February 13, 2024 • 42 mins
This week, Tommy is joined by actor Noah LaLonde who currently stars as Cole Walter in Netflix’s hit new series, My Life with the Walter Boys. The show is a coming-of-age teen drama based on the best-selling books of the same name. It quickly hit #1 on the Netflix charts and was so popular that it got renewed for Season 2 just two weeks after premiering. Noah plays the all-star jock who all the guys want to be friends with and all the girls want to date, but there is so much more to him than meets the eye. And Noah brings such emotion and range to this performance. Today he opens up about landing the role of a lifetime, why his character means so much to him, what he hopes for Cole in Season 2, why he hasn’t changed since booking My Life with the Walter Boys, the importance of enjoying the journey and not just the final outcome, being open to signs from the universe, how we all have more similarities than differences, and if people often comment on that full head of flowing hair.
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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 I am chatting with the
very talented Noah Lalande, who currently stars as Cole Walter
in the Netflix hit new series My Life with the
Walter Boys. Now. The show is a coming of age
teen drama based on the best selling book of the
same name, and it quickly hit number one on the
(00:23):
Netflix charts, and it was so popular that after just
two weeks of premiering, it got renewed for a season two.
It is so incredibly rare to see a show get
picked up that quickly, which just goes to show you
how many eyes were tuning in to watch Noah and
the whole cast. Now, the short version of the plot
it goes like this, there is a horrible tragedy that
disrupts a teenager's life, so she moves from the big
(00:45):
city of Manhattan to her guardian's home in a very
rural Colorado. She's then taken in by the Walters, a
very large family, and she's thrown into a different life
where she learns lessons about love and hope and friendship.
And then enter Noah, who the all star jock who
all the guys want to be friends with and all
the girls want to date, But there is so much
(01:05):
more to him that meets the eye, and Noah brings
such beautiful emotion and range to his performance. We have
such a fun conversation where we of course dive into
the show and his amazing role, but then we get
to know Noah a bit deeper. We talk about the
concept of identity and figuring out who we really are
as individuals in this crazy world. We then segue into
(01:27):
stepping into a life changing opportunity without letting that four
letter word fear get in the way, and man so
much more so, Let's see if today we can get
Noah to say something that he has never said before.
Knowa on Man, how you doing today?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm doing very well.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Congrats to on all the success. Of course, your show
has I feel like taken over the country, taken over
the world by storm my life with the Walter Boys.
It is such a fun, feel good, dramatic, juicy show
that I feel like people have been craving, especially on
Netflix with the departure of some other shows in that
(02:09):
same genre, and it's really, really, really been something that
the fandom has gone crazy over, So for everybody listening
right now, and for maybe those who haven't had a
chance to check out the show yet, how would you
describe it? Being so close to the show, how would
one of the stars of the show say, what this
is about?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Thank you first and foremost for saying those kind of things.
I would describe it similarly to that. I think it's
a show that has a lot of elements to it,
a lot of elements that can appeal separately to a
lot of different sectors of people. You have, of course,
which I think if you go to the internet you
(02:48):
can see there's some love triangle dialogue that takes place.
There is this navigation of tragedy that is from the
very first scene when we pick up with Jackie, see
that taking place, and then you see a lot of
real life things going on. You know in anycoming of
age story, but this one, you feel the presence of
(03:08):
the parents, you feel the presence of the community and
the school. And one of the cool things about our show,
and one of the things that I'll use to answer
your question, is I saw this quote. I think it
was our showrunner Melanie who said she wanted to make
a show that like a fifteen year old daughter could
watch with her forty five year old father and both
(03:30):
sides could be equally as entertained and engaged. And I
think it's kind of a nice way to encapsulate, Like
it's there are parts that are warm and that make
you feel good, and that maybe cater to a younger audience.
And then I think there are probably parts that are
our real life, you know, tribulations, real life things that
you know, the older generation will feel a certain amount
(03:54):
of care because they had to go through that as
a kid, or they're now parenting someone going through that.
So that's my description of our show.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Well said, Well said, there is something for everybody in
the show, that's for sure, and I think one of
the reasons why it's so successful and for you, how
badly did you want to be a part of this show.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
As soon as I read the character description of Cole,
I was very intrigued because there was some mirroring aspects
to his character hit where he was in his timeline
to where my timeline was at that age. Kind of
navigating the loss of athletic career was the biggest thing.
(04:37):
I was a hockey player and that was kind of
my full on identity for a long time, and when
you stop playing, it defines your life for an extended
period of time. And that's exactly what he's going through,
except it's not his choice and it's injury related, and
you know, I wasn't the best quarterback in all of
(04:57):
my hometown McCombe County. But just kind of felt like
you get a lot of characters who are one side
of what Cole was. You know, the kind of jerk
like Jock who gets the girls and stuff. You get
a lot of like that side. But Cole was this
guy who had this step to him because he's navigating
(05:18):
a loss of his own and he's feeling real feelings
for Jackie and for himself he's having a hard time
feeling for So I was very excited to play Cole
Walter and in turn be part of the show.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, you just touched on a bunch of different things.
So for one, as an actor, you get a lot
of auditions, You get a lot of material to memorize,
put on tape, you know, wait to hear if you
got it. Most of the time, you don't. As artists, right,
there's so many auditions you get and you just kind
of put it out there and you don't hear back.
And this was one I gather that felt a little
more personal to you. You really seem to have wanted
(05:55):
this one, right.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, absolutely, And it makes every step of that process
meant even more. So many things about being an actor
is waiting and theorizing and hoping, and you send off
your audition tape or you walk out of that audition
room and it's just you don't know. You know, you
(06:19):
get feedback here and there, but you know, I remember
I did my tape for Cole and the first callback
for me was, Okay, now we're in this realm of
something else has happened. We've done in the first part
one hundred times, but not something else has happened. And
(06:40):
then you get to a chemistry read and I remember,
you know, tying in my dad and my mom and
my closest circle, like, yeah, you got a chemistry read
coming up, and it's so exciting on so many levels
because you're trying to balance out how amazing that is.
And I remember, after everything the chemistry read, every call
(07:04):
with my manager, and I just liked to call my
dad and he'd be like, well, now what I'd be
like Dad, I don't.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Know, and I love that you found out about this role.
I believe when you were working in your restaurant, right
were you doing the love shift and you got a call.
Tell me that story, because that's so epic that you
had weeks and weeks and weeks of waiting and working
and auditioning and then in a second your life changed.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
The story of how I got got the uh I
got the part? I like I said, to put ourselves
right back in the seat of getting these calls and
being really excited, and select groups of people know about
what's going on. And at this point we're in the
stage of having a test deal, which I'm sure you
(07:53):
know what it is, but for the listeners or viewers,
that's basically when they showed you your contract what it is.
If you get it and a few people have that,
and then they take you to the final stage and
you either audition or they review your tapes at the
highest level and they decide. So basically, I found out
(08:13):
that I had this deal, and for a week, you're
just waiting, like you know, what could happen in your
life where you're going to be living for how long?
Like everything about this but you don't know if you've
got it, and you're just waiting for someone else to
decide at the end of the day. So for me,
like you just you have to do something else. So
(08:34):
I just try to keep my schedule the same. I
go to the gym every single day, I go to work.
I just try to stay sane. My my parents are
My dad's calling me. He's like, anything here, anything, Dad,
I would tell you if I hurt anything. So all
this is happening. And I'm working at Bjay's Restaurant brew
(08:55):
House in Woodland Hills, California, and it's this quiet lunch shift,
but I know that I can. I'm waiting news at
all time, so my pocket like I'm getting those ghost
vibrations in my pocket at all times. And my manager
calls me and she says quickly, she's like, did you
see your email? And I was like, no, what did
(09:16):
I get? Like, I mean, I flew to the back room.
Oh my god. She's like, yeah, they something about your
The last zoom audition just like what we're doing now.
The connection cut out and it wasn't high enough resolution
or quality to like send all the way through, so
they need you to read and like that scene again.
(09:40):
They said, you don't have to be fully prepared. They
just they just like want, like they need you, they
need you doing it side by side or whatever. So
I'm like, what do you mean. I'm I'm at work,
I'm wearing my black button down shirt with a couple
like stains on it. I'm sweaty. It's hot. It's super
hot in La. So I ran out to my car
(10:03):
and I set out my phone like on the dash,
and I'm trying to like, okay, can I make this salvageable?
