Once We Were Rookies with Melissa O'Neil | Episode 9

Summary

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Once We Were Rookies with Melissa O'Neil | Once We Were Spacemen, Ep. 9

Release Date: January 7, 2026
Hosts: Nathan Fillion & Alan Tudyk
Guest: Melissa O’Neil

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Episode Overview

This heartfelt, humorous episode of Once We Were Spacemen features Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk catching up with Melissa O’Neil, best known for her roles in Dark Matter and The Rookie. The conversation dives into Melissa's journey from Canadian Idol winner to working actress, her process both on and off camera, the dynamics of working in Hollywood as Canadians, and the unique energy she brings to her roles and sets. The episode is rich with stories of learning, humility, vulnerability, and industry insights—punctuated by laughter, camaraderie, and a few fart jokes.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Canadian Roots and Industry Reputation

• Melissa’s Canadian Identity:

  • Born in Calgary, Alberta, Melissa discusses how being Canadian shapes how people perceive her in LA and how the set of The Rookie is "loaded with Canadians."
    • "I think generally people give Canadians the benefit of the doubt and assume that we are operating with best intent." (Melissa, 13:13)
  • The specific dynamic and reputation of Canadians in the entertainment industry is highlighted, comparing the "paths" Canadians and Americans take to get things done (13:46).

• Canadian Cultural Shorthands:

  • Plenty of good-natured teasing about pronunciations ("process or process?") and the perceived “kindness” Canadians bring to Hollywood (12:17).

2. Career Beginnings, Mentorship, and Character Building

• Early Influences & Setting the Tone on Set:

  • Nathan shares his approach: "I just decided I’m only going to make choices I could be proud of that I could make in front of my parents." (Nathan, 15:01)

• Transition from Singer to Actor:

  • Melissa recounts her Canadian Idol experience, emotional challenges as a teen, and the transition to theater and acting.
    • "It is an entirely different beast to be the front and center piece of product that’s getting thrust out into the world when you were just in school at rugby practice the other day." (Melissa, 16:01)

• Musical Theater as “School”:

  • Melissa credits musical theater and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival as her real conservatory experience (19:57).
  • She talks about the difference between theater and television in terms of rehearsal and "presence" (21:08–22:59).

• Learning On The Fly:

  • Shares stories of learning the ropes on TV, from missing technical marks to standing up for process and accuracy, highlighting her neurodivergence as an asset for high-stakes urgency (22:59–23:19, 27:30–28:48).

3. Experiences on Set & Professional Dynamics

• The Rookie Audition Story:

  • Melissa’s memorable audition included pausing to do squats to warm up—demonstrating confidence and self-care (33:13–34:37).
  • Nathan admired Melissa for "controlling the room unapologetically," something that took him years to master (36:44).

• Fast-Paced TV and Attention to Detail:

  • Melissa admits she is deeply concerned with details, sourcing that motivation from her mother’s meticulousness making Subway sandwiches (31:06).

• Collaboration and Conflict:

  • Both Nathan and Melissa talk about the challenge and necessity of speaking up about accuracy (e.g., not picking up their own police equipment) and how their creative input is valued and navigated (40:04–42:55).
  • "You are always right. There’s a–I think you should have a confidence in that much." (Nathan to Melissa, 42:38)

• Navigating Collaboration with Seniority:

  • Melissa discusses the evolving challenge of expressing a divergent opinion on set and balancing collaboration with a sense of “seniority” (55:45).

4. Process, Craft, & Chemistry

• Preparation Strategies:

  • Melissa prepares "contingencies" to compensate for the lack of rehearsal time in TV, readying several emotional options for her scenes (44:34–46:57):
    • "Those are the details that I get super nerdy about and try to get creative around. And that's my homework." (Melissa, 00:00 & 44:34)

• Teamwork & Problem-Solving:

  • Both speak to the teamwork ethos on The Rookie, the joy of working with an emotionally invested cast and crew, and the support they receive, especially during heavy emotional scenes (47:42–48:56).

• On-Screen Chemistry:

  • The elusive art of playing chemistry is likened to making “something turn on behind the eyeballs,” with Melissa reflecting that sincere warmth and presence create genuine connections (59:01–60:47).

5. Light-Hearted Moments & Social Media Follies

• TikTok & Social Media Banter:

  • Melissa is credited with getting Nathan on TikTok; they discuss the fun and anxiety of posting, their "good sides," facial insecurities, and the peril of spoilers (49:15–53:24).

• Fart Pranks on Set:

  • A running joke about Melissa’s love for fart noises, including playful stories about a fart machine disrupting tension and prompting wheezy laughter during a spoiler scare (52:42–54:22).

6. Personal Adventures and Looking Ahead

• IRL Friendship:

  • Nathan and Melissa reflect on their Disneyland and wolf sanctuary adventures, highlighting their real-life bond outside of work (61:10–62:49).

• Future on The Rookie:

  • Both muse openly about continuing on The Rookie as long as possible, with Nathan expressing hope Melissa will eventually take the lead role (62:54–64:01):
    • “My dream, my plan…is to do this as long as I’m able, and then…hand it off to you.” (Nathan, 63:11)

• On Show Culture:

  • They credit the showrunner Alexi and the “village” on set for the positive, collaborative culture (64:12–64:54).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Craft & Character

• “I just decided I’m only going to make choices I could be proud of that I could make in front of my parents.” — Nathan (15:01)
• "If my mom can be epic at making somebody's Subway sandwiches...pretty much nobody has an excuse not to do what they're given and do it well." — Melissa (31:19)

On Acting Process

• “Have five great ideas and be prepared to go with one that’s different and better.” — Nathan (47:06)
• “There are shorthands...that only come from time spent. If you don't get that time, we need to manufacture these things. That's my homework.” — Melissa (00:00, 44:34)

On Set Dynamics

• “You are always right. There’s a—I think you should have a confidence in that much.” — Nathan to Melissa (42:38)
• “If it’s in your control, control it. Take care of business.” — Nathan (36:59)

On Chemistry

• “There’s, like, a thing that turns on behind the eyeballs… It’s very intimate to gaze at another person with affection.” — Melissa (59:01)

On Fart Pranks and Playfulness

• “You think fart sounds are funny.” — Nathan
  “I think fart sounds are hilarious, yes.” — Melissa (49:01)

On the Future

• “I hope I turn 60 on this program. I can see that possibility…I do see the show continuing without me, and I see it continuing in your capable hands.” — Nathan (63:39–64:01)

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Topic | |------------|------------------------------------| | 00:00–00:33 | Melissa on manufacturing on-screen history and shorthands | | 05:02–07:28 | Being 'the old guy' and working with younger actors | | 09:51–13:13 | Melissa’s Canadian identity in Hollywood & accents | | 14:24–15:14 | Nathan’s early career values & parental influence | | 16:01–17:19 | Melissa on being thrust into fame at 17 | | 19:57–22:08 | The value of musical theater as a training ground | | 27:30–28:48 | Learning TV acting on the fly & standing up for accuracy | | 33:13–34:37 | Melissa’s audition story—pausing to do squats | | 39:19–41:00 | Protecting police authenticity in The Rookie | | 44:34–46:57 | Melissa’s preparation and “contingency” strategy | | 48:56–50:13 | On the support of their cast and crew | | 52:42–54:22 | Fart machine story & social media spoilers | | 55:45–58:00 | The challenge of collaborating and voicing opinions as you gain seniority | | 59:01–60:47 | The mechanics of on-screen chemistry | | 61:10–62:49 | Real-life friendship & animal sanctuary adventures | | 62:54–64:01 | Nathan’s vision for passing the torch on The Rookie |

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Tone & Takeaway

The episode perfectly balances playful banter, introspective industry insights, and genuine warmth. The trio’s rapport is infectious, and Melissa O’Neil’s openness about her process, insecurities, and joys brings both relatability and inspiration. Listeners will laugh, feel seen in their own anxieties, and come away with an appreciation for the hard but joyful work of being both a team player and a craftsman in television.

Must-listen for fans of process, character-driven acting, and anyone who loves seeing what real creative friendships look like behind the scenes.

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Transcript

[Melissa O'Neill]

You know how sometimes you have to, like, layer in a bunch of history between you and another person. You have to show that time has lapsed and significant things have happened in that time. There are ways. There are shorthands, physically, verbally, that we have with people that only come from time spent. And if you don't get that time with that person, we need to manufacture these things. And those are the details that I get super nerdy about and try to get creative around. And that's my homework.

[Nathan Fillion]

Once we were spacemen.

