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One on One: Devon Michaels · I Am All In with Scott Patterson

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  Speaker 1: I Am all In.
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  Speaker 2: I Am all in with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all In podcast, one
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: on one interview, one eleven productions. iHeartRadio, iHeart Podcasts, iHeartMedia.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Devin Michaels is joining us. Here are some Gilmore facts.
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  Speaker 1: He portrayed Bill for nine episodes of Gilmore Girls. That's
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  Speaker 1: a pretty good haul. Bill was a Yale Daily News
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  Speaker 1: student who eventually succeeded after Rory as editor in chief.
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  Speaker 1: He grew up in New York City doing theater. He
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  Speaker 1: debut on Broadway at age twelve, and I went on
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  Speaker 1: to perform several prominent off Broadway venues. He also graduated
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  Speaker 1: Yale University with a degree in Theater studies and psychology
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  Speaker 1: as Television appearances include Fraser, The West Wing, The Division,
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  Speaker 1: Monk Without a Trace, House Numbers, and more recently, you
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  Speaker 1: can catch them on The Rookie and Race and Frankie.
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  Speaker 1: Let's bring him in, Devin Michaels, Devin, thanks for coming on.
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  Speaker 1: First off, how'd you get the role on Gilmore Girls?
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  Speaker 3: Well, you know, I had gotten brought in years earlier.
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  Speaker 3: I think it was still season one for just a
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  Speaker 3: general interview with Jamie Rodowski and Mara Casey, and they
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  Speaker 3: kept saying, you know, faster, and this was, you know,
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  Speaker 3: before I really understood what that what that meant. And
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  Speaker 3: I did it, you know, my little New York theater
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  Speaker 3: experience growing up. I did it like ten percent faster,
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  Speaker 3: twelve percent faster, and it kept they kept saying faster, faster,
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  Speaker 3: and didn't hear from them for four and a half years.
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  Speaker 3: So I figured, you know, okay, I did not go
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  Speaker 3: fast enough. I had no idea what I was doing
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  Speaker 3: for this particular show, and I didn't think i'd ever
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  Speaker 3: hear from them again, and out of the blue, just
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  Speaker 3: got brought in to read for Bill, and I thought
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  Speaker 3: it was I wasn't sure at first, you know, that
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  Speaker 3: it was going to be a recurring that that wasn't
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  Speaker 3: clear in the beginning. It was just Asian brought me
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  Speaker 3: in for, you know, for this guest star role. And
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  Speaker 3: I found out later that that not only was a
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  Speaker 3: recurring role, but that.
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  Speaker 4: It was based loosely.
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  Speaker 3: On one of the writers of the show that that
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  Speaker 3: they that I reminded them of. And so it ended
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  Speaker 3: up I just had to not completely suck in the audition.
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  Speaker 1: So you actually attended Yale University and you graduated from
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  Speaker 1: the theater program very maybe the most prestigious theater program
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  Speaker 1: in the United States other than Juilliard or I think
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  Speaker 1: Northwestern is up there, but I don't, you know, I
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  Speaker 1: think Juilliard, I'm sorry, Yale REP is just right up there.
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  Speaker 1: Or theater program. Now you you studied, uh is Bobby
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  Speaker 1: Lewis still a prominent name up there, and I I
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  Speaker 1: think he built that program. It's a three year program,
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  Speaker 1: is it not?
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  Speaker 4: Well?
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  Speaker 3: I did not actually do Yale Drama School for undergrad gotcha.
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  Speaker 3: I did major in theater studies and psychology with a
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  Speaker 3: philosophy concentration that uh, there was some overlap.
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  Speaker 4: Of course. I had had some some.
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  Speaker 3: Some connection to the drama school because it was right there,
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  Speaker 3: and did let some of the undergrad theater majors.
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  Speaker 4: You know, talk to them once in a while. So
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  Speaker 4: it wasn't you know, complete silos.
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  Speaker 3: But but no, I'm not familiar with the full you know,
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  Speaker 3: the full drama school program.
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  Speaker 1: So you grew up in New York City. How did
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  Speaker 1: you get to Yale? What kind of grades did you
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  Speaker 1: need to have to get into Yale?
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  Speaker 3: I did have very good grades probably you know, not
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  Speaker 3: unlike Bill, but I did. I was a kid actor.
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  Speaker 3: I started acting when I was eleven years old. I
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  Speaker 3: went to this theater camp stage door manor you might
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  Speaker 3: have heard of a lot of other.
