Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - Kevin Conroy

Episode Date: August 11, 2020

Kevin Conroy (Batman Beyond, Justice League) joins me this week to share how he’s battled with anxiety throughout his life, stemming from a harsh upbringing in a combative household that no child should be raised in. Kevin goes on to talk about his different family dynamics and the impact that his abusive, alcoholic father had on his future. We also get into Kevin’s evolution in acting from Juilliard to Batman, his experience living with the one and only Robin Williams, and his thoughts on Batman reprisals in Crisis on Infinite Earths. 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. Baum. Hi, everyone. How are you? Thanks for tuning in again.

This is your first time. You're in for a treat. I think so. If it is your first time, I ask you to subscribe to the podcast. Give it a listen. Give other guests a chance. Because you might not know them, but you might just learn something from them. I know I learn a little every day.

It's therapy for me. It's free therapy. That's what it is. And hopefully it's a little therapy for you. But I'll tell you what, today's guest was, well, we'll get into the guest. It was extraordinary. And, you know, I was nervous about this one. You hear me say that occasionally.

But, you know, I know Kevin, but I don't know Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman, Batman, over all these years. And we did Justice League Unlimited together. But he was so open. I was nervous that he wasn't, didn't want to get personal, didn't want to get. And I'll tell you what, this is, I learned so much. I know you will too. and it's heart-wrenching. Some of it is really like just some of it's beautiful.

Some of it's, you know, talk about facing adversity. You listen to his story and you're going to, I think you're going to really not only appreciate him more, but appreciate life more, appreciate, maybe learn something from it. I think you will. Also, I've said it before. Great guests coming up as well. There's a couple that I was really excited about getting. And I think they're going to be really, really swell.

All my guests are amazing, and they open up. And I just really appreciate it last week, Oliver Hudson. If you haven't listened to Oliver Hudson and you don't know him or whatever, listen to it. Trust me. Talk about somebody who opens up about, you guys like my sister, Kate Hudson is a movie star. My mom, Goldie Hans, a movie star. Kurt Russell, my dad's a movie star. And I, at this point in his life, he was like, I'm anxious.

What am I doing? I'm not. And he was just so honest about things, meeting up with his. biological father, which some people out there in the world can relate to, and check that out. And if you haven't listened to Eli Roth, by the way, another one director, even if you don't like horror, very insightful. He was the bear Jew and Inglorious Bastards. He directed Hostel, Cabin Fever. So many things. Check him out. I want to say a big thanks to, of course, all my listeners out there. It means a great deal for you to tune in every week. I say it every

week, but I should because you never know if there are new listeners here, and you hope there are. but please subscribe you can watch on youtube uh Ryan does a lovely job editing follow us on instagram at inside of you podcast on Instagram and Facebook at inside of you pod I believe on Twitter I should know that by now um you know obviously I had to cancel my live podcast was Zach Levi in Texas but that's par for the course there's things going on in this world that are out of my control and I think that's part of like this whole process is just sort of saying hey it's out of your control let it go why are you stress why are you irritable why are you just let it go you know so uh this past week was a little bit tough for me uh

i had one day where nothing worked the internet didn't work and this this company's been just screwing me over of course that's how you feel like they're screwing me over but you know obviously a lot of people are having problems but uh two guests i had to cancel two guests right when they're about to record which upsets me because i'm always on time i always want to do things right and I sometimes my friend says dude things happen life happens you just got to hope that the person you're about to talk to is cool and understands and most people will understand so thank you to my guests a few days ago that I had to postpone but great podcast I did five interviews this week this last week and they're fantastic and I wish I could tell you the good news

there's some good news coming I've been saying it but I'll be announcing it soon really excited that and thanks to my sponsor better help I think it's very fitting for this show better help online counseling they didn't even ask me to say this in the beginning but I noticed that it does help people and any kind of counseling during these times especially and all the time to talk to someone is just so valuable another huge shout out to my patrons I don't know if you know what patron is I talk about it all the time but people who love the podcast they support on the side they pledge they get a bunch of stuff there's T-Ey

years, there's a community. The biggest thing I've known, I do these Instagram lives. And I noticed that people have built these friendships from this community of Patreon. And people keep joining and, you know, I keep thinking, oh, they love the podcast. And I'm thinking, well, I think they actually like each other, too. It's just, no, it's, it's fantastic. And I thank you all for sticking around and being a part of this. We do, inside of me, where they get to ask me questions.

I created another character who asks the questions. It's a woman. Sometimes it's a dude. I just like to mix it up. I get bored, man. I have to be creative. There's a lot of other stuff. Shit talking questions where they ask the guest questions

and extra podcast bonus up for people. Sometimes there's old episodes that aren't even around that we dig up and we give to our patrons. And there's a great community. We talk. We do YouTube lives where I play music and they have a request line. It's just for all the patrons for that one. And it's amazing.

And the support is unreal. So if you're interested in joining the community, I definitely recommend Patreon. and a lot of the people on there that I consider friends, really, could speak for themselves, and they would say probably the same thing. I want to get into it. Is there anything else I wanted to talk about? You know, I also want to thank Hint Water.

Hint doesn't even ask me. They just give me these waters for a couple of years now. My buddy Paul just delivers waters, and it's nice. And they don't ever ask, hey, put it on the podcast. Talk about it. They don't get me money. I just love Hint Water. I just want to say Hint Water.

Thanks. You get the hint? Good. Great. Let's get into the podcast. Afterwards, we'll be, I'll be talking about some other stuff, but let's get into it. This guy is the voice of Batman for many years. I've had the luck to work with him.

He's a great man. He's lived with Robin Williams. He's been around in a good way. He's just so knowledgeable and so open. I think you're going to love the crap out of this one. Let's get inside of Kevin Conroy. It's my. Point of view

You're listening to Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum Inside of You Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum Was not recorded in front of a live studio audience You know, Conroy, I'm going to blame you on this. I know. It just has to be.

Computers don't like me. I don't know what it is. I like computers. anything that can go wrong will go wrong well I'm telling you right before we called I was going a little

you know I don't get it's not so much external just inside I get this in here in the chest and I start it's called anxiety yeah I you know

but it's the simple things it's like why am I freaking out inside why am I getting all worried about things it just I hate when it happens I know

yeah I know that's human do you do What? Do you still get, do you ever get? You seem so calm and collected, right? It's a really good mask, isn't it? Well. I've been meditating since I was 21. 21. Is it something that's part of your routine every day when you wake up, or is it a... It was for decades. It was much more necessary when I was younger.

