Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Pat Mastroianni: Toronto Mike'd #753

Episode Date: November 16, 2020

Mike chats with Pat Mastroianni about playing the seminal role of Joey Jeremiah in Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, School's Out, and Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Zit Remedy, losing Stephanie Kaye, fucking Tessa Campanelli, the death of Neil Hope, Degrassi Palooza and his Degrassi documentary.

Joey Jeremiah, president of the Stephanie K. Fan Club, at your service. Welcome to episode 753 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. CDN Technologies, your outsourced IT department. Joanne Glutish, a lifetime member of the National Chairmen's Club

awarded to the top 1% of agents at Royal LePage Canada. StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. Ridley Funeral Home. This year's Holidays in Hope candlelight service of remembrance is Decembercember 2nd at 7 p.m and palma pasta enjoy the taste of fresh homemade italian pasta and entrees from palma pasta in mississauga and oakville i'm mike from torontomike.com and joining me this week is joey jeremiah himself pat mastrani pat welcome to toronto miked hey good to be here mike thank you so much for having me i'm gonna jog your memory the summer of 1989 you were visiting the cne

and i was a game booth attendant at a game called papa ball and I let you play because you were Joey fucking Jeremiah. This must be a memory you hold dearly. Did I win? Did I win a prize or did I just suck at it? Uh, you sucked at it, but it was rigged.

Of course it was. But I will say this is true story. You, that summer I met you and I met, uh, Ed Olchek and I met todd stottlemeyer and those were the first three famous people i ever met now you have to explain the toronto exhibition that's kind of like uh you know right of passage everybody uh went to it or worked at it at some point in

their youth oh my god yes absolutely, we would go as a gang. Like the whole cast would go together as a huge group and just hang out all summer long. It was great. But I remember you being really nice. Like you thanked me very much for the free plays. And I remember, like I was thinking at the time, I guess all famous people are nice.

Like you really did raise the bar for everybody. Well, that's nice of you to say. I'm sure not every interaction with me has been the perfect one or the best one. But yeah, you know what? We always appreciated people knowing who we were, especially in those early years, because, you know, notoriety was new to us. And we didn't really have that instant gratification that you get these days with social media. I've just embraced social media over the last few years, and it's amazing the number of people that reach out to me that were fans 30 years ago. And it's just a nice way to connect and have a moment with them.

Are you cool with the fact, I'll bet you many people call you Joey? fact, I'll bet you many people call you Joey. Like, does that offend you on any level? Or do you understand that they're calling you Joey because you're so closely tied to the character you played on Degrassi? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I never get offended when they want to either expect to meet Joey Jeremiah or call me Joey. It's sort of like a second name at this point. I joked around years ago. I said, if this is what i'm remembered for for the rest of my life that's fine there are worse things to be remembered for that's for sure and it puts smiles on so many people's faces like people must light up because they think about your character joey jeremiah and they remember watching it usually maybe they were a teenager whatever

and suddenly like a time machine they're they're back uh living life as a teenager again like you're a kind of magic well i'll tell you a quick story mike and how this all arose um you know from 2005 to 2015 ish uh i would wouldn't even mention the word you know i wanted nothing to do with the franchise i'd done my time on The Next Generation and I was done. I was over it. And it wasn't on social media, so I didn't really keep in touch with any of my castmates. Then I got into comic books, which is a strange transition. I got into comic books. I started going to comic conventions as a special guest. And people kept coming up to me saying, telling me their stories and telling them how the show touched them, reached out to them, helped them in a phase in their life that was kind of difficult or trying. And they would say, you know, what's Snake up to? What's Caitlin up to? What's Spike up to?

And around 2016, 2017, I did the math and we realized it was the 25th anniversary of Schools Out. And that's when I reached out to some of my fellow cast members for the first time. Met up with Stefan Brogren, who played Snake, and we had a beer and we realized it had been almost 12 years since we had seen each other. And, you know, it was nice. It was like not a day had gone by. And it felt that way with all the cast that I'd reunited.

And then we started doing the Degrassi tour. And then, you know, it turned into everything that has been happening these last couple of years. Well, you know, they say nostalgia is a potent drug, and it's so hot right now. I'm definitely in the business of nostalgia. And, you know, being surrounded in the comic convention world and screening events and appearances, I know that we're all kind of looking back to a simpler time. And I know Degrassi represents that. And definitely, we're part of Canadian pop culture, having been on TV for the past 40

years. It's sort of like, here's an analogy for you, Pat, before we get into the nuts and bolts here. Let's say you're a rock band, and you have that first single that hits. Everybody loves it. It's a number one hit. And then for the rest of your career have that first single that hits. Everybody loves it. It's a number one hit. And then for the rest of your career, you almost resent that hit. Like you don't even want to play it in concert anymore because it's like, look at all the

great stuff we've written since. But the fans come out, they want to hear that hit. And then at some point, that band embraces this hit because it makes people so happy and they realize, OK, we have to play this song because it's so important to so many of our fans. Absolutely. You know what, you've described it beautifully. You know, there was a time there where I wanted to be known as something other than Joey Jeremiah. And even today, I'm constantly posting on Instagram, videos of other things I've done just to enlighten people and go, Hey, look, I have done other things. But yeah, Degrassi will always be sort of my legacy.

And like I said earlier, I have no problems being remembered for that because it was such a heartfelt show that really helped a lot of people and told a great story. I mean, we had over 300 people travel from around the world last year to Toronto for the Degrassi Palooza event. And that shocked not only myself, but my fellow cast members and crew that attended that event. And we were just all floored that people came from great distances, all the way from Australia or Russia or Germany, just because they wanted to do this pilgrimage. It meant that much to them. That's beautiful, man. That's beautiful. I promised my friend Cam Gordon I'd ask this next question. So when I asked you to come on Toronto Mic, Pat, I'd asked you many times actually, but you finally said yes, but you

mentioned that you owed Cam Gordon a favor and you were aware that Cam and I were buds. He comes over here once a week for Pandemic Fridays. So Cam wants me to ask you, what did he do for you that resulted in this wonderful moment right now? Well, not only is Cam a nice guy, he was gracious enough to appear at my Degrassi Palooza event as a moderator. And he interviewed Darren Brown, who played Dwayne and David Arman Parcells who played Claude. And we talked about in that panel, they were talking about bullying, you know, how bullying has changed over the past 30 years, you know, before it was in the hallways, now it's online. And, you know,

and I didn't get to see the panel, unfortunately, but I hoped a lot of people enjoyed it. Awesome. So I owe Cam for this wonderful, this great episode of Toronto Mike. I'm going to take you back to when you were 13, but I want to start by playing this theme. So Gee, I gotta go to school. I don't think I can make it. Don't think I can take it. I wonder what I'm gonna do. That someone's talking to me Hey, I've got a new friend Everybody can succeed All you need is to believe Be honest with yourself

Forget your fears and doubts Come on, you must try As you're at it in your heart Whoa, okay, there's that nostalgia gene just kicked in right there. Wow. Okay, Joey, you were... Joey, oh my God, I did it. I'm so sorry. Pat, okay. Pat, take us back.

