Jennifer Morrison and Us | Cassidy Sharp

Welcome to a very special episode of That Was Us. It's special for a lot of reasons. One, if you are watching now, you are seeing a solo Chris Sullivan introducing this episode. You might think, "Well, wow, maybe Mandy is at home with a neurovirus because living with three children under the age of six is a constant biohazard and sterling must be off in New York City promoting the new season of paradise." But no, they are actually at home watching this episode of That Was Us on Hulu. Yeah, they're like, "We can't wait. It was released early because this episode is now available every Monday, one day early, exclusively on Hulu." Now don't get me wrong, nothing else is changing. These episodes are still available on Tuesdays anywhere you get your podcasts. So don't worry about that. If you like it the way it is, you can have it the way it is. So now I am here to introduce the episode on my own, which, you know, I kind of like. It's kind of nice. If you're watching, it's like Masterpiece Theater with Sully. And I can say whatever I want. I can throw to whoever I want. I can throw to sterling and we can show you an empty shot of nobody sitting there. What do you think, Sterling? Ah, the best answer he's ever given. No, but today's episode is also very special because we are interviewing Jen Morrison, the Jen Morrison actor, director. And that's what we do on this podcast. If you're just joining us on Hulu, maybe for the first time, welcome to the family. We usually go through the episodes, you know, we talk about the themes, but sometimes we interview people from the show, whether it's actors, guest stars, stars, writers, creators of the creator of the show, Dan Fogelman, because a lot of our back catalog also available on Hulu. Go check them all out. But today is Jen Morrison. It's an incredible interview. Welcome to that with us, a head gum podcast now available exclusively one day early on Mondays on Hulu. So we have another very, very special episode this go round. I'm excited that we're kind of, you know, peppering in our rewatch with a lot of our favorite cast members and crew members. And this lady is no exception. We've been trying to get around the podcast for many moons now. Long time. But she is very busy and she finally had like a hole in her schedule. Jennifer Morrison is joining us today. Please Cassidy on our show. That's right. For the last two seasons, right? Three seasons. Four, five and six. Three seasons. Four, five and six. I love quadrangle. That is Cassidy, Zoe, Kevin, and Nicky, I'm telling you Nicky and Nicky. And Nicky. There's all sorts of things. Will they won't they? How's it all going to play out? And she comes in. You get a chance to see just from the conversation. She's just a dope human being, you know, who's been doing this thing for a long time. Has a lot of expertise and knowledge and passion and just a joie de vivre that is infectious. Yeah. And you get to hear the word inculcated. Inculcated. Inculcated. Yeah. Inculcated. Yeah. I love a new word. It's rare you hear a new word that you've never heard before. Yeah. You know what we'll have to do? We'll have to play Scrabble sometimes. OK. I don't think I want to. Although I'd like to learn. His eyes just went like sharp eyes when he said Scrabble. He says, you know what we should do? We should play. Scrabble sometimes. You have the voice, Jane. Or not. Or not. It's hard. We'll learn new words. We'll learn. How are you? Well, so listen. I play on New York Times. They have this thing called Crossplay, which is basically like Scrabble for people who have the times up. And I get blasted all the time. Do you play with friends or the computer or random people? But it's a random person? No. Like anybody else who has the app, they can say like, hey, find somebody who's in my same skill category and then you and and we have wonderful games. Like the old words with friends. Same sort of thing. But with strangers. Yeah. Words with strangers. Yeah. We'll put it to the side from now and then we'll have Jennifer come in and you guys see a wonderful conversation. Am I right that you're a voice and frozen to? Yes. Yeah. I was like, I've seen it 14,000 times and I was like, that's sterling. Yeah, that's for 10 and the tears for that ass. For that ass. For that ass. Was that one of the lines? Yeah. Yeah. That's one of the lines. It was a very Disney episode. No. For that ass. Oh, God. Oh, God. I've spent a lot of time watching Disney movies and Paw Patrol. Yeah. This is our life. Chase is on the case, baby. Yeah. A rebel on the devil. No doubt. I love his Paw Patrol. That was the jam. There are certain shows that I actually miss. I will tell you the biggest one. Yeah. And I don't even know if you guys, you guys may have missed this one because of like the kids. It's great. It's very good. It's got a lot of classical music. Music. It's a lot of music. There's like an instrument guru guy. There's a girl who always comes up with dances to everything and they feature like a classical song like of every week or whatnot and it's oh, we gotta get it back in the rotation. It was in the rotation for a long time. It's worth. It's worth introducing to your kids. You guys in particular would love little lines. Last night, if and I came back around to an episode of Bluey called Sleepy Time. Oh my god. Sleepy Time is the Pulitzer Prize. I'm not I'm not a, a P body. It is sterling. Like I you have to watch the seven minute episode of a cartoon that deserves an Academy Award. I will watch it and learn it. We like occasionally get little bits of Bluey, but she does she's not quite like she's in keyed into it. Like she likes to care. The characters two and a half. She likes to characters. She hasn't like keyed in where like that's the thing she wants. She wants Paw Patrol and she wants Everest from Paw Patrol. Okay. Everest is not an every episode. You know what? Episode Everest is in season five episode 21. That's what you got to know as a pair. You have that one episode on Laserdisc. We have it on Bluey Ray. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my nephew fell in in love with this episode of Barney. Like any time we tried to change it to something else, like he would freak out and we'll just watch the same one over and over again. Kids, man. They're just trying to work something out. They're trying to work some shit out. We're leaving all of this in Clemson gentlemen. Welcome to that with us. We have a very special episode. Do you like to introduce our guest? I will introduce our guest because you guys put me on the spot many moons ago and made me cold call our guests on speaker phone. She answered. And she answered because she is an angel on this earth and was like, hi, like just thought we were going to chat because we're dear friends and we love each other. But meanwhile, you guys were like, we have a question you should call Jen and you picked up the phone and and we've been trying to get you on this podcast forever because you're the best and we have so much to talk to you about. But it's Jen. So happy to be here. She got the monochrome memo. I did. Yes. Yeah. If you're not watching this podcast and you're just listening, this is an error on your part. I mean, not only you have a color balance. She's in a green chair. You're in green. She's anchoring us in black. We're not webby nominated for nothing. You had to throw that in. Yeah. By the time this air is. We've already won. We've already won. By the time this airs. We're going to leave that in and see what happens. Sure. That's not going to we're coming for you, Amy Polar. They hear me now. There you go. Sister, how are you? I'm good. I really good to see you. It's really good to see you guys. For those who don't know, this woman doesn't just work in front of the camera. She works behind the camera with great regularity. Just got finished shooting a pilot for NBC in New York City, featuring my boy, John Beaver's, who plays Uncle Billy. Right. Billy Pace on Paradise. Had a great time there. How did the rest of me? How did the shoot go? John Beaver is still alive. We're talking about Uncle Billy Pace on the show. Spoiler. Hang on, just to be clear. Thank you very much. It was really great. It was a really fast and crazy shoot. It was 100 scenes in 12 days. Yeah, but incredible cast