I was very anxiety-ridden. I was really in... nuts inside. And I really needed that tool. I ran six miles every day. I did everything I could to release anxiety because I grew up with an incredible amount of anxiety tied up inside of me. And I really had to focus for a while when I was younger to get rid of that, to get that out of my life. It's amazing that at a young age you can actually understand. You knew what was happening to you, right? You knew that there's something going on that's just that I have to, I have to try and do everything I can to control it. Absolutely. I was drinking too much. I was doing drugs. I was smoking a pack a day. And I was having seizures. I had something

called psychomotor epilepsy that started when I was about 14. And I'd have fits. And they did all kinds of brain scans. And they said, you do not have epilepsy. But you have a psychological condition of a long-term anxiety and it comes from growing up in a situation of such anxiety, such tension that your nervous system has this valve that you've

developed and it's giving you these seizures and it was really dramatic. I mean I once flew off my bicycle, I once fell off a roof I would have these seizures and so I

had to do everything I could to alleviate anxiety. Well, do you think obviously, I mean, obviously, I don't say obviously, but do you think it's stemmed from maybe just upbringing and being around dysfunction at all? Oh, God, it was all about that. My father was a fall-down drunk, and he was a mean drunk, and he was a old world, very imperious man. He was a child of immigrants.

He grew up in Hell's Kitchen in New York. He was an entirely self-made man. He was a street kid in New York, and a really tough one. And he was born in 1910. So it was like having a grandfather. He was much older. And he was very old world, old Irish, and everything had to be very formal. We were little.

We had to call him sirs, stuff like that. And the fights in our house growing up were just legendary. It was like growing up in Long Day's Journey and Tonight. I mean, it was just this Irish drunk, crazy, fighting clan. All my older siblings were fighting with my father. And my mother was very, very much like Mary Tyrone in Long Day's Journey. She was very passive. She was very loving.

but just beaten down by this man that she'd been married to. And everyone get out of that house as soon as they could, all my older siblings, who were much older. And so at the time I got to be around 14, I was there alone. And it was insane in that house. I mean, that day, my father was drunk every day. And my mother started drinking heavily. And I ended up moving out of that.

house when I was 16 and moved in with a friend's family just so I could finish high school. And you and they let you stay there. You could not live there. It was, it was, it was it was, the police were there all the time. It was crazy. It was crazy. Wow.

So it was, it was screaming. It was physical. It was alcohol. It was everything. Everything. My God. You know. It's kind of a classic, you know, it's not that unusual. It is. Well, hang on a second. Fortunately, it's not that unusual. Well, I, I talk about

dysfunction than I had people talk about their dysfunctions but then it always you always hear someone else's story and you're like that was fine yeah I mean listen to Kevin I mean Kevin really had it bad I feel better I don't feel better I feel horrible for you but I just like it you know I talk about this all the time but it is you see you have I'm sure you have friends or people that like oh I actually grew up in a normal environment my parents didn't drink they were kind they were loving and they're still together. And don't you, I sort of, I mean, I envy that. Oh, I am in awe of families like that.

Right. You know who's like that? Who? Dietrich Bader. And you can tell. I love that family. He and his wife and these two kids, they adore each other. They are happy together.

You go into that house and it's just functioning, loving, warm, and just sit there and you think, this really does exist, you know? never saw that growing up. So I love that family. They were wonderful. Yeah, and it's so funny because I find myself being comforted by going over friends' houses who have families

who are together, who are loving, and just going for dinner or spending. It's me and their family. It's like lonely Rosenbaum. And I go there and I think I did that as a kid. I would go to, you know, the cutters down the street, even though they were dysfunctional,

but you know, they were kind of loving and the and the Shepherds and that and I just try to I don't I don't what is that I don't know it's another world but yeah I moved in with the Emmanuelels who was a classmate of mine in high school just so I could finish up high school because uh my house was insane completely insane what did your family think about that though were they like okay go stay there fine my mother was happy about it because she moved out at that point moved in with her sister in upstate New York to get away from my father. My father was a very, very dark time in our lives. He had tried to kill himself and he was committed for a while. And when he was released, he moved back into the house

and the police had told him he wasn't supposed to and he just showed up. And so my mother and I got out. It was crazy. I mean, this is like they write books about this kind of stuff. You tell, you know, I never talk about this with anyone because it's just so, it's so ridiculous. You think, wasn't there anyone around to protect these people? And this is, you know, the 1970s. There really wasn't. But how long? The police got tired of coming to our house, you know, it was that kind of thing.

Because no one was going to kill anybody. It was just all this insanity. And so my mother got out, I got out. And then I got a scholarship to go to Juilliard. And I moved into New York when I was 17. And I've been supporting myself ever since. I never went back. Hang on.

It says my internet connection is unstable. This is the shit I deal with constantly. So we're going to keep going. Okay. All right. So all the crap and then you ended up moving, you went to Juilliard. So by the way, during this whole time, was your father sort of like anti-acting? No son of mine's going to be an actor?

Oh, he thought it was completely insane. He couldn't understand it. He just, but he had so checked out at that point that he was, he was. He was really at the bottom. I mean, he tried to kill himself when I was in high school. I mean, it was just, it was very ugly. And at that time, I was the only one left in the house with my mother. So I was the one sent to seeing him in the hospital and pick up his car, which was covered with blood.

I mean, it was, for a 16-year-old, it was just a truly dark, dark experience that I couldn't get away from fast enough. How do you get away from that? How do you? My point is he didn't have any say in what I was going to do, especially because he wasn't going to pay for anything. I was getting a scholarship. And it's funny, John Housin, the day I auditioned for Juilliard. I was 17, and I'm auditioning on the main stage of Juilliard. And I'm doing Romeo, you know.

And afterwards, John Hausman says, well, Mr. Caldroy, we're clearly very interested in having you come to Juilli. And I was so excited. And he said, come up and speak to Miss Hawley about with finances. No, no. The first he said, how is it a young man from Westport needs financing? And I said, well, not everyone from Westport is wealthy, A. and B, I don't have a family that will support me. And he said, oh, very, very well, very well.

It's none of my business. But come up and speak to Ms. Farleck, Ms. Harleck. And there was a moat at the bottom of the stage. And the audience was actually above us. And it was called this a studio theater. And it was set up like an operating room with the first row, you know, it was above you looking down. Right.

So when you're watching performances, it was like viewing an operating room. But I was on this stage, and I grabbed a bar that was about at eye level. And I used to do gymnastics in high school. And I grabbed the bar, and I vaulted from the stage up into the first row without even thinking. And Hausman and Harley jumped up and said,

good God, you're not insured yet. Oh, my God. I don't know how I did it. I just bolted. And that's when they said they give me a scholar. What year was that? 73. Because what year was he doing the paper chase?

I remember as a kid just watching Kudu's right after that. I was there before he started his acting career. Because he had been a producer and a director. It was more of an impresario. Right. And he started acting really late. He started acting after that.

Yeah, because then he did like a ghost story and all these different things. Yeah. Wow. Did your dad ever, by the way, did he ever see you perform? Yes. Did he ever say? hey, you're good?

I'm proud of you? No. None of that. None of that. And you wanted that. But he came to see me. I was doing Death Trap. I did the national tour, the Broadway tour. And we were playing at the Wilbur Theater in Boston.

I was co-starring with Brian Bedford. And it was a big role. It was a wonderful role. And he came up to see the play. And he, uh, he really didn't say anything which is the worst he wanted to

he wanted to meet Brian backstage and when Brian met him after the show um Brian was a very difficult man very difficult but a brilliant actor and a generous

he had a generous soul and he liked me but he could be really difficult and he the next night after my father had come, Brian summoned me to his dressing room, you know, because he was the star. So I went to his dressing room, and he said, I'd like to talk to you about your father. And I said, oh, great. He said, I sensed a lot of tension between you.

