Danny Pintauro Meets World

Summary

Pod Meets World – “Danny Pintauro Meets World”

Release Date: June 22, 2026
Host(s): Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, Ryder Strong
Guest: Danny Pintauro

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Episode Overview

This heartfelt and candid episode welcomes Danny Pintauro, former child star best known as Jonathan on Who’s the Boss?, for an open conversation about his life, career, personal struggles, and journey back into acting. The hosts and Danny bond over their shared child actor backgrounds, discuss the shifting nature of the entertainment industry, and explore themes of stigma, reinvention, and the power of honesty.

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Main Discussion Topics & Insights

1. Danny’s Entry into Acting (17:24–20:52)

• Danny’s mom, a hairdresser in NJ, was encouraged by clients to submit a photo of Danny for modeling—his career began at age two.
• He started with modeling and commercials, quickly moving to soap operas and landing the part of Paul Ryan on As the World Turns.
• Notable quote:
  “Literally everything I auditioned for, I got every commercial, every modeling job.” — Danny (18:07)
• Early memories are more visual and about set experiences than acting itself, highlighting a child’s practical focus (food, attention, sets).

2. Early Success and Family Response (25:03–26:46)

• His parents maintained their regular jobs until Who’s the Boss? was picked up; only then did the family move to L.A.
• The Oakwood apartments—shared child star experience among many 80s/90s actors.

3. Behind the Scenes: Who’s the Boss? and Set Dynamics (28:24–31:47)

• Tony Danza kept energy high on set, fostering a family-like atmosphere.
• Strong bonds, but the cast doesn’t maintain daily contact:
  “Sometimes I'll say to people, do you still talk to people you worked with 40 years ago? And they'll be like, oh, yeah, probably not.” — Danny (31:27)
• Catherine Helmond’s presence as Mona described as the grounding "boss" of the set.

4. Schooling and the Importance of Education (31:49–33:29)

• Danny’s parents insisted on a traditional education, even negotiating with production so he could attend school in Van Nuys up to fifth period each day.
• "My parents went to the show and they said, look, either you let him actually go to school or he's not coming back." — Danny (32:38)

5. Child Stardom and Memory, Identity Issues (21:22–24:04)

• The hosts and Danny discuss how working young affects long-term memory and the development of identity.
• Danny proposes that young actors’ focus on memorization could impact brain development in certain areas.

6. Struggles after Fame: Addiction, Reinvention & Resilience (43:02–47:51)

• Danny discusses his struggles with identity, turning to substances, and eventually attempting to take his life.
• Describes his life in three chapters: child star, 10 years away from entertainment, return as a more complete, self-aware adult.
• Notable moment:
  “It took that to get there... But it took that to get there.” — Danny on reaching rock bottom before rebuilding (46:35)
• Finds renewed purpose working as a vet tech before acting calls him back after seeing LGBTQ+ representation in media.

7. Entertainment Industry’s Shifting Landscape (48:23–51:47)

• Danny describes how difficult acting is now: fewer pilot seasons, less opportunity, rise of celebrity-dominated roles, and the impact of corporations on creative risk.
• Will notes:
  “The day of the journeyman actor... just not a thing anymore.” (51:47)

8. Being Outed and Impact of Media (52:03–54:44)

• Danny shares the story of being outed by the National Enquirer during college.
• He sought advice from Judith Light, who told him:
  “They can’t misquote you. So if you give them really solid answers and just be truthful and honest, they can’t misquote you.” — Judith Light, via Danny (54:01)
• The Inquirer piece, surprisingly, was heartfelt due to his participation.

9. Stigma of Actors Taking “Regular” Jobs (55:51–57:27)

• Discusses tabloid fascination with “fall from grace” stories, referencing himself and others (like Jeffrey Owens from The Cosby Show), and how the public perspective is changing.
• “I am not different from you in that sense. We’ve never been different from you in that sense.” — Danny (59:03)

10. Current Life: Gig Economy, Acting Coaching, and Book Nooks (67:22–72:37)

• Danny currently juggles gig work (Amazon Flex), acting coaching, and a side business building custom “book nooks”—mini diorama scenes for bookshelves—livestreamed on TikTok.
• Coaching actors with “the resonant actor” philosophy, emphasizing character energy, and teaching at Young Actors Theatre Camp.
• Memorable business moment:
  “I have since, since sold 174 book nooks.” (70:21)
• The communal, connective nature of TikTok Live and social media’s evolving role in an actor’s toolkit.

11. Living Authentically and the Challenge of Typecasting (72:42–75:50)

• Danny recounts coming out as HIV positive on Oprah in 2015:
  “I came out to Oprah as being HIV positive on her show. Actually scarier than coming out as gay.” (74:10)
• Expresses frustration with industry “boxes” (gay, HIV+, child actor), but remains determined:
  “I need to get back in front of the camera so people can see that I still know what I'm doing... The outcome of the audition is not a reflection of whether I'm a good actor or not.” (74:50, 75:21)
• Expresses hopefulness and openness for whatever the next chapter may bring.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On child acting and memory:
  “You can't teach a three-year-old to be capable of having that sort of insight.” — Danny (19:13)
• Danny’s childhood audition story:
  “I’m sorry, can you please say the lines as written in the script? Because that’s how I memorized them.” — Danny, age six, in a Who’s the Boss? audition (28:24)
• On the impossibility of TV stardom being a permanent safety net:
  “Day of the journeyman actor... just not a thing anymore.” — Will (51:47)
• Being forced out vs. choosing to speak:
  “I was definitely ready to talk about it. And I also felt like... the universe was saying, it's an important thing for you to do right now.” — Danny on choosing to share his HIV status (74:14)
• On living candidly:
  "It is the best feeling to truly be able to say as an actor, as a celebrity that there's nothing off the table." — Danny (76:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Danny’s Entry into Acting: 17:24–20:52
• Memories from Childhood Stardom: 21:00–24:04
• Who’s the Boss? Set Dynamics: 29:18–31:47
• Schooling while Acting: 31:49–33:29
• Addiction and Recovery Story: 43:02–47:51
• Industry’s Current Struggles: 48:23–51:47
• Being Outed by Tabloid: 52:03–54:44
• Public Stigma for Working Actors: 55:51–57:27
• Amazon Flex & Book Nook Side Jobs: 58:09–72:37
• Coming Out as HIV Positive: 73:41–74:46

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Tone and Style

The conversation is honest, reflective, and supportive—marked by camaraderie and empathy. Danielle, Will, and Ryder create a warm, open space for Danny to share his experiences, victories, and pain. Laughter and nostalgia blend with revelations of struggle and hope. The podcast’s signature mix of humor and deep connection is present throughout, especially as all four discuss the ways identity, career, and public perception shape life after child stardom.

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For Listeners

Whether you’re a fan of Danny Pintauro or curious about child stardom’s long shadow, this episode presents an inspiring story of reinvention, vulnerability, and the search for authenticity—alongside the hard truths of a changing Hollywood. Danny’s candor and resilience shine, leaving listeners with insight into the ups and downs of fame—and the value of owning your story, no matter where it leads.

Transcript

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[Will Friedle]

So I'm gonna take a page out of the book of one Mr. Rider Strong, which means it is a page having, of course, to do with words and literature.

[Ryder Strong]

Great.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, he's so excited.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm so excited.

[Danielle Fishel]

I've never. I can feel writer's energy through this zoom.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Look at him.

[Danielle Fishel]

He's.

[Danny Pintaro]

He's leaned forward.

[Danielle Fishel]

He's restructuring himself in his seat. He looks like I'm about. He looks like what I look like when I'm about ready to eat a donut.

[Will Friedle]

You do. Or your little donut. Little donut. Shake like you're coming down off of meth. Okay, so we all know antonyms and we know synonyms, but do you know contronyms?

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, no.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, so a contronym are words that have opposite or nearly opposite meanings, depending on context.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, okay.

[Will Friedle]

So for instance, here's a list of some of them. Like cleave can mean split apart or cling together tightly. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

You cleave to something or you cleave something. Oh, yeah, that's.

[Will Friedle]

So these are contronyms, which is the word itself can literally mean the opposite of itself depending on how it's used.

[Danielle Fishel]

And this is.

[Ryder Strong]

Some of these also arrive over time. Arise over time because, like, nonplussed now means the opposite of what it was originally intended to me.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

And like. Yeah. Because of the misusage. So people just. Yeah. All right, give me some more. Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

So here's some. So sanction can mean to allow or to penalize.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Dust to add particles or to take or to remove them. Weather can wear away or endure.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Resign. To quit or to commit to.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

I've resigned. I've resigned.

[Danny Pintaro]

I'm resigned to this.

[Ryder Strong]

This is my life.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

That's so good.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

Fast can be moving quickly or firmly secured.

[Danny Pintaro]

Right, Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

Fasting. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Oversight is a careless error or supervision.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes. These are so Fun Screen.

