May 8, 2025 • 47 mins
Actor Jeff Gladstone shares his journey from Calgary's improv scene to Vancouver's film industry and his upcoming psychological thriller "Kryptic." His theatrical background with Keith Johnstone's innovative improv techniques created a foundation for screen success, culminating in roles on shows like Twilight Zone, Resident Alien, and Fire Country.
• Started at Calgary's Loose Moose Theatre under improv pioneer Keith Johnstone
• Describes improv as "theater meets professional wrestling" in terms of audience engagement
• Transitioned to film acting after a decade in theater, gaining his breakthrough with director Bruce Sweeney
• Appeared in notable productions including Supernatural, Goosebumps, and Fire Country
• Discusses the shift from in-person auditions to self-tape submissions and how his improv background helps in both formats
• Stars in the upcoming psychological thriller "Kryptic" directed by photographer Kourtney Roy
• Plays a husband whose character gradually unravels in this monster-hunting mystery film
Check out Kryptic in theaters May 9th or streaming May 29th.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Hello and welcome to Entertain this.
It's a podcast about movies, TVshows and video games.
My name is Tom.
With me I have Mitch and wedon't have Hayden, but we got
something better than Hayden wegot Jeff Gladstone Woo.
How?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
you doing, jeff, I'm doing great.
Thanks, I'm doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well, jeff here, I see you're an actor, a producer,
a composer, canadian, and youwere on Goosebumps yes, yes, all
of those things are true and Iunderstand you got a movie
coming up here Cryptic, that'sright.
Yeah, cryptic, it's a weird oneShould be coming out May 9th of
(01:08):
this year.
Right, that's right.
So before we talk about the newmovie, let's get to know you a
little bit.
Sounds great.
I see you hail from Canada.
Whereabouts in Canada.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
That's right.
So I grew up in a place calledCalgary, alberta, which is kind
of near the Rocky Mountainsthere, but I've lived in
Vancouver for the past 20, 25years.
Vancouver, bc, on the beautifulwest coast, the nice.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
So do you still root for the Flames or do you root
for the Canucks?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That's a great question.
You know, I grew up playinghockey but I kind of faded as a
hardcore fan, for sure, but I do.
My brothers and my family areall big Flames fans.
So, uh, you know, I still I,but I'm not really particular
personally, but I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I watched some of the game last night and, uh, you
know, it's a good time this isthe first chance I get to talk
to somebody who actually watcheshockey, because no one else I
know around here does down herein Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm an Islanders fan myself,being from Long Island
originally.
Oh nice, nice.
I only got to see the Islandersonce at the old Nassau Coliseum
(02:32):
, and I was a little kid and Istill can't remember who they
played.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Well, do you?
Know, the Calgary Flames, whichwas our team growing up, was
that started as the AtlantaFlames?
Did you know that?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, they entered the NHL the same year, in 1972,
as the New York Islanders.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
I'm from down here in Atlanta and it gets maybe cold
enough for ice maybe three tofour times a year.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
So I never got in a hot and it's only on the road,
it's not on a pond.
It's not on a pond, it's not ona lake, just the road.
You could ice skate on I-85,but that's really about it.
That sounds fun.
So how does a young Calgarybread fella who ends up in
Vancouver get into the improvacting business?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Well, you know what, in Calgary, uh, we had it lucky
there was a fellow named KeithJohnstone who taught at the
university and, uh, he hadstarted an improv company in
Calgary that's called the loosemoose theater and, and that's
basically where I grew up.
(03:47):
We used to go watch shows therein high school and then I
joined the company in university, keith was.
He taught the first year actingat the University of Calgary
but he invented a lot of theimprov techniques that are still
.
He was basically starting atthe same time as Del Close and
(04:08):
the groups in Chicago there, butKeith had started working in
London.
He actually worked at the RoyalCourt Theatre and taught
playwrights.
He worked with Samuel Beckettand Harold Pinter and some of
these, lawrence Olivier and someof these.
He worked in the theatre scene,but he was a real like
subversive, kind ofanti-establishment kind of
(04:30):
character back in the day,always like pushing the envelope
and kind of testing things.
So he ended up in Calgarythrough a weird series of
coincidences and he was reallyhe was an incredible teacher,
like you know.
Yes, and and and, like word ata time, stories, a lot of the
theater, sports, these were allkind of his inventions and so we
(04:52):
just really lucked out and theLoose Moose Theater Company.
We were all young Like the agerange was like 16 to 22.
And we played theater, sportsand some of these improv formats
and it was an incredible placeto grow up and learn about
theater and kind of get a start.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
I don't think I could ever do improv.
I mean, I occasionally havethat gift of gab to just start
talking out of my butt at thedrop of a hat, but I don't know
if I could do it on stage, withpeople in front of me.
It's like panic, it's like dosomething with your hands.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, dude, that is exactly it.
Now I do some teaching, someimprov, and that is exactly how
everybody feels.
It's so funny, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And what around what year?
Is this that we're starting outin the improv game?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So for myself, this would have been 1998.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
We brought it full circle.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I don't know if that was on the interview at the
beginning, but that was just ajoke we had about that year.
But yeah, 96, 97, 98 was when Iwas at the Loose Moose, kind of
starting out there, and I was aterrible improviser when I
started.
I tell people it takes 10 yearsto learn how to improvise.
It took me longer than that.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
What made you want to get into improvisation and
acting in general?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, I mean, I was one of those like as a kid I was
a big Star Wars kid and writingmovies and my dad had a little
Super 8 camera and we used touse it and make movies and stuff
.
I just I love movies, I loveacting and storytelling as a kid
and so you know, I was like oneof those kids.
(06:43):
And then, you know, high schoolwe used to go.
I mean, I also had a great highschool drama teacher.
You know big shout out to theteachers out there.
You know they really withoutteachers, you know, without
great drama teachers and stufflike that, it doesn't get passed
on, you know.
So, yeah, we had a great highschool drama teacher.
And then, of course, going tosee the theater sports, that
(07:11):
loose moose was just likeincredible.
Like they kind of like at thattheater, you know, the groups
like ahead of me, like I don'tknow if uh, anyway, some some uh
notable comedy kids in the halland stuff some of them were
from there and uh, some othergreat folks, um, anyway, it was
just uh, it was a reallyexciting thing to go see, cause
it was like it was theater butit's like you're allowed to yell
(07:31):
at the actors, you know andthey had, yeah, you know, and
like you could get brought up onstage and and they were doing
stuff with like masks and youknow, improvising with the sound
, and it was just so fun.
It was such a fun place to beand really caught the bug.
(07:52):
So we pretty much, you know, mybrother and I actually it was
actually honestly my brother whokind of dragged me out there in
the first place, but then wespent every weekend there
through the 90s until I moved toVancouver.
So, yeah, just like surroundedby a lot of talent and a lot of
great energy and some coolopportunities.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Was there ever a play there called Moose on the Loose
at the Loose Moose?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
No, but there should be Dang.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well, you said, your brother drug you there.
Does he still do acting, oranything like that?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, yeah, brother, drug you there, does he?
Uh, does he still do acting oranything like that?
Yeah, yeah he.
Uh he started, uh, his owntheater company uh, that's
called their theater and and, uh, we worked together in that
company for a number of yearsand we were starting out doing
lots of tours and whatnot andhe's still doing it.
He does like the fringe toursand stuff.
He just actually was in NewYork with a show he wrote with
(08:49):
another artist about Juliet.
That's really fun comedy.
We're actually writing a playtogether right now Lose on the
loose.
No, I don't know if you knowthis story, but it's about the
After Place Riot.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I, I heard of that one, the aster place riot.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
New York in like the 1840s and there was two
Shakespearean actors performingMacbeth across the street from
each other and, uh, the, thefans of each side were so like
worked up about who was thebetter Shakespeare actor.
It broke out into a riot, likea massive riot.
Wow, like 10,000 people andlike the National Guard was
(09:35):
called in and all this stuff.
And we just love the storybecause it's like wow, people
used to get that excited abouttheater.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I was like, so they were passionate about their
choices.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
This is before pro sports Actors used to have
jersey numbers on the back,exactly, exactly right, that'd
be like a funny modern twist onit.
Yeah, I mean there was a riotin Quebec when, uh, or in
Montreal, the NHL uh suspendeduh, maurice Richard, and a huge
(10:07):
riot broke out because he waslike the ultimate player.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, honestly yeah.
In Canada, it's the hockeythat's the lifeblood of the
country.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, yeah so it seems to I guess from my
understanding a lot of peoplewe've talked to who do like more
classical theater, it's verylike studious, it's almost like
you know a lot like the peoplelike the turtleneck holding the
skull kind of look, and thenimprov almost sounds like the
wwe, like you're getting pulledout of the audience and they're
throwing chairs up on stage andit's just like just go for it.
(10:42):
You're like I don't even knowwhat you know you've called out
exactly.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
In fact he's johnstone, my improv teacher.
When he was starting this stuffout and in london in the 50s,
him and some of the otherdirectors went and watched a
wrestling match and theyliterally were like god, isn't
it amazing to be in like atheatrical kind of setting but
the audience they're like thisold lady is like swinging their
purse over their head, likethey're like how could we get
(11:07):
people to act like this in thetheater, right?
Speaker 1 (11:11):
like how do we get that chaotic energy into stage?
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yeah, so improv, at least in the Pete Johnstone kind
of school, is like consideredlike like yeah, theater meets
professional wrestling.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I mean someone who's done classical theater and you
have this huge background atimprov.
