Summary6 min read

Summary of "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast" - Episode 1586: Robert Patrick

Podcast Information:

Title: WTF with Marc Maron Podcast
Host: Marc Maron
Episode: 1586 - Robert Patrick
Release Date: October 28, 2024

In Episode 1586 of the "WTF with Marc Maron Podcast," Marc Maron engages in an in-depth conversation with renowned actor Robert Patrick. Best known for his role as the T-1000 in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," Patrick delves into his multifaceted career, personal struggles, and philosophies on life and acting.

1. Introduction to Robert Patrick

Marc Maron begins the episode by introducing Robert Patrick, highlighting his significant roles in both film and television, including "Teriminator 2," "Sopranos," "Reacher," and "Peacemaker." Patrick also shares his entrepreneurial venture as a co-owner of a Harley Davidson dealership.

Quote: "Robert Patrick is like, he's a Real fucking deal, dude, man." ([00:58])

2. Personal Struggles and Current Worldview

The conversation opens with Robert Patrick expressing his concerns about the current social and political climate. He discusses the rise of fascism, intolerance, and the impact on marginalized communities, emphasizing the importance of maintaining humanity and decency amid chaos.

Quote: "Fascism is good for big business... it's all part of the grift." ([02:45])
Quote: "Marginalized people of one kind or another are at risk for their lives because of the anger out there and the intolerance out there and the violence out there." ([03:30])

3. Maintaining Mental Health in Turbulent Times

Patrick addresses the widespread anxiety and fear people are experiencing, offering advice on coping mechanisms. He emphasizes the necessity of maintaining sanity, avoiding self-destructive behaviors, and holding onto hope despite overwhelming circumstances.

Quote: "Try to maintain your sanity and not... fall into a pit of anxiety and fear and terror." ([02:50])
Quote: "Just don't hurt yourself, for fuck's sake." ([03:45])

4. Creative Process and Overcoming Artistic Challenges

Patrick discusses his creative journey, particularly his recent work on a film where he collaborated closely with Lily Gladstone. He reflects on the inspired approach he adopted after working with Sharon Stone, focusing on trusting himself and embracing openness rather than forcefulness in his performances.

Quote: "I just trust myself, stupid. Don't worry about the fucking audience and getting them." ([15:22])
Quote: "You just have to be open and let it happen." ([15:38])

5. Personal Anecdotes: Life with Charlie the Cat

Shifting to lighter topics, Patrick shares amusing and heartfelt stories about his cat, Charlie. He describes Charlie's mischievous antics and their reciprocal bond, highlighting the simple joys of pet ownership.

Quote: "Charlie likes watching me... as much as I like to watch him playing with the ball." ([19:08])
Quote: "We're both just on the same level, same level shit." ([19:45])

6. Journey to Sobriety and Overcoming Addiction

A significant portion of the episode delves into Patrick's battle with alcoholism. He candidly discusses his early struggles, the turning point that led him to seek help, and the role of spirituality and support systems in his recovery. Patrick credits his acting coach, Stephen Bridgewater, for helping him eliminate insecurities and reconnect with his faith.

Quote: "Stephen Bridgewater... eliminated my insecurities... I reconnected and found my faith again." ([06:34])
Quote: "I'm sober 28 years... the program is really just to fast track to reconnect you with God and spirituality." ([07:38])

7. Acting Career: Breaking Typecasting and Embracing Diverse Roles

Patrick recounts his experiences post-"Terminator 2," addressing how he was typecast and the strategies he employed to diversify his roles. He discusses his transition from film to television, his roles in "Sopranos," "Peacemaker," and upcoming projects like "1923" with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

Quote: "After a year and a half of not getting cast in anything from after T2, I thought... I grew my hair long, I grew a beard and I gained weight... got cast." ([07:50])
Quote: "Working with Stephen Bridgewater... eliminated my insecurities." ([07:08])

8. Insights on Acting Techniques and Coaching

Patrick shares his acting methodologies, emphasizing the importance of relaxation, being present in the moment, and connecting with fellow actors. He explains how his acting coach taught him to use his eyes effectively and maintain a natural demeanor to engage the audience authentically.

Quote: "Relaxation of your face, you want to bring the audience in with your eyes." ([06:50])
Quote: "Every scene's a one act play... string those together and find the truth as fast as I can." ([08:15])

9. Entrepreneurial Ventures: Harley Davidson Dealership

Beyond acting, Patrick discusses his passion for motorcycles and his role as a co-owner of the Harley Davidson dealership in Santa Clarita. He highlights the "Love Ride" event, a significant motorcycle fundraising initiative, and details his love for riding as a meditative practice.

Quote: "Love Ride is the largest single day motorcycle fundraising event in the world... we've raised over $25 million." ([81:21])
Quote: "I ride all over the country... it's very meditative." ([82:30])

10. Final Reflections and Future Projects

In the concluding segments, Patrick reflects on his journey, the importance of perseverance, and his gratitude towards mentors and supporters. He also teases upcoming projects, including his roles in high-profile TV series and films.

Quote: "I'm still acting. I want to work, and I got to make money... I got to support my family." ([69:22])
Quote: "I'm John Cena's father... in DC Studios world." ([79:15])

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

Robert Patrick: "Fascism is good for big business... it's all part of the grift." ([02:45])
Robert Patrick: "Try to maintain your sanity and not... fall into a pit of anxiety and fear and terror." ([02:50])
Robert Patrick: "Stephen Bridgewater... eliminated my insecurities... I reconnected and found my faith again." ([06:34])
Robert Patrick: "Relaxation of your face, you want to bring the audience in with your eyes." ([06:50])
Robert Patrick: "Love Ride is the largest single day motorcycle fundraising event in the world... we've raised over $25 million." ([81:21])
Robert Patrick: "I'm John Cena's father... in DC Studios world." ([79:15])

Key Takeaways

Resilience Amidst Chaos: Robert Patrick emphasizes the importance of maintaining mental health and humanity in turbulent times, advocating for personal sanity over succumbing to societal pressures.
Overcoming Personal Struggles: Patrick's candid discussion about his battle with alcoholism underscores the significance of support systems and spirituality in overcoming addiction.
Evolving Acting Career: Breaking away from typecasting, Patrick showcases the importance of versatility and continuous self-improvement in sustaining a dynamic acting career.
Entrepreneurial Passion: His dedication to the Harley Davidson dealership illustrates how personal passions can intertwine with professional ventures, offering avenues for community engagement and personal fulfillment.
Acting Techniques: Insights into his acting methodologies reveal the balance between technical skills and emotional authenticity, highlighting the essence of genuine performance.

Conclusion

Episode 1586 of "WTF with Marc Maron" provides a comprehensive look into Robert Patrick's life beyond his on-screen personas. From battling personal demons to establishing a successful business, Patrick's journey is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the relentless pursuit of one's passions. His reflections offer valuable lessons on coping with societal upheavals, the transformative power of mentorship, and the delicate balance between personal and professional life.

For those interested in understanding the depths of Robert Patrick's experiences and philosophies, this episode serves as an insightful and inspiring narrative.

