Does anybody here celebrate winter?
-MAN: Boo! -Yeah?
I noticed a lot of people complaining.
I always find this amusing. I don't know why.
I feel like Americans do this more than anyone.
A lot of people complaining that the weather isn't
what it's supposed to be.
Like, literally, people today were like,
"It's, like... it's, like, 60 degrees outside.
This is not winter in New York. This is not."
Then I'm like, "Are you... are you complaining?"
And people are always like, "It's not... Yeah.
It's not supposed to be this."
I'm like, "Yeah, but who-who said?"
Do you know what I mean? It's, like, a weird thing.
Like, people are like, "It wasn't supposed to rain."
Is your mom Mother Nature? Who...?
Like, who gives you this?
'Cause people... And then, and then, this was really fun.
So, in the office, people were arguing today.
They were like, "Oh, could this be the beginning
"like, of people getting used to climate change?
"Like, New York is supposed to be freezing cold
"at this time of the year, but it's not.
"And then, could that mean that, like,
"summer just stops having snow? And what would that mean?
Could you still have Christmas?" And I was like,
"You do realize half of the world
has a sunny Christmas, right?"
It's, like, a thing. It's normal.
Like, where I'm from, Santa can wear shorts.
It's optional. In fact, like, most of the time when I...
When I was growing up, and I saw the way he was dressed,
I was like, "Yo, this guy, just Juicy Couture all the time?"
-(laughter) -It seems like a very strange clothing choice.
I was like, "Yo, my man's out here in velour suits."
The nice thing about having a summer Christmas for Americans
is you get to bring back all
of your controversial Christmas songs. You realize that.
Like... ♪ Baby, it's cold... ♪
Now, it's not cold. She can leave.
-(laughter) -Yeah.
We never had that problem in South Africa.
In South Africa, it was just like,
♪ Baby, it's warm ♪
♪ Okay, I'm going now. ♪
ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from the heart of Times Square
in New York City, the only city in America, it's
The Daily Show.
Tonight-- Olympics boycott, sort of,
Texas does it all this year,
and Mahershala Ali.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
Hey, what's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
And joining me for today's headlines is
my very good friend Roy wood, Jr.
What's going on, Roy?
South Africa, what's going on with you, man?
Oh, man, so good to see you, man.
-This is nice. -You, too, man.
I got Christmas spirit. Make sure you give me a gift.
Wow. I've never heard anybody say it like that, but okay.
-Yeah. -Yeah, Merry Christmas to...
That's what we do over here-- give gifts.
Yeah, but I mean, normally, people would say like,
"Ah, Christmas spirit. I have a gift for you."
And now you-you want me to give...
I need to see what your gift is first, and then,
you know, then I go from there.
This is one hell of a spirit.
In Africa, we just say "Those are demons."
All right, let's jump right into today headlines.
♪ ♪
We kick things off with Omicron,
the reason you need to adjust your 2022 mask budget.
The new variant has now been found in 17 American states.
Yeah, and honestly, by the time you see this,
it'll probably be up to, like, 80 states.
Now, there is some good news.
Dr. Fauci says that while it's still too early
to know for sure, it looks like Omicron spreads more easily
than Delta, but may be less severe.
Yeah. Which means COVID might have watered itself down
so it could reach more people.
Like the Ice Cube of corona variants.
And that would be amazing if it's true.
I mean, like, if COVID just made people sick
instead of killing them, I mean, that would be a game changer.
You know, it's still not great, but it's better.
Imagine if Freddy Krueger
started giving teenagers diarrhea
instead of killing them.
That's a major improvement
and a really weird movie.
Don't you get it, man? If you poop in your dreams,
you poop in your bed.
I guess I'll just wash the sheets?
Oh, yeah, it's gonna be a whole laundry day.
Still, even if that turns out to be true,
nobody wants another big wave of COVID cases. Nobody wants that.
Which is why today, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
that New York City will be the first city in the country
to require all private employees to be vaccinated.
Yeah, which means you can feel better now knowing
that the guy selling you your fake vaccine card on the corner,
well, he's also gonna to be vaccinated.
