What if Veronica Mars and Seth Cohen hooked up...? #nobodywantsthis

You probably know Kristen Bell as the star behind characters like Veronica Mars, Princess Anna from Frozen, and Eleanor from The Good Place. In this episode, Adam sits down with Kristen live at BetterUp’s Uplift leadership summit to examine how she’s learning to overcome her people pleasing tendencies and stop internalizing other people’s emotions. Kristen gets in character to demonstrate how to be honest without being unkind. She also makes the case that compliments are underrated, opens up about her strategies for dealing with envy, and offers a surprising theory of why we overexplain. Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow our podcasts! Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts Fixable: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/fixable How to Be a Better Human: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-better-human ReThinking with Adam Grant: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant TED Talks Daily: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted-talks-daily TED Business: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted_business TED Health: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted-health TED Tech: https://www.ted.com/podcasts/ted-tech The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

Kristen BellguestAdam Granthost

May 7, 20261mWatch on YouTube ↗

EVERY SPOKEN WORD

1 min read · 256 words

0:00 – 0:10
Setting up the topic: on-screen chemistry with co-stars
1. KBKristen Bell
  Just this, like, super buried nostalgia of Veronica Mars and Seth Cohen hooking up.
2. AGAdam Grant
  Let's talk about chemistry-
3. KBKristen Bell
  Yeah
4. AGAdam Grant
  ... with your costars and your collaborators.
5. KBKristen Bell
  Okay.
0:10 – 0:17
How do you know who you have chemistry with? Screen tests and first reads
1. AGAdam Grant
  Uh, I wanna talk about this from two angles. One is the, the chemistry screen or the read where you figure out who you have chemistry with.
2. KBKristen Bell
  Mm-hmm.
0:17 – 0:22
Building chemistry when you’re already paired up
1. AGAdam Grant
  And then the other is, how do you build it once you're stuck working with someone?
2. KBKristen Bell
  Mm.
3. SPSpeaker
  [laughs]
0:22 – 0:36
Audience reaction: ‘Nobody Wants This’ and the standout on-screen spark
1. AGAdam Grant
  So, [laughs] let's, let's start at the beginning. I think, uh, how many people have watched Nobody Wants This?
2. SPSpeaker
  [cheers]
3. AGAdam Grant
  Okay, so your, your chemistry with your boyfriend on that show is, uh-
4. KBKristen Bell
  Electric
5. AGAdam Grant
  ... it's the first thing everyone talks about.
6. SPSpeaker
  [laughs]
7. KBKristen Bell
  Yeah.
0:36 – 0:50
When real-life partners weigh in: Dax’s (supportive) discomfort factor
1. AGAdam Grant
  Yeah. Even Dax admits it's electric.
2. KBKristen Bell
  I know, he loves it so much.
3. AGAdam Grant
  Which makes me a little uncomfortable.
4. KBKristen Bell
  He's like, "I want you guys to kiss so bad."
5. SPSpeaker
  [laughs]
6. AGAdam Grant
  And I'm like, "Stop cheating on Dax, Kristen. I'm not okay with that."
7. KBKristen Bell
  Part of the job.
8. SPSpeaker
  [laughs]
0:50 – 1:04
Kristen’s explanation: tapping into ‘buried nostalgia’
1. KBKristen Bell
  Okay, well, let me start by saying what Adam and I have, if you wanna really break it down, we tapped into something that I don't think anyone's thinking about, which is this, like, super buried nostalgia of Veronica Mars and Seth Cohen hooking up.
2. SPSpeaker
  Yeah. [laughs]
1:04 – 1:13
Veronica Mars x Seth Cohen: the crossover fantasy audiences didn’t know they wanted
1. KBKristen Bell
  And no one's really, no one really, like, thinks about that 'cause we're older now, and we've sort of forgotten those shows. But anyone that watched those shows, you always wanted a crossover. You know what I mean?
2. AGAdam Grant
  [laughs]
1:13 – 1:14
The universal appeal of crossovers: ‘You always wanted a crossover’
1. KBKristen Bell
  You always wanted a crossover.