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Transcript1,091 lines

[00:01]
Marc Maron
By now, you've heard about Airbnb and how you can make some extra money while you're away. But did you also know you can host on Airbnb and have someone else take care of all the details for you? If you're going away for a long trip, an Airbnb co host can handle all the hosting duties. These are high quality local co hosts who create the listing for you, manage your reservations, and send messages to your guests. And you'll still make some cash while you're away. It's easier than ever. Find a co host@airbnb.com host lock the gate. All right, let's do this. How are you? What the fuckers? What the Buddies? What the Nicks? What's happening? I'm Mark Marin. This is my podcast. Wtf? Welcome to it. One of the classics. It's one of the classics. That's where we are now, culturally. Wtf? Oh, that one's a classic. It's one of the originals. Yeah. Still audio, still doing it old school. What's going on? So, look, Robert Patrick is on the show. You know Robert Patrick from his role in Terminator 2 as the bad Terminator, but he's been in dozens of movies and TV shows, including his current roles on Reacher and the Peacemaker and an amazing turn in the Sopranos. I thought. And look, I, you know, we all know this guy is a sort of, you know, heavy in the movies. And the reason he's on the show is I ran into him at LAX and we started talking, and he knew me and I knew him, and he was excited to meet me, and I was excited to meet him. He told me, gave me a card for. He's a he. He's part owner of a Harley dealership. And, you know, I thought, like, well, this guy would be interesting. So he's on the show today. How you doing? You holding up, man? It's going to be a rough week and then maybe a rough rest of time, right? One outcome horrendous. The fucking worst. How are we going to deal? The other outcome, manageable. And at least a little wiggle room to try to still maintain humanity at a level of tolerance and decency. But only half of us, the people I'm talking to here, I mean, I know who you are. You know who you need to vote for. Vote for Kamala. I mean, what the fuck is the question? I mean, I don't know. What. What do you. What can I tell you to do? I'm getting texts from people like, do you have any ideas on how to handle this. Well, it's out of your hands. It's out of your control. I would say try to maintain your sanity and not, you know, fall into a fucking pit of anxiety and fear and terror and turn it in on yourself and, you know, decide that you don't know if you can handle it or manage it or just kind of like preemptively despair or do something dramatic, use it as an excuse to relapse or to, you know, suicide yourself because you've turned this in all on yourself because of your afraid. Look at you. We're all afraid, at least half of us. And some people are very at risk. Marginalized people of one kind or another are at risk for their lives because of the anger out there and the intolerance out there and the violence out there. There are many people, LGBTQ community, the immigrant population. With the amount of propaganda put out by the tech oligarchs and their minions in the new media platforms, what is happening has never been so in this country, so shameless and so apparent. Fascism is good for big business. And the minions who have now, you know, kind of created their own show business industrial complex and are toeing the line for these fucking fascists and humanizing them and normalizing them, you know, they're of it, but they're, it's all part of the grift. When there's an autocrat, you want to suck up to them so you can be, you know, get in the money line. You know, there are decent, tolerant, empathetic people out there. There's more of them than the other if they haven't crumbled into themselves. I'm hoping for the best or at least the better. I guess the only thing you can do is try to convince the people that, you know, who are making a statement by not voting or voting for Jill Stein or whoever, that it's just, I don't know, is it time for those kind of personal statements? I know I going to get flack from full on lefties who are like, the two party system, it's all corrupt. What about Israel? What about corporate rule? What about. I know, I know, I know, I understand all that and you can keep fighting the good fight, but, and I said this the last time, you know, if fascism takes hold, that fight becomes a very different fight and your sort of, you know, ideological righteousness even has less of a voice, but maybe you can carve out a little place for yourself and live with yourself. But look, I don't know what to tell the people that are Panicking and panicking at me because, you know, I'm in the middle of my own panic. I voted. I sent it in. I did my bit. I've supported publicly who I support. You know who it is. I've said it before. Vote for Kamala. It's not a big. It's not a big leap. I don't know what undecided means, really. You know, you vote for a blustering, full on, shameless, proud fascist, or you vote for somebody who has at least the cultural and hopefully the political interests of what the country really looks like in place. Billions of people have had to adapt to this kind of political shift in their countries, in this planet. Billions. The big issue becomes, when you have a world run by a handful of autocratic fuckheads who are in cahoots with each other, what happens to Europe? I don't know. What happens to the Middle East? I don't know. But if the idea is not some sort of global alliance for fighting against fascism, and it becomes a global alliance of fascistic and autocratic leaders, I don't know whether everyone does, and I don't know what culture looks like. But we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. Just don't hurt yourself, for fuck's sake. Yeah, I'm back at it this week. Got two more weeks on this movie. Last week was kind of amazing. I worked with Lily Gladstone last Thursday and Friday, just me and her, one on one. She plays my therapist. And it was. It was a. It was a high point. It was a high point in the life of my creative life and my life in general. I love Lily. We had a nice time, and I think we did good work. But onward. Onward we go. It's not over yet. Jesus, I'm. Yeah, I don't want to, you know, in the midst of all this chaos and fear. I don't want to say that, like, I think I'm doing my best work and I might even be enjoying myself. And I'm telling you, that experience I had with Sharon Stone last week has changed my approach to creativity, to comedy, to how I enter into the moment of how I take the stage. It's so rare that you have some sort of creative breakthrough, personal breakthrough when you're old. And it was. It's just mind blowing. And I applied it the other night at Dynasty. Just sort of. How can I explain it? Look, I know I'm a good comic. I've been doing it a long time. But there is part of the job of comic where, you know, it's sort of when you take the stage, it's sort of like, I gotta get them. I gotta, you know, I gotta, you know, go in strong. I gotta use this bit and that bit. But if you work improvisationally, like I do, to sort of build your stuff, you know, sometimes I'll start riffing only because I'm so tired of my other stuff and I gotta get something new out and, you know, I just start to kind of go for it and see what happens. But then something happened. After kind of breaking myself open with Sharon Stone in that moment on that. In that scene, like when I go on stage now, it's sort of like, just trust yourself, stupid. Don't worry about the fucking audience and getting them. I mean, I'm operating at a different frequency than most comics. I'm just, you know, I. I just have a different presence. And it's sort of like. You don't have to apologize for that or overcompensate for it. Just trust yourself. I mean, Jesus Christ, you must be funny. Come on, Mark, just go up there and open yourself up and just let it happen. Be funny. And the freedom of mind will come if you don't worry about the audience judging you. Yeah, you would think I would have nailed that already. And I kind of do, but it's usually with a fury, not with a sort of openness. So that's kind of happening. And I, you know, I have to thank Sharon Stone again for it. Quick observation. I had an interesting cat observation. So, look, I. You know, I've got this cat who's an asshole. Charlie. He's a good cat, and, you know, I love him, but he's like a classic asshole. He's not a bad cat. He just does everything that cats can do to, you know, annoy you and make them amazing. It's that weird line. It's like, could you be just a little less cat in every way breaking shit? Yeah, he's just one of these, you know, people come over, he's like, he's a great cat. I'm like, yeah, you're here. When friends come. When people come over, he's like, Mr. Charm. You know, when they leave, you know, I gotta pull them off the fucking ceiling or the drapes or, you know, from under something, or stop him from eating plastic or knocking cans over and glasses over. And not coming in from the catio because he thinks it's fun. It's just. I love it. I love watching Charlie play with a little scrunchie ball. Yeah, those little scrunchies like, and you throw it and he'll fetch it, man. And I just, you know, you just love watching a cat go crazy with a scrunchie ball. I do. I don't know what you like watching your cat do. I like to own it and fetching it and watching him play with the ball. But within like eight minutes, the ball is always going to end up under the stove. And it doesn't matter what part of the house it's in, somehow or another he'll get it under the stove. And so like I'm down there yesterday, you know, he got it under the stove and I got the broom out. So I'm using the whole broom handle and the light on my phone to kind of, kind of maneuver this ball out from under the stove. And he's sitting there just watching the whole thing and you know, I got it out from under the stove and I look at Charlie and I had this moment where I'm like, oh my God, he likes watching me play with the ball as much as I like to watch him playing with the ball. There's a reciprocity there. This isn't a one sided thing. I'm not getting the ball for Charlie. Charlie likes watching me fucking get the ball out from under the stove. See that? Same level shit. Same level shit. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. And one thing we know about Squarespace, after using them to power our website for more than a decade, is that they never stop improving things. When you sign up for Squarespace, you'll always get the best platform to create your online presence. That hasn't changed, but now Squarespace is using cutting edge AI technology to make building your site even easier with better results. Design intelligence from Squarespace helps you design a more personalized website tailored to your unique needs. This goes way beyond the type of design templates that were available in the past. There are also innovations when it comes to getting you paid. Squarespace Payments is the easiest way to manage your payments in one place. Get started in just a few clicks and start receiving payments right away while giving your customers more ways to pay. And everything else we've always told you about is still there for you. To take advantage of the Squarespace video studio, email campaign, Squarespace analytics and more, go to squarespace.com WTF for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code WTF to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com WTF offer code WTF Robert Patrick is like, he's a Real fucking deal, dude, man. He didn't really have anything to plug here, so we just told him we'd let everyone know he's the co owner of Harley Davidson of Santa Clarita. If you're gonna buy a motorcycle, go get one from Robert. But this was kind of a great conversation. This is me talking to Robert Patrick. Life is busy, people. And if you're like me, no matter how busy you get, you've got to get your fitness in. Peloton has a variety of challenging classes and programs that fit into your schedule. Whether you're a new parent or traveling for the holiday or training for something big or just busy like everyone else. From four week strength building classes to running, cycling, and everything in between, Peloton can adapt to any goal and need during your busiest times. Find your push, find your power with peloton@onepeleton.com.
[14:12]
Robert Patrick
Let'S talk about hair. I got to figure out what to do with my. I want to grow it long again, but it just doesn't seem to be. Just doesn't seem to be the thing. The thing anymore. What, what happened?
[14:24]
Marc Maron
How long you want to grow it?
[14:25]
Robert Patrick
You know, I used to have it down to here. I mean.
[14:28]
Marc Maron
Well, I mean, I guess there's two styles of biker. Yeah, it depends which one you want to be.
[14:31]
Robert Patrick
Which one do I want to. Exactly. Exactly.
[14:34]
Marc Maron
What do you want to look like, man? Which type of menace are you trying to exude?
[14:41]
Robert Patrick
I'm a good guy on a motorcycle. I'm in retail, baby. I sell Harleys, man.
[14:47]
Marc Maron
I had a buddy who sold Harleys. You know Dean Del Rey?
[14:51]
Robert Patrick
I do know that name.
[14:52]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[14:53]
Marc Maron
Years ago he used to sell Harley. He's a comic, but he knows the bikes. I don't know where he sold them, but it was a while back. But he's a. He used to be a bike guy and then he. He was actually on the way to my old house and he, you know, somebody, you know, ran him off the. On, someone like hit him on the freeway and he went down and just like it kind it him up, man. He didn't break anything. He's lucky. But he. He got pretty ripped up and that was it. Turned it in.
[15:21]
Robert Patrick
That's sad.
[15:22]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[15:23]
Marc Maron
Sad. What, that he's not riding anymore? That.
[15:25]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, sad. It's not riding anymore. Hey, you gotta. You gotta get back on the horse.
[15:30]
Marc Maron
Do you?
[15:31]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, I mean, I've gone down. I went down on the 170, smashed my hand up pretty bad. It's a funny story.
[15:38]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[15:38]
Marc Maron
What happened?
[15:39]
Robert Patrick
Well, I Don't know. Do I want to save this? Are we rolling? Is this it? Is this how it happens?
[15:45]
Marc Maron
Yeah, it's just like that just eases in.
[15:47]
Robert Patrick
I need to know. I need to. You know, I need to. I need to switch up.
[15:50]
Marc Maron
You got to get into character.
[15:51]
Robert Patrick
No, I just want to make sure I know what I say at all times. I'm very cautious always. I want to think about. I don't know what. I don't know if it's a new thing anymore. Yeah, I. You know, I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm at that point, you know, I'm 65. I'll be 66 in about 20 days.
[16:14]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[16:15]
Robert Patrick
And, you know, everything you think and your philosophies and what you think you're doing and all that kind of shit changes up and.
[16:22]
Marc Maron
It does, right?
[16:22]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[16:23]
Marc Maron
I mean, like, I just turned 61, you punk. I know. A few years behind you. Yeah, but we're. We're in the same zone, you know, we.
[16:30]
Robert Patrick
We know some of the same people.
[16:32]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah?
[16:32]
Marc Maron
Like who?
[16:33]
Robert Patrick
Alejandro Escavito.
[16:34]
Marc Maron
Oh, yeah, man. I love that guy.
[16:36]
Robert Patrick
You know, I sang with him twice.
[16:37]
Marc Maron
Oh, it's the best. He let me play with him up in Vancouver.
[16:40]
Robert Patrick
No.
[16:41]
Marc Maron
Yeah, we did.
[16:42]
Robert Patrick
Just recently.
[16:42]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[16:43]
Marc Maron
When I was up there shooting that show, he let me sit in with the guys, let me play his heavy old 73 Les Paul, and we did Beast of Burden and Like a Hurricane. It was great.
[16:53]
Robert Patrick
Ah, that's so cool.
[16:54]
Marc Maron
How'd you know him?
[16:55]
Robert Patrick
I envy you. How do I know him? Well, it's a great story. Nancy Rankin, his. His wife.
[17:02]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[17:02]
Robert Patrick
Was my hair girl on Dust Till dawn that I was doing in Austin, Texas.
[17:08]
Marc Maron
Okay.
[17:09]
Robert Patrick
And I came into the hair trailer, and I said, hey, I just saw this fantastic performer.
[17:15]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[17:15]
Robert Patrick
At the Moody, doing something with Rocky Erickson. Oh, yeah, you know him?
[17:23]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, sure.
[17:24]
Robert Patrick
And he. Rest his soul. And I was just going off on, you know, Alejandro.
