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Martha, Haji, and Rob launch Somebody Call Cut! with current events, wild personal stories, and one big question: when the acting dream takes its time, do you keep chasing the breakthrough or pivot toward financial freedom?
From improv class panic to a Don Lemon red carpet moment gone hilariously wrong, this pilot episode dives into adulting, ambition, money, purpose, and the beautiful chaos of being a creative trying to make it all work.
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Creators and Guests
Host
Alhaji Sesay
Alhaji, affectionately known as; Haji has spent 20+ years helping people look their best as a personal groomer, while somehow finding time to pursue acting, develop products, and collect entirely too many ideas. A multipreneur by trade and conversationalist by nature, he's fueled by genuine curiosity, contagious laughter, and the occasional well-timed shady comment. He believes the best conversations leave you thinking, laughing, or questioning your own opinion…preferably all three.
Host
Martha Prosper
Martha Prosper is an actor, acting coach, and producer. A natural storyteller and conversationalist, Martha is fascinated by human behavior, relationships, and the moments that shape who we become—a curiosity rivaled only by her completely reasonable obsession with Love Island. Equal parts heart and sarcasm, believer and skeptic, homebody and life of the party, she loves deep conversations, big belly laughs, personal growth, pop culture, and exploring why humans do the wonderfully weird things they do. And in case her future husband is reading this, Martha enjoys long walks on the beach, spontaneous adventures, and Is open to you to shooting your shot in the form of good communication, emotional intelligence, and really great sushi.
Host
Rob Smith
Rob Smith is an actor and producer best known for his appearances in General Hospital, TKO, Milk + Honey and Night Shift. Beyond his onscreen work, Smith has established himself as a creative force behind the scenes as the Executive Producer of the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards, a star-studded celebration honoring trailblazers in entertainment, culture, and social impact. With a growing body of work spanning film and television, Rob Smith continues to build an inspiring career at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and purpose.
TM
Producer
What is Somebody Call Cut!?
There are moments in life when things get so messy you wish someone would yell, “CUT.” Hosted by three actors on their grind, Somebody Call CUT! is an unscripted look at adulting, relationships, and career chaos -explored through laughter, honest conversations, and inspiring guests.
Is it just us or did nobody explain how
any of this works?
We're three actors talking adulting,
relationships, career chaos, and
everything in between.
Unscripted, real life, raw and unfiltered.
This is Somebody Call Scott.
I'm Martha I'm Ahaji And I'm Rob And this
is Somebody Call a Cut Somebody Call a Cut
Great. Perfect.
Yeah. Look at that. Sounds wonderful.
Start the pilot episode.
Oh, can I say this before we start,
actually? Oh, sure.
Um, I didn't realize when we scheduled
this- Mm-hmm ...
that today is actually Happy Black History
Month to you and yours, I mean. Oh, that's
right.
Wow, I didn't even- Yeah ... think about
that. The first day. That's right. Okay,
come on. Come through.
Young Black artists, actors on their
grind, starting a podcast on, you know,
the first day of Black History Month.
And it's also the first day of my birthday
month. I'm just gonna throw that out
there. Oh. Mm.
Okay, sure, sure. Do you have any plan? I
don't. Well, possibly. I might be in
Brazil, I may not be.
I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what's-
Stop ... we'll see what, what- Did you get
an invite?
'Cause I sure as hell didn't- You know ...
'cause I would love to be in Brazil. My
guy.
Oh, it's a- It's a work trip ... oh, it's,
it's a work trip. Ah.
That's how we get away with not- That's
how you got it all inviting your friends.
Oh, my God.
It's a work trip. You know I'll be in
Brazil for work. It's not for my birthday
month. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Sure. Okay, I mean, who knows? Yeah. Well,
we've had a week.
I mean, a lot of things happening in the
news. Okay. Po- politically. Mm.
Culturally.
Don't even get me- Culturally ... started.
Ooh. Don't even get me started.
And then, ah, Catherine O'Hara. That's-
That actually made me sad ... that's a
piece.
No, that ve- actually made me very, very,
very sad.
There's a lot of celebrities that, , I
know and love, , well, mm-hmm. , You know,
but, I heard her heaven's not so bad.
Her character on Schitt's Creek- right now
earth is getting very ghetto. Will miss
her.
That actually did make me really sad. Her
performance on Schitt's Creek, out of
control. Yes. Her body of work in general
is just outstanding.
100%. She's such a talented actress. But
I'm just like, how did you even come up
with that?
Like, we're all in the business, we're all
actors, right?
And then, so to see somebody create that
character, that is a whole human being.
Yeah. Yeah. Right?
Her, the mom that she plays on Schitt's
Creek is a whole person, and you're just
like, "Where the-" "...
did you figure this out? How did you
figure this out?" And I just love that.
And, yeah, she will be missed. Whenever
somebody passes away, I always go down,
like, the rabbit hole.
I go on YouTube and, like, look up their,
like, past work. Mm-hmm.
And especially when it's music artists,
like, I like to look up interviews and
performances
and I didn't realize that she was doing a
lot of sketch comedy early on. Oh, yeah.
I think it was in Canada. Oh, yeah. Oh,
yeah.
So some of those characters she might have
already kind of developed. Mm. You know? I
see.
It's just great. They're all different
people. That's interesting. Yeah.
