Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum - LAURA VANDERVOORT: Dropping Expectations, Smallville Regrets & Giving Yourself Grace

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

Laura Vandervoort (Bitten, Smallville) joins me this week to discuss her journey in this industry and how her experience has helped her develop a newfound self acceptance and patience. Laura talks about her mindset joining Smallville and why her connection to Bitten lead to one of the greatest heartbreaks in her acting career. We also get into the idea of healing through connection, how she handles working with a-holes, and the importance of giving yourself grace in life. Thank you to our sponsors: 🛍️ Shopify: https://shopify.com/inside 🚀 Rocket Money: ⁠https://rocketmoney.com/⁠ (tell them we sent you!) 👕 Quince: https://quince.com/insideofyou ❤️ This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/inside and get on your way to being your best self __________________________________________________ 💖 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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There's a lot of podcasts out there. And we've been around for a while. So thanks. If you're here for Laura Vanderbort, van dervort, I say Bort. You did a little bit. It's okay. She's probably rolling her eyes at me right now. But it's always a treat to have her on.

She's been on, of course, before. Hello, Ryan. Hello. Good to see you. Good to see you. Today's a day when we're doing back-to-back. Back to back episodes. So, and, you know, it's a lot.

It's a lot to talk to somebody for an hour and you undivided attention and, you know, you research and stuff. We also haven't talked to anyone in a month. That's true. So we're getting back on the wagon. We've just picked it right up. It was like nothing, wasn't it? I mean, for the audience, it hasn't been anything.

It's just been rolling out. That's true. Hey, if you like the show, write a review. And if you want to join Patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N-Patrain.com slash inside of you, if you really want to support the show and give back. You're the reason why we're still on the air. Also, you can go to my Instagram at the Michael Rosenbaum and go to my link tree for cameos and conventions and all that stuff. If you want to go on a smallville cruise next year, the first one went wildly good. And the Chicago Creation Con in September, Ryan's going.

It's a Smallville only con, so it's all people from Smallville. It's going to be really fun. And my store, the inside of you, online store. You can get autographed pilot episodes signed by me, Lexmas scripts, ship keys, small to lunch boxes, tumblers, an array of fun things, pictures, you know, there's just so much. You can get Funkos, and you know they're signed by me because I sign them. um also rosy's puppy fresh breath if you want your dog to have fresh breath it's just a a little capful in the morning uh odorless tasteless and your dog has better breath i use it

every day rosy's puppy fresh breath on amazon um a lot of other good things cooking you know things are cooking but we're uh wow we'll be probably done close to 400 episodes yeah it's amazing feel like it yes yes yes is it sure done I hope you guys are yeah how's everybody doing out there so everybody taking care of themselves I think we forget constantly to take care of ourselves we get caught up in so much and we're like busy when I have this and I have that I'm just like just take a deep breath let's take a deep breath Ryan kind of felt good did didn't it why because we don't do it why we don't breathe that's that's a big thing water and breathing why do we not do the two because we're always

well we're talking we're thinking we're not but we're not breathing the right way we're supposed to be it's not that important don't be anxious get my meditation app i should do my meditation app that'd be kind of fun breathe slowly through your nose out anyway we got a great episode today Laura Vandervort. Let's just get into it. Let's get inside of Laura Vandervort. 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 a live studio audience. Yeah, I just saw you at a convention. I know. So it's weird. Yeah. I mean, we see each other. Yeah. I mean, we see each other intermittently. And, you know, we do these, we do these Q&As folks that are for all the fans at these conventions. And, you know, I'm just sort of like a loose cannon just kind of blabbing and, you know, just trying to make it. Because I get bored. So I run out in the audience. And it was fun how we all went out of the audience with Mike's, it's unprecedented. And they don't, no one does that. And I was like, no, let's do what we want to do. And it made it fun, don't you think? Yeah, that was the first time we've

joined you or at least Erica and I in the audience and because it kind of felt like we needed more energy from the audience. So it was joining you. It made a huge difference. We were saying after we should do that all the time. It just makes it more energetic. Yeah. I think the fans like it too. It makes it more personable more personal personable. I don't know if our moderator enjoyed it because we basically. Yeah. We cut him off. We cut him his moderation stopped. But it was still fun. What does it mean to you when you come to these conventions and, You see all these people that are there for you. Are you able to just really take a step back and appreciate it and be like, this is cool. Who gets to do this? Yeah. I mean, I think when we all go together as a cast,

like they're not just there for me. That's for sure. They're there to see you and Tom and the girls as well. So, um, but yeah, to answer your question, it is still a crazy thing.

