Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - Killing Castro with Frankie Faison

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

Frankie Faison is more than just a familiar face from Coming to America, The Wire, and Banshee. With over 200 plays, 200 commercials, 200 television episodes, and 200 films under his belt, he proudly calls himself the “Quadruple 200 Man.” But his story is about more than numbers — it’s about perseverance, faith, and determination. In this conversation, Frankie opens up about: -His 15-year journey of training and preparation before landing his first major roles. -Why true success comes from refining your craft daily, not chasing shortcuts. -Stories from Coming to America, The Wire, and Broadway’s Fences with James Earl Jones. -His powerful new film Killing Castro, premiering at TIFF — a little-known piece of history about Fidel Castro, Malcolm X, and Harlem. -His most personal and important film to date, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, a heart-wrenching story tied to race, policing, and mental health. -His recent role in Beyond the Rush and why films that address child abuse and mental health matter now more than ever. -Why he believes versatility is the secret to longevity in Hollywood — and in life. Plus: his newest passion project, Frankie’s Fabulous Granola, inspired by decades of gifting thousands of bags to family and friends. Frankie embodies what it means to stay determined, stay grounded, and keep working toward something bigger than yourself. His story is one of resilience, legacy, and creativity that refuses to quit. Connect with me : https://link.me/theshawnfrench?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaY2s9TipS1cPaEZZ9h692pnV-rlsO-lzvK6LSFGtkKZ53WvtCAYTKY7lmQ_aem_OY08g381oa759QqTr7iPGA Frankie Faison https://www.instagram.com/faison.frankie/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You're about to make a trade. Which you do listen to? Is it get optioning those options? Or let's do a little research. Learn more at finra.org slash trade smart. Listen, you've got something really interesting coming out. The movie Killing Castro. They're screening it September 5th and 7th.

I'm excited for this one, very excited. The story, it just, it was a part of history that I didn't know anything about. Castro came over here. He checked into this expensive Fifth Avenue hotel and stuff, but he wasn't comfortable being there. And there's even rumors that they say that he had chickens running up and down the hallway, and they just, I don't know if that's true or not. So he wanted to go down to Harlem where the people were.

The hotel was called the Hotel Teresa. The story of Killing Castro is about him going down there, and he was having meetings with people like Malcolm, X and Martin Luther King, and it was at the same time, there was a target on his back. The number of assassination attempts on his life are unimaginable. Frankie Faison, welcome to the show, man. It's a pleasure. Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me. Oh, absolutely. Wouldn't turn this down for anything.

Like I said, before we hit record, I've been watching you in movies, you know, all the way dating all the way back to you and your landlord days on coming to America, just chilling in that hot tub, baby. All right. It goes back. You've been so good for so long, and you have some amazing things coming out that we're going to get to. But, you know, real quickly, you know, tell us, tell the audience about your journey into

Hollywood and kind of what it took for you because there's a lot of people out there that don't chase their dreams. And in my show, I like to bring even people of your caliber, talking about what it took and the hardships and overcoming the adversity to achieve what you want to achieve in life. Okay. Well, it all began back in Newport News, Virginia, when I was a little church-going kid, and I was drawn to the church plays, you know, to Christmas pageets and all that kind of stuff. And I was always the guy who was speaking and doing, in the little place from about five years old on. And then into going into middle school and to kindergarten and elementary school,

I was always the mischievous, most boisterous class clown guy. But my teachers turned this into something positive because they made me get out in front of the classes and speak, you know, give announcements and all that kind of thing. Same kind of thing I did in church. So that gave me a comfort about being in front of an audience from a very young age. and then I pursued it into high school and from high school I decided to go I knew that I knew from a very young age