[17:30]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[17:30]
Robert Patrick
And she goes, you. You like Alejandro? And I go, yeah, he's great. You know, he's a great songwriter.
[17:36]
Marc Maron
Yeah, I totally.
[17:37]
Robert Patrick
She says, that's my fiance. This is before they got married. And through that. Through that, through Nancy and getting to know Alejandro, he did a Leonard Cohen kind of. I don't want to say retrospective. I don't know if that's correct, but he did a night of, like, Leonard Cohen songs and some of his songs, and he asked me to come down and do, like, Leonard Cohen three songs.
[18:04]
Marc Maron
Oh, yeah.
[18:04]
Robert Patrick
And I was studying. I immediately went and studied with a vocal Coach, I had, like, three months to find out if I've seen. Yeah.
[18:11]
Marc Maron
Could you sing?
[18:12]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, I'm a. I'm a G. Yeah. And I found a. I found a range.
[18:19]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[18:20]
Robert Patrick
And I showed up. I had the three songs, of course. He gave me a teleprompter. You know, he said, we'll have the words there. So, yeah, freak. Freak the out.
[18:27]
Marc Maron
Right?
[18:28]
Robert Patrick
And I took the stage and with a chorus and did three Leonard Cohen songs. And I showed up, I said, hey, man, I can sing these.
[18:34]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[18:35]
Robert Patrick
And he went. And we did one sound check, and I did the show a couple years later, maybe two or so. He said, hey, I want you to come back to the Moody, and do you want to do that song you released with your brother? I don't know if you know who my brother is.
[18:51]
Marc Maron
From Filter.
[18:52]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. Richard Patrick had written a song, a needle drop, for a movie I produced called oh, Lord.
[19:01]
Unnamed Guest
Okay.
[19:02]
Robert Patrick
And so Alejandro invited me to come sing that with his band.
[19:06]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[19:07]
Robert Patrick
And I had one soundtrack, one sound check, and then did it on stage at the Moody. And I gotta tell you, the whole experience from an actor's point of view, Mark, you're a multi dimensional entertainer, comedian, guitarist, actor. You know, I'm just an actor.
[19:23]
Marc Maron
Right.
[19:23]
Robert Patrick
So, I mean, I had invited Jewel. She was there with. I love her.
[19:29]
Marc Maron
Oh, my God. How do you know her?
[19:31]
Robert Patrick
I met her on my way to Austin, Texas. We're getting an espresso somewhere, and we kind of noticed that we both knew who each other was. Was. So we sat together and had some coffee.
[19:40]
Marc Maron
Oh, God. I interviewed her. She's the best.
[19:42]
Robert Patrick
She's a wonderful, wonderful lady. What a spirit. I connected with her, and I think she had a boyfriend that was a quarterback, I want to say, like Charlie Whitehorse or something like that. Something like that.
[19:53]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[19:53]
Robert Patrick
But I invited them to the show, so she came to the show.
[19:56]
Unnamed Guest
All right.
[19:56]
Marc Maron
And so you nervous as dude?
[19:59]
Robert Patrick
Getting back to it? Yeah. You go, you know, you, you, you. You approach. I mean, I rehearsed at home.
[20:04]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[20:05]
Robert Patrick
It's kind of funny how I did that. I set up a PA system in my living room, played the song, sang with the song, and that's how I rehearsed. I remember my son was still living with us at the time, and he would come out and watch me and kind of give me some tips because he's a singer.
[20:18]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[20:19]
Robert Patrick
And. And then I just let it rip. My brother went with me and my backup group. My. My backup singer went with me. It's. We've got a very Kind of a background vocalist where it's. It's kind of like Gimme Shelter, you know, kind of.
[20:31]
Marc Maron
Oh, yeah, the soul.
[20:33]
Robert Patrick
She just ripped it. And we had to add all that kind of stu. I can't get to certain. You know, I've got a range, but it's not a broad range.
[20:41]
Marc Maron
I tell you, man, there. For me, there was nothing more frightening than singing in public. Nothing like, you know, I do comedy, you know, for my whole life. And I've been playing guitar my whole life. And then I just started to say, fuck it. I gotta overcome whatever this fear is because I love doing it. But, boy, when. When you start singing, it's just like it's some power. Another. Nothing feels more vulnerable than. Than that to me.
[21:03]
Robert Patrick
Oh, I know.
[21:04]
Marc Maron
And I don't know if it's a risk of failure or because your voice, you have no control over it being such a pure representation of you. But, boy, the, The. The idea of singing badly in front of people, I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
[21:19]
Robert Patrick
That's a little extreme.
[21:20]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[21:21]
Robert Patrick
But I. I understand you. It, It. I. You just gotta. It's just like acting. Sooner or later, you gotta let the balls drop onto the stage, man. You gotta know.
[21:30]
Marc Maron
I know you gotta.
[21:31]
Robert Patrick
You gotta. You. And I know you know, because I know you do that.
[21:34]
Marc Maron
I can't stop my balls from dropping almost anywhere.
[21:36]
Robert Patrick
Well, yeah, you gotta hold them up while you're taking them anyway. Yeah, but I did and I loved it. And I have to tell you, I mean, I'm a singer. You are. I'm fucking. I love doing it. So I've disappointed myself that I haven't. There was a time when I was really trying to figure out if I was going to try to record more songs and do some more stuff. But it's all about money. And then that involves what I got to do for my career and the other things I've got, you know, other things that I've got to take care of. My business. I got my Harley Davidson business. I've got all these things that I'm focused on. And it's like, you can't just. I just haven't had time to focus.
[22:16]
Marc Maron
Yeah, but I mean, like, for me, like, I used to do a bit about it. Like, I never wanted to do professional music. So now my guitars, they're a hobby that I enjoy doing. They're not broken dream vessels. They don't represent some sort of failure or something. That didn't happen. So I keep it pretty pure. Like, I record things on here. But I would never, you know, I don't know, like, it'd be fun. I'd have been in a studio with dudes before and that's fun. But I would never think of it as a money making venture. It would just ruin it.
[22:44]
Robert Patrick
Well, I don't think I ever got to the point where I was thinking it was a money making adventure. I got to, I was worried it was going to cost me money.
[22:54]
Marc Maron
Oh, you were going to, right?
[22:55]
Robert Patrick
It was, I was end up going to. It was just going to be money. I'm flushing down the toilet for studio.
[23:00]
Marc Maron
Time, paying the other guys.
[23:02]
Robert Patrick
That's, that's where my.
[23:03]
Marc Maron
Oh, I see.
[23:04]
Robert Patrick
But I did a couple other very small live performances with some other bands and I must say, I really got into it. That's really, really enjoyed.
[23:12]
Marc Maron
Yeah, that's where, that's where it really happens, you know, but you're, you're, you're confident enough. You walk off stage and you think like, I did it.
[23:21]
Robert Patrick
I fucking nailed it. I was the great. You know, I, I approached it, Mark, like, yeah, I'm the greatest rock and roll star of all time.
[23:28]
Marc Maron
I missed my calling.
[23:29]
Robert Patrick
I, I told myself that before I took stage. I see. It's the same with acting. You, you know, you, you, your mind is so powerful. You can convince yourself of that.
[23:39]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[23:39]
Robert Patrick
And you can actually get in there and get into character.
[23:42]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[23:43]
Robert Patrick
And, and go out and do it.
[23:45]
Marc Maron
That's how you prepare.
[23:46]
Robert Patrick
Well, that's, that's a little more difficult than that. But that's one of the things you do. I think in life you gotta believe you got. If you, if you can't believe it, who's gonna believe it?
[23:57]
Marc Maron
Right?
[23:57]
Robert Patrick
I mean, you have to get up and address people, do public speaking, stuff like that. Well, you just have to kind of talk yourself into, I'm good at it. If you don't think you're good at it, then you're not gonna be good at it.
[24:07]
Marc Maron
Well, I also. Well, my thing is I like to bring the audience in on the fact that I don't think I'm very good at it.
[24:12]
Robert Patrick
Well, that's part of your.
[24:13]
Marc Maron
Yeah, it's part of it. But, but it's honest.
[24:17]
Robert Patrick
It's true. I get you. I get you.
[24:20]
Marc Maron
Then we're starting at the, we're starting at ground level. Anything up from here is going to be good. Look, the guy, he's pulling it off.
[24:26]
Robert Patrick
Well, there's more than I expected. He's got more going on than I thought he had. Yeah, yeah.
[24:33]
Marc Maron
Look at that.
[24:33]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[24:33]
Marc Maron
He really set us up for disappointment at the beginning, but wow, what a nice surprise.
[24:37]
Robert Patrick
Low expectations were set. Yeah, he overcame them all.
[24:41]
Marc Maron
Well, a hero's journey.
[24:44]
Robert Patrick
I've seen you on stage.
[24:45]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[24:45]
Robert Patrick
You're very funny.
[24:46]
Marc Maron
Oh, thank you.
[24:46]
Robert Patrick
I haven't been there in person. I've seen you on tv.
[24:48]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[24:50]
Marc Maron
Well, the acting thing's all. It's all. I still feel like it's relatively new for me and like, I really make. I had Pacino in here the other night, you know, and Name dropper. Sure I am.
[25:00]
Robert Patrick
Get that for you.
[25:01]
Marc Maron
Yeah, I'll take it. There's a few other ones down there.
[25:05]
Robert Patrick
I'm very well aware of who have sat in this chair.
[25:08]
Marc Maron
Well, I mean, for me, though, because I'm acting, you know, I want to glean something because I've always thought there was some, you know, this mystery to it, you know, in the sense that, like, there's a way to do it. Right. And as I talk to actors over time, it's just like you're going to figure out whatever way you got to do, you know, there's no one way and there's no. You know. And also, I think a lot of it is just natural. I think like 80% is. You just have a natural ability to, you know, focus in, turn off the rest and do it, and listen and engage. But there are tricks. Like, I'm. I'm very hard on myself. You.
[25:45]
Robert Patrick
I'm surprised at how successful I am, to be honest with you. I had those expert low expectations, but it was something I wanted to do, you know. But I sit back and watch my work and I think, you know, I'll watch something like once.
[26:00]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[26:01]
Robert Patrick
There's movies I haven't seen, so. Yeah. That I haven't seen that I haven't looked at. Not because I was. I just don't really have an interest.
[26:08]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[26:08]
Robert Patrick
I enjoy the moment.
[26:10]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[26:10]
Robert Patrick
I enjoy doing it.
[26:11]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[26:12]
Robert Patrick
Have a lot of fun with it. There's a lot of technique that I've learned over the years.
[26:15]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[26:17]
Robert Patrick
You know, I've been doing it 40 years.
[26:19]
Marc Maron
I know, it's crazy, right?
[26:20]
Robert Patrick
And I just went out to Hollywood and got started with Roger Corman. I started. It was trial by fire, but what was it?
[26:26]
Marc Maron
But where'd you grow up?
[26:27]
Robert Patrick
I grew up in Atlanta. Boston. Atlanta. Dayton, Ohio. Detroit, Michigan. Cleveland.
[26:34]
Marc Maron
What the fuck is that about?
[26:35]
Robert Patrick
What the fuck? Yeah, it's. It's. My dad was 24 when he had me started at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Doing what he was finance guy. Oh, yeah, he was finance. He went to Virginia Tech, quit his job there. No, wait, we went to Boston. He got his master's from mit. We went back to Atlanta. You smart guy, rubbed off on me too. He went to. He went to Atlanta. Then when we. Then he quit, he left Lockheed, went into the banking. Banking industry, yeah, that was in Dayton, Ohio. Winners Bank. Then he went to Detroit. He was at bank of the Commonwealth, which was the bank that was bought by King Fatty.
[27:15]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[27:15]
Marc Maron
Oh, I kind of remember.
[27:16]
Robert Patrick
Remember that in there? The first bank popped by the Saudis.
[27:19]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[27:20]
Robert Patrick
And my dad, I, I don't think he realized what he was getting involved with in Detroit. Yeah, because there was a lot of.
[27:26]
Marc Maron
Yeah, sure.
[27:27]
Unnamed Guest
He.
[27:28]
Robert Patrick
And he kind of like went, oh, I made a mistake. I got five kids. We got to get out of here.
[27:33]
Marc Maron
Five.
[27:33]
Robert Patrick
And he moved to Cleveland on the run. On the run. Moved to Cleveland, Got. Got a gig with a key bank there. And I stayed in Detroit and finished my senior year of high school there.
[27:44]
Marc Maron
It's so funny the way you're setting that story up. I was waiting for the lost everything part.
[27:48]
Robert Patrick
No, he didn't. He didn't. He didn't lose everything. He did. Oh, he did okay. He did okay. He did retire early at an awkward age, I think. 58 years old.
[27:57]
Marc Maron
That's not bad.
[27:58]
Robert Patrick
58 to take a golden parachute retirement. Six figure deal.
[28:03]
Marc Maron
Did he have a good time?
[28:04]
Robert Patrick
He played a lot of golf.
[28:06]
Marc Maron
Well, I mean that's what they do, some of them. You play golf?
[28:09]
Robert Patrick
No, I can't stand golf. What a waste of. I ride motorcycles, dude. That's all I do.
[28:16]
Marc Maron
I know. I thought maybe you had this other side, the secret side, the golf playing side.
[28:21]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, you know, there's a lot of my friends do play.
[28:23]
Marc Maron
I know. I just did three months on a golf show. I know nothing about it.
[28:26]
Robert Patrick
Are you, are you a left hander or right handed?
[28:29]
Marc Maron
I'm right handed, but I mean I had to play like a retired caddy.
[28:33]
Robert Patrick
Oh, you did?
[28:33]
Marc Maron
Yeah, but I didn't have to. Like I told.
[28:35]
Robert Patrick
See, I could see you doing that.
[28:36]
Marc Maron
Sure.
[28:36]
Robert Patrick
There's. I. I'm looking at you right now. There's so many ways I could cast you and I don't know you that.
[28:41]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[28:41]
Robert Patrick
I met you in the American Airlines.
[28:43]
Marc Maron
I know.
[28:43]
Robert Patrick
Where the. Were you going? You were going to do a comedy show.
[28:46]
Marc Maron
Yeah, probably.
[28:47]
Robert Patrick
I was going to go sign autographs, do a personal.
[28:49]
Marc Maron
At a con.
[28:50]
Robert Patrick
Doing a con man. You ever done a con?
[28:52]
Marc Maron
No, I'm not, I'm not popular. With the nerds.
[28:55]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. It's one of my saving graces. I am popular with the nerds.
[28:59]
Marc Maron
The nerds like you because you're the bad guy.
[29:01]
Robert Patrick
Well, you know, when you do one really substantial special effects science fiction movie.
[29:06]
Marc Maron
And you're in for life.
[29:08]
Robert Patrick
You're in for life.
[29:08]
Marc Maron
You're making a little cash on each signature.
[29:12]
Robert Patrick
It's. To me, it's like being on tour.
[29:14]
Marc Maron
Yeah, of course.
[29:16]
Robert Patrick
It's like, hey, I can't play songs for you, but I consider and be a nice guy for you.
[29:20]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[29:21]
Marc Maron
So wait, now, let me put this together. How many? You're the oldest or in the middle. Where are you?
[29:25]
Robert Patrick
I'm the oldest.
[29:26]
Marc Maron
Really?
[29:26]
Robert Patrick
I'm. You're trying to figure something out here, on me.
[29:28]
Marc Maron
No, I'm just trying to relate.
[29:30]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, okay.
[29:30]
Marc Maron
I'm just trying to relate.
[29:31]
Robert Patrick
Where are you in the pecking order?
[29:33]
Marc Maron
Just me and my brother. My little brother. My poor little brother.
[29:36]
Robert Patrick
He's. Okay. So what does he do?
[29:38]
Marc Maron