[Alan Tudyk]

Spacemen.

[Nathan Fillion]

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 Tudyk, Nathan Fillion. You know, when I see you, I think that you and I once were spacemen in space, above Earth and then.

[Alan Tudyk]

Beyond.

[Nathan Fillion]

Near the stars, near the galaxies.

[Alan Tudyk]

There goes a shooting star.

[Nathan Fillion]

There goes a comet. There goes an asteroid. And there you are, sir, a shooting star right here on Earth. Nathan Villain. How are you, buddy?

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm doing very well, Alan. This is an episode we did where Melissa o', Neill, the lovely Melissa o' Neill was our guest. But you. Where were you for this one?

[Nathan Fillion]

I don't know. I think I've been busy, as I've said. And in one of the past ones, I'm a scrapper.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm a scrapper.

[Nathan Fillion]

I'm a. But you know what that ends up being? I'm all over the place.

[Alan Tudyk]

A lot of traveling.

[Nathan Fillion]

A little too much traveling.

[Alan Tudyk]

You're splitting your time between Los Angeles, Vancouver and New York right now.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, but there's no job. It's like, what. What am I doing? It's just weird. And Texas, actually. Texas.

[Alan Tudyk]

More, more and more.

[Nathan Fillion]

This is my mantra right now. And I. Anybody can have this. Nobody chasing me. I'm chasing somebody. I'm in hot pursuit. And I borrow that from Smokey and the Bandit because it is so quotable, and it really is. It gives me. It makes me feel better that I'm not just running from somebody or something. I'm chasing somebody.

[Alan Tudyk]

And you know, that pursuit is as hot today as it was back in the seventies. Yes, yes, Alan. When I first started out in the industry, I was. I was 22 years old. I was living in New York City. I was the young guy. I was the. I was pretty much the youngest in all the circles I traveled in. Everybody else was five to more years older. So I was. I was inexperienced I was the I don't know what's going on guy. It's no longer that way. It's now. I'm the old guy. No, I'm the old guy. I'm making pop culture references that these young, younger folks aren't getting. And all their music sounds the same to me. You know, that's the. That's the position I'm. I'm finding myself in now. But at one point, I was the younger one. Now. Now I'm working with younger actors.

[Melissa O'Neill]

What is.

[Alan Tudyk]

Has been your experience working with younger actors? I know you speak very fondly of the young man from Resident Alien.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, yeah, He's a young, young actor. I mean, he was eight when I first met him, so he was super young.

[Alan Tudyk]

But he could contend with you, Alan. He was always present with you. He was whip crack smart, and he impressed the hell out of you and he always made you laugh. Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

Judah Prain. I always like Judah. Judah's a cool kid. I also liked our aunt because our on screen relationship was contentious. I was in Resident Alien. I wanted to kill the child. I must kill that child. And he was like, bring it on, spaceman. And it was a violent relationship. I. In the first episode, I think I give him stitches. Or maybe it's the second episode I give him stitches where I'm just giving him unnecessary stitches. He's like, I think I need another one. And, like, digging in his hand. He's like, that's fine, spaceman. Like, he does. So we had a fun relationship. Then there's, like, older. The girl who played my daughter, Taylor Blackwell, she's cool. I really liked hanging out with her because she liked music. She has her own music. She plays music and she's writing and stuff like that. I really got along with her because we both appreciated similar music, actually. So there. Some young people, you know, have different music tastes. Obviously, I'm old, too. I'm the same. We are exactly the same age. Actually, I'm a little older than you, which is.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes.

[Nathan Fillion]

By just a few months.

[Alan Tudyk]

When it comes to you and me hanging out, I'm the. I'm the young one.

[Nathan Fillion]

There you go, buddy.

[Alan Tudyk]

Right back to where I started.

[Nathan Fillion]

It's cool, kid. Don't sweat it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Enjoy it.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah, I'm the same age and it's. It is a weird. It's an interesting thing, getting older. Maybe that's a podcast for another day.

[Alan Tudyk]

Here I am, I'm on this show, the. The Rookie, where the whole auspices of the show is that I'm the old one. Right. Just by virtue of the whole concept. Right. Everyone is younger than me. Yes. The oldest guys are still younger than me. And here I am working with. This is this episode we have as a guest Melissa o'. Neill.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

Who is a fellow Canadian, which always makes me proud. I always have a soft spot in my heart for Canadians because I don't know if you know this, Alan. I'm Canadian.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Huh?

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

Explains a lot. Now, of course, I knew that you are from Edmonton, where my wife is from and where Josh Dean is from.

[Alan Tudyk]

Where from very.

[Nathan Fillion]

I'm blown away by this weird, odd vortex of energy up in the coldest butthole of Canada. Out of respect. Maybe butthole's wrong. Buttholes aren't cold.

[Alan Tudyk]

They are in Canada. They are.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yeah. Especially if you live in Edmonton. Wind whistles through every tunnel anyway. Because there's so many talented people come out of that area. Very funny people. She's Canadian. Where in Canada is she from?

[Alan Tudyk]

She's from Calgary. Oh, she's from Calgary. I think she grew up a little more. She certainly worked a little more east coast, but she's from not far from where I am from in our glorious Homeland.

[Nathan Fillion]

Another very, very cold part of the very cold.

[Alan Tudyk]

Now, you've come to do the rookie and you've had a chance to work with some of the cast with her, but you've never had a chance to work with Melissa. So let me tell you, Melissa is extremely talented, very conscientious. She places a high value on safeguarding everything she's built as a character, as a. As a process, as becoming a good cop, as becoming a good human. Like she. She safeguards what she has built. She's not just going to let it go willy nilly. And she's extremely emotionally intelligent. She's outdoorsy. Oh, yeah. Like, super outdoorsy.

[Nathan Fillion]

Calgary is a good place to be from if you're outdoorsy.

[Alan Tudyk]

She loves to camp, that lady.

[Nathan Fillion]

Oh, I mean, yay.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, right. It's.

[Nathan Fillion]

I mean, I'm past that there.

[Alan Tudyk]

And she's young. Like. Yeah. You got to take steps to make sure you don't die when you camp. Her style. Yeah.

[Nathan Fillion]

That's crazy.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's a lot.

[Nathan Fillion]

And also bears.

[Alan Tudyk]

But listen, we're getting off track. Melissa o'. Neill.

[Nathan Fillion]

Yes. She used to make out with her.

[Melissa O'Neill]

What?

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, that's actually we on the show. That's right. In season one.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

We dated in season one storyline.

[Melissa O'Neill]

It didn't.

[Alan Tudyk]

That. It didn't work out very well. That storyline did not.

[Melissa O'Neill]

It was like.

[Alan Tudyk]

So our actors make much Better friends.

[Nathan Fillion]

When Alexei, in his interview that you did with him, said, we made some mistakes in season one, I wonder if he chalks that up to one.

[Alan Tudyk]

I certainly would. Listen. It was an idea that seemed like a good idea at the time, but no, it just.

[Nathan Fillion]

It just didn't work out and it wasn't necessary. You didn't need that intrigue that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Exactly.

[Nathan Fillion]

In her office. Will they find out? Won't they find out? I don't know.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's fair.

[Nathan Fillion]

But you moved. You moved out of that and she's still in the show, which is great. It wasn't like a. Cause she is such a likable character. She is probably next to you, my favorite character.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, thank you. That's very kind. And I think it's one of those things where if you ever get the opportunity to spend a long time portraying a character, you start to inform a little bit. There's a process of discovery where you start to inform a little bit the direction of and Melissa's character. Much like she is extremely emotionally intelligent and very much into. Well, let's think this through and, you know, therapy will tell you. And she very much like that. Alan, I'll say this. If Melissa o' Neal is the future of Hollywood, Hollywood is in very capable, sensible hands.

[Nathan Fillion]

All right, well, let's hear it. Bring it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Come on.

[Alan Tudyk]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Lovely and talented Ms. Melissa Onio. Get into that microphone. Get some telephone voice going.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That's what I thought. I mean, I keep trying to do it, but it's not quite getting the effect that I want. I should have done some vocal warm ups.

[Alan Tudyk]

That would not surprise me if you actually did that.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Melissa o', Neill, Nathan Fillion, people's sexiest man alive.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, did you see that?

[Melissa O'Neill]

What was it? Wait.

[Alan Tudyk]

Well, it was.

[Melissa O'Neill]

What is the official title?

