Latest / Kyle Meredith With... / Conor Sherry, Ethan Cutkosky, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman on Legacy, Wrestling, and Happy Gilmore 2

Transcript

Conor Sherry, Ethan Cutkosky, and Maxwell Jacob Friedman on Legacy, Wrestling, and Happy Gilmore 2 · Kyle Meredith With...

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's easy to hear your favorite artist on WFPK from wherever you are.
• 0:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen on your smart speaker, live stream from our website at WFPK.org from Louisville Public Media.
• 0:25
  [SPEAKER_06]: Welcome to another edition of Kyle Meredith with it's the interview series presented by WFPK at WFPK dot org consequence and the consequence podcast network thanks for making your way here for checking out the episode if you're not already hit that subscribe
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_06]: subscribe button you're going to get new interviews just like this one every single week Spotify Apple podcast NPR WFPK dot org consequence YouTube for the video versions or anywhere you get your podcast from you can subscribe Kyle Meredith with and please do give this series a rating and leave a review wherever you're listening from
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_06]: Of course, we've had some great guests drop him by.
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_06]: In fact, last week I was talking with director Kyle Neuachek, you also know him from Workaholics.
• 1:08
  [SPEAKER_06]: He's directed Happy Gilmore, too.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_06]: We had Michael Clifford from five seconds of summer drop by Caroline Polachek, Allison Goldfrapp, Ben Folds, the cast of zombies four on Disney, Wetlegg, Renee Elise Goldzberry from Girls Five Ever, and the cast of Hamilton.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_06]: Lucy Dakeys, Alan Walker,
• 1:30
  [SPEAKER_06]: Seth MacFarlum was here, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Mark Hamill, Finn Wolfhard, just an example of what you get when you subscribe to the Kyle Meredith with podcast.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_06]: And that's me, Kyle Meredith today.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_06]: Gonna be talking with four guys, and depending on which screen you met them on, might have either punched you in the face, still in your bike, or even haunted your nightmares.
• 1:54
  [SPEAKER_06]: Connor Sherry, he's part of the new generation of young actors.
• 1:57
  [SPEAKER_06]: He was in, uh, are you afraid of the dark?
• 2:00
  [SPEAKER_06]: And he was in front of and behind the camera in last year's Snackshack.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_06]: And then you've got Ethan Kutkowski.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_06]: He played Carl Gallagher on shameless arguably maybe the most unhinged of the Gallagher kids.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_06]: We were just saying something on a show where the bar is like six feet underground.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_06]: Then there's Maxwell Jacob Friedman, better known as MJF, the AEW Wrestling Hill, whose entire existence is built on making you hate him, which he does with disturbing charisma and a scarf.
• 2:31
  [SPEAKER_06]: And finally, this Philip Finch Knighter, he's an upcoming actor.
• 2:34
  [SPEAKER_06]: He spent most of his time in theater, and he's landed his very first movie role.
• 2:39
  [SPEAKER_06]: And that's what we're going to be talking today.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_06]: That movie role
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_06]: is happy Gilmore II, the thirty-year in the making sequel.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_06]: These four actors, they play the Gilmore boys in happy Gilmore II.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_06]: The sons of happy Gilmore.
• 2:55
  [SPEAKER_06]: The guys get into how they each channeled a different flavor of Adam Sandler's iconic character, how their off-screen bromance added to the on-screen chemistry, and an unexpected Shakespeare to Sandler pipeline.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_06]: MJF going to talk about getting back to his theater kid roots.
• 3:13
  [SPEAKER_06]: Did you know that about him?
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_06]: While Connor and Ethan will reflect on how producing and directing is shaped their approach to acting, and I've got to ask how the actors came to call happy daddy.
• 3:25
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's funny as it is disturbing in the movie.
• 3:29
  [SPEAKER_06]: All that and more as we talk happy Gilmore to out now a Netflix.
• 3:33
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's Kyle and Meredith with Connor Sherry.
