WEBVTT - Steven Krueger 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.480 I remember going into at age twenty six, twenty seven, 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:06.680 going into auditions for like Disney shows to play like 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:09.680 fifteen year olds, and there were actually there were you know, 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.480 the room was filled with kids and their parents, and 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.080 you know, I was so like, I was so embarrassed 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:17.640 that I would say, oh, you know, my dad dropped 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:19.160 me off. You know, he's coming back to He's coming 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:22.520 back to pick me up a little bit. Because it 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:24.000 was just like, oh my god, it's me and all 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.560 of these children, and like, I, you know, I'm a 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:37.320 grown man. Hi, I'm Stephen Krueger. I am an actor, 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:40.880 and I think I'm going to have a new best 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:54.240 friend after today. Well, hello everybody, and welcome. Thank you 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:59.160 for tuning in to this week's episode of Off the Beat. 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:04.200 I am your host, Brian Baumgartner. This week's guest, as 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:10.399 you just heard, has a lot of buzz around him. Yellowjackets, 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:15.240 very own. Stephen Krueger is joining me today. Get it buzz, 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:18.880 yellowjackets like a bee. You get it, I get it. 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:23.160 It's awesome Stephen. What can I say about Stephen? One, 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.040 He's very cool. Two He's worked on a lot of 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:31.080 huge shows like the Originals and Roswell, New Mexico, jumping 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:37.280 into everything from vampires to sci fi. Steven has no fear, literally, 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.959 and that cannot be more true than with his most 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:44.880 recent show, Yellowjackets. If you haven't seen it, you should. 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:51.880 It's that good. I really really enjoyed it. And wow, 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.560 it could not have been easy to execute. There are 0:01:55.640 --> 0:02:01.440 time jumps. The cast filmed in freezing temperatures, and spoiler alert, 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.120 Stephen literally got his leg chopped off. Maybe not literally, 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.000 but that did happen on the show. We'll talk about 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:13.280 that and much much more. I cannot wait for you 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:17.040 to hear our conversation. It's a good one. Let's go 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:26.040 right now, my south By Southwest buddy, Stephen Krueger, Bubble 0:02:26.200 --> 0:02:33.880 and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and squeak, Bubble and squeaker, 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:49.880 cooking every moment left over from the nut before. What's up? Stephen? 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:55.359 There he is the man, the middlegition. What's happening? Oh man, 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:58.480 it's great to see your face. Well, it's good to 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:02.760 see yours now before we get started, I may meet 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:05.440 you in person. Are you going on a little trip 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:10.200 this weekend? Oh? Are you gonna be in Austin? Oh? Well, 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.480 maybe we'll see each other in person, my man, I 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:17.680 think I mean new best friend. Hello. Hi, Well well 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:20.600 well we'll have a chat today and then we'll have 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.440 well maybe a longer chat this weekend. That sounds amazing. 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:26.760 What are you doing down there? I'm actually coming to 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:29.320 stock you. I don't know if that is. I mean 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:33.799 I appreciate right off, because now I can plan a 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:35.760 few things just to like keep you on your toes 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:39.920 right off the bat. No, I am there in Austin 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:44.720 with iHeart, uh talking about this podcast right here. We're 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:48.600 gonna do a couple of of panels down there at 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:51.720 south By Southwest. So an, it's amazing. Wow, I'm so 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.040 happy you're gonna be there. This is just part one 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:57.600 time of our time together this very week. Well, we 0:03:57.680 --> 0:03:59.800 better not blow it then in part one. Now, let's 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:03.120 not blow up. Yeah yeah, although I can then still 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.200 cancel the flight. Um, I don't think I'm kid, so 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:09.080 I'm locked in there. You go, Well, actually I can't either, 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:15.360 so I want to go back. I read you were 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:21.600 born in Appleton Lake, city of Appleton, Wisconsin before moving 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:25.240 down to Sarah Soda. Now does that make you a 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:29.280 Green Bay Packer fan? You know, I think I switched allegiances, 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:31.320 which is like kind of a cardinal sin. But I 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:33.599 think I've done it. I think I switched allegiances pretty 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.400 quickly when I when I got to Florida. I mean, 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:37.200 to be fair, people ask me where I grew up, 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:39.520 and I do say Florida. I do say, Sarah Soda. 