August 5, 2025 • 40 mins
Welcome to Episode 40 of the Actor's Guide to the End of the World! This week we have friend of the podcast and fellow actor in Los Angeles, Kevin Walsh! For most of his life, Kevin was a professional footballer playing around the world, and now he’s taking center stage as an actor. Along with hilarious stories, Kevin tells the guys about his transition to the arts and how he was a “closeted” actor and knew from early on, he was driven to pursue the arts. They also discuss how Kevin’s athletic background translates to his acting career, the moment when he told his dad he was going to quit playing football and become an actor and how Steven Urkel and Family Matters was an especially formative moment for him.
Plenty of sports metaphors in this one - they talk about grit and determination and how film and tv is another great team sport. This was recorded a couple of months ago, and he talks about the process of producing a play - “The Irish Curse 2.0: The Diverse Curse”. The play just wrapped and has been a success, selling out to great reviews.
This is a fun one!
If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review, it'll help other people find the podcast as well.
Kevin Walsh - @mayoyank
@theirishcurse2.0_theplay
Hidden Gem:
Photographer Jeff Vespa @Jeffvespa
Time stamps
(0:00) Intro
(2:08) Getting Started in Acting
(05:20) Life as a footballer
(06:55) Inspired by Family Matters and Steve Urkel
(08:07) When Kevin first got the acting bug
(11:30) Having Self-Confidence
(14:50) It’s the most complete I feel
(16:50) Getting experience on set
(19:40) A crazy story with the guns and the armorer
(23:55) First paid job as an actor
(28:00) Landing an agent and knowing your type
(31:00) Why athletes make great actors
(34:50) What it takes to producing a play
(39:15) Hidden Gem
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
There was a stage there where my
football career was over and I'm
telling my father,
I was like, yeah, I think I'm going
to give football a quit and I'm
going to do something
more realistic like acting.
Yeah.
He's just like,
okay, yeah, whatever.
Call me when you need money.
And then I'd be going into school
and I wouldn't go to classes and
they'd walk by the library
(00:20):
and I'm sitting there watching like
Nosferatu on TV and they're like,
what are you doing?
Hey everyone.
Welcome to the actor's guide to the
other world podcast
where we talk about acting in
Hollywood and white people
understand I'm your host E-Kan Soong
and this is Rían Sheehy Kelly
What's happening?
We have new episodes every Monday
wherever you find your podcasts at
(00:41):
actor's guide podcast.
We have video on YouTube.
We have video on sub stack.
Leave a review, leave a like really
helps the podcast and
our sense of self-esteem as
always and that can
always use a boost.
We have a friend of the podcast,
another great
conversation this week.
(01:02):
We have Kevin Walsh.
We talk about him being a
professional footballer for all the
Americans out there, that soccer
and his journey to
becoming an actor.
What it was like to secretly dream
about being an actor yet traveling
all around the world
as a professional footballer.
Great stories, him immersing
(01:22):
himself in the acting community in
LA, the grind, the hustle.
We also talk about the parallels
between being a professional
athlete and being an actor
and how they correspond to each
other and why professional athletes
often make really
great actors.
This was recorded a
couple months ago.
He talks about his latest venture,
which is producing a play.
(01:43):
It's actually finishing its run in
LA and selling out crowds.
So great congratulations to him,
but he talks about
producing a play in LA.
This is Kevin Walsh, a fellow
actor, hustler, raconteur.
Irish American.
Oh, Irish American.
Yes.
Thank you.
We had a great time.
(02:04):
So sit back and enjoy this
conversation with Kevin Walsh.
I hadn't really got into it more so
and I'd just done local
theater and then short films
was I was college and
I was a soccer player.
I was really just pushing that and
then the body gave up on me and I
was just like, "Okay,
(02:24):
I'm 24, 25 now."
I was like, "All right, let's
settle down and do something."
I ended up getting a job in a bar
in New York and I
always loved New York.
I used to visit a lot.
So I ended up there and I never
really did any classes, but I was
always around the theater
scene trying to go to shows and no
(02:44):
one in a New York Irish
bar, I know it's New York
and everyone's like, but no one I
worked with, I was like, "Hey,
lads, there's an off-Broadway
version of Sweeney Todd that's on
downtown on
Tuesday at four o'clock.
You want to go?"
And everyone's like, "Fuck off.
I'm not going to that with you."
(03:05):
So I didn't have a lot there, but
when I ended up moving
to LA long story short, I
signed up with Howard Fine here.
So I did his foundation and then I
just got into the scene
study and I was in there for
a couple years again, maybe two or
three years until we
(03:26):
moved back to New York again.
I didn't know the football thing.
Football was my main thing.
I played all
through secondary school.
I was on the Irish schools team.
I played with Goll United and then
I'd always had this fantasy going
back to America after
we...
Because I left
Boston when I was 10.
(03:48):
So I tell you this, I was born in
Boston, raised in
Ireland, so I sound Canadian.
It's just, that's
how my accent came out.
Oh.
Yeah.
That's how it works.
This is the blend.
I ham it up probably more when I'm
talking to the Irish and then
Boston is, to be honest,
one of the funniest accents I've
(04:09):
ever heard in my life.
I love that accent.
So it's a great accent.
But yeah, so when I moved back to
go to college, I got a scholarship
at the University of Memphis
in Tennessee.
Randomly, there was a bunch of
Irish guys down there.
We're freaking everywhere.
And I ended up there.
And then I went to
Iceland for a while.
(04:29):
I played some pro there.
And then the country went tits up.
They were like the first nation to,
after the crash, to
kind of buy a bankruptcy.
And I was like, "I
got to get out of here."
They were offering to pay me in
freaking frozen chickens from some
local grocery store.
I was like, "This is a disaster.
Let me get out."
Beautiful country.
Beautiful country.
(04:50):
But I was like, "I'm out."
And then...
Gorgeous place.
Gorgeous place.
I was traveling a little bit,
trying to play football everywhere.
I went back home, but I was just
like, "I'm done."
And then that's when
I went to New York.
I don't know too many people who
were kind of gone down the path of
an actual career,
a soccer career.
So I'm always...
And I kind of grew
up around soccer.
(05:11):
My dad's a sports journalist, so I
grew up around League of
Ireland and around a lot
of soccer.
That was really impressive to me.
I was like, "Oh, shit.
Cool."
When you were doing that, was
acting ever something
that crossed your mind?
Or was it...
I think I was one of
these closeted actors.
I would always...
I always kind of was drawn to the
(05:32):
arts, especially
acting, watching movies.
I did a year of college in NUI
Galway before I went to Memphis.
And I lived with all
lads that played football.
We're all in the
Galway United ranks.
One of my closest friends, Alan
Murphy, he's one of the top Galway
United players of all
time in League of Ireland.
(05:54):
I'd be living with them and we
would just train them every day.
And then I'd be going into school
and I wouldn't go to classes.
And they'd walk by the library and
I'm sitting there
watching Nosferatu on TV.
And they're like,
"What are you doing?"
I'm like, "Nosferatu?
I'm not sure.
It's a great film."
They're like, "Whatever.
Dude, I don't want you to tell.
(06:15):
I'll see you training."
So I think there was
always that thing about me.
There was a stage there where my
football career was over and I'm
telling my father,
I was like, "Yeah, I think I'm
going to give football a quit and
I'm going to do something
more realistic like acting."
Yeah.
He's just like,
"Okay, yeah, whatever.
Call me when you need money."
(06:36):
Two notoriously stable career
choices, football and acting.
Crazy.
Crazy.
So what was the
first acting you did?
What was the first?
Actually, the first
ever memory of acting.
Ika might know more about this.
Do you remember
Family Matters, Ika?
(06:57):
Do you remember Urkel?
Yeah.
So back in the day,
I sent in a video.
They were doing an episode where
you would do your
impression of Urkel.
And I remember my aunt going,
"Kevin, you do the greatest Urkel.
Let's send in a tape or whatever."
(07:17):
And I did my Urkel.
Now flash forward, I forget about
it years later, I'm going
through old episodes and
I see the episode and it's an
episode where Urkel marries someone
else and they have all
these kids.
And the kids that won the contest
come on the stage and they do their
Urkel in the episode.
(07:38):
It was like a dream sequence.
And there was like
one little white girl.
And the joke was, and she did an
amazing Urkel and the joke was, "Oh
yeah, she's adopted."
Like that.
And I was like, "Oh, I
sent in a tape for that."
I remember my aunt taping me doing
my Urkel impression.
(08:00):
And even when I was in school, my
mom put me into a couple of little
small classes here
and there.
And I think I was
on stage one time.
We did like an end of week kind of
summer camp thing.
I got my first laugh and I think
the bug always was there.
This was always back there.
And then...
Yeah.
Wait, sorry, hold up.
(08:20):
Just for the timeline, that whole
Urkel thing was when
you were in Boston?
