Fictional Selves: A Memoir by Kyle MacLachlan is out now!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kyle MacLachlan is here.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
New book came out on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Yes. And now here it is Friday.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
How are you feeling so far? Have you failed yet?
I fail every day. I fail every day, Elvis. Oh,
my God. At least according to my wife, I do. Yeah,
and my dogs. But no, I'm excited. I mean, this
is really, what a ride. What a crazy journey this
has been.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Let's talk about it. It's Kyle MacLachlan, Fictional Selves. And
we were talking about the cover photo. And it's actually
the left half of a torn photo is your current
day Kyle. And on the right is when you started
out in Hollywood, Kyle, it looks like. Maybe a little younger. Yeah,
close to sort of Twin Peaks era, maybe a little younger.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, we noticed one of these heads is longer than
the other. Yeah. Did you get a bigger head all
of a sudden? I've got a bigger head. Is it
a chin implant? Oh, listen, no. I should take away
from this chin, for God's sakes. Thanks to my dad.
This is, yeah, this was the idea of the publisher
and they had three ideas. And this was just, I said,
(01:03):
that's pretty straightforward, pretty simple. I said, really? And I
looked at it and I said, no, it makes the
most sense. Simplest is always the best, right?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, it's called Fictional Selves, the name of your autobiography.
So when I see you like this, old you, younger you,
in Fictional Selves, you're an actor. Actors are just liars. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Really good ones. That's what you took away from the book?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
You know, there's some truth to that. But the lies
that we tell have to come from a place of truth,
to be honest. So every character, and I speak about
a lot of characters in the book, are based on
some part of me, some reality within me, and then
whatever layers on that I come up with in the
creative process, which is the thing that I enjoy. And
(01:51):
the one thing that I can't really... tell you why
I enjoy, but I just love this process.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Well, it seems to come very natural for you. I mean,
you're talking about a nice, very, very abundant 40 year
run in Hollywood so far. But before that, as a kid,
did you find yourself acting to get your way in a,
like a narcissistic kind of way?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Interesting question.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Because I think part of it, and I talk about
it in the book is, is as you're growing up,
you know, trying to figure out who you are and
how you fit in, And that was really challenging for
me because I felt insecure and inadequate and quite fearful
most of the time growing up. And so it was
all about trying to overcome that and pretend that I
wasn't that. And when I found the theater, when I was,
(02:35):
I guess, late 14, 15, like late junior high or
just before high school, it started to make sense to me.
And I said, oh, here's a place where I can
actually I can actually go into other people, other places
and experience different things. And it's not me. So that
was exciting.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
So how many people in this room can identify with Kyle?
Because I am at 100%. That was the same kid.
Same exact thing. Gandhi, not so much, I bet.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
I'm a terrible actor. I don't think I could ever
do it. But I have so many questions for people
who can.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Right.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
Because you said that you use this as a tool
when you were younger. But do you use it as
a tool as an adult when it suits you? Like, say,
in an argument or getting a ticket.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Or right now, for instance. Talking to everybody here as
he looks around, sweating profusely. You know, the older I get,
the less I do that. And the more I'm just like, hey,
here I am.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
It's me.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You know, take it or leave it, kind of. I
like that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I have a feeling, and we were talking to Danielle
and to Nate and Gandhi about this, where here you are,
this is your career. You're 40 years in, and from
our point of view, very, very, very, very successful at
what you do. Fans of a lot of your work,
except the one that Gandhi likes the most, you may question.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I know. I know the one you're going to say.
But this is, you're not done acting, but as far
as those roles with.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Robert Redford, that's not going to happen. Right, right, right.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You know, those things that you maybe regret not doing,
but God, that wasn't me. That wasn't my path.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, you know, and it was, it could have been
in some instances more than others. I mean, I talk
about my audition experience for Top Gun, for example. That
was not going to be me.
Speaker 6 (04:19):
Who were you auditioning for?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, for Goose. Oh, wow, okay. Yeah, that would have been,
but Anthony Edwards was fantastic. He was the perfect Goose.
So it's like, you know, it always ends up where
it's supposed to end up. But the Robert Redford thing,
and I've been thinking about this recently, it's not so
much like, oh, I would have, you know, what an
amazing thing it would have done for my career. I
realized it was about the experience of working with Redford
(04:44):
as a creative force. How would that have, what would
that experience have been during the making of that movie?
How would he have changed me, made me better as
an artist, as an actor? And to spend time in
his presence. I mean, he's an icon, right? And I said,
I could have learned so much. And I realized that
is kind of where I'm like, ah. At the time, yeah,
(05:05):
you're like, oh, am I disappointed? I didn't get that.
I lost that. But it was really the loss of
what the experience could have been. And the same with Coppola.
When I talk about the Dracula experience, I said, that
would have been somebody. I mean, I'm a huge fan.
You know, Apocalypse Now is my favorite movie of all time.
And to work with that man would have been just
an extraordinary journey. That's where the miss is, I think.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
This is what's so relatable about this story, because someone
driving to work right now at a stop sign, a
red light, or in a traffic honking horn, whatever, they're thinking, well,
what did I have a near miss with in my life?
It could have been this, but it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It's this. And I'm okay with that. Yeah, and that's it.
At the end of the day, you're okay with that.
I didn't have that experience. I had other experiences. I
got to spend time with David Lynch. You know, and
we worked together many times. And that alone is worth,
I mean, you can't calculate the price on something like that.
That's your path.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And there are actors out there who would, they're like, wow,
this Kyle MacLachlan guy, what a path.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I wish I could have that path.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
I was just thinking how lucky you are to now
be in a position where you get to teach other
people all the things that you've learned. I mean, I
know you might not get to learn from some of
your icons, but you get to be that for others.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
It's happened. I've become the old guy on set. I
didn't mean it like that.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yes, you did.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Deep down, you didn't know.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
With your podcast, this is something you do really well
with What Are We Even Doing, your podcast. You're actually
sitting down with up-and-comers, people who definitely have a force
behind them already, and you're sitting there going, okay, I'm
learning from them, but They all look up to you.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
It's a crazy experience. Is that a good role? You
like that? I mean, I'm surprised by it because I
still think of myself as I'm just sort of starting out,
just beginning, just learning. And you should never stop that process. But, yeah,
I find myself in a position where they're looking to
me with kind of like, you know, what's the wisdom
of the day? And I'm like, oh, God. You know,
you feel a little bit of pressure with that. But
(06:57):
as you said before, I'm so inspired now. that's the
thing as you get older, you look for inspiration, right?