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:41.440 I think I left Wisconsin when I was like nine 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:45.560 years old, so I do equate growing up with Florida. 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:47.240 Although it's weird because you know, nine years old is 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:48.880 kind of that time when it's like it's like split 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:51.000 your childhood, right, I mean, it's literally halfway in between 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:54.840 being born and leaving for college. But yeah, I think 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:56.680 like within a year or two of moving to Florida, 0:04:56.680 --> 0:05:00.719 I switched allegiances to the Bucks. Okay, because you know, 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:02.679 you don't want to be the person in Florida rooting 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.800 for the rooting for the Green Bay Packers or you do. 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:07.800 But that was a choice you made. That's a choice 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:09.960 I made, you know, you know, I got you know, Brian, 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:11.720 I got bullied enough in high school. I didn't need 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:13.640 I didn't need that added I didn't need that added 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:16.960 element to it there. All right, Well that's that's fair enough. 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:20.720 I actually have relatives in sarah Sota. Do you really 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.160 down there? I do, It's been a number of years 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:28.719 since I've been down there. The Great Area Town District 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:33.560 CSA key down there in sarah Sota. Yeah. Best beach 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.520 in the country, best best beach in the country, like 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:40.120 not my not my personal opinion. Like google it oh Google, 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:42.720 Oh Google, Oh that's what Google like actually rated. I mean, 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:44.839 you could probably ask chat GBT as well. I don't know, 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.160 it might give you a slightly different answer, but yeah, Google, 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:54.040 Google's never wrong. Um. So, so you grew up in Florida, 0:05:54.240 --> 0:06:00.640 when did you first start thinking, Oh, acting sounds kind 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.280 of fun. Was this something you were interested in early on? 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:06.960 Or was this this a developed taste? This this was 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.560 something I was interested in early on. But there's there's 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:11.680 a couple of caveats to that. Number One. I actually 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.200 wasn't interested in it. Um My mother thought that I 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:17.560 would be interested in it. Um she she, for whatever 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:20.240 reason thought and it's probably just because I was a 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:23.440 little rambunctious and uh, you know, was always kind of 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.599 running around trying to steal the spotlight, and so she 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:28.440 probably just wanted an outlet. So that when I came 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:31.600 home from school, you know I would be quiet. Um. 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:34.360 So she kind of encouraged when I when I started 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:36.279 high school, she kind of encouraged, you know, why don't 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:39.040 you take why don't you take acting level one and 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.360 just see what happens. I think you'd I think you'd 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:43.800 love it. Um. And I remember fighting around it too. 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:45.320 I was like, why do I want to like, No, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:47.960 that sounds that sounds terrible. Let me take you know, 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:50.040 like let me take study Hall or like or like 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.159 Jim or something where I can just dick around for 0:06:52.200 --> 0:06:54.960 an hour, right um. And so of course, you know, 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:57.559 as the as the tale always goes, mother knows best. 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.480 And uh, I can still remember the extra size and 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:02.360 the teacher that we had. She was brilliant. Her name 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.239 was Terry Wood. She had been in LA for a while, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:07.160 I think done some like soap operas and stuff like that. 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:10.200 But she was an incredible acting teacher. And I will 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.640 never forget the very first day of that first year 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.880 in high school as a freshman, going into acting class, 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.600 and there was an exercise where we were all on 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:20.680 the stage sitting in a circle, and she kind of 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:22.960 laid out this story for us and she said, so 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.320 your parents gave you one hundred dollars to come to 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.120 school with. And that hundred dollars and I forget exactly 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.320 what the details were, but it was something that really 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:33.720 drove the stakes up right. That hundred dollars was really 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:35.960 really important. It was you know, it was like to 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.920 fix you know, your car at the end of the day, 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.360 and if you weren't going to pick up your brother, YadA, YadA, 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.680 YadA whatever. Very high stakes. And you've now misplaced that 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.880 hundred dollars. You cannot find it. What do you do? 