Hey guys, welcome back to episode number three of 'The Criste Cast' today. I'm excited and honored to introduce our next guest, Chris Plourde. He is an actor based out of Tampa Bay, and he is going to be here with me in the studio. I'm actually super just happy to have the experience to showcase some of his talents, some of his skills, and just some of the knowledge that comes from this guy. I was lucky enough to meet him years ago while I was working in a mastermind, and while I was doing that, he was helping out everybody in the place, and I could tell the very first time I met him that there was something a little bit different about him, right? A little mysterious behavior was coming off, and I wasn't sure if he was one of those super nice guys, or I didn't know how to feel about him until I finally started to talk to him. And the moment I did, I was just so happy that I was finding somebody who was not only chasing their dreams, but like-minded in the sense that they were just being able to see the world, in a very, very open and positive way. So I'm really excited to just showcase our conversation to you guys right now. And just to give you a little behind the scenes, right now I am actually just finishing, that's right, just finishing the edit for the podcast. That's right. We're supposed to have the podcast come out on Wednesdays, right? Today it is Tuesday at 9 o'clock, and we're going to do our best to keep going here. As you can see, we've got Chris on the screen. We're getting the edits going. The edits take a lot of little intricacies, especially if you notice we've got some different camera views. Oh, there you go. So yeah, you can see we've got some different camera views we're trying to get going on here. And the process is working, but as you see, when I'm editing through it, it's choppy. It's very choppy when I'm trying to actually get the editing going. I don't have a very good graphics card. So hey guys, just so you know, I'm going to be doing my best to get these episodes out as fast as I can. It's just not super easy with the hardware that I have at the moment, but we're going to keep upgrading, and we're going to keep moving up and trying to get better every single week as we go. So stay tuned until the end of the episode. There is a bunch of really good stuff in here, and I'm just... happy that you guys are here taking the ride with me. Again, thank you for your support. Anybody who's got a comment, please put it in the video. And if you can, give us a like and subscribe. I will see you in the next video. See you soon. Bye. That means it's meant to be right this moment. Today we welcome Chris Plourde to the podcast, a multifaceted actor and producer hailing from Tampa Bay, Florida. Chris has graced countless film sets, ranging from theatrical plays to high energy commercials. With a dynamic background that merges his passion for film with an active lifestyle, Chris brings a unique energy to every project he touches. Beyond the screen, he's a spirited actor known for his roles in various short films that have. premiered at prestigious film festivals. Off screen, Chris is a cybersecurity professional with a rich history in IT. Today, we're set to find out more about his world of film, the thrill of the set, and the passion that drives his diverse career. Chris, thanks for coming. Thank you for the invite. Absolutely. Absolutely. And so just to jump right into it, what drew you into the world of acting and film originally? Well, let me just say I'm very impressed with that deep dive. I didn't tell you half those things, so thank you. Acting was just a serendipitous adventure. I've always been kind of a let's see what can happen kind of guy. Hey, you want to go play paintball? Yeah. You want to go mountain biking? Sure. You want to go rock climbing? You want to go wakeboarding? All these X-game adventures? Yeah. Let's see what life has to offer. And this one group that I was a part of, there was this guy that was talking to me about his film sets and stuff, and I was just like I would love to come and just help out and get the experience of being on a film set. And so I showed up. That went great. It was one of those low-budget, no-budget short film scenarios. Actually, a high-quality production studio. They shot commercials there, and it was just – Yeah, it was a lot of fun, and it was a, group of passionate people and um then another project came up and he's like hey i got this other thing coming up it was a 24-hour film competition okay you want to help out on that too and i'm like sure so i showed up at like o dark 30 and we're like unloading gear from the vehicles and like setting things up um i'm still clueless as to what's going on like i'm probably. less than a production assistant at that point right second time on set and um so we're going through the day and it's a 24-hour film which is like it's a competition but everybody's there is like volunteering and um just one of the actors didn't show up and he's like hey uh chris you've got a cool look would you be comfortable being in front of the camera and i was like yeah i mean you got the tom brady right you got put in when somebody else got put out right yeah i didn't know that was tom brady's story yeah yeah basically so the quarterback got hurt. yeah right and then he got put in as kind of a second string right and then basically, the rest is history right he became if i can become half, the holy cow, That's his story right now. You're from Tampa, so we're kind of mixing things. He just transferred it over to you, right? And this is actually a really cool story. I really like how it's going. But tell me, how old were you when this started? Oh, I was like 26, 28. Okay, okay. And this is something that you were always kind of thinking that you wanted to do before this started? Or how did this kind of like – what were your thoughts before this jumped in? Yeah, no, my thoughts before this all jumped in was to really pursue the IT. I was really diving more into cybersecurity and database management and stuff. I went to school to be an engineer. And so although I changed direction to more IT and less development, I never lost really that desire to be successful in the technology industry. But even so, I was following YouTubers like Philip DeFranco or like Freddie W., which is now RocketChump, Corridor Digital. And I was just really inspired by these guys making these projects. I mean Philip DeFranco, look at him and his growth from – you know, little college part-time video creator to like blow off college. Like I don't need that. And then he's got his own business is, you know, happy family and live in California. Um, and then seeing the, the series that corridor digital put out with, um, uh, shoot, my rush was one of them. Right. Um, or the rocket jump expansion. Like they just, their growth. Do you need to get that? I think it was the coffee machine. Good old coffee machine here in the office right now. There's so many electronics in the studio right now. I didn't know what, like you're talking about the cameras. Good old, good old studio. Now working in it, I was like, man, I, I like this idea of like, you know, expressing yourself in this like digital world, this video, um, and, uh, video format. And I was like, well, I'm really knowledgeable at it. Like maybe I make short videos, like tips and tricks for it, but I could never nail it down. Like exactly. the direction um i mean frankly i wasn't quite sure the direction i wanted to go in yet right so it was and then when i uh was introduced to this film industry that was probably the first time that i felt fulfilled um on that 24-hour project there was this guy on set his name scott sullivan um who was working on a feature film of his own and he was adm and he was like hey i like your look too why don't you audition for my film and so like that just kicked off the whole adventure i had another friend i made on that set that she introduced me to the acting classes. and then once you get into acting classes you just get like submerged in the world right right, um and then the agents uh they have the acting class i was with was a teacher named andy matheny who anybody who wants to become an actor she's still teaching uh and i would recommend taking her class and um she has uh what's called a scenorama at the end of the class where agents would come in and see you perform so we would put on our scenes that we've been practicing and, and i got, I got picked up and then from there it was just like auditions and commercials and feature films. I've been driving all over the country for auditions like to Atlanta or I've worked in Texas. I've worked in – well, I didn't work. I work with a company who's got projects in like Carolina or Philly and like just at this point, it's follow the money. Right, right, right. What project is available? What can pay the bills, right? Yeah, you've got like your black book and then you try to stay at the top of other people's black books and just keep that phone ringing. Right, right. And yeah, some questions as you said, cybersecurity is kind of where you launched into things but then you kind of jumped into acting because of the opportunity. I imagine people told you before, hey, you've got a face for acting, right? And that's something maybe that you felt that you wanted to do. I just kind of wonder on the internal thought process because when somebody gives you an opportunity, what really makes you say yes, right? Right. Was it something that was in there that was already kind of stirring around and thought this might be fun, a way to express myself? Yes. Because again, I think most people are afraid of it but they still want to do it. to do it, right? Oh, I hear you. So, again, was it something that you were kind of maybe afraid of, and here comes the opportunity, and then I get to finally shine? I never