Upcoming Projects and Working with Nolan

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Ashley is all about helping you create a home that reflects who you are with styles that balance timeless design and modern trends, and pieces built to handle everyday life with durable materials and easy to maintain fabrics For our live show, we were sitting on their modular M Max sofa setup that you can configure to however works best for your space. Plus we had oversized accent chairs and coffee and accent tables that really tied everything together. Let me tell you about the M Max sofa. We used it for our live show. It was so comfortable. I felt like I was sitting on a cloud. The worst part about it getting out of it Ashley is all about style that's made for real life with white glove delivery right to your room of choice. Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley. com to find your style. Hey guys, happay Smartless. We're gonna smmartless the hell out of this. We're gonna really podcast it up today. I hope you're ready. Put your helmet on Clean your es Be it's coming in. Welcome to Smartless.art Late afternoon Late afternoon podcast. Well, let's just start off by saying happappy birthday too will. He, Hay birthday will. Oh my goodness. it's so crazy on my birthday today. This finally I was finally able to shit this out. I had this L h shoes. This horse shoe up my ass the whole time. T. That explains a lot. It explains a lot, doesn't it? Yeah. Now what happens now that it's out of your ass? Does that mean it's all downhill? No, I'm gonna put it right back where it came from. I mean the horse is still up there. Jy. Will Little devil. Did you get anything enjoyable for your birthday? Did your bys take a care of you What happen? I got a nice, I got a nice candle from JB and Amanda. Oh that with a nice with a beautiful card right. I can tell. I can tell by the candle that JB had picked it Yeah, exactly. It's you know me, I like my candles and my soaps and that candle right there from Jenny Kain is just about the tppest tooppiest. It's a two wick candle. You know, three wick, you can't really control the burn. you know, you're going to have a side that doesn't really keep up with the other side You're going to get a weak side. You're going to get a we side on a three wee burn. The wax is going to flood the other one and then you're screwed But we're kind of like It's a metaphor for us. I'm a two wick burn kind of guy. Yeah. And so I got that. I got I got a nice I got a nice sort of, self care from Seany, a little little gift orentic Are you going don't now don't a lot of people just or tiff. They let the they let the treatments expire. You know, they forget they've not this one this one there. By the way, I just too out a loan for this one. Yeah. Oh. Um Huh, you once gave me a self care thing and u It was very quant panic. This is always it the Is it the same? No No, this is a new one. you I'll get you this one too, Jay. You damn right This is top We can't even go broadcast on this one. it's so Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah She just comes right over to the house and no, but you will Let just say you will not complain I will know what Complain. Well, that's not true. We never know about you, but yeah, you know, I like to speak. He's a real squeaky wheel. And then and Danny Dotie Deeies gave me some nice books Oh that'sice books. Yeah. that you're gonna read.ume oneook then I'm going to read them. Now do do your boys panic about what to get the guy who's got it all or do they know what they're doing? No, I tell them not to get me anything. I I just want to hang out so I got to have name Yeah, because I don't want people stressing about buying this clothing. I just I don't want anything. I know, but people like to do it. I mean, we had this conversation ad noisead. Right. But as long as you say no gifts pleaseed, then at least it takes the pressure off Yeah, but I always ignore that. I I don't know, I learned at such an early age. you always show up with, even if you just go over somebody's house to visit, you always show up with something. Yeah. Oh you guys still there yeah we just thinking about it. treats you've always brought over. You know, yeah,re you're never without at least a cookie either for myself or for others Y. Hey, I brought you this. Don't touch it. Yeah. We had a great we had a great cake last night. My God.ake I saw the phot. I was waiting for the guy to come out to say, do you want another piece I know, I know noobbody came out for a. The guy. They only they only they only cut up half of it. Waiting for the guy? were you waiting for Jen to say can you have another piece? or Yeah. or somebody? I was like, did they know Now what type of cake was it? It wasn't the rice Krispy one. was it? No, no. It was a classic It was a classic Duncan Heinz. ye yellow cake with chocolate frosting. it look but done done in the way it was it did you bu your ownot fudge, you fucking shit pig? No it. That's your move. By the way, last year my birthday, you remember when I brought I brought some kind of like bettertercot or something and for the you for the Sunday the restaurant the the's coming from T Tower bar. And so then everybody's giving me a shit Kamel is giving me so much shit, and then the ice cream comes out and everybody's like, Hey, can you pass that? Hey It was carel. It was caramel. Cm. Everybody used it, J. It was hilarious. Now last night when you had that k, first of all, what flavor is yellow vanilla Is it joy vanilla? Yeah, it's a rich vanilla All right, fine. Like a French vanilla is usually kind of Is it angel food? Is that what it is? I don't know it Whaty did't you call me? Ange. But it was fun. You were missed JB. It wasiss. Yeah, JB, you were missed. You were missed there down. And it was cool. We ended up asking we got the kids involved Mape and That was the best time of That was the best thing in the night. W Well start We're talking we're talking about what you like going on in the world? No, what's going on in the world? And I said, you know what? And the kids were at the end Arts wasn't feeling well, but Aid Mayaper there. And I said, what do you guys think about what we're talking about and all this stuff that's going on what all the grown ups are talking about right now in the world? And arere you guys stressed and blah blah blah And said, I say open up the straight, isn't that? P peopleople said open the straight. let the oil flow. Yeah. Dude Dude, they both gave really good thoughtful answers that were rep intelligent. Yeah, it was so interesting to listen to them. Yeah, it was wild to it was wild to look over to both of them who I haveve known since they were you know, tiny Yeah and have these incredible You know, It was dope. Yeah, incredible opinions, thoughtful, you know, thoughts both very bright. Yeah. Yeah, they really are I tell you who's tell you who's braright is our guest. I am excited for our guest today, man. This is This is a dude that I have been such a fan of for a long, long time and he's done His number of credits are insane He Sean, you're going to like this, okay? He studied at the prestigious Moscow Arts theater in Russia Okay And then he went, I'm pretty sure he went to Harvard