From Rejection to Reinvention: A Journey through Storytelling and Creativity

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lee (00:00):
So I have this, I don't know why I have the illustration of like a seed,
like when it's something painful orsomething that we feel like we lost,
like we're letting it go, we're puttingit in the ground, just letting it go.
But then like we could return laterand it's got fruit, shade, comfort,
you know, beauty to it years later.
You know, or maybe it's just,

Mark (00:18):
it's gone, but you let it go truly only something that can be traced back to
its origin from the perspective that mad.
Now I'm like, Oh, I knew all alongthat this was heading in that
direction is like, I didn't know.
You're right.
It's, it's very much that seed.
If you buy a packet of them and it's justmixed seeds, you don't know what they are.

(00:38):
But if you are planting them and plantingeach one, things do happen over time.
Things do come back around inways that are totally unexpected.

Lee (00:55):
Hello, and welcome back to wildly wealthy life, the podcast.
And I am very excitedabout today's episode.
Get ready to set your heartsablaze, ladies and gentlemen.
Uh, Mark Witten.
Is a LA based actor working in animationand video games with companies like
DreamWorks, Disney, Netflix, ifyou've heard of any of these, DC, Sony

(01:20):
PlayStation, Square Enix, Nintendo,Bethesda, EA, and a whole bunch more.
Notable roles include Kyojuru Rengokufrom Demon Slayer, The Flame Ashara.
Uh, Kadenkara Kazuyafrom Genshin Impact, Dr.
Kurt Connors, uh, which is basically thelizard, um, from Marvel's Spider Man 2,

(01:45):
uh, Cetus from Fire Emblems, The ThreeHouses, O from Home, Adventures of Tip
and O, uh, Leslie Kyle, From, I think,not I think, I know, my favorite video
game franchise, Final Fantasy VII, theremake, and Alex in Street Fighter V,

(02:05):
which I have on my PlayStation right now.
Mark is also co creator, actor, voicedirector for the popular horror podcast,
The Hotel, and the award winning scifi anthology, The Theater of Tomorrow.
Yeah.

Kat (02:25):
Hey, my name is Kat,

Lee (02:26):
and I'm Lee,

Kat (02:27):
and welcome to the

Lee (02:28):
Wildly Wealthy Life podcast.
In this show, we explore the journeyof what it means to live a truly
exceptional and fulfilling life.

Kat (02:37):
Each episode focuses on how a foundation of brilliant minds and
brave hearts nurtured through thearts leads to lifelong success.

Lee (02:45):
Get inspired with actionable tips to foster a growth
mindset, leadership values.
And creativity and children and adultsturning their potential into lasting
contributions for their communities.

Kat (02:55):
We hope that you embrace the challenge to shift your perspective as we
equip you and the next generation for a

Lee (03:02):
wildly wealthy life.

Kat (03:12):
Normally, we do our takeaway standing up so you guys can see
our matching cat samurai t shirts.
But today, if you're watching, ifyou're listening on Spotify, watch it
on YouTube, we have Boogie on Lee'sarms, so we can't stand up and that's
why we're recording our takeaways here.

Lee (03:30):
Sweet.
Uh, my takeaway, uh, weneed to go visit Mark.
Hi, Mark.
If you're listening, hit me up, brother.
Let's go get some coffee or head over tothe closest cat cafe and have some laughs.

Kat (03:46):
Yeah.
Um, my takeaway is, uh, just hisletting go, letting things come full
circle, trusting, uh, doing yourbest, being excellent at your work.
And then his take on a wildlywealthy life at the very end.
I felt like very, very.
Um, a valuable.
So don't miss that.

(04:07):
That was really an amazing interview.

Lee (04:09):
Yeah.
Uh, I also just enjoyedthe sharing of your gift

Kat (04:14):
that

Lee (04:14):
he talked about.
So we all have different skillsets that we're trying to develop.
We all have different expertiseand things that we're good at
and letting those things shine.
And it's a good reminder to justkeep pressing into your hobbies, the
things that you love, and there'sgoing to be fruit that comes from it.
So I think that's some ofthe bigger lessons that are.

(04:36):
Are coming out from this episode.

Kat (04:38):
Awesome.
Let's bring mark in
Is it a home studio you're

Lee (04:51):
in mark

Kat (04:52):
hi

Mark (04:54):
Good to see you.
What's up?

Kat (04:55):
It's good to see you.
I said, is

Mark (04:56):
that a home studio you're in?
Yes This is my my little home studio here

Kat (05:01):
your magic booth.
Very

Mark (05:02):
cool in a booth in a magic booth right now Yeah,
there's uh, there's wonderful.
Uh um Construction stuffhappening outside today.
So instead of being in a normalroom, I get to just kind of lock
myself inside the padded box.

Kat (05:15):
Any kitty going to make an appearance today?

Mark (05:17):
I hope so.
I mean, I've left the door open forthem to like kind of make their way up.
Vesper was in here.
She was exploring and inspecting,but, uh, uh, once I shut the
door, she was like, nah, I, Idon't want to be in here anymore.

Kat (05:33):
Because we're in our dining room table and our cats walk in front of us.
And so we've had podcast recordingswhere the butt goes into the camera.
We're like, you know what?
That's fine.
And by the way, Mark, we wore this shirt.
We were reserving this shirt, bythe way, for our interview with you.

Mark (05:49):
I love it.
Uh, they look fantastic.
Don't think I didn't, uh, wasn'tclocking those immediately.

Kat (05:55):
We decided to wear, like, Batching Cat shirts in every
interview, but This one was special.
This was one of our New Yorkones that we haven't worn yet.
So we wore it specially because,uh, we're interviewing you.

Mark (06:05):
This is good.
You have one for everydifferent interview then.

Kat (06:10):
Well,

Mark (06:10):
a little bit of an obsession.
We're getting, we're

Kat (06:13):
getting there.

Mark (06:15):
How long has it been?
Like,

Kat (06:17):
uh, well, since 2013.
Like,

Mark (06:20):
oh my God, really?
Since 2013.

Kat (06:22):
Yeah.
That's the, that's theyear that Aladdin closed.
Right?
See?
Had

Mark (06:25):
met one of the,

Kat (06:26):
I think it took close in 2013, doesn't it?
Didn't it?
I think so.

Mark (06:31):
My god.
Well, it's good to see you again, . I,it was so lovely to hear from You'all.
Um, how's life been for the past decade?

Kat (06:40):
Well.
It's been life, you know, we have,um, you know, three babies, three fur
babies, um, and then, uh, who loves tojust make their appearances, you know,
but yeah, he's, uh, changed jobs a lot.
Yeah, just like,

Lee (06:54):
uh, one was, uh, COVID, the other was just a school that, you know, Had
kind of outlived its, its life and,uh, I progressed to someplace else,
but I'm over at Pepperdine now in,um, Malibu at their business school.
So it's pretty cool.
Uh, but actually I've growing up, I wasalways into like arts and animation.
So it was funny.

(07:14):
The last, like 15 years I was atdifferent film and art schools.
So we may have some people thathave crossed paths with each other.
Um, like actually, do you knowJohn Eric Bentley by any chance?
Yes.
Okay.
He's, uh, Barrett, his Final Fantasy.

Mark (07:31):
Is he Barrett?
I was gonna say, yeah.

