December 11, 2025 • 44 mins
Photographer, director, mixed-media artist & AOH Studios Founder Alana O’Herlihy joins forces with Kyle to discuss how she went all in on her creative destiny to get where she is today & creates such compelling self-portraits, the iconic David Lynch and his impact on Kyle & Alana’s art, authenticity & careers, why social media is a creative playground, Kyle & Alana’s Balenciaga shoot for Vanity Fair Oscars, Jack Nicholson’s timeless appeal, the key to acting, Alana’s family ties to TWIN PEAKS & her Cosmo cover shoot with Margaret Qualley, tales from BLUE VELVET & the legendary Isabella Rossellini, Kyle’s remedy for anxiety, Alana’s new self-portraiture book I Used to Be Cool and more!
Tune in every Thursday for new episodes of What Are We Even Doing?
Executive Producers: iHeart Media, Elvis Duran Podcast Network, and Full Picture Productions Executive Produced for Full Picture Productions by Desiree Gruber + Anne Walls Gordon
Produced by Ben Fingeret, Nora Faber, and Maia Mizrahi
Editing by Mikey Harmon and Nicholas Giuricich
Research by Kimberly Walls
Music by Yatta
Art by Danica Robinson
Additional GFX by Chris Olfers/The Southern Influence
Styling by Dot Bass
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YouTube: @KyleMacLachlanOfficial
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What are we even doing?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What are we even doing?
Speaker 1 (00:09):
We're here talking with Alana? Oh harleah? Did I pronounce
that properly? Thank you very much. On the podcast, this
is what are we even doing? I'm Kyle McLaughlin, your
host for the evening. We are going to talk with actors, photographers, musicians,
creatives of all types and you fit many of those categories. Yes,
(00:30):
And we're going to just discuss about the creative process,
which is very interesting to me. So buckle up, hang on,
here we go. What are we even doing?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
What are we even doing?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hi, guys, welcome, Welcome Alana. It's so nice.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
This is so fun. I'm so glad. But before we
get to that, I wanted to ask you something. What
is your core memory when you realized that you were
going to do what you're doing now? Was there a
moment in your life? Was it a culmination?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
I think that there was a scary moment when I
dropped out of college okay, where I said to myself,
I have to make this work and I don't have
a backup plan, and for me, backup plans are hindering.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
So that moment was scary.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
And I made sure in that moment I would do
whatever it takes to make it happen. Basically, I was
about twenty two.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
You had a passion. I'm guessing so there was something
you really wanted to do. Yes, I'm guessing photography or
something in that.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
I went to school for Photo and Media Studies persons okay,
okay for year and a half, and then I dropped
out because basically they have this rule where if you
miss more than three classes, you automatically fail.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
So I said, that's really harsh.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, it's intense.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
That's really harsh, especially for a creative Yeah, I think
it's intense.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
But I started working, so I started getting gigs and
so then I had to start missing school. And I
said to my teachers, hey, listen, I might have to
start missing some classes. Is that okay? And they basically
said no. And then I dropped out. And then I
started doing a bunch of other steps that kind of
(02:10):
got me where I am now.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
But that moment was the kind.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Of that was a turning point for you.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, yeah, the catalyst the universe.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Was maybe speaking to you. I'm thinking, just because you
are already doing what you love to do and you
have a very specific way of working that is yours
and yours alone.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I want to ask you about specifically about your self portraiture, Yes,
which I find fascinating for a number of reasons. Obviously
your expression of you. It fulfills a need, but it's
also part of your process for other work that you do.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
My Self portraiture is my art, Okay, That's how I
see it. That's how I move that part of my brain,
that's how I move that muscle in my body, which
is so important to the rest of my work. Because
when you start shooting a lot of commercial gigs, you'll
see it's.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Very convoluted, very stressful.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Sometimes your vision can get watered down sometimes, which is
what you have to do sometimes to pay the rent.
Unfortunately understood, which I bet you probably I understand.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I understand your.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Career and your incredible career that I adore so much.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
I'm such a big fan of you, seriously.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So kind of really, I feel like we have this
kindred thing. Certainly a great appreciation for my mentor David
Lynch and his process, and from your work, of course,
I can see so much of the influence there, and
I think so much of the artist's way. Yeah, I
think in your work, where it's very pure, it's very specific,
(03:43):
it's very you. Yeah, you know, and I think, as
you said, you're probably most fulfilled by the self portraiture
because it's coming from me.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
I love David May rest in peace. Oh I'm like,
I'm so sad. I never got to meet him, but
then he passed away on my birthday, yes sixteenth, yes,
this year, and then I shot you what two months later.
It was just such a weird kismet full circle experience.
But yeah, the self portrature fills that void that I
(04:14):
get from doing the commercial work. I found that in
life and in my work, you should exploit your imperfections,
and that's kind of what I do with the characters
that I create with my self portraiture, and David does
with his his work, which is like character studies.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Very very similar. You're absolutely right, and that's the inspiration,
I think. And he follows his own path one hundred percent.
That's one of his things, and I think that's probably
what you respond to as well.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I Shawn interview for Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Just completely dedicated to that. And he lived the artist's life,
you know, which is always what he wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
But the purity of me, I'm like, how do you
get to that point to be able to say this
is the way that I'm doing it and you can't
tell me otherwise, And how.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Do you get to that point?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
He had a very gentle way of doing it most
of the time.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I'm so curious how did he do that?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, I mean as an outside observer, I would watch
him and he was he just was very methodical in
his approach. I mean you can see it when people
ask him about his work, he just will say, I'm
not telling you or no, I have no answer, right.
He just follows what's inside with no judgment, which is
(05:30):
where I think there's a similarity there. You you were
also and you said it before, with your imperfections. There's
no judgment, and it's the one thing I think. I
know acting was something you were interesting as well, and
I think it's the same thing. When you approach a character,
there is no judgment. You have to understand who that
person is and create a flawed being and there's no
(05:51):
you can't polish up the edges, you know, which I
find so compelling in what you do, and they're there
are these beautiful drops of exceptional expression. I think, oh,
when I see what you do.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Where is there a place where that might have come
from originate?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Or yeah, what what do you think? Oh God, I.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Went to Catholic school for nine years. I really did. Okay,
so that's where it comes from.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
No, but there's there's a rebellious spirit within me that
was innate when I was.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Six, when you're little, yeah, okay, when I.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Was in Catholic school and I was told this is Jesus,
this is the way and no judgment. I As I
get older, I'm like, I need something spiritual right to
grab onto.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I don't know what that is, right, but I am
looking for me.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
It's not God personally, but that kind of rebellious spirit
made me curious, and that is kind of where that
came from.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
I think, because I feel like you do approach a
spiritual place in your work.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You know, because you're so I like things to be messy,
but you're so vulnerable and you're so exposed, and I
think it's one of the things. And this is kind
of a big leap. But I think today social media
this is a huge generalization, but I feel like there
is less emphasis on perfection, on modeled on expectation, and
(07:13):
more emphasis on this is me, Yeah, with all of
the you know mess, and it's more accept I feel
more accepted now, certainly from when I was growing up.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Well, I really so, You're like, it's like a journey.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And I have wonderful help I have wonderful helpers.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
It's it's so good. It's true.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
The Internet wants you to be honest, and I think
for me, the best work is the most intimate work.
So how do I find that intimate place in me,
whether it's from my childhood, or it's from a breakup,
or it's from a commercial job where I just had
a really intense you know, outcome or situation that really
pissed me off. How can I use that to fuel
(07:57):
my next character? And it's either I'm going to find
a version of myself that has existed within me over
the past however many decades exaggerate that to the nth degree,
you know, and.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Make it the most insane, crazy thing.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
But it's ritualistic. Yeah, it's a ritual.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
What it is.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
It is It's like therapy.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Kind of yeah, therapy for me, but it's a healthy therapy.
It's like you're getting this out in your art.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Another part of what I do with the characters is
things that I don't understand intrigue me. People that I
don't understand intrigue me. How do I find out more
about that type of person, that type of character by
becoming them or by becoming who I think they are?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Like a Karen do you know?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Karen?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Is I do? I do? I know?
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, So I don't understand that, So let me se.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Well, this is the actress process. You're talking about the
actress process.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
I think, okay, so I should just change careers.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
No, well, do everything you can, you can do anything,
But I feel like that's part of it, and in fact,
there are I mean, I remember studying years ago Laura
Dern you know, yeah, you know Lord. On course, we
went to a class Sounder seacat class. Yeah, Sounder has
recently passed, sadly, and part of his class involved creating
(09:18):
a ritual, which is, you know, you have music, you
have symbols, you have movement, but it's all done in
a in a repetitive manner. And the idea was to
really not purge necessarily, but at least get in touch
with a very deep, deep emotion, something that you're uncomfortable with,
something you're embarrassed about, something you're you know. It's one
(09:40):
of those kind of moments of complete vulnerability right in
a class situation. And the class, thank god, was very
very nurturing and healthy. You know what I mean? What
you mean call the process takes you deeper. And I
see in your in your work. It's like I can
see you built a ritual. And then and I don't know,
(10:00):
I've never been there when you've done one of the
film this, there's someone who's filming you.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
I guess, well, I either have a chord, so.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Maybe it's even just okay.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
We'll have it.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
So it's just you.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It's a shutter Okay. When I started, it was just me.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Okay, when I started, it was just me or me
and whatever boyfriend I had at the time. And now
it is put him to work, yeah of course, okay.
