Speaker 1: Still the Place with Laura Layton, Courtney Thorn Smith.
Speaker 2: And Daphnews and Niga an iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 3: He was so excited he's here.
Speaker 1: How he Michael, I have to share something adorable before
Speaker 1: we start. I signed in after Thomas. And when Thomas
Speaker 1: wrote the sign and sheet, it said why are you here?
Speaker 1: And he wrote for fun?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Well, we don't wreck it for you. It was
Speaker 4: his objective.
Speaker 3: We'll see.
Speaker 5: We won't bring up too many bad memories.
Speaker 2: If you, if any, we will be grateful. We're grateful
Speaker 2: for any memories at this.
Speaker 3: Point because we're finding that it wasn't meant to be
Speaker 3: a memory test. It was really meant to be like
Speaker 3: going down memory lane, but it's turned into be a
Speaker 3: memory test for all.
Speaker 4: Of this well because of the age that we all are.
Speaker 2: But what we did do for you, which we I
Speaker 2: don't think we did as much for the others as
Speaker 2: we asked fans for their questions get out of here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a lot of questions.
Speaker 5: You like Thomas him a lot. We don't really know
Speaker 5: anything about that time. We better get questions.
Speaker 3: We're gonna wind out everything about you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we just want to know what we ask everyone,
Speaker 2: which is the.
Speaker 4: Audition the audition, right, Okay?
Speaker 3: Good?
Speaker 5: So for me it was it was my fifteenth network
Speaker 5: test after the first series which was two years previous,
Speaker 5: which was which was Dreams Street. So you remember thirty something, Yes,
Speaker 5: the same executive producers Edswick and Marshall. Wow, I forgot
Speaker 5: your last name exactly, So that's why I fumble that. Anyway,
Speaker 5: So I was on the map and I was going
Speaker 5: back and forth. I was doing a lot of directing
Speaker 5: in New York, but I was running out of money
Speaker 5: directing and doing plays for nothing there and producing, and
Speaker 5: so I kept flying back and forth. And then they
Speaker 5: wanted me to go to network for this show, for
Speaker 5: what's the show? We are on melrose Place, And I
Speaker 5: booked a commercial and I literally said, I won't do it.
Speaker 5: I have to do the commercial because that's guaranteed National
Speaker 5: Networking to make me thirty k for at least, so
Speaker 5: I'm not going. And then they said we'll pick you
Speaker 5: up at lunch and bring out They did, and I
Speaker 5: remember that year they were doing a lot of musical shows.
Speaker 5: I don't know, yeah, you remember they because something was
Speaker 5: some movie was popular with musical instruments. Anyway, I was
Speaker 5: walking down the I think it was in Aaron Spellings,
Speaker 5: and I walked by everybody waiting to audition, walked right
Speaker 5: into the room, read left, and found out later on
Speaker 5: the shoot that they booked me.
Speaker 2: Why are you.
Speaker 1: Shooting the commercial? You found out?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I went back to finish shooting and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's when they she didn't have to do a
Speaker 3: song and dance. Sounds like it wasn't like part of that.
Speaker 5: I did, not singing and dancing.
Speaker 4: No, but you had a scene they had read.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't remember.
Speaker 1: What did they have you read with Josie Nope?
Speaker 4: Really anyone?
Speaker 5: Susan Edelman, I think it was right. She was our
Speaker 5: casting direct person.
Speaker 1: Oh so you never got mixed and matched with anybody?
Speaker 5: No, no, never. And here's the thing. When Susan called
Speaker 5: me the audition for Michael Mancini and I read the script,
Speaker 5: I went, I don't want to I want to do
Speaker 5: that Billy roll, and she went, shut up, you're too
Speaker 5: old to be playing Michael. Yeah. So that's how I
Speaker 5: end up reading for Michael manci who was pretty boring
Speaker 5: the first year, you know what I mean? Maybe?
Speaker 3: Yeah, only the first year because I.
Speaker 5: Was thirty three and Joe was twenty, So you're talking
Speaker 5: to Grant about like Jenny and that, you know, age difference. Yeah,
Speaker 5: and how inappropriate it was. I think we were more inappropriate.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well she was legal, though at least she was legal.
Speaker 5: I thought I thought Jens legal.
Speaker 1: Didn't realize.
Speaker 4: You are the oldest.
Speaker 1: One of the things we noticed in watching the early
Speaker 1: episodes that's hilarious is that Josie's constantly trying to get
Speaker 1: you to pay attention to her and make out with her,
Speaker 1: and you're like, oh, I'm too busy. We're like, have
Speaker 1: you seen her? Do you remember that?
Speaker 5: Look? Josiet most beautiful woman ever to walk into a
Speaker 5: makeup trailing.
Speaker 1: Exactly need to do anything, for sure?
Speaker 3: Remember, But Michael Man, did you found ways to avoid
Speaker 3: her all the time?
Speaker 2: Sorry?
Speaker 4: We got three women, one question at a time.
Speaker 2: You start, Did you notice that that she was in
Speaker 2: the writing that you never gave her enough attention? We're
Speaker 2: on episode eight or nine now, and like you're barely
Speaker 2: giving her attention because she's about to have a baby.
Speaker 5: You know, no, I didn't, because I always you know,
Speaker 5: I fall in love with my character and then I
Speaker 5: make everything he does the best thing he can do,
Speaker 5: and he was doing the best he could given his
Speaker 5: schedule as a medical student. Yeah, I mean that was
Speaker 5: our arc for the first season. Yeah, right, basically I'm
Speaker 5: too busy to pay attention to the relationship. Yeah, did
Speaker 5: someone else question it?
Speaker 4: No, that was it?
Speaker 1: And then do you remember when it changed?
Speaker 5: Yes? Doesn't everybody know what it changed? I think it
Speaker 5: was pretty clear to me that the whole show changed
Speaker 5: when they brought Heather in. Yeah. We went from kind
Speaker 5: of soap operas, kind of real life to over the edge.
Speaker 4: Well, it was very.
Speaker 1: Sweet watching the first episodes. Like we talk a lot
Speaker 1: about the structure, it was a very traditional structure. There
Speaker 1: were two sort of related storylines, but it really was
Speaker 1: eight nice kids trying to make it. Yeah, every single script.
Speaker 1: So it was maybe the first thirteen.
Speaker 2: Marcia did a guest star as your coworker on thirteen.
Speaker 4: I came in fifteen. Heather came after that.
Speaker 2: But my question to your question is do you remember
Speaker 2: just playing it. Was it like a sudden thing or
Speaker 2: was it subtle? These changes kind of like because I
Speaker 2: know you had an affair with you know, the Kimberly
Speaker 2: and all that.
Speaker 4: But in season one.
Speaker 5: Seven marriages, five women twice with Joe and twice with Laura.
Speaker 3: That's hysterical.
Speaker 1: Did you have seven marriages on the show?
Speaker 5: That's right.
Speaker 4: I love that.
Speaker 5: Buddy in the last episode could have gone so far.
Speaker 5: So here let me tell you though, I think it's
Speaker 5: pretty interesting, is that Marsha and I at the end
Speaker 5: of thirteen, or when she first came on the end
Speaker 5: of the first season, we decided to make a choice
Speaker 5: when we were working on a scene together where I
Speaker 5: was explaining my Marriagabal problems to her. She was my confidante,
Speaker 5: you know, at work, and we decided to do a
Speaker 5: couple of takes flirtatiously. I found out later the producers
Speaker 5: picked up on that, but the network didn't want to
Speaker 5: go with that, right, so they didn't take those They
Speaker 5: didn't air those choices. But we thought it would be
Speaker 5: fun and we thought it might maybe could go somewhere.
Speaker 5: But because I was we were the staid couple, everybody
Speaker 5: looked up to it and went to a for advice,
Speaker 5: you know, and the network said, no, we can't do that,
Speaker 5: And then the next season they changed their mind, and
Speaker 5: that was the first affair.
Speaker 3: Interesting because that was right around thirteen, which is the
Speaker 3: original order. So there was an order for thirteen episodes
Speaker 3: that at some point they weren't you know, you guys
Speaker 3: were waiting. I wasn't there, but so I hear those
Speaker 3: guys were waiting for your pickup for the back nine.
Speaker 4: We went later, we went more than thirteen, but we
Speaker 4: were finishing.
Speaker 5: Out the season because I planned the marriage that I
Speaker 5: had a delay with Liz until afterwards.
Speaker 4: Because they had a real marriage.
Speaker 3: Oh yes, the real And then so Marsh's character Kimberly
Speaker 3: came in around thirteen, and then I think that's totally
Speaker 3: when the whole show started to have that sort of
Speaker 3: graduate show. But it's so interesting that you triggered that
Speaker 3: specifically with that storyline.
