Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler - girl on guy 192: milo ventimiglia

Episode Date: July 7, 2015

join milo ventimiglia of the whispers and aisha tyler as they sail through being present, making choices, keeping in motion, chasing growth, obviating regret and aiming high. plus milo is always prepared. maybe too prepared. girl on guy's going to need a bandage.

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It is the dead center of the bullseye of summer. I hope you're having a really good one. I cannot recover. My voice has been wrecked all summer. Probably a result of too much work and dispersed with much too much fun. More fun than is, indicated or required. But honestly, in my opinion, there is no such thing. So I am going to squeeze all of the moisture out of the damp rag that is the summer.

And I hope that you were doing the same. Let's get the business out of the way. Before we get into it, though, just quickly. There isn't not much summer left as far as Girl and Guy's concerned because the show goes on hiatus for the month of August and part of the month of September. If you are worried, if you are panicked, if you are feeling some kind of free-falling nausea in the pit of your stomach because Girl and Guy is going away for several weeks. I encourage you, I entreat you, if you haven't already done so, to become a premium subscriber, at which point more than 30 additional episodes will be available to you for your listening enjoyment. literally almost an episode for every weekday between now and when Girl and Guy returns in September,

you can find the link to upgrade to premium status by going to Girling Guide.com. Just clicking on the Upgrade to Premium banner on the right side of your screen, and that will get you access to lots of shows. It is very inexpensive, less than a dollar a month. I think it's about 70 cents a month to get access to many, many, many more episodes of Girl and Guy

that should get you through the hiatus in high cruising style and make you the envy of all your podcast listening friends. So go ahead and do that. This weekend is Comic-Con. So if you are going to be a part of our annual fan appreciation event, I can't wait to meet you there. Thanks to everybody who entered. Way more people entered than we could accommodate.

But if you did enter and you did win, know that it's not just the first 25 entrants this year that are going to get access to the live podcast, but all 100 winners will be able to stay for the live recording. And that is very exciting. We're moving to a new space. That's a new development. We've just gotten more real estate and we can accommodate everybody and we're really, really excited about that. So it's going to be a big weekend at Comic Con, big weekend in San Diego.

If you're coming, that's great. If you're not coming, it is never too early to start planning next summer. Never too early to start planning anything. I don't want to make you into some kind of belabored person who minces through life, constantly calendaring things. But, you know, plan for things. And then it's highly likely they will occur in your life. So there's that. All right.

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throw that shit out the window into the street and replace it with a brand new Casper mattress. Check it out. Go to casper.com slash girl on guy. Use the promo code girl on guy for $50 off your mattress purchase. Check that out. This episode is also brought to you. by Audible, a longtime supporter of Girl on Guy and a fantastic company. And if you go to Audiblepodcast.com slash Girl on Guy, you can get any book of your choice free. First audio download, absolutely free, courtesy of Girl and Guy and Audible. Now, I'm actually going to recommend a book that I've already recommended previously, but I don't know if you've listened to every episode. Maybe you haven't.

It's a book that I'm going to read again, I think, this summer, if I ever get any free time, and it's called American Gods by Neil Gaiman. But I think the thing I would say about that is, if you don't want to listen to American Gods, which I loved so much. in print format that I want to read it again and maybe also listen to it in audio book. You can get my book, Self-Inflicted Wounds, Read by Yours Truly, and my horse yet slightly masculine tones. You can also get any book you like, and there's a lot of exciting books available to you now,

including most of the Neal Gaiman Library, if you are a Game and Fan, or one of my other favorite authors, Chuck Closterman. But you don't have to do what I say. Go look for stuff that you like, and you can get anything you like for free. a free audiobook download just by going to audible podcast.com slash girl and guy. This is a great book solution for the beach. If you don't

have a reading device or you don't like reading on a reading device outside in the sweltering 100 degree heat, take a little listening device like your phone, which you probably already carrying around as if it owes you money all day fingering it and caressing it like a tiny baby. Take that, take your audiobook on that, plug on your

earphones, and that way the creepy guy in the thong and the permittan won't come up to you and ask you if you want to take a look at his chaco taco taco. So check it out. Go to audiblepodcast.com slash growl on guy for your free audiobook download. That's audiblepodcast.com slash girl on guy. Check that out. All right. This show is with Milo Ventimilia, and you know him from a variety of shows. And maybe Gilmore Girls, Bedford Diaries, American Dreams, or the film Rocky Balboa, but you probably know him best as Peter Petrelli on the NBC

hit series Heroes, which by the way is coming back in a limited run as Heroes Rebels. born, I think this fall. He's on a new show right now called The Whispers, and that show is on ABC, and it is a very interesting and complex show that, I think Milo does a nice job of explaining during the episode, but I think you're going to have to watch it to understand it perfectly, but there's these kind of sinister powers that are talking to people and trying to control them through their children. So it's almost like if you were a kid or you had a kid or you knew a kid who had a secret, an imaginary friend or an invisible friend who actually was there and saying some crazy to your kid that made your kid and you act weird. That's a really terrible synopsis of the show.

But Milo plays a really interesting, complex, layered character, almost a dual character on the show. And he's a great actor. And he is a lovely guy. We had such a great conversation. I've known him for a while. I've never had an opportunity to have this long of conversation with him. It was a joy top to bottom. And I think you're really going to enjoy it. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Girl on Guy 192 with Milo Ventimilia, coming at you, straight out of the girl and guy bunker, and right into your face. I'll make love to the mic. Yes, please do. Let her know.

I was like, thank gosh, is you and I in the room here then? Right, right. Yeah, and then just the people listening. And just the people listening, yes, right, they're with us in voice and audio. My love it and Amelia, welcome to my show. Did I say your last name, right? You nailed it. Okay.

You nailed it. I mean, I feel like we've also known each other long enough where you're like, yeah, you got it. But every once in a while, especially when you know someone, you feel like, Oh, I just been fucking this up this whole time and, like, not knowing it. As I throw in a G in those, I'm like trying to put some jiz on it. Yeah, but also, you know, you go to an Italian restaurant, you understand that it's not Tagli, it's Talia, and whatnot. Right, right, exactly. I mean, at this point, I feel like I can just kind of drop my last name and just go with Milo.

Yeah. Because there was Milo O'Shea, and then there's like Liv Tyler's son. Yeah, that's it. Those are the only other Milo's. So I think you say Milo in time, like, oh, Milo. Yeah. Unless you completely fuck it up and go Milo. And then you have bigger problems.

You're not really big. problems, you're more just European at that point. Really? Do people call you Milo? Yeah. I did a picture in Europe. I had two back to back and everybody called me Milo because that was just the pronunciation of the eye in Italian

culture and French culture and whatever and I just I was like, yeah, it's cool. You just went with it. Yeah. We have so much to talk about you. You know, I was just telling you when people know I try not to do too much research about people but I wanted to see what you were working on now. So I just was just so I kind of had a sense of it. and I looked at your IMDV page, and it's so long.

We're never going to cover all of it. It's non-stop. People are going to tweet and be like, you missed this thing. Yeah. Everybody pump your brakes. I know I'm going to fail, so it's just stipulate to that ahead of time. I'm not going to get it all in. No, no, all good.

All good. You were just saying you were getting acclimated to being back at the States. To be back at home, it's like, I mean, I don't know about you, but when I finish the job, I kind of need to decompress, and I did this job called Devil's Gate. From this director named Clay Stobb, who was, kind of an understudy second-year director for Zach Snyder. Oh, cool. I love that. I know, right? One of the premier directors of our day. And this guy was super cool and super visual. It's a great producer, Scott Mednick. And I was playing this character who's this kind of like farm boy,

whose wife and child go missing. And he's going on and on and on about like God and the devil and demons and angels, but he doesn't really quite know what he's dealing with. So anyhow, it was like heavy. Right. It's intense. Yeah, super, super intense. And I got, I got home from that, from that seven weeks, and then I had my family staying with me for nine days. Oh, God. Yeah. So I was, and I love my family. I'm so happy to see my sister, my niece, their husband, you know, her husband and all that. But it was just one of those things where I dropped them off the airport yesterday, so I'm finally like, yeah. And you need like some nothingness for a little. Yeah. Yeah. So what a great day to be here.

No, serious. Phil, at least take it. It's a little relaxing, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Totally. Totally. Where were you shooting?

We were shooting up in Winnipeg. Oh, okay. Which is the murder capital of Canada, if people don't know, but the food is amazing. Why? I don't know. Now, Winnipeg is a little bit further north. Winnipeg is dead center. So basically, it is straight above Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Wow. Okay. So it's a plane. It's Midwest. It's Chile. But it's not on the border, right? It's like further north. Yeah, it's a little further north.

I think it's about an hour and north of the border. And then you get into like Fargo, I think Sioux City. Those are all the cities that are right there on the on the U.S. side. On the U.S. side. I was going to say maybe they're killing each other because they're bored or cold. But both of those would be really insensitive things to say. I know. I know.

We'll focus on the good food and they're really, really kind of people. God, Canadians are the best. They're like a very sweet culture. I don't know how they work that out, but they're all very friendly to a fault. Yeah, to the point where it's like, man, somebody fucking go at the stop sign. Please stop waving each other on. It's like a whole nation of Chippendale. After you, no, I insist.

After you. I know, pretty much. I did a series in Toronto a few years ago, and we had a joke about how do you get a Canadian to apologize? Step on their foot. You're like, step on their foot. Oh, sorry. Sorry, was that in the way, sorry. Yeah, exactly.

Exactly, exactly. Yeah, totally true. Totally accurate. Let's go to the beginning. Let's start at the beginning. Like mom and dad had sex? Yeah, like right then, yeah. Like right that, well, maybe not that far back, but like very close after that. Yeah, where were you born? I was born in Orange County, California. So not too far from Los Angeles.

