Scott Ham Duenas: Balancing Sports, Stunts, and Stardom ep 208

0:24ShareMitch:Hello and welcome to Entertain this. It's a podcast about movies, TV shows and video games. My name's Tom, I'm Mitch and today we have a special guest. We have Mr Scott Ham Duenas. Did I do it right?

0:36ShareOh man, that sounds beautiful. Better than I could do it, good job.

0:39ShareMitch:I had to stretch out the jaw for that one.

0:42ShareDuenas, I gotta add the pop, I know, right out the jaw for that one, duenas, I got to add the pop. I know right, it's only six letters, but it seems to be tricky. That U-E-N, I think, plays tricks on people. But you got it, man, it's good enough to me. I'm not sensitive about everything being phonetically perfect, so you're good, you're good.

1:02ShareMitch:Well, I appreciate it , scott, if I may. Yeah, please, scott. He's got quite the acting credits to his name. A lot of big-time shows on here that I've seen going from OG Walker, texas Ranger with Chuck freaking Norris.

1:18ShareYeah.

1:21ShareMitch:It made me click on it because it was threat. It was Chuck Norris' beard, it's like. You better click on it and read this, or you're going to get punched in the face All the way up. Yeah, clueless. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, star Trek it keeps going. It just keeps going. There's more shows JAG, nypd, blue.

1:40ShareIs that Cobra Kai?

1:41ShareMitch:Cobra Kai Scandal the Stay. Let's see Evil at the Door. That sounds Ooh. He played a man called Eisenhower.

1:50ShareWelcome to.

1:51ShareMitch:Chippendales, the miniseries, and then you got Final Wager, which I believe is Is that still in production?

1:58ShareThat just came out, so that's an exciting one to talk about. It just released on May 7th, brand new stuff, so one to talk about it.

2:04ShareMitch:Just uh released on may 7th, brand new stuff. So before we talk about the brand new, uh, we'd like to get you know a little background into your life. How'd you get into the acting game?

2:16Shareyeah, for sure, and I loved hearing you listen to those credits because you forget and then you're like, yeah, I think I'm gonna do some cool stuff. That's right, I agree, I like, and you know, especially being a fan of some of those shows. But anyway, yeah, how did I start? How did I come to get on talk to walker texas ranger? Um, really, I like to say, uh, I grew up like loving two things . I loved sports and I loved movies, movies and tv. I was in movie but play sports all day and then come home and I had a TV in my room really young and I loved watching movies and I loved watching television shows. And I just said I've got to do one of these two things for a living when I get older. And I kind of stuck to it.

2:57ShareI played baseball for as long as I could and then, when that was over, I started looking for other stuff to do and I didn't really know how to start in the business. And I just opened up the phone book one day and looked for places to take an acting class and there was one on Hollywood Boulevard and I said that's got to be the best one. Right, it's Hollywood Boulevard ? Yeah, so you know, I started making the commute we were talking about commutes right before we got started and I started making the commute in about an hour, hour and a half, from Fullerton where I kind of grew up and started taking acting classes there and it was overwhelming and crazy because I didn't know anybody or or I have any connections or anything

3:45Share, and but they um, but what it might not have been the um the most sound like theater class to learn your chops acting, but they had this thing called the business of acting one night on, like Tuesday nights or something, and it was for guys like me that um didn't even know how to do make a picture and resume. You know, or didn't know how to get an agent, didn't know how to even like. How do you get started? How do I have a resume when I haven't done anything? And they had this little class and it was so helpful and it got me started and learning what I did there I got my first agent and then my first. Really my big, substantial part was Walker, texas Ranger, mr Chuck Morris. That got me a better agent and on to better things.

4:30ShareThat's really how it all got started. In a small, quick nutshell.

4:38ShareMitch:I don't want to sidetrack from it, but you played baseball well into the collegiate levels.

4:43ShareYeah, baseball into, well, into the collegiate levels . Yeah, I mean I wish uh, you know I had college. You know I don't want to make it sound like I was, you know, on a four-year ride to university of michigan, but I did play in college. I bounced around uh, some community colleges and um I had some offers to play at like smaller um, like d2 and private colleges like whittier college and biola. I I settled at this little school in illinois called uh canton college or spoon river college and uh played out there for a year and a half um and I had some good success and things were starting to go good for me . But then, yeah, I played for a long time. I literally started playing when I was like five.

5:22ShareIt's the first thing my parents put me in. I just loved it. I would play year-round, like winter ball, summer ball, little league. I played on all the little all-star teams and little travel teams and played all throughout high school. Then, yeah, I found my way. I was digging around trying to play different colleges and played American Legion and some travel ball. Finally, when the Yankees and the Cubs and stuff weren't calling, I was like I think I'm going to have to find something else, or I'm going to be the toiling around. I might end up being a, I think I started to think the best I could maybe be is Crash Davis and Bull Durham, where I might be able to get stuck in single A for 10 years.

6:05ShareMitch:They get the call. You're living the life like Dennis Quaid in the Rookie 30-something years old. It's like hey you can still throw 98 miles an hour.

6:14ShareThat's what I needed. I was the one with the kid. I needed some type of injury that made me throw harder. I needed to break my arm in the right place. I forgot the name of that movie oh, the Rookie. A Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year, yeah, where he's in the car and his arm's just hanging out in the perfect pitch position.

6:31ShareMitch:It's perfectly level, yeah.

6:35ShareI gave him a nine-day power heater at 12 years old or something. It was great. That's what I needed in my life but it didn't happen. But I had a lot of just tremendously great times and experiences playing baseball for , yeah, quite a while, I think up until I was around 25, so quite a while.

6:52ShareMitch:Did you ever get a chance to do any? I guess playing baseball players in your acting gigs.

6:59ShareYeah, it's helped me a couple times. The biggest show I did where I got to play a baseball player, which had some really cool stuff with it, was this show. It was an original show on HBO a few years back called Arliss and it was about a sports agent played by Robert Wool from Arliss and from Batman, and Sandra oh was in it. She was one of the sports agents from you know, grey's Anatomy fame or whatever, but yeah, and I played the number one baseball prospect in America and Jake Battershell and yeah, it was awesome. Bob Costas was in my episode touting me as, like, the best player. So it was really cool. Ogre, if you're a Revenge of the Nerds, fans fan ogre from revenge of the nerds played my dad.

