NOLA Film Scene with Tj & Plaideau
A podcast about acting, filmmaking, and the improv scene in New Orleans.
NOLA Film Scene with Tj & Plaideau
Billy Slaughter: Finding Community At Cajun Con
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The best fandom moments aren’t about the merch—they’re about the spark between people. We sat down with actor Billy Slaughter to trade stories that bounce from a PBS deep dive as William Faulkner to the wild energy of Scary Movie 6, with a healthy dose of Cajun flavor and con-floor surprises. Billy talks preparation and play in the same breath: walking Faulkner’s halls to find the cadence of a literary giant, then flying to Atlanta to help reboot a definitive horror comedy with original players returning and a stack of fresh cameos. He also teases opening weekend buzz for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and reflects on how Twisted Metal and the Anne Rice Immortal Universe introduced him to wildly different, equally passionate fanbases.
Voiced by Brian Plaideau
Have you been injured? New Orleans based actor, Jana McCaffery, has been practicing law in Louisiana since 1999, specializing in personal injury since 2008. She takes helping others very seriously. If you have been injured, Jana is offering a free consultation AND a reduced fee for fellow members of the Lousiana film industry, and she will handle your case from start to finish. She can be reached at janamccaffery@gmail.com or 504-837-1234. Tell Her NOLA Film Scene sent you
Follow us on IG @nolafilmscene, @kodaksbykojack, and @tjsebastianofficial. Check out our 48 Hour Film Project short film Waiting for Gateaux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5pFvn4cd1U . & check out our website: nolafilmscene.com
I'm TJ. And as always, I'm Play-Doh. And we're back. Two lives in a week. What are we, crazy? Two live crew. Hey.
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_02:Did I just age all of it? Yeah. And and it's definitely uh, yeah, what explicit content limited. Sure. Yeah, we're not condoning anything mentioned by Billy Slaughter. How are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_00:I do very well. How are you guys? Doing good. Doing good. And I did not call you Billy Squire for once in my head. Since the day I've I don't know if we met on I've been called much worse. Yeah, yeah. On the ravine, we didn't meet. That's the first time I saw you in action. And then we became social media friends. Oh, I need to talk to Billy Squire. No, Brian. It's slaughtered. And it just it has stuck for years. And he's I've been in your class. We've worked on movies together. We've done this podcast before together. And you know, I still hear, I don't want to say the stroke, which is Billy Squire's song when I see you, because that could be taken the wrong way.
SPEAKER_02:I'm a fan of classic rock or rock and all form. So again, I definitely could be worse. Um and yeah, a lot of people assume maybe it's a it's a stage name, because you know, as an actor with a memorable name, then I was like, okay, I can acknowledge it's right. I guess it's it's catchy or can be cool, but I'm like, if I could just choose any name in the whole, you know, uh universe uh ethosphere, like I wouldn't just be like, you know what, I'm gonna be Billy Slaughter. Because I mean, you know, I'm not a I'm not the the largest gentleman in real life. Like I feel like inevitably, because it sounds like some just kick-ass action hero. And so you know, it it's it's a lot to live up to, right? People that hadn't met or haven't met me before, it's like, oh man, Billy Slaughter is about to like he's landed, he's he's he's here, he's gonna enter the room. I come in, I'm like, hey guys, how are we doing? Hey, you know, and then there so yeah, it's uh it's it's my family name. I'm the fourth, so proud to be a slaughter. A lot of history behind it, but uh it is uh yeah, it's my real name. Well, and I know we're about to we're here to talk about Cajun Con coming up with so many different guests of which I'm a part of, but like Sergeant Slaughter is gonna be there. And uh being a kid from the 80s, I only met him. Uh I met him once before, and it was just at a con I had done uh a few years back. But uh it so I was trying to not be, you know, a weird fan there because it's like here, you know, we're we're we're peers, not in the pro wrestling realm, right? But this seems in the world of entertainment. And uh, but yeah, so I was trying to not come across weird and have it seem like I've been seeking you out my entire life. Like I've wanted to meet you because people uh, you know, I got that as a kid in the 80s, say, oh, you're related to Sergeant Slaughter and all. Uh-huh. And I'm like, I might be, I don't know. Like, I'm I'll talk to him. And of course, you know, having again kid of the 80s, it's like such respect. He was one of not only did you have like your wrestling figurines, but he was one of the only, and I know you guys know this, one of the only real human beings who was a G.I. Joe. And I mean, that's as close, forget acting, like that's as close to immortality as you could get. At least it was to my, you know, eight-year-old self. So uh so yeah, so much stuff to look forward to.
SPEAKER_01:I think it's kind of cool that that you and Brian both have unique enough names that you can use your real name. Hick also has a unique name, that's his real name. My name is as plain Jane White White as it gets Smith is just as common as it could possibly be. So I I mean I use a stage name. Yeah, I use my mom's maiden name just because it's it's a little more unique than Smith.
