[theme music]
ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from New
York City, the only city in America, it's The Daily Show.
Tonight, Ted Cruz comes to New York,
Jordan Klepper fingers the pulse
and John David Washington.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
[cheering]
What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Thank you for coming out in person.
This feels amazing.
This feels good.
We're going to have some fun.
Oh, I can feel it.
Take a seat, everybody.
We've got a great show for you tonight.
The United Kingdom has a new prime minister to replace
their new prime minister.
China celebrates Xi Jinping in the most awkward way possible.
And our very own Jordan Klepper starts a civil war.
Plus, the one and only John David Washington
is joining us on the show, everybody!
So let's do this, people.
Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
[music playing]
[cheering]
All right.
Before we get into the big stories,
let's catch up on a few other things going on in the world.
According to the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, US students have suffered a record drop
in their math scores.
Now many experts say that the two years of COVID disruptions
are to blame for this.
But in my opinion, everyone would
do better if the smart kids would just
stop hiding their answers.
Yeah!
Loosen up, Angela.
We get it.
You study.
Open it up.
And I know. I know.
I know this is distressing news for all the parents out there.
But just remember, this is the best time to cheat your kids
out of their allowance.
They won't know the difference.
Yeah, 5 plus 2.
Yeah, that's what you get.
That's 10.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, officials are coming under
fire after it came out that a new public toilet that is
being [laughs] built in a popular tourist spot will
cost the city $1.7 million--
a single public toilet.
Yeah, now, before you complain, remember, this toilet is
going to be top of the line.
The seat will come pre peed on.
And the graffiti on the walls will be
written by George RR Martin.
Wow!
Oh, in sports news, the Houston Astros
swept the Yankees to win a spot in the World Series.
And attending the game-- oh, you're
going to save those boos because attending
the game in New York was Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
[booing]
Yeah, who was greeted by Yankee fans just like that.
[laughter]
Yeah, there were a lot of boos, a lot
of extended middle fingers, which at this point, people,
why does anyone bother?
Ted Cruz sees those so often.
He may not even be offended, right?
He might just think that's how people wave now.
Just like, hi.
Hello, how are you?
Hello.
Hi, Ted Cruz.
All right, let's move on to some of the biggest
stories of the day.
You know, with food prices going up, gas prices going up,
and war crippling Europe, it may
be easy to get distracted by short-term problems
and lose sight of the long-term problems that will actually
kill us all, which is why climate
activists are going to extreme measures to get our attention.
REPORTER: Another act of food-infused art
vandalism, this time with mashed potatoes.
That's right.
Climate change activists tossed potatoes onto a Claude Monet
painting at a German museum.
Look at this.
Officials there say the painting--
it wasn't damaged and that it's covered by glass.
Last week, activists threw tomato soup
onto Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers at the National
Gallery in London.
There was some minor damage to the frame,
but the painting was unharmed.
And in both cases, activists then
glued their hands to the wall.
Yeah, increasingly, around the world,
climate change activists are vandalizing
famous art to bring attention to climate change.
First, they splashed food on a van Gogh, now a Monet.
They also hit a Jackson Pollock, but no one noticed.
[laughter]
And as much as I agree with the message,
I don't know if a museum is the right place to do this.
Because think about it.
If you protest in the streets, everyone knows it's a protest.
But if anything happens in a museum,
half the people are just going to think it's part of the art.
You know?
Yeah, you could be in front of a painting going,
I'm having a heart attack!
They'd be like, ah, very powerful, very powerful.
No, help me!
Ah, yes, the cry for help we all feel in the modern world.
Bravo, bravo.
Also, I feel like at this point,
the problem with climate change isn't a lack of awareness.
Right?
It's more the fact that a ton of people
just don't give a shit.
And I stand to be corrected.
But I just don't think that those people
who don't care about climate change care about fancy art.
You know?
I doubt your MAGA uncle is going to be like, no,
not Monet's Water Lilies!
No!
All right, you win.
You can tax carbon.
I agree with you.
If anything, these protests might
bring more publicity to the art than to climate change.
Yeah, like, you tell me, when was the last time
you thought about Monet?
And sex dreams don't count.
[laughter]
Like, if I was a painting in a museum right now,
I would be begging--
I'd be begging to get some food thrown on me.
[laughter]
Oh, look, look.
