EAST TEXAS UNFILTERED w/J. Chad Parker: Featuring Todd Gable

Todd Gable joins childhood friend J. Chad Parker for conversation about growing up in Tyler, building a career, and finding his way into acting later in life. He talks about the long road from East Texas to film sets, the early small projects that helped him learn the craft, and the steady work it took to keep moving forward.

Todd also shares what it was like to land a major supporting role in Dead Man’s Wire and work with a respected cast and director. From low budget horror films to bigger television and movie opportunities, his story is honest, grounded, and full of real perspective on how unpredictable the business can be.  Todd also shares the huge impact his father had on his acting career.

This episode is funny, honest, and easy to connect with. Todd opens up about friendship, family, second chances, and what it looks like to stick with something long enough to see real progress. If you enjoy conversations like this, like the video and subscribe to the channel.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

We've got this movie in Joshua Texas. How many lines did you have? I had more than a thing. We're in order to be cowdown. Eating it on my couch. That's walk out this guy that works a couple topics. And I was looking like I'm like putting up the you know. No, no, no. It's really good. I thought that's I had no idea.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Were you killed in the movie? Yeah, I was killed in the movie.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

But it was a fantastic experience that I wanted to stop.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Welcome to another episode of East Texas Unfiltered. My name is Jay Chad Parker. Today's guest is someone uh special to me and my friend group who I know will all watch this episode at one time. We all came from Tyler, Texas. Uh we all uh thought big and our lives we spread out over time. Uh Todd Gable has made his way into show business the the hard way. He's been grinding, but he's finally found a real measure of success, and we're going to talk about it today. Todd, thanks for being here. You know, uh you're a product of Tyler, Texas. Uh Smitty has been on this show. Um, you know, we all grew up in the 70s and 80s here, right? Yep. Uh uh what would you say? Uh uh as you live in another city, raised your family somewhere else, do you would you say that this was a good uh this had a good impact on your life being here?

SPEAKER_02 1:40

Well, we moved here when I was in the seventh grade from Dallas. And you know, I really never appreciated Tyler, I I think until as much until I left. But when I look back, man, you know, we had a it was I d it was it was amazing. I mean it was just so much fun. It was just we wasn't too big. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't too little.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Right, but you had everything that you wanted to do. You but it it There wasn't enough to get into too much trouble.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

No. We um we had s we had more fun. And I talked to Joe McCrab about this a lot, another one of our friends. We had more fun than we had a right to have.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah, I mean, because it seemed like it was harder for us to get hurt or in too much trouble, even doing things that another place could lead to some big trouble.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Sure, because of the people I mean, it's small enough to everybody knew, you know. I mean, we're riding over to the county line every weekend. Exactly. Right? I mean, you know, yeah, no, and that's that's you know, planning our fun, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Yep, absolutely. Yeah, we we we did so much and we uh and it was a different time, you know. You didn't have I mean, I can't imagine being fifteen years old.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Drinking age was eighteen when we got to high school. Remember? So the seniors were legally drinking, legally buying, yep, throwing parties, all that, right? Oh yeah. And you know, I know you played some basketball i you know, for Robert Lee, right? Right. But I don't remember you ever being in uh theater.

SPEAKER_03 3:16

No.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

No, no.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

Were you? No, no, no. I mean, you know, it's a ma I mean back in the day that was not that cool. That that's what I mean. Not that it's anything.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

I mean, that's man, theater actors are amazing. They're very talented. The amount of dialogue that they have to to to memorize and the way they have to project themselves, the way they have to it's amazing. And so that's I I don't I'm not saying it was just really more about it, hey, you're when you're a kid, you just want to be cool. Yeah, and it was unknown.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Right? Like it was something that w none of our parents I mean, with the exception of maybe your dad, yeah. But most of our parents didn't have anything involving the arts or theater, painting, you know, uh right?

SPEAKER_02 4:01

I mean, and so uh plus you got you you know, as a kid, you you really want to be a part of a group and you you don't it's very rare, I think, that you have one that wants to step out and do something different from everybody else. You're trying to find that inclusivity with everyone.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

I mean, I wanted to be Billy Idler, be in Motley Cruz. I did not, you know, want to be reciting, you know, Shakespeare.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

No, but you know, and it's funny, my dad um used to take us when I was a kid in Dallas. We would go to Shakespeare in the Park.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

At Fair Park. I would go to medieval times.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

But it would be so funny because you've got these guys, these actors out there in Fair Park who are doing Othello or they're doing Macbeth, and then 30 feet away there's guys playing basketball over at the, you know, so it was just this very odd kind of a scene, but you know, it just showed you how committed these guys, you know, these people were to do that. That's what I was about to say.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

That's a commitment to the craft.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Yeah, oh man. And and it's I've worked with, you know, there's film actors, there's there's stage actors, and I always have had a lot of respect for stage actors. It's it's like I said, number one, the am the amount of dialogue they have to to to to memorize is unbelievable. Plus, there's no cut. You know, you mess up, you mess up, and you either keep going like you don't want to. Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Yeah, as long as you don't say you messed up, then you didn't mess up.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

That's like a concert pianist versus somebody in a band, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Um it's all focused on you. And and it's not, you know, plus you have time you have to sing, you have to dance, you have to, you know, I I just that just wasn't, you know, that wasn't my thing. And uh but you know film acting has its own because that camera picks up everything.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Every look, every blink, every blink, every expression, every and um when it's something that's that focused, you you you have to be sure that you have to be sure and react. There's a lot of part about acting that's just reacting.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, I mean I guess that's what they call the craft that a word cannot convey to the person watching to understand what that is. Yeah right? Like his craft is so, you know, elaborate, and you know, we're watching him going, huh? You know?

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Yeah, exactly. You know, I I I think that there's but I think the ones that are really gifted are the ones my dad was a huge Steve McQueen fan uh growing up when I was a kid, and and I, you know, I became a fan too, and I would read a bunch of stuff about it. He he was one of those guys that was older school he didn't like dialogue as much. I think he was dyslexic or something, you know, had trouble reading.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

He was more a physical actor?

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Yeah, and he he would he would read through all this and think, man, this is gonna be so hard to memorize. He goes, I can just say this. I can say this whole paragraph with a look.

SPEAKER_03 6:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

And he could. You know, and and that's you know, that's that's can that's that's film acting. You know, you you when you can communicate without necessarily having to say a bunch of words.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

You get to the acting thing late, right? First you go to UT, uh you you you you get a college degree from somewhere. Where's that? Uh UT Tyler. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

And uh and then s you know, you met your wife, Christy, right? My wife in high school. Well, after we graduated, um But she was in high school with us.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

She was in high school with us. We got married, we lived in Tyler. Um I went to work for a um a company that specialized in recruiting that was based in Chicago. What was the name of that company? Uh the Jacobson Group.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

And that was before you formed GES.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Yeah, that was before. And um there's another mutual friend that we have, I believe, Jeff Jenkins. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Jeff and Leslie Jenkins.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

I hadn't heard uh I coached his boy a little bit in uh Harrison or Hans. Uh I'm trying to think the uh if it's the same Jenkins I'm thinking about. They they lived in your old house on Downing. Oh, that's different. That's a different Jenkins, but I do know who that is. I was thinking about yeah, I they moved away. They moved to Thor uh he lives in Fort Worth now.

SPEAKER_02 8:15

Okay. And um, but he had um um he he was my first he was he was the guy that hired me to work for Jacobson. And um and has been one of these people throughout my life that since then has just been he's just he's always he's just one of those people that come into your life that that that just kind of change the trajectory maybe. Um just just one of these really positive forces or or or people that you know show up. I still get I we're still in touch. He he I told him about the movie and um he called me and uh he said, Well, you should feel special because I can't tell you the last time I've been sitting in a theater by myself on a Tuesday afternoon.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah, I mean that's that's right. I mean like you know, some of our friends got out and actually saw the the film in theater, and it I it was my intention to do that. And it didn't run long. But I mean it was one time in the evening and Tyler and gone.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Yeah, it's it's unfortunate they don't movies don't have I mean, unless you're F1, Brad Pitt or you know, some of these others, that you're gonna have these even then I don't think you have the the you know, it used to run it used to have a theatrical run as long as they were making money. Right. It seems like it stayed until they I remember when we were kids, you know, Top Gun seemed like it was at the movies for a year. You know, I mean, and because people were still going. And and now it's just that you know everything's changed with you know streaming and and there's so many other ways. COVID accelerated that. Yep. Yep. COVID, I remember everybody, man. The what was it, the the Tiger King, the um was the the guy that was uh what was his name?

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Um was he uh the zoo, he had the zoo Yeah, I think it was the Tiger King.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

It was that and a Netflix special. You've got all these platforms now that need content.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

And you can watch it when you want to.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

You can watch it when you want to. Um from an acting standpoint, you know there's always somebody making something.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

There's a lot more opportunity in the industry. Yeah, maybe it pays less because there's less features and the budget's smaller.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

It's totally different than it was ten years ago, you know, and and it's y but you know, things have to kind of evolve, I guess. I mean, you you s streaming is here to stay. You know, people can watch what they want, when they want. Yeah, remember remember TiVo? You could deal because you could rewind.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

You could record it and rewind it.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

You could record it and rewind, and now it's just hey, man, or or back when even when we were younger, if you missed an episode of it, you had to wait a week. Or you even had to wait longer to catch it in reruns for that season.

SPEAKER_03 11:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

I mean that that's how crazy it's. I mean, now it's hey, we you know, we can watch it whenever we want and and as long as it is as long as they keep it on. But yeah, it's it's it's changed. It's changed things, but in a good way, I think. I mean, it gives everybody more opportunity ultimately.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

I mean, your business, what you learned at the Jacobson group, I'm assuming you took into what was GES, which is Gable Executive Search, right? Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

And for the audience, that business uh on a day-to-day basis, you would be doing what I um I partner with property and casualty insurance carriers um to find executive level positions for them.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Not adjusters, but executive level. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

I mean, I would uh you know, if if I have a client, I have clients that I've done a lot of work for and they'll it usually doesn't make sense to pay somebody my fee to find an adjuster. Because there's a lot of them out there. There's a lot of them out there and and usually they know who they're. But if they need a VP of claims or they need a chief claims officer, or then I work with them and I go steal somebody from somewhere else.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

I mean, that's pretty much what it is. I mean, if you want talent, the talents develop somewhere else. Sure. And you've done that since what, 2012 to the present?

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Well, from yeah, from GS. I started in recruiting in 2000.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

Right, but your own company. My own since tw is 2012. Yeah. I mean it and it really insurance, um you know, insurance is not the sexiest industry there is. Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

I mean it's it's straight numbers.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Uh people are upset. Man, it's it's it's rock solid. I mean, you you can't have a house, a business, a car. You I mean, there's everything is just intertwined. And and that's why back in, you know, 2008, 2009, you know, the big the big you know, downturn, the um AIG got in trouble. AIG got in trouble, but you know, the the the unemployment rate in the United States, I think, peaked at 10%. Insurance never got above four and a half.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

That is in their industry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

And now they'll they'll sit with their heads in the sand for a little while and won't do anything. They won't hire anybody, but they won't let people go. And and and then once somebody starts doing something, they'll all kind of look up and go, oh, I bet they're gonna do it. Then, you know, and then but it's it's just a hey, the the things have to be underwritten, claims have to be taken care of. Um that engine doesn't stop. No, it never stops. And it's not about um it's not about insurance companies don't take premiums so they can just keep them just to pay off claims, you know. I mean they they make money off of that.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

They take them to invest elsewhere.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Absolutely. And and one of the uh best at that, um one of my clients, I've got two good, really good clients, are both Berkshire Hathaway company. Yeah, oh yeah. And and they man, they weather just about any storm.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Because they have other sources of income.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

And they've been very, very smart of just their whole, you know, investment philosophy and their and their everything just is very and they don't buy companies to sell them. And they they buy them to help them reach whatever goals they want to reach. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Yeah, I mean, and just create value, right? I mean the Warren Buffett, he wasn't ever a corporate raider type. He was more of a a value-driven. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

He knows that if he could make a uh a capital investment that was just gonna increase his holdings, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Well, you picked a good industry if you look at it like this. If you say, okay, if I was gonna try to start dabbling in acting, yeah, I would certainly need a solid job with a consistent source of income, and it would be great if I was the boss.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Yeah. Yeah. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

That's exactly it. Trevor Burrus, Jr. And so that is what you in GES have had since 2012. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

That's the that that was part of the that was part of the plan, so to speak.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Is there any coincidence? I mean, are these some of the first jobs that you start to get around that time as far as an actor?

