Latest / Going The Distance: The Rocky Series Podcast / Andy Karl Interview

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Andy Karl Interview · Going The Distance: The Rocky Series Podcast

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  Mine is recording, Ruben. 00:06 --> 00:07 And so is mine. 00:07 --> 00:09 Welcome, everybody, to the Going the Distance Podcast. 00:09 --> 00:10 Here we go, guys. 00:30 --> 00:31 We're just doing this. 00:31 --> 00:32 We're just doing this. 00:32 --> 00:33 Yeah, we're going the distance. 00:33 --> 00:34 We are truly going the distance. 00:34 --> 00:35 We're going the distance. 00:35 --> 00:37 We're at the Going the Distance studios here. 00:38 --> 00:39 Beautiful studio, by the way. 00:39 --> 00:39 Beautiful. 00:40 --> 00:41 Victoria, BC. 00:41 --> 00:44 Yeah, I modeled it after my living room. 00:44 --> 00:44 Nice. 00:44 --> 00:46 Like, to every detail. 00:46 --> 00:48 That took an incredible amount of work. 00:48 --> 00:50 I really can't see the difference between this living room, 00:50 --> 00:54 and I can't tell the difference between the studio and your living room, Ruben. 00:54 --> 00:55 This is fantastic detail. 00:55 --> 00:58 We even have the dust bunnies under the couch to match. 00:58 --> 01:00 I think you went a little bit too far with the dust bunnies. 01:00 --> 01:01 No, it's there. 01:01 --> 01:05 No detail is too small for us to give to you listeners. 01:06 --> 01:09 To pay for these studios, unfortunately, we have to do a little bit 01:09 --> 01:10 of a live read. 01:11 --> 01:12 Yeah, we apologize. 01:12 --> 01:15 When we record, we want to feel like we're at home. 01:15 --> 01:15 Yes. 01:16 --> 01:19 And so we created a studio to create that feeling of being at home. 01:19 --> 01:20 It's quite expensive. 01:20 --> 01:21 It was expensive. 01:21 --> 01:25 But because of that, unfortunately, we have to pay some bills that we can't afford outside 01:25 --> 01:26 of our normal jobs. 01:26 --> 01:27 Yeah. 01:27 --> 01:31 It's expensive to pay people to drive past the house so that you can get the ambiance that 01:31 --> 01:33 there's traffic nearby. 01:33 --> 01:34 That's what a car drive by right now. 01:34 --> 01:35 That's a really good effect, Ruben. 01:36 --> 01:37 We're paying this to the union guy. 01:37 --> 01:40 $36 an hour to do that randomly. 01:40 --> 01:42 So either we do ads, or you guys have to pay. 01:42 --> 01:43 Yeah. 01:43 --> 01:43 Okay. 01:43 --> 01:44 We'll do the ads. 01:45 --> 01:45 Hi. 01:45 --> 01:46 I'm Ruben. 01:47 --> 01:50 Do you love animals? 01:51 --> 01:52 I sure do. 01:53 --> 01:58 Why don't you come down to Gloria's pet shop? 01:59 --> 02:00 Are select... 02:00 --> 02:01 Are select... 02:01 --> 02:03 Are select... 02:03 --> 02:05 Are you okay with the room? 02:05 --> 02:05 Are you... 02:05 --> 02:06 I'm fine. 02:06 --> 02:06 Okay. 02:06 --> 02:07 It's just the spelling here. 02:08 --> 02:09 You sound a little bit punchy there. 02:09 --> 02:10 I'm doing as best as I can. 02:10 --> 02:10 Okay. 02:10 --> 02:11 Okay? 02:11 --> 02:11 All right. 02:11 --> 02:14 Like, I'm just a little nervous because we have such a big guest on the show today. 02:14 --> 02:15 Okay. 02:15 --> 02:15 All right. 02:15 --> 02:15 All right. 02:15 --> 02:17 Let me just do this live through. 02:17 --> 02:17 Okay. 02:17 --> 02:17 Live read. 02:17 --> 02:19 Start where you were, please. 02:20 --> 02:20 Our select... 02:20 --> 02:24 Our select Ion of... 02:24 --> 02:24 No, it's... 02:24 --> 02:24 Sorry. 02:25 --> 02:25 Our select Ions? 02:26 --> 02:26 Our selection... 02:27 --> 02:27 Okay. 02:28 --> 02:28 Yeah. 02:29 --> 02:29 Of... 02:29 --> 02:30 Should I do this phonetically? 02:31 --> 02:32 Write it out phonetically next? 02:32 --> 02:32 No, that's fine. 02:32 --> 02:32 Okay. 02:33 --> 02:36 Our selection of erotic animals and fishes... 02:36 --> 02:37 Excuse... 02:37 --> 02:37 Excuse me. 02:38 --> 02:39 Sorry. 02:39 --> 02:39 Excuse me. 02:40 --> 02:43 What kind of animals does Gloria's pet shop have? 02:43 --> 02:44 Say that again. 02:44 --> 02:45 You understand the difference between... 02:45 --> 02:47 Ruben, this... 02:47 --> 02:48 I don't mean to embarrass you. 02:48 --> 02:49 And I apologize. 02:49 --> 02:51 Do you understand the difference between erotic and exotic? 02:52 --> 02:52 I don't know. 02:52 --> 02:53 The spelling. 02:54 --> 02:54 True. 02:55 --> 02:55 Exotic... 02:55 --> 02:56 Can I just get through this? 02:57 --> 02:57 No. 02:57 --> 02:59 Well, the listeners need to know what kind of animal they're getting. 03:01 --> 03:01 I'm just... 03:01 --> 03:04 I want to make sure our listeners know what kind of animal they're getting. 03:04 --> 03:05 Because there's... 03:05 --> 03:05 Trust me. 03:05 --> 03:07 When I tell you, there's a much... 03:07 --> 03:14 It's much different getting an exotic monkey than an erotic monkey. 03:18 --> 03:23 So I think Gloria sells exotic animals. 03:23 --> 03:24 Yes. 03:24 --> 03:24 Continue, please. 03:24 --> 03:32 Our selection of exotic animals and fishes is sure to bring a smile to your face. 03:33 --> 03:37 Our turtle food has more flies than moths. 03:38 --> 03:44 And you won't get shell shock when you see our prices. 03:45 --> 03:46 Boy, this would have been a lot better. 03:46 --> 03:47 Okay. 03:47 --> 03:47 Sorry. 03:47 --> 03:47 Yeah. 03:48 --> 03:48 What? 03:48 --> 03:49 A lot better what? 03:49 --> 03:50 The flow is terrible. 03:52 --> 03:53 Sorry. 03:53 --> 03:54 It... 03:54 --> 03:56 More moths and flies from Rocky 1, you know. 03:56 --> 03:58 Like shell shock. 03:58 --> 03:59 Rocky tells a joke. 03:59 --> 04:00 You hit the... 04:00 --> 04:01 The flow is terrible. 04:01 --> 04:02 I don't think people understand. 04:02 --> 04:02 Okay. 04:02 --> 04:02 Go on. 04:02 --> 04:03 Sorry. 04:03 --> 04:08 You may even meet the woman of your dreams here. 04:08 --> 04:08 There. 04:09 --> 04:15 So come on down and enjoy some fly candy. 04:16 --> 04:16 What? 04:16 --> 04:17 Flying candy. 04:18 --> 04:19 Fly candy? 04:19 --> 04:20 So they're going to... 04:20 --> 04:20 Okay. 04:21 --> 04:23 The flying candy was supposed to be the birds. 04:23 --> 04:24 The birds are colored. 04:25 --> 04:26 They're like... 04:26 --> 04:26 Different colors. 04:27 --> 04:28 They look like candy with wings. 04:28 --> 04:29 Now you're telling the... 04:29 --> 04:33 You're telling the podcast listeners that they're going to eat fly candy. 04:33 --> 04:34 Enjoy it. 04:35 --> 04:36 At glorious. 04:37 --> 04:38 I'm so sorry. 04:38 --> 04:39 They might not sponsor us anymore. 04:40 --> 04:40 Okay. 04:40 --> 04:42 We're going to have to work on that, guys. 04:42 --> 04:42 I apologize. 04:42 --> 04:43 Ruben, this is embarrassing. 04:43 --> 04:45 I didn't realize we had a... 04:45 --> 04:48 You know, I didn't realize I had a brother who can't read. 04:50 --> 04:54 The worst part is I never learned how to read. 04:54 --> 04:56 Am I supposed to be a man? 04:56 --> 04:58 Am I supposed to say, it's okay. 04:59 --> 05:00 I don't mind. 05:02 --> 05:03 I don't mind. 05:03 --> 05:04 Well, I mind. 05:04 --> 05:06 I mind big time. 05:07 --> 05:09 But you know what the worst part of all is? 05:10 --> 05:13 I never learned to read. 05:14 --> 05:14 Wayne's World? 05:15 --> 05:15 Yes. 05:18 --> 05:20 Hey, they should do Wayne's World the Musical. 05:21 --> 05:22 That's... 05:22 --> 05:22 Oh, yeah. 05:22 --> 05:23 ...a musical. 05:23 --> 05:26 But do you know what's even better than Wayne's World Musical? 05:27 --> 05:30 What's better than the fictitious Wayne's World Musical that doesn't exist? 05:30 --> 05:31 What could be better than that? 05:33 --> 05:35 A real musical that exists. 05:35 --> 05:36 I think that qualifies. 05:37 --> 05:44 Since this is the Rocky series, I think it's best that we mention a real musical called Rocky the Musical. 05:44 --> 05:44 Yes. 05:44 --> 05:47 For that to happen, you need a guy that plays Rocky. 05:47 --> 05:49 Before we get there... 05:49 --> 05:50 I'm already there. 05:50 --> 05:50 But... 05:50 --> 05:51 Well, you're already there. 05:51 --> 05:52 I'm not quite there yet. 05:52 --> 05:53 Come with me, Ryan. 05:53 --> 05:54 When you heard... 05:54 --> 05:55 Give me your honest answer. 05:55 --> 05:58 When you heard that they were going to do a Rocky musical... 05:58 --> 05:58 Stupid. 05:58 --> 05:58 Yeah. 05:59 --> 05:59 Just stupid. 05:59 --> 06:00 I was embarrassed. 06:00 --> 06:01 I was like, oh, no. 06:01 --> 06:02 Here we go. 06:02 --> 06:03 They've done it. 06:04 --> 06:04 Yeah. 06:04 --> 06:07 They squeezed all the can out of this poor Rocky fruit. 06:08 --> 06:09 And we're now doing... 06:09 --> 06:11 I thought it was going to be a parody of sorts. 06:11 --> 06:13 It's like the jokes on us. 06:13 --> 06:14 I was like, why, Stallone? 06:14 --> 06:15 You don't need the money. 06:15 --> 06:16 I know. 06:16 --> 06:16 I know. 06:16 --> 06:18 Google his net worth, guys. 06:18 --> 06:20 This guy does not need any more money. 06:20 --> 06:22 And I don't mean that in a facetious way. 06:22 --> 06:24 Like, what's he doing this for? 06:25 --> 06:26 Well, yeah. 06:26 --> 06:30 At some point, you have more money than you could spend on food and clothing. 06:30 --> 06:33 I almost thought of it like the Star Wars Christmas special. 06:33 --> 06:35 That's kind of what I thought this might turn into. 06:35 --> 06:40 We celebrate a day of peace. 06:41 --> 06:45 A day of harmony. 06:47 --> 06:53 A day of joy we all can share. 06:53 --> 06:53 Yeah. 06:54 --> 06:57 So, apparently, Stallone has a net worth of about $400 million-ish. 06:58 --> 06:58 I hope he'll be okay. 06:59 --> 07:02 And I don't know exactly how accurate that is. 07:02 --> 07:04 It could be anything from the cars that he owns, land that he owns. 07:04 --> 07:07 I don't know what the Rocky title probably factors into that. 07:07 --> 07:09 Or if you're Donald Trump, it just depends what mood you're in. 07:09 --> 07:10 Yeah. 07:10 --> 07:11 It fluctuates with his net worth. 07:12 --> 07:14 I feel like $10 billion today. 07:14 --> 07:15 I'm really rich. 07:15 --> 07:17 I built a tremendous fortune. 07:17 --> 07:19 Money, money, I want more money. 07:19 --> 07:21 My father gave me a small loan of a million dollars. 07:21 --> 07:23 I have hundreds of millions of dollars of cash. 07:23 --> 07:28 I borrowed a million dollars, and now it's worth over $10 billion. 07:28 --> 07:30 I built a net worth of way over $10 billion. 07:30 --> 07:33 I've made billions and billions of dollars. 07:33 --> 07:35 Billions and billions and billions of dollars. 07:35 --> 07:36 That's what I do. 07:36 --> 07:37 I made a lot of money. 07:37 --> 07:38 I made a tremendous amount of money. 07:38 --> 07:39 Tremendous cash flow. 07:39 --> 07:42 I have a store that's worth more money than Mitt Romney. 