[Alan Tudyk]

There was a subheading of Criminally Sexy. So I didn't make the sexiest list. There was like a sub list.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I like that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Criminally sexy Canadians who have recently, not so recently acquired citizenship they had to have. It's a very. It's a very specific sub. Channel sub list. All right, Melissa, I googled you.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Hold on, hold on. Nathan, I need tell. Tell me about your podcast. Introduce me.

[Alan Tudyk]

Here's the thing. No, no. Nobody's going to learn anything particularly poignant during this podcast. I think we should put it as, like, an actual warning on the podcast that you're probably not going to learn anything.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Perfect.

[Alan Tudyk]

Listening to this today.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Okay.

[Alan Tudyk]

However, I think that when people watch television and see people on screen. Who are. They're clearly friends on screen. I think that there is a want inside that they go, oh, I bet they're friends in real life. And often that's probably not the case. However, sometimes that is actually the case. And I think that that fact actually scratches a bit of an itch. I think we are in that category.

[Melissa O'Neill]

It's official. A refresh.

[Alan Tudyk]

I know you just now you just found out Hollywood secrets because we hang out at a school.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I know we're going public right now.

[Alan Tudyk]

I love that, ladies and gentlemen. I actually like to hang out with Melissa outside of work. We actually do things outside of work. But then I googled you.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And then I find out, oh, my God. There are things I don't actually know about you. And I've known you for. Now we're coming on eight years.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm almost a decade.

[Melissa O'Neill]

It's almost a decade. Yeah. Indeed. I don't know what you're about to pull out of your rabbit hat right now. I'm curious.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's probably. Well, it's all stuff you already know.

[Melissa O'Neill]

However, I hope so.

[Alan Tudyk]

Let's just. Let's just start with. You're Canadian.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Albertan.

[Alan Tudyk]

Are people surprised? Yeah. What are people. As. Am I. Are people surprised to find out you're Canadian?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Sometimes, yeah. I think especially because we've been doing the show now for so long and, you know, people know that we shoot in la. If I throw that out there, they're like, what? Which makes me feel good because it means that I have Americanized my accent to a degree.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, you certainly don't have the accent. I sometimes forget, like, which. Which words Americans find appropriate. Is it process or process?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Sorry, sorry.

[Alan Tudyk]

I know they don't like that one.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Sorry about. I think I still screw up about out. I think you're supposed to do it with the. Ow.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes. It's. It's like stub your toe. That's how I learned.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Process. Process.

[Alan Tudyk]

I need to process this. Hang on a second. Like, I. I forget which ones Americans won't flinch at.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Sure. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

But. But yes, you do. You blend.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Thank you. I think you do, too. You do well, but you. Your notoriety for your kindness is like, it's all over the place. So that. I think that's one of the main ways people identify you as Canadian.

[Alan Tudyk]

Do people find out you're Canadian and go, oh, that makes sense. That's why I like her so much.

[Melissa O'Neill]

They do say that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Okay.

[Melissa O'Neill]

They do say that. Yeah. I don't think people realize that our show is loaded With Canadians. You know, we've also got Sean. Who else? Do we have any other Canadians? Sean?

[Alan Tudyk]

Well, it's you, me and Sean. And then often we'll get a guest cast member who is. And then sometimes there'll be days where the Canadians outnumber the American cast members. Yeah, that's right.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Good spirit and too many pleasantries.

[Alan Tudyk]

Do you feel lots of apologies for that? Do you feel there's an advantage to being Acadian? Do you feel it's brought you anything positive?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, I think. I think generally people give Canadians, like, the benefit of the doubt and. And assume that we are operating with best intent, which you. You know, that's. Canadians are humans like everybody else. We're not infallible by any stretch of the imagination. But I think that's one of the primary perks.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. People are anywhere you go. Someone can be a jerk. But I think by and large, Canadians enjoy a pretty. A nice reputation for being chill.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Mm. And nice and okay with things that maybe they wouldn't try to do with other people. There's that too.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think that Canadians can get similar results to Americans, but on a different path. That might be just a little more pleasant.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I feel like we're gonna get in trouble drawing a line in the sand.

[Alan Tudyk]

Listen well, the entertainment industry, you can be extremely talented in the entertainment industry and still not get work. I think so much of what we. Based on relationships, how you behave, how you treat people, the bridges you build versus the bridges one can burn.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes. You know, I have a. I have a segue about that, Nathan, if you're open to it.

[Alan Tudyk]

Go, go, please. Yes.

[Melissa O'Neill]

So I feel like you are definitely at a part in your career where a lot of people kind of like, they reference you because you are the leader on these shows that you've done. You certainly were on Castle. You are our big ship captain now, and you kind of set the tone. It's a top down type of sit situation. But where do you think you learned or adopted some of these? I wouldn't even say good habits. They're just like, excellent ways of being that have people talking about it after the fact. Like, was that something you learned? Was there a mentor that you had or did you have a bad experience that made you go, oh, my parents, my parents.

[Alan Tudyk]

I. I decided, oh, gosh, very early on in my career, I just decided I'm only going to make choices I could be proud of that I could make in front of my parents.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Whoa.

[Alan Tudyk]

You know what I mean? That's been a guiding light for me.

[Melissa O'Neill]

How long ago was that? Do you like. Do you remember when you kind of made that bond?

[Alan Tudyk]

Mid-90s.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That's awesome.

[Alan Tudyk]

Mid-90s, before the.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Before the Internet. Thank God, too, you know?

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes. Listen, I've still made some doozies. I don't know if you ever heard of MySpace, but. Oh, yeah, we'll get into social media. But you are Canadian and something you're very shy about, which I don't know why. You are an excellent singer. Say, look, you're already shy. You don't even know what I'm talking about. You're an excellent singer.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That's something about you too, that people don't really know.

[Alan Tudyk]

I can hear you blushing right now, by the way.

[Melissa O'Neill]

He can see me is actually what's going on.

[Alan Tudyk]

I can see you, but I can also hear the blood thumping in your face. Why are you shy about that?

[Melissa O'Neill]

You know, that time in my life is really roped in with a lot of weird stuff. I think doing something like that when you're 17, and I felt really weird in my body and my. My relationship with my body is like an ongoing thing, but it is an entirely different beast to be the front and center primary piece of product that's getting just thrust out into the world. When you were just in school at rugby practice the other day, and I think that it was really hard. I moved out and there was a lot of that time that felt really funny and awkward and uncomfortable. And later when I continued to do other work, I think I was not deaf to hearing, like, the little whispers around me that I was only getting certain opportunities because I had done this Canadian Idol thing and that I was only being given opportunities and other jobs and things like that because of that situation. And they're part and parcel together. Right. But that hurt. And also my parents really valued having a pedigree, having an academic background of some kind. And so when I kind of just like launched out of high school and was working, I was acutely aware of the fact that I did not have any of that. And so it just feels funny sometimes when I think about that time. But I am grateful for it now. It's just a weird thing that I did when I, like, for two months when I was a teenager, you know, I don't know.

[Alan Tudyk]

No, I get it. My impression of you is, you know, the. The Melissa I met eight years ago, you were already a very together person. I Forget that at 17, you're probably a very different human being and certainly lacked the experience that could prepare you for anything, like being the youngest winner of Canadian Idol ever.

[Melissa O'Neill]

At the time. Probably at the time. Probably at the time.

[Alan Tudyk]

Has there been younger ones since?

[Melissa O'Neill]

I don't know. I really just stopped following the whole thing afterwards.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm hearing that. I'm hearing there was like a. But here's, here's one of the things I learned about you. Four times platinum.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean it's a, it's a built in machine, right. It's like you kind of get chunked out and, and there's a whole bunch of people that profit from the machine. But it is crazy. My mom has the plaques. I think my mom has them. Yeah, I have like the plaques with the record and like the CDs and, and the little. Yeah, I've got that at home.

[Alan Tudyk]

That was my next question. Are they hanging in your house like in a record no studio?

[Melissa O'Neill]

No, I think my mom has them and if she doesn't, then I've got them hiding somewhere in my garage. But I. No. What am I gonna do with those things? Why would I.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's like a diploma. You put that stuff up. Otherwise how's every. Anybody gonna know, you know what diploma.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I actually have that is sitting in front of all my books in my living room. So if people are curious, they can see is my level one stunt driving course. I'm very proud of that. I have that in my living room.

[Alan Tudyk]

Okay. That is something I would love the world to know about because here's the thing. I know you, I love you, I adore you. I want the world to know some of the things that I know about you. When you started on the Rookie and you're going to be driving a police car everywhere, you didn't have a driver.

