Aldis Hodge Is the Coolest Man in the Room

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All right, all right, okay. I was looking real fancy up in here. You know, you got to do a little stuff, man. I'm seeing what's happening on the appliances, you know. You know what I'm saying? Exactly. And watch these hands up real quick. We've got to make this drink, so you know, you got to make sure you're ready. Because you said you like whiskey. I don't like whiskey. I'm a whiskey kind of soul. Oh, so whiskey? Yeah, I can't put some respect on my nose. A kind of sewer, that's French. It's something, yeah. I don't think so. We ain't got to get technical. I said I don't have a currency or whiskey, not in the worst. That's what I'm saying. No, but tell me about it. Tell me about it. Okay, so because I know that you are a whiskey kind of sewer, thank you. I wanted to get you a cocktail that felt like one, it would be the best of both worlds. You know, excited as I had to walk away. You had to walk away. Bring it back and then run it right back. Okay, so we're going to make a Sazirac today. It's my favorite whiskey cocktail. It's also, I believe maybe even one of the first American cocktail that comes out of New Orleans. Yeah, I'll see that absent right there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, outlaw. We're kind of whiskey. No, we got a little Frank August over here. Nice. Okay, it'll be my first time trying a Frank. Come on. Okay, let's get it. Let me ask you, why is this your favorite? I feel like it's fancy. Hold on, hold on, look what the frost is. Y'all see it, y'all see he got the frost in on the glasses. Dabin' up in there, you know what I'm saying, you know. Yeah, like these can't touch. Okay, you got real fancy, okay? Otherwise, you know, we'd have an issue. I like it because it's not as sweet as like the Manhattan. I feel like it's cooler to me than an old-fashioned, like younger. Some strong words. They're like, I know you well enough. I mean, you like a Manhattan, you like an old-fashioned? Oh, yeah, for sure. Okay, you're going to love this. For me, both of those drinks are really about the balance. Sometimes, it can't be too sweet, can't be too bitter, you know what I'm saying? Correct, depends on if you know what you're doing. I know what I'm doing. This is also like one of the first things that you are taught in bartending school, like how to make. You got your sugar cubes. Sugar cubes. You start there, then you go, because we're making two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Okay, more. So you got your bitters. I don't know if this, you call it a, push. I just call it bitters. It's bitters. Pesh, pesh-shh. Pesh-shh. Let me take a look. Pesh-shh! Get your ass in the house. Pesh-shh! That's a, um, some guys getting these butt. Well, p-pesh-shh. Pesh-shh! You know, it's one of those kind of names. Put it back. You need these? And you got some lived experience. It was ancestral. I feel like I, it was pulled. That was never much in any way. I'm going to hand you up in the house a few times. Stash-chu up a few times. Yeah, I got a black mama. You know, you can talk about it. I'm a millennial. You can share some thoughts. So again, because we're making two four ounces of Rye Whiskey. Mm-hmm. I noticed it was like, right, exact. You hit right at the line. You know, I see. Like, I've done this before. So then you add your ice. Mm-hmm. And you stir. Is that fat-free water? Yeah, it's fat-free water. It's real-free. It's real-free. Okay. You're your sugar-free. We have sugar later. It's close to the 27 and 1/2 turns. How did you know? Yeah, just me knowing stuff. I thought I'm going to kind of soar. So then you take your glass. This is your absent rinse. Oh, absent. Okay. Okay, there we go. Now, the next time I see somebody spray something like breath fresh now, I'm going to look at them kind of suspect. Yeah, you better see it. Oh, that's good. That's good. It's so good. And the absence was like illegal in the States because I know. Oh, yeah. It was illegal. You know the whole, like wormwood. And narcotic have you in to see the reality? Let's see. Let's see the skills, the execution. Okay. Okay. Okay. If you need a second career, I think you are right. Bam. Look at that. Mm-hmm. 'Cause I want all my stuff. If I could rinse it out, I would. Yeah. The saying is my first introduction to a Sanzarac. If I don't like Sanzarac, then she'll fall. If I do like Sanzarac. Right. This is my fault. And then you want to just squeeze a little lemon zest. The zest. The zest that loyal. You know, shh. I ain't going to lie, brother. You're doing a good, man. Right? Look at that color. Bruh. I think you're right. I got, let me get it from the body. You know, you can't touch the-- Yeah, you don't want to heat it up. You know, now, let me ask you something real quick. Is this one of those pink-y-ow situations? I say it's three fingers on the stem. Three fingers on the stem. You can do it. You won't get pinky, but three fingers on the stem. I got my three fingers. You don't have to see. Yeah, exactly. You get all three fingers on the stem. All right. Can we do that? Yeah. There's an A to life and health and wealth. Hello. Am I wrong? It's giving me sophistication. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. No, it's an elegance. Yes, yes. Unbothered. Unbothered elegance. No, this is actually really nice. Right? This is something I would just say if I'm just kicking back. I want to read or I want to like design. Just something just to relax and chill. You put me on something? No. See that? Hey, chill. No, don't ask me to make you no drink. Because I ain't, you know, that's not what I do. We say I do it. You do it in that way. What you gonna get is a single or double that's about it. Brothers at first, I want to say thank you for coming out to the house. This is really special for us. You know, I have always loved your work and respected what you do in this business. Thank you. And the fact that you have been doing it in this business for so long. I'm old. Don't say that because we're the same age. I'm not welcoming that or nobody. It seems like your wildest dreams are coming true in so many ways. While this dream is coming true, I think it comes down to intentionally switching my perspective to put more energy into the positive. Is that right? Oh, yeah. Yeah, because I mean, I've been in this business since I was three years old. Crazy. Not like, oh, yeah. I've wanted to be an actor. I've always known as an actor performer. But you've actually been booked. Man, I'm talking like foot of the loom commercials running around in my diapers. I'm talking Sesame Street for a couple of years. Yeah. I mean, we started in New York. So that's kind of where things really kicked off. It was, you know, my mom, my brother Edwin, who's also an actor. And now mom and Edwin, we all run a production company