WEBVTT - Michael Rosenbaum 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.240 And I went to them, and I remember the agent 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:04.880 was like, do you have a resume? And I gave 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:07.080 it to him, Like do you do any voice over work? 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:11.280 And I go, yeah, of course I didn't, and I 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.440 just went into it. I go. If you like yummy 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:17.280 things like peach part Fit, come on live a little, 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:20.479 have a cup of you Band for dessert, you bad. 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:24.880 The gorgeous coffee You Band taste great. Just think baking 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:28.160 and eggs for breakfast and dessert, a nice big sandwich 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:31.840 for lunch and dessert, or how about a strawberry part 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:42.800 fit and dessert You Band. Hey, I am Michael Rosenbaum. 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:44.880 I was Lex lutheran Smallville, and I have a really 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.559 fun podcast called Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, so 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:54.760 check it out. I'm happy to be here. Hello, they're friends, 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:59.680 and welcome back to a brand spanking new episode of 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:05.759 Off the Beat. As always, I am your host Brian Baumgartner. Today, well, 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:11.399 I'm talking to my new bestie, Michael Rosenbaum, as you 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:15.240 just heard. Now. You may know him best as Lex 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:22.400 Luthor on Smallville, or maybe from his hit podcast Inside 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:27.039 of You, as he so eloquently writes in his podcast 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:30.839 bio you may see him and say, oh, that guy 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:35.919 from that thing. But you know, all seriousness. Michael has 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:42.279 been in everything. He's an incredible actor, Urban Legends, Justice League, 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.000 Guardians of the Galaxy, and uh he's even the lead 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:52.160 singer of his band son Spin. I find him so interesting. 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:56.240 He also has some unique interests. He's a voice actor. 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:00.640 He's a collector. Actually, why don't you just guess? He collects? 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:04.640 Is it slinkys, is it anything chicken related? Is it 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:10.600 horror memorabilia, troll dolls, back scratchers. Yeah, one of those 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:14.400 things he collects and it fills him with joy. The 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.960 answer will be available in the podcast. I also want 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:22.600 to mention that not only is Michael on my podcast today, 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.160 but as you just heard, I'm on his So make 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:30.000 sure to check that out inside of you. Look, I'm 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.040 excited to bring him on. He's a new friend, but 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:36.680 he's a dear friend that didn't rhyme. Let's just do 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:46.080 this here. He is Michael Rosenbaum. Bubble and Squeak. I 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:52.360 love it. Bubble and Squeak on Bubble and Squeaker cookie 0:02:52.560 --> 0:03:06.800 every month left over from the nut before. What's up? 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:13.440 How are you doing? What's up? My new bestie. Oh, 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:18.200 you dropped a bomb Gardner on me. Baby, you dropped 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:23.720 a bomb on me. Dude, Michael, I mean two times 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:28.880 so close together. This is I mean wow. Now next, 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.760 I promised you when we parted ways that I was 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.360 going to make you some chili. That's going to happen. 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:41.520 Let me be very clear today I'm moving. So my kitchen, 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:46.440 my implements. What is that? That's not my utensils. They're 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:50.640 all packed up. So the implements. If you want implements, 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.920 you know my my implements. Will we'll play golf and 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.400 will eat chili. How does that? I'm very excited about that. 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.600 That sounds amazing. I can't eight to uh be invited 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.160 to your house? Do you usually do this over zoom? 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:05.960 You don't have people at your house. You don't like 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:10.400 people at your house? Well, you know, I live in Oklahoma. 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:15.640 Now that's a hike for me. It's a little. It's 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.599 a little. Although I came to you, I came to 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:20.480 your house. You did, and it was a bit You're right. 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:22.120 I remember you saying it was a bit of a hike, 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:24.760 But you had some other stuff going on that day. 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.200 It wasn't just that. It was no it was just 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.040 for you. It was just for you. That's my story. 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:34.479 I'm sticking with it, you see. So it's was so 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.800 nice getting to talk to you. Now. I'm i'm I'm 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:41.000 turning the tables a little bit on you because I 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:45.120 i've one. I find you incredibly interesting, in addition to 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:49.160 being incredibly sexy. People like Welling. I don't know why. 