#82 Isiah Whitlock Jr. talks Sheeeeeeeee-it!

0:00

Looking to sound like you know what's going on in the world, pop culture, social strategy, comedy and other funny stuff. Well join the club and settle in for the Jeff Dwoskin show. It's not the podcast we deserve, but the podcast we all need with your host, Jeff Dwoskin.

0:16

Alright, Brian, thank you so much for that amazing introduction. You get the show going each and every week and this week was no exception. Welcome, everybody, to Episode 82 of live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show. As always, I am your host, Jeff Dwoskin. We've gotten an amazing show for you today. I say it's great. Some might say it's up. But I'm gonna have to incense it's definitely that and also great. That's right, Isiah Whitlock Jr. is here. I'm so excited to have him as a guest this week. You loved him in 25th hour you loved him in the wire. You loved him in Cedar Rapids, and blackkKlansmen in Da 5 Bloods and currently starring in your honor on Showtime with Bryan Cranston. We discuss Isiah's amazing career. We discussed Isiah's amazing bobblehead. He had one of the largest Kickstarters in all of Kickstarter history. And of course, we discuss his most famous catchphrase she and its origin, which most people think is from the wire, but actually it's from Oh, you're gonna have to wait and listen to the interview. And that's coming up in just a few minutes.

If you haven't already, check out last week's amazing episode with Fred Grandy gopher from the love boat was here. We talked about his really cool career that started with Maude and a season of Monster Squad course being go for on the love boat and then heading to the House of Representatives to serve in Congress for the state of Iowa. Amazing conversation. I got so many emails and DMs and calls about it, so definitely make sure you didn't miss that one. If you love The Love Boat, I know you do. Also search up my awesome conversation with Ted Lange, Isaac from The Love Boat Gopher and Isaac both came to live from Detroit the Jeff Dwoskin show. I know I'm so blessed. Check those out. You won't regret it.

You know what else you won't regret listening to the bonus episode of live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show this Thursday. It's like a Thanksgiving gift a week after Thanksgiving. What is this bonus episode? Well, glad you asked. You know how I'm always talking about crossing the streams the live show I do every Wednesday at 9:30pm Eastern time while we're still doing those live. But then we're bringing in you extra special listeners of live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show a bonus episode that pulls out some of the greatest TV and movie binge watching reviews that we've done over the past year. That's right. It's like a box of chocolate. You never know which episode you're gonna get. It's gonna be amazing. All your favorite hosts will be there all our guests and just amazing TV binge watching suggestions. How often am I going to do it? It's up to you guys. I want to hear your feedback. If you guys love it, we'll keep bringing you bonus episodes. And the best part is you don't have to do anything. Just like subscribe, follow the podcast and it gets delivered right to your ears. How easy is that? All right, I look forward to you enjoying it. I look forward to hearing back from you. And I look forward to hearing your own reviews after you watch the amazing shows we discuss.

And now it's time for the social media tip! this is the fun part of the show where I share a little bit of my social media knowledge with you a little 411 I picked up on the street sharing with you the little tidbits that are out there to help us all raise our social game together. Today's tip is unfortunately only for iOS, iPhone, iPad users of Twitter. But if you fall in that category voice tweets. That's right when you click Compose a tweet on your mobile app, there's a little purple waveform next to the camera icon. When you click on that, then you get a little purple microphone, click that it starts recording everything you're saying stop it like done. Then type your tweet out and click tweet. That's it. And you have posted a Twitter voice tweet, it automatically adds captions for you so people can read it with the sound off. And that's it. Have fun with that post one, tag me at Jeff Dwoskin show on Twitter. I'll reply, looking forward to it. And that's the social media tip!

Who's excited for Isiah Whitlock Jr. So many stories are just around the corner he talks about how he landed the role in Goodfellas. Meeting Spike Lee and getting to work with Spike Lee and six films setting the record on law and order as the most guest stars ever blackkKlansmen, Cedar Rapids to Da 5 bloods so much and that's coming up in just a minute.

But first, I do want to thank everyone in advance for their support of the sponsors

when you support the sponsors you're supporting us here at live from Detroit, the Jeff Dwoskin show and that's how we keep the lights on. I do also want to point your attention to the official Isiah Whitlock Jr. Talking bobblehead website where you can buy your own Isiah Whitlock Jr. Talking bobblehead just go to xi.com That's sh nine ease it.com There you can order your own official Isiah Whitlock Jr bobblehead. They're $35 they say she three different ways. We talk all about it in the interview as well. This is a perfect holiday gift. As I understand it, there isn't that many left. So if you're interested head on over to she ate.com right now as h 90s i t.com. And with that, I think it's the perfect segue to share the conversation I had with Isiah Whitlock Jr. with you enjoy. All right everyone. My next guest you've loved him and a million things including 25th hour the wire Cedar Rapids to five Bloods. Most recently, Your Honor star of film, theater and television. Isiah Whitlock Jr. Oh, welcome to the show. Oh, are you? I'm good. Good to have you here.

6:47

Thank you. Thank you

6:48

so fun. My first introduction to you where I became a huge fan. I'm sure most people say the wire but for me it was Cedar Rapids. Okay. I love that movie. I don't I don't I don't know why I hadn't watched the wire at that time. But that was Rommel. That's where like, yeah, I got. I really it started to enjoy.

7:07

I really forgot they call me the runnable. You just You just brought that back to me. But anyway, go ahead. Well, that's

7:13

a great nickname. How did you not just keep the iPad surprise, I didn't carry with you as much as your other famous catchphrase

7:19

for about a year that after about a year it was like, Okay, moving on, you know, gotta get something else. The only thing that has stuck with me over the years was the sheet.

