>> jimmy: my thanks to dakota johnson, jonathan groff, matt berninger, once again! [ cheers and applause ] and the roots from philadelphia, pennsylvania. [ cheers and applause ] thank you for watching. stay tuned for "late night with seth meyers." goodnight, everybody! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> announcer: from 30 rockefeller plaza in new york, it's "late night with seth meyers." tonight -- george clooney, stars of broadway's "death becomes her," actors jennifer simard and

christopher sieber, an all new "closer look." ♪ [ cheers and applause ] and now, seth meyers. >> seth: good evening, everybody. i'm seth meyers. this is "late night." we hope you're doing well. and now, if you don't mind, we're going to get to the news. president trump last week pardoned reality tv stars todd and julie chrisley, who were in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion. and if trump is guilty of anything, it's also those two things. [ laughter ] president trump said last week that in exchange for being included in his so-called "golden dome" missile defense program, canada is considering becoming the 51st state, in the same sense that your wife is considering a three-way. [ laughter ] "i think she's on the fence." [ laughter ] elon musk last week announced that he is leaving the trump administration. "wow, he usually doesn't announce when he's leaving," said his kids. [ laughter and applause ] president trump -- no, we can't applaud deadbeat dads. [ laughter ]

president trump on friday hosted a farewell ceremony in the oval office for elon musk, and presented him with a golden key to the white house. a golden key? i swear, everything trump learned about being a rich guy, he learned from saturday morning cartoons. [ laughter ] i'm surprised he doesn't show up to work in a top hat and a monocle. during an oval office press conference on friday with president trump, elon musk said that his 5-year-old son gave him a black eye. wow, how embarrassing is the truth if that's your cover story? [ laughter ] "um, um, a 5-year-old punched me and -- okay, fine, it was a baby. a baby punched me -- [ laughter ] -- back. a baby punched me back." [ laughter ] president trump reposted a conspiracy theory on truth social over the weekend that claims that former president joe biden was executed in 2020 and replaced with clones and robots. jesus. [ light laughter ] even marjorie taylor greene thinks that's farfetched. [ laughter ] even if dems wanted to, have you seen the hall of presidents?

the technology's not there! [ laughter ] a video has gained attention online that shows french president emmanuel macron being shoved in the face by his wife brigitte as they disembarked a plane. or, as that's known in france, second base. [ laughter ] cnn has announced it will air a live performance of the play "good night and good luck," which will be the first time a broadway show will be televised live. and to simulate the experience of seeing it live, an old person will come to your home and forget to turn off the ringer on their phone. [ laughter ] "hi, i'm here for the show. [ light laughter ] i brought tiny candies." [ light laughter ] authorities in california recently discovered two rattlesnakes and a baby spider monkey while searching the home of a suspected drug dealer, and definite drug user. [ laughter ] "i don't remember buying a spider monkey." [ light laughter ] today was national leave work early day. like, three years early?

[ laughter and applause ] how early? [ cheers and applause ] and finally -- and finally, the mta and new york transit museum will later this month bring back vintage train cars for a special service in brooklyn. of course the question is, "how will we know?" [ laughter ] and that is, everybody, is the monologue! we have -- [ cheers and applause ] well, we have an excellent, excellent show for you tonight. he is an oscar-winning actor, producer, and director, who is now tony-nominated for his broadway debut in "good night and good luck," now playing at the winter garden theater. george clooney is here, you guys. there he is. [ cheers and applause ] and he's here. he's here. they're also starring in the fantastic tony-nominated broadway show "death becomes her" at the lunt-fontanne theatre, jennifer simard and christopher sieber are also joining us. [ cheers and applause ] broadway night, everybody. take advantage of monday with broadway night. before we get to all that, i am

back from a two-week break, and i am feeling excited to dive in, and dissect the day's news. i have a renewed zeal, you might even say a renewed zest, for the job, as well as a brand new thesaurus. [ laughter ] and i'm feeling exhilarated, vivacious. [ laughter ] possibly even ebullient --! [ laughter ] at the prospect of once again synthesizing and contextualizing the day's top stories. let's take a look at 'em. >> president trump reposting a far right dark conspiracy that former president biden was executed five years ago, and is actually now a robotically engineered clone. >> musk accused apparently of using ketamine, psychedelic mushrooms, ecstasy, and they say he would travel with a box of 20 pills every day. >> when iowa voters asked republican senator joni ernst about medicaid cuts that could lead to deaths, she replied, quote, "well, we're all gonna die." [ audience ohs ] >> seth: sorryry, i'm loing for a synonym for the words "[ bleep ] me." [ laughter ]

although, you know, what? i think in this case, "[ bleep ] me," works just fine. for more on this, it's time for "a closer look." [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> seth: you know, our politics are very divided right now, but i think we can all come together to give a big round of applause to a dedicated public servant who selflessly offered his talents and business acumen to the american people for no personal gain other than the flourishing of the great american experiment, and by all accounts succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. and and i'm just [ bleep ] with you. it's elon musk. [ laughter ] >> it's now official, elon musk is leaving his role as a special government employee in the trump administration. >> musk fell far short of his d.o.g.e. goals after promising to cut up to $2 trillion in federal spending. he lowered expectations to only $150 billion in the current fiscal year. >> i think they're only sending $9 billion in d.o.g.e. cuts to -- which is nothing, it's a drop in the bucket, which means pretty much his effort was a failure. >> a legacy of disease, starvation, and death. >> in the oval office today, president trump's farewell to elon musk. what elon musk acknowledged today.