7:45ShareI was. I was supposed to be, yeah, I was supposed to be, um, the number one prospect in the uh, united states, uh, for, for baseball, but I had like uh, white trash parents that were like hard to deal with and so, um, arliss, the agent had to go in and try and connect with my family to get me to sign with his agency. That was the basis of the episode and the baseball helped me a ton because I remember in the auditions I made it to the very end through the athlete, a couple callbacks and then they're like all right, we have one more thing, our couple final choices are we're doing like a baseball tryout to see if you guys, you know, basically see if we lie, we weren't lying the entire time, it's just like now.

8:27ShareMitch:They know how to run, throw field, swing Right.

8:31ShareThey definitely. He was supposed to be a big home run hitter, so you had to look like he was really to hit a home run. You know how to swing a baseball bat, not just, you know go across, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it looked like wesley's night's a major league out there swinging it with like two hands and barely it. But yeah, no offense, wesley, I love you and I love that movie. But uh, yeah, so they had a baseball tryout and they had a bunch of kids from like the I think we were using a local um high school field. They had some of the kids come out and play with us and, uh, after that I had a pretty good idea I was going to get it. I think after the practice because the other actors that were kind of around still were I was like, oh wow, if they go by

9:09Sharebaseball, I think I'm okay here Because I think one guy had on my jeans you know he had jeans and my regular shoes on trying to run around. Another guy you could really throw. You were the more athletic version out there.

9:24ShareMitch:It's like if we go just by the fact I can play baseball I should land this part Exactly.

9:33ShareI'm like, wow, because I remember I was scared going to an audition. I'm like there's going to be a huge jet like probably played in pros for a minute or, you know, currently playing minor league somewhere, because I've been on auditions like that for baseball . After that then your agent like tries to pitch you for like. Every sports movie, yeah, you know, and some of them would show up and I'd be like, oh, I auditioned for Moneyball as one of the pitchers. There was like the pitchers that I was throwing with because I pitched, I ended up pitching my end high school and then through college and the guys I was pitching with were like they were still pursuing like playing pro. I was like, wow, this was.

10:16ShareYou know, I didn't look uh terrible, but I definitely looked uh outclassed, like I was like, wow, these guys, these guys are legit. So I, they were trying to cast the. They really wanted someone that could throw the submarine pitches. For he ended up not being in the movie that much, but at the part, and I think it was the speaking part, and then I don't even know if they cut him out or not, but that was a thing too, trying so hard to look like I could throw that submarine, like that, yeah, exactly um, that was a thing too, trying so hard to look like I could throw that submarine like that down. Yeah, yes, exactly. So I didn't get that one, but it definitely helped me with that and it helped me.

10:51ShareI played a I um a commercial I did a while ago. I was playing a you know a high school baseball player in a um, in a batting cage so you had to be able to hit. I did an at t commercial where I had to play like I was a pro baseball player, but it was like a fake pro team. You know one of those great ones like the Sharks. He's on the two main Sharks of the major league baseball. So yeah, it's definitely helped . You know, I did play football in high school too, but I just wasn't nearly as good as I was at baseball and I've gotten to play a football player quite a few times too, so it's great now . Now I'm too old now.

11:28ShareMitch:I'm gonna be playing the coaches, so, trainer, you're on the sideline holding the clipboard, it looks like a like a what a waffle house menu. Yeah, exactly. I'm covering the bottom half of your face.

11:37ShareI'll, I'll take it, though. I'm like I'll take that, uh, as long as I'm not deploying the owner yet. Hopefully that's a few decades away before. It's like there's Neil, you're auditioning for the owner. I'm like, oh shit, okay, yeah, it's like you're going to pop up .

11:53ShareMitch:It's like, because you're in the box, you got the white suit on. Yeah, for sure.

11:57ShareLooking down.

11:58ShareMitch:I hate these guys. Trade all of them.

11:59ShareYeah, I, yeah, I don't know how do we cut funds, how do we cut money? You? Need to make a profit.

12:06ShareMitch:We're averaging money . We need butts in seats, we need to sell tickets Exactly what are our special nights? Get that guy out of here. I never want to see him again.

12:16ShareSir, it's our best player. I meant the guy next to him. Get him out of here. So yeah, anyway, to answer your question, it definitely helped at the start. It did, for sure. The walk of Texas Ranger my first thing I played the star high school football player that was on steroids. Because there was a steroid ring in my high school and Chuck Norris comes in and plays a substitute teacher and tries to befriend me, to get to the bottom of the steroid ring and then break up the steroid ring and then break up the steroid ring so that right there, that was like my big, big break into this business and I was playing a high school football player was it kind of weird just meeting chuck norris, like you

12:55Shareknow, holy crap, like I'm talking to him yes, yeah, it was , it was so. It was I to say because, you know, not having done a lot before that part, yeah, and then you're like it's Chuck Norris, but he was so incredibly nice and welcoming. He was a producer on the show too, so obviously I believe he had some say so in the casting, because when I first got there, he found me and went right up to me and said, hey, scott, so nice to meet you, thank you for doing the show, and I saw your audition. You were perfect for this and he was just so gracious and so nice. I had to stay out in Dallas for like two weeks and he was like of people not being very nice and he was so nice. You know, I got nothing still one of the nicest people I've

14:00Sharemet all these years later. And yeah, that was surreal. I think it was really surreal because we had a couple places where he had to do a little karate, to watch him do it, and I'm like I'm standing like 10 feet from Chuck Norris watching him throw like a roundhouse kick . It's pretty sweet. You know, this is nice, this is so cool yeah. And Sam Jones was in my episode who was, if you guys, I'm sure, big time movie guys. He was the original Flash Gordon, oh yeah, and he played the dealer. And I had seen Flash Gordon as a kid a million times and I was like holy cow, I got Chuck Norris and Flash Gordon right here in front of me like fighting. I'm like this is the greatest job ever. It's never going to get better.

14:43ShareIt's never going to get better.

14:44ShareMitch:It's like it's never going to get cooler. I got Flash Gordon trying to fight Chuck Norris. It's like you know, all the Chuck Norris jokes. Everybody looks at Flash and all you hear is Flash, ah, yep.

