Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - Living your story w/ Actor Christopher Coy

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

In this episode Shawn French dives in deep with his cousin and experienced Actor Christopher Coy. Chris grew up in a small town in Florida called North Port. At the ripe age of 17 he decided graduate early, pick up his whole life and move to Hollywood to achieve his dreams of being an actor. Everyone who loved him told him not to do it and to go to college. To Chris, not going to Hollywood would have been completely out of alignment for him. He not only felt that everyone was wrong, he proved it! This DETERMINATION in Chris is and was second to none. The thoughts and feelings he had about his career were loud and deafening to him. The world is better because he chose to LIVE HIS OWN STORY.  You can all follow Chris on IG @christopherjamescoy --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shawn-french/message Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at good to know facts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit good to know facts.org. What's up, guys. How's it going? Sean French here with another episode of The Determined Society. Today, I have a special, special guest, guys. Christopher Coy, he is an actor. He's not only an actor. He is my

cousin. He is my family. I'm super excited about it. As you can tell, I'm all jacked up, trying to make sure everything's right here. Chris has been in a multitude of things. But the most important thing that I love about Chris is his journey, the things that he went through at a young age, to get to where he's, he's at right now. He's been in a plethora of things. The Walking Dead, Banshee, Trimming, True Blood, Walking Dead. And my personal favorite, Castle Rock on Hulu, absolutely love the performance in there with that one.

You have, man, this guy's great. We're just waiting for him to hop on. But I want to say thank you so much for listening ahead of time. And please, do me a huge favor. the only way this is going to grow, guys, if you share the episodes. Please, we are doing any ads right now. I'm trying to grow organically here and give you guys minute to minute conversations with the best guests, the best ideas, and the best chats. So we're just going to continue to wait for him to hop on here. It's actually a little early. We got a couple minutes. So

we got some big guests coming up, guys. We got a lot of things going on. We got Chris today. I got Becca Chamberlain coming on later on this week. And I have Rick Laidman of Beyond Motion coming on this week too. So we have a lot of people coming on here. And then we do have another guest that I have scheduled for the end of January. I'm not going to announce yet. This one's big. They're all big to me, right? It's all the Super Bowl. Like every single, every single episode that I do is like the Super Bowl, even if it's just a solo cast for me. So that's what's up. I appreciate you guys. listening. We're doing things a little different now. As you can see, we're on camera, right? Got the Determined Society logo in the background. We're going to be doing it like this because

I just heard that I had access to video via anchor and I'm able to download my video or upload my video to Spotify and it show video and then it transcribe audio to all the other platforms like Apple Podcast. So I promise you guys that is not an advertisement. That is just me talking through some things while I'm waiting for Chris. I hope you guys are having a good 2022 so far. It's been awesome for me. Yeah, it's been awesome. We're at 359 right now, guys, when this guy hops on, I'm going to warn you, he's full of energy. You're going to absolutely love him. He's a trip. You know, one of my favorite things about him is his ability to find humor and joy in everything that he does. It's one of his gifts. I believe it's his superpower. Um, but hopefully he hops

on soon. I can let him in. Let me check real quick. Still not here. Still not here. So we will continue to wait. We will continue to wait. Some big things coming. Again, like I mentioned to you guys, I'm going to be launching some things next week. I'm going to do a series on Instagram Lives. I'm going to name it. I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to name it yet. I do know what I'm going to name it. But I'm not going to tell you guys yet, and I'm kicking off with a big, big guest. He's the man. He's an incredible dude, but I'm not going to spoil that surprise either because it's worth the wait.

I'll announce it soon. Trust me, I'm going to start promoting this thing like right now. And every week there's going to be episodes, right? There's going to be episodes, episode one, episode two, three, four. Most likely will be, oh, here you comes, guys, we'll get to it. Where's he at? Let me see that face. What's up?

Look at that shirt. Let me see that shirt, bro. Oh, this? This is just a little something to threw on. I'm quite filling out as good as you. Bro, I just gave you the proper introduction, bro. I warned everybody you got your energy. I'm just super excited.

You're actually wearing clothes. You know me so well because that was the only outfit I considered other than this. Determined Society T-shirt was nothing at all. Is there anything else? No, I know. And I just knew like, you know, the obviously podcast, they're going to hear me, but you can't really hear nudity. And so you know what?

You can if it's you because all your energy is super loud and appreciated. But the cool thing was is yesterday, guys, he sent me a text and he said, is this thing going to be audio or is there going to be video as well? I said both, brother. We're going big on it. And I'm glad he did because if I wouldn't have told him we were going to be on video, again, he would not be closed. So, Chris, I was telling everybody a little bit about you. I did you the most just as possible.

I did mention that your favorite work that I've ever seen was Castle Rock on Hulu. That was a good one. That's a fun one. There's a lot of, there's a lot of fans of that show and then a lot of fans of my work that that appreciate that one especially. To be honest with you and with them, I had just had hernia surgery the week before I, before I filmed that. And so I was on a lot of opiates.

That's probably why I was so damn good. but um dude people will reach out and be like man i love like that you gave them a limp and there's never any mention of why and like what a weird creative choice and i'm like no i just literally couldn't walk right um i just had it was like real it was like yeah yeah yeah i love that one um i love tromey and dude the one my personal like way back when it first came out when you were Barry the Bellboy on Trubel. That was like one of the very first things that she did, right? That was my second job ever. Yeah, second job ever. And your first job, I think, was something to do. No, your first year you broke, I think Tom Hanks record or something like that for things that you're in.

