Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - KRISTIN KREUK: Smallville Memories, Facing Rejection & Midlife Reflections

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

Kristin Kreuk (Smallville, Burden of Truth) opens up in this week’s episode about the surprising turns of her career and the lessons learned along the way. From the sting of being fired from a pilot to the unexpected path that led her to Smallville, Kristin reflects on rejection, resilience, and finding her voice. She also talks about midlife health changes, family history, and what truly matters most to her outside of the industry. Thank you to our sponsors: xxx __________________________________________________ 💖 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/insideofyou 👕 Inside Of You Merch: https://store.insideofyoupodcast.com/ __________________________________________________ Watch or listen to more episodes! 📺 https://www.insideofyoupodcast.com/show __________________________________________________ Follow us online! 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/insideofyoupodcast/ 🤣 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@insideofyou_podcast 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/insideofyoupodcast/ 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/insideofyoupod 🌐 Website: https://www.insideofyoupodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And if you are just here for Kristen Krug, great. But if you're here for me, all I ask is if you like the interview and you're like, hey, I want to hear some more interviews, subscribe, Brian. You know, that's not asking too much. Subscribe, listen to some more episodes. Maybe you'll just like this podcast, which I think you will. And a lot of great guests coming up a lot. And there's one in particular that's going to blow your minds.

So keep listening. I promise you. And a few things before we get into Christian Krook. the smallville cruise is happening next year sign up go to cruisville.com i'm doing a big pajama karaoke night to get the festivity started hopefully ryan will be coming right how you doing oh me fine great what's yeah me fine why what's up going on uh yeah it's uh i just got off a cruise and so i'm a little out of it but if you want to go to my instagram at the michael Rosenbaum and go to my link tree. There's cameo. There's the cons that I'm going to. There's the

Cincinnati con. Tom and Chris and I will be at. Sold a lot of Smallville Knights tickets. So you might want to get those. Go to Cincinnati. Also, the inside of you online store has a bunch of great stuff. You want to get it. If you want to get a Funkopopop that's Lex and it's me actually signing it, go to my site inside of your online store. Smallville lunch boxes signed. Other scripts, Lexmus sign the pilot episode t-shirts tumblers i got the best tumblers in town pictures of me all that stuff and more uh rosy's puppy fresh breath is available on amazon you can hit the link on the instagram uh for your dog's breath my book that uh the talented farder is out it's also coming out in a spanish version see see well you're half mexican i am i don't know enough spanish them

bienninos of those estatesinos you think of a grande cabesa see see that means i have a big head welcome to the united states i have a big head i got that okay those those words i know um who don't want to give a big shout out to on the podcast you know universal horror nights i am going to universal horror nights and this is the most fun here in hollywood they it's such an amazing night you feel like a kid again um you go through these mazes they have themed mazes and fun food and things you could buy. It's just like a great night with your friends or your family. So go to Universal Horror Nights.

Tell them Rosenbaum sent you. It's a great time. And also I want to shout out delusion. If you haven't heard of delusion and you like horror and you like the Halloween season, look into going to delusion. It's like a 45 minute to an hour maze figuring things out. and creepy and fun delusion look at it it's in hollywood you could find it you might want to you do want to go there i'm going i go every year i love delusion i love horror nights at universal

it's my time it's it's something i love look at these horror movies all around this room these posters i love horror and uh you're going to have a great time so go to universal horror nights and go to delusion i just want to say that they're not sponsoring the podcast or anything but I just love it and um yeah that's all I could say um Robert thanks Robert warden warden thanks for all the uh ship keys that I sell on my inside of you online store page those are amazing and join Patreon patreon patreon.com slash inside of you if you want to join patron and support the podcast give back um we try to give you as much entertainment as we can and we have great guests and we just ask if you want to join patron

support the podcast. There's a lot of tears. You can get packages for me every three months and get your name shattered on the podcast. You could be on the podcast and much, much more. And it's built such a great friendship. So join patreon.com slash inside of you. Do it. Help the podcast. Let's just get into it. Want to? Sure. Let's get into Kristen Krook. It's my point of you. You're listening to inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum. Inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum was not recorded in front of the last studio audience. Are you excited about the Smallville Creation Con coming up? I don't know.

I mean, it'll be interesting. I haven't seen Sam in a hot minute. I haven't seen Sam since we were on the television program. You're a little shiny on your forehead. I wonder if you want, does it matter? I don't have powder. I mean, it doesn't matter. I just want to look out for you.

Yeah, that's better. I have healthy, glowing skin. Yes. We're going to keep that, by the way. No, but it'll be nice. I mean, there's a lot of people that are going. It seems that I never worked with. Although Eric's coming now, isn't he?

Eric Johnson. Yeah. It'll be great to see him. He's such a nice guy. I adore him. He and I did years ago now. God, like 10 years ago, a play. We did a reading of a play together in Toronto.

Right around when I, near when I wrapped Beauty and the Beast, it was really, really fun. He just is very calm and gentle, just a good soul, you know? He's a good man. And also, unlike the rest of us, he remembers everything about Smallville. He remembers all these details and has all these stories. He was very present and not terrified, I don't think, not like the rest of us were. Maybe not you. You weren't terrified.

But his memories are very, very like there. So it's nice to hear him tell the stories. Yeah. Do you remember, you know, because he left the show after what season? Was it the first season? First season. Yeah. I feel like he was in the second season, but not as a regular.

