Hey and welcome back to the 824 podcast, Bay area, native Simon
Rex and Angus Cloud. Much more than just a HomeTown
in common earlier this month. Symington.
It gets met for the first time to talk about their characters
and red rocket and Euphoria and their experiences.
Hollywood Outsiders. Who never set out to be actors.
Let alone become famous. We hope you enjoyed the episode
tune in Sunday for the Euphoria season 2 finale until everyone,
you know, to watch Red Rocket now available on demand, Angus,
what? Sup, man.
Nice to meet you with animal boy. 8:24 here.
We are doing the podcast and let's just talk some shit, bro.
I want to get to know you were both from the bay.
Let's start there, man. Let's chop it up.
Was get to it. So, you live here full-time.
Yeah, stay I stay in. LOL, just for work.
You know, how about you? You live in LA?
I'm in Joshua Tree. Okay, I've been there.
Yeah. I've been camping out there.
Just come on some land. Yeah.
And that's the way to go.
I had been here 20 years. I was in New York, five years
moved here for 20 years from the bay.
Originally you from the bay when part of the base.
So, okay, so I was born in San Francisco.
Okay, and then I moved to the East Bay when I was 11 because
my mom wanted me to get out of the city because this was in the
80s in San Francisco. He was kind of crazy.
So, we moved to Alameda. Right?
Right, right, you know, right next to Oakland and over there.
Yeah, Alameda school. It's kind of like, Chittering.
It's 50 feet from East Oakland. Basically.
Yeah, I mean most of the people from the bay hate on Alameda
just because the fucking you know, it's a lot of old money
out there. So it's like all these people
are like you whole again. Yeah.
Walking down my side. Yeah.
It's like that. It's like Piedmont or something,
you know, so you're from the bay.
Yeah. I'm from the bay.
What? Part Oakley?
So I grew up right next to the lake.
Okay. Uh-huh, that's where we would go
to parties and go to crash like Cal Berkeley party.
It's crazy. I go back now.
And it's, like I said, true. It's a trip, dude.
It's kind of like, I feel the same thing when I go to San
Francisco. I'm like, well, this isn't my
hometown. This isn't where I grew up but
it's still home. I love old man, is crazy.
Because, like, when I, when I was going up there, it's like,
probably like the tallest building.
There's probably like 15 stories and like, now it's like every
time Each time I go back. It's another small as building,
and I got hotels over there and and it sucks to because my
Warriors moved to San Francisco. The Raiders went to Vegas
Oakland's losing, the one thing that it had which everyone
together. But we got Oakland Roots, man,
soccer team. Oh, wait, gotta bring you even
know about that. Yeah, it's pretty much.
It's pretty new, Auckland route, and we still got the ages.
You feel me? But the A's are moving.
I heard the Vegas. I heard.
They're Because they were going to try to build it.
I know made if we lose every sports team because they're
moving to Jack London Square, but then they can save this for
Cisco. Kind of an asshole for that.
They like, oh, you 10 y'all good now.
All right. We'll take y'all now.
We'll build y'all a nice, a stadium over here.
Just come across the bridge and lost the magic.
I went there to check it out. I went to check out the new
stadium and just to see it because I'm like, all right.
I'm a die-hard Warriors fan. I was going to Warriors games in
1986. Now, seeing Oakland lose.
I mean that was like the heart of Auckland.
That's what everyone that was. I was there that when they when
they won the fucking shit bro, and the parade bro, the party in
the streets was fucking crazy, man.
I saw videos. Everyone was outside, man.
Yeah, at like Merit. Yep.
They just went around the lake. Yeah.
There's Draymond Green got way
too drunk. I saw the footage I want.
I was actually thinking about going up for it.
But I'm still a die-hard Warriors fan, even though
they're in San Francisco. But you write it lost the magic.
It's the same as the Raiders like that's that's cool Glenn,
dude. Yeah, but also out here, you got
a die-hard Raiders. I know all day so it's like I'm
Still rocking for the Raiders. This is sucks.
You feel me? But, you know what I'm saying?
Come on now, like the Warriors, had the town on a jersey.
Like I know that you don't care. Erase that I know me.
Like that's the town. That's Oakland.
You found me. They ain't gonna start saying
the city like I'm on that. I know.
Yeah. Oakland's always been San
Francisco's like little brother or whatever.
As far as like, you know get I mean the way when I was living
in New York and like people didn't know about the bay that
much I would just like kind of explain it like New York is like
the city or sorry. We call San Francisco the city
and we call Oakland in town so fine.
Making a comparison. It's like Manhattan.
Is it more like San Francisco? And in Oakland, is kind of more
like broke. That's exactly what I say all
the time to. That's exactly what it is.
And yeah, so I lived in New York for like five years 93 to 98.
This is when New York was still kind of wild.
This was pre Giuliani. So it was still felt like the
80s. It was lawless and it's kind of
like now I go back to New York now and it kind of feels like
that again like it's dangerous again, and I kind of like it you
got your head on a swivel. No, you know out there for a
bit. I was definitely on my on my ten
toes you filming. So did you live in Brooklyn?