SPEAKER_02:But you with your look, you could definitely you could go all in. You could have gone all in with a stage name. Maybe it's not too late. I mean, you could be like Ragnarok Johnson, you know. I mean, some sort of just Norse, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Maybe so.
SPEAKER_00:Thor.
SPEAKER_01:Nah.
SPEAKER_00:There you go. Yeah, it's very cool to have a unique name on IMDB because I entered it twice accidentally. Uh, there's a one for Brian Plato and Brian Plato, but they're both me. And there's only like five Play-hoss in the world that I've met or heard about, you know. So finally the uniqueness is paying off.
SPEAKER_02:But then are you you're from Louisiana originally, yes. Yeah. So of course, like many or Louisiana names, you know, you got all at least it's memorable, but then you get into the spelling pronunciation dilemma where, you know, where we I just got back to France this past summer and uh yeah, it was epic. But uh, you know, it's just I can't get over the amount of the amount of useless letters, you know. I'm not not trying to offend anyone in our French demographic, but because again, it's something we see very much with like Cajun names and Louisiana names. It's like Play-Doh, like how many, you know, are you in are you in AU? Are you in E A U X? Like how far down the how many useless letters are we adding just to get the same end result?
SPEAKER_01:Same pronunciation, that's right.
SPEAKER_00:I I don't have an X, I'm not a Cajun, but I will be playing one very soon. Starting Friday.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_00:Cajun Jedi. Yeah. I'm meeting with Dean West on Tuesday. We're gonna go over. I pretty much know my character. You know what I mean? Awesome. So I just want to see it from the other side. I've got a couple Cajuns reading my dialogue to make sure I can be funny. I don't have to be perfect. The character is supposed to be over the top, but if I can tweak it a little more, every little bit helps, and I'm very excited.
SPEAKER_02:So you're getting to play your first Cajun character just before Cajun Cod. Just before the first, not just your first. If that's not the universe, it's all coming together. I mean, playing a Jedi before, my goodness. Or at least the force, right?
SPEAKER_00:I may have thought that, but I forgot about the combination of the two Cajun things.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:My brain has been diverted with promoting and with you know, studying and living mentally. TJ, we heard you my first Jedi. Well, technically, because the voodoo zombie blunt man had a lightsaber.
SPEAKER_01:It was it what was he a was he a Jedi?
SPEAKER_00:He wasn't a Jedi because Blunt Man, Kevin Smith's character, yeah, has a bong saber because it's all weeds humor. So if you've ever read J Rev let me try again. If you've ever read Judge Dredd, there's a character called Judge Death. And he is the exact opposite of Judge Dredd, who wants to he's enforcing the law. Judge Death just wants everybody dead. So Blunt Man to Voodoo Zombie Blunt Man. Blunt's uh bongs. Blunt man wants everyone high.
SPEAKER_02:That's somewhere.
SPEAKER_00:I I have a uh hookah pipe saber with a skull base. And we put some lights in it and stuff. So nice. I even wrote an origin cartoon, so I'm I think I'm gonna have to make it myself, but you know. It's it'll be my second Jedi. No lightsaber this time, but I do have a magic staff. And it might not be real. Maybe I'm a charlatan. Maybe, maybe I'm the villain.
SPEAKER_02:I wait, I happen to have a mustache I can twirl. I feel I'm looking at our like I joined the facial hair club. Y'all know usually a lot of times I'm well, I'm under clean shaven. So this I'm not a mustache guy, and like it caught, you know, in my peripheral. I'm like, what's on oh yeah, it's part of I just had the honor of uh of playing William Faulkner for uh a PBS docuseries. So yeah. So in terms of you know, those those fun journeys, it's like to go from the world, the deep dive of you know, highbrow literature and American, well, southern literature and American history. Uh, because I knew about it for a while. And one thing, you know, beautiful with with PBS behind it, like everything so authoritative, right? So they have the real experts, like we were shooting in his home. I was at Wagner's typewriter, but then I got to do, I got enough time on the front end too to do, like I said, uh proper research. Obviously, I'm you know from New Orleans originally, where he uh, even though he spent most of his life in in Mississippi around Oxford, he wrote his first two novels here, you know. So I like got to walk in his footsteps here and do that research. Um so it was so we can sort of claim that you know it was in New Orleans that Faulkner became a novelist rather than just you know any any other writer. I mean, you know. So so that's my that's my excuse for the uh for the mustache.
SPEAKER_01:It's I like it. Yeah I don't think you need an excuse at all. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. You're rocking it, man. You're rocking it.
SPEAKER_02:Now, you learning will not get you any further.
SPEAKER_00:I mean yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Maybe not break my NDAs with uh I don't know where we'll see you except for December 6th and 7th at Cajun Club.
SPEAKER_00:Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzalez about this beforehand, and you just mentioned something highbrow. Maybe there's something maybe a little more lowbrow, if you wanted to drop that, but we can we can hold that off if you want.