Yeah. Do you remember him telling you like, this is it? They're not going to bring me back. Or did you have any idea? I had no idea, but listen, I think I was oblivious to everything that early on. But he does talk about that and how hard that was and how devastating that was. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, it's got to be your own, like, one of the biggest shows at the time. And then all of a sudden, they're like, yeah, we're not going to bring you back. So it hurts your ego, even though it had nothing to do with his character. I mean, you know, him. Has that ever happened to you? Has that ever happened where they, you know you didn't oh i've been fired i was fired from a pilot that i did uh or i didn't do that i didn't know about this you didn't no yeah yeah i was fired it was interesting it was i

forget the name of the pilot and i the christin crook pilot was it called the could you imagine it's the christin crook pilot uh untie whatever and you're fired from her at show i've seen that but yeah it was a comedy it was a it was a full half hour which i've never done and so i And I don't, I don't understand half hour comedy. I don't understand how a joke works. I don't understand any of it. And I think that I can be funny, but I get by on just, you know, I don't know. Quirkiness.

Yeah, exactly. But like I, Eugene Levy was in it. And I remember watching him and the man understands a joke, like really just gets the math of a joke and can make anything funny. And I, I couldn't do that. But it was, it was, yeah, it was hard. but I wasn't, I wasn't right for the project. I don't think the project was working fully. I just don't think any of it really came together.

Did you audition for it? Yeah, I auditioned for it. Wait a minute. You auditioned for it so they knew what they were getting. And then they're like, then they're going to fire you. But listen, once you go to a table read and remember those comedy table reads, you know, because I didn't know. It's all about making the jokes work at a table, not on a stage, in front of the studio and the network like you're just standing sitting there in front of everybody reading a text and trying to make jokes work did you feel like after the reading where you're like i'm i was terrible

did you think that or you're like oh that was fine no i didn't think it was working but listen people get fired after table reads all the time it's a really common occurrence um but i think they needed to make a significant change to make the thing work and and I totally get that was that easy no being fired sucks but I mean the pilot never went the the show never went I mean um and I ended up doing this audition afterward with god I can't remember his name either my brain but he he's an acting teacher and he was uh going to direct a film and I went to go audition for him and I think it was my best acting experience for years that audition was so wonderful and freeing and it felt like oh acting is fun i forgot how much fun this is so there was a

silver lining yeah you know i um i was let go of a show after the pilot so i was supposed to play this sort of astronaut it's called mission controls with christin ritter and bruce campbell and so many funny people and the funny thing is is like the director and the creator like um what's uh Will Ferrell's partner's name is old partner, Adam McKay. He would come up to me and go, you are freaking hilarious for watching the dailies. You are so funny. Oh my God.

Keep doing what you're doing. I'm like, thanks, man. And I brought family on set. And then towards the end of the pilot, the creator's like, hey, can we, we're going to change your lines just so you know, you'll be off camera. so it'll be ADR and I go wait you're cutting that that line's hilarious because I know the network just thinks it's too chauvinistic or whatever I go do in the 60s astronauts and like I'm playing that character he's like I know I know you're preaching the choir and then the next week he called me and goes

hey we need to change this line and then this line and it started to happen and then um I was like hey why don't we have the group come over and watch the pilot together so the whole cast came over watch the pilot and I watch it and I go oh my god I kind of got a little like numb going none of my funny stuff is in there and the first thing I thought I was like I don't want to do this show they're they cut all my stuff and so they were um it was the day they was supposed to pick the show up and one of the producers Owen called me and he was in tears and he was like rosy I don't even know how to say this but we got to let you go and I go what he goes it's not you it's like the character they want to read read the character they think it's too

blah blah and i go okay uh well look let's not make this weird hopefully you'll think of me in the future and uh thanks for the opportunity and i hung up and i remember just sitting in my office and i was kind of staring at the ceiling at this light fixture um a cap in the wall where a light fixture would go and i just remember staring at it for like a minute or two and i took a deep breath and I just kind of go, you're all right, you're alive, you've got your dogs, you've got this house, you've got your life. This is not, let's not let this. And, but it's still, it's still stung a little. And then the show never got picked up. And then something else happened. And I got the show in pastor like a month later and everything. And that showed and get, but I do remember

feeling inadequate. Uh, and a little bit like my ego is. kind of you know it's like holy shit you're firing me i'm funny right and um it is difficult it's like you can't let that get you but especially you know um when you're younger it's worse the the older you get you sort of like can deal with it a little better i think yeah you know like if you got fired now would you be as devastated uh i have a cat here so if you hear meowing just don't be when i be i think it depends i don't know being fired as an actor is always it's always in the back of your mind at least it's it's always a potentiality like there's there's there's there's the risk that it will happen yeah would I be so

devastated I don't know it depends it depends on how invested I was in the part that's true if it's something you really love and want to be a part of it's like then it's it's different it varies yeah or if I thought that I was doing good work or um but there's so many reasons actors get let go so so many reasons and some of that happens after testing like a project goes out to test and the audience doesn't like you or doesn't like the character or doesn't like your voice or your hair or your whatever it may be and if it's enough of a a detriment or what they perceive as a detriment for the possible future of the show then you know my friend one of my close close friends i won't say his name he was it was called the blank blank project it was him