He's. It's always vague, but it's sales of some kind. Nothing dubious. But he explains to me when he gets a job what he's doing, and I'm like, I lost you. I mean, it's a tech thing, but what are you selling? He was in franchise food for a while, and he's kind of, you know, kicked around big ideas, but he's all right. Yeah, but I was. You know, I was a lot. So he kind of was. Came up behind me, and I sucked a lot of the attention out of the air. He was a tennis guy. He was a tennis pro when he was a kid.
[30:07]
Robert Patrick
Were you an athlete?
[30:09]
Marc Maron
Not really. I think I'm built for it. I can do it. I exercise now, but as a. I don't like. I don't like a competition that isn't mental or emotional.
[30:20]
Robert Patrick
I get it.
[30:21]
Marc Maron
I wish I knew. I wish I'd learned about team sports. I think it teaches you how to lose with a little dignity.
[30:27]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, I did a lot of team sports growing up.
[30:29]
Unnamed Guest
What?
[30:29]
Robert Patrick
Like what? I was a football player. Baseball. I wrestled for a while.
[30:34]
Marc Maron
You wrestle?
[30:34]
Robert Patrick
I was undefeated wrestler all the way up to junior high. And then I. I moved into. When I moved to. When I moved to Detroit, there was a wrestler there that had never lost. His name was Mark Chelli. Went on to. One of the greatest wrestlers in the real wrestling world.
[30:48]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[30:51]
Robert Patrick
And Mark Chella.
[30:52]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[30:52]
Robert Patrick
So that was the end of my career there. But I did. I. I didn't even. I didn't even attempt. I just sized him up, went oh, this guy hasn't lost ever. No, he's like, you know, that was.
[31:02]
Marc Maron
The end of your career.
[31:03]
Robert Patrick
He was a superstar. Well, I still had baseball and football.
[31:05]
Marc Maron
Sure.
[31:06]
Robert Patrick
And so during the winter months in Detroit, I worked as a maintenance guy for a little shopping center, change light bulbs, shovels snow, and had a girlfriend, very heavy, all the way through high school and you know, that kind of thing. But I love football and baseball, you know. Yeah. When I was growing up. Look, I'm from. I was born in 1958.
[31:22]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, sure.
[31:23]
Robert Patrick
You're 61. So you were 63.
[31:25]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[31:26]
Robert Patrick
You know, you had your baseball and you had your football.
[31:29]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[31:30]
Robert Patrick
And there was some basketball involved.
[31:31]
Marc Maron
Did your dad like it too?
[31:34]
Robert Patrick
I, I think my father, yeah. He loves sports. He was not. He was asthmatic.
[31:39]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[31:39]
Robert Patrick
And my father's father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army. He fought in World War I, World War II and Korea. Bronze star.
[31:48]
Unnamed Guest
Wow.
[31:48]
Robert Patrick
And was still active duty at Fort Bragg in North Carolina when he. When he passed away from cancer.
[31:52]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[31:54]
Robert Patrick
At my age of 65. And I think my dad, Asmatic wasn't a big athlete growing up, but he liked. He was a trumpet player. He was a trumpet player. He loved music and he was a really good trumpet player. I think he did that to help him with the asthma.
[32:10]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[32:11]
Robert Patrick
But he was a terrible golfer. But he loved it.
[32:14]
Marc Maron
Well, you know, here's what I realized about golf is that like, not unlike fucking drugs, it's like if you nail that ball once, if you hit it, if you connect and you do that thing and you watch it, that rush of that one time, you'll chase it for the rest of your fucking life.
[32:29]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, yeah.
[32:30]
Marc Maron
And you might get it kinda, but I don't think you hit it that much. But if you get that one taste and you've got the personality. Life.
[32:40]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, I can see that being addiction.
[32:42]
Marc Maron
Totally.
[32:43]
Robert Patrick
I was good when I lived in Georgia, I played golf left handed. My childhood friend of mine, Kenny Andrews, went on to be a pro golfer.
[32:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[32:52]
Robert Patrick
And he was a buddy I played baseball with. His father was a all American baseball player at the University of Georgia. Anyway, he was a fantastic athlete. He went on to be a tour pro. Ken Andrews.
[33:01]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[33:02]
Robert Patrick
And I gave it up somewhere in junior high and I think because it was baseball, football, and I was a maintenance guy.
[33:09]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[33:09]
Marc Maron
Well, what'd you learn that, what, I mean, what do you take with you with the life lessons of, you know, sports dreams of a kid and playing that much and being that dedicated to it?
[33:19]
Robert Patrick
Well, you Know, I understand kids that are that dedicated to it. There's a lot of team, you know, expectations put on you to perform in. It relates to being in an ensemble in the movie. Yeah, you understand that. You understand, you know, how an orchestra works. You know, like, that's your moment, and you better be ready.
[33:37]
Unnamed Guest
You know, that kind of thing.
[33:38]
Robert Patrick
So the willingness to be able to perform, the ability to perform on demand when it's expected of you. Yeah, I think that all helps me.
[33:47]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[33:49]
Marc Maron
But you never. And you never got. Your insecurity never brought you down. I guess you build confidence with the sports, huh?
[33:56]
Robert Patrick
I think you build confidence with the sports. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny, you know, wrestling being an individual thing and. And walking away undefeated.
[34:09]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[34:10]
Robert Patrick
But realizing, you know, I was that guy was too much for me, you.
[34:13]
Marc Maron
Know, that was the end of it. You're like, I had a good run. I'm done.
[34:19]
Robert Patrick
I can't beat that guy. I mean, Dan Gable was. Do you know anything about wrestling?
[34:23]
Unnamed Guest
No.
[34:23]
Robert Patrick
Well, Dan Gable is a Olympic tragedy of Mark Chella. It's interesting. I'm talking about the tragedy. I mean, he was like. It was like when he wrestled, when we had wrestling meets in my high school. Farmington High School, Farmington, Michigan. It was packed, and people were there just to see him toy with the opponent.
[34:42]
Marc Maron
He was that good.
[34:43]
Robert Patrick
He was that good.
[34:43]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[34:44]
Robert Patrick
And the colleges were lined up and he was all set to go to the Olympics. And guess what?
[34:49]
Marc Maron
He broke something.
[34:50]
Robert Patrick
Jimmy Carter boycotted the Olympics.
[34:53]
Unnamed Guest
Oh.
[34:53]
Marc Maron
And he got cut out.
[34:55]
Robert Patrick
No Olympics. He didn't get to go to make weight. To make it happen. To time it right.
[34:59]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[34:59]
Robert Patrick
Never got a chance, but went on to coach and had a big career.
[35:02]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[35:03]
Marc Maron
But he missed his moment because of global politics.
[35:05]
Robert Patrick
Because of global politics.
[35:07]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[35:08]
Robert Patrick
Interesting.
[35:08]
Marc Maron
So where do you take the turn to acting Failure?
[35:12]
Robert Patrick
I failed at other things.
[35:14]
Marc Maron
But it sounds like you're. You got out of wrestling at the right time.
[35:18]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, well, that. You know, I determined. I determined I was going to lose. I didn't even attempt to challenge. You know, I went the other way. I went, Ooh, the path of least resistance. I don't. I don't know. You're gonna.
[35:29]
Marc Maron
But baseball and football and that. You didn't have a shot with those.
[35:33]
Robert Patrick
I did. I'm figuring out how to deal with this, thinking about this whole situation.
[35:40]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[35:43]
Robert Patrick
You know, I wanted to play college football.
[35:47]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[35:49]
Robert Patrick
I wanted to play college baseball.
[35:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[35:53]
Robert Patrick
I got an opportunity to walk on at the Bowling Green State University, and I just had a lot of stuff Going on. That was emotional. And I was very immature and my family moving around and I didn't do well.
[36:13]
Marc Maron
You weren't getting in trouble?
[36:15]
Robert Patrick
I didn't get in trouble, but I wasn't doing well. I wasn't emotionally. I was just a very immature person.
[36:23]
Marc Maron
And so acting was perfect.
[36:27]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, well, you know, I had done acting when I was a kid. I mean, I had played Peter Pan in third grade. I was the star.
[36:36]
Marc Maron
Oh, how'd that feel?
[36:37]
Robert Patrick
That felt fantastic.
[36:39]
Marc Maron
Flying around.
[36:40]
Robert Patrick
Flying around. Hey, I'm Peter Pan from Never Neverland. That was my first line. But, you know, growing up in Georgia, in the woods, and I heard your interview with Eric, I thought it was interesting because while Eric was doing all that, Eric Roberts. I'll drop a name. We have the same attorney. Eric's a great guy. We worked on Scorpion together. Show I did on cbs. While he was doing all that, I was down there. I never got to run into him and his family, but they had that.
[37:09]
Marc Maron
The playhouse.
[37:10]
Robert Patrick
The playhouse they had going. I. You know, I think. I think when you lose dreams.
[37:18]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[37:20]
Robert Patrick
Like, I thought I was going to play college football, and then I realized this is not going to work and I'm going to get killed out here. And I'm just not fast enough. I'm just not big enough.
[37:32]
Marc Maron
When you realize the limitations of your talent in a particular thing, it's a hard hit.
[37:38]
Robert Patrick
I didn't have a will.
[37:39]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[37:39]
Robert Patrick
It's a tough thing for kids.
[37:41]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[37:41]
Marc Maron
My brother had to deal with tennis. It's brutal.
[37:43]
Robert Patrick
It's brutal.
[37:44]
Marc Maron
Or you just. It's not anything. It's not your fault that you're physically not gifted in the way necessary.
[37:52]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[37:53]
Marc Maron
To take you to the next level. That realization sort of like, look, I've worked hard, but I just don't got the genetics or the fucking physical gift to. To be a pro or whatever.
[38:06]
Robert Patrick
But whatever your dreams, wherever you think you're going to, the dreams are going to take you. And you put all that stock in football and baseball. Yeah, that football. You know, I ran like a 4, 7, 40. I was £215. I'm just 6 foot. I took a couple of hit. Here's what happened. I took a couple of hits. I was feeling very isolated there. Summer football invited me to walk on.
[38:31]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[38:32]
Marc Maron
And walk on means like, sort of.
[38:35]
Robert Patrick
Like, you know, we're not getting a scholarship, but we've seen film on you, and we think you would be an asset to the team.
[38:41]
Marc Maron
So you go up there.
[38:42]
Robert Patrick
So you go up there and you start working Out. And then you start practicing and playing. And then you realize. It dawned on me. I'm going to be on the scout team.
[38:52]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[38:54]
Robert Patrick
And the scout team is basically, I'm going to be running. I was a fullback, linebacker. I was going to be running plays, and I was going to be getting pulverized by the number one defense.
[39:04]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:04]
Robert Patrick
Bigger, faster guys.
[39:06]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:06]
Robert Patrick
I took a couple hits.
[39:08]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:08]
Robert Patrick
I started talking to some of the other guys that were around that they had. You know, I'm on my third knee surgery. I'm 28 years old, and I'm a red shirt freshman, you know, and all that kind of. And you're going like, so you're just.
[39:19]
Marc Maron
Gonna be a punching bag if you stay.
[39:20]
Robert Patrick
Exactly. And I realized it, and I said this.
[39:23]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:23]
Robert Patrick
I'm not it. I don't have the heart.
[39:24]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:25]
Robert Patrick
And I quit.
[39:26]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:26]
Marc Maron
Why would. Why would anyone volunteer for that?
[39:28]
Robert Patrick
Well, a lot of people do because they want to hang on to those dreams, you know, that's that Rudy moment of, you know, maybe I'll get a chance to play someday. I'm gonna hang in there, and I'm gonna play for Notre Dame.
[39:39]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:39]
Robert Patrick
And a lot of. A lot of people that really means something to. And God bless them.
[39:43]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[39:43]
Robert Patrick
You got to have something to get through, to believe.
[39:45]
Marc Maron
So. So in that moment, you're devastated, and you're like, yeah, fuck.
[39:49]
Robert Patrick
And then. And then what happened was like a domino effect. It affected school. I didn't give a shit about being there. I lost. I tried. I was completely lost. And I. Even though I had moved around so much and I'd always had sports to fall back on, where I would endear myself to other people, like, hey, he's a good baseball player. He's a good football player, blah, blah, blah. It was. I didn't have that ability now. It's just. I was just one of the faces in the crowd.
[40:19]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[40:19]
Robert Patrick
And I, you know, Charm's only going to get you so far.
[40:22]
Unnamed Guest
Right.
[40:23]
Marc Maron
Get you pretty far.
[40:26]
Robert Patrick
You're pretty good. I like you. I. I knew I'd like this.
[40:31]
Marc Maron
Don't underestimate Charm.
[40:33]
Robert Patrick
I'm. But I, you know, this is. I, I, I, I, I. I got blackballed by the fraternity I was trying to join.
[40:42]
Marc Maron
What happened there?
[40:43]
Robert Patrick
I. It was alcohol and drugs.
[40:46]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, you're too much.
[40:48]
Marc Maron
At least you're excelling in something.
[40:50]
Robert Patrick
I think I destroyed the bathroom at the fraternity house. I literally had some violent thing, and I broke a. I was kind of. Yeah, I was very up.
[41:03]
Marc Maron
So you're like, I Broke up with.
[41:04]
Robert Patrick
My girlfriend during time I'd had this long relationship.
[41:07]
Marc Maron
So the booze was hitting you early?
[41:08]
Robert Patrick
I was. I was a teenage alcoholic. I started drinking at 13, but, so it sounds like.
[41:14]
Marc Maron
Were you. It made you angry? You became the Hulk or what happened?
[41:17]
Robert Patrick
I did, yeah. What about you?
[41:21]
Marc Maron
Well, I like to coke, you know, and I just like to. There was something about. I think at my worst, I really think the attempt was to feel normal. And, you know, what I would do is, you know, my first bottom was psychosis because of cocaine. You know, I didn't sleep. I did a lot of blow. I drank a lot, you know, but I'm not innately a violent guy, but I. I just saw it, like, you know, if I could just get a couple lines of me and then, you know, just a couple beers and get that balance. There was a moment where I'm like, oh, look at me. I'm ready to go.
[41:55]
Robert Patrick
It was like that golf shirt.
[41:56]
Marc Maron
Exactly.
[41:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[41:57]
Robert Patrick
I mean, sweet spot.
[41:58]
Marc Maron
Exactly. And then you just chase it. And you're alone in the bar, two in the morning, jacked, just no one in the place, and you're like, something's gonna turn around. This is gonna get good in a minute. I wasn't really violent, but I. You know, the blackouts, they. They kind of scare you, and, you know, and. But I was not. I was not the destroy everything kind of guy. I was the destroy myself kind of guy.
[42:19]
Robert Patrick
I think ultimately I was so disappointed in myself that I was. I was destroying myself. You know, it's funny, Mark.
[42:26]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[42:26]
Robert Patrick
I. I never smoked weed.
[42:29]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[42:30]
