This episode features the talented actor and screenwriter Johnathon Schaech, who burst onto the Hollywood scene at a young age and has since graced over 150 movies and shows since the 90s. Join us as he takes us behind the curtain of Hollywood, revealing his reasons for leaving LA to embrace life in Nashville, all while cherishing his role as a devoted family man.
In this candid conversation, Schaech shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of Hollywood, recounting his unforgettable experience working alongside Tom Hanks in the beloved film "That Thing You Do!".
Delving into the documentary "Quiet on Set," which uncovers the the toxic culture of beloved children's shows from the 90s, Johnathon shares his journey as a survivor of sexual violence at the hands of a director. He opens up about the profound impact of the trauma he endured, and reflects on his path towards healing and resilience.
Prepare to be entertained as Schaech spills the tea on the worst actor he's worked with, drops names of movie stars he's dated (yes, including Madonna and Ellen Degeneres??), and even suggests a role for Shawn in the movies!
With insider stories and valuable advice for aspiring actors, Schaech offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood and candidly discusses the highs and lows of an actor's journey. Join us for an engaging and insightful conversation with Johnathon Schaech!
This episode features the talented actor and screenwriter Johnathon Schaech, who burst onto the Hollywood scene at a young age and has since graced over 150 movies and shows since the 90s. Join us as he takes us behind the curtain of Hollywood, revealing his reasons for leaving LA to embrace life in Nashville, all while cherishing his role as a devoted family man.
In this candid conversation, Schaech shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of Hollywood, recounting his unforgettable experience working alongside Tom Hanks in the beloved film "That Thing You Do!".
Delving into the documentary "Quiet on Set," which uncovers the the toxic culture of beloved children's shows from the 90s, Johnathon shares his journey as a survivor of sexual violence at the hands of a director. He opens up about the profound impact of the trauma he endured, and reflects on his path towards healing and resilience.
Prepare to be entertained as Schaech spills the tea on the worst actor he's worked with, drops names of movie stars he's dated (yes, including Madonna and Ellen Degeneres??), and even suggests a role for Shawn in the movies!
With insider stories and valuable advice for aspiring actors, Schaech offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood and candidly discusses the highs and lows of an actor's journey. Join us for an engaging and insightful conversation with Johnathon Schaech!
welcome back to in the booth. I'm sean booth and thank you guys for listening wherever you're tuning in from. Maybe you are from baltimore, maryland. Maybe you are in adelaide, australia we got australian listeners sam cat shout out. And maybe you are in Adelaide, australia we got Australian listeners Sam Cat Shout out. And maybe you are from Churchill, manitoba. Where's that?
Speaker 2:In Canada.
Speaker 1:Yep, there we go. Here we go Off to a good start today. She is back in the studio with us. She is sitting next to my son, lox Booth. He's in the studio and today Sam Cat is wearing. She's got Nike shoes on, she's got blue jeans, an Alan Jackson t-shirt. One of the GOATs, the GOATs.
Speaker 2:Is it your favorite. He's up there. Top three, yeah, top three Of 90s country, for sure.
Speaker 1:Okay, you heard it. We got Jackson Cat in the building.
Speaker 2:Hey-o, I'll take it.
Speaker 1:And to my left today, a very special guest excited for this conversation. He's an actor and screenwriter who exploded onto the Hollywood scene at a very young age. He's appeared in more than 150 movies and TV shows. He's the lead singer for the Oneeders and the massive hit of that Thing. You Do a husband and a father. He is Jonathan Scheck.
Speaker 2:Heyo.
Speaker 1:Welcome, welcome. So you have probably seen it all in hollywood. I think I have. Yeah, yeah, I really do in the 90s is when you started correct, yeah, and then still going still going, but doing it in nashville, tennessee, now yeah, when'd you leave? 2018 okay, yeah, and you were just like I I'm done with Hollywood, off to Tennessee.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there was. There was a lot of reasons why we wanted to move to Nashville. The schools in LA were problematic for me. Like every time I went there, I felt horrible about the schools. Yeah, and my son was about to go to school get, get into elementary school. Okay, he's dyslexic and I knew that he needed learning services or something of the nature of like that would help him keep up. All right, and we thought, maybe Nashville you know, cause Julie's from here and we came out and we went to one school and they, literally by the time we left here, we're like would Cameron like to come? And I was like, yeah, I'm going to have to buy a house. Yeah, they said special services, they take care, they really look after their students, no matter what way their brain works. Right, and I just loved it.
Speaker 1:So that's why we moved, and that's what we were kind of talking about before was, once you have a kid, it's all about them now, yeah, and you can't be as selfish anymore, right? And you're saying that that's the greatest thing that's happened to you, yep, and you have two little ones, yep, one boy, one girl.
Speaker 3:I have a 10-year-old boy named Camden and a three-year-old girl named Lily Jo.
Speaker 1:Okay, and we've got producer Alex in the building today and he's having a kid on next Thursday, so all the kids in here, this is going to be a babysitter's club. So a lot of people try to go to Hollywood, try to make it big, and most people aren't successful. You've been able to do this, sustain this career, for 30 years now. What do?
Speaker 3:you attribute that to Well, definitely persistence, but also just faith. I have faith. I have faith in the spirit to guide me to wherever I need to go as long as I. One reason I moved to Nashville is because the unknown has always been really good to me. Like I left Maryland to go to Los Angeles while I was in school, college, I took one acting class, not like I knew what I was doing, but I just thought, man, I still had a better chance of doing that than reading these textbooks. I just went into the unknown and just found my way. So the same way when Ken wanted to go to school, when my career was kind of like muddy and it was not going anywhere, I just didn't like hearing the things I was hearing in Los Angeles about where they're going to put me, what kind of roles I was going to play, and I just went, decided that was it. We're going to go into the unknown, take care of my family, go into the unknown and see what's next.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you didn't have any dreams or aspirations before college. You kind of just took that one class.
Speaker 3:No way, I didn't even think that was possible. I didn't even know what an actor really was that's wild yeah.