Yeah, man, I was living in I was actually living in project
building. The Walt Whitman house is right
at Fort Greene Park. Uh-huh.
And now it was cool because like I moved in there with somebody
that had been, you know grew up over there.
So he had walked me around all the blocks and make sure
everybody knew I was validated and whatnot.
You know I'm saying. So everybody was actually
everybody was super cool with me and the community and and the
project is is super dope. You know, we all be kicking it
in the hallway and whatnot. I was I was running a business
that I was like, I don't need I don't need no trouble with with
this. I think it's time for me to move
along, you know, and I'm saying, you're selling weed or
something. Yeah, it's something like like
it at that. So, okay, so Did you move to New
York? And I only have been like 17?
I think I just I had to leave Oakland cuz I didn't want to
deal with something and I just never went back as ended up.
Staying you feeling? Yeah, I did the same thing.
I moved to New York when I was like 19 for five years.
And that was the most fun I ever had.
In. My life was moving to New York
because the bay is crazy because the bay and if you haven't been
there, you don't know. The bay is the New York of the
West Coast. Like there's not really any
cities in catalyst is like La is not a city.
There's no like I mean could go downtown but it doesn't have
like an herb is to spread out. The bay is its own world man.
We got our own slang. We got her own music from, you
know what? I mean?
Like it's it's own thing and if people don't know, they don't
know. But if you go to the baby, you
know, it's got then you got these, like, random people out
in the, in the cuts that are like super in the like baby
music and shit. Yeah, I'm saying.
Yeah, it's to this day Mac Dre Too Short on now like yeah, and
then yeah, it's crazy cuz the bay is really its own universe
and then you hear the influence its had on music like, you know,
like mustard took that hyphae sound and made it like
mainstream but really that was all that, you know, keep the
sneak all that shit started in Oakland really are Vallejo
Oakland. Yeah.
It didn't we don't really get
the credit that we That's true. So, so you're in La now?
Yeah, man. Yeah.
I'm just just chilling in Koreatown.
Yeah, I'll just stay at the house for the most part.
Yeah, you know, I like Koreatown, man, you know why I
like Koreatown? Because you walk around and is
not Hollywood. There's no, you're not going to
get recognized as much walking around Korea Town, but you walk
around this neighborhood. You're gonna get probably cars
rolling. By was that is he
I mean, that's hard to beat. I just go there all the time for
my boy. I stay without here.
He lives, five minutes from Crete down.
So I'm always going over there to get my Korean barbecue,
whatever. They just got the best food.
Now, we shop at the Korean supermarket and roommates are
Korea said, oh, yeah. That's so people listed.
We just met, I never met you before.
I don't know because I've listened to this podcast.
And usually it's like old friends.
Like Seth. Rogen with his boy dog, but we
just met, but anytime I meet someone from the bay.
It's automatically on God. It really that's like last
night. I just I just like seeing this
fool and I was like some about it.
May I just like, what's up man? I was like where you from?
He's like from I'm from the bay. A, I was like, hey, that's what
stop playing. We out here.
I already knew you was cool as automatic because you can just,
you can just sometimes tell about his swag on somebody where
you are. They from the bay.
Yeah, it's okay. So you're Irish.
We got family in Ireland, had never been Ireland, but I want
to go. I heard it's amazing.
I heard it's beautiful that. It's so beautiful, bro.
You gotta. I gotta go.
Everybody says that I got to go check out Ireland.
So you're 100% Irish my mom. Pop's is an immigrant.
You feel me? He is a farmer and whatnot.
So he got his sister, my aunties and all my cousins are out
there. My mom.
She's kind of her family used to be like sharecroppers in Texas
and shit. So you never did the 23andMe.
I just did it to find out what I am.
I'm kind of interested when I do it.
I'm time. I'm like, I don't want them to
sell my fucking DNA. Oh, yeah.
Okay. See I don't care.
They can clone me if they want. We I need they could have
another meal. It's all good.
But who knows? What they might, you know,
figure out what to do with that shit and in the next couple
years, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, and a lot of my friends
said that but I'm like, man. Sure, they probably already have
my DNA, so it's like, it's like one thing to say like, oh, we
like, they're listening to us. Like, really these covid shots
have trackers. It's like, bro.
You have iPhone, bro. Don't get.
It is listening to all day every day.
Don't even get him started. Tracking every single movement
and making a whole log of every place you ever been there.
How long you spent there? So yeah, if you got an iPhone,
don't talk about shit, you know, you're right.
It's funny. You said that because I we all
got those homies who would go way too deep.
Down the rabbit hole. I just heard this comedian.
Jim Gaffigan do a joke about that.
He's like we all had that one friend who's like Bigfoots real
and in the pandemic hit in there like Tom Hanks eats babies you
Like chill there. Microchipping us chill.
I feel like it goes too deep. Yeah, like lost family members
falling out with all that shit. Like it's just cuz fucking like
you get into those conspiracies series.
Fuck their believable, man. They give you some good reasons
to believe in that shit. Like you watch the 911 shit.
You're like, whoa. Okay.
This is a little bit. Something's not adding up here,
but like most of those conspiracy.