and it was like Will Ferrell again was producing and this and that and he did the table read and after his agent called him in his hotel room goes hey buddy they're letting you go he's like what it's my show he's like yeah the table read they didn't like it and they just could you imagine the lead the Michael Rosenbaum project oh Michael Rosenbaum you're fired what no what does it crazy it was i i would have been devastated if that was the case that would have been like holy shit what do you i know this is a non sequitur but what do you use on your skin i mean you're over 40 woman and you look like you're like so yeah i mean you're not using the nutrigena shit anymore are you no i uh i don't know i mean it's not shit you people ask me these questions and i

and i i feel like a lot of it is uh uh look but wait a minute what do you wash your face with what do you um i change it up right now i'm using a la roche pose a cleanser um but that that i depends if i'm on a show i'll use like a more heavy makeup remover kind of a delio but you don't get zits ever do you um i've never been a zitty person i went through a phase in my life where i was really stressed out and i i for the first time I broke out on my forehead. But yeah, I'm not, I never, even as a teenager, I didn't get zits. I mean, what a blessing.

You know, do you ever think if Newtugina called you again and said, listen, Kristen, I know it's been years, but we want you back, the older you, and we want to do a campaign. Would you consider it? I'd have to go look into their business practices first. Oh. I struggled even to agree to do campaigns back then because I was like, do they test on animals? Who's their parent company? What's going on?

what are the practices overseas how are they like i just have a real panic about the ethics of it but yeah i'm just like you're gonna pay me all right let's do it and then you find out and you're like no of course now i look into it when we have sponsors i look to see like all right who's doing this who's uh you know we look into it and if it's something that i don't believe in or whatever i definitely will say no yeah i think it's our our that's our responsibility i think that would be a good call though she's back the nutrigena woman she was the neutrugina girl now she's the new trigina woman no i don't know it's not going to happen this is a this is a ridiculous discussion about nutrigena yeah i just wanted to say it i just thought it was kind of funny inside of you is brought to you by wayfair i love wayfair

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Reach your financial goals faster with RocketMoney. Go to RocketMoney.com slash inside today. That's rocketmoney.com slash inside. RocketMoney.com slash inside. But, you know, you and I were talking about health at the last convention. And by the way, I noticed at the last convention, we're doing a Q&A at this con. And we just started, like, laughing and talking within our group. And I go, guys, there's a thousand people here.

We, you know, and everybody laughed. And I think people were really enjoying us, how we got along. And then Tom said something that was really nice about how there's just like this mutual. you know we have this love for each other we we've known each other a long time we're not like the best of friend we don't like hang out all the time or talk all the time but when we're together it feels like we we never missed a beat or maybe we've gotten closer um how do you feel about that no he's right it's it's fascinating because i mean we were joking at that convention at that panel tom came out to dinner with us with us girls yeah i was guys i was baffled tom welling clark kent on

smallville went to dinner with christin and her boyfriend uh erika and her boyfriend yeah and laura and her fiance yeah and it was just tom and there were other people there as well it wasn't it's a better story if it's just tom though it's a better story yeah but any regardless tom would never do that he's always on his own he's always doing his own thing he doesn't have time and i was like you went to the dinner and everybody started laughing Yeah, that's what it was like. He walked in the door and I was like, what unicorn is this? But I say it because this is only because we've been doing these conventions for years.

And I think about it. I mean, I wouldn't be doing these conventions if it weren't for you. Tom wouldn't be doing these conventions if it weren't for you. And I know that Tom joked on that same panel that you were asked about your friendship. And he said, it's all Michael. And I do think that a lot of this closeness is not just all, it's not all you, obviously, but a lot of it is because you made the effort to ensure that we were always there. You made, you convinced us.

You took years to convince some of us to participate. And I'm so grateful because, yes, we get to have this lovely connection with the fans, but also with each other. And we see each other a bunch of times in a year. And I get to see Erica more often because we live in the same city. And I've built a stronger relationship with Laura. And there is something. There's like, and I think maybe that's partly why the show went for as long as it did.

There's a chemistry between the cast. There's a, there's something between us that works. And that made the show last and have longevity and made people want to watch it, I think. Well, first of all, I really appreciate that. That's kind of you to say. Yeah, I just, I guess, part of me was just like, you know, this is, this is not only an opportunity for us to hang out or whatever, but really it's like, you know, I think you're going to enjoy it because you'll see what an impact the show had by meeting your fans and how much love there is for what we did. And also, you can make some money and you get to go to different cities. I just think it's a win-win. And I was like, Kristen, Tom, it's like, you know, you just, just try it. Just, you know, I mean, a lot of times my thought is, What am I going to do on this weekend?

Well, most weekends, what do you do? All right, maybe I'll go to the beach or something. Or maybe I'll just have friends over. But you can do that any time. But to go to a con, to get away, to make people happy, to make money, it's all great. And to see you guys, it's always fun. It's like we haven't missed a beat in terms of we razz each other. Yeah.

