From Boxer to Actor: Sean Kerrigan’s Inspiring Journey | Sean Carrigan DSH #1337

Summary

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Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Episode Title: From Boxer to Actor: Sean Kerrigan’s Inspiring Journey
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Sean Kerrigan
Date: April 18, 2025
Episode Number: #1337

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Overview

In this episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly sits down with actor and former professional boxer Sean Kerrigan. The conversation is a raw, energetic exploration of Kerrigan's journey from a tough childhood and amateur boxer to a Division 1 college wrestler before ultimately breaking into acting. Drawing from stories of family adversity, personal fears, and career pivots, Kerrigan’s story intertwines themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the value of hard work. The episode is packed with anecdotes of scrappy family life, pivotal fights, navigating addiction within the family, serendipitous career moves, and the challenges of Hollywood—serving as both an unfiltered reflection and a source of inspiration for aspiring athletes and actors.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Film Release and the Changing Movie Industry

• Grace Point: Kerrigan’s latest film, available on Amazon and Apple TV.
• Industry Shifts: Discussion of how streaming platforms have transformed film distribution and the struggle for visibility in a crowded digital landscape.
• Alternative Routes: Nods to creators like Andrew Schulz who find success outside mainstream platforms.
  • Kerrigan acknowledges, “People are just trying to get their stuff made and get it seen...but now it’s just getting flooded.” (01:00)

Notable Quotes:

• “It must be tough these days to make a top selling movie, right?” – Sean Kelly (01:00)
• “It’s hard to get people to sit down for a whole film. But our movie’s good, and hopefully people watch it.” – Sean Kerrigan (01:13)

2. The Boxing and Wrestling Foundation

• Early Start: Kerrigan’s immersion into boxing began at 16 in gyms with his father, inspired by a need for self-defense and to overcome childhood feelings of powerlessness after his parents' divorce.
• Family Tradition: Tough love and fighting were part of his Irish family legacy. Backyard scraps, often encouraged by his father, were pivotal in shaping Kerrigan and his brothers.
• Brotherly Rivalry: “My dad was always trying to get his sons fights.” (05:13); childhood brawls, sometimes immortalized in family photos.

Notable Quote:

• “I’ll take a physical ass kicking, man.” – Sean Kerrigan on the difference between old-school fights versus modern cyberbullying (06:47)

3. Adversity, Growth, and Mental Fortitude through Sport

• Struggles Early On: Kerrigan shares candidly about not being a natural athlete—losing often in his early days of wrestling and boxing.
• Turning the Corner: A transformative wrestling camp (Jay Robinson Intensive Camp) instilled grit and goal-setting, leading to his breakthrough senior season.
  • “We had a shirt that said ‘I’m going to heaven because I’ve been through hell’.” (08:43)
• The Power of Hard Work: His father’s mantra—“Just keep working. One day, a window will open, and everything will get easier”—proved true in boxing sparring, a lesson Kerrigan holds close.

Notable Story:

• Kerrigan recalls how during his amateur boxing days, a peer continually outclassed him:
  • “He’d beat my ass all the time… And my dad would just say, ‘Just keep working, just keep working.’ … One day, it was just like my dad said: wow, the light went off and that guy never beat me after that.” (11:39)

4. Identity, Fear, and Resilience

• Battling Instincts: Kerrigan vulnerably shares a pivotal moment in junior high, freezing during a fight while wanting to help friends—a sense of fear that haunted him until he confronted it head-on through combat sports.
  • “I can conquer being scared and frozen…that’s why I did it.” (15:24)
• Value of Sports: Boxing and wrestling, beyond skills, gave him identity and character in an otherwise “lost” high school life.

Notable Quote:

• “The thing I love about sports is working hard at something gives you character…you start having some success and you start to feel, okay, this is, like, I am here. I’m seeing this hard work pay off.” (12:28)

5. Family: Brotherhood, Adversity, and Addiction

• Tough Upbringings: Kerrigan’s brothers, both talented fighters and wrestlers, ultimately struggled with addiction and incarceration, a recurring family theme.
• Real-Life Rescue: Reminiscent of a movie, Kerrigan tells the story of rescuing his brother from a crack house with his college wrestling teammates.
  • “My buddies Mark and Ty…we pull up to this house and I go, ‘I don’t know how this is going to go, but I’m going to go kick that front door in and start yelling…’” (24:51)
• Grace Point’s Relevance: The theme of addiction in Kerrigan’s new film is intensely personal, reflecting realities from his own family.