Yeah, so that probably was like
92-ish, I'm sure.
So you were super young.
Yeah, I was a baby.
That's kind of like one of my
earliest memories of kind of
catching that bug and like doing
impressions for people.
(08:41):
I think I was always the kid that
made people laugh or did something,
looking for attention.
Probably why I stuck at football as
long as I did, I was like, "I don't
get the psychology
of it.
I haven't dug into it too much."
It's more rare.
Yeah.
Then when I ended up in Memphis, I
met a friend of
mine, Wahid Al-Qasmi.
(09:02):
He's a producer, writer, director.
He actually shot a great film
during the pandemic.
And I think we just got to...
We met...
He was doing a casting for Irish
gangsters in a film in Memphis.
And I said to my buddies, again,
(09:23):
like closeted actor, I was like,
"Lads, I want to go down
and see what this film's about.
I'm just going to go
down and have a look."
And I did the audition.
I got it.
And I was like this stereotypical
Irish sidekick mobster.
No training, nothing.
The movie never
saw the light of day.
(09:43):
But we got together
and we became friends.
I've known him for years now.
We're really good friends.
We started writing things together.
And I think that's
when it really stuck.
I was like, "All right, this guy
gets what I'm talking about.
I need to meet
more people like him."
And honestly, throughout my whole
life, I think I've
struggled with that.
It's like immersing myself in the
(10:05):
artist community, especially the
acting community when you come
from worlds that
don't really get out.
You guys probably
all dealt with it.
Your family's all...
Your dad's a
mathematician, right, or something?
Yeah, you really pay
attention well, Kevin.
You pay attention...
Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm a fan.
I'm a fan.
(10:26):
The fact that you guys sent in an
audition tape before you
were age 10, that's so...
I got into performing
and stuff so much later.
So I feel like that really was in
your bones at a young age.
The fact that you were already
doing something a little against
the grain as a professional
(10:46):
athlete, that sounds almost like a
parallel move where it's just as
crazy and intense
as athletics going into acting.
So that makes sense.
Definitely.
Yeah.
Was there a moment that you went,
"Oh, I could actually do this as a
job or as a mom"?
I still...
What am I doing?
(11:07):
I have a baby.
I'm working in a pub at night
trying to make the bills and
auditioning for non-union jobs
that are just paying crap.
But it's like, "All right, today,
that's an extra..."
I still struggle with that.
I still struggle
with that every day.
I don't know what is wrong in my
(11:28):
head that doesn't tell me just,
"You have a college
degree.
You're pretty affable.
You can get a job at anything.
What are you doing?"
And half the time,
I'm like, "I don't know.
I can't escape it."
So I think I have some sort of
deniability in me that I'm like,
(11:50):
"No, I can sit in a
room and I don't care if it's..."
Whoever, I'm going to
say the craziest names.
If it's Al Pacino, if it's Bradley
Cooper, if it's Killian Murphy.
I have no problem sitting in the
room with these people.
I have no problem.
I'll be in all this in a way, like,
(12:10):
"Oh, these guys are amazing.
They're pretty..."
But I'm not shy about that.
I think I can sit in the room with
them and do my thing.
That's a weird confidence that
comes from somewhere.
I don't think I'm very cocky.
You don't come
across as very cocky.
That's one of the
things in my head.
I was like, "Oh, okay.
(12:33):
I've been on sets a million times,
even working in production.
I was a PA a lot."
I knew if I got in the room and
someone goes, "Oh, yeah, Walsh can
do that scene," I would
be able to step up.
That's what I'm holding onto.
(12:54):
I don't know if that makes sense.
No, no.
That absolutely makes sense.
It makes sense, but just knowing
you a little bit to who you are,
that totally makes sense.
I think that's a really
valuable trait to have.
I know what you mean.
I have something similar.
I don't know where it came from.
It's great to hear that.
(13:15):
I think it stands to you.
You can go into a room and be...
We talked about this before about
just the idea of being starstruck.
I typically don't get starstruck.
Comedians will do it to me because
there's something about funny
people that is very
intimidating.
I'm like, "Oh my
God, they're so funny."
And footballers.
Footballers.
They're the two areas.
(13:35):
Yeah, I'll get a little bit of
starstruck around footballers
because it's a different
realm.
Just as you traveled, you never
really felt that you had a
community of artists around
you or a community of
filmmakers, of actors.
And I think that kind of makes
sense that you kind of also had
this innate sense of
(13:56):
self and confidence.
Did you always know that you were
going to go to acting?
Did you always have that so
strongly in you that you were like,
"I could do this life
for the rest of my life."
Yeah. Yeah, I think it's interesting.
It's such a good question, Yukon,
because I asked
that still of myself.
(14:17):
It's like, "Oh, well, it's hard.
This is a good one."
I don't know if it's the
background I come from.
I'm sure it's all
of our backgrounds.
I come from a very blue collar
Irish working class, Irish Catholic
working class family.
My father was a carpenter.
Now he does.
He still does.
We have a farm in
the west of Ireland.
My mother was a homemaker.
(14:37):
She took care of four kids.
I don't know what draws me to this
world, this acting world, other
than when I sit down
with someone like Rian, we had
coffee a couple weeks ago, and we
talk about acting.
It's the most complete
I feel in conversation.
(14:58):
If I listen to your guys' podcast
and you mention something that
probably only acting
people would know, I
get that and I perk up.
That's what I'm drawn to.
I probably didn't answer your
question, but I just don't know how
(15:20):
to explain this necessity
to do this job.
I'm working at it every day.
I got an agent just at the end of
the pandemic and
they've really championed me.
They did a great job.
I get a lot of cop auditions.
(15:41):
There's a lot of cop shows.
That's not bad.
There's a lot of cop shows.
Bald skinhead.
You want me to be a cop, you want
me to be racist cop, you want me to
be ambulance driver,
you want me to be whatever.
I'm down.
Put me in, coach.
No, dude.
No, it's a wrong or a top. I'm down to pay the
bills at this job.
(16:02):
You did a role like
that recently, didn't you?
I did.
I had a criminal minds episode this
past year, which got me,
it was two or three lines.
I was in at 9.30.
I was out the door by 12.30.
It was an amazing experience just
to see how that machine works.
(16:23):
Everyone on set, they
were fucking cool as shit.
They were on the ball.
You could tell they just want
someone nice to work with because I
know in these shows
they probably bring in characters
or big actors that are just doing a
day role here or whatever.
They were so
fucking cool to me, man.
And I was like, thanks guys.
(16:43):
It was just, it was a great day.
That's another thing I get a lot of
energy from Econ.
I worked in
production during the pandemic.
I would do PA jobs.
I would do whatever I could.
Just to stay on set
and not be in the bar.
I was like the COVID guy for a
while, like the hall
monitor that everyone hated.
(17:05):
But I did my best to just meet
people from all these departments.
But I met some great people.
The production experience, that's
actually kind of hard to break into
if you don't know
people who work into production.
Is that your first
experience on show?
I have been on, as far as LA, yeah,
(17:26):
my friend, he is a production
company and he goes, dude,
if you need a job, I was like,
dude, I'm trying to do something
other than bar work part time
and I want to get on set.
I don't know how to do this
auditioning at the time.
I didn't have an agent or whatever.
And he goes, oh, I'll
give you a couple of days.
We're shooting a
commercial next week.
You want to come?
(17:46):
I was like, yeah.
And I became the PA and to be
honest, I loved it because it's
similar to bar work where
you're like, I
call the bar my stage.
I am just back and forth, like,
what do you need?
What do you need?
Do you want this?
What is it?
Shut up, sit down, next round.
(18:08):
And I found the PA work
exhilarating, long days, but I
never came home tired.
Like I never came home tired and I
knew I wanted to be on set more.
I even thought like
maybe I'll go to AD routes.
I had a lot of ADs come up to me
and I was like, hey,
I need you to second.
Can you do this?
Can you keep PA?
(18:28):
Can you manage the?
So they would come to me to
different departments.
And I think it was because also I
was like an older PA on set, you
know, a bit more maturity.
So it gave me like a great, because
I hear you guys talk sometimes
about the technical
stuff that's behind set and being
(18:49):
on set now I'm learning
it like I'm learning it.
And I think it's so
advantageous to an actor on set.
If they hear the AD go, hey, we're
flipping this or and
they're like, oh yeah, cool.
I'll step over here.
And you know the lingo and you can
kind of, I mean, I think
that's the role of an actor
is like, yeah, we're kind of, you
(19:11):
know, we're in we can speak every
sort of language to
an appoints like,
you know, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
I think that's really important to
know other people's jobs and but
also to understand your
own job and not get in the way, not
getting the way but also like,
don't try and do other
people's jobs too.
And it may be it's different if you
(19:32):
know production well, it might be
harder to not get involved
in other people because I'll find
myself trying to take care of
continuity and all
these other things that are like,
not really my business.