together. But yeah, back in the day, man, I'm just kind of hustling, hitting the ground, running, living between New York and Jersey. You know that struggle? Yeah. Talk about it. That Lincoln tunnel. Bruh. That Holland tunnel. Bruh. That GW bridge. Hold up. And when they shut down the Lincoln tunnel, you stuck. Guess I live here now. I remember one time the Pope came through and that's just, no. Like, you're not getting nowhere. And then there was another time I feel like they had like a scar or a threat or something like that. But they shut down the tunnel. You said then you can't go nowhere else. And if you're in the tunnel, you start to realize, well, if a leak happened in this roof, we all gonna be swimming. You forget that that's water. Right. Yeah, you are. That's it. Going through that tunnel is an ultimate, I feel like, exercise and what it means to surrender. It's an exercise in faith sometimes. Well, shoot, that's kind of the point of just surrender or you have no control over anything in any time. Except that which we respond to. How we respond. Yeah. Obviously, you know, uh, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is birthday just passed. I think one of the grandest lessons It's taken back from him in terms of why he was non-violent with his resistance. It's not a form of submission, it's not a form of weakness, obviously. The strength one has to have to be non-violent in the face of adversity. It shows your substance, your character, your resolve, letting the world know exactly who you are and showing exactly how much stronger you are than the hate that oppresses you. Let me just let you know, though, you know, how it couldn't be me. Well, I'm going to tell you what you didn't know. I would have been the one, they would have been the thawing hands. Can you get brother Evans doing the thawing hands? You're not going to be making this march with us on, too. So that's the thing that I respect so much. Because I would be like, "What the hell are you doing?" "You ain't throwing a gun, 'cause hold on." I wish you would. There's a couple of things I, you know, hey, look at Mama, hold myself back. I'm going to go with the groove. But say something about Mama. It's a rap. Hands on them. It's a rap. Say some things about me. Something about me and I'm going to slide. I'll never forget I must have been in kindergarten. I was outside and I was always the smallest of the group. So you were scrapping. You had to be and was in school in these kids in the neighborhood at the apartment we lived in called Mama. That's why your Mama's up there. Nope. And I was like, "Oh, okay, so I see you want to meet Jesus." Yeah, where is a rock? 'Cause I don't even find you there. I mean, I was like, "Rah, I ran home." Yeah. And I was like, "Mama, they outside." She said, "What are you so worked up about?" I was like, "I'm gonna kill them. I'm gonna fight everybody. I'm gonna fight day Mama's. I'm gonna fight day brothers." All of a sudden, I became like a young Muhammad Ali in the way that I talked. I don't know why I'm remembering it there. But she was like, "Baby, it does not matter what they call me." I was like, "Yes, it does." Dude, am I having it? I was like, "No." She was like, "Well then, fuck off." That's the whole parents do as I say now as I do thing. 'Cause let somebody say something about you. And you know your mama to this day. To this day? To you like, "I am a whole grown human being." But she out there trying to fight the fight at the time 'cause they ain't giving you no penis. So, you know what I'm saying? And you like, "It's not that serious. We don't have to get, I'll take the pretzels." What are you doing? I'm a parent now. You got a four year old. I understand my mother in a whole different way now because I try to be as peaceful and positive as I possibly can be, but I'll fight a kid about my daughter. I don't care. I'll fight a kid. I'll fight a kid. Wait! Out is that it's nowhere? I expect that. Yeah. You gotta let your kids grow and figure it out. And, you know, they gotta get tough. And maybe run around playing with other kids and all that kind of stuff. And you see this little boy going, you push your daughter down and it's like, "Father, you don't know what to do." It's go time. 'Cause as a man, you're like, "Oh no, we squabbin." Yeah. 'Cause as a dad, you're like, "He's five. He doesn't understand." He's five. But then as a man, you're like, "I'm being called to make him understand." Yeah. So, like, you know what, I might triple. I might steal his toy. I did it in the bush. He ran about like, "Bloom!" Got a kid, boom! No, no, I'm kidding. I'm kidding, but mostly. Watching you on cross? Mm-hmm, breath. The last time I saw you, I hadn't finished the season. Yeah. I hadn't gotten to the recital where the baby was playing piano. And then the three of us in the audience holding hands with the hands and the teeth. You shared a thug, didn't it? The one thug, tear? What? Man, I was like. I hit that Isaiah along with you. Yeah! It was so good. Honestly, man, Cross has been one of the highlights. One of the grandest highlights in my career just because we have a brilliant showrunner, Ben Watkins. Our writing team is incredible. Our fellow producers are amazing, but there's an understanding of how to approach the depiction of us and who we are in our truth without having to step back, you know, to appease ignorance is here and there. We have a freedom that feels light. Everything from the shades of the act of the performers who are on screen, the hair textures, the clothing that is worn, the music that you hear, the width that you drive. Hey, I'm not wearing a voice. It is really very, very cool to watch. And so in the vein of the show, we've got a little get to know you game we're calling. Is it a crime? I'm gonna have to play this game with my pinky out. Okay, okay. What is it a crime? Lying up to board when your group number has not been called. First of all, who's that petty? Guilty, who is that petty? Well, look, what you mean who is that petty? To say it's a crime or to do it? 'Cause I'm bored with one or two, no matter what. It could be eight on my ticket. I'm bored in one or two. I'm bored. Yeah, I got a peanut allergy. I got to get down a jet bridge. I got to get down a jet bridge and I got to wipe my stuff down. Ain't nothing worse than when you got to sit at your seat and your overhead, your luggage is about 15 rows back. 