Emily Deschanel and John Beaver's and newer actress that we found named on Lee Bogin who I love and I think is amazing. And yeah, it went really well. It was one of those nice situations where there were a lot of familiar faces for me because I've worked, I've directed a lot in New York. So a lot of the department heads were department heads I'd worked with before, which was really great. I had a great relationship with the cinematographer, which is always a huge win. We just had our cinematographer a week or so ago, Yasu, to need to come in and talk to us about the art of cinematography. And then we'll get into the dance between the director and the cinematographer there. In terms of directing pilots, how many of you done? This is my fourth pilot. Yeah, you're bad. Nice work. You can get it. Yeah. Do you derive, well, I'm sure we'll come through and we'll go back to Genesis of Things, but in terms of the satisfaction one feels in front of the camera and behind the camera, can you compare and contrast how they sort of like feel your cup. Yeah, yeah, totally differently. It's similar, but different. You know, I think as an actor, it's very satisfying for me to plug into the puzzle and to feel like I'm really figuring out how to solve that piece, you know, and just to like really be hyper focused on that one thing and and do that. And as a director, though, it's different because it's not just that you have to look at the whole picture. It's I sort of see it like it's my job to take care of everyone. You know, I've been on a lot of not this is us was one of the most pleasant loving, unbelievable sets I'd ever been on truly. And I mean, it there's just hands down couldn't be more loving. But I before that had been on a lot of sets that were not like that, you know, that were necessarily terrible, but had complications where when you're spending 18 19 20 hours a day somewhere, you know, you're like, man, we get to do the coolest thing in the world. We should be able to really enjoy doing the coolest thing in the world. And you don't always have the infrastructure to support that, you know. And so when I'm in the director seat, I feel like I have a lot more to contribute to that side of things, you know, in terms of the decisions that get made. And you know, if I'm directing the pilot, being able to be a part of choosing the department heads, being a part of choosing the cast, being a part of vetting that process and trying to have an environment that feels like this is us when you go to work, you know, comparing contrast directing a pilot versus being a hired gun on a show. Yeah, it's doing so doing an episode of television feels a little bit more like being an actor. Yeah, actually, because your job is to assess what the show is visually, technically, tonally, energetically, and figure out how to do the very best version of that and not fight it in your voice. Well, not in your voice. Yeah, in their voice, sure. But like whatever you're bringing to the side, you want to do your best work in that world, right? And so it's almost like, I guess it's more like looking at like music. It's like, you have to know if you're playing jazz, you're playing jazz, you have to know if you're playing classical music, you're playing classical music, or if you're singing a pop song, you're singing a pop song. Yeah. You can't go to like the ballet and sing a pop song. Totally. You know what I mean? Like it's so it's just, the work. Yeah, you have to, unless that's the tone, which is a whole other story. Sure. But you know, so it's really about kind of figuring out how to execute this thing that already exists very, very well. Whereas when you're setting up a pilot, you're putting all that in motion. So I think the trickiest part of a pilot is trying to get inside the showrunner's heads and trying to guess exactly the tone that they had in their being when they were writing it. Right. And that's hard because you can't fully get inside of someone's head. You know, you can ask a million questions and you can assess based on the decisions that they're making and the information that they're giving you. But it's always a lot of trial and error of like, what is the energy? What does the vibe? You know, even the show that we were just shooting, it's like very serious things are going on. But we also want the audience to know we're taking care of them. Okay. So finding that balance of music that's going to support the audience and music that's going to say like, Hey, we're going to figure this out in the end. You don't have to. Don't be too scared. Right. Exactly. But then there's some shows where you want to lean all the way into the horror that you know, so it's just, it's sort of trying to navigate extracting information from a writer's mind and trying to turn that into a visual plan. Let me ask this guy. I'm a little other people ask questions. But I find it really interesting in terms of just being a sort of male dominated space in terms of directors or just film crews, et cetera. As a woman, is there anything that you feel like, do you feel like you get questioned more or otherwise? Do you feel like there's certain things you have to do to make sure people respect you for a tie? You know what I'm saying is Cartman would say, I'm just curious. I mean, I'll never get to quote Cartman. I will never fully know because I've never not been a woman. So I don't know any different than being in my shoes, right? What I do feel maybe more than from a gender thing is like the actor transitioning to being a director thing. I did feel like I kind of had to prove, re-prove, re-prove, re-prove. I had to feel like I had to prove myself 10 times for someone else's one time. When did you make that transition? I directed my first short film in 2016 and then I did a bunch of music videos and I did this little pilot for Refinery29 and then I put my feature together. So then I directed that in 2017 and sold that to Netflix in 2018. So all outside of never never one of the shows that you were a long time cast number on. No, okay. Yeah, I was, it's not like it's a it's an awesome thing to get that opportunity obviously just to be in that seat to be in the editor's bay to you know to like understand every single step of the way. I was very aware that if I really wanted to establish myself as a filmmaker who could make features. Yeah to do it outside. That's a tricky route. It's a tricky path because there is an unspoken thing of like oh well she was just gifted that because you know she was there for a long time and we're just trying to sort of like throw her a bone kind of thing. So did you have those opportunities and you said no thank you? I wouldn't say it wasn't like or that you just didn't pursue it. I didn't pursue it. You know it wasn't like I I was offered those episodes and said no I just didn't ever go and ask for those episodes. I kind of I did use set as my film school. I mean poor Yasu, I just followed her around asking him questions all the time. But I will never stop doing that as an actor. Now I'm always picking the DP's brain because every DP has a different approach and different tricks and different little things that they do. Because before this is us you spent many years on a show called Once Upon a Time. Yeah. And many years on a show called House. Yep, her was very successful. We'll be right back with more of that with us. You know nothing in a cart is ever ordinary gang because no one's life is. Shoppers at ship don't just care about the order. They care about who ordered it. They're shopping for the moments we're about to create and the memories we're trying to keep alive. They know it's bigger than just an ingredient or item on a shopping list. They shop same day in the same way you would. Come on, listen, give it to me. You guys we had a very specific recipe that Rachel was trying to put together a family recipe that has way too many ingredients. Very specific kind of potato these type of things. So we put the order on it. We got out our phones real quick. Got our phone. Boom, shipped right there. Made an order. The shopper with shipped communicated with us through the whole process. There were a bunch of weird things that we needed. They got us every single one of those things. I love it. With shipped, it's never just a delivery order. It's shopped same day in