Unlock the Vault w/ Melissa Joan Hart

Melissa joins Christine and David with some wild stories from throughout her career! Tales of Twisted Desire, a past with David, what roles she almost had, why she was getting sued and fired and who got replaced for being a no-show.

Plus, find out what celebrity told Melissa they have a crush on David!

*No talking cats appear in this podcast. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey Dude the Nineties Called with Christine Taylor and David Lasher. Hey, everybody,
welcome to the Hey Dude the Nineties Called podcast. I'm
David Lasher and I'm Christine Taylor, and we have a
really exciting guest, a sort of member of your television family. David. Yes, Yeah,

(00:22):
she's She's God you. We all have so much in common, uh,
you know, from our start at Nickelodeon. Um, but Melissa,
and you know, she has a production company called Heartbreak Films,
and she and her mom are such incredibly smart, entrepreneurial women.

(00:44):
And I don't know if many people know about that,
and I want to. I can't wait to get into
it with her. But you both are like family to me.
And this is and I've never met Melissa either, and
I I mean, of course I've watched her grow up
of the years and and our Nickelodeon connection, but I've
never met and I'm so excited. Oh my god, I

(01:05):
can't believe. Yeah, all right, let's let her in. Melissa
Joan Hart. Hi, guys, straight out of Nashville. What's up,
mel Hi? It is so nice to meet you. We
share a middle name in common. I am Christine Joan Taylor.
I didn't know that. Yes, so I've always felt a
kid and you. And when I first started working, I

(01:26):
was Christine Joan Taylor and then it just kind of disappeared.
I had to use that name for the screen actors, Gill,
because that's why I have to. Yeah, that's where my
middle name. But I like my grandmother's and I never Yes,
it's my mom's name too. I love it. There was
another Christine Taylor and another Melissa Hart in SAG Once

(01:47):
upon a Time. They're on another podcast talking right now.
So good to see you. Oh my gosh, David, I
am funny enough. I go on Wednesday mornings to I
will study with Danika mckeller, who said this morning that
she had such a crush on you. Dane from wondering

(02:08):
why she didn't tell me to tell you that she
had a crush on you, but oh tell her. I
I sent my regards. But it's so good to see you,
and we miss you out here. And let me just
start by saying we all have so much in common. Okay,
First of all, two of you, the two of you
are not just cast mates to me. You know, you're
like family to me. And and this is it just

(02:31):
makes me so happy. And we all started at Nickelodeon. Yeah,
so let's just you know, let's jump into that. You know,
Clarissa explains it all and how that came to be
and what you were doing at the time, and and
and how that changed your life. Yeah. I mean I
started when I was four doing commercials and so then, um,

(02:55):
you know, I was like known in elementary schools like
Rice Crispi's Girl or the Lifesavers Girl, and then um,
I did and then I did a lot of like
off Broadway because I couldn't sing, So I did like
a lot of off Broadway stuff and a lot of
the kids made fun of me for being a husband
because I was no longer on TV. But I didn't
even put together that I was like still working actress.
But um, I was doing all these plays and stuff.

(03:17):
And then from one of the plays. So when Clarissa
came about, I was actually auditioning for Blossom and Clarissa
at the same time. Wait wait, wait to play Blossom.
Play six. I think you might have gone into the
audition to play Blossom, but they quickly transitioned me to
six because I think I think Miam got cast pretty
quickly or I never knew that. Yeah, So I was

(03:37):
auditioning for six at the same time because I was
im dish as I'm auditioning for Clarissa, and I think
I did like three auditions for both almost simultane Like
I think I'd go into New York City. I was
living Long Island, and I go into New York City
and audition I think for both, like on the same
days and stuff. It was weird and so yeah, and
so I was kind of like I remember praying at
night and being like, God, let me like pick the

(03:58):
best path for me, whichever one is going to be
the best one, like help me get there. But um, Yeah,
So Clarissa came about because I was doing a play
and the producer did not want to see blondes, Like
he refused to let a blonde play Clarissa because he
was so sure that a blonde couldn't be smart enough
for like, you know, sassy enough to be this kind
of like nonconformist character, and he he wouldn't see me,

(04:22):
and um, because of one of the plays I was doing.
He went into his apparently I think he went into
his veterinarian's office, and there was a dog named Valerie.
And he asked why and he said, well, I found
the stray last night when I was coming home from
the theater and I saw this girl Melissa and this
play Valerie, uh and playing Valerie, and um, so he
had named the dog after my character. And the producer said, well,

(04:43):
how was she because they're really pushing for her to
be on my show, and he goes, oh, you've got
to see her for the audition. So it was like
the veterinarian who got me the job or something, So yeah,
that's mine. That's so. Then Clarissa like, did you guys
shoot it? You shot up in Canada, right or where
did you guys shoot? We shot on location in Tucson, Arizona.
Oh you did, yes, no studio, no, no stages. Well

(05:06):
look at you guys, because I was at like Kids Central, Nickelodeon,
Universal Studios, Florida. You know, Oh you you had luxury.
We we were like the guinea pigs of Nickelodeon. You
came on our backs and had probably a proper budget.
And yes, that's true. It was a brand new facility
with two sound stages and like like I was, I mean,

(05:26):
like slime and ghack at lunch because the slime gack
kitchen was next to our sound stage. But I was
like locked inside everyone. I'd go back to New York
every few weeks on a hiatus and they'd say like,
all right, you having a bit of Florida. Why are
you so pale? And I'm like, because I'm like in
a sound stage. Yeah, like one am I seeing the sun?

(05:47):
I think once we went to the roof to watch
a one of the space shuttles take off from Cape
Canaveral or something. But um, how old were you at
this point? I think when when I started, I was
about I want to say the pilot, I was twelve.
But when we started shooting us Team, so from urteen
to seventeen, I was doing Clarissa so Smack daub, like
from middle school into your entire high school experiences. Perfect

(06:10):
timing in a way, because that's right around the time
like bullying and starts and like some of that not
such fun stuff right where there's no worse time to
be first. I want to say, any kid, but a girl,
especially during that period of time, it is brutal. It's
just not right, like there's something just so wrong. I
was actually talking to a school principle about it with

(06:31):
my kids, and she goes, it's just not fair. I
get them after they're done with their sweet innocent phase
and I send them off right before they become like
cool kids. It's there's two or three years there that
are just you know, very difficult figuring it out right.
And so I'm like working in New York City but
going to school in Long Island, which is like preppy,
yuppie Long Island, but working with like Calista Flockhart and

(06:52):
like William Hurt in the city and like and and
and wearing just like off color things for what the
Long Island kids we're wearing. And so right is like
all that kind of bullying stuff starts when people start
realizing I'm not quite the same as them, and I
don't have the same style or any style. Really. I
go down to Orlando and I'm working on a show
where like I'm the star and there's all these kids.

