Happy Sad Confused - Rudy Pankow

Episode Date: March 13, 2026

Rudy Pankow is ready for the next adventure. He earned a passionate fanbase thanks to his memorable role in OUTER BANKS and now he's got his biggest film role to date in the Colleen Hoover adaptation, REMINDERS OF HIM. He joins Josh in his first podcast interview(!) to talk about his beginnings and ambitions as he embarks on this next stage of his career. 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 #sponsored NordVPN -- EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://nordvpn.com/hsc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Saily -- 🌎 Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code HSC at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://saily.com/hsc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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! Check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy Sad Confused patreon here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! We've got discount codes to live events, merch, early access, exclusive episodes, video versions of the podcast, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One plus one equals more of the greatest stories. Hulu on Disney Plus. Stories about survivors. The most dangerous planet. Family. Retribution. Murder. Prophecy.

Beer and propane. Bobby Dillard. Blake Pantha. The ultimate. The ultimate soldier. Chicago, all right? The best of the best stories now with even more from Hulu. Amazing.

Have it all with Blue on Disney Plus. So what are you proud of? of that characterization, 40 episodes, four seasons, obviously made an impact with that audience. No, it's a sense of pride. It really is a sense of pride that people connected to all the characters, not just JJ. It's a sense of pride that, you know, we got it done, and I am really proud of it. 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, Rudy Panko.

This is his podcast debut, not only on Happy Sack Infused, but on any podcast. I'm honored to say that. He, of course, hit it big in Outer Banks, and now he's starring, rather, in reminders of him. We just had Micah Monroe on. We're supporting this movie big time.

You're welcome, reminders of him. Gosh. Thank you guys for checking out the podcast, as always, whether you're enjoying this on YouTube, on Spotify, however you're doing it. I appreciate you guys. Keep supporting the show by watching and spreading the good word.

And maybe even try our Patreon out, because that's where we give early access and discount codes and we announce our live events, all sorts of cool stuff at patreon.com slash happy, sad confused. Okay, so the main event today, as I said, it's Rudy Panko, who just a few short years ago made it big playing JJ in Outer Banks, of course. He had four years on the show, had a very dramatic exit from that show. And this is kind of his first conversation about leaving the show and his experiences there charting a new path after Outer Banks, his priorities in terms of how to steer a career,

all sorts of cool stuff. This is a guy that has a good head on his shoulders, and I'm thrilled. He came on happy, say I'm confused to tell his story at last. So without any further ado, here it is. Here's me and Rudy Panko. Enjoy. Rudy. Josh. We're doing the podcast thing. Ready? Yeah. I think I could say this is like my first one, Josh. So I'm like... You're in safe hands. I haven't ruined the careers of the likes of Alpon. Pacino or Warren Beatty. Al Pacino, yeah.

I got a story. I'm just, I'm name dropping right at the start. But I'm just, I'm saying that is to say, you're in safe hands. Thank you, Josh. I feel safe. I feel very safe here. Congratulations on everything. I mean, this, I am very excited because I was excited to talk to you regardless.

And then I started to do the research and I'm like, oh wait, uncharted territory. First deep dive. What's that about? Have you, are you, are you a private person, generally speaking? Are you? You know, I, I, growing up, In Alaska, I think you're naturally attracted to the quieter life. Yeah.

Because you've known that your entire life. I, you know, yeah, I would say that I'm a person that like, just saying this today, likes the tranquility and finding, like, a nice stretch of place where I don't see someone for a good 10 minutes. And then it's like, oh, yeah, I'm out there. But at the same time, I do love coming to New York or even Los Angeles. Angeles and it just feels like there's an energy, there's a buzz, there's a, there's a creativity that's just like thriving here. Yeah, I can't imagine. We probably are the opposite ends of the spectrum of the way we were raised. You in Alaska, I'm a New York City

kid. Hell yeah. I mean, what part? Like the mean streets of the Upper West side. Upper West, okay. Sweet. I don't have a driver's license, Rudy. I'm not a functional adult. Don't sell yourself short. I feel safe. Meanwhile, yeah, you did until that moment. Meanwhile, you're racing cars, literally. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How's that going for you? I'll give you like a cool quote and then I'll tell you I'm learning right after that. But the cool quote is I feel like there's so much speed going on with our brains right now.

Like there's just no time to catch up. There's so many things to watch. There's so many things to pay attention. So many things to be aware about. And I find going at a crazy speed literally makes me focus and actually dial into being like, okay, I'm alive. Yeah. If you're not focused, it's not going to work out.

If you're not going to work out. But like it's really a place and like I ride motorcycle. Okay, that sounds so when I say that. But it's real. It's not like you're like fronting something. I'm not trying to front that. I'm not trying to sound cooler than I actually am. You're just effortlessly cool.

Brace it. It's okay. Josh, you're gassing me up. This thing really worked. No, and I just think going at a crazy speed, you really just dial into like this. specific moment. Yeah. So have you, when did this, this hobby or this learning curve start? Because you literally, you were just in Florida. What were you doing? Like, what was? Yeah, that was the Indy car race. And, yeah, they were like, hey, you want to get in the seat? And I was like,

what do you mean about that? And they're like, you want to get in the seat and like, do a lap? I was like, yeah, yeah, I'll do it. Like, trust me back there? And they're like, yeah, we actually do. And I was like, that's surprising. And then we did a lap. And it was. so fun. And yeah, no, they, I think the max speed, not on that course, but the max speed is in the like 200s, low 200s. And I think we got up to about like 180 that day, but not 200. You're basically training wheels right now. I'm starting, you know. This is your backdoor audition for, you know, the Brad Pitt F1 sequel, basically, right?

