 2026. Visit apple.com slash HR accuracy. Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Good Hang. Very excited to introduce my guest, Dakota Johnson.

Just an amazing actress and truth teller. And this is actually the first podcast she's ever done that she told us. So we're very honored to have her here. We talk about a lot of fun stuff today. We talk about analyzing her dreams. We talk about her receiving the Razzie for the movie Madam Web. We talk about her new movie, The Materialist, coming out with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. So we really get into it. A bunch of great stuff. And we always like to start these interviews with...

with a Zoom from a friend of our guests or a fan of our guests, someone who's going to give me a question to ask them. So joining me now is Blake Lee. He's an actor. You may recognize him from Parks and Rec. He played Derek, the boyfriend of April Ludgate, who also had a boyfriend. So they were a thruple and that confused Leslie. Nope. So Blake Lee is joining us. He is great friends with Dakota and he's going to fill us in and get us ready for this interview. Blake, hi.

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For listeners, Blake Lee has very nicely put my book behind him and his bookshelf. And I should say, he's also my editor. Yeah, exactly. You're welcome. Blake, let's talk for a second about how we met. Because I think some people will recognize you. But maybe you can let people know how we're friends, how we met. So Aubrey Plosman, we're good friends. And she brought me to a dance party at some random club in Hollywood. And she was working on this. It was the first season of the show, Parks. So no one had seen it yet. So you were all out. And I went dancing with you guys and just instantly fell in love with you. And I don't know if you remember this, but do you remember Aubrey?

smashed a glass on her foot cut her foot at this club and so you and I like took her into this bathroom and we're giggling and we're like putting her foot in the sink and we're cleaning it and it was just like it was so one of those like magical nights and then like two weeks later Aubrey called me and was like hey so that show that I'm doing like my character is gonna have like a gay best friend and Amy was like what about your gay best friend you brought dancing the other night and then you changed my life because I got to do the show for you know a handful of times and it was the best it was the best and it's like yeah truly I feel like every time I see you though I'm like thank you you changed my life that was my first job my first acting job yeah and so it was so crazy to be like to have that i feel so lucky to that that was my first job and like it's like wild there's i still random times people will like you're like are you the gay guy from parks and rec like it happened once like i was i was peeing at a urinal and some like stranger was just peeing next to me and like looked over and was like wait are you on parks and rec this was years after i'm just peeing next to him talking about parks i have to say i'll never as a as a woman with female parts i'll never ever understand the etiquette

of standing and peeing next to someone. It's so intimate. It's really intimate. And most people are straight ahead. You know, I feel like most that's, I don't know. Most of the time it's like, I think that that's like the universal thing is like just straight ahead. But every once in a while you get a, how are you doing? It's so weird. It's so weird. Because to be recognized in that moment, it's so vulnerable. I mean, it's just, it's something else. It's funny. I know, it's funny. Life is funny. Okay, so we're talking to Dakota today and I got to tell you, between you and me,

I'm a little nervous and excited because I don't know Dakota that well. I am a huge fan of her work. I think she's an amazing actress. She's so cool and speaks so slowly and has a vibe that I think is very mesmerizing, which is she seems to not worry too much about getting people's approval. But I might be projecting that. Before we get to your question, what do you think people get wrong about her? I think that people think she might take herself seriously and she doesn't. She really is like...

so goofy and so silly ben my husband was like saying like he was like when i was saying that i was doing this he was saying how like i get to see a version of her that not everyone gets to see because we're i i don't know like i make I'm so goofy with her and like, we're just stupid. And I think it's like, I think that that's the thing. I think people might think that she's like this really serious person and she's, she's not, she's so goofy. It's so funny to say that because I, you know, came up with all these comedians and sketch performers and improvisers who everyone, you know, was like, are they just hilarious all the time? And you're like, no, no. And then conversely, actors, you know, like, you know, serious actors, there's a lot of people that assume like they're very, very.

introverted and take their themselves and work very seriously and that's not the case often no it's not and i have to say i went i think yeah both times she hosted snl i was there and she i've never seen her happier like she was like this is the best thing on the planet i never want to do anything else i want to be here every day and it's that like being around funny people she just like gets off on that. I think she, she like is energized by like, by funny people. I love that. Okay. Really helpful to know. So, um, what do you think I should, do you have a question you want me to ask her today? Okay. So my question is what actors did she look up to that she wasn't related to? Ooh, very good. Yeah. Cause you know, a lot of people, you know, you know, may not know that she comes from very successful, talented parents that we'll talk about and grandparents.