14:55ShareA hundred percent. He had a flat top, though none of the long flowing hair air, which is a bummer, but I still. It was exactly what your head just did with what I'm doing the whole time, but I had to play it off and act like I was feeling along being there, but inside I was freaking out. Well, your athletics played a lot into the roles that you've gotten, because from what I've researched you know they said that you do a lot with martial arts and stuff in your films. Yeah, it's, you know, and, and the martial arts came. Being athletic has definitely helped me because not like I had some big uh, um, you know, I was some huge thespian that went to juilliard and was on broadway like you know, went to

15:38Sharenorthwestern or something. That theater program I I had to , you know I that always made me feel self-conscious that I wasn't as versed in like the theater world and did a bunch of plays in high school or something like that. Um, but then it kind of evened out when it came to doing these athletic roles or doing some kind of fighting. Because you know, I had a little, I did a little wrestling when I was, uh, like the freshman in eighth grade year too. So I could you, you know I was like you could throw me around, you could I know how to do some of this stuff and it helped. So that was like an equalizer to me going for parts that maybe I was outclassed as far as at the beginning of people with

16:17Sharetheir experience and their acting chops. My big thing was, yeah, I can be physical and I'm decent at just acting natural and that's kind of my thing, and so, yeah, it did help me. And then when I really got more serious about the martial arts stuff was later, like later on, because I started thinking you know, not 20 anymore, I don't know, can you really do this stuff still when you know I should have started this when I was 10, I'd been in karate classes when I was 10. But I said, you know, you only live once. It's not like I can turn back time, so let's start it as a dad , as a married guy, as an older guy, and I've loved it. Yeah, I've been doing jujitsu for years now and Muay Thai boxing and Krav Maga was the first thing that I started,

17:03Sharewhich is more of a self-defense, it's like Israeli self-defense, and that helped me too. It helped me a lot in Cobra Kai and some of the independent films where they kind of rely on the actor to be able to do stuff because they don't have the bigger budgets to get stunt doubles for everything. It's helped me when they're like can you know how to take a fall or throw a punch? General Hospital my last go I had to do two fight scenes and they were able to just pad me up and let me do a lot of it myself and they were really pleased with that and they knew going in, because I had been on the show years before and they remembered and said you remember that guy that could kind of do his own stuff. We should bring him back and save some money on stunt double.

17:48ShareSo yeah, it helped me tremendously. Look, I'm not john club van damme or chuck norris or anything like that. I can't throw super high fancy kicks, but you want to throw me around. I know how to take the ball, I know how to take a punch and I can make punches and kicks. Look real on my end and um and that's, and that's, that's what I can do and it's. It's turned out to be valuable. Well, cause, I think, if I remember right in the Cobra Kai series, you you get into like a fight in the, like a bar or something like that. I think like or like you remember it. Yeah, you remember it . Perfect, I got lucky to get that episode. Yeah, I get in a bar fight with Johnny, the main character, william Zabka, johnny Lawrence, and we get into an episode where

18:30Sharethe original Cobra Kai from the original movie comes back and they make a guest appearance on the show. The whole Cobra Kai was there, except for Dutch, the blonde kid or the white hair kid, and I get in a bar fight with all of them, basically because I'm playing such a D bag. Do you win? Yeah, it was awesome.

18:49ShareMitch:No, I don't win.

18:53ShareI got in some good licks and a couple good smart aleck lines to get the fight going and yeah, it came in really really handy. They wanted to know if I could do some of the stuff. And then when I got there and stuff, and again they're always scared there's just an actor saying that he can do stuff. But I have a little reel now that I put together, with some stunts on it that I've done and I was able to. We basically did it. I got to do the choreo choreography with the guys and then I did it myself and then I had a double and he did it himself and then they kind of just spliced in some stuff together and to make it look really cool. And I loved it. And there was a gag in it where I take a fake beer picture to

19:38Sharethe face and that's me because and they asked me and they said, look, we want to get it while you're in a headlock, so your face is directly on camera. Would you be cool with this fake picture? Have you ever taken, uh, like something like that before? And I, we know you're an actor first, but have you ever done something like that? I go, I'm tucking a fake beer bottle in the head. You can break the picture on my head. Let me give you a couple extra bucks too, but it's gotta call a stunt bump. So I'm like, yeah, do it. And I got, yeah, exactly. So, uh, I I even got to take the picture to the face cobra kai, and so, yeah, it was a fun episode, great episode, and I got like to spend a whole day just just fighting, not acting,

20:19Shareso it was a super duper fun and you got to fight like the biggest like 80s annoying guy or , like you know, the yeah, the 80s douche of all time. Yeah it's like the biggest 80s, the karate kid back to school and yeah, and he, yeah, back to school. Awesome, good call out there. Um, yeah, and that was another. Like talking about seeing chuck norris do his thing was surreal , the thing that stuck with me. Watching uh johnny or william zapka do his stuff is like the uh. I just remember so vividly because I was a huge karate kid fan of the way he would do his, his kia when he kicked like his kia and he was still doing it the same. I'm like holy shit, that's the legendary johnny kia right there when he's kicking me and this is awesome.

21:06ShareSo I had such a good time and everyone was so nice and uh, and getting to be in the episode with the original cobra kai, because I was a huge fan of the karate kid still not was huge fan of that franchise. So the fact that I I had already watched every episode of season one I wasn't in it till season two. So when I got the call to audition for that, I was so, uh, over the moon. I try not to get too high or low when I get an audition because you never know, but when I got it I was so, so, so, extra excited because it was a show that I loved. Getting to be on a show that you watch them love, and then you get to be a part of it it's always an extra bonus and it's like I got.

21:42ShareMitch:I got hit in the face by that guy. Yeah, that dude hit me in the head with a beer pitcher yes, and then a small world story, just for fun.

21:51ShareI was talking to him, his uh kid. He has one of his kids in jujitsu and it's at the same club that I was I met. The kids are like on a totally different schedule, but I'm like no way, yeah, so it was pretty funny. I'm like you guys go to legacy MMA. Yeah, I'm like, oh my god, probably probably met you kid at some point, exactly. So that was a little fun. Fun little moment for me to a small world moment. Sorry to say it's a small world, but I still wouldn't want to have to paint it. You said that right man, especially painting. That's one thing that I won't get hired for is my great painting, because I'm terrible at it.

22:32ShareMitch:Now, with all these martial arts techniques and moves and disciplines you've learned, you ever have to use them on your kids.

22:41ShareNo moves and disciplines you've learned you ever have to use them on your kids? No, they're still too young, but we're going through the. My boy was going through the terrible twos and we've had some close calls because he had those terrible twos. Man, we'll get your.