Oh, man. So I don't know if I, maybe I can't say this. Actually, I'm probably should I shouldn't say this. I'm not in a Brad Pitt movie. I'm not in a... Exclusive. Thanks for Happy Second Views. No, but there's a hope. There's a hope. They're doing a TT. Do you know a tourist trophy motorcycle movie? No, tell me. They're doing a T.T. movie. And I'm pretty sure I can see this, but I'm not a part. I haven't been casted. Okay. Knock on wood. I hope that that. But you'd like to manifest that. Oh, so much. They're doing, so the T. The T.T. is this lap around this island called the Isle of Man. And I think his plan B is producing it. and Channing Tainum's starring in it. And they do a lap around this island on like going so fast.

We're talking, yeah. That sounds amazing. It's like a life experience and a great movie. Yeah. And the island's culture around it. It's just thrilling. It's so awesome. Love it.

Okay. So let's start. We're going to circle around. My brain goes in a lot of places. Mine too. Good. We're a good match. Okay.

So let's, let's get the fun promotional stuff out of the way. You're in this great new movie. Micah was just on the podcast. Cool. This is like a big, like, classic kind of, you know, It fills like that gap, right? That, like, Nicholas Sparks that I grew up with. You know, Colleen Hoover is the real deal.

Yeah. Kind of a franchise, all her own. She's making her own franchises going on, and it's awesome. I think it's actually really cool. So talk to me, like, when this one comes around, reminders of him, you are him. You're in the title. I'm him. Actually, Tyreek and I are both kind of him, you know what I'm saying?

You're here right now. Tyreek's not here. So, you're spreading out the love. Spreading out the love. So is this just like another audition? and self-tape offer? Like, how does this one come around? That came around, got the first the tape,

and then I heard back from Ness and the director and the producer that they would want to do at Camry with Micah. And it was the dollar store scene, and we had so much fun, brought the plates and everything, and once we had done that, I just, really, the character of Scotty on the page really is just one of just joy and trying to be again present. Like he's, like, loving life as it's coming at him.

And I really understood that. And that's what I try to bring to the audition. And... Is that in the room? Is that over Zoom? Is this one of these? Yeah, it was over Zoom. So saying I brought the plates, it really wasn't that impressive.

They were somewhere in your apartment. Yeah, they were over in the kitchen that's, like, 10 feet away. Trust me. Yeah. How, I mean, challenging is that as an actor coming in this age where, like, I would imagine 90% of your auditions are over Zoom? That's hard to establish like a physical connection with somebody, isn't it? It is. It is. And, you know, there's some great audition stories I had when I first got to

L.A. And fun fact, actually, I just did one today and it felt great. And it was here in New York. And it was my first in-person New York City audition. Love it. And it felt good. It felt great. Yeah. But it was nice to like, kind of to your point, though. It's like, it's different looking at someone through the eyes of a screen. Of course. There's almost like a feeling of like, that's not really their eye. There's like this like thought process of like yeah like I'm hoping they look like or like on their end does it look like I'm looking at them or does it look like I'm looking like hey Josh like yes you know like it doesn't look like that and that's in the back of your head when doing a Zoom audition but and I would prefer it to be in person but I get Times of the essence there's all this stuff where like there might not be able to be in town for it and it is a useful tool I can see the pros to it But also the nature of it, even the in-person audition thing, is its own thing.

It's giving you a sense of a person, obviously. But it's, I've talked to so many actors over the years about how, I don't know, bizarre that whole process is. I mean, some people are great at auditions, and when they get to set, they don't have the goods, and vice versa. It's kind of like a different skill set in a way. It is. It is a different skill set. There's a, I would actually argue, this might be a hot take. You have to use your imagination twice as hard in an audition.

Right. And so like that's not to like get lost in the performance of things, but you need to put certain things, certain places. And in person, you still do that. And I think that that's like, to me, that's harder than on the day. Like on the day, I think it's like the back of your hand and you can just like flow right into it. And everyone, you dance with the cameras. And honestly, I think that's also one of the things your brain's doing on the day is you're dancing with the cameras if you're doing a movie. And that's maybe half the focus as well.

But the goal is to be 100% dialed in on your partner. Yeah, that's interesting. You say to dance with the camera. So you're like, at a certain point, do you forget about the cameras? Is that the goal? That's the goal. I would say the goal is to forget about them.

But then there's like technical stuff. There's like, say you're like trashing a building or trashing something like you need to one, make sure they're safe. You can't just toss a glass or add a camera man. Like that's gonna get you canceled immediately. Like I think like there's this awareness and dancing that has to be done and there's a chemistry with the cameraman as much as your partner. Totally.

We'll be right back with more Happy Say I Confused. All right, guys, let's talk about NordVPN. I've been using NordVPN thanks to a free one-year trial. And honestly, I could not be happier. It's got the Josh Horowitz. Happy Say-Confused seal of approval. It's super easy to use. Honestly, if I can use it, you can too.

