Natasha Lyonne & Sam Rockwell Answer The Web's Most Searched Questions

Is this on?

Is this where we take avail?

I'm Sam Rockwell. You're the boss.

Hi. This is Natasha Lyonne.

Yes, and that's Sam Rockwell.

And this is the wire what?

The WIRED [keyboard clacking]

Auto Complete Interview.

I'll buy that for a dollar.

[hands high-fiving] We're in, baby.

[upbeat music]

It's quite a monologue.,

Would you say that any dark dirty stuff happens in there?

Yeah, yeah.

[upbeat music]

Ay.

Okay, Sammy.

[Sam] How did Natasha Lyonne start acting?

I see what the game is.

My parents wanted me to start acting, so I did.

And lo and behold. There you go.

Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, first gig, Heartburn.

Wow. And then,

PeeWee's Playhouse.

Ah, legendary.

[Sam] Can Natasha Lyonne sing?

Yeah, it depends what you like.

Johnny Thunders, no problem.

Okay, what about opera?

I'm gonna go a hard pass.

And you, Sam?

[Sam laughing]

No, no opera for me.

No? I like to listen to it.

Ah. But not sing it.

One thing we don't have in common.

[Sam chuckling] That's not true.

I like it fine.

Is Natasha Lyonne funny?

[scoffing] You kidding?

Really funny.

Not today.

[Sam laughing] But sometimes.

[Sam] Who is Natasha Lyonne in Scary Movie?

I know the answer.

Do you?

No.

I don't. Linda Blair.

Oh. The Exorcist.

Is that right?

Yes. No kidding.

Can you say this on WIRED?

Your mother sucks cocks in hell.

I had to say that

in the movie. Sure, why not?

It's a famous line.

I didn't write it.

Billy Freidkin.

Not my best work, but I'm proud of it.

[Sam] Does Natasha Lyonne [tape tearing]

speak Russian?

[Natasha speaking Russian]

That's about all.

[Natasha speaking Russian]

[card thudding]

Okay, here we go.

Can Sam Rockwell

[tape tearing] do the splits?

[scoffing] Come on. You know,

if I'm warmed up, I can do the splits.

There's no way this baby can't do the splits.

That's Bob Fosse.

Come on.

[Natasha] [tape tearing] What is

Sam Rockwell's favorite song?

I have so many, but I'm gonna go with

Gotta Give It Up, Marvin Gaye for now.

And maybe the Toots and The Maytals'

52.

You can only gave- Is My Number.

52 Is My Number.

Oh, 52 Is My Number.

That's a great song. Yeah, that's a great song.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm just going with that for now,

but I got a lotta- Sort of a modern hit.

Really came- Yeah, it is.

This is England made it famous.

A song of a summer.

I was listening to Marvin Gaye this morning.

Oh, yeah?

I've been watching Sammy Rock's dancing

since 1996.

[tape tearing] [Sam laughing]

Why is Sam Rockwell in White Lotus?

Sam, why?

Good question.

Probably Leslie Bibb, and Walt Goggins, and Mike White.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Anything else you'd like to confess to

about your inner nature, Sam?

Um,

[exhaling] no. Seems like

we all learned a lot about you.

[Sam laughing]

Wild beast that you are.

[tape tearing] Where does Sam Rockwell

want to live?

Existential, Sammy. Oh.

Where the heart is.

Very you, actually.

We spent a lot of time over the last 20 years

or more running into each other.

In the East Village, yeah.

Yeah, I own Tompkins. Tompkins.

They don't own me. You won Tompkins, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You should have told me.

Remember that play?

I'm gonna get more clout over there.

Lie of the Mind?

Yeah, of course.

I always loved that title.

Yeah. For some reason,

I thought of that when you said in the heart.

Yeah.

One from the Heart or something.

That's right, that's another great title.

Coppola, yeah.

Here we are learning.

This is called free association.

Yeah, this is us on a bench in Tompkins Square Park.

[tape tearing] Does Sammy Rocks know kung-fu?

[Sam laughing]

It is Shaolin season, folks,

if you haven't been paying attention.

[Sam laughing] Wu-Tang Clan

is for the children.

And we're tech available.

I do not, but I did briefly mess around

with Eagle Claw Kung Fu.

It didn't last long.

Now, Sam, I'm going off book,

'cause what else are we doing with our lives?

[Sam chuckling]

Should we get involved in, like,

Tai Chi or something when we get back to New York?

I think it's good for you

And then you can speed it up and like, you know,

fuck somebody up, right? Are you open to that,

'cause I need a Tai Chi partner?

I would do it.

I would do it. Ah, thank God.

WIRED, thank you.

Bad Guys 2, thank you. I like yoga,

why wouldn't I like Tai Chi, yeah?

Easy on the yoga.

We're Tai Chi people now, Sam.

