← Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito
Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito
Celebrity Jobber with Jeff Zito - Seann William Scott
00:18:19
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- [00:00]
Sean William Scott
Foreign.
- [00:05]
Jeff Zito
And thanks for checking out another episode of the Celebrity Jobber podcast. Taking a look at celebrities, what their life was like before they were famous and what led them on their path to stardom. Streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, listen wherever you consume podcasts and please subscribe. We'd love a five star rating and of course, please leave a review. And if you want to check out our past guest and episodes, you could do so online. Celebrity jobber.com plus you can follow on insta celebrityjobberpodcast or the YouTube channel, which is YouTube.com the celebrity jobber. My guest this week is famous for his role as Steve Stifler in the movie American Pie. He's also been in films like Dude, Where's My Car, Road Trip, the duke's a hazzard, Mr. Woodcock, role models and currently starring in the ABC sitcom Shifting Gears with Tim Allen. He's the youngest of seven siblings from Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Graduated from Park High School where he was a part of the varsity football and basketball teams. He attended the University of Wisconsin and Glendale Community College. We'll talk to him about growing up in Minnesota. Of course, what got him interested in acting, his big break and of course his first job or jobs. Might have a couple. He is Sean Williams Scott and he's my guest this week on Celebrity Jobber.
- [01:38]
Podcast Announcer
The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Zito. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, give a five star rating and leave a review. Check out all our past episodes on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you pod. What if these celebrities weren't famous? What would they have become? What was their first job? We're about to find out.
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Jeff Zito
Sean, how are you, man?
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Sean William Scott
Hey, I'm good. How you doing?
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Jeff Zito
I'm doing pretty good. You know, it's funny, I was, I was just thinking, you know, just kind of reading, you know, history, bio stuff, just kind of getting prepared and I'm like, you know what Sean did for pop culture? You put a name on everybody's friend that's, you know, that friend. You know what I mean? Like, everybody has a Stifler in their life. And when I was just thinking about all of your roles, that that is exactly what you did for pop culture. Everybody's got that friend.
- [02:35]
Sean William Scott
That's funny. Yet you know what? It's true. Everybody, everybody has a stiffer friend. You kind of love them, you kind of hate them.
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Jeff Zito
It's true. Now, can I ask you, Sean, and you don't have to tell me this, but you obviously had to base this on a real life person?
- [02:53]
Sean William Scott
No, you know what? I. There are multiple people. I feel like there's a little bit of stiffness, I think, in most dudes. I think we all. You know what I mean? But I think that, like, all of my friends, you know, from home in Minnesota are very, very funny. And there was, like, little quirks and little things that I stole from a lot of them and just, you know, used for the character. So, yeah, I would say four or five of my buddies from high school.
- [03:23]
Podcast Announcer
The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Zito.
- [03:26]
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- [03:56]
Podcast Announcer
The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Zito.
- [03:59]
Jeff Zito
And do you use a little of that character in a lot of other things you do? Like, I know you're in this new. Well, it's not new. Second season of Tim Allen's Shifting Gears. Do you. Do you. Is there a little. Little bit of. A little bit of Stifler in your role in Shifting Gears or.
- [04:19]
Sean William Scott
No, you know, not. Not. I mean, maybe. I mean, throughout my career, of course, you know, I just leaned into those types of characters because it was really right. A lot of things that were coming my way, and I was like, all right, man, I got to make the best of these opportunities. And, you know, it's like, let's just try to make people laugh. But in Shifting Gears, the character. I think the only real similarity is that my character is not that smart, and I think that's more. But my character in Shifting Gears is like a good guy, and he's kind of like a human yellow laugh. You know, it's a little different.
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Jeff Zito
A human yellow lab. Very, very faith. Very faithful man, huh? Loyal. Loyal man.
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Sean William Scott
Yeah. Yep.
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Jeff Zito
By the way, Shifting Gears, season two, that's Wednesdays on abc. And Sean, I mean, could you rewind all the way back? I mean, you. You look like you were pretty athletic guy. What? You know, when you were younger, before you even got into acting, what. What did you think you were gonna do with your life?
- [05:24]
Sean William Scott
You know, I had no idea. I mean, I grew. I grew up playing sports. You know, baseball, basketball, football. I think that, like, you know, when I decided to be an actor. I was obviously in high school, maybe, like, before my junior. Oh, no, no, it was actually. I think it was before my senior year in high school. And it was literally because I loved movies so much, and it was like, I just remember thinking, like, I just want to do this. I want to make people feel the same way that I feel. I want to see something great. I mean, it was super naive, but it was literally just based on that. I was, like, moving to la. But, yeah, I think I was too young, you know, prior to that to really have any idea what sort of profession I would pursue.