To keep going, to keep doing what you love. And
everyone that I've interviewed on the podcast, which is, I've
had four, I did 44 interviews, which is since, since
we were in before. And it was quite an experience.
And every one of them was profound, interesting, filled with joy.
(07:19):
And it's, it's that process. You know what I mean? I'm,
I know that I am sort of leading by example.
I've never been one to really sort of say, Oh,
do this because I say it's like, This is how
I've lived a life. You know what I mean? And
it's worked for me. And maybe there's something of value
in there. Well, you look like you're having a great time.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Or either you're just acting.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Kyle McLaughlin is here. Fictional Selves came out Wednesday. It's out.
This is the book you need for this weekend. You
also did the 10-hour-plus episode. Audio version. Oh, so it's
you reading it on Audible. I read it, yeah. I
love that. And I do voices too. See? So, yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:52):
When you read the book, it's so different than when
you experience it with Audible because even like Mariah Carey's book,
she sings in the Audible version. She doesn't do that
in the book.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
You know?
Speaker 6 (08:02):
I love listening to it so much better for that reason.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, people have said that. They said the Audible version
is really fun. Yeah. Is there any place in here
where you actually choked up a little bit? Yeah, there was.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Because I did.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah. When I did mine. Yeah, same thing. Yeah, you're
reading through things and I found myself speaking about situations,
and I can't recall exactly, but when you're reading it
and you're experiencing it that way, yeah, it gets you.
And you realize, oh, that's good. You know what I mean?
If it's resonating with me like that, then hopefully it'll
resonate for the audience.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (08:31):
I know you love what you do, right?
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (08:34):
But was there ever a moment where you questioned it
and said, maybe this isn't for me?
Speaker 1 (08:39):
There was one time when I was— actually auditioning for Dune,
my first ever screen test. And I'm having to do
a speech and I'm looking into the lens of the camera,
which you never do as an actor, you know, when
you're working, you never look into the lens of the camera.
And I froze and I went, I literally sort of
lost all confidence. It's like everything went full stop. Wow.
(09:02):
David was there and I turned to him and I
sort of whispered, I said, David, I don't know if
I can do this. And he just smiled and he said, hey, bud,
You're going to be great. What are you talking about?
He said, listen, happens to everybody. Give yourself a minute.
Take your time. We'll start again. No pressure. And he
just gave me these words of encouragement. And I said, okay.
(09:23):
And I took it in. And the battery started to
fill back up again. And I delivered the speech. It
went perfectly well. But that was a real moment of
you're on a precipice. You can go this way or
it can go this way. And it went. because of
David the right way. Don't look in the lens. Don't
look in the lens. The moral of the story, don't
look in the lens. Don't get out of the boat
(09:45):
and don't look at the lens. We've got rules.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Have you ever gotten so into one of the characters
that you are portraying that you've started to take on
some of their characteristics in your real life?
Speaker 1 (09:57):
There was one incident, yeah, when I was doing twin
peaks the return and i played three different characters in
that and one of the character was a psychopath true
psychopath um mr c and i could feel him really
creeping around explain that oh wow well He's a killer, basically.
(10:19):
He has no emotion whatsoever, no sensitivity, no connection with people.
And when I would come in in the morning for
the day of work as Mr. C, I would put
on the costume and go to hair and makeup, and
he would begin to seep into my body. And I
let him seep in, because that's what you gotta do.
(10:40):
And during the course of filming, When I was that character,
and I'm not a method actor. I don't carry around
and go off in a corner and emote. I like
to embrace the crew and the experience and everything. With
this guy, I was there, but I was really subdued.
I didn't talk to anybody. And I could not wait
(11:01):
to put him away at the end of the day.
Because I didn't want to bring any of that energy
home to my family. So that was the one where
I had to really make a concerted effort to sort
of say, you're staying here in my trailer, hanging up
in the closet, and I will pick you back up
again tomorrow, but you're not coming home with me. That
is fascinating.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
That's a good one to hang up also.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Yeah, it was a very good one.
Speaker 6 (11:23):
You should hang up that one when you go home,
the serial killer.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
So he's such a psycho. You know, this is where
it gets geeky. Dune, of course, was the first big one, right?
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Blue Velvet for me all the way. That will always
be one of my favorite films. And I'll tell you why.
Not that you care, but here we go.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I do care.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
It was just such a beautiful film to watch. I mean,
every little square centimeter of the frame on my, whatever,
on the screen, in the theater, or on my TV.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Was so perfect. And then.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
The mood and mode of the script was right there.
It really made me fall in love with film.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
That film. That's beautiful to hear because David, of course,
as an artist, started as a painter, of course. And
I've always felt his frames. And it's a combination of
the framing, the saturation of the color, which was true
in Dune. It's just that Dune was a story that
was impossible to follow. But it was the same thing.
It's so rich. The way he does everything is so specific.
(12:27):
I remember shooting when we did the return again, the shooting,
and he would sometimes, not a traditional process at all
where you do, you know, a wide, a medium, a
close up. He would set the camera one place, let
the scene run, maybe move it to a second position
just so he could have a cut. And that was it.
Because he knew in his head, he could see it
in his head, he knew exactly what he was going
to do. Done deal. And it's so rare. So interesting.
(12:50):
So frightening at the same time. Because you're like, we're
just going.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
To have two shots at this?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Please? What's your question?
Speaker 6 (12:57):
I heard when you were writing this book that you
kept your son Callum, who's 18, in mind. And you
were like, I want him to see that I'm not perfect.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yes, that was a big part of the motivation to
even go on this journey of writing a book. I said,
I felt like, you know, when I had a son,
I started thinking about my dad a lot. I didn't
expect that. And I said, I want to know more
about this time of his life, the time of life
(13:25):
that Callum is in right now. And I said, you
know what I can do? I can share my journey
in this book with Callum when he's interested. He's 18.