How did you get the role of Joey Jeremiah on Degrassi Junior High? Right place, right time, a lot of luck. I was a grade nine student at a catholic high school uh in a suburb of toronto and they dropped off flyers saying uh kids wanted for a new tv uh television show for the cbc no experience necessary um my old high school campus was very close to earl head claude watson if you know Toronto, you know that's an art school, and a lot of young kids go there for theater and acting and dancing. And so I guess because my school was in that proximity, they just dropped off some flyers at mine too, thank God that they did, because it changed the course of my life. And I filled it out, went in, had to do an audition.

It was a two to three minute audition. And from that, they picked about 75 kids to do these workshops for three weeks, kind of like what you see on TV with, you know, the talent shows where they, you know, they start off with 100 people, and then they dumb it down to like five, and then, you know, the finals. Well, it was kind of like that for us every week, we would do these workshops. And at the end of the week, they'd say, Okay, you're invited back for next week's round, or thank you very much for coming. But you know, this is where you end um and and so it went it got to the point where all the guys that were auditioning for the show were dying for joey jeremiah because he was it was either joey or arthur kabalowski who was the nerd right right we all thought you know either stephan brogren who

eventually got the role of snake or bill parrot billy parrot who got the role of shane i Bill Parrott, Billy Parrott, who got the role of Shane, I thought it was between those two guys that were going to be Joey. Because I just thought they had a little more cockiness and a bit more attitude than I did at that time. And so we were all fighting for that role. And I think they just saw something in me. Either it was an insecurity or, you know, a childlike behavior that, you know, an earnestness to my performance that they lean towards me as being the,

for the role of Joey. Oh man, which is really, that is, that's the role you want, Joey Jeremiah, I think, you know, at your service. Nobody knew at the time what the character would evolve to, right? You know, you get five seasons plus schools out to, to create this amazing character that did so many things you know you had the comedy aspect of him but he could also do drama um you know you always want to do the hard the the roles that are meaty um you know and everybody sort of had their turn um but joy was

like that constant throughout the entire original series which was really really nice and uh you know he got he got all the good looking girls well he was a legend in his own mind as i recall but uh man when i opened up questions for uh for you pat uh so many questions about the style of joy jeremiah like for example just to shout out some of them and then you can speak to like who helped design this this character's style and clothes, et cetera. But Tommy Two-Tone, for example, where did he buy his excellent hat? Dwayne Rollins, does he still have the hat?

Liam Dixon, did he have any influence on the style of clothes his character wore? So could you speak to the style of Joey Jeremiah? Okay. Would you say that he's kind of like a hipster? I don't know. I don't know what you would define a hipster as, but... It's hard to say because going back then,

it just, it was different because I went, I was a similar age, almost the exact same age. This is why I love the show so much. And nobody, nobody in my class dressed like Joey. Like that hat was something like from a different era and it worked for Joey, but we didn't have anyone wearing a hat like that hat was something like from a different era and it worked for joey but we didn't have anyone wearing a hat like that it really was but you know you see today

kids even young women will wear fedoras and and i think that's so cool i certainly don't believe that my character set the trend for that uh the hawaiian shirts i think you know when you're on the cbc and you're a canadian show when you're being filmed on 16 millimeter film we always needed bright vibrant colors so that it showed well on camera there's a logistic reason why we dressed as poorly as we did on the show one we had no budget for costumes so they would go to value village or the goodwill and just buy up shirts or clothing from those sorts i knew the girls hated that but um but it was always supposed to be bright and vibrant and no greys and things like that or blacks and whites so

that was why the neon colors were so popular on the show in terms of Joey the hat evolved I think if you see the first couple of episodes he might have wore a beret and then they leaned in and focused on the fedora being his sort of calling card. And that stuck.

I begged them for years, please let me do an episode or even a scene without the hat. Because I had this glorious mullet and I just wanted to let it flow. And they would never let me. It was like Fonzie in his leather jacket. That's actually another great analogy because if you go to the very early episodes I think it was a jean jacket like at least the first episode like so even that was like an evolution and then once it hit was like okay we can't have the Fonz about the leather jacket so uh that's true so it became Hawaiian shirts and vests and that kind of thing and you know it was his own identity and you know

that leather jackets in the Smithsonian. I'm surprised. I don't know what the Canadian equivalent would be, but they haven't asked for the fedora yet. I offered my jean jacket, one of my Hawaiian shirts, a gourmet scum shirt, and a fedora to the CBC because they have a mini museum at the CBC building in Toronto, and they declined it.

Wow. They said, no, thank you. I think they were still a little bit upset that CTV had taken the series and run with it and made it this monster. And here I was trying to offer it to the CBC and they said, no, thank you. And I was like, okay.

Maybe a fan would like it. So I eventually went to a private collector. Okay, you've got to sprinkle those kind of fun facts throughout the episode because that's a little mind blow right there. Amazing. By the way, a lot of listeners of Toronto Mic have been very excited about this episode. But Andy, who comes out to TMLX events, so hello to Andy. I'm going to read what she wrote me because it's pretty detailed here. Pat, were you still a minor when you filmed the episode where you walked through the cafeteria naked? And if so, did the show have to get permission from your parents first or make any other special arrangements to make sure no laws were broken and that no one was going to get in trouble for showing your bare ass on TV?

That was a very memorable scene for any fan of Degrassi Jr. High. Tell us about that one. It's a bit of a long story i won't i won't give you the full full i'll kind of narrow it to the cole's notes of of the experience but basically at the beginning of the season they pulled me into their office and and you know one-on-one i would often speak with the producers and um they explained the the episode that they wanted to do with with joey buying his first car. How far would he be willing to go to get the money for a down payment and all that kind of stuff?

And then they said, we really want to hammer this opening season of Degrassi High with Joey going through the cafeteria naked. And, you know, a young actor, an insecure guy who, you know, that's like your worst nightmare. You know, you dream about being naked in school and that kind of stuff. And here I am being told that this was going to happen for real. At first, I said no. And then they kind of, I don't want to get sued for libel. But you know, they definitely pushed me into the direction that I should do this. And so eventually, I succumbed to the whole experience, but I justified it as a test to myself. I said, you know, I want to be an actor my whole life. And how far am I willing to go? How uncomfortable am I willing to be as an actor to allow myself to feel insecurity and fear, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, if I'm going to set limitations as an actor then I might as well get out of the business right now so I took it on as a huge test and all my friends on set were

completely kind and supportive and sensitive it was the crew that were being dicks to me they were the ones you know trying to slap my butt or whistling at me as I was walking down and you know people that shouldn't have been on set were on set that day. Like the accountants were on set that day. They had no business being there, but everybody wanted to be there to witness this extreme moment that took place.

