from nbc news this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> we're happy because one of the great supermen is here, dean kane. he is with us all week. >> although time. >> he always has great, great projects going on. >> if you watch "veep" you remember jonah, the tall gangly

one, timothy simons. he is with us today. >> so funny. >> so funny. >> unfortunately we can't even show a clip. >> you have to tiptoe around the words. >> although gadgets you need to organize your kitchen and, of course, ambush makeover. >> time magazine picked its 100 most influential people, and the big reveal happened today. influential can mean a lot of things. it can be entertainers. it can be people who were influential not in a great way, like putin is one of those people on the list. on the cover is beyonce. >> yeah. >> she is the titan and cover girl. she has transformed, you know, a lot of things in the music industry. she is something special. >> definitely. definitely, definitely. who else is on there? >> pharrell williams is on there and his hat. >> is he ready to make a new fashion statement. let's see something different. >> okay. >> i bet he will mix it up. he wore that one a little while ago. >> yes. >> we also have -- seth myers is

also recognized and so is steve mcqueen, it were for "12 years a slave," and miley cyrus. she is influential. >> all right. >> icon category, robert redford, and carrie underwood is in the icon category. honor to be recognized. >> of course. absolutely. okay. we want to congratulate olivia wild and jason sedakis. they are parents of a brand new baby boy. >> you know what's so funny, everyone has their own way of letting the world know they had a baby. this was the cute little picture. like a little half picture she tweeted, and this was her tweet. it said, ladies and gentlemen, otis alexander sedakis has left the building. and in parentheses she wrote, "i'm the building." the couple has been engaged since january. they're not yet married. >> congratulations, nothing quite like it. a lot of people are saying, is this their way of getting around the first shot, paparazzi kind of thing, or is it too soon to tweet? >> who cares. >> who cares? it's their baby, their life. let them do what they want to

do. >> i'm a little pooped. >> hoda went to iowa yesterday. >> i went to cedar rapids. i left the show, jetted to cedar rapids, and came back in one day. >> i know. >> it was -- it was great. it was this iowa leadership conference that they have there right outside of cedar rapids. it was a great organization. i didn't realize they said last year maya angelou spoke. i'm blanking. martha stewart spoke. this year i think laurie ste steinham and some other people. look what they brought me. they brought a glass of wine. >> of course, you're allowed to talk about it. >> there's diane. she's the lady that ran the whole deal. that was the board of directors. a nice group of ladies. >> how did the speech i wrote for you go? >> it was perfect. i played music for these guys like i tend to do. i played "days like this." it was a great room. nice people. good group. >> oh, good. i'm proud of you. >> okay. >> what is this hbo go thing? >> it's something you get on your ipad or on your phone, and you can get hbo to go. >> basically to go, take it with

you on your mobile. okay. >> there's a new commercial for them, and it's about hbo go, but it's also about what it's like to watch kind of a risque-ish type movie if you are with your parents in the room. either you're watching it or your kids and someone walks by, your grandparents, whoever it is. hbo captured this in a commercial. let's take a look. >> oh, of all the people left in this world. >> you know, nanna and grandpa joe are first cousins. >> okay. the point being, you can use hbo go to privately watch your favorite shows. all right. >> here's the question. when does a guy sound the sexiest to you? when is a voice so seductive that you go, oh, my god, who is that? what is that sound? got a beautiful voice. there was a study done, and they found that women who speak in a romantic tone have --

>> a lower and breathier sound. yeah. people seem to just love it. i don't know. what do you think? i don't know. i have a low, husky voice anyway. >> well, they say when men try to sound sexy -- >> they aren't. >> -- it's a total turnoff. >> yeah, yeah. >> don't do it. women like men who speak with confidence. those are the kind of voices that we're attracted. >> if we think the guy is hot -- we wouldn't say the person that we all agree. around here. this very hot guy. we heard him speak for the first time, and -- >> it's over. >> it's over. >> it is totally over, and we're not going to say his name. don't try to make us say it. >> we're not. >> you know who we're talking about? okay. we won't say it. >> the modern day gentleman according to "country life" magazine, some of this i agree with, some i don't, listed the ten dos and don'ts of a gentleman. >> here are the do's. they always put others at ease. they're always at ease themselves, and, therefore, they put others at ease. i agree with that one. they're always on time.

