Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 940 | Dennis Quaid & Jase Robertson Talk Hatred of Ronald Reagan & Why Trump Is a Lot Like Reagan

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

Phil welcomes award-winning actor Dennis Quaid to talk about the life and times of Ronald Reagan and how impactful his presidency was to America. Quaid emphasizes the spirituality of Ronald Reagan and opens up about his own spiritual journey over his years in Hollywood. Jase points out a particular trait that Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and Phil all exhibit, and the guys re-evaluate some of Quaid’s classic film roles.  “Unashamed” episode 940 is sponsored by: https://www.patriotmobile.com/phil — Get a FREE MONTH of service when you enter code PHIL or call 972-PATRIOT. http://www.focusonthefamilywithjimdaly.com — Get the support you need to guide your family with Focus on the Family with Jim Daly! https://philmerch.com — Get your “Unashamed” mugs, shirts, hats & hoodies! https://ICouldBeWrongButIDoubtIt.com/ — Get your copy of Phil’s bestselling book now! -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. Super excited about, we got a guest coming on in a little while. And the movie star, it's always good to have movie stars on, Jase. You know. You know, I was looking at this guy's bio. Can we go ahead and see who it is? Dennis Quaid.

And I was exhausted just looking at what he's done. He's done some great movie. And you know, it's like, I didn't realize how many movies that he's done that I really liked. And so I started looking back through the list. But some of those I want to ask him about. Of course, he's got a new movie coming out, which we'll talk about Reagan. And Jason, I both watched it. Dad didn't get to see it because he's got too many technical issues down here.

But I was, I mean, as soon as I've been seeing the trailers about it, I was super excited because Reagan, I was just kind of coming of age as a young man, as a teenager, but also. So politically, ultimately, because when I turned 18 in 1983, was right during Reagan's term. But I had grown up listened to you, dad, and Granny and Paul and mom talking about politics. And we had never been a super political family. I mean, it just kind of wasn't on the front burner when I was young because of the life we were in. But once we moved down here, you guys got engaged. And so it was rough times.

I mean, the interest rate, I think that on the house when you and mom bought it was about 26% interest. You know, we talking about interest today being 8% and it's, you know, too high. We want it lower. But 26% interest. So, I mean, whatever that original cost of the house was, you paid a lot of interest over time, you know. That big, it was big bucks in about 28,000. 28,000. Great acres and two houses.

When you do it at 26% of. interest, it's just going to cost a lot of money. So the times were tough, and so y'all talked a lot about it. And it's funny because Granny and Paul were lifelong Democrats, like a lot of Southern people were, because, you know, you grew up doing local elections and all that. But, man, did they love Reagan? And so I think it influenced me. Do you, were you old enough to remember? Yeah. I mean, well, here's what's fascinating. So on last podcast, we had the Robes shows, which, you know, I think we didn't really get a chance to comment after they were done because, you know, those guys can talk, especially Chad. Oh, yeah.

And we all, we all talked. So it went by so quick. But the reason me and Chad hit it off so well, and I endorsed his book, you know, when you see those guys and they talk about we're not really interested in politics, and they mentioned that several times. It's about helping people. and well, they're on the ground. They meet these people. They know these people. Well, in a weird world, I guess, of circumstances, you know, when I think back to Reagan,

you know, his main thing was fighting communism. Yep. And so the famous speech, which we'll talk about, you know, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. Well, that led to me actually going to Ukraine. Yeah. In the early 1990s. It opened a door. literally for you to go there.

So when, you know, I first met Chad and we, you know, we hit it off, obviously, because, you know, we both believe Jesus is the ultimate authority, the king of kings, the ultimate power, but also this love for people. And you really see that, you know, in our military, you know, they're fighting for each other, they're helping people, you know, you heard his son say it. It doesn't matter if they're black, white, Asian. I mean, because they, what they're displaying is the love of Christ in helping people without any kind of let me check your background and your culture what you did last night they don't do

that right so it's unconditional love is what you say but it made me think about romans eight uh in verse in their book and the relationship they had romans eight in verse 31 when it says what should what then shall we say in response to this if god is for us who can be against us and the response he's referring to is basically he had a little work-up like he did in Ephesians 1 about us being called, us being justified, us being glorified through his plan. But then it says, he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously, give us all things? So it reminded me so much of his story in the book about his relationship with his son, allowing him to have the freedom and to take

risk and to do all this all in the name of, you know, helping people. But so now, you know, you fast forward that because I wanted to jump in there, but we were trying to let them talk. But I was like, there's a difference when you know those people. When I went to the Ukraine and spent there a month, well, I got to know these people. And guess what? They were just human beings. Yeah.