I didn't know that, so that's pretty cool.
Yeah.
You know, that's interesting too, when you
look at a lot of the, uh, a lot of
actors that we see who we know, like, the
body of work that they're extremely famous
for or what the
like, the, that have become their
signature work.
But if you start, like you said, to dig
and look at the history of what they've
done
there's so many actors that came from,
like, the improv world
and you may not have known that that's
where they, their foundation was
whether it was in Chicago or here. You
know, even looking at, like, the cast of
SNL, like, a lot of those people come from
those, like
you know, Second City, Groundlings- Yeah
you know, in
worlds that we don't really talk about
until maybe they pass away and you start
to dig
and you start to look at the history of
what they did before the major roles that
we know of, so- Yeah.
Have any of y'all done improv classes?
Like, have you done Groundlings or- I did
one at UCB, and I'm actually not great at
improv.
Yeah, you look it now. Okay, Emily- I am
not great at improv ... no. At all.
Like, I'm okay, but I'm always like, "I
need a script." Yeah.
Like, give me something to sink my teeth
into. Mm-hmm.
They're like, "You pretend you're an
animal, any animal." I'm like, "What
animal, though? Give me the animal."
Tell me. Give me the guidelines. Where's
the director telling me who the animal is?
Tell me that.
So that, I've done it once, and I did
enjoy it, but I just w- I'm not good at
that. Mm-hmm.
Well, my whole world out here was with
Carolyn Berry before she passed away. Oh,
you took with her. Oh.
Oh. So I took it with Donovan Scott. I did
improv with Donovan Scott, and then he
cast me as one of the, uh, members of his
improv group.
So we performed at the Acting Studio in
Hollywood- Oh, mm-hmm ... ev- like, twice
a month.
Um, yeah, so that- Did you like it? No.
Okay. I, I did not. I'm very much like
you.
I'm like, "Please give me a script, and I
will wow you." But, like, it's like- Okay.
I'm, I'm, it is- I'll wow you. It is a
great skill to have under your belt, but
it's so intimidating
which means that we should probably do it
more because it is the thing that
like- That's true that is a little bit
more difficult for us to, like, sink our
teeth into, so. Mm-hmm.
This is probably gonna go off a little
bit, but, like, Meisner gives you that.
Yeah.
Mi- the Meisner technique, like, it gives
you that sense of improv, for lack of a
better word.
Like, it's very, like, in the moment of
how you feel. You need to take it. I, I
know. I need to take it.
I know. Yeah. Well- Not gonna get into it.
Way too much. Okay. Mm-hmm. You know, I
feel a little bit- I
feel like everybody needs to take it,
though. That, that's not just you. Like-
Okay ...
I feel like every actor should be, um in
the Meisner conservatory 'cause I just
think it frees you up so much
but I'm gonna go off on a tangent on that-
I gotta say- 'cause, 'cause your girl
teaches. Okay.
Yes, that's right. Your girl teaches. And
everybody that I talk to that's taken your
class is like, "Oh my God, it's
life-changing." "Oh my God
I'm such an better actor because of it."
Please tell them. So yeah, I will be
joining your class. Yes.
The Meisner program is life-changing, but
the Martha Cross program- Okay, you
better- You better cheer your friend on.
I love it. I love it. I gotta say, I'm
relieved because number one, I think both
you guys are really incredible actors.
Thank you. Like- And I mean that ... and
I've, I've said that several times over.
But I've taken, um, I took Groundlings
maybe, like, a year and a half ago, and I
hated it. What? I did.
And I, you know, and the thing is
everybody was having such a great time.
Yeah.
And I think that I, like you, I need a
little bit of guidance. Like, tell me what
am I playing. Right.
You know? Right, right, right, right. Um,
and I think I'm
always judging what it is that I'm-
thinking or about to say You're just in
your head a lot ... yes, uh
in general, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I think this sounds like the three
of us need to get into a improv program.
And the thing is we do it with each other.
Yeah. Like, we do- We have to vlog it.
Yeah. I will vlog it.
I'll be in there like- But I think because
we trust each other, like
I think that we would probably do well if
we were playing something together. Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
No doubt. Yeah. No, no doubt. But I still
need another character. Yeah. Well, we can
develop that.
You're an animal. You pick the animal.
Good job. Wonderful. It is what it is.
This is what we talking about. Yeah. It's
our first time doing a podcast. Well, it's
my first time.
Um, and it's exciting, so it's fun. And
this is it. Y'all gonna see us go through
this process together.
Yeah. Anyway, sorry. Go ahead. I think
we're doing great, actually. Yeah. You
know what I mean? Yeah.
Um, so the, the Oscars are upon us, and,
uh, a movie that I really enjoyed, I've
seen it twice. Okay.
Sinners. Mm-hmm. It's been in, well, it's
nominated for-
Was it 16? 16. Yeah. Wow. 16 awards. A
record-breaking 16 Academy Award
nominations. That is a lot. Yeah.
I think, was it La La Land and what was
the other one that was tied for that?
Titanic. Okay.
With that many nominations. I think they
had 15. Mm-hmm. And Sinners has 16. 16,
wow. It's phenomenal.
I saw that film three times- Wow ... in
the theater, and it's great. It's, I love
the...
I know there's some people that are funny
about the musical scene, but I
I thought- I thought it was great the
whole movie was great. Yeah.