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.840 And me sitting there, you know, we're all sitting there 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:54.240 literally first first day of high school, and so I 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.200 kind of start doing what I think is acting right. 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.680 I like start going through my pockets and like starting 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.440 to look concerned and all this stuff. And meanwhile I'm like, 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:04.320 I'm like sideye, glancing at the teacher, like am I 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:05.840 doing this right? You know? Like is this what you 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:07.280 were is this what you were going for? Like? How 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:10.280 how good am I? As an actor? And I remember 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:13.720 this one guy in the class. I can still picture 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:17.280 his face. His name was Chris, and he got up 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.280 from the stage and went down to his seat in 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:24.000 the audience and started tearing through his backpack and throwing 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:27.400 things around. And I remember everybody in the class, including myself, 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:32.199 just stopped and watched this guy and immediately and of course, 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:34.480 you know that was kind of a lesson, right, It's like, yes, 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:36.520 that that is exactly what she was trying to get 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:38.600 us to do. And I just remember being so enthralled 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:44.320 with like, oh, like that's what acting is. That was 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.080 like that was insane, Like this guy just got up 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:49.520 and started tearing through Like I never in a million 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:51.959 years would have thought to do something like that, And 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:54.760 so it clicked very very quickly for me. I was like, 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:56.840 that's cool, Like I want to I want to learn 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:58.040 how to do that. I want to I want to 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.520 be able to capture some strangers attend and just by 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.199 doing something like that. And so, you know, it grew 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:06.000 and it became something that I really enjoyed doing. But 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:07.959 to be totally honest with you, it was a high 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.360 school hobby. I mean, never in a million years did 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:13.320 I I mean I think I read that you you 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:14.720 did this in high school but then also went on 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:17.120 to study it in college and got your degree and 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:18.960 all that stuff that that was in the back of 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:20.480 my mind. You know, when I left high school and 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:22.120 went to college, I was going to go to law school. 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:25.240 You know, I was never going to be an actor professionally, 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:29.200 because let's be honest, Brian, who becomes an actor professionally? Right? Well, 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.880 law school, to be fair, that was my plan. B 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:35.040 So you did plays in high school. I did plays, 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:38.040 and I also I made a note to ask you 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.920 about this. I also did competitive speech and debate, and 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.160 I went to all of the tournaments. And did you 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.640 do the same thing? Yes? So, I yeah, I saw 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:51.280 that note. You moost such nerds. I love this. You 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:55.280 joined the speech and debate team. You did duo interp 0:09:55.640 --> 0:10:02.320 I did. They called it at the time humorous, and 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:05.360 there was dramatic interb and I did dramatic intern I 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:09.160 bet you did. And actually it was more successful the 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:14.000 year that I went to nationals there for dramatic interm. Uh. 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:16.640 So you so that that you were serious about that, 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:18.240 Like you would do that on the weekends. You would 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:20.280 go to the competitions. Oh yeah, and we had to 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:22.040 and and my high school had a like, like, the 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.040 speech and debate team in my high school was legit. 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:26.160 I mean, we were in I remember it was like 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:27.800 two seasons. Right. I don't know if you guys did 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:29.280 this because you were you were in Atlanta, right, so 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.520 not that far away, that's right. We did like in 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:35.600 the fall. You know, there weren't like the the you know, 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:37.840 the acting events that the speech. It was more it 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:39.800 was more debate. It was like congressional debate, you know, 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:41.440 where we would go to like the state capitol and 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:43.000 have these tournaments and stuff. So I would do that 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:44.800 in the fall, and then in the spring is when 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.000 it branched out into all those different categories. Right. You 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:48.600 guys probably had the same thing where it was like 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:52.000 you know, poetry and prose and like all this different stuff. Um, 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:54.520 and so yeah, in the spring, yeah, became I actually 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:57.400 I actually started to prefer that overdoing plays in high school. 