Jay Ellis (4:53)

What's good, bro?

Stephen A. Smith (4:53)

It's good to see you. By the way. Tell everybody that. First of all, how tall are you? I was with you about two weeks ago. You're about legit 6364, right? You're about six four, ain't you?

Jay Ellis (5:02)

Yeah, about six four. I think that's what they call it. That's right.

Stephen A. Smith (5:05)

And you interned with the Portland Trailblazers before you became this, you know, this star on television and film. You are a damn intern with the Portland Trailblazers, were you not?

Jay Ellis (5:16)

Yeah, man, I was there for the 030203 season, the Jailblazers season, man. Mo Cheeks was the coach. You obviously know that roster. But yeah, I was there for all the trouble, man.

Stephen A. Smith (5:25)

There we go. And so that means you know your basketball. So you heard what I said. You heard what I broke down. If you had your druthers knowing that you out in Southern California, but you're very familiar with the Bay, et cetera, what scenario would you want most? Would you want LeBron and Steph going up against one another in the first round with one of them definitively advance to beyond the first round, or do you want to take the risk of them going against somebody else and both of them getting bounced out?

Jay Ellis (5:49)

Like to see them both get deeper? That's a great team, man. So I'm not sure that's who they want to see in the first round, for sure. So, you know, I think you're right. I think it's a lot of fun. I think it's great for the game to go. See, you know, the warriors and the Lakers slug it out in the first round.

Stephen A. Smith (6:04)

So you. You're good with them and at least knowing that one of them will advance past the first round, right?

Jay Ellis (6:11)

Yeah, man. Listen, this is playoff basketball as we know it, and these are two great teams. And so, you know, I think we're going to have a lot of fun. You know, I think the series will go longer than what some people might expect it to go. But, you know, I think that's the basketball that we want to see, and that's why we sign up and that's why we watch, and that's why we show up to these stadiums and these arenas to see games like this.

Stephen A. Smith (6:28)

Are you sure it's fair to classify Both of them as great. When you talk about them as teams, I know they're good, but great. We know great teams when we see them. Do you really feel both of them are great?

Jay Ellis (6:42)

Here, here. Here's what I think. Boston is great. Oklahoma City is great. Right. We know. We know what the top of the pack looks like. We know that for sure. Like, we. Not. There's no questions about that. Here's what I. You can't do, though. You can't count either of these teams out. You can't count the experience out. You can't count. Count the. The pedigree out. So I think these teams can have had flashes of greatness and can be great. You know, sustaining that over the playoffs, obviously, is tough, and that's what basketball is about.

Stephen A. Smith (7:13)

Would you be excited about a Boston OKC finals?

Jay Ellis (7:17)

Yeah.

Stephen A. Smith (7:17)

Give it to me, man. Give it to me, man.

Jay Ellis (7:19)

I mean, listen, I'd love to see OKC make a run. I think Boston, you know, will get there. I'm excited to see them back and see them defending their championship. It would be fun to see okc, you know what I mean? Especially as the Oklahoma boy. You know, I grew up in Tulsa, so, you know, it'd be fun to see okc, you know, go in there and. And have a real shot. That team is special, man. Like, you. You look at that team like, those guys are really special.

Stephen A. Smith (7:43)

They.

Jay Ellis (7:43)

They really show up every. I was listening this morning, man. They. They. They might mess around and win 70 games.

Stephen A. Smith (7:49)

Yeah.

Jay Ellis (7:49)

Like, this is a really great team. And. And I do think it would be fun to go watch a team where everybody is locked arms, you know what I'm saying? Going to play basketball. It'd be fun to see him get there. There's some other teams that I might like to get there, but, you know, it'd be fun to watch.

Stephen A. Smith (8:03)

Let me tell you what I shared. Before we get into you a little bit more, let me tell you what I shared about this season. First of all, I don't want as much as popular and as much of a bonanza in the ratings it would be for the Lakers to go up against Boston. The reason I don't want to see that series is because I believe the Los Angeles Lakers would get slaughtered by the Boston Celtics. I don't think that's a match they're made for. They're built for that. I don't think so. I just don't like that for the Lakers. I want a competitive NBA Finals. I don't want some lopsided affair where we go, we lucky to see you win a game. I think Boston would destroy them. Here's what I would tell you is my most attractive proposition in terms of interest. As great as the Oklahoma City Thunder are those young thoroughbreds led by sga, who's my MVP this year, by the way. The brother Spectacular. Let me tell you what my matchup is. Could you imagine if it was LeBron James and Luka and the Lakers going to Cleveland to try to stop Cleveland from Capturing the championship? LeBron having to stop Cleveland from winning the championship? To me, that would be, that could be an epic matchup. What do you say to that?

