Dakota Johnson makes podcast debut on Amy Poehler’s ‘Good Hang’ — and brings a puppy
Actress Dakota Johnson made her first-ever podcast appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang, and she came prepared: with her newly rescued dog Tokyo, a Razzie Award for Madame Web, and zero filter about sleep, supplements, and stage fright.
Dakota Johnson made her first-ever podcast appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang, bringing along her newly rescued puppy Tokyo and opening up about Madame Web, Fifty Shades of Grey, stage fright, sex scenes, books, reality television, and the unpredictable business of making movies.
Tokyo may have been the official guest, but Dakota’s dry humor and unusually candid conversation kept the episode moving.
I only wanted to talk with you cuz I feel quite safe.
— Dakota Johnson
Tokyo Is the Real Guest
Dakota arrived with Tokyo, a dog she had rescued from the Santa Barbara Pound just days earlier. Tokyo explored the microphone, drank water, modeled a matching French manicure, fell asleep on Dakota’s lap, and eventually woke up in time to interrupt the speed round.
Amy began the episode with a strict no-pets-at-work policy. By the end, Tokyo had nearly convinced her to get a puppy—and had also apparently peed, or almost peed, on her lap.
The dog became an ongoing punchline, especially when Amy tried to maintain her position that animals should not be allowed in the workplace. Her final verdict was more complicated: adopt from shelters, but ask your boss before bringing the animal to work.
Blake Lee’s Question
Before Dakota joined the conversation, Amy spoke with Blake Lee, Dakota’s friend and former Parks and Recreation castmate. Blake recalled meeting Dakota through Aubrey Plaza at a Hollywood dance party and getting his first acting job on Parks and Recreation after Plaza suggested creating a role for him.
Blake said people may mistake Dakota’s composed public persona for seriousness. In private, he described her as playful, goofy, and energized by funny people—especially at Saturday Night Live.
His question for Dakota was simple: which actors did she admire growing up besides her famous family?
Dakota’s answers included Thora Birch, Christina Ricci, Diane Keaton, Sandra Bullock, and SNL performers. She said watching younger actresses who worked with her mother, Melanie Griffith, helped her imagine that she could act as a teenager too.
Diane Keaton, I was obsessed with—still obsessed with.
— Dakota Johnson
Laughing Through Madame Web
Dakota and Amy spent time discussing the Razzie Award Dakota won for Worst Actress for Madame Web. Rather than hide from the criticism, Dakota accepted the award and asked the organization to send it to her.
Sandra Bullock, who famously won a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year, sent Dakota a voice note suggesting that they start a monthly Razzie Club brunch. Dakota said she was thrilled simply to hear from Bullock, whom she considers an iconic movie star.
Amy admired Dakota’s willingness to make both large and small films and to follow her instincts rather than treat one project as a definition of her career.
What am I going to do? Cry about Madame Web? No. I’m gonna laugh.
— Dakota Johnson
The two also joked about Bullock once being asked to return her Razzie because the committee only had one trophy. Amy wondered who exactly made up the Razzie committee, while Dakota paused for a lip-balm break.
When the Movie Changes
The conversation became more serious when Dakota explained how little control actors can have over a film’s final form. She has signed onto projects that changed dramatically by the end of filming, including a movie whose script became something entirely different from what she originally agreed to make.
We don’t have control over how something turns out anymore. No one does. — Dakota Johnson
She connected that experience to Fifty Shades of Grey. The project changed scripts, writers, and actors before production, and Dakota was only 23 or 24 while filming it. She said she remains grateful for the experience and for working with director Sam Taylor-Johnson, but acknowledged how challenging the process was.
Dakota also pointed out that there were no intimacy coordinators on the production. At the time, actors were largely expected to figure out intimate scenes out in real time, in front of the entire crew.
I just feel proud of myself for being brave. — Dakota Johnson
The Director Behind The Materialists
Dakota spoke warmly about Celine Song, the writer-director of Past Lives and The Materialists. Song’s background as a playwright, Dakota said, gave her a precise understanding of the movie she wanted to make.