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Yeah, because I could put more time into it. And it wasn't I wasn't limited from um, hey, I've got two weeks of vacation.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Yeah, right. That's what I'm getting at.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

You're in control, you're the boss. And and this way I could control my own schedule. And and it's a it's a it's a you know, talking to pe you can talk to people from during normal work hours. You talk to them after, you know, I s I talk to people just as much after work hours than I would during the day. So I it's never like one it's never like um GS suffered, you know, right.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

No, I mean look, I mean uh my job is like that. I mean, it's it's quality over quantity of time. Yeah, absolutely. It's it's not a it's not a busy work thing. Right. Where it's you know that's where the smarter you are, the the faster you do things in a shorter period of time.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

I I mean I tell you, I le I was with the Jacobson group and then I left to go to another company, which I won't name, and I was there maybe five months, and it was awful.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Micromanaging you. Oh my gosh. I'm right on it.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

Counting your calls.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

I'm right. I'm right on it.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

Yeah, oh yeah. And of course they didn't tell me this any of this stuff during the interview.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Hey, uh we ought to we you didn't tell them about this product. And they would record phone calls. Most people don't realize, and I know this and use it in my strategy. When they call and want to talk to me, it's because they've been told that they need to call and talk to the attorney. And so I know that they want that call. Yeah. So I either don't let them have it or I use it how I want.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

I I just didn't like the fact that somebody was telling me I had to make X amount of phone calls. Yeah, because it makes no sense. It makes no sense.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

And and so But that's the world we've created.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Well, and it's funny, I would run. I would go I'm a runner, so I would go run every day at lunch. I mean, you look like you've let yourself go to me. Yeah. I I would go run every day at lunch. And and I got so just I would just I would pray the whole time I was running. You should listen to music. Then I would just start praying, God, what am I gonna do? Give me another job, please. Please, what am I gonna you know? You talk to David, you talk to Moses, you talk to I'm not saying, you know, just say something. And I walked in one day and they they called me and said, You're you're gone. And um and I was like, All right, man, sorry, sorry it didn't work out.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

But I mean, you know, sometimes a push is the best thing you can have in the world.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Absolutely. I I man, I I I guarantee it was a week, not even a week, that I had done that, prayed while I was running, and then I get fired. And and I, you know, I changed your life. I had the biggest grin. I'm you know, they're like, Well, we we're gonna need you can't have any clients, y'all keep them off.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

You knew you were gonna be able to be successful, right? Yeah. I just knew it wasn't there. Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

And it wasn't I I knew I'd done it long I'd done it long enough that this isn't who I am. You know, this this doesn't work for me. This isn't this isn't our structures, the companies that I was with two different things. And it it it just didn't you know, our ideas, our our views of the search business were totally different. And I knew it's one of those places where you walk in and you just feel like, what planet am I on?

SPEAKER_01 18:42

And it's easier to look back after you've been successful and be confident that that was the right move, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:49

I mean, at the time, you know, Christy's at home, there's two kids. Yeah, man. There's a mortgage, you're like, you know. Okay, I'm going home and telling Christy I just got fired.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Well, and she and and I well, I call her, I'm like, hey, I got fired. You know, and she's You try to put a smiley face on it. You try to look like this is our plan. This is great. And and and You might have even thrown in, This is God's plan.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

Well, and what I said was I I had an interview like m two days after, because I'd been talking to these other guys. And and I went, I wasn't all that excited because I thought, man, it's just the same thing, different place. And these just guys, these guys seem nicer, like they know more what they're and so I went out there and they're going through the telling me how they find people and everything. And I'm like, I could do that by myself. I don't need, you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

They just reinforced that you had your own business already in your midst.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

Yeah. They just all they all I did, they they explained to me. I thought maybe they had some really you know proprietary, you know, software that allowed them to find people that that I couldn't find. And then I found out they don't they're doing they're finding them just uh off a website like everybody else.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

And I thought, I knew that. I don't need Was that it?

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Was that what made you that was it? I went home and Christy was like, Did you get the job? I'm like, no. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Was she working at the time? Yes. What did she do?

SPEAKER_02 20:14

She was working um for a um a company that did oh what was the name uh I can't remember the name of it, but they uh put for medical sample bottles, they would put the um formaldehydes or whatever chemicals inside them to ship out to different doctors' offices. Did she always work? She she did that because it was just no, she didn't work. She once she found out, she worked at train for years. She was in um she was a logistics person for train when we lived in the world.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Did you know Greg Hodge? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

He was out there. Yeah. He was like in management or something. Yeah, yeah. I remember what she worked there when he first started working there.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

And he was on the he did the OSHA stuff. And but she worked there, and then when she got pregnant with our um twins, they put her on bed rest because she she had some high blood pressure stuff and she just never went back. And so and I worked for Jacobson and Tyler and and then we moved to Dallas or moved to Plano. And then 2008, 2009 really kind of just shook a lot of things up. And and then it this whole thing with this other company, she just bless her heart, you know, she's had to she's had to put up with a lot.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

She wasn't working though when you got fired and didn't get that second job. No.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

And that you still Oh, she was working by the time I got the second job.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Oh, she went back to work.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

She went back she went back to work. Um and and but I'll never forget, you know, do you get the job? No. I don't Yeah, that's that's not that's not what I'm here to tell you about.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

You know, and I'm here to tell you that I've got an idea to start our own company.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Yeah, and I I tell you what, man, I never doubted it.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

How did it go? early on.

SPEAKER_02 22:00

Great. I mean I mean, look, I made I made more money starting off flat footed in February of two thousand twelve. By the end of the year I made more m than I'd made with Jacobson. And I got to keep it all. You know? Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

And and So I mean this is good. This starts off good. Yeah, it starts off really.

SPEAKER_02 22:22

She's working. Um she um and then the next year, 2013 was even better. Um and I was always and I'm still this way a little bit. I'm I'm real spooked about you know I don't want to know all the numbers. You know I don't I mean give me an idea. I just you know I I don't want to because it if I feel like I've got a lot in the back, you know, maybe I'm not pushing or if I feel like I don't have as much as I want then I'm pressing and and so I would just you know Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is bliss. And and it's not that I'm not on top of our finance. That's not it. It's it's just more about hey if if hey I'm gonna play golf today.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

You know I mean it's my handles the books, okay? I don't know our bills. Yeah. And I'm like you in the sense that I just want to keep going. I keep going it feels like we're doing good. Nobody's I haven't seen a uh you know past due notice come by the house you know whatever.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Yeah nobody's nobody's showing up had locks or it's so you're I'm feeling pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

I really don't want to get in the weeds on the numbers and go like golly we sure spent a lot of money on the credit card. Because see that's how I would be I would be like you know what are we doing with it?

SPEAKER_02 23:33

I mean good Lord Christy come on I mean she is I tell you what man and we we um but yeah it worked out very um and and I get, you know, I knew that you know she's I understood her worry and sure but but I also tried to get her to understand look I I don't doubt this. This is not something that I can do this. And I remember the first time the first placement I made after on my own and it was best feeling that because I knew I could do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

You're paid by the placement and you probably get some upfront money for the salary of the guy you placed.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Yeah I got what what I usually do is is and I've I've I do some I have GS that I've ha always had and then about two about three years ago I started partnering with this uh these two other guys that do then we do just retain stuff. And and it's it's but I'll all GS is contingency, you know meaning hey if I don't if I don't if if if I feel it I get paid and and I get paid a percentage off of their comp. And and but I knew that if I could I I knew once I did it I I'm it was just like hey it's there's no turning back. It's just really a matter of it's like anything else these these number one it's not hard to sell contingent search hey let me try you're not paying me anything up front you know let me let me just see what I can you know I've got this all this experience I know what I'm doing and and that's how I developed you know all my clients how's the business gone say from 2012 to 2026?

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Where are we? Are we up and down all the way or are we straight line up?

SPEAKER_02 25:22

No it's it's it's I've never um man my my I've been blessed beyond belief. I mean I I've I've never had a year where I couldn't sleep at night.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Well I mean that's good.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

You know I've never um could I make more man if I wanted to work more yeah I could but quality of life means something it's not quality of life. It's like you said a while ago it's it's quality over quantity and and I work hard for my clients I appreciate that they you know I've done this long enough to know that it's not I'm not just some you know magic person that's just gonna you know you got to have the the the cooperation of your of your client to get them involved and to get them because nobody can sell an opportunity I can sell it but no but until you get them involved they can sell it like nobody else. And and it's really just building confidence with each other. They know that I know the type of person that they look for and I know that if I get them in front of if I get somebody in front of they're gonna sell that place and they're gonna sell the opportunity. And they're gonna close the deal for you. They're gonna close yeah and and they're gonna it's it's trying to take advantage of because 95% of the people I talk to aren't looking for a job. They're they're they're at least content where they are yeah they're content they're not unhappy they're open to opportunity and and that's what I mean translation more money? Yeah. That's and sometimes or better location. Well since COVID it's actually sometimes at home now because you've got people that are all right everybody's got to go home. All right now we want you to come back. It's like I don't want to come back. I don't want you know I like that 50 foot commute I have it's hard to put that toothpaste back in the tube. Exactly and and so it's it's it's a it's a the the people I talk to aren't necessarily looking you have to really approach them in a way of hey here's an opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

That's why you said snag other people earlier. Yeah. It's because that's you're talking about the person that's not really looking, right?

SPEAKER_02 27:34

Yeah. You just getting them to talk. It's it's you're if I'm selling anything it's a conversation.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Well okay so you're doing well things are going good every year. Where does that what's the first thing that gets into your mind that leads you either to an acting class, an audition or an agent? I always loved it.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

I mean my my you know mentioned my dad while ago my dad was I I mean I I was just always a movie Jim Gable.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Jim Gable. He has a history uh directing and producing major commercials in California.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

He did for years and years uh all through the 60s and 70s he um he uh directed commercials big company Budweiser Alco Seltzer uh you know he did he did the biggest at the time um they shot an Alka Seltzer commercial down at in Fair Park in Dallas that at the time was the largest they had 5,000 extras. It must have been a crowd scene yeah and and and they won a um it won a uh um he's won two Cleos. I mean you know the commercial um so he was very good and very um very much in demand and and did a lot of work and he he um I think just burned him out he peaked real early you know he was success early makes it it's like it's like having a number one album as a rock band yeah right off the bat.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

And then everything out is pressure and it's hard to meet and the industry's changing at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

And he did not keep up with the technology changes. He he moved into um he got into doing some documentaries and then eventually he tried to make a movie and his investors pulled out. So he he had some footage shot and then it just and then he put a bunch of his money in it and then that meant they were gonna my parents were going to divorce.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

Yeah I mean it was because uh you know financial strain is real stress.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

Oh yeah right yeah yeah and and he was yeah he was he was doing very well um how old were you when this happened I went he tried seventy eight when they got your parents got divorced they got divorced in eighty right when you got there or is that why after we moved to Tyler.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

Okay so big change in your life you get here your parents then split up while you're here and uh does your dad stay around Tyler or does he go somewhere he went down to um Austin I think and stayed there for a while.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

He was in Austin working for a an agency um an ad agency down there. And then he just kind of went from this agency to that agency to this to then he opened his own and came back to Tyler and um he just never you know like I said he peeked when he never found success after Well he got it's like I don't think he wanted to go back. If somebody would have said hey Jim come back to California we'll let you do he I think he would have said you know what I almost had a heart attack once a week doing that. I don't want to do that anymore. And and I just think he had the energy for it and because that's a young because he lived out there probably six months out of the year and and was working hard and plus you know all that my dad was also bipolar.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Yeah I mean I d I didn't know that and uh he was I mean I think you've said sometimes to me before in the past that you know he puts he's he's really uh happy and energetic and uh you know very personable great outgoing but that's not always him it's not always him and he would and and even when he was him people either loved him or hated him.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

You know he was that he had that big personality and and and so he um I think it just it just eventually um he just couldn't maintain you know the the it just you know Los Angeles was too big Tyler was too little you know you know our buddies many of their parents got divorced.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Yep. You know we go through the guys that I'm thinking about that are watching. And uh it had a different effect on on each of them I think in certain ways. You know some of them uh were dedicated to success financially no matter what uh some of them were dedicated to family no matter what, right? Yep. Because of probably uh an experience that they could want your kids to experience. You it was personal, right? Absolutely. How would you say that affected the way that you you know became a husband, a father and a family man?