Speaker 5: I wouldn't say that I think they saw the potential
Speaker 5: I did. I think it was a better match for
Speaker 5: all the talents, you know, to do that. Obviously it
Speaker 5: was right because it turned out to be great for
Speaker 5: all of us. I just think it fit better. I
Speaker 5: think they were going for something, but it wasn't quite
Speaker 5: working right. We were low rated. I mean, we weren't
Speaker 5: doing great. And then Heather comes on. That's because of
Speaker 5: her history in business, you know, she brought that with
Speaker 5: her and we kind of it became we all jumped
Speaker 5: on the same train.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well because the writers made us made this new train,
Speaker 2: because they saw what was happening with the matings. And
Speaker 2: even before Heather came on, I know, Amy left and
Speaker 2: then you started to change, and I feel and then
Speaker 2: she came on and just took it off. I think
Speaker 2: it was really smart of the writers obviously, Yeah, but
Speaker 2: I was just curious because because I looked, I looked
Speaker 2: ahead a little bit and I saw you know you
Speaker 2: and Marsha. It wasn't it was later is in the
Speaker 2: twenties in the episodes, So you guys were already bad
Speaker 2: because Heather.
Speaker 4: Came in nineteen.
Speaker 3: I think that's when I come in. You come in nineteen.
Speaker 5: You inta was already with us, right.
Speaker 3: I don't think so. I think so I came in
Speaker 3: for nineteen and twenty and like my character was stirring
Speaker 3: it up a little bit too, like panting that seed,
Speaker 3: like because of the sister. Yeah, Like, and then I
Speaker 3: didn't stay. But right after is when Heather comes. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and that sort of that tonal shift kind of was there.
Speaker 1: Yes, stay.
Speaker 3: It was during the first season, yeah, but it was
Speaker 3: like halfway through the first season was like a gradual
Speaker 3: working in, and then they brought in this ultra villain.
Speaker 3: I think they really felt like the show needed a villain,
Speaker 3: and it was Heather.
Speaker 1: So broad Heather in in twenty one. You ended up
Speaker 1: doing thirty three that first season, so they must have
Speaker 1: known and they started shifting because you had brought in
Speaker 1: like an edge of your energy that you brought in
Speaker 1: different energies. So we're already sort of moving in that direction.
Speaker 2: So I guess what we're are saying. We love you
Speaker 2: and your memory, but it's a little off.
Speaker 5: My mind.
Speaker 3: We didn't bring you into correcting.
Speaker 4: Part of the engine of the new train.
Speaker 5: You.
Speaker 2: Yes, Heather came on, but the train was always already
Speaker 2: moving in a new direction, and that was that was you.
Speaker 5: Tomas. I never I'm not sure when he showed up
Speaker 5: at the station, but you're anyway.
Speaker 1: So I think I know the answer to this. Was
Speaker 1: it more fun to play Michael good guy work in
Speaker 1: his hardest or Michael bad guy never knew what he
Speaker 1: was going to do?
Speaker 5: Question? I've been asked no less than five million.
Speaker 1: Times, but tell the truth, no answer this.
Speaker 5: Would you rather be a reactive character or inactives?
Speaker 1: As simple as you guys are fun.
Speaker 5: Instead of getting slapped across the face, I'd rather do
Speaker 5: this slap. Yeah.
Speaker 3: So do you have any again not a memory test.
Speaker 3: Do you have any favorite storylines or like favorite eras
Speaker 3: of what Michael did?
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah, that's a good question too, when I've been
Speaker 5: asked and you know, first thing that comes up with
Speaker 5: you me and Jacket. You know that I forgot the
Speaker 5: namn name of it, but you know what I'm talking.
Speaker 3: There was an office it was something.
Speaker 5: Burns the reception, So that was one thing. Breaking up
Speaker 5: with Marshall was always fun to do because I was
Speaker 5: just so abusive. It's terrible, just terrible everyone. Yeah, but
Speaker 5: you know, I have to say I never had an
Speaker 5: un fun day at work. I always loved it. Oh,
Speaker 5: it was always an absolute pleasure. I'll never forget Josie,
Speaker 5: Like season two or three, she's like, oh thank god,
Speaker 5: I only have two scenes this episode. You guys are right.
Speaker 5: She like every close up on the end of the day.
Speaker 5: She had all her every time. I'm so surprised you
Speaker 5: didn't say, can you just do this without me? But
Speaker 5: I really tried to embrace everything they gave me, no
Speaker 5: matter how crazy preposterous it was because.
Speaker 2: Your background is theater. You came from New York, you're
Speaker 2: living in New York. You did theater, you directed, I
Speaker 2: think theater. You I know that you went to Fordham,
Speaker 2: you understudied Denzel Washington. You know, you did Shakespeare, and
Speaker 2: I remember this part of you.
Speaker 4: So I remember. Then you come to hear and you're
Speaker 4: on this hit show.
Speaker 2: And it's like the opposite of you know, Shakespeare or
Speaker 2: a play.
Speaker 4: I mean, actually it's kind of it's kind of pop.
Speaker 5: Shakespeare up to popcast.
Speaker 4: It's kind of sort of like in the Iago he
Speaker 4: did write every scene three.
Speaker 5: Times and we did the same scene. Yeah, yes, over there.
Speaker 4: I'm just wondering what that was like. And for you
Speaker 4: as an actor.
Speaker 5: You know, it's this thing. I don't think of it
Speaker 5: that way, you know, Like I said, I fall in
Speaker 5: love with every script I read that I'm going to do,
Speaker 5: and I fell in love with this. And we had
Speaker 5: such a great situation, the fact that we're all sitting
Speaker 5: down and laughing about what we did thirty years ago.
Speaker 5: It was a good the cast, the crew, I mean,
Speaker 5: it was golden. It took me a while to get
Speaker 5: used to the business in Court and he knows this
Speaker 5: better than anybody. I was not good to be around.
Speaker 5: When we were doing publicity, I thought it was stupid,
Speaker 5: miserable who needs this work? Speaks for itself? Because I
Speaker 5: was an actor from the theater in New York. Not
Speaker 5: an unusual you know pattern there. But once, you know,
Speaker 5: I think it was about the second year, I thought,
Speaker 5: what are you doing, Collaboro. You love doing this show,
Speaker 5: and you're making it harder for you to continue doing
Speaker 5: it because Spelling's going to blow you out of here.
Speaker 5: Remember he wanted the one of us all to like,
Speaker 5: you know, say happy birthday to the Japanese Emperor woman
Speaker 5: or somebody. And I was like, I'm not doing that,
Speaker 5: and I never forget the whole crew came over and
Speaker 5: came over and surrounded me and said, Thomas, we want
Speaker 5: you to stay on the show, so will you go
Speaker 5: please do that? And I started getting me thinking, what
Speaker 5: am I doing? Say happy birthday? Who cares if you
Speaker 5: know him or not? You know? Or Tracy help? No,
Speaker 5: not Tracy help, Missy. You know I made her life
Speaker 5: a little too miserable. I'm apologizing to you right.
Speaker 1: Friend, tell her I'll text her right now.
Speaker 4: Apologize on you.
Speaker 1: Remember when Grant was on the show. Remember we were
Speaker 1: shooting the opening credits on Melrose Avenue at Johnny Rockets
Speaker 1: and he almost got in a fight with somebody, so.
Speaker 5: He was very reasonable fighter.
Speaker 6: Con right, she was Queen Chad McQueen and he came
Speaker 6: up on a motorcycle and they were like rumbling during
Speaker 6: our photo. Yeah, completely forgotten as life imitates art.
Speaker 5: Yes, I don't have any recollection.
Speaker 3: So I have a question. There was a reunion magazine
Speaker 3: shoot that we did.
Speaker 4: What was that two.
Speaker 3: Thousand and nine, ten eleven, twelve something? While right, it
Speaker 3: was about at least ten years ago and you didn't
Speaker 3: join us? Was that?
Speaker 2: Like was that were you still sort of in this dress?
Speaker 3: Were you still and if it's if you don't want
Speaker 3: to answer, you don't have to either, but like was
Speaker 3: that you like were you unavailable or whatever? Like we
Speaker 3: missed having it? Like that was I think when I
Speaker 3: why did you?
Speaker 5: Yeah, like, okay, I'll tell you why I didn't do
Speaker 5: it because I didn't think about seeing all you guys
Speaker 5: together and having that kind of fun that would have
Speaker 5: made it attractive to me. And I regret it, you know,
Speaker 5: like I do, I just do. I told my wife
Speaker 5: you know later shit, when you guys call me from dinner,
Speaker 5: I was like, oh, flip, I didn't use that word,
Speaker 5: but you know, I shoot, you know that I should
Speaker 5: have gone what am I doing? But I'm not into
Speaker 5: looking back that much, you know what I mean. I'm
Speaker 5: kind of done. So when it comes to they want
Speaker 5: to do interviews, I turned down, I think pretty much
Speaker 5: all of it because I'm like, oh, do you want
Speaker 5: to talk about this? I'm not really I'm not interested.