07:43 --> 07:46 And they said he's probably not as rich as people think. 07:46 --> 07:47 And it turned out I'm much richer, right? 07:47 --> 07:48 You see. 07:48 --> 07:48 Much richer. 07:49 --> 07:51 It turned out I'm much richer than anybody ever knew. 07:51 --> 07:53 I'm much richer than almost anybody. 07:54 --> 07:54 Oh, did I get rich? 07:55 --> 07:59 Speaking of, I think in episode 10, we talked about hair. 07:59 --> 08:01 We talked about John Travolta's hair. 08:01 --> 08:01 Oh, yeah. 08:01 --> 08:01 That's right. 08:02 --> 08:02 Yeah, yeah. 08:02 --> 08:06 Google Donald Trump hair being blown in the wind or something. 08:06 --> 08:06 It's fantastic. 08:07 --> 08:08 It is. 08:08 --> 08:09 It's my zen, I guess you could say. 08:10 --> 08:12 So to be fair to him, he has said that's all his hair. 08:12 --> 08:13 And I believe him. 08:13 --> 08:17 But boy, he's got that thing wrapped around like a snake in a basket. 08:19 --> 08:20 A little tangent here. 08:20 --> 08:21 I'm bald. 08:21 --> 08:22 Like bald, bald, bald. 08:22 --> 08:24 I don't see hairlines. 08:24 --> 08:25 Bless your heart. 08:26 --> 08:27 Bless your heart, Ryan. 08:28 --> 08:28 You know why? 08:28 --> 08:30 Because mine's never receded. 08:31 --> 08:33 Yeah, so I'm totally bald. 08:33 --> 08:33 Yeah. 08:34 --> 08:34 Well, I'm not bald. 08:34 --> 08:35 Well, yeah. 08:35 --> 08:36 I'm a bald guy. 08:36 --> 08:39 I have kids literally come up to me and say, how come you have no hair? 08:40 --> 08:40 Wow. 08:41 --> 08:41 Absolutely. 08:41 --> 08:42 I'm not exaggerating. 08:42 --> 08:44 I can't speak as a bald person. 08:44 --> 08:45 Well, because you're not bald. 08:46 --> 08:47 Except for that face of yours. 08:47 --> 08:49 Puberty will happen to you one of these days. 08:49 --> 08:50 One of these days. 08:50 --> 08:50 Yeah. 08:50 --> 08:53 When I see a man with no hair, I know they see that probably more than, 08:54 --> 08:55 like, I don't see it. 08:55 --> 08:59 It's so common for men to not have, to not have hair. 08:59 --> 08:59 Mm-hmm. 09:00 --> 09:01 That I don't see it when, when that happens. 09:01 --> 09:01 Yeah. 09:02 --> 09:04 Well, when kids have mentioned, it's like friends, kids, that sort of stuff. 09:04 --> 09:08 I'm at the house and I might be sitting on the couch and they'll come up and they're like, 09:08 --> 09:09 hey, you know, you have like no hair. 09:10 --> 09:11 This is, how come you have no hair? 09:11 --> 09:15 So it's not like I'm walking down the street and people are like gawking. 09:15 --> 09:15 You have no hair. 09:16 --> 09:18 For a TV show I have, I got a toupee fitted. 09:19 --> 09:19 You have a show? 09:20 --> 09:20 Yeah. 09:20 --> 09:21 I'm not trying to plug the show. 09:21 --> 09:25 We wouldn't want you to plug anything besides our podcast, Go In The Distance, the Rocky series. 09:26 --> 09:28 But please, so you say you have a show as well, Ruben. 09:28 --> 09:30 Yeah, I have a TV show on Vancouver Island. 09:30 --> 09:30 Okay. 09:31 --> 09:31 Yeah. 09:31 --> 09:32 Like a local cable access show? 09:32 --> 09:33 Like Wayne's World. 09:33 --> 09:34 Oh, but what's it called, Ruben? 09:34 --> 09:35 It's called The Ruben Show. 09:36 --> 09:37 Oh, okay. 09:37 --> 09:37 Fair enough. 09:37 --> 09:40 I get a toupee fitted on there. 09:40 --> 09:42 So I know what it's like to wear a toupee. 09:42 --> 09:46 Is there a place that people can find this episode on YouTube so they can see what we're talking about? 09:47 --> 09:48 If you have something called the internet. 09:48 --> 09:48 Okay. 09:49 --> 09:52 The R-U-B-A-N show. 09:52 --> 09:52 Mm-hmm. 09:52 --> 09:53 Just go to Facebook. 09:54 --> 09:54 Like it there. 09:55 --> 09:55 Yeah. 09:55 --> 09:57 Well, just go to Facebook and you'll see it on there. 09:58 --> 09:58 All right. 09:58 --> 10:00 I'm really not trying to plug the show. 10:00 --> 10:03 All I'm trying to say is I know what it's like to wear a toupee and I want to give context 10:03 --> 10:06 because my self-esteem isn't so low that I'd actually get a toupee. 10:06 --> 10:06 Right. 10:07 --> 10:11 Wearing a toupee is like wearing a swim cap that says Harry on the top. 10:11 --> 10:12 Oh, gosh. 10:12 --> 10:13 You can shower with it. 10:13 --> 10:22 And so when you're showering, you literally hear the shower tapping it like there's a tarp on top of your head. 10:22 --> 10:23 Oh, that's so weird. 10:24 --> 10:26 Sorry to all our toupee listeners. 10:26 --> 10:27 That's just weird. 10:27 --> 10:27 I don't know. 10:27 --> 10:28 I don't know. 10:28 --> 10:29 I could care less. 10:29 --> 10:30 I'm doing you a favor. 10:30 --> 10:32 Just get rid of that toupee. 10:32 --> 10:33 Don't do Botox. 10:33 --> 10:34 Don't wear a toupee. 10:34 --> 10:35 Just age naturally. 10:35 --> 10:35 Yeah. 10:35 --> 10:37 Don't pull Burt Reynolds wearing a toupee. 10:37 --> 10:38 Does Burt Reynolds wear a toupee? 10:39 --> 10:39 Okay. 10:39 --> 10:43 First of all, he should know better because years ago he was on a rug. 10:44 --> 10:47 I guess he loved it so much he put a rug on top of his head. 10:47 --> 10:50 I guess he figured if I could lie on a rug, I could wear a rug. 10:50 --> 10:57 And what's funny is that you don't even know where it starts and ends or begins. 10:57 --> 10:58 It's a beautiful thing. 10:58 --> 10:59 It's a beautiful thing. 10:59 --> 11:02 I think Burt Reynolds is now just a traveling hair. 11:03 --> 11:04 Google, if you haven't already. 11:04 --> 11:07 I'm not sure if we've ever mentioned this or not, but Burt Reynolds on a bear rug. 11:08 --> 11:11 You have to Google Burt Reynolds bear rug. 11:12 --> 11:14 What's funny is that he actually might have been wearing a rug. 11:14 --> 11:15 It's semi-safe for work. 11:17 --> 11:18 It all depends where you work. 11:19 --> 11:22 He's probably wearing a rug and on top of a rug at the same time. 11:22 --> 11:23 It's like a Burt sandwich. 11:24 --> 11:26 So all I'm saying is... 11:26 --> 11:29 Hey, there's a hair in my Burt sandwich. 11:31 --> 11:32 Burt Reynolds bear rug. 11:33 --> 11:34 So if you stuck with us so far... 11:34 --> 11:35 I'm so sorry. 11:35 --> 11:37 Andy Carl is our guest today. 11:38 --> 11:40 He deserves better than this, Ruben. 11:40 --> 11:41 He really, really does. 11:41 --> 11:42 He really, really does. 11:42 --> 11:44 Speaking of hair, he's got fantastic hair. 11:44 --> 11:45 That would be my recommendation. 11:45 --> 11:46 Google Andy Carl. 11:47 --> 11:50 A-N-D-Y-K-A-R-L. 11:51 --> 11:52 He's a handsome feller. 11:52 --> 11:53 Yes, yeah. 11:53 --> 11:56 His Wikipedia page actually has a picture of him posing as Rocky. 11:56 --> 11:57 Boxing pose. 11:58 --> 11:59 Oh, I didn't go on Wikipedia. 12:00 --> 12:00 Yeah, he's on Wikipedia. 12:01 --> 12:05 So this is our first guest who has a Wikipedia page. 12:05 --> 12:05 Pretty cool. 12:06 --> 12:06 That is pretty cool, yeah. 12:06 --> 12:09 There's no Wikipedia page on Ryan or Balkan. 12:10 --> 12:11 Ryan or Balkan, born in Victoria. 12:11 --> 12:12 Not yet, not yet. 12:13 --> 12:15 Yeah, well, if anyone wants to start cracking on that, that'd be great. 12:15 --> 12:18 Andy played Rocky in the Rocky musical. 12:18 --> 12:19 He was more than gracious. 12:20 --> 12:21 He was fantastic. 12:22 --> 12:24 He was everything that you'd want in a guest. 12:24 --> 12:27 Andy made it just very easy for us. 12:27 --> 12:29 He's a very engaging, very cool guy. 12:30 --> 12:32 I think you would have to be, we talked about that before. 12:33 --> 12:35 Before we interviewed Andy, I'll just say this. 12:35 --> 12:39 I was actually kind of nervous because he's been on nine shows on Broadway. 12:39 --> 12:41 Have you been on Broadway, Ruben? 12:41 --> 12:41 Yeah. 12:41 --> 12:42 Performing? 12:42 --> 12:43 Have you performed on Broadway? 12:43 --> 12:43 No, no, no. 12:43 --> 12:44 Just the street. 12:44 --> 12:50 I would suspect that a Broadway performer, especially one who does a starring role and an iconic figure, 12:50 --> 12:51 you've got to have a little bit of a personality. 12:52 --> 12:55 So when I thought about that before the interview, I really worked myself in a tizzy. 12:55 --> 12:59 So Andy, first off, I want to apologize for talking like an idiot. 12:59 --> 12:59 Don't apologize. 12:59 --> 13:00 You're fine. 13:00 --> 13:01 Let me critique myself. 13:02 --> 13:03 Let me critique you too. 13:03 --> 13:03 Okay. 13:04 --> 13:05 I've already done it. 13:05 --> 13:05 You're fine. 13:06 --> 13:10 I found myself just like, at the end when I was just, because I was, at the end of the 13:10 --> 13:14 interview, I became starstruck as the interview continued because I realized we're talking 13:14 --> 13:19 to someone who has really done, in his field of work, has really done the business. 13:19 --> 13:20 Yeah. 13:20 --> 13:20 Well, sorry, Andy. 13:20 --> 13:21 I wasn't starstruck. 13:22 --> 13:22 Yeah. 13:22 --> 13:23 Ruben wasn't starstruck. 13:24 --> 13:24 Andy was great. 13:25 --> 13:25 Yeah. 13:25 --> 13:26 He made me feel too comfortable. 13:26 --> 13:26 Yeah. 13:26 --> 13:27 That's what I mean. 13:27 --> 13:31 What I was trying to say to him was, is like, thank you so much for giving the time of 13:31 --> 13:32 your day. 13:32 --> 13:34 I think, I believe that day was just finished doing, he was in London. 13:35 --> 13:36 So he was calling at the end of his work day. 13:36 --> 13:38 I suspect he did practice that day. 13:38 --> 13:39 At 10 o'clock at night. 13:40 --> 13:41 No, it was six o'clock his time. 13:41 --> 13:42 It was 10 a.m. our time. 13:43 --> 13:44 At six o'clock at night. 13:46 --> 13:47 Doesn't mean he wasn't tired. 13:47 --> 13:47 I bet you he was up early. 13:48 --> 13:51 Because at the very end of the interview, he gave us a very nice little yawn. 13:51 --> 13:52 And it wasn't a bored yawn. 13:53 --> 13:54 It was just, he was legitimately tired. 13:54 --> 13:57 And before that, he said, hey, I can keep doing this, guys. 13:57 --> 14:00 We're crossing our fingers and we're going to hope we get them on again because he's got 14:00 --> 14:01 so much more to say. 14:01 --> 14:02 We have a lot more to ask. 14:02 --> 14:03 I have so many more questions. 14:04 --> 14:04 Yeah. 14:04 --> 14:04 Word. 14:04 --> 14:06 So without further ado, I've talked too much. 14:07 --> 14:08 Andy Carl. 14:08 --> 14:08 Andy Carl. 14:11 --> 14:11 Hello. 14:11 --> 14:14 Hey, this is Ruben from the Going the Distance podcast. 14:15 --> 14:16 Hey, how are you, Ruben? 14:16 --> 14:17 Good, Andy. 14:17 --> 14:18 Hey, Ryan, are you on the phone too? 14:19 --> 14:19 I'm here. 14:19 --> 14:22 I'm on the other part of this conversation. 14:22 --> 14:23 Hey, Andy, how are you doing? 14:23 --> 14:24 I'm great. 14:24 --> 14:25 I'm here in London. 