WEBVTT - Michael Reisz 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.200 Hello, Hello, buddy. How are you. I'm good. I'm good. 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.840 How are you guys? Very well, very very well. I'm good. 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:44.760 We're all around the world, aren't we. We are indeed, 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.000 thank you so much for joining us today. My pleasure, 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.199 my pleasure. Where are you guys right now? Or are 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.800 you allowed to tell me secret locations? I'm not in 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:55.000 a secret location. I'm back in England. It's been in 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:58.840 England for um a couple of months. I just finished 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:00.920 a show in New York and hadn't been able to 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:04.080 get back almost throughout the entire pandemic. So I got 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:08.080 back for the first time, like late February. Oh, brilliant, 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:11.520 that's great. What you cat. I'm currently in London, but 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:14.320 just because i'm here, I just finished up a comic 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.959 con and I'm here visiting and fantastic. Yeah, hanging out 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:20.040 for a bit. Well, if you're there for another week, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.039 my fiance will be there at the end of the 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:27.080 week for a job. He's doing so well, Michael, thank 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.240 you so much for joining us today, and returned to 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:33.840 the Shadows. We've been interviewing some really interesting creatives back 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.479 and forth, and obviously we couldn't complete our season one 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.880 section of the show without bringing on the one and 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:44.280 only writer of the Malik episode and one of the 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:48.160 most influential writers in season one. So thank you, thank you, 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.720 and so nice to see you guys again. It's really great. Michael, 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:53.760 tell us a little about who you are, how you 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.919 been involved in shadow Hunters, just for the clamoring fans 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:02.000 out there. Sure, sure, sure, So I'm I was one 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:05.960 of the executive producer's shadow Hunters and uh, you know, 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:09.800 I've been writing for about twenty years now. But I 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.080 started off as a lawyer here in Los Angeles, and 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.400 then one thing led yeah, yeah that was raised to 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.959 be a lawyer, and I love law schools fantastic. Uh. 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.359 One thing led to another uh, and through a longer 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:25.840 story for another time or later in the podcast whatever, 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.280 I ended up quitting law after a few years to 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:33.320 do some recurring parts on Days of Our Lives when 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:36.519 Marlina was possessed by the Devil, and so then after 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:38.760 that it led to an I quit to be an actor. 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:40.880 So I was an actor for about ten years. It 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:43.280 did a lot of theater, uh, and a couple of shows. 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:45.080 I was going to start trek Voyage or stuff like that. 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:48.640 Segued over to a big career in voiceover, which I 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.280 was really grateful for. So I still like on some 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:53.800 animated things that there's some characters that I did that 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.720 I still get requested. So if my production schedule fits it, 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:01.079 I do it. Yeah to that, and three started writing 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:04.840 long story short, my friend ed Dector, who you guys know, 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.960 wrote the pilot and then asked me to come on 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.840 while he was doing the pilot. Uh, and I was 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.240 on it from the inception and in fact I cast 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:21.520 you both. So there you go looking, there we go. 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:24.119 We will talk about it later. So I am doing 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.600 a little digging now. It's so funny when we do 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:30.160 these things. The producers give us these amazing briefs from 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.359 people that I've worked with for four years, and there 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:34.600 are things on it that I'm like, I didn't know that. 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:37.800 That's crazy. That's the real thing. And speaking of so 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.720 you were in you were one of the voice actors 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:42.080 in the Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:46.560 Ring game. I was, yeah, I'm legoless. I didn't tell 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.760 you that a series of games was like me and 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.360 my brother's all time favorite. We played it hours, hours 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.560 and hours and hours and hours. Yeah, that's crazy. So 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.200 that's my like and Soul Caliber as well was my 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:00.760 stepfather's favorite game, so we used to play that together 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.280 all the time too. So this is just like a 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:07.400 crazy I'm like fully starstruck and like anything, the voice 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:09.960 of one of my favorite games. Why, well, thank you 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:14.640 Now animation still is I mean, I absolutely adore it. Um. 0:04:15.040 --> 0:04:16.560 I don't know if you guys know anime a lot. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:20.000 I did a lot of anime stuff and so Digimon 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:25.040 and uh, Naruto, stuff like that, Metropolis things like that. 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:27.799 So it's been great, really really great group of people. 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:33.880 So thanks talented individually. Because if I needed another reason 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.600 to think you're the coolest personal lives, you were. Also 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:40.960 this is like crazy, You're very kind. It was a 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:43.160 while ago, but thank you. That's very nice to you 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.040 to say. Yeah. So then coming back to your journey 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:49.800 as a writer, Um, what what sort of what was 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:54.400 it like transitioning into becoming an actor and then a 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:56.760 writer that You've had so many transitions in your life, 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:00.360 so a lawyer to actor to writer, what how was 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:02.880 that process for you? What you know, reinventing yourself so 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:05.960 many times. It's interesting because as I look back on 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:10.760 and I'm like, what was I thinking, But in the moment, 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:13.680 doors just kind of I mean, you make doors open 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:17.080 for yourself. So I was. You know, it was hard work, 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:21.520 but doors opened up for me at certain points and 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.480 you just have to I had to trust that it 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:26.640 would work out, and I jumped through it. I jumped 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.600 through the door. So when I quit law, I was 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:33.000 offered this recurring thing on Days of Our Lives where 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.120 I couldn't reconcile the two anymore. And I remember going 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:40.960 into my boss's office, my partner's office is saying I'm 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:42.800 giving my notice and he said what law firm are 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:44.360 you going to? And I said Days of our Lives 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.920 and he was like what. Um. So there there was 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:52.200 that love acting love actors. Obviously, I love you guys 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:55.800 seeing it from my end now knowing how hard it 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.680 is and how vulnerable you guys have to make yourselves, 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:01.080 and how open you always have to be, and how 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:03.680 you're always putting yourself on the line through every audition. 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.240 It takes a certain amount of strength. Uh. And that 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.320 was great for me for a while. UH. And but 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.840 an opportunity through Warner Brothers opened up where I got 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:16.160 into the Warner Brothers Drama Writers Workshop because I decided 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:20.640 from my perspective when I was entering a set acting, 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:23.560 I wanted to be involved in the entire creation of 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.480 the world as opposed to, you know, creating my character 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.920 and doing that which you guys do so beautifully. And 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:31.880 so as I was looking around watching every body doing 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:33.800 all their stuff, I was like, I want to do that. 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.480 And so I applied to the Warner Brothers Drama Writers 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:39.200 Workshop and I wrote a couple of back then you 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.320 what they wanted spec scripts. I wrote a couple of them, 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:43.920 and I got in and then they ended up placing 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:46.240 me on a few shows. So my first show was 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:51.000 way back when. Remember seven episodes at last at Tarzan 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:54.200 on the c W. I don't know if you guys, Yeah, 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.200 One Tree Hill and Tarzan premiered at the same time, 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.480 and One Tree Hill lasted a lot longer. Yeah, but 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:04.760 Eric Krikey was a fantastic boss and he went on 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.680 to do amazing things obviously, so you know that was 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.040 that was my first job, my first writing job. Then 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.480 you just keep doing more jobs, and then I was 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:15.240 on Boston Legal for a number of years, which was fantastic, 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.040 and then I wrote some pilots fast forwarding a long 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:22.720 way away. I now jumped back and forth between running 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:26.440 TV shows and and and features. So um the Truth 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:27.960 or Dare I think they're doing it sequel to it. 