‘Modern Love’: How to Keep Love Alive, With Rob Delaney of ‘Dying for Sex’

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When we meet Rob Delaney’s character, “Neighbor Guy,” in FX’s limited series “Dying for Sex,” he’s scarfing down a burrito in an elevator, dripping food on his face and the floor. But Delaney’s performance reveals that under Neighbor Guy’s messy exterior is a man capable of deep vulnerability and empathy. “Dying for Sex” follows a woman named Molly, played by Michelle Williams, who is dying of cancer and desperate to experience sexual pleasure before it’s too late. At first, Molly thinks Neighbor Guy is disgusting, but the two soon discover they make sense together, sexually and emotionally. Williams and Delaney received Emmy nominations for their roles. On this episode of Modern Love, Delaney tells host Anna Martin why exposing the messy and painful parts of ourselves to other people can be rewarding and hilarious. He talks about tending his own relationship and reads a Modern Love essay about a couple who decides to try some role play to avoid getting too comfortable with each other. For more Modern Love, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Wednesday.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love now and
0:03.2	Love was stronger than anything
0:06.7	for the love. And I love you more than anything.
0:11.4	You're still love. Love.
0:16.2	From the New York Times, I'm Anna Martin. This is Modern Love.
0:20.1	My guest today is actor and writer Rob Delaney.
0:23.8	The best thing that ever happened in my whole life was when I was a bellboy at the Hudson Hotel in New York in the year 2000, let's say.
0:33.8	And I hit my head on an exit sign.
0:36.7	And nobody was around, and I had a big, an exit sign, and nobody was around,
0:38.7	and I had a big, strong hotel umbrella,
0:41.4	and I was like, why don't I murder that exit sign?
0:44.6	As you know, our show is about the messiness that comes with getting close to other people.
0:49.3	And Rob, he's someone who doesn't shy away from mess or pain.
0:53.7	He finds the humor in it.
0:55.5	And so I hit the exit sign with the umbrella,
0:58.4	and the metal exit faceplate flew off like a ninja star
1:03.4	and cut me badly on the bridge of my nose.
1:06.8	Immediate karma.
1:08.4	And I just was laughing and bleeding thinking, isn't that funny?
1:14.6	Like a lot of people, my first encounter with Rob Delaney was his show, Catastrophe.
1:19.7	He and Sharon Horgan created, wrote, and started it together.
1:23.5	And their fictional characters, who are also named Rob and Sharon, are a pretty warts and all couple on the show, including in their sex scenes.
	...

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