July 17, 2024 • 32 mins
His character on Full House quite possibly started the revolution of the "duckface" pose that floods our Instagram feeds to this day.... we have Whit Hertford joining us on the podcast!
His character helped fuel one of our favorite lessons that's been taught on the show thus far, and we're extremely lucky to have him on with us.We had the chance to talk to Whit, not only about Duckface, but also his extensive career as an actor, writer and director.
You don't want to miss this two-part interview with one of the most beloved guest stars on Full House to date!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hey there, Fanarritos, Welcome back to How Rude Tanertos. Today,
one of Fullhouse's most iconic guest stars is joining us.
We have wit Hertford aka duck Face with us on
the podcast. Duckface's signature look arguably started a movement that
still floods our Instagram feeds to this day.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's true, it all started here.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
It's a legendary look.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We can't wait to talk to wit about his time
on Full House and the other incredible projects he was
a part of. Please put your hands together for Wit.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I'm so old. I'm so old that I'm literally doing
this off like the desktop screen top and the oh
like I'm eighty.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh yeah, No, you're in the right place. We are.
Speaker 5 (01:04):
We really discuss every time on this show how old
we feel because technology is not our strong suit and
uh yeah it's you.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I try not to let that cat out of the bag,
like I really try to take it. I'm like, no,
I'm super good at it, right, I'm really really, really right,
because I don't want anybody to like I think he's lying.
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Well, we're also trained as actors, you know, to put
it on your special skills. Yes, I fire juggling, totally
done it make it work.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
So we're like, yeah, technology, I'm great. I mean, what's happening.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, we just watched your episode.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
We just watched your episode last night, the first one
we're introduced, and oh.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
My gosh, Yeah, you are just a vision.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
You are a vision in your color blocking that outfit,
oh the sweater.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah. We we make fun of ourselves a lot, and.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
It's just giving Willy Wonka a little bit.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
It's really good wardrobe.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Isn't it great?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
The glasses, the corduroy pants. I mean I could hear
him from I could hear him from here.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It was good.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
And did they have a It looked like they had
a patch on them. Did they have a patch on
them or were they like cargo corduroy.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I don't know. I'd have to look at a photo.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
I know, because there was like on the side of
them there was I was like, oh, is that a patch?
And I was like, is that Like are we trying
to show that maybe Walter like maybe doesn't have well
or that maybe he doesn't have a lot of money,
and so like that's part of it, you know what
I mean?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Like maybe his answer it.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Was poorly, poorly last were right?
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Like I didn't know that, or if it was just
a fashion choice or just something on my screen.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I don't know. It could have been any of those.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, you were history is at all. I really would
have loved if we met mom and dad duck.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Face, mister and missus Duckface.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yes, yes, the senior duck Face.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
And why are his lips stuck in that position? I
want to know that who knows? Who knows that?
Speaker 4 (03:04):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Like sort of like my like classical training.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Later in life, I would have asked all of these questions,
but at ten, I was just sort of like I'm.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
On TV, right, Yes, the same, It's all the same.
I just did the thing like this is fun. Now
win's lunch.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
So let's go let's go back back back because we
want to talk to you obviously about like your first
appearance as Duckface, but I mean you've you and your
your siblings have been actors and in the business for
quite a long time.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
How old were you when you started acting?
Speaker 4 (03:43):
The first thing I ever did was that four we
had moved here. My dad got a job at pepper
Dye teaching. He's a theater director and I auditioned like
crazy and did all the normal stuff, did the headshots,
and I think I had business cards with like an
ice cream cone that was falling, like really really cringe.
(04:06):
But it was a care Bear shoe commercial. It was
remember those remember this is how old we are too,
by the way, guys remember those shoe stores called Buster Brown.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, so it was.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Like a copro with Buster Brown and care Bears and
I was in a commercial with that, so I had
to like imagine care Bears and that was my first,
my first thing, and I remembered it. Yeah, you know,
I think it was good that it was my first
thing because it was fun and it was a little weird.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So was this your choice to begin?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I get four, I don't know how much choice you
have to be like I'm going to be an actor?
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Oh no to your parents pushing you or.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
This was all you?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Yeah no, I was precocious as hell, and like because
my parents' ractors, it just felt like, well, this is
what we do. This isn't our DNA. Thankfully, like in
a big sweeping sort of overview, you know, my parents,
especially my mom because she kind of raised this as
a single parent for majority of my life kept us
in public school. We didn't live in the city and
(05:05):
that was crucial. We lived in a Goora before it
was like Bougie and Erowong, when it was like Tumbleweeds,
and so that was cool because it was the beach
and it was horses, and it was public school. And
I think without that I would have been in a
lot of trouble. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
Yeah, I think all three of us kind of had
that experience. We did like regular school, and all three
of us lived outside of a kind of Yeah we were
the Orange County, that's right.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So yeah, you were the other side of the town.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
But but yeah, I think I do think that that
helped a ton because it wasn't like quote unquote real
life was something that we had zero connection to or
that you know what I mean. It wasn't like we
were in this bubble of just only being in entertainment.
It was like, oh no, we knew what like regular
(05:58):
school people did you know?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
And I think that was that was key.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
It keeps you ground It keeps you grounded, and it
gives you perspective too of like hey, you're not going
to be fond over all the time or told you're
wonderful every single day, or you know, get people however.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
You will, Yeah, totally, totally.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
How So let's go, let's get to duck Face, because
I know that that is what people are dying to hear.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
But let's get to duck base.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Let's get to duck Face. That's actually that's actually the
stint off. Let's get to duck fast.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
But let's get to duck face.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
I think that's the new that. Yeah, that's the newest one.
And we find that really duck Face has been behind
all manner of things in the Tanner Fuller Future. He's
I feel like he's definitely their account for show easily.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
I feel like duck Face is helping that family figure
out how they pay for that house. Well, no one
really appears to be working that much, So good on you.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Here we go. Now we're really getting you know.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Me, I'll I'll just start off in a direct and
a fanfic and we'll have a show in seven minutes.
But what do you remember what the casting process was
like for that episode for that character?
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Simultaneously, vaguely and vividly, I remember going to the lot,
and I remember that it might have been pretty quick
from the initial to the callback. I don't want to
say same day, but there were a lot of times
that there were same day stuff and my poor mom
had to take her Thomas Brother Guide in her pager
(07:31):
and figure out we're paid for and I don't know
how that.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Yeah, we we have talked many times about the Thomas Guide.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And about how as kids we could.