Now, to the, to the ear, I would say, like
there's a little sound stuff that happens
in that center there where it just doesn't
feel like it vibes to me.
Mm-hmm. But overall, the message of the
movie, how the movie plays out, the story
of the movie, the acting.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Oh. Uh, uh, uh. No, no, no.
I, I- Tell the truth and shame the devil
now. I'm just...
Well, y- y- I've said this, I mean- Yes,
you have ... I will scream it from the
rooftops. I love Sinners.
I thought it was phenomenally done. I
think Ryan Coogler is, um,
a visionary. I think the story was
original and creative.
He wasn't recycling a story that's been
told a million times or remaking a movie
that we've seen a million times.
I thought it was, the the message of the
story and the history that they infused
into the film I thought was phenomenal.
And that's why I think it does deserve,
you know, the recognition of 16
nominations
especially coming off the heels of the
Golden Globes where it kind of in a lot of
people's eyes was
snubbed because they didn't get much
recognition there and it was such a box
office success.
Um, so I'm excited to see it, and I
thought there were some phenomenal
performances.
Like Wunmi, I'm so happy- Wunmi was m-
amazing ...
I'm so glad- She was great ... she got
nominated because- Delroy was fucking
phenomenal.
Like- Again, like yeah, these are a lot of
people who- Yeah ... didn't get the
recognition at other, in other places.
But now for the biggest stage, they are
being recognized. And I, you know, I'm,
I'm hopeful for Wunmi.
I think she f- was, I, I was bragging
about- She was excellent ...
I don't even know her, and I was bragging
about that performance to everyone.
I was like, "You got to see this movie-
She was excellent ... and see her
performance." But- Yeah, she was
excellent.
I mean, I felt like she carried the story
Where's the rest of it? Huh?
Where's the rest of it? Where's the rest
of what? The opinions. Oh.
I, you throwing a little bit of shade
right now? No, no, I'm not, I'm not being
shady.
But when somebody goes, "Uh, yeah,
uh-huh." Uh-huh.
But then only goes, "This person was
amazing, this person- Yeah but this person
was amazing
that person was amazing," um, where's the,
"Ugh, who was the, uh..." I, I, I, listen
it deserves all the nominations. I'm just
gonna... Listen, I, I respect everyone who
is nominated.
They've all, you know, earned through a
body of work that is beyond just centers.
So, you know, uh, they all deserve the
recognition. But I, Ryan Coogler, again,
phenomenal.
I hope to one day- ... work with Ryan
Coogler. Lulu Wang, again, phenomenal.
I hope to one day work with her. I, I
can't say anything negative about them in
the film.
Rob, you had some great media training.
Okay? Don't he? Lulu is learning media
training.
I mean- Okay ... don't he? 'Cause after a
couple glasses- He could ... of pinot
grigio- There's some thoughts.
Okay. There's some thoughts. Well, there's
no such thing
as kitchen table talk, and you know. Yeah.
I'm with you, Rob. She's gonna say
whatever the heck she said.
Do you have any of those opinions? I
might, but you know what?
Um, I don't know how this is gonna work-
But listen if we're being political up in
here. Listen.
It's a great movie. Cinematically, it was
beautiful. Yep. I saw it twice.
Yeah, cinematically, it's gorgeous. I just
saw it in theaters again, um, 'cause they
re-released it, at least at the AMC.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and I have to admit
that I came in like, like, "Yeah, I'm
gonna see this movie again
see what I missed," and then I felt very
anxious, 'cause I, because I knew how it
was gonna end. Hmm.
And I think it was a little bit of trauma
there when I watched it the first time.
Oh, interesting.
Yeah, just a bit, you know? It was just, I
like a little scary- But it was kinda
scary. That was scary.
I am not- I mean, not like it kept me up
late at night ... getting old again ...
but I mean
when those vampires would jump in and
Yeah. It's pretty good I said, "Nah, I
don't find it scary at all." See, I- I
thought it was good
but- I could do vampires, I could do,
like, monsters like that. Don't give me- I
want to go ... some
spirit or some- Ooh ... nun that's living
in the attic. I don't want none of that.
And see, that's with just me. I like
those- No 'cause they really scare me What
was that movie that just, that recently
came out
had a whole series of movies, and this was
supposed to be the last one.
It was a scary movie, it had to do with,
like- The Conjuring? The Conjuring.
I heard that that's very scary. I have not
seen it.
When I tell you my flight, freeze response
kicked in at the theater.
I was sitting there watching with two of
my friends. I have to sit in the middle.
You already know how I get. Yes . At scary
movies I need to be in the middle.
I need to be protected by my loved ones-
Okay ... 'cause I get scared.
And in the middle, like, you know, ghosts
and shit are popping out and out
nu- Yeah priests are getting killed by
ghosts and apparitions and all these
things.
I, my nervous system got so shocked, I
turned to my friend Robert, and I was like
"I'm going to sleep." And he was like,
"Ah, ha, ha, ha." And he literally turned
over
he was like two seconds later you were
like this. Oh. Out. And I think blacked
out. Like a light. I
just passed out . I could not, my nervous
system was so shocked- Yeah ... I could
not take it.
I just slept through the rest of the film.
You, so that means, like, you one of those
people who on them roller coasters
when they- Roller coasters ... it's so
scary that they- Roller coasters ... that
they pass out.
