Overview of Smartless: Jon Bernthal
In this episode of Smartless, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett sit down with actor Jon Bernthal for a wide-ranging, deeply personal conversation about his path from troubled youth to acclaimed performer. The discussion centers on how theater saved his life, what he learned studying in Russia, how fatherhood changed him, and why he sees acting as a form of service to community. The episode also touches on his current Broadway run in Dog Day Afternoon, his work in We Own This City, and upcoming projects including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Key Topics Discussed
Bernthal’s origin story: sports, trouble, and theater
- Bernthal says he originally went to school for sports and was headed down the wrong path.
- He discovered theater by accident while taking what he thought was an easy class.
- A formative teacher, Alma Becker, recognized his raw talent and later steered him toward the Moscow Art Theatre School.
Why Russia mattered
- Bernthal studied in Russia from roughly 1999 to 2001.
- He describes the experience as life-changing: theater there was treated as vital, serious, and accessible to everyone.
- He says his teachers had come up in systems where public gathering was restricted, which made the art feel almost religious in its importance.
Broadway and Dog Day Afternoon
- Bernthal is currently starring on Broadway in Dog Day Afternoon.
- He says the run has been meaningful because it’s bringing in people who don’t usually go to the theater.
- He talks about the physical and vocal demands of doing live theater eight times a week and the need to warm up properly.
Fatherhood, responsibility, and adversity
- A major theme of the conversation is how Bernthal views parenting and personal growth.
- He says adversity shaped him and made him capable of the life he has now.
- He emphasizes teaching his kids to be:
- strong and protective
- kind and open
- curious and nonjudgmental
- willing to listen and be changed by others
- He also stresses that failure is inevitable and can be a powerful teacher.
Community work in Ojai
- Bernthal talks about living in Ojai, California, and raising his family there.
- He and others have built a theater in a former school building, with proceeds supporting the public school theater department.
- He frames this as part of his larger belief in using art to serve others.
We Own This City and playing Wayne Jenkins
- Bateman and the hosts praise Bernthal’s performance as Wayne Jenkins in We Own This City.
- Bernthal explains that the role was shaped by his understanding of policing, corruption, and the moral complexity of people who still see themselves as family men.
- He discusses spending time with police and riding along on raids to understand the world accurately.
Upcoming projects and collaborators
- Bernthal mentions:
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- a Punisher special he wrote
- Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
- He speaks warmly about Tom Holland, saying they’ve known each other since Holland was 17 and even helped each other with early audition tapes.
Notable Insights
“It saved my life”
- Bernthal repeatedly returns to the idea that theater gave him structure, purpose, and a way to channel destructive energy into something positive.
Acting as service
- He doesn’t treat acting as self-expression alone; he sees it as a way to bring people together and create empathy.
Failure is part of the job
- He compares parenting and acting: both require humility, constant correction, and the willingness to keep learning.
Real strength includes vulnerability
- One of the episode’s clearest takeaways is Bernthal’s belief that strength isn’t just toughness—it also includes sensitivity, humility, and openness.
Overall Takeaway
This is one of those Smartless episodes where the interview becomes a real conversation about life philosophy, not just career highlights. Jon Bernthal comes across as intense, thoughtful, and grounded—someone who has turned a chaotic beginning into discipline, artistry, and community leadership. The hosts respond to him with genuine admiration, and the episode leaves you with a strong sense that Bernthal’s work is driven by hard-earned wisdom as much as talent.