You know what I mean?
I'm like, I've had to a number of
times go shut the
fuck up and just do it.
Yeah, you be careful.
I have one.
I was I did a short film.
There was the day we had guns and I
(19:52):
was playing a Boston gangster.
And the guy comes in.
And this guy looks like he used to
party with Jeff
Bridges back in the day.
He's got the ponytail.
He's got like the raspy voice.
Knuckles are all busted in.
He was a stuntman,
like did all the stuff.
And he handed me the gun.
(20:12):
And I hadn't had proper on like
onset training with the gun in the
sense that no, it was
a dud.
It was there was nothing.
It was a fake gun.
They weren't really using it.
I had said something to the other
actor like, do you want to check
the gun or whatever like
that?
And he goes, I already did that.
I've been doing this
for 30 something years.
(20:33):
And I go, you know what, man,
you're 100 percent right.
I'm the rookie here.
Apologies.
I'm going to refer to you anymore.
My bad.
He's like, OK, cool.
And like them, we were great.
But I had to take
the lick in there.
And then like and I was like, you
know, that was a
stupid fucking move.
You know, I didn't
want to undermine him.
(20:53):
Not at all.
Not at all.
I felt nervous in myself.
Well, in that particular case,
you're 100 percent in the right.
OK, good.
Well, fuck that guy.
He's he's absolutely 100 percent in
the wrong there because I've worked
on a number of productions
with guns. And the thing is, like
an armor or somebody will go around
(21:14):
and everybody who
wants to check the gun is free to
check the gun because you're even
if it's not real,
even if it's a dummy or a prop gun
that doesn't that's a not that's a
non firing pistol.
Everybody who wants to check that
can check it because
you're dealing with a matter of
safety.
They recently did a job in Ireland
where it was guns and
they were non firing guns.
But there was still an armor on
set, even though those guns were
(21:35):
like it was impossible
for them to fire.
But everybody checked them.
They took you know,
they were given possession.
The armor would give them to you
and take them back.
You are a whole good just just to
put your mind at rest.
Yeah, he he should never go.
I've already checked it.
OK, dude, that's great.
But I also because we're dealing
with a weapon here, anybody who
wants to check it can check
(21:56):
it. So don't.
And this is pre like the last
couple of years, too.
So I was like, was
there armor on set?
He he was the he was the armor
slash friggin I see.
Oh, well, I see.
He's just not very good at his job.
So before us before us, so the
(22:17):
times have changed.
Yeah.
So that's it.
Trust me.
Kevin, I have to say the fact that
you got on set and
because a lot of actors starting
background work, the great
experience being a PA that means to
be honest, that's probably
a lot better than
background for sure.
Signing up for a lot of the
background things, background work
(22:37):
like everyone knows it's boring.
Like it's a long
days like it's rough.
And at least when I was playing, I
felt like I was busy.
I was running around.
I was doing stupid pop ups.
I was tired, whatever.
But like I felt like that day, like
I had to cheat because I
would talk to different
departments and like always like
(22:59):
talking to the art guy.
Love the art team.
Always love talking to our team
because they were like they're
creating crazy stuff and
they are working crazy
hours before and after set.
And those guys, the grip and the
electric, they were just
like every uncle and cousin
I have back in Boston working
construction and they're like just
(23:19):
dying to get off work,
hit the lights, knew their shit
like very intricate detail.
Guys knew their shit but they're
like I'm ready to get a beer.
Those guys and camera department
were always like off in the corner
on lunch break playing
magic.
Like I'd learn about these card
games like this crazy shit.
(23:41):
You know, it's just so many people.
I think that's also like what
attracted, like why I've been in
bartenders so long.
You just meet different people and
when you put them all
in one room, it's insane.
Yeah, it's a big family.
Yeah, that's fascinating.
So what was your
first professional job?
When was the first
time you got paid to act?
Oh, I got the first big job.
(24:02):
It was actually a Chevy commercial.
So which was money.
It was killer.
Do you remember when Chevy were
doing the real people commercials?
So I had like happened to buy a, me
and my wife, we got a Chevy.
I still have the
bad boy out the front.
Chevy Equinox.
(24:23):
Shout out to Chevy,
little hidden gem there.
It's an American brand of car.
And my friend of a friend was like
casting assistant to this cast and
she's like, "Didn't
you guys just get a Chevy?"
And I was like, "Yeah, yeah."
She goes, "I'm casting this thing.
I'm going to put you on tape."
I go, "Let's do it.
Like whatever.
I'll throw anything at
the wall at this stage."
And I just did like a
(24:44):
little bit outside my car.
And a couple of weeks later I get
called and they're like, "Yeah,
listen, you're going
to come in.
We're going to do like an interview
style and just do like
a talk for 20 minutes."
And I was like, "And
then we'll see after that."
So this is what I thought was like,
"Oh, this is the callback."
I drive out to Santa Clarita.
(25:06):
I get to this big ranch, which I
now know is the Disney
Ranch or one of the probably
billions that they own.
I plant the ranch and I go over to
a park and the guy goes
there and I go over and then
I turn around and there's the
second AD, Frankie, and I love her
because I remember this girl's
name to this day.
And she goes, "Hi."
(25:26):
And I go, "What's
going on here, Frankie?
I see a million trucks.
I see crew.
I see pop-ups.
I see everything."
I go, "What's going on here?"
And she goes, "This
is the commercial.
You're in it."
And I go, "What?"
And she goes, "You're in the spot."
(25:47):
And I go, "Holy crap."
That day we drove around.
I think I did a
couple of bits to camera.
At one stage they mounted the
camera on the front of the car and
I drove through the ranch,
you know, the whole thing.
And it-
Your own car?
(26:08):
My car, they had bought everyone's
car version of their car, but my
car was filthy, so they
didn't have time to
run into the wash.
So they put me in their car and I'm
driving around and I
think my one line to cameras
was like, "NSUVs."
Dude, that line,
that money came in.
(26:29):
I had gone to Paris with my wife
for a big romantic vacation.
We dined out like crazy.
And that was the first one.
And I remember my friend tell me,
he's like, "Don't go crazy on that
money because it cuts
off right away."
But it ran during the World Series
(26:49):
finals, so I got paid across the
country basically.
So I was getting
checks every other week.
Now, in the grand scheme of things,
I'm sure people got paid a
lot more for commercials,
but this is my first job and I'm
like, "Yeah, I'll do this forever."
That's also the power of the one
shot, the one commercial that runs,
(27:10):
and that's the beauty
of it.
Yeah, you know that well.
I mean, Ikan does a
lot of commercials.
You know the power of
the national commercial.
That's fantastic.
What a great first gig.
When was it played in the new
theater in Tallah?
Our day civic theater in Tallah.
When was it played?
But Kevin, once you get that first
(27:31):
taste of that lottery
ticket, it's hard to...
You're always
going to be chasing it.
It's great to get that.
It was a good first hit.
I always keep an eye out for them.
I've always wanted to play a real
person, but there's no one around.
It's not believable, Rian.
You're just not believable.
They're not by that.
Yeah, no one would
(27:51):
believe Rian as a real person.
Okay, Hollywood.
Calm down.
When did you get the agent?
Did you get them after that?
Or did you...?
So I got the agent just kind of at
the end of COVID.
I started
self-submitting to agencies.
This one agent kind of reached out
to me, Melissa Mangum in
Tallah, and she's like,
(28:13):
you kind of remind me
of this friend of mine.
I was like, oh cool.
I was like, what?
Bill Burr?
I give off Bill Burr vibes.
She's like, no,
he's a friend of mine.
She's like, no, Gary Busey.
Close.
(28:33):
More like Gary Busey.
Sorry, guys.
Because I haven't even gone to her.
I go, are you looking at the right
headshot sheet that said, I see
like skateboarder in
you.
I'm like, I see this, which was
really good lesson to be honest.
It doesn't matter
how you see yourself.
It's how the industry sees you.
(28:53):
That is of more importance.
Because you can go, I'm the
romantic lead, but if the industry
doesn't see you as a romantic
lead, okay, you're
not going to get them.
So like, it is an interesting...
It's great to get someone's idea of
what roles they see you in because
it's very helpful
because we can't
see that ourselves.
Yeah, because I
literally had this checker.
(29:13):
I was like, I'm Kevin.
Are you looking at
the same headshot?
Like I honestly,
she's, yeah, I see it.
You're a ball guy,
red beard, whatever.
And I was like, okay, I guess we're
on the same page.
Because if you sign
me, that's on you.
So I've been working with them
since and I've been just steady
(29:35):
auditioning a lot.
I've been taking it like, this
audition's a win.
That callback's a big win.
And I have the bar that keeps me
tipping away and I
make my money there.
And then just before Christmas, I
got a Verizon print ad.
(29:57):
Before that, I've
gotten a couple of print ads.
They're great.
You just go, you don't
even have to learn lines.