Someone's walking up to us right now
with a giant bowl of pudding.
This could be our big break.
Oh, the pudding is-- oh, no, wait.
They're just eating it.
Oh.
What the hell, man?
Weird snack to bring to a museum.
Oh, come on, people.
I want to go viral.
Somebody, throw some food at me.
You know who I hate?
The polar bears!
I hate them, bunch of Coke-drinking losers.
They deserve to die!
Nothing?
All right, forget it.
I guess back to staring at people's butts all day.
Oh, that's a nice butt. Look at that one.
Oh.
All right.
Let's make like America's money and move on to China.
Over the last decade, Xi Jinping
has gradually taken full control of the Chinese
Communist Party.
He's put his people in all of the top positions.
He's pushed out all of his top rivals.
And he is the sole owner of the password for the country's
Netflix account.
Yeah, so no one in China can watch Dahmer without him.
He's like, no, don't watch without me!
That's one of our shows together.
They're like, these are all our shows together!
We're communists!
Anyway-- anyway, over the weekend,
President Xi was formally reupped as communist leader
of the party, right?
That's what he was-- for an unprecedented third term,
which means he will rule over the nation
of 1.4 billion people for at least another five years.
And if anyone doubts on how powerful Xi Jinping
has become, just look at how he treated
China's previous leader.
China's leader, Xi Jinping, is beginning
an historic third term in office
after being anointed again as the head of the country's
Communist Party.
But there was an unexpected twist
in the normally highly-choreographed Chinese
national Congress over the weekend, when his predecessor
was escorted off the stage.
REPORTER: Two aides appear to remove
Xi Jinping's predecessor, Hu Jintao, from the front row.
Hu appears confused, even to resist,
while Xi Jinping shows zero sympathy.
Was the 79-year-old Hu unwell?
Or was it some kind of political power play?
We'll probably never know as the incident
has already been scrubbed from Chinese TV and social media.
God damn.
Yeah, scrubbed from social media and TV,
and did you see that?
They picked that old man out and just escorted him.
They just escorted him out like he was Kanye at a bar mitzvah.
[laughter]
And did you see Xi Jinping?
What's even wilder, he's just sitting there
like he can't do anything.
Like, the old man taps him like,
hey, Xi, you going to do--
he's the most powerful person in China.
And he's like, sorry, there-- there must
be some rule or something.
I'm new here. I don't know.
I can't help you.
I-- I can't do anything.
I don't even know what this means.
Was it supposed to send a message?
Was it not?
Because if it did, I don't think it worked because nobody
knows what happened, right?
They either took this guy away as some kind of power grab
or because he just had one too many Island iced teas.
We don't know, right?
Who knows?
I mean, I guess we do know that it didn't go according to plan
because they scrubbed all the video of it from the internet.
They wouldn't do that if they wanted people to see it.
It's like your browser history.
Yeah, nobody's clearing it because they
donated to charity.
You know, no one's like, I can't let my wife
see what a good person I am.
I can't!
So, yeah, this is a weird, opaque story that
has left everyone guessing.
And I guess the only question I have is,
can we hire those guys for whenever Joe Biden
starts rambling in a speech?
Can we?
Just to bring them in, he's like, (IMITATING BIDEN)
I passed a student bill debt with 50 and 100,000
and 56,000 and 150--
OK, sir, come on with us.
Come on.
Let's take him to where we hide Kamala.
Come on. Let's go.
[applause]
All right, finally, let's move on from China to a country
where the leadership situation is a little less secure,
Great Britain.
Last week, Liz Truss announced after just
44 days in office she would be stepping
down as prime minister.
So she could move on to becoming that person who
everyone recognizes, but they can't
quite remember from where.
Like, did we go to high school--
oh!
You were the prime minister!
Oh, so sorry about that.
Anyway, can I have two large popcorns, please, and--
Anyway, Liz Truss is gone.
And it looks like the UK's got a brand new man.
We begin in the United Kingdom, which
is about to get its third prime minister
in less than two months.
Just a short time ago, the ruling Conservative Party
announced that former Finance Minister Rishi
Sunak won the race to become party
leader and prime minister.
REPORTER: Rishi Sunak will become this country's
first ever prime minister of color, first
ever Asian prime minister, and first
ever Hindu prime minister.