Speaker 1: You know what The shift is though for me, Like
Speaker 1: I had the same thought. But it's fun to talk
Speaker 1: about that time in our lives, like it was our
Speaker 1: twenties too, I think your early thirties. You said you
Speaker 1: were thirty then, so it is our twenties and thirties two,
Speaker 1: and we're all together doing this thing in this time
Speaker 1: in our life. So that's what's been really fun remembering
Speaker 1: that time, the nineties and what we were doing in
Speaker 1: that crazy time. And we had such an exceptional thing
Speaker 1: because we were out in the middle of nowhere. Remember
Speaker 1: hanging out in the production office between scenes.
Speaker 5: It's so rare.
Speaker 1: That casts and crews would hang out between scenes, but
Speaker 1: we did because we were It was almost like we're
Speaker 1: on location because we're out in Stanley Creta in the
Speaker 1: middle of nowhere, like you would golf all the time
Speaker 1: with the crew guys right like you car would drive away.
Speaker 4: We were so close.
Speaker 1: I think that's really rare.
Speaker 5: It is, and that's that's why I say, for I'd
Speaker 5: miss seeing you guys, but doing a photo shoot for
Speaker 5: People magazine, I'm not interested. Yeah, I'm just not for.
Speaker 1: That entertainment weekly. But it was super.
Speaker 5: You were so for me. That's all the same magazine.
Speaker 1: But now think about it, if it comes up again,
Speaker 1: just think of it. That's background for all of us
Speaker 1: getting together.
Speaker 3: Probably You're absolutely right, Like we've said it a million times.
Speaker 3: We feel so lucky that the group of us were.
Speaker 3: It was just such a nice and magical time and
Speaker 3: looking back on it now has been so fun, like
Speaker 3: especially through the podcast and everything and these you know,
Speaker 3: random reasons for a reunion. It's just such a great
Speaker 3: excuse to get together and like revisit the friendships.
Speaker 2: But I am curious because he has an answer. Your
Speaker 2: answer was you don't look back, you don't like to.
Speaker 2: Is that in general, Thomas, is that kind of like
Speaker 2: just with life in general?
Speaker 4: Forget the show. I'm just curious or if is it.
Speaker 3: You know about a career thing that you did too
Speaker 3: long ago or what is that?
Speaker 5: No, No, I don't know what to know. It's just
Speaker 5: who I am, you know. I just like, like, what
Speaker 5: the heck, it's all that's done stuff, And you know,
Speaker 5: I like to wake up early in the morning and
Speaker 5: enjoy the day. You know, what do you do?
Speaker 4: What is a day like with Thomas?
Speaker 2: I mean not with Tom, not with you, but as
Speaker 2: you like, what are you up to now?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean if you got the house and ocean
Speaker 5: side on, working on I'm working on the house over here,
Speaker 5: you know, visiting with my children. I'm playing tennis, doing yoga.
Speaker 1: Oh you are some love us traveling.
Speaker 5: We travel a lot. We enjoy traveling a ton. And
Speaker 5: occasionally I get a call and I do with put
Speaker 5: a little project four episodes of this or six episodes
Speaker 5: of that or something like that. Yeah, but I don't
Speaker 5: want to It's like more like a paid hobby now
Speaker 5: than anything. I'm just not as interested as I used
Speaker 5: to be well doing it, pursuing it.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I even think, first of all, series don't work like ard.
Speaker 1: You'd never do thirty two or thirty three episodes again,
Speaker 1: like people are lucky to get eight or ten episodes.
Speaker 1: But I physically couldn't do it. Like we worked ten
Speaker 1: and a half months a year, fourteen to sixteen hours
Speaker 1: a day. I couldn't do that anymore. I remember Deborah A.
Speaker 1: Dair coming to Deborah Dare coming and it was like
Speaker 1: five in the morning, and I was like, oh, I'm exhausted.
Speaker 1: She goes, but you're twenty. It doesn't show and I
Speaker 1: was like what And I'm like, oh, now, now, I.
Speaker 2: Totally I totally agree the energy and stuff, but you
Speaker 2: look really fit and you're do you have this is
Speaker 2: without of being older than the rest of us, no
Speaker 2: issues of energy and stuff.
Speaker 4: I'm curious he sounds that you have such a healthy, wonderful.
Speaker 5: Like actually being older on the show was a great
Speaker 5: benefit because I had sixteen years of professional work behind me.
Speaker 5: It wasn't all that. I remember when Laura come in
Speaker 5: and Andrew even like with those little experiences you had,
Speaker 5: it was like, you know, I thought it was a lot.
Speaker 5: You know, Doc, there's no perspective. So I struggled for
Speaker 5: most of those sixteen years. So like for me, it
Speaker 5: was like gravy time it was like, Oh, this is
Speaker 5: the greatest thing ever. Yeah, I had all the other experience, right, true?
Speaker 1: Yeah, speaking of experience, so you stayed for season six
Speaker 1: and seven and I'm dying to hear how those were
Speaker 1: because we all left after five. So what was it
Speaker 1: like with every day? Did you think I missed those
Speaker 1: girls so much?
Speaker 4: Please?
Speaker 1: You missed us? Basically, there's a hole in my guard
Speaker 1: I don't know what it is.
Speaker 3: But it sounds like there was plenty of like more
Speaker 3: weddings and.
Speaker 1: We were in sixty seven many times?
Speaker 4: Did you get married?
Speaker 5: I've already proven that I have the worst memory in
Speaker 5: the room. I don't know, but I know it was
Speaker 5: a lot.
Speaker 3: Yeah that's statistic.
Speaker 5: Because I've said it so many plenty times. Okay, so
Speaker 5: it's more the memory of having said it than actually
Speaker 5: remembering it.
Speaker 1: But did it feel different? Like, how did it feel
Speaker 1: at that point because a lot of people left and
Speaker 1: it was like a brand new cast basically, yeah.
Speaker 5: There was right, we had Renee Sofur and then we
Speaker 5: had Renee.
Speaker 1: You're the only cast member who was there for me.
Speaker 4: You were the beginning to the end, well.
Speaker 5: The only one, I honest, look, my goal in my
Speaker 5: career was one do the best work I possibly could
Speaker 5: given my abilities, which I never thought was that great,
Speaker 5: and making enough flipping money that you don't have to
Speaker 5: worry about ever working again. Yeah, and we were lucky.
Speaker 5: We had this great show. You say, like thirty two
Speaker 5: hours a year. We did our thirty four somewhere in there.
Speaker 5: So we did eleven and a half year run in
Speaker 5: seven seasons. I wasn't quitting that dang show for a doc.
Speaker 5: I was. I made major bank, you know how it is,
Speaker 5: from season five to six or whatever it was then,
Speaker 5: and then the check go was up big, so I
Speaker 5: cashed in and I was free to move about the
Speaker 5: cabin anyway I wish feel.
Speaker 1: I did feel because you were so close to the crew,
Speaker 1: so maybe it didn't feel that different to you because
Speaker 1: a lot of your friends were in her crew and
Speaker 1: they stayed. But did it feel different, like what are
Speaker 1: these people doing on our set? Because by the time
Speaker 1: I left at the end of five, there were a
Speaker 1: lot of new people. It did feel different. We're looking
Speaker 1: at the first episodes were on. We were such a small,
Speaker 1: tight group and we're actually watching the friendships for them,
Speaker 1: which is so sweet. And then by the end, like
Speaker 1: remember our cast pictures, Like first it was us and
Speaker 1: then by the end it was this huge like it
Speaker 1: looked like a school picture. They were like people brawling photo.
Speaker 5: You know. Again, I just took it day by day
Speaker 5: so it didn't feel so much different. Is that's who
Speaker 5: am I doing the scene with today and adjusting to
Speaker 5: to styles, patterns and how they want to work and
Speaker 5: how deeply they want to not be kissed or not right.
Speaker 5: Every time you have a you know, scene with one
Speaker 5: of you guys, I had like, okay, what are you
Speaker 5: okay with with kissing? You know, with Josie tongue no tongue?
Speaker 5: Did you ask? Did you have that?
Speaker 1: Love it when people have that conversation.
Speaker 5: Most of my time on Melrose Place making sure that
Speaker 5: sheep didn't cover the boot pass.
Speaker 2: Right now.
Speaker 4: Yes, I love scene with you.
Speaker 3: Love scenes.
Speaker 5: Those are the hardest.
Speaker 3: Do you remember there was a scene where I think
Speaker 3: Michael was trying to kill Sydney and they took they
Speaker 3: said it. I mean one of the many times of
Speaker 3: the many times it wasn't trying. But we were like
Speaker 3: in some cabin in the woods and then we had
Speaker 3: to go to there was a swimming hole and you
Speaker 3: were gonna drown me.
Speaker 1: Do you remember this?
Speaker 5: I wish I did.