You're just walking around.
No, I'm just saying, it
sounds like you're doing it.
You have a great look
as well, I will say.
There's a touch of DSJ about them.
DSJ is a teacher and a
great actor at Leslie Khan.
It's actually sometimes helpful to
see other actors your type because
(30:18):
you could see what
they do and also because they're
similar categories.
But I will say you also have a
Kevin Kline thing going on.
Oh, really?
Obviously a more
physical Kevin Kline.
But I see that.
Thank you.
I'll take that.
I do have to ask this parallel, but
we talk about this a lot, this
parallel between athletes
and actors.
(30:39):
I think there's a lot of
commonalities between the two.
Can you kind of talk about how that
experience as a professional
athlete kind of helped you
in this crazy world as an actor?
He comes coming with
the good ones, man.
He's the Barbara
Walters of this podcast.
No, it's a really good question.
(31:00):
There is, I mean, every acting
teacher I've ever spoken to, I'm
told about my sports background
and they're all like athletes make
really good actors.
I think there's the discipline,
obviously, kind of like in
training, the amount of mundane
stuff we do over and over again,
(31:22):
like touches, like in football, I
can take free kicks.
I would take free kicks a lot or
corner kicks or just
touches of the ball.
We do that over and over.
And I think acting sometimes you
need to do those things over and
over and you remind
yourself about certain stuff.
I also think the travels a big one.
I got to meet people
from all walks of life.
(31:42):
I hope it makes me like, you know,
Howard would say this,
and I think he got this from
OODA.
It's like at the end of your career
as an actor, you should be the most
empathetic person
because you've met or you've played
these people from
all walks of life.
I think, you know, that's the goal.
And I think, you know, I think I'm
naturally empathetic, you know,
(32:05):
catch me on a bad night
at the bar and I'm not like, and
you're being an asshole, I'm going
to rip you to shreds.
But like, I'll probably feel bad
about it tomorrow.
You know, I'm like, I probably
should have gone easier
than that guy last night.
You know, but I think like with the
sports and, you know, and how it
ties into acting,
I think it's, it's
literally just like grit.
(32:26):
Also you imagine
going down to the lake.
I played soccer in the west of
Ireland in December and it's
fucking Baltic and there's
rain pelting and like, I remember
asking like we get hail stones and
it's a smack into the
back of your legs and
I'm like, take me off.
And he's like, fucking stay on your
(32:47):
score to like stay on.
And I'm like, this game's shite.
I have no problem, you know, doing
something crazy or going to some
weird depths or throwing
myself in a river for a shot, you
know, and I think it's also team.
It's the team stuff.
Like I think a lot of actors forget
that this is such a big team job.
(33:09):
Like it's a huge team job.
You know, there's just so many
facets to this business that have
all you have to do is come,
you know, do your job, be cool, see
what you got, you know?
And I think the sports have really
helped me that it's perseverance.
It's like, I hate to use the crazy
sports, but you're down to nil, you
know, and there's
(33:29):
like 20 minutes left and everyone's
injured or you got
to, you're down a man.
It's like, all right, what can you
do to bring to this?
How can you win this match?
And I think like in acting, it's
kind of like that a lot of the time
because, you know,
I've done short films where we're
(33:50):
fucking changing in a toilet.
That's you know, and I'm like this
and I'm like, this
is nothing, dude.
This is nothing.
I really love that.
Grid is a lot of it and that's
exactly what it was
popping into my mind.
Yeah, it's very inspirational to
hear that and to hear, to hear you
bring in that sports
background into it.
Yeah, listen, I don't think at the
time when I was that 12, 13 year
(34:11):
old in the west of
Ireland playing a shitty football
match, like that I'm going to use
this, but I had some
formative experiences and I've had
a million failures.
I've also had a very
privileged, blessed life.
Like I have a
wonderful family, both sides.
I have great in-laws.
My own family, they're all
supportive, mass.
Like they've all kind of did like,
(34:31):
they just kind of think of me as
like the guy, you know,
whatever Kevin, he's really grand.
Like, you know, he'd fall into a
pile of shit, come out smelling
like roses kind of guy.
You know, whatever sort of fodder I
can use to bring to a character.
I want that series regular.
I want a movie.
I'm putting up a play at the end of
(34:52):
July, middle of July and
that has been something
that has been on my back for years
that has just been chasing me.
I'm finally getting to do it with
the help of a bunch of friends of
mine, Steve Bridgewater
and Steve Chivers.
You're producing.
I'm producing and acting.
Yeah, like laying
out there promoting.
Oh, okay. Well, it's a play
called The Irish Curse.
(35:12):
This is the 2.0, the
diverse curse version.
It's about, it's a
play by Martin Casella.
It originally came out in New York
probably like 2005.
I think they did an
off-Broadway version of it.
And it's a story about five guys
led by a priest, Catholic priest
(35:34):
that meet in a church
basement and it's a support group
for guys with small dicks.
So there you go.
I had reached out to me and I was
like, dude, you guys, like, I don't
know what you, I know
you're busy.
This is, but if you want to do a
(35:54):
play, I think you guys
have killed this role.
But it's all, it's all
takes place in one night.
It's instigated with this Irish
kid, literal Irish kid comes in off
the street and he's
looking for answers and he needs
the answers right now.
I won't tell you the whole thing,
but he needs the answers right now.
So he instigates a whole night of
(36:14):
truth telling from these guys
because beforehand they had
been just telling dick jokes and
talking shit and not really getting
to the nitty gritty
of what it is like to be a man with
a small appendage, you know, and
like what that brings.
So there's a lot of dick jokes, but
it's very poignant.
You know, you know, it's, it's
(36:35):
actually a nice play.
So what kind of goes
into producing a play?
Well, I have a partner, amazing
partner, Steve Bridgewater.
We used to, when my first job out
here was at a pub
called Sonny McLean's.
Oh yeah.
Oh, I remember that place.
I met Steve and he was an actor,
but he's been out here for years
before me and he came
(36:57):
up to me like maybe I haven't
worked with him and I'm worked in a
new spot and he came
in and he's like, Kev,
I got to do something.
I got to get back
in the acting game.
I'm starting to do classes again.
That's what I came out here for.
And what can I do?
And I was like, and he was like, I
think I want to do a play.
And I said, dude, I have this play
that has been the monkey
on my back fricking ages.
(37:19):
Like it has been tear like it just
won't, I can't escape it.
And I gave him the copy
and he calls me today.
He says, let's do this.
We can do this.
We can put this up.
And we're like, we're
paying for it ourselves.
We're you know, and then we did
like a little go fund me and we're
getting a few bucks from
that.
We found a really good director
who's actually an actor as well.
(37:39):
That's in that's directed theater
in LA before named Steve Chivers.
And then I started running around
looking at all the theaters.
We booked the broad water.
I don't know if you know the broad
were up there in Santa Monica.
Like yeah, like I
said, we did castings.
I think we got some
great people to come in.
The biggest panic we've been having
(37:59):
is the do we, how do
you get an understudy?
Like God forbid someone books a big
role, you know, and it's like, do
we, can we afford
understudy?
But it's been really tough.
That's, that's what I worry about
the most right now.
It's like, cause we have some
really good actors lined up and God
forbid, like, you
know, it'd be our luck that Martin
(38:20):
Scorsese calls our lead
Kieran and like one of our
guys and he's like, I need you.
I need you frigging tomorrow.
And it's like, I get it.
You know what I mean?
But how do you ensure your
production for that?
You know, so, you know,
trying to publicize it.
Are we going to do a
fundraiser at the pubs?
We work.
It's all this stuff.
It's nonstop, like ridiculous.
(38:42):
If you can come up with a question
for fucking producing a play, it's
probably like, okay,
it'll take you 10 days to figure
out that stupid question.
You know, it's like it going back
and forth because
we're also, we work.
So this is doing, we're doing this
part time and we're not making, I
hope, I'm not planning
to make money from this.
I'd love to break even, but this is
(39:04):
a passion project.
I literally have to get this play
out of my system so I
can move on with my life.
I really feel like that.
That's exciting.
Yeah.
So we'll see.
We'll see how it comes out.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Amazing.
And you want me to
give you a hidden gem?
If you have one, if you haven't,
can I show you this?
Oh, I love that.
I met a photographer and he took,
(39:26):
he's obsessed with burgers and he
took a photo of a burger.
And this is my wife's favorite
burger in LA at Carnie's.
Carnie's is the railroad.
It looks like an old
railway caught up on sunset.
The photographer's name is Jeff
Vespa, V-E-S-P-A.
He's worked on everything,
editorial,
headshots, all the stuff.
If you go on his Instagram, he's
(39:46):
got like, he's shot like everyone.
He's got a great
shot of Paul Giamatti.
That's like one of the
best things I've ever seen.
I got this present
for her recently.
So that's cool.
That's amazing.
It's like an old portrait.