>> yes because it's rude not to be. >> they dress to suit the occasion. >> yes. >> okay. all right. here are the don'ts. they do not wear a pretied bow tie. they do not tweet. they do not use hair products. they do not ever write with a ballpoint pen. >> i don't understand any of it. i really don't. the bow -- who cares? >> who cares? >> who is your -- who epitomizes a gentleman to you? >> i don't know if he epitomizes a gentleman but i like -- you know who i like. >> blake shelton. >> you know why? because he is not so buttoned up, but he is gentlemanly. >> who is mine, hodie? >> yours is a man we all like to call hugh jackman. he has always been it. >> always. >> here's what i love about my i-hoda today. it's an old song that became new again. >> oh-oh. >> and we aren't going to -- >> is there a rapper in it? >> we're not going to put the words up. we're going to have a music

video. it's a girl band. what is the girl band's name? that's the question. >> we're going to watch it. >> here 's called -- ♪ keep it coming ♪ do your dance ♪ do your dance ♪ quick mama come on baby tell me what's the word ♪ ♪ yow ♪ >> here we go. if you know this song. ready? ♪ pretty ladies, around the world got a weird thing to show you for all the boys and girls ♪ ♪ tell your mother your sister and your mama too ♪ ♪ because they're about to throw down and you know just what to do ♪ ♪ wave your hands in the air like you don't care ♪ ♪ fly by the people make them stop and look and stare ♪ ♪ do your dance, do your dance ♪ do your dance quick

♪ mama, come on baby, tell me what's the word ♪ ♪ word up ♪ everybody say ♪ when you hear the call, you got to get it under way ♪ >> word up. >> word up. a classic. >> i've never heard it the first time. >> well, it gets better and better. i love when young kids remake old songs, and then, you know, young kids they think they discovered it. >> i already knew word up. >> cody said something to me. mom, you got to hear this guy. he's unbelievable. i said, what's his name? he said, bob dylan. i've heard of him. >> you know what, can we talk about "okay" for a second. look at the baby. >> that's our guy. that's all about baby george. is it okay or not okay, hoda, to enhance your abs with makeup? >> here's what we had to say about it. >> of course, it's okay. if it's okay for your face, why isn't it okay for your body, hoda woman? >> no, no, you're wrong on this one. >> why? >> no, it's not okay. we only want to see what you

really got, said the woman wearing spanx. >> and a whole load of makeup. >> it's not a load. >> a load. >> all righty. it is thursday. you know what that means. ambush makeovers. two ladies get ready to see their gorgeous new looks. don't miss it. talk about gorgeous. >> we got two words for you. >> there he is. we're going to talk with him right after this. you wouldn't do half of your daily routine. so why treat your mouth any differently. brushing alone does less than half the job leaving behind millions of germs. complete the job with listerine®. kill up to 99 percent of germs. and prevent plaque, early gum disease and bad breath. complete the job with listerine®. power to your mouth™. also try listerine® floss. its advanced technology removes more plaque. have you guys heard about probiotics? for digestive health? yeah. and did you know trubiotics is a daily probiotic that helps in two ways?

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our day just got a whole lot better because sitting with us right now is the very, very handsome steve kane. >> we lot of our dean. as always he's got a lot going on. dean plays a crook in the movie "the dog who saves easter" on the popular kids series starring the canine zeus. >> and he is in the series "god is not dead." about a student whose faith is challenged by a college professor. >> it's still in the top ten at the box office. so good to see you. what a surprise, though, huh? >> "god is not dead" is an absolute shocker. they didn't spend a whole lot of money. it wasn't a $50 million budget, but it's made $50 million at the box office. it's a sleeper, and it's just exciting as can be. >> when you saw the script, your character is not a kind man, we should say.

