1 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Hi. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 2: I am Kate Hudson and my name is Oliver Hudson. 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 3: We wanted to do something that highlighted our. 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 2: Relationship and what it's like to be siblings. We are 5 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 2: a sibling. 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 4: Raivalry. 7 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 5: No, no, sibling. You don't do that with your mouth. 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 2: Revelry. 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 4: That's good. 10 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:39,479 Speaker 5: Okay. 11 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 3: So I'm really excited to talk to this next and 12 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 3: I don't want to leave them waiting anymore. 13 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 2: They're in the waiting room. But you watched I didn't. 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 5: I watched the documentary. 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 3: I'm I'm definitely going to cry at some point during 16 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 3: this interview because it's like it's like all it's like 17 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 3: in my throat. 18 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 2: I feel emotional right now. 19 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 3: This is the Reeves family. These are the kids, the 20 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 3: siblings of Christopher Reeve. 21 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 2: And uh, Matthew Alexandra. 22 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, Matthew Alexandra and Will will is the son of 23 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 3: Dana and Christopher and and Matthew and Alexandra. 24 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 5: Let's just bring that. 25 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 2: Bring them. 26 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 5: I have a documentary out and. 27 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: It's a cheer jerker, to say the least. 28 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 2: It comes out October eleventh and theaters, Movie Theaters. 29 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 3: Well, hello, it's so nice to meet you all together. 30 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 2: Thank you for coming on, very excited to talk to you. 31 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 6: Give me to you too. 32 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 5: Yeah, So I watched this morning the documentary. 33 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 2: She's gonna cry just I just want to preface watching 34 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 2: you guys. I She's just gonna cry. 35 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 3: I I could not there the entire documentary, could not 36 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 3: stop crying. It's powerful. There's so much love. It's just 37 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 3: filled with love, and You're just it's honest, and I 38 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 3: was so inspired just to like live life to the fullest. 39 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: It was just it's just like so beautiful. 40 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 2: So all right, that's it. 41 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 7: Thanks, thanks for coming. 42 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 2: We'll see you guys later. 43 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 7: Perfect, easiest interview we have ever done. 44 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 2: We'll just take us through the process a little bit, 45 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 2: you know, we'll get I want to get into your 46 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 2: lives a little you know. But now that we're on 47 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: sort of doc tops doc topic, how did this all 48 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 2: come about? What was I know, the inspiration? But you know, 49 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 2: give us sort of the the overall. 50 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 7: Matthew, you start because it started with you. 51 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 6: Sure, I'll jump in. So a few years ago I 52 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 6: have shut haven't nailed down the date, but I want 53 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 6: to say it was about three and a half years ago. 54 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 6: I was contacted out of the blue by an archives 55 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 6: specialist in the UK who asked if we had movies 56 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 6: and if we had ever thought about doing a documentary 57 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 6: about our dad, And as it so happened, not so 58 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 6: long prior to that, we had just kind of packed 59 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 6: up a family house and we kind of knew what 60 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 6: we had and where the tapes were and what was 61 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 6: there and the types of formats they were on, because 62 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 6: there was about six or seven different types, yeah, like 63 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 6: over the years, and we were really. 64 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 2: Made a VHS Mini, DV Super eight. 65 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 4: Yeah, I just did all we have I have the same. 66 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 6: Situation all of it, and they were like terribly labeled, 67 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 6: and they would jump around from like I don't know, 68 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 6: Thanksgiving nineteen ninety four to like the third period of 69 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 6: a Rangers game to like the Easter the following year, 70 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 6: and it was just kind of a wild, wild mix 71 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 6: and but all started there. And then he this artavist, 72 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 6: Daniel Kilroy who's credited as a I mean, he was 73 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 6: also an ep on on the project, took it to 74 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 6: some production companies and it landed at Passion Pictures and 75 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 6: they nurtured it and we developed it with them. They 76 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 6: developed it really sort of with some a little bit 77 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,960 Speaker 6: of input from us, and then they introduced us to 78 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,159 Speaker 6: the directors. They found Ian and Peter, and they've worked 79 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 6: with them before. We watched their earlier work McQueen about 80 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 6: the fashions on Alexander McQueen and Rising Phoenix, which was 81 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:41,720 Speaker 6: a Netflix series, dark series about paralympians, which was incredible. 82 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,040 Speaker 6: Both projects were incredible, and then we met with them. 83 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 6: We had us started off the series of Zoom Calls, 84 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 6: and then we finally met in person and pretty quickly 85 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 6: became clear that they were the right guys for the job. 86 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 6: I mean, they their approach, It was clear that they 87 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 6: would treat it with the sensitivity and respect, and also 88 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 6: they wanted to make something honest. They weren't interested in 89 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 6: making a glossy, sugar coated puff piece that was just 90 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,480 Speaker 6: kind of elevated our dad onto a pedestal and it 91 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 6: was just a glowing portrait. They wanted to have sort 92 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 6: of this raw, honest approach, which is what we wanted. 93 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 6: And so we agreed we hadn't it over archive, and 94 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 6: we agreed to give interviews, and amongst ourselves, we agreed 95 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 6: that we would give ourselves. In these interviews, we would 96 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 6: say the things we hadn't said. We would share the 97 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,279 Speaker 6: stories we'd never told publicly. 98 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 2: Was this a conversation that you guys all had, you know, 99 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 2: before the process sort of like, look, we're going to 100 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 2: do this, you know, we're going We're going full out. 101 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 7: Yeah. I mean we talk as siblings all the time, 102 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 7: just because we love each other and like, you know, 103 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 7: it's going and going on in each other's lives. It's 104 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 7: not like we were running around town out in the 105 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 7: marketplace trying to get something made about our dad. We 106 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 7: have our own busy and fulfilling lives and it wasn't 107 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 7: even really on our horizon. But then it all sort 108 00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:01,600 Speaker 7: of fell into place naturally. And when we got together 109 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 7: and said this actually seems like the right group of 110 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 7: people with the right intent. We believe in their vision 111 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 7: and think they would do a good job, we agreed 112 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 7: that now is as good a time as any to 113 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 7: do it. We didn't intend for the process to play 114 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 7: out so that the film comes out exactly aligned with 115 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 7: the twenty year anniversary of our dad passing. That's just 116 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 7: a nice cosmic coincidence. But once they had us in 117 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 7: terms of sitting for interviews and had all of our 118 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 7: footage and had some phone numbers of friends and folks 119 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 7: who knew our story that they could call to flesh 120 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 7: it all out. They went off and did it. And 121 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 7: we're so grateful to the filmmakers, not only for the 122 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 7: final product, which is now out in the world and 123 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 7: has been so well received and we're so proud to 124 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 7: be associated with, but just for the way that they 125 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 