I remember talking to you about that years ago. Yeah, there was like a first year work record that It was like, which is, I don't know if that even exists really anymore because now there's so much with new media and all that. Now there's so many opportunities and jobs to book and stuff like that. Although at the time, it never felt like more concentrated or, you know, abundant in terms of job opportunities or less abundant or whatever. it always has felt the same to me. It feels like there are so many opportunities out there, and there's just no way you're going to get them all, and you still want them all.

And like, so there's this like, this bottomless well of, like, ambition, if you're willing to, like, reach into it and go after it. And, like, that can be frustrating, but it can also be so, satisfying, you know, like there's as much sustenance as you can handle. But so anyway, yeah, that first year that I booked a job, I got reached out and told that from the day your first job airs until a year after that, the casting world or someone, you know, SAG maybe, keeps track of how many jobs you book in that year, but they've got to be a film

with a million dollar budget or more, or maybe a half million dollar budget or more, and then it's got to be major network or cable television shows. And Hanks, and it includes, like, if you get a series regular, it counts like six of those episodes. It doesn't count like all 22 or whatever. And yeah, I think Hank's, his first year that he booked, booked like 11 jobs, 12 jobs. And that, yeah, in, in 2000, from February of 08, of 09, from February of 09 to Coe booked 14. Yeah, that was a thing. It's dope, man. So what's more impressive, dude, it's impressive. And like, before I get to what's most impressive, about you to meet just as a family member and I love you obviously we're family we're blood

but one thing that people may not know about you and someone on Facebook says make sure you cover this um you're a badass martial artist as a kid you i mean you travel all over the world and win tournaments you mind chatting a little bit about that and kind of maybe how that set the tone for not just you as a person in your career, but as a father and a husband. Sure. I'm actually back in it now, bro. Yeah, I have a tournament in February. That's my first, like, return to the circuit.

I feel bad for people, man. That's going to be dope. Huh? That's going to be dope. I feel bad for people, man. We'll see. I've definitely, dude, I've aged. It's, which I would, I swear, wasn't evident to me until I got back into a ring.

and I was like, oh, that leg doesn't work like that anymore. Yeah, but surely, man, and that stuff helped me, helps me every day. Most of it, most of the value, I think, was just in the work ethic, was in the discipline. And also, specifically for my journey with acting, arts training or that lifestyle, especially when you start young like I did, they really drill words like perseverance or, you know, mentalities like that into you. And so for me, it served me because by the time I got out to Los Angeles and everybody was talking about, oh, it's a grind and like, oh, it's a pressure cooker and, you know, you're going to go in this room and all

these eyes are going to be at you. I was like, yeah, but nobody's going to kick me in the face, right? Perspective, right? Yeah. And I was like, well, that sounds easy enough. And then also, like, it was like, you know, you're going to do a thousand of them before you ever win one. And it's like, well, at least it's not 10,000, you know, let's go. Like, and that all came as a consequence of just, you know, getting beat down and trained properly in martial arts. I was lucky enough to have really, really gifted instructors, not just gifted physically, but in terms of teaching. Like they really knew how to shape an athlete or a person.

And dude, I think, too, like with anything that people are really good at, I just fucking loved it. I loved that shit. I loved for a lot of those same reasons that when I got to LA, it worked. Like, I love that pressure. I think that I perform better under it. And that's something that's palpable to me. And it turns me on. Like, I already can can sometimes, um, feel like a bit of a cocky bastard. And so I like feeling good at what I do, but then to like be able to feel a shift and get elevated because of that pressure just feels sexy to me, feels good to me. And it always drove me to continue trying to get better.

And, you know, first I went in terms of martial arts, you know, first I just wanted to compete. I wanted to know what it felt like to be in a tournament. And then it was like, well, I want to win a regionals. And so then like one, over the course of those years, man, dozens and dozens of regions. And then I was like, well, what's the nationals feel like? And so then 11 nationals later, it was like, how do I get a world championship? And, you know, it just never stopped. And then it was like, well, I want to be on the world demonstration team.

I want to go to Korea. I want to. And that's how this is too. And I think you can attest to this as well with your own. life and journey that like a lot of people think they're like aiming for some finish line and it's not there there's there's no there's no fucking finish line right and that's one thing that I've always appreciated about you I may have never come out and say but I'm going to say now we have always shared the same ability to create what we want in our life sure there is

there's never been a moment where I've been around you and you have been in a shitty mood. You have maybe been upset at something, but you always have been had the ability to find a positive in that and be grateful in that moment. And with that, you've been able to attract whatever you wanted in your life. And I feel like you and I share that, right? It's always been, it's never been with us like, hey, we're ready now, right? We're ready. Let's go do this.

All right. I wasn't ready to start the determined society. I wasn't ready to start a podcast. I wasn't ready to start any of this shit. And were you ever really ready to go to Korea? Were you ever really ready? And we're going to get to this, graduate early and fucking go to LA? No.

But what it was is sometimes in life. I'm sorry, not sometimes all the time. You have to do this shit before you're ready. That's true, man. And then figure it out along the way. So it's one of the things I'm most impressed about with your journey. And, you know, so speak on that because I feel like you're a spiritual person. You know, I feel like, you know, you have a higher level of understanding of how this world in this universe work and you see the universe works.

