Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - Emile Hirsch: Into the Wild & Impostor Syndrome

Episode Date: July 27, 2021

Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) joins this week to open up on his experience with impostor syndrome in this industry, and what sort of negative and positive impacts it has had on his career. We go on to talk about his new movie Midnight in the Switchgrass along with the various characters he’s portrayed in films, such as Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) and Jay Sebring (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). We also discuss working with legends like Quentin Tarantino and Robert De Niro intense training with Navy SEALs, and the dangers of pickleball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Light the path to a brighter future with stellar lenses for myopia control. Learn more at SLOR.com. And ask your family eye care professional for SLR Stellist lenses at your child's next visit. You're listening to Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Hi, Ryan. How are you? Hi, Michael. I'm okay. How are you? It's always good seeing your face. It's nice to see your face as well.

I hope everyone's having a wonderful week, and thank you for listening to the podcast. Thank you for continuing to listen. If you're just here for Emil Hirsch, I hope you stick around and say, hey, you know, this ain't half shit, and you want to stick around a little longer, because that would make me really feel happy and good about myself and increase self-esteem. Half shit. That's still running around in my brain. You like half shit?

I don't know. I'm trying to make sense of it. We'll get into everything after the show. We'll get pretty much right into Emil Hirsch now. Just letting you know I have a show this coming Saturday, July 31st, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Two shows. Go to stage it.com and type in Sunspin. That's my band. You can also go to sunspin.com and get tickets. Please come check it out. I think you'll enjoy it. We'll play some covers. Play some originals. Our CDs out. We've got merch. Tons of shit. If you're liking the show, I'd love for you to follow us. handles are at Inside of You podcast on Instagram and Facebook at Inside You pod on the Twitter. You could subscribe to us on YouTube.

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and right now, this guy was pretty damn interesting. Yeah. You know, he's just, he's had a really cool career. I mean, into the wild and working with Tarantino and working with a lot of big actors. I mean, he's done it. Lords of Dogtown. Yeah. I mean, he's done some pretty diverse roles.

Yeah. I would say. This is a really good conversation. And I was excited to hang out with him for an hour. So let's get inside of Emil Hirsch. It's my point of view. You're listening to Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum. Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum was not recorded in front of a live studio audience.

I took my friend to play pickleball the other day. She didn't have that much experience. And she dived for the ball. Oh, boy. Like dive. On concrete. No, no, she hit the chain link fence But like Superman like horizontal like hit it

But then bounced off the fence and slammed onto the concrete And broke her hand While you were playing with her Yeah and like I wasn't playing with her She was playing my friend Kenny And then I look over and like everyone stops the doing And they starts walking towards her And she had broken this bone right here

Which is your index finger but in the hand part and yeah so it was like hours in the ER it was crazy i don't want to tell anybody i broke my hand playing pick a ball i don't know for us it'd be a little but is that what i'm seeing like i went on your instagram and i saw it was like you're you're joining the first pro am celebrity tournament in november is that what that is for pickleball yeah which is funny because i go over to randall's house to just play a game and he's like films me and just says that i didn't even like i didn't even i'd never even heard of it before that now randall was randall the director of of Midnight in the Switchgrass?

Yeah, Randall's the director of Midnight and the Switchgrass, who I've known for, you know, he produced Lone Survivor, and then he produced another film I did, and so I'd known him for a while. Wow. He's a character, though. He loves playing pickleball. He, like, he's super competitive about it.

Like, he hires pros to, like, come to his house and train him and, like, be brutal on him and, like, brutal drills. Like, I'll come over, and he's, like, dinking with some pro, like uh-h-h-h-h-h-h-wait wait wait your friend randall who directed midnight in the switchgrass he he grunts after he hits he's one of those guys that when you watch tennis and you're seeing him and go who he grunts on every serve oh it's not just like a hmm it's like a oh it's like it's like the serve is like some sort of release every time it's like oh I mean, I played tennis my whole life, and I would suck in grunts.

I'm not grunting. I'm not making any noises. Maybe I would have been a better tennis player if I would have grunted more. I don't know. Would you ever tell guys, were you like, could you be a little quiet? Like, could you try to not moan as much on the court? Yeah, I'm uncomfortable. Yeah, it's really like, it's kind of like affecting my play.

Yeah, it's loud and it's distracting. So stop it. I do. Look, man, you've been in everything. I mean, I look at this list of movies and I'm incredibly jealous. I'm like, into the wild, the girl next door, lords of dog town, lone survivor, the comeback trail. once upon a time of Hollywood milk killer Joe it's like you've done all these movies I think if I did one of

these movies I'd be freaking thrill I think my parents would be very happy that I did something that accomplished something and now midnight in the switchgrass so you play this detective and I saw the trailer for it and I want to watch it because this looks intense as shit it's got Megan Fox and Robert De Niro Bruce Willis Bruce Willis well he looked like Robert DeNiro they're old dudes you know what was it what was it like on that film and what's the movie about So it's like a serial killer kind of movie where I play the kind of the good, the good guy cop, you know, just an honest dude, a real religious guy, depends on his wife to give him that real spiritual sustenance from the brutal job. And he's trying to crack cases that are just really hard to crack. And so it's sort of a film, you know, like kind of tracking the killer, tracking the cops, trying to get the killer.