Jay Ellis (9:14)

No, that's a lot of fun, man. I mean, obviously to see him have to go back home and win a championship would be, you know, would be amazing. That Cleveland team also, bro, I mean, wow, wow, what a phenomenal team from, from 1 through 12, bro. Everybody shows up and plays their part. That would be a lot of fun. I mean, obviously the storylines would be great. You know what I mean? In terms of all the other things that come with it, but the basketball, the style of play for those two teams, it would be a lot of fun to watch them go up against each other. But you can't count out a Boston Lakers.

Stephen A. Smith (9:44)

No, no, no, I'm not.

Jay Ellis (9:45)

You know what I mean? Like, that's, that's basketball.

Stephen A. Smith (9:47)

I mean, that's, that's, that's, that's basketball. And I'm not. I think Boston's the best team in the NBA and they should repeat. You got to bet your money on them. I'm just talking about. I think that the Lakers are no match for them, whereas they're a better match for Cleveland. And so because of. Would make for an epic matchup. Whereas I think Boston against la, that series ends in five. That's my problem. I want a seven game series for the finals. I want a game seven of an NBA Finals. The championship on the line is 48 minutes away. This is. Everybody got to show up. That's what I want to see.

Jay Ellis (10:21)

Yeah, listen, listen, I think again, I, you know, listen, will it get to seven? I don't know, but I think LeBron and Luca could pull something out. You know what I'm saying? That, that maybe we wouldn't have expected, but you're right. I think a Cleveland Lakers matchup is, is a lot more fun to watch. It's a lot more even. Again, the style of play of those two teams, it would be fun. The storylines, it would be fun, right? That, that'd be fun to Watch, man. I also would love to watch Donovan get there, man. I think Donovan is a guy who is. He's a stud, bro. And I think, you know, he's kind of was overlooked in Utah, even though he was doing the thing in Utah as well. And obviously he's flourished in Cleveland, so we'd love get there.

Stephen A. Smith (10:57)

Let me transition to you, man, because I got to get to some of the things that you doing. That's why you here, not to talk basketball. I just. Hood, I just got your basketball analysis while I had you on camera. But let me ask you this. An NBA star, a. A corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teenage punks, Neo Nazis, and a debt collector embark on a collision course in 1987. Oakland, California. Does this sum up the present, the premise of Freaky Tales?

Jay Ellis (11:23)

Yeah, man. This is a wild movie, bro. It brings together four different groups of people in four different stories that all obviously converge at one point in my story, you know, I got to play Sleepy Floyd in this film, who obviously, as we know, is a warrior great, still holds the record for 29 points in the fourth quarter in the playoffs. And, you know, it was amazing to be able to go in there and play a fictionalized version of him where I got to honor that. That greatness, but still got to go have fun and do this amazing martial arts and weapons work that I get to do in this film to kind of avenge all these characters and all these stories.

Stephen A. Smith (12:00)

Why was Sleepy Floyd the character you picked? What was that about?

Jay Ellis (12:03)

Yeah, yeah, man. I mean, listen, the first time I read this script, it was the most original thing I feel like I had read in a really long time, you know, and. And it really jumped off the page of me, and it really set me in 1987, Oakland. I grew up, you know, this, but, like, I spent time in Sacramento as a kid. I had an uncle in Hayward. I got family in Stockton. I spent a lot of time around the bay and got in and out of there a lot. So, you know, obviously thinking of that 80s warriors team and this moment that he had, you know, it was just an honor to be able to do it, but, you know, to be able to flex and show my action skills and my martial arts skills, my. My practice, like that was, you know, a lot of fun and a challenge. I love a challenge. I love a physical challenge. And, you know, getting to do that in this film was amazing, man. And, you know, getting to be. Getting to be the hero.

Stephen A. Smith (12:47)

There we go. So this wasn't something where, you know, you had some stunt double or somebody. This was you doing martial arts and all of that stuff? That's what you were doing, Jay?