Robert Patrick
In high school.
[42:30]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[42:32]
Robert Patrick
But I was a real excessive beer drinker.
[42:35]
Marc Maron
Well, yeah, that stuff, you know, you get to a point. Like, I was the kind of guy. Here's like. Here's a good example. I didn't like beer, so I would, you know, chug, like, you know, half pints of Jack Daniels, and I'd be out with my friends, driving around like an idiot. In high school.
[42:48]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[42:48]
Marc Maron
And they'd go to a party, and I'd be. And they'd throw me on the lawn next door because I couldn't.
[42:52]
Unnamed Guest
I couldn't.
[42:53]
Marc Maron
Couldn't hold it. So I wouldn't be, you know, running around, breaking things. I'd be the guy on the lawn next door. And someone would run into the party and go, there's some guy dead on the lawn next door. I'd ruin the night for everybody. I wasn't a fun guy.
[43:07]
Robert Patrick
I remember I got some gal. We went to somebody's party, me and A couple other guys turned on to alcohol and I had a car and I almost got my ass whooped by some girl's dad because I was a fucking asshole at a party.
[43:25]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[43:25]
Robert Patrick
In Detroit, in Farmington, when I was growing up. And yeah, I think it's a generational thing. Our generation. We grew up in the 60s, 70s. I was a 60s guy. So I graduated high school in 77, but I mean, I was 12 years old in 1970.
[43:51]
Marc Maron
So you saw the whole culture changing.
[43:53]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, drug time, it was all. And I thought it was accepted behavior, and I got away with it. And my parents didn't know what the fuck I was doing. Yeah, it was an innocent time. We didn't fit in on all that kind of bullshit.
[44:06]
Marc Maron
Well, that's the weird thing about that.
[44:08]
Robert Patrick
And I say innocent, but I mean, it was like we were all smoking, you know, everybody was in high school. But I didn't do that until I got to college. And I think that really fucked me up when I went to college.
[44:17]
Marc Maron
The weed.
[44:18]
Robert Patrick
Oh, yeah. Totally robbed me of any. Any micro of ambition that I had was just stolen. And I was like, oh, I'm awaken Baker.
[44:28]
Marc Maron
Yeah, well, it's not stolen.
[44:30]
Robert Patrick
I'm going to go to college.
[44:31]
Marc Maron
It lives in your head. You get everything done. You get everything.
[44:37]
Robert Patrick
That's. That's a great. That's a great line.
[44:40]
Marc Maron
It's all going on, just not. It's not happening.
[44:43]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. I can't present it to anybody yet, but here it is.
[44:46]
Marc Maron
Yeah, I'm ready to go. I've got it all mapped out.
[44:49]
Robert Patrick
Oh, God, it's so good in here. Oh, my God.
[44:57]
Unnamed Guest
Oh.
[44:58]
Marc Maron
Oh, that's the worst. Where you. A lot of you. I always say that it's a. It's a will killer man weed. Because, you know, it's just. And I see it with other people. I see it now. People are like, oh, yeah, I'm going to do the writing and I'm going to like, how's that going? You know? But there's people who can do it.
[45:14]
Robert Patrick
That are highly functional, that for whatever reason I perceive that they do a lot of. Sure, I'll throw out. I feel bad, but I guess Snoop Dogg sports a lot of weed. He seems to be doing okay.
[45:28]
Marc Maron
Well, I think if you figure out what your lane is and you can handle it, but I think if you're insecure to begin with and you don't have any real confidence in your creativity, the weed will just, you know, it'll just. It just becomes this cycle of things that Happens in your head that never get realized.
[45:46]
Robert Patrick
Absolutely. Yeah.
[45:47]
Marc Maron
I mean, that's just, you know, it's. Everyone's different. But that guy knew what he was going to do early on, you know, and the weed was just sort of stop the noise so he could make his thing.
[45:57]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, you're right.
[45:58]
Marc Maron
Some guys with the drugs, like, they. It just, you know, like, you know Hedberg, who died from heroin? I mean, like, I completely understand Mitch Hedberg. He's a great comic and I completely understand it because you watch his style and it's not unlike jazz musicians where it's like, if you can shut out the noise and you know what you're. What you want to do and. And that drug will just kind of stop all the other distractions. I mean, you can. There's genius there. I mean, it's not. I'm not suggesting it as a system. I know.
[46:30]
Robert Patrick
Dude, are you doing that?
[46:31]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[46:31]
Robert Patrick
Let me try one.
[46:33]
Marc Maron
How are you with him?
[46:34]
Robert Patrick
I don't know. What is it?
[46:35]
Marc Maron
It's just nicotine, but it's like a pouch. You can put like a dip.
[46:38]
Robert Patrick
What's going to happen to. My blood pressure is going to go up.
[46:40]
Marc Maron
I don't know. I'm not going to turn you on to drugs on the show. I mean, I don't.
[46:45]
Robert Patrick
I'm. I'm interested in that. I'm a cigar guy.
[46:48]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah?
[46:48]
Marc Maron
Well, yeah. Oh, you are? Like daily.
[46:50]
Robert Patrick
But I'm. Yeah, I do. I smoke one a day. But I. I don't want to call you out on that. But I. Oh, no, no. I talk about a lot of people be doing that.
[46:57]
Marc Maron
I'm. I'm a nicotine addict through.
[46:59]
Robert Patrick
I'm a nicotine guy.
[47:00]
Marc Maron
I can't fucking get off it.
[47:02]
Robert Patrick
Well, I have to. That's. That's part of my process for acting. My process for acting. The only way I can study dialogue, and I'm good at dialogue and I'm very good at expositional dialogue, but the only way I can do it to sit still long enough to study is cigar. I'll smoke. Hey, man. It's. Sometimes it's a four. Four cigar a night kind of situation.
[47:22]
Marc Maron
Oh, so, you know, you're used to getting sweaty.
[47:24]
Robert Patrick
Oh, you know, I mean, it's like if I got to be here for four hours, I mean, you know, I. I gotta be here all day long.
[47:31]
Unnamed Guest
You must.
[47:32]
Marc Maron
You have pretty good tolerance, I'm assuming.
[47:34]
Robert Patrick
I'm pretty good.
[47:35]
Marc Maron
I mean, because like, I do like these things. I was off nicotine. I haven't smoked a cigarette in, like, a long time.
[47:40]
Robert Patrick
You miss them, don't you?
[47:41]
Marc Maron
Not cigarettes, but I'll get into cigars. But the thing is, because I'm a fucking addict. Like, I know what's gonna happen.
[47:47]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[47:47]
Marc Maron
I know that.
[47:48]
Unnamed Guest
If I.
[47:48]
Marc Maron
If I. Well, thanks, man.
[47:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[47:52]
Robert Patrick
Oh, yeah.
[47:53]
Marc Maron
You like these ones?
[47:54]
Robert Patrick
That's okay. Yeah, I prefer Cuban. I can't tell you which Cubans you like. Particles, series D, number four.
[47:59]
Marc Maron
Oh, those are great.
[48:00]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, those are really good.
[48:01]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[48:02]
Robert Patrick
Where I get them? Somebody's a friend of mine's grandmother.
[48:04]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
[48:05]
Marc Maron
Or that place where they got them in the back room, down.
[48:08]
Robert Patrick
Well, I don't know if I, I, I, I, I.
[48:12]
Marc Maron
They're around. I was just in Canada. I had a.
[48:15]
Robert Patrick
Well up there. It's legal?
[48:16]
Marc Maron
Yeah, it's legal. But, like, they're not what they used to, man. They're not what they used to be. The Cubans. But the partigas. Those ones hold up pretty good. Monos. Hold up pretty good.
[48:24]
Robert Patrick
But like, cousin Lusitanias. Oh, what is that?
[48:29]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[48:30]
Marc Maron
The huge ones.
[48:31]
Robert Patrick
Casadel, Casadel. Casadel Habanos. Well, the thing, you know, those all got bought by China, by the way. What, the Chinese bought all the Casa del Habanos, all the Cuban cigar places around the world. Yeah, they bought them all, like, the.
[48:47]
Marc Maron
Farms in Cuba or just stores.
[48:49]
Robert Patrick
Okay, so they're buying all the cigars.
[48:51]
Marc Maron
Okay.
[48:51]
Robert Patrick
But that's what I heard, rumor has it in the cigar world.
[48:53]
Marc Maron
Well, it's all. Well, as long as the sun is relatively the same in Cuba, where they do what they do, that's what, that's what you're going for. Like, the dealer is unimportant.
[49:04]
Robert Patrick
As long as I'm getting it, I'm getting it. As long as the product is good.
[49:08]
Marc Maron
Right?
[49:08]
Robert Patrick
Right.
[49:09]
Marc Maron
I mean, how many times you've been in a situation where this guy's making me nervous, But I think he's got the good.
[49:14]
Robert Patrick
This guy's. Don't worry about it. He's good.
[49:17]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[49:18]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[49:18]
Marc Maron
He's not gonna bother you. Just don't look at. It's what that she. And just don't say anything about the scar. Yeah. All right. So, yeah, you don't have to do this now, but my.
[49:28]
Robert Patrick
I won't. But I'm. I'm curious about this.
[49:29]
Marc Maron
My point was, like, some.
[49:31]
Robert Patrick
I think that. I think that I. I think that will. Jack my blood pressure. Are you, Are, Are you. Are you on. Are you okay?
[49:38]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[49:39]
Robert Patrick
Do you meditate?
[49:41]
Marc Maron
No.
[49:42]
Robert Patrick
I've started Meditation?
[49:44]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[49:44]
Robert Patrick
I'm enjoying it.
[49:45]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[49:46]
Marc Maron
What do you do?
[49:47]
Robert Patrick
I started. I'm only doing seven minutes, but what I do is I literally make myself sit down, get in the. You know, cross my legs, rest my hands on my knees, and sit there and focus on my breathing.
[50:00]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[50:01]
Robert Patrick
And just try to keep all the thoughts out of my head as much as I can. Keep focused on my breathing.
[50:06]
Marc Maron
The funny thing is, I used to. I was doing it a little bit during the pandemic with sort of a recorded meditation thing, and it was funny because my experience was, you know, after a couple minutes, you know, turning the thoughts off, I'm like, I'm fucking nailing this. This is no problem. I got this. Nothing about nothing.
[50:25]
Robert Patrick
I'm not nailing it yet. I'm a new. I'm still new enough at it, but I really enjoy trying to do it because my mind. You sound like we kind of. My mind. There's so many things that I've wanted to do in my life that I haven't been able to focus on.
[50:43]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[50:43]
Robert Patrick
I'm so grateful.
[50:44]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[50:45]
Robert Patrick
That the one thing that I did choose to do in my life has worked out.
[50:50]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah. Yeah, Me too.
[50:53]
Robert Patrick
But there's all this other things that I think I might be good at that I want to try and come to find out. Singing's one.
[51:00]
Marc Maron
Well, that's a good thing.
[51:01]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[51:01]
Marc Maron
Well, that's the funny thing about meditation and how we're talking about it. It's like that moment where I realized that, like, I think I got the hang of it.
[51:07]
Robert Patrick
I'm nailing this.
[51:07]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[51:08]
Marc Maron
That was the end of it.
[51:08]
Robert Patrick
Seven minutes.
[51:09]
Marc Maron
That was the end of it.
[51:10]
Robert Patrick
Done.
[51:10]
Marc Maron
What do I need to do this every day for? I got this.
[51:12]
Robert Patrick
Fuck.
[51:12]
Marc Maron
I understand the benefits.
[51:14]
Robert Patrick
Fuck. I got it down. I don't have to worry about this shit.
[51:17]
Marc Maron
It's sort of like that moment with the rest where you knew you were good. Why push it?
[51:22]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was undefeated. I wasn't gonna let this guy take that from me. You. He was good, man.
[51:31]
Marc Maron
So, okay, so you're spinning around and you lost.
[51:34]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. Yeah. I. I was failing at a lot of things, and I don't. I don't really know how I turned it all around. I think it's. It's interesting.
[51:45]
Marc Maron
But you chose acting.
[51:47]
Robert Patrick
I know. I. I kind of. I left college. I went home. Oh. I feel like I'm doing, like, a therapy session. It's. Well, it's one reason I don't do a lot of these podcasts.
[51:59]
Marc Maron
Let's let's look at it as a small meeting.
[52:01]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. Okay. We'll do it as a meeting. Well, I can. I'll make this positive for people. I. I can do this this way. Yeah. Here's what I'll do. This is about.
[52:09]
Marc Maron
It's, it's about what happened, what. What it was like and what it's like now.
[52:13]
Robert Patrick
What it's like now.
[52:14]
Marc Maron
A message of hope.
[52:15]
Robert Patrick
A message of hope. I've given it to you. I, I, I went home. I. I could see how I was the number one son. I was a great athlete. I was. I. My father was hugely disappointed in that and hugely disappointed and hugely disappointed at my disastrous academic achievement at this school.
[52:36]
Marc Maron
Right.
[52:36]
Robert Patrick
And he said, what the fuck? And I went, I know I got a problem. I got a lot of problems. I'm emotionally immature. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't. I have no direction. I've lost everything. I'll get it together somehow. And what do you say to that? Good luck.
[52:57]
Marc Maron
Yeah, you better. Yeah.
[52:59]
Robert Patrick
You know, I. I mean, I think he was. He was a nice guy about it. He was like, well, son, you get. You've got to try out. You've got to. You've got to.
[53:05]
Marc Maron
You know, they can only say what they can say.
[53:07]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[53:07]
Robert Patrick
I started working at a bank immediately downtown.
[53:13]
Marc Maron
Doing what?
[53:14]
Robert Patrick
I was a wire transfer specialist. I started to realize I don't want to be in a cubicle my whole life.
[53:19]
Marc Maron
Did your dad get you that gig?
[53:21]
Robert Patrick
I can't remember. Yeah, I can't.
[53:23]
Marc Maron
Seems like a weird turn for you.
[53:24]
Robert Patrick
It wasn't his bank, so it was a weird turn. I started working out at a health spa, like a Gold Gym kind of a thing. And somebody asked me to do a commercial for that thing. And somebody else had asked me to do some. Some photos, you know, like modeling, that kind of thing. And I started thinking, like, maybe there's something to this.
[53:46]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[53:47]
Robert Patrick
I've always enjoyed acting. And I really started. I had enough. I didn't know anybody in Cleveland, so I really had a lot of time to focus on me. And I started reading books. Stanislavski. And I really started thinking about. I really started thinking about. I really love the movies. It had always been a part of my life.
[54:02]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[54:02]
Robert Patrick
My parents had taken me to that. And I was like, I wonder what I knew. I tell you what, Mark. I knew I wanted to do something big.
[54:12]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[54:12]
Robert Patrick
For me.
[54:13]
Marc Maron
Right?
[54:14]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[54:15]
Robert Patrick
You know what I mean?
[54:16]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[54:17]
Robert Patrick
I didn't wanna. I wanted to do something big for. I wanted to see if I could do something if these other things didn't work out. There's still something else out there.
[54:25]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[54:26]
Robert Patrick
That I want to do, and I really started focusing on that and.
[54:29]
Marc Maron
Did you take classes?
[54:31]
Robert Patrick
No, I read books. I did a couple local things in Cleveland. And on that premise on the.
[54:38]
Marc Maron
On the health club commercial, which, I mean, nailed it.
[54:44]
Robert Patrick
But, you know, my. I remember my mother and father just like. You're kidding me. You're gonna do what? And every. There was no encouragement. It was all discouragement. And you're going to fail. You're going to get into drugs.
[54:58]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[54:58]
Robert Patrick
Be doing pornos.
[54:59]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[54:59]
Robert Patrick
