I wanted to ask you sort of a strange question.

Yes, do.

You're going like that. I know, it's not my comfort pillow. Does it remind you of your childhood?

It's like my comfort pillow. Wasn't your dad a sheep shearer? My dad was a sheep shearer. Yes, he was. I could shear a sheep. I don't know if I still could now. I mean, I could learn to.

If we had shearers here, I'd be like, "Jason, could you trim our pillow for us?"

Yeah. Yeah, come down the Come down the neck there and get around the legs.

What's up, guys? Nicki Novack here in the Young Hollywood studio and we are so excited to have Jason Clarke here today. I don't recognize you with your blond hair, though.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

How's it going?

Good. Good. Good.

Thank you for coming in.

Thank you.

I tell everybody I'm excited to have them here but we really are excited to have you here. I've been you are one of my favorite actors. You really are. I've been watching you and following your career for a long time and and really admire everything that you do.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

You're very welcome.

I enjoy what I do.

Yeah. Yeah. I would think so. I would think so. I mean you're very good at it. First of all, I saw Everest and stayed up. Couldn't sleep. You've you've watched it back obviously.

I haven't seen it. I haven't seen it.

Do you normally watch yourself?

No. I've seen a lot of it. No. I do. I've just been away shooting a film in Thailand and Barcelona and and Europe and and also you need a certain distance. I don't want when I'm working out I like to watch myself just because it can mess with your confidence and everything. But I I also want to watch this film at the right time. Yeah. Because I I uh I want to experience it. It hurts. It's dangerous. Why? I have kids. They see a regular guy can follow impossible dreams. Maybe they'll do the same. I'm on the top of Everest, Helen. We made it.

So, not to use a terrible pun but was there a moment filming this film that took your breath away? Literally took your breath away.

Oh, yeah. When you come around you do one of those 4:00 a. m. hikes you get up and then you come around and it's the first time you see Everest. You come around the corner and everybody that walks to base camp to get there unless you chopper up. It's the first time you see Everest. And um it's extraordinary. I mean you come around and there it is. There's the shape and you just go, "Oh my God." That's it. And there's a little a little shrine and that there and everyone just you know, yeah, there's mountains and you and you and you understand the pull of that mountain, it's Mount Everest. Right. You know, you see the shape. You see the it's the rock, the granite because then it's the jet stream. So it's not it's like you know, it's one of the few that's not covered in snow up there. It's too high. Um and then when you can see the wind blowing off the top, like because it is it's the it's the jet stream. And then um you know, you see the shape of the the South Summit. And a little thing and then up and you see there it is. You know, yeah.

And I'm sitting there and thinking, "What all is still up there?" And do you get that feeling? Because when I watch the film, I was like, "Who would want to personally?" Like, I would go, "You just see how difficult it actually is to do."

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

But when you get there to like the base of the camp, does it draw you? Is there that pull like I got it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Of course, there is. Yeah. I mean, yeah. And it looks remarkably doable.

Yeah, right?

When you chopper over and you see the Yeah. When you see the ice fall up close and you just go, "Oh my God." You know, look at the you know, the drop down there. Like it doesn't look that high.

No, it doesn't. It looks like you know.

It's not technically one of the most difficult mountains. Yeah. But you've got to prepare for it. I mean, it's a three-month gig there because you've got to acclimatize and get around literally because of the the heights you're going to. Um But yeah, I mean I think, you know, the last two seasons have been wiped out because I mean there is that ice fall. There is that huge risk of avalanche, snow fall. It's um And you can hear the ice fall. Creaky massive big things of ice just coming down. You just go, "Oh my God, we've got to walk through that." You know, and that's why you want to get through there early before the sun kicks in and things start to melt and move. Um But yeah. And then there you go. Yeah, you know, West the Cooms right up there. Hang a right. Hang a left up there. You know, get the thing, you know, put the crampons on and then go up to camp. And I love the story, you know, before I was in it and part of it. So um you know, I wanted to sit down in the IMAX and get some sound and

Get the popcorn going?

Yeah, get the popcorn going. You know, a funny experience. I went and um was actually with Ange who's here, actually dyed my hair blond. We we were shooting in Bangkok and we went and watched Terminator when it was there and we snuck into like a 10:30 a. m. screening or whatever. And by the time we come out you know, there's like hundreds of people there and the the the head of Universal Asia was also outside the cinema waiting and had seen Everest and he was talking about it.

Oh, no way.

Yeah. Yeah, that was in Bangkok.

So what happens when you go to a theater in Bangkok to see Terminator Genisys? Do people recognize you?

And they come out. People just everywhere. You know they heard that John Connor was in there and so we came out but I was like, you know, it was like a 10:30 a. m. screening and you know

That's crazy. That's crazy.

Then we come out. Yeah, it was quite funny.

Well, you let me know when you go to see Everest. I want to be in the theater behind you and just see the reaction of what happened. You know. Speaking of Terminator Genisys, I read it was a quote. I'm going to quote you. I'm not going to swear but you said that the first table read you sat down next to Arnold. And they put your name next to his. And the first time you sort of heard him do, you know, the Terminator, you went in your head, "Oh me."

Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah.

So what was your "Oh me" moment on this film? Whether it was a good you know, a good thing or I mean, obviously the elements and all that.

Yeah. Spending time with Jan. Not that I was, you know, delirious or but sobering kind of like, you know, I mean this was this woman's life and there's an interview. There's actually an interview with her as the disaster unfolded. You see this woman, she's pregnant. People have died. She's lost her husband.

So people don't know, this is the wife of the character that you play.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And she's still pregnant, you know, she was five months pregnant when he passed away and, you know, she's she's six months, you know, and happened. You know, and then she introduced me to friends of Rob and Rob's family and, you know, and Rob's brother's detective then and you said, "Why do you want to do this? What's this got to do with you? Why why do you want to play my brother?" And he's fair enough to ask that but it's just like it was one of those just reminders of like, "You know what? Make sure you've done your work here, Jason, you know? This this is their lives. This is their brother. This is their memories." And then there's Sarah, you know, she's she's 19 now. And so it has a lot of resonance and meaning. So I wanted to make sure because we are taking a stab at certain moments in particular that were very important that, you know, people died as a result of and and and and nobody knows for sure what actually went down at that moment. So I wanted I didn't want to be disrespectful or frivolous or you know, cheap.

I'm going to quote you again. You said before this you wanted adverse adversity, adventure, and friendship.

Yeah.

And that this film was one of the best experiences of your life.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Was there a tell me about the male bonding that went on? Because you guys, I mean, you're up there.

Yeah.

And you're bearded and you're you know.

Yeah. Yeah.

Was it that sort of sense of, you know, you go through adversity together like that?

Yeah. It was much like the the groups, you know, that went and did the original trek. I mean, you know, what, you know, the you get off a plane, you're in Kathmandu, you know, the airport, the craziness, the taxis, the smells. You know, the the altitude and you just go, "We're off on on an adventure together." And and you know, at 4:30 a. m. in the dark, you know, somebody better be funny, you know?

Right. And, you know. So who's the funny one? Who's the toughest? Who can brave the elements the most?

Josh Brolin is seriously funny. Josh Brolin is one of the funniest guys I've met.

Josh Brolin.

Jake's pretty tough. Yeah. Um He had an actual long beard.

Yeah.

This this braving them and there's like, you know, I mean, you can't there's only so much you can take out in the cold before you know, things go south and you've got problems. But um you know, Marty Henderson was great who played who played Andy. Him and I went and climbed together in in a massive big storm. The biggest storm in 20 years on Ben Nevis.

Oh, wow.

Christmas time. Yeah. And then we went to the Tasman Glacier. We did some very hairy things together with with guys company adventure consultants.

Yeah. I wanted to ask you sort of a strange question.

Yes, do.

You're going like that. I know, it's not my comfort pillow. Does it remind you of your childhood? It's like my comfort pillow. Wasn't your dad a sheep shearer?

My dad was a sheep shearer. Yes, he was.

So tell me about that because I read something about a caravan and that you can actual wrestle you can wrestle a ram. I'm like, "This is a man's." I mean, I already knew you were a man's man but that's like another level.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, yeah. I know I grew up in in, you know, the outback of Australia. And I can shear a sheep. I don't know if I still could now. I mean, I could learn to.

If we had shearers here, I'd be like, "Jason, could you trim our pillow for us?"

Yeah. Yeah, come down the Come down the neck there and get around the legs. You know, take the top off.

Are they tough?

Oh, hilarious. Ah, yeah. I mean, you know, I was always terrified of cutting the thing, you know, the poor bugger. You know.

Oh, you were kind.

Oh, well, no. I probably had probably took skin off them everywhere. Um Yeah, dad, he was great. Dad came up.

So what happened when you said to dad, "Hey, dad. I want to be an actor."

I'm going to be an actor. I don't think he knew what that was. He said, "What? What's what's that?"

Do you have fears? Because my fear is heights and frogs. Do you have any?

I'm not big on snakes. Um

So we won't see you playing Indiana Jones. Are you You'd be a perfect Indiana Jones.

Yeah. Yeah, that's right. He was scared of snakes, wasn't he? Yeah, I'm not big on snakes. I got bitten by one when I was younger.

You're right. You're from Australia. This should be like nothing for you. No.

Oh, no. I I did one bit me on the ankle.

Really?

When I was a kid. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, that would do it.

Yeah, it did it. Yeah, it did it.

Was it a big one?

Uh, it was big enough. You know. And it hung on.

Wow, do they?

Yeah.

What does that feel like?

Not all of them. I just remember I I ran in to get a ball and this sunk its teeth in and I went off to hospital to get an injection.

Wow. Yeah. Sheep shearing and snake bites. My God.

My childhood. Yeah. Yeah. Snake bites. Yeah, I know. I know. I've been stitched up a lot, too. Got to cut in.

Anyway, thank you for coming in.

Thank you very much. It's a pleasure.

It was really nice to meet you.

Lovely to meet you.

Can't wait to I know you've got a lot of great things coming up, too.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Look after this pillow.