"Steve Zahn"

Steve Zahn appears as a guest on the SmartLess podcast, where the hosts (Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett) engage in extensive conversation about his life and career. Zahn explains that he has intentionally lived outside of Los Angeles and New York for much of his career, initially meeting his wife while doing a national tour of Bye Bye Birdie in 1990. After earning tour money, they purchased a cabin in Pennsylvania and later relocated to Kentucky, where his wife's family is from. Zahn has built a life on a farm outside Lexington, Kentucky, where he and his wife raised two children (now ages 26 and 24). Through his production company, Macaroni Art (named after childhood macaroni art projects), Zahn and his partner Rick Gomez have created content including the recently released film She Dances, which premiered at Tribeca and features his daughter Audrey in her acting debut alongside him. Zahn discusses his extensive film and television career, including roles in Reality Bites, That Thing You Do (directed by Tom Hanks), Crimson Tide, Out of Sight, Rescue Dawn (with Werner Herzog), and recent projects like The White Lotus and Silo. He shares anecdotes about working with various directors, including Herzog cooking him a steak at his home before casting him in Rescue Dawn, and the challenges of weight loss and gain for different roles. Zahn emphasizes the importance of over-preparing as an actor to be able to adjust to scene partners' choices. He grew up in Minnesota (born in Marshall, raised in Mankato), played football and baseball in high school, and had friends who became professional hockey players. On his Kentucky farm, Zahn spends considerable time doing maintenance work including trimming trees with pole saws, operating farm equipment like his Kawasaki Mule and tractor, and managing his property. He discusses his current work on Chad Powers season 2 (premiering September 3rd on Peacock) with Glenn Powell, which involves prosthetics and is produced by Peyton and Eli Manning. When asked about unrealized dreams, Zahn mentions he would like to return to theater work, though he has experienced most of his major acting goals including war movies and westerns.