7: treated us throughout the process, because we were insistent that 126 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 7: they have full control and that we didn't want to 127 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 7: put our thumb on the scale. We wanted it to 128 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 7: be as honest a portrayal as could be. But because 129 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 7: Ian and Peter, the directors, and then the rest of 130 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 7: the filmmaking team from the various production companies are good 131 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 7: people and seem to care about us. They would check 132 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 7: in and just make sure we were okay and that 133 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 7: we still gave our blessing, and we did, but the 134 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 7: horse was out of the barn. 135 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 2: That's amazing. I mean, the the amount of trust that 136 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 2: you have to put into these filmmakers and production company 137 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 2: to do this story justice, given the fact that it 138 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 2: is so personal, I mean, that is it's hard to 139 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 2: relinquish that kind of control, I guess. I mean, you know, 140 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 2: it's like we don't want to put our thumb on 141 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 2: the scale at the same time, you know, do it justice, 142 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 2: I don't fuck us. 143 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 8: I mean we talked about it as a leap of faith. 144 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 8: It was a total leap of faith. We saw the 145 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,360 Speaker 8: film for the first time about a week before they 146 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 8: submitted it to sun Dance. 147 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 4: Wow. 148 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 8: And they deal with some pretty heavy themes in it, right, 149 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 8: like this is you know, it matters for the story 150 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 8: to be told respectfully and well. It mattered to us 151 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 8: that the disability story be told respectfully and well, not 152 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 8: in a patronizing way and not in a you know, 153 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 8: just mindless inspiration way, but actually truly showing someone's journey. 154 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 8: They had previously done a film about the Paralympics, and 155 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,440 Speaker 8: so they brought a certain perspective and respect for that 156 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 8: which we valued. But yeah, also, you know, there's some 157 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 8: highs and lows to our dad's personal life in his career, 158 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 8: you know. 159 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, and they and I feel like, you know, it's 160 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 3: like getting to know your dynamic in the documentary was 161 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 3: so interesting and like heartbreaking at times. 162 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 5: Uh, you know, I almost it's funny. I don't want 163 00:08:58,440 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 5: to give away things. 164 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 3: Did I think people don't know about your family history 165 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 3: that you discover in the documentary because it's it's. 166 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 5: So well done. 167 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 3: And but but Matthew and Alex, you you know that 168 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 3: was you did have a tough separation from your dad 169 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 3: at the time that his career was rocket a rocket 170 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 3: ship and left your mom and I think then you know, 171 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 3: full circle where sort of it ends up is so beautiful. 172 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 5: To trust somebody with that story. 173 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 8: Saying that, yeah, but it matters right that it's authentic 174 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:42,079 Speaker 8: and it makes it a sup It's a very unique story, right, 175 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 8: like to ride that rocket ship to fame when you're 176 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 8: twenty four years old, you're doing like off Broadway Theater 177 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 8: in New York City and suddenly you're like shooting to 178 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 8: global stardom. Unusual story, but there are elements in there 179 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 8: that are so relatable. And now increasingly these people are 180 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 8: starting to see the film and we're getting those phone 181 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 8: calls in their emails. People are seeing themselves in this story, 182 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 8: like what it is to fall in love and being 183 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 8: an impassioned relationship as our dad was with our mom 184 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,439 Speaker 8: Gay Exton, but then for that to change over time. 185 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:11,199 Speaker 8: You know, they had their ten years and it was 186 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 8: a beautiful moment, but then it dated and what that 187 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 8: means that you can then go off into the world 188 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 8: and then have you know, this beautiful story that our 189 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 8: dad had with Dana, which the film captures so well, 190 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 8: and that somehow we can all emerge, okay from that. 191 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 8: We're siblings, you know, we will says in the film, 192 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 8: and this is completely true. Our half siblings, but we 193 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 8: never use the word half and it's never been that way, 194 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 8: you know, Dana and in my life when I was 195 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 8: three years old, she was seven when she came in. 196 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,160 Speaker 8: Matthew was seven when she came in. And instantly they 197 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 8: were just so careful and so thoughtful to have the 198 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 8: family feel intact and to rise above that drama and 199 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 8: just be there for us. And I love that the 200 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 8: filmmakers gave this this sensitive treatment and show how it 201 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 8: can be done, you know, and that there's a lot 202 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 8: of really good. 203 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 6: Lessons to learn there and just clicked. I mean, it 204 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 6: was certainly a leap leap of faith in many ways, 205 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 6: but the filmmakers did like they earned our trust. I 206 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 6: mean we didn't have made them once over a coffee 207 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 6: and say, yeah, sure they were. 208 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 2: Right, here's a big box. 209 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 7: Yeah it was. 210 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 6: You know, we had a lot of fun, a lot 211 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 6: of conversations and then finally met in person, and it 212 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 6: was really how they you know, they started talking about 213 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 6: how they would generally approach it, and and and sort 214 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 6: of you could tell from the questions they asked what 215 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 6: was kind of resonating with them from the research they'd done. 216 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 6: And I think we all it just felt right pretty 217 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 6: early on. But I mean, certainly after you know, several 218 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:44,679 Speaker 6: conversations and. 219 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 2: You know, yeah, how how old were you guys when 220 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 2: the accident actually happened. 221 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:55,200 Speaker 6: I was fifteen, I was, yeah, well Will was. It 222 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 6: was about ten days before Will's third birthday and Alexander 223 00:11:58,280 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 6: was eleven. 224 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 2: Wow or three? 225 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 7: Almost? Yeah? I had my third birthday party in the 226 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 7: waiting room of the ICU at the hospital in Virginia. 227 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 3: Really, do you have any memories prior to your dad? 228 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 7: Yeah, okay, kind of. I don't know if they're composite memories, 229 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 7: which are memories that are composed of videos or photos 230 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,120 Speaker 7: you may have seen, plus stories you may have been told, 231 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 7: and they coalesce in your brain somewhere to become a memory. 