And I think we all realize how lucky we are to have the opportunity to like, promote a show. so long after the fact and fans are still pretty rabid about it and after everything ended we all kind of went our own ways and did our own projects and the shows have brought us back together yeah i think so too i think it's extraordinary because it's rare it's like how many people are on shows but then are able to go to cons to sign autographs and meet people and it's just it's just rare i'd say 90% of shows don't get to do that you have to have sort of a need sure, sort of a

either a sci-fi presence or, you know, it's either, it's, it's got to be something. If it's anime, if it's video games, it's whatever, there's these few things that you get to be a part of. I mean, because it could have easily

been like, oh, we were on NCIS and nobody cares when we go to these things. We'd still be working. We'd still be working. It'd be season 37, and they'd ask us to do crossovers for NCIS Albuquerque and c i s uh detroit and uh yeah i could i could i could never do and kudos to those those those actors that are doing it but like you know you'd get so bored your your attention span because

i couldn't do it they're doing the same you know it's procedural yeah it's procedural so but i think you get bored with everything it's like you know playing lex you know it was fun but like you know it got a little for you know you weren't there as much so it was probably very fresh and fun for you whenever you were on. Yeah. I mean, season seven I think was the one I was in the most. So there were definitely moments of fun,

but like we've talked about at conventions, it's such a blur for me. Like, I was so young. I was so nervous. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I should have. And had I been able to go back in time and do it now, I would have enjoyed every moment. But I can't say it was fun, even though I wasn't in as much.

It never got old or boring. It was always fun to do the stunts and all of that. And very iconic. But I can't say I had fun. You know, you were like, it's funny because you say that. And knowing you the way I do, I understand you internalize a lot. and you think too much like most of us do. But while you were there, you were incredibly sweet, did your job well, pleasant to work

with, fun. You weren't like a drag or someone who seemed on edge. You know how to hide that. You probably, it's probably, you know how to act your way through that, don't you? Yeah, just like conventions. So you feel the same way, but you're like, yeah, everything's great. I'm freaking out. Yeah, but I'm sure you do that too.

Like, but I feel like yours manifests in an energetic way, in an outgoing way when you're uncomfortable. Yeah. Mine's like, I really got to push to get to your level. And then I need to be alone for 24 hours. Like after the convention, we were just at, which was great. And Dallas was wonderful. I was, I like comatose yesterday. I mean, I still did what I had to do, but I just need time to recharge because I want to give so much energy.

You do it, too, to all your fans. You give everyone that special moment. but it can get exhausting and yeah. I feel bad though sometimes because for the first few hours of signing and meeting people and it's like, you understand, people come up to you and, you know, you can't be tired and can't be just having a bad mood. So we give as much as we can. So about four hours in, whether I like it or not, my energy shifts a little, where I'm not

as energetic, I'm still, you know, very pleasant and fun, but I almost feel bad like I'm not like man I wish you would have came like an hour ago my my energy was really high I don't I don't think it matters because they're still getting that positive energetic side of you they don't know what it was an hour ago like they don't have a comparison all they know is oh my god Michael's really cool really nice and so friendly and so generous little do they know little do they know I think in all the years that we've been doing these uh because I the first one I did was San Diego Comic Con right after I was was cast. That was the only time I had a weird experience. What happened? Every show, not even a weird experience, but it freaked me out because I hadn't experienced it before. A dude just came up to me. Smallville hadn't aired with me in it. They'd only announced I was cast. I don't even know if I'd shot anything at that point, but they came up to me and rolled up their pant leg and had my face tattooed on their leg.

What? Like, yes. So I'm like, first of all, you don't know if I, I mean, good. You don't know if you're going to like me. What if they would have fired you and hired someone else? Then his face is, who's this? Who's this girl? On your leg, as the Canadian says.

But like that stuff, you have to, I came to realize, like, that's great. That's support. That's what makes them happy. It's like, you know, we meet so many people. A lot of them, I find, I don't know if you do, but I get a lot of stories of people who say, like, the show saved them. Yeah. Yeah, it's just, I, I, it's hard for me because I get emotional. I wear my emotions out.

I'm, you know, so, yes, I understand. What are you doing those situations? Because, like, yesterday or Saturday, a woman came up to me and she said, I'm here. I just lost my daughter. And I saw her face and she showed me a picture of her daughter. And I just went and hugged her. And I just kept it together. But it was like, you know, telling me.

I think my approach, what's your approach when people, when that happens? I, same as you, I go around the table. I ask if I can hug them. I hug them and we step aside and we have a conversation about it. The table is there for a reason, but in those situations, I want to connect with the person. I want to, you know, be there for them because it's very vulnerable for them to share something like that. few women specifically this year come up to me and share some stories with them that are similar to something that I've recently shared. And we've cried together. I've cried. They've written

me letters about their experience. So it's nice to connect. It actually makes me feel not alone when people open up like that. It just makes the world seem like a better place when we can be there for each other. Now, you've done a lot of stuff. I mean, V and Smallville. and Bitten and Haven and Supergirl and V-Wars. First of all, what happened to V-Wars? Because, you know, you had Ian Summerholder, you think what a fan following he had, you think this is going to be a hit.