And I said, yeah, there's a lot of history there. He said, he's a very unusual man. I said, yes, he's very unusual. And he said, let me give you a piece of it. advice, when your father dies, which he eventually will, you will never get a chance to correct that relationship, and that will haunt you for the rest of your life. He said, so my advice to you is do everything you can while he's alive. to try and mend that bridge.

Oh, my God. Look, I know, because I've been there with my father. But it's so true, and I did. I ended up taking care of my father in his last years. Did everything. I mean, I was flying back and forth between New York and L.A. Because he kept getting put in drunk wards and stuff. And I was the only one of my siblings who was doing any of this.

And they'd say, why are you doing this? He was a monster. And I said, and I kept thinking of Brian. So I was with my father the night he died. And that's an invaluable thing to have to know that you gave 100%, that you did everything humanly possible to save this man, to reach this man. And so I have no ghosts at all.

My God, I mean, honestly, you brought me tears almost. I'm just like sitting here. My God. That is... I had an amazing moment with him on his last night. Because I didn't think he was going to die that night. Because he had come close to the edge so many times. And the doctor met me in the hole.

He said, oh, we're so glad we flew in from L.A. We may not make it through the night. I said, are you serious? I thought this was just another drunk thing. He said, oh, no. His system is closing down. Wow. I was with him and we were sitting there in the dark.

this hospital room and he looked out through the hospital window into the night sky and he got this really distant stare they called a thousand yard stare

and he just shook his head and he said the great Conroy so remorsefully, so ruefully. And I said, what was that, Dad? And he didn't look at me.

He just kept shaking his head and he said, The Great Conroy. And I thought, dear God in heaven, this is the best lesson he's ever given me. How not to die. You don't want to live your life. so that at the last breath

you have, you're thinking I've wasted my life. Oh, my God. Which is what he was thinking? This is exactly, and I thought, this is an invaluable lesson. Isn't that amazing? Oh, my God.

I mean, I was just tense this whole time listening. Oddly enough, it was the closest moment we'd ever had. Do you think he was obviously talking about himself like, I'm shit? I ruin my life. That's what it was. Yes, I've wasted my life. Who did I?

think I was what was I trying to prove so inadvertently he gave you the best advice of your life almost on his last breath oh absolutely and you felt that you knew it right then were you emotional were you brought the tears at this moment

I was that ended up being a very emotional night because it was so unexpected and um At that point, I was the one holding the family together. I was the diplomat. I was running my father's, you know, house and his accounts for him. And I had to contact all of my siblings.

Which is the hardest thing to do. I had to do it with my grandma. Isn't that the worst that that's the worst part having to tell each. Well, maybe I don't, was it? Oh, yeah. I have a brother who's mentally ill. And having to tell him was just. he fell apart he completely fell apart um how many years ago was that i was 30 so it's it was 86

so it's 34 years ago and i'm feeling that you you're feeling this like it was yesterday it was a very visceral experience it was a pivotal time tonight too because i knew that i was going to take over from my brother at that point i was going to be responsible for him from then on which I was and so it was a big transition which I had been preparing for did you ever call Brian and say you know I did it I took your advice you know I didn't is that terrible no Ryan and I really did drifted apart I learned so much from him on stage and I also learned from him offstage like that example but he could be so difficult to live with, that we didn't really get along.

So we had some famous fights on stage, actually, during the performance. Like almost these subtle moments that only you and he knew about. Oh, no. Oh, no. Like what? Like the opening at the Kennedy Center, which is a state event, because it's part of the, you know, it's a national monument, the Kennedy Center. So people are there in like black tie and stuff. Right. And Brian could be such a preck on stage.

He was such a diva. And Death Trap is about these two writers who were sort of dueling with each other and there's many, many layers to the play. I don't want to get into it now. It's hard to describe. But there are points where one writer finds what the other writer has been writing and reads it aloud. So you're basically reading a lot of exposition that the audience has already seen. because it's like a play within a play within a play. So it's very difficult to keep the audience's interest

because they've already seen all this stuff. And I had the first one of these speeches. And during it, Brian became just riveted by something on the rug. And he started going down on his all fours on the rug, trying to find something. And the audience knew exactly what he was doing, and they started laughing, laughing.

he was just stealing focus and he was just being ruthless about it and totally ignoring me and I got louder and louder and it was driving me crazy and then I calmed down and then his turn came in the next scene to do the same thing

to have to read an expository don't tell me you got on the floor he had learned no I turned around and there was a bookcase behind me and I said started looking for books in the bookcase and I was taking and out and look at him. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't find what I wanted. And he was getting louder and louder and more strident, trying to get my attention. And I was ignoring him and the audience knew exactly what I was doing.

And they were howling that I was giving him back exactly what he'd given me. And just at that moment, I was turning back to him and he was getting ready to swat me in the head with the script. you know we've found a script that each of us is working on so just as I'm turning this script comes and bashes me in the face and the rivet from the script grazes my eye and I thought he had really hurt me and I went crazy and we're on either side of this big lawyer's partner desk and I luns for him and he threw down the script and he lones for me and we heard Murray Gittlin the stage manager from the wing and say gentlemen gentlemen Please, this is the theater.

On stage. Packed performance. Oh, my God. We just sit back in our chairs. And we were doing all of this through the lines of the play. We never stopped saying the lines of the play. So the whole thing, you know, we're doing this play and we're like, I want to kill you.

And that was the subtext was, I want to kill you. And then we both sit down and we go. not through the scene, and the playwright, Ira Levin, who also wrote Rosemary's baby, and big playwright, had come down from New York with his family for the Kennedy Center opening, and he was in the audience. And he loved it.

No. This is, I thought, I am so fired. I am never going to work in the theater again. This is my first big job after Giuliar. This is my first big break. I'm out. I'm out. They're going to blackboard.

and he comes to my dressing me he says you were brilliant it was incredible it was like watching hamlet where did you find all that in my play so you guys they thought it was part of it yeah we kept saying the lines we were just playing it this this hostile anger fury at each other but we never broken out of character and what did you did he say anything afterwards like i'm sorry no brian didn't know how to say i'm sorry you know i think if you probably if you notice any similarities in someone that your father might have had or drinking or things are there certain things triggers that you're like can't be around that person that's something that's that's too much for me that's i can't deal with that selfishness to the point of narcissism i find impossible

to be around and when someone like that comes into my life i tend to cut them out and distance myself and i just don't even try to deal with them because there's no cure for narcissism for that kind of of selfishness. I have no patience for it. It's just amazing how you could have easily went downhill and said, you know, poor me and sort of with your upbringing.

I mean, a lot of people do. They just go, you go one way or the other, right? It's the hand of fit. You make choices. It is a choice. Oh, absolutely. I made a very conscious choice when I was 21 to stop drinking, stop drugging,

stop smoking. Because once I get out of that house, oddly enough when I was 17 and I got an apartment. I was living in New York. I was Robin Williams was my roommate. I was a Juilliard with the most amazing actors who were all much older than me.

