Chuck Shute Podcast
In depth interviews with musicians, comedians, authors, actors, and more! Guests on the show include David Duchovny, Billy Bob Thornton, Mark Normand, Dee Snider, Ann Wilson, Tony Horton, Don Dokken, Jack Carr and many more.
Chuck Shute Podcast
Actor John Hickman Talks New Film with Morgan Freeman, Working with Al Pacino & More!
John Hickman discussed his acting career, highlighting his experiences working with notable actors like Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, and Tommy Lee Jones. He shared insights into the demanding schedules of film sets, including a nine-hour fight scene with Tyrese Gibson. Hickman also mentioned his transition into acting at age 40 after winning a walk-on role on "True Blood." He expressed a desire to work with Denzel Washington and Nikki Glaser. Hickman is promoting his new film "The Gunner" and a documentary he produced, "Jailhouse to Millhouse," about Pamela Hayden's life. He also reflected on his experiences with various actors and the challenges of special effects.
00:00 - Intro
00:13 - Discussion on College Football & Nick Saban
02:21 - Working with Morgan Freeman & Work Ethic
05:27 - Experiences with Other Actors & Roles
06:46 - Learning from Al Pacino & Personal Anecdotes
12:32 - Transitioning into Acting & Early Roles
16:21 - Traveling for Roles & Working with Nicholas Cage
20:36 - Fun Roles & Special Effects
25:18 - Desired Collaborations & Preparing for Roles
30:47 - Creepy Shooting Locations & Working with Tommy Lee Jones
33:45 - Promoting "The Gunner" and Upcoming Documentary
36:14 - Final Thoughts & Roll Tide
36:38 - Outro
John Hickman IG:
https://www.instagram.com/johnhickman/
Chuck Shute Link tree:
https://linktr.ee/chuck_shute
Thanks for Listening & Shute for the Moon!
Hey, there you are.
John Hickman:Hey, how's it going?
Chuck Shute:Good? Got the roll? Tide, Alabama, you're a big fan, right?
John Hickman:Oh, yeah, yeah, it's, we got a huge game this weekend.
Chuck Shute:Oh, who you playing
John Hickman:Georgia? Ooh,
Chuck Shute:yeah, that's a, that's always a. Those are like, the two top college football programs right now, aren't they? I mean, Texas is getting good too, but yeah,
John Hickman:Texas are really good. Do you
Chuck Shute:guys play Texas this year? Because they're in the SEC now, right? We
John Hickman:do we play? We had a home and home with them last year and the year before. They're not on our schedule this year. It might be, I guess when the SEC championship or something, or the playoffs, maybe, yeah, their coach is really good. That's great.
Chuck Shute:It's crazy. You guys had Nick Saban. I mean, what a mass and then he finally retired, which is, like, it seems like you think he'll come back to college football at some point, or is he done?
John Hickman:I think he's done, unless something really, really changes, or he's still here. He has the office at the stadium now, um, he's still, he's still hanging around reading in the
Chuck Shute:I'm sorry, I was just gonna say, does he doesn't he do announcing or something? I know I saw him in a commercial.
John Hickman:Yeah, he's in a bunch of commercials, and he's doing College Game Day on ESPN, okay?
Chuck Shute:Because I just figure, like guys at that level of success is so fascinating, even if you're not a sports fan, hopefully we didn't lose anybody yet. But you know, even if you're not a sport, to be able to have that amount of success, you figure it's like, it's in those guys, is like it's in their bones, like, and they, I don't think you can just turn it off, you know, like Tom Brady. I mean, he pushed himself. He couldn't play football anymore, but now it's like, I feel like he's going to take that work ethic and apply it to the broadcasting or whatever, or something, because I don't think those guys can just sit around and, like, go fishing.
John Hickman:Yeah, yeah, you're right. Yeah. He's taste. It's probably driving him crazy, but he's still there. Do you see that even field? Yeah.
