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“More Inspirations” · Dos Amigos

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to those amigos. I'm Wilmer Valderama and I
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: am Freddie Rodriguez.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: So last week we were talking about inspirations, right, the
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: moments that really stuck with us, the moments that made
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: us like, you know, like the moment when I was
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: talking about seeing my show in the small town that
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: I grew up in. You know, the bizarre of like, whoa,
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: that's me on TV in the same place that I said, oh,
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: maybe I'll be on be on TV.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, Or the times that that I saw other
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: actors speaking Spanish, right, which.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: I know, those are moments that really kind of told us,
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: oh well maybe maybe us too. For me, as we
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: are nas with someone that kind of made it obtainable.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: I had an accident when I first got a year.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: I felt like that was something that really kind of
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: made me feel like I could I could do that,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: And while we were at it, we just kept talking. Yeah,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: so clearly we were inspired. So let's get back into it.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: You know, what I try to tell the younger generation
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: is like, especially the ones that are like I'm going
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: to be an actor and that's it, right, I go,
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: I go. You look at people like Ron Howard right,
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: like he started off as an actor and then became
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: a director, you know, or even like Ben Stiller or something.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: You know, they're they're you got your Larry David's right,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: who were like they started off as writers and then
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: they became actors. It's like, as long as you're sort
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: of in it somehow, you know, like keep your options open.
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: You know, maybe maybe if you explored or dug a
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: little deeper, maybe you're you're a good writer, Maybe maybe
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: you should also explore that as well. Maybe you should
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: explore directing, especially now that we have the youtubes of
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: the world and other and and and where you can
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: shoot an entire movie on your phone. Yeah. Yeah, so
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: so be taking advantage of that, which which also I
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: I you know, when young actors ask me, uh, you
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: know what, what what should I be doing? You know,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: I always tell them, dude, just be doing it, right,
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: be doing it whatever it is is. Starting to just
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: be doing it and doing it. Could be making movies
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: for YouTube, you know, making your own stuff, you know,
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: because every time you do it, you're gonna get better,
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Your skills are gonna get sharper. Maybe somebody's gonna see
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: something you did. I mean, man, look at like Isa
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Rey for example, or Quinta Brunson or some of these
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: people who did fantastic work on like YouTube and then
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: all of a sudden somebody saw their stuff and that
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: translated into like their own television show.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, no, that's that's that's really good.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: I'm trying to think in my mind, like what what
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: could I offer in this moment about ambition vision, you know,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: having a vision that you want to materialize, that you
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: want to come when I become real.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: The truth is that you can't wait.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: For the opportunity to come with you, to come to you,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: because that's that's just kind of how it work. You
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: really got to be ambition enough to go after it.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: And I always you know, I always tell young people.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: I was like, look, there's two ways that get this
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: can go right. You're working, you're nine to five, and
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: somebody goes, hey, you can be a star. He you, buddy,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: And I promise.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: You you're gonna wait a loan that for that. Yeah.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Or you can say I am a star. I do
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: have the talent and I'm gonna continue to work on
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: this craft. So in the moment I get that shot,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: I cannot only nail it, but hold that opportunity and
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: stretch it into a career and ultimately, like you know,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: I also also tell a lot of people it's not
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: what you it's not the movie and it's not the show.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: It's what you leave on that screen that gets you
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the next job.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: Oh man, I couldn't agree with that more. I mean,
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: I've been on stuff where, you know, I work with
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: actors who think, like, no one's gonna watch this, you know,
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: and they'll phone it in or something. Like My biggest
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: fear is to like do do something that I think
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: no one's gonna watch, and then it's like on at
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  Speaker 3: three in the morning, and I suck in it because
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: I thought no one was gonna see it. And then
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: all of a sudden, like someone who's about to make
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: a decision sees me at three in the morning on
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: something that I'm absolutely terrible.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah you know he never consisted. Yeah it's a mad.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: You know, Yeah, he kind of sucked in this thing
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: I saw no I've in the morning. Yeah, So so
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: like I don't care what it is. I remember when
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: it you know, when I first started even doing like
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: Network TV, you know, people were like, well, you know,
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: you came from cable and film, and like, you know,
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: I'm like, I don't care, man, I said, whatever, I'm
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: delivering the same type of quality performance I did on film,
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: like cable, whether I worked with Christian Bale or not. Like,
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: I don't care if it's network, Like, I am always
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: going to deliver that thing. You know, I'm never gonna
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: phone it in or what do.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: You think it is?