And thanks to fears of Omicron, there's now a surge in demand
for vaccines all over the world.
Although, not for everyone.
A dentist in Italy is in hot water for trying
to get his COVID vaccine in a fake arm, and...
NEWSWOMAN 2: He turned up for the shot
with a fake arm covering his real arm,
hoping the nurse wouldn't notice.
But when the nurse rolled up his sleeve,
she found the skin rubbery, cold and the pigment too light.
(Bua speaking foreign language)
TRANSLATOR: He gave me a half smile
and asked me to pretend I didn't know anything
and to give him the vaccine anyway.
And I realized that he was wearing a silicon bodysuit.
The silicon bodysuit the nurse is talking about
would have looked something like this.
There are several of them online for sale.
(chuckles): So wait, so wait.
This dude just put on a fake suit,
like he was starring in House of Gucci,
and then he thought that that would fool a nurse?
My man, nurses put needles in arms all day.
They know what a real arm feels like.
Like, if a nurse feels cold, rubbery skin,
they're definitely going to be like, "Wait a minute,
I already gave Mitch McConnell his shot. Who are you?"
Not to mention this is Italy-- that is the hardest place
to pull off a fake arm.
'Ey! How come-a you not moving your hands around
when you talk?
Ah, I'm-a one of those Italians who doesn't-a do that.
I let my mouth do the talking.
Ah. There is no such-a thing.
Look, man, to be fair, guys, you can't be that mad
at a dentist for lying to a doctor.
I mean, how many times have you gone to your dentist and said:
Oh, yeah, I definitely floss, many times a day.
He learned it from us, you know what I mean?
I got to say this, though, man. I respect the ingenuity.
These people are getting more and more creative.
These folks have come a long way from drinking bleach.
-(laughing) -You've got to respect that.
You started with the drinking the bleach,
then there was a little bit of the horse medicine,
and then there was fake vaccine cards,
and now my man just got a whole arm on.
That is what we need to start selling, dawg.
-Fake arms? -(bleep) yeah, fake arms!
I don't want to encourage them, Roy.
Hell yeah, fake arms-- that is what we should start selling.
What do you mean not encourage them?
It's money. It's money to be made.
People are willing to pay top doll...
This man bought a whole butt naked suit on the Internet
to keep from getting the shot.
Y... (laughing)
You missing out on the money, man,
You know I'm right, though, you know I'm right.
-I don't know about that. -Okay.
All right, let's move on from COVID
to the other big event that sweeps the whole world.
The Olympics.
It's when all the nations of the world compete
to see who has the best steroids.
They're also a chance for countries
to come together in harmony despite their differences.
But sometimes there are some differences
that are too big to set aside.
And that's when it's time to play a new Olympic sport:
hardball.
NEWSWOMAN: Now to more breaking news.
The U.S. Will not send any diplomatic representatives
to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Press secretary Jen Psaki announced the boycott,
citing China's ongoing genocide and human rights abuses.
In the past, first ladies, even presidents
have led the U.S. delegation
to the Olympics, but this move by the Biden administration
will mean no U.S. government officials attend,
in protest of China's human rights abuses.
American athletes, however, will still be allowed to compete.
Wow, wow, wow, wow. That's huge.
There will be no American government officials
at the Olympics.
Which means if they want to watch us,
they'll have to do it the way the rest of us do:
by turning on the TV and then getting bored
after three minutes and then turning it off.
And it's a real shame that the American officials
won't be at the Olympics, because, you realize,
Kamala Harris was about to become the first Black woman
to ever watch a hockey game.
But, I mean, honestly, it doesn't surprise me
that Joe Biden would do this, doesn't surprise me at all.
For one thing, he cares deeply about human rights.
For another, he's 79 years old.
He's not about to fly across 12 time zones
to watch a bunch of Norwegians sweep an ice rink.
That is the one cool reason to be president, right?
Most of us, if we don't want to do something,
we have to come up with some lame excuse,
and then everybody else shows up and talks
about how we didn't come, but if you are president,
you can just be like:
Diplomatic boycott!