SPEAKER_02:No, I can um yeah, I just um actually so uh you know, for those those listening, anybody coming out to Cajun Con or thinking about it, for me, it's a really cool time. Um, because uh yeah, I just worked on two projects back to back. I did I did Faulkner course in his stomping ground in um North Mississippi, and then I just got back, like still still settling in, but just got back from Atlanta working on Scary Movie Six. So I'm I'm very excited about that. Obviously, yeah, the con world, another, you know, I mean, not just another like franchise IP pop culture, but you know, I think categorically, right, it might be it's like the definitive, you know, horror comedy franchise. And uh I know they've been obviously, you know, I can't uh uh you know divulge, give too much away or anything with you know, story of my character, but I know they're doing a lot of uh they're already a lot of promotions and a lot of headlines and hype about it because even though it's number six, um they're uh they got we got the original band back together. It's like it's it's the Wayne's brothers and you know Anafaris and just the the original team that stepped away for a while, they're coming back. So as far as also things done like authoritatively, uh it's gonna be and then they kept announcing more and more cameos and people Chris Kelly added, uh among among many others, yeah. Yeah, so it's it's gonna be a lot of fun. Um and then uh yeah, and then another news I can't talk too much about. So yeah, talk about things timing out. So Cajun Con is on uh December 6th, right? We're all gonna be there. It's opening weekend of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, which I won't say anything more than uh there are terrible rumors online that I I may or may not be be in. That's just it's so so I'll be checking it out, fan. But what's cool about that is my very when I just started doing cons, that was when I was really getting into a more when when the first one came out. Came out doesn't do it justice, right? When it like blew up. Exploded, yeah. Yeah. And so every con was just clamoring to get, you know, all like any cast members they could, anyone associated from from the first one. Um, and and uh so that that's who I was doing all like my my early cons with. I was the you know, I was the other guy, right? So if you wanted other stuff at the time, like my very first con ever was was was retro con. And you know, to as as much as everyone has their niche, what was cool about that, that's like retro video games, right? So even though FNAF was did was a video game, right? I mean, that's still more or less hip pop culture, something newer. But I uh I was in this was right after uh the first season of Twisted Metal came out, which which I'm in, the TV series. So at least that was appropriate to that that retro gaming audience uh, you know, that grew up playing the the Twisted Metals, you know, going back to the 90s. So between I was doing a lot of cons between Twisted Metal and also around the same time was when uh the new Anne Rice TV Immortal Universe was uh was was coming out. And of course, growing up, well, being from New Orleans, right, I was a fan of the Anne Rice world and I loved the original interview with a vampire. So I was I was following that one more, but then uh you know, as an actor, you never know sort of when the call is gonna come. I ended up being a part of Mayfair Witches, but not just a part. I'm I'm the very first character we meet in that, which was right, like I said, which was super cool, just just on a uh a knoll of pride and but so it's been great see meeting the fans. It's always nice meeting fans and interacting, but uh it's like you know, the gaming fans are different from then like you know the horror con fans, especially like Anne Rice World, where it's all gothic, and then uh and then the FNAF fans are are are amazing, you know. It's like all different age groups and all, and they go all out with like their you know their cosplay and and you know things they they they put together. Yeah, just really, really good times. Fun stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Very cool. And what would you say is something that you experienced at cons that you didn't expect since you were kind of a newbie in this past year to cons? What struck you as good or bad?
SPEAKER_02:I will say, well, like anything before I do something, you know, I'm going to uh I'll you know, I'll look into it, I'll do some research. So like I had been I I had attended cons, you know, as a as a guest, as a fan. Um, and then I started doing them more once once I was I was entering the world. But I suppose for me, man, at the at the risk of sounding I don't want to sound I don't want to sound cheesy and give you like a really inspiring. But that's the thing, is that they're it's so easy to view them and maybe when you're less familiar, view them just superficially, you know, like oh it's the glitz and the hype and pop culture and merch and what can you sell or you know dress up do like crazy stuff. But I guess just the what was what was great was the the genuine uh the genuine connections, you know, just with with with people, not just across not just among us, you know, colleagues across different mediums. Because like we were saying, you know, you might be a guest and then one of the other guests, you know, you're a huge fan of their work and vice versa, or meeting people where it goes so far beyond something as simple as like, okay, they just want like they just want to snap your picture and move along, or you just want to sell them a picture and and and move them along. You get into just some really great conversations, you know, you see families and sort of things that have been passed on generationally that then you you get to be a part of. Yeah, so really, really great, I guess the connectivity. Because I mean, we know there's like just an increasing amount of things that divide us in life, or you know, people wanting to put us in in certain boxes. And um, God, I hate to go, you know, it was it I hate to go all all certainly don't want to get into politics, but you know, it's how was it Obama who was saying, you know, we have more, like we have far more in common, you know, when like it it really gets down to it than the things that that are amplified that make that that make us all different. And so it's really nice with in the con world that sort of everything outside of that that building is put aside and it's like dude, we're all we're not just all fans of something, we're all fans of the same thing, you know, and so it's really great when you can when you could talk, trade stories, trade stuff, compare.