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: What do you think it is that drives your soul
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: to say it like that.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: Because it's all I know how to do, because it's
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: what it was taught to me when I was eighteen
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: nineteen years old. Because I had the privilege of working
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: with so many wonderful great.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: I mean came to play.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: I mean, I've worked with some of the greatest directors, producers, actors,
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: writers of all time, you know, and there's just a
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: certain level that they function in. You know, they fire
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: on very specific cylinders, you know, and that's what I
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: know how to do, you know. And so you know,
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: we're in an industry where, you know, back in the day,
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: when we were coming up, right, it was like, well,
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: you're a TV actor, you're a commercial actor, you're a
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: film actor or whatever.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: You know.
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  Speaker 3: Now it's none of that all that stuff is out
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: the windows, you know. So like so I was taught
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: a very specific way, and I don't care if I'm
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: doing a freaking M and M's commercial, Like I'm going
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: to bring that level of quality to that performances.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: And I and I never forget that someone three feet
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: away from me is waiting for me to trip. Yeah,
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: somebody is waiting for me to to slow down and
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: take a deep breath and sit on the sidewalk and
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: just rest because I think I've travel enough. Somebody is
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: literally maybe less than five yards away from you, ready
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: to lap you. They have to, ready to like, you know,
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: run over you, you know, if they have to. And
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: the only thing that holds the line for you is
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: your level of consistency and dedication to your craft and
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: to yourself, you know.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: And I think that's you know, I don't know.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: That's why I try to do so many things right,
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: That's why you know, I venture into so many different
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: aspects of my of my industry because I just feel
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: in my heart, while I have the opportunity, might as
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: well leave a little imprint in all these different places
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: that I can show up, so then I can create
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: an atmosphere in an environment, a landscape where like most
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: of us can come in and make it all possible.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: And I don't know, I'm that dude. Man.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: I really feel in my heart that, like I just
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: this is my call in here is to continue to
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: you know, lock arms with the Freddie rodriguezz the world
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: to say like, oh, let's keep pushing the line forward,
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Let's push the let's push that bar higher, you know.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: And I think that that's that's the gift of this moment.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're entering a moment of our industry where
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: it's the most receptive to our culture that has ever
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: been because if now I realized we are incredibly valuable
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: to the success of just entertainment as a whole. Yeah,
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: corporate is following suit, you know, national communities are waking
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: up to it, you know. And and what a gift
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: for us to be not only alive, but to be
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: sitting where we're sitting, to be able to shepherd and
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: shine a light in the different directions our culture can
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: go to. To me, you're an inspiration, Freddy. And you
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: talk about inspirations, you talk about the people that were
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: there along the way, and most important images that did
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: it before you, and you did it before me, and
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: you've done it a couple of years before me.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we're about almost.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: The same age, you know, but you started a little younger.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I didn't.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: I had to do too many no, no, not too many years,
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: you know, enough years that I had to burn, those
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: early years and learning how to speak English, you know.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: But I think the the.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Idea that I could, you know, sit across from you
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  Speaker 2: and say, man, you you did it right. You opened
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: the door for so many of us to continue to
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: expand in the different directions that you had been as
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: possible for all of us to carve those roads, you know,
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: and you should take grades and you take pride in that.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: And you know, that's what those amigos is about. Like,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: it's about getting to know the battles, cars, the wounds,
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: you know, how we got here and what kept us
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: alive through the best and the worst version of our industries.
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  Speaker 2: And the fact that you've had the pedigree to to
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: outrun most and outlive the best. You know, it's something
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: I need you to be proud of. And you know,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: if it never anything ever happens, you know, after this conversation,
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: I think I can at least historically recorded, so you know,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: so your children and children like yours can live up
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: to a moment where someone like you existed. You know,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: you think back at all the people that did it
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: before us, you know, And that's why, you know, johny
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: with someone you brought you like, with someone with some
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: of our you know, inspirations. The fact that in our
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: lifetime we can tell that dude, you you broke it
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: in half and broke it open for us too, you know,
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: and for us to make weird choices too, right through
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: a little outgoing with the choices we make, you know.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: And I was I saw myself in him because I
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: always wanted to play dirty. I wanted to play the
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: dirty guy, you know. I wanted to kind of dirty
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: myself up and play something I wasn't.