(07:14):
Everyone that worked in the show was like like somewhere
in there that was like people I looked up to,
people I wanted to date or like, you know, wanted
to be like, and they all liked me as long
as I I didn't care what music I was listening
to because I was listening to like the Monkeys, and
I might be giants, like not cool stuff, right, like
everyone listening like Duran, Duran. I loved Giants. But then, uh,

(07:37):
you know, And so then I go to Orlando and
everyone there is just like all the adults are like
if I'm nice to them, they're nice to me. And
I was like, that's a cool trade Like that's a
cool trade off. I can wear whatever I want, I
can listen to whatever I want. I can be whoever
I want as long as I'm nice. And so that
was like, really, I think I looked out with being
in Orlando and being around the crew I was around listen.

(07:58):
Christine and I talked about UM starting on a show
on Nickelodeon and how we had no idea people were
watching it at all for probably a year. Clarissa was
a huge hit show. Did you know it was? Or
were you in a bubble? I think like you guys,
like I watched your show obviously, and I watched like

(08:18):
you can't do that on television and um, oh my gosh,
what was the one that Ryan Reynolds and and Quirky
Um They were doing at the same time as you guys. Yes,
it was like a soap, like a teen soap, right. No, no, no,
it was a drama right. Um it has it's one word.
I can't think. Yes, well, we'll think of it before,

(08:39):
Like I dated Quirky and then like kind of had
a little thing with Ryan. But they were on Nickelodeons
show two. I met them at UM Ryan Reynolds, yeah, yes,
and and and Laura Harris I think was on that show.
I remember, Yes, it was all the It was a
Canada show exactly. That's why I think. I think that's
why I thought you guys were in Canada because I

(09:00):
met Um. Corky was one of the kids on it,
and he I met him like in Utah or something
at a nick takes over your school and we started
like phone dating right from Vancouver to Orlando. Um. But
then and then I worked with Ryan Reynolds on the
Sabrina movie, the first movie we did. Ryan was in it. Um.
But oh. The show was called fifteen Yes, yes on

(09:24):
like one word one word something about me. Yeah, And
so I would always watch Hey Dude and fifteen. But
I felt like I was one of the few people
that had cable even like a lot of people didn't
quite a cable, right, That's what we were saying. A
lot of people just didn't know. It wasn't as accessible
the way it is now where you would get every channel. No,

(09:46):
that was a big deal you you subscribed to that package, right.
It was very few people that had cable, let alone
watch Nickelodeon. Yeah, and so I feel like the show
probably a little bit like you guys did, Like it's snowballed,
like it was being seemed by some people, but not
like it wasn't on the scale of like a network
show obviously, where it's like on the side of buses
and on billboards and you know, being advertised everywhere. It

(10:08):
just wasn't. They just didn't have that capability, I think. Yeah,
Christine and I talked about feeling like total outsiders, Like
when we went to present that the Kids Choice Awards
are you know, we were we didn't even know anyone
was watching Nickelodeon, but it really blew it blew up
so fast and so furiously it did. I feel like, Um,

(10:30):
I remember the first time I got recognized on the
streets in New York City and somebody was like you're
on that show close and I was like oh, And
then all of a sudden, I felt like humility. Like
I was like, oh, you watch nicolode like you watch
a kids shore. You watch it, kid, I'm sorry, you know,
at this point, I'm like sixteen, I'm probably like a
little like, oh, okay, good for you. But you know,
I just remember that like one moment of being recognized

(10:51):
for Clarissa that kind of threw me off. I didn't
know how to react. I definitely reacted inappropriately, but I
feel like I feel like nicolo Odeon, you know, was
like the snapchat of TV. The kids felt like the
parents aren't watching. This is for us, we own this.
That's true. Yeah, and that's I think that's what led

(11:15):
to the success. But can we go into Sabrina because
I can. I ask one quick question about Clarissa, because
this you're suddenly the lead of a series, right, You're
carrying that show, You're breaking the fourth wall, Like did
that come very easily for you? Like did you just
sort of carry it and think like this is so
natural for me or was it nerve wracking, challenging and

(11:38):
did you feel the pressure of like the show is
called Clarissa like all of those things. Um, I okay,
So I had just done the play I did that
I said when I said I was Valerie. It was
called Imagining Brad. It was written by Peter Hedges, who's
like an amazing writer, credible, and it was directed by
Joe Mantello before he went to do Wicked, like it

(11:58):
was directing gig so and it was your theater geeking
out here. It wasn't exactly. It was a monologue. So
I was on stage every night or you know, like
eight times a week, um, giving what should have been
a half hour monologue, but I would talk so fast
it would become twenty minutes. And um, so it was.
And it was a girl who just got her period

(12:20):
and is um trying to like she's making out with
a pillow and she's trying to figure out she should
shove some tissues up there, like all this stuff. Like right,
it was like this crazy cool I'm singing, I am
a woman jumping up and down on a sofa making
phone calls. Like, but it's just a monologue. So I
was very comfortable already sort of breaking that fourth wall
and saying things that were a little off, you know,
for my age and um and just being a little

(12:43):
bit bigger than life, I guess, so it kind of
fed right into Clarissa. Actually, I think it's why I
got the part, because I was already comfortable in that
zone that makes really really hard. It was really hard
because of you know, you like high school s, a
t s, college applications, all that stuff that comes along.
And I'm do him right now with my seventeen year
old but trying to do that and have a TV show.
And I was back then. So nowadays, if you obviously

(13:07):
everyone knows what their cell phones and when you record something,
it records on all the devices. If you record on
four cameras, you're recording on all four cameras. But when
I don't know if you guys had the same thing,
I think you probably did, but oh no, you probably did.
Single cam was your single cam? Oh no, no, no, no, no,
we had three. We we we were lucky enough to
squeeze three as a multi camera right now, the outdoors.

(13:29):
No audience, right, no, no, yeah, we didn't have an
audience either. That came from your show in a way
because we didn't have the audience, but we still worked
like fifteen hour days like it was insane. But the
amount of dialogue I had to do. I think almost
every episode I did three or four monologues and then
we'd have these ten page scenes of dialogue, and so
to memorize it. We only had one camera isolated, so

(13:53):
it meant that they had to like live live TV
right like snap snap. They couldn't edit it later. They
kind of how to edit it in camera, so I
couldn't mess up my lines, and everything was delivered directly
to one camera and maybe i'd turned to another camera
and maybe we could do a pick up if I
did turn. But most monologues I had to do straight
through three or four pages. So I would try to

(14:13):
memorize all that, like on a Sunday, so that I
could record it on Wednesday or Thursday. Like I was,
I was memorizing all week long, and we only got
we only got Saturday's off. We worked all day Sunday
through Friday, and um, it was brutal. I was exhausted.
When I did Sabrina, I was so like, this is
so nice. I get to like bounce off, people talk off,
people do two pages do if you walk out of

(14:34):
the room not being a scene, It was awesome. No
job would be as hard as that one. Training. What
great training for you. And that's why you Let's let's
go into Sabrina because first of all, you you always
did seem so calm and so chill and and so
um just comfortable, uh, when everyone was so happy to

(14:58):
be not doing Clarissa, Well, let's talk about heartbreak films
and you and your mom, Paula, who please send her
my love. Let me just say this cast of Sabrina,
like a dude, was more of a family, right and
and and Melissa's mom would have a game night every

(15:19):
every week, and I think I had friends show up
there when I wasn't even there, and we just it
was a revolving door from her house to Paula's house,
and it was It was just unbelievable. And the party
we definitely like the party in a fun, safe way,
not in like, hey, let's do some lines, and you

(15:40):
know I was appropriate partying. It was ping pong and games.
And but Melissa, you and your mom, you you licensed
the rights to the Sabrina character from Archie Comics. Correct,
How did that come out? Yeah? When I was living
in New York right after Clarissa My mom was kind

(16:03):
of she was managing my career. She didn't like the
offers that were coming in for me after coming off
a kids show like that, or you know, after because
of Nickelodeon, because the fan base side built. She was
thinking about branding before it was called branding, I think UM.
And so she was like, someone handed her a comic
book on the playground UM at one of the New
York schools. I have a very large family I have.