He doesn't really care. That's mad, whatever. But there will
come a time when I know he's going to want
to be, when he's going to get curious and he's
going to want to know more. And this is a
way of telling him, here's what I went through. Here's
(13:48):
the highs. Here's the lows. Here's the good behavior. Here's
the not so good behavior. But, you know, this is
your dad. That was a big part of it.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I want to get to that in a second about
opening up. Being an actor, reading off a script, and
then one day you're doing a podcast and you're doing
a book.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Yeah. It's weird.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Well, yeah, it's kind of fascinating. Okay, so Blue Velvet
was mine. What huge, wonderful... art-filled wonderment of filmmaking did
you love from Kyle MacLachlan?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Wonderment. Most important is the wonderment part. Kyle said he
thinks he knows what it is.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Well, I was assuming it might be Showgirls.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
No.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
It's not Showgirls.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Far more cinematic and amazing than that. The Flintstones.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
I freaking loved that movie when I was a little kid,
and you got to kiss Halle Berry.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
I mean, that's not so bad.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
I know.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Come on. Not so bad. Not so bad. Yeah, it
could have been John Goodman. I mean, I don't know.
That would have been a whole different movie.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
Was she the best kisser, or do you have, like,
a best kisser that you ever had on your set?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
You know, I have to be really careful with this. Why?
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Mary, man.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
No, it's time. This is part of your life. You
can open up and say it all. Come on, say it.
You want your son to hear this. Dennis Hopper.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
Hey.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I suspected.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
I know last time you were here, you did mention
that showgirls was one of your like, maybe I shouldn't
have done that if I can redo it. But you
also talk about how all of your failures have really
opened your eyes and sort of shined a light on
a different path and ways to go. So when you
think about things in those terms, what is your best
failure that taught you the most?
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Well, that's one of them, I think. Showgirls? Yeah, just
because Dune was tricky because it taught me that you
can survive that. Because I did that and then I
was kind of, there were no opportunities once Dune came
out for me until David came back and Blue Velvet
became a reality. When I look back years later, I'm like,
I survived that just out of kind of, sort of naivete, actually.
(15:34):
I just felt like, oh, I can still do it.
I was young and I said, I can still make
this happen. But there were dark, dark days after that.
When I said, I don't know if this is really
for me. I don't know if I can make this
work until Blue Velvet. And the experience of working on
Blue Velvet was so special. The magic of the intimacy
of working together with Laura Dern and Isabella, you know, Dennis.
(15:54):
I mean, it was like, this is why I love acting.
It's like, it's this camaraderie. It's the relationships that we
create in front of the camera. And with David at
the helm, it made everything just so special. I said, no, no, no.
I got to make this work. I got to make
this work.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
So.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
That was some early difficulties. And there you are. It
is such a beautiful thing.
Speaker 6 (16:15):
I could, like, listen to him talk all day.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And that's when he first tongue-kissed Dennis Hopper. Ah, there
you go. Now the secret's out.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Can we get back to his bad behavior?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Yeah, well, you did say, and I'm quoting you, some
of the behavior... that was not necessarily me at my best,
is talked about in this book.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Is that what you're talking about?
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Gandhi always goes for this. Yeah, yeah. No, no. It's
part of it. And it was an important part of
doing this. I said, this is not going to all
be just, you know, look at me. It's all glossy
and perfect. I said, if you're doing a memoir, you've
got to talk about the darker times. Was it illegal?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
No, no.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
It was never like that. It was just bad behavior.
Was it like a diva behavior? Yeah, treating people not well. Really? Yeah, relationships. Wow,
I'm so glad you're not doing that now.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
The day is young. The interview is young. No, no,
it was just, it was selfish behavior. And, you know,
I was young. Did you apologize? Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yeah. It was not good. I was really, it was
not a good time. Not a good time for me. But,
you know, time does heal, you know, and in this
particular instance, in a relationship, because the person that I was,
that I mistreated was so special. We have found a
way back to friendship. And so that was very important.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
You see, here's what's going on. And I wanted to
bring this up. Starting with the podcast, we got to
learn a lot about you. Now with this, we get
to know a lot about you.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
And you know, in the older.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Days of Hollywood, actors would never, ever let you into
their lives. And if they did, it was all, planned.
A lot of people still do that.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
But you've opened it up. I tried.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Why now?
Speaker 2 (17:59):
What is it that clicked now? You're like, okay, it's
time to tell this story in this book. I was
encouraged by the younger generation, to be quite honest. It's
like Gen Z, even my son's group. They're really open
about who they are, where they are, what they're going through,
the challenges, the difficulties. And there's kind of a celebration
(18:21):
of The good stuff and a recognition that there's also
baggage with that, but there's no– I don't feel a
harsh judgment coming.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And I think there's age, too. Maturity. We use the
word maturity. Right, maturity. Let's not say age. It's true, though.
It's the A word. Do you agree? I do.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
So I wrote a book several years ago, and I
learned more about me reading my book. than I've ever
known about me ever. I don't know if you've, I'm
sure you've already said that to yourself at least a
couple of times. And that's why I think everyone should
write a book.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
You've got to sit down and get someone to help
you write it. I mean, I'm not saying have them
write it.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
It was essential for me. Yeah, I worked with someone.
It was definitely a collaboration because I was very involved
as well. But it helps to have a, you know,
not a deadline, but a schedule, you know, when you
sit down and you're going to work on this, you know,
because I'm so easily distracted. But with John, it was great.
And it is a form of therapy in a strange way. Beyond.
(19:26):
I agree. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
And I really, I enjoyed the process a lot. Maybe
as you get older, mature, there's a feeling that you
want to be more honest. There's an honesty thing that
comes out because you're sort of like, well, you know,
this is who I am. You know what I mean? Good, bad.