And now that my career has gotten bigger, I have
a bigger team, so I have more help, I have
more lights.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah, but you still feel completely it's still my vision.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
It's my Yeah, Yeah I am comfortable.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Yeah I like it. Yeah, I do like it. Yeah,
I think it's it is ritualistic. And when you speak
about that acting class, yeah, I'm like, should I go
to acting class?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
You have to be careful. It's a little bit like
your situation, I think Parsons. Yeah, because I started very young,
well young as in my twenties, and I didn't really
know anything. So I was kind of formed and I resisted.
I was like, you was like, yeah, I was. You know,
I learned to be what it's like to do, to
(11:08):
do repertory theater. Cut to actually entering the world and
you begin to then understand really what it's all about. Yes, yes,
and that is a lifelong process.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah. The school of life. Yeah, so cheesy, it's true.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
It's the older I get the y It's just and
but to be open to the experience is the most
important thing.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
But I also I had a question for you, Oh
my god, it pertained to this. What was that moment
in your career where you were kind of formed which
you just spoke to Yeah, you maybe had just taken
the opportunities that were set forth before you and that
kind of created your career. And then was there a
moment where you were like I'm not going to just
(11:54):
take what comes at me. I'm going to make a
conscious effort to say no to things, or pushed my
career in a different direction. Because your collaborators are insane.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I probably should have said no to it more, but
you lived long enough, and that was sort of a
full life experience.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
What was your first role?
Speaker 1 (12:14):
It was done yeah, with David in nineteen eighty three,
and that happened completely by accident. I was going to
do repertory theater. I was on my way to New York,
and then I auditioned and I ended up in LA
and I ended up in the movie. And I was like, wow,
this is crazy. Yeah, where are you from. I'm from
a little town in eastern Washington called Yakama, went to
school in Seattle.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
So he just plucked you out.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah. I was literally doing a play in Seattle and
a casting agent had come through videotaped me, showed it
to David in LA and he said, oh, let's bring
him down to meet him, and then there you go.
But I had no really no sense of what it was.
I was doing film, etc. I was just this is amazing,
(12:56):
there's a role. I'm an actor. This is what you do,
you know, but no sense of the camera. Yeah, and
no really no real appreciation at that time for the work,
for the effort it takes for everyone else to get there.
I just kind of got handed this thing, and I
think it really affected me for a while. I was like, oh,
this is easy, right, right, And I just said, you know,
I had I did. We did Blue Velvet together thanks
(13:18):
to David, which was an amazing thing. So I'm like, oh,
I see how this works. You just show up and
do this thing, right. And then of course as the
career goes along and realized maybe not you know that
happened to me.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yeah, and I'm still so young, but I had that moment.
Tell me, I just feel like, there's this moment in
my career. There was a moment where it was everything
was happening so fast, everything was exciting, and then with
the Internet, it's like, all on, you're killing it. You're
killing it because all of these things that I've been
(13:50):
working on for two, you know, years come out at
one time and then it's well received and then there's
a moment of stillness. And in that moment of still
ill for the first time of that's in that stillness
I'm like.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Am I ever going to work again? Am I ever
going to get a job again?
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
How do I maintain this life of creativity and it
being my job?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And that's when I.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
First had that moment basically, and then I worked again,
of course, but it's a humbling experience.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You've started by your self portrait work before before, okay, but.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Then I filled that time with the things that matter,
which to me is the self portraiture and the storytelling.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
I mentioned about social media when everything started, Yeah, I've
embraced it. You've embraced it as another way to another
art form, starting way back with Twitter, I was so
because I love language, yes, and I was like, oh,
I want to say something kind of funny, but also
maybe you know something else, like more and I only
(14:59):
have one hundred and forty four or characters almost like
it was like a haikup right, you gotta do this thing,
but within a certain structure which I was I really liked,
and then I sort of went and expanded. It's like, ah,
i's of lost interest. You now you can do anything.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
When did you start doing all of it?
Speaker 1 (15:12):
This was a while ago.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Now do you use it as a creative playground? Which
is why I think social media is fabulous.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
I found my way there. Yeah, I sort of felt
like I needed it. I felt like my some of
my Instagram early stuff is like kind of a not
not here, not now, not present. The exact word it
was called. It was past nostalgic, thank you, perfect word.
And I was like, I'm kind of bored with this.
And I was like and then that to the ladies
(15:42):
in the studio here and Maya.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Loving it so Far's he's the most fun because he
he he's down to.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Play exactly what you said, down to play.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Never is like what is it? He's just like, I'll
do it.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
What am I in a bathtub?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Hey, I was in the bathtub in Sex and the City.
I can be bathub I don't care. Yeah, it started with.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
So many different people with me in the room.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
And you you have so many This is the beauty
of it.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yes, but back to the social media things. I have
so much to say about it.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yes, I want to hear more too, because I do
feel it's a playground. I am not looking to you know,
it's just it's a way to create something within another
structure with fun, have a laugh, maybe a little think
that's it.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
It's a blessing.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
It's a curse for artists my age coming up in
this time.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
We are so lucky, I want to hear.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
We are so lucky to have these tools at our
fingertips to share our work at a click of a button.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
How lucky.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Because I think seventy of being successful as a creative is.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Doing it, putting it out there. Just put it out there.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Because I know a lot of people who maybe think
they're creative or they want to be creative, and then
they make these things and then they get scared or
nervous or worried about the perception of that work. Sure,
and that is the problem.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I think. Not everyone's going to like what you make.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
I agree all the time.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
I agree that's not art.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I agree you have to it's.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
You, right, Yeah, you have to make what is intimate
to you, the story that you want to tell, and
then if people don't like it, fuck them, you know, sorry, And.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
If they do, then great.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
But if you put it out there, then I think
that's a success in itself. And I think it's a
it's a curse because the life span of art and
the attention span of people on the internet is so short.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
But I also feel if it speaks to someone, it
will have value. But I know what you mean, because
it's so quick to turn the page, You know what
I mean. But I want to believe in my heart
that if you make something that has that stops people
like WHOA like your work like whoa, there's a lot
going on here, There's a lot to unpack here. Yeah,
(18:12):
that then a little more time will be spent on that.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
It's about creating these snack sized moments.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I like snack size that's.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
That the audience can nibble on or grab onto and
having them.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Stay for the whole meal.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
So that's kind of how you get around the social
media of it all. It's like, how do I create
this snack size moment to get them hooked and then
get them to stay around for the meal and maybe
get them to pay attention to this thing for more
than twelve hours.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, you have to start directing.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Yeah, I would love that. Yeah, that would be That
is a dream.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah that it should be a dream. That should be
a dream of yours. That is because you are already creating.
You already have a sense of character. Yeah, when we
work together and where you came in it was. It
was like the fastest shoot I've ever done. You came in,
you had a couple of props, things, an idea, but
what you want to do kind of an homage to
some of the photos from the from my past. Yes,
and then you you did exactly what David does. You
(19:09):
came into my backspace and for some reason, I had
this plastic covered remember this plastic on my table in
the back and I was like, I was like, oh,
I'm so sorry about this. We were you know, we
put it up here because it's so dusty, and I like,
blah blah blah, but it looked like we covered our couchs. No,
I said, you said keep that, keep that. And then
you put me at one end of the table was
a long table and with it with the milkshake and
(19:32):
did the photo. And I was like, I'm going to
like this person.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
I knew because it was a crazy shoe.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
It's David. It's how David works. He grabbed something like, yeah,
it was.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Like that seventies cell aphane furniture covered thing that you
had on your dining table.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
And it works the reflection.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, yeah, because you used it that it gave you.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yeah, it's so funny when I shot you.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
So when I shoot for Planciaga, they basically hold me
a week before and they're like, we need you on
this day to shoot the Vanity Fair Oscars thing. Well,
I'm not gonna We're not gonna tell you who it is.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
So they don't tell me until about twelve hours before.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Okay who it is? Or twenty four hours I guess.
I don't really know.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
I think that they hold the photographers, then they must
have the list of talent, and then someone kind of
plays connect the dots. Maybe twenty four hours before. Yeah,
they told me twenty four hours before. And my agent
said to me, why did you want to shoot Calmaglaughlin.
I was like, of course, like a dream, I'm going
(20:41):
and we're gonna get Bob's big boys. And I called
my assistants and they were like, you have twenty minutes.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Like to shoot. Yeah, they said, oh my god. That's
why I was rushing, Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
Because they were like, you have twenty minutes before he
goes to the carpet to shoot.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Okaya had have me on dress and ready to go.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
This is the other bummer about social media. Yeah, yeah,
is the time I.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Get to shoot.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
People become shorter and shorter and shorter because the content
clients require is so robust.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yeah yeah, yeah, I need a lot.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Budgets get tighter, timing gets tighter.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Yeah, and the demand is high.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Well, there's the constraints.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
When I shot you, I was like to my assistant,
I said, listen, I would rather have twenty minutes to
just chat with him over shooting him.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
That would be my preference. And now look at where
we are.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Here, we are it worked out, It worked out beautiful.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I got both.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
You were fast, and you were very particular and you're
very specific. Yes, and I just and I love the
way you spoke in terms of because what you do
is obviously you have the photos and then you work
with them and you use the textures around, other things
around to enhance the photo, which I think is just brilliant. Yes,
I love that.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I love to plan.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, yeah, I love to.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Make a story. I love to use the set. Yeah,
vital Yeah, this the sets are insane incredible. Where did
you shoot dune?