They sort of converge at a certain point. And I know how much research you do on roles and stuff. Did you, did you do a lot of research on, I mean, have you already done research on another? Well, I feel like because I did so much on lone survivor to play a Navy SEAL, in a certain way, a lot of the law enforcement roles I've done afterwards, I definitely feel like I pooled from a lot of that research I did, just because I did a lot on that one. and so there's something about that that you kind of don't forget a lot of it just the general vibe it's interesting I was talking about this the other day

where because of the way like Netflix and all these true crime documentaries work you know like people have done a lot of research and they don't even realize it like we've watched most average viewers at least if you watch what's in the

Geist. There's so many of these true crime things, you know, that you're a bit more exposed. You know, you've heard a lot of homicide detectives talk in interviews more than you think. Yeah. I love seeing Lucas Haas because he's a great guy and I know you're a good friend of his. I know him for years as well. And it's good to see him. He's such a good actor and you don't see him enough. You just don't for some reason. And I wish you would. I know he does a lot of indies and things like that. But seeing him in a role like this, I'm just like just that dirty kind of dark roll and i don't know where it goes i know they're trying to you know you see the trail and you're thinking one thing i know it's going to be something else but it's exciting to see that i'm sure it's

exciting to you as a friend of his yeah i mean i've been friends of lucas forever uh we worked together on alpha dog uh you know 16 17 years 17 years ago and i was a big fan of lucas as just a kid i mean i remember i used to rent his movies at the video store when i was a kid and uh you know lady and white witness and all these all these movies he did i mean he was like a it's like a big deal even just as a kid um so to get to work with him and be friends of them uh after all these years it's pretty cool and i felt like his role was so he was it's so interesting because he has such like a baby face and this like kind of innocence to him and seeing that kind of used for the darkness of the part i thought

was a was there just like aside from being extremely talented and great in the movie it's also just really smart casting too you know what I mean

that's big you know it's so important that parts are well cast and I felt like that was a surprising surprisingly good choice for that particular part

for him you know yeah you know I've seen a lot of interviews with you and all the people that you've worked with And what comes into my mind is, do you ever get starstruck? I see you like, there's a shot on the comeback trail with, like, De Niro behind the camera giving you the off-line, you know, off-camera lines to you.

And I'm thinking, that's got to be the most surreal thing. I know you're probably used to it. Well, do you get used to it? And do you ever feel like, God, I sucked in front of one of the grades? I'm sucking. I'm sucking. I can't get it. I'm getting nervous.

I don't really, I don't think I get that used to it. I remember, like, my first day on comeback trail with De Niro, I was already really prepared. because it was a scene with just lots of lines, just rattling them off nonstop. But I was still so nervous. And then we started the scene, and he was just like came guns blazing, like just all every word on point, like just so good.

I was like, oh, my God. Like, and I remember I like, I dropped a cue. And he was like, oh, then you say that. And I was just like, oh, my God. Like, I forgot a line with me. De Niro like literally like the shame and I remember I was like oh my god like just like like I was like dude I'm like 36 like this dude's older than me like I remember I went back to my trailer and I learned my lines like so well because I was like there's no way I'm ever going to let him

like like remind me of my cue ever again so you just looked at he goes you missed the line about that and then you say that in there and I was like oh my oh my god Like, it was such like a, I don't know, I mean, he's so good. It's crazy. He's, he's really good. Well, I read. Yeah, go ahead. And even with, like, Tarantino, I was like, I don't think I've ever been more nervous around

anybody than around Quentin. What's his personality like? I mean, is it like you see on the daily, eh, oh, that's them, we're going to do this. It's going to be great. He's basically Quentin. I mean, he's always Quentin. But I was just, I was such, like, a following. devoted fan of his forever that I'm just I was just like it was like having like a cult leader

around or something I was just like oh you know I don't know it's like I grew up watching his movies so much that you know it's like I just can't I I tried to treat him like regular or just be calm around but I just I couldn't you couldn't you were other people I think could but I just I couldn't do it what kind of direction did he give you on me do you remember a specific direction or like the way he was acting that it was it was it was it was it was he very helpful did he know exactly what he wanted yeah i mean i remember early on we did a read-through and i was kind of playing j cbring more as like what i would see in little video clips of him where he's sort of like a kind of a calm kind of like laconic dower guy

and i so i sort of did that in the read-through uh where it was like brad and leo and burr reynolds at the time it was like all these crazy awesome margot and Dakota Fanning. And he called me afterwards, and he was like, you know, he basically gently told me that I was on the wrong path. So he basically was like, I'm, this isn't a biopic. He's like, you can have fun with the lines. This is, this is like, this is Tarantino dialogue.