It's the most freeing, wonderful feeling in the world.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
I'm with you. Nate, what's up?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I have a question. You don't have to yell. Nate,
come here.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Don't spill.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. God, Nate. Okay. Bull in a china shop.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I'm going to just bluntly ask the question, then I'm
going to explain it.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Okay, very good. Lord.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Do you wish back in the 80s you weren't so
good looking? I ask this. Oh, here we go.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Because he's so good looking.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Well, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
He's a very handsome fella.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
As an actor, you kind of get like you had
leading man looks back in the day, but at the
same time, you're competing against Tom Cruise, Patrick.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Swayze, all these people for parts. Yeah. But you're a
fantastic actor.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Do you wish you were slightly more unattractive so you
could have gotten like character actor parts?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That is so funny because I don't, I look back
and I say, wow, that was a handsome fella from
this perspective. From the perspective of that time, I was like,
I didn't think that at all. I didn't. So Nick
thinks that about him. He does.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
You mentioned that you were up for the part of Goose.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Goose, yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
You could not have played that part because you were
next to Tom Cruise.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Well, I rationalize it by saying, listen, Tom's in a helmet.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I'm in a helmet.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
You don't see much of the face. You know, what's
the difference there? No, you were much better looking than
Tom Cruise. Oh, well, be careful now. Be careful. You
know Tom put the kibosh on that. You know he did. Yeah, yeah.
He's like, no, F that. This guy's not getting in
my film.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
He'll make me look like crap. I don't think he
was even aware that I was in the room. Oh, no.
He knew. He knew. That's why you weren't invited to
the party.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
You're too big of a stud. Not sure I'd go
along with that, but thank you. And you're self-deprecating. Make
me feel better. Or we call it self-deprecating. You could
just crap all over yourself. Yes. Give yourself some credit here, man.
Good stuff. Thanks, man. Okay. He's blushing. Oh, and even
through all that makeup they put on you, you're still
going to look good. I look good. You look great.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
It takes a lot of makeup. Take the village.
Speaker 6 (21:31):
Stop it.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
You're still going to look good. Tom Cruise still hates you,
I'm sure. Yeah. We all hate you. Oh, damn. Damn. Well,
my mission accomplished then. I've succeeded here. Oh, my God.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Sometimes I wonder, do I want to know about the
personal lives of actors?
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Because I can't. Tom Cruise is a good example. The story, Oprah.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Oh, Lord, yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
Do you remember this? I remember seeing him jump on
that couch when he was allegedly in love with Katie Holmes.
And it seemed to me like he didn't know how
to be a human. He was only used to playing humans.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
And he was trying to figure out how to act
like a man in love And it gave me the
ick so bad. I was like, what is this creature?
Speaker 1 (22:09):
What is happening?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
People don't act like that. I don't see him as
an actor anymore. He's acting to me. It's not natural.
I don't get lost in his role. I see Tom Cruise.
I'm curious about his new film, Digger. Because it seems
like he's gone through some sort of transformation.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I hope so. Truly prosthetic transformation.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Yeah, but he's playing, I think, one year older than
he really is in the movie. but they put all
these prosthetics on him.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Oh, one year older than he actually is in life.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
I think so, and I think he just doesn't look,
you know, I guess in real life he doesn't really
look that.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Age with a head album. Well, I'm actually 28, but
I don't know if that works.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Well, because of this theory I have, learning too much
about your actor through their autobiography, then I can't get
lost in your role. I say fictional selves by Colin McLaughlin.
Don't read this.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
You will lose focus in him as a guy playing
a role.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
I'm going to burn it over. We've got to have
a fireplace. I can't wait. This is my weekend reading
right here. Oh, bless you. It'll be fun.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
See, I feel like this stuff has changed sort of
like the scope of the way that we interpret art
in general, because like Elvis was saying way back in
the day, you only used to get the art from
somebody and you appreciated the art and that was it.
And now you get the person and the art. And
a lot of times people have a tough time separating that,
especially when they dig up something from your past. But
now you are very openly saying, nope, here's me as
(23:30):
a person. You can have both. Does that make you
uncomfortable at all?
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Well, yeah. You know, the release of the book makes
you uncomfortable because it's like you're putting yourself out there.
And I say, you know, when you're doing a film
promotion for a film or a television program, there's a group, right?
And you're part of an ensemble, you know, for the
most part. This is me. you know, kind of like,
here I am, you know, and so it's nerve-wracking. Yeah,
I mean, it's, you know, you keep your fingers crossed and,
(23:56):
but ultimately, I said, it's coming from a place of true,
a true honest place. I said, you know, this is everything. So,
the idea with it was to have, show people an
experience and maybe they, you know, look towards themselves a
little bit and figure something out because of what I
talk about in the journey because it's full of, you know,
a lot of downtime and a lot of fear in
this book and, you know, like, Just concerned about whether
(24:19):
you're going to work or not and all those kind
of frailties. And that's who we are as people. Well,
I'm glad you did this. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
And a lot of people listening right now are going, okay,
I know not only do I want to read it,
but I know specifically someone in my life who needs
to read this book because they're probably in the same place.
And that's the relatability thing. And you will hear this.
You will hear people saying, I can relate to this
when you said that. And another thing is years from now, they.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Still buy it.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
You think, because this is like the big week. We
want the numbers. New York Times bestseller. By the way,
I learned, you only have to be on that list
for like five minutes and it's yours forever.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
It's true. Amen. Let's get it up there.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Let's get that gold seal of approval right there.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
But also another thing you'll hear is that years later,
as I said, they will still be reading it.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
You'll be like, oh my God, people are still buying
this book. I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, it'll
stay around. You'll call me one day and go, you
were right.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
We recently discovered his book is somehow.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
On a CD.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
What?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah. A compact disc.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
A CD.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
We don't know how it happened, but you can purchase
on CD. Back in 1960. When was that? I don't remember. No,
CDs are coming back, Kyle. Are they? Yes, people are
buying them again. Big time. Now that my book's out
on CD, it's... Well, you've got to get your player.
We've got to get my CD player. Exactly.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Kyle McLaughlin, it's such, as always, an honor to have
you here. And I'm so glad that you have given
yourself this gift of writing this book. It is, out
of all the sales and all the people who are
going to be talking about it, The gift was yours
to give yourself, and that's what this is about.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
I love that perspective. So go read it again. I
read mine years later. I'm like, I don't know. It's
all a bunch of lies. Who the hell was this guy? Lies, lies,
and more lies. So, of course, the podcast, you, everything.
We love you. Thanks for coming on with us. I
love being here. Thank you for having me. Kyle McLaughlin. Beautiful.
He's a hugger, and we're going to take advantage of him.
Kyle MacLachlan is here.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
New book came out on Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Yes. And now here it is Friday.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
How are you feeling so far? Have you failed yet?