I wanted to be a professional actor had no idea what that involved a friend of mine was speaking to me the other day he said did you imagine when you were back in high school that one day you'd be in pictures do you be you know like you know people will be showing you on television and film

and I said no that thought hadn't crossed my mind because the only thing I knew was theater and I was out of Virginia, I had no exposure to, you know, the sophistication of New York or L.A. So I went to NYU. I went to Illinois Wesleyan, got my undergraduate degree in theater, then went to NYU, got my graduate degree in theater. And, you know, so I had a, it was a long journey to get to my first professional job. I mean, I think I studied and prepared at least 15 years very seriously, the arts,

because I wanted to be the best actor in the world, which I came to. realization that, no, that's not really the goal that I should pursue. I should pursue becoming the best actor that I can be. Because there's so many brilliant talents out there that there is no best of anything. I don't think. You can be as good as you can be. And so I did that. And from NYU, I was already in New York and I started doing theater, lots of serious

theater, Broadway, off Broadway, off, Broadway. And then that segues into me doing commercials. which allowed me to do even more theater and, you know, to keep a roof over my head. And from commercials, I had a very, I call myself the triple 200 man. And no, actually, I'm a quadruble 200 man. That means I've done over 200 plays. I've done over 200 commercials. I've done over 200 television episodes.

And I've done about 200 films, including all the, independent and low-budget films. So I call myself, you know, which is to me, it's an amazing, it's an amazing accomplishment. And I did those things because you cannot depend on, and those young audiences out there listening, don't ever, you know, pin yourself into a corner and just depend on one thing. You've got to be diverse. You've got to be open. You've got to be able to do other things.

And the important thing is to make an earn a living while you're doing your profession. So that's why I did plays. I did theater. I did film. I did everything. And that's why I call myself to quadruple 200 men club. I like that. I mean, gosh, the episodes for the TV, you almost had at least half of it covered with the wire.

You were in, what, 94 episodes of that? Yeah. Yeah. And then there was an early series called True Colors probably back. It was back in the 70s, you know, which was. which was an amazing series. It was about the interracial couple, raising their family and a comedy with Nancy Walker.

You may not remember her. She was a bounty lady. You're too young, but she was a very, very iconic in her own way. And so that, and plus I've done, you know, soap operas. I've done sitcoms. I've done dramas. I do it all, man.

I love to work. I'm a working actor. Give me some work. I'll hear that. And I'll go to it. You know, you mentioned something. Sorry, go ahead. Sorry, Frank.

I was going to say, that was my journey. And the journey and in between the journey was, you know, raising a family, three kids, three daughters. And it was, it was tough sometimes. Sometimes it was very tough. But I stayed the course for me. And, you know, and I don't recommend this for everybody. For me, I said I will either make it or just bust as ever. as a career as an actor.

I would never do anything else. I wouldn't drive a cab. I wouldn't do a waitress. I wouldn't do a second job. I say, my job is this, and I need to be prepared for that. But I can't advise that to everyone to do now, especially with the cost of things, departments and clothing and food and all that. You've got to earn a living.

So the important thing is to be content doing something that you're happy doing while you pursue what you really want to do, but never losing sight. of what it is your main focus. You know, I agree with that. I mean, it's, you know, I did this while I also worked a corporate position in sales for a lot of years until I could do this solely. And while I was over there making a living and providing benefits and paychecks for the family, I never lost sight of this.

I knew what I wanted this to be. But I just kept showing up in every avenue as much as I possibly could in refining the skills consistently. And you said something there that I want to go back to because at the very beginning, you said it was 15 years before you, you know, really got your first break or, you know, however you want to define it. And so many people try something for a year or six months or even three years. You're like, well, it's not meant to be. And you're saying you waited 15 years. and now you're the quadruple 200 threat, right? Like, it took a long time, but you stayed with it.

And we're going to take a quick break to hear from our powered by sponsor. We're proud to announce a partnership between White Sands, treatment centers, and the Determined Society. With multiple locations across Florida, White Sands provides luxury, top-rated addiction treatment, from medical detox and inpatient care to outpatient support and long-term after-care. care. Their resort-style campuses, expert clinicians, and holistic programs create real lasting

recovery. Together, we're committed to bringing hope, resources, and healing to those who need it most. White Sands Treatment Centers. And I also wanted just to put an asterisk to that, saying that that 15 years includes 15 years of very strenuous, committed. training to become an actor. I mean, taking classes, you know, going, getting a master's degree, an undergraduate degree, intensive in which I would, you know, eat, sleep, breathe theater, morning, noon, and night. And it was that, to me, I could think of no other way than to be committed to go out and do the things that I wanted to do and be prepared.