Chuck Shute:Do you see that when, when you're working on the films with some of these big stars? Like, I mean, your latest movie The gunner movie, it's got Morgan Freeman in it. It's got Luke Hemsworth. I mean, some of these guys are Morgan Freeman. I would just imagine that guy must have, like, I don't know if you got to, I know, I don't know if you think you're in any scenes with him, but I don't you got to see him work at all and his work ethic and see like how he approaches a movie. Yeah, I
John Hickman:went his last day on set. I wasn't scheduled to be there, and I went anyway. And I hate going to set when I'm not working, but just to meet him and talk with him and watch him work was was amazing, and his work ethic, he, it's crazy that as old as he is, he doesn't take naps. He, I think he works like 12 hours a day. It's crazy.
Chuck Shute:Well, how does that? How do you work 12 hours a day as an actor? Because isn't a lot of like, okay, you're in this scene for two hours, and then you go back to your trailer for six hours or something. Or, how did your work? Yeah, he's just doing the scenes for 12 hours.
John Hickman:Or, I don't he has his other other stuff going to he has a team of people that kind of, I guess. I don't know what all they do for him, but it's all, I think that I'm pretty sure all his PR team and everybody is all women, and he just that, and that's just what she and he told me that a little bit. He said, I don't take no maps and but he, I think he has other stuff he works on too, as well. I just, I take now, see, they made that clear. Yeah,
Chuck Shute:does it get grueling working on these, uh, TV shows and films with the schedule? Because it's not a lot of it. It's really long day. It is, like 12 hour days like you start. I mean, I know there's like, downtime where you're in your trailer or whatever, but I mean you're, you're in the workspace for 1214, hours a day, right?
John Hickman:Yeah, pretty, pretty much. And it's like you said, they depending on what scene we're doing. It several, several hours. I had a fight scene with Tyrese Gibson and movie called rogue hostage, and we were working on that for nine hours, and they wound up cutting most of the fighting in the one particular scene, but we worked on that thing forever. It seemed like it was just he and I were the and the stunt guy, his stunt guy. I didn't have a stunt guy, but we're. Working on that for quite a long time. So
Chuck Shute:do they, like, show you how to fall and stuff like that. Do you feel like a mat or something like, okay,
John Hickman:yeah, it's, it's, they take pretty good care of me, even though I'm, I'm pretty old and not really in the best shape, but they don't let me get hurt too much.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, wait, so was that bloodline killer, or, because that was, you were in Tyrese, we're in that movie together, right?
John Hickman:We were, that was the one we did about three years ago, called rogue hostage, and he sets me on fire in it. Oh,
Chuck Shute:so you work with some of these people, like, I know you're in a couple movies with Taryn Manning's in that one, and then you're in some other, yeah, she's so she's so good in uh, Orange is a new black playing, like, oh yeah, I've had her whatever, like,
John Hickman:she is fantastic. And she's really funny. A lot of people don't know that. I mean, she's a really good dancer. She has, I think her background might be in in dance and theater. She's just so cool. I love her to death. It's
Chuck Shute:crazy how, because, like, I think I saw her like an award show or something, and I was like, oh, like, okay, she really is like acting like, because if you see her in Washington, black, I think she's got like, all jagged teeth, and she looks like a meth head, and then you see her like an award show, and she's just beautiful, and you're like, oh, okay, they like, they meth her up for the role or whatever, you know, yeah. So that really is, like, acting, because she's totally whereas you see, like, some of these guys, that they're kind of just playing themselves, you know, like, I mean, it's funny, because everyone says so much about Robert De Niro, but I feel like so many of his roles, he's kind of the same guy, like, he's, like, the New York guy, like, and so, I mean, he does it brilliantly, but it's not like, I mean, he doesn't have a lot of or as much range, I feel like, as some of these other actors.
John Hickman:Yeah. I mean, I haven't had the chance to work with him yet, but I see what you're talking about. And I have worked with Al Pacino on one, one really good movie, and I was amazing, because I got to watch him every day for like, two weeks.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, didn't he, like, yell at you, and that's the reason you got sober?