In my head thinking oh my gosh, this means I
must be. They must need this because I'm either close
or I'm about to ruin everything. So I get on
Zoom with the with the casting department. One forecasting apartment
(10:23):
changed my life forever, and they're like, oh no, thanks
so much for coming on at such short notice. We
appreciate it. Yeah, she's gonna be. You have the sides.
I'm like, usually I could set my phone up on
my laptop and look at the sides, but I don't
have my laptop. I'm at work, so I'm like, nah,
I don't have this size. I can pull them up.
Can you read? Send it to me like everything's going wrong,
(10:47):
and she said, well, you know you might be okay,
because we just wanted to call and tell you that
you actually got the part.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
You're reliving it. I see you reliving.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
It, and I feel that and and it was the
defining moment of my maybe life, but if not my
life the last eight years. And and you know, it
took it doesn't feel like it took that long, but
it was such a long road to there, and so
many people were a part of it. I cannot stress
(11:24):
this enough. So many people were a part of it.
So I was, you know, so thrilled to get this news.
And so I called my parents. I think they were
both home, and I got them on the phone and
I told them and it was.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Just, oh my god, that moment, that moment must have
been incredible. And so did you then go in and
just continue working with your tables?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Well? I did. I put all these I put all
these amazing conversations my manager. I put them on rush
and I was like, hey, I gotta get back mind you,
right before I got the call, I might have skipped
this part of at a crucial time, but right before
I got the call. I had one take, you know,
one to rush at. Some of these places are is
nothing uh not not Bjay's. There's always a crowded room.
But this particular day, there was one older gentleman in
(12:11):
the bar, in the bar area, and he ordered it.
He ordered a burger, and uh, I placed the order.
I went out to my car, came back, went him
to the counter it was there, came down, dropped it
off at his table and he was like, thank you
very much. And I was just like, you're welcome. But
(12:31):
nothing was different to anybody except for me in the
six people who had been contacted at that point. There's
something special about that that I haven't quite articulated about,
that moment of everything changing but nothing changing, and and
remembering that we're all like we're all walking around on
the same on the same earth.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
And there there was.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
These these synchronicities leading up to I mean, I remember
it was the day of or the day before. I
was talking to my best friend who knew about all this.
Shout out to him, my best friend Alex. He we
would FaceTime all the time, like and I would go
to the gym. I wouldn't quite have the energy yet,
so I just put him on FaceTime and we'd talk
for like fifteen minutes. It'd be like a like a
(13:17):
pre workout. We'd just laugh for a while and chat.
And I remember telling him, how would it would be
interested to see how close this was. I was like,
I got the part. He was like, what, you got it?
And I was like, well, not technically, but I did
get it. And he was like, what are you talking about.
I'm driving to work one day or back from the gym,
(13:38):
and I look over and there's this new sweet food.
I love baked goods, cookies. I love these. My friend
Alex and I also share this love. So I'm driving
by and all of a sudden, this new cookie shop
is going up one mile from my house. And the
sign gets put up and it says Walter's Cold Cafe No.
(14:02):
And I was just like, and maybe that's nothing right.
I like to look into these things.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Now, that's something I called them.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I was like, hey, dude, I got the part. This
is a sign. I got it, and I did. Within
twenty four to forty eight hours of that one to
two business days after that, I got it.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, So I one hundred percent believe in synchronicities. And
if you're open and not necessarily looking, but just a
very open person, then you will get signs exactly like
you did. And I think that's so cool. And what
I love about all of this, I think it's such
an interesting story how you found out at work and
you went back to work and you kept kind of
the secret to close family and friends for a while
(14:41):
is you are very much someone who lives in the
present moment and you don't want to You don't want
to uproot your life, you know, in this completely three
hundred and sixty degree way, and becomes something suddenly that
is bigger than you, and you want to feel things,
experienced thing And I think that's really cool. You don't
(15:02):
always hear that, and I think he'll carry that attitude
with you for a really long time. And man, thank
god you got that phone call, because I know a
lot of the fans cannot imagine anybody else playing Cole
the way you played, and you touched on it earlier. Yes,
he's the jock. He's What I love about how you
(15:25):
played him is he's very easily could be the stereotype.
He could be just the one sided, popular cool guy
that all the bros want to hang out with and
all the girls have a crush on and he's kind
of a dick and but no, like, there's so many
layers to him. And as you say, it's because you
identify with a huge loss in his life that you
also had. So I think that's pretty cool that you
(15:45):
brought that feeling and that emotion and that side to
a character that maybe not other artists would have. You know.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, well, thank you for starters, because it's an honor
to who you say that and to have people resonate
with Coal, And I do think you're right. I was
very worried about you know, this is definitely the first
sizeable job that I've ever had as an actor. So
I mean I've had jobs, but never to where you're
(16:15):
held to that level of accountability, to where you're you know,
you're living there for five months at a time. You're
bringing a full life to a person and that comes
with a lot of work. But the worry came from
some of those stereotypes. It's like there's a thing in
this show called the Coal effect, but you don't approach
(16:36):
that delicately. I could like hear my friends back home
being like, oh yeah, you think you're cute homepal like
like you know, So, I don't know. I think there's
there are a lot of ways to get kind of
trapped in that side of it. But I don't think
you know, I've I've explained this to to a certain extent.
(16:58):
But the character is is is he's a shell of
himself and he's clinging to what he was when he
was the man, when he was the star, and he's
he's drifting through this life where people like view him
as that still kind of out of pity, and you know,
he's like clinging on to what he can and not
(17:21):
remembering who he is. And we all know that feeling
is like when things are changing and you wake up
one day and it's like what am I doing? Like
where am I? And high school's a scary time, and
falling in love is a scary thing, and in the
first time, I mean first time. I don't know how
(17:42):
many times people fall in love these days, but every
time you fall in love, it's terrifying because it opens
the door for something that can destroy you. He like,
especially when you can't define it. So you're feeling so broken,
You're feeling so hurt by your circumstances, What could what
(18:03):
could make that more complicated and difficult? How about somebody
who is dealing with the greatest loss of all but
who in spite of all of that, is providing this
light at the end of the tunnel for you, and
you're just naturally drawn to this person. You're naturally drawn
to the energy that they give off, this this energy,
this healing energy. And for for Coal, I think that's
(18:26):
the first thing Jackie does. You know, he's gonna he's
gonna river her, and he's gonna kind of give her
a hard time, but it's undeniable to feel her, her perseverance,
her like approach to life that is like, I'm not
gonna let anything get me. I'm going to continue to
stay on my path. When Cole all but you know,
(18:47):
the rows, the path out the window. And it was
really awesome to bring him to life. And I'm over
the moon to be continuing to bring I mean, to
go back for another season and continue to tell this
story is amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Which, by the way, I mean, I believe that news
broke only two weeks after the show premiered on Netflix,
which is kind of unheard of. I mean, that's a
really really fast turnaround for everybody listening. That just is
not the norm. Yes, the show, you know, hit number
one and it was super popular and multi multi millions
of people watched it. But to get that news two
(19:23):
weeks or so after, I mean, how did that feel?
Because that is so not the normal?
Speaker 2 (19:28):
How like? Okay, so all these things. I mean, you
keep saying, like the how big the show was, how
many people have watched it, how quickly this is? And
I can I know, I hear what you're saying, and
I've heard this from other sources and I've read this
and the proof is in. We got a season two quickly.
(19:50):
But it's hard to wrap your head around. It's a
I think, well because of a few things. One because
it's very much you feel things electronically like in internet
internet wise, you feel it on the internet, like you
can go on Instagram or TikTok and and you can
(20:11):
feel like, oh, so there are people talking about our show,
there are people watching the show. And I cannot stress
this enough. And I remind myself this every day. I
am not my accomplishments or my career or the amount
of people that have watched the show. I find that
you know, I don't know if I thought I would
(20:33):
change or if, like you, hear stories about people who
you know, they get a little bit of a grain
of success or fame is an interesting word, but for
the sake of talking about other people, I'll use it.