I grew up there, went to school there, had two older sisters, was love, you know, like raised with love and hugs and kisses and played sports and did theater. What did your parents do? My father's in the printing business, and my mom was a, school teacher. Okay. It's like kind of a regular. Totally regular. Went to public school. Yeah. You know, did local theater, played sports, you know. Now, I'll just say this about that. And I know this now, because I can look back on it, but Orange County schools were always the schools that, like, would end up getting in like a John Hughes movie or like a she's all that. Like,

they're always like the biggest, nicest, they had a pool. Yep. Was your school like that? Uh, no. I mean, It was outdoors and it was spread out. And there were a whole bunch of buildings comprising the entire school. We had the football field that four other schools would come to. Okay. So I guess you could say like we were kind of the epicenter school. But it was still just like, you know, normal bullshit that you deal with in high school. Right.

Like there were the cool kids. They were the burnouts or the druggies or the jocks. There were like the nerds. There were the theater geeks. There was like kind of these different factions of school, of kids in school down there. And I don't know. I just, I was, I was kind of every single one of those. I was going to say it sounded like you navigated all those worlds.

Yeah. You said you were an athlete, but you're also in the theater. Yeah, yeah, like I was captain the wrestling team, but I was also, you know, really big in theater, but I was also the president of my class, my senior year. And I got really good grades, but I also like went off and, you know, was doing the bad kids stuff on the weekends or weeknights. You got to live. Yeah, totally. Exactly.

You were like, so you were like a multitasking kind of a person. Totally. Like it seemed like you. You know, some kids can, some people. people just naturally can only navigate one channel. You know, and I don't think that's ambition or lack of it. I actually think that the opposite is true, kind of, or like the analog is true, which is some people must navigate multiple channels to function.

You know what I mean? Some people think, oh, that person's ambitious. They do a lot. But I think sometimes people only feel whole if they're kind of doing all the things that they're curious about. I just, I had a lot of interest. And I was always interested in what other people were doing in all these different worlds. And then I would get them like, oh, well, this is fun.

Yeah. And then once I was there and I'm like, realizing that it was fun, I was also kind of thinking to myself, well, I want to be good at this. Right, right. So I would bust my ass. Like, the funny thing is, like, I took honors classes. I was in honors classes, and it wasn't because I was smart in any way. I was tested when I was in third grade, I think, for the gifted and talented program when I was a kid. And after the testing, my mom and dad went in to talk to them and say, okay, how did our son do? And they said, well, he's not naturally as smart as everyone else, but he works three times harder. Right. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So that was the thing. So they were always kind of like,

well, what does that mean? They said, well, we want to put him in honors classes because he's going to keep up with the other kids. And so I, you know, and I think back on, I asked my mom, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you guys knew that I was going to have to work three times as hard to keep up with the smart kids? Oh my God. Like, why did you do that to me? That was brutal. But that was probably innately your nature, though. It wasn't like they put you in a situation where they were like, let's see how he does. You already just, like, demonstrated this, like, aptitude for hard work. Yeah, yeah. I think it started early and it progressed and as I got older. I mean, even now, you know, it's like, I'm non-stopping. My best friends, they'll say to me like,

we pity people that try and keep up with you. Right. Because I just, I'm always on go. I have so many questions about your childhood, but I want to ask you about that specifically because I think a lot about this particular idea or in my own life and I'm really curious about it. Yeah. I used to just think I like to stay busy, but what I realize now, is like it's just my nature. I can't. I'm actually kind of, I get a little blue

if I'm not like overwhelmed with work. That's like when I'm at my optimum. You got to be the shark that keeps swimming. Yes. If it stops swimming, the shark just dies. I used to say, yes, I was like, I'm an art shark.

I just keep making stuff. Always making stuff. Totally. But you know, I think what you can, your sense of what might feel overwhelming to you is just a higher level than your tolerance for intensities

probably just a lot higher than other people. Definitely. It's like I, it's like I burn hot. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I just kind of burn hot all the time. Right, right. But the nice part is the older I've gotten now kind of closing on my 40s is like, oh, I appreciate the moments when I when things slow down. I appreciate the moments when I get to relax. I appreciate the moments when there's actually nothing that I need to be doing right at this given moment. And I think because I've been traveling around so much with work, like I haven't been in L.A. more than two weeks. weeks for a year. Wow. Yeah, it's usually like seven weeks out or two months out or whatever it is, three months out and back. I appreciate very much being present in a moment. Like right now,

sitting with you the best part of my day. Oh, that's nice. Because, you know, where I was 10 minutes ago is already gone and where I'm going, you know, an hour from now, doesn't matter. Yeah. I'll figure that out when I get there. Right. It's hard to practice being present in that way. I think, especially if you're someone who is always doing because your mind naturally is gravity, to the next thing. Yeah. In a different way than someone, in a different way maybe that someone who's dissatisfied. I don't think it's about dissatisfaction.

I think it's just about navigating a lot of moving parts. And it's also opportunity. I mean, think about, think about the things that we as artists are presented with all the time, you know, in that strange way of kind of access and whatnot. Yeah. And you kind of look at it all and be like, well, yeah, I want to, I want to do that. I want to do all of it. I want to be present for all of it.

And at the same time, you have to understand that you have to understand that you, you're can't let it undercut anything that you have. I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain at times, but I hear what you're saying. Yeah, and let me ask you a question, and I want you to feel free to tell me I'm wrong

or that you disagree with me. I had this conversation with a friend recently. And I don't want to use the word ambition, because I think that sometimes that's like a pejorative term. It can be a pejorative term because it maybe makes people sound like they're greedy or avaricious. But more like you said,

there are just all these opportunities and you don't want to miss out on any of it. You don't want to feel like you're going to look back and be like, God, there were these gifts, and I didn't see them, and I didn't try to grasp them, you know? But then this person said, when is it enough? And I said, honestly, and again, this might sound, I said, I don't think it's ever going to be enough.

I don't want to ever wake up one day. Contentment's not the same as complacency. I just don't ever want to wake up one day and be like, oh, I don't have anything else new I want to experience. I think that would be probably the most painful state of mind to be it. Yeah, I mean, then you're living, you know, Bill Murray Groundhog Day and just like, you know. Right. I mean, imagine like kind of living lifetime to lifetime and never seeing a new book, like the same life over again.

You know, never seen a new book, never sing a new movie, never hearing a new song, anything like that. But I think it's the idea that life will always afford you something new if you're open to it. Right. And the thing is you don't always have to grab it and squeeze it and really clamp down on it. It's like you can kind of keep life. in your open palm and go through life happy. Like I'm, I feel very full as a person, as a human being. And that's just how I was raised.

Like I came from a great family and all that. But at the same time, you know, I still have drive and direction as an artist of things that I want to do. And people I want to work with or whatnot. So I think, you know, that's just, that's just drive because I want to do better. Right. And ultimately, like, I want to do better because I want to give back. Yeah. Yes, and also having, hopefully, at least for me, what I've been trying to do is having a real sense of the temporal nature of life.

We don't have that much time here. So, like, am I seeing how precious it is and am I, like, treating it in that way? Am I treating it with, you know, preciously, you know? Because there's not that much of it. Oh, no, we're going to run out. And sometimes sooner than later. I mean, even, you know, it's like, I ride a motorcycle. And everybody's just like, do you ride a motorcycle?

You know how dangerous that is? And I'm like, yeah, but it gets me around the time. town and I'm happy and I'm okay and it makes you happy you know something happens like what can you do what can well you and you never know you can't predict can you how do you navigate before you go back again how do you navigate how does that feel to you that you're only ever home for a couple of weeks at a time like have you had to change the way that you yes like manage your life yes um my mother asked me she goes aren't you lonely and i say yes i am but i'm also not it's it's It's being adaptive to the situations that I'm in.

You know, I, Winnipeg, for example, I was there for seven weeks. I was working with two actors that I knew, one that I did not, a production team that I did not know, but give me three days with everybody. I know everyone's names. I know their backstory. I know everything. They're my immediate family for the moment. And at the end of it, there's going to be a couple people you're going to take with you the rest of your life. And then the other is you just, you wish them well and you hope you see him again.

in the course of, you know, of career and whatnot. But it definitely, yeah, it's interesting because I don't, you know, I have to live a moderately protected life because I know that I'm going to be leaving again. Yeah. That makes sense. Yeah, I do.

Like it makes dating hard. Yeah, yeah, because, I mean, it's, yeah, you're not, I mean, there's something really interesting about that, that, like, you can be, like, emotionally present for someone, but like on a tactical level you're not present. You can't be physically present, which means you can't really be there in a way that somebody would want you to.

Exactly, which is tough, you know, in a relationship situation, like romantic relationship, you know, because like you need that presence of being in the company of everybody to nurture that. Different than friends, different than family. Yeah. So I think that's probably ultimately the hardest thing about having to travel around and do the work that I do,

where I do. Yeah. But at the same time, it's like, no, I'm getting to see cool places like Cleveland, Ohio. Yeah. I think Cleveland is cool. I love Cleveland, too. I think Cleveland is great.

Yeah. I know I get there a couple, I get there, I was here like two years ago. It's also changing a lot right now in a really exciting way. Super change. I mean, you know, old school, Russ Bell, you know, steel kind of town, you know, Rockefeller, all that money. Yeah. Goes through a really bleak, hard time.