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Dune was all shot in Mexico, well, Mexico City, on
sound stages there at old sound stages from the way back.
The Churubusco Studios. They were so beautiful. That's so beautiful. Yeah,
you have to shoot there. They're spectacular.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Like if I could direct a movie, it would be
all on a sound stage.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Yeah, painted, hand painted.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This is exactly what we did because they brought in
crafts people of Mexican crafts people, Italian crafts people, and
they built these giant, practical sets. These were not things
that moved around our little corners. These were like giant
sets that they actually built inside giant studios. It's dream
So the patina was insane as an.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Actor, as the best actor, do you.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Have a different I guess experience with a physical set,
a practice set, then green screen the screen.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, it really helps.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Fairly recently we shot Fallout, the first season to Fallout,
and we had a thing called the volume stack. Yeah yeah,
lovely lovely, lovely guy. And this was a projected or
computer screen backdrop. So it's just a million screens slaves
together to make whatever vista they've programmed.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
How big is it huge?
Speaker 1 (23:27):
It's a sound stage. Yeah, it's just it's like a
jumbo tron wrapped around the sound stage, or at least
to three quarters of a sound stage.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Could you see it?
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah, okay, you can see it. There's a there's the
main camera, and then everything is to the resolution for
the main camera, and then they have a couple of
slave cameras, but they have to stay within the confines
because as that camera moves, because it takes so much power.
It's a very cool thing and so you feel like
you're in this world, which as an actor. Look around.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
You're so good at using the future to your advantage
and learning it. You're around the same age as my father,
and he learned.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Forty five.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He doesn't super young.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
But I think I wonder what the conversations are with
you and your friends around social media.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
My friends, my age. Yeah, it's it's different. Yeah, my brother,
it's so weird because I think of it as a
it's a creative playground, you know what I mean. Like
for me, this is kind of what it's like if
I'm not working, I'm like, oh, I want to let's
let's do something fun, let's make and and some great
ideas come from from Anne and Mya and Nora from
Full Pictures. Oh yeah, they're they're critical.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I'm like, huge fans of you too.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
They're critical.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
That's fat can we have a meeting? What else do
you guys know about?
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Like that one that one photo of you on the
floor with your legs out with the.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
With the Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah it is. That photo
will live forever, thank you.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
That was That is a forever picture. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
It's sent around in group chats. It's very very popular.
Memes are meming.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Yeah, the memes are very much meming. But I think
it's it's so important.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
They're brilliant, They're they're super brilliant.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
How long have you guys been working together?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
How long have you been? Kyle is my work dad
to two years.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
But like honestly since two thousand and six.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, we're going to do it for a long time.
We have. We go way way back, but we start
all through my wife. She's the she's the mastermind. Is
how could one not be obsessed with Jack Nicholson. I'm
(25:48):
curious to hear what what's the appeal there for you?
What's the what's the connecting point? Is there? Is it one?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
At first I think it was just the last thing.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
Probably the first time I saw him, I was probably
just set, you know, like holy you know, this man
is gorgeous and then I got into the discography, if
you will, of Jack and and and Stanley, and then
Cuckoo's Nest and obviously the Shining, which is if I
(26:18):
were to do a letterbox top four, which you've done.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Yeah, I have a good one.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
It's very hard.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
That's a great one.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
That for me is like I know for a fact,
without a doubt, he would be up there. But this
is what I think about movie stars sometimes. I think
sometimes when you become a movie star movie star exclamation point,
it's hard to get people to separate you from the
character unless you're really good. And I think he is
(26:49):
really good at that. I think that I can see
him in any villain that he plays or hero Cuckoo's Nest.
I think he plays a hero and believe him and
not know.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
That it's Jack.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
I've never met him, I know his family. I don't
ever want to meet him, you.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Know, it's like, don't meet your heroes.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Don't meet your heroes. Except for when I met you.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
There's been a couple of good experiences, handful, maybe five.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
I'll bet he would actually be the real deal. Yeah, complicated, certainly,
but I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
You might end up getting married and divorced in the
first month, nobody knows.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
There you go, but just you know that just more
life experience exactly. You know. There's there are some actors
you know that come in and they have the thing
and they want to do it a certain way and
that's the way they're going to do it, and that's it.
Jack's not like one of those people come in and
he works and he's like, I can do it like this,
or we can go all that way, we can go
this way over here, or we can do this like this.
And when you look at his early performances, thinking back
(27:53):
to like easy writers, certainly five Easy Pieces as well,
which is one of my favorites, et cetera, et cetera,
et cetera. And I keep going back to this side
of character, creating a character, finding that inside of you.
I mean, some of the vulnerability and five easy pieces,
some of the brava, the brashness, and five easy pieces
like this all Jack, you know, but he lets that out.
(28:14):
And there's a lot of actors, I think, certainly from
that generation that want you to see them a certain way,
I think, and I think.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
It's worse now maybe, but that's you tell me you're
never than me.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
I can't exactly, but I think the coming generations is
exciting because and I go back to social and social
internets and there is a this is me, Timothy, It's
just is me. Is who I am? You know what
I mean? And you know I mean. He's careful about
what he puts out of.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, But he is honest.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
He's honest and you can see that. I think so,
and I think that's why you were drawn to him
as well.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Part of what makes you successful, But I think part
of that has to be not caring so much about
how you're perceived. And I think the more that you care,
the more invested you get with your perception, the worse
the work will be.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
You've said it perfectly. I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
It's like Jack, let go of that, and maybe that's
why the work is so good. How do you let
go of that and just become open. I have always
been a confident person. I believe it, but I have
a lot of friends that I love and adore that aren't.
You can't help someone find that, Yeah, you have to
(29:37):
find that on your own.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
You are confident, You are confident, and yet you know
you can be nervous, you can be uncertain, you know,
all those kind of things, but ultimately you believe I'll
just let me be here, yeah, and that andres will
be present. Let's be present. That's the best acting. Be present. Listen, talk, listen, Yeah,
(30:05):
and be present.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
But isn't it hard to be present when you're thinking
about the next line.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
If it's well written, that line makes sense if you
said something and then and I'm present, and then it's
like you would trigger something in me to make that's
the line that I need to say now. And you
learn them, of course, you learn them, you know, and
then you kind of let them dance, you know, because
I believe it a writer. I love what writers do
(30:32):
when they say when they write something that's kind of
awkward to me, and I'm like, I like that because
I would like to say it this way. This is
the way Kyle would say. I'm like, you're not Kyle
in this moment. Let's let's let whatever that line is
tweak you in a certain way and maybe that'll you'll
go somewhere else. You know. It's so hard to do,
(30:52):
and I haven't. It took me a while, you know,
when I first started this, none of this was like
making sense to me, or I was just too scared
and then unscared. I just I don't know, I don't know.
I think I just got older and I just said,
you know what I mean, I don't care anymore, you know,
And it's a weird way you sort of lose that
math whatever.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Another blessing and a curse is when you don't care anymore. Yeah,
it's it's nice to feel fear. Yes, Like it was
nice for me to have a little bit of nerves
coming here today. Yeah, you know, because I haven't felt
nervous in a minute. And it feels good to be
nervous because it feels like you're growing.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
You should always do something that you just you don't
really think you don't want to do. You don't think.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
You do, and I think that's legendary to just do
something if you're scared of it.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Anyways, and I want to try your wine.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
You will.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I know that I have one there, but I've recently become.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
I wasn't sure if you were a red red wine
drinker or a white wine.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I'm white and orange, okay, perfect, I have my short
yeah for you.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
And I'm like irish and Hawaiian.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
And seeing combination.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
So my dad's Irish okay, and then my mom a Hawaiian,
which is a mix of like Malaysian, Korean, all.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Of these different things, okay.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
And that's my nationality, not that anybody asked. In Marina
del Rey, they lived on a boat. Yeah, and then
they had me, and then they had to move.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Off the boat.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
The sailboat.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Both life is nice boat life.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
I would love to find some sort of calmness in
my life like that.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
One day.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Was he born here?
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Yeah, my dad was born here and then lived in
Ireland in the States. Because I told you my grandpa
was on two episodes.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Of Twin Peaks. You did not tell me that.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
Well, we had twenty minutes. There was a lot going on,
but yeah, you did tell me that he.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Was an actor and he was on two episodes of
Twin Peaks. Towards the end he played one of the
villains and he gets blown up in the bank.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah, remember that's him.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Oh my funny world, that's yes, that's my grand grandfather, Okay,
Dan Harley and then the creative Yes, I think from him.
From him, he was a Thespian and my uncle also
was in it too. Another villain okay, redheaded Irish guy.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Anyways, small worlds and now and now we're besties, yes,
and we are and neighbors.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Yes, we are and neighbors too.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Yeah, we are neighbors, which is even better.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
I found that out when I went and dropped off
that print, which.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Was lovely you do, oh my god. Of course, very very.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Sweet physical media.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
You took a beautiful photo and then framed it and
dropped it off. It's very very kind. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
I love physical media. I love things that you can touch.
