We're Still Here, Babe
We’re Still Here, Babe, hosted by actress Natanya Ross, is a celebrity interview podcast that goes beyond the highlight reel. Featuring familiar faces from the ‘90s and beyond, each episode explores life after fame through honest conversations about mental health, recovery, resilience, addiction, trauma, personal growth, and the moments that happen when the cameras stop rolling. From iconic actors to unforgettable television and film stars, We’re Still Here, Babe offers a behind-the-curtain look at the human stories that remind us we’re all a lot more alike than we think. Because quitting was never an option.
We're Still Here, Babe
Ep. 2 - Marty York
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In this heartfelt episode of We’re Still Here, Babe, Natanya sits down with one of her closest friends, actor Marty York (The Sandlot, Boy Meets World, Dugout Dads) for a conversation that only best friends could have. Together, they go far beyond the Hollywood stories, diving into childhood, friendship, grief, recovery, resilience, and the moments that shaped who they are today. Marty opens up in an incredibly honest and vulnerable way, sharing parts of his journey that audiences rarely get to see. Equal parts funny, nostalgic, and deeply moving, this is an intimate conversation about what it really means to survive life’s hardest chapters—and why authentic human connection is still the most powerful thing we have. Whether you grew up watching Marty or are just meeting him for the first time, this episode is a beautiful reminder that behind every familiar face is a story worth hearing.
Okay. Well, today's guest is one of those people who walks into a room and instantly commands attention. Most people know him as yeah yeah from the sandlot, this huge piece of so many of our childhoods. But what I love about Marty is who he is when the cameras are off, actually. You are funny as fuck.
SPEAKER_03You're too sweet. You're too sweet.
SPEAKER_01Wildly loyal, deeply sensitive. That's something a lot of people don't understand about you, and someone who has walked a life that is hard and not as easy as people maybe think it is, you know? Um, so let me ask you, Marty York, when is the first time you remember us meeting?
SPEAKER_00Wow. The first time we met was actually we went to Lowry's.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, that's right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. We all went to dinner at Lowry's. Oh, that's right. Because that was when I was first meeting Lucas to sign up with him. That's right. You I think you were already a client.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00And uh who else was there? It was me, Vic was there, Aaron Schwartz. Aaron Schwartz was there. And uh was there somebody else there?
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00Lucas and somebody there was somebody else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It was about five of us. Yeah. But yeah, we all went out to Lowry's and had a you know great dinner. We did.
SPEAKER_01We had oysters for the first time together. Yeah. Have a video of it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It was uh they were they were all right. Still not a fan of oysters.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, me neither. No, thank you. Yeah, that is the first time we met, and then we very I think like three weeks later or a month later, we were boop off traveling the country together, doing all these crazy autograph signings, Oklahoma, and just crazy. We've we've had a um a crazy history together. Yeah, so special. Um, okay. So let's talk about the sandlot.
SPEAKER_00I like your little cue card things.
SPEAKER_01You do? Little hearts. Um when you look back at your early career, do you feel acting shaped who you became as a person, or did it mostly reveal parts of yourself that were already there?
SPEAKER_00Um, I mean, early on it developed, you know, was part of myself that was already there. Because, you know, I started in Northern California and did theater, and uh I was a very boisterous, you know, young kid and loved performing. And, you know, then we come to LA, and of course, it's no longer just doing things, you know, theater productions, you're you're in front of cameras and producers and directors. Yeah. And uh, I think somewhere along the line, that's when it started changing for me to where it used to be like a fun hobby, to where it became like a job. And um, and I started getting burnt out.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_00And I mean, you know my story, but obviously I'll tell it for your viewers. Uh, you know, like after Sandlot, it was just kind of like an uphill climb. And it was, you know, guest starring roll after guest starring roll, and then my car accident happened in '97 and kind of sidelined my whole acting career and broke both my legs from the waist down and was in the hospital for about uh two or three months in a coma for about six days.
SPEAKER_01You had to learn how to re-walk and everything.
SPEAKER_00Had to relearn how to re-walk again. And you know, when you're in a hospital bed for so long, your legs atrophied. So like I was like walking on sticks basically at the time, and you know, the pain was excruciating. And uh yeah, I think, you know, I think it was a lot funner when I first started.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And then it became somewhere along the line, it became a a chore.
SPEAKER_01It was so free when we first started, right? It was like so innocent and free, and like all of a sudden you're on a set with seven other young boys and you're making best friends and filming what is about to become one of the most iconic kids' movies of all time. Yeah, you know, and those are I look back on those days too. I'm like, damn, like those early days of Alex Mack or Babysitter's or any of that. It was just so fun and free and innocent. And then at a certain point, I think we grow up enough and we realize shit, this is a job too. And then that's where maybe it stops becoming fun for some of us, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, what parts of yourself did you bring into the character? It's an interesting story because you're you were supposed to be someone else in the movie.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I read I auditioned for Bertram, who was a different character in the film that introduces all the kids to the chewing tobacco.
SPEAKER_03Right, right.
SPEAKER_00And uh he had he had a monologue in the treehouse. So Chauncey Squince's monologue was originally something much different. Um, and Bertram had a bigger monologue in the in the scene, and so I auditioned with that.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00And it was like a different auditioning process than auditioning for Yeah, because at that time I think I was like the only guy in the room, which was very strange. And then I got a call back for Bertram, and then I got the role of Bertram, and then I uh we all went to the field, the baseball field that we were practicing at. They kind of lined all the guys up. They said, uh, come here to me and my mom. And they said, Hey, he doesn't really fit the role. And so at that point, me and my mom were like, Okay, this is over.
SPEAKER_03Oh my god, this isn't gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00And um they said, but we do have an opening for a character named Yeah Yeah. He's a little bit bigger of a character in the film, he uh has a ton of energy. The guy that was gonna play Yeah yeah got broke his arm or something.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, probably hates himself.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know who it is, too. I don't know if I should reveal it.