14:25 --> 14:27 Thanks for calling all the way out here. 14:27 --> 14:28 Appreciate it. 14:28 --> 14:29 Not a problem at all. 14:29 --> 14:31 The phone call wasn't that hard to dial to London after all. 14:31 --> 14:32 It's pretty easy. 14:32 --> 14:32 Oh. 14:34 --> 14:35 He speaks for you. 14:35 --> 14:35 Yeah. 14:35 --> 14:36 Oh, well, yeah. 14:36 --> 14:40 So I don't know if you know much about us, which I would assume you know nothing about us. 14:41 --> 14:42 We're just two brothers. 14:42 --> 14:44 Well, I just listened to the last podcast. 14:45 --> 14:45 Oh, you did? 14:45 --> 14:46 Well, not the last one. 14:47 --> 14:49 I just listened to the one with Mike Kundra. 14:49 --> 14:49 Okay. 14:50 --> 14:50 Oh, wow. 14:50 --> 14:50 That was fun. 14:51 --> 14:51 It was very nice. 14:51 --> 14:52 It was nice to hear his voice again. 14:53 --> 14:53 I met him. 14:53 --> 14:54 He came backstage at Rocky. 14:55 --> 14:56 I met him two years ago. 14:56 --> 14:57 Small world. 14:57 --> 14:58 Oh, that's fantastic. 14:58 --> 15:00 Yeah, he was a great interviewer, nice guy. 15:01 --> 15:02 And, well, he has met a lot of people. 15:03 --> 15:03 Yeah. 15:03 --> 15:03 Yeah. 15:03 --> 15:04 Yeah. 15:04 --> 15:07 They all tend to swirl around the Rocky iconic idea. 15:08 --> 15:09 So it's like, you know, people just love it. 15:09 --> 15:11 They love any facet of it. 15:11 --> 15:12 Yeah, yeah. 15:12 --> 15:12 Including myself. 15:13 --> 15:13 Oh, really? 15:14 --> 15:16 So it wasn't just like a gig that you're like, hey, I got a gig? 15:16 --> 15:18 Or like a fan beforehand? 15:18 --> 15:23 I mean, I think if you've never seen a Rocky film, I don't know what rock you've lived under 15:23 --> 15:24 for your entire life. 15:24 --> 15:30 But I guess I grew up around the Rocky IV era and watching that on cable television and, you 15:30 --> 15:35 know, screaming for the, being so fascinated with the robots and the cars and climbing up 15:35 --> 15:37 a mountainside and screaming, Drago. 15:37 --> 15:38 Drago! 15:42 --> 15:43 Drago! 15:45 --> 15:46 Drago! 15:49 --> 15:50 Drago! 15:54 --> 16:01 Real, real macho stuff, but also like fascinating sort of route for America in that way and a 16:01 --> 16:03 route for an icon in that way. 16:03 --> 16:06 That sort of just set me off when I was a kid to watch all the Rocky films. 16:07 --> 16:12 So I definitely had been a fan of the films and even more so as I got closer to playing 16:12 --> 16:14 Rocky on Broadway. 16:14 --> 16:19 When I heard about the Rocky becoming a musical, like you, I've been a fan my whole life. 16:19 --> 16:20 I don't want to, I don't want to guess your age. 16:21 --> 16:22 I'm 40. 16:22 --> 16:23 Ruben is 38. 16:24 --> 16:28 So we're probably about the same ballpark of age being, you know, sounds like you saw the 16:28 --> 16:30 same movies we saw at the same time growing up. 16:30 --> 16:31 Yeah, yeah. 16:31 --> 16:32 I'm 40 as well. 16:32 --> 16:32 Okay. 16:33 --> 16:33 Yeah. 16:33 --> 16:36 I was, I played, I guess I played Rocky on stage. 16:36 --> 16:41 I was about 10 years older than Stallone was when he, when he first did it, but it comes 16:41 --> 16:42 across the same way. 16:43 --> 16:48 Unfortunately, we never got to see the Broadway show, Rocky, the musical, because just of location 16:48 --> 16:49 and I guess money. 16:50 --> 16:53 And it never came to Victoria. 16:53 --> 16:55 So I had to scrounge up what I could via YouTube. 16:56 --> 16:58 Let me just first say, bravo, job well done. 16:59 --> 17:03 People, people were able, I guess people snuck in cameras, which you're not really supposed 17:03 --> 17:04 to, but I kind of glad they did. 17:05 --> 17:06 So I could see some of the performances. 17:07 --> 17:12 One of the things I really liked what you did there, Andy, was when you did the, my nose 17:12 --> 17:13 ain't broke song. 17:13 --> 17:13 Yeah. 17:13 --> 17:14 My nose ain't broken. 17:14 --> 17:17 You got that sniff down, the Rocky sniff. 17:17 --> 17:17 Yeah. 17:18 --> 17:18 Yeah. 17:18 --> 17:24 Um, you know, being a fan of the movies, I went back and watched the first one a few 17:24 --> 17:33 times just to sort of, it's such a great independent, well-directed, well-acted film that you fall 17:33 --> 17:37 in love with each time you watch and you fall in love with this, this character, character 17:37 --> 17:37 of Rocky. 17:37 --> 17:42 And I knew that, you know, I needed to like become the character and bring my own thing to 17:42 --> 17:42 it. 17:42 --> 17:47 But there's also this thing of I'm playing, Stallone was playing that character as well. 17:47 --> 17:51 So he had these little ticks and these things and rolling his shoulders and he's constantly 17:51 --> 17:56 rolling his shoulders because that's what boxers do because they're keeping that loose. 17:57 --> 18:00 The Smith, you know, the Smith thing is, it's, it's very funny because when I met Stallone 18:00 --> 18:04 for the first time during one of the workshops and I was speaking to him and he's speaking 18:04 --> 18:07 in his Stallone voice, ultimately very regal. 18:07 --> 18:14 He's like talking to the alpha lion of Hollywood and he got this three piece suit on. 18:14 --> 18:14 It looked great. 18:15 --> 18:20 He was talking about the role and he's, then he dropped into Rocky, which you, you would 18:20 --> 18:23 think they're one in the same as Stallone and Rocky are one in the same, but they're actually, 18:24 --> 18:28 he's playing this character in a very, he's very specific about what he's doing because 18:28 --> 18:29 he's an actor. 18:29 --> 18:33 So he goes, you know, his eyes drop, his mouth draws. 18:33 --> 18:37 He gets a little bit more drawn than what he was, you know, normally having done. 18:37 --> 18:41 And he also like did the sniff and he held his hands together and rolled his shoulders. 18:42 --> 18:46 And there was a whole bunch of like affectations to this character that I wanted to pick off, 18:46 --> 18:52 pick up on by watching the films, obviously, and doing the sniff and doing, doing the voice 18:52 --> 18:56 sort of getting a piece of that because I mean, I'm playing a character. 18:56 --> 18:58 Yes, but he's also like an icon. 18:58 --> 19:04 I think one of the first performances I did in previews, I didn't drop my voice as low as 19:04 --> 19:11 he does, which, but I can, and my wife and her best friend saw me do it. 19:11 --> 19:14 And she's like, you have to do the voice and you do the voice all the time. 19:14 --> 19:19 She's like, you'll just, the audience will just automatically like fall in line and, and 19:19 --> 19:22 get what you're doing and they'll follow you. 19:22 --> 19:24 It was the thing about becoming that character. 19:24 --> 19:29 When I was first doing it, I was, I was likening it to, you know, people who like Ben Kingsley 19:29 --> 19:30 playing Gandhi. 19:30 --> 19:31 He lost a lot of weight. 19:31 --> 19:34 He started speaking in an Indian accent. 19:34 --> 19:35 I think he actually is Indian. 19:36 --> 19:40 There's all sorts of things he had, he had to take on his characters, characteristics. 19:41 --> 19:47 I was just doing that of a person who isn't real, but Rocky is sort of, you know, it's known 19:47 --> 19:50 to so many people for so many reasons for years and years and years. 19:50 --> 19:53 So I couldn't really, I couldn't go left of that too much. 19:53 --> 19:56 So I wanted to watch it and pick up on all that stuff. 19:56 --> 19:59 I mean, you're the only person to play Rocky other than Stallone. 19:59 --> 20:01 I mean, yes, technically. 20:02 --> 20:02 Sure. 20:02 --> 20:03 There's impersonators. 20:03 --> 20:05 There's all sorts of people out there. 20:06 --> 20:08 The guy in Germany, I think they're still doing the German Rocky. 20:09 --> 20:10 There's people out there who play Rocky. 20:11 --> 20:13 I'm sure there's people much better impersonating Rocky. 20:14 --> 20:20 A funny, funny story actually went to Philadelphia, which I go to often, but this was for a promo 20:20 --> 20:25 of the musical that we were about to do of Rocky, and I was going to sing a song at this 20:25 --> 20:29 press event, answer some questions and talk to the writers and stuff like that. 20:30 --> 20:35 But before that, we went to the stairs, the Rocky stairs, the museum and the statues there 20:35 --> 20:36 to the right. 20:36 --> 20:41 And by the statue was an impersonator, not Mike Kundra, but another impersonator. 20:42 --> 20:45 And he was very friendly, but he didn't know what we were doing. 20:45 --> 20:50 We were just sort of, I was sort of filming, you know, me through an iPhone talking to this 20:50 --> 20:52 guy about Rocky. 20:52 --> 20:53 I was like, can I get a picture with you? 20:54 --> 20:54 He's like, yeah, yeah. 20:55 --> 20:56 He's like, you know, I love Rocky. 20:56 --> 21:01 They just had auditions for this musical and they hired some guy that doesn't even look like 21:01 --> 21:01 him. 21:01 --> 21:03 And he's telling me, I'm just sort of laughing at it. 21:03 --> 21:05 And, you know, I'm taking it all in stride. 21:05 --> 21:07 Sort of can't take it all seriously. 21:08 --> 21:11 And he's like, hey, the guy doesn't look like him or anything. 21:11 --> 21:12 They wouldn't even audition me. 21:12 --> 21:13 He was kind of bitter about it. 21:14 --> 21:15 So it was even funnier. 21:15 --> 21:20 And I think just he finally put it together like that I was the guy who was going to do 21:20 --> 21:20 it. 21:20 --> 21:22 And he was my best friend from then on. 21:22 --> 21:24 And no, but he was really nice. 21:24 --> 21:26 There's a lot of people following this. 21:26 --> 21:28 There's a lot of people who love this story. 21:28 --> 21:32 And there's a lot of things you have to be very humble about when taking this on. 21:33 --> 21:34 So I've tried to be that throughout. 21:35 --> 21:37 Well, I'm actually a little surprised they hired you for the roller. 21:37 --> 21:38 Randy. 21:38 --> 21:39 Rocky can't sing or dance. 21:41 --> 21:41 Yeah, yeah. 21:42 --> 21:43 He literally says that. 21:43 --> 21:45 And I actually sing that. 21:45 --> 21:46 That's awesome. 21:46 --> 21:47 Sing and dance. 21:47 --> 21:47 You know what? 21:48 --> 21:48 Have it made. 21:49 --> 21:50 Can I ask you a question? 21:50 --> 21:51 Absolutely. 21:53 --> 21:54 Why do you want to fight? 21:54 --> 21:56 Because I can't sing or dance. 21:56 --> 21:57 Hey, yo. 21:57 --> 22:02 That's when I was questioning the whole thing about auditioning for it and hearing that 22:02 --> 22:04 they were making Rocky the musical. 22:04 --> 22:06 What a horrible idea, I thought. 22:06 --> 22:07 Man, what a terrible idea. 22:08 --> 22:15 And I went back and watched the film and saw how beautiful the story is and how really, as 22:15 --> 22:16 composers for this piece. 