and got a master of fine Arts or did something like in there he's like study like crazy theater has done a ton of theater. He's currently in a show in Broadway and I don' want to say the name the title of the show, because you're going know it is immediately. He's done Adrian Broad countless Countless, great performances in Wolfa Wall Street. He was at a small part in Sicario, Baby driver, Wind River and then had a great partarts in Ford versus Ferrari, King Richard. you also know him as the punisher. He's going to be in the Odyssey, who's the accountant, accountant too. He's been in I got to know him by watching him on the Walking Dead, but I loved him in the series. We own the city guys, it's John Bernhal. Yeah. the great Oh my God. I kind of got great . John. what a what a thrill man. I'm such a fan, dude. I'm such a fan so cool That's so c. say happappy birthday, you know, and I have to sing it just sing it, John, sing it. Man, I would sing it, but I'm trying to I'm trying to, you know, save my voice for Broadway right Yeah. holy fuck. but Will, man, I just I want to tell you how much I just was blown away by by by your film, man. you know just such a beautiful dive into Yeah, but just like fatherhood and being a husband and being an artist and like realling in love with your wife. and it just like, I don't know, it was one of those things where you know like I found it on like the perfect day and the perfect time and it just filled me with so much. it really was your performance. It was just so I reached out to Bradley about it as well, but it was just such a human Gorgeous deep felt performance. and ye it was awesome, man. So thank you man for that Thank you very kindly. Thank you, Dude. and I know you mentioned that you're saving your voice. John is currently as you guys know and Dg day afternoon. I'm Yeah big hit with my buddy Johnny Oo is in that too yeah, the best the best Johnny Oh. And I mean, how's that going, man? How how's the play going? I mean it's a hit As Sea said. I mean, look, it's been it's so cool that folks are coming to the theater that don't normally come to the theater. I love seeing that. It's so many people that we see outside, say it's the first time not just that they've ever been on Broadway, but that they're coming to the theater L buses are coming in from Staten Island, which is so great and and yeah, I mean, not to be a a total cheese dick, but I did. I I kind of this this thing You know, sort of saved my life and I kind of came about it in Russia. That's really where I figured this, you know, that's really where my formative years were. And you know, theater there is very vital and it's for everybody. It's not this sort of exclusive thing for the gentry. it's for everybody and it's a part of everyday life and it's' enormously important to folks. So it's really cool. I think that this is just sort of expanding the theater audience and it's been it's been a thrill. It's been a thrill to see how much people dig it. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned I mentioned too that you don't that you that you studied in Russia and I'm kind of so interested because you grew up in Maryland which I want to get, we're going to come back to Maryland because we're going to come back to we own this city because dude But you ended up studying theater in Russia, like walk us through how that happened, man because That's extraordinary. It seems like well yeah, like what time was that? about what year was that? So I lived in Russia from ninety nine to I guess two thousand one. and honestly, I mean, it's something, you know, I went to school to play sports I played football and baseball baseball in college. And but I was getting in all kinds of trouble and really if there was if there was a dead end to walk down, I was walking down and just running into every kind of walled and you know, I really sort of found theater on you know, on an accident. I was just an idiot and I signed up for a class and I thought I was taking the class with six hundred kids hit it and sitting in the back of theater watching movies, but maybe in the kind of asshole that I was, I signed up for the You know, the intro to theater class, which was just ten people took it very. You thought it was like a movie theater? I totally did. that's what I heard. All the athletes were like, you have to take an art requirement and I had no idea. And you know, I've told this story before, but the first assignment was to bring in something that was deeply important to you and to share it with the class and I had never seen Such weird I had never experienced something this sort of insane of these grown people talking about an object that that was so important to them and emoting and breaking down. and I'd never really been around theater people before and slowly, but surely it came to my turn and I didn't bring anything. I didn't have anything. I was such a donkey You know,, but I was going to fall baseball practice right after and I had my catcher's glove with me. So I just launched into this story about how my mother had given me this baseball glove on her death bed. And my mom's like alive and well in DC, but I launch into this story and I'm crying my eyes out. and everyone in the room is crying their eyes out. I'm like, no, no, wait, wait, wait, I'm I'm doing the the acting, you know? And like snot was coming out of my. I was just so upset I got lost in the story. And so this wonderful woman, Alma Becker, who my first theater teacher ended up marrying my wife and I. She kicked everybody out of that class and she just ripped my ass for violating the sanctity of her studio. But she's like, you know, you got something. And my punishment was to audition for the play. I got into it and I did the play and and she was the one When I wound up getting in a little bit of trouble and I couldn't finish school, you know, I said, lookook, this is something I really wanted to do. and I had no idea sort of what the pathway was. And she said, lookook, there is none. But if I were you, I would try to get into the Moscow Art theater and go study over there.. Yeah, saved my life. I mean and being in Russia. Yeah What what part of that for I mean I'll show my ignorance here because I'll bet the Moscow again ye, that school is a clear pathway to to to just to stuff.. But what you didn't know that? Why would you think that that would be, oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'll go to Moscow to figure out how to break into You know, New York or Hollywood Yeah, I wasn't really thinking about kind of, you know, breaking in wasn't really even in the, you know, like ing out of trouble and just just just finding this thing and really just the sort of blind faith I had in this wonderful woman and it's just such a testament to how beautiful a teacher, you know, the role that they can have in a young person's life and It's just astounding. She saved my life. and and it it's really cool being here in New York and being on Broadway because I do feel so much I'm very u I feel like I'm very in touch with that eighteen year old kid, with that kid who found this thing and would have never believed in a million years you would have the opportunity to go out there know in front of this kind