1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: This is Alec Baldwin and you're listening to Here's the 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:10,720 Speaker 1: Thing from my Heart Radio. The war in Ukraine has 3 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: been raging for nearly nine months now, but the conflict 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: between Ukraine and Russia has much deeper roots. In late 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,520 Speaker 1: two thousand thirteen and early two thousand fourteen, hundreds of 6 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets in protests against 7 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:32,279 Speaker 1: their own governments pro Russian policies. The movement, known as 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: the Mid Uprising, led to the deaths of more than 9 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: one hundred people in Kiev and the ousting of President 10 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: Viktor Yanukovich. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March two 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: thousand fourteen, driving the region into an ongoing conflict that 12 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,599 Speaker 1: would culminate in a full scale invasion of Ukraine. On 13 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: February two thousand two, My Guest Today, actor writer and 14 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: rector Leev Schreiber was just one of the millions of 15 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: Americans watching the war unfold on television until he decided 16 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,840 Speaker 1: to turn his grief into action. Schreiber is a co 17 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: founder of the nonprofit Blue Check Ukraine. The group's mission 18 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: is to fast track financial resources directly to organizations providing 19 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: support and life saving aid to Ukrainians on the front lines. 20 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,759 Speaker 1: With such an impressive effort, I wanted to know more 21 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: about Schreiber's advocacy work. What's an example of other things 22 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: you were involved with? Not much, you know, I did. 23 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: I worked with the Feeding Him Harvest Feeding America. Just 24 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: because I like to take the kids to on Thanksgiving, 25 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: we had this ritual where we'd go to the you know, 26 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: the soup kitchen, the soup kitchen on Bowerie and it 27 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:50,520 Speaker 1: was fun for the kids and it was great for me, 28 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: and it was a way of sort of showing them 29 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: give yeah, right, give something back. But this was the 30 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: first one where I felt like I had to do 31 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: it or I was gonna lose my mind. Why. You know, 32 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: the story is that I have Ukrainian ancestry, right like 33 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: my grandparents. That's that's what gets me in the room. 34 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: But the reality is, i was watching the war on 35 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: the couch with the kids, and I'm looking at my kids, 36 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: and I'm thinking a about my own legacy as a person, 37 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: as a man, as a father, and all those things 38 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: I'm thinking about. I'm looking at these guys who are 39 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: you know, like painters and graphic designers, and custodians who 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: are you know, kissing their wives and children goodbye and 41 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: getting on a bus to go fighting the war in 42 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: which they're wildly outnumbered and outgunned. And I'm I'm thinking, well, 43 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 1: those are Ukrainians, and and am I Ukrainian at all? 44 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: Could I say goodbye to my kids if I had to, 45 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: if I were in some existential fight for our homes 46 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: and our lives? And the answer was not, like I 47 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: couldn't do that, And it's like, no, I'm I'm not Ukrainian. 48 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: And then what am I am? American? Right? And And 49 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: I was just thinking about how much I'd take for 50 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,119 Speaker 1: granted as an American that my grandparents didn't, that they 51 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: fought for the freedoms and the liberties that we have today, 52 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: and their desire to live in a country where their 53 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: children could aspire to become what I've become and do 54 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: the things that I've been able to do. I owe 55 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: them a debt for that. And it's that fights being 56 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: fought again in Ukraine. And the other thing that really 57 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: captured my imagination about is that the thing I struggle 58 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: with here is that the incredible polarization we've got going 59 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: in in this country in politics and the partisanship and 60 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: the disinformation and the misinformation. And nowhere is that struggle 61 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: clearer to me than in Ukraine, the disinformation that's coming 62 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: about the disinformation in American media. Yeah, I mean it 63 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: feels like, with the decline of higher education in this country, 64 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: politics had become like a team sport. You know, there's 65 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: the reds and the blues and policy and all of 66 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: the things that actually really matter to the people who 67 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: go to the polls to vote are irrelevant. It's just 68 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,720 Speaker 1: did my team win or did your team win? And 69 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: that's a that seems like a terrible place to send 70 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: my children, you know, And it's not how our democracy 71 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: should function. And I think what's going on in Ukraine 72 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: is is an existential fight for democracy and those values 73 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: that those values that we share, which which are the 74 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: right to be who you want to be, to speak 75 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: with language you want to speak, to go to what 76 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: church you want to go to to to raise your 77 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: children the way you want to raise them. And for 78 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,919 Speaker 1: those people who don't know that when Ukraine was a 79 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: part of the Soviet Union before they break up, there 80 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: were tremendous limitations and abuses there about what people's freedoms 81 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: were in the Ukraine, there were there were independently Krainian 82 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: religious beliefs there under the Soviet system, they were pressed 83 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 1: and I think arguably until my dawn, the Russians were 84 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 1: very much controlling the Ukrainian government. I think that's why 85 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: my dad happened. And I think once that uprising occurred 86 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: and hundreds of thousands of people from every walks of 87 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: life went to that square and said, no, we want 88 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: to be part of the European community. We were we 89 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: reject what this puppet dictator is is proscribing for us 90 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: putin an ex crimea. He was like, okay, it's trouble, 91 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: I've got it. You know. As part of the the 92 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: Salt Talks and you know, anti nuclear periforation, Russia and 93 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: the US signed an agreement with Ukraine that if they 94 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 1: were the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and 95 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: we signed an agreement with them that we pledged to 96 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: protect their borders and their sovereignties, both America and Russia, 97 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: which is part of why we're still in this. Russia 98 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: rat find that again in two thousand nine, and as 99 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 1: you know, in two thousand so so basically Ukraine gave 100 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: up its entire nuclear arsenal and its ability to protect itself, 101 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: which was always the design I suppose, or at least 102 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: it seems that way in retrospect looking at what Putin's done, 103 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: And so in two thousand nine Putin ratified that, and 104 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: then after my dawn annex Crimea, and here we are now. 105 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: I don't want to state the obvious, which is that 106 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: in America people either who don't really care, or they 107 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: don't care enough, or they don't have good information. And 108 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: how would you describe the historic and maybe even spiritual 109 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: connection between the Ukrainians and the Russians? And what I 110 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: mean by that is not the Russian leadership. Do the 111 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: Ukrainians feel any kinship with the Russian people between the 112 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: two people and they hate Putin and the government? Or 113 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: are they indifferent or actively hostile toward the Russian people. 