Speaker 1: For the longest time. I sort of just it didn't
Speaker 1: click in my brain that, oh, yeah, I do comedy.
Speaker 1: Like to me, I just didn't do comedy. I'm like
Speaker 1: not not funny, like not at all, Like that's why
Speaker 1: would I do comedy. I remember even saying, like, it's
Speaker 1: not like I'd ever do an Outam Sandler film. Cut
Speaker 1: to zone. Hi, I'm Emmanuel Shrieky, and I am an
Speaker 1: actress that loves to travel the world. Hello, gentle listeners
Speaker 1: from far and wide, Welcome to a new episode of
Speaker 1: Off the Beat. I am, as always your host, Brian Baumgartner,
Speaker 1: and as you just heard, today, we're gonna be joined
Speaker 1: by one of my favorites, the amazing Emmanuel Shrieky. You
Speaker 1: might know her as Sloan from Entourage. She also played
Speaker 1: Claire Bonner in snow Day and now she's starring as
Speaker 1: Lana Lang in the hit TV show Superman. And Lois
Speaker 1: from rom Coms to video games and now the Arrow Verse. Emmanuel,
Speaker 1: she has truly done it all, and to think it
Speaker 1: all started with a McDonald's commercial at age ten. Yes,
Speaker 1: the acting bug got her very early on. Look, I
Speaker 1: don't have to tell you everything. She's done, because she
Speaker 1: is here to do that herself. Let's dive right in,
Speaker 1: shall we. Here she is Emmanuel, Shrieky, bubble and squeak.
Speaker 1: I love it, Bubble, squeak, bubble and squeaker. Cook it
Speaker 1: every month left from the people. What's up? Hello? Um?
Speaker 1: How are you? I'm so good? How are you? I'm fantastic.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for coming to talk to me.
Speaker 1: Oh my pleasure of course. Where are you at my
Speaker 1: house in West Hollywood? You're in You're in l A. Well,
Speaker 1: I know you travel around all the time, constantly working
Speaker 1: and on the road. Well, welcome back home to Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Let me tell you it's so. I'm on
Speaker 1: a hiatus right now and it is so good to
Speaker 1: be back in l A for the summer. It's been amazing.
Speaker 1: Where where do you film Superman? Lois? We shoot the
Speaker 1: show in Vancouver? All right? Your home, your homeland, yes,
Speaker 1: my homeland, but this is my home here. But it's great.
Speaker 1: It's the same time zone. It's an easy flight, right.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, I want to talk to you about
Speaker 1: Superman and Lois and a little bit. First. I want
Speaker 1: to start by going back to your your homeland. I
Speaker 1: know you grew up outside of Toronto, is that right.
Speaker 1: I don't think that I've talked to anyone else that
Speaker 1: this is true of You grew up in an Orthodox
Speaker 1: Jewish household, is that right? Yeah? Modern Orthodox, like you weren't. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like it wasn't. When I say, I think, I don't know,
Speaker 1: maybe I should come up with a different terminology. It
Speaker 1: was Orthodox in the sense that like we did shabbut
Speaker 1: every Friday, and we were kosher at home, milk and meat,
Speaker 1: like separate sinks, you know, dishes um all the high
Speaker 1: holiday but like day to day was normal. Okay, so
Speaker 1: really just the Shabbat and the big holidays. But I
Speaker 1: mean keeping a kosher kitchen at home, it was a
Speaker 1: big deal. That's a thing. That's a thing, right. Yeah.
Speaker 1: When I had friends over, I had to be like,
Speaker 1: don't use that sponge. Yeah no, I know, Well that
Speaker 1: that's so interesting. I mean, to come out of that
Speaker 1: type of environment and that type of household. Um. I
Speaker 1: was told your first at least paid acting job was
Speaker 1: in a McDonald's commercial. Is that? Now? This is my guest,
Speaker 1: as you probably weren't eating McDonald's, right, maybe the fish?
Speaker 1: Oh was that fine? Yeah? Like that's the thing. We
Speaker 1: would go out to dinner, you know, It's just nothing
Speaker 1: was allowed to eating the house. That was the okay stipulation. Yeah, okay. Um,
Speaker 1: you started you started acting young? Now were you instantly
Speaker 1: Well how did you start acting? What was your first experience?
Speaker 1: My first experience was doing community theater in Unionville where
Speaker 1: I lived. UM. We had was called the Unionville Theater Company.
Speaker 1: And my classmate at school had said, you know, do
Speaker 1: you want to audition for my dad's play because his
Speaker 1: dad ran the theater company. And I auditioned for the
Speaker 1: role of the baby ghost in this Canadian play called
Speaker 1: Listen to the Wind. And it was like, you know,
Speaker 1: a full on theater experience at seven years old, and
Speaker 1: I was in like, I was like, this is amazing.
Speaker 1: I this is what I want to do at age
Speaker 1: seven as baby ghosts who were like this, this is it?
Speaker 1: Was it theater specifically or was it was it being
Speaker 1: on stage act theater? That's that's like my roots. And
Speaker 1: then you know the town that I lived in, Unionville,
Speaker 1: we um at the time, like when it was time
Speaker 1: to start high school. Uh, they were building a high
Speaker 1: school for the performing arts, and they had an amazing
Speaker 1: theater program. So you know it was it was like
Speaker 1: I was all in. I was like I had to
Speaker 1: audition and I had to get in. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know what I would have done if I never
Speaker 1: got accepted. How far How far were you from Toronto?