I've recently written a film,

It's called Sammy Rocks is Tai Chi.

[Sam laughing]

And I'm so excited

that you agreed to it. Yes.

So you're gonna have to go into immediate training.

Serious.

You'll see us in the park.

You're gonna have to go all in.

All in.

All in.

I'm talking more than poor Jodorowsky's son

[card thudding] prepping for

Jodorowsky's Dune.

[Sam laughing] That's how all in

we're about to go on this.

We're gonna start right now in front of,

in the parking lot of the Four Seasons.

We got more?

Oh, gosh. Look at this.

We were just riffing.

We were like a jazz album that never ended.

Okay, what movie made Natasha Lyonne famous?

Slums of Beverly Hills.

Slums of Beverly Hills, yeah.

Great movie, great performance.

Tamara Jenkins. Yeah, there you go.

Kevin Corrigan.

Yeah. Alan Arkin.

Carl Reiner.

Rita Moreno. Forget about it.

They just keep coming.

And our girl. And Marisa Tomei.

Marisa Tomei.

There we go.

Krumholtz.

Jessica Walters.

What is Natasha Lyonne's accent?

I'm a born and raised New Yorker.

Why do I talk funny?

I've seen too many old pictures.

I think I'd seen, I don't know, Rocky,

and The Godfather,

and Scarface. Sure.

Cathy Moriarty.

Maybe, like, 40 times each by the time I was 10.

And then also old-timey stuff,

like, weirdly, like, Bette Davis and stuff.

So, I mean, I just assume.

Yeah, you've got

a Bette Davis thing. That people talk funny.

Yeah, yeah. As I move through the world,

I can now see it's weird, right?

It's too late to stop.

Also, I get nervous, and so it gets weirder all the time.

I'm not doing it on purpose if it's any consolation,

and I'm sorry for it.

Actually, you know, my dad is Bugsy Siegel,

so that might be what you're hearing.

I would buy that. How much?

Does that mean if I wanna play Bugsy Siegel,

I have to go to you for the rights?

Listen, baby, if you wanna do

the Bugsy Siegel Tai Chi picture, we can talk about it.

[Sam laughing]

I know it seems crazy.

Did Bugsy do?

We got more questions.

Don't put that down. As you were, sir.

We're tech avail.

[tape tearing] What series

was Natasha Lyonne in?

Co-created Russian Doll.

That was a big one. Russian Doll.

The big East Village one.

Orange Is The New Black with Danielle Brooks.

Who were you? I directed an episode

of Awkwafina's show.

Russian Doll is closest to my heart.

Yeah, that's the one that I got

most lost in the sauce in the edit,

and Pink Floyd, and what's it all about, Alfie?

And you got to shoot it in the hood.

You got to shoot it in the East Village.

I do like walking to work and night shoots.

You like night shoots?

[scoffs] Yeah, yeah, yeah. What are you,

a fucking vampire? You don't?

I don't understand.

Did you play Fosse or you didn't play Fosse?

[Sam chuckling] Sam, what's going on?

That's an act.

Okay? Listen, ever since

you accepted the role of Bugsy Siegel is Tai Chi,

I just feel like you've changed

and become a boring person. I hope there's not

a bunch of night shoots for Bugsy Siegel Tai Chi.

Ah, I can't help it.

I hope there're splits.

Okay, we'll make 'em split. Okay, because papa

likes to go to bed early.

I know you're a night owl. If baby wants something,

baby does his splits, we'll shoot splits.

Okay, what is Natasha Lyonne natural hair color?

Oh, let me

just take these off for you. [Sam laughing]

No problem.

It's suffice to say the curtains match the drapes, kids.

Hey.

She's here every Tuesday, everyone.

My mother was a redhead.

Try the veal. [card thudding]

I'm sort of a strawberry blonde, let's call it.

[Sam chuckling]

Okay, and with that.

Yes.

Sam Rockwell cop movie. [tape tearing]

What does that mean?

Is that a question?

Well, it's sort of like they ran outta room.

I think they gave up around now, Sam.

They were like, we've done enough.

What does that mean?

Have I played a cop?

[Crew Member] I think they're talking about

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Ah, yes. Ah,

let's go Billboards, baby.

That was a fun role.

It's a lot going on with that role.

He's a bad guy,

and then he learns the path to sort of,

I don't know, spirituality.

Did you love Martin McDonagh?

I loved Martin McDonagh.

Frances McDormand? I love Frances McDormand.

Did you get an Oscar for that?

Zeljko Ivanek.

I got, yes, I got the gold dude.

And I'm so sorry, where is that Oscar right now, Sam?

Do you have eyes on it?

I tie it to my toothbrush

so that I never- Oh God, that seems sensible.

Yeah.

I'm never without it, so I'm always reminded.

Much deserved.

Well, it feels like you should have

at least six or seven by now.

