Killin It
Comedians London Brown, Justin Hires, & BT Kingsley converse with top people in entertainment and culture that are killing it in their life and career.
Killin It
TONE BELL
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Actor/Comedian, Tone Bell, talks 'Coyote vs. Acme' movie being shelved by Warner Bros. for years, working with Lee Daniels & Andra Day during 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday' film, streaming vs. network money, working with powerful women in entertainment, and more.
Hosted by @RealLondonBrown, @JustinHires, @BTKingsley
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Executive Produced by London Brown, Justin Hires, BT Kingsley
Engineer: Aaron Brungardt
I get a call, hey, what's going on? This Lee Daniels. This Tone Bell? I go, I get done. I gotta hang up. I hang up on Lee Daniels immediately. I go, We've been in this bar all day watching football. I hang up, I get a text. Hey Tony, this is Lee Daniels. Uh can you call me back when you get when you get a second? I go, I'm done with this spam.
SPEAKER_00Stop. You text stop.
SPEAKER_03My agent calls me like, hey, Lee's trying to call you. I go, Lee Daniels? I go, because it's crazy because I think I got a text wrong. So I call Lee back. Lee goes, hey, I saw your tape for this part. We cast it, but I got this other part. I think it's gonna be recast. Another actor had it. They shot one day. Lee didn't like it. He goes, but I think you can do this. Can you do this? I go, Lee. Like, I'm fucked up. I go, I'm hammered right now. I go, can I call you back in 12 hours? He goes, excuse me? I go, nigga, I'm drunk. I go, I've been watching football for the last nine hours, eight, nine hours. Can I call you back in the morning? He goes, I didn't call me back.
SPEAKER_02No, I know that. Well, that well, one, this is a different person. But yes, London or something will happen.
SPEAKER_01Oh, my bad, bruh. We tied it. London had to go do a um, that's hilarious. That's how we're that's how we're starting the episode. London has been replaced by Tom Bell everybody. What do you mean? Light skinned Negroes taking everybody's job. I thought I was gonna see all three of you. Uh no. It's like when Charlamagne ain't on the Breakfast Club. Like, man, I ain't watching it. I mean, the other one's cool, but London. London had a show in New York. Okay. So he had to leave. He he sends you his love and he said. He said he sends you his love. He said he wishes he could have been he could have been. Uh uh, sorry guys. Uh uh blessings. I gotta piece out. Um so London is making money. Um, but what we were telling, what we be talking about is like we like when we work you because that just continues to heighten the brand of killing it. Um it shows that we out here in the trenches too. Um but yeah, so London, London ain't here. But man, we here, you got it.
SPEAKER_03Hey man, hey man. I saw BT last night. I felt like I saw I saw my mom. I was like, BT probably go, I need to go to the crib.
SPEAKER_01You know, um Reg Thomas was supposed to pull up, but he was so lit uh last night. I never met him before. Oh yeah. That's the homie, yeah. Yeah, that's what he said. He said y'all was cool. And so he was like, I don't got my phone right now. Uh, but yeah, text me. He said, like, tell him my man, oh no, I'm there, I'm there. And I was thinking, I don't know if he's gonna wake up in time to do it, to do it early.
SPEAKER_03And Reg really don't be in LA like that. Yeah. New York, New York 2 a.m. different than LA 2 a.m. Mmm, got it. And Reg don't be, I mean, Dredge be out, but he don't be out here like that. Like West Coast. Right. Reg was, I saw Reg yesterday. And that was having a ball. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02He left and came back. Let me see what else is going on.
SPEAKER_03I saw 12 minutes later, I was like, yeah. That nigga having a ball. Like, and I'm so proud of him, man. I'm so proud of him.
SPEAKER_01Killing that man. And I'm gonna tell you who else is killing it, our guest today, man. Um, we're your host, Justin Hyas. B.T. Kingsley. London. That's hilarious.
SPEAKER_02We ain't gonna replace you. Yeah, London's still London's still we're gonna replace you.
SPEAKER_01We're gonna replace you with another dark-skinned Negro if anything.
SPEAKER_02London's filming right now, man. Uh, so he's he's still here. Our brother be back, so man, y'all make sure y'all support him.
SPEAKER_01Um, but yeah, man, um, appreciate y'all liking, comment, make sure you like, comment, subscribe. Um, appreciate y'all sharing the clips and the comments and all that, man. We appreciate you. Man, the guest today, we're gonna let y'all know why he's on the show. Why, why we feel like he's killing it. Okay. I'm gonna run down this credit. Bro, you got so many credits. I forgot how many credits you have, bruh. A lot of one seasons. Go ahead. Oh, we're gonna get to that. Uh, we're gonna get to them cancellations. Um Survival of the Thickest, okay, on Netflix. Trigger warning on Netflix, Netflix. I can't talk as early. I was out last night. It was all out. It was all out last night.
SPEAKER_03Understand what's about to happen.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. You're gonna hear drunk talk from dudes that ain't drunk. Um The United States versus Billy Holiday. I got a funny story about that. Um the fam on CBS, The Flash, oh man. The truth be told, Bad Judge, Whitney, um, his own special, can't cancel this. Drinkmasters, that was on Netflix too, right? Can't uh my special? No, no, Drinkmasters. Yeah, Drinkmasters, Netflix too. But where I worked with Tumble Bell was a little hidden gym that got canceled immediately called Jerks with Cameras. Oh my god. Nah, give it up. That ain't even on your MDB. Give it up! Give it up for the one and only Tom Bell, baby. Yeah. Nah, I gotta I gotta dive in. We're gonna start with jerks with cameras, because you already know my story with jerks with cameras. You probably already know this. So man, so anybody that don't know, jerks with cameras was a show on MTV. So I had already did another show on MTV, it was a prank show. Yeah. And I did a prank show on MTV called Disaster Day. So, you know, BET had Hell Day, MTV, they had uh Disaster Day. So I had already did a show with them. Then they hit me up and said, yo, we got this other show we want to do, and it's called Jerks with Cameras. I was like, cool. So basically we going around pranking people out on the street, Hollywood Boulevard, North Hollywood, pranking. So they was like, we gotta find a host. We need a host. We need a host. And so I was like, oh, okay, well, I can't wait to see who we get. And so they came to us in a meeting. They was like, oh my God, we can't we have a star. Oh, we can't even say who the f it is yet. We can't say that, but just now, this guy is huge. I'm thinking, god damn, who's gonna be the host of this show? Now, at the time, Brandon T. Jackson was really popping. So I said, Oh, I well, I hope it's Brandon T. Jackson. That'll really be swell. You know, that's what I'm thinking. So then they said, the next day, I was like, oh my God, are you guys ready? Drum roll. I mean, they really they was hyping you up. They said, are you ready to find out who your host is? We're like, yeah, all me and all the other pranksters. Like, yeah. They said, tone, bam. I said, the nigga from the course like commercial. What commercial you was doing at that time? Bud Light. Bud Light.
SPEAKER_03Middle light was middle light. Middle light. Buddha forget it. Yeah, I work for Bud Light. I got the job of Middle Light. But but also, I was surprised too. Okay, go forward. I was surprised too.
SPEAKER_01But before you get into that, Tone has always been industry hot. And I want to I want to get, or at least outside looking in outside looking in, it appears you have been industry hot at least since, mind you, this was 2014. Yeah. That thing we did.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, when we did 13 to 14, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay, when we did Jurassic Cameron. So to be, and at the time, I was like, well, I could have been the host of this show. I'm thinking on some.
SPEAKER_03I'll tell you some wild shit that that came up. Go for it. So that that okay, so that happened. I remember I had finished Whitney. I had finished Whitney.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you had already done Whitney.
SPEAKER_03So I had done, uh, I got I got my deal. NBC shit. We can go back to that if you want to, but they got the NBC um Standard for Diversity joint. Right, right, right. Whitney came, uh Whitney came to, and it was like uh my deal was like seven for 13 back when they used to do those. So I'm in 51% of the episodes. So they go, you're going to work. If we shoot 13, you'll be in at least seven. Okay. Had some great table reads. Now I'm in 10 of 13. When it gets canceled, I go, shit, I can't believe I got on TV this quick. Right. Now going for my next thing, jerks with cameras comes up. There was a do you remember tonight? There was a there was a showcase at the improv.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Nah, I don't remember.
SPEAKER_03They were looking for a host. I wasn't on the showcase, but I went to go chop it up. I think Grant Cotter was there. Damn, it was here. I don't think you were there. I feel like I remember this. Yeah, I don't think you were there. Nigga, I'm just hanging out at the bar, meet the people from the production company. This is hilarious. That's how I got the job. I wasn't even on the show. You didn't even perform. I didn't even, nigga, I didn't go in the showroom.
SPEAKER_01Let me tell y'all, Tone is beautiful. Okay, he is a good looking dude. And being a good looking, charismatic, a tad shorter than Will Smith type dude.
SPEAKER_03Thank you for the tad.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I got you.
SPEAKER_03I appreciate the tad.
SPEAKER_01I know, right? The tad. I know, right? I got you. I got you, bro. I'm tall. Yeah, that's all right. But for real, like that helps. But what what was the conversation? What do you think about you happened in that moment for him to say that?
SPEAKER_03I knew that was happening, but I did I didn't go for that reason, but I knew the showcase was happening. But I'm always, I'm always out going. If I if I know uh decision makers are in the room, I'm gonna go go, it may this may not be my thing, but I'm gonna meet somebody to go, man, we got we got something else coming up. But that's that's my corporate background going, how do I network on this? Then I end up getting that gig. They call me, because those are the same folks who produce um Jersey Short.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Sally Ann. Yep. It was 495 Productions.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, wow.
SPEAKER_01Sally Ann and Josh Peters. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And then um Yeah, it was it was it was a couple folks on that show who I've I still talk to through the years. Because you never know where somebody might gonna end up. Yeah. I don't, I don't take advantage of people's time. If you can give it to me, I'm gonna take it.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so hold on. So okay, from that though, do you feel like, damn. I'm I'm trying to see, so how do the industry hotness come?
SPEAKER_03See, I d that's funny you say that, because I don't feel that way, because I feel like, nigga, I ain't got a job right now. You know what right now. We talking about back then. Oh, oh, for a while, nigga, I was flaming.
SPEAKER_01So how do you feel like that? No, we don't do it. We don't be doing pause on here, nigga. I'm gay every other episode, but the way I be fucking talking. I'm sure half of the audience think I'm gay. I be doing the little gay boys at all times. They're like, this nigga's a cool. Okay. What? I started off flamboyant. I mean, let me tell you something while I'll play about all that, that pause and shit. I got too much coochie in my day. Niggas that do stuff like that, it's like, I don't know what happened. You ain't never had no pussy like that. Yeah, either you ain't had no pussy or something happened in your childhood, I feel like you got touched on. And so something has happened.
SPEAKER_03If you say pause and we laugh, I'm cool with it. But if you go, nigga, for real, I go, nigga, what happened? Yeah, what happened? Straight up. That's wild.
