January 9, 2024 • 41 mins
This week, Tommy is joined by the brilliant actor, Dom Sherwood, who is best known for his starring role in the smash-hit mythical series, Shadowhunters. In a world full of warlocks, werewolves, vampires and monsters, Dom’s portrayal of a skilled soldier fighting against demons kept audiences coming back week after week. Dom was most recently in the Netflix series Partner Track, Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and Vampire Academy, where he played the lead role of Christian. Dom opens up about why a show like Shadowhunters is a young boy’s dream, the importance of having a deep connection with his cast while doing an emotional show like this, how gratifying it was being part of a show that helped so many people feel seen, how he has reached some of his wildest dreams but still hopes to continue learning and growing, realizing that your happiness comes from inside of you, and how arguably the biggest pop star in the world right now gave him what he considers his big break.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy di Dario. Today's guest is the brilliant actor
Dom Sherwood.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
He shot to international stardom after playing the leading man
in the smash hit supernatural series shadow Hunters, which is
based on the best selling young adult fantasy book series
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Claire. Shadow Hunters is a
world full of demons and warlocks, werewolves and vampires, and
so much more so. If you were looking for your
(00:35):
supernatural and mythical fix, well, this show is extremely binge worthy.
Tom was last seen in his series regular role in
the Netflix series Partner Track, or you might recognize him
from Showtime's Penny Dreadful City of Angels, or as the
lead role Christian in Vampire Academy, among many other credits.
(00:56):
Man he is such a talented artist who completely transforms
into whatever character he is playing. Today we dive into
the supernatural and mythical world of shadow Hunters. We also
chat about going after work that fuels your soul, and
Dom shares how arguably the hottest pop star in the
world right now, gave him what he considers his big
(01:16):
break Oh man, this was such a great conversation. Dom
has so much heart and so much soul, and we
really covered everything and anything you can think of. So
let's see if today we can get Dom to say
something that he's never said before.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Dom.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Surewood, How you doing man.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I'm doing well. Yeah, I'm doing well.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
I am fantastic. It's always so nice to catch up
with you. I was just saying, the last time we
chatted was back in twenty twenty, during the height of
the pandemic, So I'm happy to see you under better circumstances.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No kidding, right, yeah, I mean it couldn't have been
much worse.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
That's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Well, welcome to the show, psych to have you on this.
We're going to talk all about a bunch of different
things today and breay one of your fan favorite projects.
But to kick off the show, I'm always fascinated with
this idea in the industry we work in in Hollywood
of giving a big break, right, And I know that
you credit a certain pop star for giving you one
(02:14):
of your big breaks, So tell me that's real quick,
because it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's interesting, like the concept of a big break is
kind of an amorphous thing that doesn't really exist. You know,
most of the people that we assume had a big
break in something, if you go back through their epilogue
or their prologue, even there was a huge amount of
work leading up to this one opportunity.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
That gave them, you know, some more notoriety.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
That being said, Taylor Swift, it really did make a
change for.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Me, and this ties very directly in shadows.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
It made a real then in how I was perceived
as an actor and as a leading man, especially.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
So we met at Disney.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Weirdly, she was friends with my girlfriends, and my ex
girl friend was dating someone at the time, and her
and her boyfriend and then Taylor we went to Disney together.
That was a long way of way of saying we met.
And then a couple months later I get this text
sort of out of the blue, and I was I
think I was in the bath because I was living
with my housemate. My housemate knocks on the bathroom door
(03:14):
and he's like, hey man, you got a text. And
I'm like, I don't care, I'm in the bath, Like
what are you talking about it? And he goes, well,
it's from Taylor Swift. I was like, dove out of
the bath and like threw a towel on as quickly
as like. I was like, what's staying on here? And
she said, would you ever consider being in a music video?
And I said maybe. I assumed that she was sort
of asking for a friend or whatever it was, said, maybe,
you know, it would depend who four and what the
(03:37):
context around it was and whatever, and she said it
would be for me, and it was just no brainer.
At that point. I was like, yeah, of course, like
a hundred percent. Like it's Taylor Swift to you know,
everyone's in love with her. I was very in love
with her at the time also, so I had a
massive crutch. So that was how that transpired. And then yeah,
we did the video and it was amazing and directed
(03:57):
by this amazing guy called Kyle Newman, who did most,
if not all, of the effects in that video if
you haven't seen it practically, which was incredible because we
spent birthday filming sort of the reflections and the projections
and the shadows and all that sort of stuff, and
then the next day we put it all together. All
that to say that when the Shadow Hunters audition came around,
I guess I did the audition. It was with Ed
(04:18):
Dector and Michael Reese and Cartin and I think I
got like cabled from that. I think they were like,
we're not sure about this guy. And I'm pretty sure
I might be missed speaking here, but I'm pretty sure.
Michael Reese sort of held my file to one side,
and I was like, let's just hold another this guy
because I got a feeling about him. And then when
it came time to test for the show, he put
(04:40):
my name back in the mix and they were like, no,
I don't think we were sure about him. You know whatever.
Anyone watched this video and they played style and they
all went, I see, okay, yeah, this guy could be
a leading man. So yeah, very much so in a
very real way, Taylor sort of gave me the opportunities
to grow further forward and sort of come out of
my critic listen to the position that I'm in now,
(05:02):
so eternally grateful and will always be eternally grateful to
Hurt for that.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
What I love about that story, beyond the tailor of
it all, is that you just never know when you
do something creatively what that's going to lead to.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Right, Yeah, one hundred percent. I mean, it happens in
everyone's career where they're like, oh, I saw you in
this thing and you're like, really, wow, that's not the
thing that I would have connected with, this thing that
I'm now working towards whatever. But yeah, it's one of
those businesses you just never know.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So, of course you brought up Shadow Hunters, which is
one of the most fan favorite projects you've been a
part of. You've done a lot of great work and
a lot of different interesting roles, but this one, of course,
kind of catapulted you into this global superstardom. So for
everybody listening, what's kind of your elevator pitch on what
Shadow Hunters is all about?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Man. So, the craziest thing about that is we started
filming eight and a half years ago, almost a decade ago.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
We started caroming that show.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So to give the elevator pitch season one is like
recalling a memory that's very distant. I'll trying to sort of
remember what my carting email said, and it was something
along the lines of, in a modern day world, everything
that we've ever imagined, everything that we've ever read about,
all of the supernatural creatures, they all exist, and there
is a supernatural fighting court called the Shadow Hunters, who
(06:21):
they're entired of.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
They're born and bred to be soldiers to.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Keep the human world away from the underworld, the shadow world,
and that's sort of the basic burden of it. And
then we get an unknown shadow until who comes in,
we learn all about the world, and just chaos transgresses
throughout the rest of the story. Yeah, so that's sort
of the Bathic Verdon. It doesn't really give anything away
or introduce anyone. I don't know if I would buy
(06:46):
into the show based on my pitch just then, but
that's why that's not my job. That's not what I do.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Thank god.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Well, you did buy in when you read the casting
right or when you read the national script. So what
was it about this theme and this idea and the
concept made you say, oh man, it would be pretty
cool to be a part of that.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
First of all, any actor who tells you, except for
maybe like the A list, any actor who tells you
like I'm just looking for like specific work, I don't
know if that's particularly or at least in my case,
that's not particularly true.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Like everyone wants to be working.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And I think there was a statistic I read recently
that if you're a working actor, consistently working, I think
you're in the top one percent of all actors in
the world, which is insane. There are just so many
actors out there, and so many amazing actors to a
probably better than me and better looking than me, and
could have would have loved that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Again, all that to say, when I read.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
This, I think the little boy and me was more
excited than anything, Like we're going to put you straight
into like military and my fl arts training. You've been
playing with a sword and you get to fall in
love with the girl and you know all of this,
and it's like supernatural and it's demons and angels and
all this sort of stuff, and like seven year old
me is really excited right now and it's really cool
as hell. And seven year old me is the version
(07:59):
of me that wanted to be started wanting to be
an actor. You know, it's never changed since I was
that age, and I guess that motivation in me has
never disappeared. The things that I found exciting them are
still the things that I find exciting now, and they've
changed a little now into it's not necessarily all you know,
the blood and guts ort of fighting or setting the
(08:20):
princess or whatever it is. It's now more a little
I'm excited to work with people that I've admired since
I was young, or people that I've started to admind.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
More recently, whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
You know. So I just there was a weird example,
but I just rewatched the Three myth Fears from the nineties,
the Gifsutherland one, and I forgot how good all of
the Platt is in that as Portos and I was like, man,
I would love to work with it. And I think
he's brilliant, like he's really And that's so my motivation
has changed there. As much as I would love to
(08:51):
be one of the three Mustiers at some point, of
course who wouldn't, it was more my mindset is now
like I wonder what he's like to work I love
to work with the Plat. I've seen him in such
amazing stuff. Of course, you know what I mean. So
my and that's one very specific example, but that's the
way the motivation has changed a little for me, but
shadow into specifically, Yeah, it just sort of tipped all
into the boxes.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah, you're right when you think about what the show
is all about as a little boy, I feel like
that would be anyone's dream job, right right, yeah, exactly, And.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
You know we got here. They did such a good
job with all of this stuff, and right at the
beginning stages growing the excitement of the show. You know,
we walked on to This has happened twice in my
life where I walked on and I was like, Wow,
We've read the script so many times and this is
the this is the theat that we're going to be
working on. And the two big ones I remember were
(09:43):
Danny Waters, who wrote Vampire Academy and also wrote you know,
headers and all of these other amazing things. When I
did Vampire Academy, a lot of a lion's share of
my scenes happen in this sort of attic library, and
he was like, have you seen the library? And I
was like no, I was already freaking out through a
time which is the most amazing studio. And a little
takeaway here. My dad used to work at Pinewood in
(10:05):
post production many years ago, and I used to take
sickids school and just be like, oh Dad, I'm not
feeling well. Maybe I should come to work with you.