What would happen? I don't even know. I don't either. But do you ever really know? No. Exactly. We did one season, and we did some reshoots like a couple weeks later.

And it aired and people were excited. I have no idea what happened. I mean, yeah, you have Ian. Like, that's in itself, the fan base was there. It was a vampire show, which is his fan base. Like, everything, it was great. I have no idea. It's just like V.

V got canceled. It was the ratings were sky high on ABC. It was Marina Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, like Scott Wolf, huge cast, one season. Yeah, you know what? I think it is, that's, you know, It doesn't matter how big your fan base is because people like, you know, for instance, I'll give you an example. I have two podcasts.

I have the Talkville, Rewatch Smallville podcast, and I have Inside of You. A lot of people love Smallville and Talkville. And, you know, they'll say, oh, I love you and Tom on Talkville. It's great. And I go, oh, have you listened to my Insidi podcast? No, what's that? Or they haven't. So it's not to say that just because they loved Smallville doesn't mean they're going to watch everything you do.

Now, there are some devoted fans or some people who really just are awesome and like your work and really do follow you. But it doesn't translate to the masses. So they love Deanne. They loved Vampire Diaries. I almost said diarrhea. Vampire diaries. But like it doesn't mean they're going to like. the next show he does and follow him if it doesn't fit with the you know what if they don't

like a show they don't like a show or if it doesn't so but but it's hard to understand because it seems like a slam dunk for sure and like you know they you have people that come up to you at conventions or fans just in life and they're like whatever happened why didn't it last like and they hate for you to say I have no idea but it's not like you have the producers calling you each directly saying this is why it didn't work out you know it's you just get the call saying it's done well next time you see ian at a at a con why don't you just go up to him and go hey do you have any idea what happened do you do i think he i think he got the rights back to the show and wanted to try to make it again with different people i don't know really well maybe it will come back not necessarily different

people like the actors but different like production wise yeah Inside of You is brought to you by Rocket Money. I'm going to speak to you about something that's going to help you save money. Period. It's Rocket Money. It's a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. This is just a wonderful app.

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inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum. Rocket Money. What does that sign behind you that says, fuck them? That's an artist that I love from New York. She does graffiti kind of cool art. Her name's Phoebe, New York. And her stuff's just really moody. and so that's in my office because as you know in this industry there's a lot of rejection

so i do my auditions right here and i can look at that and just like let it go let it go now do you think your approach to acting and working is a lot different than when you were younger or even years ago a few years ago how it is now i mean how much has changed uh that's like a heavy question I don't know. When I was younger, it was my world. It was my life. I had to be perfect, you know. Why did you feel that way?

Why did you feel like you had to be perfect? You getting all deep on me now here? I mean, because look, but only because I suffer from the same thing. The exact same thing. I'm telling you in therapy, I talk about, you know, it's like I've learned that just be good enough? That's what I've learned as well, right? Like, so when I was younger, it was just like the expectations of the adults, right? As a kid, you want to be on time. You're working with adults. You're working adult hours. You have adult responsibilities as a kid on set. So you just,

I think that just like established how I go about this business. And every job, every audition was like, if I didn't get it, it was the end of the world. Now, that I'm 40 and like I've had the experience in this industry for 29 years I realize like you can't take it personally you usually there's no reason like it's not about you that you didn't book a job and I I try to just do the audition and I literally will throw the sides out just to let that's what I've always done yeah yeah I used to keep them in a hope chest so it's the physical, tangible, like, I'm done with that. If it's going to be there, if it's going to serve me, it'll come back.

I need to move on. Well, see, you've already changed with the fact that, you know, used to put your sides, they call them that you, for auditions in a hope chest, but now you throw them away. So it's like saying, this is done. Let's just move on. And if something happens, great. Yeah, I think that's great. And I think that to get deep, it's like, I thought people saying you're great,

or being perfect in my eyes or whatever that meant i thought that would give me self-worth i thought it would make me feel good it would make it's what i needed but i realized it's so far from the truth it's you're relying on other people for your happiness and for your self-worth and for how you feel about yourself and it's bullshit it really is bullshit it's taking me so long to figure that out and i think it's it stems from childhood i think it you know not getting the attention not getting the things you need as a kid and and you know i'm i'm i'm not blaming anyone but i'm thinking you know i i didn't get that for whatever reason i didn't get it was it directly was it was it i don't think it was intentional but i thought hey you're great in that hey we want to

cast him hey we want you that made me feel like i was something and and it's sad because that's that's not what life is you know you're chasing something that is not real it's not real and it isn't important it isn't important what people really what they think about you as long as you are kind as long as you try to be a good person as long as you do the right thing then it's nice that you're putting that out there so people's perception of you is positive. Yeah, I mean, yeah, we're leaving this planet alone. You have to be happy with yourself and who you were given the time you were given and that you, you know, for me, it's important to help people make people feel good, make people feel seen, like just be a good fucking human being. Because at the end of the day, we can't take our jobs with us.