really had the fear of it. I had a reluctancy. Okay. Because, like, even early on as an outsider, you kind of already have an idea of, like, how competitive it is, and, like, you hear about the struggling actor, like, that's, you're more likely to see the actor working at a restaurant than you are to see them on a screen. Right. So, it's a very, very unfortunate situation, but, you know, like, in demand. There's not a huge demand for actors the way there's a huge demand for, like, doctors or nurses or even cashiers at Publix, right? Like, there's a higher demand for that. It's a higher threshold to become those other things generally, right? At least, so to speak, for some, you know, become a high, you know, caliber actor. Obviously, there's a lot of work you have to put into it, but from the outside, people think, ah, it's easy. I can do that, right? Well, a lot of work, but arguably... Whether it's fortunate or unfortunate, it's more networking. I mean, even if you look at the people who... have, quote, made it, right? The Ryan Reynolds, the Dwayne Johnson's, the Tom Cruise's, they are still more than just actors. I mean, Tom Cruise is a producer, so he's kind of like making his own paycheck nowadays. Right, right, at this point. Hey, I want to make another Mission Impossible film. I'm going to write it, and I'm going to do it, and I'm going to produce it. But Dwayne has, like, how many companies now? He's got the tequila one. He's got the, like, what is it, five bucks, seven bucks marketing company he's got. And Ryan Reynolds had the gin company. He's got the Mint Mobile. So they're just, you see that these actors. are more than just on-screen actors, that they are just, they've come into a position, they're holding people's attention at the moment, and they're just trying to maintain that attention and then direct it towards these other sources of revenue. So as somebody who doesn't have anybody's attention yet, who's trying to make themselves, you just kind of realize post, so that was kind of the view before, and then once you're in the industry and you realize how correct you were, Right. how much... of struggle. And honestly, it just helps me value the people around me that much more. Like the relationship that I've developed with you, even if we didn't get to work on film sets, but we're still within the same... Not yet. Not yet. Are you working? Are you writing something? Someday. Someday. Oh, yeah. I've got some fiction that's in the books right now that we're working on, for sure. Really? Give me, like, a big overhead idea. Like, what kind of plot or, like... Matrix on steroids, my friends. It's basically this idea that always has been stuck in my mind since I was a kid. kind of overlaps over and over. So, long story short, the idea that dreams maybe aren't always dreams, or maybe they're a portal to something else, or even that this life is the whole simulation theory, right? So I have this story, and we'll go trademark pending, the ethereal odyssey type thing, where you have people that kind of are trying to figure out what's the source of life, and are we actually choosing to be here through a simulation process by choice, even? And what would that look like, right? And what would that outside world look like? And kind of this process is something that I've tried to... to write and outline, and I go through for almost a decade now, right? And I think I've seen many other movies and many other TV shows pop up, but this idea, I think, permeates through. So, again, I'm glad you asked the question because it allows me to express that here in a moment in time. But at the same time, there's a lot of intricacies, right? You've been working on this for over 10 years? This thought process has been developing for over 10 years, absolutely. Because, again, it started out with – it's like a dream story, right? Yeah. And then it turned into something that was actually based on an alternate reality. Of course, at the end of the day, it's not even what I truly believe, but it allows people through this story to see things that I see, right, if that makes sense. And I want to be able to create story and use art to be able to get people to see my perspective. Even this podcast is hoping that we can just ask questions and talk about things in a way that gives people a door into the world in the way that I see it, right? And not just the way that I see it, but the way that you see it, right? And any other guest that's going to sit there with me, because I think that that's – Probably the most important thing we can do. Right. So that's again, when it comes to acting and things like that, I'm fascinated with it. Yeah, but I don't do it. Right. When it comes to making videos, I like to do that by myself. But the world of theatrical or commercial acting is something I stayed away from. I'm interested in it, which again, which is why I'm super happy to talk to you. Right. So again, when I when it comes to cybersecurity, balancing acting and the passion of it, you know, what benefits do you think that you've gained from knowing the technical industry and kind of bringing that thought process to the table? Into the acting world. Right. Sure. So as I kind of touched on the competitiveness, the challenges of being like a full time, nothing but kind of actor in order to to maintain being able to pay all the bills, the rent, the cell phone bill, the hang out with friends and stuff. I had to have some sort of alternative income. And I tried working at the restaurant for a year. Yeah. Didn't work out. You can't really hold a corporate job at the pace that I was at for acting because of the instability. of auditions and schedules and you're working on a film and it's shooting until 6 o'clock in the morning, like you're not going to get to the office at 8 o'clock in the morning. So I kind of at the same time, like for the past 10 years, have enrolled in both working as crew and working as an actor. And a lot of the things I learned in college, the adaptability, I mean I was in ROTC for Air Force for a little while and so in that itself with the structure system of like just. chain of command, it's not that different from being on any other team. Kind of just too many chiefs, not enough Indian scenario, like you've got to just respect, the orders. And so working on a film set, you've got the director, you've got the AD, you've got the gaffers, you've got the grips, you've got the cam ops, you've got the ACs, first AC, second AC. And so I just kind of just blended. As far as just like the more I learned, then the more positions I could take on. And so if you look at my IMDb, I have positions in pretty much everything from boom-op to gripping to production assistant to producer. If you look at my description for one of my social media pages, it says a guy with a dream trying to bring it to fruition. And that's true, but I've really made my living by doing my best to help other people bring their dreams to fruition. Whether it be behind the scenes, whether it be in front of the camera bringing their script to life, or just helping them in whatever way I can. Just because I am so passionate about this industry. Obviously, I'm more passionate about theatrical or scripted things than I am like a commercial thing, but there's still an art form to commercial, right? There's helping sell that product. There's helping to kind of show people the benefits of things to open up their minds to new options or alternatives to what they're used to. It's like take the mop, for example. You've got to stick with a piece of cloth on the bottom or in some cultures it's a towel and you're just wiping around the floor. Well, what if we had a bucket that you push a pedal and it spins and the mop has a hinge on it so it will spin. Then you've dried your mop so you can mop faster. It's just a different – Out of the box thinking here. You've got the people who are like, hey, no, I'm going to stick with my towel. They're like, no, like yourself. No, the latest and greatest technology. Let's go, right? Got to try. So yeah, commercial has its place. I mean you've got to make money. People have got to sell things. Yeah, and obviously the approaches that come from acting in different places, even coming to auditions, right? How do you prepare yourself with that? Is that like a mental thing that you do? You kind of have to just kind of actually do a lot of research or is it something where, again, you do meditation? I'm interested in the personal process of attacking those things. Sure, sure. So getting into character is unique to every actor. Everyone has their own techniques or what works for them. Arguably. I mean you could. Have your own opinion. Some people are better at it than others, right? Some people just got the job because they knew somebody. But for the most part, I give a lot of credit to Andy Matheny who trained me originally. I've always been a very empathetic person, being able to feel or kind of put myself into another person's shoes, whether it be my upbringing or my religious beliefs or whether it be just my interactions with humans in general. But being able to then emulate that with your facial expressions or your body language, that's a whole different skill set. That's a whole other level of communication. And so, for example, there's different genres. You've got comedies like sitcoms, right? You just sit down and watch the kids before you go to bed. You've got like your Kevin Hart movies. That kind of, you know, there's obviously both comedies, but there's a different type of. Right. I took the last cookie. I wanted the last cookie. Like, how could you do this to me? We've noticed that, like, it's a bloody cookie. Like, why are you – but it's the mode of the film. Yeah, yeah. Cookie. I like cookies. Don't talk about cookies, man. I mean, got a pile of cookies back there. So, yeah, for sure. I