And then things just are starting to turn around. And every time I go back, I did a picture there a year ago. I went back for a screen. maybe like three weeks ago and it was just like wow this is like it just keeps getting better and it's cool to see it's cool to see towns that have revivals

and people reshaping that place and so much kind of entrepreneurship and people kind of re-inventing themselves reinventing that place it's exciting it's like exciting like when you see like you buy something you see taxes made in America I'm like yes yeah yeah or like the guys doing

Shinola in Detroit which I think is such an amazing amazing company exactly right okay so I want to back again because I want to hear, you know, you kind of had this just like normal suburban childhood, but we were talking about the fact that you navigated all these different tracks. What was first for you? Like, were you an athlete first? Were you an artist first? Did you have a sense that you wanted to be an actor when you were very early? I mean, my parents had this house that I grew up in and they had this formal living room

that had a single step down to a like informal, will kind of hang out living room. Yeah. Family room. Yeah, family room, right? But it had this alcove to get down into it. And I remember my sisters and I would just kind of put on these little plays and whatnot.

And we just kind of, you know, perform and make stuff up. And, you know, we close the doors in the hallway and play water babies. And my God, we're swimming through caves and underwater and whatnot. So we had imagination to run with. But of course, when I was a kid, you know, played baseball, played basketball, played football, played soccer, played everything. Right. Skateboarded, surfed, snowboard.

I did everything. Yeah. You know, so I kind of, again, it was like, I was doing everything. Yeah. But I remember when I was finishing up with high school, my high school wrestling coach was like, okay, champ, so you're going to go to, you're going to go to Northwestern champ, you're going to wrestle, you're going to Iowa, champ, you're going to be a champ, you know, and I was just like, coach.

I mean, and like, by the way, like this man, Alan Clinton, he was, he, he, along with my mom and dad, and my English teacher, Miss Avidia, and my drama teacher, Mrs. Herida, he was one of the most impactful people in my life. taught me the word fortitude. You can push through whatever your mind is telling you you can't do. Be mentally strong. When your body says no, let your mind push you through and go yes.

But so anyhow, Coach Clinton, Coach Clinton was like, you're going to be a wrestler. You know, he's got a tick. He's like, you know, doing something to his ear. And like, gosh, forbid you're in a car with him because you just get car sick because of the, Pedal gasp, gas, gas, gas, gas, brake, gas, brake. But then my drama teacher was like, Milo, no.

What are you going to go do? Be a professional wrestler? Not that there's anything wrong. No, it's pretty unusual. Yeah, but I think when she said professional wrestlers, she was thinking like collegiate Olympics. Right. You know, and like, like admirable, the work you put in for any of that.

But she said, Milo, you have something that other people don't. You're going to be an actor. And I go, okay, so I shouldn't join the Navy? because that was another option that was possibly thinking about too. Like I wanted to go fly jets. Yeah. I want to go fly, fly, I want to be a naval aviator.

Who doesn't? I know, right? Really, seriously. But yeah, that was the thing. It was my high school drama teacher, Mrs. Herrida, which said, you're going to be an actor. And I kind of went, okay.

And did that resonate with you at that moment? Like, she's right? Or did you have to think about it for a little bit? No, I kind of knew. I guess I just kind of knew. I feel like I've been fortunate enough. to my decision-making skills come pretty quick, like my instinct to say yes, no, maybe so,

I knew she was right. I knew she was right. And I knew that I would probably physically just get beat up as a wrestler, professional wrestler. I mean, you know, my size, I'm not the biggest of guys on the planet, so who knows, maybe they send me off the top. Yeah, send me off the top ropes.

Wiery. Wiery, Milo. Wiery Milo. But yeah, so I just, I knew. I was like, all right, I'm going to go be an actor. This is so off-peased. I timed wrestling in high school. Oh, you did?

Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, I love wrestling. Where did you roll out? San Francisco. Oh, you did? What part? In the city, in San Francisco. Yeah, and I went to an arts, I went to performing arts high school.

Yeah. But it was attached to regular high school, so we had kind of like regular classes in arts classes. Got it. And I timed wrestling for like a couple of years, and I loved it. And I still, it's so technical. It's so technical. This is way off piece. Did you see Fox Catcher?

Oh, yeah. I was so impressed with the physicality, like the way. they master the physicality of those guys. I thought it was, and I thought if you did know anything about wrestling, you might not know how deep they'd gone into what they were doing. I thought it was really beautiful. Just to watch Mark Ruflo and Chani Tate.

I'm just like what they did. It's like, I mean, they were wrestlers. They even Mark Ruflo and how he moved. How both of them. I mean, it was just like all their warm ups and everything. Like it was just, oh, it was riveting. Yeah. Yeah, it was really cool to see.

And then there was Wynn. The win, win, win, I think it's called. Wait, Win, win. Oh, man. I haven't seen it. By the way, me neither. It was a wrestling movie though. Or wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Vision Quest. Vision Quest. Of course Vision Quest. I mean, the best movie on the planet. Yeah. Actually, I was going to say, no, I did. I did a show with Matthew Modine. Oh, did too.

When I was 27 in New York, it was a show for Tom Fontana called Bedford Diaries. So for people that don't know, there's a movie called Vision Quest, and it was Matthew Modin. He played Loud and Swain. That was the first film appearance of Madonna. She was on stage singing, crazy for you.

Linda Quirontino. Oh, he was on the daytime show. We talked about it. So great. Just the most amazing movie. Anyhow, I used to watch that movie before every tournament. I watched it before every tournament because it was one of those inspiring movies. So here I am now 27 and 26 years old on set with, you know, loud and swaying.

Right. And I'm just quietly being cool because he's playing my college professor. And he and I are getting along really well all day, this first day of production. And then lunchtime comes. and he sits across from me. Like, oh, my God, he's fucking sitting across from him. It's amazing. And he, uh, uh, and we started talking and I just say to him like, you know, Matthew, I got

to tell you, man, I'm freaking out right now. I mean, I watch Vision Quest every day. I wrestle in high school. I was like my favorite movies, man. I just got to say, like, that was, that was awesome. And it's so cool to be here with you right now. Yeah. And I saw it.

It was almost like this look in his eye of like a light dimming and they kind of going out. And then he's like, oh, thanks. Oh, no. And the conversation was kind of over. And I'm like, oh, dude, that was day one. We have a whole series, like a whole series to shoot. Right, right. And so then, you know, we pick back up after lunch.

We're in this scene. And he is doing, he has this massive monologue. And, you know, he just has like the brutal day of filming. And, you know, halfway through, he kind of like glances. I catch his glance and I just, you know, I'm kind of smiling. I'm like, hey, you know, I'm kind of put my eyes back down. And then he says to me, you think you make the wait? Which is the line from the movie?

And I look up at him. and then everybody looks at him and he's looking at me. Then every looks at me. And I go, hope so, which is another line from the movie. And then he goes, hope so too. And that was it. And we just started smiling. Oh, man.

And I was like, he's my boy. Like, I'm his boy. Like, that's cool. That's cool. That's so great. Yeah. Also, such as like a thoughtful, like just a gift. Like, that was a gift.

And think about it. You know, like there are some jobs that, let's say people walk up to me like, oh, man, I love doing this. I love doing that. And maybe there are those jobs sometimes that, there's the good and the bad. And maybe you're focused on the bad for the day. And you're kind of like, oh, thanks.

You know, but still, you know, it made me remember that it doesn't matter who's approaching me for what, whether I didn't like this job or anything, just smile, be gracious, be cool. And also that you can never know, like you said, like your opinion, your feelings might color your memory of an experience, but you can never know how it affected somebody else.

And the smallest thing that you've done that flies by into your rearview and you're not really focused on, it could be something that really affects somebody and, like, really deeply. Totally. And you have to always respect their opinion of the work rather than your own,

because, you know, your own is wrapped up and all your own bullshit. I know, I know, right? I know, I know. So I know what I was going to say was we were talking about wrestling and I was thinking that, like, also that Fox Catcher made me think about the fact

that, like, really professional wrestling, like technical wrestling has like a terminus it has an end do you know what i mean it's it's not like you can keep doing it and then like raise a family on it i guess unless you became like a coach or something like yeah but you know any any like olympic athlete or like that like that's that's that ends right that's like a you know yeah i mean i i definitely like the fact that in what we do for living in our profession and being actors in front of the camera and whatnot it's like you know i i look forward to playing a grandfather yeah when i'm of age right right and that is the nice thing you know given that opportunity, you, roles are constantly changing and we're constantly changing.

And, you know, it's kind of, it's kind of limitless. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Let's hope. Yeah, I know. Or like, Mila, get the fuck out of here, man. Why are you still hanging out? Just leave. Just tap out.

Look, man. No way. Never. Never tapping out. No, literally, like a lifelong arm bar. Never. No, no. Break my arms.

Right. I will not quit. My eyes will roll back in my head. Never. So you have this conversation with your teacher, and then what was the next thing that you did? I don't know if it was the next thing directly, but I definitely, I think it changed my perspective of schools that I was looking at. I knew that I wanted to stay close to home, so I think I might have only applied to three schools. I know I applied to USC and UCLA, and I think Chapman University in the City of Orange, because they had just built up their film and television program.

I was like, well, that's cool. I guess I'll just stay at home and whatnot. And anyhow, I got into the school of theater, film, and television at U.S. I don't know. Wait. Oh, man, I'm going to confuse this. Yeah, I got into, wait, no, I didn't get into USC. And I did not get into USC school of film and television.

I did get into UCLA School and Film and Television. But I did not get into the actual school. of UCLA. So basically if I did not, if I wanted to go to UCLA and I didn't do acting, they wouldn't have let me go to school there. How odd. And so I was like, well, and the opposite was I didn't get into the school of film and television at USC, but I got into the school. Right. So I was like, so wait, if I could pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars to go, I'm going to, I'm going to go to UCLA. So I went to UCLA and suck it out and dropped out after four years and work. I was working. Right. You started working? Yeah. As an actor. As an actor. Yeah.