Speaker 4: Do you remember what do you remember?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 3: My god, I remember this. I mean speaking of boot patches,
Speaker 3: because I think we were skinny dipping, right, so I
Speaker 3: was in like things that weren't really staying on in
Speaker 3: the water whatever. But like I think there was this
Speaker 3: swimming hole. I'm gonna see if I can jug your memory.
Speaker 2: It was like.
Speaker 3: It was like this dirty water of swimming hole thing
Speaker 3: and we were in it.
Speaker 5: No, okay, we were.
Speaker 3: Out on location somewhere. We had trailers out in the
Speaker 3: woods somewhere, and then yeah, and like you Michael was
Speaker 3: gonna drown Sydney or whatever. I just remember being in
Speaker 3: this filthy water and like I had to go under him,
Speaker 3: like like it was so gross or whatever, and like
Speaker 3: so many things that I think an audience doesn't realize.
Speaker 3: But what I remember was just like the discomfort of
Speaker 3: being in this filthy water and we were swimming in it.
Speaker 1: Did they try to kill you or did you out
Speaker 1: smart him? Did you actually get to the point where
Speaker 1: he's trying He did not.
Speaker 4: He did not kill me.
Speaker 1: Well, I know he didn't. Actually, you know, I think.
Speaker 3: This is a this is A good question for my memory.
Speaker 3: I don't remember the actual outcome. It'll be in like
Speaker 3: season yeah the fans will like mine is but season
Speaker 3: four or five? And I think maybe you had like
Speaker 3: your conscience got the better of you and like you
Speaker 3: changed your mind, like yeah, well that's.
Speaker 5: A wait, wait, I got to turn it back on you.
Speaker 5: Do you remember when you were the stripper and I
Speaker 5: discovered you were stripping?
Speaker 3: Do I remember?
Speaker 5: Do you remember that scene? I sure do? How much
Speaker 5: did you hate me that day?
Speaker 3: I hated you a ton? In fact, I we just
Speaker 3: talked about this. It wasn't that I hated you, It's
Speaker 3: that I felt I mean, I felt so vulnerable during
Speaker 3: that scene anyway, And your job as your character was
Speaker 3: to make me feel horrible, right, that was your job.
Speaker 3: So I just remember that scene.
Speaker 7: Like totally making me feel tearable, like vulnerable and like
Speaker 7: icky about myself, right, And but your job as your
Speaker 7: character was to rub it in Sydney's face, and you
Speaker 7: did it, and because you were so wonderfully you know,
Speaker 7: mean and gleeful at it and literally, yes, I absolutely
Speaker 7: remember that.
Speaker 4: But that's so interesting.
Speaker 5: I never think you liked me after that. I thought
Speaker 5: it was over because I had a spot. I talked
Speaker 5: Josie I watched your interview with her, and she said
Speaker 5: that I was spontaneous or something, and I'm not sure
Speaker 5: I was always so spontaneous, but I do remember being
Speaker 5: spontaneous in that scene because I had caught your garter
Speaker 5: and I punched a scene at the end after it
Speaker 5: was done, by putting it over your head, pointing at
Speaker 5: you and laughing. Yeah, it makes me feel kind of terrible, like, actually,
Speaker 5: I feel bad really that I did that now, but
Speaker 5: in the moment, and that's when you they said caught
Speaker 5: and you called me a clown?
Speaker 2: Do you remember that's really what you meant to call
Speaker 2: you know what.
Speaker 3: I'm proud of myself that that's the word I choke.
Speaker 5: But then the scene was over, so I didn went
Speaker 5: to feel terrible, and I don't remember if we ever
Speaker 5: spoke about that again, but we're speaking about.
Speaker 3: It now, so I'm it's so, it's so, I'm sorry too,
Speaker 3: because it's interesting. No, just like that, like it's it's
Speaker 3: something he's taken what he doesn't remember much, but he
Speaker 3: does remember that.
Speaker 1: You're sorry for interesting?
Speaker 5: Yeah, because it was a big feeling for me. So
Speaker 5: that's why I remember it, right. I don't remember the
Speaker 5: everyday scenes and all that stuff, but we do all
Speaker 5: have those, you know, spots, specific memory moments where something
Speaker 5: happened that stayed with you, because that's that's.
Speaker 4: What acting is.
Speaker 2: It's such a you know, it's really does tap into
Speaker 2: you as a human being, your your sense of whatever.
Speaker 2: So that sounds like that was a spontaneous action.
Speaker 5: It was, yeah, you didn't like me because I was
Speaker 5: a mar idiot.
Speaker 3: I could have been the other reason I love you
Speaker 3: and I like you, and it was like it was
Speaker 3: always the character, like the character Michael was supposed to,
Speaker 3: you know, be gleeful and evil, and that was their
Speaker 3: dynamic and it was just that I just from my
Speaker 3: memory of it, we just talked about this.
Speaker 2: It's like that, Thomas, did you have other moments like
Speaker 2: that because you played such an evil guy like that that.
Speaker 4: Did you have other feelings like that throughout your seven years?
Speaker 5: Because well, no, well this is specific because I knew
Speaker 5: I had hurt Laura and not Sydney. Right. So there's
Speaker 5: another scene with Marsha where she just dripped down the
Speaker 5: wall when I give her handle my divorce papers in
Speaker 5: the middle of the hospital and I'm like, get over it, honey,
Speaker 5: what's wrong with you know, like totally being glib about
Speaker 5: the whole thing, and she's up against the wall and
Speaker 5: sliding down it. And no, because I think we didn't
Speaker 5: have that. I knew you know that, Marsian knew it.
Speaker 5: Didn't take it personally at the time, but I felt
Speaker 5: like I had hurt your feelings, and so that's what
Speaker 5: I remember, But I don't remember that much like Jack.
Speaker 5: You couldn't hurt his feelings, right, And I abused a
Speaker 5: frick out of him.
Speaker 2: Because one of the questions we got was what it
Speaker 2: was like for you to play that kind of character.
Speaker 2: So you felt that because maybe you sensed her her
Speaker 2: frailty and she was new at acting maybe and Marcia
Speaker 2: was also came from theater.
Speaker 4: And she's used to that kind of stuff, right, right.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Marsha and I often talked about how we wanted
Speaker 5: to play it. We tried different ways. That was just
Speaker 5: our way of working together because you know, we don't
Speaker 5: have a lot of rehearsal time, right.
Speaker 2: So yeah, So I found the change of going from films,
Speaker 2: which I'd done eight years of, to TV, which goes
Speaker 2: so fast. Yea hard because there's no time to rehearse.
Speaker 2: You just hit your sandbag there that little line and
Speaker 2: then just say your thing and they move on.
Speaker 4: Was that hard for you or no?
Speaker 5: No again, because I had the sixteen years behind me,
Speaker 5: But like Amy Lokine, because I watched the pilot to
Speaker 5: like you guys, somebody asked me to do and I
Speaker 5: you know, my heart broke a little bit for Amie
Speaker 5: because I'll never forget she came from doing a few films,
Speaker 5: not a lot of experience. She was young, and Amy
Speaker 5: came to me after like episode three and she was
Speaker 5: struggling because they wanted her to do a dialect which
Speaker 5: she wasn't really proficient at. And then she had a
Speaker 5: move so fast and she'd only done movies and she said, Thomas,
Speaker 5: I don't know what to do. What's the matter, Amy,
Speaker 5: I'm just used to knowing the director's name, but they
Speaker 5: come and go so fast in television. She couldn't get comfortable.
Speaker 5: And of course, you know, we lost her after thirteen episodes.
Speaker 5: And I'm not sure it was all her fault, it
Speaker 5: just it was just the circumstances for her. I'll never
Speaker 5: forget that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, what you do have on TV, though,
Speaker 1: is you played the character for so long that eventually
Speaker 1: directors come and go, and we had regular directors, which
Speaker 1: I loved. But you know the character, so you go
Speaker 1: and know it. I remember Andrew learning his lines on
Speaker 1: the way into work, right almost.
Speaker 3: Yeah, most of them.
Speaker 1: Vaguely learning the way to work. But you do know
Speaker 1: the character so much, so eventually it really is an
Speaker 1: actor's medium because you know the director sort of moving
Speaker 1: you around. But if they say her character to do this,
Speaker 1: you'd be like, I've been playing this person for three years.
Speaker 1: So yeah, a lot of them know that they do.
Speaker 2: They have.
Speaker 1: The more experienced was absolutely yeah. They also they come back.
Speaker 1: You start to trust them more so if they have
Speaker 1: an idea, you're more willing to try it.
Speaker 5: Yeah. They I mean they say the stage is the
Speaker 5: actors medium, film is the directors, and television is the producers.
Speaker 5: And as you know, I as you guys, of course not.
Speaker 5: I directed about four or five episodes whatever it was,
Speaker 5: and I definitely felt that it was producers medium. You know,
Speaker 5: you feel that weight, You've already got a style, you
Speaker 5: got to shoot the same way, the same thing.
Speaker 4: You a little about the directing what that was like?
