Episode 1614 - Ke Huy Quan - WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

Summary4 min read

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast
Episode 1614: Blair Psaki
Release Date: February 3, 2025

In Episode 1614 of the WTF with Marc Maron Podcast, host Marc Maron engages in a deeply personal and inspiring conversation with Blair Psaki, a former child actor known for his roles in iconic films like Temple of Doom and The Goonies. The episode delves into Blair’s tumultuous journey from a refugee fleeing Vietnam to an Oscar-winning actor, highlighting his resilience, challenges, and triumphant return to the acting world with his latest project, Love Hurts.

1. The Journey from Refugee to Child Actor

Blair Psaki opens up about his early life, detailing the harrowing experience of fleeing Vietnam at the age of seven amidst the chaos of war. He recounts the multiple escape attempts his family made, which often ended with imprisonment, and the ultimate successful escape to Hong Kong. Reflected in his words:

"And violating the escape because it wasn't a secret as much because we got on a boat that had more than 3,000 people leaving."
[02:44] Blair Psaki

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Blair describes the challenges of integrating into a new culture with a large family, nine siblings in total. They settled in Chinatown, Los Angeles, where the support of a close-knit community played a crucial role in their adaptation.

2. Accidental Stardom and Early Acting Career

At age eleven, Blair's life took an unexpected turn when a casting director spotted him at school. Without prior acting experience, Blair was cast in Temple of Doom, marking his entry into Hollywood. He recalls the surreal experience:

"It's pretty insane. And to think that only four years prior to that was when I came here as a refugee."
[04:56] Blair Psaki

Blair further shares his experiences working alongside legends like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford, emphasizing the supportive environment that nurtured his early career.

3. Navigating the Challenges of Child Stardom

Despite initial success, Blair candidly discusses the difficulties of transitioning from child actor to adult life. The pressures of maintaining relevance in an industry that often sidelines former child stars weighed heavily on him. He reflects:

"Once you became involved with the coordinating. So you were okay with your life, you're making a living."
[06:05] Blair Psaki

Blair explains how he stepped away from acting, focusing instead on behind-the-scenes roles such as action choreography. This shift allowed him to sustain a career in film without the instability of acting roles.

**4. The Comeback: Love Hurts and Oscar Success**

After decades away from the acting spotlight, Blair recounts his decision to return to acting in his late 40s. The alignment of opportunities and his renewed passion led to his role in Love Hurts, an action comedy that pays homage to the Hong Kong martial arts films of his youth. The culmination of his comeback was an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor, a moment he describes as a "full circle" experience.

"It's an amazing Hollywood ending or middle, or we'll see how it goes."
[05:08] Blair Psaki

Blair shares the emotional reunion with Harrison Ford and the overwhelming support from both his old and new film "families." The recognition was not only a personal triumph but also a testament to his enduring love for acting.

5. Reflections on Empathy and Current Events

Throughout the episode, Blair and Marc discuss broader themes such as empathy, political unrest, and personal trauma. Blair emphasizes the importance of compassion, drawing from his own experiences of displacement and resilience.

"I just hope that people can really. You know, it's a very divided subject, but I just hope that people can look at it through the lens of empathy and compassion."
[32:49] Blair Psaki

6. Life Lessons and Final Thoughts

Blair Psaki concludes the conversation by reflecting on the unpredictable nature of life and the significance of seizing opportunities. His story serves as an inspiration for overcoming adversity, embracing one's passions, and the enduring power of perseverance.

"Had I procrastinated, I go, wow, you know, I don't know, man. If I, if I stand on my ass and continue to debate whether I should be an actor again, that opportunity would pass me by."
[05:07] Blair Psaki

Notable Quotes

Blair Psaki [04:56]: "It's pretty insane. And to think that only four years prior to that was when I came here as a refugee."
Blair Psaki [06:05]: "Once you became involved with the coordinating. So you were okay with your life, you're making a living."
Blair Psaki [32:49]: "I just hope that people can really... through the lens of empathy and compassion."
Blair Psaki [05:07]: "Had I procrastinated... that opportunity would pass me by."

Conclusion

Episode 1614 of WTF with Marc Maron offers a profound exploration of Blair Psaki's life, illustrating how early hardships and unexpected opportunities shaped his path. From escaping war-torn Vietnam to gracing Hollywood films as a child actor, and eventually reclaiming his passion to win an Oscar, Blair's narrative is a compelling testament to resilience and the enduring pursuit of one's dreams. This episode not only provides insight into Blair's personal journey but also invites listeners to reflect on broader themes of empathy, perseverance, and the unpredictable nature of life's paths.