Like pretty early on? Like I got, I got an agent right when I got to town. It was through a friend of my mother's who was a photographer introduced me to this agent. I mean, one of those agencies where you got to walk in a staple your headshot to your resume. Right, right. Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes. I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. Absolutely. So it was one of those places. And and this guy just started submitting me out. And my very first job was Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Oh, wow. And I remember getting the phone call when I booked that.

And I was in a one-bedroom apartment because my best friend Stager and I, Aaron Steger, we outsmarted our parents a little bit or we think we did. We were both assigned to a three-person dorm room at UCLA. And we were like, no, fucking way we're going to live there. So we told our mothers, you guys go look at it. If you could live there yourself, then we will do it. it. And our mothers went and looked and went, I don't know, you don't have to live there. We'll find you an apartment. So we had an apartment anyhow. We're sharing a room because we had to do that.

And yeah, that's my first job and just was working. That's incredible. Yeah. So I had a job waiting tables. I had school and then I had auditions. Right. Wow. Yeah. So how was, again, I mean, it just seems like that's, that's like a natural state for you to just be juggling like a lot of different obligations. Did it feel overwhelming then? No, I'm sure it would have been, but I I didn't feel like it was. It was just kind of like, okay, this is what I need to do because I need money and I need to go to school because mom and dad are paying for that. And I need to, I need to be an actor. Right.

I need to work in that capacity. And then slowly, slowly jobs just kind of started to build and build and build. And it was like, oh, wow. And after a certain point, it was, schools get in the way. So I'd have to go to school for a quarter, take a quarter. off from work. Go to school for two, take a quarter off at work. And then I just, it got to the point where I just, I couldn't continue both. Right. You know, and, and even though I think my, my college professor was really, really, uh, trying to bust my fucking chops about leaving, to speak so bluntly.

Yeah. I just knew. I said, you know, this is the work environment. Right. I need, I need to now learn from, from being on set, from being, from being, from doing the work, right. You know, pulling on to the Warner Brothers lot every day, clocking it, punching that car. You know, so. It's a unique situation you're in when you're an actor and you start because, you know, a part of, look, I'm, I didn't go to theater school. I definitely like most of my acting life was like on the job training. But I think, I think that, you know, there are the people who are like so focused on craft, not, not, neither of which is negative. But it's really just about the experience of being in school.

But for most actors, I think, like anybody who goes to school, you're training to get a job. after that. So if you start to work in your chosen field, I don't know, you're only staying if you feel like, and I think also actors, we specifically have this thing where you feel like you have to strike when they iron is hot. Yeah.

It's not like you feel like it's a million acting jobs that are just always going to be like waiting for you. No, you kind of have to go. And also, it's individual. Like some people need that discipline of, I need to be in a scene shop. I need to be doing work constantly. If you're not on the set,

their back of their schools, their reperatories, their classes, their private sessions, anything, you know, for me, I kind of go with, let me just live life and then let me apply that to what I do as an actor. Right, right. And then the older I get, the more I can, the easier of a process it is to tap into whatever I need for this character, you know, I just drag it out of my own life and just

plug it into that guy. Right. Right. And I think it's critical to be constantly kind of making sure you're having things, experiences in your life that you can, that you can, you know, draw from, which I think is a job in and of itself, because we talked about that earlier, you know, it can be really easy to just kind of like get into a set of circumstances that are comforting, but then, you know, growing. Oh, no, you got to let the wheels fall off. That was, that was something I think I kind of, I figured out maybe like the last couple years

was, dude, don't be cautious, not in front of the camera, just let shit fly. Right, right. And if you fall flat in your face, who cares. Yeah, that's okay. You put the effort forward. Do you apply that in your actual life letting the wheels fall off? Oh, no, way more cautious. Really?

I mean, I'm not reckless, but I definitely, I try not to hold back because I do understand how fragile life can be. You know, you got to tell people you love them. You got to look people in not when you talk to them. You've got to be present. You can't be scattered. You know, be there. Be a human being. Be a decent, kind, loving human being.

I think, I think. Yeah. You know, you're never going to regret it. Right. Right. Yeah, I'll never regret being nice. Yeah. That's because that's something you're doing for yourself as well.

It's just about your space in the world. Yeah, exactly. But at the same time, don't piss me off. You've been warned. Yeah, exactly. So you dropped out, how far along were you? How much did you have left? Oh, man, I think I had like three quarters to go.

Oh, wow. It really wasn't much. But it felt like the environment that was created by me wanting to come back and how difficult they were actually making it to come back. Oh, really? Yeah. They didn't make it easy until I pushed them in a direction. And then they're like, oh, well, we'll make it easy.

Right. And I just hated the fact that I had to push. Right, right, right, right. It's like, guys, I'm here to learn. And now you're telling me I can't come back for this fucking stupid technicality. Right, right. And I've already put this much time, energy, money, everything into this program. Exactly.

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And then, you know, the ironic situation is when, you know, when I ended up not going back, and then a couple years later they asked me to come back and speak to their master's program because I'm actually working and it's like really you guys really want me to come back and fucking tell these kids like who are older than me right what's what right sure people love to claim this is so catty but people do love to claim you in a way when you're successful that they never

wanted to claim you when you weren't like you know all the people that kind of were ambivalent or even actively um obstructionist all of the center like I always knew you were gonna blop blah plop blah like like I had to be the hard ass in your life it's like no you didn't no no you really I had enough adversity just like, you know, with life. Right. Life is constantly trying to crush you, man. Why are you trying to crush me further? Right, exactly.

Yeah. Do you remember where you were in your life when you left, like, what you were working on? Like, I literally, your CV is too long for me to figure it out. But, like, because you got the fresh prince. That was your first gig. Yeah. But I guess a little. Oh, yeah.

No, no, I do. Like when I left school? Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, I was doing, I did this show called opposite sex. and I had to take two quarters off. It was a show with Scott Beio and Maestro Clark, and they were playing these two guys,

these childhood best friends who, in their current workplace, if they got into a jam with Fred Willard, their boss, it was a sitcom, they would think back to how they would handle something similar as kids. Okay. And I was the young Scott Beow. Oh, adorbs. And this was Scott's big kind of comeback to television

because I think he took a huge break after Charles in charge, and he was directing and he was a great director and super successful and I think this was let's put a Scott back in front of the camera because A, he's good, B, he deserves it, C, he's a massive veteran and like everybody loves him. Yeah. So that's what I was doing and I took the time off and we shot

I think we shot three, got paid out on seven and the show never aired. Never aired at all. Never aired. I don't know. I mean, it would be hilarious to find out one in the Warner Brothers Archives. Yeah. Oh, like, it's got to be somewhere. Oh, somewhere. Somebody has it. I bet Scott has copies. He must.

I'm sure that's Scott. It's so funny people who don't, you know, people kind of out, like, in the rest of the world doing normal things, much more important or meaningful in some ways. You don't realize how much stuff we do that, like, never sees the light of day. Like, just a massive amount of material gets generated every year. It just gets flung down the toilet. Yeah. I mean, even think about, you know, a two-hour movie.

Yeah. How just how long it takes to make a two-hour movie or an hour, episodic TV show. It's a lot of time. And then ultimately it's just a majority of it's just on the floor. Yeah. All constantly. And then the number of things, like you'll look, you'll look at someone, your IMDB, or you'll go on Netflix, and you'll be like, I don't know 30 of these movie titles. I never heard these movies come out. I mean, I guess in a lot of ways, it does a couple of things. It makes you understand a little bit more clearly. Life of an actor.

Yeah. It makes you both more pressure. and less precious. It's like, I'm working. The way anybody else is working, you get up and you go and you do your best work and sometimes it's going to land and sometimes it doesn't. And that's the goal. That's the real goal as an actor. I personally think be a working actor. Yeah. It doesn't and it doesn't matter if you're at a level of, you know, massive blockbuster movies and then you jump to a web series and then maybe do a commercial in Japan or something. It's like just keep working because you're always going to find something about yourself. You're always going to find something about your work. you're always going to find something about just like people in life and the experience of life.

And, you know, it's just, it kind of, it blows me away, though, sometimes when audiences are fans, you be like, yo, man, I haven't seen you, man, what have you been doing? It's like, bro. I'm working, man. I am db.com. I amdb.com. And then you feel awful. Like, I don't know if you ever getting stuck in this.

And these are like some real first world problems. But, you know, where, like, someone's like, hey, where have you been? What have you been up to you? And you're like, I'm busy. And they're like, what have you been doing? I'm like, now if I say I don't want to list my CV to you, I don't want to go back through my resume. I seem like a dick.

But rattling off my credits also makes me seem like a dick. Oh, see, I go straight dick, rattle them off at times. Really? Like usually, usually it's, it depends on the mood. Sometimes I'm like, man, bro, I've been doing nothing but sitting on my ass. Or it's, wow, I did this, I did this, I did this, I got this coming out, this, coming out, this coming out this, and I like list off. And I just go until people are like, oh, right.

And they just don't even know what you hit them. You've got to take each individual. It's like, you know, I change my appearance all the time for different roles and different gigs. You know, I'm blonde one minute, shaved head to the next big, skinny, you know, alien-looking guy. It does like tattoos, whatever. It just constantly changes. So my favor is when people walk up and be like, man, you look so familiar.

What do I know you from? And I always say what Starbucks you go to. Oh, God, I say that too. I love that so much. It's the best. It's the best. That is the best. And they're like, no, I'm like, you go to Starbucks.

on national? That's my Starbucks. Yeah, the one, yeah, yeah, right there. No? I love how specific you are, too. Oh, yeah. And the thing is, every city I go to. I'm like, well, that's my Starbucks. That's my Starbucks I'm going to go to. So that's now my Starbucks. Right. Right. Right. I was one on Main Street. Yep. That's the one. And they're like, no, no. You sure? I did that to somebody in the Starbucks day where she said, you, she did the thing, she said, you know, you look like this girl on TV. And I get that a lot. And I literally said, I don't know who that is. And then I just was like, I was in, I was driving to Vegas to see my sister.