And they were such incredibly talented people. I felt so out of my league. And I started drinking. You'd think after what I saw growing up it would be the last thing I would do. But it was just like it was like quicksand pulling me in it was this irresistible force and the smoking and

I just realized on my 21st birthday I thought it is sink or swim you have one choice to make you can live or you can slowly kill yourself the way your parents did you felt that way you felt that strongly like this is it because you were a big drinker right when you were drinking it wasn't just one drink you drank I drank starting at like 17. So 21, I stopped everything. Yeah, that's amazing. That takes an incredible willpower.

I've never been a drinker, but, you know, it's hard for me not to have a smoke every once in a while. It's hard for me not to smoke a little pot every once in a while. Well, three times a week. You know, it's, you know, I have the demons, man. I definitely, we all do. And it's just how, you know, you know, sometimes the older you get, you're just like, oh, I want to feel like I felt when I was in my,

20s that you know you just didn't care and you were indestructible and you had endless energy and you didn't feel about you didn't think about oh it's going to be a 15 hour day on set you didn't care you're like you didn't think about hours you didn't even register yeah and now it just seems like how long is that going to take how long do I have to be that how long is it do you see that do you do that god of course yeah but the whole aging thing is so weird because it creeps up on you. I mean there's this wonderful Groucho Marx line that L.A.

is the only place in the world where you fall asleep by the pool and you wake up in your 87. I love that image because it's so true. Because there's no sense of seasons that you just turn around and suddenly you're 10 years older, 15 years older, and you think, what happened? But life is like

that too. Like just describing that moment at the Kennedy Center with Brian that I was describing to you. I was living it again. I was right in it. To me, that happened yesterday. And yet that was 40, over 40 years ago. Yeah. I'm older than I look. You look great. You do look great. You have so much energy. I mean, look, you said, I don't have time for narcissism. I don't have time for this. I'm living my life. Your father, when he said the great Conroy, you know, what went through your mind? And you know what exactly what it meant?

He's wasted his life, and I'm not going to do that. I mean, these are all obviously, they're singing in my head. I could, you know, it really makes me think. But is it something that you have to think about almost all the time to just make sure you're living in the moment, to make sure you're going day by day and not rushing through it? Yeah, I do. I have to remind myself all the time.

I hate that. I hate having to relearn a lesson that I've learned five, 10, 20 times. You're going through it again and you think, I've been here before. I knew this already. And yet I'm here again. There was a wonderful book that came out. I was like 40 years ago called Prisoners of Childhood. And it was re-released under a different title.

But it was by a psychologist who wrote that we spend our lives repeating the cycles that are established in childhood. and trying to correct them. Yes. And our lives doing that. Because you don't correct it the first time. You keep coming back to that and keep trying to make it perfect. But I am much less anxious than I used to be, much less. I got that down to a tolerable level.

That's very important. Do you, I know you go through this because you go to the conventions, and I've seen you at signings. We were in Ireland together in Dublin, and, you know, people are constantly saying, you know, for me, they're like, oh, say, I am the villain of the story. Do you hear, you know, I'm Batman. I want to hear that. You hear it all the time, right? So I'm sure it gets got, I mean, look, you love it, but you've done it so much.

Do you have to remind yourself when you're getting annoyed that this is just a gift that you just have to suck it up? I mean, it's got to get annoying sometimes. That doesn't get annoying because I know how lucky I am. Good. What gets annoying is when people get really intrusive about something. And that's when I have to take a breath and remind myself how lucky I am and to not react. I was at a con. I was at a con recently and I was sitting waiting for a car, I think, to pick me up.

and this guy was just standing in front of me with the camera and just kept following me with the camera, just wouldn't stop following me with the camera. And I said, excuse me, I'm not, I'm off now. You know, I'm going home. And he wouldn't stop. And he just kept in front of me. And finally I snapped him.

I said, would you turn that fucking thing off? And as soon as I did it, I thought, okay, that's the moment that's going to go on Instagram or something. You know, that's the moment that's going to get it. Did it go on there? No, no, it never, never, never. did, but I was so sure it would because he

just pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed. And he got their reaction he wanted, you know, and I fell into it. Because I just felt my space was so invaded. Right. But I have such great fans. I have such incredible support from the fans, but I am so appreciative when they come

to the cons. I love going to the cons. Yeah, I did too. I think you and I, I mean, I don't think everybody loves it. You do. You're great with the fans. I've watched you. You're great. Oh, thank you. I, you know, I just, not everybody is. Really? I don't, I mean, I guess I don't notice because I just want to have fun and I, you know, I think it's just part of me. It's just part of my personality. It's just like I'm here. And it's exhausting. And that's part of my personality that even though I like that part about me, there's many parts I don't like. But certainly when I'm on set and I'm working, I always feel like in between, I'm loud.

I'm laughing. I'm joking. I'm doing it. And I exhaust myself. Yeah. All of the other actors go to their trailers and they rest. Kevin Conroy goes and he reads a script or a book or takes a nap. Not Michael Rosenbaum. He's hanging out with the grips and the fucking set design. Hey, guys. Everyone loves you. Yes, but it's torturing me. I am this hermit because I'm back in my room reading a book. Inside of You is brought to you by Quince. I love quince, Ryan. I've told you this before. I got this awesome $60 cashmere sweater. I wear it religiously. You can get all sorts of amazing, amazing clothing for such reasonable prices.

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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. 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 well you know here's a good question i'm going to compliment myself before i ask it here's a good question you know uh no it's it's it's one of those things i mean look at you julyard and you've done all these plays and worked with the

greatest and so and then who had ever thought you'd become this uh amazing, have this extensive voiceover career. Like that, that's like, it has made you famous in so many ways, right? What was the likelihood of a New York actor who primarily did classics? I worked for Joe Papp at the public, a San Diego, Shakespeare, Hartford Stage. It did a lot of regional theater, did a lot of theater on Broadway and off Broadway. But a classically trained actor, what were the odds of the first animated audition

he's invited to do is the animation of Batman the first audition I went on for a voiceover. And you didn't even want to audition for that role. I wanted to audition for Borg because I thought those are the character, the character

you know, I could be a really good character. I thought that would be a more fun character. And because of the kind of roles I played, Edgar in Lear, Edmund in Lear, Achilles, Orestes, Prince Hal, all of these classic epic heroes that the one or all they would want me to read for is Batman, who is of all the DC characters, of all the animated universe. He is a classic Shakespearean type of actor. His whole life drama is a Greek drama.

I mean, it's so epic. It's so... His parents killed. Oh, yeah. It's a great drama. When Bruce Tim was describing to me the character, because the only Batman I knew was the Adam West Batman from the 60s. And Bruce Tim said, no, no, no, that's not what we're doing.

Everyone loves Adam West, but that's not what we're doing. He said, no, and he described to me the character of the tragedy of the background. So I just put myself into it, you know, just put in my imagination in the booth, I went to this place. And, you know, this dark kind of broody voice in that. And I sort of found. this character just in the audition, just improvising. And they essentially hired me on the spot.