Roller coasters. Have you ever seen the
video? Yeah. Who's doing roller coaster?
You don't do roller coaster? No, un-uh. I
don't do- Yeah ... no roller coaster.
I don't even like, you know how there's
those commercials for a theme park- Mm-hmm
... and they
they give you the point of view of you
being on the roller coaster, and it's that
ca-ca-ca-ca
ca-ca-ca-ca? Ugh, no thank you. Yeah . I
don't even, turn the channel. I can't.
I, I start getting heart palpitations.
Don't even. See- I'm just so scared. Yeah.
I'm the, I'm the entertainment for the
friends when they go to see a horror film
or a roller coaster.
They want me there 'cause I'm gonna be the
one screaming, and they're gonna- Yeah,
same laugh at myself.
You, you've been there before, seen it.
Same. Same.
And I actually had to shoot a commercial
for a roller coaster. Yes.
And we had to do it over, and over, and
over again.
It was the Tower, when it used to be the
Tower of Terror. Mm. Ooh. I shot that
commercial.
I was like- It's not that anymore? No, now
it's, um- But it's
still an elevator drop well, a different
theme. Yeah, it's a different theme now.
Oh, okay.
But yeah, that was a lot how often do you
have to ride that ride to get those shots?
I think I blacked out. I don't remember-
Ooh ... how many times we went up and down
on that ride.
I would never. Yeah. Yeah. Was it a
national? I hope it was a good pay. Was it
a national?
No, that was not a na- Shit ... that was a
non-union. Unless it was a national.
Hey, I'm still gonna be trepidatious- Okay
... not getting on that.
But you telling me that wasn't a national?
That's okay. No, thank you. I'ma pass .
I know that sounds crazy, but I'ma pass.
I'm too scared.
I know we didn't plan on talking about
this, but, mm-hmm.
I actually have a very, uh, funny story
about Don Lemon. Ooh. Ooh.
Um, I think I, I think I just wanna tell
this story. Please. So- Yeah, I think I
know this story.
So as an activist, you're, you're doing a
lot of shit, right?
So, like, in between jobs you're doing all
the things. So, um, Rob also is the C- O O
... O
O of a company- C O O- I just wanted to
make sure ... of a media- I thought...
Huh?
Of a media brand, yeah. Of two, aren't...
Isn't it two? No, just the one.
I mean, I, I'm the managing director of
it. I don't got a lot of jobs. I know.
We're actors. I know.
And, and that's my point. But anyway, he
puts together this amazing award show
every year, um, for this media outlet, and
one year
last year, Don Lemon was being recognized
at this award show.
And- He reaches out to me to be the
reporter, the journalist- Yeah I'm not a
journalist. Yeah.
But the journalist on the red carpet
interviewing folks, celebrities, um,
nominees, awardees? Honorees.
Honorees. Yeah. Thank you. Um, and I've
never done this in my entire life.
Rob is, like, setting me up with a c- a, a
laptop, with a mic stand, a phone, and
hands
me a mic that says this. "All you have to
do is, like, ask questions. You're fine.
Da, da, da." "Okay.
Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool."
"Cool, cool, cool, cool. I will do this."
I looked amazing. Yes.
Um, I looked amazing, but I was on the red
carpet not having a clue what I was doing,
right?
And I'm, like, in between all of these
other media outlets, and they're
thankfully so gracious.
Like, "This is what you need to do. You,
you know, talk to who you wanna talk to.
Don't talk to who you don't wanna talk
to." And I'm like- We've all been there.
I have my first person comes up, have no
idea who he is, and they're like
"This is..." The PR person is like, "This
is this person." And I'm like, "Okay, I
guess I'll talk to them
get my first one out of the way. It'll
feel good for when I can, like, talk to
other people." And the guy is like, "How
are you doing?" I'm like, "Okay.
Hi. This is Martha with such and such
such. Zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom-a zoom."
Like, he g- he's looking at me. This actor
is like, "Huh?" I was like, "I have no
idea what I just said." I am hella
nervous.
I have no idea what I just said. Cut to
that interview ended up going well.
I, like, recorded it, and I'm, like,
getting in the groove, I'm getting in the
groove.
I'm, like, s- pushing my way through all
the other journalists to, like, get, um,
interviews with people
and then Don Lemon comes. And I'm like,
great, he's an honoree.
I have not spoken to an honoree all night.
And I'm like, "Mr. Lemon, Mr. Lemon, Mr.
Lemon, do you have a moment?" I'm like,
he'll knock out.
I'm like, "Okay." He's like, "Oh, sure,
absolutely." And we proceed to have the
best interview ever.
Ever. I'm like, "Don Lemon, tell me why
you feel, like, pleased to be honored." He
answers the question saying
"Oh, you're asking some really amazing
questions." My final question was like
"You have been on CNN for over 20 years
and your popularity has grown so much now
that you're an independent journalist.
What do you think the reason for that is?"
Um, and he goes, he goes, I said,
uh, he goes, "Well, it's 'cause I'm Black.
I get to be my Black, my full Black self."
And I said, "That's what the fuck I'm
talking about, Don Lemon.
That's what the fuck I'm talking about."
It was giving very much Jill Scott. Yeah.
"That's what the fuck I'm talking about,
Don Lemon." And he's like, "Oh, you're
funny.
