"FEELING THORNY!" w/ Rob Benedict

Leading up to the release of her upcoming memoir LITTLE MISS LITTLE COMPTON, Arden is doing a special WILL YOU ACCEPT THIS ROSE? podcast series called FEELING THORNY! In each Feeling Thorny! episode Arden will interview a podcast regular and some of her favorite creative friends about their upbringings, the awkward years, and how they made it in Hollywood. Up first Bachelor of the Year 2017-2020 Rob Benedict! He talks about being popular in high school, how his sister's roommate was Brad Pitt, and being excited about a Mountain Dew commercial!

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Will you accept this Rose? A production of
I Heart Radio? Oh yeah, I want to get all
up in you tonight. It seems so I just gotta
wonder to worship when you reach name. Hello, baby boys,

(00:42):
baby girls, baby humans, baby bunnies and monkeys out there.
My name is Ard Marine, and I have a special
special podcast for you guys today when we realize that
ABC is literally running out of content and they're like
trying to trick us that Sewn Mocy said that they
didn't just air this four weeks ago and we did

(01:03):
it with Jerry and um Rob, we were ready to
do another podcast. We're like, wait, we've done this one before.
But guess what in December, we clearly didn't know that
a pandemic was going to happen, but I knew we
were about to go into the Bachelor's season. It was
going to get busy for us. And I knew my
book was coming out in September and I wanted to

(01:25):
do something special in the release for it. Um. I'm
sure you guys have heard week after week me talking
about it, but I did. I wrote a book. I
wrote a book called little Miss Little Compton. Um. It's
a memoir. It talks about my family growing up in
this tiny town in Rhode Island with um an allegedly

(01:46):
illiterate chief of police and no stoplights in a general store,
and my parents never dated one another, they were co workers,
and when New Year's Eve they got engaged on a
dare and they got married six weeks later and they
stayed married for fifty years. And it starts with that,
and it talks about my time with my family, and

(02:09):
then also that I was able to, you know, go
up with no connections or anything and found my way
onto an NBC sitcom by the age of twenty two
and sort of how I did that, and some funny
stories about accidentally kicking Courtney Cox in the face on
the set of Friends. Things like that are all in
the book. So, um, if you guys enjoy what you

(02:32):
hear on the podcast, it's really my heart is in
this book. It's truly if you want to get to
know me, this it's all in there. And um, it
was probably the most intimate thing I've ever done, next
to the podcast. And I actually feel like doing this
podcast gave me the bravery to kind of open up
and be a little bit more honest about myself. I

(02:54):
think that in the past, even in my stand up,
I've never been super personal and just for you long
time listeners and maybe for some newer ones. But I mean,
the last few years personally have been wonderful and also
pretty banana pants batch crazy. Um. But uh yeah, there's
been a lot that's happened, and all happened during The Bachelor.

(03:16):
I lost both of my parents during the podcast season.
Both of them passed away on weekends, and both of
both times I ended up doing the podcast on Tuesday
because I canceled everything else but the one thing I
wanted to do with my podcast, so and it forced
me to be more open because I couldn't hide what
was going on. I couldn't hide the fact that I

(03:36):
was in my childhood then with my brother or my
mom in the first case like so that was this
was the place that I felt brave enough to start
sort of telling the truth. So what was fun about
writing the book was I realized I have all these
interesting and wonderful friends, none of whom grew up in
Los Angeles, none of whom had any connections, who are

(03:59):
a lot are large part of who you've gotten to
know as our regular participants. You know, we've got Rob
Benedict and Paget Brewster. Um, Aaron Foley was such a joy.
Lauren Lobkis and I had never really sat down and
looked at my story, and I was curious just what
made them them? I know them now, but I was

(04:20):
curious about how they grew up, where they grew up,
how they got their start with their family was like.
And so these episodes are a little more personal. So
we decided, my sweet sweet Anna, who is here and
it's been such a joy and such a gift and
is in the book. Um as are you guys the
podcast I you know you guys helped put Humpty back together.

(04:43):
It's really been one of the joys of my life. Um.
But we decided to do a series leading up to
the release of the book called Feeling Thorny, and so it's, uh,
it's sort of like, you know, you know, I think
you guys are wise enough, you get it. But they're
an intimate look. They're one on one interviews with some
of your favorite guests that are on and we're going

(05:03):
to do more of them in the quarantine. But the
first person up we just adore and I didn't know
him even though I worked with him. I did a
movie with him years ago, but I didn't really know
him before the podcast. And what's been so fun about
the podcast, I think for all of us is I
feel like I've made all these friends, both like in
person and you guys, I feel like our listeners were

(05:25):
the best listeners. But and I don't you feel like
we're on this weird little team of like you're you're
in a lot of podcast but this is a very
special little world that we created. Yeah, I would say
this is my favorite team. And it's just and if
it's your cup of team, you know, you guys get it.
And so I just so Our first one that we're

(05:45):
going to release is Rob benedict Um and it was
so interesting getting to know him. I mean, we have
a few coming up. We have Wells Adams, who was
you know, on The Bachelor as a regular. We did
one with Paget Rooster Um. We did one with Aaron
Folly and Lauren Lobkis. We did one with my boss
from Instatiable Um. She was the first female showrunner I

(06:09):
ever worked with and she really wowed me. Lauren Guss
And I'm just curious about like how people found their
voice owned who they are. And I think, you know,
even if you're not a performer, I think this is
hopefully this will be interesting for anybody. So I hope
you guys really enjoy these. Will be airing them on
the weeks that they're not you know where they have

(06:29):
reruns because we want you to have some fun new
content to listen to when they're torturing us with a
re repeat of Bachelor Goat. And I'm gonna do another
giveaway right now. Um, since you guys have been so sweet,
so don't forget to email in receipts of the book.
Please get the book. It's really fun, little miss little Compton. Um,

(06:50):
all right, so I'm gonna send a T shirt to
this person. This is gonna go married demanding you're getting
a T shirt? YEA exciting you guys like these this.
We had a lot of fun doing these. Feeling thorny,
wasn't it interesting? And it was interesting to learn more
about people in their background and where they came from

(07:12):
outside of the back. It was interesting. I actually found
what was interesting was how like how Wells and Rob
had slightly similar there was aspects of their stories that
were similar, which surprised me. I mean, I mean that's
what that's what we're learning about everyone. It's pretty yeah,
pretty cool. So we hope you will enjoy a more

(07:32):
intimate look into the players of the podcasts, and we
certainly enjoyed doing them, and they'll be a bunch of
them coming up. But ladies and gentlemen are very first
feeling thorny, Rob Benedict, you know what it is. Yeah,
hard to get a little closer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, wanta

(08:00):
on wan gonna be hot. Energy are gonna be super real.
She wants to get with Thorny. Yes, sexy. This is

(08:30):
a very sexy offshoot off. We except this rose feeling Thorny.
We're only the best of the best are invited into
my tent, into my lair to really it's like, we
know we've heard you talking about you're just like a
five heads. We know how you feel about James Taylor
or somebody coming out with a guitar, But now is

(08:51):
a time to really like, let's just like take some
ayahuasca and get to know one another. You guys, you've
been waiting for it. You're like, who is who is
it going to be Bachelor of the your that's Bachelor
of the your skip fourteen fifteen, Bachelor of Your sixteen,
not seventeen nineteen. Robert. Hi, Okay, exciting. So nice to

(09:20):
see you. I mean, and it's so it'll be so
odd to have a real conversation with you. I'm like terrified. No,
this is great. You've got no notes because there wasn't
an episode last night. I have no notes. I mean
I do have notes, sure, but I mean you're not.
We're not going through an episode. No, we're not going
through a No. It is it's like it's like we
can go anywhere we want. We can go off roating

(09:42):
for those listeners at home. I'm doing this in case
you don't know. I have a book coming out this fall,
so called Little Miss Little Compton that you can pre
order right now, you know what, And I'm begging you
please pre order it. I desperate. All I want in
life is to be on the best seller list. Apparently
you need eight thousand sales. It's all about the pre orders.