of audience every day. And Alma is very much with me. We lost her a few years back way too young, but But I think I just had blind faith in her and it wasn't really a pathway to New York. I didn't know what an agent was, but it was that school, that place. Wow. Did you I mean, like I'm an idiot. like my perception of going to Russia now, I would never step foot in Russia just because of the, you know the I watched not come back. I might not come back. What was it like for you Then And what is and would you ever go back? Oh, I would love to go was what fifteen, twenty years ago? I mean, now you can't it was ninety nine so twenty, you know, that's that's when I first went. I mean, it was a wild time. You know peopleople referred to it as the wild West there, you know. There were shootings the at the Dumo, which is like their Senate. you know, the Chechens were blowing up apartment buildings in town. It was completely wild. peopleeople were really was still at the beginning of this And you're like, and I have a curtain at eight A PM people. I got to get through this tra. Yeah. But I do think, you know, for me, you know, a few things at play. I mean, I think I sort of considered myself at the time. You know, I was a boxer, I was sort of you considered myself a street smart kind of guy. to kind of go into a world where not just it's a different alphabet, they speak a different language, but it was just so wildly different than anything that I ever saw. And I will say I encountered you know real brutality. There's a real brutality on the streets that that time was sort of impossible. it will find you one way or the other, but also mixed with this Unbelievable just profound beauty and this reverence for the arts. You know, there's a statue on every corner of a playwrrighter or a poet or an actor. and honestly at that time in my life You know, I don't know that I would have responded, you know, really to American theater training. you know, to be an actor in Russia was such a revered thing. and it was a very for lack of a better word, it was a very masculine to do. And do you think John' sort of coming from your background then like goingo to a place that had that that was like it's almost like in your face arts in a way. I mean, reverential and also like appreciation, but so I you know, that it was there was so sort of u startling in that way and it was so in your face, do you think that that actually kind of woke you up to it in a way that you might not have been appreciated here in America Do you know what I mean by that? I do. I mean, look, I think for me personally, and again, I know it sounds maybe you apologies, it sounds maybe grandiose, but I really do feel like it saved my life. I was getting in so much trouble and my life just was making no sense. and I gave me structure. It gave me structure, It gave me something to believe in. it connected me with something spiritual And then when I went over there and my teachers were all folks who kind of came up in a system public gathering was outlawed. So for them to do plays, you know, they were doing plays in subway tunnels and abandoned buildings and had they been caught You know, both the audience and the folks on stage would have been sent away, sent to prison, but it was so vital to them that they had to do it anyway. It was was was it was religious for them. and so for my teachers to be those those kinds of people, you know, there, you know, I mean it makes me think like Sean, you're like, Hey, any fun theater stories? like, Yeahah, I once got shot in the head for doing a monologue Yeah All right, John, sometimes I'll ask people who are into the theater on the show. I'm like, do you have like a staple, hilarious like something forget your lines. Yeah. L theater story, you know, like a classic something went wrong U So, but I can't imagine Yeahah. the wor that Russia must be insane. Yeah. Wait Jon I'm sorry, Jason, I just wanted to we're in the theater here for a second, Jason. this is because it involves you. You're on Broadway right now. You're doing the show. The show's over Do you have people come backstage? Go ahead, Jason. Jason has. Do You want people backstage when you're done with the show? He's with the rules of people going backstage. Becauseuse I hear if you don't go back you're being rude. and I figure if you go back, you're being presumptuous that you know, hey, you're famous, I'm famous. We don't know each other, but you probably wantan to say hi, you know. Oh man. How do you answer this without getting in trouble? Yeah I don't know. I asked everybody to worry No, no, look, you know, it's such a weird thing because I don't want to know who's there. And I feel like there's always a way that it's the information kind of sneaks through. I mean, Evan and I have done a thing. There's a guest list. So almost every night, Evan and I, you know, I think last night we said Barack Obama was there the night before, I think we said we always make shit up just now, I don't know. you know, it's a very I really appreciate when folks come back and it's not an awkward. you know, it's it's really it's it's really It's like a hotbed of awkwardness. I feel like a lot of times. even when people are they're clearly moved, it clearly was. But you know, you're so tired and you're in a weird sort of state. And that's just it. You're kind of obligated to make them feel comfortable because it's your house, you know, you out there in your dress. And they're obligated to make you feel that they loved it. You know Jason, Jason, do you think that there's a world now? likeike next week if you're you're in New York, you go and you see which you should go see. I want to come and see to see it. Jason, can you now having had this conversation with John, do you find that you could you could show up O because we've had this conversation. so that when we see each other, it's not going to be awkward. We'll give each other that little look like of here I would want you to do exactly what you want to do. Like if you wanted to come back, I would want you to come back, but if you didn't, I would want you to feel so totally good about that to just going out and enjoy your night. You I just assume people want to get home, you. We'll be right back Okay, I have to tell you. I was just looking on eBay where I go for all kinds of things I love and there it was. That hologram trading card. One of the rarest, the last one I needed for my set. shhiny like this. Designer handbag of my dreams. one of a kind. eBay had it, and now everyone's asking, Ooh, where you get your Windshield wipers, eBay has all the partars that fit my car. No more annoying. Just beautiful Millions of fines, each with a story. eBay, thingsings people love. If you can't put your life on hold to earn your degree, Thomas Edison State University offers flexible graduate programs designed for working adults so you can keep moving forward on your terms. Thomas Edison State University, the university that works for you, visit tSu. edu. Carters has your family covered for every summer first For steps, for swim lesson or for sleepover Clothes help kids and parents shine, thanks to comfy design and easy dressing details. Visit cararters. com to shop the latest styles or find a Carter