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Our Guest today is Ki we Quan key has an amazing story so you really want to
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listen to this podcast and I never say that I'm not a Salesman but he has an amazing story he just was in school his
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his family came from Vietnam and he was just in school in LA and they said hey there's a movie he auditions and boom
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Indiana Jones the Temple of Doom and then later on he gets into Goonies he has this nice little run and then the
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story gets more dramatic there David it's very complicated it's very it's
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it's it's more of a story of of a hard luck Story the way that happens in
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Hollywood but this one has a happy ending and it doesn't always happen that way but it's a guy that's really
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persevered and tried and hung in there and had good people around him and really zero ego um lots of talent and
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just a good dude to talk to and he has very inspiring to hear him talk about literally anything yes and this episode
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will get into uh romance and the support of a spouse it's pretty moving and um it
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just just about as nice a person that's ever been on our shows he's got a new movie called love Herz love Herz is out
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in theaters actually he was in everything everywhere all at once which was Academy Award bait and I think he
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won we'll let them find out I think yeah we let listen to this as you drive Gard
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go gym or if you're doing the dishes thank you m uh anyway here he is what a
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great dude and hope you have a nice uh listen we we we sure had a nice time talking to [Music]
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him first of all I I gotta I got to geek out a little bit I cannot believe I'm
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talking to both of you uh I've been a massive massive fan of both of your work
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uh in fact talking to you right now it's very intimidating and because you guys are so
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funny you guys are so funny I wish I wish my uh my goon's brother Jeff Cohen
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AKA chunk is here with me because he's very funny you know it's funny first of
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all thank you very much for that and uh you don't have to be funny you don't have to be anything here we just like you don't have to be anything are good
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over talking is one of our skill sets notice I'm doing it right now yeah if you get on a roll we will will stop you
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so don't don't even put any there's no pressure for you to do but you know Dana I didn't see Goonies when it came out
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this is so crazy and I the other night it was on and I'm like oh this is Goonies that literally every person in
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the world has seen and so I started watching it they're in some underwater CA there's some cave and they're trying
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to dig out of the mud is that Goonies that's it right there's a cave and and how old were you when you when you saw
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it if you didn't see it as a kid I I'm old now I'm 100 4 but when I saw it it
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was one week ago I was old I was old in the 80s so I saw it old I was old then
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but I saw it it was great and and did you like it because it's one of those movies where like you watch it as a kid
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and you grow up with it and then you ended up like that being your favorite movie but I wonder like what's it like
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to watch it as an adult it's fun because it's nostalgic the way I used to like movies so it just threw me back to being
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that age going this is exactly what I would like this is like a fun and all all the kids are acting goofy and people
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are after him and it just yeah how do how I missed it I don't know but I just thought oh I this is why Everyone likes
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it you can tell in five minutes of watching it that it's got a good vibe I think it it's had resonance you know
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with stranger things and there's it's a it's an important movie it's part of
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that that zyy and I think it was mimicked a lot you know but it was it's
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just fun kids on adventure caves bad guys I mean it's just fun fun movie it's
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the you know it's the greatest story of all time for a kid I me to find a treasure map and go and go on this like
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incredible adventures with your friends where you go down water slides and you
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step on booby traps and and you know and you come upon this like you know fullsize Irish ship it was just a it was
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an incredible experience uh for me and and for all the Goonies and you're with your buddy I mean it just shows kids
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together and that's your dream like do something fun and you're with your friends and Stephen Spielberg's the
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boss yeah he he's the head goon uh and and of course you know dick Donna did an
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incredible job allowing us to be kids uh you know if you watch that movie we were
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constantly just talking over one another and that I mean back then you don't do that sure uh you trained to like wait
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until you you know the other actor finish talking before you say you're lying uh but from day one we were all