Because there are a lot of, there are a lot of people out there who have a lot of, lot of talent who can do things who did not get, who don't have the pedigree of the training that, you know, that I know that I have. Because when I finished and I left graduate school and went out to compete for jobs, I knew that I had something that I would say 85% of the people out there that I was competing against did not have. I mean, it was just kind of, it's kind of shocking to go out sometimes that you would be auditioning for a role. And let's say there's, you know, some of the iconic figures who were out there during my day, they would be out there.

Like I say, it was Morgan Freeman, who once he had made it. And they would say, you would go into a room and they say, well, we're looking for a Morgan Freeman type. And Morgan Freeman was in the room. So that's really, you know, you say, well, what do you want? But that just showed the competitiveness that you had to have. So you had to find your own, your little own lane, a way to identify who you were so people could say, oh, yeah, he's got this special thing that I want. It's a little different from other people.

And to be able to transform and do from, you know, to go from, you know, class, I mean, I was classically trained. I could do the classics, but I could do street as well, you know, country or whatever was, you know, whatever was, whatever was demanded. And I think that that's one of the key that I say to all the young people. out there aspiring to become actors, prepare yourself, learn your craft. Because you're not going to become a doctor by going out there and just cutting somebody opening this pyramid. You better get to medical training. So I take the profession very seriously.

No, I love to hear that because, like you said, there's a lot of people out there that have a lot of amazing talents that where they miss is they don't work every day to refine that talent. It is a constant refining, a constant growth. And I just love hearing that from you because someone who's done all the things that you've done, you are literally telling everybody right now, follow the process, you know, dive into getting better. And when you can get better and you could be so versatile, then, you know, and once you know what's special about you and what you can bring, there's rarely, there's rare,

you'll lose at times, but mostly there won't be very many genres or silos that you cannot fall into. Right. And it's important to do, and it's important to know that you're representing yourself in everything that you do. And so it's like, you know, when I, when I go to, was going to auditions in earlier days and even now, I'm not going there necessarily I'm going to win to get the job but if I don't get the job I want to just make sure

that the person on the other side of that table who's auditioning me or interviewing me will understand that this guy has unlimited potential he could do a lot of things we may not be able to use them for this one thing but maybe somewhere he may be come down the road he may he could be useful

his talent. And to give a classic example of that is one of the major pieces that I did of the film called Coming to America. I was not originally cast as the landlord in that

there was another actor, a good friend of mine who was cast. And he unfortunately had another commitment and couldn't do it. They had remembered my audition that I had done and they had to, you know, find a replacement for him. And they came back at me and offered me that role.

And the rest is history because that's become a real important stepping stone for me in my career. So you don't always just go for the job. You go for the representation of your talent, who you are, and what you potentially can do. And maybe they may circle back to you and come back at you again later in life. That's happened to me on many occasions in my life. That's a good point. I mean, and that film is iconic.

It still is, right? It's a film that it transcends generations. I can't show it's my kids yet, right, because they're too little. But you can bet the moment I have a six-year-old, a nine-year-old and an 11-year-old.

Well, the 11-year-old can jump in there, maybe. Yeah, actually he might could, man. We might have to do that this week. It ain't a father's, son Bonn until you show him coming to America. Right. There you are.

I love it, man. Listen, you've got something really interesting coming out. The movie Killing Castro, going to TIF, the Toronto Film Festival. Actually, they're screening it September 5th and 7th. Walk us through that. It's an amazing concept of a movie about the 1960s where Malcolm X had invited Fidel Castro. to New York City, and there's this big plot to assassinate them on U.S. soil. And I'm excited for this one, very excited.

