>> James: WELCOME BACK.
OUR GUEST TONIGHT IS AN EMMY NOMINATED ACTOR, WRITER AND
PRODUCER AND GENIUS, OUR FRIEND ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE ON
PLANET EARTH, MR. DAN DAN IS HERE TONIGHT!
HOW ARE YOU, DANNY?
WELL --, YOU KNOW WHAT?
RELATIVELY SPEAKING, ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, I AM WELL.
I HAVE A ROOF OVER MY HEAD, FOOD ON MY TABLE AND I'M DOING ALL
RIGHT.
>> James: CAN I BE HONEST?
YEAH.
>> James: I'M A LITTLE ANNO IT BY HOW GOOD YOU'RE LOOKING
DURING ISOLATION.
>> HAD I KNOWN YOU WERE GOING TO DO A FULL SUIT AND TIE, I WOULD
HAVE MET YOU THERE.
>> James: I'M NOT ONLY TALKING ABOUT THE ATTIRE.
MY ONLY THOUGHT GOING INTO THIS IS WHAT IS DAN'S HAIR GOING TO
LOOK LIKE DURING OUR SESSION AND HERE IT IS, IT LOOKS INCREDIBLE.
>> LET ME JUST SPECIFY, THAT THIS IS NOT WHAT MY HAIR LOOKS
LIKE DURING ISOLATION.
>> James: OH.
I WORKED ON IT TWO AND A HALF HOURS AND I DO FEEL LIKE, IN
THESE TIMES, TALKING TO YOU, USUALLY THERE IS A WONDERFUL
TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO HELP YOU THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
>> James: I KNOW.
I HAD, LIKE, A HAIR DRIER OUT, I HAD ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT
HAIR PRODUCT.
I MEAN, IT WAS A WHOLE THING.
I'M OUTSIDE TANNING JUST SO I CAN TRY TO COVER UP THE BAGS
UNDER MY EYES, IT'S A PROCESS.
>> James: YOU LOOK SENSATIONAL.
I MEAN, THIS IS ME.
PEOPLE WOULDN'T KNOW THIS, THIS IS ME DURING THE AD BREAK.
NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, AND HONESTLY, LOVING IT.
>> I NEED A PAPER TOWEL TO BLOCK MY FOREHEAD.
IT'S FINE.
WE'RE DOING GREAT.
>> James: NOW, YOU HAVE HAD QUITE AN EXTRAORDINARY WEEK IN
TERMS OF YOU FINISHED YOUR SHOW, YOU FINISHED IT AND I TOLD YOU
PERSONALLY HOW MUCH I TRULY ENJOYED THE LAST EPISODE OF THAT
SHOW, AND THAT'S NOT AN EASY THING TO DO TO GET THE FINALE
EPISODE OF A SERIES RIGHT.
HOW HAVE YOU FELT THIS WEEK?
>> YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN SURPRISINGLY EMOTIONAL.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, I -- WE, WHEN I WAS WRITING THE SHOW, I WAS,
YOU KNOW, EMOTIONAL WRITING THE GOODBYES, THEN YOU SHOOT THE
GOODBYES AND YOU EDIT THE GOODBYES AND AT THAT POINT I
THOUGHT THAT'S THREE DIFFERENT GOODBYES THAT I'VE NOW GOT IT
OUT.
AND I WAS DOING REALLY WELL UP UNTIL MONDAY, AND THEN IT SORT
OF HIT ME THAT AS OF THAT TUESDAY, IT WOULD ALL BE DONE
AND ALL OF OUR WORK AND MY FAMILY THAT I HAVE, YOU KNOW,
GENETICALLY AND, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE SHOW, WE WILL BE --
WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED OUR TASK, AND IT REALLY HIT ME IN A
POWERFUL WAY, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT I DIDN'T EVER
CONSIDER WHEN WE WERE MAKING THE SHOW WAS JUST HOW MUCH OF AN
EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT FANS WOULD HAVE TO IT.
SO TO READ THANK YOU LETTERS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE JUST, YOU
KNOW, POURED THEIR HEARTS OUT TO US OVER THE YEARS AND IN THIS
LAST WEEK HAD REALLY SORT OF EXPRESSED THAT IN THESE LONG,
BEAUTIFUL LETTERS, AND I WAS READING IT, AND IT ALL HIT ME,
AND THEN OUR CAST GOT ON A ZOOM TOGETHER AND WE WATCHED THE LAST
EPISODE, AND THEN THE LITTLE DOCUMENTARY ALL TOGETHER AS A
TEAM, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF TEARS IN THAT LITTLE QUAD ZOOM
MEETING, AND IT'S EMOTIONAL TO SAY GOODBYE.