It's just my opinion. That's just my perspective. I mean, I certainly believe that we manifest what we want and that, you know, in terms of most people's struggle, I think that the largest obstacle is themselves. And a lot of the time it's internal. I think that and we all you know we all doubt I certainly have moments

and even days, weeks sometimes where there's this like voice in my head that I like am like will you shut up? Like you stop telling me I can't do it. Like yeah those learning thoughts and beliefs

are telling me you're just like hey you got to block them out. That's a thing. Right exactly. Every day. Right. And that's a natural fight that I think that everybody has.

But what's important is that like with any fight is just that you keep fighting is that you keep telling that thing to shut up you keep moving past it walking around it pushing through it whatever the hell you got to do because ultimately on the other side of that fight is manifestation is you either you know it's not like we're i'm not made i'm not building a house with my mind but i can but i'll bring this the first step to myself i'll bring it into my life and and then be able to recognize it and take action. I mean, I think it's most important, like when you start something, you know,

whether it's an acting career, building a business, you know, coaching people, you have to start with that end in mind, right? You have to know what it looks like. And then you reverse engineering and you start from point A, right? And you start doing the actions that you know are going to get you to that end result, right? It's not like, okay, I'm going to be an actor and let me figure out what I need to do to get there. It's like, this is what I want to do. This is where I see myself.

And now I've got to reverse engineer this thing to life. Sure. Sure. And I think, too, that, you know, back to the launch pad for this conversation, that like it's not really about knowing what you have to do or knowing that you're ready or anything. In fact, it's about not being afraid to just go. whether it's whether it's your ambition with your career or or relationships or being a parent like so many people out there like how do you know when it's time to how do you know when you're ready

it's like bro you will never ever ever be ready they'll all three be here and you're still not ready you figure out every single day that's right all day long one melt down at a time that's right and like it's it's always something new popping up that you weren't ready to for and that I think is like a key ingredient in anybody who's successful is you know adaptability or just being able to kind of go with the flow and be okay with a lack of control you know kind of um just killing the chaos like just getting in there control do that word yeah that word that word gets a lot of people in trouble what what I found in you know, it's always, it's a cliche, but we can control the controllables. We control how we wake up

every morning. Are we grateful? We control if we get up and we go outside and we hit the roads, right? We control if we go work out. We control if we read script after script after script and really try to get in to that psyche of that actor, right? You control that. We control that. And I think that in life, if we can just continue on a day-to-day basis, focus on what we can control as an individual, then we're much better off. Then we can win that war against ourselves every single day. Sure. If we're looking out, you know, things that are completely outside of our control,

like, what are we even doing? At that point, it's insane. That's right. And you're missing out, too, on, you know, there's a, as opposed to controlling what's coming to you, you should, I feel like trusting what the universe is giving you is so much more important. You know, if I, if I had spent my career, or if I was spending my career now, like,

trying to control every job that I did based on my own comprehension of what that job was going to be, where it was going to take me. That's fucking ridiculous, because, like, I have no idea. And no, neither does anyone else. Like, if there's anything 20 years in, I know, it's that some of the best scripts I've ever read ended up being the biggest piles of garbage I've ever seen on screen and some of the worst pieces of shit I've ever not even finished turned into the fucking hunger games you know turned into huge game-changing vessels where like people's whole fucking lives were changed for generations

to come and so it's ultimately yeah and so now or I would say that you know for the last decade don't, I've let, I've let go with the rains a bit. Like, I wake up, I work out, I take care of myself, I take care of my family. But I understand that like, I don't control the weather. And whatever happens on the road is kind of up to something else. And as long as I can like, just keep it between the lines, like, I don't know where we're going. And that's okay. And with that acceptance and trust, I swear came success, came like, here's a job that I think I would have been like, what is it? I don't understand what this is going to do for me.

And it's like, well, how about you just shut the fuck up and go for it? And like, I would go and then, dude, like, it would either turn into something that was bigger than I expected it to be, or I would get a job a year later that would change my whole life. And when I finally got to talk to my boss or the creator or whoever and be like, Why me, bro? They'd be like, dude, I saw you in this piece of shit and you were so good. And it's like if I would have never done that piece of shit, if I would have been, you know what I mean? It's like, we don't really know what's coming.

And that's okay. And dude, if you work hard and then you trust the universe and you trust that you'll be rewarded for that effort, dude you get surprised all the time or at least i do dude i'm laughing because i love the shit out of you man because everything you're saying is resonating so much right i was thinking about this the other day you know i was and this is a stupid analogy but i'm a dude that likes to tie everything together you know that right so i'm sitting in the parent pickup line you may have seen this video already but i'm sitting in the parent pickup line and there's a roundabout right so all the cars and you know parent pickup lines like those fucking things are

ridiculous. I don't, I think it's a new thing. I don't think there was ever that chaos when we were kids. But so, parent pickup line straight and there's a roundabout. All right. And all of a sudden, I saw the car just cutting across the roundabout. I'm like, dude, aren't these cars following the rules and going around the deal? Right? Like what's going on? I wasn't trusting what was in front of me. Who might judge the future. Like, I don't know. I don't know what these people. First of all, I don't know what these people are going to. How dare I. say, well, why don't they just go around the roundabout? Like, there's a reason, right? So as I got closer, it was my turn. There was a whole bunch of cones that were falling over. They were just

a bunch of cones that they couldn't go. And so right then I said, my journey is simply that. It is a journey. Whatever's going on in my life, I need to accept that exact moment for what it is. And then later on, maybe two, three, four, maybe five years down the road, then maybe I'll know what the fuck that moment was for. But for me, I need to be grateful for that right there. And I have goosebumps right now because you literally just, you literally just touch on what I've been working through for the last five days. I'm just everything going on in my life, in my family's life,

like right now is for a better purpose. We're going to come about better at the other end. whether we perceive this moment as bad or good, better people for it. I mean, straight out. That's right. Yeah. It's more fun, too, to, even just like in your own vocabulary to like when something that you see as bad or, you know, a shitty day or some, you know, random occurrence is happening.

