Episode 627 | Jonah Wharton | "Lioness"

[00:00:07] So one, thank you for this and I'm super excited about today. Absolutely, absolutely. Happy to be here. Yes. So let me start with this, okay? How real is your love of basketball? Because I keep reading about it in a lot of different places. Like were you legitimately really good? Because you hear people say they're good at a lot of things all the time. How was your interest and how good were you or are you?

[00:00:33] Those are two separate questions, right? I didn't know it's out there that much. No, I was obsessed with basketball as a kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How serious was I? I was very serious. I was determined. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was obsessed with it. I didn't go anywhere with basketball. But, you know, as a child, that was my passion, my dream, and my obsession.

[00:01:01] And I still love basketball. It's still, you know, still my first love. Jonah, who's your team? Who's the team you root for? Well, I grew up a Warriors fan. I'm from the Bay Area. So, you know, back in the run TMC days. Tim Hardaway was my favorite player growing up. Chris Mullen. Yeah. Yeah. Those guys. Yeah. But I'm actually, you know, I'm more of a fan of players. I'm like not a loyal to a franchise guy.

[00:01:30] So over the years, I still love the Warriors of Steph. But, you know, I was a Kobe guy for a long time. I'm not a Lakers fan, but I was a Lakers fan when it was Kobe. Right, right. I'm kind of bandwagon, unfortunately. But, you know, I feel sorry for Steph because he's got like, what, three years left? I don't know. Maybe he's got four or five, whatever. But I just feel like this guy has, you know, limited years left. And they surrounded him with, I hate to say it this way, but really nothing.

[00:01:57] Like, he's by himself. He's got like, I guess, Draymond and some, you know, Porzingis. But he's got enough substance. Yeah. Yeah, it's the same thing with Denver and Jokic. You know, they have nothing surrounding them. Yeah. Maybe top five, top ten player all time. And I just, it would have been nice. Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know. Well, he's got four championships. It's gone. Yeah. You wish he had better teammates now, but they had a run.

[00:02:27] Yeah. Where they were just, everything just went right. You got him on that, like that cheap contract, which enabled them to keep more. And then you got Kevin Durant. So, I was blessed for a while. Then he went down on the bottom, came back up again. So, yeah, I think they were trying to do that two timelines thing for a while there. And I think when you get a Steph Curry, sometimes, you know, people think that they're the brilliant ones.

[00:02:55] And it's like, no, you got Steph Curry and he makes it all easy. Yeah. So, one last basketball question before we hop into your amazing acting career. Jordan or LeBron? Michael Jordan. Oh, 100%. That's the only answer. That's the only answer. Like, anybody who says, no, it's the only answer, right? Jonah, it's got to be. Well, if you've seen both. Yeah. Then it's Michael Jordan. If you haven't seen both, I mean, it's hard to imagine somebody better than LeBron.

[00:03:22] Yeah. Jonah, I got to tell you, it's so refreshing to see how much you appreciate, you know, the history of basketball. Because, like, I listened to JJ Redick made a comment a couple of years ago. He said, you know, all the older players were firemen and plumbers in the offseason. I almost feel like the new generation or people that are getting older, it's almost like basketball didn't exist before the year 2000. Like, you know, if I wasn't there, it didn't happen. You know, I just, it's a crazy way to look at things.

[00:03:47] It's crazy. We haven't evolved that much. We're still people. And like that, I mean, Wilt Chamberlain was probably the greatest athlete we've ever seen. High jump national, high jump champion in college, ran the 400, the 800. What are you telling me? If you flip it in reverse and you said like, and you saw Jokic dominating, what do you think they would say now?

[00:04:13] If it was like, if you took Jokic back to that top, you're like, yeah. Look how that slow, unathletic guy was just dominating all these guys. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's a, that's a great point. Hey man, tell me about that, that Burger King commercial. Cause that kind of thing started for you, huh? That was your first, I don't want to say big break, but first break into somewhat acting. Am I right with that? Yeah. I mean, if, if you want to call it acting, it was the thing that kind of like planted the seed. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:04:43] I moved to, I was moved to LA a few years. I didn't come out to Los Angeles to, uh, to act, um, originally. Um, and, uh, yeah, I, you know, we moved to LA people were saying, Oh, you should model, you should do commercial, you know, all that stuff. I'm like, okay. You know, just young kid, not going on. You'll give it a try. So I actually went to, um, I got a call for a Burger King commercial. I'd been to a couple of commercial auditions. It was just kind of weird. I didn't know what I was doing.

[00:05:12] Yeah. Interestingly, they said they needed basketball players coincidentally for this Burger King commercial. Um, I got there, it had, I brought my basketball and to get there, it had nothing to do with basketball. So I don't know how that happened, but all I had to do is sit in the room and pretend I was eating a Whopper. It says, you're going to be in the back of a car is going up and down on hydraulics. And, uh, you can pretend to be eating a Whopper on that. And I just kind of like, I didn't did that.

[00:05:37] And, uh, interestingly, I got cast and shot that night, um, for that commercial. And maybe it's like somebody dropped out or, um, I don't know, but I got it. And I was like, Oh, this is fun. And then people are telling me that's a national. You're going to make a lot of money. And I had, you know, I was broke as shit back then. I was driving a taxi in LA. I was doing delivering newspaper. I was just doing it, whatever I could to survive.

[00:06:06] So I was like, Oh, I heard the money. Like I might get $30,000. This is crazy. So that kind of planted the seed. So then I was like, I wouldn't say that started me acting. It just planted the seed. Cause I was like, okay, well, this is an easy way to make money. Let me do this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't actually take a class or think about acting. Even after that happened, I just decided, yeah, I'm going to act. And then I was waiting for, uh, someone to cast me in a movie, but I was, you know, I did audition. I didn't do anything. I just thought, Oh, pretty naive.

[00:06:36] Um, but what's your, what's your first, what's your first, I don't want to say big break. What's your first break where you're like, Oh shit. Like, I think I could do this. Oh man. You know, it, it was such like a slow process because I didn't have. Like a moment really. I mean, it was that kind of planted the seed. Then a little bit later I had like a commercial agent. I was like, Hey, I want to act. Can you send me out for some stuff?

[00:07:01] And I booked like some like little reenactment, you know, those, those like, I don't even remember which it was like discovery channel, something like that. Right, right, right, right, right. Yeah. It falls asleep at the wheel. And I, you know, um, that wasn't like a real acting job as a reenactment. And after a couple of years, I was like, you know, maybe I should try some classes. And I went to some bad classes and then I finally went, like found a good class and it kind of, again, this slow process.

[00:07:30] I think everything I've done has just been like this slow process. A seed gets planted. And then when I started taking classes, I was like, Oh, I finally realized this is something you could work at and get better at. Like I actually, I had no respect for acting. I just thought, Oh, that's kind of cool. Easy. And then when I found, when I really found it, I was like, Oh, Oh, let me lock in and like get good at this.

[00:07:50] Um, and I had some natural, I think I had like, it's just kind of natural talent or affinity for it on some, like stand out in an acting class. So I was like, all right, well, I got something here. Let me see if I can hone it. And, um, yeah, the first professional job I got was a Californication. I was just street kid. Number two, Robin, uh, uh, Robin, David Dukov.

[00:08:18] And, uh, there's that. And yeah, it was just, uh, one step at a time. I mean, even, even after I got that, it wasn't like, that was like some sign that I could do it. It was a co-star and then I still couldn't get auditions. And then I didn't have an agent again after that. And I had to like lie and cheat my way in. I actually became my own, um, manager, so to speak. Like after I'd been studying for a few years, I was like, man, I'm getting good. People need to see this, but I couldn't get it.

[00:08:46] You know, you can't in this business, you can't, uh, can't get a job unless you got an agent. You can't get an agent unless you've worked. It's kind of a catch 22. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I lied and then became a fake agent and pitched myself for a role on castle and said that I was a British. Cause it is an English role. I told him I was British and I went in there and I got it. Um, and had a whole, that was a whole thing.

[00:09:14] I had a whole like backstory about why I was actually a U S citizen, but had a, I mean, was accident. Dude, that's, that's great. Uh, it's funny that you said, it's funny that you say the reenactment. Cause I just saw something yesterday or maybe it was two days ago where one of Matthew McConaughey's early breaks was, uh, he was on that show unsolved mysteries. And he plays like a background guy where he's talking to his mother. It was just, it's, it's great to see where people come from. Right. And that's the beauty of acting Jonah, right?

[00:09:41] Like, like you've always had the talent, but then you became more passionate. You get these opportunities, you build on them. You don't feel sorry for yourself. I feel like that's the mentality you have to have the one you brought with you. Oh, totally. Totally. I mean, there's so many different factors in, in all of it that if you just, you know, if you focus on the work and just be an actual craft, it can occupy you. It can occupy your mind.

[00:10:08] And you're not like, you know, trying to like chase every little thing that's going to make a difference. Like, you know what? That was just kind of my mentality. It's like, you know what? I'm just going to get good at this. And put my head down. And when I don't know what to do, I'm just going to keep on trying to get better and keep on going to classes and studying and reading. And just, you know, I have an obsessive personality. So it's like that. That gives me comfort to just like lock in. And that's kind of like all I thought about, all I think about is just how to get better.

[00:10:37] So you're more of a nonfiction guy, right? You kind of just focus on the stories that, you know, haven't been touched yet. Is that, is that fair? Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm fascinated. And I guess Agnes led me to just fast being fascinated with human behavior and psychology. I think I have written out there somewhere. My favorite book is Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.

[00:11:01] So I'm just like, just fascinated by just the intuitive mistakes we make as regular people all the time. That's just like, I find it intrinsically interesting. So I just kind of nerd out on that stuff and it's, it applies to acting sometimes here and there. But yeah, I just feel drawn to like real life, real life stuff. To answer your question, my favorite. Yeah. I love documentaries.

[00:11:30] The last dance to tie that up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, I'm in love with documentaries as well. Like I just saw one on, not just, but recently someone on Grant. It's, oh my God, I don't know how good a friend he was with Mark Twain and there's a great Lewis and Clark one. And you're right. It kind of speaks volumes knowing that, holy cow, these people actually did this. They lived this. It wasn't like this made up kind of thing. So dude, I can relate and I totally understand. Oh, I got to check that out. That's yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:11:58] So I, I don't want to, I, I love movies and TV. I think it's just for me where my mind goes, especially now that I'm acting, I just can't, I'm like analyzing it the whole time and I don't get lost in it the way I actually used to before I was interested in acting. And I, no, I hear you. Yeah. Yeah. I hear you. I understand what you're saying. Um, so let me ask you this. So let's get into the lioness. Um, so you're on the show, you're recovering, right?

[00:12:28] And it's speaking. Yeah. Yeah. So when I, when I, when I used to watch, uh, Westerns with my, with my dad, when I used to watch war movies with my dad, the, the fatal, the fatal words were always the gut shot was the worst thing that could happen. Getting shot in the stomach is maybe the worst thing that can happen to you just because of what's in your body, you know? So, so the fact that you've got hit twice and are still on this planet, uh, fictionally

[00:12:58] is, um, it's a good thing, right? Jonah. Well, yeah. Cause I, you know, you don't want to get killed off a show. I love being on, I love being on the show. Um, so, you know, when you're reading that, that is definitely a concern. Um, yeah. Uh, so yeah, I'd, I'd like to stick around. Um, luckily is, you know, this is scripted.

[00:13:21] Uh, I came out of surgery or not, you know, um, it's not really given exactly where text got shot. It sounds like, you know, went through the gut, maybe nick the liver or something like that. Um, didn't hit any bone. So that's good. And, um, and liver grows, liver grows back. I didn't know that. Like I learned that from lioness. I didn't know that. Like, right, right, right. Yeah. So, um, you know, it's funny. I got the, got the, uh, script for that. I see that. And then it's just like, oh, he doesn't even know his shot.

[00:13:50] Obviously I, you know, I do a deep dive and I'm like, okay, how, how realistic is this? Is this going to work? Cause I want to be, you know, as real as I can. It's entertainment. So right. Got to amp things up for, um, TV and movies a little bit. Um, and so, you know, it does bother me. Sometimes you see people get shot and keep going. It's like, wait, you can't just lift your arm after you got shot in the arm and rip through all the muscle. That'd be said, I looked into this.

[00:14:19] It, uh, great thing about working with, uh, Taylor Sheridan. This is like, you have these things that you look into and it like checks out. It's like, yeah, it's, um, good chance in a firefighter like that. You're not going to feel it when it, you know, um, when you get hit and, um, that, uh, hopefully played, um, pretty realistically within, you know, within that, uh, scenario. Um, yeah.

[00:14:46] So it looks like as long as it missed the bone, I can, you know, feasibly, uh, recover, be some risk of some infection if it, you know, hit the intestine and all that. So there are definitely, you know, it's definitely could be a little touch and go there, but, you know, hopefully within six months or so, Tex can be out there running and gunning again. I love Tex. I think he's, he's one of those bad-asses. We're going to get to some of the scenes here, but let me ask you this. Whose fault is it that Tex didn't have a vest on?

[00:15:15] Is that Texas fault or is that Joe's fault? Well, that's, that's Texas fault. You know, gotta wear, you gotta, you're supposed to wear your vest, you know, but you know, these guys aren't like your tier one operators, you know, best of the best, but we're human, you know, it's, that's uncomfortable. So you're not as fast with it, even though they are pretty light. It's funny. It was actually like a little callback, um, season one, same thing.

[00:15:44] I like jumping in the water and had a lot of like, I don't know where the vest we got to move fast. And Joe was like, where are your damn fast? Yeah. Tex has been warned. So I can't blame Joe for, for not wearing the vest. But what I can, but what I can blame Joe for Jonah is I don't, I don't know. That was a wreck. So the analogy I'll make is like, you have semi truck drivers. Like if they get sleepy, they're driving, they're driving a weapon and they need to

[00:16:14] take break. They need to get the rest. She is operating. She's tired. She's psychologically scarred, which is all normal considering what she's been through. Right. Sending, sending them in Jonah is a reckless decision, really reckless. And she almost cost two people their lives. Am I overreacting? Fictionally, obviously. Um, or not. Right. What, what, what's your take Jonah? You, uh, I think you're absolutely right. I mean, you saw her saying, saying exactly that, beating herself up for it, but there's

[00:16:43] a lot of points of failure. And as you know, it's like, everybody's going to make mistakes. You just got kidnapped, tortured. Are we going to expect her to just be making perfect decisions? And in that environment, it's, uh, you know, you can kind of pass the buck up. Like why did, uh, why are you allowed to give that green light? Shouldn't someone jump in and be like, Hey, Hey, Hey, like you're not in the right spot right now.

[00:17:06] So, um, yeah, and it's like, there can, a lot of blame can go around for something like that. And, um, I think in this world with these kind of like everybody in the, you know, in this story is an elite operator on some level. So, you know, you get to that level, it's not just, Hey, I'm following orders here. It's like, everybody has to think for themselves. You got guys who are like, Hey, this doesn't make sense.

[00:17:32] You know, maybe somebody should jump in, but again, it's always a Monday morning quarterbacking, right? It's always easy to say after the fact, except if it works, then it was a brilliant decision. Yeah. But, but Jonah, here's the thing with her. Here's the thing. Like I love, I love Joe. I think she's a unbelievable character, but I feel like she's like the football player who maybe needs to just step off the field or the boxer that needs to get out of the ring.

[00:17:58] Like, it's just, I think that job, the nature of her job, it's just, it's too much to process over a long period of time. I just, how do you, how do you take it that long? I think a desk job would be good for her for a while, just for her own self-preservation, if nothing else. Yeah. It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a balance, right? Um, you might go crazy sitting in a desk job, some, you know, and she's obviously good at what she does.

[00:18:26] I definitely think it would have been good to take a breather after being rescued from being kidnapped. Um, but the experience that she has and the knowledge that she has, if she can still do it, she can do it now for the health of her family and relationships. Absolutely. Like this is not a good job. That's going to be, you know, great for a marriage. Um, yeah, yeah, you're right. You're right. Uh, what do you, what do you love most? She's a soldier. Yeah.

[00:18:55] Yeah, she is. She is. She is. What do you love most about Tex Jonah? What do you love about your character? Because I see him as just, he's one of the guys, I don't care if you're on a, on a special ops team. I don't care if you're in any type of job, like he's the kind of guy you want having your back. He's going to do it. He's going to do it right. He's going to stay loyal. He's, he's ethically like he's the guy. Um, what do you love most about him, Jonah?

[00:19:17] I mean, I think what, what draws me to that, just this world of tier one operators, which is, we're talking about, these are people who are the best of the best, um, at what they do. So it's just, you have to be so dedicated and determined and just like goal oriented and maniacal in that sense.

[00:19:47] Um, that I just love that world, that character. And I think what's interesting is like every single person on that team in that world has to be that way. They may have different personalities that come out in different ways, but when it comes down to it, everyone is going to be kind of the, the, the best in the world at what they do. Um, not just, just Texas, uh, a Navy seal, um, Tucker's a Marine to cut. I think two cups is a green brain.

[00:20:16] I could have that wrong, but, um, you know, you got the, what it takes just to get into that world is already just like a tiny sliver of the population that can pull it off. And then the best of the best in that world are then like going to be put in this, uh, CIA division. So, um, just to kind of be a character is basically for all intents and purposes, the best in the world at what he does. I just, um, just appreciate that.

[00:20:45] And it's fun, um, to do that. And also, um, it's enabled me to be around these guys. Like I've got to hung out with, to hang out with, uh, green berets and Navy seals and say, Hey, I'm just what I'm doing and hear their stories. And it's just like, Oh man, all these guys are just quality, quality people who have a commitment to excellence that you don't see out there, um, in the everyday world.

[00:21:12] And it's not, you know, it's not normal to have that level of commitment to excellence. Really? Yeah. You stole my next question. So I was going to ask you, and it does a great, great answer. But did, do you have a lot of like, whether it's department of defense people or military, do they reach out to you and say, Hey man, you really got this right. I love the way you did. Like, does that happen a lot? Does it happen once in a while? Does it ever happen? It does. It does actually. Yeah. Yeah, it does.

[00:21:37] I think it's been a real hit with, uh, military folks as far as like, you know, it's, um, accurately, you know, again, we've got the story. I don't want to like oversaw everything, but it's, you know, we hope to like, just portray it in the right way, accurately, like who these guys are, um, and just what life is like. So, and, and do it in a respectful way.

[00:22:04] Um, so yeah, I definitely, um, do hear from them a lot and, you know, I've got my guys that I go to with every single script, every moment, like, Hey, does this check? I'm checking everything to make sure it checks out. Like I said, Taylor Sheridan knows what he's doing and he's got his people. So it always checks out, but I just want to make sure that I know. Um, so yeah, I, I, I hear it just people kind of reaching out, um, generally and I'm,

[00:22:32] I'm bouncing everything off before I do it. So I feel pretty confident that we're doing it right. Yeah. Yeah. So I want, I want to ask you this. So I love the show and I'm, I'm being nitpicky here as a fan. Um, I had the act, I had the actress who played Alexandra on. She's amazing. She was so good. Yeah. It was a fantastic. Yeah. She's unbelievable. Um, I didn't love her fate. I didn't love it. I felt like she was kind of just discarded.

[00:22:58] And in a way I'm like, well, so at times, are we the bad guys too? Like, so like, I just, it got me thinking about a lot of things because I love the show. So I'm like, shit, like we can sometimes be the bad guys. It was like, because I just love the way this character. And then the look on her face, like the last time you see her alive, like she knows she's cooked. And it's like, it's a heart, it's heartbreaking to watch that. And then you see this poor girl who's got her life ahead of her in the, you know, I'm not saying she's innocent.

[00:23:26] I'm not saying she's this, but just, I don't know. It was, dude, it was heartbreaking. Yeah. Yeah. And it turns out she shouldn't have been killed. Which makes it even worse. Yes. Which makes it even worse. Oh my God. That's what, I mean, to me, that's what I love about this show is it's like life isn't so simple. We're operating in a gray area.

[00:23:50] It's like, you know, you, you're, you're battling against bad people and you're going to need bad people to battle other countries, bad people. And hopefully you come out on top. And yeah, it's definitely a morally gray area to be in. Just, I mean, just war in general.

[00:24:11] One of the, one of my favorite scenes in the entire season was in episode seven, kiss the girls, where Tex turns to the police officer and says, you live to fight another day. And God damn it. That police officer needed to hear that. What was your take on that scene? And how effing awesome was that scene? I loved it. Cause Tex, Tex, again, strikes you as this really human person. Like I just, I loved it. That police officer needed to hear that. Yeah. Thanks.

[00:24:40] Um, well, I mean, just that whole scene was intense. Like everything, which part are you going to call it? See the whole firefight pulling up. We shot, it actually took us a week to shoot that thing. It was a week of night shoots at the end. It was like, yeah. Insane. And saying that there was a week of shooting that just like the detail of the field, the helicopter landing and pulling up in the cars, multiple shootouts.

[00:25:09] Um, so yeah, that was just a, uh, an insane, um, scene to shoot from that standpoint. And it's just so much fun because when you're there, the way the set is built up, it feels really real being in it. And it's like, oh shit, we're just pulling up. There's a shootout going on here. And we're really like speeding up in the car hearing, you know, the blanks going off. Then we jump out. Like it's, um, it makes it so easy and just like so much fun.

[00:25:37] Cause you get to go into battle without the actual, uh, risk. Like a real, uh, firefight. Um, so yeah, just, just so much fun as far as that little moment. I think it's just, um, that's, that's life. That's these guys where it's, you know, can be, I think guys in this world, as you, you know, any day could be your last. You're kind of prepared for that at a time.

[00:26:05] You're, you're ready to die in a sense at any moment. Like, Hey, you're, if you're a warrior, this is what you do. And you've seen your buddies die. You've, you've killed people. And one day it's, it's going to be you. Maybe, maybe not. Um, but you just keep on moving forward. So you come out of that. Yeah. It's a crazy situation. I've seen this before and you live to fight another day. In other words, you just got to keep moving.

[00:26:31] And then I think, uh, I think that's something that I think for my character at Texas is just, Hey, you got to keep moving, keep going forward. Stay, stay focused on whatever the objective is. And, um, you know, don't sit back. Cause that's when you get in trouble. If you, you sit back and, and think too much. Yeah. That police officer needed to hear that. And it's so great that tech sees that he needs to hear it and comes through like a, like a colleague. That's just great.

[00:27:01] The way I saw that. Um, let me ask you this. Um, is it safe to say that Randy and Tex have a brother like bond? Oh, absolutely. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's no family. Like the whole unit is really the family. Um, and that's something that I got from talking to these guys who are the real deal. It's the closeness that you can't really get that kind of brotherly relationship that you can't get really in regular life.

[00:27:29] I mean, you're in a world where nobody understands like what you're doing matters in the sense that like it's a life or death. You're constantly in life or death situations where your job is, you know, really to protect the guy next to you, your brother and that, that closeness that you get from that. You can't, um, I don't think you can get in a, in a normal nine to five job. Um, I think that's why a lot of these guys struggle when you come out of that world because as

[00:27:57] tough as it might be, it's, you know, what you're doing every day and you're around people that you love that are like-minded. Um, and I, you know, I don't think there's anything better outside of, you know, the danger and craziness of it all that most of us would be like, yeah, no, I don't want to, I don't want to get shot at. I don't want to take that risk, but I don't think there's any, you know, I don't think there's anything better when you have people that you love that closeness and a mission that

[00:28:27] you're trying to accomplish that that's what life is about. Yeah. That's a, that's an, yeah, that's an awesome answer. Jonah. Can I say this too? And this is such a, what I'm about to say is so strange, but I really believe it. It's kind of better if I, if I asked Randy and text this question, both. Yeah. It's kind of, it's kind of better that they were both shot versus one being shot because the other one I feel like would be blaming himself. Is that a crazy thing to think about?

[00:28:54] I feel like if, say if you were the one shot, Randy would, Randy would be beating himself. Like I let that happen, even though he didn't, but like, I feel like that's how close they are, you know? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. You talk, I mean, if you, you talk to, I think if you talk to any people who have been through this, you, I mean, the thing that tears you up the most is. When it's your buddy, they got shot. And I think any one of these guys would quite literally take a bullet for the brother next to them.

[00:29:24] And I think that's just how, you know, just how they're built. That's just how you think. And yeah, there's, it's the, the guilt that you feel because of the random nature of it too. You know, in a sense, it could be anyone at any time. If all these guys are putting their lives on the line and when it doesn't happen to you, the guilt that consumes people, even if you know it's like, Hey, it's not your fault. I think, I think you're right on with that. A hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:29:51] Is there stuff that you do off screen that makes your rapport, um, that you guys do off screen that solidifies their rapport on screen? Because like, if somebody were to come in and watch you guys, it's like you guys, I would not know this was a TV show. I'd be like, Holy cow. It's so authentic. Is there something you guys do off camera that leads to that? Thank you for saying that. That's great to hear. Um, yeah, cause that's the goal. We want to make it real. Um, yeah. From, from day one, we got out, we got out there and the whole team were like, Hey, we

[00:30:18] gotta, we gotta be a team and, um, let's go hang out, get drinks and do all that. And then as you go through this, we've been doing this show since 20, I guess we started shooting the first season in 2022. That's insane. I can't believe it's been four years. I cannot believe it. Yeah. I can't believe it. It's, it's, it's really, it's crazy. So, um, you know, in the beginning we went out a few times, you know, you're more consciously trying to build that, get to know each other.

[00:30:45] And then just, um, the other thing is when we're shooting a lot of the QRS, we shoot a lot of it together. Um, so when, you know, this past season we, we splintered off a bit. Um, but it just means that we're, we end up being together a lot and then we're shooting on location and, you know, we're going, we start off shooting in Baltimore and we're shooting in Spain and Mallorca, Morocco. And then the past, um, couple of seasons in Texas. So, um, it's just kind of like happens naturally.

[00:31:15] We're just hanging out. We're neighbors with each other. We're, we're going out to dinner. We're just, and it's happens that it's just a really, uh, great group. It's just some really quality people from top to bottom. And yeah, we're all hanging out and talking shit and saying all kinds of inappropriate shit, you know, just to get into character, you know, saying all kinds of crazy, crazy inappropriate shit that you can't, uh, you know, you hope doesn't get out there, but yeah.

[00:31:45] And once you get in, it's like Taylor has potential to use you for other things. Right. Because I swear to God, James Jordan might be in every single Taylor Sheridan project, like from wind river to like, yeah. So, so I'll, I'll, I'll end with this. Um, just tell me your take on Taylor, you know, your rapport with him, how that works. Cause I don't think I've interviewed, I've interviewed a lot of people that have worked for him. I have never had anybody even say something remotely negative. Like just, we'll, we'll end with that. Thank you so much. Shona.

[00:32:15] You mean the people who he's employing don't want to say anything negative about him when he's like changing, like, I don't know that I can like have like an unbiased, like take on it when he's giving me this great opportunity and like, yeah. Yeah. Like you're going to say, he's a piece of crap. Yeah. Yeah. I hear what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, what do you want me to say? That being said, I mean, I mean, it's just, it's funny.

[00:32:45] Cause before I got it, when my guys like, man, I got to get on a Taylor Sheridan show, um, that it happened. I love just how realistic his stuff is. Um, it's such amazing writing that makes it so, um, so easy. Um, you know, it's, it's hard to do, but it's, you know, if you put into work, then it's easy. Cause you're not, you're not making up for any kind of like bad writing or anything like this.

[00:33:13] It's just like, everything's there up your game and you're going to be okay. You can like trust that he knows what he's doing and, um, the writing is good. So, um, yeah, it's just a, he's just a dream to work for. Um, and you could tell he loves it. Like his passion just shines through when he's doing it. And it's just like, you know, we're out there doing these war scenes. He comes on it. He comes in and gets to play the character of Cody.

[00:33:42] And it's just like, you could tell he loves it. Like this is fucking fun. Like we're like, we're doing this. Um, so it's just, uh, infectious in that sense. I mean, I think he scares a lot of people, but he's like, he's like, he's like a big kid in a sense. Cause like, remember we used to play war when you were a kid, you'd be outside. Like he's doing it now and getting paid for it and doing it really, really at an, at the

[00:34:07] next level, like at like the highest level and like, let's, yeah, let's, let's do this. Yeah. Yeah. It was unbelievably fun. Um, I, yeah, it's, it's, uh, uh, it's a dream. I think you just gotta, I think you gotta just, um, working with, you know, somebody at his level, you just gotta make sure you bring it. So it's like, all right, I'm going to give my all to this.

[00:34:35] I'm going to, whatever it is, I'm going to be prepared every day when I come in and I'm going to do all the preparation that leads up to this. I can be believable as this, um, character that he wrote and, uh, just, just go for it. And I, you know, I love the controversy around him when it's, I love when there's controversy on a show. Cause it's about like what a character said. Uh, it's like, is this, is this Taylor's point of view? Is this, is this, is this him talking? Yeah.

[00:35:05] Well, I mean, he wrote it, but you got, you got different characters with different points of view and this is all over the show. You got, um, so I, you know, I love it. I love it. It's, it's, it's amazing. And I think that's what a lot of people outside of his talent, I think that's what people love about Taylor is his authenticity and his honesty. I think that's what people love. Like he's not playing games. He's not working around stuff. If he believes it works for the story, he puts it in the story. And I love that. Jonah, let me ask you this.

[00:35:31] Uh, last thing, uh, just talk about any projects you might have around the corner, any social media stuff you wanted to say. The floor is yours, my guy. Um, what's coming up? I mean, I'm hoping we get another season cause I'm loving, I'm loving doing this. I'm not, I'm not dying to get off this show or anything like that. So I'm loving it. Um, I just shot a movie with, uh, Dave Hannibal. Um, nice by the way.

[00:35:55] So that's kind of in the works, civil war thriller, me and Dave Hannibal plays, uh, you know, Zoe's husband, Neil. He's another just solid dude. We got, we just had so much fun. Got to play civil war soldiers together. Nice. Oh, I don't know when that's coming out, but we were finished shooting, getting that wrapped up. Um, and I got, I'll be, uh, coming up, got a kind of in the works right now, but I'll

[00:36:21] be recurring on, um, memory of a killer, um, coming up, uh, next finishing out this, uh, season two with them. So I'm getting to, you know, do some different things. Yeah. There are things there and just, uh, keeping at it. Yeah. Bro, you're super talented, man. And I, and I love your character and I love your kindness and thank you for giving me some of your time today, man. You, you could not have been any nicer. Oh, thank you, man. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:51] Come back anytime. Yeah. Enjoy your day. Thank you for this. Absolutely, man.