♪ >>> YOU KNOW OUR NEXT GUEST FROM MOVIES LIKE "THE SOCIAL NETWORK" AND "ZOMBIELAND." NOW JESSE EISENBERG IS STARRING IN A MINI SERIES "FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE." LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT A CLIP. >> CAN I GET INSTAGRAM? EVERYONE HAS IT. >> NO SOCIAL MEDIA UNTIL YOU'RE 13. >> EVERYONE. >> HANNA, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A PHONE. IT'S NOT FOR GOODS AND ANXIETY. YOUR BRAIN IS STILL DEVELOPING. >> LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT IT. >> EXCUSE ME. WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT. >> HOW ABOUT MY ANXIETY THAT EVERYBODY IS ON IT AND LEAVING ME OUT. >> SHE HAS A POINT. >> YEAH? >> JUST CAN'T WIN. JESSE, GOOD MORNING TO YOU, MY FRIEND. >> GOOD MORNING. >> THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, MAN. THIS IS BASED OFF A NOVEL OF THE SAME NAME. WENT ON TO BECOME A "NEW YORK TIMES" BEST-SELLER BUT I HEART YOU ALMOST DIDN'T READ IT BECAUSE OF A MISUNDERSTANDING. WHAT WAS THAT? >> YEAH, YEAH, NO, I HEARD THE BRILLIANT WRITER ON THESE PODCASTS THAT I LISTEN TO TALKING ABOUT HER BOOK, THIS WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS AGO, TWO YEARS AGO AND IT SOUNDED AMAZING SO I BOUGHT THE BOOK THEN I HEARD SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, REVIEW OR SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND IT DESCRIBED THE BOOK AS WHAT I THOUGHT WAS LIKE A BOOK ABOUT CELEBRITY CULTURE. I MISUNDERSTOOD IT. TAFFY IS LIKE THE GREAT CHRONICLER OF CELEBRITIES SO I PUT THE BOOK DOWN BECAUSE I HAVE A PHOBIA OF READING ANYTHING IN MY FIELD BASED ON IRRATIONAL INSECURITY SO I PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND SAID YOU SHOULD READ THIS SCRIPT. OH, I THOUGHT THAT WAS ABOUT -- NO, YOU'RE WRONG. STOP BEING SCARED OF EVERYTHING AND I READ THE SCRIPT AND READ THE BOOK. >> STOP BEING SCARED OF EVERYTHING. IN THE SHOW YOU AND CLAIRE DANES, SHE'S YOUR CO-STAR, YOU HAVE A TUMULTUOUS COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP AS A MARRIED COUPLE BUT OFF SET YOU BONDED IN A SPECIAL WAY LIKE DODGEBALL. >> WE DID AN UNUSUAL REHEARSAL PROCESS PLAYING A MARRIED COUPLE MARRIED FOR 15 YEARS AND THEN GO THROUGH THIS HORRIBLE DIVORCE AND SO ONE OF THE KIND OF UNUSUAL THINGS WE DID TO KIND OF JUST GET INTO THE SPIRIT OF THIS, YOU KNOW, TUMULTUOUS RELATIONSHIP WAS, YES, PLAY A GAME OF DODGEBALL. WE HAVE LIKE A VERY CONTENTIOUS RELATIONSHIP BUT I DID NOT WANT TO HAVE A CONTENTIOUS GAME OF DODGEBALL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PHYSICAL. IT CAN HURT AND CAN HURT. BUT IT WAS KIND OF HELPFUL LIKE AS AN ACTOR YOU DO ALL SORTS OF LIKE WEIRD, YOU KNOW, INEXPLICABLE THINGS AND SOMETIMES IT CAN BE HELPFUL AND SOME STRANGE WAYS. >> YOU SAY YOU'RE MOST COMFORTABLE PLAYING THE ANTI-HERO. >> YEAH, IT'S INTERESTING LIKE THIS SHOW, IT STARTS OFF FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. YOU THINK IT'S THE STORY OF THIS LIKE PUT UPON GUY WHOSE WIFE DISAPPEARS IN THE SHOW MY WIFE, WHO CLAIRE DANES PLAY, DISAPPEARS AND DROPS THE KIDS OFF AND I CAN'T FIND HER AND YOU THINK ABOUT THIS PUT UPON SYMPATHETIC GUY BUT YOU REALIZE FROM HER PERSPECTIVE HE'S NOT WHAT THE AUDIENCE INITIALLY THINKS OF. YEAH, I FEEL KIND OF MOST COMFORTABLE IN THAT MODE JUST BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHY. I GUESS, YOU KNOW, AS AN ACTOR IT'S MORE INTERESTING TO PLAY THE DARKER CHARACTERS, BUT ALSO I GUESS I HAVE ALL THIS GUILT AROUND HAVING SUCH A NICE CUSHY JOB I THINK MAYBE I OFFSET SOME OF THAT GUILT BY PLAYING A CHARACTER THAT NO ONE LIKES. >> AND IN REAL LIFE YOU'RE MARRIED, HAPPILY MARRIED IN REAL LIFE AND HEARD YOUR WIFE GAVE YOU SOME GREAT ADVICE WHEN IT COMES TO CHOOSING WHICH ROLES YOU SHOULD TAKE. >> YEAH, ESPECIALLY LIKE THIS WITH SHOW MY LIFE LOVED IT. SHE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, IN SO MANY STORIES LIKE MEN ARE SEEN AS SYMPATHETIC AND LIKE PITIABLE FOR DOING NORMAL DOMESTIC THINGS LIKE YOU SEE A GUY WASHING THE DISHES AND YOU THINK WHAT AN AMAZING GUY AND MY WIFE TOLD ME, LIKE, THAT IS ABSURD AND YOU SHOULD PUSH BACK AGAINST THAT. THAT'S WHAT THE SHOW DOES SO WELL. YOU THINK THAT AS AN AUDIENCE WHAT AN AMAZING GUY JUST WATCHING HIS KIDS FOR AN HOUR WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WOULD EVER THINK OF IF A WOMAN WAS DOING IT. THAT'S WHAT THE SHOW PUSHES BACK ON AS WELL. >> I LOVE THAT. I LOVE HER ADVICE. >> YEAH, YES, SHE WAS CORRECT AND, YOU KNOW, SHE LOVES THE SHOW FOR THAT REASON, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY KIND OF IN SOME WAYS LIKE PULLS THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER THE AUDIENCE AND SHOWS THE OTHER PERSPECTIVE. >> THE SHOW IS FANTASTIC. YOU ARE FANTASTIC. THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK. "GMA" WITH US AND FX'S "FLEISHMAN