And you shared Jesus and they respond. And they're just normal people. That's way different than making some political decision by looking at a map. Yeah. Then there's a country. You know, once you see the people, you're inspired. So fast forward that to our guest today, because then I thought about these kind of powers. You know, we believe God is the ultimate power.

Well, that led me to Romans 8 in verse 33. We says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or these are all human powers that that human beings in power used to control people right and so we know how that compares to God's love and Jesus he you know God didn't use bribery or or you know he wasn't trying to scare us into doing this he did it through love so then he gets on in the verse 37 he says no in all these things we are more than conquers through him who loved us for i'm convinced in neither death nor life nor angels demons

neither the present the future nor any powers neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of god that is in christ jesus our lord and so then you're getting into these kind of heavenly powers here but i wanted to read that because one thing that i did by watching this movie that I want to talk to Mr. Quaid about is I was so inspired by watching the movie that I went and watched the whole speech that he gave when he said, Mr. Govertich, tear it on this wall. Well, it's 26 minutes long. And you'll be stunned with how he ended it. You know how he ended it? Very similar to what I just read. Yeah, not. Which was incredible. It's an amazing speech. Yeah, and I was really touched about a lot of different things

in it, but one is I always felt like as a young man that there was a divine calling on Reagan for the moment. He sensed that and the movie didn't walk away from that. No, and it was really well done. So anyway, we're super excited about our guests. I see that he's arrived. So we're going to take a break and we come back. We've got the very talented Mr. Dennis Quaid is going to be with us.

We are being joined by one of our favorite actors, Mr. Dennis Quaid, Dennis, thank you for coming to Unashame. Hey, man, so glad to be here. Really. Fantastic. So we've got, we were talking about, we're going to talk about Reagan, the movie. We mentioned that a little bit before you came on. But we couldn't help but talk about some other movies we love, we wanted to ask you about.

Yeah. The first one, the first one I ever saw you in was a movie called The Long Riders. Do you remember that? You've done so many movies that it may be a, you may have to. I know we're going back. time. But it's one of my first Western. And, you know, it was the Carradine brothers, Chris Guest and his brother, the guest brothers,

the Beach brothers, and the Quaid brothers. Yeah. And it took about four months directed by Walter Hill, manly men doing manly things with men in a manly way. That's why we loved it so much, did it? It was, it was just a really, really. great time. Fantastic. Well, here's what's funny.

And our family, of course, you know, we're kind of the redneck Bible study. We were talking about that as you joined us. But so I just did the math there. So I graduated high school in 87. So I guess I was 11 or 12 years old. Yeah. But back as a family, you know, most families didn't do this in our world. But our family, if it was a Western, there was no rated R.

You went to the movie. So at 11 or 12, I went. The Western trumped all ratings in our family. Yeah, well, the Wild West was rated R. It was, exactly. Exactly. But every time there was... So is the Bible, by the way.

Well, right. Every time there was a four-letter word, my mom, yeah, my mom would whisper, don't you ever say that. And then there was a couple of scenes, I think, where y'all had, where, you know, a woman revealed her top half. And the next thing I would feel was a smack, and it was my mom putting her hand over my eyes. So that was really the first memory of that movie. Yeah.

But I think that was one of the first Westerns that really highlighted just the sound of the gunfire in slow motion. It really captured that feeling of the country. Yeah. you know, back then how, and the music I thought was fantastic. I remember we had a lot of like old songs written by Anonymous in there, you know, that were from that era around post-Civil War era. You know, like, I'm just a good old rebel. That's all I really am.