Lee (07:33):
Yeah, and he's in a few other TV shows and animes and stuff, but we were
in a theater company together for a while.
And, um, it's just coolseeing him on there.
And I see that you are Leslie in, uh,the Final Fantasy, which is awesome.

Mark (07:46):
Yes, yeah, that one, I was, I was super happy to be a part of that game.
Obviously, big part of the childhood,but like, yeah, I was super stoked to be,
Well, and still be, I guess, involved.
I'm in the second one for a little bit,but yeah, I, John is, John's great.
I haven't actually had a chanceto meet him, but I am very aware,

(08:07):
obviously, of what he does.
Yeah, yeah,

Lee (08:10):
because that's the interesting part about what you, you get to do is
like you're in all these, um, animes,games, TV shows, movies, commercials,
uh, but like your interactionwith people is kind of limited.
Yeah.
Right, like you're, I mean, basicallyliving in this foam box, as you said.

Mark (08:31):
Box?
And then this thing.
Yeah, until I started doing conventions,even, I didn't really, uh, I didn't
really meet a ton of folks thatI worked with on a regular basis.
Which is funny, everyone at Cons islike, Uh, how do you like working
with The, this person or that person.
I'm like, I don't know.
I hear their voice occasionallywhen it's, uh, when they have them

(08:53):
recorded before they have me recorded.
Um, but yeah, it's, it's been, I mean, wecan get into this more as we, as we talk,
uh, as things are going on, but it's,it's been very, rewarding, but it's also
been very isolating by nature of the work.
It's a weird way to perform and I loveit, but there are, it's downsides,

(09:15):
obviously, like, like being at thestage at Aladdin and getting to like
see people and be physically presentwith people has been, you know, missed.

Kat (09:26):
Yeah.

Mark (09:27):
Yeah.

Kat (09:27):
I looked at your site and I was listening to your demo reels and I was
like, man, you got a lot of voices.
It's really cool.
It's like, it's, it's really amazing.
What kind of, um, I guess, likegrowing up, you know, like, of course
you probably, you know, you're intoacting, you're training, what kind of
like leadership values did you haveto have, like, you know, As a child

(09:52):
or going into your adulthood thatkind of made you into this, uh, voice
actor who's very successful and, youknow, disciplined in your work and,
and do what you got to do, even whenit's so self isolating, as you said.

Mark (10:06):
That is a, that is a big question.
That is covering, um, as far as,Leadership goes, I mean, especially when
I was growing up, it, I don't know if Inecessarily, I don't know, I think that
there were other leaders in my life, uh,that, that helped me to get to where I am.

(10:28):
And I think that especially, thismay be a separate point to be talked
about maybe a little bit, uh, inits own little box, but when you get
to, you know, Be in this profession.
What I've found out is that you do haveto self lead a lot of the time because of
how it is because of how isolated it is.
Like when we're, when we're auditioningfor theater, um, or even, you know, pre

(10:52):
COVID, a lot of people were going inand doing film auditions and everything.
It's very, uh, much more collaborative.
You go in and you're, you're with people,scene partners, even, um, And you're
getting directed, uh, generally, oryou're getting watched in the moment
by a human, um, but for voiceover,when I started transition into that,

(11:14):
and I was doing it even when we were,um, working in Aladdin, uh, and, and
Billy, uh, you remember Billy, he wasgetting into it too, and, um, it just,
when you're doing that, uh, so much ofit was like, Uh, tape yourself and send
it off, tape yourself and send it off.
And so that's where that beinga leader, uh, kind of comes in.

(11:36):
You have to self direct, you have to kindof, there's absolutely no feedback loop,
uh, or a very limited feedback loop.
And there already wasn't much of oneanyways for things like, uh, film, TV,
theater, um, You know, it's very mucha don't call us, we'll call you if
something happens thing, but even moreso to the point, you don't even have

(12:00):
someone being like, okay, that was great.
Now try it like this.
It's very much.
You, you shoot your shot and,and then go on to the next one.
Um, which has been a new challenge, uh,as it were, but as far as like growing
up and getting into things, which was theoriginal point, I think that what primed

(12:24):
me or, or positioned me well for this washaving good leaders and good coaches and.
Paying attention to them.
I think I had, I think I got lucky.
I had a lot of folks in, in my life.
I did, uh, productions, uh, when I wasquite young and I looked up to a lot of
the people in these community theaters,regional theaters, uh, that I was lucky

(12:47):
enough to work with as mentors andbeing young, there were a lot of them.
Maybe not all.
Actually, I wasn't quite awareof the mentor relationship.
So I don't know.
Maybe they were like, who's this kid?
Get out.
Um, but I was around long enough to likesoak a lot of what they were doing in.
In fact, that's what my, my momprompted me to do very astutely.

(13:09):
She was like, just go there and be likea sponge and just collect everything.
And I think that's, that'sbeen very important.
It's, it's not, Not just to have a singlementor, but to really be paying attention
to everything that's going on around you.
And luckily I, I loved that.
I already loved the environment I was in.

(13:31):
So paying more attention to it was easy.
I already felt comfortable in that space.
And then the more I paid attention towhat people were doing, even unprompted,
it wasn't like someone necessarilyhad to come up to me and say, Hey
kid, you should try it like this.
I'm watching people.
And also trying it like they'redoing, uh, as well of my own accord.

(13:53):
Um, and I think that sparkis kind of within us.
Uh, and I think that maybe animportant thing is that you don't.
You don't necessarilyneed permission to do it.
I guess maybe some of my mom'sprompting was my permission.
Um, and certainly when people do teachyou in that context, whether it be in a
formal classroom or a note in a productionthat you're in, um, Then you have

(14:19):
that permission to go ahead and do it.
But then giving yourself permission toalways be playing and always be exploring.
That was important, I think.
I believe it's important.
It's weird.
A lot of this, I guess, well,when you interview anyone,
it's all through our lens.
So, uh, I'll try to be as honest as Ican in expressing how, how I view things.

(14:41):
Yeah.

Kat (14:41):
I love it though.
So you're saying like the value of playexploration, the value of mentorship,
having like good mentors around you,especially as a child, you know, and
in your teens and adulthood, even asan adult, I think we all need mentors,
you know, as adults and, and coachesand whatever it is that we want to.
Excella and just in life in general,like what I'm hearing is the leadership

(15:02):
skill is really self accountabilitybecause I always tell like my piano
students, you know, that learning amusical instrument is so unique in a
sense that if you're in a drama club,or if you're in dance, or if you are in
sports, right, you go and be with peopleto play sports, you go to to be in a
studio to dance, you go to, you know, withyour scene partner to do acting, right?

(15:26):
But with a musical instrument,even if you play in a band, um,
for you to get good first, right?
You actually have to learn the skillyourself and by yourself, and there's
no one else who's gonna basically tellyou, Hey, I'm going to sit with you while
you practice piano and just be with you.
And there's nothing like that.
Like you usually, as a child, you sitdown and you just have to, you know,

(15:48):
think of like a six, seven year old andyou're like, Oh, I have to practice now.
And I got to do this alone myself.
You know, it's like that selfaccountability and actually
learning how to lead yourself.
Um, do you remember any instances asa child where you like, Had to learn
that like the self accountabilitypart or any stories about that.

