Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reloaded podcast last week.
Speaker 2: Am I how would I describe a television set oh Man.
Speaker 1: Action from a headline grabbing point of view? The hack
Speaker 1: producer for me says one hundred percent put him in.
Speaker 1: Thanks you, Mark, Welcome back guys to TV Reload. My
Speaker 1: name is Benjamin Norris and on this podcast I go
Speaker 1: behind the scenes with the biggest players in television.
Speaker 3: Yeah, great questions. The show's about the game.
Speaker 4: There's a lot of great television out there in Australia.
Speaker 1: But I've also got to go behind the scenes with writers.
Speaker 1: The truth is, when I started writing it, it wasn't
Speaker 1: had nothing to do with the news and casting agents
Speaker 1: they know from a casting point of view what they need,
Speaker 1: and editors because that's what we do as editors where storytellers.
Speaker 1: Not to forget some incredible executive producers who are making
Speaker 1: some of the best TV in Australia.
Speaker 2: I have been on the program since the beginning and
Speaker 2: it's kind of in my DNA.
Speaker 1: So thanks for joining me each week and I hope
Speaker 1: the podcast continues to give you real insight into the
Speaker 1: magic of television today. On the podcast, I have the
Speaker 1: two leads, both actors are Loadi Jung and Aidan Canto
Speaker 1: from Binga's latest big budget series, The Cleaning Lady. The
Speaker 1: series revolves around a highly intelligent Cambodian doctor living in
Speaker 1: the USA as a cleaner while waiting for medical treatment
Speaker 1: to save her son. The female lead, played by Jung,
Speaker 1: witnesses a brutal murder that places her in a situation
Speaker 1: that is almost unimaginable as an audience, we see her
Speaker 1: negotiating with a high level criminal played by Canto and
Speaker 1: doing all that she can to stay in the USA
Speaker 1: and get the treatment that her son needs to stay alive.
Speaker 1: I have to say that this show is quite compelling
Speaker 1: from episode one, and for people who love suspenseful dramas,
Speaker 1: this offers more than just that. It's a fantastic character
Speaker 1: piece with performances that will keep you watching right to
Speaker 1: the very end. Both the leads flourish and roles that
Speaker 1: will no doubt have them as household names. In years
Speaker 1: to come, we will discuss the need for more compelling
Speaker 1: dramas with a wider variety of international stories and culture,
Speaker 1: and also what it was like to work with Oliver Hudson,
Speaker 1: the son of Goldie Horn and brother of Kate Hudson. However,
Speaker 1: let's get started with today's episode. I'd like to welcome
Speaker 1: a load of young and aidan canto to this week's
Speaker 1: episode of TV Reload.
Speaker 5: It could have been completely a disaster.
Speaker 3: Your son is sick.
Speaker 4: I can to help him.
Speaker 3: Sometimes it was really tough to finish up.
Speaker 5: Why do you want me to work for you?
Speaker 4: Because I like you?
Speaker 5: They added this immigrant element. I was a doctor in
Speaker 5: the Philippines. My son needs the treatment or you want
Speaker 5: me to.
Speaker 3: Me That's very compelling and I want I want to
Speaker 3: see that.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry your visa it's expired. You mean turn to
Speaker 1: work a five year old boy.
Speaker 5: Initially, maybe you know people could have a misconception and
Speaker 5: think his Hollywood royalty.
Speaker 1: Hey guys, how are you good?
Speaker 5: How are you doing?
Speaker 3: Thank you Ben? How you doing?
Speaker 1: I am doing so well. I just can't believe how
Speaker 1: good this show is. I watched four episodes. I binged
Speaker 1: it last night and it's so fantastic. So I just
Speaker 1: want to say congratulations on the cleaning lady. What an
Speaker 1: exciting project to be collaborating for the two of you.
Speaker 1: On Alodie, did the two of you have chemistry straight away.
Speaker 5: Straight away, and it's kind of odd. It just it
Speaker 5: just happened, and you know when it happens, you're you're
Speaker 5: happy on set because it could have been completely a disaster.
Speaker 5: We've both talked about experiences in our careers where it
Speaker 5: didn't go quite that way, and then you can you
Speaker 5: kind of have to manufacture everything and really dig deep
Speaker 5: in your I don't know your imagination. I'm not for sale.