It's like an old portrait.
He took it like on
this old school camera.
That's like, it's probably the
side, like the frame is the size of
the actual frame.
That's why you
(40:06):
can't do it any smaller.
And it's like an old Polaroid.
And he did all these
burgers all over LA.
He did a series of burgers and he
does portraits of actors and he's
done like, you know, he's
a professional photographer.
I just happened to meet him working
on something and I saw the burgers
and he did like steaks
as well.
(40:27):
And I was like,
that's freaking cool.
My wife loves burgers.
So that was, I got that recently.
I love that.
Dude, this was a blast.
This was great.
Thanks for doing this.
This is great.
I appreciate it, man.
Thank you.
This is awesome.
Like I don't get to do these
conversations much about our world.
So I hope to see you guys soon.
I really appreciate it.
Absolutely.
(40:48):
Absolutely.
There was a stage there where my
football career was over and I'm
telling my father,
I was like, yeah, I think I'm going
to give football a quit and I'm
going to do something
more realistic like acting.
Yeah.
He's just like,
okay, yeah, whatever.
Call me when you need money.
And then I'd be going into school
and I wouldn't go to classes and
they'd walk by the library
(00:20):
and I'm sitting there watching like
Nosferatu on TV and they're like,
what are you doing?
Hey everyone.
Welcome to the actor's guide to the
other world podcast
where we talk about acting in
Hollywood and white people
understand I'm your host E-Kan Soong
and this is Rían Sheehy Kelly
What's happening?
We have new episodes every Monday
wherever you find your podcasts at
(00:41):
actor's guide podcast.
We have video on YouTube.
We have video on sub stack.
Leave a review, leave a like really
helps the podcast and
our sense of self-esteem as
always and that can
always use a boost.
We have a friend of the podcast,
another great
conversation this week.
(01:02):
We have Kevin Walsh.
We talk about him being a
professional footballer for all the
Americans out there, that soccer
and his journey to
becoming an actor.
What it was like to secretly dream
about being an actor yet traveling
all around the world
as a professional footballer.
Great stories, him immersing
(01:22):
himself in the acting community in
LA, the grind, the hustle.
We also talk about the parallels
between being a professional
athlete and being an actor
and how they correspond to each
other and why professional athletes
often make really
great actors.
This was recorded a
couple months ago.
He talks about his latest venture,
which is producing a play.
(01:43):
It's actually finishing its run in
LA and selling out crowds.
So great congratulations to him,
but he talks about
producing a play in LA.
This is Kevin Walsh, a fellow
actor, hustler, raconteur.
Irish American.
Oh, Irish American.
Yes.
Thank you.
We had a great time.
(02:04):
So sit back and enjoy this
conversation with Kevin Walsh.
I hadn't really got into it more so
and I'd just done local
theater and then short films
was I was college and
I was a soccer player.
I was really just pushing that and
then the body gave up on me and I
was just like, "Okay,
(02:24):
I'm 24, 25 now."
I was like, "All right, let's
settle down and do something."
I ended up getting a job in a bar
in New York and I
always loved New York.
I used to visit a lot.
So I ended up there and I never
really did any classes, but I was
always around the theater
scene trying to go to shows and no
(02:44):
one in a New York Irish
bar, I know it's New York
and everyone's like, but no one I
worked with, I was like, "Hey,
lads, there's an off-Broadway
version of Sweeney Todd that's on
downtown on
Tuesday at four o'clock.
You want to go?"
And everyone's like, "Fuck off.
I'm not going to that with you."
(03:05):
So I didn't have a lot there, but
when I ended up moving
to LA long story short, I
signed up with Howard Fine here.
So I did his foundation and then I
just got into the scene
study and I was in there for
a couple years again, maybe two or
three years until we
(03:26):
moved back to New York again.
I didn't know the football thing.
Football was my main thing.
I played all
through secondary school.
I was on the Irish schools team.
I played with Goll United and then
I'd always had this fantasy going
back to America after
we...
Because I left
Boston when I was 10.
(03:48):
So I tell you this, I was born in
Boston, raised in
Ireland, so I sound Canadian.
It's just, that's
how my accent came out.
Oh.
Yeah.
That's how it works.
This is the blend.
I ham it up probably more when I'm
talking to the Irish and then
Boston is, to be honest,
one of the funniest accents I've
(04:09):
ever heard in my life.
I love that accent.
So it's a great accent.
But yeah, so when I moved back to
go to college, I got a scholarship
at the University of Memphis
in Tennessee.
Randomly, there was a bunch of
Irish guys down there.
We're freaking everywhere.
And I ended up there.
And then I went to
Iceland for a while.
(04:29):
I played some pro there.
And then the country went tits up.
They were like the first nation to,
after the crash, to
kind of buy a bankruptcy.
And I was like, "I
got to get out of here."
They were offering to pay me in
freaking frozen chickens from some
local grocery store.
I was like, "This is a disaster.
Let me get out."
Beautiful country.
Beautiful country.
(04:50):
But I was like, "I'm out."
And then...
Gorgeous place.
Gorgeous place.
I was traveling a little bit,
trying to play football everywhere.
I went back home, but I was just
like, "I'm done."
And then that's when
I went to New York.
I don't know too many people who
were kind of gone down the path of
an actual career,
a soccer career.
So I'm always...
And I kind of grew
up around soccer.
(05:11):
My dad's a sports journalist, so I
grew up around League of
Ireland and around a lot
of soccer.
That was really impressive to me.
I was like, "Oh, shit.
Cool."
When you were doing that, was
acting ever something
that crossed your mind?
Or was it...
I think I was one of
these closeted actors.
I would always...
I always kind of was drawn to the
(05:32):
arts, especially
acting, watching movies.
I did a year of college in NUI
Galway before I went to Memphis.
And I lived with all
lads that played football.
We're all in the
Galway United ranks.
One of my closest friends, Alan
Murphy, he's one of the top Galway
United players of all
time in League of Ireland.
(05:54):
I'd be living with them and we
would just train them every day.
And then I'd be going into school
and I wouldn't go to classes.
And they'd walk by the library and
I'm sitting there
watching Nosferatu on TV.
And they're like,
"What are you doing?"
I'm like, "Nosferatu?
I'm not sure.
It's a great film."
They're like, "Whatever.
Dude, I don't want you to tell.
(06:15):
I'll see you training."
So I think there was
always that thing about me.
There was a stage there where my
football career was over and I'm
telling my father,
I was like, "Yeah, I think I'm
going to give football a quit and
I'm going to do something
more realistic like acting."
Yeah.
He's just like,
"Okay, yeah, whatever.
Call me when you need money."
(06:36):
Two notoriously stable career
choices, football and acting.
Crazy.
Crazy.
So what was the
first acting you did?
What was the first?
Actually, the first
ever memory of acting.
Ika might know more about this.
Do you remember
Family Matters, Ika?
(06:57):
Do you remember Urkel?
Yeah.
So back in the day,
I sent in a video.
They were doing an episode where
you would do your
impression of Urkel.
And I remember my aunt going,
"Kevin, you do the greatest Urkel.
Let's send in a tape or whatever."
(07:17):
And I did my Urkel.
Now flash forward, I forget about
it years later, I'm going
through old episodes and
I see the episode and it's an
episode where Urkel marries someone
else and they have all
these kids.
And the kids that won the contest
come on the stage and they do their
Urkel in the episode.
(07:38):
It was like a dream sequence.
And there was like
one little white girl.
And the joke was, and she did an
amazing Urkel and the joke was, "Oh
yeah, she's adopted."
Like that.
And I was like, "Oh, I
sent in a tape for that."
I remember my aunt taping me doing
my Urkel impression.
(08:00):
And even when I was in school, my
mom put me into a couple of little
small classes here
and there.
And I think I was
on stage one time.
We did like an end of week kind of
summer camp thing.
I got my first laugh and I think
the bug always was there.
This was always back there.
And then...
Yeah.
Wait, sorry, hold up.
(08:20):
Just for the timeline, that whole
Urkel thing was when
you were in Boston?
Yeah, so that probably was like
92-ish, I'm sure.
So you were super young.
Yeah, I was a baby.
That's kind of like one of my
earliest memories of kind of
catching that bug and like doing
impressions for people.
(08:41):
I think I was always the kid that
made people laugh or did something,
looking for attention.
Probably why I stuck at football as
long as I did, I was like, "I don't
get the psychology
of it.
I haven't dug into it too much."
It's more rare.
Yeah.
Then when I ended up in Memphis, I
met a friend of
mine, Wahid Al-Qasmi.
(09:02):
He's a producer, writer, director.
He actually shot a great film
during the pandemic.
And I think we just got to...
We met...
He was doing a casting for Irish
gangsters in a film in Memphis.
And I said to my buddies, again,
(09:23):
like closeted actor, I was like,
"Lads, I want to go down
and see what this film's about.