I fail every day. I fail every day, Elvis. Oh,
my God. At least according to my wife, I do. Yeah,
and my dogs. But no, I'm excited. I mean, this
is really, what a ride. What a crazy journey this
has been.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Let's talk about it. It's Kyle MacLachlan, Fictional Selves. And
we were talking about the cover photo. And it's actually
the left half of a torn photo is your current
day Kyle. And on the right is when you started
out in Hollywood, Kyle, it looks like. Maybe a little younger. Yeah,
close to sort of Twin Peaks era, maybe a little younger.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, we noticed one of these heads is longer than
the other. Yeah. Did you get a bigger head all
of a sudden? I've got a bigger head. Is it
a chin implant? Oh, listen, no. I should take away
from this chin, for God's sakes. Thanks to my dad.
This is, yeah, this was the idea of the publisher
and they had three ideas. And this was just, I said,
(01:03):
that's pretty straightforward, pretty simple. I said, really? And I
looked at it and I said, no, it makes the
most sense. Simplest is always the best, right?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, it's called Fictional Selves, the name of your autobiography.
So when I see you like this, old you, younger you,
in Fictional Selves, you're an actor. Actors are just liars. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Really good ones. That's what you took away from the book?
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
You know, there's some truth to that. But the lies
that we tell have to come from a place of truth,
to be honest. So every character, and I speak about
a lot of characters in the book, are based on
some part of me, some reality within me, and then
whatever layers on that I come up with in the
creative process, which is the thing that I enjoy. And
(01:51):
the one thing that I can't really... tell you why
I enjoy, but I just love this process.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Well, it seems to come very natural for you. I mean,
you're talking about a nice, very, very abundant 40 year
run in Hollywood so far. But before that, as a kid,
did you find yourself acting to get your way in a,
like a narcissistic kind of way?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Interesting question.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Because I think part of it, and I talk about
it in the book is, is as you're growing up,
you know, trying to figure out who you are and
how you fit in, And that was really challenging for
me because I felt insecure and inadequate and quite fearful
most of the time growing up. And so it was
all about trying to overcome that and pretend that I
wasn't that. And when I found the theater, when I was,
(02:35):
I guess, late 14, 15, like late junior high or
just before high school, it started to make sense to me.
And I said, oh, here's a place where I can
actually I can actually go into other people, other places
and experience different things. And it's not me. So that
was exciting.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
So how many people in this room can identify with Kyle?
Because I am at 100%. That was the same kid.
Same exact thing. Gandhi, not so much, I bet.
Speaker 5 (03:01):
I'm a terrible actor. I don't think I could ever
do it. But I have so many questions for people
who can.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Right.
Speaker 5 (03:07):
Because you said that you use this as a tool
when you were younger. But do you use it as
a tool as an adult when it suits you? Like, say,
in an argument or getting a ticket.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Or right now, for instance. Talking to everybody here as
he looks around, sweating profusely. You know, the older I get,
the less I do that. And the more I'm just like, hey,
here I am.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
It's me.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You know, take it or leave it, kind of. I
like that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I have a feeling, and we were talking to Danielle
and to Nate and Gandhi about this, where here you are,
this is your career. You're 40 years in, and from
our point of view, very, very, very, very successful at
what you do. Fans of a lot of your work,
except the one that Gandhi likes the most, you may question.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
I know. I know the one you're going to say.
But this is, you're not done acting, but as far
as those roles with.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Robert Redford, that's not going to happen. Right, right, right.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You know, those things that you maybe regret not doing,
but God, that wasn't me. That wasn't my path.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yeah, you know, and it was, it could have been
in some instances more than others. I mean, I talk
about my audition experience for Top Gun, for example. That
was not going to be me.
Speaker 6 (04:19):
Who were you auditioning for?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, for Goose. Oh, wow, okay. Yeah, that would have been,
but Anthony Edwards was fantastic. He was the perfect Goose.
So it's like, you know, it always ends up where
it's supposed to end up. But the Robert Redford thing,
and I've been thinking about this recently, it's not so
much like, oh, I would have, you know, what an
amazing thing it would have done for my career. I
realized it was about the experience of working with Redford
(04:44):
as a creative force. How would that have, what would
that experience have been during the making of that movie?
How would he have changed me, made me better as
an artist, as an actor? And to spend time in
his presence. I mean, he's an icon, right? And I said,
I could have learned so much. And I realized that
is kind of where I'm like, ah. At the time, yeah,
(05:05):
you're like, oh, am I disappointed? I didn't get that.
I lost that. But it was really the loss of
what the experience could have been. And the same with Coppola.
When I talk about the Dracula experience, I said, that
would have been somebody. I mean, I'm a huge fan.
You know, Apocalypse Now is my favorite movie of all time.
And to work with that man would have been just
an extraordinary journey. That's where the miss is, I think.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
This is what's so relatable about this story, because someone
driving to work right now at a stop sign, a
red light, or in a traffic honking horn, whatever, they're thinking, well,
what did I have a near miss with in my life?
It could have been this, but it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
It's this. And I'm okay with that. Yeah, and that's it.
At the end of the day, you're okay with that.
I didn't have that experience. I had other experiences. I
got to spend time with David Lynch. You know, and
we worked together many times. And that alone is worth,
I mean, you can't calculate the price on something like that.
That's your path.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And there are actors out there who would, they're like, wow,
this Kyle MacLachlan guy, what a path.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
I wish I could have that path.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
I was just thinking how lucky you are to now
be in a position where you get to teach other
people all the things that you've learned. I mean, I
know you might not get to learn from some of
your icons, but you get to be that for others.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
It's happened. I've become the old guy on set. I
didn't mean it like that.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yes, you did.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Deep down, you didn't know.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
With your podcast, this is something you do really well
with What Are We Even Doing, your podcast. You're actually
sitting down with up-and-comers, people who definitely have a force
behind them already, and you're sitting there going, okay, I'm
learning from them, but They all look up to you.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
It's a crazy experience. Is that a good role? You
like that? I mean, I'm surprised by it because I
still think of myself as I'm just sort of starting out,
just beginning, just learning. And you should never stop that process. But, yeah,
I find myself in a position where they're looking to
me with kind of like, you know, what's the wisdom
of the day? And I'm like, oh, God. You know,
you feel a little bit of pressure with that. But
(06:57):
as you said before, I'm so inspired now. that's the
thing as you get older, you look for inspiration, right?