You can, you can, I'm giving you permission to be more flamboyant. He was like, Jay isn't gay. He's not gay. but he's a flamboyant guy. He's like, you can bring that side of yourself. He's like, I'm giving you permission to have fun, to enjoy it, to be more flamboyant. And as soon as he told me that,

he really kind of, I was like, I went back, and I read the scenes, the way that I had played them in the readthrough. And I was like, oh my God, like, what did I do? Because I totally, as soon as he told me that, I completely understood what he wanted and what he met. And every line made sense that way. But I was trying to, like, kind of fit a square peg into a round hole because I was taking these preconceived notions of what I thought Jay Sebring was exactly like based off some video interview.

And, you know, sometimes in order to kind of get to the truth of a scene, the way it's written, you need to, like, not adhere perfectly to your preconceived notions of what it should be. Yeah, well, a lot of times you hear these horror stories and it's happened, it hasn't happened to me, but it's happened to some friends who are famous. that they'll do a table read and they just for some reason the producer and the director's like no this guy's fucking completely off and they just fire him

I mean you know it was nice enough for him to call you'd be like no you can do this I just know what you're doing you're playing it more like a biopic you need to play it like have fun man I remember when I first got that call I was like oh my gosh

I like literally was driving and I like pulled the car over like like waiting for the bomb to drive off and I was just like, okay, okay. It was pretty funny, though. Have you ever been fired by a job? He's definitely the one that I would, I just, I couldn't, I just couldn't treat him like a normal dude. I was just too star-struck. Have you ever been fired off a job? No. Wow. I have. Not while I was shooting. I think I've lost parts that they had like given me and then I like, they took them away.

That's happened for sure, though. Oh, God. You said in an interview that, Sometimes you feel like you've forgotten it all when you get on set. Like you question everything and then it takes you to like a day or two. How does that work? After all these movies, you just feel like sometimes you go back on set and you're like, do I know how to do this? Explain that. Yeah, it's weird. It's almost like an irrational fear or something that basically before almost every single job I do.

If there's like more than a week between a job or something. there's a point where I'm like man I don't know if I can do this I don't it's and I and it's like there's a part of me I'm like well you've been through this before and you do know how to do this and you'll get on set and you'll do it and that's like your thing and but like the belief that I can't do it is is like real I mean it's like there do you feel nerves is it nerves do you feel these like intense like anxiety or what is that super intense anxiety and also like more than just a feeling like the actual like the thinking of like i don't think i don't i don't really think i'm up to this it's a weird thing and you know how crazy it is right you know how you're logically you're smart guys so you're thinking i've done this i've killed it i know what i'm doing so why am i feeling like this i know it's the weirdest thing i don't know, I've talked to a couple actors that kind of, they're like,

yeah, you have that too? You know, it's kind of a weird thing. I don't know, it's probably just sort of nerves or just sitting around with too much to think about. I don't know, though. I almost wonder if, like, when you stop, if I were to stop

feeling that way, I almost wonder if, like, something would get stale or if I wouldn't be as excited or you know, because you only get that. way if you care like if you don't care at all you're not going to be like i don't know if i can do this you're going to be like i don't care if i can do this you know what i mean yeah it's a different

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Money. Download the Rocket Money app and enter my show name inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum in the survey so they know I sent you. Don't wait. Download the Rocket Money app today and tell them you heard about them from my show inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum. Rocket Money. I mean, when you're doing Lone Survivor, this story always baffles me. I've never heard a story like this where this guy, actor, you goes to a party, you see Peterberg, you know Peterberg, and, you know, you want to get Lone Survivor. This story, I think, is fascinating.

Yeah. Yeah, tell us this story because I don't think a lot of people have heard this. I had heard Pete was making lone survivor and I would occasionally see him in the gym in Venice Beach because we both lived and he lived in like Westwater, San Monica but he liked to work out at Gold's Gym and I would see him in there.

So we mentioned that he was making lone survivor and so I saw him at like, I don't know, some sort of party and he was with a friend and I went up to him and I was like, what's up a lone survivor man? And he was like, you know how there's like NFL movie? And like, you know, it's like, you can't play like a linebacker. And it was like, I mean, it was like a really like bow down nerd.

You know what I mean? I was like, oh, okay, okay. And I just, I don't know. I just, I had read the book and I really was moved by the book. So I wrote Pete a letter being like, you know, how I thought. about the project what you know how i wanted to be a part of it and my agent was like i don't know he's he he just doesn't see for this and i was like just just come on and i wrote i think i wrote him a second letter wow and at one point he wrote back to me like show up at golds early

tomorrow and i was like what time and he didn't write back And I was like, oh, man, this is one of those, like, psychological, psychops experiments or something. So I woke up at 4 a.m. Because Gold's Gym opened at, like, 6 or 5.30. And I was, like, waiting at the gym as it opened. And this guy, T.R. Goodman, who was the, like, coach trainer guy, shows up and he's like, what are you doing here? And I was like, oh, well, Pete told me to show up here early.