Was I underage? I don't want to answer that because I'm not sure, but I definitely remember being underage when we did the strip club scene where Snake, Joey, and Wheels tried to sneak into the strip club. And it was actual strip club that was working that day and uh dancers were inside and i remember you know stephanie and i just trying to peek into the place any chance we could

because we were kids of course of course of course oh yeah i love it spilling some tea here on toronto mike love it everybody wants something I'll never give up. The crowd goes wild. The girls are screaming flames, lights, Joey, Joey. It was amazing. I mean it. It was the ultimate. We'll return to my conversation with Pat in just a moment. I'd like to thank the sponsors that helped fuel the real talk. Of course, I'm referring to Great Lakes Brewery. Great Lakes Brewery has been proudly supporting this podcast for several years now. Every guest who appears on Toronto Mic receives fresh craft beer from Great Lakes. So thank you, Great Lakes Brewery.

Guests also receive a lasagna courtesy of Palma Pasta. Just ask Peter Gross how delicious that lasagna is. Peter's never had better lasagna. Thank you, Palma Pasta. They're in Oakville and Mississauga. Go to palmapasta.com. StickerU.com has created high quality, awesome Toronto Mike stickers. If you're listening to my voice right now and you're somewhere I can bike to, I would happily bike to you a Toronto Mike sticker created by StickerU.com. If you need any stickers, decals, temporary tattoos, badges, anything of that nature, go to stickeru.com. Joanne Glutish. Joanne's full-time focus is Toronto real estate, especially Etobicoke where she lives.

The West End, Mississauga, and Oakville. She knows every neighborhood inside out. and Oakville. She knows every neighborhood inside out. She's constantly in the community, volunteering at events, and working to find out what her clients need to know to make real estate decisions. Her clients describe her as savvy, hardworking, tenacious, and always committed to their care. The proof is in her longtime success, referrals, and unsolicited testimonials for over 30 years. Speaking of successful woman, Barbara Poluskiewicz is with CDN Technologies, your outsourced IT department.

If you have any computer or network issues or questions, contact CDN Technologies, 905-542-9759. Let Barb know Toronto Mike sent ya. Whatever the risk, they're ready to take a chance. Daring Adventure on Danger Bay on a new day and time, Monday. It's the boys against the girls at Degrassi Junior High. I would like to formally declare this competition open. When the boys claim to be the better athletes,

the stage is set. But who will win the great race? Degrassi Junior High, Best on the Box, Monday. Back to Andy, who, like, just a diehard fan of the program, like many of us were, but she says, were there any real life romantic relationships between Degrassi actors that ended up getting written into the show?

For example, were Michelle and BLT or Alexa and Simon already dating in real life before they were couples on the show and the writers decided to make them a couple on the show because they already had the natural chemistry? More to spill here pat uh tell us well i'll respect the privacy of my my fellow cast members and friends but i do like the way that question was structured the fact that there were couples on the show and were they couples in real life no every couple that happened on

degrassi was a written storyline created by yan mo, who was our head writer. And I'd never been asked it like that before. So I really liked the way that question was, was framed. But I think if there were private things behind the scenes between fellow cast members, they were often just when, you know, weekend things, flings of that nature. We were all young teenagers. I would throw at least two or three parties a year at my place and people would crash. I have photos of my basement littered with Degrassi cast members just passed out on the floor, which is absolutely awesome.

Which I'll cherish those photos, but not share them. Those are for the personal collection. Now I'm going to play a song. I think everybody's been waiting. So here's a song and then we're going to talk about this get ready to go back into the time machine go Everybody get ready and get into gear The Degrassi sensation's the one and only The Zits are here Everybody wants something

They'll never give up Everybody wants something They'll take your money And never give up It's almost sacrilegious for me to fade this down, but... Fade it out. Give us all a break. Okay, Pat, where do I begin with this? Tell us anything you can about The Zit Remedy.

Well, that's a book in itself, you know. That's an episode unto itself right um the nice thing is is that we we you know with uh the degrassi palooza event that took place in toronto i don't want to skip ahead but um there's a documentary that follows it up and we can discuss it later but a lot of these great questions that you're answer you're asking me get answered in the documentary and that's kind of the reason why I created that documentary was because it was from the actors' experiences, their own personal stories.

And, you know, it's a great resource for people that are curious about what it was like on the show. As for your question with the zit remedy, who could have expected such a fanfare for such a terrible group of singers and musicians? None of us really had any experience musically or, you know, they gave us this concept of the zip remedy.

They allowed us to manipulate the lyrics and the harmonies and figure out on a keyboard, you know, the three keys, G, C, and D, I believe they are. And we practiced, man. We practiced like a real band and we felt pretty awesome. But after a few seasons, it was like, can we learn another fucking song, please? Who wrote the song? Like, who wrote the core of the song? I know you guys were able to kind of modify it.

Honestly, I don't remember who exactly wrote the core because it was an amalgamation of me, Stefan, Neil, our director, Kit Hood, a couple of people in the music department. Everyone tries to take claim for it. But I know that we had practiced and rehearsed it and recorded it in the backyard of one of the producers houses back in the day. Yeah, it was just one of those things that we don't understand why people like it so much. I think it's probably because we all want to be a superstar when we're a kid and we all dream about being famous. and we all dream about being famous and we all knew that the zit remedy would never become famous,

but you appreciated and loved them for their heart and their desire to try. Let me just say on the record, zit remedy way better than the Zach attack. I just want to put that out there into the universe here. One question I always had, so when Napster shows up and you, you know, you start to discover,

hey, what can I find? And that version I played right there, it's ripped from the DVD for Degrassi High and I think it probably is the best version I've heard of it.

But why is there no, like, in-studio proper recording of The Zit Remedies, Everybody Wants Something? By the three of us? Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah by you snake and uh wheels by joey snake and wheels well well like i said we actually recorded it in the backyard of the producer's house and i think that was to make that song not sound polished to make it sound

like it was a garage band and that they were just using anything that they had at their disposal to record the song it wasn't supposed to be slick i have heard really polished versions of the zit remedy by real musicians and artists that have honored us by doing their take on it and i always like to hear the the other versions of the song well it's like you could read my notes because the next question is from local band elephants and and Stars. And they wanted to know how many bands have covered that Zit Remedy song. A lot, right? Dozens, dozens. And I have one in my documentary that a group in Halifax or a group of friends in Halifax put it together and allowed me to use it. But I've heard so many.

If you just Google Zit Remedy songs, you'll find it. And even like hardcore professional musicians will say that, you know, Stefan tells a great story about how a professional musician was inspired by the Zit Remedy to get into music. And Stefan's like, are you sure?

So just, you know, it's awesome that people love the song and love the band uh but yes it is like that one hit wonder that just won't go away everybody's still clamoring for a second second hit but uh a shout out to all the people who sent in you know jokes or questions about the zit remedy uh because rodriguez for example wants to know uh did everybody really want something that'll never give up? And I'm sure you're tired of hearing that one, Pat. Dave McDonald, you know, everybody wants something.