SPEAKER_02 32:09

Well it number one we had my parents had the weirdest divorce ever I think we still went on vacations together. Um it was almost like they were you know it's just really strange.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

I mean okay so they got along they got along they got along and and you know I think even at one point years later my dad asked my mother to marry him again and she was no no no so you don't think they got divorced to maybe divorce a financial obligation that your dad had?

SPEAKER_02 32:40

No they got divorced because they just um they're both stubborn.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

All right just hardheaded just hardheaded you know and just you know they're when you've been with somebody for a long time it's hard to cut the cord.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

It is it is and and and my mom you know to to the my dad died in 2023 she loved him and you you just couldn't help but love him. I mean he just he and I didn't you know we were estranged for years before he died so I never got to I never got to talk to him um I think the last time I talked to him was 2017. And I mean that's got to be a whole hole in you that was tough man it was it was it was because you know I think it when you're young sometimes it's just hard you we never forgive our parents for not being perfect.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Yeah like I mean I I'm I know exactly what you're talking about. You you say look you know I'm sitting here I can see it how couldn't you have seen it when you were my parent you were not my I was the kid you were the parent how in the world could you not see that I know I know and you're like it's almost like a a frustration slash resentment that partners together and sticks with you for a while. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

It's hard to shake it is very hard to shake and you get to where um in my case with Jim it was you know he he I knew it was gonna be well I'll tell you this this guy called me that was a friend of his um and said you hadn't talked to your dad have you no you need to talk to him I said well he did this this this I'm not gonna talk well yeah you still need to talk to him I said why he said because he's gonna be gone and maybe pretty soon or sooner than you think. Was he sick? I you know I Or did you know? I didn't know and I don't think he knew he just knew that he wasn't doing as well and a week later he died and and I thought you know it's almost like you some bit you died right before I got a chance to talk to you or make amends or or just talk and and and then to make it even worse, you know I'm not perfect. I I'm my kids have had to show me grace and I didn't show that to him. Even though I felt like I was in the right if I explained situations or whatever they'd go, yeah, that's justified that you wouldn't talk to him and then but there's at a point there is no justification at your father.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

And you know it's it's hard but you're right you know you only have one father right um he might have put the spark that became a fire in you with regard to acting he did he definitely did and I know that was your original question and I can say that he um that's always one area that we bonded in. Maybe his gift back to you.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

Yeah we always if we ever had movies were our our language that we could both of you love movies. We love movies and it and it even though there were some hard times you know maybe we weren't getting along or we weren't whatever we could always talk about movies. And and and he had such great ideas and knowledge about you know he just he he he did my dad was flawed and did a lot of things wrong but the things he did right he did really right and and he was truly talented and he knew he had a great eye and and from a camera from a from a um photography stamp I mean he would he would light your apartment and it would be perfect. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 36:36

I mean technically he knew he just how to do that.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

He just knew and and well one guy that he hired out of college um that his name is Jeff Kimball. Jeff Kimball worked for my dad for I don't know how many years and went on to he became the director of photography for Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, all and you know, after working for my dad.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

And so sometimes it's the breaks and sometimes you make your breaks or get in the way of your chances.

SPEAKER_02 37:09

I don't think that he ever see that's the thing. I don't think he ever really because they tried to get him to move to Los Angeles when they hired him this company that he worked for and he's no I I I can I can do it from Dallas.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

And so I don't know that he really wanted to you know um be out there and be you know you know if I was digging deep on him and I I don't have a lot to work with but I would say that uh if he was in fact bipolar and if in fact there was huge anxiety swings in the business, then sometimes you'd shy away from that. Like you know you wouldn't want that responsibility.

SPEAKER_02 37:44

I don't think he did. I mean I think at his higher points he would Yeah and then it would just be, you know, he couldn't because there were days, man, there were I'd come home from school and he'd be in bed at 230 in the Aaron I mean that's kind of like depression type stuff. And he would be back there. But then he did this documentary long long time ago about um some civil war in Angola and he had all this footage that he had put together that and he worked I mean I didn't see it. I mean he was just I mean he would work twenty hours a day and then he would just crash.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

And was he just editing film?

SPEAKER_02 38:23

Editing film, um putting everything together, you know, trying to find footage that he could use because he wasn't going to go to Africa, you know, to shoot in and so but I mean he was just very he did everything a hundred percent. And and so there were a lot of things and then you learn after they're gone or I did anyway was well I don't need to focus on bad stuff. I mean you can't do anything about it.

SPEAKER_01 38:51

Right I mean there's nothing you can do about it. You don't know what you know your parents upbringing was ro there's a lot of there's a lot of variables. And his was rough man he was from Dangerfield, Texas. Trevor Burrus And most of uh the generation before us was likely rougher it softened as we've gotten older and our kids and your dad did he have a funeral?

SPEAKER_02 39:13

Yeah we had a service for him and and um he was cremated and we had a service for him there in in Lone Star or Dangerfield. Did you go? I went yeah oh yeah and my sister bless her heart she was the one that really kind of took when he went into he died of a he had three aneurysms aortic aneurysms the doctor in typical gym fashion said I don't know how you'd walked around you could have died at any point in the last however many years with these you know that's just my dad which and so they took two of them out. The third one was really big and he died when they were um they took it out but he it was just they told you know my sister that he may not survive. I was in New York for work and she called me and said hey he's he passed he's oh he's you need to get here because he's he's not doing well. So when I I was um I left and and got to the airport and she called me right back and said he's gone.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Do you think anything about your ex relationship with your dad you know shaped how you uh were as a husband with your kids and what was motivating you as important?

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Yeah yeah I mean look to be honest some of it was hey don't do this. Right. You know a lot of it was that's bad. That's bad. Don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

Um but um I mean to keep your marriage together to not get divorced is was that ever a front and center in your mind at all?

SPEAKER_02 40:47

Yeah it was I mean I you know I've told my kids and I believe it 100% you know Christy you know marry somebody that's gonna make you better you know and and I always felt like that's she um she's been able to do she made me want to be better and and he did too in certain ways that because I always got a sense from him he would tell you man I screwed up with your mother you know I should have done this or I shouldn't have done that he there's times he's told me don't do that don't be like this don't be like you know don't be like me and but there were the the the the Jim could not manage money at all I mean he he's the type that man he'd have seven bucks left at the end of the month to try to find hey what can I get for seven bucks you know and and but he would um he he had a good heart he really did and and it just the the the heart's willing the flesh was weak you know and um I you know the older you get you realize what is the old saying every bad man is surprised by how much good is in him and every good man surprised by how much bad is in him and I think that that was a pretty good a pretty good description of him and he um but as far as you know movies and and my dad didn't like actors number one I mean from a director's standpoint he thought they were just furniture that spoke you know and but he um he loved movies and and you know I don't know there wasn't any one I just I love a good story.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

Well I let's let's find Todd Gable's entry point. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

My entry point it has to be an agent it has to be an acting class my agent my entry point was um my entry point was a movie called Grim and short story foot full length full feature length horror dude made it for like$2,000 I'm sure that was good quality. And it was his name I gotta tell him his name's Adrian Santiago I and I hey how do you get into it though? I saw this there used to be I you know because I always kind of looked I always thought you know what if I could do this I'd love to just be in a movie. Okay. So I start looking around online there's used to have this website called Dallas Observer film. It used to be called shortfilmtexas.org is that where you got into why no no that's a different thing but this other one and they would list these um hey they're auditioning for this you just answered a call I just answered a call and you showed up and they said we're having auditions at the at the Hilton or some hotel at some Marriott in Halton City or somewhere so I drive all the way up where's your acting experience at this point when you go to the Hilton zip up you just show up like me and I'm saying I'm going in.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

I can do it. I can do it. I've watched enough movies. What are the lines? Yeah where's the cheek you know Jim get over here yeah exactly

SPEAKER_02 44:00

And but I did. I they sent me the um the the little the sides and I I showed 'em to him. And he said, Read 'em. Just read 'em. And and what he was saying, what he was telling me was, and I still do this, I read it as many times as I can. And you know, I tr I I tell myself I'm gonna read this a hundred times.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Just what to try to get the inflection to say it the right way.

SPEAKER_02 44:29

Well it's it's it's it's it's it's more than that. It's it's like I mean, there's a million different ways people do to get into these characters that they play. Some people, you know, method acting and all that stuff. Right. I don't say that there's any one way that's better than the other, but so the the goal is to suspend belief.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

You know, you're trying to separate you're trying to separate reality from you and I talking to actually me believing that you and I are in a movie and this is we're not really talking.

SPEAKER_02 44:58

And but and you have to do that convincingly. All right. Did you get the job? I did. And so but what happens is you read that enough times and you start to you start to, you know, you you you you start to Are you thinking, I can act?

SPEAKER_00 45:15

Well, no, I I didn't I'm an actor. I've never been first class.

SPEAKER_01 45:19

Here's what I did. Let me read this. I would go I would go to Where's Linda? I need a talent agent. I really believe that I could act.

SPEAKER_02 45:27

Well, I you know look at the life I am acting. I I went well, we all do. And I went and we shot this movie in Joshua, Texas in the summer, and it was hot as a dog. It was How many lines did you have?

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Man, I had uh I had more than you would think. Where would this even be seen, this kind of movie, for two thousand dollars? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 45:48

I saw it and we they showed it to us at the at the um studio movie grill, you know, just after we finished it, he you know, we we got to see it, and it was beautifully shot. This guy was gifted from a cinematography standpoint.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Were you killed in the movie?

SPEAKER_02 46:03

Yeah, I was killed in the movie. And um and uh the and I tell you what, man, hey man. We're in Orange Beach, Texas, or Orange Beach, Alabama, 2013 or something like that, eating at a McAllister's me, Christy, my boy, and about to walk out, and this guy that works there comes up and goes, Hey, were you in Grim? Were you in a movie called Grim? I said, You gotta be kidding me. And I was looking at my, I'm like, Did y'all put him up to you know? He was like, No, no, no, I've seen it. It's really good. I thought that was you. And I'm like, one person.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:40

I I had no idea that anybody would.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

More people might have seen it than you realize.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

But loves these kind of, you know, post-apocalyptic slasher slasher whore kind of, you know, that's what I'm saying. Now were you killed in the movie, Todd? I was shot. Okay. I was I was I was shot. And um but it was a fantastic experience, and then when I saw it, I thought, I I could do this.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

I could do it. Well, you've okay. You need to have a distinctive look to be an actor, I would think, right? There's a lot of guys. I mean, a lot of guys, you know, have kind of a general same look. I mean, you know, you're in shape, you're thin, you have blonde hair, you know, uh you're tan, you you have kind of a look where a guy could see you and notice you, I guess, right? Right. Absolutely. Do you think that's helped you that look in acquiring some of these commercial jobs, some of these big parts?