I am, too. I mean, it's like we shot it, and then it just sort of disappeared, and then it just jumped up, and, you know, I guess you know how it is when you do an independent film. But the story, it just, it was a part of history that I didn't know anything about. I didn't know either. When Castro came over here, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, He checked into this expensive, you know, like Fifth Avenue hotel and stuff, but he wasn't

comfortable being there. And there's even rumors that they say that he had chickens running up and down the hallway and they just, I don't know if that's true or not. But, you know, anyway, they kicked. He left and he had to go someplace else. So he wanted to go down to Harlem where the people were. And so he went to this hotel down in Harlem, which is a, which is still exists, is still there. You can go by

and it it was a hotel that was on the house. It was coming, you know, it was really it needed something to defuse to pump some juice into it. And so when he came, he wanted to stay there. And so the story of Killing Castro is about him

going down there and he was having meetings with people like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and you know, and it was at the same time, there was a target on his back. They say the number of assassination attempts on his life are unimaginable. And this film, Killing Castro, tells that story, revealing about what it was like.

And it also reveals a bit of Harlem, the history of this hotel where he stayed. I happened to be the in the film I play the owner of the hotel and my daughter is the one who said look we got to run with this thing with this guy coming here used it to our advantage to rebuild

the hotel and it was like it's a classic interesting piece and it's a piece of history that a lot of people are not familiar with I was not familiar with it and I would live in New York for I don't know countless amount of times

the hotel was called the Hotel Teresa. And if you're doing reading any history of it, you can see what it's about. It's turned into an apartment building now. But it was a great role to play. And I'm really excited. I haven't seen the film yet myself. Are you going to TIF or are you not going?

I can't because I'm supposed to be starting another project. and that will not allow me to go. But I certainly, you know, I certainly would, I certainly would want to be there. I certainly, I mean, they told me that I should come, but I can't, I mean, I don't know how I can arrange it in my schedule. I mean, you can be in two places at one time, right? It's physically not be in two places at one time.

So I got to do that. Yeah, man. I'm hoping the best for it. I hope that, I hope it gets the kind of attention that I think it deserves. Like I say, it's. I'm speaking from what I know of the experience I had making the film and reading the script and the story. The end product, I hope it stands up, you know, to my expectations. I'm sure it will.

You know, I'm sure it will, right? I'm excited to see it. I'm excited to see what it does. You know, how did it feel playing apart? I mean, it's actual history, right? So, but to your point, Frankie, I didn't know about this. when this was brought to me, I read up on it. I'm like, whoa, this happened. This hasn't been talked about. You know, there was rumors of the mafia even being involved.

Like, you know, all a bunch of different things. But how did, how did this role differ for you? Because you've played a lot of dynamic roles and a lot of dynamic films and episodes and theater. How did it play for you to be in a film that was being created off of actual history in Harlem? Oh, it's amazing. I have a, being a theater person coming from theater and doing things, I have a very, a very clear journey in telling stories about history, about life, things that have happened before. And I've done a lot of historical pieces where I've played true characters who were,

you know, like the film Till, in which I played Emmett Till's grandfather. I did this film called Somersby, in which I played the eulogists for the boys who were murdered down in Mississippi. I love doing, because I'm not trying to recreate the characters. I'm trying to tell them it as a humane way as I possibly can. And I think that if the writing is good, can connect to the character. It doesn't take much because I love writers and I love their journey, their stories, storytelling is so important in facet as far as my work as an actor's concern.

So doing that film, it was sort of sucked some of the air out of my body for a moment because I said, here I am playing a true historical character. that really experienced this, that had this experience during this time. There's also another film, which is actually, I don't know how to call it. I would say this is the film I did about four years ago. This very, not widely viewed, you probably have never heard of it. Maybe you have, since you may have written something about me. but it's a film that if I had never done any other film after this film,

I would have been content because it gave me all the satisfaction I needed every aspect of acting, being a humanitarian, spreading a story that's so important and teaching instrument for people. And the film is called The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain. I haven't seen that one. Please go out and see that. And that is my... You know my well. That is my...