(10:04):
Get one, get one for your sister. Just order it now.
Forget you ordered it, and think of it like ambient Santa,
Like you take some Ambi and order a few and
a few months later it'll arrive. You don't know, Yeah,
do it. I'm gonna do it. Are you gonna do it?
And I'm excited to read it because I haven't read
it yet. I think it's really good. I'm exciting. I
think I think I actually did a good job. I
can't believe now is the Bachelor podcast in there? Yes

(10:24):
it is. Excited, Yes it is. I actually so. It
was an interesting thing writing it, and also in a
weird way, I feel like the podcast has helped me
get a little more honest and get to know people more.
It's surprised. Who would have ever thought a Bachelor podcast? Do?
I feel like I have like a real intimate group
of friends from this me too, for sure. I mean

(10:46):
people for me, you know, I don't you work with
people like Debbie Ryan like for me. I know we're
through this, but I feel like she's a really good friend.
But I feel like, honestly, I feel like that's how
and Paget and every but all of you, I knew
what about the same level, Like I knew a little
and I liked and then this was a way to
come in and to have almost like we have. We're

(11:07):
on a sports team where we play or we play
like chess, or like when you travel with somebody and
all of a sudden you become better friends because you
go through that experience together, or worse friends. Sometimes we
travel and that Okay, starting right there. Have you ever
had have you ever gone on a trip with a
buddy that you're like, I feel like this happens more
with women, but like, have you ever been like, we're
gonna go do this and then you start traveling with

(11:28):
somebody and then you see that they're like really uptight
or something. Um, I always dread it if I have
to travel with someone that I don't know that well, yeah, scary. Yeah,
And um, certainly I've had some bad trips with like
you know, girlfriends and stuff. But um, the thing that
comes to mind is my friend when I was a kid,
I like, my best friend is this guy, Trevor. And

(11:48):
Trevor is like my family's best friend. He's just he
grew up with me and my brother. He was like
a brother boy wasn't in our family, brother from another mother. Yeah.
And when we when I moved to l A, he
he came out to visit me and we took a
roach together and just he has really bad habits that
he never really knew, like what littering you know? Yeah

(12:08):
he had, yeah he had, he would yeah he would
like blows nose in a in a cleanex and throw
it out the window and I yea, yeah yeah are
you doing you can't do that. We had a huge
fun end. Would I would pick up his for sure.
I have to say I do as a comedy choice.

(12:30):
Like watching Anchor Man, I did always find it so
funny when they were just literally like, littering is such
a funny comedy device. Mad Men did it too, did they?
They had a picnic and then they just like just
it is like do I do think in a script?
I am appalled at littering. It's and it happens you
drive behind someone in l a we can do it,

(12:51):
and you're scared to say something Oh oh yeah, no
you can't because you'll go psycho. Now. You grew up
in Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, many brothers and sisters, youngest of four. Yeah, yeah,
I've got an oldest sister's like late fifties, and then
another sister and then a brother was three years older
than me. Wow. Yeah, so I'm very much younger child,

(13:13):
youngest child. Yeah, and um, I know you were at
your brother was like an athlete. Your brother was like
basketball six ft four and he was like star athlete
in high school. So I was, you know not, I
remember because I remember when we did sketch Fest, remember
that photo Anna, Yeah, with your girl. So were you, like,

(13:34):
were you like super popular like during because I feel
like my brother, my brother and I were both also
the smallest. We were tiny. I was too young for
my class and we both grew really late. I was
really tiny, and I was really popular. I used I
just used it to my advantage because I was always
the littlest in my class. And um, and I just

(13:55):
used humor as my kind of my thing. And it's
interesting because like, I don't know, do you think with
I feel like some of those with guys, like the
humor makes you popular with girls, it makes you neutered
and well liked. Friend zone Yeah, I mean I was
definitely friend zone. I wasn't popular like all the girls
wanted me. I was everybody's friend. But you had a

(14:15):
cute girlfriend, well, yeah she was. She was my neighbor
and so like for about five years, like literally from
like second grade on, it was like she's my girlfriend,
but like nothing ever happened. She was just my girlfriend.
That picture is so cute. Yeah, and she's a foot tall,
like a foot taller. I loved it. She grew and
I didn't. It's interesting that like that. I don't know

(14:37):
that many people that were popular early on. I did
pretty well. Like as a kid, I was, you know,
and in high school too, like yeah, I know a
lot of my friends like you know, fun high school.
I hated high school. Like for me, I did pretty well. Yeah,
how was college was? It was there? It was? It
was like it was because there was a reset button.
You're like, wait on, the popular guy from high school

(14:57):
be popular in college? Did you popular all the way
they were? No? No, no no. I was popular with
my I guess with my groups, but no, no in college. Like, um,
first of all, I went to Northwestern, so it was
like a lot of smart people. Yeah, and I was
valedictorian in my high school and you know, big shot.
And then I went to college and I was like
everybody was valictoria the high school, so like you're you're
not important, and that is a very I feel like

(15:19):
Northwestern in particular, Um, it's almost like an ivy and
but I feel like there's more of a love for
like people who go to I feel like it's more
Ride or Die Northwestern Number one. Like if you particularly
and were part of that whole theater crowd, did you
do like improv of miyow and all that stuff? But yeah,
I know for those of you, So Chicago was like

(15:40):
a huge I actually started doing like comedy and improv
in Chicago. And I remember there was a kid I
was nineteen and there was this kid, Ed Herbsman, who
was also nineteen, and he he was at Northwestern. We
were the two teenagers and he was part of the
Miao Show. And so like the Miya Show. Is this
prestige like very hard to get into, very prestigious good
college improv? Yeah, our mutual friend Bruce was show was

(16:05):
he was it intimidating to like as far as acting
and stuff goes, Like with the talent level at Northwestern,
did you feel intimidated? Um No, that was one area.
I didn't quite feel intimidated. We all were coming into
it at the same level of inexperience and um no,
you know, you in college you have that weird sort

(16:25):
of like confidence about certain things. And that's one thing
I always was like with my acting stuff. I always felt,
you know, really confident with that and that and you know,
and I found my group within the theater school theater school,
and then I also found my group within the fraternity system.
That's so interesting. But um, yeah, but I wasn't like

(16:46):
in high school. I just was a really good student.
So sorry, that's so loud? Am I crazy? Is the
typing like crazy? I think we're good. I'm like, I
feel like we're with Okay, okay, okay, I I feel
like we're at CNN. I know, like it's okay, okay, okay,
just writing down everything about it's okay. We can do
it at the end. We could do the gist at
the okay, so I know you're actually joining in scientology

(17:08):
right now, we're getting all of your secrets. This is
our e meter And then tell me and then tell
me more. Have you watched that Leah Remini scientology thing.
It's fascinating. What made her quit? Why did she stop?
Did you just have it like a come to Jesus moment?
Because she was deep in Yeah, I read her book.
It was because of the basically she was starting to