7:30

That's a good one. I want to talk about that and detail, but I want to build up to it. Because I know there's a lot of a lot of story before that. When did you know you wanted to be an actor? Was this from childhood?

7:43

No, no, no. When I was in high school, I was an athlete. I played football. And I got a scholarship to small college out on the plains in Minnesota called southwest State University. But I remember my freshman year I kept getting hurt, just kept getting like injured, didn't really quite know what I was going to do. Because I had only gone to school to go to college. But I was just going to play football. I had no other ideas as to what I would, would do. And then I went with a friend, she was auditioning for the crucible, Arthur Miller's The Crucible. And I went in I I just went with her and I sat in. And then they asked me if I wanted to read. And I did. I got a part in the show and never saw the girl again. But I got cast in the crucible. And that's when I started to think okay, maybe maybe this wouldn't be a bad profession, even though I was terrible in the crucible. I mean, I was just awful. But I did have the honor of working with Arthur Miller and telling Arthur Miller a story, just how bad I was. He smiles. So

8:50

that's awesome. But it's so interesting to me, the girl that brought you there that that you went with, and then you never saw her again, that moment sort of set your life on a whole different path, right. I mean, it could have eventually gotten there anyway, but this person made such an impact on you. And it was just in a fleeting moment. And then you took it from there.

9:07

Yeah. I mean, if she had taken me somewhere else, I probably wouldn't be doing that right now. You know, I mean, we got some fast food joint I'd probably be working.

9:18

I mean, I don't know. Right? He could have been hungry. You could have ended up at Subway and today you'd be like the number one subway artists in the world. Yeah, right. Right. Sandwich artists in the world.

9:29

Be in the Guinness Book of World Records for eating so many Subway sandwiches? Right,

9:33

right. I'd be doing a food related podcast. That's why we be talking it all come together. I see head to football scholarship kept getting hurt if you hadn't gotten hurt. Did you have your heart set on going professional or trying to go professional in football?

9:49

No. I mean, that's what kind of turned me in a little bit. I thought you're not going to be a professional athlete. The amount of pain and injury I was Indurain just didn't quite make sense. It was sort of like, what, what the hell's the point? So I just decided, I gotta start thinking about something else. And I did at one time think about journalism or something like that. But you know, I'm happy to do what I'm doing now.

10:16

Yeah, I think we're all happy. You're doing what you're doing what you're doing now. But I so the role in the crucible, then is that then you graduated. That's why you then chose to go to the American Conservatory Theater.

10:27

No, what happened was, in my junior year, I had heard about this company in San Francisco, called the American Conservatory Theater, and I looked them up. And I found that they had a summer training program. And this was really to me, like the big shift in my life, because I went to San Francisco for the summer training program to study acting. They liked me so much, they asked me to stay, but I had promised my dad that I would finish college, and that was a big deal. So I told them, if they still wanted me in a year, I would come back. And that's what I did. 1975 in San Francisco was life changing in a number of ways. I mean, it was that was, you know, the Haight Ashbury time, and I was just there. It was a major culture shock. I've never seen anything quite like it. free love. I mean, it was, it was fantastic. That's about all I'll say about that. But But I did that went back to Minnesota, finished college. And then I went out to San Francisco and studied in like the major training program that they had there. And then I did that for about, I think it was maybe about two or three years. And then they asked me to join the company that they had there. They had a very prestigious rotating Repertory Theater, and I joined that. I was there for about maybe four years. And then I went to New York.

11:58

So when you went to New York, that's when you started to do theater. No, I

12:01

did theater in San Francisco. Okay, I

12:03

did theater. That's all I did. That's all so the Iceman comma at the Merchant of Venice master gate,

12:08

that was all New York, okay. Okay, though stuff in San Francisco with the American Conservatory Theater, they did a lot of classic plays and things of that nature. You know, I looked at it more as like a very good education that kind of prepared me for New York and my career and everything like that. That was a really nice foundation, especially for a young actor in his early 20s.

12:32

Awesome. So when you were in New York, this is when you started getting more into TV and film as well,

12:39

not right away. I mean, that the television film, I would say is only about maybe 20 years old. I mean, I got off to a bit of a late start for a number of reasons. One, New York was new, and it was tough just getting started finding an agent, making connections and things of that nature. The other thing was that there were not that many opportunities, like there are today for African Americans. There was not that many on television, especially with the three networks at the time. And there were not that many plays. I mean, somebody would be hard pressed to name two or three plays back then. I mean, you had August Wilson, but outside of that, you would be hard pressed to name but you know, a lot more. So I did a lot of Off Broadway, a lot of off off Broadway. But things didn't really start kicking in until about maybe, obviously about a good 20 years ago,

13:30

late 90s, early 2000s. Yep. But you had some some moments, right. So like your Goodfellas was 1990. Oh, in those 10 years, then you're doing mostly the theater and the off off Broadway with a sprinkling of grandmas to Goodfellas, that kind of stuff. You know,