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, you know I was privileged enough to get
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: to tell him that. I mean, you know, I've you know,
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: and hopefully we'll have John on here where I get
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: we all get to tell him this in person. But
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: I you know, I've I've done two films with him,
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: and I obviously i've I've said this to him face
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: to face many times. But my sophomore year of high school. Uh,
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: you know, I was a drama major and I was
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: in drama class. He came to my high school to
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: speak to my drama class. Oh way, yeah he was.
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: He was doing Did you ever tell him? Oh yeah,
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: oh yeah, no, no, no, we've just John and I
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: have had extensive conversations and he came to speak to
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: my class. He was doing Spicorama, one of his one
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: man shows at the Stephenwolf Theater, which was only a
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: block away from my high school. And so somehow my
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: drama teacher, Miss Robinson, got him to come and speak
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: to our class, right, and our class was only like
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: you know, I don't know, twenty people or something. And
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: he came and he spoke and I was the only
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: Latin kid in the class, you know, and so my
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: drama teacher was like, well, we got to introduce the
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: one Latino kid to John, you know, the other Latino
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: guy in here. And you know, she introduced us and
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: then we exchanged pleasantries and I you know, and you
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: know John and John's sense of humor, you know, he
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: kind of rubbed me on my head and he was like, yeah,
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: maybe one day, you know, you'll play my little brother.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: And then I was all cocky, you know, and I
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: looked him in the eye and I was like, yeah,
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: well maybe one day I'll be where you're at. And
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: then we just kind of locked eyes for like a second,
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: and then he left, you know. And that was like
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: ninety two or something, and like three years later I
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: was starring in a movie with him. That's crazy.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that is crazy.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: He did a movie called The Pest Together of course,
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: the best, the classic for all of us.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we shot that movie.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: If any of you who's listening or watching you hear
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: about the past and you're like, what is that, do
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: yourself a favor right now, make it a movie night.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: This is this is a movie you have to watch. Yeah.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: And then a couple of years later, like you know,
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: I walk into this rehearsal and I'm like, you don't
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: remember me, And he's looking at me like I'm crazy,
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: and he's like, no, man, who the hell are You's
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: you came to my class and he's like, well, now.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: We're starring this movie together.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: But you know, as we talk about inspiration, you know,
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: it was it was such a moment for me to
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: tell him how much he inspired me. And we've become
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: good friends since and I've gotten to tell him a
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: million times how much he's inspired me. And and that's
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: big bro to me, you know. But but to turn
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: it around on you, Wilmer, you know, what you've been
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: able to achieve has been I mean just phenomenal inspirational. Listen,
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: not only to like the next generation is coming inspirational
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: to me man, you know, and and to your peers
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: and the people who watch you become this incredible entrepreneur,
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: you know, which is so incredibly important for everyone who's
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: listening here. You know, is it important to see you
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: on TV every single week?
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Yes?