They'll never give up. What does Joey Jeremiah want that Joey Jeremiah won't give up? And I had a lot of questions and comments about that song. So it resonates all these decades later. People still enjoy thinking about the Zit Remedy song. It's a catchy tune. It's got a really good chorus so i i mean i just wish the harmonies were a little bit better and that we could actually spice it up and like you said it would have been nice to do a real professional polished version of it but you know in terms of the universe of the digrassi universe it's the best it's ever going to sound.

Exactly, exactly. A little real talk here, Pat. This is a question for me. I'm curious. I've heard stories. I've had countless musicians and actors, etc., who have been on Canadian programs and joke about the financial compensation they received. financial compensation they received. And I don't know how much you'll reveal, but I guess I'm curious if you think you were compensated fairly for your years on Degrassi junior high and then Degrassi high.

If you're talking about monetarily, obviously no. Any Canadian show will never be able to compete with the kind of royalties that American actors will get. I've been told by industry professionals over the years that if this was an American show playing in the same number of countries that Degrassi plays in, we'd be retired. Like, you wouldn't have to worry about ever working again. But that's okay. I mean, you know, I'm a kid that was plucked out of a grade nine

high school, put on a TV show and allowed to live an amazing life because of it. And that's where your reward is, is that you will always be fondly remembered for being associated with the show. I'll go down in history as being part of this Canadian iconic show. Can you put a price tag on that? No. But you know, today with all of these comic conventions and screening appearances that we do and public appearances that we do, there's compensation in that. I have my little Degrassi tour website that has a pat sort of memorabilia shop that people can buy and, and I get monet, monetarial. Well, shout out the uh give us the link

right now like give us the url in case somebody wants to it's degrassi tour.com degrassi tour.com you'll find out about all our appearances and where we can be seen and upcoming things down the road once covid is finished um because i will be touring with the documentary with stacy mystician uh once, the, the independent theaters open up again and we were supposed to do that this year, but obviously things changed. But, um, yeah, like, like I said, at the top of the show, I'm in the business of nostalgia and, um, I love it. And I love this community. I love this world that I'm part of. And I love the fact that everywhere we go, there's always people that show up that are just really, they just want to shake your hand, get a hug, take a selfie, you know, get an autograph. And that's awesome. Right.

And at these conventions, and again, we're in this pandemic, which is really kind of throwing a curve ball at all this, but once this all clears out and we get back to some, some sense of normalcy, do you wear the fedora when you're making appearances at these conventions? Usually for the fans, I'll wear it during photo ops or briefly on stage. I've got one behind me here. Right, I saw that.

It's not an original, but it's one that I'll wear at appearances during the photo ops and stuff. Sometimes I'll wear a Hawaiian shirt. I understand that there's a group of fans that just want that experience to say hi and shake a hand and they're happy with that. But then there are fans that just sort of want to absorb it all and really be in the moment and almost feel like they're having a high school reunion. And they want to just, you know, they want it all. They want, you know, they want you to play Joey and entertain them.

And I know those people who they, who they are when I meet them right away at these conventions. So I try to give everybody and I, you know, I've taught my fellow cast members, you know, as well to, to be aware of this is that, you know, everybody's going to come up with a specific want and we, we do our best to, to make sure that everybody walks away with that micro moment that they're

going to remember for the rest of their lives. Cause just like you, I could have been a jerk to you in 1989, and you would have carried that with you for 30 years. And then today you'd be like, and you were an asshole to me, Pat, and I would have felt bad. But because I took a moment to either look at your eyes, acknowledge you and say, thank you, that lasted. Although, you know, if you were an asshole to to be an 89 it would have made for a kind of a compelling moment on this episode where i confronted you about that behavior it would have been quite the moment so dude i've already had it with kevin smith oh tell me tell me when i was um doing an appearance with stacy mystician and anaya skernosky who played lucy and maybe another actor

or two we were in vancouver doing a live appearance at some festival. And Kevin Smith was in BC going to university for theater in his first and only year that he went there. And he actually stood in line to meet us and, you know, get an autograph. And he said years later when he came on to Grassy the Next Generation, he said, Pat, I met you in that Vancouver meet and greet. And I was trying to tell you that I wanted to be a director and that I'm hoping to, you know, do the kind of movies and like Degrassi and, and storytelling like Degrassi. And you just blew me off. Like I was nothing like I was a loser. And I'm like, what are you talking about, Kevin?

See his perception of me was I didn't give him enough I didn't give him enough attention or enough and and he really took it to heart and walked away kind of deflated and I would never do that to somebody but he actually told that story in a Toronto theater with 5,000 people alive and I was in the front row and I'm like dude I could have been your Ben Affleck and um you know he basically laughed it off but i was quite upset about the whole thing and i think he's carried a bit of a a chip on his shoulder about it even after i got him on the next generation okay because he always has seemed very very pro caitlin like without a doubt i think it's it stems from this

he had to take sides and we'll get to that in the schools out segment shortly but kevin knew which side he was taking and we'll get to this this is this is coming uh while we're still in junior uh junior high i always get confused because it's all a blur to me when junior high becomes high like you know what i mean but stephanie k is that high or that's junior high stephanie's junior high. She left the series after a couple of seasons to move on to another show. Well, the other show, Lyle Alzado. I remember watching it on CTV. It was called Learning the Ropes.

This is 1988, I guess, so a couple of years into the program. It was big news in my tiny little circle that Stephanie Kaye was leaving Degrassi. What was the reaction? And the actress, I want to just shout her out because, again, just like I should not refer to you as Joey, you are Pat. Stephanie Kay is actually Nicole Stoffman.

So shout out to Nicole. But what was the reaction with castmates when Nicole, a.k.a. Stephanie, left Degrassi Junior High? Yeah, we were pretty much terrified because she was the the heartbeat of the entire series up until that point like she carried the entire show on her shoulders and we were just trying to keep up and by her leaving the show it really made us all myself included have to step in and fill this huge void and and i thanked her for that years ago when we did the Jono Vision reunion special back in 2000. I gave her kudos for doing that. And not that I'm sure she would have liked to have stayed on the show and continued on and did another four seasons like we did.

But, you know, by her leaving, it really made us all have to step up and do our thing. Well, one of the great catchphrases to emerge from Degrassi Junior High was, all the way with Stephanie Kay. I'm trying to see if I have a button here. Oh, no. No, I'm not going to be able to find it.

But you have one, all the way with Stephanie Kay. Well, what an episode. Just give me a second. Hold on. Don't move. No, I'm not going anywhere. I'm doing a live auction on Facebook this week. Not live, but it's an auction on Facebook this week. And one of the items I put in the auction was this sign all the way with Stephanie K. button. Oh, okay.