(16:23):
I'm the oldest of eight. So one of the siblings,
some friend brought a comic book and they said, hey,
this would be a great role for Melissa. And it
was an Archie comic that nobody, you know, everybody knew
Archie and jug Head, but nobody really knew Sabrina. And
so she went to the Archie Comics optioned it for
like a dollar and then one dollar one dollar. And

(16:45):
then because of our connection with Nickelodeon, she knew some
people at Viacom, which was the parent company. So she
went to Viacom and said, hey, I want to make
this movie. Let's do it for showtime. They said, yeah,
let's do that, and we made the movie and then
the whole time we're making the movie in Vancouver with
Ryan Reynolds. Um we were she was saying this would
be She kept telling Viacom, this would be a fantastic series,

(17:06):
and they're like yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay. But when
she went into the editing bay, and David knows, my
mom is like when she's producing something, she has like
all hands on. She has wardrobe fittings, she is casting,
she is editing, she is all that. She cut together
a trailer for a TV series what it would look like,
you know if we took this, this movie and made
it a TV series and she cut a little trailer
and she uh pitched that around too. I think at

(17:28):
the time there were five networks, right there were, Yeah,
there were five networks I think, and like three of
them in the room gave her a bid on it.
So I mean to hear this story. And by the way,
just because you know, we always say this is a
nineties podcast, but the fact that you had a mother
who was such a badass as a woman in the nineties,

(17:50):
you know what I mean? That was not a that
was not a common thing of a sort of self
starting that mentality and her like used said, you said,
when she's producing all. She was all hands on deck,
Like how incredible. Like I mean she was, you know,
an uneducated teen mom, Like you know, she had me
when she was well, she had me a week before

(18:10):
she turned twenty, and then she you know, had five
kids in her twenties. And then she goes like she
finished college online before there was really online, like she
did like some kind of college from afar while she's
like managing five kids and managing her careers as well.
Oh my gosh. She was very much a self starter,
very much a boss, a boss bitch back before it.

(18:33):
Paul is a brilliant businesswoman, and yes she is. She's
she was there at every run through, at every table read.
I mean she didn't leave every wardrobe fitting um right, Melissa.
I mean she was not writing a producer and it
was I think it's rare that they're so present, and
I mean she was there for every minute of it.
I mean to a fault in a way where I'm like, hey,

(18:56):
our company, heartbreak. You could go like get another projects,
got I got this part. I got this part mom,
I know. But how cool for a mother and a
daughter to be partners in that way. It's like nothing
I've ever seen, and it's so freaking cool. And I
think that's why, like a lot of people, when like
the me Too movement and stuff came around, I had
no stories to share because I was like the fact

(19:18):
that I was so protected. I think being in Orlando
during Clarissa UM, the crew there really really protected me.
They really looked out for me, and then UM and
then to have my mom with me all through you know,
l A time and and and the show and everything else,
It's like I was, Yeah, she was always by my side,
so that kind of crap never came into my world luckily.

(19:52):
Can we talk about the guest stars on Sabrina because
the list is like, how are you never on it?
By the way, I can't believe this. I can This
is like I'm getting I keep saying, like for the
people that I'm meeting doing this show, that I didn't
get to do those things then, but now like it's
all we're making up for it now, just getting to
do this. Now we'll do something together good, I hope.

(20:15):
So yes. I I just I remember Ussher singing to
you I mean in sync and Backstreet tell Me in
a Christmas one, and like, yeah, all the pop stars
and all their like nineties, like how did you guys?
I was into, like I wanted blondie there. I wanted
violent fems. They're like that, Yeah, your mom knew better. Well.

(20:41):
I think the network was like, hey, we gotta get
these boy bands on, and I was like, all right,
but what about like where's the monkeys? Like I want
Davy Jones. Davy Jones the best, Barbara Eten, we had,
Lonnie Anderson, we had so you were current but also retro.
You really appealed to That's what what I is so
cool about the show is it really appealed to the masses.

(21:02):
It wasn't just for It wasn't just for kids. I mean,
it really wasn't. It was you know, I feel like
that and Caroline are brilliant comedic gems and you know,
but how how did you get those guest stars? Like
was it? I think it was that we have a

(21:23):
very big budget, so it was very lucrative for people
to come work with us for a day or two. Um.
But also I think a really big draw was that
people's especially the older the people that I wanted on
the icons kind of people like their kids and their
grandkids wanted to see them. Truly Temple considered coming on
as my grandmother. Like that was like she was still alive. Yeah,

(21:45):
Truly died a few years ago. Yeah yeah, um but
she I we asked her. I was she's my idol,
and I was like, hey, you want to play my grandma?
She goes, oh, sweetie. I Like when I gave up
the business when I was twenty two, I swore I
could never do it again, like I'm done. But it
was a gateway to a young audience right before social media.
If you wanted to reach twelve thirteen year olds on

(22:07):
Friday nights. Yeah, yeah, very very much. Like you're right
about that, And I do think it like gave them
a prestigia among like their their kids and grandkids. Like
a lot of people wanted to come on, but like
for a lot of the bands, Like I was just
talking to Nicole Scherzinger, who is you know, she had
time she was on Eaton's Crush and now you know,
and then there's there's stories about um, oh my gosh,

(22:29):
the American idol, Oh my gosh, Kelly Clarkson. It's like
a background extra on our topic. No way. There's a
scene where she's like walking past. Yeah. Yeah, so you're
finding out about people now that we're on the show
have since become successful and they have their Sabrina stories.
That's really crazy. Weird it least it feels so old

(22:51):
by the way. Yeah, but the show did have guest
stars every week, like it was that was a big
part of the theme of the show. So there were
two or three people every week, um that would come
on and they we had Dick Van Dyke tap dance.
Some of this stuff went right over my head, Like
I didn't even realize. And someone said that I tap

(23:13):
dance with Dick Van Dyke, like I think a fan
or or I was being interviewed and someone asked me
how that was, and I was like, what did I do? Oh?
I didn't And they're like, yeah, do you want to
see it? I like watched it, and I was and
I had to go through my brain and go, why
wouldn't I remember this? And so I'm thinking about what
it would be like on set, right knowing Dick Vandyke's coming,
knowing I have to tap dance with him, knowing there's

