Happy Sad Confused - Alan Ritchson

Episode Date: July 23, 2026

Alan Ritchson has a lot to say and more importantly he's not afraid to say it. In this no holds barred conversation the REACHER star talks about his big ambitions, his new film, MOTOR CITY, the hypocrisy that infuriates him, and why he's willing to die for a stunt. SUPPORT THE SHOW BY SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! Rula -- Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.rula.com/happy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #rulapod Quince -- Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quince.com/HAPPYSAD ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping and 365-day returns. Limited Time Offer–Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with my code happy15 at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://huel.com/happy15.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ New Customers Only. Thank you to Huel for partnering and supporting our show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've been looking forward to this all week. And with Cutwater's cocktails, this? Took only seconds, because tonight's about catching up. Not catching the server. Whether it's our cutwater lime margarita, lemon drop martini, or rum mitai. They're expertly mixed and ready before the snacks hit the table. Cutwater. Expertly mixed cocktails.

A perfect pairing for an evening with good company. Please enjoy responsibly. Must be 19 plus. The Hulu original series Furious is coming to Disney Plus. Starring Emmy Rossum, Furious follows FBI agent Alice Black on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur. Don't miss the three-episode premiere of the Hulu original series Furious on July 27th, only on Hulu on Disney Plus. People, I think, are a little bit afraid of me because they're like, he's a loose cannon.

And I'm not. I'm just saying the shit that everybody should say if they give a shit about humanity, you know? And why is, why am I the exception to the rule? Everybody else speak up. You are all feeling the same thing, you idiots. Like, get loud and stop like, cowtowing to the wrong people. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins.

Hey guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Today on the show, Reacher himself is in the house. Alan Richson, strap in. This is a good one. Hey, guys, thanks as always for checking out the podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. Remember to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already on YouTube, on Spotify,

on whatever podcast platform you use. The main event today, Alan Richardson, this is one that people will be talking about because this man, no holds barred conversation. He's the best. We'll get to that in a second. First up, a reminder. Patreon.com slash happy, say, confused. Is your friend. If you like what I do, if you want to support what I do, if you want to see more of what I do, go over there. Patreon.com slash happy say I confused. Early access, bonus content, autographed merch, all the cool fun stuff. Come to our live events in New York and L.A. All the information is there. Check it out. Okay.

So, as I have already teased, Alan Richardson, of course you know from Reacher. It is about to debut. fourth season in a few weeks. He's already about to start shooting season five. More to come on that phenomenal hit show on Prime. But he was here to talk mostly about his great new film. It's Motor City. I highly recommend this one. This is a fun, wild, stylized action film. Virtually no dialogue in the film. Alan is front and center. He's avenging. He is revenging. He's doing all the engines on behalf of his wife, played by Shailene Woodley, bad guy played by Ben Foster. He always delivers too. Well worth checking out, Motor City, highly recommended. This conversation, though, goes in many different areas because Alan is so unfiltered in the best

possible way, talking about his remarkable arc of his career in terms of coming of age and kind of being a late bloomer in some ways as an actor, his early days on small. is Aquaman, having success, but then kind of having it pulled away from him. Obviously, his work that really kick started with Reacher back when he was cast in 2020 and all the opportunities that have come since then and his philosophy on kind of like taking the bull by the horns and really trying to make the most of his career. He's clearly a workaholic. He's clearly a very passionate guy about many things.

He goes there in terms of talking about politics and ambition and what he is just incensed about in the world and I respect him for it because not a lot of actors speak their mind like Alan Richson. He's funny. He's smart. He is unique in the best possible ways. So I'm so thrilled to share this one with you guys. Enjoy with your eyes and ears the one and only Alan Richson. Oh boy. It's the star of Reacher and Reacher's Reacher's Reacher and Motor City. He's Reacher's back, baby. We're back in business man. Alan Richson, welcome to the podcast. It's such a pleasure to be here. It's good to see you, man. It's good to see you too. You're kind of the busiest man always in showbiz.

Like I know this from like, like, you know, hounding your team like, what is Alan around? Is he working? He's working. He's always working. I do have an obsession with the kind of work that I'm able to do. But the thing is like, I was in the business for 18 years, you know, before. Where was I then? Is that what you're saying?

Yeah. Yeah. I'm still the same guy. But like I was in the business for so long and you dream of getting to the place where you can start to curate your work. Right? Like I would like to do this next. I would like to play this character or tell this story. And when it arrives, like, oh my God, pinch me.

It's so it's rarefied air. I'm grateful for it. And I, I want to seize that opportunity to go like, this is what I want to bring to Hollywood and to audiences, you know. I, there's so many kind of derivative or risk mitigated sequels, you know. And like, like this is nothing new. Now it's almost a trope to talk about it. But I said when I did my first look to do with Amazon many years ago, you could probably

dig this up on the internet. I want to create original high concept original IP, new adventures for people to fall in love with. And if a sequel comes out of that, great. Like we've made something generational, right? But that's really hard to do. And I meant it. And here we are, like, you know, getting to tell fresh new stories. And I'm so excited by that. And there's more I want to do. There's a lot I want to do. I mean, you're getting at like one of the constant kind of conversations I have with folks on the podcast, which is kind of that crazy shift when like you go from like the actor. that's like, I'll take anything. I just need to work.

I just need a job to like the luxury of choice and then to where you're at where you can really steer your own ship to a degree. And that's a crazy shift, I would imagine, in your brain. It is a crazy shift. And, you know, then it becomes about really knowing that the marriage that you're about to make to a project is worth the fact that you're going to lose sleep in a family

and have no time off. And take you off the board for other things. things that might come around. Yeah, you got to know. Yeah. And so, you know, I worked with a Bruckheimer on Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. And so people asked him in an interview about working with me, you know, is he the next big star, whatever?