REPORTER: Rishi Sunak-- not only the first person
of color to walk through 10 Downing, also the youngest
prime minister here in about two centuries, really
a historic day.
REPORTER: A former investment banker, he and his wife
are reported to be among the country's richest people.
It is the greatest privilege of my life
to be able to serve the party I love
and give back to the country I owe so much to.
Yeah, that's right.
The UK's new prime minister is former Finance
Minister Rishi Sunak.
And he's Indian.
He's Hindu.
And he's only 42 years old, which
means he will probably serve well into his 42
and a halves easily.
[laughter]
And let's not forget--
[applause]
Let's not forget another important first.
He's also the first prime minister
who's an absolute snack.
Yeah.
Oh, look at you, Rishi.
And before you're thinking, oh, is he,
don't forget who came before.
Don't forget.
We're moving on up.
[cheering]
Now, of course-- of course, not everyone in the UK
is happy about Rishi Sunak taking the top spot
and making history.
And it's not because of his policies
or because of his personality.
No, there are some people who have a problem with something
else, as this caller to a British radio show
so eloquently explained.
Is the real problem here, Jerry,
that Rishi Sunak is a Brown man,
and you don't trust him at the top of this country?
Yeah.
Yeah, this guy has a good point.
Can you imagine if white English people
wanted to rule countries where no one looked like them?
Oh, that would never happen.
Can you imagine that world?
What would that world be like?
[cheering]
[laughs] Now you know what's so funny to me?
It's funny how racists always say,
oh, colonization was fine.
It was business-- until they feel
like they're being colonized.
Then all of a sudden, it's like, something
needs to be done!
Something needs to be done!
Not even being colonized-- the guy is British.
What's wrong with you?
And if you ask me, British racists are looking
at this whole thing all wrong.
This could be a good thing for you people.
After 400 years, you'll finally get
to legitimately blame a Brown person
for your country's problems.
You're living your dreams!
Wake up!
[applause]
I mean, there is a part of me--
there's a part of me that feels a little
bad for England's racists.
No, because remember-- remember,
they voted for Brexit specifically
to keep Britain white.
And that vote started a seven-year chain
of dominoes that has now led directly
to an Indian Prime Minister.
[cheering]
Oh, man.
Yeah, they're probably like, (BRITISH ACCENT)
oh, this is certainly a rich irony at my expense, isn't it?
Yeah.
And here's the thing.
Keep in mind, this caller even says that he is Tory.
So this is the same party as Rishi Sunak,
right, which means they probably agree
on all the same policies.
He just doesn't like that he's not white,
which I don't understand.
I truly don't understand.
What are you scared of? Huh?
What is this caller scared of?
Does he think Sunak is going to walk up
to the podium on his first day in office
and be like, (BRITISH ACCENT) it is the greatest privilege
of my life to be able to give back to the country I
owe so much to.
And to show my gratitude, I just
want to say, (INDIAN ACCENT) I'm selling
the entire country to India!
That's right.
Revenge time, you bastards.
This was the plan the whole time.
Happy Diwali, mother bitches!
[laughter]
It's not going to happen, you racists.
All right, that's it for the headlines.
Before we go to break, it's time
to check in on all the latest social media trends
with our very own Ronny Chieng, everybody!
[cheering]
Hey, Trevor, all right.
Let's see what's blowing up social media today.
We got Taylor Swift, anti-Semitism,
Tom Brady, the usual.
But what's lighting social media in England up right now
is the new prime minister of the week, Rishi Sunak.
And I know everyone is really excited
that this is the first Asian prime minister.
But let's be clear.
Indians are not Asians, OK?
OK?
They're still people, great people.
They're just not Asian people, OK?
No, no, no.
Answer me this.
If this guy is Asian, how come when he became prime minister,
I felt absolutely nothing?
[laughter]
I mean, when I was down at Dim Sum Palace this morning, me
and the fellas weren't like, oh, shit, that's me up there!
I feel seen.
I love how Indians try to have it both ways,
like, being Indian and Asian.
Pick a lane, OK?
Yeah, I bet if I show up in a Bollywood film,
I'm just going to blend right in, right?
Because we're all just one people,
just having a good time.
Also, speaking of Asians and Indians,
real quick, you mentioned America's
math scores were dropping since COVID or something, right?
I mean, math scores in America were bad before COVID.
