a short clip from a longer video in our channel
Danny McBride in conversation with Walton Goggins at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing collection of stories, "Thrilling Tales of Modern Men." This event was taped on June 25, 2026
An addictive, unpredictable, darkly hilarious collection of stories from Danny McBride—the beloved creator and star of The Righteous Gemstones and Eastbound & Down.
Danny McBride is the writer, producer, and star of the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones. He wrote and executive-produced the Halloween trilogy with David Gordon Green. He’s starred in a variety of motion pictures including, Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express, Alien: Covenant, and Mitchells vs. The Machines. McBride co-founded the production company Rough House Pictures. Thrilling Tales of Modern Men is his first short-story collection. He lives in South Carolina with his family.
Walton Goggins is a three time Emmy nominee, who has starred in Fallout, The White Lotus, Righteous Gemstones, Vice-Principals, The Hateful Eight, Justified and more. . “Danny McBride possesses a singular and insightful gift for capturing the essence of the imperfect, flawed, vulnerable modern man and the struggle and strife that comes with his internal longing for a better self. You probably wouldn’t want to personally know many of these characters in real life, but from afar, they certainly keep it far more interesting and entertaining. These stories are yet another beautiful example of the assorted collection of tools in the storytelling arsenal of a creative titan.”—Sturgill Simpson . There are many sides to Danny McBride: He’s starred as the iconic character Kenny Powers in the cult classic HBO show Eastbound & Down, a series he also wrote and created—just as he did with Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones. He’s produced horror films (Halloween) and starred in sci-fi (Alien: Covenant). And ever since he was young, he’s been writing short fiction.
An amateur magician gets in way over his head with a deadly stunt in a local mall. A washed-up sitcom actor takes revenge on the coyote who killed his dog. Two young runaways decide to part ways, but not before embarking on one last big adventure.
Hilarious, razor-sharp, unexpectedly emotional, and full of wild twists and turns, the stories in Thrilling Tales of Modern Men are like nothing else. And yet they have one thing in common—each probes the fragile masculinity that has become an inescapable part of modern American culture. In this audacious and unforgettable debut collection, McBride redefines the tale of the modern man.