store near you. And now back to the show John, do you do any kind of warm up stuff with your voice? Like I mean, do you even think about where you place your voice and how you support it. so you can do H shows a week and all that because you do, if you don't know how to do it, you do tend to people tend to lose their voices pretty quickly Yeah, no, it'ss it's a battle and that was a thing everybody said going in. and I know Sean, you know it so well. It's it's You know, it's just it's like physically that that's one thing I sort of feel like I always have in the bag, you know, like the physical thing you're not going to exhaust me that way. This is fucking exhausting. I mean this is unlike anything I've ever done Yeah. But you know, the I you if if you do see it You know, I speak in a much higher register when I do the show. And I think that that helps. But yeah, I definitely warm up and you know, Kate Wilson is working with us and she's incredible. you know, she's like one of one. I just did this show while just a few weeks ago called The Unknown. and in it, every single night for seven shows a week, the open page one I there's this stop or stopking yet There's this stalker stalking me outside of the house and I would do the same movement every single time. I would go up on the ball of my foot, right? I wouldd go on the ball of my foot looking like I'm looking for the stalker outside the house. Look at this No,, no. I have a boot on walking boot. I have a boot on because of the play. You didn't hear my boots? boots Yeah, boots because of this repetitive right the repetitive movements that you do every single day. So don't you is any part of your body just like u feeling that Any kind of kind of like physical Can I answer this for you, John? You see John doesn't mainline fucking ding donongs. Yeah. he's a fish. he'sich. So it's not like acting like a person who needs to be cut out of their house. you know what I mean?is calf H calf can withstand little a little press every. Beuse he's getting over eleven hundred steps a day, okay I will say I try to box or go to the gym every day and I do think it really does help that you're doing something Tr For Tracy and Sean, the gym is It's called GYM. Oh, okay, got it. That Hey, it's John. what was without prying too much into your history and your flavor of trouble that you'd like to get into. What was it that you found about the theater that was a bit of Jay, I thought you were going gonna say like what was your favorite cut of coke? Beuse I prefer to. Becauseuse I don't mind a speedy brand every once in a while What what was like what did you find theater did for for you that alleviated some of that the cause I found that the exact same energy that I tapped into When I was young And and sort of my way of you know, my best friends are the planet on the planet are still the guys that I grew up with. They're my best friends. and I think that we were wild kids and we and I think our way of Honestly telling each other that we loved each other was taking crazy risks together and doing things that we shouldn't have done. And I felt that For me, the very same thing the reckless abandonment and the ire I'll say like the violence the like let's just throw it all away. likeike whatever this is, we're fucking going. finding that, but using it tapping into that same thing wasn't landing me in jail. It wasn't landing me in trouble or getting kicked out of schools. It was actually bringing joy to people and making me find different parts of myself that I knew how to sort of access really well, but it was I mean, again, without sounding like a cheese dick, it was It was using it for good and right It did. It saved my life I mentioned walking dead. That was the first time that that I feel like I remember I remember seeing you on a regular basis in something and I was like I remember watching that show and thinking, who fuck is this dude? He's so locked in. He's so dialed like this dude is he's got something. was that wasas that a thing? wasas that a major turning point, do you think in your professional career Walking dead Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And just in my life in general, at that point, you know, I got married Right after season one two To my wife who I met the day I got home from Russia. She was an ICU trauma nurse We grew up together. She seen the worst of me, hopefully the best of me, but, you know, she's she's my whole life and had my first child in the beginning of season two, surrounded by people who had young families, you know doing this work and the work still meant so much to them and they were just family and work. And But yeah, I think with Frank Deribont and that show You know, it none of us in a million years thought it was going to be kind of the juggernaut thing that that it was. there was such humility to it and people believed in it so much. And it's funny because if you You know, if you put, you know, six or seven people out in the woods and you say, okay, there's zombies out there. If one person isn't going a hundred percent towards that fucking truth, it's like everything else is bullshit, you know? So the show was just such kind of total commitment right from the beginning. And yeah, it' I was just so grateful to Frank and so grateful to be a part of that show. You know, yeah, it was definitely definitely life changing. Yeah, I imagine It it's funny you say that. Yeahah like everybody's got that show had such a great ability to to keep the tension so tauutght at all times, like you were just like always on the edge of your seat. And you're right. can you imagine if you had one guy just kind of dialing it into the frame Yeah phoning it in, you know what I mean? I't seem that worried about what's going on. Exactly. Hey, John, talk about the sort of that transition from how things sort of Well, we was serving you in one respect early on. And then as sort of your demons, you started to get some distance from your demons a bit and it's really starting to fall in love with with the acting and the talent you were recognizing in yourself. And you started to shape some technique, I would imagine. and talk about that transition into Well wait a second, I'm no longer kind of That guy, I'm kind of really becoming more this part of myself and this could actually become a career, an occupation and I'm kind of decent at this and and Like was there a point where you realized, oh wait, I'm kind I'm kind of all in on this now and I don't really know how to do anything else and I like that and this this is going to be it.'s Let's really become this guy. And was there that moment or did it just kind of happen naturally as jobs kind of progressed and now you look back and you go, wow, now now I am this Well, look, I mean, I I think that I think that there's something, I don't know if you guys feel it being, you know, with everything you guys have done and who you are, but for me I know the healthiest relationship that I can have with this thing is to Um to be hungry and to not really be at any place of arrival. And what I love about is the same thing I love about being a dad is that the only thing that's for certain is you're gonna fucking fail. You know, like you're gonna mess up and you got like