SPEAKER_02I love the game. I think the game is hilarious itself, but I'm it's never serious to me. And pause to me is all is always just the induendo of sexual. It doesn't even matter what it is. Like I'll be talking to a girl and she'll sit there and be like, hey, yo, like, relax, bro. Chick will say that shit? It don't even know. I'll say it, but it it does, I'm exaggerating it. Oh, okay. She'll be like, yeah, I can't wait to come over there. I'm like, hey, yo, come over there. You know why I don't like it?
SPEAKER_01This is why I don't like it. Somebody like Dame Dash is what, 50, 60 years old. It's like, grow up. You know, he's saying pause after every single day.
SPEAKER_03We would have known by now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's like, come on. It's like, man, because it ruins the flow of the conversation and what we're talking about. So even with the conversation we were just having has gone now because we're talking about pause. Everybody out there that's saying pause, get your get your life together, go get some pussy. All right, go for it. Yeah, yo, get the pussy is crazy.
SPEAKER_03Pause of this conversation, go get some pussy and come back. Like a like a back is crazy.
SPEAKER_02That's how it's supposed to go. Come back, come back crazy. Come back like the straight you are.
SPEAKER_01Oh, straight is crazy. I appear to be the reckless one on this, but this is absurd. Industry hot.
SPEAKER_03Industry hot, man.
SPEAKER_01So you said you never, you didn't feel like you was industry hot, but back then you was flaming. What do you think was happening back then where you was Well, you know how it goes?
SPEAKER_03You know how it goes, because every time I would go into a room, it was uh I got into the you mentioned Brand Brandon. So Brand T. Jackson, uh at the time it was Brand T. Jackson, it was Damon Jr. Yeah, and it was uh probably Lamore. Lamore was like becoming the a type. Morris. Yeah, Lamore Morris. I became a type after them. But everything I went in for was like Damon Jr. type, Lamar type, Brand T. Jackson type. It was like I was going in for those things, and they were I mean, and you know, that shit that shit hurt you sometimes. Like, you because you know these niggas now at this point. Yep. And then you see it on the path, you see it on the, you know, you walk in and go, oh, this is the type we're looking for, and go, well, I mean, he's right there. Right.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03There's no way I'm gonna get this job because he's right there.
SPEAKER_01He's peeking in the room.
SPEAKER_03His name is already on the sides. I'm looking at him. Like it's it was it was wild. So um, so we did, I did Whitney, and then Jerks came out. So we did jerks, we did 10 episodes of Jerks, I think. And then um right after Jerks, the only reason why Jerks, well, I'm not gonna say the only reason because I can't say this for sure, but I know they were talking about a season two. A season, I got a deal with another deal with NBC with Universal, but they didn't want me to do another season of Jerks. And to go, this brand doesn't match what we're doing. From what I remember.
SPEAKER_01Right. And it was a different time. Now, nowadays you could have done both of them, but back then.
SPEAKER_03They're like, please have another show. Right. How long was that? A week? Yeah, straight up. Please go do. So yeah, so I ended up doing uh my second show. I did Bad Judge. I did Bad Judge.
SPEAKER_01And this is with the deal with Universal? This is yes. How did you get the deal with Universal?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we gotta we gotta circle back. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So before, bef because Whitney, because everything happened really fast. You were a type.
SPEAKER_03It happened so fast that it fucked- that fucks it fucks me up.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because I'm uh I think God. Well, you were still wearing two watches. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. When I met you, I met you in Dallas with Keith, Keith Manning, randomly, like uh his apartment, parking, yeah, this is my daughter Bell. Yada yada, we chop it up, we cool. I see you in LA and you're on 14 shows.
SPEAKER_01But really, how did you get to deal with Universal? I Okay. I need to say that.
SPEAKER_03Standard for Diversity was was was the um my pilot program to getting into business. So y'all remember that. So if anybody who don't know that, uh Standard for Diversity was like a uh it's it was a I like to call it a non-televised last comic standing that don't take white dudes unless something's wrong with you.
SPEAKER_01That don't take white dudes? Yeah. Oh, I gotcha, oh, gotcha.
SPEAKER_03You can you can be white, but you better be deaf, blind, yeah, something. Wheelchair, yeah. But that was that was then. Right? So, so I I mean I do I did that from 08 until 2011. I'd every year I was auditioning for that. And I went to Phoenix. I can't, I mean, I look, I was traveling doing it. And then the year I thought I got it was um uh 2010 is when I thought I was, nigga, I ripped.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I got the tape, nigga. I spent off the stage. Nigga, I did, I did a turn. That's probably where I fucked up, by the way. Nigga, I I went so hard. Uh nigga, I did a spin. Nigga, I I pretty much, I'm pretty sure I go, nigga, I was great tonight. Nigga, I did I spin the tape.
SPEAKER_01Didn't they like a temptation spin?
SPEAKER_03Nigga, hands was up. Nigga, no callback. So that was like semifinals. Air getting Negro. You get the fuck out of here. I go, I go, word. I had a great set. Um and then I started watching like the game of like how people get through this. And I go, okay, I I know what set I need to do for next year. So I did it the next year, um, 2011. And nigga, I have a I had a better set the year before, but I had a I had a uh a um I would say a billable set the next year. I gave you a character, let you know I could write, did some impressions or whatever. And then so that year, I I come out, it's me, Owen Smith, the Lucas Brothers, Dave Rahge, Keisha Hunt. Um we had a class. Yeah. We had a class. And um then I ended up winning this bitch. I was trying to come in number two. I was like, oh, Owen is gonna, he murdered, Lucas brothers murdered, like it was a bunch of very funny people in the showcase.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_03Uh we had the lowest attended NBC showcase because Tony Rock's birthday was the same night at Improv.
SPEAKER_01That's hilarious.
SPEAKER_03From what I hear, this showcase always packs out. Nigga, it's like 120 people in this bitch at the comedy store. That's so good in the main room? This is my first set ever at the comedy store. What's my showcase? In the main room. In the main room. And in Tony Rock's birthday down the street. Tony Rock's parties be popping. Nigga, that bitch. I went over there after my career. After I gained the career together, I was like, what's what's what's Tony Rock doing? So I get that. So that's what got me on Whitney. Auditioned a bunch of times. They got me on Whitney. I did the the we did 16 episodes, I think, this season. I did 13 to 16. And then so now, but I did that ago. I cannot believe I've been on TV already. I've been in town less than a year. I'm a lead on the show. It was bananas to me. Um, jerk some cameras. I ended up going to that showcase at the improv. Get that job like two or three weeks later. We end up going. We filmed what I just what was that? Two weeks maybe? Like I think we rehearsed for a week and we shot for a week.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Right after that, um, right after that, the I get in calls from NBC Universal, and the bad judge comes up. Wow. And I'm like, okay, I might got another shot at another show. They don't even bring me in for that. This actually, I was just talking about this. Y'all know how silly this game is. It's because it's it's like, I think you're always appreciative and you're always like, oh man, I can't believe I'm working. Sometimes like it takes a minute, but then you get a job or whatever, you know, whatever it's gonna be. But I'm in the room and I go in for this, they call me in for a show. Everybody, stop what you're doing right now. Make sure you subscribe to Killin' It Pie. Boom. This is this is about you know, this is when pot of season was popping.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So nigga, you know, I'm I'm getting three auditions a day with every network and studio. Right. I'm everywhere between Monday and Friday. Bounce around today. Nigga, I'm going from Culver City to Studio City to everywhere. Yeah. They bring me in for um What was the name of that show? Uh Malcolm Barrett did the show.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, we gotta get him over here. Y'all gotta get Malcolm Barrett.
SPEAKER_03That motherfucker is very funny.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So they bring me in for a show.
SPEAKER_01Um just like Chappelle. Without doing stand-up.
SPEAKER_03Nigga, they bring me they bring me into a room. Oh man, what's the name of the show? It's not, it's I feel like it's a history. It's called history something. Um so I go in for this show. I end up getting bad judge, but here's how he went in for bad judge. I went in for this other show. At some point, we're there's probably a room this size, and there's a wall in between, there's a door, there's like it's other niggas outside waiting to audition. Right. Me and Malcolm go in, he goes into Bad Judge, I go into this room. What the fuck was the name of this show? Um, also, it got canceled.
SPEAKER_01So everybody said, yeah. It don't matter, man.
SPEAKER_03But but but also I wanted it. You know those moments like you're like, I want this motherfucker. Like, I so I went in knowing I wanted that shit. Hadn't even read Bad Judge. There's there's so there's two doors leading out to the lobby where everybody else is at, every other actor waiting to audition. Me and Malcolm go in, he goes into Bad Judge, I go into this one. There's a door in between this wall. He's on that side. Well, I can damn near hear him. Nigga, they open a door and they're like, hey, can we switch? That's wild. Nigga, I go, I go, they go, take a second, read this. I'm in the room with Kate Walsh. I'm ready to go. I've never seen the shit. I'm reading it. I go, uh, yeah, all right. Malcolm's over here, I'm over here. Nigga, we both book them. That's amazing, bro. I booked the shit he went in for, he booked the shit I went in for. Nigga, this is 20, this is right after jerks with cameras.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, y'all swapped on them hoes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it was like a hotel room. Hey, yo.
SPEAKER_01No pause, nigga. No pause. No pause, man. No pause. Get them draws. We don't do pause, we get them draws. Shout out to that, man. That's a crazy story.
SPEAKER_02That is a hilarious story. Um, you identified something very specific. The importance, I swear by the importance of festivals and competitions. I say that they're everything. It is your fast-forward through the business because if you can showcase correctly in front of the right people, then there could be your name can be spoken up when you're not there to speak up for yourself. Um when you were going into these showcases, were you doing the same sets? How much were you changing? How much were you at?
SPEAKER_03I did a different set every time. But but also it it and it never made sense to me of going like I was a corporate dude for a little bit. I don't care about them as much as I care about y'all. I think it means more for them to see us like each other than for me to go, oh, where'd you go? Northwestern? I don't give a fuck about that much. I mean, I do know that about them, but I go, if we all tight, they go, oh man, these three dudes are very funny and they get along. He must be a cool dude to get along with. That's pretty much that's been my game the whole time. Like uh I can take uh the uh you know Trent that works at so-and-so studio who might be looking for one of us. But if he looks at us and goes, oh man, all those motherfuckers cool. Now all three of us possibly got a job. You know, we we might have a thing of this. If I disregard y'all and go, I'm just kissing his ass to try to get a job, he goes, Well, he don't know how to do nothing, but Brown knows. Right, right, right. It's much easier. And I like y'all niggas. You know what I mean? It's like I'd I'd rather do this. Right. Nigga, okay, first of all, this nigga popped up on me last night. What did he say? I I don't even know. Were you on a step or a or a ladder or something last night? He just nigga was just towering over me. BT sneaky tall. That's not a grill.
SPEAKER_02I think you were just wearing a wife beat or some shit? No, I just had a t-shirt. I was it got hot as so good hot back there.
SPEAKER_03I walked in the back, I was saying hello to somebody. B she goes, What's up, nigga? I'm like, oh my. That's hilarious. Oh my, clutch my pocket. I'll see you tomorrow, go. I should get out of here.
SPEAKER_02It's just good to see you, bro. Yeah, man, yeah, it's been a minute, bro. Get to see you that much. Um tell me about training. Um, acting training or uh I don't know, did you do improv? What was the training?