Speaker 5 (07:40):
I could navigate you cross country using a Thomas Kid
by the age of six, my mom my mom.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Was like, hey, dude, you're not getting your learners permit
unless you've got this thing fronted back. And I was
like brutal. Okay, oh I was.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
We were at literally at five years old.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
My mom was like okay, Jay four, okay, you know,
and it was like rating it and I remember, oh god,
finding knowing the best routes across town and which one's
like okay, we can't take the ten, but we can
take you know, will share all the way down or
something like just things like that that As a kid
(08:18):
navigating auditions, you you definitely learn. But yeah, I'm sure
it was a pretty quick thing.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
So I remember being on a lot and then I
remember they were like, Okay, we're going to take it
to the soundstage. I don't even think i'd been on
a sound stage yet. I'd literally just done commercials the
Maybes and Peterson, and I knew, you know, I knew
the show is gigantic, and they were like, we're gonna
do warder fitting right now, like what? And I met
(08:46):
you and they like, I don't know if you remember that,
but I do remember. They like, had us have our
first little meet cute and it was like right, it
was it was big jokes, it was big, it was real,
big man, and I mean, we'll.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, do you remember this, Jodie. You have to say yes, because.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It was me.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
I remember, and I don't remember what I had for
breakfast this morning, but I I, that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I was like, let's do, let's go. I can act
with this check, Let's go.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
And I do remember you and I had a lot
of fun together. Like you were a few years older
than me, so there was a little bit of an
age difference, but it never felt like.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Two younger sisters. And the one closest to me was
you know, my first best friend in life, and so
for together it was just me and her and we're
very different. She's I explained Chelsea as like if Ruth
Bader Ginsburg and Amy Poehler had a baby. She is
like a little four eleven tyrants, but very very funny,
(09:49):
the funniest of us all. And she's very stoic and
very pragmatic and I'm a limatic, So like we're very different.
But we were we and quick on and I think
that that's probably why you and I we we had
a good rapport.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
So what was it like being that that first day?
Like was it?
Speaker 5 (10:09):
I guess too, Like I we didn't the whole reason
we're doing this podcast because we didn't really watch the show,
So the whole idea that this show was like we
knew we got recognized, and we knew it was doing well.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
But as little kids, you're.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Kind of you know, you're just like I don't know,
this is the thing I do and I go and
you know, so whenever guest stars would come or people
and they were like this is huge for us, it's
I still think of it as like really our little show,
like with our little people, you know, because it was
so normal and so not a huge thing.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Yeah, I I remember it well, you can hear in
the taping. I haven't watched it for a long, long time.
I watch it every Sunday Night episode.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Right right, just to keep it fresh in case you're
asked to reprise the role.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Well, I give myself a note.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
I'm like, guy, Yeah, I mean thirty some odd years
of notes.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
I feel like at this point it's really dissected.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Didn't nail it, you know, I didn't nail it, and
I'm pretty upset about it.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Well, it's because you didn't have a backstory.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
You know, you didn't know. You didn't know was it
a patch on his pants or not that.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yeah, you can hear them when I when I the intro,
when I first arrived, there's like gasps and like there's
audible things and like very secluded laughter from you can
tell young boys, and those are all of them. They
all came to this. It was like my Scout troop.
(11:42):
They all came and you can hear their ice. I
can like say, oh, that's Ryan or that's Oh I'm.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
Going to have to go back and hear that now,
because it's really really cute.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
They were very you know it was. I mean, I've
always been a run I've always been the shortest due
in my class. I'm the shortest dude in my existence
as a forty five year old and but you know,
school was like a mixed bag, and most of the
time the friends were super supportive until you know they
you know, they'd be five or six yogals that we
(12:14):
get threatened. But when that gig happened, it was huge.
I mean, and I you know, that was like kind
of a period. I would say, like this is when
I peaked of like ten to like fifteen, and then
I went and I did a lot of different stuff.
So Bohas is definitely the one who was like, all right,
(12:34):
let's go.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
Was it like when you read the part of Duckface
where you like, oh, because I know, like as a
child actor, you know when we talked about it before too,
like there's things that you have to do where you're like,
it's fun in the moment and you're like, yeah, I'm
an actor and I'm having fun and being silly, but
then like you have this thought as pep where you're like, oh,
I'm going to pay for this when everyone sees it,
like everyone's gonna make.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Fun of me.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Did you not have any of that fear? And if not,
how did you do it? And how can I do
it now? Now?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
I mean, I've just always been a freak. So I
think I took my jobs weirdly serious at time, and
so I knew that that was a character and it
was such a good, weird, specific character that I was like,
I get to do a physical thing, I get to
wear glasses, I get to be kind of like, you know,
the patheticthetic part of it that I thought it was juicy,
(13:37):
and I was really I was happy about that. I
would pay for it later and I got routinely cast
as like nerd boy for a minute. But you know again,
I'm still that guy where like I've never you know,
I went to college for undergrad classical acting and then
you know, I've had a couple other lives seven of
(13:58):
my nine cat lives already, and and I've never been
the guy that's like, oh I want to win Best Actor.
I'm like, no supporting actor, Like I want to know what,
like the sidekick side Yeah, that's all.
Speaker 5 (14:13):
You always get to have the most fun with that,
with the not the main character, but the one that's
a little quirky and offbeat totally.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
And I also look in the mirror every day and
so I know my face looks like so it makes sense.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
But you know what, though, I always think that there
is something to be said for being a consistently working
character or theater actor where you're like, I just get
to do what I love in all different kinds of variations,
and I don't have to, like, you know, be perfect
for it. I don't have like I feel like that sometimes.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Can you know when.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
That's the goal is to like be this thing, it's
you know, you lose some of the fun and the
playfulness and the outrageousness of acting and playing and doing
all that.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
And I think, you know, as kids, we got to
do it all the time.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
I had a mentor in college that she was great.
She was from Britain and she I remember she cast
me in this one role that was like the leading
name and I looked at her and I was like,
what are you doing? And she was like, I think
you need to work on Well. I'll get emotional about
(15:21):
it because it's kind of stayed with me forever that
you're not and that you have the strength, and I
think you're handsome, and I think that you're charming, and
I think you're all the qualities of the leading man.