[Melissa O'Neill]

They didn't tell me that. They didn't tell me that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Did you think maybe, oh, I'm going to Los Angeles. It's a big city. It's really sprawled out across a lot of. It's a real car culture. I might need to know how to drive. Did that cross your mind?

[Melissa O'Neill]

It crossed my mind to the degree that I was like, I'm not going to have that sorted out. So, hey, manager team, we should probably let them know that I'm gonna need a ride to work. I'm gonna need to bum a ride to work. Can somebody please come get me? So that was crazy. It's been. I. I have grown up on this show. I have really grown up on the show in the last eight years. I drive now. I love driving. I drive all over the place now. But I Didn't know before.

[Alan Tudyk]

Let's talk about. You did Canadian Idol, and then you started doing a little bit of musical theater. You did a whole bunch of music, bits of musical theater like that. People would know Jesus Christ Superstar, High School Musical, Dirty Dancing. Was it a supportive community? Why are you laughing?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Was it a supportive community? You know what it. You know what it was? It was my version of school. It really was. And it was kind of just like a fun way to immerse myself in peers and community. But all of them had gone to school. Like, they had come up through the system. You know, you go to theater school, or you've been dancing your entire life, or you've been taking singing lessons your entire life, and then you naturally move into that profession. And so I learned a lot from them about how to do that as a gig. But the place that felt like I was in a conservatory was when I was at Stratford Shakespeare Festival. I got hired to be a part of Jesus Christ Superstar there. And the stars of our leading cast, Paul Nolan and Shalina Kennedy, they played Jesus and Mary Magdalene. They were absolute craftsmen, incredible actors who were very, very dedicated and very serious about their work while still having knowing how to be good leaders. I felt like I was at school every day. I was always watching them. So I really feel like that was a massive foundation for me. And there's a community vibe to it, because in theater, you're doing eight shows a week. You're all there the entire time, and you're working towards telling this story that you have spent many, many hours, sometimes months, bringing into refinement so that the audience can have that, like, the delivery of this heart. And I do miss that sometimes as a contrast to television, because I think in television, we're trying to be present and to deliver an honest moment based off of the responses and the reality of a situation as it is. And sometimes, especially when we're cooking, as we are on our show, we're moving quickly. It's important to be refined. But sometimes I think there are moments that we might miss because of time, because of daylight, because we didn't rehearse. You know what I mean? And it has its magic in its own way, too. But that is one thing that's really special about theater and the slippery slope on that side is, can you keep it fresh eight months in, can you keep it new? You know, and that's a wonderful practice in presence, you know about.

[Alan Tudyk]

You get the rehearsal process, you get to work on a moment, Work on a moment. You get to create something Amazing. But then can you recreate it so it's fresh every time?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. Do you miss theater at all?

[Alan Tudyk]

Not really.

[Melissa O'Neill]

There's things about theater I do a little bit.

[Alan Tudyk]

I do a little bit. There is an immediacy. There is an immediacy that when you do something great, people know it right off the bat. Yeah, well, you know it because there's a visceral reaction.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And then sometimes you like, you know you're doing something great and you hear it in the audience. They're not there with you and you're like, oh, well, yeah, hell with these guys. I'm gonna do a great job. Despite, like, there's. There's a thing with the audience being right there that you can't enjoy or participate in when you're doing film or television. Now you talk about that being your school, but that's school on the fly. That's actually. You're. You're out in front of people.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, no kidding. But that means the stakes are really high. And as someone who is pretty neurodivergent, if you give me urgency and high stakes, I will usually perform better.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm just gonna look up neurodivergent really quickly. See what that means.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Neurospicy.

[Alan Tudyk]

Ooh, you have that.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. Is there a show that would ever bring you back to that world, Nathan? I could see there's a couple of two hander like plays that I could totally see you in.

[Alan Tudyk]

I was invited to do Broadway.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. Would you share what show?

[Alan Tudyk]

I did a movie called Waitress.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

That became a Broadway musical. And when the main cast said, okay, we've done our run and we're going to step down and someone else can take over, they asked me to come and reprise my role from the film on Broadway. And this would have meant singing up against the woman who composed and wrote all the songs for the musical. Sara Bareilles. The lovely, incredible and talented beautiful Sara Bareilles. And I said, no way.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Really?

[Nathan Fillion]

Are you kidding?

[Melissa O'Neill]

You have a lovely voice.

[Alan Tudyk]

I can carry a tune in a bucket. Listen, Melissa, imagine Joe and Mary Smith from middle America. They're going to save up their money and go to New York and see a big old Broadway show. It's been our life dreams. And they buy their tickets and they're going to go in and they're going to sit down and they see Nathan Fillion sing and they go, huh, that's probably.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I'm not going to blow sunshine up your butt. I think you're being a little hard on yourself. And also, I Am not as familiar with the male songs in that show. So there could be some validity to what you're saying. I don't know. But my instinct is that you're being hard on yourself and that the idea of singing opposite Sara Bareilles certainly sounds intimidating, of course, but super intimidating.

[Alan Tudyk]

And also, I can't do harmony because I'll listen to what someone else is singing, and I'll just go right into what they're singing instead of trying to sing that part, the harmony part. Like, I don't. I don't. I can't do track.

[Melissa O'Neill]

We should practice. We'll practice at work. I'll bring some tiki talks for us to do.

[Alan Tudyk]

Listen, if anyone's going to teach me, it's you. I've asked a couple of people, Like, I said, can you teach vibrato? And they go, no. That's what they say to me.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Why do you want that?

[Alan Tudyk]

They know how to do it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

You want vibrato?

[Alan Tudyk]

That's. I just think that that's, like, the mark of an amazing singer.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That's so interesting.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna think about that and. And try to. Cause I have been. They've tried to work vibrato out of me. Because let's say if you're harmonizing with someone, it's better if you have a straight tone. Because if you're both vibrating around a note, how are you really harmonizing it?

[Alan Tudyk]

Because sound like it's all over the place.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

But you have control over it. I was. I talked to another Isabella Merced, who can.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, she's wonderful. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

She goes, oh, you can sing with a little bit of it or, like, a medium or, like, a lot of it. She can do all these. That's pretty amazing. Can you teach that? She goes, I don't think so. But theater, you go from theater, and you're learning the craft on the fly, and you go, oh, my God, this is what acting is all about. And looks like I'm pretty good at it. And what's your first TV gig? What's your first offstage?

[Melissa O'Neill]

My first TV gig, I was in the middle of doing Les Mis in New York. So hungry. Literally, just so. So skinny and hungry and poor. And I was just, like, I said to the universe, universe, I'm ready. I'm ready to have a little bit more money. And if you would entrust me with a job that gave me more, I would be so grateful. And I think, like, a week later, my agent, or no, this was a stranger to me at the time. But the television agent at the theatrical agency that I'm with, Talent House, he reached out and he goes, hey, would you ever consider auditioning for tv? And I said, yeah, sure. And I ended up testing for that. Didn't get it. It was another sci fi show called Killjoys. And then my next audition was for my first TV job called Dark Matter, where I played.

[Alan Tudyk]

That was your first.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That was my first TV job, yeah. I played a ship captain of a bunch of mercenaries.

[Alan Tudyk]

So this is something I'm learning about you right now because I've seen Dark Matter.

[Melissa O'Neill]

You did good, I swear.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes, I did. Of course I did. This is in the beginning when I was, like, getting to know you, like, what's this girl all about?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Right.

[Alan Tudyk]

I was checking, but I was seeing. I was looking like, what's her pedigree? What does she do? And we share a sci fi. And I'm shocked that that was your first. Okay, so here's the thing. You know how to act, and you're on stage, you're doing your thing, you know, Okay, I want to do some TV now, isn't it. It's a different animal.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Completely different. Oh, completely.

[Alan Tudyk]

Who taught you how to act with all the distraction of everything? How to. How. It's a. It's an entirely different thing. You're learning that on the fly as well.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. Not only was I learning it on the fly, I was being, like, heavily corrected. Not in a mean way, but I am me through and through, Nathan. And as you know, but maybe your listeners will not know is that when I feel like something needs to be said, heaven and hell cannot move me to keep my mouth shut. And that is especially.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's not untrue.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Especially the case with art. And I remember we were shooting in. It was our. The space we had. It was our dock, essentially, where we had these time travel pods, and I'm marching into the room, and we had shot the first setup already, and they marked us. And I walked off because we were on a relax while they reframed the shot. And I came back and my mark was in a very different position and that it was wrong. It was not my original mark. And I was like, everyone was getting ready, and we were, you know, chasing the light and was just like, okay, okay, let's go, let's go. And they had yelled, action. I was like, sorry, guys, we have to stop. This is not where I was standing. And they're like, yeah, we know. And I'm like, and you're okay with this. And it was a whole hoop dee doo. But they had moved my mark because that's what we do. We move the marks for the cameras, and that's everybody's job. And I didn't understand that that was okay and that I was where I needed to be anyways. Yes, I had to learn a lot on the fly, but it wasn't too bad. Wasn't too bad. I think.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think acting, Heck no, it wasn't bad. Let me tell you something. If you were to go and watch my first stuff on tv, you'd go, oh, oh, Nathan, I want to.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I saw one of your commercials once for. What was that nature commercial? I sent it to you.