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  Speaker 4: You know, a lot of other people in LA have
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  Speaker 4: gone there.
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  Speaker 3: And the directors of the camp who were fantastic, Jack
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  Speaker 3: Romano and the other people there that they thought I
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  Speaker 3: was really good and they introduced me to their agent
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  Speaker 3: friends in New York at the time, and I just
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  Speaker 3: started going out on auditions right away, and I ended
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  Speaker 3: up booking a Broadway show. And thought, that's the way
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  Speaker 3: that acting is. You just start auditioning and right away,
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  Speaker 3: you know, you get a Broadway show. But I found
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  Speaker 3: out later it's it's a good tiver.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's a good way to start a career. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I tell you your first audition, Bang, there you are.
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  Speaker 4: It wasn't the first audition, but it was. It was
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  Speaker 4: the first year or so. Yeah, I was.
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  Speaker 3: I was twelve when I when I was in Rags,
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  Speaker 3: which the name of that show, and I ended up
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  Speaker 3: inviting the entire cast to my bar Mitzvah that fall.
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  Speaker 4: And quite a number of them came actually, so yeah,
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  Speaker 4: it was.
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  Speaker 1: What is it like being that age, living from New
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  Speaker 1: York and starring on Broadway.
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  Speaker 4: It's it's so.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's completely absurd, and and I've spent the
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  Speaker 3: rest of my life slowly, ever so slowly coming to
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  Speaker 3: an understanding of how that's not real life and people
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  Speaker 3: don't leap to their feet sixteen hundred people standing ovation
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  Speaker 3: every night just because you've you've made the perfect over
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  Speaker 3: easy egg that morning, which is you know, the more frequent.
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  Speaker 4: Thing I my schedule lately.
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  Speaker 3: So yeah, it's it's it's it's a ludicrous way to start,
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  Speaker 3: but it was great. I got exposed to so many incredible,
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  Speaker 3: incredible performers, and that was my you know, even before
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  Speaker 3: getting to Yale, that was my education.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, who was in that play?
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  Speaker 3: So it starred Teresa Stratus who was an opera big
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  Speaker 3: opera diva at the time, and and then Terrence Mann
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  Speaker 3: was in it, Judy Kune and uh Lonnie Price. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: really it was it was quite the even just the
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  Speaker 3: the the members of the ensemble, which is we're all
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  Speaker 3: people that had done principal roles in.
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  Speaker 1: Other Broadway shows. Now, did you ever actually go into
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  Speaker 1: the Yale Daily News when you were at Yale. Did
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  Speaker 1: you say it?
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  Speaker 4: I was terrified of the real, the real Yale Daily
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  Speaker 4: News when.
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  Speaker 1: I was what was the real daily News? Like, what
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  Speaker 1: was the what were the stories? What were the rumors?
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  Speaker 3: Well, it wasn't so much about about what I had heard.
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  Speaker 3: It was more about the prospect of having deadlines like that.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I had actually been in high school. I am,
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  Speaker 3: I was. I was an editor on my high school newspaper,
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  Speaker 3: but luckily it came out about once a month, and
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  Speaker 3: that was the kind of deadline I could handle. But
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  Speaker 3: I was just I never went anywhere near trying to
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  Speaker 3: go into the Yale Daily News when I was actually
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  Speaker 3: at Yale, because they had to write and not procrastinate
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  Speaker 3: for weeks at a time.
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  Speaker 1: Did you consult anybody with anybody who had experience in
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  Speaker 1: the actual Yale Daily News for research for the role?
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  Speaker 4: I didn't. No.
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  Speaker 1: Did you think Gilmore Girls accurately portrayed Yale?
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  Speaker 4: It really did.
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  Speaker 3: I was actually blown away by what they pulled off,
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  Speaker 3: even just in terms of the set decoration, you know,
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  Speaker 3: the when I got to set and I saw the
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  Speaker 3: whole classroom hallway there and the Yale Dale News main office,
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  Speaker 3: it resembled so closely one of the classroom buildings at
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  Speaker 3: Yale w lh so called Parkness Hall, and the wood
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  Speaker 3: paneling in the halls and even the font on the
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  Speaker 3: door numbers was they had their own font, the Yale font.
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  Speaker 3: It's the actual thing that the yl Press has. It's
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  Speaker 3: their own font, and that was the actual way we
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  Speaker 3: used to see the door numbers. So it was a
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  Speaker 3: bit of a trip at first, just just that aspect of.
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  Speaker 5: It for me.
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  Speaker 1: Right, So do the Gilmour fans recognize you as Bill?