22:52ShareMitch:You and your wife are looking at him and you're, and she's just like sweep the leg, and you're like exactly.

23:01ShareOh dude you. So are you going through any terrible twos? sweep the leg and you're like ah, Exactly, and my son's tears roll as well. Oh dude, so are you going through any terrible tears? Oh well, it's kind of like he just doesn't want his sister to have any kind of connection with me or his mom. While he's around, he's always trying to push her away.

23:13ShareMitch:Like get out of here, it's my turn. Like you had your moment, I'm up. Yeah, you had your moment, I'm up. Yeah, my niece would do the same thing, I don't have that?

23:23ShareYeah, mine's more. He wants to do everything on his own and it just makes me late everywhere, like I either got to fight this huge battle and let him like get dressed himself and then everything's on backwards and wrong, or like just do it myself. Where are your shoes? Yeah so, but yeah, no , on backwards and wrong, or like just do it myself. Where are your shoes? Yeah so, but yeah, no, nothing. Yeah, um, my daughter, who's five, is starting to show a little interest in it, because she sees me like kicking the bag and hitting the bag in the garage and stuff, so uh, when they come out and hit that when they hit each other too, I kind of use that and I say you guys are not allowed to hit each other, but if you want to hit something daddy's got pads and

24:01Sharegloves and bags all in the garage you can go out and I'll show you how to do it and, um, anytime you want to do that and uh. So they're starting to show a little bit of interest. They've messed with it a little bit, but we'll see. I'm gonna put them in something eventually and then I'm not gonna push them towards it, but I'll see if they like it, because I always wish that I would have started really little . I can't think of a martial art or anything. The younger you start, the better you are. It just seems to kind of go hand in hand.

24:28ShareMitch:Me and my brother both started young, when we still lived in New York, doing like Okinawan martial arts. I can't remember the name of it now, but it was fun because it evened the playing field. I think because now we both knew the sets of moves, it made the fights a little more fair.

24:43ShareWent home and just, yeah, that would be so cool to have that I would think to have a brother to do that, to train with, and then come home and you could work on stuff. Because when I very first started jiu-jitsu, I would come home and be like I don't remember how I was supposed to grab that guy's arm and I got no one to deal with. And then I would ask my wife and she hates it. So I would be like I'm not going to do anything. Can I just grab your arm and just hold it and see if I'm holding it in the right place. I can't remember She'd be like absolutely not, Don't touch me and Absolutely not Don't touch me. And she hates it. She's like so anti that she's like I don't want to. No, no, I don't like any of it.

25:24ShareSo having a brother, I'm jealous of that.

25:28ShareMitch:We just fought all the time. That's all that happened.

25:33ShareWe fought all the time. Well, you probably and that probably made you a hell to fight if you ever got in a fight in real life, because you've got all the experience, me and my little brother. He was five years younger than me, but when we got to like high school age he we would get out in the front yard with boxing gloves and just have fun. He tried to show off to his uh friends and then realized his big brother's still his big brother, see we had soccer boppers.

25:53ShareMitch:You remember those, yeah, and it was funny like we only had the one pair, so so we only had one. You can only fight with one hand, and he would be like that's for your left hand and he'd make me put it on my left, so I couldn't use my right hand, but I could still.

26:10ShareI would just knock him down every time. That is awesome, see, I'm so jealous that you guys have that. I didn't have anything like that. No-transcript, this is nothing. This is just like a tuesday to me this is a wednesday.

26:31ShareMitch:After dinner, get out of here, I ain't got time for that yeah, exactly exactly the person that we used to wrestle with most.

26:38Sharemy friend had big brothers and his big brother was an offensive lineman at UCLA. So he would just be like I'll wrestle two, three of you guys at once and see what you can do, and he would just demolish us. So that was the closest thing that I got to where you guys are and now thinking back on it, now it's like that's ludicrous. Got to where you guys are. Now thinking back on it, now, it's like that's ludicrous. Like a senior offensive lineman that's going to UCLA and wrestling a bunch of freshmen.

27:03ShareMitch:he just throws us around like we're nothing and he's just going like I'll take the three right now. Yeah, yeah.

27:10ShareHe's confident and he wasn't very nice. Yeah, he wasn't nice and gentle like one of those guys Like, oh you got me. He was just like destroyed.

27:18ShareMitch:Just running bouncing off of him.

27:21ShareYeah, pretty much he dropped off, that's for sure. Well, vic, using your martial arts and stuff. That's kind of where we get into some more of your. One of your more recent movies, the Rebroken, Mm-hmm. Could you tell us a little bit about that movie? Yeah for sure, rebroken. Yeah, it's pretty, pretty new. Still, I'm super proud of that one. It's, um, it stars myself and uh and tobin bell from, uh, uh, the saw movies. Okay, if anybody knows the saw movies the guy the jigsaw, the blonde hair and the crystal blue eyes um, it's not a horror movie. I I've definitely gotten hit with some reviews and people are like, oh, you think it's a horror movie? It's not. I'm like we never said it was a horror movie, but it's a

28:05Sharethriller and it's like one of those mind-bending thrillers, like in the vein of like or in the sense of like a memento or a sixth sense or something like that, where you're just trying to figure out what's exactly happening here. And I really like that where you're just trying to figure out what's exactly happening here. And, uh, I really really like that film and it's got, for the most part, really really good reviews. Um, it's currently streaming everywhere now, it's on every platform pretty much. So I'm just hoping that it gets some, uh, get some eyeballs on it this year. Um, it just, uh, the people that distributed just took it to can and it got a couple foreign territories, territories which

28:40ShareI'm excited about Very nice. Yeah, it got picked up by some places in France and then a general just said a lot of territories in Asia. So we're like, okay, good, let's get some more eyes on it. Asia's good, it's big, it's huge. So hopefully it gets out there. Right now it's kind of a little cult, uh thriller film that I'm really proud of and uh, it's good. I think I think it came out really good. So we'll we'll see, Time will tell on the numbers, but um, yeah, and getting to work with Tobin Bell was, um, pretty amazing. And now your most recent movie. It correct yes, I was . Uh, I've taken a dive into um in this new world of being able to shoot things on on video and um, you know, with all the

29:26Sharetechnology that you can buy programs and do stuff from home and make your own content. And uh, I started diving into seeing if I could do that and produce stuff. And uh, yeah, this is um, it was my fourth film that I've technically been a producer on and I I also uh star in it and we had um, we got michael madsen , you know from the clinton tarantino films uh with the. You know the big, uh, italian looking gravelly voice guy. He, he plays the. He's uh stars in it as well and we got a little cameo in it from Tom Arnold and some other really really talented cast. Amanda Romero she's a big Latina actress, and Trevor Pennick, who used to be in the boy band O-Town, plays like any boy banders out there.