[Danny Pintaro]

This is the last one I have, unfortunately.

[Will Friedle]

Screen is to show, like, a film.

[Danny Pintaro]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Or to obscure.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, wow, that's so cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

That is contronyms.

[Will Friedle]

Antonym. Synonym. Contronyms.

[Ryder Strong]

Indy asked me the other day. He was like, what's. I thought he asked me, what's a synonym for cinnamon? Cinnamon.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

And I was like, spice. Or. I don't know, I was trying to think. And he's like, not cinnamon. Synonym. So he was saying, what's a synonym? And I was like, jesus. Now my brain just melted, dude. I don't know. Like, I said alternate. You know, I was trying to come up with synonyms for synonym, but then I was like. I thought he was just being clever about the synonym.

[Will Friedle]

What? It would be a synonym for synonym. I couldn't imagine that.

[Danielle Fishel]

That is so funny.

[Will Friedle]

I saw that and I was like, oh, Ryder, we have to have a copy.

[Ryder Strong]

I love it.

[Will Friedle]

Rider's gonna love this. A word that literally. I mean, the idea of the English language that flammable and inflammable mean the same thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

Is insane to me.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

How does anyone learn our language?

[Danielle Fishel]

I know.

[Danny Pintaro]

Absurd.

[Will Friedle]

Our lang. When you think of English, it's absurd to think of one little thing and it actually means you're going to die.

[Danny Pintaro]

Like, wait, what?

[Will Friedle]

I know.

[Danielle Fishel]

Adler. Adler just recently was like, reading something and he goes, hey, why is two spelled wrong? And I said, what do you mean? And he said, it says T, O, O. And I was like, oh, that is two, as in also. And he goes, oh, so that other two is just to. And I was like, well, unless you're talking about the number two

[Ryder Strong]

works too.

[Danielle Fishel]

Like, oh, God. I'm like, I'm sorry. You're really learning to read. And I'm. We're picking some of the hardest ones. Sorry.

[Ryder Strong]

English is crazy.

[Will Friedle]

It is. It really is. I mean, all these little changes can.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it's nuts.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, welcome to pod meets world. I'm Danielle Fishel.

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I'm Ryder Strong.

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And I'm Will Friedle.

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we launched Pod Meets World years ago, one of the first things fans hounded us about was merch.

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Merch. There he is. And though we made for great child actors, we aren't exactly savvy business people.

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You know it's easy to have fears and doubts when opening a new business or putting yourself out there with a product, but in the end, it's one of the best decisions we made for the show.

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Mom, are we there yet?

[Danny Pintaro]

10 more minutes.

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Only 10 minutes. Can you drive slower?

[Danny Pintaro]

What's up with them today? Lingokids, that app we downloaded last week.

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They love it.

[Danny Pintaro]

The games, this funny baby bot character.

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Kids, we're almost there.

[Danny Pintaro]

No.

[Will Friedle]

With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs and shows little ones can't get enough of, LingoKids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids. Why didn't we download this sooner?

[Danielle Fishel]

Lingokids everything kids love. Download it for free. What a lot of people don't know about the podcast is that very early in the process, we made a pact with each other that while recording, we would never censor ourselves in the moment, knowing that we would deal with whatever we wanted to cut in the edit. That way we wouldn't find ourselves holding back or fearful of where a comment could take us. We would just let the process guide each episode. And hilariously, in the end, minus some totally insane tangents, we mostly find ourselves keeping everything in. And that's because since day one, we've tried our hardest to let honesty lead the way. We lean into the good and the bad that came with what is, hands down, the strangest job a kid could have. And that's why we appreciate this week's guest and his recent journey to inform and destigmatize the real journey of an actor. At just seven years old, he made his Hollywood debut as an original Paul Ryan on the legendary soap opera as the World Turns, a role played by a total of nine actors over 30 years. But his first big break was in the 1983 Stephen King horror movie Cujo, when he played Tad, the young son who convinces his family to adopt the once friendly and easygoing Saint Bernard who becomes rabid when bit by a cave bat. But we all know him best as Jonathan Bower on the Emmy and Golden Globe winning sitcom who's the Boss? Alongside Tony Danza, Alyssa Milano and Judith Light, who played his mother for eight seasons, 196 episodes, and endless years of syndication. Yet no matter how iconic a show is or how recognizable a cast becomes once the spotlight dims, not everything is promised to fall into place. The calls slowed down and he'd try to focus on stage acting, a trade he learned at Stanford when he took time off in the 90s to focus on his education. But when the on screen work completely dried up, he'd pivot to jobs like Tupperware sales rep, restaurant manager, or vet technician to pay the bills. But in 2022, the itch came back and he'd return to Hollywood to start over in the industry he excelled in as a child. And after courageously conquering the demons he accumulated during the struggle, he finds himself back in the hustle now as an adult and exhibiting the same type of honesty we hope to bring to Pod Meets World every week. Whether it's posting pictures of himself as an Amazon Flex driver or sharing the quote, unquote residuals that come from a 40 year old TV show, he's been open and vulnerable for all to see. And so this week we are happy to welcome to Pod Meets World, a brother in honesty, Dani Pintaro.

[Ryder Strong]

Hi. Hey.

[Danielle Fishel]

Hello. Hey, Dani. Danny, thank you so much for joining us. I don't think any of us have met before, but it's still so strange to feel like we have because we all have this very, you know, rare commonality, a shared history of child actorhood.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

I think part of it is that we're a little bit off in terms of the timeline. And I, I'd already pretty much sort of left the business, quote, unquote, by the time y' all were working. So I think that's probably the biggest reason that we haven't connected for sure.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. You weren't always in Hollywood as a kid. You were born in New Jersey and your parents had jobs far from the business.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Do you remember their reaction when you started showing an interest in acting?

[Danny Pintaro]

Well, it's actually the opposite. I didn't show an interest in acting. The story is officially that my mom was a hairdresser. She worked in New Jersey. We're about an hour outside of Manhattan. And it's, you all know the feeling like if you live in the Valley here in LA and you have a cute kid, everybody says, oh, you've got to get him into the business.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

So she had some pictures of Me on her mirror. And everybody was like, he's so cute. He's so cute. So finally, to shut them up, she sent me one Polaroid picture to a talent agency in New York. And they called her three days later with a modeling job for me.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Danny Pintaro]

And I mean, literally, it never stopped. I. Literally everything I auditioned for, I got every commercial, every modeling job.

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Danny Pintaro]

I was on a soap opera starting at the age of two. I did that for four years.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, so wait, I'm sorry, the picture, the Polaroid that she set. How old were you in the Polaroid?

[Danny Pintaro]

I was two. Yeah. Yeah, it was. Oh, my gosh.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

That's crazy.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah. It definitely wasn't something I was like, mom, let's do this. It was, oh, crap, we have to do this. And it was always very. She was always really good about saying, look, if you don't feel like doing it, if you don't want to do this anymore, it's totally fine. And I was always game because, you know, I was really young, which meant I got lots of toys and presents and food whenever I did a good job or had a good audition. The attention that you're getting as a child, especially that young. But honestly, for me, the thing I always say is it really feels like the universe was at play. There's. There's. It's one thing to be a cute kid and to do some commercials. It's another thing to be a 3, 4, 5, 6 year old doing a soap opera. Yeah. Learning.

[Danielle Fishel]

You played Paul Ryan. Right. As the World Turns. Okay.

[Danny Pintaro]

Originally Paul Stenbeck, I was Paul Stenback. And then at some point he became Paul Ryan.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay.

[Danny Pintaro]

But, yeah, so, like, you can't teach a three year old how to. There's this one scene that I remember. It was a. We were locked in the closet of my mother's house. Barbara. Barbara Ryan was her character. Colleen Zhang, the actress is amazing. And they set the set on fire. Like, set it on fire. I mean, how they did it, I still don't know, but I was so fast. Anyway, she and I go screaming and crying through the living room that is on fire, you know, And I was like, cool, Are we gonna do it again? You know, how do you teach? You can't teach a four year old to be capable of having that sort of insight. Right. So especially with Cujo, like, I mean, oh, my God, people. Everyone thinks that I am permanently scarred for life with dogs. Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, that movie was pretty scarring.

[Danny Pintaro]

It was scary. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Freaked me out so, so much.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, man, it. It still lives up to this day, which is the thing I really love about it. But, you know, everyone thinks I'm scarred. And. And I think it's an. It's a testament to my ability or my performance that they think that I'm scarred for life.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right, Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

Because it's just so real. And even on set every day, every take D. Wallace would say, you know, this isn't real. We're okay. Are you okay? Do you need anything? And I swear to you, my answer would always be, I'm good. Are they moving the camera? Like, what are we doing next?

[Danielle Fishel]

Right, right. Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

At the age of six, like, how do you. Yeah, there's more going on to it. Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

I just.

[Danny Pintaro]

I don't know how to explain it.