you gott to own it and you got to acknowledge it and you gott to work through it. And each one of those mess upps and each one of those failings is such an unbelievable opportunity for connection and teaching and growing together for both you and your kid and I feel so I feel like it's the exact same with what we do. and I'm Again I'm just like very, very grateful that I get to do something that I can always just I'm always chasing and trying to get better at I will say at the time. Yeah, for sure. and like right now, like doing this play like be at this age and at this point in my life can still be terrified. It's such a thrill. knowing. It's dope. Yeah for sure. It's very cool. That's why you do it. yeah Yeah, but I will say for me, luckily, things started to kind of work out for me at the exact same time that I started a family and I will say it's just For me, my life has become you know, really, really simple and clear. it's them and it's this. and I'm very happy with that. And that's not a coincidence by the way. That's not a coincidence. I think we all know like for me, I had the similar experiences having kids has cracked me open in a way that it's allowed me to be open to all sorts of things And And I so I always believe that those kinds of things go hand in hand and u You know, it's funny, you were saying this thing about You know, you're going to make mistakes and I always think about I remember watching this documentary about this soccer team, but the coach is very famous coach Jose Marino We were talking to the team, The team kind of got down on themselves and they were down at half timeim He comes in and they filmed his speech to the team and he was like You guys are acting like every time there's a mistake or the other team gets a goal or whatever, it's the end of the world and And he's like other team is going to score You're going to make mistakes. They' they're going to get a goal because they're trying to do the same thing you are The trick is what do you do? How do you cope with it? That's the thing. And I was that I was stuck with me like and I sort of apply it, I don't know about you guys. I think about that shit all the time in my life when stuff doesn't go exactly my way I go Shit's not going to always go your way.. Okay. I can't fall apart when it doesn't. Yeah, I gott go Okaykay Now what? What can I do now? You know what I mean Yeah And sometimes things go, you know, just the sort of proximity You know, real tragedy and real failure. and you know, these things sometimes life hands you such a kick in the ass that it will change your entire perspective, but also, you know, there's real tragedy that I think comes part and parcel with it. But sometimes you just get close to it, sometimes it's just a reawakening or you get close to something or you think maybe somebody's sick and they're not And and and I just I feel like it is it is so true that with each sort of failing or fall or tragedy, there offers such an opportunity. and I do think you know, primarily the job is now to be a parent and you got to hold it together and you got to show them the different lenses that you know, that that that that that just changing your perspective, how much can be gained by that? Well' luckily I'm able to show my kids a lot of failure, so it's good they I'm very open with them. How old are the kids? John? I have a fourteen year old, a twelve year old, a ten year old, and then my little four year old niece has come to to live with us the last few years too. Oh. Are any of them showing any interest in what you do Oh gosh you know, man. No, no, no. I mean, I they come see the play. Yeah, they've come to see the play and they're coming again this weekend. but my kids are all, you know, they're theyre they're they're very into sports and and and the outdoors and you know, and and it's, you know, u, They have very full and beautiful hearts each one of them and each one of them is so, you know, such an individual. you know, it's there for them, I think, if they'd ever won it. But I think right now, it's, you know, I'm not What I do is not too cool to them. How do you because I think about this for myself. I've got two girls nineteen and fourteen. And you know, I haven't had a perfectly straight line towards where I'm at, you know emotionally or otherwise, you know I didn't do, you know, the perfect thing all the time. but I like I like where I've landed and I don't think I would have landed in this spot had I not bang into a couple of walls. And so as I see my girls growing up and Um,, you know, when they when they go through things that are that are not sheltered I start to think, well, how would I react if they make a wrong choice? you know, if the and because like I don't want to be hypocritical. I like the way my adversity has sort of shaped me. And so I battle with that as a parent, you know, you want your kids to have a pristine, you know, travel. U So how, you know, like I'm sure your kids are they they've got you mean like by percein you mean like protected like you want them to do. Well, no, but I mean, I think it's just a natural instinct You don't want you don't want your kid to ever make mistake. you don't want anything to yet But Right. So I just I wonder if if my kids ever started to experiment with some of the risks that I went through sure. I wouldn't want to be I wouldn't encourage them to do that, but I certainly wouldn't be unaccepting of them coming to me afterwards and saying, ye, I screwed up, I did this. You know, so I'm not sure what the question is, but you know, I guess would you how tolerant would you be if your kids started to walk down somewoneere of the same passion You did knowing that you came out okay You know. Yeah, I mean, it's such a good look, I mean, it's it's again, it's like these are the questions where we're, you know, you know, as parents, it's like, you know, we're it's such a blessing to be this obsessed with these people's lives and their well beinging. And I think adversity is such a important word. is absolutely no way that I could do the things that I could do, put food on the table the way that I do if I didn't get the licks that I got and the bumps that I got the and was in the valleys that I spent a lot of time in And so I knew, you know, instinctively, I know with my children, adversity is so necessary. And how do I teach my kids the things I've learned, but also know they cannot learn them the way that I learn them because there was so many times and I'm sure it's the same for you guys where this shit could have gone either way. It was razor fucking close You know, and we've lost people. I've lost people. I've lost my freedom. I've been in situations where, okay, the by the grace of whatever you want to call it, it just went a different way. But oh my gosh, like I've seen it really not work out. And so you know, from a young age with my kids, you know, they were, you know, competing in martial arts. They were, you know, like everybody needs to know how to swim, everybody needs to know how to defend themselves. Ebody needs to know how to be in the outdoors. And how can you sort of under the umbrella of safety put them in really, really hard challenging situations where they can learn from and I think