(17:31):
slowly question things. And then there was kind of a
showdown at the Tom Cruise wedding. Uh, and a lot
of it we started with Katie Holmes. Yeah, there was
some stuff went down and they were trying to get
her to pull Jennifer Lopez in and she kind of
was like, you get and shows more about Scientology than
Wait a minute. So they were trying to get her

(17:52):
to get j Lo at the Tom Cruise wedding. Yeah,
so they were like, invite ja little Tom Cruise wedding
and then it was like Tom Cruise would like to
take Tom Cruise and kid would love to take a
walk with Jennifer Lopez and he was Mark Anthony after
the wedding or something. It was like it was being
weird about and so Scientology turned on her and started
to be like, you're being bad. You're being a suppressant

(18:13):
person because you're not basically giving us full access to
Jennifer Lopez. It was like, and that was just one
of the things, Like other things were happening as well,
but she started to be like that's weird, Like should
I know that's what? Should I read the book? Should
I read the book? I mean, if you would like,
it's a good book. It takes you. She started in
scientology when she was like a child, right, so she
was she it was like her family. Oh my god,

(18:35):
you don't think so okay, okay, because your scientology chapter
is it is amazing. It's amazing. You know what. I
just liked to like suit cants on my shoulder. Oh yeah,
I did a sexual time out. So I we were

(18:56):
part of my My book is about my family. And
then I'll about coming to l A and I know
a little bit about you, but like and we've I
feel like I've gotten to know you more. Um at
festivals and stuff like that. Yeah yeah, yeah yeah when
you travel, um, but you're your did your dad It's
like I had a very tricky dad and you find
out out about it. I had a great mom, tricky dad.

(19:19):
Your dad? Did he leave? Was that? So when I
was like twelve, Um, he just started not being around
as much. And like I was again, I was very
much the youngest not told anything. Which has become an
issue in my later in my life is like I've
had I have trust issues because I don't believe you

(19:40):
when you tell me something. Because lots of like my
mom and my older siblings were like, it's fine, Robbie,
don't worry about It's fine. And then before I know what,
I'm hearing my mom talk on the phone. I remember
listening on the second floor listening to my mom on
the phone and the first floor talking about my dad's affair.
My dad's had a fair so I adults don't think

(20:00):
kids kids know what's going to get in and when
you're little like kids no way more than people realize.
And I asked my mom, I said, what's going on?
And my mom will never gets said, your dad just
has a very close relationship with somebody who works with
And you're like, I'm not an idiot. Yeah, yeah, and
so and this is this weird is a twelve year
old there's just this weird sort of like um fear.

(20:22):
I guess it settles in in your chest. You're not
quite sure what it is or what she means. You
know what she's not saying, but you don't know what
she's not saying. Were you close with your dad at
that point? Yeah, that's the thing. Is my from zero
to ten, I I thought I had an ideal life,
like we had this great house. Columbia, Missouri is a
great town. It's like a university town. So it's the
Austin of Missouri. Wow. Okay, yeah, it's it's this one

(20:44):
little liberal nook in the middle of Missouri, which is
a very red state. Now. Um and so we had
like R. E. M. Came to play like you have
this liberal thinking college. Everyone goes to colleges University of Missouri. Okay,
so it's the state school. Great so um So anyway,
so so you had this idea like football or baseball

(21:06):
catch on the front yard, you know. And of course
then after he turned asshole, there are things that you're like, oh, yeah,
I guess that was kind of One of the things
is my dad thought I was too short, and he
made me go to this growth doctor. Um. And that
was all through my teenage years. I had to go
to this growth doctor because he wanted me to be
as tall as my brother. And then he also teaches

(21:27):
you that something's wrong with you. Totally totally did you
take it in big time, big time my whole life.
I mean, it's still walking room and think I'm the
shortest guy in the room. Think about it. I just
found out that the average American height of a guy
is shorter than me, which is crazy. I I think
I'm I'm ridiculously short. I'm actually not for American men.
It's funny though, like the stuff that it's hard to

(21:48):
shake even when you know better, you know, I mean
my dad all he was so he would just call
me fat and like me truly, like and just this
stuff like he just would just be like who would
want to marry you? Like just awful And so then
you kind of know, like this doesn't sound like a
happy person telling me, and he had it's also like
your parents, you know, and so it's hard not to take.

(22:09):
But I do have a theory that a lot of
my favorite people have bad dad. I feel like our
generation had a lot of bad dad. Yeah. Yeah. We
were saying before we started the podcast that when someone
says they have a good dad, you're like, wait, wait,
really what Katie was saying She's got a good dad,
and I was like, weird, Anna has a tricky dad,
not a great dad. Yeah, it's an interesting Did your

(22:30):
mom and I get divorced? Did you know they stayed
married till the end? They were always home, he was
always he was just a jerk to me. He didn't
like me. Why I don't know. And honestly, like when
I really look back, and I didn't put this stuff
in the book because it's almost like too dark. But
like he was awful to me literally from the day
I got home from the hospital, like he held me

(22:50):
in the like you know, baby's necks aren't developed, Like
my first day home from the hospital, he held me
in the head in the doorway, like do you know
what I mean? Like so I think he'd made up
his mind, like he was just gonna tease. He just
was just a bullet. I don't think my brother's older,
he kind of you know, he wasn't a good dad
to either of us, but I think there was sort
of a man to man thing. I'm like, we're going

(23:12):
to talk business. But my brother was little, and he
always kept treating my brother, who is who is a
straight man and not the like from the time he
was five, he was like, you know, treating him like
you know, you better watch out in the shower, like
you're a little guy, you know what. I was like, Yeah,
he was just a very inappropriate was aware of it.
I think she was like that was I would say,

(23:33):
my I mean greatest lady, e our greatest mom, but
her achilles heel was it was it was him was
sort of like um and and like, oh he didn't
mean it, you know, like that kind of you're like, well,
that's kind of a horrible thing to do. And as
an adult, did you ever talk? Oh? Yeah, we did.
There was a year where I didn't talk to anybody

(23:55):
in my family for a whole year, I know. And
and you know, it's interesting. I think we just sort
of agreed to disagree, you know. It's like yeah, and
like and I also realized, like at a certain point,
I realized I had to let her off the hook
of like it's not my business. Uh you know, I
think I kept trying to wake her up, and it's like,
it's not my business to know. Like, I don't know

(24:16):
why she disliked he rang her bell. He was her
cup of tea, you know. And so and I think
realizing and that's her husband, and so it's like if
I'm going to go visit her, he's going to be there.
And so it was also like okay, for like, he
was so rude about my career, So it was like
what can I talk like news? Weather, sports? You know.
It was just very I'd be polite with him, but

(24:38):
I didn't. I didn't share much that then he could mock. Yeah,
And I think that what you're saying too is part
of growing up. You get to a certain point when
you've moved out, you're on your and you finally maybe
even in your thirties, and you're like, oh, okay, oh
now I have a different perspective on everything that went on,
and that that was my big thing, is like I
ultimately I so he so finally, so after I found

(25:01):
out that he was having an affair, of course, sourcefully,
then he just kind of started just like leaving. He'd
just go. He would leave for like a week and
come back, leave for a long weekend and come back.
They still married, still married, And I had to tell
friends who would spend the night on the weekends that
he was on a business trip. My mom and always
he's on a business trip. Saving face was a big deal.
Oh yeah, my dad want to rehab and they're like, say,
we're just going to We're going to Mexico. So he

