-Our first guest tonight as an Emmy-nominated actress,
writer, and director you know from her
critically claimed HBO series "Girls," as well as
her films "Tiny Furniture" and "Sharp Stick."
Her newest movie, "Catherine Called Birdy,"
is in select theaters September 23rd
and on Prime Video October 7th. Let's take a look.
-I've ridden all this way,
actually incurred several so-as injuries during the process
because Hercules is broader than you might imagine.
So if you could just tell me --
-No, no, sir. We know Lady Catherine.
And you really shouldn't have bothered.
-We're just a bit confused why you would travel this way
for such a -- -She's a creature.
A vile creature. All teeth and hair and vomit and snot!
-Some say she has a third ear. -She does.
-Have you seen this third ear? -I've seen it.
-Where? -Back of her neck.
-Is it functional? -Spare.
-Please welcome back to the show
our friend Lena Dunham, everybody!
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Lena, it has been way too long.
-I am so happy to be back with you, with Wally.
-Yeah, it's nice of you. Well, you know Wally well.
-Wally kind of became a close friend of mine.
And I feel like we're still close.
The pandemic couldn't stop it.
-It couldn't break you apart. -Nope.
When I saw him today, it was just, like,
love at first sight all over again.
-Wow. That's wonderful.
He will definitely let us all know that all week long.
[ Laughter ]
This is -- You were one of our guests
the very first week of the show,
which is why it's always so lovely to have you back.
-I love it, I feel like an old-timer.
And I'm just delighted.
I love seeing the evolution of your casualwear.
-Thank you very much, yeah.
For a lot of people, this means things are going worse,
but I actually feel a little bit better.
-I think it means you're comfortable in your skin...
-Thank you. -...and ready to roll.
-You had some very big news since I last saw you.
You got married. I met your lovely husband backstage.
-Thank you. Yep, he's here with me today.
I feel very lucky. He has an English accent.
I can't believe that happened to me.
-But it's -- it is fake, right? It's a fake English accent?
-It's 100% fake. -It's very good.
-And I don't care. -I can kind of hear
that there's something a little off about it.
-Yeah, he's basically Dirty Johning me and I'm fine with it.
-You -- Also, this is actually
the most shocking to me, is that you moved to London.
Because I do consider you a New Yorker --
like, one of the consummate New Yorkers.
-I -- I feel that way.
And I have to say, while I still do spend time here
and while I do have, you know, a "home" here,
I'm taking my London life pretty seriously.
-That's great. Do you feel like they're accepting of you?
Do they like your vibe?
-No. -Okay.
[ Light laughter ] -But I like their vibe,
and that's what matters. -Oh, that's all that matters.
-That's what matters. -How long did it take to --
Was it immediately that you caught their vibe
and said, "This is for me"?
-I have always been a bit of an Anglophile.
-Yeah. I'm a little bit of that, too.
-Are you that, too? Like, when I was 8,
I started calling my dad "Papa." -Okay.
-For reasons that had --
you know, were absolutely not a product of my household.
And so it was a product of reading "A Little Princess."
Shout-out to Frances Hodgson Burnett.
-Maybe -- You know what?
Maybe the first time she's been shouted out on the show.
[ Laughter ]
-That's the job I want and that I came here to do.
So, yeah, I just always had a sort of love
of all things sort of, you know, Jane Austen, Bronte.
You know, cobblestone streets, carbohydrates.
Everything that England has to offer.
And it turns out, love.
-I'm so happy that you found
all those things across the pond.
That means -- You know. -Oh, I know.
-I also want to ask about your dog.
I want to ask because -- You know, so, I have a dog.
She's a beautiful, graceful creature.
You know Frisbee, right? -I know. I worship Frisbee.
-I get a lot of stick on the show
because Andy Sandberg tells me that she looks like a rat
and is very -- Yeah, very unattractive.
And I would imagine -- Don't take this the wrong way.
I imagine you might get that sometimes about your dog.
-Whatever do you mean, Seth? -Okay.
Your dog's name is -- -Ingrid.
-Ingrid.
Okay, and, again, please don't take this the wrong way.
And I'm sure the audience will respond in a way
that makes it clear that I'm crazy for saying
that anyone might ever be critical
of the way your dog looks. -I know.
[ Laughter ]
Yeah.
-Now, this, by the way,
might be who is Dirty Johning you.
Because this is clearly --
This is clearly a child in a dog suit.
[ Laughter ]
-I love that you say that,
because especially during the pandemic,
we were spending a lot of time alone together.
I would look at her, and be like "Just speak already.
Spit it out! Say what you have to say."
I mean, I've had some insane reactions to her.
I was carrying her one day, and an older woman asked me
where I got that "little goat."
[ Laughter ]
My husband has taken to saying
that she's a frog/seal combination.
Because he just can't explain it to anyone anymore.
-I will say, once you hear that, it's hard not to see that.
-I know. I know.
-You're like -- Yep. A frog and a seal had a baby.
-What's hard for me is that people feel comfortable
on the street exclaiming about how unattractive she is.
And I'm like, "Would you ever speak to a child this way?"
I mean, we were walking past
a group of teenagers, English teenagers.
And wait for my incredible English accent.
One was like -- [British accent] "Oh, she's disgustin'."
[ Laughter ]
And I was like, "How dare you."
We had a party, and there was a child at the party.
It was my birthday party.
I mean, she is the greatest gift I've ever had.
And my friend's kid was sitting there being like,
"Mummy, she touched me!"
[ Laughter ] And I just -- I don't get it.
I feel when I look at her
that God or whoever is controlling this
has taken all the qualities
I would find most appealing in a creature
and just stuffed them all together.
I think she's so beautiful, it makes me almost sick.
And when I first adopted her and she was really tiny,
I used to carry her around the West village.
It was winter. In a baby snuggly.
And so it was the best.
I would be waiting in line for coffee,
and someone would be like, "Oh, my God."
And then look in the snuggly, and it was like, boom, bitch.
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
Like...
-Yeah. Yeah.
-And where did you come up with the name Ingrid?
-Ingrid is named after --
you're going to be shocked by this -- my friend Ingrid.
And Ingrid Abrash is a lawyer and a writer and a thinker
and a serious animal-rescue enthusiast.
-Okay, so she responded well
when she heard she was being honored?
-She told me to do it.
She was like, "This is the dog you should get
and I think you should name her Ingrid."
-Alright. Well, then that is a --
That says a lot about the character of your friend Ingrid.
-That's exactly right. And she thinks she's gorgeous, too.
-Alright. Well, there you go.
I have a lot to ask about, especially the movie.
We'll be right back... -Delighted to be back with you.
-...with more from Lena Dunham.