moreover, I think especially for my boys You know, how do I teach them, you know in this day and age where there's so few role models out there for these young boys? How do I teach them that like, yes, like it is absolutely paramount that you are a protector, that you're a provider, that you're somebody that can be counted on, that people in a crowd if something goes wrong, where you guys have the know how and the ability to be helpful But also equally important, are you sensitive? Are you kind? Are you vulnerable? Are you open? Are you curious? Do you not judge? Are you hungry for conversation? Are you hungry to learn? Are you hungry to be challenged by somebody who thinks, looks, feels phrase to somebody completely different than you, Are you confident enough in yourself to approach any conversation, but also be nimble enough to listen and to be swayed and to be changed. and I'm not I'm not your God' Jesus Christ. God, it's all of that, you know, like that's whats so cool about it. And I do feel, I don't know if you guys feel the same thing, but I do feel these paths for me are really lining up where the work that at least the work that I w to be doing Um, you know, really has a It really informs us. It informs me as a human being. I get a deeper understanding, but also, you know, one day my kids will look at it and they'll say, one, yeah, dad was working his ass off, but two, you know, that that there's that there's a there's a message there that That there's a humanity there that they see in all people, even even when you play a monster, you know, that there there's a little kid in there. There's a scared little kid in there. and that it's never too late. It's never too late to bring out of the valle. How in the world did you gather all this wisdom? It everything you just said smart seriously, it's who doesn't spend all his time watching below deck eating Swedish fish. you? I gotta cross that off I gotta crossed off my list. I What are you talking about? No He's not in the world, okay? No traitors. Titors. Tritors. No, seriously, it's you're just that was just incredible. everything you. Well you you know you went went through He went through the f He went through the fire shun but it's I mean, look You everybody that I know here on on this thing, Sean, you you came you didn't have nobody handed you this. You had you came from a, you know, you had a single mom household, your dad left, which we make fun of all the time down. It's super funny the way he left. It was so sudd. And it was really wonderful. Five kids just left them all. just one day. J gone It just evaporated. Just tire scrage. Yeah.'s just like he was going start like on this USS entnterprise, he just got beamed out of there. So But I mean, Seun, you grew up in that and you had to kind of fend for yourself and you fend that way and you were talented dude. And JB, you were out in the world working since you were a kid and you had to kind of fend for yourself as well. Like you know what it's like And none of us knew anybody. I didn't know anybody in show business Well you had like how many how many maids and servers did you have to leave your house? I mean we ended up reducing A to the crash of eighty seven, we reduced a little bit But at boarding school everybody was anyway, it doesn't matter.s parking spot for all of them, you know, it's like But the point is like I bet you have more it feels like John, what's nice is you have real access to your experience in a way that's very that you stay very in touch with it. and that's great because you can kind of because your kids can learn from that. And that is a thing that I I try to do. I try to Jason like you were saying, I have those moments right Mike trying to understand their experience, where they are trying to identify with where they're at where I was at at that age. I have three boys. I've two teenage boys and I spend a lot of time going, you know, they're going through it. They're going through those years and I go like, Let them have the thing. Don't and also don't make it about me and like, hey, when I was a kid, just let them have those things, but try to identify with those moments. and it's not always easy You know, but you try to do it as much as you can. Yeah We'll be right back Okay, I have to tell you, I was just looking on eBay where I go for all kinds of things I love and there it was. That hologram trading card. onene of the rarest, the last one I needed for my set. shhiny like this. Designer handbag of my dreams. One of a kind. eBay had it, and now everyone's asking, Ooh, whereere'd you get your? Windshield wiper? eBay has all the partars that fit my car. No more annoying. Just beautiful Millions of fines, each with a story. eBay, thingsings people love Everyone has a reason for wanting to move ahead Maybe it's money or a bigger office, or maybe it's for those at home who laugh at your silly jokes At Thomas Edison State University, we know earning a degree while working full time is no joke. That's why our undergraduate and graduate programs are one hundred percent online in a range of in demand fields with flexible schedules built for working adults. So you'll still have time. Let'sell a few jokes. Thomas Edison State University, the university that works for you. visit tSu.edu We sold my car in Carbana last night. Well, that's cool. No, you don't understand. It went perfectly. real offer down to the penny. They're picking it up tomorrow. Nothing went wrong. So what's the problem? That is the problem. Nothing in my life goes as smoothly. I'm waiting for the catch. Maybe there's no catch. That's exactly what a catch would want me to think. Wow, you need to relax. I need to knock on wood. Do we have wood is this table wood I think it's laminate. Okay, yeah, that's good. That's close enough. Car selling without a catch. seell your car today on car Vana. Pick up these Mly to the show John, do you have because everything I could talk to you about all this stuff you were just talking about forever. I love talk to J, De.'s try go three He's gonna try to go side chat. He's gonna try to go side chat. No, now, do your kids get do your kids feel like dad is overwhelming with all of those kind of teachings and kind of parenting or do they actually listen to what you're saying I'm not sure, you know, I'm not sure. look you know like I my oldest son boxes, I'm his trainer. I coach my, you know, I coach them in football and I've coached them in basketball since they were young. You know, I coach my daughter. The thing that I know they see is what I saw in my dad and You know, my dad was the guy that when people in the neighborhood, people around DC, my friends, they all had their own relationships with my dad. When they were in trouble, they went to my dad. He was their coach. He was the guy that he called him straight. You know, he he wouldn't bullshit them. He he he'd help them. He always had everybody's back Yeah And he wouldn't judge. He let's let's let's work through this. Let's get through this and then we'll deal with the judgment and all that shit later. But he was a guy that could really be depended on. And so I think my kids have seen that, you know, I have real relationships. you know, we live in, you know, this small town of you