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hams were we could not wait to to to to say our lines and uh and it of course it
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drove the you know the sound guy crazy but dick Donna was laughing the entire
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time uh behind the monitors because you know that's what kids are that's what they do yeah he had a moving Master shot
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then a lot of the time with you guys I assume if you're all overing like yeah oh yeah we we did Master shots we did
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coverage we did you know the the whole thing and and Dick loves to shoot with multiple cameras uh for example we did
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the uh the the the pirate ship the very first time we saw the pirot ship was captured on camera uh you you know you
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might have heard this story before but when they were building the ship on stage 16 on the Warner Brothers line uh
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Spielberg and Donner placed a security camera right by the door and they closed
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that giant gate so nobody could see what was happening inside built the ship and
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when it was ready to film it they you know they they blindfolded us and we
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were walking backwards being escorted by by the crew uh and and they had seven
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cameras pointing at us uh and we got underwater we hear action we pop up and
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turned around and what you see in the movie is the very first time time that
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we saw the pirate ship and it was incredible it was an amazing site so smart God I think better of Richard
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Doner than I always did you know to not only land Superman uh the last great
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Superman although there's one coming out brilliant brilliant movie uh with Brando
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and Christopher Ree and so then he altered his shooting style to accommodate kids and so that's probably
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a big reason why it just pops it's not stilted it flows
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I'm FC the weapon too he was he's on and the omen yeah the omen uh leth the weapon
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Scrooge with Bill Murray I remember that I remember that yeah he's just he's such a a versatile filmmaker yeah I
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auditioned for him once I don't know if you ever had any auditions where you didn't get the part he but uh I audition
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for Richard Donner for some movie in the early 80s and I had no experience and we
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were supposed to pretend we were crawling in a cave or something maybe it I was so maybe it was Goonies you do the
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audition and they're like well um okay that's good you want me to do anything else no we're good thank you what about
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the other five scenes No we're just we're gonna do one today that's it we got a good feel for you you had Richard
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you had Spielberg and then you had Richard Donna that's a pretty good
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start yeah I I saw I'll tell you the story about Dick Doner uh Your Love uh I
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did Goonies with him and this was many years later maybe in 1990 uh most of the
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time I was just an unemployed actor uh and there was this role that came in it was it was a u a role for an episode of
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Tales from the Crypt oh yeah it was a show that he produced HBO but but he
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didn't do was HBO um and this was like maybe like a year and a half I haven't worked and I
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my agent called me and says hey you know there's this row T us from the CP you know it's um you know you're one of the
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guys it's very Goonies ask but you know in the horror genre and I said yeah I I
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love to go in an audition so I auditioned for the producer uh he wasn't there he didn't
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know about it I auditioned for the producer and and the and the director at that time uh and when he found out that
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I went in an audition uh he told him he says give him the part give him the part
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no it doesn't matter whether he's right or not just give it what a sweetheart
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very very sweet and then sure enough a week later uh my agent told me I got the road and it had everything to do with
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Donner um that's how that's how nice he is wow yeah I mean it's good to have a good experience too you know like you
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get you get the Spielberg film did you have any experience or is it completely let's try out for a movie or had you
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done something before um in Dan Jones no no nothing I was uh you know this was
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1983 I just immigrated to the United States uh four years I can barely speak
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English I was busy being a kid you know trying to acclimate you know into my
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into my new life I was living in Chinatown Los Angeles at that time it was just a very small Chinese Community
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uh yeah and I was busy going to school and and living out my new life and that one day uh the casting director and and
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and and his associate came to my elementary school um and they
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were they were just interviewing all the kids that they that the casting director
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thought might be right with the role of short ra uh I knew nothing about it I
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didn't even want I mean being an actor was the last thing I ever wanted uh I I