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:32.160 But I wrote Truth or Dare for Blumhouse and Universal. Yeah, 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:33.920 that that did pretty well. I just turned in a 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:37.840 new horror movie and I've gone doing two pilots now 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:42.720 and two other little movies. So it's just just just 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:45.440 a nice, easy, little world boat. I'm just working on 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.240 eighteen scripts or at the same time, it's it's hard 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.680 to it's I mean, the overall answer to your question 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:54.960 is what what I've discovered is like everybody has a 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.600 unique voice offer no matter what they're doing, no matter 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.520 what they're saying. Actors bring a unique perspective to the room. 0:08:00.600 --> 0:08:04.840 Writer's bring a unique perspective as they and to a 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:08.160 writer's room. Every element of my life from law when 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:09.960 I was a banking and finance attorney so I know 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:13.320 how to budget the shows, to acting so I hopefully 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.720 could communicate well with you guys when you guys needed stuff, 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.360 to writing. It all lends itself to running shows and 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:23.400 so I kind of found my path and I'm really grateful, amazing. 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:27.480 So what is there is there as far as writing goes, 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:31.360 Is there a world in which you feel most comfortable? 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:33.480 Is there is there an element that you feel that 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:35.480 you just mentioned that you're doing a few. You just 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:37.880 you just turned in a horror and you're writing a horror. 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.000 So I'm curious if that's where you feel most at 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:43.800 home or if you would span out and do you 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:45.839 know a rom com at some point like what is 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:49.719 where's your heart at? Well? It's it's funny. Um, it 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:54.839 depends on my mood. So writing horror. Writing horror is 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:57.679 very cathartic. But what I have found is that I 0:08:57.960 --> 0:08:59.800 like doing a lot of different things, and it really 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:03.319 is based ultimately on the character and everything I do, 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.319 I like to add a little Yeah, everything I do, 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:06.760 I like to add a little humor to it. So 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:08.959 even in the scariest things, you need to laugh to 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:14.560 let that release. I like writing really hopefully strong female characters. 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.480 Um is one of the things I really love writing. 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:20.400 So if if ever like my dream show would have 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:22.199 been to right on the west wing, you know, and 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:25.319 to right that would have been brilliant. You know that 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:27.880 that's like my pinnacle of what I like, you know, 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:31.040 of what I strive for. But you know, I'm writing, um, 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:35.480 a rom com now TV movie. Uh, and so it's 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.839 just it's really based on the characters and then who 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:39.800 what world I want to live in for a while. 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.040 But I also really love scaring people, so yeah, yeah, 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:45.640 and that it's arguably one of the hardest things to 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:50.600 to write, I think is horror, as I mean, most 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:54.600 of these genres are fairly saturated, but I think with horror, 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:57.000 the whole the whole thing is like shock and if 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:59.000 you know those shocks are coming, then it's not scared. 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:01.719 It's not or not as scary. It's always scary for me. 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.840 If I know me, it's always scary. Like it doesn't 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:07.000 it doesn't matter what it is. I can barely watch 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:10.760 Scooby Doo. But it's it's not even a joke. It's 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.600 like embarrassing. It's true. We've watched horror movies together. I'm 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:15.520 just as bad. But that I'm excited to see what 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:19.000 you come up with, because yeah, horrors. Horror is tricky, 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.040 and especially for horror fans, they know what's coming for 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:24.280 the most part because they've seen it all. So it's 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:27.480 it takes a really ingenious writer to to overcome that. 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.760 Well the well, thank you for the interesting thing. Um, 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:33.839 you have to care about the characters, like you have 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.160 to care if someone's in danger. If I don't care 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.760 about them, then I'm like, all right, so they die. Um, 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.000 but you know what I mean. It's like, but you automatically, 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:44.240 like I don't know if you guys ever worked with 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.280 Lucy Hale or not. She was on a show I 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.920 did years ago called Privileged, one of her first I 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.439 was a mid level producer and she was brilliant on that, 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:55.520 and then life kind of took us in the same 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:57.880 direction and she ended up starring in Truth or Dare. 