SPEAKER_02 47:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Plus I've got cop jaw.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:35

That's what they tell me.

SPEAKER_01 47:36

I mean, because every time I see you, you're in a cop uniform or a general.

SPEAKER_02 47:39

Yeah, absolutely. I'm I'm military, police, um, you name it. And and but yeah, I think there's a yeah, there's a definite th that's probably a big thing that people it's like you see Carrie Elwa's in and Dead Man's Wire not looking like Carrie Elwa's because he went against tight, and that's very hard to pull off.

SPEAKER_01 47:59

Well, you know, I've I've got this absolute commercial that I found on you, and this has to be early on in your career. Chris, do we have that? Okay. Let's uh Yeah Look now you are thinner today than you were then. Well, yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_02 48:22

You think yeah, yeah, yeah. Little um Yeah, absolutely. I mean you're an avid.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

You're having jogger.

SPEAKER_02 48:29

I'm a jogger plus, you know, you just age and you that was fun.

SPEAKER_01 48:34

That was a good day. All right, so you've got a absolute's a major brand at this time. You're in a commercial. How do you get there?

SPEAKER_02 48:40

Does your talent agent play No, that was a that was a um these those guys worked for or those guys were at the Arts Institute of Dallas and they were film students and they had there was a contest um I guess it was by Absolute or whatever, that the best spot, you know, they would feature it on their website. You know, they had they had these guys that would submit, you know, these commercials, these spec commercials, and and that they I don't know if they wanted or would you get paid for something like that?

SPEAKER_01 49:12

No, I didn't get paid. Okay, what's the first job gig that you ever got paid for as an actor?

SPEAKER_02 49:17

As an actor, first thing I never got paid for was um trying to think.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

I mean, some people would frame the check.

SPEAKER_02 49:27

You know, I go, hey. I d I guess so, but I never looked at it as a I never turned anything down that I wanted to do because of money because I I never negotiated with anyone. You just like doing it, so you wanted opportunities. And I knew that I needed experience. And and I was very proactive about, hey, what do I need to do? What do I need to I need to find an agent. I need to key maker was the first thing I got paid on.

SPEAKER_01 49:52

It was a short film. Okay. What about uh your your agent that you have now? Is that the agent you've always had? One of them. Okay. So um you get this agent and uh an agent what it opens up more doors or is able to push you more places?

SPEAKER_02 50:09

Well, they're able you get access to um and by the way, if anybody's wanting an agent, make sure that they number one, you never pay an agent up front. That's not legit. And number two, that they have contacts that are actual you want them to know the casting directors. You know, a good question is do you have relationships with the major casting directors in this region? And and because that's who that's where it all starts.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

That's the friendships that that allows them to say, hey, I've got uh uh I've got a Todd Gable right here. Yeah, those are the gatekeepers. Yeah, and those that's good advice for somebody who's looking about looking at this. When you get an agent, uh you shouldn't have to pay them, and they should know people.

SPEAKER_02 50:55

They should know who you like if especially now when you've got stuff that's shooting here in Texas, and that, hey, if they've got relationships with the caching directors that are handling those, that's what you're looking for. You want somebody who the caching directors are used to working with. And the the the agent I have, Linda McAllister, I mean, everybody, you know, she's yeah, she's she's people know her.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

People know her. What about what about a a part, a gig that you get for the first time kind of moving up that you think, huh, this is a this is an elevation. This is progress. I I'm I'm going somewhere, maybe. That was, yeah, that was um What was that?

SPEAKER_02 51:34

That was Dead Man's War. I mean, that was this latest one. I mean, that was such a big Well, I'll back up. Um the first thing I did that was, you know, um network, yeah, was was a show called In Plain Sight. Do you remember you ever see In Plain Sight?

SPEAKER_00 51:54

Yeah, I mean, I know that's on your bio kind of as one of your primary things. That was the first thing an American horror show.

SPEAKER_02 52:00

American Horror Story, I did that, and and there was some other ones with like claws, devious maids, just bit parts in some quasi-horror movies. Well, no, no, that well, yeah, I did all the you know, man, I mean, here or in Dallas, I I did every 48-hour film festival where you have to write it, shoot it, edit it, show it in two days. I did all that stuff. I went to you know, stay it out till three in the morning to to to shoot scene. I mean, I've anything that you have to do to pay dues, I've I was gonna say I did that.

SPEAKER_01 52:35

That's what they s call paying your dues in the industry.

SPEAKER_02 52:38

Because you you have to know A, you have to get footage for real so that you can show somebody. What you look like on film. Absolutely. And that sh proves that you can act that somebody's, you know. Yeah, right. And then the the and then the um In Plain Sight was the first one. And then uh American Horror Story. Um, I mean, they're yeah, they're bit part, but you know what? You don't look at it. I mean, it's Any work is great when you're doing it and you're kind of aspiring to be an actor. Number one, at the time, American Horror Story was the number one TV show in the country.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Right. I mean, it's you're in a little piece of something that's really hot.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

Yeah, that everybody sees. Uh-huh. Same thing with Lioness. Right.

SPEAKER_02 53:22

You know, yeah, I'm opening a door and I'm saying two, three lines, but you know what? It's it's for you, Mr. President. It's every, you know, man, I'm not sure. Hey, but I'm not in there, right? Yeah. I mean, I'm I'm I'm thrilled to death.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

All right. So you've been in Lioness. You've had maybe three episodes where you've been showcased a a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 53:40

Yep. And then I get a call from my agent last December of 2025. Dead Man's Wire. She sends me it's you she sends me an email, the tape request for um this movie called Dead Man's Wire, and I notice on the request that it's directed by Gus Van Sant. All right. And so who I definitely know of because I mean he Goodwill hunting, drugstore cowboy, he is a famous well-respected icon.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

All right. So you see that and you say, hey, I want to be in part of this now. This is a project that's way above what I've been getting in.

SPEAKER_02 54:18

Yeah, it's like I this is great. Um and and so I'd actually auditioned for a different role and sent my tape in and my agent.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

What role did you audition for it? Yeah, I can't remember.

SPEAKER_02 54:32

They cut it. I don't even think it was in it.

SPEAKER_01 54:35

Good for you, huh? Yeah, it was uh You got Gene, uh you got the police chief.

SPEAKER_02 54:38

I got the police and and I I booked the um well, let me back up. So she I sent the uh the the the the audition and my agent calls me back in two days and she says, Hey, um the director wanted to know if you would be interested in uh in a larger role. And I thought, are you messing with me? You know, and she said, No, I'm not. And she she said, or I said, Yeah, I would. She goes, good, that's what I told them. And so Yeah, I mean it came back and it was it's a much bigger role. And and I and when they sent me the the stuff, I thought, wow, this is the first day I was on set, I was thinking somebody's gonna come up and tap me on the shoulder and go, Oh, we're sorry. Something but there's been a huge mistake here.

SPEAKER_00 55:26

Talk about not feeling part of the group.

SPEAKER_02 55:28

Yeah, I was just like, you know, I'm not I'm in. You can't get me out of here now.

SPEAKER_01 55:32

But I mean I got a contract, don't I? I mean, is there a contract? How do you get into something? You yeah, there's a contract. You don't just show up and say I'm here, do you?

SPEAKER_02 55:39

No, you I mean you sign, you do all the paperwork, you do all the paper. They agree to pay you something. All the little things that I'd never been like I was number six on the call sheet. That's a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 55:49

I mean, that was I I'm like You're talking about behind Carrie Elway's Al Pacino. Well they didn't have Pacino on there. I mean, they had, you know, nobody knew about Pacino until the end of the almost.

SPEAKER_01 55:59

Yeah, because he was like a one-day shoot.

SPEAKER_02 56:01

Yeah, he was they didn't even ha I don't even think they had him set up. But but uh I mean I I think the day before my last is when I heard they were gonna bring Pacino or that he was gonna be a part of the city. He was gonna play the father of the guy that was captured. Yep. And and but yeah, it was you know, I I it was um it was a totally new experience and then when I started reading the sides and the stuff, and I thought, wow, that's a lot. That's a lot of uh that's a lot of that's a lot of dialogue, a lot of scenes, a lot of and and I mean I just and the first day that I was on the set was at the end of the movie, they have a courtroom scene. And and so I was there for that. We shot it in Shelbyville, Kentucky, a little b town right outside of the country.

SPEAKER_01 56:47

Because you were there watching the trial of Tony Caristas. Yep, yep. In which he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

SPEAKER_02 56:53

Yeah. And so uh I didn't have any lines, I just had reaction shelves.

SPEAKER_00 56:57

Right, you're just watching me and Carrie sitting there next to each other, and we're just you know You're the guy who really did Tony dirty.

SPEAKER_01 57:04

You promised him the five million and the immunity.

SPEAKER_00 57:08

I didn't promise him the five million. I was just carrying I was you relayed the message. I was carrying out policy. Right. You know, I was uh but the district attorney would ultimately renege on that deal. He did. He did it.

SPEAKER_02 57:18

That's the that's the you know, George March, that's the guy's name. That he's the bad guy. But they that was the first day on my list, and I didn't have any lines, so I'm just reacting. Everything's great.

SPEAKER_01 57:28

So they shot the last of scene of the movie first.

SPEAKER_02 57:31

Well, that was my first day. Right. And and so then I come back two or three days later, and that's when we start shooting the scenes where I have dialogue and everything, and and we shot the movie 19 days. The whole movie. Yeah. So for reference, most movies take at least 30 days. And we shot it 19 days blistering cold, Louisville, Kentucky. I mean, it did not get above 10 degrees. Really? It was uh it's coldest I've ever been in my life. And and we shot outside at night. You know, one night we were out, there was 11 below.

SPEAKER_01 58:05

And Yeah, that's cold. Was this supposed to be Indianapolis? Yeah. Were they pretending like it was where it really happened, which is Indianapolis? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was yeah, they were just using Louisville. Because I mean the whole scene uh is basically, you know, Tony, he's upset about a mortgage company that he thinks uh gypped him out of some land. Yep. Um he goes to take revenge. Yep. Um he becomes friendly with a radio announcer, who who I think is played by Coleman Domingo in this case. Yeah. And then ultimately the police chief, you We figure out a way to, hey, if this goes bad, because he's the he wants to have a he wants to have a news conference.

SPEAKER_02 58:44

Right. And that's his big thing. And so we figure out, well, hey, if this thing goes south or goes sideways, what are we gonna do?

SPEAKER_01 58:52

Well, because there was a concern in the documentary I watched about him killing the son of the mortgage company that that he felt screwed him on. On camera. On camera. Everybody was like, should we keep showing this or not? Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 59:06

And they were really it was probably a bigger concern than maybe most people thought. You know, they were really thinking this guy might get this guy might shoot this guy.

SPEAKER_01 59:16

And because of the name of the movie, Dead Man's Wire, it was difficult to clip Tony without accidentally killing the other guy. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 59:25

Because it was, yeah, the dead man's wire was the the the contraption where it was the the wire was around his neck, um, connected to the to the trigger, which was connected further to the wrist. So if anybody tried to separate them, or if he stripped and fell or whatever, it was that was it.