13:47

I did Goodfellows but then I couldn't. I mean, I didn't get another job while there. The thing about Goodfellows was, it's a very interesting story. I had done some readings at the actor studio. And someone came up to me at the actor studio and said, Paul Newman is having a reading of a film called The color of money. And he needs some people to read some various parts. So we're all going to meet over it Paul Newman's apartment, and we're gonna read and I get over there. And it's Martin Scorsese. Is there. Tom Cruise is there. I mean, pretty much all of the regulars were there to read the cover of money. And I was hoping I was going to get a part like the part that Forrest Whitaker play. I'm not hating because I thought he was fantastic in the film. But when Goodfellas came around, I went in to audition for Goodfellas. And Martin Scorsese said, Where do I know you from? I said, Well, look, I did those screenings for you, at Paul Newman's apartment. And he said, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. He said, Well, the part that you audition for, you know, I can't cast you as that guy. And I say, Yeah, okay, fine, fine. But he said, but I do have another little small part of this doctor who when Henry comes in, he's all hooked up. And the only guy he trusts in that moment is this doctor. And he said, Could you do that for me? And I'm sitting there thinking, you know, act like you've been there I say. So I said, Sure, sure. Yeah, I think I can do that. I didn't say I've never done a movie before. But I think I couldn't do it. So I got cast. I got cast right then and there. Back then. Goodfellas was sort of like a feeding frenzy. In New York, everybody wanted to be in Goodfellas. And I came in and said, You know, I just got a part in Goodfellas. The guys I was working with at the bar, couldn't believe it. You know, they said, Well, look, we're going down there tomorrow. Because if you got a part that we know, we're going to get apart. Thanks, fellas, you know, I'm glad you have a lot of confidence and everything like that. But that's how I ended up in Goodfellas. And the part that I auditioned for in Goodfellas was the guy who gets hit over the head with a bottle at the Copacabana. I think it is when he's he brings the check up to patchy and pushes all pissed off and everything like that. That was the part that I had auditioned for. And of course, yeah, I mean, he was right. You know, there's no way I was gonna play that part. I got the part is the doctor and the rest is history.

16:10

Now that's awesome. And your friends didn't know your secret weapon that you had hung out with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise and everyone years earlier.

16:18

At the time, the movie was called wise guy based on the book wise guy, but I think there was a TV show or something called wise guy. And that's when they changed it to good fellas. And I remember when they changed the good fellas, they told me and I thought, oh, that's never gonna fly. I mean, I guess that title. I mean, come on, please.

16:37

You never know. Right? You never know it's something that's gonna connect that but that name carries carries so much. How much did you hang out with Paul Newman and conquer this is the hot Tom Cruise had been taken to hate hate of a Tom Cruise to have gotten all the right moves. Risky Business must have been a fun room to be in.

16:55

I was just there to do the reading. You know, and I'm sitting on the couch and Paul Newman's apartment and you know, you're trying to be cool. You know, you're trying to you're trying to act like, you know, I do this all the time, you know, come over to false apartment all the time and hang out. I mean, it was nice, because you got to remember, I had just come to New York, I had just got I don't think I had been here for more than say, a year, I was making the rounds and introducing myself to people and trying to make my mark.

17:23

That's awesome. I would have been on there ever since then. I love your salad dressing.

17:29

I was I was saying that deep inside. Like a side my salad dressing. But I was trying to be cool.

17:36

It was it been hard to be cool. Because I mean is it's Tom Cruise event in the high but then you're standing there with Paul Newman. It's like boom, Wow, that must it must be a great memory just to think back on. I'm sure you have a million of them. But as of one of your early early memories. That's pretty cool. That is a great story also. So would you mark as when you say early 2000s. Like what is the is the Spike Lee movie the 25th hour? Is that where you kind of think of the stake in the ground where like you were talking about earlier where you kind of took off over these last 20 years?

18:08

Yeah, I mean, that was sort of like the first prominent movie that I got casted. And that to me kind of launched everything. As far as I'm concerned and working with Spike, developing a relationship with Spike. It was great. I mean, I'll always be indebted to spike for that moment. People have been the 25th hour and the role and ever since you've

18:31

had a decade's long friendship, relationship working relationship with Spike Lee. So with the 25th hour, how did that come together? Or was it just a normal audition process, got the movie. And then you sort of develop this friendship or in working relationship.

18:46

I was doing the play by a writer Christopher Shin, it was down in Tribeca, at a place called the Tribeca Playhouse. I don't even think it's there anymore. But I was doing this play down there called for and they wrote about it in the times, we got reviewed major reviews from like Ben Bradley and few others, and early seeded like 50 people in the theater, but it was so raw, there was something very, very raw about it. It was in this sort of CD theater, you know, we had a cat in the basement and you got to make sure you coat you close the door right before you went onstage because one time the cat walked across the stage. And you know, we had to stop the play and get the cat and get them back down in the basement, that kind of thing. Just to sort of show you what I was doing. It spike came and saw the play. And then after the play, he came back and chatted with the cast a little bit. And then he called me in for an audition. I went in Audition. That's where the she it came from. I was doing that not thinking that you know it was going to become this sort of catchphrase. I think it was just something right off the cuff. And I did it there. Spike had me do it in the 25th hour a couple of times. That's how that started.

20:00

It's really really interesting. Sorry, you neglected to mention that in the play for you were nominated for an outstanding acting award so that's cool. Very cool. I'd so you do the one movie with Spike Lee? So Does he consider you like, Are you like a muse now? Because like you're starring in the five bloods you're in black Klansmen, right here in all the I think you've done six total movies. Does he just like think about you now? Like, what would you feel? If he did a movie tomorrow? And you weren't in it? Like what? How would you feel? What would you be no question you'll be like, No, Jeff. I be in it even if for it was a walk on thing just to be in it. Like is that? Are you his like Lucky Charm. Now?