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:51.880 I don't know why people I don't know why people 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:57.159 like Welling. I've go you've golfed with Welling? I have 0:04:57.240 --> 0:04:59.719 you golfed with Welling? I have a golf with Welling. 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:02.120 I know you like to golf. I can't believe you 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:06.520 guys having golf together. Yeah. Well, I just started picking 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.560 it up during COVID. There's nothing else to do. So 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.200 everybody started buying clubs. Everybody started to go to the 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.279 golf course. And I played ice hockey my whole life. 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:20.520 But I remember what you said on my podcast. You said, 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:25.480 that's the time where there's no phones, there's no external noise. 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:29.680 You just, for however many hours focus on that, and 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:32.760 that for you is therapeutic. So I can understand that. 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:34.919 I understand that. So when I golf, I try to 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:36.640 do that as well. I try to just talk with 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.000 my friends, enjoy the atmosphere, and it's help. It's it 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.200 is therapeutic. It's like meditation in a way. Yeah, I 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:45.680 don't think I knew that you did ice cock hockey. 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.960 You know, that's Correl's game sport. That's really that's what 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.719 he did growing up. Yeah. In fact, he got hurt 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:57.120 at some point while we were filming playing high He 0:05:57.160 --> 0:06:00.280 played in a like a league in Los angele of us. 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:04.440 They're like Lee, But yeah, I do. In fact, I 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.640 just ran into someone who played or plays with him. 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.240 I thought he had given it up. Maybe not, but yeah, 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:13.760 and so he and I have golfed, not a lot, 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:16.080 but you know, he's got a good swing. He makes 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:19.839 good contact because yeah, you ice hockey, guys can pound 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:24.240 the ball um, but he's learning to. And like you said, 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:25.960 it takes a lot of time. It takes a lot 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.200 of time back back to welling, back to Welling being 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:33.479 so good looking, because you did you did say that, 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:38.640 and uh, you know you were. I know I will look. 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:41.520 I appreciate that. But you know what's funny is I 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.480 always felt when I was on Smallville that I was 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:48.280 gonna get fired because I wasn't good looking enough. I 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:51.600 didn't match the crips here. I didn't fit the criteria 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:56.600 for the w B slash g W whatever model. And 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.640 you had Tom was so beautiful and Kristen, who played 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.599 a lot, was so beautiful, and the beautiful pair. Everyone 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:05.720 was beautiful. And I'm like, this bald guy got this 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:08.039 bump on my back of my head. I was never 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:12.720 popular in high school. I just was really feeling like, um, 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:15.120 they're gonna let me go. So I felt like I 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:17.480 had to step up my game and act the ship 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.600 out of those scenes in order to stay on board. 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.840 So I always felt like I was threatened by willing. Yeah, 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:28.280 I have similar feelings about the w B c W. 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:30.960 I always felt like any time I would get like 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.080 an appointment to go meet with something, I was like, 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:38.280 they're not gonna hire me. But now now they hired you. 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:43.720 So I don't know where the Yeah, yeah, they're in 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:45.680 the bald guys. Now. You know you have a little 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:49.400 bit of baldness going, so you they're probably into you now, yeah, 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.360 a little bit. Um. All right, Well, I want to 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.680 talk more about Smallville, but I want to go back first. 0:07:56.040 --> 0:08:00.120 I understand you were born in New York. But who 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:04.640 ended up being raised in Indiana? Was that a family 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.920 moved to Indiana? Yeah, Dad got a job transfer he 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:13.360 worked in uh sort of a chemist like and uh 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:17.600 he brought the whole family to a small town in Newburg, Indiana, 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:20.440 which had about three thousand, not even three thousand people, 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.680 a lot of corn fields, of burger farm, a Druther's, 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.640 a dairy queen, a tiny Newberg cinema, a pizza king. 