(23:34):
a scene, knowing he's older, you know, I mean, he's
still with us now, but he was older then too,
but like I'm sure I was so nervous about the
dance moves and the lines and making sure I was
prepared so when he got there he could be in
and out. And I think it was probably a hey,
how are you okay, Let's try this, you know, shoot
it a few times, Okay, bye, thanks for me. You know,
I don't think there was any other like we had
Gary Marshall on and he was awesome. George went played

(23:58):
a role for a season, played my boss at the newspaper.
Oh my god, such great, wonderful Yeah, I mean, even um,
what's her name from Cheers? Shelley Long was on an episode.
I mean, And David, when did you you came into
the show? Which season from? I think season at the

(24:23):
end of season two? Maybe was it too? I did
three seasons. Was it when we went to college? No,
it's when I got when I got sick of Harvey,
right right right, And let's just say night. Nate Reichert
is one of the greatest guys ever. And there's like,
you know, there was you know, Josh or Harvey. Josh

(24:47):
was stealing Harvey. There's still a big battle about Josh
for Harvey. Yeah, I got a lot of hate. Let
me let me tell one story. Though we had great
directors to including Melissa Joan Hard who directed a lot
of episodes, but Henry Winkler directed a bunch of episodes.
And I I don't know if this show was in
season five or six, and we were kind of just

(25:09):
going through the motions right and and and he called
me at like ten o'clock at night with an idea
of a bit, and I just it was such a
lesson for me. I thought, this guy, you know, he's
done it all, and he's at ten o'clock at night.
He's still thinking about how to make this show better.

(25:31):
I'm like, you gotta come and show up every day.
I don't care what season you're in. You know, bring it.
You got to bring it. I mean, that is the cool.
Did you ever have a moment where you're like, the
fonds is calling me at ten o'clock has my number
sweetest human being right right. But he doesn't just show

(25:55):
up and go through it. He like cares passionately, and
I feel like Sabrina the show was surrounded by people
from Aaron in makeup and people who cared passionately about
the show. You know, and our team, like some of
our crew went on to do amazing things. Aaron Um
is like Ryan Murphy's right hand girl. Like she does

(26:17):
all the American horror story and she did Glee. I mean,
she just does endless you know now. She she just
did last year she was a nominee for an Oscar
for Hillbilly Elogy, and like she just does all these huge,
huge shows and movies. And then um our special effects guy.
Because our special effects were, believe it or not, sophisticated
for the moment, but um but also like you know,
as much as you could afford for a television show.

(26:38):
A little peanut butter and a clicker. Yeah, and here's
the cat talking. But um. But Steve Collback was the
head of our visual effects, and he went on to
do Game of Thrones, so he just did you know,
he did the first the seven eight seasons of Game
of Thrones. I don't think he did House of Dragons.
Somebody's on one of the other prequels or sequels that
they're working on. So um. You know, we had this crew,

(27:00):
just part of our crew had come from Murder, she wrote,
and they all used Sabrina as a retirement right like
they went they rode the seven years we did and
then they went off to retirement, and then the younger
ones went on to like do these go off to amazing,
amazing projects. And I'm just so proud of all of them.
We all we all worked really well together as a
crew and a cast to just we're like, once we

(27:23):
got the formula down, like I think David, once you
came into it, we started having lighter days, Like we
were having some crazy days with the cat and the
special effects. Were you there when we were like doing
two am Fridays. Yeah, But we didn't have an audience, right,
so it was it was it was like a single
single camera show but a multi cam sitcom, but without

(27:43):
an audience. It was the like one of yeah, we
took the model from Clarissa. It was like a like
a a hybrid where we rehearsed for two days and
shoot for three with three cameras, but film, we're shooting film,
really having to reload and run out and before really
it was I mean, we could have done to tape,

(28:06):
but I think back then network shows didn't do tape,
they did film, So we were running thousand mag uh
you know it wasn't Fuji. It was as it was Kodak.
We were running film, so it was it was that
was a mag for the listeners that costs a lot
of money, a lot And when little Melissa decides because

(28:27):
I always like to play with everything, and I go
up to the camera in between every take, and I
asked them to teach me how to load a camera.
And then I popped the purfs on the on the
film and they have to go take the whole can
and go into the dark room and really like rewire
the whole role because I've decided I loaded it wrong.
I loaded them. That was Oh how did you decide

(28:52):
to start directing the episodes? Funny enough, it was my
mom forcing me. I just was always so bossy during
the time. I think maybe the first season you were there,
I was doing Driving Crazy and Utah during weekends. Oh yes,
we got to talk about that, but yeah, go ahead.
Well I was working in Utah on the weekends and
working on Sabrina during the week and um, and I
was just being so bossy that everyone was like, Oh,

(29:13):
I can't wait for you to direct. I'm gonna like
the director on Driving Crazy. I remember him going when
you direct. I want to be there because I'm gonna
pick on you the way you've picked on me this
whole time. So eventually my mom threw a d g
A card at me, basically when we signed you up
for the d g A, you're directing the next episode.
And I was like, okay, Like I wasn't gonna say no.
I was scared, but I probably wouldn't have done it
myself had she not kind of pushed me into that

(29:34):
and been like, you gotta do it, and there's no
safer place, Like I had to tell Candice Cameron Bray
recently this like because she was she asked me a
few years ago in Fuller House, like She's like, I
think I'm gonna direct, What should I do? What do
I need? What do I need to know? I said,
Here's all you need to know is once you do it,
you're gonna be like, why haven't I been doing this
the whole time? Because when you're with your own crew
and you know the cast names and you know those
characters so well, and you know every crew member's name,

(29:55):
Like when I go direct other people's shows, one of
the hardest things is figuring out who's the prop guy again?
Or you know, I need to get makeup in here
to fix this, or you know, like which is each
camera name? And you know, trying to figure out the
crew names can be a huge just knowing who to
lean on and who would be like, oh, okay, I'm
gonna ask this person about that. I'm gonna ask this
person about that, and just having them protect you and

(30:16):
you know, be on your own show and and that
kind of thing is is is a safety net and
so no better place to learn and plus on Sabrina
as you know, David, super difficult show because of the
special effects, because of the cat, because of we were
shooting it with three camera film in a hybrid. You know,
just learned a lot of different kind of how to
survive in this industry sort of techniques. Right, And you've

(30:38):
gone on first of all again paula incredible entrepreneurial insight,
you know, to have you do that because you've had
a thriving directing career. I've directed more in the last
two years than I have. I actually have to keep
being like, can I get a sad job so I
can keep my insurance? Like what do you love more?
Do you I mean or do you still just and

(31:00):
and and aside from Sabrina, have you directed yourself? Since then?
I only directed myself In the beginning, they would only
give jobs as a female director. I feel like I
would could only get jobs if I worked in a
contract with me starring in it. That's it's so funny
because Ben still here. It was the same for for
a little while. It was that like if you wanted
to write it with you starring it as well, and

(31:22):
that's you know. And I don't think people realize how
much work that is so difficult. Right on Sabrina, it
was hard because we didn't do what we wouldn't would
do playback for every take, so you know, I started
asking around, like what did they do in the old
days before they had monitors, And they're like, you just
ask your camera operator did you get it? And they
gotta tell you yes or no. If they didn't get it,