Mark (16:06):
I remember when I failed at it We

Kat (16:09):
like we like that because we learn from failures

Mark (16:12):
in the context of what when you're you're mentioning like especially,
um musicianship and uh and bandsand and I think your point on self
accountability is And you're right.
With something like a band, that,that makes me think of like, you
have the, all these people playingthese instruments, but when you get
together for band practice, you're notnecessarily teaching any individual

(16:33):
how to play their instrument.
You are creating the sound ofthe band with all of those people
who theoretically have all been.
Doing that work of their own accord.
My brothers are wonderful pianists.
Uh, one of my, um, one in particular,he he's been still doing it,

(16:54):
uh, throughout his whole life.
He composes, he workson improvisation, jazz.
One of those things was that Ihad to sit down and practice.
So it kind of fell on me asthe third child to be like,
Oh, you'll also learn piano.
We got this piano.
Everyone's learned in it.
I did not take to it.
Like, I just did for whateverreason, I would sit there and I, I

(17:19):
love music and I loved, uh, I evenprobably liked playing piano, but I
did not love it to the point where I.
Was self accountable and I wasdrawn in other directions and it
was like, it was like pulling teethto try and get me to do a thing.
And I think that at that point in timeyou arrive at a couple of situations.

(17:42):
Is there someone there in yourlife who is, you know, pushing you
forward and dodgy ground, right?
Like push the kid, push the mark toohard when he doesn't want to learn piano.
Um, and maybe other things will pop up.
But Push Mark really hard becausehe's resisting and maybe he breaks

(18:04):
through something where he'slike, Oh, well, now it's easy.
And I feel that I mean, it could bein my own head, that feedback loop
where I'm like, I'm trash at piano.
So I don't want to practice,um, instead of finding out like,
no, you're not terrible at it.
This just requires attentionone way or another.

(18:25):
That realization didnot land upon my brain.
Um, and, and I was so resistantthat I think my parents were
just like, You know what?
We've pushed you as much as we want,as we feel is right as parents.
You know, we've sent you to classes.
And I think that probably a lot ofparents and families find this with their

(18:49):
kids that they try a bunch of thingsyou try so many different things to
see what grabs your child's attention.
And as a child, hopefully, ifwe're lucky enough, we are.
Able to try so many things as well tofind what grabs our internal attention.
It's not to say thatthings don't require work.

(19:09):
It's just to say that perhaps, uh, whenwork and motivation to work meet each
other, there is like there you found yoursweet spot and and my sweet spot was.
Categorically not piano.
Um, so despite it being a musicalart, despite it being a creative

(19:30):
thing now, like I'd sure roll upoccasionally I've like bounced
back into it because I like music.
And so I played the finalfantasy theme in college.
I learned how to like, you know, clunkilyplay that out because I found it soothing.
Um, but again, it never really took holdto the point where I am a pianist myself.

(19:54):
And I think I've perhaps diverted fromyour point of self accountability.

Kat (19:59):
Oh, it's okay.
It's all good.
No, but it

Lee (20:01):
does bring up another point I wanted to ask about, because with, um, the
industry that you're in, and just the,the nature of that, that business, and
being with voice acting, as you said,like you're recording yourself and sending
it off, recording yourself and sendingit off, and I don't know how many you do
a week, but I imagine, say, out of 10,maybe you get a response on 1, to 2, to 3.

(20:26):
As you grow, maybe that turns into 5?
Half?
50%?
Probably not?
Okay.
Not for me.
Yeah, no, no, no, no.
And it's, I imagine, yeah, it's, it'svery low, like, response numbers.
But with, um, with thatkind of, non response.
What is the mindset that you've developedgoing into these professional auditions

(20:48):
where you're, I don't, you can share howmany you think you do a week, but, um,
you, you have to have this, this grit.
I imagine you have to have a, notlike a caring, but then also a not
caring on the response side of things.
So it's, talk about your, your kindof mental state, your, your thoughts

(21:09):
as you go through some of this

Mark (21:10):
audition process.
Sure.
Yeah.
I mean, I think that's one of thetoughest parts of the job and one that,
um, one that I've gone through manydifferent stages with, if I, if I kind
of look back over the past 20, 20 yearsthat I've been doing, trying to do this
professionally through theater, uh,what have you, it's difficult and it's
taken on many forms and you're right.

(21:32):
You do kind of have to have a thickskin and not think about it, uh, to, to
answer your question about how many I doa week, it can vary on during slow times.
It might be like.
Uh, two or three to like halfa dozen for me personally.
And sometimes you got like afew dozen, uh, auditions a week.
So you're, you're, you know,you can have like 20, 30 roles

(21:54):
that you're auditioning for.
Um, as far as response rates to beperfectly candid, uh, I haven't looked
because it's probably very depressing.
I know that I have a folder fullof thousands of auditions as, as
potentially all of my cohorts do as well.
And, uh, I'd be, I'd be surprised ifit was even 3 percent of responses

(22:16):
and I think that, uh, you know, forfolks that are more prolific, maybe
they have a different, uh, numbers.
And that's another one of thosethings that kind of dovetails into
this whole like thick skin thing.
You, you cannot think of it like that.
I say that adamantly, but I assureyou that I think of it all the time.
Yeah,

Kat (22:38):
we say we say right that we try not to care, but like
we really, we really do care.
It really does get to us.

Mark (22:44):
We know we're not supposed to, but you can't keep your
hand out of that cookie jar.
So, in a way that that can befrustrating on many levels.
I've done for a while.
It was like, Oh, I was not as fortunate tohave so many auditions I would have, uh,
in different situations when, uh, beforeI had an agent, I was scaring up my own

(23:07):
opportunities, which were much slimmerwith different agencies and with different
amounts of credits on your resume,you may get different opportunities
and or less opportunities initially.
And so it does build, there is abit of that build in there, but.
At no point for me, at least, has itbecome like, okay, now we're sailing easy.

(23:31):
I can forget about all that.
I know I have a consistent,like, return rate.
It's just like, nah, any of anyconsistency within the business
comes from the relationshipsthat you make and and how those.
Come back around to you, uh, arelationship that you make or your

(23:52):
reputation may result in more peoplereaching out and the more of that
you have, inevitably, the moreof it gets reflected back again.
That's not even a guarantee.
Um, but as far as like the mental statein dealing with it is, there are a
couple of things that I've had to do.
I had a really hard time when Iwas starting out in, uh, in theater

(24:14):
auditions, I would let them get to me.
I would fall in love withthe thing and I'm prepping.
Cause I'll be prepping for like aweek or something, working on songs,
working on scenes, and you reallyget into this hopeful mindset.
Which I think is good, but at the sametime, I've had feedback come to me where
it's like, oh, you want it too much.

(24:38):
Uh, you're too excited for this.
And that's probably me getting, well, ina way, it sounds harsh, but in a way, it's
probably my nervousness overtaking myself.
And instead of performing honestly,I desperately need the job or
validation that part takes over.

(24:58):
And so as, as frustrating asit was to recognize that, you
know, cause I went through, well,well, how can I not want it?
And then still do a good joband it's there's a balance there
that is inherently frustrating.
It's like you can't, you don't wantto attach yourself so much to it.

(25:18):
So in a way, making it a job that you'reable to move on from and little tricks.
I heard something that may have Idon't know if this is a true story or
not, but like Nick Offerman apparentlyafter auditions goes and like, he
has, he does a lot of woodworkingand after an audition, he'll go and
do his hobby and forget about it.