They get a little bit of this, and people say, oh,
he changed, or she got a big head and she
decided to not you know, stick to who she is.
(20:53):
I don't feel changed as a person by this, but
you can tell there are like I feel a change
from the outside. I feel a change one degree of separation,
like when a friend tells me, hey, like my boss
said they loved your show and everybody at work was
(21:14):
talking about it today. A friend that works at a hospital, Yeah,
we were at we were in a surgery and like
all the nurses were talking about Walter Boys, and I
was like, your team, it's your team, Cole, And I'm like, like,
that's that. That is That part is where it's hard
to fathom. But as far as like me on a
day to day basis, I feel an incredible amount of
(21:37):
gratitude for the experience and for what it is brought
to the world. It's one person has seen it in
a time when they needed to see it, or just
one person enjoyed it or like it's It doesn't have
to be some profound experience with art like I've I've
talked about this, but I use so many different works
of art to connect to times in my life, whether
(21:59):
it be a new album, a music or a movie,
a TV showed that month that you watch four seasons
of a TV show, even if it's Succession, and even
if the subject matter is heavy and dark, I'll never
forget the time that I watched Succession, But like so
many other shows, so I guess to me, it's hard
to wrap my head around that numbers wise, because I
(22:19):
get to interact with a bunch of really great people
who now know who I am via the show. But
even though that's an increased number, it's not millions or
billions like I don't. I get a sliver of a
sliver of sliver that and it's amazing to see people
react to that and react to me. Although my my
(22:40):
blonde locks are gone, I'm not quite the high school,
every day shaven that I may have appeared.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Well, I don't think people realize that. So you dyed
your hair for it?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yeah, And I don't think everyone truly. I think people
assume you're really that blonde, but you're not.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, I mean I think I think, uh, in the summertime,
I used to say I got highlights when I was
a little kid. There's some brutal pictures of me.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Out there, like frosted tips.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
You know, they weren't intended to be. But after my
hair dropped a little bit and I didn't maintain it,
it didn't look great. But you know, I get some sunlight,
my hair can become like a dirty blonde. And I
rocked with you know, they do it on set. So
when I got back home, I had like what was
left of it. I actually I came home when I
(23:29):
liked it so much, I went and I red. I
kept the collar. I like, redid it because it was
kind of, you know, faltering, and I never got it
done again. I just kind of let it, let it
grow through, And that lasted me a pretty long time.
Give me some gave me a little bit of a
whacky and nobody knew who I was, so it was fine.
I could have messed up colored hair that hadn't been touched.
And that was one of the descriptions I think from
(23:53):
the book that really came through and the show is
close blonde hair and those moments where it's like hanging
just like ever so slightly over his eyes and you're
having to look through the hair. That was a little
olsho which oh for for the for the audio listeners. Oh,
this is a podcast for the audio listeners. I pulled
(24:15):
the strain in my hair and let it sit ever
so slightly in my eye.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
It was very cinematic, very cinematic.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
So yeah, that and it was fun. I love to
explore different you know, different attributes of your character or
you know, physicality, things that when you when you step
into those their shoes, or you put on those parage
jeans that are a little bit tighter than the actor
maywear in person. I love a nice a nice baggy
Jean Cole Walter does not. He keeps them pretty tight.
(24:48):
So yeah, just certain things when you step into it,
you just you take a look in the mirror.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Well, what's so cool, man, is this role was already known,
you know, by the people who read the book, the
best selling novel, and it was your job as Noah
to bring him to life, to respect the character that
was created in the book. But also to make him
your own, and that's no easy feat. And I think
it's really cool that you rose to the occasion and
(25:15):
you did create a character based on a character that
was already known that made the fandom so happy and
then maybe people who never read the book so happy.
So that's a very delicate line to straddle. And you,
my friend, you did it, so that must have felt
pretty good too.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Well, well, thank you very much. When you say it
like that, it sounds really cool, sounds like I'm an
accomplished actor. But I will.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Say, you're just there loads of fear and like a
desperation and just preparing as much as you can and
just realizing, you know, these opportunities they they can be
so infrequent and you never know when it's going to
be your last chance.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
And this has been one of my first big chances,
but you never know if it's going to be your
last one. It's like my hometown Detroit Lions shout out
to the Detroit Lions, mor Ofer City, Dan Campbell. I
love this team and it was a great ride this season.
But Dan Campbell said after the season at the press conference,
(26:18):
and he believes in the team, so he doesn't believe this,
he said this, But as good as it feels, as
close as you feel right now, as close as you
feel like you could recreate it, it gets twice as
hard next year. You're never guaranteed to be back in
the same spot. And even if you do, now you're
on people's radar, and now people know you could get there.
(26:39):
So what do they do. They prepare harder for you,
they get more ready for you. Everybody's aware of you now,
so now you have to do it. You can't do
it in silence. You got to do it for real.
And all that's to say, it's a privilege to be
an actor and to be able to have a camera
on you and to be able to bring these stories
to life, truly, because so many people spend a lot
(27:02):
of time trying to do it and the chances are
few and far between. And you know, as a as
an as an actor, I have so much respect for
so many people I know who have, Like I said,
I said something earlier in the interview, and I and
I don't like to discredit like the amount of hard
work that I've had, but there is no debate. I
know people that have worked far longer and far differently
(27:25):
and had to make so many more changes. That's why
I don't I don't take I can't take all the
credit for for my my career because too many people
have contributed for me. I'm I'm the face of you know,
you pull up IMDb, I'm it's me, it is my face.
(27:45):
But so many people, hundreds of people, thousands of experiences,
they have created the person that you're talking to today
that has the ability to to be here and to
do to do these things. And uh so for that,
it's just it's doing your service to the craft well.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
And it's obvious you take it very seriously too. And
I don't want you to discredit yourself too, because I
know you said, you know six or seven years and
you may not think that sounds like a lot, but
it is a lot of time. And I believe, yes,
are there some lucky situations that happened throughout people's lives
and careers, of course, but you can't have luck if
you're not prepared, because if that luck comes your way
(28:26):
and you're not prepared, guess what, it's not going to
work out for you. So keeping your head down and
doing the work and staying focused and staying motivated. Are
all the reasons why you are where you are. And
I'm not saying other people who have maybe been at
it for ten or twenty or thirty years haven't done
the work either. But you know, the extreme athletic mentality
of preparation and doing the job is also why you
(28:48):
are where you are. So don't discredit that side either.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
That. I'm careful to talk about it like that because
I think that, especially in this world where there's no blueprint,
if you gave me the script of Leonardo DiCaprio's life
when he was you know, from fifteen on, I could
have done everything the same and had none of the success.
Everybody you have to you have to do this thing
(29:14):
where you allow your own your own authenticity, your own
uniqueness to guide you. And so I don't discredit myself fully.
I just I have to acknowledge all things and all
the people from you know, my great aunt, sister's third cousin,
(29:34):
Like that's my first connection to living here. So many
people don't have that. I mean I talk to people
all the time that ask me like, what do you do?
How do you start? You just got to jump and
I had, like I feel like I had a parachute,
I do. I mean, I've been so supported and so loved,
you know, and my blanket of love and support has
(29:55):
always been so warm that I could nothing could ever
be that bad. And I just I know there are
so many people in in such harder spots and such
harder spots around the world, doing things that are far,
far more difficult on a daily basis, and I try
to keep them in my mind because the minute you
start to elevate yourself above other people, Yeah, you're I
(30:19):
don't want to say I almost said your garbage. I'm
not gonna.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Say you are full on trash.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, and I don't. I don't believe that. I almost no.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
But I know what you're saying. Man, I think that's
a really valid point. And and all of that is
why you're gonna continue to go on and have a
really deep and meaningful and important career doing the jobs
that mean something to you. And I have no doubt
this show will go on for many, many, many seasons,
and then beyond that you're gonna you're gonna keep doing
cool things. And if you maintain that sense of gratitude
(30:50):
and appreciation and also your work ethic, you're Golden Man.
That's what's so cool about this show and these conversations
for me is I get to bring people on, and
in interviews you get asked a lot of the same stuff.