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  Speaker 1: Do they stop you on the street?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, this show is amazing that way, isn't it. It's
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  Speaker 3: just you know, it's been what seventeen eighteen years, and yeah,
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  Speaker 3: I still got recognized all the time from it, even
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  Speaker 3: just you know, going out to dinner and the hostess
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  Speaker 3: at the restaurant or yeah, it's it's a it's a
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  Speaker 3: regular thing. It's just people keep watching this show and
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  Speaker 3: rewatching it.
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  Speaker 1: You know, twenty five point two billion minutes consumed by
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  Speaker 1: viewers on Netflix in twenty twenty three, twenty five billion.
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  Speaker 3: And that's why, you know, that's why I've made seven
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  Speaker 3: billion from that.
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  Speaker 1: We haven't made seven cents.
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  Speaker 4: Now wait, I have a seventeen cent check right over there.
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  Speaker 1: I have no Actually, I have a couple myself. What
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  Speaker 1: are you up to? Now? What are you doing? Now?
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  Speaker 4: You know I've gotten more. I'm still acting.
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  Speaker 3: I still you know, I've been on a couple shows
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  Speaker 3: the last few years, but I've also gotten a lot
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  Speaker 3: more into writing and directing good. I mean, I've been
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  Speaker 3: writing and directing all this time, but in particular the
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  Speaker 3: last few years. I was fortunate enough to direct the
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  Speaker 3: premiere of a brand new play in New York last year,
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  Speaker 3: Brace for Impact, which was I mean still is Right
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  Speaker 3: now the producers are looking for the next venue and
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  Speaker 3: taking it to the next level. But it was just
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  Speaker 3: a tremendous experience. Just that first run last spring was
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  Speaker 3: It's just some of the best writing I've seen. My
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  Speaker 3: friend Maya Nikifro wrote it, and it's such a personal story,
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  Speaker 3: but it's also just so fricking funny. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: you sit down, you're kind of taken in and I
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  Speaker 3: got to really play around a lot. I got to
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  Speaker 3: There was this clown character who doesn't speak the entire show,
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  Speaker 3: and I ended up using him.
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  Speaker 4: But he's always.
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  Speaker 3: Messing with the main the main character and kind of
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  Speaker 3: leading her in and out of different parts of her
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  Speaker 3: life and forcing her to face certain things.
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  Speaker 4: And I kind of used him for some of the lighting.
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  Speaker 3: I got him to plug in and and and uh
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  Speaker 3: and unplug the the plugs for the for the some
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  Speaker 3: of the light instruments that were based on the floor,
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  Speaker 3: just to just to keep almost that that's that same
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  Speaker 3: vibe that the character and airplane when he unplugs the
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  Speaker 3: runway lights. You know, it was just I got to
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  Speaker 3: have fun with so many aspects like that that.
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  Speaker 4: That, Yeah, normally I don't get a chance to do.
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  Speaker 1: And well, let me ask you, do you want to
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  Speaker 1: direct film?
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  Speaker 5: Yeah?
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  Speaker 3: I actually I have a script in development right now
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  Speaker 3: that actually it's between its second and third draft that
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  Speaker 3: you know, Fingers Crossed right now. I think they have
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  Speaker 3: about a third of the funding so far for it.
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  Speaker 1: And who do you like? What directors do you really
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  Speaker 1: really inspire you? Who are your top people that you
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  Speaker 1: always watch their films whenever they're on.
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  Speaker 4: Paul Thomas Anderson, Charlie Kaufman.
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  Speaker 3: Oh sure, yeah, those are the two biggies who I
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  Speaker 3: don't miss.
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  Speaker 4: I don't miss their work.
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  Speaker 3: James Gray, James Gray he's a fascinating director.
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  Speaker 4: I thought that one with Brad Pitt.
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  Speaker 3: A couple of years ago was one of the most
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  Speaker 3: fascinating meditation.
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  Speaker 1: Which one was that ad Astra? You know what? I
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  Speaker 1: love that film?
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  Speaker 4: It was something, wasn't it was extraordinary.
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  Speaker 1: I really like Brad Pitt. I think he's remarkably talented. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: that film, to me proves the point that movie stars
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  Speaker 1: are few and far between. Can you imagine anyone else
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  Speaker 1: in that role trying to carry a film like that
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  Speaker 1: and you can't take your eyes off it. Yeah, that's
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  Speaker 1: what he brings to the table because not a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people can do that.
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  Speaker 4: He's phenomenal.