That is the one film that it's a calculation of all the things that I've done in my life, in my work, and in my life, it's come out in this character. And broadly,

broad strokes is basically about, uh, it's about, uh, a man who it's, you know, the, um,

black lives. matter movement. And it's a man who was murdered in killing of Kenneth Chamberlain. And of course, you know, he gets killed in his apartment when his alarm system went off accidentally. And the first responders were these renegade police officers who didn't know how. And this ties into something else we're going to talk about later because he had a bit of mental illness. And they did not know how to deal with him. So rather than deal with him and his illness, they dealt with him as a man who lived in the slum area, in the apartment building, there have been drugs in the place and all that stuff.

And it was like a bam, bam, bam. And the rest is history. This is a film that takes place in real time. It's about an hour, 35 minutes, and every moment of you sort of hold your breath and you say, how can this be happening? How can that happen? And so that's, but that's the same kind of, I mean, to me, that's, I love doing that kind of work. It's, it's so, so important.

I love doing comedies and things like that to entertain, too, but being a theater person, you know, coming from theater. And I'll tell you this story as well. It's like, when I first did coming to America, I was just coming off of doing the Broadway play fences with the late great, iconic figure James Earl Jones and Mary Alice's wonderful actress and when I got this role to do this

and I did this girl everybody's coming up to me and saying oh you're so funny are you a comedian you I said no no I'm a classically trained serious actor I sort of scoffed at the fact that people were looking at me as you know but I learned

over the years to embrace that moment because that film has given so much to so many people over the years. So you can't knock any job, or you just go in there, you do your work and do the best that you can. And you hope, and that's why I

sort of like, I think that I have a record of being dependable and doing these kind of characters that people can really smile when they see them and they can say that you know he's going to be bringing something to the table. So that's... Well, you, look, man, you

mentioned kind of, you know, in this film holding your breath every second, you know, and you also mentioned working with writers. They're so skilled of telling stories. I go back to a film that you recently did, Be on the Rush with Robert Sayer as the director and writer. Brilliant, brilliant film. He's incredible. I did a piece on them early on. I think it was maybe in March. But, you know, and then we, you know, mentioned, you know, rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door, expertly cleaned and folded. So you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like tea time you. Or this tea time you. Or even this tea time you.

Said you hear about Dave? Or even tea time, tea time, tea time you. Hmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. It's up to you. you, we'll take the laundry. Rince, it's time to be great. Mental health, that film, because I watched it, it was incredible. I mean, from opening scene to the end,

I'm like, I mean, almost the opening scene, I was like, I don't know if I can watch anymore. Like, because it was that earth-shattering, it was like, dude, I have kids, right? And so, but I, you know, continue to watch. And just the whole genius of that movie, in my humble opinion, is that, you know, we live in this world.

And if you were to walk up to me, and I'm sitting on the park bench, just like Bill's character was, right? Bill Barrett's character was walking by and someone sitting on the bench. He's like, hey, looks like you're doing great. All the while Bill's struggling in his life. This guy's struggling in his life.

Like, me and you are talking right now, but we don't know each other's struggles. If we go based on the interview and the conversation, it's all butterflies in our world. And it's not necessarily like that. So I thought that movie was genius. And quite honestly, it pains me to see it's not getting the attention that it deserves. But what a masterpiece, man.

Yes, I mean, I came onto that piece. I read, I was, I was presented the script to read to consider playing the role. And I read the script and it just, it tick boxes of things that I like to do and have my work. influence or tell stories. And this is, it deals with mental health and it deals with child abuse. And

it to me and it deals with family very much so and it deals with spiritual beliefs. But those two things alone, the mental health and the family, child abuse is like, because if you have a child, you

know what your feelings would be like if anything ever happened to them. And sometimes you don't know because it's a hush, hush thing. A lot of times it's pushed under the rock. It's pushed to the, you know, through the background and you don't know what's going on. Or something could happen to your child and you may not even know for years and years and

years. But this story is so powerful. And one of the things that recently, because I think about talking to you about this in this interview, one of the things that struck me about this film is that it deals with mental health and it deals with child abuse. How connected are the two and how forgiving or unforgiving should we be when that connection is brought to the forefront?