He started laughing. He said, come back in, like, two hours. so I came back and were you pumping by the way were you pumping up well are you just waiting for him like holy shit I want what what hell is this about I was just like ready to go you know and basically they put me through this really hard workout that day gold's gym um I want to separate a really hard workout for an actor from like Navy SEAL training it's really not comparable in any way at all. all. But for me, it was like probably the hardest I'd ever had to work out. And so they didn't give me the part. Pete just said, you have to show up here every day for like the next few months. I'm not giving you the role because I genuinely don't know if you can do it. And I'm not going to disrespect the seals and this guy's family by giving an actor that's like a punk if he can't do it. Because I was a little bit, you know, I wasn't really getting great shape.

and so it was every day from 6 to usually 6 a.m. to like 11 or 1130 I would finish and it would be usually like 90 minutes of weightlifting and then it would be two back to back hours of cardio so I would either do like an hour on the bike and then an hour jog or like an hour on the aerometer which is the arm machine an hour of that is insane by the way. Did he have somebody like watching you and doing these workouts with you? Or did he leave and just assume you were doing this? When I would do the weights, I was training with the workout crew. So it would, the guys that I was training with and a couple of girls, most of the guys were like major league baseball players or hockey players that were off season, that were like trying to stay in top level shape. It was really like a performance weight training camp.

It's called pro camp for, reason in Venice and I definitely got in the best shape of my life and in a certain in certain points it was really hard because it was every day for so many hours just on my body and I was like man this is intense and they even for what pro camp was they made sure that what I was doing was always harder than what everybody else was doing so we would be doing like okay let's say we did 90 minutes of weights, they would be like, okay, you have to do jumping jacks between your weight sets. So while everyone else is waiting at the machine to do it, you have to do the jumping

jacks or like pop squats or like side step, you know, it was stuff like that. It would constantly be like ratching it up. And I just sort of just was super focused and determined and I really wanted to be there and I wanted to be in the film and I got into really good shape and it was funny. I didn't know this at the time, but apparently TR told Peter Berg after the fact that I had trained harder than anyone he had ever had other than Chris Chellios, who was an NHL Stanley Cup Champion Hall of Famer, Chicago Blackhawks, I know Chelly fucking best. Yeah, apparently TR, who's like the man, he told Pete that.

He never told me that, but he told him. Pete that. Did you call your agents and say, so I don't have this role, but I have to work out for the next couple of months to find out if I do so, you can't really work out a deal because there's no deal to be had until Pete gives the word. Yeah, I mean, it was kind of nerve-wracking in that way because if I would, if I would, like, lag on any of the workouts or if I was doing, you know, like an interval, like long intervals or circuits, we did a lot of circuits. If I would fall behind, they would be like, oh, we're going to tell Pete, he's not going to hire you. No, they did not.

They said that, and they were serious? It was really, like, hard for it like that. You know, and he's like, Pete has told me to give an honest assessment. And if you fail at this, I will not, like, you are not going to do this. I mean, were you pissed? Were you like, did you kind of laugh it off? Or were you like, fuck? Oh, I mean, I was frustrated.

I mean, I remember one day, I was on the leg press. and they just kept stacking more 45s on the leg press to where like I genuinely couldn't do it like it was like it was crazy and at one point I was like fuck you motherfucker like I stood up and like chewed these guys out and like walked off

and all the like hockey guys were like oh my gosh this is so but like I think that they were trying to like break you So, like, yeah, I mean, I think that that's, he's like, all right, now that we've got this anger, let's channel it. You know what I mean? It was like all this sense, you know, like karate kid kind of stuff with, with TR. And one was the moment that he called you that he said, you got it.

And how had that happened? Do you remember that? It might have almost been like a text message like you're in or something like that. You know, it was like, and I was, it was funny because the reason why I don't remember that moment. was because after like three months of that, I was in such good shape that like I knew it was no way I wasn't going to get it. Right. Like I was actually confident at that part.

In the beginning, I wasn't confident because I wasn't in shape at all. I was really like, oh, I don't know. But by the end, I was like, man, I can run like seven miles like fast, you know? And you had Navy SEALs like breathing down your neck on set and things like that. that's what I hear like you were it was just very intense shooting was it always intense yeah I was always pretty intense yeah I mean um the seals were they really wanted their story to be told in the right way and Marcus LaTro had a big responsibility to to get that story right for all the families so he took that seriously wow how much weight did you lose playing

Christopher McCanness. How much weight? How much did you weigh? So for End of the Wild. I remember I was 156 when I got the part because I hadn't gotten on a scale in ages. And I remember

I got on the scale and I was like, Dad, like my scale's broken. I need, will you get me a new one? And he's like, oh, I'll pick you up one at Walmart. And then he like brought me a new scale and it got on. And I was like, this scale is broken too, man. I think my dad was like, maybe the scale's not broken. And I was like, oh, it's, oh, whoa.