I almost said shit, but same stuff. Well I did
say shit, so there you go. But you get asked
(31:13):
a lot of the same stuff. What's your favorite scene,
what's your favorite line? You know, what do you want
to see in season two? And that's all valid and important,
and I know the fans love it, but they've already
heard that. So I like to bring artists on and
get into more of the nitty gritty, more of your
life story and honor the work, but also learn more
about you. And I think today you've given us such
(31:34):
a tremendous insight into the person that you are, which
is I so appreciate it and I sow value and
I think a lot of people are going to hear
this and be like WHOA, Like that guy is so
damn cool.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
You know, thank you. I appreciate that and everything you've
said leading out. I mean, this has been fantastic. I
felt again, I sometimes lose sight of the platform, but
I do feel like we've just been chatting like every
once in a while, I do peer up and I
see my face in the little self view and I
pull out. I'm like, oh wait, yeah, other people are
(32:05):
going to hear this. But I could talk all day,
so I have no concept of time or when to
shut up.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
No, I'm the same way. Listen. That's why I do
what I do. I can talk and talk and talk.
But there's a final question of the interview that I
ask every guest. And before I get to that question,
let me throw one more in for the fandom, who's like,
oh man, we're desperate for season two. So if there's
one main thing you can see for your character for
season two, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (32:34):
You know? Tell me I These questions are tricky for
me because.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
I have to you know, what's happening in season two.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
No, I don't. I don't. I don't. I have so
little control that I don't like to put much out there.
And everybody, like my parents, my family, they all ask
me this and I do not know. But I'll say this.
I looked at Cole as a version of a younger Noah,
(33:01):
a younger Noah that needed to learn certain things about
life and about what is important in life, whether it
be the people around you, the love that's around you,
about the gratitude, Like there are some things that Cole
has said that I've never said for the record, when
I make that comparison and is a lose comparison to
this younger Noah, I know that I had to learn
(33:24):
certain things to grow as a human being, and to
grow as a son and as a brother and as
a friend. And all I ask for season two is
that Cole stays on his own path. Things can seem
hard in a moment of time. Or you know, when
you lose football, or you don't get the girl, or
(33:46):
you argue with your family, and these things can seem
hard in a moment, but they can teach you a lot.
What is more important the result of the argument you
have with your your father or your brother, or how
you feel when you get back to your room and
the door shuts and you're alone with what just happened.
(34:07):
So continuing to engage in what you're doing and to learn.
I mean, I'm the type of person that I'm very
lucky for so many reasons, but I'm a human. So
I have said things I regret, I've done things I regret,
and you know it's not as much about what it
is you said or what it is you do. It's
that you're present enough in your own life to be like,
(34:29):
oh man, that's on me, and like why did I
do that? What? You know? What was what was bubbling
up inside of me that that made that happen and
what you know, So, you know, being reflective and being
engaged in your own life to learn from the things
that are happening to you and the way you're reacting
to things. And I hope and the viewers may not
(34:51):
even see it, but I hope Cole continues to reflect
and continue to stand his journey of like growing into
the person that he's supposed to be. And so that's
my That's a lit a bit of a cop out
because I would say that I hope that for every
person ever.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Well, yeah, fair enough, but it's very relevant to Cole's journey.
So I do appreciate that, and I do like that.
I think that's right on and it gives a little
hope for his future. And Noah, lastly, the name of
this show is I've never said this before, so I'm wondering,
although I feel like you've been so open and have
said many things in this interview already, maybe you haven't
said before, but is there something that comes to mind,
(35:24):
whether it's silly or deep, that you haven't necessarily put
out there or said.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Before with all of the things that have happened. And
this is not going to be like a too a
two word like I've never said banana potato because that
technically I've never said that, I think unless a grocery
list that I was reading off. But anyway, and I
thought to myself, inevitably, the reason I'm here is because
(35:49):
something has changed outside of me. You know, this show
has happened. It's been an incredible blessing, and people are
exposed to it. So I've been recognize a couple of
times in the street, you know, or at the store
or the bath and body works, and you know, you know,
(36:10):
you can tell that they see somebody that they know.
The thing that I'm saying for maybe the first time,
is I am no different than than anyone because of
what I've done, the fact that we're we are all
human beings. There is nothing we're supposed to do. We're
(36:34):
supposed to find, We're supposed to find the meaning what
is for us, But no one person is better than
the other. I really do believe that, and people may
act better than others for different reasons of understanding the
thing that I'm saying. And I also I also don't
know what I'm talking about, so this is like I'm
(36:55):
not trying to sound but you know, I've also been
to a couple I've been to a couple of events
where I've seen these people that I look up to,
people who have done tremendous work, and people who have
gotten the chance to talk to who you know, five
years ago, I would have been like, oh my gosh,
what would I even say to this person? But being
confronted with that moment where it's like how am I
(37:17):
going to approach this heter of the mine? And then
thinking back to those times and people have approached me
and I wouldn't say anyone's hero, But when someone approaches
me and just says, I love Cole Walter and I
love how you portrayed him in the show is just amazing.
My whole family watched it and we just like we
had the best time over Christmas. We watched it and
(37:39):
it was amazing. My grandparents they came over and then
we had them watch it. If I ever get to
the point of hearing something like that and not wanting it.
Then I might be doing the wrong thing because I
can't imagine having an impact in someone's life and not
wanting to hear it. So flash forward to being in
these rooms with people that I that I look up too,
(38:00):
and I still look up to them in a way,
but more so I'm looking at them and I just
want to give them their flowers, and you know, I
just like I'm gonna I'm gonna go to tell you that, hey,
my family watched your show and we enjoyed that together.
That was special for us. And it is kind of
prombing to this perspective, like to some people everything that
(38:24):
I've done this show will mean everything. To some people,
it will mean nothing to other people. They'll be jealous.
To other people, they'll be like very impressed at an
appropriate level all these things. But at the end of
the day, if everybody has this different view of you,
you are just the three sixty shade. You know, you
(38:45):
are you, and everyone's going to see you in a
different light. But at the end of day, we're all
on our own individual paths, but they all have to crossover.
So with that in mind, we're all together in this
and I've just I've gotten the chance to talk to
people I normally don't get to talk to and that's
very special because I love human connection. I love interacting
with people. And for anybody who is curious, we're the
(39:10):
same and at our core, you know, our hearts are
the same. And then like the love around us, I'm
trying to give it out as much as i can
so I can get it back, because it's the most
beautiful thing in the world, is to feel loved and
to feel like you're seeing and you know, I see
you if you're listening to this, you know. And I
don't want to sound cheesy, but like not everybody gets
(39:32):
the chance to do the thing that they want to
do the very most in their lives. And I've gotten
to do that, and I'm I could never have imagined
being in a better place than I am today, like
right now, and being able to do that. And for that,
all of the people that have helped, Thank you. All
the people that are existing and putting themselves through hard
times every day and doing something they want to do
(39:55):
and maybe losing the faith, Thank you for continuing because
everybody's important in it. And I look at life the
same way everybody's important.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Oh man, I love that. That was that was a
really cool answer to that question. And I think an answer.
I've never heard that answer before in any of my interviews,
So A, I love that, and B I think it's
a really good reminder for people. And I don't know, man,
I think this whole interview, I felt like we were
doing a masterclass on how to feel good and how
to how to like live a life that is meaningful
(40:27):
and important and kind and all the good things. And
that's what I'm so excited about with this conversation. And
I hope that you got out of it what I
got out of it, And I hope everybody listening feels
like they've gotten to know you in a much more
intimate and deeper level. And I just I can't thank
you enough for coming on and being so vulnerable and
open and really having a real, true, non SoundBite, non rehearsed,
(40:52):
non publicist approved conversation. It's evident this was you, fully you,
and for that, man, I thank you, and I agree
I could talk to you for five more hours. So
I just I had so much fun today and I
really thank you for it.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Well, likewise I had. I had an incredible time with you, man,
it was it was really great. And the other half
of my what if I never said before is I
just did my first podcast because it's my first podcast
and I love podcasts.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Damn I am your first podcast.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
First podcast, and no, seriously, just an incredible space to
talk openly, and like I said, I just kind of
felt like we were chatting so awesome man, Like, really
really really really enjoy talking to you, and I appreciate
you giving me the space to do that.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Really, it was my pleasure. Everybody go watch this show
if you haven't already nowhere, where can they find it?