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: Are you a visual representative, yes, But what you're managing
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: to do, like even with this show right here as
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: a producer, as a prolific producer, that you're becoming, I mean,
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: I can't really think of too many other Latinos who
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: have been able to do that. And for you to
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: be put in that incredibly privileged position you must feel
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: and I'll let you answer that, but I would imagine
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: the sort of deep sense of responsibility. And let me
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: tell you as somebody, as your friend, as someone who's
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: doing this with you being able to look in I mean,
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: I feel that you're handling that responsibility incredibly well, you know,
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: and you're handling it. Well, oh, you're you're you're laying
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: the foundation down for the next generation. You're laying the
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: foundation down to make us a more commercially viable force,
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: which is obviously the you know, you and I have
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: had this conversation in order for latinos to become a
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: more commercially viable force in the industry. And how important
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: that is because once we become a commercially viable force,
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: and we continue to prove that, we're the ones buying
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: the tickets to come and see the new investible marketable. Yes,
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: we're we're the ones. You know, the stuff that we
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: put out makes money. You know, people watch uh and
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: and you're you're, you're right at the forefront of that.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Man.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: No, thank you, Freddy. I I brother, I appreciate that.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: I appreciate that. And you know, I am the guy
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: who doesn't take a bad to look back and say, like, what,
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: you know, how much we've been laying the groundwork.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: You know, we just take it the day, day by day.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: And one at a time and try not to overwhelm
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: myself with with you know, any grace. And I think
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I would just say this. I have this, this urgent
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: desire for it to it all change. Yeah, dude, we've
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: been waiting so long for people to understand the value.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: But most importantly, you know what we've contributed that continues
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: to subliminately disappear from.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: History, and so to me, it goes beyond like I've seen.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: I read the story of the underd and twenty five
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: Mexican infantry unit, you know, unit that was building out possible,
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: that was dropping the rope in a Nazi infested rome during.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: World War Two.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: Then nobody wrote about one hundred and twenty five Mexicans.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: They were all put together in one infantry union. They
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: were sent to the front to see where the fire
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: was coming from, and they did some of the most
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: heroic stuff in World War Two. You know, they make
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: friends with the Italian villages, and they almost spoke the
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: same language because Spanish and Italians, you know, we're so similar.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: You know, they send a signal to the Germans, to
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: the Nazis that that wait a minute, look at all
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: these Latinos speaking Spanish and Spies were saying, this is
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: proof that Mexico has joined World WARLD two. Meanwhile, these
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: are Mexican Americans that were coming from.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: A pasto Texas.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: And I think about stories like that, and I go, WHOA,
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: if we knew that, if we knew.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: That we also fought.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: For the freedom and the gift that is this land
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: to everyone, we'd feel a little differently about ourselves. We
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: wouldn't think we're just a guess in this country. You know,
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: if we had more images, more of our stories to
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: be portrayed at that level, what would the world look
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: like for my daughter?
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: So, for me, like as soon as that, and I
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: kind of almost four years ago, you know, I was
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: always I always was in a you know, gear five,
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: put it in six as soon as she was born,
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: because I said, I want her to wake up to
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: a reality when she's a teenager, when she sees her language,
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: her culture portrayed on effortlessly and subliminately on screen. And
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: somebody goes, wow, look at how colorful. Look at how
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: I included this. But you look at the presentation. She goes,
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: what are you talking about? I don't see the difference,
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: and she almost forgets you know what it wasn't.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: You know, or like what it was not like you know?
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: I think so so I think A lot of my
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: passion comes from, like, you know, can we create a
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: world where they can wake up and know like, oh,
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: I can also be an attorney. I can also be
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: the hero of my story, you know, And doesn't matter
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: what I look like, right, And for her to get
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: to that point where it doesn't matter what she looks like,
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: the world has to be painted differently, and it has
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: to be painted with the true colors you know that
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: we commute with every single day in our country, you know,
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: and in the world. Latinos are, Latinos are Italian, They're Japanese, right,
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: Latinos are are you know, you know, are from everywhere.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Latinos are Indians, They're Australians, They're Canadians, Latinos are everything.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think nothing.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: Will give you more joy than to be able to
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: just continue to build a path where we can continue to.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Just tell this in I mean no other way.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: I look at it this one story at a time, Yeah,
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: one venture at a time, and hopefully by the time
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: we look back, it's like and if made that cannot
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: be raised.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: Well, I see the urgency. I feel it, and for
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: those listening, for those listening, there are times I look
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: at Wilmore and I go, dude, when do you sleep
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: this guy? This guy works so much, man, It's like,
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: you know, and then all of a sudden he wants
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: to do a podcast. I'm like, are you sure this
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: is where I come to rest though? Are you sure
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: you have the time?
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: The podcast?
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: Is like, you know how I forced myself to I
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: forced you to come out.
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: With me, you know, man, I'm just trying to keep up. Yeah,
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: I mean, this guy is like, I'm up at four
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: in the morning working out. I'm like, so, then when
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: do you go to sleep?
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: You know, like two Like what do you sleep? Like
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: two hours a night?
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: I'm telling you, man, five feet in behind me, there's
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: somebody waiting to let me. And uh, you know, so
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: I gotta have this stamina of Sonic the Hedgehog.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: You know that's good.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: That's a good comparison. Thank you, man, Thank you.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: I was a Sega genesis, you know.