Two aren't based on any fact, you know, but if you're watching
that video is like is made for you to believe that shit.
So if you get sucked into it and you don't care about doing your
own, you know, background research, you going to get, get
lost in the sauce in the head. You feel like it's so true, man,
because there is a look, that's the problem.
There's a little bit of Truth and then that's what gets you in
the door and then on the news, they're not basing should all
unite. Do you know that?
Just saying shit. That's why it's just a waste of
energy. I see people putting way too
much time and energy into that. She does like bro.
Just enjoy your life wouldn't you know, but yeah, that's been
like man. I lost friends to that shit.
Like they went too deep that it's like I can't be around them
constantly acting like they got all the answers.
I want to be around people asking questions not yelling
answers from the internet. Like they watched a YouTube
video, some dude made in his basement.
That's what you're going to believe out of the.
It's just kind of Ignorance, you know, so it's like you can't
always blame shoot people for being ignorant.
They don't know what they don't know.
Yeah, you know, it's like fuck and at the end of the day to
what it is I think is that they actually are coming from a place
of like they, they're trying to do something good there, trying
to like, you know, be enlightened or share with you
what they found. So their intentions aren't bad.
They just lost and I think this last two years people just run
the internet way too much went down.
The rabbit hole didn't come. I'm out.
I've been talking a lot about that with just intentions and
shit. Just like a lot of people that
end up fucking in a bad situation.
Like it's not like they were in their mind thinking.
Oh, I'm about to do this fucking take advantage of this situation
and do this bad thing. They just, you know, they they
didn't even think they were doing anything wrong, you know,
they didn't have, you know what I'm saying?
They were just ignorant or oblivious or whatever the case
may be. Yeah, you know, a lot of a lot
of people do fucked up shit that they had no idea that, you know,
they didn't mean to do it right now.
That's exactly right. Sometimes, they even thought
they might have been doing a good thing.
That's exactly what it is. That's why you can't be mad and
because really, it's not their fault.
It's these people pumping the bullshit on the internet, but I
don't know why. I just thought it was, but I got
a question for you because you probably are, how long has have
have you been famous a couple is just the first You did was you
for you. Is this your first acting?
Yeah, so you just got thrown into the biggest show on TV.
I've been in this business 25 years and I still have a hard
time dealing with Fame. Like it, fucks your head up and
I've been in therapy for years and but no therapist could
understand what it's like to be famous, right?
And deal with the energy that comes at you and not knowing,
who's really your friend, or who wants something from you in,
l.a. Is such a transactional deal.
How you dealing with the fame? Because it fuck.
I mean, you just seem like a real cat and you never asked for
this. Yeah.
I'm To be completely honest with you.
I don't I don't I don't want to be famous.
I do me either. It's no it's not.
I want to I want to be a regular person and have regular
interactions with people and it's something about Fame and
notoriety just you lose that, you know, I don't like it but it
comes with it's like there's good and bad to what we do and I
never asked for it either. I got this found me.
I was never like I want to be an actor.
It fell in my lap, right? Right.
Gus Van Sant is famous director. He saw me was like you want to
be in a movie. He understand me for Good, Will
Hunting. I bombed the audition.
He's like you're not ready to be an actor but go to acting
school. So so it just came to me.
I never would dream or be delusional enough to.
Like I want to be famous. I would so much, rather meet
somebody who was famous and have no idea.
They were fucking famous because it changed the way you interact
with them. So I would much rather have
interaction with someone that doesn't know.
Who the fuck I am? Then someone that does.
And then the other part comes in when you say you feel like it's
fake. And then you're you're
questioning every fucking interaction.
Like is this real is this fake was their motives?
Like I'm fucking I'm fucking like paranoid now, bro.
Like I feel like everybody knows who I am.
They do even if they even it like I know it's fucked up now
because like, yeah, no, it's fun.
It's fucks me up to like you'll see someone like on their phone.
And you like you like are they looking at their Instagram?
Because it's kind of pointed out mean I could tell and then the
flash goes off. You like.
Yep, and then you're like, oh just ask me bro, like convince
yourself you like? No, they don't know.
And then they go and they proved you like.
Oh my God, uh-huh. So your what's it been two years
since you've been doing the show?
Two years. How long has it been cake came
out. So we filmed a pilot 2018 and it
came out around 2019. So you've been dealing with Fame
during the pandemic, you had musulega.
He spinning do because I can't even imagine.
I'm 25 years in this shit and I'm still like weirded out by.
I don't think it's gonna go away a weird.
It up. Like even by the fact that like
people knowing my my name is yeah, it's weird.
What, how do you know my name? Yeah, it's weird.
I mean, I don't know if I was gonna say like, being a lot
older than you. I would give you some advice,
but I'm actually like, how do you deal with it?
Because, I don't know how to deal with it still.
It's been it. I don't know.
I feel like people Don't want to hear this shit, you know,
they're like, what do you mean like, you're fucking living the
dream right? Now?
You know what I'm saying? Like, well, we all got what what
what what could you possibly have to complain about?
And it's like, all right is is would you rather be?
You know what I'm saying? Rich and paranoid that everyone
in your life is being fake towards you.