And I go to work and I'd see all these
cool studios, like the double oh seventh stage, and he'd
walk me through and like, this is where Batman was filmed,
and this is where they did the car chase in
one of the James Bond movies or whatever it is.
And there's still all of this memorabilia and like set
pieces up on the walls. It's so exciting. And then
(10:28):
I think it was around fifteen years to like the
week that I walked on set for the first time
for a movie that I was in Pinewood Studios.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
It was the most exciting thing.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I had a little cry over it, which is a
little embarrassing because like Claire Foy was sating next to
me in the car and I was like, ah, man,
she's really but she was a little loveliest. She was like,
I don't know, I get it. This is an exciting thing.
I'm as excited to you. Anyway. All that today again,
when I got set that day, Danny came up and
he said, hey, man, have you seen the library seat?
And I was like, no, I haven't coming in. It
(11:00):
was all roped off because nobody's been in there yet.
And he took me under the ropes and I was like, Wow,
holy shit, this is this is what I've been reading
about for the last six months. I've been preparing for
this for six months. Incredible and the same with Shadow
Onto is the birthday we got to walk onto the
Institute set and it was real, like, wow, this is
going to be our home for I mean at the
time we didn't know, but this is going to be
(11:22):
our home for the next four and a half years.
This is what we're going to spend most of our lives,
all day, every day in this place. And there's something
really I don't want to use the word magical because
it sounds a little bit frivy all but there really
isn't a synonym to try and to describe how I
felt during that It was it was magical. It's like
chills all over your body and it's a really exciting thing.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Well, it's clear to me you love the process of
making series and films, and you know, to still be
dazzled by something like that after working so many years
in an industry as you have, I think is really
cool because it keeps your passion alive for it, you know, totally.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Totally and these these guys and gals who do I
mean set up and locations as well. They work hand
in hand. I mean, most crew are like the unsung
heroes of what we do. We're sort of the face
of it, but so much goes on behind the themes
that people don't really.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Pay enough attention to and the oh my god.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah, when we did Penny John Logan gave me, put
me in this golf cart and gave me a little
run through of where the set was, and Penny built
like three blocks of nineteen thirty eight Los Angeles, and
they built it twice, so they had three blocks of
nineteen thirty eight Los Angelis where the Latinas and the
Latinos lived, the Latin community, that's where they were.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
And then we had a stage.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
At the Disney lot that was redressed to the nineteen
thirties of Lost Angelis as well, and it was all
functioning buildings. It was like three blocks in every direction
of functioning buildings. It was the most insane thing I've
ever Feena Mines Firelfe And it's someone's job to put
this together, which is just mind blowing. It's and we
don't think we appord those people enough in film and
TV because they do the most spectacular. I mean imagine,
(13:06):
honestly at the institute looked like shit. In Shadow Hunters,
I don't think we would be having this conversation. I
think maybe would have done a couple of episodes that
would bet the end of it, you know, like they
immersing us in the world is it's.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Their job, birth and foremost.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
And I haven't worked with a single person who's ever
not immersed me in that world.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
No, they certainly did a phenomenal job immersing the audience
in that you know, supernatural, mythical world.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
And as did you.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
You you know, you played this kind of narcissistic playboy,
you know, leader, How much fun was.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
That for you?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
It was fun in the beginning.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
So he starts very much like that, and it's all
so I knew even from the breakdown, like very early on,
I knew that this was all just a mask. It's
all just a visage to cover the pain that he's
struggling with internally. So which is interesting because the I
played this role once were when I was very young,
(14:01):
and he sort of struck me as at least emotionally,
as sort of a Macutier of the groups, like less
funny but more just sort of the cocky, brash guy
who kind of believes himself, but all for the wrong reasons,
like it's all a cover of something else.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
And I love that because Marcutio.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Is one of my favorite tits fearing characters. But we
I knew that even in those first few episodes where
everything was light and fun and he was just enjoying himself,
the disaster as well on the way and that fundation
really last very long for poor Jason.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
It lasted about.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Three episodes before everything started to go down and toilet
for him. But that being said to deal with, so
I get asked this question quite a lot. You know,
what is the most exhausting thing that you can do
on set and especially in relationships? Shadow on is because
the fight scenes were so intense, and we probably did
ninety percent of the fight stuff ourselves and our stunt
(14:56):
guys were incredible, but the Sun coordinates has bought us
in such a way that we felt capable to do this. Anyway,
those aren't the most exhausting scenes for me at least.
The most exhausting scenes are the emotionally difficult ones, the
ones where you really struggle to you know, if you're
crying or whatever. If you're connected to that sort of thing,
(15:18):
you go home and you have nothing left in you emotionally.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
And all I can do is fall asleep.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Or we got very good at rallying around each other
when those days happened, and like, you know, Matt or
Alberta or whoever would call me up and go and
then you need a couple of drinks tonight, and I'm like, yeah,
I think I do, but I'm still crying, you know.
And you know, we'd rally around each other for whatever
it was, which was a very nice community to feel
safe to do this sort of stuff. But yeah, it's
(15:45):
interesting that the bun stuff didn't last so long, and
it was fun for the most part. But the stuff
that I remember deepis is the more emotionally I mean
I did more of this anyway, but the more sort
of emotionally difficult stuff.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
That's the stuff that stuck with me.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Also a lot with your love story throughout the series.
With lovely Kat Makamayer, who's one of my parents. I
saw her a couple of nights ago. She came over
for a glass of wine and yeah, yeah, and she
was saying how much fun she had working with you
and exploring that storyline over such a long period of time.
So when she was auditioning and you guys were trying
(16:30):
to find that role, you voiced that you thought she
would be great, right, You were kind of part of
the process.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, to an extent. Yeah, I think we had McGee
on already, who was our producer throughout, and he directed
the pilot, and I think what McGee wants, McGee gets
my whatever my voiced opinion was didn't seem to make
very much difference. But yes, I was a part of
the canting process in that me and Alberto, I think,
will cast first for some reason. Is no telling why
(17:00):
that sort of stuff happens, right.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
But we were cast first.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Then I came in I read with So there was
one girl that they really liked. Originally, I'm going to
leave all of these people nameless except for Cat. Obviously
she got the job, so everyone knows that that's how
the story ends. There was one guy that they really
liked for some reason that we couldn't quite make it work,
and I forget what the reasoning was behind it, but
I remember leaving those sessions of pre me being cast.
(17:25):
I think they were trying to cast us together. And
I remember leaving those sessions that I call my manager
and go, hey, man, I really don't think it's going well,
like I don't think I've got this one. And they
called it in another two times to do these work sessions,
and then.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I got a call saying, hey, you got the role.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
It didn't work out with this other one, so we
need you to come back in and do another session
of tests with these clarities. And I knew a couple
of the girls who were coming in and I worked
with them. Oh no, that wasn't for the test. That
was for the auditions. See there's not long ago. It
wasn't that almost the decade of Mixed Memories. So I
did one test session. I think it was between five
(18:01):
and ten young women, all did a fantastic job. And
then they came in and did another session and Kat
was in that session. And this is the old school
test thing where you know now it's it's essentially this
conversation that we have sort of the in zoom that's
how we test now. Really, or at least my last
sort of four or five have been this way old
(18:22):
school test thing.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I mean, you're in an auditorium on.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
The Disney lot, and there are fifty people in front
of you, each one of whom has the opinion that
could make or break this shot for you. And it's
like a horrifying experience. So if you're the person who's
already been cast, I mean one, you don't want to
fuck up because you don't want them to go, oh,
maybe we were wrong about this guy, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
They like ast your things, So it's still a little
nerve wracking. But also the most important thing.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
I think in that scenario is to make sure that
everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
So you know, when the girls came in, I'd opened
the door for.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Them and say, hey, are you doing Do you have
any questions for me? Before these guys chime in, like
do you want me to do anything specific for you?
Is there anything that would help? And you know, we
had a little chat and we'd ease into it whatever,
and then I would leave and I would open the
door for the great job, well done, a fantastic job,
blah blah blah. And when we did the same process
for everyone, you know, everyone did an amazing job. I
did it for the cat and I opened the door
(19:13):
and she came up She gave me a big hug
as I was opening the door and I could see
over her shoulder. I could see everyone's faces and I
just thought, fifty faces go. I was like, so she's
got this one. This is and I could a loud
from then on now, I was like, everyone's you just
got yourself. That's roll a good job.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Yeah, it's hard to imagine anyone butt you two playing
that those parts. It was just so gratifying to watch
the journey and to see you know that you guys
are really friends too. I think that always makes a difference.