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Use our code HSC at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. Check it out. Okay, so for this one in particular, it's obviously a very key. part of this film. I mean, and yet, like, you have to kind of make an impact in an abbreviated period of time. I mean, you're in throughout the film, but like, you have to be very impactful in the moments you're there. Right. Is that, I mean, that's a special challenge. Again, I've talked to like many, like day players, character actors, and it's like, that's almost the hardest job is to come into a production and seamlessly kind of fit in. For this one, I don't know, talk to me

a little bit about the challenge of Scotty in terms of, I don't know, just making an impact in a few key scenes. No, and I talked to Ness about that exact thing. The scenes I do have, I was like, okay, can we do one that's on the page? I'll give you everything that's on there. And then can you just let me go? Because I want to bring things that might not be on there and surprise not only Micah, but surprised myself.

Yeah. And whether it's like short dialogue or like it's not in the movie, but like I jumped over the car and slid across the hood just because he's so excited to talk to Kenna. And so it's like moments like that that I just like the whole point when I got the audition for Scotty is he's joy. That's his love style. And I got that. And so every scene I had, I was just like, how can I bring joy to this moment? because that's my role in that movie.

Like, my role in that movie is to bring the joy. Everyone else is having a very awful time. We're trying to remember that joy. And so that's what I understood is just connecting to that. When you're on a set of something like this, is it like, do you key into kind of like similar films in this vein that you connected with as a kid, as a teenager? That's a good question.

I want to say yes. Like, I can't name something. Yeah, yeah. But you're absolutely right. Like, I definitely... Like, is there that moment's like, oh, I'm in that, like, notebook scene. Like, look around. Like, your John is happening around me.

Like, you know. Yeah. I'm sure subconsciously my brain's doing that. Right. Because I do definitely, and I think most artists do this, they steal. Which is fair game. I mean... Which is fair game.

There are only so many ways to do it. Yeah. You're kind of like an amalgamation of all the things you've consumed. Yeah. And, like, looking at artists. that I look up to and like, kind of like, I like that color they were using. Like, and like take that color and put it on your painting. And like, I definitely do try to take from what I can.

All right. So let's, since this is a long-form conversation, let's do a little deep dive. Okay, tell me a little bit about Rudy growing up. Who were you? Were you athlete, artists, outcast? Who were you as a kid? Yeah, loner. No.

Riding motorcycles by myself. Riding motorcycles by myself. Moody in the race. I was homeschooled for a little bit, and then my mom homeschooled me in. I was just a little slow, a little dyslexic. And then once I got into middle school, that's when it was actually like sixth grade. I should say that. I got into it.

And that's when I started getting and practicing these social skills of acting, and I didn't even know it. I think this might sound crazy, but at that age, we're trying to figure out. who we are and still am kind of, but there's trying on different attributes of who you are. And I was doing that in school. I was doing that out in the woods, like a crazy person. I would pretend so many things in the woods. And I think that's what I'd loved about growing up in Alaska is that you had a space in your backyard that's like the whole woods. And you can just like pretend whatever's going on back there and make a whole story and narrative.

if me and my brothers would do that. And I think that was important for me. Where are you? How many brothers? How many siblings? I'm middle. So younger brother, older brother. Okay. And any arts in the family? Yeah. Yeah. So my dad is a musician and he was like, you're not going to be in this family if you don't play an instrument. I was like, okay, so I picked the easiest thing. I picked percussion. I mean, we did learn the piano. All of us learned the piano.

and then I picked up the guitar once I left high school. But, yeah, musician, did the nutcrack growing up, did a little dancing, swing dance. And then acting really wasn't a focus. And actually, my older brother was more of the actor as a kid. And I always thought it was like so cheesy. I was like, that's not real. You're just, I see you practicing at home.

That's not real. And then, yeah. then I actually did a play my senior year and I was like okay how can I make this real and that was like the first question as a senior in high school that was like wait a minute hold on I think I'm acting all the time right and there's like nuance to that like you can look at it as acting and then there's all words like well acting is just life and larry moss would be like the intent to live Rudy the intent to live man I was like oh okay I'm a big fan of late you know larry mom I watched your out we're on conversation with Larry Moss. Very impressed. You earned a lot of credit with me from that

conversation. I mean, that's, he's the real deal. He's the real deal. How did you, how did you and Larry Moss, for those of you know, Larry Moss is like a very famous instructor. World renowned acting coach. Yeah. Yeah, Larry was introduced to me by another fellow actor of mine and he was like, you need to go see this coach now, but don't take the class. You're not ready. And I was like, okay, I took his auditing class probably five times. What's the, how old were you? How old were I was, uh, is this before out of banks? I was probably like, uh, 18 or 19. I think I was 19. Yeah, 19 started and then he had came twice in one year and then I, the next year. And then it was that fall right before I actually booked Outer Banks. I took the class. And, uh, Golden Boy by

Clifford Odette's. Yeah. Joe Bonaparte, um, did him in his class. And, uh, man, It was a really fun scene to do in that class. And again, I was talking about this earlier today. There's a buzz when I think the audience is 50 or less people. When the audience is 50 or less people, and I'm not sure how I feel about the circle audience, but it's cool. Yeah. But there's this buzz when there's a stage in enough people that it doesn't feel like,

oh, there's a huge auditorium I'm like lost in. When you are sat next to someone, you complete stranger too. and you're on the same page without communicating because the performers are just sucking you into this scene or this play, and that's truly when I fell in love with this craft is taking that class. Are you sneaking some theater in while you're in New York? It sounds like you're a theater kid.

I'm trying. I mean, I did Romeo and Juliet at the A.R.T. And hopefully, fingers crossed, audition today. but no hopefully that can i would love to but the truth is and this is maybe i want to i want to work on it i want to get to that point i think a tv actor is what i think most people view me as like and i get it that's that's true yeah i started there that's how it got to be here and that sometime is enough to get you onto something on stage, and I think I really would want to earn that, that privilege, because it's not as simple as like, hey, people know who I am, let me put me on stage.