22:16 --> 22:22 And this is Lynn Aaronson and Stephen Flaherty, who have written many musicals and been successful 22:22 --> 22:23 musicals. 22:23 --> 22:23 Ragtime. 22:24 --> 22:29 Now, they have like a list of Tony winning songs that they have written for different musicals. 22:29 --> 22:31 And so these people know what they're doing. 22:31 --> 22:32 And I think they really got it right. 22:33 --> 22:38 They placed everything, you know, in basement as far as types of things he would sing. 22:38 --> 22:42 And then a great triumphant first act closer called Fight From The Heart. 22:42 --> 22:48 I believe that song they played for Stallone because they were pitching the fact that they 22:48 --> 22:49 could be writers for Stallone. 22:49 --> 22:54 And Stallone came in and listened to them play that with a singer on just a piano. 22:54 --> 23:00 And from that song on, Stallone was totally convinced that these people could write this 23:00 --> 23:00 musical. 23:00 --> 23:02 And I thought they did just such a great job. 23:03 --> 23:07 And specifically with Nose Ain't Broken, which I don't know if people love that song so 23:07 --> 23:10 much, but it was so right for the character. 23:10 --> 23:10 Right. 23:10 --> 23:15 No, the clip that I saw on YouTube happened to be that full performance of somebody recording 23:15 --> 23:15 on their phone. 23:16 --> 23:17 Like I said, I'm glad I saw it. 23:17 --> 23:18 And I'm not going to lie to you. 23:18 --> 23:23 I got choked up just seeing the Rocky character being performed from a different angle and a different 23:23 --> 23:26 interpretation, but still the same Rocky character. 23:26 --> 23:29 It just brought new life for the character to me. 23:29 --> 23:30 Yeah, it was terrific. 23:30 --> 23:32 The staging was incredible. 23:32 --> 23:38 The heart of the piece was still, it's all there that the movie has. 23:38 --> 23:40 It has all the heart that the movie had. 23:40 --> 23:46 But there was just something about bringing to life the fights, bringing to life the character 23:46 --> 23:47 and the love story. 23:47 --> 23:53 Having audiences really just up on their feet, rooting for Rocky at the end of the show felt 23:53 --> 23:55 just like watching the film. 23:55 --> 23:59 When I was performing, I was like, oh, this is what I feel when I watch the film. 24:00 --> 24:02 People are screaming Rocky, but they're two feet away from me. 24:02 --> 24:03 So it was great. 24:04 --> 24:05 What a rush that must have been. 24:06 --> 24:06 Oh, yes. 24:07 --> 24:11 No, I just, especially towards the end of the show, there's a 20 minute fight. 24:11 --> 24:16 At the end of that, talk about like the most cathartic feeling you've ever felt as a performer 24:16 --> 24:19 and also as, I guess, a fighter. 24:19 --> 24:24 Having that sort of, you lose the fight, but you've won so much integrity. 24:25 --> 24:27 And it's not Apollo's name. 24:27 --> 24:34 They're cheering Rocky's name because they know how hard and how much he took. 24:34 --> 24:38 And within one fight, he expressed himself completely. 24:38 --> 24:41 And basically raising your hands high at the end of the show was terrific. 24:41 --> 24:45 And throwing a towel to the audience, just a terrific feeling. 24:45 --> 24:47 How many times did you do that performance? 24:47 --> 24:48 How many times did you play it? 24:48 --> 24:50 Eight shows a week. 24:50 --> 24:54 And we went for, I think we did about nine months straight. 24:55 --> 24:56 The movie is one thing. 24:56 --> 24:57 You see the fight. 24:58 --> 25:00 He filmed it, you know, in a couple of days and that kind of stuff. 25:00 --> 25:06 But I knew with the show, it was going to be a fight at the beginning, which lasted between 25:06 --> 25:07 seven and 10 minutes. 25:07 --> 25:09 And then a fight at the end that lasted about 20 minutes. 25:10 --> 25:12 Full out, lights, throwing punches, hitting each other. 25:12 --> 25:15 We made full contact with the punches. 25:15 --> 25:17 We just knew how to roll with the punches. 25:17 --> 25:20 And then we knew that they were coming. 25:20 --> 25:21 Some I didn't, actually. 25:21 --> 25:26 I blacked out a few times for a quick second because I was caught with a couple of sucker 25:26 --> 25:27 punches a few times. 25:27 --> 25:30 And I've had some black eyes and bruises and stuff like that. 25:30 --> 25:32 It's like, it goes along with the territory. 25:33 --> 25:37 But to do that eight shows a week under a really hot light, I was in great shape. 25:37 --> 25:42 It was just, at the end of it, you're just completely exhausted. 25:42 --> 25:49 To do a matinee and turn around the next, that same day and do another show was, it was hard 25:49 --> 25:49 sometimes. 25:50 --> 25:52 But, you know, I think the, the Rocky. 25:52 --> 25:53 Yeah, go the distance. 25:53 --> 25:54 Exactly. 25:54 --> 25:57 I was about to say the Rocky spirit really just sort of like sticks with you. 25:57 --> 26:00 How much did your wife appreciate you working out? 26:00 --> 26:00 It was funny. 26:01 --> 26:03 You'd think it'd be great because like I was, I was ripped. 26:03 --> 26:05 I'm, I don't do the same regimen now. 26:05 --> 26:08 So I sort of like envy my former body. 26:08 --> 26:09 It was kind of fun. 26:09 --> 26:11 But to be ripped like that'd be awesome. 26:11 --> 26:14 But it takes a great amount of work. 26:14 --> 26:21 And I think if you ask any like wife of a boxer, what it's like to be with that person for, 26:22 --> 26:26 for that, that period of time when they're training, it's probably not the greatest. 26:26 --> 26:28 They're kind of exhausted all the time. 26:28 --> 26:29 They're hungry all the time. 26:29 --> 26:31 They, they kind of just want to sleep. 26:32 --> 26:38 So it was like, my wife could appreciate me, but I was lying on the couch, like I got to 26:38 --> 26:39 do another show. 26:39 --> 26:40 So I'll see you in a few hours. 26:41 --> 26:44 Now, did, uh, does the woman week of legs for Broadway? 26:44 --> 26:45 Is that different? 26:45 --> 26:47 You got to stay focused to stay chosen. 26:48 --> 26:52 And I'm about to start another show now, which is turning out to be pretty exhausting too. 26:52 --> 26:54 So I don't know why I do this to myself. 26:54 --> 26:58 Well, actually I was going to ask, I was going to ask you about how did this start for you? 26:58 --> 27:00 If you don't mind just going back a little bit, I'm just curious. 27:00 --> 27:01 We're the same age. 27:01 --> 27:03 How did you know, Hey, I can sing and dance. 27:03 --> 27:04 I can do this. 27:04 --> 27:06 Like, how does that even begin for somebody? 27:07 --> 27:12 Um, I guess, yeah, I was, my mother played organ for her church and there was always a piano 27:12 --> 27:13 around the house. 27:13 --> 27:18 Uh, and she always had a lot of records and my brother, my older brother had a lot of albums 27:18 --> 27:18 and stuff. 27:18 --> 27:20 Music was just sort of around the house at all times. 27:20 --> 27:23 It became a thing of, I think my mother heard that I could sing a little. 27:23 --> 27:30 And I started, uh, I was in a chorus, uh, in like elementary school and that kind of stuff. 27:30 --> 27:35 It's just sort of, that's what I naturally grew attached to was, uh, is singing and performing 27:35 --> 27:36 in that way. 27:36 --> 27:42 And, um, as soon as, uh, I did a couple of high school musicals, like summer musicals 27:42 --> 27:45 at the, during the summer, you know, which most public high schools do. 27:45 --> 27:49 I think I finally got like some featured lead in it. 27:49 --> 27:54 And I had my first joke that I had to have the audience and the audience just, they all 27:54 --> 27:55 laugh. 27:55 --> 27:57 I think that's when I first got hooked. 27:57 --> 27:59 So I was hooked around high school. 27:59 --> 28:05 And from there I just sort of pursued it as, uh, something that, that really clicked with 28:05 --> 28:05 me. 28:05 --> 28:08 And it was just one of those things that was like, this is why I, where I want, what I 28:08 --> 28:09 want to do. 28:09 --> 28:14 And I just studied as much as I can and learned as much as I could, took a lot more voice lessons, 28:14 --> 28:17 became, uh, more adept at it. 28:17 --> 28:22 Oh, just over the years, it went from, you know, performing in regional shows, different 28:22 --> 28:27 states and dinner theaters and stuff like that, to getting off Broadway, to getting Broadway, 28:28 --> 28:31 to placing, then becoming, you know, originating roles. 28:31 --> 28:38 But my thing now, I think my thing now that I do well is I play parts that are iconic movie 28:38 --> 28:39 parts. 28:39 --> 28:40 That's like iconic movies. 28:41 --> 28:42 Call Andy Carl. 28:42 --> 28:44 He'll try to do something with it. 28:44 --> 28:48 Um, and I just have a list of these, you know, movies that are now musical. 28:49 --> 28:50 Uh, yeah, I saw that. 28:51 --> 28:55 Like Legally Blonde, Nine to Five, Saturday Night Fever, The Wedding Singer. 28:55 --> 28:57 Are you allowed to say what you're doing now? 28:58 --> 28:58 Oh yeah. 28:58 --> 28:59 Another movie musical. 29:00 --> 29:04 Uh, this one's a Groundhog Day, the musical, that, that, that, that Bill Murray movie. 29:04 --> 29:04 Oh yeah. 29:05 --> 29:05 The Andy McDowell movie. 29:05 --> 29:07 Uh, terrific film. 29:08 --> 29:08 Great film. 29:09 --> 29:15 And again, I was very skeptical when, uh, I was asked to audition for it because I, I was 29:15 --> 29:16 like, please don't, don't ruin it. 29:16 --> 29:19 But it's actually the creative team is the same people. 29:19 --> 29:23 And I don't know if you've ever seen Matilda, the musical, which is a big hit on Broadway. 29:24 --> 29:26 It's touring around the country. 29:26 --> 29:27 Now it might come up to Vancouver. 29:27 --> 29:29 I'm sure it's, it's probably been there. 29:29 --> 29:33 If it hasn't been, there's the same writing team and they're all located in London. 29:33 --> 29:38 Obviously that's why I'm, I'm here in London, very accredited people writing the thing. 29:38 --> 29:41 And they're also doing it out of passion because they love the movie so much. 29:41 --> 29:46 And it's really turning, we're rehearsing our sixth week of rehearsal and it's turning 29:46 --> 29:52 into this incredibly artistic, beautiful, funny take on, on, and it's giving you everything 29:52 --> 29:55 the movie has, but making it a theatrical event. 29:55 --> 30:02 Like how would, how would we repeat the same day on, on a stage without any like cutting 30:02 --> 30:04 edits in movies, which they can do very well. 30:04 --> 30:09 And the original screenwriter, Danny Rubin is writing the, uh, the script to this as well. 30:10 --> 30:12 So we've got all the right things in all the right places. 