(25:40):
Um, forgetting about what you just did.
Is so important and mostly I thinkthat's to say is that it's, it's not
that you don't pay attention and prepareyou do, but then you, you go, you do
your performance and then the show hasclosed and maybe you'll get asked back.

(26:00):
But I mean, especially thinking ofauditions as like little performances.
I prepare, I go in, I do my performance.
The curtain drops.
That's it.
And and everything elseis out of your hands.

Kat (26:13):
Yeah, I think Mark, like, it's basically kind of what you're saying,
if I can maybe, you know, like, thinkabout it this way, is it's really, it's
putting excellence in your work, right?
It's not like we can't be perfect, becausewe don't know what that really means.
But like, really just being asexcellent as we can be to show up
prepared to show up strong, but tocompletely be detached from the result.

(26:37):
Right.
Not to attach our value, basically,in who we are as human beings to the
result, which I know is very hard to do.
Um, but that's, I feel, I feel like that'swhat it really boils down to, right?
Like, it's like, it's, we do our best,but the result is out of our, our hands.
We've, we've done what we could do,and hopefully they'll meet us in the
middle and the opportunity will come.
But if it doesn't, it says nothing.

(27:00):
About who we are as people andour value and our talents, right?
So in that sense, I guess, so how doyou try to get yourself in that mindset?
Maybe you have a practice or or anyanything that you try to put into so
that you can be, Oh, you know, I'vedone my best and we just let it go.

Mark (27:18):
I mean, uh, time has helped, uh, over just, just over time.
Like time is great.
And, and the older, uh, the older I get,the more experienced I get, the easier it.
It has become so, but that'snot really a practice getting

Kat (27:33):
older is good, huh?
Yeah.

Mark (27:37):
Well, it can be, it, it, it, it gains you a certain amount of perspective.
You start to, we thinkwe're so very in control.
And in a way we've been taught thatwe are very much in control of.
All of these moments in our lifeand, uh, meditating on the idea
that there are many things, there'sso many things that we cannot and

(28:01):
getting rid, allowing that to go yoga.
I love physical exercise, uh,personally, I think it's something
that, that is, it is in the, inthe realm of what I can control.
I can very much control.
Whether I go to the gym, whetherI run, whether I breathe, how I'm

(28:23):
stretching, I can, I can control that.
And that is all a very personal journey.
I can, and I feel like it's also Tome, because I, uh, everything that I do
for the longest time, I always wantedit to also apply to being an actor.
So it's like, I'm going to learnhow to ride a horse because that'll
be a good skill I'll use one day.

(28:45):
Um, but.
Truly like taking care of yourself,taking care of your body, I think
is very important for everybody.
I think it, it reveals an amount ofdedication, uh, alongside with your
own work ethic, an amount of respectfor, for us as actors, it sounds

(29:07):
lame, but your instrument, whichis literally what we're using, but
also, um, keeping myself healthy.
In my mind, in my body helps meto be a better person in the world
around other people, and it's not,it's not necessarily a vanity thing.

(29:27):
Uh, it's, it's nice to feel like youcan be capable and go places and look
as good as you can, but ultimately likeit is that, uh, what helps me is that I
get to like, center into myself a littlebit and detach myself from all of these
externals that I have no control over.
Um, and so in that way, likeexercise practice has been great.

(29:51):
I love go and do a workout because Itotally it is it is not My audition
whatsoever, and I really kind of get tofocus in, get to that meditative state.
So, I mean, however one meditates, Ithink that it is an important thing to do.
Um, to go back to, to Billy, hetold me for the longest time, he was

(30:15):
getting up in the mornings and justlike he would take time for himself,
like a half hour, and he'd go outon his porch and he would read.
He'd go out outside and he'd read,um, something that he enjoyed.
A lot of times, you know, it couldbe anything from like self help
books to maybe a fiction thathe enjoyed, things like that.
It's, um, but having thatsort of meditative routine can

(30:38):
perhaps help you to meet the day.
And meet the challenges of it andknowing that you can return to that
as like a little bit of a touch point.
Um, so that's one thing, the peoplein our lives, I think are important,
you know, having, having anyone youcan disconnect from these things.
What my problem is andsometimes, sometimes this gets

(31:02):
in the way, especially since.
Our business as actors is verymuch one that we find in moments
where other people relax.
People are like, Oh, I go homeand I watch a show because
that washes everything away.
Um, and it can be frustrating when you'relike, yeah, I can go home and watch a

(31:22):
show and be like, Oh, those actors, allthose actors doing what I want to do.
And like, well, how are they doing it?
Who's casting this?
You know, you get.
It's like, that is, that is nothelping if you can meaningfully detach.
So, I, I play, I love video games,obviously, and I play a lot of games.

(31:45):
One game that I am playing right now isjust, there is no voice acting in it.

Kat (31:51):
So, so you're not, like, listening to What are

Mark (31:52):
you, what are you gaming on right now?
I'm playing Cult of the Lamb, and ithas been, uh, very, very revealing
to a lot of, like, it's been verycathartic and revealing to my psyche.
Um, but I love games like that, likeHollow Knight, uh, Hyper Light Drifter.
I love good, you know, indie games thathave, like, fantastic music, Civilization.

(32:13):
Granted, it still has Sean Bean init, um, and, you know, we're getting
another installment coming up here.
But, like, that I can at least I listento the bits and bobs, soak it in.
It's comforting.
There are some games I'mable to fully detach myself.

Kat (32:32):
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Lee (34:29):
One thing I want to jump in with real quick is I'm going to nerd out
with you for a half a minute here.
And Kat's going to roll her eyes and maybelike start off in the space for a minute.
But, um, you mentionedfinal fantasy seven.
And like, for me, I came off of ayear, my junior year of high school.
Um, it started with my grandma that died.
And then, All the way into my senioryear, my, uh, a good friend of mine, uh,

(34:50):
ended his life, um, over Christmas break.
And then, um, I graduated in 97,same year Final Fantasy came out.
So all the themes in FinalFantasy about loss and love and
everything else, that game hit.
I don't even know why I'm feelingemotional all of a sudden.
But

Mark (35:08):
like, that game.
I know why you're feelingemotional all of a sudden.
Because this stuff like hits.

Lee (35:15):
Yeah, and like that game, I've played through probably the original
one probably about seven or eight times.
And then, um, obviously there'sthe remake that came out.
Um, having like personalconnections with the game.
I, I didn't, we didn't know eachother that well at that stage.
Um, and um, But, like, knowing Johnwas in it, uh, just put a whole new,

(35:38):
like, layer on top of that game.
And, like, the whole time that you'retalking right now, I'm thinking
of, like, uh, Leslie in the game.
And all the, the whole DonCorneo scene and all that.
Um,

Mark (35:51):
so, thank you for your work.
Yeah, and his, his story, too, islike, I mean, I know it's, it's
not included in the original.
It's, it's more from the fan, fromthe fictions that were, uh, put out.
But, and then Injected into thegame, but man, I, I love his story.
I, I think that that's it again, whatfinal fantasy does is they, they do a

(36:13):
good job of diving into these emotionalmoments, even if it's for just a little
bit of a side story, his search forhis fiancee, uh, and that sort of loss.
And I mean, if you're really sorted,they don't get super dark with it, but I
can't imagine it's a good situation, uh,over there with Don Corneo, uh, I mean,

(36:34):
there's some, some heavy stuff in there.