And, like, I don't, I really don't want to know. Because I've seen that arc a lot, and, like, you know, in terms of, and it happens to to the biggest stars on the planet. I mean, like, I'm talking to Daniel Radcliffe soon and to see what he's done off of, like, being child actor for you for that okay let's talk no no no but keep going okay no but I mean he he's like the ultimate example to me of somebody who like could have gone the easy route and traded on like Harry Potter in any way possible but he's like put in the work he really so much to the point where he's like Tony winner he can sing he can dance and it wasn't like

god given like he really put in he put in the work the grease and he's back on he's doing a one-man play right now and it's just it's like inspiring to see I want to go see you want to go see it together let's go that be awesome um so what's your Radcliffe now that you say that uh i think i remember the grade i was in he's done with harry potter and he's doing he had one play on broadway before this and then he's doing how to succeed with business without ever trying um and we were able we had a friend that was in the orchestra they got us really good seats and i remember him coming out of the floor and my mind being blown sure it's daniel but but then also as a kid being like,

but that's not Harry Potter. And I, that's when I, another, maybe one of the cogs for acting just ticked right then of where I was like, oh. And when he performed and then we got a backstage tour and I wish I could tell you, Daniel was like, become an actor, didn't see him back there. No, let's change the story. Let's see, he said, he looked at me in the eyes

and said, Rudy, one day. One day, you're gonna become an actor. I'd be like, Daniel, I will do something with you one day. No, that did not happen, but then we walked outside and there he was, security guard and all. And I looked at him and I looked at security guard and security guard was like, and then I was like, okay, all right, cool, cool, cool. And then we left. But I was buzzing. I was buzzing when I left the theater.

I was like, that's the power of theater. So backtracking a little bit, like before you got, like, it sounds like you caught that bug through a series of moments like that, of Larry Moss, et cetera. But like, what were you into as a kid? Like were you a comic book kid? Were you into fantasy, sci-fi, drama? Like if I was talking to, 15-year-old Rudy, what were you into? 15? Ooh, no good.

Harry Potter would be on that list. Harry Potter, Star Wars, honestly, I would be, I was a soccer. I played a lot of soccer growing up, and that's what I really wanted to go to college for. That didn't happen. And I guess that's the that's kind of what I meant by I was trying on personalities. I would watch films. I'm thinking of the film that my dad for some reason, like, made me watch. It's true.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He was like, son, you just need to watch this film. There are worse ones. It's funny. There's worse ones. They really are. And there's just like, what makes that so funny? makes it so great and so fun to watch.

And it was like taking, stealing these personalities and wearing them. Yeah. And I come to find out that's what I was into. I was just like into storytelling. Do you remember the first actor or film you became obsessed with? Even what you were just as a fan before you kind of got serious about it, what was like the movie that you knew by heart, the actor that would get you out of the house to go see them?

Yeah. I like I have one that comes to mind, but it's like it would just be something I would pop in every time, every now and then and just like, just to shake it up and like, and actually I still kind of do it here and there. I haven't watched it probably for about a few years now, but for some reason, Sherlock Holmes. When Robert Downey Jr. played Sherlock Holmes, I was like, why is this so fun? And yeah, yeah, I put that on, but I can't really think of like really small. Like, I'm thinking like, Moby's going through my head right now. We're all animation. That's okay, too. And that was fun. But Downey is one of those like electric performers, too,

who it's like he's... Yeah. He's bringing something that's just so present. And when he played Sherlock, I was just like, oh, he's so kinetic. And I can't stop watching him. Okay. So pre-outer Banks, what is...

Like, are you making a living? When do you start to make a living? When are you... Do you have to work odd jobs before Outer Banks? Yeah. I was working at the... Cheesecake Factory at the Grove. Oh, nice.

How were you? How were you, would you have been a good server? What were you? Didn't make to that. I was, uh, signed myself up for the dish room. And I was back there for about six or seven months. Then they promoted me to Buzter. I'm pretty sure they asked me.

They were like, what do you want to be? And I was like, where do you see yourself in the Cheesecake Factory organization? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I was like, Buster. And they're like, okay. This kid's weird. And that's where I stayed until I just liked the position. I didn't want to become a server too much.

I feel like I was going to have too much responsibility. And I couldn't ask for a time to get out of like a shift or something. And that's where I stayed until Outer Banks happened. Were you like a j... Did you feel like when you're working like in L.A. at the Grove, like are you adjacent to like the celebrity world? Are you like, you know, are you going to... I assume you had friends that were kind of like succeeding or not succeeding.

You're going to parties. you're waiting on somebody that you recognize. I mean, did it feel like you were close to, like, breaking through before Outer Banks or no? No, it didn't. It didn't. It didn't. I had some great fun projects and short films and one feature, actually,

but it didn't feel like I was, like, necessarily breaking through. I did feel like I was learning, and that's what I will say. During that time, I really did feel like I was a sponge taking in things to do, things not to do. And I actually am happy I did the growth because I feel like that taught me a certain characteristic. It's like, yeah, that's someone that knows what they're doing. And then this is someone that's like, I'm just willy-nilly doing this right now. And I kind of can see those personalities working there. So was there anything, anything you came close to before Outer Banks that you thought was going to change your life? Or was truly Outer Banks the first one that, like,

was a real thing? There was a Netflix show. I didn't really, I don't think it lasted very long. It's called Trinkets. Oh, I don't know. Okay. Yeah, and I think I had one season and then it got canceled. I was like, my mom was blown when I got like the second callback.