No one is allowed to attend Emily's birthday brunch.
Now, the reason the U.S. is doing this diplomatic boycott
of the Olympics is to protest China's abuses
against the Uighurs, right?
Which is the U.S. government has declared a genocide.
And when you think about it, it's a little weird
to accuse an Olympic host of genocide,
but then still send all of your athletes to that country.
I mean, it's genocide.
At least pull out the bobsled team.
'Cause now all are you're doing is saying:
You know all our boring people?
Well, we're not sending them. That is the punishment.
Like, if Biden really wanted to punish China,
he shouldn't withhold government officials.
No. He should send government official...
In fact, you know what,
he should send the ones nobody can stand.
Yeah. If you want to get back at China,
you have Marjorie Taylor Greene in the stands.
"The only way a speed skater could move that quickly
is with Jewish magnets!"
"Uh, okay, we'll let the Uighurs go.
Please, just take her back."
Fir-First off,
with all this global warming,
ain't but, like, six Winter Olympics left.
They should have gone.
-(laughs) -There ain't that many
Winter Olympics left in the first place.
And the bigger question I have for you, and you might know this
'cause you-you more international than me.
What does a diplomat do?
They just show up and they go, "Hey, man, America's good.
We're good. America. Make sure you like Amer..."
-They-they... -That's essentially a diplomat's job.
Then they're an influencer.
They're just a political influencer.
That's what you do. You influence the country.
Honestly, if you want to make
the Winter Olympics more exciting...
This what they need to do after that.
They need to do the summer events in the winter.
That's how you get the Winter Olympics popping.
I don't know shit about no bobsled,
but I love track and field.
Oh, you the fastest person on the track?
Let's add some ice. See what you do now.
(laughing)
I'm-a email the IOC. You know I'm right.
-I'm gonna hit 'em up real quick. -Actually,
I would want to watch those Olympics.
You telling me Michael Phelps in ice water...
You telling me that's not entertaining?
Michael Phelps in ice water.
Michael Phelps on ice is even more entertaining.
-Just sliding across the... Just... -(laughing)
Yeah, right?
All right, let's move on to our next story,
which is about jobs.
They're how we pass the time until we die.
Over the past few months, more people
have been quitting their jobs than ever before.
But while that's going on, some people
are still becoming unemployed the old-fashioned way
by getting fired.
And one CEO
just came up with a new and terrible way to do it.
A web boss had some brutal news
for more than 900 of his... of his workers
who had just joined him on a Zoom call.
"You're fired."
Less than four weeks from Christmas.
Dumped via Zoom.
The mortgage start-up Better.com
fired nine percent of the workforce
in a Zoom call that lasted less than three minutes.
Thank you for joining. Um...
I come to you with not great news.
This is the second time in my career I'm doing this,
and I do not, do not want to do this.
The last time I did it, I cried.
Um, this time, I hope to be stronger.
If you're on this call,
you are...
part of the unlucky group being laid off.
Your employment here is terminated,
effective immediately.
Okay, first of all, you can't say,
"If you're on this call, you're unlucky enough..."
Like the call was an optional thing
and then people got tricked into it.
That's some bullshit. If you're on this call--
or I'm not on this call-- am I still fired?
(bleep) out of here, man.
900 people getting fired at once.
That's not a firing, that's a rapture.
I mean, a big group firing
is the most impersonal thing you can do.
If you respect an employee, you should have the decency
to sit down and tell them to their face
why you think they suck.
And to be fired over Zoom is especially tough
because, I mean, you can't storm out all dramatic.
You know? If you're fired in the office,
you get to be like, "You'll be working for me one day!"
Bang!
But on Zoom, you have to be like,
"You'll all be working for me one day!
"Wait, where's the... Leave...
"Leave me... No, that's...
"Gallery view. That's m-mute.
"Am I... Am I gone?
"No. Okay. You'll all be working for me one day.
"Hold on. Hey, how do I...
"How do I quit the thing?
"How do I... Ah.