We can't take our dogs with us. You know, it's just you at the end of the day. And you've got to like, I'm getting dark. But when you close your eyes and it's your last breath, you have to just be proud of who you are as a person, not like how much people liked you. Yeah. Don't you feel like I certainly do? And sometimes I go have some time between these moments where if you do something for someone and you do it sort of. of altruistically, like if you just do it because you want to help someone, because you

want someone to feel good, because you want to let them feel like they're okay, that makes me the most fulfilled. That makes me the happiest, just helping someone and going, oh, I don't want anything from that other than for them to be happy. Doesn't that feel good? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you, I have Adam in my life. now. And it's like the best relationship that I've ever had. And it's in this relationship, it's easy. You want to take care of the other person. You want them to succeed and be happy. And there's no like selfish reason for me to do something for him. It's just wanting to give to each other. Yeah. And look, onto that. I mean, I, I've seen you date decent guys. I've seen you date

not so, not so decent guys. I mean, you know, guys. aren't like good, you know, relationships sometimes don't work, but it doesn't mean that the person's bad, but sometimes they are. They're not good. But it's a journey. And it's like, it's taken me a long time to, and it's not about good or bad. It's about finding the right one that just fits what you need. Um, because I know for a long time, you're like, oh my God, is this ever going to happen? And I felt the same way. So when did you know that this was, when did you know that this was right um i mean we did long distance for the first year so um the fact that we were both wanting to put the effort and to travel to one another for an entire

year met there was something for sure there um he was visiting and we had to put together an IKEA cabinet and like we had the best time putting this together and IKEA is known to be very frustrating but we had such a good time and worked so well as a team it's such a simple thing that I was like this is my husband isn't that funny it's like those little things it's like you know I'll look at Jack and I'll walk into her room and she's sitting there holding blanche and just hugging her and kissing her and i'll just take a moment i just go yeah that's awesome i love i love that's cool or like just yeah there's there's something innate about a person that you know it makes it real when you see something

you go there's not any we're not putting putting something on we're not trying to be like oh look look see look what i'm doing it's like that was just a moment that was just being and there are a lot of those moments and i think that's good deeds or nice gestures or uh reciprocation and not financially or anything like that it could be anything it's like you know oh i got you really oh you know it's just it's it's just i don't know it's it's cool yeah i've i've found and i i think you're probably you know because you've done a lot of therapy as well but he and i have and we've never fought we're very good at communicating so i think like probably you and jack too very good at communicating our feelings and like acknowledging how the other person feels like

again simple things but like adult things that I've never had before it's just easy it was just a fit he moved in and like we were both nervous about living together and it's been seamless for three years like yeah I don't know that's great I mean look I've we've had two fights in a year which is not many but those fights made me realize things about myself. It made me realize things about someone else. And when I can put two and two together, it made me think, huh, I see their perspective on this. I understand mine. And sometimes we're so like, that's not what I, that's not what I'm thinking. That's not what my intent. That's not, but I understand how you feel and how that makes you feel. But I want you to know that wasn't my

intention. And that wasn't. So it's, it's communication, but because I hate finding. So, so does she so um but i love it i love that you're happy do your parents like him yeah of course your sister like him what's that does your sister yes loves him i love his sister yeah uh he's a good old prairie boy so um yeah inside of you is brought to you by quince i love quince 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. Look, cooler temps are rolling in. And as always, Quince is where I'm turning for fall staples that actually last. From cashmere to denim to boots, the quality holds up and the price still blows me away. Quince has the kind of fall staples.

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for free and then you pay, well, we forget. We want to watch a show on some streamer, and then we forget, and now we owe $200 by the end of the year. They're there to make sure those things don't happen, and they will save you money. You know, Rocket Money's 5 million members have saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions with members saving up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium features. Get alerts if your bills increase in price, if there's unusual activity in your accounts,

if you're close to going over budget and even when you're doing a good job. How doesn't everybody have Rocket Money? It's insane. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Download the Rocket Money app and enter my show name inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum in the survey so they know that I sent you. Don't wait. Download the Rocket Money app today and tell them you heard about them from my show. do you still do you still deal with anxiety and depression a lot what a jump uh yeah i take anxiety

medication now you do oh yes yeah has it changed your life um i wouldn't say it's changed my life but it's made it a little more manageable and manageable uh it i just found that it took the edge off like it was easier to do the conventions it's um easier to deal with like the day to day if i have five auditions that i have to do and like i i used to get overwhelmed if i had too much and now i can almost compartmentalize everything do you memorize do you memorize your lines for auditions yeah i can't i have to it's how i've always done it um but i memorize quite fast really Yeah. How do you do it?

What do you think it is? Anxiety. Yeah, but anxiety would probably hinder you from... No, because I, if, like, for example, if I had an audition and they liked me, but they're like, hey, can you go out there and can you work on these sides? We actually think you'd be better for this character. And just, like, knock when you're ready. Because I know people are waiting because I know, like, the energy's up. I can memorize fast.