Lee (36:36):
Thank you for like doing your part in the role because the, the
stories and the feelings, the emotions,everything that you're bringing, you
know, to the audience, um, has such adeep impact, like honor psyche, like
you said, just making us feel better.
You're like helping in my disconnectfrom like the stresses of the day
or with things that I'm working on.

(36:57):
And, um, I wanted to, I'll just kindof circling around, um, with the video
game world or with auditions in generalthat you've done, I was wondering
about like the highs and the lows.
So, like, do you remember an auditionthat you were just kind of destroyed
after and then another audition where youbooked it and it was, I don't know, the

(37:20):
best thing since sliced bread for you.
Oh gosh, um,

Mark (37:26):
There's, There are, uh, Some of the auditions that, I don't know if
I've necessarily been fully destroyed.
Although, you know, back to a lot of thetheater auditions uh, that I did, I, I
was I was pretty down about Avenue Q.

(37:46):
Uh, I got pretty close, uh, on, on AvenueQ, the tour and or Broadway production.
I was in puppet school, uh,right before I was meant to go
in for the final, final callback.
Uh, I got very, very sick.
I lost my voice completelyfor like a week.
And, um, I missed that opportunityobviously did not get cast.

(38:09):
Um, I couldn't listen to Avenue Q for.
Years.
I was just like, I can't,I, I, and that's the thing.
I was young.
I was so very attached to it.
So many of those songs, uh, startedmeaning so much to me and, and I had this,

(38:29):
this belief that you have when you're,when you're young and in love, um, and,
and maybe even when you're older andin love too, because there are plenty
of things that I auditioned for now.
So I just.
It's so rapid fire in VO that Idon't have time to fall in love
like I used to all the time.
Um, but uh, but with theslower pace of theater, like

(38:53):
I listened to that soundtrack.
I, I drank that show in and Idedicated a lot of time to it.
And, um, And yeah, that one reallywas, was pretty painful and I, I
couldn't, I couldn't, I didn't wantto like interface with it anymore.
And that sucks.

(39:13):
It's probably not the bestway to deal with that.
And I acknowledge it.

Lee (39:18):
What

Mark (39:18):
did you learn

Lee (39:19):
as you go through, you know, and what were some of the learning
lessons from that experience?
What did

Mark (39:26):
I learn, Mark?
Did I learn anything from it?
Um, I mean, I did learn that in away, for me, for better or worse,
disconnection and distance does help.
Um, because otherwise I justcarry around bitterness.
Uh, with me, and, and in, inlieu of bitterness, I was like,

(39:46):
Disconnection seems better thanactive me being a, a grump.
Um, because then I'm bringingthat weird energy to everyone
else who also enjoys it.
And the reason I'm bitter isbecause I enjoy it so much.
Too much.
And so stepping back and allowingother people around me to have to

(40:11):
not bring my negativity along withme was helpful until a point where
I could personally process it.
And I could still see people calling meout for that, but whatever, it's, it's,
it's our own like healing journeys.
And I'd like to think that at leastI had the presence of mind to.
to uh, not put my healingjourney on everybody else.

(40:33):
But the flip side of this story isthat eventually I did get into Avenue
Q out here in Los Angeles and it wasan amazing experience and I met so many
fun people and there was, it, it cameback at this Time when it was just right
and I I had been puppeteering for awhile at that point and this audition

(40:57):
came back And it wasn't broadway.
It wasn't a tour.
It was a 99 seat theater out hereum But I fell in love with the show
again And, and I was ready to comeback and step back into things.
I had like, whatever my, whatevermy insecurity or my childishness

(41:18):
about it was, I had dealt with it.
I had let it go.
And I was like, I'm readyto audition for this again.
And man, man, do I love it.
Like I always have.
And, and I was luckyenough to get into it.

Kat (41:31):
I'm getting chills just listening to this story.
Like, seriously, it's so good.
Okay, keep going.
It's so good.

Mark (41:38):
I didn't even book the part that I thought I was.
I thought I was a Princeton Rod for sure.
In fact, that's what I auditioned for.
And the part that I booked was NikkiTrekkie, which I never saw myself as.
But when I stepped into that part duringthe show, I was like, Oh, oh god, I should
have been auditioning for this all along.

(42:00):
I was not right for the other part.
I, I just am not that guy.
I come across as it, I probablylook like it, but I was so much
more suited to that other part.
And that moment, and itturned out being wonderful.
I met fantastic friends, uh,that I still keep in touch with.

(42:21):
And, um, and, and here's another likerandom story of divine providence.
I ended up getting onto aTV show through that show.
Uh, Jeff Marks, uh, reallyloved our production and and
Richard Israel was our director.
He's fantastic, uh, through throughthose connections and those people,

(42:43):
uh, the show Big Little Lies neededa production of Avenue Q and and they
came back to us and they're like, Hey,do you want to be on this TV show?
Uh, as as Nikki and Trekkieand and I was like, Sure.
I mean, it's like, it's like a, it'sa glorious background part, but I
was like, I never thought, I neverthought it would take me to this place.

(43:05):
So you just.
I don't know.
The whole Avenue Q journey, I never knewit was that important to me, I guess.
But it turned out to be something veryimportant and all at once surprising, you
know, in ways I never could have known.

Kat (43:21):
It's like a full circle moment that you never really, um, expected.
But it's just such a beautifulillustration of like, you know, when we
lose something, sometimes it's becauseAnd it hurts us so badly or deeply, right?
It's because we really thinkthat, Oh, this should be our time.
It is our time.
We should have gotten this one.

(43:41):
It's our time.
And then we lose it.
And then we didn't realize that, Oh,it's going to, it's going to come back.
Like it, it will, you just don't know.

Lee (43:49):
I don't know why I have the illustration of like a seed, like
when it's something painful orsomething that we feel like we
lost, like we're letting it go.
We're putting it in theground, just letting it go.
But then like we could returnlater and it's got fruit, shade,
comfort, you know, beauty.
To it years later, you know, or maybeit's just, it's gone, but you let
it go and you grow and you just kindof, you have to kind of truck on.

(44:11):
But yeah, that's a, that's anawesome story, Mark, about kind of
loss and reliving and recapture of,

Mark (44:16):
of victories and that.

Kat (44:18):
I love it.

Mark (44:19):
Truly only something that can be traced back to its origin from
the perspective that I'm at now.
I'm like, Oh, I knew all along thatthis was heading in that direction.
It's like.
I didn't know you're right.
It's it's very much that seed.
If you buy a packet of them and it's justmixed seeds, you don't know what they are.
But if you are planting them and plantingeach one, things do happen over time.

(44:42):
Things do come back around inways that are totally unexpected.
And that's That's another thing thatI've come to appreciate a lot as, uh, my
career has progressed is that I, I don'tknow where connections are going to go.
I think that's such an important thing isthat I did not know that we were going to
be doing this podcast together and I, Idon't know what we're going to be doing

(45:05):
10 years from now, but it's, it's niceto, to, you know, you, you come in and
out of people's orbit in strange ways.
And, um, and there's somethingfascinating and unknowable about that.
And if you can give over to it, and Ithink that's where you find the ease that

(45:25):
takes your desperation away from a momentof I have to have this thing if you can
give into a larger view of time and howtime flows, you can maybe Just loosen your
grip a little bit on your desire to havethat exact thing at that exact moment.