0:10:57.600 --> 0:10:59.480 I think because of like the competitive nature of it. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.079 You know, Like I also played tennis, and so there 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:03.760 was just like this competitive itch in me and I 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:05.560 was like, yes, I want to act, but I also 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:09.400 want to beat people at acting. And so yeah I did. 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.840 I did duo interpretation, and then like once in a while, 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:13.679 my partner wouldn't be available for a tournament, so I 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.760 would like jump into humorous or dramatic or something like that. 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:18.960 And I mean it was a blast, Like it was. 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.199 Looking back on it, it it really was like the nerdiest 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:26.160 possible medium for acting, you know, like like the rules 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.480 and and and just kind of like the stiffness of 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:30.520 it all in duo interpretation. I don't know if you 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:32.800 ever saw it, but like you weren't actually allowed to 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:34.680 look at your partner. It was like you were both 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:37.079 facing out towards the back of the room and it's 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:39.240 like you picked up he picked like a spot on 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:40.840 the back of the room and that was like, you know, 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:42.480 like you were looking at your partner, but it was 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:46.120 all facing out to the audience. Yes, yes, I have 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.840 seen it before. It was really fun. I mean it 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.920 truly was like it was a good time in the 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:58.040 nerdiest acting, dork kind of kind of way possible. Right. Well, 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:02.719 it's interesting because so I, like you, it sounds I 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:07.559 am a very competitive person and started in sports, so 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.280 I think there was something about about me that that 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:13.360 really got off on that as well. Like, but what's 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:17.480 funny for me is that not the intern stuff, but 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:23.320 the competition stuff continues through college. There's there's a competition 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:27.360 acting competition called the Irene Ryans. I don't know how 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:30.839 I just pulled that out. That is impressive. And we 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.480 did like the one act play competitions. We went and 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.079 won a national one act play comp and it was 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:40.080 all about that. And then I went to college. I 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:43.040 went to SMU and the person who was head of 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:50.280 the acting program there specifically said, no, we're not doing that. 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:54.959 That's not acting. We're here to actually learn the process 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:59.440 of acting, which I know, which is so it's funny 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.800 now like time it. At the time, I was like, oh, no, 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.200 this is That's a very reasonable approach. I'm here just 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:07.920 to learn. I'm here just to learn. But now I'm like, God, 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:13.280 I wish I could have crushed this person. People took 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:16.280 it so seriously. I'm sure you remember, like it was 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.520 like I will never forget being at those tournaments and 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:20.480 like and like, I don't know if they did it 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:22.319 this way when you were there, and we could move 0:13:22.360 --> 0:13:25.280 on from high school speech and debate to this or 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.280 not or not. We could just do an entire hour 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.319 on this. Yes, maybe this is a separate podcast that 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.240 we need. You know, sometimes I do wonder, like if 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:33.959 kids are still doing this and I school, I'm sure 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:35.800 that they are, But like I remember being those tournaments 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:37.520 and it was like you would do your your initial 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:39.719 few rounds or whatever, and then like they would put 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:41.920 up like a big poster board that just had your 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.640 your team number or your your competitor number written on it, 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:46.959 and it was like, if you broke onto the next round, 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:48.920 then your number would be on the board. So everybody 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.400 kind of sat around like just you know, biting their fingernails, 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:52.959 and they put up this thing, and everybody would rush 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:55.040 up to the board and like, oh my god, I'm 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:56.640 on there. And then you know, if you if your 0:13:56.720 --> 0:13:58.920 number wasn't on there, you were just crushed. And it 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:00.319 would just go like that until you got to the 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:02.280 final round, where it was like, you know, six, you know, 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.760 six people or six teams were on that thing. I 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:09.240 that is so funny that you say that, because I 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.679 remember that. It feels like, and you're younger than I am, 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:16.040 but it feels like nineteen seventy two or something, where 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:19.160 like everyone is standing around waiting for a piece of 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:23.640 paper to get taped to the wall. I know the 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:27.520 internet existed when you were growing when you were doing this. Now, 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:30.480 I wonder if that drama is gone. It's probably one app. 