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: But anyways, this is a great conversation, and I hope
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: that we ever listen to this. You know, finds similarities
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: no matter what industry, no matter what life you're living.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: Hopefully some of these little nuggets that Freddie and I
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: have been exploring you know somehow you know, connects with
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: you and whatever spiritual, whatever subliminal or or just a
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: soulful journey that you're on that that whatever ingredients you
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: feil here, maybe something applies to you. And right and
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: I and we and we hope that you continue to
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: enjoy this journey and more inspiration, more hilarious stories, and
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: you know, we should we should definitely see when we
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: can get John in here. That would be that would
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: be amazing.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: Legs, where are you at?
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Where on you're Johne?
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: Where you at? Can I actually jump into I wanted
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: to ask the question if you ever had the opportunity
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: to meet one of your influences and is there something
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: of a mantra of us saying that they imparted on
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: you that you can give to our audience.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: I got to work with Andy Garcia. We we did
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: this movie called He played a Wild the legendary jazz musician,
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: and I played his son in that movie. And obviously
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: I was, you know, starstruck and everything.
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was just so I was.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: So happy to be working with him because he was
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: someone I looked up to so much. And I just
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: remember one day just flat out asking him for advice,
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: and he said to me, you know, Freddie, just stay loose,
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: stay loose. And I was like, you know, I was
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: rather young.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, stay loose, you know.
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: And then it dawned on me later, you know, Uh,
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: and you and I have had this conversation, you know
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: how like you know, you're doing a scene and sometimes
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: you'll be watching somebody in a scene and they're not loose.
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: You know, there's there's like tension, and there's should pressure,
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: there's tension in their in their face and their bad
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: you just feel it, right and then and then you
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: then you watch scenes where someone is completely relaxed, right,
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: and it's just coming across as natural. You know, the
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: words are flowing, the body language is flowing. Uh, and
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: that and that and that just clicked after he imparted
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: that on me, you know, after you bestowed that that
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: knowledge on me. And and I would say that that
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: probably goes for everything in life, right, It's not just
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: sort of the scene that you're shooting at.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: The time, it's just stay loose. It translates across the board.
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, what about you anyone ever?
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, I think I I you know, I've talked
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: about this a few times in the past, and I'm
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: proud to bring up this memory.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: When I was eighteen years old, it was my first
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: year and seventy show.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: Across our sound stage, Robin Williams was shooting La Doctors.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: You know, he was doing a guest star at La Doctors. Yeah,
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: and he was playing a guy with elephant Titus, you know.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: So he he had this this whole prosthetic thing in
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: his face and all that stuff, you know, and you know,
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: so in between the rehearsals, you know, he came over
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: across the way to meet kurtwood Smith, who had done
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: Dead Boys Society. Oh yeah, you know, so Kirt with
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: and Robin Williams are talking and I walk out and
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: I'm literally I'm eighteen, nineteen years old, and I look
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: up and I go, whoa, Yeah, that's Robin Williams. And
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: as a young comedic actor, this guy is like Mount Everest,
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: you know, like effortless heart, effortless comedy. But at a level,
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: it's just hard to comprehend how real and natural he
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: really was about that stuff and the energy he had.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: So of course I went up there and I said, Hey, Kurwin,
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: who's your friend here?
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: You know. And they both smiled.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: And I looked at Robin Williams and I said, hey, Robin,
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: I said, mister Williams, he goes call me Robin and
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: I said, yes, sir, thank you.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Robin.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: Have a question for a young buck like me, you know,
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: wants to be just like you, you know, Any word
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: of advice and he looks at me. Yes, two words
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: of advice. Remember and never forget that your fans, because
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: you will have fans, are going to have three to
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: two minutes of your time for the rest of their life.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, what two to three minutes you want them
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: to walk away with?