232 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 7: I don't know if that's the case or if I 233 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 7: actually do have the memory, but I have in my mind, 234 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 7: I have an image. It's a movie almost of a 235 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 7: perfect day with my dad and my mom before the accident, 236 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 7: and it involved my bedroom was next to theirs, basically 237 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 7: at our house in just outside New York City, and 238 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 7: it involved me waking up and knocking on the wall 239 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 7: then hearing it. My dad would come in and pick 240 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 7: me up out of my favor bed and bring me 241 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 7: into their room and we would play in their room, 242 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 7: and then my dad and I would go downstairs to 243 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 7: grab the newspaper from the front stoop. I remember sailing 244 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 7: with him. He was an avid sailor, and I remember 245 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 7: I actually remember going to the local farm where he 246 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,400 Speaker 7: kept his horses, and he would construct a sort of 247 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,440 Speaker 7: ring in the center of it of like whatever like 248 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 7: blocks that just keep me in and I would just 249 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,199 Speaker 7: stand in there and he would ride around. And I 250 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 7: don't know if that's because I've seen videos of that 251 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 7: or if I actually remember it, but I like to 252 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 7: think I remember it because most of my life with him. 253 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 7: He got injured when I was about three, and then 254 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 7: he died when I was twelve, So for those nine 255 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 7: years he was in his wheelchair, and those I have 256 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 7: abundant happy memories, plenty of them. But I it mostly 257 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 7: is him in a wheelchair, so I don't have as 258 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 7: much as Matthew and Al do a pre accident. But 259 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 7: this documentary has been such a gift to me, especially 260 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 7: because I don't have any recollection of of course anything 261 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:21,160 Speaker 7: before I was born. But I heard all the stories 262 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 7: and it felt like I was getting to experience a 263 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 7: lot of what Matthew and Al did experience in real 264 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 7: time and story It was putting images two stories that 265 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 7: I had internalized over the years, which has given me 266 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 7: a fuller and deeper appreciation of our family story overall. 267 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 3: Alex and Matthew, when you so you were eleven and fifteen. 268 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 5: And at the time, how often. 269 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 3: Were you seeing your dad when you were living in 270 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 3: England and your dad was. 271 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:07,600 Speaker 8: In the States. Yeah, so our parents separated as when 272 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 8: I was about two and Matthew was, you know, five 273 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 8: or six, about six years old, and dad moved back 274 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 8: to the States, but our mom kept us in London. 275 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 8: They had met in the UK. They'd met during the 276 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 8: filming of Superman, which not everybody knows was actually filmed 277 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 8: in England at studios just outside of London, and so 278 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 8: the deal was London during the school year and then 279 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 8: back to the States for vacation, so winter break, summer break, 280 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 8: you know, spring break, half terms, the holiday they have 281 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 8: in the UK like around Halloween time, so all of 282 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 8: those we're back in the States. So we did see 283 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 8: him pretty frequently, but when the accident happened, we were 284 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 8: far away, and so that's why, you know, our strongest 285 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 8: memories of that day is the hustle to get on 286 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 8: a plane as fast as we could because we didn't 287 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 8: know if he was going to make it through the day. 288 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:55,880 Speaker 2: Wow gosh, And at eleven and fifteen, I mean, how 289 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 2: does one sort of process that at that age? Do 290 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 2: you a recollection of that feeling of was it real 291 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 2: to you? Was it, oh, this can't happen? You know, 292 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 2: how did you deal with that? 293 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 6: I feel like a lot of it was in slow motion. 294 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 6: I think time stood still, and you know, a week 295 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 6: felt like a month, the day felt like a week, 296 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 6: Every hour felt way longer. 297 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 2: It was. 298 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 6: There was so much uncertainty, I mean in terms of 299 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 6: kind of what was happening. You know, information wasn't as 300 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:31,480 Speaker 6: accessible or as immediate as it is today. You know, 301 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 6: I think we've both of us really got wind of 302 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,600 Speaker 6: the severity from when we were in the airport about 303 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 6: to fly over to the States, it had already made 304 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 6: the papers. So there's a lot of stuff on the 305 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,080 Speaker 6: front pages sort of about the newsstands at the airport, 306 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 6: which seems to know more than we did kind of 307 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 6: at the time, because I think there was just a 308 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 6: sensitivity to making sure that we were told in person, 309 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 6: but also the newspapers. You know, the accuracy is questionable, 310 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 6: but it's it was. There was also, you know, there 311 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 6: were a lot of photographers at the airport, and I 312 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 6: think you just got an overall sense of the severity 313 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,560 Speaker 6: of the situation pretty quickly. And then once we got 314 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:18,160 Speaker 6: over and we made it to what's itt Charlottesville, Virginia, 315 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 6: it was like three flights, I think to get down there, 316 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 6: and yeah, and then it we a family member kind 317 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,679 Speaker 6: of took us for a walk and sort of explained 318 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 6: the situation, what sort of the outcome was, and that 319 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 6: they wanted to do this surgery which was had never 320 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 6: really been done, was extremely risky, and you know, so 321 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,159 Speaker 6: there was a lot happening all at once, and of 322 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:48,360 Speaker 6: course we wanted to keep will but happy and entertained, 323 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 6: and everyone was just kind of focused on, like not 324 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 6: just putting on blinders, but kind of you know, putting 325 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:58,399 Speaker 6: on as as as much of a smile as we 326 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 6: could and pushing forward. So, yeah, it was a lot 327 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:04,120 Speaker 6: happened in the short amount of time. 328 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 5: Will, you were so little, like I couldn't. 329 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 3: I couldn't imagine like being your sibling in a moment 330 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 3: like that and being like, even though you were probably 331 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:19,240 Speaker 3: both of you were dealing with this this tragedy. 332 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,479 Speaker 5: And not not knowing the unknown it was. 333 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 3: It's so foreign to Will because he's so little, he 334 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:28,560 Speaker 3: probably didn't understand, and so to keep that up must 335 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 3: have been also just do. 336 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,840 Speaker 8: You know, yees, our family does not live an unexamined 337 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 8: life like when you have a near death experience like this, 338 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 8: Like you talk about things as a family. And one 339 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 8: of the things that both Dad and Dana said was 340 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 8: at that time, every single person was getting through the 341 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 8: day by being there for the other people, right, it 342 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,159 Speaker 8: was like this house. Of course, the thing that actually 343 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 8: kept us focused and not dwelling on ourselves was playing 344 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 8: with Will and being there for Will. Dana was holding 345 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,199 Speaker 8: up my dad and holding up well actually, and it 346 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 8: was just holding up the entire family. Our dad came 347 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,600 Speaker 8: through because he realized that he still had a partner 348 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 8: who loved him more than anything, and kids who needed 349 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,679 Speaker 8: him to be present and be in their lives. And 350 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 8: so it's this funny thing that I think actually has 351 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,199 Speaker 8: stayed true throughout our lives, which have not been you know, 352 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,120 Speaker 8: all that short on trauma is that I think one 353 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 8: of our survival mechanisms is that you just focus really 354 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 8: hard on showing up for the other people around you, 355 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 8: and in so doing, you kind of get out of 356 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 8: your own head and just focus on being there and 357 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 8: being present for the people around you. 358 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,640 Speaker 7: Yeah, And if I went off from my perspective from 359 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 7: the toddler's point of view at the time, I mean, look, 360 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 7: as Matthew now reference, they were visiting on their vacations 361 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 7: and summer breaks, et cetera, and so it was cruncated 362 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 7: bits of time. But for me, it was like this 363 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 7: avalanche of joy bursting through the door every time they 364 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 7: came to visit. When I was a little kid, it 365 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 7: was I got so excited for I think weirdly now, 366 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 7: I'm very into like tracking flights because I travel a 367 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 7: lot for my job as of correspond for ABC News, 368 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 7: so I'm always on all the apps like knowing what's 369 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 7: going where. I think I got it from then, because 370 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 7: I would know when they were supposed to land and 371 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 7: how far we lived from JFK or Newark Airport and okay, right, 372 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,679 Speaker 7: if flight aware had existed in nineteen ninety four, I 373 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 7: would have been on it because I knew that my 374 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:29,160 Speaker 7: two favorite people were coming to visit. And I give 375 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 7: so much credit to Matthew now because they were teenager, preteen, 376 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,439 Speaker 7: and et cetera. That's not exactly the prime age that 377 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 7: you want to spend your limited free time hanging out 378 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:48,400 Speaker 7: with a three year old. But I never experienced it 379 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 7: that way. I felt like I was the center of 380 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,199 Speaker 7: their world whenever they were around, and I was the 381 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 7: center of my parents' world. And that feeling of support 382 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 7: and love and attention has been a constant in my 383 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,399 Speaker 7: life with my siblings that I just I always feel 384 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 7: so loved and supported and held up and great. It 385 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 7: feels so great. You guys should try it sometimes, it. 386 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 2: Mus be nice. There's still time, the time, still time 387 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 2: when your dad could finally communicate. Was there that thing 388 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 2: that he had said, or you know, hey, this is 389 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,240 Speaker 2: this is the new normal, you know, or any words 390 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 2: of sort of wisdom or comfortable, you know. 391 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,439 Speaker 9: One of the things that so I think like the 392 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:49,439 Speaker 9: reflection and the intentionality came later, but actually some of 393 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 9: the early days in the hospital was just realizing that 394 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 9: like those elements of normalcy and parent child dynamics. 395 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 8: Survive even though your circumstances have changed in such an 396 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 8: overwhelming way. I remember Dana being really amazing and that 397 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 8: first day we arrived at the hospital, which Matthew was 398 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,399 Speaker 8: describing her being so clear of saying, you're going to 399 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:10,919 Speaker 8: walk into this room and his bed is going to 400 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 8: be moving from side to side because they're trying to 401 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 8: keep fluid off his lungs. They are going to be 402 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 8: scary machines that are beeping. He may be awake, he 403 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 8: may be asleep, but that is still him, and that 404 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 8: is still his hand. You go in and you hold 405 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 8: his hand, and having that type of like clarity to 406 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:26,920 Speaker 8: a teenager or a kid and saying like that's still 407 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 8: your person, like go find your person. Was amazing. When 408 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:33,119 Speaker 8: Dad came too. I mean, I remember one of my 409 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,680 Speaker 8: early conversations Matthew, you were about to be the subject 410 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 8: of this story. Fair warning. He couldn't he couldn't verbalize 411 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 8: words yet, So when you've had that level of an accident, 412 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 8: Dad was on a respirator to breathe, and he hadn't 413 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 8: yet learned to trap the air so that his voice 414 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 8: would come out, So we had to mouth words. 415 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 6: Which was hard. 416 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 8: And I remember we were having you know, I was 417 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:54,919 Speaker 8: kind of talking about my day and kind of just 418 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 8: trying to distract him and him mouthing a question and 419 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 8: just not being able to understand. And when you're having 420 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:02,679 Speaker 8: a hard time, you pull out a letter board and 421 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 8: you kind of go letter by letter and the person 422 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 8: blinks when you've landed on the right one, and we 423 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 8: start to spell this out, and we're going, I'm like, okay, gee, 424 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 8: I r L And I pretty quickly figure out the 425 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 8: guy's trying to figure out if Matthew has a girlfriend. 426 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,400 Speaker 8: For the Simpling gossip, the man is in the intensive 427 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 8: car unit. His head has just been attached to his body, 428 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 8: I mean, you know, has been on death's door, and 429 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 8: he's like, clearly, I'm going to talk to my kid 430 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:32,679 Speaker 8: to get some gossip on the other kid. And so 431 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 8: it's pretty quickly to get those moments of normalcy, and 432 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,399 Speaker 8: that's like, that's strength, that's such a gift. 433 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 2: Oh I love that. I mean, it's just such a 434 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:50,879 Speaker 2: it's that's gotta that's gotta be so comforting that you 435 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 2: see this man who is everything in mobile and now 436 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,800 Speaker 2: he is what he is, but that comes out of him, 437 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,199 Speaker 2: meaning like, oh wait a minute, this is the same 438 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 2: fucking dude. It's the same dude. You know, there's got 439 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:08,399 Speaker 2: to be something that is. 440 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 5: What hit me while you were talking was was Dana. 441 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,359 Speaker 3: I just sort of was like, Oh, what she You know, 442 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,879 Speaker 3: there's a theme, the hero theme in the documentary. 443 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,920 Speaker 1: But she's she's quite the hero. 444 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 7: I've never met a stronger person, and I think to 445 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 7: your point about normalcy, it's interesting to me now that 446 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,239 Speaker 7: I'm an adult and have more of an understanding of 447 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 7: what emotional and spiritual strength and mental strength actually is. 448 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 7: It struck me that I I didn't realize that she 449 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 7: was being strong for my for my whole childhood much 450 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,639 Speaker 7: It's like I didn't even totally realize my dad was 451 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 7: being strong or choosing to be strong because it felt 452 00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 7: so innate to them. They didn't send me off to 453 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 7: school saying any number of terrible things could befall us 454 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 7: at any moment, but yet we sold heer on good 455 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 7: luck at math. It wasn't that. It was it was, hey, 456 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,280 Speaker 7: did you do your homework? Are your shoes tied? I'll 457 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 7: pick you up at three thirty. You have a played 458 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,960 Speaker 7: eight with so and so, and you know we're having 459 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 7: chicken again for dinner because you're obsessed with chicken. You 460 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:41,680 Speaker 7: annoying kid like. It was just it was their strength 461 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 7: was so innate to who they were. You can't separate 462 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,440 Speaker 7: a before and after moment of them making a conscious 463 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:52,680 Speaker 7: decision do it to find strength, because they already had it. 464 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 7: So they were already heroically strong and in such a way. 465 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,640 Speaker 7: And I think that that made life, certainly for me, 466 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 7: so normal and easy because like much like our dad 467 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,440 Speaker 7: trying to get the dirt on Matthew's potential girlfriend, which 468 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 7: I'm sure he had at least three. 469 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:16,440 Speaker 8: He did, I spilled all the tea exactly, the stories 470 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:16,679 Speaker 8: of the. 471 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,920 Speaker 7: Whole thing exactly, but much much like, much like that 472 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,479 Speaker 7: moment of levity and normalcy, any dad would be asking 473 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 7: about the fifteen year old's love life, no matter their 474 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 7: physical circumstances. For me, in my daily life, it was, 475 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 7: of course, it was obvious that our dad was paralyzed 476 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 7: in a wheelchair and needed twenty four hour care and 477 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 7: was on a ventilator and all those things like that. 478 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,960 Speaker 7: That was just inherent in life, but we didn't dwell 479 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 7: on that. There was a rule at the dinner table. 