Yeah. When you, everybody was wearing the long, coats. It was just, it had a cool feel about it that was new. I mean, this was, you know, movies, movies were changing in the old Western genre where it was just kind of the, and I love those. I grew up with with the John Wayne and all that, but it just kind of brought a cool factor to Westerns. I thought that was really. That was the 70s, too, where you had the anti-hero. Right. And it was a different point, a much different point of view. It felt kind of more real. There was no, like, good guy. Right.

on either sides because you definitely couldn't call Jesse James and his guys, good guys. I mean, it's the best you could relate them to Robin Hood, but they were outlawed. And Eastwood kind of brought that in, too. So one other movie I want to ask you about, because it's one of my, people from Louisiana, everybody's All-American, which was set in Louisiana. I was actually there for a couple of games where you guys were filming in front of the live audience in Tiger Stadium, which, you know, to LSU fans is like the greatest place on Saturday night.

You were actually there. And so I witnessed some of the filming that was there. So to people from Louisiana, that's like, I don't know how that was in your movie career of success, but like people that grew up here love that movie. Because I wanted that movie so bad. And it took about three years to get that movie together. And it was one of my first like real leads. And Jessica Lang, for God's sake. Oh, she's beautiful.

Yeah. You know, and I had done the Big Easy. Yeah. I think, yes, I had done the Big Easy. And so I already had a really good history with Louisiana. I mean, I got cousins in Eunice. Oh, wow. Yeah.

By the way. And, you know, during the Big Easy was able to go over there to, you know, go up to Mamu, Napalus. So you did some good eating while you were down here too. Oh, man, it was good. It was some great music, you know, just all over the place. And John Goodman was in the film, and he's from New Orleans, yeah. Well, he's from St. Louis, but he might as well be in New Orleans.

Yeah. I mean, he spent so much time there like I did. I think cumulatively I probably spent, you know, a good two and a half years of my life in Louisiana. I'm from Houston, which is West Louisiana. It is. That's right. There's a strong culture that's over there. So I had a question from the movie. So I had heard this. I want to ask you if this was true. So in the movie, it's kind of you about aging as you were a football player and you're trying to deal with, you know, not having the game and all that. But there's a scene in there where you were, I think you were playing for the Broncos is where you wind up in the pros.

And you took a vicious hit. And I read somewhere that you actually broke your collarbone. that actually happened in Tiger Stadium when I was who was the guy that hit me too he was a he was a safety playing in the NFL at the time they called him the human missile

you never want Dennis you never want to get hit by the human missile they were trying to recreate a scene where Roger Stauback you know does try to get a run the ball himself around, you know, looking for the corner and just gets hit. His helmet goes flying, like, off of him.

And I did it the first time, and helmet would fly in and everything. But Taylor Hackford said, I don't really believe it. Not really hard enough. So do it again. We'll just do it. So we did it the next time. And boom, boy, that was really surprising by collar bra. It was just broken.

So I kept, we kept filming too for another hour. Well, I never forget because the look on your face was, I thought it's the best acting job ever because he looked like he was in so much pain. But actually you were in so much pain. Yeah. But yeah, I was for sure. And it, yeah, collarbones, they heal really quick. But, you know, they're pretty darn painful.

You wear one of those slings for... Exactly. Well, I also read that when you did white earth, which, by the way, I mean, I thought it was an incredible... An amazing thing. But I read somewhere where you had lost so much weight and then you got sick or something, you know... Oh, I didn't get sick, but I lost... I mean, again, I was at 182 and I got down to 138. That's what...

40-something pounds or 38 pounds. And because I wanted to... Doc Holiday, you know, he had a lung disease. And that's the reason he went out west from Georgia. And having that, knowing you're not going to live very long, made him actually really good in a gunfight because he was going to die anyway. So he just, like, was calm and would draw and point and shoot wherever everybody else is just, you know, shooting off. and but

that you know he was puny and I think that had a lot to do with his psychology so I got down there just to feel what Doc felt like but then I had to stay there for five months because that's how long I could do the movie and it was tough

but I love doing that movie man westerns and you know ride to horror shoot the gun see all our viewers have known I've always had this secret mission, I guess, or desire. Because, you know, we've been on TV. We've done a couple TV shows, but we get to play ourselves.