[Alan Tudyk]

That was an Alberta Forestry video.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That was so cool. I just feel that is so epic. You should have that whole thing put on a T shirt or like a still from it. I just. I think that gives you so much street cred in Alberta, Nathan.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think it's so cool. That was just a lot of. It was almost like a hosting gig. But if you were to watch my early acting, you'd probably say, oh, was.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That on the soaps?

[Alan Tudyk]

That's on the soaps. And they let anything go on TV on the soaps. You would make a terrible mistake and say, can I go back and do that again? They'd say, nope, it's on tv. Because they're in a rush.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Right. But that's a hurry.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's. That's fast.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I just feel like whenever I've listened to you and whoever else on. On our show who has also done soaps, it's like, it. That sounds like a real schooling, that environment, you know, like needing to be ready.

[Alan Tudyk]

By the time I got out of there, I was pretty darn prepared, you know, for that aspect of the job. I was technically proficient. By the time I got out of there, I still had a great deal to learn, but there was a learning curve there that I did not see when I was watching Dark Matter. I thought you had something behind you by the time you got there. Oh, I'm just. So. This is something else new I'm learning about.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That's very sweet. I feel like. Don't you feel like whenever you watch anything you do, you're just like, God, that's the take they chose. Really wish I hadn't done that.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes, Yes. I think that we are very hypercritical of our own stuff, but the audience is always the last collaborator, and the audience doesn't know your intent and what was going on in your brain and what you were Trying to do versus what happened. So the audience has a fresh lens, whereas yours is tainted and cracked and awful.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Thank you for your clarity.

[Alan Tudyk]

Got a little. Little smudge of butter on there.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Just a schmear.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, I'm still shaking my head. I'm just trying to think, man, to hit the ground running like that. Here's the thing, and this is also true about you, what you just said about coming back, saying this was not where my mark was. You are very concerned to this day, very concerned about doing a good job. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Well, I mean, yeah, I. You know what? Talk about things that we've got from our parents. I have a vivid memory. This is. And this is where this comes from for me. I have a very vivid memory of my mom. Did you ever go to Calgary at all?

[Alan Tudyk]

I've been to Calgary, yes.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Okay. So my mom used to work in the food court for Sunridge Mall. She used to work in some of the other stores at Sunridge Mall, but when she worked at Subway, I have a vivid memory of coming over to her counter and, like, I wanted her to be done, But I'm looking through the glass as she's making everybody else's sandwiches. And, like, the bread is cut perfectly. The condiments are spread right to the edge of the bread. The meat is folded perfectly and symmetrically across the sandwich. And I just remember thinking that if my mom can be epic at making somebody's Subway sandwiches over and over and over again, pretty much nobody has an excuse to just not do whatever it is that they're given the opportunity to do and do it well. And so I think that's also why I'm like, no detail is too small for me to get neurotic about. You know, Like, I. I appreciate those things. They make work really interesting and fulfilling for me. I like the details. It's fun, But I have to let go a little.

[Alan Tudyk]

You got all that from a sandwich?

[Melissa O'Neill]

I did. I get so much from food. I do.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm right now thinking of, like, when I bring you, like, a Canadian confectionery and how your eyes light up.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Coffee crisp. Game over.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, yeah.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Let's talk about. We have a shared experience in a little television program called the Rookie.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

Let's talk about the first day I met you at your audition.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, no. Great. Yeah, let's go there. That's a good story.

[Alan Tudyk]

You came into a little room. It had, like, a. Was the stage. Was it just the edge of the room, or was it raised a little bit?

[Melissa O'Neill]

There was A. The end of the room had, like, a little platform. It was kind of. It felt like a little black box theater kind of thing. A thing? Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. There's like a little bit of kind of like an. Some chair set up, like a little audience.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, there's quite a few people in there, too.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was a bunch. Yeah, I was one of them.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And you came in and what did you say?

[Melissa O'Neill]

I don't remember what I said, but I remember that I tried to get into my lines, and then I was cold and I wasn't working, and so I was like, I'm just gonna pop a couple of squats up in here. I hope that's all right so I can warm up a bit.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's exactly what happened.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

You said, hang on a second. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You put it. Let me put a stop to everything. Yeah. I'm freezing cold. I'm gonna. Deep knee bends here. Try to create some endothermic body heat, and I'll share a secret with you. When I first came out to la, I had a couple of jobs that were really great. And then I thought, I'm on a rocket. Everything's gonna be great. And I was unemployed for a little over a year.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, dang.

[Alan Tudyk]

And it was terrifying. And I was auditioning constantly, and I was terrible at it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

It's a skill. It's a different skill.

[Alan Tudyk]

It is a skill. I got to a point where I said, I just want to leave the room with my dignity. And that became my goal. So that's how low I was. But one of the things I discovered to do that was, hey, man, I just got to be a professional. And what's within my power to control, I have to control it. And if there's something going on that's wrong, I'm going to take control. And I'm not going to be apologetic about it. I'm just going to. It took me years to get to that point. And you walked in there and went, hold up, everyone. Put on the brakes. Take a break a second. I got to do some squats.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I gotta pop some squats in my heels.

[Alan Tudyk]

I was. I looked at you and I said, I am thoroughly impressed that this young lady just took control of this entire room unapologetically, because she's got something to do right now. This is her time. She's got one crack at this, and she's not gonna blow it by being uncomfortable, by being distracted, by being. She's just gonna control it. And that was something that impressed me right off the bang. But you weren't auditioning for Lucy Chen. There wasn't a Lucy Chen. You were auditioning for another role.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I was, yeah. I mean, I think originally I read for three characters to. No, no, that's a different show. No, I read for those two characters, and her name was different at the beginning, but then they flip flopped. It wasn't. Yeah, that was because someone was unavailable. Isn't that right?

[Alan Tudyk]

Well, I think it was just a switcheroo because you and Alyssa, we had auditioning for different roles, and we just flipped you back and changed the character names and we were off and running.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. That was so special. That was a really great chemistry, Reid. And you were very generous that day. I remember. I remember, like, I can't imagine that it's easy to, like, rotate a bunch of people through, like, the same moment, you know? And you were very generous that day, and I was very grateful. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

I've been in your shoes. And all I want is for that person to be comfortable and relaxed enough to do what they want to do in that moment. And just. I want them to know that that's their time. But I didn't need to tell you that, and I didn't need to do anything because you took it. That impressed me. Day one, Day one. That impressed me.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That's cool. That's cool to hear. I'm glad, because I. I think that's also one of those funny things about being a neurodivergent person. Nathan, you can continue to look that up later.

[Alan Tudyk]

Writing it down. I don't think I'm spelling it right.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Our risk assessment is just a little bit different, you know, and so me needing to pop a bunch of squats in front of a bunch of people who are deciding whether or not I'm the right fit for a job didn't exactly clock to me in that moment that it would be maybe totally weird until much later when my nervous system had had a moment to, like, think about it, and I was like, oh, that was awkward.

[Alan Tudyk]

Again. I don't think it was awkward. I don't think that was awkward at all. Again, to me, that was, oh, this girl has already mastered what took me years to get a hold of, which was, if it's in your control, control it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Take care of business. Yeah. That was, again, wildly impressed. I can also see how looking back, you'd go, I bet not a lot of girls did squats on that little stage.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. While the entire room is just shrouded in darkness, just like. And I'm just gonna squat this Is fine. Just don't worry. Look at your phones. We're good. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

What were your first impressions of being on the Rookie? You'd done Dark Matter. Did you. You did other shows after Dark Matter?

[Melissa O'Neill]

I did, yeah. I think I did a couple. But basically, like, I. When I finished Dark Matter, we had three months off and I guested. I think it was like three or four months off. And we guested on a few other shows. I think three. And then pilot season came around and we found out that we weren't going again for the show, which was very sad. And then I. Yeah, and this was the first pilot I auditioned for. It was bonkers. But everyone was so excited about the script. They were so nerdy about it. They being my team. And also, I should say that my now manager, he was like, okay, Dark Matter's not going. Let's move you down to la. I was like, I'm not moving to LA unless I have a job. I'm not gonna go chase, like, the LA thing, like, unless I have a job. Why would I move? That's crazy. And then within a month, like, I booked this, I was like, well, I guess I moved.