You don't know that yet, and you need to. I mean,
good God, what a lesson.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Yeah, you know, a good teacher and a good acting
class is really just on your feet therapy, working through
various things.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Her name is Sarah Ship and she's not dead. She's
still loves but she yeah she was. She was incremental
and yeah, so I'll drop her.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Like being the leading man for the first time, did
you end up believing in yourself that you're enough?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
I started filing into this thing because then during my
second tour of duty here in La I started a
film company, like in my twenties, because I was just
I was auditioning for a lot of physical gags, right,
So I was doing improv in my twenties. I was
at UCB when it first started. Did that for seven years,
ran the gamut because I was like, you know, when
(16:28):
you're five to one, you should at least be funny.
Let's figure it out. So did all that and we
started this little, tiny independent film company. And I remember
telling the guy that ended up directing all of it
was doing a lot of the camera operating. I said,
I want to do the non traditional man Ben Stiller
or not as saving to save these days Woody Allen.
(16:51):
But that I kind of got addicted to the idea
of making that work. And the first short film we
did is just like a little round commerce me in
a five 't ten blonde actress that I met in
improv class. Her name is Norika Patrick and she used
to play in Edward Sharp and she's a phone director.
Now that was a just on this, you know theme
(17:16):
of sort of me figuring that out. I remember when
to a couple of festivals and these old ladies, and
the audiences they were like I forgot how short you
were within five minutes because the chemistry was so good,
and I was like, okay, cool, gool cool, cool.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
What an amazing I mean that what a testament to
like reminding people that it's you know, the outer stuff,
the outer package is not the most interesting part of anything.
You know, it's not the most interesting part to watch
on screen. It's not the most interesting part to you know,
watch in real life. Like it's the underneath stuff that
makes someone attractive or interesting.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Yeah. And because I you know, I'm like semi retired
from acting, I get pulled out once in a while,
but I might have like a resurgence in my brain
and then my old here because I've kind of felt
like the older gray or balder I get, the more
interesting I am, Like.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
You know, you know what it is.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
It's the it's uh the less you give too, Yes,
you get like as all I am in my forties
now and it's I'm they're just they're flying off daily
and it's so great. But I think that makes for
like a whole It's sort of a creative resurgence because
all of a sudden you're like, wait, all the stuff
that I kind of didn't try or think I could
(18:29):
or what I want to do it now?
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Like what do I have to lose? Who cares?
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It's sort of like the good side of a of
a a midlife crisis, but a midlife questioning, a midlife
digging deeper of what's next.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Forty five year old is the best version if you're
buying action figures, that's the one we get. And like
it took a bit, I mean, you know, not to
be like overly whatever, but my my pizza and valleys.
I really have lived seven of my nine cat lives.
But I'm not tired, and I feel like it's it's
kind of the killer second half of my book that
(19:03):
I'm excited about because and this is going to sound
really hippie dippy and preach, you know, I lived a
part of my life and not even though I was healthy.
I lived a large part of my life not only
growing up in the industry, as you guys know, but
I also grew up very, very religious, and although we
didn't really wear it on our sleeves, it was a
(19:25):
part of my life every day week and my friends
were a part of it, all that stuff. And so
when I came to that sort of crossroads late in life,
like in my twenties, where I was like is this
for me? I just learned a lot about them myself.
And so I think that most people, or at least
(19:48):
a fall amount of people, don't get the opportunity to
push pause on their life and really separate and do
it's kind of a cliche term, but to do their
work and to to really figure out who you are internally,
so the second half of your life can be for
you rather than the expectation of other people.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Yeah, it's brilliant, as I think the three of us
here have all done a lot of that work.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Uh, yay therapy, yay therapy.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
If we're always on the show, like therapy is, yes,
talk to people, talk to do the work.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Do the work.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I started painting in my forties. Yes, I have no training.
My sister's the painter. She has two visual arts degrees.
I was doing. I was doing a player. I was
playing Oedipus and it's really fed up thing I wrote
with Antigony and Oedipus and it was sort of I
fictionally called it lars w and Sophocles because it looked
(20:51):
like a lars warm true right, And I was like,
for this, like research, I want to like fiddle around
the painting I've literally never taken seriously. So I asked
my sister. I was like, what do I get? Where
I get them? What do I go to Michael's? Do
I go to blin?
Speaker 2 (21:06):
What I did?
Speaker 4 (21:07):
And she was giving me some pointed She's like, oh,
how fun. And I started banging it out and because
full circle, I got zero to good. I can approach
this art form which normally you're gonna get stuck and
tricky if you overthink it and if you judge it.
I don't care. So I just threw it down. I
showed her a picture of this guy and she didn't
(21:31):
tunk me for three weeks because she was like, I'm
so pissed that you're just like good at you know.
And then I like I started selling them stuff and
she was I was like, look, also, we can't get
the ten and bombs and we can't have like sibling
rivalry in authority. You're always going to be better than me.
But I have to do this for my swit. So like, yeah,
(21:52):
this is the reason I bring it up is not
to tell promote, but like this is an example of
me not caring, not care.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
I have a dear friend of mine, Jen passed alof
who is an incredible author and wrote a book, a
memoir called On Being Human, which I highly recommend if
you're looking to do it. But she's a dear friend
of mine, and she did the same thing. She was
going through a divorce and all of a sudden, it's
like she just has all of this energy. She's more
probably add than I am, but I love her and
(22:20):
she just started painting and like she's really great.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
And.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Yeah, it's that reminder that like, just try new things,
try new ways of expressing yourself, particularly at this time
in your life when you're like, oh wait, I actually
care a lot less about what people think. Go find
ways to be create, are artistically creative, and let that
part of your soul out, because I think we spend
like the first half of our lives really trying to
(22:49):
fit in the box that everyone else builds for us,
and then we spend the second half like taking that
box apart and building our own, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
Well totally, And that's the thing that like not to
get into the weeds about, but like with a a
giant backplack of religious trauma, I really had to figure
out you know, oh my gosh, some of these little
tic tac things were literally things I was just saluting to.
These decisions were not my decisions at all, and they
(23:16):
formed a lot of stuff. So there has been a
lot of untethering. And they call it with faith crisis
is deprogramming, and it's been really interesting. You know, it's
not right for everybody. I don't want to like talk
about that and then be a hypocrite by preaching about
not doing that.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
No, I think, well, I think like with anything that
you know, de feminism all that the thing is that
you have the choice if this is something of a
journey that you want to take and something that isn't
working for you, then go go take that journey. If
the faith is working for you, you feel cool with it,
then that works for you. You know, it's all about choice.