30:13 --> 30:18 You know, hopefully I just keep stepping up to the plate and doing what I can do to, to make 30:18 --> 30:19 it come to life. 30:19 --> 30:21 I'm playing the Bill, Bill Murray role. 30:22 --> 30:22 Yeah. 30:22 --> 30:22 Yeah. 30:22 --> 30:28 It's like, which, which is another great thing to do Rocky and then to flip it on its 30:28 --> 30:35 ear and play someone who's, you know, not as, uh, as humble as Rocky to play this, this Phil 30:35 --> 30:36 Connors iconic role. 30:36 --> 30:42 Who's really, he's just a jerk and sort of self-loving type of guy. 30:42 --> 30:47 It was fun to be able to do something like that after something like Rocky, which is really all 30:47 --> 30:53 about sort of the heart and, and human and being human and, and love and, and fighting 30:53 --> 30:55 for something that deeper inside of you. 30:55 --> 30:58 Whereas Phil Connors does not like Punxsutawney. 30:58 --> 31:00 He does not like many people at all. 31:00 --> 31:04 And he's very self-serving in a lot of ways. 31:04 --> 31:06 It's kind of fun to switch it up that way. 31:06 --> 31:07 You get to punch that guy every day. 31:08 --> 31:08 Yeah. 31:08 --> 31:12 I punched Ned Ryerson three times in the show. 31:13 --> 31:18 So yeah, I get, I get a little, I get a little bit back after, after being punched, you know, 31:18 --> 31:20 50 or like, it was like 500 times. 31:20 --> 31:23 I got hit in the head during Rocky every night. 31:23 --> 31:25 So it's a, it's great. 31:25 --> 31:29 It's great to play these roles, you know, taking these iconic things and being able to, uh, 31:29 --> 31:30 to live up to that. 31:31 --> 31:32 It's a really fun challenge. 31:32 --> 31:37 So when you're going to be doing Groundhog Day for like months on the end, eventually 31:37 --> 31:39 it will feel like Groundhog Day. 31:39 --> 31:40 I would imagine. 31:40 --> 31:40 Yeah. 31:41 --> 31:41 Yeah. 31:41 --> 31:43 And it does already. 31:44 --> 31:44 I bet. 31:44 --> 31:45 I feel like I go to rehearsal. 31:46 --> 31:51 I sit in the same, same rehearsal room and we have to rehearse a different scene for a 31:51 --> 31:52 different day. 31:52 --> 31:57 And he's like, just, he just calls out a scene in a day and we have to jump to that thing 31:57 --> 31:59 and comes back and then have to do it again. 31:59 --> 32:03 And, but it's really hilarious how this, how that happened on stage. 32:04 --> 32:08 Uh, like how funny it is in the movie, but there's something about seeing it live and 32:08 --> 32:11 seeing this linear story reversed on itself. 32:12 --> 32:12 Theater. 32:13 --> 32:17 I think for theater, it's really kind of a really cool step and very artistic. 32:17 --> 32:18 So I'm very excited about it. 32:18 --> 32:23 And we'll see, we'll see how it, how it does here and bring it to Broadway and see how it 32:23 --> 32:23 does there. 32:24 --> 32:25 That's the risk, man. 32:25 --> 32:25 Yeah. 32:25 --> 32:27 Joel, I was actually going to ask you about Broadway. 32:27 --> 32:29 I've never talked to anyone who's been on Broadway. 32:29 --> 32:31 So this is kind of exciting for us. 32:31 --> 32:33 What does it feel like to be on Broadway? 32:33 --> 32:35 Isn't that like Mount Everest? 32:36 --> 32:36 Uh, yeah. 32:36 --> 32:37 In many ways. 32:37 --> 32:45 I think, look, I think people get as much enjoyment out of doing a show in Chicago or doing something 32:45 --> 32:46 in their hometown. 32:46 --> 32:53 For me, it's, it's as much as the same joy as when I was doing it, when I first started 32:53 --> 32:53 out. 32:53 --> 32:59 It's just that I know everyone's very serious about getting it done very well. 32:59 --> 33:03 So I try to bring 130% to whatever they need. 33:03 --> 33:08 It's also great, like, you know, on Broadway, there are people who dress you and there are 33:08 --> 33:13 people who throw wigs on you and there are people who move the scenery around and it's 33:13 --> 33:15 gorgeous and it's top level stuff. 33:15 --> 33:16 Right. 33:16 --> 33:21 And the stories are written by people who are really creative and really on their game. 33:21 --> 33:25 And so, yeah, you are getting sort of the cream of the crop of everyone coming in at 33:25 --> 33:29 one, one moment and trying to do something very special. 33:30 --> 33:31 And the Tony Awards are tonight. 33:31 --> 33:37 So there's a, there's a big, tonight is like celebrating the night of theater and especially 33:37 --> 33:37 Broadway. 33:37 --> 33:42 It's another, it is another level when it's, you can get to Broadway and I treat it as such. 33:42 --> 33:45 I'm very honored every time I'm able to step on stage. 33:46 --> 33:46 Oh, I believe it. 33:47 --> 33:49 Now, have you met Bill Murray yet for Groundhog Day? 33:49 --> 33:51 I've not met Bill Murray. 33:51 --> 33:53 I'm not, you know, I wonder how that will go down. 33:53 --> 33:55 I hear he's pretty reclusive. 33:57 --> 33:57 Stallone. 33:58 --> 33:58 Yeah. 33:58 --> 33:59 Stallone was great. 34:00 --> 34:05 He was there and he talked to me a couple of times over the years of doing it. 34:05 --> 34:11 And he, you know, gave me some great advice a few times and really brought sort of like 34:11 --> 34:13 past the torch off that way. 34:13 --> 34:19 And that's kind of his baby, you know, Rocky's something he wrote, his concept, his, his idea, 34:19 --> 34:21 but he wasn't, he wasn't overly. 34:21 --> 34:27 He wanted me to do my thing and sort of honored the theater in that way, which says a lot about 34:27 --> 34:27 the guy. 34:28 --> 34:28 Bill Murray. 34:28 --> 34:29 I don't know. 34:29 --> 34:34 I, I remember when I first came to New York when I was a kid, my parents took me up there 34:34 --> 34:36 to see some show or something. 34:36 --> 34:40 I had never been, I don't think I'd ever seen a show or my life. 34:40 --> 34:42 I think it was like Phantom of the Opera or something. 34:43 --> 34:47 And I was walking in and I saw Bill Murray walking down the street. 34:47 --> 34:50 And this was my first time ever being in New York. 34:50 --> 34:52 And he was walking on the street, throwing, throwing a grapefruit up and down. 34:52 --> 34:55 He was just like, and it was the coolest thing. 34:55 --> 34:56 And I was too nervous. 34:56 --> 35:00 I couldn't even, I could not bring myself to go get an autograph. 35:00 --> 35:01 I just couldn't. 35:01 --> 35:03 So I've seen the back of his head there. 35:03 --> 35:06 And then my wife is sitting in a restaurant. 35:06 --> 35:09 I guess it was right before they got offered the role. 35:10 --> 35:15 She was sitting in a restaurant and he was in a corner with, I think, a manager, his manager 35:15 --> 35:16 or something. 35:16 --> 35:20 And she took a picture and there he was, Bill Murray, in the corner of this restaurant, I 35:20 --> 35:23 think maybe a day or two before it got the role. 35:23 --> 35:29 So it's sort of a full circle in some sort of way, playing this role, perhaps, maybe. 35:29 --> 35:30 I don't know. 35:30 --> 35:31 It's a good story to tell. 35:31 --> 35:33 But I've never met the man. 35:33 --> 35:34 And I don't know. 35:34 --> 35:35 Maybe he'll show up. 35:35 --> 35:36 Maybe he won't. 35:36 --> 35:41 You can never tell with people who love the story that much or are known for the story 35:41 --> 35:41 that well. 35:42 --> 35:46 Maybe he's disappointed because he did the Bill Murray musical on Netflix. 35:47 --> 35:47 Bill Murray Christmas? 35:48 --> 35:49 A Very Murray Christmas? 35:49 --> 35:50 Bill Murray Christmas, yeah. 35:50 --> 35:51 A Very Murray Christmas. 35:51 --> 35:52 He can sing a little bit. 35:53 --> 35:55 Did he do that lounge act on Saturday Night Live? 35:55 --> 35:56 Yeah. 35:56 --> 35:56 Yeah. 35:57 --> 35:59 He was the best at that, man. 35:59 --> 36:01 Star Wars, beautiful. 36:01 --> 36:02 Star Wars. 36:03 --> 36:03 I remember that. 36:04 --> 36:04 That's awesome. 36:04 --> 36:08 Now, do you see yourself enjoying How Should I Say This? 36:08 --> 36:11 Would you rather just act or just sing? 36:11 --> 36:15 I've done both for so long that it sort of goes hand in hand. 36:15 --> 36:15 Right. 36:15 --> 36:21 And it's certainly better to know your lyrics really well to be able to act them within a song. 36:21 --> 36:26 You can sing a song pretty and have that be okay. 36:26 --> 36:34 But it's really, it's another, that's what brings musical theater to those two words together is really being able to act the song. 36:35 --> 36:37 I'm more, I'm comfortable in that area. 36:38 --> 36:44 But I just did about six months as a recurring guest on Law & Order SVU. 36:44 --> 36:44 Yeah. 36:44 --> 36:45 Me never having to sing. 36:46 --> 36:51 And then all of a sudden, the guy playing my father is one of the guys I just worked with on Broadway. 36:52 --> 36:53 We sang together. 36:53 --> 37:01 And the guy I was acting opposite with in one of the scenes was another actor I had done plenty of shows with. 37:02 --> 37:05 And there was a couple guys from Hamilton coming through the cast. 37:05 --> 37:05 Oh, wow. 37:06 --> 37:15 So there's a, there's, you know, in New York, it's great because Law & Order was hiring a lot of actors who work in New York and a lot of them work in musicals. 37:15 --> 37:17 And I was certainly one of them. 37:17 --> 37:18 And I had a great time. 37:18 --> 37:28 I think there's, you know, something about in acting, there is some sort of musical language about, you know, speaking your lines and being able to memorize your lines sort of goes that route. 37:28 --> 37:34 But it was nice not to have to warm up every day and just go and carry a gun and a badge. 37:35 --> 37:37 What was it like working with Ice-T? 37:37 --> 37:38 Oh, man, he's the best. 37:39 --> 37:40 I love Ice-T. 37:40 --> 37:41 One of the greatest guys ever. 37:41 --> 37:42 Really? 37:42 --> 37:43 Really, really great. 37:43 --> 37:47 Like, I remember as a kid, me and my brother listening to Ice-T. 37:47 --> 37:50 And I was nervous as hell because I listened to him too when I was a kid. 37:50 --> 37:55 And I was like, oh, man, I'm going to meet one of the godfathers of rap and hip-hop. 37:55 --> 38:00 And so a guy who's been on the show for 17 years, and I have to do scenes with this dude. 38:00 --> 38:02 And like, how am I even going to handle myself for him? 38:02 --> 38:04 But he was the coolest dude. 38:04 --> 38:11 And every time the camera would stop, he would always, like, have something really philosophical to say, but also very funny. 38:11 --> 38:13 And he was just so quick-witted. 38:13 --> 38:17 And he's also a guy who's, he's a hustler at heart, and he knows it. 38:17 --> 38:22 So he's always trying to get, like, his other TV show going or his movie going. 38:22 --> 38:27 He just put out a movie called The Art of Rap, which is terrific. 38:27 --> 38:36 If you ever want to watch something that tells you how rap started and who were the main players and the mainstayers in the game and anything. 