(25:23):
drank right, um yeah, And my parents were drinkers. My
parents were like mad men, just like made My mom
would make my dad two scotches when he got home
from wife. That was his third life. My mom was
the housewife in my network. And then my dad would
just go. And there were two weeks, then we come
a month like then we just like yeah. And then
finally my mom, um, they we moved out of our

(25:45):
house and we moved just me and my mom and
my brother because my sisters were gone. So that's a
pretty big about faith. I mean, that's a pretty big
zero to ten. Yeah, we moved into a condo and
then he was gone. Do you ever do you have
any contact with him? No? You know, So he was gone,
and then he would kind of you know, and then
again he would come back for a little bit and
then go. And then he moved in with his mom

(26:07):
my grandmother, um. And then he finally moved into with
this woman and um, he moved in with her. They
were still married though I was still married and still
kind of saving face. And and then when I went
to colleges, when I was like, that was fucked up.
It's just weird that he was really married. He just
was gone. He just was gone. And he never sat
down with me and said, listen, I'm going through this thing,

(26:30):
you know, and now that I'm a father, I'm very
aware of all that stuff. And like he he never
had to talk with me. I was never ever told
what was going on. He just was gone. And then um,
and that's when I got mad. I went to college
and I'm mad. How of course how could not? Of
course he did. And you know that he missed all
my good stuff, missed the good stuff and the bad stuff.
You know, if I had a problem with the girl,
he wasn't there. And if I when I was valedictorian, like,

(26:53):
he wasn't there. That's when when my dad died, I
was surprised because he was dying forever. But I remember
how much reef I had, Like I knew I tried
everything that I was, like that he missed every everything
I had no interest, and like just the pain of like, wow,
you missed that on like a pretty great kid. You know,
That's what I'm aware of. Two Like my son now

(27:15):
is a sophomore in school. He's gonna be gone in
a couple of years. Like, cherish every minute you can with,
not only just if you have kids or not, but
like just fucking life and just be honest. So there
was this one for seven years he was gone. He
was gone, but they were married and then finally confusing
and nobody's talking about it. Did you talk about it
with your siblings? Yeah, my brother, my you know, my

(27:37):
my mom went to this whole period she was drinking
because she couldn't handle it. My brother and I were
just it was about trying to keep my mom healthy.
You know. My high school career was was weird because
I didn't have I didn't have a parents report to.
Um my, my house is kind of known as the
cool one because we could keep beer in the first
because she was barely keeping it together, right, that's right.
But you know we would find like out it is

(28:00):
it's fun and you're like it's fun for your friends,
and you're like, okay, yeah, it's fun if it's not
your parents. Um. And then I went to college my sophomore.
You're in college. She finally divorced him good and he
got married like five months later to the same lady.
Do they have kids? Know how? And so yeah, So

(28:21):
then I was like then and it's not like then
he was like, I'm so sorry he's this is this
is not a cool dude? No, mine wasn't it. That
was the thing too. I think for years I wanted
like a sorry, and then I was like, oh, that's
never like and I think I had stuff where I
would write me too. I sent letters. I sent letters,
and it was just like ammunition, I will say, like

(28:43):
there was a certain freedom of like okay, and even
in like in reading the book, like like obviously like
it's a funny book, but it's also an honest book
and realizing, like I think, I think when I started
to become more okay, was like, all right, so I
have this great mom, I have a great broad are like,
why can't rather than like a four legged stool, Why

(29:03):
can't I just be like or a four leg good
share Why can't I just be a well formed three
legged stool, right, rather than like a hobbly Like, Okay,
it just didn't happen. And it doesn't mean like I
certainly will be affected for the rest of my life.
I like, I certainly have effects from growing up with him,
but like just kind of like it didn't happen, right,
Like it's there's so many people on the earth who

(29:25):
do want to pay attention to you. Yeah, yeah, and
you know there's people that have it worse, but yeah,
you know as an actor to you, um, you know,
you find yourself in going out for roles with other
actors who feel like they've got a better sense of
self than you. Because my sense of self was not

(29:45):
um matured at all. I was still very much a
twelve year old boy who was hurt by my father
and I I I you know, I was jealous of
some other kids, my age, kids in their twenties who
were out here and just had this sense of like
great sense of self. I am, I'm great cause my
mom told me it was great every day. My mom
told me to hide it every day. But like, yeah,

(30:05):
but when you're like, I know that feelings is a huge,
huge stereotype and you know whatever. But um, a lot
of my Jewish friends I felt like, really had a
great sense of self. I feel like it's in a
lot of the Jewish culture that the mom's adore the boys,
You're gonna be this boy. There's not no one better
than this boy. I have friends who have Jewish friends
who have sons, and they're like, no one's better than myself.

(30:26):
And so the sun grows up with this. I mean,
it's all healthy and it's not weird that you've got
with this great sense of so why not me? Why
not me? Where I'm walking the room going like not me, no, no,
I believe me. I know. I walk in still feeling
like barbed from stranger things at all times. Yeah, and
and and it's a fucked up thing, right because of
what we do. My whole hiding, my dad having left,

(30:47):
hiding that, not hearing the truth from people about what
was going on, my dad never telling me the truth,
my dad ever apologized, your coming clean anything. Then I'm
going in these audition rooms and I'm trying. I'm auditioning
for this role, and I'm so parent. I'm like, what
are they thinking about? What do you think about? Right?
Do I suck? Do I suck on my suck? Suck?
You know what I mean? That whole thing that was
hard for me to get over all of that, I'll

(31:07):
tell you. I'll tell you what was an interesting thing
which started to help me a little bit was I
when I started doing stand up later and I at
first started doing it just for money, like because Bobby Lee,
who was I was on Mad TV with, and then
we were on Chelsea Lately together, and which was so fun,

(31:29):
and Chelsea Lately was really helping make stand ups careers,
and but you pay it's, you know, so delighted to
be a part of it in the payment you make
like surrender Bucks, but like it's the fun of the
exposure and people get to know who you are. And
remember Bobby was like art and like you're the only
one that's not capitalizing on this, Like you have the
same all the day, same TV credits, but like I'm

(31:50):
going out on the weekends and I'm making X number
of dollars every weekend, Like you could be doing that too,
and so like at first I was like terrified of it,
but I started doing it, and then like I felt
like I had to play catch up because I'd always
done improv or sketch, um, So you know, it's like
playing basketball or soccer, and then all of a sudden,
I'm playing baseball. Um. But like was like quickly there

(32:10):
was a very steep learning curve because I was quickly
starting to get booked in things I probably shouldn't have
been getting booked in earlier. But I noticed like I
had written one set that I thought was what people
wanted to see, and I felt like it was actually everything,
Like as I was recording them, and listening back and
I would improve things. It was actually like my flaws
or the things that I thought was the worst about me,

(32:31):
that was more relatable to people that like actually was
like everything I'm trying to hide is actually is what
makes you a good performer, Like and that's actually what
people want to see, and nobody wanted to hang out
with a perfect person. Like that was such an eye
opening thing, and I feel like I started getting more
interesting acting roles and I was like, actually the talent

(32:52):
is where like that what I'm trying to hide from
you is like the damn it, the more vulnerable you
can bet You're so so rob Is. I first got
to know who you were from Headcase. You're so good
on that. This was a show Ali went Worth. Was
it all improvised? Yeah? Was that fun? One of the
best acting experiences I ever had because of her ex

(33:14):
husband or her brother, her boyfriend, boyfriend. But I was
an agent who was trying to um trying. I was
just kind of a sleazy dude, and I was trying
to get clients by sleeping with her so that I
could get her clients and make them my own. Oh
my god, because she was she was the therapist at
the Stars. You were so good on that, so charismatic?