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.840 Can't forget that, and the high school was about a 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:35.760 few miles away. And uh, yeah, we just landed in Newburg, Indiana, 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:40.040 And thus began my life growing up in the Middlewest. Wow, 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:46.360 And was that difficult for you? I remember my dad 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:48.480 was mowing the lawn. You know, it's just blew shit 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:51.080 all over him, you know, all over his face and 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:53.080 his body, you know, when he's mowing the lawn, East 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:57.120 wear goggles. And I remember saying, I don't have any friends. 0:08:57.280 --> 0:09:00.880 He's like, what, I don't have any friends? And he's like, well, 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.200 why don't you go and knock on everybody's door in 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:04.920 the neighborhood and asked them if they have a kid 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:06.760 who's eight years old or nine years old you could 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:10.880 play with and I did, and I went next door. No, 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.360 and finally I got about eight houses down and uh, 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:19.480 this woman answers Mrs Cutter, and Mrs Cutter. I looks 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:20.760 at me and go, I go, hey, do you have 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:22.960 like a nine year old kid that I could play with? 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:26.040 She goes, you don't look you look too small for nine, 0:09:26.559 --> 0:09:29.679 and I go, well, I am, and then she goes Danny. 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.480 And then Danny became my best friend. And we catch 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:37.720 fireflies and we tp houses and we play a whiffle ball. 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.679 And I remember when I think back, I said, you know, 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.880 they always say if you're always in in the past, 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.480 you're depressed. It's part of it's depression if you're stuck 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:49.280 in the past. But I remember I had a dysfunctional family, 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:54.120 volatility out the ass. But I remember great friends and 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:57.640 great memories growing up in a small town, or something 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.680 really special about my time in Indiana, and I don't forget. 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:02.839 And I usually go back once a year. You know, 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:04.680 I always say I'm gonna move back there, and my 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.199 friends always here say, what are you gonna do? You'll 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.560 get bored there, why would you want to go back? 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:13.040 But I do miss the Middlewest. I do. It's just 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.440 there's something calm about it when you land. There's something 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:19.839 just oh man, this is just some them in Indiana, 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:23.840 you know. Yeah, so it's nice. Now that's great. You know, 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.960 I've said this before. It seems like all the funny 0:10:27.040 --> 0:10:30.439 people that I know are from like Kansas. I don't know, 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.960 there's like this whole group of people. And you think about, 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.080 you know, the potential that you know, there's not enough 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:42.360 creative outlets. There's just not as many um, you know places. 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:45.959 But but that environment growing up and truly just using 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:50.320 your imagination, needing to entertain yourself, you know, with your friends. 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:53.560 And I don't know, that's that's awesome to hear. I 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.360 hope you I hope you could do go back. It's 0:10:56.360 --> 0:11:02.439 a tough commute to Indiana, it is, but you know, uh, 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:04.559 I do think I'll go back one day. I mean. 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:08.960 The only problem is my mom lives there, so I 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:11.320 don't know. I want. I'm happy her coming to town. 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:13.960 I'm I flew her. I'm fly her in Thursday for 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:19.000 her seventy fifth birthday. And uh, she's a handful. She's 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:21.400 a handful, so i'd have to live. My sister lives 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.600 there still, so I'm thinking about it. We'll see what happens. 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:27.600 All right. Your mom is a writer, is that right? 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.640 Or is a writer? Yeah? She like writes for small 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:34.240 town paper, Evansville Courier, the Newberg Register. She doesn't do 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:37.439 it much anymore, but you know, she's pretty liberal. Not 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:40.400 to say I'm not liberal at all, but she's really liberal. 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:42.840 And so she used to write these articles in the papers. 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.320 And it used to piss people off. And I used 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:48.760 to get harassed in school for the articles that my 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.319 mom would write. And it was just like I used 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:54.080 to im, like, go, why are you putting my name 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:58.600 in these interviews? And and we had to put up 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:01.360 with that, and she was just she would just she's 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:05.520 sometimes write about baseball players. She'd somehow get these interviews. 