Or would you, you know, just be regular and just say, you know
what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying, you
know, because money and fame. Don't I learned what?
He was one thing? I'll share with you and you
probably already know. This is like money and fame.
They don't make you happy everyone thinks that but that's
a trap. You know, it's just like you'll
get stuck in that make. You want to believe, you know,
you don't I learned one thing because I really hadn't been
working in the last 10 years. I was not making a lot of money
and I'll tell you what, in the last 10 years.
When I wasn't working in this business and I was barely making
money. I think I was actually happier
when I didn't have a lot. I was just making enough to eat
good travel, whatever. No doubt about it, broke it.
And I was fine. And then, and then with, you
know, with the all the eyeballs on you and nowadays with social
media and just the, it's just like, you never heard it would
lack. The people, the image that
people have of you like right now like they got me like pretty
much famous as fuck real. Like I bought an old car.
I'm by no. Xever me like, you know what I'm
saying? Like, we hopefully get into the
paper after this. Yeah, but I'm saying but it
just, it just funny that way. Then, like, everyone thinks I'm
probably balling. Now, you know, I'm saying?
Living the high life. Like now, I'm just your living
in Korea Town with a roommate. One, two, three, four, five of
us. Living in the sea.
That actually keeps you grounded.
I'm still dry. I'm Driving a thirty thousand
dollar car. I live in a 600 square foot,
grab out in the desert. I mean, it's all good.
I don't want people listen to this to think we're complaining.
We're not knowledge. And we're blessed.
It's a blessing, but it's a curse to a head.
Fuck, bro. It's a fucking if you're just
like a norm. I feel like I'm just a normal
dude. From the bay.
I don't like being treated special, me neither as fake as
fake and people are extra. Nice.
Now to what I'm noticing tools, like people are overly nice.
To me. I'm like, you don't gotta do
that. It's all good.
Just like, it makes me feel uncomfortable.
But it's funny. My publicist is here with me and
they're doing an amazing job at getting me out there and getting
me like, you know, notoriety and they're doing a great job of it.
And that's kind of a necessary thing for us to do what we do.
But at the same time, part of the heat, the heat is like
sometimes a lot and sometimes I just sit there in the hotel room
and I got to go isolate by myself because it's so much.
Is that you never it's one of those jobs, where you You know,
you don't, you don't really clock out, you know, not.
It never ends in like, and then, man, I find myself spending so
much time alone. Because if you're I'm like, I
think I'm I'm not saying this is a good thing.
It's like embarrassing. But like I'm too sensitive.
Like, I could feel energy on people and like, so if you feel
that, if you're an empath line, you just take that on, it'll
drain the fuck out of you. So, sometimes I go out and I
deal with all this shit and then I'm just like, I gotta go be by
myself from it. I just go sit in a room by
myself. And I'm like, is this normal?
Am I going crazy? What the fuck is this?
You know. Anyway, so it's for you, man.
You'll get your paper. But man, it's a trip fames.
A weird thing, Fame, is a mask that eats away at the soul.
Is that what they say? I think there's some saying like
that because it does row. So, anyway, I feel like you're
going to keep a good head on your shoulders.
You just seem like a cool cat. Like, I'm just here, man.
I'm just, I'm just rolling with the punches.
You know what I'm saying? We'll see.
But, you know, all the, all the, All the all the fans and have
showed mad. Love you feel me?
It's come say what's up. If you see me holler at me and
I'm saying this all of you know, I'm saying and I love my job,
just the best shit that it's the best job I ever had for show.
You fill me in on, how did they find you for this show?
I think someone told me you were in Brooklyn and someone just
rolled up on you and kind of Street cast you.
Is that how you got the job? Yeah, so I was just walking down
the street with my homies and this.
Woman Eleanor. Hendrix, I believe is her name.
She came up to me. She said you want.
Can I talk to you? I was like, you gotta walk with
me, you know, so she she spit her little pitch and I ended up
going down to her, Studio door. Jennifer vendetti, stay V8,
casting studio. And then like, they asked me
some questions. They filmed like my answers.
Is just random questions like about my life and shit and then
they had me do a couple auditions, you know, and then
addition in front of like some of the producers or whatever,
and then that was it like for the pilot man, so you never went
to acting school. No, that's so dope.
That's so do II. Did I have been to a couple
classes for sure after the fact? Yeah.
Yeah, and they send you. They were like go to acting
school or do you just do it? No.
No, it was kind of like something.
I was, I should probably do this.
You know that fool Shia LaBeouf was doing like a free community
class at some school and in South Central, I think it was a
South Central but I went to go check that out in the
amphitheater for a little bit. I never met him but he's in my
favorite movie which one? Hold on.
Never seen it. So yeah, kind of sinks it up.
To me man. I got called out.
I went to these acting school in New York and I was just like
driving want to do this but it just fell in my lap.
And I mean I guess it's better than digging ditches.
I can I mean I you know, I worked in Emeryville at a potato
sack Factory. I was driving a forklift in 1989
in Emeryville at a potato, sack factory making $10 an hour.
