Conan O’Brien reveals the worst guest ever on his show who even had to be dragged back onto set
Abel Ferrara has long been known for his unpredictable and erratic nature both on-screen and off-screen. And in his appearance on 'Late Night with Conan O’Brien,' he once again lived up to his reputation. During an episode of 'Armchair Expert' with Dax Shepard, O’Brien was asked about the most difficult guest he ever had to interview. Without hesitation, he named Ferrara. “He was this wild eccentric,” O'Brien recalled. “And he fled during the show before his segment. He ran away, got on the elevator, and was out on the street running away, and the producer (Frank Smiley) gave chase."
He further explained that his producer managed to track the 'Bad Lieutenant' director down and drag him back upstairs. But forcing Ferrara back onto set didn’t exactly make for smooth television. O’Brien described, “He came on camera against his will, came out, and (I think) started yelling at me.” Dax Shepard then asked the obvious: “Was he intoxicated?” O’Brien didn’t mince words. “I’m sure. If not, he should have been,” he quipped. Additionally, Ferrara's body language throughout the episode also bore testament to O'Brien's words. When Shepard asked O'Brien about the experience, O'Brien responded, “It was entertaining, in the way that if you ate 15 cloves of garlic, you wouldn’t say it would be a great experience, but you’d remember it,” joked O’Brien. “It was what we call ‘compellevison."
Per USA Today, O'Brien also took a shot at the culture that glorifies difficult behavior in artists. He reportedly said on the podcast, “I blame James Dean and Marlon Brando for the Abel Ferraras, Crispin Glovers, and Joaquin Phoenix's of the entertainment world. It’s the tail wagging the dog. If I’m difficult, I must be a genius.” Then, offering some blunt advice to aspiring artists, he added, “No! Be a genius first, and then if the side effect is you’re difficult, we’ll accept it. Don’t be difficult in the hopes that maybe you’re a genius.”
Of course, O’Brien wasn’t the only one to experience Ferrara’s unpredictability. The director has a long history of chaotic and erratic interviews. The Things once reported that Ferrara once allowed an interview during the editing of his movie, 'Addiction.' In the middle of the interview, Ferrara erupted in a monologue. “Welcome to New York City,” he said to the film crew. “Nine flights above the hustle and bustle. So for all of you tucked away in Europe, far from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Just these walls that… Here. Let me show you something. Here. Just watch. Look at this. Come on. Lean out and look at that building out there. Just lean out. When you’re looking down there, let’s remind you of the good ol’ days. Let’s rejoice in the death of six million.”
The film crew, taken aback, barely responded. But Ferrara continued without making any sense: “New York City. A lot of angry kids who are brought up on TV and a culture of ‘buy, buy, buy’ and he ain’t got no ‘dough, dough, dough,’ so they put a gun to your head.” When the interviewer asked, "What attracts you to [Fossbender]?" Ferrara responded vaguely, "His ability to make films you know everything about. The guys, you know... these are films you could sit and watch." Despite the interviewer's best efforts to keep the conversation on track, Ferrara kept quoting from the movie that the crew was reeling in front of him.