I'M NOT GOOD WITH CHANGE, JAMES.
I DON'T LIKE IT, I'M VERY COMFORTABLE JUST WITH THE WAY
THINGS ARE.
SO TO SAY GOODBYE WAS TOUGH, BUT I THINK -- YOU KNOW, I THINK
PEOPLE LIKED IT, AND THAT'S ULTIMATELY THE MOST MEANINGFUL
THING THAT THE END OF ALL THIS IS PEOPLE LIKE THE WAY IT ENDED.
>> James: NOW, YOU MENTIONED JUST BEFORE, YOU TALKED ABOUT
LETTERS THAT YOU'VE RECEIVED FROM PEOPLE.
THERE WAS A VIDEO THAT GOT POSTED THE OTHER DAY WHICH, I
THINK I'VE WATCHED FIVE TIMES BECAUSE I THINK IT IS ONE OF THE
MOST MOVING THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN.
THIS WAS A -- ALL OF THE CAST WAS SAT AROUND A TABLE, AND I'M
WRITING THINKING THIS WAS A SURPRISE, RIGHT?
>> YEAH.
I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS HAPPENING.
>> James: YOU WERE GIVEN LETTERS FROM MOMS AND PARENTS OF
LGBTQ KIDS WHO WERE WRITING TO YOU, THANKING YOU FOR THE HELP
THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN THEIR COMMUNITY, AND PEOPLE SHOULD
SEEK OUT THIS VIDEO AND HAVE IT BECAUSE NOTHING THAT I EVER SAY
CAN EVER DO IT JUSTICE.
I FOUND HOW MUCH IT MOVED YOU, A REALLY, REALLY QUITE BEAUTIFUL
THING TO WATCH.
TALK TO ME ABOUT THOSE LETTERS AND WHAT THEY MEANT TO YOU.
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK, AS A GAY PERSON, ALL YOU TRY TO DO IS
REPRESENT YOUR EXPERIENCE AND, IN MY CASE, I HADN'T NECESSARILY
SEEN MY EXPERIENCE REPRESENTED THAT MUCH ON TV, AND, YOU KNOW,
I THINK, ALSO, WHEN YOU'RE GIVEN THAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITY, YOU
HAVE TO RUN WITH IT AND YOU HAVE TO TELL STORIES AND YOU HAVE TO
SORT OF CUT THROUGH THE B.S., IF YOU WILL, BECAUSE I THINK THAT,
FOR SO LONG, QUEER CHARACTERS ON TELEVISION, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN
MET WITH EITHER TRAGEDY OR THE BUTT OF A JOKE OR A CARTOON OR
CARICATURED.
SO FOR ME IT WAS ABOUT TELLING A VERY TRUTHFUL AND THOUGHTFUL
REPRESENTATION OF MY LIFE AND MY FRIENDS' LIVES, AND I THINK, TO
HEAR THAT THOSE STORIES AFFECTED PEOPLE IN SUCH PROFOUND WAYS AND
AFFECTED CHANGE IN PEOPLE'S HOMES AND MADE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S OVERWHELMING BECAUSE I THINK BACK TO MY OWN
CHILDHOOD WHERE I DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE THOSE PEOPLE
AROUND AND I, YOU KNOW, WAS FEELING LIKELY UNSURE ABOUT
WHERE I WOULD GO AND WHAT I WOULD DO.
SO IT'S A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT THAT WAS VERY OVERWHELMING, AND
IF I TALK TOO MUCH ABOUT IT, I'LL GET EMOTIONAL AGAIN.
>> James: BUT I UNDERSTAND WHY.
IT'S INCREDIBLY MOVING.
>> YEAH, AND THE LETTER WAS SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN.
YEAH, IT WAS WONDERFUL.
>> James: WELL, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOVING MOMS, YOUR
MOM TWEETED THE OTHER DAY, AND I WANT TO READ THIS ALOUD TO GET
THIS RIGHT, SHE TWEETED THIS ON THE NIGHT OF THE FINALE OF THE
SHOW, SHE TWEETED, TODAY I REGRET EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF
WORRY BACK IN THE UNINFORMED '80s, WONDERING HOW THE WORLD
WAS GOING TO TREAT MY BRILLIANT LITTLE BOY.
LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT HE WAS GOING TO KICK THAT OLD WORLD'S
ASS TO THE CURB AND CREATE A BRAND-NEW ONE.
>> YEAH.
>> James: IN THE HISTORY OF HEARING YOUR --
>> WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME?
>> James: I'M SAYING, LIKE, HEARING YOUR MOM TALK ABOUT YOU
IN THAT WAY IS AN INCREDIBLY SPECIAL THING, AND HOW DID YOU
FEEL WHEN YOU WROTE THAT?
>> I WAS A COMPLETE MESS.
IT COMPLETELY KILLED ME.
I WAS, YOU KNOW, TEETERING ON THE BRINK OF BEING OKAY.
IT WAS THE LAST DAY, I WAS FEELING A LOT OF EMOTIONS, I WAS
TRYING TO KEEP THEM IN CHECK.
AND THEN MY MOM TWEETED THAT AND I READ IT AND COMPLETELY FELL
APART AND HAD JUST A SOLID CRY.
IT'S BEEN A LOT OF TEARS, WHICH I DON'T THINK ARE A BAD THING,
BUT IT WAS HEAVY, YOU KNOW.
IT'S PRETTY HUGE FOR SOMEONE TO HEAR AND I THINK TO HEAR HER SAY
THAT SO PUBLICLY, I THINK IT ONLY MEANT SO MUCH TO A LOT OF
PEOPLE, TOO, BECAUSE IT'S THE POWER OF SUPPORT AND
ENCOURAGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER
KNOW WHERE I THINK THERE'S SO MUCH FEAR ASSOCIATED STILL TO
THIS DAY WITH PARENTS LOOKING AT THEIR QUEER CHILDREN AND
WONDERING WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO TURN OUT OKAY AND, YOU KNOW,
FOR HER TO SORT OF SAY THAT AND CHAMPION ME IN THAT KIND OF WAY,
IT'S VERY LOVELY AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, I MIGHT ADD.
>> James: BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN.
YEAH.
>> James: DID YOU ALWAYS FEEL THAT SUPPORT AT HOME?
I MEAN, WHO WAS THIS YOUNG DAN LEVY IN TUN INFORMED '80s.
>> ECCENTRIC, JAMES.
>> James: WAS HE?
YEAH, A BIG ECCENTRIC.
I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S A REALLY TRICKY THING TO BE -- ESPECIALLY
WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'RE FEELING ODDLY
SORT OF DIFFERENT THAN OTHER PEOPLE, YOU DON'T HAVE THE
TOOLS.
SO IT WAS A REALLY STRANGE TIME, AND I DIDN'T -- I WAS VERY, YOU
KNOW, ANXIOUS SOCIALLY, I THINK BECAUSE IT ALL STEMMED FROM JUST
NOT FEELING VERY MUCH A PART OF THE GROUP.
BUT WHAT CAME FROM THAT, I THINK, WAS A CURIOSITY AND A
FASCINATION WITH PEOPLE AND WITH STORIES AND STORYTELLING, AND I
THINK, IN A WAY, IF I WERE TO CONNECT THE DOTS OF MY LIFE ALL
THE WAY BACK TO WHEN I WAS A KID, I THINK BEING ABLE TO SIT
ON THE SIDELINES AND BE THE WALL FLOWER FOR SO MUCH OF MY YOUTH
LED TO THIS VERY INTENSE FASCINATION WITH HOW PEOPLE
OPERATE AND HOW HUMAN BRAINS FUNCTION AND HOW EXCITING THAT
COULD BE IN TERMS OF STORYTELLING AND GETTING TO TELL
STORIES OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND THEIR LIVES.
SO IT ALL, YOU KNOW, FORTUNATELY LED TO JUST A VERY POSITIVE
OUTCOME.
BUT A LOT OF THAT WAS THROUGH SUPPORT, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW,
PARENTS HAVE TO BE SUPPORTIVE.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S WHAT OUR SHOW, THE MESSAGE OF OUR WHOLE
SHOW IS ABOUT.