So I remember Sean, Sean wanted me to get pretty lean because the real Chris was, he was pretty lean even before he had that big weight loss. So I lost probably went down to like 133 from 156, just to get into like the shapeful. for the movie for the normal parts. And then we shot like half the movie. And I was doing a lot of like running every day and eating healthy and, you know, spin.

And then there was like a two-week shutdown in the middle of the shoot. And I had gone down probably to like 1-24. And then I had two weeks. So I was doing like two spin classes a day and like eating like the bare minimum. And at one point, dude, two spring classes a day on No Food is so hard. Like, I don't know if you've ever done that. Probably haven't.

No. It's like psychologically, like it is so, like it's like me. You're just like, oh, oh, it like hurts. It doesn't physically hurt, but like it psychically hurts. And I remember I would like sit up in those like two or three weeks and like my vision would go totally orange for like 15 seconds. I literally blind. I remember I texted my doctor

I was like hey doc I'm going blind when I'm sitting up like every time and he was like oh you need to take some salt because that's like low blood pressure so I did that and then that kind of went away so then I went down to like 115 pounds when we went to Alaska yeah and then I was there and we shot

the good news was is we shot most of those scenes in like six day period so I was like crazy skinny but like on like the third or fourth day like I could like feel like my heart like pulpitating like I could actually feel it like boom boom and I was like oh shit so I told him I was like you got to finish these scenes because I can like feel I don't have much time to like keep shooting this this is like probably not safe that is insane I mean you know I watched

these shows you ever watched like alone the shows alone where people I heard of it it's funny my friend one of my friend from childhood his brother is like on alone right now really well they drop them off and it's real i mean they're alone and whoever lasts the longest is the winner and it's crazy the shit that they do but they have doctors that come in every i don't know when it is every week to just check on them check their vitals now someone who is 159 or whatever you were in the beginning to drop down to 115 were they always monitoring you were they always making sure hey he's okay i mean because That sounds pretty dangerous.

I had a really talented doctor that the insurance company had me work with, and he was really experienced, and he was one of the main doctors on Biggest Loser. So I was kind of consulting with him, but then at a certain point, I did, you know, the last few pounds, I think that I wasn't, like, approved to lose. You know what I mean? But I'm also, you know, I'm like five, six and a half, five, seven. I mean, I would actually, I'd still say that, like, I've seen way more extreme. I mean, I don't look at that as like a weight loss kind of, I mean, it's a weight loss role, but I don't look at it like that.

I look at like what Jared Letto did in Dallas Fire's Club or what Bail did in the machinist or even what Matt Damon did in Courage under fire. I actually think those dudes lost, like, more weight, you know. I think it feels like I lost a lot, a lot more weight because of the environment within the story, too, and the character's starving and all that. So it really seems like it. But if you actually were to compare my like height and body mass and everything to some of those other ones, like I think there's actors that have lost more for sure, for sure.

Wow. You know, it says Christopher McCandless wanted to explore the unexplored and discover a life without responsibility, possessions, people, money, but in doing so he went to his death from Into the Wild I mean do you ever consider because I know I do it probably crosses everyone's mind

I mean because you know how Hollywood can be and how crazy it could be and was there an essence of you in when you played the role where you felt like there is something that makes you want to get away sometimes that makes you want to just disconnect from everything maybe not

as an extreme level but something to just like break away and just like not have to deal with all the bullshit it and just kind of live your life and see what it's really about? There's definitely an appeal that I think struck accord with me and so many other people to the story, the idea, the call of the wild or the beckoning of the open road that we all have, the ability to sort of leave the past behind and move forward and have a new fresh start and a new kind of a new horizon at every day.

I mean, I know in one of the letters, McAnlis wrote the old man, Ron, where you're saying, like, you know, the core of man's spirit comes from new experiences. And there really is something to that, you know, what those new experiences are or the way that you have them kind of varies. But there's, you know, part of what keeps you alive is that kind of adventure, whatever those adventures are. And I really related in a great way, especially at that age, you know, I... I just turned 21 when we shot that movie. So I was like so just, it was like just a big adventure to me. You know, I think part of appreciating that story is also sort of like appreciating some of the wisdom that McCanness got, like hard earned wisdom.

You know, and I sound like the older guy now saying that, but, you know, like was it cool that he didn't contact his parents no and i would almost argue that like he would have thought that by the end you know and and happiness is real when shared you know like the fact that he wrote that that's like a reckoning with what he's saying that's that's a slight rebuttal to a lot of what he was doing so that isn't um that's not like a oh oh, you just got to go into the wild and live there alone. That's that's a different meaning, you know. He didn't write like happiness is so great because I'm alone right now.