38:37 --> 38:43 Ice-T was the guy who could talk to anybody because they all respected him because he was one of the forefathers of all this stuff. 38:44 --> 38:46 So the movie is so great. 38:46 --> 38:48 I would highly recommend it. 38:48 --> 38:50 It's on iTunes called The Art of Rap. 38:50 --> 38:54 And I would literally show up to anything Ice-T needed me to do. 38:55 --> 38:59 And as I was having it, I had a dinner towards my last episode of SVU. 38:59 --> 39:02 And Ice-T was just, he's a very busy guy. 39:02 --> 39:04 Notoriously, he doesn't show up for stuff. 39:04 --> 39:07 Only he showed up with Coco. 39:07 --> 39:10 He showed up at my dinner with everybody. 39:11 --> 39:15 And he's like, you know, man, can we swear on this, on your podcast? 39:15 --> 39:16 Go ahead. 39:16 --> 39:17 Tell the story. 39:17 --> 39:18 We'll take care of it. 39:18 --> 39:18 Okay. 39:19 --> 39:21 It was just one thing he said. 39:21 --> 39:21 He's like, dude. 39:21 --> 39:25 And he told me, I don't show up for stuff like this, but you're cool. 39:25 --> 39:26 And I'll fuck with you. 39:26 --> 39:29 And that means, explain to me that that's a good term. 39:30 --> 39:30 Right. 39:31 --> 39:32 That's awesome. 39:32 --> 39:33 So, yeah. 39:33 --> 39:34 Really, really cool. 39:35 --> 39:36 But also just like totally chill. 39:36 --> 39:39 He never took himself too seriously. 39:39 --> 39:43 But he took himself seriously enough to be the Ice-T that we all know and love. 39:43 --> 39:45 So, it was great. 39:46 --> 39:48 The whole cast was really good. 39:49 --> 39:51 You did 15 episodes. 39:51 --> 39:55 And I guess that's not really a show that does a lot of singing and dancing mid-scene. 39:56 --> 39:57 Yeah. 39:57 --> 40:01 And between the takes, I mean, we're doing whole acts of songs and stuff. 40:02 --> 40:02 Yeah. 40:02 --> 40:07 Raul Sparza, who was on the show, he's been known for, he plays a lawyer. 40:07 --> 40:09 He's been known to do plenty of musicals. 40:09 --> 40:10 We know, we knew each other. 40:10 --> 40:12 So, we're coming out, man. 40:12 --> 40:13 All the musical theater actors. 40:13 --> 40:14 We're showing up at everything. 40:15 --> 40:15 Hugh Jackman. 40:16 --> 40:19 He was doing musicals in Australia before he came over here. 40:19 --> 40:19 Yeah. 40:21 --> 40:22 I'll test you. 40:22 --> 40:24 What musical was he doing when he got hired to be Wolverine? 40:25 --> 40:26 Which one was he doing at the time? 40:27 --> 40:27 Yeah. 40:27 --> 40:29 He was doing Oklahoma, I believe. 40:29 --> 40:30 You're right. 40:30 --> 40:30 Is that correct? 40:31 --> 40:31 Yes. 40:31 --> 40:32 Ding, ding. 40:32 --> 40:38 And then he did Boy From Oz later after he took a hiatus in between movies. 40:38 --> 40:38 Right. 40:38 --> 40:39 That's right. 40:39 --> 40:42 That's about the extent of my Broadway trivia. 40:42 --> 40:44 It has to do with Wolverine, of course. 40:44 --> 40:46 Anything to do with Wolverine. 40:47 --> 40:49 Yeah, I figured, man, if Hugh Jackman could do it, I'm going to do it. 40:50 --> 40:54 What is it with you guys, you Broadway guys being handsome and sing and dance? 40:54 --> 40:56 You're giving guys like me and my brother no chance whatsoever. 40:57 --> 40:59 Yeah, we really can't sing or box. 41:00 --> 41:01 Or box. 41:01 --> 41:01 Or look good. 41:02 --> 41:04 Or have personalities. 41:05 --> 41:06 Here's the thing. 41:06 --> 41:08 Have you guys ever tried boxing? 41:08 --> 41:10 I mean, I know you guys talk about the movie that way. 41:10 --> 41:16 Just for the sake of the greatest thing that I could do to get into the soul of, I guess, 41:16 --> 41:21 a boxer and into Rocky was to really just put myself through it with the boxing regiment. 41:22 --> 41:25 Now, I would never step in a ring and actually fight somebody. 41:25 --> 41:30 I don't think I'd survive that long because I just don't have the instincts to fight. 41:30 --> 41:33 I know how to take a punch and that kind of stuff. 41:33 --> 41:38 I know the fundamentals of boxing, but I've never actually, for real, 41:38 --> 41:40 stepped in a ring and fought somebody. 41:40 --> 41:42 Honestly, I don't really want to. 41:42 --> 41:44 Which is just like, I'm an actor. 41:45 --> 41:47 I need all my features. 41:47 --> 41:52 I was 39 when I started boxing, so it was pretty late in life as far as any boxer. 41:52 --> 41:55 But I put myself through the full regimen of it. 41:55 --> 42:01 Even going beyond and doing eight shows a week, eight fights a week, eight montages a week. 42:01 --> 42:05 It felt like I stepped up to the plate as far as physically getting into that mind game. 42:05 --> 42:13 Once you do that, that's sort of 70% of the battle of getting into the heart of what Rocky is 42:13 --> 42:23 and how he lived and how sore he was after every fight and how training is pushing yourself beyond your own. 42:23 --> 42:25 How much do you think you can take? 42:25 --> 42:28 You can always take it a step further if you have somebody training you. 42:29 --> 42:35 It really involved my spirit as far as how much do I have in the tank to put out there. 42:36 --> 42:38 That's part of the Rocky spirit, too. 42:38 --> 42:47 I think that's why so many people who train for whatever are always listening to that Tiger song or listening to the Rocky theme song because it inspires them. 42:47 --> 42:49 It motivates them to go further. 42:49 --> 43:03 It's a beautiful thing how much this movie, this character, from guys like us to people on Broadway to people just training for real-life fights, people who've entered into the boxing ring because of Rocky. 43:03 --> 43:06 It just has affected so many people's lives. 43:06 --> 43:06 Yeah. 43:06 --> 43:09 I feel like I really got a piece of that. 43:10 --> 43:15 I got a piece of what it feels like in real time. 43:15 --> 43:27 Now, I'll never feel like Stallone did where it was like he made this thing from scratch, got to basically make this icon that existed still today with Creed. 43:27 --> 43:28 That movie's terrific. 43:29 --> 43:33 I know Stallone, a very metaphysical guy. 43:33 --> 43:45 He knows what it's done for people, but he's existing with the idea that in the creation of it, he's given something to the world and he can step away from it. 43:45 --> 43:52 And also look at it as something that was good, but not necessarily it wasn't just him. 43:52 --> 43:58 It was about him being at the right time, at the right place, and the universe opening itself to give this to people. 43:59 --> 44:04 And I think that's a terrific way for him to look at it, and it's very humble on his part as well. 44:04 --> 44:17 And that's the kind of stuff I would get when I would talk to him about the movie and about the role, being able to see somebody who's humble about it, even though it's something that's part of so many people's lives. 44:17 --> 44:18 I would almost say every life. 44:19 --> 44:25 A person staying in the apartment building that I'm staying in, in London, he's in Book of Mormon the musical. 44:25 --> 44:33 His wife and I worked together in Wicked, and she was pregnant at the time she saw Rock. 44:33 --> 44:36 And that night her water broke when she saw the show. 44:37 --> 44:44 I mean, imagine, I think she heard the Rocky music as we were going into the final fight, you know? 44:45 --> 44:46 And I think that's what did it. 44:46 --> 44:50 She immediately got in a taxi when the show ended and went to the hospital. 44:50 --> 44:52 I was like, now that's a Rocky kid. 44:52 --> 44:53 That's a Rocky baby. 44:54 --> 44:55 That's awesome. 44:55 --> 44:58 You got the doctor yelling at the baby, stay down, stay down. 44:59 --> 45:00 Yeah, stay down. 45:00 --> 45:01 That's awesome. 45:01 --> 45:03 Where do you see yourself in, like, 20 years? 45:04 --> 45:06 20 years, maybe in Miami somewhere. 45:06 --> 45:07 Spoken cigars. 45:08 --> 45:09 You know, I don't know. 45:09 --> 45:13 I'm taking every step I can in hopefully the right direction. 45:13 --> 45:19 It's kind of interesting that playing Rocky was really, you know, I'd been a performer and I'd had success. 45:19 --> 45:20 I had been on Broadway. 45:21 --> 45:22 I'd climbed the mountain. 45:22 --> 45:26 But then Rocky came along and I knew it was something that's a step above. 45:26 --> 45:32 And it really put a mark on my career in more important people paying attention. 45:32 --> 45:33 And that's terrific. 45:33 --> 45:35 And I'm very lucky that I got to have that. 45:35 --> 45:46 Because Warren Light, who was the showrunner for Law & Order SVU, saw the show and basically cast me from that in going into Law & Order SVU. 45:46 --> 45:51 And sort of bringing that, I don't know, that sort of what he wanted on stage. 45:51 --> 45:53 What he wanted in the show. 45:53 --> 45:56 He just, he saw something that an actor was doing that he liked. 45:56 --> 45:58 He thought I could take on whatever they threw at me. 45:58 --> 46:02 So they even threw in a little bit of boxing stuff in the SVU. 46:02 --> 46:03 You know, like, little things. 46:03 --> 46:08 I tell Ice-T on the show, like, yeah, I did a few years, Golden Gloves. 46:08 --> 46:09 And do you want to step in the ring? 46:09 --> 46:11 And we did a little joke on that. 46:11 --> 46:14 You know, they had me in my underwear in one of the scenes. 46:14 --> 46:15 Well, now I got to go back and see this. 46:16 --> 46:16 Yeah, yeah, exactly. 46:17 --> 46:22 That kind of stuff that sort of put a mark on people's minds of who I was and what I could do. 46:22 --> 46:27 And has since brought more success and more people being interested in what I can do. 46:27 --> 46:31 And I have so much more to even offer, which is great. 46:31 --> 46:34 Because I like, I want to show people what else I can do. 46:34 --> 46:37 And I want to take on different things that will challenge me. 46:38 --> 46:41 There's little markers in my life that have taken me to the next step. 46:41 --> 46:44 And Rocky was one of those that was definitely it. 46:44 --> 46:45 I think it was first of all as well. 46:45 --> 46:50 Obviously, it's sort of, you know, living in that parallel universe, I suppose. 46:50 --> 46:55 And I would say that your Rocky performance being a guest in our podcast would probably be that highlight. 46:56 --> 46:57 I would say that was their biggest draw. 46:59 --> 47:00 Hey, thanks. 47:00 --> 47:02 I'm glad I could help. 47:02 --> 47:04 But, you know, I'm just glad if anybody wants to talk about it. 47:04 --> 47:06 It's very interesting to me. 47:06 --> 47:07 I have plenty to say. 47:07 --> 47:09 I've got tons of stories, I guess. 47:09 --> 47:13 Also, you know, it meant a lot to me at the time and still does. 47:13 --> 47:23 And I think people still, performers in my, you know, in my medium and in theater and stuff like that, they know I did Rocky and therefore associate things about me to Rocky. 