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was just I was busy doing homework and and learning English sure uh and and I
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don't know what I did then my brother went to audition I you know I tagged along and literally the the very next
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day I got a call from uh Spiel books office um and and and she said you know
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we would like you to come in and and meet with Stephen and and George I didn't know who they were I didn't have
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a call back then creep the entire family we were you know we didn't have a car
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live in Chinatown and we can get by just walking to everywhere sure uh
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and when they heard that I couldn't you know go to their office they said don't worry we're going to send you a driver a
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driver 13 and the day before you were just in class yeah yeah yeah you're
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nervous you're like am I short enough am I round enough yeah and that's and that's how it all started uh it was it
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was it was crazy but it was it was the best thing that has ever happened oh my gosh that was such a huge movie too can
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I just ask you a question so when you're in the classroom they go okay read for a movie are you holding a script or they
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just feeding your stuff and seeing your personality I'm just curious did you how did that first reading go just well they
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they they had a setup in the gym okay with cameras and so all the kids were just like you know sitting and waiting
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for their name to be called uh and when I went into this little room where they had like a camera set up and person to
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read with us uh there was sites they gave us sites and and I can barely
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understand any of it I didn't know what Indie me I didn't even know Indie is a name or a
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person this was a sequel to one of the biggest movies was a state Indiana yeah
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yeah I I and then you know and of course I I mean I fumbled I was bad at it uh I
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didn't know what I was saying uh but luckily the the casting director saw something uh and asked me to put the
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sides away and said key I just want to talk to you for a few minutes yeah and more like it to see what you're like
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yeah yeah to see to see what I was like ask me how old I was how you know you know how I got to the states and you
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know what's my family like what's my favorite subject uh and so I I answered um
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everything um little did I know uh years later the casting director told me that
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the minute I walked out the door he call Stephen Spielberg and says we don't have to look anymore we found your kid uh was
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pretty that was pretty amazing wow can I say I'm just curious so I don't know
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what economic strata your family was at at this point what did they pay you for this movie and did it change the dynamic
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or did what was that like what did did you just get union scale scale is huge
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for someone who does have money right Dana that's a great question we were
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broke we were my my parents my parents literally gave everything they had to
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get that all of us the entire family my my family is a total of 11 people um U
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my my my parents had nine kids so they gave up everything they had to get all of us here in the United States so by
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the time we got here they they lost everything and they were heavily in Deb uh and here comes this movie I didn't
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have an agent I was not a member of Screen Actor skill uh I didn't have a lawyer to look after me so whatever they
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gave me whatever contract agreement gave me to sign we just signed it of course
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yeah uh and it was not until later one I
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was paid a very generous salary but what was even more incredible was that they
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made me a profit participant what no
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without asking without asking without lawyers protecting me with agents asking
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it's never you do you you know you know you never get profit participant unless you really fight for
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it uh and and this is why I'm so grateful to them because knowing that
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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is going to be the biggest movie in 1984
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and yet they're still so generous and still so willing to make me a profit participant and when the movie came out
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sure enough that very first check that came in was big enough where I I I we I
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didn't have have to uh you know our parents didn't have to rent a tiny homes for all of us uh I was I was able to
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afford to buy a bigger house sure for all of us to live in and and sure enough not only it changed my life but it
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changed all of my family's life unreal so I mean this is s of inside baseball
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but you know that you get Pro sometimes you'll get net points on a movie they call it but the movie says we've never
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made a profit but it no matter how big it's Spielberg it's Indiana Jones at its