musk also explaining his black eye. >> seth: it's wild that this guy arrived in washington to cheers from conservatives and now he's leaving with plummeting sales and a black eye. although, based on how he waved a chainsaw around like a night club lumberjack, i guess he should just be happy he still has all his limbs? [ laughter ] by the way, musk claims he got the black eye because he's told his son to punch him in the face, and then his son did. i'm sorry, why is this guy considered a genius? [ laughter ] i mean, my boys love me, but all they're ever waiting for in regards to punching me in the face is an invitation. [ laughter ] but elon's former employer/subordinate, donald trump, was cool about it. >> but i -- i didn't feel -- i didn't really feel much at the time. and then, i guess it bruised up. but i was just horsing around with the kids, basically. >> i didn't notice it, actually. >> seth: not -- [ laughter ] not the compliment he thinks it is. "i didn't notice it. i mean, you always look like [ bleep ], right, everyone? i mean -- [ laughter ] elon always looks a little weird. weird name, weird face. i mean, he looks like a xerox of his own headshot. [ laughter ] noticing a black eye on this guy

would be like noticing a dirt stain on a dumpster. anyway, we're going to miss you, elon." so, he's got a black eye, and a record of failure, but hey, at least he's not going home totally empty handed. >> the former d.o.g.e. head and tesla ceo held a joint press conference with president trump at the oval office earlier today. trump awarded musk with a gold-colored key for his work with d.o.g.e. >> seth: classic trump. musk endangers his businesses, exposes his personal life, and becomes one of the most disliked public figures in america, and in return trump gives him a crappy prop from an escape room. [ laughter ] "it only works on one door, and that's the door that lets you the [ bleep ] out of here." [ laughter ] in fact, musk failed so miserably at his job and caused so much damage that he is now openly distancing himself from the trump administration. >> it's not like i agree with everything the administration does. so, it's like, there's -- i mean, i agree with much of what the administration does, but we have differences of opinion. um, you know, i -- i -- the things that i -- i don't entirely agree with.

but i -- i -- it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a mode of contention. so then i'm -- i'm a little stuck in a bind where i'm like, well, i don't want to, you know, speak up against the administration, but i don't want to -- i also don't want to take responsibility for everything the administration is doing. >> seth: it's a real damned if you do, damned if you ask your son to punch you in the eye. [ laughter ] look, man, you shouldn't have become the trump administration's new mascot. you were constantly there the inauguration and cabinet meetings and press conferences. saying you don't take responsibility for everything that they're doing is like gritty saying, "philadelphia fans are insane. i am a man of reason. [ laughter ] if i am even a man. [ light laughter ] what is gritty?" [ light laughter ] so, what is musk distancing himself from anyway? well, the trump administration and republicans in congress are rapidly dismantling american civil society and turning the country into a reclusive oligarchy in which consumer

prices fluctuate with the whims of one man, the president openly enriches himself with [ bleep ] from foreign countries, colleges and universities are censored, families of migrants with no criminal record are kidnapped off the streets, members of the opposition party are arrested and harassed, and basic public serves like food inspections and air traffic safety and vaccine research grind to a halt, while a secret military contractor assembles a sprawling technological database to track american citizens, and massive amounts of wealth are redistributed from working class people to the top 1% through devastating cuts to health care, and nutrition assistance programs. but i don't want to talk about any of that! and neither does the media! we both want to talk about something way more important. joe biden is, and has been, for a while, very old. >> house republicans are escalating their pursuit of answers about then-president biden's health, and an alleged cover-up by those close to him. >> we're gonna try to get to the bottom of this, because this is the biggest scandal in american history. >> this is the biggest scandal i could ever imagine in our lives.