SPEAKER_03I did a bunch of classes early too. It was um I I really do feel like I have a weird story because I'm still trying to. We're still writing it. I mean, all of us are still trying to figure out our story, right? I mean, like we mean we we all have a moniker of success at some point. Commercials.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You mean you I'd still have only gotten three seasons.
SPEAKER_01I don't have Yeah, I don't have to run. I'm syndicate. Okay. When I was about to start bragging, I'm only the humble brag. Yeah, I mean syndicate. Well, yeah, we're like, sorry, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_03Um But so so so we all have our you know what we set out to do something, we get it, but as soon as you get that thing, you're like, all right, I need to figure out what's next after. Even though you you love this moment, you figure out that next thing. Um it's it it's it's so hard to put a put a I did UCB, I did uh Leslie Khan, I did uh Oh, you did Khan too? Okay. Yeah, I I did a bunch of classes, and a lot of them I think were fucking me up. Not Leslie Khan so much. Like that was great. I was doing UCB classes, but I cared about stand-up so much that it I'm I remember going on stage for like six months, I was like, nigga, I'm doing too much I'm I'm doing too much crowd work and ad lemon and not doing what I wrote.
SPEAKER_01UCB is an improv uh classes. School, improv school, anybody wondering. And I loved it.
SPEAKER_03It's great. I found myself going like, nigga, I'm not even looking at my notebook no more. Cause now I'm just, I'm just before crowd work became a thing, I'm out here just doing I go, I'm not doing anything that got me here. And so, I mean, and that's just that's just me. So I ended up like cutting that out, and then I was more talking to actors and like working one-on-one and doing shit with people, like at the crib, like other actors I was working with. I would take my lunch breaks, whoever I was working with, I mean, the K Washes, the Kathy Bates, the Nina Dobrevs, the Brisha Webbs, the I mean, we talk during the Mark Paul Geisler, like we talk in those moments of like, all right, uh, what can I learn from them right now where it's not 15 other people in this class? How can I I ain't gotta take this class if I can learn it from you? You already took it. Can I get can I get something from you in 30 that it took you four weeks to learn?
SPEAKER_01But wait a minute, you took the acting classes before you was booking the TV shows? No. Or you or so you was taking an acting class in the middle of the year.
SPEAKER_03I was Whitney before I was Nigga, I thought I was fire. Nigga, my nigga, I was auditioning against D-Ray, and I'm I'm I'm I I nigga, I'm so sorry. What's his name? Um my nigga that played D'Angelo Barksdale on The Wire. Dang. Uh Andre Andre uh is it Andre? Uh sheesh. My nigga, I am so sorry, but brilliant actor. You're right. So great. We know your work.
SPEAKER_02We know your work. We told you we was fucked up when we started.
SPEAKER_01I just won't get a long night. Oh, yeah, Will Harris. No, no. That nigga, what? No.
SPEAKER_04Not Will Harris.
SPEAKER_01He played Avon Barks there. Yeah. That's Will Harris. They played Avon Barks. Yeah, that's not who I was saying. Oh. Who said? The nigga who played his cousin.
SPEAKER_03Oh. D'Angelo. Anyway.
SPEAKER_01Oh, D'Angelo. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Let me look at that. Uh nigga. And we're all testing, we're all testing for Whitney. And to this day, I go, I probably got this job because I was cheaper. Oh, yeah. That's why I got rush hour. Nigga, my rate was low. Got it. It's the most money I ever made, but it's peanuts to them. Nigga. Bro, I mean Lawrence Gillard Jr. Gillard, yes. Lawrence. Lawrence Gillard Jr. Lawrence. Phenomenal actor. I'm testing, I'm testing with him and D. Ray. And but like, you know, to me, I mean.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we have editors. I'm around here trying to show the camera. I'm a fucking loser. Go on, let's see. I'm like, can you zoom in? No, you can't. All right, got it. We're listening, Tom.
SPEAKER_03We'll take care of him post. Right. Thank you, BT. I'm listening. But you but you know those rooms like you get into the uh whatever room you're going into, but you're like, is this motherfucker you fan of? I'm a fan of this dude. And then I go, now I'm battling him to get this job. And when you early in, at least I was early in, I go, Well, I I love him already. He don't know me, but I know him, and I'm a fan of him. Of course he's gonna get this job. Nigga, D-Ray was in there. And nigga, I love D-Ray. Oh, yeah, beast. Big fan of D-Ray, known as motherfucker since I was in high school. Right. He auditioned too, he testing. I go, there's no way. Why would they pick me over D-Ray? I think I was good. I also think I was cheap. But it gave me C legs to go. Can I can can I figure out my bones after that? Right. Um then Bad Judge comes up. Um me and the Malcolm shit happened. And then after that, I get a deal. So we get I think we do 13 with Bad Judge.
SPEAKER_01This is when they was giving ideals. They don't give out deals. Not like they used to. Unless you're Tom Bells. Maybe you got one right now. See, that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying, bruh.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I got some things popping.
SPEAKER_01This dude is like, I don't think I don't consider myself, I don't look at myself like I'm industry high. You got a deal right now.
SPEAKER_03No, I don't have a deal right now. We're talking. He's talking. But we don't have a deal right now. But here's a here's a crazy thing. I remember, and I'm gonna say the name, but uh the last big deal that I heard about was uh black comic in early 2000s got a deal with Universal. And this is this is hearsay, Universal, don't come after me. I hardly heard this. Y'all didn't tell me this, somebody else told me this. Got a million dollar deal for a TV show, and that's before it was uh retroactive. Oh wow. Which means briefcase money. Please, here's a million dollars to like wait till we find you something. Jeez, don't move. And then and then when the show comes, you still get paid. I took a deal because I'm like, I'm like, I don't know if I'm ever gonna work again. Nigga, I got a deal. I think I they offer me 500. I think I took 250. I go, that's that's too much. I'll take 250. Gave me 250.
SPEAKER_01You the first nigga in history to ever say that's too much money. I'll take a lesson.
SPEAKER_03Well, because it's it's it's retroactive. Okay. So you work that money off. Okay. So if I'm getting, let's say, let's say Oh, like a like a like a like a music deal.
SPEAKER_02Music deal, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you gotta get in the black, baby. You sold your boy. Nigga, I I I mean let's let's say I make a 50 grand an episode. And they give me 250, nigga, I don't get paid until episode eight.
SPEAKER_01Got it.
SPEAKER_03You've already paid me for these. So now I episode eight is like, oh, nigga, now I get a check. Gotcha. It's very, and I'm like, if it was a mill, they didn't offer me a mill, they offered me five, but also, so 10105 for the lawyer, the manager, the agent, from that 250 from that 500 from that mill, whatever. So now, after tax, all this kind of shit, that 250 really what? Like 170? Yeah, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, 70 go. Shit.
SPEAKER_01It's a nigga listening right now. Shit, nigga, let me get 170.
SPEAKER_02You don't live in LA. Yeah, that's a fast. 170 go fast in an apartment. That's a part of it.
SPEAKER_03I paid my rent six months early. I go, here's six months. Don't talk to me till June. And then I had to figure it out, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I gotta I gotta backtrack a little. I gotta do this. This is this is for London. You know what I'm saying? It says London ain't here. Where you come from? Where you come from, brother?
SPEAKER_03Uh Decatur, Georgia, man. Hey, shout out to you. I'm from Atlanta, man. Uh, east side of Atlanta. We hopped around the east side a little bit. So I was born in Decatur, uh, locked on you, Stone Mountain. My folks are still on the east side. Um, went to school in Savan Savannah State, um, and then hopped around a little bit after that.
SPEAKER_01And majored in what at Savannah?
SPEAKER_03Uh MassCom, but it was basically concentration film and TV. Yeah. And then minor in theater, so I did a lot of plays and I toured with like some of the things.
SPEAKER_02Oh, are you using your degree? That's crazy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. One of the few. But SCAD was down there too. So I was one of the dudes who like I left. I love everybody I went to school with, but I I wanted more. And not everybody was like, man, I ain't gonna hang out with them white folks over there. I go. SCAD is they got everything we don't have. Right. And I saw I did a bunch of like indies and features and student films over there, and I was gonna hang out with a lot of them cats when I was in college. And so I man, I got like I had two features before I graduated before I graduated undergrad.
SPEAKER_01Me too. Yeah, me too. So when did the stand-up, when did you decide to get in the standards?
SPEAKER_03I did stand up in high school a couple times. I did it when I was like 15, 16, um, and then I hosted some shows in college between Savannah, uh, Albany, Fort Valley, did some stuff at uh Fort Valley State. That took my first bomb there. They booed the shit out of me at Fort Valley State. That's and that's wild too. Southern colleges do that. Oh, and Jordan Southern. Yeah. Um did some stuff there, and then but but I knew a lot of cats. It was it was so it was my senior, I think it was my senior year of high school. I did, I've known Ronnie Jordan since I was 17.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he was doing colleges back then, shit.
SPEAKER_03I was in high school. We did an we did an indie short film together. Wow. Sean Larkin, Ronnie Jordan, Lav Love. Nigga, I'd known him. I started booking them. I was a freshman booking the homecoming show, homecoming comedy show. I've known him for Shawdy. Um, shot at what my name means. G-Man, Zooman. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Who else is there? Uh uh Ronnie, Ronnie Jordan has been around for so long. He was an opener for hair. You forget this nigga old. Yeah, that is. Old and rich. Old and rich. Shout out to Ronnie.
SPEAKER_03Because that nigga looked 38. Yeah. But that nigga looked 38 when I met him. Yeah, he always looked 38. Man, good dude. Yeah, so I've known Ronnie for forever. Remo was like when we went to high school together. That is crazy. I did my first two movies with Remo. Yeah. Bro, me and we had, we got, nigga, this is how gay we were. Uh I'm not gonna say boss. No, no, no. Nigga, we got matching class rings. That's how good.
SPEAKER_01We're like, oh now that's gay. Okay. Now niggas are married. Now you cross the line, Tom. You don't cross the line, nigga. We gotta see you to leave.
SPEAKER_03Uh no, no, no, like shit, nigga, we was tight since eighth, ninth grade. And so by the time we got a class rings, and we designed them at the same time or whatever. But I know him since we were, and we grew up with uh Lil Magic from Magic City. Like, y'all put them together like that.
SPEAKER_01Y'all rings. TV company. TV company. I'm gay man. There was never a time I wanted to use the F word. It was then, but I said, I need none of that. But come in there. No, nigga, I'm leaving. No, man. Oh, shit. We're not trying to get, we didn't we know your show's been canceled. We're not trying to cancel you, though.
SPEAKER_03Oh shit, that's good. Yeah, so we are. I mean, I grew up with a very bro, the people I grew up with, I mean, y'all can probably attest to this, the people you grew up around, there's so many talented people. Not everybody goes that direction. Man, I'm I grew up around a lot of talented people. A lot of talented folks. You uh man, you have to uh speak to this for me.
SPEAKER_02What how does your network I hate the word networking. I because conceptually I think people get a foggy view of it. If you walk into a room looking to meet people, what's that? I met a brother yesterday, and it was just like he was giving me so much information, I I couldn't retain everything. Yeah, man, I'm doing it, but then I do and man, I be W. And then man, if you ever need to W, I was like, bro, this music loud as hell. You have you, uh Lance, uh, a lot a lot of people I know Lance Woods are really good. I know a few people that read it.