• 3:35
  [SPEAKER_06]: Ethan Katkowski, Maxwell, Jacob Friedman, and Philip Finch Nighter.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_06]: Congrats on happy Gilmour two y'all.
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_06]: Thank you.
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_06]: Thank you very much.
• 3:46
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's fun watching you guys.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, you're, you're see, I don't know.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_06]: You sort of get to be like cartoon characters a little bit, but, uh, but with arts.
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_06]: What does it mean?
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, you get to play the sons of, of happy Gilmour.
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_06]: I'll throw this to anyone who wants it, apologies for that, but do you try to emulate what you saw thirty years ago in the movie?
• 4:05
  [SPEAKER_06]: How does that work?
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, there was something that I noticed with it.
• 4:08
  [SPEAKER_04]: It was like, I mean, even as soon as we all walked in, obviously, like Max, that's crazy energy.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_04]: And I think we all did a little Max's, you know, Max.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_04]: And but I think like we all fell into that like cartoony like it wasn't even an emulation just like kind of like had that natural flow with it like our banter camaraderie that we had on and off set and it just like flowed into the movie if you like where we kind of have that cartoon mystic aspect you know there's a vibe on set that literally just flows through you it's like it's very infectious yeah
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: I believe that everyone has happy getting more within them.
• 4:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you just gotta find that sliver of your soul.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I think we all found that pretty quick.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Gotta find your happy place.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Sure.
• 4:48
  [SPEAKER_06]: Philip, I was actually looking, did I read it right?
• 4:50
  [SPEAKER_06]: Like, were you coming off Hamlet to do this?
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, crazy shout out.
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that was the last play I didn't college.
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, so yeah, that was like the last big thing I did.
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, this is my, this is my first professional role.
• 5:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Certainly the first movie I've ever been in.
• 5:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, the last role I did was was Hamlet at school.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, that's what I'm thinking, the balance of going from Hamlet to, you know, Dick Jiffson, how do you feel more true?
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, honestly, the process was really quite similar.
• 5:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: The language was really quite similar as well.
• 5:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: But, uh, no, it's cool.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: I feel so like blessed and grateful that I can, you know, be doing doing different sorts of art.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: Um, and like doing it with confidence.
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, that's sweet.
• 5:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for doing the research.
• 5:30
  [SPEAKER_06]: And we'll be right back right after this.
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_06]: Welcome back.
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's Kyle Mirritis with the Gilmore Boys.
• 5:37
  [SPEAKER_06]: Maxwell for you, I mean, you get to, you get to not play a wrestler, right?
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I never play wrestler boss, I am one, but I feel you, I hear you, I understand.
• 5:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just messing with you dude.
• 5:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I like giving people a shit.
• 5:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, dude, so it's funny a lot of people don't know this about me.
• 5:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm a classically trained actor and I did theater from the time I was six all the way to the time I was eighteen.
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then I just jumped head first into professional wrestling.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So being able to kind of go back to my roots here and do something that I've always had a passion for but never got to really chase as hard core as I did wrestling.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a little bit different when you're getting a car driving to Indiana or Ohio to get punched in the face in front of twenty people with like twenty teeth combined.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a bit of a different environment on set for happy Gilmore like but but it was incredible and
• 6:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was infectious.
• 6:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it literally felt like I was on sleepboy camp.
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: But at the same time, it was so incredibly professional, the sense of Adam's vision and Kyle's vision.
• 6:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it was, it was really something else.
• 6:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think when people see this movie, they're going to see a man of like serious, serious effort and heart that went into making it.
• 6:45
  [SPEAKER_06]: Does it begin like muscle memory for you to, I mean, maybe getting into the character is the same kind of way, or maybe it's not?
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I find it was frankly like, and the cool thing is, for me at least, I try to find a little piece of myself and whatever I do, so it's not like you have to act.
• 7:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're just taking whatever that part of you who that is within that has to do with the circumstance that the character is in.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: and then going and for me it was not hard to do Gordie Gilmore because he's just he's a rambunctious, slightly angry, big, loud guy and what it's funny is he's like all the Gilmore boys I noticed what like the
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Once we got on set, it really hit me.