They'd seen over 500 people. And I found out from Andrea afterwards, the casting director. Andrea Romano, who we love. That I had been recommended by a New York casting agent, Anthony Borneo, who she knew. Because she said to Anthony, I'm going crazy. I can't find a Batman. We've seen hundreds of people.

And he said, well, there's this really interesting New York actor who does classics, and he might be really interesting to you. So that's the kind of chance that wouldn't happen now. Because everything's stunt cast it now. Everything's about star casting. They were willing to look at an actor that no one had ever heard of, but who had the right instinct for the role and brought. brought the character to life.

I honestly don't think I would probably get the role today. And that's a sad thing about the way the business has evolved. But that was such a lucky moment for me. Because it was also the first show where they broke away from that daytime, goofy, broad, cartoony animation that had been done while we were kids growing up. and they were willing to go to this dark, dramatic, epic, film noir, incredible scripts, full symphony score, big casts of actors. It was like doing a movie every week.

It was such a huge departure for Warner Brothers. And the only reason they did it was because Gene McCurdy wanted to do it. And Bruce Tim wanted to do it. And Eric Rogomsky and Paul Dini, all the people that got involved were so excited. about doing this, but they knew they were doing something revolutionary. It hadn't been done. And what are the odds that I would happen to be in L.A.? I was a New York actor.

I happened to be in L.A. doing a pilot for a show. That's the only reason you went in. If you were not in L.A., you probably wouldn't have got this role. No, I wouldn't have gotten it. So everything about it was so fortuitous. It was such an odd thing that happened. And then it led to a, you know, 29 years of being involved with this character. How soon did your life change right after you got it?

How long did it take before you notice this is some, this is a difference? Something's happening. A long time because this was 91 when we started recording it. And we would do it in this funky little recording studio in Los Felas of the Rowena studio. And we weren't even on the Warner Brothers lot. So we were like this little gorilla group. of performers, you know, off on our own. And we didn't know what it was going to look like.

Because, you know, to do the voices first, you don't know for six months until it comes back on the anime what it's going to look like. So for those first six months, we didn't know anything of what it was going to like. We saw sketches, but no one had any idea that was going to be all painted on black. And it was going to be this massive artistic endeavor

with this full symphony score. I didn't know that. So I was just improvising this character. So it was before the internet. So you couldn't Google Kevin Conroy or Batman, you know. It was when voiceovers were still a very anonymous job. And I was used to it being anonymous. And I was cool with that.

Who is your favorite to work with in terms of like you have favorites, but to other voice actors who you just really love their passion and they were fun and it was easy? Besides me, who else? are my absolute favoriteest, favoriteest voice. I didn't mean me. I mean, like, even like in the early 90s, I mean, you were working with like Hamel, right?

To be honest, Hamel. So much fun, right? Hands down. You know this. Just a brilliant, crazy, complicated guy. And lovable as hell. Generous. No ego gets in the way.

Yeah. Loves other. actors, one of my favorite images of Mark is looking over at him and seeing him like watching the other kids, we're all recording together. And he's in the booth and I'm looking at him, he's watching another actor perform and he's like this.

He looked like a little kid looking in a candy candy store. Excited. This big, ridden of this. And I thought, that's Hamill. He so loves actors. That's so cool. Because most people don't do that, right? Most people are going,

oh yeah come on yeah well it's my turn or something and and he's yeah he's cheering them on it's just it's a good thing to to do to support your other actors to cheer them on you know it's the right instinct to have because he knows that the better i am the better he'll be because acting is reacting yeah if you're getting a great performance you have so much more to get to respond to and to give to and it will draw out of you but if you're working with a piece of wood you know someone who's giving you nothing it's it's a hundred times harder you know that is that why you called me wood Rosenwoodie that's what we call you Woody that's what we call you Woody wait a minute no Michael you are anything but wood well I don't know you know when you did the when you did

Batwoman which was recent for the infinite universe infinite uh what it's it Crisis on Infinite Earth. Crisis on Infinite Earth. When they called you and said, Kevin, live action, we want you to be Batman. He's a bad, bad Batman on this world and this universe. At first, we're thinking, fuck now. No.

Immediately, what's the first thought that came to eat? No, no, thanks. Well, they didn't tell me anything about Batman. They just said he was a Batman in the future. He was old Bruce Wing. and I said you mean like in Batman Beyond old Bruce Wayne they said well no he's not 80

but he's he's older and he's in bad shape and you're like thanks what the fuck hey man they don't you know they're so guarded with their scripts the studios as you know they don't give them out

so they didn't give me anything I got the script basically when I was about to get on a plane to fly to Vancouver to do the show. I hadn't seen anything. But you said yes. And I said yes, because I was so excited to do something on camera again.

I was so excited. How long it had been? 25 years. 25 years. Is that sort of by choice? Were you always pursuing that? Or did you just kind of say, eh, I'm doing this. I love my life.

I'll do plays. I'm not interested really in that. Or was it something like, fuck, come on. I got a little bit older. Rolls got more fewer. and I moved back to New York because I had been living in L.A. for a while because, as I said, I inherited a brother that I took care of.

So he lived in Connecticut. And so I had to be near him. So that meant doing more theater. And I didn't get any on-camera work after that. It just stopped. So I started doing more and more voice work. All right. So when you sued up as Batman and you're standing there on set,

live action are you nervous oh I was nervous are you feeling things you haven't felt in a long time oh yeah

but what was weird about it also was they had that exoskeleton did you see it yeah yeah I was in this suit of armor sort of

that was a external spine right his back had been broken by Superman and I didn't know that was going to happen so I was full of surprises

I didn't know I was going to try and kill Supergirl he was dark he was dark didn't you kill Superman on that on that universe didn't you kill Superman yeah the fans were not happy about they didn't like seeing that version of Bruce Lane but they liked seeing you but for me it was fun it was a lot of fun to sort of stretch my acting chops a little bit do you want to do it again are you ready to go I would love to yeah this was great the cast Ruby Rose, everybody

was fantastic wonderful to work with but they do like a movie a week it's a massive undertaking quickly quickly you know we didn't really talk about Robin Williams

but you know you roomed with Robin Williams you almost room with Christopher Reed it was too expensive with Chris was Chris I met him an unbelievable man I mean a genuinely real Superman was an angel

do you and you almost roomed with him but it was too expensive he was rich did I tell you that? I think I read it You read it Yeah

Where do people find this stuff out I don't tell anyone this stuff Well obviously it's true Everything you read is true I hear this stuff in interviews People tell me things about my career Or my life and I think I never told anyone mad

How did you know? Well it just you said it was more It was a little expensive So that's why you couldn't room with them Or something Yeah That's all it was Oh I so wanted to that apartment

It was a floor through Of a loft in Soho In 73 and it was something like I think it was like 700 a month or something or 800 and it would have been 400 each and that was just way, way, way out of my lead

I ended up getting a room in a rooming house for 150 a month you believe that on the west side of Manhattan that was my first apartment 150 wow but I couldn't there was no way I could swing it but I so wanted to because he was an upperclassman and he was really cool and, you know, he was part of the whole

Juilliard. Did he ask you to be his roommate? I think he just made, put it on the bulletin board that he was looking for a roommate or something. Right. But when I saw the floor through of this waft and these sliding glass doors, I remember, it was so New York, downtown dream apartment. I thought, oh, this would be so cool to have.

