All language subtitles for 1 1 Craig Ferguson American on Purpose S01E01 720p

Benny, we're going to go again, is that
clear?

Full thing?

Why the fuck not? Yeah, yeah.

See you.

Long, long ago in a land far, far away,
a wee fat Scottish boy was watching

television when he saw astronauts
landing on the moon, and he thought to

himself, oh, how did I get to be like
those magical men in the rocket ships?

A voice came to him and said, First
thing you've got to do is get yourself

America. And that's what I did, because
I was that fat wee Scottish boy.

Now, look. See that hill over there?
That's Mexico. Not just the hill.

lot more Mexico behind it. And then that
river there, that's the Rio Grande. And

this here, this is the United States of
America.

Now, a lot of people from over there
want to come over here. In fact, a lot

people from all over the world want to
come here. Now, I know why I did it, but

what about everybody else?

What is America?

Is it a promise? A contradiction?

A dream?

Everyone has their own idea, including
me.

I wasn't born here, but I love this
place.

I want to show you why I became
American.

On purpose.

I'm an immigrant, but a lot of people
wanted me to come here.

They just all happened to be people who
lived in Scotland.

But I came anyway.

I took my oath to be a citizen on
February the 1st, 2008, in Los Angeles.

It's a big deal becoming a citizen.

It's like getting married, but to a
country.

Except there wasn't a fight and no one
was drunk, so it wasn't like a wedding

my family.

Till death do us part.

In my opinion, There is no view in the
world that can't be improved by turning

to someone you love and saying, look at
that.

A shared experience with someone you
care about makes that experience even

better. That was the feeling I got when
my dear, lovely pal, Katie Tunstall,

became a citizen. Katie is a Grammy
-nominated rock star. She was born in

Scotland, too, and also became an
American citizen, but only recently. So

not at my level of America.

So I brought her to Texas to learn her
song.

Starting with Cowboy Hat.

Big -ass Texas cowboy hat.

Because pound for pound, gallon for
gallon, nothing says you're American

cowboy hat.

You got your steps, your ridge top, your
cattleman, your pink pony club, your

giant foam novelty hat.

American, every one of them. Well, maybe
that last one is made in China. But you

get the point.

Have you ever had one in your life? I've
never, ever had a cowboy hat. Poor KT.

She desperately needs one.

That is like J .R. Ewing's hat. I was
obsessed with Dallas, the TV show, when

was a kid because it was on in the 80s
in the UK.

Oh, we can't afford it.

In the 1980s, Dallas was huge in
Scotland, probably because of all those

And money, and sex, and oil.

But mostly the hats.

All those great characters.

J .R., Sue Ellen, the old lady.

Shania?

The Jonas Brothers.

B. Arthur.

Okay, it was a long time ago. I don't
remember all the names. But I do know

we all wanted to come to America and
live like they did on Dallas.

You stay there, right? You be J .R.,
right? And I'll be Sue Ellen. Hold on.

Right? Are you ready?

J .R., what the hell are you doing? Not
now, honey.

We're making a deal.

Hello.

How does one mount?

Do you go in the syrup?

There you go.

There we go. There you go. Hey.

Yes, sir. Katie and I are now American
citizens. We both don't have hearts.

a woeful situation. It's terrible.

I mean, because I feel like we're not
proper Americans.

We can fix that.

Do you know anything about hats, my
friend? I know my hat size.

Which will be?

Seven and three quarters.

Really? Yeah. That's quite a large hat,
sir. I'm Scottish. We've got very big

heads. Here.

Silver belly. Silver belly. I feel
that's more my speed. Bow in the back.

is great.

Yeah, I like it. That makes me feel
good.

It looks great. Now we have to get you a
hat.

Oh, that's good. That's very sexy.

Let me just get on my side and talk
about it.

Hey, let's pretend that we're riding the
range. Yeah. Yeah, right. Boat back.

So tell me how you got here. Well, the
story goes.

My dad was a physicist and he got a
sabbatical to UCLA in California when I

four. In LA? When you were four, do you
remember it? And I had a completely

American accent, like valley girl
accent.

Shut up. I was like Cher from Clueless.

Wow. There's, like, my dad made little
recordings and there's me going, I want

drink of water.

That's so bizarre. Yeah. I had no idea
about that. And so my first memories are

California.

And it's, like, grape flavour and orange
trees and swimming pools and sunshine

at Christmas. So it kind of imprinted on
me. But I just always wanted to get

here. I think becoming a citizen is
different from living here.

