Once We Borrowed Kayaks with Jon Huertas | Episode 26

Summary

Once We Were Spacemen

Episode 26: "Once We Borrowed Kayaks" with Jon Huertas

Hosts: Nathan Fillion & Alan Tudyk
Guest: Jon Huertas
Date: May 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively, anecdote-rich episode, Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk welcome friend and fellow actor/director Jon Huertas. Together, they dive into Jon's winding road from military service to the stage and screen, the true origins of his acting career, misadventures on beaches and in music, odd beginnings, and how a Woody Harrelson pep talk still guides him. The conversation is full of irreverent humor, gentle self-mockery, and industry insights surrounding perseverance, reinvention, and creative camaraderie, with plenty of tangents that showcase the tight bond between the three men.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introductions and Housekeeping

• After some classic self-deprecating banter and running jokes (01:22), Jon Huertas is welcomed to the show as he attempts to sell his Venice Beach home (a "bungaloft"—a mushroom-shaped, Escher-esque house, 02:23).
• Jon's move to Northern California (“gold country”) sparks jokes about treasure-hunting with metal detectors, which led to nothing but finding each other or old can pull-tabs ([03:01]).

2. Military Beginnings and the Actor's Journey

• Jon shares his childhood dream and the (misinformed) advice of his drama teacher: "if you want to be a professional actor, you have to get an undergrad degree and then a graduate degree and then move to New York" ([08:20]).
• When college didn't work out ("they did ask me not to come back for my sophomore year" due to a cafeteria fight), he joined the Air Force—for what became eight years, seeing active duty in Panama and the Middle East ([08:20]–[09:55]).
• The practical military mindset instilled a pragmatic approach to his aspirations ([10:24]). He almost opted for law enforcement but fate (and serendipity) intervened.

3. Woody Harrelson’s Advice and the Power of Encouragement

• Meeting Woody Harrelson at a Fort Worth, TX club while Harrelson was fronting "Manly Moondog and the Three Cool Cats." When introduced as an actor, Jon demurred, to which Woody famously replied:

  Woody Harrelson: "Are you an actor or not?"
  Jon Huertas: "I guess, yeah."
  Woody Harrelson: "Because of course you are. If an asshole like me can do it, you can do it." ([00:00], [13:40]–[14:20])

• That signed card from Woody still lives in Jon’s wallet and buoyed him throughout his career:

  "Every time I would say, I can't be an actor. This is ridiculous. I would open my wallet...and say, if an asshole like Woody Harrelson can do it, so can I." ([14:00])

• Years later, Jon ran into Woody at a celebrity NBA basketball league. When shown the card, Woody confirmed, “yeah, that does sound like something I’d say. And now you’re the asshole. I was like, yes, I am the asshole.” ([15:00])

4. Recounting Early Acting/Rising Careers

• Brief stories of growing up in NYC and Virginia, school contemporaries, and his connections to Kevin Covert and other notable alumni ([04:32]–[05:39]).
• The story of being (literally) kicked out of college after standing up against racist classmates in a sociology class, leading to his military stint ([16:13]–[20:43]).

5. Misadventures & Anecdotes

• The infamous kayak incident in Bora Bora, when Jon and his wife kayaked from their hotel to Alan's, causing a minor inter-resort scandal ([07:07]–[07:54]).
• Alan and Jon recalling their first “celebrity appearance” at a Malibu radio event tent (with only each other in attendance—realizing their true level of fame at the time), then awkwardly escaping together ([21:03]–[23:18]).

6. Castle & Career Turns

• Jon’s path to landing the role of Esposito on "Castle." He thought he bombed the audition so badly he asked his manager to apologize for wasting their time—only to be told, “he’s the guy” ([25:29]–[26:12]).

• The embrace of improvisation and “bits” on Castle:

  “...sometimes we're standing around a dead body and we're literally doing a bit.” ([28:10]) “I can't tell you how many cops have come up to me and said, yes, that's how we are. You guys got it right.” ([28:39])

• How his humor habits carried to "This Is Us," balancing drama and levity ([29:09]–[29:41]).

7. Shan: The (Unreleased) Musical Project

• Jon and Seamus Dever (Castle’s “Ryan”) formed a comedic, actually talented music duo, “Shan.”
  • They made an unreleased album, music videos—like "Definition of Love," a Castle tie-in about their characters’ planned wedding gift ([30:28]–[34:44]).
  • The pair plan to dust off and release "Shan: The Lost Work" soon ([32:05]).

8. Diversifying: From Acting to Directing, Costuming, & More

• Jon on the actor-to-director transition:

  “I wasn’t the guy who went back to his trailer...I was always, you know, very nerdy about the camera, about how we're doing this thing. I'd shadow officially...every department...I wanted to know what everybody did intricately” ([38:43]–[39:13]).

• The importance of collaboration in directing:

  “Collaboration is something I love and I think that's what a director—how you're gonna find success as a director is making sure you're collaborating with every single department head, every single actor...” ([41:06])

• His first directorial projects, including a Marvel-prompted "White Tiger" proof of concept, for which he designed and sewed costumes himself after learning via YouTube (“enrolled in YouTube University”) ([46:17]–[49:33]).

• Nathan and Alan reflect on their own director “aha moments,” such as realizing they had a vision for a shot’s comedic timing ([43:01]–[43:57]).

9. "Let's Get to Know You Better": Personal Revelations ([49:55]):

• Nathan’s Odd Collection:
  • Used to collect antique, mechanical cash registers (“There’s just no room for seven cash registers in your house...I kind of whittled it down to three.”) ([51:10]–[53:17])
• Jon’s Unexpected Hobby:
  • Plays polo—yes, on horseback, with mallets—after being scouted at a clinic; debunks the myth that polo is only for the ultra-rich ([53:24]–[58:03]).
• Alan’s Secret Past:
  • Used to wrestle a lot as a kid, and thinks he’d enjoy MMA except for the intimidating stare-downs/face-offs at weigh-ins ([58:49]–[60:22]).

10. Cameo: Real Law Enforcement

• Jon briefly served as a reserve police officer in Texas after his military stretch, but left after unpleasant incidents, deciding to stick to “playing one on TV” ([61:22]–[63:19]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If an asshole like me can do it, you can do it."
  —Woody Harrelson, recounted by Jon ([00:00], [13:40])

• "Every time I would say, I can’t be an actor. This is ridiculous. I would open my wallet...and say, if an asshole like Woody Harrelson can do it, so can I."
  —Jon Huertas ([14:00])

• "We quickly realized how celebrity we were burnt. And we both, we're like, yeah, this is embarrassing."
  —Jon Huertas on their empty “celebrity tent” ([22:45])

• "You haven't stopped working. Wow, you were great on that."
  —Nathan Fillion, on Jon’s continued success post-Castle ([26:36])

• "We were literally doing a bit [over a body]. And I can’t tell you how many cops have come up to me and said, yes, that's how we are."
  —Jon Huertas ([28:10], [28:39])

• "I started collecting cash registers...There’s just no room for seven cash registers in your house."
  —Nathan Fillion, on his oddest collection ([51:10])

• "Plays polo—yes, on horseback, with mallets..."
  —Jon Huertas, on his unlikely hobby ([53:24])

• "Being a cop isn’t for me. I'm gonna go to Hollywood and pretend I'm a cop."
  —Jon Huertas ([63:19])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00] – Woody Harrelson pep talk (prologue & theme)
• [03:01] – Treasure hunting and joke setups
• [08:20] – Military service, how college and life “setbacks” led Jon to Air Force
• [13:40]–[14:20] – The Woody Harrelson epiphany/card
• [16:13]–[20:43] – Standing up against campus racism, being “asked not to come back” to college
• [21:03]–[23:18] – Early encounter/escape from a “celebrity” event with Alan
• [25:29]–[26:12] – Getting the Castle job and fumbled audition
• [28:10], [28:39] – “Bits” on Castle and feedback from real detectives
• [32:05] – The story of "Shan," their music project
• [38:43]–[39:13] – Path from acting to directing: always curious, shadowed all departments
• [41:06] – Directing is about collaboration
• [46:17]–[49:33] – Sewing superhero costumes with YouTube, learning by doing
• [51:10]–[53:17] – Nathan’s cash register collection
• [53:24]–[58:03] – Jon’s polo playing and how he got recruited
• [61:22]–[63:19] – Reserve police work, why he left for Hollywood

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is a perfect hybrid of friendly ribbing, honest self-assessment, wild storytelling, and encouragement for lifelong learning. The hosts and Jon frequently joke at their own expense while showing deep mutual respect, revealing the raw anxieties and unlikely successes behind a working actor's journey. Listeners are left entertained, uplifted, and with a renewed belief that persistence (and maybe a Woody Harrelson business card) pays off.

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Final Note

Jon’s sprawling life story—military, acting, directing, costuming, music, and even law enforcement—is barely contained in this episode, promising a Chapter Two soon. For anyone who’s ever faced a career detour or doubted if their “weird” skills might pay off, this is essential, affirming listening.

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[Skip to 13:40 for Woody Harrelson’s profound advice]
[Skip to 25:29 for Jon’s Castle audition misadventures]
[Skip to 34:44 for “Definition of Love” and the Shan music story]
[Skip to 53:24 for Jon’s unexpected polo revelations]

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For Further Listening

• Find “Definition of Love” (Castle S7 DVD extra)
• Look for Shan’s forthcoming album “The Lost Work” on social
• Watch for Jon’s directorial work and, perhaps, a Firefly swashbuckling Spaniard/Frenchman played by himself.