(45:47):
I didn't need to get intoAvenue Q at that exact moment.
Would it have been cool?
Sure.
But was that the end of the story?
Clearly it wasn't.
Mm hmm.

Lee (45:58):
Oh.
Because then that, you know,you think about it too.
It's like if, say you had gotten it,it's just a different trajectory.
And like this, this audition thatyou did in Uh, Los Angeles and
booked, like you probably wouldmaybe, I've already done that.

Kat (46:11):
Yeah.

Lee (46:12):
Let me know something else.

Mark (46:13):
Might not have even been in Los Angeles.
100%.
Yeah.
If I had done that, there's entirelya whole different, like, bizarro fork,
uh, Marvel, what if, if that I end up inNew York for the rest of my life, right?
I mean, like, and then I miss out on.
Friends that I met in Florida,friends that I met down at

(46:34):
Disneyland, friends that at my wifethat I've met out here when I'm
in California, like, I don't know.
And, and this isn't to say like, Again,I look back and I'm grateful for all the
things that have flowed through this time.
And is that to say like, oh, but ifI had gotten Avenue Q, I'd have grown

(46:56):
a mustache and been like super evil.
It's like, no, life wouldhave been different.

Kat (47:01):
Yeah.
And we don't know whatthat would have been.
And

Mark (47:04):
we don't know.
And it could be equally wonderful.
I think there is, there is wonderfulstuff around us, all around us.

Kat (47:11):
Yeah,

Mark (47:11):
I

Lee (47:11):
think it's the gratefulness.
Um, or it's, it's an, a opportunity forus to be grateful and thankful for the,
you know, for the, the loss, the pain,but then the strength and the courage that
we've gained from those experiences, whatwe've learned and where it's carried us
to, because like the things that you'recelebrating right now and that are in your
life are a direct result of your past.

(47:31):
And, um, instead of, you know, uh, I couldhave been a evil, dictator with mustaches,
like you're, you're celebrating, you know,I'm, yeah, you know, you're celebrating.
I have a wife in LA.
I'm doing life.
I have cats.
I'm a flame Ashera.
This is like so cool.

Kat (47:52):
Okay.
Hold on.
Hold on.
The flame.
So, okay.
So, so Mark, I don't watch.
Anime, he got me into literally watchingone thing and that was Demon Slayer.
It's the only thing I've watched, okay.
And I actually really thoroughly enjoy it.
I was surprised myself because I, I,I'm just not into it, you know, but he
is completely into it, but I love it.

(48:14):
It's so good.
And we're so bummed

Lee (48:16):
at the end of the train.
It's such a beautiful wayto go, but like, gosh,

Kat (48:23):
But what's, what's your favorite, um, Uh, about working, favorite thing,
I guess, about working as uh, Rengoku.

Mark (48:32):
Oh, uh, gosh.
Rengoku has quite literally, ithas very much changed my life.
If there's one role that I can point atthat has fundamentally changed a lot of
things about just like, Like I've goneto tons of conventions to meet folks.
I've been involved with this, uh, thislittle cultural touchstone and not

(48:57):
even a little cultural touchstone.

Kat (49:00):
It's got a cult following.
It does have a

Mark (49:03):
cult.
Yeah.
A big cult.
It's

Kat (49:05):
got such a huge fan base.

Mark (49:08):
The most important thing about this, like I've, I've loved,
uh, I love working in, in theater.
I love working in entertainment.
What Rangoku has done when we talk about,when you talk about your story with Final
Fantasy, um, and the way it's affectedyou and the way it's helped you to connect
with loss in your own life, and perhaps toprocess some of that loss, whenever I've,

(49:31):
when I've started going to conventions.
Um, and meeting people, andseeing Rengoku cosplay, and
seeing the Rengoku merchandise,but then seeing Rengoku tattoos.
People who have Set Your Heart Ablaze,Rengoku's face, sword, uh, dying
moments tattooed on their bodies.

(49:53):
Hearing people say that ithas helped them process.
Uh, getting through school, gettingthrough a tough time at work, getting
through a tough time where theythink they might take their own life
and things like that, where withthe loss of their own brother, you
know, like I've I've heard stories.

(50:14):
More of these stories than I can countnow and, and that's what it means
to me is that, that, that, uh, it's,it's exactly what you were saying
about how this affects our lives.
And I had no idea that thiswas going to have the effect.
Uh, Going into it.

(50:36):
I knew it was a cool role.
I knew it was a cool show.
Uh, I knew the script was good Um, I Iwas excited to step up to the plate and
do it But the real the real treasure ofit has been After the aftermath and seeing
everybody and seeing the impact thatit's had and, and that I, I don't know.

(51:01):
I don't know when that gets matched again.
Um, you know, and, uh, and tobe a small part of that is,
is, um, It's, it's tremendous.
And, uh, and I don't often know howto, how to deal with it other than
to just like, be quiet, listen, makeeye contact, be present, you know,

(51:25):
and, and like, take it, take it in andknow that this is, this is everything
that I believe that creativityand art is capable of achieving.
Um, and because I know I've feltit in my own ways, in the same
way that you have, uh, with maybenot with this in particular.
I mean, with this now for sure, um,And even in the moment of recording, I

(51:51):
mean, I, I was, it was affecting me too.
Uh, as, as I was recording it, um,funny, funny little divergent story.
I was reading a script, uh, today.
And one thing that I do like aboutart and creativity in general is as
I'm reading through this, uh, I'mreading through lines of this character
and the bio and whatnot, and I gotto a point where I was like, Oh my

(52:15):
God, I know exactly how you feel.
This, this thing like just hitme and I was like, Oh my, I see,
I see my, I see a little bit ofmyself in my own experience there.
And, and I think that it's great.
It's great to be able to like meetthose moments where that is reflected.

(52:35):
And I think that is part of thathuman connection, uh, uh, that allows
us to process our own lives, tosee other people, to be empathetic.
So, I mean, it's even with this,I don't know if I'll get it.
Thank you.
I don't know what'll happen.
I'll go in, I'll audition.
But to me, again, to bring it backto Demon Slayer, that's the most
special part of Demon Slayer, to me.

(52:57):
And my involvement with it.
And, uh, I, I, I couldn't feel moregrateful, uh, and more lucky to Are

Kat (53:09):
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Lee (54:56):
It's just such a gift, I think for, I mean, that goes both ways.
You know, like the healing, theconnection, the processing that you get
to do as you go through these characters,but then now like you're seeing it all
the different cons and all this differentthings, just the, the true impact.
Yeah.
Like the power that's in, in theater,in arts, in music, in just creativity.

(55:19):
Like there's so much of a,a power that's there that.
Like, I'm thinking like kids in schooland stuff, like they don't always get
that opportunity because they're focusedon like filling in the right bubbles
for the SAT or ACT or whatever, orlearning your basic math and English
and everything, but not understandingthe connection of like the human
performance, the human creativity,like how, how that can help them.

(55:43):
spur and bring everything else to lifeand really make us feel whole and healed,
you know, in so many different ways.
And it's such a power that,um, you've been given, Mark.
And it's awesome to see, um, how that'sworking through you and in you also.
Yeah.