there's never been anything like this. >> this is a major scandal, in my view, the biggest one in presidential history. >> the biggest corruption in the history of the country, bigger than watergate. >> i actually do believe this is a more egregious and longer running scandal than watergate. >> i think it's about time the legacy media finally admits that was one of the greatest cover-ups and scandals that ever took place in american history. >> this is the biggest scandal in american media history. >> this is the biggest scandal that i remember in recent political history. >> seth: then i hate to tell you this, you have a bad memory. maybe -- [ laughter ] you should take a cognitive test. you can't remember a bigger political scandal? oh, my god. does that mean laura ingraham is in -- [ dramatic echo ] cognitive decline? [ laughter ] [ witch cackle ] [ laughter ] in all seriousness, they're right. this is the biggest scandal in history, bigger than watergate, bigger than iran-contra, bigger than the teapot dome scandal -- yeah, i said it. [ light laughter ] bigger than the teapot dome

scandal. [ laughter ] and if you don't remember the 1923 teapot dome scandal from your eighth grade history book, just do what i did, and read the google a.i. overview, which is never wrong. i typed in "teapot dome scandal" and google helpfpfully infmed me that the teapot dome scandal occurred when the superdome was accidentally constructed to resemble a teapot. [ laughter ] it was actually really fun. in the fourth quarter of close games, they could just release steam. [ laughter ] [ steam hiss ] that's why they play the sugar bowl there. course, it's not even called the sugar bowl anymore. now it's called the credit suisse rocket money [ bleep ] dogecoin bowl or some [ bleep ]. [ laughter ] now, you might be thinking to yourself, "wait, didn't everybody already know that joe biden was old? didn't poll after poll show that the vast majority of americans, including a clear majority of democrats, thought he was too old to run for reelection, and wanted someone else? didn't he biff it so bad in the debate that his own party undertook an unprecedented effort to successfully force him out of the race? weren't democrats ultimately punished for biden's disastrous

choice to run again when they got their asses kicked in the november election? didn't seth play that clip of biden falling up the stairs, like, 1,000 times?" [ laughter ] this was on tv, everyone saw it. if this was a cover-up, it was the worst [ bleep ] cover-up in american history. [ laughter ] it was the worst kept secret since mika and joe. we knew! [ laughter ] we knew. nobody has chemistry like that at 6:00 a.m. [ laughter ] this was only like watergate if the break-in had been livestreamed on twitch. [ laughter ] but if you're asking those questions, you're wrong. it is a scandal, because you don't know about all the secret information republicans have. >> listen, i'll tell you something that i haven't said before, 'cause it came from a secret service whistleblower this past year. this secret service whistleblower actually was assigned to biden, and he told me that biden used to get lost in his closet in the mornings in the white house. >> seth: i'm sorry. but you have a responsibility to immediately go public with whistleblower testimony when it is that hilarious.

[ laughter ] you've been sitting on biden lost in his closet for a year? while the news has been relentlessly bad, you didn't think that might cheer us up, just the fun of picturing him trying to make a plan once he realizes he doesn't know where the door is? [ laughter ] "ah, ah, keep it cool, joe. you've found your way out of stickier situations than this. ah, it could be worse, yeah. could be in a wardrobe, next thing you know you're in narnia. [ laughter ] yeah, you meet a talking lion, you say, 'jesus christ,' 'cause that's who the lion's supposed to be. i'm not kidding around." [ laughter ] it was just a disastrous political choice. and the people who deserve the criticism for that are biden and the aides who convinced him and themselves that he should ignore reality and run again. but turns out that guy who got lost in the closet, that might not have been joe biden at all. it might've been an imposter. >> president trump spread an outlandish conspiracy theory over the weekend claiming that former president biden was executed back in 2020 and

replaced with clones and robots. the president reposted the claim, made by an obscure, anonymous truth social user, boosting it to his 10 million followers. >> seth: if the joe biden from the debate was a robot, i imagine there was a guy backstage just smashing the buttons on his controller screaming, "did someone spill coffee on this? [ laughter ] i can't even get it to close its mouth." [ laughter ] there's only one robot joe biden ever reminded me of, and it was that honda robot that ate [ bleep ] on the stairs. [ laughter ] >> seth: but actually, if you think about it, this revelation is great news for democrats. turns out that wasn't joe biden who got stuck in a closet, it was a robot, and that happens to my roomba all the time. [ laughter ] but while we're on the subject of cognitive decline, i would just like to pose a brief hypothetical. which of these symptoms do you think would be more concerning to a medical professional in

assessing the mental acuity of an aging relative? a, forgets dates and names. b, occasionally trips on stair. or c, believes a former president was secretly executed -- [ laughter ] -- and replaced by a robot clone as part of an elaborate democrat conspiracy to lose the election by having the robot be slower and worse than the original guy. it is insane that this is just a fact of our daily lives now. you wake up in the morning, check the president's social media feed, see that he thinks his predecessor is a robotically engineered clone, and then you just go about your day. [ laughter ] and the media will report on it like this. >> president trump spread an outlandish conspiracy theory. >> seth: no, an outlandish conspiracy theory is when your aunt jean has three wine coolers at the barbecue and tells you fluoride in the water makes the frogs gay. [ laughter ] "i heard that's what happened to kermit. that's why he's so sassy now. [ laughter ] but hey, that's none of my business." [ laughter ] this is not just an outlandish conspiracy theory, this is the