'Cause somebody on five bags all up in your little spot and then you out here like, hmm, it's real. I'ma say not a crime. And if it is, I'm guilty. It's close to a first offense. That's a misdemeanor, is that-- That's a misdemeanor. We're gonna call that a misdemeanor. Okay, yeah. I got four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. No, she ain't misdemeanor. Filming strangers for content without their consent. Yes, crime. It's just weird. There was a psychological term for this back in the day called stalking. I don't know if anybody like social media has desensitized the nature of what connection, communication and privacy is because people feel entitled to privacy. The idea that we should automatically regard one's privacy in our positions, we're public figures. So people just automatically think, "Yo, you know what I'm saying?" And usually it is. But like, also, if I can, I'm mid-bite, you know what? I'm mid-bite and you like this with the phone? It's in the approach. Can I take a picture? Yeah, like-- Are you already live on Instagram? No, that is not what you said. That's not what you said! With the gimmick got you. And now you got to get got. I'm gonna have to consult with my Heavenly Father spirituals just to see if I should lay these hands. The worst for me now is, obviously, when I'm out with family, like, there has to be a sense of respect. Yeah. I don't mind, like, in terms of genuine engagement with a fan, yo, I love the respect that they give me to give me the time and day. Yeah. But I'm also human being and people forget that you're a stranger. I was having this experience when I locked my hair. It ignited a kind of commentary and a need to let me know what people thought, in particular, of critique about the choice. And I was talking to a mentor of mine at the time, and I was sharing that I was having a hard time with some of this commentary. Yeah. They said to me, "You have to remember that you're meeting them for the first time, but you're in their home every night at 730, and you are giving way more of yourself these days and you ever having your career, so they do know you." You know, people have this thing when they feel so familiar with you, that they come up and they hit you. Hey, man, hey, man, people don't realize, I don't walk around in my head thinking, "I'm famous, you're right, man." True! If I see people in the corner of me mugging that someone run up and hit me, I need to see some teeth, you better put a smile on. Right, we've been to get it. I'm family building, TMZ. 'Cause I might've slammed Mr. Earl. All he wanted was autograph, but he didn't say that before he ran up on me. So now Mr. Earl got to get his ankles broke. Are you really gonna blame me? No. - What's up, neighbor? Count this as your reminder. To check and see if you have subscribed to the channel, because that little bitty action goes a long way for us. We have so many things planned for house guests and house party and want you to be a part of it. So come join the neighborhood of over 200,000 people who are already subscribed. Just hit it. Just check right now. Out way. Thank you. Back to the episode. - We're in natural deodorant to work. - Lock 'em up! - Who came up with these questions? Was it you? Here's what I'm gonna say. This feels like it comes from a very personal experience. Lock them. - What? - What is their name? - Whoever this person is. - Whoever you are. Whoever that person is. - You need an actress. It's not a hard breathe. It's just a regular breathe. It's just you who's walking by breathing. And you're like, oh my God. - 'Cause this is a real person for you. We all, when you ain't got to say the name, I know. - They know who they are. - All you gotta do is next time slide by 'em real quick. - Hit 'em with a what? - Get it, get it, get it. - Get some like the shape moisture. - The other way, just slide that to 'em. - 'Cause they have aluminum in it. - Aluminum, yeah, I mean, you don't know 'em. - Yeah, give me the countable, if I need the natural. - Ladies told me, she's like, oh I, under my arms, I just use a lemon wedge. I said, we know. - Like not a lemon wedge with some soap, just a lemon? - Just a lemon. This, it's not the odorant. - And it's an abuse of natural resources. (laughing) - Rejecting a hug from strangers. - So there's a lot of talk online right now about the, if I offer my hand, don't do the, I'm a hugger. - Respect the space. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - What if it's a real nice old lady? - Okay. - She's a hugger. - But she don't use the odorant. She use lemon wedges. - Ooh, where you stand on that? - You're gonna break this out the heart. - Here's what I'm gonna say. - If Ms. Ethel is residue free, I'm a hug. - Sometimes it is a Roma. - Well usually it's the juggle between flesh. - It's the, it's a lie. - It's a woo. - I'm gonna talk in between the, I, I'm very much a not a touchy person. You know, I don't really like to be touchy. If I don't know you, I'm not the, you know, hey, hey, hey, you know. But sometimes people take their liberties. That's why I'm much, you know, let me see that, you know what I'm saying? - Yeah, I'll, you can be a nun. We gonna dapp it up. - Oh, okay. - Using your partner's toothbrush. - Crime. - I ain't no way in hell. - Crime. - No, no. - Your mouth? - Inside your mouth? - No. Gordy, use your toothbrush and you got bits or ramen from somebody else up in there. You're saying chicken bits. Like I don't, I don't want all of them. Is this chicken bits? Sometimes stuff gets stuck in the brain and it's disgusting. I'm sorry, like there's gotta be a line. That's a hell no. It's a no. That's a hell no. Seasoning your food before tasting someone's home cook meal. You know, you get your plate made. They've been working all day and all night. They got you, you plate it up, you're real nice. Right before you hit the table, you hit them with a quick, quick, quick, skin, skin, skin, skin, skin, skin, skin. I don't always report this, okay? But I do not think it is a crime. But some folks who go to their house and you know, good and damn well, they don't know how to use no season. You know, that's saw in the Pepper Package it been closed since they bought it six months ago. Some people don't even understand. They can't even spell kind. So, Pepperica is not just your homies name. - Pepperica and Pechard run the gap. - Pepperica and Pechard. - In journalism, is it considered the source? - Yeah, it considered the chef. - The way you put the stuff in the pot and then put it on the plate, that's gonna need some more of that. - 'Cause sometimes the food is actually looking at you saying, "Please, please, I don't want to season." - I don't want you to experience me like this. - Look at me, I'm chicken, I'm dry as hell. You know, good and well. - Yeah. - I ain't no flavor up here but chalk. - Look, you know, see, you got the whole, okay? You know what's up? - We're not playing no games. - And look, we still got room for more. - As long as you know how to use them. - Even if you don't. - Even if you don't. - Try it. 