So I think it's like, I don't know. That's pretty good. But also being like, you know, yeah, I don't know. It's a, I wish there was a technique. But like every time I under, I underline keywords. And we'll write on the sides, on the side of the sides, words that I'm having trouble that aren't sticking. So I make those large down the right side.

And then I underline like keywords. Sometimes I'll underline every freaking word on the sides, but it helps. I have friends who write out all of the sides, and that helps them memorize. I have friends that use teleprompters. Like, I've just always memorized and I'm not comfortable doing anything other than that. Yeah, because you've been doing it since you're a kid. Yeah. Do you think you'll always act?

I'd like to, but, you know, as I'm getting older in the industry, I think the, you know, I think maybe the options are still there, but the pool is bigger. There's a lot of big names now that I'm competing with. So the past few years have been, you know, ebb and flow. You look the same, though. You really do. I'm not just saying that. You look the same. You don't look 40. So. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's not an age thing or a looks thing. It's just, I think it's. It kind of is. Because. I can't do 20 and technically I playing moms now but people don't buy me as the mom right so yeah yeah I have that yeah I could see that people don't even I think it's just because of my

how I am my disposition if you will but it's like you know I don't can you see me as a dad Ryan no nobody could see me as a dad so you can't see me as a dad you can't see him as a teenager so I'm kind of stuck in limbo too I think eventually I'll hit a certain point Because there's three stages of aging, they say, and I'm definitely hitting number two. How? I'll be 53 in a month. Oh. Yeah.

Holy shit. I would like to continue to act, but I have a feeling, given the way the industry is going, I'm going to have to continue to try to produce and develop my own stuff. Yeah. Why not? Why not try to direct? Why not try to? I know that you were talking to me about you and Erica Durantz, you're going to film

something together. What's that? I can't say. But you want to do a project. You both want to do a project together. Yeah, we were both cast in it. Oh, so you're already cast in it. Yeah.

Well, well, well. And it's a fun, fun concept. But you can't say anything else? When do you think it will come out? When do you think of film? Maybe the end of this year? Scheduled to film in October. after the wedding

Wednesday wedding September 6th how many of your exes will be there that's a joke I don't have that many no way no you don't you don't do you get bored easily yeah

but I also on the flip side prefer like well I wouldn't say prefer but would like to just lay on the couch and watch TV but my brain starts going And I start saying myself, like, you need to be doing something productive. You need to be doing more. And so I can't enjoy the relaxation. So I get bored, yes.

All right. Yeah, I get bored. I get bored quite quickly and easily. I always ask this question, Ryan, but I'm waiting for, like, that answer, you know. Like, if you ever worked with any assholes and how you deal with it and anybody who really rubbed you the wrong way. I don't feel like I know It wasn't on our show

No there was no one on our show But it was another show There was another show Where I didn't particularly enjoy the person What was it about the person that made you feel that way? No one will know what we're talking about I think superiority

they had a lot of it holier than now yes and they didn't feel you didn't feel like they treated you with like real respect yeah and how that make you feel uh that it was nice to see that there are shitty people out there and that we should continue to be the good people in the world um you know like sometimes it's it's like i guess yeah onset is a good example um when you see see someone mistreating crew or, you know, in the hair and makeup trailer or anything like that, it makes me want to go above and beyond to be a better person to, right? Yeah. So I'm sure you've seen it too, but I've seen actors talk down to crew members.

And I always end up going to apologize on behalf. but yeah i i i've worked with plenty of people who aren't great i haven't really worked with like full-on assholes i think the good approach is to go uh it's a shame they're just they're unhappy it's an unhappy i feel bad for them that they're unhappy i feel bad for them that they're unhappy i hope they find figured out yeah yeah you don't also don't know what someone's going through right um our job requires us to be like on and and to do certain emotional scenes when we might have something else going on in our lives that is really making that tough. So maybe these actors or directors or whomever

are taking it out on other people just because they're processing their own state and their own feelings. Which show that you've done or project would you love to revisit that if they called you and said, hey, we're going to do six episodes or we're going to do another season of this. Would you join us? What's the one show that you first thought about when I first started to ask you that jumped out? Bitten. You love Bitten. Yeah. Why? Yeah. Um, that character in particular, Elena Michaels, um, it's not that I, I felt challenged by her because I've had other roles where I actually felt challenged as an actor, but Bitten feels super close to my heart, like Elena as a character, felt very similar to myself. And I feel like a lot of

the stuff that I was processing, she was processing, kind of like on Smallville, I was new and scared, and so was the character. In Bitten, she just had all the qualities that I admire in a woman. And she was a joy to play. And the cast was, rad. Wasn't it? There were books, right? Yeah, it's based on the series of novels by Kelly Armstrong. So we did three seasons

