"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine take Vanity Fair's infamous lie detector test. Is Donald part of the Beyhive? What are his feelings toward Timothée Chalamet? Were Maya's teenage years as awkward as she perceived in 'PEN15'? Does Maya think she's a better Jane Smith than Angelina Jolie?Director: Funmi SunmonuDirector of Photography: AJ YoungEditor: Cory StevensTalent: Donald Glover; Maya ErskineProducer: Emebeit BeyeneLine Producer: Romeeka PowellProduction Manager: Andressa Pelachi; Kevin BalashProduction Coordinator: Elizabeth Hymes Talent Booker: Paige Garbarini; Meredith JudkinsCamera Operator: Lucas VilicichSound: Paul CornettProduction Assistant: Fernando Barajas; Shenelle JonesPost Production Supervisor: Christian OlguinPost Production Coordinator: Jovan JamesSupervising Editor: Erica DeLeoAssistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 What do you feel?
00:01 He looks great.
00:02 I'm not hiding any feelings.
00:04 Sorry to this man.
00:05 [laughter]
00:07 I don't know.
00:08 Donald, Maya, we've brought you here today
00:11 to take a lie detector test.
00:13 One of you will be hooked up to the machine
00:15 while the other will ask the questions.
00:17 And then you'll switch.
00:18 Who wants to be in the hot seat first?
00:20 [music playing]
00:23 [laughter]
00:28 You look great.
00:29 I look insane.
00:30 You look amazing.
00:30 I look insane.
00:31 Donald, to calibrate the machine,
00:34 I'm going to ask you a few questions to get baseline.
00:36 Please answer honestly.
00:38 OK.
00:41 Is your name Donald McKinley Glover Jr.?
00:44 No.
00:46 Is it lying?
00:48 I'm still getting a baseline.
00:49 OK.
00:51 Is your stage name Childish Gambino?
00:53 Yes.
00:55 Were you raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia?
00:58 Yes.
01:00 So you're not from Atlanta?
01:01 No, not really, no.
01:03 Are you ready to take this lie detector test?
01:05 Oh, yeah.
01:08 Do you ever introduce yourself as Donald Glover,
01:10 the multi-talented artist?
01:13 No.
01:15 Have you ever described me using the word multi-talented?
01:18 Yeah.
01:19 Yeah, I have.
01:22 We're good.
01:23 OK.
01:25 Do you think you're more talented than this person?
01:30 Yeah.
01:33 Yeah, this is going to start beef, but I actually like him.
01:36 I think he's a really nice guy.
01:39 I'm just conceited.
01:41 Were you insulted when critics compared Dave to Atlanta?
01:47 Yeah.
01:48 I don't remember any critics.
01:51 I think it was just people, but I definitely was insulted.
01:54 Not because I think that Dave is bad,
01:58 because I actually really think Dave is a good show.
02:00 I just don't think they have a lot in common.
02:05 That's true.
02:05 True.
02:06 OK.
02:07 So you said that you find this person intimidating.
02:11 Did you create your series Swarm so you
02:13 could work through that?
02:14 No, I just thought it was a great--
02:16 I just feel like culturally, she's just like no one to me
02:21 touches her.
02:22 I have an obsession with just cultural figures,
02:25 like Michael Jackson and stuff like that.
02:27 And I just feel like she's the last of a dying breed.
02:30 So I just felt like, oh, culturally, she's
02:34 just had so many moments.
02:35 I really wanted to--
02:36 Are you only saying no because you're scared of the beehive?
02:38 No, but I guess I am scared of them on some level.
02:45 Are you in the beehive?
02:46 I don't think they would consider me part of it.
02:50 I don't think they would, but I would consider me part of it.
02:53 OK.
02:54 Did you go to the Renaissance tour?
02:56 I did.
02:57 I did.
02:57 It was my kid's first concert.
03:00 Why didn't you bring me?
03:02 What?
03:03 Why didn't you invite me to the--
03:04 I tried.
03:05 Did you?
03:06 Yeah.
03:06 That's false.
03:08 Oh, wow, it just went like that.
03:10 It went crazy.
03:12 You had a cameo in Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse.
03:15 Do you think that this was Sony's way of apologizing
03:18 for not casting you as Spider-Man?
03:22 No.