And I was like, it's all happened. Oh, my God. But no, that was about it. Again, yeah, that's. Okay, so let's do the Outer Banks origin story. Is that in the room? Is that Zoom? Like, what's the audition process for that?

As I understand that you were up for a few different roles. It wasn't just JJ, right? Right. No, it was a tape. It was a tape initially. I think the tape initially was for JJ. And then they brought me in in person for Rafe. And they brought me in person for John B.

And then flew out to Charleston. And this is after, I think, probably six or seven auditions as different characters. They flew me out. And then did the Kemp read as John B. And they're like, never mind. I think we're good. Let's go back to you. And so then they had another audition or Kem read and they put me as JJ and boom.

So were you reading with some of the actors that ended up being on the show? Yeah. Yeah. No. That is how that happened is that actually. Yeah. They were kind of mixing and matching. They were mixing and matching.

Yeah. They were doing like a round robin kind of thing. And do you still remember like the moment you got the offer that you officially got it? Is that a? Yeah. No. Chase and I had lived with the. other the first year and so we were in the car and I don't know I don't know why

but we were in the car that also was another John B auditioning and Chase gets the call I got a text and they're like yeah you got it and I was like sweet and it felt amazing and I was just looking at the window and here and like Chase answers they go right right next to him it's like you got it and then he's like I can only just remember him being like Oh, heck yeah, man. All right, cool. You guys are too cool for school.

Yeah, and then like, he's like, that's great. That's great. Let's go to Cheesecake Factory. I'll talk to you. I'll talk to you later. And then like, I could see him in the mirror because he was like right behind me. I see him in the mirror and he's like looking at the mirror. He's like, oh, cool.

Yeah. Thank God you both got it. That would have been an uncomfortable car ride. That would have been. I mean, for him, I think it was an uncomfortable car ride. So, yeah. What do you remember about the early days? Because, I mean, you'll never have that experience again,

that kind of like first big. experience. And one of the cool things about Outer Banks and I've had Madeline on the show and I've talked to a bunch of the actors is like you kind of all came up together. Like you were all experiencing fame first experiences together. It was COVID. So like I mean like we I feel like the energy on set was like we did something great, cool, but we didn't know. I didn't know. And I still think to this day like two years, it didn't take two years until after the show came out. probably even after season two where it was like oh like people like it because like it was COVID and we were indoors you didn't see anyone you didn't walk around um so you didn't really have a

reference of like besides maybe social media that was like okay like this is cool um but like the recognition and the opportunity i think also during that time wasn't like let's go right all right back into work um So it took some time to understand, like, hey, people enjoy this. Maybe, I mean, it's hard to talk about that time that was horrible for all of us as, like, a healthy version of that. But, like, you kind of got to dip your toe into celebrity a little bit. Yeah. Which is disorienting. Celebrity of that kind of fan base is overwhelming for any human being, let alone somebody where it's, like, your first real big gig.

Yeah. So at least you kind of had the, I don't know. First of all, you're, like, with folks that are all experiencing the same kind of thing. And second of all, it's a, I don't know, it's a little bit of a slow pace as opposed to like walking out your door one day and everybody's screaming. Oh, dude, I can't imagine what it would have been for. I mean, if it happened now, I don't know. Like, I really don't know. You're right.

It is like a nice little like wade into it. So what about the actual experience, though, the first like weeks on set? Was that, what do you remember just about like? Like we're talking season one? Yeah, season one. Did you love the character from the start? Did you have a beat on him? No, like we were just excited. I was excited. I went into it. Guns ablazing and I going back to Larry real quick, like I felt really prepped. I felt really prepped. I felt really ready. Like, I mean, my apartment doing background character work. Like who is like, I was even thinking about his parents and all that stuff back then. Like I was as much as I can focusing on just like what Larry had taught me. Well, that's what separates also. It's like, I, I,

You know, I did a bunch of things with like Jacob Lordy this like past like Oscar season. Yeah. And even when he was doing like the kissing booth, he was like taking it super serious. Like you have to. I know, I know. You know, I mean, what's the point otherwise? And it's good. It's a good practice.

And I think that's something I think L.A. taught me. And I do truly mean this. Like you can make a text really mean something no matter what the text is. I'm not trying to say there's bad writing out there's bad writing out there but even with that writing you can make it and deepen it to something and that's what Larry would always say is like take the writer's hand but make it more than just that make it something that's inside of you and I truly believe that and that's what I was practicing on that show so what are you proudest of in terms of that characterization 40 episodes four seasons obviously made an impact with that audience

No, it's a sense of pride. It really is a sense of pride that have people connected to all the characters, not just JJ. It's a sense of pride that, you know, we got it done, and I am really proud of it. Do you have a favorite episode, favorite scene, favorites, anything? No, I mean, like, there's scenes, there's moments where it's just like, you know that. You do know this feeling. You just know this feeling of when you've finished the day. And you're like, you think about it, and you're like, that worked.

Right. That worked. It gave everything to it. It did everything to it. And there's that feeling. Now, there's the other side of that feeling of where you're like kicking yourself. Like, I should have done that. I kicked that.

Like, how could I have forgotten that? But then there are those scenes where you just know in the editing room that it's like, that's going to work. Yeah. You know? So where are you at now? Because you haven't really like had this kind of conversation since you left the show is your first kind of big press tour. Right, right, right, right. Was it tough to say goodbye?