20:39

I never look at it like that. I mean, if he did a movie tomorrow, and I wasn't in it, I mean, a look and go do some other movie or whatever. If he's doing something that and he calls me and I'm available to do it, then you know, I do. I wouldn't. I'm not gonna sit there and take it personal or anything like that. I mean, you know,

20:57

I meant it in a fun way. But I you know,

21:00

no matter what, I'm gonna be crying or anything like that. I never really think about it. In any of those terms. It's to me, it's like just all business. And if it fits, I'll do it.

21:10

Awesome. So the origin of I don't want to she she. Yeah, I got to do it. Because I you do it. Doing it in front of you is to this to know right. But they the origin of it is of your catchphrase then or what became your catchphrase is the length of our not the wire were probably most people think it originated.

21:29

Yeah, the wire they started writing it in. But the thing about the wire is that that catchphrase? I mean, I've heard people say that tons of times over the years, especially and you know, the circles I run into that's why I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I never looked at it until much later that it was a catchphrase that it was going to stick. I mean, I never did. I just viewed that as just the way a lot of people talked. But a friend told me he said no, it's not. It's not the word. It's the way you say it with this sort of Midwestern slash southern accent that gives it arraign that makes that differentiates it from all of the others. When I start to think about it, I say, you know, you're right. You know, it's got that little bit of there's a little slight tweaking in there, there's a little starts in the nose. I mean, you start breaking it down, I never realized it, but that's what it was. But I just viewed that as just the way people would talk. So even when they start doing it in the wire, I just thought okay, yeah, fine. That makes sense. But it really took off, I started doing it in the wire, and then a lot of it comes down to where you do it, you know, you just can't sit there and start doing it. But I mean, if you really put it in a spot where it just kind of rings out whether character was angry, or thought something was very, very funny. That's when it starts to starts to work. So I sometimes had to be a little careful not to make it so arbitrary, but really make it specific, just sort of held what I was actually doing. And I think that sort of adds to it.

23:06

Absolutely. It's got to mean something and Scott, you don't want to overuse it because then it loses its power.

23:12

Yeah, in a way. It's a little bit more but

23:17

yeah, that's the punch the punch that it provides. It's funny though because if the clip of 25th Our Ed Norton says to add Norton's character says to your character, come on, get it over with Yeah, which is funny. Like if you think about it, now you know, cuz then you say the phrase then you say the catch you say she right right after that, but like now it's kind of has a little extra humor to it that it didn't have at the time just because if you could take it as he means just pull the the drugs and the money out. But you know, it's funny now it is like knowing that the catchphrase is coming, and we're so used to it now for decades. That's how that's how I rehearsed it.

23:53

Like guys being such an asshole up until that point. sitting on the couch. And yes, you know, now when you watch it, you know what's coming. And so it is kind of funny.

24:04

So the only thing you've done more times and work with Spike Lee is appear online, or

24:12

I think I've broken the record on that

24:14

at least a dozen or so times,

24:16

Law and Order Special Victims Unit criminal intent. Funny thing about criminal intent was I did the first episode of criminal intent. I think it was like the first one out of the gate. I'll never forget it because the director told me that I was talking and acting way too slow, and that they didn't have enough time. For those moments. You know, I was playing some detective real internal and everything like that. And everything was taken like 1015 minutes, and he sort of kindly reminded me that the show was not about me, or my character or anything like that, that I had to speed things up. I did the first episode. So then 10 years later, my agent called me and he said I've got Some good news. And I've got some bad news. The good news that bringing your character back on criminal intent, that detective that you play, this is like 10 years later. So they're bringing the character back the bad news. It's the last episode they're ever going to do. So I did the first episode, and I did the last episode. And the sad part is that 10 years later, was still available, they could still get me and you know, I walked in there as if nothing had changed over the 10 years. I think I even wore the same clothes.

25:35

No, no, it's I think it's great. You went back, you respect people that gave you the early jobs. And you said, Yeah, we're gonna do this one more time. One more time. I think it's cool. It was a different director, you know, Well, thankfully, Law and Order is gonna be around forever. So if anything else ever were to dry up, which I'm sure it won't Law and Order will always be there. It's a law and order will always be there.

25:57

kept a lot of actors employed. It was great work. It was

26:01

different characters every time to write. I mean, the one time was probably might have been the same one but criminal intent. But online order was it it was multiple times multiple people, right? Yeah, bring you back as different people and they bring it back. Yeah. Okay.

26:14

When I killed all the kids up in Harlem, somebody said, Hey, look, you know, we got to slow things down here. You know, we can't have them come back is somebody whose dad or law you're the next season or something like that. I think I had to take like a little three year break or something like that, kind of get that image out of everybody's mind. But I did a lot of jazz drummer, police officer, some creepy guy, religious nut. That was when I killed all the kids up in Harlem. And I mean, it just went on and on and on.

26:44

You got range that I do. So back to Spike Lee for a second. You played the same character in three of his movies. 25th Our she hate me and Red Hook, summer agent flood,

26:54

it kind of changes. I mean, the guy in the 25th hour was a DEA agent. And I think and she ate me, I was Securities and Exchange guy. It sort of fluctuates, but I was coming back. I wouldn't say same character. Other than the fact God was named detective flood. But the care would always be different because I think there was a police officer in Red Hook summer, or like a police detective. But it was always detective like, there's a little bit of a history there,

27:24

you know. Awesome. So the next huge thing is the wire. In the first season the wire every year, your role in the wire expands season to season to season. Yeah. Was it always gonna be that way? Oh,

27:37

when you first see me at the wire, I was only supposed to be at a cocktail party. You see me at two cocktail parties. And that was it. That was the extent of it. But then, in the third season, they decided to write a storyline for my character. My character was never on the radar clay Davis, but I guess they liked what they saw on first couple of seasons at the cocktail parties, and they sell it let's write a storyline for this guy. And that's what they did. They wrote clay Davis. And I remember when David Simon told me, he said, Yeah, you're going to come back, you're going to be this guy. And you're going to be ripping off the drug dealers, and they're going to think they're ripping you off, but you're going to be ripping them off. So that third season, I came back with the storyline play games.