But there was no way I was financially going to do it. So, um, so Robin and I ended up splitting an apartment with a couple of other actors. So you lived and breathed like the same I mean you guys were eating together were you hanging out together

you and Robin you were all working together? We were all working together we were living together I was 17 I was 18 I guess when I moved in with Robin and he had already been through college so he was like 22 or 23 and

five years doesn't make a lot of difference between 40 and 45, but between 18 and 23, it's almost like a different generation. I was so much younger than him in terms of life experience. I mean, he was doing stand-up mind on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum. That's where he would go on weekends to make money. I would have been petrified to do that at that point in my life. I I just couldn't do that. And he was doing these performances in school of these characters.

He was a great, great, great character director, as you saw in like Mrs. Delfire and Moscow on the Hudson. But that was really his strong, his strength was character work. And he would create these characters. At the age of 23, he did like an 85-year-old man, and it was totally convincing.

He was lost in that. man. I always imagine him, someone like me at the time, probably running around the house naked, doing goofy things, making everyone laugh. Was he like that? Because I remember, I heard like I'm working in, he was always naked, walking around, opening his robe. It was just a different time. He wasn't trying to be a purve. He was just trying to be a fun, stupid clown, you know. Yeah, he was a clown. The thing about Robin that was a little difficult to live with is it never turned off. Never. He was always what you saw. That was not something that he turned. turned on. He was just, the on switch was always on. And in the middle of the night, you'd wake up and you'd hear voices coming from his bedroom. And there'd be different characters in there. Like the whole family was in there. But it was just Robin. And he was just having these conversations with these characters. He couldn't turn it off. And that got to be hard to live with.

Do you think that it was hard for him, too? He knew it. Yes. Yes. I think the reason he couldn't turn it off was because he was much more comfortable in that skin than he wasn't his own skin. It was hard for Robin to just be Robin. I found. There was one night.

He left Chuliard early because of a very, very dramatic. break up with a girlfriend in California and he ended up leaving and he would have these five-hour phone calls with her in the middle of the night

and that was back when you were paying you know, Ma Bell by the minute so this was insane what was going on. It was really insane. And the night that she split up with him, he had a meltdown And I saw all of that performance bravado manic energy melt. And he became this shaking, keening child.

His sound was coming out of him. And it was like, the only word I can think of is keening from the Irish play. and all I could do was hold him and just hold him there was something I could say he was shaking and I realized he was losing control and I thought this is the closest I've ever seen him be honest be him he wasn't performing and I was holding him like you would your son And we just, I was afraid to let go. It was afraid of what happened. Eventually put him to bed.

But that was the most intimate moment we ever had. The most honest moment we ever had. And we never spoke of it after that because I think he was embarrassed. I could see that because every time you see him, he was always on, always, always on. And that was a moment where you're like, he didn't, he doesn't have control right now. This is the first time in his life. And it was nice that you were there from. All right, this is really quick.

This is the end. by the way, this is, to me, this is one of the most extraordinary interviews I've had. I, I, no, no, it is because you have touched me and you have made me really think. And your stories, I am so, I'm captivated by them. I could, I could see these, these certain moments in your life, whether it's Robman and whether it's your father, whether it's the play when you're having a fight with Brian or the profound thing he said or when you first got Batman. And it's, for the first time, I think that I'm really like, I'm so lost in it that I feel like maybe this is my true first episode of where I feel like I'm really inside of someone.

So thank you for that. Thank you. Okay. These are, it's called shit talking questions. These are just my patrons. They, they, there's a thing called Patreon and they get to ask questions. So this is Spitfire. You just hammer out.

Ashley G. Would you, well, this is easy. Would you do more live action roles like the crossover or, or just stick to a lot of, voice over, mostly voiceover acting. Oh, no, I would love to do more live action. I would love it. Ryan C. Inspirations did you use for voicing Batman.

Now you talk about, you know, Shakespeare and things like that, but what were your real inspirations? Did you, it was just kind of kind of off the cuff? It was so off the cuff. It really was. It was just, but in terms of inspiration for a lot of the role, because Bruce Wayne's issues are with his parents. They're unresolved issues.

and I have to say I have gone back to moments in my childhood with especially my father who I still have a lot of emotion for it was a much darker moment with my father when I was about 16 where he tried to kill himself and I was the one who was sent to

identify him and talk to the police and pick up his car and stuff. And it was a very emotional night for me. Very, very emotional. It took me a long time to get past that. It was very bloody. And I've gone there periodically in recordings.

In fact, I did at one point, Andrea stopped the recording, and she came into the booth. You know, she doesn't do that. No. She put her arms around me. She said, I don't know where you just went, but it was unbelievable. Are you okay? Because I was just, I was just weeping.

Wow. Yeah, I'm okay. She said, I don't think so. She said, let's take a break, everybody. You know, Andre doesn't ever do that. When she loves you, it doesn't matter. I mean, I have always felt that with her. her that I could call her right now

and her and Rosario would just be there in a second you know they've come to Thanksgiving dinners and people like who are these these Santre and Rosario what fuck do you think it is but that's that's amazing and I think that a lot of most of the great actors probably the great actors have something to you know maybe that's why we had such

dysfunction if we didn't if we didn't have things in our life that happened you wouldn't have gotten Batman you wouldn't have been able to emote all these things but maybe on the flip side, you would have had a really healthy, happy, fun childhood, and you would have worked as a teacher in a fucking Westbury and everything were going to find. That'd be a pretty nice trade-off, actually.

You know, and I think that, too, I'm like, you know, Lex Luthor, oh, my, right, you know, and I've certainly tapped into a lot of dad stuff with John Glover, who you worked with, who we love, and you tap in. And when you can tap in, it is something special and something really hard sometimes, and it just brings that

a lot. I have been so many shows to together through the years. First thing that it was a Kennedy miniseries. I played Teddy Kennedy, and he played one of the family, um, extended family people. It was with, uh, uh, it was a huge cast for the BBC and the CBS, big mini series, Martin Sheehan and John Shea and Blair Brown. It was great cast. And then we did the George Washington miniseries with another massive cast. And then we did the production of measure for measure much ado

at Sandigo Shakespeare Festival and then Lear he played Edgar and I played Edmund and so we've

you know and then of course all the Batman stuff I've known John for like 40 years he's crazy oh

all right Stephanie besides Batman what other roles would you want to pursue where do you start I'd love to play

everything I wouldn't know where to start. I mean, you know that. Actors want to do everything. I had the most wonderful thing happen recently. Paul Dini and Alan Burnett have started doing a new incarnation of Batman the Adminid series of comic books. They've come out with a new series of comic books. And they asked me to do a live reading of the first issue.