And he was like, you know, I've seen a lot of them come and go. And a lot of the ones that I thought were it, they disappeared. And he was, you know, he followed it up with the fact that it's about the project you choose. And I remember somebody sent me that interview and I was like, wow, and he's right. and I kind of have always intuitively known, like, both how to pick a project and how important it is to me.

I read as faster than anybody in town. I'm the one that makes the choice. You know, we make team decisions, but like, I know what I want and what we're looking for and the deep emotional threads, even if it's like a sci-fi thing. Like, War Machine is a good example.

Sure. I knew exactly, I knew that moment. I was like, we're going to make a hit because the emotional threads were like sacred and eternal and something we all understand and can relate to and enjoy. Wrapped in something,

scopian fun for everybody. And so I just had those ingredients for me. And I'm looking for those things all the time. And so like to Brockheimer's point, it's essential that I have the taste to pick the right projects and then the ability to execute bringing those to life. And so that that jigsaw puzzle, that burden, that responsibility, the privilege all of it is, it's like it's where the fun is for me. How quickly did that shift happen for you? So you get, you get Reacher. It debuts. It's immediately. a hit. Like, did you immediately start getting scripts sent to you? And that was immediate. Yeah. That was immediate. Um, but, uh, you know, now I'm so at that point, I'm sort of like a servicing actor, sometimes a producer. These projects usually have been around the block. You know, it's like,

uh, Motor City is a good example. This is what I would love to talk about today at some point. Yeah. Yeah. This amazing film, um, that I felt like was a masterpiece the moment I read it and did everything I could have champion it and bring it to life. And I learned through the course of producing that that it had been around for 18 years. It's one of those famous blacklist scripts. In Hollywood, everybody knew this script and was like, oh, man, Oh, Motor City.

I remember reading that when I was a junior agent at CAA 10 years ago. You're like, no, I love that. I know, I know. And so then you started go like, why didn't it get made, you know? Well, I realize now, you know, that film in particular

sits at the intersection of art and commerce in a big way where it's a very commercial action film but with no dialogue. Very artistic Shakespearean drama that is so gripping. But that's hard to make, you know. So anyway, the scale and quality of things

that have come in has really changed over the last year or two. But at first it was like, would you like to act in this thing? It's a cool movie. And that happened overnight. I mean, like,

Ritcher Season 1 was released I think like Thursday at midnight or something. And by Saturday we had record numbers. By Monday, I had like 40 offers. in my inbox but um but now it's like now we see manuscripts before they're published publishers are bringing us IP before anybody else sees it we're one of a we're like there are maybe five camps in town that get to see things first screenplays and ideas and uh i'm you know i've just been very fortunate that like we're able to because people are starting to be able to trust in my taste

and ability to execute with my team um that we can deliver 100 150 million dollar movies sell them set them up and they'll be, they'll be, you know, amazing experiences for audience. And so we have access. And that's, that is fun. So when this script comes around, this famous blacklist scripts, which maybe you didn't realize when it arrived to your desk had been around for a minute. Yeah. Do they tell you, I hope they tell you like, by the way, don't go in counting the lines because you can be very disappointed. I had no context. I had no context. I opened up the script. And, you know, when you, I read hundreds of scripts a year, right? And they're all similar in presentation. I mean, you see the scene action, which is like a set of long.

longer lines and then there are shorter margins, right, for dialogue. And so you sort of, you're used to it laying a certain way on the page and you don't want a lot of black because readers can get bored and lost. And so, you know, you know, you want scripts to be efficient for the reader as much as you wanted to be efficient for the audience so that you sell these things and engage people. And so when I opened it up and it was all scene action, I was like, oh hell, I'm a little better than this guy.

Is there a formatting mistake here because this is really, I was like, somebody's got no discipline, right? And then you realize like, oh, this is different. When is the, and I kind of flip ahead and I'm like, there is no dialogue in this movie. And I flew through that script probably faster than any other, which is also an indication to me of a good script. If you get, if I'm like rereading a lot because my mind is wandering or I'm having trouble following the sheer volume of characters or exposition, that's a bad sign.

If I'm racing through a script, especially with my severe ADHD, that is a good sign. Yeah. And I finished the script was 87 pages, very short for. a drama and and I got through it in probably 87 minutes, you know? So it was like, I knew there was something special about it. So the challenge for you as an actor must be like juicy, like must be very exciting because you have to obviously convey a lot with very little dialogue as discussed. Sure. Like in the, you know, there's one thing to kind of like think about that in advance. Then when you're on set, does it become like a different kind of set of challenges you

hadn't anticipated or? Well, I, you know, so a lot of people don't know this about me, but I, have a whole business in producing. I have distribution deals around town. You know, I love being at that, the very genesis of the creative process. And I feel like I'm pretty decent at it. So when I come in as an actor, especially one, like, you know, for context, Motor City has virtually no dialogue.

And, you know, that relieves me of a lot of my duties where I don't have to memorize lines, and that's just a time-consuming process, making sure that everyone's authentic and necessary and, you know, capturing the subtext properly or whatever. Without having to dedicate time to that, I can spend more time understanding the emotional threads of the film and through line.

But I wasn't so much challenged by the performance as much as I was challenged by the many producing hurdles that we ran into. This was not a studio picture. I had taken it to town. Yeah. And the studios or the studio that I brought it to first felt like there were a couple huge fans.

And there was enough people on the Greenlight Committee there that was like, who's going to watch a film with no dialogue? How do you keep people engaged? You're like, that's, that is the problem. But we have a plan to overcome that, right? It's a filmmaker-driven film, an excellent cast. and, you know, music is a character in this film. It's got one of the best soundtracks of the year.

Totally. There are ways to, there are, dialogue is not the only tool in the toolkit. And I think this teaches people that. Watch any Mad Max movie. Like George Miller is like the king of this. Like, you're not tuning into that for Tom Hardy's dialogue. Let's open up our imagination. And let's also show people that like,

maybe there are other ways that we can play with the many tools that we use than devices that we use and explore storytelling in new unique ways. I think the audience is everywhere ready for that. But it was like, you know, the studios like this, they're about mitigating risk. Right, right. And they can't comp this than anything else. So of course it's not.