Do you find it harder to do oneversus the other?
Because it's like it kind ofbleeds over.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh, that's a great question.
I mean, I love it all.
I love Shakespeare, you know,and, like you kind of say, like
the preparation and the rigor oflike getting into the language,
I love it.
I love the play.
I love Shakespeare.
I love the stories and theplays and stuff and the funny
like, the longer, like when Istarted I definitely feel like
(11:59):
all these different interests,you know, and improv and acting
and then and then theater tofilm and improv and all that
stuff.
But the more I do this stuff,the more I find like it's all
really connected and and there'sthere's a there's a heart of
(12:20):
improv and spontaneity in in anykind of performance practice,
because at the end of the day,you got to be so in the moment
that if something happens, youknow that, that you didn't
expect, you you got to run withit, right, and and and I say
that's the case with shakespeare, you know, and that's
definitely the case with workingon film you know your partner
does something different, or afly comes into the room.
(12:42):
It's like if you pretend likeit's not there on stage or on
film, it's like it reads veryfalse.
But if you can just be veryopen and just go with the
impulses and flow, with what'shappening, then it's so, it's
yeah.
So I feel very grateful to havethis background in improv,
because I definitely use it ineverything I do.
(13:05):
I feel.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
There's got to be a great skill to have in a
wheelhouse.
It's like you're at a meetingor something and something
starts going and you're justlike man.
This would be great material.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And then you're just like let me just try it now.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
It's like sorry, sir, this is a pta meeting you need
to calm down, yeah well, gettingyou know doing the improv and
stuff.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Does that?
Has that helped as far as likegetting roles and when you have
like the longer speaking parts,just to being able to kind of
like kind of play with the linesa little bit, as far as like
you know what what's needed forthe uh, the on-screen dialogue
and stuff yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I mean it's, um, it definitely has given me a
practice to kind of be ready for, you know, ready for anything
and and it's given me a lot oftools just in my preparation too
, and and again, just you know,to shout out keith Johnstone,
again, like you know, he hadjust some really cool ways of
looking at things.
He's like, okay, often likeevery actor is going to do a
(14:04):
scene in this kind of your first, kind of like expected way.
Or you're a robber breakinginto a house, right, and it's
okay, everyone's going to playthe robber.
Like, oh, you know whatever,and it's okay, everyone's gonna
play the robber.
Like, oh, you know whatever.
And he's like, but what if youtry the scene?
You know, like he's very like,he's very like guilt-ridden and
he's like feels guilty abouteverything.
Or what if you try being arobber who's like really low
(14:26):
status?
You know, like what if you trydoing the scene like like it's
it's a love scene and he, youknow, and he sees the painting
and it's like he, he plays withgloves, so that you can, you can
just try things wrong, right,you can go.
Okay, that sounds like thewrong way to do this, but
sometimes you try it and andthere's something you discover,
something you know, and it's so.
(14:47):
So, in that regard, it'sdefinitely given me lots of
tools, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
See if I, if they were like oh, we want you to
play like a burglar or a robber.
And you always picture, like youknow the black turtleneck, the
ski hat, you know the mask,maybe a small flashlight, and
they break it it's like you knowhe sees a painting and he looks
at it and he pulls out a penout of his like pocket and
autographs it like he did.
It looks at a remote, takes thebatteries out and throws them
across the room and just putsthem back and like just, and
(15:11):
then goes on about like itdidn't even happen.
Yeah, that would be the kind ofimprov I would want to bring to
it Just chaotic like cat energy.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
And on the way out.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
He looks at something on a mantelpiece and just
knocks it off.
It's like man we don't needthat.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I mean right, play a burglar scene like you're a cat,
you're like the spirit of a cat.
I mean I, I would love to seethat, I want you to do that role
in a calgary flames jersey.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And then there'll be another guy breaking into a
house across the street.
He'll have a canucks jersey on.
You guys will pop out at thesame time and see each other
rival robbers, I like it.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
It's writing itself.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Oh my god, it's right there so this is all in the 90s
, in the early 2000s, you're inthe improv, you're in theater.
How'd you transition intowanting to do television and
film?
Was it like a let me call anagent?
Did they reach out to you like,hey, here's a part?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
um, no, hell, no, I had to go find it wasn't that
simple, huh I wish I was walkingdown the street and someone
said you're gonna be a staryou're gonna be a star kid,
you're gonna be huge um, no, god, it's honestly I it.
I feel like I'm uh, you, youknow a slow learner, but like I
(16:37):
moved to Vancouver and when I Ikind of moved to Vancouver at a
time this is now early 2000sVancouver was coming out of a
real film boom, like it had beenreally busy and there was lots
of work and everyone was workingand it felt like, right when I
arrived it things kind of likedried up some it's like the
X-Files was shooting there atthat time and it got a lot
(17:00):
quieter.
And because my background wasin theater and improv, I hadn't
had a lot of film training and,uh, you know, I felt good about
my acting.
I had some good auditions, Ihad couple little things, but
nothing really clicked for me inthe film world when I first
moved in.
So I worked in theater and Ihad a great time.
(17:20):
I did lots of touring, I got towork on lots of cool projects,
you know, like new plays, andthat was great.
So it was honestly just likeabout 10 years ago, like where I
took kind of a break and then Iwould come back and I always
was curious and wanted to dofilm.
But I definitely worked prettyexclusively in theater and then
(17:41):
about 10 years ago, you know, Istarted taking some classes,
going back to school and againlike working with some great
teachers out in Vancouver andstarted building my skills.
And then, yeah, about 10, 12years ago, I kind of started
booking small things, you know,commercial here and there and
stuff, and then started buildingup my resume.
(18:03):
And then in the 20, well, yeah,I guess around 10 years ago, I
made a connection with adirector in Vancouver named
Bruce Sweeney and he's a writer,director who writes these
really fun quirky comedy drama,uh kind of sometimes romantic.
(18:24):
He has a lot of differentstyles he works in but they're
all very comedic and and anactor, a theater actor I'd work
with, who'd done some films withhim.
She's like you know what You'dlove this guy, you guys would
really connect because he hasthis way of developing his
scripts where he really workswith the actors and there's a
very kind of improvisational andlike creative energy in terms
(18:45):
of building the character,building the story, and I was
like, well, that sounds great tome, right, because why am I not
talking to him right now?
yeah, you know what I mean like,because most stuff I go for I
mean in Canada, most of the filmand TV auditions that you're
going out for a waiter for athing and I always felt a little
bit kind of that atmosphere inVancouver, at least at that time
(19:06):
was like, oh, don't do anythingoutside the box, right, like we
, these are these big Americanproductions, and like everything
needs to kind of fit what wethink they want, you, you know,
and I always felt and I thinkthat was in my head too like, oh
, I, I want to do this, right,like you know, and anyway.
So meeting Bruce was awesome,so I ended up actually taking a
(19:26):
class with him and working onsome stuff and then we, you know
, grabbed a beer and we started,you know, hanging and he kind
of started talking me throughthis one film he was working on
about this guy who was kind oflike this character, who kind of
had was uh, how would I put it?
It's a little bit maybe on theautistic spectrum and kind of
(19:48):
like a quirky.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
A touch of ism.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I was like yeah, this all sounds like me.
Honestly, are you justdescribing me to myself?
Yeah, and you know, we'rechatting through the story and
building this character and atsome point I was like hey, you
know, if you ever make this film, I'd love to be considered for
this part.
You know, I really had to workmyself up and he's like oh no,
(20:13):
dude, like I'm writing this foryou.
You know, I really had to workmyself up and he's like oh, no,
dude, like I I'm, I'm writingthis for you, like I'm imagining
that you will play this part,and I was like sweet, right, so
it's like wow yeah, right.
So I was like I was so stokedbecause so so this was where I
got to make a nice jump from youknow little day parts or
whatever filming TV andcommercials and whatnot, to like
(20:35):
something like a lead role in afeature film with a great
ensemble cast where I was a partof the creation of it.
And yeah, that film's calledKing's Way and that was really
one of my first leads in afeature and that experience
really like I was hooked andjust having the experience, I've
(20:57):
now made two films with BruceSweeney and we're working on
another one right now, and onceI did that I was just very
hooked and then and then thingsreally start clicking for me and
I pretty much the last five,seven, eight years I've kind of
taken a step back from thetheater and been working pretty
exclusively just in film.
Well, I've kind of taken a stepback from the theater and been
working pretty exclusively justin film.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Well, I've noticed that, looking Jimmy, like we
have IMDb to reference, butlooking through IMDb.
You've got a lot of stuff justwithin the last couple of years
on a lot of big projects.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
You've been a busy man, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah, no, I'm very, very lucky because you know the
work has been pretty slow.
Honestly, it's uh, you know thework has been pretty slow
honestly.
It's like up and down we had abusy couple years but I've been
very fortunate to you know, Itell this to people too.
I'm like as an actor, you, youwant to go for everything, right
, put yourself out there foreverything.
But I'm like I always tend tobook the stuff that I feel like
(21:52):
oh yeah, this really is me, likeit feels like this is, this is
a show.
It feels like this is a show Ireally like, this is a stuff I
love working in.
Like you know, this stuff kindof finds you when you really you
know, when you know what youlike, when you get out there.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Yeah, I've been very fortunate.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
You know what aisles to shop in Twilight Zone.
Amazing Resident Alien, superfun show, great team.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Looking at your website, it says it's Fire
Country.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
If you guys have seen Fire Country, it's a great show
and the cast and team on thatwas just like awesome.