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peak so I assume that yeah you got actual checks
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and they kept coming I got checks uh I I get I get you know statements sent to me
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uh every quarter uh and what is it 40 years later 40 years later oh wow I'm
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still getting a nice mailbox money every year I mean it really it's
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just it's it's it's so incredible to think to think think back back then I
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was just a 12y old kid you know God you would have done it for a new baseball M like I would do my first jobs when I was
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20 I would do it for you don't even ask you don't want to get fired you're like what are you paying me I don't even ask just please you know the the the thing I
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thought you were heading towards was not only do you get let's say you get scale let's say you do something and it's you
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know back then $1,500 1500 a week fine yeah but the trick is you get residuals
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so if you don't know that and used to I I remember did an old Police Academy movie oh a couple people remember thank
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you and uh I remember David I love that I love that movie I love I I love Police
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Academy movies so that was my first one I played a skateboarder and then I did it and I got obviously enough money for
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me I loved it whatever it was and then 6 months later I was driving from LA to Arizona
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and I get went to a little skinny mailbox with the key and you open it up at your apartments and uh check for like
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2800 bucks out of nowhere and it was a because it got sold HBO or it was a residual I was like wait you get money
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after I could not believe it and then I kept getting little dibs and dabs and
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then you do a sitcom and then you get a chck and I'm like that's where actors kind of stay alive so you got that and
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profit participation so what a what a that's the real treasure movie you I I I
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I gotta say you know uh I mean after Goonies um I I've been very open about
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this during those times when I couldn't get a job uh when I couldn't get work as an actor and I was just struggling I was
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either in school or those checks were huge they were you know they were really
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when when they when that cheick came in I mean it was such a big help economically and I'm sure you don't
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sound like like you live like a crazy life like if you're living like most people just trying to live a normal life
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and just get by those checks really help cover almost everything you don't need a
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lot because you're not spending a lot so it's great to get that keep you a float I love
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[Music] it back in the day just for a sec cuz uh I came from not as big a family they're
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five of us and stuff and I just wondered if the dynamic of what happened to you
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uh were you starting to get recognized or did your mom and dad say okay what
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you can get a new bicycle was there anything or it just went to them and everything went well as usual or was
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there any um change in the dynamic with with your siblings that you're a star
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you know it's like my my my parents are very strict you know the the're very traditional Chinese uh value parents um
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and everybody treating me like like like you know I was not a star not an actor
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um um I think I think because of that because my upbringing I I was very
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grounded and I never allowed my fame to get to my head but of course that time I
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mean those were big movies so wherever I go I go out people will recognize me oh God people will come up for pictures for
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autographs uh and and my siblings would just you know smile and and and be proud
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the very proud of me yeah that's so healthy that's so nice normal horrible
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people and the thing is you know there's no jealousy because they they don't want to be actors you know the very you know
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they all of them want to to be in business the very business savvy uh kind of like taking after my parents my my
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dad was a successful businessman yeah uh so that's why you moved out here no one came to act right you didn't come out to
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to act yeah yeah yeah nobody none of us wanted to be AC yeah just a happy
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accident yeah so that's why I feel like I'm I'm adopted in some way I'm so different from my siblings where where
00:20:07
is the premiere I'm gu guessing it was at the Chinese Theater because it's such a big place for a Premiere you know
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what's incredible West the D okay so 40 years
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ago uh we premiered Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom at the man Chinese
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Theater yeah all right and it was also on the same day
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that I witnessed step Spielberg and George Lucas got their very own hand in
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footprint ceremony I was a kid I was just blown away go wow what is this like
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they must be really special to have their still don't in this theater yeah that's nice