But I love that, like, this is the journey that
(23:56):
you've been on, and I think so many of our
listeners will really connect with that, and also the idea
of like knowing you as sort of this you know,
Walter Duckface character and then like you had to deal
with some of those real life things in your own
(24:18):
life and come through it just like Walter would have
probably had we followed along on his story and figured
out who he was at forty five.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
You know, so like I'm not I'm not.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Lying what I'm telling you that in was it college
or was it high school? I think it was like
early college. I went on two separtates. I remember this vividly,
and and they both said, you know, and moments where
it's like, oh, okay, maybe this is when we kiss
(24:48):
and they said, am I your secret girlfriend?
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Oh no, no, right, no, yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Oh yeah yeah, Ben, Yeah, that's paying that.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Oh And I was like shops clothed, shops closed, that
was real weird. Yeah, that's a deal breaker, you know,
like that's that's a note for Meg.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, it's you know, it's amazing how many people out
there think that that.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
And I guess, you know.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
I think they're intentional. I think the intention is fir.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
I guess it's always the thing that I say to
people where I go, you know, people like, yeah, but
you're famous, Like, isn't that cool? And I always say that, like,
I think the idea of being known and famous, yeah,
is really great. But when you try that on, there
are definitely certain parts of it that that irritate, you
(25:39):
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:39):
That are great.
Speaker 5 (25:40):
Certain parts of it look amazing and fabulous and it's
all you know, you feel great, and but then certain
parts of it are just constantly irritating and itchy as
you wear that that idea of There was.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
A long time when I really really tried desperately to
separate myself from being a kid actor, even I was
still acting, even though I still love theaters and I
was entrenched in it and discovering it like having a
love affair with it for the first time all over again.
But I tried really hard to kind of separate myself.
(26:13):
And then the pandemic happened and I had and I
think you guys know this world too. Now. I'd never
done any conventions, and because I have some horror stuff
and some animation stuff and nostalgia stuff like that, Like
I could go and kind of reach a bunch of
different boxes, but I'd never done it because I was
(26:35):
maybe pretentious, maybe just like shy about it.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Yeah, there is a certain element of being like, oh,
I don't know, do it like does this feel weird?
Does it feel you know? And now I actually love
doing them because the fans.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Love it, like I do them now all the time,
and they're so sweet.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
It's such a joy to be able to go and
have people respond so positively. And I think also that
is something that comes with age, I will say it,
the the understanding and.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Appreciation of just what these characters mean to people.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
I think does it hit you until you're of that
age where you go, oh yeah, yeah, Like my childhood
memories are like that too, you know, and it once
you have enough distance from it, you're like, Okay, that's
not all I am. But I'm okay with leaning into
that part.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Well. And here's a really cool thing that I've been
sort of obsessed with lately. This thought is that you know. Yes,
it's great to not live your life in sort of
a narcissistic, self serving way, but also to be of service. Right, So, like,
I'm in a play right now that I wrote that
(27:44):
we're going to do here in September, here in La.
It's a big bucket list thing for me, and I
wanted to act in it. And I've directed eighteen of
my theater company's shows previously, all of them. And it's
a checkoff play. I'm obsessed with check off. I could
do four hours.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
What plays that. I love Chekhov It's Van.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Yeah, so I'm playing Van. Yet you have to come.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I want to come, okay.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Because here's the other thing. I love Chekov And not
to like throw a shade or seem like I'm a
bitter dude. I'm just really punk rock this way. Like
there's been a couple Bondies this year. It seemed quite
precious and quite American, and what I wanted was to
get to like the teeth and the backbone. Anyway, point
of this whole story, outside of clearly pleasure.
Speaker 5 (28:30):
Is that you should We would ask you do you
have stuff to play?
Speaker 2 (28:34):
And this? Yeah? This, I will be there.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Yeah, this is it there and my company is called
a Riot Act and we're on Instagram or whatever. But
the part of it was that, like I, I didn't
want to do double duty and direct and a lot
of acting. I just not I didn't want to do that.
So I wrote the adaptation. And then I met this dude.
He's he's a kid, twenty three. He took this sort
(29:00):
of weirdo acting workshop I taught last year, and he's
a cal Arts grad and he's he's a genius. And
I thought, you know what, here's where people at our
age go. They don't look towards the past from the
people that inspired them, and they certainly don't look at
like the younger generation and going like you have something
(29:22):
to say that I really need to hear. They're finished products,
they're baked in and that is totally where you get
in trouble.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Well, as we get older, we get more set in
our ways, and that's like the worst possible thing for
creativity and just humans really like always be learning and
changing addition stuff.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
So I'm excited because I've just kind of said, hey, man,
here's my brand, here's my baby that I established in
London that like, you know, I don't have kids, so
my plays are my kids. And I said, I'm gonna
I'm gonna let you take them for the weekend. And
I want you to like, take this play and do
it your way, don't try to impress me. And I'm
(30:04):
just gonna be of service to you to send the
elevator back down to give it to people, and to say,
here's the stuff I've learned, take it or leave it.
That's kind of what I live for these days. I
live for being like some strange stage guru pirate. That's
what I want to be.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
I am totally here for your strange sage guru pirate era.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I think it's excellent.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
I think we all need a stage guru pirate in
our corner who will tell us the truth. And I
love hearing about your all of your nine lives. And
this wraps up part one of our interview with the
beloved wit Hertford, known to our dear fan of Rito's
as Duckface. Although I hate that he still has that moniker, but.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
It just it's gonna follow him every day.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Now, it's what it is.
Speaker 5 (30:54):
But wit has shared so many incredible memories with us already,
but there's still so much more to dive into, so
make sure to join us this Friday for part two
with Wit and We're so glad you joined us for
another episode of how Rude Tanner Rito's. If you're looking
for more fun, make sure and follow us on Instagram
so you can see all of our behind the scenes photos,
some of the photos of stuff we talk about on
(31:14):
the podcast, and that's.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
At how Rude Podcast.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
You can also email us at howardpodcast at gmail dot
com and make sure you're liking and subscribing to the
podcast wherever you're listening so that you can make sure
and get all the newest episodes as soon as they
come out. So you guys, here's to another fabulous episode
of How Rude Tana Rito's. Now, I feel like we
changed the outro?
Speaker 4 (31:38):
We did?
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Did you write it down?
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Oh crap?
Speaker 3 (31:41):
And we don't have a bracelet. We don't have a
cheat sheet.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
You see this is I'm out here, I'm flying blind.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Uh oh wait, I remember what it was. It was?
Speaker 5 (31:51):
It was, uh, the world is the world is full,
but the door is always open.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Now the world is small, but the door is always open.