You know, he realized how much. You're saying happiness is only real one shared and you're alone. Like clearly you're, you know, not doing exactly what you think you should be doing in that, in that way at that moment. So I feel like that story and the character, you know, ideally you would get. a appreciation for adventure and a love of nature and the idea of the core of man spirit comes from new experiences but you can also take like the lessons that he learned without having to pay that kind of high price yeah um in terms of you know having a guide uh that embraces company and socialness and um you know doesn't just give you

that sense of adventure with like a complete rejection of like sharing of happiness with others. And it took him a lot to get to that point because he had had such an unhappy childhood in a lot of ways. You know, he had a really hard time with his parents. Inside you is brought to you by Rocket Money. If you want to save money, then listen to me because I use this. Ryan uses this. So many people use Rocket Money.

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How was your childhood? Was it pretty good? Were your parents really supportive and always, you know. I was, you know, I was very lucky that I had super supportive. parents um you know i realize now more than ever at being a parent myself how important that is so i'm i'm very grateful that i had parents that kind of put the attention that they did into me your mom was a visual artist and pop-up books designer yeah do you know how much that would help my dumbass growing up in school well you know she's just my mom is just an artist she's just always drawing or painting or making something i mean she's just she's always been like that i think uh she's very industrious you know she never stops doing that um i definitely get some of that from her

in the way that i am i'm always i try to always be doing something creative in some way or doing something doesn't have to be creative can you be alone can you go on excursions for a week at a time alone with no one and just can you do that do you like doing that no i can't I can't do that. You don't like being alone. I like being alone sometimes, but that was one of the big things on Into the Wild that I had to do is I had to learn. Like, I had to like go on hikes by myself for long periods of time and like just learn how to deal with that. You know what I mean?

Because it was so foreign to me. I'm a pretty social creature. Yeah. I'm a creature. I'm a social creature. Um, I got to talk about this because, you know, I'm a horror movie fanatic. If you looked in here, you'd see all these horror movie posters. I just love horror, but I know you work with William Freakin.

And, you know, I mean, the exorcist and he's done a ton of other shit, amazing shit. But I mean, did you, when you worked with him, first of all, was he a dick or was he really cool and open? It just seems like he'd be so intense. I remember the first time I met Billy, I like drove up to his cool mansion in the hills. it's like this gothic mansion and I go in and it's literally like Satan's office like a massive office filled with books but it's like darkly lit with all this dark gothic art on the walls and he like was sitting like it felt like by a fireplace and like a super high-backed chair like you're meeting Dracula and very controlled tones and like I mean I was like whoa this is so crazy I mean I definitely had vibes of like this guy directed the exorcist and then he said something that was kind of like spooky and supernatural and I was like oh shit like this guy's intense did you ever ask him any questions about the exorcist

like any insights about the exorcist all the time and he didn't care he loved talking about it really it was like it clearly had such a you know I think that movie it's just like imagine making a movie that affected the world that much I mean it was at the time it was the biggest box office movie of all time. Yeah. And it was considered like one of the most disturbing movies ever. I mean, it was like, he was saying that there was like, they showed it everywhere in the world. He said something about, there was something like in like South America, like showing like, like natives to those areas that had like come down from the mountains that had never even seen movies before.

like they didn't even know what a movie was and they were just watching the movie and like they didn't even know how to pay for the movie he said they were throwing change at the screen I mean like just like wild stuff and I feel like Billy's like he really like it almost makes it scarier because when he talks about it he's like he's a kind of he really believes a lot of it you know well it's based the actresses was based on a real book I mean it was based on a yeah like Billy's like a believer like he he like it's almost scarier too when he talks about it you're like, oh, wow, he's like, he's not like some skeptic. He's like, and it's all real, you know what I mean?

It's like, oh, well, was there any like one story that you asked him about that is interesting that he really didn't talk about a lot or the public doesn't know just about the exorcist or anything that he shot? Because I'm sure you pegged him for something. He's like, well, you're dealing with a young girl here who's X amount of years old and playing this role and doing it. I mean, what did you talk to? He did say one thing. He said that if he, if he were, if he were to go back, that he might have. He didn't say he wouldn't. He said he might have not made that film with that actress.

He's like, you know, it's like a crazy role and a young actress. And he said he might have not done that. I thought that was interesting. So he might have regrets. Well, you know, I mean, I think it was probably a pretty, I mean, I'm sure it was a tough shoot. And then just kind of being associated with that role. I don't know. But honestly, I don't know, though.

Because he didn't say he wouldn't either. He said he might have not. Right, right. you know your band i love that you play music i play music i have an album out i listen to i listen hysterical kindness hysterical kindness simple things yeah yeah and i think people usually go oh another actor with a band and then you listen to it and you're like this i really really enjoyed and you're the lead singer right yeah so hysterical kindness i did based off this movie all nighter where i play a bluegrass singer and they gave me these two guys that

knew the producers that were real musicians. So when we were making the movie, I was like, well, let's, let's like, we recorded a Bob Singer cover song of Night Moves. And it sounded really cool. So we were like, my friend I played it for, he was like, why don't you guys just write some originals and see what comes to that?