Kat (55:58):
Yeah.
Getting these characters to come to life.
Um, it's just like, it's really awesome.
Thank you for sharing that, Mark.
It just really makes me, I mean, we bothknow Mark, you know, we, we love stories.
I think as, as artists, we lovestories when we, when we love music,
We love stories because good musichas good stories to them, right?
And, and, and of course, like the, thecomposition and the instrumentation

(56:19):
and all of that good stuff.
But, um, it just really encourages mebecause part of the, uh, the shift that
I've been doing kind of like in my ownlife is, Being a life coach for kids,
and it's really, um, teaching themlife skills, but it's through stories.
So, I'm just so fortunate enoughthat, you know, I was looking of

(56:41):
a way, like, how can I do this?
How can I teach kids, like, you know,the value of mindset, the value of,
like, the confidence, how to havesoaring self esteem, how, you know,
how to, how to have these things,and how to shift your perspective.
When things don't go your way, right?
That's like, that's the thing, right?
Like we, we experience that all the time.
And especially if you are anactor auditioning actively,

(57:03):
that happens all the time.
Right.
But it just doesn't happen to actors.
It happens to everybody, right?
Like things not going your way.
How do you shift your perspective?
And my thought was like, well,how do you teach that to kids?
Like.
If they're like six, how do you teach thatwithout lecturing them about it, you know?
And so I fortunately found a program,it's called Adventures in Wisdom, and

(57:24):
so I got certified in it, and it'sbasically teaching all these life skills,
but it's literally through story form.
So it's every life skill has astory, and, and you teach it.
Take the kids through it and it's throughguided questions and, and all that.
But to kind of put it together,I not invented, but I just
came up from my own experience.
So I'm basically doing stories,movement, art of music.

(57:45):
We're applying it to real lifeapplication and then transformation,
which is what they're going toget out of that whole process.
Right?
So it's not just a story, but it'sembodying it into our bodies through
physical movement and actually puttingit into music through playing the piano.
So what you're sharing.
It's basically the beginning, the storypart is the beginning point of like my

(58:05):
entrance way, my gateway to teachingthese kids about these life skills.
And so you sharing that reallyjust gave me, every time I hear
someone, you know, say these things,it, it just gives me even more.
Not that I need more validationbecause I know this is a good thing,
but it just helps, you know, itreally helps to confirm it more.

Mark (58:25):
I absolutely a fantastic.
I think that what you're doing to,especially when you're bringing it
into the physical space when, whenyou were talking about that, a thought
came to my mind where I was like it.
I think it's the idealistic thoughtof any parent, uh, or adult is
that, oh, if I could only tell.
Yeah.
The future generation, all of thesethings so that they don't have to go

(58:50):
through it so that they will just know.
Um, and, and I think that the point thatmaybe we perpetually are up against is
that knowing is one component of it.
Embodying and feeling and even, youknow, at times, as hard as it is,
experiencing it is, Uh, is a part ofit perhaps inevitable in many, if not

(59:17):
all cases that not only knowing andhaving that knowledge, but then meeting
every moment because I think thosemoments are coming, whether we want to
protect or not and what you're doingto like, kind of bring it into that
physical space could be just anothercomponent to, to meet it physically,
to generate that, that Uh, so that, sothat those lessons can be learned in a

(59:42):
more tactile fashion with other humans.
Uh, I know we're doing this over ascreen and, and through a podcast.
And I know that there's like thiswhole AI threat looming or, you
know, whatever you want to call it,but I think it's so important to be.
With each other, I think thereis an importance there, uh, and

(01:00:04):
in this capability, no matterhow good a tool a I will be here.
We still all physically will be.
And if we're not, if we're not learningand experiencing with each other, I think
we're perhaps shortchanging ourselves.
And or setting ourselves up for alot of difficult situations later on.
So what you're doing to like, makeit physical, uh, seems brilliant.

(01:00:28):
And I, I hope that thereis so much success there.

Kat (01:00:31):
Thank you.
Yeah.

Lee (01:00:34):
Quick, quick question on the physical side of things.
Um, I'm just thinking of.
Uh, the different roles that you'veplayed are like as you're doing different
auditions, like we're listening to some ofthe commercial auditions that you've done.
Like Mark Gibbs

Kat (01:00:47):
sold me Taco Bell and Neeson Leaf.
Oh, okay.
You've been selling me all these things.
I didn't know, huh?

Mark (01:00:54):
Well, I actually technically on my commercial
demo, Those were fabricated spots.
So a lot of times when you make a demo,you will do things that you haven't,
uh, necessarily done to display.

Kat (01:01:07):
Oh, right.

Mark (01:01:07):
Well, you sound great.
So let's just, however, I have soldyou Dramamine ginger chews and cheese.
It's so

Lee (01:01:15):
all right.
So as you're doing some of these things,though, what I'm curious about, cause
like Uh, well, we were talking aboutRengoku, so if we're talking about
the Demon Slayer side of things, he'sjumping around, slicing, cutting.
I'm just imagining you in

Kat (01:01:31):
your booth.

Lee (01:01:32):
Yeah, like, In this booth.
We recorded it in here.
Yeah, does that happen?
Like, do you have to, or does ithelp you to get physical as you're
doing your, your, uh, voiceover work?
Or do you have to kind of like, imagineit all in your head and just, blah, let it
just, you know, You know, come out of you.
Cause like that, your

Kat (01:01:51):
zombie sounds, sorry.

Mark (01:01:55):
Right.
So, I mean, technically you do needto, you want to, if you have a little
microphone, you do want to stay onmic and like static, um, and probably
closer than I am to it, you know,you want to be like on axis, but.
One of the things that opened mymind up when doing voiceover is being
physical, is bringing your body to it,is moving around, there's, there's,

(01:02:20):
engineers, audio engineers are wizards,and they can do a lot of, not that
they want to, but they can do a lotof like post processing, cleaning.
Uh, of things.
So there is an amountof movement you can get.
Obviously you don't want to get too shiftyin movie because it creates a lot of work
down the line and it doesn't provide forgood clean audio, but yes, absolutely.

(01:02:44):
Using your body.
This whole booth was just like.
Bogged up, uh, at the end of that fightscene, because it's just, you're putting
so much into it and, um, Yeah, therewas a thing that I wanted to say about
like those moments when we're talkingabout physicality, a lot of times.
When I'm, when I'll be in, in like arole or an audition at the best of times,

(01:03:08):
I feel like it's when I am physicallyconnected to it, I would lie down.
I was in a production of rent andI would just lie down and, and,
uh, and listen to, uh, I would belistening to the recording just to
kind of like get a sense of the show.
And I would almost be like mentallygoing through the emotional Uh, obstacle

(01:03:34):
course in my own head as I'm listeningto it and feeling it in different parts
of my body and going on that mentaljourney and, um, and practicing a
sort of like active internal empathy.
That I, I swear I've never saidthat term before, but I'm going to
potentially use it a lot more becauseI think it is physical inside of us.

(01:03:58):
Um, and especially at the end of thisarc, when he looks up and sees his mother.
Um, and one thing that I do love aboutanime is they do so much with, it
sometimes gets gaffed where they're like,
where they're doing a lot of thoseintakes and exhalations of breath
that can sometimes become, um,What's the term I'm looking for?