SPEAKER_03Lance yesterday, too, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, moving around in the space, talking to the right people. How do you identify them? Because I only know uh industry people when they got them little tight ass suits on. You know the uh you know the new agent suit.
SPEAKER_03Here's the thing, it's like uh I actually give a fuck. It's hard, it's hard to sometimes give a fuck. I actually care about man, you're so different than me. Justin, you different than me, BT different than me, I'm different than you. Why what's the difference? Can I figure that out?
SPEAKER_01You're better looking.
SPEAKER_03I'm a big truth. I'm speaking my truth. That is hilarious.
SPEAKER_01Uh I'm always like we should do a project together, bruh, because I always felt like we have great chemistry. We do, yeah. But listen, I'm listening.
SPEAKER_03It's like I always I tell people all the time, it's like I I act like the world I want to live in. So it don't matter what you look like, who you are, where you're from, or whatever, like that's who I am. And I've since day one, we met. It's like and it's we I mean, I'm always on, I mean, and if I don't rock with somebody, I go, I don't know why they don't fuck with me. It could be me, but I go, I don't know, what am I doing? It that could be my problem. But as an only child who didn't grow up around a family, my family in the Midwest, my family in St. Louis, Chicago. I grew up in Atlanta. It's just me, my mom, my dad, only child. Nigga, I had to figure out how to make friends.
SPEAKER_02That's so I'm the exact opposite, bro. So that's so crazy.
SPEAKER_03I don't call it networking. I know that's what it is, but I go, nigga, I'm interested in kind of everything that I don't know about you. What is that thing? All right, so you from here, nigga, I remember, and it probably sounded disrespectful when we we finally caught up, like I go, nigga, two watches. I wasn't trying to go, I've never seen this. Nigga, left and right? Yeah, East Coast, West Coast. Oh, really? That's what you that's to me. I go, and and I probably think I met BT probably two, three months into me being in. Yes. Early. But I go, because you you would you had the you had you still had the scarf and the white, and I go, nigga, I've never seen it was middle summer. Nigga. But you had 11. I remember going, like, did he switch just? I go, I just saw him. He had a watch on this side, but then I seen both of them go, nigga, that's interesting. I'm gonna have to talk to him.
SPEAKER_01Remember when I thought you and Keon Pole was the same person? Nigga, I told him that last night. Bruh, I thought he, I'm not no bullshit for like a year or two. Really? To a point where I was hosting that downtown comedy club. Yeah, with Garrett, yeah. With Garrett Morris. One of them had performed already. Was it Nigga? It was me. It was you, okay. Tong had already performed.
SPEAKER_03Keon really went in town like that yet. Okay. But but he was getting here. I had been here maybe a year. Keon was coming in.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so I was hosting at the time. Tone had performed, right? And we was doing the booking, I think, at the time. And then Keon came up, and he was like, hey man, I'm trying to get up. I was like, nigga, we just had you a week, a week ago, like two weeks ago. But I was serious because I literally thought him and Keon Poland was the same person.
SPEAKER_03Well, he had hair. My hair was lower back then. Yeah. So we by the time me and him, I I told him this last night. It's like, by the time me and him caught up, I go, nigga, I see it. Yeah. We could be cousins all day. We could be brothers all day. We do have similar features.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, bro. Yeah. Like, you know, that's the white in me. We'd be joking about how I got white man in me. I was like, these niggas are the same. They're the same casting type. Switch the room. Switch the room.
SPEAKER_03But we both we both also have broad shoulders. Yeah. We we both had the same kind of frame in the shoulders. Right. I see it though.
SPEAKER_02Um, bro. I don't even know where to start. Um tell me about the process. Uh, you've had this beautiful world. How important is it to how grounded do you have to be when you're in something like uh America versus uh Billy Holiday?
SPEAKER_01Ooh, I got a story for this. Go for that.
SPEAKER_03Um that that one was interesting. Because you're playing real people. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You did a great job in that. You killed that, bro. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03That was one of those where like, oh, I I I auditioned for another part. Didn't get it. Which was, you know, like I can't be mad at a job I don't have. Right. So I auditioned for it. I think my audition tape was fire for that shit. My self tape was. If nothing else, I go Lee Daniels going, I'm gonna, he's gonna call me for something else. Nigga, I was I'm I've got uh top five tapes. Nigga, I got remind me about this Brand T. Jackson tape I did. Oh, okay. I told Brandon about this once.
SPEAKER_02He was there last night too.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yeah, I saw him last night. Uh so I saw Brandon whatever, but like this, this, nigga. All right, so I I do this tape.
SPEAKER_01Brandon be like, how can I wear leather in the summertime? I leather. I know it's 85 degrees outside, but no shoes, just pants.
SPEAKER_03Leather pants, no shoes on.
SPEAKER_01All right.
SPEAKER_03Nigga, I'm supposed to be barefoot. Well, my bad, go. Uh uh, so yeah, so Billy Holiday came up because it was uh I auditioned for a different part. Uh the part that I auditioned for, Melvin Gregg got. Oh, wow. And I did a great nigga, I did a lot of times you don't go full makeup, but I had makeup, I did the teeth and everything, because I played uh I auditioned for like basically like the heroin addict crackhead that was like one of her first husbands. Didn't get it, but Lee Lee ended up calling me like a month later. I'm hanging out with um I'm not gonna name drop, but I'm with a bunch of other actors in comics. We're at this little names.
SPEAKER_01And we cross legs on this show.
SPEAKER_03Cross your legs and do the case. Well, all right. Uh I'm I'm with um Anthony Mackey, Omar Dorsey, and uh Eugene Byrd, and and I'm hanging out. We like we all watch, I think we're watching football together.
SPEAKER_01No, Captain America.
SPEAKER_03Maybe, yeah. Maybe we watch a basketball, whatever time it was of the year, and I get a call. Um, I get a phone call, and I'm like, nigga, I'm fucked. Nigga, I'm hammered. Nigga, I'm fucked up. I'm at a bar, nigga. I'm fucked up. And I get a call, and it's like, it's like a 3-1-0 number. So, you know, normally, especially, you know, I'm used to 214s and 512s and 404s from, you know, just from from you know, from home 773s, you know. So I got home. I got home. But I'm I'm used to like, you know, family or you know, I'm I'm with, you know, I got your if you if you call me, Jessica gonna show up. BT gonna show up. So I'm like, it's it's a number. I don't know. I'm like, but if you see a 310, you're like, oh shit, this might be work. This might be some work. I get a call and he goes, uh, hey, what's going on? It's Lee Daniels. This Tone Bell? I go, nigga, get the nigga, I hang up. I hang up on Lee Daniels immediately. I go, nigga. We've been in this bar all day watching football and shit. I hang up, I get a I get a text. Hey, Tony, this is Lee Daniels. Uh, can you call me back when you get when you get a second? I go, nigga, I'm done with this spam shit.
SPEAKER_00Stop. You text stop.
SPEAKER_03My agent calls me like, hey, Lee's trying to call you. I go, Lee Daniels I go, because it's crazy because I think I got a text wrong. So I I call Lee back and Lee goes, Hey, I saw your tape for the for this part. Um we cast it, but I got this other part. I think it's gonna be recast. Another actor had it. They shot one day. Lee didn't like it. He goes, but I think you can do this. Can you do this? I go, Lee. Nigga, I'm fucked up. I go, nigga, I'm hammered right now. I go, can I call you back in 12 hours? He goes, excuse me? I go, nigga, I'm drunk. I go, I've been watching football for the last nine hours, eight, nine hours. Can I call you back in the morning? He goes, what time? I go, nigga, I said 12 hours. I'll call you about 10. He's shooting, but Montreal. I go, what? I go, I call you 10 a.m. my time. That's gonna be 1 o'clock your time. I'll call you at 10. I'll I'll wake up at 9. I'm gonna reread the script. Look at this part. I will call you back. I promise you. He goes, All right, nigga, call me back. First ever lead day.
SPEAKER_01That's hilarious.
SPEAKER_03Nigga, I wake up at nine. Nigga, I leave. I finished what I'm and now but now I'm in my head. Now I'm at the bar. I can't even have a good time. Right, right, right, right. I'm still with the homies. I'm still with the fellas kicking it, but I go touch down.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think I gotta go. Nigga, I go wake up at 8, 9 o'clock, read the script fully, read this new character, uh, call lead back, and I'm like, uh, he goes, Can you do it? Oh, yeah, I got it. He goes, All right, see you in Montreal in the week. Wow.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing, bro.
SPEAKER_03And nigga, I got some stories from that set. Because Andrew was fucking amazing. She killed that bitch. She played Billy Holiday. Andrew Day is a beast, bro. We we we we had a ball. Um What's something?
SPEAKER_01What's the story from it?
SPEAKER_03What's something memorable? Nigga, so okay. So the first day I get on set is so I do this whole uh nigga, I'm gonna tell y'all something I should not say. So uh I there's a you know uh my character and her get in this fight. So you know I get a you know, I'm I'm abusive, but she's abusive as well. And I get like this black eye. Nigga, they put me, they can take me to this prosthetics uh lab in probably Van Is somewhere. I go to this fucking prosthetic, and they nigga, they they f they put nigga the shit is like Martin. Oh yeah, right Tommy Hearns, right, right? And then they send Lee the pictures. Lee goes, she's supposed to have done that to him? Right. It was who made that right. He's like, a little smaller, maybe a cut. What the fuck is this? Nigga, that shit is out here. Uh as I'm in the room, um, I'm sitting there and I see like this this like uh neck to knees bust of a woman. Butt naked. Right? It's just like curvature, it's beautiful. I go, I know this body. And I go, person doing my makeup, I go, who I go, who is this? And they go, you're not supposed to see that. And they throw a blanket over it. And they go, that was Beyonce. I go, I knew I knew. Wow.
SPEAKER_02You said you should she was naked. No, no, Beyonce wasn't naked. It's a wax figure. Yeah, it's just it was a it was a it was it was her figure.
SPEAKER_01Well, you say that's the like you know how they take a bust. Bust, I'm okay, I'm I'm retarded. I was like, they had a a wax a wax figure of her that's a big I mean I don't know, it it looked like it looked like uh like cement.
SPEAKER_03It wasn't cement, but it looked like just like stone carved out, whatever. But it was like it was I go, man, because it was smooth and everything. I mean, I was 20, 30 feet away from it. Yeah. But I saw it just sitting on this table and I was like, but uh it looked like a like a like a mannequin almost. Got it. But it was like neck to knees or whatever. And I go, It was a hand like this.
SPEAKER_01He was like, that'd be Beyoncé.
SPEAKER_04Like, is that Beyoncé?
SPEAKER_01The United States versus Billy Holiday. I'm gonna tell you my story real quick, which is Tucker Thule did that. Yeah. I was supposed to-he're great. Fantastic guy.
SPEAKER_03Good people, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I was supposed to do a movie with their company, Homecoming, right? I had wrote a movie about homecoming at HBCU. 50 Cent was an executive producer on it. It was moving, like fast. And I was like, okay, we were trying to look for a director. We couldn't find like a the right A-list director. There wasn't like an A-list director. I'm like, well, there's no A-list actors in this film. Nobody's, nobody, no A-list is gonna do this movie. So, anyways.