I remember the ceremony and just...

kind of getting an idea of the
commitment of it. Yeah. Just going, you

give up your allegiance to any other
nation. Right. And you would bear arms.

You'd bear arms, yeah. And I was like,
wait, what?

You probably don't want me to.

Yeah, look, there's probably a better
option.

But you do feel... It feels serious.

Yeah. And you end up feeling proud and
protected.

Yes, protective.

And I think that also when you come from
outside into America as a country, it

is this incredible experiment.

I know. And you really understand that
nowhere else on the planet is willing to

try this experiment.

I know.

You and I coming here and deciding to
take part is part of what it's

becoming. It's an ongoing thing. It's an
ongoing, constantly changing.

experience right and we try and do it
the best we can what is that is that old

line is it is the mark of civilization
of someone that would plant a tree in

full knowledge of knowing they would
never sit in the shade of it yeah

feel very lucky so many people would
love to be american and they can't do it

know people have died Yeah. Many people
died today trying to get this. Yeah. And

I've got it in my hand and I've done it
and it's a big deal. It is a big deal.

It's a huge deal to become an American.
Glad you did it too. Yeah, I am too.

Okay, maybe time we mosey along.

Hey! Oh my God, I feel like I've been in
the saddle all day.

Calamity Jane over here. Yeah, yeah.

Who would I be then if you were Calamity
Jane? You'd be Billy the Kid or

something. Nah, not Billy the Kid. I'd
be the ancient Bob or something.

No, I'd be the guy. Say, they're coming
in here and shooting all around. I think

I saw them. I don't know. They went that
way.

Where are you from? Mexico. I was born
in Mexico. I was born in Colombia.

My father's side is a lot of Scottish.
Oh, okay. Yes. Sorry about that. I

appreciate it. German.

He's from Mexico.

And I have some Japanese, too. My
parents are from Rwanda. I'm adopted

Philippines. I'm Liberian. From
Colombia. And then on my mother's side,

And German, but also Irish as well.
Okay, so you're kind of a control freak

who's a drunk and a little bit impolite
in restaurants.

I try to keep it on the low key for the
drunk part, yeah.

There's more opportunities here in the U
.S., for sure, than Colombia.

I believe that's really American to have
the opportunity of a better life.

When I come here, the door is open, you
know. I was able to become something

that I don't think I would have had the
opportunity to.

What did you become?

An engineer.

Do your family, do they have contact
with... Your family back in Liberia and

Rwanda? Yeah, I was in Liberia last
year. Oh, yeah? Did you like it?

No. You wanted to come back to America?

I did. I wanted Chick -fil -A.

So they don't have Chick -fil -A in
Liberia? No, just rice.

Yeah.

We're good?

Ladies, thank you so much.

When I came to America, I was young and
full of passion.

Passion was the name of a cheap peach
-flavoured vodka in the 1980s. Surprise,

surprise!

Back home, I'd been doing stand -up,
music and acting for a while, but I

knew if I wanted to be an artist, to
really do it, then America was the place

for me, because, in my opinion, America
gives you the best shot to take your

passion and turn it into success.

That's passion the passion, not passion
the peach vodka. No -one's getting

successful while on peach vodka.

So, Craig, what are you doing in Miami?
I hear you asking, your adorable

Scottish accent.

I mean, besides walking around like a
total boss.

Yeah, sup, fellas?

I'm here to do art. I have to express my
feelings after those kids stole my

jacket. What's his name?

That's my name, Seafoam.

Seafoam. I love it. Now we have to paint
over it. Oh, I'm going to, yeah. Right,

right, right.

And to help inspire two big stars from
Miami's electric street art scene.

Golden and Dissum.

Like me, both of these gentlemen came to
America to follow their artistic

dreams. Is this for the 250?

Yes, sir. Ah, I love it. Very nice.

Thank you. It's very nice.

Dissum and Golden are just like me,
except cooler, I will admit. But just

me, they felt in order to thrive as
artists and as people, they had to get

America. I was born in Venezuela. Yeah.
Did you come here when you were a kid?

Yeah.

didn't understood why I was like that.

I remember when I was like 12, I came to
New York and I see these two cops

standing in the door of the airplane
with tattoos and piercings.

And I've been fighting for two years
with my family for this. I'm like, then

knew I was just born at the wrong place.