28:20

It's interesting story. Like there's a lot of times I talked to people where they're like, they make an impact, and then they get expanded roles, then did you ever rule how many times they can make you say she?

28:31

I never thought about it? I couldn't tell you

28:33

just trusted David Simon to do do it. Right, right.

28:37

Yeah, I mean, it was sort of coming go to say at the time I really didn't give it much thought was Yeah, okay. Yeah, I think it works here. There was one episode where I did a very, very long, like, really long, she it I was sort of goofing around. I was shocked when they left it in. I'll never forget when I saw it, I went, oh my god, what have I done. But it felt like it went on for like about a minute. It was quite well, that's really

29:09

funny. So it must be kind of cool to be on what most consider one of the greatest TV shows ever made. So like the BBC named the wire the greatest TV show in the 21st century. Rolling Stone had it number two behind which I'm sure you can razz Bryan Cranston about on the set of your honor behind Breaking Bad which was number three they had sopranos is number one but the Daily Mail in the UK had you the wired number one Breaking Bad number three again, if you're jotting this down you can you can read Bryan Cranston gotta be funny like to be on that because those are the two series that people talk about the most when the arguments of what's the greatest show ever. The wire are Breaking Bad. So

29:50

to me, that's always like a silly argument. I mean, it boils down to what you watch. What I do enjoy is the fact that that's what you're arguing waiting about, you're arguing about what was the best show in the history. And I'm in one of the shows. So I'm sitting there saying, well, at that point, it's like, it's whatever you're into can be the wire. It could be breaking bad. I mean, you know, more power to you. But the fact that I'm in the conversation as either one or two, I'm saying, well, they don't pay toss.

30:23

It's amazing, because most shows are incredible. So it's like, you know, just it's a coin toss. One one, man, it'll be one woman. It'll be the other. But it's it. Yeah. Must be really cool to be like, oh, yeah, I was I'm on that show. Yeah, it's number one show.

30:38

But to be on that show, and to make an impact, because I remember when I started on the show, the show had gotten off to an incredible start. And I remember when they said, they're gonna run a storyline for me, I thought, okay, I'd say, Don't be the weak link on the wire. I didn't want to be that guy, where you say, Yeah, you know, it was it was a good show. But then they had that guy who was the Senator, I think his name was clay Davis, you know, whatever. I thought, okay, you know, I got to make sure you know that I make an impact with this guy. So I brought the whole package I've been I went into the vault and, and got some stuff out that nobody had seen before and put that character together and let it just let it rip. I thought if they don't like it, they'll just come and say, Hey, as they need to pull some of this back, but they never did.

31:25

As little as you were in season one compared to the other seasons, you brought me even there, you could see you could see you shine even their shine even there. But I can't even imagine that with the amount of talent in the room in that cast that anybody would just naturally elevate their game way up. It must have been just incredible to just to be around that many good actors.

31:49

Well, that's one thing that we sort of take for granted is that when you're in a room of talented people like that, they're going to force you to up your game, you know, whether you want to up it or not, you know, they're going to hit you with truth and you're going to respond with truth is hard to sort of, you know, lay back or or be lame, you know, when you're sitting across from a Stringer Bell or Omar or somebody like that, or it's tough. It was a joy to go in and play those characters and deal with the people I was dealing with because I always just didn't know they were at the top of their game.

32:24

That's awesome because I imagine every experience not just for you but just in general isn't always probably as as wonderful as working on the wire must have been this leads me to Cedar Rapids, Ronald Wilkie Ronnell as I, as I did you earlier. So this came out right after the wire, the wire ended around 2008 Cedar Rapids comes out around 2011 and Cedar Rapids. I just love this movie. One of the reasons I love it, I have a friend in it. It was filmed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it was sold locally to me. And so my friend Chris D'Angelo is in it. I don't know that you may have met him or not. He's, he's in the beginning. And at the end, he's the client that at Holmes, Tim lipis character is with and then recruits at the end when you guys all start your own insurance company at the end. So that was like one of the original reasons it was so high on my radar, because a buddy of mine was was in it. And that was such a big deal for all of us. But you steal the movie with a scene of you doing Omar from the wire. And the interesting thing about this and confirm it or if it's true or not, is that the scene was written before you are attached to the movie. Yeah, so funny. Okay. Cedar Rapids is about an insurance company convention and Isaias character meets up with Tim lippy who's Ed Helms and Dean Ziglar was John C. Reilly who affectionately calls you a bra animal and and Hey, she's in it and a lot lots of great people. There's a scene where there's a party going on. It's like a drug house and you bust in the Save Tim Levy at homes character and you realize you have to go you have to up your game. You have to up it to get out of there save and you go into an impression of Omar.

34:16

Omar. Yeah.

34:17

And then you kind of like, oh, yeah, I'm a big fan of the wire.

34:21

Yeah, that was in the movie way before I was attached to it. And I remember they were a little concerned because I think it almost cost me like a part because I was so attached to the wire that it it seemed like a little too much wink wink that you would be doing that. That being said, it played a lot in the back of my mind that I needed to distance myself or distance a character that I was playing from the wire. That was the only way you're going to be able to buy that moment at the end is it throughout the whole movie I had distanced myself from CLAY Davidson the wire, you weren't thinking that you were just at that moment, you were just thinking of the raw animal, his insurance salesman from Minnesota who had a billboard out in the middle of the woods where you don't get very much traffic, you know, to see it, but it was there and he was very proud of it. I had to distance myself from clay Davis. And by that time, I was able to lay that line in there and have people by it that personally thought this might be a little too weak me, we might have to change it or something because everybody would know him as the character from the wire when people bought it. It is a great moment in the film.