SPEAKER_00:Um I'm gonna give you a word you can use from now on community. There you go. You know, yeah, it absolutely is. I I have my nerd group and my new Orleans group. And I I'm always trying to be funny, sometimes I am. And if I say a joke in the nerd group about nerd stuff, they usually get it. Same thing for Nola. But if you reverse that, they may not be from here. And the normals who, when I say something nerdy, I get the crickets. But at a con, I can just say something not trying and get a whole bunch of laughs, and you're like, they understand both halves of that. Oh my god. You find your people, you find your tribe. Yeah. You know? And you can belong to multiple tribes because we know I'm a Disney adult, you know. Yeah. And I talk their ears off even more. And while you were talking, I pictured how you were saying behind the table, celebrities and guests.
SPEAKER_02:You can make sure behind the table, that's a little uh what happens behind the table.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, it's in plain view for those who don't know. It's called a booth, but it's just a table. Though they do have table skirts, Billy.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know how you across the scene. I do wear I wear pants at my cons. I'm just saying there's only so much mystery behind the And none of us are wearing them because it's Zoom.
SPEAKER_00:So Yeah. But like I will pay for a picture with a celebrity. Like I have two with Jason Momoa. People are like, Why do you pay so much? And when I do it, I always plus the picture to make it fun. And I usually make them laugh too. So I'm paying for their time. And it's it's a good experience. But for you, and hopefully us one day, you hear about the fans are like, Oh, I love this part of your work. So you get that connection you don't get to see. Yeah, you get ratings when Mayfair Witches come out. Yeah. But when somebody's like, Oh, I love that scene, that was my favorite character, that will get you through the hard times, through the thin times, like we've been experiencing, you know, not many auditions.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you're absolutely right. So And another, another word of the day, you know, symbiosis. Like the relationship is completely symbiotic, where yeah, everyone, there's equal give and take in it. You know, I mean, even like you said, you might be like, okay, you might be one of any number of people just waiting to meet a Jason Momoa or whatnot. But then you can have an interaction where you might do something, you might say something, as I know people have to me, like like you're alluding to, that will, I mean, not just make make his day, you know, make his day, make, make my my week or month. Yeah, it's uh it's it's pretty fantastic.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And people talk costumes, I don't go full out. Like the 501 Stormtroopers, the Legion. They have down to the last nut and bolt, their costumes are perfect. And they've spent time, energy, and money. And I applaud them for it. And it's hot. You know what I mean? I'm leaning more, especially now that I'm getting older for comfort. But for Jace Momoa, I had an old Aquaman t-shirt with the Super Friends one, blonde-haired white guy, two pieces of duct tape, and I wore S UX. Suts. Aquaman sucks. Yeah, yeah. So first his agent saw me, because when you do a con, if you don't know folks, you pay for the photo op and then you get in a line, and then you get into another line past the curtain, and then you meet the star and you get to talk for a minute, especially if you you have to focus and don't wander too much. You know, I'll be like, hey, I loved you in this. This is my idea for the picture. Bam, you're gone.
SPEAKER_02:It's it's your it's your chance at like like here's your what like the two-minute elevator pitch.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. And that's it.
SPEAKER_02:If you ever finessed that, yeah, and I can make stars laugh and all that, which is it's it's definitely an art because it's one of those life exercises where we've all muse, you know, like, oh God, if you met this person or your hero or your you know celebrity crush, like what would you even say or do? And it's like, you actually have to answer that question. You know, you got a game plan and like here's your chance. So don't screw it up. But yeah, you make the most of it. It's fantastic.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. So um I had my idea. And first his agent goes, she saw the shirt and said, Tell me a story. And I did, and she goes, Oh, that's great. And she goes, Jason, and he had had a few drinks, he wasn't drunk, but he was tipsy and having fun. He goes, Jason, check out his shirt. So I step up, dude is humongous. Six foot six, five, I don't know. Looks so much bigger, solid muscle. And I go, first of all, I don't hate Aquaman. And he smiles, sees the shirt, his face drops, and his right foot went from in front of him to behind him. My knees buckle a little. And I said, This is my idea for the picture. And he laughed and bent to the belly. So what it was, Aquaman sucks. I had him do the telepathic move, and then later I added sharks. Nice. I had thought about going to uh Party City and getting balloon stuff because I wanted to cover my fat. I'll I'll say it. But having balloons around me.
SPEAKER_02:When any of us are standing next to Mamoa, you know, you you're gonna feel a little bit less than, you know.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. So that's like I'll put that into pictures in Photoshop, but I will not put the star in. That's my ethics for it. Yeah, cool, cool. So I sent that to Wizard World. They had shared Jason and Jimmy Fallon playing uh war, and then they throw cups of water in their face. I said, if you think that's cool, check out this picture. And they went, You just won the contest that didn't happen. So I got a David Tennant, which was worth five dollars less than the picture I paid for with Jason.