I feel like, not everyone you work with, of course
you're going to be super close too, but when you
can build out the poor I think it's a really
awesome thing.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yeah, after one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
And I say this a lot in reference especially to
shows like this, where you do have to drop some
emotional sort of barriers to get through, and then also
the physical stuff as well. It's trust. You have the
trust for people opposite you, and if you don't then
I mean the physical stuff. The answer is obvious. If
you don't, it's dangerous. Someone's going to get hurt. You know.
(20:09):
Some of the swords. The swords were this is an
interesting little non secretar So the swords were rubber eyed
to the tip bend. You can't really ever get stabbed
with them. That being said, the edges of them are
they're still rubber. They're not going to cut you, but
they're still quite hard. So it's kind of like getting
hit with like a big, quite heavy, sort of five pounds.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Rubber based all that.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
So you get hit by it, it sucks, like you
don't it's not something you want to do. And then
also we had a couple of days where we found
this where we were doing five scenes, you like, oh
my god, this is a real problem and there's just
no way that anyone could have thought that this was
going to happen. It got so cold that the rubber
eyes tips froze in place and they were solid.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
So those fights.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Became like, you really do need to get out of
the way of these swords because they actually are sharp now.
And we don't know how it happened, but that was
an interesting thing anyway. Again, you know, that's that's a
big part of where this trust comes from. And then
the emotional stuff, at least in my experience, and maybe
this is just because I'm still learning, still figguring my
stuff out. But if you don't trust the birth and
(21:12):
opposite you, like, even physically, I find it very difficult
to produce tears if I don't work with you correctly,
if I don't trust you, if I don't feel like
you trust me, the vibe is all off, and then
I find it very difficult, and oftentimes in that situation
will have to cheat and use tartic. Not that it's
really cheating necessarily, but it doesn't feel to me as
(21:33):
sort of organic, and the trust that we've built within
that community was kind of second to not to be honest,
in't really found that again. I hadn't been on a
show for four years since then, so who knows. Maybe
I hope it all happen again. I would love for
it to happen again, but it was. It was quite
a special experience with these guys, and you know they're
(21:54):
going to be They're going to be my friends and
family for the rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
It's quite evident that you guys have a super close bond,
and I think when you're dealing with the show like this,
something that interests me the most is, you know, in
the world of fantasy and supernatural. It can very easily
be unrelatable and sometimes cross over to corny in certain
shows that I've seen. But with the show like this,
you guys covered real shit. I mean you covered race relations,
(22:19):
you covered sexuality, you covered things that people go through,
and I think as a viewer it makes it all
the more captivating a watch, so I imagine as an actor
on the show, it makes it that much more engaging
and interesting too.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
The one hundred percent yeah, I mean it's interesting because
a lot of that stuff, so the race relations stuff.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I was involved in a little and it's it's trending
a really delicate balance where you want to tell these
stories but you don't want anyone to feel.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Offended or uncomfortable as well.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
But I think eventually you have to sort of get
to a place where you're like, I think to make
this forward movement in anything, you are going to have
to make people feel uncomfortable at some point, like whatever.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
It is that.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I do think that especially a sort of I wouldn't
call it teeny base for a young adult fantasy show.
I think a lot of what the responsibility is there
and a lot of what we've seen through fan interactions posts,
the show, and even during the show is young people
discovering parts of.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Themselves that they didn't necessarily know that that was there.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Whether it's you know, people who came out as gay,
or people were struggling with mental health. I get quite
a lot because Jason was going through such a difficult
mental struggle, or even just we hear this a lot.
And this is really special that people were sort of
given the strength by the show to overcome or to combat,
or to come out to their parents or whatever. And
that's a really special thing. That being said, I do
(23:46):
think and I've said this a countless fan who told
me that Jase gave me the power to overcome, you know,
my mental health issues. Whatever it is, the truth is,
and for everyone listening or watching, the truth is that
that strength was within you as a person, always, that
lived within you. What we did maybe was either a
(24:08):
nice distraction or some commonality, some common grounds that you
found that helped you access that strength.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
But that strength came from you.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
We didn't give you anything. That strength always lived within
you and will always live within you, and it's always
something that you can harker back to as and when
you need it. But that being said to hear that
we had an impact on, especially these young lives that
sometimes do need their handheld through things. I know I
certainly did still do at times. That's a really lovely
(24:38):
thing because we got to do what we love and
also it had an impact on lives and that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Well, I'm actually going to challenge you a little bit
because I think, yes, the strength is inside of the person,
but I don't agree that you guys didn't also give
that strength because I think when somebody's watching something like
your show and they feel unseen by everybody around them,
and suddenly they see themselves in that character, it does
allow them to feel like, oh my god, that character
(25:07):
is giving me the strength to realize my own. So
I do think it goes both ways. I think you
got to give yourself a little more credit.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well that's very sweet, and I appreciate that. Maybe you're right,
you know, I don't know everything. Between me and my brother,
we know everything, but.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, but I totally get the sentiment. But yeah, I
think it's definitely a symbiotic relationship. And I think that's
also a large reason why when the show ended up
getting canceled because of network changes and whatever. The reasons
were the fandom wasn't having it. Man, there were campaigns
out the show was trending. There were billboards in New York.
I mean, there were hardcore, boots on the ground campaigns
(25:45):
to keep the show going. And I imagine hearing and
seeing that was just totally mind blowing to know your
work meant that much to people.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yeah, I mean, the guys who put this campaign together
really went above and beyond anything we could have expected.
I mean more than that, it was really quite humbling
to see how effective the show had been, as you say,
with so many people. As for the reasons, we still
don't know to this day. We were never told. If
(26:15):
it was a numbers that went down thing, if it
was a money thing, if it was the network changing hand,
we don't know. They didn't tell us, And we get
asked a lot if you know what happened? Is they
ever coming back? I'm like, I don't know. I don't
know if they asked maybe, you know, if they asked
me to come back, there's always scope there for me
to do that, But I don't know. Maybe we just
don't know what happened. We were all we were all devastated.
(26:38):
That being said, It was a real kindness of the
studio to give us two episodes to finish the show.
That didn't happen very often. In fact, it almost never happened,
so to be given the gift of being able to
round off the story the way we wanted to rather
than leaving it. However, the original episode twenty would have ended,
which I don't even remember because I think we changed
(26:59):
it to continue through twenty one twenty to finish the story.
That was something really special to do. And the way
the story rounded out, I think everyone was very happy
with and we got very lucky.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Todd, who was our.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Showrunner, actually came on and directed the last two episodes.
He never directed us before, and we were all I
told Todd this, which did I live embarrassing. We were
all a bit like it's a job. He doesn't know
the crew and you know how it works. Like he
spent most of the time in La We're in Toronto,
Like how's he going to and he fit in like
(27:34):
a puzzle piece. It was the most insane thing every
morning he did. And this is something I agree with
an actor, not the performance wise, but also interactions. I
try and like absorb the behaviors that I like and
reject the ones that I that I don't like. And
Todd did this thing every morning that I like to
try and encapsulate in every job that I've done since
(27:55):
he would thank a different department for whatever the job
they'd done that day. So if we came in step Deek,
for example, had done an amazing job, he would gather
everyone around and we'd applaud set deck because they've done
such an amazing job, or if it was lighting or
costumes or sound or whoever it was. And it was
like the first thing we did in the morning. And
some of these mornings we started like five ay end,
we've already been in the makeup trailer for an hour,
(28:16):
Like people are tired, people are sleepy, and to start
your day with such a level of positivity, it's just magical.
And it changed sort of the aspect that it wasn't
we're filming these lasts too, that's sad. It's like, wow,
we're filming these last too, And then it seems like
we're going out in a bag.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
And that's what.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
The show holds such a special place in your heart still,
and you're someone who likes to revisit it and talk
about it and reflect, and I think that it says
a lot about the artist you are. And you're clearly passionate,
and you dive into your characters and you like to
play different roles and characters. I'm curious to know who
is Dom Sherwood without the acting? Is it that one?
(28:57):
Is hard to separate it to you?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Who knows? That's a question for my therapist. Yeah, right,
get her on next. No, Dom show is a very
simple creature, is the real truth? Like I love my animals,
I love my friends, I love my family. I like doing,
you know, stuff that is probably going to get me hurt,
and does get me hurt every now and then. I
(29:21):
like climbing rocks. And this is the same again, going
back to like the seven year old version of me
who was like, I'm going to climb that tree and
my Mum's like, you shouldn't flind that tree. It's too
that tree. I climbed the tree and I break myrt.
That's what that's always been who I am. And I'm
still like exactly that person, even posts. I did a
movie called a Racer just after COVID and post a Racer.
I was rock climbing with my girlfriend and I came
(29:43):
off the wall and just shafted my ankle. It was
like that, I've always been that person always, Like I
knew the nurses are our local hospital by first name
by the time I was like twelve, it was that's
just there's who I am. But but yeah, I'm a
simple guy. Like right before, this is why I was late.
This is really embarrassing. I was playing video games with
my buddies back in England. I'm sorry that happened to
my manager tech and I was like, so I got
(30:05):
they got to go like into my microphone like turn
up my things, which is really embarrassing. But like, I'm
a very simple guy, you know. I like hanging out
with my friends. I like getting hugs from my pets.
I like having a drink and doing some silly extreme sports.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's kind of it.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Are you able to relish in the successes that you've
had and take a step back and feel proud and
accomplished in what you've done. Are you the type to
always be like, Okay, what's next?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
One? Am I doing?