It's more fun for me nowadays to like when that's happening, even if I'm like, it's, Sometimes it happens, like, in my frustration. I'm like, fuck, like, what the? And then, like, I'm like, wait, wait, wait. Instead of why is this happening, it's like, what is this? Like, what is this? And what is it? This happened for me.

Yeah, exactly. Like, okay, I get it. Like, I'm like, I'm still just like a monkey person and I don't know why. Like, I don't know why this. There's no bananas. But like, there's a fucking reason. Like, like. Like it, right?

It's there. I'm going to roll with it. And there's just important. You know, like, man, I mean, that's a whole other, we can do a whole other, you know, episode on that. But, you know, one of the things, dude, that really stood out and I really appreciate about you is when you were 17 years old, I believe you were 17, forget, you know, if I'm wrong, correct.

When you graduated high school early. And there was people telling me not to go. The principal of the high school was trying to do it. Almost everyone, almost everyone who loved me was like, don't do this. I don't remember. I might have been one. I don't know. You know, but I mean, but shit, man.

I mean, because you love somebody and, and dude, sometimes the people you love don't give you the best advice for your career. It's true because you get something you feel, you know, so, but dude, it was really impressive because it wasn't about the fact that you just did your deal anyway. It was the fact that you were so young and so impressionable, right? Like you were a kid, dude, and you, and you were steadfast. and you went out there and you did it. You know, and the thing that impressed me the most is,

and we had conversations about it, I think probably two or three years after you came back, and we were probably getting smoked over at grandma's for, sure, sure. I mean, for Christmas Eve. But, you know, you went through some diversity out there, and people were telling you to come home. Yeah.

Dude, I had moments in the room. I had auditions where I got stopped halfway through reading a scene and just so the guy could be like, what made you think you should be out here? Like, let me give you a piece of real advice. Like, go back to Milwaukee or wherever it is that you're from and, like, do something else because this isn't your club. And I, I mean, God, to be honest with you at the time,

you know, I went through six years of that. It was six years of failure before I got my first real job. So before that first year where I booked all those jobs happened, there was just under six years where I had full representation and I was auditioning regularly at least two or three times a week usually. And it was literally, you know, a couple thousand rejections, a lot of which, you know, probably a quarter of, weren't nice about it. But again, you know, in martial arts, like I was a little guy. I wasn't the big, tall guy. I certainly wasn't big and ripped. And there was a lot of times where it was stacked in front of me or it felt like,

or people would say, like, well, you know, yeah, you're going to make it to nationals, but then you're going to have to fight Peter Boyd. And he's 6'4 at 14 and he's just going to rip your head off. Boyd, if you're listening, I still remember that five to nothing victory, Doug. Nah. Well, hey, I'll tag him in this. I'll tag him. He's not a listen.

What's his name? Peter Boyd? Hey, be careful. He might be pissed. He might be 6'10 now. Probably get back. You might have to kick his ass again. Probably.

You might have to beat him up again. Well, I'm going to see him in February. And he's going to be like, I heard that shit, bro. I heard that shit. Well, if he listened, if he actually. listen to the episode, you better to share it. Yeah, no, exactly. Yeah. Anyway, though, the point being that on top of all of that, it was when I was leaving, like you, like you started to say, and everybody was saying, you know, don't do this and you're a sharp kid and want

to go to college and I had a couple scholarships that we could have utilized. And it didn't really matter, you know, somebody could have paved a golden road for me to go elsewhere, but I had a feeling, like a certainty in me that like nobody else could feel or hear or see, but it was deafening to me. And I had to, I had to go. And throughout those six years of rejection, that that voice never quieted. It always was like they don't know. I'm telling you there's something about this. And on top of that,

it was that I genuinely loved it. You know, I really, really enjoyed the craft and the required commitment and discipline. And I knew that once I started working or booking jobs, I knew that there would be this physical element, to it that I was just aching for.

Like, I worshipped people like Christian Bale and Gary Oldman and those kind of actors. And I wanted to play that game. And there's just no, like, other arena where you get to lose 55 pounds for a job or get fat for a job or just get ripped or, you know, even playing with that, playing with my shape, whether it be like extreme, like big and fat or, uh, you know, dying from AIDS. It was like all those, all that fun stuff in the middle too

where it's like, well, just because I say so, this guy is going to be lean and mean. So like, we're going to switch up my whole routine. It's going to be heavy cardio and low weight high reps. And we're doing seven days a week and let's go. And then like the next guy, just because we say so, he's like, he's more mass.