It's about looking in their review mirror, what just worked. How do we do that? Right. And that's not what, that's not the business I'm in. Right. And so, you know, I had to make this in a more circuitous way. And so that, you know, you start putting together indie financing. And that's hard because it falls through.

Suddenly somebody's check doesn't clear. Escrow is empty when it's not supposed to be. we were actually set up to shoot some of this on sound stages in Dubai because they were they were giving like really incredible incentives and co-financing to have us come over there and do some work. And we got over there my production designer, Burns Burns, who's a good friend of mine. We've done a lot of work together. He went over there ahead of me just to like, I was like, just help us get a feel for what this is. And he's like, safety concerns. Safety.

There ain't no show over here, dude. This is safety concern central. and this place is not fit for like business. It's like the dangerous environment to work in. Sure. Just like the architecture alone was like not unsound, unfit for people to be working in. And it wasn't ready for, it wasn't ready for what we were going to need to do. And that was like, well, now we got to go back to the drawing board, but we are in hard prep, you know.

And so we brought all that soundstage work back to the states. Anyway, it was just so you're constantly. battling the realities and difficulties of making cinema, especially cinema that is totally unique and not really been explored before. And the way that we solved a lot of those problems was Potsie, Ponseroli, the director and I, who I'm just the biggest fan of. And he really made this movie what it is. But we would have nightly calls.

And I'd hate that when I saw his name line up at like 9 p.m. I'm like, no. No, what do we lose? And, you know, I'm like, hey, what's up, Potsie? And he's like, okay, let's do it. And I'm like, what do we lose? And he's like, $450,000 from the junior, you know, loan that fell through or whatever. I'm like, oh, God, God, all right. Okay, okay, okay.

He's like, this is what we're shooting this week. This is my idea for what we can cut to manage this. And a lot of times, you know, he'd be like, I think it's a drama first. And Shakespearean, like, romance. And it's about the love triangle. So I think we lose the elevator fight scene. And I'm like, absolutely over my dead body. And by the way, that scene, the elevator fight is so good.

I think this will be something that is like referenced. is like peak action material and worth the price of admission alone. Everybody should come see this movie. But like when that happens, the audiences I've seen it with, it is so satisfying to hear people's reaction to that in the movie theater when it's anyway. So I fought for that kind of thing, right? To the point where I was like, I'm going to pay for the scene myself. It's that worth it to me.

Audiences, this will make the movie and satisfy audiences more than anything that we're doing. It's got to stay. Talk about, let's talk about other ideas. And so we'd find a way to cut 100 extras or move a scene from inside a disco with billions of people to outside an alleyway or something. So it was more efficient to shoot. And those compromises, you know,

I think we always were able to protect the best, you know, the integrity of the film in the best way. But that, a long winded way of saying, to answer your question, that consumed 95% of my energy. And then I'd show up on set and we do the scene, you know, where I just sink into those usually rage. sink into those emotions. I mean, it is a bit of like, for more context,

a little bit of a throwback, right? It's like 70s set, Detroit. Yeah. It's like, I feel like back in the day would have been Clint or Steve McQueen or something like that, like, you know, man of few words that is out for justice. 100%.

I was very impressed. Like, you know, it's funny how you can tell kind of like you're in safe hands right from the start of a movie. Like, oh yeah. Opening images of the film like, yes, like you throwing a guy over the roof in front of a neon sign. Like, it's like the imagery is there.

One of the coolest cold opens, too, by the way. Like the movie, you're just thrust into the middle of something. A guy running across a rooftop in Detroit in 19, in the 70s with a guy who has a leg missing, still sort of bleeding from a fight. And then he hurls the body off into a car. And we're in. And you're like, what happened? Let me catch up with this madness.

Yeah. Yeah. So it's, man, I love this movie. So when you're in the middle of these fight scenes, do you have to, there was just the urge to like improvise a line like you because the body don't you want to say something and like course of course and I'm very improvisational you know like that's why a lot of people bring me on to projects because they've you know they're like oh you know just want to keep it loose and see what you can find you know and you know I'm always looking and listening in every

moment listening hard for something that inspires some thought that that character is having right My job is to make sure that thoughts that come from the ether belong to the character, knowing it well enough to like for those things to be his, but fresh in the way that we listen, be listening the way that he would listen, right? That's my job. And it makes it very easy to improvise when those thoughts belong to the, are appropriate for the character, time and setting and all that, his experiences. And so naturally verbal communication usually is there's a wellspring of that.

like when I'm having these thoughts. And I had to show a little more restraint than normal where usually I would just say something, but we wanted to honor the fact that this was the brainchild of Greg Silverman, who was the president of Warner Brothers, maybe 20 years ago. And he wanted to make a movie that could be a universal shared experience

between all moviegoers and all cultures, all languages, right? There's no language barrier where somebody has to read captions and subtitles and other people get to experience because they understand the language. we could all just watch the drama unfold. And he gave the mandate to Chad St. John, who's an incredible writer and absolutely crushed this.

And this is what Chad cooked up. And so we did have to show some restraint. And I would say like the proposal scene, there's a scene where I propose to my character, proposes Shane Lee Woodley's character. And it was terrifying to work through a proposal without saying anything. How do you do that? And so I had to fill it.

with a lot of inner turmoil. Right. And the questions and the stress of that moment, is this the right time, it's right place? She's cooking scrambling right now. I don't know if maybe I should do that. Maybe she's good. Maybe you should say no.