Where can we watch?
Speaker 2 (41:45):
They can find My Life with the Walter Boys on Netflix.
And if you like it, we're going to have more
for you sometime soon. There.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
You have it, all right, my friend, Until we meet again,
Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
I'll look forward to it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi 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,
(42:25):
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 I am chatting with the
very talented Noah Lalande, who currently stars as Cole Walter
in the Netflix hit new series My Life with the
Walter Boys. Now. The show is a coming of age
teen drama based on the best selling book of the
same name, and it quickly hit number one on the
(00:23):
Netflix charts, and it was so popular that after just
two weeks of premiering, it got renewed for a season two.
It is so incredibly rare to see a show get
picked up that quickly, which just goes to show you
how many eyes were tuning in to watch Noah and
the whole cast. Now, the short version of the plot
it goes like this, there is a horrible tragedy that
disrupts a teenager's life, so she moves from the big
(00:45):
city of Manhattan to her guardian's home in a very
rural Colorado. She's then taken in by the Walters, a
very large family, and she's thrown into a different life
where she learns lessons about love and hope and friendship.
And then enter Noah, who the all star jock who
all the guys want to be friends with and all
the girls want to date, But there is so much
(01:05):
more to him that meets the eye, and Noah brings
such beautiful emotion and range to his performance. We have
such a fun conversation where we of course dive into
the show and his amazing role, but then we get
to know Noah a bit deeper. We talk about the
concept of identity and figuring out who we really are
as individuals in this crazy world. We then segue into
(01:27):
stepping into a life changing opportunity without letting that four
letter word fear get in the way, and man so
much more so, Let's see if today we can get
Noah to say something that he has never said before.
Knowa on Man, how you doing today?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm doing very well.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Congrats to on all the success. Of course, your show
has I feel like taken over the country, taken over
the world by storm my life with the Walter Boys.
It is such a fun, feel good, dramatic, juicy show
that I feel like people have been craving, especially on
Netflix with the departure of some other shows in that
(02:09):
same genre, and it's really, really, really been something that
the fandom has gone crazy over, So for everybody listening
right now, and for maybe those who haven't had a
chance to check out the show yet, how would you
describe it? Being so close to the show, how would
one of the stars of the show say, what this
is about?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Thank you first and foremost for saying those kind of things.
I would describe it similarly to that. I think it's
a show that has a lot of elements to it,
a lot of elements that can appeal separately to a
lot of different sectors of people. You have, of course,
which I think if you go to the internet you
(02:48):
can see there's some love triangle dialogue that takes place.
There is this navigation of tragedy that is from the
very first scene when we pick up with Jackie, see
that taking place, and then you see a lot of
real life things going on. You know in anycoming of
age story, but this one, you feel the presence of
(03:08):
the parents, you feel the presence of the community and
the school. And one of the cool things about our show,
and one of the things that I'll use to answer
your question, is I saw this quote. I think it
was our showrunner Melanie who said she wanted to make
a show that like a fifteen year old daughter could
watch with her forty five year old father and both
(03:30):
sides could be equally as entertained and engaged. And I
think it's kind of a nice way to encapsulate, Like
it's there are parts that are warm and that make
you feel good, and that maybe cater to a younger audience.
And then I think there are probably parts that are
our real life, you know, tribulations, real life things that
you know, the older generation will feel a certain amount
(03:54):
of care because they had to go through that as
a kid, or they're now parenting someone going through that.
So that's my description of our show.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Well said, Well said, there is something for everybody in
the show, that's for sure, and I think one of
the reasons why it's so successful and for you, how
badly did you want to be a part of this show.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
As soon as I read the character description of Cole,
I was very intrigued because there was some mirroring aspects
to his character hit where he was in his timeline
to where my timeline was at that age. Kind of
navigating the loss of athletic career was the biggest thing.
(04:37):
I was a hockey player and that was kind of
my full on identity for a long time, and when
you stop playing, it defines your life for an extended
period of time. And that's exactly what he's going through,
except it's not his choice and it's injury related, and
you know, I wasn't the best quarterback in all of
(04:57):
my hometown McCombe County. But just kind of felt like
you get a lot of characters who are one side
of what Cole was. You know, the kind of jerk
like Jock who gets the girls and stuff. You get
a lot of like that side. But Cole was this
guy who had this step to him because he's navigating
(05:18):
a loss of his own and he's feeling real feelings
for Jackie and for himself he's having a hard time
feeling for So I was very excited to play Cole
Walter and in turn be part of the show.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah, you just touched on a bunch of different things.
So for one, as an actor, you get a lot
of auditions, You get a lot of material to memorize,
put on tape, you know, wait to hear if you
got it. Most of the time, you don't. As artists, right,
there's so many auditions you get and you just kind
of put it out there and you don't hear back.
And this was one I gather that felt a little
more personal to you. You really seem to have wanted
(05:55):
this one, right.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, absolutely, And it makes every step of that process
meant even more. So many things about being an actor
is waiting and theorizing and hoping, and you send off
your audition tape or you walk out of that audition
room and it's just you don't know. You know, you
(06:19):
get feedback here and there, but you know, I remember
I did my tape for Cole and the first callback
for me was, Okay, now we're in this realm of
something else has happened. We've done in the first part
one hundred times, but not something else has happened. And
(06:40):
then you get to a chemistry read and I remember,
you know, tying in my dad and my mom and
my closest circle, like, yeah, you got a chemistry read
coming up, and it's so exciting on so many levels
because you're trying to balance out how amazing that is.
And I remember, after everything the chemistry read, every call
(07:04):
with my manager, and I just liked to call my
dad and he'd be like, well, now what I'd be
like Dad, I don't.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Know, and I love that you found out about this role.
I believe when you were working in your restaurant, right
were you doing the love shift and you got a call.
Tell me that story, because that's so epic that you
had weeks and weeks and weeks of waiting and working
and auditioning and then in a second your life changed.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
The story of how I got got the uh I
got the part? I like I said, to put ourselves
right back in the seat of getting these calls and
being really excited, and select groups of people know about
what's going on. And at this point we're in the
stage of having a test deal, which I'm sure you
(07:53):
know what it is, but for the listeners or viewers,
that's basically when they showed you your contract what it is.
If you get it and a few people have that,
and then they take you to the final stage and
you either audition or they review your tapes at the
highest level and they decide. So basically, I found out
(08:13):
that I had this deal, and for a week, you're
just waiting, like you know, what could happen in your
life where you're going to be living for how long?
Like everything about this but you don't know if you've
got it, and you're just waiting for someone else to
decide at the end of the day. So for me,
like you just you have to do something else. So
(08:34):
I just try to keep my schedule the same. I
go to the gym every single day, I go to work.
I just try to stay sane. My my parents are
My dad's calling me. He's like, anything here, anything, Dad,
I would tell you if I hurt anything. So all
this is happening. And I'm working at Bjay's Restaurant brew
(08:55):
House in Woodland Hills, California, and it's this quiet lunch shift,
but I know that I can. I'm waiting news at
all time, so my pocket like I'm getting those ghost
vibrations in my pocket at all times. And my manager
calls me and she says quickly, she's like, did you
see your email? And I was like, no, what did
(09:16):
I get? Like, I mean, I flew to the back room.
Oh my god. She's like, yeah, they something about your
The last zoom audition just like what we're doing now.
The connection cut out and it wasn't high enough resolution
or quality to like send all the way through, so
they need you to read and like that scene again.
(09:40):
They said, you don't have to be fully prepared. They
just they just like want, like they need you, they
need you doing it side by side or whatever. So
I'm like, what do you mean. I'm I'm at work,
I'm wearing my black button down shirt with a couple
like stains on it. I'm sweaty. It's hot. It's super
hot in La. So I ran out to my car
(10:03):
and I set out my phone like on the dash,
and I'm trying to like, okay, can I make this salvageable?
In my head thinking oh my gosh, this means I
must be. They must need this because I'm either close
or I'm about to ruin everything. So I get on
Zoom with the with the casting department. One forecasting apartment
(10:23):
changed my life forever, and they're like, oh no, thanks
so much for coming on at such short notice. We
appreciate it. Yeah, she's gonna be. You have the sides.