Speaker 1: Like minute drive outside the city? Okay? And so you
Speaker 1: started because I mentioned the McDonald's commercial, you started? What
Speaker 1: did you get an agent or you started like in
Speaker 1: terms of commercial So what happened was that, um, during
Speaker 1: high school in the theater program in Canada, there is
Speaker 1: a levision station called y TV, which is like the
Speaker 1: equivalent of Nickelodeon, will say, and they were having a
Speaker 1: writing competition and the winner of the writing competition would
Speaker 1: have their show produced and they shows our school as
Speaker 1: as the location, just because it was a new, you know,
Speaker 1: very beautiful kind of nine o two one oh looking
Speaker 1: high school and they used are they auditioned our theater department.
Speaker 1: So that was sort of like my foray into film
Speaker 1: and television. And from that I got an agent and
Speaker 1: then sort of started, you know, doing commercials and one
Speaker 1: liners and two liners and you know, a week here
Speaker 1: guests are there. Right. So in your early experience on
Speaker 1: on camera, how for you was that different than doing
Speaker 1: work in the theater. Were you still interested more in theater,
Speaker 1: or did you start to really feel like film and
Speaker 1: tell where you wanted to move. You know, it's interesting
Speaker 1: I think that I made that decision sort of later
Speaker 1: because when I started in film and television, I was
Speaker 1: still in high school and you know, learning everything from
Speaker 1: Stanislavski and Udahogen and all the method acting and all
Speaker 1: the things, and so it was just sort of something
Speaker 1: that I was doing parallel to going to school. And
Speaker 1: then when I went to college for a year and
Speaker 1: I majored in another theater program, and it was at
Speaker 1: that point that it felt a little bit redundant, like really,
Speaker 1: my high school had such an amazing program, And at
Speaker 1: that point, sort of later on, I really saw that
Speaker 1: I actually wanted a career in film versus theater. And
Speaker 1: so then I think, just you know, I have intense
Speaker 1: stage fright, really, I know, it's it gets crazy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's like really intense still, and yeah, I get really nervous,
Speaker 1: like like sick, Like I'm like I literally am like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, why am I doing this? This is
Speaker 1: a nightmare? Why, you know. And then of course, once
Speaker 1: you're in it and the magic takes over. You're like, oh,
Speaker 1: that was the best thing after ever. But that was
Speaker 1: like a big thing for me, And I don't know,
Speaker 1: I just felt that. I think my inspiration really came
Speaker 1: from so many movies that I had watched growing up,
Speaker 1: and I think I just had this dream that I
Speaker 1: really wanted to be a part of that. That way,
Speaker 1: I had like a very big influence on me. So yeah,
Speaker 1: so I just sort of pursued it and it seemed
Speaker 1: to have been the way to go. Yeah, it's fascinating
Speaker 1: to me because my experience was was just so different.
Speaker 1: Like I and now, you know, you hear so much
Speaker 1: about Atlanta. I grew up in Atlanta, and there's so
Speaker 1: atta but there you go there and there's so much
Speaker 1: work happening. You know, you can't be an actor now
Speaker 1: and not not work in Atlanta, And there's so much
Speaker 1: stuff happening there At the time, either, I mean, I
Speaker 1: think I know there was less, but it wasn't even
Speaker 1: a part of my consciousness film and television or being
Speaker 1: on film or like getting an agent like and I
Speaker 1: don't know what that says about me or you know,
Speaker 1: obviously it was it was a different time but for
Speaker 1: me it was just theater was like, oh no, I
Speaker 1: want to be an actor, and I want to be
Speaker 1: a theater actor. And that was that was for a
Speaker 1: really long time. Actually, um so yes, fascinating to me
Speaker 1: to talk to people whose experience started at least early
Speaker 1: on and yeah, I mean McDonald's commercial here and a
Speaker 1: couple of lines there or whatever, but having that experience
Speaker 1: of being on film, on being on a set, which
Speaker 1: is such a different experience. I mean, you're fundamentally you're
Speaker 1: doing the same thing. You're acting, you're playing a character,
Speaker 1: whatever that character is or does, but the experience of
Speaker 1: creation is so different. Beyond yeah, I think you know that, Brian.
Speaker 1: To your point was that, like you're right nowadays to
Speaker 1: be in film and television, it's virtually unheard of to
Speaker 1: not end up in Atlanta. But I think that that
Speaker 1: happened fairly recently. Like I would say that the industry
Speaker 1: exploded in Atlanta, what within the last ten years maybe,
Speaker 1: you know, whereas like Toronto was always a place where
Speaker 1: there was a pretty thriving film and television community. So
Speaker 1: I think it just is exposure, like I think, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Like and also in my theater program.
Speaker 1: There were kids, you know, who were on Degrassi Junior
Speaker 1: High So it was in my consciousness already. But I
Speaker 1: think if I had grown up like you, I probably
Speaker 1: would have stuck in theater far longer until maybe the
Speaker 1: opportunity arose. You know. Yeah, how were your were your parents?
Speaker 1: Were they supportive? I mean obviously at your ten they
Speaker 1: have to drive you or whatever. Yeah, were they support
Speaker 1: him of the experience and obviously beyond, Like, I am
Speaker 1: so lucky I had the support of my entire family.
Speaker 1: I mean, my parents were supportive, my older brother and
Speaker 1: my older sister, like everybody sort of felt like that's
Speaker 1: what I should be doing. Like I think, you know,
Speaker 1: just because I was sort of one of these youngsters
Speaker 1: that was. I was really into music and dancing and
Speaker 1: entertainment of all kinds. And I was a bit of
Speaker 1: a ham as a kid. I became a lot shyer
Speaker 1: though older I got, but like as a little little one,
Speaker 1: I was really I loved just performing for people. Um.