Like, maybe I didn't, like all those things, right? And then that leaves you sort of in a place where it makes sense. And you're just a trust that it's going to land and look authentic, you know, but it's what great fun we had. We'll be right back with more, HappySaid Confused. Summer heats up in FX's The Show. Shards. Set in 80s, Los Angeles, the Shards follows a group of beautiful, privileged prep school students

who are preyed on by The Trawler, a serial killer targeting teenagers across the city. This fever dream of youth, beauty, sex, and mystery is a must see. FX's The Shards, streaming August 5th on Hulu on Disney Plus. Sign up now at Disneyplus.com. The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders, an army scattered like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadow dark, the darkness always wins.

This is old-school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time, and when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules-light nightmare with a story. that emerges organically based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s, and man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadow Dark

every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on YouTube.com slash the Glass Cannon with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark. My guess is you're probably very good in a pitch meeting. Like you're such a passionate advocate for your vision, for a creative vision,

working with the team. I mean, and clearly as much as you love acting, you've talked about this already. Like, you get off on the whole process. I, well, here's the, so I see an opportunity to create tomorrow's best TV and film. I see a path to what is what, I am here to service audiences needs

before they're expressing exactly what it is, right? Like taking a temperature of what the, what's in the zeit guys. What are people looking for? I want to be the defender and deliverer of that content now, right? We have to start now because it's going to take me a few years to get this film into the eyes of moviegoing audiences. That's a fun job.

Like, I love my job. And I think I have the taste to deliver like really high quality stuff. And so, you know, finding it, finding the right partner, whether that be classical theatrical distribution or streamers, which is a great way to access a lot. lot of content these days that maybe normally wouldn't get made. You know, finding those partnerships and championing these things in a way where they trust that you can execute. And then you're working on this new startup, which is going to, you know, be three years

of your life. They transfer in $100 million and you've got to deliver a new business and it's got to work. You get one product to sell one time and you got to hope it works. You know, that's like it's a challenge that both keeps me up at night and keeps me from getting bored. I mean, the way you're talking about all this reminds me back. in the day of someone that you worked with relatively recently, which is Arnold. Like Arnold was so,

interesting mind. So strategic and so smart about the business as much as he is about the performance and just inhabiting like a persona. Yeah. Did you guys talk about this kind of stuff? All the time. All the time. He's super savvy businessman. He also really wanted me to get into politics because after we got to know each other,

he was like, man, you need to do this. I'm not ready to retire yet so I can do that. Did he plant the seed? Is this down the line? Are we talking politics? I, you know, I look, I just want to help people, you know? Like, there's going to come a time when I feel like maybe I'm either well-resourced enough or, I don't know, visible enough to like, you know, to really make an impact in many people's lives, right?

And I care deeply about the outliers, the maligned, people who have very difficult lives, people who are forgotten and overlooked and unwanted and unloved. Like, I care deeply about making the world more. fair and free for those people and a lot of politicians have lost the they've lost the plot and there is a desire for justice and fairness in me that is I look I just found this I work with an ADHD coach now because ADHD has like made my personal life it's in shambles my career is amazing and that is ADHD in a nutshell you're a millionaire and you have no one in your life that loves you

Functioning, low functioning. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so it's been working. I've learned a lot about ADHD and rejection sensitivity to sporea is something that ruins relationships. And I suffer from that deeply.

It's hard to feel like I've let somebody down. And I was having a conversation about the business in this regard. Yeah. Because I get so, I get mad when I'm like, I don't feel seen heard respected as a creative who continues to prove with like number one hits across the board. that I know how to do this and I know what audiences want and people are going like, I don't know, I don't really see it that way. And you're like, ah!

You know, and feels unfair or whatever. I mean, that's a bad example. But I was like, I just want more peace and emotional maturity, clarity in the business place so that I don't feel these like huge ups and downs, this rollercoaster of volatility. And she's like, well, the examples that you've given me on what's causing that is another umbrella of ADHD. And I'm like, great, there are more. Like, it gets worse.

Injustice sensitivity. And that is, I'm like, wow, that makes a lot of sense because I have put myself, I had somebody shoot themselves in the leg while I beat their ass for breaking into my car because I was like, well, I'm going to go take care of this group of people. There's a group of people breaking into the car and starting on my house. And they didn't know that I was in there. And I went after him. And a guy shot himself in the leg trying to like, you know, fend me off.

And I never I there wasn't one second where I was like maybe I shouldn't be doing this. I was like this is exactly what I need to be doing and this is exactly what this guy gets. And like I so I there's nothing it's very reacher like there's nothing in me that hesitates or gives a shit about like people taking on people who deserve it. You know what I mean? Like I don't like that gene doesn't exist and but it also makes life very frustrating. I live with a lot of contempt at the way things are because I see unfairness and injustice everywhere and I'm frustrated by it. And and so. Anyway, in working with this coach, I've learned that that's a thing that I really want to manage. And that informs my politics. Right. Right. That is where it is for me. So, like, people who, like, think they're doing God's work while they're creating monsters, telling themselves this story that there are monsters among us that should be kept apart and separate.

That ain't it, dude. And that ain't no true religion in the world that would support that idea. So you got to be introspective and check yourself and make sure who's talking points you're listening to. If you start to hate others or separate yourself. of create division like red flags red flags and i don't see it that way and i so like if i got into politics i would i would have to be ready to hang it up for a minute in the in the business that i'm in i'm not there yet but um i would go full i would make a full-throated effort to um to make the world a more fair place um and and you know clean up the law so that it's harder for people

who are corrupt and wanting to abuse the system take advantage of it um to do so i respect literally everything you said and the passion behind it. And I also respect the fact that like as you well know, there are a lot of actors that are afraid to kind of like speak their mind and kind of like, give a shit. I told you. I'm missing that gene, dude. I need that because it's honestly it's a it's a, it's a, everybody's scared around me for what I'm going to say. Everybody's saying. My publicist right now is like, oh, I say she's like biting her nails. Her nails are, she bites her nails down to the cuticles. They're just tiny little cuticles left. And so what is this idiot going to do? It's I just have to. She actually showed me her beautiful.

nails right now. You know, it's like people I think are a little bit afraid of me because they're like, he's a loose cannon. And I'm not. I'm just saying the shit that everybody should say if they give a shit about humanity, you know? And why is, why am I the exception to the rule? Bitch, everybody else speak up. You are all feeling the same thing. You idiots like, like get loud and stop like cowtowing to the wrong people. Stop bowing down to people that like have power. You got power too, man. And power in numbers? Dude, you know what happened if, like, everybody felt like me?