Speaker 5: I loved it. Again, if it wasn't you guys, I
Speaker 5: don't know what it would have been like. But you
Speaker 5: guys were all so great to work.
Speaker 1: I remember you being very happy as a director, like
Speaker 1: you felt happier to me, like you were so.
Speaker 5: Like.
Speaker 1: Also, your character is more intense, and as a director
Speaker 1: you've just come in as Thomas, and you were so lovely.
Speaker 1: And it's great to work with an actor as a
Speaker 1: director because of the way you communicate with us. It's
Speaker 1: so funn I'd forgotten that, so you just mentioned it.
Speaker 1: Did you like it as much as you seem.
Speaker 5: To like it? I loved it. I hated the unknown
Speaker 5: because I didn't know technical so much, although that got
Speaker 5: better as you know. The first episode I directed, I
Speaker 5: got hives. I was covered in red all over wow,
Speaker 5: And but yeah, that kind of calmed down and then
Speaker 5: I had the trust of everybody, which was a great
Speaker 5: a great comfort. But yeah, did I love working with you? Yeah?
Speaker 5: Except Rob Besti's was like, stay away from me, Thomas,
Speaker 5: don't come over, don't get out of your chair, because
Speaker 5: I gave him way too much.
Speaker 2: You did. So did you feel like the producers are
Speaker 2: breathing down your neck to get what they needed.
Speaker 4: You're saying it's their medium, or did you?
Speaker 5: Yeah? I mean I was aware of it, you know,
Speaker 5: So it wasn't like they had to come and you know,
Speaker 5: look over me. It's just that sometimes, yeah, you felt
Speaker 5: they were pushing you in their direction rather than the
Speaker 5: one you want to go in. Even though it was
Speaker 5: more like later episodes, it was when Frank took over well.
Speaker 1: And also I imagine as a theater director you want
Speaker 1: to spend time talking about the character and the motivating like,
Speaker 1: we don't have time for that. We got to get
Speaker 1: it in the can.
Speaker 5: The biggest challenge as a director was I kind of
Speaker 5: plotted everything out, but I went over the scenes so
Speaker 5: much that I wanted to be able to adjust to
Speaker 5: whatever you guys needed, right, Jack might say, like, I'm
Speaker 5: not going to stop there. The great thing about doing
Speaker 5: it was that I was prepared for that, and some
Speaker 5: of the greatest stuff came out of that, and I
Speaker 5: was able to handle that. The bad news was I
Speaker 5: had to shoot my bloody self, so I had to
Speaker 5: direct myself and I just wanted to get through that
Speaker 5: as fast as possible.
Speaker 1: Were you difficult to work with?
Speaker 6: Tom?
Speaker 3: How did you like working did you keep asking yourself,
Speaker 3: did you hurt yourself?
Speaker 5: You're feelings? I couldn't speak fast enough. That was my problem.
Speaker 2: All right, let's go back to another fang question. So
Speaker 2: since you say you got married seven times, Michael got married.
Speaker 3: So Michael got married.
Speaker 5: That's it.
Speaker 2: So there are a couple questions in this direction, as
Speaker 2: you guys probably read too, Who do you think was
Speaker 2: best matched?
Speaker 5: Wait? Who do you think was your best you?
Speaker 4: Michael, your partner?
Speaker 3: Who was Michael's best match?
Speaker 5: I have to say, Laura, first of all, well, I'm
Speaker 5: right there.
Speaker 4: I'm here.
Speaker 3: Before during the marriage, I was trying to kill it.
Speaker 5: When I wasn't when I didn't have my brain thing, Remember.
Speaker 3: That there was a.
Speaker 5: There is a brain, and you were playing that on
Speaker 5: and then you were playing on me. So I kept
Speaker 5: going but I wasn't and then I got you tied
Speaker 5: up in bed.
Speaker 1: That was the end of that.
Speaker 5: Oh my god, because Michael, Michael, what are you doing?
Speaker 5: I'm not brain dead or whatever I was. I forgot.
Speaker 1: That's so funny because Alison went blind and then got
Speaker 1: her site back but kept pretending to be blind.
Speaker 8: There's a theme on the show. Yeah, you have very
Speaker 8: good memory that I can't wait to more excited.
Speaker 5: Yeah, except for the dirty hole.
Speaker 1: You married Sydney twice, Laura twice?
Speaker 5: Do you and Joe Jose? Joe?
Speaker 3: You never married Joe, just saying old Joe.
Speaker 4: You never get on the show.
Speaker 1: We never got together on the show. Oh never, No,
Speaker 1: but well no, don't say no. But like there was
Speaker 1: an off camera thing.
Speaker 5: No, Heather, Heather I had a one time or with
Speaker 5: because she had cancer and needed help. Why wouldn't he
Speaker 5: be joyful?
Speaker 4: You remember a lot, mister, He's faking it even now.
Speaker 4: I love what you're remembering.
Speaker 5: So there was Joe. So I betted Heather before Jack did,
Speaker 5: which was just a little person for Jack to.
Speaker 1: Heather was with all of the regular characters. Amanda was
Speaker 1: all well except Doug, except she was not with Matt
Speaker 1: way through because she changed to me because her character
Speaker 1: had this thing is such a slut. And Alison was
Speaker 1: a good girl. But I actually had more boyfriends on
Speaker 1: the show. They just bring them in for a couple
Speaker 1: couple episodes and then send them out, so they didn't
Speaker 1: stick with people I was. Alison was actually not a slut, shame,
Speaker 1: but Allison had more fun.
Speaker 5: I didn't even know this thing is such a thing
Speaker 5: as slutshaming. But good, don't do it.
Speaker 4: That's where to do it.
Speaker 1: But so she she made her way every she dated
Speaker 1: all the regular characters, really very generous. Well Melrose dated
Speaker 1: for cancer help.
Speaker 5: So wait, so answering your question, m I love them all.
Speaker 4: I mean, I mean even that word match.
Speaker 2: Who do you think we're best matched? I mean in
Speaker 2: your and Michael's character? Who was the the It was
Speaker 2: like this tumultuous, evil mutual.
Speaker 4: Could it have been Kimberly, could it have been? You
Speaker 4: know what I mean, It's not like happily ever after.
Speaker 5: Well, you know, it depends on you know, the benchmarks
Speaker 5: for good right, for a good match. So I would
Speaker 5: say Josie for heartfelt honest. Also because it was early
Speaker 5: in the show and the show show hadn't changed tone,
Speaker 5: so no one else really got that chance. Comedy, I'm
Speaker 5: gonna say Sydney because we just had a ton of
Speaker 5: good fun stuff to do all the time. Kimberly, Kimberly, Yeah,
Speaker 5: I mean for high drama. You can't beat that. Yeah,
Speaker 5: so high drama. We got three things covered. Megan Kelly
Speaker 5: Rutherford forgive me, Kelly, I love you. Yep, she was terrific,
Speaker 5: very swiftly sweet. That's how I remember that.
Speaker 4: That's why it probably didn't last long.
Speaker 5: Right, she was a hooker with the heart of goals.
Speaker 5: I remember.
Speaker 3: I don't remember you with the heart I was briefly.
Speaker 1: That seems to be another theme, faking illness and hookers
Speaker 1: with a heart of goals.
Speaker 5: We'll get there.
Speaker 3: Great Nosa Rena.
Speaker 5: I was memriered to her maybe season six were you
Speaker 5: guys gone?
Speaker 4: So doesn't she go with Jane again and then back
Speaker 4: with Jane?
Speaker 3: When when she came back to the show and you
Speaker 3: finished with Jane? Is that right?
Speaker 5: So that's with a playboy bunny on my on my lap,
Speaker 5: That's all I remember. We're looking at the camera.
Speaker 1: I have a question speaking of Lisa. So Lisa and
Speaker 1: I knew each other after the show, and and she's
Speaker 1: her experience because she played a bad guy on the show,
Speaker 1: is that people sort of treated her like she was mean.
Speaker 1: I was always a good guy, so we were.
Speaker 4: Like, hi, we love you.
Speaker 1: Did you find as your character was darker, would people
Speaker 1: react to you like you were a bad guy? Or
Speaker 1: where they still happen? Could they separate you from your character?
Speaker 5: Pretty much? I think most of the time it was
Speaker 5: a separation. I never got a rock thrown at me
Speaker 5: or slapped across the face. So that was interesting, right,
Speaker 5: because that doesn't often happen you people think you are
Speaker 5: who you are television. But somehow the Melrose fans were
Speaker 5: able to make that separation.
Speaker 1: Well, you started nice, so maybe they had that sense
Speaker 1: of your progression. They had a sense of couldn't.
Speaker 5: Be I started grumpy. According to Jane, I started grumpy
Speaker 5: that I got mean.
Speaker 3: But they were also like the ultimate like bad guy right,
Speaker 3: like to so out in the world when people go,
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 5: You know, guys did point me out as the meanest
Speaker 5: man on television in nineteen something or something. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 5: you were. You were my favorite.