Yes, let's just name it real quick. Tippi Hedren, grandmother, Melanie Griffith, mom, Antonio Banderas, stepdad, Don Johnson. That's a lot. So yeah, other than them. Other than them, who as a kid were you like, I want, you know, who did you look up to? All right, that's perfect. That's all we need. I hope that helps. It's so, so good. You're going to love her. And I'm so excited to hear it. I am so excited to do it. Okay, thank you so much. Have so much fun. Thank you so much, Blake. You look so cute. Is that bookshelf behind you real? Can you imagine? It's wallpaper?

Okay. Thank you. I love you. I love you. I'll see you soon. Okay. Take care. Bye. Thanks.

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This is so fun. Oh, my God. Dakota is... Listeners, Dakota brought a puppy in. First time we've had an animal in the studio. Tell me about this animal person. She's my dog. Bye. New dog? Yeah. We rescued her on Saturday from the Santa Barbara Pound.

I didn't plan on it. How many dogs do you have? Well, I had a dog for 17 years. He was 17. Oh, no. And he died in... Yeah, there you go. Oh, my gosh. She's a performer. Tokyo is checking out the mic. He died in December. And I was like, oh, it's going to be a while. But then I saw her and I just... She's like an angel. What kind of dog is she? She's really cute. Wow, you are being amazing. Tokyo... For listeners, Tokyo is trying to get up on the mic and also lick a little bit of the water. Maybe... Oh, look. He's getting some of the water. Wait. Get this ASMR.

She also hasn't peed in hours, so brace yourself. Okay. Well, we can always just hold her over the table and squeeze. That's normally what I do. Over tables. I'm happy that you brought, by the way, hi. Hi. Thank you for coming and doing this. I'm so thrilled that you're here.

I was just saying that like you and I have seen each other at different places. We know a lot of the same people, but we've never actually been able to have a one-on-one chat. Just a you and me chat, no. I know, I'm thrilled that it's this. Me too. I actually was, I've never done a podcast and I only wanted to talk with you because I feel quite safe. Yeah, I'm not gonna, I'm gonna take very good care of you. Yeah, this is, this podcast is, should be for the listener and for the guest, very stress-free. That sounds ideal for me. Yeah, yeah. And Tokyo. And Tokyo. She is. Honestly, she has come alive on camera. Yeah, Tokyo knows how to find the lens. She.

Normally hides in the back of her crate. She's really timid. And now she's like, here I am. She's a show dog. She's ready to work. You're an actress. Just like your mom.

But you grew up with animals all the time, everywhere, right? Your mom was a big animal person. Your grandmother was a huge animal conservationist. I guess you could say that. Would you say that about your family? She rescued lions and tigers and elephants at one point. Did you have lions and tigers around? She did at her house, yes. My mom did growing up as well. Yeah, you did not. By the time I was alive, there was more safety involved. In general in the world. Well, sort of-ish, but certainly in my-

at Marmar's house. They were no longer inside the house. They were in there. It's still there. She's 95. She turned 95 in January and she still has, excuse me. She's Tokyo is chewing the end of the, she's teething. So, I mean, this is why sometimes, well, I mean, I don't allow pets in my office and it's caused a problem, I think with some of the younger gen. Why do you hate animals? I don't, I love, I love them, but I don't have a pet. And, um,

I don't like pets at work. But tell me why, Amy. Okay, okay. It's actually a really good question. I feel like it's just a little too distracting when you're working. Okay. And I feel— So you're like a drill sergeant. Do you also keep the AC on full blast, like really cold? Yes, of course. It's 65 degrees in here. To keep everyone awake? Yeah. To keep everybody up. So they can produce, produce, produce. Do you not do that?

No, I mean, I thought about it because the women at Paper Kite, my company, they have dogs. They have great dogs. They want to bring them. And I'm even more of a hypocrite. When I had Suki, I was allowed to bring Suki into when we were like writing our sketch show back in the 90s. I got to bring Suki into the Comedy Central office. But I'm going to say no thanks. But that's you.

Dogs are allowed in my office. So if anyone who works for Amy wants to come to tea time, bring your dog. Bring your dog. But wait, so you grew up, but you're, did you say more and more? More more. Swedish? Swedish, yeah. Her parents, full Swedes. My brother lives in Sweden and his kids speak Swedish. And so my nieces and nephews call their grandparents more and more. Yeah. More far. And I got to meet your mom. When? I'm sure you have. I got to see her at where a lot of blondes meet, which is at the hair salon. And one day.

Well, more than once, actually. I've been on the same sketch as your mom. And she's so lovely. And she did something really generous that day. She was talking to me about skincare and then went home and brought back all this skincare, like all this cream, and handed it out to everyone at the salon.