47:23 --> 47:25 I'm still trying to work out. 47:25 --> 47:29 I'm not working out as hard as I was, but certainly trying to, like, maintain something. 47:29 --> 47:32 Because if I let it all go, people will be like, you were Rocky? 47:33 --> 47:35 And yes, I was. 47:35 --> 47:35 I swear, I promise. 47:36 --> 47:38 There's also sort of a mythos. 47:38 --> 47:41 They're like, you played Rocky, therefore you must be really tough. 47:41 --> 47:48 You know, we wanted to, I thought it was a really great idea if, like, on Broadway, if Stallone played Mickey, which essentially he does in Creed. 47:48 --> 47:49 Sure. 47:49 --> 47:51 So it's kind of, I wish he could, but I don't think he wanted to. 47:52 --> 47:57 Is this Rocky Broadway show ever going to go on DVD for people like us who never got a chance to see it? 47:58 --> 47:59 Unfortunately, it's not. 47:59 --> 48:05 It is available for people who go to New York and want to go to the New York Public Library and watch it that way. 48:05 --> 48:14 There's something about union and rules and things like that where it can only be viewed at the library for, at that space. 48:14 --> 48:16 You can't, you can't rent it or anything like that. 48:16 --> 48:23 Also, to be able to make a movie of it, I think it has to be one of those things where it's shot totally independent of an audience. 48:24 --> 48:35 There are some shows that are being put on DVD, like In the Heights and Hamilton, I think, will eventually be able to be on DVD because they have a lot of money and they've made a lot of money. 48:35 --> 48:39 And therefore, they're going to spend it on putting it on, years later, on DVD. 48:39 --> 48:42 I think Wicked will eventually get its turn on movies. 48:43 --> 48:48 Yeah, but it's a very, it's an interesting line between putting it on film and having it live. 48:48 --> 48:51 And also, seeing it live is a very different experience. 48:51 --> 48:51 Oh, yeah. 48:52 --> 48:55 And I wanted to ask you, too, sorry, we went all over the place here. 48:56 --> 48:58 I think it's me going all over the place. 48:58 --> 48:58 No. 48:59 --> 49:00 No, don't fault you at all. 49:00 --> 49:04 I want to know, on a personal level, how badly did you want the Rocky role? 49:04 --> 49:05 Did you compete with other guys? 49:05 --> 49:06 Like, was it just you? 49:07 --> 49:10 What was it like for you or how important was it for you to get the role? 49:10 --> 49:15 My agents called about the audition and I really, I was like, Rocky, the musical, really? 49:15 --> 49:16 They're actually doing this? 49:16 --> 49:17 This is ridiculous. 49:17 --> 49:17 Yeah. 49:17 --> 49:21 But then they said Stallone was involved because I kind of thought it was going to be a joke 49:21 --> 49:25 where I would punch some meat and I'd do some jumping decks or something for the audition 49:25 --> 49:30 and sort of make fun of it in that way because I had no idea how glorious it would be. 49:31 --> 49:34 So I went and they told me it was very serious and Stallone was involved. 49:34 --> 49:35 I was like, okay, well, I'll go in for it. 49:35 --> 49:43 I auditioned and came back for a re- I got a callback maybe like a day or two later and immediately cast. 49:43 --> 49:45 And I thought, yeah, I know this role. 49:45 --> 49:46 I feel like I know it. 49:46 --> 49:48 And then I started to love it. 49:48 --> 49:49 I started to really get it in my bones. 49:50 --> 50:00 And I was cast for a workshop of it at Juilliard, which we did with, I think there was two or three of us that were from that original cast that made it to Broadway. 50:00 --> 50:04 That was almost two years before it goes to Broadway. 50:04 --> 50:07 So I had been involved with it two years prior. 50:07 --> 50:09 We did another workshop out in Brooklyn. 50:09 --> 50:17 And then they put it up in Germany with an entire German cast because all the German money and producers were, they were all German. 50:17 --> 50:18 They were over here. 50:18 --> 50:21 So they did it out here just to, they could pay for it, I guess. 50:21 --> 50:22 And they had theaters. 50:22 --> 50:24 And so I was never guaranteed the role. 50:24 --> 50:29 And it was one of those things where I really year by year involved with it. 50:29 --> 50:30 I was really wanted to play it. 50:30 --> 50:34 I really thought I had to hang on it and still wanted to see me do it. 50:34 --> 50:37 And he was giving me the thumbs up and I talked to him. 50:37 --> 50:41 And now it was like, you know, all the stars were aligning for me. 50:41 --> 50:42 But I was never guaranteed. 50:43 --> 50:48 So when it came back that it was going to be put on Broadway, they said I didn't have to audition. 50:48 --> 50:50 But I begged them, I was like, let me audition for this. 50:51 --> 50:53 I don't want it to fall through my fingers. 50:53 --> 50:54 I'm not going to let it go. 50:54 --> 50:56 So I just made sure that I got in there. 50:56 --> 51:00 And, you know, I got a trainer, I think like two months before the audition even. 51:00 --> 51:08 I didn't even know I had the role, but I wanted to show them that I could at least, you know, train like a boxer and get into the mode. 51:08 --> 51:08 Yeah. 51:08 --> 51:12 When I got it, it was one of the highlights of my working life. 51:13 --> 51:17 So it was, you know, and then prepping for it was, you know, it was a joy. 51:17 --> 51:19 It was something, it was a mountain I really wanted to climb. 51:19 --> 51:20 That's a lot of time. 51:20 --> 51:23 That's actually more time than I thought of that was invested into this role. 51:24 --> 51:24 Yeah. 51:24 --> 51:24 Yeah. 51:24 --> 51:30 I think musicals and theater in general, but musicals especially are very time consuming and they're very expensive. 51:30 --> 51:34 It cost $16 million for them to put it on Broadway. 51:34 --> 51:34 Oh. 51:34 --> 51:40 Because they had this huge, huge ring that acted as a roof of my apartment. 51:40 --> 51:41 It twisted on its side. 51:41 --> 51:43 You could project fights onto it. 51:43 --> 51:45 It was used for many things. 51:45 --> 51:50 And they had a drum to the bedrock underneath the Winter Garden Theater in New York. 51:50 --> 51:54 So they were going into the bedrock of the earth for just for the show. 51:54 --> 52:02 It was very expensive, but it's time consuming in a way where you have the directors and the creative staff have to come up with the money. 52:02 --> 52:05 They have to, you know, write it and write all the music. 52:05 --> 52:08 And the director has to come up with a concept of how it's going to look. 52:08 --> 52:09 You have to cast it. 52:10 --> 52:12 All this stuff takes a tremendous amount of time. 52:12 --> 52:13 No rest for anyone. 52:13 --> 52:20 You know, being involved with it for three years, I think that was the short end of it because I think Stallone came up with the idea to write it 12 years ago. 52:21 --> 52:23 It was his idea to make it into a musical. 52:23 --> 52:24 You're part of his dream. 52:24 --> 52:25 That was 12 years prior. 52:26 --> 52:27 Yeah, absolutely. 52:27 --> 52:31 I'm part of the family of the Rocky franchise. 52:32 --> 52:32 Yeah. 52:32 --> 52:34 But it's a good one to be in. 52:34 --> 52:36 And I guess by extension, so are we. 52:37 --> 52:37 That's right. 52:38 --> 52:38 Hey, we're part of this family. 52:38 --> 52:39 Absolutely. 52:40 --> 52:45 We're like the long-lost cousins that nobody wants to talk about stuck in some corner of the world. 52:46 --> 52:53 You know, there's books written by people that have nothing to do with it, you know, because they believe in the philosophy of Rocky. 52:54 --> 52:59 And of the underdog and of the idea of being humble, but also having great strength. 52:59 --> 53:01 I think there's a lot to be said about that. 53:01 --> 53:03 And it's a very American story as well. 53:03 --> 53:08 We all think that the fans are ridiculous, but it's like they know exactly what they're talking about. 53:08 --> 53:21 They know everything that goes into that and keeping themselves humble to the idea of Rocky, even though they're playing it or, you know, making sort of a living off of the idealism, which is very interesting. 53:21 --> 53:22 Very interesting. 53:22 --> 53:22 It is. 53:22 --> 53:26 Hey, thanks for sharing your story of how you made a living off it, too. 53:27 --> 53:27 Yeah, exactly. 53:27 --> 53:29 It's really quite fascinating. 53:29 --> 53:31 I'm looking forward to listening to this conversation again. 53:31 --> 53:32 Soak it in. 53:32 --> 53:35 Yeah, if there's anything else, we can do it all again. 53:36 --> 53:37 I have more stories. 53:37 --> 53:38 You know what? 53:38 --> 53:39 We actually might take you up on that. 53:39 --> 53:41 I have to tell you, Andy, like, I was so nervous. 53:41 --> 53:44 I was talking to my wife, looking you up on Facebook and on YouTube. 53:44 --> 53:46 And I was like, oh, boy, these guys like the real deal. 53:46 --> 53:47 Like, I don't know. 53:47 --> 53:50 I sound like an idiot talking to them. 53:50 --> 54:00 Thank you for being humble and gracious and talking to us and giving a couple of Hammondacre podcasters an opportunity to talk to you because your insight into the business is amazing. 54:00 --> 54:05 The fact that you talked to Stallone and worked with him and worked on the best musical I ever think that's ever been made. 54:05 --> 54:07 It's just been very cool talking to you. 54:08 --> 54:09 Thanks, man. 54:09 --> 54:09 I appreciate it. 54:09 --> 54:10 We're all Rocky at heart. 54:10 --> 54:12 We're all humble beginnings. 54:12 --> 54:13 So that's it. 54:13 --> 54:15 It's good to be a part of any, any facet of that. 54:15 --> 54:16 And you guys are terrific. 54:16 --> 54:19 So thanks for keeping it real and asking me all the questions. 54:19 --> 54:20 Yeah, absolutely. 54:21 --> 54:22 Once we hang up, I'm sure we'll think of some more. 54:22 --> 54:24 So we'll take you up on that part, too, for another day. 54:25 --> 54:25 You got it. 54:25 --> 54:27 Because, you know, Rocky is, you know, like seven movies. 54:28 --> 54:28 Sequels. 54:28 --> 54:30 Yeah, we got six more interviews to do with you. 54:31 --> 54:33 Yeah, you guys saw Creed, obviously. 54:33 --> 54:34 Oh, yeah. 54:34 --> 54:35 Yeah, yeah. 54:35 --> 54:35 We saw it together. 54:36 --> 54:37 And I thought it was terrific. 54:37 --> 54:42 I thought it was a great retelling and sort of, you know, coming from within the story but from a different angle. 54:42 --> 54:45 Somebody was talking about it because they knew I played Rocky. 54:46 --> 54:47 They asked me, did you see Creed? 54:47 --> 54:48 I was like, yeah, I love it. 54:48 --> 54:48 What do you think? 