SPEAKER_02:Super cool. Well, see, and again, now the the the connectivity I can relate. I was working to, you know, further bond us all. Um, I happened to be working on a project with Jason when he was cast as Aquaman. We were doing uh it was kind of a short-lived um uh series on the Sundance TV. So again, you know, more like indie highbrow, but uh it was called it was called uh the Red Road. You know, we had, I mean, you know, certainly Cool Guy was a nice team they put together. Good on you. Yeah. Dang, you're you're the guy who was sent three cents of residuals. But uh no, it yeah, it w it was solid. But of course, it wasn't, it it held nothing on what he was on the verge of uh, you know, of doing. But so it's just that it was so funny because you never know, you know, where you'll end up. We were there, you know, just do doing our jobs and you know, trying to make a a solid show. And we ended up um, you know, when we rapped, and again, do his credit for like for all the stars that don't even want people to talk to him, you know. He's like, all right, all right, yeah, let's let's go. Anyone want to go grab a drink or something? So it's like all of a sudden you find you don't know when you wake up that morning. Fast forward, I'm I'm hanging out. Um uh and it was some what so we were shooting outside Atlanta, so we ended up is it you know, Cabbage Town or just like some the reason it's important, it just was some dark, like wooden, you know, in good like tavern type thing. So to be if like there was ever a time or place that me or one would go out for drinks with Mamoa. Now, of course, as a huge fan of uh Game of Thrones, um and as a character actor, like they're talking about perfect casting. He I got to witness firsthand, he is a like a living barbarian warlord, you know. Other people are just like getting their little you know happy hour sips in, you know, after work. I mean, it's like this timer verse to you know medieval times, you know, he's slamming his his ale on the table and his mug, and he's like tossing stools and getting excited. And and so again, now I uh being there like right uh when uh you know I as right around the time he was getting the news, you know, he was getting to be a superhero and and uh aquaman. So so he was in extra good spirits and excitable. But um, yeah, so just to have uh a little front row seat at that at that process was was really cool. Uh talk about, you know, in the the world of fandom, like seeing him firsthand making the shift real time from like fan of you know stuff we all grew up on or to to being able to inhabit that. Um it was fantastic.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. And now he's gonna what's the coolest thing? Oh, sorry, Brian. No, no, I was just gonna say now he's gonna be Lobo, which is what he was meant to be. Yeah, yeah. Another just like no makeup slam dunk. Yeah. He doesn't even need it.
SPEAKER_01:Part of my interruption, but and his his show about the the Hawaiian I can't remember what it's called. I'm drawing a blank on it, but the the Hawaiian warrior the islanders. That the cinematography alone in that is just incredible. But oh, so what I was gonna ask you see the whole season?
SPEAKER_02:Because I remember okay. I remember seeing all the advertisements for that and just putting that on my short list. Like I have to check this out. Like you're saying, it look it not only looks so epic, but everyone involved because there hasn't been too much about like the PI culture.
SPEAKER_01:And it's it's an incredible. I mean, I'm fascinated by that culture. You're right.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, it's yeah, and very well. So there's so much, you know, pride in that culture. And um, you know, outside of just like scratching the surface on like uh Moana or something, you know, where we've seen it animated, but where, like you said, we um just a chance for people uh going back generations where they feel like they they get a part, not just a front row seat, like you know, uh they're able to help tell their own stories and the story of of their people and their land and their way and their history. Yeah, it looks it looks kick-ass. Thank you for reminding me. I need to check that out.
SPEAKER_01:All right. So here's here's the question. What is the coolest thing that somebody, a fan, has said to you? It it may be putting you on the spot, it may be hard to put on the spot that you can think of at a con that didn't come across like creepy, like, oh, that was that was cool, that was well thought out, you know? You're right.