John Hickman:Yeah? Yeah. It was. It was crazy. The it's American trader, the trial of access Sally. It's a true story. And it was at the end of World War Two when they this lady, from this American lady, was hired by the the Gestapo to do all these propaganda radio shows. And when they caught her after the war was over, they put her on trial for trees, and I played the jury foreman for the trial. And I was, I was the defense of her lead defense attorney,
Chuck Shute:yeah, and so then, like, but you were kind of, like, hungover or something, and then he told you, like, to get your shit together, like, when he was in character.
John Hickman:Oh yeah, yeah, we were in the he was in the middle of a long monolog, and he spotted me. I had started the the DTS had set in, and we were in Puerto Rico, and I was in a wool suit, and it was extremely hot, but when I felt it, I started kind of panicking a little. I was like, Oh no, not now. Not now, please, not. And he was just, I mean, just masterful. Didn't even miss a beat. Walks over as he's doing this, doing his dialog, and gets right over there to the jury railing where I'm sitting, slams his hands down on the railing and says, Son, you need to get your shit together. And then went back into his dialog and didn't even really miss a beat. And, of course, it scared me to death. Do
Chuck Shute:you think they is that the take they used, or they cut that part out, or
John Hickman:you can see it a little bit, I don't know. We did so many takes on his, on the whole, that whole scene, I can, I can see it because, because, you know, I remember, but I don't know if it was the actual the camera that got right up on me. I think they cut that part out. They kind of cut around it. Yeah.
Chuck Shute:Is it? Is it different when you because, I mean, when you watch a movie with Al Pacino, obviously he's amazing, but is it different seeing it like in real life and like being in the scene, or are you even more blown away at how good he is? Yeah,
John Hickman:yeah, it's like a dream. I mean, it's, it doesn't even seem real. He's just so good. I learned so much from him.
Chuck Shute:What did you learn?
John Hickman:Just how to to kind of take control of the scene and how to like I don't, I don't know. It's just, it's hard to explain. He's one of the only, there's only been two short men to ever intimidate me in life, and he was one of them who was the other one. Nick Saban,
Chuck Shute:OH. Oh, did you actually meet him or
John Hickman:Oh, yeah, I went to a party at his house after one of our spring game, and I had it in my head that he knew who I was, because it was right when things started happening for me, and the business was, my business was successful. I started doing TV shows, and I'd set up a scholarship with the athletic department, and I just had it in my head that he knew who I was for some reason. And my wife at the time and I walked in, and he comes right over to me, shakes my hand, said, John, thanks for being here. You know, the whole exchange lasted maybe five seconds, and as he's walking on, I leaned over my wife and I said, Nick freaking Saban knows who I am. She goes, You dumbass, you got a name tag on. That's funny. I was crushed. I thought I was something, you know, that chest bowled out, you know, I thought I'd made it. No, that's
Chuck Shute:still cool that you you got to meet him, though. I mean, if that's if you're that big, because I know how big of a fan you are, I heard you say that you won't even take roles during football season because you're like, Nope, I'm not missing a Bama game
John Hickman:or unless we're shooting like, on a Monday or a Tuesday. No, I don't. I don't usually stay away from those. Do they
Chuck Shute:typically shoot on a Saturday, because that's what's not you, yeah,
John Hickman:not usually, but sometimes I, when I did a movie called The fear way, they had a delay in production, and I had it scheduled to where I was going to rap and then fly from California to Atlanta For the SCT championship game as versus Georgia, and they had some kind of permit or something to get done, and we were delayed today, so I had to stay and film a movie during the SEC championship game. And that was a little nerve, nerve wracking. It was I had was watching it on my phone when I you know, in between scenes,
Chuck Shute:was that last year's,
John Hickman:no, it was three years ago. Okay, yeah,
Chuck Shute:they probably want that. I think they probably won now, I know they, they didn't win last year, so then they didn't get in the playoff or whatever. But then, right, was it like, uh, was it Florida State or something that got in and then they just got killed because our quarterback was hurt? Their quarterback was
John Hickman:hurt. And, yeah, yeah. Well, Florida, we got into the play a part of state did, oh,
Chuck Shute:that's what it was, yeah. Oh, that's right, okay, now, yeah, because Florida State, like, everyone's like, they should have got it, and they were undefeated, but then, like, they just got destroyed in the in the role game because the QB was hurt. So it was kind of like, yeah, they right, made the right decision.