54:49 --> 54:51 She's like, he's like, I thought it was too predictable. 54:51 --> 54:57 And I was like, aren't all the Rocky films kind of the same formula really at the heart? 54:57 --> 55:01 Of course, it's going to be semi-predictable in some way in that essence. 55:01 --> 55:08 But it's the journey of getting to the fight that is really what the movies are all about. 55:09 --> 55:10 It's always the journey. 55:10 --> 55:12 It's never about the end result. 55:12 --> 55:18 You have to look between the pages, sort of basically, of each one of these movies. 55:19 --> 55:21 Like, what is he trying to say with this movie? 55:21 --> 55:22 What is he trying to say with that movie? 55:22 --> 55:23 Creed was terrific. 55:23 --> 55:25 And I think it's great to bring it to a new generation. 55:25 --> 55:26 Yeah. 55:26 --> 55:30 Well, in 40 years, we'll be sure to interview you on the musical Creed. 55:31 --> 55:32 Yeah. 55:32 --> 55:32 Yeah, exactly. 55:33 --> 55:34 With the band Creed. 55:35 --> 55:35 Wow. 55:35 --> 55:35 Yeah. 55:37 --> 55:38 Oh, that's sad. 55:41 --> 55:43 It could be sad or it could be brilliant. 55:44 --> 55:44 It could be brilliant. 55:44 --> 55:45 Probably sad. 55:45 --> 55:48 Something tells me you'll probably be alive in 40 years, my brother and I. 55:48 --> 55:49 I'm not sure. 55:50 --> 55:51 I don't think it's Scott Stapp. 55:51 --> 55:52 No, Scott Stapp. 55:52 --> 55:56 Yeah, we might have him pre-recording before he bites it. 55:56 --> 55:57 I don't know, man. 55:57 --> 55:58 He keeps coming back. 55:58 --> 55:59 He's like herpes. 55:59 --> 56:05 Well, you could only get it once, though. 56:05 --> 56:06 That's a good thing. 56:07 --> 56:09 Yeah, it's like Groundhog Day, but it keeps coming back. 56:11 --> 56:12 That's awesome. 56:12 --> 56:13 All right, Eddie. 56:13 --> 56:16 Hey, have fun in London, and we look forward to it when you come back to Stateside. 56:16 --> 56:16 Maybe we'll talk to you then. 56:17 --> 56:17 Absolutely. 56:18 --> 56:21 I think Groundhog Day will be around next January. 56:22 --> 56:25 So, yeah, if you guys feel like coming to see you at a show finally, make it that one. 56:26 --> 56:28 It's going to be pretty damn entertaining, I've got to say. 56:29 --> 56:29 You know what? 56:29 --> 56:32 I'm going to seriously talk to the wife about that because I haven't seen the show on Broadway, 56:32 --> 56:34 and maybe I change that up soon. 56:34 --> 56:35 So, yeah. 56:35 --> 56:35 Yeah. 56:35 --> 56:36 Give it a shot. 56:36 --> 56:39 I think there's an app called TodayTix. 56:40 --> 56:40 Check into it. 56:40 --> 56:43 They always give you cheap tickets for shows. 56:43 --> 56:43 Awesome. 56:44 --> 56:44 All right, man. 56:44 --> 56:45 Thanks for calling. 56:46 --> 56:46 Thanks, man. 56:46 --> 56:46 You bet. 56:47 --> 56:47 Really appreciate it. 56:47 --> 56:48 Thank you so much. 56:48 --> 56:48 Have a good day. 56:49 --> 56:49 Thanks. 56:49 --> 56:49 Bye. 56:49 --> 56:50 Bye, too. 56:50 --> 56:50 Bye. 56:51 --> 56:52 Well, what did I tell you guys? 56:52 --> 56:54 You said it, and so did I. 56:54 --> 56:54 You did fine. 56:55 --> 56:56 Okay, you're too kind, Ruben. 56:56 --> 56:57 You're truly too kind. 56:57 --> 56:58 And he did great. 56:58 --> 56:59 Thank you so much. 56:59 --> 57:04 Yeah, and Andy, without anyone asking him to, he listened to one of our podcasts, like one 57:04 --> 57:04 of our episodes. 57:04 --> 57:04 Yeah. 57:05 --> 57:06 He still wanted to talk to us. 57:06 --> 57:07 Yeah. 57:08 --> 57:09 Apparently, he's got horrible taste. 57:09 --> 57:10 He has horrible taste. 57:10 --> 57:12 So, Andy, you're a great guy, but you have a horrible taste in podcasts. 57:13 --> 57:17 I really do hope that we do round two, not just because Andy's a good get. 57:17 --> 57:19 Because I think I mentioned this in another podcast. 57:20 --> 57:22 For something different, I interviewed Lou Ferrigno. 57:22 --> 57:23 Not an engaging interview. 57:23 --> 57:24 Not an engaging interview. 57:24 --> 57:28 So, did you interview Lou Ferrigno for the Rocky series podcast? 57:28 --> 57:29 No, not for the Rocky series podcast. 57:30 --> 57:31 I'm not trying to plug it. 57:31 --> 57:31 No. 57:31 --> 57:35 So, you have another show, Ruben, called, a cable access show called The Ruben Show. 57:35 --> 57:39 Did you interview Lou Ferrigno for The Ruben Show, the cable access TV show? 57:39 --> 57:39 No, I did not. 57:39 --> 57:39 Okay. 57:40 --> 57:42 Where did you interview him? 57:42 --> 57:42 What for? 57:43 --> 57:44 Let the record show. 57:44 --> 57:45 I'm not trying to mention. 57:46 --> 57:47 The audience has to understand the context. 57:47 --> 57:49 The context is that I have another podcast. 57:49 --> 57:49 Oh. 57:50 --> 57:52 Called The Always Hungry Podcast. 57:52 --> 57:53 Oh. 57:53 --> 57:54 Always Hungry Podcast. 57:54 --> 57:55 That's the context. 57:55 --> 57:58 So, you have a podcast called The Always Hungry Podcast. 57:58 --> 57:58 Yeah. 57:59 --> 58:00 And you interviewed Lou for that. 58:00 --> 58:00 Yes. 58:01 --> 58:02 But you couldn't get Lou for our podcast? 58:05 --> 58:08 Well, first of all, though, I don't think we started this podcast by then. 58:08 --> 58:08 No, we didn't. 58:08 --> 58:09 That was just a joke. 58:09 --> 58:09 Yeah. 58:10 --> 58:11 And I don't think he has a lot to do with Rocky. 58:12 --> 58:15 I wonder what the crossover, other than the fact that he slurs his speech sometimes when 58:15 --> 58:16 he talks and he has big muscles. 58:17 --> 58:17 I'll edit that out. 58:19 --> 58:24 All I'm going to say is that if you're going to interview somebody over the phone, make sure 58:24 --> 58:25 they want to talk. 58:25 --> 58:26 Yeah. 58:26 --> 58:27 I'm not saying that to be funny. 58:28 --> 58:30 Also, he gave very short answers. 58:31 --> 58:32 A man a few words. 58:32 --> 58:33 A man a few words. 58:33 --> 58:34 He lets his body speak. 58:34 --> 58:35 That's right. 58:35 --> 58:37 His body of work is his body. 58:37 --> 58:38 That's right. 58:39 --> 58:40 It's cool to talk to him. 58:40 --> 58:44 But if you're going to do an interview, you want to hear somebody that has a story to tell. 58:45 --> 58:46 And Andy has that in spades. 58:46 --> 58:48 And as you all heard, kudos to Andy. 58:48 --> 58:49 Thanks so much, Andy. 58:49 --> 58:50 Thanks for opening up. 58:51 --> 58:52 And Ethan's singing a little bit on there. 58:53 --> 58:53 I know. 58:54 --> 58:54 I know. 58:54 --> 58:56 You're making me grin here, Ruben. 58:56 --> 58:56 That's right. 58:56 --> 58:57 He sang for us. 58:57 --> 59:00 I was like, I wanted to do some more. 59:00 --> 59:00 Do some more. 59:00 --> 59:01 This is awesome. 59:01 --> 59:02 So you know what? 59:02 --> 59:03 On our second round, we might. 59:04 --> 59:04 I think he might do it. 59:05 --> 59:06 We should do like a like. 59:06 --> 59:08 So how does that song go again? 59:08 --> 59:08 Yeah. 59:08 --> 59:09 How does that song go again? 59:09 --> 59:10 What's the. 59:10 --> 59:11 What key is it sung in? 59:11 --> 59:11 Oh. 59:12 --> 59:12 Can you just. 59:13 --> 59:15 Yeah, that'd be fantastic if he would do some more singing. 59:15 --> 59:17 Because I tell you, when he started singing, I wanted to listen to more. 59:17 --> 59:18 I was like, I didn't know what. 59:18 --> 59:19 I don't know what the protocol is. 59:19 --> 59:20 Is he allowed to sing for us? 59:20 --> 59:22 It's just so copyright stuff. 59:22 --> 59:22 I don't. 59:22 --> 59:23 He sings more than five notes. 59:23 --> 59:24 I don't know how it goes. 59:24 --> 59:28 He mentioned that we can only watch the Rocky musical if we're in the New York library. 59:29 --> 59:29 New York library? 59:30 --> 59:30 Public library? 59:30 --> 59:30 Yeah. 59:30 --> 59:31 Yeah. 59:31 --> 59:31 You know what? 59:32 --> 59:33 I'm going to one day do this. 59:33 --> 59:33 Yeah. 59:33 --> 59:34 For sure. 59:34 --> 59:35 I'm going to get myself to New York City one day. 59:36 --> 59:38 And I know my wife and I would like to do that one day anyways. 59:38 --> 59:39 Just travel. 59:39 --> 59:41 I think New York would be a city worth traveling to. 59:41 --> 59:43 I wish I could have seen that live when it was on. 59:43 --> 59:44 But you know what? 59:44 --> 59:44 Hey. 59:44 --> 59:46 Good luck on your Groundhog Day, Andy. 59:46 --> 59:47 That sounds like a fun venture. 59:48 --> 59:48 And hopefully... 59:48 --> 59:50 I watched the sequel for the Groundhog Day. 59:50 --> 59:51 There is a sequel? 59:51 --> 59:51 Yeah. 59:52 --> 59:52 It's just like the first. 59:54 --> 59:54 Are you joking? 59:54 --> 59:55 I am. 59:55 --> 59:56 It's a Groundhog joke. 59:57 --> 59:59 It was so deadpan that I took it literally just for a minute. 59:59 --> 01:00:01 Because they made sequels out of everything. 01:00:01 --> 01:00:02 I just assumed Groundhog Night. 01:00:02 --> 01:00:03 I don't know. 01:00:03 --> 01:00:04 Hedgehog Day? 01:00:04 --> 01:00:05 I guess my delivery was off. 01:00:06 --> 01:00:07 No, it was fine. 01:00:09 --> 01:00:10 I guess the joke was off. 01:00:10 --> 01:00:11 Sure. 01:00:11 --> 01:00:11 Fair enough. 01:00:13 --> 01:00:15 Let's call a spade a spade. 01:00:15 --> 01:00:16 Well... 01:00:16 --> 01:00:16 Hey, the episode's over. 01:00:17 --> 01:00:18 You know what? 01:00:18 --> 01:00:19 What more can we say? 01:00:19 --> 01:00:19 Andy was great. 01:00:20 --> 01:00:20 We just listened. 01:00:20 --> 01:00:22 I hope you guys had a good listen too. 01:00:22 --> 01:00:23 We don't have much to add. 01:00:23 --> 01:00:24 Ding, ding. 01:00:24 --> 01:00:36 We don't have much to add. 01:00:36 --> 01:00:37 We don't have much to add. 01:00:37 --> 01:00:37 We don't have much to add. 01:00:37 --> 01:00:37 We don't have much to add. 01:00:37 --> 01:00:38 We don't have much to add. 01:00:38 --> 01:00:39 We don't have much to add. 01:00:39 --> 01:00:39 We don't have much to add. 01:00:39 --> 01:00:40 We don't have much to add. 01:00:40 --> 01:00:41 We don't have much to add. 01:00:41 --> 01:00:41 We don't have much to add. 01:00:41 --> 01:00:41 We don't have much to add. 01:00:41 --> 01:00:42 We don't have much to add. 01:00:42 --> 01:00:42 We don't have much to add. 01:00:42 --> 01:00:43 We don't have much to add. 01:00:43 --> 01:00:43 We don't have much to add. 01:00:43 --> 01:00:44 We don't have much to add. 01:00:44 --> 01:00:44 We don't have much to add. 01:00:44 --> 01:00:45 We don't have much to add. 01:00:45 --> 01:00:45 We don't have much to add. 01:00:45 --> 01:00:46 We don't have much to add. 01:00:46 --> 01:00:46 We don't have much to add. 01:00:46 --> 01:00:47 We don't have much to add. 01:00:47 --> 01:00:54 We don't have much to add. 01:00:54 --> 01:00:55 Thank you. 01:00:55 --> 01:00:56 Thank you. 01:00:56 --> 01:00:56 Thank you. 01:00:56 --> 01:00:57 Thank you. 01:00:57 --> 01:01:27 Thank you.