480 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 7: We had family dinners basically every night, and the rule 481 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 7: of the dinner table was we could talk about anything philosophy, politics, sports, entertainment, 482 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 7: et cetera, but never any medical issues. There was plenty 483 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 7: empty weighing down on my dad and on my mom 484 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 7: in terms of my dad's physical condition and the the 485 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 7: burden of insurance costs and everything that that comes with 486 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 7: this uncertain future. But we left that away from family moments, 487 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,439 Speaker 7: and that felt that that was incredibly helpful. And I 488 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,440 Speaker 7: didn't know anything different, so I didn't know they were 489 00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 7: being strong. I've learned subsequently that that that strength of 490 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 7: that nature is uncommon and perhaps unique. 491 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 2: You know, how much do you think will and strength 492 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 2: contributed to the longevity of his life? You know what 493 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 2: I mean? Like, how much of that was the will 494 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 2: to be a father, the will to continue on, the 495 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 2: will to live because it could be it could it 496 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 2: could be easy. It's almost easier to be like you know, 497 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,359 Speaker 2: what fuck this? You know what I mean, I'm not 498 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 2: going to fight because I can't live like this. 499 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 4: Got to watch the documentary. 500 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 2: I know you're going to learn. 501 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 8: But but but it was a choice. I mean, maybe 502 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,600 Speaker 8: that's the way to put it. Like, it was a 503 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,160 Speaker 8: choice for him to live. 504 00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 2: And he he made he made that choice. And aside 505 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 2: from medicine, aside and all of that, the just the 506 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 2: pure will to continue. 507 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 8: And this is what this again is why Dana is amazing. 508 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,959 Speaker 8: So one of the things that they show they just 509 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 8: we describe in this film, but our dad spoke about 510 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 8: quite a lot after is that he credits her with 511 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 8: saving his life. But the thing that sometimes gets overlooked 512 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 8: in this story is how she opened that conversation with him. 513 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 8: So it's in the very early days, still in the 514 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:59,280 Speaker 8: intensive care units, still completely touch and go, and she says, 515 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 8: I I'm going to do whatever you want to do 516 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 8: because it is your life and you get to live it. 517 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 8: But you're still you and I love you. And what 518 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 8: I love about that is not only was she reminding 519 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 8: him that she was with him through thick and thin, 520 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 8: that she was his life partner, she was going to 521 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 8: be there, but she was making him opt in. She 522 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,520 Speaker 8: was making him choose and saying and she was giving 523 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 8: him the power, and he chose life. And he said, 524 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,920 Speaker 8: you know, from that moment he was in he was 525 00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 8: going to stay our dad. He was going to stay 526 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 8: the provider of the family. He was going to stay 527 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 8: the partner to her. So it was it was a 528 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,720 Speaker 8: discussion between them, and they chose to let that love 529 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 8: continue and that partnership continue. And God, what a gift. 530 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 4: So beautiful, Oh my god, that that. 531 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so well done. 532 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 5: The document is so well done too, because you really do. 533 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 3: I taking sort of the sort of accident and the 534 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 3: projectory of what happened after, it also really delves into 535 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 3: his career and how interesting it was for him to 536 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 3: be this real serious Juilliard actor who loved what he 537 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:13,719 Speaker 3: did as an actor and his desire to be an 538 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:19,240 Speaker 3: artist and take this chance on Superman, something that you know, uh, 539 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,000 Speaker 3: was sort of considered like, you know, possibly the kiss 540 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 3: of death. 541 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:25,840 Speaker 5: Don't do that, you. 542 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 3: Know, you're going to destroy your ability to be an actor, 543 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:33,080 Speaker 3: you know, or and taking us through that journey is 544 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 3: also so fascinating. I think a lot of people will 545 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 3: learn so much about not only him as an artist, 546 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 3: but and and his love for his art, but but 547 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,959 Speaker 3: the industry and how what an interesting story, you know. 548 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 3: I do want to say one thing, you know you're 549 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 3: you will I and again just bringing it back to 550 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 3: sort of the sibling dynamic. 551 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 5: You lost your mom and dad. 552 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,200 Speaker 7: You were fifteen, I was thirteen. I was thirteen when 553 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:06,800 Speaker 7: my mom died. I'm twelve when my dad died. 554 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 3: Okay, so thirteen. So at thirteen years old, you've lost 555 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 3: both of your parents and now I'm I'm curious as 556 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 3: to how the sibling dynamic changed, or if it did 557 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:24,320 Speaker 3: for you guys, if what that connection became after the 558 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 3: death of your mom. 559 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:31,320 Speaker 7: Yeah, I don't know. I I didn't since a change 560 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 7: only because Matthew and Allen I were already so incredibly close, 561 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 7: and we had already dealt with so much throughout our lives. 562 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 7: Our dad was again, my dad was paralyzed when I 563 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,200 Speaker 7: was about three, so we had already been through that. 564 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:53,360 Speaker 7: We'd been living for nearly a decade with that at all, 565 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,080 Speaker 7: everything that comes along with those circumstances, And as Alexandra said, 566 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 7: we don't leave things unsaid. So I knew where I stood, 567 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 7: and I knew how much they loved me and cared 568 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 7: for me and supported me. I think back to all 569 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:11,479 Speaker 7: the times that I went to visit either one of 570 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 7: my siblings at college. Matthew and now both went to 571 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 7: school in the States and relative driving distance both of 572 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 7: them from our home, and so I would like go 573 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 7: up and visit. As a young kid, I remember like 574 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 7: I would spend the occasional Friday night with one of 575 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 7: my siblings at college, and what a sacrifice that is 576 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 7: for them to hang out with your ten year old 577 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:41,560 Speaker 7: brother instead of instead of like going out. But again, 578 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 7: much like my parents' strength didn't feel like strength because 579 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:49,040 Speaker 7: it was so normal and innate, simil like, my siblings 580 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 7: sacrifices for me didn't feel like sacrifices because they prioritized 581 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 7: me and cared for me and verbalized and showed their 582 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 7: love for me at every turn. So that's a long 583 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,160 Speaker 7: wind up to say that after my mom died, or 584 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:08,080 Speaker 7: backing up a second, when my mom got sick, Matthew, 585 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,120 Speaker 7: who had been living in London and New York City 586 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 7: and back and forth, moved home, but that didn't feel 587 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 7: like a big moment because he was already home so much. 588 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 7: And Alexandra, who was graduating college and then going to 589 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,080 Speaker 7: law school in New York was always home. It felt 590 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 7: like they were around a little bit more, but we 591 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 7: were doing all the same stuff that we otherwise would do. 592 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 7: And I think, of course, when things got really bad 593 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,480 Speaker 7: with my mom and then she died, my siblings had 594 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 7: to have the unavoidable hard