And at the same time I was doing telemarketing where this is back
before the internet, where you just open a phone book and start
cold calling. Selling life insurance.
I was working for State Farm Life Insurance and at a potato
sack factory making pennies so fuck.
Yeah, medulla is what what year was it?
This was 89? No, this was denied 92. 92 is
when I worked at the potato sack Factory.
Before I started this acting like I was getting a 750 our at
the Waffle House, bro. 750. Yeah.
It was like seven feet and I guess I was longing for 10
bucks. Wait, where's the Waffle House?
At its is is closed now, but it was on Bushwick.
You told me you're not the chain.
No, not Waffle House. So it was like a one-off.
Okay, I was pictures. It was crazy.
It was like a club and there would be fucking it was open
till 11:00 a.m. To 4:00 a.m.
Like there would be fights every day is she was ratchet as fuck.
You like me. Like yeah.
DJs and it was, it was crazy. Wow, that's dope.
Um, but yeah, Fighting 750 our fuck that.
Fuck that. So wait, that was just a cup.
That was just a few years ago. How could you how you gonna live
off of that? That's crazy shit.
I was making it happen. Yeah.
Yeah, that's the bay and you do decide hustle, man.
You can't help. But have the hustling, you, if
you're fine, two jobs. I was working at a vegan
Pizzeria for a second. They all hated me because I was
not vegan. Ha ha.
I went in like the first day and all Like some are the only vegan
I'm vegan and they're like, yeah, she should I not have said
that stay for the show. Judge the fuck out of here.
Yeah, like no disrespect to you, but it's just like, you know,
better than you know what I mean?
That's the only thing that bothers me is like dude, shut
up. So you guys shooting right now.
You finished shooting. Yeah, you got any?
I bet you're getting offers right.
Other movie roles their, get sending you.
Yeah. Yeah.
Stuff coming in. Yep, trying to find the right
thing. You know, I'm saying funny how
life works because there's so many people in l.a. who came
here with the dream and it falls in your lap, and now you're just
getting offers and you can walk outside right now and spit and
find someone who would kill to be in your position, but I feel
bad about it. I know right?
You know, I've like fuck man. A lot of I mean it is actors.
They just their whole life. They just is their dream, most
actor. They just wanted it for that
whole life. You know, what I'm saying?
Is they're full passion and that's just not the case for me.
You know what I'm saying? Like, I love doing it.
I have a great time, you know, but I do feel bad for the people
that have been like spending like that all day time and money
like fucking trying to make It, you know what I'm saying, like
fuck then and and the the the fact is that they possibly could
be good or bad as good or better actor than me, but they just
haven't got the chance to you know, you know saying it's hard
to get that little toe in the door.
You know, that's you know, it's, you're absolutely right because
there's so few seats at the table in Hollywood and there's
everyone's trying to get there and there's so many talented
cats. That just won't catch that
break. It's not fair.
It's like going to Vegas. It's like going to Vegas and be
like, I'm gonna hit the lotto. I'm gonna hit the jackpot.
It's like yeah, you and everyone else, bro.
Good luck. It's a lottery, dude.
It's a lottery and it's a lot of who, you know, right from your
case right time, right place. So I do feel bad, because I go
to these. I've been acting classes and
it's all they want. And sometimes in life the less
you want it. The more it comes to you.
That's what women money work. When you want it too bad, it you
gotta let go and let that shit. Just something.
I actually work with the DP, on my movie, Red Rocket, Drew
Daniels. He'd shot a couple of your
episodes. You might not remember.
No, no, no. No, I do remember the homie.
Yeah, he's hella cool. He's the man and you guys shoot
on 4 June even know. Do you shoot on film?
Because yeah, we shot on season two is on.
So that's it makes it difficult even like fucking like took some
dead stock code action, like remade it for just for the just
for us to use on that you got I don't think you realize man.
How lucky you got it to shoot on film like man in this day and
age. That's so rare.
That's why even me doing red rocket.
It was shot on 16. Mm!
Drew Daniel shot. It and that doesn't happen all
the time. Bro.
That's like some Scorsese Tarantino shit.
Like not a lot of people get to shoot on film doing and it looks
so much better, dude, you notice the difference because like to
the average eye you might not notice but it does make a
difference man. They should look sexy.
It's like vinyl. It's like the same thing as
listening to vinyl. It's got that warmth to it as
opposed to an MP3 It's just sex. You think that like because I
don't have that much to compare to but like, is there a
different vibe on the set when you shooting with film?
Because it's like you don't want to like waste time or something
or anything like that cause you know what I'm saying?
You don't want to burn because it's expensive.
Fuck. Yeah, it makes a huge
difference. Like I felt that pressure the
whole time. I'm like, oh we're shooting on
film. Oh, I got to get these lines
right because I don't want to be wasting your money.
Like is that big difference on digital?
Shoot the fuck out of here? Film?
You better get this. So yes, it makes a Different but
I kind of like the pressure. I didn't really think about it.
Maybe has been on you for you. You didn't think about it.
But I mean, I'm sure they could afford it and if they gave you
some Kodak film, you're chilling.
But like it does make a difference man, and nobody's
really shooting on film these days.