Notable Quote:

• “I had to break my brother out of a crack house one time…straight out of a movie.” (23:43)

6. Fatherhood, Family Connections, and Personal Growth

• Intergenerational Perspectives: Kerrigan touches on different upbringings among siblings, reflecting empathy for their hardships and reinforcing his commitment to family.
• New Chapter: He shares the joy of expecting twins with his partner, marking a new phase in his life.
  • “We just found out that we’re having twins…I told her beforehand, ‘We need two for one, I’m not getting any younger.’” (27:24)

7. Transition to Acting: Fulfilling an Early Dream

• Early Inspirations: As a child, Kerrigan reenacted Star Wars scenes for his mom—acting always having been a dream.
• Deliberate Path: Even in his senior year, he declared, against skepticism, that he’d finish wrestling and boxing before turning to acting.
  • “I used to tell people in my class…’I’m gonna go to college, try to be an All American in wrestling…I’m gonna have a brief pro career in boxing, and then I’m gonna become an actor.” (30:22)
• Breaking In: Kerrigan shares how a chance conversation with Michael Rappaport led him to pursue acting in LA (“Then you got to go to LA, man.” – 31:37).
• Father’s Doubt to Support: His dad warned he’d “be driving cabs for the rest of your life,” but later became his biggest fan, verifying his identity as ‘Stitch’ from The Young and the Restless for friends at the Moose Lodge.
  • “Your dad says you’re Stitch…I don’t believe it… Oh my God, it IS Stitch!” (34:24)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On facing childhood fear
  “I froze because I was scared, and I felt like…I literally couldn’t make myself, I couldn’t…go help. That feeling of being scared and frozen…I can’t live my life like that.”
  — Sean Kerrigan (14:08)

• Ring advice that stuck for life
  “This next round ain’t about boxing. This next round is about heart. It’s about how much heart you got…Get out there and you give it everything.”
  — Jim Ed Jones, via Sean Kerrigan (16:14)

• Turning point realization
  “One day it was just like my dad said: the light went off…and that guy never beat me after that.”
  — Sean Kerrigan (11:39)

• On choosing acting despite family skepticism
  “He said, ‘You’re going to be driving cabs for the rest of your life.’ I go ‘Hey, I’ll show you, Pop—one day you’ll see me on the big screen.’”
  — Sean Kerrigan (31:26)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Film industry & streaming discussion: 00:37–02:25
• Boxing upbringing and family legacy: 05:12–07:32
• Turning point at Jay Robinson Wrestling Camp: 07:45–09:18
• Father’s advice: just keep working: 10:18–12:10
• Freezing from fear, motivation to fight: 14:01–15:35
• Pivotal first boxing match & ‘heart’ lesson: 16:32–18:30
• Family addiction & rescue story: 23:43–25:55
• Personal growth, fatherhood, twins news: 27:12–28:32
• Acting journey, Michael Rappaport encounter: 31:23–32:30
• Father coming around to acting career: 34:24–34:30

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Where to Follow & Final Thoughts

• Sean Kerrigan on Instagram: @TheRealSeanKerrigan
• ‘Grace Point’ now available to buy/rent on Amazon and Apple TV.

Final Note:
Kerrigan’s journey is a testament to perseverance, confronting fear, and the enduring bonds of family. His story reminds listeners of the power of hard work, both in the ring and beyond, and the redemptive arcs that life can take with the right mindset and support.

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Transcript

[Sean Kerrigan]

These movies. And I think she knew at that point that I wanted to be an actor. But, you know, when I was in high school, I had these athletic goals that I wanted to try to hit. I wanted to go to Division one program, wrestle in division, you know, Division one, try to be an All American. And then I also wanted to have, have an amateur career, more of an amateur career, and then turn pro and fight professionally.

[Podcast Host]

All right, guys, fellow Sean here today got an actor and a new release, right? Grace Point.

[Sean Kerrigan]

That's right. Grace Point.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, just came comes. It's out already, but it's out on.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Amazon and Apple tv.

[Podcast Host]

I love it, man. And so was that your most recent film?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, yo. Actually I just shot something called Demonetized. It's coming out in April. But yeah, Grace Point. You know, we've been working. Rory Karp, the guy who directed it, he's been working on this film, getting this film together for a long time. And, and we got a great cast and we shot it a few years ago and it's finally coming out. And.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, and we're happy it's getting the attention it deserves.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It must be tough these days to make, make a top selling movie, right?

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, I think so. I mean, you know, it's a tough time. You know, a lot going on with, you know, streaming and, you know, movies. It's just, you know, and plus there's like so many distractions in the world, you know what I mean? So it's hard to get people to sit down for a whole film. But our, you know, our movie's good and, you know, hopefully people watch it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah. I feel like there's a power shift towards the streaming platforms now. It seems like they're having a lot of power.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, they are. I mean, you know, that's, that's the way the world goes, you know, I mean, it's for inconvenience because I've had.