Speaker 3:And so when you say you thought that they were kind of putting you in one direction as a type of role, yeah, they stopped allowing me to play the diverse roles that I was always playing. I really didn't even know. I knew kind of like what my dad was and my mom like what areas they were from from Europe, but then Hollywood kind of like started to really like I couldn't play anything. That wasn't what I was, what I was, and I thought that acting was really about stepping into someone else's shoes and learning who they are.
Speaker 1:Okay. So then you made the move out there and explain the process of landing a role with the show or a movie. You got to obviously find a team that can apply for you. You need some representation, correct, right. And then you just get casting calls obviously got to be very political of who gets to come. Uh, I'm assuming that directors probably have people that they already know are going to get the role. So a lot of inside stuff going on. But you just show up and is it like the movies you watch where you got like a line of people waiting to go read a few lines and that's it. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Speaker 3:It's everything. So the director or the producers, everyone kind of has people that they think would be right for the role and they bring them in or they make an offer if they can convince the other people that this person's right. But most in the beginning of my career, the first thing that I ever did as an actor my roommate came home I had two roommates who were actors and he came home and goes Jonathan, you're perfect for this role. It's an open call. It's a Franco Zeffirelli movie. You got to go out for this movie and I I talked to my acting coach and I was like you know, we, we agreed I wouldn't go out until I was ready. He goes, you're ready.
Speaker 3:And so I went to the audition and brought, I did, had two monologues prepared. That was the thing back in okay, 1990. You would have monologues and I did like biff from uh, death of a salesman and did these monologues and I went back and back and back and then they eventually flew out of all of the thousand people that they auditioned for that role. They flew me and my roommate to Rome and Chin to Chita. For the screen test.
Speaker 3:So that was one way. And then the other way is, you know, your agency calls you up and says there's an audition for this. They give you your sides that you have to prepare, or just a meeting sometimes, and sometimes you'll have people who are just meeting. Some people are reading and then everyone kind of like sees what's in the mix, what fits.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm assuming the same guys that you're seeing at these auditions.
Speaker 3:Always yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, and Sam Cat is probably the same as me, huge fan of that Thing you Do One of our favorite movies growing up. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. Tom Hanks movie, you should see the movie. Jonathan's the lead singer for that group, the Wonders. Is that a role that kind of changed your career in a direction that kind of shot you up there?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I had done a film I had in the can In other words it hadn't come out yet called how to make an American quilt with Winona Ryder. Spielberg produced it. It was with Maya Angelou, like Ellen Burstein, there was all these really big actresses. It was a very eclectic film.
Speaker 3:And I came out of the pool buff and had this scene with Winona Ryder. That people, just I just went off the charts from that and Tom knew the hype that was up about me in that film. And so when I came in and read because I went in with a billion people, that's when I was smoking I probably smoked a pack of cigarettes just because I was so nervous and I won that role. I won that role today and I'll never forget when I did that, I literally I went in the room. Tom Hanks was there, there was a reader, another one, someone who was reading the scenes with me and I had to do the scene where I quit. At the end the words were I quit, I quit and he leaves the room. So I thought he's a singer, he wouldn't just quit. He's angry, he's like he's a rebel, he's a punk.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So I pretend like there was a microphone in the room and I went, I quit, I quit and I looked at the guy I was reading with and go, I quit, mr White, and I looked at Tom Hanks and then I walked out of the room and that was it. No, Tom Hanks, come running after me, say get back in here, kid.
Speaker 1:That's awesome and I was like yeah, I did it I won.
Speaker 2:No one's going to beat that. Sorry, I'm just having like a little bit of an out of body experience. I, I, sean and I have, I mean I've known Sean for years but we've joked about just I don't know. It comes up very, I feel, like pretty quickly in friendships, just like what are your favorite songs, movies or whatever? Um, since I was a child, I don't mean to brag, but we had a VHS player in the back of our minivan and we had that thing you do, and we had that thing you do and we had Rush Hour 2.
Speaker 2:And those are the only two VHSs in the Honda Odyssey. So to every gymnastics meet and to every hockey game that my parents shuttled us around to, we watched that thing you do. So it's just funny to hear a behind the scenes clip, because I know exactly what scene you're talking about. I remember what your character was wearing, which is now like you. I'm putting this together and I could probably quote. I could probably run lines with you now, this many years later, with that, and it's just a. I don't know, my frontal lobe is melting right now, but I love the behind the scenes information.
Speaker 1:It's the best. I bought the CD just for that song. Do you get royalty from?
Speaker 3:that. No, because it's not me singing in that, it's Mike Viola's voice. So the one thing they told me when I got the part, they were like listen, this whole movie revolves around this song, so we're having people write it. We found a couple and we're going to let everyone listen to it, but you're not going to sing the song. We need a professional singer. We're going to let everyone listen to it, but you're not going to sing the song. We need a professional singer. We're going to make you look like you sing it, play it. And at the point when we first went in there, I couldn't play the guitar. By the time we started filming, I could play the guitar and I could sing but they weren't going to bank the whole thing on me.
Speaker 3:So that was when Adam Schlesinger wrote it. He's a genius songwriter. He's written many beautiful things. People has huge fan base, big writer. He passed away during COVID. It was horrible, yeah. So that's a couple of things about that thing you do. When I was planning on moving here to Nashville, tennessee, one of the people I was talking to was Steve Zahn. He lives in Kentucky. I was like, why does Steve Zahn live in Kentucky? So I was like Steve, why do you live in Kentucky? He goes, why do you live in Los Angeles? What are you crazy?
Speaker 1:You'll never make it in that town. That's wild. And how was working with Liv Tyler?
Speaker 3:Oh, she was wonderful. She's so sweet, so kind. Yeah, she just did all those music videos. You remember that?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's. I didn't see any film that she had done prior, but soon as she was there she's so sweet, and then I had to break up with her. So in the in the one scene, in the one scene when he's he, he, like we were on the recording and they, they said that he was engaged, and then I had to break up with her.
Speaker 2:So I'll tell you another behind Should engaged and then I had to break up with her. So I'll tell you another behind should have dumped you in pittsburgh. Yeah, that's what you said.