SPEAKER_01Don't do it, don't do it.
SPEAKER_00Different.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really? Yeah, you'll tell me after.
SPEAKER_00I can tell you after.
SPEAKER_01Great.
SPEAKER_00Um I can tell you he was one of the ducks at one point.
SPEAKER_01Wow. Yeah, that's some tea.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Let me see if I can I'll tease you with that.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um, so anyway, I'll get that guy on the podcast next, and I'll use this clip as the next slide. I would love to see.
SPEAKER_00I'm kidding, it's weird because I used to audition with this kid constantly at, you know, when I was a kid because we looked so similar. So it was very, very odd.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Um anyway, there's not a lot of ducks that look too similar to me.
SPEAKER_01So I already figured it out, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So anyway, uh, I uh auditioned for Yaya, and they said bring a ton of energy. My mom took me to the liquor store, got bought me a giant Hershey's bowl, and she said, You better eat that whole thing. So I ate the whole thing, went and auditioned, and there was like a bunch of other kids that look like Yaya, and rest is history.
SPEAKER_01Wow. Wow. I mean, that role was so meant for you. Yeah, look at 30 years later. It's like crazy. Can you imagine if that's why I always say it's like in life, it's it's seconds and inches.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Do you know what I mean? It's like one left turn that changes the entire trajectory of your life. And if that doesn't really force you to believe that everything in the universe happens for a reason, there's like nothing that's crazy for both of us.
SPEAKER_00You know, it's like nostalgia came back somewhere along the way.
SPEAKER_01That's it.
SPEAKER_00And I think for so many years, you know, I think, you know, after like 2016, it started coming back.
SPEAKER_01Coming back, yeah.
SPEAKER_00There started being a resurgence because sandlot was something in my past for many, many years.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I just worked regular jobs. I, you know, did what I had to do to survive. Yeah. And then once nostalgia came back, it was just like a whole new. I mean, it was crazy. It was like, you know, the first thing we did, one of the first things we did was sign a deal with Fox when Fox owned the sandlot to do every major league stadium in the United States.
SPEAKER_01And you did it.
SPEAKER_00And we did it. Yeah. And we showed up, I vividly remember I hadn't seen some of these guys in 25 years. Because we had a 20th anniversary before that, where only some of the guys showed up and we were on the sandlot field. That was in 2013, but it was a much smaller thing. Once we signed the deal with Fox, is when I started seeing the clothes and my picture on t-shirts and the you're killing me small shirts and all these other things.
SPEAKER_01And it blew up.
SPEAKER_00I was just like, oh my god, this is this is bigger than I thought it ever was.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And I vividly remember coming out of Dodger dugout. Uh, it was 60,000 people, it was full. It was game three against the Giants, and we got a standing ovation. And I kind of looked at the other guys like, is this real?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like, is this really happening? And I hadn't seen Tom, for example, for 25 years. Yeah. So it was like, and now it's like nothing's changed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's like your best friends. Yeah. Um, yeah, it's it's interesting. I tell Nate a lot too, you know, to get to go back and be with like your cast from when you were a kid. Like the people that mean so much to you. They're so special, and just run it back one more time, whatever it is, you know. And but we finally, for the first time in ever, we've been trying. We got into 90s con this year. So this will be the first time in 30 years that we've ever appeared anywhere together as a cast, um, let alone a reunion, you know. And it's so exciting. We're so honored that that they asked us to come this year. And um, yeah, it's you know, the fact that you get to hang out with the guys so much, and it's such a beautiful thing to see. And I've I've you know, I feel like since I've been around too, it's just gotten more and more, and it's all just gotten crazier, you know.
SPEAKER_00I never told you this but Alex Mack was like a big part of my childhood.
SPEAKER_01What? Tell me, tell me all.
SPEAKER_00No, I watched, you know, watch Nickelodeon all the time. Yeah. Are you afraid of the dark? Alex Mack.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00God, that lineup was so good. Uh, what else was on there? There was a show.
SPEAKER_01All that.
SPEAKER_00All that. Um there were some good shows on TV.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. It was SNCC, yeah. It was uh our version of TGIF, I guess. Yeah. Um, we broke we both grew up in a world where people recognized us before they actually knew us. Do you think being known that young changes the way you trust people as an adult?
SPEAKER_00I I think your family dynamic is the way you trust people as an adult. And you if you have a bad family dynamic, it's hard to trust people.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00I know I know a little of your story and obviously my story. Um I think that's what kind of messed me up from trusting people is not knowing if your parents were really, you know, taking you these things for the right reasons or they were doing it to benefit themselves.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And that's that's kind of like where the trust came from me. As far as like trust from like the business or anything else like that, I always trusted what I was doing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I always trusted the people I worked with, and I never really had bad experiences. Like, you know, you see some of these child actors. Yeah, it's you know.
SPEAKER_01What is something about your life that people would never guess? Because they only know you as yeah, yeah. I know what I if I were you, I know what I would say. I want to hear what you're gonna say.
SPEAKER_00So about my life?
SPEAKER_01Like, what's one thing people might might not know about you?
SPEAKER_00I don't know. I love dogs.
SPEAKER_01You do love dogs.
SPEAKER_00Uh I'm a dog dad.
SPEAKER_01You are a dog daddy.
SPEAKER_00Two beautiful little minpins. And uh no, I just like a lot of outdoors activities.
SPEAKER_01What about like tricks and stuff? What about that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I used to be a magician.
SPEAKER_01There it is.
SPEAKER_00I used to be a magician.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, not a lot of people know.
SPEAKER_00Worked at the Magic Castle for many years. Yeah. And uh yeah, I think I showed you some tricks a time or two.
SPEAKER_01They're very good. Yeah. I like begged you to well, how'd you do that? You wouldn't tell me.
SPEAKER_00You magician never reveals a secret to me.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I thought for maybe a best friend he would, but geez.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'll teach you something.