(01:04:23):
They can sometimes become like triteor overused or the, or maybe this
source of like, Oh, that's just a, athing that's performative, but in a
way that's that breath, that exhalationcan become a very physical instead of
a technical thing where it's just like.
It can become physically, uh, uh,you know, emotionally motivated

(01:04:45):
that gives it just a littlebit of extra dimension to it.
And especially at the end of that,uh, arc when he is seeing his mother.
You better believe that I wasinternally like also like weeping
as part of the audience, but likehaving to then harness that emotion.
I feel like emotion bangs aroundinside of us in our heads, in our

(01:05:05):
hearts as a very physical thing.
And to me, like the best times inacting is when that physical thing
is kicking around and you can kindof dance with it inside of you.
Um, and I think it brings that,that sort of extra 10, 20 percent
of something unidentifiable andspecial to a moment like that.

(01:05:29):
And even that is internally, uh, maybeI'm not like jumping, doing jumping jacks
or pushups in that moment, but thereis something very physically happening.
There's, there's a storm inside that isbrewing and, and I think it's where you
can also like, you see it a lot in film.
Some of the best moments in film arewhen no one's talking, when they're just.

(01:05:50):
focused on somebody and you can be focusedon somebody who is like dead behind the
eyes and get nothing, but you can befocused on some of these great actors
and actresses in these performances.
And you know that there is just,there is chaos happening inside
their heads at that moment.
And that's.
Apparent, it's so apparent and we may notas the audience be able to say, ah, that's

(01:06:15):
exactly what's happening, but we feel it.
We know it's happening.
And that to me is like,that is the important part.
Wow.
That's great.

Kat (01:06:25):
Wow.
Mark, this is, no, this is so good.
This is so good.
Thank you so much.
I guess we're gonna, you know,wrap it up because we want to
be respectful of your time.
Although I feel like Leedefinitely probably has

Mark (01:06:39):
so

Kat (01:06:40):
much more to ask.

Mark (01:06:43):
I'm a talker too.
So again, I will fill gaps.
I'm not that far behind of you either.

Kat (01:06:49):
So I guess the kind of like the final question for us, you know, we
always love, asking our guests thisbecause it's great to see the different
answers because everybody has differentperspective and life experiences.
But what's your idea or, um, you know,your own take on a wildly wealthy life?
What does that mean to you?
I think

Mark (01:07:09):
I was, I was thinking about this, uh, a little bit, uh, or I mean,
maybe not this specific question,but, uh, but in terms of like, what
matters to me, I think it's, it's,it's maybe to simplify it, doing your
best, despite what the return is, youknow, cause a lot of times I, I, I've.

(01:07:33):
I've thought about this careerin, in many ways, and I guess I'm
just talking about career, butI think that's the whole point.
There's something beyond career, aswe say, like, oh, a career is when you
fill out some, uh, W whatevers, uh, theygive you, uh, monopoly money, or beans,

(01:07:53):
or whatever the currency is in return.
You get to purchase a bunch of baublesthat, uh, that you surround yourself
with, and, uh, and, you know, Throwsome parties, but I think there's so
much like the pursuit of creativitybeing good at a thing for, for the
sake of being good, being good toother people for the sake of that.

(01:08:16):
And I know we live in a societythat attaches a lot of importance
to success, uh, as it pertainsto what happens on a spreadsheet.
And I just simply don'tthink that that's what.
Life's about, uh, I hopeit's not what life's about.
I hope it's about something.
Well, I hope, and I personally believethat it's about something different

(01:08:40):
and, and I, I get excited when I seegood things, whether they're the most
popular and, and well funded things orwhether they are, you know, a shoestring
doing it for the love of it, budget.
Or, you know, I, I think, I thinkgoodness exists independent of

(01:09:01):
how much money gets thrown at it.
And I think that that is.
What we'd all do well to maybe paya bit more attention to pursuing.

Kat (01:09:11):
Yeah.

Mark (01:09:12):
So that's my hope.

Lee (01:09:14):
That's great.
And Mark, with everybody going tobuy a PlayStation, buying a couple
copies of Remake and Rebirth,sitting down on Netflix and binge
watching, uh, Demon Slayer, whereelse can people find you, Mark?

Mark (01:09:30):
Oh, uh, a lot of, hopefully in, in the next, uh, AAA and or Indie game
that's coming out, uh, hopefully inyour next favorite, uh, game console,
PC, Mac, whatever you play on.
Um, uh, they can find me on IMDB anda bunch of previous shows and stuff.
You can hopefully find me at aconvention coming to town near you.

(01:09:52):
I swear I'm trying to get to all of them.
All different places across the country.
Um, I'm on Instagram, uh, and Whitten,uh, I'm on Twitter for the moment at
MP Whitten, and I also do a coupleof, uh, podcasts, well, I've had a
couple of audio drama podcasts thatgot produced in the past that are very

(01:10:12):
near and dear to my own creative heart.
Uh, it's myself and my friend, Veronica,she wrote, uh, I did a lot of the
audio production on them and acted in.
Pretty much all of them.
Uh, it's the theater oftomorrow and the hotel.
It is where I met my wife, Kelly,doing the theater of tomorrow.
Uh, they're very fun audio drama podcasts.

(01:10:34):
If anyone needs a quick listen whenyou're on, on the road on a, on a trip
or something, and you want to throw onsome sci fi or some moody, broody horror,
you can tune into either of those.
So, lots of places and hopefully more.

Lee (01:10:48):
I have a hour and a half drive to, uh, Malibu a few times a week and.
I might be doing that on, uh,this tomorrow morning, actually.
So

Mark (01:10:56):
yeah, here we go.
Check them out.
Let me know what you, what you think.
Uh, we're, we're real proud of them.
And, uh, like I said, it's a theaterof tomorrow is a sci fi anthology.
Lots of different fun stories.
Hotel is again, more of that moody,uh, uh, horror that follows consistent
characters through a lot of seasons.

Kat (01:11:14):
Yeah,

Mark (01:11:14):
that's

Kat (01:11:15):
awesome.

Mark (01:11:15):
Thank you, Mark.
Thank you, Mark.

Kat (01:11:17):
This is so wonderful.
It's so good to see you and chat with you.

Mark (01:11:21):
Well, this has been lovely.
Thank you again.
And um, I'm so glad we got achance to connect and chat and
uh, I'm wishing you all the bestand hopefully see you real soon.
Thank you.

Kat (01:11:32):
Yeah.
All right, friends.
That's a wrap on today'sepisode of Wildly Wealthy Life.
We hope you're feeling fired upand ready to take on the world with
your brilliant mind and brave heart.

Lee (01:11:42):
If you love this episode, make sure you hit that subscribe button on YouTube
or your favorite podcast platform.
It helps us keep bringingyou the good stuff.

Kat (01:11:48):
And hey, while you're at it, drop us a rating or review.
It takes like, what, 30 seconds andit makes a huge difference for us.

Lee (01:11:55):
Also, if you know someone who could use a little guidance on growth,
mindset, leadership, and creativity,share this episode with them.
Sometimes that one conversationcan spark up a whole new direction.

Kat (01:12:04):
Thanks for hanging out with us today.
Go out there, live wildly, be wealthyin all the ways that matter to you.
And we'll catch you on the next one.

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