"Jon Bernthal"

The episode opens with birthday celebrations for Will Arnett, with the hosts chatting about cake, candles, and gifts before introducing Jon Bernthal. Jason Bateman provides an extensive introduction highlighting Bernthal's impressive résumé including The Walking Dead, Wolf of Wall Street, Ford v Ferrari, King Richard, We Own This City, and his current Broadway run in Dog Day Afternoon.

Bernthal discusses his unlikely path to acting, explaining that he originally signed up for a theater class thinking it was a passive movie-watching course, only to find himself in an intimate 10-person class. His first assignment, where he fabricated an emotional story about a baseball glove (his mother's 'deathbed gift,' though his mother is alive), inadvertently revealed his raw talent to teacher Alma Becker, who became a pivotal mentor. As punishment for the deception, Becker made him audition for a play, launching his career.

Bernthal spent 1999-2001 studying at the Moscow Art Theater in Russia, describing it as a transformative and potentially life-saving experience. He paints a vivid picture of Russia at the time — wild, dangerous, with Chechen bombings and shootings near the Duma — but also deeply reverent toward the arts, with statues of playwrights and poets on every corner. He notes that in Russia, acting was considered a masculine, vital pursuit accessible to all people, not just the elite, which resonated with his background.

The conversation turns to The Walking Dead, which Bernthal credits as a career turning point and life milestone, coinciding with his marriage to his wife (an ICU trauma nurse he met the day he returned from Russia) and the birth of his first child. He emphasizes the show's success stemmed from total commitment — if one person didn't fully commit to the reality of zombies, the entire illusion collapsed.

Bernthal speaks at length about fatherhood, parenting three biological children (14, 12, and 10 years old) plus a four-year-old niece who now lives with his family. He coaches his kids in football and boxing and stresses teaching them a dual identity: being protectors and providers while also being sensitive, curious, vulnerable, and open to people different from themselves. He draws a parallel between his relationship with failure as an actor and as a parent, arguing that inevitable failures in both realms create the richest opportunities for growth and connection.

Discussing We Own This City, Bernthal explains his approach to playing Wayne Jenkins, the most corrupt police officer in Baltimore's history. He spent three months riding out nightly with police, going on SWAT raids, and meeting Jenkins personally. His key insight was that Jenkins, despite extreme corruption, would drop everything for his children — this human contradiction became the emotional core of his portrayal, preventing Jenkins from becoming a one-dimensional monster.

Bernthal describes his community work in Ojai, California, where he has lived for 15 years. He built a theater in a defunct school building with proceeds going to the public school theater department, motivated by concern over the impact of Angeleno migration on Ojai's historically strong public school system. He also coaches youth football and boxing in the community.

On his upcoming projects, Bernthal discusses working with Christopher Nolan on The Odyssey, praising Nolan's ability to combine rigorous structure with genuine creative freedom on set. He also reveals a personal connection to Tom Holland — the two met when Holland was 17 while filming in Ireland, and they made each other's audition tapes: Holland's Spider-Man tape and Bernthal's Punisher tape. Bernthal expresses deep affection for Holland and excitement about their work together in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.