the same way that you would. Use code podcast to get a year of shipped for only $49. That's half off the regular $99 price at shipped.com/offer. That's sh ipt.com/offer. Terms apply. I did learn I mean I learned a ton you know and also it was all of that paid off doing a network pilot now because this is my first network pilot done streaming up until this point. Yeah. And it's different. It's a little different you know and network versus streaming. Yeah. And I lived inside of network television for so long that it's so familiar to me that I was like oh no I understand what this pace is. I understand what this energy is. I understand what we need to offer the audience every week. You know and that's interesting. You're like going back to your roots in a way. Totally. Yeah. Totally. I mean there were a bear there were a lot of similarities tonally in this piece to house. It has nothing to do with medicine but tonally had a lot of how similar is house do 22 or 24 and how many do you do the first the first season was wonky so I don't remember it was like we were first we were picked up for 13. Yeah. And they ordered the back nine at like the last minute. Okay. I think the first season was 22. Okay. But then we did several seasons were where there were 24. And then kind of went back to 22 at some point. But yeah it was if that's like working year round. Like essentially like having like a month. We all done like 18 episodes that are max. We're like what's that like? What is 22 or 24? I well house was just house was of a different time. I mean it was that was when it was like if you're not being abused in your hours on set, you aren't an actor. - You don't even mean like you aren't on a show. It was like, we were rejoicing on an 18-hour day. Rejoicing, and I'm not exaggerating. Like the very, are you ready for this? The very, very last day of the last episode of the season finale of "House" in season eight, I worked 21 hours. - No. - On two scenes. (laughing) - Maybe. (laughing) I had to move two flights. I kept having, I had a flight the next day to New York that I couldn't make, that I didn't move when I realized that. - So let's make it clear for folks what that means, all right? They are long days, but typically, it's a 12-hour day, right? - Yeah. - And then beyond-- - More or less. - With hair made up, it's like 14 hours, right? - Yeah, yeah. - If it goes beyond that, then there's like, you know, time and a half, and then it goes like, a certain, how many hours passed that, there's double time for the crew, right? - Yeah. - But you, to maintain morale, one optimally. (laughing) Would love to finish within that 12 to 14 hours. - Yeah. - You know what I'm saying? - Yeah. - And you're talking about an additional seven hours above-- - Hold another work day. - Like, there's things also too, like on Friday nights, sometimes, if you have to do night shoots-- - A Friday. - You call it a Friday day, you know what I'm saying? And you're just like working until basically the sun comes up. - Yeah. - They're cheap. - No, we would be driving home on Saturday at 4 p.m. - Jeez. - What? - What? - I don't think that's legal. - So how like, yeah, I don't think that used to be. - That's what I'm saying. - I mean, like people just slowly nodding off at the wheel. - Yeah, it's so dangerous. - We had, yeah, we went through, I think, almost three whole different crews in the first season because of these hours, yeah. - It was a different time where it was just like, you do whatever it takes. We were always in a glass box. Every set, it was four walls of glass. - Sure. - It was reflections in every direction. There were five or six people in every scene. There was so much coverage to get dealing with all those reflections, you know, all the medical stuff, you know, so it was, they were just, you know, there was stuff. But yeah, 'cause I think, I listen, it's all very foggy 'cause I was clearly, I am very few memories from this time. Like, I watched episodes of House Like I Wasn't There. I'm like, ha, amazing. - That's great. - Jeez. - I'm sure there's PTSD. That's, but I'm very proud of it. - Absolutely. - And also, like I learned so much and there was something about the boot camp of it all. I did all that at the right age, right? I was a kid. So I started that show when I was 24 years old. So playing a 32 year old immunologist. I almost didn't go to the audition because I was like, who's hiring me for this? - I also love that like, a lot of women wouldn't go in for playing older. You like, aren't you? - I don't care. - Oh yeah, I mean, I don't, whatever. But, you know, it was just, it was just a different time. Now there's rules and laws and, you know, union rules where that just can't happen, you know? There's no world where that could ever happen. All I remember is it was like every six hours, well, after the next six hours after lunch, they had to give you like a standing meal. But then every, maybe three hours after that, they'd have to give you another standing meal. So it would always be these weird, like, the face dial. - They brought in like, be like, Popeyes or something, yeah. And then like, like, three hours later, there'd be like pizza or there would be Thai food or there would be, so. - Oh my gosh. - Just heartburn. - But also okay with you. - But it's always bad. - This is us is an eight day shoot schedule. So like, you know, Monday through Friday, then plus another three days, right? Every once in a while, we have to go over a little bit. Are you doing eight days for a house? - House was eight, yeah. Usually was like eight plus a ninth overlap day. So, 24 episodes or whatnot. We shot about seven months to do 16 episodes. - 18. - To do 18 episodes, excuse me. So you're talking about. - Like 10 months, yeah. - How long? How long was once? - Yeah, yeah. No, we were doing 24 episodes right out of the gate. - What's up on the time? - Yeah, yeah. Yeah, like 24 right out of it. So I went 24. - Yeah, I mean, I really collectively spent 15 years. - Yeah. - 15 years on our television. - In a trailer. - In a trailer. - In a trailer. - In a trailer. - Here's the things. - Yeah, yeah. - Which was amazing. Here's the thing I didn't anticipate. Weird little things I didn't anticipate. How often I was going to spend time in a porta-poddy. How often I was going to eat a meal off of plastic forks in a weird container. - That's it, yeah. - Delicious meals. - The things you don't think about. - It's really good. - No, and I'm not like, none of it is like complain-worthy. It's more just kind of like, "Huh, things you didn't consider." - Yeah, sure. - I don't talk about this in school, because you come from the theater, right? - Yes, I do. - Yeah, you grew up outside Chicago in a suburb that I have also spent some time in Arlington, Heights, right? - Yeah. - And then you went to school at Loyola for theater and English. - English. - Double major. - Double major. - With your research. - Yep. - Yeah. - You graduated, you stuck around Chicago for a while, right? - No. I didn't actually. - No. - I left. Yeah. I graduated a little early. - Could you were too smart? - Basic. - I was just lucky to go to an amazing high school, to be honest. - Were your parents were teachers? - Were my parents for teachers? - Yeah. - While you were there? - While I was there. - Your university was like, you have to leave. - I'm sorry. - Get out. - Is that a good thing or a bad thing? - Um. - Time your parents there. - No, it was good because my dad was one of the best teachers. I've ever had. These are really special, very special teacher. - Yeah. - Um, complicated because you never escape sort of the gaze of your parents. - Sure. - Like I felt like until I went to college, I didn't really have a sense to figure out my own sense of self just because you're, I don't even know if I realize it or not, but I just never was kind of on my own to figure things out. There was always someone there, you know. - Yeah. - Because my mom worked with my dad, so because they ran a nationally competitive high school marching band, which that's for a whole other podcast. - Yeah. - So, so they were there a lot and all the time and, you know, it wasn't like he, they taught one class. It was like they taught, there was, you know, 200 kids in the band. - Yeah. - So. - Were you in the band? - Of course I was in the