I'm just going to go
down and have a look."
And I did the audition.
I got it.
And I was like this stereotypical
Irish sidekick mobster.
No training, nothing.
The movie never
saw the light of day.
(09:43):
But we got together
and we became friends.
I've known him for years now.
We're really good friends.
We started writing things together.
And I think that's
when it really stuck.
I was like, "All right, this guy
gets what I'm talking about.
I need to meet
more people like him."
And honestly, throughout my whole
life, I think I've
struggled with that.
It's like immersing myself in the
(10:05):
artist community, especially the
acting community when you come
from worlds that
don't really get out.
You guys probably
all dealt with it.
Your family's all...
Your dad's a
mathematician, right, or something?
Yeah, you really pay
attention well, Kevin.
You pay attention...
Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm a fan.
I'm a fan.
(10:26):
The fact that you guys sent in an
audition tape before you
were age 10, that's so...
I got into performing
and stuff so much later.
So I feel like that really was in
your bones at a young age.
The fact that you were already
doing something a little against
the grain as a professional
(10:46):
athlete, that sounds almost like a
parallel move where it's just as
crazy and intense
as athletics going into acting.
So that makes sense.
Definitely.
Yeah.
Was there a moment that you went,
"Oh, I could actually do this as a
job or as a mom"?
I still...
What am I doing?
(11:07):
I have a baby.
I'm working in a pub at night
trying to make the bills and
auditioning for non-union jobs
that are just paying crap.
But it's like, "All right, today,
that's an extra..."
I still struggle with that.
I still struggle
with that every day.
I don't know what is wrong in my
(11:28):
head that doesn't tell me just,
"You have a college
degree.
You're pretty affable.
You can get a job at anything.
What are you doing?"
And half the time,
I'm like, "I don't know.
I can't escape it."
So I think I have some sort of
deniability in me that I'm like,
(11:50):
"No, I can sit in a
room and I don't care if it's..."
Whoever, I'm going to
say the craziest names.
If it's Al Pacino, if it's Bradley
Cooper, if it's Killian Murphy.
I have no problem sitting in the
room with these people.
I have no problem.
I'll be in all this in a way, like,
(12:10):
"Oh, these guys are amazing.
They're pretty..."
But I'm not shy about that.
I think I can sit in the room with
them and do my thing.
That's a weird confidence that
comes from somewhere.
I don't think I'm very cocky.
You don't come
across as very cocky.
That's one of the
things in my head.
I was like, "Oh, okay.
(12:33):
I've been on sets a million times,
even working in production.
I was a PA a lot."
I knew if I got in the room and
someone goes, "Oh, yeah, Walsh can
do that scene," I would
be able to step up.
That's what I'm holding onto.
(12:54):
I don't know if that makes sense.
No, no.
That absolutely makes sense.
It makes sense, but just knowing
you a little bit to who you are,
that totally makes sense.
I think that's a really
valuable trait to have.
I know what you mean.
I have something similar.
I don't know where it came from.
It's great to hear that.
(13:15):
I think it stands to you.
You can go into a room and be...
We talked about this before about
just the idea of being starstruck.
I typically don't get starstruck.
Comedians will do it to me because
there's something about funny
people that is very
intimidating.
I'm like, "Oh my
God, they're so funny."
And footballers.
Footballers.
They're the two areas.
(13:35):
Yeah, I'll get a little bit of
starstruck around footballers
because it's a different
realm.
Just as you traveled, you never
really felt that you had a
community of artists around
you or a community of
filmmakers, of actors.
And I think that kind of makes
sense that you kind of also had
this innate sense of
(13:56):
self and confidence.
Did you always know that you were
going to go to acting?
Did you always have that so
strongly in you that you were like,
"I could do this life
for the rest of my life."
Yeah. Yeah, I think it's interesting.
It's such a good question, Yukon,
because I asked
that still of myself.
(14:17):
It's like, "Oh, well, it's hard.
This is a good one."
I don't know if it's the
background I come from.
I'm sure it's all
of our backgrounds.
I come from a very blue collar
Irish working class, Irish Catholic
working class family.
My father was a carpenter.
Now he does.
He still does.
We have a farm in
the west of Ireland.
My mother was a homemaker.
(14:37):
She took care of four kids.
I don't know what draws me to this
world, this acting world, other
than when I sit down
with someone like Rian, we had
coffee a couple weeks ago, and we
talk about acting.
It's the most complete
I feel in conversation.
(14:58):
If I listen to your guys' podcast
and you mention something that
probably only acting
people would know, I
get that and I perk up.
That's what I'm drawn to.
I probably didn't answer your
question, but I just don't know how
(15:20):
to explain this necessity
to do this job.
I'm working at it every day.
I got an agent just at the end of
the pandemic and
they've really championed me.
They did a great job.
I get a lot of cop auditions.
(15:41):
There's a lot of cop shows.
That's not bad.
There's a lot of cop shows.
Bald skinhead.
You want me to be a cop, you want
me to be racist cop, you want me to
be ambulance driver,
you want me to be whatever.
I'm down.
Put me in, coach.
No, dude.
No, it's a wrong or a top. I'm down to pay the
bills at this job.
(16:02):
You did a role like
that recently, didn't you?
I did.
I had a criminal minds episode this
past year, which got me,
it was two or three lines.
I was in at 9.30.
I was out the door by 12.30.
It was an amazing experience just
to see how that machine works.
(16:23):
Everyone on set, they
were fucking cool as shit.
They were on the ball.
You could tell they just want
someone nice to work with because I
know in these shows
they probably bring in characters
or big actors that are just doing a
day role here or whatever.
They were so
fucking cool to me, man.
And I was like, thanks guys.
(16:43):
It was just, it was a great day.
That's another thing I get a lot of
energy from Econ.
I worked in
production during the pandemic.
I would do PA jobs.
I would do whatever I could.
Just to stay on set
and not be in the bar.
I was like the COVID guy for a
while, like the hall
monitor that everyone hated.
(17:05):
But I did my best to just meet
people from all these departments.
But I met some great people.
The production experience, that's
actually kind of hard to break into
if you don't know
people who work into production.
Is that your first
experience on show?
I have been on, as far as LA, yeah,
(17:26):
my friend, he is a production
company and he goes, dude,
if you need a job, I was like,
dude, I'm trying to do something
other than bar work part time
and I want to get on set.
I don't know how to do this
auditioning at the time.
I didn't have an agent or whatever.
And he goes, oh, I'll
give you a couple of days.
We're shooting a
commercial next week.
You want to come?
(17:46):
I was like, yeah.
And I became the PA and to be
honest, I loved it because it's
similar to bar work where
you're like, I
call the bar my stage.
I am just back and forth, like,
what do you need?
What do you need?
Do you want this?
What is it?
Shut up, sit down, next round.
(18:08):
And I found the PA work
exhilarating, long days, but I
never came home tired.
Like I never came home tired and I
knew I wanted to be on set more.
I even thought like
maybe I'll go to AD routes.
I had a lot of ADs come up to me
and I was like, hey,
I need you to second.
Can you do this?
Can you keep PA?
(18:28):
Can you manage the?
So they would come to me to
different departments.
And I think it was because also I
was like an older PA on set, you
know, a bit more maturity.
So it gave me like a great, because
I hear you guys talk sometimes
about the technical
stuff that's behind set and being
(18:49):
on set now I'm learning
it like I'm learning it.
And I think it's so
advantageous to an actor on set.
If they hear the AD go, hey, we're
flipping this or and
they're like, oh yeah, cool.
I'll step over here.
And you know the lingo and you can
kind of, I mean, I think
that's the role of an actor
is like, yeah, we're kind of, you
(19:11):
know, we're in we can speak every
sort of language to
an appoints like,
you know, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
I think that's really important to
know other people's jobs and but
also to understand your
own job and not get in the way, not
getting the way but also like,
don't try and do other
people's jobs too.
And it may be it's different if you
(19:32):
know production well, it might be
harder to not get involved
in other people because I'll find
myself trying to take care of
continuity and all
these other things that are like,
not really my business.
You know what I mean?
I'm like, I've had to a number of
times go shut the
fuck up and just do it.
Yeah, you be careful.
I have one.
I was I did a short film.
There was the day we had guns and I
(19:52):
was playing a Boston gangster.
And the guy comes in.
And this guy looks like he used to
party with Jeff
Bridges back in the day.
He's got the ponytail.
He's got like the raspy voice.
Knuckles are all busted in.
He was a stuntman,
like did all the stuff.
And he handed me the gun.
(20:12):
And I hadn't had proper on like
onset training with the gun in the
sense that no, it was
a dud.
It was there was nothing.
It was a fake gun.
They weren't really using it.
I had said something to the other
actor like, do you want to check
the gun or whatever like
that?
And he goes, I already did that.
I've been doing this
for 30 something years.
(20:33):
And I go, you know what, man,
you're 100 percent right.