30:14ShareHe plays like comic relief for it and he does really really well. He's kind of crossing over into acting and did really great and it's a. It's a fun movie that just came out so I hope people check it out. It's it's it's. It was exclusively on Voodoo Fandango at home for just the first month, so now I think, just like yesterday, it's going to probably be on all of them now, like Prime, apple, roku, google play youtube um, still beyond fandango, um, so, uh, we're really excited to see how it goes. It's um gotten good reviews and the script by jerry artuchovich is really good. Kenny yates directed it, did an awesome job and it's um, uh, it's a movie about a compulsive gambler who finds out that he

31:00Sharecan't lose a bet on Christmas and so he and then his mom gets in financial trouble and has like a day to figure it out. So Christmas comes and he has to decide whether or not he breaks his promise that he's going to quit and never gamble again to all the people that he loves in his life. Or is he going to go ahead and try his new superpower out and raise enough money to bail his mom out of trouble? And so that's kind of where he's, he's stuck in the middle of, and you gotta kind of tune in and see what happens and uh, it's a good one, it's a fun little story, it's. I don't know if I would say it's a christmas movie. It's kind of like the diehard thing with the movie that takes place on Christmas Day.

31:39ShareI would say it sounds like a Christmas movie. Yeah, listen, it's somewhere I know. Trust me, I'll be trying to promote it again during the Christmas time, right now. But it's one that you really can't watch 365. Because if you're into stuff like movies like Rounders or Let it Ride or things like that, or Liar Liar or Jim Carrey, it's kind of that type of thing. It's good about this guy trying to balance, getting through this day, trying not to technically lie to the people he loves, but he really kind of is and see if he's able to bail his mom out of trouble. So it's a fun movie. That's why I'm saying it's not a hallmark. The girl that she loves is in front of you the whole time, that's every Hallmark movie.

32:31ShareMitch:Every.

32:32ShareHallmark movie.

32:32ShareMitch:It's like blonde girl from the city goes to the country, meets guy she has in St Ann's High School. She goes back to the city, he goes to the city to get her and they go back and they live in the country happily ever after.

32:43ShareEvery movie. Or it's the best friend. He was in front of you the whole time. You didn't realize you were in love.

32:53ShareMitch:Or it's like episodes of Law and Order. It's like whoever they arrested in the first 15 minutes isn't the guy that did it. Yeah right, order. It's like whoever they arrested in the first 15 minutes.

33:05ShareIsn't the guy that did it? Yeah, right, it doesn't matter if he was there at the crime scene holding the weapon, it doesn't matter, it's not him. Yeah, that's that. So, yes, a movie, nothing like that there's I mean, there's definitely a little bit of, uh, romance to it, but nothing like that at all. And it's, um, yeah, I would say it's definitely more in the model of those other movies that I mentioned, uh, than it is in like a Hallmark or or, or a lifetime. So you know it's about a gambling and it takes place mainly in a bar and you know there's cussing stuff in it. So it's definitely not uh. Well, hopefully people check it out and they like it. It, just like you guys said, it just literally came out like

33:39Sharethree weeks ago, okay. Well let's see if we can find and check it out, and everyone will see and be like this is in fact a Christmas movie? Yes, exactly, and you can find me on the socials or wherever and light me up and say it's a Christmas movie, or you can come back and say, no, I'm not really Christmas movie, so it's been mixed. Some people think it's a Christmas movie for sure and some people are like, no, I'm not really, so it's been very mixed. When I've read some of the reviews or some of the comments on, like, the social medias and stuff, because it has a social media page on Instagram and Facebook, if anybody wants to check it out and yeah, or you can you know, check it out. And yeah, or you can you know just go directly to me on my on

34:25ShareSkyham 8 Instagram and yell at me about it.

34:27ShareMitch:Hey, we interviewed you, you talked about this movie .

34:30ShareYeah, exactly, you said it wasn't Christmas. It was Christmas. It was just like a lights out.

34:35ShareMitch:Do you ever? I mean, obviously you know you put stuff out. There's comments and stuff coming in from the public about stuff. Has there ever been just like one comment that was just so hysterical to you? You just always kind of remembered it, or it almost becomes like a running joke.

34:51ShareYeah, what was one? One guy described the very first one yes, there's one that just because I thought it was so funny, but one of the comments on IMDb for the very first movie that I produced and I did everything on it because I wanted to see if I could do it before I started. So I directed it, I produced it , I starred in it, I co-wrote it with my buddy and producing partner, kip Tribble, and we had a teeny, shoestring budget, but we got distribution and it's actually a profitable movie. We've made all we're in the plus and so I'm proud of it and and we shot it so fast. But anyway, to your comment, one of the guys wasn't a real, it was just in the comment section. I can make a better movie if I tape my iPhone to the front

35:41Sharebumper of my car and that's always stuck with me. That was like three or four years and then we would make jokes Like now in like the second or third one, I'm like maybe today we just strap an iPhone to the bumper of the car man. Save a shitload of money. That kind of thing.

35:58ShareMitch:He seemed like he knew what he was talking about.

36:06ShareHe might save a shitload of money. That guy, that guy, he seemed like he knew what he was talking about. He might be on to something. Um, and that was too. Where I've learned is I've got to stay away from that stuff because I want to. Uh, I try, I I still read stuff , but I try not to because it's just it will just kill you, man, and the old cliche of like you're not as good as the ones that love you, but you're not as bad as the ones that love you, but you're not as bad as the ones that just say terrible things. And just, I think I'm still too sensitive about it. More so not about myself, but if they say something about stuff like that, well, like they don't know how hard good my you know director of photography had.