Great, I had not seen it.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yeah, I've been very fortunate to work on some great
projects.
So we were talking about youracclaimed role in Goosebumps in
the mummy episode.
Yeah, it's so weird because assoon as I saw that it was like
this one was Slappy the dummy,right the dummy one.
Yeah, I remember that used toscare the crap out of me when I
(22:54):
was a little kid so it was kindof it was funny seeing it's just
like wow, using goosebumps asobviously the newer versions,
but it's still cool.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
It's still happening yeah, it's awesome.
It was like it was a very small, small thing I did on that one,
but it was a lot of fun.
I was actually shooting one ofthe Bruce Sweeney films during
that and I really wanted amustache in the Bruce Sweeney
(23:22):
film.
But I shot this one day onGoosebumps in the middle of our
shoot and they wouldn't let mehave a mustache.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
What does Goosebumps have against mustaches?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
They said it wasn't in the period.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Mustaches are timeless.
Well, that's what I thought.
There's a mustache style forevery decade, of every century.
Exactly Did they let you have amustache in Supernatural.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
No, no mustache there .
Exactly, you have a mustache inSupernatural.
Um, no, no, no mustache there.
I saw that was one of your TVcredits.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
What was your role on Supernatural?
We had to watch all 15 seasonsa couple years ago.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
It's one of my favorite shows, so I made Hayden
and Tom watch it.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, it's a great show.
That was another small one thatwas kind of just when I was so
I made Hayden and Tom watch it.
Yeah, it's a great show.
That was another small one thatwas kind of just when I was
getting more into film, but that, as you know, ran 15 seasons in
Vancouver and my episode islike the third last episode.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Who do you wait?
What's your part?
Are you a demon, an angel, a?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
innocent.
I was, I was a demon but Iweren't.
I'm trying to remember her name, who was amazing, who?
She was a regular on the series.
She, she's an incredible personwho was amazing to me, but let
me see if I can remember her hername.
(24:53):
She was blonde and she was onthe show for years and then she
left the show and she had somehealth.
Now I'm embarrassed because Idon't know enough, I can't
remember enough of the details,but she had some, some health
things that affected hermobility.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Maybe Samantha Smith maybe trying to remember.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
I think I made it to the last season, I think I like
I think I got like to the firstepisode.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
She was on it earlier episode, she was on it Earlier,
she was on it earlier seasonsand when she had these health
issues she left the show and shewas gone for years.
But then they wrote this partfor her when that kind of
Incorporated her mobility.
You know things, and Was itlike the hunter girl where that
(25:50):
kind of incorporated hermobility you?
Know, things, and so RachelMinor.
She played a character namedMeg Masters.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Oh, yes, yes, she started off as like a demon in
the first season I think yeahand then she came back later on
as like a ghost, and then shecame back towards the end of the
series.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I can't remember if she was a ghost again or not,
but well, she, I know you'retalking, she, yeah, and I can't
remember, but she's like aleader, she's like she's kind of
like the main villain,antagonist, and then and this
was a part where my improvtraining really came into play,
because she had these mobilityissues but she was, it was great
with the lines and everything.
(26:28):
They wrote her character sothat her power was that she
could just snap and like killyou right, Mm-hmm.
So my scene is like I'm pleadingfor my life.
I'm like please, please, Ididn't mean to do this, you know
and she just snaps her fingerkind of waves her hand and like
my neck snaps right, did youjust?
She just snapped her finger,kind of waves her hand and like
(26:48):
my neck snapped right.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Did you just like?
Jerk your head to the side,Like?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
yeah, oh yeah, and I I practiced for hours.
I have all these videos stillon my phone Trying to crack my
neck in different ways and seehow it looks.
That's funny, yeah, so that wasfun.
(27:13):
And then she's like amazing sheworks at does a lot of charity
work now and stuff, and she wasvery inspiring person to see
someone who you know to havesomething like that like a
mobility disability and to havethat challenge and and how she
shifted into kind of like a lotof charity work and then, and
that the team wrote this partthat was able to incorporate.
That like it was such such acool example of just making the
(27:37):
work accessible and she's agreat actor and she just like
nailed it.
So, yeah, that was a cool, coolthing to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I think that's just a telltale sign of a really good
production, where you bringpeople back in.
It's just like, hey, we changedgears just because you were
part of this at the beginning,and now you're going to be back
in it again and we will workwith you the entire time and
help.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Right, you don't hear a lot about that anymore in
today's crazy society.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
No, it's true, it's true, it can be very competitive
and people can get veryself-centered about their own
success.
But honestly and it's true inacting and in the arts generally
, those people don't don't stickaround too too long.
(28:28):
So, at the end of the day, likepeople want to work with people
who are fun and nice to workwith and good people and don't
want to work with a bunch oflike cutthroats and pirates, who
were pretty much yeah, like ifyou're the most talented person
in the world, that you're anasshole, like you know.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Yeah, they're out there there's a few out there,
and they still get a lot of workand a lot of money, and I wish
they'd just pay me not to be infilm, but alas, alas well, you
had mentioned being on FireCountry.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
How did you manage to get into that role?
Speaker 2 (29:07):
well, it was, you know, audition, like I do.
And the little part he's like acriminal who's brewing Bruno,
which is prison wine, which Iread the plot and it's vile.
It's like, oh my God, it's likefruit cocktail and sugar and
(29:29):
moldy bread in a bag and heatand time, and it smells terrible
, Colloquially known as hooch orbuck.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Yes, we know a thing or two.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
You have heard this they strain it through a sock.
Hopefully a clean onedisgusting and the guy I played.
He's brewing it in the latrinebecause they're all inmates,
right and so to hide it, he'sbrewing it inside of the toilet
the old toilet Merlot toilet,merlot, you know people will
(30:10):
probably not understand theconnotations when they saw it.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Like hey, this is classy, this is French.
Yeah, better that they don'tknow, unless you know, Ignorance
is bliss, they say Exactly, butyeah so really sorry yeah.
What was the audition like?
I mean, what, uh, for peoplewho aren't in the know or who
have auditioned for a televisionrole or a film role?
(30:38):
What's the audition processlike?
Do they bring you?
Speaker 2 (30:42):
in.
It has changed completely inthe last five years.
So, back you know, in the oldendays, before 2020, uh, you
would, you would print off yourresume and your headshot and
you'd you'd drive yourself tothe casting studio and you'd
wait for an hour sometimes, orsometimes more, and you'd come
(31:06):
in and you do your three linesfor the casting director and
then you drive home and then, ifyou're lucky, you get a call
back and then they bring youback and the director would be
there.
You come in and you do it forthe director a couple of times.
If you're lucky, they give yousome notes back and forth, Like
when I did Supernatural.
That was the process for thatone.
(31:27):
But after 2020, everything wentto self-tape.
So now you get the auditionfrom your agent, you ask your
roommate or your girlfriend oryour dad, as I did once, to read
the line for you and you filmit on your phone and you edit it
(31:50):
in your phone and you send itin and, um, so I you know I was,
I was with a partner and wasauditioning a lot and eventually
she was just like fuck this,I'm too, busy, um.
So anyway, I found a greatperson who I just adore, named
Brittany, who, uh, she has alittle studio set up near my
(32:10):
place.
So whenever I get an auditionnow I call her up.
We'll put some time.
I pay her for her time, but youknow, it's important and it
definitely makes work better.
So I go work with her and sheis a great coach and she films
it and she edits it, which isawesome.
Does she put any specialeffects?
Not really, but occasionallyshe's been like, oh, let's throw
(32:33):
some music under this or she'll, we'll definitely have fun with
lighting, like, if it's kind oflike a, you know, a spookier
kind of role, like we'll havefun doing some moody lighting
and very, very collaborative andvery fun.
So, yeah, I taped with her, sendit in and then, and then just
off that tape.
I got it.
You know, my agent reached us.
(32:53):
Okay, you're on hold for this.
That means you're one of a fewchoices.
And and, uh, you know it mightrecur this part, oh, that would
be great.
And and so then I got the call.
Like you're in it.
So it's so wild now, like youdo these tapes when you show up
on set like you've never met thedirector.
You've never seen the otheractor.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
They've never seen you so it's like they're meeting
each other for the first timeyou're kind of meeting for the
first time, like on set.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
So it's, you know, I'm glad now I have the
experience because I think ifyou're if your first gig you
ever booked off the tape, itwould be pretty nerve-wracking
to show up on a set for yourfirst time and not have at least
have had that experience in theaudition room where you have to
meet the director and stuff.
So but I love it.
Like there's a lot of people,I'll say, out there who really
are frustrated with theself-tape, uh, model of of
(33:45):
auditions.
They really miss getting thatdirect feedback from the
director and being in a roomwith someone and I feel for that
, you know, like it is verydifferent and there is nothing
like being in a room and workingwith a director in person.
But personally I really likethe self-tape thing and it's
given me an opportunity toreally, I feel like, advance my
(34:07):
practice because I get to try it, I get to watch and see what it
looks like and you go, oh, Ithought I was doing this, but
but it reads like that, you know, and so for me it's been great
and I really enjoy doing thetape.
Um, so yeah, just off the tapeand then showed up and and that
(34:27):
was that.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
So I guess in the glory years or the golden age it
would be you go, you're sittingthere in a big room and you're
eyeballing everybody else who'sthere or going for the same part
and you're like he's not goingto get it and like that guy's
going to be my competition.