You're great." And we have the best
interview ever. Yeah.
The end of the night, the, the award show
was fabulous. We had such a great time.
At the end of the night, like a fucking
kid, I run up to Rob, like, "Oh my God.
You're not gonna believe it. I got the
video from Don Lemon and several other
people, but Don Lemon is the one I'm the
most excited about." Yeah.
And I go on my phone, and bitch, don't you
know it ain't on there. Mm-hmm.
I never hit record on my goddamn phone.
I'm like, to this day, to this day, it's-
Wow.
It hurt my heart for tw- it's, it's a big
loss for twenty twenty-five. When I tell
you.
We were look- we were just going through
things on the phone.
We were like, "Maybe it's still there
somewhere." Maybe, maybe the phone was
acting up. Maybe someone else did it. We,
oh my God, we were on that phone looking
for a good ten minutes trying to figure
out if we could make it work.
I hit record as he was walking away- Oh
thinking I was stopping the recording.
I was like, I'm never doing this again. My
heart is broken. I have the most broken
heart for you.
I'm sorry. But he was very gracious, and
he was very lovely, and I felt very proud
of myself.
You still have the moment in your memory.
In my memory.
I can never forget it because, uh, uh, I
swear, it's sad. But that's my memory.
Shout out to his husband, getting him out
of the- Okay ... the courthouse or jail.
His husband does not play about him. Okay.
That's giving look like bodyguard.
I was literally about to say, I was like,
it's giving Rachel Merrill. Right? It's
giving Frank. Yeah.
I went and followed his husband yesterday.
I was like, I'ma follow you today on
Instagram.
I know that's right. Okay. And, uh, yes.
It's giving that, for sure. So guys, let
me switch gears. Oh, sure.
So what we talking about today? We're all
actors- Mm-hmm and this idea of, like,
we're all over 40.
Are we? Stop. Sure. Don't be lying. Tell
the people the truth. We don't look it,
though. Mm.
Now, that's the tea right there. We're all
over 40. Face still looks amazing. Okay.
Um, and we're all in this industry, but we
haven't, in our own individual, popped.
You know what I mean?
Mm-hmm. Like, we haven't reached a point
in this acting career, in this acting
business
where I think we wanna be at, all of us.
We're all there, right? Um, we're all
really great.
We work really hard. We're doing all the
things. We're in the acting classes. We're
taking the things.
Um, and I think the conversation is about
when and if we decide
do we continue pursuing this until we
reach a level of success that we're
comfortable with, and that we're not
having 50... 11 side jobs?
Or do we decide to then chase financial
stability and, like, decide that...
Whoa, your stomach is- ... growling. Hit,
hit the mic. I'm fasting today. Do you
have something to say?
I'm fasting. My body's digesting. Your
body clearly has something to say. No
judgment.
No judgment whatsoever. Um- That's right,
I forgot you are fasting. Mm-hmm. That's
right. For what?
Health reasons. I'ma start fasting. I know
this is so off the topic 'cause you were-
No, no, it's fine ... on such a beautiful
layout.
Thank you. Um, uh, I watched Limitless
with Chris Hemsworth. Uh-huh.
And I was so inspired by a lot of the
topics they talked about
so I'm fasting because on the first and
second of every month, I'ma do a fast
because it kills all the
like, dead or cancerous cells in your
body. It starts to, like, break them down
and dispel them s- if you fast for longer
than 24 hours, I believe.
So I'ma s-
every first and second of the month, I'm
considering, we'll see how it goes, to do
a, a two-day fast.
But you do, like, a fast till about 12
o'clock. You mean this is a whole day
fast. A full day. Okay.
Yeah, I do, I intermittent fast. Yeah,
intermittent fasting. So I like, yeah.
But anyways, back to, back to- Sorry, it,
it- back to the layout ... that was, like-
... loud. Sorry no.
I think that that was the conversation I
think we wanted to have today, was like,
when do we decide?
Yeah. Do we continue to say, like, "I'm
gonna be out here, going to these
auditions
doing these things till eventually my
career reach a place where I can support
myself financially
feel comfortable, not feel like I have to
have all of these side jobs," um,
passionate or...
I can't help it. It's like rumbling, It's
like rumbling.
Rumble, young man rumble. , Yeah, so
that's basically it. Yeah.
And I'll put it right, leave it on the
floor there. I think it's, it's such a
layered topic, right? Because
there's so many components to it be- that,
that, that influence the decision.
I know for me, 'cause I'm like, "Okay,
I've invested so much- So much, yeah time
and- Yep ..., money and
and energy and passion and love. And like,
I, is there
is there a point where you've invested
that much into a dream or a passion or
something that's critical to you that's
like a limb?
Mm. Is there, is there a point where you
can look at that and say, "Okay
I'm gonna give up because I need stability
or security"?
Like, is there a point that, that you can
hit for that? And what would be the things
that cause it?
Is it, you know, like you said, is it also
another dream of, like, owning a home-
Mm-hmm ...
which is impossible in California- Oh,
yeah ... unless you're a billionaire.
Um, or is it the dream- Well- ... of,
like, starting a family? interest rates
might be going down
but there's nothing that's gonna- So you
are a realtor as well, figure. Sorry,
guys. Okay.
I got tree jokes. Yeah. Go ahead, sorry.