You know, come on. We can't help you with this. They were petrified by the whole thing.
[55:03]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[55:03]
Robert Patrick
And. But it all just hit me as a negative.
[55:06]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[55:06]
Robert Patrick
So then you learn you can't really tell anybody about this because you got to keep this close to your vest. You can't tell people what you're going to do.
[55:13]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[55:14]
Marc Maron
Because they'll shit on it.
[55:15]
Robert Patrick
They'll shit on it. Your own family will steal your dreams.
[55:18]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[55:18]
Robert Patrick
They'll take them from you.
[55:19]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[55:19]
Robert Patrick
It's like they'll claim now that, oh, I was always behind.
[55:23]
Marc Maron
We are very proud of her.
[55:24]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[55:24]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[55:25]
Robert Patrick
I never forget what my father said. My father said to Arnold Schwarzenegger the night of the Terminator 2 premiere, my father says, so you think my son will make it? And you just go like. And you're standing there going like, wow. Jesus Christ. Thanks, dad.
[55:45]
Marc Maron
Arnold must have been encouraging.
[55:47]
Robert Patrick
He was sweet. He said to my dad, he said, yes, Robert has a very good work ethic. He's very good. He's very strong, you know, blah, blah, blah, you know, he will do what. What does make it, you know, as far as I was concerned, when I got to Hollywood, the guys that I looked to that I really admired, the guys that. The guys that. That I fell in with when I came to Hollywood, they were probably making $30,000 a year.
[56:14]
Marc Maron
Who's that?
[56:14]
Robert Patrick
You know, I don't really want to drop these guys names.
[56:17]
Marc Maron
Why? Are they around still?
[56:18]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[56:19]
Marc Maron
Oh, that's all right. Well, I mean, you know, you got a couple.
[56:22]
Robert Patrick
One that. Well, that no longer involved in my life, so I don't feel like that's fair.
[56:27]
Marc Maron
Okay.
[56:27]
Robert Patrick
But guys that I knew that were professional actors that were making a living of it, and the way they were doing it was like they gig and they go on unemployment. And I thought, well, that'd be cool if you could just do that.
[56:37]
Marc Maron
Right.
[56:37]
Robert Patrick
That'd be Great.
[56:38]
Marc Maron
Work every once in a while and just kind of lay around and play golf.
[56:42]
Robert Patrick
Because at the time I was playing.
[56:44]
Marc Maron
I love this secret golf life that you had me turned on it.
[56:48]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[56:49]
Marc Maron
So wait, so you get hooked up with Corman? How's that happen?
[56:52]
Robert Patrick
A buddy of mine where I was waiting tables.
[56:55]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah?
[56:55]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[56:55]
Marc Maron
He said, Roger's still at it.
[56:57]
Robert Patrick
Well, this was 1984.
[57:00]
Marc Maron
Right. But that's like, you know, 30 years into his thing.
[57:03]
Robert Patrick
Oh, fuck. Yeah. But he was still making movies.
[57:06]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, I know.
[57:06]
Robert Patrick
I interviewed and they. You did?
[57:08]
Marc Maron
Yeah, yeah, when he was in his 80s.
[57:11]
Robert Patrick
It was much better interview than this one, I'm sure.
[57:13]
Marc Maron
No, this is great.
[57:14]
Robert Patrick
No, it's not. I understand. I understand saying that.
[57:17]
Marc Maron
No, it's good. I'm getting a lot out of it.
[57:20]
Robert Patrick
You're seeing how sane you are.
[57:22]
Marc Maron
Yeah, this is working for me. I kind of needed a meeting. This today, you know, this will work.
[57:27]
Robert Patrick
Well, a buddy of mine, Christopher Monza, was working for Roger Corman.
[57:31]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[57:31]
Robert Patrick
And I was waiting tables at Le Stron, fourth and Western.
[57:35]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[57:36]
Robert Patrick
And he said, hey, man, they're casting this biker movie and they need some extras.
[57:39]
Unnamed Guest
Ah.
[57:40]
Robert Patrick
And I went, oh, yeah? Yeah.
[57:42]
Marc Maron
Were you riding at that time?
[57:44]
Robert Patrick
Well, I had a motorcycle.
[57:46]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[57:46]
Robert Patrick
I didn't have a Harley.
[57:47]
Marc Maron
Right. It's hard to admit that, huh?
[57:50]
Robert Patrick
It is hard to admit that I was riding a Japanese bike. Yeah.
[57:53]
Marc Maron
Well, what, a Honda?
[57:57]
Robert Patrick
I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna give any other brand other than Harley Davidson my endorsement. The good thing about the Japanese influx of bikes that happened in the 60s and 70s is they got a lot of people on two wheels. And then those people that got on two wheels discovered the Harleys, Harley Davidson.
[58:14]
Marc Maron
Some guys were always Harley guys.
[58:16]
Robert Patrick
Some guys were.
[58:18]
Marc Maron
Is that me or you?
[58:20]
Unnamed Guest
It's probably you.
[58:21]
Robert Patrick
That's the president of the Buzzfighters Motorcycle Club chapter in Los Angeles.
[58:24]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[58:25]
Marc Maron
You got to go make a hit.
[58:28]
Unnamed Guest
You gotta go.
[58:29]
Robert Patrick
It's not that kind of motorcycle.
[58:30]
Marc Maron
Is it a 12 step call? You gotta get the guys.
[58:33]
Robert Patrick
It's not. It's not a. It's not a sober club either.
[58:35]
Unnamed Guest
It's not?
[58:36]
Robert Patrick
No.
[58:36]
Marc Maron
All right.
[58:37]
Robert Patrick
It's a 70. 1946. A 78 year old motorcycle club found in Los Angeles, California.
[58:43]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[58:44]
Robert Patrick
International Motorcycle Club.
[58:45]
Marc Maron
Why is it called the Booze Fighters?
[58:46]
Robert Patrick
Well, you. You want to really know?
[58:48]
Unnamed Guest
Okay.
[58:49]
Robert Patrick
So they were all sitting in a bar. One of them had been kicked out of the 13 Rebels Motorcycle Club. A guy by the name of W. Willie Forkner, who was a veteran who came in World War II.
[58:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[58:59]
Robert Patrick
And they were looking for a name for their new club, and one of the guys, Walt Porter, was in the bar, and he said, all you guys do is fight the bottle and each other. You should call yourselves the Booze Fighters.
[59:14]
Marc Maron
It's got nothing to do with sobriety.
[59:16]
Robert Patrick
Absolutely. Zilch.
[59:18]
Marc Maron
Well, out here, I thought, like, that's an interesting approach to helping people. Nope, Nope.
[59:26]
Robert Patrick
None whatsoever. A lot of people ask me about it, and I say, well, yeah, I'm sober 28 years, but the club is.
[59:34]
Marc Maron
Just a bunch of maniacs.
[59:35]
Robert Patrick
Full functioning group of. There's a lot of sober guys within the club. It's an interesting club. It's. It's been around before. I'm not gonna say any other club, but it's been around since 1946.
[59:51]
Marc Maron
Did you see that movie, the Bike Riders? The movie with the.
[59:55]
Robert Patrick
It did.
[59:56]
Marc Maron
How'd that land with you?
[59:58]
Robert Patrick
There were some interesting things with it, historically. Yeah, yeah, yeah, There was some interesting things.
[60:02]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[60:03]
Robert Patrick
I'm a big fan of that book.
[60:05]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[60:06]
Robert Patrick
And Danny Lyons is the photographer, and I have that book and had that book. And it's one of those times where you're kind of going, like, wait a minute, they're making a movie about that book?
[60:15]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[60:15]
Robert Patrick
And then you realize, I've had that book for 40 years. Why didn't I write the movie? That's where I go. Why am I so. Why. Why didn't I think of that? Why the. Did I let that guy think of that? I get so much resentment towards somebody, like, instead of, like, giving the guy, you know, a credit.
[60:35]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[60:36]
Marc Maron
It's like, I could have. If I had just.
[60:38]
Robert Patrick
If I would have just. What the. So anyway, once I get past that and go, like, well, good for him.
[60:43]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[60:44]
Marc Maron
It's a long journey.
[60:45]
Robert Patrick
I applaud you for you. You're gonna. You're gonna write a screenplay to these black and white photographs, and you're going to turn it into something.
[60:51]
Marc Maron
Isn't it funny, though, when you have that innately, instinctually, it's just resentment immediately. So the journey to just being able to be gracious, and then, like, when you do it, you kind of walk away from it going like, I deserve a. Where's my medal?
[61:05]
Robert Patrick
Nailed it. I'm sorry. It's okay.
[61:09]
Marc Maron
It's all right.
[61:09]
Robert Patrick
Nailed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got that.
[61:12]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[61:13]
Marc Maron
That's good. I. I behaved like a human today.
[61:17]
Robert Patrick
Oh, my God.
[61:19]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[61:19]
Marc Maron
So I, I.
[61:21]
Robert Patrick
The movie was great. There was. The Harleys were great in it. The bikes were great.
[61:24]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[61:25]
Robert Patrick
Big fan of Tom Hardy and Jod Comer I thought was phenomenal, the actress. Her accent was fantastic. You saw it too?
[61:32]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[61:33]
Robert Patrick
Did you see it on the big screen?
[61:34]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, me too. Yeah.
[61:35]
Marc Maron
I thought it was great.
[61:36]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[61:37]
Marc Maron
I mean, I, I mean, I. The acting was sort of amazing. She was amazing.
[61:41]
Robert Patrick
She was amazing.
[61:42]
Marc Maron
Hardy, like, he's a great actor, but sometimes he makes choices that are almost too subtle, you know, and then, you know, Butler, you know, he's. He's real attractive guy, you know, but she was just locked the in and just putting everybody to shame.
[61:55]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. I appreciate all your comments. I do.
[61:59]
Marc Maron
You're not going to chime in, though.
[62:02]
Robert Patrick
I, I really, you know, I hesitate to. If you're anybody that's being anybody that's successful in this business, I give them a lot of credit, as I know you do too. Oh, no, I hesitate. I don't like.
[62:15]
Marc Maron
Yeah, you can't judge the performance. Like, I'm about to do this movie and I feel like, what are you doing? I'm gonna fuck the whole thing.
[62:22]
Robert Patrick
What's the movie?
[62:23]
Marc Maron
It's a dark comedy. What, you looking for a part?
[62:29]
Robert Patrick
I'm an actor. I mean, I think I can do anything.
[62:31]
Marc Maron
I mean, yeah, I'm very nervous about it because it's a lead and like, I just do not think that.
[62:37]
Robert Patrick
Do you have an acting coach?
[62:38]
Marc Maron
No.
[62:38]
Robert Patrick
You ever had an acting coach?
[62:40]
Marc Maron
No.
[62:40]
Robert Patrick
I have an acting coach.
[62:42]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[62:43]
Robert Patrick
You know, I. My early years of Roger Corman, it was trial by fire. That's how I learned.
[62:48]
Marc Maron
So you were the extra. And then how that unfold?
[62:51]
Robert Patrick
I ended up going to. I ended up going to. I ended up going to Roger Corman Studios, Hammond Lumber, which is my middle name. So I felt like, ooh, there's something.
[63:01]
Marc Maron
Yeah, yeah, look at that. Synchronicity.
[63:03]
Robert Patrick
Hammond Lumber.
[63:04]
Marc Maron
No coincidence there.
[63:05]
Robert Patrick
Oh, that's interesting. And the director saw me say, hey, you, I want you to come read for this.
[63:13]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:13]
Robert Patrick
And literally I read it on the spot called reading. I went in and acted with the guy that had been cast in the lead.
[63:19]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:20]
Robert Patrick
Fucking did this off the hook audition.
[63:23]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:23]
Robert Patrick
I literally grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt, threw him over my knee to the floor. I mean, I acted out the scene for real. I cleared the guy, the director's desk. I just went violent.
[63:32]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:32]
Robert Patrick
And a guy goes, Clark Henderson was his name director. He went, you're hired.
[63:39]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:39]
Robert Patrick
I had my first don't hurt me supporting lead role.
[63:43]
Marc Maron
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[63:45]
Robert Patrick
Supporting lead role. And we shot it out at Indian Dunes.
[63:48]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:49]
Robert Patrick
Which Is real close to my new location of my dealership.
[63:53]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[63:54]
Robert Patrick
And it was right after Vic Morrow and the whole jail, Landersing and all that kind of thing. It was 1984.
[63:59]
Marc Maron
And you did a few movies with Corman.
[64:01]
Robert Patrick
I did, like, six. Wow. Six movies with Roger, I think. And I asked for my SAG card and Hollywood Boulevard Part 2 was my SAG card.
[64:10]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[64:12]
Robert Patrick
And I was shipped off to the Philippines, did a bunch of movies there, and really learned how to be on set. Yeah, I learned a lot. And would, you know, was not very forthcoming about anything because I was so insecure about the lack of training, but I thought by sure will, and, you know, I'm athletic enough to do the stunts, and, you know, there's got to be a way I can break out. And I did a play. I had done a. I had done a. I had done one play, and I was doing another play, and I got, you know, that builds confidence, you know, doing theater. Doing theater.
[64:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[64:52]
Robert Patrick
And then, you know, a lot of good people around me that were telling me I had something, and I believed them.
[64:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[64:58]
Robert Patrick
Just a kind word from people that I.
[64:59]
Marc Maron
You gotta. I think you got to believe them.
[65:01]
Robert Patrick
What time is it?
[65:02]
Marc Maron
I don't know.
[65:03]
Robert Patrick
I got to keep an eye on it. Why? What are you doing? I got an air conditioning guy come over to my house at noon.
[65:08]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah.
[65:08]
Robert Patrick
So I gotta. I gotta kind of keep it. How long is this supposed to go?
[65:13]
Marc Maron
I don't know.
[65:13]
Robert Patrick
You just go. You just. I know you're gonna make this. You're gonna edit this and make it all good, right?
[65:20]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[65:21]
Marc Maron
Probably cut it down to about, you know, 20.
[65:23]
Robert Patrick
20 minutes, so.
[65:26]
Marc Maron
I'm kidding.
[65:27]
Robert Patrick
No, no, no. I just. This is a fascinating experience.
[65:32]
Marc Maron
Well, what about the. So the acting coach now?
[65:35]
Robert Patrick
Oh, I was gonna tell you that after I had done. I had done Copland.
[65:40]
Marc Maron
That's great, man. You were great in that.
[65:42]
Robert Patrick
Thank you.
[65:43]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[65:43]
Marc Maron
You're always good.
[65:44]
Robert Patrick
Thank you. I appreciate that. James Mangle. Great guy. I ended up.
[65:49]
Marc Maron
I thought that movie was, like, it's an underrated movie, and I know it got a little chaotic, but, like, you were great. Everybody was great.
[65:55]
Robert Patrick
I loved making that movie. That's one of my. One of my favorite experiences. And then another James Mango movie is my other. One of my other favorite experiences. Walk the Line with.
[66:04]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah.
[66:04]
Robert Patrick
Joaquin Phoenix.
[66:05]
Marc Maron
So you play Johnny's dad, right?
[66:07]
Robert Patrick
I was Johnny's dad, yeah.
[66:08]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[66:09]
Robert Patrick
So while I was doing a film, I met an acting coach named Stephen Bridgewater, who became a very good friend of Mine. And I think the greatest thing that Stephen did for me was he eliminated my insecurities and that for that, I'm so grateful that I met him. I wished I'd met him earlier in my career.
[66:34]
Marc Maron
And they're gone.
[66:35]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, I'm. I'm pretty bulletproof now.