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: And then he said and two remember and never forget
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: that it is supposed to be fun.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: I was changed because I realized very quickly how important
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: it was that everything I did was not just fun
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: but enjoyable.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: You know. The idea to.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: Remind yourself that everything is supposed to be fun. The
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: moment you're stressed, you talk about the lose, stay loose.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: You know, in order to stay loose, you gotta you
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: gotta remember that you have to enjoy this. Relax, take
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: a deep breath, and make sure that it's fun for you.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: If it's fun for you, it's going to be enjoyable
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: for everybody else, right, And and the thing about impressions,
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: first time impressions that perhaps sometimes are last lasting impressions.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: You know, two to three minutes you want people to
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: walk away with. You know, no matter what's going on
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: in your day, you know, remember that somebody might be
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: going through the same and whatever you alter those two
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: minutes to be, you know, could either help somebody could
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: also make you comfortable the moment, you create an environmental harmony.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: And so that really changed everything for me. Wo fun.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: Do you ever find that you have a struggle with
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: the fun aspect?
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: I think when I struggle, it become less fun. Yeah,
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: I think it's become what's become more less fun is
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: that I'm running out of hours mm hmm. And it's
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: become even more evident than my time on Earth is
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: getting to a point where now we're I'm living up
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: to halfway through my life and the other half is
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: the last half.
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Oh so so you're you're questioning mortality.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm thinking more like, with the timeline where I
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: have left, how much more can I sneak in?
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: You know? So like so that becomes a little not fun.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: That's why I think I do so much as when
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: I get up so early. That's why the all those things.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: There's my four year old daughter upstairs. It's just a
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: very heavy feed, but it is. It is like a
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: very very sobering thing, like before I leave this place,
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: how am I going to leave it?
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: And I'm stressful with that ship. Dude, I don't know
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: why I do.
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: Yes, huh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you know.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: I I what about you? I try.
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: I love I love going, you know, for me working,
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: I gotta have fun. Like if I'm not having fun,
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: I don't feel loose.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't well at this point of your career,
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: if he's not gonna be fun, it's a no.
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah man, yeah, but you'd be surprised. And sometimes, you know,
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: you go on a set and it's not fun. You know,
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: it's not fun. And I find for me anyway, you know,
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: there are some people who thrive and when it's not
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: fun and attention and all that. Like I don't thrive
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: intention you know, so I try to create as much
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: fun as I possibly could, but sometimes it just gets uh,
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: it gets hard, you know, depending on the project.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: You know, and you also think that namicynamically, you know,
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: you're not the only one going through something or some journey.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: Everybody else, every actor has their rules and their scars
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: and they're totally yeah. Yeah, and it's it's you know,
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: in that aspect, I would say, when the environment is
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: not ideal, that's when you're responsible to change it. Not
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: for everybody else around it, even though they're going to
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: enjoy it, but you have responsibility to change it for you, Yeah,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: because that's when you're going to try the most.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: So if the environment is not great, how do I
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: make this environment better? Because it just helps me? And
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: in retrospect, it feels selfless because you're helping everybody else
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: get to that same frequency you know, of enjoying that
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: moment you're living together, or really you're helping your environment
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: because you're the one has.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: To be free.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: But it's difficult because there's very Yes, yes, I mean
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: we should definitely talk about those those moments like how
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: do you enter you know, around you know, an environment,
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: a hostile environment, and how.
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: Do you.
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: Know, how do you roll up your sleeves and either
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: make it better or remove yourself from it?
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: I mean that's that's definitely an episode some of them.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: People need to hear about how to move themselves from
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: toxic environments, you know. Yeah, anyways, be turning back to
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: those amigos. Yes, it's such a such a you know,
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: such a privilege to to share this with you, Aaron,
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: and with Leo, and yeah, Ryan and very much Vincent, Lauren,
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: everybody who makes this possible for everybody. And Aaron, thank
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: you for such a provocative question.
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: Yes, that's what.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: I'm here for. Thank you.
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: You got anything else in the vault?
• 28:44
  Speaker 4: There we I'm gonna save it for future episode.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: Okay, I got you all right?
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you everyone for joining those amigos. This was
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: an extra bonus question. Then we love you guys. Thank
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: you for tuning in every week, and thank you for
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: loving the show. And and give us your feedback. Send
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: us on Instagram all your questions and thoughts or any
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: themes or any anything that you think we should answer
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: to talk about more. We're out of those amigos. Talk
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: on Instagram and uh, we'll see you guys there, see
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: you guys there.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: I'm Freddie Rodriguez Widama.
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: See you next time.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: M h, m hm, m h.
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: And Wilmer Valdorama.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: M.
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: Wilmer Valdorama.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: M h m h m hmmmm mm hm hm m
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: hm hmmm