114 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: I'm no expert on this by any stretch of the imagination. 115 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: You know, I got a guy who's really really smart 116 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: about this is Timothy Snyder. From what I know from 117 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: traveling to Ukraine over the past year, there's a tremendous 118 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: amount of ill will from the average Ukrainian to the 119 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: average Russian Having said that, I think there are plenty 120 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: of Russians, as we can see from the little bit 121 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: of news that's that makes its way out of Moscow, 122 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: who are profoundly against what's happening in Ukraine. And I 123 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 1: suppose the tragedy of all of this is they are brothers, 124 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: you know, they aren't so closely related, so closely tied. Yeah, 125 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: And the reality is that for for many, many years, 126 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: most Ukrainians, well most people in Eastern Europe, they spoke 127 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: Russian and they inter mixed and all of that until 128 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: they're I think, really my don was a kind of 129 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: defining moment where people said, we want to be Ukrainian, 130 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: we want a Ukrainian government, we want sovereignty, and we 131 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: want to speak our own language. Because you you want 132 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: to believe, with the limit information I have, you kind 133 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: of sit there in a very armchair way and go, God, 134 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: the Russians could probably go into Ukraine and just flatten 135 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: the whole place. Like a month, they turn the whole 136 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,119 Speaker 1: place into an ash tray, and uh, you know, start 137 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: changing the signs into cyrillic and we're on our way. 138 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: And then you realize, is it a case of fully 139 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: engaged Ukrainians they're in this and the Russians are kind 140 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: of coming down there. A lot of them are pretty 141 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: half hearted about that, a a lot of them don't want 142 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: to go. And you're and and Putin is now reaping 143 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: what he sews in this department, and a lot of 144 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: these Russian fighters. You're like, I got no problem. It's 145 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:34,719 Speaker 1: like Muhammad Ali, I got no problem with the Vietnamese. 146 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,959 Speaker 1: Is that what's happening? Absolutely? You know, Ukrainians are in 147 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: an existential fight. Russians don't know what they're doing. You know, 148 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: they remember they intercepted all of those telephone calls between 149 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: those soldiers and their mothers. And he was like, Mom, 150 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: you wouldn't believe the carpentry here. The toilet seats are amazing, 151 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And these Ukrainians they've got 152 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: no choice. They win or they die. They win or 153 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: they have no home. They went and they have nowhere 154 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: to live. They don't they can't raise their children, they 155 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 1: can't do anything. It's over. It's their end of their country. 156 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,920 Speaker 1: You started Blue Check with some partners. The war starts 157 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,959 Speaker 1: in February. You start Blue Check in March, Yeah, lead 158 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: Marchia and what what how did that happen? Like, who 159 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: do you call first? How do you start blue check? Fortunately, 160 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:23,559 Speaker 1: I'm not the brains behind this. I had. There's two 161 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: guys with thirty years of experience in humanitarian aid. A 162 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: friend of mine from dramas Yale Drama School called me, 163 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:32,960 Speaker 1: Harris Fisherman, and he wanted He asked me if I 164 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: would do a live stream like podcasting thing with Ukrainians 165 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,559 Speaker 1: that they could tell their stories and what they were experiencing. 166 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: And it just didn't feel right to me. I just 167 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 1: I didn't like the idea of, you know, I was 168 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: just seeing too much of that on the news, the 169 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 1: idea of exploiting people's emotions to kind of show what's 170 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: going on, and it felt wrong, and I thought I 171 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: would be nervous and uncomfortable on that situation. So I 172 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: sort of gruffly said to my friend Harris, if you 173 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,640 Speaker 1: want to help them, just give him some money. And 174 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: I got off the call, and uh so these guys 175 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,560 Speaker 1: called me back. One of them's named Jason Cohne. He's 176 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: the chief public policy officer for robin Hood Now and 177 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: he used to be one of the executive directors of 178 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 1: Doctors Without Borders. And another guy that he works with, 179 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: Michael Goldfarb, was the communications person for doctors about borders 180 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: as well. And this guy, Murphy Poindexter, who is, as 181 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: far as I can tell, like deep in the IC 182 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: community in Washington, UM but was working at a place 183 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: called the US Ukraine Foundation. And they said were you 184 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: serious about what you said that you wanted to raise 185 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: money for Ukraine? And I was like, oh, ship, someone's 186 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: just called my bluff and I said, yeah, I am 187 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: and uh. We quickly put together a plan that I mean, 188 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: these guys had just a ton of between between them, 189 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: thirty years of experience and humanitarian aid. And the idea 190 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,440 Speaker 1: was that we were going to identify the people on 191 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: the ground in Ukraine, boots on the ground NGOs who 192 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,839 Speaker 1: were doing the work to provide humanitarian aid and get 193 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: the money directly to them. I had heard of a 194 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: philanthropy app called give Well, and I thought that's a 195 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 1: good model. Why don't we try to do something like 196 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: that where people can see, where everything we do is 197 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,680 Speaker 1: transparent And we wouldn't exist without Ropes and Gray, who 198 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,719 Speaker 1: is the international law firm that agreed to do all 199 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: of our verification and vetting pro bono and they came 200 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: on and had just been amazing. And so a few 201 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: days after that, I bought a plane ticket and I 202 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,599 Speaker 1: went to Poland. I started working. I was insane. I 203 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,079 Speaker 1: didn't know what I was doing, but I called Jose Andreas, 204 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 1: who's a friend. I was working at his spot in 205 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: Poland on the border World Central Kitchen making you know, 206 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: rectual stern giant. I see how Jose andres and some 207 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: loud cacaphitist thing and he's like, yeah, are you doing, 208 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,319 Speaker 1: my friend, when are you coming over? You're coming? And 209 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: I went and and then and and we sort of 210 00:11:58,160 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: I just bought the plane ticket and then we figured 211 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 1: what we're gonna do. Once I got there, and Murphy, 212 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: who was working at US Ukraine Foundation, and Michael and 213 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: Jason have all of these connections because of their humanitarian 214 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: aid work, and they set up all these meetings for 215 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: me with NGOs and people who were doing work on 216 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: the ground in Ukraine, and I just went in and 217 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: I met them, and it was extraordinary. I mean, I 218 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: just the resilience and the courage of these people, the 219 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: fighting spirit of these people's extraordinary. It's no wonder to 220 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: me that there they're kicking ass and taking names. Frankly, 221 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: just what that's what I saw, and I saw. I 222 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: I brought a cameraman with me because I knew that 223 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: the next step was going to be go home and 224 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: raise money, right, and we filmed people like yllant to 225 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: Brishalik at the Leviv National Symphony, who's got this, you know, 226 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: seventy piece orchestra who can't do concerts anymore because of 227 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,800 Speaker 1: the pandemic and because of the war, and so they're rehearsing. 