[Danielle Fishel]

Do you have memories from being on the as the World Turns set, or do you even, like. I mean, when do you have your first. What's your first memory?

[Danny Pintaro]

That's the same question. Yeah, it's so hard to. I mean, a lot of my memories are pictures from the time.

[Danielle Fishel]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

Because we create those in post. Right?

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Nice. Good call.

[Danny Pintaro]

The memories that I have that are really strong are the fire, like, things that just really stand out for Cujo. One of the few things I remember is they cut the Pinto in half so they could get the camera into the engine area with the thing snapping at the. Yeah. So I just have this vivid image of this, like, car that's cut up. And the one scene, there's a scene where the camera spins around in the ceiling of the car. And I remember that, but it's mostly visuals of, like, see the scenic stuff, I guess a fascination for the sets. But, yeah, memory is hard. Right. I think we all have memory things as actors, especially the younger. The younger you started, the worse your current memory issues are.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I also just love, like, you. You. What you focus on, like, as a kid is so different because, like. Like you were saying, like, craft service was such a big deal to me, you know, because, like, my mom never let me have sugary stuff. So when you got to a craft service and there's Red Vines, I was

[Danny Pintaro]

like, they just leave these out and

[Ryder Strong]

we can take as many as we want.

[Will Friedle]

For me, we don't pay for this.

[Ryder Strong]

And it was like, yeah, that's like, that's the least important part of a set when you're a kid. And it's like, it's so funny because, you know, I have an 11 year old now and, like, he cares about food wherever we go, like, whatever. That's what they remember. It's like, oh, we got ice cream.

[Danny Pintaro]

I was so precocious that I loved king crab legs and escargot.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, my gosh.

[Danny Pintaro]

Don't get me started. I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

Wow.

[Danny Pintaro]

What I meant, though, on the memory thing. I'm actually curious to see if. If any of you have this. I have this theory, this working theory. My current long term memory is horrible. And I've always felt that because I was so young when my brain was developing and I was focused on short term memory, things like memorizing lines. I'm wondering if my actual sort of long term memory area of the brain is a little underdeveloped because my husband will tell you I cannot remember last week to save my life. Maybe I'm going through Alzheimer's, but I don't know. Do you feel that that's like a possibility?

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, I do feel like it's a muscle. Like memory is a muscle that you work at. And I just know that, like, memorizing it because I've been acting for years and when I try and memorize now, it's difficult. Whereas when we were on Boy Meets

[Danny Pintaro]

World, Not a problem.

[Ryder Strong]

And I feel like it's something that when you start doing it, because my wife is still acting and she'll go through like a year of not working, but then she'll be working. It'll be hard, and then the next time it's easy again. You know, it's like you just have to work on it.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So I don't know. Yeah, I definitely think it's a. But I don't know if I notice a difference between long term and short term. It's just whether I'm working on either one or not.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, well, you're lucky. I. Yeah. Maybe it's just genetics.

[Danielle Fishel]

I. I don't have great long term memory either, but have you tried anything like keeping a journal and then re. And then going back and reading things and then seeing if you can actually like. Yes, I do remember that conversation I had.

[Danny Pintaro]

Wouldn't that be nice if I could actually keep myself in check, to actually do that every day? I've been saying that for years and I still haven't done it. So I'm screwed.

[Will Friedle]

I can't.

[Danny Pintaro]

I don't know how I'm gonna write.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I mean, if you're forgetting to write in your memory journal.

[Ryder Strong]

That's right.

[Will Friedle]

Probably not the best combination.

[Danny Pintaro]

I mean, let's start there.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

I can't even remember to do that. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But no, it's true. I mean, we did a live show in New York, then Ryder and I had to do just a small scene together. And it was what, 10 lines each, maybe something like that. And we had to go over it like 25 times.

[Ryder Strong]

Whereas back in the day, you and I would literally do it once and you would know for the rest of the week.

[Will Friedle]

Yes, I ran it with my wife. I ran it with, with Ryder.

[Ryder Strong]

I ran.

[Will Friedle]

It was just like, let's.

[Danny Pintaro]

I need to.

[Will Friedle]

I need. I had to work at it. Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

So funny.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, so your dad, he worked on a lumber yard, right?

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, so he worked in a lumber store and your mom was a hairdresser, who on a lark decides to send your picture in. And you now are consistently booking jobs.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

You've already now been on a bunch of commercials, modeling jobs. You've done a. For years. You've done a soap opera, you've done a massive movie like Cujo. Are your parents freaking out? How do they just all of a sudden now is their full time job on set with you? How, how are they responding to this sort of immediate career you have?

[Danny Pintaro]

So the thing about it is that the money wasn't particularly great until that point. It was useful and it was important, but dad still worked. So it was mom who was taking me to New York every day or whenever I needed to go. And at that point, Cujo was a. Was a big deal, but it's more of a hindsight big deal than it was then. They weren't actually sure how successful it would be. Horror, the whole thing, it just didn't feel like we had a blockbuster on our hands.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

So I don't think they came out of the movie thinking, wow, this is going to be it, we're done, we're set. So it wasn't until the pilot for who's the Boss? That felt real and that felt important. And then there was this waiting period back in New Jersey, waiting to see if they. The pilot got picked up. And when it did, my mom and I flew out to California. We stayed at those apartments near

[Will Friedle]

the Oakwoods.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, we all live there.

[Will Friedle]

We all live there.

[Danny Pintaro]

Everybody's lived at the Oakwoods. And then dad quit his job, packed up the house, sold the house, moved the house, moved everything. So he, he came a few months later. Yeah, because it was.

[Will Friedle]

Oh my gosh, I have to ask, just Cujo wise, did you, did you meet Stephen King?

[Ryder Strong]

No.

[Danny Pintaro]

I spoke to him on the phone. Apparently I don't remember the call, but he was kind of a mess at the time. If, you know, according to his sort of life history and his writing, he was.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, he says he doesn't remember writing Cujo.

[Danielle Fishel]

Really?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, yeah, he says it's a pretty good novel. I have no recollection of writing it.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, that's hilarious.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Do you remember your audition for who's the Boss?

[Danny Pintaro]

I don't specifically, but the story has been told to me and it is ingrained in my brain and will never leave my brain because it's a great story and I've told it a thousand times, but I don't actually remember the audition. I think that's the actor thing in me. I think one of the reasons I don't have a lot of great memories on set is because I'm inside the character and, you know, you wake up 10 minutes later and you did a whole scene and you're like, I don't remember any of that. So I think that's part of the reason. But the story is so funny and it is literally why I got the job. So I was 6 and couldn't read, right? I'm 6. So my mom would read the scripts to me and she would have me memorize the line before mine. So I knew when I wanted to speak. And then my line, of course. And Tony Danza, Judith Light had been there all day auditioning kids for the show. And they were paraphrasing by that point in the day. So we start this scene and I literally stop and I go, I'm sorry, can you please say the lines as written in the script? Because that's how I memorized them.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh, that'll do it.

[Danny Pintaro]

And they were like, that's him, that's him. Literally, we're done.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, that is so cute

[Danny Pintaro]

for coaches.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, you're like, sorry, we're not going to be able to continue this

[Ryder Strong]

until I need professionals. Can I get some professional actors to work with?

[Danny Pintaro]

I literally did another interview recently and they showed me a clip of the first day of filming. We did interviews for Entertainment Tonight on the first day.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

And I six year old was literally sitting there like this and I'm like, yeah, you know, this is not hard.

[Ryder Strong]

We're good.

[Danny Pintaro]

I mean, I was like, full old man energy, just being like, yeah, I'm good. We're gonna have a great time. But this isn't hard. Like, I just isn't hujo.

[Ryder Strong]

Can you believe they pay me for this?

[Danny Pintaro]

Silly.

[Will Friedle]

When Tony Danza gets bit by a rabid bat, we'll talk.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay?

[Will Friedle]

That's the Sequel.

[Danny Pintaro]

That'll be the sequel. Oh, my God.

[Danielle Fishel]

The show may have been built around Tony Danza, but the show was really about a family ensemble. What was the dynamic of the cast like?

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, it was awesome. And I know you all know what that feels like, right? I mean, it transcends the page for sure. And I think Tony had this really specific idea that one of the ways to keep the show being successful was to bring the audience in every time we did a live taping. And, I mean, he was literally standing in front of the audience talking to them while people were changing, while stuff was moving around, he kept them engaged. He was telling stories. He was doing jokes. He was tap dancing.