Jay Ellis (12:56)

Yeah, we don't do stunt double, Stephen A. We don't do stunt double, Stephen A. We don't do that, bro. No, listen, man, I would tell you something. I. I hadn't done martial arts since I was about 7 or 8 years old, and I might have got a yellow belt. I'm not even sure. And I met my stunt double in this film and I told him, I was like, bro, you're not gonna work in this movie. And he was like, cool. That just means you got a lot more to do. And I learned five or six different styles of martial arts. I learned how to use five or six different weapons, bro. I was doing three a days. I would do two hours every morning. I would do an hour of lifting in the middle of the day. Then I'd go two hours of weapons at night, two and a half hours of weapons at night, six days a week. And did that all the way up until, you know, we started rolling cameras on, on, on Sleepy story.

Stephen A. Smith (13:39)

I heard you call Tom Cruise for some help. Some advice. Mr. Maverick. Top Gun himself. Is that true? Mr. Mission Impossible. Is that true?

Jay Ellis (13:47)

Yeah, man. I mean, listen, who better to call than the guy who's really, he's really the definitive, you know, action star, you know what I mean? Like, when you think about that genre and you think about all that he's done, like, who better to call and say, hey, man, how do I do this? You know what I mean? How do I train? How do I. How do I recover? How do I prepare myself for this? How do I make sure I don't get injured? How do I make sure I'm hitting my mark? And through all this physicality, how do I make sure that I am absorbing every single one of these martial arts styles and, and weapons practices that, that you're, you know, you're learning at a time. And he was gracious, man. He, you know, he sent me this crazy long text with all these different things to do and think about and to watch, watch film. You know, one of the things I keep telling people is like, he told me, watch film everything. And every single night before you go to bed, watch it so you can see what you did right, what you did wrong, what you need to improve on. And literally every single night, I would lay in bed and watch whatever I did that day.

Stephen A. Smith (14:49)

How hard is it for you to watch this? I know. Doing TV every day, I don't like to do that too. Much. I really, really don't. To me, tomorrow's the next day. I got to show up. Right. How hard is it for you to look at it and just watch yourself and critique yourself?

Jay Ellis (15:02)

Yeah. Nah, that's not for me, man. That's not really, you know, in a TV show. I think it's interesting because I'm watching to understand the tone of the show I'm watching to make sure I understand that I'm locked into the right. The right show, and then after a while, I stop watching. But, you know, it's not my favorite thing to do. You know what I mean? I feel like I get to go make it and. And that's what I want to do. I don't. I'm not the one. I want to necessarily watch it. I want other people to watch it and experience it. And, you know, I. I hear how people feel about it, you know, and. And that's how I know I'm doing my job. You know, whether you love my characters, whether you hate my characters, as long as you feel one way or another, I' job, right.

Stephen A. Smith (15:41)

The key, the enemy is indifference. That's the death indifference. As long as they love you or hate you, you're good to go. That much we good to go. That much we don't. You know, the Netflix series Running Point, which you star in as well, you know, you played ahead of the fix fictitious LA Waves. I mean, that's a hit on Netflix right now. You look at what you're doing with all of these projects, where do you feel you are in your career at this particular moment in time? And how are you feeling about the. The industry as a whole with this quote, unquote, sensitive times that we live in and so much to be watching out for in terms of characters you portray and how information is absorbed?

Jay Ellis (16:17)

Yeah, I mean, I'll say for the industry, man, I'm feeling optimistic. I'm feeling like, you know, we. We obviously hit some bumps and bruises, you know, from obviously, the pandemic, like everyone else in the world through, you know, the strikes that we went through. And obviously there's been a ton of reshuffling and restructuring, but I think some of those, you know, those things are starting to settle. Obviously, LA had its own, you know, heartbreaking troubles with the fires this year, but I feel like a lot of that's starting to settle a little bit, and the industry, you know, people want to get back to work, man, and. And writers are getting busy again, and writers rooms are opening up and. And films are being, you know, Kind of fast tracked to be made. And so I feel like we're gonna make a roaring comeback and start making a lot of stuff again. And I think, you know, for me in my career and where I'm at, you know, I. I only dreamed of a lot of this man. And then I started putting it up on a vision board at a certain point. And I feel like I've been building these pieces and putting this career together of work that I'm proud of and work that I want to look back and say, I did that, you know what I mean? And be proud of it. And I've been fortunate to do that. I've been fortunate to work with a lot of amazing people, filmmakers, writers, actors, obviously, you know, it's beautiful. I think of it like winning a championship. I never won a championship, you know what I'm saying? But I think of it like next year you start all over again, and whatever happened in the past doesn't matter. So I pick up every single day and just keep doing the work and hopefully the career will keep going.