Speaker 1: So I think I'm so lucky that I had the
Speaker 1: support of my family, you know, fairly consistently. That's great,
Speaker 1: did you sing? I thought I couldn't think that's what
Speaker 1: I always say that's what I because I mean people
Speaker 1: are like, oh, did you do musicals and stuff? And
Speaker 1: I was like, yep, kind but like, looking back, I
Speaker 1: was very very clearly talk singing like I could. I could,
Speaker 1: I could talk sing on the rhythm and as long
Speaker 1: as there was some comedy role involved that I could,
Speaker 1: I could crush that pretty good. But looking back is like, no,
Speaker 1: I couldn't really, I couldn't really think I had to
Speaker 1: sing from my audition for theater school for college, and
Speaker 1: I mean like I did it, but I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: like and not to basically be like, well, she can
Speaker 1: hold the tune, you know. But it's so it's so
Speaker 1: crazy because I've often thought about how, like even today,
Speaker 1: like how I would actually love to take the singing
Speaker 1: classes because similar to like my stage fright, like I
Speaker 1: think the two are linked, Like I feel I know
Speaker 1: that I can hold the tune, but I am so stuck,
Speaker 1: like I just can't let go. I get so freaked
Speaker 1: out and I just don't do it. And I feel
Speaker 1: like if I can get over that hump, it could
Speaker 1: probably free me up as a performer just all around.
Speaker 1: Because it's it's a bit of a fear you know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I want to talk about your stage fright just a
Speaker 1: little bit more because I didn't know this is it?
Speaker 1: Is it about being in front of people. I think
Speaker 1: like stage fright is a combination of like, you know,
Speaker 1: it's the actor's nightmare of being like out there. It's
Speaker 1: you can't call cut and like but if you forget
Speaker 1: your lines what you want to I think wrong. It's
Speaker 1: all the things, like all the narratives that go in
Speaker 1: your head that are completely fear base, that like paralyzed me. Um,
Speaker 1: but just a little like I mean, I managed to
Speaker 1: get through it, but man, it's pretty intense. Yeah I was.
Speaker 1: I would say I didn't have like traditional stage front.
Speaker 1: I mean, of course I have had those nightmares. Those
Speaker 1: nightmares continue to today. And for those of you who
Speaker 1: are listening who don't know what we're talking about, there
Speaker 1: is a very specific actor's nightmare where you are sleeping
Speaker 1: but suddenly right. I mean, it could be any number
Speaker 1: of things, like you're about to get on stage and
Speaker 1: you don't know where your costume is or your wardrobe,
Speaker 1: or you're on stage and you don't know what you're
Speaker 1: supposed to say and everyone is looking at you, and yeah,
Speaker 1: that that anxiety dream that exists. I think I had
Speaker 1: it more on live shows. I had it for a bit,
Speaker 1: and I think for me it was about there wasn't
Speaker 1: a script, right, but and somehow it was different than
Speaker 1: improv because I feel like an improv you sort of
Speaker 1: find your time to jump in, and you jump in.
Speaker 1: This is more like someone is asking you questions and
Speaker 1: you're not exactly clear what those questions are going to
Speaker 1: be or where it's going to leave. And I'll tell
Speaker 1: you a quick story. I was still getting this is
Speaker 1: a this is a long time ago now, but I
Speaker 1: was on a late night television show. I'm not going
Speaker 1: to mention the name of it is since it does
Speaker 1: not exist. And I am there's a live studio audience
Speaker 1: and it's live late night and I'm in the chair
Speaker 1: and the host says to me, so we have a
Speaker 1: surprise for you. You don't know what it is, right,
Speaker 1: And I said no, and he said yeah, and then
Speaker 1: makes this very big deal about the fact that this
Speaker 1: is truly a surprise. This isn't a TV surprise, Like
Speaker 1: you really don't know what it is. And I felt
Speaker 1: my face turn hot and begin to sweat, like uncontrollable
Speaker 1: because I truly don't know what it was. And it's
Speaker 1: funny that it's this because we were just discussing it.
Speaker 1: This was, by the way, this was not planned. They
Speaker 1: suddenly start playing a video and the video is a
Speaker 1: video of me in high school, singing in a tux,
Speaker 1: singing in and this is kind of before you can
Speaker 1: find anything in the world online or whatever. And I
Speaker 1: had not seen this video. I don't think ever. I mean,
Speaker 1: it was like VHS recorded video of me singing to
Speaker 1: dream the impossible dream on video, and I'm like, and
Speaker 1: I kind of got up and started saying on the
Speaker 1: show like at the end, because I was like, I
Speaker 1: don't even know what to do. I don't even know
Speaker 1: what to do. And that probably damaged me for a while,
Speaker 1: just that experience of not it actually coming out, but
Speaker 1: just saying like, we're going to surprise you and you
Speaker 1: don't know what it is in front of all of
Speaker 1: these people. That was my That was my nightmare. Hell, like,
Speaker 1: you're personal that was my personal health. Yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 1: You know I also had um like the true it
Speaker 1: was my nightmare come true. But ironically it wasn't on stage.
