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  • -Before you became an award-winning actor,

  • I did some research on you and found out

  • that you were a taxi driver at one point?

  • -That's deep research. -Yes.

  • -Briefly, but, yes,

  • in my unemployed-actor days in the early '70s, yeah.

  • -Really? -I drove a taxi.

  • -You got a medallion and everything?

  • -Yeah. It didn't last long. -Why?

  • -You'll notice there aren't a lot of 6'4" taxi drivers.

  • They don't give you any leg room.

  • It's all for the people in back.

  • So I spent about a half a summer like this.

  • -Yeah, and you go, "Yeah, I'm not gonna do it."

  • -I was going limp from it.

  • That was the end of that. -Yeah. Well, did you have fun?

  • Did you like meeting the people?

  • Did you ever like -- You ever try characters or...?

  • -It was like being in the movie "Taxi Driver."

  • I mean -- -Really?

  • -You know, New York was a hard case back in those days.

  • -Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

  • -But, you know, it was a good thing to have.

  • -Did you develop any skills?

  • -Well, I figured out how to avoid red traffic lights.

  • -Yeah. -As a matter of fact, I came out

  • of Lincoln Tunnel driving my daughter home from school once,

  • and I said, "Okay, I'm gonna get all the way from here

  • to 86th Street without hitting a single red light."

  • And I just invoked all my taxi skills.

  • -You did that?

  • -It was like -- It was like, "Ford and Ferrari."

  • Right? She was like, "Dad, what are you doing?!"

  • -White-knuckling everything. -I said, "Look around.

  • The taxis aren't going any faster than I am."

  • Not one red light. -Wow. Look at you. Stud.

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • That's a real -- That's a talent.

  • -It's like riding a bicycle. You don't forget.

  • -Speaking of talent, last time, we were talking about

  • your greeting-card company you started as a child.

  • -Oh, yeah. -Yeah.

  • -Which is very -- And I brought you this year's Christmas card.

  • -Do you pay for all your -- -

  • -I no longer have a company, but we do our own Christmas cards.

  • So I brought this just for you, Jimmy.

  • [ Audience awws ]

  • Don't show it to anybody 'cause I only put in the mail today,

  • and my friends haven't seen it yet.

  • -Okay, yeah. I won't show anybody.

  • Just look over there for a second.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • [ Cheers and applause ]

  • -[ Laughs ]

  • -I want you to do me a favor, though, yeah.

  • That's very good. Very good. I love you, buddy.

  • That's awesome. -Well, you know.

  • -I'm gonna hang this on the wall next to your painting.

  • -Eventually, you -- That's right.

  • -You painted a beautiful painting of my dog, Gary.

  • -It's show-and-tell with John Lithgow.

  • -Yeah, exactly. You're all -- -Yeah.

  • -I do. I love -- I love showing everyone

  • that you did that for me. It was so nice.

  • I watched "Bombshell" the other night,

  • and I was just blown away.

  • Everybody, the whole cast was fantastic.

  • Charlize Theron.

  • And you -- Again, I don't know how you do this.

  • You transform into a whole new human.

  • It d-- I'm like, "That's John?"

  • I can't believe you're crushing it.

  • I mean, you play Roger Ailes in the movie.

  • Can we set up what "Bombshell" is?

  • -Well, it is the story

  • of Roger Ailes' fall at Fox News,

  • which all happened very fast over the course of about

  • 16 days at the end of his career at Fox.

  • But the film is mainly about the women who came forward

  • and bit by bit made that courageous move.

  • And they are played by Charlize and Nicole Kidman.

  • -Nicole Kidman. -Margot Robbie.

  • -Oh -- Everyone's --

  • Megyn Kelly was across the hall from us for a year.

  • -Yeah. -We used to see her every day.

  • -Yeah. -Charlize does an amazing job.

  • -It's an extraordinary film. We're so proud of it.

  • -Everybody is fanta-- You --

  • Can I just show a picture of you as Roger Ailes?

  • Look at this. This is John Lithgow.

  • [ Audience oohs ] Isn't that unbelievable?

  • I mean, how did you do -- Who did the makeup on it?

  • -This amazing, man, Kazuhiro, did the makeup.

  • Colleen Atwood changed both my body

  • and my taste in clothing.

  • [ Laughter ]

  • And -- No, those were my -- my co-conspirators.

  • -And I got to say.

  • I mean, from knowing you throughout the years,

  • you're one of the nicest people I've ever met in my entire life.

  • And for you to play such a creep...

  • [ Laughter ]

  • ...is honestly -- It's shocking to see.

  • -I know. -I mean, is it --

  • Does this help you get into character to become this human?

  • -Well, it was --

  • You know, the only hard acting is bad writing.

  • And this is a marvelous script by Charles Randolph,

  • the Oscar winner for "The Big Short."

  • -Oh, that's right. -He told the story of

  • Roger's fall the way he told the story

  • of the financial crisis in "The Big Short."

  • And I don't know. -It moves so fast.

  • I wanna -- I wish -- I almost want the movie to be longer.

  • It was just like, "Oof."

  • You just feel so bad for these women,

  • and you go, "Oh, my gosh.

  • I hope the guy gets what's coming to him."

  • -And he does. -And he does, absolutely does.

  • I think you're now --

  • You've actually cornered the market on, like, fake jowls.

  • -Yeah.

  • -'Cause this is you in "The Crown," as well.

  • -Yeah. -And I go -- This --

  • [ Cheers and applause ] -That's -- It's interesting.

  • -I mean, you don't --

  • -I don't know. They just want me for fat, old, bald men.

  • -[ Laughs ] You're the best!

  • Corner the market! -Go figure.

-Before you became an award-winning actor,

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