• 7:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: When I read the script originally, it didn't hit me as much, but we all had specific aspects about happy that we take off.
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was almost like we were like the four happy Gilmore dwarves kind of just taking specific, you know.
• 7:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it was really, it was bad.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's very good.
• 7:50
  [SPEAKER_06]: Connor, you're coming off of something like a snack shack.
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_06]: like, you know, which which you had so much control over.
• 7:57
  [SPEAKER_06]: Do you find with that experience that you're watching anyone specifically on this set?
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_06]: Like, do you look towards the director a little bit more?
• 8:04
  [SPEAKER_06]: Do you what, like, how does that work?
• 8:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: A little bit, I think like, yeah, it was interesting.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_03]: Cause Snapchat you're right.
• 8:10
  [SPEAKER_03]: It was such a, it really just followed, you know.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_03]: AJ through that whole movie, but this one was cool because I got to be a part of like a group like it was Snackshack was there were so many days it was just like kind of me or it was like solo scenes but this was so fun because at everything in this movie we do together like including our press including our
• 8:29
  [SPEAKER_03]: Brides to set breakfast lunch.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, literally so yeah, it was a blast because to be a part of like a squad that's like working together was really cool because it was like if if some one person's energy was down one day like Max would bring it up, you know, or someone else like had something like we would just kind of hold each other up, which was made it all easier.
• 8:49
  [SPEAKER_03]: Honestly, it was great team effort.
• 8:51
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
• 8:54
  [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, that's that you know because I find that part interesting like when you get to do the other side of the camera and Ethan I think you're the same way like you co-producing now with with going places to at what point if it even does like does that take over how you approach a set then versus when you know you maybe you were just acting
• 9:14
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I mean definitely think like I mean as the any experience you've got to be there, it's always a learning experience and get to your fly on the wall at the end of the day, you know, you've got to see how Adam's putting it together, how Kyle is, you know, watching how
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, some days can be stressful some days.
• 9:32
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, you get to see how people run their sets and it's cool to see going from set to set, how all that works.
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_04]: And you know, we, why this one works so well.
• 9:42
  [SPEAKER_04]: Why, you know, he's been around for this long.
• 9:44
  [SPEAKER_04]: You know, there's a reason that sets are fun.
• 9:47
  [SPEAKER_04]: His sets have good energy.
• 9:49
  [SPEAKER_04]: Everybody's happy to be there.
• 9:50
  [SPEAKER_04]: Everybody's kind to each other.
• 9:52
  [SPEAKER_04]: There's a two.
• 9:53
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
• 9:53
  [SPEAKER_03]: And there's a four to good food.
• 9:54
  [SPEAKER_03]: You know, there's just no, no one was complaining.
• 9:56
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so it was like the least complaining set I've maybe ever heard of in my entire life or experience like ever was happy.
• 10:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Good casting choices.
• 10:06
  [SPEAKER_06]: And we'll be right back right after this.
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_06]: Welcome back.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's Kyle Meredith with the Gilmore boys.
• 10:12
  [SPEAKER_06]: Well, it's crazy because there are so many people on this, you know, you talk about the, you know, the cast and everything.
• 10:18
  [SPEAKER_06]: I mean, it's just
• 10:21
  [SPEAKER_06]: The matter control, I think you'd have to have on a set like this, this kind of be nuts.
• 10:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: The cool thing is, though, using a world control almost feels wrong to me because like, it was so chill.
• 10:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like it was very, very chill.
• 10:36
  [SPEAKER_03]: I think it's like a, there's like a parenting technique.
• 10:38
  [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if that's, but it's like, off parenthood.
• 10:40
  [SPEAKER_03]: No, it's like positive control.
• 10:41
  [SPEAKER_03]: Like everyone wanted to be there and wanted to do a good job.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_03]: There wasn't any need for control if it in a way that felt like that.