I think that was I think that might sounds right.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Okay, well, we'll go with that this week until you know,
I get a braceletter, write it down.
Hey there, Fanarritos, Welcome back to How Rude Tanertos. Today,
one of Fullhouse's most iconic guest stars is joining us.
We have wit Hertford aka duck Face with us on
the podcast. Duckface's signature look arguably started a movement that
still floods our Instagram feeds to this day.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's true, it all started here.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
It's a legendary look.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We can't wait to talk to wit about his time
on Full House and the other incredible projects he was
a part of. Please put your hands together for Wit.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I'm so old. I'm so old that I'm literally doing
this off like the desktop screen top and the oh
like I'm eighty.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh yeah, No, you're in the right place. We are.
Speaker 5 (01:04):
We really discuss every time on this show how old
we feel because technology is not our strong suit and
uh yeah it's you.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I try not to let that cat out of the bag,
like I really try to take it. I'm like, no,
I'm super good at it, right, I'm really really, really right,
because I don't want anybody to like I think he's lying.
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Well, we're also trained as actors, you know, to put
it on your special skills. Yes, I fire juggling, totally
done it make it work.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
So we're like, yeah, technology, I'm great. I mean, what's happening.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, we just watched your episode.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
We just watched your episode last night, the first one
we're introduced, and oh.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
My gosh, Yeah, you are just a vision.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
You are a vision in your color blocking that outfit,
oh the sweater.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah. We we make fun of ourselves a lot, and.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
It's just giving Willy Wonka a little bit.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
It's really good wardrobe.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Isn't it great?
Speaker 5 (02:00):
The glasses, the corduroy pants. I mean I could hear
him from I could hear him from here.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It was good.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
And did they have a It looked like they had
a patch on them. Did they have a patch on
them or were they like cargo corduroy.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I don't know. I'd have to look at a photo.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
I know, because there was like on the side of
them there was I was like, oh, is that a patch?
And I was like, is that Like are we trying
to show that maybe Walter like maybe doesn't have well
or that maybe he doesn't have a lot of money,
and so like that's part of it, you know what
I mean?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Like maybe his answer it.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Was poorly, poorly last were right?
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Like I didn't know that, or if it was just
a fashion choice or just something on my screen.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I don't know. It could have been any of those.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, you were history is at all. I really would
have loved if we met mom and dad duck.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Face, mister and missus Duckface.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yes, yes, the senior duck Face.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
And why are his lips stuck in that position? I
want to know that who knows? Who knows that?
Speaker 4 (03:04):
You know?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Like sort of like my like classical training.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Later in life, I would have asked all of these questions,
but at ten, I was just sort of like I'm.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
On TV, right, Yes, the same, It's all the same.
I just did the thing like this is fun. Now
win's lunch.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
So let's go let's go back back back because we
want to talk to you obviously about like your first
appearance as Duckface, but I mean you've you and your
your siblings have been actors and in the business for
quite a long time.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
How old were you when you started acting?
Speaker 4 (03:43):
The first thing I ever did was that four we
had moved here. My dad got a job at pepper
Dye teaching. He's a theater director and I auditioned like
crazy and did all the normal stuff, did the headshots,
and I think I had business cards with like an
ice cream cone that was falling, like really really cringe.
(04:06):
But it was a care Bear shoe commercial. It was
remember those remember this is how old we are too,
by the way, guys remember those shoe stores called Buster Brown.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, so it was.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Like a copro with Buster Brown and care Bears and
I was in a commercial with that, so I had
to like imagine care Bears and that was my first,
my first thing, and I remembered it. Yeah, you know,
I think it was good that it was my first
thing because it was fun and it was a little weird.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
So was this your choice to begin?
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I get four, I don't know how much choice you
have to be like I'm going to be an actor?
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Oh no to your parents pushing you or.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
This was all you?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Yeah no, I was precocious as hell, and like because
my parents' ractors, it just felt like, well, this is
what we do. This isn't our DNA. Thankfully, like in
a big sweeping sort of overview, you know, my parents,
especially my mom because she kind of raised this as
a single parent for majority of my life kept us
in public school. We didn't live in the city and
(05:05):
that was crucial. We lived in a Goora before it
was like Bougie and Erowong, when it was like Tumbleweeds,
and so that was cool because it was the beach
and it was horses, and it was public school. And
I think without that I would have been in a
lot of trouble. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:21):
Yeah, I think all three of us kind of had
that experience. We did like regular school, and all three
of us lived outside of a kind of Yeah we were
the Orange County, that's right.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
So yeah, you were the other side of the town.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
But but yeah, I think I do think that that
helped a ton because it wasn't like quote unquote real
life was something that we had zero connection to or
that you know what I mean. It wasn't like we
were in this bubble of just only being in entertainment.
It was like, oh no, we knew what like regular
(05:58):
school people did you know?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
And I think that was that was key.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
It keeps you ground It keeps you grounded, and it
gives you perspective too of like hey, you're not going
to be fond over all the time or told you're
wonderful every single day, or you know, get people however.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
You will, Yeah, totally, totally.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
How So let's go, let's get to duck Face, because
I know that that is what people are dying to hear.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
But let's get to duck base.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Let's get to duck Face. That's actually that's actually the
stint off. Let's get to duck fast.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
But let's get to duck face.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
I think that's the new that. Yeah, that's the newest one.
And we find that really duck Face has been behind
all manner of things in the Tanner Fuller Future. He's
I feel like he's definitely their account for show easily.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
I feel like duck Face is helping that family figure
out how they pay for that house. Well, no one
really appears to be working that much, So good on you.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Here we go. Now we're really getting you know.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
Me, I'll I'll just start off in a direct and
a fanfic and we'll have a show in seven minutes.
But what do you remember what the casting process was
like for that episode for that character?
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Simultaneously, vaguely and vividly, I remember going to the lot,
and I remember that it might have been pretty quick
from the initial to the callback. I don't want to
say same day, but there were a lot of times
that there were same day stuff and my poor mom
had to take her Thomas Brother Guide in her pager
(07:31):
and figure out we're paid for and I don't know
how that.
Speaker 5 (07:34):
Yeah, we we have talked many times about the Thomas Guide.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And about how as kids we could.