I'm like, usually I could set my phone up on
my laptop and look at the sides, but I don't
have my laptop. I'm at work, so I'm like, nah,
I don't have this size. I can pull them up.
Can you read? Send it to me like everything's going wrong,
(10:47):
and she said, well, you know you might be okay,
because we just wanted to call and tell you that
you actually got the part.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I was like, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
You're reliving it. I see you reliving.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
It, and I feel that and and it was the
defining moment of my maybe life, but if not my
life the last eight years. And and you know, it
took it doesn't feel like it took that long, but
it was such a long road to there, and so
many people were a part of it. I cannot stress
(11:24):
this enough. So many people were a part of it.
So I was, you know, so thrilled to get this news.
And so I called my parents. I think they were
both home, and I got them on the phone and
I told them and it was.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Just, oh my god, that moment, that moment must have
been incredible. And so did you then go in and
just continue working with your tables?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Well? I did. I put all these I put all
these amazing conversations my manager. I put them on rush
and I was like, hey, I gotta get back mind you,
right before I got the call, I might have skipped
this part of at a crucial time, but right before
I got the call. I had one take, you know,
one to rush at. Some of these places are is
nothing uh not not Bjay's. There's always a crowded room.
But this particular day, there was one older gentleman in
(12:11):
the bar, in the bar area, and he ordered it.
He ordered a burger, and uh, I placed the order.
I went out to my car, came back, went him
to the counter it was there, came down, dropped it
off at his table and he was like, thank you
very much. And I was just like, you're welcome. But
(12:31):
nothing was different to anybody except for me in the
six people who had been contacted at that point. There's
something special about that that I haven't quite articulated about,
that moment of everything changing but nothing changing, and and
remembering that we're all like we're all walking around on
the same on the same earth.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
And there there was.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
These these synchronicities leading up to I mean, I remember
it was the day of or the day before. I
was talking to my best friend who knew about all this.
Shout out to him, my best friend Alex. He we
would FaceTime all the time, like and I would go
to the gym. I wouldn't quite have the energy yet,
so I just put him on FaceTime and we'd talk
for like fifteen minutes. It'd be like a like a
(13:17):
pre workout. We'd just laugh for a while and chat.
And I remember telling him, how would it would be
interested to see how close this was. I was like,
I got the part. He was like, what, you got it?
And I was like, well, not technically, but I did
get it. And he was like, what are you talking about.
I'm driving to work one day or back from the gym,
(13:38):
and I look over and there's this new sweet food.
I love baked goods, cookies. I love these. My friend
Alex and I also share this love. So I'm driving
by and all of a sudden, this new cookie shop
is going up one mile from my house. And the
sign gets put up and it says Walter's Cold Cafe No.
(14:02):
And I was just like, and maybe that's nothing right.
I like to look into these things.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Now, that's something I called them.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
I was like, hey, dude, I got the part. This
is a sign. I got it, and I did. Within
twenty four to forty eight hours of that one to
two business days after that, I got it.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yeah, So I one hundred percent believe in synchronicities. And
if you're open and not necessarily looking, but just a
very open person, then you will get signs exactly like
you did. And I think that's so cool. And what
I love about all of this, I think it's such
an interesting story how you found out at work and
you went back to work and you kept kind of
the secret to close family and friends for a while
(14:41):
is you are very much someone who lives in the
present moment and you don't want to You don't want
to uproot your life, you know, in this completely three
hundred and sixty degree way, and becomes something suddenly that
is bigger than you, and you want to feel things,
experienced thing And I think that's really cool. You don't
(15:02):
always hear that, and I think he'll carry that attitude
with you for a really long time. And man, thank
god you got that phone call, because I know a
lot of the fans cannot imagine anybody else playing Cole
the way you played, and you touched on it earlier. Yes,
he's the jock. He's What I love about how you
(15:25):
played him is he's very easily could be the stereotype.
He could be just the one sided, popular cool guy
that all the bros want to hang out with and
all the girls have a crush on and he's kind
of a dick and but no, like, there's so many
layers to him. And as you say, it's because you
identify with a huge loss in his life that you
also had. So I think that's pretty cool that you
(15:45):
brought that feeling and that emotion and that side to
a character that maybe not other artists would have. You know.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, well, thank you for starters, because it's an honor
to who you say that and to have people resonate
with Coal, And I do think you're right. I was
very worried about you know, this is definitely the first
sizeable job that I've ever had as an actor. So
I mean I've had jobs, but never to where you're
(16:15):
held to that level of accountability, to where you're you know,
you're living there for five months at a time. You're
bringing a full life to a person and that comes
with a lot of work. But the worry came from
some of those stereotypes. It's like there's a thing in
this show called the Coal effect, but you don't approach
(16:36):
that delicately. I could like hear my friends back home
being like, oh yeah, you think you're cute homepal like
like you know, So, I don't know. I think there's
there are a lot of ways to get kind of
trapped in that side of it. But I don't think
you know, I've I've explained this to to a certain extent.
(16:58):
But the character is is is he's a shell of
himself and he's clinging to what he was when he
was the man, when he was the star, and he's
he's drifting through this life where people like view him
as that still kind of out of pity, and you know,
he's like clinging on to what he can and not
(17:21):
remembering who he is. And we all know that feeling
is like when things are changing and you wake up
one day and it's like what am I doing? Like
where am I? And high school's a scary time, and
falling in love is a scary thing, and in the
first time, I mean first time. I don't know how
(17:42):
many times people fall in love these days, but every
time you fall in love, it's terrifying because it opens
the door for something that can destroy you. He like,
especially when you can't define it. So you're feeling so broken,
You're feeling so hurt by your circumstances, What could what
(18:03):
could make that more complicated and difficult? How about somebody
who is dealing with the greatest loss of all but
who in spite of all of that, is providing this
light at the end of the tunnel for you, and
you're just naturally drawn to this person. You're naturally drawn
to the energy that they give off, this this energy,
this healing energy. And for for Coal, I think that's
(18:26):
the first thing Jackie does. You know, he's gonna he's
gonna river her, and he's gonna kind of give her
a hard time, but it's undeniable to feel her, her perseverance,
her like approach to life that is like, I'm not
gonna let anything get me. I'm going to continue to
stay on my path. When Cole all but you know,
(18:47):
the rows, the path out the window. And it was
really awesome to bring him to life. And I'm over
the moon to be continuing to bring I mean, to
go back for another season and continue to tell this
story is amazing.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Which, by the way, I mean, I believe that news
broke only two weeks after the show premiered on Netflix,
which is kind of unheard of. I mean, that's a
really really fast turnaround for everybody listening. That just is
not the norm. Yes, the show, you know, hit number
one and it was super popular and multi multi millions
of people watched it. But to get that news two
(19:23):
weeks or so after, I mean, how did that feel?
Because that is so not the normal?
Speaker 2 (19:28):
How like? Okay, so all these things. I mean, you
keep saying, like the how big the show was, how
many people have watched it, how quickly this is? And
I can I know, I hear what you're saying, and
I've heard this from other sources and I've read this
and the proof is in. We got a season two quickly.
(19:50):
But it's hard to wrap your head around. It's a
I think, well because of a few things. One because
it's very much you feel things electronically like in internet
internet wise, you feel it on the internet, like you
can go on Instagram or TikTok and and you can
(20:11):
feel like, oh, so there are people talking about our show,
there are people watching the show. And I cannot stress
this enough. And I remind myself this every day. I
am not my accomplishments or my career or the amount
of people that have watched the show. I find that
you know, I don't know if I thought I would
(20:33):
change or if, like you, hear stories about people who
you know, they get a little bit of a grain
of success or fame is an interesting word, but for
the sake of talking about other people, I'll use it.
They get a little bit of this, and people say, oh,
he changed, or she got a big head and she
decided to not you know, stick to who she is.