>> your character's a jerk. >> when you saw that, did you say, yeah, i think i would like to play this guy? >> well, when you play a character like that, you are very clear on what you are doing, and he is the bad guy in a sense, and he is someone who i don't want to give away anything from the film, but he is someone who is the other side of the believers, if you will, and -- >> he is a completely selfish human being. >> as are many people out there. maybe people can look at that and identify. >> did you have any idea this thing was going to be a hit when you were in it? >> honestly no. i do a lot of projects, and you hope they do well, but this one just has just exploded, and, you know, it's a faith-based film, and i guess people are looking for that right now. >> most importantly about the film, how was cassidy gifford? >> she was fantastic. >> she shot it like you did, two and a half years ago. >> there's cass. she looks so young to me in this. looks little. look at her. >> well, oh, my gosh. >> -- graduating class of my

third choice school -- >> sorry, we're just going to watch the movie. >> that's all right. >> dean has other things. >> we want to know -- we want to, first of all, know did you find bigfoot? tell us. >> i still got that $10 million right here in my pocket. no, we did not find bigfoot. we looked for him. there were some interesting characters on that. >> yeah. >> but that one team who did win, stacy brown, they got $100,000, and they're still looking for him. >> tell us about the easter dog story. zeus. >> well, it's number four, number five in a series of kid dog movies, and i will do, you know, any sort of project. large project, small project. >> i know. you're working all the time. >> this is a wonderful thing. my son is now of the age where he doesn't really sit and watch it anymore, but there are a lot of kids out there who enjoy the dog movies, and i love making them. it's fun. >> what's your role in this? what do you do? >> i'm chief bad guy, and i want zeus. >> oh! >> yeah. silly comedy. it's a lot of fun. >> how do you choose your projects? you really are all over the place.

bigfoot, god is not dead this dog thing. >> then right now hit the floor. hit the floor. we're in the middle of it, and it is scandalous this year. i'm also exec producing and starring in a movie for im television called merry ex-mass. >> ex, soon to be an ex-lover? >> an ex-wife, we get stuck in a cabin together, and hijinx ensue. >> it dawned on me that hercules and superman are in god is not dead. >> we were the last two up for that role. kevin and i were the last two who read for superman/clark kent in "lois and clark." >> do you still read for everything? do you -- >> it depends. it really depends. some projects. the project i did a long time ago called the broken hearts club, i had to fight to get in the door, and it was a low budget project, but a great project. it really depends on the project. >> we're cheering you on. you do a little bit of everything, dean. >> i love you guys. >> come back and see us again. >> oh. >> coconut oil. >> yes, she is.

>> get ready to see some amazing before and afters. two lucky ladies show off their ambush makeovers. >> wish you had more space in the kitchen? from countertops and cabinets, we're going to help clear the clutter. >> is that cisse biggers again? >> it's that silly cisse. >> new haircut. phillips digestive health support is a duo-probiotic that helps supplement good bacteria found in two parts of your digestive tract. i'm doubly impressed! phillips' digestive health. a daily probiotic. ♪ everybody here got the lunchtime blues ♪ ♪ they need to be inspired something better than the rest. ♪ new lipton peach iced tea ♪ wh that ham and cheese ♪ ♪ it tastes so sunshine-y [ carl ] ♪ drink it down and you'll believe ♪ ♪ the taste of peachiosity [ carl ] ♪ drink it down and you'll believe ♪ ♪ [music]

jackie's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

they say the kitchen is the heart of the home, but who wants to be there if your cabinets and countertops are cluttered? >> it is time to get organized. hoda woman, here with some great products that will keep everything in its place and give you that extra space. it's consumer lifestyle expert sissy. >> hi, girl. >> a little taller. >> a little smaller is always a little bigger when i'm with you girls. okay.