With all of this, it's nice to balance it out and.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
That means something. Yeah, Like I think a gift from
something that's important to you that you give to someone
lives on.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
One hundred percent. It was such an honor. Yeah, yeah,
to shoot you. It really was, thank you.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
But I just shot in New York. Margaret Quality. She
was fabulous. If I when I directed my I would
love to put her in it. She was super inspiring
and I love her choices as well. I think the
substance was great. I think if I were to direct
a film, it would be maybe my short film would
be the movie Horror on purpose, you're gonna.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Call it horror on purpose? That would be the title.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
No, No, I have so many in my notes up,
I have so many different ideas, but I think it
would probably be horror, thriller, maybe mystery combined.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Let's play a game.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
It's not a clean xtbox but kind of like it's
sort of a reference to the movie seven You're em
with bad pits in the box, something not pretty pleasant. Yeah,
these are just some some questions and some things to
think about, you know, so whatever, and they will they will,
they will inspire some kind of a idea, Yeah, an
idea that we can talk about.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
But Kyle will do it too.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Trade offs like it kind of looks like the burn book.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
Me.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Girl's a little bit that extremely right, it's very fetch.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Very good. All right, do you want to go?
Speaker 3 (35:07):
You go first?
Speaker 1 (35:07):
You want to go first?
Speaker 3 (35:09):
I gotta I gotta see what's happening about?
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Okay, Okay, so this is question. Okay, how do you ponder?
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Oh my god, if I ponder alone? Yes, I ponder alone. Okay,
I love to be alone.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Do you do you is there like a place or
do you sit? Or do you walk?
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Or do you I have a sauna blanket. I like
to ponder at my saun a blanket.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
I like to ponder in my living room. I like
to ponder in my backyard. But I have to be alone.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
That's the number one.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Yeah, yeah, very important. Yeah, I find I do that
also alone. But I'm in my garden and I and
I love my garden and it's a place place of solace,
you know, it's it's kind of must be. I'm ord
to what you know, when David meditates and the ideas
come up. By doing something else, free your mind and
(36:06):
an idea will come up and be like, oh and
I'll just either record it or write something down. Yeah, yeah,
I come. That's just like, oh, something came up. Sometimes
driving and driving too oh.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Yes, then you can't write it down.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
It's hard. You have to rest the.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Wondering, and sometimes pondering gets out of control.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
I have so.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
Many things happening up here, yes, and I'm I need
to get it out.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Do you ponder visually? Is that how you do you
see things? First? You see them?
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Or do you I ponder both ways like audio okay
and visually visually number one Okay.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
I'm a very visual person.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Yeah, extremely, that would be that would be my number one.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Yeah. Do you see it visually? Does it come to
you visually first? Or is there a sound or is
it a piece of music or it's like like you're like, oh,
I'm going to create it.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
It's it's a visual. It's a visual. It's a definite visual.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
And then I write it down on my and my
notes app and sometimes it's copy that will inspire it.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
So reading a lot is inspiring.
Speaker 4 (37:11):
I'm reading this book right now, call them I'm with
the Band by Pamela de bar Oh.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
I remember that one. We read that I remember a
long time ago.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
Yeah, for the first time, and I am it's so
inspired by the way that she writes because it's just
like a diary and basically.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Yeah, but it's rock and roll yeah, and it's super fun.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
And then I get little tidbits and vignettes from that, Okay,
and I read that little bit yeah, as David.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
So happens to me too if I'm reading his script.
Let's see, I get a script for reading it. And
I was like, I already start. I feel the alchemy working.
It's like when a sponge like you start, it starts
soaking the water and you start go, oh, I'm starting
to I'm starting to fill this a little bit, you
know what I mean. It's like, but I don't even
have yet. So I got like, no, don't let it
get because I'm working out something else. Don't let this
(38:01):
you know what I mean? You got to like keeping.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
That's the thing, trying to separate the two things. That's
hard for me.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
Me too, That is hard for me, Like when I
have multiple projects.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Going on, it it's hard to because this one starts
to become really really exciting and.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Then you get invested in that one thing and then
my brain is too small now to do that.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
I would not say that at all, right, And I
asked you, yeah, we can talk, and we can.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
I can't fit, but their great rings. Okay, oh this
is a good one.
Speaker 4 (38:37):
Okay, what was your last dream about.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
I walk with you? I you know, if it's a
particularly impactful dream, I'll wake up and it'll be I'll remember,
I remember it.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
I have the same dream.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
I have the same not the same dream, but the
same anxiety. I have a lot of anxiety dreams. Things
like you're trying to get somewhere, You're trying to make
something work. You're trying to rarely. Is it something where
I'm flying? You know how nice would that be.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
It's like suppressed fears coming out while you're sleeping.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
I have this theory that I live. You know, you
live your life and all the things that you don't
want to deal with, you know, you whatever, three o'clock
in the morning, four o'clock in the morning, they come
knocking on your door or knocking on your brain, and
they're like, you didn't want to deal with us, but
(39:43):
now we're going to wake you up. And you really
are a piece of shit. You know, you really are
a horrible person. You really have no talent, you really
are Every negative thing comes in. So I tell you
what I do. I say, Okay, I know why you're here,
I said, but I have something for you. I have gradtitude.
I have gratitude for my son. I have gratitude for
(40:05):
how I live. I have gratitude for what I'm able
to do. I have gratitude for the flowers in my garden.
I have gratitude for I have two dogs. And I
just start I just this is how I sort of
these are my my ammunition to sort of work against
all of that. Just gratitude. I just say no, but
I'm very great. I'm so grateful for this. I'm so
grateful for this, and it actually helps.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
That's such good advice.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
I don't know, try try it.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
That is really such good advice.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Because everybody gets those.
Speaker 4 (40:33):
Told me to do that recently when I was feeling
down in the dump. But yeah, I do think gratitude
can overpower those anxious feelings sometimes close that door, because
in reality, I never thought I would even be at
this place in my career, which is very important to me,
and get to be in love and live in Laurel Canyon.
Speaker 3 (40:56):
There's so much to be grateful for.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Okay, here we go. Favorite line from TV or film.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
Oh my god, oh god.
Speaker 4 (41:05):
That is a really like put on a spot type
of thing, one.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Of those did anything pop in your head? Or do
you want to or not?
Speaker 4 (41:11):
No?
Speaker 3 (41:11):
No, no, I have something.
Speaker 4 (41:13):
Okay, but it's like really scary and it's just from
my favorite movie. Oh oh wait, no, it's a monologue
and I can't recite it.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Oh the whole monologue is Oh well, what's it from?
Speaker 4 (41:26):
It's from Opening Night, okay, John Cassavetti's Oh I think
it's the Opening monologue, and I think it's a narrator,
and I think it's Gina, and she's speaking about how
when she was seventeen, her emotions were so close to
the surface that she could feel everything, and she was
(41:46):
so creative at that point in her life, and all
of her emotions were easily accessible, and now she doesn't
have that anymore. This is me paraphrasing the monologue.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Yeah, but that's very sad.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
It sticks with me.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yeah, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
Okay, Now I ask you, okay.
Speaker 4 (42:03):
Would you rather adopt and raise one horse sized cat
or a dozen cat sized horses?
Speaker 1 (42:11):
One horse sized cat or god.
Speaker 4 (42:15):
A dozen cat sized horses.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
So two things popped into my mind. A dozen cat
sized horses would be I'm reminded of the quote the
Queen Mab speech that Mercutio has, and he talks about
all the elves in the forest and they're all there,
and this is how they're going through your brain, speaking
of dreams. It's all about dreams, and so you could
you could say we could actually bring that to life.
(42:42):
Or think about a horse sized cat. No one would
ever bother you again. You could walk with a cat
anywhere you go. You could ride the cat.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
You couldn't bring the cat on a plane, though, could.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Not bring the count on the plane. That's true. I
want to thank you for coming, thanks for the conversation
and really really enjoyed it. I need to ask you
one quick thing. Yes, the next project. What's happening? What's
exciting you?
Speaker 3 (43:03):
I have a couple of things.
Speaker 4 (43:05):
I don't know when this is coming out, but my
Cosmo cover with Margaret Quality just came out.
Speaker 3 (43:10):
Go check it out.
Speaker 4 (43:11):
And I have a self portraite book coming out named
I Used to Be Cool and.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
It's all my characters I've done over the past ten years.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Is this the first time we get to see the
character first? Oh my god? Okay, that's must Yes, that's
a musk.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Yes. So it's almost done being designed now and then
it should be coming out around September October.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Okay, Oh I'm excited about that. Yeah. That's be good.
Good good Christmas?
Speaker 3 (43:32):
Yes, good Christmas. Gift a table book?
Speaker 1 (43:35):
Yeah, for all you creatives out there and more. Yes,
that's wonderful. I got to keep gotta keep going.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
You got to stay alive.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
I got to stay alive. You're busy too, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
The second he's not doing stuff I think is when
you start dying anyways.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
But we shouldn't end on that now.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
I think that's the perfect Just keep.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Keep surfing, keep surfing.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Keep Thank you for having me. This is so fun.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
I want to thank you so much. It's been a
real pleasure.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
Yeah, it's my pleasure. This is so great.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
I'm glad. What Are We Even Doing is a production
of iHeartMedia and the Elvis Duran podcast Network, hosted by
me Kyle McLachlin and created and produced by Full Picture
productionists Yay, featuring music by Yata and artwork by Danica Robinson.