Didn't you just do that? I just did it. Yeah. I said, well, which character? And they said, well, would you do like a reading of all the characters? And I said, oh, my God, would I love that. I would love that. So I did the cover-to-cover reading of it playing all the characters.

It was so much fun. Wow. It was like an actor playground. It was so much fun. That's glorious. Delcie Bader, Dietrich's White. Send me an email after that, and she said, We really love your drunk socialite.

She was great. Roxy, who was influential in your life, your choice to become an actor? Maybe that's two questions. Maybe it's one. It's interesting story. When I switched from Catholic schools, which I had gone to as a kid, to public schools, because we moved to a different town, they didn't have a Catholic school. I was very, as I said earlier, I was a very uptight kid.

I was very, I was in nuts, basically because of my home. but also because of the school. I mean, we had, you know, it was old school Catholic where you wear a, you know, a uniform every day. You do everything to clickers in the hallway. It was very nuns in full habits. It was very old school. Mass every morning.

And I suddenly was starting to this crazy public school. And I couldn't adjust. I could not adjust. I could not function. I didn't have to function. and they didn't know what to do with me. They thought there might be something wrong with me. And they were suggesting my parents sent me to some kind of remedial school

because they thought there was something wrong with it. And this English teacher assigned us Julius Caesar. This is in the seventh grade. And I went home and I'd never seen a play. I'd never read a play. I didn't know anything about the theater. I read it. I sat down.

It was like I understood what. Shakespeare was saying. I just got it. I'd never even seen Shakespeare. I'd never seen Nyambic pentometer. It was weird. That's weird because I, yeah. And I came in the next day, and I was exploding ready to talk about. And I came in with all this energy, she said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Why don't you come to my last period class? It's an advanced placement class. I want you to get involved in that conversation. So I came to last class and I was like taking over the room. No, Brutus was saying this and don't you know what this means? And she said, I want you to come with me and she took me to the guidance counselor.

She said, I am not going to suggest we put him in all advanced placement classes. I think we have not understood this yet. And I also want you to audition for the school play. Her name was Joyce Wilkes. She was an English teacher. Joyce Welsh. Joyce Wilkes. She saved my life. she saw something in me that no one else had seen and she took that day that moment he said we're putting you in different classes and we're putting you in the school play and i ended up getting the lead of the play our town and then i got then i ended up doing all the plays and then it just sort of took over my life i got on a stage and where most kids who are 12 get staged fright, freeze, I suddenly, all my nervous energy, all my tension, all my anxiety that I felt in my home, melted away. And I felt so at home. Wow. In that warm glow that comes on you on stage, I felt so liberated. Theater saved you. It literally saved me. And I still feel that way when I get on a stage.

I am so much more comfortable on a stage than I am off the stage. Off stage, I'm more circumspect and more... Guarded. Much more guarded. But I'm on stage, I just, I can do anything. I found that when I was 12. What are the chances of that happening? What were the chances of my meeting that wonderful teacher?

Think about things. Think about that. Think about what are the odds that you're there for pilot season and you just go and read for Batman? Look at the odds of all the... What are the odds? At that moment, Brian said, you know what? this is advice I'll give you. The one piece of advice

you took from someone who was kind of volatile and you didn't really, you know, you loved him, but you didn't really, you know. And these moments, in a way, they get you through, they help you, these little, he gave you that one moment, which was so huge in your life. It resonated for my whole life. Yeah, and someone saw

Mrs. Wilkes. It was Mrs. you know, Mrs. Johnson, who was Mrs. Paternoster, or Mrs. Meyer, or the few people, or the one casting director who believed in me. It's that one one, those very few people which can change the course of how things

go with your life. I mean, it's just incredible. Isn't that amazing? I really is. I had to come up to me at the Chicago Comic-Con. I've never forgotten this. And you've had this happen. She just said, can I hug you? I'd really

have to hug you. She said, you mean so much to me. I said, of course. And I gave her a And I was figuring, you know, it was just a fan hug. She started to cry, getting really emotional. And I said, it's okay, it's okay. I said, no, you don't understand what you did for me. She said, I grew up in the projects on the south side of Chicago.

And every kid I knew growing up is either in jail, dead, or on drugs. she said I got out because you were there for me every afternoon because my parents were working two and three jobs every day they were not home they were too busy trying to make money and you were the safe space for me every day and I learned so much from me and she was putting that all into me but it was Batman it was the character was the show right we did it as an actor you think oh my my God, the effect that you can have on someone is such a blessing. Because you know, you're so involved with doing the role, getting the role, performing the role. You tend to forget what effect it's having on someone and how something you do might save a child's life. Like that teacher saved my life. As far as she was concerned, she was just doing her job that day. Or Brian, when he gave me that bit of advice, he was just, you know,

tossing off a pearl of wisdom. He didn't know what to resonate with me for the rest of my life. We can all have such a profound effect on each other when we don't know it. That's why you always have to resist that impulse to be short with someone, you know what I mean? to let your impatience get the better of you. Yeah. Because we're human.

We all get impatient. Sure. But you can't. You can't. Yeah, and it took a long time for me. Not a long time, but I didn't. I was appreciative. I was grateful.

But there was a moment where I just sort of like, how could my performance, or how could something I've done as an actor, help someone in their life? That doesn't make any sense. it's just a show. It's just, you watch it and you, and so I didn't, I couldn't understand it. But then slowly, when people who, you know, soldiers said, hey, our Paul platoon in Iraq, we had the DVDs of Smallville, and that's all we used to watch and it got us through and you don't

understand. Or someone says, hey, my dad, you know, that's all we had was our Tuesday night Smallville and he died of cancer, but that's, that was our moment. And then I start to think about it And it gives me goosebumps, like, wow, we do have an impact. Oh, yeah. And by the way, and it's when you know it and you can do more. Well, if this has an impact, what else can I do to help? Because you can, you can do. We just did an L. May's thing for Ronald McDonald's House.

Tom, Kristen, and I got together and raised a bunch of money for a check. Just because we were on a show. If it's that easy, keep it coming. Exactly. I did a serious culture of duty. Oh, yeah. It was a great show. It was the first Vietnam show on TV.

And it really resonated with the Vietnam vets. And I would, because I was the captain, I was the one who at the beginning of the episode would tell everyone what to do. And at the end of the episode would say, good work, guys. I wasn't in the middle of the shows, right? So I had a lot of downtime.

So I would take advantage of that. And I would go do appearances for the VVA around the country at different centers. And the experience of being in these centers with these guys who were devoted to the show. There was one, it was either in Iowa, I mean, it was Iowa, Nebraska. And a guy, they were having a rap session,

which they organized because I was going to be there. and we all talked about how the show was affecting them with their experiences from the war and it was just a talk and this guy came in and I saw everyone react when he came in and I wondered what the reaction was and he just sat in the circle

and then he suddenly started saying you don't know you don't know you don't know You don't know what it was like. You don't know what I saw. I tried to stop him. I tried to stop him. And he just was back somewhere else.