And I was in like Barstow. And I was in, I mean, I looked like shit. I just did not want to do that, you know. You could not look like shit if you try. Like a baseball man with shoes on. Look, man. Your, your shit is like camera ready for 99.9% of the world. You're very kind.

But you know, sometimes you just, you don't want to be shitty, but you also just don't want to do it. And so, and then I just kept looking through the. sandwiches and then she goes, you're her. And I literally was just like, no. Then she goes, yes to her. And then you don't, then I was like, why if I keep insisting, I'm not that I'm just an asshole? But then I had then, you know, and then I had to take pictures, which was fine. I don't was that any of it. I think it's a gift that we get to do and anybody even gives this shit. But occasionally you just want to like get your, your espresso and get the fuck out, man. Yeah, totally. Yeah, sometimes is, it's, I try to always appreciate it. And, and know that

no matter what you have to be nice to people even if you are having the worst day just be cool be a human being yeah or actually tell people you know i'm having a shitty day yeah how's yours yeah cool that's great like take take the pressure totally off yeah yeah yeah i was i just got locked out i've never done this i locked myself out of my car the other day downtown at the convention center and i had to run from my car into the building to find a phone oh so your phone was in your car everything was in the car the phone and my My phone can unlock the car, but the phone's in the car. Yeah, of course.

It was in the car. Oh, my God. Run to find someone to get a phone, to call to someone logging on a computer to unlock my car from the computer. And I'm sweating balls. I'm sprinted. And then these people come up and out of a picture. And I was like, I am so sorry. Yeah.

Under any other circumstances, I would do this with you. I've done that before. Yeah. Just every once in a while. Yeah. And like when they do, like, you just got to be cool. And be like, hey, what's your name? Yeah.

I'm so sorry. I'm so nice to meet you. I'm so happy. to me. You know, please find me later. Like, if you can find me later, I'm down. Or, like, sometimes you go to an event or whatever,

and then all of a sudden, people like, hey, Mila, you know, I should be good. And it's like, I will be back. I promise I'll be back. And then you just go back. And you run. We completely, it was so interesting. I don't know where we are.

We're talking about you traveling on time. And your life, you're, where were we? God, it's so so good. We were talking about school. And then we were talking about. The moment when I left school. Wow.

That was such a brain exercise. Wasn't it? That moment. Yeah, because you have to get back on track. Yeah, and I was really curious also just because sometimes it's something specifically catalytic. Like, this thing has happened and this opportunity now is too big to ignore or too domineering or it's a moment where you just see, I see that my path now and it's a different path and I thought it was going to be at this point in my life.

Because you have so many credits and we're never going to be able to get them all, I want to leap forward. Okay. Because obviously, I feel like everybody got to know you kind of. on a grand scale on heroes. And I have a lot of things to ask you about, but one of the things I wanted to ask you about was, I remember, I was a fan of that show.

I remember that. Well, that was probably the first time we ever met. Where was it, though? It was, you know, I don't know, I don't remember where it was, but Greg Grunberg introduced us. Yes, that's it. That's it. Absolutely.

And one of the things I remember thinking, because I was a fan, but also because I work in the business, was that show felt really innovative. It felt like a totally new idea. Yeah. Did it feel like that when you were doing it? It did.

I mean, I was the last person they saw for the role of Peter Petrelli. Really? Yeah, actually, I went on tape. I was in, I was in Philadelphia working on Rocky Balboa. God, I love that movie. That's such a great one. God, I loved that movie. It was the best one since the first one, and I'll fight anybody who says a different.

Yeah, I mean, Sly and I would talk about it. I'm like, dude, it's a love letter to the first one. Yeah. Their bookends, you know, all this stuff. It was so small. intimate and character-driven in a way that because they kept trying to one up themselves after one they just got bigger and more explosive

and more ridiculous. Russia's fighting America Cold War Yeah, Christian metaphors but that movie was just back to character It was like so lovely. It's years after that movie and I still talk about it all the time It's probably my favorite. I mean that was a long time ago

It was over 10 years ago Isn't that crazy? Yeah, it was 10 years ago to the movie. But it came out after Heroes was already on. So I was in Philadelphia. I was doing Rocky. I get a phone call from Dave Semmel. Now, Dave Semmel is a very decorated pilot director.

He and I had worked together on a show called American Dreams. I remember that show. Yeah, great show. And we had a great time working on that show. And I did him a solid, him and Jonathan Prince, by not going and being a series regular on this other show that was asking for me. I'm like, no, man, I want to go be a guest star in American Dream. I want to stay here.

Oh, that's nice. Yeah. Um, anyhow, Dave calls me up and I was like, hey, so listen, I'm directing this pilot and, uh, I think you're great and I keep talking about you. And I need you to just go put yourself on tape. So I said, Dave, I'm in Philly. He's like, just go to New York, put yourself on tape on tape. I said, okay. So I call my agent, uh, get my agent's assistant at the time. And I say, yeah, so I got a phone call from Dave Semmel. He's doing a pilot called Heroes. He wants me to go put myself on tape in New York. I got a couple days. I could probably do it.

They're like, how did it, wait, how did you get this phone call? I'm like, well, because we worked. And he just called me up. We go, that's the most amazing pilot we've read, blah, blah, blah. So I get it. I read it. I go and put myself on tape for both Peter, who was originally called or named Ethan, as well as Santiago Cabrera's character. Oh, my God, I'm spacing on his name.

Oh, I can't help you have the worst memory ever. Okay. I've seen every episode of the show. The artist. Oh, the artist. Yeah, what was his name? Oh, that was so good. Oh, he would have,

people haven't seen the show. He was a guy who kind of had these visions and he would paint the future of all the different characters on the show. Yeah, Isaac, there was. It was coming. It was coming. It was in there.

The best part is when people are like, you can't remember that character name. I'm like, bro, I don't watch the fucking show. Exactly. I went every day, I did it. Yeah. And I walked away. My girl, that was 10 years ago, man.

You know what I've done it in 10 years? A lot of shit has happened. A lot of shit has happened in 10 years. I can't believe it's been 10 years. That's crazy. Since the beginning of that. So I put myself on tape. By the time I finished up with my stuff in Philly, I got home, and they were like, they want to meet you.

And I was like, okay, great. But I also had a contract at Warner Brothers because I'd had a show, that show with Matthew Modine and Tom Fontana. And Tom helped me to get out of my contract with Warner so I could go do Heroes for this universal. Wow. But yeah, but yeah, heroes, I was working on Rocky. And then Heroes came out, massive success. And then Rocky came out, which was like a big hit for what it was. And it was like, well, I was pretty good year.

Like a nice, strange kind of like, what's accidental alchemy, right? Where like a bunch of things intersect in a way that they probably shouldn't have because they were doing this other movie beforehand. But then once Rocky comes out, it's like, oh, now it's my own and de Milamila and Demilia from heroes, right? And he got it. Because I remember thinking, oh, he must have gotten this because it's how I'm on heroes. And that was like completely before.

And the Rocky stuff, I mean, that was totally disconnected. I had just gotten home. The week I got home, usually this is what happens. I go away for a while. I come home, I get a job, I leave again. Yeah. So I was doing Bedford Diaries for Warner Brothers. I got home, and within a week, I had Rocky Balboa.

I went in with Sheila Jaffe and Susan Abramson, the caching directors, and then a week later, they brought me into meet Sly. Didn't have to read for Sly. Sly was like, oh, I just looked at you. I mean, you're already obviously a really accomplished. and talented actor. And then you had this, like, magically perfect look. Thank you.

Perfect. And this is the funny part. When I first heard they were doing a Rocky 6, Rocky Balboa, and they needed a son. And this was about the age. I called my age and I said, hey, there's this Rocky movie. He said, yeah, we already talked to him. They don't want to see you. What?

I go, what? What? They said they want someone who's more bookish and nerdy. And I'm like, Yo, Jay, I'm like, I'm not that fucking big, bro. Just fucking like him. Come on. And I can transform. You know, yeah.

Sure. I mean, I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. That's my job. Don't take me in face value. Yeah. Walking in the room. Let me just get in there.

Yeah. And so anyhow, so I went in and I did the tape and he, Slice, saw it. And so when I went to see just meet with Slye, you know, he was like, oh, look, you know, so I saw your tape. You did great. We know you can act. I just wanted to meet you because, you know, we got to know if we like each other or not. So, uh, how are you doing, kid, you know, and all this. And it was just like, it was like, wow, I'm great.

I'm great. Yeah. doing great. And I remember I had this I had a beard, but I'm not going to say it was a beard. It's more like this like patchy piece of shit that I had on my face because I was only 26 years old, seven years old. Yeah, the beard now, the beard now is rocking. Oh, it's real. Oh, yeah, the beard's serious now. Yeah, it's real.