conversations with me about what 595 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,520 Speaker 7: was happening and what was going to happen next. And 596 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,560 Speaker 7: because my siblings were in their twenties at the time 597 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,200 Speaker 7: and my mom and my dad prior to him passing, 598 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,960 Speaker 7: way wanted them to have a normal trajectory in life 599 00:33:55,960 --> 00:34:02,000 Speaker 7: and not have to take care of a preteen. I 600 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,080 Speaker 7: moved in with very close family friends of ours who 601 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,600 Speaker 7: legally adopted me, And that's like, that's part of our amazing, beautiful, 602 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 7: strange family too. But Matthew and all are part of 603 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:15,160 Speaker 7: that as well. So it's a very long answer to say, 604 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:18,479 Speaker 7: like nothing really changed because things were already so tight 605 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:23,080 Speaker 7: and good. If anything, we just dared more of ourselves 606 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 7: with each other because we had to. 607 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,880 Speaker 3: It feels like, what about for you guys, Matthew and Alex, 608 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:32,359 Speaker 3: how did you feel about Will Did you feel a draw? 609 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,760 Speaker 3: I mean, you are in your twenties, you are starting 610 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 3: your life. But did you feel that this was just 611 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:43,000 Speaker 3: like became your priority was to be there for well. 612 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:43,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was. 613 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 6: It just a bat track for the record, it was 614 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,080 Speaker 6: no sacrifices were made. When Will came to visit, I 615 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,600 Speaker 6: always felt back that our sports teams were so rubbish 616 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 6: and we'll I love. 617 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:56,080 Speaker 7: What you gave. Dude, you had to have been skipping 618 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,480 Speaker 7: a party or were you not getting invited to parties. 619 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,160 Speaker 6: Or remember no, I you know, I think we both 620 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:07,799 Speaker 6: just like I wanted to be there from as much 621 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,640 Speaker 6: as we could. I mean we ye, So you know, 622 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 6: it's that exacly per sense as we saw and as 623 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,880 Speaker 6: as Dana certainly did by example, and other family members 624 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:20,600 Speaker 6: and friends and everyone sort of lent in and and 625 00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:23,879 Speaker 6: helped each other and and and and you know, helped 626 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 6: stand everyone up. At the time of the accident, we 627 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:32,840 Speaker 6: had this kind of uh example to follow that you know, 628 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:35,320 Speaker 6: we could emulate. I mean, there was no thought given 629 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,680 Speaker 6: to it. It was just the natural instinct I think 630 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 6: for both of us. So and you know, also, yeah, 631 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:45,840 Speaker 6: we were doing we got to do all the stuff 632 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 6: we were sort of already doing. Whether that was I 633 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:52,160 Speaker 6: don't know, helping to take all to hockey practice or 634 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,919 Speaker 6: to hockey games, or just I don't know, play video 635 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:56,880 Speaker 6: games or drop them off at a friend's house or 636 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,439 Speaker 6: go into the city and see a movie or something 637 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:02,520 Speaker 6: like that. So it was a lot more just doing 638 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:05,359 Speaker 6: what we could to help the continuation of normalcy, which 639 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 6: has always sort of been an underlying as a theme 640 00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:12,920 Speaker 6: and strategy to sort of how everything that our parents 641 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:15,359 Speaker 6: ever tried to do for us, whether when when we 642 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:19,120 Speaker 6: were younger and Alexander Andy's parents were separating, or at 643 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 6: the time of the accident, it was about maintaining normalcy 644 00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:25,239 Speaker 6: as much as possible and throughout my dad's time as 645 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:27,719 Speaker 6: in you know, in the wheelchair. One of the other 646 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,799 Speaker 6: things they also did was they always spend it help 647 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:34,360 Speaker 6: wanted us and did this really well sort of including 648 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:38,200 Speaker 6: us in helping out with him, whether it was like 649 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:41,919 Speaker 6: if he had a ventilator pop off, like we could 650 00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 6: reconnect it, if it was like helping get a machine 651 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 6: or call for the nerd, and like it was kind 652 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:50,480 Speaker 6: of like we're always included in a long and you know, 653 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,319 Speaker 6: it was just making it normal, which was I think 654 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,560 Speaker 6: very smart and wonderful and well used to just climb 655 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,560 Speaker 6: up on his chair like at like lightning speed and 656 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,279 Speaker 6: like the say in his lap from like you know, 657 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:03,840 Speaker 6: super young age, and you can see the nurse be 658 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:05,400 Speaker 6: like watch that. 659 00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:09,279 Speaker 7: Yeah, but that was like that was I was like 660 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 7: almost instructed by my mom, my dad, my siblings, like 661 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:17,439 Speaker 7: treat your dad normally end up to me, that meant 662 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:20,000 Speaker 7: or gonna buy them on you like a jungle him. 663 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 2: Yeah. Ah, you're thirteen, you lost both, right, Yeah, you 664 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:40,200 Speaker 2: know when you're looking at that on paper, you are thirteen. 665 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:44,200 Speaker 2: You're starting to go through puberty. It's such a a 666 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:46,000 Speaker 2: big moment in a. 667 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:48,560 Speaker 7: Boys child under the best of circumstances. 668 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:52,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right. Yeah, And and you know, obviously you're 669 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:55,400 Speaker 2: extremely well adjusted, and you've got siblings and you've had 670 00:37:55,400 --> 00:38:01,160 Speaker 2: an amazing support system. But from a psychological standpoint, I mean, 671 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,000 Speaker 2: did it mess you up in any way, you know, 672 00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:10,000 Speaker 2: just from an you know, an unconscious you know situation 673 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:14,120 Speaker 2: that now has presented itself in relationships or career or 674 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 2: you know what I mean. Or did you just communicate 675 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:20,640 Speaker 2: through it and talk through it so well and have 676 00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:24,160 Speaker 2: so much support that didn't really fuck you up? 677 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:30,440 Speaker 7: It's thankfully, it's more of the latter, and I certainly 678 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:33,160 Speaker 7: there is a scenario in which someone could endure the 679 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:35,719 Speaker 7: things that have happened to me in my life and 680 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:40,560 Speaker 7: go off on a dark, bad path. And for me, 681 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:43,960 Speaker 7: that never even felt like an option or a compulsion. 682 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:50,279 Speaker 7: And I attribute that to a few factors, one being 683 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,839 Speaker 7: the support system you mentioned, which was Matthew and Alexandra, 684 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:59,280 Speaker 7: my adoptive family, my biological family or scattered around the country, 685 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:03,520 Speaker 7: my teachers, my friends, their parents, coaches, that my whole 686 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:08,080 Speaker 7: community around me kind of zoomed in on me to 687 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,279 Speaker 7: make sure that I was okay. And also the way 688 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:16,880 Speaker 7: that I was raised both nature and nurture from my parents. 689 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:20,800 Speaker 7: The values that were instilled in me and I hope 690 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:25,319 Speaker 7: are inherent in me of trying to do the right thing, 691 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:29,400 Speaker 7: of realizing your own humanity and trying to overcome that 692 00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:32,239 Speaker 7: when it leads you down the wrong path. And I 693 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:37,000 Speaker 7: am incredibly human with more flaws than we have time 694 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:39,719 Speaker 7: to dissect. I'm happy to do a second podcast on 695 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:45,920 Speaker 7: all and all that. But you know where I have 696 00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:48,200 Speaker 7: and where I have gotten into it is in therapy, 697 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:52,400 Speaker 7: and that started once my mom got sick. She insisted 698 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:55,960 Speaker 7: she never made me do anything ever, because both of 699 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 7: my parents believed in me and all of us having 700 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:01,640 Speaker 7: our own agency and following our passions and doing what 701 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,239 Speaker 7: filled us up. But when my mom got sick, she said, 702 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:06,200 Speaker 7: you're going to therapy. And I was like, but none 703 00:40:06,239 --> 00:40:08,520 Speaker 7: of my friends are going to therapy. Everyone's playing sports 704 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,320 Speaker 7: and hanging out and discovering girls and all that stuff. 