know, we live in Ohhai and we've been there for fifteen years. I love Ohi. It's such a small, ye, it's beautiful. And it's a beautiful community where you still can you know, raise other kids, you know, you parent other other other people's kids, you know, kids come to me and you know, I teach them how to box. I've been coaching football there for the last six years. and, you know, we have a theater there where the kids come. And so I think that The one thing my kids know is that it's not I'm sort of the same with all of them. And if kid comes to me, it doesn't matter if he's my kid or your kid, you know, I really, really I want to give them whatever I can give them with with while saying L look, I don't have the fucking answers. like I hit every wall. you can hit. But like it's never too late and like your parents love you. You know whether you're, you know, whether you whether they left or not, whether they're incarcerated or not, they love So S by the way he start he started a theater basically a theater and a theater festival in upp in Ohio, is that right? Oh, I didn't I didn't know that Yeah. That's cool. Yeah, I mean, it's just, you know, in the town, it'ss it's the town has given me so much and I love it and and You know, since we Since my first exposure to it You know, I saw something in the young people in that town you know, ten, fifteen years ago where there was such sturdiness and such grace and kindness. There's it's yes, it's yes, sir, no ma'am. but there's nothing repressed or surpressed. The kids are curious. There's a really strong onus of the young people in Ohhai to get out, go see the world Go experience things and then come back and raise your family there. And it's a really beautiful community. but I will say over the past you know, five, ten years, especially, so many folks have moved up there and culturally, it's really a place in conflict because The tipping point has kind of happened. It's very you know we see it in big cities all the time. definitely happened in DC where I grew up. But you know, in OhHI, it's really gotten to a place where you know the public school there, which was a real bastion of public education, has really suffered because of the influx of Angelinos that have come up there So I just I love that school. I love these kids. I love these institutional Ohi families. So we built a theater in an old defunct school building And all the proceeds go to the public school theater department and's you know amazing. We' able to raise yeah, a ton it was really cool. Seaan's agreeing to do a show there next year. It's great. S. You know, will always will always makes fun of me because whenever I go to like a party or a dinner, I want to leave right away. And I'm like, I learned it from my dad No goodob comes back. Look good job done. Look good jump on. I something. Now weion You mentioned DC in Maryland and I want to get to because it was one of the for me it was a show that really I thought like, wow, it really fucking just blew me away. When you played It was a Wayne Jenkins Yeah. Yeah and we owned the city. D you guys see that on HBO? this David Simon showight It's unbelievable and what's cool is Now kind of just talking to you. I under you I can see that like you brought some of your own knowledge of all that kind of stuff and like sort of the dark guys who ended up staying on the wrong track or got on the wrong track and never got off in this really I mean, Wayne is a very compromised character, right? He and he does and I think that somewhere along the line, he when he started, he thinks he's doing the right thing, right? Like he thinks he's fighting in this, but he's actually ends up sort of going going rogue or bad or whatever But he sees himself not not as doing that. anyway it's a very It's a very complex portrayal and I love that show. I mean that must tell me about working with David Simon and what that experience was like is excellent man Thanks, man. I appreciate. That one is my heart. and you know, it was such a thrill and an honor for me. I think I think I think first and foremost you know, at that time in in the wake of Freddie Gray and in the midst of of George Floyd and everything that was going on in this country and for me just being so I think naturally, based on people in my life and based on my own experience, I'm so revolted by the flag waving in this country, the people on either side of the polls just waving their flag full of rhetoric, but they've never been in the valleys. They've never been in this situation where they're actually rubbing elbows with the other side. she can't there's no there's no access to recognizing decency in each other. There's no access for empathy. There's no access to for friendship or for any level of understanding because you're just staying on your mountaintop. you know, from the, you know, just waving your flag and and so for me to go into this project you know, that, you know, in Baltimore, which is sort of like right in the tip of the spear of race and policing at at that time. Yeah, you know, and get this front row ticket and also just to have the access coming in sort of with the street cred of David Simon and how much the wire you know, in that city that that wire for both The guys on the street, the people in the community and for the police, like that is that is like required watching. Like the cops that I know in Baltimore, they watch that every year to remind them that it's not personal, it's business. and you guys got. I would love. you've seen the wire, right? You guys have seen the wire, right? Yeah ye. So So for me to kind of go in there like that, you know, I got to go, you know, I rode out with those guys every night for for for three straight months and went on swat raids with the county SWAT team and the city SWatT team. Got to know Wayne, got to know, you know, that whole unit of the gun trace task force So I made unbelievable friends and I was able to see You know, I'm just so grateful to really see it in that way. But I think more than anything else, man, and you know, look, he was considered, you know, the most corrupt, the most vicious, the most sort of vile you know police officer in the history of that city. So to go into the police department and say, hey, I want to ride out with you guys. I want to be around you guys to research this, this very, very ugly chapter of their life. I learned quickly, you know, with policing, you know, how other than the victims in the community that are just drastically devastated by corrupt policing, It's also good cops are just are terrorized by it. and their careers are completely destroyed by it. and their safety on the street is totally upended by it as well But I think mostly you know, for me the key for me was how do you play this guy and not just play him as a monster? How do you find, you know, some sort of And it was interesting, man, because every single person who knew Wayne, it was the first thing I said to him when I first met him Everybody who talked to him said, you know, even if he was in the middle of robbing a drug dealer or you know, shaking a guy down, making a false arrest, no matter what it was, if any of his kids needed him at any point, if there was ever an issue with the kids, he would