228 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: They rehearse at night and during the day they've feared 229 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: out all the seats in the theater and then places 230 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: stacked to the ceiling with boxes of medical aid and 231 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: food and clothing and things like that. And the day 232 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: that I arrived there with a camera, I opened the 233 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: doors to that theater and they're rehearsing Mozart's Requiem and 234 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: you can imagine that site as just like eight ft 235 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: high boxes of aid and these people playing Mozart's Requam, 236 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 1: which is one of my favorite pieces of music. And 237 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: it was just extraordinary footage. And brought it home and 238 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: we started raising money. We did a benefit in d 239 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: C where we we had the Washington National Opera orchestra 240 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: playing and they played along in sync with my video. 241 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,719 Speaker 1: Was fantastic. It was just fantastic. Yeah, And that kind 242 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: of got us on our way, and you know, doing 243 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: a couple of CNN interviews and things like that, and 244 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,559 Speaker 1: getting the word out there and having friends like you 245 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: and being able to do things like this is just 246 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 1: made it work. Your flu over there the first time 247 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: when April and you were there for how long, two 248 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,360 Speaker 1: or three weeks and they Polish Ukrainian border. You're on 249 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: the Polish side initially, and and and you go into 250 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: Ukraine obviously because you go to the concert hall and 251 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: what did you see? You know what, There wasn't a 252 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: lot happening in Leviv. And I didn't go past Leviv 253 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: at that point, so I didn't I didn't see much 254 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: refugees fleeing exactly. Well, I saw a lot of refugees 255 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: because I was on the border. I went to a 256 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: bunch of field hospitals that were unfortunately too far away 257 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: from the action. I met with health ministers, and I 258 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: met with a few of the NGOs that we were 259 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: eventually going to sign on and give grants to. And 260 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 1: I saw this, you know, it's a beautiful country. It's 261 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 1: a really beautiful place. And the thing that I couldn't 262 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: I have a video that I'll play for you of 263 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: these like nineteen and twenty year olds in a bar. 264 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: First of all, everybody's out drinking, having like celebrating their 265 00:14:54,720 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: spirit because it's extraordinary year olds singing these like hundred 266 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: year old Ukrainian folk songs drunk in this bar was 267 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: just extraordinary. Yeah, that's the spirit of the country. And 268 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: even now, which is now, it is kind of a 269 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: unimaginable what they're going through. Zapparija was a really good 270 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: example of I don't know what else to call it 271 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:22,640 Speaker 1: other than putin cynicism, but the strategy of responding to 272 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 1: military advances by attacking civilian infrastructure. In Zapparijia, he hit 273 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: the main hospital, and then the night after he hit 274 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: the main hospital, he hits an apartment complex in the 275 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: middle of the night when they're sure that there are 276 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: people sleeping in their beds and are going to need 277 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: medical care. And that's the big, the big, big issue 278 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: for Ukrainians right now is medical infrastructure. I mean, he's 279 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: not only decimated the energy grids and all of the 280 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: other stuff that they're relying on to stay alive and 281 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: warm through this winter. And as you know, the temperatures 282 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:59,040 Speaker 1: in Ukraine after December into January or it's all sub zero. 283 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: And but they've hit He's hit all of the medical infrastructure. 284 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: So it's alarming and it's just more important than ever 285 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: that we continue to provide them with the aid that 286 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: they need to keep that machine running. Most of these 287 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: doctors too, by the way, have been working since February, 288 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: you know, with no shifts off. Things like fixators for limbs, ambulances, 289 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: operating tables, all this stuff is really really essential and 290 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: that's part of why I agreed to be the ambassador 291 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: for the President's Fund, which is united in the medical 292 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,960 Speaker 1: aid capacity. Back in June, Humanitarian Outcomes, which is a 293 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: sort of aid watchdog organization out of the UK, published 294 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: a report that said of the two point six billion 295 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: dollars that have been donated to Ukraine, only six million 296 00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: had been activated and given to the NGOs on the 297 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: ground who are fighting. It's an alarming, un alarming number, 298 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: and it goes where to Red Cross and big organizations 299 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: like big multi additional big multinationals who have big overhead 300 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 1: and can't even operate in country because of the liabilities right. 301 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: They can also because their multinationals decide where they want 302 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:11,320 Speaker 1: to send that money and sit on it as long 303 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:14,360 Speaker 1: as they want to when you've got a very acute situation. 304 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: And so for us, that was a huge sign that 305 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: we were doing the right thing. That going directly to 306 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: the NGO is going directly to the people working on 307 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: the ground, is the way to do it. Leev Schreiber. 308 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: If you appreciate conversations that educate and inform on the 309 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,320 Speaker 1: Ukrainian conflict, listen to my episode with Bryce Wilson, a 310 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 1: freelance photojournalist who reported from the front lines of Ukraine. 