It was really, really nice. That is so sweet. I know, it was really nice. It was very, very sweet. She beats me. Yeah. That's so sweet. Is your mom a nice person like that? Is she a generous nice person? She's extremely generous. She's always been extremely generous. If you said to her, I love your shirt, she'd take it off. Mostly because she loves to be naked. And has great tits. You California kids are something else. I mean, I know so many of you now, like Maya and Rashida and people that grew up in California. Where did you grow up? Outside of Boston, in a suburb. And there was something about, I used to watch movies, like Karate Kid.

And the kids would be in school in California and it was like, what the fuck is this life? Like their lockers are outside. Like it's funny. Yeah. They walk outside from class to class. So I didn't fully grow up in California. I was always like my parents divorced when I was six and they were both actors or are actors. And so I'd spend the sort of divorce deal was two weeks and two weeks. I was big at that time. So it was.

I would do like two weeks on location wherever my mom was and then two weeks on wherever my dad was. And that was a lot. He was living full time pretty much in Colorado, just in Aspen for a long time. And then he moved to San Francisco. So the first full year of school that I did in a school, not like traveling with a tutor, was fourth grade. So when you think of your hometown, what do you think of? I think of Woody Creek, Colorado. What was that like? The best. It was the best. We like rode dirt bikes all over and I lived in Woody Creek and there were two girls my age that lived up the road. So those are the girls that I would know.

not one of them I don't keep in touch with as much but if we saw each other it'd be the same and um but it's it was just fun we'd like ride horses to each other's house and tie them up outside or dirt bikes and we'd snowboard well I actually hated snowboarding so much to grow up in Colorado and like hate skiing and snowboarding is yeah I was just in Colorado Tina and I just did a show at Red Rocks fun so fun although it was pouring rain and 32 degrees not fun still really fun but everyone had like Everyone had their outdoor gear so set. Every single person had their hand warmers. And it all comes in a tiny little bag. It just folds up. And it was pouring rain. They're like, let's just go to the rain. They knew exactly how to be outside. They love outside. Yeah, I love outside. You love outside. But no skiing. How come? Because it sucks. And it's cold and it hurts. Yeah, it really hurts. I have nightmares about skiing. I had one recently. I'm just remembering it now. Ooh, tell us about it. Well, no.

That's not interesting. When people talk about their dreams. It's like people talking about their improv shows. You're like, and then what happened? Yeah. I'm fascinated by dreams because I think we're similar in that I love sleep. Oh, God. So much. And I know you do too. Yeah. And I've seen you talk about it. And to get to dreams, you have to get to sleep. But I know that that sounds stupid, but most people don't dream. They don't sleep well enough to even dream, which is very sad. That is really sad. Yeah. I actually had a dream the other night. Sorry. Let's hear it. Let's hear it.

And Chris was like, that's a really good pitch for a movie. So Matty Healy from the 1975. Yes, familiar. Was in my dream. Great. And he was murdering people. Yeah. And he was on the run. He was himself. He was Matty Healy as himself. And when the people were looking for him, they were cops maybe, or I don't know, he would turn into a piece of asparagus. And people would just run past him? No, he'd just be like...

This is a really good idea. It's a really good movie. It's like A24 would be all over that. And I was trying to find him. I was like, Maddie, Maddie. And I just saw like these two kind of poles in a bed. And I was like, Maddie? And the sheets came down and it was him as an asparagus and Angelina Jolie as an asparagus. What? She's in this too? Let's make this movie. And then they left in a helicopter together as a spare guy. That's such a weird ass dream. I know. You might be getting too much sleep because you get a lot of sleep. Let's ask America. Okay. So America. Let's ask Dakota. How much sleep do you get a night?

If I am not working, it's like somewhere between 10 and 13 hours. Incredible. Incredible. But like 10 is normal for me. And any sleep aids? Do you take anything to go to sleep? No. Incredible. That's aspirational. Because you've traveled so much and been around so much, you must have a good sense of how to acclimate quickly to wherever you are. Do you think you do? I try to just not think about it. I heard Arnica is really good for jet lag.