So I loved it. I loved the sound when they have
to reload the hollows out. Yeah, check the gate.
Yeah. Manju Daniels is amazing dude.
I think he shot. I don't know if he shot season
2. I just remember when he came on
to Red Rocket. Everyone's like, oh he shot.
You fought. That was like his thing.
And everybody was like, loving him because he shot the show
looks beautiful. I actually been, I got to be
real. I'm late to the party.
I just watched because I knew we were going to do this.
I'm I'm weird man. If I find out it shows a hit.
I got this weird thing in me where I'm like, I don't want to
watch it. It's a big hit and then I will
started watching it and I was like, I'm a dick, It's fucking
amazing. And so I watched the first two
episodes. Sounds of season one at 8:24.
They're like no watch episode 1 season 2.
So you could see fez's storyline a little bit more.
So when you guys hang out, you have a semblance of your
character and I didn't want to skip ahead because I want to
watch it in order, but it went right to your grandma rolling
into the strip club. And I was like that.
I'm like and I'm like, all right, I'm fully onboard.
So now I'm going back. I just watched mine just the way
it's shot. Everything is on dollies.
He's moving shots. Like it's so beautifully made,
you know, even if you don't appreciate the stories, no,
you're right. And all my like, my, real
Hollywood writer director, movie nerds there, like your trip, and
this shows incredibly shot. It's incredibly active.
It's dope. And I fought it for a minute,
but I'm always wrong. That's one thing I always do is,
I'm wrong. Like, I'll be like, man.
Everyone's watching it. I don't want to watch that shit
and then I'm watching, like, I'm a dick.
I've been missing this shit. But it's, it's cool, man.
So now I'm going back to season one because I don't want, I
didn't want to watch too much on that first episode with your
store and I'm like, no, I want to watch this in order but dude.
Grandma is heavy man. You don't don't watch it all in
one night. You feel like no, right.
You got to take it in little bite-size pieces, but I just
love like the whole shit with with your grandma.
Just looking up in the strip club, rolling in there, shooting
homey, and the thighs. And then just the whole shit.
It looks like it fell. Out like a man.
It felt like some Good Fellows. She like a Tarantino movie, you
know, a lot of inspiration. Yeah, kind of stuff.
Yeah. I can't wait to dive into it.
A little more. You think there was inspiration
and behind Red Rocket. Oh, what's up?
The director. Shaun Baker was really inspired
by these Italian 70s sex comedies.
I don't know if you've seen red rocket yet, but it's basically I
play Like a drug-dealing Porn Star.
Yeah, and if but the burnt-out versions So, yeah, Sean was
like, it's a comedy. I mean, it is a, it's a dark
comedy, but it is a comedy and it was very inspired which I do.
I'm not familiar with this. I'm starting to learn a lot
about like, Italian Cinema and even the poster was like, made
after 60s and 70s, Italian sex comedies.
It's like a genre of movies. That's really.
Yeah. It's like sexually charged but
funny and they don't they don't really make a lot of movies like
that anymore, especially since my characters.
Like a bad piece of shit person, you know, I grew up watching,
Taxi Driver Bad Lieutenant shows where the movies where the lead
character, is a horrible person and they don't do it that much
anymore. So I loved it because I want to
play a piece of shit. I don't want to play the fucking
cookie cutter. Dad on everything.
I want to be a fucking scumbag. Like it's like sometimes though.
It's like the something about the scumbag that like, you can't
just hate him all the way. You know, I'm saying.
Yeah, exactly. That's what What we tried to
pull off, which was you want to root for him a little bit.
Otherwise after two hours of sitting in front of the movie.
Give me like, why do I why would I care?
What happens to this is. So that was the whole point.
Was we wanted to make it like you're rooting for this piece of
shit and it kind of holds the mirror up to the audience.
Like why am I rooting for this? Do what I do.
The he's just surviving. He's just hustling, you know,
yeah. Yeah, man, but it's indeed.
Think. Did you think he had bad
intentions behind? Like the city was doing some to
bring a circular? You know, that's a good
question. And that's how I keep saying
this. When I do press for the movie.
He doesn't and that's why you can root for him because he
doesn't know what he's doing. He doesn't have, but he's just
hustling and surviving and he's doing, he's on autopilot.
He's not meaning to do this shit to people, he's just doing it so
that way the audience is like, okay, I could be on board with
this dude for a minute because he doesn't mean it and that's
exactly. I'm glad you brought that up.
It is full circle is all about intention.
And yeah, he's just hustling. He kind of relates to my
character. Are you for?
To because he does a bunch of fucked up shit.
But like he doesn't want to, he's kind of he's forced to, you
know, so it's like, it does. It doesn't necessarily make him
a bad person, you know, if if you hungry, you might have to
fucking steal some food, you know what I'm saying?
And it's your and your circle, it's cool that they actually
went to your backstory season 2 because then you see you as a
kid and you're watching your grandma.
Knock a do that with a crowbar or fucking car.
Coffee shop or whatever and you're like and you're just
watching you as a kid. Take it all in.
It's like, all right. There it is.