band. - Wait, wait, wait, wait. - I come from a marching band family. - For a marching band family. - Are you percussionist or are you on the horns? - I'm, I'm, I'm played in instrument. - Which one are you guys in? - I'm going to say. - I should know that. - I'm going to say, I'm, I should play in instrument. I'm going to go with trumpet. - That's a lot of trumpet in our family. No, clarinet. - clarinet. - I was going to say. (laughing) - All right, all right. I love it. I love it. - 200 person marching band. - Did you guys do like my marching band experience also is like a cultural thing? Like, are there, is there aography that goes along? - Yes, but it is. - Did you stop the yard? - This is what I'm asking. - It is not that. It's a different. - It's not drum line. (laughing) - I love drum line. - It's just, there's like different variations like this. - Yes, this was very. (laughing) - Yes, sterling. - That's exactly it. (laughing) - With a little moral step. - With a moral step. - With a moral step. With your feet. - Buh, buh, buh, buh. - It's hard to, it's like an unbelievably massive sport. I mean, it's like millions and millions of kids participate. - Sure. - But there's an organization called Bands of America that has this whole organized competitive system of regional competitions and you have to place it a certain place in the regional to be eligible for a national and then you go to nationals and then there's prelims and there's finals. I mean, we went to finals at nationals when I was a sophomore, I think. And I think there were like 20,000 people in the stands. Like it's an unbelievably huge sport. You know, it's like, but it's very- - It makes us 200 kids. That's 400 parents. - Yeah, but by the way, that's a small, we were small. The big bands in Texas are 400 kids. - Really. - Yeah. - And my brother went on to be the conductor of the Reagan high school band for many years and he had 400 kids in his band. - He's the guy who has to stand up on the crane. - Well, yes, exactly. That was my dad and that was my brother. And then he ended up kind of retiring from teaching early because he now designs marching band shows for all the top bands in the country. - What? - Yeah, the drill. It's called the drill, which is the design of what's happening in the field all the way through. And then also the overall concept. I mean, it's not dissimilar to directing because you have to have like a thematic concept. - That's so interesting. - And then you arrange the music, he works with like people who work with Cirque de Soleil and all this. He's brought in all these like really like, you know, avant-garde elements into these programs. So sometimes. Sometimes. - Yes. - Sometimes. - Just stuff shooting out of two of us. - Yeah, it is a wild sport. And it's like all the parents, you know, there's the band parents too. And there's all these rules and regulations and you can lose tenths of points if you step over the line at the wrong time and you can't come on the field until you're invited. And you know, there's all these things. And so you like line up and you're ready to go and they'll say like, prospect high school, you might now take the field and competition. And that's when you're like, that's your time starts. - Yes. - And you have 15 minutes all in to set the field, do the show, get off the field. And the last person's foot has to cross that line before those 15 minutes or you'll get more of a deduction. - Okay. - So then you have parents waiting with like the timpony and the xylophones and the this and the that. If there's pyrotechnics or there's props or there's, and you've got parents ready to run out there and place all that and you've got the flag, the girls who are the color guard placing all their flags. And meanwhile, you're like, the band is carefully quietly, you know, marching on to their first chart. It's called a chart in the drill. - Yeah, yeah. - You know, take the, you know, you take your first position and are often, they will face the back of the field and do play like a warm up because you want to feel a sense of the acoustics in the space. There's huge echoes and often you cannot play to what you hear you have to play to what you're seeing with the conductor So like if you're on the 10 yard line and the conductor's on the 50 and you're getting the reverb You have to just trust your eyes and not your ears exactly. So for four years you did this for for well for my whole life and tell eight I basically did this till I was 18 years old because I was in a marching band family, you know, right? Okay, yes, I competed for four years. Yeah, got it got it incredible. There's a culture of discipline then that you've been inculcated with that Yes, that is exactly the way we say that inculcated word of the day. Yeah, I loved it. Thank you. I'm taking it. Thank you very much But but but it's okay. Let me let's go to we talked a bit about directing or not But it did start off theater English or whatnot. When what made you fall in love with performance if you will story telling In whatever shape for me. Yeah, I think I think because it was so young that I am not sure But I think it was that we because my dad was the high school music teacher He conducted the pit orchestras for the high school musicals And it was always a very big deal that we would go and watch the high school musical You know, and so I just I remember we were like our best little pat and other shoes my sister and I and we'd like We're not nice as little dress and we get to put little candies in our purses Come on, we would go and we would watch the high school musical and I just thought it was the most spectacular thing in the whole world Oh, yeah, and I think that's kind of where it got in me, you know, like I think that's where it started Because my mom said I came home from kindergarten and said well, I'm an actor. Why am I not in a play and Yeah, and my mom was like Okay, and then to her credit They figured out how to make it so I could audition for the second graders play and I got a role It was like the children's version of the hobbit played feely um And in a in an orange t-shirt with a little piece of rope around the middle That was my and I remember my mom would wait in the wings She'd be like you're really tired in this scene and I'd go on and be like And I You're really excited in this scene. I got him. You know, it was so yeah That was my first play when I was five when you got to high school and did musicals was your dad still the pit Oh, yeah, what musicals did you do in high school? We did the king and I we did My fair lady was my senior year and I played Eliza do a little my dream I'm trying to think of I have Hava and Fiddler on the roof tradition all the big and We did God spell cabaret Fiddler Westside. Oh, oh, wow those are good. Yeah, it's a really good. I was riff womb the tombs. Yeah, that was good times. It's really good. So yeah, you get it Did you know since you were so young and kind of got the performing bug did you when did you know that directing was Something that might enter the picture as well. I started This is one of those things at hindsight is 2020 where like I wouldn't have said it this way at the time But looking back I basically had sort of two Paz that we're burgeoning at the same time because I was directing a lot in high school There was like a community theater that I was directing at they had a Mentorship program where you could be like mentored by a theater director and you could and of course You know, I just decided to direct the who's Tommy when I was 18 Why not you know like a crazy person only at 18 are you dumb enough to think you can do these things? But um, so I was already like I did that and then when I went to college I directed a Handful of things in the black box theater in college and I did a bunch of like you know directing courses And then I got this is where I was concurrent. Yeah, yeah So when I even when I got out here, there was a little theater called the black dahlia that um Pika yeah, I'm pico, you know, Matt Shaqman we Matt Shaqman exactly. I was just gonna say you probably know Matt Shaqman So Matt Matt had just you know come out of Yale and he had this theater company and a friend if I don't remember like a friend of his was in the play And they were looking for someone to be in the play and then I was in this play I think I did set sexual diversity in Chicago for them and then he realized I had directed a bunch of theater And he's like well, why aren't you direct for me? So then I directed a couple productions for him there and then I booked house and then I was on set for 21 hours a day So it was like there was this thing happening at least with theater Sure, and then in my mind I remember at the time being like oh, no, I might not have time to go to film school Like in my mind I was always gonna go to a small right once I was out here, you know, and what brought you out here? Just that play just acting in general. I mean, I kind of knew that that in my mind I was the next day because I I had done a few films already from Chicago because I did my first film when I was 13 called intersection Yeah, I was sharing stone and Olivia Davidovich, and I got that from a film with stone and gear. Yeah, it's not crazy That's so crazy with Mark Rydell directing and Bill Mosigman as the cinematographer. Yeah, it's the first one in that wild I was I had no idea what I was doing. I remember leaving that sentence being like I need to figure out how to do this So I feel very clueless But that's the audacity of all of this is like It's all audacity like an idea that any of us like show up like I've got this. Yeah, no, it's not it's all bravado and you know in in some way I remember the first time somebody said back to one and I was like, yep, and I just watch for I was like, oh, they want to go to the beginning. Yeah, yeah, just say that There's so many things that no one teaches though like I wish there was more Out there like again, this is what I feel like I can contribute as a director is like when I'm working with actors and actually communicating things to them and just saying like Hey, this is what's going on or this is why you know because I watch people melt down thinking that we're going again because they did something wrong And they have no idea that it's like a technical thing. Yeah, or we just want to go again because I know Every time you do a complicate you guys know this from directing a semi-complicated move on with a camera. Yeah, yeah It's fine the first time. It's pretty good the second time. It's great. The third time in the fourth time is exactly what you wanted it to be So if you don't tell the actor that they get to the fourth take and they're like, what am I doing? And you're like, no, no, no, it's this is not you know, so just communicating that to people or Telling people to young I've you know, I did a pilot where I there was like 17 kids who had never been in a show before and had to basically be their first acting coach and Just saying like you got to be able to memorize with tons of distraction Because so many things that are distracting are gonna happen and no one teaches you that, you know It's like everyone's like well I'm great when I'm alone in my room in silence and it's like someone's gonna be picking at you putting makeup on your face Talking to you a boom spin in your face and airplanes gonna go overhead the camera's gonna sound noisy There's gonna be wind rain weather like the cold and you're pretending it's hot. You know, it's like so many elements that you have to consider Yeah, so like learn your lines with the music blasting and the television on and someone trying to call you, you know like Learned action. Yeah, such great advice. So it's just that's the stuff that I get excited to offer because I just feel like the trial and error of all the things I had to learn on the fly through all these crazy adventures and just be like, how can I help you skip all this? How can I just get you to the end and make it better for you? Yeah, well because you've gone through it too So like when anytime somebody's gone through it, you have something like you understand what they're experiencing Yasu is talking and he's talking about Ken Olin and the way that he talked to the actors and how he just sort of had an understanding of it I think Yasu coming from behind that camera like that was one of the things that he had to sort of learn how to do You know, I'm saying is talking to the actors, which is a lot of the directing process Let me transition to this is us in a more specific way. How did it come to you? What did you know about the show before you were introduced to this crazy group of people and what was the experience like? I mean, it was pretty traditional actually. I knew that there was a character coming up that I could be right for You know, I got out a call from my agents who were like they're very interested But Dan makes everybody read and I was like, yeah, of course, you know like you know I think nowadays everybody reads for everything. Yeah, but back then there was a little bit more of like oh You've been on shows forever. Maybe it's an offer and all that stuff But I also was looking at the character and thinking I I wouldn't assume I could do this based on my previous work You know like it's one thing if it was like we'd like you to play a immunologist doctor I'd be like well, you have a lot of 50 episodes to prove I can do that Yeah, I mean like there was there was really nothing in my like film history to prove I could do it. So wait, just so I'm clear how many times that you've been asked to read At that point in time since having done like 300 episodes That's a really good question. I Maybe never But you did it without you just said sure yeah Well also, I mean I admire Dan. I mean now I know him But I didn't know him then I admire him then and I loved the show I loved the show and I it was something that I felt like I was trying to rewatch a few episodes just knowing I was coming here and wanting to refresh just some of it and I can't I mean I cry through all of it partly just because it was such a great experience for me But partly just because the energy of the show is just so human and and vulnerable and emotional and And I felt like as I was watching the show and way before I was even asked audition for the show. I was, my life got better from the show. I felt like I made better choices. I felt like I had empathy for certain circumstances or understandings of things in the relationships that I had because of the show. And so it was a very meaningful show to me. It was something that really moved me as a person. So it was a no-brainer. There was no like conversation of will I or won't I read for it. It was like, yes, send the material and let me get working on it. Oh wow. And then it was very intimidating material because I had to learn a certain amount of Arabic. I remember. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's what it was. And I had to figure out how to find just a, like a sturdier place in myself than what I was normally asked to do as an actor. Like oftentimes we're asked, especially I think on television, as women to like be likeable. Yeah. Like you need to be likeable so people want you in our living room. Okay. And there were really rough edges of this character where to do it right, I had to unlearn that habit. Yeah. Yeah. And so that felt dangerous going into a room, trying that for the first time and also hoping that all these words came out of my mouth in the right way. Yeah. And also, you know, reading for someone who was really a hero to me, you know, was just writing some stuff that I admired so much that it was, it was, it's the last time I remember being like deeply nervous to do something. Did I acknowledge like how through wonderfully egoless that is? Yeah. To have done two TV shows, both of them over like six seasons, etc. Like it's not regular for someone to be asked to read when you're at that place in your career. You know that. Yeah, I bet time. Yeah. You know that. And like, and she just said, okay. Yeah. That speaks volumes about who Jenn is just as a human. Yeah. It's like the work is what's important. And you're like, I like this. I think I can do this. Let me try. Yeah. We actually just had Josh Einson our casting director and yeah. And he raved about your audition just like how spectacular how undeniable it was like from the jump. It was just like, yeah, there, there is nobody else for this part. Like just how dialed in you were that I was like, yeah, I mean, it's evident when we watch that first episode. Like they're the fact that you were coming