For more information about the podcast, please visit our Instagram
(44:24):
and TikTok at wawed with Kyle. Please rate, review, and
subscribe to What Are We Even Doing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
or anywhere you get your podcasts. Exclamation point
What are we even doing?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What are we even doing?
Speaker 1 (00:09):
We're here talking with Alana? Oh harleah? Did I pronounce
that properly? Thank you very much. On the podcast, this
is what are we even doing? I'm Kyle McLaughlin, your
host for the evening. We are going to talk with actors, photographers, musicians,
creatives of all types and you fit many of those categories. Yes,
(00:30):
And we're going to just discuss about the creative process,
which is very interesting to me. So buckle up, hang on,
here we go. What are we even doing?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
What are we even doing?
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Hi, guys, welcome, Welcome Alana. It's so nice.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
This is so fun. I'm so glad. But before we
get to that, I wanted to ask you something. What
is your core memory when you realized that you were
going to do what you're doing now? Was there a
moment in your life? Was it a culmination?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
I think that there was a scary moment when I
dropped out of college okay, where I said to myself,
I have to make this work and I don't have
a backup plan, and for me, backup plans are hindering.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
So that moment was scary.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
And I made sure in that moment I would do
whatever it takes to make it happen. Basically, I was
about twenty two.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
You had a passion. I'm guessing so there was something
you really wanted to do. Yes, I'm guessing photography or
something in that.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
I went to school for Photo and Media Studies persons okay,
okay for year and a half, and then I dropped
out because basically they have this rule where if you
miss more than three classes, you automatically fail.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
So I said, that's really harsh.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, it's intense.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
That's really harsh, especially for a creative Yeah, I think
it's intense.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
But I started working, so I started getting gigs and
so then I had to start missing school. And I
said to my teachers, hey, listen, I might have to
start missing some classes. Is that okay? And they basically
said no. And then I dropped out. And then I
started doing a bunch of other steps that kind of
(02:10):
got me where I am now.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
But that moment was the kind.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Of that was a turning point for you.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, yeah, the catalyst the universe.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Was maybe speaking to you. I'm thinking, just because you
are already doing what you love to do and you
have a very specific way of working that is yours
and yours alone.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yes, thank you.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
I want to ask you about specifically about your self portraiture, Yes,
which I find fascinating for a number of reasons. Obviously
your expression of you. It fulfills a need, but it's
also part of your process for other work that you do.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
My Self portraiture is my art, Okay, That's how I
see it. That's how I move that part of my brain,
that's how I move that muscle in my body, which
is so important to the rest of my work. Because
when you start shooting a lot of commercial gigs, you'll
see it's.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Very convoluted, very stressful.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Sometimes your vision can get watered down sometimes, which is
what you have to do sometimes to pay the rent.
Unfortunately understood, which I bet you probably I understand.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I understand your.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Career and your incredible career that I adore so much.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
I'm such a big fan of you, seriously.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So kind of really, I feel like we have this
kindred thing. Certainly a great appreciation for my mentor David
Lynch and his process, and from your work, of course,
I can see so much of the influence there, and
I think so much of the artist's way. Yeah, I
think in your work, where it's very pure, it's very specific,
(03:43):
it's very you. Yeah, you know, and I think, as
you said, you're probably most fulfilled by the self portraiture
because it's coming from me.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
I love David May rest in peace. Oh I'm like,
I'm so sad. I never got to meet him, but
then he passed away on my birthday, yes sixteenth, yes,
this year, and then I shot you what two months later.
It was just such a weird kismet full circle experience.
But yeah, the self portrature fills that void that I
(04:14):
get from doing the commercial work. I found that in
life and in my work, you should exploit your imperfections,
and that's kind of what I do with the characters
that I create with my self portraiture, and David does
with his his work, which is like character studies.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Very very similar. You're absolutely right, and that's the inspiration,
I think. And he follows his own path one hundred percent.
That's one of his things, and I think that's probably
what you respond to as well.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I Shawn interview for Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Just completely dedicated to that. And he lived the artist's life,
you know, which is always what he wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
But the purity of me, I'm like, how do you
get to that point to be able to say this
is the way that I'm doing it and you can't
tell me otherwise, And how.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Do you get to that point?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
He had a very gentle way of doing it most
of the time.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I'm so curious how did he do that?
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, I mean as an outside observer, I would watch
him and he was he just was very methodical in
his approach. I mean you can see it when people
ask him about his work, he just will say, I'm
not telling you or no, I have no answer, right.
He just follows what's inside with no judgment, which is
(05:30):
where I think there's a similarity there. You you were
also and you said it before, with your imperfections. There's
no judgment, and it's the one thing I think. I
know acting was something you were interesting as well, and
I think it's the same thing. When you approach a character,
there is no judgment. You have to understand who that
person is and create a flawed being and there's no
(05:51):
you can't polish up the edges, you know, which I
find so compelling in what you do, and they're there
are these beautiful drops of exceptional expression. I think, oh,
when I see what you do.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Where is there a place where that might have come
from originate?
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Or yeah, what what do you think? Oh God, I.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Went to Catholic school for nine years. I really did. Okay,
so that's where it comes from.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
No, but there's there's a rebellious spirit within me that
was innate when I was.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Six, when you're little, yeah, okay, when I.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
Was in Catholic school and I was told this is Jesus,
this is the way and no judgment. I As I
get older, I'm like, I need something spiritual right to
grab onto.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I don't know what that is, right, but I am
looking for me.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
It's not God personally, but that kind of rebellious spirit
made me curious, and that is kind of where that
came from.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
I think, because I feel like you do approach a
spiritual place in your work.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You know, because you're so I like things to be messy,
but you're so vulnerable and you're so exposed, and I
think it's one of the things. And this is kind
of a big leap. But I think today social media
this is a huge generalization, but I feel like there
is less emphasis on perfection, on modeled on expectation, and
(07:13):
more emphasis on this is me, Yeah, with all of
the you know mess, and it's more accept I feel
more accepted now, certainly from when I was growing up.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Well, I really so, You're like, it's like a journey.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
And I have wonderful help I have wonderful helpers.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
It's it's so good. It's true.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
The Internet wants you to be honest, and I think
for me, the best work is the most intimate work.
So how do I find that intimate place in me,
whether it's from my childhood, or it's from a breakup,
or it's from a commercial job where I just had
a really intense you know, outcome or situation that really
pissed me off. How can I use that to fuel
(07:57):
my next character? And it's either I'm going to find
a version of myself that has existed within me over
the past however many decades exaggerate that to the nth degree,
you know, and.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Make it the most insane, crazy thing.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
But it's ritualistic. Yeah, it's a ritual.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
What it is.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
It is It's like therapy.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Kind of yeah, therapy for me, but it's a healthy therapy.
It's like you're getting this out in your art.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Another part of what I do with the characters is
things that I don't understand intrigue me. People that I
don't understand intrigue me. How do I find out more
about that type of person, that type of character by
becoming them or by becoming who I think they are?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Like a Karen do you know?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Karen?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Is I do? I do? I know?
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, So I don't understand that, So let me se.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Well, this is the actress process. You're talking about the
actress process.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
I think, okay, so I should just change careers.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
No, well, do everything you can, you can do anything,
But I feel like that's part of it, and in fact,
there are I mean, I remember studying years ago Laura
Dern you know, yeah, you know Lord. On course, we
went to a class Sounder seacat class. Yeah, Sounder has
recently passed, sadly, and part of his class involved creating
(09:18):
a ritual, which is, you know, you have music, you
have symbols, you have movement, but it's all done in
a in a repetitive manner. And the idea was to
really not purge necessarily, but at least get in touch
with a very deep, deep emotion, something that you're uncomfortable with,
something you're embarrassed about, something you're you know. It's one
(09:40):
of those kind of moments of complete vulnerability right in
a class situation. And the class, thank god, was very
very nurturing and healthy. You know what I mean? What
you mean call the process takes you deeper. And I
see in your in your work. It's like I can
see you built a ritual. And then and I don't know,
(10:00):
I've never been there when you've done one of the
film this, there's someone who's filming you.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
I guess, well, I either have a chord, so.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Maybe it's even just okay.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
We'll have it.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
So it's just you.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
It's a shutter Okay. When I started, it was just me.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Okay, when I started, it was just me or me
and whatever boyfriend I had at the time. And now
it is put him to work, yeah of course, okay.
And now that my career has gotten bigger, I have
a bigger team, so I have more help, I have
more lights.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah, but you still feel completely it's still my vision.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
It's my Yeah, Yeah I am comfortable.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Yeah I like it. Yeah, I do like it. Yeah,
I think it's it is ritualistic. And when you speak
about that acting class, yeah, I'm like, should I go
to acting class?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
You have to be careful. It's a little bit like
your situation, I think Parsons. Yeah, because I started very young,
well young as in my twenties, and I didn't really
know anything. So I was kind of formed and I resisted.