You know? You belong in a different
place. I'm going to move here one day

because I felt like I could be me. My
mother and my father met at an art

university in Panama.

and i have artists on both sides of the
family um from then on it we had the

we're in panama we had the invasion of
panama right following that you know

leaving all that you know the war pretty
much you know we ended up coming over

here to the us so do you think in
central america or in south america that

be able to to be the artist you are now
not in my country no yeah maybe in

another country but not not there the
land of the free right it's been built

immigrants and you know i mean i
personally

I'm proud of being an immigrant, you
know, and being a positive influence,

know. In America more than anywhere else
in the world, we're allowed to express

ourselves freely, right?

Street art is just like regular art,
except it's outdoors.

You are, like, good with your cat and
the brozo. That's it, Golden, you got

another assistant, bro. I know, you're
higher.

Seven bucks an hour.

$7 .25, $7 .25.

It's al fresco fresco.

That's pretty good.

When people see a dog in a building,
it's like they see it like something

simple, but that is someone that focuses
their life into that.

That's why it looks so fresh, so
stylish.

Like the first thing you write is your
name or a penis.

You know, like that's what you do.
You're a child.

But then you learn. I like that you
said, because that's the first thing I

was a penis.

That's the first thing I've ever done.

The first thing you draw is a penis.

Now we're going to do some scraping.

All right, let's give the painting a
try. All right. You see this line? Yeah.

Angle it up.

That worked.

I feel like I look at it, and all I can
see is this line sticking out of it.

Step back. A lot of times, especially
when you're at a wall, you've got to

back and look at it.

you know what it's okay yeah i feel like
it's all right i think it's cool man

yeah i feel like it gave a little give a
little thing this is my i did this now

yeah it's a collaboration with graffiti
art in particular i think it's such an

american form of art because it starts
like it starts out like you're a bunch

outlaws like you're the founding fathers
you're sure it's a revolution

everybody's like oh these guys are bad
and it's all going to end badly and then

slowly over time it becomes this multi
-billion dollar business changes the

whole world

I love it.

Let me just do something for you down
here. I'll just do you one of these.

Oh, no.

Yeah!

That's a keeper.

You know what? We've got to leave that
on there. I'm on it.

That's funny, man.

Like a lot of Americans, my entry point
to this country was New York City, and

that is important.

To me it was important anyway, because
New York is so diverse, so

but it's also unique.

The exotic smell of pee, hot dogs and
weed cannot be replicated anywhere else

this planet.

New York has an iconoclast spirit.

That's a fancy way of saying, Hey, I'm
walking here.

I know it was that way for me.

And I know it was that way for my
friend, Salman Rushdie.

Salman has faced down lunatic attacks
and attempted murder for his iconoclast

spirit. So it's only natural that he
would end up being an American.

This is your funniest and most beautiful
book. Well, thank you. It really is.

Salman's latest book, The Eleventh Hour,
is a collection of short stories, one

of which is called Oklahoma.

America holds a kind of almost mythical
quality in the story Oklahoma.

It has this mysterious unfolding.

Have you been to Oklahoma? I have been.
In fact, I had a nice experience in

Oklahoma. I've always had a nice time in
Oklahoma.

New York for me is almost equivalent to
what I think about as America.

Because I'm a big city boy. Yes.

I'm not really a countryside guy.

No, I don't think of you as that. Have
you ever been on a horse? I have been on

a horse. I was mostly terrified.

I fell in love with the idea of America
long before I ever came to America.

Yeah, me too, yeah.

All of us new Americans have an idea
about America before we ever get here.

Everyone has a vision and an opinion
about the United States, even if they

get here. It's because we are not just a
country, we are an idea.

How did it shape up to the real thing?
Because you, like me, became a citizen,

right? Well, the thing that America
began to be equivalent in my mind to me

New York City.

Right. What I like about it is its
incredible diversity.

Yeah. I remember when the Soccer World
Cup was here in America.

You would walk down, like, Flatbush
Avenue, and you would go past bars, and

there'd be, like, the Croatian bar, and
then there'd be the Brazilian bar, the

Nigerian bar, full of Americans.

cheering for all their different
countries of origin.

Right, right. One of the reasons that
I'm here living in America is because of

my admiration for the First Amendment.

Yeah. I think that's an amazing thing to
put in your Constitution.

Yeah. The freedom of speech, the freedom
of assembly, the freedom of belief.

There's no other country that puts that
in the Constitution.