36:34ShareSo, yes, maybe the lighting wasn't perfect in that scene, but you have to go crazy you know, I want to justify everything like they don't see how much goes into it. And you know what, at the end of the day I have to say, because it's a movie and it's art and subjective, I chose it out there , so it's out there and you can say whatever you want and I'll see your opinion. And uh, yeah, but sometimes I get defensive. I'm like, oh, they only knew. But it's not their job to know, it's their job to watch the movie. And you know, say, I'm sure I've said some terrible things about movies in my time too that you just probably not justified , so I wouldn't go online and say I'm but in my living room with my pals, yeah for sure, but yeah, so that one always sticks

37:19Sharewith me. I will say, though, I went in with that guy too, because it was at the beginning, like I said, and I'm like what, what else is this guy reviewed? I was looking at some of the other things that you reviewed on imdb. He didn't like anything. I think he even gave godfather like a one or two I was just about to say.

37:37ShareMitch:I was like this is probably somebody who didn't like the Godfather.

37:41ShareYou nailed it and I swear on my life. It's true. I saw it on there and it was either a one or a two. It was not higher than a two out of ten and the review was you know, all I've heard is this is the best movie of all time and I don't see pushing it off a cliff. Yeah, it was all grainy and acting wasn't good. I'm just like what the hell?

38:07ShareMitch:I couldn't understand anything Marlon Brando was saying.

38:10ShareYeah, there were no CGI, there were no Marvel characters.

38:15ShareMitch:No, this was a terrible, horrible film Zero stars.

38:20ShareGarbage. So that made me actually feel better because he just crushed my movie. But I went in and he crushed the comic. I'm reading them all because that was the first one. So I read everything and like one day you would talk to me I would be on high and then the next day you'd talk to me and I'd be like I'm quitting, I'm quitting acting, I'm quitting everything, hi. And then the next day he talked to me I'd be like I'm quitting, I'm quitting acting, I'm quitting everything, I'm awful, I'm terrible, I don't know how to do anything.

38:43ShareMitch:What happened? I read a comment from I banged your mom 69 triple X who said my movie sucked, my career is over , you know what.

38:53ShareNow that you said it, we're talking about one other comment that I've never forgotten too. I forget which show or which movie it was, but the guy said you know he's like, and I don't know, I just didn't like scott's performance, stick to the soaps . And then I was like god, that's so mean. But then I'm like wait a second , he recognized me from the soaps man, so I turned it around in my head. I'm like you remember me from the soaps. I wonder which one he was that's like great I great.

39:17ShareMitch:Am I a primetime soap guy?

39:19ShareYeah exactly that's fantastic man Good. But at 21st I'm like ooh, I'm like, no, that's not bad. I've done soaps and they're hard, and he recognized me or remembered me from them, so that's great Good for me.

39:34ShareMitch:It's like how's Scott doing? He's killing it in the soaps.

39:37ShareExactly.

39:38ShareMitch:He's all sudsed up, yeah exactly those are the two.

39:44ShareStrap an iPhone to the bumper of your car. I guess something I should stick to the soaps. There you go. What are you going to do? You can't win them all. I was going to ask you, with all the different shows and movies you've been a part of, did you have any starstruck moments where you just met someone that just really stood out to you, that kind of made you in awe?

40:07ShareMitch:aside from, you know, chuck norris because I'd still, I'd still be standing there drooling like an idiot, yeah man , that that was pretty cool.

40:15ShareJohnny, I don't want to sound dishonest because I really there is moments where you just sit back and go. This is pretty cool. I think there's the. You know, katie Holmes is like right there. You know, I got a scene with Katie Holmes or something like that. I mean a lot, I think a lot of them, when they first walk in, because I'm such a big movie fan and I'm, I guess, starstruck some more. But I just do take a moment and I see him and I think of like all the great roles they played or all the joy that they give me over the years. Just talking about Final Wager, michael Madsen was kind of like that, because I'm a huge Quentin Tarantino movie. He's been a lead in almost every one of Tarantino's films,

40:56Shareand then he's also Sonny Red and Donnie Brasco, which is like one of my favorite movies that I love, and I was like, oh my god , he's going to come in. And then he comes in. He's a big, huge guy. Voice is just the same. Hey, man, nice to meet you, and I'm just like, oh man, this is awesome it's like holy crap, please don't cut my ear off with a razor yeah, exactly one of the most iconic scenes for my mind in film period is cutting the ear off and singing into it, and so, yeah, I think I kind of get like that. I don't have one. That's not to cop out on your question, but it's a good question. I don't have one where I was just like, oh my God, maybe I still will one day. But but almost all of them, when it's someone that I know,

41:42Sharesomething that they did, I I'm always like, oh, that's so cool, that is so cool. And I kind of get I'm like a star wars fan sometimes that like really likes meeting people , like more in the minutiae of it all, maybe not necessarily the biggest star, but like, um, you know, meeting the oh my God, like the little parts of things . Movies that I saw online, oh, no way, you're so and so you know Dennis Brom's in NYPD Blue was really cool for me because you know he'd been in a lot of stuff that I liked. I did an episode of Moesha and TC Collins was in it the same episode, and he was playing in a ton of movies that I liked. He was Pinky in Friday 2. He was the bad guy in Menace, one of the bad guys in Menace

42:33ShareSociety, and I loved those movies growing up. So just to see him and get to hang out and have something to eat with them, I thought that those are the kinds of fun ones that I like sent to my other, like to my movie head friends and be like look who I was with today and I'm like no way, that's so-and-so from you know. And when I say Star Wars, it'll be like cause we'll know, they'll know someone like, oh, that's Bob planet, you don't know all the little teeny minutiae of it. So, uh, that that stuff is pretty cool to me. But I think I get like that with anybody for the first minute or two and then I just realize I better just get out of that and remember my lines and remember where I'm supposed to

43:10Sharestand so I don't upset any of these people yeah, you want to make sure you get to stay on that set don't put him with any a-listers.

43:18ShareMitch:he'll He'll forget all of his lines because he'll just be like holy crap, you're so-and-so. It's like, do you?