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:02.280 But you automatically love Lucy and what she brings to it, 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:05.520 and so if something happens to her and the character 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:09.760 she's building, then you care. The types of horror that 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:15.160 I find really amazing right now, and I'm gonna Aaron Aaron, 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.120 Oh my goodness. He did the Tony Collet horror movie. 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:21.480 Why am I blanking right now? Oh? You know I'm 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:26.000 talking abo, Yes, yeah, yeah, those types of those really 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:28.920 excite me. That's what really scares me. Now, those are 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.720 just genius, like and summer, why is my brain not working? 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:37.720 He did the follow Midsummer with that's it all. Yeah. 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:40.480 I try and study all of his things just to 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.719 see if I can keep learning. So yeah, that that 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.920 that's kind of the horror journey. I suppose it's fun. Yeah, 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:49.800 I think so too. And you know, with circling back 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.800 to shadow Hunter as you were obviously so pivotal in 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.800 that and and responsible for some of the most iconic 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.440 moments in the show. So when you first heard about 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.760 this story and this process these characters, did you do 0:12:02.840 --> 0:12:05.760 any kind of research in particular or or what? What? 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.240 What were you first taken with in this world? It's 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:13.280 interesting I had seen the feature years or I had 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.040 not read the books at that point. When Ed asked 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:18.920 me to join, I read all the books and I 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:21.240 just fell in love with the world. Um, and so 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.679 what I ended up. When you adapt books into a 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.439 TV series, it gives you so many opportunities to expand 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.320 on characters that had a narrow lane in the book 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:37.120 just for space, but wonderful moments were teed off that 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:40.080 you can say, oh, I can follow that, and uh, 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.840 for for me, the Malick romance, I learned all about 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:48.280 shipping through Shadow Hunters, the Malick romance. UM. Obviously spoke 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:51.920 to me deeply. Then. I think even today, I still 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:56.760 get emails from like, the fans are so amazing, and 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.400 I still get emails from some fans who help them 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:02.480 come out to their parents. I get emails from some 0:13:02.679 --> 0:13:05.800 parents who watched the show with their kids and said, 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.719 you help me understand my child more. And that's the 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.559 power of what shadow Hunters did and what TV can do. 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:15.520 And so I took it very very seriously. It was 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:18.840 really important, and I think it came off pretty well. Yeah. 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:22.280 I think a few people liked it, you know, semi popular. 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:25.000 So that's this is an interesting thing I think to 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:27.520 touch on. And again, if any of it's you know 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:29.840 too personally, you don't answer and just say about how 0:13:29.920 --> 0:13:33.319 much of your of like the elements of like yourself 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.320 and your discovery, like how much of that plays into 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:39.079 what you're writing, the characters you develop, where you take them, this, 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:41.840 that and the other. It plays, It plays a huge thing. 0:13:41.880 --> 0:13:43.319 And I'm kind of when it comes to that stuff. 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:45.439 I'm an open book. I mean, I did a whole 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:48.439 it gets better video for free form through shadowing yourself. 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:52.480 I'm out there. So yeah, those stories, I mean, the 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:57.240 best experiences I have in writing is when I can 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:01.719 take the material and also infuse personal experiences that a 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:06.920 hope universal, you know, for for the scripts and just that. 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:13.439 There's moments in the Malik journey um with Visa VI, 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.559 the family relationships, the I came out later in life, 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:20.640 I was engaged to a wonderful woman and then later 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:24.320 now I'm engaged to an amazing guy. Um, you know, 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:28.560 learning about yourself and living authentically and like all those 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:33.840 moments I think really grounded in a personal residence that 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.880 then extends to the audience. If if you believe in 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.160 you're moved by it, then you hopefully will move other people, 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:44.200 uh and speak to them. Yeah, that's lovely man. I. 