SPEAKER_02:Definitely like I'd have to think back on because a lot a lot of words are exchanged. So as far as like a specific something somebody told me, I mean, I'm sure without giving a specific example, you know, we've we've kind of all been in that situation where like I, you know, I don't want to say too to the extent where, you know, you kind of you save someone's life, or but people can be very candid and like that that goes a long way when somebody, once again, when kind of we might think we're there for, you know, just for fun or for hype, or people, you know, think something sensational or just about promotions or sales. And uh when you do meet people that were like, look, I was it was just not in a great place in life, and uh, you know, I just happened like whatever you were involved in, I saw something, it was the right thing at the right time. And uh and yeah, not only like helped me just kind of view things differently or got things got life back on course. I mean, yeah, to for some, it's literally, you know, saved saved a life. So um those conversations definitely stay with you. Now on the lighter note, just because this one is so specific and was uh uh was a one-time occurrence, I was I'll definitely give some shout outs here. I was doing um, as a matter of fact, I was doing the con I'd mentioned, I was doing a retro con and we were setting up for it. And uh a buddy of mine, actor Creek Wilson, who's also gonna be at at Cage and Con, right? So Creek does a lot of cons. And like Plato was saying, that's so cool, you know, the the the sense of community, because you might see, you know, sometimes people and things are one-offs, and that's what makes it special. It's like a one-time event, something rare. But then the flip side is you have a lot of a lot of the same, you know, it might be the same people that do cons or the same ones that put them on, the same that attend. So, so there's a lot of uh yeah, there's a lot of connecting, there's a lot of crossover. So Creek does a whole bunch of cons. We cross paths at a lot, and you know, finally we were doing one together, uh, which we'd wanted to do for a while, but we were we were we were right next to each other. And I'll say you talked about sort of discoveries that can that can affect the experience a lot too, you know, like who you're with, or maybe some of the logistical management of the con, you know, like if you're if you're stuck in some like back dark corner lost, or if you're just immersed in a lot of really cool stuff going on. So Greek. So we're all setting up before the con, the con before the storm, right? He goes all at like he is talking about feeling inadequate. So I'm like, I'm like nicely stacking my, you know, my little pictures and you know, adjusting this. And uh he's like setting up animatronics and you know, I feel like things are smoking, you know, so it's it's this like 40 experience. So I'm like, I'm like, dude, I mean, nice, right? So then he he drops um big bucket of uh double like what do you of watermelons, little watermelons on the table. So yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm like, I'm like, which what you got there, Creek? So in Twisted Metal, yeah, what's I already mentioned, so we we get we're cats members and that he plays Mr. Slam. And you know, so his whole shtick, God, maybe the wrong no punish if uh if that's not bleeped. I did I no I said shtick. He with his uh you know with it with his ample manhood, he crushes watermelons. That's the the character does, right? I would say I'm not slandering Creek, but he'd probably be like, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me. So Coogie's like, oh man, yeah, fans go crazy. You know, they meet Mr. Slam, they want to get a watermelon. Like he doesn't, I don't think uh yeah, you couldn't pay enough. He's not slamming your watermelons. Let me uh, you know, for liability purposes, I'll it's still family friendly. But he's like, fans love me to sign. It's a nice custom thing, right? So he in the um in the same show, Twisted Metal, he's like, Man, you gotta get like your little custom. So my character, Kerwin, in that, uh, you know, is a body part collecting psycho, but you know, everyone's got their thing, and uh he prefers ears. So uh yeah, you know, I keep a he keeps a butcher knife holstered, and if you cross him, you might just get lose an ear. And then he keeps his ear necklace and other, you know, makes jewelry and stuff. So he was uh he's like, Yeah, man, you um, you know, you should like get some ears and start and and and so so I'm like I'm like of course yes, of course. So, you know, the beauty of timing. This was I think it was in early October, where like no matter where you are in the world, there's a spirit Halloween, you know, like three blocks away. Yeah. So sure enough, I mean, this is out of town, so I'm like, all right. Nearest spirit. And then yeah, it's like it's, you know, it's blocks away. So I go there. This was a Saturday. So yeah, so I go and I walk in, and likewise, you know, you're like, okay, or it's like you say about finding your tribe. Most other places in most realms. If you walk into a an establishment of business and they're like, can I help you? And you're like, I need ears. I'm looking for just a bunch of ears, as many preferably severed, severed or bagged. So I walk into spirit and you know, it's like, uh, yeah, can I looking for anything? I'm like, Yeah. Um, do you have a bag or of ears or maybe a jar or you know, a sack? Like, just I need ears. And uh the lovely associate was like, was like, yes, we do, right this way. And so he's like, here you go. So just here's a bag of ears. So I get my bags of ears, and I show up the next day at the con and I'm putting out, and uh, and sure enough, um, you know, the fan fans loved it. So fans of of Twisted Metal could get a custom signed ear. Um, and then I had a fan who he was so excited about getting the the ear. Uh that's right, because he he had come two days in a row. So like he didn't see the ears before. We were talking a lot about twisted metal. So we came back and he's like, he's like, what? I can get an ear from you. This is great. So he's all excited, and uh, and now uh we we connect, we chat some more, nice little exchange. I made his day. Uh Creek, you know, Creek uh helped inspire me the day before. And so now um fast forward like months had passed, and this was I was doing another con, you know, still in the same region, but completely different city. And you know, the day has gone by and a guy just comes running up to me and he's like, he's like, hey, um, you know, I'm like, he's uh I'm like he's like I'm I'm I'm I'm the the ear guy. So I'm like, yes, yes. He might have been in a different costume. So I'm like, I'd like you. I I remember you. Yeah. So he he's like, he's like, I I brought you something, I brought you something. What? So he pulls out, and sure, so now he's gifted me my own ear necklace, which now I've I I immediately put on and I've I've worn it at many cons since.