I got a man beard now. Yeah, it's a lusterous, very impressive beard to rock now. Thank you. Thank you. And I remember, and I said to Slide, I was like, hey, Slime, I'm so sorry I have this beard. I'm doing reshoots on this movie, and I just, you know, I wouldn't have it, of course, for our movie. I got ideas about the hair and, like, moose, wearing, using moose. Because he was very slick. He was slick, but it was also like he was a kid

that wore moose. Right. Not gel. Not paste moose. And I remember going to the hair people on Russia. I'm like, can we use moose? They're like, moose. They're like, do they make it anymore? I know, right? So anyhow,

so anyhow, and I said to him, I said, you know, I got this reshoot, I'm sorry, I won't be shaving if, you know, if this all works out. And he goes, uh, I hope is not biblical. the movie I'm doing reshoots on and I just start laughing

and then he starts laughing and then he looks at my mouth because we both have this crooked mouth and he turns to the casting direction and goes wow his lip it even hooks down like mine does okay kid was great to meet you you're great hope to see you soon and then I literally just walk out wow and later on I spoke with Sheila Jaffe and Susan Abramson and they told me they're like yeah he never actually

told us to hire you when he looked at us and kind of gave a nod, that was, okay, he's the actor. Wow. And maybe, maybe like 45 minutes after I left that meeting, I'm at home, I get the phone call that I'm doing,

that I'm going to be in Rocky. Yeah, and then my best friend, he was at, we just started our production company. We were working out of my house, and he walked into the house, and he was at the front door, and I'm sitting at the kitchen counter,

and he walks in, and he just goes, so did you get it? And I just start going, bomb, bam, bum, bab, ba, bah, bum, and he walks to, you know, marches the 15 feet from my front door to the kitchen, takes his sunglasses off, gets really close and goes, don't fuck it up for me. I really like those movies. That, seriously, that movie was just such a return to kind of like the essential nature of like what people loved about that first film.

And I think because all the subsequent films, and they were all super enjoyable, we're so, like, like spectacular. I mean, like spectacle driven. They were meant to be spectacles. Of course. People forget that the first movie, you know,

was small. It was small and intimate and like an Oscar, you know, an Oscar movie film that, that it had that kind of strength that the other movies got like big and flashy. And I just remember I had to review it. Roger Ebert was sick and so I sat in for him

for Ebert and Roper at the movies. And I'll be perfectly honest with you. I remember being like, I don't want to go see this movie. Because, well, I mean, you'd seen all. Yeah, because I'd seen all of them. Yeah, and I was like, how can it, how this far removed from the fact can it be good? And I just remember, like, I was an evangelist when I came out.

I couldn't tell enough people to see it. And I gave it this, like, insanely glowing review. And I still feel the same way about that film. It's such a great film. It's so good. I mean, and the wild part is the film is nothing compared to what the script was. Really? The script was, I mean, is.

The script is so beautiful. And there were things that didn't make the movie that were in the script. You know, but I was just, it was, what a great experience. That's every film too, I guess. You always lose. There's things that you lose in the process.

Here's a huge hit right out of the box. And I do remember specifically, like I said, it felt really innovative to me. And I remember heroes and Lost were pretty much kind of on at the same time. Well, loss was a year ahead of us. Okay. But we, as the first,

first season of Heroes, we had this great gift of not having all the pressure. That went to a show called it was the Aaron Sorkin show about it was almost like if 30 Rock is about stand-up

and it's a comedy. This was the dramatic version of that. I remember it. It was like 60 sunset strip. Yes, I remember it. I remember. Yeah. That show got all the press, all the advertising dollar, everything thing. Right. And so we were kind of this like, well, we're going to go make our show and we'll be on the air.

Yeah. Sure, we'll see what happens. And then it just, it was gangbusters. It was incredible. Huge. I remember, yeah, it was like 16 million viewers. And it was so captivating because it just felt like I just, you had never seen anything like this before. And every time superheroes had ever been done, they were, you know, canonical superheroes. It was, you know, Lois and Clark or, you know, whatever. And even like the, even something as old as like the, Last American Hero. There was something so dark and human about heroes. It really felt, even with all the paranormal stuff, it felt very human.

I think it's hard to do. Well, I personally always, I think Bruce Wayne is more interesting than Batman. I think Clark Kent is more interesting than Superman. You know, these personas of who these people are, you know, whether alien or terrestrial, like who they are in relative life, like in daily life, versus. what their altar is in crime fighting or a criminal or whatever it is. I just,

I think, and I think that's what heroes was. It was these regular people that have these abilities and they're in a world where there are no abilities. Right. So it's that human story, that human quality that people could relate to. And it's also wish fulfillment. Yes. Yes. Because who doesn't

want to fly, who doesn't want to be super strong, who doesn't want to like break a bone and be like, oop, okay, let's put back together again. Exactly. And there was that, really there was that The show always circled that kind of meditative idea of like the burden of the gift. Do you know what I mean? This incredible gift is such a weight, you know, and how it changed everybody in the show. It was just, I loved that show.

That was like, you know, you've been working so much. You've done so much at that point. I think even though people maybe found like they were discovering you at this point, you've been working for a long time. And that was the thing. That was a show, because that was 10 years into my career, but that was the show that really kicked me above the radar. Gilmore Girls got me some traction,

but heroes kicked me above the radar, where everybody knew who I was, and they identified me as Peter Petrault, which took a while to shake. Yeah, also because he was a pretty seminal character on the show. I think there are other guys that left the show and could kind of go on and that fade for them, but you were such a central character,

and also you were a good guy. You know, you really were like that. hero of heroes. He was Superman. Yeah, he was. He was a sweet, sweet Superman. I mean, like... He took his powers away.

Then he had to inject one power at a time. A bunch of bullshit. What the fuck. Did you feel like it was... It took a while to shake that off? Oh yeah. I didn't work for a solid year. Really?

After Heroes was done. Actually, no, I take it back. Right on the heels of heroes, I did this movie called The Divide, where I lost 25 pounds, and shaved my head. had no eyebrows. I looked like a monster and I was basically playing a monster. It was a movie about nine people stuck in this fallout shelter after this cataclysmic event. Yeah. I remember this one. Real. You're like all wake up in there and you don't. No, no, no. No, it's different. We, there's something happening. We run down into the shelter. It's myself. It's Michael Bean. It's

Rosanna Arquette. It's Courtney Vance. It's great, great Canadian actor, Michael Eccland, Ivan Gonzalez Lauren German There's just like a lot of great This is being a big actor piece And you played Where you like that? I played the good guy

Who ultimately spirals down Into the worst human being In the hole Wow How interesting Actually to the point That movie I told my mother not to see Really

Of course Carol Ventimilia She goes and she sees it And she said to me After she saw it She goes so Mila Your father don't have a question for you Um, we saw the divide. I said, Mom, I told you not to see that movie. She goes, well, we saw it. I said, I told you not to see that movie. She goes, well, I saw it. Okay. What's your question, mom? And she goes, did something happen to you were young? That we don't know about? I'm like, oh my God. Oh, my God. Wait, why? What? She goes, you were so evil. You were so evil. How do you do that? Something had to have happened. You had to, you had to have experienced something. And I was like, no, mom. I was, you know, raised with hugs and kisses and love. And no, that's just, that's my job. How did it feel making that film?

You know, sometimes everybody, everybody does, everybody works differently. And, you know, kick around a word-like process, which means something to some people and sounds a little, you know, affected to others. But some people can really separate themselves from the work and they can kind of come and they clock and they transform and then they go home and crack a beer, watch TV. And for other people, they can really carry the work around with them. Yeah, well, interestingly enough, talking about, you know, the first thing we talked about this conversation was decompressing.

So when I approach a job, especially something as dark as that, as what I had to do, I mean, this guy was at the end of the day, he was a horrible human being and sickly and just like, just not well in the mind, in the body, everything. And usually if I'm prepping a role, I kind of slowly close the door and what, who I am as a person. And I slowly kind of tip over into becoming this other guy. and I usually shy away from new people because I don't want to expose him to somebody that I'm becoming.

Right. And then, and I kind of pull back a little bit from my friends and my family and like they all know. I just, I kind of, I call it going in the cave.

I got to go in the cave. I got to figure this guy out. Yeah. And then when I got a good, you know, choke fulls on him, so he's not going to come out and lash at anybody. Well, then I can,

I can let him go. Right. And usually that happens. I time it to the first day or two or three, third day of being on a movie. or a TV show. And then I just slowly kind of push him off

and walk away like the Kool-Aid man stepping away from killing kids or something. And then, you know, I can dance in and out of the character. You know, the second cameras are rolling, I'm there. When they're stopped, I'm back to being me and having fun on set and enjoying myself, you know. And then at the end of the job, it's like, you've got to shake this guy completely off

because, you know, you just don't need them around. Was he specifically, was this? character is someone for whom it was easy or hard to figure out how to, because like, you know, the lines are the words are the words, but I mean, a lot of it is like figuring out what your interior life is. Yeah. And you got to live, you got to live with yourself. Yeah. And I went through such a physical transformation on that movie on the heels of heroes ending. So to go back to your original question, I was doing this movie and I literally dropped 25 pounds. I'll pull up a photo. I dropped 25 pounds. I had no eyebrows. I looked sick. Like we weren't eating and we were working out and we just like stand around and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes and just like, eh. Right, right. Like we were a mess, but we were smiling. Right. Right. And I remember we'd go into grocery stores just to buy water because that was pretty much all we could have. Right. And you're and then you've just got to give yourself something to do. Exactly. Yeah. Just sit around and drink water. Oh, wow. Oh, shit. Yeah. She's looking at a. photo. That was, yeah. Anyhow, people would feel sorry for us, walking through the movie theaters. So I went through such a physical transformation that I had to basically come back from

being this person, this person, which was pretty grotesque, pretty ill-looking. And if people reacted to you, that might have helped you, I imagine. If people were shunning you a little bit, it might have helped you get, I wonder if that helped you kind of get into that mindset as well. Oh, it does. Well, even as recent as The Whispers, so the show that I have. having right now, you know, when I filmed it, I had hair past my chin. I had this big three-month beard. I had tattoos on my neck, my hands, my arms, my chest everywhere. And usually if I was

wearing the full kit, you know, people would just look at me. They'd walk across the other side of the street or give me a very large gap to move. And it helped with what I had to do, the character I had to play in the beginning, the guy who was lost, the guy who didn't want to be seen, the guy that would kind of pull its cap down a little bit lower, you know, around groups of people. It helps. Yeah. It helps. And I just take it and I soak it in like a sponge and I just kick it right back out to work.