No, it's really good. And I think that we've all been through so much. many changes in our lives and we've witnessed those changes. And I do think that I think we're all just getting older. So the conversations become a little bit more pressing. You go through more heartbreaks. Things just get harder as you age. And I and I think when we talk about Tom showing up for that dinner and even saying what he said on that panel, I think that's an indication of midlife. And we are in the thick of mid. I think that's true. I think the, older we get, you hopefully will realize what's important. And that it's all really just

memories, moments that you have, that you can share with people, the smiles, the something that's touching. You know, I think, I think it's important. And you don't realize, I wish I would have known this. I mean, hindsight's 2020, but like when I was younger that, hey, remember this. This is cool. Like, look, walk on the set and go, I get to do. do this because i think you get in your head and you sometimes it's ego and sometimes it's youth and whatever immaturity and you're just kind of going through the motions you're like oh we got to do this okay we got to but the the more you pay attention to things and be present and you know it's so cliche and people you should be present it's like especially with technology and everything

it's it's it's a really cool thing that you can just say hey i'm going to turn my phone off for an hour Hey, I'm going to talk to someone and get to know something about them that I didn't know, like we're doing now. So let's get into it. You said, you know, we talked about health and you're like, we could talk about it. Yeah. You're taking testosterone. Yeah, I'm taking. So I'm 42.

I turn 43 this year. That's right. Right? Yep. And I'm friends. Most of my closest girlfriends are a little bit older than me. So we're all right in the thick of those big perimenopausal shifts, hormonal shifts. And so I got my hormones tested.

And on the whole, I'm pretty decent. Everything's typical. I'm noticing little changes, and I've been noticing them for a while. But my testosterone levels were low. And that happens, I think, I'm not an expert. I'm not a doctor, but I think that happens to all of us. as we age, men and women both, our testosterone levels go down. See, I didn't know that I wasn't aware, I mean, I should be more educated, but I never

really think about women taking testosterone. I always think of guys taking it and getting bulked up and getting this. But I never really talked to a woman about it. So I love the... I think women haven't spoken about it. And I don't know how much it's been researched. I know that it's more common now that women are having testosterone replacement therapy. And it's never a lot.

Like a man needs quite a significant amount of testosterone. A woman does not. But we need some. And it is part of our, yes, muscle, our ability to build muscle, our ability to recover, our sexual health. All of those things are linked to testosterone. Again, I'm not an expert. This is my understanding based on what I've enjoyed. Don't listen to her, but try to understand.

where she's coming from. So I had noticed a bunch of things that I hadn't really, I mean, my sleep started to get wonky and I'd always been a decent sleeper. I felt like I had a little bit more fuzziness, like brain foggy fuzziness in just my daily existence. I decided to try it because I had other friends who had done this and said it had changed everything. It had made a huge difference.

It made a huge difference with you. And it made a good difference. difference with me. I wasn't so, my symptoms weren't so extreme as some of the women that I speak to about this, especially older women, women in their 50s, who've already probably gone through menopause or on the other side of it and they're dealing with the effects on the other side of it because they're quite significant. But it made a big difference. Like I remember one day I was driving the car and I was just like, whoa, I feel like I'm here. I feel like I am here in my car driving down the road and I hadn't felt that way in a while and it just felt like

I was grasping at presence like we talk about presence you need to be present for your life to feel like it isn't like blasting past you and I and I couldn't hold it not like I could when I was a teenager and I didn't know what it was but I think a part of it is perimenopause these shifts really start to impact how you perceive your identity how you move through the world and how you experience it so Yeah, it's been, it's been lovely for me, and I'll just keep monitoring where I'm at, and I'm really open to trying different things so that I can move through the transition in the best way possible for my body. Do you inject yourself? It's not an injection. Oh, it's not.

I inject myself once a week. Once a week with testosterone. Yeah. Just because I was a little low, so it just balances everything out. Yeah. No, it's not an injection, so that's good. I don't have to do that. A lot of what women are offered are gels and creams.

And you notice it's weird. Oh, I'm going to put this gel on. And then after I do it for a week or two, I'm going to start feeling a difference. It's like it's hard to, it feels like for me, it's like an injection. Okay, this is going inside the bloodstream. Right. Not that it's not with a balm or whatever. But, hey, however, you know, so you do that how many times a week?

Well, I kind of don't want to go into the details about the methods because what I'm doing is perhaps slightly. So listen, I'm also Canadian. And the American system is very different. So your regulatory system is different. So the options I have available to me in Canada are regulated differently than they are in America. Sure. And so if I get into the nitty gritty of it, I feel like maybe I'm doing a disservice to people who should just go talk to their doctors and figure out what the best course of action would be for them if they're feeling certain symptoms and they're at a certain age. Let me ask you this.

You've always been in long relationships for the most part. You're not somebody who just dates for a month and then breaks up. You're someone who kind of connects with someone and it goes at least a year, a couple years. Well, yeah. I mean, listen, it's mostly been nine years. It's like my, my, my, my, my, I tend to do nine years. Yeah. What do you think is the most important thing? I mean, there are different components, but like for a healthy relationship. What do you look for in a relationship? Oh, gosh. Like, what's, what's, what's, what's mandatory? Communication. Communication is mandatory. A, a desire to build self-awareness. To use the relationship as a place from which to become better. Also shared values, I feel really that's important and shared interests because it's so easy to just, but not like completely the same because you want to be able to come apart and come together and come apart and come together. Like you don't have to read the same books. You don't have to watch the same movies.

Somebody could like something else. And you'd be like, okay, that's what you like. But at the core, I feel like there's that, I didn't used to believe this. I believe this now. There's that like kind of intangible connection between individuals that happens mysteriously for reasons I don't understand. But beyond that, it has to be about communication and a willingness to be vulnerable and a willingness to go deep and to go there.