Smearing it where? Oh, in your vagina. Put it right in your vagina. You wake up and you're in another country. You don't even have to get on the plane. It's crazy. It's this new trick. But you can swallow Arnica? Little pellets, yeah, like homeopathic Arnica. Okay, are you a homeopathic gal? Yeah. What kind of stuff do you like that is...

like pellets and creams and stuff. I mean, I feel like that again is, I mean, I don't mean to generalize, but it does feel like when I moved to California and I meet California kids, they love their homeopathic. They're like, I'm not vaccinated and I never take them. Yeah, a lot of that. I never take, and I don't believe in medicine, but I do think that, you know, tea tree oil will get rid of my gallstones or whatever. But do you, are you a homeopathic person? Do you do, do you take supplements? I take supplements. Yeah, I take.

supplements like Xanax and just like natural, natural things. Yeah. But did you like, can you, I know this is a weird question, but I wanted to talk about it with you because what I love so much about you is the way that you're able to like handle silence. Yeah. How did you learn how to do that? I think I learned early on in interview situations that if I speak out of context or like it doesn't go well. I think I just have been so scared of saying anything but answering the question or trying to not answer the question. Very, very like honest, upfront and truthful when you do answer questions. I don't find you evasive at all. No.

I'm not. So has that always been your... Although, you know what? I did once do that lie detector test for Vanity Fair. I'm doing one again. Did you beat it? I lied. And I passed. Well, let's be honest. I mean, that's not a professional person running. Do you think there's a real professional person? I mean, they have them dressed up as a suit, but we don't know. I've watched other people and they're like, that's a lie. That's a lie. And you see the thing. And I fully lied.

And they didn't catch you. Do you think you have low blood pressure? Yeah, I do. That must be it. I would be a good spy. You would. Yeah, I'll do that now. You heard it here first. You're in Tokyo, out on the road. But it's true because there is some kind of, you're right, there's like an energy where I don't feel a grasping energy from you ever. No, that's kind. Thank you. I don't want to have a grasping energy. Well, a lot of people don't want to have it, but they just do. Like they just can't figure out, you know, it's like they're just.

managing their anxiety in that way and it comes out in that way. But I've always felt that about you, that you don't have that or you're really good at managing it. I definitely have anxiety, but it makes me hyper-present. So maybe that's what it is. Oh, say more about that. That's cool. I don't know. It makes me just like, I'm so here. I'm so, I'm not, my brain doesn't go to a million places trying to figure out what to say next. I'm just like very.

present and that happens also on you know like talk shows or things i get nervous and i have to go on stage i have terrible stage fight you do oh my god oh my like an awards show is my nightmare i have to do breathing exercises before like if i have to present something or give a speech thinking about it makes me what is it what is it what's the like what's the what would be the nightmare you'd have about it what's the fear you uh say something wrong it's like a physical manifestation like my kneecaps start quivering and i and my voice gets kind of shaky and i get like um Say if I have to give a speech, I'll be like, I don't know how to read. You're like, I'm so sorry. I suddenly don't know how to read. So what is it about the camera and acting in front of the camera where you don't get that feeling? I have no idea. Yeah. I feel like very, very free and safe. It's really weird.

do you think it's like from growing up on set like you you kind of explained that when you were a kid sets were home base yeah i mean i saw that i thought they were the most magical places oh my god i loved being on set what did you like about i loved everything like i just thought it was the coolest i loved the trailers i loved base camp i loved set i loved like the the ring of when it would be rolling and i'd be so excited to go in when the red light went off and go and see what my mom looked like and what clothes she was wearing. And I guess that's how it felt. It started to build in my mind as a sacred space. It's like a safe place to be wherever the cameras were in the scene because it is really. It's like a beautiful, magical space if you want it to be. And what was your first professional job? Well, I guess it was the social network when I was 18, 19.

But I did a part in a movie that my mom was in when I was nine. Yeah. And I took that very seriously. That I was a professional. You did. You analyzed your dreams. I worked with a dialect coach to have a little Southern accent. And did you, what do you remember about that? Did you feel like you nailed it at nine? I think I nailed it. Yeah. I think I felt like I nailed it as well. And I loved it. Yeah. So much. That's cool. Do you feel like it was in your blood? Like, do you always feel like ever since you were a little kid, like it was inevitable that you were going to be an actor? Yeah. Yeah. I think so.

Definitely for me. And it's funny, my siblings, my oldest brother acts sometimes and he went to, he studied acting. And one of my sisters is an amazing sort of photographer and my other sister wants to be a director. So it's definitely in our family, but like my mom, my dad, my grandmother, my grandfather. They were all actors and like working actors all with their own special magic sauce. I also am remembering too that I met your mom. I saw your mom again when your stepdad hosted SNL because I was there. Antonio Banderas, your stepdad. What year was that? That was probably 2000 and I'm pretty bad with this kind of stuff, but it was pre-baby for me. So it was like 2000, maybe four or five, six, something like that. And delightful. So nice.

Smelled great. Yeah, always. Yeah. She wears mousse de Cartier. I don't know if they make that anymore even. Mousse de Cartier? Mousse. That means the mousse cart? And what did Antonio wear? Because he smelled great too. We don't know. I don't know. But actually now I think he has his own cologne or like perfume line. And it's so cute and funny to me. It's like stallion by Antonio Banderas. Or something. Perfect. Or like dark cloud. Yes. Sexy cloud. Sexy dark cloud. Sexy stallion.