I'm the rookie here.
Apologies.
I'm going to refer to you anymore.
My bad.
He's like, OK, cool.
And like them, we were great.
But I had to take
the lick in there.
And then like and I was like, you
know, that was a
stupid fucking move.
You know, I didn't
want to undermine him.
(20:53):
Not at all.
Not at all.
I felt nervous in myself.
Well, in that particular case,
you're 100 percent in the right.
OK, good.
Well, fuck that guy.
He's he's absolutely 100 percent in
the wrong there because I've worked
on a number of productions
with guns. And the thing is, like
an armor or somebody will go around
(21:14):
and everybody who
wants to check the gun is free to
check the gun because you're even
if it's not real,
even if it's a dummy or a prop gun
that doesn't that's a not that's a
non firing pistol.
Everybody who wants to check that
can check it because
you're dealing with a matter of
safety.
They recently did a job in Ireland
where it was guns and
they were non firing guns.
But there was still an armor on
set, even though those guns were
(21:35):
like it was impossible
for them to fire.
But everybody checked them.
They took you know,
they were given possession.
The armor would give them to you
and take them back.
You are a whole good just just to
put your mind at rest.
Yeah, he he should never go.
I've already checked it.
OK, dude, that's great.
But I also because we're dealing
with a weapon here, anybody who
wants to check it can check
(21:56):
it. So don't.
And this is pre like the last
couple of years, too.
So I was like, was
there armor on set?
He he was the he was the armor
slash friggin I see.
Oh, well, I see.
He's just not very good at his job.
So before us before us, so the
(22:17):
times have changed.
Yeah.
So that's it.
Trust me.
Kevin, I have to say the fact that
you got on set and
because a lot of actors starting
background work, the great
experience being a PA that means to
be honest, that's probably
a lot better than
background for sure.
Signing up for a lot of the
background things, background work
(22:37):
like everyone knows it's boring.
Like it's a long
days like it's rough.
And at least when I was playing, I
felt like I was busy.
I was running around.
I was doing stupid pop ups.
I was tired, whatever.
But like I felt like that day, like
I had to cheat because I
would talk to different
departments and like always like
(22:59):
talking to the art guy.
Love the art team.
Always love talking to our team
because they were like they're
creating crazy stuff and
they are working crazy
hours before and after set.
And those guys, the grip and the
electric, they were just
like every uncle and cousin
I have back in Boston working
construction and they're like just
(23:19):
dying to get off work,
hit the lights, knew their shit
like very intricate detail.
Guys knew their shit but they're
like I'm ready to get a beer.
Those guys and camera department
were always like off in the corner
on lunch break playing
magic.
Like I'd learn about these card
games like this crazy shit.
(23:41):
You know, it's just so many people.
I think that's also like what
attracted, like why I've been in
bartenders so long.
You just meet different people and
when you put them all
in one room, it's insane.
Yeah, it's a big family.
Yeah, that's fascinating.
So what was your
first professional job?
When was the first
time you got paid to act?
Oh, I got the first big job.
(24:02):
It was actually a Chevy commercial.
So which was money.
It was killer.
Do you remember when Chevy were
doing the real people commercials?
So I had like happened to buy a, me
and my wife, we got a Chevy.
I still have the
bad boy out the front.
Chevy Equinox.
(24:23):
Shout out to Chevy,
little hidden gem there.
It's an American brand of car.
And my friend of a friend was like
casting assistant to this cast and
she's like, "Didn't
you guys just get a Chevy?"
And I was like, "Yeah, yeah."
She goes, "I'm casting this thing.
I'm going to put you on tape."
I go, "Let's do it.
Like whatever.
I'll throw anything at
the wall at this stage."
And I just did like a
(24:44):
little bit outside my car.
And a couple of weeks later I get
called and they're like, "Yeah,
listen, you're going
to come in.
We're going to do like an interview
style and just do like
a talk for 20 minutes."
And I was like, "And
then we'll see after that."
So this is what I thought was like,
"Oh, this is the callback."
I drive out to Santa Clarita.
(25:06):
I get to this big ranch, which I
now know is the Disney
Ranch or one of the probably
billions that they own.
I plant the ranch and I go over to
a park and the guy goes
there and I go over and then
I turn around and there's the
second AD, Frankie, and I love her
because I remember this girl's
name to this day.
And she goes, "Hi."
(25:26):
And I go, "What's
going on here, Frankie?
I see a million trucks.
I see crew.
I see pop-ups.
I see everything."
I go, "What's going on here?"
And she goes, "This
is the commercial.
You're in it."
And I go, "What?"
And she goes, "You're in the spot."
(25:47):
And I go, "Holy crap."
That day we drove around.
I think I did a
couple of bits to camera.
At one stage they mounted the
camera on the front of the car and
I drove through the ranch,
you know, the whole thing.
And it-
Your own car?
(26:08):
My car, they had bought everyone's
car version of their car, but my
car was filthy, so they
didn't have time to
run into the wash.
So they put me in their car and I'm
driving around and I
think my one line to cameras
was like, "NSUVs."
Dude, that line,
that money came in.
(26:29):
I had gone to Paris with my wife
for a big romantic vacation.
We dined out like crazy.
And that was the first one.
And I remember my friend tell me,
he's like, "Don't go crazy on that
money because it cuts
off right away."
But it ran during the World Series
(26:49):
finals, so I got paid across the
country basically.
So I was getting
checks every other week.
Now, in the grand scheme of things,
I'm sure people got paid a
lot more for commercials,
but this is my first job and I'm
like, "Yeah, I'll do this forever."
That's also the power of the one
shot, the one commercial that runs,
(27:10):
and that's the beauty
of it.
Yeah, you know that well.
I mean, Ikan does a
lot of commercials.
You know the power of
the national commercial.
That's fantastic.
What a great first gig.
When was it played in the new
theater in Tallah?
Our day civic theater in Tallah.
When was it played?
But Kevin, once you get that first
(27:31):
taste of that lottery
ticket, it's hard to...
You're always
going to be chasing it.
It's great to get that.
It was a good first hit.
I always keep an eye out for them.
I've always wanted to play a real
person, but there's no one around.
It's not believable, Rian.
You're just not believable.
They're not by that.
Yeah, no one would
(27:51):
believe Rian as a real person.
Okay, Hollywood.
Calm down.
When did you get the agent?
Did you get them after that?
Or did you...?
So I got the agent just kind of at
the end of COVID.
I started
self-submitting to agencies.
This one agent kind of reached out
to me, Melissa Mangum in
Tallah, and she's like,
(28:13):
you kind of remind me
of this friend of mine.
I was like, oh cool.
I was like, what?
Bill Burr?
I give off Bill Burr vibes.
She's like, no,
he's a friend of mine.
She's like, no, Gary Busey.
Close.
(28:33):
More like Gary Busey.
Sorry, guys.
Because I haven't even gone to her.
I go, are you looking at the right
headshot sheet that said, I see
like skateboarder in
you.
I'm like, I see this, which was
really good lesson to be honest.
It doesn't matter
how you see yourself.
It's how the industry sees you.
(28:53):
That is of more importance.
Because you can go, I'm the
romantic lead, but if the industry
doesn't see you as a romantic
lead, okay, you're
not going to get them.
So like, it is an interesting...
It's great to get someone's idea of
what roles they see you in because
it's very helpful
because we can't
see that ourselves.
Yeah, because I
literally had this checker.
(29:13):
I was like, I'm Kevin.
Are you looking at
the same headshot?
Like I honestly,
she's, yeah, I see it.
You're a ball guy,
red beard, whatever.
And I was like, okay, I guess we're
on the same page.
Because if you sign
me, that's on you.
So I've been working with them
since and I've been just steady
(29:35):
auditioning a lot.
I've been taking it like, this
audition's a win.
That callback's a big win.
And I have the bar that keeps me
tipping away and I
make my money there.
And then just before Christmas, I
got a Verizon print ad.
(29:57):
Before that, I've
gotten a couple of print ads.
They're great.
You just go, you don't
even have to learn lines.
You're just walking around.
No, I'm just saying, it
sounds like you're doing it.
You have a great look
as well, I will say.
There's a touch of DSJ about them.
DSJ is a teacher and a
great actor at Leslie Khan.
It's actually sometimes helpful to
see other actors your type because
(30:18):
you could see what
they do and also because they're
similar categories.
But I will say you also have a
Kevin Kline thing going on.
Oh, really?
Obviously a more
physical Kevin Kline.
But I see that.
Thank you.
I'll take that.
I do have to ask this parallel, but
we talk about this a lot, this
parallel between athletes
and actors.
(30:39):
I think there's a lot of
commonalities between the two.
Can you kind of talk about how that
experience as a professional
athlete kind of helped you
in this crazy world as an actor?
He comes coming with
the good ones, man.
He's the Barbara
Walters of this podcast.