I mean, like, there was a, I mean, the audience was very emotional. Your castmates, like, recorded this beautiful kind of, like, remembrance of your contributions to the show. Yeah. Was it, I mean, that's an end of a chapter. Yeah, playing 40, like you said, 40 episodes as, as a character, and that is hard to, like, like, just, like, enjoyed, I enjoyed playing JJ in, like, the moments of just, like, creating that person. Yeah. Yeah, that is a little hard to leave. but it's a celebration, and I think the character stands for something, and the writers did that

to deepen that role in that chapter. And that's what I truly believe. So no flashback in season five. I'm not seeing you. No, that would be news to me. Once they've been, like, shooting you surreptitiously, you don't know it. Your eyes are getting crazy these days, but yeah. Will you watch it, or is it going to be weird for you to watch?

No, I'm totally going to watch it. I want to see how they do it. I really want to do, and they're going to crush it, no doubt. Totally. We'll be right back with more HappySed Confused. At Desjardin Insurance, we know that when you're a building contractor, your company's foundation needs to be strong. That's why our agents go the extra mile to understand your business

and provide tailored solutions for all its unique needs. You put your heart into your company, so we put our heart into making sure it's protected. Get insurance that's really big on care. Find an agent today at Dejardin.com slash business cover. Hi, this is Rob Benedict. And I am Richard Spate. We were both on a little show you might know called Supernatural.

It had a pretty good run, 15 seasons, 327 episodes. And though we have seen, of course, every episode many times, we figured, hey, now that we're wrapped, let's watch it all again. And we can't do that alone, so we're inviting the cast and crew that made the show along for the ride. We've got writers, producers, composers, directors, and we'll, of course, have some actors on as well, including some certain guys that played some certain pretty iconic brothers. It was kind of a little bit of a left field choice in the best way possible.

The note from Kripke was, he's great, we love him, but we're looking for like a really intelligent Dukovny type. With 15 seasons to explore, it's going to be the road trip of several lifetimes. So please join us and subscribe to Supernatural then and now. All right, so talk to me a little bit of this next chapter. This is the beginning of the new chapter with this film and beyond. You've got some other cool stuff. You shot Cowboy, I think, with Ben Foster, who he's the real deal.

Yeah, he's awesome. He's awesome. So, I mean, talk to me in terms of, like, I don't know, do you feel like you have specific goals in mind in terms of like this next chapter of your career, the kind of roles you want to do, the kind of people you want to work with, the kind of genres you want to dance in? Okay. I can give you two answers. Let's go. There's like the, there's like the, okay, that's click bait. and then that's like, I'll take both.

We'll take both. The truthful answer right out of the gates is like anything that's soulful. Yeah. If a script is soulful and also the team behind it, it's like, okay, let's commit to this. And I actually think reminders of him had a very soulful message and everyone on

has just had that same goal. And stories like that. And there's a lot of them out there, but I think to get on the same page is a lot easier said than done. And then I can give you like the, Yeah, this character I would love to play. Let's do it.

We can't manifest this. Probably can't do it anymore and I, maybe there's a way to do it. Peter Pan would be so fun. Yeah. Peter Pan would be so fun. I'm too old for it. You can do it. You're like 14 going on 20.

Yeah, 14 going on 30. He'll never grow up. Was that always a character that intrigued you, Peter Pan? I definitely as a kid. I'd love to just like, like the woods, like one of the woods. I just imagine, I remember as a kid, just run through it, it was being like, yeah, I'm Peter Pan, that makes sense. And, like, I think there's a way to do it.

Like, hook, like, Robin made a hook that's, like, older, but maybe there's like a middle-aged. You're not quite middle-aged. No, no, Robin is middle-aged in that. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Pre-middle-age. Pre-middle-age, yeah. Young-adult, I guess, young adult,

young-adult, Peter Pan. Is the superhero thing at all interest in, like, in your age group, I've kind of gone through this last 10 years where, like, five or ten years ago, It was like everybody was dying to be a superhero. And now it's like it seems like a little less so or not. I mean, they're going to be casting the X-Men. Everybody in your age group is going to be going up for that kind of stuff.

Is that on your radar? Is that something that intrigues you at all? Sure. I mean, I'll always take a look at it. I'll always like be curious to see what they see me as. And there's been a few talks here and there, a few meetings. But in terms of like if that came across my table with, like the TT thing.

Right. That's to be the whole packet. I'm taking the TT thing. Yeah, the experience. Who in your peer group, whether you know them personally or not, is like doing it right. Whoa.

In terms of like how they've navigated. Because again, I think of something like Drew, who like, you know, I mean, yeah, he's crushing it. You know, Luca and queer. I mean, amazing. And like, now he's all these great opportunities.

Whether you know him or not, like what's like kind of the model for you right now how to steer a career? Yeah. You know, that's a great question um i really enjoy seeing the growth in adam driver and how he was you know before yeah he was girls girl yeah yeah he was so good in that and then he was so good in that and then he was tar was king and it was just like wait this trajectory of things and then like seeing his the stuff that

followed i i really look up to him um and just love the variation of what he does because yeah I just love how he shaped his career. Do you get starstruck at all? Like, if you work with, have you worked with actors that you have to consider? I would like to say no. Like, I would love to be like, no, no one's like, I, I don't want a name drop right now. I don't want to do that. But it is, it is something that I'm like, no, I don't want to do that.