John Hickman:Yeah, definitely, definitely made the right decision. Yeah, no,
Chuck Shute:that's cool. So like, yeah, tell the story. Like, explain how you got into acting, because you didn't start acting until age 40, which is crazy, and it's because you got this, like, walk on roll on True Blood.
John Hickman:Yeah, I was selling chicken out on the West Coast. And there was a fundraiser for LA Children's Hospital. And Alan Ball, the creator of the show this True Blood, the showrunner, he donated a featured walk on roll for this, this auction, I thought, hey, you know, I like, I'm fan of Stowe. I'll bid on it. See if I get it. Well, I got it, and when I did the show, had an amazing time. And I was on set talking with, you know, all the main stars of the show, and I sent a case of this wine that from Alabama to the producers, and, you know, to get I said, I had a great time. Thank you so much. I had a blast. Everybody was awesome. And they invited me back for another scene the following year, and that scene got cut, and then they invited me back, they made me a werewolf, and for the season six, I think it was. And right when I did that episode, they did away with the werewolf storyline for the final season. So I was a unemployed werewolf. Okay,
Chuck Shute:so, so you got, you won this role from the auction river, so then you had this role, so you got in. But then how did you parlay that into because now I think you have like, 40 or 50 credits on IMDb, like, how did you get the next one after True Blood?
John Hickman:After that one, The CW show the originals, they were looking for werewolf type, like extras, and applied for that, and got that. And then I met the creator of that show, Julie Plek, and I did some charity stuff for her for this program that they were really supporting. And she she put me in the originals for an episode, and then she. Let me go over to the Vampire Diaries. That's how I got that. And then I did a couple of small, independent stuff, and I just kind of started building on that. And I was pretty much taking anything that, that I got, like that I applied for that they, you know, they offered me, and, you know, there's no money in that, and I just needed the experience, because I don't have, I didn't study the acting in school.
Chuck Shute:So how do you find these roles? Did you hire an agent? Or do you just go on, like, is there a website where they list it all? Or,
John Hickman:well, I hired, I have a guy that's a producer, that's a really good friend of mine, and he's kind of, he's helped me, guide me, because I don't know any, I didn't know anything about the business at all, and he he does, and he's kind of helped me, and I trust him. And a lot of these roles, or most of these roles, came from my connection to him. He he he could give me an audition. Or if he sees something that, that he thinks that I would be good for, he'll send it to him. And so take a look at that, read this and see if you want to, you know, I know these people. You know might could get you an audition.
Chuck Shute:And a lot of the roles, where are they? Because you're in Alabama, I'm assuming, I'm assuming there's not a lot of shooting in Alabama. Or is there, or do you fly into California for it?
John Hickman:I fly pretty much anywhere. I did a move. I did a move. The guy that directed the gunner. Then gunner was filmed in Alabama, by the way, okay, about 30 minutes from here, we did a movie called jiu jitsu with Nicolas Cage in Cyprus in the country, Cypress in the Middle East, and I spent the whole summer five years ago over there, working on that. Wait,
Chuck Shute:you worked with Nicolas Cage,
John Hickman:yeah. Holy Well, I'm not in any scenes with him, but he was there. And I don't really know him, but he was only there like three, two days, I think, man,
Chuck Shute:that guy's got some really hardcore fans. Like he's, I'm a fan of his. I mean, I like him, but I know some people that like, I mean, they love Nicholas King. They will watch any movie he is in, and he does a lot of movies, so a lot
John Hickman:way more than that dude, yeah.
Chuck Shute:I mean, he's just such a character, like he he's a guy that just doesn't seem to give a crap about like he's just gonna do what he's gonna do, and you don't like it, he doesn't care. And it's just such an interesting guy. I know it's interesting because I was here. I was listening to Pauly Shore was on Joe Rogan, and Polly short was saying, Hey, you should have my buddy, my neighbor, Nick Cage on on the show. And Joe was like, Yeah, sure. And then it never happened. But I kept waiting. I was like, Oh my God, this would be the best episode of Rogan ever to get. Yes, I would inside the Nicholas Cage, right? Because I don't see a lot of interviews.
John Hickman:No, I don't either. I don't. I don't seem to have an Emmy, really? No,
Chuck Shute:yeah. I just think that would be so fascinating to hear his process and just, yeah, just such an interesting character. I know maybe he's, he doesn't do interviews for a reason. Maybe he says crazy shit, I don't know, but I find him interesting. He's a fascinating guy, either way.
John Hickman:Yeah, he is. He's very fascinating.
Chuck Shute:So you didn't get to you didn't really interact with him, though, on that one, no,
John Hickman:all of my scenes were on a different part of the different part of the movie, but and he was there. So he wasn't there very long at all, but it was Frank Grillo was in that. I've done several with him, and a lot of the martial arts famous people were in it that Tony juju, somebody juju, I can't remember her name. They were amazing.
Chuck Shute:That's awesome. And then you did those with those movies that I think are kind of underrated, the Becky movies, like the first one's just called Becky, and the sequel is called the wrath of Becky. The first one on Kevin James from King of Queens, which was so weird, because he's like a bad guy. And like, wow, this guy's like a badass. And then, and the second one, I think the bad guy is Sean William Scott, who was Stiffler. So did you get I can't remember, because it's been a while since I've seen those ones. But did you have scenes with those, those big stars in those movies? Yeah,
John Hickman:well, I didn't with Stifler, but And then Kevin comes in at a different part. I'm in the original, the first Becky, I'm at the beginning and at the end of the movie. But I met initially, I didn't want to do the movie, because I'd heard some things about Kevin that it was all bull crap. But I met him, and he's, like, the nicest guy in the world,
Chuck Shute:really. What did you hear? Because that's, that's it. I saw him. He did Joe Rogan, and he seemed very chill, like, because he's, yeah, comedian originally, right? Yeah,
John Hickman:he's a, he's a comedian. It just all. Um, I don't know, just different tabloids and stuff that, oh, he's, you know, none of that, none of it, none of it's true. I had just talked like a preconceived notion that, you know that, and now shouldn't have I regret that he, uh, he's just a real nice guy. Oh,
Chuck Shute:that's good to hear, yeah, because I, I'm a big fan of King of Queens, like, that's kind of my guilty pleasure for whatever. There's something about that show. It's kind of like a comfort show to me. It's just like, it's really goofy and silly, but I just really like it. His character on that is just, it's so great. It's like, it's kind of underrated, I think very, yeah,
John Hickman:I like all his movies. He's fun, he's hilarious. Yeah,
Chuck Shute:and he now he's friends with, like, Adam Sandler, and so, like, movies together and stuff. It seems like it'd be fun to to get into that, like, realm, you know, yeah, I
John Hickman:would love to be friends with Adam Sandler,
Chuck Shute:I mean, because then he puts you in like, all of his movies. And it just looks like so much fun working with him in those movies. And I think they're doing Happy Gilmore too. And, yeah, that'd be a blast.
John Hickman:Travis Kelsey is gonna be in that I heard. Oh, is he, yeah, Tyler Schlitz, boyfriend, right?
Chuck Shute:Yeah, he's not doing that great this year on the chief. So he's kind of been quiet.
John Hickman:Yeah, he really hasn't. He'll probably get it tuned up. He'll probably get it, get it going,
Chuck Shute:yeah, what is the most fun role that you ever had? Like, what was the most fun you had working on a movie?
John Hickman:Probably the most fun, probably Becky, both of Becky, both of Becky movies. I had a good time. Lulu Wilson is fantastic. She's amazing. She's really funny. And working with and the one of the main killers in the wrath of Becky, I've worked with him on Michael Cerro. I work with him a lot. So he's funny. It just, just had a good time.
Chuck Shute:Were you a sheriff in that one too? No,
John Hickman:well, that, I don't know. There's talks of the third one, and they're kind of trying to Lulu and I were the only two that were in both. And there's, I don't know what they're going to do with my character. I really didn't understand that my characters, and that's why he was in that diner, and she, you know, imagined cutting his throat. The only bad part about that was I had had knee surgery like five or five days before that, so I didn't have to do anything, but it still, I was still in a lot of pain and having to do the, you know, the special effects and all, yeah, but it was fun getting to hang out with her again.
Chuck Shute:Do you get to keep any of the like props, like the gore makeup and stuff like that, or any other sort of props from the film? Do you ever just snag some
John Hickman:No not really. I've gone back to the hotel with a knife wound in my neck, and I forgot to get them to take it off, and I was kind of kind of crazy.
Chuck Shute:That's funny, yeah, that, because that's, like, one of the fun things I would think about working on some of those is just all the special I love, like, special effects. And so I had one of the special effects guys on my show. He helped. One of the movies he'd worked on was the pulp fiction where, like, where they blew his brains out. They worked on that part. I was like, Oh, that's so cool. Like, like, I'd love to have, like, Tom Savini on, like, he's done a lot of the special effects. It just sucks. I don't, they don't do as many of those now, it's a lot of CGI stuff.
John Hickman:Yeah, they and I didn't realize it until I started doing this, this work, that I was I have a claustrophobia, and I didn't. I had no idea until they started putting the stuff on. And I was like, Oh, I don't like this and and Rogue hostage. When I got, I get set on fire, they told me that was going to have to do that. And I said, Well, how long? How long is it going to take to put on this? And, oh, it's going to be an hour. And it took four and a half, four and a half hours to get all I was burned from the waste up. Yeah.
Chuck Shute:I mean, because I know that they said, like, Eddie Murphy, when he did the nutty professor, he was, like, they said he was really patient and really good about putting on, because they had to, you know, all that fat makeup. And then they said, Jim Carrey, it was, like, really hard for him to do the Grinch, to put all that makeup. They had to hire, like a Navy SEAL to help, like, coach him through how you like, mentally tolerant. It's like, terrible, like, uncomfortable. I don't know if it's necessarily pain, but it's just like, you're uncomfortable for, like, yeah, hours like, you know, a long time.
John Hickman:Yeah, it's, it's pretty bad, man, that what I did was nothing like, like, the Grinch deal. I can't imagine. I probably. Couldn't do it. It all depends.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, if it was with, like, a big if it was like, De Niro's like, hey, we need you. You're like, Oh, I think I'll tough it out for
John Hickman:Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Chuck Shute:Or is there anyone else that you haven't worked with yet that you'd like to,
John Hickman:I would like to work with, with Denzel. I think he's amazing. And I hear he's he's pretty, very nice guy. I'd like to work with him. I do want to work with Nikki Glaser one day. She's a comedian, yeah, yeah. She's really funny. I'm getting to go to one of her shows in November. I think I'm excited about that. I've had tickets to three shows, and it's always I've had to a movie. Things come up, or something's always come up. So I'm hoping this time I'll get to see it. Yeah,
Chuck Shute:Denzel would be cool. I love his I'm a fan of his acting, but I also really love I don't you've ever heard him, like, speak and do, like, motivational speeches, and tell us, yeah, tell his story of how he was, like, a broke drop, college dropout or whatever. And then it's like, some lady said that he's going to be this famous actor, and he's like, he didn't believe it. And then, like, I don't know, it's just he when he gives those speeches. I mean, I don't know how much truth it is, or if he's exaggerating, but it's definitely, really inspiring. Yeah,
John Hickman:definitely, definitely, yeah, he's, he's, he would motivate me a lot, but yeah, and that's the thing, when I work with these, these actors like that, it really helps me my performance, because I'm, I've worked so hard to to, you know, to get to that level, and I'm just better. I'm just better at my work. When I, you know, when I'm working with some money like that, it's very intimidating, but it helps me a lot.