No, it's a really good question.
(31:00):
There is, I mean, every acting
teacher I've ever spoken to, I'm
told about my sports background
and they're all like athletes make
really good actors.
I think there's the discipline,
obviously, kind of like in
training, the amount of mundane
stuff we do over and over again,
(31:22):
like touches, like in football, I
can take free kicks.
I would take free kicks a lot or
corner kicks or just
touches of the ball.
We do that over and over.
And I think acting sometimes you
need to do those things over and
over and you remind
yourself about certain stuff.
I also think the travels a big one.
I got to meet people
from all walks of life.
(31:42):
I hope it makes me like, you know,
Howard would say this,
and I think he got this from
OODA.
It's like at the end of your career
as an actor, you should be the most
empathetic person
because you've met or you've played
these people from
all walks of life.
I think, you know, that's the goal.
And I think, you know, I think I'm
naturally empathetic, you know,
(32:05):
catch me on a bad night
at the bar and I'm not like, and
you're being an asshole, I'm going
to rip you to shreds.
But like, I'll probably feel bad
about it tomorrow.
You know, I'm like, I probably
should have gone easier
than that guy last night.
You know, but I think like with the
sports and, you know, and how it
ties into acting,
I think it's, it's
literally just like grit.
(32:26):
Also you imagine
going down to the lake.
I played soccer in the west of
Ireland in December and it's
fucking Baltic and there's
rain pelting and like, I remember
asking like we get hail stones and
it's a smack into the
back of your legs and
I'm like, take me off.
And he's like, fucking stay on your
(32:47):
score to like stay on.
And I'm like, this game's shite.
I have no problem, you know, doing
something crazy or going to some
weird depths or throwing
myself in a river for a shot, you
know, and I think it's also team.
It's the team stuff.
Like I think a lot of actors forget
that this is such a big team job.
(33:09):
Like it's a huge team job.
You know, there's just so many
facets to this business that have
all you have to do is come,
you know, do your job, be cool, see
what you got, you know?
And I think the sports have really
helped me that it's perseverance.
It's like, I hate to use the crazy
sports, but you're down to nil, you
know, and there's
(33:29):
like 20 minutes left and everyone's
injured or you got
to, you're down a man.
It's like, all right, what can you
do to bring to this?
How can you win this match?
And I think like in acting, it's
kind of like that a lot of the time
because, you know,
I've done short films where we're
(33:50):
fucking changing in a toilet.
That's you know, and I'm like this
and I'm like, this
is nothing, dude.
This is nothing.
I really love that.
Grid is a lot of it and that's
exactly what it was
popping into my mind.
Yeah, it's very inspirational to
hear that and to hear, to hear you
bring in that sports
background into it.
Yeah, listen, I don't think at the
time when I was that 12, 13 year
(34:11):
old in the west of
Ireland playing a shitty football
match, like that I'm going to use
this, but I had some
formative experiences and I've had
a million failures.
I've also had a very
privileged, blessed life.
Like I have a
wonderful family, both sides.
I have great in-laws.
My own family, they're all
supportive, mass.
Like they've all kind of did like,
(34:31):
they just kind of think of me as
like the guy, you know,
whatever Kevin, he's really grand.
Like, you know, he'd fall into a
pile of shit, come out smelling
like roses kind of guy.
You know, whatever sort of fodder I
can use to bring to a character.
I want that series regular.
I want a movie.
I'm putting up a play at the end of
(34:52):
July, middle of July and
that has been something
that has been on my back for years
that has just been chasing me.
I'm finally getting to do it with
the help of a bunch of friends of
mine, Steve Bridgewater
and Steve Chivers.
You're producing.
I'm producing and acting.
Yeah, like laying
out there promoting.
Oh, okay. Well, it's a play
called The Irish Curse.
(35:12):
This is the 2.0, the
diverse curse version.
It's about, it's a
play by Martin Casella.
It originally came out in New York
probably like 2005.
I think they did an
off-Broadway version of it.
And it's a story about five guys
led by a priest, Catholic priest
(35:34):
that meet in a church
basement and it's a support group
for guys with small dicks.
So there you go.
I had reached out to me and I was
like, dude, you guys, like, I don't
know what you, I know
you're busy.
This is, but if you want to do a
(35:54):
play, I think you guys
have killed this role.
But it's all, it's all
takes place in one night.
It's instigated with this Irish
kid, literal Irish kid comes in off
the street and he's
looking for answers and he needs
the answers right now.
I won't tell you the whole thing,
but he needs the answers right now.
So he instigates a whole night of
(36:14):
truth telling from these guys
because beforehand they had
been just telling dick jokes and
talking shit and not really getting
to the nitty gritty
of what it is like to be a man with
a small appendage, you know, and
like what that brings.
So there's a lot of dick jokes, but
it's very poignant.
You know, you know, it's, it's
(36:35):
actually a nice play.
So what kind of goes
into producing a play?
Well, I have a partner, amazing
partner, Steve Bridgewater.
We used to, when my first job out
here was at a pub
called Sonny McLean's.
Oh yeah.
Oh, I remember that place.
I met Steve and he was an actor,
but he's been out here for years
before me and he came
(36:57):
up to me like maybe I haven't
worked with him and I'm worked in a
new spot and he came
in and he's like, Kev,
I got to do something.
I got to get back
in the acting game.
I'm starting to do classes again.
That's what I came out here for.
And what can I do?
And I was like, and he was like, I
think I want to do a play.
And I said, dude, I have this play
that has been the monkey
on my back fricking ages.
(37:19):
Like it has been tear like it just
won't, I can't escape it.
And I gave him the copy
and he calls me today.
He says, let's do this.
We can do this.
We can put this up.
And we're like, we're
paying for it ourselves.
We're you know, and then we did
like a little go fund me and we're
getting a few bucks from
that.
We found a really good director
who's actually an actor as well.
(37:39):
That's in that's directed theater
in LA before named Steve Chivers.
And then I started running around
looking at all the theaters.
We booked the broad water.
I don't know if you know the broad
were up there in Santa Monica.
Like yeah, like I
said, we did castings.
I think we got some
great people to come in.
The biggest panic we've been having
(37:59):
is the do we, how do
you get an understudy?
Like God forbid someone books a big
role, you know, and it's like, do
we, can we afford
understudy?
But it's been really tough.
That's, that's what I worry about
the most right now.
It's like, cause we have some
really good actors lined up and God
forbid, like, you
know, it'd be our luck that Martin
(38:20):
Scorsese calls our lead
Kieran and like one of our
guys and he's like, I need you.
I need you frigging tomorrow.
And it's like, I get it.
You know what I mean?
But how do you ensure your
production for that?
You know, so, you know,
trying to publicize it.
Are we going to do a
fundraiser at the pubs?
We work.
It's all this stuff.
It's nonstop, like ridiculous.
(38:42):
If you can come up with a question
for fucking producing a play, it's
probably like, okay,
it'll take you 10 days to figure
out that stupid question.
You know, it's like it going back
and forth because
we're also, we work.
So this is doing, we're doing this
part time and we're not making, I
hope, I'm not planning
to make money from this.
I'd love to break even, but this is
(39:04):
a passion project.
I literally have to get this play
out of my system so I
can move on with my life.
I really feel like that.
That's exciting.
Yeah.
So we'll see.
We'll see how it comes out.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Amazing.
And you want me to
give you a hidden gem?
If you have one, if you haven't,
can I show you this?
Oh, I love that.
I met a photographer and he took,
(39:26):
he's obsessed with burgers and he
took a photo of a burger.
And this is my wife's favorite
burger in LA at Carnie's.
Carnie's is the railroad.
It looks like an old
railway caught up on sunset.
The photographer's name is Jeff
Vespa, V-E-S-P-A.
He's worked on everything,
editorial,
headshots, all the stuff.
If you go on his Instagram, he's
(39:46):
got like, he's shot like everyone.
He's got a great
shot of Paul Giamatti.
That's like one of the
best things I've ever seen.
I got this present
for her recently.
So that's cool.
That's amazing.
It's like an old portrait.
It's like an old portrait.
He took it like on
this old school camera.
That's like, it's probably the
side, like the frame is the size of
the actual frame.
That's why you
(40:06):
can't do it any smaller.
And it's like an old Polaroid.
And he did all these
burgers all over LA.
He did a series of burgers and he
does portraits of actors and he's
done like, you know, he's
a professional photographer.
I just happened to meet him working
on something and I saw the burgers
and he did like steaks
as well.
(40:27):
And I was like,
that's freaking cool.
My wife loves burgers.
So that was, I got that recently.
I love that.
Dude, this was a blast.
This was great.
Thanks for doing this.
This is great.
I appreciate it, man.
Thank you.
This is awesome.
Like I don't get to do these
conversations much about our world.
So I hope to see you guys soon.
I really appreciate it.
Absolutely.
(40:48):
Absolutely.
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