Hold it for a second. I'm going to do a quick screen cap here because I'm only i'm only recording the audio of this thing but just one second here that okay perfect that's amazing yeah she was you're right she was like the face of the early uh the early days of direct grassy junior high and it was big news when she left and that show she left for of course did not last very long i always wondered if she had any regrets about leaving. But I also always wondered what people like you on the cast thought. So that's some good insight right there. Yeah, no, believe it or not, she was beloved. And we really appreciated everything she did

because she sort of set the bar for all of us in terms of emotional range. Her character, like the way she dressed and everything, she was iconic. And I think a lot of fans would have loved to have seen how her character like the way she dressed and everything she was iconic and and i think um a lot of fans would have loved to have seen how her character evolved right uh years later and and would she have made up with vula and would they have been friends as they got older um they were very cute the two of them at degrassi palooza they were just soaking it all in and i was really grateful to have them both there uh to know that they had made an impact and they got to experience that live in front of all those

fans that came to Palooza. Now I mentioned earlier Andy who might be your, I call her Andy Pandy, she might be your biggest fan but so a couple of questions more from her because she's it's kind of a where are they now but not for the obvious stuff that we can hear but these are more obscure

where are they now, just a couple I won't do all can hear, but these are more obscure. Where are they now? Just a couple. I won't, I won't do all of them, but let's see if you have any idea. Patrick, this was Spike's hot Irish boyfriend. I'm reading that. That was from Andy,

hot Irish boyfriend, but played by Vincent Walsh. Do you have any idea what's become of Vincent Walsh? You played Spike's hot Irish boyfriend. I think if you search him on IMDB, What's become of Vincent Walsh who played Spike's hot Irish boyfriend? I think if you search him on IMDB, you'll be pleasantly surprised that he's still in the industry. He's a handsome man.

I personally haven't seen him since the show ended, but I do know that he continues to act. And yeah, he's pretty strapping. Well, he better be if he's known here by Andy as the hot Irish boyfriend. So he better be good looking. Now the cool English teacher played by Adam David, Mr. Wallfish, I think it was. Do you have any idea what happened

to the cool English teacher? Yeah, no, I haven't seen him since the event. When we first started the Degrassi tour, we went to a convention called Fan Expo in Toronto and Mr. Garcia showed up unexpectedly and surprised everybody in the room. I wasn't expecting to see him there. He just found out that we were going to be there

and he showed up and he just wanted to say hi to everybody. So I did see Mr. Garcia. Mr. Walsh, I have not seen in 30, 40 years or 35 years. Okay. So Andy, you're going to have to keep hunting to find out what happened there. Pat, my question is where exactly right now, where is your Gemini award for best continuing actor in a leading role? It's about six feet to my left you want to see it yeah of course i do of course i do yeah yeah i'm making pat work on this one for those who

i'll give play by play but pat has left his seat yeah this is this is not as impressive as what i'm going to show you after, but unfortunately I don't have batteries in it. For an audio only show, that didn't sound very good. But yeah, the Gemini has been on a little shelf. I have, you know what? I can disconnect you because you're not going to run out of power on me here, my little iPad. I have like a little wall of shame.

And behind me is shoot yeah the camera's gone but I can still hear you behind me is a sign poster from Palooza where my castmates sign that to say thank you for everything which is something I cherish but then behind me here is my little

wall of shame I have a Degrassi street sign that someone got me some Joey Jeremiah dolls. But my prize possession is my flux capacitor, which is, which is right here, but I have no batteries for it. That used to go in my DeLorean that I used to own years ago. Big, big fan of Michael J. Fox and back to the Future.

And I think just like everybody else, that movie made me want to be an actor. And I got the privilege to meet Mr. Fox a couple of years ago at Toronto Fan Expo in Toronto. And I basically just said thank you for helping me be an actor when I didn't know how to act. Cause, um, in those early years, uh, those early seasons, um, I would show up on set and I'm in my head, I'd be like, okay, how would Michael J Fox play this scene? And I would try to emulate him. Hence why you see Joey riding a skateboard. You know,

I kicked it up the same way he does in back to the future um i tried to have mannerisms that were similar to his or or i was always you know kind of in the moment but but looking at things around me these are all little actor things that i would pay attention to when when michael j fox would perform and i would try to copy him so he was so kind he was he was really you know he was oh i've heard of this degrassi i've heard of it before i was gonna ask if he knew who you were yeah no he said he had heard of it and i don't know if he had seen it but he basically i'm like dude you just legitimized my entire career just by saying that um so yeah it was a very like i can fangirl uh like the best of them and that's why in that moment i realized i have to be a better person when i

meet fans of degrassi because of the way michael made me feel i want people to walk away feeling that same way when they meet me like i don't i only now i mean other than the brief encounter 89 which does not count i'm only now speaking with you in depth for the first time and i i would just imagine like if we were doing this 10 years ago would you be so like warm and uh embracing of this past with degrassi like like it sounds like you had a bit of an epiphany maybe five years ago or so well like i said earlier you know just just hearing the stories from the fans one-on-one and directly i never had that opportunity prior to starting to appear at conventions um we didn't have social media, or at least I wasn't a part of social media. So, you know, that experience opened up a world of appreciation and gratitude that I

had never experienced. We had, you know, kudos from the Toronto Star, the newspapers, you know, all the entertainment shows and things like that. But to have, you know, real fans come up and tell you their stories and why that show connected to them in such a way or that character and whatnot. You know, you hear that over and over and over again. You're like, man, I am so proud to be a part of this because I got to do something and change people's lives to a little bit.

I know we're just a TV show. You know, we didn't cure cancer or anything. But for some people, that show was everything to them or even to this day they enjoy the nostalgia of it and um and i appreciate that i appreciate that they you know got something from it and um i i will never you know disrespect it i may not be happy with the people that ran the show or own the show or that kind of stuff but you know for the fans and the people i worked with my family family, the cast, they're everything to me.

It was a very special time in my life. Okay, other than the zit remedy, I think the most commonly brought up topic when I said Pat was coming on the program is, well, let's play a 30-second clip from Schools Out and then we'll talk about it. 30-second clip from Schools Out, and then we'll talk about it. Snake's got a really weird sense of humor. Tessa Campanelli? You were fucking Tessa Campanelli?