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.520 You know, you probably get like a notification on an 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:34.760 app and it's like, you know, you're off. But the 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:36.960 exciting part about it was that there was a community, 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:38.960 you know, and like even though it was competitive, like 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:40.960 when you got to those later rounds of the competition, 0:14:41.240 --> 0:14:43.200 all the people that had been like eliminated you know, 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:45.520 previously would come and watch, so all of a sudden, 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:47.040 you know, before it was just the teams you were 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.080 competing against in the room. Now you get to like 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:52.480 the quarterfinals, the semifinals, the finals. Now you've got huge 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:54.560 rooms full of people that have just come to watch 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:56.680 because it's entertaining. And like that was kind of my 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:58.960 first sense of, like, you know, outside of high school plays, 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:01.520 performing for people, you know, in a very real, like 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.320 live setting, and it was, I mean, it's exhilarating and 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.680 and how was that for you? Did you did you? 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:08.400 Did you get a high from that? Oh my god, 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.400 completforming in front of people? Yeah, I mean I absolutely 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.240 loved it that. I mean, especially doing comedy, as you know, 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:16.160 it's like you get that you know, you you you 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:18.400 you launch in in that first thirty forty five seconds 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.040 comes the first joke and you can tell right then 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:22.560 if this is going to go well or not, you know, 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:24.120 if it's if it's crickets in the room all of 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:25.680 a sudden, it's like, oh my god, I have nine 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:27.320 more minutes of this and this is going to be 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.480 a disaster. But like if there's a if there's a 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.520 big laugh on that first joke, it's like, let's go here, 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:37.640 we got this. I read you did fifteen years of 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:41.280 competitive tennis. Now I was a tennis player as well, 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:43.760 and I could say the same thing. Something tells me 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:47.040 you were a little bit more more serious than I was. 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:51.280 What so this this was because I grew up in Florida. 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:54.000 I mean Florida was like Florida was like ground zero 0:15:54.160 --> 0:16:00.240 for the the hyper competitive, mostly douche you know, young 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:03.440 people growing up who were being coached by their parents 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.200 and going to all the all the fancy academies and whatnot. 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:08.040 I mean, because you could play year round. Of course. 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:10.280 So did you go to a fancy academy? You know? 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:13.440 I started at one and I think it was a 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:17.920 combination with Terry. It was Nick Boltary Nick I didn't 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.720 do that research. Wow, Yeah, yeah, I went to Nick Military. 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.600 I was there. I worked there for let's see, I 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:26.840 think I trained there for like it wasn't long, it 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:28.720 was like two months or something. And then I think 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:32.120 I realized very quickly that I wasn't good enough to 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.000 actually be getting coached by Nick himself. You know, that 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.360 was of course reserved for like the you know, Andy 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:39.520 Roddick was only like a few years ahead of me, 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.440 so I remember he was like a big thing growing up, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.480 and like there was people at that level, you know, 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.640 people that were clearly about to be professional tennis players, 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:48.640 and I was like, well, you know, this is kind 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:50.440 of stupid. I'm like being trained by these So I 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:52.840 ended up going to a smaller one called Billy Stearns. 