Because for me, that's the point of relationships. is to enrich my life, to become a better person, and to feel the fullness of what it means to be human, which is both within the pain of being human and the joy of being human. And I feel like your primary relationships and your beloved, your lover, is a way, another way to go deep in your life. Yeah, I'm finding this out. what do you mean no no no i'm fine you know i'm just in general it's like every relationship is different and um you you look back and you think i wasn't really mature then i didn't i didn't

really know myself and i didn't uh communicate as much as i should have and and sometimes you almost force yourself to stay in something that you know in your gut is it doesn't really work but you don't really know how to get out of it. And that's a whole other thing. Over and over again. And in the past, I wish I would have gotten out sooner going, hey, I'm wasting your time. I'm wasting my time. You know, it's like, I love you.

You think, I think you're amazing. But there's just something that just doesn't feel connected or right. Do you think that that's definitely happened to you in the past? Of course. God, it's just relationships are challenging. Knowing yourself is challenging. growing older we're back to this conversation about midlife

but you're not that old but I'm mid I'm middle aged I'm not old I'm not saying that but I'm saying you come to the point where you're like okay how much time is there and I've been like this my whole life

listen I was a the minute I turned 12 I was like my childhood is over and I knew I would be 40 in the blink of an eye and this is just the young person I was see you're funny screw you jean levy in that show you are funny look at that no but that's just the the human the little human weirdo that I was and so this is the way I think

I think about I keep thinking forward right and I and I our lives I mean even if you believe you come back even if you believe in reincarnation even if you believe in an afterlife of some sort and I don't know what I believe in, but this is it. We have this, this one life that we are conscious of in this form with these experiences. This is it. So I feel like as you get older or maybe it's just me, the question of is this, right, is this where I want to be becomes much more present because I don't have all the time in the world and it's only going to get harder. I have my parents are going to struggle uh i'm my friends are going to get sick eventually i don't know what's going to become of me this is going to get harder and jesus christ this is how i think about things

michael no i do too i do too and it's like while you're speaking all i'm thinking is like stop wasting time on bullshit start living your life now start doing the things you want to do be around the people you that inspire you or that motivate you or lift you up and don't bring you down it's like there's so many facets to this equation you know that that yeah i always say you know when people are going through a tough time i'm like it's life you're going to go through the worst but there's always also going to be bright spots around every corner you just got to have your eyes open keep them open and you know it's like yeah i i think about this stuff all the time i i not that i had a death wish but when i was younger i never thought i would live past like high school i didn't

think i'd make it through high school then i was like i'll never go to i'm not going to go to college and then i went to college and i just thought man in the blink of an eye and i've been very lucky you know with having grandparents to live as old as they did yes um but now that i'm 53 Three, death, I'm starting to really think about it, not myself so much, but about, you know, your mom, your dad, your uncles and aunts and the people you love, you're like, oh, they're 78. How long do they really have? And then when you really want to get sort of creeped out, you're like, okay, let's say my mom lives till she's 90, 90. that's 12 years i see her once so i'm going to see my mom 12 more times right and you start to think how often do you see these people and um and you can go down sort of this rabbit hole and and go dark but

i think it's just important to you know as uh who said it uh what's the singer um say what you need to say John Mayer. Say what you need to say. John Mayer. Yes. All right. So, look, this has been good life chat with Kristen Kruek, but it's important. I think that, you know, words of wisdom.

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Are you prepared for your parents? No, absolutely not. Am I prepared for, like I had, so there's a gene that runs in my family. It's called Lynch syndrome, and it's, it's a cancer, it increases your risks of cancer quite exponentially. And it runs on one side of my family. I got tested for it. I don't have it. Thank God.

but I have I have a friend who does it's very rare and it's weird that I would have a friend who does but that friend is going to have to take some serious measures to mitigate that risk and what we're in our 40s yeah do your parents have it um yeah my dad does yeah and how old he 60 yeah I mean he was 25 and I'm so he's and I'm 42 So he's 69, calculate it goes seven. Right. And so, but you never know when that is going to kind of kick in, right? It could be dormant.

Listen, my dad had cancer a bunch of years ago. That was, you know, he's through that. But Lynch is Lynch. You never know. You never know. Yeah, I could tell it kind of, it bothers you a little. Like just, you know, not talking about it, but I could see that like it obviously affects you knowing that he had cancer, knowing that he has this. And, you know, it's, it's difficult.

I guess all you can do is you just can't, you can't think about it all the time. You just have to say, I'm just going to enjoy every second I can. Yeah. And look, the treatment for cancer is so much better than it was. and I don't think it's a death sentence for people all the time, obviously. So. Yeah. But yeah, I mean, we're getting very, but I guess everyone goes through these things.