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"If an asshole like Woody Harrelson can do it, so can I."

Transcript

[John Huertas]

And she introduced me to him and said, woody, this is John. He's. He's an actor too, just like you. And I said, whoa, no, I'm nothing like you, man. You are. You're a real actor. You're like, you're famous and I love you so much. And I just. I'm not. I'm nothing. I do theater around here sometimes. And I just. I'm not. And he's like, hey, man, are you an actor or not? I mean, I want to. I want to be. No. Are you an actor or not? I guess, yeah. Because of course you are. And he said, if an asshole like me can do it, you can do it.

[Nathan Fillion]

Once We Were Spacemen. I tend to play weird people, usually aliens and robots and things that don't have romance.

[Alan Tudyk]

I once didn't get a job where they were looking for a Nathan Fillion type. Once We Were spacemen.

[Nathan Fillion]

Once we were spacemen, Alan. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Once We Were Spacemen. Once I thought I would write one of these beforehand and I thought, yes, yes, that's a good idea. I will have a good. Joke filled, prescient, thought provoking, sensical. Once We Were Spacemen Talk.

[Alan Tudyk]

Fuck.

[Nathan Fillion]

Then at that time, which was a once. I did not. And here we are. That's it. That's it again. It just. And just. What do you think? Like, on a scale of one to like three? Where was that?

[Alan Tudyk]

Listen, it's inspirational. One of your best. No, but I like where they go.

[Nathan Fillion]

Would you give it a three? Easily?

[Alan Tudyk]

This is that.

[John Huertas]

Listen, I was thinking three and a quarter.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's a soft six. It's a soft six, man.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, I hate it when my six is soft. That's not. Actually. We're going to cut that. We got to cut that because that suggests I have a 6 inch penis. And let's not. Let's not say that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Sorry, we don't have that kind of budget anymore. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome John Huertas.

[Nathan Fillion]

Hey, John Huertas, ladies and gentlemen, applause please.

[John Huertas]

I can hear it.

[Nathan Fillion]

Did somebody boo? Get that guy out of here.

[John Huertas]

That was my uncle. He hates me.

[Nathan Fillion]

Son of a bitch. All right, good, he's gone now.

[John Huertas]

John.

[Alan Tudyk]

John, where are you right now?

[John Huertas]

I'm actually in Venice Beach, California, in the house that I'm trying to sell.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, you're selling the Venice house?

[John Huertas]

Yeah. Are you looking for one?

[Alan Tudyk]

You put a lot of work into that house.

[John Huertas]

I did, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's like. It's a work of art. You did the thing where the second floor has more floor space than the first floor.

[Nathan Fillion]

What?

[John Huertas]

Yeah, it's like a mushroom. It's kind of like a mushroom that's.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's like Escher. Like the stairs go up one way.

[John Huertas]

It's like a Nori design. I call it a bungaloft.

[Alan Tudyk]

That sounds like a. Some kind of move.

[John Huertas]

The first part of that actually sounds a little weird.

[Alan Tudyk]

Now you're. You're selling that place in favor.

[John Huertas]

You've gone north, gone Northern California to gold country. I'm trying to find my fortune, guys. I'm gonna start digging.

[Alan Tudyk]

We one time endeavored to find treasure on a beach. One time with. With metal detectors.

[John Huertas]

That's right, we did. And we were unsuccessful.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, not only that, but I thought this is going to be fun. Like two buddies will be chilling on the beach and hanging out. But you can't metal detect next to somebody else because your metal detector sets off their metal detector.

[John Huertas]

So we were just finding each other.

[Alan Tudyk]

So we're just looking, looking at each other from a distance, waving. And that was our day at the beach together. It was at a distance. The vast majority of things I found were pull tabs from. From soda cans. I imagine beer cans on the beach.

[Nathan Fillion]

Were you hoping at least a little bit in your mind that you might find a dead body?

[John Huertas]

No, I was actually looking for a Rolex.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, okay.

[John Huertas]

Probably better.

[Nathan Fillion]

I just think the two of you have solved a lot of crime in your lives. Again, I always come back to this, but you solved a lot of crime. It would just seem natural that the two of you would suddenly go, this Rolex is attached to a human arm or a whole human.

[John Huertas]

Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

He would take the Rolex and then just rebury the arm because there's a lot of.

[John Huertas]

There's a lot of paperwork when you find a body. And I just.

[Nathan Fillion]

You're right. It would ruin. It would ruin the afternoon.

[John Huertas]

Right.

[Nathan Fillion]

Not to mention lunch.

[Alan Tudyk]

It is true though. We have solved a. A lot of murders.

[John Huertas]

We have.

[Alan Tudyk]

Between the two of us. Have those skills ever come in handy for you for the rest of your life?

[John Huertas]

Just the forensic part of it, you know, like studying body parts like my wife's, you know.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, that's good.

[John Huertas]

That's it.

[Nathan Fillion]

I hope it doesn't involve blood splatter.

[John Huertas]

It's the only body I like to stare at. My. Not even my own. I'm tired of looking at myself. It's getting worse as I get older.

[Alan Tudyk]

You were born in New York City.

[John Huertas]

I was technically born in Virginia, but then grew up in New York City. Until I was 13.

[Alan Tudyk]

And then you went back to Virginia.

[John Huertas]

Yes, and I went back to Virginia and graduated high school there. Actually went to high school with someone that Alan worked with on Broadway.

[Alan Tudyk]

Who? Who?

[John Huertas]

Kevin Covert.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, really?

[John Huertas]

In spam a lot?

[Nathan Fillion]

Yes, yes, Kevin Covert.

[John Huertas]

And now he's. He. He runs the. In our town is Shenandoah. Used to be Shenandoah Conservatory of Music and Dance and now it's Shenandoah University. And Kevin is. Runs the musical theater department there now.

[Alan Tudyk]

Holy smokes. Has anybody else from your schooling, have they gone up or come through the industry like you did?

[John Huertas]

There's a guy named Norman Shankel. He was. He's a pretty world famous opera singer. Went to Europe and just, you know, was touring where people actually appreciate opera. Not like the kid from that ping pong movie.

[Nathan Fillion]

Look, we're not all Timothy Chalamet's over here. Some of us can stay awake through opera.

[John Huertas]

Exactly.

[Nathan Fillion]

Not me. But I know a guy who loves that.

[John Huertas]

So we have that guy and then we have. The kid I graduated with is a. Now a pretty well known federal judge. That's.

[Nathan Fillion]

That's everybody that's gonna help you in life. What's Kevin Covert gonna do? Oh, kickball changed. Thanks a lot, Kevin.

[John Huertas]

But from that same high school. Patsy Cline went to that high school. And Brian Ben. Ben is also from that town.

[Alan Tudyk]

I don't know who that is.

[John Huertas]

Serial killer Brian Benman, married to Madeline Snow, negative actor. He's married to Madeline Stowe. And he was on like the first HBO series that kind of ever did anything. Maybe early late 80s to mid 90s. What was that show called? I loved it. I watched it and I. I would watch it.

[Nathan Fillion]

Dream On.

[John Huertas]

Dream On. I think it is. Is it Dream On? Wasn't that a movie with like the two cories?

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, you're right. Brian Bambam was a really big star back in the 90s. I remember like you knew his face from his.

[John Huertas]

It was.

[Nathan Fillion]

It was a TV show called Dream On.

[John Huertas]

Was it?

[Alan Tudyk]

I remember the bullets.

[John Huertas]

It was Dream On. That's right. It was called the big billboards for.

[Alan Tudyk]

For Dream On. I remember seeing those.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, that was. He's from that same town now.

[Alan Tudyk]

But you didn't go straight into acting.

[John Huertas]

You.

[Alan Tudyk]

You have had an adventurous life, man.

[Nathan Fillion]

We've.

[Alan Tudyk]

I've spent time with you.

[Nathan Fillion]

There was.

[Alan Tudyk]

There was one time I took a little vacation to Bora Bora and John Huertas and his lovely wife kayaked over to our bungalow from the next hotel

[John Huertas]

over and staying across the street, technically the ocean.

[Nathan Fillion]

Did you all go together on the flight or you just happened to be there at the same time?

[Alan Tudyk]

No, we just happened to be there at the same time, but in different hotels. So they kayaked over. And I remember their hotel was very upset about them taking the kayaks so far away. Jesus.

[John Huertas]

Of stealing them?

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. Where am I going to go stay at your hotel?

[John Huertas]

I need to steal a kayak. I'm staying at the St. Regis. Do you think I steal kayaks? Come on, man.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's got to be an easier way.

[John Huertas]

They. They came looking for us, and we were out. We were out on. We were on, like, jet skis, sea doos. Remember? And we came back and it was like a whole, like, thing. It was. They were. Your hotel had been contacted by their. By them, and they were just like, where are these two?

[Alan Tudyk]

Like a big scandal in Bora Bora. This is what it takes.

[Nathan Fillion]

Wow.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, it was a lot. But at that time, you were regaling my family with story after story after story. They just couldn't believe the widely varied life and adventures that you had experienced.

[John Huertas]

What was I saying?

[Nathan Fillion]

Are these from the military days?

[John Huertas]

That's right.

[Alan Tudyk]

The first thing I was going to say was out of.

[Nathan Fillion]

Out of.

[Alan Tudyk]

You did the. You. You went from high school, you did a little bit of college, and then you took off and said, I'm joining the Air Force.