Speaker 3:So that scene when she's saying I've wasted a million kisses, I asked the prop guys to give me strings so I could string my guitar, she's telling me because I thought you know the reason why jimmy's this way is because he's worried about his music and he's worried about being taken seriously as an artist. And so I'm stringing the guitar, I'm stringing the guitar and I'll never forget Tom. Tom has directed it. So he kept coming in there and watching me when the scenes and he was watching Liv and he's watching the scene, he would film Liv.
Speaker 3:And then he was when he did this closeup of me and then he was like he kept me doing it over and over again and I'm like stringing my guitar, and finally comes in and he looks at me and goes it's about your guitar, right. And I'm like yeah. And so he he tells talk to Fujimoto, you know, get a shot of him in this guitar. And that's like that was the greatest honor I I think I've ever had from a director. Like watch me, I'm doing my part, I'm telling you the story. And so Tom filmed that part.
Speaker 1:So that was a little behind the scenes I love that, and so how deep do you go into prep for these roles? So for something like that, is it something that you are practicing when you go home? You're trying to get in that mindset every day, everything.
Speaker 3:We practiced from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed. It was with the guys. Everyone was in a little different rooms playing guitar. They hired great instructors. They took great care of us, obviously, and, um, we just started the bond as a band, um, so much so that we, for the table read at Sony, we played. Now, they had the playback going for us, but we get up there on stage and just blew them away and that was the band, that was the Oneeders, the Wonders, the Shrimp Shack.
Speaker 2:Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters, hell yeah.
Speaker 1:And I see on social media you guys still keep up with one another and you do events. Yeah, the band.
Speaker 3:Yes, we've never off. This is really interesting. The four of us have never all been together since we did the promotional tour, because we did tour Japan. We played in Japan. It was pretty awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the band we toured in Japan. But yeah, since since then we have never all got together. Now we were supposed to, for our 25th anniversary, the eerie seawolves play. Uh, they changed their name from the eerie seawolves to the eerie wonders for one day, because the band was uh original, originated from uh eerie pennsy, and so they changed the hats, the logos. We went up there but Ethan Embry couldn't go because of COVID, so there was only three of us and we signed autographs. For about eight hours there was a line around the stadium for us to sign autographs. It was pretty amazing.
Speaker 3:I bet A rabid fan and then they played the movie after the game, that's awesome. Yeah, we threw out the first pitch, that's so cool Dang I wish I would have been there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was so much fun. I mean, obviously this character was 30, I don't even know 30 plus years ago. So for someone like me it's kind of like stuck in time. Is it a weird thing? Oh, lassie walks Is time. Is it a weird thing? Oh, lessey Locks. Is it a weird thing to meet fans down the road? Is it ever annoying to be kind of stuck in that character in some people's minds, or is it always cool to meet people who have seen your work in past decades?
Speaker 3:Well, it's a great film, so I'm really grateful to be part of such a great film, but it's Tom Hanks.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 3:I'm grateful to be part of Tom hanks because that man is incredible in every, every way I've ever could you could ever imagine. So he comes out here in nashville and I get to see him more than ever. We've gone to, we've gone. He's come out to franklin to have lunch with me a couple times and, like some of the places that we went to, I was like if they knew what it is they don don't know, they just don't realize it.
Speaker 1:Like how can you not have Tom?
Speaker 3:Hanks, One time we went, we went, went into a what's it called the good cup. You ever been to the good cup and we got there late and I drove my truck and we jumped out of the truck and I was and I was like, oh man, we just missed it, we. Oh my, he, he goes. We will open for you, sir, and open it for tom. Tom went in there bought a bunch of the stuff.
Speaker 1:It was really amazing. That's wild. Yeah, so that's a movie that you're super proud of.
Speaker 3:Yeah so I'm proud of it. But I was the jerk. I did have a kid kick me one time oh, wow like it's a movie.
Speaker 2:It's a role I was gonna say doesn't that kind of give you a good feeling, though that means you did your job correctly? Yeah, you were the jerk, but but I mean you're not in real life, so props to you.
Speaker 3:Well, he, he, he was just very serious about his work. He was an artist.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got a two part question for you. Is there a movie that you look at and the role you think you'd be perfect for, I don't know, say Titanic, and you're like, ooh, a Titanic. And you're like, oh, I could have been that. Is there a movie out there where you wish you were that role? Yeah, wolverine, okay.
Speaker 3:That's a good one. Yeah, man, I wanted to be Wolverine more than anything. Yeah, I punched the refrigerator.
Speaker 3:I don't know why I had a cast on my hand and I went into the meeting with Bryan Singer and there's something about Bryan Singer that he was really worried about this cast. Like what, why did you? Why did you hit a refrigerator? Um, and yeah, so he just he didn't want me to hit him. So and I wanted to hit him. Like when I'm John Pencil on the cast, he was like oh yeah, like it's no big deal. But he was like, ooh, he's got a cash, he's he could be a problem, he's edgy.
Speaker 1:And what about a role that you almost got, but then again one that might keep you up at night?
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know, but now that I'm a father, I would have liked to been on the CSI franchise and I could have been that guy. Yeah, I did not do my due diligence. I had done a pilot for a TV series that I really want to do, with a director named Carl Franklin, great director off the charts with Marg Helgenberger, I think that's how you say her name?
Speaker 3:Do you know that? Ringing bell Helgenberger, I think that's how you say her name. Do you know that, ringing bell? And then she went on to CSI and the people, the studio and everything wanted me to move on to something because that pet pilot thing had picked up. But I didn't want to do television anymore. They didn't pick up the pilot that I wanted. So I was like, so I didn't work for, like you know, six months and I got some independent film, but I would have been rich if I would have got CSI.
Speaker 1:And so got some independent film, but I would have been rich if I were gonna see his eye, and so that's part of the hollywood thing, right, just ups and downs and ups and downs.
Speaker 3:You know it's. It literally is like this wheel. It goes like this your career will be down, but you know what it's gonna go back up every time. For most actors I think that's the way it goes. Like I tell my son like oh, you're gonna, your failure is a big part of life. And and you just you know he's like yeah, you're going to learn from your failures. I'm like it's a great job, buddy, yeah.
Speaker 1:But now you got a new show out, blue Ridge. Yeah, lead man on that, tell us about it.