He did a scene, I did a scene with him and Chris Parnell on SNL that I loved where we were like describing wine and just describing like the adjectives of wine, which is very similar. And there was a line where he was like, do I sense a hint of swordplay? That's so good. That's funny. You are so great on SNL. And I know you loved doing it. What did you love about doing it? I love SNL so much. Well, you know, I like, I mean, even moments sitting here talking to you, I'm like, I can't believe I'm sitting here talking to you. Come on. I know, I'm serious. It was such a huge part of shaping like my.

my wanting to work in comedy at all. And then the fact that I've even gotten to do it once, but twice, like that is the, it's my favorite place in the world. It's that same kind of thing of like, I want to be in there. Yeah, but are you nervous? So nervous. Okay, great. So nervous, but in like a fit of glee. Absolutely. I love it. What do you love about it? I think I love how everyone is just trying to make the best thing and the funniest thing and everyone is so smart. And the energy there is,

is like, it's the most important thing anyone has ever done in their lives. And yet it's just funny. Yeah. It is like a theater camp vibe. Totally. Oh no, we have a show. We have to do it. Yeah. Yeah. And then I really like all of the like behind the scenes gossip and the like, these people don't get along and this is really hard. Everyone's really tired and drinking, like going when I was there last year and going around in like the first couple of days and meeting with all the writers and they had, it was like 8 PM and everyone had just gotten there.

like I can't imagine I can't imagine that like everyone had really big iced coffees that they just got just starting just starting that was like the hours of that show are like left over from cocaine days basically I think but they're just it's crazy that you don't start writing or I mean some people do but the majority of people don't start writing until Tuesday night and we even talk about there's this feeling that happens sometimes on Tuesday nights which is this panic and you don't know where it's coming from and you're like oh this is just writing night fear yeah and you walk around and everyone's pitching you ideas that they haven't even written yet yeah yeah but it's it's a magical place it's like Disneyland it's my most favorite place I've ever been I just I don't know what it is I love it so much I watch it all the time I go back and watch Your sketches. I watch it all. It's very weird. I should stop. I should go. Is Tokyo asleep? Yeah. Tokyo has completely fallen asleep. And I mean, listeners, you can't see, but it's just the cutest dog in the world. She's sitting on Dakota's lap. So special. You really are making me think that animals should still not be allowed in the workplace. Did you notice my nails? Oh, yeah. I have a French manicure, which is very not me. But Tokyo has one.

I thought it would be funny if we had the same nails. Oh, yeah. Tokyo does have them. Oh, come on. Oh, my. Oh, come on. I think it's because she has a calcium deficiency. Yeah. But she has a little natural French. She's a little tip. Boy, she's cute. She's really cute. Anyway.

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we talk well behind people's backs. And we ask someone that knows our guest, you know, what they think I should ask you and how to ruin their life. We ask, yeah, we all get all the dirt. And I talked to Blake. Did he tell you? No, but I heard you were going to do that. And I think he thought it was a surprise. Oh, so he didn't tell you? He didn't tell me. He's such a good boy. I know. He's such a nice person. What did you talk about? So Blake wanted me to ask you, who, besides your family, when you were growing up, who did you look up to as an actor, actor and actress? Like, who did you, like, what actor and actress did you admire? Blake wanted to ask that? Yeah.

Did he Google like most basic questions to ask an actress? That's the question? You can say pass. Okay, no, I'll answer it. Recently, I actually exchanged texts while I got a voice note from Sandra Bullock. Wow. I know, because I don't know if you know, but I won the Razzie for Worst Actress. Oh, my God, you did? Congrats. Thank you. That's really good. There's a lot of good people that have won that. Thank you so much. What did you win it for? This really good movie called Madame Weather. Oh, my God, yes. I don't know if you've heard of it. And did you accept the Razzie? Oh, yeah. I asked if they'd send it to me. That's incredible. But Sandra Bullock sent me a voice note being like, I heard you are in the Razzie Club and we should have brunch. We should have like a monthly brunch.