[Ryder Strong]

I was gonna say he was gonna do his tap dancing. I remember that we'd do our little

[Danny Pintaro]

tap dance thing, and that transcended into our performances, because we also understood that the. The more we loved each other and had. Were having fun, the more the audience would love the moment. And it just felt like it was this circle of, like, energy moving around, and, I mean, every moment of it was just magical. There's. There's. And then, you know, so it transcends. You've got Tony and Judith loving when I bring in report cards, and you've got Alyssa and I fighting like brother and sister, which was amazing. But it is a relationship that will always be there. I mean, you guys know that. It's like, I. I don't speak to them for a hot minute, and then I see them again, and it's. We pick up right where we left off.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

But it's so funny to me, because people truly, truly expect that we are chatting, like, on a regular basis.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yes. All the time. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

You got to start a podcast. And then you will be.

[Will Friedle]

No, no, not you and I.

[Danielle Fishel]

No, I know.

[Will Friedle]

No, I know.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's.

[Ryder Strong]

That's how we stated. That's what we. And then we started this, and now we talk all the time.

[Danny Pintaro]

Isn't that fascinating, though, the idea that these people are absolutely convinced that I spoke to Judith yesterday about her day.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, right, Totally.

[Danny Pintaro]

Because that's how deeply we brought them into this sort of, like, image that we created. It wasn't fake, but it is definitely. We were working together in the long run. Right? I mean.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

Sometimes I'll say to people, do you still talk to people you worked with 40 years ago? And they'll be like, oh, yeah, probably not.

[Ryder Strong]

Probably not.

[Will Friedle]

Having. Having started at such an early age, I'm so interested, because we kind of all started around the same age. Like, the 10, 11 year old kind of area. But having started so young, did you ever go through a normal schooling process or were you always kind of schooled on sets?

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, no, I think my, my future depended on it at that point. You know, the child. The downfall of the child actor celebrity was, was hardcore at the time. Like my parents were very aware that that was a thing and I will be forever grateful to them for making sure that this was a thing. And also I. I'm also grateful because I had this sense to be aware enough of the idea that I wanted to be something else. In the long run. I was happy doing what I was doing, but I was very convinced I was supposed to be something else. So I think those two things combined. When I started seventh grade, which was like year four, I think of who's the Boss. My parents went to the show and they said, look, either you let him actually go to school or he's not coming back.

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Danny Pintaro]

I had never heard of it being. I still haven't heard of it being done. So what I did was I went to school in Van Nuys. Montclair. Do any of you remember Montclair Private school in Van Nuys? I went there 8am to fifth period. And then I would drive over the hill to set every day. They would just skip my stuff till I got there.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Danny Pintaro]

We would do the run throughs at the end of the day. Then I would go home and I would do my homework. I had a 4.0 GPA. I was in all AP classes. And so that's the big story is like the day the show ended. I just went to school for the rest of the day.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

Nothing changed. Wow, man. Really like Lifesaver. I'm sure it doesn't mean I didn't have a downfall. It was just a lot later, A lot later in life.

[Danielle Fishel]

When did you know who's the Boss was a hit?

[Danny Pintaro]

They knew pretty quickly. I think everybody could feel it because there was a lot of energy behind it from the network and from the studio and all of that. So it felt really clear as soon as it got picked up. I think the energy was. I mean it was obvious. You had these amazing. Tony, Judith Light. Yeah. Katherine Hellman leading.

[Danielle Fishel]

That's who I want to know about. Mona, what was it like working with Katherine Hellman?

[Danny Pintaro]

We will all tell you that. She was the boss for sure. Yeah, we'll say that. And she, I mean she was consummate professional. She had six dashuns that were always on set.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just like fantastic, fantastic.

[Danny Pintaro]

She just. Her Energy was always really grounded. She's not that funny in person. She's funny and so friendly and so nice. But she's not like full Mona off camera, right? Yeah, she's much more grounded and much more sort of like life and connect and make sure you're doing okay kind of vibes, which is all Judith as well. I mean, Judith off camera is. Is so funny on camera, but off camera she's much more. Have you met Judith?

[Danielle Fishel]

I have not, no.

[Danny Pintaro]

Her energy is very. When she speaks to you, you can just feel the. Feel the sort of like, I need to learn this about you. I need to make sure you're okay. She's always been like that.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, like empathic.

[Danny Pintaro]

Empathic, yes, very empathic.

[Ryder Strong]

That's the way. Yeah. A lot of actors are, right? They have that, like.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, for sure.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I also think there's something when you. Especially for child actors, having that kind of grounding force in the set. We had that with William Daniels. So having that kind of old school actor that has been there, seen it done, it is a consummate professional. I swear, that helps the next generation of actors coming up. When you just have that kind of force on the set with you every day, it really made a difference. I thank God for the fact that Bill was there for us every day. Just even though he was the same way, he wasn't particularly funny. There was times he could be grumpy, but there was just that gravitas of professionalism. And this is. This is a job and it can be fun and it can be enjoyable, but it's still. You're at work and you've got to balance your work life and your home life. And again, I think all that comes from having that person who's been there done that. And so, yeah, I can. I can see having that. That we're all grateful for those people.

[Danny Pintaro]

For sure. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It makes such a difference.

[Danny Pintaro]

Sure. As we've seen, there are a lot of stories of that not being a good situation.

[Will Friedle]

Absolutely.

[Danny Pintaro]

I think it changed at some point, honestly. Like, I would never have imagined that any of the shows from my period of time, like people being the way that they were with the Disney kids, that would be not. That would not go over well on an 80s sitcom set. Right. That's just not. Not happening. So I don't know where it changed or how it changed. I don't know if it's because it was a whole entity in itself. The Nickelodeon bubble, the Disney bubble. There's a whole other set of expectations. But yeah, like it's always surprising to me to hear it because you would never, you would never have seen that on a, on Growing Pains or, you know, any of those shows.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. Having another teen on set who was also facing mass stardom could be really helpful. What was your relationship with Alyssa Milano like?

[Danny Pintaro]

So for most of the show, I was so busy focused on school and like, I would show up to set, I'd be there for literally like two hours and do my thing and then go home. We were, we loved each other. It was a beautiful relationship, but we weren't like hanging out or calling each other. She was hanging out with the boys that she was, you know, that she was into or she was definitely doing some of the going out to events in Hollywood and being sort of seen. She, you know, she was very popular at the time. Right. So this little kid who doesn't really, who just wants to do his homework is like, not on her radar, right? Yeah. But it was never more than that. Now, now we're closer than we had ever been on the show, which is so wonderful to me. And she is a really, really terrific woman. And all of the things that she strives to be and strives to achieve for other people is just blows my mind how, I don't know, how she gets up every day and just keeps so focused on achieving these goals in the world. You know, if I could just be a little bit more like her, I'd be, I'd be happy.

[Danielle Fishel]

Cat parents, gather round. Ryder and I have some important advice to share.

[Ryder Strong]

Guys, we have to stick together. Guys. Those of us with fur babies know the struggle. We understand the feeling of being ignored by our cats.

[Danielle Fishel]

But that's why we're here to help. Because sometimes I find myself wondering, does my cat even love me?

[Ryder Strong]

And there's only one solution to solve that. Sheba.

[Danielle Fishel]

You could be adored by everyone and still completely ignored by your cat.

[Ryder Strong]

It's time to feed your cat, Sheba and go from feeling ignored to truly adored in 12 days, guaranteed or your money back.

[Danielle Fishel]

The promised land is here. Turn things around for your feline with Sheba's menu of products, appetizers, entrees, treats, and even a kitten's menu.

[Ryder Strong]

Even the pickiest eater will love their new grilled entrees.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just snap, peel and serve for two gourmet servings and zero messy leftovers.

[Ryder Strong]

Its protein rich formula is made with real chicken and seafood, 100% complete and balanced with essential vitamins and nutrients for

[Danielle Fishel]

adult cats, which my bill is, but we don't call him old we call him experienced.

[Ryder Strong]

It's made in the USA with the finest ingredients from around the world.

[Danielle Fishel]

No artificial flavors or preservatives. No corn, wheat or soy.

[Ryder Strong]

So even when they're licking the bowl clean, you can know you're doing the right thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Treat your cats right and introduce them to the delicious delicacies of Sheba.

[Ryder Strong]

To learn more, check out shiba.com when

[Danielle Fishel]

we launched Pod Meets World years ago, one of the first things fans hounded us about was merch.

[Ryder Strong]

Merch. There he is. And though we made for great child actors, we aren't exactly savvy business people.

[Will Friedle]

You know, it's easy to have fears and doubts when opening a new business or putting yourself out there with a product. But in the end, it's one of the best decisions we made for the show.

[Ryder Strong]

And that's thanks to Shopify. It helped throw us into the world of e commerce. With an easy to use platform and helpful tools that even we could navigate.

[Danielle Fishel]

Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Drew House, Momofuku and Skims to us smaller brands like Be Free by Danielle Fishel and brands just getting started.

[Will Friedle]

Don't worry about marketing budget or lack thereof. With Shopify you can get the word out there. With their help, you can easily create email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling.

[Ryder Strong]

And if you find yourself stuck or with questions on how to get your business up and running, they have award winning 24. 7 customer service ready to help with tasks like managing inventory, international shipping or processing returns. They have your back.