SPEAKER_01 59:42

And he'd covered the bolt or of the shotgun that was sought off with like a case where nobody could really kind of grab it or jam it or stop it, right? Yep, yep, yep. All right, so that's context for people which we want uh we want everybody to go watch this movie. Uh for those that are watching this and don't understand, Todd Gable, our celebrity from East Texas, has is in a movie with a lot of dialogue that's been at the theaters. It's now left, and we think sometimes at the end of February it'll be on Apple TV. Yep. That's what I've I've been told um rumor at it, that it was next Tuesday, the 24th, or sometimes, you know. If you never did anything else in your life, this must be, you know, a a a pinnacle moment for a career that was born out of just, hey, I just want to go down and see if I can go to the holiday inn and read a few lines.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

Well, that and and plus I you know, you never want to disrespect people that do this. Um Right, because they're serious. They're serious. And I and I admit I wasn't as serious at first. When you started. But you have to get serious and if you want to do it. And and for somebody who doesn't live in Los Angeles, who will probably never live in Los Angeles, I feel very fortunate that I've been a part of some of the things that I have, especially this.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:01

Aaron Powell The world has turned for you though, because you know, there was a period of time a few years ago when, you know, there weren't a lot of parts. No. Um and then uh COVID. You couldn't COVID and then we have Taylor Sheridan. We have just an overall uh industry that seems attracted to Texas for some reason to shoot films.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:23

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:24

And that's hey, man, Taylor Sheridan has single-handedly rescued the Texas film. I mean, there there's that's not just me saying I mean, No, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:34

We're gonna talk about him a little bit later, but I want to talk about your movie. I want to go on to the next slide and talk about some of the things that you got to experience. Oh, yeah. I mean, uh it's one thing to be in a movie. It's another thing to have it premiere in California and and be on the red carpet. I mean, what was that experience like?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:52

It was um that red carpet is looked like it's a mile long. Were you nervous?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:58

Did you have to step out and walk down it?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:01

You have to well, there's all these I mean there's you I don't know if there's another shot, but there's a I mean you're like three or four rows deep. Of cameras. Cameras and and you step out at first, you they hand you a piece of paper and put your name on it, and you turn to a photographer the first one, they take a picture and to show, identify who you are, and then you just go. And there you go. And then you just walk, and then you uh And they tell the the good thing is this is the first time I've ever done it. And seriously, that carpet looks like it was a mile long because you gotta walk all the way down the end, and so but they'll tell you, hey Todd, you know, you'll stop, hey, turn around this way, you know, or uh y they'll kind of you know work with you and tell you what, and then you just wait a couple seconds, you walk down a few more feet, do the same thing. You're trying to just take pictures. You're looking good. And then there's a lady at the end that's got a microphone, and I'm like, geez. I was like, she wants to walk. And so I could see her, but you know.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:00

Were you nervous?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:00

Yeah, and I was like, I'm like, do I ignore her?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:03

What I just and I thought, you know, screw it. I'm gonna go tell and so What's the first question she asked?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:08

She only she asked me these softball questions about the movie. Oh, yeah, that's fine. How was it to work with just Van Sang? I mean, it was or did you think Tony was gonna get away with it? You know, I mean Can you believe that Al Pacino was in the movie? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And and and that was um and then after that you go around, there's a by that wall, there's a waiting room back there that you wait in until it's all done, and then they put us they sent us into the to the theaters to watch it. And then the um and everybody had a and that was from That's what I wanted to talk about next.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:40

We've talked a little bit about you you're in the movie a lot, but for the first time you had like three different scenes where there was some real dialogue.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:47

Yeah, that's when we're trying to figure out that scene right there is w um we're trying to get um how are we gonna kill the phone? Well, well no, no, no. That's a different we're trying to get uh him on the phone with Al Pacino and or with Al Pacino's character. Um Tony and ML.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:07

Tony was really mad at the father. He was mad at the father. And the father was on vacation or something. When he went there, he just took the son. Yeah, because the son happened to be there. Trevor Burrus, Jr. And he worked there too. And so did we ever find out whether Tony was delinquent in his note or really got screwed by the mortgage company? He really got screwed by the mortgage company. All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:25

They he was he was delinquent, my understanding. He was delinquent, but it was it was never really enforced.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:34

They weren't going to foreclose on him, they were working with him, and then all of a sudden somehow the bank there was somebody else interested, and they they swooped it out from underneath it. Yeah. And so old Tony.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:45

Old Tony. It was, you know, the it was the old um uh you know, David vs.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:51

Goliath kind of a Right. That's how the movie is. And and Tony's almost a sympathetic character.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:57

Man, and that's that you've got to give credit to Bill Skarsgaard. Man, that guy's incredible. And I knew him from his, you know, most people He played Tony. Pennywise, yeah, from the it stuff.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:07

But you can't really see him in that.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:08

He's a kind of costume. And but you see him in that he plays Tony. Uh-huh. To take somebody doing something bad and and have them build sympathy with an audience, man, that that's I mean, that's kind of what he was. Yeah. And he's the movie is sneaky funny. And it's it's and I remember.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:26

Well, Tony was kind of funny in real life on that documentary when you listened to him.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:30

But if you watch and when you see it, you'll see what I mean. And and and it wasn't we didn't shoot it as a comedy. It was never uh when we delivered our, you know, we did our scenes and all this stuff. I mean, yeah, there was some stuff that was maybe could have been happening, but I watched it and I found myself laughing at parts that I didn't you know, that I don't think that they were written to be funny. To be funny. And and they just but the way he delivered it and the, you know, the you know, there's a scene where he's told them Hostage. There's a scene where he's got him a hostage. He's got this guy. He's got a high around his neck. He's like this. And somebody prank calls him because it's been on the news. Somebody prank calls Tony and says, Why don't you go ahead and kill him? And so he hangs up the phone and the and the guy goes, Who's that? He goes, Man, there's some sick people out here. And he told this guy hostage. That is funny. That's hilarious. And but that kind of, you know, that but yeah, that's a great picture.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:28

This is a party. A cocktail party for the premiere, yeah. We people, there's I mean, most people would recognize Carrie Elways. He's been in Princess Bride, everything. Many other things. Nicest guy in the world. His hair is blonde like it normally is here. It was dark in the movie. Yep. But you know, do actors are people friendly or are they uh That's the nicest guy.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:50

I I mean he is hands down the the I mean, number one, most professional um guy's incredible. He's been in everything. Yeah, I mean he's had a good career.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:03

Oh my gosh. Can a guy like that make any money over the years? Oh yeah. He's been he's done well. And um he um but he had no reason to be nice to me.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:11

I mean, he had no reason to be a good one. Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:12

I mean a lot of people are are, you know, like leave me alone, stay away.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:15

He uh you know, he would we'd been there about a week and it was so cold and we didn't have anything to do. I didn't have to be we weren't my call time wasn't till like 7 30 at night. So I had all day just to do nothing. And I look outside, I'm down there doing my laundry at the Marriott. And they got a washing machine? Yeah. Yeah. I look out, I look out there and I see this one little in the back alley, I see this r this this little block of sunshine up against this wall. And so I think, you know what? I'm gonna go stand in that just to get some feeling about side. You know, it's like I don't know how cold it was. So I'm sitting there doing that. He comes walking across the parking lot. Hey. And we sit there and just talk for an hour and a half.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:01

Really?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:01

Yeah. Just about, you know, stuff, this, that, just happy in life.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:07

Yeah. You know, did he have a wife, a family, something he cared about?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:10

He's got a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter. His house burned down.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:14

In in the fires?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:15

Yeah. Before he right before he ke left to come out there. And we talked about that. He just he's one of those guys, man, that you just think, this is for real.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:26

And it it really is. Because uh you've met others that weren't that way?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:30

Well, I've met others that are not mean. I've never worked with anybody that was just a jerk, but you just kind of get a sense that it's hey, there's I'm this way and then I'm I'm some other way when you're not around. Yeah. You know, but he because we spent so much time, you know, w working together, you know, we would you know, we would I mean i i they would have to tell us to shut up, we'd be cracking jokes about each other, you know, on the set.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:55

And most of your scenes involve Carrie. Because he was part of the police group.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:00

Well, the first day, we're sitting there together in the courthouse in Shelbyville, and and the first day I met him, and so we're just sitting there and they got the camera set up doing the reaction shots. So they do him first, and and so then they move the camera over here to do mine. Well, he starts leaning forward. I'm like, and I said, are you gonna keep hogging my shot, dude? Well, you you know. And he thought that was the funniest thing he's ever, you know. I was and I was halfway joking. Right. You know, I'm just but it's from that point on, it was you just mess with each other.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:39

Who chose Who chose Kentucky as the location to shoot this movie? Producers, executive producers, and was there a reason for that?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:47

Yeah, Kentucky has their those low tax um, you know, there's a lot of tax breaks for them to shoot there plus poor state. And plus it um they the home the the base camp for this thing was the old um some Louisville newspaper that went under that they had this massive plant and this massive building that was I mean, I don't know how many square feet. I mean, you know, they produced the paper there. They had then they had offices. I mean, it's humongous. And how did y'all use that building? They they used it. Um they I don't you know I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:23

Maybe you have to have equipment or something at a central location so that you couldn't.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:26

They built sets in there. They had um that's where they kept all the retro seventy stuff. You had wardrobe and hair, all the everything that was in there. Then you had outside, that's where you had all the trailers and all the stuff and and So that's where it all That's where it all centered.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:41

Right. In order to pull something off in 19 days, you'd have to have everything pretty close by. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:47

And my understanding was that they were trying to um Carrie's brother, big brothers, got in Cash in El Wes, and he was the executive producer. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:55

So he's he put money behind this film.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:57

He did. And and he was the one that was really kind of the driving force about Kentucky. I think they would like to start doing more in Kentucky, and because they like the fact that it's you can have multiple, you can have an inner city look, you can get five minutes out of town, you're out in the country, you you know, you've got different things that you, you know, you've got different settings.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:18

Does Cashin like Texas as a spot too? I don't know. I never asked him.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:22

Yeah, I mean I just wondered. I you know, I think they all you know, Cashin is he's um man, he's produced over I don't know how many um these independent movies.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:34

And and a lot of people Is there money to be made in that?

SPEAKER_03 1:11:38

Yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:38

I mean like you know, if somebody wants to contribute to a movie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:43

Um when they when they I don't know what the figures are, but you know, when the distributor because when you're when you're independent, you know, obviously you don't have a studio behind you, which is you know, studio handles all distribution, you know. The but you also don't have the influence. You don't have I mean you could make your own movie if you're independent.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:04

You just have to be able to distribute it. Is it easier with the scene? Is it easier with streaming services now?

SPEAKER_02 1:12:09

Well when you're a Gus fans, you know. It's it's uh they knew they were gonna that's why they took it to the hot to the to the festivals to to get a distributor and have people see it, like it, and then they end up in a bidding war, and this the the the company that ended up with distribu with distribution was uh a company called um Rokay, R-O-W-K.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:31

And so they would shoot be the one to negotiate either Apple TV, Netflix, yeah, they handle all the time.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:36

Right. I mean, that's how it works in the business. And and so but they Gus is all a long time, I mean, he's been uh I mean one of the I mean, he's what he's known for, is independent. Um because they don't want the influence.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:52

Yeah, because you think too bad you think about Goodwill Hunting, that picture. Yeah. You know, it was two guys with a script that is Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and this guy made that movie, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:04

And and more and more those two started something that that now people it's it's you talk to people now, and it's like, man, I want to I need to write my own stuff. I need to I need to start doing putting my own stuff together.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:21

And I mean I mean, they got a company where they make movies, but sometimes they act in them. Yeah. Right? Like Rip. Right. That that show that's recently been put out. Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:33

But they ultimately, I mean, the first thing they did was, you know, they wrote Goodwill Honey, you know, for themselves.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:40

Well, you know, a lot of people don't know. Swiss or Stallone, you know, he wrote Rocky. Um, he had a by I mean, people wanted it immediately, but they wanted somebody else in that role. To play him. To play him.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:53

He held out and said no. He wasn't that pleasing to look at back then Rocky won.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:58

And he was nobody.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:59

And and I think he'd done an adult film. Yeah, maybe that's it.

unknown 1:14:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:05

The Italian state.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:06

His brother was, you know, also a singer or something, right? But he was not Sylvester Stallone. He was not.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:12

And but he held out, said no. And you know it's well, I mean, you're just betting on yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:19

Sometimes, you know, it you win, sometimes you lose.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:21

Well, I think he's smart enough to know It was a good screen. I've got people vying for this. That means there's something good about it. And if I just stick with what I've got, I'll get what I want.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:34

What about Bill Skarsgard, you know, kind of the lead on this thing, playing Tony Christus? His father, is his father an actor?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:40

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:41

Like I mean, a serious actor. Did he not get a nomination or win a golden globe this year?