Speaker 1 (30:33):
What's the next plan? How do you balance that relationship?
Because I look at you and think, oh my god,
you've had so much more success as an actor than
people could dream of in their entire careers.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
How do you view that? It's interesting, You're so right.
It's again like that seven year old version of me
that made the decision, like we're going to be an
actor one day, that's what we're going to do. And
I was like a mad if I told him that
I was in a music video with Taylor Swift. Who
would have lost his mind if I told him that
I did a movie with Mark two did Mean Girls
and Zoe Deutsch and Lucy Bry and Claire Foy and
(31:03):
all of these incredible actors, Joey Richardson, like all of
these incredible people, he would have lost his mind even more.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
If I care it could then tell them that I did.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I followed that up with a series that I was
the lead on that I did for four and a
half years that people across the world loved. And you
still get stopped in the street, even after the show's
been off the air for five years, you still get
stopped on the street acting for photos. It's poor little
head of a blown up, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
So there's a real humility.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
I get reminded of that by myself by my own hubris,
very very often the place that I'd imagined myself being
when they said being an actor was like community theater
and as long as they had enough money to eat
and pay my rent. And I'm in a good spot
and everything's happy. So I have surpassed my wildest expectations.
That being said, again, I think what makes an artist amazing.
(31:54):
I think what makes the best of the best the
best of the best is they're consistently trying to challenge themselves.
I think everything is that. This one of the depth.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
And I enjoyed this and I loved this, and my
next thing, I want to push myself harder. It doesn't
need to be so this is an interesting parallel. So
finish shadow answers, love shadow answers. Really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And immediately afterwards, I'm not going to name the show,
but I got offered another young adult show and the
character's name was Jonathan Morgenstern, and I was like, I can't.
I just did this. I can't. I can't do the
exact same thing again. I just can't do it. I
need something that I want to really push myself and
challenge myself. And there were a couple of things that
(32:39):
came up.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
And we're like, maybe, I don't know, I'm not.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Sure, And then Penny came up, and Penny was for
anyone who hasn't seen it, I play. I play a
bad guy, really dark character who also has this this
very complex relationship with Michael Gladis, who's just the most
amazing actor. I absolutely adore the man. And that was
a no brainer. That was like, yeah, this is you know,
strong Logan and Natalie Dormer and Nate Lane and Dan
(33:05):
Zevato and Lorenzo I though, who I bumped into yesterday,
which is my absolute range, is the sweetest, And that
was a no brainer. Job that's going to push me
and it's going to make me make choices that I've
never had to do before. I had to physically work
quite hard to look the way they wanted me to
look for, sort of the nineteen thirty eight surfer kind
of body, and it was a very different challenge. All
(33:27):
that to say that it was a much smaller role
comparatively to shadow Hunters. It was like pay wise was
much less than I think it was like seventy percent
less than my pay for the shadow Hunters, but none
of that matters. What mattered to me was this is
a job that is going to challenge me, and that's
(33:47):
what that's what I would like.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
I would like to be challenged, and each each step.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
On sort of the challenge ladder, brings me up to
that point, so I'm ready to reach for the next challenge,
the next step, and keep myself moving forward that way,
because what the brave dignition and death for an artist
or whatever it is, and that's what I'd like to
try and avoid, is dignition. If I'm moving, I would
at least like to move sideways. So if it's not
a step forward or what I would consider to be
(34:13):
a step forward, which is different for everybody, of course,
at least it's a step to something different, you know,
a different challenge, whatever it is, even the movement from
I mean posts Penny, we got hit by COVID, so
nobody worked for pretty much a year, and then the
next job was a racer and they were like, we're
going to have you trained by the Navy seals and
by US martals. I was like, amazing, let's do it,
(34:36):
you know, And that's I spent my tail end of
COVID in the gym three four.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Hours a day.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
We couldn't meet anyone because it was we were still
in COVID. But I was on on like face signs
and stuff like learning how to field strip weapons and
do sort of basic versions of buds which is fa
underwater demolition sorts or.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
The Navy seals go through which I didn't.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Do buds just to be clear, just to be full
that they were like do like fifteen proage outs and
that's like kind of buds. And I was like, I
don't think it is. I've seen the videos of how
this runs, and I think this is fite right. But
another challenge, you know, another thing that was like, ah,
this is another step. And then Partner Track followed that,
and then that was another really exciting challenge. There wasn't
(35:17):
any physical drama in Partner, which was something different for me.
It was all law. It was jargon, and that's I
had to understand that. The first thing I did is
I got we were mergered in acquisitions lawyers. So I
got M and A for dummies and I started reading
through that and none of it made any sense. And
then I started applying bits that I was learning from
that for the script and understanding why this is a challenge,
(35:40):
and so on and so forth, and that's how I
like to pretty through my career with the grounding of
I'm exceptionally lucky to be in this place.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
I have surpassed my wildest dreams right now where I
am in this place.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
But also the dream was to continue moving and continue growing.
I would like to continue doing that.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Also, I think it's really inspiring when someone like you
says you don't have to say yes to everything, and
it's very much about quality and not having to always
do something just to be seen. For example, like there
are things I'm working on that I've been working on
since the beginning of this year that nobody knows about,
and I'm okay with that because it's putting in the
work right now, it's not time to talk about it,
(36:22):
post about it, share anything related to it, because it's
going to be something that's a long game. And I
think we often lose sight of that mentality and it's
just about maybe a little vanity, maybe being seen, maybe
looking popular, or maybe looking needed or wanted or in demand.
And when you take a step back and allow yourself
to really figure out what you want, that's when the
magic happens, man, So I love that you share that
(36:43):
mentality as well.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, I not a waste. I'll tell you that, not
a waste. There are definitely times where I think, and
like you said, I think we all fall into these
traps on occasion where we think, ah, man, I don't
feel whether it's personal or professional life, like I don't
feel valued or loved or whatever.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Maybe I should take this thing that's going to promote
that sense of whatever.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And I have one very good friend, Elliot Knight, who
has always been very good at this is not what
I want to do. Is I'm worth this, or I'm
good at this, or this is what I'm trying to
do right now, whatever it is. And he's the sweetest
knife oft guy, and every now and then.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
I need to see him.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
For a liberal reminder of like right, like, I do
have work here and I'm very happy with where I am,
and honestly, his career is absolutely amazing, and he's the
most phenomenal actors and enjoyed to watch anyone out there.
If you haven't watched anything he's been at you really shit.
But he Yeah, we have these people around us that
every now and then you need a reminder of like
you're doing good path, Like everything's good, You're doing a
(37:45):
good job, and just forget the noise around you. You're
still on the path that you want to be on.
And sometimes Sarah's feat bumps in it and you've got
to go over them more around them, but you're going.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
To end up back on the road.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
And it's a daily practice to have that mentality. Like
you said, we all sometimes fall off of it, and
yet we do things and we're like, oh, man, should
I have done that? It's not what I really wanted,
And that's human. We're human. But to keep in mind
that we should be going after things that truly fuels us,
I think is such a great goal and endgame for
all of us. You're someone who clearly is a a
(38:18):
dreamer and a believer and a worker, and you really
set yourself up for a life that you want and
you value the work that you do, and you seem
very open and sharing your thoughts and everything you've talked
about today. But in honor of the show name, which
is called I've never said this before, I'm curious to
know if anything comes to mind, if there is something
(38:40):
that you really haven't said before, whether it's silly or
deep and you just feel like sharing it.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's interesting. I have a personal divide between what I
will share publicly and what I will share privately, and
I think everyone should have that, even if you're not
in the public eye, I think you should have These
are certain people that I will share this with, and
these are certain people that share this with. However, something
that I haven't said publicly out before, I think, I mean,
(39:08):
I have said this, but I'll say it a thousand
times over. And this isn't me saying that. Either I
heard this quote and it stuck with me. Your happiness
comes from you, right, So the person who like cut
you off or gave you the finger or whatever on
the road, I don't owe them my happiness. I'm not
going to give them any of my happiness. They just
tried to take a little bit of it, and it's
(39:29):
not on them. It's not there, it's not up to them.
And it's something I'm trying to practice more and more
in my life is that I'm not giving up my
happiness for anybody. I'm happy to share it with someone
who makes me happy, but I'm not giving it up
for someone who wants to take it away, and I mean,
I'm still learning how to function with this in my
life because there are four times when someone gives.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
You the thing on the road, I'm like you, but
you know it straight back, like but I need to.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
I's sort of a meditative process or you just take
a second and you go, Okay, he's not allowed by happiness,
as my happiness is coming from me, and I'm going
to keep that coming from me as much as I
physically can. So I know I've said before, so I'm
sort of cheating in relation to the title, But if
I wanted to say anything, that was it.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
I love that and I think that's a message worth
saying time and time again. Tom, I so appreciate you
coming on and being open and vulnerable. And I think
in this day and age, it's always really cool when
I meet other dudes who are happy to really talk
about real shit and who aren't so guarded and know
that when we have these types of conversations, Yes, we
celebrated your work, but then we talked about a lot
(40:34):
of personal things. And when we have those conversations, it
makes us all feel like we're all in one boat,
and I think that's so valuable.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
Yeah, absolutely. Hey, thank you Tommy.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Anytime you want to chat, you know how to get
hold of me, so please do because these are always
starting a way.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Thank you so much, tom We'll be in touch and
keep rerocking it. I look forward to seeing where you
pop up next.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
You too, brother, you too come wait.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Piglisi at iHeartRadio
and by Me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
(41:22):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy de Dario
Hey guys, welcome to I've never said this before with
me Tommy di Dario. Today's guest is the brilliant actor
Dom Sherwood.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
He shot to international stardom after playing the leading man
in the smash hit supernatural series shadow Hunters, which is
based on the best selling young adult fantasy book series
The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Claire. Shadow Hunters is a
world full of demons and warlocks, werewolves and vampires, and
so much more so. If you were looking for your
(00:35):
supernatural and mythical fix, well, this show is extremely binge worthy.