here's the fun part about the kitchen. it is the heart of the home. my kitchen this weekend, it looked like grand central station with an open buffet. it's all about the real estate. the countertops are real estate. the drawers, shelves. it's maximizing. let's go vertical. our paper towel holder is your digital home. you've got your ipad up there, which can be a cookbook, so that eliminates cookbook space, your monitor fare your television, recipes. >> smart. >> in your drawers you want collapsable. this is the winston chop from joseph joseph. it goes almost completely flat. can you rinse and chop. it does double duty. from oxo, it's the collapsable silicone, which is great. everything must be flat. >> genius. >> this is joseph joseph. this is their nesting. you want to nest. the only space takes up is as big as the biggest of the storage containers. >> put them inside one another. >> color-coordinated, easy to keep track of the tops and bottoms. always a tricky thing. this is my small obsession. it's the ball jar.

this is their heritage deposition. it's new this year. if you have a vintage kitchen or a cottage look, you can put your staples, sugar, flour, rice and raisins, pretzels on top of the counter. >> very cute. >> oxo always has great solutions. this is the turntable. the trick here is always put your tallest in the middle, and then this is your go to turntable. when someone says where is it, you go in the cupboard on the countertop and when someone says where is the olive oil, you say it's on the turntable. it's very easy to find. >> get it yourself. >> go get it, lazy. >> these are bamboo drawer that roll. you can put these in the shelf to roll out to create a new drawer. then from oxo again, it's the expandible drawer divider. you are dividing your pots and pans. this is something that your kitchen loves here at "today." then in your drawers also this is from the drawer store. you know that drawer that catches everything in the kitchen? >> yeah. >> it's always -- >> junk drawer. >> why not, you know, keep it organized using the different separators.

it's an easy way to grab things. >> why not indeed, sissy. >> next up we've got -- this is the grip it. this goes on your fridge. it magically holds your notes and your pictures. >> is that a magnet? >> it's magnetized with a marble holder inside, it's quite magical. it grips everything. it's called a grip it. >> now you are just showing off. >> i was in the orange room. you have a little camera. okay. this is the epicurian wall mounted knife holder. >> i'd be afraid. >> that way you can get your knives away from little people and high up. easily magnetized. >> they definitely stay up there no matter what? >> this is the grook. we went from the grip it to the grook. this holds all of your brooms and your dust mops. this is the collapsable from castle bella -- >> where do you put this? >> i mounted it on the edge of my shelves. that can hold up to about 16 items. >> that's smart. >> finally, girls, here i am in my shelves. this is the tea stand. in my pantry. the tea stand holds 100 tea

bags. you can store this way, lay it do in a drawer. >> instead of the boxes of tea that i have. >> next we have our adhesive hooks to gain more space. this is from organized living. it's an under the shelf shelf which we love. >> that's smart. >> again, using the vertical space. this is a wonderful little corner shelf that you can then, again, go vertical. >> okay, all right. >> then, finally, this is one of your producer's ideas. you know fridge bins go in your refrigerator. you put them in the pantry. now you can lay your olive oil. >> you rock, girl. we'll be back with "ambush" after this.

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we are back with more of "today" on this thirsty thursday. ready to reveal our ambush makeovers to the two lucky ladies. >> they were plucked off the plaza bright and early and surprised with head to toe new looks courtesy of our crack makeover team. thanks to louis licari and author of the cheap chica's guide to style lilliana vazquez. >> welcome, lilliana. >> thank you for having me. >> you guys had a nice group. our first lucky lady is lynn bright. lynn is 60 years old from montgomery, alabama. her daughter ambushed us on the plaza begging us to give her deserving mom a brand new look. let's take a listen. >> you guys came to the plaza with a purpose, and that was to ambush makeover your mom. why do you want this for your mom? >> she's just so wonderful. she is -- cares about people all of her life, and i just want her to be taken care of, and she is just perfect for this, and she is amazing. >> well, we are going to do that