He's just big. And like, let's do that. So let's. sorry so do they do they tell you what the character looks like or do you get to feel the character a lot of the times you you get to make those calls and again that's what that's insane you know certain times certain times it's obvious like or it's written you know with with the deuce we always knew that paul was going to die from AIDS right but season one and two they didn't say anything about what he looked like all i knew was that um there

was an eight-year time gap between seasons. And in the first season, I'm playing him at 22. And so I was like, well, he's a 22 young gay guy. Like, I'm just going to be really lean and just toned as hell because I know they're going to rip my shirt off at some point. And then we come back for the second season. And just historically speaking, late 70s, it was 1977, 77, 78, in New York City. the gay community had really gotten into because of this really was because of this erotic cartoon

Tom of Finland who was this like jacked leather wearing fucking guy that had become this sort of cultural phenomenon that swept through the community and that was that was sexy was like this big muscular guy and so you know nobody told me that wasn't written in the script but it was an opportunity for me to be like, well, I think if he's the stud, which that was written, that he's a stud, he probably looked like this. And I've got the time and the resources. So let's pack on 30 pounds of fucking muscle. Let's go. And again, like, I just, I loved that shit. I still, or I love that shit. And, and I knew back then that, that I was, that that was going to be one of my layers and that I wanted that. But

the only way to get there or even taste it at all was to book jobs. And so it didn't matter that it was six years of no or 10 years of no. I was going to wake up every day and tie my shoes and run head first into that brick wall. I don't know a dude. You know, it's real quick. Real quick, just because I'm on it. But like, it goes back to what we were saying about how there's no end to this journey. you wake up and you run headfirst into that brick wall

and it knocks you the fuck out and you wake up on the floor the next day and you like dust yourself off and you run back into that wall and it knocks you the fucking off. Oh, you shit over again, man. And then eventually you run and that wall comes down and guess what's on the other side?

It's another fucking wall. And like... Just different. Yeah, exactly. It's just the different wall. Right. Now it's marble. Are those jorts? Can I see those? Are you wearing jorts? Are you wearing jorts?

I was, but dude, that's hilarious. I was all day, but I'm just wearing, I just have my Nike socks on now. Oh, just your socks. Look, bro, I'll show you my feet. This whole time you're sitting there, I'm talking, I'm like, he just wants to see my feet. No, I thought you were wearing jean shorts. Oh, I thought you said Jordans. Yeah, I have wearing Jordans. Oh my God, those are like the incredible whole fucking shorts. You can sit down now. Oh, okay. I love you, man.

You know, it's funny because when you're talking about that, you know, you're, you know, this, this, this, this, this deafening voice that's inside your head of, like, exactly what you need to be doing that nobody else can hear. But you can not only hear it, it's deafening and you can probably, you probably felt it physically, right? It's that pull. It's that gravitational pull to what you're supposed to be doing. You're not going to relate to that.

You know, but the thing that's great is, as human beings we have a choice every single day to wake up in our story or walk in someone else's right and in what you've done and this is why this is why i wanted you on here is just like yeah i want to sit here and talk to you're my you're my cousin but like dude you you chose to wake up in your story no matter what anybody freaking told you right and so like every day you're waking up and whether it's the six years of rejection that's your story that's a blessing like that literally made you the fucking father you are, dude. Agreed.

And the husband you are. Like, you're, I mean, you're a phenomenal father and a phenomenal husband. You know, and, and dude, and I'm going to tell you, man, we've always had a good relationship, but our relationship has been.

You know, I've grown up too, right? But like, I'm just impressed, man, because that's... Well, dude, likewise. I appreciate that, though, because... But likewise, man. I mean, look, we both did pretty damn well, man.

And it's like all this other stuff, which is, you know, the majority of what we're talking about. And that's fine. And this stuff is important. And everybody out there wants to be good at something and wants to figure out a way to get it and accomplish whatever it is. And I think this stuff's important to talk about. But ultimately, right there, what you're talking about is that's the good shit. It's like we both became, despite ourselves, we both became really great partners and fathers. And not going to lie, dude, I don't know how we pulled it off, but our wives are absolutely gorgeous.

I do too, man. I'm like, again, those are those are the moments where it's easy to be like, this is my story. Yeah. When I wake up and see her, I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I can do this again. I can do this shit again. I'm definitely the main character. I'll do one more. I'll do one.

Another 24 hours. Let's go. Yeah, it's not a bad racket. Thank you, though, brother. Thanks. What, um. Dude, what's your, what's your most favorite project that you've done? It's probably, you know, just because of more time in it, more effort required, and the most challenging was probably the deuce, you know. Just getting out of my own personal comfort zone. And then it had this physical element to it where I bounced around and weighed.

And then in the end, like, you know, I went from 205 of all muscle to 1,50. 205 to 152. Is that right? Yeah, 205 to 152. And of just like skin and bones to die in season three. And that journey, you know, it was so much fun and so satisfying in its difficulty and in like the depths of my own discipline that I had to mind. for discoverer and like by the end of of it it was like on top of not you know it's like at the base

level it's like you got to learn your lines or whatever but by then like I knew that man so well and it was also one of the rare occasions where I got to play somebody who I know was just he was a better man than me he's just a hell of a human being that that I got to help build with this incredible team of writers and producers. And but to on top of all those sort of creative elements, there was this like, you know, the last three weeks, I think my dietitian and nutritionist had me down to under 500 calories a day. So, yeah.

And so like, no physical exertion. like I literally could go from like the couch to the bathroom and obviously no like alcohol or anything like that. It was like I could have like a hard boiled egg, 12 unsalted almonds and I could snack on peppers. But even then like I could only have like a handful. And so like you would have to space that out throughout the day and it was a hell of a thing. It was like, but also, well, certainly looking back at it, but even in it, it was still fun. Like it was like, this is such as weird and singular experience. Like, so few people have any reason to do this to themselves.

