STAYING ALIVE: Sean Hayes!

Shocking Blood Work and Diet [0:00]

• John Gabrus shares that his recent blood work was "really bad," describing his blood as having "sugar and fat all the way."
• He admits to eating "what you want all the time" for all of his 76 years.
• His triglycerides and cholesterol were "super high" and "really bad."

  "I got my blood work done I don't know like a month ago and it was really bad it was like i had creme brulee for blood like i had it was just sugar and fat all the way"

Haagen-Dazs and Sugar Content [1:20]

• Gabrus confesses to eating "little tiny pints" of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, which he considers the best mass-produced ice cream.
• He realized the sugar content in one pint was around 25 grams per half cup, totaling 80-100 grams in one sitting.
• He would consume these pints three times a week for the last 50 years.

  "finally for the first time in my life i looked at the sugar content and i was like oh wow it says like half of a cup has like 25 grams of sugar"

Sleep Problems and Alcohol [2:15]

• Gabrus experiences horrible sleep, often waking up at 3 AM.
• He jokes about being the only stoner who doesn't sleep.
• Drinking alcohol before sleep is identified as a factor that keeps one awake due to sugar and alcohol content.

  "if you drink you know and you get a little buzz and then you go to sleep you'll never sleep because the sugar and the alcohol keep you up right"

Broadway's Impact on Health [3:30]

• Gabrus describes his experience on Broadway, stating he "never drank more or eaten worse in my entire life."
• The demanding schedule involves not eating before the show, leading to starvation and reliance on red wine and pasta to quiet down.
• He likens the experience to being an athlete due to repetitive movements and muscle strain, requiring constant refueling.

  "you're just finishing you're like and and and the only thing that you can like because you haven't eaten before the show and then you're starving and you're like the only thing that can like quiet you down is a bottle of red wine and pasta"

The "Clean Plate Club" Mentality [4:30]

• Gabrus discusses growing up in a household where parents emphasized finishing food due to financial constraints, leading to habits of eating everything on the plate.
• This mentality extends to exercise, where he feels obligated to work out for a full hour even if he's tired after 15-20 minutes.
• He contrasts these ingrained childhood ideas with current realities.

  "your brain goes well i have to feed i have to eat it and then you become you get these habits"

Sitcoms vs. Broadway: A Different Pace [7:00]

• Gabrus contrasts the intense, athlete-like demands of Broadway with the more structured and less physically taxing environment of multi-cam sitcoms.
• He mentions working on a multi-cam for one season and finding the hours amazing, clocking in and out efficiently.
• He cites James Burrows, a director of shows like "Cheers" and "Will & Grace," who worked incredibly fast, finishing four-hour days by 2 PM.

  "the hours are amazing yeah clock in i clock out and i'm still doing right funny things"

"Dinks" and Series Regular Role [8:30]

• Gabrus is excited about his first series regular role in a new Amazon show called "Dinks" (Double Income No Kids).
• He plays a "weird nephew" who moves in with a married couple, played by Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.
• The show is described as being improvised, not fully scripted, with a live studio audience.

  "paul sheer and june diane raphael play like a married couple amazing rebuilding a house and i play like their weird nephew who moves in"

The Electrifying Feeling of Live Audiences [11:00]

• Gabrus describes the electrifying feeling of receiving huge applause from a live studio audience, even when they don't know his character.
• He felt "indestructible" and like he could "fucking kill anybody" during these moments.
• This experience is compared to the high of a rock concert.

  "i open the door and get like the huge applause they don't know who i am it's not like oh fuck the nephew's here like they're just like no they're supposed to do it"

Health Interventions: Metformin and Statins [14:00]

• Gabrus is now on Metformin, which he understands helps regulate blood sugar, and a statin, which he wishes he wasn't on.
• He was pre-diabetic and insulin resistant.
• He also takes thyroid medication he's been on for years.

  "i'm on metformin which i hear is great they might what's that the metformin not the george foreman"

GLP-1s and Satiation [15:30]

• Gabrus and the hosts discuss being on GLP-1 medications.
• He hasn't noticed a huge difference in his appearance but feels better.
• He experienced satiation for the first time after being on Zepbound, realizing he didn't need appetizers and entrees.

  "after being on zet bound for a couple of months i now will eat a meal and go like i can't believe that was enough food"

The "Athlete" Mindset in Performance [17:00]

• Gabrus likens treating oneself like an "ultra marathoner" during demanding performances, needing to refuel after scenes.
• He admits to eating multiple buffalo chicken wraps and burning few calories, but feeling an emotional need to "refuel" and "earn it."
• This mindset is contrasted with the reality of calorie intake versus expenditure.