(33:37):
Was that was that a fun experience? Yeah? It was great.
It was again it was I don't even know how
I got it like that. It was one of the
things where they called me, They're like, hey, is Rob
available to come play with us today? So I went
down and did a day where she had we just
had a date and they liked what I did, so
they kept bringing me back, and then even audition they
started doing, and then I was just yeah, and then
I was kind of a series regular for season two.

(33:57):
What happened in that show? It just fizzles away. They
we did like did she like to have seasons or
two seasons? It felt like she didn't want to do it.
She didn't really want to do it stuff. Yeah, she
kind of had a different thing going, and you know,
she's an East Coast person, married, she's very much like
d C in New York and kind of wanted to
be back there. So it kind of you know, story

(34:19):
of my life. I mean, you know, like been in
so many projects where it's like everything is such great
potential and then just oh my god, what's your what
was your favorite creative like creatively, what was the most
fun job you ever had? I mean, that's one of
them really because what we did, we would do it
was it was Curb Your Enthusiasm. Yeah, it was so good.
So we'd come in and they go Bobby Bauer who

(34:39):
was the executive producer, who was awesome and so much fun,
and he was like, Okay, so this is what what
we're going to do. You're you're breaking up with her
in this scene, so let's just go. So so we
do it, and we and we do and we go
and it would be pretty long and sad. Great, keep
that part, lose that part, get to this quicker, it's
tew it again, and you do it like eight takes.

(35:00):
I mean there was a moment in time when Curb
Your Enthusiasm started and there was like eight thousand improv
shows and like you can tell the people like not
every like there's a reason there's writers, you know what
I mean. Like, and I felt like your show was
done so well. Yeah, yeah, no, it was. Creatively was
one of the best experiences. Um yeah, and I you know,

(35:20):
had high hopes. We were also on the same network
with Stars with um what was the waiting tables? Yeah,
with um uh. I did an episode called Gosh with
Lizzi Kaplan and Adam Scott and it was called Party Down,
Party Down, and that was like the daring. You guys
were the duel, Yeah, but they were like the darling.

(35:41):
We were like the bastardstupchild a little bit. And then
Stars was like, we're not doing comedy exactly after that. Um,
first celebrity encounter. First celebrity encounter. So when my sister
Amy she Um went to Northwestern and she was a
theater major and I basically followed in her foots up.
She came out at l A and I kind of followed.

(36:02):
She's six years older than me. Um. She came out
to l A. She's an actress. She's an actress. And
she did you have a sister here that's an act yea. Yeah,
and now she's kind that's crazy. Yeah, she does like
commercials and stuff. Now she has a family and she's
you know, but yeah, and she um she so um

(36:22):
she got out here. Um. She we're from Missouri. So
they someone a mutual friend called and said, Hey, there's
this guy from the University of Missouri just dropped out
and he's coming down l A. He needs a place
to live, and I thought of you, and she's like sure.
So his name is Brad Pitt and he my sister
when he first moved out together for like two years. Yeah,

(36:42):
and your sister was remained in friend Yeah, was that
right before you've done Louise? Did he get someone Louise
living with her at the end? Yeah? He first big
things he got a commercial. Was she like, holy shit,
this guy's hot. Sorry I had to cut you off. Yea, yeah,
she was was commercial. They were like brothers sister. They
never slept together anything. It was like they were just friends,
their buddies. But yeah, he was like beautiful and she
was like, yeah, my god, my roommate's beautiful and he's

(37:04):
got Yeah, so she's great. Pictures like candid pictures of
them just goofing around the Apartment's amazing. I I never
met her. My mom met him because my mom would
fly out to see her and met him. And then
he got a big, like Mountain Dew commercial, and that
was like a big deal. I remember watching it on
TV and going like, oh my god, that's so that's
Sammy's roommate. Okay. And then when I moved out to

(37:24):
l A finally in three, Um, I my friend Kim Williams,
who was a theater major Northwestern who got got Father
of the Bride while we were at school was Steve Martin.
It was a big deal. Yeah, it was a really
big deal. And so she kind of had a little
bit of a celebrity. So we we I got out
to l A. I moved out when she moved out,

(37:45):
were and I roomed with her boyfriend and she was like, Hey,
I'm I've got to stickets to go see this movie premiere.
Do you want to come with me? And it was, uh,
what's the movie with um Patricia Arquet and and there
and written by um? Uh I can I can not
remember anything? It was written by Quentin Tarantino. Okay, okay, okay,

(38:08):
yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're gunning people down and
it's her in Christian Slater. Yes, I went to the
true moment. Brad pitts in the movie. Brad pitt was there,
and first of I saw a lot of celebrities. I
was like, first like big, but I went be lying
to Brad Pitt and I was just like, hey, maybe
a brother. Oh my god. I'm like, oh my god,

(38:31):
I love that. I love that with Brad Pitt, and
I was like, oh my god, it's gonna be amazing. Okay,
wait a minute. Who was the thing you were telling
us when we did that podcast with Janine? Who was
your who did you freak out Eddie Eddie Better? Yeah? Yeah,
and I had an Eddie Vetter. How did you freak
out Eddie Vetter? Again? Um? Well? I love Eddie Vetter
and I met him twice. The first time I was

(38:53):
at La Llapaluzam when he wasn't even famous enough. He
was like walking around looking at things during the festival.
They played it like two in the afternoon Pearl Jam.
So I went up to and I was like, hey,
Eddie Vetterer, I'm a big fan, and I was a
kind of take your picture and like we didn't have phones,
we just had an actual camera, and he was like,
I don't really do pictures, but like I'll remember you,

(39:14):
and he kind of looked at my eyes and pointed
at my eyes and he was like, yeah, I remember you.
So for the longest time, I thought I would go
to the concert and I would think that he was
looking at it's like it's me. And then finally, when
I was a grown person. I went a friend of
mine knew Ben Harper, who was opening up on a
solo tour, and I found myself in his green room
at the end of the night, me him, Ben Harper,

(39:35):
and like three or four other people, and I couldn't.
I couldn't. Like he was in conversation, like right next
to me, and I just couldn't get in there to
talk to him. And all I could think to do
was ask him for a cigarette, And without stopping his conversation,
he just grabbed the pack of cigarettes and just slid
it over to my and and from at the time,
I was like, yes, you heard me, Oh my god, like,
but it's me, it's me. That's why Jeanine had one.