And then on top of that, being lucky enough to be doing it the right way with proper guidance and so much support. and like it was awesome it was like it was a real real big moment for me both as a professional in my industry but also just as an as an artist and as an individual and like getting to the other side of that and being like I did that and and I know I can do that and it left me with this even deeper feeling of like I'll take all comers bring it off yeah like whatever it is let's do it. Which ultimately, I don't think, if I hadn't done that, I don't know if, so right now I have a show on ABC called Women of the Movement. I do want to talk about it. I haven't watched it yet.

That's okay. No, no, no. We don't have to, you don't have to. But on that show, though, because I'm playing a real guy, when they offered it to me, I was like, they're like, they want you to play this guy. And I look him up and I'm like, but I mean, this guy's, he looks 20 years older. than me and he's he's big belly and so much neck fat and bald and I'm like are they going to and so we call them we're like you know what I look like right now right like I had just finished a job where I was really fit and they're like yeah yeah yeah we were hoping that you would like gain 30 pounds and

and we're going to shave your head and you're going to just live like a bald guy for five months and And I don't think that if I hadn't done the deuce, if I hadn't already gone through sort of body dysmorphia and gotten used to waking up in the morning and looking in the mirror and not really recognizing myself, it might have freaked me out. But instead it was like it was the natural next move. It was like, well, we've already gone the other extreme. Let's go this way. You're like, all right, let's go. And yeah. And what's interesting, though, is it wasn't as much fun.

Losing all the way it felt like discipline, felt like hard work. Oh, dude, gaining weight. Dude, it's like living in just sheer instant gratification. Like, yeah, yeah. Of course losing the weight. That's delayed gratification, right? Right. And so the other way, it was like within about a month, I was miserable, like, every day.

Because, like, I would wake up, and I had to keep it on. And I had that. And I ended up putting on 35 pounds. But then, like, that's not my body's natural state. And so, like, it would wear off. And I'm energetic. and I would end up like just like even if I wasn't working out just still be moving all day and you know and so I would be losing at least a little bit just naturally and so I had to maintain this

fucking like wake up and eat a huge breakfast and then have like a snack between breakfast and lunch and then lunch and then two little meals between lunch and dinner and fucking just like it was miserable how many calories in it were you eating at that I don't know because with that one that was the other thing too is there was no um with the with with with with with losing the weight everything was charted everything was regimented it was like this routine it was like science and then with that one it was like just fucking madness like I'll take I'll never turn down a beer I'll eat as if I see food I'm eating it you're gonna eat yeah oh and then like drinking all night every night and like it all worked. Yeah. My God. Like when you say it, I think some people are like, that sounds like a dream. And it's like, yeah, but too much of any good thing is still too much. Yeah. It was like. And so yeah, the last probably four months of that job, man, I was like, oh, man, you think a hangover is bad. Like, have a hangover and then like walk to the bathroom and turn the light on and look in the mirror and you see this like. Who is this person? Yeah.

And like, you've got to convince yourself that it's for the right reasons and all that. It was just a, I feel like a whiny little actor. No, dude, it's awesome. Like, no, but it was for real, that, that, that is on the agenda. I did want to touch on this, this project because it's your newest one. So, you know, with that being said, when you have, when you win in the back, is there a second season? There, you have to do this all over you?

It probably will be, but it won't be us. Like, it's an anthology series. Oh, cool. Cool. Every season tells a different story. Okay. Those are awesome, dude. I like those.

Yeah. Which, thank God. It was, I mean, I'm so glad that I am a part of it. And I think it's such an important piece. And I hope the whole world just takes it in. But I don't want to play that guy anymore, you know. You don't want to be a fat guy anymore? It wasn't even that.

It was who he is. He's just a, he wasn't really a man who just. deserve the voice or who deserves to be portrayed at all, but he's a necessary evil. Like, you know, you can't tell the story without the problem. And, well, me and Jack will have to go on. We'll have to stream it. It's on ABC, right? Yeah, well, it's stream.

It's also on Hulu. So it streams on Hulu the day after it airs. Okay, cool. Because I was looking at it, I'm like, shit, dude, I got to get on this. I'm interested in it big time. So, yeah. I'm excited to watch it. to see you do your day on another freaking masterpiece.

What's next, man? So I'm also on, I'm on an Amazon show right now, too. But it won't be out until the end of the year, maybe. It's called the peripheral, like peripheral vision. And it's by the same guys that made Westworld. Oh, dude, that's going to be badass. That's going to be out there, dude. Yeah, it's super, it's like, it's sci-fi.

futuristic. It like straddles two timelines and there's all kind. I don't want to, I don't know what I'm even allowed to like say. Oh, dude, I'm excited, man. It's super cool and action,

drama. And I think I can say that. Dude, and I get to play like, I'm like the love story in there, you know, which is fun for me to. That's cool.

Kind of just get to play. Like, and it was offered to me. while I was filming women of the movement. So I'm like doing a Zoom like this with the producers and I've got a beanie on covering my bald, shaved head, and I've got it framed like this so they can't see my gut. I've got the camera like elevated so it's looking down on me

so you can't see my neck rolls and shit. And they're like, we want you to play like kind of this lover boy and like, you know, you're in good shape, right? And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. What are the marathon right now? I finished this job in about three weeks. When do you want me there? And they're like four weeks.