'Cause if you didn't cook the whole meal up over here and you didn't open this not one good time, maybe. We even got to sit down, I'm gonna go ahead and re-jush that. The good prophetess, Oprah Winfrey. - Yes. - Once had a woman cooking on her show. She made a boiled chicken. - I'm real quick, hold on, boiled and chicken. That should never go together. - It was among the dishes prepared on this particular name. - Okay. - And our good aunt. - Cut into the chicken, she said. - Do we season the chicken? It puts out a pepper on it and she said, oh no. - The only thing that should be boiled is eggs, okay? If you come at me with any kind of proteins, meats, or whatever that's been boiled, we have a problem on the site. - What is it, the sous-vie? - Sous-vie is different. - Yeah, I was gonna say, if you wanna sous-vie, go ahead. Get your scales up. - Yeah, but if you just boil it. - Think about it like this. One of my kids was like, man, I got some boiled steak. - That sounds like you just took 10 years of my life. - For no reason. - We immediately have to fight. - Don't boil no meats, okay? - Just don't do it. - I need y'all to learn, please. - It's real simple. - Smoke, grill, fry, bake. - I'm ready to eat, and then nothing that's been boiled. - Good, 'cause I'll tell you, if you hit me with some boiled chicken, we fight. - You got to worry about that over here. - Shall we one more? - You know what? - Let's one more. - Okay, let's do it. - Okay. (upbeat music) - Don't flex on people with you. - No, man. - You desert foliage. You know, you're nice pool situation back there. You know, I got a pool too of my place, okay? - So next time your place, is that what you're saying? - No, no, no, no. My pool is in my bathroom. It serves a dual purpose as a tub. - Oh, it's a bathtub. - See, you're going to put some respect. - On my bathtub. - On my amenities at my residence. - I got water at my house too. - I do, all right? - How would you describe? - Your childhood, I know that you started in the industry very young. But like, what about the family dynamic? I know that your parents were Marines. What did that look like growing up? Did you move a lot? - In the beginning we moved around a little bit. It's born on the base in North Carolina. - Oh wow. - And it's right after I was born, we were stationed in kind of like, in Hawaii. - In Hawaii? - You know, I know who. - What was that like? - That's the trouble. - There was one time, at first we lived like right up on the ocean. I don't know, me and my brother. - Duncan Swim, two and three years old or whatever, but for some reason, we got the idea to pick up everything that we could carry at that point and throw it out the back in the ocean. See if it could float. - Okay. - I'm talking about couch cushions, things like that. - Oh. - My mama's ID, key military ID, I think we're here. We had a time. - Did y'all get weapons? - We got what? I felt the weapon that happened. - No, we got what? - I brought my mama with me, she could tell you. - Did he got what for that one? - Go ahead mama. - Speak to the people. - No, speak to the people. - Sister, don't involve me in this, I told him. And were you through the military ID in the water? - Rob. - Baby? - Are you the middle? - I'm the middle child, yeah. - Is your brother your sister? - He's a year and a half older, my sister's 10 years younger than me. - Okay. - I had a nice childhood, a good childhood. As I've got older and I realized what my mom had to deal with on her own because we were in a single parent household. I realized how rough it was. - Yeah. - We got one child with a tribe around you. - Exactly. And she was by herself. So, you know, we went through and survived a lot of things. We had been through about, I think, three bouts of homelessness, got through it. We used to live in our car at a point. - A mother's superpower, they had this way of shielding us from some of the most treacherous. Did you know that that was the situation? Did you know that it was as bad as it was? - What's the toughest it was? - There were some struggles that we dealt with that. Initially, you're like, "Oh, this is fine." But then you grew up and you're like, "Oh, nah, this wasn't cool." My mom really did need help. As a kid, all I knew was that supposed to be here to help mom deal with the tough times because we were all we had. - Right. When you look back, you're actually hold on a second. That was those scenarios were way graver. - Yeah. - Then we had any idea as kids. - Exactly. - I've talked about this comparison of that in my life between a blender, a glass blender, and a plastic blender. When we had a glass blender, I was like, "Wow, we're rich." We had a plastic blender, I was like, "Uh-oh, things must be." It must be pretty rough right now. There was a time where circumstances led to us not having our own home. And we moved in with her little brother. During that, it was like, "Oh, man, I live with my cousins." - Meanwhile, your mama's sitting there trying to figure out how to get up out as quick as possible. - Pregnant. - Hmm. - Mom. - And looking back, it was like, "Man, I can't imagine what that must have been like for her." For a parent who has to deal with that, that remark of strength to be able to create and cultivate a positive environment within the nucleus of something that is-- - Yeah. - Just essentially not that. - Not that. - And for us, we always had that. Like, even to the point of living in the car, remember my own. My perception of that was like, "We're on a road trip." It was fun. Yeah, you know what I mean? - Wow. - I remember times where-- - Wow. - Like, when we were a house in between New York and Jersey for work, and we didn't have a car at the time, but we did have a place to stay. When we get off the bus back in Jersey, it'd be nighttime too. I don't know if you remember this mob, but like, find like a shopping cart from the grocery store. Shop right cart. And she put my brother in my-- and myself in it, and push us all the way home. And, you know, we're just living there. We're living our best life. Well, we get to ride all the way home, and I realize how many blocks it is, how dangerous it is. You know, and she doing what she got to do. All of that sort of built up my fortitude, I guess, for certain things. Almost at a point now where I'm like, man, things I complain about today are the things that I would have-- - Well, how did you dream? - Far from, you know, 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago. - Yeah. - So it helps shape your perspective to understand your blessings in the midst of what seems like adversity, and also gives you a sense of your strength of what you can make it out of. I tell kids, you're not a product of your environment. It's a product of you, because you've got to learn how to use the tools around you to create what your reality is. - Right. - If given the chance, would I want anything in my childhood to have changed? - Absolutely not. - No. - I would have gone with the glass blender a couple more times. - You think the glass blender? - I don't go with the glass blender a couple more times, but I totally understand what you're saying. It's like who you are now is a result of all of that recipe, all of those ingredients in the recipe. If you weren't acting, was there another path for you, was there something else you wanted to do, or did you were interested in? - I was aiming towards architecture. - Really? - Yeah. As a kid, I always had grand ideas about different things. I always had a natural sort of inclination to great construction of any particular thing. Whether it's a house or car, just the idea of focusing on the minutia of details to create something beautiful. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I never thought that I would have enough money to just buy certain things. So I said, let me just make it. - To be able to design something, come up with something like the belief that you can have, the exercise of being able to see it. Also know that you're into herology, herology. What's your mama think about that? What is herology? - And what it sounds like, okay? - I mean, it sounds pretty. - Herology is the study of time telling in the art of watchmaking. - Oh, say it again. - Horology. - Sound different when you say it. - See, horror, the Greek. - Horror. - Greek word for time and then herology is the study. - Got it. - How you spell it? - Was it, this is how it would age? - Oh, an age. - Uh-oh. - Okay, well, I'm still corrected. - G-Y. - Herology to me is equally architecture. - Yeah. - When I was a kid, I was interning at an architecture firm from 13 to 15. - What? - Yeah, it's a program that my mom put my brother and I in. Group of these young black college students, you know, in the early '20s or whatnot, but they were, you know, giving their time to young brothers. And when we were coming up, we got access to certain programs. So it came to architecture. Obviously that's something that I already had in the '84, but I thought, It was just gonna be like, you know, you go by, you see what's happening and you know, they just show you some slides and you're out. But we actually worked on like blueprints and building models and things like that. Yeah, that was really impactful because it kind of gave a sense of oh yeah, you can actually do what you choose to do. - You get to experience it in your head. - Yeah, and for me, design was my language because I was never really great with people or great with talking. - Yeah, I'm still not in the behind. (laughing) - How are we really at it? - I am an extroverted introvert. - You get into situations where you have to be personable but you would much rather be back home. - I'm more like answering pretty, pretty, yeah. - Wow, okay. - 'Cause I'm a nerd, bro, I'm the, you know. - I enjoy, I'm excited too. - Is it not too close? - That's kind of why I started like, stand up comedy. I started that when I was 11 years old. And I used to, like I used to host shows at the improv. - The improv at the comedy club, the improv? - Yeah, yeah. - You started hosting shows at what age? - So I started doing stand up at 11. I started hosting shows at 13 and I would run that until I was about like 17, 18. - Yeah, but I did that because it helped me learn how to kind of conquer some of my anxieties a little bit. - Which maybe also informs how or why you are particularly skilled the way that you are. It's because you've been doing this and been in it for some time. - You know, we've figured out a way to fashion out a bit of longevity and kind of survive but you gotta stay moving, you gotta continually evolve. - Just one of the most successful shows on Amazon ever. - Again, that's a lot of things coming together that have absolutely nothing to do with me to help put me in that position. You know, along with the, you know, work put in, you know, it takes the belief of, you know, somebody like Ben Watkins would say, "Not out of this, this is the guy that I want for this and you know, standing behind me in that." The work that I did prior for them to look at and say, "Okay, you can manage and handle this." Everything builds you up for what your intended goal is in the future as long as you understand how to use it in your favor. And with design, I was so instill am so akin to design because that is my language. That's how I talk to the world. That's how I learn and how I, to a degree, sort of reaffirm my relationship with myself. Like, who am I in this space? 'Cause I constantly have to study the world, study the flow of not only good design, but the relationship that people have with things, with their items. You stay astute to the identity. Yes. The reason I'm a watchmaker is because. Well, you actually make watches? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Watches? Yeah, yeah. The reason I don't have one on my wrist right now is 'cause the one I'm developing is still in development. We shouldn't be done about this yet, but it takes, like, that one we've been working on for about like five years, working on a watch. Yeah. I don't. I'm new to it. Herology is new to me. I wear watches. So I'll tell you. I love a timepiece. I used to get into the factory, you know, fabricating components, you know, making little parts in here. It's tough for me to get to my machines these days, but what I do is I design, I compose, and then I have my teams at the factory work on co-developing the movement, fabricating parts and pieces, and then we do a lot of testing to make sure, obviously, you don't wanna make sure it works succinct. So you make watches. Everybody's like, "Where's the watch?" I'm like, "It takes a long time." And, you know, I've developed some things before that I wasn't happy with, so they will never see the light of day. Ah, no, we need to see something. I'll show you what I'm working on on the phone. I can't show everybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but I wanna see it. You know what I mean? I do wanna see that. I'm very curious, 'cause, like, the pieces in a watch are so small, I lose batteries for the watch. You get your in game, 'cause when you're sitting there working on, like, deconstructing the movement and then trying to reassemble, every time you unscrew something, you're gonna lose a piece or two. You gotta learn to listen, 'cause you can't see it. You gotta hear where it dropped. And then you sitting down around like, "Nope, hey." You get stronger at years. Ain't no way. Next time you're in New York, hit me up. Because I am on the board of a foundation called HSNY, Oralogical Society in New York, one of the ICD oldest oralogical society in the country. We give classes on disassembly and reassembly of movements. You don't want me in there. Trust me. I'm gonna just tell you right now. I'm gonna tell you. Get you low, you know what I'm saying? Get you low tweezers. If they know you invited me to the club, you got to go to. I'm the blood. I got fat fingers. I have a hard time faying things to you. I have things to do, you know what I'm saying? When people ask me about you, your personality, when they ask me about you in this business, I always describe you as Superman. Right, like I would tell you. I was saying to someone else, I was like, "He should be the next Superman." DC MC. Back up now. Back up. Back up now. We need you, but I'll take you out. Me, as you are. Yeah, exactly. That means, you know how much bigger I be if it get me? You know they say that bees can remember your face. Oh, they're patty. Yeah. They're like, "Oh, he don't want." See? See? Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. The message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything goodness world stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpay no judgments, but that's weird. OK, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at MintMobile.com/switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate for three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at MintMobile.com. Back up. You know, if you like just chill, most like me, he's just going kick it. OK. What do you mean? They don't. That's my homie right now. Do you like bees? No, I'm just saying. That's how you touch me energetically. I'm just saying it. Oh, yeah. Well, are you allergic? Yes. Oh, wow. That's what did you see this? I was throwing both. You know what? Literally. I want to take this moment. Oh, I just talked publicly. Apologize. Oh, now you're sorry. In front of the whole world. OK. I did not know your life was at risk. Yeah. And I don't have my wheel together here. What do you need? A happy pen, a happy Zoom. Yeah. A happy Dirt or something. A Dirt. Something. I'm going to need something. Because I'll be here, dude. Fix it, Lord. Take the wheel. What would you say was your big break. The thing that really kind of changed as far as acting for you. The hard question to answer because of how the business operates internally. And everything for me has been a gradual sort of, no, it's like a slow car. But it's been a gradual growth, right? Yeah. Yeah. I never felt like I had the big break because I never felt like I had that. The experience of what I thought a big break was where you do that one role. And boom. You're often in everything. And you know, boom. The industry is behind you. Right. Everything has been hard earned. Well earned. Nothing felt like it came with ease. So the closest thing to a big break, I guess, would be I would say crosses in terms of introducing people to me. As I would like to be seen, you know, stepping into this new space. And I also say that, you know, to represent and speak to the other actors out there who are in this process and waiting for that big break to really kind of set them off. But not realizing that they're in that, you know, sometimes a big break comes step after step after step. And they're in their process. And all I say is just just keep faith in whatever your process is. So long as it's serving, you know, your highest in a good. Yeah. So then what was it like to hit the Wayne, the rock Johnson in the face? When you popped in one good time, you could take it. He got the kind of job you could just, you know, I hit that man for real. Not one time. It's funny though, because, you know, we're going to set the one thing you start thinking about is like, if I do hit him, what happens? I know I'm going to be fired. If I hit the rock, this is my last day. This is going to be a situation. They're just going to AI the rest of the day. They're going to AI the whole day. They're going to AI the rest of the day. No, but it was cool there, because I fought the rock. Right? I say, I fought. I'm going to see it. I fought the rock, fought Tom Cruise. And visible man, I fought myself. You know, this hasn't dropped yet, but, you know, just wrapped up Roadhouse too, fought Jake Jellinhal. I mean, who else I need to fight? Who else am I going to fight? Come on, then, I'll get a piece, you know what I'm saying? Come on. Let's get it. Talk to me about the costumes, the situation for it. When you saw what you were going to be wearing for the first time, you were like, okay, so we going, is this a no-carb diet? There was definitely a body suit. It was a heavy one. It was like about 35 to 40 pounds. The suit was 35 pounds? You have to stay conditioned just to run around in your suit. Geez. But I was actually very proud of it just because I grew up on graphic novels. I'm a big superhero head, you know, I mean, anime, all that kind of stuff. Yeah. So I'm in it. The big thing is always, are you going to do the superhero movie? How does the costume look? That's the first question. Drop the costume. And I ain't going to lie. A lot of the fans went crazy to say, oh, they got that right. I'm like, cool. That's all they need. Please tell me that you've got videos on your phone when you, like you, you in your dress room, you just like, yeah. Nah. Nah, bro. Nah, bro. Nah, bro. Nah, bro. What? It might be one or two. It was far, because the moment you put it on, you're like, wow, this is really like, yeah. This is me. This is dope. And then you take the second thought and you're like, oh, I need to work out a lot more. Because it's showing a lot, you know? A lot. You feel exposed. If you could pick another of the like graphic novel or DC or Marvel universe, you could pick anybody. Who would you pick? That's a tough one, man. I would say Bishop. What? Oh. There's also Blue Marvel. But Bishop is. Bishop would be fire. Bishop is fire. Bishop is amazing, man. Especially Bishop's chronology as it relates to the storyline. Yeah. You know, because it all leads up to that and then, you know, you kind of go back to sort of a beginning of a source. When I hear Bishop, I also see Vampire and Brooklyn. And I don't know why. I'm like, is that Bishop or is that any Murphy? Vampire and Brooklyn. Respect to Vampire and Brooklyn. That was fire. Fighting. And, you could name Hardison. Like, it was there. There's a new Vampire. But what it was is my man had to finger wave money. Got it. And he put about two, three styles together. He made whatever that was. It was a Jerry curl. It was a Jerry curl mother. Yeah, Jerry curl mother. With the weight. And that's how they always depict Bishop. But like, you know, we could graduate Bishop's hair. Y'all got to remember. You know, he came out in the early 90s. Well, you got to do water flashback with the Jerry curl. You got to do it. Here's the thing. Jerry curl is a person of safety hazard. If he's a superhero, he's going to know these things, right? You want to run with a fire hazard, you know, on your head. Well, you know, somebody, you know, try to light up a cigarette. They go to your whole front line. Your hair line going. Everything puts back. This season for Cross, I think a lot of people are excited for the show and where you go, where this investigative team kind of goes. I'm so glad that the team is intact. Are they? Are they? You going to have to watch? I'm going to just tell you like this. Don't get