get what you mean. And so when it comes to understanding, once you do understand kind of the mode, the theme, the style that they're going for, is this something where you sit there and use other people? To talk to when it comes to trying out methods from time to time? Or do you simply just kind of trust your instinct before you go into, let's say, an audition? I don't normally bounce things off of people who aren't in the industry. Not because, not for any reason other than, I don't, maybe it's just like I haven't really experienced feedback from them that I've been able to translate into like a workable character. Or maybe it's, I don't know, I will associate different projects with different teachers, other directors. I mean, regardless of whether the industry or whether they're a friend or a parent or sibling or whatever, working through something vocally, that's helpful. Making sure that you're grounded and you're realistic, especially if it's something that is not social. So, so far. If it's something that you're supposed to be able to watch and really relate to, then you definitely want to make sure that things that you're intending to apply to the character aren't just completely, like, you want people to be able to sympathize with your character. And if it's not realistic, then they just become separated from the film. Right, right. Right. What's a particularly challenging project you've had to face, and kind of how did that affect you, whether it be through confidence, you know, and that mental process? One of the most challenging projects I've ever worked on was a play. It was called When the Righteous Triumph. It takes place in Tampa, Florida, and it tells the story of the conflict that took place when they were trying to integrate the… black community into white-only spaces. So in this particular story, it was about a restaurant, and it was all based on true stories. Like the writer had done the research and interviews and stuff like that. And for one, I don't really think of Tampa as like a spotlight of like conflict of interracial drama. Like obviously it was a national problem. But as I learned about the script and about the true history, I realized why I hadn't really learned about it. And that's because the people that were here did a really great job. The people that were in charge, I mean, at least from what I learned, they worked together well. There was a lot of collaboration of like, no, this is – we need to move forward with this integration, and we need to do what we can to support you. But at the same time, the play exists to, one, make people aware that it was – like even in Tampa, Florida, where you haven't really heard about it, it was still a thing. But also to show that there were still people – like so I was cast as a racist cop. You know, stereotypical. I was Ku Klux Klan. Oh, my God. Yeah. They had me as a Ku Klux Klan member. I'm like, what? They had me saying words that I was not comfortable saying. Right. I was like, hey, is it – can I – Right, right. I mean, that actually brings me to kind of this great thought process, something I think about quite a bit when I watch movies, which is, hey, man, that actor looks like he's having fun, but he's a bad guy, right? And if your face is associated with a bad guy, how do you feel? Because you're doing what you love, but some people don't really separate the person from the craft, right? And so how is that thought process? Is it something you just have to get over and just give up? I'm wondering how you feel about that since you've actually been involved. I think the – well, I did mention – you asked me if it was one of the hardest, and I would say that was one of the more difficult ones. I took a lot of work. I'm very grateful for the leadership, the director and the assistant director, for their patience to work with me and help me through. Like you asked me, who do I look to for help with? Characters. Well, I had two awesome people right there. Yeah, yeah. And so disassociating the character from who the actor is in real life. Heath Ledger is one of my favorite villains of all time for The Dark Knight, the Joker. I loved him in A Knight's Tale. He was really fun down to earth. Oh, yeah. I'm trying to think of another key role he had. But at the moment, Knight's Tale and Dark Knight are the two contrasting ones. And after watching Dark Knight, I didn't think of him any differently. Other than a talented actor. I didn't associate him as being like a racist or an evil type of person. He was a lover. He was the guy that all the girls were fawning over, right? And then, big divide. Right. And I think that it comes down to relatability. Can the audience, do they feel like you're being genuine? I think that if the actor portrays the character. In a way, at least from my own observations, where it doesn't look genuine, it looks like they're really trying to force it. It looks like they feel like an evil person should be these things. And they're trying to force that belief upon us. And it doesn't really come naturally. Then I think that the audience can begin to see the actor more negatively if they don't kind of get a good vibe from I mean, it's arguably, well, the more you hate the character, then the better the actor is, because they're now they're making you feel feelings. But sometimes it just feels like I'm really watching the actor portray a side of themselves that just it's not pretty. You know what I mean? Uh huh. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. There's a there's the acting and then there's the there's the reality side of things. Right. And can you actually separate the two? And for most people? Yeah. Right. Whether we realize it or not, we do see the difference. Right. And some people can articulate it and others cannot. Right. And in that case, but, you know, OK, jumping jumping around to fun things. All right. OK. Yeah. We talked about some of the heavy stuff. And for the record, I do know that you're obviously somebody who cares and loves about people from all around the world and all places and all shapes and sizes. So, you know, you can play any role and do anything you want. And at the end of the day, you're still going to be a fun-loving person, right? So, hey, good for you. When it comes to positive roles, there's the camera sound. There it is. We're going to get one of them. All right. There we go. Click the button. The iris is doing weird things. Click the button. All right. Back, back. If the iris is doing it, it's just auto white balance. That's what that's going to be doing. Yeah. Because it doesn't have focus. At least it shouldn't be focus changing at all. It's not supposed to. It is. It's in trouble. It's not recording. So, no. The system down here is recording and not that one. So, all right. Jump right back into it. Let me switch my thing. For other actors or for other people who are trying to get into the industry here in Tampa, young actors, people just getting out of school, what kind of advice would you give them? Knowing this area and knowing a little bit about. how things work here. Well, I will start off by saying something that's probably a little bit more contradictory. to what maybe you would hear on social media. And I would say don't start off by putting all your eggs in one basket. You mentioned how has my past education kind of helped me understanding, a lot of technology and stuff and just the basics of like, you know, you plug it in, restart it if it's not working. Being able to just kind of figure things out through a technical aspect has really helped me to expand my reach into different roles. It's like, okay, well, I can figure out a camera. It's just basically an electronics thing, right? You can figure out sound. You know, you understand the physics of like sound waves and stuff like that. And so apply with the tools that you come to the table with, to try to find a way and don't just get locked in. They're still recording, but my game is okay, yeah. Yeah, back. So don't allow yourself to become – to fall into this rut of like niche to like I have to be this. I'm going to be this. I'm determined to be this. The successes I've had in this industry have been because I'm always ready to say yes. It's, hey, do you think you could? Yeah. Hey, how hard would it be to get? Not a problem at all. Let's go. Are you available for? Yes. And that's helped me build my network. That's helped me build my paychecks. That's helped me build my positions, my resume. That's helped me get into roles. I've landed roles in films that I didn't expect to. I didn't even get an audition for because I was already on set doing something else. By no means should you land on a set with the intention of leaving the position of which you were hired. Like dedicate yourself to that position. If you're a PA, if you're crafty, if you're a driver. I mean I got to meet James Franco and Tommy Lee Jones. You remember Tommy Lee Jones from like Men in Black? Oh, yeah. Okay, great. Fantastic. Oh, yeah. Big fan. Just because I was on set working in a position that wasn't – I didn't get to be in front of the camera for that movie, but I got to experience them on set to watch their performances and a firsthand experience. It wasn't just watching some interview on TV or some BTS. It was like this is real life for me now. So it's not always making sure that you dedicate yourself to those goals, like have them, have those aspirations, work towards them, make sure that what you're doing each day is a step closer, but don't get locked down of like if it's not it, then I don't want it. I think that if you get in that mentality, you will miss out on other opportunities. And you know what? You never know what life has in store for you. Maybe you don't know what's really meant for you. And that is something that's pretty common in the acting world is that you'll get the roles. That's right. That are meant for you. And I think that that's just life in general. Again, it's not bad to have goals and aspirations and kind of set your sights on something and to work towards it. But – Um, I just feel like people will be happier. I've been happier if, um, and it's not settling. It's, it's, I wouldn't even, I'm not even sure if I would find it as much compromising as it is just finding your way, right? Finding where you fit in, finding, uh, really finding your weaknesses and, and really taking. advantage of your strengths to, to then create a more well, better rounded, um, person, right? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I think that you're, you're doing a great job of explaining this process of, of trying to see it's a struggle perspective, you know, again, the more you can learn in life, right? The more you can then have opportunities to do things with, right. But when it comes to specifically acting, right, this is certainly a field that I think many people are interested in. It, right. Many people kind of think about it and wonder about it and never really take the step to actually get involved in it. Yes. And so I think some people need to understand, again, as you said, what's the difference between somebody who kind of is going to get involved? Well, number one, do you fit? Is it something that you're naturally feeling that you should do, right? And if you feel naturally that it's something you should do, well, yeah, go after it. And then when you do go after it, what parts are you going to get, as you said? Well, the parts that you naturally fit into. You can't just be anybody. You can't be Batman if you don't fit into the Batman position, right? And so even when we come into this part right here, this is one thing I do like to talk about a little bit when I speak with people. Because growing up, I used to have a lot of anxiety, and that used to keep me from doing almost anything, right? I was scared that it was always going to be a no, right? So if you don't try, it's always a no, right? And now I look at things a little bit differently. And so as you kind of said here, you mentioned I use the word puzzle piece, right? If you're not a puzzle piece for that position, if you don't fit the position, you're not going to complete the puzzle. And, of course, they're going to get somebody who does fit in that spot. So the question isn't, you know, am I going to get that spot? The question is, do I fit? Really? And if I don't, you know, I'm going to go fit somewhere else. And then the other question can be is who does fit? What characteristics do they have, right? And now I can start looking at those things and I can start saying, can I become those things, right? Do I have that capability, right? So when it comes to potential, where do you see yourself? What kinds of things do you think about right now? What kinds of things do you kind of want to do to push yourself to the next level? It's kind of a very broad, general thing to say there. I think, yeah, right. No, I thought that, yep. So I – one of the things I'm working on the most is just meeting new people. I have a network of my own and I've gotten so far with them. And I will continue to work with them and we'll carry each other as far as we can go. But I'm not in any way ready nor do I think it's like ever time to just settle. OK, I've got the network. Like we're done. Like you're always looking. to expand, finding more people that you can help out on their sets, more – I talked about a rut, right? And so you can't really – if you're not willing to accept different opportunities and say yes to other challenges and try to – well, I've never worked on a project like that before. Well, try it. Oh, that person is doing something that's completely unrelated to what I'm currently.– well, I mean, is it something you can contribute to that project, right? So expanding your network is really – expanding my network is what I'm working on right now the most. I'm even looking – like we talked about cybersecurity as being like one of my other fortes. Lately, I've been looking more into like marketing and advertising and really trying to expand that part of my creativity. I'm still getting like contracted to go. I work in network offices occasionally, but it's all freelance. We just did a building down. in South that was. they had a meeting room and they had TVs and they wanted all their computers to be networked so that you could just take your iPad and like and then you know Tony Stark style oh yeah and I'm like yeah we can do that so we had like server room set up and we had the black magic thing like you got over there so that they had live feed cameras so that people could log in and see their meetings and things like that so I'm still very much when it comes to the jobs I take it's still very much like a shotgun pattern prioritizing onsets but back to the kind of drill a little bit deeper into like what is an actor. to do these days if you've determined that you want to be an actor then the next step is to just try it right find a script online and record yourself with your cell phone they call that a self tape for all of you newbies create a YouTube channel call it whatever you want it doesn't matter it doesn't matter how professional looking it is just start taking steps forward towards whatever if you want to be a, Knife maker, same thing. Just take a piece of metal and start shaping into something, like take steps towards whatever. And by doing that, you'll discover, one, where your faults are, two, how to be better, and three, if it's even something you're interested in, right? If you're determined that you can't do that until you have all these other pieces perfect, then you're going to invest a lot of time and a lot of money trying to achieve this benchmark that you've created for yourself. That isn't really real. And then maybe you find out, oh, that wasn't really where I was meant to be. Or I actually prefer, like, I missed the mark. You know what I mean? So, yeah, start. And back to acting, there's castings all over Facebook. Tons of universities have acting schools that are looking for actors for their stuff. Maybe you don't want to be an actor. Maybe you want to work behind the scenes. Again, same thing. You're going to find projects that are looking for grips. You're looking for production assistants. Just find a way. to get yourself on a set and just gain some sort of first-hand experience. It doesn't really matter the position. Don't go on to that set looking to really... Nobody owes you anything, right? Nobody... You talked about auditions, and you talked about getting cast for the role and puzzle pieces. And everybody who's had a casting, who's sitting at this table with their notes and all the headshots and all the actors that are submitted is praying that the actor that pops in front of them and walks to that door is the one that's going to fill the set. Nobody's just ready to just hand out no's. We don't have a stack of no's that's like, nope, we want to say yes. Absolutely. Because the quicker we find the yes, the quicker we can continue moving on with our project and make that into reality. So all that to say, the biggest obstacle... goal. Man, this is so cliche. The biggest obstacle is yourself. The biggest thing holding anybody back is their own resistance or their own reluctance to take those steps forward. because, oh, I don't have the time or, oh, it takes the energy or I don't have the money yet or I don't like just do something in that direction. Right, right. We got to climb the ladder instead of sliding down the slide. Go to a film festival. Go watch a movie in a theater. Go support the local community in some way. Stay away from the big box office. Go see an indie film, right? I mean, I'm not saying don't ever watch the box office. I'm just saying if you're low on cash, you got to make a decision. Right, right. If you practice something even 15 minutes a day, no matter what it is, whether. it's speaking English or acting or trying to, as you said, be a knife maker, you're going to become better at that. That thing, right? So start with that process, right? So go. And when it comes to being involved in this world, again, you can get there. Like anything, anybody can kind of get to where they want to go, but maintaining, right? How do you maintain not just your physical health but your mental health through this process? Because as we get there and as we feel positive, right, again, we've got this roller coaster of emotions. So how do you keep yourself from falling too far and from getting too high, right? We've got to stay balanced. What's your process? I mentioned earlier briefly my religious life. So prayer. Yeah, I'm not able to do anything without help from the big guy. And, yeah, that's really helped me stay grounded, motivated. It keeps me out of those dark places and positive. I think that not letting yourself get bogged down by a lot of negativity in this world, whether it be on social media, whether it be, you know, Or whatever to just like, okay, well, let's keep going. How can I be better today than I was yesterday sort of scenario? Another thing is just working on building good habits. So like you said, trying to spend 15 minutes a day doing anything. That's exactly it. Like that's the nail on the head. If you want to be more fit, okay, start just doing some simple push-ups or sit-ups or go for a walk. I've read recently that incline walking is one of the best things you can do. Like you're not sprinting. You're not doing like some sort of like marathon. You've just simply moved the treadmill from horizontal to a little bit more vertical, right? And you've made an increase in your performance. If it's – you want to be an artist, just start stenciling. Like you don't need the most high – I'm not an artist, but the high-priced stencils