That Guy ... Who Was in That Thing 1 Page #9

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he went everywhere with me.

You know, as long as

I'm in show business, you got

someone to scratch your ass.

You hear me?

But when I met Lisa, my wife,

Lisa Giobbi, who was a

choreographer--

Everything sort of fell into

place, and I was--you're right.

I was just turning 40.

I was 39 years old, and I

thought "this--I think it's time

for me to be with this person."

Well, I was here in L.A.

Trying to, you know, do film

and television, and I'd already

bought a house by then.

And I met my wife.

She came to rent a room at my

house, but it was too expensive

for her, so she turned it down.

But we ended up going to a party

and hooking up anyway.

Now, she stays for free.

I married a woman who had

studied acting, had given it

a bit of a go in New York,

came out here, went on one

too many "Baywatch" auditions

and just said, "f*** this sh*t."

I think because you

understand each other, you

understand the lifestyle

you understand what is--

You have to go on location--

I do get obsessed the minute

I get a job.

And my wife is wonderful

because she says, "okay, he's

gone.

He's at the Ramada inn even

if he's upstairs.

He's--he's gone."

Because I need that 24-hour

focus on that character in that

work.

I'm very lucky that my wife

is 100% behind me.

I've spent a lot of time away

from home.

Yeah, no.

My--my wife is a model.

And my--my brothers were

always very supportive.

You know, when I'd be broke and

I wouldn't, you know,

necessarily even ask them

to borrow money but they'd--

There would be check in the

mail for a few hundred bucks.

I'd be like, "oh, thank god.

Hey, I made my rent."

It helps to have a brother

who's a dentist, and you can

call up and say, "can you float

me a loan?" Which I always

paid back, but, I mean, I had

a safety net.

I did.

I'd worked with this one

producer, and he used to tell

young actors, when they would

ask him, he would say--and they

would say, "what's the most

important thing for a young

actor to have?"

And he would say,

"rich parents."

In my mind, it's always about

keeping your nut low.

I mean, I drive--I drive

a 14-year-old Honda accord.

You know, my wife and I

live like hippies.

We have no television.

We have no dining room set.

We don't eat at a table.

People can usually figure

out the economics, you know,

with way--you know,

jobs--temporary jobs or

something or borrowing money

or, you know, running up their

credit cards or something.

But it's the mental thing that

trips you up.

Sometimes I don't deal with

it very well, to be honest with

you.

You know, that's when drugs

and alcohol will get involved

too, you know, people

self-medicate just to survive

the day-to-day rejection.

I used to, every night--the

night would be spent sitting

in front of a TV and smoking

and having a drink or two

until I sought the bed.

"Perhaps I'm abusing," is what

I thought.

I didn't really know, but I

thought, "if you're sitting and

getting, you know, f***ed up

every night after--late into

the night, is that healthy?"

I think it's always a mistake

to try to find happiness in

your work or to define your

happiness through your work.

Plant a garden, fall in love,

have a pet, have a hobby.

I took up martial arts when

I was 40.

You gotta do something

where--where you're interested

in it and you're having a good

time even if you're not happy.

[whistles]

[indistinct chatter]

Basketball's been a real

good thing for me.

You know, it's therapy.

Four, two, right?

And it made me think that

everything we do on the

basketball court is kind of

related to acting, you know.

Like, you learn to commit

to whatever move you're making.

[buzzer]

I think that one of the nice

things about acting even though

it's a grind, and it's highly

competitive, that you have time

to be with your family, and you

have time to be in your life.

We generally skate once--once

every month, I guess.

At least once a month.

I mean, I'd like to get him

involved in hockey, which is--

I don't want to do hockey.

You don't want to do that?

[indistinct chatter]

[gentle piano music]

I wasn't the yoga guy.

Long ago, I was a gym rat,

boxing.

My wife got into yoga and for

years tried to lure me in.

She'd say, "oh, you really

should come try it.

It's really great."

And, "no, listen, you do your

thing, I'll do mine."

I was totally rude about it.

And she finally got me when she

said, "oh, don't worry, it

would just kick your ass

anyway."

And I never went in the gym

again.

It's really--it literally

changed my life, I mean, from

having, like, multiple knee

operations, foot operations,

things that really hampered my

ability to move.

I've been, like, pain-free with

my knees for years now.

The focus it's giving me in

terms of acting is amazing.

It's made me a calmer person.

My wife won't agree, but it's

made me a better dad, better

husband.

I-I do yoga every day.

[gong hits]

Someone told me once that

yoga is natural Viagra.

Guys.

[upbeat music]

So, Ian, like I was telling

you, in this line of work,

you need hobbies because if

you're sitting around, waiting

for a job, you'll go insane.

I'm lucky enough that I work on

a show that brings me to the

beautiful northwest, except I'm

in Canada, B.C., so that's the--

What is that?

That'd be the southwest.

To take advantage of being

on a beautiful location and do

something really cool like

fly-fishing even though I'm not

very good at it.

Props, props.

Props, can we get a fish

please?

I like to read.

I play a lot of musical

instruments.

[singing] FROM BLUE TO GRAY

to green.

The prettiest eyes I've seen.

Anytime you're out of work,

you're not sure how long that

period will be.

Well, I know actors who

don't work for three years

a stint, or two years.

I didn't get any auditions

for about six months,

and I was on unemployment.

I had a house, a brand-new

baby girl.

She was only, like, six or nine

months old, and I totally

flipped out at that point.

How many people in the country

have a budget where they don't

have to work for six months?

I'm pretty good with the

dough because when I get it,

I keep it, and I know it could

be a dry spell for a long

period of time.

I had friends who were on

shows, who were regulars on

shows making it, to me, a great

paycheck, and they just pissed

it all away.

I was always cheap, so

I saved my money.

Because you know, it is a

roller coaster ride, and it

plummets as high as it climbs

sometimes.

And especially, as a character

actor, you really, you know,

the ship doesn't always come in

to hold you above water for--

For more than a few weeks.

I did have a rough patch

about, I'll be guessing now,

but probably about four or five

years in, I didn't work for

a year.

That was sobering but not--it

didn't derail me.

It didn't--it didn't make me

have to wonder, "oh, my god,

what happens when everything

comes to a grinding halt?"

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