I was like, you was like, yeah, I was. You know,
I learned to be what it's like to do, to
(11:08):
do repertory theater. Cut to actually entering the world and
you begin to then understand really what it's all about. Yes, yes,
and that is a lifelong process.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah. The school of life. Yeah, so cheesy, it's true.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
It's the older I get the y It's just and
but to be open to the experience is the most
important thing.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
But I also I had a question for you, Oh
my god, it pertained to this. What was that moment
in your career where you were kind of formed which
you just spoke to Yeah, you maybe had just taken
the opportunities that were set forth before you and that
kind of created your career. And then was there a
moment where you were like I'm not going to just
(11:54):
take what comes at me. I'm going to make a
conscious effort to say no to things, or pushed my
career in a different direction. Because your collaborators are insane.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I probably should have said no to it more, but
you lived long enough, and that was sort of a
full life experience.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
What was your first role?
Speaker 1 (12:14):
It was done yeah, with David in nineteen eighty three,
and that happened completely by accident. I was going to
do repertory theater. I was on my way to New York,
and then I auditioned and I ended up in LA
and I ended up in the movie. And I was like, wow,
this is crazy. Yeah, where are you from. I'm from
a little town in eastern Washington called Yakama, went to
school in Seattle.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
So he just plucked you out.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Yeah. I was literally doing a play in Seattle and
a casting agent had come through videotaped me, showed it
to David in LA and he said, oh, let's bring
him down to meet him, and then there you go.
But I had no really no sense of what it was.
I was doing film, etc. I was just this is amazing,
(12:56):
there's a role. I'm an actor. This is what you do,
you know, but no sense of the camera. Yeah, and
no really no real appreciation at that time for the work,
for the effort it takes for everyone else to get there.
I just kind of got handed this thing, and I
think it really affected me for a while. I was like, oh,
this is easy, right, right, And I just said, you know,
I had I did. We did Blue Velvet together thanks
(13:18):
to David, which was an amazing thing. So I'm like, oh,
I see how this works. You just show up and
do this thing, right. And then of course as the
career goes along and realized maybe not you know that
happened to me.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Yeah, and I'm still so young, but I had that moment.
Tell me, I just feel like, there's this moment in
my career. There was a moment where it was everything
was happening so fast, everything was exciting, and then with
the Internet, it's like, all on, you're killing it. You're
killing it because all of these things that I've been
(13:50):
working on for two, you know, years come out at
one time and then it's well received and then there's
a moment of stillness. And in that moment of still
ill for the first time of that's in that stillness
I'm like.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Am I ever going to work again? Am I ever
going to get a job again?
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
How do I maintain this life of creativity and it
being my job?
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And that's when I.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
First had that moment basically, and then I worked again,
of course, but it's a humbling experience.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You've started by your self portrait work before before, okay, but.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Then I filled that time with the things that matter,
which to me is the self portraiture and the storytelling.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
I mentioned about social media when everything started, Yeah, I've
embraced it. You've embraced it as another way to another
art form, starting way back with Twitter, I was so
because I love language, yes, and I was like, oh,
I want to say something kind of funny, but also
maybe you know something else, like more and I only
(14:59):
have one hundred and forty four or characters almost like
it was like a haikup right, you gotta do this thing,
but within a certain structure which I was I really liked,
and then I sort of went and expanded. It's like, ah,
i's of lost interest. You now you can do anything.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
When did you start doing all of it?
Speaker 1 (15:12):
This was a while ago.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
Now do you use it as a creative playground? Which
is why I think social media is fabulous.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
I found my way there. Yeah, I sort of felt
like I needed it. I felt like my some of
my Instagram early stuff is like kind of a not
not here, not now, not present. The exact word it
was called. It was past nostalgic, thank you, perfect word.
And I was like, I'm kind of bored with this.
And I was like and then that to the ladies
(15:42):
in the studio here and Maya.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Loving it so Far's he's the most fun because he
he he's down to.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Play exactly what you said, down to play.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Never is like what is it? He's just like, I'll
do it.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
What am I in a bathtub?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Hey, I was in the bathtub in Sex and the City.
I can be bathub I don't care. Yeah, it started with.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
So many different people with me in the room.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
And you you have so many This is the beauty
of it.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Yes, but back to the social media things. I have
so much to say about it.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yes, I want to hear more too, because I do
feel it's a playground. I am not looking to you know,
it's just it's a way to create something within another
structure with fun, have a laugh, maybe a little think
that's it.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
It's a blessing.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
It's a curse for artists my age coming up in
this time.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
We are so lucky, I want to hear.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
We are so lucky to have these tools at our
fingertips to share our work at a click of a button.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
How lucky.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Because I think seventy of being successful as a creative is.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Doing it, putting it out there. Just put it out there.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Because I know a lot of people who maybe think
they're creative or they want to be creative, and then
they make these things and then they get scared or
nervous or worried about the perception of that work. Sure,
and that is the problem.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I think. Not everyone's going to like what you make.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
I agree all the time.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
I agree that's not art.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I agree you have to it's.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
You, right, Yeah, you have to make what is intimate
to you, the story that you want to tell, and
then if people don't like it, fuck them, you know, sorry, And.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
If they do, then great.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
But if you put it out there, then I think
that's a success in itself. And I think it's a
it's a curse because the life span of art and
the attention span of people on the internet is so short.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
But I also feel if it speaks to someone, it
will have value. But I know what you mean, because
it's so quick to turn the page, You know what
I mean. But I want to believe in my heart
that if you make something that has that stops people
like WHOA like your work like whoa, there's a lot
going on here, There's a lot to unpack here. Yeah,
(18:12):
that then a little more time will be spent on that.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
It's about creating these snack sized moments.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I like snack size that's.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
That the audience can nibble on or grab onto and
having them.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Stay for the whole meal.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
So that's kind of how you get around the social
media of it all. It's like, how do I create
this snack size moment to get them hooked and then
get them to stay around for the meal and maybe
get them to pay attention to this thing for more
than twelve hours.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, you have to start directing.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Yeah, I would love that. Yeah, that would be That
is a dream.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah that it should be a dream. That should be
a dream of yours. That is because you are already creating.
You already have a sense of character. Yeah, when we
work together and where you came in it was. It
was like the fastest shoot I've ever done. You came in,
you had a couple of props, things, an idea, but
what you want to do kind of an homage to
some of the photos from the from my past. Yes,
and then you you did exactly what David does. You
(19:09):
came into my backspace and for some reason, I had
this plastic covered remember this plastic on my table in
the back and I was like, I was like, oh,
I'm so sorry about this. We were you know, we
put it up here because it's so dusty, and I like,
blah blah blah, but it looked like we covered our couchs. No,
I said, you said keep that, keep that. And then
you put me at one end of the table was
a long table and with it with the milkshake and
(19:32):
did the photo. And I was like, I'm going to
like this person.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
I knew because it was a crazy shoe.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
It's David. It's how David works. He grabbed something like, yeah,
it was.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Like that seventies cell aphane furniture covered thing that you
had on your dining table.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
And it works the reflection.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
Yeah, yeah, because you used it that it gave you.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yeah, it's so funny when I shot you.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
So when I shoot for Planciaga, they basically hold me
a week before and they're like, we need you on
this day to shoot the Vanity Fair Oscars thing. Well,
I'm not gonna We're not gonna tell you who it is.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
So they don't tell me until about twelve hours before.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Okay who it is? Or twenty four hours I guess.
I don't really know.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
I think that they hold the photographers, then they must
have the list of talent, and then someone kind of
plays connect the dots. Maybe twenty four hours before. Yeah,
they told me twenty four hours before. And my agent
said to me, why did you want to shoot Calmaglaughlin.
I was like, of course, like a dream, I'm going
(20:41):
and we're gonna get Bob's big boys. And I called
my assistants and they were like, you have twenty minutes.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Like to shoot. Yeah, they said, oh my god. That's
why I was rushing, Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
Because they were like, you have twenty minutes before he
goes to the carpet to shoot.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Okaya had have me on dress and ready to go.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
This is the other bummer about social media. Yeah, yeah,
is the time I.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Get to shoot.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
People become shorter and shorter and shorter because the content
clients require is so robust.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yeah yeah, yeah, I need a lot.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Budgets get tighter, timing gets tighter.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Yeah, and the demand is high.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Well, there's the constraints.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
When I shot you, I was like to my assistant,
I said, listen, I would rather have twenty minutes to
just chat with him over shooting him.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
That would be my preference. And now look at where
we are.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Here, we are it worked out, It worked out beautiful.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I got both.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
You were fast, and you were very particular and you're
very specific. Yes, and I just and I love the
way you spoke in terms of because what you do
is obviously you have the photos and then you work
with them and you use the textures around, other things
around to enhance the photo, which I think is just brilliant. Yes,
I love that.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
I love to plan.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, yeah, I love to.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
Make a story. I love to use the set. Yeah,
vital Yeah, this the sets are insane incredible. Where did
you shoot dune?
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Dune was all shot in Mexico, well, Mexico City, on
sound stages there at old sound stages from the way back.
The Churubusco Studios. They were so beautiful. That's so beautiful. Yeah,
you have to shoot there. They're spectacular.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Like if I could direct a movie, it would be
all on a sound stage.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Yeah, painted, hand painted.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
This is exactly what we did because they brought in
crafts people of Mexican crafts people, Italian crafts people, and
they built these giant, practical sets. These were not things
that moved around our little corners. These were like giant
sets that they actually built inside giant studios. It's dream
So the patina was insane as an.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Actor, as the best actor, do you.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Have a different I guess experience with a physical set,
a practice set, then green screen the screen.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Yeah, it really helps.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Fairly recently we shot Fallout, the first season to Fallout,
and we had a thing called the volume stack. Yeah yeah,
lovely lovely, lovely guy. And this was a projected or
computer screen backdrop. So it's just a million screens slaves
together to make whatever vista they've programmed.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
How big is it huge?