So yeah, what, what, what are some of
those factors for y'all?
Is it, is it wanting to buy a home? Is it
wanting to start a family?
Is it you wanna just have stable
healthcare insurance? Yeah.
Which, which you can get through the
union, of course.
But- Yeah like, it's like- But you gotta
work enough- You gotta work enough ...
or earn enough money before you get that
benefit as well. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm, before
you get that.
I think for me it is kind of like seeing
other peers, um, who... Well, I'll start
this.
I, I started off working at a very young
age.
Um, before my peers, I purchased a home
when I was, like, 21, just turning 22.
Yes, I bought a home.
Who knew that? I used to be a mortgage
broker. Um, back in Maryland.
Um, so at one point I kinda felt like, I
don't wanna say like I felt like I was
ahead of my peers- Mm-hmm ...
'cause it wasn't a competition
necessarily, but it did get to a point
where moving to California
starting all over, becoming an artist or
working more in the creative field
and seeing some of my peers being able to
travel, being able to take care of their
parents, or renovate their house, buy them
a car
those are the things that kinda make me
feel like, "Ugh." Yeah, yeah.
"I should've just finished college." Yeah.
"I should've went ahead and did finance.
I should've became the VP and I could
maybe just do acting as just a, know, as
like a hobby." Yeah.
I get it. I understand that. I think part
of it is too, is like definitely wanting
to start a family, definitely wanting a
partner
definitely wanting to, um, buy a home and
build some roots.
And it, while it isn't a competition,
there is something to like being the only
one of your, like
immediate friends that doesn't own
property, or being the only one of your
friends that is still like
"Oh, yeah, I have this job I have to go
to, and this job I go to," and they're all
nine-to-fivers. Yeah.
You know what I mean? So I think there is
something to that, not in sort of like a
competition way or a jealousy way
but like you wanna be on the same
playing field- Yeah ... as the people
around you, right? Absolutely.
Like, you all, you wanna grow in this way,
like in a circle with the people- Mm-hmm
... around you.
And so sometimes it does feel like, um,
that aspect of it feels like you, you are
a little bit left behind.
But, you know, this is gonna sound a
little shady- Mm ... and it's not meant to
be, but this is
this is one of the things that has kind of
pushed me to keep fighting for the thing
that I'm most passionate about.
'Cause I do look at some of those people
who I came up with or developed with, you
know
whether it was in college or high school
or po- post all of those things
people I've met along the way in careers
and I look at their life and I say Do we
look this good because we don't have the
stress of divorces- Mm
and kids having to go to college- Wow ...
and becoming a gra- I know people who are
great-grandparents, granddaddy, they the
same age as us.
I ain't got no kids. I'm good. I wanna
have some kids maybe at some point. Yeah.
But, you know, I
also feel like there's, there there a
level of pressure and stress to live a
traditional life that we were kind of told
that we should have.
Sure. Sure. Um pushed a lot of those peers
that we are in the same bra- age bracket
with into a life that they're not even
happy with.
So I look at that sometimes, and I'm like,
"I am happy pursuing my career.
I am happy pursuing a passion that is
important to me, that wakes me up every
day, that drives me
that fulfills me when I do it," as opposed
to, like you said, going to a
nine-to-five- Mm-hmm where I'm
like, pushing pen and paper, um, to build
someone else's dream that has nothing to
do with me.
I could not imagine waking up and working
in finance. Like, I would, like- I do ...
be so miserable.
Somebody, that's their joy. That's their
joy. Somebody. Yeah, yeah.
So I'm not taking that away from them. No,
no, no. Right, right. But me, I, I, I
enjoy this.
And we need those people, by the way. We
do. We need engineers. Yeah. We need
lawyers. Yeah.
We need healthcare providers, all those
different things that... I love y'all.
Um, yeah, but- I just don't wanna be
y'all. Right. I'd rather play one on
television. You know
what I'm saying? Yeah. You know what I'm
saying? Okay. Yeah.
Shoot, that's, that's how I live, live
out, uh, some of my dream- I used to wanna
be a dentist.
I'm like, or a doctor, and I'm like,
"Well, I could just maybe play one at this
point." I'm dead.
Look, I s- I had a whole life outs- before
this because I tell this story all the
time.
I used to, and this is crazy, I used to
watch Boomerang all the time.
When I tell you- Oh, I love Boomerang ...
Eddie Murphy, genius.
I know every single word from beginning to
end of that movie, right? I know. It's
true.
So for a certain amount of time I was
like- This is true. Yeah, I- I can vouch.
I can say, right, okay.
I used to say, "I think I wanna work in
advertising." So I went to college, got a
degree, went
worked in advertising for years, and then
I was like, "You know what?
I think I just wanna be an actor playing
an advertising executive." Yeah.
And so I, I look back at it and I'm like I
spent so much time pursuing something that
actually wasn't my passion
which is fine because I got life
experience fr- from it. I grew from it.
I have a l- a level of stability from it
that I probably wouldn't have had. Mm-hmm.
I, I have a lot of people in my life who
are friends that I met along the way,
again
like from college and just from careers,
that I wouldn't trade for the world.
Um, so I do value that, that, but I look
at where I am now and I, I am happy
pursuing my passion and I
I don't think this is something I could
ever cut off and say, "I can't do this
anymore.