[Alan Tudyk]

It looks like I'm moving. Better learn how to drive.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. But my first impressions on the show, I guess, God, it felt so big. I mean, there were so many novel experiences happening at that time. And yet I also felt like a familiarity because I was coming from an environment where I was handling weapons and gear every day, you know, so there was also that part of it that I was like, oh, this is interesting. So I'm. I'm an actor who seems to get jobs where I'm handling guns a lot. And that's cool because I like it. There's a very athletic quality to that, which is very fulfilling. But it felt like being on a movie. We were really ambitious for that pilot, and we're still ambitious to this day. It felt very much like being on. And I've never done a movie, so it was like my only reference point. I was like, wow, like, we're shutting down Hollywood Boulevard. And it was just like a whole thing. It was crazy.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. It was big scale. Large scale.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. Even for me.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And we had Chick Daniel. And we had Chick Daniel and Bob Wu, our police consultants.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes.

[Alan Tudyk]

Who would come and train us.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Us. This so funny.

[Alan Tudyk]

This is how to do it. This is how not to do it. This is why we do it this way. They tell you a creepy story about how something happened. So now you like this. And so we were learning on the show and we were learning behind the scenes all the time that we have those consultants available to us whenever we need them, when. Whenever there's something going down. And here's something I've learned about you. You are. Again, you get shy every time you sense a compliment coming.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Two can play this game, Nathan. We can love up on each other, this whole podcast, if you want. Okay, I'm listening.

[Alan Tudyk]

Again, you are very. You're very concerned about doing a good job. And I'm going to refer you to a point where we had a. We had a scene where we were getting our. Our equipment bags. This was early on in the show. We're getting our equipment bags from the equipment room and the director had you walk in and take your own equipment bags and put it down. You went, oh. And your usually lovely continents becomes very terse and concerned and you have a kind of a. Okay, hang on a sec. Nathan, I don't know if you think this is. But this isn't right. Yeah, this isn't right. I don't think we should be getting. We can't get our own equipment. That's not how you can't. We have to sign up. There has to be someone here. We have to like you.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, that's so true. And now it's like a standard thing on our show. Wait, is that when that started? I don't even remember that.

[Alan Tudyk]

You just. You. Absolutely. But we were doing something for camera movement and trying to make something fun, and I said. I said, you know what? You're absolutely right. I said, why don't we get somebody to hand it to us? We'll just change that so that that person can be your camera move and then we'll be here.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, that's right.

[Alan Tudyk]

But frankly, we should not be getting our own. We're not allowed in there. No, they have the equipment. They sign it out to us. Now we have it. It's not free for all. It's. You wanted to safeguard the process.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

To safeguard how we looked as police officers. I think you are concerned, and as am I, with how we present policing.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. And you know what? I really do want to give you some love on this note, Nathan, because it is very easy, especially as a new person in LA and somebody that nobody else is aware of. There's like, who's this young actress who's always getting uppity about everything? You've always given me the time of day and heard me out when I have something to say and give me really, really wonderful feedback and Sometimes, if you feel that I do have a good point, you help me to elevate it and to have other people take it seriously. And I really, really appreciate that. And, you know, I remember there was one time on set where I was just like. I went. I went to you that one time where I was like, can you help me figure out what is going on with me that makes it so that whenever I have something to say, I can tell that people are bracing, you know? And you. You gave me really honest feedback about my body language and what happens to my face, you know, when I'm thinking. And you know me, so you know that I'm just having a creative moment, but other people are like, oh, God, something's about to happen. Melissa's unhappy, you know, and it's like, it's a whole thing, and I really have to work on that.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's funny. I do remember that conversation.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah. Because you would. You would kind of say, here it comes with your whole body.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I was like, yeah, I didn't mean to. This is what I do. Yeah, I do need to work on that.

[Alan Tudyk]

But here's the thing. But the. I also remember saying to you, melissa, you're not wrong when you have an opinion about something, count the times you've been wrong about something. You're not wrong. You're always right. There's a. I think you should have a confidence in. In that much.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, I don't. I don't think. I think it's perhaps the urgency that I feel from everybody, you know? And I. I think that if every.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's concern.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, it's concern. And it's like, I don't want things to move too quickly. Like, let's make sure we get this. If we need to fix it, let's fix it. But, yeah, no, I do care, and I'm grateful that we're in an environment where there's room for people that care, you know? Cause it is a machine, and we do need to keep things pushing. And not everything is gonna get to be perfect. We are making. You know, I've also heard you say this, and it's true. It's like we're making a TV show. All right. Like, it's all right. We're making a TV show.

[Alan Tudyk]

Stop crying.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Let go of my wrist. You're hurting me.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Exactly. It's gonna be fine. Yeah. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Do you. Because. Because you're so concerned. Because there isn't a lengthy rehearsal process. Because this is a machine. We are on a clock. We have to get an Episode out within a limited amount of time. How is it that you adapt? I am persnickety.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And I can get a little. Mm, let's. Let's get this rolling, man.

[Melissa O'Neill]

But you're aware of it, which is good.

[Alan Tudyk]

I don't know. I mean, I don't know who that helps.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Sure.

[Alan Tudyk]

However, I will say, and I mean, I'm. I can be cranky about stuff. I can be real, real picky. I have zero complaints about you. So in the realm of, oh, you want it to be perfect, and there's not enough rehearsal process that you could really, really dive into this and that, how do you create what you create with the limited span you have?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, I call them contingencies. So when I'm preparing at home a scene that is more involved than the ones that are just kind of like, call and answer, you know, the ones where it was just like, da, da, da, da. It's like patter, you know, we're all listening to each other and we know what naturally comes next. But when it's like a bigger scene that has more of an emotional heart to it or a bigger journey that involves you monologuing of some kind of. I think it's important to, like, know the arc, obviously, of what's happening for you, but give room for another person. And at the same time, you can't control what's gonna happen on that side. And so I don't wanna, like, plan things within an inch of its life, but I do wanna figure out a little bit of creativity so I can roll through some options, you know, so if it's a scene where another person is gonna really go on a journey and I'm mostly listening, I'm not planning anything. I'm just gonna be, like, completely present. But if it's involving two people and it's like a scene that involves romance of any kind, then I really try to play out a few different options. Especially if the journey is not one that is meant to be surprised. You know how sometimes you have to, like, layer in a bunch of history between you and another person? You have to show that time has lapsed and significant things have happened in that time. There are ways. There are shorthands for physically, verbally, that we have with people that only come from time spent. And if you don't get that time with that person, we need to manufacture these things. And. And those are the details that I get super nerdy about and try to get creative around. And that's my homework. And then you bring all of your pencil Crayons and your watercolors and your oils to set. And you're like, what do you like? What do you. What do you want? I got hot dogs. I got popcorn. Like, I got all this stuff. And you can, like, pick and choose. I think that's kind of how I navigate the space of no rehearsal. I kind of do rehearsals at home if it is useful for the scene. Cause there are a lot of scenes, especially with the blessing of being on a police show, where so much of what we do is responding to a novel experience in front of us. So it wouldn't behoove us to prepare a bunch of stuff. We don't have a reference for it unless you're somebody who does. But, yeah, I think. I think for those emotional heart moments, I do have contingencies in my mind. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Also, too. There's only so much you can plan before you get there and find out exactly. Oh, this nothing. Nothing I planned is going to exactly work out. Somebody told me, have five great ideas.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And be prepared to go with one that's different and better.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. It's perfect. In my mind, I'm not. I don't worry about, like, Time Lost because for me, it's akin to what everybody else is doing, prepping these episodes. They spend a shit ton of time laying everything out so that when we're tight, when it's time to execute, they can do it on a dime. And I. I feel like we should be able to do the same thing. I'm not always like that, but I. I try to. Sometimes.

[Alan Tudyk]

You are also. And I find this is true with. I mean, I'm so fond of our cast.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Me too.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm so fond of the show. I just. It's such an easy job because of how good everybody is.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

You're also a problem solver.

[Melissa O'Neill]

We all are.