Then some guy walks up andshakes your hand and you're like
get away from me, like I'mauditioning, I don't.
(34:49):
I it one more time and thenkind of tweak it and put
together a really good productand launch it yeah, exactly.
But you probably had a leg upwith the improv.
Pardon me, I said you probablyhad a leg up in the in-person
with the improv, to just kind oflike gauge, I guess, the
reaction and audible on the spot.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure, actioned and audible
on the spot.
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure,and also even like a thing that
is the improv that helps isthat, like you talk about the
experience in the room, whichyou're right, right, like
everyone's going for the samething and I used to say I'd show
up to an audition.
It's like 30 guys that lookexactly like me.
What?
The fuck, it's like thespider-man meme what the fuck?
(35:37):
it's like the spider-man meme,yeah, exactly right.
But but I found I definitelystarted like, okay, then you
realize, oh, like you get toknow people and you work
together on this or that, and soit it's also on the positive
side, could be a nice, it's anice check-in and and you, hey,
I hope you book this one, youknow, because really there's, I
do believe there's parts foreveryone and there's there's
work for everyone and and uh, weall are better off when we
(35:59):
support and are positive, uh,you know, community members in
that way, you know.
So it makes the.
But yeah, now people are like,fuck, I never see anyone, right,
and I never see other actorsbecause I film everything at
home.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Man.
But I guess for the people thatare trying to find who they
want to cast, it works for thembecause it's accessible to a lot
more people.
But yeah, I imagine it would bea lot harder because there is a
lot more people and you knowit's accessible, so much so.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Well, exactly, they say that now.
Oh, they used to see you knowlike 20 people for a role.
Now they're seeing 50, right,so we'll have to that.
But I'm like, but isn't that agood thing?
Like they, it means they'regonna find better actors, you
know, or like, have more, youknow, find that special thing a
bit easier yeah, but in the inthe olden days, the olden days
(36:51):
before COVID you could actuallydrive and you'd see the people
that are committed and wanted tobe there.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Put the effort to get there on time.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Walk across town in the snowstorm.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Uphill both ways and it was 108 degrees outside.
I don't get it either.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
My lines blew away in the snow.
I left them on the bus.
I left them on the bus, leftthem on the bus.
I mean these, these are alltrue stories.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
I wonder if anyone's put ad uh ads in their like
tapes that they send off,because everything's got ads now
.
Like youtube, ads are going outof control.
Everything's like netflix, allthese ads and like that pop-up
or commercials.
It's like you're in the middlewatching some guy's screen take
and then it's like here at theDollar Shave Club.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
That's the way I mean .
That could be a way to pay.
That's maybe a business idea inthere.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
I have about seven good ideas a year on average,
and that was probably numberfive and he doesn't go, he
doesn't follow through with it.
No, I fall through with none ofthem.
I pitched them entirely toother people to let them run
with it, Cause I can't as anactor you could buy advertising
spots on other people's selftape, like as they're watching
(38:06):
someone else's audition.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Be like hi, I'm Jeff, just 10 seconds.
Buzz someone else's audition.
Be like hi, I'm Jeff, just 10seconds bud.
Just say hi, I'm also an actor.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
I understand you're considering my pal John here,
but why not Jeff?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Have you thought of a Jeff for that?
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Check out the link from my.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Just send them straight back to yours.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Now back to the audition.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
This sounds like a parody of real life, and we're
just slowly writing it intoexistence.
Jeff, I really hope you takesome improv to these ideas we're
coming up with and makesomething out of it and send it
to us.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I will, yeah, and I'll credit you properly.
You don't have to.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Let's talk about your upcoming film that's going to
hit theaters May 9th Cryptic.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Tell us a little bit about this movie without
spoiling anything.
Yeah, without spoiling anything.
Or spoil the crap out of it.
We don't care.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
I'm sure people he's worked with would care.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Yeah, yeah, what can I say?
Like it's man, it's wild.
Like it's the writer, thedirector, courtney Roy.
She's K-O-U-R-T-N-U-Y.
She's a photographer by trade,is most of what she does, and
(39:35):
she's she's from canada, fromontario, but she lives in paris
and works as a photographer.
She does these incredibleself-portraits and um, and just
has a really, really coolimagination and a really cool
aesthetic.
And so she teamed up with PaulBromley, who's a screenwriter,
written a few kind of a lot ofhorror films in that kind of
(39:59):
genre, and they teamed up andwrote this just wild story.
So I like, right from thebeginning, when I was, when I
like read the scene for this, Iwas like okay.
And this is again where, likemy theater background and my
improv background, this I waslike okay.
And this is again where, likemy theater background and my
improv background, I'm like youknow, and in Canada, as I said,
a lot of the stuff you see ismaybe it's Hallmark movies or
(40:21):
these kind of TV shows, but thiswas something that was so
outside the box and very muchsomething that that, like I felt
like the kind of movie I wouldreally love.
You know, I'm, I'm, I love myDavid Lynch and Cronenberg and,
uh, these real kind of spookyout there, psychological, you
know, horror type, uh things.
(40:44):
So I was just, uh, yeah, Iloved the scene and then read
the script and was like, oh man,this is, this is wild.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
I gotta be in this movie.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Yeah, I was.
So I, yeah, I just worked my,worked my butt off and uh.
So, yeah, like the story, Imean, here's something I'll say,
like when we did the premier atSouth by Southwest in Austin,
uh, you know a lot of people sowhat, what's it about?
Right?
Or like, what did it mean when,when she does this and that,
(41:14):
and you know, and it's one ofthose like I'm like, hey, listen
, the film's called cryptic it'ssupposed to be a little bit of
a mystery yeah, it's not one ofthose films where, like, there's
a real clear-cut explanationfor everything that happens
Sorry to say you know, but it isvery cryptic, but it definitely
(41:37):
takes you on a ride andbasically, you know.
In short, there's a woman, youknow, at the beginning and this
part of the screenplay wherethey started was based on a true
story where there's a group ofwomen hiking in the mountains
and a woman, one of them, goesmissing, okay, and so so they've
(42:00):
kind of taken this at thebeginning of the film.
So this woman is on this hikeand she kind of wanders into the
woods where she kind of seesthis kind of monster in the wood
.
And when she comes out ofmeeting this monster, she's
completely lost her memory ofwho she is.
(42:21):
And she comes back to the groupand they're like well, where's
this person?
And they're like are you KayHall?
Is that you?
She's like, I guess so she.
She's like um, I guess so.
She's just like fuck, I don'tknow.
She's like looks in her pocketOkay, here's some car keys.
Okay, there's my car.
You know like, oh, here's someID.
(42:41):
Okay, my name is Kay Hall, okay, and here's my address, right.
So she goes.
So it's like that's how itstarts.
You're just like it's like thiswoman who doesn't know who she
is and she gets kind of thruston an adventure where she ends
up on the trail of this otherwoman who's like a monster
hunter who disappeared, and thenshe ends up kind of of the
(43:20):
identity of this other woman andends up going back to her home
and with the husband who's beenkind of looking for her.
So I'm like the husband at theend who she returns to, and it's
a really fun role, because whenyou first see him he's, oh my
God, he's so happy to see herand she's home.
And then, like, piece by piece,as you meet him, his character
starts to unravel and yourealize, oh, there's something
(43:42):
kind of fucked up about this guy.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
This is not good.
This is not what it seems he'sbeing very cryptic, yeah, and
I'll leave it there.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Okay, cryptic, and, and I'll I'll, I'll leave it
there well, I definitely lookforward to seeing this one.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
The trailers look very, very good, very
interesting.
Well, shot too does.
Yeah, like you said, she was aphotographer, so she knows how
to paint the.
You know, do the shots andpaint the pictures for you.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yes, exactly, and uh, and I'd, I'd encourage like
looking up her Instagram and herwork and stuff.
It's just incredible and sheand the DOP, uh, the director of
photography on the film was aguy named David bird who's from
London.
It was it was a Canada and UKco-production, so some of the
team is from London and he's anincredible DP and the two of
(44:30):
them, courtney and the DP, worksreally well together.
You know, like she has theimagery and the visuals and he
just had just a beautiful way ofkind of setting stuff up and
you know, together they createda visual world.
That's just very cool, that'sawesome.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Cryptic May 9th in theaters.
Check it out.
Be on streaming May 29thaccording to the internet, which
doesn't lie to you.
According to the internet.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
So, before we leave, is there anything you'd like to
plug for yourself, for others?
Now's your chance for your ownad about yourself.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
You know what?
Uh well, I'll say this I uhstarted an improv company with
some friends uh out in Vancouver, called tight rope theater, and
uh.
So if you're ever in Vancouverand want to come see an improv
show, uh, come down to tightrope come on down and walk the
tight rope and um, yeah, andyeah, a couple other projects
(45:36):
like uh in the works but norelease date set.
Uh, I'm in a film called thebearded girl which is, uh, made
by the same production companythat did cryptic.
Okay, um, so that'll be hoping.
Like next year hits themFestival circuit uh, should be
fun.
So that'll be hoping like nextyear hits them festival circuit
Uh, should be fun.
Um, but yeah, I hope peoplecheck out cryptic and it would
(45:56):
be great to hear what you think.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
I'm sure people will have lots of questions.
It might be we need to get Jeffback on the show, All right?
So you said when we talked toyou, this is what was going on.
None of that happened.
I watched this whole movie.
This is what was going on.
None of that happened.
I watched this whole movie.
I got notes.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, what the fuck was going on.