705 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 7: She's like, well, you can do that too, but you're 706 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,239 Speaker 7: also going to go see this guy once a week 707 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,799 Speaker 7: because you just have to. And first I started going 708 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:22,399 Speaker 7: with her. It was like family therapy, the two of us. 709 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:27,160 Speaker 7: And then after she passed away, I continued going, so 710 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,480 Speaker 7: there's some continuity there with the same person. I went 711 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,560 Speaker 7: and saw him all the way through until I left 712 00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:34,200 Speaker 7: for college, and he said to me, the last time 713 00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:36,280 Speaker 7: I saw him was the day before I went to college. 714 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:38,839 Speaker 7: So I'm eighteen at this point, and he goes, all right, man, 715 00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 7: like you seem to be doing reasonably fine. You're no 716 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:46,480 Speaker 7: more messed up than any other high school kid. So like, 717 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:49,360 Speaker 7: you seem pretty good. Go to college and just be 718 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,320 Speaker 7: a college student, because that's more beneficial to your development 719 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:55,279 Speaker 7: than anything else. So then I went to college, and 720 00:40:55,360 --> 00:41:00,000 Speaker 7: I was entirely focused on academics. Now, I was entirely voked, 721 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:04,120 Speaker 7: was done. I was entirely focused on being a college 722 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:07,200 Speaker 7: kid and all that entailed. And then I graduated school 723 00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:09,759 Speaker 7: and I got this awesome job in the field that 724 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,360 Speaker 7: I wanted to pursue in broadcast TV at ESPN. So 725 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:14,160 Speaker 7: I was living my dream living in New York City, 726 00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:16,600 Speaker 7: being a young twenty whatever year old, running around with 727 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:20,680 Speaker 7: my friends doing the dumb things that young twenty whatevers do, 728 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:23,600 Speaker 7: no matter if their parents are around or not. And 729 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:27,479 Speaker 7: it was just sort of a long run on where 730 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:33,080 Speaker 7: I don't think that I was totally addressing every issue 731 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:36,600 Speaker 7: that I that I had had. I don't think that 732 00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:40,279 Speaker 7: I was totally I don't think I was introspective enough. 733 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:42,520 Speaker 7: I don't think that I was. I think that I 734 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:44,440 Speaker 7: was checking boxes like, oh, I go to therapy, so 735 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:47,440 Speaker 7: I'm fine and nothing's wrong. And it wasn't like I 736 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:50,000 Speaker 7: was bottling things up. It wasn't like I was ignoring things. 737 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,520 Speaker 7: I just felt like I had a handle on it, 738 00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 7: and there was never a scenario that, like everything went awry. 739 00:41:56,200 --> 00:42:00,720 Speaker 7: I don't. It's I am a well adjusted person because 740 00:42:00,800 --> 00:42:03,480 Speaker 7: I build the guardrails around my life and I've made 741 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,120 Speaker 7: a million mistakes and we'll make a million more, but 742 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:10,920 Speaker 7: I'm self aware enough to know what I'm doing ish 743 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:16,799 Speaker 7: and to finish my long ramble here. COVID was a 744 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:19,640 Speaker 7: good COVID was a good moment for me in this 745 00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:25,040 Speaker 7: journey to recognize my grief and whatever psychological issues that 746 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:28,200 Speaker 7: that brought on, because it forced everyone to slow down, 747 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:32,759 Speaker 7: and I started meeting with a grief counselor who's specifically 748 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:37,480 Speaker 7: an expert in grief, and in COVID, I had nothing 749 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:39,040 Speaker 7: to do. We would talk like twice a week at 750 00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:43,239 Speaker 7: least over zoom and that was the first time that 751 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:47,560 Speaker 7: I had completely stopped and addressed the wounds that I 752 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:51,720 Speaker 7: needed to heal. And that has been hugely helpful because 753 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,359 Speaker 7: now I feel like I have a whole new toolbox 754 00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:59,360 Speaker 7: that I didn't even know was available to me and 755 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:03,280 Speaker 7: has helped me as I've matured into now a thirty 756 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:07,760 Speaker 7: two year old like just continuing on with my adult 757 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:11,799 Speaker 7: life where I'm completely responsible for everything that I do 758 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:15,319 Speaker 7: and I can't blame it on my dead parents, not 759 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,440 Speaker 7: that I ever have, but I have to have agency here. 760 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:22,120 Speaker 7: That's been really helpful. So the TLDR that amazing and 761 00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:22,520 Speaker 7: a lot. 762 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:23,120 Speaker 2: Of great people. 763 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,280 Speaker 7: I made plenty of mistakes, but I'm doing okay. 764 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:31,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's also amazing that you were thirty. You're thirty, 765 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 2: twenty nine, thirty years old when you, you know, decided to 766 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:40,160 Speaker 2: seek out a grief counselor to deal with unresolved right. 767 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,200 Speaker 7: I thought, I thought, I thought I had. 768 00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:43,760 Speaker 2: That many years after. 769 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:46,920 Speaker 7: Well that's something I've learned that great grief is permanent, 770 00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:51,680 Speaker 7: which we all know. But they say that the what's 771 00:43:51,719 --> 00:43:53,759 Speaker 7: it like, the best day to plant a tree was 772 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:57,719 Speaker 7: twenty years ago, the second best day is today. Same 773 00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:01,960 Speaker 7: thing like grief is. It's a lifelong journey toward healing. 774 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:07,000 Speaker 7: So I got started and I addressed plenty of my 775 00:44:07,080 --> 00:44:10,880 Speaker 7: wounds and will continue to do. So it's you're going 776 00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:11,960 Speaker 7: to be a lifelong process. 777 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:18,400 Speaker 5: Do you all have children? I don't have kids. 778 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:23,880 Speaker 3: You know, does I like, do you find that any 779 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:27,000 Speaker 3: thing comes out differently when you had your kids, Like 780 00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:30,759 Speaker 3: any anxieties or anything that you sort of didn't realize 781 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:32,719 Speaker 3: you carried until you had kids. 782 00:44:32,719 --> 00:44:32,920 Speaker 7: I know. 783 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:36,680 Speaker 3: I mean I always feel like my a whole new life. 784 00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:40,000 Speaker 3: Well I was, I was young, but like it's like 785 00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:43,080 Speaker 3: every time if someone has a kid, it's like a 786 00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:44,040 Speaker 3: whole new life. 787 00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:44,480 Speaker 2: You know. 788 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,799 Speaker 3: It's like, oh, you discover things about yourself you didn't 789 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:50,960 Speaker 3: even realize because you're it's a constant reflection. 790 00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:52,919 Speaker 8: Yeah, And that's like tally, it's like your heart walking 791 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:55,520 Speaker 8: around outside your body. Right, So like you naturally like 792 00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:56,560 Speaker 8: want to protect them. 793 00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:57,279 Speaker 2: I don't. 794 00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:00,680 Speaker 8: Sometimes people say, like, are you like ex protective of 795 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:02,920 Speaker 8: your kids because of what happened to your dad? And 796 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,240 Speaker 8: I don't think so. I mean, we were deeply involved 797 00:45:05,239 --> 00:45:07,920 Speaker 8: still with the spinal cord injuring the paralysis community, So 798 00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:10,720 Speaker 8: like we have awareness about not diving into the shallow 799 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,000 Speaker 8: ends of pools and being careful on trampoline, so we 800 00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,080 Speaker 8: can give a lecture if anyone wants at the PSA 801 00:45:15,160 --> 00:45:17,520 Speaker 8: on that piece of it. But I think the real 802 00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:19,640 Speaker 8: way that I've been shaped is again, it's like that 803 00:45:19,719 --> 00:45:21,839 Speaker 8: munch of it. You don't leave things unseat. Like we 804 00:45:21,880 --> 00:45:24,080 Speaker 8: talk a lot about our feelings with our kids and 805 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:27,640 Speaker 8: just have so much gratitude for like the small moments 806 00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,000 Speaker 8: in life. And then the thing that I think I've 807 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:33,440 Speaker 8: learned the most from Dana, although others in our lives 808 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:36,160 Speaker 8: excel at this as well, is that woman she just 809 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:39,680 Speaker 8: could just create magic in any circumstance. She could create 810 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:42,000 Speaker 8: a birthday party in the intensive care unit, like when 811 00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:45,440 Speaker 8: Well turned three. She could turn waiting in the grocery 812 00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:47,719 Speaker 8: store checkout line into a moment where she's telling you 813 00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:49,399 Speaker 8: a story and kind of, you know, helping you pass 814 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:51,919 Speaker 8: the time in an exciting way. And like finding those 815 00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,200 Speaker 8: moments of magic with your kid that you don't have 816 00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:56,600 Speaker 8: to be in some fancy location. It's not about what 817 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:59,720 Speaker 8: the latest toy is. It's finding those moments to connect 818 00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:03,960 Speaker 8: and create that special bond together. Like that is such 819 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:06,560 Speaker 8: like that is such an amazing parenting hack. And it's 820 00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:08,640 Speaker 8: one that I try and coffee as best I can. 821 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:11,960 Speaker 2: And do it early because when they're seventeen, I'm like, 822 00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:13,160 Speaker 2: let's create a moment. 