I want s- the security of a nine-to-five
over this." I think the... , I think the
other thing, too, is
like, finding things to sustain you in
between, right?
Like, yeah, I, we're joking that I have
50-11 job, but, uh, Zu.
But a lot of the thing- a lot of the
things that I'm doing are things that I
really quite enjoy, right?
Yeah, yeah. Like, I enjoy real estate, to
an extent. Um, I enjoy teaching. Yeah.
Like, I really genuinely enjoy. So I think
if you can sort of navigate that aspect of
it, the s- let, figuring out how the
survival
job can also be something that you really
quite enjoy- Mm-hmm ... it doesn't feel so
much like, "Ugh
I'm only doing this until I book my next
big thing," or- Yeah um
I think that's the kind of the trick of it
all, because it
it has always been a thing that the
survival job, at least for actors, is like
waiting table
working in a restaurant- Mm ... doing the
thing, doing whatever it is. Um, and it's
so- Right.
Ooh, making an OnlyFans. Right. All the
fees, like sort of- Yeah, making an
OnlyFans.
You know, I still think I, I mean, I, like
it still feel like too much work to do my
fee pics- ...
but I'm like, "I think I could do a little
fee pic." Yeah. Mm-hmm. Put, put up. Do a
little fee pic.
But see, don't, don't... Yeah, don't tell
me what to do with it, though.
Like, don't be like, "Put it in the sand."
No, shut the- Poison the honey shut up.
Yeah, shut up.
Get these feet pics how they coming- Yes
... and pay for them legit. Tip me. No.
But I think that's the, that's the trick,
to find things that you hopefully can
still make a good amount of money.
And because honestly, my
fear is the way that Social S- this is
gonna go off topic, but, like, Social
Security is set up.
Like, ain't no gonna be no money for us
when we get old. Mm-hmm.
So it's like that to me is my concern
because I, I also understand what it's
like to be an adult and
like, at least at that age, 70, 80, and
still be s- in a place where you're
struggling financially
and you have children that are, like,
having to try to figure that out with you
and for you.
As a child, I'm like "That's ama- of
course I wanna do whatever I can to help
my parental figure." As a person that
wants to be a parent
I don't wanna put that stress on, on my
child, right? Yeah.
And so, like, that is also a concern that
I have of, like, how do I leave...
If I wanna create a legacy, I want a
legacy of, like, growth- Mm-hmm and
abundance
and how do I do that now so that my
children are set up when I leave this
earth? Yeah. You know?
I'm with you. So that's my concern. Do you
ever feel like... I know
I do. Like a f- do you ever get, like, a
sense or feel like you're being judged for
continuing to pursue this passion?
Um, I'll say that I tend to be like, well,
I mean, if I had booked everything I was
on hold for or on avail for, I...
You know, I'd be sitting pretty right now.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
'Cause I mean, I think, I think I shot
five commercials last year. I know that's
right.
But I should be- Working ... chilling. I
should be all right.
But, like, back in the day, you would've
gotten a lot of money. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Now there's, like, a lot of non-union
work. Mm-hmm. There's sometimes you get
cut from scenes. Mm-hmm.
Or they take forever to pay you. But I
find myself trying to justify, uh, my
efforts all the times that I have maybe
inconvenienced my partner.
Like, "Hold on, I just, I just need, like,
30 minutes or an hour to make...
I gotta do this self-tape," or, you know,
or, "I gotta study," or, "I gotta run."
And yet you're still not really
able to Always enjoy the fruits of those,
those labors Yeah. Do you ever feel that
way?
I think that, like, my best friend is an
accountant, and she has no creative, or
she, I think she does
but she doesn't feel like she's part of
the creative world at all. Like, he just
doesn't get it.
And I don't feel judged by her
necessarily, but I do find, um, I don't
feel judged by her
but I do find myself sometimes
over-explaining, like, "Oh, you know,
like, I, rehearsals are important.
I'm not getting paid for this, but I'm
like, it's important for me to go to the
screen
it's important for me to do these
rehearsals, it's important to me, and it's
also work." Yeah.
It's not just like, I'm not just shooting
the shit.
This is, um, laborious on the body, on
your emotions, on like, uh, I find myself
trying to have to, like
explain the little nuances of those
things, and her sometimes, not always
but sometimes sort of like glazing over
like, "Uh-huh, uh-huh." Mm-hmm. Because
the
concept of that doesn't compute with her.
It's like- Yeah ... you clock in, you do
numbers Mm-hmm, yeah.
And then you leave, and that is a, a job.
And, you know, physically, what is it that
you're doing?
If there's, if there's money going in,
money has to be coming out, and that part
she doesn't quite understand.
Like, I see you spending money on all
these things. Yeah.
I see you, but when is it, I don't see the
return. Got it. Right?
This is a great- So for her, it doesn't
make sense. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Um, financially. Right.
So I find myself over-explaining like,
"This is just how it is." Yeah. "This is
how it goes." Like
it's one of those careers where you spend
more money in the beginning before you see
any returns, right?
Yeah, yeah. And so I don't feel judged,
but I do feel the sense to, like,
over-explain.
So, like, maybe it's like a self-critic or
self-judgment that I may...
I mean, I'm just wondering if other people
feel the same way.
But, I mean, I, you know, you have family
members like, "Oh, okay," like- Yeah ...