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Transcript759 lines

[00:02]
Marc Maron
Hey, folks. This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. We made a great website using Squarespace, and you can too now with the best features Squarespace has ever offered, like design intelligence, which uses AI technology to help you get the exact design specifications you need. And Squarespace payments, the easiest way to manage your sales in one place. 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. All right, let's do this. How are you? What the. What the Buddies? What the Nicks? What's happening? I'm Mark Marin. This is my podcast. How's everybody holding up out there? What is going on? Nothing good, but, you know, I'm here. That's okay, right? I'm okay. I'm good, I guess right now I'm having a good few minutes as we enter this episode of this show. I hope you're holding up. I guess, you know, I've got a couple emails, couple dms from people in Canada, and I. I don't. I'm sorry, I don't know what. What to tell you other than, look, we're. We're very unhappy as well, and I don't know what it's going to take for the. Whatever's left of Legacy Media to start reporting on this for what it is. I guess we'll hang on to assessing this here as a just an odd presidency as opposed to what it really is until what it really is becomes undeniable. And again, I acknowledge my friends in Canada for what the monster here is doing, but we're all living in it, and it's not gonna get good or better maybe ever, but. Hey, what'd you have for breakfast?
[02:11]
Ki Huy Quan
Huh?
[02:12]
Marc Maron
What'd you have for breakfast? Today I talked to Ki Hui Quan, and it was kind of a great conversation. It's a beautiful human story, really. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor two years ago for his role in Everything Everywhere all at Once. He's now the lead of the action comedy Love Hurts, which opens this week, which I saw so out of martial arts action. He definitely wanted to make an entertaining, satisfying, violent comedy, but we talked about his whole life, and it's. It's quite a human tale. So that's happening. That is happening shortly. It'll happen right here. You know, I went out and I'm doing the comedy, and it was an interesting weekend, actually. Me and Blair Psaki drove up to we started in. Where was that first show? Santa Barbara. We were in Santa Barbara, then San Luis Obispo and then Monterey. Beautiful drive, beautiful, nice towns, Grown up audiences, my audiences, you know, kind of an eclectic but specific bunch, but a lot of them. And if you know me from listening to this show, you know that I put an inordinate amount of pressure on myself to speak to the current moment, at least in my standup shows. You know, I hold back a little bit on the show because I don't want that to become a through line of the show to where I have to, you know, manage, you know, talking points and reactions. I'd rather just speak from the heart if I can, but I go up to do these shows and you know, my audience is like minded people and they're, they're nervous, they're scared, they're depressed, they're, they're in despair. And this is at the joy of the governing class right now. But I have to get up there and talk to them. And there's part of me that thinks like I should have some sort of solutions or I should kind of like, you know, serve their anger. And I find that I could probably because the anger is not as tangible yet. I think a lot of people are still traumatized and terrified and in a certain amount of shock and unable to really figure out, you know, how to navigate in the brains that they had before this presidency in terms of what they believed in. And you gotta hold onto what you believe in and apply it wherever you can. But nonetheless, performing for them, like I just had to tell them, I said, look, you know, this is how I feel, this is what I believe is going on. It's not good. I'm on your team, but let me try to entertain you in the way that I can. And this is sort of a first for me, the idea that acknowledging the state of things and then kind of just trying to entertain, like I always want to talk, but I generally feel like I have a point. And I generally feel like a lot of my material is pointed, but I'm doing some bits that I think are story driven and personal, but entertaining. And I was very conscious of the idea of let's acknowledge what's happening, let's agree on that. We can do what we can. And then if you're here to see me and you like me, I can be entertaining, I'll do some entertaining. And I don't think I've taken the stage with the idea of being an entertainer ever. I, I mean, I, I somehow sometimes differentiate between being a stand up comic and being an entertainer. But once I was on the same page and you know, I, I kind of, we eased into it. We knew what we were up against and you know, it's, let's just be entertaining. Can we do it? And it was kind of rewarding. I don't really know what's going on, but there's something now that I'm doing the hours again. I'm generally doing about an hour and a half. I don't know, I've hit a zone with it. It's kind of new, but it's good. And you know, thank God, even at this age I'm seeing some change. Not much, not really any regression, but some change in my approach. And I got tour dates coming up. I even added some shows. There's now a second show in Toronto at the Winter Garden on Saturday, May 3rd. Burlington, Vermont. I'll be at the Vermont Comedy Club for three shows. Two shows on May 5th and one show on Tuesday the 6th. We added that one on Monday. And I'll be in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at the Music hall on Wednesday, May 7th. Tickets for all those shows are on sale now. You can go to wtfpod.com tour I'm in Iowa City at the Ingler theater on Thursday, February 13. Des Moines, Iowa at the Hoyt Sherman Place on Friday, February 14 Kansas City, Missouri at the Midland Theater on Saturday, February 15. Asheville, North Carolina at the Orange Peel on Thursday, February 20. Nashville, Tennessee at the James K. Polk Theater on Friday, February 21 Louisville, Kentucky at the BOM Hard Theater. I hope I don't bomb hard. I can't not do that. At the Bom Hard Theatre on Saturday, February 21st in Lexington, Kentucky at the Lexington Opera House on Sunday, February 22nd. I'm coming to Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, on into New York City in May to record my HBO special. You can go again to wtfpod.com tour for all my dates and links to tickets. And yeah, there also is a couple of things here that because of. Yeah, I don't always know what I'm going to talk about here or make a big plan, but I think I should mention the passing of David lynch for a couple of reasons. Kit loves him and to the point where she used to walk by his house fairly frequently. It was near her place and she was, you know, exercising. But, but she, you know, has sort of made me reassess some of the movies that I might not have gotten before. But I always was impressed with David lynch and we, we lost A truly visionary guy in that guy. And I'm sort of an outlier, I think, in that. I, I feel honestly that, that his two best movies are, are the, the Straight Story and Elephant man. And I, and like Kit will not abide by that.
[08:42]
Ki Huy Quan
But I've always, I've watched all his.
[08:44]
Marc Maron
Movies and I've watched some of them a couple of times and I certainly appreciate his commitment to his vision and, and he was a very unique guy and, and, and Rest in Peace, David lynch and also Marianne Faithful. Marianne Faithful, I mean, come on, man. I mean Marianne Faithful was one of the great, the great interpreters of song. I mean, have you ever heard her version of Working Class Hero? I mean she, you know, the arc of who she is and what she became. I guess it was back in the 60s she got involved with the Stones and I think that might have beat her up a little bit. But Broken English is a life changing record for me. And she's just in that period was very menacing and, and, and very kind of intense and almost haunting. But she made like a record a year for, for decades. I mean there's a lot of records here on small labels. But, but I did want to acknowledge her passing because she's somebody I thought about a lot, even without a, a full acquaintance with all of her music. But the weird thing about Mariam Faithful for me was that after I left LA and got clean the first time back in the late 80s and moved back to Boston and I was working at the Coffee Connection, this woman used to come in like almost every morning and just sit by herself and have a French press of coffee and she looked just ravaged. And I was kind of fascinated with her. And after a month or two of that, or maybe it was a lesser time, somebody at the place told me it was Marianne Faithful. And I didn't really know much about her at that time, but that's when I started to get hip to her. And apparently I think she was over at McLean's psychiatric hospital trying to get clean or doing whatever. But I just remember, just every time she walked in there was a depth to the darkness in her being that I had never seen before. And I was kind of fascinated with. And that sort of continued and does continue every time I, I listened to her, her music. So I do want to say, you know, rest in Peace to Marianne Faithful as well. It's very interesting in San Luis Obispo at the, the Fremont Theater, which is kind. It was an old movie theater, it's kind of a rock club vibe now, but Nonetheless, during the show, you know, right up front, I was talking about politics a bit or about my reaction to what's happening, and some guy out front mouthed up about, you know, how he felt it was, you know, the right thing. And I could not understand what he was doing at my show. It was just a fairly standard kind of, probably a guy in his mid to late 30s, just a broken boy and some sort of alpha husk that, you know, he was kind of maneuvering through life. And, you know, I kind of went at him a bit, but I, you know, I tried to keep it on the level. I didn't, I didn't want to sink.
[11:59]
Ki Huy Quan
The show just because, you know, one.
[12:01]
Marc Maron
Guy who decided to vocalize his support for some policy decisions currently, you know, specifically getting all the immigrants out of our country. And I just, you know, gently asked him, well, not gently, maybe aggressively, but with some curiosity whether he had any empathy for those people at all or even saw them as people. And he aggressively said he did. And then I kind of listed the other things that, you know, he had signed on for in terms of, you know, it's kind of hard to be a, a single issue voter, you know, for a fascist regime, because you kind of are, you know, you sign on for one, you sign on for all of it, and that's what you are. That's who you are. That's what you were part of. You can't sort of separate it after a certain point because, you know, it's on you. But I couldn't understand what he was doing there. And it turns out his girlfriend was a fan and she brought him and I couldn't understand why she did that necessarily. They were sitting right up front and after I kind of went at it with the guy, he looked at me with kind of like amazed but yet slightly angry eyes that I was, you know, saying what I was saying to him. And then he pouted for the entirety of the show. I wouldn't call it, yeah, I would call it pouting. You know, he just did everything he could to, you know, visibly look like he wasn't paying attention to me going to his phone a bit. And I did not give him any more juice, but I did. I told him I appreciated his complete detachment from the situation. And I don't know if she was. Took him there to make a point, whether it was early on their relationship or. I'm not sure what happened after the show, but that's not my story to tell. But I, I just kind of handled it the way, you know, like A person. And I think that's probably a better way to do it and, you know, move on for the people that are there to be entertained by my new commitment to being an entertainer at this particular juncture in history. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. We always hear about watching out for red flags. Like when you're starting a relationship, everyone knows that there are certain red flags you should avoid. But what about green flags? What if you focused on the signals that a friendship or a relationship might be one that's worth your emotional energy? Therapy can help you identify green flags and also give you the tools to actively practice them in your relationships. BetterHelp is fully online, making therapy affordable and convenient, serving more than 5 million people worldwide. And it's easy to switch therapists at any time at no extra cost. I'm sure you're aware that I've had relationship struggles throughout my life. The first few years of this podcast were me trying to repair relationships on the mics. But therapy is another way I've gotten help with relationships. Whether you're dating, married, building a friendship, or just working on yourself, it's time to form relationships that love you back. Discover your relationship green flags with better help. Visit betterhelp.com WTF to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H E L p.com WTF I will say this about my Monterey stop. I did go to the aquarium, and holy shit, man, I love looking at fish. I don't know what it is about me. I've always liked looking at fish. I did learn one thing. I went on a Saturday to the Monterey Aquarium, which is one of the best aquariums in the world, apparently. But it was Saturday. And one thing I realized fairly quickly is that the life of sea creatures and sea animals is beautiful and amazing, but human beings, not so much. Not so much. Just looking at these graceful, stunning fish and then just seeing hundreds of humans with their human children just wandering around spreading germs and, you know, I don't know, I was glad I could lock into the jellyfish. And also, it was the first time I'd been to an aquarium since I've been a vegan. So it was kind of. It was kind of. I felt kind of proud to be there as an ally. And I say that in, in a humorous way. Please don't get worked up. But yeah, I am an. I am a, A, an ally to the animals because I do not eat them anymore. Not the reason I got into it, but it does change your perception of, of Animal life. So that was a nice day trip. So when I got the opportunity to speak to KE Huy Quan, you know, I kind of jumped at it because I'd heard some of his story and it is a tremendous arc. To be a refugee, to end up in one of the biggest movies ever and then to sort of disappear into the wilderness for as many years as he did and then come back, you know, 30, 40 years later and win an Oscar. It's a amazing Hollywood ending or middle, or we'll see how it goes. But, but I, I knew it was an amazing story and he's a sweet guy and he seemed like a sweet guy and I was kind of, kind of thrilled to talk to him. His new movie, Love Hurts opens in theaters this Friday. But this conversation with him was, was kind of, kind of beautiful. So this is me talking to KE Huy Quan. Okay, people, all you folks with growing families know this. The bigger the family, the more people there are who want the best seat in the family vehicle. But that's all changed with the 3 row Lexus TX. When the folks at Lexus made a luxury 3 row SUV that's in tune with every passenger, each seat feels like the best seat. The three row Lexus TX is loaded with innovative tech, plenty of legroom and intuitive features that anticipate everyone's needs. They designed the Lexus TX so that every seat lets passengers plug in or just unwind. It's going to be the most comfortable and versatile place you've ever listened to this podcast. And that third row isn't an afterthought. The cabin has been designed to let passengers of all sizes more immediately access the spacious third row. With the spaciousness and luxury of the tx, everybody wins. Which makes it the perfect vehicle for today's modern families. No matter who's in your crew, there's a place for everyone in the tx. The three row Lexus tx. This is more than a three row suv. This is the era of three row luxury.
[18:39]
Ki Huy Quan
So, yeah, no. How about you with the fires?
[18:41]
Blair Psaki
I, I, we got a bit of a scared with the Kenneth fire in West Hills. I, you know, my wife and I were glued to the television.
[18:49]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[18:50]
Blair Psaki
And all of a sudden my phone was buzzing and it was a warning.
[18:53]
Ki Huy Quan
Then that warning.
[18:54]
Blair Psaki
And then I, I, I went out. All my neighbors were out in the streets and we look and literally like two, three miles away, you see the smoke billowing in the sky.
[19:04]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[19:04]
Blair Psaki
And I go, oh shit. And we frantically ran inside and packed.
[19:09]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[19:10]
Blair Psaki
And it's insane because in that Frantic moment. You don't know what to pack.
[19:15]
Marc Maron
What'd you pack?
[19:16]
Blair Psaki
It's like, your house is full of stuff. It's like, what do you want to make sure that it survives and that confusion. I just got clothes and my wallet and that's it.
[19:27]
Marc Maron
Birth certificate?
[19:28]
Blair Psaki
No, I couldn't even find it. I didn't know. But then what's interesting is I walked out, my wife had a suitcase full of picture frames, and it was nothing but picture frames.
[19:37]
Marc Maron
What, with pictures in them?
[19:38]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, with pictures in them. You know those pictures that's been sitting in the living room? And I told her and I said, some of them are digital. We can reprint them. But she didn't want it. She wanted that physical one that's been in the house, you know, for the last 15, 20 years.
[19:54]
Ki Huy Quan
That's interesting.
[19:56]
Blair Psaki
And we put the suitcase in the car, came back, watched the tv, and thank God. Those firefighters, those aerial. Yeah, yeah. I mean, especially this time around. You know, I lived in LA for the last 45 years.
[20:09]
Ki Huy Quan
Has been that long, huh?
[20:10]
Blair Psaki
And over the years, you know, we've had, like, earthquakes and fire wildfires all the time. Yeah, but this one was different.
[20:17]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[20:18]
Ki Huy Quan
Because it was close.
[20:19]
Blair Psaki
It was close. And when they said, everybody in Los Angeles knows someone who lost a home, that could not be more true. And I know multiple people who lost homes. And it affect you in ways that it hits you.
[20:34]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[20:34]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, yeah, It's. It's terrible when it becomes, you know, personal or, or you lose your home or you're close by. Because I've been here for quite a few years and you, you always live with the risk of it. You. You kind of know. Yeah, that's part of the devil's bargain. We, we. We're in from living here, but it.
[20:50]
Marc Maron
Always seemed to be far away, and.
[20:52]
Ki Huy Quan
It didn't seem to be that there, there were structural risk usually.
[20:56]
Blair Psaki
Right.
[20:56]
Ki Huy Quan
But it was crazy, man. There was like.
[20:58]
Marc Maron
Did you get the app?
[20:58]
Ki Huy Quan
Did you get the do.
[20:59]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I got. Yeah, I got the app.
[21:00]
Ki Huy Quan
But you just watching, you're like, oh.
[21:02]
Marc Maron
My God, there's fires everywhere.
[21:03]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[21:03]
Ki Huy Quan
Every day it was like one popping up.
[21:05]
Marc Maron
How the hell is that possible?
[21:07]
Ki Huy Quan
I don't know if they're going to figure that out.
[21:09]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. But. But, you know, it made me appreciate our firefighters, our first responders, more than, you know.
[21:16]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[21:16]
Blair Psaki
They're the hero. They were the true heroes of Los Angeles.
[21:18]
Marc Maron
Totally.
[21:19]
Ki Huy Quan
Totally. Well, I mean, did you, like, I know that, you know, in your. When you were a kid, you know, you had to flee, did you have a flashback. Was there anything triggering?
[21:29]
Blair Psaki
No. No, not really. No. I mean, when something like this happen, you're so in the moment.
[21:37]
Marc Maron
I know.
[21:37]
Blair Psaki
You can't think of anything else. You know, it's only when the fires are out and you have time to reflect.
[21:46]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[21:47]
Blair Psaki
That's when you go, wow. I kind of remember what that was like, and I'll never forget it.
[21:55]
Ki Huy Quan
You did. You sat down?
[21:56]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, yeah, I sat down and I. You know, and kind of like the panic. The panic and just the, you know, the prospect of losing everything.
[22:07]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[22:08]
Blair Psaki
Not only of value, monetary value, but all the history, all the memories.
[22:13]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[22:14]
Blair Psaki
It was kind of like when we, you know, escaped Vietnam in 1978.
[22:19]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah. You can still feel that in your body.
[22:22]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my. I don't think you really recover from it.
[22:27]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[22:27]
Blair Psaki
You. You may heal from it.
[22:28]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[22:29]
Blair Psaki
But. But the memory is there, really. Yeah.
[22:33]
Ki Huy Quan
And how old were you?
[22:34]
Blair Psaki
I was. I was seven. We. We tried multiple times. It's not like. It was. Not like we tried one time and then.
[22:41]
Ki Huy Quan
But do you remember the actual feeling in Vietnam at that time, or were you too young?
[22:48]
Blair Psaki
I was too young. And I have, like, you know, flashes of different memories, bits and pieces, you know, images here and there.
[22:56]
Ki Huy Quan
Of what?
[22:57]
Blair Psaki
Of, you know, of my life in Vietnam.
[22:59]
Ki Huy Quan
Like helicopters. Like Americans.
[23:01]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. But mostly. But mostly family related.
[23:04]
Ki Huy Quan
Okay.
[23:04]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[23:05]
Blair Psaki
Because that's what made me comfortable. That's what gives me comfort. You know, just, you know, for example, like, you know, at night, my dad would take me on his, you know, scooter to go out for dessert.
[23:17]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[23:18]
Blair Psaki
Or just, you know, playing with my neighbors.
[23:21]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[23:21]
Blair Psaki
You know, just stuff like that. Just very normal. And then all of a sudden, you know, this. This, you know, this war happened, and my parents were very protective of us.
[23:31]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[23:31]
Blair Psaki
I think, you know, we were so young. I think they shielded a lot of kids.
[23:34]
Ki Huy Quan
How many kids?
[23:35]
Blair Psaki
Nine total.
[23:36]
Ki Huy Quan
That's insane. Are you in the middle?
[23:39]
Blair Psaki
I'm the seventh.
[23:39]
Ki Huy Quan
The seventh.
[23:40]
Blair Psaki
I'm the seventh. I think for me and my younger sister and brother, they don't remember as much, but for my older sister, the age gap is big.
[23:51]
Ki Huy Quan
How old is she?
[23:52]
Blair Psaki
I think she was 18, 19 at that time.
[23:55]
Marc Maron
Oh, my God.
[23:55]
Blair Psaki
So even, like, to this day, when I ask her to talk about it, I mean, she's very, you know, she remembers it vividly.
[24:03]
Marc Maron
Well, of course.
[24:03]
Ki Huy Quan
I mean, she was like, you know, in her late teens and, like. So what was happening is what.
[24:09]
Marc Maron
The Americans were leaving?
[24:10]
Ki Huy Quan
Is that what was happening?
[24:11]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. The north was fighting the south and America was helping, you know, the South. And then they felt, you know, the war. We should have never gotten into the war in the first place. They left. Yeah.
[24:24]
Ki Huy Quan
And they left, and there was no real help there, so.
[24:27]
Blair Psaki
And once when they left, the war was over.
[24:29]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[24:30]
Blair Psaki
And, you know, we live in Saigon. At the time, there was a big Chinese community.
[24:38]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[24:39]
Blair Psaki
Ethnically Chinese. And I think that population was targeted the most.
[24:46]
Ki Huy Quan
So they were. They were threatened physically that they would be, you know, either killed or put in a prison.
[24:51]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Or, you know, have everything taken away from you. And I think, you know, my parents at that time, they were very successful business wives.
[25:00]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[25:01]
Blair Psaki
And they just didn't see a future. Not for them, but for us.
[25:07]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[25:08]
Blair Psaki
You know, they had nine kids, and all of us were coming. You know, my older siblings were coming into age and they felt that, you know, this is not a place that they want the children to have future, and they decided to give up everything they had.
[25:24]
Ki Huy Quan
And were they both born in China?
[25:26]
Blair Psaki
My mom was born in Hong Kong. My dad was China.
[25:29]
Ki Huy Quan
Okay.
[25:30]
Blair Psaki
You know, before the Vietnam War, I mean, Vietnam was wonderful. Yeah, it was great. And a lot of people go there and prosper from a lot of the opportunities at that time. And that's what happened to my parents.
[25:44]
Ki Huy Quan
I think people go there again.
[25:46]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Even now, it's beautiful. By the way. I mean, disclaimer. This is in the 1970s, just right after the war.
[25:52]
Marc Maron
Have you been back?
[25:53]
Blair Psaki
I've been back.
[25:54]
Ki Huy Quan
How does that feel?
[25:56]
Blair Psaki
It feels very different. But I didn't go back. It's not recently. I did a movie in 95. It was a Chinese movie, a very low budget Chinese movie that was shot there. And it was very different. But even then, that was like 20, you know, 20 years ago, 30 years ago. So now it's very different.
[26:13]
Ki Huy Quan
But like, 30 years ago, when you decided to take that movie, what were you doing on that movie? Acting. Or were you doing the other.
[26:20]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I was an actor. It was an action movie.
[26:24]
Ki Huy Quan
Well, I know you worked in film outside of acting as well, but, I mean. But at that time.
[26:28]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, at that time, that was my last job as an actor before I decided to step away.
[26:33]
Ki Huy Quan
But when you. Were you nervous going back?
[26:36]
Blair Psaki
No, I was excited.
[26:37]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[26:38]
Blair Psaki