311 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 1: I was at Zelenski's inauguration. It's very surreal for me 312 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:53,879 Speaker 1: to have seen this huge narrative of his character, quite 313 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: literally a character because he has an acting background, and he, 314 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 1: in my opinion, will be remembered in the same vein 315 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 1: as famous Ukrainian poets, people who were invested in the 316 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:12,280 Speaker 1: idea of Ukraine's independence, like Zelensky, in my opinion, is 317 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: a hero through his leadership. Here more of my conversation 318 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: with Bryce Wilson that here's the thing dot org after 319 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: the break. Leev Schreiber shares the story of being invited 320 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:37,800 Speaker 1: to meet Ukraine's President Zelenski. I'm Alec Baldwin, and you 321 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: were listening to Here's the thing. Through its donation network, 322 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: blue Check Ukraine provides direct financial assistance to n g 323 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:51,520 Speaker 1: os in Ukraine that offer crucial services such as emergency 324 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: medical care, food distribution, and mental health services. I was 325 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,439 Speaker 1: curious to hear how the Ukraine and people reacted to 326 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 1: the presence of Blue Check at a time of such turmoil. 327 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,920 Speaker 1: They were so grateful that were we were there. They 328 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: were so happy to see us, that that that they 329 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: couldn't believe you came, that Americans cared that that that 330 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: that we were willing to even just to be there. 331 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: They didn't know what I was gonna do. And I'm 332 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 1: that guy from Ray Donovan. They knew who you were. 333 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,920 Speaker 1: I'm sure the intelligent ones are like, what the hell 334 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: is this actor going to do? Right, I'm going to 335 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: go punch Pootin in the face, right exactly, you can 336 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: bring the bat out. But it it just it made 337 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: me even more convinced that I had to really be 338 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: effective and not waste their fucking time, not going there 339 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: and just hear their side, their stories and sorry, okay, 340 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,479 Speaker 1: and come back and be like, hey, guys, look what 341 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: I did. You know what I mean? Because that you 342 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: went back again? Yeah, I went back again. So he 343 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: went three times and then the second time what was 344 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 1: the I don't say mission, but what was the uh itinerary? 345 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: Then you were gonna go where and do what? I 346 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 1: was going to meet the president? Yeah, like, what's well? 347 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,399 Speaker 1: He heard about us because of that Humanitarian Outcomes Report, 348 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,719 Speaker 1: which he was also pretty missed off about two and 349 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: uh and he invited me to become an ambassador for 350 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:21,159 Speaker 1: United twenty four. And you know, we talked about how 351 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:25,680 Speaker 1: that's Kiev, that's his that's his personal fund for Ukraine. 352 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: It's broken into three tiers. Initially it was a conflict 353 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,879 Speaker 1: for me because part of what we were trying to 354 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 1: set up was something that was what's considered neutral aid. 355 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: In other words, it doesn't participate in any political or 356 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 1: military stuff. So they were really great to us, and 357 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: they carved out the medical aid piece, which is what 358 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: I represent. It was an extraordinary experience and I was 359 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:48,919 Speaker 1: in Kiev. I got to see Bordianka, I got to 360 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:52,440 Speaker 1: see Bucci, I got to see all of these things 361 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:54,800 Speaker 1: that we've we've seen on television on the news, and 362 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: now I know, I know what it looks like. And 363 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: I got to see also all of the extraordinary help 364 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: that all of these other countries are given in lending. 365 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,400 Speaker 1: And Adam Driver and I went to Romania and saw 366 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,160 Speaker 1: the troops who were who were stationed there preparing and training, 367 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,840 Speaker 1: and you know, all the typhoon pilots there. Does anybody 368 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: tell you what they'd like the US to do, like 369 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:20,399 Speaker 1: like in a long term says, other than relief and 370 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:24,120 Speaker 1: aid and sidewinder missiles or whatever the fun they wanted 371 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: the world Sam's or what we really needed, whatever the 372 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: whatever the global community can provide them in terms of weaponry. 373 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: In a more law terms says, do they want to 374 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:35,199 Speaker 1: join NATO? Do they want to be in NATO? They 375 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 1: always have. I think that's pretty much what started my 376 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,320 Speaker 1: don was that there was this collective sense of relief 377 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: and excitement about joining the European Union and NATO and 378 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 1: all of that, and Jankovic and the Russians never had 379 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: any intention of letting that happen, and of course he 380 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 1: buried it, and that's what caused the uprising. People from 381 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 1: everywhere and hundreds of thousands is a really terrific film, 382 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 1: Cold Winter on Fire if anyone wants to know about 383 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: that period that it is just extraordinary. That tells that 384 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: whole story very clearly. And it was just amazing to 385 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: see children, old people, people from every walk of life 386 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: just come out of their houses, pour out into the 387 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: streets and go to the go to Madan and and 388 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,280 Speaker 1: say no. And they stayed there and you know, people 389 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: were people died and were shot at and they barricaded themselves. 390 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:29,239 Speaker 1: It was I mean, you know, revolution. And since then 391 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: they've been rebuilding their government and trying to get rid 392 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: of the corruption and the Russian influence. Setting aside what 393 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: people would like to have happened, what do people over there, 394 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: what do they think is going to happen longter they 395 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: think they're gonna win they're driving the Yeah, they're right, 396 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 1: they aren't it right? You know what I mean, it's unsustainable. 397 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: It's like it's this thing that I you know, I got. 398 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,199 Speaker 1: You know, when you when your kids lie, it's like 399 00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: the best thing that I've ever thought to tell my 400 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: kids when they lie is like it's okay, but think 401 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 1: about the moment when you get caught in the lie 402 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: and what that's going to feel like. And if you 403 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: still want to tell the lie, tell the lie. I 404 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: wish I could say that the two right. I think 405 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: about the moment when you get caught, what's that going 406 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,919 Speaker 1: to feel like? And the reality is it's starting to happen. 407 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 1: And that's that's what I think. And I've always felt 408 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: that civil unrest in Russia and the sanctions, if we 409 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: can hold out, if we can stand it, are gonna 410 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 1: be that there's gonna be daylight. You know. The bedrock 411 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: of Russian nationalism are the mothers of these conscripts who 412 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,919 Speaker 1: got wiped out in the first wave. They went to 413 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 1: the military academies and they said to them, they said, please, 414 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: don't send our kids. They're eighteen year old kids. Don't 415 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: send them. Of course we're not going to send them. 416 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,199 Speaker 1: Who do you think was in that first wave? And 417 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: where are those kids now? They're gone. So those mothers 418 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:55,640 Speaker 1: are now coming out in the streets. And that's not 419 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: like the liberals or the progressives, or the elitist or 420 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: the the opposition. That's his bedrock, that's his base, and 421 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,280 Speaker 1: I think it's unsustainable. It's that's the beauty of it. 422 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: I mean, at least. I think just lies are unsustainable. 