(39:57):
Janina like Janina put mind to waste. I mean, her
story was like it was bad. She was she like hammered,
something was happening, hammered. She was still drinking at the time.
She was hammered, and she basically kind of tried to
make out with it. That's right. I remember there was one.
I remember there was one that ended really interesting. We
were like friends and he hasn't and then they're not
friends anymore. You know, that, isn't it? So it's so

(40:19):
funny when you have just like an awkward encounter that
like you cannot recover from. It was your first celebrity
I saw. I was. I'm sure this is not my
first first, but like my first in l A. I
remember I was living in Zack Galfanakis's closet and we
went to do karaoke at the gaslight in Santa Monica

(40:40):
and Keith for Sutherland had just gotten divorced from Julia
Roberts and he was ship face and he was singing
I believe a bon Jovi song like maybe living on
a Prayer and before he started singing, and it was
like a Tuesday okay, and it's like there's hammered like
ate from the tablets, like popular divorcing. Julia Robberts probably

(41:04):
in the middle of a nasty divorce, screams to the crowd,
never get fucking married. What there? And then he like,
I remember, like we were I was a star strock
And then he's like and then we were leaving, and
then he stumbled out into the street and like and
then years later he was one of my favorite drunken

(41:24):
celebrity videos where he fights the Christmas tree in the
hotel lobby, which is incredible. And I will say, um,
somebody who shall remain nameless. He my friend used to
work at a hotel in New York, and who was
the guy that was married to Diane Lane and Josh Brolin,

(41:49):
So he was staying out. He my friend worked at
a hotel and his buddy was a doorman at the
Greenwich Hotel, and um, so Josh Brolin was ang there
and like he allegedly allegedly like stumbled over the night.
I think he might be sober. Now I go like,
you know, look, I'm not judging that I've done really stupid,

(42:11):
but apparently I'm not a strong ascent. Basically, let's just
say I could do his equally stupid shit. I'm just
don't have the strength. Apparently he was like pounding on
like some store window that was like like Caddy corner
to the Gretitch Hotel. So it was like a display
window that had no door. It was just like a
window like just you know, clothing. He was like, let
mean Gretitle, okay, like and it's like, you know, a mannequin.

(42:37):
And then he goes and he picks up a New
York City trash can, which is so heavy and he
takes it and he threw it through like the plateglass window,
and he was like gret and like the cops came,
and then the doorman had to go like slide money.
And this is all allegedly, guys, allegedly, I'm not saying

(43:00):
this happened. Maybe who knows. Apparently, and then they had
to like pay that it actually happened, and they paid,
they had to pay off the I love that the
hotel paid for it because I think he like stayed
there a lot, and I think it was like I
think they knew that they could build his room, you know,

(43:21):
like his publicister, what his business manager would cover it.
You know, that's amazing. I stayed at a hotel one
time that was a pretty ritzy hotel with somebody who
was my sort of celebrity friend who paid for the
whole thing. And my celebrity friend I decided to do
mushrooms and we did too many and having to go
to the hospital. Yeah, and we and then because an

(43:43):
ambulance came and got us since the hospital is a horrible.
It was a long, really funny story. But actually my
celebrity friend hates it when I tell it and I um,
and but to me, it's just hilarious it happened. So
then we woant up at this hospital. We have we
have how do we what we're gonna do? We're in
the middle of the city at a hospital. Up when you,
by the way, when you o d on mushrooms, you know,
the doctors like, no one's ever died on mushrooms. You're

(44:06):
fine because you think you're dying becase you're on mushrooms,
but nothing's gonna happen. They put make you eat charcoal.
And then yeah, um, so we were there, we don't
have we don't know what to do, and the hotel
literally sent a car to pick us up. And right,
that's right. That's when you see It's like, oh there
are there is the Illuminati, like there is that w secret.
I remember speaking of mushrooms and places you don't want

(44:27):
to be being at outside lands when I sprained my
ankle and we had to hobble to the like medic
tent at the medical tent at any music festival is
not where you want. You do not want to be
having to seek medical attention at a music festival. They
should make you look at it first to get you
to not do drugs. I mean it was really like

(44:48):
how did I end up here? And it was like
we hadn't even done our show yet, and like Paget
was walking around with bottles of like what is her?
She like Savin Blanc and her per screaming I'm too
famous for the ship. She wanted a she wanted a
golf cart, and she had like a puffer coat and
like stiletto heels and I'm like hobbling. It was a disaster,

(45:12):
but still fun. I really wish I would have been
there with you guys. Oh my god, I was doing
a convention or something. I'm to sketch Fest again. We
just got invited. Are you going? I'll tell you when
it is? Okay, January, right, yeah, it's January. We just
it's a Sunday. Sunday's our time slot. Sunday's our times obviously, yeah, obviously, yes,
the nineteenth Sunday. Then we'll go up on the eighteen. Um, okay,

(45:34):
wait a minute, um I okay, drugs, drugs, God, Okay,
I know I was trying it in the book. I
it's really rust clean always. No, I wasn't always clean.
I'm just bad at it. So like I went to
college in Colorado, I read a whole chapter and has
read it. I read I read a chapter. Okay, So
like writing a book is also like you, I feel

(45:56):
like I've forgotten everything you really have to for me
at least, I was like, what are my most humiliating
stories of my entire life? And I do remember. I
don't think I put this in the book, but like
I would drink it like a whole bottle of Boone's
Farm wine, and then like that's when I was like,
I'm gonna smoke pot. And then I would there would

(46:16):
be like a super bong that's like ten or twelve
feet long. I climb up onto some rickety homemade loft
in a on a dorm room. I would take a
twelve foot bong pole and then flying and like throwing
up under my rug in a bowl because I felt
like nobody could find me if I was under the rug,

(46:38):
nobody would notice the lump, nobody would see me under
the hair. I'm safe under hair. Nobody's gonna find me.
When your cats put their head under a blanket, yeah,
I'm safe. My cat does that at the at the
at the vet's like full under the blanket. I'm very
bad at drugs. I can I get so high and

(46:58):
I'm high for dates and I go straight past giggling
and I go right to middle Earth. Yeah, I I
used to be that way. I mean, I'm not good
drugs either. I just keep trying. You do it that.
I've had other people say that I don't have any
good goals. It's just pure paranoia. I've gotten better. Yeah,
I've gotten better at my older age because now I'm
aware of how little it takes for me. I used

(47:18):
to just do too much. So there's there's a bottle
and a twelve foot bond pool was problem. There's a
way to get just a little high. Yeah, yeah, there's
a way to get just a little high, just a
little tipsy on even drinking, like just moderation. I didn't
understand that before young rot. Well, you've got you got.
You fell in love in college, so you never had awkward.

(47:39):
You never had to date and l I never had
to date. I never had a date. I I met
someone in college and we got married. Did you have
a girlfriend all through high school? Yeah? A couple of girls,
like two girlfriends in high school. And yeah, so you've
always been pretty much coupled off. Yeah. Yeah, and again
I was very much like my I learned from my
siblings and they always, like my brother always had a girlfriend.

(48:01):
So like, okay, so I'm gonna always have a girlfriend.
And you know what I mean, like it just remember
you're my most socially So it's funny because I so
how you compare yourself to the guys in the audition room.
I'm like, he's not socially awkward. I get social anxiety,
and I look at you, and I think that guy
knows how to talk to people. Am I right? Yeah
for the most part. I mean yeah, I don't really.

(48:22):
I mean, I've always used my whatever anxiety is there.
I wouldn't call my anxiety social anxiety, but I have anxiety,
and I just use it in my you know what
I mean. I make I used to do it more
than I do now. But I'll make fun of myself
in the moment. I'll come interrupt a conversation like what
are you guys talking about? Oh my god, heah. I

(48:44):
get that you're like what you drinking and drinking honestly,
and that's why I do drink, as it does settle
my nerves. I'll tell you what, I only I only
really ease off of drinking because of I I am
so out of control with sweets that like there's too
much sugar and alcohol. So it's more than that I

(49:04):
just quit sugar. But um, and I'll tell you when
I quit sugar and then more than like okay, I
guess I won't drink. Is like I was like, oh
there's a reason there's alcal Like it is a good
social lubricant. Is it's relaxing it again its end it Okay,
wait a minute, tell me best of like best of
what you got from like the Benedict, like best of

(49:27):
the gifts that you were giving growing up, and like
like like what were the unique things from your house
that you think we're the best of? Um? Um, we're
very we are very social people and good around other people. Um.
My parents were in a community theater and that's where
I got the sort of theater bug. Um. But really,

