I just learned something just now about you
that I did not know.
That's probably the most terrifying introduction
ever said on television that anyone can say.
Well--
What's that?
I wish it was more controversial.
But your first acting job was on Ally McBeal.
That is true.
Was that when my wife was on?
I believe it was.
Yeah, do you remember meeting Portia?
I think I met we met in passing.
OK.
Yeah, oh, man, that hair.
[LAUGHTER]
I think Rob Lowe said once that being a successful actor
is nothing more than watching yourself
have a series of bad haircuts.
Right.
Well, in the '80s especially.
I didn't have a name on that show.
My character didn't have a name.
But I was cast as "handsome guy at bar."
Wow.
Well, that's flattering--
I guess.
--that you're "handsome guy at bar."
Yeah.
So did you have a speaking part?
I certainly did not.
No?
No.
I was to stand there and be looked at.
Handsome guy, oh, gorgeous guy.
Gorgeous guy, sorry.
I was downplaying it.
Yeah, you're being humble.
It's "gorgeous guy at bar."
[LAUGHTER]
"Gorgeous guy at bar."
G-G-A-B.
Yep, and now you're a gorgeous guy sitting here
on a talk show with a big career.
Well--
Yeah.
[CHEERING]
Everything starts with one step, and that was the first one.
That was a good first step.
What did you do after that?
Do you remember?
After I'd left set?
Yes.
Yeah, you went home.
Waited for two weeks to get my paycheck for no dollars.
And no, I took it in stride.
Did you get another job?
I did.
I eventually got a job, and I eventually
got to talk in front of a camera.
And then I eventually got to talk
more and in repeated episodes.
So it was-- again, moving from St. Louis
to LA is jumping into a very deep, very scary pool.
Yes.
And it's difficult. But it's exciting.
Yeah, it is.
When you're that age, it's fun.
But it's so weird.
When you think back on auditioning, and it really was.
How many gorgeous guys showed up to be gorgeous guy at the bar?
I was literally picked out of a line
of people, where the guy was walking down the line
and was like, eh, you.
Yeah.
I was like, well, I certainly feel special.
Yes.
[LAUGHTER]
No talent whatsoever.
Nothing there at all other than be seventh.
You were seventh in line.
Yeah.
No, but it really is.
When you think back about all those auditions that you do,
and that you're just sitting in a room with people
that look similar to you.
That look kind of like you and have way more credits.
Right.
And way more sort of something or not.
Or that's the thing.
That's the weirdest thing about acting
is you can do everything right and still not get the job.
You can do everything.
I did the best I could.
I really tried.
I really put all my effort into it.
And we're were like, no, thanks.
Yeah, I know.
I think about people on Broadway that sing and dance and act
and do all these things.
And then you have somebody just that
gets lucky and gets on a TV show that runs forever, you know?
Thank you very much.
[LAUGHTER]
I will take that as a compliment.
Somebody like you.
Yeah, that's not what I meant.
You know what I mean.
What are you doing this summer?
Do you have vacation plans?
I have been working so--
this whole first half of the year, well, what is it?
It's first half of the year I was working nonstop.
And so I finally the last couple of weeks
was like, OK, we need to take a break.
So I'm going to go.
My friend suggested a very adventurous idea
that I was a little skeptical about but eventually was
like, all right, let's do it.
We're going whitewater rafting, which I've never done,
and I hope I survive.
Where?
Somewhere in Oregon where they have
steep rivers and whitewater.
Uh-huh.
You've never done it before?
No.
How many people in the boat?
I don't know.
Me, my friend, and I'm hoping a guide.
A guide, yes.
Or more people because I--
It's really dangerous.
--don't want to be the only person paddling.
I think that sounds like a terrible idea.
No, it's really dangerous.
Well, it can be, but it's fun.
And it's exhilarating, and you're outdoors,
and I've never been to Oregon.
It seems like a fun thing to do, which is usually, again,
what people say until they get a major injury.
Right.
But now, will you rehearse the raft?
I don't think we have rafting rehearsals.
No?
No, we're going in cold.
You're just going to get in a raft and go down a river.
I'm sure there will be a tutorial of sorts
where they're like, if this happens, maybe do this.
Right.
And I'm really hoping there's a life jacket involved.
But other than that, no, I think it's just kind of paddle
and don't fall out.
And then, well, you don't have to paddle, because it's rapids.
You just go down.
You have to steer.
I think it stabilizes you in some way.
Yeah, and are you going to camp?
Are you in a tent?
There's a whole-- Yeah, it's a three day deal.
We're doing it up.
There's a camping element.
I believe there's a mountain biking element.
I don't know why.
This does not sound like a vacation.
No.
Which is what it was meant to sound like.
This sounds like work.
Where do the bikes come from?
You're going to bring them on the raft?
I think other people are in charge of those.
OK.
I think those come on a van.
Have you ever camped before?
Yes.
OK, so you have been camping?
Yes.
And you like that?
I like it.
Yeah, I grew up in Missouri.
That was kind of a thing.
First of all, it's relatively free.
You just need to find someone with a tent and some matches.
Not to light the tent on fire, hopefully to start a fire.
Yeah.
But yeah, so I spend a lot of time outdoors,
and I really like it.
It's part of why I loved moving to LA,
because being outside is such a nice part of living here.
Yeah, well, that sounds fun.
When are you doing this, soon?
Soon, yeah.
So keep your eyes and ears peeled toward the news.
See if anything horrible happens.
See if anything happens to you.
And you also taught preschool for a short time.
This is before you moved here?
When I was In college, I had a very weird kind of existence
in college, because most of my friends
were waiters or bartenders or stuff.
But I was in the theater program,
so I had rehearsals every night.
So I couldn't work at night, and I had class during the day.
So I had a weird kind of middle of the day opening
for which to work.
And I grew up with a single mom, and I was always in daycare,
after school programs, all that kind of stuff.
And there were never any guys.
It was pretty much a female-dominated profession.
And so I went to the woman who ran this place.
It was called Kids Depot.
It had a little red train out in front of it
in Columbia, Missouri.
And I told her that, and I said, it's
nice to have to have a guy around.
It might be nice for your kids.
And I had long hair, and I was an acting student.
And she was like, this is going to be a terrible decision,
but I'm going to hire you.
And I ended up working there for three years.
As a preschool teacher?
As a daycare teacher, basically.
Wow, three years?
So I was essentially like a human jungle gym,
basically, because I'm a giant to a five-year-old.
Sure, you're a giant to me.
[LAUGHTER]
And then I had to do art projects and cooking stuff.
That's sweet.
It was really fun.
And it was also kind of like being around kids
is so energizing.
Yeah, or draining.
So coming from class--
Or draining, one of the two.
But I found it energizing.
I found a lot of things energizing when I was in my 20s
that I now find completely draining.
But the idea was that you're getting
as much as you're giving out.
And coming from somebody like me who
had such a history with being in programs like this,
it was like it felt fun to give back in some way.
That's so sweet.
I love that you did that.
[APPLAUSE]
Hi, I'm Andy.
Ellen asked me to remind you to subscribe to her channel
so you can see more awesome videos, like videos
of me getting scared or saying embarrassing things like "ball
peen hammer," and also some videos of Ellen
and other celebrities, if you're into that sort of thing.
Rah!
[SCREAMS] [MUTED]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
God [MUTED].