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.960 We we've spoken about that episode in particular. It's tricky 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.600 because we're doing the rewatch somewhat chronologically, so we get 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:52.960 too elements and we're like, oh, we want to talk 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:54.720 about this. We're like, funk, we can't, yeah, because we've 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:57.520 got we haven't reached the episodes. But we did. We 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:00.120 did just speak about the Malik episode. We record at 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.960 that episode, which is amazing, and what what we talked 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:06.400 about was there are so many elements in it that 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.280 had to come together to make this this like really 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:14.360 beautifully profound peace, from Matt and Harry's acting to the directing, 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:17.000 to like putting together the set design, to the writing, 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.240 and I think because each of those people had a 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:22.880 fairly substantial chunk of their heart in it. Really, it 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:27.280 really was this like amazing, amazing thing to be a 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.880 part of. So, you know, thank you for a little 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:34.200 chunk of your heart and that thank you. I remember 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.680 you guys did a beautiful job in the episode as well. 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:40.080 I mean, you know, just the looks everybody shot each other. 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:46.280 I remember a particular moment where where YouTube connected with 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:50.040 a look as the vows were about to be expressed, 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:53.480 and I think, uh, there was an incredibly powerful moment. 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.360 But I mean even down to like every department did 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:01.240 really beautiful work and we were all, you know, scrambling 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:03.840 that week to make sure we could get everything in there. 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:07.600 I remember running. I was personally running down a road 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:10.520 in the rain, trying to grab it like somebody who 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.160 thought they were like let go for the day, and 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:14.920 then they had to come back and I was just like, no, 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:17.080 we need to shoot you again, you know, And it's 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:21.280 like raining and I'm soaking, and then there's a I 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.040 believe cat you were a beautiful green dress and we 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.840 had to figure out like what jewels were there, and 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:28.720 you know, where it was cut and what we like 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:32.680 even the wardrobe department microphone on oh good lord. Yeah, 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:36.200 and Dom, you're suiting the whole thing everything hair Dom, 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:40.960 the hair, Don's hair. Let's don't even talk about it. 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.600 We literally just spoke to Ran Reid, who is the designer. 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:47.600 We like just finished talking to yeah today and like 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:49.320 that was the whole thing. Because then I think the 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.640 note season one was like we don't want to do 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:54.840 we did the fight scene in the in the pandemonium 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.080 and they like the guys on top one, we don't 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.720 Dom's hair in his face ever, Like what the fund 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:03.000 do you mean we're doing like the martial arts based show. Like, 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.960 so yeah, that was There's a lot of navigating even 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.879 behind the scenes that you guys don't even see, so right, 0:17:10.720 --> 0:17:14.080 lots of lots of meetings before we even start shooting exactly. 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.360 So I will let me ask you if we're going 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:21.000 back to like you know, meetings pre pre the fact um. 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.159 What was casting like, like can I tell us and 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.880 then both Now you're an e P so you're looking 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.200 at like potentially the cellibility of people, you know, some 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:31.720 of the people who are going to be able to 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:33.720 hold these characters for a very long period of time. 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:35.840 And then also as a writer, you've already put your 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:39.000 heart and soul into these characters, you know, developing them 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.560 as they are, so you have sort of you almost 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:45.200 have two voices in that room, right, Yeah, Well, it's certain. 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:47.480 Dominant've spoken a great deal about our perspective on the 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:49.879 casting process, and we've heard from some of the other actors, 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:51.920 but we haven't had a chance yet to hear from 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:55.399 someone on your side of the table. I want to 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:59.000 hear your perspective. Well, I just remember looking to a wall. 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:04.639 I don't know. Yeah, yeah, it's casting a pilot is 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:11.000 a marathon, you know. I actually remember seeing both of 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:15.480 your auditions and it was very nice and he he 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:17.439 sort of put me kind of in charge of casting. 