(49:49):
honestly because of what happened with my dad, my siblings
and I and my mom all really bonded together. So
like we to this day. I'm very very close with
my siblings, very close with my mom, my brother, my
mom and I were I was like it's the three
of us and the guy and the dead. Yeah yeah, yeah,
you just naturally do right yeah. Um yeah, And I
think it's it's moved from this place of anger to

(50:12):
like we're all just like positive. Yeah yeah, but you're
close with all of them yeah yeah yeah. And like
you know, my such lives here and I get to
see her and my brother and I talk almost every day,
I mean a text almost every day. Um. Yeah, it's
we're tight, It's we're good. Funny family, funny hum humor
is really huge. I don't know what people talk about

(50:33):
if they don't make jokes. Like I'm truly like, I
literally don't know what people talk I don't either, and
like or if you're dating, like what do people? What
do people? What do you talk about? Year four? Like,
I don't know what you talk about? Yeah? If honestly,
if you're not laughing on the first date, it's not
going to work. No yeah no, um, but yeah, I
know for me, humor was a big I mean, my

(50:54):
my my uncle on one side is really hilarious. My
aunt on the other side, it's hilarious. Like you you're
the family has humor and like funny movies. He loved
my movie. I know. I remember I was grateful to
have an older brother and a funny My mom would
record SNL for me when I was in like second grade.
We would watch like Monty Python and Witty Allen before

(51:15):
we knew he was totally creepy, Like I was, like,
had a good education, you know. Yeah. I like when
people ask me what my music influences are, I'm always like, well,
I love Michael Jackson when it was okay, Yeah, I
loved him. I loved him he was when I was
sad to lose Um. Do you guys have any questions
for Rob? How fun? I have to say it's been
such a joy getting to know it's fun too. I

(51:37):
feel like I've now known you. This isn't coming on
four years, and like it's fun to actually I'm happy
to get to like to get and for the listeners
to get to know. What was great about my relationship
with you is it like we I knew who you were.
I knew who you were starting with Mad TV because
our friend Bruce worked on Mad TV and then now
runs RuPaul drag Ray exactly, and before that, Nicole Sullivan.

(51:59):
The reason any us knew about Mat TV's I'm like
really friends with Nicky Sullivan that she was in the
original cast, So that was like mad TV was always
a big part of my external life because I knew
all the people had been out of it. And then
so I knew who you were then. And then you
and I both were in a movie that we never
had scenes that we did a movie together a little
help and and and then I remember talking to you
at one of Bruce's Halloween party. You were addressing you

(52:22):
had like you had like you had like short shorts
and like knee high socks and like like Prefontaine. Yeah, yeah,
and um, and then you asked me to do this.
It was such a joy. Yeah, and it was like
this is when we actually became friends. Yeah, I love it. Yeah,
I know, it's so funny. We've built a weird little team.
I know it is. It's totally do you guys, And

(52:42):
you didn't meet Heightener until San Francisco. Yeah, he didn't disappoint. No,
he's amazing. He's amazing. He's amazing. He's amazing. Crew and Aaron.
I love Aaron. She just got hired on one day
at a time. She's a staff writer. Is that eating
I know, I love I love I love Paget, I

(53:04):
love the whole crew. It truly is like I've never been. Um,
I was not on a lot of teams, and so
I was like in theater clubs and stuff, but like
you don't have a lot of teams. But that's the
thing about is like again, I had this great high
school experience with then you get to college and then
you go out and you're in the real world and
like your team's dwindle and then in l A you
have to latch out. You have to find your team now.
And this is a fun team because I actually feel

(53:24):
like we play a weird sport. Like I feel like
we all play the sport of the bat high or something. Um,
we play highlight. I don't know about you, but things
are getting so hot in here. I think I gotta
take I'll pay your break you guys. Um, yeah, did

(53:47):
we cover everything we wanted to cover? I feel like,
is there anything you want to say? Do you have
a most embarrassing, most embarrassing adolescent Did you ever, like
have an epic fail of asking out a girl or anything?
All the time, all the time, I was so bad
at um, you know, up until when I asked my
wife to marry me. Was I was? I said, I
was wondering if you wouldn't mind marrying me so much? Yeah,

(54:10):
Like I screwed up the line. You said, I was
wondering if you wouldn't mind marrying me so much? Yeah? Yeah,
at yamashiros have in Hollywood. Wait a minute, you got
engaged at Yeah? Were you done on one knee when
you said I was? No. I sat next to her
and there we were sitting across from each other, and
I gave her this card. At the end of the card,
I said, Okay, put the car down and look at me.
I always wondering. I find that son deering. I find

(54:32):
that I think that's so extra cute. I was wondering
if you want am I marrying me so much? But
the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me in
my life, after the shrewdest thing, I was real shaky
and I started I started passing out in public, having
anxiety attacks and passing out in public. Yeah. I what

(54:53):
would make me pass out in public is the thought
that I would pass out in public. So it was
like a self fulfilling propose up I would be the
grocery store, like, up, you're gonna right here at the
checkout counter. You're gonna pass out. Um. So I was
She said a friend's wedding, standing up for the friend
in Chicago in front of four people in the program

(55:13):
and said, you know, meet the men who are standing
up for us. The groomsman, Bennet, he's been on this,
he's been on that. He's an actor. You might know
him from this or that they did that at the wedding.
That's weird. Yeah, yeah. And she's steal your food at night.
Sometimes she googles people she hates. She takes ambient and

(55:36):
orders makeup palace and they arrive and she forgot. She's like,
who send me this? She's been my friend for her
score is two eighties. I know that part was weird.
So here I am sober complus, but I'm up in
front of all these people, is kind of hot, and
all of a sudden, I'm like everybody, I feel like
everyone's looking at me, and I'm like, you're gonna pass out.

(55:57):
You're gonna pass out. Um, everyone's looking at you and
you're gonna pass out. This is what's going to happen.
And my friend describes being behind me and scene just sweat,
just form on the back of my neck. And the
next thing I know, I mean literally, the ceremony had
started and I'm on the ground and uh and the
priest was over me, and my friend was over me.
He was a doctor, and they're like, you just passed out,

(56:20):
you know, And it was just it was awful. That
was right before before it was during like during like
the valves and ship can introduced you guys during the valves.
So I they sat me next to to my wife
and she said, um, are you okay? I said, yeah,
here's the deal. You're gonna get up and you're gonna
walk that girl down the aisles. I had to walk
the bride'smaid down the aisle that I had. Here's the deal.