Speaker 3:Well, it's a procedural. So something happens every week and I'm the sheriff and I got to figure out what happened. And it's unique, unique every. I wouldn't say like every week's a theme, but there's new things every week. There's just there's a regular cast um, but my character has to. A crime happens in town. He's got to figure out what happened. Um, he's, he's there in that town to be with his family because they he went through a divorce with his wife and she was gone for a couple of years and he went there to win her back After making amends to himself and getting. When he wants her back, he's brokenhearted because he misses her, misses his. He's got a daughter, and so that's the premise of the show. Really, this whole thing is built around this sheriff.
Speaker 1:And how many seasons?
Speaker 3:We finished the first season last year just before the strike. There's six episodes coming out April 7th on the Cowboy Way channel, which is a streaming service. You can get it in like Sling Roku, different, what do they call them? Fast channels, right, yeah, where they run ads on there. So it's like old school television, yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, give us some behind the scenes on the TV show making process. One episode, how long has that taken? Eight?
Speaker 3:days, okay, eight filming days. So we have the weekends off, which has been great because I film in Charlotte, north Carolina. Never thought I'd get to say this, but I get to fly home on the weekends to see my family. Right, I get to fly home on the weekends to see my family, which is priority to them, not just me which is awesome because I have a three-year-old and a 10-year-old and a wife I love. So we film each episode and they kind of overlap sometimes because we have three sets in the studio. We use those sets all the time. Um, so if we were there, maybe we'll take episode two and we'll shoot one scene from episode three, kind of stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Okay, yep, and is everybody kind of you're just filming on one spot or other actors, actresses on a different set filming at the same time? No, there's one crew. Okay.
Speaker 3:There's a a camera and B camera. Okay, so there's two, two camera crews, not all the time but most of the time, okay, and Mike, my DP, brent Christie is, since he's awesome, yeah, moves, he kept, kept, gets it. We move, move on. Okay, cause usually you know know, filming is a grind. You hear like, you hear like conor mcgregor talking about um roadhouse and how hard it was to be 18 hours on the set, and usually is it's ridiculous the time that they pay you to wait, really, oh, and then they're like go you gotta learn how to go but my television series.
Speaker 1:We're just a well-oiled machine, as they would say okay yeah, even in my short time on TV, those filming days were like 18 hour days yeah, they were yeah from, yeah, sun Up to Sundown. So I can't imagine on TV show you're just waiting around for your time and then like go into it yeah yeah, you think you can be an actress, sam Cat.
Speaker 2:Sure Listen. I don't mean to brag, but I was an extra on the show Nashville.
Speaker 1:That's where I knew you from.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, I was, you know, blonde girl number four at the time because I was wearing a blazer at whatever background shot it was. You know what? There was a time in my life that I did want to be an actress and I actually auditioned for that movie, stick it. I was a gymnast growing up and they were filming Originally they were casting like actual gymnasts to make this movie and then obviously that didn't work out, but it was quite an experience. I don't know that I would have lasted in that field.
Speaker 2:I think that I've made the right choice, but I think it's cool to hear I think for someone who consumes on like the audience side, it's always fun to hear what the behind the scenes is really like never been on 150 TV shows and movies. There are a lot of things that you have to do that are not sexy, like 18-hour days and hurry up and wait. Hurry up and wait and be on, and I think it kind of might get glamorized that it's like such an easy lifestyle or it's just like you breeze in, you record, you go home. So it's nice to kind of hear that everybody is still human and it doesn't matter which road you chose for a profession. There are positives and negatives or strenuous times, but it's just like I don't know. It's kind of interesting to hear perspective.
Speaker 2:I work in the music industry, which I feel like can kind of mirror that, where people think it's always sex, drugs and rock and roll and it turns out like no, there is a lot of hurry up and wait backstage as well, a lot of being paid for your time instead of maybe doing physical labor or physical work at the time, and it's just kind of like a I don't know like eye opening and a reminder for those of us that are out here that are just quote unquote normal people that didn't make it as an actress, that won't ever be the lead singer of a band, type of thing Maybe.
Speaker 3:Lox will.
Speaker 2:And Lox agrees with me, hey buddy.
Speaker 1:Passy time.
Speaker 2:He keeps spitting it out. Sorry, he just really wanted to add on to that Maybe.
Speaker 1:Lox will be an actor.
Speaker 2:Hey, we'll see, we'll put him in there. He could be the Gerber baby.
Speaker 3:We got to get the incentives in Tennessee and make it a lot easier. Then you don't have to leave there, we go. Yeah, we'll get all that in place. Yeah, what I want? To film everything here. So there's enough actors in town now that we and people from the industry that we we could literally build the industry here, like, uh, landed, like georgia did a lot of people say that nashville's becoming a mini la.
Speaker 1:How do you feel about that?
Speaker 3:about that. It's not anything like la, it's never gonna be like la, yeah, yeah. So all the all this stuff that hollywood brings, that's not um good. I think we we could have all the good things that hollywood does have and I think it does have a lot of good things like.
Speaker 3:I'm having this premiere on next tuesday night, I'm gonna make it a lot of fun for everyone to. I'm having this premiere on next Tuesday night. I'm going to make it a lot of fun for everyone to kind of put the spotlight on my show, but also the people here in Nashville. It's fun. Yeah, you celebrate, you know. Yeah, that was one good thing that Hollywood would do.
Speaker 1:One good thing yeah, it's getting to more Hollywood talk. So, like Sam Cat was saying, you know it's a lot of sex, drugs, rock and roll in the spotlight movie star dating other movie stars yeah, let's talk about that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I did, yeah, I did. You can't help yourself, I know you can't.
Speaker 1:Is it something where you get nervous about with your kids? Because I saw something where you said you had to explain oh yeah, yeah, yeah To your son.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because my son's starting to get to the age where he starts asking questions. Yeah, so I just wanted him to know. You know it's okay to ask those questions and the narrative that may be out there, like you know, just make it the truth, you know? Yeah, I take responsibility on my side. Yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:Do you have? I mean, obviously you're a big family man. Now what if your son came to you and said I want to get into this dad, I'd like to be an actor. I want to move to Hollywood.