and you know, the fourth season would have been incredible. Our characters had twins. Like there was this whole other story to tell, but sadly it didn't continue. I mean, I hope it can come back at some point because there's

so much more to tell for those characters. Were you heartbroken? was i yeah yeah we were we were at our rap dinner with uh the studio no and our producer stood up and announced that we were done why would he do it at the rap party i know he was pissed that's why this was a quiet like nice dinner with the cast and everyone and as soon as they announced that, I bawled so loudly in front of everybody and had to get up and leave. And then I was like, I can't go to the party now. Like, oh my gosh. That is awful. What an asshole. Sorry, creator, writer, producer. Why would you say that at the rap party? Just call everybody individually and have a

good time with your, what is that? I don't know why that timing was chosen. Maybe there's is a reason for it. But yeah, I was embarrassed after because I had such like a volatile reaction. Like I just sob. It's like somebody died in front of you. Yeah. And sure, maybe that's because it was my first lead of a series and whatever that meant to me. But it was more just like the, yeah, it was like a sudden heartbreak or death. It's just like finite. That's it. You didn't get to say goodbye as a the character. You didn't get to tie up the storyline. You're just done.

I remember, yeah, the executive, one of the heads of studio called me about a show I did and just said, hey, we love you. The show just isn't compatible, compatible to what we're doing right now. And said a few things and think you're great. And, you know, we love the show, but we're not going to do another season. and I remember just going, all right, well, dude, love you too, man, and consider me for something else and, uh, great. And then I kind of felt a sense of relief. And then as time went

on, I started to think, man, I was really lucky. That was a good gig. That was a shame, actually. So it was almost like I didn't react, like I didn't feel a certain way. when he told me, but it took time to understand and wrap my head around the idea of how lucky I actually was. Don't you wish we could realize, I mean, if maybe we can now, but we could realize during the project what it is and how lucky we are instead of just being concerned about all the other things. Yeah.

It would be nice. Yeah, I was dealing with a lot of stuff, though, too. Like, nobody knew, but my anxiety was through the roof. I was just exhausted all the time for fight or flight and I just nobody knew. Everybody thought I was happy as hell except my buddy Troy who, you know, was definitely like he saw my lack of sleep and my anxiousness and, you know, and on people pleaser. So I was always trying to make everybody, you know, happy and that was exhausting. But, you know, I didn't find Lexa,

at that time lexapro now that would have been and what's funny is and by the way lexapro doesn't work for everybody just works for me and other people but you got to try go to your psychiatrist um but um it's amazing just how something can help you where it takes away the edge like you said and whatever helps you i always say that's like Like, if it's exercise, great, good for you. If it's meditation, great. It's if it's Alexa Pro or Zoloft or whatever the hell, good for you. If it makes you feel better, it makes you able to function better, then fuck, yes.

I mean, I know people who started medication like that and they said there was just one moment where like the light bulb went off and the voices muted and they couldn't. believe that people live like this, that it's just that quiet in the head and the anxieties down. Like it's, it's such a switch. And yeah, I'm all for it. Yeah. Yeah, anybody says like, oh, people shouldn't take pills. They shouldn't be, you know, just deal with it.

People deal with it. Like, you don't know what's going on. You don't know what's going on with every human. Our brain chemistry is different from everyone's. Each person is different. How you're wired, what your past is, what you're doing. dealing with, what you're coping with. How does you possibly, you know, make that decision for me or, you know. There's a lot of things that people shouldn't be saying and making decisions

for other people. Oh, yes. I know that. I know. Believe me, I know. I know. I live in the United States of America. And I'm well aware of that. Wait, I wanted to ask, do you think you're a recovered people pleaser? Or do you think it's still there? I think it's still there. But it's, It's a little healthier, I think. I just like being around people that are fun. I like making them laugh. I'm an entertainer. That's never going to leave me.

But not everyone's going to like me. I'm not going to be everyone's cup of tea. That's just the way it is. And I'm not going to change. I try to think, you know, I'm a kind person. I try to do the right thing. I could be selfish. I could be all these things.

But I'm human. And, you know, if you like me, you like me. And if you don't, you know, but don't hang out with me. That's it. If I make you, you know, whatever. Would you love to, who would you like to work with that you haven't worked with? Well, what? Like actually attainable work with or reach for this guy?

If there's an actress or actor or, you know, somebody you'd like, yeah. I mean, who would you like to work with? I mean, I would just say Merrill Street, but like something more attainable. That is attainable. Why isn't it? It can happen. I never thought. I never thought Clint East would cast me in his movie and direct me.