Speaker 1 (46:17):
Well, Jeff, thank you so much for taking time out of
your busy day to sit here on ourlittle show and we hope you
enjoyed being here.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
My pleasure A lot of laughs, a lot of fun.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
And thank you to the listener for listening to this
episode of Entertain.
This I was Tom.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
I'm Mitch.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
And Mr Jeff Gladstone .
No-transcript.
Hello and welcome to Entertain this.
It's a podcast about movies, TVshows and video games.
My name is Tom.
With me I have Mitch and wedon't have Hayden, but we got
something better than Hayden wegot Jeff Gladstone Woo.
How?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
you doing, jeff, I'm doing great.
Thanks, I'm doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well, jeff here, I see you're an actor, a producer,
a composer, canadian, and youwere on Goosebumps yes, yes, all
of those things are true and Iunderstand you got a movie
coming up here Cryptic, that'sright.
Yeah, cryptic, it's a weird oneShould be coming out May 9th of
(01:08):
this year.
Right, that's right.
So before we talk about the newmovie, let's get to know you a
little bit.
Sounds great.
I see you hail from Canada.
Whereabouts in Canada.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
That's right.
So I grew up in a place calledCalgary, alberta, which is kind
of near the Rocky Mountainsthere, but I've lived in
Vancouver for the past 20, 25years.
Vancouver, bc, on the beautifulwest coast, the nice.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, Pacific Northwest.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
So do you still root for the Flames or do you root
for the Canucks?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
That's a great question.
You know, I grew up playinghockey but I kind of faded as a
hardcore fan, for sure, but I do.
My brothers and my family areall big Flames fans.
So, uh, you know, I still I,but I'm not really particular
personally, but I enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I watched some of the game last night and, uh, you
know, it's a good time this isthe first chance I get to talk
to somebody who actually watcheshockey, because no one else I
know around here does down herein Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm an Islanders fan myself,being from Long Island
originally.
Oh nice, nice.
I only got to see the Islandersonce at the old Nassau Coliseum
(02:32):
, and I was a little kid and Istill can't remember who they
played.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Well, do you?
Know, the Calgary Flames, whichwas our team growing up, was
that started as the AtlantaFlames?
Did you know that?
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, they entered the NHL the same year, in 1972,
as the New York Islanders.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
I'm from down here in Atlanta and it gets maybe cold
enough for ice maybe three tofour times a year.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
So I never got in a hot and it's only on the road,
it's not on a pond.
It's not on a pond, it's not ona lake, just the road.
You could ice skate on I-85,but that's really about it.
That sounds fun.
So how does a young Calgarybread fella who ends up in
Vancouver get into the improvacting business?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Well, you know what, in Calgary, uh, we had it lucky
there was a fellow named KeithJohnstone who taught at the
university and, uh, he hadstarted an improv company in
Calgary that's called the loosemoose theater and, and that's
basically where I grew up.
(03:47):
We used to go watch shows therein high school and then I
joined the company in university, keith was.
He taught the first year actingat the University of Calgary
but he invented a lot of theimprov techniques that are still
.
He was basically starting atthe same time as Del Close and
(04:08):
the groups in Chicago there, butKeith had started working in
London.
He actually worked at the RoyalCourt Theatre and taught
playwrights.
He worked with Samuel Beckettand Harold Pinter and some of
these, lawrence Olivier and someof these.
He worked in the theatre scene,but he was a real like
subversive, kind ofanti-establishment kind of
(04:30):
character back in the day,always like pushing the envelope
and kind of testing things.
So he ended up in Calgarythrough a weird series of
coincidences and he was reallyhe was an incredible teacher,
like you know.
Yes, and and and, like word ata time, stories, a lot of the
theater, sports, these were allkind of his inventions and so we
(04:52):
just really lucked out and theLoose Moose Theater Company.
We were all young Like the agerange was like 16 to 22.
And we played theater, sportsand some of these improv formats
and it was an incredible placeto grow up and learn about
theater and kind of get a start.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
I don't think I could ever do improv.
I mean, I occasionally havethat gift of gab to just start
talking out of my butt at thedrop of a hat, but I don't know
if I could do it on stage, withpeople in front of me.
It's like panic, it's like dosomething with your hands.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Yeah, dude, that is exactly it.
Now I do some teaching, someimprov, and that is exactly how
everybody feels.
It's so funny, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
And what around what year?
Is this that we're starting outin the improv game?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
So for myself, this would have been 1998.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
We brought it full circle.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I don't know if that was on the interview at the
beginning, but that was just ajoke we had about that year.
But yeah, 96, 97, 98 was when Iwas at the Loose Moose, kind of
starting out there, and I was aterrible improviser when I
started.
I tell people it takes 10 yearsto learn how to improvise.
It took me longer than that.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
What made you want to get into improvisation and
acting in general?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, I mean, I was one of those like as a kid I was
a big Star Wars kid and writingmovies and my dad had a little
Super 8 camera and we used touse it and make movies and stuff
.
I just I love movies, I loveacting and storytelling as a kid
and so you know, I was like oneof those kids.
(06:43):
And then, you know, high schoolwe used to go.
I mean, I also had a great highschool drama teacher.
You know big shout out to theteachers out there.
You know they really withoutteachers, you know, without
great drama teachers and stufflike that, it doesn't get passed
on, you know.
So, yeah, we had a great highschool drama teacher.
And then, of course, going tosee the theater sports, that
(07:11):
loose moose was just likeincredible.
Like they kind of like at thattheater, you know, the groups
like ahead of me, like I don'tknow if uh, anyway, some some uh
notable comedy kids in the halland stuff some of them were
from there and uh, some othergreat folks, um, anyway, it was
just uh, it was a reallyexciting thing to go see, cause
it was like it was theater butit's like you're allowed to yell
(07:31):
at the actors, you know andthey had, yeah, you know, and
like you could get brought up onstage and and they were doing
stuff with like masks and youknow, improvising with the sound
, and it was just so fun.
It was such a fun place to beand really caught the bug.
(07:52):
So we pretty much, you know, mybrother and I actually it was
actually honestly my brother whokind of dragged me out there in
the first place, but then wespent every weekend there
through the 90s until I moved toVancouver.
So, yeah, just like surroundedby a lot of talent and a lot of
great energy and some coolopportunities.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Was there ever a play there called Moose on the Loose
at the Loose Moose?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
No, but there should be Dang.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well, you said, your brother drug you there.
Does he still do acting, oranything like that?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Yeah, yeah, brother, drug you there, does he?
Uh, does he still do acting oranything like that?
Yeah, yeah he.
Uh he started, uh, his owntheater company uh, that's
called their theater and and, uh, we worked together in that
company for a number of yearsand we were starting out doing
lots of tours and whatnot andhe's still doing it.
He does like the fringe toursand stuff.
He just actually was in NewYork with a show he wrote with
(08:49):
another artist about Juliet.
That's really fun comedy.
We're actually writing a playtogether right now Lose on the
loose.
No, I don't know if you knowthis story, but it's about the
After Place Riot.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I, I heard of that one, the aster place riot.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
New York in like the 1840s and there was two
Shakespearean actors performingMacbeth across the street from
each other and, uh, the, thefans of each side were so like
worked up about who was thebetter Shakespeare actor.
It broke out into a riot, likea massive riot.
Wow, like 10,000 people andlike the National Guard was
(09:35):
called in and all this stuff.
And we just love the storybecause it's like wow, people
used to get that excited abouttheater.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I was like, so they were passionate about their
choices.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
This is before pro sports Actors used to have
jersey numbers on the back,exactly, exactly right, that'd
be like a funny modern twist onit.
Yeah, I mean there was a riotin Quebec when, uh, or in
Montreal, the NHL uh suspendeduh, maurice Richard, and a huge
(10:07):
riot broke out because he waslike the ultimate player.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, honestly yeah.
In Canada, it's the hockeythat's the lifeblood of the
country.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, yeah so it seems to I guess from my
understanding a lot of peoplewe've talked to who do like more
classical theater, it's verylike studious, it's almost like
you know a lot like the peoplelike the turtleneck holding the
skull kind of look, and thenimprov almost sounds like the
wwe, like you're getting pulledout of the audience and they're
throwing chairs up on stage andit's just like just go for it.
(10:42):
You're like I don't even knowwhat you know you've called out
exactly.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
In fact he's johnstone, my improv teacher.
When he was starting this stuffout and in london in the 50s,
him and some of the otherdirectors went and watched a
wrestling match and theyliterally were like god, isn't
it amazing to be in like atheatrical kind of setting but
the audience they're like thisold lady is like swinging their
purse over their head, likethey're like how could we get
(11:07):
people to act like this in thetheater, right?
Speaker 1 (11:11):
like how do we get that chaotic energy into stage?
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yeah, so improv, at least in the Pete Johnstone kind
of school, is like consideredlike like yeah, theater meets
professional wrestling.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
I mean someone who's done classical theater and you
have this huge background atimprov.
Do you find it harder to do oneversus the other?
Because it's like it kind ofbleeds over.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh, that's a great question.
I mean, I love it all.
I love Shakespeare, you know,and, like you kind of say, like
the preparation and the rigor oflike getting into the language,
I love it.
I love the play.
I love Shakespeare.
I love the stories and theplays and stuff and the funny
like, the longer, like when Istarted I definitely feel like
(11:59):
all these different interests,you know, and improv and acting
and then and then theater tofilm and improv and all that
stuff.