SPEAKER_03It's called Homecoming.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's called Homecoming. It's like, okay, so and at the time there was no like what year is this? 2016 or 18. Whenever around when Den of Thieves came out with 50 Cent. So, okay. They said they don't want to do homecoming anymore. Cool. And we were supposed to still try to get it going. Then he was like, well, listen, man, we got this movie called The United States versus Billy Holiday. Right? Um, let me know what part you want to be in it. And I was like, man, fuck that movie. I was like, that movie ain't I ain't say this to him. But in my mind, I'm thinking, bruh, we was just developing homecoming for two years. The shit didn't get made. We were supposed to do this shit with 50 Cent. I'm thinking, you can't get no movie made. But I'm thinking, like, you can't get no movie. I'm thinking because I'm like, I just went through this process. And I'm like, so now you got some some movie that you're gonna just be able to throw. And then it got made. It was phenomenal. And I was like, damn, I should have been.
SPEAKER_03Bro, it's I mean, I hear them talk about stuff like it's and I don't know that that backside of the game like that, but but hearing, hearing, you know, I have I have a corporate back background too before a little bit. So so there's certain phrases and terminology that I hear go, oh, I want to know more about that. But you hear, I mean, bruh, they were we were sitting on set and you hear things like, hey, we need we didn't we need to find another 10 million. And you go. What? If you gotta find another 10 million. We already shooting.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, where do we start at?
SPEAKER_03Not 100,000, another 10 million, another 40 million. I mean, that movie ended up 50, 60 million, something like that. What? Oh, it was up there.
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, it's a period piece. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, period piece is uh you are you be that 15 years.
SPEAKER_03That movie was like the first day, okay. Let me go back to this real quick. The first day I get on set was like um John and Billy meet. Second scene is our crazy fucking sex scene.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I remember that. I watched that with my lotion. Nigga, I hey. Y'all been asking how can y'all support killing it? Well, we got an answer for you. We got one. Cash app. Boom. We are independently produced right now. We're paying for this to give y'all a great show every week. Y'all be asking about a Patreon. You don't even have to, this ain't even month of money.
SPEAKER_02Just go put something in there right now.
SPEAKER_03The way you read the script, I go, okay. And then Lee is like, I got, I think I'm gonna do something different with that. It's same but different. I go, all right. And so we, you know, how it and it turned out was like on this vanity, whatever. And you know, so I'm I'm he goes, Well, you don't have time to take all your clothes off. So like you you gonna pull your pants down and then you're gonna pull, you know, you you gonna just fuck this bitch like this. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. That's a director. That's a direct. Let me tell you something with Lee, bro. Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee, Lee a cool motherfucker, bro. So they say he goes, imagine this. Y'all just y'all right here, and then he goes, nigga, you you think you're about to take this pussy, right? So you put you put on the shit to the side, and then he goes, You but you take that fucking pussy, nigga.
SPEAKER_01Shout out to Lee Daniels.
SPEAKER_02Yo, Lee. So, so you realize how brilliant that is. Because when you try to convey something to an actor, there's all this terminology and try to get them to where you want them to get it from the. I'm not a Juilliard nigga. But just to get it to you. I'm a nigga from the canoe. You're gonna fuck the shit out of this bitch. Hey, hey, wear that bitch out. Got it. Note it.
SPEAKER_03Ain't no bull lighting shit there. So fuck that bitch. So, so, so we, uh Andrew Dad, love you, girl. Like she, she, this motherfucker's a uh a trooper, bro. Like she, she that was a first, that's my first day on set.
unknownWow.
SPEAKER_03So I do uh, nigga, I do a little fashion show. I don't know if you ever had to do this, but uh, nigga, basically I'm, you know, I got my wife beater pulled up, my jackets off, my pants are pulled down to my ankles. So I ain't got nothing on but a cock sock. So I got a little fashion show. They like, what works on camera? How much we gonna see? Nigga, I try on thongs and go for the producer, nigga. I got this. Nigga, the lines and I get down to the bag. I go, y'all nigga, y'all know what this looks like. I'm fine with this. That's hilarious. But I'm not gonna show y'all this. We'll just do it. Me and Andrew get in, probably two or three takes. And at this point, um, set super quiet. We on this vanity, me and her doing our thing. And she was, she, like I said, she was we, but just we met today. Wow. And we gotta do this aggressive sexing. And um, and uh they don't have nothing in the room. It's like this this whole this dressing room with the vanity, whatever. And and if they just put a little speaker in there with a microphone connected to Lee. This nigga Lee is like, fuck that bitch. Fuck that motherfucker. Fuck that. And so we're doing our thing, but every now and then Lee, you just hear Lee's voice, and it's That's hilarious, bruh. And my bag falls off. At one point, my bag falls off. And you know, cocksocks ain't nothing but a little tiny crown royal bag.
SPEAKER_02Obviously, in these situations, I know there's um, you know, intimacy coordinators and you know This is pre-inemacy coordinator.
SPEAKER_03This is pre-dash shit. Got it. This is pre-cause you try to keep telling the professional, if fall off, keep going. Back fall off, and I go, we both look down, she sees it fell off. And I go, can I stay? Because her legs are like wrapped around me a little bit. I go, can I stay right here until somebody comes? And she goes, of course. And that that literally that's the moment where it was like, oh, okay, he not a wild dude. Yeah. It's respect. Yeah, it was like she was actually. Okay, yeah. Bro, I ended up, bro, I don't I haven't don't think I've ever told a story on a podcast. Uh the the scene where I I like my character pushes her into the mirror and I smack her and all that shit. Um, I ended up kicking her in the face for real. It was wild. Like, I own some slick ass shoes, which I'm I'm a big dude for shoes. Like, I I want to wear the shoes during the day so I can like because I walk different in in the shoes. And so we we're we're kind of going through this me, and um the three of us are going through the scene. And then I'm you know, my character's supposed to like kick her in the stomach or whatever, but I slip. The shoes are so slick at the bottom, I fucking slip and catch her in the lip. Motherfucker lips are bleeding. She stays in it.
unknownUh-uh.
SPEAKER_03Nigga, I'm freaking out in real time. You could probably see it on camera, I think that that's the take they used. And I'm freaking the fuck out because I go, oh, just kidding this motherfucker in the face. She stayed in it, so I go, Oh shit, she's still in it, I'm gonna stay in it. So I stayed in it, and and we we we get the we get the scene or whatever. Cut. She hugs me afterward, some motherfucking lip bleeding. And she goes, Motherfucker, you kick me for real. And I go, oh shit, I'm I'm so sorry. She goes, nigga, we we nigga, we did that shit though, didn't we? That motherfucker's so cold. And then the next scene was her with a busted lip, because it was written already that way. So they didn't have to do makeup. They just she just did it. You didn't kick her, that was the Lord.
SPEAKER_01Bro, she she Daniels was like, kick that bitch. Kick that mother.
SPEAKER_03But that's one of the best sets I ever worked on. Everybody that I worked with was unbelievable, man. Everybody.
SPEAKER_01This is what I want to get to, because you got the this fire movie coming out, Coyote versus Acme. Yeah. And which is huge, man. Talk about, because originally, what was the budget on that movie? Do you know? 80 to 100. 80 to 100 million dollars. Yeah. And they shelved it. Warner Brothers.
SPEAKER_03I shot that motherfucker four and a half years ago.
SPEAKER_01Jeez. You shot it four and a half years. What was your feeling? Like, what why did they tell you at the time why they were shelving it if they told you?
SPEAKER_03They didn't tell me nothing. They didn't tell me nothing. It was um, it was slated for like two years after we shot it. So it was like, oh, we shot in 22, should be out spring of 24. Dope. I go, Billy Holiday, COVID, so didn't come out in theaters. The only movie that I've ever been in that came out in theaters that did what it was gonna do was little. Right. Like, I still get love from that, but every other one that's supposed to come out in theaters never came. It had two during COVID, didn't come out. Um so we do, we do this one, and then what was the other Warner Brothers joint? Batgirl? Batwoman, Batgirl, right? They pulled. They had two other ones like that. Or one plus that, then this one. I go, they got finally in a hundred million dollar movie with because I auditioned for the lead. Okay. And they were like, no. But they're like, your tape was great. We want to find you something in this. So I end up playing like the leads is the homie.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But you got John Cena and and um Will Forte. Will Forte's, I mean, I saw Will yesterday. I mean, like he Lana Condor, like it's all it's so many dope people in this joint. And I only work with that crew. I didn't see Cena at all because he I didn't have no scenes with him. But uh $100 million, they shelve it and they go, I saw it two years ago. I saw the cut. They invited me out, came out to see the cut. Nigga, I laughed, I cried. It was the movie's great. The trailer looks great. Right. Nigga, it it's nigga, it's a it's a it's it's for us. It ain't if you're 12, you can watch it. Right. But it's like you fighting um uh a class action lawsuit against Best Buy or Amazon or some shit. It's a real thing, it's for adults. 12-year-olds will think it's funny, but it's for 40 year olds, but it's it's it's it's very good.
SPEAKER_02So uh okay, I I gotta make sure I address these things because because you talked about it. You said in some of these projects that um you might have just been cheaper. Correct me if I'm wrong. I have a slight understanding about this, but it'd be good for people watching also. When you start working as a uh on-screen actor, you're in the union, you get a guest star, a role, you're wherever you are on the call sheet. As you continue, that rate rises. And to my understanding, it has to stay there or close to it. So, like, you can't be number one three times in a row and then go get some role as number seven. It's like, well, he's gonna be too expensive because unless we're gonna pay him his number one rate as number seven. Am I tripping?
SPEAKER_01Uh I know y'all would have a if I if I heard you, but no, go ahead. I was gonna say I think it depends on where the actor is like adding a career that may have something to do with it, like how much heat you have. Like, I meant legally. I meant like like legal, like you're so hot. Nah, I think they can they could all first of all, they're gonna always try to, they're not gonna always try to F you, but if they could pay you less, they will.
SPEAKER_03I always want to pay less. I don't blame them for wanting to pay me less. Yeah. I don't want to pay as as much for to get my grass cut or for my grocery. Like, I always want to pay less. Right. You can't blame them for that. Okay. But I but I d I don't know if if I heard you correctly, there's a um so every networks and studios are are at least in my experience, I think, are different than streaming. Okay. My network, I have an I have a network quote that does transfer the streaming quote, but streaming don't have to adhere to what my network quote is. Yeah. I can't, unless we're favored nations where we're all making the same, my network quote can't get any lower than it is now. Got it. Nigga, my first, nigga, my my first when I made on Whitney was so low. Right. But to me, I go, I've never a week? Right. I've never seen this kind of money in a week. My lawyer goes, you can't be on television for this. Nigga, that shit was 10 10 G's. Oh yeah, that's low. 10 G's a week. I'm still paying motherfuckers. Right. Agent, lawyer, manager. Nigga, I'm I'm walking, I'm coming home with like 4,200. 4,200 a week, 3,800? 3,800. And I go, nigga, I made 3,800 this week. And people are like, you're on television. Right. This is no money. Now my quote is pretty good. My network quote is is pretty good. My streaming quote right now they match. I don't think it can go down, but if we all go, we want to do this thing, we will, we will take less to go. We'll work. To make it work. I I'm I'm pretty sure that's how it goes, but I couldn't.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that no, that makes sense. And uh uh correct me if I'm wrong, because you can speak to this uh also the streaming versus network. To my understanding, when streaming decides that a show's gonna go, this is what we do. We know we're gonna probably do two to three seasons. Here's your money, we'll see you on Monday. Like, you know, which is different than the gauging of uh how did it do? Well, what were the numbers and what were the views and so on and so forth?