SPEAKER_01:I saw it, I saw it at the one where we ran into you. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:There we go. So uh yeah, again, just little stories like that where you start connecting the dots and uh and it's not about the stuff, man. It's about, you know, the people and the experiences and the memories. Yeah, and that's that's always that ends up being the greatest reminders, takeaways that something that, you know, on the surface might not be a big deal. You know, we as actors, we might be shooting one scene in one show, and you know, that's our that's our Tuesday. And we're not, you know, like it's great when when it is epic or can be life-altering for you, right? But they aren't all that. But you just never know. Somebody for someone else, no matter how small the role, no matter how obscure the project, that could be like, you know, one of their their favorite things. And so it's great when you, yeah, when you you you experience that. Um, and even like just from the the interactive standpoint, like you were saying, Play Doh, where that's what's what's different with with the cons, rather than just like, you know, you could buy anything on eBay or, you know, I mean, you could pay for just about anything. Um, yeah, something on just a a gesture or something, whether it's something the guests can say that will stick with that person forever, you know, they'll literally be telling their grandkids about it, but vice versa. And that's what's important to understand too, that yeah, absolutely, that you meet fans and they they can say something that can that that that can, you know, you'll you'll take to your grave, you know. It's just really meaningful.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. The stuff isn't important, but it's kind of like Mardi Gras. So they'll throw beads all day and you have regular beads, which are nice, but then when you catch a cup, when you catch a medallion beat, Bill Farrow, when he was king of Bacchus, had cowbells beads and I didn't go. It was too cold that day. What the? Oh, I missed that. I have I gave blood during the not during interview with the vampire, but during the time that it came out. It's not like I was sitting in a movie theater and they were draining me, but I have a signed squeaky rat from Ann Rice. So nice. And then Hacksaw Jim Duggan was in town for WrestleMania 30, which was our first one here. And then they had a mid-south convention. Yeah. And I'm a mid-south boy from the whole time. He signed a two by four for me. Perfect. Nice. So he'll be at CajunCon. Maybe we'll have some more.
SPEAKER_02:Probably will. Yeah. And things that again, like, you know, a lot of people have there are two by fours laying around that are literally part of like scrap piles, you know. And now here's one, you know, where it's like, oh yeah, that was, you know, that connects you to that experience and then and growing up, or you know, and then whatever, a relative or a friend who turned you on to that or you're watching. I know I'm I'm actually I'm looking. I got some, you know, some of like my mercher memorabilia. What was one you were uh to oh you were just mentioned, I was thinking arrest. Oh, you're talking parades. Yeah, so people, um, yeah, you know, at Mardi Gras, and and it is ironic, right? People will go insane and the the lengths people will go to legally and illegally to obtain, you know, things that that at most other days of the year you might be able to buy for like you know 35 cents this pair of bee, or like once they hit the ground and land in the puddle. Nobody, you don't give, you know, two seconds later, no one cares. But uh, you know, I got some of my being, you know, New Orleans boy, some like Saints memorabilia. So this was caught at the Super Bowl winning parade. Nice. Yeah, so that was a signature Sean Payton just where it was one of those seemed like the stars aligned, all the chaos and people, I mean the city, we were beside ourselves. And and again, you know, beyond just like the normal excitement frenzied, it it exceeded so exceeded sports. Because as most listeners, even that aren't from here, might be aware, the Saints road to the Super Bowl. That was what for locals is kind of considered the official uh bookend of of Katrina. Like that's when we were able to like turn a corner and sort of like the city's back and we can all move forward. So really meaningful stuff. And uh and yeah, just you know, everything happening everywhere. And then it was one of those where he just like our our eyes met and he, you know, it was it was intended. So, you know, some of those things it certainly had gone to, and you never know. So it's like here's a bookshelf, and I I lose track, and that's what's great. Where um, you know, it just might seem you know, anyone could pass it, and then I could pick up any random one, like, okay, here's what Death of the Salesman, Arthur Miller. I got some of my plays, only this one was uh personally messaged and signed by uh by by the OG Willie Lohman by by Dustin Hoffman himself. Where do we go? So uh, you know, to Billy with affection and gratitude, Dustin Hoffman. Um, because I uh, you know, um well, you know, I I I got to work with Dustin early in my career and he and I hit it off and he invited me to move to LA to be his uh his regular stand-in for a while, uh, which was basically my my grad school in the industry. Uh, but just one of my so someone who who I of course was just a fan of growing up, uh a fan of his work. I mean, you just never know, ended up being a personal mentor of mine, you know. So some really great shared experiences. Yeah, okay. Maybe one more, I'll show you. So before it becomes like QVC or like or talk about childhood, I feel like we're going back to show and tell. Today I brought. No, but you know, all these like you know, they just start start jumping out and all. So oh yeah. So we mentioned like Katrina, like most people here, you know, lost just about everything. So then the few things that survive become even more meaningful, you know. So kid growing up in the 80s, it's like, you know, my my comics went away and my epic and G.I. Joe collection and stuff. Um, but it wasn't until like years later, uh, just as far as like collectibles and merch, like I I think the only thing that survived is I found my uh my old Marvel cards, like the first runs, the first generation. And so that was cool, something I enjoyed as a kid. And now it like survived Katrina's and now like and you know, an adult, it's um uh it's it's super meaningful. And then I end up uh you know working on so and then coming back, like this was Magnificent Seven, an amazing cast there, and uh got to work with you know another actor I'd always just really admired, but uh Vincent D'Nafrio. And so, who then went on to uh of course remaking classic Western is pretty cool, right? But just like Momoa, you know, he went on to uh to be in Kingpin in uh in the MCU. So we're so like that's the first series one Marvel car that that Vince signed for me, Daredeviling Kingpin.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, good times. It's good to be the actor, huh?