I never thought, you know, I'd work with. It's, anything's possible. You never know what tomorrow brings. That's the thing. You may think, oh, I'm at a certain age. this and that. But you might be the exact person they're looking for at any given time. You don't know. And that's what's so exciting about it and so frustrating about it. You wish you would know, but we don't know. So we keep doing it and, you know, hopefully have an element of fun. And, you know, but I can't think of someone right now. I want to work with

everybody. But someone that I did get to work with years and years ago. go who's doing a bunch of stuff right now and was supposed to be at the show with us this weekend is Walton Goggins. He's just such a character. He's so free and so funny and so generous. I'd love to work with him again. Yeah. Yeah, he's great. You still audition a lot, though, don't you? I mean, when they come in, it's, you know how it is. There could be six in a week and then nothing for three months. It's, uh, yeah. That's just the way it is.

It's just part of the job, right? What do you like better at Marvel or DC? I don't even really know the difference, which is really going to upset people. DC is Batman, Superman, Flash, Marvel's like Iron Man and, um, Thor. I'm just not like the demographic. I'm in it, but I'm not the demographic that goes and watches Thor in the movie theater. I don't give up about it. It's fun and entertaining, and I get it.

I guess I can say Marvel, but I'm not, I'm not a comic book fan. Marvel, you've done Supergirl at Smallville, but Marvel you chose. I know, but now I'm going to work with Marvel. So, Marvel. All right. She talked to James for me. You talk to James for me. You buy a pair of socks, that's two socks.

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they ask questions, uh, join patron.com slash inside of you and support the podcast and there's different tiers and it's a lot of fun. It's a great community and people become friends. So here is the first question. Jessica B, what's something you used to stress over that now feels kind of ridiculous? Uh, what people think. Hmm. Yeah. I was going to say dying. well that's inevitable so yeah worrying about that yeah but the older you get you realize you know it sucks is i'll look on instagram and i'll say if you're in your 50s you might have 20 to 25 years left of your life on average and i'm like oh my god i remember when i was in college going i never thought about death i'm like i'm 19 i got the rest of my i get i get so many years and now you're like

wow and then you start to you really get dark and you go wow my mom's 78 so she lives till 90 I might only see her 12 more times in my life you that huh don't do that I know I'm not I'm trying not to Nico P when's the last time you had a really good laugh uh probably I love making Tom laugh and since that was just this weekend during photo ops I don't know what I said but I said something and made Tom laugh

and then you guys said something I don't know if you remember what I'm talking about I'm sure but it made me laugh as well and I was like that's so inappropriate so that's probably what was that Saturday

inappropriateness is the key to laughter I can say it's inappropriate but I still laugh well it's fun to be inappropriate you know especially in this day and age it's like you know

we're all a little inappropriate I do things inappropriate all the time I don't do them out of spite or out of you know hatred or anger or racism I just I just do things and sometimes people like Jesus I don't mean them Taylor R what gets you out of a funk

Uh probably going to the gym Going to the gym It's a boring answer But I find like Just moving and um the gym is like therapy for me how do you get into the gym i mean you walk through the door i know i know i know but like it's just it's so hard to want to exert yourself to like you do it i don't do

it a lot i play hockey and tennis i try to but like it's hard that's why i'm always like trying to get and other habits, like eating better, taking like my AG1 in the morning, taking my Lexa Pro. Yeah, let's promote AG1 right now because I love AG1 too. Oh, good. Age 1's awesome. They're a sponsor and they're just, do people don't realize how easy is. We want to start a habit. It's like it's easy.

You just pour powder in a glass of water, stir it. It's delicious and it's got probiotics, probiotics. I'm selling it right now. They're not paying me. I love it. Tom and I use it. Laurel uses it. So do what you like.

Yeah. I have to tell you, I'll tell you offline. I'm going to recipe that we have with age you on. That's great. Good. Linda M. What's a recent experience that significantly shaped who you are today? Maybe it's not recent.

Maybe it's. I think, like almost to flow into what we were just talking about, coming to realization about age and options. What was the question? Something that is. A recent experience or past experience that significantly shaped who you are today? I'm sure there's been a few. I would say as, I mean, I don't remember it, obviously, but as a baby, I had bacterial meningitis. And so...

They thought you were going to die. I was going to die. I think we've talked about this before on the podcast, but I think that knowing that story as a child that I wasn't supposed to live. that happening to me pushed me to work harder and be better and try to make something of myself like I was like well I was given this opportunity to be here I need to be somebody so you know when I was young I wanted to be somebody not necessarily an actor or famous but I like wanted to make my parents proud so that shaped who I am to today um yeah but that's not recent no no it doesn't have to be uh you know there's a there's a This kid, Preston, who is, I met him at the Ronald McDonald House, and I didn't know, you know, I was there for, I did movie nights where I'd bring movies and popcorn for the kids and pizzas and stuff. And I met this one kid, he looked strong and was talking about cheerleading and stuff like that. And I was like, yeah, yeah.