Speaker 1: It was on a television show that I was doing
Speaker 1: a couple of years back called Murder in the first Yes,
Speaker 1: I was playing this gang unit cop and for a
Speaker 1: week I had been learning like pages and pages of
Speaker 1: dial log and I had it down. And then the
Speaker 1: night before the writer sends me new scenes. But like
Speaker 1: Brian brand New, Okay, now here's what I need to
Speaker 1: tell you. This is everybody who knows me knows this.
Speaker 1: I do not have a photographic memory, and I need
Speaker 1: time to work on my ship, like for real, I
Speaker 1: mean Superman and Lois knows that. Every show I work
Speaker 1: on knows that. That's just how I roll, It's how
Speaker 1: my brain works. So the night before I am flicking out,
Speaker 1: and for the first time in my life, I took
Speaker 1: like half an adderall and I was like, I have
Speaker 1: to learn this, I have to do this. So I'm
Speaker 1: stressed to the max, anxious, barely slept. Get to set.
Speaker 1: The next day, I am beside myself and I go
Speaker 1: to the director on She's like the loveliest woman, Alesan Andrews.
Speaker 1: She was directing our episode, and I'm like, Alison, I
Speaker 1: got to tell you. They changed all my stuff at
Speaker 1: the very last minute, And like I don't learn stuff quickly,
Speaker 1: but I've got certainly done my best. I just want
Speaker 1: you to know that. She's like, no problem, it's all good.
Speaker 1: I was like, awesome, we'll probably just you know, do
Speaker 1: it in snippets whatever. I get to set and she
Speaker 1: says to me, sweetheart, it's a walking talk, one shot,
Speaker 1: walking talk instant, like you don't even know. So I'm
Speaker 1: like there. I mean I think of maybe seven or
Speaker 1: eight takes. I think I got it once. Honest to god,
Speaker 1: I got it once, and I got it because like
Speaker 1: after the fifth or sixth take, I'm like in the back,
Speaker 1: we're like shooting in this warehouse. Um my co star
Speaker 1: Kathleen Roberts, and she was like, you've got this. I
Speaker 1: heard you in the trailer. You got this. I'm like panicking,
Speaker 1: and I tears are streaming down my face and I'm
Speaker 1: like before action, I like walked to the bathroom warehouse
Speaker 1: and I literally pray to both my parents. They're both
Speaker 1: passed away, and I'm like, well, Dad, if you could
Speaker 1: hear me right now, I did you so bad. I
Speaker 1: have to get through this and I would be cold.
Speaker 1: Somehow I did. However, Brian, after I had a meeting
Speaker 1: with the with the writer with the creator of the show,
Speaker 1: and I was like, that was easily the most stressful
Speaker 1: moment of my life. And I'll tell you I got
Speaker 1: it just barely. Uh. I did not do my best work,
Speaker 1: honest good, but it was a true after nightmare. That's
Speaker 1: that's off. You started with a lot of comedy and
Speaker 1: kind of romantic comedy roles Detroit, Rock City, snow Day
Speaker 1: with the amazing Gene Smart Chevy, Adam and Eve. Uh
Speaker 1: you don't mess with the Zohan. Was there something specifically
Speaker 1: that drew you to those type of rolls or those
Speaker 1: type of roles just start finding you. I think they
Speaker 1: just started finding me, you know, because for the longest time,
Speaker 1: I sort of just it didn't click in my brain that,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, I do comedy. Like to me, I just
Speaker 1: didn't do comedy, and I gotten that funny like not
Speaker 1: at all, Like that's why would I do comedy. I
Speaker 1: remember even saying like, it's not like I'd ever do
Speaker 1: an Adam Sandler film. Cut to Zan. You know, I
Speaker 1: remember a few years ago, Uh, I did Super Troopers too,
Speaker 1: and Jay chandrashekr you know, we we talked on the
Speaker 1: phone and he's like he wants me for this part,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, Jay, I don't honestly think that i'm
Speaker 1: your person, Like I don't do comedy, and he was like,
Speaker 1: are you kidding. I was like, no, I'm not kidding.
Speaker 1: I'm not kidding at all. He's like, I mean he
Speaker 1: did this thing and he jokes about it today. He
Speaker 1: was like, Emmanuel is like the only actor that I've
Speaker 1: ever like spoken to on the phone that tried to
Speaker 1: talk her way out of doing a part. And I
Speaker 1: was like, oh god, that's really messed up. Anyway, I
Speaker 1: did it. I had the best time. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: guess I do do comedy. Yes, you, of course you
Speaker 1: do do comedy. You were then eventually cast in well,
Speaker 1: I would say, a very important obviously huge comedy Entourage.
Speaker 1: It's crazy when I looked back on and I was like,
Speaker 1: I think this is true? Is this really true? Two
Speaker 1: thousand five, Entourage and The Office started at like exactly
Speaker 1: the same time. Oh, two crazy different shows, both successful
Speaker 1: in their own way, but they started at the same time,
Speaker 1: obviously on two different networks. Now you join Entourage in
Speaker 1: the second season, obviously, as sloan, did you watch the
Speaker 1: first season? Were you aware of it? Barely? I think
Speaker 1: I've watched a couple of episodes just to know what
Speaker 1: I was going to go, do you know? Um? But no,
Speaker 1: I was. It wasn't even you know, it really popped.
Speaker 1: By like third season, it really hit, but I think
Speaker 1: like it was a little slow burned out the gate.
Speaker 1: Second season it started to definitely get some momentum, and
Speaker 1: by third season it was just like water cooler conversation, Right,
Speaker 1: what was your experience of auditioning for the role of Sloan? Oh?