[John Huertas]

That's right. Yeah. I spent eight years in the Air Force. And that's. Well, I mean, when I was. When I was growing up, my drama teacher told me, you know, if you want to be a professional actor, you have to get an undergrad degree and then a graduate degree and then move to New York. And that's the only way you can become. Become a professional actor. So I thought that was the path. And so when I. My first year of college didn't work out, I'm not going to say that I got kicked out, but they did ask me not to come back for my sophomore year. So I. Yeah, so I was like, what am I going to do? And at the time. And, you know, I grew up, a lot of the men in my family were in the military. And so, you know, I always wanted to serve. I played with the army men. I made the model airplanes and the model jeeps and all that stuff. And so the Air force was offering 75% of your tuition as long as you were active duty and maintain a B plus average. And so I said, I'll do that, and I'll knock out these three years within the four years it took a little longer because, you know, there were, you know, when I went in, there was nothing happening, conflict wise. And then suddenly we're like going into Panama and going to the Middle east,

[Nathan Fillion]

and so is the Panama just cause.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, just cause.

[Nathan Fillion]

Operation Just Cause. Did the people in the military call

[John Huertas]

it just cause just cuz or just just. Yeah, just cuz. And I was like, then they made a movie with Lawrence Fishburne. Wait, what was that? That was called Just Caus, I think. Do you remember that movie? And then, so, you know, you. You're in school, you know, I'm trying to finish these years and. And you have to drop classes if you were getting sent somewhere and then pick them back up. And so I ended up being in for eight years. I had to reenlist and staying for eight years to finish getting my degree.

[Nathan Fillion]

And then it's almost like they planned it that way.

[John Huertas]

Yes. They're so sneaky. And I remember, I'll tell you, like, what, Because I didn't know, you know, you get this guidance counselor. When my guidance counselor in high school told me, when I said I wanted to be an actor because they were asking like, well, you know, what's your path? And I said, I want to be an actor. She said, do you want to end up flipping burgers? Like, it was like the worst choice I could make for a career. And I was like, why is flipping burgers a bad career? Hamburgers taste good. I will eat those burgers and flip those burgers.

[Alan Tudyk]

Crushing logic, right?

[John Huertas]

So I ended up, you know, in the military. You know, you learned a kind of pragmatic way of being. And so what's the likelihood of some kid like me actually becoming a professional actor? So I was vacillating between moving to Los Angeles and trying to become an actor or doing something in law enforcement or fire department or something like that. And I went out one night and I. I went to this place called Westside Stories. Everybody thinks my company's called west side Stories because of Westside Story, the movie, and me being Puerto Rican. But literally, it's named after this building that I went into that had five clubs in it. And in that club one night, there was a woman, and she looked like she didn't fit.

[Nathan Fillion]

Was her name Maria? Sorry, her. Her name's Maria. No, sorry, sorry.

[John Huertas]

Go on. She was standing against a post, and I went up to her and I said, you don't look like you're from around here. She thought it was a line. Like, she was like, oh, is that the best you Got. I was like, I'm not really. You just don't look like you're from Fort Worth, Texas. And she said, I'm not. I'm from Santa Barbara, California. And I said, what are you doing here? And she said, I'm representing this band that was playing on stage. I look up there, and it's Woody Harrelson,

[Alan Tudyk]

name drop.

[John Huertas]

And he's singing in this band called Manly Moondog and the Three Cool Cats.

[Nathan Fillion]

He was definitely stoned when he came up with that name, right?

[John Huertas]

I said, what is he doing in here? And why did he name his band Manly Moondog and the Three Cool Cats. But what is he doing in Fort Worth at West side Stories? She's like, he's on a little tour while, you know, promoting his band, promote his music. And White Men Can't Jump, which was, at the time, like, one of my favorite films.

[Alan Tudyk]

I remember that.

[John Huertas]

Yeah. And so she, you know, said, you know, do you want to come up to the green room and meet him? I was like, what? There's a green room in here? And so is that my. Is that. Is my microphone picking up that siren? Damn it, yes.

[Nathan Fillion]

But that is authentic Venice.

[Alan Tudyk]

We'll fix that in post.

[Nathan Fillion]

I want everybody to know that is Venice making that sound. Not New York City.

[John Huertas]

That is Venice.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah.

[John Huertas]

You're in New York and you're not even hearing sirens right now.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm not.

[John Huertas]

Why is he pulling down my street? So, anyway, I go up to the green room, and I see Woody Harrelson, and I'm just, you know, starstruck is all hell. And he's walking around with this pitcher of orange stuff because he was playing a bartender on TV at the same time. And so he fancied himself a bartender, I think. And every person that he offered it to, everybody in his band just went, no, no, I'm not. I can't drink that. And he finally made it around to me and held the pitcher out in the stack of cups, and he said, do you want to try? And I was like, absolutely. I'll drink the whole pitcher if you want me to. Because I was just so enamored with this GU guy. And dawn introduced him to me, her name was dawn, this girl. And she introduced me to him and said, woody, this is John. He's. He's an actor, too, just like you. And I said, whoa. No, I'm nothing like you, man. You are. You're a real actor. You're like. You're famous, and I love you so much. And I just. I'm not I'm nothing. I do theater around here sometimes, and I just. I'm not. And he's like, hey, man, are you an actor or not? I mean, I want to. I want to be. No, Are you an actor or not? I guess, yeah. Because of course you are. And he said, if an like me can do it, you can do it. And to me, that sounded like the most prolific, profound thing I'd ever heard. And because you were roofied. You had been roofied, I thought, and I was roofied at the same time. And early days of roofing, too. So dawn had a card that she'd given me, and I had Woody sign that card, and it said, manly Moondog and the three cool cats on the front. And every time I would say, I can't be an actor. This is ridiculous. I would open my wallet and I would pull out this card, and I would say, a wolf of asshole like, Woody Harrelson can do it. So can I. And that was 1991. I could grab my wallet right now, and that card is still in there. It's that one thing that I have that anytime I.

[Alan Tudyk]

You still. To this day.

[John Huertas]

To this day, it's in my wallet right now.

[Alan Tudyk]

I can't wait for you to run into Woody Harrelson again and say, hey, and pull that out. I did.

[John Huertas]

I did. Back in. It was like 2001 or 2002. I ran into him, and it was. I was in this basketball league called the NBA Entertainment League, which was a, like, celebrity basketball league. And we gotta. We would do pickup games at the Staples Center. We get a call like, hey, we're playing basketball today. You want to come out? And we played every weekend at, like, yeah, and people like Leonardo DiCaprio in this thing, and all these people, Maguire, all these people and big agents and all these people. And we did a pickup game once in Santa Monica. Some new basketball courts had opened up, and they were, like, they were letting us play on. The first people to play on these basketball courts were people from the nbae. And Woody happened to be in town from Hawaii, and he was playing that day. And we're the same height. We have very similar skill set on the court. So whenever our teams would face each other, we would guard each other, and we took a break because, you know, we're actors. We're not professional basketball players. We need breaks. And we're sitting on the grass, and, you know, Woody's telling me, like, hey, that was a nice deal. And I'm saying, like, yeah, man, that was a great shot. I Go. Hey, man, are you gonna. Are you gonna be here for a second? I just. I just want to show you something. He's like, what? Just. Just wait right here. And I ran to the parking lot, pulled out my wallet, pulled the card out of it, tucked it into my sock. I came running back. I wanted to get back before somebody else started talking to Woody. And I slid, you know, on the grass up next to him, and I said, hey, man, you ever heard of this band? And I held up the card, and he saw it, and his eyes were like, what the. Where'd you get that? And he turned it over and he goes, I signed this. I was like, yeah, this is Don's card. I was like, yeah, I met you in Texas at West side Stories. And he, you know, you told me that if an asshole like, you could be an actor, I could be an actor. And here I am. He goes, yeah, that does sound like something I would say. And now you're the asshole. I was like, yes, I am the asshole.

[Nathan Fillion]

Nice.

[Alan Tudyk]

Okay, two things. First of all, that's a fantastic story. Two things we kind of skated over that I would love to just touch on really quick. One is, I've never, ever heard someone say, you want to be an actor, you're going to need to do degree. Really? And the other thing was what had to happen for you not to be invited back to your college.

[John Huertas]

So in, you know, you don't fit in here. I would say, like, a drama teacher in Winchester, Virginia, might not know that. You can just move to New York or. Or LA and take acting classes and learn how to do the damn thing. I think that, you know, their limited scope of what professional acting is, is, you know, they. They. They say this is the path, you know, and so that's, you know, that's why I was trying to follow it. I didn't do the graduate thing. I was like, well, that's ridiculous. And then when I got to la, they were like, I started auditioning and I was booking some stuff. But then we get feedback like, he's good. He's got great instincts, but he's green. He needs to be in acting class. And so my manager got me into an acting class, and it was like 450 bucks a month or some shit. And I was like, what? I just spent all this money on college? Well, the Air Force did. Anyway, I just. But all this time, and I gotta learn. I gotta be in classes again. It was just, you know, weird. But it was a completely different, you know, different way of learning a Different structure, a different style it was. Which, you know, it did, did benefit me for sure. But then the reason I got kicked and well, the reason that I was asked not to come back, I, I had, I was in a class, sociology class and the. We were. The topic was how humans perceive insult and things like this. And somehow we ended up on.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, Mrs. Oh, look good. This is how you. This is ladies and gen. Just young people. This is how you get kicked out of college.