823 00:46:17,080 --> 00:46:17,560 Speaker 6: Still care. 824 00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:21,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a sweet spot for that because I still 825 00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:23,839 Speaker 2: try to do it. I'm like, his name's Wilder. I'm like, well, 826 00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:26,400 Speaker 2: they're come hang out for a second. Let's have a 827 00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:29,560 Speaker 2: dad the sun moment. He's like dead, Like, get out 828 00:46:29,600 --> 00:46:30,080 Speaker 2: of my room. 829 00:46:30,719 --> 00:46:33,680 Speaker 7: That's normal too, man, you need like that. I like 830 00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:37,680 Speaker 7: I had that. We're talking all this lofty stuff about 831 00:46:37,719 --> 00:46:40,759 Speaker 7: appreciation and leaving things and not leaving things unset and 832 00:46:40,760 --> 00:46:45,440 Speaker 7: all that, but like we were allowed to be normal angsty. 833 00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:47,840 Speaker 2: Kids, right, Like, yeah, plenty of that. 834 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:51,719 Speaker 7: Like my dad was a neat freak and I now 835 00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:54,239 Speaker 7: kind of him, but then I wasn't. And he'd be like, 836 00:46:54,320 --> 00:46:55,600 Speaker 7: you have to go clean your room, And I would 837 00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:57,759 Speaker 7: go take a polaroid camera and take pictures of my 838 00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:00,439 Speaker 7: room upstairs and then bring it down to him because 839 00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:03,080 Speaker 7: he couldn't go upstairs and show him. And I hated that. 840 00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:07,440 Speaker 7: I hated it was It was absolute bullshit that I 841 00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:10,200 Speaker 7: had to do that, and I told him as much. 842 00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:13,480 Speaker 7: But just because we were we had this new found, 843 00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:18,120 Speaker 7: enlightened appreciation for the fragility of life. Doesn't mean that 844 00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:20,640 Speaker 7: it didn't suck to have to clean your room. 845 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:22,759 Speaker 2: Did he have a great sense of humor? It sounds 846 00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:25,960 Speaker 2: like he had a really good sense of humor. Yeah, yeah, 847 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:28,799 Speaker 2: would he be self would he be would he be 848 00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:31,799 Speaker 2: self deprecating? Given his situation? 849 00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:33,800 Speaker 8: Comfortable? 850 00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:34,040 Speaker 7: Right? 851 00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:37,200 Speaker 8: Not only are you meeting someone with a physical disability 852 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:39,279 Speaker 8: that might make you uncomfortable because you're not sure how 853 00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:43,160 Speaker 8: to act, but also like at a certain one, there's 854 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,520 Speaker 8: like some stature there. So he knew that people would 855 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:47,759 Speaker 8: be nervous or you know, sometimes blessed them, like people 856 00:47:47,760 --> 00:47:52,000 Speaker 8: would reach out and not realizing that he couldn't shake back. 857 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:56,359 Speaker 8: Super mortifying when that happens, right, and so he was 858 00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:00,200 Speaker 8: always ready with a joke just the situation, like make 859 00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:00,759 Speaker 8: light of it. 860 00:48:00,760 --> 00:48:02,160 Speaker 6: It was a big part of his life. 861 00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:04,920 Speaker 2: I have a very strange question that popped into my mind. 862 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:07,200 Speaker 1: I can't wait to hear what this is, Oliver. 863 00:48:07,960 --> 00:48:09,320 Speaker 2: What happened to the horse? 864 00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:14,120 Speaker 8: What a good question. So Buck went on to live 865 00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:17,919 Speaker 8: a very happy life, was sold and another family got 866 00:48:17,960 --> 00:48:20,520 Speaker 8: to have him. And you know what's interesting is Dad 867 00:48:20,719 --> 00:48:24,120 Speaker 8: never blamed the horse. He never warned people away from 868 00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:26,480 Speaker 8: horse riding. I will tell you I actually continue horse 869 00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:27,880 Speaker 8: riding was the thing that I did with him, and 870 00:48:27,920 --> 00:48:30,800 Speaker 8: I kept doing it all through high school and college. 871 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:32,880 Speaker 8: And he would actually come to my competitions and be 872 00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:36,920 Speaker 8: supportive from the sidelines, which is pretty amazing. So for him, 873 00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:39,800 Speaker 8: it was never about blame. It's just, you know, sometimes 874 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:41,359 Speaker 8: you roll the dice and you get a bad hand, 875 00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:43,320 Speaker 8: you know, get a bad role as a result. 876 00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:47,680 Speaker 3: It's very sad, but it's so beautiful and so hopeful, 877 00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:52,520 Speaker 3: and it really does it just does highlight how lovely 878 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:56,919 Speaker 3: all of you are and strong, and it's I think 879 00:48:56,960 --> 00:48:59,439 Speaker 3: it's going to be incredibly inspiring to so many people. 880 00:48:59,680 --> 00:49:02,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, this has been really really cool talking. 881 00:49:02,680 --> 00:49:04,120 Speaker 5: It's nice to see as well. 882 00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:06,120 Speaker 7: If I could, if I could just fan out for 883 00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:09,279 Speaker 7: one second, Kate, I talked about how my brother or 884 00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:11,840 Speaker 7: Matthew talked about how like we did a bunch of 885 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:15,520 Speaker 7: stuff together, video games, et cetera. A lot of that 886 00:49:15,680 --> 00:49:20,279 Speaker 7: was me watching movies that I probably shouldn't have been 887 00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:24,359 Speaker 7: watching at my age. So I am an, I am 888 00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:28,879 Speaker 7: a band aid, I am an almost famous, oh my god. Yeah, 889 00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:33,960 Speaker 7: younger than I should have been. And of course my 890 00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:36,680 Speaker 7: favorite quote from the whole film was I'm on drugs, 891 00:49:36,680 --> 00:49:40,600 Speaker 7: which I didn't even know what that meant. But I 892 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:45,240 Speaker 7: dig yeah, I dig music exactly. So that was a pleasure. Oliver. 893 00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:48,080 Speaker 7: Love you on Nashville as well, Man like you guys 894 00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:48,959 Speaker 7: are you guys are. 895 00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:52,560 Speaker 4: A brother, appreciate thank you, you're the best. 896 00:49:52,719 --> 00:49:55,560 Speaker 2: Well. I appreciate you guys, appreciate your story. I can't 897 00:49:55,600 --> 00:49:56,280 Speaker 2: wait to see. 898 00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:57,480 Speaker 5: Them see you in person. 899 00:49:57,600 --> 00:49:58,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I know. 900 00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:02,120 Speaker 7: Yeah. Likewise, Oh that's the best. 901 00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:02,960 Speaker 2: Ollie. 902 00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:09,400 Speaker 3: I can't even tell you how wonderful and this documentary is. 903 00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:12,040 Speaker 3: And when I say that like Dana. 904 00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:15,319 Speaker 1: You know, we know a lot about Christopher Ruves just 905 00:50:15,320 --> 00:50:15,880 Speaker 1: because he's. 906 00:50:15,800 --> 00:50:18,160 Speaker 3: Superman everything, and we know a lot about Dana back 907 00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:21,160 Speaker 3: in the day. You know, she was quite present and 908 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:25,520 Speaker 3: I remember seeing her things being by a side, But 909 00:50:25,560 --> 00:50:29,120 Speaker 3: when you really see it in this documentary, oh, it 910 00:50:29,360 --> 00:50:33,360 Speaker 3: just it just there's something that makes you just feel 911 00:50:33,440 --> 00:50:37,680 Speaker 3: so connected to her journey in it too, because what 912 00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:38,200 Speaker 3: she was. 913 00:50:38,200 --> 00:50:42,240 Speaker 5: Saying about when she really gave him. 914 00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:45,040 Speaker 4: The choice, Oh my god. 915 00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:48,120 Speaker 3: And then the fact that she had to she went 916 00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:51,279 Speaker 3: all that and then had to like leave her her son. 917 00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:54,680 Speaker 3: I just I can't even It's it's crazy. 918 00:50:55,160 --> 00:51:02,160 Speaker 2: And they the three of them are so articulate and yeah, wonderful, amazing, 919 00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:05,160 Speaker 2: you know, I just I can't wait to see it. 920 00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:08,960 Speaker 3: It says a lot about about about all of them, 921 00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:11,840 Speaker 3: and like how they all came together and how connected 922 00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:12,320 Speaker 3: they were. 923 00:51:12,600 --> 00:51:15,240 Speaker 5: And even gay their their mother. 924 00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:20,600 Speaker 3: Alex, you know that that so connected during the time, 925 00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:21,520 Speaker 3: and you know. 926 00:51:21,680 --> 00:51:24,560 Speaker 1: Just like really beautiful story. 927 00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:31,600 Speaker 2: I'm gonna watch it tonight anyway, I got a pew Okay,