Right. And that's also exciting because you don't know how people are going to treat you. I mean, a big part of it is observing what, you know, what your appearance does to other people and then how that would make you feel. Yeah. You know, how that would make you see yourself? Yeah, pretty much. How many episodes of The Whispers did you guys shoot? We shot 13.

And where did you shoot? We shot in Vancouver. Oh, okay. Yeah. Did we talk about that already? No. Not here today. No.

How did you like it up there? I, you know, I liked being on the West Coast. I liked being not too far. I have a home in Portland, Oregon, so on the weekends I was able to drive down, see some family, sleep in my own bed, which was great. Why do you have a house in Portland? Because one of my sisters lives there. Oh, that's nice.

Yeah, like so one of my sisters settled up there, got married, you know, started a family. And I knew when she was going to start a family. I didn't want my mom and dad, and I knew my mom and dad were going to visit, but I didn't want them to stay in a hotel, and I didn't want them to crowd her. So I just bought this flat, like one bedroom loft four blocks away from my sis, thinking, yeah, Pete and Carol, they'll just stay there. And so I remodeled it, put a car and everything. And so my mom and dad would kind of come and go and be with their grandson and everything. And then I sort of just going up there myself. I'm like, wow, it's really great up here.

Oh, Portland's awesome. Oh, it's so nice. So nice. Yeah. And so it kind of became just a second home. How lovely. Yeah. How lovely.

Yeah. If you ever have enough downtime to just kind of like shut down for a little while. Yeah. But then you've got family close by. Exactly. So you were able to go back and forth between Vancouver and Portland. Yeah. Yeah.

If I had, you know, two solid days off or three days off, I just get in the car, drive south. It's like a five-hour drive being my own home and then, you know, drive right back up. Did you guys shoot through the winter? We did. We wrapped December 20th. Okay. Or December 19th. And from basically Halloween hit,

kids were dressing up, it was fucking cold. Yeah, yeah. It was rainy and cold and wet. Yeah. And before that, it was hot. Oh, yeah. So hot. Oh, it gets crazy hot in Canada.

I mean, the summer is like roasty. Yeah. Yeah. I think of that way. I heard it's supposed to be something like close in 90s or 4th July weekend. It's just like, it's just hot. It's like being in New York. I mean, I remember being Toronto.

I was like, this is New York weather. It's like blazing hot, human in the summer. But it's cold in the winter. Yeah. It's like being in New York City. Totally. Yeah. Totally.

Whispers is such an unbelievably cool and complex concept. And I guess I wonder if, how did that, how did that, like when you read it, I don't know, it's hard as an actor. You want to always find something new to do. But we don't always have like a million choices, you know? This, the past pilot season, when I sign on to hear, too, oh my God, I said I sign on to hear it. When I signed on The Whispers, I had three offers on the table, which was amazing. Yeah, it's incredible.

I had three great shows. But Whispers was the one that I thought, I looked at the character and as it was all coming together, and I really liked Barry Sloan as an actor, and I really liked Lily Raib. And it was a cool script. And even though, like, my character was in three scenes of the pilot, but I said, no, this is the right choice. this is the show to do. This is the one that's going to be interesting to work on. Yeah.

Did you know the arc? Did you know what was going to happen with your character? Sue Hugh, who was our creator, she kind of told me. I only had one meeting before offer started coming through one meeting slash reading. Yeah. Which one of my auditions was in Arabic. Oh, wow. So I was totally faking my way.

To coach the shit out of that? I've faked my way through it. I love it. That's like, someone's like, hey, can you, you can ride a motorcycle? Oh, totally. Uphill, downhill, doesn't even matter. Yeah. I can ride horses.

I have a pilot's license. Yes. I can engage in amateur dentistry if need a tooth pole. I can do anything. 100%. We can do anything. We're also medical professionals. Right, absolutely.

Yeah. I'm not a doctor, but I will fake the shit out of it on TV. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I will convince everybody around when I'm not on TV that I know what I'm talking about. I got it under control. I just, I had a feeling. I kind of knew that this was the one.

and Sue gave me a good enough idea of where the character was going and I just, you just know. Yeah. And I remember my agent and I, we kind of went back and forth because this other show was, there was a business aspect

to the other show, which was very advantageous. Mm-hmm. But creatively, I was like, it just doesn't grab me. It doesn't, it doesn't grab me by the back of the neck and, you know,

make me feel that, that deep hunger inside to perform. Mm-hmm. You know, this other show didn't. But, but whispered, did. Yeah.

It did. And we had a lot of fun. It was a tough shoot. You know, we doubled up our episodes and ran them all together. Right. Budget and time and all this just shit to deal with, you know. Yeah. Especially season one on anything.

It's like you're just trying to, you know, make a dollar on 15 cents the whole season. Yeah. And like, and every script I got, it was like, Milo takes his clothes off to show his tattoos. And I'm like, fuck, man. So it would be like, you know, go work your, your 14, 15. an hour day and then go home and work out. Right. And then not eat and all this.

And it was just, it was a tough shoot. God. When you came off of that, did you have some time to yourself? Um, no. I went straight. We wrapped on the 19th at one in the morning. So that was Friday night at one in the morning. I had my car packed.

I drove straight down to Portland. I left my car and my packed stuff and had one suitcase. I went up to my home. I took a nap. I woke up, I went to the airport in Portland, I flew home, I had, this is now Saturday, I've had dinner with my mom and dad, I went to bed the next morning, I had to flip my suitcase because I was on a plane to Japan. Oh my gosh.

For two weeks for vacation. I haven't had a vacation in, fuck man, in years. Yeah? Did you roll solo? No, I was with my boy, Russ, and it was just a great time. That's awesome. Yeah. You have to carve that stuff out for yourself as well.

I mean, I think like, especially when you work as much as you do when you travel for work as much as you do. There's some part of it that feels like, oh, we're traveling. But, you know, you're in a place focused on whatever the work is. You have to be aggressive about carving that time out for yourself. You don't take it. 100%. I mean, and that's the thing, you know, because everybody looks at what we do and like, oh, you're

traveling. Oh, you're on vacation. It's like, no, man, I'm working. Yeah. Which was always an interesting, difficult thing, you know, in relationships. It's like, no, babe, I'm literally, I'm working. I'm not out laying by a pool in Vegas. working just happen to be in Vegas

working. Right, right, and it doesn't sound you know, it sounds fun, it sounds more fun than it is, but there's also something like, I think it's really hard for someone to be in a relationship when your life is like this because if they, let's say they want to come with you, well then they're not really with you because you are working all day every day and then they're bored or frustrated because you don't have the bandwidth for them that you'd like to

and if you're on set, when you get back, it's not like you're like, hey, let's make let's make pasta. You're like, I got to lure my lines and get, and work out and try to get some sleep. Totally. Yeah, it can be unmanageable. It's tough. And I think I'm finally at a point in my life.

I'm like, I got to figure this shit out. Right, right. I got to open it up and understand that, how would I make room for someone or family or kids or anything? Because I'd love to have that stuff. You know, the consistency with it. Mm-hmm. The, I don't want to say like safety.

security of it, but just it's, it's, you know, it's exciting when there's that person you're looking forward to. You know, security, sir, security can be, people can see it as a negative thing, but what something, so let me pitch this to you, which is like, security that you have with your friendships, which is, um, not like security, like, oh, this person's always going to be there when I get home every night, but more like this person is loving me. Yeah, like, like, in a, in a real, tangible, consistent way. And in a way that in some ways, it's interesting, like, one of my best friends is a guy I've been

known that's like 13 years old. And we always talk about, like, I was the best man in his wedding, best friends forever. And he was talking about, like, if he and I don't talk for two months, nobody's, nobody's pissed about it. You know what I mean? It's like, hey, how's it going? I'm going to be in L.A. next week. I'm going to come by.

Like, it's just great. There's that security of a long-term relationship, which is just like, I love you, regardless. You can be fully human with me. You don't need to apologize. I'm always going to operate from a place of understanding. That it's sometimes harder to create a relationship because people's level of need is just so...

I don't want to say higher, just different. It's just different. I mean, in a romantic relationship, it's like you kind of physically need to be there because otherwise you're just friends. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, even if you're friends that circle in and out of each other's lives, you know, to get to that next level,

it just requires a lot out of everybody. Yeah. Time. Sometimes you look at everything and you think, God, I want that. but what I'd have to shift so much of my energy in a different direction. You have some downtime now.

Yeah, actually I'm kind of just sitting. It's very nice. So I went straight from, I went straight from Whispers to Japan. I got home. Then I had to go to Europe to promote this series that I produced and acted in the first two seasons called Chosen for Sony.

Oh, cool. It was on Crackle. We did three seasons, sold it to network television in Europe. So they were like, okay, you produced it. You acted. Were you produced it acting? and directed?

I didn't direct it. No, I didn't direct. I just produced an act and acted. And they said, so you're going to go do all the press in Europe. So I did that. And then I got home and then I got Gotham. Awesome. Which was just a cool little art.

Yeah, so great. Playing the villain at the end of the season. And then right when I got home from that, I was like, I just need like four days so I could go up to Portland and get my car and my stuff. I had been there since December. Yeah. So this is now March. God.

This is now March. And I'm like, I got to finally go retrieve all of my stuff. So I drove my car down. The second I landed back in L.A., I got a phone go, hey, so you're, me with this producer over at Paramount, and you're going to go to Winnipeg for seven weeks. So I just got home from Winnipeg. And now I'm kind of like, well, waiting on the fate of whispers. Right.