or colored pencils or paintbrushes or special pens or whatever. Just grab a piece of chalk, start writing on a sidewalk or whatever. So – not burning bridges, another strong tip. There are so many different people in this world and it feels pretty impossible that you're going to agree 100% with everybody. There's always going to be differences. There's always going to be conflicts and it's overcoming those whether it be political, whether it be religious, whether it be a point of view of like, you know, you're all artists. So people are going to have passions. And in that way, that's when I would use the word compromise. Being able to compromise with people to achieve that greater goal. Maybe the end result, even if it's yours, like even if you're the executive producer or you're the director and you're trying to shape this thing, you still are acquiring the help of like this entire team and you're not you can't go into it determined to get exactly, Like to the letter of what you'd walk into it because it's a living, breathing piece of art, right? And that goes for any project, like for the wiring thing or for the – like you have certain benchmarks. You have certain bullet points that you have to meet. And yes, the more money that's invested and the more powerful you are and the closer you can get because like you've got the command. Like if this person is not agreeing with you, you can just fire them. But for the average person who's just trying to survive in this industry, to grow in this industry, hard edges are not recommended. They don't help you. And kind of as we kind of mentioned a while back is, in my opinion, life is kind of about creating opportunities for yourself, right? As you said, burning bridges. Well, you're just preventing opportunities now, right? You're taking off the potential of the future. And you also mentioned earlier how you want to – I would say yes, right, as much as possible, which from the point at which you were saying it, I think it makes perfect sense. Perfect sense. Get as much experience as you can. Don't say no to opportunities, right, especially if they're in front of you. And especially the way that reality works is that often some of the biggest projects come from being in the right place at the right time, right? Not so much being lucky, but being, you know, in actually, what do they say, when opportunity meets, you know, being prepared, right? Preparedness meets opportunity, right? That's what luck is, right? No, that's a guiding light in my life is trying to make sure that on my days off or in the spare time that I'm still constantly making myself ready for that opportunity. I don't want to ever miss an opportunity because I wasn't preparing earlier. And having said that, this is why I want to allude to this is because I agree with what you said, and I understand that. But sometimes if you say yes to everything, you can miss an opportunity, right? And so how do you prioritize when it comes to the work that you're giving? And like, let's say you're given two potential projects at the same time. What would be something that you would use as maybe a benchmark to? You know, again, this could be very open ended of a question. But yeah, what would you decide? Right? Or how would you? Yeah, so there's no hard line for that. There's no, it's obviously case by case and visual, right? Something I fall back on to are things like loyalty, being honest to your word. If you make a commitment to something, holding true to that commitment, having a relationship with the people you're working with, that have a better understanding of what you're going through. So that way, if maybe you are working for like this lower budget project, and then all of a sudden, a better opportunity comes that you're communicating with them so that they can understand your position of like, why you're not just like brushing them off and like, hey, I'm not going to show up like, try to find replacements if you can. And if, if it's going to kill the project, then maybe you have to just take the sacrifice of like, no, I already made a commitment to work on this other thing. There's a couple projects that I've been a part of. A couple YouTube series, we just started a new one, it's called You Want to See Something Scary, shot of the first episode, directed by Dominique Smith, and that man is super passionate, he's very talented, he's got this love of horror, and he's made Freddy Krueger, I don't quite know how you would describe it. They're not, like, official films, but, like, he made them with the potential to be, like, it could be the next Freddy Krueger movie. He's made some fan films with a nice homage, right? Fan film is the word I was lacking, that's the word, and he's just got all this inspiration, and so we made a whole series between, at the time, the company was named Cineview Studios, now, then they went to Cineview, and now they're at Calenset. Basically, they had some struggles with copyright and stuff, so they're like, we need a name that no one's going to take. But, so I've been... Working with them a lot, and we made a series called Terror Tape. We partnered with a company named iHorror, which is a horror website. They've been extremely successful in that horror industry online. And they saw they had faith in us. And so I want to see something scary. It's like not a spinoff. It's not really related, but it's just another horror series. Another project I worked on was Studio 316. We shot two seasons. It was a faith-based children's show. I ended up – that was one of the situations where I was hired on as crew. I was hired on as a PA, and they're like, you have a few more skills under your belt than a PA. We're going to move you to GRIP slash Gaffer. It was a small crew. I was working with a DP from L.A. and a director from L.A., Jason Sutherland. And next thing you know, they're like, hey, also, you're an actor? Can you read the script? And so I'm on the set with the director there and the lead, and we're just bouncing off. And they're like, no, we're digging your chemistry. It was like this. It's a Midwestern, like, standoff of, like, hey, I'm better than you, and you're better than, no, I'm, you know what I mean, like, and so now I'm working on Crew, and I'm working on, as one of the main characters of this antagonist show, and so, yeah, it's just about building. I don't know how much of this question I've answered. I'm letting you go. No, we're talking about it. But, no, again, as far as… It's saying yes, right? Because I wouldn't have gotten on that set. As far as saying yes, and, yeah, and also when to say no, because if there's opportunities where you, if you don't say no, obviously you can potentially miss something. Right. That can happen. Right, right, right. But a lot of those projects, like hiring on as a PA at the time was below, if you will, my pay grade at the time. But it was a project that I believed in, so I went ahead and said yes. The project with Dominic Smith, or like Callan said. Some of the projects are very lucrative. And some of the projects are passion projects. And it's all about like why did you get in this industry to begin with? What are your own goals? And it's not like greedy of like what am I going to get out of this? What am I going to get out of this? Like I said earlier, a lot of it's like how can I help you? Because you're trying to build that network. You're trying to build the industry as a whole in your own community. That's something that I think gets passed up or forgotten a lot is contributing to the community around you. People are like, no, I'm going to get up. I'm going to move to L.A. or I'm going to move to Atlanta. And like those places are saturated. There is a lot of talent in there and a lot of talent that never gets seen because it's just so saturated. And so, okay, so to ground it back to the original question of like how – basically you're talking about triage. How do you decide what's worth investing your time in and what's not? And I'm pretty sure a shortened answer was it's very, very, very much determined. It's determined by each individual. goals, as well as the potential that you see for those projects, alongside your own personal, morals and ethics of like, I've made a commitment to this project, so therefore I can't take this as a project. Right. Or I am struggling to pay rent, so I have to take this as a project. Right, right, right. I agree with that. At the end of the day, you have to take care of yourself, so that's going to be a good indicator. But I think the first answer you said, loyalty, when it comes to deciding who's going to get the project, well, what did I say first? Right. And I think many actors will say that that's what's going to take them a long ways over time. People in the industry, they want to know that somebody's going to do what they say, right? Just like most jobs. And the puzzle piece that was missing that really connected all of those ideas was that I wouldn't have found myself in some of the positions that I found myself as a producer on the Terror Tales, or a partner in the I Want to See Something Scary, or the actor. My end goal was to be an actor, not necessarily in that project. Right. But on Studio 3. Um, like I'll have kids that like, Hey, you're Kevin from studio. I'm like, nice. Like tie heartstrings tug right there. Right. Um, if I wasn't in the habit of saying yes to opportunities to, to really understanding myself and where I wanted to be in able to make those like, Oh, it's going to be a weak commitment. Like what if something else better comes up? Well, it's working towards that end goal. Right now. And I do like how you've kind of expressed this. Well, if you want this end goal, it's not always going right after that specific thing, right? Sometimes there's other methods, other pathways that take you there. Right. And actually that's the way that