35:40

How it's so funny. It's it's a great moment as I was looking at the trailer online, I was like, Oh, they put that whole scene in the trailer. I'm like And I hate when you look back on my you hate when they put like the best scenes of movies in the trailer cuz that would have been such a cool moment. You've just experienced not knowing it was there. Yeah, but you were so funny. Like in the car. Like I do a pretty convincing Omar from the HBO program the wire. Just the way he said that.

36:09

I did a terrible Omar to I mean, it was. I remember I was looking at the video trying to get it down. And when when when I actually did it during the film. I just thought this is not going the way I want to cuz I really did want to do Omar, but it just went off into this weird sort of bizarre Omar ish thing. It was just weird. It worked because it sort of fit the character. I remember when I saw Michael K. Williams God bless his soul who passed away recently. I apologize to him because I was I tried to imitate you in this movie. And I was just awful. That was just but when it came out, he told me that he went to see it because he had gotten so many hits on Twitter that I was doing Omar from the wire. He said he just had to go and see it.

37:00

I can imagine that he loved it that he just thought it was hilarious. I think people love like I love wink wink stuff like when done well, and I think that was done really well. I love like I love Arrested Development when Henry Winkler's in it and he he'll go into the bathroom and he looks in the mirror and it kind of does that little finds Oh, is that he does and then walks out you know like I love I love little nods like that it makes me feel good. Black Klansmen, one of two Spike Lee movies you've done recently. Love that movie. That was a great movie could have used more Isiah Whitlock Jr. in it, but it was incredible. Yeah, that's like one of my top movies that I've enjoyed in a long time. I was really, really good. And I enjoyed your catchphrase. And it is well, but the five bloods which came out in 2020. Did that divide bloods go directly to was that were released directly on that flex?

37:53

Yeah, it wasn't supposed to be but it was released. At the height of the pandemic, they shut everything down in March. And the five bloods came out that June. It was unfortunate because it was a movie that you really needed to see it on a big screen to be able to appreciate it just some of the shots and things were just awesome. Fantastic. The landscape and everything like that to get the impact of what if you were a soldier during the war you would be faced with but it just came out on Netflix and there was not much you can do about

38:25

it. I agree with you. 100% It's it's shot so gorgeous that maybe they'll do a re re release in the theaters give people a chance to see it on the big screen because that definitely is a movie that way the beautiful to see on the big screen.

38:39

They've got some amazing shot. And then I think there's one scene where we're in like the Mekong Delta. It was so colorful and so beautiful and real it was it was amazing.

38:50

I enjoyed that movie. You are great in it that this was not a cameo. This was your your full on Star. Okay, I'll take that. You are great. It's it's great to you know, it's like it's funny because as I was watching it right starts the four of you go back to Vietnam to recover your loss Brother Blood commander, Commander, right, it became the good the movie cap. It changed from what I thought it was gonna be. I thought it was gonna be a fun buddy movie, you know, not shouldn't say not fun. I thought it was gonna be a dramatic buddy movie. And then it turned into like a caper, like with the gold, just the whole psychology of what money can do and and then just trying to get back out and survive. It was it was quite a roller coaster ride. I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed it very much.

39:37

You know, I mean, I was glad it didn't turn out to be that sort of buddy buddy movie. I mean, it went in some ways. It is a buddy movie kind of the way it probably would be. But you know, we have guys you know, the personalities and things like that. You began to see how things start to break down especially once we actually find the gold then things kind of go haywire and everything Are these wild ideas as to what they're going to do? Don't want to share I know my character didn't want to share anything. Melbourne Melbourne was not giving any of his gold to a cause

40:13

it's an interesting psychology though right it's it's kind of like when you know if you said if someone said to you oh if I gave you $5 million right now would you say oh I would you know I do this and I do this with it you know, but then when say if something then hands you money of $5 million in like you're the whole thought process changes the whole thought process changes you had it all change once you guys found the money the only unrealistic thing I thought in the movie was carrying all that gold my backyard just thinking about it. Like how much one of those bars must have weighed, let alone a whole backpack

40:51

we were weighted down and I demanded that they put extra weight into my backpack I wanted people to see just how difficult it was to be carrying all of that gold it's 120 degrees out or something and you've got this gold and you're marching through the jungle and there's spiders and snakes and mosquitoes and things like that. I would say about three quarters of the way you know you really got the feel of the elements and everything like that.

41:20

I thought Spike Lee did a great job putting you right there yeah, like right there. Like I said I wasn't joking like my backyard I had to go to the chiropractor just watching you guys carry I thought it was funny like Jonathan major's character whereas like younger and is i I will I will give them some because like we just needed someone to carry

yes okay fine your take

41:46

half of it Yeah. By the end we would give a pretty much give me the give me the gold away. Tell him you know he got put it on Craigslist and just anybody who wanted some blunders, you can carry it. It's okay.