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:55.840 And yeah, I mean I played in high school. I 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.160 you know, I eventually gave up all my other sports 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:01.080 to kind of focus on tennis, and I played year round, 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:03.600 you know, a train during the summer Florida summers, of course, 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:05.080 when they would let you be on the court for 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:06.920 about ten minutes at a time and then you would 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:08.919 you know, a mandated break for five minutes. So it 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.400 was just like constant back and forth. But I mean 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:12.880 I loved it. It was you know, there was nothing 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:14.720 nothing better than me. I don't know where I got 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:17.920 this competitive you know, drive from, but I guess in 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:21.840 theory it served me. Well, well, it's interesting because tennis, 0:17:22.080 --> 0:17:26.560 and I assume you played singles, did singles and doubles. Yeah, 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.719 and you did doubles. So that's kind of like the 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:35.240 duo thing. You're choosing these competitive outlets that are usually 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:39.800 done solo. But yeah, you're choosing to have a partner. Now. 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:45.360 For you, that competition continued to drive you through college 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:48.200 and you wanted to go to law school. I guess 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:50.679 although I didn't really do anything competitive other than like 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:54.840 you know, pledge of fraternity, which I guess, which I 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:58.760 guess was like kind of competitive, you know, like got 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.840 to get into the best fret of course, right, But no, 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.399 I mean I yeah, who wah wah, you know it? 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:09.760 Oh yeah, I know it. Yeah. You Virginia people, you're 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:13.679 so smug about Virginia, are we really? Let me just 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.760 tell you. You know, what I kept hearing when I 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:19.000 went to SMU was that it was built the design 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:23.040 was exactly the same as Virginia. No way, That's what 0:18:23.119 --> 0:18:25.320 I heard. So it's like like the lawn and like 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:33.239 all the lawn and stuff, the dome big rotunda. So 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:35.080 did we also, you know, you know where a lot 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.160 of that smugness came from. It's like, we didn't you know, VA, 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:40.920 we don't call it a campus. It's called grounds. If 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:44.280 that's right. If you say campus, you will be chastised. Um. 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.040 And then of course we don't call it freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:51.840 It was first second. Yeah, so stupid, that's you know, 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:55.200 I know it's stupid, but I still I'm an alumni 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:57.360 and I'm still like, you know what, that's what we do. 0:18:57.600 --> 0:19:00.480 I'm sorry, this is how we roll. It's like the 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:07.159 Ohio State University. There's a similar smugness and duchery that 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:10.920 is associated with both of that. I'm going I'm gonna 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:15.680 get hell from. But schools out to you now, Yeah, look, 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:21.080 by the way, I love both schools. They're fantastic, fantastics 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:43.000 universities of higher learning. So you go to university, you 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:45.760 were just on the law school track. I studied government, 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:49.160 I studied history. I studied economics. In no in no 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:51.320 sense that I ever did I ever even consider I 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:53.120 didn't even take a class. I mean at that point, 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:55.040 at that point, acting was completely in my past. I 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:57.200 was like, yeah, cool. That was fun in high school. Um, 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:00.840 now let's move on to like, you know, grown up things. Okay, yeah, 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:05.520 so when did it change? So it changed? Because I mean, 0:20:06.160 --> 0:20:08.320 it's funny. I often think that, like my entire career 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:12.920 was a complete coincidence because I graduated from school and 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:14.960 my I hit this plan where like I wanted to 0:20:14.960 --> 0:20:16.359 take a couple of years off before I went to 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:18.840 law school. I don't know why. I think at the time, 0:20:19.000 --> 0:20:21.960 I realized that, like, you know, law schools and the 0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:23.960 career track of a lawyer is an interesting thing. It's like, 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:26.040 once you go to law school, you're you're kind of 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.160 stuck on that path because you've got to graduate from 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:30.960 law school and then immediately take the bar. You know. 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:32.600 You sound like you can graduate from law school and 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:34.960 then take the bar two years later it will fail. 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:37.679 And then once you take the bar, you kind of 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:39.200 have to get a job. You know, you got to 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:41.600 go into two a law firm and start your career. 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:42.960 You know, again, if you take the bar and then 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:45.879 take two years off, nobody's gonna hire you. So I 0:20:46.119 --> 0:20:48.080