How could they get any worse?
Like, the question used to be, what time
did a train leave the station?
Now you got to explain what a [bleep] train is.
But the biggest trending story has got to be the climate
change art protester videos.
And my question is, who the hell is doing
museum security these days?
You see people walking in with two buckets of mashed potatoes
and a high-visibility vest, and you don't
think anything is going on.
Were you caught by surprise?
They're not exactly sneaking around.
I mean, if people show up in high-visibility construction
vest, just keep an eye on them, OK?
Just imagine this Venn diagram.
It's real simple.
In one circle, you've got people
wearing construction vests.
In the other circle, you've got people with no upper body
strength, OK?
Now, when they overlap in the middle there,
those are climate activists.
[cheering]
OK?
Make sure you check every cavity for sloppy joes.
Also, the worst part is this painting
wasn't even expecting it.
At least throw it at a painting that's ready.
I mean, see, this guy knows some bad shit's
about to go down.
All right, what are you even doing?
What?
Throwing guacamole at art isn't going
to change anything, all right?
The only people who care about art
are pretentious douchebags.
Like, check out this tweet I found
online for some random moron, all right?
Look.
Look at this all.
Oh my god.
At the Louvre.
I saw Mona Lisa for the first time.
Is she smiling or not?
It's so powerful.
Everyone should see.
[laughter]
Oh, really?
You think everyone should see the most famous painting ever?
What a great discovery.
I mean, I wonder what else this guy likes.
You like the Beatles, Breaking Bad?
Let me guess.
You gave Oxygen five stars.
I mean, how basic can a bitch get?
Whoever he is.
Back to you, Trevor.
[cheering]
I think that was a great tweet.
Ronny Chieng, everybody.
All right, when we come back, Jordan Klepper
figures out what side of the civil war
your state is going to be on.
So don't go away.
[cheering]
[applause]
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
You know, there's no question-- there's
no question that America is becoming
more and more polarized.
And it has a lot of people wondering--
could this division turn into violence?
Well, we sent Jordan Klepper to find out for another episode
of "Fingers the Pulse."
[music playing]
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): When you've
been to as many rallies as I have,
you get used to hearing things you don't encounter
in everyday life, like "Go to hell,"
and "Klepper is a bitch."
But lately, the. crowds have been
coalescing around one particular idea
that nobody wants to hear
- Civil War. - Civil War.
Civil War.
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): The Civil War--
our country's bitter attempt at divorce
that ended with mom and dad back together in a state
of constant resentment.
43% of Americans think it's very
likely there's a Civil War in the next decade.
OK.
I'm going to be perfectly straight up and honest.
It's going to happen much sooner than that.
How soon?
Because I have an Airbnb rented in the Outer Banks.
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): But it turns out
a lot of Americans think this way and not just your uncle
who has been hoarding weapons and Vienna sausages
in his basement bunker.
Even sitting members of Congress, like January 6
Committee Member Adam Kinzinger.
How close are we to another Civil War?
I think we're closer than we'd like to think.
And I used to be afraid to talk about it.
Now I think it's important for us to talk about it.
To talk about a Civil War?
Yeah.
Because I think we have to be aware of where we're at.
I don't think it's going to be North and South
with large marching armies.
You know, if I live in Illinois,
there's going to be Republicans and Democrats in Illinois.
I do think it could get violent easily.
I mean, that's scary.
That is scary.
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): If a sitting representative
like Kinzinger thinks a second Civil War is possible,
it's something we need to take seriously.
So I decided to gather Americans
in one of our most sacred traditions of civic unity--
the corporate focus group, bringing together
conservatives and liberals in purple Arizona
who all think Civil War is a real possibility.
The Civil War is tomorrow.
What is the skill set you bring to the battlefield?
Well, I'm good with a gun.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
OK.
James?
[laughs] I have survival skills.
I was in the military.
I know how to shoot a weapon, hand-to-hand combat
if I have to.
I could stick you with a knife and not cry about it.
[laughs]
We're laughing about sticking people with a knife, but--
OK. Lansing, what skills?
Leadership JORDAN KLEPPER: Leadership?
Yeah.
I just feel there's going to need to be some leaders.
Bo, what skills do you have?
Critical thinking.
Jesus, for all of the liberals in here,
we have a leader and a critical thinker.