(56:42):
I like that your wife is a practical So then
I had to walk down the aisle in front of
everybody like hey, I'm the guy who just passed out.
Later that night, it was at the reception. I went
in the bathroom to go to the bathroom and just
to take a breath because I was it was overwhelming,
and I heard someone someone came in and there they're
pontificating about why I passed out. Oh my god, you're like,

(57:03):
I'm right here, I can't hear you. Did they think so?
I was like, I already had an iron deficiency. That's
actually very kind than dabbled in math exactly, like he's
a cocade exactly, like things aren't good at home. Wow,
that is that's the chapter that it should be. It

(57:27):
isn't interesting. You did stand up too. I did stand up. Yeah,
I did stand up. I was the opposite of you,
like I did that early and um, and I did
it with Zach a lot with Galvinakas did I wonder
if you ever early with him in New York? Okay,
I see, I did it, but I was afraid of it,
and I prefer to improvince. I liked playing with other

(57:47):
people something more like that. Yeah, yeah, no, I like
this too, And ultimately that's why I stopped doing ye. Um,
but I loved it for a while. I did. Yeah,
and I'd love to do it again. I still think
about it. My friend John Quainton's who I did it with.
We had a show together, and that's Zach would come
to our show. Where was your show? Uh, the old Largo? Yeah?
I bet I came and saw it because I was

(58:09):
living in his closet. Then, yeah, you might have. I
might have. He did a lot of shows there, oh man.
And he would do that in the Maryland and you
have five other shows that night. Um, I'm going to
bring up something. You were so sweet to my mom
in Nashville. J J went into the live show in
Nashville and she was so sweet. I'm so thankful that
I had that experience with her. That was one of

(58:29):
my last outings with her. Yeah, and it was just
me and her, it was it. And then the guest
and like I got in, I just flew on on
a red and I got in and took a shower
in your shoe and really, I'm so happy to be here.
And she said, are you though? Are you? Are you?
Are you really? And then when she started going on,
she started going on like some like online dates, and

(58:52):
she was like, I don't want to go out with
the guys because they're old, old men. Have you ever
seen old men balls? And I was like no, She's like,
you don't want to the old man ball because I would.
I'm gonna do the guy in his forties. I'll take
your friend Rob. Rob's married. But yeah, Okay, Yeah, she
liked you. Yeah, you could have been my future like
ex stepfather. Like if you just had like a two

(59:14):
weeks I mean, has that been written. That's a show.
That's got to be a show where I'm your stepfather.
Oh my god, that's actually not a bad idea. That's
actually a really funny idea. And if if I like
she said she would go out with you and you're like, no,
let's do it, I'm like okay, ha ha ha, Like no, seriously,
I'm ready, let's do that. Um, all right, let's see. Uh.

(59:36):
So you started dating your wife in college? Yeah, yeah,
in college. How old were you when you met? I
was twenty one, she was twenty and then that was
a junior in college. And then we graduated. And when
did you do that amazing proposal? Amazingros was when I
was three, that's she was two. We got married. I

(59:56):
was twenty four years twenty who just got married a
year later? And twenty for you guys, have two beautiful,
two beautiful kids. And we were married for like twenty
four years and that's a successful marriage. Yeah. Yeah, it
was great. I mean it was great. And we split up, um,
you know, a year and a half ago, and you
know it, the breakups are hard, and breakups after that

(01:00:17):
long or so sad and so hard. But um man,
I just I'm so thankful that it's it's been very
amicable between us. I remember we were at a festival
and I like before I just remember that I could
see it, like you being conflicted and I think probably
I would imagine probably coming from a house with divorce,
like like there's somehow it's like I don't want to

(01:00:37):
do that and like I don't know, I just like
I feel like you've had is to like to meet
somebody that young, and like that's a successful marriage. Really,
it really really is. And you know, uh one thing
I learned from my upbringing just bringing it all back
around it like the you know, the first thing we
do is we sat down with the kids and talked

(01:00:58):
to them doing a different whole old time. I've been
so um so communicative with the kids about what's going on.
Um I've been so incredibly involved in their life and they've,
you know, since the split up, like they've been such
a huge part of my life in a way, almost
more so because you do you want to give to
being around him and and as we were saying earlier,

(01:01:19):
like kids aren't dumb, so like I remember in my house,
like I just kept like, why is she still with
like like and it's a different vibe, but like kids know,
if it's less joyful, you know, and it's like it's okay,
look at they did, they did. Your main job is
to love them as long as there's love around. I
think you love and respect your wife. Oh yeah, I said,

(01:01:42):
I always will. She's the love of my life. And
I always will. And I've had a bunch of friends
who've gotten who've gotten divorced, and I know it's like
the worst year of everyone's lives. And I will say,
like down the road, like a lot of them got
divorced a few years ago, and like, and I know
it was horrible, even if they were the ones that
wanted it, it was horrible. And then everybody is happier

(01:02:08):
for it. Like there's a reason nobody takes it lightly.
I don't know, no, no, no, no no. And maybe
our previous generation did, but like you know, and you know,
and I have a um, I've got a space with
rooms for the kids, and so they're through with me
half the time, and and and they're adjusting and you
know what I mean that they feel loved and you know,
it's it's all okay, it's like the modern family. Right. Well,

(01:02:30):
you seem I have to say, you also just seem
you seem very much yourself, you know, and I think
there's like a piece there and you seem happy and
and you know, like like something that you committed to
her or something that you made twenty one, Like, that's
an amazing, happy, successful run. That's a very amazing I

(01:02:50):
don't know anybody else that picks somebody that young, that
lasted that long. No one, not one person. Right, It
is nice to see you happy. Yeah, yeah, it's good.
It's I'm very hopeful. Do you do you how often?
Like I know you're in a band Loud and Swain.
How many albums do you have? About? Oh my god,
like eight that's a lot. Yeah, yeah, we've been together

(01:03:12):
since the late nineties. And do you write the music?
I write the lyrics and I write sort of half
the songs are start as songs that I write, but
then I bring it to the band and so the
credits are the music by Loud and Swain, lyrics by
Rob Bennet. But and do you how many people are
in the band, and has it been the same for
the whole time? UM, three of us the whole time,
and then the lead guitar player joined us UM in

(01:03:34):
like two thou four, So that's another fun team that
you're on. So so fun. Yeah, that's my extracurricular activity
and you love it. I love it. I love it.
And now it's it's gotten to the point where the band, UM,
We've I've been able to sort of incorporate the band
into what I do because the band plays the conventions
that so fun to do with Supernatural, So like they come,
they're kind of the house band all weekend and then

(01:03:55):
on Saturday night we had this big concert. And so
we've made all these bands now and it's it's been
great great. I mean, like, you're so talented, You're such
a delight. I wanted to do more comedy stuff. I will,
I will. I'm excited. I'm excited for you to join
us for our lives. UM and UM is there. I
don't know when this will air, but so look up

(01:04:16):
Robin by his albums, Yeah, by my albums, Loud and Swaying.
We're on iTunes and Spotify and all those things. And
and guys, just you don't have to pop an ambient,
but just get ready to make some bad decisions and
just just go online shopping. But order my book please
a little miss little Compton. You can get out on Amazon.
It's all about the pre order. Please by by stack

(01:04:38):
it up for the next holiday season. Have it be
your hostess gift. You're like a buy a ton of them,
so you bring up to whenever you go visit somebody.
I will if you bring him to any show I'm at,
I will sign any of them. It's a really fun book.
And just you know, like and you think, oh, yeah,
I mean to do it. Please just do it today.

(01:04:58):
I actually think I believe I can't believe it. I
actually think I did a good job. I know you did.
I know you did. I think it's funny and good
you have. You have a good story. You have a
good story to tell you story. Rob I love you
very much. Um, I hope you're feeling thorny. I guess
we'll play our new song out pretty thorny. Katie, Anna,

(01:05:19):
you have any more questions for Robber? You good? I'm great.
That was so insightful and to who you are, it's
interesting thank you. I interview each of you guys too,
so at some point you're ready. I know, I'm curious
and their stories. You know what time it is. It's
time for hard to get a little close and a

(01:05:42):
little Thorny's gonna go one on one, gonna be hot,
and ergons are gonna be super real, and she wants
to get with you and all the fields feeling thorny. Yeah,
fling thorny. Whoa g thorny, feeling thorny. We're notting Marie, Yeah,

(01:06:17):
eating thorny. Will you accept this? Rose is a production
of I Heart Radio. For more podcast on iHeart Radio,
visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.