Chuck Shute:For sure, how do you prepare for your roles, like, I mean, with the latest movie gunner, and you're a sheriff, like you follow a sheriff around. Or do you, do you meet with a real Sheriff at all? Or do you just kind of base it on what you've seen? Well,
John Hickman:I'm, I know a lot of the cops and stuff here, and I am the sheriff. Well, Ted sections. He's not the sheriff anymore, but I was friends with him a lot, and I kind of had something to pull from. And I get to be the nice guy, the good guy, and this one and so that doing the right thing was not as much of a stretch, stretch for me, because I'm like, one of the nicest guys. You know, that's it's just, I didn't have to be all evil, and, you know, like a killer, anything like that. So it was, it was a little easier than, than, than a lot of these roles, because I'm usually cast as the bad guy, and a lot of lot of these things,
Chuck Shute:okay, yeah, like, you have some movies coming up. Tell me about the Montauk movie with a because that's rolly Molly Ringwald and Charlie to haunt. I think is that about the Montauk Project, because I, I'm really fascinated by that whole story.
John Hickman:It's about the the vacation town and on Long Island, when that's where we shot it. Okay? This little, supposedly, this little island is kind of secluded there, and it's supposed to believe this rich old lady has treasure. And these, these college kids are not the local they're like in their 20s, or, you know, late teens. They go to try to find, find out what's good. We shot that like five or six years ago, and it hasn't, it hasn't come out yet, but working with Molly Ringwald was, it was, it was funny, because the director, when he they brought me in, I played a cop in that one too, and he said, Okay, you're, you're, you're meeting her for the first time, and you're infatuated, you're, you're Just like, really smitten, so I don't have to act, because I used to. I love Molly Ringwald. She's, oh yeah,
Chuck Shute:she's great.
John Hickman:She's really cool. I had met her on one of my first movies she she worked on. We weren't in a scene together, but she was at the debuted at Tribeca, and she was at the after party. I got to chat with her a little bit. But I wish that movie would come out. It's, it's, I get killed. Oh, spoiler alert there. Yeah,
Chuck Shute:so there's that one, and then there's that the movie, fog of war. You're in that one right with John Cusack and Mira sarvino. Those are two huge
John Hickman:stars. Yeah, I didn't, I didn't get to my scene. I just had, I'm barely in it. I've got one, like two little bitty scenes. It. That movie is going to be. I think it's gonna, it should be pretty good, because it's a world war two drama, and which I kind of, I kind of like those, you know, personally, and I was hoping it would be done before my dad passed away, to pass away in March. I was hope that was one I wanted him to see. I see, that's what get that a lot of that, he's
Chuck Shute:sorry to hear that. Yeah, I love world war two movies. It's such a fascinating era, for sure.
John Hickman:Yeah, yeah, the American trader was, is, you know, it's World War Two. That was only other. I think that's only other one. World War Two movie I did.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, I realized when I was looking at your credits too, I saw another movie that you've done, that I've seen, actually, was the vault with James Franco. That was kind of a cool movie. It was about these, like ghosts and a bank and stuff and tear man, too. Yeah,
John Hickman:yeah. That's where I first met her. Yeah, that I get my brains blowed out by, you know, in that movie too, that was kind of that the guy that that had the mask on, I never saw his face the whole time I was there. He never took it off, and he was just very scary. Yeah, that they shot it in a old jail over in Atlanta, an abandoned jail, and it the power went out one night we were in there, and that was kind of scary.
Chuck Shute:Yeah, that is scary, is there? Have you had those kinds of experiences in some of these shooting locations where it's like in creepy buildings like that.