Speaker 1: My god, it was so wild. First of all, it
Speaker 1: was like a three episode arc. It's literally like just
Speaker 1: three episodes. But apparently the story goes that they really
Speaker 1: wanted to find ease new girlfriend, and you know, they
Speaker 1: had cast some wonderful ladies and for whatever reasons, it just,
Speaker 1: you know, never really worked out. And so when I
Speaker 1: auditioned initially, it went really really well. And when I
Speaker 1: got the call back, they had already like altered the
Speaker 1: role to be like to basically insinuate that my father
Speaker 1: was Malcolm McDowell and that my mother was Israeli, like
Speaker 1: just to explain the coloring or whatever. And that's interesting.
Speaker 1: And like Kevin Connolly had called me before the callback
Speaker 1: because I think he just loved I didn't even know him.
Speaker 1: I guess he had seen the tapes or whatever and
Speaker 1: really sort of gravitated towards my audition and he just
Speaker 1: called me and he was like, do exactly what you did,
Speaker 1: Like that was great. And then we read together at
Speaker 1: the callback and in the very last hour there was
Speaker 1: another actress that was like right like primed to get it,
Speaker 1: and I think, you know, Doug Ellen sort of fought
Speaker 1: hard for me and it went my way. And Kevin
Speaker 1: Connolly was the one who called me and offered me
Speaker 1: the part, like he got permission to do that, so sweet,
Speaker 1: I know. And then and then like it was it's
Speaker 1: you know, I've talked about this so much. Is that
Speaker 1: Entourage was like the gift that keeps on giving, Like
Speaker 1: it was the rest of this series plus a movie
Speaker 1: that started out as like a three episode ark, the
Speaker 1: game Changer that one. How how long after the first
Speaker 1: three did you know you were going to stick around?
Speaker 1: I think it just sort of kept happening incrementally, like
Speaker 1: they just kept writing and writing, and then third season
Speaker 1: and fourth season, so it was like, you know, I
Speaker 1: never was a regular on that show. I was always
Speaker 1: a recurring because the regulars had, you know, the front
Speaker 1: billing with all their names and the thing, and then
Speaker 1: I ended up having that for the movie. What was
Speaker 1: it like going back after so much time and doing
Speaker 1: the movie, I mean, aside from being fun and I'm
Speaker 1: sure reuniting with all those guys again, do you feel
Speaker 1: like you were different at that point, after so much
Speaker 1: time had passed from when you started so long before?
Speaker 1: Not at all, Like, honestly, not at all. I mean,
Speaker 1: what five years had gone by and it felt as
Speaker 1: though we picked up exactly where we left off. It
Speaker 1: was wild. It didn't even feel like it had been
Speaker 1: five years, you know. And the crazy part is that
Speaker 1: still to this day, like when we all hang or
Speaker 1: see each other, it's surreal to all of us that
Speaker 1: it's been fifteen years since the beginning. Like wait, what right?
Speaker 1: That doesn't even make sense. I know you had a director,
Speaker 1: Julian Farrino, who directed, based on my research, a little
Speaker 1: over a quarter of the episodes, you know, Julian came on.
Speaker 1: He and I became fairly close. I would say, he
Speaker 1: started directing the office a few episodes and he and
Speaker 1: I would sit because I guess, and I guess I
Speaker 1: still am I'm doing this. I'm just kind of a
Speaker 1: nerd of the business. And we just kept start talking
Speaker 1: about the fact that these two shows were at the
Speaker 1: time very big, very popular people were watching, and they
Speaker 1: could not have been any more different different from from
Speaker 1: each other. What do you think the success of Entourage was?
Speaker 1: What do you think was what gravitated people towards it? Gosh,
Speaker 1: grand um. I think there's so many things. I mean,
Speaker 1: I feel like, and you can attest to this, I
Speaker 1: feel like people are fascinated with the business, right like
Speaker 1: people who aren't in the business just sort of in
Speaker 1: the world at large. When you go to a dinner
Speaker 1: party and you're like the only apt or, suddenly all
Speaker 1: conversation is like pointed to you, and you're like, so
Speaker 1: there is this real, like inherent fascination curiosity. And I
Speaker 1: think that that had a real big appeal, especially because
Speaker 1: we were really exploring this sort of funny but also
Speaker 1: gnarly underbelly of what is Hollywood, you know, And and
Speaker 1: it was controversial, and it was toted as a misogynistic
Speaker 1: and it was all of these things. But like it
Speaker 1: was like, yeah, but what do you think the business is?
Speaker 1: Tree me too? What do you think this fucking business
Speaker 1: was you know, like when Doug was writing that stuff
Speaker 1: of that was not out of like his imagination. And
Speaker 1: I think people were floored by that. I think that
Speaker 1: had a big part to do with it. What do
Speaker 1: you think that makes so much sense? No? That, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think that makes so much sense. I mean I
Speaker 1: think that for me, what was so interesting about the
Speaker 1: two shows, you know, being popular and again like basically
Speaker 1: being created and happening at the same time at the
Speaker 1: same time, there was a sexy escapism aspect of Entourage
Speaker 1: and kind of more specifically like what what you're talking
Speaker 1: about about those dinner party conversations when you're there and
Speaker 1: people want to know and they want to hear, and
Speaker 1: to a large degree, um it. I think there was
Speaker 1: a lot of controversy about Entourage because of the things
Speaker 1: that you were talking about. It generated a ton of discussion.
