SmartLess

Re Release Emma Stone

March 12, 2026

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  • Emma Stone revealed she changed her name from Emily to Emma because 'Baby Spice' Emma Bunton was her childhood idol, and she was unable to register as 'Emily Stone' with the Screen Actors Guild. 
  • Emma Stone shared that she has a unique, effective cure for hiccups involving raising one arm while slowly swallowing small sips of water. 
  • Despite her current success, Emma Stone previously dyed her hair brown and later red, believing her natural blonde hair was preventing her from landing roles early in her career. 
  • Emma Stone immediately returned to filming 'The Favourite' the day after the Oscars, delaying her flight to renegotiate a salary portion of her deal. 
  • The hosts and Emma Stone discussed the hypothetical concept of a coffee table book featuring actors' unused acceptance speeches, noting the difficulty of making them anonymous. 
  • The hosts praised Emma Stone's exceptional work ethic, comparing her favorably to actors like John Goodman for never having 'sucked' in her career. 

Segments

Opening Banter and Water Incident
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(00:00:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts opened the SmartLess episode with an anecdote about playfully bullying Sean by repeatedly knocking a water bottle out of his hand.
  • Summary: The opening featured one host describing a dream about having the best episode ever. A lengthy story detailed an incident where Jason repeatedly slapped a water bottle out of Sean’s hand, culminating in the bottle exploding after being kicked toward a curb.
Cheesecake Critique and Whipped Cream
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(00:02:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone learned recently that homemade whipped cream is made simply by whipping half-and-half in a bowl.
  • Summary: Sean’s cheesecake was critiqued for being slightly too fluffy, though the baker was praised for cooking at all. Emma expressed surprise upon learning that whipped cream can be made easily by whipping half-and-half.
Secret Cheesecake Ingredient Drive
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(00:02:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Sean drove an hour and a half to acquire a specific British white chocolate bar (Milky Bottle, not Cadbury) for his cheesecake recipe.
  • Summary: The secret ingredient for the cheesecake was a British white chocolate bar unavailable in the US, prompting a long drive. While on this mission, Sean stopped at Portillo’s and consumed a large meal including a hot dog, cake, fries, and a shake.
Introducing Guest Emma Stone
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(00:04:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone convinced her parents to let her move to LA at age 14 by presenting a PowerPoint presentation titled ‘Project Hollywood.’
  • Summary: The hosts introduced Emma Stone, noting her early web design skills and her ambitious plan to become an actress. She presented a PowerPoint at 14 to convince her parents to let her drop out of high school and move to Los Angeles.
Emma’s Health and Hair Color History
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(00:05:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone is currently blonde, was born blonde, and dyed her hair brown early in her career before Judd Apatow suggested she try red hair for the film Superbad.
  • Summary: Emma arrived slightly under the weather, having been up for several days and recently breaking her toe getting out of the shower. She clarified that she is naturally blonde, despite being known for her red hair phase, which began after an audition for Superbad.
Early Web Design and Digital Habits
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(00:08:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone is now a ‘Neo-Luddite’ who avoids computers entirely, using only an iPhone for email and no social media.
  • Summary: In the 90s, Emma was interested in primitive HTML, building things like drop-down menus on platforms like Angel Fire and GeoCities. She currently owns no computer, relying solely on her iPhone for communication, which leads the hosts to muse about the benefits of a global social media detox.
Birthday Guesses and Early Career
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(00:12:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone is 35 years old, and she and Will Arnett worked together on the film The Rocker when she was 19.
  • Summary: The hosts wished Emma a happy birthday and attempted to guess her age, with Will’s guess based on their past work together proving closest. They confirmed working together on the film The Rocker, which also featured Rainn Wilson and Bradley Cooper.
Name Change and Spice Girls Fandom
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(00:17:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone changed her legal name from Emily to Emma because ‘Emily Stone’ was already taken by an actress registered with the Screen Actors Guild.
  • Summary: Emma revealed she initially tried the name ‘Riley’ before settling on Emma, inspired by Emma Bunton (‘Baby Spice’), a group she was a massive fan of growing up. She later met the Spice Girls, who gave her a signed shirt.
David Blaine Accident and Broken Shoulder
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(00:020:29)
  • Key Takeaway: The night before meeting the Spice Girls in 2019, Emma Stone broke her shoulder after slipping on a wood floor while excitedly running away from a David Blaine magic trick.