SPEAKER_02:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:To paraphrase Mel Brooks.
SPEAKER_02:Well, again, it's not uh yeah, because a lot of actors get a bad rap. And that's if anything, you know, that's the point I'm trying to establish. It definitely goes beyond people. Well, as most actors know, people that aren't actors, yeah, they they think like, oh man, they've seen you in something. Anyone who's been on any screen, TV, film, a commercial, right? Like you're instantly rich and famous, which we know couldn't be further from the truth. That it's uh, you know, for as a public service announcement, it really just like like in the rest, well, we're people too, which we discover at the cons, but like uh like the rest of society, there's kind of the one percenters, and then there's there's keeping things moving, then there's the rest of us. So like that's the top one percent are the the the the slibs. The rest of us are honest working class folks who are who are happy to be doing it when we get the chance to do it. And uh yeah, sometimes you get to do it a good bit, sometimes it's it's it's a while. And man, without going down that you know, rabbit hole, we know it's uh it's yeah, it's a really tough because I I feel like still a lot of people aren't aware we find ourselves in a really tough spot in the entertainment industry, but not just tough in like, okay, the regular ebb and flow and we're in like a a little lull and just unprecedented. I mean, I I guess the main, you know, to give perspective, probably where the the switch flipped was since the beginning of Hollywood, right? It's been run by the Hollywood Studios. And then once the streamers took over, and you know, I know so for the average person, they just that that enjoy, you know, worked their hard job and enjoys just coming and home and having an hour to Netflix and chill, you know, now ultimately the streamers are are just divisions of international mega corporations. And so we we know. I mean, with new technology, there's a lot of great opportunity to connect with people as we're doing. But then there's also when you get into we just always have to watch the risk, just like we're everyone's exploring with AI right now, where you know, with great power to bring it back, bring it back to Marvel. Great power comes great responsibility. And you know, as long as if we can use technology as a tool to further connect people, connect us, help people, help society, and not just pull those further apart and further down. Um, so so that's that's that's where we are. So we're kind of in uncharted territory. And uh it's hard to say what what things are gonna look like moving forward, other than we are seeing now more of for like the new avenues that that pop up. Yeah, cons used to be so much more niche and obscure, and now they're uh they're becoming much more of a part of of pop culture, which is uh which is cool. Yeah. And and and and you know, the common like people that like you were saying didn't didn't grow up being called nerd or considering themselves nerd, right? Like like the captain of the football to, you know, like all these again, like our bubbles that we were supposed to live in before, or you know, the corners you're supposed to go to, like you can see the the star athlete might be at a con, and he's just as excited as you know, the nerd or like you know, the hot girl is yeah, you know, yeah, is uh is is do is doing her cosplay thing and it's acceptable now.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so we crawled through glass so you could walk and run, and you should be grateful. Bleed the trails. That's right. Being a nerd hurt, but we won't want to talk about that. Off often literally. Yeah, we yeah, yeah, right. We took emotionally, physically.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. It took a lot of a lot of beatings for some of this pop culture stuff to become cool.
SPEAKER_00:The word swirly comes to mind, but you know, I won't say what I've lost. But Billy, we've enjoyed talking to you as we always do. We've enjoyed having people share this time with us, but always so much fun. We're gonna let you go. But not in that way. Just we're gonna say goodbye and then see you at Ken, December 6th and 7th, Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzalez, Louisiana. Come join us in Nerd Out. Nerd out.
SPEAKER_02:I'm looking forward to seeing you there. Likewise.
SPEAKER_00:I'm even looking forward to seeing TJ.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And I'm looking forward to seeing Sergeant Slaughter again. Yeah. And so fans, I was gonna say, I was suggest they should seek us out and maybe we can do like a slaughter tag team duo, you know, combo.
SPEAKER_00:Slaughter boys. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, slaughters.
SPEAKER_00:You've got to get glasses, and if not, his same hat, something to allude to that. Something in your world.
SPEAKER_02:I might be three steps ahead of you. So there we go. There we'll leave with that teaser. Here we go.
SPEAKER_01:Bring it on. See you. All right, folks. See you next time.
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