41:57

Exactly. That was a great line. That was a great line yours. That was good. I don't want to it's so so new. I don't want to talk about like what happens to the character specifically or anything because I don't want to ruin anything. I do want to talk about your amazing bobblehead Kickstarter campaign as well. And we talked about the origin of of sheet and keep feeling bad that I how bad I do it. I feel like how you felt doing Omar like I'm just not doing it justice. But this is a cool thing that I found that you did is that and this is 2017 Is it when Twitter went from 140 to 200 characters you tweeted out she filled up the whole US it all all of us it all up which Jeff for anyone listening, it's a 90 rule, but it's this is the one time it was okay to break it over 46,000 retweets over 127,000 likes on a phrase that you thought wasn't gonna go anywhere way back, when that's incredible, isn't it? I mean, that's just, I think you, you set the bar for 280 character tweaks. I will say also that history of swear words on Netflix, did you just justice, not just running the full 56 minutes? Have you? Have you doing that?

43:16

Well, you know, I mean, look, I remember as they said, Yeah, they're gonna do the history of swear words that I was gonna, like, you can do it. But if you don't put me in it, it's not going to work. If you're going to do the history of where swear words. I've sort of cornered the market on that one. So they had to roll with me.

43:32

How long did you really go far? Can you can you divulge that? Don't out let's, it's better not to now, for anyone who wants to have your catchphrase with them. You did the world, the favor of developing an Isiah Whitlock Jr. bobblehead? What kind of What gave you that idea? Other than everyone probably asking you to say it in every supermarket and everything you do every day. So you're like, I should come up with something that people can just add me on demand. So what what was the whole origin of the bobblehead because it eventually led to what the biggest Kickstarter in history, my

44:12

business partner and I, we I had seen a bobblehead at a guy's house in Baltimore. And it was a nice sized bobblehead waited, very well made. And I looked up the address on the bottom of it, which was still there. And I decided I was going to make a bobblehead of myself saying shit, I said, but I didn't want it to be the same as any old bobblehead. I said, if I can get the bobblehead to talk, then I'll order a bunch of them. But I was only going to do like maybe like 100. And so my business partner said, Well, let's go on Kickstarter. See if we can sell them before we make them then we're not on the hook for the money of making them and we sold over $100,000 worth of bobbleheads they gave me A check of $100,000 or close to it. That's incredible idea. For a split second, I say

45:10

the people of Baltimore need this more.

45:14

For a split second, I said to myself, you know, all the people who bought the bobblehead knew they were dealing with clay Davis knew who they were giving their money to, what if I just don't make the marble heads and just take the money? And just say, Hey, you knew who you were dealing with? And yet he still gave, you know, your $30 or whatever? Wiser heads said, No, we have to make these wiser Bible. Yes. Wiser Bible hits. Yes. That's good. And I, but I found a company to make them then we got them to everybody. Not only did we make all the Bible hits, we sold out, we made a second edition. And then we made a third edition. And we're contemplating making a fourth edition for the 20th anniversary of the wire, my participation in it and stuff. So that's what we decided to do.

46:05

That's awesome. Are they still available@xi.com xi.com

46:11

You can just look it up on you just punch it in on Google. And if you put 90s Sh 90s it, it'll take you right there. You can get one there.

46:22

And you get three recordings. Three, yes. Very wonderful record. Yes,

46:26

you get three recordings. You can have it whenever you have a desire to see she it. I can teach you how to say it if you want, you know, but everybody they stood. It's all in how you start because after you do the SH the business got to jump into your nose. If it doesn't do that. It's not going to work you're going to you're going to sound like my old landlord who had to be had to do the worst one. If you do the SH and then immediately put the rest of it in your nose until you get to the it you'll do it perfectly.

47:02

I should be good at this. I'm Midwestern. I'm all knows. Let's try I'm gonna get one shot one shot in front of you. And then she

47:15

you, you just were admitted. I thought my landlord was in the rope.

47:21

But it was definitely my nose I want to work on.

47:25

You should I mean if you're from you're from where Michigan, Michigan Ann Arbor that should just come as a natural as an as a natural thing because it's got to be that he can be He,

47:38

she she I think I'm trying too hard. Because you're here I'm saying I just think I'm so self conscious about it. So I'll have to attend the Whitlock Academy and officially learn how to

47:50

do it. Yes, I show you how to do it on the whip Buck Academy. You know you could practice. I mean, if I can get Tarzan to do it. Anybody can do it.

47:58

Anybody. There's help for me yet. Tell me about your new show with Bryan Cranston.

48:04

Your Honor. Yes. We shot that down in New Orleans. It was very successful on Showtime. We're coming back for a second season. So we will be back with your honor. I don't know what the stories will be. But I just know that we will be back. Looking forward to it. Working with Brian is incredible. You know, he's a real pro real champ. I love working with him scenes and stuff that I do with him. Everybody on this show. We're very good Michael Stolberg,

48:31

I love New Orleans. It's one of my favorite places to be. I've I've been there one time, but it was just before the pandemic and oh my god, I have dead.

48:42

Well, you know, the thing is, though, we were there we shut down because of the pandemic that march right after Mardi Gras. The weird thing was when you're in New Orleans, and there's no food and there's no music, there's no Bourbon Street or thing you start asking yourself you know what the hell are you doing? It's kind of like being in New York and asking yourself you know, what the hell am I doing? If you're not getting out and about a makeup that's what you do with these big cities you're out and about and you hear their displays and you take all of that away if you're not comfortable being with yourself you're in trouble

49:19

Cafe Du Monde my favorite place been yay with too much powdered sugar. I mean that in a good way. That's a love I have actually have that coffee at home I love I can't wait to go back

49:32

and get the coffee there. Then they sell you the 10 of coffee. But the coffee never tastes the same when I'm making it home. It doesn't taste as good is when I get it there. I gotta be doing something wrong. I haven't been able to find that right mix.