SPEAKER_02 1:14:47

Yeah, he's up for something. I can't remember what the um film is, but you know, most people have known. Sentimental or something like that. Something like that. He's he's um I mean he's He's a serious kind of actor. Yeah. The Skarsgard family from what I understand. I mean, they're Norwegian, Sweden. Sweden. They're they're Swedish. I mean, there's eight, six of them, something like that. They all are great actors. Um his bigger his brother, Alexander Skarsgard, you know, he um um but the dad was uh you know, Goodwill hunting and and Chernobyl. If you've ever seen Chernobyl, that miniseries on HB is really good. I hadn't. He's a um and he told a funny story about his dad when we were sitting around. He said, you know, um my dad told me once, he said, if I ever hear of you treating somebody on the crew or in another actor with disrespect, I will come there and kick your ass. And he goes, and he would do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:40

Well that's that that speaks to his character.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:43

Yeah, and he and Bill was, you know, very much I mean, there was everybody was really cool. Everybody was really um it was a very I mean, there was a lot of camaraderie. I think part of it was due to the fact it was so stinking cold that we were bonded.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:58

There was a common enemy.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:59

Absolutely. And it was the cold. Absolutely it was. And we all knew that, hey, man, this is kind of cool. You know, what we're doing is pretty this is gonna be good.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:08

And it was about something that really happened in life. Yeah. A true story.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:12

And and it was, you know, i I don't know that you could ever think. I mean, I talked, you know, the the four guys there.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:20

Okay. So we've got this is in character, the guys in the movie, right? Right. And uh it's kind of the police group, looks like detectives. Yep, you're chief, Gene Gallagher, yep, in the middle, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:16:31

That's the assistant district or district attorney, George Martz. In real life or actor? That no, in real life, in the I the the the character. Okay. That guy next to him is um uh plays Tony's brother, Jimmy. Of course, the cop on the end's carry. That's the one of the detectives, um, Frank La, and then that's the uh FBI guy. And he's from Louisville, he's from Tennessee, Michael's from Kansas City, and Daniel lives in Los Angeles, and we all still text each other daily.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:07

Well, these are good relationships that you're making that probably add on and could help later on.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:12

Well, and plus we've all recognized and all expressed at one point that Gus gave us a huge opportunity, right? Huge opportunity. One that none of us saw coming. And and now, look, this doesn't there's no guarantees in this you know but this doesn't hurt.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:32

No, I mean if you you have to be ready, right? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:35

I mean, luck is defined when preparation meets opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:39

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:40

And and you you had some good luck and you were prepared.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:43

I was prepared, and you know, and I remember, you know, a lot of it goes back to stuff my dad would tell me, hey man, show up on time, know your lines, and don't be a pain in the butt. And you might be successful. And you know, that's yeah, I mean, and so you that's what you you know, and it's tough to man, there's that point when you're everybody's ready, everybody's waiting. 60 people out here, and when he says action, you gotta start talking. You know, and that's I mean you it's uh I've seen people just fumble it. Where you let's try that again. Exactly. Um and and but once you get that first one out of the way, you know, the the Yeah, I mean it's just like anything.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:37

Get the jitters out, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:39

It's three o'clock in the morning.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:40

Take a shot, Todd. Hair ball o'clock in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:42

I'm like, hey, do you think I could get back to Dallas by, you know, what if I just you know, I don't need to do this anymore.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:49

Wait, no. I mean, you can't quit in the middle of the movie.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:51

I know. I was but that was the night before the first time I was my first scene shooting.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:55

Oh okay, but they were so nervous. They wouldn't uh uh what could they have done if you I would have never done it. I know you that'd have killed your career.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:02

Yeah, I would have never done it. I was just I had that momentary just, oh my gosh, that's a lot of words. And tomorrow there's gonna be sixty people and I'm gonna have you know, it's put up or shut up time.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:14

I mean were you did you feel confident that you had memorized your lines and you could deliver them naturally?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:20

Oh yeah. I I was very confident about that, but also knew that hey, once you're out there, it's a different thing. And it's one thing to sit there in your hotel room on the couch, you know, and go back and f you know, it's another thing when, you know, you you've got Carroll's Gus Vincent, you know, all these and and so you get that first one out of the way, and then it's it. That's it. You're good.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:43

You're in it. Let's talk about this. Uh Al Pacino was in the movie um and he played the father, the bad guy, if you will, but he wasn't really there to receive the brunt of the of Tony's ra rage. Yeah. Yeah. Did you get to meet him?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:58

I I got to shake his hand at the at the at the premiere. I didn't yeah, but we didn't he did not um He didn't shoot with you guys. No, no, no. He that was after the fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:07

Okay, so the way it works now, I mean, they're more efficient than they used to be. And so any any lines that he had or whatever he did, they s did that separately?

SPEAKER_02 1:20:16

Yeah, they shot they they um the the the last night that we sh that I shot, we were all sitting around waiting, and somebody came in and said, Hey, um, I just heard that we that that um Pacino's gonna be um the father and and that they're going to um they're going to Los Angeles next week to shoot his style. And sure enough, that's what they did. They got all of his shots all that in one day. They had him one day.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:44

And how many scenes was he in? Uh three. Yeah, I mean, but it's pretty easy, I guess, to get a scene where a guy goes, uh hello? Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:55

I mean, he's got Kelly Lynch is in it too. She plays his wife. Kelly Lynch? Yep. From uh, man, she's been in. She was in um Roadhouse.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:05

Roadhouse. I was about to say Patrick Swayze's girlfriend. Yep. She played the doctor. Yep. Remember? Yep. She's plays his wife. Okay, yeah. Younger. How did she look?

SPEAKER_03 1:21:17

She looked great.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:18

I mean, I think of her and I think of um Sean Penn's ex-wife, kind of Robin Wright. Yes. Yeah, yeah. Those two kind of re reminded me of the same. Yeah, they even though Robin's been in a a lot more.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:29

Yep, yep, yep. And um, of course, you know Robin with the connection with the Princess Bride. You know, Carrie goes around the country. Oh, yeah, I forget about that. Yeah, he man, that that movie, everybody is he still they they Andre the Giant?

SPEAKER_01 1:21:43

Yeah. Wrestling. Spencer Owen, our buddy. He probably watched Princess the Bride because Andre the Giant was in it. He told some great stories about Andre the Giant, too.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:52

So that, you know, he He could drink sixty beers. He spent he said he spent most of his life in horrible pain.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:59

Right. Probably his joints from being so large.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:02

Yep. And that that it was he was the nicest, sweetest man, but that that he just was in pain all the time. And and the the and you could you look at him and you go, geez, that's I mean, how big is he?

SPEAKER_01 1:22:15

I mean, I'm thinking Genesis six when I see Andre. Yeah. Yeah. But okay, so we know all these characters and these people and Gus Van Sant, these are all interesting and really uh, you know, important people in the movies industry.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:31

Tell us about anybody else, maybe, that you've met that you've really kind of admired and been happy to meet.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:38

Man, I've met um, there's you get to when I did the first time I did Linus, it was, you know, I was it was a little nerve-wracking at first, too, because, you know, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman. Um Did you see were you in the same room with Morgan Freeman? Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:00

I mean, you When you opened the doors to general, they were sitting there at the table.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:04

Well, no, when when you go back in the We're all sitting in the waiting room. We're all sitting in a little green room waiting for the time. Who are you? Todd what Todd? Todd who? Yeah, I know, exactly. Everybody's walking in, everybody's filing in in the set, and they're like, oh my gosh, I'm like, who the hell is that guy? You know, and that's what they were doing. They're thinking, oh, there's Morgan Freeman, there's Nicole Kidman, there's Zoe Salking. Oh, who's that? You know, and that's me. And and but no, they Zoe.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:29

Zoe's Aldon, she's on you know, she's big in that. Yeah, oh yeah. I mean, because they're shooting that, you know. I have a place at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas. Yep. And they gave us notification and they they came in, they took over the penthouse, they brought furniture and set it all up, ran their own cables from outside up the stairwell to the penthouse and shot like two days there. Yeah. Hey, man, it's a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:56

I mean, that's that's that's big. I mean, when you got a show that's got Nicole Kidman, I mean, you know, the the it's the first time I went out there, you you know, you you go out there and you you you you arrive, you go to the you you find the production folks, they they send you to the makeup place or the wardrobe or send you to the makeup thing, they do your hair and stuff, and then you go to in your trailers what you have to wear. You know, that's where your wardrobe is. Do you have your own trailer for a bit, two for two words? But but and and you um you get dressed, you go and find the guy, you know, the the or the you wait, and then the production assistant comes up and knocks on, you know, hey, they're ready to um they're ready for you. So you walk to the set and you then you go wait in this green room, you know, where everybody and then in that particular they had these four director chairs set up or five or however many of them said Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Bruce McG, you know, these other, and you're like, wow, that's and then sure enough, here they come.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:04

Did they come and sit down? Did you ever have a word with them? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:08

I mean, like man, we spent three days together, you know. Morgan Freeman seemed like he'd be easy to talk to. He came up and introduced himself to me, and I was like, I know who you are. You know, what about Nicole?

SPEAKER_02 1:25:18

She's very nice. Very quiet, very nice. She was one actually that I probably spent the that I talked to the most.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:25

And and and she would um because there's a uh kind of a show runner poster, if you will. Yeah. It's on Paramount Plus and Showtime. Michael Kelly, another great guy. Right. I've seen him in a couple of things. He does man, these guys he works on all kinds of stuff. Do they have contracts with with these Netflix or Paramount? Because sometimes I'll see like in that in that series billion uh billions, you know, Bobby Axelrod's the main character or whatever, and they've got all these people that are in it, and I'll see them in other shows on the same Do they cast them or do they mean as as far as you know, they're different shows?

SPEAKER_02 1:26:01

Yeah, well, yeah, they're they have to, you know, yeah, they'll be under contract. But the the um matter of fact, when I go back on the third, I think that's back when Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman and and um I think that's when they're back.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:15

So you think that you've got another little part in Lioness? Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:20

I don't I know it. I mean it's I I shot the 30th in Fort Worth, and then they told me um, hey, we'll we'll we'll have you back out when we get when we do the interiors. Is this is this pay? Is this any good? I mean, is this I mean it's I mean I don't do it for the you know it's tag scale.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:37

People wonder like, golly, you've been in a movie?