No. Don't lie to me, Joey. Caitlin, it's not what you think then what is it okay that's the f word heard across the country right there the f-bomb heard across the country uh i won't all the questions i could ask you so many things matt hansen wants to know why and and this comes back to something i said earlier to you pat when i said like how do you feel when people call you joey i think some people are mad at you pat because you cheated on caitlin with tessa shit happens uh you see what i'm holding up for you hold on i switched uh screens i need to come back oh my god i fucked i fucked tessa campanelli that's perfect so it's

one of my favorite buttons that i like to include in the package when people come and buy stuff um you know but joey like many men his age um want it all think they can have it all and get away with it they want their pie and want to eat it too right so um i i think the writers of the show yan moore god bless him brilliant writer um and even the producers at that time we were all ready to go out with a bang you know we've been this not squeaky clean show but we didn't want to wrap up the show in this nice little bow that everybody was expecting and we wanted them wanting more and we definitely wanted everybody to be freaked out. And I think the whole concept of Joey going through this experience,

Wheels going through his own experience, and Snake, and Lucy, and Caitlin, and obviously Tessa. I mean, this was just a tragic ending to what was supposed to be this cute little CBC show. Really, yeah. And I think that's what resonated for for decades that people were just dumbfounded that the show ended the way it did i love the fact that the show ended the way it did we were all ready to move on we were all feeling a little bit morbid and uh you

know let's kill somebody um so at the end of the at the end of the, at the end of the movie, even we were kind of like from reading it on paper as a script to seeing the final product, it was very different. Um, I think maybe it might've played lighter on the script, but we knew that there was going to be doom and gloom no matter what in that, in that finale. Um, but yeah, man, it was heart wrenching, uh, at the end of it all. It holds up too. I recently revisited it. Cause I, like I mentioned

with your buddy there, Cam Gordon, we do this thing, me, Cam Gordon and Stu Stone every week through the pandemic called Pandemic Friday. And there's a load of, I mean, you're a nostalgia merchant and that's what we're doing too. But we played that song that was in the background of that scene I just played and we kind of dissected the movie uh schools out and really it it it holds up if you revisit it like it's it's man and that line you fucking Tessa Campanelli by uh you know the sweet Caitlin uh Caitlin Ryan character I when I was getting these comments it was like why did why did he cheat on Caitlin and I always I just want to reply and say, Joey, sorry,

I almost did it again. Pat's an actor and there's a script and this is fiction. This, you know, just to let people know you didn't cheat on Caitlin, your character, Joey Jeremiah cheated on Caitlin. Correct. And I think the question is why did Joey cheat on Caitlin?

That's the question. She's the all Canadian girl.adian girl and and you know she embodied every perfect little thing that guys wanted but again you know she was constantly busy she was constantly working she was getting ready to leave for university and he was kind of like well if she's gonna leave and i'm not gonna see her i might as well you know have some fun and here's this tessa campanelli that seems interested. So I think he went into it like, oh, it'll just be a fling, but I'll always have Caitlin.

But yeah, you know what? Stupid shit happens and people get caught up in these weird situations. I personally would never do that in my real life. Of course. But, you know, um yeah i i love watching audiences in theaters uh watch schools out and we've done it dozens of times over the years and every time you hear the roar of the audience in their screen like that's the instant gratification that we never got as actors um playing on a tv show because we never got to hear our audience

react right and with schools out in a movie theater, you know, they're cheering snake on as he's swimming out to save Allison in the, in the water, who's drowning. And, you know, anytime something silly happened in the movie, people would moan and groan and laugh and cheer. And it was amazing to hear the fans react that way. So I'm even more sentimental to schools out now that I've watched fans from across this country, watch it live with me. Amazing.

And here, here's a moment, Pat, where I'm going to tell you about a non Joey Jeremiah role. I enjoyed, I count me. I don't know how many there are, but count me amongst the Liberty street fans.

I watched Liberty street. I loved it. There's about three of you, three fans that knows liberty street we're starting our own liberty street palooza it's gonna be very quiet yeah it uh it originally came out as a 30 something substitute right at that time there were a lot of shows coming out melrose place and um and so the producers wanted to go to the next level you know young people out of university for the first time.

Where would they live? What would their lives be like? And so but really, the producers missed the opportunity of a lifetime. It should have been a spinoff. It should have been a Degrassi spinoff with Caitlin and Joey. And then you would have had an amazing series that could have run for a bunch of years. But instead, like many of the cast, they wanted to leave Degrassi behind. They wanted to move ongrassi behind they wanted to move on move forward and do something unique and different well the producers tried to do this for decades with different shows and all that stuff and eventually they realized that you know they needed to go back to what made them great and that was children's programming and they went back and

started degrassi tng okay degrassi TNG. I'm glad you brought it up. I will say, okay, just real quick, as I, but the Liberty Street, though, shout out the,

you had a nice cowboy junkies song as the theme song for Liberty Street, which I thought was cool. But all right, I digress back to Degrassi here. Give the, give the people what they want. Degrassi, the next generation.

Tell me like, for how did you, did they call you up and ask you if you'd be willing to like make a cameo and then kind of write you into at least five years of the program like how did you get back on the degrassi bus for the next generation it was tough uh initially they called me and said you know could you please come by the office we'd love to to have a chat with you and we had just done the jono vision reunion special and i knew that that had gotten a lot of attention and i was wondering if they were going to bring us back as adults and degrassi

whatever the wonder years i had no idea what they were planning on doing until i walked in and sat down and linda and her partner steven had explained to me that this was a new cast a new generation of young people that they wanted to retell stories and stories that were important to today, like cyber bullying and stalking and whatnot that we couldn't have dealt with those stories back in the eighties. And I'm like, okay, so what am I doing here? And they wanted to initially bring me back as some kind of computer

repair guy, like figure out a way to bring me into the series and i said guys this this isn't good this isn't real um you know i could see stefan coming back as a teacher um but joey's not going to be a teacher or substitute or computer repair guy or anything like that you're off the mark on that and so we just agreed to do the reunion special the two episodes the opener to the series and then I was going to walk away and that was it and I think it took a long time for the show to get its legs in the first couple of seasons so they brought me back for seasons two and three and at four and five I was really not in there much at all but long story short it was an opportunity

to come back and revisit something that was important and special at that time. Again, I was feeling nostalgic. I'd just gotten married. I just bought my first house. It was perfect timing to come back and work on a series. But at the same time, it wasn't the same show. It was unionized. It was parents on set with their young children. It didn't have that family or summer camp feel to it. It was just very business, business, business. So at the end of my little run on the show, I was happy to do it. I was happy to be there. Disappointed that my character didn't really do much. I didn't feel the writers, the new young writers had a grasp of the Joey Jeremiah character. So again, it was just,

it was nice to be there. It was like a little visit. It was like a little high school reunion. But at the end of the day, it wasn't my Degrassi. And that's why I hashtag whenever I talk about the classic show, I hashtag it with my Degrassi. You use the word reunion there. There is a very short little clip I'm going to play from the next generation, Degrassi, the next generation to grassy the next generation uh i

guess the character of snake like as you mentioned snake i guess marries uh spike and snake works at the school and snake is battling cancer and i guess they're you know uh spike and her daughter are trying to cheer up snake and uh this is where there's a reunion of a band we know and love. Here's a little clip. To heads that match our bowling balls. And to old friends. Cheers. Cheers.