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  Speaker 3: And it's funny you should say, you know what you
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  Speaker 3: how you were just describing it. You know, I brought
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  Speaker 3: that film up to people and I've said, you know,
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  Speaker 3: ninety five percent of the film is the story is
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  Speaker 3: told in these two eyes. That's that's it. You know
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  Speaker 3: that there's there's very little dialogue. There's certain sequences that
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  Speaker 3: have it, but the story is so clear, yep, so
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  Speaker 3: clear and brutal.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, just remarkable filmmaking, a courageous filmmaking. Well, in my estimation,
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  Speaker 1: you're going to be a very fine director.
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  Speaker 4: I brought that one up.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to do a little thing called rapid fire.
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  Speaker 1: No pressure to answer quickly or speak rapidly. We just
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: call it rapid fire. How do you like your coffee?
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: Very carefully?
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: Are your team Logan, Team Jess or Team Dean?
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  Speaker 3: It's hard for me not to be Team Logan. That's
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  Speaker 3: you know, That's what I spent the most time with.
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  Speaker 1: And Yeah, he's kind of irresistible, isn't he? Yeah, you know,
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  Speaker 1: he's a terrific guy. He's just such a great guy.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: You know your root for him. Yeah. Who's your film favorite?
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Gilmore Girls couple? Luke and Laurelo or Emily and Richard? Luke,
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: laurla Yeah, I don't care what you say anything, It
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: doesn't matter. Would you rather work with Michelle or Kirk? Again,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: don't care who you choose. Kirk, what would you order it?
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  Speaker 4: Luke's diner, the perfect over easy eggs, so I can
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  Speaker 4: judge it against.
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  Speaker 1: My own good Who would you rather hang out with
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: Paris or Lane?
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: Paris?
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  Speaker 3: I know that sounds strange coming from Yeah, but as
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  Speaker 3: much as Bill hated Paris in real life, I actually
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  Speaker 3: bonded with Liza more than anyone else on the set.
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  Speaker 1: Let me ask you this, would you rather who would
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: you rather hang with if you were in Paris, Paris
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: or Lane? Would you like Lane in Paris or Paris
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: in Paris.
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  Speaker 4: I'm gonna stick with Paris.
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  Speaker 1: I think I already know the answer to this, Harvard
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  Speaker 1: or Yale, as as.
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  Speaker 3: I'm sure you you you must have already been told
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  Speaker 3: at some point Harvard secks. Yeah, there was this, you know,
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  Speaker 3: I tell it really quick. I tell this this horrendously
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  Speaker 3: pretentious story when sometimes people ask me about what it
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  Speaker 3: was like at Yale, and mostly, you know, it was
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  Speaker 3: this amazing place and actually people just.
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  Speaker 4: This remarkable priciple of community and learning. And but.
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  Speaker 3: I tell this story about you know, the game, the
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  Speaker 3: big football game that's usually between Harvard and Well, we
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: called the game because it's between Harvard and the yel right,
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: and that's the only one that matters. And that's why
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: I just called the game. So when Princeton came to
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  Speaker 3: play one of the football games at the Yell Bowl,
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  Speaker 3: they started doing the chant from across the you know,
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  Speaker 3: from their side of the stadium, and they started yelling,
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  Speaker 3: you know, of course Yale sucks.
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  Speaker 4: Yale sucks. Yeh sucks. That was the chance and.
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  Speaker 3: The response the perfectly snobbish but but you know it's
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: it's it's good enough to justify it. Response from our
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: side of the stadium was Harvard sucks. Harvard sucks because
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  Speaker 3: Princeton doesn't even you know, register Why why are you
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: guys here?
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  Speaker 1: So Preston doesn't have too bad of a football team.
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  Speaker 4: No, they don't.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, in real real life, you know, of course,
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  Speaker 3: these are all amazing places.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: That is that is just such a slight. Yeah, it
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: has been a pleasure, Devin. We have enjoyed your acting
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: on the show. We thought your head was going to
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: explode and several several points during your episodic journey through
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: Gilmore Girls, and we're glad to hear that you're friends
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: with Liza and that it didn't take on the life
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: of its own outside or off the set in the
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: same vein. But thank you so much, good luck with
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: everything with the directing and the writing, and hope to
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: see you your name and the credits and nominated on
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: the big screen or on the Tony Awards someday real soon.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: Appreciate it all right, take care, Thanks so much.
• 19:39
  Speaker 5: You hey, everybody, and to forget.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram at i Am all In Podcast,
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com