"Can Dennis help me with this?
"Can we get Dennis to help me... I can't...
"Yeah, the button's not working for me to leave.
"Oh, man. I hope you guys are working for me one day
so you can help me with this kind of stuff."
You know, the worst part for me was how the CEO
made it all about himself, as well.
"Oh, this is so tough.
I hope I don't cry again."
What-what are the people supposed to do,
comfort you for firing them?
"There, there, it's okay. I am expendable.
I get it. I get it."
I mean, not to mention, I don't think anyone
should ever get fired before Christmas.
You know, it totally ruins the season.
If you're gonna fire someone on a holiday,
you do it on Valentine's Day.
Yeah. That way, at least you give them an excuse.
"Baby, I would've gotten you something,
but my boss set me free."
I'll tell you what you need happening.
You need to start letting these employees fight their bosses.
That's how you straighten this out.
He a CEO. He can... He can be found.
Pull up on his house on Christmas
and ask him outside like a gentleman.
Go, "Let's fight."
Uh, we're not encouraging this.
This is just an idea and a concept.
You can say... Speak for yourself.
I'm telling you what I would do if I was on...
If you put me on the Zoom with 900 other people,
I'm-a come fight you.
So you're saying, if I let you go,
you-you're gonna come and fight me?
Absolutely. If you-- In front of 899 other people? Yes.
That's 900 people. That's disrespect.
Squid Game was 450 people.
This is two Squid Games.
Two Squid Games' worth of disrespect.
I got to fight you.
Them the rules. Look, I don't know what y'all do
in South Africa. I'm from Birmingham, Alabama,
and I'm-a fight you.
I don't think we have mass Zoom firings in South Africa.
How y'all fire people over there?
Well, we first have to find the jobs for them.
You're right. You right.
All right, and, finally, let's talk about heroin,
the only injection with a worse reputation
than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Heroin addiction is a big problem all over the U.S.
In fact, here in New York City,
around 2,000 people die of drug overdoses every year.
But now New York is the first place in America
to try a new way to save some of those lives.
New York City has opened the first-in-the-nation
drug injection sites in hope of preventing overdoses.
The locations will allow people to use drugs,
including heroin, under the care of medical professionals,
while giving them access to treatment.
The city says that the supervised injection sites
will provide users with a safer place to administer drugs
and get medical care if they overdose.
NEWSMAN: And it turns out that, uh, there's more
than just injection happens there.
Addicts are allowed to smoke crack in the room
if they choose to-to do that.
The director of one of the sites told The Post
people are allowed to bring the substance they prefer.
Mayor de Blasio says five drug overdoses
were reversed during the first day
of two new safe injection sites being opened in the city.
Yes! That's right, people.
The same way that cocaine addicts have their own street,
now heroin addicts have a safe place
where they can do their drugs.
And I know this is controversial-- I know it is--
but I think that this is a great idea.
And it's the exact opposite of an idea that I had.
Yeah, I pitched the city an idea where I said
we should open a clinic where people could smoke weed
for the first time. Yeah. And then, after two puffs,
I would jump in and be like, "C-Can you guys hear that?
"Oh, shit. Can you guys hear that?
"Oh, man. I think they're coming. I think they're coming.
All right, have a good one, y'all."
Just to, like, you know, inspire the high.
In fact, I think they should do harm reduction like this
for everything that puts people in danger,
not just drugs.
Like, they-they should have a site
where people can go and text their ex.
'Cause you know it's a bad idea.
You know something's gonna go wrong.
But it would be better if someone was looking
over your shoulder, helping you.
You know? Just like, "No, no, no. Too thirsty, too thirsty.
"A-Also, you-you misspelled 'vagina.'
Yeah, yeah. It's-it's not with a 'J.' Yeah."
Here's my theory. I actually think
that this is gonna get people off of drugs.
I've seen people saying, like,
"The city's gonna make more drug addicts. It's gon... "
No, guys, it's not.
This is gonna get them off drugs.
Because if the city is running this thing,
it's gonna take forever to get high there.