This is why the blue side is [bleep]..
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): But if America was going
to be divided in a Civil War, where would the modern day
Mason-Dixon Line fall?
It was time for a state-by-state fantasy draft--
well, nightmare draft.
JORDAN KLEPPER: We've terraformed
the states that have been red and blue to create
one land mass.
Who sees himself as conservative part
of the red map here?
Are these the states you would want?
Oh, I much prefer the red states.
What breaks your heart?
What are you going to miss?
Well, Arizona-- isn't that supposed
to be a red state now?
Let's say we give you Arizona.
Where do you want to travel to?
Well, I love California.
But it's turned into such a shithole.
Let's be fair.
As a red state guy, the blue state has the best food.
Oh, yeah.
Right.
Bo, what would you miss?
Not a ton.
As a liberal, you're feeling pretty
good about the states you get.
Honestly, I feel all right.
We got Hawaii.
JORDAN KLEPPER: You do have Hawaii.
James, what are you missing?
You're going to be in this red conglomerate, right?
Well, the family's from back east in Ohio, so, yeah,
I mean-- that would be.
You'd miss Ohio?
I wouldn't trade Cleveland for anything.
I'd trade Texas for California
so I can go to San Diego. - OK.
Any other trades?
Texas for California-- blue side,
would you allow that trade?
I'll take Austin for Cleveland,
but I don't need all of Texas.
We'll do an Austin for Cleveland.
I don't want Cleveland. He's in Cleveland.
I want San Diego.
What will you give up for San Diego?
I would give up Florida.
No thanks.
There's no takers on Florida?
No.
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): OK.
So I guess the ocean can have Florida,
which is helpful because it will probably take it anyway.
And now that we have our newly divided States of America,
we get to draft some new constitutions.
If there is a new America, you're going to need new laws.
Are there any laws you would want to change?
Get rid of the petty ones.
I mean, there's lots of petty laws out there.
I mean, if you pee in public, I mean,
are you really going to be in the sex crime registry
now because you peed in public?
It's stupid.
It's a crack in the system.
That's the first law that comes to head?
It's the petty laws.
You get put in the federal sex crimes registry
if you take a leak outside.
It's just pretty dumb.
That's just an example.
We just talked about a Civil War
tearing this country in two.
[laughter]
You finally get your way-- - Well, you know, I mean--
--and the first law that jumps
to mind is peeing in public.
Does your side not have toilets?
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): With the vision
of the new Confederacy already collapsing under the burden
of sewage infrastructure, I thought
it was time to cut to the chase and ask
the biggest question of all.
Which side wins?
We all lose.
We all lose, yeah.
There's no winning there.
What if one side loses and then refuses to concede?
JORDAN KLEPPER (VOICEOVER): Well,
I don't know if I feel any better
about the future of America.
But for now, at least we still have elections.
In fact, check out my new half hour special where I dive
into the midterms and ask the very important question--
democracy, we still cool?
If you knew you got fewer votes, you wouldn't concede.
What is conceding mean?
Yeah.
It means accepting loss.
- No. - No.
Why?
Is democracy [bleep]?
We can be [bleep] tomorrow if the wrong thing happens.
You were there January 6.
It was the most beautiful thing I ever saw.
Birds chirping, police officers screaming.
No.
[music playing]
[applause]
Thank you so much for that.
Jordan Klepper, everybody.
Before to check out--
be sure to check out Jordan's special next Tuesday at 11:30
right after this show. All right.
Stay tuned because when we come back,
John David Washington will be joining
me right here on this spot.
[applause]
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
My guest tonight is an actor you know from films
like Black Klansman and Tenet.
He's here tonight to talk about making
his Broadway debut in a revival of August
Wilson's The Piano Lesson.
Please welcome John David Washington.
[music playing]
TREVOR NOAH: Welcome back.
John David Washington. - Hello.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
Thanks for having me. Glad to be back.
It's been a while since you've been here.
I think it was maybe 2019.
Yeah.
TREVOR NOAH: It was Black Klansman at the time.
And I mean, you have just ascended, consistently
and constantly.
Tenet phenomenal, absolutely for the part
that we could understand. Because some of it--
Yeah, right.
Let me ask you, though, before we get
into what you're doing now.
Like did you guys know what was-- of course,
I loved the movie.