Everybody felt like, I was just, I was just, I got to keep careful. I left Dax Shepard. I just did armchair expert with Dax Shepherd. I went on a goddamn rant that I left like, I was like, that's just not, man, it's just not me. I shouldn't be, I shouldn't say those things because people are going to start to get like, he's scary. No. I, you know, but I just like, dude, if every, he goes, he goes, I love Dax. I had the best time on his show.

And he goes, maybe you should let go of that stuff. And I'm like, let go. I was like everybody else should have it. Everybody else should feel like I feel. The world is on fire. Yeah, like, oh, mad about the way things are and the abuses that are happening. The Epstein files! The fucking Epstein files!

God damn it! Where are they? It's a fucking law, bitch, show it! You fucking pedophiles? I shouldn't say fuck because I'm a Christian and people are going to go like, how can he say fuck? And he's a Christian. Because that is something that should make you want to say fuck. You know, sorry, God, I'm sweating now.

I just, this is my fucking politics, dude. I would fucking railroad these fuckers. I would get those Epstein files out in two seconds. Yeah, dude, two seconds, fucking move out of the way. Like, get out of there. I don't care what room they're in, bitch, move. Like, give me the fucking Manila envelope. I will get you the Epstein files.

Sorry. You got my vote. Whatever you want to run for. You got it. Don't you want to see what's in there so that we can hold people accountable? These fucking rapists? We're just cool with it. That bitch has the keys to the nuclear...

He's like all up into 13-year-olds. Like, dude, what? Go to jail. Go to jail. All right, what are we talking about? You're a big Jim Carrey fan growing up. I love Shigari. His work in Sonic the Hedgehog is just...

It's truly transcendent. Okay, I'm sweating now. We're good. But this is ADHD also. Like, this is a justice dude. This is how I feel. And this is why my family is like, maybe we shouldn't be a family

anymore. You just, you're better on the road. We want to live in, and the place that we live now by ourselves. Was this Alan growing up, if I met you at 12 years old, is this avert, is this basically the same guy? Like, in terms of just vibe. Yeah, but just the things that made me mad were different. Like the fact that like, you know, like, Nintendo wouldn't work. The controller wouldn't work. Sometimes I used to think that people were actually watching us play from behind the TV monitor, like the Nintendo people were like controlling everything. You don't want me to fail, you know, and I throw the controller by both. If you throw another controller, so anyway, maybe the anger matters more now, I don't know.

Were you, you were, you were both artist and Jacques growing up? Did you, were those both sides of you? Yeah, there's a lot of, I've, well, I'm still artist and jock. I would say, like, you know, it's, like, what did the family make of, of Allen? I will say, look, too, yeah, there's a lot of, you know, when you grow up the son of a narcissist, there's going to be C, C, C, PTSD diagnosis in your future and your, and your, have to do a lot of work. Transcranial therapies and, you know, like, I've got to do a lot of work to like, you know, learn what love should look like. But I will say this, you know,

for all the challenges I face growing up, my parents were always super supportive. And my, you know, my dad especially, like really, he really went to bat to make sure that we could explore ourselves in whatever way we needed. And we didn't have a lot of money. And I remember He was chief master sergeant in the Air Force, which is a very hard rank. It's more rare than other high-ranking officials and other branches of the military. Less than 1% of the Air Force becomes chief. So it's a well-respected rank. And that's kind of how I knew him.

He was a leader. And he took a job at a little tiny local airport as a Knight Security Guard because we were trying to do so many things, track, chorus, you know, on train new, these like social clubs, things that travel, traveling baseball. Like we were involved in everything and didn't have the money to do it. And so he would work all day, come home nap, and then he'd go as work as a night security guard at this place

so that we could afford to do all the things that we wanted to do, including the arts. Yeah. And he will forever be my hero for that. Like I want to cry thinking about it because that, that's a man. That's a man, serving his family, doing whatever it takes. And I so respect that. And he eventually stopped doing it, one, because it was taking a toll on him, obviously, the time.

But he also, like, a lot of the lower ranking, you know, people in the Air Force that would see him would kind of, like, you know, tease him. You know, what the fuck are you doing here, chief? You're working at night, you know, the thing. And he's like, man, I'm just all the youngsters who are like, they don't, you know, they make fun of me. And, you know, so he stuck it out for long enough to help us get our goals met for that year. Anyway, so hats off, dad. And, you know, mom for support. And my exploration of like art when we were growing up in the South and everybody thought I was like the gayest dude that they've ever met.

Because I would rollerblade to chorus practice and then go pole. You know? I was a paradox wrapped in a conundrum. And I just like trying things. Yeah. You know? I did ballet. I have a degree in ballet.

Did you know that? I think I did know that. Associate arts degree in ballet. Because when I quit my music theater program, I had enough and I left and that's what it was. I just wanted to go out and live life and explore more and experience more. But it was harder for me to go through those experience because it was like, I hope nobody sees me here than it was for him to support me.

Right. In that way. When you start to make that transition, we're not going to have time to go into everything, but obviously like, I mean, Mindfield, we could go into the modeling. I know this all was a horrible experience for you. What a dark underbelly of life that is. Yes. You want to go there?

And justice sensitivity will make this real interesting interview. Suffice it to say you're not encouraging the kids or anybody to go into modeling. Definitely not. Yeah. You make the transition into acting and, you know, that role in Smallville was kind of, I guess, the first big break, safe to say, Aquaman, would you say that? Yeah, that was it. Yeah, that was, I mean, right out of the gate, that was one of the first opportunities I had.