SPEAKER_03You can probably speak to this better because like network, you're thinking about the numbers. Like the ratings. The ratings. No, absolutely. I ain't thought about ratings in five years. Yeah. Because most of my my last I I did a network pilot right going into COVID, which it probably would have gone if it wasn't for COVID. The whole Karen thing started, and then our our show had like kind of a Karen-esque thing in it, and they were like, I go, exploit it. It'll work, but they go, we don't want to be seen that way. I go, nigga, it's we're right, we're the first two at it to go network with it.
SPEAKER_01But then I've been working with Netflix for so long, which has been great, but is it true you don't get residuals for strength, like Netflix shows? You get 'em. Okay, you do get residuals. But it's a part of your salary. So you don't get them. Okay. So you just get more money.
SPEAKER_03In my experience, I could be wrong. Whoever's looking at this, you can say I'm wrong. My experience, I get my episodic, and they give you uh mic closer.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_03They give you who a sprinkle on top of that to be like, these are what residuals would be if you were. They just give it to you at the front. So so yeah, so so let's say you like you make a 50 grand an episode, they go, here's another four. That's some bullshit. Here's here's here's 54,000. You go, so 50 and then four. The four is the residuals.
SPEAKER_01Now I'm gonna say that's some bullshit because at the height of my residuals, I was easily getting four thousand every other month. You see what I'm saying? So if they're so if think about this. If I'm getting four thousand every other month for five years, they're only giving you that four thousand that one time. Got it.
SPEAKER_03Bro, uh to this day, little and the flash are my biggest residuals out of everything I've ever done.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. We we clearly have to talk about these two. Um, since we're so close to the Billy Holiday thing and working with amazing women, um, when you when you're working on little, I mean, this these are talk about that world where you're talk working with powerhouse women. You got Regina Hall, we got Issa Ray, we got Marseille coming in to her own. This is her.
SPEAKER_03Marseille was a kid still.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03She's a motherfucker grown now. Yeah. She was 12? Yeah, she was a little bit. She was 10. 11, maybe. Yeah, she's great. Yeah, she likes she was a kid. And I knew them early. I knew Jack.
SPEAKER_02Is she a producer on that?
SPEAKER_03Yes, I'm pretty sure.
SPEAKER_01She was actually the youngest, they said the youngest executive producer or producer on the film or something like that at the time.
SPEAKER_03And I and I've known her her mom and dad for when they started Blackish, we had already met. I already met her folks. I mean, this motherfucker, what, seven, eight years old? Right. Seen her for the last 15 years just grow the hell up, right? Her, Regina, Issa, and I hadn't known, I swear I met Issa. Issa's like, is who she says she is. Like, it's I love the fact that she was. I mean, Regina get to hook up. Um, she was Regina's so great. She's amazing, bro. Bro, Issa's great. Regina's great. Um can't tell you a story real quick. Yes, please. So there's a is a project. I've never had this happen before. Uh even my lawyer called me, he was like, This is this is wild. So after we do little, this is probably maybe the next year. Hulu is Hulu was cooking. Hulu's about to start getting an original program, and you know, when they all start out, they're like, hey, we're gonna take program and put it on. Watch it here, but now they're doing originals. I go audition for this um for this Hulu original show, and um my appointment is at like one o'clock over uh um La Brea and Melrose, whatever, Melrose that bill is yeah, yeah, 200 Bray. So I'm going over there and um Regina's already they offered it to her, she the lead. They are they auditioned for her brother. Dope ass show, set in um like Napa, it's like a black-owned wine business or whatever. Did you know he was I think he was working already. He was on my guy, I think, already. Um one o'clock, I'm going in. I go, what time do you start though? And they go, oh, we start at nine. I go, I'm going to 8:30. I'm not going after 40 niggas already auditioned for the shit. I'm going first. Nigga, I show up at 8 o'clock. First, I walk in. 10 minutes later, Bill Belly walk in. He goes, I'm first. I go, nigga, I'm already here. I'm going in here. That's how me and Bill got cool. Yeah, okay. This is when I met Bill. Nigga, I go in. I don't want to hear nobody else. I because I'm a fan of y'all already. Everybody's coming in here. Nigga, I know you, and I want, I want, I'd love to watch you on the show, but I want this show too. Right. Nigga, I go rip. I go rip. Bill probably had it, felt a way about it. Got a call the next day. Hey, come back, Regina. You know, you gonna read Regina tomorrow. I go, dope. Read with Regina. Come back tomorrow. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, back Wednesday. Nigga, now we testing. Get to my car. You know, that on the way to the car, I get that phone call. Uh, you got it. I go, before I open the door, nigga, what? Nigga, Regina comes out. We're talking about it. We brother and sister. Like, all right, we good. Bro, I'm waiting, the deal's coming through. Who's about to call? One of the first originals, all black cast, black family doing this dope. I go, oh, dope. I go, now me and Regina can rock. Nigga, a day or two later, I'm waiting for the deal. They go, oh, it'll be here before five o'clock. The people on the plane coming back from New York to LA, you're gonna get the call from the lawyer or whatever. I go, hey, I'm waiting for the deal. Where is it? My lawyer's calling, hey, it's not coming through. I go, no, no, they said I got the offer. I got they called me before I got to the car. Right. What's up? Uh NBC's calling. There's a pilot that they want you for. I go, no, no. Tell NBC we can't do it. I'm waiting on the Hulu. He goes, Hulu's not gonna call. I go, no, no, but you told me. Two days ago, Hulu's gonna call. Yeah. What do you mean? Lori's like, yo, I've never seen this before. That shit went away. I go, but y'all call me together. Agent manager, Lori, all y'all. I was eighty y'all on the phone. All of us. We're talking about it. We're very excited. Remember Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday? And then I read Regina and we tested it and all this kind of stuff. And he goes, We don't we don't know what happened. But NBC got this pilot. They want you too. And I go, alright. I go, what's the part? I go, so Hulu's gone. They go, it's not coming. I go, all right. I read I'll read this pilot. They offer me this part. I go, I want that part. I don't want the part y'all offering me. I want that part. And now I'm just going, where'd this come from? I didn't even know this pilot was out here. Right. I want that part. Just to see what's going on. And they go, cool, you can have it. I go, what the fuck is going on? It was wild. And somebody, uh, who is it? CP was CP was on here. He said something about uh sometimes you want to be the number two in the show because the number one ain't as fun. Right. Yeah I learned that on that pilot.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, I learned that.
SPEAKER_03Motherfucker, I was number one. I go, nigga, I like being number three. Number two, number three has way more fun. I make the punches.
SPEAKER_01That's a fact.
SPEAKER_03I was number one, and the director had to tell me, she goes, No, no, you wanted to be number one, remember?
SPEAKER_01Wow. What was the name of the pilot you're talking about? You remember? Uh I think it was called Good Fortune.
SPEAKER_03Good fortune. Yeah. Retta was in it. Um There was another show called Good Fortune.
SPEAKER_02There's a movie. A movie with V's on Zary. Yeah, that's the Z. That's what Nature did. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think it's called Good Fortune. I think it's called Good Fortune. Jackson.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was something about that. I done forgot.
SPEAKER_03I'm sorry. I talked to a lot of long stories. No, no, no, no. You did exactly what you just want to do.
SPEAKER_02You know, some shit this shit be weird sometimes. No, no, I feel you. Do you feel like you've uh had the do you do you feel like, or let me ask this another way. Because I uh because I'm pretty sure the answer to that is not yet. Do you know the role that you want that you can shine in? Because the question would have been, do you do you think you've had that chance yet? Do you have an idea of what that looks like for you to shine and show all your talents, your comedic ability, your actor chops, all that good stuff?
SPEAKER_03I I'm I I'm I'm working on it now. I don't think there's been glimpses of I think there may have been three or four projects I've done over the years where you got a chance to say, oh shit, if we let him go, this is what he's good at. And I know that's what I'm good at. But the um I I man, I really pride myself on it. I feel like I'm more of a Seinfeld, like in the Seinfeld show. Yeah. Where I'm like, man, let me be the straight guy with with the with my dry humor and and the and the sarcasm and let uh killers kill. Yeah. Not because of me, but going, bro, I'll service the story. Come murder these storylines and these jokes. I got, I'll, I'll, I'm the thread. But please be the sleeve and the collar and the everything else. Like I I know, motherfuckers that are too talented to go. I'm I know what I'm good at, and and just lacing it together would be what I want to do. I don't need to be the Got it, got it, got it. But yeah, I mean, I think it's coming though. I got my new hour is is the pitch for the show, and the show is very fun. Got it. But but yeah.
SPEAKER_01Your new your new hour have you approached Netflix about it since you've had a relationship with Netflix? Yeah, we're working on it. Tone is incredible. We're talking. Now, this this this is my this my this is my last question. Um You've been on a lot of TV shows. Do you feel like those TV show credits are equating to ticket sales with your stand-up? A few of them. Okay. I and I can always tell.
SPEAKER_03Uh the only shows that people, I mean, every now and then people are like, oh, I loved you on Bad Judge, wish that would have continued, loved you on that show, that didn't continue. The Flash, three episodes on Flash. I did five, but I but only three air. They had to redo some stuff. Um three episodes of Flash, disjointed and um Thickest, man. Like Yeah, I thought Disjoined. People come to this day, I probably get more from disjointed than any other show. Just that, just that marijuana weed culture, and people go, oh man, I'll fuck with you heavy. But it's but it is weird because like people, especially online when I'm like just trolling and just being an asshole online. Uh people who know me from disjointed let me be that guy. People from Thickest think I'm supposed to be the guy from the show. So they go, why would you say something like that? I'm an asshole. Right. So you want me to be this great guy. Right. No niggas like that for real.
SPEAKER_02The character.
SPEAKER_03I'm not. Please give that up.
SPEAKER_02I have to I have to touch these two things. One is uh I got a nerd out.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's my as opposed to we did Kakha talk earlier. So the being in uh something Flash is for the people that don't understand, in superhero lore, uh Flash is a high-level hero, and this show got it right. Really, really so many what five spinoffs from it? Yeah. Um do you do have you been to the Comic Cons? Have you walked around? Have you felt that energy?
SPEAKER_03I don't think my character was that enthralled, like that into the world that it makes sense for me to go. I've heard about it. People have asked me, would I be there? Sprinkle, not a bunch, like ten people over the years. Hell are you going? You gonna be down here? But I played a made-up character that really wasn't in this universe anyway. Right. But I respect it because I know some people who I mean, like I said, at this point we all do, but you see how impressive it is. I mean, I got I got family who goes, I've told people, my nephew do this, and they only seen you on the flash.