[Danielle Fishel]

And how could I not mention that iconic purple shop pay button used by millions of businesses around the world. It's the reason Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. It also helps boost conversions, meaning less carts going abandoned and more sales for you.

[Will Friedle]

It's time to turn those what ifs into with Shopify today.

[Ryder Strong]

Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com podmeets world.

[Danielle Fishel]

Go to shopify.com pod meets world. That's shopify.com pod meets world. Mom, are we there yet?

[Danny Pintaro]

10 more minutes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Only 10 minutes. Can you drive slower?

[Ryder Strong]

What's up with them today?

[Danny Pintaro]

Lingokids, that app we downloaded last week.

[Danielle Fishel]

They love it.

[Danny Pintaro]

The games. This funny baby bot character.

[Danielle Fishel]

Kids, we're almost there.

[Narrator/Announcer]

No.

[Will Friedle]

With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs and shows little ones can't get enough of, Lingokids is the number one entertainment platform for Young kids. Why didn't we download this sooner?

[Danielle Fishel]

Lingokids everything kids love. Download it for free.

[Will Friedle]

This one's for all my TV lovers. My entertainment from DirecTV gets you 60 plus channels and Disney Plus, Hulu and HBO Max all in one pack.

[Ryder Strong]

But here's the thing. With so much great TV and my entertainment, you're going to want to talk about everything you've been watching.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just remember that your friends might not be as well matched as you.

[Will Friedle]

Don't be a spoiler and encourage them to get my Entertainment for just $34.99 a month.

[Ryder Strong]

Go to directtv.com genrepacks and sign up today.

[Danielle Fishel]

New customers only. Service renews monthly unless canceled. Credit card required conditions apply to apps. HBO Max Basic with ads begins after DIRECTV five day trial. Learn [e-mail] restrictions apply.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Dry eyes still feel gritty, rough or tired with Mibo eyes can feel Mybo.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh yeah.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Danielle Fishel]

You have been very open about your struggles with sobriety and drugs. Do you think early stardom is a gateway drug to drugs?

[Danny Pintaro]

Is a gateway to drugs? I see where you're going. It depends on how you look at it. I think. I think like with anyone in the world, when there's strife and when there's identity problems and when there is the inability to know who you are as a human and you're stuck or you're lost. I think that's more the gateway than the child celebrity. I think the child celebrity is the reason you're lost or can't find your way. But I, I wouldn't say. And it didn't happen to every. It doesn't happen to everyone. Right. You've got plenty of examples of actors who just were okay, yeah. My version is. Is backwards in a weird way. Like I, I look at my life as sort of three chapters and the first chapter was all the way till the age of 35. So 35 was when I finally had this sort of like breakdown because I it took me that long to get past these identity issues. Even though I was a hundred percent convinced that I wanted to be something else, which was a veterinarian, I kept doing this thing. Like when I got into Stanford, I, I literally. My acceptance letter just. Or my, my. What do you call that? The letter you send in.

[Danielle Fishel]

You write.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, patient letter.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah, there you go.

[Danny Pintaro]

Was all about being a veterinarian. So I went there to be a veterinarian. I could not pass the math and science to save my life and was devastated. So what do I do? I come back to LA to try to be an actor. I literally left Stanford to go back to la. Spent about six weeks going, what the hell are you thinking? Go back to Stanford? It's freaking Stanford. Like, yeah. And then I moved to New York to try to be a theater director. That didn't go well. So what do I do? I go back to being an actor. Theater acting, of course. Right. And then I get into some problems with drug in New York. That was just at the wrong time, like at the wrong place at the wrong time. And I let it get out of a hand because I was having identity issues. Yeah. Finally I had to leave New York. I go back to LA to be an actor. Right. So we're going through that time period and the universe is absolutely telling me it is the wrong move. Just story after story of stuff. Like I mentioned on Will and Grace, we call them and say, hey, bring him on. They're like, no, we're like, you, you mentioned him five times in the episode. And do you know how many people, how many celebrities want to be on this show? Well, how many of them do you.

[Will Friedle]

Are you talking about?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

But it's a much longer story and it's not, it's not even worth going through. But stuff like that was happening and I was like, okay, I'm done. No more acting. I'm done. I'm gonna be a casting director. So I just move into another area of the business and I work as a casting director. Then I move into a talent agent. And by then I'm 35 and I feel like all of the stuff that's just brimming and sort of stuff sitting there. And while I love it, I'm also making other people's careers successful. Right. As a talent agents assistant, which was so hard, I think, on my brain in the long run that I finally snapped and I attempted to take my life and I was two weeks in the psych ward and that was the moment, that was the first moment when I felt Truly, like I could step away and, and just start over. But it took that to get there.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, man.

[Danny Pintaro]

So then 10 years of zero business, like nothing to do with the entertainment business at all. My husband started working as a restaurant manager. I was, I managed the largest P F Changs in the country for Delicious. And then finally I come back to vet tech. So I start working at a shelter in Austin. And then I moved into their veterinary clinic and then I moved to a private clinic. And like, like, life was amazing. I discovered who I was. I was happily married, we were making money, we felt really solid. And then I saw Wilson Cruz and Anthony Rapp kiss on screen as a married couple in Star Trek Discovery, and something happened. I said, oh, wait, hold on, I need to do that. That needs to happen for me. I need to see what that feels like. I need to find just the idea that finally there were these opportunities for someone like me was just so compelling. So I'm back to being an actor again. But this time it's not because everything else fell apart. It's actually because everything came together. I am who I am meant to be. I know who I am. And now I want to see what it looks like now as an adult and as someone who understands who they are.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Wow.

[Danielle Fishel]

Thank you for sharing that story with us.

[Danny Pintaro]

It's hard, it's hard to break it up. I mean, it's a, A, it's a path that can only be explained by telling the story, you know, but you mentioned that you're.

[Danielle Fishel]

You think of your life as three chapters. That first chapter goes to 35. Yeah, and then what, how do you, how do you separate chapter two and three and how many? I hope there's a hundred chapters.

[Danny Pintaro]

So, yeah, chapter two is the ten years out.

[Danielle Fishel]

Okay, the ten years out of it.

[Danny Pintaro]

And then chapter three, when I come back to being an actor, which was four years ago now, and there's not much of a story yet. You all know the business. I come back to the business.

[Ryder Strong]

At the worst,

[Danny Pintaro]

I come back right before the strikes.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Going. It's like going back to I'm a vet again, but now there's no animals

[Danny Pintaro]

left in the world. It's horrifying. Yeah. It's not getting better. I mean, you all know where we're at with the situation. And I've been trying to explain, with this Amazon Flex stuff, I've been trying to explain to the general public just how bad it is because they just don't understand. And it's, it's been eye opening to a lot of people to realize how awful things are. The pilot season story is the easiest way to explain it to them. You know, y' all remember pilot season when it was an actual thing, right? Yes, there were.

[Danielle Fishel]

You could go, well, at least, at least there's pilot season coming up for pilot season. Yeah, yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

People would like fly in from all over the country, sleep on someone's couch just to be able to go on auditions for pilots. There were what is 60, 80 of them in the three month span. We had eight this year and two of them got picked up.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it's just miserable.

[Danny Pintaro]

It's just awful miserable.

[Will Friedle]

It's everybody, it's. Well, it's also because everybody can just point their camera at themselves on their phone and.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

An influencer or do whatever they have to do. So the idea of these massive companies now saying we're gonna put hundreds of millions of dollars into stuff that people are doing on YouTube for free, it's like, well, why would, why would we do that?

[Danny Pintaro]

That.

[Will Friedle]

So, yeah, in such a state of flux right now, it really.

[Danny Pintaro]

And I, the other thing I try to explain too is that as you say that all of the studios are basically owned by a corporation. So instead of the studio being able to say, oh man, we got to make this thing, it's going to be amazing, they have to say, hey, corporation, what do you think about us making stockholders?

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Danny Pintaro]

And the corporation says, well, what's the risk assessment on it? Yep. And then it gets, it gets canned, you know, because it's not going to be, it's not going to make the money and, or the other thing that I feel like is happening, maybe tell me if you feel like this is true, is that those corporations know that if they have celebrity names in the first eight roles on the call sheet, they're going to make money or it's going to be more successful rather than take a chance on someone who isn't a celebrity name. So I feel like, yeah, we're getting farther and farther down.

[Will Friedle]

Well, it's even worse, unfortunately, because when we, and we talk about this all the time, there was, there was a, a real delineation between the type of actor you were in the 70s, 80s and 90s. You were a television actor or you

[Danielle Fishel]

were a star or you were a movie star.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And now, because films are dead, all the people that were movie stars are now coming onto television and all the people that are television stars are being pushed out.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah. Even my dad sees it. He's like, what's going on?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

And that's and here's the thing. They're all out of work, so they're gonna say yes. Of course they're gonna say yes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Clooney does Nespresso.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly.