Because of the sins of someone else caused one of the characters in this in this film to become, to make other people victims the same way he was. And so... When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp. The secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th.

And never miss a meme or milestone. all protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone. Learn more at WhatsApp.com. I'm just, I mean, those things, they are so closely woven together.

And Rob is like, he put his life on the line. This is his life story. And it is so courageous when you want to tell a story. Because anything you write as a writer. You know, it's got to come from something. Usually it has something to do something about who you are.

But he told this story in a way and he committed to it and he's been the pioneer for this thing and for this film and for the rights, the mental illness and the harm that they can do. And I take off my hat. You spoke to Rob.

So, I mean, I take out my hat to him. He's just and he's been such a fighter for this film to be, for this story to be shown because he thinks it can help other people. And I think it can help other people too. Because we, too many times we're ready to just say, oh, this is just a horrible person. But everything comes from something, from some part of your life, some aspect of your life, whatever you want to say. And sooner we have these stories that can deal with it.

Maybe they can help other people. which is what I hope. And the passion that Rob shows for this film, I take my hat off to him. And that guy's a fighter. Frankie, he's a fighter. He ain't given up. He's determined.

And to this day, me and Robert still communicate. He'll shoot me a text message. He shot me one yesterday. You know, tell me, go tigers, right? So I play baseball at LSU. And then in his bar at Judi's, right, he shows me the pennant of LSU. And so we've built this friendship.

to where we still communicate and, you know, I would do anything for the guy. You know, if I could wave a wand and make it happen for him, you know, that was my one special superpower I could give. I would do it for that guy because he's such an amazing human being and he leads just from this soulful place, man. He's just incredible. Absolutely. And that's why, you know, that's one of the main reasons that I'm here is because it is for

Rob. I mean, you know, and it's just, and I, like, I don't do, I'm a very private kind of person. I don't, you know, and like the things that I do, when I do go live and talk to our podcast or anything else and talk about my career and my life, it's, it's got to be meaningful to me. Like, I mean, I've got to get, I got to feel like it's the right place for me to be. So, and for this and for Rob and just even having the conversation. and you know that I'm having with you is delightful. It brings, it just, it helps me, you know,

because I, you know, like you say, you gave a classic example. I could be sitting here in this chair talking to you like I'm talking to you, but there are so many things that are going on in my life. And they just happen to, that they're, it just happens so happens that there are a lot of things. I mean, I've just, my head is filled with a lot of things.

because when you get older or even when you're younger, you know, things, stuff happens. But you can't, you still have to be, you know, you still have to,

and I find joy in speaking to people, and especially in talking about things that I can feel good about talking about. And that's that kind of conversation. So I thank you for that. No, I mean, that I'm kind of,

I'm not really speechless a lot, Frankie. So that, I receive that and I appreciate that because a lot like you, I won't do things that I can't wrap around some type of meaning. You know, we just don't do interviews for the sake of doing interviews. They have to mean something. It has to make sense.

And the mission and the message have to make sense and it has to be impactful. So I'm just, I'm grateful because I always see things, right? I can look and I can, you know, maybe count on one finger how many podcasts you've been on. Like, you don't go on them very often, right? Or if at all. So it's a huge honor. And, you know, I'm grateful for the fact that, hey, you know what? You looked at this opportunity.

You're like, this is a show that I want to do. And we're having this amazing conversation. And, you know, to be frank, I, I literally, no pun intended. But I literally run my show a lot differently than most podcasts. Okay. You know, it's conversation. Yeah. You know?

Well, you got a great, you know, you have a great sense of humor. You have a great sense of honesty about you. I'm just, and you make the audience, you make the person you're interviewing feel comfortable and want to talk. We're having this good conversation. I'm enjoying it. Well, me too. I think it's the shirts we're wearing. I think so.

We both wear these classic shirts. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to not compliment you on your shirt because your shirt is really just as. right up there with mine. It's spectacular. You know. It's got a bunch of the goats. It has Muhammad Ali.