I know.

And the pursuit of happiness.

And I think immigrants come to a country
because they want to be there. Yeah.

I mean, if you're born in America, you
don't have the choice.

It is what it is. But some of us make
the choice to come here, and that has to

be an optimistic act.

It is an act of optimism to become an
American. You're trying to put aside old

ideas and start afresh. For example, how
can the English and Irish and the

Scottish ever get along, even in the new
world?

Well, obviously, the safest place would
be a bar.

Matt Gilbert and Scott Walker are newly
minted Americans.

I met them for a drink when they were
celebrating in that understated British

way.

So, an Englishman, a sort of Irishman,
and a Scotsman go into a

bar, right?

This is the party for you, who are now a
proud American citizen.

How long have you been a citizen?

About two weeks.

How long have you been here?

Since 2019.

Do you miss the chicken shops of South
London?

No. You sat the test already, right?
Yeah. Did you do well? I mean, clearly

did well enough. How did you do?

I did okay, but I did mine in 2008.

I became a citizen.

The test was pretty much the three
branches of government. They asked about

that. Yeah, three branches of
government.

I think the toughest one I asked was if
the president wasn't going to be the

president anymore or the vice president.

isn't a president anymore. Who's going
to be the president?

Right. And what did you put?

The leader of the house.

Right. I put George Clooney. George
Clooney. There you go. I figured that

good one because everybody likes George
Clooney. What made you want to be a

citizen? For me, it was the ability to
vote.

The right to vote. Yeah. It was a big
deal for me.

Also, I couldn't do my job in London.

So what you're telling me is
opportunity.

Opportunity. And the right to
participate in government.

Yeah. Also, like, our American dream is
different.

You know, we're white men, aren't we? So
it's, like, kind of a lot easier.

How will you, as a new American citizen,
go about changing that?

fighting, and I think that's the main
thing.

Participating in democracy, which is
what we want to do. That's how I felt,

I remember coming here and everyone was
so cool, and it was just normal, so

normalised that you could just do all
these things, and that was very

to me. I feel that's the spirit of the
place, and that's why I've always been

very adamant that I feel that New York
is a distillation almost of America,

because it takes all those artistic and
personal freedoms.

extrapolate them into this mad city.
Yeah.

Sometimes I'm just wandering around.
I'll be in the most touristy place. I'm

like, this is incredible.

Yeah. Like, you know, I take it for
granted. No time to swear.

I'm going through Times Square the other
day and a kid came

over to me and he was trying to give me
some pamphlet or something like that.

Oh, yeah. Bullshitting me. I said, do I
look like I'm from out of town? And he

said, I'm not kidding. He said, no, you
look like you're a dick.

While it's fun to spend a little time
with these new citizens, it's

to remember that not everyone who became
American had a choice.

I chose to come to America, as did many
others, but obviously that's not the

whole story.

This country also belongs to the
descendants of those who did not choose

Enslaved Africans forcibly brought here,
and Native Americans who were forced

from their ancestral territory.

Out of that painful history...

comes the resilience and diversity that
still shapes who we are today.

If we ignore that part of the story,
we're not telling all of it.

It's part of who we are as Americans.

What's the most American thing you can
think of right now? My grandfather came

to me from Ecuador.

To him, it was a cheeseburger and a Ford
Mustang, being able to work and

send his kids to schools.

you know, and have, like, better
opportunity for them.

One thing that I think about America is
freedom.

Also the dream, American dream. What is
the American dream? You can work hard

and achieve your goal. What do you think
the American dream is?

The ability to embrace your aspirations.

Be happy. Be happy? Yes. Be happy, build
your own future on your own way.

I ran a marathon.

Oh, you ran.

Congratulations. The American dream.
What does it look like to you?

I think just having the opportunity and
options to do whatever you want to do,

whether it's running a marathon in New
York City.

Freedom of religion, freedom of choice,
just everything.

Freedom. You can be yourself. Yeah, I
guess.

I think I can smell someone enjoying
their freedom. Yeah, yeah, right now. I

smell it. Yeah, it's happening.

In 1975, I came to America for the first
time. My dad and I got a cheap flight

from the old country to visit my uncle
James and his family on Long Island.

On this trip, I went to a bowling alley,
and for the first time, I tasted root

beer over crushed ice, and I smelled the
aroma of rented shoes.

To this day, the taste of root beer and
the smell of feet still mean freedom to

me.

Do you know how to vote?