Tom was last seen in his series regular role in
the Netflix series Partner Track, or you might recognize him
from Showtime's Penny Dreadful City of Angels, or as the
lead role Christian in Vampire Academy, among many other credits.
(00:56):
Man he is such a talented artist who completely transforms
into whatever character he is playing. Today we dive into
the supernatural and mythical world of shadow Hunters. We also
chat about going after work that fuels your soul, and
Dom shares how arguably the hottest pop star in the
world right now, gave him what he considers his big
(01:16):
break Oh man, this was such a great conversation. Dom
has so much heart and so much soul, and we
really covered everything and anything you can think of. So
let's see if today we can get Dom to say
something that he's never said before.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Dom.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Surewood, How you doing man.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I'm doing well. Yeah, I'm doing well.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
I am fantastic. It's always so nice to catch up
with you. I was just saying, the last time we
chatted was back in twenty twenty, during the height of
the pandemic, So I'm happy to see you under better circumstances.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
No kidding, right, yeah, I mean it couldn't have been
much worse.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
That's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Well, welcome to the show, psych to have you on this.
We're going to talk all about a bunch of different
things today and breay one of your fan favorite projects.
But to kick off the show, I'm always fascinated with
this idea in the industry we work in in Hollywood
of giving a big break, right, And I know that
you credit a certain pop star for giving you one
(02:14):
of your big breaks, So tell me that's real quick,
because it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's interesting, like the concept of a big break is
kind of an amorphous thing that doesn't really exist. You know,
most of the people that we assume had a big
break in something, if you go back through their epilogue
or their prologue, even there was a huge amount of
work leading up to this one opportunity.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
That gave them, you know, some more notoriety.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
That being said, Taylor Swift, it really did make a
change for.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Me, and this ties very directly in shadows.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
It made a real then in how I was perceived
as an actor and as a leading man, especially.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
So we met at Disney.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Weirdly, she was friends with my girlfriends, and my ex
girl friend was dating someone at the time, and her
and her boyfriend and then Taylor we went to Disney together.
That was a long way of way of saying we met.
And then a couple months later I get this text
sort of out of the blue, and I was I
think I was in the bath because I was living
with my housemate. My housemate knocks on the bathroom door
(03:14):
and he's like, hey man, you got a text. And
I'm like, I don't care, I'm in the bath, Like
what are you talking about it? And he goes, well,
it's from Taylor Swift. I was like, dove out of
the bath and like threw a towel on as quickly
as like. I was like, what's staying on here? And
she said, would you ever consider being in a music video?
And I said maybe. I assumed that she was sort
of asking for a friend or whatever it was, said, maybe,
you know, it would depend who four and what the
(03:37):
context around it was and whatever, and she said it
would be for me, and it was just no brainer.
At that point. I was like, yeah, of course, like
a hundred percent. Like it's Taylor Swift to you know,
everyone's in love with her. I was very in love
with her at the time also, so I had a
massive crutch. So that was how that transpired. And then yeah,
we did the video and it was amazing and directed
(03:57):
by this amazing guy called Kyle Newman, who did most,
if not all, of the effects in that video if
you haven't seen it practically, which was incredible because we
spent birthday filming sort of the reflections and the projections
and the shadows and all that sort of stuff, and
then the next day we put it all together. All
that to say that when the Shadow Hunters audition came around,
I guess I did the audition. It was with Ed
(04:18):
Dector and Michael Reese and Cartin and I think I
got like cabled from that. I think they were like,
we're not sure about this guy. And I'm pretty sure
I might be missed speaking here, but I'm pretty sure.
Michael Reese sort of held my file to one side,
and I was like, let's just hold another this guy
because I got a feeling about him. And then when
it came time to test for the show, he put
(04:40):
my name back in the mix and they were like, no,
I don't think we were sure about him. You know whatever.
Anyone watched this video and they played style and they
all went, I see, okay, yeah, this guy could be
a leading man. So yeah, very much so in a
very real way, Taylor sort of gave me the opportunities
to grow further forward and sort of come out of
my critic listen to the position that I'm in now,
(05:02):
so eternally grateful and will always be eternally grateful to
Hurt for that.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
What I love about that story, beyond the tailor of
it all, is that you just never know when you
do something creatively what that's going to lead to.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Right, Yeah, one hundred percent. I mean, it happens in
everyone's career where they're like, oh, I saw you in
this thing and you're like, really, wow, that's not the
thing that I would have connected with, this thing that
I'm now working towards whatever. But yeah, it's one of
those businesses you just never know.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So, of course you brought up Shadow Hunters, which is
one of the most fan favorite projects you've been a
part of. You've done a lot of great work and
a lot of different interesting roles, but this one, of course,
kind of catapulted you into this global superstardom. So for
everybody listening, what's kind of your elevator pitch on what
Shadow Hunters is all about?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Man. So, the craziest thing about that is we started
filming eight and a half years ago, almost a decade ago.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
We started caroming that show.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
So to give the elevator pitch season one is like
recalling a memory that's very distant. I'll trying to sort of
remember what my carting email said, and it was something
along the lines of, in a modern day world, everything
that we've ever imagined, everything that we've ever read about,
all of the supernatural creatures, they all exist, and there
is a supernatural fighting court called the Shadow Hunters, who
(06:21):
they're entired of.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
They're born and bred to be soldiers to.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Keep the human world away from the underworld, the shadow world,
and that's sort of the basic burden of it. And
then we get an unknown shadow until who comes in,
we learn all about the world, and just chaos transgresses
throughout the rest of the story. Yeah, so that's sort
of the Bathic Verdon. It doesn't really give anything away
or introduce anyone. I don't know if I would buy
(06:46):
into the show based on my pitch just then, but
that's why that's not my job. That's not what I do.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Thank god.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Well, you did buy in when you read the casting
right or when you read the national script. So what
was it about this theme and this idea and the
concept made you say, oh man, it would be pretty
cool to be a part of that.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
First of all, any actor who tells you, except for
maybe like the A list, any actor who tells you
like I'm just looking for like specific work, I don't
know if that's particularly or at least in my case,
that's not particularly true.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Like everyone wants to be working.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And I think there was a statistic I read recently
that if you're a working actor, consistently working, I think
you're in the top one percent of all actors in
the world, which is insane. There are just so many
actors out there, and so many amazing actors to a
probably better than me and better looking than me, and
could have would have loved that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Again, all that to say, when I read.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
This, I think the little boy and me was more
excited than anything, Like we're going to put you straight
into like military and my fl arts training. You've been
playing with a sword and you get to fall in
love with the girl and you know all of this,
and it's like supernatural and it's demons and angels and
all this sort of stuff, and like seven year old
me is really excited right now and it's really cool
as hell. And seven year old me is the version
(07:59):
of me that wanted to be started wanting to be
an actor. You know, it's never changed since I was
that age, and I guess that motivation in me has
never disappeared. The things that I found exciting them are
still the things that I find exciting now, and they've
changed a little now into it's not necessarily all you know,
the blood and guts ort of fighting or setting the
(08:20):
princess or whatever it is. It's now more a little
I'm excited to work with people that I've admired since
I was young, or people that I've started to admind.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
More recently, whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
You know. So I just there was a weird example,
but I just rewatched the Three myth Fears from the nineties,
the Gifsutherland one, and I forgot how good all of
the Platt is in that as Portos and I was like, man,
I would love to work with it. And I think
he's brilliant, like he's really And that's so my motivation
has changed there. As much as I would love to
(08:51):
be one of the three Mustiers at some point, of
course who wouldn't, it was more my mindset is now
like I wonder what he's like to work I love
to work with the Plat. I've seen him in such
amazing stuff. Of course, you know what I mean. So
my and that's one very specific example, but that's the
way the motivation has changed a little for me, but
shadow into specifically, Yeah, it just sort of tipped all
into the boxes.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Yeah, you're right when you think about what the show
is all about as a little boy, I feel like
that would be anyone's dream job, right right, yeah, exactly, And.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
You know we got here. They did such a good
job with all of this stuff, and right at the
beginning stages growing the excitement of the show. You know,
we walked on to This has happened twice in my
life where I walked on and I was like, Wow,
We've read the script so many times and this is
the this is the theat that we're going to be
working on. And the two big ones I remember were
(09:43):
Danny Waters, who wrote Vampire Academy and also wrote you know,
headers and all of these other amazing things. When I
did Vampire Academy, a lot of a lion's share of
my scenes happen in this sort of attic library, and
he was like, have you seen the library? And I
was like no, I was already freaking out through a
time which is the most amazing studio. And a little
takeaway here. My dad used to work at Pinewood in
(10:05):
post production many years ago, and I used to take
sickids school and just be like, oh Dad, I'm not
feeling well. Maybe I should come to work with you.