I wanted to see what my home used to be, and it was really interesting being there. It was an emotional journey in ways that, you know, when I look at everyone around us at the time we were shooting in Saigon, and I just kept thinking, oh, my gosh, if my parents, you know, didn't make that Sacrifice. I could have been that person. I could have been this person. I could have been that waiter. Or I could have been just this delivery boy. And here I am, an actor.
[27:15]
Ki Huy Quan
Wild. What did your other siblings end up doing?
[27:18]
Blair Psaki
Oh, they're very successful in business.
[27:20]
Unnamed Speaker
Oh, yeah?
[27:21]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. The majority of them are in Houston, Texas.
[27:25]
Ki Huy Quan
I just talked to somebody from Houston yesterday, a Palestinian guy, a comedian. Houston's an amazingly diverse city.
[27:32]
Blair Psaki
It is.
[27:33]
Ki Huy Quan
It's crazy. And it's so big in so many different communities there. So they ended up there the whole time, huh?
[27:39]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. And it's amazing. It's really. It's grown so much since my sisters, my siblings came to. I mean, they were the very early group to go there in the late 80s.
[27:53]
Ki Huy Quan
And was there a big Chinese community?
[27:56]
Blair Psaki
No, no. Back then was very small, but now there's a big Asian community, a big Vietnamese community, big Chinese community.
[28:03]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[28:03]
Blair Psaki
The food, the restaurants are great.
[28:05]
Ki Huy Quan
I know. They got all kinds. When you have all different communities, you got all the kinds of food.
[28:10]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[28:10]
Ki Huy Quan
And the ones that serve the community are the better ones, you know. So how did it work when you guys left? You know, did you all go as one family?
[28:20]
Blair Psaki
No, we had. I mean, it's too big of a family to escape. So it was escape? Yeah, yeah. It was escape in the middle of the night. It wasn't like, oh, we go buy a plane ticket and get on a plane and leave. It was nothing like that.
[28:37]
Marc Maron
Oh, my God.
[28:38]
Blair Psaki
You know, we tried multiple times, got caught.
[28:42]
Ki Huy Quan
And what happened when you got caught?
[28:44]
Blair Psaki
Put in jail.
[28:45]
Ki Huy Quan
The whole family.
[28:46]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, or half the family. I was in jail a couple of times with my father. The last time, my mom took three kids and escaped to Malaysia, and then they immigrated to Los Angeles. My dad took six of his kids, myself included. And then we went to Hong Kong.
[29:07]
Ki Huy Quan
We escaped to Hong Kong on the successful escape.
[29:11]
Marc Maron
So when you were put in jail.
[29:12]
Ki Huy Quan
How long did you have to stay in jail for?
[29:14]
Blair Psaki
The first time was three weeks. The second time was three months.
[29:18]
Ki Huy Quan
You were in jail for three months as a kid?
[29:20]
Blair Psaki
As a kid with other kids? No, with my dad.
[29:23]
Ki Huy Quan
So it's just the two of you?
[29:25]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, it was just the two of us. Yeah.
[29:27]
Marc Maron
You have that memory, too?
[29:29]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I have images of that. Like my dad being handcuffed, me not knowing what's going on. And it was just. It's just a tiny cell with me. It's just me and him. And it was tough to watch because every dad is every kid's hero, right?
[29:48]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[29:48]
Ki Huy Quan
Strong man.
[29:49]
Blair Psaki
Strong man. You look up to him. You look to him to protect you. So to see him in such a vulner, you know, that wasn't.
[29:58]
Ki Huy Quan
It's hard.
[29:59]
Blair Psaki
It's not good for mental health.
[30:01]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[30:01]
Ki Huy Quan
For a kid.
[30:02]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[30:03]
Ki Huy Quan
And I guess you guys had no idea how long he would necessarily be in there.
[30:07]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, yeah. You don't know. But I mean, you know, eventually they let us out and then my. We didn't give up. My dad was, you know, was very persistent.
[30:15]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[30:16]
Blair Psaki
He, you know, he wanted to make sure that we would have a bright future. And we tried again, but the last attempt was. It was more of a. It wasn't a secret as much because it cost us a lot. It cost the entire fortune of my parents. In fact, they didn't even have enough. They had to borrow money from their friends. And who are you paying off at that time? Probably, you know, government officials and, you know, whoever that was, you know, was orchestrating this escape because it wasn't a secret as much because we got on a boat that had more than 3,000 people leaving. Leaving. Yeah.
[31:00]
Ki Huy Quan
So I imagine, like, even though they're grifting and making money off it, they probably wanted people to leave.
[31:07]
Blair Psaki
Well, they'll probably think again. This is just me second guessing. They're probably thinking, you know, whether we want or not, people were leaving, so might as well profit from it.
[31:17]
Ki Huy Quan
Right, Right. They're going to try to get out one way or the other.
[31:19]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[31:20]
Ki Huy Quan
And where'd you end up? Hong Kong.
[31:21]
Blair Psaki
Oh, yeah, we end up in Hong Kong. I spent a year in a refugee camp.
[31:25]
Ki Huy Quan
With your family?
[31:27]
Blair Psaki
With my family. You know, there were, like, pictures and books, you know, that's written about it.
[31:32]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[31:33]
Blair Psaki
And, you know, unhcr, which I got involved with recently, a year ago, I didn't even know this. I went to the archive.
[31:41]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[31:41]
Blair Psaki
And it's, you know, they do wonderful work for displaced people around the world.
[31:48]
Ki Huy Quan
Uncr.
[31:49]
Blair Psaki
Unhcr.
[31:51]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, okay. So that's the United Refugee Administration Program. Okay.
[31:56]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[31:57]
Blair Psaki
And, you know, they were, they were, you know, they were talking to the Hong Kong government at that time to get all of us on board, I mean, onshore. Yeah, we stayed there and they were help working around with all the different countries, you know, to try to get you guys relocated. Yeah, Relocated, Yeah. And, you know, I'm really grateful to the American government at that time.
[32:18]
Ki Huy Quan
I think Trump shut that down.
[32:21]
Blair Psaki
Yes, unfortunately. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, you know, we were just very lucky. And this was, you know, 45 years ago, and I just hope, you know, we have a lot of displaced people now, which is shocking. I mean, back then, I think it was like, what, maybe a million? Now it's over 110 million displaced people. And I just hope that people can really. You know, it's a very divided subject, but I just hope that people can look at it through the lens of empathy and compassion.
[32:50]
Ki Huy Quan
I. You know, I'm very scared about the lack of empathy because I think that, you know, if you don't work the muscle that is empathy, if you don't allow your heart to engage in it, it just goes away. I don't think it's a natural thing. I think it's something, you know, tolerance and empathy has to be something that you let happen as opposed to just.
[33:13]
Blair Psaki
That's a very good point, Mark. Yeah.
[33:15]
Ki Huy Quan
Work from anger or some sort of resentment or hatred, because everybody's pretty selfish. So to sort of engage in the concern for other people, it's not really second nature. I think, in the big picture. I think, like, if you're on the street and somebody's in trouble, people will show up. But if they have time to think about whatever politics or whatever they think is a threat, then that they stop being able to see people as people.
[33:44]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, right. Yeah, absolutely.
[33:47]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[33:47]
Ki Huy Quan
So, like, how did you end up with the United States? I mean, I imagine the agency was trying to move people everywhere.
[33:54]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. They were asking us where we wanted to be, and then, because my mom got out early before we did, she went to Malaysia. Malaysia?
[34:01]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[34:02]
Blair Psaki
And then she immigrated to Los Angeles. So when, you know, when they were asking us where we wanted to be, of course we wanted to be reunited with my mom and my other siblings. So Los Angeles was the place we chose. And in 1979, I got on the plane for the very first time and landed in Los Angeles.
[34:23]
Ki Huy Quan
How old were you?
[34:23]
Blair Psaki
I was eight.
[34:25]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[34:25]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[34:26]
Ki Huy Quan
That must have been crazy. Was it a military plane?
[34:29]
Blair Psaki
No, no, it was just a regular plane. A regular commercial plane. Yeah.
[34:32]
Ki Huy Quan
And you had your papers and you were ready to go.
[34:34]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, yeah. I remember my dad holding a bunch of folders.
[34:38]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[34:39]
Blair Psaki
A stack of documents. And then just coming here and reuniting with my brother, who's my best friend, and my mom, who I hadn't seen in a long time, was, you know, was such a wonderful memory. Even now I can recall what that was like. And of course, back then, you know, when you get off the plane, your family meets you right at the gate.
[35:00]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[35:01]
Blair Psaki
It's not like now where you have to meet them. Baggage claim, outside the terminal, but. Yeah, the Minute we walked out, it was.
[35:08]
Ki Huy Quan
And you remember it.
[35:09]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I remember the joy. Oh, yes, yes.
[35:13]
Ki Huy Quan
The crying. Everybody's crying.
[35:15]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[35:15]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah.
[35:16]
Marc Maron
And so with your mom all set.
[35:18]
Ki Huy Quan
Up, do you have a place?
[35:19]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, yeah. You know, she. You know, we were living in Chinatown, Los Angeles, at that time.
[35:24]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[35:24]
Blair Psaki
It was a really small community. We rented a house, three bedrooms, in Chinatown, Los Angeles. And it was crowded. I remember it was just three bedrooms.
[35:38]
Ki Huy Quan
There was 11 of you?
[35:39]
Blair Psaki
11 of us, yeah. And we also had to rent half of the room out just to help cover the rent, because when we got here, we had nothing. And not only nothing, my parents were in debt.
[35:52]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[35:54]
Blair Psaki
But it didn't matter.
[35:55]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[35:56]
Marc Maron
You were here.
[35:57]
Blair Psaki
We were here. We were all together.
[35:58]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[35:58]
Ki Huy Quan
And how did everybody start getting work?
[36:01]
Blair Psaki
Oh, immediately. The older siblings, you know, they all love to work, and they're very ambitious.
[36:09]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[36:09]
Blair Psaki
So in Chinatown, you know, they went and we didn't even have a car. But it was such a small community that you can walk anywhere and everywhere.
[36:19]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[36:20]
Ki Huy Quan
What is the makeup? What province do most of the people in Chinatown come from? Is there a specific one?
[36:28]
Blair Psaki
It's a variety. But then this is. I'm talking about, like, in the 1970s. The majority of them were Vietnamese Chinese refugees.
[36:41]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah, okay.
[36:42]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[36:42]
Blair Psaki
But then you also have the Chinese people who lived here for a long time already. They didn't come in the 70s. They probably came way earlier than that.
[36:53]
Ki Huy Quan
Maybe in the 1800s for the wrong reasons. But, I mean, did you feel a class tension between the Chinese community that had been there forever and the new people?
[37:05]
Blair Psaki
No, no, not really. No.
[37:06]
Ki Huy Quan
Do you speak Vietnamese?
[37:08]
Blair Psaki
No, I don't, but my older siblings do. We all spoke the same language. We spoke Chinese, and everybody there spoke Chinese, Cantonese, specifically.
[37:19]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[37:21]
Ki Huy Quan
It's amazing, these Chinatowns. I don't know if they call it a diaspora, but it's always interesting to me that Chinese people got everywhere. I mean, they're represented in every state, everywhere.
[37:34]
Blair Psaki
There's so many different provinces and different dialects. But, yeah, we do have a big Asian diaspora, which is great.
[37:43]
Ki Huy Quan
And have you been back to China?
[37:45]
Blair Psaki
Yes, my wife is from China.
[37:49]
Unnamed Speaker
Okay.
[37:51]
Ki Huy Quan
She's first generation here?
[37:53]
Blair Psaki
No, she's born and raised in China.
[37:55]
Unnamed Speaker
Oh, really?