The two spent months discussing every line of the script. By the time they arrived on set, Dakota said they felt as if they had “one brain.”
It’s nice to work with somebody who knows exactly what they want from every single frame of the movie. — Dakota Johnson
Dakota also revealed that she has directed a short film starring Blake Lee and currently prefers directing to acting. Amy immediately suggested they find a project to make together.
What The Materialists is about
In The Materialists, Dakota plays Lucy, a New York City matchmaker who is exceptionally good at pairing people according to practical criteria such as height, income, and hairline.
The film stars Dakota alongside Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. Song’s own brief experience working as a New York matchmaker helped inspire the story.
Lucy initially appears to view relationships in transactional terms—matching people with the life they think they want. But as the story develops, she realizes that she genuinely cares about her clients and must confront a larger question: is a fulfilling life about achieving an ideal image, or about being seen and loved?
Is it to achieve the life that you think you want, or is it to actually be seen and loved?
— Dakota Johnson
Sex scenes, explained
When Amy asked how Dakota prepares for sex scenes, Dakota answered with a joke: she does not need to psych herself up because she is “always psyched up for sex.”
The conversation then turned into a surprisingly practical explanation of what filming an intimate scene actually involves. Dakota described sex scenes as carefully choreographed simulations rather than spontaneous or genuinely sexy experiences.
She said preparation depends on the character: whether the person is lonely, confident, conservative, frightened, or being presented as an idealized figure. She also tries to feel comfortable in her body, something she credits partly to the way her mother spoke openly and positively about bodies, periods, and sex while Dakota was growing up.
When it’s used the right way in a story, it’s important. — Dakota Johnson
For the first time in her career, Dakota recently worked with an intimacy coordinator. She found the experience valuable because it gave the scene additional structure and encouraged conversations about boundaries and movement.
The coordinator even suggested placing a Pilates ball between the actors during thrusting movements. Dakota declined, and the ball did not make it into the scene.
Camera Calm, Stage Panic
Dakota may appear unbothered in interviews, but live appearances are another story. She said awards shows are her nightmare and that she experiences physical symptoms of stage fright, including trembling kneecaps and a shaky voice.
I suddenly don’t know how to read. — Dakota Johnson
Acting for the camera feels different. Dakota believes growing up around film sets helped turn them into a safe, almost sacred space. She loved the trailers, base camp, the sound of “rolling,” and watching her mother transform when the camera began filming.
Speed Round: Books, Olivia Colman & Reality TV
During the episode’s closing speed round, Dakota praised Olivia Colman as one of the funniest and best people she has worked with. She also revealed that around 27 books are currently piled on her bedside table, many of them therapy books.
Then came Dakota’s current guilty pleasure: Farmer Wants a Wife.
She described the reality dating show as deeply uncomfortable but impossible to stop watching. The premise involves farmers choosing women from a large group, taking selected contestants back to their farms, and testing whether the relationships can survive manual labor, rural life, and plenty of competition among the women.
I feel really uncomfortable. Like deeply uncomfortable, but then I keep going. — Dakota Johnson
The Final Word Goes to Tokyo
After nearly an hour of conversation, Amy thanked Dakota for making the show her first podcast appearance and thanked Tokyo for becoming Good Hang‘s first—and possibly only—dog guest.
Amy closed by clarifying that her workplace pet policy should not be mistaken for a dislike of animals. She encouraged listeners to adopt from shelters, while adding one important qualification: check with your boss before bringing your rescue dog to work.
Please adopt an animal today… but maybe just check with your boss. — Amy Poehler
Dakota, meanwhile, left the door open for a return visit, suggesting they do it every day. Tokyo’s presence had turned a conversation about acting and career uncertainty into something warmer, stranger, and considerably more chaotic.
And that was the point: for one episode, the best hang was also a puppy hang.
This recap is based on Dakota Johnson’s appearance on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast. For the full episode, click on the YouTube link at the top or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