And I go to work and I'd see all these
cool studios, like the double oh seventh stage, and he'd
walk me through and like, this is where Batman was filmed,
and this is where they did the car chase in
one of the James Bond movies or whatever it is.
And there's still all of this memorabilia and like set
pieces up on the walls. It's so exciting. And then
(10:28):
I think it was around fifteen years to like the
week that I walked on set for the first time
for a movie that I was in Pinewood Studios.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
It was the most exciting thing.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I had a little cry over it, which is a
little embarrassing because like Claire Foy was sating next to
me in the car and I was like, ah, man,
she's really but she was a little loveliest. She was like,
I don't know, I get it. This is an exciting thing.
I'm as excited to you. Anyway. All that today again,
when I got set that day, Danny came up and
he said, hey, man, have you seen the library seat?
And I was like, no, I haven't coming in. It
(11:00):
was all roped off because nobody's been in there yet.
And he took me under the ropes and I was like, Wow,
holy shit, this is this is what I've been reading
about for the last six months. I've been preparing for
this for six months. Incredible and the same with Shadow
Onto is the birthday we got to walk onto the
Institute set and it was real, like, wow, this is
going to be our home for I mean at the
time we didn't know, but this is going to be
(11:22):
our home for the next four and a half years.
This is what we're going to spend most of our lives,
all day, every day in this place. And there's something
really I don't want to use the word magical because
it sounds a little bit frivy all but there really
isn't a synonym to try and to describe how I
felt during that It was it was magical. It's like
chills all over your body and it's a really exciting thing.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Well, it's clear to me you love the process of
making series and films, and you know, to still be
dazzled by something like that after working so many years
in an industry as you have, I think is really
cool because it keeps your passion alive for it, you know, totally.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Totally and these these guys and gals who do I
mean set up and locations as well. They work hand
in hand. I mean, most crew are like the unsung
heroes of what we do. We're sort of the face
of it, but so much goes on behind the themes
that people don't really.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Pay enough attention to and the oh my god.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah, when we did Penny John Logan gave me, put
me in this golf cart and gave me a little
run through of where the set was, and Penny built
like three blocks of nineteen thirty eight Los Angeles, and
they built it twice, so they had three blocks of
nineteen thirty eight Los Angelis where the Latinas and the
Latinos lived, the Latin community, that's where they were.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
And then we had a stage.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
At the Disney lot that was redressed to the nineteen
thirties of Lost Angelis as well, and it was all
functioning buildings. It was like three blocks in every direction
of functioning buildings. It was the most insane thing I've
ever Feena Mines Firelfe And it's someone's job to put
this together, which is just mind blowing. It's and we
don't think we appord those people enough in film and
TV because they do the most spectacular. I mean imagine,
(13:06):
honestly at the institute looked like shit. In Shadow Hunters,
I don't think we would be having this conversation. I
think maybe would have done a couple of episodes that
would bet the end of it, you know, like they
immersing us in the world is it's.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Their job, birth and foremost.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
And I haven't worked with a single person who's ever
not immersed me in that world.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
No, they certainly did a phenomenal job immersing the audience
in that you know, supernatural, mythical world.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
And as did you.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
You you know, you played this kind of narcissistic playboy,
you know, leader, How much fun was.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
That for you?
Speaker 3 (13:39):
It was fun in the beginning.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
So he starts very much like that, and it's all
so I knew even from the breakdown, like very early on,
I knew that this was all just a mask. It's
all just a visage to cover the pain that he's
struggling with internally. So which is interesting because the I
played this role once were when I was very young,
(14:01):
and he sort of struck me as at least emotionally,
as sort of a Macutier of the groups, like less
funny but more just sort of the cocky, brash guy
who kind of believes himself, but all for the wrong reasons,
like it's all a cover of something else.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
And I love that because Marcutio.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Is one of my favorite tits fearing characters. But we
I knew that even in those first few episodes where
everything was light and fun and he was just enjoying himself,
the disaster as well on the way and that fundation
really last very long for poor Jason.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
It lasted about.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Three episodes before everything started to go down and toilet
for him. But that being said to deal with, so
I get asked this question quite a lot. You know,
what is the most exhausting thing that you can do
on set and especially in relationships? Shadow on is because
the fight scenes were so intense, and we probably did
ninety percent of the fight stuff ourselves and our stunt
(14:56):
guys were incredible, but the Sun coordinates has bought us
in such a way that we felt capable to do this. Anyway,
those aren't the most exhausting scenes for me at least.
The most exhausting scenes are the emotionally difficult ones, the
ones where you really struggle to you know, if you're
crying or whatever. If you're connected to that sort of thing,
(15:18):
you go home and you have nothing left in you emotionally.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
And all I can do is fall asleep.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Or we got very good at rallying around each other
when those days happened, and like, you know, Matt or
Alberta or whoever would call me up and go and
then you need a couple of drinks tonight, and I'm like, yeah,
I think I do, but I'm still crying, you know.
And you know, we'd rally around each other for whatever
it was, which was a very nice community to feel
safe to do this sort of stuff. But yeah, it's
(15:45):
interesting that the bun stuff didn't last so long, and
it was fun for the most part. But the stuff
that I remember deepis is the more emotionally I mean
I did more of this anyway, but the more sort
of emotionally difficult stuff.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
That's the stuff that stuck with me.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Also a lot with your love story throughout the series.
With lovely Kat Makamayer, who's one of my parents. I
saw her a couple of nights ago. She came over
for a glass of wine and yeah, yeah, and she
was saying how much fun she had working with you
and exploring that storyline over such a long period of time.
So when she was auditioning and you guys were trying
(16:30):
to find that role, you voiced that you thought she
would be great, right, You were kind of part of
the process.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Yeah, to an extent. Yeah, I think we had McGee
on already, who was our producer throughout, and he directed
the pilot, and I think what McGee wants, McGee gets
my whatever my voiced opinion was didn't seem to make
very much difference. But yes, I was a part of
the canting process in that me and Alberto, I think,
will cast first for some reason. Is no telling why
(17:00):
that sort of stuff happens, right.
Speaker 3 (17:01):
But we were cast first.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Then I came in I read with So there was
one girl that they really liked. Originally, I'm going to
leave all of these people nameless except for Cat. Obviously
she got the job, so everyone knows that that's how
the story ends. There was one guy that they really
liked for some reason that we couldn't quite make it work,
and I forget what the reasoning was behind it, but
I remember leaving those sessions of pre me being cast.
(17:25):
I think they were trying to cast us together. And
I remember leaving those sessions that I call my manager
and go, hey, man, I really don't think it's going well,
like I don't think I've got this one. And they
called it in another two times to do these work sessions,
and then.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
I got a call saying, hey, you got the role.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
It didn't work out with this other one, so we
need you to come back in and do another session
of tests with these clarities. And I knew a couple
of the girls who were coming in and I worked
with them. Oh no, that wasn't for the test. That
was for the auditions. See there's not long ago. It
wasn't that almost the decade of Mixed Memories. So I
did one test session. I think it was between five
(18:01):
and ten young women, all did a fantastic job. And
then they came in and did another session and Kat
was in that session. And this is the old school
test thing where you know now it's it's essentially this
conversation that we have sort of the in zoom that's
how we test now. Really, or at least my last
sort of four or five have been this way old
(18:22):
school test thing.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I mean, you're in an auditorium on.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
The Disney lot, and there are fifty people in front
of you, each one of whom has the opinion that
could make or break this shot for you. And it's
like a horrifying experience. So if you're the person who's
already been cast, I mean one, you don't want to
fuck up because you don't want them to go, oh,
maybe we were wrong about this guy, you know what
I mean.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
They like ast your things, So it's still a little
nerve wracking. But also the most important thing.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
I think in that scenario is to make sure that
everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
So you know, when the girls came in, I'd opened
the door for.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Them and say, hey, are you doing Do you have
any questions for me? Before these guys chime in, like
do you want me to do anything specific for you?
Is there anything that would help? And you know, we
had a little chat and we'd ease into it whatever,
and then I would leave and I would open the
door for the great job, well done, a fantastic job,
blah blah blah. And when we did the same process
for everyone, you know, everyone did an amazing job. I
did it for the cat and I opened the door
(19:13):
and she came up She gave me a big hug
as I was opening the door and I could see
over her shoulder. I could see everyone's faces and I
just thought, fifty faces go. I was like, so she's
got this one. This is and I could a loud
from then on now, I was like, everyone's you just
got yourself. That's roll a good job.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
Yeah, it's hard to imagine anyone butt you two playing
that those parts. It was just so gratifying to watch
the journey and to see you know that you guys
are really friends too. I think that always makes a difference.
I feel like, not everyone you work with, of course
you're going to be super close too, but when you
can build out the poor I think it's a really
awesome thing.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Yeah, after one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
And I say this a lot in reference especially to
shows like this, where you do have to drop some
emotional sort of barriers to get through, and then also
the physical stuff as well. It's trust. You have the
trust for people opposite you, and if you don't then
I mean the physical stuff. The answer is obvious. If
you don't, it's dangerous. Someone's going to get hurt. You know.