Speaker 5: I did what I did to stay a NiFe, but
Speaker 5: this is not who I am.
Speaker 3: We have a doctor on call, doctor, sir Royan. I'm
Speaker 3: not someone who kept it up.
Speaker 4: Now. You're clearly a woman who's used to commanding respect.
Speaker 4: That's what I'm offering you right now. Like you and
Speaker 4: I are both in the country.
Speaker 3: That's not a wrong.
Speaker 4: When not afforded the same privileges everybody else has when
Speaker 4: it comes to keeping you so in life, it's not
Speaker 4: about doing things the right way or the wrong way,
Speaker 4: but anyway you can.
Speaker 5: With aiden, it was just so easy, an instant, instant,
Speaker 5: like we were just both laughing like kids, right.
Speaker 4: I didn't.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was hard to uh, sometimes it was really
Speaker 3: tough to finish up. The crew hated us do you
Speaker 3: want to Yeah, it was. It was really funny. It
Speaker 3: was funny because sometimes it would happen. And and then
Speaker 3: also when we got in there, we got in there,
Speaker 3: and that was awesome. You know. It's you don't experience
Speaker 3: it that much where uh, you know where I don't
Speaker 3: have to do, you know, at work of the imagination
Speaker 3: because she's in front of me, and she's living and
Speaker 3: breathing it, and and I don't need more than what
Speaker 3: she's giving me to buy into the situation and uh
Speaker 3: and and further take myself into it and be there
Speaker 3: with her. You know, it's I really appreciate with that.
Speaker 1: Aiden, How would you describe the premise of this show
Speaker 1: when friends have asked you, you know what you're working on?
Speaker 1: How what's the best way to describe the themes of
Speaker 1: this show?
Speaker 3: I think the most elemental, I guess conflict of the
Speaker 3: show is a desperate mother that has to overstay her
Speaker 3: visa in the United States, is doing whatever she can,
Speaker 3: anything that she can to save her son's life, and
Speaker 3: ends up involved in the criminal underground world in Las Vegas.
Speaker 5: I don't need that kind of help.
Speaker 4: Let me call me now, you think you're so smart?
Speaker 4: One phone call.
Speaker 3: We won't make that.
Speaker 5: Call because hiring us is it e goal, and turning
Speaker 5: us in only hurt yourself.
Speaker 3: Hey, you think you're talking to me, I said of
Speaker 3: me to me, that's very compelling, and I want to
Speaker 3: see that. That's what I was excited about when they
Speaker 3: pitched the show to me. It was it's just such
Speaker 3: a different kind of of reality, just thrown into this
Speaker 3: underground world in Vegas.
Speaker 1: It's crazy, well, Althodi. The series is based on an
Speaker 1: Argentinian TV series which ran in twenty seventeen. Did you
Speaker 1: watch that version before making this?
Speaker 5: No, and I will. I haven't watched it yet, but
Speaker 5: it's just it's a it's a choice because I don't
Speaker 5: want to compare while i'm working to you know, I
Speaker 5: don't want to have a reference that's so vivid in
Speaker 5: my mind that I'm going to automatically compare myself. I
Speaker 5: just wanted to come fresh, new and be in the moment,
Speaker 5: be present, and then just bring my own truth to it.
Speaker 5: So I haven't watched it yet, but I'm really curious
Speaker 5: to see it. I know there's a Mexican version as well,
Speaker 5: so it'd be great. Now that we've accomplished one season
Speaker 5: to see you know what there were doing with their world.
Speaker 5: I know that from talking with Miranda and Melissa, they
Speaker 5: added this immigrant element and the fact that Miranda wanted
Speaker 5: to have a Southeast Asian woman you know, represented also
Speaker 5: on screen.
Speaker 2: What if it was your son, I'm sorry, but anyone
Speaker 2: who can't comply with all protocols is ineligible.
Speaker 5: Well, if you read again that paper work, you'll see
Speaker 5: that I'm a doctor and one of the busiest medical
Speaker 5: centers in Maneupa.
Speaker 1: Of course we'll compete.
Speaker 3: You're in illegal.
Speaker 2: We can't risk your son being deported before the fifty
Speaker 2: two week trial period is over.
Speaker 3: Now, if you'll.