To keep going, to keep doing what you love. And
everyone that I've interviewed on the podcast, which is, I've
had four, I did 44 interviews, which is since, since
we were in before. And it was quite an experience.
And every one of them was profound, interesting, filled with joy.
(07:19):
And it's, it's that process. You know what I mean? I'm,
I know that I am sort of leading by example.
I've never been one to really sort of say, Oh,
do this because I say it's like, This is how
I've lived a life. You know what I mean? And
it's worked for me. And maybe there's something of value
in there. Well, you look like you're having a great time.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Or either you're just acting.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Kyle McLaughlin is here. Fictional Selves came out Wednesday. It's out.
This is the book you need for this weekend. You
also did the 10-hour-plus episode. Audio version. Oh, so it's
you reading it on Audible. I read it, yeah. I
love that. And I do voices too. See? So, yeah.
Speaker 6 (07:52):
When you read the book, it's so different than when
you experience it with Audible because even like Mariah Carey's book,
she sings in the Audible version. She doesn't do that
in the book.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
You know?
Speaker 6 (08:02):
I love listening to it so much better for that reason.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah, people have said that. They said the Audible version
is really fun. Yeah. Is there any place in here
where you actually choked up a little bit? Yeah, there was.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Because I did.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah. When I did mine. Yeah, same thing. Yeah, you're
reading through things and I found myself speaking about situations,
and I can't recall exactly, but when you're reading it
and you're experiencing it that way, yeah, it gets you.
And you realize, oh, that's good. You know what I mean?
If it's resonating with me like that, then hopefully it'll
resonate for the audience.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (08:31):
I know you love what you do, right?
Speaker 4 (08:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (08:34):
But was there ever a moment where you questioned it
and said, maybe this isn't for me?
Speaker 1 (08:39):
There was one time when I was— actually auditioning for Dune,
my first ever screen test. And I'm having to do
a speech and I'm looking into the lens of the camera,
which you never do as an actor, you know, when
you're working, you never look into the lens of the camera.
And I froze and I went, I literally sort of
lost all confidence. It's like everything went full stop. Wow.
(09:02):
David was there and I turned to him and I
sort of whispered, I said, David, I don't know if
I can do this. And he just smiled and he said, hey, bud,
You're going to be great. What are you talking about?
He said, listen, happens to everybody. Give yourself a minute.
Take your time. We'll start again. No pressure. And he
just gave me these words of encouragement. And I said, okay.
(09:23):
And I took it in. And the battery started to
fill back up again. And I delivered the speech. It
went perfectly well. But that was a real moment of
you're on a precipice. You can go this way or
it can go this way. And it went. because of
David the right way. Don't look in the lens. Don't
look in the lens. The moral of the story, don't
look in the lens. Don't get out of the boat
(09:45):
and don't look at the lens. We've got rules.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Have you ever gotten so into one of the characters
that you are portraying that you've started to take on
some of their characteristics in your real life?
Speaker 1 (09:57):
There was one incident, yeah, when I was doing twin
peaks the return and i played three different characters in
that and one of the character was a psychopath true
psychopath um mr c and i could feel him really
creeping around explain that oh wow well He's a killer, basically.
(10:19):
He has no emotion whatsoever, no sensitivity, no connection with people.
And when I would come in in the morning for
the day of work as Mr. C, I would put
on the costume and go to hair and makeup, and
he would begin to seep into my body. And I
let him seep in, because that's what you gotta do.
(10:40):
And during the course of filming, When I was that character,
and I'm not a method actor. I don't carry around
and go off in a corner and emote. I like
to embrace the crew and the experience and everything. With
this guy, I was there, but I was really subdued.
I didn't talk to anybody. And I could not wait
(11:01):
to put him away at the end of the day.
Because I didn't want to bring any of that energy
home to my family. So that was the one where
I had to really make a concerted effort to sort
of say, you're staying here in my trailer, hanging up
in the closet, and I will pick you back up
again tomorrow, but you're not coming home with me. That
is fascinating.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
That's a good one to hang up also.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Yeah, it was a very good one.
Speaker 6 (11:23):
You should hang up that one when you go home,
the serial killer.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
So he's such a psycho. You know, this is where
it gets geeky. Dune, of course, was the first big one, right?
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Blue Velvet for me all the way. That will always
be one of my favorite films. And I'll tell you why.
Not that you care, but here we go.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I do care.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
It was just such a beautiful film to watch. I mean,
every little square centimeter of the frame on my, whatever,
on the screen, in the theater, or on my TV.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Was so perfect. And then.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
The mood and mode of the script was right there.
It really made me fall in love with film.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
That film. That's beautiful to hear because David, of course,
as an artist, started as a painter, of course. And
I've always felt his frames. And it's a combination of
the framing, the saturation of the color, which was true
in Dune. It's just that Dune was a story that
was impossible to follow. But it was the same thing.
It's so rich. The way he does everything is so specific.
(12:27):
I remember shooting when we did the return again, the shooting,
and he would sometimes, not a traditional process at all
where you do, you know, a wide, a medium, a
close up. He would set the camera one place, let
the scene run, maybe move it to a second position
just so he could have a cut. And that was it.
Because he knew in his head, he could see it
in his head, he knew exactly what he was going
to do. Done deal. And it's so rare. So interesting.
(12:50):
So frightening at the same time. Because you're like, we're
just going.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
To have two shots at this?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Please? What's your question?
Speaker 6 (12:57):
I heard when you were writing this book that you
kept your son Callum, who's 18, in mind. And you
were like, I want him to see that I'm not perfect.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yes, that was a big part of the motivation to
even go on this journey of writing a book. I said,
I felt like, you know, when I had a son,
I started thinking about my dad a lot. I didn't
expect that. And I said, I want to know more
about this time of his life, the time of life
(13:25):
that Callum is in right now. And I said, you
know what I can do? I can share my journey
in this book with Callum when he's interested. He's 18.