So I started writing a bunch of songs with these guys, and we just started recording them, like, in their closet, literally. And we made this whole album. It's like 13 tracks. So then fast forward a couple of years later, I want to make more music and they just, the guys, they're doing other stuff, they're making money in other ways, all of that, they don't have the time. So I met this French music producer named Machu Karatier, who was kind of a mutual friend of mine, my buddy Matt Smiley, his girlfriend, Justine Waxberger, like they were friends for a while. And Mattu had been the editor of Premier Magazine France for a while. He kind of had like a film base, but he had done DJ work and he wanted to be a music producer.

So we ended up making like one song together. And I like the way it sounded. So we kind of kept going. And then we made one song that was like, oh, this is kind of a vibe. And we ended up in the last two years, we put out two albums. And, you know, we kind of just, it's a different vibe than hysterical kindness, which is more bluegrass. the stuff I make with the Frenchman

is more like an 80s kind of electronic pop kind of like. Love it. Love that stuff. Depeche Modi. I mean. And I just, we called it we called the project Hirsch, which I kind of had to be talked into it, but they were like, just got it hirsch and all regard. Can I play one

song? You care? No, not at all. There's this one song, she calls you. Oh, yeah. All right. So here it is. This is she calls you, hysterical kindness. and you answer just to hand her your insides she hangs up and you stay there just to pray well you see like and it might be just a mix up you could feel i mean dude i love i love that song i love so what what's next you just released something in in march yeah this uh the second Hirsch album denialism we put out we got a pretty cool write-up an American songwriter that was

like the first kind of piece of anything that was written about it which is pretty cool will you play out anywhere eventually I would love to I think it'd be cool I mean I'd probably need to take like six months of voice lessons so that I'm not doing 50 takes in a booth and auto tuning and melodining my voice you know I might have a nice tone to my voice but I have no like craft in terms of singing well I love the voice it's you unique and it just sounds, it just sounds, it's got the indie cool feel that could easily pop out to mainstream. I don't know. I dug, I truly dug it or I wouldn't have played it or even brought it up. I would have been like, fuckus. Thank you, Michael. Yes, my friend. This is it. This is called

shit talking with Emily, Emily, with Emil Hirsch. Have you ever heard that? Has anyone ever called you Emily? All my life. Or Emyle? That's like practically my nickname. Do you just hate it? Or you just Elementary school. No, not at all. Oatmeal. A mandwich is a meal. Or a meal for his mama. This kid, Sinclair, in fifth grade, was like, he was like literally like dribbling a basketball and he goes, a meal for his mama. I was like, you're going places, kid.

You're going to place. All right, this is called shit talking with Emil Hirsch. This is rapid fire. These are my patrons. So you just rapid fire answer them. Okay. Raj, during the pandemic, what's the longest stretch of time you went wearing the same clothes three days good answer Kelly asked what's your favorite film in terms of the story itself probably um on the waterfront really that's a good one it's a good one I'm not saying it's not Steph A working on Alpha Dog what was it like it was such an intense film

I have to imagine it was not easy to make rest in peace Anton it was a lot of fun great young cast everyone was friendly and had a good time and Nick Cassavetes was rocking and yeah we had it I mean we had a lot of fun Little Lisa what values are most important to you I think family is really important and you know perseverance

Maya P what's the most challenging character you've portrayed and why I think overall Chris McCanneless and Into the Wild Beach because it had so many different types of challenges physical and mental And I was, you know, still kind of learning and growing as an actor when I did it.

So it was a lot to kind of adapt to as I went. And Ray H., which is part of the question, how much research did you do on Chris McCanness before starting into the wild? Definitely as much as I could do. I talked to a lot of his friends and family and parents and sister and read about him and watched everything I could and just tried to absorb as much as I could. would hopefully come through in some way. Awesome. Midnight in the switchgrass. Is it out now?

It comes out on the 23rd. Freaking watch this. Midnight in the switchgrass. Watch the trailer you'll want to watch it. It's intense as shit. Emil Hirsch, this has been awesome, man. I feel like I know you already. And I love talking to you.

Yeah, this has been a blast. Thank you for having me on. All right, buddy. I hope to see you soon. We'll play some pickleball. Yeah, watch your hands, though, okay? I will. I'll wear a glove.

Bye, bye. See you. buddy another fun episode i hope you liked emil hirsch ryan did you enjoy this one was it a fun edit i did uh yeah i mean he's an interesting guy like you know it's it's funny when you see these people that you've known about for a long time and then just sort of see them sit down and be people for an hour yeah it's always open up and you don't know how they're going to be they're going to be like a character are they going to be like this and he's a he's pretty much a dude yeah he just comes across as a as a nice guy oh yeah you know so i really enjoyed it i really enjoyed him

being on the podcast um letting you know that uh patreon if you want to join the lovely patreon to help support the podcast in other ways go to patreon p a t r e o n dot com slash inside of you there's different tiers you get merch from me and notes from me and there's a bunch of stuff go to patreon dot com slash inside of you also my band is playing this weekend sunspin you can go to sunspin.com for tickets merch zooms booking the band anything you want and uh inside of you, uh, the podcast, you could go to the inside of you online store and get, uh, I mean, anything from inside of you mugs and t-shirts and, uh, to, uh, Lex Luthor pictures and Funko Pops and Smallville lunch boxes, a bunch of great stuff on there. So if you, if you want to do

that, um, I will also be at, um, Lexington Comic Con September 9th through the 12th. Actually, Dragon Con before that, September 4th in Atlanta, that weekend, Tom Welling and I will be together. Then Lexington, September 9th, and then West Virginia, September 24th. Very excited about these. Very excited about the cons. Hopefully, I'll see you there. We occasionally do this Smallville Nights thing, so you better get your tickets.