Speaker 2: Excuse me, Institute of Simpson Medicine talking about this storyline
Speaker 2: is new, but yeah, I will watch it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I will watch to compem now that we've done it.
Speaker 1: Iiden. Do you think that with streaming platforms now that
Speaker 1: we're allowed to tell more niche stories?
Speaker 5: You know?
Speaker 3: I think it's an interesting way that you put the
Speaker 3: question out that we're allowed to I think that there
Speaker 3: was a maybe, uh something that wasn't discovered yet, and
Speaker 3: this is a really cool thing that that streaming is doing.
Speaker 3: From for example, what you do you have a podcasts right,
Speaker 3: and podcast world is exploding because the long form, you know,
Speaker 3: interviews are gold. You know, It's it's hard to lie
Speaker 3: if I'm sitting with you in the mic in front
Speaker 3: of me talking for an hour. You know, I can try,
Speaker 3: but people are gonna smell it. And eventually I think
Speaker 3: it's it's the market is a lot more truthful, right,
Speaker 3: you can. You can put out different kinds of stories
Speaker 3: out there and and get a true response from the
Speaker 3: market now with streaming, and I think that's what's going
Speaker 3: on right now, right because I don't know about you know,
Speaker 3: the rest of the world, but certainly I have an
Speaker 3: interest to, you know, to explore worlds and realities. I
Speaker 3: haven't experienced person you know, I've never been to Cambo
Speaker 3: with Yeah, I've never been to the Philippines, and I've
Speaker 3: never been to many many parts of the world. But
Speaker 3: when you throw it all in this environment, in this
Speaker 3: kind of ecosystem, and that's one of the beautiful things
Speaker 3: as an actor. You get to do a lot of
Speaker 3: research on things otherwise you wouldn't have had to, and
Speaker 3: it expands your knowledge of the world and history and
Speaker 3: all this. And anyway, I'm sorry, I'm rambling. But you know,
Speaker 3: to your point, I don't know about you know aloud.
Speaker 3: I just think it's great that we have this new
Speaker 3: reality that's expanding right now with you know, a market
Speaker 3: that's that's very accurate and responsive to what you put out.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, I think at the same time, when you
Speaker 1: tell people about the premise of this, it does seem
Speaker 1: a little out of the box, like something we haven't
Speaker 1: seen before. And some of these characters as well, with
Speaker 1: their culture and their heritage, that's opening the audience's minds.
Speaker 1: That's kind of what I meant. It's great to see
Speaker 1: different stories being told about different paper from different parts
Speaker 1: of the world, and in such an amazing way. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is such a big budget action suspense thriller, Like,
Speaker 1: it's just so amazing. One of the questions I wanted
Speaker 1: to ask you both though, is you know, starring alongside
Speaker 1: Oliver Hudson, you know, who is the son of Goldie
Speaker 1: Horn and brother of Kate Hudson. Did you get a
Speaker 1: chance to ask him about what it's like to be
Speaker 1: part of such a successful acting family.
Speaker 5: You know, I think Oliver is such you don't even
Speaker 5: have to ask him about anything. Oliver doesn't have any filters,
Speaker 5: and he would just like tell who we would tell
Speaker 5: you everything about anything. So you went to Sammy'spirthday party
Speaker 5: after all solid advice.
Speaker 3: You're a very wise woman, which is why I'm surprised
Speaker 3: that you're still playing games with me. We both know
Speaker 3: that you're not telling me everything. Tell me.
Speaker 5: But what I did appreciate about Oliver is that initially,
Speaker 5: maybe you know, people could have a misconception and think
Speaker 5: his Hollywood royalty. But let me tell you that this man,
Speaker 5: this actor, is the most humble I've ever met in
Speaker 5: terms of he is so given and present when we're
Speaker 5: in scenes. He doesn't have any ego, and he doesn't
Speaker 5: think of himself of belonging to some you know, something
Speaker 5: that is sperior to anything anybody else. So I really
Speaker 5: appreciated that. And I know that they have such a
Speaker 5: strong bond. You know, him and his mother and everyone
Speaker 5: in his family. They're very tight. I know that his
Speaker 5: mom wanted to come, but I think because of COVID
Speaker 5: it was not possible. So but they are very supportive,
Speaker 5: I know from each other from what he is.
Speaker 1: What a distraction though you know you don't tell mom
Speaker 1: to come to the set when you're set up.