This is the substance of our existence. You know, it is about living until our deaths. That is what living is. It is this process until dying. So I think really facing our end is, I think maybe for me is the best way live my life to be present in the knowledge that I will end as often as I can be. And I think that's why people always have momentum mores and why people get certain tattoos or whatever. It's just a constant reminder that this is finite. Yeah. And I have, you know, for me,

it's hard because I don't have the relationship you have with your parents. Um, you know, I love my parents. Something happened to them. I might be obviously really upset. But I never had that deep connection with them i've never had that so i think it scares me more thinking like am i going to all of a sudden fall apart because all these things that were never addressed right um and and people say we'll address them now just them now it's like it's not that easy it's not these aren't things that you can address in in my world you just have to do you want to address them are these things you want to address i think i have in so many ways i think um but you know sometimes i thought you know man i want to write my mom a letter and just really think it out and just

explain to her you know how i feel and the only thing is i think that she might there's a chance she might have early stages of dementia and uh-huh uh i'm not sure how that would go um so i don't want to upset her you know but at the same time i mean upsetter but also it's it would be an email that has the good and the bad but the love and all that so i don't know it's something i have to work through but let's jump to uh uh yeah let's jump to jump to you know you started with edgemont and you auditioned for smallville you put yourself on tape no I didn't I mean this was back when when there were cast they had smallville hired casting directors all over north America maybe they did hire people in uh England as well I don't know but I went to a casting office in Vancouver this was before the show was supposed to shoot in Vancouver I don't think Nutter had um settled on Vancouver as the place where the pilot was going to shoot at that time do you remember even like when your agent said there's a show it's a superhero show do you remember even thinking eh I don't care I'll go go in, I'll half ass it, you know, I won't really.

Do you remember what you're kind of, it was a long time ago, but do you remember the sort of logic going into it or are you one of those that just go into an audition and then after it's over, you forget about it and moving on? Okay. We're going to go way back, everybody. We're going to take this time you back. We're going to know Kristen at 18. I had just graduated high school.

I had not considered an acting profession. I was not, I was not like working towards a career. I had just got an agent because I had, I had to because I needed someone to negotiate a deal for Snow White, which is a movie, TV movie I have done. I was given a bunch of auditions and I would go into one particular casting office the most. When I got the audition for Smallville, it was a bunch of papers. I didn't know anything. I didn't know to look for anything. I didn't know how to analyze the text.

I didn't know anything. So the honest truth was I read the papers and I was like, this is a cheerleader. I don't want to play a cheerleader. That doesn't feel right for me. I don't even believe in cheerleaders. And listen, everyone is a cheerleader. It exists. It's incredible.

You're saying you don't really believe in like yourself being a cheerleader. That's all. No, but I was a righteous. 18 year old who was like why do we have half naked women dancing on the sides of men's sports games where are they when the women are playing like i just found it weird understandably the sport the sport is wonderful but i i had some issues with it so i i struggled i struggled with it and i did the papers i read it and and i just it was like another thing i didn't i never expected to get stuff how long after you left the room how many days or weeks before they got another call back that i have

no recollection uh when when because i went from doing that audition to going to test in los angeles so i did the audition i had another i had another movie i think that was interested in me for something um so so we were pushing the reason that i ended up testing before tom before any of the Superman, the Clark Kent, it's because I had another job lined up if they weren't going to test me immediately. So they flew me out as quickly as possible to test me so that I wouldn't take the other job. Wow. And obviously the test went well. I bet you were a nervous wreck. Sort of, but I also, here's, I think, the key to my early success. I didn't care one way or the other if I did this job. It wasn't my vocation. I wasn't dying to be an actor. I didn't

feel it in my bones. And that's crappy for so many people who did and do. But I, that's just the reality of where I was at. I had every intention of going to school and, you know, having a career. As a forensic scientist. Yeah, but it probably wouldn't have been that way. I think I probably would have i can see myself as like a clinical psychologist i could too man i wish you would i i watch all those shows i would be just like you know you know it's like but because of forensics you know detectives were able to find the DNA that matched yeah that'd be cool so you got the so when you got the part were you kind of shocked yes but again when you have nothing to measure against. See, I would have been the nervous wreck at the time. I was just like, I wanted, I needed

her, you know, with different roles. And, you know, there's, so that's, you, you're right. You know, you, earlier on, you, early on, you said something about when you were 12, you were thinking about being 40. And like, you're, in a way, you were almost 40 when you were 12. You were, you had this innate maturity that most people just don't have. And maybe that's your upbringing, right? I think that has something to do with it. You were well read. You, uh, you know, your parents were reasonable smart reasonably they were smart they were driven you know they worked hard i also got sick when i was a young age right i was in the hospital for a month when i was like six years old that scoliosis i had a strep bacteria that traveled into my hip and

they had to remove the bacteria and put me on antibiotics those those are life-threatening illnesses and so i i feel like my seriousness that i had as a kid was earned through those experiences, although I was born that way, too, I think. My temperament was very grouchy. Did you almost die? I could have, but we, listen, I woke up in the morning. I had pain in my hit. My dad said, suck it up, kid, you're fine, which is what he always said. And by the end of the day of the school day, I couldn't stand up. And so they put me in an ambulance and I went straight into surgery that night. So I don't know if it had gone on longer. Yes. You returned to

Smallville in the eighth season. Did they pay you as a guest star or they give you your rate? Oh, I don't remember. I think they paid me my rate. Yeah, I don't think you would have done it if they said. I don't think so. I feel like that would have been really crappy of them to do. I'm sure they tried.

Trust me. Yes, that's true. Was it weird going back, even though you left the show and you came back, sort of, or was it kind of fun? And you're like, I'm not committed. No, I liked it. I mean, I had a crazy storyline. I had my short hair that I had asked if I could cut.

And they had said, yes, Kristen, you can cut your hair. But then the head of Warner Brothers was like, Like, no, Lana Land can't have short hair. So I had weird little extensions. And so I had longer hair. And she had a crazy storyline. It was fun. And it was Tom and I had some lovely scenes together.