SPEAKER_01There's this weird thing that happens when you're a part of something nostalgic and beloved. People kind of freeze you in time emotionally, right? I think that's happened to both of us. Have you ever felt pressure to stay connected to that little version of Marty that you already outgrew a long time ago? Because people need that from you or want that from you, you know?
SPEAKER_00I mean, always be connected to the character. Yeah. It's you can't walk up to Jaleel White and say, Do you ever feel like you're connected to the character? Because no matter what else he does, he's always gonna be Urkel.
SPEAKER_01Right. That's a good point.
SPEAKER_00No matter what else I do, I'll always be yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And I don't think they'll ever remake the Sandlot, never say never, but I hope they do it with us.
SPEAKER_01I would I would hope so.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's I know it's so crazy with all these reboots and stuff. I see so many people that comment for both Sandlot, Alex Mac, or whatever, and half half they're so divided, half are like, no, don't touch a classic, leave it be. And I'm like almost on that side now, as I've seen so many things come out and flop, really. You know, that that like kind of she scared me, that kind of altered the legacy a little bit of the original. So, um, okay, I'm gonna I wanna we're gonna not talk about Sanla now.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01You've been through some real grief in your life, some real chaos, trauma, and the kind of stuff that completely changes somebody's nervous system, right? We I don't I think as a society we forget that that when we go through these big traumas, it changes our nervous system, right? So, what do you think people misunderstand about surviving something life-altering like that, like you have so many times?
SPEAKER_00What do I think people understand about it?
SPEAKER_01Or misunderstand about it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I would I mean, everybody's gone through something, everybody has their own trauma, and um, you know, what I found from my story is that it inspires people big time, and I want to use my story to inspire people. And I know you saw my Access Hollywood interview, and I obviously are you know a part of my documentary coming out, and uh I want to inspire others to keep going through any kind of hardship they've been through and persevere. And you know, there there was times in my life when I didn't think I would make it through any of this, you know where I felt like uh you know, once my when my sister passed away, I uh didn't want to be here anymore. You know, yeah, I I didn't want to be around and uh you know at that time I had my mom to kind of help me, and you know, my other sister was definitely a big help understanding, you know, that she had a drug addiction, and no matter what I did, no matter what rehab center I took her to, she would leave, and there was nothing I could really do about it because if you want to get clean, you have to like want it for yourself.
SPEAKER_01That's right, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh so I mean, yeah, that was tough, and then obviously what happened with my mom um took me back too.
SPEAKER_01So um, I mean, I guess I'll just kind of break the ice. It is Mother's Day today, um, and a really fucking hard day for both of us for different reasons. But um, you know, you and I went and did something last year that changed me forever. I can't even imagine what it, you know, how it left you. Um, so I just want to kind of give you the space since it is Mother's Day. If there's anything you want to say about that, I'm not gonna ask you any questions because it's such a personal, personal thing. But you know, and for anyone listening or watching, in real life, Marty and I are best friends. So, like, you know, we yes, I'm interviewing him right now, um, because that's what we do as actors and podcasts. But, you know, we're real life best friends. So I was there for the whole thing, yeah, you know, um, and my God, do I have so much admiration for the way you walked through that? Um, and just how much um grace really that you showed throughout that. That was one of the heaviest things I've ever, you know, seen someone have to go through.
SPEAKER_00And I couldn't have done it without you being there for me. Um, that was very, very difficult what uh what I had to go through. And you kind of helped tell me to not get angry. You know, I wanted to get angry during some of you guys don't understand what we're talking about, but Natanya came with me last year to a very hard part of my life. Um, I had to confront the man that killed me. And uh it was difficult because I wanted to get mad. And I you were like, look, you helped write the speech that I gave. And uh I couldn't have yeah, I couldn't have done it without you, but it it was something that I hope nobody ever has to go through. It's something I only thought you saw on TV on crime shows, and um looking at someone that could kill one of your family members to me was you know, it was I'm I'm amazed I was able to keep my composure.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But I knew because it's in my documentary, but I knew that if I got angry and I I showed what I really like felt towards this person, it would look a lot worse than honoring my mom and letting him know what an amazing woman he took.
SPEAKER_01Right. So what a I mean, you did what an incredible job you did. I mean, I know we were like, yeah, it the tension was so palpable that day. Yeah, you know, um, and as as your friend going through it, the the range of emotions that I felt, you know, um, I've also obviously never been through anything like that either, you know. And um yeah, I'm just really, really fucking proud of you.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_01And we're still here, babe.
SPEAKER_00We're still here, babe. I'm thankful you came.
SPEAKER_01You and I have had so, so many conversations privately about healing, anger, um, addiction, survival. One of our first really, really serious conversations we had, I remember, was in some weird bar in Oklahoma. Not the not the bull riding one, the other one from the last night when we couldn't.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we were drinking slushies or something. That's right.
SPEAKER_01We were the little kids, we couldn't find anywhere to go. And and um, yeah, we just had like a crazy long, heavy conversation about everything we had been through as kids and with our moms and you know, all of the things. Um, and I think that's actually the night we discovered that I, the last rehab I went to was the last one that Nadia went, your sister went to.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And we were just, I think after that it was just like boom, let's be best friends. Are we best friends now? We're best friends now.
SPEAKER_00Of course we are.
SPEAKER_01Um, what do you think people get wrong about what healing actually is?
SPEAKER_00I think people get get they get wrong about it.
SPEAKER_01Like, like there's a lot of work that has to go into it, right? And maybe people look at you and they just think, oh, maybe he just goes to the gym and that's all, or whatever, you know, but there's more, there's so much depth to healing.
SPEAKER_00I think they think it can go a lot quicker than it can.
SPEAKER_01There it is, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I think you know it's a process and you gotta get help and you gotta talk about it. You got you know, you need to get counseling for it, which I admit I haven't done very well.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Well, so I've used other things to heal myself in ways that I shouldn't, maybe, and you know, I've done other things in ways that I should, you know, such as like working out, um, or sometimes having a drink or two to try to forget things, which is not something that helps you.