And it was, I didn't know what I was doing at all. And in fact, you know, Winter Brothers are CW. It was CW at the time. They had hired an acting coach to be there on Sand. And the acting coach and the director would fight all the time. I didn't know that you weren't, it wasn't normal to have an acting coach on set coaching directing me. And the director would yell at him, stay away from my fucking actor.

And I was like, why are they fighting? He's my coach that they hired. This is my coach. He's here to help me. You know? And this guy would tell me one thing and the coach would tell me another. So I was wholly confused the entire time. And it's funny how much I've learned now.

But like, yeah, but anyway, I just, I got that part because I was, I didn't know any better. I didn't I just it was just pure instincts and I didn't put anything on it you know did you did you feel at that time like entitled to a career did you feel like you were ready for that kind of the success that would come much later oh after that oh you know that's interesting that was so what happened behind the scenes for me was the best loss that I've could have ever asked for is a blessing in disguise I came on to smallville season five I didn't know what I was doing coasting on instincts and I got this role as Aquaman and our episode set a ratings record for the show.

Right. And you're five years in, it's like, that doesn't happen. Yeah. And it wasn't because of me. Nobody knew who I was, but people were interested in the character and they like enjoyed it, you know. And so I was asked to come back and I was told that they were treating that episode as a pilot for a spinoff.

Right. And so they made me an offer for my own show. And I was like, to your point, sort of was that, did that kick the door open in a way where you're like, oh, this is my town now? And I was like, I'm going to get my own show. That's, oh my God, I did it. I did it.

I've arrived. I've been here for 11 minutes. And we started negotiating. And I would have guys from the studio call me and, oh, Alan, I'm here just to keep your head on the ground. You know, if you ever get in trouble, you get a little too drunk at a club, get in a little tiff. You call me. I clean up the mess. And I was like, oh, there's fixers?

This is 1990s? I know. I know. So he So he would I would have to like do check-ins and like make sure I'm not getting in trouble He would follow up with me And while we're doing this deal

And I was like, you know, he's like this is going to be a rocket ship for you You're going to be the next big thing And I was like, okay amazing And the oh that's what it was The merger between UPN and Warner Brothers happened at the same time creating the CW And the president of UPN took over And he looks at the slate of shows they're developing

And he's like, who the hell is this guy with no resume getting his own show. And they're like, well, we looked, and his episode did well, and he's great, and people liked him. Like, nope. And so they ain't it. They inked.

And long story, they ended up coming back, actually, at one point because they couldn't find anybody else. And then Justin Hartley came, he became free. He left passions and was free. And they were like, oh, that guy.

And I love Justin, and I'm happy he got to do that. But losing what felt like a sure thing, that lesson that like, until you're in front of the camera, and even then, Sometimes they're issue, you know, but like until it's done and in the can and in front of audiences, like it's nothing is a sure thing in this business. I learned to hold so loosely to every opportunity that came to where I would never get too excited.

You know, there's a great quote like the best three words that we can learn or is that so, right? And so with the good stuff, oh, is that so? With the bad stuff. Is that so? Right. And there's a real power in that. And that's really kind of been my attitude to the whole thing, you know, like, oh, like, you know, I want to do this sequel. Oh, we're a theatrical release.

Okay. So, and it just helps me navigate this business in a more grounded way. And I learned that right out of the gate with a real tough loss. Yeah, I guess the other, not to just obsess over the bumps. We can talk about the bumps because you're succeeding so much now. But the other is that so question to yourself must have been the Thor experience, which you've talked about. out, but like, auditioning for Thor and just kind of. That was lessen is that so moment.

I got a, I got terrible feedback. It was constructive in the sense that the casting director felt like I was such a sure thing if I just had the craft as, as she put it. And I didn't show up that day ready. And I was, it was less as that so and more, this is never going to happen again. And sometimes we need that. And, you know, the question is like, is our ego going to get in the way? And like, who dare?

They, they don't understand me. me. They don't understand my art. You know, like, you could have, well, I could have, well, I could have said anything, but I was like, I'm never going to let that happen again. And I took a step back from the business to learn what the craft means. And man, am I better for it? And is my work better for it. So I'm grateful for that, um, that tough day. But yeah, sometimes you just, it's more about buckling down and being willing to, um, humble yourself and, and learn what you don't know. You've obviously, I mean, between that and Titans, et cetera, you've been associated with different superhero things over the years. And, um,

You know I have to bring up. I've talked to James about this. James Gunn is a very big fan of yours, as you well know. James Gunn and I have spoken a lot. So let's just set the record straight. Is there a world where you're playing Batman or is it something else? Or what's what, where do I put my money right now, Alan? There's so much to impact here that you don't even know.

You don't know what you're asking for. I, I, um, I. This speaks volumes. The most equacious man I've ever had on the podcast has no. I really respect James. I would like to do something with James. James would like to do something with me. But it's got,

but it's, my litmus test for what I will take is strict. I pick the shit out of projects. I know how to develop a project. And, um, anything I do, with DC will still meet my standards, right? It will have to meet my standards. And, um,

and I hope that we work, uh, I hope that we work, uh, on something that feels like we're all making this movie that I would be proud of. It sounds like you want, and this is no surprise, you want to see to the table of that creative process of whatever you potentially do. If it would help. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, um, there, there could be a bright future for us. Um, and There have been a lot of conversations. Do you have a character in mind that you're not going to tell me today? Yes. And it's not Batman.

Look, the future is bright. And the horizons are broad. And anything is possible for any of us. Okay. You know? Okay. Do you have a future in mind for yourself that is different than the one that you're, you're, you're open to all possibilities? What would you, what would your dream role be in the world?

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Let's tease a little bit of Reacher, because we're getting the new season very soon next month. That's right, August 12th, season four. I'll just go ahead and say it. This is the best season we've ever had. Those are big words. Pretty plain and simple. You are going to enjoy this. more than any other season.