[Sam] Sam Rockwell, Bad Guys.

Another sort of missing then.

Another strange question. These are just-

Sort a non-sequitur.

Yeah, they're just kind of free-associating now.

I like Bad Guys, I like the franchise.

I'm a fan.

You are so good in this movie.

You're so good.

That's very nice of you to say.

I'm all right, but I mean,

you are so cool in this movie. You're so good.

You're pretty cool yourself.

Well, you know. Thank you for saying that.

Holistically.

We didn't get to work together in this one.

Well, we have our whole Tai Chi project.

We're gonna have to do a Tai Chi rom-com.

Yes.

Bugsy Siegel meets Bugsy-

Malone. Malone.

Yes. [chuckling]

Cracked it.

[tape tearing] Sam Rockwell, Gong Show.

I love you in this movie. Chuck Barris.

[sighing] I love you in this movie.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

George Clooney directed the shit outta that movie.

God, you're so good in it.

Clooney gave me a video camera.

He told me to go follow Chuck Barris around,

and I basically, practically lived

with Chuck Barris and his wife.

I've watched that movie- And Rutger Hauer

was in that movie.

I got to work with Rutger. Oh, from Blade Runner?

Hauer.

Wow. Yeah, along with

Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore.

Oh, and she's so great.

Okay.

Sam Rockwell. [tape tearing]

Iron Man Two.

Two, yes.

Fun, fun gig.

It was like making an independent movie, actually.

Me and Mickey Rourke, we were oddly shooting it in sequence.

Mm-hmm.

So we'd be like, let's add Mickey's parrot.

He said, I want my parrot.

He always wants his parrot.

That's Mickey. He wants his

fucking parrot in the movie

so we put the goddamn parrot in the movie.

Yeah.

I heard Darren Aronofsky had to get the parrot

outta the entire Wrestler.

[Sam laughing] Shot by shot.

They spent the entire budget on it.

The fucking parrot was wrestling for fuck's sake.

Look. On steroids.

I mean, come on, the guy's good at what he does.

Jesus Christ.

But I wouldn't be in that movie

if it wasn't for Justin Theroux and Jon Favreau, yeah.

I was texting with Justin.

You know, he was on Poker Face recently.

Yeah.

I was texting with him. Oh, he was?

Yesterday, and he was talking

a lot of shit about you, Sam.

He was?

Yeah.

He was saying, what'd he say?

He said, That guy can't do splits.

Never spent not one day with Chuck Barris.

I'm gonna Tai Chi his ass.

You're gonna.

Getting him back.

Ah, flingsy wingsy.

[card thudding] [Sam chuckling]

Natasha Lyonne [tape tearing]

have Instagram?

Me have Instagram?

Big time.

On there 29 hours a day.

See me there.

Who does Natasha Lyonne [tape tearing]

play in New Girl?

I remember, Gretchen.

Next.

Okay.

Can Natasha Lyonne swim?

Why would you wanna know this?

Why would they ask? Okay, first of all,

nobody loves swimming more than me.

Why do we need to know this? Other than

Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer.

Ah, good reference. I mean, that's a movie.

Natasha Lyonne [tape tearing]

voice acting.

Well, Bad Guys 2.

And now in theaters.

[card thudding]

Bada bing, bada bang.

All right, here we go.

[tape tearing] Boom.

What is Sam Rockwell's three week rule?

I see my beloved Leslie Bibb every three weeks, hopefully.

Oh, really?

Sometimes we had to break that rule, yeah.

That's actually really smart.

Yeah. What is

Sam Rockwell's monologue? [tape tearing]

We talking about White Lotus?

It's quite a monologue.

Check it out.

Would you say that any dark, dirty stuff happens in there?

Yeah, yeah.

What does Sam Rockwell [tape tearing]

dance to in Charlie's?

Ah, well, Gotta Give It Up, Marvin Gaye, yeah.

Charlie's Angels, that's right.

Okay, well, mission accomplished there.

There you go.

[tape tearing] I see.

Angels was here

at the bottom. Good question.

I thought maybe Charlie's was a dive bar,

no offense. [Sam laughing]

What is Sam Rockwell like in-

Real life?

[chuckling] He's a real bimbo.

[card thudding] That is not true.

Sammy's one of the,

I mean, he keeps- Is a real dummy.

He keeps our community together like nobody else.

[both kissing] I love Sammy Rocks.

Wow, that's a nice thing to say.

And it's true.

I'm gonna get shy and put my sunglasses on.

Oh, and I guess I'll get shy and just-

Wow. You know, find mine.

And then- That's a

very sweet thing to say.

You keep us grounded.

Keep a mouth of work. I will take the job.

Yeah, well, you've got the job.

I'm tech avail.

Thank you. [upbeat music]

I hope you've enjoyed.

Yes, it, so much.

This Tai Chi interview.