I do. On you go, then. All right, let's
do this. All right.

Those pillars of democracy, foot smell
and root beer, were also a beacon for

Abdi Noor Iftin when he dreamed of
escaping the vicious civil war in

the teeth -chattering freedom of Maine,
the way life should be.

He's now a proud American and the best
-selling author of the book Call Me

American, a memoir detailing his
journey.

When you become an American...

Some things, like patriotism, come
quickly.

Other things, like bowling, as you're
about to see, take a little longer.

There you go. That's it.

That's not bad, I guess. Yeah, yeah. You
have to knock that one down now, don't

you?

There you go. That makes me feel more
comfortable.

No!

Oh, boy.

How did you get into American football
coaching? There was a woman.

In our neighborhood, she ran a little
movie theater.

We sat on the dark floor. We watched
action films continuously because the

only had seven films.

What were the movies? Do you remember?

Commando. Right. Rambo.

The Terminator.

Just what you want when you're a kid
with PTSD and a war zone. Yeah, yeah,

exactly. But actually, it was pretty
good entertainment.

We're sitting in the movie theater, and
we were playing a quiz.

What did he say, you know, when Arnold
says, I'll be back?

Because, of course, you don't speak
English.

We did not. That's how we learned it. Is
that the first idea of you wanting to

come to America with these movies, these
guys? That is where the window cracked

open. I was like, I want to go there.

So you learned English from Sylvester
Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger?

You speak English a lot better than
Sylvester Stallone and Arnold

Schwarzenegger. Don't I? Yes.

Better than both of those guys. I agree.
But the good thing is they spoke, they

said a few words. Right. So there's a
little bit of time.

Exactly. I wasn't a journalist
professionally.

As soon as I spoke some English, I
started recording secret audio diaries

Somalia that could get me killed.

So it was extremely dangerous.

move that I had to do so that the world
hears.

All of my audio diaries were actually
aired by a radio station based in North

Carolina. Then so many people started.

I had no idea you were such a badass.

I didn't have any choice. It's just like
I die or I do something, you know.

That's crazy.

It was either of those.

I became the storyteller to the
American, but it was a long way from.

Coming to this country, I had no idea if
I would ever do that. Why are you so

fixated on coming to the United States?

Because I really wanted to be a full
human.

For example, in Somalia, no schooling,
no hospital, no clinic, nothing like

that. If you get injured, you might die
bleeding.

I have friends who died like that. And I
kept thinking, I need to be someone who

has rights and freedom and access to the
basic things.

How did you arrive?

There's this lottery system.

Yeah. It's called the Visa Lottery. This
is like the golden ticket. Like

literally the... Literally, yeah.

There's no other way that I can get to
the U .S. other than this.

There was a pretty good chance that I
could get denied.

Even with the golden ticket?

Well, yeah. Guess how many people apply
for this golden ticket? I don't know. 20

million. 20 million? Every year.

And how many get them? The U .S. State
Department only has 50 ,000 visas

available.

For 20 million applications?

That's green.

It is.

All right, me to go first. Let's do
this.

Yeah!

Beat that.

For Abdi, getting into the U .S. was a
dream that required an incredible amount

of luck.

Coincidentally, so does my bowling game.

Undo that. There you go.

This is fun. We're evenly matched.

How did you get here?

Because it was a visa lottery program,
the government wouldn't help at all.

Right. I had to go to a family who heard
my story on the radio. Yeah. They got

involved in supporting my process to
come to the United States. They live in

Maine, and now they become my family.

So if you're wondering, why do you spend
your time sleeping on Christmas? That's

where I am. That's great, though, man.

I'm so pleased to hear that.

We've talked to a lot of people about
freedom.

What does that look like for you, the
idea of freedom?

In this country, if I wake up tomorrow
and decide to drive my own car from

Maine and head all the way to the other
end of this country, I can do that.

Freedom for you is being able to go
where you want.

Choices. Absolutely.

I think freedom hits different when you
come from my background.

That I can appreciate each mile that I
drive knowing that I can do that.

It's amazing.

To me, it's more than a vacation.

It's freedom.

Freedom. Absolutely.

Literally. Yeah.

Yes, he said.

You still win. You need 21 points for
the game.

Two strikes.

All right.

Okay, you can technically still get
another strike.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Get another roll, yeah. All right.

Oh, no!

Oh, look at that.

Yeah. All right.