By what standards? It's just so satisfying. It feels so authentic to the journeys that most of the books take, the most beloved books. It is the twist and turns that it takes, and the violence is like next level. It's just all so heightened and fun. I think it's the best of what Reacher has to offer.

How long term, as we well know, there are many Reacher books. A lot of books, yeah. Do you have in your own mind, like how long you want to go with this character? I mean, look, who knows? You know, who knows what demands will be placed on my career, what Amazon will want to do, what audiences will continue to show up for? I mean, really, at the end of the day, the audience will decide. Right.

I think, I suspect, and I could be wrong about this, but I think we will have, because season three was so effective, it was such a great season and so many people tuned in for it. to know that like, oh, three seasons in, they're still sent in it, like full send. Four goes even further. Four's even better. I think those audience, I think the audience will show up and we'll grow. I think we'll grow season four. And I think if we do, that's going to sort of like really probably educate us on what our future looks like. But I always felt like, in my head, I was just like, I'd love to get to 10.

It just seems like a really cool number. And it would honor everybody. The audience that supported it. Amazon and the work that they did to make this thing what it is and Lee and his work and all you know all that it just be like a good you know then you'd have a lot of just you know for generations people can just enjoy the journey of reacher which is like an exciting one is there a piece of physicality a stunt you read in a script that you dread at this point I mean you're you're pretty game it sounds like you're down but I'm down for all of it I feel like indebted to the audience

in every project I do, my goal is to help the audience feel like they got their money's worth. And what that means for me is I'm doing the stunts. So, you know, I've had to get over a lot of those fears of like, this could kill me. And I'm not sure what's about to happen, but like, I don't know if I die like doing a stunt, like, man, I die doing what I love. You just have to know that.

No, Alan. You just have to know that. And also, there would be huge insurance payout. My wife, I think, is hoping I die in a stunt. She would get so rich. You don't even know. She'd be like, this is better than eight more seasons of reach. I'm your publicist now.

Stop. Yeah. Her nails. Now her nails. Her fingers are down to the knuckle. Like, just, just shut him up. So, look, I, yeah, but I, but, you know, so far, like, I do get hurt all the time. And I don't stop because I can't stop, right?

Because I book my schedule out a year in advance. And I, there's no days off between projects. And so it's scary for studios because they're like, we finish him on a Saturday morning, and he needs to be in a different country by Monday shooting. There was no prep. He was doing, sending measurements for wardrobe.

He's going to land and start shooting, right? And so if I get hurt or injured, like, it is, that is my biggest fear in this business, that because I'm so busy that I do a disservice to some other group of people who want to work. And,

you know, so far I've been very lucky that I'm able to keep going. A part of that is due to having a great team around me, experience, but like, oh, there's a lot of luck in that that I haven't been that injured. I broke my back twice last year on two different projects and people don't have, people have no idea. I had to keep going and I like there and I'm glad I did, you know, but so it does get hard

sometimes and my body feels like it's been put through a food processor, you know, like it's like in the disposal most of the time. But to me, that's the cost of doing business to honor an audience who has so much choice and deserves greatness for parting with their harder and money. It's harder than ever to make money. Look at inflation, look at dollars, the minimum wage from these fucking assholes who won't fucking, 725, give me back on the politics conversation. I'm going to fucking whip these guys ass in right in the middle of Congress,

a fucking backhand some idiot who thinks it's a bad idea to give a mom working at Waffle House more than 725 an hour trying to feed her kids. You know what I mean? Like, are you, what are going to monster? Are you the devil? If you're going to vote against that, you're the devil. Like, anyway, I recognize, man, it's hard to make money. And money's not worth much these days.

And so if you're going to part, you're going to have a subscription to a streaming platform or you're going to come to the movie theater to see Motor City, which you're going to do on July 24th, because it is worth the price of admission. And I know how hard it is to make money. days like you better know that you got my best and I'm going to give it to you every time we appreciate you putting your body on the line but be safe man like I said

that intro dude my wife is disagreeing with her right now she's like please don't yeah please encourage him to do stunts as we wrap up what the hell is going on with fast X fast 11 fast one that's a great question yeah Vitt is like send another press release out and let him know that we're shooting now I mean this is the key manifester of our lifetime. This man just like puts stuff into the universe and suddenly it happens. Do you know anything?

I do. I know a lot. We have conversations all the time. I mean, it's, you know, a big part of those conversations, but there's just a lot of, there's a lot of obstacles. So, you know, it's, it's expensive to make that. It's too expensive to make those shows. It doesn't make a ton of sense.

There's a more efficient way to shoot those shows. Excuse me. And so, there's, there's a, there has to be a way to show restraint while also honoring the fact that this world has expanded to something humongous. That gets very difficult. Now we're at the crossroads of something very hard to figure out. Yeah. And, you know, everybody's figuring it out. Yeah. But yeah, I think there's going to be another one. I think it's going to be great. And it's just a matter of solving some big problems, very real problems. We end every happy second fuse with the profoundly

random questions, Alan. You ready for this? Oh, no. Don't worry. This is not going to be the part that gets you in trouble. This is fun. Yeah, I think, yeah, we'll talk to me after. Dogs or cats? On dogs. Big time? Easy.

I need to get you on my dog show, Alan. You know I have a dog show. I'm in. Dude, I was a dog trainer. I used to train Belgium Malinwalk. Seriously? K-9, yes. If I wasn't an actor, that is what I would do.

I was good at that. All right, we'll talk in your abundant free time. I love dogs. Strong hand. Strong hand. What do you collect? Cars? Cars.

don't tell anybody and watches oh look at this grubel forcey oh my god do you know what this is dude it's like having a galaxy on your wrist look at the movement this is artistry do people even know

when you make a watch like this there's no battery the tension of the machinery itself keeps perfect time in perpetuity if you continue to wear it it's self-wining that is can you have figured that out if you go like I want to keep time forever

with just metal gears turning on themselves There's not enough time in the universe for me to figure that out. No. And it's beautiful in like the shape of the glass. Like it's just, anyway, it's like, well, work of art. I love, anyway, that's not a rapid fire answer. Favorite video game of all time? Call it, call it duty.