Speaker 3:So I just did a film and they had a 10 year old. I had a 10 year old son in it and he doesn't say anything. So I was like, well, you know, know, I could have him down there while I'm filming, it'd be a lot of fun. Yeah and um, it didn't work out that he, he got the role because he actually cast an actor, an actor for that role. Um, but, yeah, I do think I I'll put him on there. He's, he looks, he looks, he's good looking you know he's gonna be good looking yeah.
Speaker 3:So one thing I learned like you got to figure out what you're good at and being good looking you know it helps you in certain areas. It definitely helps you if you're an actor. So he's got even better looks than I had and that led me pretty far in life. So if that's what he wants to do, he'll do it right. He's got someone who can help him. He'll have the same mentors look up to that. I did the work ethic that you talked about. When I worked with Tom Hanks, I learned how hard he works and that the results of watching him perform are because he works so hard on whatever he's doing. He does all the research, he goes bonkers on whatever he's doing. He's been doing it for so long we forget. But he's the guy who lose 35 pounds for a roll and so yeah. So I had that work ethic. I bring it to my son and if he works hard, comes easy, then it comes easy. If he wants to work harder and gets that part that makes a difference, then good for him.
Speaker 1:Right, and something huge right now the past couple weeks the um documentary quiet on set with nickelodeon. Have you seen any of that?
Speaker 3:no, but I know about. I was. I was the chairman of the board for the child sexual assault for the screen actor skill for a short period of my life and I was on on the board of RAINN and I was a board of a group called SNAP Survivor Network. So I've always been involved in that. So I heard all the stories about that. I heard it from the survivors and, yeah, that's one of the horrors that Hollywood had. They had this world that no one was being held accountable and stuff happened. We saw it all from Harvey Weinstein to this and there's a lot more stories out there and I would hope that if I hope that that story helps other survivors to reach out and find themselves. Because I was sexually assaulted in the very beginning of my career by someone who had done it over and over and over again and if I had known I wouldn't have allowed that to happen, but I didn't know. I just didn't even know that existed. My dad didn't say when you're worried about the director coming on, didn't do that.
Speaker 3:We didn't know that coming on, you know, didn't do that, we didn't know that.
Speaker 3:Um, so I I've heard a podcast talk this morning about that uh show and it's important for parents to to be able to talk to their child, like in that that that story was the one actor, the he was dating a girl and the girl's mother was the one who realized, like right, something was really wrong. Like that at the, the director or the producer was acting completely out of normality, and that's how they uncover this whole thing. So I think it's important for uh anyone, if you do have a child in the industry, not to be scared to death of everyone, but to just never leave your child alone with an adult. Yeah, and that's one thing I learned from working with all those networks and, um, all these be scared to death of everyone, but to just never leave your child alone with an adult. And that's one thing I learned from working with all those networks and all these survivor groups is you'd never leave your child alone with an adult. There you cut it all off the boys, boy scouts. They take kids out in the middle of nowhere, right?
Speaker 3:That's how they prayed on them Right Um church. Uh, you know, come back here and you know, serve your. You know, whatever you know, that thing with the Catholic church, so they were always alone with the kids. And that's a really good lesson for people to say. Just don't leave your alone with a coach, and if you do, just document the whole thing Right and don't think it's so strange that you've got to be embarrassed, that you have to do that. Like that's life, like you take care of your children, you know.
Speaker 2:Trust that gut instinct.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:Because, more times than not, it's correct.
Speaker 3:Since we got a little one in here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Because when I was watching I haven't seen the whole thing, but I was like where are all the parents here, like what's going on? Yeah, and you know, it's a lot about the power dynamics even with the parents, because they want their child to work right, but so they're really. They give a little more boundaries to these producers and directors instead of just realizing like there's morality just you know you don't need, no need to do that.
Speaker 3:You don't need to let your kid go to the amusement park with this guy alone. Yeah, just you don't do that. Cory feldman always talked about you know he was a child actor, so he was and, yeah, it's prominent. It was prominent in the younger, in the in the 80s, 90s. It's still, you know, was still in certain parts of, uh, hollywood do that.
Speaker 2:if I mean now I feel like it is, I don't want to say common, but it is way more well known, kind of like the secrets, especially in just sex trafficking or underage Hollywood like you're describing, do you think that it was just there was so much that eventually that bubble was going to burst and everybody was kind of kind of see these people for who they were? Or do you think it was social media, that kind of you know like fanned these problems, that made them bigger, made the fire bigger.
Speaker 3:It was Rose McGowan. I've been talking about Harvey Weinstein since it happened. Yes, and she could never get a voice. We learned from being on social platforms. You have a voice, right, but her voice wasn't big enough. You couldn't get above all the naysayers right Then within. I think it was a lot to do with Donald Trump becoming president that's what she told me. Lot to do with the uh, with donald trump becoming president. That's what she told me. She said when donald trump became president, it gave voice to every, gave voice to the oppressed, because it was so out there everything was out there then, and so she said first time I ever was heard on twitter.
Speaker 3:and then it blossomed into this whole thing, with Harvey going to jail, being in jail and being held accountable for what he's done to his actresses all along. So I do think that social media really made a difference. You could say something now on those platforms and you'll never be heard, yeah. And then the shame would cover you up and you would never want to speak out about it. For some reason, during that course of that time with Rose, she spoke out and it was a chain reaction.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then everyone had maybe they had their own voice and they, like the Me Too movement, allowed everyone to come together Like it wasn't just one voice, it was like everyone was on the side going, yeah, we're going to expose this, and that led to, uh, child trafficking. I mean, how many times have you heard about it over the course of your life? And I, I knew it was happening, but I never thought it was happening like in my backyard, right, you know, and it is, you know it's, and now it all kind of makes sense and uh, yeah, we, we put a light on it. But then again, so there was a movie that won the academy award called spotlight. It was about the cheat, the priest um, molesting the children in the catholic church. It didn't stop. Yeah, it won the academy award and it didn't stop. No one took, no one held them accountable for what they did mind-blowing, they just moved the priest to the next parish right, unbelievable.