03:23 I don't think they even thought about it.
03:25 I think there's definitely probably going to be a Miles
03:28 Morales live action eventually, and I
03:32 think they're probably more concerned with me being
03:34 Prowler and that or something like that.
03:36 I'm too old to be Spider-Man now.
03:38 Spider-Man can't have--
03:41 I don't know.
03:42 That could be interesting.
03:43 Only if he dies or something like that.
03:45 I can't be-- I'm talking about I need to roll out my IT band
03:48 and--
03:49 and Spider-Man.
03:50 I don't think they care anymore.
03:52 You're doing great.
03:53 OK.
03:54 Am I?
03:55 You are.
03:55 I feel like Frankenstein.
03:58 During your Golden Globe acceptance
04:00 speech for your show, Atlanta, you thanked this group.
04:03 Did they ever thank you?
04:05 Yeah, actually, Offset called me the next day.
04:09 He was so cool.
04:10 He was just like, I want to-- he was like, yo,
04:12 I want to thank you.
04:13 He's like, you need anything.
04:15 They're really sweet people.
04:16 Yeah.
04:17 Yeah, I mean, he's no longer with us, but--
04:21 You said that you model your career after Willy Wonka.
04:24 So does that mean you've seen the new Wonka movie?
04:27 No, I have not.
04:29 If no, is that because you don't support
04:32 him and Kylie's relationship?
04:34 Oh, no.
04:36 It's not that.
04:37 No.
04:39 This guy's dreaming.
04:41 What's happening over there?
04:42 Inconclusive.
04:44 Don't know what that means.
04:46 It's OK.
04:47 He's come clean. What is it?
04:48 I don't know.
04:49 What do you feel?
04:49 I don't know.
04:50 What do you feel?
04:51 What do you feel?
04:52 He looks great.
04:54 He looks great.
04:54 He looks like, you know, he's very cool.
04:56 Sam?
04:58 That's true.
04:59 I'm not hiding any feelings.
05:01 Sorry to this man.
05:04 I don't know.
05:05 Final question.
05:06 Did you lie at any point during this lie detector test,
05:09 and we didn't catch you?
05:10 No.
05:12 That's true.
05:13 Wow.
05:14 You're so good at this.
05:16 I'm not a good liar.
05:17 I'm just telling the truth.
05:18 Telling the truth.
05:19 You're going to get it so bad.
05:20 I'm going to get it so bad.
05:21 I'm nervous.
05:22 This is going to go over your chest.
05:24 OK.
05:25 Does it read sweat?
05:26 I'm not kidding.
05:27 I'm not kidding.
05:30 I'm so nervous.
05:31 Hi, how are you?
05:32 I'm good, I think.
05:33 Is that true?
05:34 Inconclusive.
05:35 Is your full name Maya Erskine?
05:38 Erskine, yes.
05:41 Are you from Los Angeles, California?
05:43 Yes.
05:44 Are you nervous?
05:45 Yes.
05:47 You and I both studied acting at NYU.
05:50 Do you feel like it prepared you for the real world?
05:53 Mm, yes and no.
05:56 I don't feel like the theater training necessarily
06:00 helped me get jobs, but it did help me once I was working.
06:04 It did help, yeah.
06:06 So do you give donations for them calling and asking
06:08 when they ask for money?
06:09 No.
06:10 There's a reason.
06:11 I mean, I gave a lot of--
06:12 I just paid a lot in tuition.
06:16 That's true.
06:16 That was a lot of money.
06:17 It was very expensive.
06:18 Would you give money if you had a bunch of money to give?
06:21 Yes.
06:22 OK.
06:24 That's true.
06:25 That's true.
06:26 OK.
06:26 Wow.
06:26 Wow.
06:27 OK.
06:28 I guess I have to now.
06:30 You were in class with this person.
06:33 Were you a fan of his before meeting him?
06:36 I loved this guy.
06:38 I wasn't actually in his class, but we were in the same studio.
06:42 And I thought he was amazing in Sixth Sense.
06:46 That's true.
06:48 It's true.
06:49 I mean, you've got to watch that movie.
06:51 Who doesn't think he's amazing in that?
06:53 It's a fact.
06:53 It's a fact.
06:54 It's a classic movie, one of the last real classics.
06:57 Do you think child stars need to go to acting school?