So it's not that difficult. It's like, it kind of took all the pressure off. But I've always said I would love to be in a great Western. And I thought, but not even to act. I just, I'll be the first guy that gets shot off the horse. And I think it's because there's a redneck joke. I think you could play that well, Jason. Well, there's a redneck joke.

that when people, when you meet somebody or they're not very skilled or talented, and they'll say, man, you couldn't be a dead man in an old Western. Yeah. Play a dead man. Because it's just, so I've always thought, but I kind of want to be a dead man in an old Western if it's good. But I realize even on our shows when we had extras, I realized that being an extra is the worst thing you can do in life.

Because basically, you're promised fame and you're going to be a part of this. but in reality, you stand around for seven or eight hours, and the scene that you're behind the scene may not even make the show. Yeah. It's really just sacrifice, you know, for nothing. But maybe the next Western you do, if there's another one. If you need to shoot somebody, Jesus. Because I got to look.

We will put you up front. Yeah. I don't mind. I just want to say I was, that was me that got shot. Oh, you'd be perfect in a Western. You know, the thing about acting is that, you know, You're always playing yourself no matter what. You can't get away from yourself, you know?

You see Jack Nicholson, you know, in a movie, no matter who he's playing. You're going to the movies to see Jack Nicholson, or you're going to see Marlon Brando, or you're going to see whoever, you know. He's going to see them do it. So it's, don't try to get away from yourself. Yeah. Well, I like that. I'm encouraged that you're saying that.

Because when I watch this movie, because I thought as many, movies as you've done, because I just couldn't believe, you know, you don't really realize it until you start going down the list, I thought. But he, you really, uh, captured Reagan. I thought whoever had that idea of casting you and that was brilliant. And I, I'm predicting right now that you will win some type of award for that. I'm just going out there on a limb. I was very impressed, but I was wondering how you did that in such a short period of time, because I've seen, that you've been doing other movies. I was like, how do you become that character?

You just stay up all night. I actually had a long time with that. And, you know, I say you're always playing yourself. But, you know, when, especially to when it comes to real people, I mean, the question in acting is, what would I do if I were this person in this situation? And I was offered Reagan. And I didn't say yes. And I didn't say no.

He was my favorite president, greatest president of the time. 20th century. I mean, idolized it. And I, everybody in the world knows Reagan, just like everybody knows Muhammad Ali, you know,

everybody has an opinion of them and stuff like that. And I didn't want to do an impersonation of them, like on Saturday Night Live, you know. When I play somebody real, where they're dead or living, I feel a responsibility to do that character from their point of view.

You know, and so it, I was lucky I had two years before we started shooting. And so I just, I went to YouTube and, you know, I just did Reagan night and day and really looked at the way he walked and stuff. If you asked me, you know, he had a certain walk. And in Hollywood, they teach you how to walk. And I, and I, you get influential. by other people's walks, you know, just like it was a kid when I wanted to be Steve McQueen.

And he and John Wayne had the same walk. Yeah. Yeah. And, but there was a part of Reagan that everybody who knew him really well said was a very, very private. It was almost impenetrable. And everybody felt it. You know, this is a great communicator. So I wanted to get down to what that.

was, you know? Yeah. And I think it's some place came from childhood. I think that's his, I think that was his eye of the storm of commotion around him, uh, from his family life, where he went to for peace, even as, you know, in the storm around him. Also, you know, where he went to to pray and, uh, to contemplate. And, uh,

that was very key to me with playing Reagan. Tear down this wall. Oh, yeah. That became... I think that was his... And the movie did a good job. Yeah, because it kind of made... told it from that Russian perspective.

But I was going to say one of the things... I learned a lot from the movie, Dennis, because, like, I didn't know a lot about Reagan's early life, and I thought the film does a fantastic job on understanding the man as he was a boy and a young guy. man. Yeah. And I thought that was really a powerful thing to help you understand the man he became. Yeah. You know, I was talking about that private place. You know, he had an alcoholic father that, you know, he had kind of a double-edged sword relationship with him. You know, he really loved and

admired him. You know, his sense of humor, actually, I think he got from his father and the storytelling. But, you know, that it was also kind of a source of shame for him at the same time. I think, growing up. And, you know, in that, he became kind of protective. His mom was his rock. That's where Reagan and I had many similarities. I kind of grew up in the same situation, maybe not to the degree he did with his dad.