[Alan Tudyk]

You can solve. I agree. I think that so much of what goes into everybody's work is, how do I make this better for you? I don't think there's. There's nobody on our show who is going at it for themselves and alone out there. I think there is such a team effort.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

There's camaraderie, an understanding of. There's a camaraderie for certain. But the understanding that we're all in this together and the better this scene is for you. I'm in the scene too, so the better it is for me.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yep. Precisely. Yeah. And it's really special to be in an environment where everybody acknowledges that. And that even goes beyond the cast. I Had a really gnarly, emotional scene and I. I walked onto set and I know that I looked some type of way and it was really cool because the whole crew was just so supportive. I didn't have to say anything. Our AD Anastasia took one look at me and she was like, okay, everybody, shh. And like, got everyone to be quiet. And it really helped me to abide in an environment that would have been hard to stay in if a bunch of people were, like, doing what they usually do on our set, which is like laughing and having a good time in between takes, you know. So it is a massive team at peart on our show, without a doubt. So good.

[Alan Tudyk]

Here's something that people might not know about you. You think fart sounds are funny?

[Melissa O'Neill]

I think fart sounds are hilarious, yes. Who did that come from? We don't know. Are you going to tell them what you did?

[Alan Tudyk]

First? I'm going to say we're going to get back to that. We're going to touch on that. I'm going to set it up with your social media presence. Wow.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Wow.

[Alan Tudyk]

You're the one who got me on TikTok.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I'm so thrilled you finally joined.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think I have 15 posts up now.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Good job.

[Alan Tudyk]

Thanks. And I've got some up there that I think are pretty clever.

[Melissa O'Neill]

They are.

[Alan Tudyk]

I think I. That when I. I see them, I laugh. It makes me happy. It really does. Really does. And they'll have like, oh, 700,000 hits. And then I put you in one of my posts and I don't know how to. I didn't know I couldn't collaborate till later. So I didn't collaborate and I didn't even put your name on it. But you're in it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Six million crazy. Your. Your fans, the level of engagement. So there's people who can follow you and be nice and that's great. The people who will like it and repost or comment. But the engagement.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh.

[Alan Tudyk]

Is what is important is if you say, hey, everybody, rally, people, rally. So you have that. You're very entertaining on these things. You're super cute. My God. Angles. Your lighting. I don't open it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Is the angles. It's this side. It's not this side. It's this side. You know what I learned the other day? Sidebar. I do have a side. And I was talking to Miguel about this and he heard me. I said, miguel, get my good side. He goes, you don't really believe in that, do you? And I said, oh, yes, I do. What do you mean, Nathan, you Have a side? Do you? Is it your front? Do you have a side?

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes, I do. I don't. I can't remember which side it is, but my nose is. My nose when I'm facing north is facing west. So I. I. When? Or is it east? But when I. It's east. East. It's my dad's. It's a crooked nose. So from one angle, it looks like, hey, that's quite a nice Chanel he's got. And the other angle is like, what happened to his face? There's no, Yes, I do have a side. I am telling you. You asked me. This is the truth.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Okay. Okay. Well, good. I'm happy to know that. I don't think it's like, what happened to his face. But that is interesting. You know, we are our own worst critic, right? But I have always felt that I have one side that is much better. And I learned people are always telling me, no, that's not a thing. I learned definitive from two different people, one of them being my dentist. The teeth in the back of my mouth don't meet, and so I am lacking muscular fitness on the right side of my face.

[Alan Tudyk]

Are you crying? Are you crying right now?

[Melissa O'Neill]

But I was like, you look like you're crying.

[Alan Tudyk]

Don't cry.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I was like, what are you talking about? And so I think what I'm trying to do now is, like, chewing really good with the right side, even though those teeth don't come together. So I can kind of do bicep curls on my right cheek. You see?

[Alan Tudyk]

I see you doing it now.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Is it better?

[Alan Tudyk]

I. I would not have noticed it until now. I can't look away.

[Melissa O'Neill]

We shouldn't. I shouldn't have even pointed it out. Anyways, thanks for thinking I'm cute. I always choose my cute side for my tiktoks. You know what? It has been a real process on the Rookie, an internal process to surrender to that because, you know, we're actors and we're not immune. Vanity. But I can't let it control what I'm doing on set. But anytime they're, like, doing all this beautiful lighting, and they're like, all right, we're going to set the camera up from there. And I'm like, oh, God, great, great. I love it. And you know what's the worst is that Eric knows I have a side, and he is merciless. He will always just pick the other side so that I have to be on my bad side. It's the worst, and I'm over it. But it's good to have, like, markers that keep you humble, you know, that is definitely something that keeps me humble.

[Alan Tudyk]

You and Eric do excellent TikTok stuff. You and Liz do excellent tiktoks together. You come up with brilliant little things. It's fantastic to watch your kryptonite. If we're one to say there's a weakness that you have in social media, would be spoilers. This is the story. Now we're getting back to. Now we're getting back to. You think fart sounds are funny. And I had a little fart machine, and I would put it in my pocket, and I would give you the remote, and I would make a face and to cue the farts. And you thought that that was very entertaining. And you laugh so hard sometimes you wheeze a little bit.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes. I mean, even on this podcast so far, I've been doing a lot of wheezing.

[Alan Tudyk]

And while we were doing this, you realized you posted something and you felt so awful and you had taken it down, but it was too late. 58,000 people saw it.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

And you were very concerned. You were beside yourself, and you're like, oh, my God, I'm gonna have to call Alexi, our incredible boss again. What am I gonna do again? Because we just talked about this last week, and then I was chastising you and giving you a hard time and teasing you. I said, I better go call. I'm calling Alexi right now. And then he walked past the door room. We were hanging out.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, God.

[Alan Tudyk]

And I called him in and said, oh, Alexi, Mezza has something to tell you. You collapsed on the floor.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I dropped my knees.

[Alan Tudyk]

You were laughing so hard, you couldn't. You were crying a little bit. You couldn't speak. And also, you couldn't stop pressing the button.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, I forgot about that. I forgot.

[Alan Tudyk]

So Alexi is trying to make sense of the scene. Everybody's laughing at you, saying, you're in trouble, and you're on the floor crying, and I'm farting and farting and farting.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I totally forgot. I remember Alexi's face was like, okay, I don't know what's happening in here, but what's that? Where are you farting? Oh, yeah, I couldn't stop. It was like a weird tick. My thumb just kept pressing the button over and over again because I was uncomfortable.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yes, you screamed that out loud at the time, but.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, God. Yeah, I've gotten better. I mean, I. I have some crazy spoilers in my drafts that I'm not posting. I'm Wait. It's gonna make incredible content when these episodes air, but, man, yeah, that. I. I haven't done so well this season, you know, I'm just trying to keep the buzz going. We're on a really long hiatus, you.

[Alan Tudyk]

Know, so it's like, listen, the vast majority of people that watch the show have no clue. What about this. That there's. There's like a contingent of people who are. They're like detectives. I'm not gonna lie. Clever.

[Melissa O'Neill]

They're so clever.

[Alan Tudyk]

They're good.

[Melissa O'Neill]

They pay attention. And that's actually kind of what makes it fun to, like, put all these layers into it, because they. They go back.

[Alan Tudyk]

What challenges you on the Rookie? Because you're very good at your job. You are a problem solver. You make life easy. I have no complaints on screen, off screen. What challenges you? What do you find difficult?

[Melissa O'Neill]

I think the thing that is the most challenging for me is I have a lot of opinions. And this isn't to say that it's, like a challenge I don't enjoy, but I think it's challenging to learn how to collaborate and to express an opinion, especially if it's a divergent one from whatever is currently being presented and to find a way to collaborate that. That feels joyful. I think something that I'm learning as we are putting more time under our belts on this show is like, if you have seniority, people can feel like either a, they shouldn't collaborate with you because you'll know what to do, that there's no room for their vision or that your voice should trumpet or that they shouldn't listen to you at all because of maybe an overly familiar sense of self in that environment. And so finessing all of the different types of personalities and the ways that people collaborate or shy away from it or lean too deeply into it, it feels like this perpetual dance of sensitivity and attunement to not only the process, but the person to whom you're trying to communicate, whether that's your scene partner, the director, the writer, or sometimes the showrunner. You know, I think there are times where I'm very. I'm like this in my life too. So of course, I'm doing it professionally as well. But sometimes, like, I'm really specific about semantics and how we're saying things, you know, yes, you're saying something, but how are you saying it? That's important. And because the character that I'm playing has. We have established that she has a certain degree of emotional intelligence. That's an aspect of her character that I sometimes get protective about. And, like, how are we saying this? And I'm aware that having an actor appear and be like, hey, so. Cause typically, and there's nothing wrong with this, the gig is as the actor, make it work. This is your script. Make it work. Figure it out. And I do agree with that. And then sometimes I don't, and I try to push my luck a little. So that's the challenge, I would say.