SPEAKER_01Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because I know you know, you've gotten my calls at three o'clock in the morning.
SPEAKER_01Like I've gotten many a call at three o'clock in the morning.
SPEAKER_00We won't go into those, but uh I've gotten a couple 3 a.m.
SPEAKER_01calls, I've gotten a blocked a couple times in the middle of the night and then re-added in the morning.
SPEAKER_00We've uh we've gotten in many interesting conversations over the phone of the years.
SPEAKER_01We have, we really have. What part of yourself do you think you're still trying to protect?
SPEAKER_00I think just that inner child that you know, I think as entertainers, as kids, you know, if you do something that echoes through history, like the sandwich or Alex Mack, I think you hold on to that love, especially when you didn't get the love from your family. I know, you know, your situation with your mom. So I think you know, the fans definitely can help, but at the same time, they don't really know the real person.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00So it's good to like have a friendship like we do where you know we can talk about, you know, everything. Everything and what we went through, and you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. You've seen both extremes. So being celebrated and also being completely broken.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Such different what a range of emotions between those two things, right? What keeps you going when life stops making sense? And you've gotten so many of those phone calls from me, you know, just that just the same, you know, uh through my divorce, through, you know, and I I watched my friends, and I mean you guys really took on a lot of my emotions too, which showed me how connected we are.
SPEAKER_00you know and I've said funny story about her divorce too.
SPEAKER_01Can I tell the tell her, yeah. I always I always say like shit, my I really hope my ex-husband never runs into Marty York at a bar anywhere. So I we were I was drinking at her at her uh her wedding and I I'm divorced just I mean I'm sure everybody realizes yes for someone much much better not even compared never liked that guy uh he didn't he didn't and I she we were in a place with a bunch of candles and I took a candle and was walking around the uh I was walking around the dance floor area and everybody was like honey honey put that down put that down you're gonna burn the place down Natanya said afterwards I wish you would have burnt the place down you should fucking burn that motherfucker to the ground ship so yeah it was uh we had some adventures yes we have and so many moments like that where you know I mean I had a I'm I've been very open and honest about it I've I had a long period of of suicidal ideation when I first went through my divorce um I think that level of betrayal which I haven't I I really haven't told the story too much it just life stops making sense and you're just like what the fuck you know like with your mom all of these things life just stops making sense because these types of things are not supposed to happen yeah they are not supposed to happen in life you know like you said it's a literal fucking movie yeah so we're like in the movies and we're also living a movie not fair you know what I mean I mean we've been through stuff that's in movies yeah in real life um there's a huge huge fucking stigma around mental health right and I think that probably like anyone that's really really diehard followed my journey would assume naturally that this is a podcast about either 90s nostalgia or drug addiction right and for me I really wanted to create a space really just for my friends like everyone that's coming on I have a personal relationship with in one way or another right and I just wanted to create a space for my friends to come on a podcast and talk about who they really are without having to be Marty York or yeah yeah or any of the things and and hopefully get willing to to open up about their mental health issues and struggles throughout their lifetime so we could start destigmatizing the shit. There's nothing embarrassing about mental health there's just not there's nothing embarrassing about having depression or anxiety and if you're a human being in today's world and you have and you own a phone if you're opening your phone and going online you're seeing gruesome shit on your phone screens every day show me one person that hasn't had anxiety because of that or depression. I I would love to meet that person and know how they do it.
SPEAKER_00It's infuriating to me like some of the stuff it's it's it's crazy and it's it's really not trying not to like I want a so bad comment and just say like I know you can't though like screwed up shit and just be like I know like what is wrong with you people or like what you know and you can't you yeah especially someone like you you can't do that you'll get eaten up in a comment screenshot what we say and take it and be like hey look what Marty York said about that and like I'm at a point where it's just like go ahead.
SPEAKER_01Right. Who fucking cares?
SPEAKER_00I don't give a fuck yeah go ahead.
SPEAKER_01Who cares? Yeah I um you know listen when I was thinking about this podcast and why I wanted to start it like the heart of the matter is because I know there's somebody that's gonna be out there listening that has looked up to you their whole life or maybe even found you in their adulthood and and really admire you because of your physique or your movie career or whatever whatever it might be, right? Or just how much grace you showed the world in the last couple years publicly how you're able to get through things. And you've had a couple public not so great things right that you've had to get through too.
SPEAKER_00We all have so part of being who we are it's part of it's part of it it's the thing about it is we can't do anything that's right sometimes without somebody clipping it. Clipping it or taking it you know and everybody has their cameras out now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah it's it's fucked and it all leads into the mental health yeah crisis that we are facing as Americans. If somebody is out in the world right now and they're listening to this episode right and they hear that you've been able to get through such incredibly major things in your life in a way that hasn't destroyed you right that's so inspiring. That's so inspiring. And that also shows that person and wherever they are listening it's okay to have depression it's okay to have anxiety it's okay to to feel these things I think even as men right you guys are conditioned societally to um not really have big feelings and show emotion like that and especially a guy like you you know with like it's just not I think you just don't connect the two right and and maybe part of I mean I don't know do you have you ever felt that the part of like with the gym and all of that that that was another way you could protect yourself with maybe even subconsciously without even knowing yeah I mean the whole gym thing came it's an interesting story yeah because I you know had lost so much weight I was like a hundred pounds at 18 and you know I was I had felt so beat down.