[37:56]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, we met in Shanghai. She lives in a. She's born and raised in Shenzhen, which is a city right next to Hong Kong. Yeah. And we've been together for 22 years.
[38:08]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, so she's got family there?
[38:10]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, she's got. Yeah, she's got family there.
[38:12]
Ki Huy Quan
I went to China once, I guess in the early 90s, and it was like going to another world.
[38:18]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[38:19]
Ki Huy Quan
I mean, I went to Beijing and it was crazy. I'd never seen anything like it. A lot of different types of bicycles.
[38:27]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, well, back then, a lot of bicycles. Now a lot of cars.
[38:31]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, yeah, well, there was that, too. But I noticed that a lot of people were riding contraptions almost. I mean, like, it was. It was. That was one of my memories. I'm like, how many different kinds of pedal machines do they have?
[38:43]
Blair Psaki
You know, when my wife and I dated, which was in the early 2000s, China was a very different country. One like, she couldn't even get a visa to come here. And it wasn't as wealthy or as developed as it is now. Today. You go now. I mean, it's just incredible. Yeah, incredible. One skyscraper bigger than the other. There's. It's just, you know, there's a lot of wealth.
[39:13]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[39:13]
Blair Psaki
A lot of new buildings.
[39:15]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[39:16]
Blair Psaki
Residential buildings.
[39:17]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[39:18]
Blair Psaki
It's very, very. Yeah, it's very different.
[39:20]
Ki Huy Quan
And there's no trouble getting in and out.
[39:21]
Blair Psaki
No, no trouble getting in and out. Like, people can come here. People can come in on a visa.
[39:25]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[39:26]
Blair Psaki
And, you know, they have a lot of tourists over there, too.
[39:29]
Ki Huy Quan
So when you get here and you're eight years old, I mean, I'm sure you've told this story plenty of times, but, you know, how do you end up, you know, being a child actor?
[39:39]
Blair Psaki
I did not. Look, I did not want to be an actor or even, you know, this profession was not even on, you know, on my radar.
[39:47]
Ki Huy Quan
Sure.
[39:48]
Blair Psaki
I was just being a kid. I was just like, you know, I was 11, and I was just busy trying to learn English.
[39:55]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[39:56]
Blair Psaki
Acclimating.
[39:57]
Marc Maron
You go into public school?
[39:58]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, public school.
[39:59]
Ki Huy Quan
How was that?
[40:00]
Blair Psaki
It was great. I loved it, you know, because it's largely a Chinese community, so all my friends, all my classmates were Asian.
[40:10]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
[40:11]
Blair Psaki
So it was not hard to, you know, integrate. To integrate, exactly.
[40:17]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[40:17]
Blair Psaki
So I was just busy being a kid, and one day this casting director showed up with a camera. At my school, with a camera and with his associates. And all of a sudden, I see all these kids lining up to be. To audition for this movie that I know nothing about. My brother was one of them, and I kind of, you know, I was with him. We were just chatting, and I was just looking over as he's, like, studying the sides. I had no idea what it was for.
[40:52]
Ki Huy Quan
How old were you? 10?
[40:54]
Blair Psaki
No, I was 11.
[40:55]
Ki Huy Quan
11?
[40:55]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, 11. 12.
[40:56]
Ki Huy Quan
And he was just looking at these script pages.
[40:58]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, Script pages. I can barely read them. My reading comprehension wasn't that great at the time. And when it was his turn to go into the room to audition for the casting director, I was with him. I was with him, and I genuinely loved the process, and I thought. I thought he could do better. So I was giving him direction, like, as if I was the director.
[41:21]
Ki Huy Quan
So they were giving him notes and you were explaining it to him?
[41:23]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, and I was just telling him to, you know, to be scarier, to be. To have bigger energy. I was just, like, throwing these, you know, directions at him.
[41:30]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[41:31]
Blair Psaki
And the casting director saw that. He looked over and he says, who is this kid? You know? And he says, hey, what's your name? I said, key. And he says, do you want to go and audition for me?
[41:45]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[41:45]
Blair Psaki
And I said, yeah. I didn't think much of it. I didn't think it was. I didn't think it was hard or anything, but then, of course, once when I was in the seat, it was hard.
[41:54]
Ki Huy Quan
You got nervous?
[41:55]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. I stumbled on my lines, and I didn't know how to say the lines properly, but luckily, he saw past that and he says, keith, just put it down. I just want to talk to you. And we had a nice chat.
[42:10]
Ki Huy Quan
What was the chat about?
[42:12]
Blair Psaki
It was like, you know, like, you know, how many siblings do you have? Just, you know, just very. A common question here. What's your favorite subject in school?
[42:20]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[42:20]
Blair Psaki
How many siblings do you have? How long have you been here?
[42:24]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[42:24]
Blair Psaki
You know, just common questions. And after it was done, I didn't know. I was told years later, when I walked out, he called Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who were looking for an Asian kid for a long time, and they said, we don't have to look any further. I think I found him. And from that day forward, my life has been changed.
[42:50]
Ki Huy Quan
So you're at home, and they come over to your house and say, we want you.
[42:53]
Blair Psaki
Well, we got a call the following day, and the assistant says, we would like here to come in. I didn't even speak English. So it was my brother, my older brother, who was on the phone talking to the assistant. And so she was saying, we want him to come in. And my brother nonchalantly says, he can't. We don't have a car. We can't get to Hollywood. And it was literally only 12 miles away, right? It was only 12 miles away.
[43:24]
Ki Huy Quan
So would they send a car?
[43:25]
Blair Psaki
So that's exactly what they did. They said, don't worry, we'll send a car. We'll send a driver over and. Yeah, and then you go, what they.
[43:32]
Ki Huy Quan
Take you over to?
[43:33]
Blair Psaki
They took me to Burbach. They took me to Brobach.
[43:35]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah.
[43:36]
Blair Psaki
Studios. Yeah, it was the first time I've seen a studios. We, you know, we went past the security and all of a sudden, you know, I'm there with my mom in the lobby and out walks this man with a beer and a mustache. And I had no idea who he is. And then he got down to my level, we had a nice chat. I was wearing this stupid three piece suit that made me really uncomfortable. And yeah, we had a little chat and I was told to go back the next day and just wear something that I'm more comfortable in.
[44:16]
Ki Huy Quan
Like your clothes?
[44:17]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, just like regular clothes. It's clothes that I would normally wear to school. And I did, and I walked in the room and there was George Lucas, Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg.
[44:30]
Ki Huy Quan
Crazy.
[44:30]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, it was pretty insane. And to think that only four years prior to that was when I came here as a refugee.
[44:38]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[44:39]
Blair Psaki
We had nothing.
[44:40]
Ki Huy Quan
You'd been in prison, you'd been in a refugee camp.
[44:42]
Blair Psaki
I'd been in a refugee camp. And all of a sudden I find myself on a set with basically the biggest filmmakers on the planet and the biggest movie star on the planet.
[44:55]
Ki Huy Quan
So you're in that room with them at first. You have no idea who they really are, but you know that you're gonna, you know, you're in a big thing.
[45:03]
Blair Psaki
I didn't know I was in a big thing. I didn't know who, because I, at that time, I've never seen Star wars or Raiders.
[45:09]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[45:10]
Blair Psaki
So to me, they were just, you know, guys. Guys. Yeah. And I think it's because of my, you know, my lack of knowledge of who they are. Make me really comfortable. Cause, you know, there was no stakes for me.
[45:25]
Marc Maron
Sure.
[45:26]
Ki Huy Quan
And what was that first meeting like? Was it sort of like to see if you had chemistry with Harrison?
[45:30]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, we did. We did. You know I did the famous card scene from Temple of Doom. Yeah, that scene was not in the script. It was a scene that Stephen came up. It was improvised. But that exchange between Indian Short round came off so funny.
[45:50]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[45:51]
Blair Psaki
Stephen and Joyce says we gotta have that in the movie.
[45:53]
Ki Huy Quan
And you did that in the room. Just improvised.
[45:56]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, just improvised. Yeah. So he gave me the premise. He was just like, hey, you guys are playing cards. And then you catch Indy cheating. Okay, he's cheating and you're not happy.
[46:06]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[46:07]
Blair Psaki
And. And so that's the premise.
[46:08]
Ki Huy Quan
And that was the kind of not the audition. But that was the first time you were with him. With.
[46:13]
Blair Psaki
That was the first time. Yeah. With Harrison. And then also we did a couple of scenes from the script.
[46:20]
Ki Huy Quan
Sure.
[46:20]
Blair Psaki
And we spent an afternoon together. A couple of hours.
[46:25]
Ki Huy Quan
And you still don't know who he is, really?
[46:27]
Blair Psaki
I still don't know, but he's just. I still don't know.
[46:30]
Marc Maron
But he's being nice to you.
[46:31]
Blair Psaki
He's trying to connect to me. We said, oh, these guys are really friendly. Really nice. And a few weeks later, you know, like, between before I got on a plane to go to Sri Lanka, then all of a sudden, I'm going in for wardrobe fitting, you know, all of that. And I said, oh, this is what's going on. I had no clue. And I still didn't know at that time. I still didn't know I was making a sequel to the biggest movie in 1982.
[47:08]
Ki Huy Quan
That's hilarious.
[47:09]
Marc Maron
And what's your mom thinking?
[47:12]
Blair Psaki
She loved it.
[47:13]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[47:13]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[47:13]
Ki Huy Quan
Did she know who they were?
[47:15]
Blair Psaki
She didn't know who they were, but she knew, you know, what was at stake. What was at stake?
[47:21]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[47:22]
Blair Psaki
And she was just very proud. Yeah, she's very proud of me.
[47:26]
Ki Huy Quan
And so. And then the next thing you know, they shot it in Sri Lanka.
[47:31]
Blair Psaki
We shot in Sri Lanka for three weeks.
[47:33]
Ki Huy Quan
That's your second time on a plane.
[47:35]
Blair Psaki
Yes, second time on a plane. I went from riding in the back of the plane to riding first class to Sri Lanka, and then we shot the majority of the movie in London.
[47:47]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[47:48]
Ki Huy Quan
And every day must have been just amazing.
[47:51]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[47:51]
Ki Huy Quan
Because you don't know anything about this process.
[47:54]
Blair Psaki
I know. It was like.
[47:56]
Ki Huy Quan
And you were just a natural at it, I guess.
[47:59]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Honestly, I mean, I look at that movie now, and I'm still surprised because I had no prior acting experience, never been on a movie set before, And I look at that performance and I said, yeah, it's pretty good. It's pretty good. But I would have to credit. I would have to credit Spielberg. He's so good with kids.
[48:24]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[48:26]
Ki Huy Quan
What was it about him? He just trusted him. And he'd kind of make it clear what you needed to do.
[48:31]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. And his voice is very soothing, you know, and he's just. Because he's a kid himself.
[48:37]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[48:38]
Blair Psaki
And every time he talks to you, he's never looking down at you. He always gets to your level to give you directions and tell you exactly what he wants you to do. And every time, what's incredible is, like, you know, when I do something, when I Do a good take. You know, I would get a high five. You know, I would get, you know, wow. Really good key, you know, that constant praise and as a kid, you love it.
[49:03]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[49:04]
Blair Psaki
It's the greatest feeling.
[49:07]
Ki Huy Quan
How long did it take to shoot it?
[49:09]
Blair Psaki
It was five months. Five. Back then, five months. They don't do movies like that anymore. Everything was practical. I mean, you know, I didn't need to imagine anything. Sure. You walk on it. You can touch. You can smell everything, you know?