And I liked, I liked ending the character on this empowered place. Yeah. I enjoyed that. Yeah. I mean, you went on to debuting the Beast, burden of truth. Um, and now you're doing murder in a small town. Yeah. Which you're going.

join the second season we finish the second season we air september 23rd is our first episode of the second season cassandra lee do you say cassandra i say cassandra cassandra lee um what do you like about your character and what do you like about the show i have been the lead of a tv show a bunch in the last uh 10 plus years and being number two on a show is really nice and i love that But she is free. She doesn't have a ton of trauma. I play a lot of characters who have a lot of trauma. And I think it's because I'm decent at crying.

And I think sometimes I can have a heavy energy. But she's light and she's smart and she has a vision for her community. And she is funny and very, I don't know, it's just so different than what I've been able to play. um so i really enjoy and i enjoy playing her she doesn't weigh on me every other character i've played for so long is weighed on me what can people expect about season two um there's lots of coupley drama there's as always a murder and episode there's some great guest stars and um our show has a guest star like every episode because there's constant murders um so there's that and and there's a lot for because the carl and cassandra are

I don't know. Everyone says the heart of the show. But they're the main relationship. And they go through a lot this season. And I think it'll keep people interested. And you love the people you're working with? Yeah. It's a really nice group of people.

I did a film for a couple of the producers in the early 2000s. So I've known them a long time. So it's nice to be able to work with them. Who's the jokester, the prankster on set? Is there a Rosenbaum? There isn't Michael. There is no Rosenbaum, but you. No, and I also am not part of the, so there's the cop ensemble, and then there's everyone else.

And I am not part of the cop ensemble. So all of my scenes are with Rossif or with Fiona. There's like a few other people, but I don't live in the little crew that works all the crimes. So you have days off. Yeah, lots. In fact, I was like not working so much. I was like, what am I going to do with my life? So maybe I should get a master's degree.

I have enough time. And you did? Twiddling my thumbs to go. No, I didn't. I still am thinking about getting a master's. I got my bachelor's degree. Bachelor's. But because I told you before, I'm working on this comic book.

I can do stuff like that. I can. Yeah, tell me about the comic book. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So back when I was working in Winnipeg for the show Burden of Truth, there's like, Winnipeg is this crazy town. I love it so much. It's weird and it's kind of...

Boring? No, Winnipeg, listen, it has... No, I like the Winnipeg Jets. Do you ever go to a Winnipeg Jets game? Did I go to one? They're great. But I went to... I did go see some football there.

They've got the Canadian football. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that. Yeah, and they've got a baseball team. I don't know how many A's it is, but it's like, whatever. It's really fun. All right. So the comic book. Yes. Anyway, I love Winnipeg. It's weird. There's a bunch of mythology there. It has this, I mean, it's because the, so history lesson, geography lesson.

Winnipeg is situated where the Red River and the Asiniboine River meet. It has been across roads for thousands of years. Indigenous nations met, traded. It has an energy. It kind of sparkles. And as years went by, it became a place for the occult. And so there's, There's like a, there's like this interesting vibe. So we came up with me, Peter Mooney and Eric putzer, came up with this story that we made into a TV show. We pitched it in Canada because it's a Canadian thing. Everyone was like, you need IP. And so we were like, IP, okay. And we thought maybe we could make a comic book. And so this comic book that we're making is the prequel to our television series.

It takes place in the 1800 sort of revenant vibes during the fur trade where these, you know, It's a bunch of magical individuals that come together and have to defeat. And you're writing it? I'm writing it with Peter and Eric. The three of us are writing it together. How exciting is that? That's so much fun. And we're doing it with Titan Comics.

So it's a legitimate publisher. And we'll be able to talk about it at Comic-Con's and bring out. It's nice. It's really lovely to be able to do something so creative that comes from your own ridiculous mind. If someone told you you can't be in the entertainment industry anymore, you have to quit now. What would you do? I'd get my master's degree. And I'd want to continue to be creative.

So I would practice something creative. I was taking drawing classes this summer and it was wonderful. But I would perhaps go into some sort of aid. work i think yeah i don't need listen this is going to sound like such a ridiculous thing to say i don't need like a a paycheck paycheck i need something that is something purposeful yeah exactly yeah yeah so that's i think what i would do is marriage important to you or are you sort of like marriage is i mean it's interesting i've never my parents always said you know don't get married unless you're going to have kids that's what they always said

That's what I hear. And I understand the logic behind that. I have criticisms of marriage as an institution that I don't think has benefited women necessarily over the generations. And it has been, I don't know, listen, I haven't read the entire history of marriage, but I do believe that a lot of it was around property and around passing property down. You're right. And it is an agreement with the state. I just don't know. I think that there's something in there that is beautiful, and I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of it, but I need to understand what the meanings are, you know, for it to feel.

Yeah. No, I understand. I feel like I'm in the same boat you are. I think if you don't want to have kids, it's like why you get married. But I think if you're in love and it's just like, yeah, this is my purpose. person and this is, you know, this is, you know, it was just like, I mean, what else can we? Let's just get married. If it's kind of like that sort of like, let's just get married, be fun. Like, you know, we're. Yeah. Maybe. I wish I could be that way. I have to go through this whole process of like, what are the meanings? What is this represent? How do I represent this best? Right, right. Right. No, I hear you. Yeah. If you want to get closer to the show and help keep inside of you going, well, head to

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Eligibility restrictions apply. See golden nuggett casino.com for details. Please play responsibly. This is called shit talking with Kristen Krook. Rapid fire. You have to answer fast. Rapid fire. Okay.