But, you know, my mom was my rock. That was for sure. We were both actors. And we both, I think, naturally have sunny dispositions. to begin. But I didn't say yes and it didn't say no, and because I wanted to be able to feel like I could get to him other than just the exterior, you know. And I got invited up to the Reagan Ranch,

about a couple of months into making my decision. And it's not a tourist spot. This was the Western White House, you know, where, he and Nancy went to in the mountains of California there. He bought that right after he was governor. And you go up five miles of the worst road in California. And you get to the top of the mountain, go through the gate,

and came out into the clearing, and I got it. You know, I realized that Reagan was actually a very humble man. And it's, you know, You could feel him there on the place because he really did do all the work there at that place. The house itself was, this is the Western White House, you know, where the Queen came. It was maybe 1100 square feet. They had a king-sized bed, he and Nancy, but it was two single beds that were zip tied together. and they get a little basket there for remember back in the 80s when it took three remote controls to turn your TV on.

So you had to have a special basket for it, yes. Yeah, they had GE appliances because, you know, he had a deal with GE. And Reagan was not a rich man. Yeah. That's, you know, and that was not where his focus was. he really dedicated to public service and he was a great man

and I think that's what made him a great man well it inspired me in the movie because I didn't realize I guess since that was so long ago at how spiritual he was and and just that divine touch on his life

like the calling I think he felt that and I think you know even in the assassination attempt, which, I mean, we just had the same thing play out in real life, you know, when... Within the last month, yeah, exactly. Well, and all of a sudden, I said we did a whole podcast on that, and I think somebody said it was the most watched podcast we had, you know, released within a week.

Because we kind of focused on the real, the human side of it. I was like, you know, when you get shot in that setting, it makes you realize any human being okay, I'm mortal, I'm going to die. And is there a guy? And so that's why it was so shocking to a lot of people, but not to us when the first couple of letters that former President Trump put out was all about God. And it was kind of like that, I forgot what movie that was, I think it was a comedy, but when they realized, hey, we're on a mission from God here.

Yeah, blues brothers. It was all of a sudden, you know, I felt like, Former President Trump was like, hey, God, God just voted for me. I'm voting. I got something I need to do. But, but. You know, Tip O'Neill, in fact, after he realized that, you know, he lived that he said to him, he was saying that his life was no longer his own.

It was for the man upstairs. Because I think when you get shot or even shot at like that, it focuses you on, what is God's purpose for me? Yeah. And, you know, that, that's staying focused on that. I think that's what Trump realized is too. I mean, I definitely saw it. You could see it in his face after that.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and there's a, there's a scene in there, Dennis, in the movie that we're Tip O'Neill's in the room with him. And I think it shows you the different sort of, part of it is the era. I know it was it's there and a lot of it was the man Reagan. But even this is his political enemy, but he comes in to check on him and then they quote part of the 23rd Psalm together. Right. And but I just, I love that because yeah. I mean, the idea was, you know,

there was a time when you said even though we have political enemies and, you know, we're still human beings. And it seems like now it's very difficult because even you bring up Trump or, you know, whatever. And it's like some people just, we can't even figure how to work together because it's like, no, you can't even talk about this. So it was a different time. But Reagan was a different man. I mean, he, you know, that was that's what made him so special. I thought. That was a time where you had liberal Republicans. Yeah. And conservative Democrats. Right. You know, that demographic started to change after that. And in the 90s. But, you know, we all need to get back to that in a certain sense.

I guess maybe the closest you could even come to that today would be like Joe Mansion, who was, you know, but I would certainly like to see us get back to a dialogue about it instead of having to be so black and white. And I think that's up to the American people, you know,

is to, you know, And tell you the truth, Republicans and Democrats, we need each other. We really do. We need each other to kind of keep a governor on things going too much this way or too much that way. Right. Because that's where the American people are.