most powerful person in the world being so unhinged and detached from reality that he not only thinks joe biden is a robot, but also that it's a cool thing to, you know, share with other people. but if all this bad news is getting you down, there's a bright side, you guys. i'll let iowa's republican senator joni ernst explain. >> this is republican senator joni ernst on friday. she had a town hall in which she was discussing medicaid reform. there were concerns from the audience about s.n.a.p. benefit cuts. and someone shouted out, "people will die." she replied, "well, we're all gonna die." >> they are not eligible, so they will be coming off. so -- >> people will die. >> people are not -- >> we all die. >> well, we all are going to die. [ audience shouting ] >> seth: oh, my god, that's so reassuring. did you get that from a ziggy card? [ laughter ] democrats, by all means, do something about the party's old age problem so we don't have to deal with the same issue in four years. but instead of spending your

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♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: welcome back, everybody. our first guest tonight is an oscar winning actor, producer, and director, recently received a tony nomination for his broadway debut in "good night and good luck," which is playing at the winter garden theater through sunday. please welcome to the show the one and only george clooney, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: i'm so happy you're here. >> i'm wearing a hat to hide my bad hair. >> seth: yeah. [ light laughter ] i'm glad you just jumped in and explained that. >>t's bad. it's -- it's still dark on top. >> seth: yes. >> but it's gray on the bottom. >> sh: so, how -- do they dye it? when did they dye it for the show? >> i dyed it about -- the last time i did it was about two months ago. >> seth: okay, gotcha. >> so, you get that really nice looking grow out now, gray.

>> seth: yes. right, right, right. >> now it's jut the tips. >> seth: now, this is a -- it's very -- it's looks great on stage, by the way. >> sure. [ laughter ] >> seth: but off-stage it looks like you are trying to get away with something. >> yeah, it looks -- it really looks bad. it looks like you're going through some horrible, like, midlife crisis. [ laughter ] i'm 64. midlife is a little stretch. [ laughter ] >> seth: now amal -- amal thinks it's funny. the hair. >> she thinks it's funny. e'll be glad when it's gone. >> seth: gotcha. >> you know. >> seth: how quickly after the last show are you going to -- >> so, the last show's sunday, do a matinee. >> seth: yep. >> and then, by the time we go to the tony's that night, it'll be gone. >> seth: oh, that's very -- [ laughter ] >> i may have a shaved head. i may look like yul brynner. >> seth: that's all right. it might be good luck. we won a tony. so, you know. >> oh, he did? thanks, thanks for that. >> seth: yeah, showing up like yul. >> yeah, no. >> seth: that's -- >> i'm not very -- i'm not thinking very positively about winning a tony. >> seth: well, you should just think positively about being nominated. that's a very cool thing. >> well, it's very nice. yeah. [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: did you -- i mean, it's a wonderful show, but, you know,

it's a big deal. and were you -- do you have preshow jitters? was th something you have to deal with? >> i still do. you know, it's funny. we -- there's -- i'm playing this guy. you know that edward r. morrow who took on mccarthy. but he was also one of the most trusted men in america. and he gave these very famous speeches, if you know -- if you studied journalism. and you know, we have, like -- we gave away a thousand tickets to students a couple nights, two different nights. and they all know these speeches. >> seth: right. >> and, you know, i screw them up sometimes. [ laughter ] and they let you know. like, i'll be like -- i'll say one word wrong, and you'll hear, "nope." [ laughter ] by the way, when did we start talking in theater? >> seth: that's the drama. >> but that's what they do. >> seth: yeah, especially when they're getting free tickets. >> oh, that's rough. >> seth: yeah. [ laughter ] >> you'd think they'd be a little more polite. >> seth: yeah, exactly. i mean, i wouldn't mind if they all just like gave sort of a withering sigh, but to yell out "nope," that seems -- >> yeah, "nope" hurts. >> seth: yeah, "nope" hurts. >> nope! [ light laughter ] no, it's been -- you know, when i was a kid, my father used to stand on a chair and do these

speeches for me when i was kid. so, i kind of come by this whole thing naturally doing this play. >> seth: now, i know it's television and it's different. but certainly in the "er" days, that is like incredibly dense. and also like, you know, the terminology -- >> supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. >> seth: see, amazing. [ laughter ] so, i would imagine, if anybody can do that -- [ cheers and applause ] if anybody can do that -- >> now, i'll tell you the truth. we used to do these things that are called oners. you'll do like 12-page oners. so, it means nobody can screw up. you've got to get 12 pages of dialogue out and nobody can screw up or you have to start all over again. >> seth: and you're -- often times with oners, you're moving as well. so, there's a philoclea element. >> and i'm at the very end of the oner, at page 12, i have one line. supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. [ laughter ] and i'm telling you, i never got it. and literally, we did, like, 40 takes and the rest of the cast is like, "are you [ bleep ] kidding me!" [ laughter ] and i'm like, "i'm sorry." i finally just turned my head and ducked. and i think i looped it in. >> seth: oh, yeah, then they'd later --