THAT'S THE TAKEAWAY IS LOOK AT THIS TOWN, A TOWN WHERE THERE'S
NO HOMOPHOBIA OR BIGOTRY OR INTOLERANCE OF ANY KIND.
LOOK AT HOW THESE PEOPLE HAVE GROWN AND THRIVED AND LOOK AT
HOW MUCH JOY AND LOVE COMES FROM JUST LETTING PEOPLE BE WHO THEY
ARE.
IT'S NOT A HARD CONCEPT AND, YET, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SOMETHING
THAT I KEEP HEARING MORE AND MORE ABOUT, LIKE, GROUNDBREAKING
STORYTELLING.
IT SHOULDN'T BE GROUNDBREAKING.
IT SHOULD BE JUST HOW IT IS.
SO IF THAT PHILOSOPHY CAN AFFECT SOME SORT OF CHANGE OUT THERE IN
THE WORLD THROUGH A TELEVISION SCREEN, THEN GREAT.
>> James: I CAN REMEMBER WHEN MY -- MY SON'S NINE NOW, AND I
REMEMBER ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER HE WAS BORN, AND I, FROM THE
SOUND OF IT LIKE YOU, I GREW UP IN A VERY SUPPORTIVE HOUSEHOLD
WHERE, YOU KNOW, MY PARENTS WERE PRETTY CHILL, PRETTY HANG LOOSE
ABOUT PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING, AND MY SON WAS ABOUT NINE DAYS
OLD AND I SAID, DAD, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S YOUR BIT OF ADVICE?
AND HE SAID -- AND I THINK ABOUT IT NOW TO THIS DAY, AND MY DAD
JUST SAID -- MY DAD JUST SAID, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO LOVE
THAT BOY TOO MUCH.
HE SAID, NO ONE ENDS UP ON A THERAPIST'S CHAIR GOING, MY
PARENTS WERE JUST TOO SUPPORTIVE OF ME, THEY JUST LOVED ME TOO
MUCH.
AND THEN HE SAID, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, YOU WILL BE WIPING HIS
ASS FOR THE NEXT 35 YEARS.
( LAUGHTER ) >> THAT IS PRETTY STELLAR
ADVICE.
>> James: IT REALLY IS.
YOU MENTIONED JUST NOW, THE WHOLE CAST GOT TOGETHER ON A
ZOOM TO WATCH THE F FINALE AND T BRILLIANT SCREEN.
IS THE CAST GOOD WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY?
>> MY DAD I DON'T THINK WILL EVER UNDERSTAND.
I GOT A TEXT FROM MY MOM SAYING YOUR DAD'S PHONE FROZE, CAN YOU
CALL THE LAND LINE TO WALK HIM THROUGH HOW TO RESET HIS PHONE?
SO THAT'S WHERE MY PARENTS ARE AT.
BUT I THINK WHAT PEOPLE ARE REALIZING IN ALL OF THESE KIND
OF ZOOM CHATS NOW IS THAT THE MUTE BUTTON IS A REALLY
IMPORTANT BUTTON TO KNOW WHERE -- YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO
LOCATE IT IN ORDER TO TURN IT ON AND OFF.
SO WE WERE WATCHING OUR FINALE, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, VERY FUNNY
BUT ALSO VERY SWEET AND TENDER AT TIMES.
>> James: YEP.
AND KATHERINE SIGNED ON LATE, AND KATHERINE IS GOOD WITH
TECHNOLOGY, SHE IS A PRO.
BUT SHE DIDN'T -- SHE WASN'T AROUND WHEN WE WERE HAVING THE
MUTE CONVERSATION.
SO WE WOULD JUST END UP HAVING -- SHE WOULD BE TALKING,
AND THEN I WAS, LIKE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO MUTE -- MUTE THE --
THE -- AND THEN I WOULD HAVE TO GET THE PHONE OUT AND TEXT.
SO AT LEAST AFTER EVERY COMMERCIAL BREAK SOMEONE FORGOT
TO TURN THE MUTE BUTTON OFF, SO THERE WOULD BE THIS SENTIMENTAL
MOMENT AND YOU WOULD HEAR ONE OF US CHATTING IN THE BACKGROUND TO
A FRIEND.
IT WAS MESSY, BUT I WOULD HAVEN'T HAD IT ANY OTHER WAY.
IT WAS VERY US.
>> James: FOR ALL THE FANS, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD A SINGLE
SECOND ANY OTHER WAY.