(31:44):
that you gotta do it aget Like it's all about trust, right,
having that old one right, that one person or that
one you know where you inherently know that you get
the nod that okay, and I do. To answer your question,
I think I prefer directing. I feel more creative in it.
I feel like I have more control. I like the
storytelling aspect um. I worked with Shawn Aston on a

(32:05):
TV show and he keep used to say that actors
are meat puppets, and I was like, that's a little bit,
because that's really good. It's like, really I'm a meat puppet. Like.
But then again, I go back and forth, Like when
I do these Lifetime movies, I'll direct one and I
start in one, and I'll be like directing one and
be like, oh, I can't wait to just like put
on pretty clothes and say funny lines and not have

(32:27):
to worry about where the camera goes or what the
weather's like today or what you know. I can just
kind of be there and and and you know, be
pretty and silly. And but then I got then I'm
like acting in one weekend, and I'm like, oh no,
I need to direct. I don't like not being a boss.
Like I really shift back and forth. But I mean
actors really have it easy, right. I mean you you know,

(32:48):
for your films, I say, for a Lifetime it takes
you months and months to get the script, set it up,
and then you're on set. You know, six am. Actors
roll in, get their make up, in lines for a
few scenes. Wait, maybe you wait a while and you
watch a show, or you're reading a book in your
tailor yeah yeah, or you are still you know your

(33:09):
mom too, so you can also still be a mom
and help your children through whatever you need to tell
them through at the time, right when you're directing and
and you're getting I mean as a mom, you're getting
that anyway, You're you're everyone needs you all the time.
But then you go to work and everyone needs you
all the time. So I imagine that it is. It
can be a real drain, like really draining, exhausting, Like

(33:30):
directing is always austing, Like you said, it's you know,
you're prepping for so long, you're shooting for the full shoot,
and then you're in post for a while, and then
you know, if it's an independ or something, you're out
on the festival circuit, you're trying to sell it. But um,
but it's yeah, and I and as a director and
sort of still even though it's been twenty years, like
still feeling like a new director, like as far as

(33:51):
getting my kind of credentials and and getting more of
a resume built up. Um, I feel like I get
paid half to direct, but worked three times as much,
you know, So sometimes I'm like, I just want to
act and get that paycheck and just be silly. And
also when you're directing, a lot of people come to
you and go, Okay, I haven't seen you in a while,
what are you working on? Are you you know? And
I'm like, I've been directing, like oh oh. If anyone

(34:14):
outside the industry goes, oh oh, I I have director
friends that are so envious that they're not recognizable. It's
like they work so hard yet see And I'm okay
with being like I don't need to be recognizable, But
sometimes it does feel a little crappy one, especially on
social media, like where have you been? Yeah? When are
you gonna do something again? When are we going to
see you again? Don't you love that? I love that,

(34:35):
like people people think it's so easy. Oh. I love
my favorite thing that people say to me, Like especially
relatives or friends that are like new friends that don't
really know how the industry works, Like I moved to
Nashville two years ago, and they'll just be like, you
know what you should do? You should be on Saturday
at Lives. It's always my favorite you know what yes
the parade, or yes to see on that show Fleishman's

(34:57):
in trouble. I'm like, no kidding, really let me go
do that? What did I think of that? Always my favorite?
You would be so good on that show. You should
really talk to somebody about being on that show. Okay,
I'll thank you. Thank you. People who are not in
the industry think we're all just like one big group
of people that just interchange. We could jump into things.

(35:19):
It kind of relates to like when I was little
and I was on all these commercials. The kids would
always be like, they see my mom drive me up
in a Volvo or something, and they'd be like, you
don't drive a limo. You don't get driven around a
lim No, not everyone. No, that's not how it works.
I don't get a limo just because I did a commercial.
Oh gosh, that's funny, David, we have to talk about
where we met. Oh my gosh, the movie in Carolina, right,

(35:41):
so funny, Christine, have you ever heard of twist the desire?
Twisted desire? Come work is to go watch Twisted Desire
and then kills her parents or something. I'm so in
love with David and he won't date me because my dad,
my dad, Daniel Baldwin is so brutal, like he's so strict,

(36:01):
and he like tears me out of a party and
embarrasses me and David and he um. So I decide
that I find this other boy and I start dating him,
and I convinced him to kill my parents. And if
he kills my parents, then I could put him in
prison and parents are dead and I can get David back. Wow,
twisted desire, guys. It's not a real story, too, was
I was just gonna say that sounds like a true crime,

(36:24):
very true crime. It was like an NBC movie, right,
I think it was NBC? Yeah, yeah, And and what
was the kid? Jeremy Jordan's very unique character. Jeremy Jordan's
is best known for his song he was actually a
like a like a like a white rapper or something
who Tori spelling. At the beginning of nine or two
one o, like one whole season, she go to the

(36:46):
jukebox and the peach pit, push a button, go Jeremy
Jordan's all right, and push it and his song would
come on. Oh stop. He was intense, do you remember
he was like so intense, so intense, you're like, I
only had a few scenes with David and I had
to be with Jeremy all the time. With Jeremy was
a lot the handle. Yeah, I wasn't used to acting

(37:07):
like that, like kind of methods sort of. That was
a fun shoot. And I had just started dating my
wife at the time and she came down to visit me,
and uh, yeah, I've great memories from that that time. Oh,
I thank you for thank you for sharing that that
you have because David just David's not I'm really good
at sharing the amount of like bad things I've been

(37:29):
in over the years, and there are a lot of them. Um,
But David, you're very quiet. You're very tight lipped about
your work. I find forget forgetful. Yeah, you actually do
not remember anything. So for this industry though, That's what
I've realized, Like because I've been doing a podcast and
when I have actors on, we're constant talking about things

(37:52):
we don't remember. I think it's because we have to
flush so much dialogue and stuff out of our Like
we also have to be okay with like leaving people
leaving whole cruise that feel like family. You know. We're
kind of a traveling circus and then we have to
memorize all this stuff and then flush it out. And
I don't think we're good at retaining a lot, but
you do have to compartmentalize a bit, right. But as

(38:14):
soon as you mention it, I remember everything, you know,
like I just need to recall it. But tell me
about the movie with Adrian Grande. Uh yeah, drive Me Crazy,
Drive Me Crazy. Yeah, that was a huge deal for you, right, Yeah,
it was a big Fox movie. Um. I think it
turned out to be one of their three, like highest

(38:35):
grossing movies that year or something. It didn't didn't make
that much, but before what it cost, it made its
money back. Um. But it was It was really fun.
It was We shot in Utah, though, which was really tough.
But it was during the season of Sabrina, So I
think there was a point when I worked fifty one
days straight without a day off, and I wouldn't sleep
on Sundays. So I would go to work on Sabrina

(38:56):
Monday morning, go record the animated series Monday afternoon, rehearse Tuesday,
shoot Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, get on a red eye or
get on a plane late that night to Utah. Wake
up Saturday morning shoot like three pm to three am,
sleep a little bit, like go back to work like
three am three pm Sunday, and then directly from set

(39:19):
at like five am Monday morning, I'd get on a
plane back to l A and go straight to the
set on Sabrina. And I did that for weeks. Oh gosh,
that was fun. But uh it was me, Kimmy who
worked in wardrobe, and my hairdresser, and we would the
three of us would do these crazy this whole crazy thing.
I wouldn't sleep until late Monday night from waking up

(39:41):
like noon on Sunday. If something about when you're young, yeah,
and you can kind of do that and think that
this is like crazy and amazing and I can't believe
you're doing this and can you even imagine trying that today?
Oh my gosh. I say that all the time. I'm like,
if I survived. I used that several times in my
back pocket is like I survived that surve by right, Seriously.