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Jeff Zito
Yeah. You know, like, a lot of people at that age are like, yeah, hey, want to be a rock star? I want to be in movies. Move to LA. 99.9% of those people, it doesn't work out that way for them. What was different with. With you? What, was there a big break? Was there something that happened to you? And bam, everything changed.
- [06:28]
Sean William Scott
I think a lot of luck, obviously, with American Pie, and I'd been in LA for three years at that point. I mean, it's just unbelievable that I got that opportunity. But I think being an athlete helped a lot because, you know, just having good work ethic and. And being competitive and putting in the work and just. I could tell that, you know, the year before I got American Pie, I was getting better, auditioning and taking more risks. But no, I don't. I really don't know. What's really crazy is I wasn't auditioning for comedies. It wasn't really. Even though my family, you know, they're very funny, I was pursuing really darker roles. Those are the kind of things that I really wanted to do. And then when American Pie came around, I was like, well, dude, I don't look 18. Like, I don't. And I don't look like a high schooler. I'm never gonna get this part. So let me just, like, go in and, you know, kind of improvise and make this character something that I'm imagining. And I was like, holy shit, I got the part right. Yeah, that was a huge break. But, yeah, I don't know. I think a lot of it was a lot of luck.
- [07:34]
Podcast Announcer
The Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito Celebrity Jobber.
- [07:39]
Jeff Zito
What about your very first job? Not. Not in acting, just your very first job. What was it?
- [07:46]
Sean William Scott
Oh, man. You know what? My cousin got me a job because I wanted to make some money. When I decided I was gonna move to la, he. In our hometown, there's a Chinese restaurant and he's like, hey, I can get you a job washing dishes. Dude, that lasted a day. I was like, this sucks, man. My hands are burning. This is way too hard. And then I think the next job was, like, Cracker Barrel.
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Jeff Zito
Okay.
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Sean William Scott
And I walked in, got the job, and then I remember the boss was, like, showing me what I was supposed to do. And I remember thinking, this looks like too much work. And I go, hey, where's the bathroom? And I just found the exit and just went home. Too much.
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Jeff Zito
That's classic.
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Sean William Scott
What's the easiest job I can find?
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Jeff Zito
Oh, that's classic. Yeah. I'll be right back. You know, you're gonna laugh, but we had somebody, like, I. We hired somebody like that at the radio station, where he moved down here. He was going to be the boss. And he, like, went to lunch. He's like, hey, man, I'm. I'm just going to lunch. I'll see. And he never came back. And this is a guy that, like, moved here from. But he. He pulled your move. That is. That is pretty awesome, man.
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Sean William Scott
That's fantastic. I know. I know how he feels, but that's like. But that's a little different because he intentionally went there, right, to work with you guys. And do you think he was just, like. He walked around. He's like, not for me. Yeah, I think car just drove away.
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Jeff Zito
Yeah. I think he was a little older in life, and I think that, you know, our location is here in southwest Florida, so not a bad place to be. And I think he was completely overwhelmed with the job description. In the beginning of the day, I was like, screw this. I'm going out the exit door, not coming back. Sean, could you tell me a little bit about your character in Shifting Gears? I love Tim Allen. I love everything, you know, the. The shows that he's. He's on. And can you tell me a little. And you said your character had something in common with Stifler, and that was. He wasn't the. The smartest man, but could you tell me a little bit about your character?
- [09:50]
Sean William Scott
Yeah, I mean, you know, I just. I basically play, you know, mechanic in. In Tim's, you know, restoration car restoration shop. And, you know, the character has kind of grown up with Tim's family and has known Kat Dennings, plays wonderful. And plays his daughter. And, you know, they've, you know, been friends, you know, since they were kids, and. But they kind of have, like, a little chemistry. And, I mean, that's kind of it. You know, I'm just kind of. It's Just one of those characters in these types of shows that's just there and, you know, cracks one liners and stuff. And I'm with Darrel Chill Mitchell, another act, fantastic actor, and he and I are working in the shop. And yeah, we're just those two kind of characters in these sitcoms where they're just like the funny guys, but everybody's right. That's. That's really it, man. That's my character.