(20:53):
I don't feel changed as a person by this, but
you can tell there are like I feel a change
from the outside. I feel a change one degree of separation,
like when a friend tells me, hey, like my boss
said they loved your show and everybody at work was
(21:14):
talking about it today. A friend that works at a hospital, Yeah,
we were at we were in a surgery and like
all the nurses were talking about Walter Boys, and I
was like, your team, it's your team, Cole, And I'm like, like,
that's that. That is That part is where it's hard
to fathom. But as far as like me on a
day to day basis, I feel an incredible amount of
(21:37):
gratitude for the experience and for what it is brought
to the world. It's one person has seen it in
a time when they needed to see it, or just
one person enjoyed it or like it's It doesn't have
to be some profound experience with art like I've I've
talked about this, but I use so many different works
of art to connect to times in my life, whether
(21:59):
it be a new album, a music or a movie,
a TV showed that month that you watch four seasons
of a TV show, even if it's Succession, and even
if the subject matter is heavy and dark, I'll never
forget the time that I watched Succession, But like so
many other shows, so I guess to me, it's hard
to wrap my head around that numbers wise, because I
(22:19):
get to interact with a bunch of really great people
who now know who I am via the show. But
even though that's an increased number, it's not millions or
billions like I don't. I get a sliver of a
sliver of sliver that and it's amazing to see people
react to that and react to me. Although my my
(22:40):
blonde locks are gone, I'm not quite the high school,
every day shaven that I may have appeared.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Well, I don't think people realize that. So you dyed
your hair for it?
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Yeah, And I don't think everyone truly. I think people
assume you're really that blonde, but you're not.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Yeah, I mean I think I think, uh, in the summertime,
I used to say I got highlights when I was
a little kid. There's some brutal pictures of me.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Out there, like frosted tips.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
You know, they weren't intended to be. But after my
hair dropped a little bit and I didn't maintain it,
it didn't look great. But you know, I get some sunlight,
my hair can become like a dirty blonde. And I
rocked with you know, they do it on set. So
when I got back home, I had like what was
left of it. I actually I came home when I
(23:29):
liked it so much, I went and I red. I
kept the collar. I like, redid it because it was
kind of, you know, faltering, and I never got it
done again. I just kind of let it, let it
grow through, And that lasted me a pretty long time.
Give me some gave me a little bit of a
whacky and nobody knew who I was, so it was fine.
I could have messed up colored hair that hadn't been touched.
And that was one of the descriptions I think from
(23:53):
the book that really came through and the show is
close blonde hair and those moments where it's like hanging
just like ever so slightly over his eyes and you're
having to look through the hair. That was a little
olsho which oh for for the for the audio listeners. Oh,
this is a podcast for the audio listeners. I pulled
(24:15):
the strain in my hair and let it sit ever
so slightly in my eye.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
It was very cinematic, very cinematic.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
So yeah, that and it was fun. I love to
explore different you know, different attributes of your character or
you know, physicality, things that when you when you step
into those their shoes, or you put on those parage
jeans that are a little bit tighter than the actor
maywear in person. I love a nice a nice baggy
Jean Cole Walter does not. He keeps them pretty tight.
(24:48):
So yeah, just certain things when you step into it,
you just you take a look in the mirror.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Well, what's so cool, man, is this role was already known,
you know, by the people who read the book, the
best selling novel, and it was your job as Noah
to bring him to life, to respect the character that
was created in the book. But also to make him
your own, and that's no easy feat. And I think
it's really cool that you rose to the occasion and
(25:15):
you did create a character based on a character that
was already known that made the fandom so happy and
then maybe people who never read the book so happy.
So that's a very delicate line to straddle. And you,
my friend, you did it, so that must have felt
pretty good too.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Well, well, thank you very much. When you say it
like that, it sounds really cool, sounds like I'm an
accomplished actor. But I will.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Say, you're just there loads of fear and like a
desperation and just preparing as much as you can and
just realizing, you know, these opportunities they they can be
so infrequent and you never know when it's going to
be your last chance.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
And this has been one of my first big chances,
but you never know if it's going to be your
last one. It's like my hometown Detroit Lions shout out
to the Detroit Lions, mor Ofer City, Dan Campbell. I
love this team and it was a great ride this season.
But Dan Campbell said after the season at the press conference,
(26:18):
and he believes in the team, so he doesn't believe this,
he said this, But as good as it feels, as
close as you feel right now, as close as you
feel like you could recreate it, it gets twice as
hard next year. You're never guaranteed to be back in
the same spot. And even if you do, now you're
on people's radar, and now people know you could get there.
(26:39):
So what do they do. They prepare harder for you,
they get more ready for you. Everybody's aware of you now,
so now you have to do it. You can't do
it in silence. You got to do it for real.
And all that's to say, it's a privilege to be
an actor and to be able to have a camera
on you and to be able to bring these stories
to life, truly, because so many people spend a lot
(27:02):
of time trying to do it and the chances are
few and far between. And you know, as a as
an as an actor, I have so much respect for
so many people I know who have, Like I said,
I said something earlier in the interview, and I and
I don't like to discredit like the amount of hard
work that I've had, but there is no debate. I
know people that have worked far longer and far differently
(27:25):
and had to make so many more changes. That's why
I don't I don't take I can't take all the
credit for for my my career because too many people
have contributed for me. I'm I'm the face of you know,
you pull up IMDb, I'm it's me, it is my face.
(27:45):
But so many people, hundreds of people, thousands of experiences,
they have created the person that you're talking to today
that has the ability to to be here and to
do to do these things. And uh so for that,
it's just it's doing your service to the craft well.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
And it's obvious you take it very seriously too. And
I don't want you to discredit yourself too, because I
know you said, you know six or seven years and
you may not think that sounds like a lot, but
it is a lot of time. And I believe, yes,
are there some lucky situations that happened throughout people's lives
and careers, of course, but you can't have luck if
you're not prepared, because if that luck comes your way
(28:26):
and you're not prepared, guess what, it's not going to
work out for you. So keeping your head down and
doing the work and staying focused and staying motivated. Are
all the reasons why you are where you are. And
I'm not saying other people who have maybe been at
it for ten or twenty or thirty years haven't done
the work either. But you know, the extreme athletic mentality
of preparation and doing the job is also why you
(28:48):
are where you are. So don't discredit that side either.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
That. I'm careful to talk about it like that because
I think that, especially in this world where there's no blueprint,
if you gave me the script of Leonardo DiCaprio's life
when he was you know, from fifteen on, I could
have done everything the same and had none of the success.
Everybody you have to you have to do this thing
(29:14):
where you allow your own your own authenticity, your own
uniqueness to guide you. And so I don't discredit myself fully.
I just I have to acknowledge all things and all
the people from you know, my great aunt, sister's third cousin,
(29:34):
Like that's my first connection to living here. So many
people don't have that. I mean I talk to people
all the time that ask me like, what do you do?
How do you start? You just got to jump and
I had, like I feel like I had a parachute,
I do. I mean, I've been so supported and so loved,
you know, and my blanket of love and support has
(29:55):
always been so warm that I could nothing could ever
be that bad. And I just I know there are
so many people in in such harder spots and such
harder spots around the world, doing things that are far,
far more difficult on a daily basis, and I try
to keep them in my mind because the minute you
start to elevate yourself above other people, Yeah, you're I
(30:19):
don't want to say I almost said your garbage. I'm
not gonna.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Say you are full on trash.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, and I don't. I don't believe that. I almost no.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
But I know what you're saying. Man, I think that's
a really valid point. And and all of that is
why you're gonna continue to go on and have a
really deep and meaningful and important career doing the jobs
that mean something to you. And I have no doubt
this show will go on for many, many, many seasons,
and then beyond that you're gonna you're gonna keep doing
cool things. And if you maintain that sense of gratitude
(30:50):
and appreciation and also your work ethic, you're Golden Man.
That's what's so cool about this show and these conversations
for me is I get to bring people on, and
in interviews you get asked a lot of the same stuff.
I almost said shit, but same stuff. Well I did
say shit, so there you go. But you get asked
(31:13):
a lot of the same stuff. What's your favorite scene,
what's your favorite line? You know, what do you want
to see in season two? And that's all valid and important,
and I know the fans love it, but they've already
heard that. So I like to bring artists on and
get into more of the nitty gritty, more of your
life story and honor the work, but also learn more
about you. And I think today you've given us such
(31:34):
a tremendous insight into the person that you are, which
is I so appreciate it and I sow value and
I think a lot of people are going to hear
this and be like WHOA, Like that guy is so
damn cool.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
You know, thank you. I appreciate that and everything you've
said leading out. I mean, this has been fantastic. I
felt again, I sometimes lose sight of the platform, but
I do feel like we've just been chatting like every
once in a while, I do peer up and I
see my face in the little self view and I
pull out. I'm like, oh wait, yeah, other people are
(32:05):
going to hear this. But I could talk all day,
so I have no concept of time or when to
shut up.
