We sit down with Justin Cooper, the kid who played Max Reede, Jim Carrey's son in the 1997 blockbuster Liar Liar. Justin's "first call" story is a good one: he was standing in line at a Kinko's when his mom got word that Jim Carrey wanted to meet him first, just to make sure the two of them clicked before the cameras rolled.

Justin was working before most kids can read, starting with a Domino's commercial at four and rolling into his own series The Boys Are Back, two years on General Hospital, a Full House episode, and his own TGIF sitcom Brother's Keeper, all before his teens. He takes us behind the scenes of Liar Liar, from the Batmobile in Jim Carrey's backyard to a hidden Fire Marshal Bill cameo tucked into one of the movie's most emotional scenes, and the one bit that actually got overwhelming as a kid: the claw.

We get into the honest stuff too, the awkward jump from private school to public school, hiding his past to try to blend in, a protective mom who quietly intercepted some genuinely startling fan mail, and the slow decision to walk away as auditions started to feel like work. Then the reinvention: cold-emailing his way into an internship that became a 14-year career producing an overnight sports radio show, and finding a version of the business that finally fit.

It's funny, it's honest, and it's a reminder of exactly why this podcast exists, because the real stories behind the kids you grew up watching are always more interesting than anything that made it on screen.

🎥 What happens in this episode?

00:00 – Cold open: the prison mail

00:54 – The call at the Kinko's, and meeting Jim Carrey

03:41 – The Riddler costume and the Batmobile in the backyard

07:13 – How it started: Disneyland, headshots, and a Domino's commercial

14:09 – Full House, Brother's Keeper, and life on a sitcom

18:38 – After Liar Liar: buffet lines, prison mail, and a protective mom

24:08 – Jennifer Tilly, poker, and Meadows Oaks camp

28:46 – Private school, public school, and the bullying

35:42 – Sports radio, the listeners, and the claw

38:50 – Stepping away, the grind, and the awkward years

42:04 – Family, the money, and the Coogan account

47:27 – From intern to producer

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