You're in a safe space. You can name you off. You're in a safe space. Recorded. On camera. Yeah, on camera. It was a really fun night. I was able to speak to Al Pacino and.

There you go. See, I brought him up first. Yeah. No, and it was, he's, you know, king of Shakespeare. So it's like asking him Shakespeare questions was so fun. And I felt like I held it together. I was just like, thanks for the advice, Al. Love you, Al. Dab them up. Good luck with the rest of your career.

I haven't seen your work, but I'm sure you're great. One of the same. One of the same. That was awesome. That's amazing. It's really cool. Filmmaker, what about the short list of filmmakers? Is there a filmmaker your...

Oh, they're so. many. I mean, Chloe Zhao right now is crushing it. And like, there's a bunch of young filmmakers coming up that I really would love to work with. And obviously, there's the greats, you know. Yeah. The PTAs, the Lassie Anderson's, the PTA Anderson's. Yeah. And you can be like, love to work with them. And it's like, doesn't everyone? That's okay. That's okay. But yeah. So in terms of, you said you had a good audition today. Yeah, yeah. So that's a good, that's, we're on the, yeah.

No, auditioning in New York is not the same as the auditioning in L.A. How's it? Maybe someone, I don't know. It feels, it feels like New York's like, knows the circuit. I'm touching this for good luck. I'm just like. Your phone's going to buzz. I got the part.

Dude. You jinxed it. No, it just feels like it's like a, hey, like. A little less of like song and dance a little. Yeah, do the job. Let's do the job. And it, I like that actually. I like the pressure to get it done once.

I actually love that. And like some people will disagree with me on that. We're just like, okay. But it's like, no, if you're up on stage, you got one shot. So like make it count. So you like that pressure. I love it. I love that pressure.

You're built for the theater. You've got to do it. Yeah, I mean, it was a nice, again, toe dipping into the water at the ART doing Romeo and Juliet. And I had so much fun. The cast was so fun. And we just had a blast. Again, freeing. Like, as much as Shakespeare can be, which it's not very freeing.

But, like, it's, we changed motions. We didn't. That's really what you can do. And then let's just, like, connect and live it. And something I do want to say is that, like, sure, Romeo and Juliet are, like, the king and queen of the chess story. Yeah. But, like, what I love about that story is that, like, the palm.

sacrifices itself or let's take Macusio as like the knight kills himself or kills him Tibble it's just like it changes everything and that's I think to answer your story and like what kind of stories I want to tell it's like a chess game of stories if like I can be just even just the part of the group in a in a chess game of a movie yeah that would be that's where I want to be and just even if an upon yeah sacrifices of itself, the whole movie could change. That is the smartest strategy I've found in talking to actors over the years. It's just like surround yourself with the best, whether it's the great filmmaker, great cast,

great story. The part is important. Don't get me wrong. Yeah. But the whole is bigger than the whole. The whole story is what the goal is. Yeah. Yeah.

All right, we're going to end with this. You survive your first podcast. You're almost there. How do you feel? I feel safe. Earn the crystal. We end with the profoundly random questions. you really ready yeah hit me dog are dogs or cats I'm a dog person I have to say it

I'm a dog person too my partner's a cat person so rough life how's that going you know what she's actually said she's actually said I want both at at at at the same time impossible you grew up with dogs yeah yeah yeah yeah what do you collect Pokemon cards you're a kid no I collect all kinds of things and even got a coin collection. I really do. No, yeah. Collect good times. Good times. Do you collect things from rolls? Like, do you have any outer banks stuff you kept? Sure. Yeah. I mean, I try to get like from uncharted. I kept, actually this is going to sound gross. I kept the bubble gum, not used.

Mark Walbrook's? He like pops into a bubble gum and not, I didn't keep that one. It's like the stick of it. And I thought that that's what the brothers bonded over was this bubble gum. And that's the, I kept that. JJ's boots I kept for, I'm trying to think of the other role that I kept something from. Yeah, no, Scotty kept this little necklace. Yeah, it's, I try to keep one thing from each character. Was there ever, by the way, uncharted, was there ever hope of coming back? I still hope so.

I actually was able to ask Tom that recently. Yeah. And Tom was like, well, see. I'm like, you're right, you're too busy, man. Spider-Man thing. I'm trying to do it was a huge hit. People forget how big that movie was. Yeah, and I was hoping.

I was hoping and still am. But that was part of the idea, I would imagine when you signed on. I mean, obviously, you're, again, kind of like reminders of him. Your character was like, even when you weren't on screen, it was like about your character. You're right. You're right. I didn't even put that together. Thank you, Josh.

I'm always in the background. This is the Dakota Johnson Memorial Question. She asked me this. I ask everybody, would you rather have a mouthful of bees and one being your butt? Tough one. Yeah, I know. Be in my mouth. It's going to be a mouth full of bees.

Lots of bees. Like, like not just, like we're talking like 20? Yeah, it's going to fill it up. Okay. Well, then never mind. There's no wrong answer. There's really no right answer. How long is it in?

How long is it in there? Let's say a minute. A minute. A solid 60 seconds. All right. No, I'm still sticking with bees in my mouth. I think I've seen that before, so I'm sticking with that. Fair enough.

Do you have a favorite video game of all time? Yeah, yeah, I will say Mario Kart for the first Mario Kart. I see I think Silver, Pokemon Silver is on there though too. It's pretty neck and neck. Okay. What's the wallpaper on your phone? Oh, it is. Exclusive, here we go.