you get there is through these other pathways. Truly. Right. I agree with that. And I think even where I'm at right now, you know, you know, hosting a podcast show, I wanted to see myself on, on things, not because I had this big egotistical narcissistic reason to be there, but because I saw other people doing it, it made me smile. And I thought, I want to do that too. And I want to, I want to make people smile and I want to have fun and do cool things. And who's going to do it for me? to make that happen. Right. Yeah. So, you know, I learned how to do Photoshop and how to how to make videos and how to edit those videos, because now I can make it happen. I can make myself look cool. And then I mean, you are cool. Yeah. Make yourself look cool. Appreciate that. Keep telling them. Keep telling them. Yeah. When it comes to life in general, I think that overall I've gone from this desire of do we want to, you know, be better than other people or do we just want to be. better? Right. And I just want to be a better person. Right. And comparison, they say, is the thief of joy. So as an actor, I don't see you personally as somebody who feels it's this thing that you you know, you're not getting upset when other people get roles. Right. You are just trying to, as you said, boost the industry and go at the same time, you know, boost yourself. What kinds of experiences do you want to have? What kinds of things do you feel like are inside of you that you haven't had, you know, the opportunity to do yet? Meaning like, dramatic experiences, you know, cool, you know, superhero roles, what kinds of things? do you feel are inside that have a place in the future? At this point, it's really just a question of budget. The more you learn about these other films and you see what goes into the Marvel movies or the Deadpool movies or the World War II dramas or whatever, it's like Saving Private Ryan, for example. I would love to play some sort of... Okay, let's back up a little bit. You gave me this short little brief about what I was getting into in this thing. In there, it said, why did you get in this industry? What drives you? What's your passion? One of the things that has kept me in this so long and really helped guide me is not that I desire to be the next Ryan Reynolds or Tom Cruise or B.O. because I want all the... That I want to inspire and I want to leave people with the same feelings that I'll get when I walk out of a good movie or I end a season finale of a good TV show of like that, that feeling inside of motivation or desire for change or maybe it's just some sort of attachment that I've built to the show of like, oh, it's over. I felt like I was becoming friends with these imaginary fake characters, like to somehow connect and to create this non-existent, but like they're watching me on a screen. I've never touched them. I've never talked to them. Most of them I've never met in person, but to actually connect with them in some way or another, like that's really my desire. So back to is there a specific character or is there a specific role? I mean, I've played Spider-Man. I've played the lead on a children's show. I've been murdered. I don't know how many ways in shorts, and I've been the bad guy. I've been the good guy. Were you a SWAT guy at one point too? Yes. Is that what that was? Yes. See? Yes. Yeah, that's pretty cool. Yeah. So I have a broad spectrum of roles. Absolutely, which is one of the things I find absolutely very interesting about you because from the outside, you never know, right? You never know this guy. He walks around very humble, very chill, very relaxed, and yet you've got this multiplicity, this multifaceted ability to play different things. And again, not everybody has that, yet some people feel like they do inside. And again, even where you're at right now, I feel like you're just at the beginning, right? I personally feel like you're at the beginning of this whole thing. And when I'm watching things, there's a lot of times when I say, hey, how did this person get there, right? This person is not really connecting with me, right? And yeah, I would say that it would be nice if we could replace those network people with the true actors, right? So when it comes to the… The time, I guess, a specific time when a role deeply impacted you that kind of carried you into your personal life, right? Something that helped you, right? Is there something that maybe you feel that you brought back with you that made you a better person? As far as, like, the performances I've seen? The performances you've actually been in. Something that maybe you actually experienced. Because when you have to play these characters, you have to put yourself in places mentally, right? And even if you haven't experienced those experiences, sometimes you do mentally experience things, right? Just through your acting. And I'm wondering how maybe that has positively affected you and if there's one experience that you feel has impacted you a lot. Well, the strongest, most recent one would be my role in The Righteous Triumph. In fact, they're actually in the process of putting it over, bringing it back at another theater. But I got to meet through that project. One, the relationships I built for the cast, right? It was a diverse cast because you get the blacks that everybody were like, no, you can't sit here. And then you get the whites who are like, hey. is our place and the blacks are trying to become equals in front of the stage but behind the thing like we're all friends like no there's no real hate there's no real and there's bonding and stuff. like that and so those friendships for me anyways i didn't leave those at the theater like i still have those now with me but also i got to meet firsthand people that were actually there the actual sit-ins i was like whoa you actually put your life on the line and went and tried to sit at that counter um and it's just a whole different animal about reading it in a textbook versus like seeing the actual human being that was involved the people were spitting on and abusing and. just these vile um interactions just like you put up with this and you know what that's another thing i've realized that i've kind of see the way people act now versus people act then back then, um i mean you had the two you had the dichotomy between the malcolm x's and the martin luther king's, you, We're going to have the cameras do it one more time. Is it time? Yep, yep, yep. Wait, wait, yeah. Malcolm X is in the Martin Luther King, and let me just preface, I am by no means an expert in any of this. It's just an observation. But it just felt like this was more of the approach they took and found such success with. I felt more familiar with like the Martin Luther King approach, much more passive, maybe even Gandhi-ish, where it's just like, no, I just – I'd like a cup of coffee and a donut, please. And then people around you are just being like – and you're not standing up. You're not even standing up for yourself, really. They were just sitting there where they should have been allowed to sit and to one, to watch that being reenacted before your eyes, to act as the antagonist of the one trying to remove them from where they – to get to meet the people who actually experienced this in real life. It was very grounding. It was very – And to see the effectiveness of such minimal effort, right? They weren't rioting. I mean, at the time, there were riots in the streets and things like that. But in this particular movement in Tampa, Florida, it was just such a large, grandiose statement. of just civil defiance through passive intentions. You know what I mean? Am I saying words that actually mean things? Absolutely. It's the ability to get a lot of effective change done through maybe subtle recourse as opposed to screaming, yelling, and violence, right? Which is what we so often see. There you are. I knew you were going to do it. All right, last time. Last time we have to do that. That usually doesn't happen twice. Well, it's refreshing to see that that was able to work. To meet the people in real life, to see that that was able to work, that you – it doesn't always have to be so in-your-face, loud, obnoxious, harmful, violent. You don't – it has its place, right? Sometimes you need a rebellion. Revolutionary war. Viva la France. You know what I mean? But the fact that you can acquire change through peaceful means is – it's refreshing. Yeah, I agree. I think that, as you just alluded to, again, this peace, this loving ability for people to come together is something that we want. We desire it. So why doesn't it happen more often, right? Well, a lot of it is credit, as I said earlier, to the leaders at the time, both the leaders of the black community and the leaders of the mayor of Tampa. They were able to – one, they were in a place where they could sit at the same table and talk to each other and really communicate and work through that compromise. Yeah, it's that word, that communication word. They were able to communicate. Okay. So have you – If – That's one thing I kind of always say multiple times because it's what we're doing right now. We're communicating. And that whole idea of listening to people speak, being open to listening to people speak, whether you agree with them or not, it's always and forever going to create opportunities for advancement. Whereas the moment you stop communication, that's when the war begins and the fighting, right? We turn each other into enemies and we no longer actually see each other as humans, right? So I think in this, what you're being able to do and go back and being able to act through this, you know, obviously you're helping the audience understand this time period and hopefully create some continuous change, right? And at the same time, it's affecting you as an actor because it's putting you in that position where you have to