But the more I do this stuff,the more I find like it's all
really connected and and there'sthere's a there's a heart of
(12:20):
improv and spontaneity in in anykind of performance practice,
because at the end of the day,you got to be so in the moment
that if something happens, youknow that, that you didn't
expect, you you got to run withit, right, and and and I say
that's the case with shakespeare, you know, and that's
definitely the case with workingon film you know your partner
does something different, or afly comes into the room.
(12:42):
It's like if you pretend likeit's not there on stage or on
film, it's like it reads veryfalse.
But if you can just be veryopen and just go with the
impulses and flow, with what'shappening, then it's so, it's
yeah.
So I feel very grateful to havethis background in improv,
because I definitely use it ineverything I do.
(13:05):
I feel.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
There's got to be a great skill to have in a
wheelhouse.
It's like you're at a meetingor something and something
starts going and you're justlike man.
This would be great material.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
And then you're just like let me just try it now.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
It's like sorry, sir, this is a pta meeting you need
to calm down, yeah well, gettingyou know doing the improv and
stuff.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Does that?
Has that helped as far as likegetting roles and when you have
like the longer speaking parts,just to being able to kind of
like kind of play with the linesa little bit, as far as like
you know what what's needed forthe uh, the on-screen dialogue
and stuff yeah for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I mean it's, um, it definitely has given me a
practice to kind of be ready for, you know, ready for anything
and and it's given me a lot oftools just in my preparation too
, and and again, just you know,to shout out keith Johnstone,
again, like you know, he hadjust some really cool ways of
looking at things.
He's like, okay, often likeevery actor is going to do a
(14:04):
scene in this kind of your first, kind of like expected way.
Or you're a robber breakinginto a house, right, and it's
okay, everyone's going to playthe robber.
Like, oh, you know whatever,and it's okay, everyone's gonna
play the robber.
Like, oh, you know whatever.
And he's like, but what if youtry the scene?
You know, like he's very like,he's very like guilt-ridden and
he's like feels guilty abouteverything.
Or what if you try being arobber who's like really low
(14:26):
status?
You know, like what if you trydoing the scene like like it's
it's a love scene and he, youknow, and he sees the painting
and it's like he, he plays withgloves, so that you can, you can
just try things wrong, right,you can go.
Okay, that sounds like thewrong way to do this, but
sometimes you try it and andthere's something you discover,
something you know, and it's so.
(14:47):
So, in that regard, it'sdefinitely given me lots of
tools, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
See if I, if they were like oh, we want you to
play like a burglar or a robber.
And you always picture, like youknow the black turtleneck, the
ski hat, you know the mask,maybe a small flashlight, and
they break it it's like you knowhe sees a painting and he looks
at it and he pulls out a penout of his like pocket and
autographs it like he did.
It looks at a remote, takes thebatteries out and throws them
across the room and just putsthem back and like just, and
(15:11):
then goes on about like itdidn't even happen.
Yeah, that would be the kind ofimprov I would want to bring to
it Just chaotic like cat energy.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
And on the way out.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
He looks at something on a mantelpiece and just
knocks it off.
It's like man we don't needthat.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I mean right, play a burglar scene like you're a cat,
you're like the spirit of a cat.
I mean I, I would love to seethat, I want you to do that role
in a calgary flames jersey.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And then there'll be another guy breaking into a
house across the street.
He'll have a canucks jersey on.
You guys will pop out at thesame time and see each other
rival robbers, I like it.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
It's writing itself.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Oh my god, it's right there so this is all in the 90s
, in the early 2000s, you're inthe improv, you're in theater.
How'd you transition intowanting to do television and
film?
Was it like a let me call anagent?
Did they reach out to you like,hey, here's a part?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
um, no, hell, no, I had to go find it wasn't that
simple, huh I wish I was walkingdown the street and someone
said you're gonna be a staryou're gonna be a star kid,
you're gonna be huge um, no, god, it's honestly I it.
I feel like I'm uh, you, youknow a slow learner, but like I
(16:37):
moved to Vancouver and when I Ikind of moved to Vancouver at a
time this is now early 2000sVancouver was coming out of a
real film boom, like it had beenreally busy and there was lots
of work and everyone was workingand it felt like, right when I
arrived it things kind of likedried up some it's like the
X-Files was shooting there atthat time and it got a lot
(17:00):
quieter.
And because my background wasin theater and improv, I hadn't
had a lot of film training and,uh, you know, I felt good about
my acting.
I had some good auditions, Ihad couple little things, but
nothing really clicked for me inthe film world when I first
moved in.
So I worked in theater and Ihad a great time.
(17:20):
I did lots of touring, I got towork on lots of cool projects,
you know, like new plays, andthat was great.
So it was honestly just likeabout 10 years ago, like where I
took kind of a break and then Iwould come back and I always
was curious and wanted to dofilm.
But I definitely worked prettyexclusively in theater and then
(17:41):
about 10 years ago, you know, Istarted taking some classes,
going back to school and againlike working with some great
teachers out in Vancouver andstarted building my skills.
And then, yeah, about 10, 12years ago, I kind of started
booking small things, you know,commercial here and there and
stuff, and then started buildingup my resume.
(18:03):
And then in the 20, well, yeah,I guess around 10 years ago, I
made a connection with adirector in Vancouver named
Bruce Sweeney and he's a writer,director who writes these
really fun quirky comedy drama,uh kind of sometimes romantic.
(18:24):
He has a lot of differentstyles he works in but they're
all very comedic and and anactor, a theater actor I'd work
with, who'd done some films withhim.
She's like you know what You'dlove this guy, you guys would
really connect because he hasthis way of developing his
scripts where he really workswith the actors and there's a
very kind of improvisational andlike creative energy in terms
(18:45):
of building the character,building the story, and I was
like, well, that sounds great tome, right, because why am I not
talking to him right now?
yeah, you know what I mean like,because most stuff I go for I
mean in Canada, most of the filmand TV auditions that you're
going out for a waiter for athing and I always felt a little
bit kind of that atmosphere inVancouver, at least at that time
(19:06):
was like, oh, don't do anythingoutside the box, right, like we
, these are these big Americanproductions, and like everything
needs to kind of fit what wethink they want, you, you know,
and I always felt and I thinkthat was in my head too like, oh
, I, I want to do this, right,like you know, and anyway.
So meeting Bruce was awesome,so I ended up actually taking a
(19:26):
class with him and working onsome stuff and then we, you know
, grabbed a beer and we started,you know, hanging and he kind
of started talking me throughthis one film he was working on
about this guy who was kind oflike this character, who kind of
had was uh, how would I put it?
It's a little bit maybe on theautistic spectrum and kind of
(19:48):
like a quirky.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
A touch of ism.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I was like yeah, this all sounds like me.
Honestly, are you justdescribing me to myself?
Yeah, and you know, we'rechatting through the story and
building this character and atsome point I was like hey, you
know, if you ever make this film, I'd love to be considered for
this part.
You know, I really had to workmyself up and he's like oh no,
(20:13):
dude, like I'm writing this foryou.
You know, I really had to workmyself up and he's like oh, no,
dude, like I I'm, I'm writingthis for you, like I'm imagining
that you will play this part,and I was like sweet, right, so
it's like wow yeah, right.
So I was like I was so stokedbecause so so this was where I
got to make a nice jump from youknow little day parts or
whatever filming TV andcommercials and whatnot, to like
(20:35):
something like a lead role in afeature film with a great
ensemble cast where I was a partof the creation of it.
And yeah, that film's calledKing's Way and that was really
one of my first leads in afeature and that experience
really like I was hooked andjust having the experience, I've
(20:57):
now made two films with BruceSweeney and we're working on
another one right now, and onceI did that I was just very
hooked and then and then thingsreally start clicking for me and
I pretty much the last five,seven, eight years I've kind of
taken a step back from thetheater and been working pretty
exclusively just in film.
Well, I've kind of taken a stepback from the theater and been
working pretty exclusively justin film.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
Well, I've noticed that, looking Jimmy, like we
have IMDb to reference, butlooking through IMDb.
You've got a lot of stuff justwithin the last couple of years
on a lot of big projects.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
You've been a busy man, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Yeah, no, I'm very, very lucky because you know the
work has been pretty slow.
Honestly, it's uh, you know thework has been pretty slow
honestly.
It's like up and down we had abusy couple years but I've been
very fortunate to you know, Itell this to people too.
I'm like as an actor, you, youwant to go for everything, right
, put yourself out there foreverything.
But I'm like I always tend tobook the stuff that I feel like
(21:52):
oh yeah, this really is me, likeit feels like this is, this is
a show.
It feels like this is a show Ireally like, this is a stuff I
love working in.
Like you know, this stuff kindof finds you when you really you
know, when you know what youlike, when you get out there.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Yeah, I've been very fortunate.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
You know what aisles to shop in Twilight Zone.
Amazing Resident Alien, superfun show, great team.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Looking at your website, it says it's Fire
Country.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
If you guys have seen Fire Country, it's a great show
and the cast and team on thatwas just like awesome.
Great, I had not seen it.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yeah, I've been very fortunate to work on some great
projects.
So we were talking about youracclaimed role in Goosebumps in
the mummy episode.
Yeah, it's so weird because assoon as I saw that it was like
this one was Slappy the dummy,right the dummy one.
Yeah, I remember that used toscare the crap out of me when I
(22:54):
was a little kid so it was kindof it was funny seeing it's just
like wow, using goosebumps asobviously the newer versions,
but it's still cool.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
It's still happening yeah, it's awesome.