Speaker 5: Can you imagine like my mom would have come and
Speaker 5: set and nobody would have would not have been a
Speaker 5: distraction at all. But yeah, in another story.
Speaker 1: Aiden, I watched the first few episodes last night, as
Speaker 1: I said a little bit earlier, and I'm just so hooked.
Speaker 1: You know, what were your reactions to reading the source material,
Speaker 1: reading the scripts? Did you immediately think that this would
Speaker 1: just be a lot of fun to make?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's Uh. I was excited to go
Speaker 3: in there and and uh and find the substance behind
Speaker 3: the situations that he was going through. And because there
Speaker 3: there is there is a lot of substance. You know.
Speaker 3: Sometimes we'd shoot three page scenes, four page scenes and
Speaker 3: and uh, we'd really go there. There's a few that
Speaker 3: Eliti and I had in particular where there was just
Speaker 3: so many peaks and valleys, like four scenes in one
Speaker 3: and and that's fantastic, but you know, you really have
Speaker 3: to base it on a solid foundation. And uh, and
Speaker 3: also come on like you have action. You know, you
Speaker 3: you're and beating people up and they make me look
Speaker 3: so strong. It's crazy not strong, I have to say
Speaker 3: that's it is my aim to be strong. But but
Speaker 3: you know, I did get a lot of help and
Speaker 3: and uh, it was a lot of fun to do.
Speaker 3: That's something as you know, as a kid, I've always
Speaker 3: loved that, and I grew up shooting weapons with my father,
Speaker 3: you know, and responsibly, you know, all these knowledge on
Speaker 3: all these things, and it was a really beautiful situation to,
Speaker 3: you know, to be able to do that.
Speaker 1: Watching it with my partner last night, as soon as
Speaker 1: you turned up on the screen, I said to my partner,
Speaker 1: he's a good looking man, isn't he? And then my
Speaker 1: partner said, what about her? She's beautiful, So you know,
Speaker 1: it's a nice compliment for the two of you. But
Speaker 1: my last question that I have to ask you before
Speaker 1: you go, because we're on such a tight time frame,
Speaker 1: is a question I ask everyone on my podcast, and
Speaker 1: that is, what's an amazing story from behind the scenes
Speaker 1: of making this that we as an audience.
Speaker 5: Well on screen, you know, I know that for Tony,
Speaker 5: you're going to see a lot of she's heartbroken and
Speaker 5: she cries a lot off scene. I would just laugh
Speaker 5: a lot. It was just I've never had a filming
Speaker 5: like this where you know, we had such a good
Speaker 5: connection that it was sometimes when they needed to say, okay, guys,
Speaker 5: you're you're ready, can we do it?
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was and then you'd slip back into crying, you.
Speaker 5: Know, because you know it was so have you. I
Speaker 5: needed to do this. I know I needed to do
Speaker 5: this because otherwise you get a little depressed and crazy.
Speaker 5: So you you take five seconds and you have a
Speaker 5: good laugh and and then you're you're back fresh, you know,
Speaker 5: and then you can go deeper in the what it
Speaker 5: is to fight for your for your son.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. Well, I just want to say that,
Speaker 1: you know, with all that we've been through in the
Speaker 1: world with covid uh and television has become so important
Speaker 1: for a bit of escapism away from you know, what
Speaker 1: we've all been going through. And this is show. I
Speaker 1: hope people give it a shot and watch it because
Speaker 1: it is fantastic and I think you both are brilliant
Speaker 1: in this show. So thank you so much for taking
Speaker 1: the time to have a chat on TV reload here
Speaker 1: in Australia, and good luck with the show. It was
Speaker 1: so good. Can I just say I review a lot
Speaker 1: of shows, so, like you know, sometimes you tune in
Speaker 1: and you could watch something and you're like, oh, this
Speaker 1: this is a dog of a show, where we were
Speaker 1: still sitting there last night at one thirty in the morning, watching,
Speaker 1: watching the show and thoroughly enjoying it.
Speaker 5: Oh, thank you so much, Ben, thank you, this is great.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm glad. I'm glad, and I feel so creepy
Speaker 1: for saying how beautiful you both are. But look, it's nice.
Speaker 5: I take it. I don't feel this way every day,
Speaker 5: so I take the compliment.
Speaker 3: Thank you.