Gonna be in line for six hours.
Make you fill out all kinds of forms.
You know, when you finally get up to the window,
the woman behind the counter will be like,
"Scuse me, sir, this isn't the line for doing crack.
"You need to be in that line, okay?
And you need to fill out the blue form, okay?"
"The blue form? Where-where do I get that one?"
"You got to bring it from home, sir. Okay?"
"Oh, screw this. I'm just gonna get clean."
"Okay, you need the pink form for that one, honey. All right?"
Man, you see a drug den--
I see a cheap hotel.
I see a cheap place to go take a nap.
I ain't even got to fool with Airbnb no more.
All you got to do is go in there and convince them
that you on drugs and you get a nap.
That's what they said, right?
"Come in here, do your drugs,
-rest, relax, enjoy your high." -Yeah.
That ain't nothing but a nap room.
All I need is a fake arm to put my crack needle in.
(laughing)
I think they would notice.
No. They don't do the injections.
That probably cost $10 extra.
So I'll self-inject into my fake arm
and pretend to be on crack.
You couldn't just go nap at a park?
No, that's dangerous. There's people out there doing drugs.
All right, when we come back,
we'll find out why Texas was the state that embodied 2021.
And Mahershala Ali is joining me on the show.
So don't go away.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
2021 is almost over, and I think we can all agree
that compared to last year, it has been a pretty perfect year.
So for the rest of the month,
we'll be remembering all of 2021's best moments
in our year-end segment "A Look Back at 2021,
the Least Bad Year of the Last Two Years."
Tonight, Ronny Chieng looks back
at how 2021 was the year for the state of Texas.
♪ ♪
Howdy, partners. I'm here in Texas,
the state that grabbed 2021 by the horns and made it its bitch.
-Yee-haw. -(horse neighs)
Everything that happened this year happened in Texas.
The border crisis, QAnon resurrecting JFK, Jr.,
me developing a crippling dependency on brisket.
Mmm.
Of course Texas wouldn't have had such a big year
without its governor, Greg Abbott.
He banned mask mandates, he banned vaccine mandates,
he banned vaccine cards because the best way
to fight COVID is with freedom
and ICU beds,
but we ran out because of all the COVID.
Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew!
(gunshot)
And maybe some Texas haters will say
that Abbott didn't do enough to suppress COVID cases.
Well, sorry. He was too busy
trying to suppress something else.
NEWSMAN: If enacted, the Texas voting legislation would end
drive-thru and 24-hour voting,
including prohibiting Sunday voting before 1:00 p.m.,
which critics say unfairly impacts Black voters.
What's at stake then?
Effectively, the voting rights of Black Texans.
Did somebody say steak?
Mmm.
(gunshot)
That's right, you other bitch-ass states.
Everything is bigger in Texas,
especially the lines to vote in Black communities.
And if you're one of those wimp states
who say, "Oh, there's no such thing as voter fraud,"
why don't you put your money where your mouth is?
Because Texas did.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Trump ally,
had promised to pay up to a million dollars
if anyone came forward with examples of voter fraud,
fraud, he said, that existed with no evidence.
And he's now made the first payout.
But, in an ironic and expensive twist,
it was fraud being committed on behalf of Republicans.
So here is the first check for $25,000.
It went to a poll worker in Pennsylvania
who reported a Republican who voted twice.
Yeah, see? That totally proved his point.
In kind of the way that was the exact opposite of his point.
And the best part of this Texas bounty story?
It's not even the only Texas bounty story from 2021.
Let's lasso in that second bounty story now.
Aw, shit, that's the third TV this week.
Just play the clip.
The nation's most restrictive abortion law is now in effect
in Texas after the Supreme Court ignored a request to block it.
The measure bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy
and makes no exceptions for incest or rape.
What's unique about this law is that it's enforced
by private parties, not by government officials.
That means private citizens can sue anyone
who aids or abets an unlawful abortion,
from the doctors who perform them
to drivers who take women to the clinic.
Okay, this law may be horrible for women,
but you got to admit, it's great for the wanted poster industry.
