Jeff Daniels offers fans 'peek under my hood' in podcast that blends memories and songs

Jeff Daniels wears many creative hats, but they all are tied to his gifts as a storyteller.

From Harry Dunne in “Dumb and Dumber” to Will McAvoy in HBO’s “The Newsroom,” Daniels has brought the stories of unforgettable characters to life through his acting.

He has written numerous plays for the Purple Rose Theatre he founded in Chelsea, along with several scripts for movies. He performs his own songs, which are funny or tender or both simultaneously.

Now all of Daniels' artistic talents are being combined into one entertaining, heartfelt audio memoir. “Alive and Well Enough” (which shares a name with Daniels' 2021 album) is a 12-episode podcast about his career and life.

All of the dozen episodes of "Alive and Well Enough" will arrive Thursday exclusively on Audible, the Amazon membership service with a huge catalog of more than 800,000 audio titles, and a second season is planned. In it, Daniels shares meaningful memories, tells funny anecdotes, acts out vignettes from his scripts and imagination, and performs the contemporary folk songs that have given him a side gig as a singer-songwriter.

The content feels as unpretentious and eclectic as the Emmy-winning star himself. Listening to the podcast is as close as most of us will get to sitting around a fire pit late at night with Daniels as he leisurely strums a guitar and is coaxed into sharing recollections of the first time he “killed” as a performer. As you'll hear, it was during an improv exercise in sixth grade while playing a politician whose pants are falling down.

“I’m going to let you in on what I do, how I do it, why I did it and, in some cases, why I’ll never do it again,” says Daniels in the first episode, explaining that the series is partly a deep dive into the creative process that allows listeners to “peek under my hood, frankly.”

Daniels' podcast joins the growing genre of podcasts from performers, political commentators and sports stars that give them a different way of sharing their lives with fans. At Audible, such podcasts include Kevin Hart’s “Monsters and How to Tame Them,” Quinta Brunson’s “She Memes Well” and Alan Cumming’s “Legal Immigrant.”

During the episodes, Daniels gives insight on the creative process. In this exclusive preview clip for the Free Press, he reflects on about what led to the writing of his song "Grandfather's Hat," which begins with him wearing a fedora around his hometown of Chelsea, where he still lives.

“Even in the Midwest, a place known for being a bit behind — just ask anybody on either coast — I was the only one in town wearing such a thing,” he recounts. “The fedora gave them something to talk about, a jumping off point. 'Oh, he’s the actor and they’re all a little off, aren't they.'"

Audible · Alive And Well Enough - excerpt

In another episode, Daniels tells of meeting Clint Eastwood, the icon with whom he later would co-star in 2002's "Blood Work," for the first time. It was at a golf tournament in Pebble Beach. Eastwood approached him and immediately brought up his “Dumb and Dumber” role as epic goofball Harry Dunne, the best friend of Jim Carrey’s Lloyd Christmas.

Recalls Daniels: “And then Clint said it. ‘Do you remember the toilet scene?’” From there, the anecdote gets even better (sorry, no spoilers).

Speaking of Harry Dunne, one segment features Daniels doing an interview between the character and himself. In the bit, Harry, speaking with his mouth stuffed with a Twinkie (the plastic wrapping of which crackles loudly in the background), asks Jeff, “Where are you from?”

“Michigan,” replies Daniels.

To which Harry inquires, “Which state is that in?”

One of the more intriguing stories for fans of HBO’s “The Newsroom” is the story behind the famous "American is not the greatest country in the world” speech from the pilot that news anchor Will McAvoy gives at Northwestern University.

Describing the process of filming the speech, which remains one of producer and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s best-known bursts of righteous eloquence, Daniels describes how he gave it his all. “When it was time to do it on camera, I wanted it to find that other gear,” he says, using a very Motor City-esque automotive metaphor. “I wanted it to be coming around the corner on two wheels, totally in control but hanging on.”

With two Emmy wins and five nominations, plus nods for Tonys, Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, Daniels continues to get plum roles in a career that has stretched from the early acclaim for his acting in 1983's “Terms of Endearment” and 1986's “Something Wild” to his heartbreaking portrayal of middle-age disappointment in 1998's “Pleasantville” to a string of later TV roles in limited series and miniseries. He took a villainous turn in 2017's “Godless," played former FBI director James Comey in 2020's “The Comey Rule” and captured Rust Belt angst in "American Rust."

Last year, it was announced that Daniels would be the lead character in Netflix's limited series adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s best-selling 1998 novel, “A Man in Full.” He will portray a real estate magnate in Atlanta whose empire faces bankruptcy and will star alongside Diane Lane, William Jackson Harper, Tom Pelphrey and Detroit native Chante Adams.

Throughout his new podcast, Daniels goes from topic to topic with rambling ease, whether he's offering a song inspired by his hero, Al Kaline, or describing a near collision with a Toronto pedestrian in another.

Oh, and that pedestrian who popped in front of his car, forcing Daniels to hit the brakes and endure a string  of “swearing in Canadian” from the ungrateful man whose life he saved? Creative inspiration comes from the strangest places sometimes.

Says Daniels in the podcast, “I turned to my wife and said, ‘You know, this would make a really good song.” Yes, he sings it on "Alive and Well Enough."

Jeff Daniels explores his family ancestry on PBS series 'Finding Your Roots'

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

Jeff Daniels podcast 'Alive and Well Enough'

All twelve episodes arrive Thursday on Audible, an Amazon membership service that offers and creates audiobooks and podcasts. Plans start at $7.95 a month (and there is a free 30-day trial).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jeff Daniels mixes stories and songs in podcast that's an audio memoir