[Podcast Host]

A lot of documentary filmmakers on the podcast and they have numerous stories of how they can't even get on Netflix because they said certain things in the documentary.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Oh, right. Yeah. I mean, look, you know, at the end of the day, know, people just trying to get their stuff made and get it seen. And, you know, I think there's, I think the, the, the platform has gone. Gotten bigger for that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

But now it's just getting flooded. And so, you know, people, you know, and I don't know what, you know, sponsorships people have with other, you know, you know, with, with stuff, you know, stuff on their Site and why they won't air movies and stuff like that. Like, I'm. I'm just an actor, man.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, just.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. It's cool, though. You're seeing alternative routes. Andrew Schultz, who's a comedian, launching a special on his own site, and it crushed it.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So there's other routes.

[Sean Kerrigan]

He's super funny.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I love that guy. Have you seen him in performance? Live performance?

[Sean Kerrigan]

I haven't seen Andrew Schultz, but I, you know, I bounce around the Comedy Store quite a bit and, you know, I see. See a lot of guys, you know. You know.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Theo Von's crushing her now. Shout out to Theo. There's some good comedians these days, man. It's a new era.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. Dean Del Rey, Dean Del Re. He does a lot of work with Bill Burr. You know, I'm a big fan of Dean Del Rey, and Bill Burr is obviously, you know, the king.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, it's hard to beat that, man.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I want to talk about your boxing career.

[Sean Kerrigan]

So you said it started at 16, so, yeah, man. I was little growing up, and, you know, my parents got divorced. I was really young, so I moved down to Miami, Florida, and started living down there with my mom. And I would go up and visit my dad all the time up in D.C. live right outside D.C. northern Virginia. And he'd start training fighters. And that's when, you know, I just kind of fell in love with it. Watched him, you know, training fighters. I was around a gym and, you know, being that I was little, you know, I just, like, you know, I did. I had moments when I was a kid where I felt, like, powerless. And I wanted to have. I wanted to have a sense of power and being able to defend myself and stand up to people. And, you know, being around a boxing gym seemed like the way to go. And so my dad. My dad was all about, you know, being Irish and, you know, boxer and fighting Irish. Yeah, that's it. And so my. Me and my brothers. My dad trained me and my brothers. And so I would spend all my summers and winters up there and. And then, you know, eventually I lived up there after college and. And that's when I, like, you know, I had my. A lot of my amateur fights. I felt all over the country. My dad would, like, every other weekend we'd, like, be going off somewhere. He would find fights that were going off in. In Roanoke or, you know, West Virginia or, you know, up in New Jersey. He would just find fights for. For all of us to go to. I mean, one time we went to.

[Podcast Host]

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[Sean Kerrigan]

That's great.

To fight in Brockton. I mean, it was just like my dad was always trying to get his son's fights.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, I mean, when we were real young, I've even got a picture of it. My brother, my brother's three and a half years older than me and my dad laced this up when I was like nine. My brother was 12 and he's.

He'S like about to, they caught the photo right as he's about to land a right hand right on my head. Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So you were scrapping with your brother?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, yeah. But that's one thing my dad like, he loved like, you know, putting gloves on the kids and we'd all like get out in the yard and.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Get after it.

[Podcast Host]

So he had some tough love to him.

[Sean Kerrigan]

That's, I think that's, I mean, that's what, you know, when he was, when he was coming up, he grew up in Alcoa, Tennessee. And you know, his uncles were prize fighters and, and, and they would, they would lace up all the cousins and put gloves on them and then.

And then, you know, they'd, they'd all go to, you know, go to battle out in the backyard. And my, my dad was like, you know, he was, he was one of the better ones.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that's how it was back in the day, man. My dad grew up on a farm and he was scrabbing all the time.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You could lay hands on people in school even back then, but now you get immediately suspended.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, I think there's a lot of fight stories back then.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, different era. Now people fight online.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Cyberbullying or whatever. Yeah, it's a much different era, but at the same time mental health worse. So you kind of start to wonder like which one was better.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, I mean I mean it's a toss up.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Would you rather get physically beat up or mentally assaulted on the Internet? I guess.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Oh, I'll take an ass kicking.

Out. I'll take a physical ass kicking, man. Man.

[Podcast Host]

So that was kind of your destiny from a young age then fighting?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Well, I, you know, look, man, you know, I wasn't very good when I like the. It's interesting because I was real small and I wanted to wrestle and box. Those are my two sports. And I.

Started out wrestling in high school and I just, I was terrible. I wasn't very good. I was weak. I was small. And I think I started at 119my, my.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

My sophomore year. And then I went up to 130 my junior year. I never even made it to the, to the, to the regional tournament, you know, in day county. And, and, and so I didn't even make it to regions, man, you know, regionals. And you know, right before my senior year I wrestled freestyle and then I went off to a summer camp.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Went to Jay Robinson Intensive Wrestling Camp in Min. University of Minnesota before my senior year in high school. And I wrestled with the guy who was a state runner up in, in Michigan. I wrestled with him every day for 28 days. And it was just me and him became pals. And then, and then you just wrestled. They, they had you working out at J. Rob. They had you wrestling, you know, a couple times a day. Then you were doing, you were doing runs in the morning, you're doing weightlifting, and then they had you write out all your goals. I came back my senior year and, and just destroying everybody and one, one of the best in, in Florida my senior year. So it was, I had a good, I had a good senior year, but I never even wrestled. I never even wrestled in a regional tournament and, and you know, went to state championships. Didn't do as well as I wanted to, but you know, got to, got to go off to college and I wrestled D1 in college.

[Podcast Host]

Amazing. That's a great story of just being in the right environment. Right. Because you had the feel inside you. You just needed someone to help bring that up.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. And you know, and that, that camp, Jay Robinson Intensive Camp was, you know, they, we had a, we had a shirt that, that we would all wear, said I'm going to heaven because I've been through hell. Jay Robinson Intensive passing camp.

[Podcast Host]

I love it.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And so I don't know what I did with that shirt, but I wish I could find it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that sounds like a legendary shirt. I love that Quote, though.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You got to go through some tough stuff if you want to make it to the top.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You do. And, and what was great about that, that, that camp was, you know. You know, they had us writing out goals and just like. And, and, and just doing things that you, you know, pushing you farther.

And so I came back that year, my senior year, and, and preseason tournaments. I would wrestle 145 and 152. I'd go and I'd like. I'd register in two weight classes, and then I'd be in the finals in both, and then.

[Podcast Host]

That's hard to do.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. And so. Yeah, man. So that was, you know, it was, it was. It was a. It was a good. It was a good career, you know, in high school and, and, you know, I did something.

[Podcast Host]

That's why I love the mental side of sports, actually, which is why I don't know if you watch basketball, but I think Phil Jackson's the goat. Yeah. Because he just had the mental side of the sport on lock.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Make the players meditate, write out goals. Like you're saying.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I think that's kind of what separates the. The best athletes from, like, everyone else.

[Sean Kerrigan]

The mental side, you know, man, I think I. I think you're right. It's just. It's just a matter of. Of just working, working, working. For me, you know, I've always kind of fell on my face quite a bit. You know.

It seems like I, you know, I fall down 10 times before I actually succeed. And, you know, it was the same thing of boxing. There was a guy in the gym when I was. When I was younger, when I first started, he'd been boxing since he was five years old, and he just, you know, he was just better. He was just better than me because he'd been boxing so long, I was just starting and. And he would just beat my ass all the time. All the time. And my dad, on the drives, you know, we'd be driving home and my dad would just be like, just keep working. Just keep working. Just keep working. And he's like, one of these days it's going to be like, you know, a light bulb goes off, it's like a window's going to open, and all of a sudden you're going to. You're going to see. You're going to see the punches, you're going to see things coming at you, and it's just going to, like, get easier. He said, you just got to keep working. So I listened to it. I'd go back to the gym. And again, you know, we would box, we'd spar. He'd beat my ass again. And my dad would just say, just keep working. Just keep working. Just keep working. You work harder. You work hard. And so. And then, next thing you know, he was. My dad was right. It was like all of a sudden, one day, it was just like, you know, it's like the window open. I was like, oh, wait a second. I'm like, I see everything. I like, you know, I started seeing punches coming at me. I was like, oh, no way.

[Podcast Host]

No way.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, and then that. That guy, that. That. That guy, that kid, he never. He never beat me after that.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, really?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

It was like an overnight thing for you.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, it was. It was just like. And it was just like my dad said, it's like one day, wow, the light went off and that. But that comes with hard work.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And.

You know, it's the same thing, you know, in. In wrestling, you know, it's like, it was just hard work, hard work, hard work. So I was just lucky to do two sports that.

That, you know, that just spoke to me, you know, and. And really gave me a sense of identity because I kind of felt lost most of my high school career until my senior year.

[Podcast Host]

You felt lost.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Like, just overall just felt, like, unseen, you know, just didn't really have.

A sense of identity. That's the thing I love about sports is. Is working hard at something gives you character. And then all of a sudden, you know, you start having some success and you start to, like, feel, okay, this is like, I am here I am. I'm seeing. I'm seeing this hard work pay off.

And it was valuable for me, absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

I attribute. I was a track runner in high school, and that helped me find myself and learn mental discipline, too. But, like, like you, I was. I was lost in high school, man, my identity. I was pretending to be someone I wasn't for sure.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, it was. It was tough, man. I just, I think, you know, I was smaller and. And, you know, I didn't really have the right direction, and, you know, I found wrestling and boxing, and it changed my life.

[Podcast Host]

So you really tied a lot of your identity to your. Your height and size.

[Sean Kerrigan]

I think so. I think I did because, you know, I felt like everybody was bigger than me.