Speaker 1: But I think also like that, I don't know, sexy
Speaker 1: people and private planes and you know, like that whole
Speaker 1: sort of sexy escapism. And what's fascinating to me is
Speaker 1: we were just the opposite, right Like as a show
Speaker 1: we were we could not have been any I mean,
Speaker 1: we were literally selling paper in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and that
Speaker 1: and that was what Julian and I would we were talking,
Speaker 1: I mean, they were both happening when he was there,
Speaker 1: and it was like, he's directing our show in the
Speaker 1: next week, He's going to wherever you guys on location
Speaker 1: or whatever. And I was like, well, this is just
Speaker 1: so interesting to me that the two shows exist at
Speaker 1: exactly the same time in the same place, and this
Speaker 1: is and and this is what the shows are exploring,
Speaker 1: and these are the variety of ways that people can
Speaker 1: be entertained and and want to watch. I feel like that,
Speaker 1: it's just fascinating. Oh my gosh. I agree with you.
Speaker 1: I mean I do. I mean, which just goes to
Speaker 1: show you there's a there's a room for everything. At
Speaker 1: the same time, what do you most when you think
Speaker 1: back on that experience and, as you said, the gift
Speaker 1: that keeps on giving. What are you most proud of
Speaker 1: yourself and your experience, either of the show or your
Speaker 1: role on the show or what you did. Did anything
Speaker 1: come to mind? Yeah? I mean, god, that's such a
Speaker 1: good question. You know. I don't throw all the entourage
Speaker 1: talk that I've done over the years. I don't think
Speaker 1: that anybody's ever asked me that. I think it was
Speaker 1: just a really it was interesting to play a role
Speaker 1: that It's not like I had that much screen time,
Speaker 1: you know, it was like it was the Boys Show,
Speaker 1: but we created I guess these characters that really hit
Speaker 1: a chord and it's sort of I guess it just
Speaker 1: found it like just a huge honor and compliment that
Speaker 1: people really just like resonated to this woman and that
Speaker 1: like for a show like that, Sloan was known as
Speaker 1: this sort of like grounded, smart, sort of sophisticated and saucy,
Speaker 1: but like that it wasn't just this like overly sexified
Speaker 1: role like that. Part of her appeal was more than that.
Speaker 1: And it was a testament to two Doug writing that
Speaker 1: kind of woman. Like he was very protective of Sloan. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, I guess looking back, like if I were
Speaker 1: to look back on my career, I would be like, Wow,
Speaker 1: I guess I am really proud of that. You know,
Speaker 1: to have a character that people just really wanted to
Speaker 1: get to know, there's a massive compliment. You think you're
Speaker 1: not a comedy person, you certainly are. You certainly are.
Speaker 1: But after Entourage and I'm more interested in whether this
Speaker 1: was intentional or again, if this just kind of happened
Speaker 1: you started working doing a lot of crime thriller, dark action,
Speaker 1: fully intentional? It was? It was was it murder in
Speaker 1: the First Cleaners? Mentally? Yes, oh yeah, you just wanted
Speaker 1: something different. I just wanted to well, you know, okay,
Speaker 1: you know, like they they maybe in for this day,
Speaker 1: like to put us in a box. Right, You're that
Speaker 1: kind of performer. This is what you do. You look
Speaker 1: that way, you have this kind of voice or charm
Speaker 1: or whatever. This is what you do. And coming from
Speaker 1: the theater, it's like, no, that's not what I do.
Speaker 1: That's easy. I get to basically be me and get
Speaker 1: to say some great dialogue. But like, this is what
Speaker 1: I do, right, So it was it was very intentional
Speaker 1: to to mix it up and to just try to
Speaker 1: sink my teeth into stuff that I wouldn't otherwise necessarily
Speaker 1: be thought of. Great. Emmanuel, you and I are the same.
Speaker 1: I don't even know. That's like I can't even say that,
Speaker 1: but you know it's I mean, it's exactly the same.
Speaker 1: When the Office was over, and it's funny, I was
Speaker 1: just at an event with a lot of Office fans
Speaker 1: and a few people brought up actually, like you know,
Speaker 1: I did Law and Order SVU and minds. People bring
Speaker 1: up criminal minds all the time and they're like, that's
Speaker 1: not you. What are you know that you were good
Speaker 1: but that's not or I'll get an interview and they'll
Speaker 1: start talking about my background in comedy and I'm not
Speaker 1: being snarky, I'm like, I actually don't have one. I
Speaker 1: didn't do improv. That wasn't my thing. Like I was
Speaker 1: traveling around the country playing horrible people, like trying to
Speaker 1: find some bit of humanity in rapists and abusers and
Speaker 1: all of them. That's much more what I do. But
Speaker 1: it's fascinating that we both decided. I'm I'm really glad
Speaker 1: to hear that that it was an intentional choice by you.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, Yeah, that's funny, Brian, that's actually very funny.
Speaker 1: Like you're right, I do. I completely get it. And
Speaker 1: I think too, is that you know, there is something
Speaker 1: to be said though for really genius casting, because you know,
Speaker 1: a show like The Office worked because it was brilliantly cast.
