20. Justin Theroux

Justin Theroux (0:01)

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

Louis Theroux (0:04)

Yeah, let's jump in, I've started recording. Hello, I'm Louis Theroux, and welcome back to another episode of my podcast series for BBC Radio 4, Grounded with Louis Theroux, in which I catch up with people locked down like me.

Justin Theroux (0:22)

How come I'm not seeing anybody? Is there a way to make that happen?

Louis Theroux (0:24)

You should be able to see us.

Justin Theroux (0:26)

My screen is black.

Louis Theroux (0:28)

Today, in a grounded first, I'm keeping it in the family, talking to my cousin, Justin Theroux. Or is it Theroux? But we'll be coming on to that. Wait, you can't see me?

Justin Theroux (0:39)

Anybody.

Louis Theroux (0:40)

This is the good stuff. This is all the candid behind the scenes sitting in the back.

Justin Theroux (0:44)

This is gold, the stuff we're getting right now. Maybe, should we hang up and try again and try and come back to you?

SPEAKER_3 (0:50)

So is the whole screen black?

Justin Theroux (0:52)

I can see names and I can see what it's as if no one has cameras. I'm going to leave for one second, I'll be right back.

Louis Theroux (0:57)

Okay, or we do it blind, like worst-case scenario.

Justin Theroux (1:03)

That's no fun.

Louis Theroux (1:04)

It's not as fun. I can see you.

Justin Theroux (1:06)

I know, but let's just not do it.

Louis Theroux (1:09)

The screenwriter of Tropic Thunder and Iron Man 2, star of The Leftovers and not one, but two David Lynch films. Justin was once described as a character actor trapped inside the body of a matinee idol.

Justin Theroux (1:25)

Whoa, I got it. I can see everybody.

Louis Theroux (1:28)

Connecting to audio. There we go. Hey, Lou. How are you doing? Thanks for doing this. This is exciting. I feel like we spent a while hooking it up and then now we've just endured what felt like an eternity, but was only 20 minutes or so.

Justin Theroux (1:42)

You've earned 20 minutes.

SPEAKER_3 (1:43)

You got five left, my friend.

Louis Theroux (1:45)

I took advantage of our family connection and guilt tripped him into a long-form conversation while he was on location in Mexico starring in a new series. Prepare for some strong language.

Justin Theroux (2:00)

Yeah, we managed through. We muddled through.

Louis Theroux (2:03)

We got through. You hacked into the mainframe. I didn't realize you had as much technical know-how as you evidently have.

Justin Theroux (2:09)

No one knows that.

Louis Theroux (2:10)

Another string to the already well-strung bow of Justin Theroux. I hesitate to give our common name a mispronunciation that you insist on saying is the correct one.

Justin Theroux (2:23)

Some people might not even know what we're talking about. You go by Theroux and I go by Theroux.

Louis Theroux (2:28)

To put it another way, I use the correct pronunciation and you use some weird incorrect one. Theroux, it's a name of French origin. I guess the related words would be words like roux as in roux sauce.

Justin Theroux (2:41)

Well, if you wanted to get technical, when you go to France and they say, oh, bonjour monsieur Theroux and they put the T on it. So maybe you're wrong too. Maybe we're both wrong. Maybe we can agree on that.

Louis Theroux (2:52)

Well, yeah, if you wanted to go the whole hog. Let's talk about, so this is a grounded first. We're straddling three time zones. We've got a producer in London. I'm in Texas and you're in?

Justin Theroux (3:06)

Guadalajara, Mexico.

Louis Theroux (3:08)

And could I say that you're quarantining? How much can we say about what's going on with you in the here and now?

Justin Theroux (3:13)

Not quarantining. I was quarantining in New York, but I was doing a show in Mexico when the pandemic hit the planet. And we all scurried to our homes, shut down production, and I stayed in quarantine in New York. After a certain point, we realized we should probably start working once we all felt safe enough and we had the means to do it. And so we devised a plan to create a bubble in Mexico, a sort of a rigorous bubble so that we could continue shooting. And there's all kinds of protocols and things in place for us to do that. And you really just kind of go to work and go home.

Louis Theroux (3:48)

Is everyone in a single bubble? In other words, can you get as close as you like to everyone who's on set?

Justin Theroux (3:55)

Yes, but on set, the crew 100% of the time has to be wearing eye coverings, masks, that kind of thing. We rehearse with masks and eye coverings on.