SPEAKER_02The flash is the.
SPEAKER_03I go, I've had 150 episodes of other TV and three episodes of Flash is where that's your nephew, right? It's it it is that world is different, bro. That world is great.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and then uh soural of the thickest, uh already moving. And you spoke to this earlier, but what is it like moving in the industry right now? Because things are kind of all over the place. It feels like it's trying to find his footing. Bro, I don't know. Yeah. I don't know.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I got I was dry with with no work for a month. Like no auditions, nothing, not even reading. I mean, I love I love to read, you know, when they send you something, read for interest. I love that. Just send me something so I can go, what what's what's going on out here? Right. What kind of movies, what kind of TV are they making, at least so I can stay up. So I hate I probably had three or four weeks where I had nothing. I get here on uh I fly in on Wednesday and four auditions come in. I have no idea what the game is doing right now. Right. Um but I feel like I feel like comedy is real close to like we're about to get in some real nice dumb comedies again. And I'm saying dumb as in like just bro, funny, dumb shit. Where I'm putting on 90 minutes, it went away for a little bit, you say retarded a minute ago, nigga, retarded is back.
SPEAKER_04Yeah!
SPEAKER_03I was in New York, and Sam J was like, nigga, retarded is back. And it go, but I also and we also know why retarded is back. All right, we tried. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Right, right, right, right.
SPEAKER_03We tried, and we still respect you. Yeah. But I need to say gay sometimes, I need to say retarded sometimes. Right. And I'm talking about the 90s way. Right, right, right. We not I love your feelings. Yes. I care about you. Retard is so much I'm I gotta get, I gotta cut to the chase. Right, right, right. But I think those kind of comedies are coming back. Um, the the uh just where we are. I mean, uh people keep talking about, I mean, I've been talking to a bunch of executives about what they really feel about verticals. And from what I gather, people are like, oh, verticals are the new thing. I'm not against it. But it's gonna be if we want to do a vertical. Right. This ain't gonna be like, oh, BT, Justin Tone. Sony. Sony's not calling us to do a vertical nigga, right?
SPEAKER_02Hey, uh, industry, you're you're wrong about verticals. It's not gonna work. We've seen this before, you guys. It's not gonna work. It will work. It's it's gonna work-ish. It's gonna, yes, anything that is captivating that you can watch on your phone, cool. But it's quibby all over again. That's what I would just think. I want to do these quibbs. All over again. You you the there's there's a they cool. The attention span is short. They believe that if I oh, I just go seven, eight minutes on my phone, people do this. It's like, no, there's things that you watch on your phone, and there's things I don't want to sit down and watch at home. So it's like, yeah, you're gonna cap the views, will be there, the followers will be there. Do you think Quibi would have rocked in 2018? Nope. I think it would have. I I here uh let me let me give you uh the other side of perspective. I'm out pitching uh unscripted show that's about uh 30 to 35 minutes, 40 minutes, whatever. And everybody said, Well, people are watching stuff this fast. I was like, Well, yeah. We also watch that. Sometimes you're in your car, you turn something on, 12-minute clip, perfect. You sit it down, you watch it, and the views are crazy. They don't know I didn't actually look at my phone. I'm just running up the Breakfast Club, right? Oh, good interview on, you turn it on, da-da-da. That's much different than I'm sitting down at the house, okay, cool, survival of the thickest. Right. Popcorn, food, yeah, yeah, yeah, dinner. It's like two different habits. So trying to convert the habit over is it's just like a weird process. I'm not gonna be on the boat watching 17 episodes of this show that I would have preferred to just see the high quality version. And it's like, no, both these things exist in a space, but like you said, Sony's involvement. They tried this with Quibi. Kevin Hart and all the money in and high action. And it was like, I can't even see all the action. He ran that way. It's like action.
SPEAKER_01Are you looking on yourself?
SPEAKER_02There's still something about going to the movies. Doomsday is happening, you guys. Uh, dude is happening. It's like this is an experience that is all unique its own. It's like live comedy versus the stand-up. I mean, versus a special. It's like both things can exist, but it's gonna feel much differently. So yeah, cool. Do the vertical thing. It's not stopping.
SPEAKER_03Uh I just, I mean, like, I I think it's like if if if I were to watch, if I see BT going, I'm doing a 10-part series on uh where are my keys at? Right. But I'm watching BT, I go, I know BT, and I'm watching BT going like, where the fuck are my keys? Right. I watch 10 parts of that to go, this is I think a BT is hilarious. And also, where are his keys? Right. But if you go, I'm an ex-CIA agent, and they go, I don't feel like watching BT do this. Right. That's just BT acting like this. Right. For a vertical. But it's gonna be people that live in a suburb where kids you never seen, like to me, those are fun. But I don't, but nobody's gonna put real money. I also don't want the production value to be up here. I kind of just want to see BT looking for his keys. That's that's a 10-part series I'm looking for.
SPEAKER_02If it's good, it's good. Because we've all laid in the bed, caught up in some show, borderline. I remember I was watching some show, I don't even remember what it was. I was like, do I have to keep rolling? Because I don't want to get bed sores. Because I'm not leaving here for a few hours. Like, I gotta finish this today.
SPEAKER_03Do I have to keep rolling?
SPEAKER_02I just gotta keep put the pizza there and drink the water. It's like, and I put the pizza in the bed, but it's good. With the joke good? Three in the morning. Boy, season two of Breaking Bad. I was like, man, I'm not moving. I just started, I told, uh I saw Nigga, pizza in the bed is diabolical. It was moving, boy. What's the uh Survivor's Remorse? Survivor's Remorse. The dude that plays the agent to the football dude. I saw him last night. He was at the party last night. Okay. And I was like, bro, I just start watching this show. Bro, and I watched the first season in like hours. I was just like, oh no, I'm not going anywhere for a while. I'm just gonna. You see what I'm saying? That is uh that is much I wouldn't have done that on my phone. Right. So it's just like it we there's two different things.
SPEAKER_03But we're but we're also old.
SPEAKER_01Hmm. Yeah, so who knows what a lot of people are.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I don't know if you've ever seen these things, but like there's a uh I'll send to both y'all, uh, I'll text the y'all. It's there's there's a it pops up in my timeline probably once a week, but it's like this psychology podcast that really goes in on people born between like 80 and 89 of our generation of how we had the technology boomers end up getting into, which is like VCRs and and you know, home phones and different lines and s the the start of cell phones and pages or whatever. And then we're pre-internet, but we're the first people to experience internet. We we were the we're internet kids when everybody got it. But we also know when digital became digital. Right. Now kids only know digital, and our parents had knobs on a TV. Right. They TV's like ovens. You know what I mean? So it was like w we have we're this this crazy generation in the middle. And we're old motherfuckers now. Like we are, we are the um We definitely the middle child. The the millennials will be in in uh the first millennials will be 50 in four years. Crazy. Millennials, I mean, and we think we still I mean, we nigga, we all dress like we children still. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02But do you do you think that the see have you ever sat a kid in front of like good, like you you sit up in front of Sesame Street today, and and they'll sit there and stare at the screen no different than they were scared of the iPad. So it's like you Coco Mella does the same thing as like no no no.
SPEAKER_03But I think I think it depends when, I think it depends when you start doing it. If you have an iPad kid, they quick to move on too. Cause they can set it down. If you s if you yeah, if you sit a motherfucker in front of a TV, they can't touch that shit. They gotta sit there and watch it. But if you give them up for this thing, they can they can put it down and move. So so I I don't disagree with you at all.
SPEAKER_02I think I think the Netflix thing, I think what we just saw with Funny AF is I think that's probably where we're going. When we're watching Funny AF, and it was like you can vote right now in real time, and and we know exactly what happened. I think that uh uh obviously reality it works, a competition it works. But remember the books back in the day books Choose Your Own Adventure. Choose your own adventure. Like if you want them to call it. That's very interesting. I'm watching because it was a Bandersnatch. Yeah, there was a show like that recently. It's like, but what if that was digital? What if you were watching, what if a show aired right now, and before episode two, it was like, you're gonna go down this path and you're gonna go down this path. And then you chose where you wanted to go through just clicking motion on your phone or some scanning thing.
SPEAKER_01It's like I was just thinking with it. With AI, if they keep using AI, it'll be easier to do something like that where you could choose your own adventure with these characters. AI could basically create whatever. We gotta get to the game. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Banner Stash did that. I thought they did a good job at it, but also it makes the content like, oh, I was supposed to watch two hours of this thing, but then you pick the wrong journey, and now nigga, my my experience is only 48 minutes. Oh, wow. Yeah. I need to check that out. I ain't watched that. That came out years ago. I think BC was talking about, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um, all right, man, we uh got a couple games you wanna do another. Yeah, we done it. Hold on, Justin, you're not gonna do it today? Man, we're y'all switching it up today?
SPEAKER_01You gotta put more. We've been trying to, I'm gonna kill a little bit.
SPEAKER_03I'm just trying to figure out at what point in this interview I'm gonna ask me if I'm gonna eat it.
SPEAKER_01And this one actually has that question over here. That's right. All right, here it goes. Kill it or let live. Kill it or let live. You don't already know the game. Anybody that don't know the game, I'm gonna say kill it or let live. Uh if you mess with it, you're gonna say let it live. If you if you don't mess with whatever thing I throw out there, you're gonna say kill it. Kill it or let live. Hooking up with cast members.
SPEAKER_03Kill it. Kill it. Kill it. I've never hooked up with a cast member. When we were filming.
SPEAKER_01God damn it, Tone.
SPEAKER_03Goddammit. I don't share where I eat, bro. It's like, I mean, if if not that I haven't wanted to, but I actually not not really, probably once in my career, I've never really hooked up with somebody I work with. I I'm not, I go, I'm I'm trying to keep it. I'm trying to keep his job, bro. Ain't no piece of pussy worth my job. I've never really I want my badge to work. I want to go. Crafty is beautiful. Yeah. Now I took down some extras.
SPEAKER_01Some extras be finding shit sometimes.
SPEAKER_03We work together.
SPEAKER_01We work together. But then they keep popping up though. We fucked three weeks ago, and here you are again. It's like a one-night screen that never goes away because her job. Her job is the big edge of the go. I have nothing. I'm just telling jokes, and I didn't even fuck nobody. Okay. Kill it or let live. You have a hundred million followers on every social media platform. But in order to obtain these hundred million followers, you have to sleep one night at teleparadics.
SPEAKER_03Is there money associated with these followers?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm gonna spend a night in the buttons who's coming in. What's up? Um, You still look up? He didn't say what room you had to be in.
SPEAKER_02It's a lot of rooms.
SPEAKER_03A lot of rooms. But he knows I'm in the house. He knows. And he's coming. I uh let it live.
SPEAKER_01Hey, shout out to Tyler Perry. Never let it live, baby. All right. This is my last one. Kill it or let live. You get to be the richest man in the world. You have all the wealth that you've ever wanted. You can do whatever. You got the most money in history. You Montamusa. What's his name? Montamusa. Monson Montsa Mousa. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah. You the richest man that's ever lived.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01But in order for you to get the money, you have to eat ass. But you can't, you don't know who ass is it is. It's like a glory hole, but is it just an ass? It's a glory hole ass. You get to see that ass. But you can't see the. It's a woman, though. I don't know. Did you not finish the question? No, it's done. It's just uh I don't know. It's just an ass, and there's a little hair.