Now, Abdi and I both suck at bowling,
which is our right as Americans. We're

free, except from harsh judgment by the
chodes of the internet.

You have to understand, in 1975, getting
from Scotland to America was like

getting from America to the moon.

It was a different world.

One small step for a man, one giant leap
for a wee fat Scottish boy.

Mike Massimino is a former NASA
astronaut.

He helped fix the Hubble telescope
twice.

and set a record for the longest
spacewalk on a mission.

He also comes from an immigrant family
with very humble beginnings, and yet he

still found his way from Long Island,
New York, to outer space.

To me, an astronaut is still one of the
most American jobs there is.

Mike and I are at the Intrepid Sea, Air
and Space Museum, where we're talking

about what it means to have the guts to
go to space, or the guts to immigrate to

America.

Your second name's Massimino. Yes.

So I'm thinking Italian.

Yes. Your grandparents came here? Yeah,
all four of my grandparents immigrated

in the early part of the 20th century,
all from Sicily. The American dream for

them is come here, bear life, raise your
family. It wasn't necessarily for them.

I think they did it for their future
generations.

Which you are.

And that's what I think it was all
about. They came here with the

a better life for future generations.
You go from Sicily to space.

Yeah. Two generations. Yeah, quite
amazing. I mean, that's unbelievable.

I are the same age, right?

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, like a month apart, I think. So we
watched the moon landing when we were

kids. I remember watching it. Do you
remember watching it? Oh, absolutely.

It changed my life.

It definitely changed my life.

Growing up in Scotland in the 60s and
70s meant growing up between two

superpowers in the middle of the
greatest pitting contest in human

Cold War.

And nothing said Cold War like the Space
Race.

Wait, I feel we can do better. Let's do
it again.

The Space Race!

There you go.

The US and the Soviets went back and
forth. Rockets, satellites, capsules,

monkeys, Sputnik, the Vomit Comet, even
a few ex -Nazis. Do you get to be an ex

-Nazi? I don't know if I feel that's
true. Anyway, we both threw everything

could at cosmic dominance.

But in 1969, America hit a gut punch to
those commie bastards.

The moon landing.

650 million people around the world
watch the moon landing. That's like Katy

Perry's Instagram.

This was a global calling card, a
statement that American greatness was

and that I could be part of it. At least
that's how I saw it.

This is the face of a young man who is
about to manifest his own destiny.

When I saw that, I was six years old,
you know, like as you were going on

that summer of 69.

Even the build -up to it, you know,
seeing those guys, they're just like,

know, had the American flag on their
arm.

And they just, to me, symbolized
everything that was good.

I wanted to be an American. I didn't
think I could be an astronaut.

Let me ask you something. Because those
guys, the moon guys, the guys who walked

on the moon, they commented that the
feeling was, throughout the world, it

an American accomplishment, but in a lot
of other countries helped and

participated. Did you see it that way?
Did you feel like...

Oh, these are American.

Oh, did you feel like it's... We're
doing it. Do you know what, in Scotland,

what we were saying was, you know
Armstrong's a Scottish name?

Really? Armstrong's a Scottish name,
aye. So basically, it's Scotland landing

the moon. You know, technically. We're
all immigrants. Technically. It was a

about, you can't go directly to the moon
from Scotland, you have to go to

America first, which I think is still
true. Maybe it's because America might

some way symbolise...

the whole world because everybody came
from somewhere else well that's what i

think america i think america is a great
accomplishment for humankind i mean

look even now when people are still
bleeding on about you know the problem

and that everybody's still trying to get
here yeah you know yes

your

family every immigrant

family which is like most of us you have
to take those risks and those that

becomes becomes part of the the american
spirit right the the idea that we're

going to get on a boat and we're going
to go to a country we've never seen

before the whole family's going or just
the kid is going they said goodbye and

that was it you know they didn't go back
but leaving that all behind with

whatever possessions you had and coming
to a new place and that becomes part of

the spirit right because that in some
ways i think pointing to the shuttle

that's easier than what they did To take
that risk, that was a true risk. And so

that's the kind of people that came
here, and I think as a result were able

accomplish these things.

It's amazing.

As an immigrant from Europe, nothing is
more emblematic of the journey to

becoming an American than the Statue of
Liberty and Ellis Island.

Hi. Still have the gift shop plastic
statue of liberty I got when I was a

Here it is. Isn't that cool?

I adore her.