423 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:17,360 Speaker 1: It's just it's eventually and history bears it out. Eventually 424 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:22,280 Speaker 1: they come out. What's funny because as an American and 425 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: therefore having grown up on a legacy of those people 426 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:28,719 Speaker 1: that don't work inside the American system, we kill them 427 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: or we just what we depose them. The end a 428 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: d m overall around the globe. This is the American 429 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: way of doing things. So you you kind of sit 430 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: back and go, I mean, you know they're never gonna 431 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 1: get Putin, They're not going to kill Putin, but you 432 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 1: wonder how much longer he's got to last over there? 433 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,719 Speaker 1: Do they realize that he's really kind of losing it? 434 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: I think? And the Russians are always everything looks great, 435 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: where everything looks okay, where everything doesn't look dire until 436 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: the day before the guys gone. They'll get a day, 437 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: but the guy's gone, you know what I mean, And 438 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 1: you just get so sick and tired of the Beyond 439 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,400 Speaker 1: the death and beyond the injuries and the casualties, it's 440 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: just the psychological toll the whole generation of Ukrainian people, 441 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,360 Speaker 1: I'm gonna live now with watching their country just get 442 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: smashed to pieces, but for no reason that they didn't 443 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: having to deserve that. There wasn't they didn't have that coming. 444 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: You know, well, are you gonna go back again? Yeah, yeah, 445 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: whenever they need me. When you met Zelenski, how did 446 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:29,960 Speaker 1: he strike you? I wish, I wish you could meet 447 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:35,640 Speaker 1: this guy, because I just knowing you personally for sometime now, 448 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: I know that you would love this guy. That would 449 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:41,439 Speaker 1: be hilarious encounter. He's incredibly sharp and he has a 450 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: tremendous sense of humor. Unfortunately, not all of his translators 451 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:48,160 Speaker 1: are as good, and so what happens is you kind 452 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: of have to listen to him in Russian to get 453 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,359 Speaker 1: how smart he is and how good a public speaker 454 00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: he is. There's a kind of courage there that I 455 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,719 Speaker 1: just don't understand. There's a kind of strength of character 456 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,960 Speaker 1: that I think people have seen and meeting him, you 457 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: know he's feeling he's pretty short. Than taking a picture 458 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: with him, I found myself, Yeah, but tough like a 459 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:12,159 Speaker 1: pit bull, and he looks like that. And I remember 460 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: one journalist that we were This was a conversation before 461 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: we actually met in person. The journalists and I were 462 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 1: doing a zoom with him and the journalist asked him, 463 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: you know, there have been twelve attempts on your life 464 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 1: in the in the past few months, and what what's 465 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:28,439 Speaker 1: that like, Mr President? One of those questions, you know, 466 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: and the guy's timing and this is all because I'm thinking, 467 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: like an actor, I'm watching how's he gonna feel this one? 468 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: Because this is good? And his timing was just he 469 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: stopped for a second and he looked at the camera 470 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: because you know, he's by himself in a zoom and 471 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 1: in Russian, because I didn't listen to the translator. The 472 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: translator was stumbling through it, but in Russian. And if 473 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 1: you can imagine me doing English Russian because I can't 474 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: speak Russian. He would like to tell you the truth. 475 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:54,239 Speaker 1: The first couple of times it scared the ship out 476 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: of me, but then you get used to and that 477 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:00,439 Speaker 1: was that was that was the guy life for me. 478 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,200 Speaker 1: And that and that when when I asked him my question, 479 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: which was if you could speak to the people in 480 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: America and around the world who were considering supporting Ukraine 481 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: financially or otherwise, what would you say to them? His 482 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 1: response was just completely inspiring. To remind us that we 483 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 1: all share this desire for democracy, that it's not an 484 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,159 Speaker 1: easy system, right, And that's what my brother said. My 485 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 1: brother said, these wards are inevitable, right, It's like a 486 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: snake shedding its skin. They just happen over and over again. 487 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,000 Speaker 1: But it's part of a democracy. It's part of the 488 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: horror of democracy that we have to fight for it. 489 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: But it's still the best system in the world. And 490 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,119 Speaker 1: that's the thing I love about being American. You know, 491 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 1: anyone who's down on their luck anywhere in the world, 492 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: this is the place they come if they want a shot, 493 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,119 Speaker 1: because we've still got the best system, you know, and 494 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: so we've got to we've got to cherish it. We've 495 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: got to we've got to take care of it. We've 496 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:55,080 Speaker 1: got to nurture it, because it's the best. Yeah, there 497 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 1: were things that were interesting, you know, like people voting 498 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,280 Speaker 1: for candidates and not voting for parties. I thought that 499 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:01,919 Speaker 1: was positive and I thought building on that stuff like, 500 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:04,120 Speaker 1: let's get smart, let's figure out what do you want 501 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:06,560 Speaker 1: vote for it? You know, who do you want vote 502 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:10,479 Speaker 1: for him? And that it's it's that's the future, you know. 503 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:13,239 Speaker 1: And I think there were enough moderate Republicans who went 504 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 1: to the polls and they I'm using my words obviously, 505 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 1: but they were like, we really maybe need to have 506 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: a little less crazy town for a while. So you 507 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,359 Speaker 1: have this operation Blue Check and someone you work with, 508 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: they're determining, you've got people on the ground where that 509 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: money is going to and picking the local NGOs where 510 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: the money is going to go. Yeah, we do that. 511 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: And what we do is well we also you know now, 512 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: because we're working very closely with the Ukrainian government and 513 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: the Health Ministry in particular Victor Leashko and the Deputy Minister, 514 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,080 Speaker 1: what we agreed the best thing to do was to 515 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: create a portfolio of NGOs that would cover every base, right, 516 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,320 Speaker 1: so it's you're not always just doing shelter. Sometimes you're 517 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: doing medical aids. Sometimes you're doing elderly people. One of 518 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: the one of my favorite groups that we found is 519 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: called Stranki and what's their Rankie does is they help 520 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,440 Speaker 1: homebound elderly people because you know, you see these videos 521 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: of like these little villages getting bombed out and they're 522 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: just full of old people who didn't want to leave 523 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,000 Speaker 1: their houses. Right. The young people can go sleep on 524 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: couches and Loviv and Kiev, but the old people are like, 525 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: what do I got twenty years? Fucked them? I'm going 526 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: to stay here. This is my home. And you really 527 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: see that attitude in elderly Ukrainians. They're like, we've been 528 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: through everything, We've been through so much over the course 529 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,280 Speaker 1: of our lives. I'm not giving up my home. I'm 530 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: not going to leave my animals. I'm not going to leave. 