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:20.119 I mean in charge of the wrong word, but because 0:18:20.160 --> 0:18:23.640 it wasn't because I was an actor and then uh 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:26.760 the other executive producer of it. I was in the 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.560 process from the whole time. So Cat, I remember you 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:33.680 read our first week I think, and you were on 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.960 another show where your hair was super blonde as in 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.440 the Fosters. That's right, you're on You're on Peter Show. 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:42.600 And I remember saying to Peter, can we can we 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:44.400 get her out? You know, like we were chatting even 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:47.680 and Peter's an old little friend of mine. But here's 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:49.880 the here's a small little thing, one of the things 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:51.800 that we like. You have to keep looking and keep looking, 0:18:51.840 --> 0:18:53.760 and dumb, I gotta start about you too. Keep looking 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:56.800 and keep looking, keep looking. And it was does she 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.720 have red hair? And like or would she mind dying 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:02.119 her hair red? And that was the stumbling block for 0:19:02.200 --> 0:19:04.920 a moment, and I'm like, of course she will, let's 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:07.280 ask her, let's you know what I mean, And then 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.240 the question and then ultimately it came back at the 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:12.440 very end. We went through like hundreds and hundreds of 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:14.560 people and you were always in there, and then hundreds 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:16.600 and hundreds of people and then no one compared, and 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:19.080 then it was sort of like, wait a minute, why 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:21.119 don't we just ask her? And I think your hair 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:24.600 is naturally red, isn't it like you have your auburn 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:28.680 the red hair and was actually strawberry blonde? Yeah, We're like, 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:31.680 oh so, and I'm color blind, so I can't see red, 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:34.560 but you know what, so so even those little things 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:36.240 like you spoke to us of that and then dumb. 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.280 I remember you came in. I remember sitting in the 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:42.720 room and I'm next to d and when I was 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.240 an act of the worst thing you could hear, I 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:47.760 thought was you walk in, you do one read and 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:49.720 you go, hey, thanks for coming in, and then you 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:53.560 leave and your your soul just spills out of you 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.480 and you're like what just happened? And I remember you 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:59.240 walked in and I was like, oh, that's him. I 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.840 just remember seeing it. And then you read and I 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:06.680 look at Allison and oh, yeah, that's him, and then 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:13.520 ed ed who liked you? He wasn't not sure. It 0:20:13.600 --> 0:20:16.480 was just there's he had to do so many different things, 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:18.920 you know that he was just going to make the 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:22.040 decision later. But you got the hey, thanks for coming 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:24.800 in after one without any adjustments. And I was like, 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:28.160 he's gonna call Rob Marsala and then Rob the new 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:31.359 one and and I'm friends with Rob, and what am 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:34.720 I gonna doo? And I was like, given, like, and 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:37.240 so you left and I saw your face and I 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.239 just wanted to say, don't worry, don't worry and then 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:42.479 at the end we all had a conversation. I think 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:45.760 we played your Taylor Swift video and it's like that's 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:48.080 the guy and so then it kind of it went 0:20:48.119 --> 0:20:51.800 from there. But it's like the soul crushing like thanks 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:54.760 for coming in things. It's so what you guys have 0:20:54.840 --> 0:20:56.879 to go because that man, that's the conversation you have 0:20:57.119 --> 0:20:59.200 off to its like you know, as you say, Rob 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:02.920 Masala is my yeah, my very talented manager, um, And 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:05.040 that's the conversation you call them afterwards and you know, 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:07.479 you decompress and you go, yeah, this is how how 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:10.520 it went whatever. And if you say those words, you know, 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:12.600 to your manager, you go, oh, I got the thanks 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:15.520 for coming in. Both of you collectively go well, we're 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:17.480 not getting this one. Like that's just you know, you 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:20.120 know that that's the response. So that is yeah, you're 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:22.720 absolutely right. You walk out of those rooms like damn it. 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:26.960 But the thing is the I guess the fact toy 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:31.360 to take away is, um, that's not always a bad thing. 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:35.280 Sometimes you'll come into a room and they'll just be 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:38.200 this vibe. You go, oh, yeah, that's the person, and 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:39.959