[Danny Pintaro]

For me, those are not as crazy. I just saw. I won't say names. I just saw an episode of something a Fairly Famous actor came on and I was like, oh, they're gonna have a great guest star. Three lines. Yeah. And then they left and I went, wait a second, hold on a minute. Like, is this where we're at? Is that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

So the, the, the person who would normally have played that role, the like co star, star level actor, new upcoming person who they would have taken a risk on for those three lines, is now being played by someone who's been on a series. Right.

[Danielle Fishel]

Television show arrived on the set and they said, you have 30 minutes. You got 30 minutes and then you got to get him out of here. Okay.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, got it.

[Will Friedle]

It's so true. No, it's one of those things where it is the. The day of the journeyman actor where you could make a very good living and raise a family on the. I'm gonna do this guest star and that guest star. We'd have a three episode arc on this. I'm doing that. It's just not a thing anymore.

[Danny Pintaro]

Anymore.

[Will Friedle]

It's absolutely not a thing anymore. Such a shame.

[Danny Pintaro]

Really scary.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

I know all of us look at social media now and the 247 constant need to be a brand and for, for kids stars. We are all so thankful we didn't have that. But you did face something horrific in the media. A tabloid outed you when you were at Stanford.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, Obviously you don't know that story.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't know this story.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, my God. Yeah. Welcome to my life.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, obviously, and thankfully, this is something that happens significantly less now.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh.

[Danielle Fishel]

But if it had.

[Danny Pintaro]

If it were to happen now, all hell would break loose.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean, as it should be. How were you able to deal with that?

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, it was not easy. So you have to remember this is a time when. 1997, when it was kind of a thing for the Inquirer to out people. That's literally one of their, like, sellers.

[Ryder Strong]

It happened to Chad Allen too.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah. Same idea. Exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

Right around the same time, so.

[Danny Pintaro]

Right around the same time. Yeah. And yeah, I just got a call out of the blue one day. Hey, we're gonna, we're gonna talk about this whether you like it or not. Do you want us to give us any. Oh, my God. I was like, in the middle of finals. And I was absolutely petrified. You know, I wasn't focused on being an actor, but I hadn't ruled it out. So I was absolutely sure my career was over. Obviously at that point. I mean, there was no other version of the scenario. So I called Judith because she's been an advocate for our community for, I mean, since long before me. Her long term managers are a married queer couple. And so I saw them on set every day and I had a really good sort of images of what it meant to be queer. But I called her and I said, judith, what do I do? And she said very calmly, just look, they can't misquote you. So if you give them really solid answers and just be truthful and honest, they can't misquote you. And so I just went into it knowing that and believe it or not, the actual Inquirer story, if you were to read it, it's actually pretty heartfelt, which was shocking to me. It happened and it was awful. And it was awful that it happened, but it could have been worse in the sense that the article could have been just, you know, dragging me through the coals had I not, not participated. So I'm, I'm eternally grateful to her for telling me to say yes to the interview.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

Did you ever, I mean, a stupid question. Can you, like, did you consider suing? Can you sue for stuff like that? Or is it.

[Danny Pintaro]

I think nowadays that would be something that's more likely to go through. But back then that it just, everybody knew that was something they could get away with. It's. Remember, it's a different time. People did not, we don't think the same way as we did then, which, which is so great. I'm so grateful for that.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, even, even, even like what you were saying about your, your career being over, I think that there was a reality that you could only play gay roles if, you know, and those were one in a million, you know, if

[Danny Pintaro]

one in a million.

[Ryder Strong]

So if you wanted to be an actor, a leading man, you had to be straight. I mean, that was because so many people were closeted by necessity.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, the studios used to marry them off. Yeah, the studios used to marry, marry gay men off to, to win. Well, that you're, you're married now. What?

[Danny Pintaro]

Look, I don't have any examples of it, but I don't know if used to is. Yeah, right, right, right, right. Are you sure that that doesn't apply anymore?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it may. Who knows?

[Danny Pintaro]

There are some people who I'm, you know, I mean, you know, I don't know. Maybe we're all wrong, but we've got these versions in our head.

[Danielle Fishel]

Why do you think there is such a stigma associated with TV and movie stars eventually transitioning into the traditional workforce?

[Will Friedle]

Why.

[Danielle Fishel]

Why do. Why do people think of it as being anything other than just a normal career where, you know, not making enough money doing this one, so I've got to do something else. Why do you think that exists?

[Danny Pintaro]

I. I don't. Look, it's happened to me so many times now in. In different ways. I just think that. Because I don't think y' all know this, but in like. Like, near the end of the show, I wanted a summer job just for fun. So I worked at the Gap, and they. Somebody brought in a hidden camera and took pictures of me folding clothes and said, he's already lost all his money. The Downfall of Danny, series regular on who's the Boss? And he's working at the Gap. You know, I mean, I don't know. I don't know what it is. I think it's the idea that regular people, quote, unquote, love to see the sort of. Because. So for a long time, it was. They love to see the downfall. There is something about that. Just humans love to see other people being miserable. I mean, I don't know. And especially someone that they have placed on such a pedestal to see that person come down a bunch of levels. Nowadays, it seems like what happens is the people don't like that. So Jeffrey Owens, they did some pictures of him at Trader Joe's.

[Danielle Fishel]

From the Cosby Show.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, from the Cosby Show. They set the story up to be. Look at what happened. But the response in the comments and the response to him was, don't even think.

[Will Friedle]

How dare you?

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, how dare you?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, so.

[Danny Pintaro]

So that is.

[Will Friedle]

And he's on a show now.

[Danny Pintaro]

Well, yeah, he just did. Amazing guest star on the Pit. Yeah, I think back next season for sure, because his friend is. Anyway, so that moment that we've come at that far as humans is. Is. Is really the only way we stop doing terrible crap like that. Right.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Danny Pintaro]

Of all this humans.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So when.

[Danny Pintaro]

When I posted the picture for Flex, I really didn't. It did not cross my mind because everybody knows that I'm working and all the people who follow me. I'm on live at least three times a week. They all knew. So I posted it, being like, hey, I'm at work. I'll be back live later today kind of vibe.

[Danielle Fishel]

So to our dear listeners who don't know. You drive for Amazon Flex where you get to be flexible with your hours and pick and choose when you are working at Amazon and when you are focusing on your acting career.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah. So it's one of the five different gig jobs that I'm doing right now. We're gig actors. Yeah, acting is the gig. It's one of the six act. It's one of the six gigs.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

But yeah, I came across this when I was living in Austin. The idea for people who don't understand. So like let's say an Amazon driver calls out for the day. What they do is they take the stuff in his, his truck, they split it up into like five portions and then people can pick up the shift to deliver that five. That sect.

[Will Friedle]

Great idea.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

Or what. Mostly it is now is same day delivery or next day delivery with Amazon Prime. So most of my shifts are people who ordered last night and want it by today. So that's kind of how it works. So you just fill up your car with packages, you take pictures of them, you leave them on the doorstep and you're done. And the money is surprisingly good when my husband and I do it together. A three hour shift, we could do it in two hours. And the whole shift was, was 80 to $100.

[Ryder Strong]

Not bad.

[Danielle Fishel]

Not bad at all.

[Danny Pintaro]

So yeah, so that came out. But as soon as the first hit of the press for it came out, I stopped and I said, okay, how do we do this differently? You know, And I went into it thinking we have to do what we have to do to survive. We have got to keep moving as humans. And I know you can all relate to what that looks like. Like we're all doing it. I am not different from you in that sense. We've never been different from you in that sense. I don't make money from residuals, you know. So they're answering all the questions that immediately came up in the comments in sort of the first statement I made in the first interview I did. And it kind of just, all the flack just disappeared because people had the answers and they felt informed and they felt like they, they understood where we are all as. Yeah, yeah, we're all at as actors right now, you know.

[Will Friedle]

Well, I mean most people in any form of creative field, if you're an artist in any way, you're a musician, you need to do something else. There's the very, very select group of people that are making a good living in the artistic field. You do what you have to do and then you couple that with the fact that as human beings, you want purpose, you want to wake up in the morning with something to do. And most people are raised with a. Or you hope are raised with a decent work ethic. And it's like, I want to get up and be productive today. I want do something. Larry Bird, famously, even at his height, when he lived in Boston playing everybody, fans would go out and watch him every week mow his own lawn. And they were like, larry Bird. And he's like, because I grew up on a farm and I'm mowing my lawn, that's what I'm doing. And to other people, they're like, that's the craziest thing. So it's like, oh my God, you have a job. It's like, yeah, I'm an actor, which is I might have a great year and then have five years. And so I want to have something else to do.

[Ryder Strong]

There's always been a fantasy, like a mystique about acting.

[Danny Pintaro]

Definitely.

[Ryder Strong]

And they project onto.