And that's, like, 90% of Texas's economy.
And say what you want, but what other state
would have had the balls
to turn their entire population into snitches?
Not Rhode Island.
[bleep] you, Rhode Island.
The fact is, Texas was a powerhouse all year long,
even when they didn't have power in their house.
Millions in Texas tonight
are living a freezing nightmare without power,
huddled against subfreezing temperatures.
NEWSMAN: Nowhere is harder hit than Texas,
where more than three million homes and businesses
are without power and heat.
The electrical grid simply can't handle the demand.
Texas is on its own power grid,
and that has a lot of people asking
why was the state that's known to produce energy
so unprepared for this crisis?
That's right. Thanks to Texas's independent power grid,
the energy capital of America had no energy.
This past year,
Texas was even number one at irony.
Pipes were bursting. Cell phone towers were down.
People couldn't even put gas into their horsies.
But who cares? Here in Texas,
we're so tough, we don't even need electricity.
(screams) Oh, God!
Somebody, please help! I-I don't want to die a virgin!
Oh. Oh, I'm a... Hey. Um...
The point is as epic as 2021 was for Texas,
it was also a tough time.
And when things got tough, the Ted Cruzs got going.
NEWSWOMAN: Republican senator from Texas Ted Cruz
faces growing backlash for leaving his home state
and flying to Cancún
while Texans were dealing with this crisis.
NEWSWOMAN 2: The embattled Texas senator
first claimed he was merely escorting his family
to Cancún for a vacation and coming right back.
But leaked texts from his wife, Heidi,
appear to show the entire Cruz family
was planning to stay in Mexico through the weekend
to escape the bitter cold
wreaking havoc in Texas.
That's right. Here in the Wild West,
you either die or you ride off into the sunset.
And Ted Cruz rode off into the sunset
while people in his state died.
He's the ultimate Texan,
which is why I got to take my hat off to you, Ted Cruz.
Uh-oh. Another power outage.
That's my cue to skedaddle.
Fare-thee-well, 2021.
Uh, I will see you next year
in Cancún.
Yeehaw!
Thank you so much for that, Ronny. All right,
when we come back, Mahershala Ali
will be joining me right here in the studio.
You don't want to miss it.
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
My guest tonight is award-winning actor
and producer Mahershala Ali.
He's here to talk about his brand-new film, Swan Song.
♪ ♪
Molecularly regenerated.
Mapped to your DNA.
Cameron Turner to the molecule.
-Mahershala Ali, welcome back to the show. -Yes.
-Thanks for having me. -You know, you are
not just one of my favorite human beings,
one of favorite actors, but you're also one
of the-the most calming forces in my life.
-I'll take that. Uh, thank you. -Yeah.
I was thinking about that today
-before the interview. I was like... -Thank you.
"I don't think I know anybody..."
Like, if I was in a plane crash,
-which I wouldn't want to be... -Right.
...I would hope to be in that with you because I feel
you would be the ultimate calm. I've never seen you panic.
-We could die calmly together. -Yeah, just calmly.
I feel like you would look over at me, and you'd be like,
-"Well, Trevor, it's over." -This is it.
-This is it. -(laughing) You know what I mean?
-Oh. -You've just got that calming spirit.
-Welcome back to the show. -Thank you. Thank you.
-Good to be here, man. Yeah. -Yeah, man, the last time
you were here, you... I mean, you were just on your way
to one the most successful journeys of all time.
Since the last time you've been on the show,
you have won-- what is it-- two Oscars, an Emmy, a Golden Globe.
You know, whether it's House of Cards,
whether it's True Detective, whether it's been Moonlight,
everything you have touched has turned to gold.
-You know, it's been a whirlwind. -Yeah.
And I want to know what it's been like for you.
We've enjoyed watching you.
-Yeah. -What has it been like for you?
Well, hearing you say it all,
it's just a great reminder to be grateful.
-Yeah. -You know, um, I... I have had an opportunity
to work on some amazing projects with amazing people.
Wonderful actors.
And that's the... that-that has been the dream for me.