Because I guess she won that when like the year that she won the Oscar as well. Are you kidding me? It was like in the same year, I think. But I freaked out getting this message from her because she's so iconic. Yes. To me. As like a movie star. I was like, oh my God. It was just crazy. But I don't know. Like I grew up.

being fascinated by, first of all, younger actresses that worked with my mom. So like Thora Birch, Christina Ricci. I was always like, you can do that as like a teenager because I really wanted to. And then Diane Keaton, I was obsessed with, still obsessed with. And then like SNL, a lot of SNL. But yeah, great question, Blake. I mean, can I talk about that Razzie thing for one more second though? Because why I love...

talking about that with you is because I think your career is so super diverse and always interesting and you pick really big movies and you pick small movies and it feels like you pick what you want to do. Like it feels like you really go with your gut about what you want to make. And I feel like you handling it that way is the most powerful and like interesting way because if we're lucky, we're going to have a really long career. That's the goal, right? Stick around. Yeah. So this idea of like we have had our last, you know.

our last best thing or that this thing didn't hit but i don't know how do you ride the wave of that like you have a sense of humor i guess about your work it's important yeah it's so it's i think about this a lot because and i know you you have experienced this because everybody is going through it all the time now but you you like we don't have control over how something turns out yeah anymore no one does like very very few directors or actors like tom cruise maybe does yeah you know like but i don't I've signed on to a movie that is, by the end of shooting it, a completely different script than what I attach to. And that is a wild thing, like a crazy journey to go on as an artist. Because you're like, okay, I'm doing something with my actual body and my actual mind and my heart, my emotions. I'm using things. And it's just being taken.

And fucked with. But you can't do anything about it. Like, what am I going to do? Fucking cry about Madam Web? No. No. You're going to go to the Razzies and you're going to spike the... You're going to have to drop them like they don't. I wish they did. They should. Oh, my God. I wish they did. That would be amazing if you went there and then you just gave an epic speech and then you just spiked the award. Oh, God. You just threw it down. Sandra Bullock said she asked for the award and picked it up and then they called her and asked her to give it back because they only had one. By the way, who is the Razzie committee? I know. I'd love to have the Razzie committee.

show themselves. I know. So I'm going to do a lip balm break. It's really a funny thing. But I mean, I feel like you probably had to figure that out with Fifty Shades of Grey, right? Yeah. That was another thing. It was like, OK, this project, it's a big project. I'm signing on and now I have to give up control. And now I'm in this and it's going to be a lot of years of my life. And I got to figure out how to. Yeah, that was a wild journey.

Very, very interesting. That was another version of signing on to something that was one thing and it turned out to be another. But I'm so grateful. I was going to say, with time, how do you look at it now? I mean, I'm so grateful for that experience. The first movie with Sam Taylor Johnson directing was really extraordinary, as an experience, extraordinary. And I think the movie is as good a version of it as it could be. Yeah. But it was challenging. I signed on to a script that was different than what we ended up shooting. Right. Written by a different person.

It was, you know, and then you're attached, you're signed a contract. So you're in, uh, signed on to do it with a different actor. It was like a different thing. And then it all changed and, and I was just in it. And, um, but it was so, I was so young. I was, I think I turned 24 while we were shooting. Wow. And I was so like brave. I just feel proud of myself for being brave and being, um, interested in like.

I don't know. It just felt wild. And also like there were no intimacy coordinators then or anything like that. That was not that long ago too. Like a lot has changed. Yeah. And there was an expectation of just like figure it out yourself in real time in front of everyone. It's intense. Yeah. It was a lot. Who's been your favorite director? Someone that you just think, you know, you've worked with a lot of great directors and a lot of great actors. Who's someone that when you think about you think that was just that experience was so good. I loved it. I've had that a lot and I've had the opposite a lot. Yeah. But I loved Celine Song.

She is... I love her. I'm so excited about this movie. A spectacular director. People who don't know, she wrote and directed Past Lives with Greta Lee a few years ago. And she is the... Did she write your new film? She wrote and directed. It's her second film, yeah. It's her second film, and it is coming out. It's actually... I mean, it's the reason why you're here. Let's be honest. That's true. It is... June 13th. Thank you. June 13th. I've been trained. Tell me why you love Celine. She's an incredible director. She's amazing. What do you like about her? Well, her background is... She's a playwright. And I think there's a different sort of control that...

she has over what she wants, which is really such a relief. It's nice to work with somebody who knows exactly what they want from every single frame of the movie. I was like, oh, yes. Do you think she's, you mean she's had it in her head? She's like storyboarded it in her head or she's just able to communicate what she wants emotionally? She's able to communicate what she wants emotionally. And we spent a couple months going through every line of the script and she would, she was like, this is, what she means here is this. And what do you think about, like we just talked about it. We talked through everything. And then on the day, it was like we had one brain. Have you ever directed? I have directed a short that Blake was in actually. Do you want to do more? I would, yeah. Do you want to direct primarily?