06:59 No.
07:01 I don't think they need to, I mean, if they want to.
07:04 This is personal, obviously, on some level.
07:06 Oh, yeah, I am married to a child actor.
07:10 And he didn't go to acting school, and he doesn't need to.
07:13 Do you believe in the saying, never meet your heroes?
07:16 No.
07:17 Am I a hero of yours?
07:19 Yes.
07:21 Ink inclusive.
07:23 OK.
07:23 All right.
07:24 She wasn't sure.
07:25 You are.
07:25 She wasn't sure, but that's because I was thinking about it,
07:28 and then I came to the truth.
07:29 OK.
07:30 I'm nervous.
07:31 That's what you're picking up on.
07:33 You play a 13-year-old in the Hulu series, Pen15.
07:37 Were your teenage years really as awkward as you portray them?
07:40 Yeah, but it was different.
07:42 It was like it was half based on my experiences, half made up.
07:46 Like, I didn't have a straight bowl cut.
07:49 But I did have a mustache.
07:51 Can you guess what I was like in high school?
07:54 Well, from your wedding, I remember
07:58 your mom calling you a loser.
08:00 There we go.
08:02 Why didn't she say a nerd?
08:03 She said a nerd.
08:04 I was about to say, I was like, you can say a loser.
08:06 Sorry, sorry.
08:07 My loser son getting married.
08:10 She said nerd, and it was very funny.
08:12 Because you are a nerd in the best way,
08:15 and that's why I think you're great.
08:18 Did you say loser because you think I'm a loser?
08:21 No, I just incorrectly remembered.
08:24 OK.
08:27 Yeah.
08:27 Do you think you were cooler than me in high school?
08:31 I know the answer to this.
08:32 Maybe in high school.
08:33 In middle school, no.
08:35 But I think in high school, I experienced more.
08:38 Doesn't make me cooler, but I experienced more than you
08:41 in terms of drugs and stuff.
08:45 You mean cool stuff.
08:46 [LAUGHTER]
08:48 You know what I mean?
08:50 Yeah.
08:50 I got a little better at it in high school.
08:52 So you should probably just say yes.
08:53 Yes.
08:53 Just say, OK, great.
08:54 You think you're cooler.
08:55 But I think you're cooler now.
08:56 That's fine.
08:57 That's-- you know, it's all right.
08:58 You co-created the show with Anna.
09:00 Is it true that she is your college bestie?
09:03 Yes.
09:05 Oh.
09:07 That's true.
09:07 Do you think people can have multiple besties?
09:10 Yeah.
09:10 Am I your bestie?
09:11 You're one of them.
09:12 You're becoming one of them, even though you
09:13 call me a set friend only.
09:15 A set friend?
09:16 What does that mean?
09:17 Oh, you mean like we just play?
09:18 You said on set, I'd be like, Donald,
09:20 I think we're really close.
09:21 Oh, right.
09:22 And you're like, Maya, we're just set friends.
09:25 That's a lie.
09:26 I'm not linked up to that, but it's OK.
09:28 It's OK.
09:28 I'm exposing it.
09:29 But it doesn't matter because I think you were joking.
09:32 Here's what I said.
09:33 But maybe not.
09:33 I just want to make sure it's very clear to everybody.
09:35 Let's make it clear right now.
09:36 I said, if I see you outside of this, I will pretend I don't--
09:41 Don't know you.
09:41 It means we're friends, but I can't--
09:44 You can't acknowledge that in public.
09:46 Exactly, which is not the same thing.
09:48 He said that.
09:48 He did say that.
09:50 It's not the same.
09:51 It's not.
09:51 OK.
09:52 Your real mom played in "Pen15."
09:54 Be honest.
09:55 Do you think she did a good job?
09:57 Yes.
09:58 Are you saying that because you want to be a good daughter?
10:02 No.
10:02 I do think she objectively did a great job.
10:04 She did really good job.
10:05 Started off rough, but then got there.
10:07 Yeah.
10:08 Really influenced me in putting my mom in the show.
10:10 Yeah, and your mom was great.
10:11 Did you do it because you wanted to boss her around
10:13 for a change?
10:14 [LAUGHTER]
10:17 That's not why I did it.
10:19 I did it because she was the only one who
10:21 could play that part that well.