>> i've never gotten it wrong since then. >> seth: no, that's fantastic. yeah, so that's -- i mean, now when it has no value to you. >> i say it everywhere i go. >> seth: you say it every time, yeah. >> i said it right herre. [ laughter ] for you. >> seth: you did not stumble on it at all. >> no. >> seth: it was very lovely. my wife and i came to see the show and we got to speak to you afterwards. and i'm wondering, has that part -- i mean, it's such a -- i mean, a taxing show. you get through it. and then, i want to imagine, because of the show it is, there's probably people you have to say hi to every night. you were so gracious to us. >> we had a great week this week. we had -- yesterday was -- paul mccartney was there. >> seth: real good. >> he was a singer. he sang -- [ laughter ] >> seth: that's nice of you helping -- giving him a shoutout. >> he sang with the wings. and -- >> seth: wings. he did a lot of good work with the wings. >> and -- and then, yeah, we had -- bono was the night before it. and then, the obamas were there. >> seth: the obamas showed up. [ cheers and applause ] and it's a lovely photo. >> oh, yeah. >> seth: there's -- there are the obamas there. >> oh, yeah, look at that. my mom came. yeah, that's right. >> seth: that's fantastic. how -- were the obamas -- did you get nice feedback from the obamas? >> yeah. they liked the play. you know, they're -- they're

pretty impressive people, you know >> seth: yeah. >> and so they -- it is funny when they walk in -- you know, i walk out on stage and sometimes you get applause and sometimes you don't, depending on how they feel about you. [ laughter ] he walks in the room and they all stand up and applaud. >> seth: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. there you go. [ laughter ] broadway softball league. >> i'm wearing the hat. >> seth: you're wearing the hat. >> i'm on the broadway softball league. [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: there's some photos of you, too. >> yeah, yeah. >> seth: and - have you -- i mean, this guy knows what he's doing with a bat and a mitt. >> come on, man. i'm batting, you know, i'm batting .500 right now. but you listen, i have to be honest. we have a softball team, the "good night good luck" softball team. and we are 0-3. >> seth: okay. >> we have not won. [ laughter ] we've been rained out the last three weeks, so -- >> seth: okay. so, you started 0-3 and then, the weather got on your side. >> yes. and then, it's something -- [ laughter ] we've been helped. and our last very close loss was to "harry potter." >> seth: got you. >> yeah, we lost to, you know, children. [ laughter ] i'd like to think they were

using some sort of magic. >> seth: yeah, yeah. i would definitely -- [ laughter ] i think you can protest any loss to the potter kids. >> okay, i will try that. >> seth: this is -- this is a relevant story when you co-wrote and directed it as a film in 2005. >> yeah. >> seth: it is again today. >> sure. >> seth: you know, it's about, you know, taking on mccarthyism, and it's about the relationship between politicians and the press, which is certainly, you know, as fraught now as it's ever been. >> yeah. >> seth: do you feel it when you're doing it on stage that the audience is, you know, plugged into this, you know, story about the past but very much in -- >> i think that -- yeah, well, look. in fairness, i think that this is an argument that we have and we should continue to have endlessly, which is about the battles between freedom ofof prs and, you know -- no politician on either side or any side really wants a perfectly free press. right? they don't enjoy it. it doesn't help their cause. they want to be able to manipulate it. and so, there is -- that is an argument that is constant. it's a little more relevant now. and you can feel it in the room because they feel like they -- you know, murrow is a really

smart guy. and he handled a demagogue really well by using facts and using his own words. and it's fun to hear somebody really smart and their words against a bully, kind of. and so, i -- i find that that plays pretty well in that room, which is fun. >> seth: it's really fun. and there is also, though, you know, i think everybody's watching the play, and they remember, you know, the triumph of murrow and the fall of mccarthy, but then, they also kind of forget that, like, the end, the network wasn't like -- >> he got fired. >> seth: yeah. and i think that part is really -- >> he got fired. murrow got fired. >> seth: especially today. >> well, we had -- you know, bill owens was there a couple of days before he quit "60 minutes." you know, and he was -- he was very moved by the play because the people who were on that stage, the characters who were on that stage, don hewitt, they all started "60 minutes." and so, there's -- there's that sense that there's a cost to this, to telling the truth. but you have to stand up for it. you have to. >> seth: there's a very cool thing that you're doing, which we actually mentioned in the