[49:20]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[49:21]
Ki Huy Quan
That must have been.
[49:22]
Marc Maron
It's so exciting.
[49:23]
Ki Huy Quan
So you do the shoot and then, like, you just wait.
[49:25]
Unnamed Speaker
You're like.
[49:26]
Ki Huy Quan
I don't know, you know, like. I mean, you didn't know what the movie was gonna look like.
[49:29]
Blair Psaki
Once when it was done, I went back to school.
[49:31]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[49:34]
Blair Psaki
And to be a regular kid again.
[49:36]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[49:37]
Blair Psaki
And then. And then when the movie came out, we premiered at the Man Chinese Theater. It was the first time I saw it all put together because I wasn't allowed to watch dailies.
[49:49]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah, sure.
[49:50]
Blair Psaki
So I had no idea what we shot. You know, they're all, like, bits and pieces.
[49:53]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[49:54]
Blair Psaki
And for someone who has no knowledge of filmmaking, you don't know how it's going to put together.
[50:00]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah, of course not.
[50:01]
Blair Psaki
So the very first time I watched myself up on the screen was at the premiere and big screen with. With 1400 people and.
[50:09]
Ki Huy Quan
And they loved it.
[50:10]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. What.
[50:11]
Ki Huy Quan
What do you think?
[50:12]
Blair Psaki
I thought it was incredible. I. I could not believe it was me up there on the screen. And you can understand why I fell in love with acting immediately.
[50:26]
Marc Maron
Yeah, of course.
[50:27]
Blair Psaki
And I follow that with the Goonies.
[50:30]
Ki Huy Quan
That was a huge movie.
[50:31]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[50:31]
Ki Huy Quan
And now, after you. Did you know the Temple of Doom? Is Harrison in touch with you?
[50:40]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, he came to visit us on the set of the Goonies.
[50:44]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, yeah.
[50:45]
Blair Psaki
I remember when. After we finished shooting, he came over again because we didn't have a car at that time. He came, picked me up, took me to his house, and I had a wonderful day with him and his kids.
[50:59]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[51:00]
Ki Huy Quan
That's sweet.
[51:01]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. And then he took me back home.
[51:03]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah, that's sweet. So the Goonies, now you're on fire.
[51:07]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Yes. Yes. Two out of two. Can you believe that?
[51:13]
Ki Huy Quan
Do you at any point train at all a little bit or.
[51:18]
Blair Psaki
No, no, no, I went with it. Yeah. I was never. Never trained as an actor. Somehow it just come naturally to me and then.
[51:28]
Ki Huy Quan
But, you know, they had these other parts and. You were in Encino Man. With Paulie.
[51:32]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, with Paulie. With Sean. Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser.
[51:35]
Ki Huy Quan
Was he in that?
[51:36]
Blair Psaki
Yes.
[51:36]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[51:37]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[51:37]
Ki Huy Quan
And they're a little older than you are. Same age.
[51:40]
Blair Psaki
We're about the same age. But one thing was very different when we did in Sino Man. You understand. I was one of the stars in Temple of Doom. I was one of the stars in the Goonies. And all of a sudden, I'm struggling now. I'm struggling as an actor already. By Encino. By Encino Man. Yeah. I just had a very small role in that. But I was grateful that I was working. I was happy that I get to be in this movie with Sean.
[52:08]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[52:08]
Marc Maron
So after.
[52:09]
Ki Huy Quan
But after the Goonies, it became. You knew, a big difference. There was a big difference in how you were being cast.
[52:17]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. And also, it was at the time where, you know, I was going through puberty.
[52:21]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[52:21]
Blair Psaki
Now I'm like 15, 16.
[52:23]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[52:25]
Blair Psaki
I was coming into age.
[52:26]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[52:27]
Blair Psaki
And, yeah. I spent more and more time in school than I, you know, afterwards I graduated. And now, you know, I'm deciding what I want to do. Should I go to college or should I, you know, pursue acting full time?
[52:41]
Ki Huy Quan
Hammer away at the acting. Yeah.
[52:42]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. And I chose the latter. I wanted to be an actor.
[52:46]
Ki Huy Quan
And when does it get to the point where it's heartbreaking.
[52:52]
Blair Psaki
When you. First of all, when you audition and you don't get anything, and this is like, you know, after you've been in two big movies.
[53:02]
Unnamed Speaker
Sure. Yeah.
[53:03]
Blair Psaki
So first you audition.
[53:04]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[53:05]
Blair Psaki
You don't get it.
[53:06]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[53:07]
Blair Psaki
And then even the opportunity to audition goes away. Goes away.
[53:13]
Ki Huy Quan
And you've got agents.
[53:14]
Marc Maron
Yeah.
[53:14]
Blair Psaki
Then that's tough.
[53:15]
Ki Huy Quan
Your agents are telling you, don't worry, you know, we're going to send you out on it. Just constantly talking you up.
[53:21]
Blair Psaki
Even getting the agent on the phone was hard.
[53:24]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, my God.
[53:25]
Blair Psaki
It's not like, come on. If you're an agent, you have so many clients and all your other clients are making money for you. And who is this actor that's not making money for you and he's calling you to see if there's any opportunities out there. Yeah. It was like just getting agent. Getting my agent on the phone was hard.
[53:45]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, my God. It's such a unique story because generally, I would say more so than not, it doesn't really end that well for child actors.
[53:57]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Yeah.
[53:58]
Ki Huy Quan
In terms of, you know, where their life goes, it's hard.
[54:01]
Blair Psaki
Right.
[54:02]
Ki Huy Quan
Because they change physically. And, you know, what you're known for is gone because you were a kid.
[54:08]
Blair Psaki
You know, my Goonies brother, Jeff Cohen, also went through the same thing. You know, he Was this cute, chubby kid in Goonies and hit puberty. All of a sudden, you know, he lost all the weight. He also had really difficult time getting a job as an actor. And Dick Donner, the director of the Goonies, really mentored him and says, kid, you know, it's not just acting to be in this business. There are other stuff that you can do, too. And kind of guided him down this path to be an entertainment lawyer. Paid for his tuition.
[54:42]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, he did.
[54:43]
Blair Psaki
He did. Oh, that's sweet. And came out. And now Jeff Cohen is one of the most successful entertainment attorneys in Hollywood. He has his own law firm. He's my entertainment lawyer. He's been. By the way, he's been my attorney for 25 years, ever since he started his own law firm. I was one of his first clients. I signed with him right away. But what's incredible is this. I never made him any money.
[55:17]
Ki Huy Quan
But you were friends.
[55:19]
Blair Psaki
We were friends from Goonies, but I never. Yeah, I would tell people that he's my lawyer all the time, but then secretly, I'm just thinking, God, should I even say that? Because he's never made a dime off of me. But what's incredible is that every time I call him or need legal advice, he's always there. He's always there. Picks up my phone, returns my call the very same day, all the time. So I'm really happy that I'm making him some money now.
[55:46]
Ki Huy Quan
And so when do you, like, figure out that you want to stay in show business, but you have to figure out a way to do it, you know, that doesn't involve acting as much?
[55:59]
Blair Psaki
You know, it was. It was not an easy. It was not like, oh, one day I wake up and go, wow, okay, I know what I want to do.
[56:06]
Ki Huy Quan
I need another plan.
[56:07]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Yeah. But it was, like, slowly, gradually, and, you know, and I think the. You know, the seed was planted. When you spend so much time alone.
[56:17]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[56:17]
Blair Psaki
And waiting. And then especially, like, when you're in. You, like, what, 21.
[56:22]
Ki Huy Quan
And you have no real control over your life. You're just waiting for someone to make a decision.
[56:26]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Because there's nothing you can do if nobody hires you as an actor.
[56:30]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[56:31]
Blair Psaki
There's practically nothing you can do.
[56:32]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[56:34]
Blair Psaki
And that's what happened to me. And I said, you know, I didn't want to lift my prime years like that.
[56:42]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[56:43]
Ki Huy Quan
I mean, so how did you, like, decide what changed?
[56:47]
Blair Psaki
What'd you do? One day I decided to go to college. I said, you know what? Let me try to enroll in film school. And if I get in, then it's meant to be.
[56:57]
Ki Huy Quan
You're in your 20s.
[56:58]
Blair Psaki
I'm in my 20s, yeah. So I said I want to see. And you know, film schools are very hard to get into. So I applied and I said, if I get in, then it's meant to be. It's meant that I need to continue my education.
[57:10]
Ki Huy Quan
Where'd you apply to?
[57:11]
Blair Psaki
Usc.
[57:12]
Unnamed Speaker
Hello?
[57:13]
Ki Huy Quan
So you could have got a good letter of recommendation there, it seems.
[57:16]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Did you? No, I didn't. I didn't want to. People were saying at that time, oh, you should get, you know, you should call Lucas.
[57:26]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[57:27]
Blair Psaki
Cardano especially, you know, O'Donna's from there too. No, no, but especially Lucas and Gilbert.
[57:32]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[57:35]
Blair Psaki
I didn't want to bother him.
[57:37]
Ki Huy Quan
You didn't?
[57:37]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I just feel like, you know, they're so busy. I'm one of those people where they're so busy, let's not bother them, you know.
[57:45]
Ki Huy Quan
Wow.
[57:46]
Blair Psaki
Just try to do things yourself.
[57:47]
Ki Huy Quan
That's pretty noble.
[57:48]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. But.
[57:50]
Ki Huy Quan
Well, when you graduated, you got a film degree, you did some shooting, you made some movies.
[57:54]
Blair Psaki
My first movie out of college was X Men as an action choreographer.
[57:58]
Ki Huy Quan
So. But was the plan to direct or was, you know, when you got out?
[58:02]
Blair Psaki
The plan was. Yeah, the plan was to direct. But then before I even got there, I got this call from this Hong Kong director who just got a job as an action choreographer on X Men.
[58:13]
Ki Huy Quan
Okay.
[58:14]
Blair Psaki
So he says, would you want to come work for me? And I said, of course. Hell yes. Packed my bag and showed up in Hong Kong? No, in Toronto. Toronto, Canada. Met a young Kevin Feige, met a young Hugh Jackman. And that was the first time that I stepped behind the camera. I was being paid, I had a job. And all of a sudden I knew what I wanted to do. Like, the future didn't seem so bleak anymore.
[58:44]
Ki Huy Quan
You wanted to be the coordinator of some. Now, when you were in college, did you make films?
[58:49]
Blair Psaki
Yes, we made films. We made short films and those were really fun. It was that time where all of us wanted to be the next Spielberg, the next Lucas.
[59:01]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[59:02]
Blair Psaki
We're all like full of aspirations.
[59:04]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[59:05]
Blair Psaki
And you know, we, we were. Because that, my, that generation, my generation, we were all heavily influenced by those movies in the 70s and the 80s, of course.
[59:16]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[59:17]
Ki Huy Quan
And you were into.
[59:18]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. So when I, you know, like all of my friends, my USC friends and I, we graduated with really high hopes. We all think we're gonna change the world and make record breaking movies. Did Any of them do it reality set. And we realized that first, no one is gonna be Steven Spielberg. No one is gonna be George Lucas. But yeah, some of my friends went on to be great writers. Some of them are great, you know, sound mixers, film editors.
[59:56]
Ki Huy Quan
They were all. They covered it all at that school, huh?
[59:59]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, yeah.
[60:00]
Ki Huy Quan
So this action choreography.
[60:03]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[60:03]
Ki Huy Quan
Did you know anything about it other than being a kid actor?
[60:07]
Blair Psaki