comfortable, man. You're not going to read wetness. I'm not saying all that. I'm just saying. Because I'm going to tell you when the kids was in the kitchen. Yeah. Like, hands on the grattle. Yeah. With the hands and the this. And I said, please don't let the babies. Please don't kill the babies. I'm going to do that to y'all in the first season. Not the first season. You see, but all bets are off second season. No, as I can see, for me, it's great just because there's a lot of characters that people love that we get to dive into their backstories even more. Yes. For anybody that does love the book, they get a much more intimate look into the lives of some others and we get to see how it's all intertwined. Last year, Samson and Cross, they had a little bit of smoke. It was a lot of smoke. But they stay. They're brothers and arms. They should, they might run into some things. Oh God. What? They brothers and arms. Okay. You know. He said you had me a motherfucker. That's right. First of all, first of all, we're going to shout out Isaiah Mustafa. That's my little right there. We have such a great time on that set, man. Just because obviously we love our work and environment. We love our people. And just sort of the creativity of where the show goes. Like we're always sort of itching to read whatever that next script is. And you know what I mean? Obviously, we wait to see it. We still alive. Right. Because the ladies be on Cross too. They be on them. Cross got his own situation. You know, when it comes to the whole romantical side, man. Yeah, he's not really available. He went through a lot of that first season. He did. He did some space. You know, he got some help. Because when I was in the doorway. Yeah. And things were getting hot and heavy. I said, "Oh, shoot, here we go." He said, "Hold on, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." I said, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." - Not. - Yes. - I was talking to TV. I said, "Whoa, whoa, wait, no ground." - Cross it, "Hey, just hold me." I'm not ready. Can you just hold me? (laughs) - Actually, I mean, I love that because we get to show the vulnerability of some of these situations where you would think otherwise, like, "No, that's not, but, hey." - A man's vulnerability is complex. - Exactly. - Exactly. - This season is incredibly exciting and daunting in so many different ways because outside of us and who we are, the characters that the people really know, the characters we get to introduce this season, they got a whole lot going on. - Oh, man. - I'm not gonna lie. When I watched the season, I was surprised. I surprised myself. I'm like, "I was there." I said, "I knew this side." Where the story starts off, where we get all the way to the end, there's a moment that happens where I got so wrapped up. And I was like, "Bro, you crying? What is happening?" You'll see, there's a lot of emotional contacts going through this season in a brilliant way. I was surprised at how much of a reaction it got out of me because I didn't realize I was like, "Oh, I wanted this closure, "or I wanted this understanding this entire time." - Well, I'm not saying if it goes favorably or not, I'm just saying that-- - That had it wrapped up. - There are so many storylines here that pull you in. And then once you get where we get to at the season finale, you're like, "Oh, it all makes sense, "but that was a hell of a ride." - I also love that the show, for the cast, is a surprise that you all don't even learn about what's happening to your characters until the very, very, very last moment. And so that those reactions, those performances are grounded in some realities. - So then does that on purpose? - Ain't gonna let you know. I mean, I'm like, "Man, I got to know." - Come on, man, you got to tell me. - They're like, "I got to know something." - You can know something. - We shoot it. - Exactly. So many things are held back until the table read, and then you got people, boom, boom, boom, boom. We're gonna run it through it. And then sometimes at the table read, you'll have pages where they're completely redacted. So we don't know. - What? - That's why shooting this season was nuts because we're sitting there. I'm like, "Okay, we got to see the shoot up on Friday." I'm like, "What happened?" You know what I mean? And then we get our pages and it's like, "Oh, now obviously I got a little insight." But when you see that, and you see how excited they are to watch the show because now they're like, "Oh, this is good." - It really happens. - This season, curve balls you ain't never going to expect. - Oh god. - I'm like, "Am I ready for another curve ball in my life?" - I'm telling you, you ready? - I'm gonna do it the first one. You can make it through the second one. Stick with me. - You ready to play a game? - Let's play a game. - Well, what am I playing? - You're gonna play a game. - Oh, right, oh, right, oh, right. - Well, we're known. - Okay, so we're gonna play a little game called Sketchy Connection. - Hi. - Now, we're playing this because I know that you are an artist. - I try to be. - And I am not. - Debatable. - So we've got two clues that we're gonna draw, right? And then we have to reveal. And then you're trying to guess like, "Okay, you know what you have, I know what I have." What's the commonality that our things have? - You know what, let's get it. 30 seconds I'll tell you is probably not gonna go. Okay. - All right. Dr. Pampabane, I really have to make you a little bit darker. ♪ It's good and I do do ♪ - Ooh, this is gonna be terrible. Is that where it goes? - Time. - Oh, man. - This looks really bad. - I'm nervous. - You ready? - No, you're worried about it. - One, two, three. - All right. - I'm sorry. - Exactly. - I'm sorry. - That's what I'm telling you. - I'm sorry. - And it's really bad if I can finish. - Oh, no, turn it back around. - I can finish what I was. - Okay, so if I had to guess what that was. - No. - And you said it's not what I think it is? - Absolutely not. - Do you know what I have? - You have a quarter. - Yes, I have one quarter. - I got 10 seconds on the clock. - Let me know when it's time to go. - All right, cool. - Does it get any better? Let's see, five, four, three, two, one. - All right. - I don't know if I got any better. - Oh, if that didn't get any better. - It didn't get any better. - That's a uterus. - It is absolutely not. - That's an ad-dropping on a uterus. - What you're getting at the thing that we're gonna cut this part out, you know. - What's 25 cents in a uterus? - No, but it's not a uterine. I can't give you a clue of, you know, like, I mean, what could that be? - I can't give you a clue, I can tell you. - 'Cause that's not gonna help me. - You know, like, say if this is a tab, you gotta pull it up. - Oh, that's a zipper. - Oh, nice. - Wow. - I had time for the details. - In the words of the prophet Whitney Houston, I