Speaker 1:Do you feel in your situation? Do you feel a lot of anger and saying that you know it was known that this person was abusing people?
Speaker 3:and that nobody warned you or nobody tried to help or no, well, because I I heard rose speak out and then when I started doing research and, like you know, bruce robinson won academy award for, uh, some movie. He and it happened to him and the same director did what he did to me, to him, and he he was like drunk on a talk show and that's how I found out. So they, he was drinking his problems away, you know. So I, I, I learned in my I'm sober, so I learned in my sobriety that you know I have to take that and give it over to a higher power and work through it.
Speaker 3:And I did tons of EMDR and brain spotting to get past the trauma, because trauma is like a time traveler, it catches up with you in time. So when I was able to get, I was able to process it through. So I'm not angry. Franco is who he is and it's his problem, it's not mine. Yeah, you know he took it to his grave and maybe he tried to make amends. He never tried to make amends with me, but maybe he tried to make amends to his higher power, right.
Speaker 1:Congrats on sobriety, and I know that I'm sober too for over a year and a half.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it, but, like you're saying, I feel like with trauma, you start dealing with it more when you become sober because you used to just drink it away. That's the whole key, right yeah?
Speaker 3:You stop numbing yourself yeah. Then you start to look at yourself and you're able to get through those things yeah. And then you're free on the other side. So that's where I am, I'm free, I'm not angry. That's gotta be a good feeling it is, it's good for my children too. I get to be present with them. Nothing better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how long is buddy?
Speaker 2:He's actually snoring over here. Yeah, I mean he's kind of calmed down a little bit, but for a bit he was snoring. I don't know if you could hear him over there or not, but he's living his best life um you gotta talk about ellen degeneres oh man because we went out to dinner once and he told me this story I'll try to see if I can do this.
Speaker 3:So I I did a stand-up routine. I said, oh my god, what did I say? Um, which one of these blonde icons did I kiss? A Madonna, b Ellen DeGeneres, c Heather Locklear, d Christina Applegate or E all of the above? E all of the above, it's funny.
Speaker 1:It's not a bad list, it's funny, I'm not saying to people I slept with.
Speaker 3:I was married to Christina, I did a movie with Heather. I's not a bad list, it's funny. I'm not like saying to people I slept with I was married to Christina, I did a movie with Heather, I went on a date with Madonna and I was Ellen DeGeneres' beard.
Speaker 1:The beard. Yeah, that's it, yeah, and for those of you that don't know, the beard and it was a legit kiss on the red carpet.
Speaker 3:Never forget that. How did?
Speaker 2:you get that role. I was going to say, was there an audition for that as well, or did you read lines?
Speaker 3:We had the same manager and we would go to this place called Esalen up in Big Sur. So it was like this I just loved her, she's awesome. And I could see like wow, that's a big deal, Like no problem, I got you. And you remember, did you see the Grammys where Tracy Chapman sang?
Speaker 1:Yes, that was awesome, that was the best.
Speaker 3:I remember I was watching that and she started singing and it hit me. 1990, in Ellen's living room, it was me and a bunch of lesbians and this black girl got up, grabbed her guitar and started singing and it was Tracy Chapman. She sang that song. The entire room was just filled with tears and joy. And it was just the most amazing thing we've ever heard. Just sang it right in the living room.
Speaker 1:I texted you after Tracy Chapman played that night. It's incredible, one of the greatest songs of all time, I'd say.
Speaker 2:I also just think the resurgence of that song what, 30 years later? I mean that was an iconic moment for just pop culture in general.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I mean that was an iconic moment for just pop culture in general. Yeah, and I mean it's not like it's I think that I don't know the numbers so please don't quote me, but the amount of streaming she got on the OG song from just that Grammy performance was like X amount of millions more than she's had in the last 10 years combined, or something like that and as it should be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Very well earned. That's the best. That was iconic, Because you're like how do you not know that song? Right To the Gen Zers Right. You keep talking about, but then they boost these very deserving artists.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they think Luke Combs did it. I know that's crazy and I'm like no, yeah, no, no no, but even like the song from Stranger Things.
Speaker 3:But you know what it made me like him? True. And I was like oh, he's cool, he's an artist.
Speaker 2:I do.
Speaker 3:I want to start following that guy.
Speaker 2:I love the like I said.
Speaker 2:I mean I feel like I sometimes dive in and maybe get a little jaded and I it is that Luke Combs opened the door for all of these young kids to know who Tracy Chapman was, but at the same time, vice versa, people who didn't know who Luke Combs was, or even, like Beyonce, put out a country album now and everybody's kind of like crisscrossing over. I love, I think that's like one of the coolest things about being an artist or an actress or whatever it may be the amount of quote unquote power you have to open the door and open people's eyes and perspectives and even their preferences. Now, just like you said, oh, I'll be a fan of his now, and all it was was one performance on the Grammys that allowed that to happen. I mean, I don't want to diminish it, it wasn't all it was, but you know what I mean. I like that. It's kind of just like who knows, you can open doors and windows in any direction without even, maybe even knowing how much of an effect you're going to have. I love that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, me too.
Speaker 2:Part of the creative space. I feel like it's infinite.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and listening to him talk about how that song was such a big part of his life. Yeah, you know. And then he records it.
Speaker 2:And what a moment for them.
Speaker 3:That was amazing. That was awesome, wasn't it? Even more so. I was crying my eyes out.
Speaker 2:I cry a lot. I guess it takes things like that to make me cry so kind of on that same path, luke obviously put Tracy on a pedestal and that song meant a lot to him. I know you've mentioned Tom Hanks a handful of times here, but is there anybody else that you worked with or worked for that started out as maybe a mentor, that's now a friend or became a friend throughout the process, that you still idolize in a way?
Speaker 3:Well, tom is definitely the one, because he's just, I consider him my good friend and he's just been, he's been there no matter what. But I got you know good buddies that I, artists, peers, they're you know they. You would think we would be up for a competitive, but we are tight, like they tell me what's going on. They're like, you know. So, like Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Frank Grillo, I mean, both of them are just amazing human beings, amazing actors and they're they fill me in whatever they can. You know we're always talking about family.