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:09.120 She was her own publicist, so she would call like 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.280 major league outlets and like get interviews with the St. 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.560 Louis Cardinals players. And family would all drive to St. 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:18.840 Louis and go watch a game and she'd be interviewing 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.960 some baseball player for this little paper, and somehow she 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:26.000 charmed her way in. She's a very charming, manipulative person. 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:31.320 Let me just say that it's it's clear. I mean, 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.559 it's been there's been three references in four minutes about 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:36.960 your mixed feelings about your mom. But I hope you 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:40.640 have a nice Yeah, I hope so too. Look, I 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:43.640 love her. She was just you know, she had my 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.560 my my brother when she was sixteen. She had my 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:48.880 sister when she was seventeen, and she got divorced. She 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:52.520 married my dad, who was eighteen. Uh, you know, they 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.959 grew up really fast. And well, I think that, you know, 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.800 when you have a child, the child must come first. 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.719 They have to be the center of attention and if not, 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:08.200 they're gonna be well, uh, tortured. And so I think 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.040 that I became a little tortured as the years grew on, 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.959 but I somehow made it through the fog. And here 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:18.079 I am. Yeah, well that's good. Uh. You went to 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:22.120 Western Kentucky, right, and you you studied theater arts. So 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:25.839 when did you start finding a love of theater or 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:28.679 of acting? Was that was that early or was that 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.600 just what you decided to go to college for. Well, 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:33.760 I went to college thinking, you know, I'll take some 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.280 acting classes because I I took one in high school 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.120 and I did a play. But I was really insecure 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:43.280 and got a lot of confidence and Uh. I remember 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:47.600 the teacher, Mr Dr Combs, and uh, I was taking 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.559 basic techniques of acting. And I went in there and 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.960 I had this baseball cap and this Mets jersey and 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.640 the teacher says, those of you who are here for 0:13:56.760 --> 0:14:01.880 an easy elective, please raise your hand ends And so 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.360 about seven people in the class raised their hands and 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:07.040 kind of laughed, and I was so close to raising 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:10.120 my hand as a joke. And he then looks at 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:15.000 these kids and says, get out of my class. And 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:17.680 I was like what. And he made these kids leave 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.760 his class and find another elective. And then he asked 0:14:20.760 --> 0:14:23.960 me at the end of class, Mr Rosenbaum, do you 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.600 really want to be an actor? And I go yeah. 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:32.680 And it took some time, but as I started to 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:37.280 do plays the children's theater and then bigger plays, and 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:42.560 hearing that that instant gratification, that the applause from the audience, 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.760 and like I felt accepted for the first time in 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.240 my life. It was validation that I was doing something 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.040 good for the first time. And I fell in love 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:56.400 with that feeling, that euphoria, that connection, and I just 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.800 I started getting lead roles and I remember it was 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:02.000 like the end of my junior year. I looked in 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:05.280 the mirror and I go, you're an actor, dude, You're 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:08.240 a fucking actor. You say f on the show, Yeah 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:11.520 you can, oh And I said, you're an f an actor. 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.720 I didn't that done? And then uh, that was it. 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.840 I just kind of I love being a part of something, 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:23.360 part of this ensemble and pretending I'm someone I'm not, 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:28.760 and uh, that was a lot cooler than being me. Yeah. Yeah. 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.960 We talked about that on your podcast and that experience 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:37.000 and you ultimately uh changed your professor's opinion by the end, 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:40.400 right by the end, Dr Combs. I remember going to 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:42.880 his office and I said, I'm thinking about going to 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.560 grad school for you know, for acting, and he goes, 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:47.640 I think you're ready. I think you should go to 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.840 New York and I just said wow. And I went 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:52.840 to New York and I had nothing on my back. 