John Hickman:Oh yeah, yeah. It's nothing, nothing, really, you know, nothing that really freaked me out, but it's which I've shot in some really, really cool places. So the I shot a scene in the informant over in in London is the movies and, you know, based in America, but we shot that over the indoor stuff. We shot over in this old Masonic Lodge in London. And it was me and the rapper common, we set for hours. And, you know, in between talking and all he's, he's super, super guy. Love him.
Chuck Shute:Wow, that's cool to hear. I love to hear that. Like, when these stars are, like, super, down to earth and nice, like Kevin James and common, like, all these guys are nice guys, because it just makes you want to, you know, support them more and be a fan. Yeah,
John Hickman:I haven't really had any bad experiences, so to speak. But I worked with Tommy Lee. The only movie I've done this year was with Tommy Lee Jones, and he was, he's, he's quite the character. He he was no nonsense. I mean, boom, but he moved so fast, and I had to do a little bit of a stun in that. And he was kind of getting a little impatient with me, but I didn't take it personal. I told him when we wrapped, I said, Thank you for you know your guidance, and means a lot. Yeah,
Chuck Shute:he's an amazing actor. Have you ever seen that game of him where it's like a picture of Tommy Lee Jones and it says, like Tommy Lee Jones looked like you just told him your pronouns or something. He's just making
John Hickman:this face. Really fun.
Chuck Shute:That's a great one cool well, gunner is out now. I just bought it on prime, and I'm almost done with it. I'm like, three quarters of the way done.
John Hickman:It's long. Yeah,
Chuck Shute:it's a good movie. Those Becky movies are great that I've seen. I've seen that you do the vault. That was a good one, and then you have these other ones coming out. So that's exciting. Anything else to promote
John Hickman:on the behind the camera? I produce a documentary that it's making the film festival circuit right now. It'll, it'll probably go to streaming here pretty probably, I would think this fall,
Chuck Shute:I hope, oh, I want to see the jailhouse to Millhouse or whatever. Yeah,
John Hickman:Pamela Hayden is so amazing. She just the more I've got to know her and and, you know, she's so good. She's been so good to me, and she was one of my only Hollywood friends that when I went to rehab for the alcohol addiction that Pacino sent me to, she called me, check on me, sent me cards, sent me packages, like every every week for I was in there. I was there for three months, and she was other than my family. She was the only one that that really encouraged me, and I probably wouldn't have gotten, gotten through it if it wasn't one for her. And she's
Chuck Shute:the voice of Milhouse on the seasons, and that's kind of her claim, like, that's the biggest. Role that she's in, but she was a, so it's called the movies, called jailhouse, to know how so was she originally in jail?
John Hickman:Oh, she was in a boarding this really bad. She thought it was gonna be a boarding school, and it was, it was a bad situation. There's a lot of drugs involved. And she wound up in a it's I call it, I would call it a jail. It's bad situation. She, she took me to a Simpsons table read a few years ago. And wow, I was, I thought I was gonna, you know, I was like, Oh, I'm professional, and my the Creator, they gave me a script, and he drew this little thing of BART Millhouse on it. And I was like, I turned in once everybody started reading this, the script, I was like, little 10 year old took me back to my childhood. It was so awesome. That's
Chuck Shute:amazing. I love the Simpsons. Wow, that's cool. I can't wait to see that movie. That'll be fun.
John Hickman:Yeah, it'll, it'll, it'll make you tear up a little bit. It's, she has an amazing story, okay,
Chuck Shute:yeah, I'd love to have her on the podcast to promote it. If she's doing press,
John Hickman:yeah, I think, I think she is. I'll call her. I'll when. I'll send her this too. I'll try to send her these ones that I mentioned. You know the movie and things like that, but
Chuck Shute:cool. All right. Well, thanks John, and thank you for having us. Gunners out now and all right. Well, good luck to your team this Saturday. Roll Tide.
John Hickman:I roll tide. Thanks. All right, have a good one.
Chuck Shute:Bye, bye.