Um, and this moment, specifically,
all of that building up, to an opportunity to...
-to play this role and lead a film... -Right.
and work opposite of Naomie Harris and Glenn Close and...
It's pretty phenomenal, you know?
I feel very blessed.
When you looked at creating this story,
-you know, it's one thing to act in a film, -Yeah.
it's one thing to be part of the cast,
but that extra weight that comes with being the producer,
that extra weight that comes with being, really,
-Mm. -the force behind the movie,
like, did that add more pressure to you,
or did you enjoy the creative power
that it gave you over the project?
You know what, I don't think it added more pressure,
because I feel that pressure without the power anyway.
-Oh, okay. -So you feel that...
you feel... you feel that there's decisions being made
and the film is gonna be impacted,
you're gonna be impacted personally as an actor,
however this turns out, without the producer's title
and without the influence of a producer.
So at least, when you have the title
and you have a seat at the table,
-Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. -uh, there's a opportunity
for you to make that pressure more active.
And you can say: Hey, I think we should maybe,
you know, think about this person in that position.
-Right, right, right. -Or: What are we doing about...
you know, uh, the sound cue or the edit
or whatever, like, any of those ideas
that pop up where you may have to sit in a theater
and watch it and feel like, "Ah, that could have been different,"
in the process of making the film, you have a voice...
-there now. -You've used the voice well, man.
-Swan Song is fantastic. -Thank you. Thank you.
Like, I'm a big fan of sci-fi.
I'm a big fan of, you know, the thrillers,
or the ideas that come with them.
And this movie, it felt like it was taking me
on multiple journeys, and it felt like an allegory
about life and family as a whole, you know?
-Yeah. -I don't spoil this for people,
but you play a man who receives a terminal diagnosis,
-Yeah. -and his life is ostensibly over.
-Yeah. -But he has the opportunity and the choice
to decide whether or not to just go out,
-Yeah. -or to clone himself
so his family doesn't have to go through that suffering.
-Yes. -I mean, the premise is insane,
-but it speaks to, like, larger concepts of life. -Yeah.
It does. It does.
And... And it's a very...
That's what drew me to the project,
was this... the premise and the dilemma.
But I think what really kind of locked me in
was just how human the story felt.
-Yeah. -And the fact that it was in the not too distant future,
so all of the tech and the sci-fi of it all
is very, very relatable,
and it didn't get in the way of-of the human issue,
-the human dilemma. -Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Um, and, so...
And-and it's funny.
So, just going throughout this journey with this character,
you kind of get to a point at the end of it
where you go like, "Well, what is the answer in all this?
Is it just to clone yourself?"
And I... And I think, you know,
for me, what I ended up walking away from with it
is that... is that it's about being as present as possible
in the life that we have
and-and trying our best to...
to meet the potential that's in us
and-and to wake that up. You know?
We don't have to necessarily have a death sentence,
um, or be aware of this ticking clock
-to-to wake up our potential. -Yeah.
You know, when I... When I was watching the film,
I couldn't help thinking about some of the conversations
I've had with you and some of the things
I've heard you say in and around time
and how we spend it as human beings.
I remember one of the things that stuck with me the most
is just as your-your star was shooting,
just as your name was buzzing everywhere,
you very clearly stated
that, "Hey, I'm-I'm also trying to win an Oscar with my family."
To me, the real definition of success
is-is being able to be...
to be whole in every aspect of your life.
-Right, right, right. -So, I think the career thing
that everybody sees is beautiful and-and amazing and shiny,
but it's... You got to be...
What are the other parts of yourself
that-that you have to be fulfilled in?
And who are the other people that need to know your presence?
And, to me, that is... that is success.
So, it-it doesn't necessarily come with a trophy.
You know? But it-it does come in that fulfillment.
I honestly love the journey that you're on,
you know, because it... it's wonderful to watch,
and it seems like you're enjoying it, as well,
whether it's fashion,
you know, whether it's movies or television,
-behind the camera, in front of the camera. -Yeah.