Cheers. and never give up. Everybody wants something and they'll never give up. Everybody wants something and they'll take your money and never give up. Pow! Pow! Now, Pat, that's the last, as far as I know, that's the last time

Neil Hope is involved in a Degrassi television property is that moment right there. Would you mind taking a moment and just talking to us Hope is involved in a Degrassi television property. Is that moment right there? Would you mind taking a moment and just talking to us a little bit about the Neil Hope you knew? Sadly, we lost Neil very tragically at a very young age. And so Wheels is no longer with us. A lot of people wrote me like Siobhan Morris about when's the zit remedy reunion and stuff. And all I can think of is there can't be a zit remedy reunion because one

third of the zit remedy is no longer with us, but please take a moment and tell me about Neil. Yeah, that was a big surprise. Obviously, uh, Stefan had, uh, Stefan Brogan had called me about four months before it got out to the media that it had happened and the family wanted some time to absorb everything uh you know give him a proper burial with um uh and just have time to mourn and and understand what had happened and because he had gone missing for about five years his family had been looking for him and

that that wasn't unusual like he would definitely disappear from time to time he would fly to Vancouver and live out there for a year and just kind of float around. You know, you're talking about a young person who got into this industry at an early age, didn't really know or expect that the world that he was so attached to would eventually end. And after you did, you know, five years of the kids of Degrassi and five years of Degrassi junior high and high and schools out, and then you're just like, okay, thank you very much. Goodbye. What's a young man to do when he's not prepared? He doesn't have the skills. He doesn't have any other talents that he can do. And he suffered. Many of us had our friends, our families, or other aspirations. Some of us went to friends, our families or other aspirations.

Some of us went to university or, you know, got into a completely different industry. But, you know, I think Neil had put all his eggs in one basket. And when when that didn't come to fruition, he was very disappointed. And I think he just floated for a number of years. He was sick. You know, He had issues, physical issues. And I think eventually it all caught up to him. He wasn't taking care of himself. He wasn't taking his diabetic medication,

all that kind of things that physically will harm you if you're not taking care of yourself. So he passed at 35. We talk about him at Palooza. We mentioned that it's wonderful that he will always be remembered for being wheels on Degrassi and the people's lives that he touched through playing that character. And he'll always be a part of that legacy. And that's something special and that's something nice. And, you know, for the man that he became, I'm sorry,

I don't know. I didn't really talk to him after school was out. Even when he was on set on TNG, it was very brief, very quick. Yeah, life goes on. And you just remember fondly the person you knew growing up. And that's pretty much it. And where you make your debut on television in Degrassi Junior High, Neil was actually in the predecessor, the Kids of Degrassi Street. So he, yeah, even younger there. Just want to take a moment, Pat,

to tell people about this year's Holidays and Hope Candlelight Service of Remembrance. It's a live online event. You're invited to join the good people at Ridley Funeral Home to receive comforting messages, enjoy live music, and reflect on your loved one's loss and legacy.

That's Wednesday, December 2nd at 7 p.m. To attend, you can RSVP via phone, 416-259-3705, or contact us at ridleyfuneralhome.com. Earlier, Pat, you talked about the mullet. You had this great flow and you didn't want it covered by the hat, but I got a lot of questions here. I'll start with Phil Sounds. He wants to know, at what age did you start losing your hair and when do you shave it

off? Because Phil is of the opinion, and I agree that the bald look really suits you, but it must have been tough considering how you were so tied to that great flow. As many of us are, you know, when you lose your hair early on. I probably lost, it started thinning out at 26, 27. I probably gave up on it at around 28, 29. Yeah, it was devastating, especially as a vain actor. it was devastating, especially as a, as a vain actor, you know, you, you, you rely on your looks to sell you as a product when you're in this entertainment industry. And it's difficult when you feel like you're going to be limited when you just don't have everything that they want when

you're being cast on a TV show or a movie. So yeah, I was okay with it and i shaved it maybe once a week the the real problem was i went white very young and that made me look older than i actually was so i i often color the beard and it gets really annoying because it hurts to color facial hair. Yeah. But, but the lovely thing is, is that my wife of 20 years loves me no matter what, and in any way, in any shape and form.

So these days I don't sweat it because I stopped being an actor about two and a half years ago. And it was like the biggest, ah, like sigh of relief because as an actor, you know, you're, you're always constantly being judged and being criticized and you're always on this edge of paranoia. And even as a young actor on Degrassi, oh my God, I got pimples and all that kind of stuff. So to let it all go and not have to worry anymore. I'm probably a good, you know, 10, 15 pounds heavy with the COVID,

you know, all of us, but I, I just don't care. I'm so happy. Oh no, dude, I can tell you're happy.

And I think it's just, it just warms my heart that you're doing all right. Because, uh, I can just imagine that when, you know, Degrassi high ends in 92 and you know anybody goes to your wiki page will learn about how you're working as like a

waiter and you're a paver in your dad's construction business and you're uh you know and and and i i know that a lot of people think oh pat he played joey jeremiah that's a popular show i watched it he's on my TV every week. He's got to be driving a Bentley and has lots of money. He must be really rich. So this whole, like, I just wondered, like, during that period of time, was it tough because so many people tie fame to money for some reason? No.

You know, those years weren't tough at all. People think, oh, poor Paddy worked in a restaurant. But I actually worked at a restaurant because yick you see what's face and assy we were bored we wanted people to hang out with and have fun and we were all working at this restaurant

called Max's at Baby Village in the north end of Toronto and we worked there for about four or five years and we were having a blast it was like university for us we would work, make a buttload of cash at work and then go out and spend it at night with $200, $300 cash in our pocket. We weren't crying at all about that. Working with my dad, I was doing Degrassi TNG for five years and working with my father's

construction company at the same time because I wanted my father to do well. He had just bought this company that he had worked for for 20 years and he just bought it. And I'm like, I'm there to help dad. I'm here to help and support you. You supported me my entire career growing up as a kid. I want to be there for you and watch you shine in an environment that you know well. So people think, oh, poor Patty worked in construction. I'm like, dude, that was some of the best years of my life working alongside my father seeing him shine and excel in his industry i was proud to work with i was making six figures doing degrassi but i was working with my dad enjoying working with him more than i was doing the actual series so um you know again now i'm at

i'm at a stage in my life where i've let go of a whole wanting to be an actor thing. 30 years is a long, long time to be in the industry. And I'm just not into it anymore. My brain doesn't work anymore. I can't even memorize the dialogue. It's so hard to memorize dialogue these days. So, again, when I joke about being in this industry of nostalgia, that really is what I'm passionate about. And that's why I created the Palooza event, the convention.

And that's why I created the documentary. I wrote a biography this year. So I'm pretty happy right now. And I'm ecstatic to see what the future holds. Now, how do I see this documentary? Because I'm aching to see it now. Like, how do I see this documentary? Because I'm aching to see it now. Like, how do I see it? There's a great Canadian website called realhouse.org.

And it's where independent filmmakers can put out their product. And there's a paywall on it. But it's a great website if you're a young independent producer going, well, how do I make money with this thing? I just shot my first movie. I don't have a distribution deal.