[Danny Pintaro]

Of.

[Ryder Strong]

Onto actors. We all do, I think, you know, to a certain. We project like they must live a fantastic life in a big house and have people waiting on them. It's like this. It's like a version of the American dream.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Like we project it onto actors. Like if you're on a TV show, if you're in a movie, you've made it and it's done and it's just not the truth at all. And it's only gotten worse. Only gotten worse.

[Danny Pintaro]

The general public understand what a non famous actor is doing. Gigs, restaurant work, they understand that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

But then when you try to apply it to any of us, they don't understand it. It's so fascinating to me that that's. Yeah, but the one of the big things to talk about with it all was, is the residuals. And I've seen so many things since I talked about it a few weeks ago. I've seen so much about it and I think they're finally starting to understand what it means and what residuals actually mean and what they don't. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And yeah, when you open that 38 check. Yeah. I mean, there's so many times. And sue will be like, this is absurd. Where the stamp on the front cost more than the check inside.

[Danny Pintaro]

There is already a time that's happened to me so many times it's crazy.

[Will Friedle]

Where it's like they literally sent a 55 cent stamp or whatever to send me a 12 cent check.

[Danny Pintaro]

Like, what the hell is happening?

[Will Friedle]

It's crazy.

[Danielle Fishel]

Cat parents, gather round. Ryder and I have some important advice to share.

[Ryder Strong]

Guys. We have to stick together. Guys. Those of us with fur babies know the struggle. We understand the feeling of being ignored by our cats.

[Danielle Fishel]

But that's why we're here to help. Because sometimes I find myself wondering, does my cat even love me?

[Ryder Strong]

And there's only one solution to solve that. Sheba.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

It's time to feed your cat Sheba and go from feeling ignored to truly adored in 12 days guaranteed or your money back.

[Danielle Fishel]

The promised land is here. Turn things around for your feline with Sheba's menu of products, appetizers, entrees, treats, and even a kitten's menu.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Which my bill is. But we don't call him old, we call him experienced.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

No artificial flavors or preservatives. No corn, wheat or soy.

[Ryder Strong]

So even when they're licking the bowl clean, you can know you're doing the right thing.

[Danielle Fishel]

Treat your cats right and introduce them to the delicious delicacies of Sheba.

[Ryder Strong]

To learn more, check out sheba.com when

[Danielle Fishel]

we launched Pod Meets World Years ago, one of the first things fans hounded us about was Merch.

[Ryder Strong]

Merch. There he is. And though we made for great child actors, we aren't exactly savvy business people.

[Will Friedle]

You know, it's easy to have fears and doubts when opening a new business or putting yourself out there with a product. But in the end, it's one of the best decisions we made for the show.

[Ryder Strong]

And that's thanks to Shopify. It helped throw us into the world of e commerce. With an easy to use platform and helpful tools that even we could navigate.

[Danielle Fishel]

Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Drew House, Momofuku and Skims to smaller brands like Be Free by Danielle Fishel and brands just getting started.

[Will Friedle]

Don't worry about marketing budget or lack thereof. With Shopify, you can get the word out there. With their help, you can easily create email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling.

[Ryder Strong]

And if you find yourself stuck or with questions on how to get your business up and running. They have award winning 24. 7 customer service ready to help with tasks like managing inventory, international shipping or processing returns. They have your back.

[Danielle Fishel]

And how could I not mention that iconic purple shop pay button used by millions of businesses around the world. It's the reason Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. It also helps boost conversions, meaning less carts going abandoned and more sales for you.

[Will Friedle]

It's time to turn those what ifs into with Shopify today.

[Ryder Strong]

Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com podmeetsworld Go to

[Danielle Fishel]

shopify.com podmeetsWorld that's shopify.com podmeets World

[Ryder Strong]

mom,

[Danny Pintaro]

are we there yet? 10 more minutes.

[Danielle Fishel]

Only 10 minutes. Can you drive slower?

[Ryder Strong]

What's up with them today?

[Danielle Fishel]

Lingokids.

[Danny Pintaro]

That app we downloaded last week.

[Danielle Fishel]

They love it.

[Danny Pintaro]

The games. Oh, this funny baby bot character. Kids, we're almost there. No.

[Will Friedle]

With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs and shows little ones can't get enough of Lingokids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids. Why didn't we download this sooner?

[Danny Pintaro]

Lingokids.

[Danielle Fishel]

Everything kids love. Download it for free.

[Will Friedle]

This one's for all my TV lovers. My entertainment from DirecTV gets you 60 plus channels and and Disney Plus, Hulu and HBO Max all in one pack.

[Ryder Strong]

But here's the thing. With so much great TV and my entertainment, you're going to want to talk about everything you've been watching.

[Danielle Fishel]

Just remember that your friends might not be as well matched as you.

[Will Friedle]

Don't be a spoiler and encourage them to get my entertainment for just 34.99amonth.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

New customers only. Service renews monthly unless canceled. Credit card required conditions apply to apps HBO Max Basic with ads begins after DirecTV 5 day trial. Learn [e-mail] restrictions apply.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Danielle Fishel]

Well, we are big fans of a, of a side hustle here. So I want to know about the resident actor and your book, Nook Business.

[Danny Pintaro]

All right, so this is, you know, one of five. So I've got Amazon and then I'm an acting coach. So that developed because I teach act. I've been teaching acting for the last almost 10 years in Austin. I was teaching eight classes at this conservatory. I'm currently teaching for the entire summer at Young Actors Theater Camp. It's this amazing place in Santa Cruz for young actors. And one of the reasons they're so successful is they get huge, huge name Broadway stars to come in and do master classes for the kids. It's just astounding. I mean, the level of talent that comes. But I run their acting track, so I write the showcase, I coordinate all the monologues and scenes. I teach seven different classes in a day. It seems so many, so fun. And so out of that, I've decided to sort of also create a little bit of a coaching business and hopefully that'll turn into something where I can just sort of, I have a unique sort of take on it. And that's the resonant actor vibe of it. Like, like the, the idea that we're all resonating energy right as humans. And when you're playing a character, you have to resonate their energy, not yours. And so how do you figure that out? By. By creating an inner monologue that is so specifically the other character that your brain is off to the side, allowing you to sort of give off the essence of this, this character that you've created. Anyway, that's a whole thing. But yeah, the book Nooks. The book Nooks. It's weird to talk about, but it's also like so cool. November 2024, I bought one and I started putting it together. And at the time I was doing Tick Tock Lives, I. Well, so to go back to something way earlier, Danielle, when I got back to the business, the first thing I said when I came back to the business was I refuse to lose a role to an actor who has a better social media profile than I do. I refuse. And at the time I didn't have one. So I've spent the last four years building one. And one of the ways to do that is Tick Tock Live. Just people are coming through. Oh my God, it's you. Click. You know, we're good. But doing a two hour live where I'm like, yeah, who's the boss? Yeah, Cujo is Boring. Nobody wants to watch that. So I'm like, I gotta find a niche. So I was like, oh, maybe I'll build this on the live. And I built. I started building it. I went from 30 people to 130. And a couple of days later somebody said, can I buy that? And I was like, what? I'm gonna put it on my shelf. What do you mean you want to buy it? And they're like, oh, I don't have time. It's beautiful. You do an amazing job with it. Can I buy it? And I said, oh, let me get back to you. That was November 2024. I have since, since sold 174 book nooks.

[Ryder Strong]

That's so cool.

[Will Friedle]

What exactly is a book nook? I want to make sure I. I have it right. So I think I know what it is, but I want to know.

[Danny Pintaro]

They're all right here, right? It's a model. It's a diorama, and it has a theme. And it comes like this. This is what it comes like. It comes in pieces, like flat boards.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh my gosh.

[Danny Pintaro]

What I then do is pop those off, I sand the edges, I paint the edges, I make them look really nice. I add a bunch of stuff and then I put it together and. And this is Harry Potter. Diagon Alley Christmas.

[Ryder Strong]

That's so cool.

[Danny Pintaro]

All the snow that you see, all the glitter, all of the extras. I just got a 3D printer, so I started 3D printing stuff to add to them. All of these cool little touches.

[Will Friedle]

Is that Ollivanders? Is that Ollivanders?

[Danny Pintaro]

And then bring dots in the back.

[Will Friedle]

Great.

[Danny Pintaro]

And then, because underneath the street is basically Gringott. Gringott's vaults, right?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, nice.

[Danny Pintaro]

Gold underneath, right?

[Will Friedle]

So cool.

[Danny Pintaro]

That's really cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

Beautiful.

[Danny Pintaro]

It's the coolest thing. People literally will. I mean, people just sit and watch me for hours. I have soft music playing. It's super zen and easy and cool. And then the other cool thing is that I tell the person who purchased it so that what they do is they buy it it, then I build it. So when I'm gonna build it, I say, hey, I'm gonna be building yours today on Tick Tock. They join me. And then I'm like, what color do you want this to be?