I think majority of American people are in the center. And this country was based on compromise. So if we can get back to just having a doubt. dialogue about it instead of just digging in our heels. Yeah, and I thought one of the things, one of the things that was really that I learned that I really guess I never knew from watching the film was how much the, how much communism and Reagan's seeing that early, you know, as things were kind of percolating in what he saw in Hollywood and all these different ways and how that shaped him is having sort of that common

goal and the idea this is something that needs to be defeated, not just somehow we can live together, but it was like, this has to be, this has to be put in a place, whereas it takes away the freedom from everybody. But that was a really powerful theme of the movie. And I think the way it was made, the way you guys put it together was so powerful, even told through a Russian perspective. I thought John Voigt was amazing in the film. Yeah, great. There was a great way to tell that story too, from like a Russian KGB officer's point of view. And you're right, that was, it's kind of the overwhelming theme. It's about survival. Yeah. In a sense, you know, that's what World War II was about. That's how we came together. Yeah. As a nation in World War II,

to, you know, to save the world. It was about survival. And the Cold War was going on. I'm sure a couple of you guys remember like when we were in school and we had those drills where we had to get under our desk and you know duck and cover and kiss your butt goodbye you know for a case of like a nuclear attack it was very real time we came very close to it even during Reagan's time in fact during Reagan's time it was just as much of a threat as it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. And it took somebody like Reagan to win the Cold War. Jimmy Carter had tried to diffuse things.

You know, I voted for Jimmy Carter, actually. He was the first person that president I voted for. It was post-Watergate. And, you know, I thought we needed an outsider and somebody that would, you know, bring that we could trust to bring trust back to government. He was a Sunday school teacher from Georgia. You know, yeah. And I thought it worked really well.

And the peace agreement he got with Egypt and Israel. Yeah. With the Russians, and the economy too, but with the Russians, he was like being a Sunday school teacher, you know, we gave away the B1 bomber. We gave away several essential things without asking anything in return from the Russians. And in the real world, Americans want to be friends that end in the real world, you get laughed at that way. They see it as weakness. Yeah. And they went and built their military up and their missile counts way up.

And it took somebody like Reagan to come along and say no. He was the first president to say no to them. Yeah, and I love that. He said he wanted to be the first guy to say, and he did in the film, which is very powerful. Which remind me again, I saw some similarities. I mean, he didn't have that Trump, you know, attitude of saying what he's thinking every second.

But these kind of things like, I'll go make a deal. I mean, because really with that whole Cold War ending the way they portrayed it, you know, they just got into a room. You know, first they tried it with the whole crowd. and he's like, I got an idea. I love that scene. It was one of my favorite scenes. When he wanted to have a re-to.

Yeah, take two, reboot. I thought you did a really good job on that without giving the movie away. And it just went down a different road from there in a personal relationship type of way, which is, I mentioned this before you came on. You know, when I watched that, when he gave that speech in Berlin, I just immediately, as soon as the movie was over, I was like, I want to watch that. whole speech. So I looked it up, obviously, it was everywhere. It was 26 minutes long, but I was really shocked at how the end, he started talking about love. And then he gave this

picture of the cross that was a lot like the Roman day. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, where was I when he was saying that? I thought it's politics. I'm not interested. But I thought, man, what a speech. Yeah. I mean, wow. You know, it was Reagan and the Pope who had also So I had an assassination attempt. I am just a couple of months from that. Like Valenza and the Polish people that brought it down. But there are so many similarities to today's times back in 78, 79. You know, we had oil.

Of course, we had oil problems and stuff like that. We had hostages in Iran. Yep. You know, nobody talks about the hostages we have now. Yeah. They're over there. Yeah. Why is that?

Right. The economy was inflation, 20% interest rates. Yep. Yeah, inflation. There was a feeling of malaise that we were a country in decline, right out of Jimmy Carter's mouth. in fact. And Reagan came along and said, no, we're not a nation in decline.

We're going this way right here. And here's the way to go. And he gave us confidence. And there were those. And, of course, a whole bunch of on the other side who called him a war monger. He was going to get us into a nuclear war. He was going to destroy the economy with his trickle. down economics. He was good at, yeah, all those things, you know, all those things that,

that he did with that in 84, you know, he won every state, but Minnesota. That was Walter Montel State. Exactly. So, you know, he did a, he did it a great job, but he took a coal warrior like him who talked tough. Yeah. Because they respect him to, and that's what Trump is doing too. Yeah. That's what I was trying to bring up. It seemed it seemed eerily similar as like kind of the same problems, the same issues, and they even really captured the same opposition toward him. I mean, it was pretty fierce. I mean, obviously. Especially, and I think the movie did a great job, showing the second term of Reagan, which really was a lot like the first Trump term in terms of a lot of scandal, a lot of political enemies, talk of impeachment, you know, all the stuff was there.