Speaker 1: Accolletees, wastingly evil for a while, Like you just got
Speaker 1: meaner like it.
Speaker 4: It was like it was a fun me.
Speaker 2: You always want to cut an energy and a smile
Speaker 2: and a joy with your meanness.
Speaker 1: That's yeah. You seemed like you were having a ball
Speaker 1: a ball.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 5: There was Jack when he directed one episode and we
Speaker 5: were doing a scene together when he was directing, and
Speaker 5: I guess I was playing it too real or something
Speaker 5: too low key. He's like Thomas, come on, just do
Speaker 5: what you do. They're like, oh, I become a terrible actor.
Speaker 5: I know, I love that.
Speaker 4: What else we got there?
Speaker 1: This is my favorite fan question. Do you remember that
Speaker 1: this is specifically for you? Which is the funniest part
Speaker 1: to me? Do you remember the perfume called melrose Place
Speaker 1: and did you wear it?
Speaker 5: They wanted to ask me that question.
Speaker 4: All I didn't know, wants to know specifically.
Speaker 5: I know we had bobble heads and stuff like that,
Speaker 5: but the merchandising check does not reflect the Melo's Place
Speaker 5: perfume because it would be huge.
Speaker 3: None of us are aware of it.
Speaker 5: Mint stop it. Oh my god.
Speaker 3: Our producer each a bottle of I kid you not
Speaker 3: melrose Place?
Speaker 1: You eBay?
Speaker 2: Or is this like.
Speaker 3: We're going to find out right now? Thank goodness.
Speaker 4: Here now you can answer question that I got it.
Speaker 5: It's not bad. How you do this?
Speaker 2: Is it?
Speaker 1: Teenage girls are going to be chasing you down the
Speaker 1: ston I love one.
Speaker 4: I'm going to try it.
Speaker 3: I'm doing it.
Speaker 4: It smells very nineties.
Speaker 3: That's this way, you guys. We look like Melrose Place.
Speaker 1: And we smell like it smells kind of like I
Speaker 1: wore in high school.
Speaker 4: This is kind of a nineties got bad.
Speaker 5: This is where a guy.
Speaker 3: It's a little bit a cologne or is it?
Speaker 4: I don't know it's cologne.
Speaker 5: Okay, now I'm going to go home with this.
Speaker 1: We were ahead of our time.
Speaker 4: It ain't a Caroline Morrera.
Speaker 1: But is exactly perfume. Is that you'll believe you when
Speaker 1: you say smells place? Yeah?
Speaker 4: Right, Melrose, Wow, we all smell something like the nineties.
Speaker 4: This is hilarious.
Speaker 3: Right, It's not bad though, I did it.
Speaker 4: That's that's right.
Speaker 3: The look on Thomas's face right now is.
Speaker 5: Like, yeah, I'm not a smelly guy like natural smells.
Speaker 1: Another good question that I actually really love. How much
Speaker 1: coaching did the show provide to make the medical stuff believable?
Speaker 1: Do you remember having to memorize a medical jargon?
Speaker 5: Not a lot. Whenever I had stuff like that, I
Speaker 5: just went to my sister who's a surgeon, so you know,
Speaker 5: I just went to her and asked her about stuff. Wow,
Speaker 5: they're having their own private what's going on over there?
Speaker 5: They're doing.
Speaker 2: Something.
Speaker 5: Every other episode.
Speaker 1: Together we're talking about that was Jos should have filmed
Speaker 1: there seemed separately, because you guys could not stop separating.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I didn't even think they exaggerated. I think they
Speaker 5: underplayed what actually happened because I next up and like,
Speaker 5: what's freaking holding the thing?
Speaker 3: Like a total like makeup redo because we're crying laughing.
Speaker 3: These are fan questions. How hard was it to play
Speaker 3: someone so obnoxious?
Speaker 5: This is a fan question, not a Laura easy question,
Speaker 5: not at all hard going, all hard. I love it,
Speaker 5: very easy, very fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like I should get the same question,
Speaker 3: how hard was it to play someone so obnoxious?
Speaker 5: Or hard is it to play? Thank you?
Speaker 4: Super fun?
Speaker 1: Your character changed all the time, like sometimes you were sweet,
Speaker 1: sometimes you were mean, sometimes you were vulnerable. So it
Speaker 1: wasn't like like Thomas for a long time you were unrelentingly.
Speaker 4: You're just a bad guy.
Speaker 1: Gleefully mean, you said, gleefully mean. What that's a perfect
Speaker 1: way to say gleefully mean?
Speaker 5: And that that was a choice I made because everybody
Speaker 5: in the audience knew what I was doing, so doing
Speaker 5: it meanly wasn't adding anything. So I kept making other choices,
Speaker 5: you know, gleefully fun, or maybe I'll play with them
Speaker 5: a little bit, torture them, don't bring you know, write out.
Speaker 5: And that was that's why being proactive is so fun.
Speaker 5: Everybody knows the bad guy's bad, so now you can
Speaker 5: do it anyway you want, and if you do it gleefully,
Speaker 5: it turns out they like it even more, which was
Speaker 5: a blessing.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Do you think your theater background came in that
Speaker 4: and your that's not well?
Speaker 5: You know how it is with training, right, You're you're
Speaker 5: always experimenting and playing, and you're getting direction from your
Speaker 5: teacher and you're saying, why not this or why not that?
Speaker 5: You're going to do the same scene maybe five six
Speaker 5: times sometimes, and so you go in in your experimenting.
Speaker 5: So in that way it helped me know what my
Speaker 5: choices were and also being able to execute those.
Speaker 2: Yeah, very well, I might very well in your imagination,
Speaker 2: what an affair between Michael and Joe or Michael and Allison?
Speaker 5: And I think answer that, I think something with her
Speaker 5: could have resulted in a fistfight, I mean the actual battle.
Speaker 5: And who else did you ask me about Allison? Alison?
Speaker 1: No idea was on the show. I was on the show.
Speaker 5: We must I can't imagine in the number of years
Speaker 5: we worked together, in the episodes we performed in that
Speaker 5: it's at some point Michael didn't make a passage. It
Speaker 5: must have kind of almost happened.
Speaker 1: We had very few scenes together. It's fun to watch
Speaker 1: the first season because we had scenes together, but like
Speaker 1: you knock on my door and say there's someone in
Speaker 1: the courtyard, and it was sweet. But then our storylines
Speaker 1: just was almospletely veered apart. Right, We just didn't overlap
Speaker 1: very much.
Speaker 5: No, I don't think we did. But still even in
Speaker 5: that they had it write something in there at some point.
Speaker 3: Apparently they did.
Speaker 4: Apparently they didn't. They just brought on apparently.
Speaker 5: Okay, So what would tell me what our relationship would
Speaker 5: have looked like? I think he would have.
Speaker 1: I would have said, that's so mean, and then it
Speaker 1: wouldn't have been any fun for you. I think Allison
Speaker 1: would have very earnestly said that feels really mean to me,
Speaker 1: and would.
Speaker 5: Another victim?
Speaker 4: You would slink away and guess what?
Speaker 5: Skim the pool?
Speaker 4: You skimmed the pool a lot, a.
Speaker 3: Lot, gardening because I was the man you were doing
Speaker 3: the landlord the pool skimming.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and we had the other guy. I've seen every
Speaker 5: other scene skimming too, so I was like we were
Speaker 5: dual skimmers. Yeah, the faceless man who just skimmed.
Speaker 4: I remember Scott, the prop guy was off.
Speaker 2: The that's right, Scott, and he would like slip in there,
Speaker 2: and you know we've seen him shooters in the background.
Speaker 5: That's right.
Speaker 1: Which apartment was yours? So we had that because your
Speaker 1: apartment on the show is upstairs right.
Speaker 3: Now, downstairs, right across from the pool, so we could skim.
Speaker 5: Watch the pilot you come right across across from you.
Speaker 4: Was that apartment a full apartment in there?
Speaker 5: Yeah? Some weren't, some weren't right, So I think we
Speaker 5: had the living room, kitchen, there was.
Speaker 3: I thought there was a bedroom in a bathroom at
Speaker 3: times too.
Speaker 4: I think there was.
Speaker 3: It could be a full moment because that was mine too,
Speaker 3: So either I took it from Jane, I don't.
Speaker 5: Know it was you moved in.
Speaker 3: It was definitely married, her brother, her husband, but then
Speaker 3: I also lived there alone.
Speaker 4: It became Sydneys and you kicked and.
Speaker 5: You lived in Number five was yeah, there was number
Speaker 5: five when we moved when Michael to Od somehow.
Speaker 4: I got moved whatever, moved to the beach.
Speaker 5: For five years because I didn't want that to happen.
Speaker 5: When I was shooting. Oh my gosh, you right.
Speaker 3: Everybody was annoyed the whole first five years that we
Speaker 3: were together, the only five years that we were together,
Speaker 3: you never knew my name, and I was like, I
Speaker 3: think he's doing that on purpose.