It was like it was a very small, small thing I did on that one,
but it was a lot of fun.
I was actually shooting one ofthe Bruce Sweeney films during
that and I really wanted amustache in the Bruce Sweeney
(23:22):
film.
But I shot this one day onGoosebumps in the middle of our
shoot and they wouldn't let mehave a mustache.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
What does Goosebumps have against mustaches?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
They said it wasn't in the period.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Mustaches are timeless.
Well, that's what I thought.
There's a mustache style forevery decade, of every century.
Exactly Did they let you have amustache in Supernatural.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
No, no mustache there .
Exactly, you have a mustache inSupernatural.
Um, no, no, no mustache there.
I saw that was one of your TVcredits.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
What was your role on Supernatural?
We had to watch all 15 seasonsa couple years ago.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
It's one of my favorite shows, so I made Hayden
and Tom watch it.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, it's a great show.
That was another small one thatwas kind of just when I was so
I made Hayden and Tom watch it.
Yeah, it's a great show.
That was another small one thatwas kind of just when I was
getting more into film, but that, as you know, ran 15 seasons in
Vancouver and my episode islike the third last episode.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Who do you wait?
What's your part?
Are you a demon, an angel, a?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
innocent.
I was, I was a demon but Iweren't.
I'm trying to remember her name, who was amazing, who?
She was a regular on the series.
She, she's an incredible personwho was amazing to me, but let
me see if I can remember her hername.
(24:53):
She was blonde and she was onthe show for years and then she
left the show and she had somehealth.
Now I'm embarrassed because Idon't know enough, I can't
remember enough of the details,but she had some, some health
things that affected hermobility.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Maybe Samantha Smith maybe trying to remember.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
I think I made it to the last season, I think I like
I think I got like to the firstepisode.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
She was on it earlier episode, she was on it Earlier,
she was on it earlier seasonsand when she had these health
issues she left the show and shewas gone for years.
But then they wrote this partfor her when that kind of
Incorporated her mobility.
You know things, and Was itlike the hunter girl where that
(25:50):
kind of incorporated hermobility you?
Know, things, and so RachelMinor.
She played a character namedMeg Masters.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Oh, yes, yes, she started off as like a demon in
the first season I think yeahand then she came back later on
as like a ghost, and then shecame back towards the end of the
series.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I can't remember if she was a ghost again or not,
but well, she, I know you'retalking, she, yeah, and I can't
remember, but she's like aleader, she's like she's kind of
like the main villain,antagonist, and then and this
was a part where my improvtraining really came into play,
because she had these mobilityissues but she was, it was great
with the lines and everything.
(26:28):
They wrote her character sothat her power was that she
could just snap and like killyou right, Mm-hmm.
So my scene is like I'm pleadingfor my life.
I'm like please, please, Ididn't mean to do this, you know
and she just snaps her fingerkind of waves her hand and like
my neck snaps right, did youjust?
She just snapped her finger,kind of waves her hand and like
(26:48):
my neck snapped right.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Did you just like?
Jerk your head to the side,Like?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
yeah, oh yeah, and I I practiced for hours.
I have all these videos stillon my phone Trying to crack my
neck in different ways and seehow it looks.
That's funny, yeah, so that wasfun.
(27:13):
And then she's like amazing sheworks at does a lot of charity
work now and stuff, and she wasvery inspiring person to see
someone who you know to havesomething like that like a
mobility disability and to havethat challenge and and how she
shifted into kind of like a lotof charity work and then, and
that the team wrote this partthat was able to incorporate.
That like it was such such acool example of just making the
(27:37):
work accessible and she's agreat actor and she just like
nailed it.
So, yeah, that was a cool, coolthing to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I think that's just a telltale sign of a really good
production, where you bringpeople back in.
It's just like, hey, we changedgears just because you were
part of this at the beginning,and now you're going to be back
in it again and we will workwith you the entire time and
help.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Right, you don't hear a lot about that anymore in
today's crazy society.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
No, it's true, it's true, it can be very competitive
and people can get veryself-centered about their own
success.
But honestly and it's true inacting and in the arts generally
, those people don't don't stickaround too too long.
(28:28):
So, at the end of the day, likepeople want to work with people
who are fun and nice to workwith and good people and don't
want to work with a bunch oflike cutthroats and pirates, who
were pretty much yeah, like ifyou're the most talented person
in the world, that you're anasshole, like you know.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Yeah, they're out there there's a few out there,
and they still get a lot of workand a lot of money, and I wish
they'd just pay me not to be infilm, but alas, alas well, you
had mentioned being on FireCountry.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
How did you manage to get into that role?
Speaker 2 (29:07):
well, it was, you know, audition, like I do.
And the little part he's like acriminal who's brewing Bruno,
which is prison wine, which Iread the plot and it's vile.
It's like, oh my God, it's likefruit cocktail and sugar and
(29:29):
moldy bread in a bag and heatand time, and it smells terrible
, Colloquially known as hooch orbuck.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Yes, we know a thing or two.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
You have heard this they strain it through a sock.
Hopefully a clean onedisgusting and the guy I played.
He's brewing it in the latrinebecause they're all inmates,
right and so to hide it, he'sbrewing it inside of the toilet
the old toilet Merlot toilet,merlot, you know people will
(30:10):
probably not understand theconnotations when they saw it.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Like hey, this is classy, this is French.
Yeah, better that they don'tknow, unless you know, Ignorance
is bliss, they say Exactly, butyeah so really sorry yeah.
What was the audition like?
I mean, what, uh, for peoplewho aren't in the know or who
have auditioned for a televisionrole or a film role?
(30:38):
What's the audition processlike?
Do they bring you?
Speaker 2 (30:42):
in.
It has changed completely inthe last five years.
So, back you know, in the oldendays, before 2020, uh, you
would, you would print off yourresume and your headshot and
you'd you'd drive yourself tothe casting studio and you'd
wait for an hour sometimes, orsometimes more, and you'd come
(31:06):
in and you do your three linesfor the casting director and
then you drive home and then, ifyou're lucky, you get a call
back and then they bring youback and the director would be
there.
You come in and you do it forthe director a couple of times.
If you're lucky, they give yousome notes back and forth, Like
when I did Supernatural.
That was the process for thatone.
(31:27):
But after 2020, everything wentto self-tape.
So now you get the auditionfrom your agent, you ask your
roommate or your girlfriend oryour dad, as I did once, to read
the line for you and you filmit on your phone and you edit it
(31:50):
in your phone and you send itin and, um, so I you know I was,
I was with a partner and wasauditioning a lot and eventually
she was just like fuck this,I'm too, busy, um.
So anyway, I found a greatperson who I just adore, named
Brittany, who, uh, she has alittle studio set up near my
(32:10):
place.
So whenever I get an auditionnow I call her up.
We'll put some time.
I pay her for her time, but youknow, it's important and it
definitely makes work better.
So I go work with her and sheis a great coach and she films
it and she edits it, which isawesome.
Does she put any specialeffects?
Not really, but occasionallyshe's been like, oh, let's throw
(32:33):
some music under this or she'll, we'll definitely have fun with
lighting, like, if it's kind oflike a, you know, a spookier
kind of role, like we'll havefun doing some moody lighting
and very, very collaborative andvery fun.
So, yeah, I taped with her, sendit in and then, and then just
off that tape.
I got it.
You know, my agent reached us.
(32:53):
Okay, you're on hold for this.
That means you're one of a fewchoices.
And and, uh, you know it mightrecur this part, oh, that would
be great.
And and so then I got the call.
Like you're in it.
So it's so wild now, like youdo these tapes when you show up
on set like you've never met thedirector.
You've never seen the otheractor.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
They've never seen you so it's like they're meeting
each other for the first timeyou're kind of meeting for the
first time, like on set.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
So it's, you know, I'm glad now I have the
experience because I think ifyou're if your first gig you
ever booked off the tape, itwould be pretty nerve-wracking
to show up on a set for yourfirst time and not have at least
have had that experience in theaudition room where you have to
meet the director and stuff.
So but I love it.
Like there's a lot of people,I'll say, out there who really
are frustrated with theself-tape, uh, model of of
(33:45):
auditions.
They really miss getting thatdirect feedback from the
director and being in a roomwith someone and I feel for that
, you know, like it is verydifferent and there is nothing
like being in a room and workingwith a director in person.
But personally I really likethe self-tape thing and it's
given me an opportunity toreally, I feel like, advance my
(34:07):
practice because I get to try it, I get to watch and see what it
looks like and you go, oh, Ithought I was doing this, but
but it reads like that, you know, and so for me it's been great
and I really enjoy doing thetape.
Um, so yeah, just off the tapeand then showed up and and that
(34:27):
was that.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
So I guess in the glory years or the golden age it
would be you go, you're sittingthere in a big room and you're
eyeballing everybody else who'sthere or going for the same part
and you're like he's not goingto get it and like that guy's
going to be my competition.
Then some guy walks up andshakes your hand and you're like
get away from me, like I'mauditioning, I don't.
(34:49):
I it one more time and thenkind of tweak it and put
together a really good productand launch it yeah, exactly.
But you probably had a leg upwith the improv.
Pardon me, I said you probablyhad a leg up in the in-person
with the improv, to just kind oflike gauge, I guess, the
reaction and audible on the spot.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure, actioned and audible
on the spot.
Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure,and also even like a thing that
is the improv that helps isthat, like you talk about the
experience in the room, whichyou're right, right, like
everyone's going for the samething and I used to say I'd show
up to an audition.