SPEAKER_02 1:26:39

Can you know what can you make it's you know what? It's it's no.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:43

I mean when when you're um They're relying on ambition and they're relying on desire of the people, right? Absolutely. They know absolutely and you're somebody else will get in your place and get in that movie.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:56

Yeah, absolutely. And and I I accept that. I mean that's that's the way, you know, if if if I didn't have the ability to to to take care of my family, you know, I I couldn't do this. That's why I mean you that's why I have a lot of respect for people who just try to do that. Yeah, man. I mean, or who have been able to do it. And and you know, there's a lot of um awesome actors who people don't know their names. Is there some don't know their they know their faces, but they don't know uh Paul Ben Victor is a guy who I met when I did um In Plain Sight. You don't know his name, but I guarantee you you know his face.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:40

I mean that's a long time ago when you were in that.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:43

Ben uh a guy named Bruce McGill, who's in Linus. Um you don't know his name, but you know his face. He's been in all kinds of stuff. And there's so many people that are like that, that that that are That's why it's hard to be a superstar. Well, I don't know that they'd be good.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:05

Most people don't have a look.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:07

I don't even think it's that. I think it's more you take somebody like Matthew McConaughey or or you know, man, I just think that there's so many things that just have to fall into place.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:36

Yep. And kind of stayed behind. And that's where he met Richard Linkletter, supposedly at the bar at the Driscoll Hotel, uh, and you know, got cast as Wooderson and Dazed and Confused. Yep. And then Joel Schumacher, the director from you know, he was originally supposed to be a white supremacist um Keith for Sutherland's part. He was supposed to be Keith Keith clan part. Something happened. He ends up with the lead role.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:01

Well, Brad Pitt was supposed to be with Sandra Bullock.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:04

That's right. And then they and then he dropped out.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:07

And then the you know, it doesn't man it. That's just good fortune there, huh? And it's not about man, look, if you've seen True Detective Season 1. I have, man. That's a smoking dude. Let me tell you something.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:18

He's smoking him cigarettes left and right.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:20

Let me tell you, if anybody ever had any question about whether he can act or not.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:24

And that answered it. That answered it. That was incredible. And Woody Harrelson.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:28

Woody too, man. Woody is the the there it it you know, there's a I think there's a con I think there's a a perception out there that that either acting's too easy or it's too hard. You know? And it's it's but I think that is if the great thing I think uh about guys like McConaughey or Woody or whatever, they know what they can do. Now they may want to stretch it.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:58

But they just stick to what they do right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:00

I don't know if they stick to it. It's it's uh it's well, you know, like McConaughey, before he started doing all this, he would do all those romantic comics and those rom comps.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:09

Right. He got away from it.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:10

And he even said, Hey, look, man, what am I doing? And he knew he had to stretch. And first thing he did was a movie called um Dallas Buyers Club. No, it was um oh, what was it?

SPEAKER_00 1:30:22

Kraft, do you remember? He was a uh something Joe. It was a killer. Killer Joe. Sillery.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:28

He was a bad cop.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:29

And totally against type. Totally and then he did a movie called Mud. If you ever seen Mud, Mud's a great movie. And that reminds me of Sling Blade.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:39

It's about it's it's very good. Remember uh Billy Bob. Billy Bob, who Taylor Sheridan really likes, right? Oh yeah. Because you mentioned Fort Worth earlier and he wrote that part for Billy Bob. Which one? Landman. Oh yeah. But I I was getting to Fort Worth is I mean, this is becoming Taylor Sheridan territory, right? Yeah. Yeah. Because you told us earlier before the show that there may be four or five shows being shot in Texas right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:05

But yeah, there may be I don't know. I had to check to know to see if there's exactly that many. But that's you know, he's got a lot of these that um He's got Lion S. He's got Lioness, he's got Landman.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:15

Landman. He's got eighteen something or another.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:17

Yeah, I don't even know what the I can't remember the um well, Tulsa Kings is also one of his. They shoot that in Tulsa. And that is they've Sylvester Show. They did a new season. Yep. And then they're gonna do New Orleans Kings with Samuel L. Jackson.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:33

Nola Kings. I mean, old Taylor is kind of branching out. I mean he is striking while the iron's hot. Well, and when's he sleep?

SPEAKER_02 1:31:41

I mean, he writes all these, you know, it's he's writing, he's directing, he's sometimes he's even acting.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:48

I mean, you told me the story about Sicaro.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:51

Yeah, so uh yeah, Sicario, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:53

Right remember? Yep. He shopped it around. He was a writer initially. He he's from uh Pascal.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:59

Yeah, when it's Pascal Haskell, Pascal Hoskell in Dallas.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:01

Yep. He goes out there, he can't get it to anybody, so eventually he finds a way to make it himself.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:06

Well, he finally got it to somebody to to, you know, he was an actor for a while. He was even He doesn't look like an actor. You know, he was Jennifer Lawrence's acting coach. Really? Yeah. He told his told his told her mother, keep your money. She's She can't act. No, no. It was I can't teach her. I can't teach her.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:25

Okay, good. You know, and he's smart then, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:32:27

Yeah, oh yeah. And so he quit being an actor and started writing, and Sicario was the first thing that he sold to um the uh that was the first that's the first thing he I don't know if it was the very first thing. She made money. It made a m it made money and it made um that was fantastic. I mean that is I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:48

I've seen both of them.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:49

Yeah, and uh it's funny, I got booked on that. I went, I've auditioned for I did two tapes and then they brought us all out to Albuquerque where they shot and shot in New Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:02

Making it look like they were in Mexico.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:04

Yeah. And or yeah, in Arizona. Yeah. And so the and the it was good you were gonna meet the director. Um and so I get out there and I read for one thing, and and I knew he was kind of working with me a little bit. He was like, Hey, thank you. Hey, stick around. You know, we mean and so I went and waited back again. They brought me another role to read for. And I did that twice, and then I left, flew back to Dallas, and and the second one they gave me was a role for a police officer who kind of comes up and gives Emily Blunt a bunch of crap about, you know, you know, at the first when the house blows up and the um you know when they find the people in the walls. And and there was a original there was a cop scene that was in that originally was in there. And they cut you out. Well, they they my agent called like on a Friday morning and said, Hey, can you be can you be uh can you be in uh Albuquerque on Sunday? I was like, Yes, absolutely I can. She goes, I'll call you later with the details. I didn't hear from her for several hours, and I thought, that's not good. Then I start telling myself, well, she's probably got other stuff, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so I finally I've been fighting the urge all day to call her back. And so I pick up the phone and it starts ringing.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:26

It's her. And she said, they cut your part.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:32

Well, I mean, right. But that that happens. But it was, yeah. Oh, yeah. But I was, you know, it's just that high, low, you know, kind of a and then you see the movie and you see what a fantastic movie it is. That that you really wish that, you know, man, I wish I could have been a part of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:50

Have you met Taylor Sheridan? Yeah, yeah. I mean, have you talked to him like you know, like you're talking to me? Well, no, I don't know. I haven't known him as long as you're not.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:57

But you know, you know, I mean he's busy, man. He's an intense dude. Oh, I mean, he's he's very um the gut the experience with Gus and the experience with Taylor Sheridan, they're two different um you can I mean Taylor's and it's TV. Is Taylor directing? He was the the the first episode I did of Linus, he did. Like Yellowstone. Yeah, he directs. I I you know the I don't know exactly how much or how I know that he's in charge though. He is definitely in charge.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:26

Because I mean you you kind of sense that over the media with the Kevin Costner and him. You know, if you didn't know anything, you could at least sense that Taylor Sheridan was a strong figure. Yeah that was he had his vision. Even if it didn't jive with Kevin Costner's.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:42

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:43

Very Texan.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:44

Uh you know. And um, but yeah, I mean it's it's you know, when you're there, it's hey, we're we're um I did enjoy listening. You know, I we we're all sitting in the w waiting rooms again. And I love that stuff because that's when those guys in there start talking. And I love to to hear stories about movies they, you know, and they were talking about the director Michael Mann, who's made all these action, you know, these great movies, you know, Ali and and he did um uh The Insider with Russell Crowe, and and I mean he's just done all these. And he and Taylor, I guess, are really close. And um and Bruce McGill, another actor, he um I think he's been in every Michael Mann movie. The collateral was one.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:31

That's it. So these relationships, I mean, they really yield benefits as acting parts if someone likes you. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:39

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:40

Because I mean I thought you told me one time that you thought maybe you had a shot at something in Landman. Maybe, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:46

I thought if I if you do good it's like it goes back to Jim, what he told me. Show up, know your lines, don't be don't be a pain in the butt, and and do good work. And so, yeah, I I think that as long as you've he has a history of working with a lot of people or a lot of the same, you know, he heard it. Well, you like what you can count on. Hey, I whether it's him, you just want to do a good job regardless. You know, I I that's that's the thing. And that's what I always I never even when I was, man, when I was working on these horror movies slash whatever, you know, at for no money, shooting in Richardson and some, you know, I wanted it to be good. You know, I wanted to do a good job. And because that, man, that stays on f that's forever.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:42

Right. If somebody sees it or if somebody tries to look at what you have. Your reputation as a professional matters now more than ever, it seems like in this industry, right? Absolutely. A diva or a guy who's hard to deal with, they just don't have time for that, do they?

unknown 1:37:58

Uh, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:59

Unless you're I think that's you know, I think there's still plenty of, you know. Well, I guess if you're a superstar. But do you think this you know, uh first of all, I'm interested in your kind of your take on how your performance was in Dead Man's Wire. Were you proud of it? Did you feel like you you know you did well as opposed to just kind of average or get by? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:21

Yeah, I don't think that I mean, well, number one, they they wouldn't have put up with the average get by.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:26

Yeah, I mean, and so we, the general public, have no lens to look through and understand, you know, what a great acting job you did versus a mediocre. I mean, we can't tell.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:38

Well, I mean, and that's look, that's and that's a larger issue for everything in the film, but everything's subjective. That's and that's like I like this wine, I like that one. It's either good or it's either it works against you and it works for you. And and uh you what you want to do is you want to be directed. You want as an actor, you don't want to be in charge of what you're seeing in. You know, you want somebody to tell you to break that down.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:05

Because I've always wanted to ask somebody about this. You know, a director, we were taught that it was a guy who was sitting behind a camera and he was he it was like action, right? Yeah. Okay. But direction, the word itself is derived from what you said directing the actors. There's a scene. Are they talking to you like, okay, you're supposed to be really frustrated that something just happened. Let me see a little more emotion. I mean, uh how does you like that? Good director directs.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:39

Well, they'll they'll because they the the the thing, they have this vision. That's all their vision. And it's really, man, you know, films aren't as much about actors as they are the directors. That's who d controls everything. In this scene, I have this feeling that this should be happening. This is what I want to, you know, and that's where you have some of the the conflict, is that you get an actor who's like, well, I feel it this way, you know, whatever. Right. Like, I just don't see that in this film.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:04

And they go, well, this isn't your film, pal.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:06

Yeah, let's shoot one this way and we'll shoot one the other way, and we'll see which one we, you know. And but yeah, they they if they've got a great directors like Gus or like Ted, they they know how to get what they're wanting from people. Right. And well, they have an eye for it. They have an eye for it. Plus, they also, you know, there was nothing about my guy that I played in Dead Man's Wire he was he was uh he was a supporting player in the whole saga. So why would he be any more important in the movie? You know, I'm I'm a part. And but it was an important part. But there was no reason for me to go, you know, and and and which isn't my style anyway. And so it's if you're you know, it's and I you know, I didn't realize it until I started doing this stuff, is that you if you get auditions and you get callbacks for these movies for TV shows, you're doing you're pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:14

Right, because there are a lot of people that are are trying to get something and are getting no callbacks.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:18

Yeah. It's you're yeah and and it's not a matter of who the best actor or actress it because it's all subjective. You know, I can you could we could watch something and I think somebody's great, and you'd be like, I don't get you know, or vice versa. And so it's really what works for them in their head. And and and I can't remember who said this, but it's very, very true, is when you walk into an audition, they've already got in their head what they're looking for. And you either hit it before you say a word, or you don't. And and if you don't, you you at least give them a good performance so that they'll thank you for something else. And but if you do, they're gonna overlook that. You know, if you maybe fudge a word or what you know, whatever. But if you that's what that's the that's the target you're trying to hit. Is it one that you have no idea of how to. So you go in there and you do the best thing you you you you there's so much in this industry that is out of your control.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:24

Well, do you ever improvise in an audition from the lines that they gave you to come read? Absolutely. Absolutely. Has that gotten their attention in a good way or a bad way or both?

SPEAKER_02 1:42:34

Well, i i no, it's always been in a good way. Usually it's because they ask you to. They'll tell you you'll you'll read one straight and then all right, hey Todd, read it again, but keep going.