49:46

I think it's just got to be there. I think it's just you need it just like gives you a little bit of the memory but I think part of it is being there.

49:53

Yeah, yeah. It's better to go just go to New Orleans go to cafe du monde and then after Cafe do more Don't go and get one of the clubs or bars or whatever. But it is a great place. I enjoy it. And looking forward to going back.

50:07

That's awesome. And that's exciting on season two, and just promise me over as Bryan Cranston about being number one and him being number three,

50:16

I'll wait until we finish shooting, and then I'll get it. I'll get into that

50:20

I'm going to send them a copy of this of this conversation. One last thing I just wanted to mention, which I thought was wonderful that I saw on your website is the Isiah Whitlock Jr, fine arts theater endowment that you have, I just thought it was so great that you have something there to help other people fulfill their dreams. So I thought I thought that was really cool on your website that you allow people to donate to that, and that you even took the time to put it together. So I just wanted to kind of mention that I'm going

50:47

to be going there tomorrow to do a masterclass with acting students. And hopefully that will turn into a yearly thing. That's where I started. So I always want to try to give back a little bit.

50:59

That's awesome. You know what else is awesome. You for hanging out with me? Thank you so much. You're

51:04

more than welcome. Thank you.

51:05

I'm sorry, how bad I was at doing she she cij I think I just stopped I just made it

51:14

worse. Like I said, you got a pitch everything downward.

51:17

I'll do a perfect segue hang up, I'll do a perfect I know she

51:22

that's what it's got to be. Just throw it all forward. Can nothing can be left in the back of your throat. Give it a go.

51:28

She can't. I just can't this is I'm having performance anxiety.

51:36

And then you got about halfway through and you just gave up on it. Got to trust yourself. Got to let it go. But just stay forward. Just keep it all forward. She

51:46

know it I ended I ended wrong. Yeah, that was pretty good. Pretty good. All right, well, I got I got up to a pretty good data,

51:53

you just got to commit to it. Just commit to it. You got to bang your thumb or something, and then let it rip. Or somebody tries to cheat you out of money or something. It'll come out.

52:05

And well, and then when it does, I will I will email you and I will let you know my success.

52:10

I was in Amsterdam, and I saw it on the train station. Someone had written it on the other side of the tracks coming out of the mouth of a guy who was the guy kind of looked like that, Albert, I guess that was supposed to beat me. That was the only thing I didn't like about it. It's strange, though, when I go to other places around the world, and people do it. Because it's like, you're in Italy and your St. Mark's Square or something like that. Somebody does it and it just throws me off. It's it's a little bizarre. But hey, if people enjoy it, who am I to say no,

52:48

I'm sorry, your burden with being a worldwide sensation.

52:54

But somebody's got to do it. Somebody quit? Who knew that? That is the word that would make you a worldwide sensation. But anyway,

53:02

anyway, thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. It was a lot of fun hanging out with you bet

53:06

man anytime.

53:08

All right, how awesome was Isiah Whitlock Jr. After listening to that interview, I'm sure you're like I need one of those bobbleheads I do to race me over to xi.com That's sh nine. Is it a.com You can buy one there. I hear they're going fast. You heard how popular they are. So if you want one, now's the time to act just in time for the holidays. I'm curious what your favorite Isiah Whitlock Jr. Movie is tweet at me at Jeff Dwoskin show on Twitter. Let me know. I would love to hear that. Mine was Cedar Rapids. I talked about that in the interview. The interview over that means we're nearing the end of the episode.

But wait, it's not over yet. That's right. There's still time for a trending hashtag from the family of hashtags at hashtag or around. Follow us on Twitter at hashtag Roundup, download the free hashtag roundup app at the Google app store or Apple App Store. Totally free play along and one day one of your tweets may show up on a future episode of live from Detroit the Jeff Dwoskin show fame and fortune awaits you this week's hashtag if you play along you probably have already guessed it is the very hashtag that Isiah Whitlock Jr hosted with us at hashtag roundup not too long ago #MakesMeSaySheeeeeeeeeit. See I've gotten a little better at it since the interview I I've been practicing. So Isiah of course was the host of that hashtag Who else could host that hashtag But Isiah himself. I'm going to read off some tweets. They'll of course be retweeted at Jeff Dwoskin show on Twitter. All right. So buckle up as I read some #MakesMeSaySheeeeeeeeeit tweets she okay I get it. You say it better than me but I'm gonna give it a shot anyway and here we go Twitter not having an edit button. People who speed to a red light when your friends invite you to dinner but it turns into an Amway meeting these all definitely make me say she forgetting to do the laundry when Elwood and Jake tried to take Aretha's man people showing up on an hour definitely deserves a copy. My boss asked for volunteers on the weekend shift too many typos in a document hearing a lie No. And it's a lie. Trash sitting on the countertop right next to the wastebasket. Seriously, she the blue screen of death and the final #MakesMeSaySheeeeeeeeeit anytime someone rings my doorbell. Oh, that definitely makes me say. I'll keep trying. Well, those are some awesome tweets. But as we come to the end of the reading of the hashtag that can only mean one thing. Episode 82 has come to an end. I can't believe it's over already. I do want to thank my special guest Isiah Whitlock Jr. And of course, I want to thank all of you for coming back week after a week. It means the world to me, and I'll see you next time.

56:16

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Jeff Dwoskin show with your host Jeff Dwoskin. Go repeat everything you've heard and sound like a genius. Catch us online at the Jeff Dwoskin show.com or follow us on Twitter at Jeff Dwoskin show and we'll see you next time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai