Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me, Big Bang Theory) joins us this week to share his brave story of coming to grips with the trauma of his childhood, breaking the cycle so it doesn’t carry on to future generations, and understanding that part of his healing process may lead to a lifetime split from his family. Wil is an open book as he talks about problematic introductions to the world of child acting and how his career was propped up from parental projections onto him. We also get into his annotated look back into the past with Still Just a Geek, his amazement of being in Star Trek as a trekky, and how he manages his anxiety depression and PTSD.

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Comedian Adam Ray (Young Rock) joins us this week for an awesome episode full of equal parts (1) vulnerability talking about his troubled past and (2) comedic relief that’ll make you laugh. Adam talks about how he got the role of Vince McMahon in Young Rock and how a bit on Instagram led to his unique friendship with The Rock. We also talk about when crowd work can go wrong, the reason Adam pursued a career in comedy, and his Gemini tendencies.

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Katherine McNamara (Arrow, Walker: Independence) joins us this week to talk honestly about her experience shooting the prequel to Walker, how it’s different than your typical Western, and what it’s like to be in her first lead role since filming Shadowhunters. Katie Mac goes on to share her emotions returning to the Arrowverse as Mia Smoak and her thoughts behind the spinoff (Green Arrow & The Canaries) not getting picked up. We also talk about the idea of responsibility vs. stress, why Katherine is more drawn to character roles in television rather than film, and her return to Shadowhunters.

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What an episode this week. Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy, Bad Blood) joins us to talk about how he’s had to learn to slow down and get back to being himself during points in his life when his career was on the rise and he was focused on pleasing others. Coatesy shares fond memories working with Bruce Willis and Kevin Costner, but also remembers other times on set where he had to stick up for people against difficult, rude talent. We also talk about his special relationship with William Fichtner, how doing a Sons of Anarchy rewatch has made him realize the impact of the show, and what it’s like to work alongside his daughter in the new Neon Lights.

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Matt Walsh (Veep, UCB) joins us this week and shares the turning points in his life that moved him from studying psychology and working in a psych ward to becoming a founding member of UCB and a household name in comedy. Matt shares praise for Julia Louis-Dreyfus and notes how important it is to have a good leader for the success of a show like Veep. We also talk about difficulty in dramatic roles, how the middle child is expendable, and how nice it is to take the role of a viewer on your own projects by doing a rewatch.

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Cassidy Freeman (The Righteous Gemstones, Smallville) joins us this week and talks about the lonely and uncomfortable experience of joining Smallville in its eight season along with the bonds and connections she eventually created with castmates Tom Welling, Erica Durance, and Alison Mack. Cassidy shares her thoughts on the false idea of perfection during comparison and how she has started to let go of the idea of perfectionism. We also talk about the joy of working on the set of The Righteous Gemstones with Danny McBride and John Goodman, her love for Longmire, and leaving a legacy through journaling.

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Doug Jones (Star Trek Discovery, The Shape of Water) joins us this week to share his accidental introduction to the world of creature features and how he’s cemented his legacy as one of its most iconic actors with captivating performances in Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Hocus Pocus, and Oscar best picture winning The Shape of Water. Appearing in countless films together, Doug talks about his special relationship with mastermind Guillermo del Toro and how the two have a unique shorthand way of communicating with one another. We also talk about his early success in McDonald’s commercials, difficult lessons learned from his father’s early passing, and why his contract doesn’t allow for him to be dubbed over.

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Little bonus drop of Episode 1 of my new show Talk Ville: talkvillepodcast.com/show⁣

Tom and Michael address the step back in the second episode of the series Smallville where the ‘freak of the week’ concept gets solidified with our introduction to a buggy individual. The guys reflect on the suspension of disbelief that it took to shoot certain scenes and what it was like shooting the special effect shots that involved kryptonite and bullet time. During this episode, Michael points out scenes that didn’t flow after remembering cut dialogue and Tom looks for answers on the floating that never got addressed.

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Robert Patrick (Peacemaker, Terminator 2) joins us this week and shares his unique perspective in this industry with a forty year tenure, no practical training, and missed opportunities before he found sobriety. Robert opens up on how despite how iconic his character as T-1000 was in Terminator, and how he owes his career to James Cameron, he had to change his appearance to distance himself from the character. We also talk about his chemistry and bond with John Cena, how Demi Moore’s psychic helped save his life, and how Robert got Clint Eastwood to break on set uncontrollably.

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Little bonus drop of Episode 1 of my new show Talk Ville: talkvillepodcast.com/show⁣

Back to where it all began… Join Tom Welling (Clark) and Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) as they revisit the Smallville Pilot episode more than two decades since it was filmed. The guys talk about their experience during the shooting with kingmaker David Nutter, working with established actors like John Schneider, Annette O’Toole, and John Glover, and sentiment filming and releasing around 9/11. After discussing the difficulty of certain scenes like the underwater car crash, and the epic nature of the meteor shower, Tom and Michael later reflect on certain scenes that are a bit jarring and probably wouldn’t fly nowadays.

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