[Podcast Host]

Was that intimidating to you?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, I think. I think especially in junior high. Junior high was rough.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And then 9th and 10th grade, you just, you know, you want to be taken seriously, and.

You know, you. You just. Yeah, you know, it was Just when you. When you.

I attributed. I attributed, like, being not being able to, like, stand up to being scared. Okay, I'll give you an example. Give you an example. What I'm saying. When I was in junior high.

They were. There was a big fight right out in the. Out in the yard, and.

A couple of my friends were outnumbered, and.

A bunch of guys jumped in, and I, like, I went to, like, go help, and I froze. I froze because I was scared, and I felt like I. I just. I, Like, I literally couldn't make myself. I couldn't make my, like, scared. Yeah, I couldn't make myself go help. Now a bunch of other. My friends jumped in and, like, you know, they. They got out of the situation, but it's still like, that feeling of. Of, like, being scared and frozen. I was like, dude, I can't. I can't live my life like this. I don't want to live my life like that. And that. And that's why, you know, I think I. I turned to wrestling and why I turned to boxing, and there's nothing like, you know, Rory. My. My buddy Rory carpools on here. Yeah, his director, and, you know, he said he always wanted to have a one fight. He wanted to know what that's like when you're walking out to, you know, taking that. That walk out to the ring. And he wanted to know, like, you know, what that feels like. And I wanted to know what that felt like. I wanted to know.

That, like, I can. I can. I can conquer being scared and frozen and. And that's why I did it. And that, you know, that when you first walk out, that first fight that I had.

I fought a guy named Leonard Johnson from Alexandria Boxing Club at the Olympia Boxing Club in Falls Church, Virginia. And it was a big smoker event. And I, you know, walking out to that ring was one of the. One of the scariest moments in my life because I was like, why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? You know, And. And, you know, you. Your part of you wants to chicken out.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And then I just forced myself. I was like, you have to. You have to. You have to. And then you get in there, and then you start mixing it up, and you're like, all right, I can. I can do this. I can do this. And conquering your fears. And I think that's what it is. It's. You know, the thing about boxing and wrestling is you learn to conquer your fears. Learn to, like, you know, to really, like, stand up and fight. For yourself. And.

You know, there's. There was an interesting thing that happened in that fight, is my first fight. And between. So it was a three round, you know, there's a three rounder, and between rounds two and three, you know, me and this guy had been going at it. We had been going at it, and I was. I was doing really well. And Jim Ed Jones, who was my trainer at the time with my dad, Jim Ed Jones, said to me in the. In the middle of round two and three, he goes, hey, this next round, this next round ain't about boxing. This, this next round is about heart. It's about how much heart you got. You go out there and you give it everything. This round is about heart. It's about what you got inside. You get out there and you get it. You take it. You take it right now. And I've never forgotten that.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And. And I went out there and, you know, just, you know, put it on the guy and. And it was one of the greatest moments of my life. And. And I'll never forget that. That, that advice.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, and go ahead.

[Podcast Host]

Where, you know, it sounds like a really pivotal moment in your life. You remembered every single word. And like.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, yeah. And I remember him, like, standing there looking at me because you're. I was gassed. I was so g. I was, you know, was exhausted. And you get on when you have your first fight, you know, in the amateurs, you, you're, you're exhausted because you.

[Podcast Host]

Don'T know how to pace yourself yet.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, no, I mean, it's just, you know, it's exhausting. And, and, you know, there's so much going. There's so much adrenaline pumping through you because you're also nervous and scared.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And then you get in there and, you know, it's just, you know, you're. You're probably going at a faster pace than you would, you know, as. As time goes on. I mean, as the years went on, you know, the fights got easier. You know, you. You manage those emotions better, but nothing like a. That first, that first match.

[Podcast Host]

I love it, man. Yeah. That's why I love sports and, and especially fighting sports. It builds your confidence, right?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, I was. I was boxing and wrestling way before MMA became a thing. I. I kind of missed the MMA window. Um, but I always, always loved, you know, feeling like, you know, I could defend it. I can defend the takedown and, you know, also defend myself with my hands.

[Podcast Host]

So it's a good life skill to have. You know, you never Know when you'll need to throw hands with someone at the bar or something.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But just that confidence, knowing you can defend yourself, you could defend your girl, your friends.

[Sean Kerrigan]

I mean, that's really the only reason I, I started boxing and wrestling is I wanted to be able to defend myself. And then I just. As the years went on, I did it more and more. And then my dad was such a proponent of it that, you know, just ended up having a career longer than I ever anticipated. But that was the, the main, the main reason I started was just to be able to defend myself.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Did your brother get to the pro level too?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, both my brothers. I've got a bunch of brothers and sisters, but to. My brothers fought. Uh, my younger brother, he. He started fighting when he was like, you know, he was like six.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, he was young. Yeah, he was like, you know, they, he was, you know, he just scrapping it out. Just scrapping it out, you know. You know, seeing little kids fight at that, at that age is ridiculous. It's like, this looks like the right.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, super early, man.

[Sean Kerrigan]

I don't know about, but he had tons of fights, you know.

Had a very long amateur career.

My older brother had a. Had a amateur career too. And then he turned pro and. Yeah, I think he had like, maybe my, My brother had like maybe four pro fights. Same thing with my younger brother.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And then, you know, but they had my little brother, he started boxing at a very young age, fought, fought in all kinds of national championship tournaments and did know. Did really well for a long time. And he was even a better wrestler than he was a boxer.

[Podcast Host]

But there's no money in that, right?

[Sean Kerrigan]

No, I mean, no, but I mean, now it would be mma.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, but back then he had the most single season wins.

As a freshman.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

In his high school, he had the most single season wins as a freshman. And he could have been. He could. I mean, he could have done really. He. He went to the state championships a couple times and. And then he just got, you know, he got a little bit trouble. He followed my. My other brother was in and out of jail. Both my brothers have been in and out of jail. Yeah, they both, they both kind of, you know, I think they were selling drugs at one point and, you know, getting in all kinds of trouble. And then they did some time.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, I get it, man. I was a little. Yeah, we dealer in college, you know.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, you're broke.

[Podcast Host]

I mean.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, but yeah, they were, they were, you know, they got messed. They got messed up, but my. My little brother's cleaned himself up pretty well. My older brother's doing all right. And. But they were actually. Both of them. What's a funny story? They were both in Fairfax county jail for about a year and a half around that time. They were both in the. That. In that jail on different floors when I was on the Young and the Restless. Yeah. And both of them gotten fights in the TV rec room over somebody trying to change a channel. When I was younger, the Restless, Both of them at different times. And so.

That'S, you know, that's cool.

[Podcast Host]

That you could provide them some hope while they were in there, though. Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. And then, you know, my one brother's like, that's my brother. It's like, no, that's my brother.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, man. Sounds like you're tight with your brothers. That's cool.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, we're. We're all really tight. Tight with all my brothers and. And my sisters.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. I grew up an only child, so I can't relate, but when I have kids, I want them to, you know, siblings. I think that's important.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, it was good. I mean, you know, we came from a rough and tumble family. You know.

Some of my. My brothers and sisters had. You know, they had. They struggled with addiction. You know, I think that that's why, you know, this movie that we did, Grace Point, has been so important to me. You know, the character, main character, struggles with addiction, and, you know, then he goes on this journey, and it's about a father and a son and a son trying to find his father. You know, it's like an inspirational thriller and a heart, you know, heart, a heartwarming thriller. And so I think, you know, that's why I related to the script and why I wanted to do it and, you know, sound like family.

[Podcast Host]

I love that. I think everyone can relate to addiction, whether it's themselves or their family members. Right. I saw my dad with alcoholism. That wrecked him.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Sure.

[Podcast Host]

You know, I think there's. It's a problem everywhere. Addiction.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, it really is. And it's commercialized, too. Like, you know, alcohol be out, you know. You know, and.

You know, beer commercials.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Everything. Everything.

[Podcast Host]

Drug commercials on every television network, you know.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, it's crazy. So easy to get access to this stuff, too. Yeah. You really got to have the right people around you to break you out.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, I had to break my brother out of a crack house one time. Damn. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds straight out of the movie the Fighter. I swear to God, I saw that movie. I was Like, Jesus, then that's me and my older brother.

[Podcast Host]

So those actually exist, those crack houses?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. He was in some like, you know, some like, like just this worn out house that, you know, everybody went and did drugs at. And he called me one day and he goes, hey, man, hey man, you got it? You got to come get me, man. These bikers are coming to jump me, man. These bikers are coming to jump me. And so I was wrestling at George Mason University at the time. And I, you know, I was there and I was at a, I think I was like, I forget where I was, but, but a couple of my other wrestler buddies were with me and I said, hey man, I gotta go, I gotta go rescue my brother, man. He's at this, this, you know, drug house and you know, it's, I, I, I don't know, I, I just gotta go. And they were like, hey, we're coming with you. And I was like, yeah, I don't know what I'm walking into, man. You know, so just, just letting you guys know that. And so they're like, we're coming. So my buddies.

Mark and Ty, you know, they're guys are wrestling on my wrestling team with me. We went and we got there and we pull up this house and I go, all right, I don't know how this is going to go, but what I'm going to do is I'm just going to go kick that front door in and start yelling, where, you know, where's Michael Kerrigan? Where, where's Toby Kerrigan? Where's he at? And so you guys, you know, Ty, you go around the back. You can kill Kir, you come with me or you get however you want to do. So Ty went around the back, I went in the front. You know, Kira was with me. I just kicked the door in. I was like, where the is Michael Kerrigan? Where the is Toby Kerrigan? He also goes by Toby. That's my big name. And I said, where the is he? Where is he?

And I like, you know, people were like, oh, he's over there, he's over there. I was like, I was like, hey, hey. You say, oh, hey man, hey man. And I grabbed him, got him out of there and then, you know, save them, save him, I think, I don't know.

[Podcast Host]

And that was your older brother?

[Sean Kerrigan]

It's my older brother, yeah. He's, he struggled with addiction over the.

[Podcast Host]

Years and so you kind of had to grow up quick. Then you got to be responsible for your older brother.

[Sean Kerrigan]

You know, he's, he's Like I like to say, he's my. He's my older little brother.

[Podcast Host]

I love that.

[Sean Kerrigan]

So. But. But he's always, you know, look, we have different moms, and, you know, he had. He had a rougher upbringing than I did, really. And so, you know, same. Same thing with my other older brothers and sisters. And so I take that into account, you know.

You know, it's. I guess we're. We're a victim of our environment sometimes when we're growing up.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And, you know, I. I just. Just try to be as much help to my brothers and sisters as. As I can. And, you know, families. Families meant so much to me over the years that I'll. I'll do anything for them.

[Podcast Host]

I love that, man.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Family's important, for sure. I saw. So I grew up mixed. I'm half Irish, half Asian, so it's such a different lifestyle with family on the two sides, so I got to experience both, you know.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Wow. Man.

[Podcast Host]

So now I kind of know what the best of each. And I'm gonna have a good family one. One of these days, you know?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. Are you gonna have kids?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And I didn't want kids when I was younger, but now I do.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. You know, I. I just. I don't know. Should I talk about. I just. I just. My. My. My girl and I decided to have kids.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, nice.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And so. And we just found out that we're having twins.

[Podcast Host]

Dude, congrats.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. And I called him, too. I called it, by the way.

[Podcast Host]

Two for one, baby. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Kerrigan]

I told. I told her. I. I actually told her beforehand. I was like, hey, listen, we need. We need two for one. I'm not getting any younger. Yeah. And so. So we're pretty excited about it.

[Podcast Host]

That's cool, man. You held off.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

You know. Hey, what was the deciding moment to.

[Sean Kerrigan]

To have them when I met her? Wow. I just. I hadn't met anyone that checked all the boxes like that for me, and it made me. She's such a good mom. She has. She has two kids from previous marriage and. Yeah. Just. She's just the most wonderful person and mother. That's a beautiful. And. And I just met her at the right time, and we've known each other for a long time, but we never really, really started dating until back in May.

[Podcast Host]

Is she an actress as well?

[Sean Kerrigan]

No, no, she. She. She. She's a government worker. She works at. She runs the water department over in the city of Oxnard.

[Podcast Host]

Total opposite personality, it sounds like.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, it's. She. I like. I Always tease her. I'm like, you like the movie Chinatown? You run the water.

[Podcast Host]

Sometimes you need that balance, man. The opposites attract.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Like, it's. It's cool. It's. She's. But she's amazing, and she's super supportive with my. My career, and so I'm just lucky.

[Podcast Host]

Love that, man. I want to hear about your transition to acting, because that's not an easy. Easy space to penetrate, Right? Getting acting gigs.

[Sean Kerrigan]

No. You know, man, when I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be an actor. And.

You know, I, I. One of my favorite movies is Star wars, you know, classic. Yeah. And, you know, then Return of the Jedi came out and. Or Star Empire Strikes Back and Return the Jedi. And, like, you know, when I was a kid, I'd see these movies, and I, like, come home and I just, like, act them out to my mom. And then, you know, Luke Skywalker did this, then Han Solo did this, and my poor mom, you know, she's like, you know, been working all day. She's, like, sitting there trying to, like, listen to me describe all these different scenes of these movies. And I think she knew at that point that I wanted to be an actor. But, you know, when I was in high school, I had, you know, Especially after, you know, my. Especially my senior year, it was like, you know, going into my senior year, I had. I had these athletic goals that I wanted to try to hit. I wanted to. I wanted to go to, you know, a division one program, wrestling division, you know, Division one, Try to be an All American. And then I also wanted to have. Have an amateur career, more of an amateur career, and then turn pro and fight professionally for a couple years. I only wanted to have, like. My goal was to have, like, five pro fights. I ended up having eight. And so I just. I wanted to. But I wanted to, you know, do those things. And then I. I used to tell people, my senior, I was in drama. My. My senior year, I would tell. I used to tell people in my class to be like, I'm gonna go to. I'm gonna go to college. I'm gonna try to be an All American in wrestling. I'm gonna. I'm gonna have a few. I'm gonna have a brief pro career in boxing, and then I'm gonna become an actor.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And so you called it. So. So, like, people like, you know, they'd be like, you're gonna do what? You're gonna do what? Oh, and then you're gonna do what? Yeah, okay, pal. You know, that's not the Path that.

But I was just, I had it. I had it in my mind. And so when I, When I was boxing, I was by, you know, I turned pro in 98, and I was, you know, fought professionally until April 2000. And after that fight, I, I got cast in a UPN pilot that was shooting in Baltimore, and I got my SAG card from it. And so once I got my SAG card, I was like, all right, well, I'm gonna go to. I'm gonna go to New York. I'm gonna go to la. I'm gonna give up, Give up my, My boxing career. Well, it's time. It's time, you know, and.

My dad.

[Podcast Host]

My, he was pissed, right?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Oh, he was so mad. He said, hey, man, you're gonna be, you're gonna be driving. You're gonna be driving cabs the rest of your life. I go, hey, Pop, I'll show you that one. One of these days, you're gonna see me on the big screen. He's like, hey. He's like, I'll be dead.

[Podcast Host]

And.

[Sean Kerrigan]

And then I went off. I went off to New York. I was having no luck up in New York. It's like bouncing at the China Club in New York for, like, six months, having no luck. And then, and then I ran into Michael Rappaport, and he goes, he goes, hey, I, I, he was at the club. And I go, hey, man, when you made it in, in film or when you made it in acting, did you, did you make it here in New York or did you make it in la? He goes, what kind of acting you want to do? You want to do TV and film? And I go, yeah. He goes, then you got to go to la, man. And so I would. Next thing you know, I was, I was in my truck driving out to LA, and I'd been here for 24 years.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. Shout out to Michael.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Does he know that story, by the way? No.

[Sean Kerrigan]

I mean, I've never, I've never ran.

[Podcast Host]

It's. Let him know he's coming on the podcast.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Is that right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I'll tell him about it.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. That's cool, man. And so, yeah, I love that guy. I love.

[Podcast Host]

He's hilarious.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah. And, and he's a great actor. And. And he said that to me right there. And I was, I was bouncing at the China Club, and I was like, you know, and he, and because I. And he was cool, too, because as he was walking, I was like, hey, man, you mind if I asked you something? You know, and, and he was, he was very Forthcoming, man. He was a good dude. And. But anyway, so fast forward. Years later, I'm sitting with my dad. We're at. We're at a D.C. film festival. We're about to watch this movie I did on the big screen, and he and my old man sitting right next to me, and I go, hey, hey, Pop. Remember how you said that you'd be dead and gone before you saw me on the big screen? Guess what? You're about to watch me on the big screen. He's like, you son of a. You remember everything. God damn it. And so it was good.

[Podcast Host]

Sometimes your biggest haters are your biggest.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, he became one of my biggest fans, though. He was. He was. He was.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Shout out to my mother. You know, skeptical at first. You know, coming from China. Academics is everything. Education, getting good grades. That's how she escaped poverty. So.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Why not apply it to me? But different path, you know?

[Sean Kerrigan]

Sure.

[Podcast Host]

So we used to butt heads all the time about it, but now she watches every single episode. She's, like, my biggest fan.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Of course. Yeah. It's funny how that works. My dad, at the end of. You know, when in his older years, he would hang out, he would hang out at, like, the Moose Lodge and the American Legion, and he'd be like, hanging out with all these. You know, like, be hanging out with different women and stuff. And he. And all of a sudden, I get a call, and he. And I go, hey, what's up? He go, hey, tell this girl that you play Stitch on the Young and the Restless. You know, the girl go, your dad says you Stitch. I don't believe. And I'll be like, oh, yeah, hey, yeah, yeah. And she's like, prove it. And I go, all right, well, I was with Victoria. I left Victoria. I got with her stepmom, Ashley, and then, you know, I left Ashley, and then I got with Ashley's daughter, Abby. And then I was in a love triangle between Ashley and Abby, and she was like, oh, my God, it is Stitch. And then my dad grabbed the phone. He's like, all right. Hey, thanks, man. Appreciate it.

[Podcast Host]

Used it to get girls. This is before FaceTime. You know, man, times have changed. That's funny, man.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Well, dude, this has been really fun. What are you working on next? Where do people keep up with you?

[Sean Kerrigan]

I'm on Instagram. Follow me on the real Sean Kerrigan. And, you know, do us a favor. Go out and buy or rent Grace Point.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. We'll link it below.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Yeah, it's on Amazon and Apple. And, you know, we worked really hard on the movie, and it's got a great twist at the end, and people got a lot of great feedback from it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Guys, after you're done watching Beast Games, check out Grace Point. It's on the same platform.

[Sean Kerrigan]

Right on, man.

[Podcast Host]

Let's do it. All right, guys. See you next time, Ace.