[Danielle Fishel]

Or.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

I mean, they're just like, that's. I don't even know how to explain how the joy that they feel. This one's what I'm working on.

[Danielle Fishel]

Oh, my gosh.

[Danny Pintaro]

A Christmas one. I mean, this.

[Ryder Strong]

That's Amazing.

[Will Friedle]

I paint. I paint miniature figures. So this is like.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, you do?

[Will Friedle]

This is, like, right up my alley.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, I love it.

[Will Friedle]

For dnd. Yeah. For D and D. So this is.

[Danny Pintaro]

Oh, for D and D. Yeah. I've gotten into 3D.

[Will Friedle]

Super cool.

[Danny Pintaro]

Look what I just printed today. Oh, my gosh. I have this sort of cartoon figure of me, and I made a 3D version. Oh, my gosh, that looks cute. Yeah. 3D printing, man, is absolutely the way to go, especially for Dungeons Dragons. Yeah, man. Really cool. It's already. I mean, I love it. I love it so much.

[Will Friedle]

That's cool.

[Danielle Fishel]

That is so cool.

[Danny Pintaro]

Random, but it's, you know, paying the bills, so.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You enjoy it and you.

[Danny Pintaro]

I enjoy it. I absolutely enjoy it.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

If you could. If you had your druthers and you could be performing in any capacity, doing anything.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

What would you be doing?

[Danny Pintaro]

Ah, you know, it's so hard because it's been already four years of trying to come back, and I feel like what's currently happening is people are getting to know me as a human, which I think is really nice. All of this press is all about getting to know who I am. But the business, the casting directors, the directors produce, nobody knows what I can do as an actor. So at this very moment, the answer is truly, I will do whatever I can to just get back in front of the camera so people can see that I still know what I'm doing, that I. That I still have it, and that I am a capable human being. The hard part, of course, for me is that, you know, I have a lot of boxes. Those boxes that we talked about, the. The queer box, the. The HIV box. Don't forget about that. From 2015. Do you all know about that?

[Narrator/Announcer]

No.

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Oh.

[Danny Pintaro]

Ah, well, by the way, in 2015, Oprah called me or her people and said, we want to do a Where are they now? Special on you. And I said, well, I'm ready to talk about something else. So what do you think about that? So, yeah, 2015, I. I came out to Oprah as being HIV positive on her show. Okay. Big deal. Big, big deal. Actually scarier than coming out as gay.

[Will Friedle]

Sure.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, yeah, but you didn't. You didn't get to really do that on your own.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Somebody forced you into that situation.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, for sure. No. And I was definitely ready to talk about it. And I also felt like it was time for me to do. I felt like the universe was saying, it's an important thing for you to do right now. And at the Time, it really was. And I made a huge difference in a lot of people's lives in terms of just having someone else to look to who's living happily with hiv. So I've got that box, I've got the gay box, I've got Jonathan Bower box. Because that's never going to go away. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

So it's just. It's hard and I just really just need something. It just needs something to come through that I can get up there and be like, guys, here it is. And it's. It's just hard because 30 auditions, self tapes, no feedback, no callbacks, one callback. It just starts to get to a place where you really doubt yourself and you really doubt your ability and, and you just. I have to remember the, the perf. The. The outcome of the audition is not a reflection of whether I'm a good actor or not.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Danny Pintaro]

It's so hard though.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Danny Pintaro]

You know, you just have to remember that there are a thousand moving parts. But yeah, I'm ready and I just. I need. It needs. I'm ready. And everybody says that they feel like something is coming, which feels really nice. And it's not just a sort of like, oh, yeah, you got this. It's like, no, truly, like in my heart I can truly feel something's coming. And I just. I'm waiting patiently for that moment.

[Danielle Fishel]

Well, we will be there front row screaming your name. I can't wait to see what that thing is. I'm so. Thank you so much for sharing your vulnerability, your honesty. It is so incredibly refreshing to talk to somebody who has absolutely no reason to not be anything other than 100% earnest about your life, your journey, where you are now, what you're looking forward to. And it's. Yeah, it's just you are, you're a remarkable person. And thank you for sharing it with all of our dear listeners who I know are going to love you and be there to support you.

[Danny Pintaro]

I appreciate that.

[Danielle Fishel]

You obviously have a thriving Tick Tock live. Where can people find you?

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah, everything is all Danny Pintaro, so just adding Taro everywhere you go. Thanks for saying that, though. I mean, it is the best feeling to truly be able to say as an actor, as a celebrity that there's nothing off the table. Yeah, yeah. Really cool feeling. I don't know if it helps me in the long term with like the boxes going away. Right. That I continue to talk about these things so openly, but I'm also not in a position to play that game and sort of, you know, take Any steps back, just to make sure career happen, it's gonna happen on my terms. Whether. Whether they like it or not. Right?

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah. I mean, anytime. Anytime you're living in an inauthentic way, it's going to be painful. And if you are the type of person who loves to be mysterious and isn't an open book, then that's not inauthentic for you. But for those of us who pride ourselves on being able to speak honestly and from the heart and. And all of that, it's like forcing ourselves to not do that because we think it's going to benefit us in some career way is just. It's just another version of living, you know.

[Danny Pintaro]

Exactly.

[Danielle Fishel]

So, you know, couldn't respect you more and really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. So great to. Great to officially meet you.

[Danny Pintaro]

I look forward to finally meeting in person, even though we're. Yeah. One day in person for sure.

[Will Friedle]

Definitely.

[Danny Pintaro]

I'm so proud of you all for making this happen. You. You're. This is such a big, huge success. And thank you. I'm so proud of you for. For actually doing it. I do not envy you, but it is something that I would like to be better at, which is just taking a big risk. Right. And creating something and hoping that it succeeds and it has by far succeeded for you all. So congratulations on being brave enough to make something happen.

[Danielle Fishel]

Thank you.

[Ryder Strong]

Thank you so much.

[Danielle Fishel]

We wouldn't have done it without Ryder.

[Will Friedle]

Thank you.

[Danielle Fishel]

Danny, it was great to see you.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yes, thank you. Have a great day and thanks so much for having me.

[Danielle Fishel]

You too.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Bye.

[Danny Pintaro]

Bye. Man.

[Danielle Fishel]

Wasn't. Wasn't that a refreshing conversation? Just like.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, I think you're right. There's no pretense.

[Danielle Fishel]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

There's no. Literally, like. No. Like, you just drop the idea of, like, wanting to be cool or wanting to be impressive and instead just being like, here's my journey, here's who I am, here's where I'm at. And it's all pretty interesting and pretty great and like.

[Danny Pintaro]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

I think maybe one of the things I really resonated with. With what he was. So many of the things he was talking about is, you know, when I mentioned that he had been outed at. When he went to Stanford, and it was like, oh, my gosh. Yeah, it was devastating. He thought his career was over. And yet immediately he was also able to say it was. It was also very well written because I participated. It was very.

[Will Friedle]

He has to lean into it.

[Danielle Fishel]

And. And. And so it's something we come up with on this podcast all the time is that there can be duality. Two things can exist at the same time. It can be a tragic thing that someone outed him. And also it can be. It could be something he looks back on fondly in the sense of just the heartfelt interview and the way it was handled and the fact that he got the advice from Judith Light and. Yeah. So I don't know, I just. It felt like. Like he sees both sides to every. You know, even something like sharing that he was HIV positive. He was called from Oprah and. And they were gonna. And he said, I have something I want to talk about. I don't know, it's just. There's something so nice about people able to recognize and say, maybe one of my biggest hardships is also one of my biggest blessings and, you know, being able to see both sides of it. So, anyway, I thought he was very impressive.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fishel]

Thank you all for joining us for this episode of Pod Meets World. As always, you can follow us on Instagram Pod Meets World show. You can send us your emails. Podmeetsworldshowmail.com and we've got merch.

[Will Friedle]

Angela, Buy some merch.

[Ryder Strong]

Angela.

[Danny Pintaro]

Angela. Angela.

[Will Friedle]

Mona Ryder, writer Angela Danielle

[Danielle Fishel]

Pawn meets WorldShow.com writer. Send us out.

[Ryder Strong]

We love you all. Pod dismissed. Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Wilfred L And Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer and editor, Tara Sugbash, producer Matty Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World super band Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram odmeats world shout out show or email us at podbeatsworldshowmail.com

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danny Pintaro]

Are we there yet? 10 more minutes.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danny Pintaro]

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[Danielle Fishel]

They love it.

[Danny Pintaro]

The games. This funny baby bot character.

[Danielle Fishel]

Kids, we're almost there.

[Danny Pintaro]

No.

[Will Friedle]

With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs and shows little ones can't get enough of Lingokids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids. Why didn't we download this sooner?

[Danny Pintaro]

Lingokids.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

Find a major retailer near you by visiting littlebellys.com okay, quick question.

[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

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