I like it right now more than acting for sure. I think about you for things all the time. Really? What should we work on together? I have something that I think you would love. Email it to me right now. I'll read it. Okay. But I'll email it to you later. Okay, great. That would be so fun. I would love to work with you. I mean, I feel, well, we should talk about Materialist because it is a movie about, you know, two men being in love with you. Congratulations on your first documentary. Thank you. Well, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, and you, what is the movie about?

The movie is about a woman who's a matchmaker in New York City, which is funny because Celine was a matchmaker in New York City for six months. This is where the movie comes from. She did it on the side to pay the bills because she was a struggling playwright. So I play Lucy, who's the matchmaker, and she's just the best at her job and really good at assigning people as mates based on pretty surface-level criteria, like height and income and hairline. That's what people are out there looking for. It's not about a soul connection. It's about...

do you tick my boxes of what I want, what I think my life should look like? And she then kind of goes on her own journey of what you would think is that she doesn't really have, she's not really invested in people's souls, but you realize she is and she cares about these people that she's working with and how their lives turn out and if they're happy. And then she has to kind of figure out for herself what is more important really truly in this life. Is it to achieve the life that you think you want or is it to... actually be seen and loved. It's interesting you say that because it feels like, oh, of course you want be, right? Of course you want to be seen and loved. But there is something about

in life how relationships help you get some get to be some version of yourself that you want like whether it's you want to be you want to have kids or you want to be married or you want to live in France or whatever is the version of the thing of your fantasy of your life relationships help you get that and you're right sometimes it's a trade-off like I get this thing but I don't get this thing or I feel seen but and loved but the person doesn't fit into some version of my dream life yeah or my ideal whatever what when you have to do sex scenes like how do you psych yourself up for that Amy, I don't have to. You don't? I'm, like, always psyched up for sex. You're psyched up? Yeah. Fuck yeah. Psyched up? Is that a thing? What do you mean? You have to, like, take off? I'm psyched. But, you know, like, today you're, like, 7.30 a.m. Let's do it. Like, that's a lot. It's hard. Let's go to pound town. Let's go to pound town, everybody. Let's get the lights in here. It's a lot. Oh, God. You're psyched. I recently did a movie a few months ago, and we had an intimacy coordinator.

on set. And it was the first time I've ever worked with one. And she was really great. Great. It was so cool. It was like, because I'm so used to, I'm so used to just, you know, like it's a sex scene. It's not like sexy. It doesn't feel good. Most people don't know. I'm being serious. Like I'm not like, no, a fake sex scene is a complete, it's like being an astronaut. Like so few people have done it. That's really true. You're right. I'm sorry. It's okay. You know. Okay. Let me, you want me to explain? Of course. Okay. So a sex scene.

Hold on. I've got to write. I've got to get this down. I'm going to take notes. Go ahead. When two actors pretend that they're having sex. Yeah. And you do all the things except have sex. Right. And that's important for people to know. And you have to make sounds like you're having sex. Right. And you're not yet. Yet. So when you approach a scene, you're like, today's the day. You don't feel stressed. You feel like, how do you feel about it? And then what was the difference with this coordinator? What made it different?

Because you're right. You've done a lot and you know how to handle yourself during it, I guess is what you're saying. Yeah. Well, first, I think it depends on like who is the character and who's the character supposed to be to the audience. Is she like a super idolized hot girl? Is she like a housewife? Is she lonely? Is she scared? Is she is she conservative? You know, like it doesn't. So that's obviously character work. But then so like certain prep, I guess, would go into it. Like I want to feel good in my body. Yeah. If I'm showing my body, I've never felt felt.

Like my mom raised me to be really, really proud of my body and love my body. So I've always felt so grateful for that, especially in my work because I can use it and it feels like real. How did she do that? Because I think a lot of mothers want to make sure they do that for their daughters, but they don't know how to do that in practice. Would it be the way she would speak about it with you or was there other ways that she made you feel that way? I think it was the way she spoke about it with me. And also she was very like honest and open about.

body stuff and like getting my period, you know, like really good about it. And like I have friends whose mothers never spoke to them about that stuff and it's so hard and sad. Just got very warm on my lap. She may have peed on me. Oh my gosh, Tokyo. But I don't think so. It's okay. It's all right. And listeners, Tokyo, not me. If you're not watching. It just got very warm on my lap. It was not me. It was not me.

so okay so uh she also talked to me about sex and like how precious and important and to you know whatever so i guess in my in my work i i It's something that I feel brave with and that I feel when it's used the right way in a story, it's important. So I've always just done the simulated sexy. But now, the intimacy coordinator was like, do you want a Pilates ball between you guys for the thrusting movement? Just to get some core work out. And I was like, what? But then we're going to be so far away from each other. And we didn't end up using that.