really feel those things to really connect and be genuine with your role, right? And that's an emotional taxing thing right there. And kind of that's why I mentioned earlier, you know, how do you mentally stay fit, too? Because just as somebody who's empathetic, the world's tough. Well, as somebody who's empathetic. So when you combine that toll, right, on top of that, is that something where you feel like it's harder? to maybe relate with people around you from time to time, or do you feel like a little bit separated from the average person and in your world around you because of the way that you constantly are looking at things, seeing things, and experiencing things? Right. So first to sort of envelop, to put a seal on that last question in that all of that I feel like I try to carry with me. as far as the empathy, as far as the listening, the communication, because the original question was like, has there been a role that you've been able to take something into your real life with? Mm-hmm. So, yeah, the good. I try to take the good. Obviously not the racist. I'm not trying to carry that with me. But so then to carry that over to this next question of empathy in the real world, and do I ever feel, yeah, real world is hard. Maintaining that empathy and the compassion and the patience in real time, in real situations, face-to-face, or anything like that. You know what? Arguably, it's easier for me face-to-face, and I think that's true for anybody. You get those keyboard warriors who are just commenting just vile things on the internet or just shouting in the dead air that is the internet of Twitter or X now, I guess, or any other social media platform. You have all sides. You get the supportive. You get the haters. You get the people who are just watching on the sidelines of the peanut gallery. And I think that the in-person interactions are much more beneficial. There's more communication. You're kind of forced to really get on their level. It's a lot harder to ignore them if they're present, if we're in the same room having a conversation. So that's helpful. Getting. Out of. The office, getting away from the keyboard and getting in front of and being social. And it goes back to networking. It helps you in your career. It helps you view or observe other types of people. If you're working on character development, you know, you get that loner in the coffee shop or you got the – yeah, that's another thing. It's just observing the world around you and taking mental note whether you're working on an actor or whether you're working on just being a better person. Or just observing and listening to the silence. Get out of the thoughts in your head to – and I think that it allows you to, one, actually hear what other people are saying. It gives you more opportunity to kind of put yourself in their shoes to realize that maybe they have problems of their own they're trying to work through. Like maybe there's a bit – that's been passed to for a few months. that's sitting on their dining room table that they're worried about. Maybe they've got a newborn on the way. Maybe they're just going to fight with whoever they're in a relationship with. So I think, and that's something I think I've really, really grown as a human being as a result of being an actor. We've touched on me always being empathetic, which comes from my own personal history, but I think that being an actor, because you have this character development. and you have this empathy, you're trying to connect more with the things and the people and the environment around you so that you can do better at your job. But in return, you're also just becoming, just a better listener, a better observer. I'm not quite grasping what I'm trying to say, though, so it's weird. No, no, it's all right. Sometimes we can get lost a little bit with it. But no, I think overall you're speaking to something that we all understand, which is just the process of kind of self-development. There it is. Yeah, so I am saying things. Okay. At the end of the day, right, we want to become better selves, right? But again, as we do that, we are always looking on the outside to understand who are we, right? Because we feel something on the inside. But where you kind of get, I feel like, a little bit lost is, well, now I have to sit there and judge that based off of the things around me, right? I'm so happy you're able to read between the lines that I was unable to. I want to bounce that. So what I think is a fun question is what do you think is maybe one of the funnier or more interesting perceptions other people have had of you in what you're doing, right? Because you get to do what you're doing. You know what life is like for you. But maybe for friends or family or for people on the outside, they see you as, you know, maybe this big actor guy. Yeah. All these crazy things. So what's one of the funnier perceptions you've gained that may or may not be really true, right? Right. So I would reference – I don't know if you'd call it infamous or famous means. You'll see on – it's like this picture of like this four quadrants where one is like this is what my mom thinks I do. This is what my friends think I do. This is what the world thinks I do, and this is what I actually do. Right, right. And yes, from the outside, you think of somebody in front of the camera. You think like stardom, right? You think – or you see somebody in a commercial or you see somebody in a movie, and you're like, oh. The IMDb is popping off, right? Look at that. And then you go home to the mom, and the mom is like, so have you ever thought about going back into IT? Or have you ever – you know what I mean? Because she wants the best for you, and she wants you to develop yourself and invest and things like that. And – I lost my third camera. It got too hot. Bloody cameras. It's – yeah. We'll give it 30 seconds. We'll turn it back on so I can keep going. All right. And then you've got your own, right? You're the guy sitting at your computer going through all the different emails and casting websites and agent phone calls and getting those auditions and scripts that you have to work on. And so there's a lot more prep work and working on yourself than there is actually being in front of Verona's film set. Even if it comes with a commercial project or maybe I'm working with a crew as a producer or assistant to a producer, et cetera. Like the prep work, all the stuff that you – all the pieces that you have to put in place for any – it's just – you don't just go on set and just start shooting things. You've got to get the film permits. You've got to get the actors, the crew together. You've got to work out the schedules. You've got to get the equipment, right? Work with the rental companies. You have to – I mean that – The job I had up in Georgia, there was just so many pieces. There were so many pieces. Because – like any project manager I think would be able to relate because they – although work for maybe a company full time, like once you finish a project, then you move on to the next project. And so each project, you have to start over. You've got the scope of work and you have to like check off and you've got to go through resources and like, hey, do you got a guy for this? I got a guy for this sort of thing. So it's just – that's really the thing that I have – I don't know if – The word struggle, but I try to communicate to the people who either want to get in this industry or try to ask me about this industry is that it's – we're not – it's not just playing pretend in front of a camera. Like there's a whole lot – there's a whole career of build up and then post. I mean have you – you have so much equipment here. You do photo editing. Have you done video editing? That's what I mainly do. And the honors. Yeah, they say that there's three times a script is written. First is by the writer, second time is by the director on set, and third time is by the editor in post. Yeah, and then post has, you know, we have our famous rough, you know, final, finished, final, finished, final. That's a whole other meme. Yeah, right, yeah. We go crazy with that one. Naming conventions. Right. And we do have some old school cameras here. I've got one second. I'm going to put my last camera here. Let's turn it on. It overheats from time to time. It's back. All right. So we don't have much time. We'll wrap it up here soon. Yeah, we're over the hour mark. We're doing good. Because I personally, so, yeah, again, we're still live. So I think that when it comes to timing, there's a lot of podcasts out there that have, like, specific 30-minute goals, 50-minute goals, hour. I don't have a goal when it comes to timing specifically because I want to be able to get into an actual conversation. Yeah. And some other great podcasters will say you can't really get into a conversation unless you have at least an hour to kind of kind of delve into some things and jump into it. And it's also, in my mind, an ongoing conversation. I'd like to be able to speak to you in the future and see how things are going and kind of keep it going. Overall, you know, this this cast is supposed to be something that's meant to help us grow, learn, have a place to kind of come back to and see that growth. Right. And not only that, opportunities. Right. So if you're a casting director, if you're somebody looking for a great actor, right, Chris here, you know, what's one thing that maybe you would like people to know about you if you had the chance to? Because obviously, when you're doing a whether it be a real or whether it be an audition, you don't really have this minute to sit there and go, hi, you know, here's who I am. And this is the kind of person I am. Is there anything that you'd like people to know about you that you don't really feel like you get to express much? Or do you feel that that's not really an issue too much? No, I