He doesn't really care. That's mad, whatever. But there will
come a time when I know he's going to want
to be, when he's going to get curious and he's
going to want to know more. And this is a
way of telling him, here's what I went through. Here's
(13:48):
the highs. Here's the lows. Here's the good behavior. Here's
the not so good behavior. But, you know, this is
your dad. That was a big part of it.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I want to get to that in a second about
opening up. Being an actor, reading off a script, and
then one day you're doing a podcast and you're doing
a book.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Yeah. It's weird.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Well, yeah, it's kind of fascinating. Okay, so Blue Velvet
was mine. What huge, wonderful... art-filled wonderment of filmmaking did
you love from Kyle MacLachlan?
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Wonderment. Most important is the wonderment part. Kyle said he
thinks he knows what it is.
Speaker 5 (14:20):
Do you know?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Well, I was assuming it might be Showgirls.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
No.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
It's not Showgirls.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Far more cinematic and amazing than that. The Flintstones.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
I freaking loved that movie when I was a little kid,
and you got to kiss Halle Berry.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
I mean, that's not so bad.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
I know.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Come on. Not so bad. Not so bad. Yeah, it
could have been John Goodman. I mean, I don't know.
That would have been a whole different movie.
Speaker 6 (14:38):
Was she the best kisser, or do you have, like,
a best kisser that you ever had on your set?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
You know, I have to be really careful with this. Why?
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Mary, man.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
No, it's time. This is part of your life. You
can open up and say it all. Come on, say it.
You want your son to hear this. Dennis Hopper.
Speaker 5 (14:50):
Hey.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
I suspected.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
I know last time you were here, you did mention
that showgirls was one of your like, maybe I shouldn't
have done that if I can redo it. But you
also talk about how all of your failures have really
opened your eyes and sort of shined a light on
a different path and ways to go. So when you
think about things in those terms, what is your best
failure that taught you the most?
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Well, that's one of them, I think. Showgirls? Yeah, just
because Dune was tricky because it taught me that you
can survive that. Because I did that and then I
was kind of, there were no opportunities once Dune came
out for me until David came back and Blue Velvet
became a reality. When I look back years later, I'm like,
I survived that just out of kind of, sort of naivete, actually.
(15:34):
I just felt like, oh, I can still do it.
I was young and I said, I can still make
this happen. But there were dark, dark days after that.
When I said, I don't know if this is really
for me. I don't know if I can make this
work until Blue Velvet. And the experience of working on
Blue Velvet was so special. The magic of the intimacy
of working together with Laura Dern and Isabella, you know, Dennis.
(15:54):
I mean, it was like, this is why I love acting.
It's like, it's this camaraderie. It's the relationships that we
create in front of the camera. And with David at
the helm, it made everything just so special. I said, no, no, no.
I got to make this work. I got to make
this work.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
So.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
That was some early difficulties. And there you are. It
is such a beautiful thing.
Speaker 6 (16:15):
I could, like, listen to him talk all day.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
And that's when he first tongue-kissed Dennis Hopper. Ah, there
you go. Now the secret's out.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Can we get back to his bad behavior?
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Yeah, well, you did say, and I'm quoting you, some
of the behavior... that was not necessarily me at my best,
is talked about in this book.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Is that what you're talking about?
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Gandhi always goes for this. Yeah, yeah. No, no. It's
part of it. And it was an important part of
doing this. I said, this is not going to all
be just, you know, look at me. It's all glossy
and perfect. I said, if you're doing a memoir, you've
got to talk about the darker times. Was it illegal?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
No, no.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
It was never like that. It was just bad behavior.
Was it like a diva behavior? Yeah, treating people not well. Really? Yeah, relationships. Wow,
I'm so glad you're not doing that now.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
The day is young. The interview is young. No, no,
it was just, it was selfish behavior. And, you know,
I was young. Did you apologize? Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yeah. It was not good. I was really, it was
not a good time. Not a good time for me. But,
you know, time does heal, you know, and in this
particular instance, in a relationship, because the person that I was,
that I mistreated was so special. We have found a
way back to friendship. And so that was very important.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
You see, here's what's going on. And I wanted to
bring this up. Starting with the podcast, we got to
learn a lot about you. Now with this, we get
to know a lot about you.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
And you know, in the older.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Days of Hollywood, actors would never, ever let you into
their lives. And if they did, it was all, planned.
A lot of people still do that.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
I agree.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
But you've opened it up. I tried.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Why now?
Speaker 2 (17:59):
What is it that clicked now? You're like, okay, it's
time to tell this story in this book. I was
encouraged by the younger generation, to be quite honest. It's
like Gen Z, even my son's group. They're really open
about who they are, where they are, what they're going through,
the challenges, the difficulties. And there's kind of a celebration
(18:21):
of The good stuff and a recognition that there's also
baggage with that, but there's no– I don't feel a
harsh judgment coming.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And I think there's age, too. Maturity. We use the
word maturity. Right, maturity. Let's not say age. It's true, though.
It's the A word. Do you agree? I do.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
So I wrote a book several years ago, and I
learned more about me reading my book. than I've ever
known about me ever. I don't know if you've, I'm
sure you've already said that to yourself at least a
couple of times. And that's why I think everyone should
write a book.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
You've got to sit down and get someone to help
you write it. I mean, I'm not saying have them
write it.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
It was essential for me. Yeah, I worked with someone.
It was definitely a collaboration because I was very involved
as well. But it helps to have a, you know,
not a deadline, but a schedule, you know, when you
sit down and you're going to work on this, you know,
because I'm so easily distracted. But with John, it was great.
And it is a form of therapy in a strange way. Beyond.
(19:26):
I agree. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
And I really, I enjoyed the process a lot. Maybe
as you get older, mature, there's a feeling that you
want to be more honest. There's an honesty thing that
comes out because you're sort of like, well, you know,
this is who I am. You know what I mean? Good, bad.
It's the most freeing, wonderful feeling in the world.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
I'm with you. Nate, what's up?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
I have a question. You don't have to yell. Nate,
come here.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Don't spill.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. God, Nate. Okay. Bull in a china shop.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I'm going to just bluntly ask the question, then I'm
going to explain it.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Okay, very good. Lord.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Do you wish back in the 80s you weren't so
good looking? I ask this. Oh, here we go.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Because he's so good looking.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Well, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
He's a very handsome fella.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
As an actor, you kind of get like you had
leading man looks back in the day, but at the
same time, you're competing against Tom Cruise, Patrick.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Swayze, all these people for parts. Yeah. But you're a
fantastic actor.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Do you wish you were slightly more unattractive so you
could have gotten like character actor parts?