[John Huertas]

Go go. So you. One kid from. There's a, There's a town in Virginia and Tennessee. Literally it straddles the border of. Of Virginia and Tennessee. So it's down there.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's at the corner of he and Hall.

[John Huertas]

That's exactly.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's at the corner. We have one in Texas and Oklahoma, where I grew up. Same thing.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, exactly. So I, you know, and I, and I'm, I'm from the Northern Virginia and we're going to school is in Richmond, Virginia, the capital. And so it's, it's an, it's like an arts college, you know, it's called bcu. And so this kid from that town was. He started saying that he doesn't think that the N word is. Is. Should be, you know, considered offensive if depending on where you grew up. And he was trying to say that, you know, his daddy taught him that that's. That word is when he look at this type of person that that's what they're called. And he tried to equate it to like when I a. A brown animal with a white furry tail and antlers. My daddy told me that was a deer. And he said when I look at someone who looks like him, my daddy told me that's a. And then he called me the spick word. And then he called this Asian kid the G O, O K word. Oh, and I was just, I called him a liar. I was, I was like, you're full of. You're a liar. I go, you know. Because he said, my daddy told me if a man looks like that, so I called him a liar saying, you know exactly what that is. It's not the N word. That's a man. You use the right word. So you're a liar. You know, you're just trying to be an. And then he started going off and scream and he was just being a little bit of abusive to the, to the, to the Chinese kid and Chinese kid, he was like from China. Like, you know, he was never faced probably racism in his life. This kid's screaming at him and I Said I told him he has to sit down, you know, shut up, you should apologize kids, sit the down or whatever. You know, I probably sound a lot more hood like Bronx X as good at the, you know, I'm trying to keep it chill right now, but by

[Nathan Fillion]

way of the battlefield and. Okay, I keep going.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, exactly. So then he, he swung on me. He hit me and. Yeah, and I, and I went backwards and down. Like I, you know, and then my, my friend from high school who was also in the class and was, you know, freshman with me, he jumped in and then suddenly this dude had allies. Some other dudes like jumped up and I had. Then we had allies and then we

[Nathan Fillion]

ended up called the Klan. It's more of a clan of people when it depends on how many.

[John Huertas]

But so, but they, but they like, you know, they were defending this position and being a brawl and our professor just walked out of the room and called campus police and they came and you know, broke it up, put the bracelets on us. And I happened to be on disciplinary probation at the time.

[Alan Tudyk]

There seems to be stories within your stories.

[John Huertas]

And so I basically technically broke probation even though I don't think it was my fault. But it just. There was no time. No, there was tolerance enough to where they let me finish out the semester, but they were like, yeah, next year. Nah. And so I had to go into the military and then find my way to Los Angeles where I met.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, then you went into the military.

[John Huertas]

Okay, yeah, then I went in the military, then Texas.

[Alan Tudyk]

Then what year did. Did you end up in Los Angeles? What year are we talking about this time that you. You made your major way to LA.

[John Huertas]

January of 1995.

[Alan Tudyk]

1995, yeah.

[John Huertas]

Okay, so right after, Right after Christmas. Not. I mean, I've met you not too long after that, like four years later or something like that.

[Alan Tudyk]

So here's another early origin story. Alan, you and I have one and John and I have one. We were. This is circa 1997.

[Nathan Fillion]

Were you his waiter? Cuz this would be ridiculous if we both have the same different.

[John Huertas]

It was either 98 or 97.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, maybe 98. Okay, that makes more sense.

[John Huertas]

Or 98. Maybe not even 99, cuz I, I think I was on. I was on a show called Sabrina the Teenage Witch. You were on Two Guys and a Girl, right?

[Alan Tudyk]

Was I already on that? Okay, so then it could have been 99 then.

[John Huertas]

Yes, I think it was 99.

[Nathan Fillion]

2,000. Go on.

[John Huertas]

Sorry.

[Alan Tudyk]

We were invited to be. To attend a. What was it some charity thing for a radio Station.

[Nathan Fillion]

Gross.

[John Huertas]

Yeah. And we were the celebrity guests.

[Alan Tudyk]

We were. Yeah, they wanted celebrities to come to this thing. So we. I went. There's a tent on a. On a beach. It was north of Malibu.

[Nathan Fillion]

Was it?

[John Huertas]

Yeah, it was like, you know, I think it was that. That big beach in Malibu. The big one. What is it called?

[Nathan Fillion]

Big Sur, Zoom Zulu.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, I think Zuma or Zuma. Is it Zuma?

[Nathan Fillion]

Zuma beach, absolutely.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, it was. It was a bit of a haul.

[John Huertas]

It was a bit of a drive.

[Alan Tudyk]

I remember that.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, we. Yeah, it was a drive.

[Alan Tudyk]

And I kind of, you know, walk out on the sand with my shoes on. Walk out on the sand, and I see this little tent there, and there's some radio guys there, and John Huertas and no one else.

[John Huertas]

We quickly realized how celebrity. We were burnt. And we both. We're like, yeah, this is embarrassing.

[Alan Tudyk]

So hands in our pockets. Kind of looks like really no one's here, maybe. And I think. I think John had the. The wherewithal to say, yeah, I'm. I'm going to get out of here.

[John Huertas]

We, like, snuck away. We.

[Alan Tudyk]

We right behind you. I. I left something in my car. It was my dignity.

[John Huertas]

We ran to the parking lot, jumped in our cars, and we were out of there. That was 99, I think.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, 99. So that's. That sounds more accurate. And then you went off. You did a couple jobs. You kid. A couple things. This and that. And then we met again later on a little show called Castle.

[John Huertas]

Castle chats. Castle.

[Nathan Fillion]

I.

[John Huertas]

Can I tell him a quick story about Castle?

[Alan Tudyk]

We really don't have time for stories on podcast.

[John Huertas]

Okay, see you guys later.

[Nathan Fillion]

No, no, I want to hear it, though. Let's make an exception.

[Alan Tudyk]

Okay. Okay. Let's do this demonstration.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yes.

[John Huertas]

So I had. I'd done the show. I was, you know, we shot it in Africa, and it was Castle dog.

[Nathan Fillion]

Sorry, go on.

[John Huertas]

And. And then I, I, you know, had come back and this in the strike. The strike was on or it was impending. The first. The writer strike. Right. And.

[Nathan Fillion]

But I was.

[John Huertas]

There was a show that they were putting together, and they said, you know, they were interested in you for this character named Esposito. And before that, I had seen this movie, a little movie called Serenity.

[Nathan Fillion]

Hey.

[John Huertas]

Yes. And then I. Because my friend Michael Hitchcock was in it, so he was like, I'm in this movie. You should come see it. No, that's why.

[Nathan Fillion]

Who did Michael Hitchcock play?

[Alan Tudyk]

He was a scientist who got killed in the beginning.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, Michael Hitchcock. Oh, my God. I apologize. Michael Hitchcock. Oh, we should drop that name.

[Alan Tudyk]

Name drop.

[John Huertas]

He's.

[Nathan Fillion]

You might know him from Best in Show.

[John Huertas]

This is my first place I saw him, but gone lots of things.

[Nathan Fillion]

But he.

[John Huertas]

He, you know, he's a good friend of mine. He said, I'm in this movie. So I checked it out. I'm a sci fi guy. So I was like, oh, my God, this movie's amazing. And then, you know, found out it's based on Firefly. So I watched all of Firefly. And then I'm walking into the building, I think it was at Universal Studios is where the. The meetings were for this thing. It was either that or Warner Bros. I can't remember. Some Burbank studio. And I'm walking in and I see Nathan walking out of this. The building that I'm walking into. And we see each other and we give each other kind of a head nod, like, son. And

[Nathan Fillion]

so it's cool.

[John Huertas]

It's cool.

[Nathan Fillion]

I don't want to put too much out, but. Yeah, I know you.

[John Huertas]

And I said, oh, shit, I hope he's not up for Esposito too. He's really good. Just sound like a Firefly. I thought I was like. And then I was like, no, it's gotta. He can't be a Forres, you know. But I still wasn't sure. And I went in and, you know, and I blew it. I blew. I feel like I blew that meeting. And then I asked my manager to call and apologize for wasting their time. I said, please call them.

[Nathan Fillion]

What?

[Alan Tudyk]

How could it gone so badly?

[John Huertas]

I thought it went horrible. I have never even asked anybody to do that for me. And I said, I ruined that. Like, I don't know what happened. And then they call. She called and says she called me back and she was like, yeah, I called them and told them what you said. And they were like, what are you talking about? He. He's the guy.

[Alan Tudyk]

Ah.

[John Huertas]

So everything I did on Castle Nathan to when we were working together, I was just being bad. I was over and over. I was over and over just trying to, you know, just kill the scene. Like just. Just it up. And I guess that's what they liked watch me do that.

[Nathan Fillion]

Seems to be the trajectory of her career. Like, since after Castle. Everything that follows is because you up every scene you're in.

[John Huertas]

Because I up Castle.

[Nathan Fillion]

You haven't stopped working. Wow, you were great on that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Well, you had never been on a show for eight seasons before Castle.

[John Huertas]

No, no, I never.

[Alan Tudyk]

How long did this is us go?

[John Huertas]

Six seasons. Did not beat the record still, that's

[Alan Tudyk]

the record, isn't it?

[John Huertas]

Eight seasons the record. Put the needle on. Thank you.

[Nathan Fillion]

I would say that TV shows don't go that long anymore. Except you just got picked up for your ninth season, Nathan. That's true. That's.

[John Huertas]

You just picked your own record.

[Alan Tudyk]

I just. Well, here's the thing I would tell, you know, amongst my cast, I would say, look, hey, one of us has been on a show for eight seasons. So. And that was always my thing. I would. My pulling rank. Now we're all tied for nine. So I don't have that in my pocket anymore.

[Nathan Fillion]

Right.

[Alan Tudyk]

They're on the same boat now. But that was. John, that was a lot of fun working with the Castle. The amount of bits that you and Seamus came up with, that you and I came up with, that you and Seamus and I came up with the amount of bits that we did just on the fly, working out bits. It was extremely. We had a lot of leeway.

[John Huertas]

Oh, yeah, we did. I mean, I think, you know, if. When we did the pilot, I don't think this was the show. I think it was. The pilot was. Felt like it was going to be like a little bit more serious, like, you know, gritty, like, no room for that kind of thing. If anybody was going to be able to do that, have a bit of that was going to be your character. Because you were kind of this, you know.

[Nathan Fillion]

A ham.

[John Huertas]

Yes, a ham. But, yeah, the fact that they allowed us to really kind of explore and play in these. You know, sometimes we're standing around a dead body and we're literally doing a bit. It's like. Yeah. And. And. And I can't tell you how many cops have come up to me and said, like. Like detectives. Like, yes, that's how we are. You guys got it right. And I was always like, what? Really? Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Because they're not dark, haunted, brooding people. They. They like. They try to. They're like everyone. They try to make light of terrible situations, to cope and deal.

[Nathan Fillion]

And what they can't just make light of, they drink away at night. I'm. I'm thinking of one person in particular. I shouldn't color everybody with that. I'm sorry. To the police. People listening.

[John Huertas]

Go on.

[Nathan Fillion]

Sorry. What's happening?

[Alan Tudyk]

I was just to say, if you were anything like me, did you have problems breaking that habit of going for the gag all the time after Castle?

[John Huertas]

A little bit. But then, you know, like, on this is Us, they. They kind of allowed me. There was my character, Chris Sullivan's character, Toby, and Then Susan Kalichi, Watson's character, we kind of had a little bit of that play that we got to do. You know, when I signed up for this Is Us, they. They told me it was a dramedy. And so I think that, you know, they were looking for those moments as often as they could to, you know, kind of balance the harder, like, dramatic, you know, stuff.

[Alan Tudyk]

Intensity. There was a lot of intensity on that show.

[John Huertas]

Yeah. So they wanted, you know, some levity. And they looked to, I think our characters, we were like the, you know, the ancillary characters, if you will. They called us the, the new big three because they were like the big three, like kids. They called them the dad when they played by Milo Ventimiglia. He called her kids the Big three. And so we were like the new big Three because everything was about those kids, me, Chris and Susan.

[Nathan Fillion]

That was the. That was the working title of the show, those Big Kids.

[Alan Tudyk]

Before we move on from Castle, you did not work every single day, so you had a little bit of time on your hands. So typically, Seamus, Deborah shared your schedule. The two of you were partners. And so if you were working, you were probably both working. If you were off, you were probably

[Nathan Fillion]

both off on Castle.

[Alan Tudyk]

Own Castle. But you used that time to diversify a little bit. I don't know if everybody out there knows about Shan.

[Nathan Fillion]

Did you get a restaurant? It's.

[John Huertas]

It's not a restaurant. It is a. It's more like a two man boy band. Seamus and John makes Shan Alan.

[Alan Tudyk]

I mean, it sounds like a. It sounds like a goofy. But these two are actually extremely talented musicians.

[John Huertas]

Oh, cool.

[Alan Tudyk]

And put together more than one. Funny as hell, but extremely cleverly and like satisfyingly satisfying to listen to music songs with music videos. How many did you had an album? Did you not. How many songs on the album?

[John Huertas]

11. And. But we never. We never released. Released one single from it. But then we never released the album. We had a. We had this distributor that just didn't work out. And so, and. And then, you know, I got busy, Seamus got busy and we were just like, you know, Seamus went and bought a house in Portugal and was out there remodeling that like, you know, we just.

[Alan Tudyk]

Wasn't that your idea?

[John Huertas]

Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

You said, hey, we should go buy houses in Portugal. So he and his wife bought a house in Portugal and started making ways to get it citizenship. And then you said, no, no, no, not Portugal. Let's go upstate New York. They were already in.

[Nathan Fillion]

Did I say Portugal? I meant fish kill New York.

[Alan Tudyk]

They were already neck Deep in remodeling this house in Portugal.

[John Huertas]

Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see. Well, what. Seamus and I are actually. He's actually staying at my house right now. He's in town working on a show, and his wife is doing a play here in town as well, and so they're staying here. And we're actually gonna probably release the album. We're going to call it the Shan, the Lost Work. So it's like. So we're going to. We're going to start just playing around, putting some stuff out on the. On the gram. And then, you know, we'll see what happens.

[Nathan Fillion]

Just.

[Alan Tudyk]

Just that one single was that Definition of Love.

[John Huertas]

Definition of Love. And that was, like, for the show. That was for the season seven DVD. Remember, there was, like. They put out DVDs back in the day for TV shows with extra content.

[Alan Tudyk]

Did it ever make it to the DVD?

[John Huertas]

Yeah, it was on the DVD. It was on. It was on vivo and YouTube for a while. I don't. I don't know if it's still out on YouTube, but, yeah, we.

[Nathan Fillion]

So you get, like, checks in the mail from the. From the song when the episode runs.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's not in the episode. It's not in the episode. It would be on the DVD run.

[John Huertas]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

So I'm gonna go out and buy a DVD player, and then I'm gonna buy that dvd. So put a little money in your pocket, buddy.

[John Huertas]

Thanks, man. I need it. I need it.

[Nathan Fillion]

You're digging for gold.

[John Huertas]

Yes, I will be digging for gold.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's extremely satisfying. It's.

[Nathan Fillion]

I love music, and I love lyrics that are clever. I've already just. Just the title has excited my imagination of what the Definition of Love is about. Do you define it? Is it like a Webster's thing? What. What is it? How does it work?

[John Huertas]

So what it is it, basically, the song came from. It's a Castle and Beckett are getting. They were engaged on our show, and they were going to have a wedding. And then, you know, you know, obviously, the shenanigans of, you know, police work in New York's 12th Precinct got in the way of an actual wedding. And so, telling my story, Esposito and Esposito and Ryan had, you know, been preparing for a performance at the wedding. We were going to sing a song for them. And so the music video opens up. The precinct is, you know, everybody's gone home. And we. Ryan brings out his keyboard and we start, you know, we're going to rehearse this song that we're going to Sing for their wedding. We're, you know, in character. And so it's literally about, you know, being in love in. You know, in the. In what we do at work.

[Alan Tudyk]

There was literally a scene in the show where Castle and Becket say, hey, guys, we eloped. And Esposito and Ryan are so upset because they had these big plans for playing this big song. And so the two of these fellas took it upon themselves to go write that song.

[Nathan Fillion]

What was your line in the.

[John Huertas]

In the scene? My character, I go, are you serious? We wrote a song. It was like. And then from that, that was the seed that we were like, let's write the song. And then we shot the video in the precinct. We took over the whole precinct. Our DP was on our crew. Like, it was, you know, it was brilliant.

[Alan Tudyk]

It looks like an episode of Castle as the camera come around, and all of a sudden the light shifts and the quality of the shot changes, and all of a sudden, you're in this oversaturated music video just while the camera pans over. It's. It was fantastic.

[Nathan Fillion]

It was.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was extremely satisfying to watch.

[Nathan Fillion]

Turn down the floor and I direct.

[John Huertas]

I directed it.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's exactly what happened.

[John Huertas]

Oh, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Nice pink back lights and whatnot. Yeah. Now, John, also, here's the other thing that I'm fascinated by you. I know people do this all over the industry, but you are the person closest to me who did it in the biggest and most success, which was being an actor and then saying, I'm also going to diversify. I'm not just going to be an actor and just wait for jobs and just look for gigs. And you diversified. You became a director.

[John Huertas]

They call me the director. That's. That's what they call me in town.

[Alan Tudyk]

What happened first, becoming the director or the mustache with the girls on the end?

[John Huertas]

I had to draw the mustache once I became a director, because when I'd be on prep calls, everyone thought it was some kid that someone in the crew brought along to, like, who's this kid? Oh, wait, weren't you hold his hand

[Alan Tudyk]

while he crosses the street?

[John Huertas]

Or they're like, why is this actor on the call right now? So I literally had to, like, grow a beard. I call it professorial look. My professorial look.

[Alan Tudyk]

I could. You could be a swashbuckling pirate with that mustache. It's majestic.

[John Huertas]

I know, and I heard you need one on the new Firefly series. A new swashbuckling pirate with an accent.

[Nathan Fillion]

Definitely need directors.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm certainly open to hearing your. Your Character pitches of what we. What you'd like to see and who you'd like to play them. We're very open to that. Alan's got a list he's making.

[John Huertas]

Oh, yeah. I want to play the swashbuckling Pali from Spain with a little bit of a French accent. He's like, he's half French, half Spanish.

[Nathan Fillion]

Right. But should he. I'd love him if he had that. The th. Thing that, like the.

[John Huertas]

Oh, yes.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah. The serious. Yeah, that's that sexy. Sexy Spanish there.

[John Huertas]

There are a lot of things that we have to. To talk about.

[Nathan Fillion]

Let's see some top out span.

[Alan Tudyk]

So Spanish slash French accent, but speaking Chinese.

[Nathan Fillion]

Speaking Chinese.

[John Huertas]

I actually do love the Chinese. I would love to learn Chinese Mandarin.

[Nathan Fillion]

I never did, but, you know you didn't.

[John Huertas]

None of us did.

[Alan Tudyk]

I, I almost did.

[Nathan Fillion]

I was bad at it.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, everybody loves that. The Chinese we spoke. Except for the actual Chinese who are saying, nice, nice try. Really? Almost close.

[John Huertas]

Where are we with that show? Are we. Is it. Is that. I know you were looking for a home last video that you put out.

[Alan Tudyk]

I have an appointment right after I talk to you. I'm gonna go. I think I might take a shower and get all refreshed and I'm gonna go talk to one of our. One of our major streamers in the industry to go see if that might be. We've already had one meeting. We're doing another and another tomorrow.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, thank God. I'm glad. This is. Wait, so you've had one meeting and now this is the second. Did they say after the first meeting, next time take a shower or. This is just what's going to happen?

[Alan Tudyk]

They didn't say it, but their faces. It was sour.

[John Huertas]

It was apparent.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

Okay, good, good, good.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's on me. That one's on me.

[Nathan Fillion]

Way to pick up on that. And I'm glad you're making that adjustment.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, this next meeting will go much better than the first one.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, they just hold their nose and point and then wave their hand like that. That, that, that jump from actor to director. There's got to be pitfall upon pitfall. There's so many things you have to do in order to. There's so many doors you have to get your foot into. Scale of 1 to 10, difficulty level going from actor to director. Go.

[John Huertas]

I mean, I, I can't. I. It was. It wasn't that hard for me and I know it's probably harder for others.

[Nathan Fillion]

4.2.

[John Huertas]

I don't know if you remember when we were on Castle. I. I didn't. I wasn't the guy who went back to his trailer or back to his. Even his chair all the time. I was always, you know, very nerdy about the camera, about how we're doing this thing. I've shadowed, you know, you know, a shadow. I shadowed unofficially, like the, you know, the. A camera operator or the.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[John Huertas]

You know, everybody, like every. Every department. I wanted to know what everybody did intricately. Right? And so when I finally. I mean, I remember when I. When we were done with our show and I went to meet on. On this Is Us, and they. And they hired me. And then Ken Olin, who's an actor, former actor, and, you know, director, who's been doing it for a long time. He's very, very talented and wonderful man. He called me into his office before we started filming the season, and he sat me down. He said, hey, I heard you want to get in the director's chair. And I was like, yeah, man, I do. How'd you know that? And he has his ways, and he said, we're going to get you in that chair. And so once I. Once I did. I, you know, I, I. Before that, I shadowed him on that show two episodes just to, you know, see. I'd never been in, like, prep. I had never been in the, like, in the prep process, so I needed to see that. I never. I've been in. I'd sat in post for Castle a few times, but not from, like, day one to day four or whatever it is, right? So I did that. And then once we, you know, I got my first episode, it's like, well, you apply what I. What I do as an. As an actor to what I'm gonna do as a director. Meaning, like, you know, as an actor, when you're taking the series, you break down your character, you figure out the, you know, the arc of the episode, the arc of your character, which character means to the story. And, you know, you just have to do that for every character now, right? And then you have to figure out how to capture it with a camera and make it interesting and compelling, right? And I always. One of the things I always say when I go into, like, a new show to direct, I take the DP and I say, hey, man, can I talk to you for. For a minute before we get too deep into this? He goes, yeah, what's up? I go, DP stands for Director Photography, right? He's like, yeah. I go. So I go, so I see two directors on set. I don't want to. I'm not coming in here and telling you how to, you know, reposition the camera in some weird, wacky way, because it's. I saw that on Castle. We had to shut down the set one day so that they come down and talk to him. I don't remember that, but, yeah, they had to just adjust them a little bit. Right? So I told the. The dp every time we go on to a set, hey, man, you're. You're. You're my co director. I think, you know, we're gonna. We're gonna, you know, do this together. And I think ultimately, collaboration is something I love, and I think that's what a director. How. How you're gonna find success as a director is making sure you're collaborating with every single department head, every single actor, every single cast member, every single writer, you know, that's covering the thing or whatever. Every. Every person on set. Like, this is a collaboration. I'm not there to be, you know, some, you know, Napoleon, you know, it's like, you know, let's chill. What's up? What's up, Nathan? You have a question.

[Alan Tudyk]

The question I have, though, and this is for both of you, because this is a journey I've not taken, but both of you have taken this journey. You're an actor. Do you say, one day I'm looking at this director, I think I can do better? Or are you looking. Saying, I'm watching this process, and I think I can wrap my mind around it, and I. I think I can do that.

[John Huertas]

What is.

[Alan Tudyk]

What's the tickle? What's the first. What's the first little thing that goes off that says, I better start directing?

[Nathan Fillion]

First of all, when directors tickle you. Now, that's. You can't do that.

[John Huertas]

You can't do that. It's an HR thing.

[Alan Tudyk]

No.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, it's an HR thing that's off the table.

[Alan Tudyk]

Gotcha.

[John Huertas]

So it's less fun. It's way less fun now.

[Nathan Fillion]

Just less laughs from tickling.

[John Huertas]

I mean, Alan, what made you. What tickled you? Besides me? Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Where's the inspiration strike?

[John Huertas]

I've apologized, by the way.

[Nathan Fillion]

I'll say that. I'll say there was one. I can remember one moment in Resident Alien where I thought I would direct. I directed the con man stuff, which John Huertas graced us with his acting skills and killed it. Playing a director.

[John Huertas]

I played a director. Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

And. But in Resident Alien, we were shooting a moment where the director at the time. And I won't get too specific because I don't want to Insult anybody. But the director said, okay, you're going to come over here and it's going to happen like this. And I said, oh, it should be shot from over there, though. And it just came out. I didn't. And I accidentally. And I put my hand in my mouth, like, oh, that isn't my job. Because I. But it just happened to come out. And in my mind was, this joke won't work written on the page. It's supposed to work. I could see how it was supposed to be done. It was supposed to be a surprise. We weren't supposed to get ahead of the joke. But if you shot it the way this director was shooting it, you got

[John Huertas]

ahead of the joke.

[Nathan Fillion]

And if you shot it from over where I saw it should be shot, you would not get ahead of the joke. And that was the first moment I said, oh, I think I want to direct, because I seem to have ideas that are just coming out of mammoth out of my mouth even when they shouldn't. So then I did, and it was hard.

[Alan Tudyk]

Was your aha moment, John?

[John Huertas]

I. I didn't really have that same kind of moment. I had. I had, you know, something similar, but, I mean, I had taken my first cinematography class in 11th grade. Wow. And I was making little movies when I was a kid, and they were usually Vietnam movies. And not. Not a little kid, but a little. A little high school guy always playing

[Nathan Fillion]

the Vietcong, which was weird. You were always doing it from their point of view, which was different.

[John Huertas]

And I was doing it. I was doing the accent, which was very offensive.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's not. Okay now. It's right up there with tickling.

[John Huertas]

Isn't that.

[Nathan Fillion]

This was.

[Alan Tudyk]

You can't do it.

[John Huertas]

These guys.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah.

[John Huertas]

And I saw Mickey Rooney do it, and I was like, well, he can do it. So I, you know, came to LA and I tried to direct some stuff when I first got here. And I remember we hired a dp, a dp, supposedly cinematographer. And the two cameras that I rented, because it was an independent little thing, he broke the cameras, literally, the cinematographer broke the two cameras. So I was on the hook for, like, fixing these cameras. So I, that's. I was like, all right, I'm not doing that. I'm gonna focus on the actor in front of the camera. Camera thing. And then it was another. It was a project that I was working on and something similar to Alan, you know, the director just wasn't prepared. And I, I, you know, I love prep. I love preparation. I love being like, yeah, successful as long as you're prepared. Right. And this director showed up and was not prepared. Our part of the camera crew quit. And this was a big project. I mean, you know, 100 million dollar profit. And. And I was like, if that person can do it, I can do it. So I started, you know, kind of mapping out a path to that, and. And just gradually, you know, started, like, getting back into the director's chair, figuring out how to get back in the director's chair, making sure that I, you know, could. Could do something like. So I made a. I made a couple of short films. It started, basically, my first one was on Castle. I did my first short film in Utah.

[Nathan Fillion]

Was this where you were. You were a superhero of some kind? I saw something.

[Alan Tudyk]

You made that white tiger one. Yeah, Tigre Blanco.

[John Huertas]

That was. That was later. Yeah. That was actually a proof of concept that Marvel TV had asked us to make, because I had pitched them that idea.

[Alan Tudyk]

And on top of that, John Huertas designed the mask. Like, he did the sculpting of the tiger mask. And I remember, John, you had a guy doing it, and you're like, no, this has to be this. This has to be this. And then finally you said, get out of here. And you took over making that mask, and it was phenomenal.

[Nathan Fillion]

And then you put out a cologne called White Tiger, which didn't go as well.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, that launched the White Tiger cologne, which I'm filthy rich now from that, but, yeah. So I had an idea of a tiger. I call it El Tigre Blanco, and that's the one I sculpted. It looked like a. Like a half human, half cat. So I did that one first, and it wasn't really. It wasn't a Marvel thing. And then later, I wanted. I was like, well, there is a white tiger. Maybe I can. This could be a show. So we went and pitched this idea, and they loved it. They were like, what does it. What does it look like? What does it feel like? You know, you want. You know, here's some money. Go make. Go show us. And so then I made a new one, which was a cow. More like a cow. Like, over. It was a helmet that went over the guy's head.

[Nathan Fillion]

It was a cow. A cat and a cow. Now, I like this.

[John Huertas]

It was a cat. I wore a cow. And you put your head right in the back of the cow. Cowl. Cowl. A cowl at the end of that. But I wore that. And there was a suit that I made, too. And I had. Originally, I hired a costume designer who, you know, made. Yeah, was. It was A great costume designer, you know, a lot of. Lot of experience. But they didn't really spend, I think, the quality time on the scene that they were supposed to. And I picked it up about four days, five days before we were going to shoot, tried it on, and it didn't fit. It didn't work. It didn't move. It didn't work. And I. And I was like, what? And I didn't have. And I was pissed off at that guy, so I'm not going to have him try to fix it. So then I had bought a sewing machine. This is, you know, Amazon. I was. It was prime. Amazon prime time, right? And when I was. When I was a kid, I always wanted a sewing machine. But of course, if I would have had one, all the boys would have made fun of me. But I always. I always wanted to sew. And you end up a sewing machine, so. But I never got it. But mainly because I couldn't afford it. Like, we didn't have money, so I couldn't.

[Nathan Fillion]

Like, you can't sew in the South Bronx when you're a boy.

[Alan Tudyk]

Come on.

[Nathan Fillion]

Forget about it. That doesn't work.

[John Huertas]

It's true. It's true. So. But I also couldn't even afford one. And so when I went Castle, I was like, I got. Let's go. We eight seasons deep. I got that money and going Amazon and getting me a sewing.

[Nathan Fillion]

I got sewing machine money.

[John Huertas]

And I got the sewing machine and, like, opened it. Was super excited about it. Look at this. Amazing. And you can program it and do all this stuff. And then I put it up in the. In the closet and it just sat there for years. Never touched it. Never learned. Never learned how to do it. And then I get this costume, and I was like, we're shooting in five days and I gotta fix this thing. So I literally took it apart, pulled the sewing machine out, enrolled in YouTube University and learned how to sew. And I resoled that costume together and freaking wore it, and it worked out fine.

[Alan Tudyk]

Is brilliant.

[Nathan Fillion]

Nice.

[Alan Tudyk]

That is brilliant.

[John Huertas]

And haven't used the sewing machine since.

[Alan Tudyk]

I listen, my ears are pricked. I'm like, I wonder if you got a singer. That Singer model is pretty.

[John Huertas]

It is a singer. It's definitely a singer.

[Alan Tudyk]

There you go. There you go.

[John Huertas]

I can sew leather with it. I got the one.

[Alan Tudyk]

I am watching. That's actually tough to do. I'm watching the clock here. I don't want to run out of time before we get to. Let's get to know you better.

[Nathan Fillion]

I know you and you know me. Let's get to know you better.

[John Huertas]

Oh, is there a. It's a bit. A segment.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's a segment.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, it's a segment of the show. Alan came up with the very beginning that we've been doing without fail. This is the part of the show, John, where you need to tell us something about you that we don't know

[John Huertas]

right now in this moment. Why don't you.

[Alan Tudyk]

Why you think on it? Alan, you can start.

[Nathan Fillion]

Ah, but see if I start. Every time I start, you say I should have gone first.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'll go first.

[John Huertas]

You ready?

[Nathan Fillion]

Okay. Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

Alan. John, I don't know if you know this. Alan already does. I collect. I collect things. There's some things that I collect. I collect flashlights. We've covered that. I collected at one point.

[John Huertas]

That's true. I know that one.

[Alan Tudyk]

I started a collection that was terribly not well planned out. I started collecting cash registers.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh yeah, you've got one right when you walk in the door.

[John Huertas]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And not like, like, oh, you go to the drugstore and there they have the. You go to the corner store, you go order your subway. Not that kind of cash register. These are like the old wooden steel. They weigh 95 pounds. Like they are not little machines.

[John Huertas]

They are how many?

[Alan Tudyk]

I had seven. I got rid of them. This is. There's just no room for seven cash registers in your house.

[John Huertas]

Depends on how much cash is in them, Nathan.

[Nathan Fillion]

There's a need for seven, but there's just no room.

[Alan Tudyk]

There's like I, I had one that plugged in. It was like the old kind of chrome one with the, just the, the there, there. Something very satisfying to me about the mechanical click of these buttons. So most of them are all mechanical. Adding machines with a cash drawer on the bottom and the little, the dials or little flags that pop up. Like it's all mechanical, it's all automaton type, type of things. And I re inked one of the ribbons on the one. There's one that says sits by my front door. And I re inked the ribbon and I put in some paper. It's still a functioning perfectly amazing adding machine.

[Nathan Fillion]

You re inked the ribbon.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

So this is from a time when you didn't just replace the ribbon, you had to just.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm sure you could replace the ribbon.

[Nathan Fillion]

You serviced it.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, I just pulled out that spool and re inked the ribbon itself.

[John Huertas]

So when people leave your house, you give them a, like a bill, like a, like pay this. Use that register.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. Little, little Paper comes roughing on it. Tear this off.

[John Huertas]

Tip.

[Nathan Fillion]

You had two sodas.

[Alan Tudyk]

You're gonna owe me. Oh, I forgot to put the tax on. So that was one of my, One of my collections that was ill informed was I had like big old Russian electric Russian. I had all these things coming at me from ebay. And these boxes would come to my house and there'd be delivery guys would look at me and go, you son of a. Because they were literally like a smallish box, but like just a solid steel inside these things. And I'm going, where am I going to put them? I'll put it up on that shelf. I want to break my back. I'm going to crush a disc, put this thing up on a shelf. So I have, I think now, I think I, I kind of whittled it down to three. My three favorites. I've whittled it down, I've gotten rid of the rest of them and now I'm just down to three. Cash register that you didn't.

[John Huertas]

I'm going to come check them out. I want to see them.

[Alan Tudyk]

All right. Alan, did you have one?

[Nathan Fillion]

Do you have one, John?

[John Huertas]

I think so, yeah. Mine is. I think a lot of people would look at me and not think or guess that I play polo.

[Nathan Fillion]

Polo on horses with mallets.

[John Huertas]

Horses with mallets.

[Nathan Fillion]

Polo, high speed, play Ralph Lauren shirts on.

[Alan Tudyk]

And you are absolutely right. I would not look at you and I know you and I would not look at you and think they probably plays Pokemon. How did you get into that?

[John Huertas]

Well, first of all, I mean, I've always been pretty fascinated with that sport since I was a kid. But when I was a kid, again,

[Nathan Fillion]

I don't come from who isn't everyone else other than you. Okay, go on.

[John Huertas]

I, yeah, Nathan's the only one who's not interested. I, you know, I was a kid. That's the rich people sport. Like, you know, even though I rode horses since I was a kid, but, you know, western, like on a farm in Virginia, you know, but cool. I would see the, you know, the polo players and they're just like, oh, look at those rich guys playing them, playing that sport. And then one day I went, well, I had a friend and Nathan, I met her on Castle. She's. Her name is Allison. She was a horse wrangler. So anytime we had, you know, mounted cops in like Central park, when we'd shoot somewhere like Griffith park, it would shoot. And her boss Cody, we did the western episode.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think I know who you're talking about.

[John Huertas]

Yeah. And her and her boss, Cody, would bring the horses out, and so I started riding with them all the time and, you know, weekly. Really?

[Nathan Fillion]

Wow.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, weekly. And then she would always ask me, because I guess she played polo in college at usc. She would always say, hey, you should come out and. Such a good writer. You should come out and try polo. And I was like, that's for rich people.

[Alan Tudyk]

That was.

[John Huertas]

You know, I was doing pretty good on Castle. I still didn't consider myself rich guy, but, yeah, I was like, those are best for rich people. And then one day, she invited me to a. A polo match. Big polo match at Will Rogers. And, you know, you. Because I'm with Allison, I get to go back into the stables where all the, you know, horses are, and the riders and the players and stuff. And I meet. You know, there was a. We watched this match, and there was this one kid who was amazing, and I met him back there. You know, I walked up to him thinking he's going to, you know, be from, like, you know, Beverly Hills or something. And I'm like, hey, what's up, man? He's like, hey, what's up, fool? How you doing? I'm like, what. Where. Where are you from? He's like, I'm from Southgate Food. This outside of downtown. And I'm like, you're. You're, like, the best player on the team. How. How are you playing polo? I just went to this workshop, and they were like, they like the way I ride. And they were like, you know, you want to play? We can make you better. We can put you with a coach. And I've been playing ever since, and, you know, because I love it.

[Nathan Fillion]

How cool.

[John Huertas]

And I was like, he's from the hood, and he's playing polo. And he. And I. And I. I learned in that moment after asking around, they were like, oh, yeah, The. The people playing aren't the rich people, the people that own all these horses, because you. You know, one player rides six horses in a match, right? So it's the. It's the. It's the people that own the polo clubs or the horses that are the wealthy people. They just want great players, great riders. And so Allison said, hey, we're doing a. There's a workshop in Burbank at the equestrian center. And. And she said, do you want, you know, do you want to come and. And, you know, try out polo? And I finally said, sure, I'll do it. And I go out there and. Because I'm a pretty good rider, and I can ride aggressive and and fast. And I got out there and we, you know, we. We learn. You learn some skills first, and then you do what's called a chucker, which is like. It's scrimmage. It's like scrimmage. Play for hor. For polo. And I. A chucker. It's called chuckers. Yeah, they play chuckers. That's a new word. So I scored like four goals in a row. It was. We basically are. The team I was on beat the other team four to zero.