I love-- no genuinely, I love all
of Christopher Nolan's films.
And I watch it, and I watch it again.
I watch this first time to enjoy it,
second time to understand what's happening.
But then there's like parts in it where people are (MUMBLING)
and then you guys run and (VOCALIZATIONS).
So when you guys are in the scene,
can you hear each other?
Do you know what's happening?
I don't listen.
Look, Christopher Nolan's always watching.
So I'm going to say, yeah, totally.
Totally was in control, knew everything.
I knew every plot point.
I knew everything that was going on.
Yeah, that's another thing I wondered.
Do you understand the movie when you're in the movie?
Like when you're doing the stuff
and backwards is happening to you and--
because you're convincing.
I didn't watch it and go, John David Washington doesn't
know what's happening here.
- Yeah, you believed me? - I believed you.
Oh, thank God.
That means I did a good job.
You did an amazing job.
You know, I mean, honestly, there was a lot
of training that went into it.
So the physicality of it, learning how to fight
backwards. TREVOR NOAH: Right.
Blink backwards, walk backwards, all that stuff.
I mean, it was like backwards fighting school we went to.
TREVOR NOAH: No way.
So we trained for like a month, a month and change.
And so once I got it into my body,
I felt it was actually helping me understand
the plot a little more and then opening up
the world and the possibilities of what Christopher
Nolan was trying to do.
TREVOR NOAH: That's probably why you were so good at it.
Thank you.
I feel like I feel like you're good at everything
because you immerse yourself.
Go in, yeah.
In Ballers, you were amazing.
One of my favorite parts of the show.
But then I found out you played football.
- I did. - In college.
I was like, that's cheating. I didn't know that.
But I'm nothing like that guy.
Ricky Jerret, we are not alike at all.
- But still. - It don't count.
I mean--
But still.
Acting, brother.
Oh my God.
You immerse yourself in your roles
in a really powerful way.
I mean, it's why you get accolade after accolade.
People love seeing you on the screen.
But now you're moving into Broadway,
which every actor has said across the board
is terrifying. - Oh my goodness.
Why would you do this?
It's-- totally, it's a full contact sport.
I wanted to challenge myself.
It was about trying to test my abilities
and trying to grow as an artist.
I wanted to keep searching.
And I dove, you know, I dove head in.
I was going for it.
I felt like the words of August Wilson
would lead me to the promised land.
There was a character that I really loved and enjoyed
every time I read it.
TREVOR NOAH: Wow.
And so just wanting to explore
and see how far I can go with my abilities and what I
can learn.
I feel like I'm in grad school really, with LaTanya Jackson,
our leader, our director, and Sam Jackson
who originated the role.
He played boy Willie in 1987.
So here I am with him every night,
and he's playing the uncle role now.
But I'm looking at him across the stage,
like, I know you originated this role.
I'm doing my best, Unc.
But it was a way that-- and he's been so supportive.
And seeing just the entire cast, you know.
So it's been a learning, a very great
learning situation for me.
And it's been life changing, what I'm learning.
I can't imagine how surreal that must be for you.
Because as you said, Samuel L Jackson originated the role.
His wife is directing it.
She's making her directorial debut on Broadway, right?
So this is like a family affair, but it's legends only.
And if you are playing--
you're playing the role that he originated across from him,
but he's now playing the uncle.
And it's this really fascinating story
on multiple levels about a family
arguing about an heirloom.
And I don't want to spoil it for people.
But it really is the question of what
does a family need to keep in order to maintain
themselves as a family?
And can they let go of those things
and still respect where they come from?
It feels pertinent to you on a personal level as well
as a character because you grew up around Samuel L Jackson,
didn't you? - I did.
I did.
Well, I've reexamined the word inheritance.
And learning how to work hard for something,
learning how to act, I think, is something that I feel
like I've inherited in a way.
And through this process, learning how to make choices
on stage, how to immerse yourself in the role,
and to just the work ethic.
It's something that you can learn.
You can learn how to work hard.
And that's what I've been discovering
a lot on in this process.
Would you say would being on Broadway is
harder than being on film?
Or let me ask it to you differently.
What are the harder aspects of doing Broadway
as opposed to being on camera?
It's harder in that it's every night, different crowds.
You got to deliver sometimes two shows on Wednesday,
two shows on Saturday.