531 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:29,760 Speaker 1: And so these people are are the ones who are 532 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 1: bearing the brunt of a lot of the frontline attacks 533 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: and assaults, and so STARRANKI is an organization that really 534 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: just focuses on elderly people, homebound elderly people and taking 535 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:43,160 Speaker 1: care of them. We have the Women's Center, which, obviously 536 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: now because of all the men are at war, that 537 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: was a group that used to be a watchdog organization 538 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: for gender equality and rights in the workplace and sexual 539 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,200 Speaker 1: abuse and all these other things, and they immediately transitioned 540 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: into a kind of shelter for women's single moms and 541 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: the chilled. And we're just terrific in the in the 542 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,440 Speaker 1: first few months of the war. We've got the little 543 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: bit of Symphony, which is a food distribution. We've got 544 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: Leaky twenty four, which is an organization that makes sure 545 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,960 Speaker 1: that people are able to get prescriptions, you know, like 546 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: people forget that in the midst of war you still 547 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:16,720 Speaker 1: need things like insulin. You know. Schools, We've got a 548 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 1: great group called Toller Space, and what they do is 549 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,400 Speaker 1: they educate teachers on how to talk to kids about 550 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 1: what's going on. Ukraine needs you seven Mental Health Hotline, 551 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: which is kind of a cultural thing because you know, 552 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 1: for many people in Ukraine's a real sort of patriarchal, 553 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,040 Speaker 1: macho society and the idea that you get through these 554 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 1: things with vodka's you gotta you know, we're pushing back 555 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: against that. But the idea was that if we had 556 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: a diverse enough portfolio, we would be able to cover 557 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,160 Speaker 1: any given base at any given time. And now I'm 558 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:50,959 Speaker 1: also working with a group called Superhumans, which was started 559 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: by a guy named Andre Stebnitzer, who is a really 560 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: successful businessman in Ukraine whose house was bombed and destroyed. 561 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: And his response is to say, I'm going to build 562 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:04,240 Speaker 1: a hospital for Ukrainians that focuses on prosthetics and things 563 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: like that, because that's a huge issue unfortunately for children 564 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: as well. But getting fixators and things like that to people, 565 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,840 Speaker 1: you know, they've lost. You can't fly there right, so 566 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: if someone gets injured, it's not like you can metav 567 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: act them out. Liev Schreiber. If you're enjoying this conversation, 568 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,640 Speaker 1: be sure to subscribe to Here Is the Thing on 569 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 570 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 1: get your podcasts. When we come back, Liev Schreiber discusses 571 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:38,280 Speaker 1: his acting career and shares his perspective on transitioning to 572 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: the small screen with Raydanovan. I'm at like Baldwin and 573 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:59,280 Speaker 1: this is Here's the Thing with dynamic roles and everything 574 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 1: from X Men origins to remix of modern horror classics 575 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: like The Omen. Some listeners forget that Shreiber is a 576 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: classically trained thespian well versed in the Bard. Considering Schreiber's pedigree, 577 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 1: I wanted to know if helming an Emmy nominated show 578 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: like Ray Donovan had ever been a goal. No. I 579 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,280 Speaker 1: thought I was going to do classical theater for the 580 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 1: rest of my life, because my whole strategy was big fish, 581 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: small pond. There wasn't a lot of people who wanted 582 00:32:27,400 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 1: to do Shakespeare, and I wanted to do Shakespeare. I 583 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: liked it. A week was fine. You know, my education 584 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 1: up through graduate school like Rota and Yale was nothing 585 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:44,920 Speaker 1: compared to the education I got working and meeting people 586 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:52,080 Speaker 1: like you and Dustin and people who I thought made 587 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:58,840 Speaker 1: really strange and interesting choices, you know, because I fought 588 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:01,320 Speaker 1: off that thing, that perfect verse thing. And you're being 589 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:02,880 Speaker 1: kind to me right now, and you know it. I 590 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,560 Speaker 1: was fighting off. You know, we said backstage about you. 591 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,000 Speaker 1: What I said, I would try to speak, you know, 592 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: in my normal voice. I said, and you guys are 593 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: all doing this English thing. And I said, and of 594 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: course Liev speaks Leev. You had your own language, you 595 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,080 Speaker 1: spoke own dialect. Yeah, you're being kind again, because I 596 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 1: you know as well as I do that I was 597 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,000 Speaker 1: fighting off that English training. That I was fighting off 598 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,880 Speaker 1: that perfect verse rise the end of the line, hook 599 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: it around open vowels. And what I what I loved 600 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,800 Speaker 1: about you and what I loved about your king was 601 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 1: this guy. It wasn't about his voice. It all came 602 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:42,239 Speaker 1: from his pelvis. It all came from his junk. And 603 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,440 Speaker 1: I was like, that's the way to play this guy. 604 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 1: And by the way, I borrowed it when I played 605 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,960 Speaker 1: him a couple of years later. But it was so physical, 606 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,480 Speaker 1: and all the actors that I've loved and that I've 607 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: learned from just so physical. There was this guy Michael 608 00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:58,000 Speaker 1: Potts when he was playing Luccio, who's like the pimp 609 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 1: from Measure for Measure. He this little thing with his 610 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,600 Speaker 1: fingers like this. I stole it for Ricky Roma in 611 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: Glennarys and he used to just constantly doing this thing. 612 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: Was I loved the way he did that with his 613 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: fingers And I said to Michael, what are you doing? 614 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 1: He said, I don't know. I just he's counting money. 615 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,879 Speaker 1: And I was like, okay, and it's and you had 616 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,839 Speaker 1: that thing. What I loved about that performance is my 617 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: interpretation of what you were doing is all of that 618 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:25,279 Speaker 1: murdering that he was doing out in the field was 619 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:29,279 Speaker 1: just his sex drive. And the irony of what was 620 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: so beautiful about it is that when it came down 621 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,359 Speaker 1: to Duncan, he couldn't get it up, he couldn't do it, 622 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,440 Speaker 1: and that I thought that was just such a compelling performance. 