monologue. you're gonna tape it live for people on cnn who are going to be able to watch. so, you have the added pressure on your second to last day -- >> live tv. >> seth: live tv. >> yeah, no problem. >> seth: so, you're adding that to -- and this will be an actual show. there will be people in the audience but it will also be broadcast live on cnn. >> yeah, yeah. >> seth: how -- how long into the run did you have this idea? >> about 15 minutes ago, i came up with that. [ laughter ] >> seth: i don't think that's enough time, george. >> i guess i really screwed up, then. we just announced it. we haven't really planned anything. [ laughter ] no, you know, it's -- this is one of the -- you know, the play's -- there's going to be a road show for it. and i think we might end up in london. but it won't be the same thing as what we're doing now, and i think it's a fun thing to be able to see -- you know, it was fun when we -- you know, the tickets on broadway are expensive. and there's something about the democratization of broadwaway i ways that people should see how fun it is to come to see a big broadway play. it's exciting to be in that room, and it's exciting to laugh at stuff that you wouldn't necessarily laugh at if you were watching at home by yourself. >> seth: oh, that's great. >> and they were doing watch

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♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: we're back with george clooney, everybody. theater seat. what were your early plays? >> i did some really bad plays early. i haven't done a play, by the way, in 40 years. >> seth: yeah. it's kind of crazy. at least you -- at least you kind of came in easy. you didn't give yourself too much. >> yeah. and then, i'll pace myself. the next 40 years, i'll do another one. >> seth: yeah. [ laguhter ] timewise. i did a bunch of -- i did some fun plays. i did a play in chicago at the steppenwolf theater called "vicious" about sid vicious, which was, you know -- i was much younger then. [ laughter ] but, you know, most of the time in l.a., the theater scene was usually to try to get an agentn a manager. >> seth: right. >> they were kind of like showcases basically. >> seth: you -- you know, i think we all got to know you from "er," but your first

on-screen performance was -- and your first paid gig? was on a television show called "e/r." >> yeah, there was "e/r." it was a sitcom. >> seth: yeah. >> with elliott gould called "e/r." it was a chicago hospital. it's crazy. >> seth: so, and -- i mean -- >> that bombed. >> seth: it sounds like we're doing a bit. >> yeah, no. [ laughter ] >> seth: this was a true thing. >> that's a true thing, yeah. i had a -- i had a mullet. >> seth: yeah. >> that i'm -- you know, i wish i had right now over what i have right now. [ laughter ] >> seth: you were not a doctor in "e/r" the comedy. >> i was an intern. >> seth: okay, got you. >> i was an intern and i was working with conchata ferrell and elliott gould and lynne moody -- >> seth: i mean, those are great -- i mean, great actors. conchatta and elliot. >> oh, i was really lucky to be -- to get a chance. and it was a great education on how to be on a television series for a period. and then, we only lasted a season. >> seth: yeah, do you remember what show you were on against? we looked up to see what your ratings -- >> they were pretty bad, right? >> seth: your ratings weren't great but there was a reason. you were on against "the a-team." >> oh, well, that's fair. >> seth: yeah. >> a classic show. >> seth: you can't beat yourself up when you're up against "the a-team." >> no, if you're losing to

mr. t -- >> seth: yeah, yeah. >> it's okay. >> is that even losing? >> no, that's not really -- that's actually kind of a victory. >> seth: yeah. we do have a clip from "e/r." >> oh, you do? >> seth: yeah, let's take a look. >> oh, thanks. >> so, you're doc sheinfeld. i can't believe this. aunt joan here has talked about you forever. >> mark. >> and you look just like she said. tall and fuzzy. [ laughter ] >> wow. [ cheers and applause ] amazing. that's -- how do i even have a career? [ laughter ] i don't know. >> seth: well, it's just amazing that when they were casting the second "er," they're like, "i know a guy." >> "i got a guy." [ laughter ] >> seth: "he was an intern back then, so he should be a full doctor by now." [ laughter ] >> we'll make him -- it was just a terrible -- >> seth: one of my favorite shows this year, one of your old colleagues, noah wyle, is in a show called "the pit," and he's back. i mean, he's back -- >> boy, have you guys have seen that show? >> seth: it's wonderful. [ cheers and applause ] >> it's so good. and, you kno i have to say, we've been really dear friends since, you know, since the show, since we did the pilot of the show. he is just the most honorable, talented, young man -- i get to

say because i'm an old man. and i cannot be happier for his success on the show. the show is just a beautiful show and he does just a great job with it. >> seth: and he goes back to the -- i mean, he's doing the thing that, you know, that you've outgrown, which is he's going to go back and do those medical terms all over again. >> he always -- but he never had trouble. >> seth: he really didn't, huh? >> he always could do it and i hated him for that. >> seth: yeah. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> seth: i think we all should. i think it's unfair -- >> people should hate noah. [ laughter ] >> seth: i've taken the occasion, in recent months, to talk about a film i love a great deal called "michael clayton." >> oh, yeah? >> seth: and i'm a huge fan. >> we shot it right here. [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: and i don't think i'm giving anything away. but there's an incredible -- the end of the film is just you in the back of a car. >> the cab, yeah. >> seth: you're in the back of a cab. and it's -- i remember watching it in the theater. and it's such a cool thing because we're basically just on your face for what feels like -- >> three minutes. >> seth: -- three minutes. >> yeah. >> seth: and just watching you sort of process everything that's just happened. and it's such a cool and novel thing. but what -- how did you shoot it? >> well, it's the funniest