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come February 3D I'm going to have I'm going to be honored with my very own hand in foron
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Chinese Theater and we're going to be premiering love hers the
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same it's such a it's such a a a a a full circle moment it's so surreal I I
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cannot believe it that is I for people who don't know about Hollywood and having your handprints and Footprints
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that's better than a star I think it's it's for my age group I mean it's Carrie
00:21:22
gr it's John Wayne I mean it's the greatest stars in the in the world so
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and now here you are um you know we're kind of going along with your resume here but yeah you do have a new movie
00:21:33
coming out that you star in and I watched the trailer it's out February 7th Love Hurts and uh it looks just
00:21:42
great it's the kind of movie I love and in the trailer I noticed because I know
00:21:48
that if you had a stunt double maybe you did or not but you're really moving well and I love the notion of a movie of a
00:21:56
reluctant hero you know it's not like your Steven Seagal or something please don't make me do my thing and then here
00:22:03
it is without giving it away that conceit is so much fun but uh just for a
00:22:09
second did you study taekwan doe did you do all your own stunts or or what what was that like being that physical again
00:22:15
now that you're not 13 anymore but I did study taon do uh in fact it was right
00:22:21
after Temple of Doom uh I was trained in Temple of Doom for for a week to do that
00:22:26
fights uh uh fight at the end of the movie and I fell in love with it and I
00:22:31
came back to the States and my brother and I enrolled ourself in in Taekwondo classes um and I studied for many years
00:22:39
um I got a black belt and during that entire time I really love watching those
00:22:46
Hong Kong 80s action movies with Jackie that's what it reminded me of the
00:22:51
movement and yeah and those movies you can clearly see that it's the actors
00:22:57
doing all the fights up on the screen there's just something real and there's something at Stakes that when you know
00:23:04
that it's them and it's not just some stunt double yeah so much easier to shoot too and so for this movie Love
00:23:10
Hurts I want to distinguish between stunts and fights stunts uh I don't do
00:23:16
stunts um that is a very specific skill that these stunt guys trained heavily
00:23:23
for and and to me stunts is falling off buildings getting hit by a car or being
00:23:28
set fire those are very dangerous stuff put their you know lives on on the
00:23:34
line to make us look good what I can do well are fights and fights involved like punches and kicks falling off to the
00:23:41
ground selling a hit uh it's not easy to sell a head it it's much harder than it
00:23:48
looks uh proba a lot huh you probably get hit a lot because it's so hard to
00:23:54
get it perfectly right CU you want it so close that it looks real but I'm sure sometimes there's there's mistakes yeah
00:24:01
it's scary uh to sell a hit and also you have to snap your head back that's hard neck over and over again over and over
00:24:09
again and your body has to like like like be in it uh I remember the first fight we did with michon Lynch and you
00:24:15
know he's a big guy Lynch oh yeah and the scene starts with him and and Andre
00:24:22
the other actor the both a killers they come in and they take me and they just
00:24:27
beat the [ __ ] out out of me in the beginning like for for the first like half half a day all I did was just
00:24:34
reacting to punches you know left and right up and down [ __ ] I woke up the next day I can barely move my neck of
00:24:41
course and and I had to I had to ask production to get me a a physical therapist but but it's a lot of work
00:24:49
it's really demanding but once when you said put together uh it's also extremely
00:24:55
satisfying yeah did I read that you and some of the uh slower times between jobs
00:25:00
you were you were teaching fights or is that crazy you were I I was choreographing I worked on a movie uh
00:25:08
with Hill Jackman called the X-Men um you know a Hong Kong director named K
00:25:14
Yen kind of took me under his wings when I graduated from Film School uh and you know all those skills that I acquired uh
00:25:22
from martial arts I when I was young I was like I was so excited because I
00:25:28
thought I would be able to use those in movies I thought you know Hollywood would hire me to be the next Action Hero
00:25:36
uh but but you know that didn't happen and I had to put my skills away for many
00:25:42
years never thinking that I would have to call upon them again uh so this is
00:25:47
it's been such a surreal uh uh uh feeling for me to be able to do love HS and especially to be
00:25:55
the number one uh on the car sheet for this movie um that is a big deal it's fascinating
00:26:00
your your story I I just I don't know if anyone quite has your story and you know getting the Oscar in
00:26:08
2022 and now becoming an action hero it just the Arc of this is so fascinating
00:26:14
and just for a second mentally for you I know you kept busy and got your residual
00:26:19
checks but those 19 years wondering when it would happen again for you how did you manage that um and was it difficult
00:26:27
at times did you ever feel discouraged or did you sort of anticipate somewhere in your
00:26:33
subconscious like it's coming for me because now now you're headlining an action film that looks incredible and
00:26:40
you you've got the best supporting actor Oscar it's just such a story how do you
00:26:45
process this you know I I I wish I can say it was easy uh I went through a
00:26:51
range of emotions I was frustrated I was confused I was sad I was despondent I
00:26:57
was miserable uh and of course as the years went by any hope of like this
00:27:04
happening just grows dimmer and dimmer but I mean honestly I don't think
00:27:10
I would be here without my wife uh she is my lucky charm she is my everything
00:27:18
uh she's the one for some reason believing me and saw all of this really
00:27:24
she saw all of this happening and this and we're talking about now 20 starting
00:27:30
20 years ago we've been together 20 uh 22 years now so for 22 years she
00:27:38
kept saying you know you're G to be successful again one day and in the
00:27:45
beginning it was really you know it was really inspiring it was really uplifting I'm I'm with this girl that I love and
00:27:51
she believes that I'm going to be somebody one day uh and and she has such
00:27:56
a great eye over the years every time she she she tells me that this person is
00:28:02
going to be successful it happens but at the same time it was frustrating for me
00:28:08