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That is so funny because I don't, I look back
and I say, wow, that was a handsome fella from
this perspective. From the perspective of that time, I was like,
I didn't think that at all. I didn't. So Nick
thinks that about him. He does.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
You mentioned that you were up for the part of Goose.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Goose, yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
You could not have played that part because you were
next to Tom Cruise.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Well, I rationalize it by saying, listen, Tom's in a helmet.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I'm in a helmet.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
You don't see much of the face. You know, what's
the difference there? No, you were much better looking than
Tom Cruise. Oh, well, be careful now. Be careful. You
know Tom put the kibosh on that. You know he did. Yeah, yeah.
He's like, no, F that. This guy's not getting in
my film.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
He'll make me look like crap. I don't think he
was even aware that I was in the room. Oh, no.
He knew. He knew. That's why you weren't invited to
the party.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
You're too big of a stud. Not sure I'd go
along with that, but thank you. And you're self-deprecating. Make
me feel better. Or we call it self-deprecating. You could
just crap all over yourself. Yes. Give yourself some credit here, man.
Good stuff. Thanks, man. Okay. He's blushing. Oh, and even
through all that makeup they put on you, you're still
going to look good. I look good. You look great.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
It takes a lot of makeup. Take the village.
Speaker 6 (21:31):
Stop it.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
You're still going to look good. Tom Cruise still hates you,
I'm sure. Yeah. We all hate you. Oh, damn. Damn. Well,
my mission accomplished then. I've succeeded here. Oh, my God.
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Sometimes I wonder, do I want to know about the
personal lives of actors?
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Because I can't. Tom Cruise is a good example. The story, Oprah.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Oh, Lord, yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:52):
Do you remember this? I remember seeing him jump on
that couch when he was allegedly in love with Katie Holmes.
And it seemed to me like he didn't know how
to be a human. He was only used to playing humans.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Oh, interesting.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
And he was trying to figure out how to act
like a man in love And it gave me the
ick so bad. I was like, what is this creature?
Speaker 1 (22:09):
What is happening?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
People don't act like that. I don't see him as
an actor anymore. He's acting to me. It's not natural.
I don't get lost in his role. I see Tom Cruise.
I'm curious about his new film, Digger. Because it seems
like he's gone through some sort of transformation.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I hope so. Truly prosthetic transformation.
Speaker 6 (22:31):
Yeah, but he's playing, I think, one year older than
he really is in the movie. but they put all
these prosthetics on him.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Oh, one year older than he actually is in life.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
I think so, and I think he just doesn't look,
you know, I guess in real life he doesn't really
look that.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Age with a head album. Well, I'm actually 28, but
I don't know if that works.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Well, because of this theory I have, learning too much
about your actor through their autobiography, then I can't get
lost in your role. I say fictional selves by Colin McLaughlin.
Don't read this.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
No.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
You will lose focus in him as a guy playing
a role.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
I'm going to burn it over. We've got to have
a fireplace. I can't wait. This is my weekend reading
right here. Oh, bless you. It'll be fun.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
See, I feel like this stuff has changed sort of
like the scope of the way that we interpret art
in general, because like Elvis was saying way back in
the day, you only used to get the art from
somebody and you appreciated the art and that was it.
And now you get the person and the art. And
a lot of times people have a tough time separating that,
especially when they dig up something from your past. But
now you are very openly saying, nope, here's me as
(23:30):
a person. You can have both. Does that make you
uncomfortable at all?
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Well, yeah. You know, the release of the book makes
you uncomfortable because it's like you're putting yourself out there.
And I say, you know, when you're doing a film
promotion for a film or a television program, there's a group, right?
And you're part of an ensemble, you know, for the
most part. This is me. you know, kind of like,
here I am, you know, and so it's nerve-wracking. Yeah,
I mean, it's, you know, you keep your fingers crossed and,
(23:56):
but ultimately, I said, it's coming from a place of true,
a true honest place. I said, you know, this is everything. So,
the idea with it was to have, show people an
experience and maybe they, you know, look towards themselves a
little bit and figure something out because of what I
talk about in the journey because it's full of, you know,
a lot of downtime and a lot of fear in
this book and, you know, like, Just concerned about whether
(24:19):
you're going to work or not and all those kind
of frailties. And that's who we are as people. Well,
I'm glad you did this. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
And a lot of people listening right now are going, okay,
I know not only do I want to read it,
but I know specifically someone in my life who needs
to read this book because they're probably in the same place.
And that's the relatability thing. And you will hear this.
You will hear people saying, I can relate to this
when you said that. And another thing is years from now, they.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Still buy it.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
You think, because this is like the big week. We
want the numbers. New York Times bestseller. By the way,
I learned, you only have to be on that list
for like five minutes and it's yours forever.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
It's true. Amen. Let's get it up there.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Let's get that gold seal of approval right there.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
But also another thing you'll hear is that years later,
as I said, they will still be reading it.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
You'll be like, oh my God, people are still buying
this book. I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, it'll
stay around. You'll call me one day and go, you
were right.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:15):
We recently discovered his book is somehow.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
On a CD.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
What?
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah. A compact disc.
Speaker 4 (25:21):
A CD.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
We don't know how it happened, but you can purchase
on CD. Back in 1960. When was that? I don't remember. No,
CDs are coming back, Kyle. Are they? Yes, people are
buying them again. Big time. Now that my book's out
on CD, it's... Well, you've got to get your player.
We've got to get my CD player. Exactly.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Kyle McLaughlin, it's such, as always, an honor to have
you here. And I'm so glad that you have given
yourself this gift of writing this book. It is, out
of all the sales and all the people who are
going to be talking about it, The gift was yours
to give yourself, and that's what this is about.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
I love that perspective. So go read it again. I
read mine years later. I'm like, I don't know. It's
all a bunch of lies. Who the hell was this guy? Lies, lies,
and more lies. So, of course, the podcast, you, everything.
We love you. Thanks for coming on with us. I
love being here. Thank you for having me. Kyle McLaughlin. Beautiful.
He's a hugger, and we're going to take advantage of him.
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