today, and, lynn, how excited are you? >> i have such mixed emotions. i obviously know i would love to have this done, but i'm so embarrassed by it. >> you're in great hands. you're going to have so much fun. >> oh, thank you. >> oh, my gosh. >> no need to be embarrassed. >> we're so excited. lisa is all ready. lisa, please keep your blindfold on for just a second while we bring your mom out. here is lynn bright's before picture. all right, lynn. let's see the new you. ♪ >> oh, wow. all right, lisa. >> lisa, you ready? take off your blindfold, hon. >> oh my gosh. >> mom, are you ready? >> mom! >> kleenex. >> kleenex, please. >> oh, my gosh. ready? take a look at yourself. >> oh, my gosh. >> is that me? >> oh.

oh. >> maybe our stage manager can go get us some kleenex, please. >> both stand right here together. tell us about -- >> thank you. please hand it to these lovely ladies. >> thank you, mackey, perfect. >> tell us about it. >> she was very concerned with keeping her hair length. so we wanted to show that you can keep your hair length but just reshape it and it makes a big difference. richard danny did this today. >> fantastic, by the way. >> amazing. >> i love the bangs. >> the dress is awesome. >> so she has never owned a little black dress in her life. >> in her life. >> every woman has to have one. >> how did you get by for that long? >> she was a judge. she's retired now. i wanted to give her a beautiful little black dress that felt elegant and multi-purpose in her wardrobe. and this one is gorgeous. it's perfect. zenya makes it.

>> i love your relationship. >> i love your relationship. >> a big round of applause. >> yes. >> go stand right over there. thank you. all righty. our second lady is angela, 46 from cheltenhamford, massachusetts. her daughter told her mother has had the same look since she was born 17 years ago. she asked to give her a brand new style. let's take a listen. >> this is a challenge, i don't know hot mom is. who is the mom here? okay, angela, why do you want this makeover? >> i've had the same haircut for probably the last 15 years. and i was -- i would love to have some -- >> time for a change. girls, how ready are you for this? >> oh my god, we're so ready, and she's so excited. she talks about it all the time. >> let's do this. >> she's here with her daughters nardina, angelina, ramora, and their friend mary lou. >> what a gorgeous group by the way. >> beautiful group. >> can't wait to see them without their masks.

one more look at angela before, and bring out angela. ♪ you got me begging you for mercy ♪ >> wow. >> fantastic. >> all right. take off your blindfolds. >> oh, my gosh. >> you want to see what they see? >> turn around, hon. >> oh, my gosh. >> look at it. >> they go right to the hair. so cute. >> spin right around. >> what do you think? >> with angela, you know, obviously the hardest job was when you have a pretty girl, you have to make her absolutely gorgeous. what i did here is i just gave her a pinch of warmth to make her blond hair a little bit more strawberry. she always wanted wavy hair, so bridget gave her a barrel curling iron up above, curling iron, and of course the makeup. >> hey, you guys, what do you think? >> oh, my gosh.

you look so good, i love it. >> please go get her some kleenex. >> thank you. >> and the outfit? >> i think color energizes a woman, no matter what the color is. cobalt blue. everybody's crying. cobalt blue looks stunning on her. here you guys go. the fit on this dress was perfect for her silhouette. really accentuates her curves. this dress is from london times. >> come out. big round of applause. he left the "west wing" to stop by the big apple "veep" star timothy simons after this. >> you guys were awesome. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. now what if i told youok a hotel you can save up to 60%,me first. but you couldn't know the name until after you book? did i say never? i didn't mean it.