• 10:49
  [SPEAKER_03]: Because everyone was like on their mark, everyone was showing up, everyone was putting their best foot forward.
• 10:54
  [SPEAKER_03]: Because of course, I think everyone respects the war so much.
• 10:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, happy, care more than nobody was going to show up like, where do I have to be?
• 11:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right, right.
• 11:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's bullshit.
• 11:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like that's not going to happen.
• 11:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know what I mean?
• 11:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Everyone's singing around.
• 11:05
  [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'm here.
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_03]: Way beyond when they need to work.
• 11:08
  [SPEAKER_03]: Everyone was just hanging out like different.
• 11:11
  [SPEAKER_06]: Sure.
• 11:11
  [SPEAKER_06]: Who's idea was at the column Daddy?
• 11:13
  [SPEAKER_06]: Was that in the script?
• 11:15
  [SPEAKER_03]: I think it was his idea.
• 11:16
  [SPEAKER_03]: It was like in the script, I think one time.
• 11:19
  [SPEAKER_03]: But then as we started to get into the accents, it just kind of rolled off felt right and just felt right.
• 11:24
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.
• 11:25
  [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, I like the cartoon aspect of everything.
• 11:27
  [SPEAKER_04]: Daddy.
• 11:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.
• 11:29
  [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_06]: Yeah.
• 11:32
  [SPEAKER_06]: You really start to notice the room.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_06]: Did he just call him a daddy?
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's uh... Look, I mean, that's what he is to us.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Sure.
• 11:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 11:41
  [SPEAKER_06]: Of course, it sounds funny.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's supposed to.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's hilarious.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_06]: Movie really is.
• 11:45
  [SPEAKER_06]: And I love seeing you all work as that kind of, I mean, as you said, you got four characters, but working as that complete unit.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_06]: The movie is so good.
• 11:53
  [SPEAKER_06]: Congratulations to all of you all for all the work you've done on it.
• 11:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_06]: And my thanks, Connor Ethan, MJF and Philip happy go more to playing now on Netflix.
• 12:07
  [SPEAKER_06]: Thanks to you for checking out the episode, hit that subscribe button before you get out of here so you can keep up with all the interviews that I do every single week.
• 12:14
  [SPEAKER_06]: Spotify, Apple Podcast, NPR, WFPK.org, consequence, YouTube for the video versions or anywhere you get your podcast from, you can subscribe to Kyle Meredith with and please do give this series a rating and leave a review while you're at it.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_06]: After that, you can head over to wfpk.org.
• 12:33
  [SPEAKER_06]: That's right, do a show Monday through Friday, starting six p.m.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_06]: Eastern.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_06]: It's four hours of classics from the eighties and nineties.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_06]: You get the best in new music.
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_06]: You get bonus interviews.
• 12:42
  [SPEAKER_06]: In fact, one of my recent shows featured some classics and favorites from Beck and Blondie, Queens of the Stone Age, old ninety sevens in Hayler, Nirvana, Patty Griffin, the Poves, Katherine Will, Nico Case, washed out the ver of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder,
• 12:58
  [SPEAKER_06]: and my interview with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam that happens weeknight starting six p.m.
• 13:03
  [SPEAKER_06]: Eastern at wfpk.org.
• 13:06
  [SPEAKER_06]: Consequence has your music and film news.
• 13:09
  [SPEAKER_06]: You can also find me on any of the social media sites.
• 13:11
  [SPEAKER_06]: The address is always at Kyle Meredith.
• 13:13
  [SPEAKER_06]: I do hope you like and follow along.
• 13:15
  [SPEAKER_06]: And that does it for another edition.
• 13:17
  [SPEAKER_06]: I'm Kyle Meredith.
• 13:18
  [SPEAKER_06]: I'll see you next time.
• 13:31
  [SPEAKER_05]: consequence podcast network.
• 13:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's easy to hear your favorite artist on WFPK from wherever you are.
• 13:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Listen on your smart speaker, live stream from our website at WFPK.org from Louisville Public Media.