I mean, I think they and I might be wrong about this but they say
like your personality is molded in like your first zero to eight
years of your life. So if you're a little kid
watching that shit happen, your that's going to be you and it's
going to be hard to change. So you grew up in that world.
So that's just going to be you, you know, exactly man.
That's that's the thing where people People don't give a pass
or like they don't give any room for the different, the different
Lifestyles and worlds that people come from, you know, it's
like people have sympathy fry for that.
You know, it's like yo this person came from a different
world. Like they they are not thinking
in any of the same way that that that you are, you know,
especially people from different countries and what In this like
you like don't you understand? It's like, no, they don't
because that's not that wasn't part of, you know what I'm
saying? Anything.
They learning as, that's ignorance too, you know, yep,
but you're whatever, they're ignorant to you, you're ignorant
to to them. You know what I'm saying?
So, it goes both ways. That's a really good point.
And I think, if everybody knew that and understood, that we
wouldn't be like this country right now and I don't want to
start going down this road, but like we're off.
Obviously this play this country is divided as fuck.
But if we could have that attitude and just be a little
more understanding about people come from whatever I was like
look man. I'm from I'm from the bay.
Like I'm not going to start talking about what politics.
I mean you could fuck politics first of all.
Anyway, but obviously I got hippie parents.
I'm from the bay. You could imagine Like My Views,
but like I'll be real man. Like when we went shot red
rocket in Texas, these people couldn't be more opposite with
their religion, their politics, and their, the best fucking
people. And if you put all that,
Bullshit aside. Actually, we have more fun with
these people that I would think are just not yet in the flyover
state in Oklahoma. That is all super cool.
I mean and I fucking, you know, I wouldn't want to ask him what
their opinions were on certain things, but it just got to how
you gotta gotta give people a second chance, you know, some
people they come out to Cali and they see something that they've
never seen before and they life, you know what I'm saying, and
and therefore when you see Uh, something new.
Your first reaction is to be like, what the fuck is that?
Yeah, you know what I'm saying? I've never seen that shit
before, what is that and hate on it?
And yeah, you know, and it might not even be hate.
It's just like, it's just like that that I mean, it's just it's
just, that is foreign. They're like, wait, that's
wrong. That's not supposed to be that
way. So then they then they kind of
are like, what the fuck are you doing?
You know what I'm saying? Like, You're not supposed to be
doing that and it's just because they never seen it before.
You know what I'm saying? That's why traveling is the best
thing you could do man traveling is when you just start to open
your eyes to other ways and you're like, oh shit.
And if you just stay stuck in your little town, in the middle
of America, you're just don't know what you don't know.
And that's all good. What was it?
A homework? Why were you in Oklahoma?
Is that where you got family or something?
No, no. No.
We were just filming a movie out there.
Yeah, I can you talk about the movie or is it off the Record?
No. No, we did.
We were making like, like a frat movie.
Basically about like kind of like, I don't know like the
Brotherhood of like the fraternity and whatnot and we're
an Oklahoma Oklahoma City. Yeah.
We was out there and fucking like stuck in a hotel for a
month. Remember that you ever see The
Outsiders so famous movie, You Gotta See definitely heard of
it, what they shot it in Oklahoma City and the director
put. So there's two groups in the
movie. The scioscia's and of shit, IMA
forget the One, it's two. It's the scioscia's where the
rich kids and the greasers were the poor kids.
And in real life, the director put all the actors who played
the rich kids in a nice hotel and all the actors who played
the grimy kids in a shitty hotel.
So when they got to shooting, they really hated each other
because they got the nice hotels.
That's fire. Right?
But that movie is a must-see and it's in Oklahoma.
I live in Oklahoma City once it was, it seems like it's pretty
cool. I just we just couldn't risk
catching covid, you know, ain't nobody worried.
No master I know right? That's another thing with the
whole covid shit. It's like you come to
California. People take that shit way
serious. And we were in Texas, shoot red
rocket ain't nobody wearing a mask.
And at the end of the day, man. It's like do what you got to do.
I don't judge, man. It's like whatever.
Yeah. What are you gonna do, man?
You can't change people. That's another thing, man, like
goes back to ignorance. It's not like they got the
intention like I'm not gonna wear masks because I'm gonna
fucking To give other people covid-19 him.
There's not, no bad intention behind it, man.
They just don't feel like doing it.
I got it now. I'm just ready for this yet to
be over brought to be honest. I'm done with that.
So it's so you imagine you probably getting you're saying
no to a lot of shit, right? Like you're getting offers sent
in and you're picking your jobs. You want to do.
Yeah. I mean, yeah.
Whoo, we're figuring it out. Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's a good place to Be man. Yeah, I'm trying to figure out
how this shit works right now man.
You just got thrown into the deep end of the pool, Bross
crazy. Like you really got thrown onto
the biggest show in the world, pretty much.
I mean, it feels like that's the biggest show on on TV right.
Now. It's all anyone's talking about,
is something about, it's crazy. It's I mean, it's fucking a good
show. It's a good show man, and it's
like a cultural phenomenon. It's like sit, two piece of the
time. It is relevant.
Now, it's Stay relevant. I tell you what though, bro.