Speaker 5 (07:40):
I could navigate you cross country using a Thomas Kid
by the age of six, my mom my mom.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Was like, hey, dude, you're not getting your learners permit
unless you've got this thing fronted back. And I was
like brutal. Okay, oh I was.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
We were at literally at five years old.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
My mom was like okay, Jay four, okay, you know,
and it was like rating it and I remember, oh god,
finding knowing the best routes across town and which one's
like okay, we can't take the ten, but we can
take you know, will share all the way down or
something like just things like that that As a kid
(08:18):
navigating auditions, you you definitely learn. But yeah, I'm sure
it was a pretty quick thing.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
So I remember being on a lot and then I
remember they were like, Okay, we're going to take it
to the soundstage. I don't even think i'd been on
a sound stage yet. I'd literally just done commercials the
Maybes and Peterson, and I knew, you know, I knew
the show is gigantic, and they were like, we're gonna
do warder fitting right now, like what? And I met
(08:46):
you and they like, I don't know if you remember that,
but I do remember. They like, had us have our
first little meet cute and it was like right, it
was it was big jokes, it was big, it was real,
big man, and I mean, we'll.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, do you remember this, Jodie. You have to say yes, because.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It was me.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
I remember, and I don't remember what I had for
breakfast this morning, but I I, that's amazing.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
I was like, let's do, let's go. I can act
with this check, Let's go.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
And I do remember you and I had a lot
of fun together. Like you were a few years older
than me, so there was a little bit of an
age difference, but it never felt like.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Two younger sisters. And the one closest to me was
you know, my first best friend in life, and so
for together it was just me and her and we're
very different. She's I explained Chelsea as like if Ruth
Bader Ginsburg and Amy Poehler had a baby. She is
like a little four eleven tyrants, but very very funny,
(09:49):
the funniest of us all. And she's very stoic and
very pragmatic and I'm a limatic, So like we're very different.
But we were we and quick on and I think
that that's probably why you and I we we had
a good rapport.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
So what was it like being that that first day?
Like was it?
Speaker 5 (10:09):
I guess too, Like I we didn't the whole reason
we're doing this podcast because we didn't really watch the show,
So the whole idea that this show was like we
knew we got recognized, and we knew it was doing well.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
But as little kids, you're.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Kind of you know, you're just like I don't know,
this is the thing I do and I go and
you know, so whenever guest stars would come or people
and they were like this is huge for us, it's
I still think of it as like really our little show,
like with our little people, you know, because it was
so normal and so not a huge thing.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Yeah, I I remember it well, you can hear in
the taping. I haven't watched it for a long, long time.
I watch it every Sunday Night episode.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Right right, just to keep it fresh in case you're
asked to reprise the role.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Well, I give myself a note.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
I'm like, guy, Yeah, I mean thirty some odd years
of notes.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
I feel like at this point it's really dissected.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Didn't nail it, you know, I didn't nail it, and
I'm pretty upset about it.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Well, it's because you didn't have a backstory.
Speaker 5 (11:13):
You know, you didn't know. You didn't know was it
a patch on his pants or not that.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yeah, you can hear them when I when I the intro,
when I first arrived, there's like gasps and like there's
audible things and like very secluded laughter from you can
tell young boys, and those are all of them. They
all came to this. It was like my Scout troop.
(11:42):
They all came and you can hear their ice. I
can like say, oh, that's Ryan or that's Oh I'm.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
Going to have to go back and hear that now,
because it's really really cute.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
They were very you know it was. I mean, I've
always been a run I've always been the shortest due
in my class. I'm the shortest dude in my existence
as a forty five year old and but you know,
school was like a mixed bag, and most of the
time the friends were super supportive until you know they
you know, they'd be five or six yogals that we
(12:14):
get threatened. But when that gig happened, it was huge.
I mean, and I you know, that was like kind
of a period. I would say, like this is when
I peaked of like ten to like fifteen, and then
I went and I did a lot of different stuff.
So Bohas is definitely the one who was like, all right,
(12:34):
let's go.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
Was it like when you read the part of Duckface
where you like, oh, because I know, like as a
child actor, you know when we talked about it before too,
like there's things that you have to do where you're like,
it's fun in the moment and you're like, yeah, I'm
an actor and I'm having fun and being silly, but
then like you have this thought as pep where you're like, oh,
I'm going to pay for this when everyone sees it,
like everyone's gonna make.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Fun of me.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Did you not have any of that fear? And if not,
how did you do it? And how can I do
it now? Now?
Speaker 4 (13:12):
I mean, I've just always been a freak. So I
think I took my jobs weirdly serious at time, and
so I knew that that was a character and it
was such a good, weird, specific character that I was like,
I get to do a physical thing, I get to
wear glasses, I get to be kind of like, you know,
the patheticthetic part of it that I thought it was juicy,
(13:37):
and I was really I was happy about that. I
would pay for it later and I got routinely cast
as like nerd boy for a minute. But you know again,
I'm still that guy where like I've never you know,
I went to college for undergrad classical acting and then
you know, I've had a couple other lives seven of
(13:58):
my nine cat lives already, and and I've never been
the guy that's like, oh I want to win Best Actor.
I'm like, no supporting actor, Like I want to know what,
like the sidekick side Yeah, that's all.
Speaker 5 (14:13):
You always get to have the most fun with that,
with the not the main character, but the one that's
a little quirky and offbeat totally.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
And I also look in the mirror every day and
so I know my face looks like so it makes sense.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
But you know what, though, I always think that there
is something to be said for being a consistently working
character or theater actor where you're like, I just get
to do what I love in all different kinds of variations,
and I don't have to, like, you know, be perfect
for it. I don't have like I feel like that sometimes.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Can you know when.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
That's the goal is to like be this thing, it's
you know, you lose some of the fun and the
playfulness and the outrageousness of acting and playing and doing
all that.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
And I think, you know, as kids, we got to
do it all the time.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
I had a mentor in college that she was great.
She was from Britain and she I remember she cast
me in this one role that was like the leading
name and I looked at her and I was like,
what are you doing? And she was like, I think
you need to work on Well. I'll get emotional about
(15:21):
it because it's kind of stayed with me forever that
you're not and that you have the strength, and I
think you're handsome, and I think that you're charming, and
I think you're all the qualities of the leading man.
You don't know that yet, and you need to. I mean,
good God, what a lesson.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Yeah, you know, a good teacher and a good acting
class is really just on your feet therapy, working through
various things.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Her name is Sarah Ship and she's not dead. She's
still loves but she yeah she was. She was incremental
and yeah, so I'll drop her.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Like being the leading man for the first time, did
you end up believing in yourself that you're enough?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
I started filing into this thing because then during my
second tour of duty here in La I started a
film company, like in my twenties, because I was just
I was auditioning for a lot of physical gags, right,
So I was doing improv in my twenties. I was
at UCB when it first started. Did that for seven years,
ran the gamut because I was like, you know, when
(16:28):
you're five to one, you should at least be funny.