is because she truly believed she believed in me more than anybody and yet it wasn't happening for
00:28:16
me it was happening for other people go that she pointed out gives me anxiety just thinking about it such a
00:28:24
long yeah it was it it was hard it was hard and I and I felt like man if one
00:28:30
day I don't you know if this doesn't happen I'm going to disappoint her she's not going to love me anymore she's gonna
00:28:36
leave me she's gonna say oh my gosh I I placed the bet on the wrong guy I mean of course she's not that kind of person
00:28:43
but that's what was going through my head sure for a long time and I was just scared I was really scared God that's so
00:28:51
fascinating uh here's the one word that it seems like just talking to now not
00:28:58
something that's in your personality but is very common in Show Business and that
00:29:04
and I met a lot of people with bitterness I got screwed the business
00:29:10
let me down it's not my fault you know and you didn't use that word a minute ago he despondent discouraged
00:29:16
embarrassed but not bitter and I think because if you get bitter you really
00:29:22
lessen your chances of getting lucky because no one likes an ungrateful bitter person you have to really guard
00:29:28
for that so did you ever feel those emotions but um or you just stay kind of
00:29:33
humble in a way you know it's how I was how I was taught and how I grew up I
00:29:39
never once believe it or not never once that I feel bitter and never once did I
00:29:44
blame anybody but myself I didn't I didn't blame the system I didn't blame
00:29:50
oh you know there was just not enough Rose for Asians to go around I I I
00:29:56
didn't think any of that I just felt that oh maybe I was too short maybe I wasn't
00:30:01
you know wasn't a good enough actor that's why I didn't those role you know the role went to a better actor than me
00:30:07
uh I never here's the thing here's I I was talking about the difference between envy and jealousy and and tell me if if
00:30:15
if you guys um agree with this uh like when I see somebody doing really well up
00:30:20
on this on screen or have tremendous talent I always go oh wow I wish I have
00:30:25
that so I envy them for having that that Talent OR that success but I'm never jealous of them and I think
00:30:33
jealousy brings you down versus Envy encourages you to keep going and to not
00:30:39
give up hope uh I I never yeah I never I never felt bter I I always in from day
00:30:47
one and it's still my Touchstone I my dream was to make as much doing standup
00:30:53
in these little clubs as I made as a waiter so my goal was really back then
00:31:00
when I got to making an average of maybe 600 a month okay I could put took off
00:31:06
the waiters apron and I felt gratitude ever since I always go back to that because it's not promise for anyone it's
00:31:12
a I call it it can be an emotionally violent career as opposed to being a
00:31:17
grade school teacher or whatever that's more consistent but I think that's why when um everything everywhere all at
00:31:24
once came up you were just ready because you did not and that's that's just a great lesson for anyone listening to
00:31:30
this who's an aspiring actor never never go to that jealousy or bitterness it'll
00:31:36
just Eat You Alive and make you take your talent Away really so it's hard though it's hard not to hard not to
00:31:42
sometimes human it's hard to place you don't know where to place the blame or what's going on and you're like I'm a
00:31:47
good person you everyone I think has gone through that yeah it's not easy that's why like during those times you
00:31:54
really need somebody who believes in you uh was very lucky I had my wife uh God
00:32:01
knows if she was if I wasn't with her where would I be today I I you know uh I
00:32:07
don't even know if I if I would uh have the courage to continue uh so uh that's
00:32:12
why it's important to have you know friends who believe in you family I I have a great family they've been they've
00:32:18
been so supportive and also you know over the years too theyve tried to they tried to
00:32:24
get me to to give up and go to Houston and do business with them oh get a real job on it's time to get
00:32:30
out of here can I ask you just I saw you in the movie your relationship with your wife is one of the most also romantic
00:32:37
things I've I've heard and then that is a movie in itself um just just for a
00:32:43
second you was it Love at First side or how did you meet or what was the early courtship and when did you know this is
00:32:49
the one for me was it pretty much thunder struck or just talk to that a little bit if you would it's fascinating
00:32:55
so we we used to work uh uh for a Hong Kong filmmaker named W
00:33:00
Kawai uh and she was in Shanghai at that time and and W Kaw flew me there to work
00:33:06
on a few projects uh and we met and from day one we just we have endless
00:33:13
conversation there was we never stopped talking uh we enjoy each other's company
00:33:19
uh and and yeah we spent every day every minute every hour together during my
00:33:26
time in Shanghai and then when I had to come back to the States uh and we were
00:33:31
separated uh all I could think of was her and she would we didn't have much
00:33:36
money at that time and it was at a time this is 2002 so she couldn't get a visa
00:33:42
to come to the states to visit me uh I can only fly back to see her and and uh
00:33:47
we would talk on the phone all the time uh we would you know we would try to be in touch and I would fly back whenever
00:33:55
uh it was possible uh but was during those times away that I go God I I I
00:34:00
don't think I can live without her uh and two years into our dating into a
00:34:06
relationship I suppose the the amount of whatever our female audience is right
00:34:11
now there's a collective thousands of women saying a
00:34:20
yeah it's just uh such a great story I I guess as as we go forward here I I want
00:34:26
to um unpack this movie because I think that's what's currently right in front of you um and just how did that come
00:34:34
about did they uh what was the phone call like and what did it mean at that moment did your
00:34:41
wife pick up the phone I'll get him just a moment uh it was right during the award
00:34:47
season right before the Oscars um I think the Oscar nomination came out and then my agent called me
00:34:54
says there's a script that came in uh for you they will not would like to offer you the lead can you read it offer
00:35:00
the lead wow after 19 years after 19 years it was it was it
00:35:07
was the first time I've heard it it was it was the first time I heard it those words those words off lead it's from 87
00:35:14
North from David Leech and Kelly McCormick now David Leech is a big
00:35:20
director uh big producer so is Kelly uh so I read it right away
00:35:28
uh and as I was reading it I loved it but then I was like kind of confused
00:35:33
because I just don't see myself in this role uh I see you know actors like you
00:35:40