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.880 I had an apartment with three people in a one 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:59.720 bedroom with bunk beds, trying to pay rent. Telemarketing and 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.760 every think sort of kind of came into place. Uh. 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.360 I was having no luck. I did like Dracula at 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.960 the Gross Street Playhouse and some off off Way, the 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:12.480 hell off Broadway, like New Jersey Broadway and things were 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.840 really working out. And I called Dr Combs and he said, 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:18.640 let me make a phone call and he called this 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:23.200 actress Becky Baker and Dylan Baker. They're they're working actors 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:25.720 and and I went over for dinner and we had 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.400 a great time, and I went back home and I 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:30.120 waited three days and I didn't know what to do. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.480 So go, I'm gonna call Becky and thank her for dinner. 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:34.760 And I called and she's like, Michael, hey, can you 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.680 hold on one second. I said sure. She clicks back 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:40.320 and she says, hey, can you meet with my agency tomorrow. 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:42.400 I just was talking to them on the other line 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.920 when you called. And I went to them, and I 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:48.040 remember the agent was like, do you have a resume? 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:49.320 And I gave it to him, like do you do 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:53.000 any voice over work? And I go, yeah, of course 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.520 I didn't, And I just went into it. I go, 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.320 if you like yummy things like peach part fait, come 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.120 on live a little, have a cup of you band 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:08.000 for dessert. You band, the gorgeous coffee. You band taste great. 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.480 Just think baking an eggs for breakfast and dessert, a 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.040 nice big sandwich for lunch and dessert or how about 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:21.600 a strawberry parfait and dessert? You band and they started laughing, 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.240 introduced me to the camera department. I don't really tell 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:28.840 the story, and and they sort of sending me out. Yeah, 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.320 they started sending me out. But really what happened, if 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:34.879 I can tell you, I was starting to get voice 0:17:34.920 --> 0:17:38.000 over work, nothing on camera. I had these fangs on 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:40.439 my teeth that later I got fixed. I kind of 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:44.359 like like a vampire. And I was I was outside 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.520 smoking a cigarette with this girl. I didn't know who 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:50.199 she was. I was just having a laugh, carrying on, 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:51.600 and she goes, oh my god, what do you do. 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:55.680 I go, I'm an actor. And she goes, you're an actor. 0:17:55.720 --> 0:17:58.199 Who's your agency? I go, H S CM and M 0:17:58.240 --> 0:17:59.960 it was the name of the agency back then. She goes, 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:02.000 oh my god. I worked for them, but I work 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.879 in the young adults department on a different floor and 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:09.159 we handle like infant through like one with you know, 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.880 for acting, you should come meet with us another by chance. 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.960 It shows you that be kind to everyone. You never 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:20.640 know who you're talking to. You never know. I went 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:24.199 up very true. I went upstairs and the woman was 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:26.080 on the phone. She was busy. Why why I had 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:30.679 long hair, pleather jacket. And the girl goes, hey, and 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.520 this is Michael. He's with us for commercials and stuff. 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:34.760 I want you to meet him. She goes, do you 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.080 have a monologue prepared? I go, hell, yeah, let's do it. 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:39.560 And I just gave her a monologue on the spot 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:42.119 and she goes, okay, we'll wrap you. And they started 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:45.800 sending me out and I just I booked a little 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.080 thing here and then I booked a movie called Midnight 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:51.320 in the Garden of Good and Evil with Clint Eastwood directing. 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.960 It took me out to l A and things just happened. 