Stephen A. Smith (17:49)

I'm wondering about the challenge of an artist, particularly one in Hollywood like yourself and others, considering how the industry, according to the reports anyway, has scaled back to some degree since the strike. You know, how much production is actually being put out. There seems like content is king, but it also seems like studios, networks, etc, are spending less money, making less of an investment. I guess I'm asking, are these times harder or is it more of the same? Coming from a perspective such as yourself, based on what we know.

Jay Ellis (18:21)

Yeah, that's a great question, Stephen. You know, I think it is challenging. There's not as many opportunities out there for people. There's not as many. You know, if you're an actor, there's not as many productions going, which means you don't get as many opportunities to go get a job. If you're a writer, there's not as many writers rooms open, which means you don't get an opportunity to get a job. Or when the few rooms do open, they staff so quickly, you don't get an opportunity to get a job. And so, you know, I think it has been a challenge, man. You know, I think about a lot of friends of mine who are below the line workers. You know, you think you're craftsmen, you think your hair and makeup folks, you know, your gaffers, your. Your teamsters, you know, and a lot of folks have been out of work. So it has definitely been a hard time and it's been a trying time. I think on the Creative side, though, you try to look at it as an opportunity to create and you try to look at as an opportunity to say, if I could tell a story that I want to tell, how could I do that? Right? How is that? Do I do that via a scripted podcast? Do I do that via a TV show? Do I do that via a film that I'm writing or I want to direct or a short film? And so I think it's, it's really forcing people or giving people the opportunity rather to like, go be creative and, and think about how you want to give back to this creative community and put something into it. And, and that is, you know, that's how I try to look at it, man. And, and I think a lot of my friends who aren't as busy as they want to be, like, that's how they're trying to look at it as well, is like, how can they go create something for themselves and start a whole new lane for themselves?

Stephen A. Smith (19:54)

Is it challenging when you consider fact? Like, for me, this is my show, I've created this show, et cetera, but you got to go out there and get support, unless you want to finance it yourself. That's not the role of an actor, producer or whatever. That's not a role that folks customarily want to play. Do you find that to be more challenging, more fulfilling, or too challenging to the point where you're like, dammit, I got to do something new that's got some guaranteed funds in the mix? What's your mentality about that, man?

Jay Ellis (20:22)

I love a challenge. So I'm probably the person, you know what I'm saying? Who's gonna go? Who's gonna go? Try to figure it out, right? I'm the person who's gonna go, you know, be like, oh, well, how do you raise money? Or how do you, you know, get this thing made? How do you do a podcast? Excuse me? How do you license a piece of ip? That's, that's me. And, and kind of how my brain works, you know, it is a very daunting thing though, you know, that is not why many of us got into this. Many of us became actors because we just want to tell stories, right? We love the power of storytelling and how we can reach the world and, and it is self indulgent at times. Like, it's no lie. But like, at the end of the day, like, you know, you do love the work and you love the study of people and you get to perform. And so now knowing that you have to add all these different layers you know, I think of it as, you know, putting little things in your toolbox. You know what I mean? And you slowly. You start to become a Swiss army knife. And you start to realize, like, oh, I can write a thing, act in a thing, get my homeboy to direct it, get another friend to produce it. And now we can put it out on YouTube or now we can license it to a streamer. And, you know, it. It's a tough thing, for sure. You know, it's a lot to learn, but I think there's a lot of people out there who. Who want to do it and, you know, are now given the opportunity to do it because there's no other choice, right? And I think people would rather do that before walk away from it because you love it too much. You know what I mean? Like, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Stephen A. Wow. You know what I mean? Like, I just. This is my. This is what I was put on this earth to do, is tell stories and entertain people. So I'm going to find a way to do that by any means necessary.

Stephen A. Smith (22:01)

Before I let you. Get on out of here, man. Speaking of telling stories, tell us the story of the upcoming NBA Finals. Who are you seeing? Who do you see winning?

Jay Ellis (22:10)

Come on, man. Why you do this?