know sweger Stallone wber pretty much pretty much all your typical action EXA
00:35:48
except me I just didn't see it uh and so I I I called my agent the next day I
00:35:54
said it's a great script but I think they got the wrong person uh so let's just pass very quickly without thinking
00:35:59
much about it and then I was busy doing you know interviews and and and attending award season and then it was
00:36:07
after I won the Oscar uh they came back the second time and they said can you please reconsider and at that time I was
00:36:14
mentally exhausted um I was just like I had just gone through this like six month of award season I was mentally
00:36:21
exhausted but I did remember the script and I said it's it's a great script but then it's still a pass for me
00:36:28
what what the second time come on and and and it was at a time where it was at
00:36:34
a time where like what was incredible was like people were calling and I was getting off and then all of a sudden I
00:36:42
got really scared one because I've never been in in a situation where people offer me RADS without any audition and
00:36:49
second uh there has been so much love and support that I was so afraid that
00:36:55
whatever I was going to do next I was going to disappoint them and and that was the last thing I wanted to
00:37:01
do uh and I was at an event with step Spielberg and we were chatting and he
00:37:08
says key how are you doing and I said I'm not doing so good Stephen he says why and I said well I'm having trouble
00:37:15
deciding what to do next because you know of the success of everything everywh all at once I'm really nervous
00:37:21
and says okay don't worry about it let's grab lunch when we get back to LA and we did and was doing lunch that I pict him
00:37:29
the story and I said this is Universal Studios picture it's theatrical release
00:37:34
and I told him the story and I told him my reservation and he stopped him me he says key let me tell you it's great you
00:37:43
should do it and I go huh he say don't think much just do it you it's going to
00:37:52
turn out great and you're going to love it and and it's going to put you in the leading man category
00:37:57
uh and and again you know he also gave me a lot of advice too like uh if if you
00:38:03
believe in it yourself if you do it with with with all your heart and passion the audience will appreciate you for it
00:38:09
whether they like the movie or not yeah uh left that lunch and uh and asked my
00:38:15
agent to set up a meeting and I went in I met with the entire producing team uh and also our director JoJo uspio who is
00:38:23
a veteran with action yeah um and it was at that time I realized wow all these
00:38:30
years I've been conditioned that guys that look like me you know cannot be an action hero uh
00:38:38
and they were also trying to do something different they were they were trying to change the status quo and and to create a new kind of Action Hero and
00:38:45
immediately I fell in love with it and I said yes right away got myself trained
00:38:52
and it was I gotta say it was one of the best decisions I've made in my life well
00:38:58
when you see the playbacks I don't know online or when you first started to see it work you know because in the trailer
00:39:04
you can really see that you totally believe your character just has this
00:39:09
skill set you know and I think the one that seems a little bit familiar in the abstract is Bob oerk doing nobody um he
00:39:18
was very very surprised uh that he was tapped to be an action star you know but it it makes
00:39:24
sense to me I think it is kind of cool that you're not really built up and stuff but you just have speed and and
00:39:31
coordination or and smarts with how to win a street fight in a kitchen or
00:39:37
whatever with anything at your disposal you know and and I love I love watching
00:39:42
movies where you know there is that element of surprise you know like if you go watch a movie and the rock beats up
00:39:49
10 guys and yeah of course I mean that huge you know uh but there's something
00:39:54
special about watching someone like me or you know or or you you know I've seen both of your work you know where you you
00:40:01
kick ass and go wow that's that's it's so nice to see that something different
00:40:06
um yeah and and you know it's that element of surprise that also that you can literally do it I mean it's very
00:40:12
lucky that you get a guy that you can play it and you can act and they're like the benefit is also you don't need to be
00:40:20
covered in stunts on every single fight they're like this guy can do a lot of it and that's such a benefit helps the
00:40:25
movie helps everybody and did they know did they know you had a black belt in Taekwondo they must have looked that up
00:40:31
right yes they did yes they did they knew they knew exactly what I was capable of uh okay and even going in I I
00:40:38
did tell them when I said if I'm going to do this can you let me do all the fights myself uh and they say yes but of
00:40:44
course that was a big statement for me because I was I was great when I was 21
00:40:50
years old my life and nobody wants to put me in an action movie and now you
00:40:55
know I'm 54 so I did you know I trained with the guys I had we had the best action team
00:41:02
we trained for three months getting myself ready and you know and it's everything that I know about making
00:41:08
action movie uh I put into this it's not easy and it's you get hurt uh you know
00:41:14
Jackie Chan when he does those action movies he gets hurt all the time uh uh
00:41:20
and and in order for a fight to look real uh you can't fake it you have to
00:41:27
the way I know it is you know you really have to go at it and I went at it with Daniel wo in the finale I went at it
00:41:34
with michan Lynch and it was really tough and every single day I would go back to my apartment and I would soak
00:41:40
myself in salt bath you know in a salt peanut but for an hour I was bruised
00:41:48
everywhere uh and halfway through the movie I told my wife I said you know I don't think I can do another one uh this
00:41:55
is it uh and then we saw the movie and I go I call my agent I said come on let me
00:42:00
let's get another one I can't wait do it again well it's like surgery once it's over did you ever get so excited in a
00:42:06
fight scene that you kind of did some damage and then found yourself saying take that [ __ ] like yelling at the
00:42:12
actor did you ever lose it to no no no I I I never get I never get joy from
00:42:17
hurting me okay I'm kidding it does I I I I always make sure and sometimes
00:42:24
accidents do happen uh and every time I I hit somebody accidentally I oh my
00:42:29
heart just drops uh but we have a lot of tough guys our stunt guys are really
00:42:35
tough you know they I I can I can kick him all I want I don't think I
00:42:41
would do much damage uh they're built for it yeah I'm gonna give you a compliment uh K real quick uh here we go
00:42:48
he never gives compliments oh wow the D I'm so excited okay I can't wait to hear it I'm watching your trailer this