Yeah, I'm a call a duty player. I love that. Where are they out on the Call of Duty movie? What's going on? Yeah, that's interesting too. They've come calling. They've come calling. It's, you know, the video game adaptations scare me a little bit, honestly,

because so if you work. So if you work, I think the ones at work are the ones that are made directly for kids, Minecraft is a good example. If you make it for kids first or it's fun and self-deprecating or whatever in that way, or self-aware, I should say, they tend to work. But ones that take themselves too seriously, it has to know what it is and has to be ready to have a good time. That sounds like a very big maybe on you joining Call of Duty.

No, I do love Call of Duty. I do love Call of Duty, made up the story's right. I would want to put, I want the zombies in Call of Duty. You put zombies in Call of Duty? you know what unexpected it is that it's supernatural like this best part of the game and my kids get on and we play zombies all day long you know if you know you know um

the Dakota Johnson Memorial question she asked me I ask everybody would you rather have a mouthful of bees or one bee in your butt Alan how mouthful of bees I don't want anything in my butt I'm not gonna do it to you it's okay don't worry I don't mind if other people want bees or big things in their butt but I just don't

I don't like things in my buzz that's my personal preference why did she get to invent a question And why is it that one? It's a great question to ask of her. You're right. Okay, so a mouthful. What's the wallpaper on your phone?

It's of my kids. Can I see it? It's us in front of the Statue of Liberty. Oh, yeah, they're there. Yeah, yeah. Oh, boy. Last actor you were mistaken for? John Cena.

I get it all. Oh, God. What do you mean? No. You disagree with that? I get that a thousand times a day. People go, John, John, can have a picture? Oh, yeah, you can have a picture with me.

It's John Cena, sure. Come on over. You get the Can't See Me jokes, and they're like, no, it's not. I actually, you know, John is like one of the nicest people I've ever met my entire life. So I'm flattered and honored to be confused with John. I'm like, I ain't as nice as him, dude. You don't know who you're talking to. I think you're going to give a good one to this.

The worst note of director has ever given you. I can only imagine. By the time the lines get to you, they're baked, Krispy heart. Shut up and say the fucking line. What? Yeah. Any context you want to deliver to that?

I challenge everything. My role in life is to stress test ideas so that we're sure that we land on the best one. And by the way, this is a blueprint bitch. We didn't shoot the script. We're shooting it now. Like, we're not, this is not a facsimile. We're not faxing this shit to people's houses. Like, what?

Like, let's see if we can improve it. And also, what are we shooting on film? You've got infinite takes. You want to know, I'll give you $30 for another SD card, homie. Like, let's just try a couple things. And finally, in the spirit of happy second fuse, who's an actor who always makes you happy. You see them on screen. Oh, well, we talked about Jim Carrey, but Jim Carrey's my hero.

Yeah. He's doing a Grinch sequel. It's time, Alan. I know. I was talking to Brian Grazer about that because I am going to be, I'm manifesting this. This is nobody else knows this, but I'm going to be the Grinch's grosser, fartier, belchier cousin. who he, who crashes in the Grinch's lair and the Grinch wants him out because he's like overstayed is welcome. And I just, anyway, this is my pitch to Brian.

How'd that go over? Did he, uh, he, he, uh, he, well, he's, he's, he's like, he's lovely. He's like, yeah, we're going to make this happen, you know, not, I don't think with me involved, but, you know, manifesting. It's happening. There's going to be somebody funny. Maybe Zach Gallif andacus, you know, I pitched the idea and then Zach gets the role. Yeah, you guys always go up for the same roles. Exactly. Exactly. He would have been a great reacher, to be all, to be honest. Like, he would have probably would actually. Movie that makes you sad.

Oh, well, I don't know if sad is the right. I don't know, this is an old movie, but I've never cried more in a movie than the notebook. Yeah. That made me cry. But it was like happy tears. Like I want a life of, I want a lifelong love like that. Yeah. And a food that makes you confused.

You don't go. I think most things with hot sauce on it. Oh, you're not all. Like, did you want to taste just hot sauce? Because as soon as you touch a drop or two of that, it's the only thing you're tasting. We could have corn or we could have chocolate cake. And if you put hot sauce on it, it tastes like hot sauce. I kind of don't always get why people do that.

Right. So no hot ones for you? If I don't do hot ones before I die in a stunt, I'm going to lose my mind. So you do want to do it. You want to challenge yourself. Yes, I'm going to do it. I want to eat the bones. I want to finish the bones.

Just to show people like how tough I am. I'll be the first one to eat all the bones. See, there's going to be nothing left. No one's doubting your tough. You don't need to do this for us. But do you. Maybe I still have insecurities for my child. That's the next podcast.

We'll go back. Dude, always a pleasure. I appreciate you for so many reasons. Congratulations. Motor City kicks ass. It's awesome. Please go see this movie. I've never asked for anything.

I usually just slap up the key art and like your fingers crossed. But like this one I want you to see. It's an experience you'll never forget. It is unique in all the best possible ways. Check it out July 24th. Alan, thanks. Thank you so much. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused.

Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley and I definitely wasn't should do this by Josh. Reality TV is messy. Pop culture is louder than ever. And the internet. Completely unhinged. Welcome to Roxanne and Chantelle.

The podcast where cousins, Roxanne and Chantelle break down reality TV, celebrity drama and the stories everyone's texting about. We recap the shows, spill the headlines, and sit down with the stars themselves. No filter, no boring takes, just the tea. New episodes every week. If it's trending, we're talking about it. This is Roxanne and Chantelle. Let's get into it.