Stephen A. Smith (22:11)

Come on, man. Come on, man. You want to tell stories, right? You want to tell stories? Well, listen, stories can come in a variety of forms. Stories could come with. They could be reality stories, or they could be fantasy. They could be fantasy. You know what I'm saying? You could give a fantasy version. I mean, Draymond Green out there talking about the Golden State warriors going to win the championship. Some people think that's fantasy. A few think that's reality. Others think that LeBron and Luka got a shot. They want to ignore OKC and boy, Boston. I mean, those are fantasies that could become reality. What about you?

Jay Ellis (22:39)

Okay, okay, okay, okay. I think Boston gets there. I think Boston gets there. I think we know that. We see that the west is tough, man. Listen, I mean, you know, this. You do this every single day, man. Six, seven, and eight. Five or five through eight are, like, one game apart. Like, this is crazy, man. Like, it is. It is insane to see this, you know, again. You know, going back to that, you know, you. You brought out who your MVP is. You know, Joker is my mvp. I would love to see Denver get there again. I think that would be a lot of fun.

Stephen A. Smith (23:13)

Don't wish that.

Jay Ellis (23:14)

And then obviously don't wish that.

Stephen A. Smith (23:15)

I feel like I don't feel like being in the mile high city, man. I don't feel like being in that altitude, man. I just don't feel like going through it again, Jay. I just don't. I just don't.

Jay Ellis (23:23)

I know, bro.

Stephen A. Smith (23:23)

You know, my bodyguard losing his breath and all the time. I mean, you know, what's up up.

Jay Ellis (23:28)

When that dude is on the court, you know, it every. Everybody knows it, bro. It's the craziest thing to watch, man. You look up and you. You like, this dude has a triple double in the third quarter, and you don't even know how it happened because it happens. It's so smooth.

Stephen A. Smith (23:39)

Yeah.

Jay Ellis (23:39)

You don't even know. You know what I mean? And then when Jamal Murray is clicking and you know it's Aaron Gordon can catch the ball anywhere, and his bag has gotten better, especially on the dribble, man. Like, you know, they're a really fun team to watch and. And, you know, I believe in okc, but I think they got to go against some dogs to get there. They got to go against some vets to get there. They got to go get some dogs to get there. And that's not to say that they not dogs, but I'd like to see Denver get there, and if it's not Denver, then, you know, I like to see the Lakers get there, man. I'm a hometown boy. I'm a hometown boy.

Stephen A. Smith (24:10)

So you're a hometown boy that ultimately doesn't want to admit that you picking the Boston Celtics to win the championship. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Is that what you're saying? I mean, that's what I interpret. That's my interpretation. I mean, I could be wrong, but that's my interpretation. Whoa.

Jay Ellis (24:23)

Listen, I don't know what happens when the finals come around.

Stephen A. Smith (24:27)

You reserve the right to hold on to that thought, right?

Jay Ellis (24:29)

Yeah, I don't know what happens when the finals come around. You know what I'm saying? But. But, you know, I would love to see Boston play the Nuggets. And if it's not the Nuggets, I'd love to see him play the Lakers.

Stephen A. Smith (24:41)

All right, my man. All the best to you, my brother. Freaky Tales in theaters Friday, April 4th. The running point, by the way. Streaming now on Netflix. And pick up. Did everyone have an imaginary friend or just me? Wherever you buy your books, the brother's a publisher. He's an actor, a storyteller extraordinaire. The one and only Jay Ellis. Appreciate you, my man. Proud of you, man. Keeping up with you.

Jay Ellis (25:02)

Thank you.

Stephen A. Smith (25:02)

We'll catch up soon.

Jay Ellis (25:04)

All right bro. Thank you.

Stephen A. Smith (25:05)

Man 1 Only Jay Ellis in the house right here with Stephen eight at.

Jay Ellis (25:16)

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Stephen A. Smith (25:31)

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Jay Ellis (25:35)

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Stephen A. Smith (25:47)

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Jay Ellis (25:49)

Visit att.com guarantee for details. Hey, Jenice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankowitz.

Stephen A. Smith (25:59)

We're the hosts of Mind the Business.

Jay Ellis (26:01)

Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby.

Stephen A. Smith (26:03)

Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Catch up on seasons one and two and join us for a brand new season of the podcast as we talk to small business owners about how they manage and grow their businesses with the help of platforms like Intuit QuickBooks.

Jay Ellis (26:17)

Listen to mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.