SPEAKER_01 1:42:45

You know, let's let's take this out on what you really would say.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or you let it keep you know, don't stop there. Keep going just off the top of your head. Okay. And you, you know, and we did that with Dead Man's Wire. We did a scene where we were talking about um how we were gonna what we were gonna do with this when the FBI guy first shows up and Gus we shot it scripted, he came in and he and we're so funny. He's like, that's good, that was good, that was really good. You know, we were gonna get t shirts and said, that was good, Gus one. And but then he came to then he comes in and goes, Hey, this time y'all just keep going. And we're like, all right, we'll just keep going. And we just kept going and going. And then man, by the time he yelled cut, we probably went 10 minutes. We all looked at each other like, wow, that was I mean, I don't think he used any of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:41

No, no, he he could pick it, edit it, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:42

It was just it was amazing. Because it was like, and we came in there and Carrie was like, Man, we made music in there. I mean, that's what it was like.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:50

You all just pretended like you were the cops and and you just kept going.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:55

We had the subject matter of the what we were talking about, and we just kept it going like I can't remember any of the exact thoughts, but it was just we were just it was like a we're just riffing off of what we'd already been talking about. And it just but it just flowed. Everybody was picking up off of everybody else.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:12

Aaron Powell Well, let's get to the impact. Um the movie's good. Um all accounts, it's it's getting good reviews. It's a good movie. 95% rotten tomato. So people should want to watch it. You you're in it, you say it was a it was an A performance from a technical acting standpoint, in your opinion. I yeah. For yourself. I don't there's not any part of it that I watched and went, mm-hmm. All right. You know. Now, what feedback from the industry, from your agent, from any other source have you gotten from this?

SPEAKER_02 1:44:44

I get, you know, I haven't I don't know um because of the limited run. Right, nobody's seen it yet. Nobody's really seen it yet. Except if you went to the you know now it's funny, I've had people I we went to the premiere, which is all industry people. I mean, they're all managers, agents, and they get to see it. And they get to see it, so we're all in there. And I, you know, everybody came up, man, you did a great job. You did a great job. I'm like, who is that?

SPEAKER_01 1:45:11

You know, and that feels good. No, that feels really good. I mean, as opposed to just kind of ignoring or overlooking you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:19

Oh man. They and and and then we went out. I flew back, I took my sister, and and which it's a whole different deal. I mean, how yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:30

She's like, You were trying to take her out of an environment and get her a release.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:35

I was trying to take her out of a you know, divorce kind of a thing. That's what I'm going through. And I wanted her to I said, hey, let's go shock the s shock your system with the little surreal Hollywood stuff. How did it work? It did. It really worked. In a good way? Yeah, in a very good way. She um we had a blast. And she's hard to travel with, though, you know. And um she's got these little big we're running through there, but it's just a nightmare. But um, we had a great time. I was so glad that she got to go. But the um when we came back, uh I went to uh the AMC in in or at North Park and took it's me, Christy, Sam, Blake, and Wade, um a couple of their friends and girlfriends. Your kids. Yeah, my kids and their girlfriends and you went to watch yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:26

Yeah. Okay. And that has to be experienced. Surreal experience. Like right I've seen myself on TV in a commercial, okay? Yep. Uh you know, a podcast. But you've gone to the theater from Tyler, Texas, you know, and the credits pack you're watching a movie that you're in. I mean, how does that how does that feel?

SPEAKER_02 1:46:46

Well, it was wild, man. I it was uh because I got nervous because I knew we're you know, I'd seen it the night before or two nights before.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:54

The crowd starts booing there at North Park.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:56

What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:57

Hey, there's that guy that's in the movie right there.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:59

That happened.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:00

Uh after. Did it? Yeah. When we we we left, we were walking out, we're just kind of standing around, and this older couple kept you. I mean, because you think, am I gonna go to a movie in Dallas, Texas, and see one of the people that, you know, are in the movie at the theater?

SPEAKER_01 1:47:16

Because they don't really know you're from that area.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:18

And and so, but they were very nice, hey, you did a great job. You know, I've uh you know, you wonder, hey, are people just saying that to be nice? But you know, they don't say anything. And you know, I was I would joke around with these guys on text and say, you know, look, as long as they didn't say everything was great except for that police chief. Yeah, right. You know, and and nobody's it's it's you know I think good things are coming from you for you from this movie.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:49

Oh, they just haven't gotten here yet.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:51

Yeah, I mean, like I said a while ago, there's no guarantees, but you know what, that doesn't hurt. And and to be I tell you what, but if nothing else, man, to get to work with Gus Fancy Am is a dream come true. I mean, and you just don't ever think I mean you think about how many people who are working constantly who don't haven't worked with him. You know, and I got to be a major supporting character in one of his in his first movie in seven years.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:18

And that's like a player getting to be coached by a coach that they really admire.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:22

Oh man. I mean, he you know, there's so many great little I mean because he's very soft spoken, he's very um um This is a different style. Different style, man. Different um and different me, you know, d film's different from TV. TV is hey, we gotta get this done. You know, film is like let's think about it for a little bit. See how we can do the you know, and and and but it's I can't imagine being man, being a director to me would be one of the hardest things in the world because there's so many choices you can make. Lighting. Well, just how yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:59

Location.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:00

How you look at a scene or you you you you think you could do this two or three different ways. How do you know which way is the right way? Or the way you pick. What if the other way would have been that's the art part of it? Yeah, it's the art part of it. And that's you it's and you're not just responsible for what's on, you're responsible for the music. You're responsible for I mean, overseeing the editing. You're I mean, it's I mean, they had we had to do several, you know, additional dialogue recordings for, you know, stuff that they had called from Gus on my cell phone. I saw I saved his number. Afterwards.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:39

You had to do afterwards to do some recordings to kind of work them into the movie.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:42

Yeah, he's like, Todd, can we get another core? I'm like, yes, I'll do whatever you want me. You know, what am I gonna say?

SPEAKER_01 1:49:47

Sorry, Gush. So you've already got your time with me.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:49

Who is this? And and uh the but yeah, it's man, it's an awe consuming I mean, I can see why these guys only work, you know, as m you know, the the I mean, because you put So much into it takes so much. And I, you know, that's a lot of and you feel for some of these guys, man, that these doing these hundred million dollar blockbuster, you know, could you imagine that kind of pressure? Just, you know, that's uh you I tell you what, you go go read stuff about the old water world, that movie with Kevin Costner. Yeah. And just how I mean, I know that movie ended several relationships that, you know, just too expensive, too hard to expensive. Yeah. One of the hurricane blew through and messed up their set. The, I mean, production override. I mean, it was just, I can't imagine being in charge of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:44

Well, this movie obviously is the pinnacle of your career. Not only is it a film instead of TV or commercials, uh, but it seems like it's headed for success if we look at Rotten Tomatoes and you know, kind of the industry reaction to it, right? Trevor Burrus, Jr. And making some great performances too. Trevor Burrus, Jr. And good people in it, right? And a respected director. Yep. Where do you hope this goes for you next? Like, you know, based on what you know about the industry, what's possible after having success and the size apart that you just had to be another project in the future?

SPEAKER_02 1:51:20

Aaron Powell Well, I'm you know, you hope that that you not only you well that people number one, you think, hey, somebody's gonna say, this guy can do the he can do it. Respect. He can act. Right? You know, yeah, it's that's respect. Yeah. You just you you you did a job, you did a good job. And you it's a relatively small community. Um in that you know, people do work with you know, people like people buy off the influence of others. Hey, if he thought he was good, he must be, you know, and or worth, you know, giving a shot.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:56

You know, that you know, t I don't know what um You don't know where it's going, right? I don't know where it's going. But it's got good momentum.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:06

Yeah, yeah, I think so. I think it's got a lot of um man, there's been so many people, I think, that have hey, it's it's oh this guy's gonna it's a it's a lock. He's gonna be this, the next this or the next that. And it's never and it's not.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:22

But I mean your lane is probably supporting. Yeah. Right? And that's that that's fine. And and and you're good with that. And there's uh the need in the industry for you know, people getting older that still look TV movie ready, right? I mean, but there's room for everybody, man. You may be in the best part of your career right now. Absolutely. Going forward. Absolutely. Man, I mean you may make more money uh in the future in the industry than you ever made to this point.

SPEAKER_02 1:52:53

Yeah. Well, uh yeah, yeah, absolutely. No, I I see what you're saying. And and it's i look, don't get me wrong, I like money as much as anybody else. Right. It's it's uh but I think that it's um it's a lot of money's recognition, but I know it's not what you want to be good at what you do. Right. I've just always had the and you know, we grew up playing sports. We grew up Give a hundred percent. Well, we gave up. We we we grew up realizing, you know what, if you don't like where you are on the depth chart, I bet you can lift more weights, I bet you can catch more passes, I bet you can do this or this, this or this that will translate into success. In this business, you do that, it doesn't automatically mean that you're gonna be successful. Because there's you know, talent isn't the only that's not the only determining factor. And and it's that's the part I guess that that was hard to get, you know, because you used to I mean, because you always think, well, all right, well, I'll just do this, this, or this, that'll immediately translate into this. Right. It doesn't do that. And and but if you don't do this, this, and this, you sure won't get any success. So you have to you have to be serious about it. And you have to be um it's it's and if you don't like rejection, don't mess with it because it's 85% rejection.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:24

Right. I mean, and and people that can affect your self-esteem when it's really not necessarily anything wrong with your acting.

SPEAKER_02 1:54:30

No. There's man, there's so many I used to go to all these acting um I used to get well, I used to take classes, and I took some very uh there's a lady in Dallas named Nancy Chartier. You know her craft? She um she's fantastic. One of the I mean probably in my opinion, the best up there. And and and then after a while you get to where, you know, we're just seeing the same old stuff again. And then I had a guy tell me, goes, Man, have you you've worked on some professional sets. Yeah, have you ever had a director tell you you can't act? No. Don't go to class. You use that money somewhere else. And when casting directors can only casting directors in California can only charge so much money for seminars because they would there's rules. So, but when they travel outside of California, they can charge as much as they want. And so when these guys from California or wherever would come to Texas and have a a uh a workshop, I always went. Uh because I would look at it like, when am I ever gonna get a chance to get in front of this person again? And plus I wanted to use it, and that's what I want to say earlier. I wanted to use it as a as a hey, am I am I doing good or am I kidding myself here?

SPEAKER_01 1:55:54

You know, did you get that answer?

SPEAKER_02 1:55:56

Yeah, I did. And I I felt I'm doing good because I got I got every one of those that I went to, I got auditions from.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:03

Your eyes wide open in this, and the feedback has, I guess, led you to continue to try and keep doing this. I mean, if they said, Todd, you're terrible. I mean, you've got a great look, but I mean nobody believes what you're selling.

SPEAKER_02 1:56:16

It's exact it's like, hey man, if I woke up one day, if I woke up tomorrow and said, you know what, I want to go, I want to be a wide receiver in the NFL. Do it, Todd. You can do it. I could go stand on a sideline and after two seconds I could go, there ain't no way. But in acting, you go, I think I'm doing pretty good. I think I'm and then you go and you think, and I thought, I'm gonna go to these workshops of people who know and who have no vested interest in telling me what I want to hear. I want them to I want to go to somebody who will tell you, hey, uh uh.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:54

And an honest broker.

SPEAKER_02 1:56:56

An honest bro, exactly. And good or bad. And that's the deal I made with myself. I'm gonna do these good or bad. And everyone that I went to, it just kept the the the confidence just grew.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:10

Chris, put the movie poster back up. Let's let's take it out with this. We don't want anybody to forget this image or think about Todd Gable. Todd Gable is uh obviously a friend of mine, a friend of the show forever. For all the people watching, uh Dead Man's Wire will be out sometime at the end of February uh on Apple. And we want everybody to stay because we're gonna build the Todd Gable fan club starting in Tyler, Texas right now going forward. Todd, thank you so much for your time and being here, brother, and I'm so proud of you.