It has Wayne Gretzky. Yeah. It's a goat in golf team. I've got a goat right here. And, you know, there's Tom Brady on here. Oh, okay. It's cool. How about Djokovic?

Do you have him on there? Hey, I didn't make the shirt. Okay. I didn't make the shirt. I just wanted. he's pretty darn good, isn't he? Yeah. You're pretty good.

Oh, man. Man. I tell you, I, you know, going back to it, though, I'm just, I'm super excited to watch some of the recommendations that she told me to watch. And then also just to see you and something else new and you've got something else, another project you're filming. So there's just plenty more from Frankie Faison on and it's exciting. Yeah. And, you know, also, Sean, it's exciting to congratulate you on your podcast. You don't get there.

Like you say, you don't get there by just saying, I'm going to go there. You got there by doing the kind of work that a person needs to do to get there. And it's important to you. And so I'm saying it really bursts out. It shines through. So congratulations to you on that, you know. That's, I don't, I don't want to go. I don't want.

I don't want to have this interview expire without me telling you that. And, you know, getting a little smile on your face. There's a little smile. Yeah, you know, man. I mean, there's been a lot of pain in building this, right? There's been an extraordinary amount of financial pain, growth gain, access gain. You know, there's just been a lot of things that go on with it. So to, you know, to get an endorsement from you like that, man, it almost made me emotional.

Well, it did, but I held it in. I held it in because I truly, I felt that. I think I thank you. Yeah. To your point, man, like this, this isn't easy. There's this, just like, just like Hollywood, this, this, this, this industry is saturated. And it takes a special person and a special mission, more importantly, to, to kind of, you know, the, the cream will rise to the top. And I feel like we're starting to rise, right?

We're close and, you know, we're only going to continue to get better. And so it's exciting, but it's also damn frustrating. I was, I was, my gosh, there's moments. And it's been the last two weeks. You know, so that point, right? It's that point. Like, we know where we're at and we know where we should be, but we have to do more here to get here.

And look, the last two weeks, I'm going to tell you, it's been a struggle. I've been, you know, in and out of bad moods. And, but, but that's, hey, look, it's all about how you respond, right? It is. It is. It is about how you respond. And how you let the bad moods affect you or, you know, they're going to affect you to a certain degree, yes, but you also have to rise above it.

I mean, look, and nobody has a picture perfect life, you know, there's always ups and downs. And so, like, you know, you, you're standing the test of time. You're going to be all right. you know. Oh, hey, man. Because you're going to be all right, you know. That's right. Because that's the decision.

I'm going to be all right. Because I'm going to be all right. I just, I just, yeah. So I'm, this is, this is really. That's the decision we both have made about ourselves. It's like,

this is going to be okay. This is what we're doing. And commit to it for a lifetime of growth and in a lifetime of professionalism. That's really what it is. It's making sure that whatever it is that you're doing for the audience listening and watching is like it doesn't matter what it is. Treat it like it's the most important thing in the world, whether it's the things that you hate doing in your business. I'm sure there was things in your career you did not like it doing to get ready, but you found a way to love those things and you did them anyway.

And it's made you who you are. Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you the truth, Sean. In my whole life and career, I can keep. count on three fingers or less the things that I did not, I mean, that I did not want. I did the things I wanted to do. And I found peace with it. I have been very privileged. You know, I've always stood my ground.

I did what I wanted to do because I didn't want to go into doing something that I didn't want to do because I knew it would make me unhappy. And when I'm unhappy, I cannot produce the count. of quality work or be the kind of quality person that I want to be. So I thank my lucky stars for the blessings that I've had because I just have always enjoyed just about everything that I've done. If you told me to pick out my worst experience, I'd be so hard pressed to do it. I mean, I really, I mean, you know, I mean, there have been things that maybe a short times

I wanted to make more money doing something or things I maybe wanted to have a bigger part or something else. But I always enjoy doing the work that I do. I love it. I just love it. I gravitate towards it. I just, you know, I just, and my life as well. My life is a reflection of that same work. I mean, I don't have bad.