I had the background. I studied taekwondo for many years. I have a black belt in taekwondo. And I grew up watching and loving those Hong Kong 80s action movies.
[60:19]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[60:20]
Blair Psaki
From Jackie Chan, Sammo Hong. And so my brother and I, we were enamored with that genre.
[60:26]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[60:27]
Blair Psaki
So we would go, we would study, come back, watch those movies, and then we would, like, walk out the fights ourselves.
[60:34]
Ki Huy Quan
Because you knew the moves.
[60:35]
Blair Psaki
We knew the moves. And then I would even buy a sandbag and put it up in my backyard and practice my cakes.
[60:40]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[60:41]
Blair Psaki
And I did that for a long time as a kid. As a kid, yeah. And thinking that, oh, now that I have a black belt, Hollywood's gonna put me in an action movie.
[60:50]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[60:50]
Ki Huy Quan
You're ready?
[60:51]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I'm ready. I'm ready to kick ass, you know? But then, unfortunately, the timing wasn't right. Hollywood was not hiring an Asian actor to kick ass alongside, you know, Stallone or Schwarzenegger. So I put those skills away until I call upon them again, working behind the camera. And not only did I know, I mean, look, flashback. I mean, flash forward to now. All those skills that I acquired as a kid and also behind the camera, that's how I made love hurts.
[61:26]
Ki Huy Quan
I know. I can see it, you know, and you're definitely on top of it. I imagine you had to do some training.
[61:33]
Blair Psaki
Yes. Oh, yeah. The training is because I haven't done those moves in a long time. They exist in memories, you know, but they're there. But they're there. So before I did Love Hurts, I trained with our action team, 87 north, for three months. And so you have the memory now. It's about getting your muscles to be able to do what you remember you can do.
[61:58]
Ki Huy Quan
And when you were doing the coordinating, did you become. Like, when you worked for that guy, did you eventually become your own coordinator?
[62:07]
Blair Psaki
Well, I worked with him for a long time.
[62:09]
Ki Huy Quan
You worked with him and for him?
[62:10]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I worked with him for him for a long time.
[62:12]
Ki Huy Quan
So you really learned how you do that?
[62:14]
Blair Psaki
Yes. How you stage fights, how you stage fights, how you do fights that look good on camera, and then also how to shoot it.
[62:23]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[62:23]
Blair Psaki
Because when you do fights, there are a lot of places to put that camera.
[62:28]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[62:29]
Blair Psaki
In order to sell that punch or that kick. There's only one or two good angles. I learned that. And so doing Love Hurts and talking with JoJo, our director, and our action team, whatever they were saying, I understood it right away because it's the same language.
[62:47]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah, well, you did it for years, right?
[62:48]
Blair Psaki
Yes. And then. So now I can. Not only am I an actor in this, but now I can contribute. I go, you know what? This move looks great, but I think I can do more. Or can we do this? And it's really about a great fight sequence. Should have a story.
[63:03]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[63:04]
Blair Psaki
And that's the most challenging part, and that's what we try to do with this movie, is every fight should have a story. They should also advance this, you know, the plot, or it should tell you what that character.
[63:17]
Ki Huy Quan
Well, yeah, because the movie's played for, you know, it is played for comedy. And the characters are very, you know, well defined. You know, even the bad guys, to the point where, you know, one of them is a poet. And so each individual. It's interesting how it's written like that because each individual outside of maybe one of them, you know, you get a very strong sense of their little backstory.
[63:40]
Blair Psaki
Right.
[63:41]
Ki Huy Quan
And so. And they're kind of comedic because they're, you know, it's an ironic juxtaposition between what this guy does. And, like, you got the guy who's having a hard time with his wife. The other guy is a misunderstood poet. You know, one guy's your brother and then there's a bad guy. But, you know, you really entering any fight scene outside of the choreography, having an arc, you've got these guys who you have. You kind of get them as comedic characters.
[64:04]
Blair Psaki
Right. And also, like, for Love Hurts, it's really an homage to those Hong Kong movies.
[64:10]
Ki Huy Quan
Oh, yeah, totally.
[64:11]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
[64:11]
Blair Psaki
The fights, you know, it's very martial arts, very choreography driven.
[64:15]
Marc Maron
Yeah, yeah.
[64:16]
Ki Huy Quan
And it was kind of funny because I was noticing there was a period there where these movies, like, didn't kill as many people.
[64:26]
Blair Psaki
Wait, Rambo. Rambo did. I know Rambo killed a lot of people.
[64:30]
Ki Huy Quan
No, I mean, the more comedic ones.
[64:31]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, yeah. The more comedic. Yes. Yeah.
[64:32]
Ki Huy Quan
Because you're right, you know, this is. It is a comedy, a romantic comedy on some level. And, like, I kept thinking about the cop movies in the 70s where, you know, they just destroy an entire city. But then there was a period where comedy cop movies, they'd hurt guys, but very rarely did they kill them?
[64:49]
Marc Maron
And in this movie, some guy catches a bullet in the head that didn't.
[64:52]
Ki Huy Quan
Even have it coming.
[64:54]
Marc Maron
And it was like a big.
[64:57]
Blair Psaki
It's all about the. You know, the payoff.
[64:59]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah, it's a punchline.
[65:00]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, it's a punchline.
[65:01]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
[65:03]
Ki Huy Quan
But before this movie, you know, so.
[65:06]
Marc Maron
Had you given up on acting?
[65:09]
Ki Huy Quan
Totally. Once you became involved with the coordinating. So you were okay with your life, you're making a living.
[65:15]
Blair Psaki
I was making a decent living. I was making a lot of money. I wasn't making a paycheck.
[65:19]
Ki Huy Quan
Sure.
[65:20]
Blair Psaki
But I was doing what I love, which was like, you know, I was still making movies, but just in a different capacity.
[65:27]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[65:28]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[65:29]
Blair Psaki
And I was having a good time.
[65:30]
Ki Huy Quan
And you were okay, and I was okay. And you let go of acting in your heart.
[65:35]
Blair Psaki
Yes, yes, I was doing okay. But, you know, it's. As the years went by and I started to watch, you know, more and more movies and seeing great performances up on the screen, I couldn't help but to start have that, you know, the feeling that nostalgic.
[65:58]
Ki Huy Quan
But you didn't know. You couldn't. You couldn't have figured out a way back in, really.
[66:02]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, I couldn't because I was already. I was already, like, out. My job was behind the camera.
[66:10]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[66:10]
Blair Psaki
I had. There was no. There was no. There was no way that I could see myself stepping in front of it.
[66:20]
Ki Huy Quan
Right, right.
[66:21]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[66:21]
Ki Huy Quan
At your age and my age also.
[66:24]
Blair Psaki
And also working with all these great directors, even they didn't say, keith, do you want to play this? Like, they didn't even do that.
[66:33]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[66:33]
Ki Huy Quan
You know, but they knew who you were.
[66:35]
Blair Psaki
They knew who I. Yes, they knew who I was. Everybody knew, you know, my temple would do.
[66:42]
Marc Maron
That's the kid from Goonies.
[66:43]
Blair Psaki
In fact, on X Men, when we were walking out, the fight sequence we choreographed, we spent a few weeks choreographing the big finale, the fight between Wolverine and. And Mystique. They gathered the entire cast and crew together, and it was me and another stunt guy walking out the entire scene so everybody can see what's going on. And it was Kevin Fahey standing to the side. He says, hey, that kid. That is the kid from Indiana. But then, you know, and also, just because I was working with all these incredible filmmakers and none of them ever asked, you know, keith, would you want to play this role? So that kind of cemented my belief that my acting resignation. Yeah. My acting days are over.
[67:31]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[67:32]
Ki Huy Quan
So, like, this just crazy, though. So, like, how does. You know, how does everything Everywhere, all at once happen, you know, I mean, it's crazy.
[67:40]
Blair Psaki
It's pretty interesting how everything came together one day when I was 49 years old, and I was, like, thinking, oh, my gosh, I'm gonna be 50 very soon.
[67:53]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[67:53]
Blair Psaki
And I was just like, you know, my career wasn't going that well. I don't think I was happy. I wasn't making a lot of money now.
[68:00]
Ki Huy Quan
You got kids?
[68:01]
Blair Psaki
No, we don't have kids, but, you know, my wife and I have been together for, you know.
[68:07]
Ki Huy Quan
What does she do?
[68:09]
Blair Psaki
She sells. She does a lot of stuff, but she also sells Jay. She took after my mom. And then it was at a time where I was also doing comic consigning pictures. Yeah. Signing pictures, trying to make a decent income. I was doing that.
[68:29]
Ki Huy Quan
That's not a happy thing. I imagine it's bittersweet in some ways. It's nice.
[68:34]
Blair Psaki
You know, in the beginning, when I started doing it, I was not comfortable with it. But then, honestly, the fans. It's all about the fans.
[68:42]
Ki Huy Quan
Sure.
[68:43]
Blair Psaki
They love it. They love seeing us. And I'm very grateful to, you know, for those opportunities. But I was at that point where, ah, gosh, I don't know what to do with my life. And. And it was then the idea of, what if, you know, what if I have I try this again?
[69:02]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[69:02]
Blair Psaki
You know, do you think people would want to see me?
[69:05]
Ki Huy Quan
So you did try in. You did try.
[69:09]
Blair Psaki
I thought about it for a long time before I finally said, okay, I'm gonna do this.
[69:13]
Ki Huy Quan
What'd you do?
[69:14]
Blair Psaki
I call up my friend who is an agent.
[69:16]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[69:17]
Blair Psaki
And I say, hey, crazy idea. Do you think I can be an actor again? And he said, yeah, maybe. And I wasn't even asking for much. I said, it would be incredible if I can just get, like, a series regular.
[69:35]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[69:35]
Blair Psaki
A series regular on a television show doesn't have to be number two or forget about number one on the costume.
[69:41]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[69:41]
Blair Psaki
Maybe number five, six, seven, you know, steady. Something where I'm working as an actor.
[69:46]
Ki Huy Quan
Get my insurance back.
[69:47]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Do you think that's possible? He says, I don't know. There was so many uncertainties.
[69:52]
Unnamed Speaker
Sure.
[69:52]
Ki Huy Quan
Of course. Always.
[69:53]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[69:54]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. And also, it's not like, oh, I stepped away for a year. Yeah, it's not like that. I stepped away for more than 20 years, you know, and then it was one of those things where everything just aligned. When I said. When I decided to be an actor again, it was at the very same time that the Daniels were casting. They were Looking for an actor to play Wayman and everything everywhere, all at once. And literally when I got myself an agent, it was two weeks later that they asked to see me. Wow. Think about it, think about it. Had I procrastinated, I go, wow, you know, I don't know, man. If I, if I stand on my ass and continue to debate whether I should be an actor again, that opportunity would pass me by. None of this. Yeah, that ship would have sailed and none of this would be happening.
[70:49]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[70:50]
Ki Huy Quan
So you went in for an audition.
[70:51]
Blair Psaki
Went in for an. No, before I did that, because I haven't. I was insecure. So I told my agent, I said, who's the best acting coach in Los Angeles? I want to get ready.
[71:01]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[71:03]
Blair Psaki
So met with him. He was just coaching people for audition. And I met with him, had a couple of sessions. Even in the beginning, you know, he says, keith, you're acting. Stop acting. I was like, oh, my God, I suck. This is such a horrible decision. But then after a couple of sessions, he says, yeah, I think you're ready.
[71:22]
Ki Huy Quan
And this was. It was for that part.
[71:24]
Blair Psaki
It was for that part. Yeah.
[71:25]
Ki Huy Quan
So you had the screen, you had.
[71:26]
Blair Psaki
The size, I had the acting lesson. It was only specifically just to go in to try to land, to nail the job.
[71:34]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