I'm not gonna lie, one of my favorite--
just favorite things of all time
-was seeing that you're gonna play Blade. -Yeah.
That, that, for me--
You know, Blade-- I don't know about you,
but Blade was easily one of my favorite movies of all time.
Yeah, it was great.
-It was great. -And then I saw you, and I was like,
-"Of course! The man was made for the role." -Yeah.
And Wesley.
-Obviously. Just... -No, but, I mean, yes.
But, I mean, you-- it seems like the natural...
No, no. Just meaning, like, about what was great about it
was just seeing Wesley do his thing
and-and introduce that character to the world
and-and to see the things
-that have-have spawned off from it. -Right.
You know? So, um, yeah, I'm, uh...
I-I just really appreciate
the love and care and energy
-that goes into those projects. -Yeah.
-Yeah. -That goes into the Marvel projects.
Are you excited to kick people?
-(laughs) Yes. I'm excited to... -You don't kick many people
-in your movies. -I don't get to kick people in the movies.
-I'm always doing a drama where... -Exactly.
-Where there isn't-- there isn't kicking or punching. -I mean,
-there's gonna be some kicking. -There's gonna be some kicking.
-You know what I'm saying? -There's gonna be some kicking.
I feel like this will be, like, a moment
where Mahershala gets to be like, "Oh,
I haven't kicked people in a while in my life. This..."
-(laughs) -I'm ready to kick somebody.
Yeah, you-- When do you start the training and when--
-'Cause I know that's such a long process. -Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
-Have you started yet? -We're in pro-- We're-we're in process.
-And are you-- are you good with it? Are you... -(stammers)
-I better get good at it. I'm-I'm... -I'm-I'm pr--
-If you give me a sword... -Yes.
...I'm not good but I look good.
-Okay. Okay. -You know what I'm-- So what I used to do
as a kid is I'll take-- I'd take the sword.
'Cause you're gonna have to-- This move
-is the most important move with the sword. -Yes. Yes.
That thing. Right? Yeah, and then I would do that.
And then I would always, like, smash things in the house
and my mom would-- but my mom would say, "You looked good,
-and then you messed my shit up." -Yes.
-Got you. -But I looked good just before that moment.
-You know what I'm saying? -Got you. We'll put you
-in an empty space. -This is what I'm talking about.
-Nothing to smash. -This is why you're a producer,
-Mahershala Ali. -Just green screens around.
This is what I'm talking about--
finding a way to make the actor shine.
Yo, man, thank you for joining me on the show.
-Thank you, brother. -Thank you for blessing us continuously.
-Blessings to you and your family. -Thank you.
-Thank you for having me. -I appreciate you, my dude.
-Appreciate you. -Great seeing you again, man.
-Yes, great seeing you. -All right, people,
Swan Song will premiere in U.S. theaters
and globally on Apple TV+ on December 17.
You want to watch it. Trust me. You want to watch this thing.
All right, we're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
Yeah, man, always a pleasure.
-Thank you, Trevor. -For real, man.
Well, that's our show for tonight, but, before we go,
a quick reminder-- The Daily Show has a new podcast
called Beyond the Scenes,
where Roy Wood Jr. and special guests
go deeper into the topics that we cover on the show
and discuss how the show gets made.
Basically, you know how when you order a milkshake,
they sometimes give you that extra cup on the side
with more milkshake in it?
Well, that's Beyond the Scenes. Yeah.
So go listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Until tomorrow, stay safe out there,
get your vaccine and, remember,
if you're watching this show,
you are part of the unlucky group being laid off.
I just hope I don't cry. (sniffles)
Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
That was so hard for me.
(scream singing)
-Just move out of my way, man. -I'm-I'm not in your way.
Let-let me tell y'all something right now.
Just on my single box.
-I don't want to hear that! -♪ ♪
From Julius Randle!
With all due respect, shut the hell up!
I don't want to hear that!
I watched this game last night!
Let me be very, very clear about what I'm about to say.
I was actually proud of the Knicks.
All you do is play basketball!
That's your only job!
You can't get a damn left hand?
It ain't Brooklyn!