Speaker 1: Now the argument is, okay, but are you casting the
Speaker 1: person or are you casting based on essence? And I
Speaker 1: feel like it's kind of like it's a little it's
Speaker 1: a little of like, of course, what you bring to it,
Speaker 1: and it's a little of the essence that you bring
Speaker 1: and that's the reality of the situation, which sometimes hurts
Speaker 1: because you're just like, no, I can do this, Like
Speaker 1: I know that I do have to say this. I've
Speaker 1: actually never ever revealed this ever before, not that it's
Speaker 1: like a big scoop or whatever, but um, I don't
Speaker 1: know the person's name, but I will I will tell
Speaker 1: you because I was trying to do, like, you know, dramas,
Speaker 1: and I've done quite a few and some recurring stuff,
Speaker 1: but I remember very specifically Criminal Minds. Criminal Minds is
Speaker 1: an odd show, right because Criminal Minds is the show
Speaker 1: about the serial killers. And how that show is structured
Speaker 1: is that there is a cast, there is a regular cast,
Speaker 1: but basically whoever they bring in as the serial killer
Speaker 1: of that episode is actually the star of the episode.
Speaker 1: That's the structure of the show. And whoever it was,
Speaker 1: And God bless you if you happen to be listening,
Speaker 1: I'll try to do the research later. That was a
Speaker 1: straight offer, and I will tell you that I give
Speaker 1: whoever that was a tremendous amount of because I remember
Speaker 1: talking to my manager and saying like they're they're just
Speaker 1: they're off, they're offering it to got it read it
Speaker 1: and it's like the and this was and I said no, No.
Speaker 1: I was so happy because I was like, yes, I
Speaker 1: can do this, but I can. I can with absolute
Speaker 1: certainty say no one has ever seen me do this before.
Speaker 1: Someone is like just really going out on a limb
Speaker 1: and saying that they wanted this experience. So anyway, I've
Speaker 1: never yeah, I know, and I've told I've never really
Speaker 1: thought about telling you before. But yeah, that that happened,
Speaker 1: that's good for you. You're now on you You're a
Speaker 1: totally different kind of show. Superman and Lois Now are
Speaker 1: you a comic book person? Are you an arrow verse?
Speaker 1: Is that what we call it? An arrow verse? Yeah? Yeah, okay, no,
Speaker 1: definitely and not Did you know who Superman was? Yes?
Speaker 1: That I knew, and I knew like you know, I
Speaker 1: had watched you know, the Daughter movies like back of
Speaker 1: It say whatever, you know, we all know, man, what
Speaker 1: planet are you on? Even don't know at least who's Superman?
Speaker 1: Who Superman is? Lois Lane Clark. But like I know,
Speaker 1: I wasn't. I had no ever in my career well
Speaker 1: you know, I mean I sort of I was a
Speaker 1: bit of a TV snob. I mean I was on
Speaker 1: HBO for eight years and then I've worked with Hulu
Speaker 1: on this amazing dark show called Shut I with the
Speaker 1: Sick Cast and had like, you know, the Mentalist, like
Speaker 1: all of these things. So when this came along, I
Speaker 1: thought they were joking. Like when my team called me,
Speaker 1: they were like, look, they're really interested in you for this,
Speaker 1: you know, for Superman and low If. I was like,
Speaker 1: that's hilarious, you right, They're like, no, no, really, like
Speaker 1: the creator of the show, we'd like to sit with you.
Speaker 1: And I was like, I don't even know how I
Speaker 1: feel about that, I really and so I went and
Speaker 1: I sat with Todd Helping, which was easily one of
Speaker 1: the greatest decisions I've ever done in my life because
Speaker 1: he is usually one of the greatest humans I have
Speaker 1: had the pleasure to know in our business. It's like,
Speaker 1: really and um. We sat down and it was such
Speaker 1: a transparent conversation and I really told him sort of
Speaker 1: a lot of my reservations because I had a lot
Speaker 1: like I you know, to me the c W was
Speaker 1: the c W. I'd never worked for the c W.
Speaker 1: I always thought you had to be like young and
Speaker 1: hot to be on the c W. I was just like,
Speaker 1: I don't know if this is these are not goals, okay.
Speaker 1: So it was this real moment of like, check your
Speaker 1: ego at the door, what is happening? What is this project?
Speaker 1: And what's the creative behind it? And Todd really, you know,
Speaker 1: he had said he really wanted this to be a
Speaker 1: version of like Friday Night Lights meets a superhero background,
Speaker 1: and that the role of Lana Lange was going to be,
Speaker 1: you know, a character that a lot of the audience
Speaker 1: was going to really relate to. And we just have
Speaker 1: this amazing conversation and I was like, I gotta do this.
Speaker 1: I want to give us a try. Why not? And um,
Speaker 1: it's been wild and fun and great training, like some
Speaker 1: of the storylines that I've had to do, and you know,
Speaker 1: being a regular on a show like all of the things,
Speaker 1: and having these story lines that I've really gotten to
Speaker 1: sink my teeth into has just been dreaming. So jokes
Speaker 1: on me for judging it in the first place, but
Speaker 1: I think we all do that, you know, like and
Speaker 1: we have these ideas and we have these goals, right,
Speaker 1: and our business is so ego driven, you know, like
Speaker 1: it is like you go, yeah, but I was an
Speaker 1: HBO girl for eight years, but you're not anymore. Guess
Speaker 1: why you're not anymore? So? The one next that it's
Speaker 1: very interesting. I am going to check it out based
Speaker 1: on everything that I have. I have not seen you,
Speaker 1: and I've seen a few scenes knowing that I was
Speaker 1: going to talk to you. The description of the show
Speaker 1: basically Superman and Lois are now raising kids. So interesting
Speaker 1: almost an incredible meets Friday Night Lights meets yeah, like
Speaker 1: very interesting, and uh I am. I'm definitely gonna check
Speaker 1: it out. Now, are you in the comic con world? Now?