(20:09):
Some of the swords. The swords were this is an
interesting little non secretar So the swords were rubber eyed
to the tip bend. You can't really ever get stabbed
with them. That being said, the edges of them are
they're still rubber. They're not going to cut you, but
they're still quite hard. So it's kind of like getting
hit with like a big, quite heavy, sort of five pounds.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Rubber based all that.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
So you get hit by it, it sucks, like you
don't it's not something you want to do. And then
also we had a couple of days where we found
this where we were doing five scenes, you like, oh
my god, this is a real problem and there's just
no way that anyone could have thought that this was
going to happen. It got so cold that the rubber
eyes tips froze in place and they were solid.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
So those fights.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Became like, you really do need to get out of
the way of these swords because they actually are sharp now.
And we don't know how it happened, but that was
an interesting thing anyway. Again, you know, that's that's a
big part of where this trust comes from. And then
the emotional stuff, at least in my experience, and maybe
this is just because I'm still learning, still figguring my
stuff out. But if you don't trust the birth and
(21:12):
opposite you, like, even physically, I find it very difficult
to produce tears if I don't work with you correctly,
if I don't trust you, if I don't feel like
you trust me, the vibe is all off, and then
I find it very difficult, and oftentimes in that situation
will have to cheat and use tartic. Not that it's
really cheating necessarily, but it doesn't feel to me as
(21:33):
sort of organic, and the trust that we've built within
that community was kind of second to not to be honest,
in't really found that again. I hadn't been on a
show for four years since then, so who knows. Maybe
I hope it all happen again. I would love for
it to happen again, but it was. It was quite
a special experience with these guys, and you know they're
(21:54):
going to be They're going to be my friends and
family for the rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
It's quite evident that you guys have a super close bond,
and I think when you're dealing with the show like this,
something that interests me the most is, you know, in
the world of fantasy and supernatural. It can very easily
be unrelatable and sometimes cross over to corny in certain
shows that I've seen. But with the show like this,
you guys covered real shit. I mean you covered race relations,
(22:19):
you covered sexuality, you covered things that people go through,
and I think as a viewer it makes it all
the more captivating a watch, so I imagine as an actor
on the show, it makes it that much more engaging
and interesting too.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
The one hundred percent yeah, I mean it's interesting because
a lot of that stuff, so the race relations stuff.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I was involved in a little and it's it's trending
a really delicate balance where you want to tell these
stories but you don't want anyone to feel.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Offended or uncomfortable as well.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
But I think eventually you have to sort of get
to a place where you're like, I think to make
this forward movement in anything, you are going to have
to make people feel uncomfortable at some point, like whatever.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
It is that.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
I do think that especially a sort of I wouldn't
call it teeny base for a young adult fantasy show.
I think a lot of what the responsibility is there
and a lot of what we've seen through fan interactions posts,
the show, and even during the show is young people
discovering parts of.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Themselves that they didn't necessarily know that that was there.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Whether it's you know, people who came out as gay,
or people were struggling with mental health. I get quite
a lot because Jason was going through such a difficult
mental struggle, or even just we hear this a lot.
And this is really special that people were sort of
given the strength by the show to overcome or to combat,
or to come out to their parents or whatever. And
that's a really special thing. That being said, I do
(23:46):
think and I've said this a countless fan who told
me that Jase gave me the power to overcome, you know,
my mental health issues. Whatever it is, the truth is,
and for everyone listening or watching, the truth is that
that strength was within you as a person, always, that
lived within you. What we did maybe was either a
(24:08):
nice distraction or some commonality, some common grounds that you
found that helped you access that strength.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
But that strength came from you.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
We didn't give you anything. That strength always lived within
you and will always live within you, and it's always
something that you can harker back to as and when
you need it. But that being said to hear that
we had an impact on, especially these young lives that
sometimes do need their handheld through things. I know I
certainly did still do at times. That's a really lovely
(24:38):
thing because we got to do what we love and
also it had an impact on lives and that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Well, I'm actually going to challenge you a little bit
because I think, yes, the strength is inside of the person,
but I don't agree that you guys didn't also give
that strength because I think when somebody's watching something like
your show and they feel unseen by everybody around them,
and suddenly they see themselves in that character, it does
allow them to feel like, oh my god, that character
(25:07):
is giving me the strength to realize my own. So
I do think it goes both ways. I think you
got to give yourself a little more credit.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well that's very sweet, and I appreciate that. Maybe you're right,
you know, I don't know everything. Between me and my brother,
we know everything, but.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, but I totally get the sentiment. But yeah, I
think it's definitely a symbiotic relationship. And I think that's
also a large reason why when the show ended up
getting canceled because of network changes and whatever. The reasons
were the fandom wasn't having it. Man, there were campaigns
out the show was trending. There were billboards in New York.
I mean, there were hardcore, boots on the ground campaigns
(25:45):
to keep the show going. And I imagine hearing and
seeing that was just totally mind blowing to know your
work meant that much to people.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Yeah, I mean, the guys who put this campaign together
really went above and beyond anything we could have expected.
I mean more than that, it was really quite humbling
to see how effective the show had been, as you say,
with so many people. As for the reasons, we still
don't know to this day. We were never told. If
(26:15):
it was a numbers that went down thing, if it
was a money thing, if it was the network changing hand,
we don't know. They didn't tell us, And we get
asked a lot if you know what happened? Is they
ever coming back? I'm like, I don't know. I don't
know if they asked maybe, you know, if they asked
me to come back, there's always scope there for me
to do that, But I don't know. Maybe we just
don't know what happened. We were all we were all devastated.
(26:38):
That being said, It was a real kindness of the
studio to give us two episodes to finish the show.
That didn't happen very often. In fact, it almost never happened,
so to be given the gift of being able to
round off the story the way we wanted to rather
than leaving it. However, the original episode twenty would have ended,
which I don't even remember because I think we changed
(26:59):
it to continue through twenty one twenty to finish the story.
That was something really special to do. And the way
the story rounded out, I think everyone was very happy
with and we got very lucky.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Todd, who was our.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Showrunner, actually came on and directed the last two episodes.
He never directed us before, and we were all I
told Todd this, which did I live embarrassing. We were
all a bit like it's a job. He doesn't know
the crew and you know how it works. Like he
spent most of the time in La We're in Toronto,
Like how's he going to and he fit in like
(27:34):
a puzzle piece. It was the most insane thing every
morning he did. And this is something I agree with
an actor, not the performance wise, but also interactions. I
try and like absorb the behaviors that I like and
reject the ones that I that I don't like. And
Todd did this thing every morning that I like to
try and encapsulate in every job that I've done since
(27:55):
he would thank a different department for whatever the job
they'd done that day. So if we came in step Deek,
for example, had done an amazing job, he would gather
everyone around and we'd applaud set deck because they've done
such an amazing job, or if it was lighting or
costumes or sound or whoever it was. And it was
like the first thing we did in the morning. And
some of these mornings we started like five ay end,
we've already been in the makeup trailer for an hour,
(28:16):
Like people are tired, people are sleepy, and to start
your day with such a level of positivity, it's just magical.
And it changed sort of the aspect that it wasn't
we're filming these lasts too, that's sad. It's like, wow,
we're filming these last too, And then it seems like
we're going out in a bag.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
And that's what.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
The show holds such a special place in your heart still,
and you're someone who likes to revisit it and talk
about it and reflect, and I think that it says
a lot about the artist you are. And you're clearly passionate,
and you dive into your characters and you like to
play different roles and characters. I'm curious to know who
is Dom Sherwood without the acting? Is it that one?
(28:57):
Is hard to separate it to you?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Who knows? That's a question for my therapist. Yeah, right,
get her on next. No, Dom show is a very
simple creature, is the real truth? Like I love my animals,
I love my friends, I love my family. I like doing,
you know, stuff that is probably going to get me hurt,
and does get me hurt every now and then. I
(29:21):
like climbing rocks. And this is the same again, going
back to like the seven year old version of me
who was like, I'm going to climb that tree and
my Mum's like, you shouldn't flind that tree. It's too
that tree. I climbed the tree and I break myrt.
That's what that's always been who I am. And I'm
still like exactly that person, even posts. I did a
movie called a Racer just after COVID and post a Racer.
I was rock climbing with my girlfriend and I came
(29:43):
off the wall and just shafted my ankle. It was
like that, I've always been that person always, Like I
knew the nurses are our local hospital by first name
by the time I was like twelve, it was that's
just there's who I am. But but yeah, I'm a
simple guy. Like right before, this is why I was late.
This is really embarrassing. I was playing video games with
my buddies back in England. I'm sorry that happened to
my manager tech and I was like, so I got
(30:05):
they got to go like into my microphone like turn
up my things, which is really embarrassing. But like, I'm
a very simple guy, you know. I like hanging out
with my friends. I like getting hugs from my pets.
I like having a drink and doing some silly extreme sports.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's kind of it.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Are you able to relish in the successes that you've
had and take a step back and feel proud and
accomplished in what you've done. Are you the type to
always be like, Okay, what's next?
Speaker 2 (30:32):
One? Am I doing?
Speaker 1 (30:33):
What's the next plan? How do you balance that relationship?
Because I look at you and think, oh my god,
you've had so much more success as an actor than
people could dream of in their entire careers.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
How do you view that? It's interesting, You're so right.