could believe what you feel. - Okay, thank you. - A quarter and a zipper. - Quarter and a zipper. - What's the thing that those two things have in common, a quarter and a zip? - A zip. - Zip it up. - Quarter zip. - It's a sweatshirt. - A quarter zip. - It's a quarter zip, that sweatshirt. - A quarter zip. - You know, it's like this if you had a zipper. - Well, you see the shape that it makes right there is to see, you know what I mean? - I do see what you're saying here. - What we're gonna do is delete this part of the segment. - Okay. - Okay, clock starts. (keyboard clicking) - Well, I think this will be, you'll get this one. - I feel like I have redeemed myself. - I feel like I did too. - You ready? - Yeah, okay, I'm ready. I'm ready. Okay. - I see an elephant. - And I see trash. Trash box. - Or? - Is it Neenie leaks? - Wait, I trashed, I trashed, but I didn't mean it. - She told Kim Zoziac, she was like trashy. Trash box. Close your legs to married men. Trash box. - But what's another name for a trash box? A trash can. - A trash can? - What is this? - Okay, that's trash. - What's another name for it? - Rubbish. - Rubbish. - Another name for it. - You know what? It was every fancy name, that's trash. (laughs) - It's a rubbish. - It's a trash. - Throw away disposable. Recyclable. - What is another synonym for trash? Discarded. - Garbage. - Garbage. - Oh wow. - Wow. - So then what is that? - That's a garbage can. - All right, so. - You said this is a what? - An elephant, right? - Yeah, but think about older. - A mammoth. - Yes. - Mammoth like. - It's mammoth like. - So an elephant. Elephant, garbage. - Elephant, elephant, elephant. - Trash ass. - You're talking about the trash itself. - You old garbage ass. Trash. - I'm assuming this is a slur. - TV show. - TV show. - A garbage with a manic. - Elf. - Is it Elf? - Assassin's Street. (gasps) - Snuffa Lovagus. - Yeah, and Grouch, I'll get a Grouch. - Oh, hey, all right. See, I should've known this. Good see, you know what I was saying? - So that cause you was on Assassin's Street. - I hate them myself. - Do you believe that Snuffa Lovagus is an imaginary, that nobody else must see Snuffa Lovagus? - I used to work with Snuffa Lovagus, okay? I know Snuffa Lovagus in these streets is real. - You ready for this one? - I'm ready. - Okay, start the clock. - All right. (clock ticking) - Oh God. A panic. - Oh, it's so terrible. - You know what? - I think I had to be nothing more than that. Boom. - You need to remember that I'm in the abstract. - That was all good, I'm with you. I'm in the abstract myself. - It's okay. - Think Dali-esque. - Really? - One. - I'm out the lose, that's what that meant. - Two. - Ready? - Three. (clock ticking) - Hmm. - So you have a clock? And I have. Just think things you're thinking of. Like what comes in my first? Just like, shout 'em out. Like don't even think about it too hard. - Benjamin Button when he's old. - Yeah, yeah, which would be a what? What would he be? - Um, like, ooh, ah, mm. Might refer to this person as a. - The Joker. - Hmm. - What I'm picking up here is and unfortunately. (laughs) - Unpleasant-looking human being. - Well, but they are very pleasant. - Or as my mom would say. - It's some of my favorite people. - She's peculiar looking. - I don't think you want to focus on she. - Ah. - That's grandfather. - Grandfather clock. - Is it? - Yeah. - That's what it. - All right. - So you said a two out of three. - All right, I got a three. - A two out of now. - Okay, we go see. - Okay, here we go. - Boom. - How'd it heal? (clock ticking) - Um. - Okay. - Okay. I think I got this. - You're not gonna get this. - I think you're gonna get this. - Let me see. - What? - Maghalla. (clock ticking) - What? - You just got Maghalla. - No, what was yours, clue? - Mine was supposed to be red carpet. - That is supposed to be a red carpet. - I was trying to make Jerome Hodge cameras and a poster. - I couldn't pull. - What is the arrow? - The carpet. - That looks like a stream. You're pointing to like a forest in a stream. If you use your imagination. - You got to put some phone down to imagine me. - Believe. (laughing) - Because see, I mean, I'm saying. - Yes, you got a clue. - And a window. - Yes. - Exactly. - How was I supposed to get this carpet? - Is a scheme. - What happened? - Set up by Todd. - I don't know how I feel about that. - I feel like I did my job. - I feel like I'm sensing some hostility. - Yeah, just a little. - From this area over here. - Yep. - Right here. - Because somebody gave you a clue is what we call hate knowing a boy, right? (laughing) - Met Gala. - Who are the coaches this year? - I believe Beyonce. - In terms of theme. Have they even given a clue? - Costume art. Isn't that what it always is? - What would you want the Met Gala thing to be? - Black. (laughing) - Just do it again, just run it back. - I think if I wanted to hit on a thing, it would be something like, I don't know, founding principles. Like the thing that launched these artists and launched these brands. What is the thing that they're known for? Focus on that. - Oh. - It would be the signature. - That's actually a really good theme, signature style. - I would love 'cause you get interpret that with depending on what designer in so many different ways, so many different looks, so many different approaches to fashion. - Yeah. - That's actually a, so much of right down there. I'm like, hey, and if you looking for a theme, you might want it. - Hey, tell her now, let your boy. 'Cause here's the thing. As conceptual artist, as a creator, innovator. Your whole thing is based off of your signatures, your DNA, right? What can people tell about you without you even having to open your mouth, say anything? I would love to see some of these grand brands, go back to the roots of celebrating the iconography of the thing that they are known for. - You know what I would say is your signature style? - What is man best in the business, bruh? This has been such a pleasure. - Thank you. - And I guess you won that if it's best out of three. - I'm just saying, you know, you know. Somebody might say you had excellent clues, and maybe you might have thrown us for a loop. - That is an excellent clue. - With red carpet. - I didn't know how to get to the red on the thing. I feel like I'm being judged. - It don't look like a red carpet when it is in my mind. - Yeah. - That's what I'm trying to say. - That is a horrible picture, though. - No, so when have we get a degree, that was my field. - Yeah, you set me up with that. - That's the one, though. - Yeah. - That's all that matters to you. - I guess. - Technically is the one. - To the art community sees this. (laughing) ♪ Maybe we'll live, maybe we'll cry ♪ ♪ But best believe we'll have a time ♪ ♪ Hey neighbor, come inside ♪ ♪ Musical guests stand a little perspective ♪ ♪ I've seen the stars in a new life ♪ ♪ Hey neighbor, hey neighbor ♪