- [10:44]
Jeff Zito
You know, though, the concept, though, of the whole show is just very relating. You know, these days, you know, it's, you know, Tim's daughter is moving back to, you know, his house with her kids. It just seems like that's a situation that a lot of people have to. Nobody wants to move back in with mom and dad when things go south, either with your job or your marriage, but it's just a fact of life. It happens. And this is like a really kind of a cool show because it's just relatable to a lot of people when they hit that bump in the road and just reminds me of that. So I do think it's. It's relatable for a lot of people.
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Sean William Scott
Yeah, I agree. I think it's. Yeah, the premise is really sweet, you know, and, you know, two people, you know, with Tim's characters, you know, going through grieving the loss of his wife and, you know, and, you know, like a father and a daughter who's going through divorce, living together with different views on the world and trying to navigate that. Yeah, I think it's just the right touch of, you know, relatability, you know, and it creates a lot of fun sort of scenarios in comedy. But it's. I love the show. I really. I. I hope we get to do many seasons of it. I think it's just a lot of fun.
- [12:02]
Podcast Announcer
The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Szeto Celebrity Jobber Tim Allen.
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Jeff Zito
Looks like a lot of fun to work with, for sure.
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Sean William Scott
He's awesome. He's like, he is awesome. He reminds me a little bit of. Of my dad who had passed. Like, he had a very similar sense of humor. He's also like a big kid. Like, you know, he's just, you know, he's very, very funny. It was funny. We were just talking the other day because he's a huge Detroit Lions fan. Yeah, he's just like, whoa. It's like a love hate thing. And he's like, man, he's like, you know, I hate the show, you know, and then it's like I'm screaming at the tv. And I'm like. I'm like, man, that's what my dad did with the Vikings. It's like, why do you. Why do you get so stressed?
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Jeff Zito
I don't know. It happens, though, man. I'm like that with the Buccaneers. Sean Williams. Scott, shifting gears Wednesday, abc. Pleasure speaking with you, man. Thanks so much.
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Sean William Scott
Same here. No, thanks for having me on. Great talking to you. Take care, bud.
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Jeff Zito
Thanks, man. Take care. He's a pretty nice guy. Definitely not like his character, Steve Stifler, who, by the way, you know, I am a big fan of the American Pie movies. When that came out, you know, I was just out of college, maybe about 24, 25, and they were, you know, seniors in high school going to college. So they're, you know, a little bit behind me, coming of age type of movie. But Steve Stifler, that character in American Pie, I think every group of friends has this guy who you just. You can't stand. He's obnoxious, he's a pain in the ass, but you love him, and he hangs around your group. And in my opinion, I'm pretty sure that Sean based that character on somebody he knows. But again, he's a pretty nice guy, so he probably doesn't want to out this. This real person. Regardless, his dad passed away when he was young and kind of talked about his dad and his love for sports. He said he was a big Minnesota Vikings fan, and it reminded him a lot of Tim Allen. He says his. His dad was quite a bit like Tim Allen in a lot of ways. Funny guy, passionate about his team, as Tim is passionate about his Detroit Lions, you know, and we can all assume that, you know, his big break in life was getting the role of Steve Stifler in American Pie. Right. It was just a huge movie. And after that movie, he's been cast in a whole lot of different films. Some that I am really a big fan of, like, role models. Mr. Woodcock, of course. American Pie. Dude, where's my Car? You know, most of Sean William Scott's movies, I'm a big fan of. Very first job, washing dishes at a Chinese restaurant. You know, I've heard that one a few times, but I thought it was such a classic story that he told. His very second job, because the Chinese dishwashing job only lasted one day. His second job, he got a gig at the Cracker Barrel, which I love the Cracker Barrel, man. Very consistent, inexpensive, good food. And I guess, overwhelmed by the job early on, he said to whoever he was working with, hey, where's the bathroom and he hit the back door, went into his car, drove out of there, and never, never came back. So his first two jobs only lasted one day each. And his new ABC sitcom, Shifting Gears with Tim Allen, Wednesday nights, 8pm on ABC and available to stream on Hulu the following day. Sean Williams Scott really cool guy. So thank you very much for checking out another episode of the Celebrity Jobber podcast this week, ranked at number eight on the Apple Podcast music charts and number three on the Apple Podcast music and interviews chart. Once again, past guests and episodes online@celebrityjobber.com and streaming everywhere. So please subscribe. We'd love a five star rating. And of course, please leave a review. Thank you once again and until next time, see you then. Jeff Zito.