Let's figure it out. So did all that and we
started this little, tiny independent film company. And I remember
telling the guy that ended up directing all of it
was doing a lot of the camera operating. I said,
I want to do the non traditional man Ben Stiller
or not as saving to save these days Woody Allen.
(16:51):
But that I kind of got addicted to the idea
of making that work. And the first short film we
did is just like a little round commerce me in
a five 't ten blonde actress that I met in
improv class. Her name is Norika Patrick and she used
to play in Edward Sharp and she's a phone director.
Now that was a just on this, you know theme
(17:16):
of sort of me figuring that out. I remember when
to a couple of festivals and these old ladies, and
the audiences they were like I forgot how short you
were within five minutes because the chemistry was so good,
and I was like, okay, cool, gool cool, cool.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
What an amazing I mean that what a testament to
like reminding people that it's you know, the outer stuff,
the outer package is not the most interesting part of anything.
You know, it's not the most interesting part to watch
on screen. It's not the most interesting part to you know,
watch in real life. Like it's the underneath stuff that
makes someone attractive or interesting.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Yeah. And because I you know, I'm like semi retired
from acting, I get pulled out once in a while,
but I might have like a resurgence in my brain
and then my old here because I've kind of felt
like the older gray or balder I get, the more
interesting I am, Like.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
You know, you know what it is.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
It's the it's uh the less you give too, Yes,
you get like as all I am in my forties
now and it's I'm they're just they're flying off daily
and it's so great. But I think that makes for
like a whole It's sort of a creative resurgence because
all of a sudden you're like, wait, all the stuff
that I kind of didn't try or think I could
(18:29):
or what I want to do it now?
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Like what do I have to lose? Who cares?
Speaker 5 (18:33):
It's sort of like the good side of a of
a a midlife crisis, but a midlife questioning, a midlife
digging deeper of what's next.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Forty five year old is the best version if you're
buying action figures, that's the one we get. And like
it took a bit, I mean, you know, not to
be like overly whatever, but my my pizza and valleys.
I really have lived seven of my nine cat lives.
But I'm not tired, and I feel like it's it's
kind of the killer second half of my book that
(19:03):
I'm excited about because and this is going to sound
really hippie dippy and preach, you know, I lived a
part of my life and not even though I was healthy.
I lived a large part of my life not only
growing up in the industry, as you guys know, but
I also grew up very, very religious, and although we
didn't really wear it on our sleeves, it was a
(19:25):
part of my life every day week and my friends
were a part of it, all that stuff. And so
when I came to that sort of crossroads late in life,
like in my twenties, where I was like is this
for me? I just learned a lot about them myself.
And so I think that most people, or at least
(19:48):
a fall amount of people, don't get the opportunity to
push pause on their life and really separate and do
it's kind of a cliche term, but to do their
work and to to really figure out who you are internally,
so the second half of your life can be for
you rather than the expectation of other people.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Yeah, it's brilliant, as I think the three of us
here have all done a lot of that work.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Uh, yay therapy, yay therapy.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
If we're always on the show, like therapy is, yes,
talk to people, talk to do the work.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Do the work.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
I started painting in my forties. Yes, I have no training.
My sister's the painter. She has two visual arts degrees.
I was doing. I was doing a player. I was
playing Oedipus and it's really fed up thing I wrote
with Antigony and Oedipus and it was sort of I
fictionally called it lars w and Sophocles because it looked
(20:51):
like a lars warm true right, And I was like,
for this, like research, I want to like fiddle around
the painting I've literally never taken seriously. So I asked
my sister. I was like, what do I get? Where
I get them? What do I go to Michael's? Do
I go to blin?
Speaker 2 (21:06):
What I did?
Speaker 4 (21:07):
And she was giving me some pointed She's like, oh,
how fun. And I started banging it out and because
full circle, I got zero to good. I can approach
this art form which normally you're gonna get stuck and
tricky if you overthink it and if you judge it.
I don't care. So I just threw it down. I
showed her a picture of this guy and she didn't
(21:31):
tunk me for three weeks because she was like, I'm
so pissed that you're just like good at you know.
And then I like I started selling them stuff and
she was I was like, look, also, we can't get
the ten and bombs and we can't have like sibling
rivalry in authority. You're always going to be better than me.
But I have to do this for my swit. So like, yeah,
(21:52):
this is the reason I bring it up is not
to tell promote, but like this is an example of
me not caring, not care.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
I have a dear friend of mine, Jen passed alof
who is an incredible author and wrote a book, a
memoir called On Being Human, which I highly recommend if
you're looking to do it. But she's a dear friend
of mine, and she did the same thing. She was
going through a divorce and all of a sudden, it's
like she just has all of this energy. She's more
probably add than I am, but I love her and
(22:20):
she just started painting and like she's really great.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
And.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Yeah, it's that reminder that like, just try new things,
try new ways of expressing yourself, particularly at this time
in your life when you're like, oh wait, I actually
care a lot less about what people think. Go find
ways to be create, are artistically creative, and let that
part of your soul out, because I think we spend
like the first half of our lives really trying to
(22:49):
fit in the box that everyone else builds for us,
and then we spend the second half like taking that
box apart and building our own, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
Well totally, And that's the thing that like not to
get into the weeds about, but like with a a
giant backplack of religious trauma, I really had to figure
out you know, oh my gosh, some of these little
tic tac things were literally things I was just saluting to.
These decisions were not my decisions at all, and they
(23:16):
formed a lot of stuff. So there has been a
lot of untethering. And they call it with faith crisis
is deprogramming, and it's been really interesting. You know, it's
not right for everybody. I don't want to like talk
about that and then be a hypocrite by preaching about
not doing that.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
No, I think, well, I think like with anything that
you know, de feminism all that the thing is that
you have the choice if this is something of a
journey that you want to take and something that isn't
working for you, then go go take that journey. If
the faith is working for you, you feel cool with it,
then that works for you. You know, it's all about choice.
But I love that, like, this is the journey that
(23:56):
you've been on, and I think so many of our
listeners will really connect with that, and also the idea
of like knowing you as sort of this you know,
Walter Duckface character and then like you had to deal
with some of those real life things in your own
(24:18):
life and come through it just like Walter would have
probably had we followed along on his story and figured
out who he was at forty five.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
You know, so like I'm not I'm not.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Lying what I'm telling you that in was it college
or was it high school? I think it was like
early college. I went on two separtates. I remember this vividly,
and and they both said, you know, and moments where
it's like, oh, okay, maybe this is when we kiss
(24:48):
and they said, am I your secret girlfriend?