run home immediately. And it really hit me, you, how can you engage in such corruption knowing that most likely this is going to have a bad end because criminality almost always ends bad. How can you be that tune to your family and you're really doing one to support your family because you feel like you're not getting paid what you deserve But that sort of conundrum and dichotomy, you know really was at the crux of who I think he is and why he was so kind of torn apart But he wasn't just a monster. Right, right, Well,ah, no, he's complainly. Sean has you had a little bit of criminality. Remember that time you guys almost got a tickage Scottty Devil Park while you ran into Chipotle. I remember that story a large b. I was Wait was when I was when I was in college, I stole a turkey sandwich from a eleven And I got arrested. Are you gonna play the turkey sandwich in the movie? Dav David Hey, Jn. Yeah Jon. ' pad for it. John, you're such a great communicator and you. It's unbelievable. You're such a great communicator and you have such a passion for community and country and it seems like you do not shy away from opportunities for leadership.ave you ever thought about politics at all? Do you that ever No, I know No, no, I think everybody has that reaction anytime anybody ever thinks about it or it's mentioned them You look at our don't I'm not asking, I don't care what side of political spectrum you're on, but you look at our current leaders, our curtain like you yearn for someone that can communicate like you and that can have the kind of genuine passion for fority condition and community and We need folks like you if you ever have the time. So man. you got my vote. Yeah. I gota be careful but look mean Look, I u appreciate that. I think the people that know me well, my brothers, I have a brother who's a cancer surgeon, the head of oncology at UCLA and Orthopedics. He's like w That guy should be running for That guy is ye, but but but you know I really believe that what we do can really be effective. I just do in my heart. and I think that You know, for me, I feel most natural and most authentic Um Honestly, coaching and teaching and doing it in my community on the one on one. I think, you know, and I think as far I do really feel that we do can really provide a service and can create real change and can really You know, bring human beings together and that's what I really want to do. Yeah. and you do it as well as you you can. Yeah. Yeah And he does it like like like I said, like in we own the city, like there it is a great lesson and a lot of sort of really complex issues in that way. So it's you are you are you are being of service as well like through through your arts smiles. Yeah, smiles. And then I mean, do you got so manyes He's getting smiles. You got so many cool things come. You've done so many cool things and it's like you're like accelerating man. like you're just like It's awesome. and I'm so psyched that everybody's getting to see you work in so many different ways. You've got this summer you've got U the new Spider Man brand new Days coming out with with right with the punisher in it and that trailer like broke every record came out that trailer was so sick. Yeah and I'm not like a huge like superhero movie fan. and even even I'm like, fuck, this movie looks dope. And and then you got then you're in the Odyssey, right in Chris Nolan's the Odyssey ice. Can you talk a little bit about working with that? Because obviously, Chris N Oan's one of the greats. Yeah, look you had to slug it out there with that fucking drip, Matt Damo. C you get We can talk about a squeaky wheel. at that time. It's what a com. you made it you made it though.. He's a terrible guy Look, I think with with Chris, you know, it's like I think with you know, I think you get to see sometometimes people doing like exactly what they're put on this earth to do. And that's how I feel about Nolan. I mean, I think there's these stories. again, you know everybody kind of going in, oh, you have no idea how hard it's going to be and how rigorous and how you know there's no and for me, I'm like, let's fucking like I love that. It's music to my ears There's nobody who's working harder on that set than he is and The directors that I've gotten to work with, you know, like Denny, you know, Scorsese or Polansky or, you know, Dar. I mean, there's there's so many of them, you know, they're all So enormously different. but the thing that I feel like' uniform among all the greats for me. I don't know if you guys feel this way, but You know, they've done so much work. They know it so intimately well. Um But there's really an atmosphere of exploration and freedom once you get to work. And I find no bigger sort of telltale sign of mediocrity than people who it has to be a certain way. And I couldn't believe that within this unbelievable structure and this unbelievable understanding of exactly what he wanted you know, he's still both inspired and and not just alloued, but demanded, you know, real freedom and creativity with within every moment. you like yeah, do you find yourself like working with him in like on these huge you're doing? I mean, it's the Odyssey for Christs sake. And And within that, there's like a spirit of like, hey, let's find it. Absolutely.bsolutely. and you know, I think in these films, you know, You know, I did this movie Fury some years back and I did ye I did the Pacific, which was sort of the next in the Band of Brothers. And you know, there's these movies sometimes where there's a group of guys and you're all just sort of like slogging it out together for the thing and you forge these unbelievable relationships. You know and there was a group of there's a group of men in this movie that, you know, were Odysseus's men, were Matt Damon's men. And it was this group of actors. you know, they did eight months in like eight different countries, worked so incredibly hard And you know, what was cool is, you know, I was only on the movie for a couple months and But I got to really be a part of that group for the time that I was there. and that was such a blessing for me. I think that You know, the best thing that this offers this life is the people that you meet along the way and the relationships that you get. That's what you're going to die with. And I was so honored to be a part of that group of Odysseus' men and that I felt just a taste of what you know, the real long hard slog the adventure was. and You know that that's my big take That's what I'm most grateful for. That's great. And then and then I mentioned Yeah. and then you and then Spideran with with Tom Holland the great Tom Holland. I love Tom. I mean, look, you know, like I got to, you know, I have a punisher special that I wrote that's coming out next week that I'm really excited about and then and then I'm also doing the punisher in Spiderm Man And you know, with Tom becausecause Tom was in the Odyssey as well. you know, I've known Tom since he was seventeen. We did a movie in Ireland together. I made his Spider Man audition tape and he made my punisher audition tape. I. Yeah. And I gott to tell you, man, like this fucking kid When he was seventeen years old And there like everyone was auditioning for Spider Man. This dude