No, you can't have it. If I was going to
give it to anyone, I'd give it to my

dear friend Adriana.

She is a second -generation Italian
-American, a best -selling author and an

acclaimed director and screenwriter
whose work focuses on immigrants and

descendants. She is also the 2025
recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of

I can think of no better way to see that
lady than with this lady, and have her

show me... My God, are you so excited?

Yeah, a little bit.

There she is. It's a hell of a thing.

Isn't it?

Every morning, I go over to the water
and I look at her.

Every morning.

It just reminds me, like, I'm so lucky
I'm here at all.

My immigration story doesn't come
through here, but it feels like it. How

times have you done this?

Every time a cousin comes to town, I
take him.

I've never done that.

No. No.

Oh, my God, I get to show you
everything.

There's life in this place.

There's a new spirit.

Look at this.

This is what my grandparents saw.

This is where they lined up.

Kills me.

Kills me.

Between 1892 and 1952, over 12 million
immigrants came through this

place. In fact, 40 % of Americans today
can trace their roots back to this

island. Megan, my wife, Megan's
grandfather, Andrew Wallace Cunningham,

orphan in Edinburgh, and he came through
here.

He's like a little kid.

Can you imagine the story that got him
from Edinburgh in?

Imagine being a street kid. And getting
that idea that I've got to get to

America. And to be a wee Scottish boy on
your own. Oh, my God, all by yourself

and just on that ship and just trying to
make a friend.

When do we eat?

I'm in my 60s and I was kind of
uncomfortable in the 10 -minute ride

Manhattan.

I was like, oh, it's cold.

I need a sandwich.

I imagine my grandparents standing here.

That, like, says America to me.

That's the future.

Getting online for your family, for your
future, for the children that are yet

unborn.

And whoever was at that table, keep your
name, change your name, misspell your

name. That all happened in the air.

And just imagine how they felt standing
here.

It's a cathedral.

Yes. It's not some empty promise. It's a
cathedral to a real promise, an

opportunity.

Opportunity. Opportunity.

Opportunity and ambition.

If you work hard, man, you'll make it.
There it is.

That's America.

What was the name?

Bonicelli. Bonicelli.

And it's really a beautiful thing to
just come and read the names because

there's a name, then there's a person
and an identity and a place in history.

mean, Max Glickman.

Welcome to America, Max. Max Glickman.
Hey, how are you doing? Welcome.

Look at this one.

Philomena Barbieri Giuliano.

I don't think she's Scottish.

I just want to see Annie Ferguson.

There we are. There's my Pete.

Did you find them?

Robert Ferrigan. Yeah, yeah, there's
tons of them. Don't you just feel like

magic of it?

Yeah.

I need to get a selfie with Megan's
grandfather.

Here they are.

You got your family?

Uh -huh.

Andrew Wallace Cunningham, there he is.
You got him? I got him. Don't tell me

we're, like, on either side of the wall.
Is that perfect? Yeah, you're right

there. We didn't even plan this. This is
amazing.

These people in that big circle, they
made that.

They built it. They made that.

That's unbelievable. Isn't that great?
Yeah.

Well, my grandfather made the shoes.
Yeah, what? I'm making the shoes for all

the people who make that. He made the
shoes and the boots, and my grandmother

made the clothes.

I'm going to come through here. Oh, my
God. I'm going to make all the shoes for

all the people. Please, the wall is
weeping. I can't take it.

So, the word immigrant.

You've said this. It's a... It's a word
of honor.

It is a word of honor. And a word of
honor comes with a bond.

And it's a sacred bond.

You come here and you own it too.

It belongs to all of us.

Not one group, not one family, not one
person more than another.

It belongs to all of us.

Bring the good stuff from where you're
from.

and leave the crap where it was.

This is the new world. Bring your
heritage, bring your culture. Bring it.

bring an open mind, because it's
America.

You ready for this?

I came to America with the crazy dream
of making it in show business.

And guess what? I still might.

It's America.

And this dance keeps going.

In the meantime, if I do nothing else on
this show, I want to illuminate for my

fellow Americans the thrill and
exhilaration that comes from joining the

the free.

If this sounds trite, I don't give a
rat's ass.

I believe America truly is the best idea
for a country that anyone has ever come

up with so far.

We're from everywhere.

We're not just a nation. We're not just
an ethnicity. We're a dream of justice

that people have had for thousands of
years.

America made us, and we made America.

We're Shrek and Fiona, we're here all
the time.