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Oh no, no, right, no, yeah?
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Oh yeah yeah, Ben, Yeah, that's paying that.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Oh And I was like shops clothed, shops closed, that
was real weird. Yeah, that's a deal breaker, you know,
like that's that's a note for Meg.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Yeah, it's you know, it's amazing how many people out
there think that that.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
And I guess, you know.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
I think they're intentional. I think the intention is fir.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
I guess it's always the thing that I say to
people where I go, you know, people like, yeah, but
you're famous, Like, isn't that cool? And I always say that, like,
I think the idea of being known and famous, yeah,
is really great. But when you try that on, there
are definitely certain parts of it that that irritate, you
(25:39):
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (25:39):
That are great.
Speaker 5 (25:40):
Certain parts of it look amazing and fabulous and it's
all you know, you feel great, and but then certain
parts of it are just constantly irritating and itchy as
you wear that that idea of There was.
Speaker 4 (25:50):
A long time when I really really tried desperately to
separate myself from being a kid actor, even I was
still acting, even though I still love theaters and I
was entrenched in it and discovering it like having a
love affair with it for the first time all over again.
But I tried really hard to kind of separate myself.
(26:13):
And then the pandemic happened and I had and I
think you guys know this world too. Now. I'd never
done any conventions, and because I have some horror stuff
and some animation stuff and nostalgia stuff like that, Like
I could go and kind of reach a bunch of
different boxes, but I'd never done it because I was
(26:35):
maybe pretentious, maybe just like shy about it.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Yeah, there is a certain element of being like, oh,
I don't know, do it like does this feel weird?
Does it feel you know? And now I actually love
doing them because the fans.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Love it, like I do them now all the time,
and they're so sweet.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
It's such a joy to be able to go and
have people respond so positively. And I think also that
is something that comes with age, I will say it,
the the understanding and.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Appreciation of just what these characters mean to people.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
I think does it hit you until you're of that
age where you go, oh yeah, yeah, Like my childhood
memories are like that too, you know, and it once
you have enough distance from it, you're like, Okay, that's
not all I am. But I'm okay with leaning into
that part.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
Well. And here's a really cool thing that I've been
sort of obsessed with lately. This thought is that you know. Yes,
it's great to not live your life in sort of
a narcissistic, self serving way, but also to be of service. Right, So, like,
I'm in a play right now that I wrote that
(27:44):
we're going to do here in September, here in La.
It's a big bucket list thing for me, and I
wanted to act in it. And I've directed eighteen of
my theater company's shows previously, all of them. And it's
a checkoff play. I'm obsessed with check off. I could
do four hours.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
What plays that. I love Chekhov It's Van.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Yeah, so I'm playing Van. Yet you have to come.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
I want to come, okay.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Because here's the other thing. I love Chekov And not
to like throw a shade or seem like I'm a
bitter dude. I'm just really punk rock this way. Like
there's been a couple Bondies this year. It seemed quite
precious and quite American, and what I wanted was to
get to like the teeth and the backbone. Anyway, point
of this whole story, outside of clearly pleasure.
Speaker 5 (28:30):
Is that you should We would ask you do you
have stuff to play?
Speaker 2 (28:34):
And this? Yeah? This, I will be there.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Yeah, this is it there and my company is called
a Riot Act and we're on Instagram or whatever. But
the part of it was that, like I, I didn't
want to do double duty and direct and a lot
of acting. I just not I didn't want to do that.
So I wrote the adaptation. And then I met this dude.
He's he's a kid, twenty three. He took this sort
(29:00):
of weirdo acting workshop I taught last year, and he's
a cal Arts grad and he's he's a genius. And
I thought, you know what, here's where people at our
age go. They don't look towards the past from the
people that inspired them, and they certainly don't look at
like the younger generation and going like you have something
(29:22):
to say that I really need to hear. They're finished products,
they're baked in and that is totally where you get
in trouble.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Well, as we get older, we get more set in
our ways, and that's like the worst possible thing for
creativity and just humans really like always be learning and
changing addition stuff.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
So I'm excited because I've just kind of said, hey, man,
here's my brand, here's my baby that I established in
London that like, you know, I don't have kids, so
my plays are my kids. And I said, I'm gonna
I'm gonna let you take them for the weekend. And
I want you to like, take this play and do
it your way, don't try to impress me. And I'm
(30:04):
just gonna be of service to you to send the
elevator back down to give it to people, and to say,
here's the stuff I've learned, take it or leave it.
That's kind of what I live for these days. I
live for being like some strange stage guru pirate. That's
what I want to be.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
I am totally here for your strange sage guru pirate era.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I think it's excellent.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
I think we all need a stage guru pirate in
our corner who will tell us the truth. And I
love hearing about your all of your nine lives. And
this wraps up part one of our interview with the
beloved wit Hertford, known to our dear fan of Rito's
as Duckface. Although I hate that he still has that moniker, but.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
It just it's gonna follow him every day.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Now, it's what it is.
Speaker 5 (30:54):
But wit has shared so many incredible memories with us already,
but there's still so much more to dive into, so
make sure to join us this Friday for part two
with Wit and We're so glad you joined us for
another episode of how Rude Tanner Rito's. If you're looking
for more fun, make sure and follow us on Instagram
so you can see all of our behind the scenes photos,
some of the photos of stuff we talk about on
(31:14):
the podcast, and that's.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
At how Rude Podcast.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
You can also email us at howardpodcast at gmail dot
com and make sure you're liking and subscribing to the
podcast wherever you're listening so that you can make sure
and get all the newest episodes as soon as they
come out. So you guys, here's to another fabulous episode
of How Rude Tana Rito's. Now, I feel like we
changed the outro?
Speaker 4 (31:38):
We did?
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Did you write it down?
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Oh crap?
Speaker 3 (31:41):
And we don't have a bracelet. We don't have a
cheat sheet.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
You see this is I'm out here, I'm flying blind.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Uh oh wait, I remember what it was. It was?
Speaker 5 (31:51):
It was, uh, the world is the world is full,
but the door is always open.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Now the world is small, but the door is always open.
I think that was I think that might sounds right.
Speaker 5 (32:02):
Okay, well, we'll go with that this week until you know,
I get a braceletter, write it down.
Hosts And Creators
Andrea Barber
Jodie Sweetin
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