I'm like, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. You pull that one off. You go and keep on. So we worked it out with the show that I was on that we had already featured enough shots, you know, accentuating my weight and showing that I looked like the guy. And so we just basically got clearance for me to go ahead and start shedding the weight. And we would, you know, by me sitting behind desks or me, you know, wearing a bag of your shirt and we would make it look like I still had the weight that it would be okay in the end if I started dropping those pounds. To be honest, I don't think they realized like how rapidly that was going to happen.

but it worked out in the end and by the time you know and sure enough like when I got to London to start filming the peripheral I was good I wasn't exactly where I wanted to be yet but I was in good enough shape and then I had a couple weeks before I had to do like a shirtless shot or anything like that and so it worked out it all worked out which I saw you in July yeah and then you've left, I think, to film something after that. Was that to film peripheral? So I had just come back from filming peripheral in London. And then we filmed the second half of the series in North Carolina. That's what it was. And in between, I moved the family from Cali to Florida. And that's where we saw you. Okay. Yeah. Try to put the timelines together, you know.

It's true, man. And it seems like, it's like chaos. But again, it goes back to what we were talking about earlier that like if you put that schedule down on paper and handed it to somebody or even me if you handed that to me and we're like this is going to be next year I'd be like absolutely not like this is madness this is ridiculous yeah but by but by taking it one day at a time and understanding that like if it's being handed to me I can probably do it like if something's being presented to you the universe is saying like how about this shit no matter what it looks like you can probably handle it. And like, that's that, dude, that's, that's something that I think everybody needs to hear, right? And we all need to understand that. We all need to move forward in this life,

really thinking about that because no matter what we're going through, no matter what the prescription you get to life, no matter what, there's always a way through. Right. And I think, and I think that a lot of people give up on themselves in those moments and say, you know what, I'm not even going to try it because it's too much. I mean, it's really too much. But what you're saying is like, no, you hand me the script. You hand me what's going on next year. And no matter what, I'm going to fulfill it.

I'm going to figure it out. Right. And especially when you can't, I think that a lot of people, they get afraid or they feel like saying no because they can't picture it in their mind's eye. Right. And it's like, sometimes I feel like, how fucking boring? would it be if you could always envision everything? Dude, if there's no twists and turns, man, what the, like, those are the best movies. Yeah, then why are we even watching the movie?

Yeah. Why are we even doing this life, right? Right. I need to be surprised here. I don't want to predict the building constantly. Because that breeds complacency. It's true. That complacency is a killer.

Right. I want some shit to pop up every now and again, just like, all right, how am I going to navigate this, right? So, just like, you know, like saying, like, it's your story. Like what main character in any movie or show or book or whatever, what main character just knew what the fuck was going to happen all the time? In fact, that's the opposite of the main character. The main character is, right. He or she or it or whatever, it's got to be fucking surprised and got to be shit on and then figure out how to clean themselves off and figure it out.

Like, that's the whole point. And so- I love it, man. I love it. I want to end with something. Okay. Because we're coming up on time. But I wanted to, I wanted to ask you to picture yourself talking to someone that's about to do what you were going to do that you did when you were 16 because there's somewhere in America right now.

And God willing, hopefully they, you know, this episode gets into their hands because this episode is going to get into the right hands. Understand that, right? This episode is going to be heard by however many people is in their plan, right? and it's going to serve them in their life. So what advice, what nuggets can you give that child or just that individual that is about to embark on something that everybody's telling him or her not to do, but you know without a shadow of a doubt that inside is the right thing. Sure.

Well, the first thing that I always tell anybody who reaches out to be like, what's your first piece of advice or what should I do or whatever? The first thing I always say to them is don't do it. because like if me telling you not to do it deters you like this shit ain't going to work but like beyond that it's prevail it's it's it's just in terms of simplicity it's it's it's just persevere it's just persevere it's just keep going um because it's hard to come from a further place um at least domestically speaking than I did into this industry. This industry is far and wide as a rich kids game. You get out there. You can't get a job without an agent. You can't get an agent without a job.

And you can't get an agent if you haven't been in classes, but classes cost a shit ton of money. And you can't really get in classes if you don't have somewhere to live. And that costs more money than you've ever spent on anything, especially if you're coming from anywhere other than Los Angeles or New York. Like, it's all so daunting and such like a constant paradox. And again, like we said throughout this whole thing, that never ends. Like at first, like you just, oh, I just need representation. Oh, well, now I got agents. Well, I just need auditions.

Well, now I've got a shit on auditions. If I can just book a job, well, now I booked a job. We need a bigger job. Well, now I'm a serious regular, but I need people to see it. it. Well, now I got a movie, but like it's not getting a lot of traction. And now, like, it's like, there's always more. Even like we can sit fucking Thor down right now. And I guarantee you, Hemsworth is like, man, like, I just can't get this to happen. Yeah. Like, I want, I want more than this. And I can't figure out how to get there. But he's going to keep going. Right. I think that if that's

going to be the required behavior throughout the entire journey, regardless of which tier of success you're on, You better start right now understanding that, like, you got to get up and go every day. I love it. I love it. You know, it all breaks down to why are you doing it, right? Like, what is the reason? What is burning inside of us to do this? And I think that if people can truly connect with that why of why they're doing something,

why they want to do something every single day, it's going to give them a little more win in their sale to continue to push, right? not everybody. Listen, not everybody has that grit and fortitude, right? And I think that I think it's something that can be built through self-discipline, right, and doing a lot of work on yourself. But for me, I just wanted you to say it because if you sit there and you tell somebody, hey, can have some device? You're like, don't do it. And they go, okay. Like, no, that's like exactly what I said exactly what I, point.