"Yeah, still going this." I think I- I
found that it's a twofold
answer for me as to how I've responded to
it.
Um, and part of it deals with the
financial thing that you were talking
about earlier
and I think we could probably have a whole
conversation on finding financial
stability in this world, uh
as creatives who are- Mm-hmm in pursuit of
a passion or a dream. Mm-hmm.
There are ways to foundationally, like,
set up a path for yourself to be stable
and successful
even by putting away a little bit in the
right places, and I don't think we are
taught those things.
Oh, gosh, yeah. Right? Um- That's gonna be
a whole conversation. A whole
conversation. Yeah.
So as we're on this road to adulting, I
think there are, there are
there are places where we can find ways to
financially find stability
and I think that's the twofold thing for
me, right?
Before, I felt the need to over-explain-
Mm ... to people why I was passionate
about it
why I was still pursuing it, why I'm not
quitting and I did feel like some people
were looking at me like
"Mm." And I've actually had people
verbalize that to me, right?
Like, I, I had a former employer, a
company I worked for, the owner said under
his breath
where there was only him and I in the
room, "Isn't
it sad when a washed-up wannabe actor in
their 30s is still pursuing it?" And I was
like, "Who are you talking to?
You're obviously talking about me." Oh, my
God. Right?
So from that moment- When he said that, I
found myself going, "You know what?
I don't give a fuck what y'all think about
me and what y'all
how you feel about my pursuit of my
career," because what he wanted in that
moment was for me to give up
because I was making his business so
successful.
So the pursuit for him was make him give
up the dream and passion so he can put
more energy into my dream.
Yeah. And to me, I'm like, "No." So, so
from that moment
I found a level of confidence in my career
and in myself and in my pursuit of this
career that doesn't
allow people to even feel that they can
ask me those questions or make those kind
of assumptions with me.
And I think it was me finding that level
of confidence in myself as an actor and in
my, in myself as a
in, in pursuit of my career. And also me
finding ways to find stability financially
to say, "Okay, now I have money set aside
here.
I have a life insurance poli- policy. I
have a IRL. I
have things that I know I can lean on to,
to maintain myself if something were to
happen." Um
so I started to find confidence in my
financial life and I found confidence in
my creative life to where
I walk into a room now as an actor and no
one's gonna question
"Why you still doing this?" Because I
don't think they
they don't see a space in me where they
can ask me that question. Gotcha.
And I think that comes from a self- I will
say that that- Amen that, um, is clear.
That has been very
very clear in the last year or so of just
your work and just seeing how you show up
as an actor- Yeah
... in terms of like, I don't give a fuck.
I'm throwing this, I'm gonna do this and
I'm gonna do it how I wanna do it.
Um- There's so much more confidence. I'm
just gonna give you your flowers on that-
Thank you 'cause that is very, very true.
Um, it changes how you show up- Mm-hmm ...
um, in and around your career- Yeah ... to
be honest
and it's quite beautiful to see. Thank
you. You're welcome. Maybe you should
teach a class on
that. I know, that's right. I think that's
a good idea.
Vaughn has so much knowledge about, like,
these type of things- Yeah outside of
acting- Mm-hmm ...
and doesn't choose to share. Doesn't.
What? It's actually vexing. It's actually
vexing.
He's very, very knowledgeable, um, and
very informed.
But if you don't sit down and talk to him,
you'll just be talking about- I'm gonna
have to start picking your brain.
When you say my- You'll be talking about
heated rivalry- Yeah but you really need
to be talking about how do I get an IRA?
Yes. How do I... What's a Roth IRA? What
is that? I need to know. No, let's have
all those conversations.
And I think that's a- I would love to have
that conversation ...
I think we should have that conversation
here too- We need to ...
'cause there are a lot of people- Yeah who
are probably trying to figure out how to,
you know
create paths to financial freedom for
themselves.
Um, and I still have, you know, a s-
smalls amount, small amounts of debt that
I'm working through, and
but I don't see that as a roadblock for
me, and I don't see that as a hindrance
for me.
And it used to be big time. It used to be.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, you know, there's a
path to success, and like, I think to your
point earlier
I think there is a level of self-doubt
sometimes that allows us to put ourself in
a space- Yeah ...
where we feel like we now have to
overexplain to people why we're passionate
about what we're doing.
Yeah. And it comes from that self-doubt,
for sure.
And hopefully we get to have these
conversations right on this podcast. Yeah.
Yeah.
Because adulting is hard, and nobody tells
you this shit. Nobody.
I would say that I get more motivated when
I listen to other actors who have been in
the game for a while
like people that we know, like Viola
Davis. Mm-hmm.
She's always so great at, like, giving a
word of advice.
But I think just that we've always just
heard, like...
Well, I've always taken that you just have
to keep going, and when you keep going is
when you eventually will make it.
Um, so. Yeah. Yeah. Well, great. I feel
like that's a great place to end it. Yeah.
Right?
Our first- Official session. It was so
good. Um, yeah. So if you wanna be on this
ride with
us, right? If, if adulting is fucking
hard- ...
and you are waiting for somebody to give
you a script or waiting for that director
to call cut
join us as we, like, navigate all these
spaces of on adulting, on life, on career,
on love, relationships
um, and everything in between 'cause
sometimes you need somebody to call cut on
a bitch.
And that's what we'll do. And that's a
cut. And that's a cut.