Well, you can be your own distributor. And that's what realhouse.org is all about. So they've given me this fantastic platform to be able to show the movie and people are jumping all over it and they're enjoying it. Realhouse.org. Okay, that's where people should-

Oh yeah, real in the sense of R-E-E-L. Okay, I know. Glad you clarified because I actually typed it wrong. Yes. Real as in R-E-E-L-H-O-U-S-E.org. And you can get a link on the Degrassi Tour website as well. And remind us that website too, because people... Yeah. Degrassitour.com is just a place where you can go and find out what our appearances are, what we're doing, the merch stores there, but we're also all over social media. We're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Right now on Facebook, I don't know when this interview

will go live. In 10 minutes. Okay. Right now, until tomorrow, again, more our head writer and Catherine Ellis, his wife, who was a publicist and wrote some of the episodes, they donated over 80 items that I'm auctioning off right now. And they're original items from 30 to 40 years ago. And people are bidding them up on our Facebook page like crazy right now. It's a lot of fun from posters to books to photos. It's all there. Awesome. Awesome. Here's a big question here, just as we wind down for the next generation. Was there any inkling? Johnny D. asked this question, and I think it's a great one. Could you tell Aubrey Graham was going to be a big star?

Was there any sign he was going to be a big fucking star? Absolutely not. He was a punk from Richmond Hill. My wife has more street cred growing up in Scarborough. No, dude, he was very much into his music. I remember him sometimes sitting in the corners of the green room and just listening to his music in his headphones. I didn't know he was into music until after I left the show until after he left the show. But again, how can you even expect something like that to happen to somebody close to you

or someone that you knew back in the day, his level of stardom is just insane. Um, I hope, I hope he enjoys the fruits of his labor, but I also do hope that he does something good with all of that fame and money and popularity. And that, um, you know, he shares that with people that need it because he's just got so much of it. It's this is so so i hear absolutely quite the success story i don't think yeah it would be tough to call that shot because he might just be the biggest music star on planet earth you know right now i would say so yeah i mean right now i would say so i mean he's got nothing on the zit remedy, but he's trying.

That's why I want to get you on the streaming services. I'd be going to that zit remedy jam on the daily here. Shout out to one of your big fans, Bruce Marceau. He went to one of your Degrassi events last year, and he loved it. He said, you seem like an awesome, well-adjusted guy. Pat, that's two of us now who have said nice things about you. Great. Finally, I want to just shout out, okay, William Dunlop had a great question about what film or role you'd like to have,

but it sounds like you've retired from acting right now. So it sounds like you're happy doing what you're doing now. Is it nostalgia? Yeah, you know what? As a kid growing up, I always wanted to be in a mafia movie or Sopranos or something like that. That would have been the coolest thing ever. But I can't do accents worth shit. Any of my gigs that I had to do an Hispanic accent or an Italian Guido accent

or whatever, I just hated them. And that's all the stuff that I kind of went out for growing up. And, but man, oh man, like Scarface was one of my favorite movies growing up, Back to the Future, Goodfellas, all those kind of movies were awesome. But yeah, that would have been the ultimate role for me to play as some kind of mafia dude. Oh yeah, we're almost done. I don't know if that's an important call or if you can...

Nah, it's just my buddy George. Okay, tell George you have Toronto mic. This is important. Last two minutes though. Rita Ville says... Well, Rita Ville's question is, do you still hang out with any of your cast mates? Because Rita works with one of them,

but she doesn't reveal which one. But maybe this is a good way to kind of just close up with these events that will come back once we get a handle on this pandemic. But who in particular do you kind of tour with? I know you mentioned Stacey, but shout out some of the names of the people who are involved in this degrassi nostalgia tour that i've got to get my ass to um it started off with stefan brogan who played snake stacy mystician

who played caitlin and kirsten bourne who played tessa campanelli and then eventually amanda stepped out who played spike and celix a sen who played Yik, came into the fold. I don't know if the tour itself is done because we've been to every city across Canada, with the exception of a couple of small cities or towns. But the screening events that we do in old independent movie theaters that Stacey and I love to go to, we're going to try and do that again once COVID ends. Celia Stacey Nassi has been my best friend ever since Degrassi.

He was the best man at my wedding. I was the best man at his wedding. He is the closest cast member. I would say is the one that I most connected with probably because we're just both goofy, you know, childish people, man,

child, but he's a good guy and he, you know, would do anything for you. And yeah, I'm blessed to have him as one of my closest friends. But now with the Degrassi Palooza experience and everything, I've reacquainted with a ton of the cast members and we're now reaching out to each other on Facebook.

I just reached out to Irene Karakos who played Alexa. She lives in Greece and we talk on Messenger all the time. So yeah, everyone's going through that. We're all hitting our 50 years old age and we're all feeling it. And I think we're all looking for a simpler time. And even the cast are now reaching out to each other, which is nice because yeah, we're a band of brothers, so to speak. Pat, thanks so much for doing this, man. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I'm glad you seem very happy and well-adjusted. You've come to embrace this Degrassi fame that you've had for all these decades. And that pleases me as well, because it makes a lot of us,

puts a big smile on our face when we think back to the Degrassi years. And you are a massive part of that, my friend. Well, thank you very much. I do appreciate it. I'm sorry it took so long for you and i to hook up and have this chat i'm glad it's been done i'm glad you didn't give up and that you reached out to me when you did i could be awfully annoying if i have to be and thanks for just finally saying yes i guess i do owe cam because he made he's the sounds like he's the reason we got to do this so thank you cam gordon yeah but you're also a legend in your own right my my friend. Toronto Mike is well known. So I had to get in line, but I just worked away.

And I'm glad to have been able to do this with you. Thanks, Pat. Cheers, my friend. And that brings us to the end of our 453rd show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Pat, he's at Pat Mastroianni. M-A-S-T-R-O-I-A-N-N-I. Great Lakes Beer. They're at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta

Sticker U is at Sticker U CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies Joanne Glutish is at J Glutish and Ridley Funeral Home is at Ridley FH see you all

next week. This girl's soul wants me today And your smile is fine and it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is rosy and green Well, you've been under my skin for more than eight years It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears And I don't know what the future can hold or do for me and you But I'm a much better man for having known you Oh, you know that's true because

Everything is coming up rosy and gray. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Cause everything is rosy and gray. Well, I've been told that there's a sucker born every day. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Rome Phone. Rome Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RomePhone.ca to get started. Rosie and Gray Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow

Warms me today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is Rosie and Gray Well, I've kissed you in France And I've kissed you in Spain

And I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down on Chaclacour But I like it much better going down on you Yeah, you know that's true Because everything is coming up We'll be right back. mine and it won't go away cause everything is rosy now everything is rosy yeah everything is rosy

and gray To heads that match our bowling balls. And to old friends. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Everybody wants something, they'll take your money and never give up. Everybody wants something, they'll never give up. Everybody wants something, they'll take your money and never give up.