(40:01):
I could do like two things a day, maybe three
if there's no traffic. Melissa the Maximum cover. I remember
when you did that and I remember being like, what

(40:24):
the hell, like she's with me? Or the back lass
know how beautiful you look. But it was like it
was it was a new year. It was sexy, and
but it was a little shocking. Okay, okay, well because
I mean you're like my sister, you know. I was like,
how did that come to me? I mean, that was

(40:44):
like a daring thing to do. Was a big year
for me. And I think that's the year I looked
it up on MDB. I think that's the year you
started on the show. So we were about about something
I think it was, and so um so that that's
what you're driving crazy was coming out and Arena was
like was rolling right. We we had just gotten a
lot of notoriety in the last year for actually doing

(41:06):
what like we weren't expected to do well. Was Clueless
and Sabrina and Clueless was expected to be the big
hit and we were sort of the underdog, and then
it sort of shifted. And so around this same time,
I think like the I think like Sabrina was hitting
a hundred episodes or something, or we we had gotten
picked up where we knew we were going to get
to a hundred episodes. We got picked up in the
second season for three and four, which we know in
this industry does not happen. It was awesome, like just

(41:30):
you know, we knew we were getting a syndication when
we're going to get to a hundred episode. So there
was like a lot of press and a lot of
stuff going on, and I had done a bunch of
magazine covers and a bunch of stuff. But but maxim
I was at the Playboy Mansion one night at like
their Midsummer Night's party whatever basically we all remember where. Yeah,
I wasn't very sober, let's say, and um, but I
had done a few photo shoots where it was like,

(41:51):
you know, roll into a few pictures, leave, But I
was like really really like hammered from the Playboy Mansion.
Plus I was like in underwear all night long, so
I was comfortable walking onto the Maximum photo shoot where
it took like it was like a ten hour shoot.
I was exhausted. I'm like falling asleep on the set
and I'm wearing these these little skimpy things that I
would normally never allow to be photographed in. But I

(42:13):
was feeling pretty good after the night before, and I
was um, and we did these photos. But the thing
is it hit so I'm at to drive Me Crazy
premiere in New York, waiting for Britney Spears to show
up on the red carpet so we could do press together.
I have just broken up with my boyfriend. My family
is there, but I can't see them because I'm being
whisked off. This is like the worst day of my

(42:33):
life as being I mean, at the time I was
being whisked from the the premiere of Driving Me Crazy.
I was gonna be taken in a car flown to
Vancouver to shoot scary movie. I was supposed to be
in scary movie. And I'm kind of like, see my
family break up with my boyfriend, like and um. I
get in the car and like crying because I had
to leave my family in New York. And I was

(42:54):
all sad. And I get in the car and I
get a phone call like I'm one of those like
car phones, and they're like, don't go to the airport.
You've and fired from Scary movie. And I was like, yes,
I'm going to stay in New York. Someone else had
replaced me. I think it was a Krmen electra. I
was like, awesome, great, you're happy to be happy to
be I was so relieved. I'm like I don't have
to go shove this in before I go back. Yeah.

(43:15):
So anyway, so I go to I don't even know
what your question was, but I'm just rolling with this
was was it again? Paula's because you know, she called
me and she cursed me out that night. So I
go from being emotional and leaving to going straight to
the party at Planet Hollywood. So when the premier ends
and everybody shows up, I'm like, hey, everybody, I was
still here. I can party tonight, I can stay all

(43:37):
week whatever. And my lawyer comes running up to me
and goes, don't talk to anyone. You're being fired from
your show because you did Maximum magazine. So my mom
calls me and she's like, from Sabrina, what did you do? Yeah,
She's like, what did you do? We're being sued and
you're being fired. And I was like, I'm sorry, what
what did you do? I still haven't seen the cover,
but she was in. I remember this. I remember this

(44:00):
was scandalous. This was a this was headline news. I
remember talked about it like Wully talked about it at
we Reason and Kathy Lee talked about like every morning.
It was news for like a week. Whether or not.
I was allowed to be sexy on the cover of
the magazine. But the thing is, and I've never seen
this before or after, but Maxim wrote Sabrina on the cover,

(44:21):
not Melissa. They didn't put my name. Oh my gosh.
So that Archie Comics that we that we got for
one dollar, there was a very big like contract drawn
up about what I was and was not allowed to
do as the character, and being seen in my underwear
was not what I was allowed to do as the character.
So they're saying they tried to claim that I was
playing Sabrina. My publicist got me some press for a

(44:42):
movie I was doing, so it became big news and
they didn't fire me. I ended up writing an apology letter,
although I didn't my lawyer did. I didn't even know
what happened. Why didn't you make them write Melissa john Hart?
Why did you allow them to? I had no idea.
I had no idea. They I mean, they did it,
you know, they did themselves. But they and you certainly
weren't playing Sabrina during a stretch. It says. If you

(45:07):
look at the cover, it says, Sabrina, your favorite witch
without a stitch and thought they were so clever. They
they set you up. But listen it. Actually it was
a great transition for you from you know, a child
actor to being you know, like a leading woman. I think, yeah,
it wasn't like the Britney Spears Rolling Stone when she

(45:27):
was like seventeen and laying down and all the you
know with her. No, it was tasteful. Yeah, it was
different in your twenties. Yeah, you were in your twenties
and I'd done Details. I was on the cover of
Details magazine with a bunch of women. It was like
the eight hottest women in television supposedly, and um they
had put a billboard up on Sunset Bolivard. Nobody had
a problem with that. Nobody said anything about that. But

(45:50):
when I was like twenty But then here I am
at twenty three, and all of a sudden, I'm not
allowed to be sexy. But actually that's the press that
I think made drive me crazy. Such a big hit
was that my name was everywhere because of the scandal,
intrigue interest. I feel like now they're they're they're girls
are even younger that are trying to whether it's on

(46:11):
TikTok or social media, they're trying to you know, be
provocative at a much younger aige than you were. Well,
and it's interesting I think about that. Like Christina, I
don't know how you feel about the Nickelodeon days. Like
I mean, my mom was partly responsible for like making
sure I still had my eyebrow, Like they weren't allowed
to pluck my eyebrows. I wasn't allowed to wear masca
or there were certain things she wouldn't allow. But then

(46:32):
Miley Cyrus comes along, maybe a decade later, and it's
looking hot when she's young. Well yeah, and and yeah,
all we we've talked about this, David too, what we
do because it was like one of the original Nickelodeon shows.
I mean, we couldn't wear labels. We were so covered up,
we were you know, I mean ours was Western themed
but Christian. In the opposite of your provocative. Now, it