43:22Shareknow that you're. Iron man, Robert Downey. Yes, exactly, no, for sure. It's like, oh hi, Katherine Heigl, You're so pretty and tall , Now you just have to just talk to. It's pretty cool, it's pretty cool. Well, do you have any favorite roles that you've played? Oh, favorite role I I've. Really, I'm not going to, I'm not going to be a total honk and say some of these ones that I've produced, but those have been fun. It was really fun playing the in this final wager, playing the lead role of chance, because there's so many parallels to me as myself, but we named a couple of them that I really loved getting to play. Um, getting to play that part in Walker, Texas Ranger. I always go to because, uh, like I said, the flashpoint

44:07Sharething and a Chuck Norris thing is always amazing. Um, and you know, I really I did a spinoff of this uh of Touched by an Angel, back in the day, a show called Promise Land and it was a. It was with Jail McCraney and it was about the uh, this family that goes around and on a in a motor home and like city to city and like helps people out. It's kind of like Touched by an Angel, but in in a motor home I mean um by an angel highway to heaven, you know, where he just kind of travels the earth and helps people. They kind of do it as a family, but I love that. That was a really good role that I love playing, because it was kind of ahead of its time a bit and it was, um, I got to do a lot of like real acting.

44:50ShareIt starts off where you don't think it's um, everything's real acting, but you know what I mean. There was some stuff too. I played a football player, but I was a closeted football player. I was gay and it was in the south and so my dad nobody was having any of that. Dad, you know, couldn't tell my dad. So there was a, and the only person I told was one of the people in his family that traveled around to help people, was the girl. And then I betrayed her by telling everybody that I was sleeping with her because we were so close, even though I wasn't. She was the only one that knew my character was gay. And then at the end there's this big, you know, having to come out to my dad and to the team, and so that was just a really

45:33Sharelike juicy, fun role and kind of ahead of its time with everything that's going on in the world now, and so I would say that's up there, and I got a lot of really good feedback on that role back then too, and I remember my agent at the time was like I'm nominating you for a guest starring Emmy for that show, for a guest starring Emmy for that show. You know I didn't get a nomination but he loved it and I got a lot of really good feedback from that role and you know I still have it on my reel today even though I look like a baby on it, but it's one that's close to me for that, for so many reasons.

46:13ShareMitch:Okay, nice.

46:15ShareI mean, I don't have any acting credits, so yeah, I was going to say what did you guys?

46:21ShareMitch:do Nothing, I think well.

46:23ShareI got one locations manager. You got a locations manager spot.

46:27ShareMitch:My arm is in a Netflix series. That's it. That's as close as we got.

46:33ShareI hope they paid your arm well. Netflix is doing good.

46:36ShareMitch:No, no, no, no. I never saw any of that money, Not a dime.

46:41ShareAnd locations manager . That's a cool job. I love locations. I think that would be something I would want to do if I fell out or just went strictly to that side of the camera world. I think that location scout or locations would be so much fun. It's a lot of fun and that's kind of been my, yeah, and that's kind of been one of my when I took on this producer thing. That has been one of my jobs on all of them that I produced was helping with basically finding the locations, Because I'm the guy that was good at begging people for lower prices because how expensive it is to rent locations. I would go back to towns that I've lived in or places where I knew people and just be like, oh man, you've got to help us out,

47:28SharePut your bar in the movie and do this and that. So I loved putting that puzzle together and finding places to shoot. So I think locations is a great job. So good for you, man.

47:38ShareMitch:Locations manager, I like it was being a producer something you envisioned, or was how that happened, where you got to do it?

47:46Sharenever, never envisioned it. Uh, it seemed impossible to me. I. I just thought the word producer meant that, like they're the, they're the billionaires that pay for everything that happens here and then they make all the, they get all the trillions of dollars back and, uh, but there's so many different producer levels and producer roles, uh, um, that I learned, you know, because before I started doing, I didn't know anything but how to be an actor, how to just get my call sheet show up and be where I'm supposed to be and know the lines I'm supposed to know, and that's it. And then cock out and go home. Um, so, yeah, I didn't. And it wasn't up until I did an indie film and I knew the guy that was, uh, producing it and directing it, and I knew I met

48:31Sharehim bartending years ago. I'm like how the hell are you doing this? And he's like it's changed, man , you can make this happen. And I said you got to. Let me, on the next one that you produce, let me just come and be like your shadow, let me just be a part of it, because I want to learn. And that's kind of how I started going and I said I think I could do this and I saw people making movies for, you know, 30,000, 50,000, $50,000, $100,000. And I'm like wait what you don't? Need $5 million to make a low-budget movie. I'm like no man.

49:03ShareMitch:The day is a different world. $20 and duct taping a phone to a bumper of a car. You got to film Duct taping a phone Now.

49:08Shareyou're never going to forget that comment either. I love it.

49:12ShareMitch:I can make a better podcast with a microphone duct tape to a bumper.

49:19ShareIn the front seat of my car with my handheld mic. Yeah, so no, I really didn't. I thought, producing no chance, and it's only been. I think the first one that I did was like in 2018 or 2017, somewhere around there, so it hasn't been that long and I've still got so much to learn. But I really like it and it is, but it's the responsibility is crazy. That's the part that I wasn't ready for. It's like you're responsible for everything. You're responsible for the insurance, you're responsible for feeding these people, for getting them out on time.

49:56ShareMitch:Feeding these people for getting them out on time.

49:58ShareYou're responsible for getting them there on time, yes, and when something goes wrong and these unions want to talk to you because your name is on the producer thing or your little, my llc or my production company is on the name. So when shag's got a problem or an agent's got a problem or someone's manager has it, they come looking put scott on the phone like yes, yes, and I'm like oh, scott scott who yeah yeah, exactly who did he say I don't know what do you? yeah, I luckily have a group, there's a little group of us. I'm not taking it all on myself , but it's uh, it's crazy. But yeah, I never. So I do love it. I want to keep doing it and hopefully keep building it and getting it better and better, and I think so far it kind of

50:42Sharehas been that way. It's been like flipping houses. Like the first one, we bought like a little teeny cheap house and then we sold it and made some money and then we took that money and put it into another one and got to buy a little better house and flip that, and so we're kind of I look at it like right now it's like flipping houses and each film is hopefully getting better, a little bigger budget, getting some star names in there, getting some better equipment to make it. You know everything on TV streaming and movies look so good. Now you really you can't put out shit that looks like it's strapped to the front of a car, filmed on a nokia duct tape to the front bumper of a car and just driven around.