Speaker 1 (23:27):
It's a sound stage. Yeah, it's just it's like a
jumbo tron wrapped around the sound stage, or at least
to three quarters of a sound stage.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Could you see it?
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah, okay, you can see it. There's a there's the
main camera, and then everything is to the resolution for
the main camera, and then they have a couple of
slave cameras, but they have to stay within the confines
because as that camera moves, because it takes so much power.
It's a very cool thing and so you feel like
you're in this world, which as an actor. Look around.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
You're so good at using the future to your advantage
and learning it. You're around the same age as my father,
and he learned.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Forty five.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
He doesn't super young.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
But I think I wonder what the conversations are with
you and your friends around social media.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
My friends, my age. Yeah, it's it's different. Yeah, my brother,
it's so weird because I think of it as a
it's a creative playground, you know what I mean. Like
for me, this is kind of what it's like if
I'm not working, I'm like, oh, I want to let's
let's do something fun, let's make and and some great
ideas come from from Anne and Mya and Nora from
Full Pictures. Oh yeah, they're they're critical.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I'm like, huge fans of you too.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
They're critical.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
That's fat can we have a meeting? What else do
you guys know about?
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Like that one that one photo of you on the
floor with your legs out with the.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
With the Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah it is. That photo
will live forever, thank you.
Speaker 4 (24:59):
That was That is a forever picture. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
It's sent around in group chats. It's very very popular.
Memes are meming.
Speaker 4 (25:10):
Yeah, the memes are very much meming. But I think
it's it's so important.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
They're brilliant, They're they're super brilliant.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
How long have you guys been working together?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
How long have you been? Kyle is my work dad
to two years.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
But like honestly since two thousand and six.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, we're going to do it for a long time.
We have. We go way way back, but we start
all through my wife. She's the she's the mastermind. Is
how could one not be obsessed with Jack Nicholson. I'm
(25:48):
curious to hear what what's the appeal there for you?
What's the what's the connecting point? Is there? Is it one?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
At first I think it was just the last thing.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
Probably the first time I saw him, I was probably
just set, you know, like holy you know, this man
is gorgeous and then I got into the discography, if
you will, of Jack and and and Stanley, and then
Cuckoo's Nest and obviously the Shining, which is if I
(26:18):
were to do a letterbox top four, which you've done.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Yeah, I have a good one.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
It's very hard.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
That's a great one.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
That for me is like I know for a fact,
without a doubt, he would be up there. But this
is what I think about movie stars sometimes. I think
sometimes when you become a movie star movie star exclamation point,
it's hard to get people to separate you from the
character unless you're really good. And I think he is
(26:49):
really good at that. I think that I can see
him in any villain that he plays or hero Cuckoo's Nest.
I think he plays a hero and believe him and
not know.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
That it's Jack.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
I've never met him, I know his family. I don't
ever want to meet him, you.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Know, it's like, don't meet your heroes.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Don't meet your heroes. Except for when I met you.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
There's been a couple of good experiences, handful, maybe five.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
I'll bet he would actually be the real deal. Yeah, complicated, certainly,
but I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (27:26):
You might end up getting married and divorced in the
first month, nobody knows.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
There you go, but just you know that just more
life experience exactly. You know. There's there are some actors
you know that come in and they have the thing
and they want to do it a certain way and
that's the way they're going to do it, and that's it.
Jack's not like one of those people come in and
he works and he's like, I can do it like this,
or we can go all that way, we can go
this way over here, or we can do this like this.
And when you look at his early performances, thinking back
(27:53):
to like easy writers, certainly five Easy Pieces as well,
which is one of my favorites, et cetera, et cetera,
et cetera. And I keep going back to this side
of character, creating a character, finding that inside of you.
I mean, some of the vulnerability and five easy pieces,
some of the brava, the brashness, and five easy pieces
like this all Jack, you know, but he lets that out.
(28:14):
And there's a lot of actors, I think, certainly from
that generation that want you to see them a certain way,
I think, and I think.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
It's worse now maybe, but that's you tell me you're
never than me.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
I can't exactly, but I think the coming generations is
exciting because and I go back to social and social
internets and there is a this is me, Timothy, It's
just is me. Is who I am? You know what
I mean? And you know I mean. He's careful about
what he puts out of.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, But he is honest.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
He's honest and you can see that. I think so,
and I think that's why you were drawn to him
as well.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Part of what makes you successful, But I think part
of that has to be not caring so much about
how you're perceived. And I think the more that you care,
the more invested you get with your perception, the worse
the work will be.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
You've said it perfectly. I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
It's like Jack, let go of that, and maybe that's
why the work is so good. How do you let
go of that and just become open. I have always
been a confident person. I believe it, but I have
a lot of friends that I love and adore that aren't.
You can't help someone find that, Yeah, you have to
(29:37):
find that on your own.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
You are confident, You are confident, and yet you know
you can be nervous, you can be uncertain, you know,
all those kind of things, but ultimately you believe I'll
just let me be here, yeah, and that andres will
be present. Let's be present. That's the best acting. Be present. Listen, talk, listen, Yeah,
(30:05):
and be present.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
But isn't it hard to be present when you're thinking
about the next line.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
If it's well written, that line makes sense if you
said something and then and I'm present, and then it's
like you would trigger something in me to make that's
the line that I need to say now. And you
learn them, of course, you learn them, you know, and
then you kind of let them dance, you know, because
I believe it a writer. I love what writers do
(30:32):
when they say when they write something that's kind of
awkward to me, and I'm like, I like that because
I would like to say it this way. This is
the way Kyle would say. I'm like, you're not Kyle
in this moment. Let's let's let whatever that line is
tweak you in a certain way and maybe that'll you'll
go somewhere else. You know. It's so hard to do,
(30:52):
and I haven't. It took me a while, you know,
when I first started this, none of this was like
making sense to me, or I was just too scared
and then unscared. I just I don't know, I don't know.
I think I just got older and I just said,
you know what I mean, I don't care anymore, you know,
And it's a weird way you sort of lose that
math whatever.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Another blessing and a curse is when you don't care anymore. Yeah,
it's it's nice to feel fear. Yes, Like it was
nice for me to have a little bit of nerves
coming here today. Yeah, you know, because I haven't felt
nervous in a minute. And it feels good to be
nervous because it feels like you're growing.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
You should always do something that you just you don't
really think you don't want to do. You don't think.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
You do, and I think that's legendary to just do
something if you're scared of it.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Anyways, and I want to try your wine.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
You will.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I know that I have one there, but I've recently become.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
I wasn't sure if you were a red red wine
drinker or a white wine.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I'm white and orange, okay, perfect, I have my short
yeah for you.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
And I'm like irish and Hawaiian.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
And seeing combination.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
So my dad's Irish okay, and then my mom a Hawaiian,
which is a mix of like Malaysian, Korean, all.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Of these different things, okay.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
And that's my nationality, not that anybody asked. In Marina
del Rey, they lived on a boat. Yeah, and then
they had me, and then they had to move.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Off the boat.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
The sailboat.
Speaker 1 (32:19):
Both life is nice boat life.
Speaker 4 (32:21):
I would love to find some sort of calmness in
my life like that.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
One day.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
Was he born here?
Speaker 4 (32:26):
Yeah, my dad was born here and then lived in
Ireland in the States. Because I told you my grandpa
was on two episodes.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Of Twin Peaks. You did not tell me that.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
Well, we had twenty minutes. There was a lot going on,
but yeah, you did tell me that he.
Speaker 4 (32:38):
Was an actor and he was on two episodes of
Twin Peaks. Towards the end he played one of the
villains and he gets blown up in the bank.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah, remember that's him.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Oh my funny world, that's yes, that's my grand grandfather, Okay,
Dan Harley and then the creative Yes, I think from him.
From him, he was a Thespian and my uncle also
was in it too. Another villain okay, redheaded Irish guy.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Anyways, small worlds and now and now we're besties, yes,
and we are and neighbors.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Yes, we are and neighbors too.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Yeah, we are neighbors, which is even better.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
I found that out when I went and dropped off
that print, which.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Was lovely you do, oh my god. Of course, very very.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Sweet physical media.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
You took a beautiful photo and then framed it and
dropped it off. It's very very kind. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
I love physical media. I love things that you can touch.
With all of this, it's nice to balance it out and.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
That means something. Yeah, Like I think a gift from
something that's important to you that you give to someone
lives on.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
One hundred percent. It was such an honor. Yeah, yeah,
to shoot you. It really was, thank you.
Speaker 4 (33:53):
But I just shot in New York. Margaret Quality. She
was fabulous. If I when I directed my I would
love to put her in it. She was super inspiring
and I love her choices as well. I think the
substance was great. I think if I were to direct
a film, it would be maybe my short film would
be the movie Horror on purpose, you're gonna.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Call it horror on purpose? That would be the title.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
No, No, I have so many in my notes up,
I have so many different ideas, but I think it
would probably be horror, thriller, maybe mystery combined.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Let's play a game.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
It's not a clean xtbox but kind of like it's
sort of a reference to the movie seven You're em
with bad pits in the box, something not pretty pleasant. Yeah,
these are just some some questions and some things to
think about, you know, so whatever, and they will they will,
they will inspire some kind of a idea, Yeah, an
idea that we can talk about.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
But Kyle will do it too.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Trade offs like it kind of looks like the burn book.