00:42:55
morning for Love Hurts which comes out in theaters right February 7th theaters so I stop it about
00:43:04
a third of the way through and I like it I go I don't want to know anymore because I want to go see it I want to
00:43:10
just go watch it happen I don't want to guess ahead I don't right when I'm hooked in I go okay it's right when
00:43:15
you're doing their cookies and then marshan comes in and I go okay I like it stop because I don't want to know one
00:43:22
extra interesting thing I just want to go see it all oh wow d David thank you I'm so
00:43:28
touched thank you so much for that but that's a good trailer that shows you it's like that's a fun movie I watched
00:43:34
the whole trailer I watched the whole trailer it's not a competition David I
00:43:40
watched the whole thing and I clicked it and I said that movie is g to do great
00:43:46
that was my blink on it and I'm just saying it and we don't say it to everyone on here promoting the movie but
00:43:52
that is just going to be one of those movies you want to see yeah you know that's not your typical in the theater
00:43:59
oh David Dana you just made my month uh getting getting that compliment from both of you uh means the world to me and
00:44:06
knowing that you guys going to go watch it in theater is even more incredible thank you well after it hits 100 million
00:44:13
just pop we have another uh podcast called Superfly you could pop in for five
00:44:19
minutes yes I'll tell you with with your wife we'll say has he gotten cocky finally I'm going to beat Dana I'm going
00:44:26
to say I only saw 4 seconds of the trailer I'm going backwards now I only saw two seconds of the trailer and I I
00:44:33
can name that hit in two second no I just like the vibe of it I like you I
00:44:38
think people are coming off of the last one saying interesting and it's a fun story and you're very sweet Charming
00:44:45
humble guy and just like hey it's not the rock and a lot of those most of those movies are the rock I love John I
00:44:52
love John Wick and I love a lot this genre but this is new and it felt new
00:44:57
um it just has I grew up I grew up watching movies in the 80s where you know they're they're like 90 minutes
00:45:03
long and and you go in and you just enjoy it and it kind of It kind of you
00:45:10
know uh takes your you know lets you escape reality for a little bit you come
00:45:16
out of it feeling a little bit refreshed uh so this movie was made for that one was made for you know the audience who
00:45:22
love the action genre uh and it's kind of an homage to to those Hong Kong 80s
00:45:28
action movie and uh and hopefully yeah people can just go on a date or with the friends and just have a really good time
00:45:35
yes and the the the job of that film is somewhere in the third act to make you suspend disbelief that maybe the hero
00:45:42
w't make it you know maybe he's gonna lose this time and that's the fun of how
00:45:47
that's written and how that's made you know that's just the fun of the genre what you don't see coming and how how he
00:45:53
wins the day if he wins the day I don't if he wins the day we and I like any excuse to go to the movies again because
00:45:59
I don't go enough and it's you need one to go oh let me get out there again I want to go see a movie out out the it's
00:46:05
just it's you don't have to think you just sit there and enjoy the ride those are just really really fun movies um the
00:46:12
one thing I just wanted to mention was your Oscar acceptance speech just that it's kind of gone up there the Hall of
00:46:18
Fame I I don't know if you probably answered every question about it and we kind of know you now a little bit and
00:46:24
what it what it meant of course but um it really stood out that night in the
00:46:29
Oscars you know I was like wow he's back you know uh it it was it was one of the
00:46:37
most memorable nights of my life uh I I didn't you know it was it was a night it
00:46:43
was a moment that I I I dreamt about I fished about for 40 years didn't would
00:46:49
ever ever happen I remember when when when Ariana deos and and Troy Kutter
00:46:55
walked out with the envelope and I'm in my seat uh and it feels like you're not breathing you're just holding your
00:47:01
breath uh and and I I felt like I was holding my breath for not for that night
00:47:06
but for the entire six months since the award season started 40 years yeah for 40 years yeah um and and you really
00:47:13
don't know uh until they open the envelope and when she opened the envelope and announced my name with so
00:47:20
much emotion uh I heard it and I I
00:47:26
couldn't believe it I I wanted to like I it almost it's one of those where wait did she say my name like did she say my
00:47:32
name like I'm is this real uh and once when I I I realized it was you know this
00:47:38
was reality I fought really hard to fight back the emotions it was it felt like all those emotions that I had
00:47:45
building up in the last 20 years stepping away and and just hoping just
00:47:51
hoping that someone would give me a chance just came flooding out wow I hear the emotion your voice you know I I just
00:47:58
wondered because it's success and things like this you know in terms of your relationship with your wife after you
00:48:03
won the Oscar was she sort of more wanting to be more frisky with you more affectionate was she Dred all over you
00:48:11
I'm just kidding she's she's making love with an
00:48:17
Oscar it's got to be different what just kiding he goes uh
00:48:24
just kidding yeah you you already I remember I remember I woke up the next
00:48:29
day uh thinking this was all a dream I woke up next to her uh and we and we
00:48:36
looked at each other for a long beat it was the morning after uh and I'm
00:48:42
thinking wait was that all a dream I looked at her I and I and I and I said
00:48:49
honey it did yesterday happened and she smiling she says
00:48:54
honey you are an Oscar winning actor and was she holding the Oscar in
00:49:01
her arms at we did
00:49:07
it honey do we leave the Oscar in and out uh well thank you for coming on bud
00:49:13
what a great story top to botom having you yeah David Dana thank
00:49:20
you so much I love you guys I me seriously I love you guys and this has been such a wonderful chat thank you
00:49:25
thank you buddy forward to the movie and yes yes please watch it and to all your listeners please go watch it and support
00:49:32
our movie in the theaters it would mean the world to make so Love Hurts Love Hurts Love Hurts Love Hurts February 7th
00:49:37
February 7th all right see you buddy nice and you take care Joy this has been
00:49:44
a presentation of Odyssey please follow subscribe leave a like or review all the
00:49:49
stuff smash that button whatever it is wherever you get your podcast fly on the wall is executive and produced by Dana
00:49:55
Carvey and David Spade Jenna Weiss Burman of Odyssey and Heather Santoro the show's lead producer is Greg Holzman