[Alan Tudyk]

I would hazard to say that the extent of the emotional intelligence of Lucy Chen wasn't there on the page in the beginning of the show. I think that that's something that you brought, where an actor comes and starts filling in the spaces with these things, the bits between the lines, and begins to shape the character. The evolution as the boy. We had nearly a decade for these characters to evolve.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Unheard of.

[Alan Tudyk]

Done a lot of crazy, right?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

It's not often that happens. I don't often talk about acting with actors and process and stuff like that. But I'm really enjoying the fact that you're describing these experiences and your process in words I can understand. Do you have a secret? Again, it's not a secret. How do you play chemistry? Again, we're under the gun. You got to do it right now, okay, And. And not right now. You're gonna be chemistry and go, boom. You're very good at playing chemistry. What is the key?

[Melissa O'Neill]

It's funny, because I was. I was. Why was I thinking about that? The other day, I was reflecting how somebody. I know, somebody else who does that. I mean, obviously you do, too, but it's like. There's, like, a thing that turns on behind the eyeballs. You know, it's not something out here. It's not. It's the thing that turns on behind the eyeballs. Right now it's making me think of my tea service, actually, because there's a mo. This is a weird segue, but at the beginning of tea, there's a moment, and it happens in silence, where you meet the eyes and you greet them with warmth as if to say, like, hello, welcome, and have a nice tea. Sit. And that's a very fundamental part of the practice, like greeting the other person with sincerity and presence. And I do believe that. But a lot of the time, that's not happening. You know, we. We have moments with each other in passing, but to, like, truly be fully present with another person, it's very intimate to gaze at another person with affection. And so I don't know. I think. I think I. I naturally do feel very fondly of people, like warm towards them. And maybe also I can touch that a little bit more readily because there is, if I'm being brutally honest, there's like a difficulty suspending like this people pleaser in me, you know, Like, I definitely have this thing in me that's like, I like you. Do you like me? I like you. Are we good? Are you happy? I'm happy.

[Alan Tudyk]

You know, I know this look. I know this look. I see you doing it now. I know this look.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Right. And so I think like, maybe a little flavor of that, if I'm being brutally honest. And then like a tinge of like just, just even the thought of like you want to kiss.

[Alan Tudyk]

Little pause before you.

[Melissa O'Neill]

I don't know. Just a little bit. Yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

Okay. Moving away from the rookie now, I've hung out with you irl. That's what the kids call it. Yeah, we've had, we've had full on adventures.

[Melissa O'Neill]

We've had some epic ones.

[Alan Tudyk]

We've gone to Disneyland.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes. That was cool. That was my first time at Disneyland. What's the first place on earth? Yeah, it was my first time and it was so like first class. It was epic.

[Alan Tudyk]

It was wonderful. What a great experience. Yeah, we've gone to the Apex project.

[Melissa O'Neill]

That was so cool.

[Alan Tudyk]

The wolf sanctuary.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes. Love that place.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's pretty amazing. That's pretty neat to connect with those animals.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Incredible. And I did not know and I don't. I don't know if this is private. I'm sure you guys can cut it out. But I, I didn't realize that you and your team are like in full sponsorship with the alpha there. And that's so cool. You guys are amazing.

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, it's. There's something really wonderful about connecting with an animal. It feels, and it feels really special when you sit down and one comes over to you and sits with you and licks your face and just lays down next to you and just. You feel something. It's just because it's not a pet you feel seen.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Like truly seen. Because they are. They don't. Because they are not obliged to. They're not interested in pleasing you. You know, unlike a dog, it is of their own sovereign free will. Whether or not they want to look at you, let alone be near you for an extended period of time. It feels really special. I'm taking my family for New Year's Day. How we will have our first day of 2026.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh, that's epic. That's really wonderful.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, I'm excited.

[Alan Tudyk]

I love looking at those animals saying, wow, I could just imagine this thing tearing a deer apart. Yeah, you know, like, that's a. It's a predator.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah. Yeah, very much so.

[Alan Tudyk]

How many more years will you do? The rookie?

[Melissa O'Neill]

You know the answer to this.

[Alan Tudyk]

You said, I will graze anatomy this.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Bitch until the wheels fall. No, listen. I will be here as long as I will be had. And so I will be here for as long as I'm welcome, and it tells a good story.

[Alan Tudyk]

My dream, my plan, not that I'm in control of it, is to do this as. As long as I'm able, and then have some kind of form of soft retirement and hand it off to you.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, you say that to every, like, nice girl that's sitting with you, Nathan.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm. I'm gonna. I turned 55 in March. I was in my 40s when this show started.

[Melissa O'Neill]

You mean when you guys originally started?

[Alan Tudyk]

Yeah, when we originally started this show. Yeah, I was in my 40s, and I. I am now mid-50s. I hope I turn 60 on this program. I can see that possibility.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Hell, yeah.

[Alan Tudyk]

I don't see. I don't see 65 or 70. I honestly don't. But I. I do see the show continuing without me, and I see it continuing in. In your capable hands.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, that's. That means a lot to me coming from you, Nathan.

[Alan Tudyk]

You know, you said something earlier about, oh, it comes from the top, and then, you know, this and that and.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Blah, blah, blah, blah and blah.

[Alan Tudyk]

You know, all the stuff. All the dumb stuff you say. The fact is, I've been on a lot of shows, and I have never changed how I conduct myself. And I've been in difficult cultures, toxic ones. It's not always up to me. I think it does start at the top. I think the top is Alexei. I also strongly believe it takes a village, and I, for one, am extremely grateful and feel very fortunate to be a part of our little village that we have going on.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, me too.

[Alan Tudyk]

I can't thank you enough for doing this with me. I'm sad that Alan wasn't able to be here. He's very entertaining.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, I'm really excited. I'm so glad you guys are finally doing this. I know you've been talking about it for a while. Congratulations on finally getting it going.

[Alan Tudyk]

Thank you very much. Anything you wanted to add that you didn't get a chance to do? You wanted to sing a little bit for us today?

[Melissa O'Neill]

Oh, my God. Oh, okay, wait. Just so I get it proper and correct, what's the name of the podcast?

[Alan Tudyk]

Once we were Spacemen.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Once we were spacemen. Okay, so we should. We jingle Impromptu harmony. Ready? Five, six, seven, eight. Once Once we were spacemen. Not. I mean, not bad. I'm sorry I didn't sustain. I wasn't ready. Cause I was so shocked that it was so good.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's probably what everyone out there is thinking right now.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yeah, that's what they're thinking. You guys nailed it. Good stuff. Thank Nathan.

[Alan Tudyk]

Melissa, thank you. I adore you. Don't tell anybody. You're my favorite.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Yes. Winning.

[Alan Tudyk]

Oh my God.

[Nathan Fillion]

That was amazing.

[Alan Tudyk]

I'm glad you enjoyed that. Alan. This is the number two episode that you weren't able to attend. And again I pressing you now I'm. You gotta do my own. You gotta do your own episode, man. Wow. Here's something I think a reason why I think you'd be great at it. Because, Alan, you are charming and you are charming because not only are you interesting, but you are also interested.

[Nathan Fillion]

Okay, I'm hearing I need to find somebody that I'm interested in. This is good.

[Alan Tudyk]

That's a good start.

[Nathan Fillion]

That's good. I'll put that in my criteria.

[Alan Tudyk]

Hello and thank you for listening. This is Nathan Fillion. Now is the part where I read aloud the credits for our show in my best telephone voice. So put on some headphones, lay back and relax because this is our time. If you haven't yet, you can always head over to our Patreon to get bonus content, longer episodes and a chance to get your hands on some incredible crap. If you love the show, please leave us a review and feel free to take Tell all your friends. If you didn't love the show, now is the time for quiet contemplation. Once We Were Spacemen is a collision 33 production. Some of the names I will mention are my favorite people in the world. And some of them have room for improvement. You know who you are. If you hear your name being read, please stand up. This show is produced by Siobhan Homan, Michelle Chapman and Josh Levy of Collision 33. We are edited, mixed and produced by Resonate Recordings with special thanks to Courtney Blomquist and Adam Townsell. Our theme music is done by Carlos Sosa and Joshua Moore. Artwork by the incredible and incomparable Louis Jensen. But gonna tell you right now, I think he fakes his accent. Until next time.

[Melissa O'Neill]

Okay, I don't know what's happening in here, but. What's that? Where are you farting?