I grew up in the South kind of Newport, New Virginia, but I don't have bad stories to tell. I don't have bad experiences. I don't, I feel like I was, I'm walking under a cloud. Somebody's protecting me and making sure that, that I'm okay because I don't, and even when I struggle, when we're hungry, penniless, you know, you know, I mean, I've been there, but even then, because I have the ability to, to, to provide for myself. I mean, I can cook and maintain myself. I can make my own food, which, by the way, you're going to be privy to an experience of.

Can I have a bag of that? You know, you have made the Frankie Faison. Send me a bag of granola lists. Oh, come on, man. I make granola. Been making it for 50 years. And recently, my wife and I, we have decided to launch, to launch. So I'm launching my own brand of granola.

Your children will love it. You won't get to eat any of it because your children will eat all of it. This is my bag. This is my product. I'm just done doing this little bit of us. Yeah, absolutely. It's organic. Gluten free, nut free.

It ticks all those boxes. This is the big 18-ounce bag. And then I have small and a little pick-me-up little sizes. I copied from Paul Newman and Famous Amos. I say, look, they can put their face on their bag. Why can't I put my face on my bag? I really believe in my bag. you are going to have to send Samantha your

I will Victoria or one of them you will get me your email address and I will send you a big bag and a couple of my smaller bags which are different flavors and I want you to try it

enough of that but I'm not sharing with my kids I'm not sharing with my kids I'm going to keep it in my truck you're going to have to because I tell you once they tasted you're out of luck Yeah, I know.

I'm saying. But anyway, that's another thing. And that thing has kept me on point, too, for a lot. When I'm down and out, I'll go and I'll bake granola and give it away to people. And I feel so much better. I've gifted thousands and thousands and thousands of bags of this. And my wife finally said, Frank, this stuff is very expensive. You're going to have to start putting your stuff out there on the market.

And I did. And we'll see how it goes, you know. What are you launching it? It's called Frankie's Fabulous, Grinom. Oh, look at it. Fabulous Frankies. When are you launching it? What's the date?

Well, we don't have a launch date yet, but I hope that when I do launch it, maybe I could come back and we can do a little reprieve, a little quick, little, I'll come on your show and say, hey, let you know how things are going. My man, whatever you want, buddy, whenever you want. Samantha will hook you up. We're going to get your information. Thank you, man. When I say I'm going to send something, you can just consider it received because you will receive it.

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I do. I feel that from you, man. I appreciate you and you're more than welcome to come back on when you launch that. You'll always have a place here. Anything that you do and you want to come back, you are welcome, my friend. You are welcome.

I appreciate that, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, look, I know you won't be there. You'll be out working and in production, but I really wish the best for killing Castro at Tiff, and I can't wait to see it. And I hope I get that opportunity soon

because I'm very interested in this project. And it's just been really great to meet with you and get to know you. And man, I cherish this conversation. Thank you. I thank you so much for being there and being here. Don't forget to watch the killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, though. That's like I say,

I couldn't say, I shouldn't say Swan Song, but then that means I'm getting ready to fly away. I'm gone, so I can't say that. But it's, it's, I'm pushing that piece. I want to, because I think that if you see that, you might want to come back and let's say, let's have a conversation about that. I believe it's that impactful. And it was, that's that. Well, hey, listen, we're writing it down over here and I will be watching that movie. movie. Once I tell you something, just like you, you can consider it done. I'm going to watch it.

Absolutely. I appreciate that. Well, dude, thank you again, Frankie. I just, I enjoyed this. And for the audience, please, when this movie comes out, go check it out. It's called Killing Castro. You won't be disappointed. If you ever get the opportunity to watch Beyond the Rush and the other movies that that he mentioned in this recording. Please, guys, go watch it, support this man. He's amazing and go all the way back to coming to America and some of the other things that he's done too because he's had an amazing career

and continues to add on to it. So share this episode with someone you know love and trust that would get something out of it. And until next time, stay determined. Here we have the Lemu-Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

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