A lot of it also is like, there are times when I've done a sex scene where I'm by myself because I'm only in the frame. So I'm just like, like gyrating on my own. Looking at a tennis ball off camera. Yeah, exactly. Or like slamming myself into a headboard. And then on the other side of the camera is like just a bunch of crew guys. Just a bunch of dudes. Yeah, with their heads down. Okay, but I'm going to ask you a bunch of things very quickly. This is like a speed round and I want you to tell me your thoughts. Okay. Tokyo has woken up. Oh wait, Tokyo's coming. Oh, hi. Okay. Olivia Colman. The best human on the planet.

On the planet. Yes. The film you guys did together is so good. Lost Daughter is so great. Oh, she's amazing. Just seems smart and funny and cool. She's the funniest person and so much fun. Yeah. So much fun. Okay. And you love reading. I love reading. I do too. Do you have a number of books you try to read a year? My bedside table right now is maybe 27 books. It's ridiculous. They're just piles and piles of books that I'm trying to get through. A lot of them are like therapy books. And then... Stop it. And then...

I'm fired. I don't work for you anymore. Well, I mean, this is what always happens, right? Animals are super cute, and then they're animals. They can't help it. I mean, look how cute this dog is. I think you should get a puppy. I would rather get a case of snakes than a puppy. Done. And then, oh, Tokyo, you are very cute, though. You're very cute. I talked to you about Olivia Colman. I have written down here, work-life balance.

Right now I'm just scratching Tokyo. Okay, this dog is winning me over. This dog is really nice. I know. She's very nice. Go wee-wees. Don't tell her to go wee-wee. What are you listening to right now? Watching, checking out. That's like, when you want to check out and laugh, where do you go? What are you listening to? Okay, this is a very weird thing that I've been doing. Okay, great, love it. I don't watch reality television. Same, I barely watch it. But I have found a show called Farmer Wants a Wife.

Have you heard of it? No. Oh my God. Oh my God. It's a nightmare. Please tell me. It's a nightmare. Okay. A farmer like scrolls through a list of women and picks eight of them. They all come. There's four farmers. Okay. Eight women per farmer. Eight women per farmer? Yes. Then they go on a speed date. Ten minutes per woman. Okay. And then they speed date on a farm or in like a studio. In like a barn set. Yeah. And then they see if they have a connection. And then he has to choose five women to bring back to his farm and date them all for six weeks. Oh my God. It's insane. First of all, I'm just horrified by the amount he gets to pick from.

He gets to pick from five? It's ridiculous. And is a lot of his choosing about how is she going to help me with the farm? That's the crazy thing is he makes them do a lot of manual labor. This is nuts. And I'm like, what is going on? Well, he wants a wife. Farmer wants a wife. Farmer wants a wife.

They're like, you know, I really like that she's from the city, but I don't know how she'll do out on the tractor. I don't know what accent that was. I don't know where that farmer's from. Your dialect coach. He's coming back, your nine-year-old. Call her up. Whoa. Okay. And what do you like about watching it? Do you like it because you're outraged by it? Yes. And I can't stop. I feel really uncomfortable, like deeply uncomfortable. But then I keep going. And do you get invested? Like, who is he going to pick? Yeah. And has there ever been any of that? There's drama between the girls, of course. Yeah. Do they sabotage each other at all? They definitely talk some shit. And they like gang up on each other. And some of them are just, they're just nuts. Yeah.

And some of them are like, I'm like, oh, they'd be a good match. I really get along. Do you ever get a vibe like, wow, they're going to be together? Sometimes. Like it's a good match. Farmer wants a wife. Okay. Dakota, thank you so much for doing this. Thanks for having me. Thank you for coming on your first podcast. That means a lot. I'm so excited. And you are so great. And I just so appreciate you coming. Thank you for having me. And Tokyo, thank you for coming. You're our one and only dog. Because we have to put a sign up outside after this.

I'm so, there's a lot going on. Good girl. Dakota, thank you again. Thank you. I loved spending the day with you. Thank you. I loved it. Yay! Let's do it every day. Woo!

Okay, that was a great interview. Dakota is so fun and funny, and she did bring a dog. And I just want to say I love animals. I think you should adopt animals from shelters. I had a dog for a long time, so don't let my resistance to having a dog on the podcast lead you astray. And speaking of strays, there's a lot of strays to adopt. So please adopt an animal today, but maybe just check with your boss about whether or not you should bring that animal to work because, you know, the answer might be no.

Just please know, I just love animals. And Tokyo, thank you for coming on the podcast. And we'll check in with you next time. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for the show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, and Alaya Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.