And, Ryan, you get anything going on? Not at the moment. I went to the dentist today. You did? I just went to the dentist, too, with the dentists. too what the dentist did to you. Jesus. Just a poked around.

I had to do x-rays. It kind of hurts. I actually have a really, really bad gag reflex. And a strong gag reflex. I have a strong gag reflex. And so when he was moving the thing around with the x-rays, I vomited a little. You did? I did.

In your mouth? Nope. So you vomited outside of your mouth. I went, oops. I caught it. Was he, were you embarrassed? Yep. But he just kept going.

He's like, ah, it happens. He just gave his paper towels. and oh my god i've never done that before you threw up in your hand i come so close every time and today it actually ryan threw up in his hand folks i threw up in my hand please give him shit you could reach him on twitter instagram all that stuff that guys thank you for supporting the podcast thank you for listening the handles are at inside you podcast on instagram and uh facebook at inside you pod on twitter uh please subscribe uh it really helps and if you write a review it really helps a lot and I hope you spread the word as much as you can.

All right. Now it's time that at the end of every show, I read the top tier patrons. So these guys are on patron, patreon.com slash inside of you. These are the top tiers. They give the most. And I read their names off. And Ryan has memorized quite a few of them. Here we go.

Nancy. D. Leah. S. Trisha. F. Sarah. V.

L. Lisa. U. Kiko. Jill. E. Brian. H.

Lauren. G. Niko. Jerry. W. Robert Abby Jason W.

Appa. Thean. Kristen. Kay. Amelia. Wow. Allison. L.

Rage. Joshua. D. D. Emily. Emily S. Yes. C.J.

P. Samantha. M. Jennifer. N. Stacey. H. L.

Carly. Carly H. Jen. S. Jamal F I I'm amazed I'm remembering the ones that come after before yeah weird Janelle B carry um Washington no carry B Carrie B tabitha 272 not to be 72 not to be easy to Tabith 73 Kimberly L E E E Mike E Ldon Supremo 99 more Rah Mira Santiago E oh F

M. Sarah. V. F. Chad. W. Lian. P. Janine. You're pretty amazing. I don't know, Janine R. Ray A. Maya P. Maddie S. Shannon D. Matt W. Belinda N. Kevin V. James R. Chris H. Dave, H. Samantha. S. Spider-Man. Chase. Sheila G. Brad D. Ray H. T. Tom N. Suzanne B. Lilliana A. Michelle K. H. H. Michael S. T. T. T. Lillia M. Betsy D. Claire M. B. B. B. F. T. T. Clare M. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. B. Liz J. Laura L. Chad L. Rachel or Rochelle E. Nathan E. Marion Meg K. Janelle P. Trav L. Dan N. Diane R. Ojetta. Ojetta. Lorraine G. Veronica K. Big Stevie W. Kendall T. Carol D. Then we got Sandy B. Angel M. Eric C. Rianin C. Stephen M. Corey K. Super Sam. Emily C. Sherry S. Coleman G. Dev Nexon. Michelle A. Liz L. Jeremy C. Andy T. Cody R. Chris E. Sebastian K. Gavanator and H. Eliot M. John B. Brandy D. Yvore and Bono. Or Bono. B. A. N.O. Isn't that Bono? There's no Tilda over the end. No. That would be bathroom then, wouldn't that? It has to be Bono. Bono. Bano. Bano. Maybe it's Baino. Is it Bano, guys? Bano. Thank you for listening. It's always a treat having you here. And it means the world to me that you guys continue to listen and hopefully you'll continue to listen uh from michael rosenbaum here in the hollywood hills uh i'm also ryan tayas say goodbye in that camera right

up there ryan we just give a little wave and uh thank you for allowing to be inside of each and every one of you i hope you have a wonderful week and spread the word hi i'm jos all see hi host of the stacking benjamin's podcast today we're going to talk about what if you came across fifty thousand dollars What would you do? Put it into a tax-advantaged retirement account. The mortgage. That's what we do.

Make a down payment on a home. Something nice. Buying a vehicle. A separate bucket for this addition that we're adding. $50,000. I'll buy a new podcast partner. You'll buy new friends. And we're done.

Thanks for playing everybody. We're out of here. Stacking Benjamin's follow and listen on your favorite platform.