SPEAKER_03Do I have the money already? No, you gotta eat that ass. I gotta eat the ass and then I get the money. Then you get the money. But who giving me the money though?
SPEAKER_01The person who asked me.
SPEAKER_02It's in a briefcase.
SPEAKER_01It's a briefcase right now.
SPEAKER_03There's too man caveats to this. There's too many caveats. Because there's a version where I go, I'm eating that ass. There's a version, but you ain't give me enough. It's all apparent. So now I wake up. I wake up. The room I was in. This is a hoax.
SPEAKER_01Good morning. Hey, Tom has been on a lot of canceled shows, but I can assure you, I'm the only nigga getting canceled today. I can assure you that. I'm done with that's it, bro. Didn't you say the answer?
SPEAKER_03Uh I said there's a way that this could happen. But when he didn't give me the music, you can give me the other. I can't say either way, because there's there's a version. There's a version of it, but That's a let live everybody.
SPEAKER_01Come on. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_03That's a down the middle.
SPEAKER_01Nigga alright. I'm just saying when you spread cheese, that's down the middle. Here's the hard thing with Eden S.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. This is clips. When you talk about Eden Ass, uh nigga, I was okay, me and Rail Battle were with Tracy Morgan one day, and we were shooting Lass OG. Yeah. And Tracy just holding court on set. And Tracy goes, uh, they probably 10 minutes from, you know, they're setting up lights and shit. And Tracy goes, Yo, you eat ass? And he just talking to random people. Tracy Morgan, yo, you eat ass or you eat pussy? He just, bro, it's it's me and Ray are cracking up.
SPEAKER_01You eat ass or you eat pussy.
SPEAKER_03And he goes, if you eat pussy, you eat ass. Because the only thing that separates them is that thin motherfucker right there. And that's called the bridge of a troubled waters. Nigga, me and Rail are like, we have to go. And then they're like, all right, we're ready to. He's like, all right, let me go shoot. It was we're like, yo. I'm Brian Fellows. So nigga, everybody eat ass. Yeah, man. Grow up.
SPEAKER_02Keep three, cut five. All right. It's blind. You don't know what's coming next. Keep three. No. What'd you say? Keep three? Keep three. Okay. Kill five. Okay. You don't know what's coming next. It's blind list. Once it's gone, it's gone. All right. TV sitcoms. Girlfriends. Keep a kill. I don't know what's coming next.
SPEAKER_01Uh kill. Tome Bell hates black women. You heard it here first. You're fucking dumb, but I'm not going out by myself.
SPEAKER_03You know the reason why I say that is because I just watched a clip of uh uh it was it wasn't uh was it Richard is it Richard T. Jones playing her boyfriend? Yeah uh um um what's her name?
SPEAKER_02Uh the uh the uh uh uh oh uh Tracy Eller Ross.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Tracy Ellen Rawls. Um and they had a wonderful scene where they were like just arguing back and forth, and I go, this is a relationship right here. Yeah. This is how this is how this shit goes often. So that's so I'll go. I hated that shit. Killer. Wayne's brothers. I love Wayne's Brothers, but I'm gonna say killers come and see what else is next. Homeboys in Outer Space. Killer.
SPEAKER_02See? So you gotta be careful. I've already killed three? Yeah, you killed three, it's only five left.
SPEAKER_03I gotta say yes to everything else. What do we got?
SPEAKER_02Uh no, you no, you only gonna keep three.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay. All right, yeah.
SPEAKER_02All right, blackish. Keep. Nice. My wife and kids. Keep. Nice. The Parkers.
SPEAKER_03I never watched it like that.
SPEAKER_02Definitely hate black women. You're fucking nothing, buddy. Nah.
SPEAKER_01Y'all watch the Parkers like that?
SPEAKER_03Have I seen it?
SPEAKER_01It was an appointment television from anybody. I support black women.
SPEAKER_03I've seen it, yes, but I wasn't, I wasn't like, I wasn't T-Vowing that shit. I got you. Um I didn't.
SPEAKER_02Wait, watch this, watch this, watch this. Living single. Love living single. Oh, okay, boy. Love living single. Keep it killed. And there's one more after this. Oh, it's one more after this, though. It's your three. Keep. That's your last war. Oh, I do want to know what's next. How are you gonna know? It's just until you get to keep it or not. But I kill, I kill Parker's, but I'm gonna go. So right now, you kill girlfriends? All right. You kill Wade's brothers, you kill homeboy brothers.
SPEAKER_03For the record, for the record, I want to keep living single, but I'm gonna kill it because I want to know what's next. I'm telling you, I'm gonna. No, this is for the people. It's not for you, BT. This is for the people.
SPEAKER_02Boy, if it's friends, it's definitely Fresh Prince. Keep, bro.
SPEAKER_03I may, I may, I made, I'm a Fresh Prince stand.
SPEAKER_01Straight up.
SPEAKER_03I'm a Me and Rail Battle had I got a lot of stories with Rail Battle. Me and Rail Battle had an epic Fresh Prince versus Martin conversation in New Orleans that we it crowd ended up gathering around us because like we're arguing which one is better. We both think they're both great. I fucking love Martin. Right. I just resonated more with Fresh Prince. He resonated, you know, more with Martin, but he also loves Fresh Prince. And we just, I mean, every time we see each other, it's it's that thing. Y'all trying to see which one is like funnier? Martin is funnier. Fresh Prince had a better story. Yeah. But I but I think it's more relatable. I think Fresh Prince is more relatable. It's crazy. I think my wife and kids are better than both. We weren't talking about that though.
SPEAKER_02But I do love my wife and kids. It's fucking hysterical. Last question, man. Um, you are always hot uh industry-wise, man. You are always killing shit. Not that it's a podcast. Justin, we cancel.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Me and you both, man. We can start a podcast off two cancel Negroes.
SPEAKER_02What does it look like for you career-wise to be killing it? What is what is that behind the camera, in front of the camera, producing? Is that movies? Is that TV? I really want to talk to you about movies versus TV. But what does it look like for you?
SPEAKER_03I don't know, man. I I really still enjoy this business and I mean mainly because of last night of doing this right now. It's like that this is the best part of it to me. And I love being a fan of it, man. I I love, even if I can't. I mean, I've taped every episode of MacGyver and didn't watch a bunch of them. But I will play it just to make sure. I go anytime I you pop up, I'm with the wife on the couch going, BT. And I and I, motherfucker, I would rewind shit to go. Even if I I think I I've probably seen three episodes of the London show, seen them, but I record them and I play them just to make sure. Cause one, I want you to work. Yeah. Two, if you're busy, I got a possible getting a job. That's a fact. I need you to be busy. That's a fact. Um I there there's a I did a movie last summer that got my wheels turned on, like, do you want to direct? And because me and the director works work so close, and he asked me for my opinion on a lot of stuff. And I go, I think we should keep this in the wide. We don't need a close up of this. I think this should play in the two. And it and I think I was right over a lot of those moments. And there's a piece of me that's like, man, maybe I want to direct. Um I'd love to staff at some just to get off my system, I got staff on a show. Um I love comedy so much. It's like I'm I think I'm getting to the point now where people have seen me, you know, my fans in certain cities. Um being in my 40s now, I'm so much better at this. Right. Like I think my material was fine in it. I didn't know how to perform it. And now I think I have, bro, my hours. Really fun to watch. It's really fun to watch. So I don't know, man. It's like it's it's I'm hoping the AIs and the and the I hope the business allows us to keep doing what we're doing. I just I really enjoy it, man. I mean, even at the comedy brunch yesterday at Sorandos' house, the the oh fucking, I'm sitting with everybody. Eddie Murphy and Chappelle and Seinfeld and every Kevin and just Dion, and then I'm just in a circle, like chopping it up. I go, I'm such a fan of these people and this business, and then they go, oh, what's up, you know. Kevin say what's up. Chappelle, oh, Tom, what's going on? The the hanging out with Mo and and Ronnie Chang and Hassan. Just like I love me and Theo chop it up real quick. Pound with CK and I don't know, man. I'm just I remember watching uh, and I'm sorry, I don't go on Dice. No, no, no, you good. I remember watching uh, I was shooting, I think I was shooting Truth Be Told, but I'm on the I think we're on the Universal lot. And um when they tried to reboot Coach, remember Coach from the 90s? They tried to reboot coach, and uh they were bringing extras in or background for a couple scenes on on coach. And they were they had like probably 40 extras are walking toward the stage and there's one girl kind of lagging. We were on lunch break, but I was going to my car and I saw this one girl, and then you know, they you know, hey, bring your own clothes, we might use something you have, or we'll give you something to accessorize or whatever. And it's one girl like 10, maybe 15 feet behind the rest of the group, but she's dragging her suitcase and she's just looking up at the studio and she's like, Fuck, I can't believe I'm on the universe a lot. And I remember seeing her look excited for going, I can't believe I'm here. And I think about that lady all the time, going, like, I always want to feel like that. I always want to feel like anytime I I if I have a good set, I'm cool with it. If I crush, I go, I can't believe I get a chance to do this for a living. Right. I love doing this. And I mean, I've started doing Q ⁇ A's at shows now, going like, all right, here's my 50, 55. I go, anybody got any questions? And then I get a chance to just go, I know I talked about my life in com in joke form. Does anybody have anything they just want to you want my perspective on anything? And I have so much fun that people left their house, paid, had a two-drink minimum, had some tenders, brought their husband, brought their wife, brought their partner, whatever, left their dog at home, got a babysitter, and but they like, man, we just came to see you because we like what you've been doing for the last 15 years. Bro, nigga, I love that shit.
SPEAKER_01It's beautiful, man. Hey man, let people know where they can find you. Socials, any projects.
SPEAKER_03Hey, man. Tone Bell on all platforms, Instagram, I'm not on TikTok, uh tone bell.com, uh, July 2nd. I don't know if this is gonna come out by July 2nd, but July 2nd is gonna come out in 2028. I heard y'all at one point. Somebody was like, I shot this shit in December. I'm just seeing this. So uh by the time you see this, Survivor Think of Season 3 will be out. Yeah. Uh July 2nd, and then uh April 28th, 2026 is Cody versus Acme. Uh look out for my new special. Uh to me right now they don't like it, but I'm calling it season two. I don't know what the title's gonna be, but right now I'm calling it season two because it's it's my second special. And uh the first one's called Can't Cancel This. So people thought it people thought can't cancel this was like I was making a cancellation joke of like I'm saying some wild shit. Really, it was because I've been on so many canceled shows that it was this is the only thing you can't cancel. Yeah. So to me it's called season two.
SPEAKER_01Hey man, this has been a hilarious moment of maybe the most hilarious informative uh episode we've had. Um like, comment, subscribe, hit that subscribe button. Uh let us know your favorite moments from this episode. Um, yeah, man. And I mean, we appreciate y'all watching, man. When we out in the streets, we feel in the love, and we can tell that people are really rocking with this show. So we appreciate it. And yeah, we've been your host, Justin Hyas. BTK's London Brown. At London, we miss you, brother. And this has been the one and only Tom Bell. Yes.