Contra. Exactly. I thought the film captured that really good. You know, also, Reagan's, his attitude, it is, you know, when AIDS came along, he didn't handle that all too well. Right. As well, you know, which is, but, you know, he's a man. We portrayed him as a band. Nobody's perfect.

Right. But he had principles, and that's the way he governed was with. principles. And a lot of times decisions you make based on those principles are not going to be popular, but those principles transcend a political party. And it's those kinds of principles you can find right there in the Bible that you're talking about. And, you know, it's, that's the, everything that's ever happened. Anything humans have ever been through is right there in the Bible. Yeah. Yeah. And there is a. There's a good lesson in the Bible for every part of life.

It doesn't mean that we like it or accept it. Yeah. But that's, it's there. And sometimes it's not always pleasant to learn. So, so does what do you hope folks can, you know, get from the movie? What's kind of your hope behind it? I know you guys are trying to get folks to see it. I know that because we're in such a highly charged polarized time,

there'll be people that are against it just because it is about Reagan. But it really is an amazing film. Jason and I both absolutely loved it. And so we want our audience to see it for sure. What do you hope to accomplish by folks seeing it? What do you hope happens with it? Well, you know, we did it in 20. I thought it would be out in 22.

Above all, I did not want it to come out during an election year. Yeah. Because we tried not to make it a partisan movie. You know, it's about a man. Right. And I didn't want to get caught up in politics, but it's coming out this year. And I just have to say, what the hell do I know? Everything you try to.

There's been more of an interest like in the 80s and in Reagan and the way that the times are that reflect the times back then. it's you know everybody everybody who was born before 1985 that you get a reminder of what this country used to be like and people born

after 1985 get a chance to see what this country used to be like in what it still can be and it's inspiring that way I'd say it's my favorite movie that I've ever done now and I'm really proud of it but first I want people to be entertained.

Yeah. You know, it's not, this is not a, you're not going into a civics class when you see this movie. You're seeing the story of a, of a man, of an inspiring great man. And even those that were, you know, people hated Reagan, too, you know, that, I was say before, you know, it was a warmonger, they said, this, that. And, I mean, those feelings still kind of hang around for him in a way. and those people, I think, will be just as interested in going to see it as well.

Reagan, whether you, Reagan was like everybody's dad when he was president. Yeah. That was a thing, especially the boomer generation like mine. Yeah. And that can be for better or worse, the good dad or the bad dad, you know what I mean, that you rebelled against or that you really idolized. That was what Reagan was to the American people. Well, I was really moved.

because Reagan was one of my early heroes, too. He's the first president I voted for. It turned 18, 1983. So 84, I was part of that landslide that voted for him. And it's always had a special place for me. I remember exactly where I was, what I was thinking when he was shot. And so I was moved to tears watching that scene, you know, just going through that. And especially because at first they thought he hadn't even been shot and then he was.

and just watching the human part of that relationship. So I'm like you, it all has to be on God's timing because I couldn't help to think about so much that's going on today. It was so much like it was back then. And the fact that there's a there's a Donald Trump now that is a lot different than Reagan, but in some ways has a lot of the same feel. Very much to say about Reagan. You know, the presidents really reflect us. That's right.

Trump reflects us. You know, we're at a time where it's kind of a, it's a different world. It's a little bit, it is more brash. It takes being more brash and stuff. And, you know, so it's in that way, I think they're very similar. And I think Trump has principles that he operates off of. I mean, I haven't noticed his policy change, his principles change, since he ran for president in 2016. That's right.

He's been talking about the same thing. Well, it's neither one of them were deemed politicians. You know, one of them was an actor. Right. Yeah, and that's nothing. They had to have a commercial. Well, I say that to my wife. You know, that when he first ran, my wife would be just like, I can't believe he said that.

And I would say, baby, he's not a politician. Well, look, after she said that, the 1,000th time during that, I, then I kept getting louder. I was like, he's not a politician. He's going to say what he thinks. I was like, look at my dad. He says what he thinks. And people are like, I mean, you know, my dad who's here right now, he's actually spoken in front of church audiences before. And most of the time you think amen or well or, you know, hallelujah or Jesus.