It's like 30 guys that lookexactly like me.
What?
The fuck, it's like thespider-man meme what the fuck?
(35:37):
it's like the spider-man meme,yeah, exactly right.
But but I found I definitelystarted like, okay, then you
realize, oh, like you get toknow people and you work
together on this or that, and soit it's also on the positive
side, could be a nice, it's anice check-in and and you, hey,
I hope you book this one, youknow, because really there's, I
do believe there's parts foreveryone and there's there's
work for everyone and and uh, weall are better off when we
(35:59):
support and are positive, uh,you know, community members in
that way, you know.
So it makes the.
But yeah, now people are like,fuck, I never see anyone, right,
and I never see other actorsbecause I film everything at
home.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Man.
But I guess for the people thatare trying to find who they
want to cast, it works for thembecause it's accessible to a lot
more people.
But yeah, I imagine it would bea lot harder because there is a
lot more people and you knowit's accessible, so much so.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
Well, exactly, they say that now.
Oh, they used to see you knowlike 20 people for a role.
Now they're seeing 50, right,so we'll have to that.
But I'm like, but isn't that agood thing?
Like they, it means they'regonna find better actors, you
know, or like, have more, youknow, find that special thing a
bit easier yeah, but in the inthe olden days, the olden days
(36:51):
before COVID you could actuallydrive and you'd see the people
that are committed and wanted tobe there.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
Put the effort to get there on time.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Walk across town in the snowstorm.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Uphill both ways and it was 108 degrees outside.
I don't get it either.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
My lines blew away in the snow.
I left them on the bus.
I left them on the bus, leftthem on the bus.
I mean these, these are alltrue stories.
Speaker 1 (37:19):
I wonder if anyone's put ad uh ads in their like
tapes that they send off,because everything's got ads now
.
Like youtube, ads are going outof control.
Everything's like netflix, allthese ads and like that pop-up
or commercials.
It's like you're in the middlewatching some guy's screen take
and then it's like here at theDollar Shave Club.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
That's the way I mean .
That could be a way to pay.
That's maybe a business idea inthere.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
I have about seven good ideas a year on average,
and that was probably numberfive and he doesn't go, he
doesn't follow through with it.
No, I fall through with none ofthem.
I pitched them entirely toother people to let them run
with it, Cause I can't as anactor you could buy advertising
spots on other people's selftape, like as they're watching
(38:06):
someone else's audition.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Be like hi, I'm Jeff, just 10 seconds.
Buzz someone else's audition.
Be like hi, I'm Jeff, just 10seconds bud.
Just say hi, I'm also an actor.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
I understand you're considering my pal John here,
but why not Jeff?
Speaker 2 (38:17):
Have you thought of a Jeff for that?
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Check out the link from my.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Just send them straight back to yours.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Now back to the audition.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
This sounds like a parody of real life, and we're
just slowly writing it intoexistence.
Jeff, I really hope you takesome improv to these ideas we're
coming up with and makesomething out of it and send it
to us.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I will, yeah, and I'll credit you properly.
You don't have to.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Let's talk about your upcoming film that's going to
hit theaters May 9th Cryptic.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Tell us a little bit about this movie without
spoiling anything.
Yeah, without spoiling anything.
Or spoil the crap out of it.
We don't care.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
I'm sure people he's worked with would care.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Yeah, yeah, what can I say?
Like it's man, it's wild.
Like it's the writer, thedirector, courtney Roy.
She's K-O-U-R-T-N-U-Y.
She's a photographer by trade,is most of what she does, and
(39:35):
she's she's from canada, fromontario, but she lives in paris
and works as a photographer.
She does these incredibleself-portraits and um, and just
has a really, really coolimagination and a really cool
aesthetic.
And so she teamed up with PaulBromley, who's a screenwriter,
written a few kind of a lot ofhorror films in that kind of
(39:59):
genre, and they teamed up andwrote this just wild story.
So I like, right from thebeginning, when I was, when I
like read the scene for this, Iwas like okay.
And this is again where, likemy theater background and my
improv background, this I waslike okay.
And this is again where, likemy theater background and my
improv background, I'm like youknow, and in Canada, as I said,
a lot of the stuff you see ismaybe it's Hallmark movies or
(40:21):
these kind of TV shows, but thiswas something that was so
outside the box and very muchsomething that that, like I felt
like the kind of movie I wouldreally love.
You know, I'm, I'm, I love myDavid Lynch and Cronenberg and,
uh, these real kind of spookyout there, psychological, you
know, horror type, uh things.
(40:44):
So I was just, uh, yeah, Iloved the scene and then read
the script and was like, oh man,this is, this is wild.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
I gotta be in this movie.
Speaker 2 (40:54):
Yeah, I was.
So I, yeah, I just worked my,worked my butt off and uh.
So, yeah, like the story, Imean, here's something I'll say,
like when we did the premier atSouth by Southwest in Austin,
uh, you know a lot of people sowhat, what's it about?
Right?
Or like, what did it mean when,when she does this and that,
(41:14):
and you know, and it's one ofthose like I'm like, hey, listen
, the film's called cryptic it'ssupposed to be a little bit of
a mystery yeah, it's not one ofthose films where, like, there's
a real clear-cut explanationfor everything that happens
Sorry to say you know, but it isvery cryptic, but it definitely
(41:37):
takes you on a ride andbasically, you know.
In short, there's a woman, youknow, at the beginning and this
part of the screenplay wherethey started was based on a true
story where there's a group ofwomen hiking in the mountains
and a woman, one of them, goesmissing, okay, and so so they've
(42:00):
kind of taken this at thebeginning of the film.
So this woman is on this hikeand she kind of wanders into the
woods where she kind of seesthis kind of monster in the wood
.
And when she comes out ofmeeting this monster, she's
completely lost her memory ofwho she is.
(42:21):
And she comes back to the groupand they're like well, where's
this person?
And they're like are you KayHall?
Is that you?
She's like, I guess so she.
She's like um, I guess so.
She's just like fuck, I don'tknow.
She's like looks in her pocketOkay, here's some car keys.
Okay, there's my car.
You know like, oh, here's someID.
(42:41):
Okay, my name is Kay Hall, okay, and here's my address, right.
So she goes.
So it's like that's how itstarts.
You're just like it's like thiswoman who doesn't know who she
is and she gets kind of thruston an adventure where she ends
up on the trail of this otherwoman who's like a monster
hunter who disappeared, and thenshe ends up kind of of the
(43:20):
identity of this other woman andends up going back to her home
and with the husband who's beenkind of looking for her.
So I'm like the husband at theend who she returns to, and it's
a really fun role, because whenyou first see him he's, oh my
God, he's so happy to see herand she's home.
And then, like, piece by piece,as you meet him, his character
starts to unravel and yourealize, oh, there's something
(43:42):
kind of fucked up about this guy.
Speaker 1 (43:44):
This is not good.
This is not what it seems he'sbeing very cryptic, yeah, and
I'll leave it there.
Speaker 2 (43:51):
Okay, cryptic, and, and I'll I'll, I'll leave it
there well, I definitely lookforward to seeing this one.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
The trailers look very, very good, very
interesting.
Well, shot too does.
Yeah, like you said, she was aphotographer, so she knows how
to paint the.
You know, do the shots andpaint the pictures for you.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yes, exactly, and uh, and I'd, I'd encourage like
looking up her Instagram and herwork and stuff.
It's just incredible and sheand the DOP, uh, the director of
photography on the film was aguy named David bird who's from
London.
It was it was a Canada and UKco-production, so some of the
team is from London and he's anincredible DP and the two of
(44:30):
them, courtney and the DP, worksreally well together.
You know, like she has theimagery and the visuals and he
just had just a beautiful way ofkind of setting stuff up and
you know, together they createda visual world.
That's just very cool, that'sawesome.
Speaker 1 (44:47):
Cryptic May 9th in theaters.
Check it out.
Be on streaming May 29thaccording to the internet, which
doesn't lie to you.
According to the internet.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
So, before we leave, is there anything you'd like to
plug for yourself, for others?
Now's your chance for your ownad about yourself.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
You know what?
Uh well, I'll say this I uhstarted an improv company with
some friends uh out in Vancouver, called tight rope theater, and
uh.
So if you're ever in Vancouverand want to come see an improv
show, uh, come down to tightrope come on down and walk the
tight rope and um, yeah, andyeah, a couple other projects
(45:36):
like uh in the works but norelease date set.
Uh, I'm in a film called thebearded girl which is, uh, made
by the same production companythat did cryptic.
Okay, um, so that'll be hoping.
Like next year hits themFestival circuit uh, should be
fun.
So that'll be hoping like nextyear hits them festival circuit
Uh, should be fun.
Um, but yeah, I hope peoplecheck out cryptic and it would
(45:56):
be great to hear what you think.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
I'm sure people will have lots of questions.
It might be we need to get Jeffback on the show, All right?
So you said when we talked toyou, this is what was going on.
None of that happened.
I watched this whole movie.
This is what was going on.
None of that happened.
I watched this whole movie.
I got notes.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Yeah, what the fuck was going on.
Speaker 1 (46:17):
Well, Jeff, thank you so much for taking time out of
your busy day to sit here on ourlittle show and we hope you
enjoyed being here.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
My pleasure A lot of laughs, a lot of fun.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:30):
And thank you to the listener for listening to this
episode of Entertain.
This I was Tom.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
I'm Mitch.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
And Mr Jeff Gladstone .
No-transcript.
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