Speaker 5: No, it was so I wouldn't forget when we were shooting.
Speaker 3: It's proving now, but he actually, yeah, he still.
Speaker 5: Doesn't look My own kids don't get called the right name.
Speaker 1: It's not personal.
Speaker 5: And Connor's thirty now, so.
Speaker 4: You didn't remember that we were in it.
Speaker 5: Sometimes sometimes it's a crap shoot.
Speaker 2: You're now answering Our first question was like why you
Speaker 2: don't like to look in the past. You're answering that
Speaker 2: question because you don't remember anybody's names?
Speaker 5: Remember, correct?
Speaker 1: But remember so many? Do you remember? We've talked a
Speaker 1: lot about double ups. You remember when they did double
Speaker 1: ups for the first time, we thought this will never work.
Speaker 1: I do were you in Oxnard because Laura remembers having
Speaker 1: to go from ox NERD to Santa Karita in one
Speaker 1: day totally.
Speaker 5: Remember we usually had a day is shooting there every
Speaker 5: episode when we had it, and then another day, so
Speaker 5: I used the back those back to back. Yeah, so
Speaker 5: when we're doing the two episodes, I was there with
Speaker 5: one director and cast member whoever it may be, and
Speaker 5: then the next day the other director in there. So
Speaker 5: I stayed up there overnight.
Speaker 3: We would stay overnight because we'd be there two days
Speaker 3: in a row.
Speaker 5: And yes, yeah, I remember that.
Speaker 2: So do you remember get Going showing up at the
Speaker 2: wrong location sometimes during double ups.
Speaker 5: Don't drive think I ever did that because I was
Speaker 5: so anal about getting the boards early because I needed
Speaker 5: to study. I needed to know my lines at least
Speaker 5: four days before we shot. I like to have them
Speaker 5: so I could just spin them out without thinking. So
Speaker 5: I always wanted forward things. So all the ads were
Speaker 5: used to getting me the stuff early in the boards.
Speaker 2: So wow.
Speaker 5: And every time they said we can't promise this is
Speaker 5: going to stay, Thomas like, I know it's year five,
Speaker 5: you don't have to tell me.
Speaker 1: But they did a great job. Talked about that. Can
Speaker 1: you imagine, especially since you've directed, how they would board
Speaker 1: that six episodes shooting two at the same time, How
Speaker 1: they would board that. We often knew within a few hours,
Speaker 1: like I've done other shows. You go, you wait five
Speaker 1: hours at Moros they were I remember sometimes because Andrew
Speaker 1: would play with the time. He would be literally like
Speaker 1: pulling up their like were ready for you. He'd race
Speaker 1: through makeup. Luckily he looked like Andrews and they would
Speaker 1: just like makeup at him, and he would walk right onto.
Speaker 4: Set like it was.
Speaker 1: They had it down. Remember that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, one of the best ads I've ever worked with,
Speaker 5: maybe the best. Yeah, and who else do we have?
Speaker 2: That was that.
Speaker 3: It was a big part of making that all have
Speaker 3: him on the podcast as well.
Speaker 1: It was fun.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, So they were a really good group. And
Speaker 5: then when we did Doubles Up, I just treated as
Speaker 5: a two hour script and so I could keep my
Speaker 5: mind straight. That's how I did it.
Speaker 1: Oh interesting, but it wasn't you'd have six because so
Speaker 1: much happened at that point, especially in the later seasons.
Speaker 1: So much would happen in six shows because Daphnie and
Speaker 1: I talked about it. We had a storyline during Double
Speaker 1: Ups where I was going to testify for her for
Speaker 1: child custody. And that was when Allison was in her
Speaker 1: adorable drug and alcohol phase and I was high when
Speaker 1: I was supposed to testify. But we couldn't like from
Speaker 1: scene to scene we were best friends. Do I like
Speaker 1: you or do I hate you?
Speaker 5: Now? Yeah?
Speaker 1: We had Did you not show up for me when.
Speaker 4: I'm about to lose my baby?
Speaker 3: Do you have a brain or do you not have
Speaker 3: a brain?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Are you pretended?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 5: Yeah? Yeah, there's sometimes fun stuff.
Speaker 4: Don't you think during TV? Things would go maybe not you,
Speaker 4: It doesn't sound like you. But sometimes I hope this
Speaker 4: is the right intention to play right here.
Speaker 3: I hope it is the right way to say.
Speaker 4: Keep it sort of vague. They can direct anything on you.
Speaker 3: Going to be good enough.
Speaker 5: That every scene I marked where I was coming from
Speaker 5: and where I was going to, so I knew.
Speaker 4: That, I know that's your train.
Speaker 1: I would do ye remember going up to married saying,
Speaker 1: I've completely lost my footing? Where am I in witch script?
Speaker 1: Because they would just start to float around in my mind.
Speaker 5: It's hard.
Speaker 4: She gets so fresh, she goes, you know, your hair
Speaker 4: on this side.
Speaker 5: Your hair is on this side. We got to put
Speaker 5: it on this side.
Speaker 4: I'm like, don't touch my hair, and they'd spray it,
Speaker 4: spray it. Because I didn't understand that yet so much.
Speaker 4: Maybe you know I should have.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really amazing the actors that can, you know,
Speaker 2: mark it so well the technical aspect, but then forget it.
Speaker 2: And bring in the emotion and know exactly where, you know,
Speaker 2: we lift up the drink or we point to the
Speaker 2: other person.
Speaker 4: And it's a lot you got to remember.
Speaker 2: And the script service will come up and tell you
Speaker 2: that beforehand, and you can't let it, you know, Trump used,
Speaker 2: you just.
Speaker 4: Got to like somehow your brain has to get it
Speaker 4: all in. You got to say the lines mean it.
Speaker 4: You have to, you know, with emotion.
Speaker 2: And and yet if you pick this up at the
Speaker 2: wrong time, and it's just I remember learning all that.
Speaker 2: So to what you said earlier about like not having energy,
Speaker 2: I don't know that I'd have the brain.
Speaker 4: It was like, no props, no blocking.
Speaker 1: Can we just sit and do this? Can I sit
Speaker 1: here and do them in order?
Speaker 5: Ye?
Speaker 4: In the center a radio.
Speaker 5: Show, I think. Unfortunately, that's what you start to do
Speaker 5: when you've got a lot of business is try to
Speaker 5: cut it down to nothing so you don't have to
Speaker 5: remember anything. But then you're just focused on remembering the lines,
Speaker 5: and then you take the life out of it. I know.
Speaker 5: Remember Victoria Huckburg, Yes, a lovely director. Lovely loved her,
Speaker 5: we thought constantly because she had because she wanted you
Speaker 5: to do specific things her way. She had a really
Speaker 5: cool camera sense, right. Remember she used to flip us
Speaker 5: over so we wouldn't get into three close ups and
Speaker 5: bring us closer and kind of naturally escalate cinematically, but
Speaker 5: not here You're like, well, I can't remember that, and
Speaker 5: so carry forward with the scene. So I thought she
Speaker 5: was brilliant. I think she liked me pretty much, although
Speaker 5: I was a big pin in the butt for her
Speaker 5: because I'm like, no, no, this doesn't feel right, this
Speaker 5: doesn't feel natural. But I didn't get her vision until
Speaker 5: I watched a couple of episodes, and then I consciously
Speaker 5: worked harder to know my stuff more so that next
Speaker 5: time she came in, I could do her thing better. Yeah,
Speaker 5: but it took a lot more studying. You had to
Speaker 5: really really know.
Speaker 2: I remember loving her because I had such dramatic stuff
Speaker 2: up at the beach house when Marcia has my baby.
Speaker 2: I go in and I'm screaming, and she opens the
Speaker 2: door and there's like that chain there and she's like
Speaker 2: breastfeeding my baby. Yes, And it was like I remember
Speaker 2: being Victoria and just I go around and I slam
Speaker 2: through the thing, and I felt freer with her stuff.
Speaker 4: For some reason. Was that with the camera stuff.
Speaker 5: I don't know.
Speaker 1: I did.
Speaker 3: Really passionate.
Speaker 2: I could get into the.
Speaker 3: Emotion of it.
Speaker 5: Couldn't be her, no, But it just took me a
Speaker 5: while to adjust because I was I think, as in
Speaker 5: a director, I'm like, show me what you guys feel right,
Speaker 5: what feels right? Let's moving around okay, because I think
Speaker 5: that's easy to repeat because you're going with your instincts
Speaker 5: and I'm working off of that. She didn't.