Do you have a brother here who's going through some treatment or somebody? And he goes, oh, no, I am. I'm here. And I go, what? he goes yeah i have uh terminal cancer and i go and his mom was with him and i go well you know we started talking about all the surgeries had and this and that and i don't know what it was but i just wanted to be there for this guy i immediately felt like he was my brother and i would go to the hospital i'd go to his chemo i would go drive two and a half hours to see him

and his family um and i think that and he passed away a while ago not that long ago a year ago and it was it just made me realize so many things that are important this this kid just had so much life to him he never complained he just was so positive so grateful so just his being just made you feel better and i think that shaped me a lot a lot of ways it really it hit me it just made me think man this little guy's done at 16 he's his journey has ended and it's like you still have a journey so why don't you make the most of it why don't you try to and i still don't think i do enough and this and that but and it scares me i didn't go back there for a while because i felt like i was going to it's like almost like bad analogy but like when you

get a dog you're like well dogs don't last that long i can't deal with the suffering of but the joy they bring you exactly enjoy that it makes it makes it more special so You know, I was lucky to know him and know his family and I still talk to his mom. And so I think that shaped me a lot because I think about that a lot. And I think about how easily, how easy it is for me with, I'm not a big star, but like having some celebrity that I could touch lives. I can help people so easily more than, you know. and it's just being aware of that and knowing that you should do that more often because that's what really brings you joy and it's hard to um it's hard to remember that on a daily

basis right and so we can try our best to enjoy the time we have but we also have to allow yourself days to just feel what you're feeling. Like you can't make the most of every day. You can try to. But like a big thing that I've learned similar to you with this young boy is like giving myself grace. I love that phrase. Give yourself some grace because we beat ourselves up so much and we try to accomplish so much in a day. I just try to say to myself, you've done enough. give yourself the grace so yeah i'm going to start movie nights again at ronald mcdonald house i'm going to do that uh kaila sue favorite dance song like no one's watching uh i don't know if this is the title come on eileen don't be so

provocative um come on aline oh i swear money i never know he's saying uh i was like I remember one of the lyrics is Oh Johnny Poor Johnny Ray Broke a million hearts in mono Anyway That's a great song

I love that song And I love that you were here I'm sure you felt like What are we going to talk about? What is there? Even I thought that And then once we... I didn't know what you put topics we could cover.

But once we started talking it's just like we that that's it's just this is what i love i love that i actually got something from this like when i have these interviews if if i can get something from it and i really it made me think it made me um have perspective it made me it just i i really enjoyed this yeah i hope i hope it's all right i mean i know we've we've done and you've done with other people like podcasts that are really exciting and but this this one feels more mellow than we've had before, which is kind of nice. Yeah, it doesn't feel forced.

It just felt like, you know, two friends having a chat, catching up. And yeah, I thank you for being here. This was awesome. It really was great. Thanks. Thanks for having me again. This episode is brought to you by Defender. With its 626 horsepower twin turbo V8 engine, the Defender, the Defender

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It's always great having her here. Laura, thanks again for coming on the show. I know we always talk about. You don't think we have anything to talk about, but we do. People always say that when they come back. They're like, I don't know. What are we going to talk about? I mean, I hope you didn't give me your whole life in an hour.

generally don't yeah so you know but uh thanks for being on it was really insightful and fun and congratulations on the wedding you are married um depending on when this comes out but it's a month away so this is coming out next week oh it is this is coming out this week oh you're not married she was just on talk phil and she talked about it though that's true but you're getting married she's getting married in like a month so congratulations i think that's incredible and um yeah well that's it Really. That's all I have for you today. Thanks again to everyone listening. I appreciate it. We got some great guests coming up. David Tennant's coming up and many other greats. I hope you continue to support the podcast. Patreon.com slash inside of you. If you want to support it even more, anything helps. And we appreciate it. So I think we should get to the top of your patrons now, don't you? I do. Let's do it. I'm going to read them. I think people like when I read them. Do you think they mind if you read them too? I think you should just do it. All right.

These are my favorite people in the world. Nancy D. Little Lisa, and by the way, thank you for all the messages about Blanche and her surgery and she's doing well. And when this episode comes out, which is on a Tuesday, which is next week, I'll have gotten Blanche back. I get her back Monday. And I visit her almost every day. I give her a lot of kisses. Little Lisa, and I hope Daisy's okay.

I'm praying for you. You Kiko, Brian H. Thanks for the invite, but it was last minute, man. Jeez. Nico P. I can't believe Zach's driving. Rob I. Jason Dreamweaver.

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Stefan. Charlene A. Don G. Jenny B. 76. N.G. Tracy. Keith B. Heather and Greather. Correct. L.E.K. Ben B. PRC. Sultan, Dave T. Brian B. T. Pau. Gary F. Nial. Nile. Nile. Nile. M. Nile. Jackie J. Maria R. and Benjamin R. Thank you to the newcomers. We're just joining patron and supporting this podcast. Without you, we couldn't do it from the Hollywood Hills in Hollywood, California. I am Michael Rosenbaum. I am Ryan Taze and I'm awake. He's awake. We're awake. Wave to the camera. We love you. And again, thanks for being. here. Be good to yourself. We'll see you next week. 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 advantage 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.

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