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he's arguably one of the

most reviled people in washington, d.c. at least in the fictional capital. that's saying a lot. >> we are talking about timothy simons who plays the self-absorbed, over the top white house liaison jonah ryan on hbo's hit comedy "veep." >> it's been renewed for two more seasons. but this season he was fired. >> yes, he was. >> for writing a juicy gossip blog. >> updating more than i'm actually dating. the president has given his state of the uterus address. where will the others fall in? we have maddox, conservative, chung, liberal. where does selena meyers stand? the first call could rule them all. >> such a loveable goof. >> you are. >> thanks for having me on. >> hoda has turned me to the show, and now she talks about it constantly. congratulations. >> did you know it was going to be this kind of runaway success? >> i don't know. i mean, i guess -- i don't know. i try not to look too far into the future about those kinds of things, but i think our cast

clicked right away, and i think with people like at the helm and with julia louise dreyfuss, you can't help but think that it has some legs. >> be honest, you were happy to have a job. >> i was happy to have a job. >> thank you, god. >> i had a call sheet. that was what i was excited about. >> when you watch this thing, it looks like there's so much improv that you guys are just throwing things out there and spitballing. that's what it feels like. is that what's really happening on the show? >> a fair amount. i would say what you see on screen is 10% improvised because they do give us some freedom to be loose with the script. especially sort of in later takes. we have an incredible team of writers that puts amazing scripts together. and so i want to give full credit to those guys, but they do give us the opportunity to make it sound conversational. >> they have a take that fits what their needs, and they can have some fun with it. >> they'll say, don't stay faithful to the script, just hit the beat. >> nobody likes you on the show. >> nobody. nobody. >> they have all these names for you. here are some of them. i like reading the names.

jonad, world's biggest single-cell organism, long tall sally. unstable piece of human scaffolding, giant mangled skeleton that they didn't have time to add details like pigment or self-respect. >> absolutely. >> you don't care what anybody thinks of you. >> you couldn't give a rip. >> you do have to separate yourself from what you hear as if it's not actually directed at you. especially the physicality. i've lived with my face for a long time. i look like a bird of prey that gave bird to a muskrat. that's what i look like and i get that. >> you do not. >> you're very sweet. >> your character does. >> you have to have that separation -- >> your character does look a lot like you. >> when the cameras stop rolling, i'm very handsome. yes. >> in real life, you've got twins? >> i have twins. >> wow. >> somebody finds you irresistible. >> yes. how long have you been married? >> we've been married coming up on six years. yeah. that's harper, and in the back is marty. >> is this your biggest acting gig yet, or did you have some other things before this that were --

>> a very, very small thing, but this is the first television job i've ever had. >> you've done some films when you were cut out of them, edited out. >> i was edited out. >> let's just be real here, okay? >> basically this is my first television gig and first big gig. >> is everybody on the show friends? because it seems like you would be off-camera. are you? >> we get along quite well. we shoot in baltimore. we're family in baltimore where we hang out in the offseason. i was at walsh's house the other day, we hang out a lot. >> are you anything like your character at all? is there any part of you that's like jonah? >> maybe a little bit. that's a horrible thing to admit. maybe a little bit. not super close. >> what does your wife think of this character that you play? >> i don't think she likes him. i don't think she likes him. i think it's -- >> she's with the majority. >> i think that it's hard for her to watch sometimes, some of the really awful things. it's hard for her to watch, yeah. >> it's a lot of fun to play. >> yeah, it is. thanks so much for coming. >> give our love to everybody. two big fans here. >> you think the claws come out in washington, d.c.?

>> jackson answers your question right after this.

♪ what's new pussycat >> when the fur flies. when cat behaviorist jack takes on frisky felines on animal planet's "my cat's from hell." he takes his signature guitar case full of toys. >> he is goingo help some of our viewers too by answering your questions. welcome. >> why, thank you very much, guys. >> so these guys are available, right? >> these guys are available. new york city animal care and control right now. they have a lot of cats for adoption. you guys should be out there adopting no matter where you are. >> when you are assessing a cat, let's say you go into one of these homes, the first thing, do you assess the cat or the cat's owners? >> oh, 50/50 for sure. thaw your meter was about to expire, and i

put in a few quarters. just please pay it forward. >> it's the little gestures that make all the difference. do something good for someone today. >> hoda and i hope that inspires you guys to do something kind for somebody else today. >> yeah. please do. have a great day, everybody. >> good-bye. >> i'm here to help. you and i will get through this together. [applause]