10:24 But it was nice for her to see me in a leadership position.
10:28 Would you consider her a nepo mommy?
10:32 I guess.
10:34 Do you think nepo babies are talented?
10:36 Depends on who, but yes, of course.
10:38 I think-- here's the thing about nepo babies.
10:40 I think that, sure, they have a door that's open for them
10:45 that might not be open for others.
10:46 But once they're through that door, it's all on them.
10:49 Like, they have to prove themselves.
10:50 That's how they're going to have a career.
10:52 So I think people who don't like nepo babies are jealous.
10:55 Would you want to be called a nepo baby?
10:59 No.
11:00 No.
11:01 Interesting.
11:02 I mean--
11:02 But you just said it.
11:03 Because of how people react.
11:05 I care too much what people think about me.
11:07 OK.
11:08 Yeah.
11:08 You said in the interview that you'd make the worst wingman.
11:11 Is it because you have main character energy?
11:14 No.
11:14 No?
11:15 I don't know why I said that.
11:16 I think I said that probably because I have no game.
11:19 You ever turned down a role because it was too small?
11:22 Yes.
11:23 I know the answer to that.
11:24 Yeah.
11:25 Yeah.
11:25 Yeah, I have.
11:26 I'm not saying--
11:28 I want to, but I'm not going to say it.
11:31 We were both in Star Wars projects.
11:32 You had a small role in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
11:34 And I had a big role as Lando in Star Wars.
11:37 Did you think I made a good Lando?
11:39 I do.
11:40 I didn't see it because I haven't seen it.
11:44 But I know.
11:45 So how do you know?
11:46 Because my brother, who's a really tough critic,
11:49 was like, he's an amazing Lando.
11:51 You play Jane in our series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
11:53 Do you think you were a better Jane than this person?
11:57 Wow.
11:58 So beautiful.
12:00 Yeah, she's pretty.
12:01 No, I'm different.
12:03 Wow, you're different.
12:05 Different.
12:05 She's an incredible Jane.
12:07 Are you trying to be humble?
12:08 No, I'm just a little gobsmacked just looking at that.
12:13 Wow.
12:14 I see why people are upset.
12:16 You really put the heat on me when
12:18 I looked at Timothee Chalamet the same way.
12:22 I mean, they're stunning in these images.
12:25 Wow.
12:25 Do you think I was a better John than this person?
12:29 These images.
12:30 Get to the question.
12:31 This image, though, with his tongue out.
12:33 You had to pick this one.
12:36 My god.
12:37 I think you are a different, better John.
12:41 Answer the question, yes or no.
12:42 No, different.
12:43 I like your John a lot.
12:46 And I like his.
12:47 It's just different.
12:50 That is true.
12:51 OK.
12:52 You worked with Maya Rudolph.
12:53 Love her.
12:53 Love.
12:54 On the movie Wine Country, do you think going to Wine Country
12:57 is rich, rich behavior?
12:58 Ah.
12:59 Is it?
13:03 Yeah, I guess.
13:06 Can you answer for me?
13:07 I don't know what the answer is.
13:11 Yes, I guess.
13:12 OK.
13:13 So you consider yourself like, rich bitch?
13:17 No.
13:18 I mean, I wanted to be.
13:20 I am a wannabe rich bitch.
13:22 I tried to be as a kid.
13:23 Do you feel like if all your dreams come true,
13:26 you'll live life like as a rich bitch?
13:29 I like luxury, but yeah.
13:30 Yeah, I do like luxury.
13:32 OK.
13:33 Do you buy smoothies from Erewhon?
13:36 Yeah.
13:37 Do you order like, the Beaver, Hailey Beaver?
13:40 I have once or twice.
13:42 Have you tried the Olivia Rodrigo?
13:44 I haven't.
13:45 You haven't.
13:45 OK.
13:46 I generally do the Energy Elixir, add collagen protein.
13:50 Wow.
13:51 This is money bags over here.
13:52 This is really humiliating.
13:54 This is the last question.
13:56 Did you lie at any point during this lie detester test
13:58 and we didn't catch it?
13:59 No.
14:01 That's true.
14:02 Great.
14:03 You killed that.
14:04 Thank you.
14:05 That was not as bad as I thought it would be.
14:07 No, yeah.
14:08 (dramatic music)