623 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:43,759 Speaker 1: The sling shot of the Queen my Lord is dead 624 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,560 Speaker 1: and the rage and the what I what I took 625 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,799 Speaker 1: from that which was so valuable to me was the 626 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:56,880 Speaker 1: rage and the chaos and the insanity and the ferocity, 627 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:02,400 Speaker 1: and it's so perfectly written because it delivers to tomorrow 628 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,120 Speaker 1: and tomorrow the best and tomorrow creeps in this petty 629 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: pace from day to day, and the guys shattered. I 630 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: would tell people that in that production, I said, you, 631 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:18,960 Speaker 1: Michael Hall, zach Brath, Michael Wow. Zach Braff said, there's 632 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,400 Speaker 1: a few guys in that production. They went on to 633 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: k was a kid kid. I stab him with the 634 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 1: sword and I said, I'm not gonna pull the sword, 635 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,120 Speaker 1: and I said, if it's cool with you, I'm gonna 636 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,840 Speaker 1: put my boot on your shoulder. I'm gonna peel you 637 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: off my sword, and then I want you to drop 638 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,120 Speaker 1: that others. Zach Brath looked me, he was like, that's 639 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,839 Speaker 1: so fucking sick. Man's sick. I go, yeah, I want 640 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,560 Speaker 1: to just peel you off my sword. Now, when you 641 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,360 Speaker 1: describe for me, you're making films and you start to 642 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,239 Speaker 1: star in the films, give me an example of one 643 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,640 Speaker 1: that creatively was really really a joy for you. What's 644 00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 1: a film you made and you're making the film and 645 00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:58,640 Speaker 1: you're going, I mean, I love this. Two of them. 646 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:01,000 Speaker 1: One was the first. One was Day Trippers, that Greg 647 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 1: Mottold directed that it was just that I had never 648 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 1: met a group of actors that solid. It was Stanley 649 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,279 Speaker 1: Tucci was Hope Davis, was Parker Posey it was, and 650 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: Mira it was just a Campbell Scott and I had, 651 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:19,320 Speaker 1: you know, noble it depends, and I had no experience 652 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:23,280 Speaker 1: making films, and and here was this sort of altruistic 653 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:25,200 Speaker 1: It was like, you know, back in the nineties when 654 00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:27,799 Speaker 1: independent film was kind of having its heyday, and here 655 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,120 Speaker 1: was this incredible ensemble of actors just giving it over 656 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,160 Speaker 1: to each other. You gotta work together. No one's a 657 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: star here, you know, you gotta work together. And here 658 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:39,120 Speaker 1: we're a bunch of like really stellar actors just doing it. 659 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,560 Speaker 1: And it felt so good because we weren't getting paid. 660 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 1: It was something altruistic about it. There was something generous 661 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 1: about it. And it happened to me again in a 662 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:52,760 Speaker 1: movie called Spotlight, and it was just an extraordinary piece 663 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:56,759 Speaker 1: of writing on and Josh's part, and it was something 664 00:36:56,800 --> 00:36:59,319 Speaker 1: that I felt very connected to because of, you know, 665 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:02,239 Speaker 1: the time I'd men doing Ray and you know, at 666 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,680 Speaker 1: some at some level, the core of Rays about a 667 00:37:05,719 --> 00:37:08,800 Speaker 1: guy who's been spun by his priest and the detail 668 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:14,000 Speaker 1: and the um, the restraint that they showed in depicting 669 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,960 Speaker 1: journalists and what they do and their value to our society. 670 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,440 Speaker 1: I just thought it was incredible. And every actor in 671 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,960 Speaker 1: that was like Sammy Sosa. For me, it was like everybody, everybody, 672 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:26,319 Speaker 1: and that was just so good. And when they came 673 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,319 Speaker 1: to you to do the series, because you've never done 674 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:30,840 Speaker 1: our series regular before, correct And when they came you 675 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:32,840 Speaker 1: to because when I was asked to do a series 676 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,160 Speaker 1: when we did thir d Rock, Remember sitting there shooting 677 00:37:35,200 --> 00:37:39,200 Speaker 1: the pilot, I'm going, I don't want to. They bring 678 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: me They bring me a fresh ice coffee every fifteen minutes. Well, 679 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,080 Speaker 1: this is nice, it's cozy, they got every everybody's lovely 680 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: if the whole thing is really very pleasant. But I 681 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:49,640 Speaker 1: don't think I can come here and say this and 682 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,279 Speaker 1: be this guy. And the next thing, you know, we 683 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,440 Speaker 1: come and by season two it's a different show, like 684 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,319 Speaker 1: we had to find our way. But by season two 685 00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,200 Speaker 1: they sort to win everything and they're writing and they're 686 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:01,319 Speaker 1: winning all the writing. At me, some blah blah blah, 687 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:02,719 Speaker 1: how did they get you to do that show? Who 688 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:06,360 Speaker 1: is responsible for you doing that show? My kids you know, 689 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:08,920 Speaker 1: I mean, Naomi was a huge star and we were 690 00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:12,080 Speaker 1: traveling all around the world, going to different countries and 691 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,040 Speaker 1: making movies, yeah, making movies, and you know, it just 692 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:20,680 Speaker 1: felt like her career was really solid, and you know, 693 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:24,600 Speaker 1: me doing plays wasn't really gonna work out because you 694 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,680 Speaker 1: don't get weekends eight shows a week, and that would 695 00:38:27,719 --> 00:38:29,279 Speaker 1: mean that I would have to stay in New York 696 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,120 Speaker 1: because that's where I want to do plays. Really if 697 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:33,080 Speaker 1: I'm going to do plays. So when you go do 698 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:36,600 Speaker 1: the TV show your Kids, we've got kids, and the 699 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 1: kids are now of the of an age where it's 700 00:38:38,719 --> 00:38:40,840 Speaker 1: time to go to school. And so I said, Tony, 701 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:43,279 Speaker 1: where do you want to live New York l A. 702 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:47,080 Speaker 1: And She's got this beautiful house, Sally Fields Old House, 703 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,520 Speaker 1: and you know, she's built this life. And I'm like, 704 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 1: all right, I'll go to l A. You know, I'll 705 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,000 Speaker 1: commit the Cardinals sin and I'll go to l A. 706 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:55,759 Speaker 1: So I told my agents to start looking for a 707 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,560 Speaker 1: television show that would that would shoot in l A 708 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 1: so that we could live in that house and be there. 709 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 1: And they found me this show about this Boston fixer 710 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,279 Speaker 1: who had been abused by a priest and he had 711 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:10,360 Speaker 1: this really tight family situation and he was interacting in 712 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,839 Speaker 1: the Hollywood scene, and it all seemed like nonsense to me. 713 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:20,200 Speaker 1: But the woman and Binghaman who remember who told her? Yeah? 714 00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:23,400 Speaker 1: Who wrote it? Was just extraordinary and just so intelligent, 715 00:39:23,400 --> 00:39:26,200 Speaker 1: and she stuck it in me and I was like, 716 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 1: all right, I'm just perfect. Let's do it. And I 717 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:31,279 Speaker 1: didn't expect anything to happen. We did the pilot. I 718 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:33,239 Speaker 1: was like, Okay, that was fun. Like God, I guess 719 00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:36,080 Speaker 1: I blew that. And it just grew and grew and grew. 720 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,920 Speaker 1: One of the things that I think again is like, 721 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,520 Speaker 1: because they let me have a say in some of 722 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:48,000 Speaker 1: the casting, it really I was able to put people 723 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 1: in it that I really felt good about and trusted, 724 00:39:50,719 --> 00:39:52,600 Speaker 1: and they helped with that as well. But I just 725 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:56,160 Speaker 1: that cast just just day after day booming. It was 726 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:58,880 Speaker 1: similar in in the way where you have everybody. It 727 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,560 Speaker 1: was a great cast, and everybody was perfect and distinctive. 