onto a show that sort of already was this well-oiled machine and Dan was flipping the structure in a way that like, you know, we had I feel like we a challenge the audience, but sort of showed them over three seasons. Like you're safe with us. Yeah. So come on this journey. But to start the season premiere of of a new season with an entirely new deck of characters. None of the original people and how everyone's like leaving them for 42 minutes and 30 seconds wondering how these people figure into the story. Yeah. Like again, to be able to jump on to a show like that and be like, okay, I'm just going to trust the process and trust Dan and trust that the audience is like with us also says a lot about an actor too. It's it's nice to hear. I mean, honestly, I I don't know. I know how to be on a set is like the bottom one. You know, you feel I say that as a director. Like because I feel that from someone from the instant I watch their tape. Like can this person be on a set? It doesn't mean that I can see a hundred tapes of very talented people, but probably only three of them feel like they know how to be on a set. What does what does that mean? How to be on a set for in terms of what you mean by it. They know what back to one means. First and foremost, there's that no, but it's like there's this unbelievably massive ecosystem that's moving and spinning. Yeah. So fast. Right. And you have to be able to walk in and be right in its orbit without missing a step and without holding up the, you know, holding up the process, coming up the gears. Yeah. I mean, I always say to people, when you step on a set, especially if you're a day player or you're a guest star, if you if no one talks to you, you've done a great job. Yeah. Because that means that you like no news is good news. That means you walked in. You did your job. You crushed the role. I mean, I as a director try to go out of my way to go talk to all those people because I know they're all going, "Is it okay?" Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I try really hard to track them down and make sure that I, you know, we don't move on so fast. Yeah. But there's just this massive, expensive machine that's spinning. Yes. And it, your talent is part of it. Right. But you have to be able to take your talent and then and then put it in this machine and make it all happen together. It's somebody who has that feeling like plug and play. Like I can take you, put you in this thing and you will function well without being overwhelmed by the circumstances, right? Yeah. I see what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. And so it's, I, because of that, it was like, it was exciting and it was exhilarating to step on set. But I also know how to be on a set. Yeah. You know, like, I know how to not interrupt the ecosystem. I know how to figure out where my, my, like, totally, my puzzle piece fits and go like, "All right. I'm here. All right. Like, how do I help? How do I serve?" But also execute at the highest level. Jen, your performance is extraordinary. You are such a brilliant actor. And it's like, it's so evident from the second year on screen. It's so captivating. Like, I mean, we've all watched you again in house and once by the time. But it's like seeing you in a role like this. It is just like under, you're just like, who is this woman? How is she a part of this, the Pearson's like, who is she in the show? And like you said, I don't think she's unlikeable, per se. But she does have a sturdiness. She, she has to for her job, for survival. Yeah. But also like we learn she's a mother. We learn that she has her own journeys with mental health and alcohol. There's so much wrapped up. And you, you handle it so beautifully. It's not over the top. It's not melodramatic. It's like, but it also allows us a window into obviously this very, very specific situation that this woman is going through. But we're able to like, to fall in love with her in such a way that we want to see her be okay. We want to see her on this journey with her son, hopefully reuniting with her husband. How is she factoring into Kevin's life and Nikki's life and all of this? And it's like you, you like you, you, the three of you guys become this like unlikely trio that we're all rooting for. And we, we completely fall in love with. And it's, it's just so interesting, you know, like, I think that's a tough job. I mean, I, I appreciate, you know, it's very kind and put it on me anyway, but it's true. It is the right, like I, okay, how do I put this without it sounding wrong? Because I, I really mean this in a way that's complimentary to both sides of what I'm saying. But like, I had just come off of six years of making magic and fairy tales seem real. Do you know what I mean? Like, and the craziness that comes with that, I mean, having to throw my hand out and go take that frosty to a giant snowman and sell it. And like, sit in the hair and make up trailer in the morning and try to figure out like, how, how I was going to magic with my hands today, you know, like, and like, I got bent, I like a crooked thing. And like justify it and I feel it and mean it and believe it. And, you know, and so I had come from that, which required so much mental gymnastics. Yeah, no class for that either. There's no class. You're going to do magic. You've got a higher Shakespearean actors. You have to. And we all came, we all studied Shakespeare, almost all of us that came to that show, which I don't think, what, I don't think they realized it, but it certainly wasn't an access to it. It sounds weird, you have to like be able to give yourself over to that. It's the same thing. Anyway, I'd come from those mental gymnastics where it was so much work for me to figure out how to make the day possibly real to myself. Sure. Because I have to believe it so that everybody else believes it. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, I'm sitting with these scripts that were so rich and had been turned over so many times. And I couldn't even find a way to go against what was on the page because they had already turned over what it was and went against it and then wrote it that way. And you were like, oh, my God, all I have to do is say it was on the page, learn this. Yeah. And like internalize it and say it. Yeah. It was, I felt like I was cheating. She's saying we were spoiled, guys. We were. We were. So we knew that. We did. It was really, I mean, that is rare. Right? I mean, you're back in that world. So you get that rarity all over again. But like, and so are you. Oh my gosh. Dan, I'm free. He doesn't watch this. He doesn't know what's going on over here. I remember meeting you at Dan's house the night of the premiere. Yes. And I think that's maybe the first time a lot of us met you. Yeah. Right. Because I didn't work with anyone but Ken. Right. We watched you on screen. And Dan was down in the front row on Twitter. Like, like. like he always was, like through the episode. And he's like, people are losing their minds. Everybody. People are freaking out. People don't know what's happening. People are so pissed. - Yeah, they're angry. But then we knew. - We stuck the landing. - I mean, he stuck the landing. You stuck the landing. And we knew that we were gonna be with Cassidy and these MDs characters for a long time. - Yeah. - Going in, how much of an expectation did you have about the length of your time on the show? - I only knew it was gonna be for that season. I mean, I was pleasantly surprised that he found a way to drag me out to the end. You know, I was so happy there. It was such a great character and just a place I was so happy. But yeah, I knew, at least for that season, but I didn't really know that it would go past that. - So you get any interesting insight on either my man Justin or Griffin in terms of working with those two clowns? - I love them. - Which is why we originally called you because there was a scene going on in a meeting. - We were laughing. - Yeah. - And then we're like, there's something else. - There's something else going on in there. - There was a real joke amongst them. - And you were like, couldn't remember for sure, but I also remember us kind of discussing this. Like I remember us kind of being like, this doesn't work unless we're actually laughing. Like we were all a little bit intimidated by that fact. So we were aware of really trying to find that zone with each other, which is not that hard with Griffin around. I mean, sure. And Justin, Justin is very funny. - But Griffin really, he brings the magic sauce. Because he's just so unexpected. Like I mean, every take is so alive because you've no idea what's gonna come out of his mouth ever. Yeah. Like I'd be like, I'd get a direction, you know, from whoever is directing. I'd be like, I mean, I'll try if it happens again. I have no idea. - It's a gift. It's a gift somebody who is like that sort of like unbothered by like what expectation should be. It's like, oh God, I get a chance to be alive. You know what I'm saying? 'Cause he's gonna be just-- - But it makes everybody alive, you know what I mean? It's like, it gives you so much fun. - Completely out of your preparation. And just you just have to listen and be and just go, you know? (laughing) But yeah, no, we had so much fun. We were always like the other three. You guys, there was like the big three and then we were the other three, you know? - There's a few different configurations of three throughout the course of the show, right? Like you, Sue, and Miguel had like the most new three. - Yeah, we have three, we have groups. - Are there any particular episodes or experiences that stand out in your mind for one reason or another that you loved? - Well, two, two stand out to me. One was just my very first episode, just dealing with, I mean, even just all of the military gear. And when we were shooting all that stuff, you know, in Afghanistan, it was, we were-- - I don't know, Santa Clarita in a desert somewhere. And it was 110 degrees. And they kept having to change my clothes 'cause I was sweating through everything. So I was just, I mean, I'd never sweat so much that I was like ringing out my clothes. Like actually ringing it out. But it was, it added to it, you know, like when you look back, you're like, oh, that's what they would be going through. And I wasn't even carrying the real weapons. I was carrying the lighter versions of the real weapons. And that was heavy, you know? I was noticing, I was rewatching the episode and when I'm coming home in the, and I'm in my uniform in the car and I get out and I hug my kid, I can see bruises are all the way down my arm. And I was like, oh, that's from-- - From the gun. - What I was carrying on the stuff and getting enough. 'Cause like those were actually bruises from the previous filming, you know? But, so I just, I remember all of that just feeling so different and so again, like alive in a new way than I'd ever experienced. And also, it's, I love feeling scared of things creatively. - Yeah. - And it's rare. - Totally. - And so everything about that whole sequence felt scary to me and I had no idea how I was coming off and it was exciting. - Hell yeah. - You know, it was very exciting. - And ask about that episode as well, just like the moment of striking your son and that sort of like dynamic between you, your husband and him and just like, what do you recall of that at all? - Yeah, it was really, it's stuff like that's tough. That's the stuff where you really have to let go of yourself. You know, because you can't put yourself in it. Because if you feel like you would never do it, you won't. Yeah, and if I let too much of myself judge that moment, then also wouldn't have been the right moment, you know? So there's like, I think again, that's where the mental gymnastics comes in of like really trying to take yourself out of your body and put yourself somewhere else. - Things we asked to do, yeah, absolutely. - And again, I felt like I could really rest in the writing because when I thought about how upsetting, if I could keep my head space just repeating sort of my internal monologues repeating in my mind, the people who died because I couldn't keep my promises, the people who didn't get water because I didn't keep my promises, the people whose lives were being diminished to being $1,200. You know, like if I could sort of keep myself there and forget that there was a child there. - Gotcha. - Then I could just do something to make the frustration end that had nothing to do with a child being there. And then I could return to, oh, there's a child here. - Yes, great choice. That reads crystal clear. That's exactly what I have. 'Cause like his reaction to you, I was like, man, she didn't do that on purpose. And like, oh, so good. That was really good. - Yeah, yeah, well, and I, you know, I think that my husband and the moment, you know, the character responded well because I think he, I felt like I saw that in his response. I felt like Nick, right? Nick, yeah. That his response was like, I know you didn't mean it, but you still heard him. - Yeah, you can't believe it. - You know, and like, that's the complexity of these things. You know, it's like, and it's also a part of what I didn't realize until playing this character and the sort of outpouring of people who reached out over it. It's like, it's so rare to see a female military person in a story, and it's certainly a female who's a veteran, dealing with PTSD and having a child and being a mother. And like, it just, I can't really point to another example of it. - Yeah. - You know, we see operatives, you know, we see zero dark 30 where the operative goes in or whatever, or a cicario or whatever, but it's like, this is a very different circumstance that just doesn't get explored that often. And the truth is, it doesn't matter if she meant to or not, it happened. - Sure. - And that truth is what's complicated to explore and figure out, you know? And I don't think she was probably someone who was too proud and too stubborn to go to a meeting and less something like that happened. - Right, thank you, I didn't mean to cut you off, but like, before you move to another episode, I just want to touch that scene sticks out. - Yeah. - Yeah. - And then the other one was when we were at Kate's second wedding, sorry, sorry, excuse me. (laughing) - And pasta and rovellous? - Yeah. (laughing) - But because- - I'm just glad it was in the last season. - I know, I know. - I know, I know. - That's really cool. - Yeah, yeah. - No, just, it was so much fun. - It was fun, but it was also, I just had this crazy reaction to her singing the song because I'm a fan, right? So I mean, I'm on the show, but I love the show. - I love the show. - And the music is so, it just gets so in your bones and it's so, and it was like, I mean, I don't- - It's ridiculous. - I wasn't supposed to be emotional. - Right. - Right. - This is the only time I was truly not true to my character and I'm sure they cut around it because I was sobbing. - Everybody. - I was so aware of the storyline of like, oh my gosh, is she gonna be able to do it? Can she not, like, I'm all worried about her mental state and like, if mom's gonna be around to remember these things anymore and like, the kids just being devastated. And so I'm so wrapped up in that as like an audience member and I'm sitting there, I'm supposed to be Cassidy but I'm really kind of stuck in my head and she starts singing this unbelievably gorgeous song, "Live" and I was just like, - Doing rehearsal, she did it during rehearsal and I was like, oh my God, what is happening here? - I know. - Stupid. - And I never stopped crying, every time. (laughing) Johnson kept looking at me like, get it together, I'm set. - It's different up soldier. - Sure Cassidy would be the subset and I was like, I really tried. (laughing) I really, really tried. But it was also, I think like, we were coming to the end of the show and it's such a bigger, I mean, the show itself was so special to me and meeting all of you guys and working with everyone and playing a character that's so dear to me and getting to play a character that's so beautifully written and work with Dan and all these things. But also that house that you met me in is now my house. - Right. - Is that pretty? - So I only had that house. - I bought Dan's house. - I did, I forgot. - But Dan really made it possible for us to do that. Like, he was incredibly generous in the way that that all went down and it was that night we were standing in the living room, or sorry, in the kitchen in that sort of space that I still struggled to know what to do with. It's a little bit of an open space. - I'm sure you're in the grand room. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Well, but it's like between the kitchen island and the failure room area, there's like more space than should be there a little bit. Still working on that, but I was standing right there and I went and my husband looked at me and he said, what was that? I go, I feel memories here. Jen, I felt it. I was like this really overwhelming feeling and I almost like could see memories in that house. And two years later, he and I were starting to think about starting a family and we knew that the house we were living in on a hill didn't make sense for kids and and we were going to I was like, well, let's just start looking, you know, like let's, because it might take a while to figure out we want to buy together. He had moved into my house and he goes, you know, you should not stand if you ever sold that house. And I was like, he's never selling that house. He goes, oh, no, no, he told me that night that that was like an interim house that he had his eye on another house in the neighborhood. And I was like, really? I was like, we're to like email my boss and ask him if he sold his house. So I send his email and I'm like, hey, it's so random, but did you guys ever sell your house? And he was like, oh, not random at all. We literally moved out two days ago and we haven't, it's not on the market yet, but you can come see it if you want. And I was like, what are the chances of that timing? And Jerry remembering having happened to had that conversation with Dan that night, also remembering that I had that feeling of like having memories in that house. And, you know, Dan was like, well, come look at it. I was like, Dan, I'm looking at this on Redfin and even if I sold everything I own, I can't, yeah, I don't want to put you in that position. You know, you're like, I don't want to waste your time. He's like, just come look at the house. And I was like, oh my god, he would never say that if he was like trying to make a killing on his house. And so we went. And of course, we loved it as much or more than when we were there for that night. And he was like, I just want to break even. And he sold it to me for what he bought it for six years before. That's that is dance. Who does that, right? I mean, it was like, it was so crazy. Oh my god. I know, I know. I know. I know. Betty's watching now. Betty's not, Betty's to bet someone sends him this clip clip. But anyway, my point is it was that moment felt big, right? Because we were coming to the end of something that meant so much to me, not just professionally and emotionally. But like, I had my home because of this job. I have, I had my child in that home. I was starting a family there. We were, you know, it's just like such. The show is so deeply a part of my soul from what I felt like I was learning from it, watching it before it was on it, then being on it and feeling like it changed my life and just added so much beauty to my life. And, and then the friendships that have come out of that, you know, it's just like our friendship and knowing you guys and then getting close with Dan and Kate and, you know, it's just like, it was like the cup kept running over with that job. You know, it was just the, the gift that kept on giving. I also have had the good fortune. And I wish this for both of you, but to work with Jen as a director because she is as incredible as she is as an actor. I would say like tenfold as a director. She is just, what did you do? Dr. Dan, I did four episodes. Yeah, the first four. So the pilot essentially, um, and to be in her care is unlike anything I've ever experienced with a director. You are just, you're so perceptive. You, you do, like hearing you talk about your experiences and actor and bringing that to said as a director. It's like, I, it's just like all these light bulbs went off in my head. I was like, oh, yeah. Like, you are so thoroughly prepared and organized and meticulous and kind. And like, we would get our days. There was never stress. Like, you just knew that like, it was a well-oiled functioning machine being on set with Jen. And that like, everything was going to look amazing. Everything would have such a distinct point of view. Like, I just like, I, it was the best experience I've ever had working with a director. Like, period, the end, I loved it. And I've like sung her praises to everybody. I'm like, have you worked with Jen? I was like, I mean, and I know you've obviously have gone on and done other incredible things. She actually just worked with Becca Brunstetter on her new show five star weekend with Jen Garner. And I mean, so it's like speaking of the, this is us like, uvra and world. Yeah. But I hope that both of you get the good fortune of working with her in that case. We're close with Dr. Depp the first, first season. Yeah. And then that all. Oh, well pandemic fire. Yeah. I thought that was so ironic though, because it was like, I was supposed to be directing you in Dr. Depp. And then the next episode I did of this is us, you were directing. Yeah. So it was so funny that we flipped it. Yeah. Oh, dude. Yeah. So hearing you talk about your approach as a director, I'm like, oh, yeah. I've like, I've got it. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Well, I'll read. I'll read for anything. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I will. I will read. No. This was amazing. You're amazing. Oh, thank you. You're frigging rock star. Yeah. Thank you for joining us on our little podcast. That was us. What's yours? Is there any? I don't want to jump any questions with any like fan questions that we didn't possibly get to so that the fans can be sated with our presence. I brought my little bracelet that the that the military advisor gave me on this is us. Oh, James. Like that. Yeah. James. Porta. Yeah. It has the name and information of the officer that he kind of used as inspiration for me, for Cassidy. And so anyway, I keep it in like a little, I have like a little box where it's on display at home, but I brought it today. You hold your little camera to your camera right there. I am. Wow. I did it. Very cool. It was very sweet of him to have a fan question. They want to know what do you have in common with Cassidy, if anything? She's trickier for me because I think that she has demons that I don't have. Sure. But her moral compass while she was doing her job of really wanting to believe that what she promised she could follow through on. That's something that I really relate to. And again, it's kind of why I could make that moment work when my son ends up getting hurt because I could put myself in that determination of just a disappointment that, you know, she's, she's in an organization that says you can promise these things and we will follow through. And then she promises it believing in it. And then that follow through doesn't come. And that's an awful feeling. So I think that part of her, I really related to and I also related to how damaging it would be if I had to be the person who couldn't make good on those promises. I got you. All right. I think we asked most of these questions. I know the rest of them filming with Griffin and Justin. Yeah. The difference between directing and acting. Mm-hmm. Why'd you want to be coming actress? What was it like coming from once upon a time to this? We nailed it. We nailed it. We nailed it. This is why you're nominated for a webbie. We're a webbie. Smell this video podcast. Currently in second place behind Amy Polar. Amy, we're coming for you. We've already come we won. Sure. Yeah. That's right. It's here. Yeah. The brothers already. We want to. It's an honor just to be in it. This is this is awesome. You you rock. We're going to finish the episode. Please, if you will, will you look into your camera? Uh-huh. Will you tell them the name of the podcast? I'm Jennifer Morrison and this was us. Wait a minute. This is this was us. Hold on. That was us. Just keep it all in. Keep it on and and take two. Back to one. Back to one. Back to one. Back to one. Back to one. And that was us. Yeah. Thank you for making the time in your ridiculously busy schedule. That was us as film that rabbit-grin studios and produced by rabbit-grin productions. Music by Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith. That was a hit gun podcast.