It's again like that seven year old version of me
that made the decision, like we're going to be an
actor one day, that's what we're going to do. And
I was like a mad if I told him that
I was in a music video with Taylor Swift. Who
would have lost his mind if I told him that
I did a movie with Mark two did Mean Girls
and Zoe Deutsch and Lucy Bry and Claire Foy and
(31:03):
all of these incredible actors, Joey Richardson, like all of
these incredible people, he would have lost his mind even more.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
If I care it could then tell them that I did.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I followed that up with a series that I was
the lead on that I did for four and a
half years that people across the world loved. And you
still get stopped in the street, even after the show's
been off the air for five years, you still get
stopped on the street acting for photos. It's poor little
head of a blown up, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
So there's a real humility.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
I get reminded of that by myself by my own hubris,
very very often the place that I'd imagined myself being
when they said being an actor was like community theater
and as long as they had enough money to eat
and pay my rent. And I'm in a good spot
and everything's happy. So I have surpassed my wildest expectations.
That being said, again, I think what makes an artist amazing.
(31:54):
I think what makes the best of the best the
best of the best is they're consistently trying to challenge themselves.
I think everything is that. This one of the depth.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
And I enjoyed this and I loved this, and my
next thing, I want to push myself harder. It doesn't
need to be so this is an interesting parallel. So
finish shadow answers, love shadow answers. Really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
And immediately afterwards, I'm not going to name the show,
but I got offered another young adult show and the
character's name was Jonathan Morgenstern, and I was like, I can't.
I just did this. I can't. I can't do the
exact same thing again. I just can't do it. I
need something that I want to really push myself and
challenge myself. And there were a couple of things that
(32:39):
came up.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
And we're like, maybe, I don't know, I'm not.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Sure, And then Penny came up, and Penny was for
anyone who hasn't seen it, I play. I play a
bad guy, really dark character who also has this this
very complex relationship with Michael Gladis, who's just the most
amazing actor. I absolutely adore the man. And that was
a no brainer. That was like, yeah, this is you know,
strong Logan and Natalie Dormer and Nate Lane and Dan
(33:05):
Zevato and Lorenzo I though, who I bumped into yesterday,
which is my absolute range, is the sweetest, And that
was a no brainer. Job that's going to push me
and it's going to make me make choices that I've
never had to do before. I had to physically work
quite hard to look the way they wanted me to
look for, sort of the nineteen thirty eight surfer kind
of body, and it was a very different challenge. All
(33:27):
that to say that it was a much smaller role
comparatively to shadow Hunters. It was like pay wise was
much less than I think it was like seventy percent
less than my pay for the shadow Hunters, but none
of that matters. What mattered to me was this is
a job that is going to challenge me, and that's
(33:47):
what that's what I would like.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
I would like to be challenged, and each each step.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
On sort of the challenge ladder, brings me up to
that point, so I'm ready to reach for the next challenge,
the next step, and keep myself moving forward that way,
because what the brave dignition and death for an artist
or whatever it is, and that's what I'd like to
try and avoid, is dignition. If I'm moving, I would
at least like to move sideways. So if it's not
a step forward or what I would consider to be
(34:13):
a step forward, which is different for everybody, of course,
at least it's a step to something different, you know,
a different challenge, whatever it is, even the movement from
I mean posts Penny, we got hit by COVID, so
nobody worked for pretty much a year, and then the
next job was a racer and they were like, we're
going to have you trained by the Navy seals and
by US martals. I was like, amazing, let's do it,
(34:36):
you know, And that's I spent my tail end of
COVID in the gym three four.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
Hours a day.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
We couldn't meet anyone because it was we were still
in COVID. But I was on on like face signs
and stuff like learning how to field strip weapons and
do sort of basic versions of buds which is fa
underwater demolition sorts or.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
The Navy seals go through which I didn't.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Do buds just to be clear, just to be full
that they were like do like fifteen proage outs and
that's like kind of buds. And I was like, I
don't think it is. I've seen the videos of how
this runs, and I think this is fite right. But
another challenge, you know, another thing that was like, ah,
this is another step. And then Partner Track followed that,
and then that was another really exciting challenge. There wasn't
(35:17):
any physical drama in Partner, which was something different for me.
It was all law. It was jargon, and that's I
had to understand that. The first thing I did is
I got we were mergered in acquisitions lawyers. So I
got M and A for dummies and I started reading
through that and none of it made any sense. And
then I started applying bits that I was learning from
that for the script and understanding why this is a challenge,
(35:40):
and so on and so forth, and that's how I
like to pretty through my career with the grounding of
I'm exceptionally lucky to be in this place.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
I have surpassed my wildest dreams right now where I
am in this place.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
But also the dream was to continue moving and continue growing.
I would like to continue doing that.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Also, I think it's really inspiring when someone like you
says you don't have to say yes to everything, and
it's very much about quality and not having to always
do something just to be seen. For example, like there
are things I'm working on that I've been working on
since the beginning of this year that nobody knows about,
and I'm okay with that because it's putting in the
work right now, it's not time to talk about it,
(36:22):
post about it, share anything related to it, because it's
going to be something that's a long game. And I
think we often lose sight of that mentality and it's
just about maybe a little vanity, maybe being seen, maybe
looking popular, or maybe looking needed or wanted or in demand.
And when you take a step back and allow yourself
to really figure out what you want, that's when the
magic happens, man, So I love that you share that
(36:43):
mentality as well.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Yeah, I not a waste. I'll tell you that, not
a waste. There are definitely times where I think, and
like you said, I think we all fall into these
traps on occasion where we think, ah, man, I don't
feel whether it's personal or professional life, like I don't
feel valued or loved or whatever.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Maybe I should take this thing that's going to promote
that sense of whatever.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And I have one very good friend, Elliot Knight, who
has always been very good at this is not what
I want to do. Is I'm worth this, or I'm
good at this, or this is what I'm trying to
do right now, whatever it is. And he's the sweetest
knife oft guy, and every now and then.
Speaker 3 (37:21):
I need to see him.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
For a liberal reminder of like right, like, I do
have work here and I'm very happy with where I am,
and honestly, his career is absolutely amazing, and he's the
most phenomenal actors and enjoyed to watch anyone out there.
If you haven't watched anything he's been at you really shit.
But he Yeah, we have these people around us that
every now and then you need a reminder of like
you're doing good path, Like everything's good, You're doing a
(37:45):
good job, and just forget the noise around you. You're
still on the path that you want to be on.
And sometimes Sarah's feat bumps in it and you've got
to go over them more around them, but you're going.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
To end up back on the road.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
And it's a daily practice to have that mentality. Like
you said, we all sometimes fall off of it, and
yet we do things and we're like, oh, man, should
I have done that? It's not what I really wanted,
And that's human. We're human. But to keep in mind
that we should be going after things that truly fuels us,
I think is such a great goal and endgame for
all of us. You're someone who clearly is a a
(38:18):
dreamer and a believer and a worker, and you really
set yourself up for a life that you want and
you value the work that you do, and you seem
very open and sharing your thoughts and everything you've talked
about today. But in honor of the show name, which
is called I've never said this before, I'm curious to
know if anything comes to mind, if there is something
(38:40):
that you really haven't said before, whether it's silly or
deep and you just feel like sharing it.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's interesting. I have a personal divide between what I
will share publicly and what I will share privately, and
I think everyone should have that, even if you're not
in the public eye, I think you should have These
are certain people that I will share this with, and
these are certain people that share this with. However, something
that I haven't said publicly out before, I think, I mean,
(39:08):
I have said this, but I'll say it a thousand
times over. And this isn't me saying that. Either I
heard this quote and it stuck with me. Your happiness
comes from you, right, So the person who like cut
you off or gave you the finger or whatever on
the road, I don't owe them my happiness. I'm not
going to give them any of my happiness. They just
tried to take a little bit of it, and it's
(39:29):
not on them. It's not there, it's not up to them.
And it's something I'm trying to practice more and more
in my life is that I'm not giving up my
happiness for anybody. I'm happy to share it with someone
who makes me happy, but I'm not giving it up
for someone who wants to take it away, and I mean,
I'm still learning how to function with this in my
life because there are four times when someone gives.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
You the thing on the road, I'm like you, but
you know it straight back, like but I need to.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
I's sort of a meditative process or you just take
a second and you go, Okay, he's not allowed by happiness,
as my happiness is coming from me, and I'm going
to keep that coming from me as much as I
physically can. So I know I've said before, so I'm
sort of cheating in relation to the title, But if
I wanted to say anything, that was it.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
I love that and I think that's a message worth
saying time and time again. Tom, I so appreciate you
coming on and being open and vulnerable. And I think
in this day and age, it's always really cool when
I meet other dudes who are happy to really talk
about real shit and who aren't so guarded and know
that when we have these types of conversations, Yes, we
celebrated your work, but then we talked about a lot
(40:34):
of personal things. And when we have those conversations, it
makes us all feel like we're all in one boat,
and I think that's so valuable.
Speaker 3 (40:42):
Yeah, absolutely. Hey, thank you Tommy.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Anytime you want to chat, you know how to get
hold of me, so please do because these are always
starting a way.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Thank you so much, tom We'll be in touch and
keep rerocking it. I look forward to seeing where you
pop up next.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
You too, brother, you too come wait.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Piglisi at iHeartRadio
and by Me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
(41:22):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy de Dario
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