So you have to deliver sometimes twice a day.
And you know, and you have to be on it.
You have to have the same energy every night.
And it's not like you can yell, cut, and let
me start that over, crowd.
Let me wait.
There's none of that happening.
You got to go.
They are waiting on you.
You got to go.
So it's something that I think it builds you up.
To me, I have more courage in trying things
when I get back to film because of this experience.
You've always talked about how you were reticent when it
came to getting into acting.
You had this idea of like your father is Denzel Washington.
I mean, we go, this is one of the greatest
actors who has ever lived on this planet, right?
One of the greatest to ever do it.
And then you step into the game.
And you've always said you didn't want to at first.
You're like, this feels like a burden.
But everyone can agree, you've stepped into it.
You've made it your own.
You still have characteristics that remind us of your dad
because you are his son.
But what's that journey been like for you
in finding your own, but also accepting
your heirloom, like the piece that you've
inherited from him?
I'm finding it with every project.
You know, Spike Lee helped me find my identity.
Christopher Nolan helped me find my identity.
This play, in so many ways, is helping me find my identity.
What my process even is and what like different power
spots on stage and how I relate to characters
and what my way in is-- all those things
I'm discovering on my journey.
And the support I've gotten from the directors
I just named have been just so important for my growth
and for my confidence.
And the support I've gotten from my family.
You know, no handouts.
I've been working very hard.
I've worked very hard on this play,
and I'm proud of what we're doing with it.
You see it.
You can tell when somebody's passionate
and when they work beyond where they ever thought they could.
You always put the effort in.
It always comes across.
The play is also fascinating.
It's a great story that is being
told by great people, great actors, a great director.
And one thing that surprised me about the play
is that it's also, as the director says,
it's like this is also a ghost story.
Yeah.
And I found myself thinking, in life,
there are two types of ghosts-- the ghosts that we carry,
almost like a-- and then there are like ghosts ghosts.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, you know what I mean.
There's like ghost ghosts.
Do you believe in ghosts? - Absolutely.
Yeah, Halloween's always-- I mean, I love Halloween.
But I definitely sleep with the light
on around this time of year.
So I don't mess around.
I don't play with that ghost stuff.
It's real.
You superstitious like that?
Yep.
Yes I am.
You know, it's like, put that nightlight on.
I believe in ghosts.
But it's also-- this play, yes, it's a ghost story.
It's also incredibly funny.
It's got a lot of humor in it.
I mean, August Wilson is a genius.
TREVOR NOAH: Yes.
And it's loaded with family situations and dynamics that
are universal, not just the African American experience,
but a universal experience.
And family arguments, you know, nephew and uncle dynamics,
sister and brother things.
So there's so many things and so
many themes in this story that are relatable,
which is what I love about it.
I think it's relatable.
I think it's a continued celebration
of Black excellence in Broadway, which we've seen
in everything from Slave Play through to Strange Loop
through to like all of the-- - Topdog/Underdog.
- Yeah, exactly. - It's a great time right now.
It's been growing, and it's a great time.
And I'll recommend everybody go and watch it.
Because when will you ever get the opportunity
to be almost this close to John David Washington and Samuel
L Jackson at the same time?
Thank you so much for joining the show.
Thank you so much.
Great seeing you again.
John David Washington, everybody.
We have to take a quick break.
We'll be right back after this.
All right, brother.
Thank you, man.
[applause]
Well, that's our show for tonight.
But, before we go-- before we go--
before we go, peaceful protesters in Iran
are risking their lives to be heard.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran
is helping to bring their voices to the
important international stage.
And it provides legal aid for political prisoners
and victims of violence.
So, please, if you can, all you need to do
is follow the link below to help them in their work.
Until next time, stay safe out there.
And remember, if you're really hungry
but don't want to spend any money,
just pretend you're a painting and wait.
Now here it is, your moment of zen.
[applause]
[music playing]
Do you support Bono solo?
Would you go see him?
Sure.
I haven't listened to any of his new music that is solo.
It's definitely worth investigating.
If it's anywhere near as good as U2, yeah, sure I would.
I usually like the band as a whole.
Look, Van Halen wasn't as good when they
got rid of David Lee Roth.
And I'm not sure U2 will be as good when it's just Bono,
but I'll check it out.
[music playing]