Because, you know, first year you're always waiting to see what happens. Yeah. And then also just kind of like, well, if I'm working or not, and I'm going to know something the next like probably week and a half what the next six months of my life will be. Right. So, yeah, so I have downtime for final. That's the other thing that I don't, that I wonder about, about, you know, getting comfortable with the unknown, you know, that it can be really difficult for some people to constantly be in a state of, of like... Unemployment?

Yeah, well, yeah, that's putting it. I mean, you work so much and you've worked so, because it's like for so long that, you know, hopefully like one thing we all do is actors is try to create a space for ourselves where we can weather the times when we're not working in a way that doesn't make us panic or make choices that we wouldn't make otherwise. But there's like a larger thing, which is just like being comfortable with a certain amount of dynamism that's unmanageable and unknowable, right? Because you can't say where you're going to be in six months. No. No. No. For some people, that's very panic-inducing. You seem to be comfortable with it. I'm okay with it. I'm also okay with the fact, like, I haven't worked in Los Angeles in

over a year. I just haven't. So now it's like it kind of opens my mind. Wow, do I need to live here? Right. You know, should I go somewhere else? Because I don't really need to be here. Could you? Would you? I think I could. I think I would.

But also, it's all dictated by, you know, like, where my mom and dad are going to be, where my sisters are going to be, where my close friends are. And for me, those are the people that make me me, like really make me me. And then I feel like when I'm out working, that's when I'm out working, that's when I'm picking up my life experience, you know, whether I'm working in Paris or working in, in, Cleveland, Winnipeg. The less glamorous places that still have so much heart and soul. But I think, I think, you know, for me, it's, it's, I don't really know.

And I don't have to make a decision on it yet. Right. It's okay. I've got my home in LA. I've got my home in Portland. And I just breeze in and out. It's just, I'm so curious about this. Just because, like, I find as I'm getting older, strangely enough, I want less stability and less security because my fear is what we talked about earlier.

I'm just going to get, I don't want to be like the frog in slowly warming water where all of a sudden I would look around and I'm like, God, I got super comfortable. Here's something interesting that I thought about recently. I'm afraid to stay in one place too long because that will become my existence. And I admitted that to myself. I was like, holy shit. Right. It's like you're actually afraid to be in one spot for too long because you have been on the road for so long. Right.

And I've accepted that that's my life. Yeah. And now, like, what if I got a job that was in L.A. or whatever? And I'm just here, I'm like, well, I guess this is where I am for the time being. Right, right. Like, my life is so transitory. Yeah. In the true sense of the word, it's like, I'm a gypsy.

Yeah. I'm a total, total gypsy. Yeah. I mean, you seem like you're managing it really beautifully. And I remember having. thinking about this and talking with a friend that like all that travel that excitement that change can be very addictive it is i mean i mean even in kind of like you know a war scenario you know like the guys that get back and they have a hard time adjusting they just want to go back because

that's i know where people that they get out of prison get out of prison like fuck man i'm out of you know i was kind of comfortable in there just they do something they go back in prison right you know life on the road is is different than a life where you're settled could you could you Could you rip your life all the way down to like, to like the girders? Like, could you give up a home and just be on the road and just travel? I think I think I couldn't. I mean, right now my home is kind of like a really expensive storage unit. Yeah.

That's like nice and air-conditioned and everything. Right. I don't know. I like having some kind of semblance of a home base, you know, be it at my place in Portland, my place in L.A., but at the same time, I mean, they're just way stations. Right. They honestly are. Right.

Because I mean, I've had, you know, in the past year, probably about 15 different beds when I've slept in, you know, and different kitchens and refrigerators that I'm eating out of and, you know, restaurants and just like, I'm just, I'm always, I'm always on the move. I'm the shark. I just got to keep swimming. I got to keep swimming. Okay. That's a perfect place to move into self-inflicted wounds.

Self-inflicted? Okay. Okay. self-inflicted wood so I think the one that kind of takes the tapper like I'm definitely a dumb ass so my grandfather my grandfather

for like his whole life he this is my mom's dad he would carry a pen a pocket knife and a handkerchief and I just always thought like that's cool and you know the way he kind of pitched it was like tools of life you know and he he he I was kind of young when he passed

but I remember sitting in this kitchen like whittling little pieces of wood that I pick up on the side of their house and he'd have his pocket knife and whatever. And so I carry a pen, a pocket knife and a handkerchief. I mean, you see me, you know, time to time, drink my water because it gets stuck in my beard, you know, wipe my mouth. But so I was just about to cross the border to Canada to go shoot the whispers. And I was like, oh man, shit, I think I have like a couple pocket knives on me right now.

Just like, just different things. And I'm like, I don't know if they're going to search my car. Yeah. I don't know what. So I take one pocket knife and I like stuff it. up in the, in my seat between the leather and the foam of the seat. Yeah, yeah. And I stuff it up there.

Then I take this other knife, which is kind of, yeah, it's illegal. It's definitely an illegal knife. Like a blade size or? Well, the blade action. Okay, yeah. It's more a stiletto type knife. Yeah. It's made by a company.

Oh man, what is it? It's a bench made infidel. It's a badass knife. The name's badass. I know, right? Bench made infidel. Seriously. Um, um, um, and so, but it has this trigger on it. So like the, the blade comes straight up and then goes back down. Oh, wow. But it has this, um, safety feature where if you were to hit it against something, if it feels any resistance, it stops. Okay.

But still, it's sharp and, you know, if you're doing it to the side of a table, it'll stop and it won't open. But if you're doing it into like a hand, what's going to cut you. Yeah. So anyhow, so I have this other knife. I'm like, shit, man, I got to like stuff this. I'm like so close to the border. Yeah. So I go into the other seat. I'm still driving and I start stuffing it up the other seat. And then I hear like it opens and I feel it hit my palm and I drop it. I'm like, oh shit. And I look at my hand.

Oh, God. And like, there it is right there. Yeah. Oh, that's real. That's real. That's real scar. And I see it and my hand is just open. Like puncture wound open.

And probably like the blade went in maybe about half an inch. So it's not that much. but it's just like, it's enough. It's enough. And it's not bleeding yet. Oh. And I'm driving.

It's not bleeding. I'm driving. It's not bleeding. Then I look down and it's bleeding. Oh, God. So I get my handkerchief. I grab it. I put pressure on it.

I pull off the road. I find the very last exit before you start hitting like border control. I find a Fred Myers gas station or a grocery store in Washington. I walk inside, you know, holding my handkerchief against my bloody hand. I get antiseptic wash, band-aids, and super glue. Oh, yeah. And I go back to my car in the parking lot, and I'm hosing it out. I'm literally just like opening it and hosing out aniceptic wash, and it sucks.

And then I dry it, and I super glue it, and then I put a bandage over it, and then I go across the border. There you go. And I literally, I get across the border. I get my work permit, and then I just keep going. I'm like, man, what? I just stab myself in the hand for no good reason. No reason whatsoever. They didn't search a car.

They didn't ask any questions. They were Canadian, they were nice. They were like, hey, welcome back. I've worked here a lot. I'm like, yeah, I've worked here a lot. Yeah, and once you worked a couple of times in Canada and you've got that paperwork in your passport, it's pretty much like smooth sailing both ways, I think.

Although actresses, actresses have a very hard time entering the border. They will hold them up notoriously. So when I was doing whispers, Lily Raib got stopped. She was there in border control for like an hour. Really? When I did this movie, Devil's Gate in Winnipeg, my two co-stars, Bridget Regan and Amanda Schull, they got stopped for hours. It was, I mean, I breached right through. How odd.

I don't think it's odd so much as, I mean, y'all are beautiful women, you know, and an American. They're just kind of like, I've got to find some paperwork and, you know. Have a seat. Like, I want some to drink. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Wow. Well, that is a true. That is a literal self-inflicted women.

My God, I'm a dumb ass for that. It's like, kids, don't play the sharp objects, especially why you're driving, especially when you're about to cross the border. All those things in combination. But you also just learned how to do a pretty effective field dressing. Yeah. Oh, the crazy part was, so when I went to set the next morning,

I had to move into my apartment, one-handed, with all my gear because I couldn't really use my hand. Right, so just pull open. Well, it just didn't work. Right. And then I thought, I was, fuck, man, I like, Nick Nured or something. I was actually really afraid.

But the next day, I go on set and I'm shaking everybody's hand left-handed. I'm like, oh, sorry, man, I cut myself, you know, driving. Like, how'd you cut yourself? I'm like, I was reaching in my bag, and there was a knife, it opened, and whatever. But anyhow, I pulled the super glue off because a little bit was peeling away, and I went to the doctor's, went to the emergency room. And the doctor looked at it and goes, so tell me what happened.

Yesterday I did this, and what did you do? And I said, well, I washed out an antiseptic wash, and I supergluid clothes, and then I put a bandage. And he goes, that's exactly what I would have done. Nice. Great. Let me give you a tetan shot. Let me close you up again and go ahead and go heal. Well played.

Yeah, well played. Well played. Well played of Entimilia. Good job. Milo, this was such a great conversation. Great time. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

That was Mila Ventimilia. Wasn't that great? Wasn't that so great? I said that about every episode. Some are greater than others. This was one of my favorites. There is no apolloja for this show. I want something to apologize for.

And let me tell you, it's not that I don't have multiple things to apologize for every single day of my time on this planet. But sometimes within the conversation, but sometimes within the context of a conversation on girl and guy. There's something that particularly leaps out as problematic. And this was one of those shows. It just was a delight from start to finish. And so no apologies, unless there's an apology for no apologies. And that's not really an apology, is it? You guys are the greatest, you are my army. Come follow me, friend me. Like me. Facebook. Don't like me. That sounds so needy. Like me. Like my page. Or don't. I'm not telling you what to do. But if you'd like to like me, Facebook.com slash Aisha Tyler, Girl on Guy, Currigion, Stone,

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