51:25ShareSo you have to work really hard and spend a little extra money to get the cameras and the lighting packages that you need, because these, these young guys , these film school guys out here, are geniuses and you can do a lot with a little now, so you have to be able to keep up. Um, that's what we're trying to do too. We're trying to get bigger and better. The final wager looks really good, um, even when someone's reviewed the movie and hasn't loved it, they've even said, though someone said they're like it's an indie movie, it's a low budget movie, but you can't really tell. It's really swiftly, quickly done and well done, and that was like a huge compliment to me, and obviously the director 10882

52:00Sharedid it. I reached out to him immediately. He's done our last two, by the way. We broke it in final wager and I said, man, the biggest compliment. I said this looked slick and it looked professional, look good. So you and they did an awesome job. Um, so that's what we're trying to do. Yeah, the one where I was the director to the stay was yeah, it was harder. It was basically just a really nice camera on a tripod and some some lights that I got from amazon, and we just kind of just went around from room to room for two weeks and made it happen . But again the movie's been successful, so people like it. It's a pretty straightforward. It's called the stay, streaming everywhere if anyone wants to

52:36Sharecheck it out, and it's your cookie cutter popcorn movie of two couples rent an airbnb and they're going through some relationship problems and they're up there for a weekend and then all kinds of shenanigans happen. You know there's some different twists in it that come from my personal experience. To try and make it a little different than you know, I know there's a lot of movies like that. I have some things that hopefully make it a little different than you know. I know there's a lot of movies like that. I have some things that hopefully make it a little different and but it's done. I like I was always I shouldn't say I'm shocked man, people are watching it. But people I like I get to see the numbers as a producer and

53:06ShareI'm like people are watching this movie and it's, you know, it's and I was able to give of my investors. They're all their money back now. They're making profits. So I'm super proud of it in that way. But it's definitely. You look at it and it does not look like a, you know, does not look like Aquaman 2.

53:22ShareMitch:It's you know, it's pretty straightforward.

53:24ShareYeah, but no offense, Aquaman 2. I'm just saying.

53:29ShareMitch:No, all the offense Aquaman 2. What were you guys thinking?

53:33ShareDid you actually take the?

53:35ShareMitch:camera to a bumper of a car and drive it into the water.

53:39ShareWell, I'm not going to say any of that because, in case there's a three, I want my hat and ring for a part somewhere in there. I'm just saying we didn't have the budget for all that kind of green screen and the CGI effects and a million camera shots.

53:54ShareMitch:Billions of dollars.

53:57ShareYes, if you're into that kind of stuff, that's your movie. You're just into CGI. There you go.

54:04ShareMitch:Before we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to plug? Any upcoming projects you're working on? Any business ventures you got happening that you want the people to know about?

54:12ShareYeah, I mean no, I appreciate that. The three things that we kind of just mentioned in the natural foil conversation, those three movies I would love for people to check out, to stay rebroken, and the brand new and final wager are all movies under my little production company. And having indie films like that and having people check them out and even raving and reviewing them on Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb that's phenomenal for a movie. It just drives the algorithm to get it out there more, so that is amazing. And then we just finished one that I produced and have a bit part. I'm not starring in it like these other ones, but it's called Cat Crime Tales of the Occult and it's currently in post-production and it should be out in the beginning of 2025,

54:57Shareand it's got three young, attractive, awesome actresses playing their leads and it's about true crime podcasters that get themselves in a lot of trouble covering a case. And it's called Cat Crime Tales of the Occult and it's written and directed by my friend, jerry Okunovic, and it's great. Please check that out when it comes out. If not, go on right now and check out Final Wager. It's everywhere and it's got Michael Madsen. You're going to like it. It's got Michael Madsen. How could you not like it?

55:25ShareMitch:How could you not? I'm interested to check out the one you were just talking about . I guess the crime podcasters getting a little bit more than they can chew.

55:36ShareYeah, it's a really, really good script and it was really fun for me. I did have a part in it, but it was fun for me to be more of a producer on it. I learned a lot on this one and the three leads that we hired are amazing. And, yeah, it's a young girl who's trying to be a true crime podcaster and it's not going good. And a girl comes into her life saying I've got the perfect case for you, but you have to let me be involved with this too. And then, yes, they drive out and get in this town where these strange occurrences are happening, these strange crimes, and, yeah, they get more than they bargained for. They kind of become, get crunched into the middle of the case and it makes for a fun little movie and to see what

56:18Sharehappens and see how it ends and see how it affects the podcast business for them too.

56:25ShareMitch:What's that going to stream on or be out on?

56:28ShareWe'll see. We're not. We are freshly in post-production, so we haven't even finished editing the movie to submit it for distribution yet. So we'll see. So far I'm I shouldn't jinx myself or something not 4 from 4 on getting distribution for our movies and getting them on all the streaming platforms. So I don't think this one's going to have any problem. But I'll know I'll have to come back on your show when I know, tell people where to watch it and how to watch it. And yeah, it'll be streaming. It'll be streaming everywhere. Who knows, maybe it'll be. You'll get a lottery ticket and get some theater, some theatrical release too, but that's hard to do these days. Yeah, it's, I know it's, I love the streaming thing and it's,

57:11Sharebut it's so hard to get anything in the theaters that's not, you know, top Gun, maverick or Disney or Pixar or something yes , marvel, because those are the ones that put the butts in the seats. But people with streaming and stuff, now they are willing to watch some of these smaller movies now, which is great for guys like me. Yeah, I mean you find a lot of stuff on streaming that you wouldn't expect to like or would be outside your wheelhouse. That ends up being really good. Always, I love, I always watch stuff and I think since I've become a producer, talking about people that are hard on stuff, I've become a way easier audience, because now I'm like, oh, that was probably really tough or oh,

57:49Sharecongratulations to these guys for getting you know Lionsgate to take their movie. That's amazing and they didn't have a very big budget. So, yeah, I watch a ton of stuff that I would have never watched before. I would never go to the movies and see it, but I'm more than willing to watch it over the weekend, watch a couple movies or two when I'm in bed at night and be like I would never see that in the movies, but I'm glad I saw it because it was really good. Right.

58:11ShareMitch:Well, Scott, I just want to say thank you so much for being on our little show. You've been an awesome guest.

58:17ShareOh, thank you. Thank you so much for having me and I think the show's great. I can't wait to check it out and you guys have been awesome and really easy to talk to and I appreciate you having me on and let me run on at the mouth about all the stuff I've done.

58:39ShareMitch:It was definitely a very fluid and easy conversation to have and you have had so far a very great career in the acting game and gave a lot of good insight and funny stories about your journey so far.

58:43ShareSo thank you, thank you, man. I really, I really appreciate that. Thank you, thank you.