Speaker 1: The arrow Verse stardom thing is it is? I haven't
Speaker 1: I I have really been super gunshy about it, honestly,
Speaker 1: just for COVID reasons. Like I've just thought of going
Speaker 1: to a thing. I'm just like, oh, hell no, not
Speaker 1: right now. I'm not ready for it. But I mean eventually, yeah,
Speaker 1: that comes with the territory. I suppose. Yeah, you're you're
Speaker 1: on hiatus, but you're shooting season three now, right we
Speaker 1: start in September. You start in September. Okay, have you
Speaker 1: gotten the scription enjoyed these last few weeks? No? But
Speaker 1: I did sit with the creator yesterday and I got
Speaker 1: a low down of season three and I'm very excited.
Speaker 1: What's what's going to happen? Well, I can't tell you.
Speaker 1: I can't. It's just us chatting. You know, you can't
Speaker 1: tell I'm just gonna have to tune in. You can't
Speaker 1: tell us. I mean me, what's what's coming? Oh? I
Speaker 1: was going to ask you about shut up? Shut I uh?
Speaker 1: Isabella Rossalini, or as David Letterman always said, Isabelle La
Speaker 1: Ross Okay, psychics and hypnotists are psychics real? Do they exist? Yes?
Speaker 1: They do. But there's a lot of shysters too, But
Speaker 1: they do, but they do. Okay, you're the second person
Speaker 1: I've asked that based on work that they've done. You're
Speaker 1: the second person who said, yes, if you could know
Speaker 1: what was in store for you, would you want to know? No?
Speaker 1: I don't need to know. Nope, I'm good. I don't.
Speaker 1: I don't have that desire to like go and like
Speaker 1: see a psychic. I think like I feel like if
Speaker 1: you're in the flow and you're doing and you feel good.
Speaker 1: And you're doing all the work, and you know, the
Speaker 1: spiritual work, the mental work, physical work, and you're in it,
Speaker 1: then you're good, like things are gonna align as they should.
Speaker 1: I don't need to know. Okay, that's good. I buy that.
Speaker 1: I think I agree with that. I think I agree.
Speaker 1: I think I agree with that. I might have a
Speaker 1: slight more skepticism than you do, but I'm with you.
Speaker 1: You keep going, you keep doing you and whatever happens
Speaker 1: will happen. But in front of the other one, the
Speaker 1: other absolutely me um. Is there any so drama, comedy, dark, now,
Speaker 1: arrow verse, all of it? Is there any type of
Speaker 1: role or genre that you haven't played yet that you
Speaker 1: want to? Oh my god so much? I feel like,
Speaker 1: do you feel this way? I feel like, no matter
Speaker 1: how much work I've done, I always feel like I'm
Speaker 1: just scratching the surface. And I really, I swear to God,
Speaker 1: I still feel that way, Like I get just so
Speaker 1: crazy and tired. Like when I watched Mayor of Easttown, Yes,
Speaker 1: I was like, that's my dream. Like basically, Kate Winslet
Speaker 1: is my dream. Really, let's just call it, leould call it.
Speaker 1: I think she can do no wrong. I think she's phenomenal.
Speaker 1: I think she makes incredible choices. You know, I feel
Speaker 1: like I feel like there's so much more to do.
Speaker 1: And yeah, it's great I've had, like I've had such
Speaker 1: incredible opportunities, but like there's so much more in all,
Speaker 1: in all the genres, Like there's just so much more
Speaker 1: to do. I love that. I think for me, I mean,
Speaker 1: I still consider myself a young man, but I have
Speaker 1: always looked older. And so like going back to my
Speaker 1: theater days, both in college and then even after college,
Speaker 1: I was always playing these role roles that I was
Speaker 1: way too young for. I was way way too way
Speaker 1: too young for. And so here's a crazy thing. And
Speaker 1: I'm talking about like roles I mean some in new stuff,
Speaker 1: but like the cannon, if you will, like like roles
Speaker 1: in like Willie Loman, death of a salesman type stuff.
Speaker 1: And now it's like, oh, I'm getting pretty close to
Speaker 1: the age that I could actually do these things now,
Speaker 1: where with experience, with the experience and the age and
Speaker 1: the thing there, I think for me that that's an
Speaker 1: exciting that's an exciting property. Sure, yeah, to see what
Speaker 1: you're doing, men, Well, one of these days we're going
Speaker 1: to do something together. That's what's gonna happen. That would
Speaker 1: be very, very fun. Thank you so much for talking
Speaker 1: to me. I appreciate it. It's so interesting to hear
Speaker 1: about your life and your journey, and I wish you
Speaker 1: nothing but the best in Superman and Lowis and beyond.
Speaker 1: Thank you. We'll do it together at some point. All right, Okay,
Speaker 1: sounds great, Emmanuel, thank you for joining us here today.
Speaker 1: What a pleasure that conversation was. I think we need
Speaker 1: an Entourage and the Office crossover show. Let's call it
Speaker 1: Entourage meets the Office, shall we? To everyone out there listening,
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed another episode of Off the Beat.
Speaker 1: Be sure to subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already,
Speaker 1: and give us a follow at at off the Beat
Speaker 1: on Instagram to stay up to date with all of
Speaker 1: the latest and greatest. Have a great week, everybody. Off
Speaker 1: the Beat is hosted an executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner,
Speaker 1: alongside our executive producer Langley. Our producers are Diego Tapia,
Speaker 1: Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our talent producer
Speaker 1: is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is Sammy Katz
Speaker 1: our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed by my great
Speaker 1: friend Creed Bratton, and the episode was mixed by Seth Olandski.