  • Summary: Emma recounted a dramatic incident where she became overly excited by a complex card trick performed by David Blaine. In her haste to leave the party, she slipped in heeled boots, resulting in a broken shoulder that she attended the Spice Girls concert with the next day.
Bone Density Issues and Past Injuries
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(00:02:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone has a history of poor bone density, having broken seven bones before turning 30, and recently broke her toe getting out of the shower.
  • Summary: Following the shoulder injury story, Emma shared that she has bone density issues, leading her doctor to recommend Vitamin D, calcium, and heavy weight-bearing exercises. Sean mentioned he drinks a glass of milk every night with dinner for his health.
Colic and Vocal Cord Trauma
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(00:024:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone was extremely colicky for five months as a baby, which she believes caused her to scream herself hoarse and may have affected her voice.
  • Summary: The hosts inquired about Emma’s asthma diagnosis occurring during filming and a supposed condition from crying too much as an infant. Emma explained colic as severe stomach pain and noted that screaming constantly while being colicky was likely traumatizing for her parents.
Hardest Roles and Stage Anxiety
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(00:03:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone found performing the musical Cabaret on stage to be the most physically taxing experience of her acting career, requiring steroid use due to vocal strain.
  • Summary: Emma identified her short run in Cabaret as her hardest professional job due to the physical demands of singing eight shows a week. During one performance, both of her contact lenses fell out while she was singing in the dark, forcing her to navigate offstage blindly.
Hiccup Cure and Gross Remedy
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(00:03:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone’s surefire hiccup cure involves slowly swallowing small sips of water while lowering an arm held above the head.
  • Summary: Emma shared her specific hiccup remedy, which the hosts immediately practiced. Sean revealed his method is to hold his breath while drinking water, or, if desperate, inducing vomiting by sticking his finger down his throat, a technique he learned while recording a voiceover.
Family Tattoo Story
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(00:04:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma and her immediate family (mother, father, brother) all have matching, poorly done tattoos of what looks like ‘bird feet’ that she must cover for work.
  • Summary: Emma showed the hosts a poorly executed tattoo on her wrist from 2010 that has since bled out, which her family also has done well by different artists. The hosts joked about connecting her with better tattoo artists like Justin Theroux.
Oscar Win and Immediate Work
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(00:04:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Immediately after winning the Oscar for La La Land, Emma Stone left the next day to begin filming The Favourite in England, allowing her to avoid any post-win career anxiety.
  • Summary: The hosts praised her performance in The Favourite, which was filmed in England and utilized a fisheye lens effect. Emma confirmed that winning the Oscar did not cause her anxiety because she immediately transitioned to her next project, allowing her to renegotiate her salary en route to the next set.
Post-Oscar Career Transition
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(00:47:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone immediately began filming ‘The Favourite’ after the Oscars, using the travel time to renegotiate a salary portion of her contract.
  • Summary: Emma Stone met director Yorgos Lanthimos while filming ‘La La Land’ and left for ‘The Favourite’ the day after the Oscars. She delayed her flight by a couple of hours to call her lawyer and renegotiate a salary portion of her deal. This immediate return to work prevented anxiety about taking time off after a major career peak.
Unused Acceptance Speeches Idea
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(00:48:12)
  • Key Takeaway: A potential coffee table book idea was proposed featuring anonymous, unused acceptance speeches from various awards shows.
  • Summary: The hosts speculated that Emma Stone must have prepared acceptance speeches for her numerous nominations for films like ‘La La Land’ and ‘The Favourite.’ Stone expressed a desire to compile a book of unused acceptance speeches from various celebrities. A complication arose regarding how to maintain anonymity while still making the content recognizable to those thanked.
Pop Culture Knowledge Gap
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(00:50:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Emma Stone was unaware of the existence of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ reality show, leading to humorous commentary about her focus on health issues.
  • Summary: Emma Stone admitted to not knowing what ‘The Golden Bachelor’ was, which the hosts celebrated as a sign of her being disconnected from certain pop culture trends. The conversation briefly referenced Sean having broken bones and getting sick, contrasting with Stone’s lack of awareness of the show. The segment concluded with a humorous exchange about the Spice Girls lyric ‘If you want to be my lover, you got to get with my friends’.