And one guy put his arm around his back. And then another guy put his arm around his back. And then I got up and started. And we ended up making this huge cocoon around this guy who started. who started wailing, wailing and broke down. And then the organizer, the guy ran the Vietnam Center there, the vet center, took him aside with a group. And he came back to me and he said,

we've been trying to reach that guy for years. We could never get him to come in. We knew about it. and he must have heard about you're being here today and that was a major breakthrough for him no one's ever been able to reach him

and I thought the effect that the performances we do can have on people is so extraordinary it's so humbling Yeah. And it's also, what I gather from that is, I don't know what I would have done. And it's like, at least I did something that can have an effect and does have an effect. And it's nice because I never thought I had an effect on anybody's life. So it sure is, look, this has been extraordinary. I've learned so much from you. And I told you, I go, no, Kevin, 45 minutes an hour. That's all I need. And then I just can't stop. I can't fucking stop talking to you. I look, I love this. And I know people are going to go. They're going to go crazy because it's just real and visceral.

And that's what the listeners want. It's not just a show. We're like, hey, man, so tell me how you partied with someone. It's become this just kind of like how you get through life. And it helps people out there. You'd be surprised by your story will help so many people just about your dad relating to that or alcoholism or whatever it is. It is, I really appreciate you. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you. Were you worried? like, oh, shit, Rosenbaum. What's he going to ask me? What is this? Beautiful house, by the way. Thank you. What if it's a set? All right, break it down. Let's break it down. The interview's over.

Hey, Kevin, thank you for allowing to be inside of you. That's what we say at the end of these interviews. And I wish you the best. And I can't wait to see again. And I'll keep in touch. I'll keep bugging you. Okay, great. See you soon. Beautiful, man. Honestly, I thought I was going to get emotional. a few times when he talks about his dad, that moment with his father is just incredible. And the guy that was a kind of problem working with and he gets this advice. It's amazing that you can even get advice from people you don't like.

Or maybe he didn't say he didn't like him, but people that you might at the time, it's hard to work with. It's hard to do, you know. Got to look at the bright side of things, I suppose. You just do. Shout out to the patrons. Great episodes coming up. I told you some big, big news coming. And I can't wait to announce it.

just a, it's a really cool thing. And I hope it, uh, I hope it, it should be a great thing. And, uh, I just want to say thank you again for all the support and love. And I know it's, uh, I, I, I don't get political. Sometimes I, I mentioned things, but I, I don't do that. I think you want to get away from that. And, uh, if, you know, there's always that fear, people are going to leave if you talk political. Well, you know, no one wants to hear politics. I get it, you know. We are going, Rob Dancin and I, um, thank you for watching our stage hits and we're playing music and we're always looking for new covers and playing originals and we'll be doing one in a couple of weeks. So look for that on my Instagram. Another virtual

convention coming out. I'm on cameo. If anybody wants a cameo, you got to whore yourself out a little bit. I mean, I'm out there. This is what I'm doing. I'm at home like you guys. You got to figure things to entertain, things to do to keep your spirits up, keeping busy. I've had a lot of problems with my dog. Erv has had a lot of problems, and I've taken to the vet probably, I don't know, 10 to 15 vets in the last couple weeks. And, uh, from, surgeons to the and uh we're figuring it out and then i realized one of my friends said do you think maybe he's just getting old and i go no don't you dare don't he is old getting old you know and um i get upset i'm like you know i'm like come on buddy you get what am i what am i think he's

going to this all sudden rip off his fur and it's a big super s in the middle and he's going to like i was kidding here i am he's old man i got to just uh got to accept that and i got to give him the best life you can have and um you know i just bought this thing to help him get into the car you know the uh it's a pet loader so called pet loader it's these little stairs they just hold the you know it's like a briefcase but it um you know undues und does it so i can't it just when you open it up uh they're like little stairs into the truck and um it helps them and uh everybody just loves that dog including me i think that's what makes me the most sad is that you know when that time comes I think everybody knows erv all my friends my

celebrity friends my fans listeners my everybody my family it's irv and I just lost my grandfather in November and now I've got this old irv dog you know trying to I hope he doesn't understand what I'm saying for some reason I think he gets it he's like dude come on man I'm in the other room shout out to my uncle Warren who has the pet show go to Warren Eckstein if you want to listen to some good stuff you have any pet problems he's amazing um i've been watching the show alone not alone well i am alone watching a show called alone on history channel i just love it i started with episode six the arctic and i fell in love with it and um let's just say i loved it so much that i was emotional

and i got a hold of the winner and said you got to be in the podcast and they said sure so the winner of season six alone is going to be on the podcast soon i'm very excited about that talk about someone facing adversity uh all right let me give the shoutouts to patreon thank you so much ryan cue that music baby how about a little left on laura take him out man how about a little bit of uh i don't know so whatever you want man yeah that one ryan that's good stuff thank you guys again for listening to the podcast i'm telling you please tell everybody you know make him subscribe do all that stuff without you uh i'm not here And I like to be here.

This has become my sort of, I don't know. It's my escape talking to you guys. I'm like Grizzly Man. Remember Grizzly Man? He recorded all this stuff with the bears. And then he gets killed by the bears at the end. Yeah, let's not refer to that. Patrients, Nancy D. Leah asked Trisha F. Sarah V. Little Lisa,

you Kiko. Jill E. Brian H. Lauren G. Nico P. Berry I. Angelina G. Lee. Robin asked Jerry W. Emily K. Bob B. Robert B. Jason W. Stephen J. Kristen K. Amelia O. Allison L. Tom and Jess J. Lucas M. Raj. Joshua D. Emily S. C.J.P. Samantha M. Hamza. B. Jennifer N. Stacey B. Carly T. Jennifer S. Janelle B. Tab of the 272. Kimberly E. Crystal H. Mike E. Marissa Ann Ramira. Beth B. Chris F. Sarah F. Getting in sexy voice now. Mackie P. Rodrigo S. Ray Chen. Ray A. Maya, P. Megan D.

Jennifer C. Maddie S. Tiffany I. Kendrick F. Ashley E. Margie M. Thomas T. Matt W. Belinda N. Benjamin R. Lisa J. Kevin V. Robert S. Nicole M. Amber F. James R. Chris H. You guys are amazing. All my patrons are amazing. These guys go above and beyond. Top tiers. Thank you. Top tiers for keeping the show a lot. And, you know, I appreciate you. I got some new merch coming as well. So inside of you store, we've got great stuff.

I just sold out of autograph mugs. If you want an autograph mug, they're available. They're coming in the mail any day. But we'll probably go through those pretty quickly. They went through quickly. Also, I got some other items and telling you guys on Patreon, the top tiers, you'll be getting some of these products, you know, you there's merch boxes the top tiers you'll be getting these things so you don't have to get

them i'm just giving you a heads up so guys thank you for allowing me to be inside each and every one of you spread the word and uh thanks for tuning in i hope you continue to do so i'm here if you are so thanks Hi, I'm Joe Sal C. Hi, host of the Stacking Benjamin's podcast. Today, we're going to talk about what if you came across $50,000. 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 edition that we're adding. $50,000. I'll buy a new podcast. You'll buy new friends. And we're done. Thanks for playing.

everybody, we're out of here. Stacky Benjamin's, follow and listen on your favorite platform.