Speaker 2: So this took me a while, but I read direct
Speaker 2: Every director was different. Every director was different. I mean,
Speaker 2: you know, Charlie Corrall did a lot of them. There
Speaker 2: were some that would come in from other shows, and
Speaker 2: I felt like they were more technical, just kind of
Speaker 2: like you know, doing the traditional over the shoulder. And
Speaker 2: even though we know our characters, I like a director,
Speaker 2: I like an emotional direction at least a suggestion.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, you know. I think when we were in
Speaker 5: our groove by season two, then the directors were coming
Speaker 5: in and moving the camera around, and there was very
Speaker 5: little like you should do this, you should do that,
Speaker 5: or try this or try that. I mean so I
Speaker 5: don't remember that lot, right, do you guys? No?
Speaker 1: I remember people coming right.
Speaker 2: I think that was something I had to transition into,
Speaker 2: coming from films where directors really love to direct you
Speaker 2: and let's try it again and try it this way.
Speaker 2: That's great, we'll print it, but let's try this and
Speaker 2: let's try that. I really relied on a director to
Speaker 2: help my performance and so coming on this and they
Speaker 2: wouldn't do that kind of just chat to you in between,
Speaker 2: and then we're going to move the camera here. You know,
Speaker 2: it looked beautiful cinematically, but I had to learn to like, Okay,
Speaker 2: I guess I'll just go for it. You know, try this,
Speaker 2: I'll try that.
Speaker 4: It's just a weird adjustment to make, but you just
Speaker 4: make it.
Speaker 3: You talked about the comedy part, like there was a
Speaker 3: couple of seasons three and four and five maybe where
Speaker 3: we got to sort of move into more that objective,
Speaker 3: and I think the directors too, started to have some
Speaker 3: fun with that to see that opportunity, and they were
Speaker 3: in certain storylines, in certain settings like that office setting
Speaker 3: that Mancini burns. We were just it was like a
Speaker 3: uniquely creative environment because we'd tapped into something that was
Speaker 3: like comedy. That was kind of a special little pocket
Speaker 3: on the show. And I was lucky and I think
Speaker 3: you were lucky too to have that to be one
Speaker 3: foot in that part. You know, they got to re
Speaker 3: elimitted that way too. Yeah, but that it got we
Speaker 3: got to be having a little bit more fun in
Speaker 3: a different way. You know, it wasn't wasn't earnest. We
Speaker 3: got to sort of explore that comedy part.
Speaker 1: I thought that was, like, well, they took advantage of
Speaker 1: having all three of you who can do comedy in
Speaker 1: one place, right, they really took advantage of that.
Speaker 2: Well, that was super fun.
Speaker 5: When I remember back on the show poorly, as you
Speaker 5: have pointed out, I thought we were more drama and
Speaker 5: real and stuff, and there wasn't that much comedy. And
Speaker 5: then we transitioned, as we said, somewhere between thirteen and
Speaker 5: season two, Okay, let's just keep it. But when I
Speaker 5: rewatched the pilot, there was a lot of funny stuff
Speaker 5: in that I was I was kind of surprised at
Speaker 5: how funny it was.
Speaker 1: There was definitely comedy in the beginning, but it was sweet,
Speaker 1: authentic kind. It's like the characters being funny with each other,
Speaker 1: and later became this camp, this high camp.
Speaker 5: That's what I think it was. I think at burns Mansni.
Speaker 5: Now it finally occurs to me the name of the office.
Speaker 5: The comedy was in our sincerity in doing all our
Speaker 5: evil deeds together at the same time. I was trys
Speaker 5: you to get him, and then I'd run into my
Speaker 5: office and he would come out, well look, and then
Speaker 5: you'd leave, and then you'd be doing a scheme on
Speaker 5: both of us, and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and that kind yeah, that was great.
Speaker 2: See, Joe didn't get that. I, I, you know, always
Speaker 2: got this real stuff, but an earnest but over the top.
Speaker 4: Horrible stuff happened, and I'm taking horrible guys.
Speaker 2: That were doing horrible things to me, and I would
Speaker 2: just be like, and then I'd pick another guy sort
Speaker 2: of similar. So I just remember going Everyone's calling this
Speaker 2: a soaprop up, but I find it like very serious,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 4: Like so one time, I and we.
Speaker 2: Didn't have time to watch a lot of the episodes.
Speaker 2: I didn't have time to go back and watch them
Speaker 2: because we were just shooting and shooting, and the would
Speaker 2: air on a Monday or Wednesday night those I think
Speaker 2: there were the two nights. But did you did you
Speaker 2: watch while we were everyone, well, we were shooting.
Speaker 5: Whenever they came out or if shortly thereafter.
Speaker 4: If you weren't at work, especially.
Speaker 5: Early on, I watched them sooner again for me, you know,
Speaker 5: here goes mister Anal. It was quality control. I want
Speaker 5: to know if what I was doing was translating on film.
Speaker 5: And I also was interested in how the editing process
Speaker 5: was going and what they were using because I played
Speaker 5: scenes a lot of different ways normally that was just
Speaker 5: the way I like to do it. And I was like, oh,
Speaker 5: I choose that. I thought the other stuff was so
Speaker 5: much stronger. But I didn't see it on film, so wow,
Speaker 5: that's great. I didn't do that at all. I was like,
Speaker 5: I didn't. I just didn't do that.
Speaker 4: But I wish I I wish I had Maybe I
Speaker 4: don't know, I remember.
Speaker 2: And there are some actors that like watching themselves and
Speaker 2: some that don't, because like after that, after Meloer's plays,
Speaker 2: video Village was became a thing where you could actually
Speaker 2: watch it there on set.
Speaker 5: I know, thank god that doesn't exist now that in
Speaker 5: social Media's reason, I don't care about working anymore. I
Speaker 5: don't have the strength to do all that stuff too much.
Speaker 1: Do people actually like watch back a scene they just did? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you can't I would be frozen. I've had directors frozen solid.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I know.
Speaker 2: I've had directors ask do you like, are you one
Speaker 2: of the ones that like to watch yourself like you're there,
Speaker 2: you've just shot it, And I'm like, no, to this day,
Speaker 2: it's too you don't want to get in your.
Speaker 3: It's going to take twice as long.
Speaker 1: Well, but also you get out of your body and
Speaker 1: start acting from the outside. Yeah, if you have to
Speaker 1: check it as you and I.
Speaker 5: Don't know if it was always like this, but the shot,
Speaker 5: you know, the bunch of stuff I've done since Melrose Place. Man,
Speaker 5: there's a ton of people around Video village. I mean
Speaker 5: everybody's down there. Yeah. Yeah, the producer, we had the writer.
Speaker 5: We never even the writer.
Speaker 2: They were they were writing the next episodes, Frank and
Speaker 2: Darren for a while, and Carrol and Carol.
Speaker 5: Yeah, they were.
Speaker 4: Writing far away.
Speaker 1: Weren't even on Morow's place. There wasn't a monitor, right,
Speaker 1: they were watching the scene trusting the DP.
Speaker 5: There was no there was a monitor. Yeah, yeah, it
Speaker 5: was yeah, annoyingly, I never used it. I stood right
Speaker 5: by the camera because I don't know why. I thought
Speaker 5: that was better out of my face, Like I feel
Speaker 5: your buddy, But I can't.
Speaker 1: I can't well because I remember them saying did we
Speaker 1: get it right? And if they were watching the monitor,
Speaker 1: they know. I remember directors saying to the DP, did
Speaker 1: we get it? Don't you remember that?
Speaker 5: Maybe check the gate kind of stuff? But you're right, yeah,
Speaker 5: I remember that as well though. But I know there
Speaker 5: was also a monitor because Chuck was always behind the monitor.
Speaker 1: Because we were filmed like we would have fifteen minute breaks,
Speaker 1: remember changed the film. We'd have a fifteen minute break
Speaker 1: when they had to change.
Speaker 4: You know, you were on for seven years, so I
Speaker 4: think there there might have been a changeover.
Speaker 5: HD happened in the middle of our run, remember that
Speaker 5: makeup change and everything else. I hated it. We all
Speaker 5: hate it.
Speaker 3: Well, we have loved having you here. And as much
Speaker 3: as we sprayed some stinky perfume, I hope you would
Speaker 3: be willing to come back again before if we promise
Speaker 3: not to spray you with anything that sticks next time,
Speaker 3: you please?
Speaker 1: That went so fast. You were right, You said it
Speaker 1: on a sign and sheet. You set an intention. It's
Speaker 1: going to be fun and it was super fun.
Speaker 3: And will you come back?
Speaker 4: Will you come back? That's the question.
Speaker 5: Oh, God, no, and then we have to live up
Speaker 5: to this again. We can't.
Speaker 1: Yes, we'll get in when we're in Mancini Burns, that's
Speaker 1: probably when we'll happen.
Speaker 5: I'm not sitting next to him because you know he's.
Speaker 1: You and Jack together.
Speaker 3: Jack, you know we'll separate you, but.
Speaker 1: Separate Laura and you and Jack. Poor daph will be
Speaker 1: the only one allowed in the room and you'll have.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Sorry, we'll spray Jack.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 4: We've loved having you.
Speaker 3: Thanks for all the questions fans.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 4: Those were the most fun.
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you, and we'll see you next week.