[66:39]
Unnamed Guest
How do you do that?
[66:40]
Robert Patrick
He basically just told me, I'm good. I mean, it was really like having somebody kind of acknowledging, like, but.
[66:50]
Marc Maron
But acknowledging so you could hear it.
[66:52]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, yeah.
[66:53]
Marc Maron
As opposed to going like, it.
[66:55]
Robert Patrick
No, no, no. He cut through all the bullshit. I mean, it was like there was a way in which he did. It's not. It's not that he didn't give me some technique and things to work on, like the Alexander technique. You know, the secret with acting, I'm sure Mr. Pacino told you, is relaxation. And you have to get to that point of relaxation where you quiet your brain, where you're not worried about, am I good? I don't even think about that. You know what I'm saying? You've got to get to that point where you've prepped, you've studied, you've thought about it, you're prepared. Now throw it all away and just be relaxed and in the fucking moment.
[67:29]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[67:30]
Robert Patrick
Then you can get into techniques where it's like, well, where's the camera? And which eye do I want to look at? My breathing's fine. I've got my dialogue, and the camera's over Mark's right eye. So I'm camera. Right. So I'm going to focus on Mark, and I'm going to be able to play to that scene that way. And then, you know, this. This technique you can do, you know, relaxation of your face.
[67:53]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[67:54]
Robert Patrick
You know, if you're always like, mugging and doing shit that doesn't work 35 times as big, you need to kind of just. You want to. You want to. You want to have people. You want to have people look into your eyes.
[68:06]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[68:07]
Robert Patrick
And if you watch people, what are you riveted by when you're. When you're watching somebody? What Stephen taught me was you've got to relax your face, and you want to bring the audience in with your eyes, and so you want to start looking at your environment and what's all there? So if it's cameras and extras and people, you want to be in the moment and you want all that coming to you.
[68:32]
Marc Maron
Right.
[68:32]
Robert Patrick
You don't want to be looking to get it. You're not, like, trying to force it in.
[68:37]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[68:38]
Robert Patrick
You want to be receptive yeah. So there's that aspect of it. So how you can do that, and the less eye blinking and just fixing and just being able to deliver your lines without moving and hands and all that kind of shit and just deliver.
[68:56]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[68:57]
Robert Patrick
That has the biggest impact.
[68:59]
Marc Maron
And then, like, you've already put in place where you're coming from.
[69:02]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[69:03]
Marc Maron
So when you. So when did you learn that? What movie was that?
[69:06]
Robert Patrick
I think the first time that the first performance I did, having brought Mr. Bridgewater in to help me, was Sopranos.
[69:15]
Marc Maron
Jesus Christ, that guy was great.
[69:17]
Robert Patrick
And I will give you a little insight on that. My career was going in a way that, you know, it's. You get opportunities, and then you've got kids, you've got responsibilities, you've got things going on. And your artistic integrity is not as good as it's based on your financial integrity. And I was always a poor guy, so I was always looking for what's my next buck.
[69:49]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[69:50]
Robert Patrick
And I've done a lot of movies that are. That, you know, hey, we want to work.
[69:54]
Marc Maron
You'll be still acting.
[69:56]
Robert Patrick
I'm still acting. I want to work, and I got to make money, and this is how I make money. And, you know, and I got to support my family. Yeah, but, you know, you say that to yourself anyway.
[70:05]
Marc Maron
But, like, after Terminator 2, were you typecast?
[70:08]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, I was.
[70:09]
Marc Maron
So you had to be out from under that.
[70:11]
Robert Patrick
I did, yeah. Yeah. It's funny that you said it the way you just said it, because it really hit me. I was.
[70:17]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[70:18]
Marc Maron
And so you had to think.
[70:19]
Robert Patrick
I've ever admitted that to anybody.
[70:21]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, man, you're good.
[70:25]
Robert Patrick
But I. But I. You know, the first gigs were, you know, and, you know, the other thing was, Mark, if I walked in and I started to catch on. Oh, I look like the guy from Terminator 2. Oh, yeah. Well, I am that guy. Yeah. And that's all their perception is, because I was an unknown when I got that role.
[70:42]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[70:43]
Robert Patrick
And that was the only way people perceived me. Who is this guy? They didn't go, look at my Roger Corn. No. I've never seen the place I've done. They had no idea what I used to look like or whatever. They just saw me as that.
[70:52]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[70:53]
Marc Maron
The guy.
[70:54]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. So the menace. It was Robert Lieberman. And I had grown. I. I re. I, I. I realized after a year and a half of not getting cast in anything from after T2, you think I have all this momentum. I was beginning to think it was a fluke, and I went like, fuck, yeah. And I grew my hair long, I grew a beard and I gained weight and I went in and I auditioned for Fire in the sky and I got cast by Robert Lieberman and that kind of, that kind of got things going. But getting back to the Sopranos and working with Stephen, he knew about the Sopranos. I had met David Chase a couple years earlier, actually. I think it was to do him movie with Jewel too, to be honest with you. We met at Lucy's El Adobe. I remember that. And, and David remembered me from that meeting and, and thought about casting me and called me and said, you know, we want to cast you in this role.
[71:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[71:53]
Robert Patrick
And it was Stephen Bridgewater who said, you've got to do it. And I looked at it and it was such a change.
[72:00]
Marc Maron
Totally.
[72:01]
Robert Patrick
I mean, you're vulnerable. You're a little bitch. They're going to slap you, throw you around. You're not the menace. You're pathetic. Pathetic. Yeah, all that kind of.
[72:08]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[72:09]
Robert Patrick
So Stephen took me to Gamblers Anonymous and I started meeting all these guys that were little guys that, in their heads, they were John Wayne when they were playing, when they were playing cards.
[72:19]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[72:19]
Robert Patrick
And it all started to make sense to me. Anyway, long story short, I had a film that was at the Venice Film Festival. I had prepped, I had shot scenes with Stephen on video. I had video of it, of scenes that I was going to be doing with James to reference. I was so prepped and ready for those guys.
[72:37]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[72:38]
Robert Patrick
That when I got to Silver Cup Studios in Queens, I was off book. They had a read through. I went, I'm meeting all the guys and they're looking at, this is the start of the second season.
[72:50]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[72:50]
Marc Maron
It's huge.
[72:51]
Robert Patrick
I don't even think they knew how.
[72:52]
Marc Maron
Big they were right yet.
[72:54]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[72:55]
Robert Patrick
They knew anyway, they hadn't gone to the Emmys yet.
[72:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[72:59]
Robert Patrick
And they're doing a read through and I'm seeing. Oh, they're reading the scripts, like right away, like looking to see if they're dead.
[73:06]
Marc Maron
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[73:09]
Robert Patrick
And I'm off book.
[73:10]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[73:10]
Robert Patrick
I'm so fucking ready.
[73:12]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[73:12]
Robert Patrick
And I could, you know, you could see actor size you up, like.
[73:16]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[73:17]
Robert Patrick
What the is he here for?
[73:18]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, yeah.
[73:20]
Robert Patrick
You know, I don't know if there was any of that.
[73:22]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[73:22]
Robert Patrick
But you kind of.
[73:23]
Unnamed Guest
Sure.
[73:24]
Marc Maron
It comes from the same place as resentment.
[73:28]
Robert Patrick
Damn, you're good.
[73:31]
Marc Maron
I, I, it's like, it's this internal monologue.
[73:35]
Robert Patrick
This internal monologue is going on. But, but I, the read through was great.
[73:40]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[73:40]
Robert Patrick
And, and that Whole experience, it trans. It changed my career. Because everybody in Hollywood was watching.
[73:48]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[73:49]
Robert Patrick
And all of a sudden they saw that and they went, he can do anything. He's a actor. You know what I mean?
[73:56]
Marc Maron
Well, what was it about James?
[73:58]
Robert Patrick
Oh, I loved working with him.
[74:04]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[74:05]
Robert Patrick
I purposely pushed him to be able to have him throw me around. I kind of went, you know, hey, I taunted him. I said, you know, we're going to be shooting that scene pretty soon, and you better have your A game. And he. He kind of did one of the. We were outside smoking a cigarette in front of us. He looked at me, oh, I have my fucking A game. He flicked his cigarette at me and walked off and came in the next day, and he was. He was lit up. He literally said to me, he said, how's your balls?
[74:41]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[74:42]
Robert Patrick
And I'm kind of sitting at that chair where he comes in there.
[74:45]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[74:46]
Robert Patrick
Where he finds me at the computer. He says. He says, how's your balls? And I said, they're good, James. How are you? Or I said, how's yours? He went, I'm hungover. Let's shoot the scene. And I went, oh, my God.
[75:02]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[75:03]
Robert Patrick
And I'm. You know, I'm already. What did I do?
[75:07]
Marc Maron
Because he's ready to see.
[75:10]
Robert Patrick
He's fucking, and I can't. I can't fight back.
[75:13]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[75:14]
Robert Patrick
I really. And you know what was funny, Mark? I was. I had lost weight purposely for Billy Bob Thornton. I was doing a movie with him called all the Pretty Horses.
[75:26]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
[75:28]
Robert Patrick
And Billy had asked me, you know, you play Matt Damon's father. You are World War II veteran, and you gotta. You gotta lose weight and be really anemic. And.
[75:38]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[75:39]
Robert Patrick
You're almost near death. You still smoking? That's what he said to me. So you're still smoking? I went, yeah, Billy, I'm still smoking. Okay, good. Keep smoking. Yeah, so we. So that's when that all happened at the same time. And.
[75:53]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[75:53]
Robert Patrick
And I got. And they asked me to do the Sopranos, so.
[75:56]
Marc Maron
So you lean.
[75:57]
Robert Patrick
I'm so vulnerable, too.
[75:58]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[75:59]
Robert Patrick
Because when you. When you're not eating.
[76:01]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:01]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. You don't feel. You don't feel forceful.
[76:04]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:04]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[76:04]
Robert Patrick
You're not intimidating. You're kind of.
[76:07]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:08]
Robert Patrick
So I was like that.
[76:09]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:10]
Robert Patrick
And really worked for the.
[76:12]
Marc Maron
The Worm character.
[76:14]
Robert Patrick
One take man.
[76:15]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:16]
Robert Patrick
He came in with such. Get up. We didn't rehearse. Yeah. Get up. You know, we're shooting the rehearsal.
[76:25]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:28]
Robert Patrick
You know, that whole scene's for real. I'm like, throwing Me around. I'm just being conscious of, like, I'm being thrown around. I'm throwing. He's throwing me up here on this wall. No, no, no, no. Hit me. I didn't know if he's gonna hit me.
[76:41]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[76:42]
Robert Patrick
You know what I mean? So it really. And I let my mind get into it and really went for it. It was. It was. It was so much fun. James ended up. We got along really well. I ended up having lunch at one of the Sopranos, things with him and his father and getting to meet his dad, and he was a really, really great guy.
[77:00]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah, I just watched that.
[77:02]
Marc Maron
I watched that doc about Chase and the Sopranos.
[77:05]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[77:06]
Marc Maron
And it was so.
[77:06]
Robert Patrick
I did too.
[77:07]
Marc Maron
Heartbreaking, you know, how consumed Gandolfini got, you know, just to see what he was, you know, before the Sopranos, the way he talked and the way he presented himself and what that role pulled out of him and that he had to live in year after year for, what was it, six seasons?
[77:24]
Robert Patrick
Six or seven seasons.
[77:25]
Marc Maron
But that sounds like an amazing experience. And the fact that you were playing, you know, the.
[77:30]
Unnamed Guest
The.
[77:31]
Marc Maron
The bottom, you know, the guy who's broken. I mean, when I saw you do that, I'm like, holy. Where's this guy been?
[77:37]
Robert Patrick
Yeah.
[77:38]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[77:38]
Robert Patrick
Well, good. And that's exactly what happened in Hollywood. It opened a bunch of doors for me.
[77:44]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[77:45]
Robert Patrick
And. And also it opened my mind. I realized, God, I've been doing all these shitty movies. Why haven't I ever looked to tv?
[77:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[77:58]
Robert Patrick
And as soon as I did that, I said to my agents, can I. Is any TV available? I had a pilot on every network and, you know, that I had auditioned for, for and ended up the X Files. I walked away with the X Files when David DY and TV was changing.
[78:13]
Marc Maron
It was like a lot of real actors were kind of doing it.
[78:16]
Robert Patrick
It was weird. It was like George Clooney and a lot of actors were making the jump to movies. But then there was a lot of us that were kind of finding TV and going, this. Better writing than I'm doing.
[78:25]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[78:26]
Robert Patrick
I mean, not everything's Cop Land or Walk the Line.
[78:28]
Marc Maron
I might be able to come back next season, might do a few episodes.
[78:32]
Robert Patrick
That's where the. The real money is in episodic tv.
[78:36]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[78:37]
Robert Patrick
For actors. My tier.
[78:40]
Marc Maron
So what are you doing? What are you working on now?
[78:43]
Robert Patrick
1923 with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
[78:45]
Marc Maron
Wow.
[78:46]
Robert Patrick
The second season, Taylor Sheridan, prolific writer. And I'm also working for another incredibly prolific writer, director James Gunn. Yeah. In the DC Studios world. DC Comics, we're doing a second season of Peacemaker.
[79:03]
Unnamed Guest
Okay.
[79:04]
Robert Patrick
So I'm John Cena's father. White supremacist, racist, xenophobe, homophobe.
[79:09]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[79:10]
Robert Patrick
He's just an awful character in D.C. world. It's called White Dragon Smith. I'm John Cena's father.
[79:15]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[79:16]
Robert Patrick
And then in 1923, I'm Harrison Ford's. I say I'm his best friend. I am. I'm the. The sheriff of the town and he's sort of got me in his hip pocket.
[79:28]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[79:29]
Robert Patrick
But he's Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren's his wife.
[79:32]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[79:32]
Robert Patrick
Cara Dutton.
[79:34]
Marc Maron
How much does the script inform what you do?
[79:36]
Robert Patrick
A lot. Yeah, a lot. I, you know, I. Everything's based on. I have to really know the words.
[79:45]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[79:46]
Robert Patrick
And. And I seem to have a real good ability of keeping your head. Yeah. But also finding the character through that.
[79:54]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[79:54]
Robert Patrick
I find the character through, you know, wardrobe, makeup.
[79:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[79:58]
Robert Patrick
And then I just believe it.
[80:00]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:00]
Robert Patrick
You know.
[80:01]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:01]
Robert Patrick
And find the truth as fast as I can.
[80:03]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:04]
Robert Patrick
What I want, you know, and what the scene's about. Every, you know, this. Every scene's a one act play as a beginning.
[80:10]
Marc Maron
You gotta really think about that.
[80:11]
Robert Patrick
It's a. It's a one act play. Every scene. And you put, you string those together.
[80:16]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:16]
Robert Patrick
And in those scenes you're gonna try to find a moment. Moment, you know, and you do your thing.
[80:21]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:22]
Robert Patrick
Some stuff you have to go, okay, this is exposition. So how am I going to deal with this? Well, I'm going to get to it as fast as I can. Yeah. You know, sometimes the writers aren't too happy about that. But see, the thing is, is you want to make everything conversational.
[80:35]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:36]
Robert Patrick
So if it's exposition, I'm going to. Well, this is the part where I tell you the story about what we're going to do, but if you do it fast and quick and lay it all out there and make it seem like it's a conversation, it just goes.
[80:49]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:50]
Robert Patrick
People get it.
[80:50]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[80:51]
Marc Maron
This is all helping me. So when does the.
[80:53]
Robert Patrick
Can I. Can I mention a few other things because I feel like we're winding down. I'm going to just mention something, if you don't mind.
[80:58]
Marc Maron
Only if it's your Harley dealership.
[81:00]
Robert Patrick
Thank you, Harley Davidson of Santa Clarita.
[81:04]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[81:04]
Robert Patrick
I got my grand opening November 9th.
[81:07]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[81:07]
Robert Patrick
You're invited.
[81:08]
Marc Maron
Thank you.
[81:09]
Robert Patrick
We'll have a lot of people there. We've, you know, my partner, Oliver Shoku Glendale. Harley Davidson is responsible for the love ride. He did 33, 34 years of love Ride. We've had David Grohl. We've had Bruce Springsteen. We've had.
[81:21]
Marc Maron
What's the Love Ride?
[81:22]
Robert Patrick
Love Ride is the largest single day motorcycle fundraising event in the world.
[81:28]
Marc Maron
Oh, great.
[81:29]
Robert Patrick
We've raised over $25 million. He's raised over 25 we. $25 million. Doing it for like 33, 34 years. Jay Leno is the honorary grand marshall.
[81:38]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[81:39]
Robert Patrick
Great. Bands have been involved, and so he's my business partner. He and I bought Harley Davidson at Santa Clarita. We've. We've had the business for seven years.
[81:48]
Marc Maron
How's it going?
[81:49]
Robert Patrick
It's going great.
[81:49]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[81:50]
Robert Patrick
It's my passion.
[81:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[81:51]
Robert Patrick
And we're moving it into this new location right on the five.
[81:54]
Marc Maron
Can you take apart a bike and put it back together?
[81:56]
Robert Patrick
I can take apart a bike. Putting it back together is a little difficult for me.
[82:02]
Marc Maron
But are the newer bikes complicated?
[82:04]
Robert Patrick
They are very complicated. Very, very. They're very well engineered.
[82:08]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[82:08]
Robert Patrick
The best motorcycles we've ever produced. Harley Davidson right now.
[82:11]
Marc Maron
That's great.
[82:12]
Robert Patrick
And I ride all over the country. I do that all year round. I do about, you know, three or four. Last year, I did about four cross country trips, and that's what I do in between.
[82:23]
Marc Maron
Isn't that meditative?
[82:25]
Robert Patrick
It's very meditative, yes. Yes.
[82:27]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[82:28]
Robert Patrick
I mean, have you ever ridden a motorcycle? You like it?
[82:31]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[82:31]
Robert Patrick
Have you ever done cross country trip, anything like that? Been out there in the wild?
[82:35]
Marc Maron
I was a kid and my dad was. You know, it's funny because my dad bought a couple of Japanese bikes when I was a kid. Some Suzuki 90 little one, and a mini bike and shit. And, you know, and he was running around with these cops, you know, riding a bit and then. But he's an orthopedic surgeon, and at some point.
[82:50]
Robert Patrick
His father's an orthopedic surgeon.
[82:51]
Marc Maron
He was. He's not dead, but he's definitely not a surgeon anymore.
[82:54]
Robert Patrick
How old is he?
[82:55]
Marc Maron
He's having a hard time. Remember what he. For breakfast. He's 86.
[82:58]
Robert Patrick
That's my mom's age.
[82:59]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. But he.
[83:00]
Marc Maron
One time, you know, when I was riding, he decided, like, I need to learn a lesson. He took me to the hospital to show me one of his patients in traction who got into a motorcycle accident that wasn't his fault. And I was like, well, why did you buy me the bike?
[83:11]
Robert Patrick
You know, wow.
[83:14]
Marc Maron
And that was kind of the end of it.
[83:15]
Robert Patrick
How do you feel about that?
[83:16]
Marc Maron
About him doing that?
[83:17]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, well, he was.
[83:19]
Marc Maron
He was kind of a worried guy, and I. He was kind of a manic guy. So he would go for these flights of sort of like he'd get all in on something and then it would just, you know, go away for whatever reason. And I think, you know, the injuries and him having to deal with it, he just got scared and, you know, he put the fear in me. And I get it. I mean, it was concern. It wasn't. It wasn't trying to kill a dream or anything. I was always a little nervous on bikes because, you know, y'all, you gotta do like, you know, we take it out on the, like the bumpy dirt things. And I knew guys that could jump and I didn't. You know, I think I always had a sort of lack of confidence. And you can't have a lack of confidence in midair, you know, where.
[83:55]
Robert Patrick
I'm sorry, did I ask you this earlier? Where are you from?
[83:57]
Marc Maron
I grew up in Albuquerque.
[83:59]
Robert Patrick
Okay.
[84:00]
Marc Maron
But my family's from Jersey. I'm genetically Jersey.
[84:03]
Robert Patrick
My wife's from Jersey.
[84:04]
Marc Maron
Yeah, I'm definitely a Jersey person. But like, I second to grade through high school, I was in Albuquerque. My dad's still out there.
[84:11]
Robert Patrick
Well, I have friends that are from Albuquerque.
[84:12]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[84:13]
Marc Maron
It's a funny thing about confidence in those things, you know, Like, I always used to think about, like, you know, if I was hanging off a cliff.
[84:23]
Robert Patrick
Like Wiley Coyote.
[84:25]
Marc Maron
Yeah, what's my move?
[84:26]
Robert Patrick
Yeah, what's my move? Hanging off the cliff?
[84:28]
Marc Maron
Sadly, it would be like, I'm gonna.
[84:29]
Robert Patrick
You're gonna go. You're not gonna pull up?
[84:33]
Unnamed Guest
No.
[84:33]
Robert Patrick
Now you're gonna try?
[84:34]
Marc Maron
Yeah, I'll try, but I don't know if I'll get up there.
[84:37]
Robert Patrick
Have you ever been in a life and death situation?
[84:40]
Marc Maron
Maybe on drugs once or twice, but yeah, not. Not in a way where I was like, wow, I could have died. Usually it's, you know, timing and, you.
[84:48]
Robert Patrick
Know, without scary girlfriends, without getting into the story, but I was in a boating accident and that's what changed my life. And I survived and saved four other guys lives in Lake Erie. And it was two months later that I moved to Hollywood. I real. That was, that was my wake up call from God, basically saying, you're fucking up and you better. You got one life and go for it. And that's, that was the impetus that sent me going across. No, it was that and, and, and, and, you know, I, I've been out here ever since, and it's, it's worked out, but it was literally a swift kick in the ass. And I was praying for that. I was looking for that.
[85:26]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[85:26]
Robert Patrick
And.
[85:27]
Marc Maron
And it happened in a dramatic way.
[85:29]
Robert Patrick
Thank. Thankfully, it did happen in dramatic way. And I really felt like, well, what.
[85:33]
Marc Maron
Was the second turn? I mean, there must have been another turn where you got sober. That must have been a similar moment.
[85:43]
Robert Patrick
I got sober to do T2. I realized early on, physically, I was not going to be able to do that movie with my recreational participation in drug, sports and other things. And it was expected of me to be able to physically handle this. There was going to be all sorts of training involved with it. And I didn't tell anybody that I. But I was a, you know, I was a daily guy getting up every day. No one knew that. And I went cold turkey, did the film and. Like a dumbass and true alcoholic.
[86:20]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[86:22]
Robert Patrick
I told my wife, I said, as soon as this is over, I'm going to, you know, I want to catch some beer. And I just turned it on and binge for four years. Was just having this conversation with James Gunn the other day, and.
[86:34]
Marc Maron
You want me to get that name you dropped or you want me just put it there with Pacino?
[86:38]
Robert Patrick
No, I'll put it there with Pacino. By the way, I didn't want to say this, but I. Pacino's been to my house. Okay. He ate some fried chicken, left it in a garbage can.
[86:48]
Unnamed Guest
All right, there you go.
[86:51]
Marc Maron
Anyway, so James Gunn, you told him the story four years because he's sober, too.
[86:56]
Robert Patrick
He's been sober since he was 19.
[86:57]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[86:59]
Robert Patrick
And I said, you know, and it's weird. I did T2 and I accomplished this great. You know, I. I really participated and accomplished this great thing. And what did I do? I immediately went back to my old ways, went on a binge, started drinking all the time, started doing weed again and wondered why the. Aren't I worried? I thought I had this momentum and I. Myself for four years.
[87:21]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[87:22]
Marc Maron
Also that had something to do with the.
[87:23]
Robert Patrick
And then I, I. And then my wife. I wanted to have kids. My. And my wife Barbara, God bless her, she said, there's no way I'm having kids with you unless you clean up your ass.
[87:34]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[87:34]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[87:35]
Robert Patrick
And. And that's why I did it.
[87:38]
Unnamed Guest
Did it.
[87:39]
Robert Patrick
I did it.
[87:39]
Marc Maron
Still cold turkey. You still. You do the work.
[87:41]
Robert Patrick
I have. I have a sponsor and I go to the occasional meeting.
[87:45]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah. Yeah.
[87:47]
Robert Patrick
I really feel like it's just a spiritual. The program is really just to fast track to reconnect you with God and spirituality. And however you perceive that you grew up with that, I did. I'm a cradle to grave Episcopalian and I believe that. And I feel like that's what the program did. It got me back and I reconnected and found my faith again. And I've been good ever since.
[88:19]
Marc Maron
I'm happy for you. That's great, man.
[88:22]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[88:22]
Marc Maron
We're doing it 25 years.
[88:25]
Robert Patrick
You're 25?
[88:26]
Marc Maron
25 and godless. Good for you with the God, though.
[88:29]
Robert Patrick
Yeah. No, it's very important.
[88:33]
Marc Maron
Well, I think I have some sort of spirituality.
[88:36]
Robert Patrick
I'm sure you do. And, you know, I think everybody has to have whatever they have, you know, I mean, it's so easy for me because it's.
[88:43]
Marc Maron
You were brought up.
[88:44]
Robert Patrick
It was. I was brought up in it.
[88:45]
Marc Maron
It's wired in.
[88:46]
Robert Patrick
It's genetically pre wired. I have a. I have a. You know, you can talk to some of my other family members about their stuff.
[88:56]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[88:57]
Robert Patrick
What?
[88:58]
Marc Maron
This isn't going to be a full series on you. I don't want to disappoint you, but I'm not going to go interview your family to do, you know, five episodes.
[89:05]
Robert Patrick
I didn't mean that you should bring my brother in.
[89:08]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, yeah, yeah.
[89:09]
Marc Maron
The singer.
[89:09]
Robert Patrick
Oh. Multi platinum recording artist. He's fantastic.
[89:13]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[89:14]
Marc Maron
Well, what would you.
[89:14]
Robert Patrick
He's a good guy.
[89:15]
Unnamed Guest
What.
[89:16]
Marc Maron
What about your family? What would they say about your faith?
[89:20]
Robert Patrick
They're all for it.
[89:21]
Marc Maron
Yeah, of course.
[89:22]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[89:23]
Robert Patrick
Except for.
[89:24]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[89:26]
Marc Maron
The one. All right.
[89:29]
Robert Patrick
You know.
[89:30]
Unnamed Guest
Okay.
[89:31]
Robert Patrick
He's a good guy. I love it.
[89:32]
Marc Maron
All right. Nice talking to you.
[89:35]
Robert Patrick
Hey, Mark, Let me. Let me tell you something. We met at the American Airlines lounge.
[89:38]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[89:39]
Marc Maron
Locked in right away every year.
[89:41]
Robert Patrick
Everything I thought you were. You're a great guy. I really enjoyed this. I'm embarrassed. I don't like talking like this. Yeah, fucking make it sound good, buddy. Do something. Save my ass, would you?
[89:52]
Marc Maron
Of course.
[89:53]
Robert Patrick
All right.
[89:53]
Unnamed Guest
All right.
[89:54]
Robert Patrick
God bless you, bro.
[89:54]
Marc Maron
You too.
[89:55]
Robert Patrick
Thank you.
[90:00]
Marc Maron
There you go. That was fun. If you're in the market for a Harley, go to Robert's place in Santa Clarita. Hang out for a minute. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money. When you bundle your home and auto policies, the process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Hey, folks, On Thursday, I talked to documentary filmmaker Billy Corbin. He directed the new film From Russia with Lev, which was produced by my old Air America coworker, Rachel Maddow. If you want to go back and listen to my talk with Rachel from 2019, it's episode 1062. It's hard for me to see you as just like the person that I used to see hanging around there, America. Because now. Because, like, when I met you, I think you had a crew cut and you wore a baseball hat a lot. You're a little heavier and, you know, and you were just always. Yeah. Like, sort of leaning over a lot of papers. Yeah. I have a backpack full of paper that I brought with me to talk to you today, if that would make you more comfortable for me to get into that thing. No, it never did. I think I might even have a hat.
[91:33]
Unnamed Guest
Oh, good.
[91:33]
Marc Maron
Well, no, it wouldn't make me more comfortable. It would give me that same feeling I got back then. I'm like, should I be working more? Is there. Jeez, I just read a few things. Isn't that enough? But did I seem like the same? I mean, not did my work habit seem the same, but do I seem like the same person personality wise? Yeah.
[91:51]
Unnamed Guest
Yeah.
[91:52]
Marc Maron
No, I think. Well, you seem more confident and you would hope that would happen. Is it interesting? No, I don't feel more confident. You don't? No. That's episode 1062 with Rachel Maddow, and you can listen to it for free wherever you're listening to this episode right now. To get all episodes of WTF ad free, sign up for WTF plus, just go to the link in the episode description or go to wtfpod.com and click on WTF Plus. And a reminder before we go, this podcast is hosted by acast. I looped some basic blues.
[93:06]
Robert Patrick
Sa.
[93:52]
Marc Maron
Boomer lives monkey and La Fonda cat angels everywhere.