SPEAKER_00I would always I was always a skinny kid you know my whole my whole life. Yeah how tall were you I wasn't really tall you know but I was always I was always a skinny kid I was always a small you know small kid in school like a lot of child actors are that um and I always wanted you know I collect I was a comic book nerd I always had comic books I wanted to be I wanted to look like those guys and after my car accident I I started doing physical therapy and the guy was like a bodybuilder and he was like I was like how do I look like you and he was like showing me how what to you know this is what you need to eat and this is what you need to do and not when I started weightlifting it changed not only my my physique but it changed my mentality and gave me a certain um just a certain kind of like I can't even think of the word just gave me like uh you know power it felt made me feel powerful I was gonna say I can only imagine there's a confidence that comes from like being somebody who can literally transform themselves into looking like something completely different right like the power and confidence that comes from that yeah I don't I mean you don't go to the gym I don't go to the gym I went one time with you yeah that's right I've never been back since I've got the video of that too she's curling five pound weights and she's like do I do it like this for a minute I was like remember I was going to the gym for a yeah let's work on the form a little bit because you were just is this what I do yeah I'm not a I'm not a gym person but as somebody who does work in mental health advocacy yeah working out's like one of the best medicines in the world without a doubt you know but it has to be kind of mind body spirit or else you know you can have like the best physique in the whole wide world but if you're not taking care of you know your heart and your head too it's you know how how how do you manage to balance all of that I mean I haven't done a very good job of it lately.
SPEAKER_01I mean I think I haven't either lately I can do a better job of it. Me too I've actually just signed up for counseling so I'm gonna start going okay I'm gonna get help and uh I never you know mentally took care of everything that happened with my mom and my sister and and um just the life that I lived as a younger actor and uh the fights that happened in my family and you know that's in that's so interesting because so I I had kind of a same thing I like really strongly believe when I went through my divorce I don't think all of that was really about him. Do you know what I mean? Yeah because that very quickly I was like relieved he was gone you know but it broke open all this other shit that because again with that type of a betrayal and without taking care of certain things in your lifetime they stack up. Yeah and it just takes one thing to open that floodgate and you never know what it's gonna be. You know so for me when I went through my divorce it actually opened the floodgates of you know uh not properly healing from what my mother did to me um not properly addressing the fact that I found out I'm adopted at 35 not properly addressing my boyfriend that passed away you know um so many things and then I didn't even think about this till you said it not properly addressing that like young Natanya that was just a little actress girl you know and like like mourning that also it became your identity a hundred percent and still to this day and I think that when you physically have certain you know red hair whatever it is of course you it's like people are gonna remember for your whole life and then also too with you I I I've noticed because I've been with you so many times when you've gotten recognized people recognize you now so much too because of the physical transformation. What has that been like to like kind of get recognized for turning yourself into you know I mean it's something I a man of steel I it's something I like I mean I want to play characters like that um fortunately somehow it always turns out to be playing the Italian Guido into something but I mean you do it really well though I do I do it's your fault I do that part very well I do that part very well maybe it was my TMZ appearances or something it could it could have been one thing I I I am doing on this podcast I'm gonna do it with you right now is listen like any podcast you do people are automatically gonna assume that all the questions are going to be about the sand lot or even Boy Meets World or whatever right um not me I will tell you my favorite um Marty York appearance and it was um what's that guy's name the the Andre Oh Eric Andre Show Eric Andre Show where you played none other than DJ poly D. Yeah it's the most insane ridiculous thing you've ever seen you did such a good job I don't know that I could like go out there and pull something off like that. Well there's no lines the whole show's inhibition but I know but you have to just let all your inhibitions I mean it is true um like just real groundlings type shit. You have to like put your hair up like that and go out there and be it totally was it was like it was amazing.
SPEAKER_00The crazy thing about that show is like everything you know I've only done shows where everything's scripted and to do a show that's like there's no lines it's just everything. It's all improv. It's Eric improving the whole time like being the crazy person he is which is so weird because off camera he's not that guy.
SPEAKER_01Really?
SPEAKER_00The moment the cameras go on he turns into like this character that's just an insane lunatic well you know there was a part of the show where he like literally pulled down his pants and put his no back between his legs what?
SPEAKER_01And did you see it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah I didn't want to but I did and I was like I was like what what show am I on right now? Like and do I get paid for you and I'm sitting next to Pauly D who also didn't know it was going to happen and then I've got Hannibal Burris next to me and I've got Lupe Fiasco it was ridiculous. Yeah and we were all kind of like did he just do that and that's right I forgot Lupe Fiasco oh my god yeah they put like a bald wig on lupe fiasco he has dreads and he looked like a Romulan or something from like Star Trek but uh Wow it was like so weird the show was so weird and the set was like at some crappy studio like in in Burbank somewhere no it wasn't I don't think it was Burbank it was like Van It was like Van Eyes or something.
SPEAKER_01It was like oh my god the most ghetto studio funny it looked so professional and I mean you'd never I love that I saw that um oh my god it's like how long have we been friends now? A long time like six seven years I saw that like forever ago I thought that was hilarious. That's my favorite yeah I did a lot of this also I mean I do love you as a young Mr. Feeney. Yeah I do love the young Mr. Feeney with the little suit and the little red tie and just the you were so fucking cute.
SPEAKER_00Boy Meets World was an amazing show it was a just such a fun show to work on the cast.
SPEAKER_01And you and I have both been so lucky in our adulthood that I I know same for you we've been able to kind of develop develop different adult friendships with them you know and like what great people they all are.
SPEAKER_00They're amazing.
SPEAKER_01Amazing people and they've been so good to that both of us yeah like fun fact like I think half the cast of the sandwich has been on Boy Meets World is that right Pat's been on it's been all of the 90s for the most part I think Grant was on it Brandon was on it.
SPEAKER_00Wow well yeah from my show Larissa was on Boy Meets I was on the most episodes though I was on I was on three episodes this show look at you go yeah I originally had a the funny thing is I was on the first episode Danielle was on and I had a recurring but it wasn't the first that wasn't the pilot it was the second episode or something right yeah it was uh I think it was called Boys Tomsa or something like that it was like the name of the episode oh my god and and Danielle was only supposed to be on for one episode and that was it's crazy and I had a recurring role I was supposed to come on as a regular third friend and you know and Danielle just slayed it yeah you know and I had met Danielle numerous times at other auditions with her mom and they both had poofy hair with the bangs. They both had the same haircut which I always thought was funny.
SPEAKER_01And I would see them at so many auditions before and and uh then you know I landed Boy Meets World and you know uh I was talking to Danielle and she's like oh I'm just on for this one episode and I was like oh yeah I have a recurring role in the show I was like I'm gonna go on to become a series regular on this and I was in the death chair the death chair yeah because Le Norris I mean so many of you guys got the death chair fuck that's right really iconic people actually got the death chair yeah when I so I did second season so Danielle had was already on but for whatever reason she wasn't really in the episode much that I was in I don't know if that's because I don't I don't know I don't know why um but what a lot of people don't know is my friendship with her started as an adult you know um I didn't know any of them really okay I knew Ben a little bit when I was doing Boy Meets World but you know uh we would have had no way of knowing this at the time obviously but but what does it feel like looking back? Like even I think about this sometimes too like thinking about when you were on the sandlot or Boy Meets World or any of those things did you have any idea at that age like how cemented this shit was about to become in like 90s pop culture history no no I mean when I was doing it I had no idea Sandlot would be what it is today.
SPEAKER_00When did you know when was like the at whatever age when was the first time you knew that sandlot was something honestly it was like 2018 yeah it was like just recently I know but it was so weird because like you know my life didn't even revolve around that my friends would be like hey it's yeah yeah here and there whatever but not much yeah but it wasn't like like today yeah today where it would like just exploded and you know I see my face on t-shirts and yeah yeah jerseys and Amazon sells these yeah yeah jerseys and uh you know I think I have one Your Killin' Me Smalls it's the highest selling t-shirt is that right slogan from any movie ever made. Holy shit is your killing me smalls is literally the highest selling slogan shirt of any movie. And it's like um it's just crazy. But it's also crazy how we got ripped off with so much of this stuff because we didn't sign we didn't know in our contracts what this movie would become. So for publications you just signed all your rights away yeah we signed I mean we're supposed we were supposed to get five percent of the net cost we actually went to you know after we did the 2018 thing and we saw the explosion of sandlot stuff we were like we need to find out about this merchandise because we should get paid something. Wow and we actually went to MGM because they own the rights to our you know merchandise and we're like you need to give us 25 years of back pay for all the merch sandlot merch that you've been selling did they and they I think I don't want to go into the specifics of course they probably just broke a deal or something.
SPEAKER_01They gave like they cut a deal a check to Pat for some very low amount because they sold millions and millions of that oh right because it's technically his line yeah and mine they they just I mean they gave me and the rest of the guys a couple hundred bucks and they were like have a nice day and we were like what the hell yeah and it's uh yeah it's crazy that's that's such a good point I'm thinking about that too there was like I mean so much Alex Mac merchandite we had a board game we had a full line of books same for babysitters I mean so much where's that money yeah it's crazy that's another thing I wanted to talk to you about too and I've I started this silly little thing on TikTok where um I've just been getting these like fat stacks of residual checks lately but it doesn't mean anything like the bigger the the envelope is the less money you know you're getting the thicker it is you're fucked yeah I got like two cents the other day from uh what was it from Duckman I did the voice on Duckman of one of the little bears.
SPEAKER_00How cutie oh my god I you know what some of my biggest checks are yeah no one really knows this what little giants really I did the ADR did you I know those are the biggest checks the ADR ones I did all of that background dubbing for the kids and if you like re-watch the movie you'll definitely know here are my boys now that you I did a lot of ADR too yeah it's great money I did 50 I did 50 films really yeah so I'll get a check for you Adam's Family Values searching for Bobby Fisher like when a man loves a woman I get like literally sometimes I'll get checks for like films that I don't even remember doing ADR for and I'll be like I'm sure oh I did ADR for that wow I was with Barbara Harris so it was like we had a crew Adam's Family Values yeah Adam's Family Values wow also you know growing up so I obviously knew what the sandlot was right after the sand the sandlot came out what year? 93.
SPEAKER_0193 okay so that was a year before Alec Alex Mack came out in 94 so I did that movie at 95. So in 95 I did a movie with Chauncey in Canada. Yeah um and I guess that's when I first like realized what a big deal Sandlot was because the this was one of those beautiful but rare times where I just didn't even audition we just got a call because it was the same creator from Alex Mack who did this movie called um oh my god it's so b it's so good. Sorry Tommy um but you know it's so cheesy. Uh Shadow Zone Undead Express and me and Chauncey we were you know 15 years old in the height of puberty in Canada this film for whatever reason they just let the kids run buck wild we each had our own hotel room the parents had their own hotel room it was crazy it was wild it and it was like Chauncey City for a minute and we were all just living in it and then you know this but Pat was one of my best friends growing up yeah you know but you and I didn't know each other back then.
SPEAKER_00Yeah well the crazy thing about the sand lot is like even to this day like I you know I just shot Abbott Elementary last year. That's right yes and I was on set right here. Yeah I was on set and I was like we were kind of like I was talking to one of the other you know girls it was like a DMV scene and I was talking to one this girl that uh we became friends and she was the one that was like the DMV lady that was like an a-hole to everybody and she she was like oh yeah I just I did this and this and she's like what kind of stuff have you done I was like oh I was in the sand lot and she was like what yeah like people it's just it's followed crazy like the stigma the movie has and it's the uh just when we do these Broadway theater shows we do and and seeing people know every single line and the cool thing is like people that watched us when they were kids are now taking their kids to watch us that's the thing and so they're you know their kids are just as excited about the film as they were growing up.
SPEAKER_01Well yeah and to your point you know we both just woke up one day and we're kind of famous again. It's what it felt like to me. Yeah I was like wait a second I've the last 10 years no one's really been calling on me for shit you know um and thank God because I was in no position to be called on. If the resurgence of the 90s had happened like five minutes earlier than when it did I might not even be here sitting with you right now because I was so deep in a drug addiction that I was having such a hard time getting a hold of um you know that I got sober at Beiteshuva and like a year later I opened Instagram one day and I was like well how'd I get this many followers and I was like that's like how innocent it was I was just trying to figure out what's going on. I'm like what is and I was like oh wow okay and then it was like 90s account after 90s account after 90s account following me and then it was thing after thing after thing and then just like organically all you guys started coming in my life you know I had a situation with um another child actor where I stepped in a little bit to help and that's where you and where you and I got connected and um and I stepped in to help too. You sure did yes we both did.
SPEAKER_00Yeah and um
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, it's just it's a it's a really interesting thing that I was able to meet you as an adult. And also like when we became friends too, it also wasn't as big as it is now.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So that's been something really special that we've gotten to experience together. You know, as year after year we're we're both kind of doing bigger and bigger things and things are changing, and and then comes this documentary, and and that's what I want to ask you a couple of questions about. You know, how what how do you handle that? Like what because we are either masochists and that's fine, or we're just very strong, confident people, but you know, to embark back on an adventure in this entertainment industry that has um, you know, loved us and and both abandoned both of us at the same time in a time where social media is so present that we are literally having to figure out how to protect our children from being bullied, you know, to a degree that will, like I said earlier, change their nervous system.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01What do you what kind of mentality do you think it takes to like really be like, okay, I'm gonna give this another shot? You know, even with this podcast, it's like, you know, so much good and bad is gonna come from it. And we have to be ready for that kind of thing. You know, already like I open my DMs and it's either, you know, um it's it's anything from people telling me I'm the most beautiful girl they've ever seen in their life to like ask. I mean, I have people that DM me say, Are you a man? Um, I have people DM, oh I mean, it's crazy sh unsolicited dick pics. Please stop with those, you guys. It's just I don't like them. Thank you. I get so much crazy shit, you know, and and now putting ourselves out there so publicly again. I'll tell you, for me, as a woman, almost 45 now, which is crazy, um, it's scary. Yeah, it's scary because I'm I'm a very confident, self-assured person, but man, a a comment can pull me down just as fast as it can pull anyone else down.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah. You know? I try not to read them anymore.
SPEAKER_01I try to, it's so hard.
SPEAKER_00Especially if dumb things happen and TMZ catches me doing some stupid shit, and I'll just be like, you know, I'll freak out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Because like I'm freaking out hoping that what I just did is not gonna be aired. But I never know. So it's like, yeah, okay, please don't come out, please don't come out, and then I'll get a call from the thing about TMZ is they'll always call and be like, hey, we uh saw you get in a fight this weekend, uh, and we're gonna play it tomorrow. And a bunch of people filmed it, and I go, Can you please not do that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and they're like, sorry, we have to.
SPEAKER_00Unfortunately, we have to, or somebody else is gonna run it and we're gonna get it first. And I'm just like, Do you want to give your side of the story? Sure. This is what actually happened. Yeah. And they'll either spin what I say or they'll actually say what I say.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then I'll see the list of like all the comments, and I'll just be like, It's I mean, even for me, sometimes, you know, the I I'm all up in those comments too from last time. I'm like, you don't know who the fuck he is. Stop thinking.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because you always go to bat for me.
SPEAKER_01I do. But I mean, it's you gotta just I don't even respond to my own comments.
SPEAKER_00People are gonna talk shit. They are no matter what.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00I mean, people talk shit to me when I was skinny, people talk shit to me when I got buffed. Yeah, people are gonna talk shit to me about this and that. I don't I don't really give a damn.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, who cares anymore?
SPEAKER_00Like, do your thing, follow your dreams. Yeah, and you know, you wanted to do this podcast, you're doing it.
SPEAKER_01Can you believe it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you can't be worried about what anybody says, or you can't be worried about like, oh, I'm not doing this right, it doesn't look professional enough. Like, just you're like, I'm gonna fucking do it.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00And I'm gonna fucking make it the way I want to. I'm gonna show people who Natanya is, you know, and that's what you're doing. And I'm so proud of you for that.
SPEAKER_01You know? And you'll I I want to tell a quick story before we wrap up. So what was here before? I don't even remember what chair was here before, but um I remember it was like kind of morning-ish time, and I called you.
SPEAKER_00Are you talking about the story about the chair now?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, this is how we're gonna end. I'm gonna tell the chair story. So I called you, it was like, you know, uh well, like when you call me at 3 a.m., it's like I do it at the same thing, but like 11 a.m. Like a respectable time. I'm just kidding.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, respect. But it's the same shit.
SPEAKER_01It's not it's all the same shit. It's just that, you know, different ways the emotions are coming out. And um, you've been such a safe place for me. Truly, you know, um, we've had so many misconceptions about our friendship since like the second we became friends. Um, another thing I think people don't understand necessarily about celebrity is like that's how deep it can go sometimes. Is like you post a picture with someone, by the next day, you have 15, you know, DMs saying, Is that your girlfriend? Is that your boyfriend? Is that your girlfriend? Whatever, you know, you're cheating. It's just crazy. It's craziness. So, you know, we've we've been accused of being boyfriend and girlfriend, brother and sister.
SPEAKER_00You know, somebody said that, really? Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I got I've gotten that a lot. Like, wow, you and Marty look so much alike.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like, We both have blue eyes. Yours are much bluer than mine though. Mine are like reddish blue.
SPEAKER_01When I made my hair darker, maybe.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You're tanner than me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I don't know how they mistake that for brother's.
SPEAKER_01I can say it though. Um, so but you've been such a safe place for me, God, so many times in the last, I mean, seven years for sure, but like really in the last couple years, shit has gone down for both of us, you know. And I think that's really where the rubber meets the road. That's when you're gonna find out who the fuck your friends are.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, like let some big shit go down in your life. And then when the dust settles, see who's still there.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Look at all of those people, say thank you, and keep it pushing. You know what I mean? Those are your people and keep it moving, and and that's who you are to me, with without a doubt, you know.