[Nathan Fillion]

Chucked it up.

[John Huertas]

And there was a guy. I chucked it up, bro. And there was a guy on the. Who had been on the fence just with his elbows up on it, watching the whole thing. And as I was, you know, we finished play and I started heading back towards the stables. He goes, he goes, hey, man. Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute? I was like, yeah, he's like, pretty good out there. I was like, oh, thanks, man. I appreciate that. And he said, would you be interested in being partnered up with a pro and learning how to, you know, get a little better?

[Nathan Fillion]

And you got a scout.

[John Huertas]

I was scouted.

[Nathan Fillion]

I was like, mother chucker.

[John Huertas]

Yeah. So I started with a pro up there in Burbank in what's called arena polo. It's a. It's a smaller arena. It's a benched in kind of dusty, dirty dirt floor arena. And that was cool. But then he was like, oh, yeah. Once you play on a 400 yard grass field, that's one you're really playing. And I really able to open up these horses. And so I started coaching at Will Rogers. And ever since that was like, I don't know, five years ago.

[Nathan Fillion]

And now you have a sore on your ass, like, you know, where the saddle hit? Like a saddle sore? Or is that just western saddle? You don't have like a. A hard, rough, calloused part of your butt?

[John Huertas]

No, because, I mean, when I ride, it's kind of like, you know, I'm posting a little bit when I ride, so. And, and you know, I see, you know how you're riding western. If you're riding western, you, you know, you. You move with the horse. So you.

[Nathan Fillion]

I don't ride horses and I have a hard, calloused part on my butt. I.

[John Huertas]

From when you did ride horses.

[Nathan Fillion]

We're on Zoom. If I could just show it to you.

[John Huertas]

You could. That's.

[Alan Tudyk]

Don't even worry, Alan. That's. Maybe we'll do another episode.

[Nathan Fillion]

Leave it. Okay.

[John Huertas]

Alan P. Oh, my God. Just pulled his pants down on camera. Oh my God.

[Nathan Fillion]

Do you see what I'm talking about?

[Alan Tudyk]

I didn't.

[John Huertas]

That thing is huge.

[Alan Tudyk]

I did not know that about you, John.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, me either. I did not know that about you. Mine. Yeah, my, mine is, mine is. Mine is short. I, I would really. I have used to love wrestling when I was younger. My friends and I, I skateboarded and. But we wrestled all the time. There's a lot of rain, days and days you just couldn't get. We did, we weren't, when we weren't skating, we would be bored and it was a rough and tumble group of guys that honestly you would just like punch one of your friends and then you'd wrestle for a while and it got pretty, it was pretty rough and I really enjoyed it and I felt like I was good at it. I think I could. Here's the thing you don't know about me. You might not have known that about me, but I think I'd be good at mma. But I can't stand that face off. I don't, I can't. I won't be able to do that face off the. Where they weigh in and you look

[Alan Tudyk]

face to face and they're nose to nose there.

[Nathan Fillion]

You have to get close. I, that makes me so anxious looking at those guys because you gotta, I mean you'd be like thinking about what am I going to straighten or I'm going to do the goofy thing or I'm going to push them or like I don't want to. I can't, I can't. We just talking about, would you like,

[John Huertas]

would it make you so anxious that you might like in the moment just start giggling in his face or.

[Nathan Fillion]

I don't know if I think I get psyched out. I think I'd psych myself out before they could even psych me out. And I tried it. My, my plan to psych them out would backfire and psych me out because I knew I couldn't psych them out and it wouldn't be it. I would never be able to fight them. I just, it's the fight, the fight just wouldn't happen.

[Alan Tudyk]

I just don't love the, the poor sportsmanship.

[Nathan Fillion]

I'm.

[Alan Tudyk]

I see so consistently at those weigh ins, it just breaks my heart.

[John Huertas]

Yeah, me too. What we could do, we could go over Nathan's house. He can charge us entry on his cash register. Got the cash register. We could do a standoff, you and I, just to see how you react. Just because you haven't tried it yet. So why don't we just stand nose to nose.

[Nathan Fillion]

Are we in our underwear like they are?

[John Huertas]

And see Nathan, If. If only Nathan collected scales, we could actually do away. It's on in our underwear.

[Alan Tudyk]

I have a black and white striped shirt. I have a whistle. I got a whistle.

[John Huertas]

Oh, yeah. And then we could.

[Nathan Fillion]

Could.

[John Huertas]

We could wrestle.

[Alan Tudyk]

Two men enter, one man leaves. We're gonna Thunderdome this thing.

[Nathan Fillion]

Just right there in your entryway. Right in there. That section of your house.

[John Huertas]

Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

Two minutes of the entryway, backyard exit ways.

[Alan Tudyk]

John, we've been talking just a little over an hour. We haven't even gotten into nearly your. Your stint in law enforcement. We didn't get into what.

[John Huertas]

That's all right.

[Nathan Fillion]

Actual law enforcement.

[Alan Tudyk]

Actual law enforcement.

[John Huertas]

Reserve. I did a little stint as a couple. Not even a whole year as a reserve officer in Azo, Texas. If you know where that is. Alan should know where that is. Azlo, Texas.

[Nathan Fillion]

Your life is enormous.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's incredible, Alan. And every facet of it has like a freaking bizarre, hilarious adventure or ten that you say, what happened to you? This is your life. Yes.

[Nathan Fillion]

Do you have kids?

[John Huertas]

It's usually the thing that made me quit when I was trying, but like. Yeah, so remember I said I'm either going to be an actor or I'm going to do something pragmatic like law enforcement. Right. So my uncle worked in. At the U.S. marshals headquarters. Not the one who hates me, the other uncle, he worked in law enforcement in Arlington Tech. Arlington, Virginia, not Texas. And he said. Because I was like, you know, I don't know what I'm going to do. And he was like, why don't you just be a marshal? And the thing about going into the marshal service, you have to have at least one year experience in law enforcement before you can become a U.S. marshal. And so the only way that I was going to be able to do that, that's what I'm going to do right after the Air Force is to go into the reserves and just serve. And it's a volunteer position. You go through the police academy and you show up. I think that that department you. It was required that you do 16 hours a month. So it's like two shifts. Some of them are one shift, some of them whatever. But. But yeah, so I did that for a while, eight months. And I. There was an incident that happened. Death. Two. Actually. There's a couple incidents that just made me very uncomfortable and I didn't like it. And I decided quickly and I looked at that card that said, cheers, Woody. And I said, I'm going to Hollywood. I'm not going to be a cop. I'm not going to be in your special. I'm gonna play one on tv.

[Alan Tudyk]

Being a cop isn't for me. I'm gonna go to Hollywood and pretend I'm a cop.

[John Huertas]

Exactly. Safer that way.

[Alan Tudyk]

Well, we've. We've only just touched on how widely varied your life and adventures and your path has been, so I think the only solution is to. We're gonna have to have John come back.

[Nathan Fillion]

We have to have you back for chapter two.

[John Huertas]

Chapter two? I've never even. Oh, my God. I've never gotten a chapter two before.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's spelled T O O, just so you know, because it's a little cuter that way.

[John Huertas]

Oh, two.

[Alan Tudyk]

Here's a quick question, John. What did you think of the kit? I put that kit together myself. Did you get the video? Just the setup. Kit was with that.

[John Huertas]

The kit was fine. The how you set it up video that you did, though, was like. Like cherry on top.

[Nathan Fillion]

Master class.

[John Huertas]

It's like you knew what you were doing. Yeah, it's like a master class, like you knew what you were doing. I like the kid. It's all blacked out, got that logo on it. Yeah, it was super, super cool.

[Nathan Fillion]

And you get poker chips.

[Alan Tudyk]

I went all out.

[John Huertas]

I wasn't sure. I was like, are they gonna ask me to play poker? Are we gambling today?

[Nathan Fillion]

There's no telling what you're supposed to do with them, but you have them now.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's when your mom says, oh, you're gonna be on a podcast. I don't know how to find it. You give her that poker chip and it's got a cute QAR code on the back and that she can't. She can't lose.

[Nathan Fillion]

And if you do go to Dragon Con, you can hand those out and people say, thank you. They like those things.

[Alan Tudyk]

John, thank you for joining us, my friend.

[John Huertas]

Thanks for having me, guys. It was fun. Anytime. Really, man, I would love to come back.

[Alan Tudyk]

That wasn't half bad. You're pretty good at this.

[John Huertas]

Oh, thank you. Congrats on the move, Alan.

[Nathan Fillion]

Thank you. Thank you for listening to Once We Were Spacemen. It. If you haven't yet, head over to our Patreon to get bonus content, longer episodes, and the chance to take home some incredible crap. The most amazing crap. The kind that does not smell. And if you love this show, please leave us a review and tell your prince Once We Were spaceman is a collision 33 production, whatever the hell that is. They show is produced by Michelle Chapman, Siobhan Holman and Josh lady of Collision 33. There that is again. I'm sick of it. Production services are done by Rabbit Grin Productions. Why is the rabbit grinning? I don't like it. Our theme music is from the minds of Carlos Sosa and Joshua Moore. And the playing of Fernie and also Rallo. And the artwork is created by Louis Jensen. Until next time. Thanks a lot, Kevin.