Speaker 1 (32:11):
No, I'm the same way. Listen. That's why I do
what I do. I can talk and talk and talk.
But there's a final question of the interview that I
ask every guest. And before I get to that question,
let me throw one more in for the fandom, who's like,
oh man, we're desperate for season two. So if there's
one main thing you can see for your character for
season two, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (32:34):
You know? Tell me I These questions are tricky for
me because.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
I have to you know, what's happening in season two.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
No, I don't. I don't. I don't. I have so
little control that I don't like to put much out there.
And everybody, like my parents, my family, they all ask
me this and I do not know. But I'll say this.
I looked at Cole as a version of a younger Noah,
(33:01):
a younger Noah that needed to learn certain things about
life and about what is important in life, whether it
be the people around you, the love that's around you,
about the gratitude, Like there are some things that Cole
has said that I've never said for the record, when
I make that comparison and is a lose comparison to
this younger Noah, I know that I had to learn
(33:24):
certain things to grow as a human being, and to
grow as a son and as a brother and as
a friend. And all I ask for season two is
that Cole stays on his own path. Things can seem
hard in a moment of time. Or you know, when
you lose football, or you don't get the girl, or
(33:46):
you argue with your family, and these things can seem
hard in a moment, but they can teach you a lot.
What is more important the result of the argument you
have with your your father or your brother, or how
you feel when you get back to your room and
the door shuts and you're alone with what just happened.
(34:07):
So continuing to engage in what you're doing and to learn.
I mean, I'm the type of person that I'm very
lucky for so many reasons, but I'm a human. So
I have said things I regret, I've done things I regret,
and you know it's not as much about what it
is you said or what it is you do. It's
that you're present enough in your own life to be like,
(34:29):
oh man, that's on me, and like why did I
do that? What? You know? What was what was bubbling
up inside of me that that made that happen and
what you know, So, you know, being reflective and being
engaged in your own life to learn from the things
that are happening to you and the way you're reacting
to things. And I hope and the viewers may not
(34:51):
even see it, but I hope Cole continues to reflect
and continue to stand his journey of like growing into
the person that he's supposed to be. And so that's
my That's a lit a bit of a cop out
because I would say that I hope that for every
person ever.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Well, yeah, fair enough, but it's very relevant to Cole's journey.
So I do appreciate that, and I do like that.
I think that's right on and it gives a little
hope for his future. And Noah, lastly, the name of
this show is I've never said this before, so I'm wondering,
although I feel like you've been so open and have
said many things in this interview already, maybe you haven't
said before, but is there something that comes to mind,
(35:24):
whether it's silly or deep, that you haven't necessarily put
out there or said.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Before with all of the things that have happened. And
this is not going to be like a too a
two word like I've never said banana potato because that
technically I've never said that, I think unless a grocery
list that I was reading off. But anyway, and I
thought to myself, inevitably, the reason I'm here is because
(35:49):
something has changed outside of me. You know, this show
has happened. It's been an incredible blessing, and people are
exposed to it. So I've been recognize a couple of
times in the street, you know, or at the store
or the bath and body works, and you know, you know,
(36:10):
you can tell that they see somebody that they know.
The thing that I'm saying for maybe the first time,
is I am no different than than anyone because of
what I've done, the fact that we're we are all
human beings. There is nothing we're supposed to do. We're
(36:34):
supposed to find, We're supposed to find the meaning what
is for us, But no one person is better than
the other. I really do believe that, and people may
act better than others for different reasons of understanding the
thing that I'm saying. And I also I also don't
know what I'm talking about, so this is like I'm
(36:55):
not trying to sound but you know, I've also been
to a couple I've been to a couple of events
where I've seen these people that I look up to,
people who have done tremendous work, and people who have
gotten the chance to talk to who you know, five
years ago, I would have been like, oh my gosh,
what would I even say to this person? But being
confronted with that moment where it's like how am I
(37:17):
going to approach this heter of the mine? And then
thinking back to those times and people have approached me
and I wouldn't say anyone's hero, But when someone approaches
me and just says, I love Cole Walter and I
love how you portrayed him in the show is just amazing.
My whole family watched it and we just like we
had the best time over Christmas. We watched it and
(37:39):
it was amazing. My grandparents they came over and then
we had them watch it. If I ever get to
the point of hearing something like that and not wanting it.
Then I might be doing the wrong thing because I
can't imagine having an impact in someone's life and not
wanting to hear it. So flash forward to being in
these rooms with people that I that I look up too,
(38:00):
and I still look up to them in a way,
but more so I'm looking at them and I just
want to give them their flowers, and you know, I
just like I'm gonna I'm gonna go to tell you that, hey,
my family watched your show and we enjoyed that together.
That was special for us. And it is kind of
prombing to this perspective, like to some people everything that
(38:24):
I've done this show will mean everything. To some people,
it will mean nothing to other people. They'll be jealous.
To other people, they'll be like very impressed at an
appropriate level all these things. But at the end of
the day, if everybody has this different view of you,
you are just the three sixty shade. You know, you
(38:45):
are you, and everyone's going to see you in a
different light. But at the end of day, we're all
on our own individual paths, but they all have to crossover.
So with that in mind, we're all together in this
and I've just I've gotten the chance to talk to
people I normally don't get to talk to and that's
very special because I love human connection. I love interacting
with people. And for anybody who is curious, we're the
(39:10):
same and at our core, you know, our hearts are
the same. And then like the love around us, I'm
trying to give it out as much as i can
so I can get it back, because it's the most
beautiful thing in the world, is to feel loved and
to feel like you're seeing and you know, I see
you if you're listening to this, you know. And I
don't want to sound cheesy, but like not everybody gets
(39:32):
the chance to do the thing that they want to
do the very most in their lives. And I've gotten
to do that, and I'm I could never have imagined
being in a better place than I am today, like
right now, and being able to do that. And for that,
all of the people that have helped, Thank you. All
the people that are existing and putting themselves through hard
times every day and doing something they want to do
(39:55):
and maybe losing the faith, Thank you for continuing because
everybody's important in it. And I look at life the
same way everybody's important.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Oh man, I love that. That was that was a
really cool answer to that question. And I think an answer.
I've never heard that answer before in any of my interviews,
So A, I love that, and B I think it's
a really good reminder for people. And I don't know, man,
I think this whole interview, I felt like we were
doing a masterclass on how to feel good and how
to how to like live a life that is meaningful
(40:27):
and important and kind and all the good things. And
that's what I'm so excited about with this conversation. And
I hope that you got out of it what I
got out of it, And I hope everybody listening feels
like they've gotten to know you in a much more
intimate and deeper level. And I just I can't thank
you enough for coming on and being so vulnerable and
open and really having a real, true, non SoundBite, non rehearsed,
(40:52):
non publicist approved conversation. It's evident this was you, fully you,
and for that, man, I thank you, and I agree
I could talk to you for five more hours. So
I just I had so much fun today and I
really thank you for it.
Speaker 2 (41:05):
Well, likewise I had. I had an incredible time with you, man,
it was it was really great. And the other half
of my what if I never said before is I
just did my first podcast because it's my first podcast
and I love podcasts.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Damn I am your first podcast.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
First podcast, and no, seriously, just an incredible space to
talk openly, and like I said, I just kind of
felt like we were chatting so awesome man, Like, really
really really really enjoy talking to you, and I appreciate
you giving me the space to do that.
Speaker 1 (41:36):
Really, it was my pleasure. Everybody go watch this show
if you haven't already nowhere, where can they find it?
Where can we watch?
Speaker 2 (41:45):
They can find My Life with the Walter Boys on Netflix.
And if you like it, we're going to have more
for you sometime soon. There.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
You have it, all right, my friend, Until we meet again,
Thank you so much for your time.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
I'll look forward to it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi 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,
(42:25):
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy de Dario
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