I watch that show and I just feel.
Oh, I'll be honest man. I watched the first pilot and it
made me uncomfortable because watching like these kids, not
even less than half my age. Wildin out like that.
And I was like the sex and drugs and I was like, damn, why is
this making me uncomfortable? Like I was that what it meant?
And I'm like, okay, you got to sit through this because that's
good. It's making you feel
uncomfortable. I want to feel uncomfortable,
you know, I mean, but it was like, yo, shit's wild.
I'm about to do a movie with your girl, Sydney Sweeney.
Yes. Yes.
Who everybody and Lucas. Lucas gave?
Yeah, he told me, she's the homie song about I haven't met
her yet. But we're shooting a movie in
New Mexico and a couple weeks and he's like, yo, she's the
best. Yeah.
Yeah, and then both of them are so yeah.
Super cool. So it's funny because, you know,
I just did a movie with Lucas and I was like, you know, I
still haven't watched Euphoria. He's like, don't watch it man.
I don't want you to see me, and then I watched it and he got his
ass beat near to death. And I don't even know what, I
don't even know. Survived it.
That's why I stopped watching it.
But the man, dude, this shows fuck with me.
Like, I actually now, I'm excited to go back and finish it
because I need something to watch and I really watch and
shit. So I'm going to dive back into
it. And yeah, it's yeah, I don't
watch much TV either to be honest with you.
I'm a documentary dude. I just want to watch some real
shit, especially because that's what we're doing.
I like watching Gordon Ramsay talk shit for a checkup.
Yeah. Yeah, always that the chef who
yells at people. Yeah.
What other shit you watch.
I really don't. I'm not I got a TV with a VCR
things. So I got a VCR.
Yes, like a little tiny, like 12 inch or this fucking sometimes
throwing, that's know some old classic.
Yeah. Yeah.
She's almost, like, do you even
need to go to acting school? Because I feel like sometimes
it's like your instinct might be good enough to wear.
Sometimes I think they can read rocket.
All the rest of the cast except my wife would never acted before
and they were fucking amazing and they just rocked off.
Instinct when I went to the class a different class in like
I had a scene partner for the class and I asked her because I
was trying to figure out because I had went to the class and I
watch the kids doing their little scenes and whatnot and I
walked away and I was like, I asked my scene partner Mike.
What am I supposed to be taking away from this?
Like, what should I be learning? You know what I'm saying?
And she can't really tell me like a direct answer and so I
was just like confused. I didn't know what to take away
or like what I was supposed to be paying attention to and
things. And then at one point, Sam, the
director of you for a he told me one day.
He was like, yo, did you rehearse this scene?
And I was like little bit and he was like, don't do it.
Yeah, see that's my point. At this point, I've just been
trying to just like fucking act, like it's dumb in the moment.
You know, that's it. Listen, anyone listening to
this, that's trying to be an actor.
First of all, what you just said, bro, is exactly what I
fight with all the time because we're red rocket.
I didn't have. I got the job three days before
we started shooting and I had to memorize.
I'm on every page of that script, right?
I had no time to think and that is, what worked.
Was because I wasn't overthinking and over
rehearsing. Yeah.
Shoot on film. Let's go, you know, your lines
kind of, let's roll on the fuck. If I ever seen coming up, man.
I wait till the very last second or else, I'll just kill myself
with anxiety, bro. Like so I just put it off and
then I'll get my lines. You know what I'm saying?
I try not to remember, like I don't know if I can work in a
movie where I have to say each line perfectly because I
Marseille different every time because I don't want to get
caught up on. Like, you know, the order of the
words and was more like the idea of the, I bet Sam likes that
because you'll give him different takes.
So he because somebody some directors do do that.
I've been on movies where they're like, no, it's you need
to go to the store or not. You need to go to like every
single answer for I can do. Yeah.
Because it would just, it would just fuck me up.
Not being able to just flow. Yeah, man, it's all about the
gut rocking off Instinct and going with the gut and just
improving. And I luckily Shaun Baker.
He let me improv a lot. Like I think he said in the end
25% or red rocket was improv, which is a lot, you know, and to
be able to improv on film. You know, how lucky that is?
Brother mean? Nobody just do that.
But anyway, so anyone out there listening man, go off your
instinct and don't judge what. So what's the lesson to this?
Don't overthink shit. People don't have bad.
Tensions are the time that's to I there's got to be a third one
and maybe maybe don't watch it so bad and let it come to you.
There's a little bit of wisdom from two dudes who maybe aren't
the wisest cats in the world, but we got a little wisdom.
I think. Yeah, a little Bela a little
bait with fucking, you know, follow your dreams.
They're going to lead somewhere. Are you gonna show me?
Yo, man, but to do it. Yeah.
Anyway, man, it was cool to meet you bail of all day.
I wish you all the best. You know what I mean?
And they handle that Fame. Keep a good head, on your
shoulders. I feel like you got that option.
Don't let the fame. Fuck you up too much, man.
It was good to meet you. Rob you to my God.
Congratulations on the new movie and all that man.
Appreciate. Hope to see you again soon.
Thanks for listening. The 824 podcast is produced by
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