Right. point, right? And I think, I think that for me, I just think that's everything. You know, how many people told me not to do this? Right. You know, you've got to start learning at some point, ladies and gentlemen, you've got to stop worrying about what other people think. This is about you. This is your life. If you have a gift, it is your responsibility to go give it to the world. Whether you're an actor, whether you're a podcaster, whether you're an influential speaker, a freaking mechanic. a grocery at Publix, it doesn't matter. You were called to do a certain thing. There's a purpose in life. And if we can ask people understand what our purpose is and fulfill that purpose for the greater good of other people, then how in the hell can you be stopped?

Right. Like that's what it's all about. Right. So look, man, I love you, dude. I'm going to call you probably tomorrow. All right. I'm going to look at this. And, you know, I'm so jacking.

This is going to be awesome. When I publish it, I'll let you know. You can share it out. Let's get a lot of people listening to this thing. And I think you help a lot of kids, a lot of people that are struggling. Because to me, your story is truly inspired. Thanks, brother. Well, yours too.

I feel like at some point you got to let me guest host and I'll call you up. Oh, we can set that up, dude. We can do a guest host. That would be fun, man. We got a lot of fun shows coming up. I've got a big one that I'll shoot you offline because I don't want to announce it yet. I'll shoot you a text of who it is. It's going to be pretty excited to be on that episode on air on January 31st.

I got two more this week that are going to be really good too. I got a girl that a lady that I'm friends with. She was born into a cult. I was looking at that, man. That seems so crazy. And dude, and it's going to be fire. when I heard her story, I like just had a physical reaction, like, crying, right? And then I got a buddy who's a renowned trainer that's coming on this week.

And then I'm building out the guest. But yeah, dude, like, we can do it. We can do a, you can do a guest. Well, I just think that the reason, you know, the reason that you're so well placed in this position is that, dude, you did this too. like you you lived a life of adversity and where there was so much doubt i'm sure and you became one of the greatest ballplayers in the world and played for one of the most legendary teams to ever do it and it's like and then on top of that to to get so close and then not get what you thought you always wanted and then figure out a way to to to

turn that into something that is helping people now and like or what you've been doing for years you know it's like how many how many gloves have come through sean french over the years now like how many kids have gotten better at that game that they love so much because of you and and even and then right now like you're just building this community of people and and I think that every time that I see one of your videos pop up I know that there's somebody out there that you're healing there's somebody out there that you're helping, you know. I appreciate it. It's all about when we go through things in life and we don't get what we want, we have to find the reason. And what our job is to educate the youth and everybody else out there in the world that, hey, listen, this happened to me.

Here's how I acted or reacted. It wasn't the way to go. Here's where my results. Here's how I can help you for making the same mistake. Yeah. Right. And that's my journey right now. Everything that happened to me at LSU, the injuries after injuries, the sitting on the bench, I never sat down with the bench. I'm like, what the hell is that? I don't even understand what it was. And for me, going to LSU, having so much promise and being highly touted and all the expectations were on me. And I just wasn't mentally there, right?

I was still in a mindset of I'm comparing myself to other people. like, dude, look at that guy. He's like 6 or 220 pounds of ripped. I'm, you know, 511, 185, 190. Like, I can't play with that guy. And it burned me, right? And then I ended up getting hurt. So that was a completely other story.

But, you know, I did all that shit to myself. Right? And I'm not embarrassed to talk about that. Because for me, that is my story. You know, that's how I'm able to help other kids, right? and coach these other kids and speak to them, quite frankly, how I wasn't spoken to. Right. Right?

That's right. It's, I don't sit there and say, hey, you'll never see the field. Hey, I say, listen, we've got some things going on right now that we need to fix her. There's a high likelihood that you won't see much playing time. But here's how I see we can fix this. And it's on you to do it. And if you don't, hey, that's cool. That's your choice.

Right. But I think that we, when we grow up and we've learned through the way we've been spoken, into and treated by coaches, parents, extended family and friends. We have a choice. Can we, do we perpetuate that same energy on to the next generation or do you do something to fix it? Right. And that's the journey I'm on right now. So. Yeah, man. This is it, man. This is it. This is it. This is fun, dude. I want to do this with you every day, actually. It's good to see your face. Good to talk to you. I'm down. Face some every day.

Okay. fun. Do me a favor before we get off. Remember give Alice and the girls my love. Love the puppies for me and that big badass boy you got. Give him my love too because that

that guy. Get them in here. Let me see them. Just you, you can both come in. Yeah, you're here. Yeah, come. What's the matter? Your leg hurts. You got two shots right in the leg today. Yeah.

Yeah. Just juice. Just juice them up. Is it just test? Yeah. Any Deca? Just really test. James. What's up, brother?

Hey, buddy. I love you, man. Did you get a shot today? Did you get a shot in your leg today? Does your leg hurt? He's being shy. Poor guys. Listen, guys, I love you very much.

I will, man. I will. And I'll shoot you a text for you. in a minute and I'll give you an update and we'll connect soon. Okay. All right. Love you, bro. I love you too. Later.

Peace.