0:18:55.480 --> 0:18:58.480 I think, if you know, they say when preparation meets 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.160 opportunity or something, if you're prepared when the moment arises, 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:06.000 it's like, that's luck. I was just so eager, so ambitious, 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:08.440 so full of life and fun. I don't know where 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.680 that went, but that is what happened. And I sort 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.280 of went to l A and the rest is history 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:18.040 started just working, you know, here and there. That is 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:23.359 so awesome. I love to hear that because yes, on 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:28.520 the surface, right, you get told, oh my gosh, how 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.840 lucky are you? But no, I mean you bring up 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:37.400 several amazing points in that short story, which is one 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:41.960 you were just nice to someone too, Let's be honest, 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:45.600 A big part of this business because of the hours 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:48.600 upon hours upon hours that you spend with people that 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:53.360 you want to work with, good people with people that 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:57.560 are that that you get along with, that you feel 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:01.360 like are responsible and prepared. And then the fact that 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:04.960 in both of those two stories that you told one 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.000 someone asked you if you did a voice voiceover. The 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.399 answer was no, but you remember you had that to 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:15.239 recall in that moment. And then also do you have 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.520 a monologue and you just start doing it, So you 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:23.880 were prepared and ready, you just needed an opportunity. I 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:27.760 think that is that is fucking awesome. I love that. 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:31.520 I think it really you know, I think a lot 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:33.960 of this is luck. There's so many, as you know, 0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:40.840 tremendously talented actors out there, so many that are undiscovered, 0:20:41.320 --> 0:20:44.960 and it takes a lot of not only not only luck, 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:47.879 but you really have to put yourself out there. Sometimes 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:51.080 I'll get a call from uh, you know, Western Kentucky 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:53.640 and they'll say, we have a student. He's really talented. 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:56.920 When you meet with him, sure, And sometimes I'll ask 0:20:56.960 --> 0:21:00.159 them this question. I'll say, so, what do you want 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:01.680 to be an actors? Like, yeah, you know, I figured 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:04.080 i'd give it a couple of years. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. 0:21:04.119 --> 0:21:07.600 This is when people start saying that ship like, I'll 0:21:07.600 --> 0:21:09.640 give it a year, give it two years. I don't know. 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:14.760 I was so like, I was knocking on every door. 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:16.919 I just this is all I could do. This is 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:19.320 all I wanted to do. There was just no other 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:21.959 When people were giving me statistics, you know, odds of 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:24.080 making it, I was like, not me, you don't know 0:21:24.119 --> 0:21:27.720 who you're talking to. I have got this. I am 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:31.920 going to be famous. I remember in college, Alexis Combs 0:21:31.920 --> 0:21:35.199 and I after we did uh we did a play, 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.960 and I was on her doorstep. I said, hey, it 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:40.760 was my senior year, is about to graduate. I said, 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:43.080 I want you to remember this moment. She goes, what 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.359 I go, I'm gonna make it and I want you 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:50.560 to remember this moment right here, right now. She goes, Okay, 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:52.800 I go, I'm serious. I just feel it. It's just 0:21:52.880 --> 0:21:55.240 something that I know is going to happen. I can't 0:21:55.240 --> 0:21:59.160 explain it. It seems egotistical and I'm full of ship, 0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:02.399 but really in my heart. I just feel this like 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:05.800 you're gonna make it, dude. And she goes, okay, okay, 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:07.360 and she kind of laughed and she kind of looked 0:22:07.400 --> 0:22:11.880 at me like like he's all right. And she wrote 0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:14.359 me a letter of years later, this beautiful letter and said, 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:17.560 I just I remember that moment um. It was really nice. 0:22:17.640 --> 0:22:20.200 But yeah, I mean, this is a crazy business. It's 0:22:20.200 --> 0:22:24.159 we're we're lucky to be where we are, and um, 0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:25.879 you know, I I was a lot of times I 0:22:25.920 --> 0:22:28.760 was a replacement. This guy were firing this guy, let's 0:22:28.800 --> 0:22:31.840 hire Rosenbaum. Yeah he's he's responsible, he's good, he'll do 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:33.960 the job. A lot of times I was that guy. 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:37.040 And uh, I think small, but was really one of 0:22:37.040 --> 0:22:41.160 the first times where I wasn't a replacement. I had 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:43.800 to get that part. I had to fight for it. 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:07.720 I was told that you had a casting submission for 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:14.600 a pilot called talk Girl, and wow, this was never GREENLT. 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:20.560 It didn't happen, but it eventually led to the show 0:23:20.720 --> 0:23:25.119 the temp pilot being conceived for you tell me a 0:23:25.160 --> 0:23:29.040 little bit about Well, it's just kind of a short story, 0:23:29.080 --> 0:23:31.760 but uh, it was the one of the first It 0:23:31.880 --> 0:23:33.840 was the first thing that I got the first job, 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:36.760 and it was for MTV. They were trying to shoot 0:23:36.760 --> 0:23:38.639 a TV show, so they were shooting a pilot and 0:23:38.640 --> 0:23:43.240 it was with Leslie bib and Jackson Brown, Jackson Brown's son, 0:23:43.359 --> 0:23:47.639 Ethan Brown, and me, and I remember for the audition, 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:50.800 I went in there and my care I had long hair, 0:23:50.840 --> 0:23:53.480