thing. it's funny that you would bring that up. [ light laughter ] we shot it out here, and we were stealing the location. now, when you see it, people would come up to me going, "you know, i --" >> seth: so, stealing location, to describe it, you didn't have a permit to shoot -- >> we didn't have a permits or anything -- >> seth: okay, great. >> we just put a bunch of lights on a car and dragged it through the middle of midtown in the middle of the day, which is a stupid thing to do. 'cause if anything happens, everybody's like, "what the hell!" >> seth: yeah. >> and i don't say a word in this seat. it's lit jeralust staring aheade will come up to me going, "you know, what were you going through? and you --" i felt all of the emotions of michael at the end. you know, they really put on it what they want. and -- but we were stealing this location. so, all i'm trying to do -- 'cause as we're driving, just stop at a stoplight. people are just going, "hey, george clooney!" [ laughter ] "hey! look at you! look at you!" and all i'm trying to do -- this is true -- is not laugh. all i do is look like this. [ laughter ] and people are like, "god it meant so much." and literally like, "hey, look at me! look at this [ bleep ] over

here." [ laughter ] as only new yorkers could do. >> seth: well, you truly -- if anybody ever needed more proof you're a fantastic actor, that story. >> i deserve it for that. >> seth: absolutely. [ cheers and applause ] thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> seth: congrats on the tony nomination. break a leg on saturday. >> thank you. thank you. >> seth:h: thank y so much. [ cheers and applause ] george clooney, everybody. "good night, and good luck" plays through sunday at the winter garden theater. airs saturday at 7:00 p.m. on cnn. we'll be right back with jennifer simard and christopher sieber. [ cheers and applause ] ♪

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♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: our next guests are tony-nominated actors who are currently starring in "death becomes her," which has been nominated for ten tony awards and is on broadway now at the lunt-fontanne theatre. [ cheers ] please welcome back to the show, jennifer simard and christopher sieber, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] ♪

♪ >> seth: hello! >> hi! >> oh, my gosh. >> seth: welcome -- you know, i said welcome back to both of you. but this is the first time you've been here at the chair and at the couch. you both were here for performances of musicals you were in. christopher, you were here for "the prom." >> yeah, that's me right there. >> seth: there you are. that was a live performance here. >> kicking it. >> seth: jennifer, you were in "mean girls." there you are up there. [ cheers ] and i imagine, you know, obviously this is different than that. but how different was this to doing it in your broadway show, which you often had to do later that night? was it surreal to do it on a tv show? >> well, yes, because tina fey was standing right there looking at me saying, "i know how that should be done." [ laughter ] no. she's a good pal, and it was the greatest job. i loved it so, so much. >> seth: that's fantastic. >> it is odd because here, you can't see at home, but the audience is a little far away. and on broadway they're right nextxt to you.

>> seth: absolutely. >> they're right up there. so it was a little odd. and not the having the applause and the crazy reactions from a tv audience as you do on broadway. but it was cool. >> seth: you have crazy reactions from your show every night. congratulations. you were nominated for a tony, ten tony nominations overall. [ cheers and applause ] you and your co-star megan hilty both nominated as well. this is a raucoushow. and you must be getting that broadway reaction you were just talking about every night. >> yeah. this is the kind of show i think we've needed since the pandemic. you know, the audience comes, you escape your problems, you laugh, pure entertainment the way a broadway show was meant to be done. and we're having a blast. >> yeah. if you want a lesson or anything like that, there isn't one. [ laughter ] there's no message. it's just pure funny. >> seth: that must be nice to do something that is pure funny. >> we really need this right now. >> seth: and you two have known each other for a very long time. how did you first meet? >> we met in 1904 -- [ laughter ] >> picture it, 1904. >> sieber is always in my contracts. but, no, we've worked together a bunch and we just thoroughly

enjoy working with one another. and it makes the chemistry wonderful. we did "company" together prior to this. >> seth: fantastic. wonderful sondheim show. [ cheers and applause ] >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> we did "shrek the musical" together. >> yeah. >> we did tons of readings together. and you -- she had said -- during "company" we had to do jiu-jitsu. we actually -- we really had to kick the crap out of each other. >> yeah. and we had covid all at the same time. >> and we had covid the entire time. >> seth: right. so that's -- you didn't each have covid, you meant it was during covid? or you had? >> the entire company got it at one point, all ten of us. >> seth: oh, great. that's nice for everybody to get it at the same time. >> isn't it great? just at the same time. [ laughter ] >> out of 14 people, ten of us got it. yeah, it was quite something. >> but i know that experience though. he's lying on top of me in the fight, and this was right after we came back and we were healthy. and his -- and his nostril had one drip of snot -- [ audience ohs ] >> it happened. it happened! >> into my mouth. and i'm never telling him. we got back to our dressing rooms, i was like, i want the floral one, okay? [ laughter ]

i want the house. but that's how close we are. and, you know, we're married essentially. >> seth: christopher, you have a -- there's like a four-minute song where you are very drunk. >> yes, i get drunk. >> seth: you get drunk over the course of it. and do you enjoy playing drunk? have you had to do it before? >> actually i -- this is the first time i've actually had to play drunk. but about four years ago, i got sober. what? yay. [ cheers ] so, i would just say, during this i was telling the prop person because there's a big bottle of you know like bourbon that my character, ernest, drinks. and they didn't fill it far enough. and i kept saying, "no, i need this much to feel this and this much to --" and they said, "how do you know this?" i was like, "i'm an alcoholic. that's how." [ laughter ] and so, it looks amazing because i have the experience of it. >> seth: yeah. >> so. >> seth: this is of course based on a 1992 film, a fantastic movie, fantastic cast. [ cheers and applause ] where -- do you remember when you first saw it in theaters? >> i do remember. and you'll probably remember

this theater because we grew up in the same town. >> seth: we did, yes. >> do you remember the south willow street movie theater? >> seth: of course i remember. the south willow, they had more screens. >> -- than the bedford mall. >> seth: yeah, the bedford mall was the other one. >> but i went to the south willow street cinema with my ticket in hand, and there was a fire in the theater that day. it didn't burn the whole building down. but of course, you couldn't see it. >> seth: yeah. >> so, i held onto this "death becomes her" ticket for decades -- >> seth: did you think you -- but were you like waiting for a refund? [ laughter ] >> well, i was on a date, maybe. and so, i feel like you had to have your boyfriend box. you have that, right? you have your boyfriend box. >> seth: i do. i will say, like, i do take omens. so, like when we're going on a date and the place we're going burns down, i'm like, this probably isn't meant to be. [ laughter ] >> well, it's a perfect omen in my case because here i am on the broadway show. [ cheers and applause ] >> seth: so how long do you think you saved it? >> what's that? >> seth: how long do you think you saved the ticket stub? >> i'm not kidding. i saved it for decades. and i was so devastated. i've moved so many times. i'm like, "where is it? where ist?" and i couldn't find it. >> seth: all right, well, this is better.

this is better than a ticket stub. >> this is better. >> seth: all right. so, there's a viral moment, which is a weird thing to say about a play, right? because they're not historically known to go viral. but there is a viral moment happening from a line of dialogue you have in the play. can you share this story for us? >> yes. so, i woke up one day, and people are saying, "jen, do you see that all of these celebrities are doing it." madonna recently did it, i guess. but it's a line, you might have heard it from the show. but i say, "that was rude." [ cheers and applause ] "that was pretty [ bleep ] rude." and so, everyone is doing it with different funny memes. and i think madonna released something saying when she released her -- she got criticized for releasing her -- the way she felt when she released her "sex" book and got criticized for it, and now everyone's naked. so, let's hear it for madonna 'cause she was ahead of the curve. >> seth: that's fantastic. [ applause ] you are both incredibly vicious to each other in the show. obviously, this is scripted viciousness. but do you think it helps to

know that you actually have a loving friendship when you deliver lines like this? >> oh, absolutely. i mean, yeah. i mean, we're like a married couple, you know. we really are 'cause we know each other. actually, we know each other's bodies pretty well too because we're always climbing on each other. [ laughter ] it's true. but yeah, it is funny. and the lines that are written and some of the ideas that we come up with, even during the rehearsal process that would be funnier if i could insult you really badly really here. >> yeah, and there's one moment in a big number at the end of act one where i actually straddle christopher's back, and that came because we had to create something new because of something with the gown by oscar-winner paul tazewell, thank you very much. [ cheers ] so yeah, that in order to play hate with someone, there has to be a trust and love underneath it, and we certainly have that my dear friend. >> yes, thank you. >> and it's a pure joy every night. >> seth: well, congratulations. it really is a special show. and pure joy is definitely needed right now. and congratulations on it's success. thank you so much for being here. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you. >> seth: jennifer simard and christopher sieber, everyone. "death becomes her" is playing

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♪ >> announcer: come join the audience at "late night" live in studio 8g. for tickets, head over to latenightsethtickets.com. follow us @latenightseth on all social media platforms. subscribe to late night seth on youtube. find us online at latenightseth.com. and subscribe to the "late night podcast," featuring "a closer look," guest interviews, and more. available wherever you listen to podcasts. ♪ boom! so munch for you. sounds like someone's got the munchies. is it too munch to ask for you to play a little bit better? wouldn't make munch difference with your aim. hard to miss your big head. okay... hey, we said no head jokes. build your own munchie meal.

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