But my dad would constantly get a gasp. People would go, oh. And I was like, now that's talent, Phil, to get a thousand people to gas. to gasp simultaneously, you know, be some graphic illustration. But I was like, well, my dad's not a picture. A lot of people gasped too, you know. Exactly. But it comes with plain talk, but you believe it.

Now, you may not like it or agree with it or think he's, you know, crazy. But he's like, you're not allowed to think that way, you know, but like plain truth right in front of you, like the, you know, the emperor has no clothes or describing the elephant or whatever. But at the end of the day, I brought up on that assassination. attempt, how his family, you know, his wife, Melania, wrote that beautiful letter to the country about love, and it kind of reminded me of this same kind of thing. And I know his family, even though I've never met Mr. Trump, I knew his family, his sons, because we hunted together and did charity events, just unassociated with politics way before this all happened. And I kept

looking at the man's family. I'm like, well, he's a family man. He's just, and he's not a politician. And so once you kind of understand that, you understand the whole way he is articulating. So very blunt. So I found that fascinating. But in that all of us, I mean, when you first sat down, we were doing our first segment. I was reading Romans 8. But the first thing you said was you're like, my mom, that's her favorite passage. She read that to me when I was a kid, you know.

And I thought those kind of things, because these characteristics that are in the Bible, reveal a person and these characteristics are all good. I mean, they're loving and they're joyous and, you know, other religious people might have manipulated that and misused it and even gone to war over things they thought were true in here. But just because they messed it up doesn't mean that the picture of who Jesus is is not true. And these qualities are good for human beings and relationships. Yeah, and also the flaws.

Yeah, that's right. We're all flawed. And to, you know, to point at someone about their flaws, you know, Trump has many of them. I had many of them, too. But, you know, you're pointing at yourself at the same time. Exactly. With things like that. And I think that's the way, I think things have changed over past decades is that, I think,

just as a whole in a culture. society, we're coming to accept people's flaws a little bit more when it comes to public office. Yeah. Well, that's the most needed thing. Because look, I mean, the bottom line is God uses flawed people, you know, to make himself known. That was his plan. Yeah.

Well, look at us. Moses. He was a murderer and had a stutterer, you know, David Bathsheba. Yeah. You look, it just go down the line. you know exactly was even like i was listening to some of your music uh your your gospel album uh which is a gospel album for sinners right i mean that's that's what you entitled it and i thought man what better way to talk about the you know flawed humanity than to sing about it so i love

your stuff by the way that was oh thank you very much yeah one of the largest tautzy it's possible that's a call it a gospel record for sinners but that's uh it's uh it's It's really, that's my, I guess that's my spiritual journey of the record as a whole is what it is. And, you know, I was one that I was raised in the Baptist Church. And I got disillusioned with what I call churchy-anity, I guess, you know. Yeah. We talk about it a lot on this bug. Yeah.

And when I was a teenager. And then I, you know, I drifted into Eastern, Redson Hartha, or drifted into kind of Eastern. philosophy and Buddhism and I read the Damapata, the Bhagavagi to the Quran. And I've read the Bible like four or five times in my lifetime. Each time is different. But then I came back to the red words of Jesus. That's what brought me back and realized about what it's all about really is having a personal relationship with God, particularly with Jesus Christ.

So good, Dennis. And that's exactly what this podcast is about. So the movie's going to come out August 30th for a nationwide release. It's going to be amazing. You can go to Reagan.com movie if you want to see the trailer for it now. We highly recommend it. And you're working. It was exemplary.

So I'm just, I feel like, you know, I learned that Reagan was anointed to be Reagan. And I feel like Dennis, you were anointed to play him. Well, it's turned out to be my favorite movie.

and I'm so glad I did it, and I hope people really enjoy it. And it's a great story. It's really our story, too, America. And it's well done, and I don't know if anybody's told you you're going to get an award. I wanted to be the first one to do that.

If that does not happen, we'll come up with some unashamed... You will get the unashamed actor of the year. Yeah. That's going to happen. It's fantastic. Maybe a people's choice. There you go. Yeah.

That'd be better. Well, thank you, Dennis. Thank for coming on Unashame. Best to you in the future. And God bless you, brother. Thank you, guys. A big fan of you. And just keep doing what you're doing.

All right. You do the same. Really. God bless you. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by rating us on iTunes. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click that little bell to get notified about new episodes.

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