No, no, no, don't worry. My butt. No, this is the skiff my family had growing up and that's off our cabin that's in the middle of nowhere. I love it. In Alaska. Gorgeous. Yeah. you were mistaken for?

I don't know. Ever happened? I mean, yeah, actually, I don't know. I don't get out much. No, I don't have an answer for that. I don't know. I mean, it's definitely out there. What happens with, tell me this, a fan that does recognize you,

and presumably it is probably in Outer Banks' like, aficionado. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is it an intense kind of interaction generally? Like, what happens when they clock you? No, for the most part, it's usually, just, and actually I really love it, I really appreciate when someone just says, hey, I loved you on that or hey, I appreciate your work.

That's the perfect. For the most times, that that's what it is. I mean, you're going to get variation here and there, for sure. If you go to a concentration of a certain kind of person. Yeah, a young person's birthday party, it might be a little different. Right, right. Yeah. Are you crashing young people's birthday parties?

No, that's not on my agenda. Hey, hey, hey. You might remember me from. Thanks for booking me. Yeah. It's a side hustle. Yeah. And actually, no, here's one before this.

What's the worst noted director has ever given you? Okay. I have a hot take. It's not, this might be a hot, this is a hot take. The hot steak of the pot. Probably, and it's a great last question. Okay. When they say throw it away, have you heard that one?

Of course, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Throw it away. Yeah. I go, yeah, but throw away how? Right. Like, you don't want to use a whole take? And I know exactly what they mean.

I know exactly like, don't put anything on it. Like I could literally just be like, if I was just to say the line, throw it up. Like this is with it with like crazy two over the top, throw it away. Then and then like this is it without it's like, throw it away. And like I know what he means, but there's still an intention with throwing it away. Right. The intention is not to do anything. Yeah.

It's like don't think about it. It's like it's like, uh, uh, Vaguely or like like give it an adverb and that's how I would that's what I mean by how and so I a lot of directors are gonna be like oh That's what I use but but no I don't I don't like to know throw it away. Yeah, I think there's even nothing as a choice Yeah, don't do anything don't do anything is even better than that but like Feel nothing Yeah

Be numb. Yeah, you know like there's all those things of words like if you said that oh no throw it away you know you know what's your favorite kind of direction uh what do you like to hear from a director is it is it just that can vary and i i truly mean this they can be from like studying like something uh like uh before i do a scene or do a specific uh take yeah they like here's a song uh or i have a song uh and uh or and then if it's just verb of like letting me know, it's like, um, it could just be one word of like, and like an adverb of like aggressively. Right.

Or like excitedly. Right. Uh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. You are doing this, this way. Right. And, uh, give it that and give it a new color. I also, I love it when a director says a color.

I love that. And I actually have done on reminders of him. So what does that mean? Like, give me an example. Ness would say like if Scottie's yellow. Yeah. This is a scene, give him a little blue in this one. So what does that mean?

Blue, you know, you're, I would say, and maybe that's just me, I'm weird, but it's like, I understand like blue, there's this, you know, I'm feeling blue, but then like, there's this anxiety and I think that's blue. Okay. Give it a little anxiety and like, that's how I see, hear that. When I hear blue, I'm like, okay, give it a little anxiety here, but what about and that's for me to figure. out. Yeah. I guess the point is it's whatever just like fire something in your brain.

Yeah. It can be anything, whether it's a color, an adverb, as you say. Orange is explosive and energy and like you give it that color and then you're like, whoa, cool. Now I can mix up my brain and see what it comes out. Yeah. I like it. Okay. And in the spirit of happy, say, and I'm excited, an actor who always makes you happy, see them on screen, you're in a better mood. Okay. What do you got? Um, Robin Williams. He comes up a lot. Yeah, he makes sense. He should. He should. He should. Movie that makes you sad. Wrong.

Not just wrong. Sad? Yeah. Pursuit of happiness isn't sad. Ooh, there's a movie called Collateral Damage. Oh, yeah, I remember that one. That's a sad movie. Another Will Smith one, right?

Yeah. Yeah. And a food that makes you confused. You don't get it. A food? Yeah. Oh. I thought I had this the other day.

I was thinking about this. This food doesn't make any sense to me. Food does that confuses me. Man, this is the hardest question. Yeah, I saved literally the hardest one. Something like that you just don't get. You know, for me, it's like get that sour cream away from anything I, you know, I'm not just not into it, beats. Yeah.

You'll eat anything, Rudy. Yeah, I'll eat absolutely anything. Octopus pancakes. Go for it. Oh, that's, okay. That doesn't, that confuses me. Does that come up often in your life? People trying to give you octopus.

It happened once. But it made an impact, didn't it? It made an impact. And it confused the shit out of me. See, you arrived at the perfect answer. It was worth the wait. Yes, sir. We did it.

Rudy, thanks so much for stopping by, man. Congratulations on the film. Thank you, Josh. The career's just getting started. I'm excited to see you at this juncture. Yeah. And now we'll be able to compare and contrast. Yeah, and let Daniel know I'm here.

So like, you know, we'll go see him. There it is. We'll go see him together. There it is. Thanks, buddy. Thanks for the time. Thanks, man. 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 pressured to do this by Josh.

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like the shocking murder of FSU professor Dan Markell. We bring you the facts, but with warmth and width, you'd only get from two friends who have been hooked on mysteries since childhood. Join us for new episodes of Moms and Mysteries every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen to Moms and Mysteries on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast.