Are Rich, Tammie, and Matt Drago Somewhere in Montana

Actor and fourth-degree black belt Matt Drago joins Rich and Tammie to dive deep into his role in Somewhere in Montana, a film about legacy, connection, and clashing perspectives. From method acting and indie film grit to personal stories that shaped his journey, Matt opens up like never before. If you love behind-the-scenes insight and heartfelt storytelling, this episode is a must-listen.

Guest: Matt Drago

Matt Drago is a Los Angeles-based actor, singer, and fourth-degree black belt known for his breakout role as Fabian in Somewhere in Montana, alongside Graham McTavish and Michelle Hurd. With a background in musical theater, opera, and martial arts, Matt brings depth and discipline to every performance. He’s also the founder of a production company focused on telling untold stories from overlooked corners of America.

Main Topics:

·         Matt Drago’s journey from musical theater and opera to film and television

·         His method acting approach and preparation for the role of Fabian in Somewhere in Montana

·         Behind-the-scenes stories from working with Graham McTavish and Michelle Hurd

·         The importance of legacy, storytelling, and independent filmmaking

·         How Matt’s martial arts background shaped his discipline and stunt coordination skills

·         Launching a production company with his wife to spotlight small-town American stories

·         The real-life love story that sounds like it came

Join us for “One Song,” a benefit concert by the Big Infinite to support the Ed Lally Foundation’s mental health and suicide prevention initiatives. This special evening will feature heartfelt music and person stories, fostering connection and well-being among attendees. Come together to celebrate unity and healing through the power of music.

One Song Benefit Concert for the Ed Lally Foundat

Emily Adolph and Ona Crow are the co-creators of Nourish & Connect, an event designed to foster meaningful connections in a supportive and empowering environment. NOURISH & CONNECT – The Soul Lift

Chapters

• 0:00 Celebrating 10 Years of the Podcast
• 1:38 Meet Matt Drago
• 3:48 The Roots: Singing vs. Acting
• 7:08 Life on Stage
• 11:11 The Soul of Theater
• 13:26 Method Acting & Film Craft
• 15:51 Behind the Scenes with John Schneider
• 20:02 Sugar Bottles and Stunt Work
• 23:11 The Unsung Heroes of Film
• 27:09 The Fabian in Freedom Tour
• 35:23 Somewhere in Montana: The Story
• 44:20 Set Life and Real Friendships
• 51:53 Falling in Love with Fabian
• 56:18 The Real-Life Rom-Com
• 1:03:39 Advice for Young Performers
• 1:24:44 Closing Remarks

Transcript

Rich & Wendy 0:00
Hey, everyone is Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning ten this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared an episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we shared laughs, tears and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next ten years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios. Harford County Living presents conversations with Rich Bennett. 

Today, I'm going to get kind. 

No, no, no. The truth is. 

Rich Bennett 1:01
Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett. Today, Tammy Wingrove and I are thrilled to have with us a multifaceted talent from Los Angeles, actor Matt Drago. Many of you might recognize Matt from his role as Fabian, not the singer in the recently released film Somewhere in Montana, where he stars alongside Graham McTavish and Michelle Hurd. Beyond his on screen endeavors, Matt is a fourth degree black belt and is currently developing his own production company, aiming to produce a feature film in his home state of Virginia. Matt, great to have you on, man. How's it going? 

Matt Drago 1:42
I'm great. Rich Tammy, thank you so much for having me on your show today. This is going to be really, really fun. I can already tell. 

Rich Bennett 1:48
I got to ask, because now I'm showing my age. Do either of you know who the hell I was talking about when I mentioned Fabian, the singer? 

Matt Drago 1:56
Not a clue. 

Rich Bennett 1:58
Okay? Yeah. 

Matt Drago 1:59
I'll be honest. 

Rich Bennett 2:01
I didn't think so. 

Matt Drago 2:02
In her head to. 

Rich Bennett 2:03
Yeah. 

Tammie Wingrove 2:04
Hobby. Oh, you know, with a long flowing hair, but. 

Matt Drago 2:07
Thinking, too. Yeah, that's who I was thinking, too. But I don't think you actually had a cousin that literally grew his hair out. And we called them, like, Italian Fabio, because. 

Rich Bennett 2:16
Attack all. 

Matt Drago 2:18
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But. But I don't think that's who you're talking about. 

Rich Bennett 2:23
Feynman was one of those pop icons from back in, I want to say late fifties, early sixties. His biggest hit Turn Me Loose. He was in a couple of movies and yet never mind. I'm showing my age. Okay, enough of that. All right, So. 

Matt Drago 2:39
You sparked an idea in my head that I got to ask my friend Brandon Smith, who wrote and directed somewhere in Montana where he did get the name Fabian from, because I know that he got Verdugo from, you know, a street in L.A. because he's a West Coast director. But I actually don't know where he came up with the first name. So you sparked my interest to that. 

Rich Bennett 2:59
Say. And now he might have to write a movie about Fabian's life. And have you played the role of Fabian, especially since you sing as well? 

Matt Drago 3:08
That's right. I'm ready. I'm ready. Sign me up. 

Rich Bennett 3:11
Yeah. There you go. So which came first? The singing or the acting? 

Matt Drago 3:15
I mean, I think honestly, for me, it's always kind of been together. You know, in Virginia where I grew up, there really wasn't a lot of TV and film at the time. So musical theater was a medium that existed, and I always loved to sing. I was in choir growing up. I actually toured around Europe. I was actually in what's it's called The Sound of America National Band and Fire Tour. I was the 

Rich Bennett 3:40
Wow. 

Matt Drago 3:40
featured soloist and I was actually picked to basically tour around Europe with some really talented band members, singers, and we got to go to like six different countries. And so I've really honestly always loved singing. I actually also was in the Institute for Young Singers, which is the National Opera, 

Rich Bennett 4:02
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 4:02
plus Placido Domingo was the artistic director for it, and I was one of the two. 

Rich Bennett 4:08
Get out. 

Matt Drago 4:09
Very tenuous that was selected for that. I also did governor school. I don't know if that's a that's a Virginia thing, but basically the state pays for you to go to a college. And again, you're in high school at the time, but you go to a college and you're there for like a month with a lot of like actors, singers, people that are getting into journalism and basically like, you know, it's it's kids that are really motivated to do something in their life and have worked to achieve something in their life at that point. And basically the state pays for you to learn for a month. And we had teachers from Juilliard and NYU. 

Rich Bennett 4:48
Wow. 

Matt Drago 4:49
Yeah, it was an incredible experience. And then they do like a talent show. So I got to get up on stage in front of everybody and sing one of my favorite songs from Jekyll and Hyde called Confrontation. And so it was it was. So I've done a lot of singing over. Yea. So, you know, like again, Honors choir, State choir. Like, you know, I just, I really did love singing, but I think the medium in connecting singing with acting was musical theater for me growing up, and that's why I found myself on stage for probably about 25 shows growing up as a kid. Because I always say this to like young performers. Really anybody you know, young in their in their life and their career, when you don't have to pay the bills, that's the time you should take to like, just invest in yourself because you have so much more time to really like, just do it right. Like I, I wouldn't be able to afford doing three shows for no money right now. You know, we. But I was there when I was eight, nine years old. I could do a show in middle school. I could do it for community theater, and I could do a show like at a dinner theater at the same time. And be like, you know, Hey, mom, you're from the bill. I'm good. You know, I. It's an opportunity for you really to invest in yourself and invest in what you want to do. And if you know what you want to do early in life, even better. I mean, I say this all the time like I really did. I came onto this planet and just felt like I was born to do this. Like I loved storytelling. I was a kid from humble beginnings. I didn't need a lot of toys. I really just needed my own creativity, my own imagination. And and that's really what sparked my just genuine joy for what I do then and to this day. 

Rich Bennett 6:31
So do you miss theater at all? 

Matt Drago 6:33
I say it never goes away, you know, because I've done. 

Rich Bennett 6:36
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 6:37
Bit. I think that, you know, it's a part of me. I find myself at some point probably going back to the theater. But I know that there is kind of a hierarchy to this business, unfortunately. And I do say, unfortunately, because theater actors are some of the most talented, dedicated art. 

Rich Bennett 6:54
Oh, yes. 

Matt Drago 6:55
I know. You know, I remember really just going back to New York City at one point, like I was I was bartending. I was I was making money and I was spending it right back. You know? And I had, like, an audition coach. I studied with the great Michael Levine, who really tailored my audition. 

Rich Bennett 7:11
Oh, wow. 

Matt Drago 7:12
Casting directors. I studied with the great Ron Shetler, who was really I mean, he had his own studio set up, and it was about really training your voice to be able to play two different characters. Because again, Broadway you can have is, you know, Phantom of the Opera, but then you can have, you know, Spring Awakening or something like a little bit more pop, or you can do Silly voices. Like, I was up for Avenue Q, which is like a puppet, basically, you know? So it's a it's a puppet musical. Yeah. You look it up. 

Rich Bennett 7:40
Okay. 

Matt Drago 7:41
It actually, it actually won the Tony Award, ironically. And we were all pretty perplexed by this over a little show called Wicked. So it actually. 

Rich Bennett 7:50
It. 

Matt Drago 7:51
Yeah. Fun fact, if you're a theatre nerd like me. Yeah, it actually won the Tony Award. Wicked did not win the Tony Award for Best Musical. Avenue Q did. Which again? 

Rich Bennett 8:00
Wow. 

Matt Drago 8:01
Does it make sense? But that's for another, you know, that's. 

Rich Bennett 8:05
That's a whole nother show, right? 

Matt Drago 8:07
I mean, that's the thing. It's like, you know, the awards are something that like, are great, you know, But it's not why we get into this, you know, it's not why storytellers and collaborators get into this art. We get into this art to leave behind a few good stories that can resonate over time. I think of the people that I grew up idolizing, you know, your Francis Ford Coppola's Your Martin Scorsese. I mean, as a young Sicilian kid with family from New York City. I mean, like I was raised on the. Know, And I actually just went to Sicily last year with my cousin and I'm trying to get my birthright citizenship. And it just 

Rich Bennett 8:42
Oh, 

Matt Drago 8:42
really 

Rich Bennett 8:42
wow. 

Matt Drago 8:42
connected connected me back to the stories that were inside of me since since I was a little kid. But yeah, that's that's why you do it. You do it for the love of the game and, and, and yeah, it's just it's all part of the journey, right? You just kind of have to take it all in and learn all you can, especially in those years where you don't have to pay the bills and, and then. Yeah, I think theater will always be a part of my journey and I hope to come back to it someday. But I did want to say that, you know, the hierarchy sometimes is that you can unfortunately get the film and the TV credits. Are more likely because producers on Broadway, they know that it's going to put butts in the seats. Right. And so 

Rich Bennett 9:22
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 9:22
in. The exposure of being in film and TV a lot of times gives you a leg up as a performer. And then if you have a theater background for me, you're coming back and it feels like home. So, you know, I think Denzel Washington, he just opened Otello on Broadway, and I think he said something really beautiful. 

Rich Bennett 9:42
Oh, wow. 

Matt Drago 9:43
Which is that like, you know, I'm okay and I'm not going to get the quote. Exactly. But he basically said, like, I'm a I'm a theater actor through and through that that just does film. And he's one of the greatest film actors of of all time. But he knows that theater is what made him because, again, theater is live, It's alive. And so it really is one of those mediums that I think really makes you one of just a really, really well-rounded actor and well-rounded artist. 

Rich Bennett 10:10
I agree with you 100% because you look at the you know, a lot of the actors that did theater and then they go into movies and they end up going back to a lot of them, end up going back to theater and just love it. I think about, 

oh, God, who was Oh, Robin Williams. Because Robin Williams used to do theater and look how good he was at acting. 

Matt Drago 10:34
It feeds the soul. 

Rich Bennett 10:36
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 10:37
It's a because again and in especially I think today where we're at, you know five years past COVID really like for three and a half, if you're in California, like me. 

Rich Bennett 10:47
Right. 

Matt Drago 10:49
We held on to it a lot longer than we probably should have, but we really did. We were. And it really was. I know it was to keep people safe and I get that. But like, you know, it was just like one of those 

Tammie Wingrove 10:59
These. 

Matt Drago 10:59
things where I'm like, we got to move past this and try to find a way to get back together. And part of that is to get back into the theaters. I mean, Sean Baker, who just, you know, won basically swept the Oscars for a Nora this year, which is an independent film, which really gives a lot of independent films. Hope right now. I mean, a $6 million budget like Rich to I mean, that's that's what the Godfather budget was 53 years ago, just to let you know, like that. That's what they were able to do and sweep the Oscars this year. So it really does give a lot of artists hope because I think you were saying it rich before we started the podcast. It's like you love independent films. What's because there's no real guardrails up with with independent films? We we don't have the marketing budget. We don't have like the CGI, we don't have like the means to make it like, you know, 

the bells and whistles, right? It's about 

Rich Bennett 11:54
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 11:54
the. It's about the acting, you know. And so I think like that and getting back to the theater specifically is so vital right now for our society because we need to be around each other more. And a theater is a great place to do that. 

Rich Bennett 12:08
You just floored me. Said the Godfather was 53 years ago. It doesn't seem like it. 

Matt Drago 12:13
Well, I have to say that because I actually just posted on one of my stories because, again, my idol is Francis. I posted something and I posted, you know, on my story, you know, as a young New York City actor with Sicilian roots like this is this is what you know, this is what inspired me. This is what you know. And I just I did a quick post and one of the first people to like my story was none other than Francis Ford Coppola. And that was a couple of days ago when it was the 53rd anniversary of The Godfather. So you can imagine I was I was in bliss. 

Rich Bennett 12:49
Okay. With. With your Sicilian. You mentioned Sicily a couple of times. Have you heard of the Sicilian Tenors? 

Matt Drago 12:57
Yes, I have. I have. 

Rich Bennett 12:58
Get out. I. 

Matt Drago 13:00
I grew up and I actually was a countertenor for a long time. A countertenor is somebody that can essentially I mean, in a way, it's sort of like like you're Frankie Valli. 

Rich Bennett 13:13
Right. 

Matt Drago 13:14
So the Sicilian tenor is, I believe I believe did that as well. Right. 

Rich Bennett 13:21
I know I'm not 100% sure about that. I know it's. Three of them. One of them was a friend of mine earlier, Scott Yeo. Who they. Their performance are just out of this world. They sound phenomenal. So, Leo, if you're listening, you've got to get man on stage to sing with you guys. Unless you're afraid he'll take your spot. I'm just saying, you know that they, they, he just they just performed here is not too long ago. And my wife and I went to see him and they're. They're just. They're amazing. 

Matt Drago 13:55
I really did. I actually had my grandmother, I because I lived with my grandmother in New York City when I when I moved for college. And it was just so special because we would go to the opera together. We would, you know, we got season tickets for City Opera. We'd go to the Met together and, you know, every time that we went out, it was it was just a real joy that I reflect on all the time. So, yeah, no, I love opera, I love singing, I love the power of the human voice and. 

Rich Bennett 14:24
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 14:25
Yeah, I've definitely heard the. I mean, what's incredible about them is they're the three of them, but they sound like one voice sometimes. It's. 

Rich Bennett 14:32
Oh, yeah. 

Matt Drago 14:33
Pretty incredible what they do. Yeah. With their harmonies and yeah, just the power of their voice. I mean, I got to be honest, and that's part of it too. And becoming an actor and a singer, I feel like a genetically. A lot of Italians and Sicilians as well. We've got big voices, so we got to use that to somehow or. 

Rich Bennett 14:52
So I want I want to get into the movie here in a little bit, but I want to ask you a couple other things. I'm sure Tammy probably does, too, 

because you worked with. One of my while. He's he's a good actor, but I think he's an awesome singer. What was it like working with John Schneider? 

Matt Drago 15:14
John Sparrow. What was so incredible about that shoot on What Would Jesus Do? The journey continues is he was there for one day and that was incredible. So. You get to a point in your career where, you know, again, you are essentially trying to fit a you know, a a small, you know, production. You're trying to help out a small production. And essentially to do that, you know, you might not have a lot of time to really give to the production. And so he had 14 scenes. He showed up on set, you know, obviously weren't perfect, ready to go. And it was really just an incredible thing to watch him. And I think it was the first time I really was. Around a throw in. Film and television. And so I really learned a lot. I ironically was there for two days, and I was only part of one scene. You know, it was actually pretty fun because at one point they didn't have a stunt coordinator on set. It was, you know, a very quick production and. Of getting him and all of his stuff done. And I raised my hand and I said, Hey, I'm a fourth degree black belt in karate my whole life. My dad 

Tammie Wingrove 16:34
One. 

Matt Drago 16:34
is my sensei. If you want me that kind of, you know, kind of put something together, I'm happy to do that. And so I actually organized the fight scene for John Mike's see Manning, you know, And I and it was pretty fun. You know, it was it was in a church, so it felt extra epic and. 

Rich Bennett 16:52
Oh, wow. 

Matt Drago 16:53
And it was it was just a really cool little, little, little quick thing that we did. We decided we'd get John in between the pews just to make it a little bit more dramatic. And and the two bad guys would just like, kick in while he was down, which is, you know, just kind of a sign of dominance because my character is really just kind of all about dominance. And I think that's really what what bullies are like. They're they're not always the most mentally strong people. They really just really have to dominate people to feel like they're in control. 

Rich Bennett 17:24
Right. 

Matt Drago 17:24
And then, you know, the second you stand up to them, we'll see if they really are as strong as they think they are. So and so that's really what I delved into. I mean, again, for an actor like I love doing the work of acting, I think it's something that brings me a lot of joy. I studied with the great Terry Schreiber in New York City and. Great 

Tammie Wingrove 17:44
It's. 

Matt Drago 17:44
about him as he became a grandfather to me, and he taught me all the different methodologies, whether it be Meisner or Stanislavski. He actually was friends with Lee Strasberg, which is the method approach, which I've adopted now as as a strategy for Fabian. It's the first time I went full method in, in a role, and it really does it. It teaches you how to align with your characters, but it also gives you kind of a tool bag to pull from because maybe one methodology works better. Character and maybe an. 

Rich Bennett 18:13
Right. 

Matt Drago 18:13
Analogy works better for another character. And for me, I think it was the starting point when I was on set with John. 

Tammie Wingrove 18:19
It's 

Matt Drago 18:20
Or is that I really 

Tammie Wingrove 18:20
not. 

Matt Drago 18:21
did. I really focused on really just doing the research on bullies. Right. Because, you know, I had one scene to kind of deliver 

Tammie Wingrove 18:29
It's. 

Matt Drago 18:30
this unhinged kind of psychopathic bully character. And so when I got to be on set and then organize the fight scene, I got to be honest. It's to me, it was a fun day. 

Rich Bennett 18:41
I think you have another job now, too. So apparently if somebody calls you, you're not only going be acting in movies, you're going to be teaching the others in scheduling, you know, coordinate coordinating, not scheduling, coordinating all these fight scenes, I think. 

Matt Drago 18:57
I mean, I will say that I had worked with one of the greatest 

coordinators of all time. I had about a minute fight scene in a short and he actually is one of the stuntmen in the movie. Stuntmen, the Disney of the guys. And his name is Conrad. And I think his last name is. And and so he. The Palmisano. Palmisano. Conrad. Paul. And 

Rich Bennett 19:25
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 19:26
he she was really honestly one of the greatest stunt coordinators of all time. And I really do. I respect so many masters of craft in film because they really do teach you so much. And I think that's what's great about collaboration. This is the first time I had a beer bottle broken over my head, and it was a real scrappy fight. 

Rich Bennett 19:45
A real. 

Tammie Wingrove 19:46
I don't want. 

Matt Drago 19:47
No, no, no, no. They. 

Rich Bennett 19:48
Okay. 

Matt Drago 19:48
They make. They make the sugar ones. Oh, no, no. 

Rich Bennett 19:50
Yeah. I was going to say, wait 

Matt Drago 19:52
They 

Rich Bennett 19:52
a. 

Matt Drago 19:52
knocked on your ass. It's not. Actually, I have a fun anecdote about the bottles that that we were using in L.A.. There's this guy that makes them apparently he's like addicted to tuna fish. He loves to eat tuna fish right out of the can while he's making these bottles. And a lot of times people will literally look at the bottle and see if there's like a fleck of tuna fish in it to know that this guy is the one that made it so. So that's a little fun anecdote. I mean, there's again, somebody many the craft is these bottles look real. And 

Rich Bennett 20:21
No. 

Matt Drago 20:21
what's what's crazy about these bottles is it's the sound, the fact that they're made out of sugar when they break because like a real glass bottle isn't going to make the sound better. But a sugar bottle, like it pops like really like it's actually, as an actor, harder to to to try to not forecast the sound that, you know, you're going to hear in your ear, not because you can barely hear it or feel it getting broken over your head. Like, 

Rich Bennett 20:51
Right. 

Matt Drago 20:51
it really just kind of pops and then just explodes. But the sound of it, like, throws you off. So anyway, Conrad really basically got us in the scene and it was like I said, it was a long fight scene, like probably a good minute, which is long. And and it was scrappy. But really, stunt coordinators are incredible because, again, they really, really teach actors specifically, you know, to really be able to fully go out on their emotions. But again, make sure that the the choreography is intact and when when he started working with me, I remember Conrad pulling me aside and he said, you know, Matt, you have really great control. And I said, you know, yeah, I grew up in karate. My dad's a sensei and, you know, I'm a black belt. And he was like, Oh, that's why. Because again, you know, when you're acting and you're in this heated scene, there's there's a big difference between the actor on the other side leaning in a little bit more and your punch being here or here 

Rich Bennett 21:53
Right. 

Matt Drago 21:53
and and then you have a disaster happen. And so you obviously never want that because, again, you're friends with the other actor on the other side. So you don't want to accidentally do something that's going to hurt him. And also that can hurt the production, you know, if something happens. So. So it was it was really cool because I remember that day and he really did. He was very keen on going 50% with the choreography, going 75%. If we if he felt like one of us was a little bit off going back to 50%, going back to 75%, maybe eventually going up to 100%, do 100% again. Let's change this a little bit. And and again, really making sure that everything was satisfactory before before we actually did a take of it. So I really do. I mean, I think that's the greatest thing about being an actor or being a collaborator, being on these film sets is just learning so many masters of craft, being around the gaffers that can hang a light in the way that you can't and make it look like there's moonlight shining in from the barn or, you know, the sound design coming in and making sure that we can get clean sound when you know, there's a big, you know, storm that's coming our way or the set designers that really create the craft of every single piece of everything in that frame being part of the story. And if it doesn't belong there, it's not there. And and that's really honestly, really one of those things that I think I pulled from when I developed the character of Fabian, because he is the ultimate perfectionist. He is somebody that is fighting for his dream, his legacy. And so everything has to be perfect for him. Everything 

Rich Bennett 23:34
All 

Matt Drago 23:34
has 

Rich Bennett 23:34
those 

Matt Drago 23:34
to be 

Rich Bennett 23:34
people 

Matt Drago 23:34
just right. 

Rich Bennett 23:35
behind the scenes are like the unsung heroes. 

Matt Drago 23:37
Absolutely. I always say this like as an actor. I mean, crews are what makes that makes film films 

Rich Bennett 23:43
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 23:43
great. I mean, the production that they do, the work that they put in, the labor that they put in. When you are finally in production, I mean, what was so special about somewhere in Montana is like the cast and the crew were interchangeable. Like we'd go on hikes together, we go to the bar together and hang out like we were a big family. And I think that was really special for me. And what makes independent film so special to me as an actor and as an artist is being able to look at the final credits and to be able to know every single person's name on it. 

Rich Bennett 24:14
So when you went out to Montana because you filmed in Montana. 

Matt Drago 24:18
Yet. Pulse in Montana. 

Rich Bennett 24:20
Was that your first time out there? 

Matt Drago 24:22
I've been out there before, but it was with my dad, you know, it was just kind of a road trip. I think we spent a week out there, but it was quick. It definitely wasn't the time that I had there to really experience it and to. 

Rich Bennett 24:35
Right. 

Matt Drago 24:36
Get out on that beautiful Flathead Lake and to really enjoy the area. And again, I think Brandon Smith and Ed Mattson and Joe Borgen, those are the two producers and writer director is is they gave us a lot of time and space for the actors and the crew members to really, really come together. And I think that really gave us the mentality that this was a story that was bigger than all of us and we were going to tell it and we were going to tell it proudly, but it was because we had so much time off screen to really develop these relationships and that would be, you know, hiking together and kind of experience and really experiencing Montana. And I think especially for my character, John Simkins, who's the editor of Somewhere in Montana, told me this. He was like, you know, Matt, you have really one of the hardest if you have the hardest acting role in the film, because, again, I am the outsider to. 

Rich Bennett 25:31
Right. 

Matt Drago 25:32
John Alexander's world. You know, I'm coming from the outside. And so for me, I'm I'm having to understand all of these differences from what I know in in Los Angeles. And so, again, as part of my method approach, I actually drove to set. I was the only actor that drove to set from L.A. and. 

Rich Bennett 25:51
Wow. 

Matt Drago 25:52
Brandon actually jokingly called it the Fabian in Freedom Tour. I actually. I stopped in Vegas on the way up. I actually it was the same day that Mad Apple, the show at New York, we weren't open, so I got to walk the red carpet and meet some of the actors. And again, that was a special show for me because it's a love letter to New York City. And those are 

Rich Bennett 26:14
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 26:14
my. So it was really special. It just kind of aligned with that. And then I went straight there and I went to Zion, and that was the transition because that was the ability to essentially leave the complicated, sophisticated city life behind. And when I got to Zion, I was lucky enough to book one of the one of the rooms at the Zion Lodge. And I just I met so many people there who felt like I was attracting so many people. One was from New York City, one was from New Jersey. And they, like, basically decided they wanted to be around nature. And so they found the Zion launch and they started to work there. But I did I hiked the Crystal Lakes up until it got dark, and I almost didn't make my way down. I mean, it was getting dark at like 930 at night. I was like, Oh, shoot, I got to get down this mountain. I was just I can't tell you the last time that I watched a waterfall for a half an hour, you know, just by myself, you know, without a phone in my hand, you know, And I just it really. 

Rich Bennett 27:08
It's all breathtaking. 

Matt Drago 27:09
It's so important. It's so important to find those moments of breath in your life. And I think for me and for my character, it was that method approach of finding this transition between being wound up by all of these different things that were going on with the film and all of these different challenges that I was up against and just taking a breath and appreciating the majesty of of Montana. And I really did it every day because I woke up early and I would just get my coffee and I would just look at that majestic Flathead Lake. And I really did. It was a really great compliment from John because I put a lot of effort into the tone of where I was at in the story with Fabian, because you have to remember and film, you shoot out of order a lot of times. 

Rich Bennett 27:52
Right? 

Matt Drago 27:52
So you have to really remember where your tempo is. Okay, here, I'm really I'm listening. I'm a little bit more grounded. I'm a little bit. But here I got to get this done where everything's going to fall apart. So you really kind of have to find where you are in the script. And I find different ways to do that. But when you have a method approach and you bring yourself to a character, I actually lost £25 for this character. I hired a nutritionist and a workout specialist, and I did it really. I wanted to make sure that I was doing it very healthy. I had five small meals a day. Matt likes to lift weights, he likes to drink protein shakes. But Fabian, I felt like was wrong. He forgot to eat meals. He sometimes didn't take care of himself, so I felt like I needed to be in the body of the character. And so I hired a team again, Masters of Craft, right, to help 

Rich Bennett 28:39
Right. 

Matt Drago 28:39
me do that. So that way I could find myself coming to set again. You got to lose the weight. I did it in six weeks, but then I had to keep it off for another six weeks. And it just it really did. It was probably a little later than I should, but it was one day where I was just like, I really feel like something's off. And I was like, You know what? This is not a guy that has muscles and like, this is not like a guy. This is a guy that's just like, lean. He's he's like. So essentially it was kitchen and cardio. That's basically what my my nutritional asset was. I lost a lot of muscle mass. I lost a lot of fat mass. And I just lean out and it gave me the ability to when I stepped on set, felt like I was in the body of the character. And again, that was the method approaches that sometimes, like you really dive into as an actor. And I always want to make sure that it's healthy. You hear really unfortunate stories with method approach. Method is a great technique. You know, you hear kind of the horror stories of it where people take it a little bit too far. The way that I look at it and the way that like Terry taught it to me in New York City is that you have to ground yourself in both realms. You have to ground yourself as you and you have to ground yourself as the character. And then you're really just allowing them to align with each other. But, you know, if 

Rich Bennett 29:54
Right. 

Matt Drago 29:54
I'm off set and I'm talking to Graham as Graham, you know, I'm right back to Matt, you know, So you really do have to ground yourself in in both worlds. And then when you allow that alignment to happen with the two of them, that's the fun part because again, I like to write back stories. I like to understand how the character clicks. A lot of acting is behavioral. It's in between the lines. It's not on the lines. And so what I like to do specifically is I like to journal about my character. I like to write my write myself. Voice, 

Rich Bennett 30:25
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 30:25
memos 

Rich Bennett 30:25
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 30:26
and record. If I have a thought, like maybe he lost this person adding at a young age and maybe, you know, and John is sort of a father figure that he didn't have. And so maybe there's some part of that that he's yearning for understanding in this moment and and all of these things. I think that you see in the final product. But I don't actually get to articulate them unless I'm on a show like yours Ranch, you know, And to me and I know I mean, I think that's why I've really just enjoyed being on, on on these podcasts is because it really gives you an opportunity to not only say, like, here's my acting, but here's where what I'm about as an artist, you know, here's here's the work that I put into it. So that way, hopefully when you see, you know, that that ten page scene that Graham and I have, you'll understand that that's the point where I'm looking at him with a little bit of of a gentler look because I'm really searching for understanding where he who he's about at that point. And and maybe part of that is like the longing of like this this this this father figure that maybe I lost early in my life. So, you know, it's it's a lot of work. It's fun work. I, I know that, like, in my life, like when you're granted a role, like, I look at it like a gift, a true gift in my life. But usually when I hang up the phone. Rich Tami, I got to be honest. The first thought that goes in my head is, Okay, Matt, it's time to get to work because that's when the work begins. You know, that's really when you you get to earn it. And I think I think that way too, because I'm a big football fan, right? It's like you can get drafted. Number one, I want if you if you want to in the draft. Well you still got to make the team. You still got to show it in practice. You still got to earn it off the field. It's like champions are made off the field. I feel no different in acting like it's like you have to continue to earn it and and be a good collaborator. And then when you are and you show that you are there as an actor to serve the director, to serve the producers, to serve the crew that are working their butts off for you, that you are prepared and you are serving them and serving the project at large, then you become a true collaborator and then the best thing happens. You know, you get someone like Brandon Smith, the writer and the director. We had a screening a month and a half ago. He's like, I'm already writing your next part, you know, and. And that is the ultimate. That's so humbling. That's that because. 

Rich Bennett 32:49
Yeah, 

Matt Drago 32:50
That showed not only that I did my job as an actor, it showed that I did my job as a collaborator, that I really did the work, and that I showed that I was a person that he wants to work with again. And then that it's no surprise when you see, you know, Scorsese and De Niro in so many films because because those short of conversations get shorter. I always say, like the the relationship between an actor and a director are some of the most intimate relationships that you can have artistically. Because again, those those conversations get shorter. You just know what to expect from each other. You know what you want from each other and and you rely on each other because 

Rich Bennett 33:30
right. 

Matt Drago 33:30
again, you can do things as a director that I can't do as an actor, and I can bring things as an actor that he can't bring as a director. And so you find that that that that character together and there's just there's just nothing better. 

Rich Bennett 33:44
Matt, I'm glad you shared all that, because that's one of the things I, I love to hear the back stories, especially when it comes to actually why and how somebody gets into that character and the training they had. We talk to authors a lot. One of the things I love to hear from authors is their their writing technique. You know, how they come up with the characters and all that stuff. And I just find it amazing. And there's that's 

they don't get offended by this, but it reminds me of some wrestlers out there, you know, wrestling. It's a character. 

Matt Drago 34:22
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 34:22
And these guys really get into it. And then when you see them, when they're not there by the ring and see their true selves, it's completely different. It's a completely different person. And I just I love that. Sue somewhere in Montana. Tell us about it. So and tell everybody why they need to go see this movie. 

Matt Drago 34:46
It's a story of the Times story story and it's a big story. And I think. 

Rich Bennett 34:51
Mm hmm. 

Matt Drago 34:51
A story that we really all need right now, myself included. You know, I play Fabian Verdugo, a West Coast director. His legacy is film, and he's thrust into a world of John Alexander in Montana, who is a rancher. And his ranch has been in his family for generations and generations and this story really goes into legacy. And that's what I love so much about it, you know, And I think that we have two unique legacies. You know, his legacy is his ranch. My legacy is telling great stories and leaving a couple of stories behind that mean something that 

Rich Bennett 35:26
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 35:26
Fabian feels like he can impact the world with filmmaking. And so I think that this this story really, you know, is is a story that Brandon created because he really wanted to put two uniquely different people that are opposing and many ways in a position where they need each other. And so essentially that the story goes is that Kat played by the incredibly talented friend of mine, Michelle Hurd, who plays my producer, finds this incredible location in Montana, and it happens to be John's Ranch. And unbeknownst to our production at that point, you know, they're struggling for money. They're up against the clock. The bank is, you know, basically going to foreclose on this ranch that has been in their in their family for generations and generations. And again, that, you know, is is something that could be really painful when only you feel like you're losing something that is yours, but you're losing something that your family has built over generations and generations, you feel like you're losing it for them, too. So I think that there is a lot of pain that John is going through and and he's got a daughter played by my friend Kelly Mazzeo, and he wants to see if he can continue it on for her, too. Right. And so there is like this just incredible scene where we finally meet and you can just tell like we're not on the same page. We're two uniquely different people. And I think what really made this special was this relationship again, that I had with Graham off screen, where we would have these conversations about these scenes. And I think also it's so great because we have really uniquely different energies as actors, you know, And I think we you know, obviously for me, Fabian was a character that I took a risk for this one. I felt some big and I felt him honestly, but I felt a big you know, this is a guy that's passionate that will go down with this ownership, that cares more about other people sometimes than he cares about a self that really, really sees his cast and crew as his family. Because maybe. 

Rich Bennett 37:37
Right? 

Matt Drago 37:38
Have a lot of personal relationships out of film, which is the back story that I wrote. I think he's very lonely when he's not doing what he loves. And so, you know, John basically is is is is is essentially like looking at this film as a part of his history now. Right. Because, again, when when you shoot a film in a location, it becomes part of that history. And, 

Rich Bennett 38:03
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 38:03
you know, I think back to the great Francis Ford Coppola, like knowing exactly where that wedding scene needed to be like that perfect space for what needed to be that, you know, Italian, Sicilian family coming together with all of those, you know, side meetings happening and all of the family business that was going on. You know, he felt like he really understood where that scene needed to live. And that's what filmmakers do when they see a location. They feel it. It's something inside of them. When Fabian looks up at the mountains and he looks at this ranch, he knows that this is the spot that the film needs to live, and so he needs to have it right. And again, at that point, it's transactional for him because he's giving money to this Montana rancher. And then you give me your ranch and I shoot my son there and we're gone in a few weeks, Right? No big deal, right? But what he doesn't understand is that this will become part of his legacy. What was so interesting is the real life owners of this ranch, and it's an active cattle ranch in Montana. David and Sue almost didn't want somewhere in Montana to shoot their brand. 

Rich Bennett 39:12
Really? 

Matt Drago 39:13
To convince. Yeah, because it does it becomes part of like people know their house smell. They know. 

Rich Bennett 39:19
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 39:19
They know their lands like they know their you know, it's it's intimate. You're opening up your doors essentially to you know, it would be no different than somebody shooting a film in your house. Right. And, you know, some people are a little bit different. But like for for them, like it was it was a big well, what are you going to shoot for? What kind of film is it? You know, like you want to know like what it is that that, that you're that that, that you're doing and your house right. And so it really does become this thing of respect and and finding that between two unique individuals that are very divisive in the beginning. And I always say Brandon wrote such an articulate piece with this one because he wrote two unique characters that are both the protagonist and antagonists of their same journey. And isn't that so true of life that we we are good people. A lot of us write, but we antagonize each other and then sometimes we don't even know why. You know, I think a lot of times it's because of the way that society is built right now. You know, I think social media plays a big part of that, right? You know, and so this is really getting back to basics. This is getting those those conversations going. And again, that ten page scene, guys, is this why I fell in love with this movie? It's it's it's everything that I've ever wanted to do as an actor since I've been a young kid. Watching the Godfathers is scenes like this because it's it's. It's it's a moment in time where it's two two men from two uniquely different perspectives that are sitting down and they're finally listening to each other. And we go to all the hot topics, we go to politics, we go to gender equality, we go to two religion, and we go there and we talk about those and and the greatest thing that Brandon does in this talk piece, and this is why I believe in this film, I believe in the power of this film is we don't have to agree on every everything because frankly, we never will. And I think that's why he he writes so well, is that we walk away at the at the end of this film, still two uniquely different people. But we find respect with each other. And I think because this story rubbed off on just everybody again, so much, you know, when when Graham finally left that the day that we parted ways, we got breakfast together, he got into his car. It's the first time I've ever been called mate, which is a sign of Scott. And then he looked at me and it meant the world to me because he literally, right before he got in the car, he looked at me and he said, I'll see you, mate. And it meant the world to me because again, we had done something together. We had told a story together. Again. We are two uniquely different individuals in real life, and I just love what he brought to it. He brought such subtlety and nuance. His is his is acting is just off the charts. But even more than that, you know, you are on set with these pros, these people that have been doing it a long time like Ram and Michelle, and they become your friends. And, you know, you have this these wonderful rich conversations with them and then they check in on you when you've got fires happening a few miles down. And and again, like, I don't even like I see them as my friends now. And it's because of this connection that all of us had on the set. And I think this is why you can really see that translated onto the screen. When I wrap the last night, I really did. I looked at the cast, I looked at the crew, and I really just thanked them for everything that they had given me because, I mean, there were moments where the cast would be quiet on set when I was having a break down scene, you know, and they gave me the space to really be able to focus. And again, I just think that there's like an energy to some sets that is special. When I was driving over the hill to Pulse in Montana, it was the first time I saw Flathead Lake and Brandon called. Right at that time I really had this overwhelming sense that this was going to become a family and it really, truly was. And I think it really plays into the power of this film. 

Rich Bennett 43:25
How often does that happen where you're working on a movie set? TV, even theater, whatever. And I'm not talking about just the actors, but even the people behind the scenes. And you create such friendships. 

Matt Drago 43:43
It really depends. I mean, every production is different, and here's how. 

Rich Bennett 43:45
Right. 

Matt Drago 43:46
It's not going to happen on, you know, say I book a guest star and I'm on set for four or five days and I have maybe two scenes with one of the lead characters, and they've got to get, you know, 6 to 8 scenes in, you know, within a few days. Right. With with me on set, you're not going to have the time and space to have, you know, hikes. 

Rich Bennett 44:15
Right? 

Matt Drago 44:16
Go to the lodge with Gram, shoot the shit for two or three or 4 hours. Right? You're not going to have the space with that specific type of production to develop those types of relationships. I think that with indie film, I think what's special is you're around each other all the time 

Rich Bennett 44:33
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 44:33
and you know, within that there's that opening of, you know, are you going to get along? You know, I'll hearken back to one of my first equity productions, which was a stage show where we were Buster chucking it around the country. And I remember I've always had the mentality where I like to bring people together. Call it a child of divorce. I don't know, but like I like to. To to to to try to come together if they can if there's an if there's a meeting point again, maybe that's part of my my. The reason why I was cast to play Fabian. Right. Because he's trying to bring people together to sometimes you give things off as an actor that you really don't even you can you really can't control. But it's always been a part of my mentality. So I'm on this bus and track tour around the country and I do I remember like half the cast, you know, half the crew were really just kind of at each other's throats. It was not going well. And I really did try to just bring people together and it wasn't working. And at one point the executive producer who was in New York City flew all the way out to I think we were in Texas at that point to just see 

Rich Bennett 45:42
Wow. 

Matt Drago 45:42
it. Kind of like, you know, media. And it was interesting. He came to me first and he said, what's going on that? Because he felt like that energy that like I was trying to bring people together. And I said, yeah, I just don't understand. Like, this person, this person like that. And and it's like, I'm performing, you know, like for kids. It was a children's show. Like, it should be fun. And yeah, I mean, they're parts of it that we're, we're all the same like band together bus and truck in across the country. And, you know, I understand that like, like you're around each other all the time. And sometimes you just want, like, your space to, like, be left alone. And that's totally fine. But I felt like there was just, like, personality clashes that were happening. And so he came to me and I told them kind of everything that I knew from kind of that bipartisan perspective and trying to bring people together. And, you know, he looked at me and at that moment, I remember it was actually a really big learning experience for me. And he said, you know, Matt, you know, this is the pros now, this isn't like middle school. This isn't community theater, This isn't high school. Like, you're just going to have production. Sometimes we're just people don't align, you know, and and that's just part of it. That's that's part of the game. And I took that to heart. And I really was like, okay, I think at that point I had done my 12 weeks. I had, you know, felt like I had gotten what I needed to out of the tour. I gave them. I think it was like I think two weeks was the minimum. I gave them a month to replace me, but I knew exactly when my last day was going to be, and I just felt like I needed to move on to the next thing. At that point. 

Rich Bennett 47:13
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 47:14
And it was it was just a really good learning curve. But then, you know, Rich, tell me, you get like these these unicorns where you get so much space. And again, I go back to Brandon Smith. I go back to Eden that sent in Joe boarding because the three of them gave us so much space to be able to be around each other. And I think that's uniquely what we needed to tell this big story. We really needed that because again, Michelle heard she plays like my producer in the Real world, a producer to a director is like a sibling. Like it's that person that like, can basically like tell, you know, like we need this. Like if we don't do this right now, like, we're going to lose this actor or we're going to lose this location or we need to get the scene in right now, or the investors are going to pull money. Like, there are so many moving parts. And I think that's another fun part for your listeners in going out and seeing somewhere in Montana is it really dives deep into just how hard making a film truly is. It is so hard. You can have a concept but fully articulating it on the page, then bringing it to a production and finding all of the masters of craft to actually get that thing going, finding the locations and then editing it. That is actually what truly made the Oscars. So like eye opening. This year is that there was an independent film again for $6 million where Sean Baker wrote it, that's preproduction, directed it, that's production and edit it. That's post-production. 

Rich Bennett 48:44
Sure. 

Matt Drago 48:46
Basically sweat, sweat. Basically all of the three phases of what makes it fail. And those are hard phases. And again, what's really hard about it too, is sometimes when you write it on the page, you're so connected that you have to get it just right in the production. And sometimes productions are rushed. I mean, there's there's a lot that's been said about The Godfather three that was rushed. You know, Robert Duvall, he was going to be a big part of that story. I really wish she was, because they didn't offer him what they should have. At that point, he was an Oscar winner and they were offering him a fifth of what they were offering Al Pacino. That was kind of like, you know, and also, like he he felt like it was kind of not fair. And so he backed up, but it kind of through the mechanism of what Coppola wanted to do with that film off a little bit. And I still think that it did its job in completing the saga. Listen, I still cry at that last moment when, you know, Michael Corleone is alone. But but I think it is it does speak to the the control and the responsibility that it must take someone like Sean Baker to say, I'm going to write it. And then when I go to production, I'm going to try to get what I envisioned from my script. But then when I get to editing, I mean, I think that sometimes the hardest part is, you know, shaping. And then and again, it's in the way that Brandon Smith says it. It's that's the movie plan that's writing the movie you shoot. That's production. And the movie you cut and that's that that's that's are those are three uniquely different processes. So, you know, I'm so I just have so much respect for what he was able to accomplish with that. And it really does it goes back to your love of storytelling. Right. And I think. 

Rich Bennett 50:34
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 50:35
That's what really has rubbed off on me in this story. And I think honestly, the gift of going percent, because I'll give you a great story about going full method for the first time in my life as an actor is is Fabian is the first character I've ever truly fallen in love with. Like I love Fabian and. 

Rich Bennett 50:53
Wow. 

Matt Drago 50:54
Do I really feel like I. I got him from an early state and I feel like he really rubbed off on me. And I felt like I learned a lot from him, too. And what I learned is, is is his just. Just how much you would sacrifice for leaving a couple good stories behind. So now, as I venture into my next chapter, you know, I carry Fabian with me. And I 

Rich Bennett 51:16
Right. 

Matt Drago 51:16
told Brandon Smith this, you know, it was the role of a lifetime because it really rubbed off on me. And now I have my own production company and, and, and collaborating. And who better to collaborate with than your wife, Right. You know, and she's, she's that she's a writer and and I'm taking more of the actor possible producer approach and, you know, I kind of want to see if she wants to. And and again, one of the big feedbacks that we got from somewhere in Montana when we screened it in Montana, with so many people from Montana coming up to us and saying it was really important to hear a story told about our little corner of the world. And I thought that really, really landed on me because I feel like a lot of the divisiveness of what we're feeling in our country right now is because people feel like they don't have a voice and, you know, as an artist, you know, we can give it to them. We can tell stories that really resonate. Again. I love my New York stories. I love my L.A. stories. I love my Chicago. But sometimes, if you can uniquely say, you know what, this is a little corner of the world that doesn't really get talked about. Let's give them a voice. Let's let's 

Rich Bennett 52:22
Yeah. 

Matt Drago 52:22
get. So that is our motif with Dragon Hunter Productions as to like in the vein of Fabian for do go give stories to these little pockets of the country that feel like they don't have a voice that that feel like they're not being heard and give it to them. And my wife wrote an incredible Christmas movie. It's got some darker themes to it, which I love. And and actually, ironically, we're both from the same little small town in Front Royal, Virginia, and that's where we're going to shoot the thing we met. This is like, actually, I saw your face. Okay, so this is a little anecdote. So Terry Schreiber studio, who is again, like a grandfather of acting to me, somebody that was a safe place for me on 26th Street in Chelsea, where I did a lot of my acting training. I took a film and TV class, and it was taught by the great Peter and Diane Miner. Peter was the director of One Life to Live for about ten years, and I was paired together with Laura, but she wasn't at the first class, so I got together with her at my grandma's apartment on the Upper West Side, 79th and Broadway. And I was I just didn't even connect the dots at this point. But in that moment, I'm pulling through the script. We were paired together from a scene from Say Anything, The John Cusack music movie. 

Rich Bennett 53:38
Yes. 

Matt Drago 53:39
Is the left and the right. And if it's a breakup scene, it was the one where she gives them the pen in the car. Right. And says, promise you'll write right. But it is a breakup. And that's the scene that we were paired together. So I'm pulling through the scene and I saw the call sheet. And in that moment I saw that we both had five, four area code numbers. And I looked at her and I said, Where are you from in Virginia? Because I'm from Virginia. And she looked at me and she said, Royal, again, we're on 79th and Broadway at this point. One of the. In the world. And I looked at her and I said, I'm from Israel. And she looked at me and she's like, No way. There's no way. And I said, No, my dad's the karate guy across from the Main Street cinema. And I've done theater here, and I know this person and this person. She's like, Oh, okay. And I said, Well, what does your family do? She says, My family owns the Apple house, which is a small little country store off Interstate 66 that only somebody in that area would know. And I kid you not rich Tammy. I literally looked at my dresser on 79th and Broadway and I said, Look at my dresser. There were three things with the price tag still on them from the Apple house. So I looked at 

Rich Bennett 54:43
Wow. 

Matt Drago 54:43
all. I looked at Laura at that moment, and this was my line. This is my pick up line. And I said, Well, we've already gotten the breakup out of the way. Are you ready to go? And. 

Rich Bennett 54:54
I love it. 

Matt Drago 54:56
That's how. 

Tammie Wingrove 54:56
That. 

Matt Drago 54:57
And yeah, we we really have. We've been inseparable ever since. And I just love that she's taken her love of art now to writing. I think that was really kind of an opportunity for her to kind of create. You know, because we were inside a lot. So she really got into writing and I really feel like I've found my love of collaborating through playing this role of Fabian, right? We're talking about like, this is a great method story and I feel like we don't hear enough of them. Like this story and this character really. Like it's, it's, it's part of my heart now. Like it's part of who I am. And now I'm taking it to the next level where I'm collaborating with what's my wife and who better to collaborate with than somebody that you love? 

Rich Bennett 55:41
She just write scripts? Are she also a book author? 

Matt Drago 55:45
She's not well, She has kind of dabbled in like a few like she wrote a children's book. She has done kind of there's a couple novel writing months that she. 

Rich Bennett 55:57
Okay. 

Matt Drago 55:58
But she's basically, at this point more stuck to screenwriting because, again, I think because she you know, she went to NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is, I say, is an actress because she says that she's hung it up. But like once an actor, always an actor like she. She writes scripts for actors. I mean, like like, like the film that she's got that she's working on right now through Film Independent, which is the independent Spirit Awards that she actually got to go to a month ago. She's one of the five fellows that was asked to be one of the, you know, writers in in Project involved this year. So she's going to have a fully budgeted short film coming out next January. And again, the the idea for this is so like actor. Like, it's like it's an actor's dream piece, right? So. 

Rich Bennett 56:50
Right. 

Matt Drago 56:50
She knows how to write for actors because she is one and she's really focusing on this. She's written, I think, now like six or seven scripts. Some are short, some are feature film. 

Rich Bennett 57:00
Wow. 

Matt Drago 57:01
And the one that we want to produce together has already won awards at Northern Virginia Film Festival. So, you know, we're really putting the pieces together, probably taking the month of the year off because she's really working on this project, but eventually on bringing this little story back to Royal and what a full circle moment in my life, because again, I was the one that was going to that theater on Main Street right across from my dad's dojo, you know, dream 

Rich Bennett 57:25
Right. 

Matt Drago 57:25
of of of maybe, you know, moving to the big city and learning and being a creator and a collaborator. And I have no connections whatsoever to anything in the industry. And so for me, it's always been I got to work for it, You know, I've got to work harder than anybody else because I want this. And so those those those days and nights, movie theater are what shaped me. In one of the pivotal scenes in the movie that she wrote is at that movie theater that we both went to that we just never met. And again, our our houses are not even getting three blocks away from each other, but because we are both children of divorced, I went to like one school over in in a town that was about 30 minutes away and she went to a school that was another 30 minutes away. So our circles were we're probably about 2 hours apart from each other. And that's why we didn't connect because I wasn't in front Royal for the weekends. I was with my mom most of the time and she was like usually with her dad. So like we just never crossed paths. But we still look through old pictures and we're still looking for that one. We're like, we're in the background of one of our pictures growing. 

Tammie Wingrove 58:34
It's not be there. There has to be. 

Matt Drago 58:37
Know, Right. It's got to be the. 

Tammie Wingrove 58:39
I love those stories of couples and they are We were on vacation at the same place. And you see, like there they were in the background. Oh, my gosh. Amazing. 

Rich Bennett 58:49
I. 

Matt Drago 58:50
All right. It's too. 

Rich Bennett 58:51
Matt, you do realize now that you're both you're both going to have to come back on to the podcast because. 

Matt Drago 58:59
Look. 

Rich Bennett 59:01
You just described a frickin Hallmark movie. 

Matt Drago 59:05
Well, 

Rich Bennett 59:05
You 

Matt Drago 59:05
we do want to write that movie, too. Actually, it's funny that you said that. I said we got 

Rich Bennett 59:08
do? 

Matt Drago 59:09
we got to make this movie like eventually. And I don't I don't know. And I mean this in a good way. I don't know if my wife is capable of writing a Hallmark movie. Like she's got to add something like. 

Rich Bennett 59:21
There's got to be something dark in there. 

Matt Drago 59:22
She's got to do something like a little bit more thriller or something, but like, you know, maybe maybe this is like her rom com. Maybe she takes a break from the thrillers, too, right? Right. Right. The rom com. But it would be a good one. 

Rich Bennett 59:34
Well, you could do that new horror channel. Skull, Mark. 

Matt Drago 59:41
I. 

Rich Bennett 59:42
That was bad. 

Matt Drago 59:42
Yeah. I think I think that there is a movie here, and I really do. I think it's such a great story because, again, you know, she almost went to Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where I went for college. And I almost 

Rich Bennett 59:55
Wow. 

Matt Drago 59:55
went to NYU Tisch, and I almost went to her high school, Notre Dame Academy. And because my parents, again, were divorced and fighting like they they wanted me to go to the public school. So we just kept missing each other. And again, every weekend that we were there, I mean, there were only like probably like four or five really good restaurants in town. Like, I think I ended up usually going to the restaurant on Saturday and she went on Sunday and like, it was just kind of like like we've never been able to figure out the right 

Rich Bennett 1:00:23
As 

Matt Drago 1:00:23
place at 

Rich Bennett 1:00:23
for. 

Matt Drago 1:00:23
the right time. But but my wife told me a story when we first started, when we were actually close to getting married. And she she told me the story and she said, you know, I used to ride my bike up the hill that your dad lets lis on the hill. And and I said, No, you never told me that. And she said, it's really weird that every time I rode my bike to the top of the hill, I felt like somehow I was missing something and. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:50
Wow. 

Matt Drago 1:00:51
There it is. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:00:52
It is. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:54
Wow. 

Matt Drago 1:00:55
We had, we had to be paired together in a breakup scene of the 12 person acting lesson. And maybe, listen, that's the way we were supposed to meet. You know, maybe that's the way it was meant to be. I think it's just such a great story. So, yeah, I would love to to bring it to screens at some point. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:09
I love. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:01:10
Relatable. 

Rich Bennett 1:01:11
Love the pick up line. 

Matt Drago 1:01:13
It's a good pickup line, right? I mean, I. I had to because the guy we were about to break up, so I was like, well, we've gotten out of the way. When are we go? Are you ready to go out on a date? 

Rich Bennett 1:01:24
Tammy, I'm going to turn it over to you. I know you have some questions. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:01:27
Oh, my goodness. Yeah. So. So, first of all, I have to go back to your theater roots. So I have a six year old who has she has just started in theater. So here, know everything that you're saying about, you know, do it while mom and dad are footing the bill. See, that's that's what I've been kind of encouraging her to do is like, look, do it now while you're young. And and I love that you're saying, you know, in theater, because right now there's so much social media. So she sees things where she's like, oh, I'll make, you know, follow me on here. Like, this is not where you should be clear. If you want to be a famous lady on television or a famous actress, you need to learn theater and and learn that discipline, which I I'm sure so much. Every discipline also came from your background in karate. And to give you that discipline, to lean in hard and learn the lines. So now I'm thinking maybe I should put her in martial arts because that that talk about discipline. So that's a really good idea that I'm going to have to start looking into. But I do have a question for for the little guys who are starting. Is there is there one production that you feel like if they have the opportunity to be in it, that really will will help them so much? Or if you see other community theater doing this one or is there is there a specific one that I should tell her, you know, we're going to look for this one because it it just builds them so much. 

Matt Drago 1:03:02
There's so many great players. There are so many great musicals. I think as a kid. I think being in a musical is a little bit more fun. So I would definitely gravitate towards a musical. I think just because, you know, popular shows that are a little bit I'll say more pop Broadway are really, really big right now. You know, maybe to get something that's a little bit newer, a little bit more, you know, kind of. Again, I don't know if she would gravitate to a Rodgers and Hammerstein or a Stephen Sondheim. I mean, these are the ones that you know, as a theater nerd, going to theater school in New York City, that I dive deep, that if you can, you know, if she's interested in and learning some of the more classical musical theater, I mean, then like she's, you know, really locked in because, again, they're, you know, kind of stories that that that might be from a different time. But maybe start her on one of those that you know is is more popular you know like a wicked right or something like that. You know and they do a lot of because I actually worked with a licensing company at one point in New York City. They do a lot of like operetta type musicals where it's basically kind of a more condensed version of the show because a lot of times like for kids, you said she's six, right? 

Tammie Wingrove 1:04:29
She's. Doing this, doing your programs. 

Matt Drago 1:04:32
Yeah, like a two and a half hour show is a lot, you know. And when I was growing up, I was doing two and a half hour shows because they didn't really have operettas. You know what I mean? Like, they they really started to do that a little bit. Like kind of when I was like kind of getting into like my high school years. And at that point, like, obviously we were going to do this whole show anyway. So I think operettas are a really great way or I don't know what they call them exactly, but they're basically like, I like, like a wicked version that might be like an hour and 20 minutes or something like. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:05:03
They've been calling it Junior. 

Matt Drago 1:05:05
Junior. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:05:06
All the ones doing their whatever junior. And so okay, so so for anyone who's got their kids that are starting, look for the juniors, like get them going into the junior productions and it's always the musical. I mean, it's just the community theater, but it's cool to see someone who started just doing community theater and and look at this. You really you can go so far if this is your passion, lean in and and be disciplined. 

Matt Drago 1:05:36
And use me as an example. I mean, like, I'm like that classic case of like, yeah, I mean, like, I was just on this podcast interview with this guy and he said, like, you know, as a kid, he didn't have to pay bills and like, this is a real, real opportunity for you to really dive deep into seeing if you love it. And and sometimes I think, well, what I'll say, too, because I remember seven, eight years old, I took a break from acting, you know, like I felt like I had done so many shows all at once and I just really wanted to play baseball and like, just kind of like, you know, like, you know, just again, do something different. Find something that you can escape to that's outside of your passion. If you can see it in your child's eyes that like this is something that they are passionate about. Like you said, get them into karate. You know, specifically get them into a karate practice. I mean, I hate to say like mine, but my dad would never get into sport karate. He does not like kids getting trophies. He does not like kids like fighting each other. Like we are an old school karate practice. My dad actually has one of the longest running dojos in the country. It actually it might be the longest running dojo in the same place it's been over four decades at the same spot now. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:50
Wow. 

Matt Drago 1:06:51
And because of that, it's because of the practice. It's because your belt is your trophy. It's an internal practice, and acting is that same thing. So both you and Rich said it, and it's so true. Karate is defined so much of me as an artist because again, it is your unique process, it is your unique craft, and you find different ways to do that. And I remember going to New York City and asking around this, your acting teacher, because these are people that I respected, right? So you have to stay curious. You have to be learning at all times. And you can see it more than anybody else, because she is your child. Is she is is is passionate about it. I know that you'll give her the tools to do that. I know that you'll put her in the shows or the positions to do that, but try to find balance outside of that because again, we all need escapes from our passion if we're all in all the time. And this isn't just for acting, this is for anything, you're going to burn yourself out. So you have to find ways to really just kind of escape. For me, it's football. Sundays. I'm a big football fan. Like I. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:07:54
For. 

Matt Drago 1:07:55
So I have I have two teams and this is why. So that, you know, AFC and NFC used to be 2 to 4 you know football like. Yeah. Hey, Steve B two different leagues basically. So I root for my home team, the Rams, because they're the original L.A. team and Sean McVay. I mean, he's he's my coach, man. I just I think that he's going to win more Super Bowls than any coach in the history of the game. If he coaches as long as like Belichick because I think he fires teams up and his players up in a different way. Keep in mind, he's the youngest coach to get to a Super Bowl and the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, you know, so he is a special guy. I just really love what he does with with Chris Shula being from, you know, the the line of Shula's. Right. You know, I think he's done an incredible job with the defense Gray Davis Jr. Adverse to draft those two people you know those two great players together, you know, and they played together in college. I just think that they they got a lot going on this year and and they were really one play away from in my mind going to the Super Bowl because I think they come back home especially. This was a really emotional year because of the fires that were going on. You know, it's it's it's it's it's one of two times that a team has ever had to play a playoff game outside of their home stadium. And so it was a really emotional time. You know, big wet Andrew Whitworth you know the speech and and Arizona this is a very emotional time. So I got to be honest. I've cried twice watching sports. One was growing up. I was a Yankee fan growing up with my dad when when they lost against the Arizona Diamondbacks. And that was the year that 911 happened. And I just remember crying myself to sleep because I'm like, Dad, you don't understand like that. Like, like it was supposed to be like they were supposed to win for New York. Like, like New York. New York's in pain right now. Like, they could have lifted us up. Like like this is this is like. And I just. I did. I cried myself to sleep as a really young kid. Right? And I did. I cried when when when they were just a little bit short from the Eagles. And I did I saw that pass going right from Stafford's hand to Cooper Kupp right off the scene. I really thought that it was going to happen in the snow, like something special was going to happen. And then Cooper Kupp is my favorite player. I think he still would have been on the team and it breaks my heart. I think it's a mistake. I think that Cooper Kupp is the guy that shows up at five, eight, 5:30 a.m. and watches tape with Stafford. I think as long as Stafford's the quarterback's cup needed to be one of those receivers, he makes everybody better around him. He's the reason why Cooper is so great. But, you know, again, I know that there's business. I just think it was I think it's the worst franchise mistake of all time. I'm going on record. I think that Cooper Kupp honestly 

Rich Bennett 1:10:38
Right. 

Matt Drago 1:10:39
honestly he's going to playoffs twice next year and I won't be upset if he goes off against us because I love him. And I think to release him again, you have to remember I'm a Sicilian is a sign of disrespect and I don't like the way it was handled. I really don't. I think it was really disrespectful. Again, he had one of the greatest receiver seasons of all time and 2021. He should have been the MVP that year. He was the triple Crown runner. He was the offensive player of the year and he was the Super Bowl MVP. He did it all. He's incredible. He's been banged up the last couple years. It doesn't mean that he won't do it again. And I think you will. And honestly, I'm happy that he's with the Seahawks because he's from Washington State. So as you can see, I can go on and on about all my other team is the Chiefs, because I think they do it the right way. I love the Chiefs and in the way that they they have class. And again, you you watch these teams sometimes and and you see like just kind of the off field banter, you see just kind of like that and talking smack to other teams in a way that goes too far. You never see the Chiefs do that, like they won't stand for it like they don't like. It's almost like Bill Belichick. He locks the Patriots in for a long time. Like you don't go to the press and you don't say these types of things. Like if you say those types of things and you act this way, you are no longer a patriot. And I feel like that's the same way with the Chiefs like Andy Reid. I have so much respect for him. He's like, everybody's like football coach uncle. Like, I just love his press conferences. I love Pat. I love his unwavering positivity. I love Travis, Kelsey's unwavering positivity. And, you know, I, I and my wife are super huge swifties. So so we actually were in the eighth row at South by watching Taylor Swift. And and again, one of the reasons why I love Taylor Swift and I am such a swifty is because you go to a Taylor Swift concert and you feel like the world might be okay. You know, you see people coming together, exchanging friendship bracelets, like really coming together and feeling together. And as an artist, that's kind of who I am is like, when you watch a film or you're in a concert or you're together in a theater, like it's an opportunity to feel something together. And I personally, you know, I know this for a fact as an artist that like when we are feeling together, we are all collectively in a better place. And I feel like Taylor Swift gives people the space to do that in even ways that she doesn't. She could have never forecasted, like the friendship bracelet, like she's she's created an atmosphere. And that's all we can do as artists is to create an atmosphere, to create a story where maybe you'll just take something out of it. And again, when I feel like you're connected with your gut emotions, like all of us, we are collectively in a better place together because we open ourselves up to respecting each other, to finding that mutual love for each other, to not unfortunately get social media brain, you know, which is a thing that I'm scared of with, with you're with with your children, it's like. Or is it your daughter? 

Tammie Wingrove 1:13:50
My daughter. Yeah, she's six. I have a ten year old, too. They're just in the thick of it. 

Matt Drago 1:13:55
It's I feel like I was the last generation where social media to me is a tool. And if you told me right now, like, you know, you can be doing the career that you want and you never have to be on Instagram or social media again, I would be like, All right, I'll cancel it right now, you know? But like, that's that's we are the last generation of like millennials that really think that way. We're like, Oh, this is a tool and I need to use that. And it gets my messaging out there, right? Because like, again, clips from this podcast are going to be on my social media because they're messaging from me. Matt Not playing a character, but who I am about as an artist. 

Rich Bennett 1:14:31
Right. 

Matt Drago 1:14:31
That's really vital. But the second that you look at social media as your life as like like a like an extension of you. That's where it gets dangerous. So as much as you can get your daughter to be on stage, to be doing the thing 

and just hopefully understanding that social media is a tool that will be there for her. But it's not her life. It's not real life. I think that that's that's really, really important in the days that we're in and I think that really does go back to that coming together of being in the theater and really, really making sure that we're collectively feeling together again. When we're feeling together, we're all collectively in a better place. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:15
There. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:15:16
Absolutely. 

Matt Drago 1:15:18
I like the ringtone. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:21
I. 

That's my office phone. And I don't know, I had somebody else trying to call me earlier. I don't know who it was. I don't know who this is. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:15:32
Rich is a popular guy. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:33
It's probably more than likely. It's probably the biggest news cause a lot of talk about taxes. From all these different numbers. I guess they must have been the people that get fired for selling extended car warranties or something. I don't know. 

Matt Drago 1:15:49
There is not. Anyone convinced of. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:52
It's not. 

Matt Drago 1:15:52
I've signed myself up for every one, and I still get every single tax. 

Rich Bennett 1:15:56
Uh huh. 

Matt Drago 1:15:57
Single call. And I'm like, okay, so it just doesn't work anymore. 

Rich Bennett 1:16:00
I do like messing with them sometimes. When I was getting the calls for the extended warranty, I found out that they cannot print an extended warranty on a mustang. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:16:11
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 1:16:12
I'm talking about the horse Guess. 

I had this. On and on and on. He's like, Well, what year is us? I don't know. Probably about ten years old. 

Matt Drago 1:16:24
Ten years old. 

Rich Bennett 1:16:25
Yeah. 

It's just gone. I said, Well, yeah, well, I forget how the conversation came about. As a year, he loves apples. They're like, What? So he loves to eat apples. Who loves to apples? I said my Mustang. It's. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I just. You, you. You just get so tired of all the calls that you sent once in a while. You. I could. I could do a whole nother podcast episode about how I used to mess with telemarketers. The stuff I used to do and. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:17:00
I want to be on that one, Rich. I've got stories for. 

Rich Bennett 1:17:02
Oh. Oh, God. Anyway, steamy question. 

Matt Drago 1:17:05
Ah, you could you could be calling telemarketers on the podcast or something like that. Or if you got like a telemarketer call, you could you could have them on the line that would be great. You guys could 

Rich Bennett 1:17:15
That 

Matt Drago 1:17:16
speak. 

Rich Bennett 1:17:16
did that in radio before. 

Matt Drago 1:17:18
That would be amazing. 

Rich Bennett 1:17:20
And. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:17:20
Let's do it. 

Rich Bennett 1:17:21
Funny how they'll call you at dinnertime and you'll ask everybody, Can you give me your number and I'll call you back. But they won't give you their number. 

Matt Drago 1:17:31
It's because they don't have a number because they use. 

Rich Bennett 1:17:33
Right. 

Matt Drago 1:17:33
There's these dialogue systems and like, you know, it basically gives a new number every time and they find out what your area code is and then they create a new number off of that number. And so, like, they don't really even have a number. 

Rich Bennett 1:17:44
I had I had one call me last night is Mr. Bean. And he said, Yeah, this is Ken from. I said, Where's Tim? He's like him. I think the caller ID saying Tim Faulkner. 

Matt Drago 1:17:58
That's so funny. 

Rich Bennett 1:18:00
He hung up. 

Matt Drago 1:18:02
Yeah. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:18:03
Jamie, you got two more questions before you wrap it up. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:18:07
Yeah. I mean, I could go on for days. I've really enjoyed. 

Rich Bennett 1:18:10
They took you to high. 

Tammie Wingrove 1:18:11
This has been a lot of fun. I feel like I've learned so much. Thank you so much for your time. That. 

Matt Drago 1:18:16
Thank you so much. I mean, thank you both. This has been a blast, a just a really rich conversation. And I say this all the time, but it becomes part of my story, too, you know, because again, it gives me the opportune ity to get on your show for your listeners and also to tell my story, you know, because again, you know, you get to have just an amount of time to immerse yourself in a character. But, you know, it's again, to go to a football analogy, it's like, you know, being off the field, it's like, who are you off the field? Right? Because, you know, that game is two and a half to 3 hours long. But like, what do you stand for off the field? And so that's why I just have loved sharing my story and and to be on great podcasts like yours, because it really gives me the opportunity to kind of share who and what I'm about as a person and as an artist. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:04
Well, like I said, you and your wife have to come on to tell your story and talk about make sure I get it right. Dragon Hunter Productions. 

Matt Drago 1:19:11
Yeah. So her maiden name is Hunter, and so 

Rich Bennett 1:19:13
Right. 

Matt Drago 1:19:13
Draco and Hunter Dragon Hunter Productions. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:16
I figured I figured that when I looked at your website, it's like Laura Hunter Drag Drago. Which is it? Drago or Drago? 

Matt Drago 1:19:24
Drago. Drago? Yeah. So. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:25
I tried to say, okay. 

Matt Drago 1:19:27
Rocky for, like. Like. Like the Russian version. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:30
Yes. 

Matt Drago 1:19:30
It is Drago and Sicilian. Italian is Drago. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:35
Okay, well. 

Matt Drago 1:19:37
Good. It doesn't matter to me. 

Rich Bennett 1:19:41
Tell everybody the website as well, especially for Dragon Hunter Productions and where they can see the movie. 

Matt Drago 1:19:48
Absolutely. So the best way to stay in touch with me is on my Instagram, because, again, I will not do more than really one social media platform. Facebook is connected, but I really just am on Instagram. So that's really the only place that you'll be able to interact with me because it's the only it's the only one I have time for. So. Matt Drago and Matt Drago at Matt Drago. From there I made it easy. I've got my tree up there. It's got my actor website Matt Drago dot com. It's got my production company website Dragon Hunter Productions dot com. It's also got my IMDB if you want to look at my past and future projects. So give me a follow there. I'll be posting all the updates as to when somewhere in Montana is coming to streaming and VOD. If it gets another theatrical release, I'll let you know that as well. So give me a follow there and you'll be in the know of everything that's going on for me. Like I said, as an actor or as a creative, but also as a person, because I think that they're one and the same and it's part of the same journey for me. 

Rich Bennett 1:20:44
Do you think there will be a sequel? Yeah. 

Matt Drago 1:20:47
It's funny because Graham and I were talking about it, but, you know, our ideas for it were a little far fetched. I, I don't think that this film necessarily has a sequel, but I do think that Brandon, because of the family that we created up there, really, really wants to bring a lot of the team back for another one. It will be a completely different story, but I think it's really just because this this team really became a family and I think that's why he really does. He saw it. We all saw it. We all felt it. And we want to do it again for sure. 

Rich Bennett 1:21:21
So my last question for you. What is the next big thing for Matt Drago? 

Matt Drago 1:21:29
I don't know. You know that. That's the that's the the joy of being an artist, right? Is that you are always kind of throwing things out there. I mean, I had two auditions this week, you know. You know, and this is what I would say to your daughter is really enjoy like the audition. The audition is the win. And you realize that more and more in life. I mean, I remember, like when I was in college and auditioning, like I looked at auditions as every transaction was trying to impress my agent or my manager, which sounds so stupid to me now. But like, at that time it was like always about, like impressing people. Now it's really just about enjoying the fact that like, oh my gosh, I get to act today. You know, I get to bring myself to a character. Like the audition is the win. And so I've been auditioning a lot, too. To your to your question, I've got my agent and my manager that are pitching these for, you know, a lot of casting directors in L.A. with this new film that's coming out and also collaborating with my wife and, you know, just kind of seeing where the where the chips fall. You know, it's it's it's it's again, the journey is the destination. You have to really enjoy the art of it the second that you really don't love it anymore, being an actor, being a collaborator, maybe try to find something else. Because, you know, when I took a break from it as a as a seven or eight year old and I really got into baseball for a little bit, I really missed it. It felt like painful to me to not have it in my life. And so I quickly was like, Mom, I got to do a show, you know? So, like, it really it was like it was it was right back to to, you know, to getting into it. But yeah, I do. I think that being an artist is, is something that I was born to do. It's something that I love to do. It's something that I love to inspire others to do because I think it's so important to connect yourself to your own humanity, to your own human psyche. And I think great art can do that. So I just continue to be a proud actor and a proud artist. 

Rich Bennett 1:23:23
So everybody listening, Make sure when it's available. Go see somewhere in Montana. And just like I tell you, with the books, how you leave a review on Amazon, good reads, whatever Literary review on IMDB. Yes, you can actually do that. And just to let you know, the ratings for it are very good. So it's definitely a good movie. Otherwise, you won't be rated so high. Matt, thank you so much. Tammy, always great to see you. Matt, we will be talking again with you and your wife hopefully soon. Take. 

Matt Drago 1:24:01
Friends. Rich, Tammy, thank you again. This has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on your show. 

Rich Bennett 1:24:06
Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 1:24:07
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoy today's episode and learn something from it as I did. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at conversations with Rich Bennett. Com for updates, giveaways and more. Until next time, take care. Be kind and keep the conversations going.