Okay, Bob Kay, my good buddy from New York. Are you still an avid reader? Have you considered writing? That's the answer is yes. Comic book. If so, what type of book would you write comic book, but are you still an avid reader? Yes. In fact, I'm seriously working on a book club.

A book club? Uh-huh. That I would run through probably my Instagram. This is for rapid fire. I'm focused. Oh, you're focused. You're hyper-focused. She's hyper-focused.

All right, Raj. Tell me about a time you felt you made a bad first impression on a person or group. Um, I don't know. I don't always, I don't feel like I make great first impressions all the time. I don't, I can't think of a specific. I think it's inadvertent with you. I think you don't mean to. Sometimes you, you might, you know, you might come off a little. Aloof. Well, I think a loop's kind of a bad word. Not aloof, but sort of like, um, just not as interested in somebody as they maybe want. Yes. I'm, I'm cautious. you're cautious and my caution is sometimes misread as whatever whatever you may misread it as this is a good question for you malina w says what six people dead or alive would you like to be at a dinner party with six i'm thinking authors for you authors were like i'm curious about the bronte sisters uh Naomi Klein um

who else i'm so bad at these florence nightingale what no although sure sounds like an interesting person what would you do what are your six chris farley uh-huh jack nicholson wow you know this gary oldman verner herzog oh yes can i have him too yeah she could have him I'll tell them. I'll give them your number. Thank you. Alfred Hitchcock. Ooh.

Are there any women at this table? Yeah, I was going to say Merrill Street. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I don't know. That's just off the cuff. Little Lisa, what's your biggest fear? What's your biggest fear, Kristen? Not being loved?

Sure, that is a fear. I think. getting to the end of this existence and not maybe that is about love not having made meaningful lasting caring connections hmm jessica b what helps you feel like you're not alone people uh journaling reading creating things ivan g have you ever experienced something that used to stress you out, but you found out later, or you later found enjoyable? This whole convention circuit is a prime example of something that used to stress me out

and really doesn't anymore. I don't even leave totally drained every day, which is crazy. Yeah. Yeah, isn't that something? Sometimes some things that you fear if you face them, many a time you'll you can be surprised by how much you actually enjoy it or it was but you know they always say or somebody somebody told me this that if you just try things that you absolutely don't want to do or you have fear or you think you're not going to like if you just try them like even if you don't want to go on doing activity like somebody asked you to go on a hike

You know, like, I don't want to go on. I can be tired. I got to work. If you force yourself to just do it, at some point, you're probably going to be like, you know what? Do I feel the same after as I did before the hike? Right. You usually feel a little bit better or it's better than you thought, you know? So it's like experience.

I think that's my biggest thing is I need to experience more. Yeah. Our worlds, especially if we buy into our fear all the time, our worlds just keep getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Yeah. Just doing those things opens it up. Like every week, I'm like, I never go to the beach. I'm going to the beach and I invite my friends. And if they come, they come.

If they're not, I'm still going to the beach. Good. Just to, you know, turn my phone off and watch the waves and look at people. Yeah, you're in Los Angeles. Go to the beach. Yeah. Go to the beach. Well, this has been great.

See, we always think there was going to be nothing to talk about. And we talked about some cool shit. Yeah, we did. I think we did all right. I think we did all right. I'm proud of us. Good. I'm proud of us too, Michael.

This has been great. I love you. I think you're amazing. And I can't wait to see you again. Bye. She's so wonderful. And every time we're like, what are we going to talk about? And we talk for an hour and it's great.

Murder in a small town. She's killing it on Fox. She's very mature. She's goofy. And I love that about her. But she's got a great spirit and heart of gold. So thank you, Kristen, for being on the podcast again. And I'll bother you until this podcast is over.

Also, if you want to join patron and support this podcast, we can't do it without you. There's so many perks to being a patron. If you get a Patreon, p-at-r-e-on.com slash inside of you, you could be a top tier you get boxes for me every three months and notes for me you get your name shouted out every episode you could be a guest on the show uh so much more but every little bit counts so support the podcast if you can um because we're giving you a lot of stuff here a lot of fun interviews so if you're digging it all i ask is you join patron maybe give back right right yeah just a little bit helps every little bit helps you know what ryan we should get into the

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Yeah. Eugene R. Monica T. M.S. Eric H. Amanda R. Kevin E. Jorel, Jammin, J. Leon J. Luna, Jules, M. Jessica, B. Sharlene A, Frank B. Gentie, Dr. Dr. M., Dr. T. R. R. J., N. W. Stephanie B. 7, G., Tracey, Keith B. H. Hether. L.E.K., Ben B. P. P.R., P.R. C. S. Sulton, Dave T. Paul. Brian B. T. Paul. Gary F. Nile M., Jackie J. J. R. R. Other brother, Daryl. Ivin G. I can't tell you how. You guys really are wonderful. Thank you for supporting this podcast. I try to message everybody after they join and give something to the show. So thank you. And I really love you. And from Hollywood Hills in Hollywood, California, I'm Michael Rosenbaum.

I am Ryan Teas. A little wave to the camera and back at you. Thanks for being here. Be good to yourself. Please. And I will see you next week. See you. Action.

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