728 00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:06,800 Speaker 1: I mean, everybody has certain distinctive energies and hard workers 729 00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:10,239 Speaker 1: to like, everybody worked hard. And I tried to get 730 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:11,440 Speaker 1: any to come to a play with me here in 731 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:14,439 Speaker 1: New York. You should beg you should well, he doesn't 732 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:17,880 Speaker 1: want to leave his family. He's got that situation. But 733 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:20,160 Speaker 1: the way he pursued, the way he went after Parkinson, 734 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,240 Speaker 1: the way he went after everything, how hard he worked, dash, 735 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,480 Speaker 1: the way he would swing for the fences with Bunchie 736 00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 1: and Paula who harnessed all of that real Irish rage 737 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:34,600 Speaker 1: that she's got, and just every actor and Carriss, the 738 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:38,000 Speaker 1: woman who played my daughter, just like Ah for you 739 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:40,960 Speaker 1: with the show, you saw Aliev you never saw before 740 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:46,800 Speaker 1: on that show, you know, an unbridled kind of character 741 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:51,200 Speaker 1: as I saw him as just pure vulnerability, you know, 742 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,960 Speaker 1: like the most vulnerable character I've ever played in my life. 743 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:58,080 Speaker 1: And that the culture that he comes from, it's unacceptable, 744 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:02,600 Speaker 1: and so he steal himself up. He's pretending, he's pretending, 745 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:06,440 Speaker 1: he's trying to exist for others because he can't tolerate himself, 746 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:09,640 Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And that and that for 747 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:14,560 Speaker 1: me in many, in many ways is kind of a 748 00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:17,560 Speaker 1: central theme on in being a man and how to 749 00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:21,080 Speaker 1: be a man. That just my grandfather, you know, my 750 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,960 Speaker 1: gran Ukrainian grandfather who kind of braised me, and it 751 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:26,279 Speaker 1: was just he was such a tough bastard and he 752 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,759 Speaker 1: never he never talked about where he was from, which 753 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:31,600 Speaker 1: is part of my obsession with Ukraine and all of 754 00:41:31,640 --> 00:41:35,839 Speaker 1: this stuff. He never admitted that he could speak any 755 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:39,399 Speaker 1: other languages other than American. He never admitted what he'd 756 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:41,880 Speaker 1: been through, or what he'd seen, or what he'd lost. 757 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:46,560 Speaker 1: And there was a kind of determination and and principled 758 00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:52,600 Speaker 1: tenacity towards being something being American. And he hated Germans 759 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:55,680 Speaker 1: like that's the only thing that showed. He hated everything German, 760 00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:58,920 Speaker 1: German cars, German beer, until my oldest brother got a 761 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:02,640 Speaker 1: German girlfriend and suddenly he loved Germans and everything German. 762 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:05,120 Speaker 1: But there was a kind of you know, if I 763 00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:07,400 Speaker 1: didn't open the door for somebody, I got a smack 764 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:10,040 Speaker 1: in the back of the head, if I had a 765 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:12,759 Speaker 1: fight with my brother's girlfriend and I threw a jellyfish 766 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,239 Speaker 1: at her, and I can't I don't even want to 767 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:17,680 Speaker 1: say what he did to me. But he was that 768 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:22,880 Speaker 1: person that was trying to give me some character and strength. 769 00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:25,680 Speaker 1: And then I heard from my mother this story about 770 00:42:26,520 --> 00:42:29,279 Speaker 1: how he had been in love after every single in 771 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:32,839 Speaker 1: love with this younger woman who left him in the 772 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,759 Speaker 1: middle of his life. That just devastated him, and I 773 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:40,960 Speaker 1: it was that thing I just what are these qualities 774 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,520 Speaker 1: of masculinity? And I think Anne was very interested in 775 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:47,280 Speaker 1: that too, because I think ends she's writing her brothers, 776 00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:50,239 Speaker 1: she's writing her father, she's writing her lovers in raydonov 777 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,880 Speaker 1: and and what is it about men that compels her 778 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:58,000 Speaker 1: that makes her that's so interesting? And and for me 779 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:00,799 Speaker 1: it was like this idea of you know, in all 780 00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:04,359 Speaker 1: good characters and you know this, it's like it's duality, right, 781 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:07,800 Speaker 1: it's juxtaposition. It's if you think a character is something, 782 00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:11,359 Speaker 1: you better go look in the complete opposite direction. So 783 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,399 Speaker 1: Ray was written as this incredibly tough guy who could 784 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,600 Speaker 1: just kick everybody's ass, and you know, used as few 785 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:19,520 Speaker 1: words as possible, and once I got to part there 786 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:23,520 Speaker 1: even less words. But in reality, he's stuck at the 787 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:26,520 Speaker 1: moment when he was sexually assaulted by this priest when 788 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:28,600 Speaker 1: he was a seven year old kid. And that's the 789 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:30,680 Speaker 1: person who's really just dying to come out all of 790 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:33,640 Speaker 1: the time, and that's the person who's so violent. That's 791 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:36,400 Speaker 1: where the violence comes from. In my opinion, violence is 792 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:39,160 Speaker 1: a product of fear more often than not, you know, 793 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:41,560 Speaker 1: which is which is how I see what's happening with 794 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:46,720 Speaker 1: poutin he's backed into a corner, he doesn't scare. Yeah, 795 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,440 Speaker 1: quick shout out to Bill Heck. I've rarely seen an 796 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:54,799 Speaker 1: actor played the younger version of a character as beautifully 797 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:57,600 Speaker 1: as he did. He was he had everything you needed 798 00:43:57,880 --> 00:43:59,960 Speaker 1: to do. Void. I mean, he was void as he had. 799 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:02,960 Speaker 1: I loved him. They loved him. David and I wrote 800 00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:07,480 Speaker 1: the movie mostly because we were so blown away by 801 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:09,680 Speaker 1: Bill Heck, like, you know, let's let this guy just 802 00:44:09,719 --> 00:44:12,360 Speaker 1: take the show and the and the young actor was 803 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:14,400 Speaker 1: playing me. We just thought these actors were so good. 804 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:18,520 Speaker 1: He was just extraordinary. Everybody in that but particularly Bill 805 00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:21,239 Speaker 1: just that he just he has that kind of you know, 806 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:23,520 Speaker 1: that's the thing that that voit does that not many 807 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:26,239 Speaker 1: other people can do, is the charm, Like he just 808 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:28,959 Speaker 1: does charm better than anybody I've ever seen. And thank 809 00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:32,160 Speaker 1: god we found Bill Heck. He was great. Two quick things. 810 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:33,680 Speaker 1: I don't get to see you that often. We have 811 00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:36,640 Speaker 1: got crazy lives, but I want to say, when I 812 00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:38,839 Speaker 1: saw that show, we just confirmed what I always knew 813 00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:42,560 Speaker 1: about you, and that is there's nothing you can't do, drama, comedy, 814 00:44:42,640 --> 00:44:45,560 Speaker 1: shake whatever, There's nothing you can't do. And then number two, 815 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:47,759 Speaker 1: I'm very proud of you about this Ukraine thing. Good 816 00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:50,080 Speaker 1: for you man. You go there and men show up 817 00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:54,000 Speaker 1: that way, and I really really really appreciate you giving 818 00:44:54,080 --> 00:45:00,080 Speaker 1: us the time to tell people about it. My thanks 819 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:04,280 Speaker 1: to Leev Schreiber. You can donate to Blue Check Ukraine 820 00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:09,680 Speaker 1: at blue check dot i N. This episode was recorded 821 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:13,480 Speaker 1: at cd M Studios in New York City. We're produced 822 00:45:13,520 --> 00:45:18,160 Speaker 1: by Kathleen Russo, Zach McNeice and Maureen Hoban. Our engineers 823 00:45:18,200 --> 00:45:23,120 Speaker 1: Frank Imperial. Our social media manager is Daniel Gingrich. I'm 824 00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:25,879 Speaker 1: Alec Baldwin. Here's the thing is brought to you by 825 00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:27,400 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio