Latest / Harder Than Life / From Pirates to Planet of the Apes: Isaac Singleton on Choosing Faith Over Fame

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From Pirates to Planet of the Apes: Isaac Singleton on Choosing Faith Over Fame · Harder Than Life

• 0:07
  I'm Kelly Siegel, and this is Harder Than Life, a podcast about self-love, self-awareness, business, and health. We tell outrageous stories and boil everything down to simple, practical advice you can start using today. Let's get living.
• 0:23
  Welcome back to the Heart of Life podcast, everybody. Today's guest I'm really looking forward to. He's a real treat. Amazing human, beautiful smile. Isaac Singleton Jr. is a towering voice in Hollywood. Literally and vocally. Isaac is best known for playing Bosun in Pirates of the Caribbean. The Curse of the Black Pearl is a great guy.
• 0:42
  and for voicing the cosmic villain Thanos in numerous Marvel animated series and video games. His voice has thundered through franchises like Street Fighter, Transformers, Deadpool, and Batman. And his face has graced screens in cult classics like Planet of the Apes, Anger Management, Bones, and The Mandalorian. With decades in the business, Isaac continues to evolve, both a performer and a powerful presence in the entertainment industry. Welcome, my new friend. Well, thank you very much for the welcome. How are you doing today?
• 1:12
  I am lovely. It's not very often that I am a tiny man compared to somebody. The next time we're together, we're going to make this in person, and then we'll get some fun pictures next to each other. I'm 220 pounds, and that's why I started out with, how big are you, 6'5", 290? Yeah, I'm trying to cut down to 280, 285 pounds. Cut off your arm. I need these arms. Yeah.
• 1:40
  worked in Hollywood for a long time since 1997. I moved here in 1998. Yeah I got here on May 28th 1998 as a matter of fact I remember the date. Wow it's a big monumental time let's just start right there. How did you remember it so quick and what was going on in your mind and just paint the picture for the listeners. I was working in Florida. I was working as an actor in Florida. I was working both of the theme parks at Disney and Universal in Florida. Anybody got an offer to come out here and work at Waterworld here I know I was going to plan on moving out here anyway.
• 2:07
  So I came out here trained into the Waterworld show. And then while I was training at the Waterworld show, the people at Wild West said, hey, you work at Wild West in Orlando. And I said, yeah, I do. He said, you want to work here too? I'm like, sure. So they said, we're going to do training in our guys on May 28th. So I said, okay. So I made it out here and I got here on May 28th. And then I called them and I got here and they're like, oh, we're going to start next week. We'll start training next Monday. I'm like, okay. But the reason I remember the most though is because that's the same day Phil Hartman died. So he was one of my favorite actors. So.
• 2:36
  That's the day he died. So I just remember that date for sure. I got here the day he died. And I always thought I might work with him eventually. But nope, not to be. So I had just graduated from college. And I can remember pretty much what my mindset was back then. So what's your biggest lesson that you've learned in working in Hollywood for all this time? My biggest lesson is to keep on going. Because if you've got a goal and you love what you're doing, keep doing it.
• 3:05
  There's going to be ups and downs, but that's what life is. And that's what's going to be in your career, too. I mean, I'm not a superstar who's shot it off into the rockets, but I'm also able to make a living at this since I've been here. So I'm very thankful for that, too. And that was pretty neat to be able to do that because no connections whatsoever in Hollywood. But I just came out here and had this intuitiveness to just keep on going and going after roles and going after things I could get into. So that's what I did.
• 3:31
  What were you doing at the Waterworld? Like, what was your job? Okay, Waterworld is a stunt show here at Universal Studios. Oh, okay. And I was playing what's called the number six character. He's a big guy who drives his big boat. And in the front of the boat's got a machine gunner. We've rammed through the doors of where the Waterworld is.
• 3:48
  You know, we've got a guy who's behind us called a deacon. He's on another boat. And, you know, so that's just the introduction to us ramming our way into where the atoll is and shooting up the place and then kind of tell you we're taking over kind of a deal. Are you spiritual? What do you believe in? And everything is alignment with energy and that you're in the right place at the right time and everything happens for you, not to you. I have to tell I'm a Christian guy. So, yeah, I believe in that.
• 4:16
  And that's one reason why I became an actor. God actually spoke to me and told me to be an actor. I went to college to be a commodities broker. So that's what happened with me. My goal since I was 8th grade was working in the commodities market. I went to college at Florida A&M University. I was an economics major. Now, don't be getting me wrong. I've always loved acting. I've always liked movies and stuff like that. I've always been into making noises and sounds and voices since I was a small child, but never thought I was making a living at it. That's just something fun I always did. Anyway, my sophomore year of college...
• 4:45
  I took a theater course that semester as one of my electives. The theater director of university asked me to come out just for one of the plays. I got the lead in the play of the theater majors. And while we're doing the play that semester, the stock market and a lot of the markets went a major maker, re correction went way down.
• 5:00
  And I started evaluating why I wanted to be a commodities broker. I did a pros and cons list. The pros list was short. I'd make a lot of money. The cons list was like, had to be up early. Had to be in front of the computer screen most of the day. Kind of build clientele lists. All these different things. I'm like, that doesn't sound like fun. Long story short, God spoke to me that weekend. He told me that I was going to be an actress. I said, okay, God will listen to you. Trans University's gaming major. Became an actor. And that's what I've been doing ever since. Go down that a little deeper for me. Because I...
• 5:30
  God has been talking to me for a long time and I've denied it. So I want my listeners to hear this because if you don't listen, God's just going to show you. So walk us through what exactly happened. Like what were you meditating? Were you just sitting? Talk us through that. All right. Well, let's got to go back to when I was four years old. Remember when we were four years old and adults would come up to you and say, Hey Kelly, what are you going to be when you grow up? Do you remember that? Yep. What'd you say when you were four? Do you remember? I wanted to be a police officer. Okay.
• 6:01
  I can remember vividly when people asked me what I was going to be when I grew up. I said, I'm going to be a mad scientist. That's what I told people right when I was four. And they giggle like that. Then as I got older, I want to be a football player for a little while. Then I want to be an eye doctor for a little bit because my dad's eye doctors. I want to be an eye doctor for a little bit. Then eighth grade.
• 6:22
  I said, I want to be a commodities broker. And I kept that goal to my sophomore college. But the reason why I'm saying this, because every time someone asks that question, even when I was little, when I was four, see, I don't think in letters and numbers. I think in pictures most of the time. I have film rules going through my mind all the time. When I'm imagining things, thinking about things, film rules constantly go through my head. So every time someone asks you, what are you going to do when you grow up?
• 6:46
  I always got this picture of a bunch of people sitting in a room. The room was dark. And these people had this blue light shining on their face. And they were looking at the light with interest. But that vision would disappear and I'd answer the question. You know, commodities broker, mad scientist, eye doctor, football player. So flash forward to my sophomore college, I'm an economics major. Like I said, I'm going to be a commodities broker. And I take this course. And then, you know, the stock market and a lot of markets went down that semester.
• 7:16
  And I started evaluating and I did the pros and cons list. So I said, I started praying to God about it. I said, okay, well, I just, you know, I prayed to God and I just let it go. So then, um, I decided then I was going to go see a movie and I was in Tallahassee, Florida and M is there and then Florida States there. And then, so I didn't have a car back then. So I walked across my campus, which is Florida and M university, walked across Florida States campus to get to the dollar theater in town. Cause I didn't have a car. So I can afford a dollar in college for a movie. Right. So I pay my dollar going to the movie theater. I'm sitting down.
• 7:46
  The lights come down as usual when you're watching a movie. And all of a sudden, inside my head, this voice said,
• 7:52
  Isaac turn around and I turned around. I saw the exact people I've been seeing since I was four years old, where they were sitting, the clothes they're wearing and a blue light shining on their face that they were looking at was a movie screen reflecting on their faces. That's what they were looking at. And I'm looking at them. They're looking at this screen. That's why I never figured out why I'm seeing these people with these blue lights shining on their face and what they're looking at. I realized, okay, now I'm in the movie theater. Okay.
• 8:19
  And I said, okay, I guess that's a sign that I'm supposed to be going through the acting then because I've been praying about it. And so now on the way home from the movie, now I'm praying to God saying, God, I'm in Tallahassee. I know I want to do film and television if I'm going to do this acting thing. What can you do to help me out as far as that's concerned? So I walk the way back home to my apartment. I get to my apartment on my campus.
• 8:42
  I walk into my apartment. I turn the TV on. The 11 o'clock news is coming on right then and there. The very first thing the newscaster said is, Hollywood has come to Florida. Universal Studios and MGM Studios in Orlando are doing major film and television production. I said, okay. I said, that would be great. But I didn't know of any university in Orlando at all because I knew I wanted to finish college but still pursue the film industry. Next thing I knew, I found out about University of Central Florida. I transferred to UCF. All my credits transfer. I transferred.
• 9:11
  I changed my major from economics communications. I graduate one semester later than I would have. And I start working in the film industry in North Florida doing shows on Nickelodeon, because they had Nickelodeon Universal. Started working on shows like Sequest and things like that, doing background work, sometimes getting roles. Either way, I was working. And then eventually I got hired at Universal there to do the Wild West Dunn show.
• 9:33
  The first African-American guy who to be in that show because there's a mother and two sons come in and disrupt this stunt show. And there's a scene in this. There's a scene in the show where she says, these are my two sons, Cole and Claude. They're identical twins. And we take off her hat and smile at the audience. Obviously, we're not identical twins. It was funny. And then I got hired at Disney during the Indiana Jones stunt show over there.
• 10:00
  And once again, these are all things that definitely God has made happen. Because, like, this is how I got the job at Disney, which is really something. Because I had been working on different shows in the city, you know, in Orlando.
• 10:14
  And I would work catering at night. So I was working at Universal Studios in their catering department. That's how I met the lead there to get to come audition for their shows. And then I went over to Disney and said, what the heck? It wasn't full-time job. So I said, I'll go over to Disney and work catering there. Because when you work catering, it's night. And you just work those few hours. But the companies that usually rent out the companies around Disney, they give the employees who work the catering events a good tip. So it was good money. So I went over to Disney.
• 10:44
  And I applied to go there and I came and got my interview. And the guy was like, okay, you seem pretty good. All you got to do is if you fit in our costume, because everything's costuming at Disney. The costume for the Gatorade was a sport coat tied button down shirt and black slacks.
• 11:02
  And I knew the slacks would fit. I knew the shirt could fit, but I can't buy his shirt off. I can't buy his coat off the rack. I can't, I have to get mine tailored. I knew it wasn't gonna have long enough sleeves that fit me in the shoulders. So what I did is I put the coat on and just kind of lifted my arms up a little bit like this.
• 11:18
  So it made it look like the coat was long. And the guy goes, okay, it fits. And he gave me my Disney ID. So I went and got my Disney ID immediately, right? So now I've got the Disney ID, which I can get on any campus of Disney now. And so in Orlando, most of the people that are our age group would hang out in different places the same nights. And when I was out, and one of the stunt guys on one of the shows I worked on was to see, so I mean, hey, have you ever come over to see Indiana Jones? I mean, no, I haven't been there. Can you get on Disney? Well, I got my ID yesterday. He goes, hey, well, come see the show tomorrow.
• 11:47
  And I went over to Disney, saw the show at Indiana Jones. And after his show was over, hey, come back backstage, let me meet some of the guys. We went backstage and some of the stunt guys knew me from the different shows we worked on in the city.
• 11:59
  And the lead stunt guy was there. He goes, hey, man, we're going to start training giants next week. You want to be one of our giants? I'm like, yes. So they trained me in the Indiana Jones stunt show and be one of the giants. And I eventually got trained into that. And I trained in the first AD of the show, trained in to be the director of the show. And also, when you're the giant, you also did the demolitions expert guy. So, you know, they re-enact.
• 12:23
  Riddles of Lost Ark on stage. And that's how I got that job over there, because I had the Disney ID. I never worked catering at Disney one day. Because I got that ID, I got on campus, got to meet the right people, and I got in the right show. And that was a great show, because I was able to save enough money to move out here when I needed a job for two years. Hey, man, the whole time you're talking, I'm just giggling. Yeah.
• 12:46
  God, that's God's plan. And God worked his magic. But at the end of the day, you were putting yourself in the position. So you sit back and do nothing and just manifest. God can't work that way. You have to be out, put yourself in rooms. And so speaking of God, so I was a late bloomer. I had a really high pitched voice until I was almost, I think, 18 or 19. Have you always had this deep voice? Yeah, when I came out the room, I said, hey, doc, no need to slap me. I'm all right.
• 13:17
  New York Stinch, dude. What about the growth spurt? When did you reach 6'5"? All right, that happened. It was long because I was a skinny, smaller kid. So I remember hoping that I'd at least get to be 6 feet tall because I wasn't a big kid. I was a skinny kid. And I remember hoping at least I'd grow to be 6 feet tall, you know. And so finally...
• 13:43
  When I was 16, going on 17, we moved from the United States to Germany that summer. And I got to be six feet tall that summer. I was so happy. But I weighed 145 pounds. That was a stick figure. Anyway, that fall, I started playing football at school because I went to American High School in Germany.
• 14:01
  Started playing football that fall at the school there. And I grew from 145 to 175 my junior year. From what? From eating, working out? You know, playing football, you're ramming in each other, and you're lifting weights. We had to exercise. We had to throw a guy over our shoulder and walk up a hill we had at the school, all that kind of stuff. So I just put muscle on, which was great. Nice. And then, so I was 6'2 at the end of my junior year. Then in my senior year, I was 6'4, and I was 195. Oof.
• 14:31
  And then by my sophomore year of college, I grew to be 6'5", I was 220 pounds then. So did you play wide receiver to start, then tight end? No, I was on the defensive side. I was a defensive lineman and also linebacker. That's where I was.
• 14:46
  But I wasn't a starter. Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to try to give you any dreams of grandeur. I was not a starter. I wasn't the best football player. I mean, that was my first time ever playing football, and I moved over there. I've been playing baseball growing up. It's because you're so nice. Even through the computer screen, your positive, loving energy just comes through. Probably through your booming smile and eyes. You're such an inviting personality. So thank you for being you. You voiced...
• 15:15
  Thanos, Saget, Soundwave. What do you love about playing larger than life characters? I think it's fun because a lot of the characters I get to play are the opposite of me as far as my personality is concerned.
• 15:29
  And I think that's just wonderful. I'm not a bad guy, but I like playing the bad guys because that's the fun stuff. They get to say the stuff the good guys don't get to say. And they get to laugh at you when they say it, you know. So I just think it's funny. You know, and I just love those kind of characters. I mean, even last year when I was in Transformers 1, I get to play this guy named Darkwing.
• 15:51
  And he's just, he's just always like needling the good guys. You know, it's just fun. You get to do the duality in life. We all want that. Like before I started this hard life brand, I used to be rough around the edges and now I'm just full of love. So I get to see both sides and I, I'd rather be this all day long. So I love that you get to dip on each side, but what role stretch you the most mentally and physically? Because you didn't get here.
• 16:19
  by you'll be in six foot five and 290 pounds. You have a personality. You put yourself in rooms. You worked your hind part up, but you continue to do that well into your career. So talk about the mental and physical things you do to keep, keep up. All right. Mentally. Yeah.
• 16:40
  I'm just thankful I had parents who grouted me when I was younger. Go into that. I'm very thankful for that. I have wonderful parents. I've been married 61 years now. Kudos. Congratulations. Yeah. And, you know, I'm glad they taught me about the Lord growing up. You know, that's really helped me be grounded also. So that's number one. So anyway, my mindset is always like, okay,
• 17:06
  First of all, good things are gonna happen and bad things are gonna happen. You know that's gonna happen in life because I don't know anybody's life who's just everything was great and then they died. Yours seems to be like that. Roller coasters, there's ups and you got downs. I mean, you find somebody you love, then you lose that person, they break up or whatever. You find a great job and then all of a sudden you don't work another great job for a while. All the type of things that happen in life and that's what a life is.
• 17:34
  ups and downs i mean that's just what it is so i already being grounded knowing that day good things are gonna happen bad things are gonna be happening but if you just keep your mind set on knowing that you can keep pushing forward and work through them that the good times are coming back again and you know no matter how bad things might seem i feel like there's always gonna be better you know i mean there's always gonna be good stuff coming your way
• 17:58
  The beauty part about that, Isaac, is that when you, so life is a roller coaster. And if you watch it, it's a lot like a heartbeat. So if you, if it lays flat, you're dead. But I tell you this much, the beauty part about when you're coming down that hill, you know, another one's coming right up. So you just have to believe that God has a plan and it's all going to work out and just keep growing. So you're tremendously grounded. But I'll even tell you this. There's been some times I was in the downswing and I thought things were looking bad.
• 18:26
  Something happened in those downswings that even though it was down, I had gotten some lessons I learned. Oh, they will even help me learn when I went up the upstream of swing again, because I was like, oh, that's why that happened. And things got better on the other side because I learned that lesson when I was down.
• 18:42
  You ever notice when you're in that pivotal moment, you have two choices. You can take one and get yourself out quickly. And then you take the right and you stay in it. And that one's always the one that pays you off in the long run. Can you give us an example of one? Put it this way. I can think of roles I really wanted to get and I went out for. Didn't get it.
• 19:06
  And, you know, you kind of felt like, oh, man, I really wanted that one, you know. But then I found out later that the guy that got that role, something on the set happened. Things weren't that great. Things didn't really happen the way the person who got the role wanted it. And I know I definitely wouldn't have wanted to go through what he went through to get that when he got the role and what happened on the set. So I'm like, oh, OK, so obviously, even though I thought I wanted that thing really bad, I realized it wouldn't have been as great for me as I thought it was going to be.
• 19:36
  So I'm like, oh, okay then. I see you kind of protected me a little bit, even though I thought I wanted that, but I didn't get it because you protected me from that, even though he made money off of it or whatever, but the things he went through, things that I would not have wanted to do. So I can think of things like that too. Rejection is redirection and probably opened up space and time for you to go to roles and do things that you really are in alignment with.
• 20:03
  I was asking a question, but I wanted to hear that. So you're tremendously grounded. And how do you stay so grounded with all these high-level characters and where you're at in life? How do you stay so grounded? First of all, I think it's my personality. Because I don't have a big head about anything I've done at all. And I walk around with my head like, I did this and I did that. I don't have that attitude about it. Because I know there's plenty of people out there who wish they had the roles I've done.
• 20:31
  And I don't poo-poo them at all because they're still out there trying to get the things they've done, too. So that kept me grounded. I also remember this. When I first moved out here, I didn't have an agent. As a matter of fact, I got to go meet with agencies. So sometimes agencies would be like, they'd look at me like, but you're so big and your voice is so deep and we don't know what we would do with you. And agencies are thinking they rejected me. And I let them think that way because, oh, OK, well, thanks for the meeting, I'd leave.
• 20:56
  But at the same time, I'd walk out of the room thinking, good, thank God that you aren't my agent because if you can't envision me in any kind of roles or put me in any kind of...
• 21:06
  film or TV and you can't see it, obviously you wouldn't have been the right agent for me. So I'm thankful that you told me you couldn't see me here or there because I'm going to go work anyway. You're just going to miss out on what you could have made off me. So I feel that way when I leave. And I think a lot of actors feel like I get the agents to be all everything in your career. And that's not true. I know some agents don't even have agents. They have lawyers that do their deals for them.
• 21:29
  So that's one thing I don't let anybody feel like I don't, you said rejection is re correction. I don't feel any rejection at all. I don't let my mind feel like I got rejected from that because rejection to me is a negative word. So I just think of like positively, Hey, okay. That one wasn't mine. And congratulations to the actor who did get it. And I really do feel congratulations. I've, there's some people roles I've gone out for and I'm like happy for the guy who got it sometimes. Here's another example.
• 21:59
  I feel like if the role is yours, the role is yours. And I remember when I went to audition for the movie Planet of the Apes, as a matter of fact, I went to audition for Planet of the Apes, okay? Now, I was already in the movie as a stunt guy, but I didn't want to be a stunt guy in the movie. I wanted to be an actor. But I got on as a stunt guy first.
• 22:16
  But then I told my commercial agent, because I didn't have a theatrical agent yet, I said, would you please submit me theatrically for the movie? She said, Isaac, they don't have a script yet. I said, I'm on the movie, you don't have a script yet? And she said, yes, they're still writing the script. I said, okay. She said, when I get the script done, I'll call you. I'm like, okay, great. So sure enough, she called me about two weeks later. She's, Isaac, they've got a script, they want you to come in and audition. I'm like, great. So I go in for the audition,
• 22:40
  And have you reacted before? Have you been in? Have you gone to an audition before? I'm sure I have as a little. I did once as a little kid, but I was so small. I don't remember much of it. I just felt like when I went to the audition, I said, OK, I'm going to I'm going to get on this movie. I wasn't. It wasn't a cocky feeling. It was just a feeling like I'm going to get on this movie because I just I know I have the voice. I have the stature what they're looking for. Right.
• 23:03
  So when I get to the audition room, there's like 50 other guys in there all reading their scripts out loud and all this kind of stuff. And one of the other actors was reading the words. And sometimes when someone's reading something, you understand that when they're saying something incorrectly, you know that they don't understand what they're reading. And I said, oh, hey, I said, man, oh, wait, that word is pronounced this way. And this is what it means. That way, when you go in there. You will say it correctly and you won't be wrong.
• 23:29
  And, you know, he was thankful. But as I'm telling him this, one of the other actors yelled at me, goes, don't tell him. He might get it now. And everybody looked up, like, looked at this guy like, dude, man. But I was happy to help the guy out because, like I said, if it's my role, it's my role. If it's your role, it's your role. But why would I want him to go in there and embarrass himself in front of these casting directors? They might not call him in the future for something, you know, that wouldn't be good for him.
• 23:56
  And I even went to it. I remember, and I got on the movie shirt, and I ended up playing four characters in that movie, the one that Tim Burton shot with Mark Wahlberg. I played four characters in that movie, and it was a lot of fun. Nice eight month long movie. Got to travel different places. Lots of fun. I was very thankful to get that one. But I also remember another audition I went for a commercial like a year before that. And there was a guy in there, he was like six foot nine. I still see him someplace. He's six, nine. We're both going out for the same commercial. I heard him reading his script out loud too.
• 24:25
  I said, oh, man, by the way, that's not how that word, that word's pronounced this way. This is what it means. That way, you know, when he goes into a room, he knows what he's doing in there, right? And sure enough, he got the commercial. But I didn't feel bad because I helped him out. And every time I see him, I go to conventions to sign autographs. I see him sometimes. He's done some iconic movies since then, too. He always kind of gives me that nod. I'm like, how are you doing, man? You know, because...
• 24:52
  Yes, just why not? You're giving so many nuggets to the audience of how to live life. Every single one. You're just a beautiful human. If we did this all the time, this would be a beautiful planet and a beautiful planet.
• 25:08
  I just want to, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to get a van. I just, I love, I can feel your energy and I just love it. So I would like for us all to be able to get along, you know, even in this climate we're in now, I know there's some people who are on the left, there's people on the right, and there's a lot of anger and vitriol that's going on right now between people. I don't really like to get in those conversations because, you know, now politics has turned into, you don't believe the way I do. I hate you now. Yeah. I don't believe that. I don't believe in that. Okay. We might have different ideas about things, but I don't hate you because you believe this way.
• 25:37
  And I believe that way.
• 25:39
  We chuckle all the time. Me in the morning, I work out with a monster of an African-American man who's just a beautiful human like you. And he's Democrat. I tend to be Republican. And we get along. We find the areas where we agree. And we work our way out. And we laugh about it. We always film it. We're like, look at it. Black guy and a white guy goes into a gym, works out every single day, and gets along. It can. But we still disagree. It can happen. Yes.
• 26:08
  I want to wrap up a little bit about Hollywood, and then we're gonna get into some deeper stuff. Have you ever turned down a role? And if so, why? There's been some auditions I've gotten that I didn't want to do. I turned it down because, okay, I am a grown man, but I don't curse. I don't say curse words. Now, there is a couple of films out there that I have said curse words in because it did go along with the character they wrote. But there was this one audition I went out for that they wanted me to do, where there's this guy who was a headmaster at a school
• 26:37
  And it was just F-bomb this, F-bomb this in front of the kids. And it really didn't have any place in the script, in my opinion. And it wasn't like a fun character to play anyway. So I'm like, I don't really want that one. You know, I didn't play it. You know, so there's some things I've turned down that I want to do. Yeah.
• 26:51
  Who are you, dude? You are awesome, dude. Six foot five, two of nine, doesn't swear. Yeah, that's in my daily life. But there's characters out there that I've sweared with because it worked for that character. You just throw an F-bomb just because you want to make the movie rated R and get enough Fs in there. That doesn't really work for me, but that's okay. Yeah, I've turned on some things, yeah.
• 27:14
  My previous life when I was kind of learning and growing and on my journey, I used to swear a lot. And then recently, I didn't even tell my producer, Stephen, I'm like, I dropped a couple of things. Will you bleep those out? It makes me feel uneducated or just less than or really it makes me feel like the old person that I was that I have grown out of. So your parents are amazing. You're an amazing human being. And sorry, I sound like a fanboy, but I'm just proud of you.
• 27:42
  Oh, well, thanks a lot. I'm just thankful, but there's still things I'm striving for in life. I'm very happy, but there's still things we're striving to get to, you know, striving to get for. We have to, or else we're not striving for something. We're dead. So you don't get this far without having mentors and inspiration. So who are some of your mentors or who's been your inspiration besides your beautiful parents?
• 28:03
  I was thinking about this the other day that I didn't really, haven't really had any mentors out here in California that actually I was checking with, they'd see how I'm doing. Hey, what's going on with this? Finding out about projects for me. And no, no, no one has really done that for me. I remember when I first got here, I done William Florida with this woman. Anyway, she's passed on now. It's unfortunate. I don't have to say her name out loud, but anyway, she, she said, you know what you need to move to California. You're a good actor. I said, I'm moving out there next year. She says, okay, when you get out there,
• 28:33
  If you pay me $50 a month, I'll submit you on the breakdowns. Because I didn't have an agent. You know, I didn't have an agent. So I said, if you pay me $50 a month, I'll submit you on the breakdowns. And then if you get anything, you give me 10% of that. And next month, I won't charge you to submit you on the breakdowns. Okay, that's great. So like I said, I got here in May of 1998. And then by August, on my birthday, I was in the X-Files, my first job because of her submitting one of the breakdowns. That was great. That was my first job here.
• 28:58
  on an episode called The Triangle. As a matter of fact, Chris Carter got Emmy for that one. But anyway, the actress, her name was Christopher Templeton. She was a soap opera actress, and she'd come out and done a movie in Florida. Unfortunately, Chris got cancer, left town. As a matter of fact, she's hanging. She said, look, one of my clients is really working. I'm going to have to probably leave. I've got to take care of this. But she succumbed to cancer. That's what happened.
• 29:22
  Sorry to hear that. I'm sure they can tell by the story and the admiration that she meant a lot to you. And, you know, again, you hear twice in a row, pay it forward, pay it forward, pay it forward. Because there's enough in this world for all of us. You know, I help everybody. As a matter of fact, I wrote a book on how I started my IT company and gave it to all kinds of IT companies. I said, here.
• 29:43
  Go follow this. Nobody does it. It's wild. There's enough for all of us. We all can eat. What's a surprising skill or hobby of yours that people don't expect? They don't expect my voice to go higher. They expect my voice to go lower, which my voice does go lower. But they don't expect me to go higher and do higher pitch voices also for some of these cartoons and characters I do in video games. And it's funny. I answer the phone sometimes. We don't even know it's me, which is fun.
• 30:10
  That's hilarious. That's hilarious. Who's your favorite voiceover to do? You know what? Thanos is really a lot of fun because like I said, he's considered a bad guy, but if you think about it, he's just a megalomaniac that his philosophy is,
• 30:24
  If you listen to me and just let me do what I want to do, everything will be great for you, too. That's his philosophy. He's not a bad guy. He's like, just let me have my way and everything will be great for everybody else also. That's his attitude in my way. That's how I play in that way. He plays it like, I'm not a bad guy. He's like, don't you understand I'm doing this for your benefit? You know, kind of attitude.
• 30:47
  All right, since you talked about the high-pitched voice, and I know you do this all the time, and I hate to do it, but give me a high-pitched, one of your characters in high-pitched so we can hear it. Hi, how are you doing? It's nice to see you, nice to hear from you. You're a stitch, man. If you could go back and give young Isaac one piece of advice, what would it be? I remember this. I remember thinking, okay, when you get a job,
• 31:14
  Don't be in front of the director's face constantly. Don't be somebody who's always in the way, trying to brown noise or wave, trying to get in front of everybody else, trying to find your next job while you're on this job you're on kind of a deal. So my philosophy was always to be like, go in, do your job, do it well, and they'll remember you and then they'll call you again. But I remember now, I think now I would be like, okay, do my job, but also be a little bit more of a person who's not just doing the job, actually be personal. I'm set to saying,
• 31:44
  director you did a great job in this other movie or say things like that you know that that they know that you know their work too and all that kind of stuff also because that kind of makes things work a little bit better you know i was just always worried about seeming like i'm trying to get something out of somebody so i wouldn't be all up under them i just wanted to go and do what i did do it right be nice friendly on set and all that kind of stuff now i realized to um
• 32:07
  Maybe be a little bit more personable, too, and not just job, job, and get out kind of a deal. I want them to see me as a professional, but also see me as a person, too. That's one thing I'd probably say. Just be a little bit more the friendly guy you really are, as opposed to worrying about how they would perceive you if you were being friendly. I find oftentimes that
• 32:30
  I find myself shrinking to be in situations on accident. And I get, that's one of my most frustrating things. Is that what you're alluding to a little bit? I'm just thinking, because I've been on some sets where I've seen this actor always in front of the director. Hey, I'm doing this next, and I'm doing that. And then he walks away, and the director kind of goes,
• 32:51
  You know and I don't want that kind of attitude about me when I want to say like oh my gosh Can he not be on front of me like that? You know, I didn't want to be that guy and I've seen that a lot. So I don't want to be the guy who's like I
• 33:03
  Dang, we worked with Isaac, and it was like, gee, he couldn't stop talking about himself to us. You know, so I didn't want to be that guy. So that's what I learned. But then I realized, sitting back after a while, I'm like, I've never been that guy either. And I was like, dang it, you just missed out on some personal time with somebody because you were too worried about them perceiving you like the people you saw being perceived in a negative way. So I would say that. And also, you know, I would just say, hey, you know, one thing I can remember is...
• 33:33
  I remember when I used to do extra work. And I remember they'd treat extras like second-class citizens with some of the projects I worked on. And I remember saying to myself, you know what? When I become the lead, I'm not going to treat extras. I'm going to be very nice to the extras, treat them like people, because they are, because they're needed on set, or they wouldn't be here. But you don't need to treat them like they're second-class citizens. And so I got to the point where I am...
• 33:59
  got to be the lead on a movie. And they had these extras they took with us everywhere. We moved around all these different locations. And one of the extras over throughout the time of this movie would constantly talk to me about how he did certain art and all this kind of stuff.
• 34:11
  And I was very friendly with him. And I was friendly with all the other extras because that's how you should treat people. You shouldn't treat them like, oh, I'm one of the leads. Thank you very much. Go over where you're supposed to be. I'm over here with the leads and we're the actors, you know. And sure enough, at the end of that movie, we exchanged phone numbers. He ended up calling me a couple months later telling me about another movie
• 34:31
  He said, I'd be right for, and I thanked him very much, and I ended up going again in that movie because he gave me information I got beforehand before a lot of other people got involved, and I got that film. And to thank him, I went over to his place with a big gift basket for him and his wife to thank them for letting me know, and I got that movie, and I was very thankful. You are a remarkable human being, Isaac. What legacy do you hope to leave behind in the entertainment world and in life?
• 34:56
  Well, you know, in life, I just hope people would say that was a good guy. You know, you know, that's right. I mean, it's not about ego or whatever. I hope they'd say, hey, it was a good guy. He has some iconic roles that he really played and people love to this day.
• 35:10
  And, you know, I mean, like I said, no, I'm not famous and I'm not out here for the fame. I'm here to have the fun and I'm here for the money because this is a job. I really want to get paid well doing it. Why not? You know, there's, it's funny to work on a movie where you're getting like, you know, like maybe a hundred thousand dollars for the movie and someone next to you is getting $35 million for the same movie you're working on together. So it's just like, you know, why not make some money too? I'd like to make that kind of money where my money's working for me. So I'm going to be having to work for the money.
• 35:38
  but I enjoy the drive and enjoyed the things I've been able to do. I've been able to travel the world. I mean, not a whole world, but I've been able to Europe several times, sign autographs for various shows I've done. And it's been great. You know, it's been wonderful. One of my favorite things in life is a travel. Where's your favorite place? So far, my most favorite city I've been to is Rome. Nice. Rome, Italy.
• 36:00
  So as I am on my life's journey, I used to have a lot of fun. And I've caught myself recently forgetting to have fun. Like, I'm so tremendously serious. That's just nose down, harder than life, grindstone, grind, grind, grind, grind. And I'll have fun when I get there. Has it always been fun for you? You know what? It's so funny. My mom would tell me, even as a little kid, she'd tell me my favorite word is fun, which is my favorite word is fun. Those three little letters encompass so many different activities in life.
• 36:28
  And so, yeah, I try to have fun everywhere I go. I really do. I mean, because my work is fun, even though some of the most grueling shoots I've been on, I'm still having a good time because, hey, this is better than sitting in an office every day in front of a computer screen to me. Some people love that. It's like some people love being accountants.
• 36:47
  I have no desire to be an accountant. I remember when I was in college and I was in economics, and some of my friends were taking accounting classes. I'm like, they were crying. I'm like, why are we doing this? I'm like, I don't know. But some people do this for a living. That's not fun to me. I know I've talked to some accountants lately. They're like, I love this. The numbers come in together, be able to move things around. I love it. I'm like, congratulations. I'll be over here acting. Thank you very much. Let me do a voiceover for you. But yeah, I'm a, yeah. Yeah.
• 37:14
  So if you're making your work fun, it's great. So give me some more habits. Give the audience some more habits and rituals that you do to cultivate a life of fun and humility and positivity. I don't have enough superlatives for the man I'm learning about today. Tell us what you do in a daily. For me right now, daily, I mean, I'm just always trying to make sure that I'm eating right and making sure my body's in shape because I want to have longevity.
• 37:38
  I want that longevity and I want a healthy longevity. Not somebody who's laying in a bed being pumped with oxygen. It's just like staring off of the ceiling. That's not, that's not a life to me. That's just being alive. That's existing. So I know I want a longevity when I get older and every day we're getting older. There's no way to stop that whatsoever. So I eat right and do what I have to do. I mean, I just already have this mindset of fun anyway inside of my head. I'm always trying to think of,
• 38:05
  Just enjoying life and even the things that are just going to go into the mundane days. I just go through the same things sometimes, but I'm enjoying it because I know the next day might be even more fun than today. You know, that's all I can do. I can't really think about, I don't know about the future. I know just nowhere. Every day I wake up and I just know there are certain things I have to do that day and I try to get them done. Then, then, you know, go forward. That's all.
• 38:27
  For me, the most important thing is sleep. I have got to sleep seven hours. How is your sleep practice? My sleep is different because I don't usually go to bed. You know, sometimes I'm going to bed a little bit early. I used to go to bed, averaging about 2 o'clock a.m. most nights. I'm waking up at 9. And because, you know, I got to go out there and do my thing in California here. I don't know if you know this, but I'm bad, man.
• 38:54
  I'm out following the streets at night in Batman. I'm making sure everybody's safe. No, no, it's just that I'm just out of here. The nighttime gets really nice and quiet around midnight to two. And sometimes I'm more productive those nights. Like last night, like early this morning, I was in my second bedroom doing some voiceovers. I had to get sent into my agency. And I was doing that at one o'clock this morning before I went to bed.
• 39:16
  I had two characters I had to voice and get the auditions ready for. And I went to a screening last night for an upcoming film I saw last night. I saw Heads of State with Idris Elba and John Cena. I saw a screening of that last night. It was a good movie, so everybody should go see that. But after I got back home from that, I came here and I had my... I knew I had to get these two auditions in this morning, so I went in there and did it and had it done. These characters are fun. Two different voices all together, and I got to do them, you know?
• 39:44
  That's the funny thing about what I get to do. I get to make up these voices and put them down. So last week I even had a job last Thursday where I got to work for another video game company and I had four different voices I had to do. Four distinct different voices I had to do. And it was fun because one of the creatures I had to do had two heads and one of them had a different voice and the other voice. And these two headed creature, they were together, but also they were saying different things and,
• 40:11
  The one, two different voices were, and make them distinguishable. And it was fun. I got to do that. I'm a big believer in this NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming. And if you study, if you listen to how you speak, you say all the right words. You didn't say you have to, you get to. You get to do this. The way that you speak, it's just very positive. So guys, take note of this, of the way this made. And if you guys aren't watching this on YouTube, this entire time, he has had a smile on his face
• 40:38
  Very serious, but very loving and kind. What action do people have when you walk in a room? And I'd like to go back before you were famous. What do people have? I'm not famous at all. I just know. I'm that guy you saw in that movie. They don't know my name. They're like, do you do movies? I listen to his humbleness. I love you and your humbleness. Because the second that my PR lady said, hey, Isaac Stingwell, I'm like, I knew who you were.
• 41:05
  So yeah, I'm not famous at all. Matter of fact, I was at an event a few months ago. This guy comes up, oh man, I'm going to be famous like you. I'm like, man, I'm not famous. I'm just an actor. I do my jobs and I have a good time. And he was too busy going on about how he wants everybody back home to know who he is.
• 41:22
  because he wants them to know he made it. He was famous. And I said, man, I'm here because I want to give people quality work and have a good time doing it and then also get paid. Because like I said before, this is something you get paid for. And I want to eventually start making seven and eight figures a movie. That's what I want to do. But he was on and on about being famous. And I said, I'm not in this for the fame. I'm in this for the fun and the money and doing quality work.
• 41:43
  That's what I want to do. I want to make sure people love the characters I bring to life. That's what I want. That's the most important part about it. If people love the characters you bring to life, once they're enjoying your work, they're getting quality, the producers are happy because now they've got a quality product out there, and I'm happy to be able to contribute to that.
• 42:00
  What you keep pointing out with these people are them being unhealed and needing to work. They're insecurities. So big hat, no cattle. Insecurities are loud. Confidence is quiet. You talk about this person worried about what other people think are going to back home. Again, I'm going to give kudos to your parents for raising you with lots of love and lots of
• 42:21
  presence to make sure that you knew you were important. So that's what makes you who you are. And if anybody listened to this, he has those, those, those insecurities. You watch my podcast, other podcasts, I give you all the ways to heal that. I used to be the same guy. So it's remarkable how he's showing, pointing this out. And the beauty part about us getting of an age that you tend to age out of this stuff, especially since you want to work on it. Having said all that,
• 42:48
  I want to dance a fine line. I am fascinated.
• 42:52
  with isms, ageism, sexism, racism. And when I mean fascinated, I like to get in conversations with educated men as such as yourself and create awareness about it. So I told you my workout partner is a bodybuilder. I work out every morning. As a matter of fact, most people think he's Phil Heath and people come up to him because Phil does work out at our gym and say hi and I'm like, yeah, he thinks you're Phil.
• 43:19
  he educates me a lot on racism. So if we dance a fine line, you don't want to answer it. We can edit this out, whatever. I just, I feel the two of us can have this conversation.
• 43:34
  with all of the riots going on or was going on in LA, what would you like the world to know without ruffling feathers and, and getting either one of us in trouble about racism that, that isn't making mainstream media? All right. That's that. I'm more than happy to talk about it. And that's something being an African-American guy living in this country, growing up in this country, that's something I've experienced almost once.
• 44:00
  at least on a weekly basis, if not daily. Wow, really? We live in America. You know, America is a very racist country. It very much is. It hurts my heart to hear that. You know what? Sometimes I wonder whether I grew bigger because when we moved to Germany,
• 44:17
  When we left the States and moved to Germany, I physically got happier to be out of the United States. I mean, the Germans loved me. When we went to Spain, the Spanish loved me. The French loved me. The Italians loved me. Sometimes even a plus that I was black, not white. Only racism I ran into when I was in Germany was from Americans. None of the other countries had a problem with that. It was sad. I was like, you're bringing that crap over here to Germany with you, too? Come on now. What's wrong with you?
• 44:45
  So that's something you just kind of felt, you know, but it wasn't like everybody. There's a few here, a few there, but just one person is like that. That whole thing about a bear of apple and a barrel in one apple, rotten apple can spoil old barrel kind of deal. You know, one person like that, just like spoils it for the whole experience. Sometimes, first of all,
• 45:04
  I know the news probably made it look like LA was burning. It wasn't. All those riots took place in a two block radius around the federal buildings. Now, why were the riots happening? Because even though I know you're a believer in Donald Trump or a Republican, I don't know if you believe in Donald Trump. I know you're a Republican. There's a difference between that because some people- Yes, there is. Please. There's some Republicans that can't stand Donald Trump, maybe doing some agendas he'd like, but they can't stand him at all. I know this. I've had the conversation with him.
• 45:33
  But he says he can deport certain millions of people just because they're here in the United States. Now, what the problem was is these people, he says, are going to get hardened criminals. These people that are sweeping up are like guys who are trying to be day laborers at Home Depot, trying to just get a job for the day so they can pay their bills. Some of these people are like working at car washes. They're not hardened criminals. They're just trying to make money.
• 46:00
  And so these people are being swept up and swept off into these detention centers. And sure, your families are coming down. They're angry, like, hey, even though my dad might not be legal, I was born in the States and he's been here 20 years paying taxes. I grew up here. I'm a citizen.
• 46:17
  So they made it seem like L.A. was burning. It wasn't. There was a two-block radius around where that was downtown. That's all. It wasn't. The city wasn't high alert. People weren't stabbing. No one was dead. It was just people angry because their loved ones were being swept up by these guys wearing masks, beating them with batons, dragging them off. No paperwork. Not even saying, hey, we got your name on this list. We need to bring you in. None of that. It was just, hey, you're working. Oh, you look like you might be illegal. Let's snatch you up.
• 46:46
  They swept up some American citizens doing this. You don't hear it on the news. They've done this. So that's an aspect of racism because...
• 46:54
  It's really, if you think about it, they're just targeting these people because of the color of their skin. Because how would you know whether somebody's legal or not unless you know their legal status? But they can say, hey, that's a brown guy. They snatch him up. We'll find out later whether or not he's got papers. So that's a kind of a racism that's going on. It's not very fun. It's not nice. Because people's families are being torn apart by people who've been living here, contributing to our culture and our society for years, 20, 30 years. People get attacked.
• 47:22
  This guy last week got beaten with some clubs. All the three of his sons were in the military. Two of them are active duty Marines, and one of them has already left the Marines. But these guys grew up loving the United States. His dad loves the United States. He's been able to make a living here, raise his family here. Now he's swept off into detention because he's brown.
• 47:44
  Thank you for your transparency. Thank you for commenting on that. I'm going to ask two more questions. Again, if it's inappropriate, just let me know. I don't see color. And I say that to my workout partner. And he says, Kelly, do not say that to people. African-American people have worked really hard to get to where they are. You should see because they're proud of it. What do you say to me as your friend if I say, I don't even notice the color of your skin?
• 48:14
  Is that offensive to you? No, I'm not offended by that, but I definitely see color because, and I know people see my color. When I walk into a room, you asked me earlier how people react to me sometimes.
• 48:27
  Like I said, I walk into a room and sometimes, you know, a dude, smaller guy, come up. Oh, man, dude, if I get in trouble, I'm going to find you. You're going to be on my side. I'm like, well, I don't know you. And I'm definitely not going to get in a fight because of something dumb you might have done. You know, but they see a big, big muscular black guy. Oh, you know, you know, or sometimes I'll kind of walk up to me. Hey, bro, what's up? You know, trying to talk slang.
• 48:53
  I said, I don't speak that way. I speak English correctly. I don't talk. But hey, enjoy your life, enjoy your day. But yeah, that doesn't make me akin to you because you call me brother and yo, what's up, saying stuff like that to me. That's not how I talk. I don't speak that way. I can remember even when I was at FAMU, sometimes I would speak. Some of these people come from different countries, part of the country, but Florida A&M University is a historically black college.
• 49:24
  And some of the people on campus say, you speak like a white person. I said, we live here in Florida and white people definitely don't talk this way. As you can see, if you look around the campus or look outside the campus, I speak English correctly, but I don't talk like a white person because we live in the South. And you've heard some of these people out here who are white who do not talk like this either. So, no, I don't. Is that offensive?
• 49:47
  I'm not offended by it. I just let them know, hey, I'm a guy that likes to... My parents are educated. My dad's an optometrist. My mom's a teacher. And we learned how to speak English correctly. We were professional. We learned how to be professional in all situations. You know, so that's what happened to us. So that's... I'm happy for that. Now, if you gave me a role where I had to play a gangster type dude, I can definitely deliver the lines that way. But that's not how I speak on a regular basis. But that's my acting. That's not me.
• 50:15
  I love your vernacular tone and tonality. I sound like a fanboy, but I mean it. I think you know that I mean what I say. If you could pass one universal, I'm going to ask this two-part question. If you could pass one universal law in the world, what would it be and why? And then the second part of that would be, how do we fix these race relations? Unfortunately, human beings are,
• 50:44
  are very flawed creatures. Unfortunately, it's just the way they are. They're flawed. I mean, we even tell in the Bible that we're, we're born pretty much born into sin. Let's say it that way.
• 50:54
  But there's always been conflicts amongst human beings, always, even in the Bible back then. You've heard about that Good Samaritan story? Oh, yeah. You don't have to put the good in front of it because they hated Samaritans back then. They were a race of people who were horrible, in their opinion, horrible as the Samaritan. People have always fought against each other for no reasons whatsoever, just because you might have more than they do, whatever.
• 51:19
  It happens. It's just that's it's just inherently in us that we're aggressive creatures who are constantly trying to feel better than somebody else. That's about mine. I think it's always I think racism stood for we want to feel better than you do when then you are.
• 51:34
  go back to slavery after slavery ended. Then the Jim Crow laws came into effect because they didn't want black people to really have rights anymore. Because even though they were human beings, we've got to feel better than them. We don't want them to have as good of life as we do. Think about the Tulsa riots. That part of that black wall street, those black people were taking care of themselves, prospering, all that great stuff. But because one woman said a guy whistled at her,
• 52:02
  All of a sudden they got, we got to go turn those black people down. Who do they think they are? I did a movie called Rosewood a few years ago. Same kind of thing. This black township in Florida, first black township in the States. They were doing great. The whites down the street wanted to go and burn them down because they were doing better. How dare those black people not need us? We're better than they are. How can they not need us?
• 52:25
  I did one of my first plays in college, a play I did called The Bad Man. I played this big, rough, tough guy in this, it was the 1930s in the woods in Alabama someplace. And we ran a sawmill. Anyway, supposedly they found this white guy dead in his cabin far from where we live. But they wanted to blame the black people in the township over there for it. I sacrificed myself to save everybody else in our camp.
• 52:51
  Because they said, well, we know a black guy did it, so you bring him out, we'll let everybody else live kind of attitude. So it's always, always has been, I want to feel better than those guys. Didn't they make a movie about Samuel Jackson and Matthew McConaughey about that? Yeah, that was A Time to Kill. A Time to Kill, yeah. Yeah, same kind of thing. I mean, this guy, I mean, and Matthew McConaughey's last monologue to the jury was really poignant because he phrased it like,
• 53:17
  Imagine if you're a father or whatever. I forgot exactly what it is. But he's in you. I can remember it. Girl daughter. All that kind of stuff.
• 53:25
  And then he switches on, because you think he's talking about Sammy Jackson. He switches it around and says, well, imagine if she was a black girl. So he's explaining all of it as if it happened to the white woman. Oh, wow. What if that did happen to us? Well, we like that. You know, and they got the right verdict in that movie. Then it's a happy ending in the movie. But a lot of times in the United States, you know, we've had some problems and we still do. There's some people that are still carrying the Confederate flag around. I mean...
• 53:52
  why would you want to carry the flag of people who were traitors, the United States of America, they carry it flat and proudly. I don't know. So yeah, I see color, but not because I want to distinguish myself from you. I just see color because that's what I see. You've got a blue shirt on. So do I, I see that color. I see that sign behind you with the red in it. I see that color. So it's not like I don't see color.
• 54:19
  I don't discriminate against you because of your color, but I do see the color you might be, but it doesn't matter to me. The depth of you and the...
• 54:26
  You're a beautiful human being. I'm so grateful I met you. My answer to that question would be we need to teach emotional intelligence in school. We also, I believe this is going to be controversial, but I'm going to say it, is we need to raise the bar and the standards on our teachers and our police officers. First of all, they should make twice the amount of money, but they should be required to take twice the amount of money.
• 54:54
  compassion training, emotional intelligence training, and they just need to be better. Teachers and solution. And I would feel that same way, like back when the whole George Floyd thing was happening, and then the whole Black Lives Matter. Well, a lot of people don't know this. The Black Lives Matter, in the beginning, it was Black Lives Matter 2. Somewhere along with someone chopped off the two part, and then it all said they were like, oh, now they're trying to say they're better than we are.
• 55:19
  And see, that wasn't that wasn't a narrative, but they try to change the narrative to change and make everybody angry and fight once again. Also, I was never, never in favor of defunding the police. I was thinking we need to give the police more training, like you just said, give them more money, more resources so that they don't go into a situation. First of all, afraid because I've been pulled over so many times by the police for no reason. Just because I'm black. I know it.
• 55:48
  It got to the point when I lived in Orlando and I got pulled over, I would just start sticking both my hands out the window because I got tired of them creeping up along the backside of my car with their hand on their gun. So I'm like, they're the one with the gun, not me. You pulled me over. If you're afraid of me, don't pull me over. Just let me go. If you're afraid of me, I don't want to get shot because you're afraid of me. So yeah, give them better training and stuff like that. Cause I'm like pulling me over for what? Yeah. Oh, we, we, we, we thought you looked like somebody. Okay. Okay.
• 56:18
  Yeah, okay. I got questions like, what are you doing over here? Well, I live here. Oh, well, you see, because your eyes go in a different way when you're trying to think of a lie. Oh, well, we heard that. Okay. You know, they know they're caught when I tell them this stuff. You know, it's just sad. But it's true. And it's happened a few times.
• 56:37
  Oh, I know. I have many, many friends and highly educated, highly, very rich people. African-Americans saying, Kelly, I get pulled over every... Same story you just said. I've heard it a thousand times. It makes me sick. That's why I wanted to be a police officer, until I found out how little money they make.
• 56:55
  You asked me earlier what I want to be. Want to be a police officer until I had to see what they had to deal with and how little they got paid. No, thank you. I wouldn't want that job or a teacher's job. I'm not saying that they're doing a bad job. I'm just saying that they're not paid enough and they're not held to a high enough standard, which is probably –
• 57:16
  A lot of us in this world. I own an IT cyber security company, and there's certain people that I don't hold to a high standard, and I need to. We all need to be better and educate ourselves and communicate and find out, you know, hey, you know, you even listened. I'm right-leaning.
• 57:35
  You're left-leaning. We're going to be friends for a long time. But it's also the thing about it. I'm kind of left-leaning, but I'm more of it in the middle because there's some things, policies that the Republicans have as far as fiscal things I also agree with. A lot of my issues are the social ones, you know. Like I get to go to these gifting suites sometimes.
• 58:00
  And I saw this woman at the Gift of Feet last year, and she was very happy. She's an African-American woman, and she had her stuff in Target. She had these soaps and these skin creams she had in Target, and she was going to eventually get them across the whole country, and it was great. And then she was going to start working on mom and pop stores to get her product in there. And she was happy, and I saw her at the last one for the Emmys. And she was down. She's like, well...
• 58:23
  I got all my stuff kicked out of Target because of Trump's DEI programs. And a lot of corporations are going along with it. So now they've kicked all my products out of the store because they're not doing the DEI and making, you know, helping other businesses get their stuff up that normally wouldn't get in there. I was like, that's just horrible. Cause that doesn't make America great. That's for sure. If you,
• 58:42
  business that's working all of a sudden it doesn't because they want to comply with a a dei program that really didn't hurt anybody that's horrible because it was helping not hurting it didn't take anything away from somebody else so
• 58:57
  So I just like that's just one of a few examples I know of people who've been injured by this. You know, I got one more question, but I'm going to give a comment because I think you'll chuckle. I think politics is the only job in the world where you can be doing poorly at it.
• 59:13
  and get a raise. You look in the districts near where you live and you watch and you look at some of our senators and realize that they're running our country and the districts have the worst homeless, right? They have the worst crime. And then you, I don't get it. Like you should have, how hard would it be to put KPIs into place that you have to meet these minimums before you can run for the next office? How hard is that? Like, I don't get it. How could you be?
• 59:43
  And I say this, this goes all the way back to Bill Clinton years where, you know, where he was in Arkansas was the worst. Like it was it was crime ridden.
• 59:53
  How do you end up getting to run for president when your own backyard isn't taken care of? You're right. I mean, we don't have that because it goes back to the whole saying, oh, but that's the American way. In America, you can do whatever to make your dreams come true. So if you can convince enough people to vote for you, then, hey, you can get that office. That's the bottom line, no matter what's going on.
• 1:00:15
  My good friend, we are up against it. I enjoyed this. That we could do a whole conversation about politics and race and religion. We didn't get into that. Heck, I didn't even ask anything about working out. Two big...
• 1:00:27
  monsters and neither we didn't say one thing about working out that's just a part of my that's just a part of my life it's not even something i'd really think about i just i go do my workouts and come back isn't it right i you're like my brother i i don't even think about it's like breathing i wake up in the morning i do that's what i got the second or third thing i do i go to the gym and i forget i even do it so i isaac i can't wait to meet you in person you're beautiful you're being um what's next for you
• 1:00:54
  You know what? I'm pursuing two different... I'm pursuing a movie that I really hope I can get into. Constantly, I'm just trying to make myself better. I mean, I still study the acting now. I still do what I got to do to make my skills sharp. So go out and try to have as much fun as possible because I think life should be about fun also. I mean, like I said, last night I went and saw Head to State. That was fun. This weekend, I went to my best friend's gender reveal party. That was fun. Grove all down to Long Beach for that.
• 1:01:21
  I mean, I know I got travel coming up again this year. I like traveling and I like just enjoying life. That's what life is about. Look forward to meeting a partner sometime soon. I haven't met her yet. I don't know. You know, I'm just trying to find things going on. I haven't gotten married yet. No kids, something like that. But, you know, just still happy and doing what I got to do on a daily basis. You just get summed it up. Have fun. Be kind. Be consistent. Mm-hmm.
• 1:01:46
  That's being harder than life, man. And it ain't that hard. It's not easy, but it ain't that hard. So you are a beautiful human. I don't need to tell anybody to share this, guys. There's so many gems in this that I don't even know where we're going to cut it up to share this so many. Thank you for being on the Heart of Life show. Till next week, be heart of life, everybody.
• 1:02:06
  Please rate and share this podcast. I'm active on all social platforms and love to hear from my Segal supporters. Each and every episode is sponsored by my company, National Technology Management, the easiest and best IT company to do business with, delivering peace of mind with technology every day, even simplifying cybersecurity. Visit TrustNTM.com for more info. Until next week, be harder than life.