Speaker 3:First, nick Gonzalez is a dear friend of mine that actually called me and told me I asked him. I was like I'm not, I don't have an agent anymore. I left Hollywood, I left everyone behind, you know, asked him, I was like I, I'm not, I don't have an agent anymore. I left hollywood, I left everyone behind. You know anyone that would? That was looking for a leading man. I want to get back into being a leading man and he's the one to set me up with gary wheeler, who's the producer of blue ridge, and it was a tv movie that we shot that they turned into a television series. So I don't know how that really happened, but it was all because I asked my friend Nick Gonzalez for help and he got me help, the right help. I kind of found the spirit and moved it right in line.
Speaker 1:With social media now, what direction do you think Hollywood's going in? Do you think it's as simple as you know? You see these people blow up overnight. They get millions of followers just doing skits on tick tock or instagram a lot different than what it used to be when you were growing up. If you wanted to get into the business, you wanted to be a big-time actor. What's the route to go?
Speaker 3:I think you got to study acting yeah, yeah, actually no, and I actually think that.
Speaker 3:I think that the key is to be the best actor. I think that the key is to be the best actor possible. That way you're checking all the boxes. So one thing I've realized now that my age, like I, have a wealth of knowledge as an actor, just from doing it for so long and studying it as hard as I have. You know I play a tough like. They talk about me being a tough guy in this Blue Ridge. I mean I'm not really a tough guy. I'm not. If something happens to my family, look out, you're in trouble, yeah, but I'm not that guy, but I play one on TV. I'm an actor. Same thing with that song. I didn't sing that song, but I played it because I'm an actor. So I think that acting is the way to go for anyone to really study acting. Look at from different ways, study with different teachers and to put yourself in front of that camera or on stage and learn how to perform, because it's a performing art.
Speaker 1:What's like the number one tip as far as a performing, the art of it, the art of acting. If you were to do acting one-on-one, you're starting with somebody who's never acted. Is there a tip that you're like you need to do this?
Speaker 3:Well, it's the art of living. So you need to learn how to live your life. So you need to learn yourself. That's the first thing that would tell an actor. And then there's things like you know, knowing what the camera does as opposed to working on stage with another actor. You need to learn how to listen and communicate and connect. You need to know what you're going after, what's in the way and how you're going to go get it. So action over top of an obstacle to reach your goal, those are the beginning steps. Action over top of an obstacle towards your goal those are the beginning steps. Boleslavsky's first six steps are concentration, characterization, dramatic action, rhythm and there's two other ones. But like all those things combined are really kind of like once you kind of get those things and you can move anywhere as an actor Interesting.
Speaker 2:There you go. Booth, there we go. Do you want to do?
Speaker 3:it, you could be an actor.
Speaker 1:I think so Interesting. There you go, booth, there we go. Do you want to do it? You could be an actor. I think so. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:What role? Well, you would probably be a romantic leading man, don't you think? Yeah? You got a little Ryan Gosling going on over there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I could do a notebook. Yeah, I love that guy I followed.
Speaker 3:I started following nicholas sparks. I'm like what's he gonna do?
Speaker 1:next notebook is awesome notebook was great walk to remember. That was a good one speaking of crying yeah, I know um people say I look like the guy from sweet home alabama too no, oh yeah you already did this to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, lucas, yeah I guess anybody can be what they want to be if they work hard at it, but From Sweet Home.
Speaker 1:Alabama too. No, oh yeah, you already did this to me, josh Lucas. Yeah, I guess anybody can be what they want to be if they work hard at it.
Speaker 2:That's right. Who was the worst actor you've ever been on set with? The worst actor yeah, let's cut to the chase. Give us now this is the real behind the scenes, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm blanking on her name.
Speaker 1:Sure you are she's very famous.
Speaker 3:She's a supermodel.
Speaker 1:All right, blonde hair.
Speaker 3:Black hair. Black girl Tyra.
Speaker 2:Banks.
Speaker 3:No, above Tyra Really.
Speaker 2:Naomi Campbell. Naomi Campbell, wow, she has quite a reputation that precedes her.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you the story because it's so much fun Okay.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am ready.
Speaker 3:I'm shooting this indie film that I it was 97, I think, or something like that and or 95, maybe it was before that thing you do and it was an independent feature. They had some money and they cast her in this role and I'm on set and I started learning about filming Like you have to film, you have to get things in the can or the scenes in the back are going to suffer, and we're waiting for her on the set, waiting for her on the set, and I can't remember it could have been around two hours and I had to go. I'll knock on her trailer door and I went into the trailer and said what's wrong? Are you nervous? Are you okay? I'll take care of you out there. And she's on the phone. She goes Jonathan just came in and I go who? And she goes Robert, I'm just scared to go out there. And I said can I talk to him?
Speaker 2:It was.
Speaker 3:Robert De Niro.
Speaker 2:Could you?
Speaker 3:tell her to get this set. We've been waiting for like two hours. I'll take good care of her. She'll be fine. He's like who's talking? It was Robert De Niro. She called Robert De Niro. She was so nervous and that's the only time I've really ever talked to Robert De Niro.
Speaker 1:Who's awesome? Oh, he's awesome. He's yeah, he's fantastic. That's wild. There's so many stories I'd love to hear about Hollywood and just the process, yeah, but some of them.
Speaker 2:I feel like I don't want to know, like ignorance is bliss in some capacity. But yeah, I mean it is fun to hear the dirty details. Yeah, you want to know how they really are because, like you said, I mean you step into a character that's not really who they are. You don't get to know them as a person. So, niamh campbell's different, though.
Speaker 3:I mean everyone. Everyone's going through the same stuff that you're all going through. Yeah, they're just with people that are famous. Yeah, you know, like my story of abuse is is a story with really famous people in it. Yeah, but it was. But it's same pain, same shame. Yeah, um, it's pretty much with everything love like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was in the front cover of people magazine with my breakup it was it was hard because I yeah exactly you know it's brutal right yeah, but everyone goes through the same thing.