(46:56):
was as you know, if I didn't have a bandanna
around my neck, that was a little bit loose. Yeah.
If I watch it back, I'm in like leggings with
a skirt with high socks with combat boots. You look
your age, Yeah, exactly, we looked our age when you
look back. I mean I really think that is the difference.
And you know, my our kids, uh you know, grew

(47:17):
up on the hand of Montanas and the you know
um I car LEAs and those kids always looked older,
a little older and cooler, and that I just was
a different era. I think it's true. It's true. I
think we were protected in that way. We were sheltered shore.
I'll take it. I'll take it right. But just like
your maximum cover, I feel like all those girls, whether

(47:38):
it's um you know I Carly or Selena Gomez or
um Arianna, they all have a moment where they go
from I'm not I'm not a Nickelodeon Disney kid, I'm
you know, I'm I'm now a sexy adult. There's a
little bit of backlash with it, like with in your
own even Brittany, you know, I think any kind of um,

(48:02):
you know, you have that sort of the rubber band
snaps back like you're like you're this way for so long,
you're like, you know, known as a child thought and
you want to be a woman, and you know kind
of happens a little too soon, I think for a
lot of girls. Right well, you were twenty three, and
you know what, I feel like you started some type
of trend where a child actor says, at one moment,

(48:24):
I'm going to be on the cover of magazine and
let the world know I'm no longer you know, Clarissa
or I carl you know. But had I not been
at the Playboy mention the night before, probably you're not
give me a little bit more, give me a little
bit more coverage. Although I look at a little rope.
There was a photo. So this is back in the
day when the photos were still polaroid, right and film,

(48:47):
so before all the digital stuff. So I had him
to take a test polaroid. He there's a photo of
me sitting on stairs, but I'm kind of like sideways
where you can see like the side of my thong
and like my legs look nice and long, which they're not.
But um, it's this great shot. But I remember that
the polaroid that he wanted to take was between my
legs looking up at me and the stairs. And I
was like, let me see the polaroid and then we'll
decide if this is the pose I want to do.

(49:09):
And I saw the polar r and I went nope,
and I tore it up right there and then and
I turned to the side, and I'm like, we'll do
it this way, and thank god I did that. I
can't even imagine. Well, and you know, to your point
of what you said before about like it was weird
to see me like that. It's honestly that magazine because
how much it was shoved in my brother's face, who
was in high school or even younger, I think, um,

(49:30):
and my dad's face by his buddies at work and
stuff that I decided not to do anything else or
go any further with stuff like that because I was like, oh, gosh,
they're gonna see this like this is not and someday
I'll have kids and they'll you know, while I was like, oh,
I love my body. I'm comfortable in my body. I
have no problem doing it, but then it was like
my dad and my brother getting picked on for it
made me go, I'm not gonna do anymore. Yeah. I

(49:53):
remember that in the years where because I was a
huge horror movie fan and in those that that and
I ended up you know, doing a couple of them,
but one one in particular, they really wanted like a
topless scene, and I really drew the line because I
really wanted to be in this horror movie and it's
not a great very be movie. And I remember, being

(50:15):
twenties it was Night of the Demons. Took not one,
not one to definitely were taking your top off for that,
and I could, I could see it. I set out
I'm happy to wear a bra like I'm happy to
do that for it. I know what these movies are about.
But that's just where I have to draw the line.
Because my Catholic grandmother sees everything that I do and

(50:38):
my father and I really did think about it at
the time. I also knew, you know, I was, I
was modest. I was. I would not have been comfortable
doing it anyway. I mean some people are, and I
have no judgment, but I knew for Night of the
Demons too. I was like, I'm not going to do that,
and I will just do and I passed. I remember
thinking it was a big deal because they offered it
to me and I said I can't do it. I can't,
And then they there's a whole another contract for that.

(51:02):
Oh there, yes, there is, and they tried to negotiate
with me even they were like, how about three seconds
of breast with one second of nipple? And I was like, no, guys,
I'm really not doing it, yes, Bob, Yes, like a
good I could do a little nipples. I ended up

(51:26):
doing the movie, but a smaller I did a smaller
part in the movie where I just had to be
in a brow. But I got my Night of the
Demons experience. That's my that's my little side. I love it.
Um let's move on to real quick. First of all, Christine,
Paula and Melissa take care of their crew, their family,

(51:51):
and they generously offered me a role on Melissa's show, Uh,
Melissa and Joey and I don't know how many years
ago it was, but generously but like we needed we
wanted you, like we needed you, I know. But I
showed up and there's like, you know, half the crew
from Sabrina's there, you know, like you guys, just you.
You're loyal, You're loyal, um family people. You know. It

(52:16):
was not the one Elsa was a Lisa and that
one too, well should I tell that story or well,
Tara Reid was playing the role. I think I did,
like three of them. Tara Reid was playing the role,
and then she didn't show up for the run through

(52:36):
and she thought they had let her go. For the
day and then the next day Elsa. Yeah, Lisa Donovan
showed up. Um, it was a little Sabrina renion accidentally
on the set in the cast. Yeah, Joey's my cast
made from Blossom and it was just so much fun. Like,
how is that show for you guys, because you did

(52:57):
over a hundred episodes? Right, Yeah, we did like a
hundred four of of Melissa and Joey. Um. That one
I had a really really good time on. But it
was it was a mix of what pained me on
Clarissa and and and Serena. Um, it was. It was
a light amount of work because it was actually the
first true sitcom I had done in front of an audience, which,

(53:18):
as the three of us know, is like the golden
Like like, yes, we actually stopped working. I actually moved
our show nights to Thursday nights so I can have Friday, Saturday,
Sunday off and then would work like a little bit Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
Like I'd rather work more on Monday than go in
for a table read and be done. So I was like,
let's just move, Let's do table reads thursdays before shoot

(53:40):
and then have Friday off and come in Monday and
just you know, start. So it was. It was a
great schedule. The only problem is I just moved my
family to Connecticut and we were shooting in l A
and so I spent you know. And of course with
these shows, you're like, oh, it's probably just gonna be
ten episodes, gonna be twenty ol episodes, it's gonna be
twenty two episodes. I was only gonna be a second season,
and so I never moved my family back there until
about third season when I realized, all right, I can't

(54:02):
be away from my kids. Like I had two little ones,
they were one in three and I've never left it before,
and all of a sudden, I'm like leaving them. I
thought it was better for them to sleep in their
own bed, go to their school, be with their friends,
and Mommy will come back and forth. But it was
so hard on me. But I had such a blast.
That character was my favorite character that I played. Don't
tell anyone because people get mad about that, but it
was the show was really funny. She was such a mess,

(54:25):
Like mel Um is a lush like slut who you know,
is suddenly charged with raising her niece and nephew who
were teenagers because her sisters in prison, and so she's
got to raise these kids and she doesn't know how.
So she hires Joey as her manny. And it was
just so fun and so stupid and so silly and
like just what I wanted to be doing. But my

(54:45):
family was all the way across the country, so that
was just taxing on me emotionally. Um, so I didn't
enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I'm
always living somewhere away from where I work. Sucks. That
feels like that's nowadays everywhere. If everybody now you can
live wherever you want, because there is really it used
to just be Los Angeles was the hub of everything,

(55:07):
and now it's rare to work there. I think that's
why I moved to Connecticut, because I was like, after
Sabrina ended, it felt like I was working in Baton
Rouge in Atlanta and Vancouver. I was like, well, then
let's move where we want, and well, I'll travel down
for these movies. But then to get a serie, long
running series, it was like, so a few years ago
I got a series for Netflix called No Good Nick,
and I was like, We're not doing that again. We
actually moved to Lake Tahoe because it was a much

(55:29):
shorter commute for me to get to l A to
like a forty five minute flight, and I could be
home for the weekend, you know, So that was a
much easier thing. But um, that's Melissa and Joey was
really really fun. But it was and again, we had
some great guest stars, but really it was like there
was like four or five of us in the cast
and we just got to be silly, just super silly.
There's so few people that I can think of who

(55:52):
have had any successful series, Like you said, when you
started Melissa and Joey, thought it was going to be
a season. And by the way, a lot of times
as an actor, when you go into that, you think
that would be perfect for me. I'll do this, this
would be great. I'll get a little dose of that.
And then But to have three long running series that

(56:13):
you are leading, I mean, I I mean, I think
it's there, but I was I was, yes, the title character,
I was thinking, like Julia Louis Dreyfuss, I can think
of is another one? Like you're in a very elite category.
There's been a few, and I do recognize how I mean,
it's like lightning striking. It's three four times. So it's

(56:33):
unfortunately my Netflix show only one twenty episodes, but okay,
it's okay. How how is working with Shawn Asten because honestly,
Rudy is one of my favorite Okay, but I love you,
but Sean is like a teddy bear. Like as much
as you and I have fun and go out during
it and stuff like Sean and I can sit and
talk for I mean, you and I was doing, but

(56:55):
like he's just like he's just a dull. He's just hilariou. Yes,
we disagree on politics, we get great arguments, but like
always with so much love and so much he was
so thrilled to be doing a sitcom because his mom
is Patti Duke, right, and so she had and and
his dad was Gomez on the No yeah exactly that

(57:17):
his brother was Mackenzie Aston on Facts of Life for anyway,
he had to. So Shawn's like, I've never gotten to
do a sitcom. This is my first time doing a sitcom.
And he was just so thrilled. He's like just happy
to be here, right, He's that's so funny a kid
who starts out doing like Steven Spielberg movies and some
of the most classic movies. Yeah, it's so excited to

(57:40):
be on a sitcom. I love it. Yeah, he was like,
I finally get to do a sitcom. It was so cute.
He was so sweet, and it would drive me nuts
because we never did this on Melissa and Joey or
any other live show I was ever really on. Like
you signed some motographs for some people in the audience,
like sometimes, but you usually just being done with work
and want to go change, like almost like a play right,
go change, maybe sign a pet aotographs. Well, Netflix decided
to bring everybody down and make us sign August for

(58:02):
two people, like they line them up and we do
almost like a comic con signing every night, every like
Friday night, after taping for like an hour and a half,
and I started getting really annoyed, and John is sitting
there talking to everybody, hugging everybody. Do you want to picture?
Do you want to picture with your mom? Do you
want to picture? Can I sign something else? Writing? What's
your name? How do you spell that? Writing? How much?

(58:23):
Sean like I'm not that nice. I'm like, I've gotta
go home. I want to go to bed. I finally
finished my show. I can delete this whole script from
my brain. Got started on Monday. I want to go home.
And he's just like like a like a total doll.
Makes me feel like a total bitch. Know, he's just
you know, when you find those people who have been
in the business since they were so young, and you
you have been to and you're you know, we're all

(58:45):
entitled to those nights, But it isn't that cool to
have that experience with him for somebody who, like you
just know, loves every second of it. David, I think
that's become a theme. Like we're talking to so many
people who have just just truly love what they do,
and how infectious that can be, Like really just how
much you know, just good people and people who have

(59:08):
the longevity that you have, Like we we spoke about
with Jeff Bridges or or um Jerry O'Connor was talking
about Tom Cruise. These people are the kindest, most generous
people who love to be on set and love to
support their fellow actors. I mean, that's that's the theme
we have been seeing through. I think that's where the

(59:29):
longevity comes from, right to people that can keep um
a positive attitude on this in this crazy because it
is like a circus, right, So you're constantly going in
and out of high pressure situations with new people that
you're meeting or working with, and you never know kind
of what you're gonna get handed. You never know what's
coming next. It's always a guessing game. It's always like

(59:50):
a go getter. You know. You've got to kind of
make your own path and find your own sort of.
It's very rare that that things generate themselves, um in
this business, I feel like, and so it's and nice
to find people that love what they're doing. Like I
would say I would I wouldn't do craft service on
a set if I just to be on set, you know. Yeah.
I want to just say, first of all, this was

(01:00:10):
such a treat getting to meet you finally. And one
little parting story from me is you're the sweethearts in
the valley was the staple when my kids were little
and my daughter we would go there and it was
we have these memories. And when we were moving, we
were leaving l A to move back to New York,

(01:00:30):
and we rented out the place as as this big
surprise going away party for my daughter for all of
her friends, and they put a sign I can picture,
I have photographs of it. There was a sign out
front that said We're gonna miss you Ella that she
didn't catch until after she left, and we just she
just thought we were going for a little treat after school.
It was such a lovely place that you created there,

(01:00:53):
and it was just the memories I have with my
daughter of just being able to go there and just
sit and have a little slice of cake and have candy.
I mean, it's just because I'm we're such sweet people.
That's awesome thing to hear. My mom and I always
wanted to open a candy store and we kept looking
for real estate and my real litor friend UM was like, Oh,
I'm think I'm gonna open one over here. Do you

(01:01:15):
want to do it with me? And I jumped in,
but he had some other partners, and those other partners
were a little crooked, and so I think, um, that's
what I'm familiar sank it. But as I hear these
stories all the time about people that went all the
time and loved it and have these great memories, they're like,
I think the Kardashians through a party in Roy Disney's
Sun or something through like, and I'm like, that's amazing
to hear. And I literally hear about it almost every

(01:01:36):
month someone will say, whatever happened to Sweethearts? Yeah it's
really just it is um you know, imprinted in my
heart and yeah, yeah, So I just wanted to say
thank you for that and what a pleasure having you,
Like we could talk to you for another time, the
desire and let's just do one episode about and you

(01:01:57):
you too should honestly play sisters in something should Let's please,
let's play. I'll come up with it. Melissa. Thank you
so much, Sweete. It's so good to see you, so
good to see you. Thank you guys for having me.
And hopefully I can hug you soon David and Christine.
Hopefully we can actually be in person at some point. Yes,
that would be so terrific. Much love you guys, take

(01:02:18):
care of all right? How to Mark and your mom
and your fam? Well do you too? Okay, thanks for listening.
Make sure to subscribe and give us five stars and
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called See you next time,