  "you're like refueling in between scenes and stuff and it's like it does feel like that emotionally but then at the end of the day you're like i did have four buffalo chicken wraps and maybe burned 80 calories performing"

The "Hair Jacked" Game Show [19:00]

• Gabrus produced and hosted a game show called "Hair Jacked" for TruTV, set in a hair salon.
• He describes it as "Cash Cab in a hair salon" and a "great idea."
• The loser of the game had to get a "fucked up haircut."

  "i hosted hair jack for true tv for one season yeah god that was so long ago"

The Beatles Movie Project [20:00]

• Gabrus is currently working on a project involving four movies about The Beatles, directed by Sam Mendes.
• Adam Pally is in a couple of them, playing a manager character.
• Gabrus is integral to the project, playing himself, Sean Hayes.

  "it's a movie about the beatles it's sam mendes making four movies one about each beetle"

Memorizing Lines: Different Approaches [21:30]

• Gabrus needs a PA and repetitive practice to memorize lines, writing them out and then piecing them together.
• Adam Pally also writes his lines out and rereads them like poems.
• Sean Hayes admits to not memorizing, instead improvising or saying "whatever I feel."

  "i have to write it i have to write it the first time oh you do when i'm trying to go off book off book i have to write all my lines out"

The Challenge of Solo Shows and Autopilot [23:00]

• Hayes describes performing a one-man show, "The Unknown," playing 10 characters, and the difficulty of memorizing an hour-plus monologue.
• He recounts a moment of autopilot where he waited for another character (who he also played) to speak.
• This experience is likened to dreaming in a language one barely knows.

  "i go to his apartment i buzz the door larry answers and larry kind of just talks you know like that and so i go i buzz the door and larry answers and i waited for whoever was playing larry to say their line"

The Rigors of Eight Shows a Week [25:30]

• Gabrus questions the inhumanity of performing eight shows a week, suggesting producers started it for financial gain.
• He believes it makes the experience unfun after a few months.
• The constant performance requires suppressing personal feelings and maintaining the "show must go on" mentality.

  "i think it's inhuman and like people like no it's it makes it not fun after six months or five months or four months"

Maintaining Health During a Run [27:00]

• Gabrus emphasizes the importance of vocal coaching and staying healthy due to the guilt of disappointing ticket-buyers.
• He mentions the pressure of performing flawlessly, comparing it to Catholic guilt.
• He discusses the difficulty of managing eating schedules to avoid acid reflux and phlegm that could affect his voice.

  "i go to the vocal coach a lot like a vocal doctor because i was like i scream a lot in the show can i make sure that i am not blowing my vocal cords out"

Pooping and Performance Anxiety [29:00]

• Gabrus discusses how anxiety during a show run can actually lead to better bowel movements.
• He contrasts this with times when he's not performing, where his stomach can get rumbly.
• He recounts letting out a fart before the stage manager entered during his one-man show, not wanting to do it on stage.

  "my poops are fucking great because all the anxiety and all this stuff makes it go right through like lock the fuck in"

Fitness and Feeling Better [30:30]

• Gabrus admits to hating exercise but forces himself to go to the trainer, finding that knowing the feeling of accomplishment makes him return.
• He is experiencing results for the first time in a long time, both physically and mentally.
• He and the hosts discuss feeling better and looking better as they get their lives together.

  "i am feeling results for the first time in a long time and mentally is just as important"

Relationships and Style Choices [32:30]

• Gabrus's wife commented on his t-shirt choice, making him change before a meeting.
• He notes that divorced individuals might wear cartoon t-shirts, while married people might have their mother-in-law sleeping in their office.
• The hosts joke about their own relationship statuses and how they present themselves.

  "my wife goes you're going to that meeting like that right and i was like what and she's like i thought you had a meeting later i was like i do and she's like and you're wearing what is that t-shirt"

Final Thoughts and Future Goals [34:00]

• Gabrus thanks the hosts, calling them "two of the funniest people on the face of the planet."
• A future goal is to "get high with Sean" and have a "Staying Alive" wrap party.
• The hosts express admiration for Hayes's professionalism as a podcaster.

  "i do like he's such a pro podcaster like i think three times he's like so my nutrition plan is as well"

The "Ozark" Filter Request [35:30]

• Jason Bateman declined to be on the podcast unless the video had a "full blue tint" to make it "more Ozark."
• This creates a mystique around Bateman as the only boss who hasn't appeared on the show.

  "he said he won't come on until we put a full blue tint on the video he says make it go make it go ozark for me"