[71:35]
Ki Huy Quan
And so you went in and you were kind of confident a little bit.
[71:39]
Blair Psaki
No, not confident. Scared as shit. Sweating. But I. But I. But I. But I was like over prepared. I was very well prepared.
[71:48]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[71:49]
Blair Psaki
Memorized all my lines.
[71:50]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[71:51]
Blair Psaki
But still, you know, being in a room with strangers is very hard.
[71:55]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[71:55]
Blair Psaki
Especially when you have a camera facing you, you have a reader.
[72:00]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[72:00]
Blair Psaki
And you don't know. The scariest part is you don't know that if your interpretation of the, of the character is what you're looking for. And it doesn't. You know, the Daniels were so sweet because when I enter the room, they said, we love you. We've been a big fan of yours, you know, for a long time. We've seen all your movies since you were a kid. Since we were kids. Which is something that I've heard a lot, you know, but even in my younger days, every time I walk into a room, I always hear the same thing. But then I didn't get the job.
[72:30]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[72:30]
Blair Psaki
So it was like, okay, well, that means nothing because I've been down this path many times.
[72:35]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah, I don't need to hear that anymore. Yeah. My girlfriend is. She said you were the first age appropriate movie star that she had a crush on because she's younger than me, but when she was a kid, she had a crush on you.
[72:49]
Blair Psaki
Really?
[72:49]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[72:50]
Ki Huy Quan
And you were actually in her age range.
[72:53]
Blair Psaki
Wow. I want to meet her.
[72:57]
Marc Maron
You might.
[72:57]
Ki Huy Quan
She might be here.
[72:58]
Blair Psaki
Oh, that's great. So, yes, I went in, was really happy. I was in the room for a long time.
[73:05]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[73:06]
Blair Psaki
Which is a good thing if you're auditioning. Sure, sure.
[73:08]
Ki Huy Quan
Because they want to see you do it a different couple different ways.
[73:11]
Blair Psaki
So they were, you know. Yeah, they. They were throwing out directions. Yeah. At me and.
[73:18]
Marc Maron
Good guys.
[73:19]
Blair Psaki
Good. Oh, great guys.
[73:20]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[73:20]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah.
[73:22]
Blair Psaki
I'm so grateful to them because, you know, they. They. They. They took a chance on me and they.
[73:28]
Ki Huy Quan
So they had you in the room a long time, and then they. You go.
[73:31]
Blair Psaki
And then I left.
[73:32]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[73:32]
Blair Psaki
Called my agent. I said, hey, I think I might have a chance.
[73:36]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah.
[73:37]
Blair Psaki
I feel really good about that audition.
[73:39]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[73:40]
Blair Psaki
And then I didn't hear from them for two months. Two months. As weeks went by, I'm like, thinking, I'll call my agent. I said, any news?
[73:51]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[73:52]
Blair Psaki
Again, this is something like. It's very traumatic for me because I've been down this road before.
[73:56]
Ki Huy Quan
Of course, the board's part of the road.
[73:59]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Have you heard? No. No. Have they cast anybody yet? No. No. Two months. Two painful months. Then that phone call came and said, we want to see you again. So it's not like you got the job. We want to see you again. So I went in there the second time, and before I did that, I got more acting sessions, coaching sessions.
[74:23]
Ki Huy Quan
On the second. When. The second. When you went in the second time, did they have you read with other actors?
[74:27]
Blair Psaki
No, it was just me.
[74:28]
Ki Huy Quan
And.
[74:28]
Blair Psaki
But then also they wanted to see me cry on cue. They also. Which is very hard to do.
[74:33]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, I know.
[74:35]
Blair Psaki
And they also wanted to see me do martial arts, So I was like. They wanted to see some kicks.
[74:41]
Ki Huy Quan
So you were in good shape then, right?
[74:43]
Blair Psaki
I was in okay shape. Not great shape.
[74:46]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[74:48]
Blair Psaki
And it's not something that I was, you know, doing keeping up with anymore.
[74:53]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[74:53]
Blair Psaki
So I was a little nervous. I go, oh, shit. So then, you know, again, memory. Muscle memory.
[75:00]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[75:01]
Blair Psaki
I did it. And I was, like, sweating. And they were so sweet. They, you know, they. They wanted to give me a hug afterwards, and I get, no, no, no, no, don't hug me. I'm sweating. I was, like, literally, like, doing punches and kicks, you know?
[75:14]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[75:15]
Blair Psaki
And I was really embarrassed, and I left. And it was not long after that, they called me.
[75:22]
Marc Maron
Oh, my God.
[75:23]
Blair Psaki
And you know what?
[75:24]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[75:26]
Blair Psaki
I'm sure every actor knows this.
[75:27]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[75:28]
Blair Psaki
When you get that phone call from your agent.
[75:31]
Unnamed Speaker
Right.
[75:34]
Blair Psaki
It's this. It's an incredible, incredible feel, especially for a role that you just want so bad.
[75:41]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
[75:42]
Ki Huy Quan
And you got it.
[75:43]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[75:44]
Ki Huy Quan
And then you got an Oscar and.
[75:46]
Blair Psaki
I got an Oscar.
[75:47]
Marc Maron
It's so fucking crazy.
[75:48]
Blair Psaki
Yeah, isn't it?
[75:49]
Marc Maron
Well, it's.
[75:50]
Ki Huy Quan
So what was beautiful about it other than it was, you did a great job and the movie was, you know, spectacular and unique and great. But, you know, it was one of these things where, you know, Hollywood and, you know, and everybody who, you know, knew you from when they were kids, you're like, what a great story. What a great ending to that story. It's not an ending, but you know, this full circle thing.
[76:11]
Blair Psaki
Like it's a full circle moment. Yeah.
[76:12]
Marc Maron
It's crazy.
[76:14]
Blair Psaki
And what's really even more crazy is. And when our movie came out, this was on my mind. The last time audience saw me on the screen was I was 12 years old and all of a sudden here is this middle aged man up on the screen. Yeah, but, you know, but, but luckily, you know, they embraced my, my, you know.
[76:37]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[76:37]
Ki Huy Quan
But oddly you, you know, you maintain some of the look, you know, I.
[76:42]
Blair Psaki
Mean, I didn't look like shit, right?
[76:44]
Ki Huy Quan
Well, no, but like you're not unfamiliar. You know, they didn't look at you and go like, you know, that's the same guy. You still have something about you that's the same. Because a lot of child actors, you're like, oh my God, what happened to that guy?
[76:57]
Blair Psaki
I think also my voice.
[76:59]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[76:59]
Blair Psaki
Everybody said, that guy, he sounds exactly the same. I don't know if that's a compliment or what, but how can a guy sounds exactly when he's 12 and then, you know, now I'm 50 something.
[77:10]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah, it's okay.
[77:12]
Marc Maron
So he won all the awards and.
[77:15]
Ki Huy Quan
It was all very exciting.
[77:17]
Marc Maron
And you had that reunion with Harrison.
[77:20]
Ki Huy Quan
And you hadn't seen him in years.
[77:22]
Blair Psaki
I saw him. I was doing Loki at that time. This is like after the movie came out, I did Loki.
[77:29]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[77:30]
Blair Psaki
So I attended an event called D23 for Disney.
[77:35]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[77:35]
Blair Psaki
And it was at that event that I saw him again after, you know, 38 years.
[77:40]
Marc Maron
Oh my God.
[77:41]
Blair Psaki
And we took that photo and that photo went viral. It was, it was really incredible. It was, you know, seeing him again. And of course, you know, on Oscar night, I didn't know he was going to be presenting for Best Picture. One, we didn't know we were going to win.
[77:55]
Ki Huy Quan
Right.
[77:55]
Blair Psaki
Second, we didn't know who the presenter right is.
[77:58]
Ki Huy Quan
It was your old buddy.
[77:59]
Blair Psaki
And when he walked out and I said, could it be. Could he. Do you think he's gonna, he's gonna say everything everywhere?
[78:04]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[78:04]
Blair Psaki
And sure enough, you know.
[78:08]
Ki Huy Quan
It'S such a, it's such a, it's such a beautiful.
[78:10]
Blair Psaki
Like, we cannot have asked for a better night. Like, if you were a writer.
[78:15]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[78:16]
Blair Psaki
I don't think you would go, oh, let's do this, let's write. No one would believe. It'd be a nice. Yeah. Ending to the.
[78:20]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[78:21]
Ki Huy Quan
No one would believe it.
[78:21]
Blair Psaki
Not ending, but a full circle moment. And then also it's like with Spielberg and the audience, John Williams, you know, it was just. Yeah. To unbelievable to have my first, very first movie family. And then, you know, and that night I was with my brand new family. Everything everywhere family. To have both of them together. This, you know, where I started and where I am now. What a wonderful.
[78:51]
Ki Huy Quan
It's unbelievable. And now you're back in it.
[78:54]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Yeah.
[78:55]
Ki Huy Quan
And how's that feeling?
[78:56]
Blair Psaki
It feels amazing, Mark. It really is very different this time. Yeah, very different.
[79:02]
Ki Huy Quan
Well, this movie, the new one, Love Hurts, it's a fun movie.
[79:06]
Marc Maron
It's all you.
[79:07]
Ki Huy Quan
You're doing the thing. It's funny. It's kind of crazy.
[79:11]
Blair Psaki
You know, I love, I grew up in loving. You know, those movies in the 80s, they're like an hour and a half, an hour and 40 minutes and they're not trying to do anything but just to entertain you.
[79:25]
Ki Huy Quan
Yeah. And that's. Yeah, that's what this, this one comes in like an hour 20 hour 20.
[79:29]
Blair Psaki
An hour and a half. And it's like it's meant to be where you just go and you escape reality for 90 minutes and come out feeling a little bit more refreshed. Forget about all your troubles, whatever problems you have goes away for a little while.
[79:45]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[79:45]
Blair Psaki
And then just kind of for you to recharge. I love, you know, I love those movies in the 80s and I. And I really miss them.
[79:51]
Ki Huy Quan
It does feel like one of those movies.
[79:52]
Blair Psaki
Yeah.
[79:53]
Unnamed Speaker
Yeah.
[79:53]
Marc Maron
Well, great job.
[79:54]
Blair Psaki
Thank you. Thank you, Mark.
[79:56]
Ki Huy Quan
And great talking to you.
[79:56]
Blair Psaki
Yeah. Nice talking to you. Thank you for having me.
[80:04]
Marc Maron
What a story, right? What a sweet guy. Again, his new movie, Love Hurts opens in theaters this Friday. Hang out for a minute, folks, so people listen. I had one of the biggest recording artists in the world here in the garage last week. She's also nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress. And before you hear my talk with Ariana Grande next week, you can hear me preview it tomorrow on the Full Marin with Brendan. I brought up that thing that I.
[80:35]
Ki Huy Quan
Wrote down the other day, that ambition is not a point of view. And she found that very enlightening somehow.
[80:42]
Marc Maron
That, you know, her intention early on was to sing. It was not to make money. It was not to make a pop, you know, a hit single, you know, that she wanted to sing. And I think what.
[80:55]
Ki Huy Quan
What struck me towards the end of the. The conversation, which I think is a.
[81:00]
Marc Maron
Very great part of the interview, was that when. When she was auditioning for this role, that she had the wherewithal to work with a vocal coach and to work.
[81:11]
Ki Huy Quan
With an acting coach.
[81:11]
Marc Maron
I mean, this is Ariana Grande, who certainly has complete control of her instrument for what she does. But she realized that the character of Glinda and what it required vocally was something completely out of her wheelhouse.
[81:29]
Ki Huy Quan
It was operatic, and it was a different type of. Of octave and a different type.
[81:37]
Marc Maron
A completely different type of control necessary to do justice to this character, that it was not in her wheelhouse to sing for this role. So she had to very deliberately separate everything that she is in order to honor the role of Glenda and learn how to sing appropriately for this type.
[82:00]
Ki Huy Quan
Of role in this type of singing.
[82:02]
Marc Maron
You can hear the rest of that tomorrow if you're a full Marin subscriber and everyone will hear the Ariana Grande episode next Monday. To subscribe to the full Marin, 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.
[84:27]
Ki Huy Quan
Boomer Lives Monkey and Lavonick had Angels Everywhere.