Speaker 4 (35:00):
Me.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Girl's a little bit that extremely right, it's very fetch.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Very good. All right, do you want to go?
Speaker 3 (35:07):
You go first?
Speaker 1 (35:07):
You want to go first?
Speaker 3 (35:09):
I gotta I gotta see what's happening about?
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Okay, Okay, so this is question. Okay, how do you ponder?
Speaker 3 (35:20):
Oh my god, if I ponder alone? Yes, I ponder alone. Okay,
I love to be alone.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Do you do you is there like a place or
do you sit? Or do you walk?
Speaker 4 (35:32):
Or do you I have a sauna blanket. I like
to ponder at my saun a blanket.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
I like to ponder in my living room. I like
to ponder in my backyard. But I have to be alone.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
That's the number one.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Yeah, yeah, very important. Yeah, I find I do that
also alone. But I'm in my garden and I and
I love my garden and it's a place place of solace,
you know, it's it's kind of must be. I'm ord
to what you know, when David meditates and the ideas
come up. By doing something else, free your mind and
(36:06):
an idea will come up and be like, oh and
I'll just either record it or write something down. Yeah, yeah,
I come. That's just like, oh, something came up. Sometimes
driving and driving too oh.
Speaker 3 (36:16):
Yes, then you can't write it down.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
It's hard. You have to rest the.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Wondering, and sometimes pondering gets out of control.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
I have so.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
Many things happening up here, yes, and I'm I need
to get it out.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
Do you ponder visually? Is that how you do you
see things? First? You see them?
Speaker 4 (36:34):
Or do you I ponder both ways like audio okay
and visually visually number one Okay.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
I'm a very visual person.
Speaker 4 (36:43):
Yeah, extremely, that would be that would be my number one.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
Yeah. Do you see it visually? Does it come to
you visually first? Or is there a sound or is
it a piece of music or it's like like you're like, oh,
I'm going to create it.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
It's it's a visual. It's a visual. It's a definite visual.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
And then I write it down on my and my
notes app and sometimes it's copy that will inspire it.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
So reading a lot is inspiring.
Speaker 4 (37:11):
I'm reading this book right now, call them I'm with
the Band by Pamela de bar Oh.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
I remember that one. We read that I remember a
long time ago.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
Yeah, for the first time, and I am it's so
inspired by the way that she writes because it's just
like a diary and basically.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Yeah, but it's rock and roll yeah, and it's super fun.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
And then I get little tidbits and vignettes from that, Okay,
and I read that little bit yeah, as David.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
So happens to me too if I'm reading his script.
Let's see, I get a script for reading it. And
I was like, I already start. I feel the alchemy working.
It's like when a sponge like you start, it starts
soaking the water and you start go, oh, I'm starting
to I'm starting to fill this a little bit, you
know what I mean. It's like, but I don't even
have yet. So I got like, no, don't let it
get because I'm working out something else. Don't let this
(38:01):
you know what I mean? You got to like keeping.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
That's the thing, trying to separate the two things. That's
hard for me.
Speaker 4 (38:06):
Me too, That is hard for me, Like when I
have multiple projects.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
Going on, it it's hard to because this one starts
to become really really exciting and.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
Then you get invested in that one thing and then
my brain is too small now to do that.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
I would not say that at all, right, And I
asked you, yeah, we can talk, and we can.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
I can't fit, but their great rings. Okay, oh this
is a good one.
Speaker 4 (38:37):
Okay, what was your last dream about.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
I walk with you? I you know, if it's a
particularly impactful dream, I'll wake up and it'll be I'll remember,
I remember it.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
I have the same dream.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
I have the same not the same dream, but the
same anxiety. I have a lot of anxiety dreams. Things
like you're trying to get somewhere, You're trying to make
something work. You're trying to rarely. Is it something where
I'm flying? You know how nice would that be.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
It's like suppressed fears coming out while you're sleeping.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
I have this theory that I live. You know, you
live your life and all the things that you don't
want to deal with, you know, you whatever, three o'clock
in the morning, four o'clock in the morning, they come
knocking on your door or knocking on your brain, and
they're like, you didn't want to deal with us, but
(39:43):
now we're going to wake you up. And you really
are a piece of shit. You know, you really are
a horrible person. You really have no talent, you really
are Every negative thing comes in. So I tell you
what I do. I say, Okay, I know why you're here,
I said, but I have something for you. I have gradtitude.
I have gratitude for my son. I have gratitude for
(40:05):
how I live. I have gratitude for what I'm able
to do. I have gratitude for the flowers in my garden.
I have gratitude for I have two dogs. And I
just start I just this is how I sort of
these are my my ammunition to sort of work against
all of that. Just gratitude. I just say no, but
I'm very great. I'm so grateful for this. I'm so
grateful for this, and it actually helps.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
That's such good advice.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
I don't know, try try it.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
That is really such good advice.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Because everybody gets those.
Speaker 4 (40:33):
Told me to do that recently when I was feeling
down in the dump. But yeah, I do think gratitude
can overpower those anxious feelings sometimes close that door, because
in reality, I never thought I would even be at
this place in my career, which is very important to me,
and get to be in love and live in Laurel Canyon.
Speaker 3 (40:56):
There's so much to be grateful for.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
Okay, here we go. Favorite line from TV or film.
Speaker 3 (41:02):
Oh my god, oh god.
Speaker 4 (41:05):
That is a really like put on a spot type
of thing, one.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Of those did anything pop in your head? Or do
you want to or not?
Speaker 4 (41:11):
No?
Speaker 3 (41:11):
No, no, I have something.
Speaker 4 (41:13):
Okay, but it's like really scary and it's just from
my favorite movie. Oh oh wait, no, it's a monologue
and I can't recite it.
Speaker 1 (41:22):
Oh the whole monologue is Oh well, what's it from?
Speaker 4 (41:26):
It's from Opening Night, okay, John Cassavetti's Oh I think
it's the Opening monologue, and I think it's a narrator,
and I think it's Gina, and she's speaking about how
when she was seventeen, her emotions were so close to
the surface that she could feel everything, and she was
(41:46):
so creative at that point in her life, and all
of her emotions were easily accessible, and now she doesn't
have that anymore. This is me paraphrasing the monologue.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
Yeah, but that's very sad.
Speaker 3 (41:58):
It sticks with me.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yeah, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
Okay, Now I ask you, okay.
Speaker 4 (42:03):
Would you rather adopt and raise one horse sized cat
or a dozen cat sized horses?
Speaker 1 (42:11):
One horse sized cat or god.
Speaker 4 (42:15):
A dozen cat sized horses.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
So two things popped into my mind. A dozen cat
sized horses would be I'm reminded of the quote the
Queen Mab speech that Mercutio has, and he talks about
all the elves in the forest and they're all there,
and this is how they're going through your brain, speaking
of dreams. It's all about dreams, and so you could
you could say we could actually bring that to life.
(42:42):
Or think about a horse sized cat. No one would
ever bother you again. You could walk with a cat
anywhere you go. You could ride the cat.
Speaker 3 (42:50):
You couldn't bring the cat on a plane, though, could.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Not bring the count on the plane. That's true. I
want to thank you for coming, thanks for the conversation
and really really enjoyed it. I need to ask you
one quick thing. Yes, the next project. What's happening? What's
exciting you?
Speaker 3 (43:03):
I have a couple of things.
Speaker 4 (43:05):
I don't know when this is coming out, but my
Cosmo cover with Margaret Quality just came out.
Speaker 3 (43:10):
Go check it out.
Speaker 4 (43:11):
And I have a self portraite book coming out named
I Used to Be Cool and.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
It's all my characters I've done over the past ten years.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Is this the first time we get to see the
character first? Oh my god? Okay, that's must Yes, that's
a musk.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Yes. So it's almost done being designed now and then
it should be coming out around September October.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Okay, Oh I'm excited about that. Yeah. That's be good.
Good good Christmas?
Speaker 3 (43:32):
Yes, good Christmas. Gift a table book?
Speaker 1 (43:35):
Yeah, for all you creatives out there and more. Yes,
that's wonderful. I got to keep gotta keep going.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
You got to stay alive.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
I got to stay alive. You're busy too, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:45):
The second he's not doing stuff I think is when
you start dying anyways.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
But we shouldn't end on that now.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
I think that's the perfect Just keep.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
Keep surfing, keep surfing.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Keep Thank you for having me. This is so fun.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
I want to thank you so much. It's been a
real pleasure.
Speaker 3 (44:01):
Yeah, it's my pleasure. This is so great.
Speaker 1 (44:03):
I'm glad. What Are We Even Doing is a production
of iHeartMedia and the Elvis Duran podcast Network, hosted by
me Kyle McLachlin and created and produced by Full Picture
productionists Yay, featuring music by Yata and artwork by Danica Robinson.
For more information about the podcast, please visit our Instagram
(44:24):
and TikTok at wawed with Kyle. Please rate, review, and
subscribe to What Are We Even Doing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube,
or anywhere you get your podcasts. Exclamation point
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