SPEAKER_00And um it's easy for people to roll with you when everything's going great when you're on top of the world.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00It's the people that roll with you when nothing's going great.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00Those are those are the true people.
SPEAKER_01Those are the true people because and I think you're very we're very similar in this way. When things are going good, we're like boom, firework. You know, when things are not, it's like the same extreme on the other side. So we can walk in a room, we're very similar in this way, and like command the room instantly. Or if there's like, you know, if we're in pain, it's like it's you know, the the the heaviest, heaviest feeling.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01And that's where all the mental health and all of this stuff come into play. So it was one of those mornings where I was like, you know, fuck my life, I hate everything, I hate everybody. Uh let me call Marty. And um, and you know, I I had I was getting honest about some stuff with you, you know, uh my finances or that's uh another huge misconception is everybody thinks we're fucking rich. Why do people think that? They because of residuals? That's crazy, you know.
SPEAKER_00Well it's funny if you look online, it it says your net worth. I know it says I'm worth like 1.2 million. Me too.
SPEAKER_01Exactly 1.2. Where is it? I know where it is actually. I know where it's I know where my million is, but yeah. Um, but yeah, it's true. You can go online and they say the craziest things. It's just another misconception about actors. You know, I live paycheck to paycheck. So I was in a major kind of financial fear moment, all of the things, just doubting myself, like fuck this. I'll just whatever. I'm I'll just, you know, crawl up in a hole and go away or whatever. And you're like, Natanya, stop it. Yeah, you can do this. You were born to do this, and I'm like crying. I'm like, I don't even have the money, and I'm buying this pink chair I want. And you were like, How much is the chair, honey?
SPEAKER_00And it looks great.
SPEAKER_01It's a it's a perfect chair.
SPEAKER_00Thanks to Nate for putting the chair together wherever you want.
SPEAKER_01Shout out, Nate. Um, it was just such a seamless move. Yeah, it was it was so mardy. It's it's probably not something people know about you, just how tender you can be and sensitive and nurturing. And I know when I cry, it's hard for you to see, you know, because we're so connected in that way, and vice versa. And and yeah, you just quickly, you were like, send me a link, you know. I I want to be the person who contributes that for you, so you can do what you're gonna do and give that to the world.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And uh here we are.
SPEAKER_00There you are, the beautiful chair, right? The beautiful pink chair.
SPEAKER_01This beautiful pink chair.
SPEAKER_00When uh here we are, babe. We're still here, babe.
SPEAKER_01We're still here, baby.
SPEAKER_00Sorry, I just said here we are, babe. We're still here, babe. Blows up. You're gonna say this pink chair in every single episode. That's I'm the one.
SPEAKER_01Marty York bought the pink chair.
SPEAKER_00I'm the guy.
SPEAKER_01When you hear we're still here, babe, I know the babe part of it. That's very Natanya, but like when you hear, like, we're still here, we're still fucking here. What does that mean to you? You know, as two actors from the 90s who had kind of their their lightning in a bottle in the 90s, it just is what it is. Yeah, and now we're hustling as adults to sustain our entertainment career, whatever that's about to look like moving forward. Yeah, right? Like whether um the sandlock, whatever, whatever it's gonna be. Your documentary, we're gonna be traveling all over for the film festival, all the thing, right? Whatever, whatever that's supposed to be, what does that mean to you? We're still here.
SPEAKER_00I think it means we've overcome things that not a lot of people have. And you know, we've seen, we've been to the highest mountains and we've been to the lowest valleys. Yeah. And I think we uh and we've just over we've both overcome some horrible things in our life, and you know, drug addiction and and you know, parents being killed, and and you know, drug addiction on my part and or my you know, my sister's part. And uh I think it means that we've overcome so much and we're still going, even in an industry that's not the same anymore. Right, you know, right it's not even close to being what it was when we were kids.
SPEAKER_01Nowhere close.
SPEAKER_00I mean, everything now is taking away. Yeah, you do it all yourself, and we're doing podcasts.
SPEAKER_01We're doing everything.
SPEAKER_00So we're still here to means I'm still here and I'm gonna do whatever it takes.
SPEAKER_01That's fucking right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, I'm gonna end with this question, a little bit sensitive, but just you know, in honor of today, Mother's Day, I know how much your mom meant to you. Um, and because we're filming this on Mother's Day, and it really just like very oddly worked out for this day because we had gone we had gone through a couple dates, and then when I asked you for today, I was like, oh my fucking god, I just asked him to come on Mother's Day, and I texted you, you're like, it's okay, it's you. Yeah. You know, um, but because it's Mother's Day, I just want to give you the space if you have anything that you want to share with us about who your mom really was.
SPEAKER_00Well, I can tell you there's nowhere else I would rather be than right here on your show on Mother's Day. Because you've gotten me through very tough things with the situation with my mom. Uh I think my mom would have loved you too. And um she had red hair just like you. Um just wherever she is right now. I hope she's looking down at me and smiling, and that's all. She was an amazing woman, she accomplished amazing things. You know, we had situations like you and your mom had, but at the end of the day, it's her mom.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00And sometimes you gotta look past that stuff, and forgiveness is hard to do, but it's it's something you need to do to move forward.
SPEAKER_01Necessary.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Marty, thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Coming on. We're still here, babe. Thank you for being such an important and integral part of my life in real life. Like when all this shit ends, when the cameras go off, when we yell cut and all of this goes away, there's always our friendship. It's always been there. It's so precious and and sacred to me. So I want to thank you for all of that, and thank you for getting so honest. So hopefully, we can like help some people in the world feel a little bit less alone. That's the whole point. If if even just one person hears something you said on this episode and they feel either inspired or less alone, boom, baby, we win. We've done it. We're still here, babe. We're still here, babe. We're still here.