mean, not to be contradictory. Yeah. What you just said is exactly what we do. Yes. OK, perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Hi, I'm Chris Florida. I'm from Tampa, Florida, and I'm auditioning for your – you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, introductory is really big. I think the biggest thing is just to not underestimate Florida. That's probably the biggest thing I'd want to communicate. Right. There's just so much talent here, so much potential. They have just so much opportunity to shoot in historic locations and nature locations, and we've got high tech. I mean, we've got space coasts all over. We've got the west and the east space coast. Space coast. I love space. Well, some of the stuff happens in Texas, but we've got Cape Canaveral. Oh, for sure. Yeah. I mean, traditionally, this is where a lot of the launches, you know. Traditionally. That's a funny thing to say. The OG launches. That's right. Florida is not a place that I'm originally from. When it comes to your hometown, is this where you were originally born, Florida? Yeah. Born and raised. Yes. Yes, sir. All right. What kind of upcoming projects are you excited about? Do you have on the agenda, on the horizon? What are you looking forward to? I'm really excited about the potential for this new horror series we got. Do you want to see something scary? We've done great work in the past. We were really looking to expand and elaborate on that universe, and we just decided that we needed to just leave that where it was and try something brand new instead. And I'm really excited about the potential of this new horror series that they're building. Do you have some things to show for that already? Is there some scenes already that are available, or pictures? The only thing that is available online now is some BTS stuff. That would be on Calenset's Instagram. We'll show that right here. Dominique Smith's Instagram, where it shows a little bit of art, and a little bit of direction and on-scene interaction. Not on-scene. On-set interactions. But I don't recall there being any footage. No big deal. We're getting close to the end here and I want to make sure that I don't just completely get stuck in the acting world because you're an IT guy and you understand technology and it's a big place that I'm involved in. I'm wondering on what types of AI technology are you excited about? Do you use and obviously it's a big buzzword that we're hearing nowadays. So I'm interested what reality in your life does AI actually play? Yeah, I mean I use chat GPT. I haven't really touched base or too many other AI options. I know that there's a lot of fear or maybe uncertainty about AI, especially in the film industry, about it taking over jobs, about it replacing people. What we talked earlier about not in front of camera but off camera, about actors not being needed on set anymore because they're just going to use CGI or AI. And actually from my own experience. It seems to be more of like an enhancement tool, the same way CGI was, same green screen. was you're not replacing being on sets. You're not replacing having people on set. You're not replacing having employees. What it does is it's another tool to add to your toolbox to enhance the experience, both for the viewer and for the people trying to complete the project. I mean, maybe. I mean, there's a series on Netflix that I love. It's called Love, Death, and Robots. I think there's two seasons of it, and it has a whole spectrum of different art forms. It's got animated. It's got real people. It's got CGI, and I think there's a place for all of that. And I don't, I mean, maybe I'm just ignorant, but I just don't foresee AI being like this hard line of like, nope, this is from now on always going to be AI, like we're not going to use real things anymore. I think no matter how good it gets, there's just some sort of magic communicated between real versus, you know, you kind of miss out when it's just. I mean, maybe I'm just biased. It's not that it wouldn't be visually appealing in some way, shape, or form. And entertainment is still there, right? Yes, yes, yes. But when I watch an hour and a half of it, you know? I mean, it depends. I love Pixar movies. Right, right. Again, so we'll see on how it kind of develops. But I do agree that I think this human connection is very important to our connection with entertainment. And also when it comes to trying to better yourself, you look at things that are similar, right? And how do you actually understand yourself through similar things, right? Yes. That's what I mean by that. Again, if we're watching a movie, we look for actors who look like us or people who portray similar things that we feel, and then we relate to them the most. And so when it comes to technology, keeping on technology for a second, is there any piece of technology that you think that exists today that you need to have other than like a cell phone? Cell phone is a must-have. Is there any other device that you use or keep with you all the time? I don't – I mean my laptop just because it's – I just enjoy typing on a keyboard more than I enjoy typing down there as far as emails or looking for castings and things like that. I mean old school. Don't be afraid to pick up a book every now and then. I've got like three books in my nightstand that I rotate through. Someday he'll finish reading. Absolutely. It's like a book. It's like a TV series, right? Do you binge watch an entire season or are you going to have a couple that you're working on? It's – you know. I mean I would waver more towards – technology again is another tool. Don't let it control your life. I know tons of people who have just like deleted social medias and things like that. The only reason that I've really made them staples in my life is because it's my career. It's part of my job description. Just make sure not to forget the analog world. That's all. Right, right. Try to stay in touch with both. Yeah, you got to have both. And looking ahead, long term, we've got obviously a lot of big goals that we want to achieve and do things with. Of course, I appreciate you coming on the podcast today. This is a non-sponsored podcast. Again, the sense here is personal growth and development and, of course, all the things we talked about. And maybe someday we'll have some other opportunities for that. One thing I did use, I will say, I like these little devices. I'm using the Plod Note, which is like a little voice recorder. So it's been listening to you and I the entire time. Well, look at that. What's nice is that when I'm done. I'm going to hit a button and it's going to sit there and feed out like Chris said. this, Caleb said this, and it's going to give me that transcript for both of us, and then I can ask it questions. I can say, give me a summary of the podcast so that I can ask better questions, or so I can create social media stuff for it, and it's going to pop that out. Get into your AI tool at the moment. Yeah, and so the company is pretty nice. They actually gave me a second one. Again, it's not sponsored by the podcast, but Chris, this is, for you right here. No way. That's for you right there. Thank you so much. That's going to help you, hopefully, with just maybe anything that you're working on. Again, this is just a cool little device. They've got a lot of different devices out there like this, and I'm into self-betterment. I only need one of them, right? Yeah. So, yeah, just test that out. ChatGPT Empowered. Yeah, it comes with, I think, a two- or three-month subscription, starting out. Three, yeah. Yeah, three-month subscription, and then if you like it, you can keep going. If you don't like the subscription, all the subscription does is feed it into ChatGPT automatically. and do all that. If you don't need that, it still works as a voice recorder, right, up to 60 hours, or 30 hours of voice recording, 60 hours standby time. Nice. Yeah, so it's great. As far as, being on set, personally? Yes. Or, you know, I think there's all kinds of opportunities, maybe, where you want to use it for self-embeddement or even just for personal records, right? Right, right. No, it's way easier to take notes audibly than it is to type notes on your phone. So, hey, again, that's a piece of little tech right there. So when we come to the podcast, I always want to try to play with tech. So if there's anybody who's got cool gadgets, that's right. Keep them coming. So I'm going to keep playing with them. I'm going to play with what I get, too, and I'm going to give out the extra stuff so that other people can do something. So I know you're going to do cool stuff with it, for sure. So anyways, Chris, the only other question I have for you today, and I'm going to ask this to everybody, and this can be answered any way you want to, right? When it comes to life, I love food. I wish I was a chef sometimes. And so I always think about things as, like, ingredients. So when it comes to success being the solution or the outcome, right, what do you think are some of the most important ingredients to create success? And that's a very broad question, right? Yeah, I mean, I tried to touch on a little bit. Everyone has to write their own recipe. There's no – like trying to follow somebody else's path. For you specifically, what are your ingredients for success that you think are very important? And again, I think you've alluded to maybe some of those pillars before. Yeah, so the pillars for me would be a strong relationship with God, positive attitude, and go get yes motivation, and just making sure you're always working for self-betterment. That's right. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Floyd. All right, man. All right. We're doing this. We're making this happen. Just – I don't see – am I supposed to be – So they're in the top green. Yeah, yeah. All right. Yeah, that's cool. Nice.