Speaker 3:They just don't have that pub, but then they do. I've learned this, like because their, their world of fame in their town or their community is just as equal. Right, shame the pain, you know. They have to live with it. They have to live with their neighbors, they have to live with their family. They have to live with those people that are looking at them because the breakup, whatever the breakup was, whosever fault? And then they start talking about it and the guys about it, yeah, and, and they're in their, in their worlds.
Speaker 1:Now yours and mine was like all over the place right you know, but I think it's pretty much the same yeah yeah, and that's something I learned too, because when I had my quick little uh fame thing there with all that stuff, I realized when I got there and I was dealing with all this stuff that it was just the same stuff, just more people watching yeah it's true, right, and so I felt kind of weird like idolizing famous people after that, you know it's a weird thing, but it there is a lot more energy behind it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like you have a lot of energy, so that there's a reason why you have a lot of energy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know yeah, interesting I have a question that we might attraction.
Speaker 3:I think the law of attraction applies to him.
Speaker 2:Law of attraction?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what the matchmaker said. That's right.
Speaker 2:Don't forget, just manifest it. It'll happen. I have a question that we might cut out, because this could be the dumbest thing ever, but I feel like I just love getting this perspective from anyone who's acted in any capacity. I love love and I want what I feel like. I know what you're going to say. Go ahead. You probably do know what I'm going to say, because I feel like it's a very generic question. However, when you are so deep in the trenches and you're playing a role that is passionately in love with someone, is it difficult to realize that that's not real? Or do people really fall for their co-stars because it feels like how can you sit there and say all of these things to someone and kiss them and hug them and love them and they're like scene, and then it's oh, nevermind, we're not actually feeling these things. Has there ever been any gray area or blurred lines that makes it difficult to do so?
Speaker 3:gray area or blurred lines that makes it difficult to do so. Well, I think that acting actually applies because there's substitution, is a tool that an actor would use and you substitute the individual that's in the scene. You put the qualities of someone that you do love or that someone that you long for. You use the substitution, you use the person as well. It doesn't mean you have to act out on it afterwards to know the boundaries within. I call it magic time. So when they say action to the time that we cut, I try to create magic in that time. I used to do it with the celluloid. When the celluloid I think it's what it was celluloid, big term, big word, all of a sudden, don't know what I'm talking about. But when it goes through the frame with film, that digital, is a little different. But when they used to say action, it was precious time. We had to make this magic happen. So I think that you can make the magic and then you can go home happen. So I think that you can make the magic and then you can go home.
Speaker 3:My co-star, sarah Lancaster, and I have this incredible chemistry on camera. It works, it tells the whole story within a couple frames, and she explained it to me. She was like, well, you're chasing people in the woods and I'm back home, and then they call me for my time. I come in and everything gets real still, and then we talk and I was like, wow, I never thought about it like that and I have to. So, but I don't have, you know, she's got a family here. I have my family back home. Sure, you know, we're just, we're good friends, we take care of each other, we take care of the spirit of one another, we keep each other at the highest level, but we don't cross over that. I think when you're younger, you may, yeah, and that may happen, and people may not have the conviction of themselves yet, so they force that upon them, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So that would happen. So if someone doesn't have a sense of that, they may think that you need to punch someone to actually actually hit them, to make it look like a punch, and that's just not the way it is in film it's all smoke and mirrors, so they would fall in love with someone to yeah to make themselves feel that yeah that's what I'm gonna ask yeah because I I watch movies and shows and you know, I'm like that guy does not need to act right now with that girl.
Speaker 1:He's loving every part of that. He just gets an excuse right now that he's acting Like there's got to be feelings and emotions there Because, again, like we're just saying, we're all human and we're all doing the same things. I always think, too, like that's got to be really hard for their wife or their husband at home. They probably don't want to watch this because they're watching their significant other in love with somebody else on TV.
Speaker 2:That's like the ultimate compartmentalization. Yeah, it's just like this is work. This is our life.
Speaker 1:You're professionals like yourself and you got to have obviously trust in your relationship and that's your job.
Speaker 3:It's interesting. So if I punch this really tough guy who's could kill, kill. I did a movie one time with one of the deadliest men in the world and when he came after me in this in the scene I got scared. Yeah, I think he's like, oh, he's gonna kill me, yeah. And but then I then I realized it's just, I'm just acting, and literally he calmed me down. We went through the whole spite scene, we went back to the choreography that we had set and I was completely fine. But his ego wasn't hurt because I kick his ass in the movie, right? So that's one thing I always bring up, like my wife's not going to be upset because I'm in love with some my character's in love with someone in the movie. Yeah, unless you have a really bad self, low self-esteem, and then you really get to look at yourself and say, yeah, what's going on?
Speaker 1:man yeah.
Speaker 3:Or maybe you had cheated on your wife and with your co-star and then they were worried about that. There's a whole other thing, right, right. But acting is. Look, it's a whole different spiritual level to it that I see, that Everyone else can't see that. But man, I have done these scenes, I've made babies in movies.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Nothing like making babies real life yeah.
Speaker 2:There's a lot more choreography in that as well. It's all choreography.
Speaker 3:And you know what your face has to be a certain place. Usually your abs got to be really tight.
Speaker 1:That's what I always wonder too, I'm like in those scenes. How do they make that work in that scene?
Speaker 3:One thing during the Me Too movement, they got intimacy coordinators. It's been a big stink in Hollywoodwood. These people were actually like choreographing the sex scenes like they do fight scenes. Yeah, but that's what I felt like we've been doing that all along. But now we have someone there to protect um gotcha, but not just protect girls, protect the boys, you know, protect everyone on the set makes it easier. Um one thing I one thing I'd love to leave this with is that I have made I feel like I have made Hollywood a better place than how I found it. That was my goal, so we got a lot of things changed to make it better, make it safer. Not everyone agrees with them, but it's definitely going to put those assholes in check we agree with you.
Speaker 1:You're a rock star. We appreciate you coming on and talking with us and everybody at home. Check out Blue Ridge and season two coming up.
Speaker 3:Season one Season one and I'm going to go film season two.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, season one coming up, don't miss it. Thank you guys. John and Chuck, always a pleasure. Sam Cat, always a pleasure. Sam Kat, lox, alex, team on three team Outro Music.