AI PRODUCED TRANSCRIPT BELOW NOT 100% Accurate

[0:00:21]  A: Welcome to the Good, the Bad and the sequel. QA. My name is Doug, so it's kind of getting to that romantic time of year. And I really, really wanted Jamie to get one of the Hallmark or Lifetime movies. But he said he tried. I think he was just pulling my chain. But we got something even better. We're going to be talking next week, American Wedding, a very worthy sequel. In the American Pie franchise, you see some characters kind of taking on a different role, just like sequels do. Stiffler is a bit different in this one, just like he really jumps the shark in American Reunion. But that's still a lot of fun.

[0:01:02]  A: And for it, I talked to an actor, his scene got cut from American Wedding, but he had some great memories from it. So he was able to do a lot of improv, which it's in his background. We talk about improv a lot. And that is actor Patrick Gallo. Patrick is a guy right before I even talked to him through text message and just reading his IMDb profile, which you should check out, I was laughing. I was laughing before we even started chatting that night, just talking about his career. And he was so humble. And he loves what he does.

[0:01:37]  A: And that's why he's going to be doing it forever, because he's so passionate about it. And he was able to find a different passion when he got a little bit sour. The way filmmaking is in La. He went to editing and he fell in love with that. So it was pretty fascinating hearing about that. And I loved his journey because he's going to a community college. And then somebody believed in him. His drama teacher believed in him. And that was huge, especially at such a young age.

[0:02:07]  A: And then we talked about him going to school in New York, writing shorts, being in place, cattle call additions, how he got out to La. With him and his buddy buddy at the time that had a comedy duo. They did stand up and yeah, really, man, lots of fun. And then Budweiser commercial. If you remember, the Was Up commercials. He was one of the main guys in the how are you doing commercial. Hey, how are you doing? How are you doing? How are you doing?

[0:02:36]  A: The follow up because Sopranos is so huge. And the big moment for him, obviously, so many moments in his career that we talk about, he cares about all of them. But his role as Mario Puzzo on Paramount Plus is the offer is phenomenal. If you haven't seen it, watch it. It's worth it. So good. Great cast. It for everybody. But, man, Patrick nailed the role. So yeah. So do me a favor before I start the interview. Please, please, please follow us on all social media at sequels only.

[0:03:08]  A: Subscribe. Share with your friends, your neighbors, ex girlfriends, ex husband, whoever. Just tell anyone and everyone about us. And then also YouTube. Find us on YouTube. Please subscribe there too. We're trying to get through a thousand followers. It gives us, like, some perks or something. I don't know. I don't know any of it. But what I do know is strap in for an amazing interview. I had a lot of fun, lots of laughs with actor Patrick Gallo.

[0:03:40]  A: Cool, man. Yeah. So, Patrick, what I like to do with these is every story as a beginning, and I love finding out how people started and then their journey along the way. So you grew up in Buffalo. So growing up, at what point did you have some sort of inkling that you're like, I want to be creative, I want to get on stage or screen? How did that all begin?

[0:04:03]  B: That's a lovely question. I love that. I think it probably what I would have to say. I don't remember it being sort of I don't remember it existing within myself, like, before I started doing plays. But I think it was in my personality. My wife, I've known since kindergarten.

[0:04:20]  A: Oh, no worries.

[0:04:22]  B: Yeah. And she would always I kind of check in with her and be like, what was I like? What kind of a person? But because I just don't remember. But I think yeah, I would I would definitely say that there were little kind of dances I had with theater throughout my, you know, life in 6th grade and 7th grade, doing plays that none of it was just part of the year. But I think in high school, when I did Cabaret at my high school and I think my interest in things other than the show, like, I was in it, but I was also interested in suddenly I was like, oh, I love this whole wardrobe situation, and I love this organization of the scenes.

[0:05:12]  B: And so I started thinking about I was like, oh, I liked it, the whole directing and wardrobe. And it started to really wash over me during that show that I loved to just be in the environment and be around a stage and furniture and wardrobe and this kind of magical world. And it was that show that I did that. After high school, I went on to study acting and I went to community college, and from there it went on.

[0:05:44]  B: Short answer, cabaret.

[0:05:46]  A: Cabaret was the seminal moment for Patrick. But no, you always wonder, like, when it comes to something like that, as usually school plays, that's the first outlet for people to give that shot. But yeah, that's so cool. So from there you go to, like, in Buffalo, buffalo Community College, whatever the county is, I'm sure. Right up there.

[0:06:06]  B: Yuri county. Yeah. Erie Community College.

[0:06:09]  A: I got married in Canada. Me and my wife did like, me and her yeah, we got married in Niagara Falls, just me and her.

[0:06:17]  B: Classic.

[0:06:18]  A: Yeah, no big wedding. Just me and her getting married by some guy that I found on the Internet that was asked if he could wear a kilt, and then we said, I don't know, maybe you go, no kilt, but no, the Buffalo is awesome. Like, that whole area. Love that part of the state, but no, from there. So when did you feel when you're at community college, you're like, okay, this is good because I'm sure you were doing plays there, right?

[0:06:46]  B: No, I was studying acting there, and then I was just kind of in school and really wasn't my thing, so I ended up sort of failing out of your community college. I would say I skipped my exams because I had an opportunity to go to New York City with my friend, and that always was the most important thing to do. And it didn't really matter. I wanted to be in the city, but my acting teacher there after I kind of failed out, I guess, said, come to the back door on Thursdays.

[0:07:22]  B: I still want you in my class. And so I got to continue going by sneaking in and studying with my acting teacher at the time. So that was cool. It was like, still it was still happening. And I was slowly becoming more and more intrigued and interested, and I felt very at home when I was in that environment, working on text and exploring plays and musicals and just being in a theater. And that was it.

[0:07:52]  B: Then I auditioned for school in New York, which I auditioned in Toronto, by the way.

[0:07:57]  A: Oh, wow.

[0:07:59]  B: For school in New York. And then I moved to New York City when I was 19.

[0:08:04]  A: Wow, that's so cool. That's got to show that obviously you have something at that point that you're done with school, you flunk your exams. I did the same thing when I was at County College. I played golf, and I just went and played golf instead of taking my exams. They used to write checks, and you can go to any course, like in Central Jersey, where I'm from. So I used to be like, once you go to class, I'll just go play for free. So I did that for only six months.

[0:08:32]  A: But no, that's cool that that happens. And the teacher is still like, hey, you know what? Come to the back door. Yeah, that's going to show you had something.

[0:08:41]  B: It definitely said something to me. I mean, I definitely was so green at that time, but yeah, I was definitely still passionate. But yeah, she saw something in me and didn't want me to not be in the class. And so that was, like, a really encouraging moment. And at that age, you take those moments and you go, my God, like you said, oh, maybe there's something there. Maybe there's something special. You don't know why or what, but yeah, so that was it.

[0:09:09]  B: And then I moved to New York City. That was it.

[0:09:13]  A: Wow. So, New York City. What was that like? Because obviously you visited there. But living there at the age of 19 must have been pretty wild.

[0:09:21]  B: Oh, my God. It was a dream. The easiest way to put it is here I was in Buffalo all those years, and the only New York City that I really knew before I ended up going there with the New York City that I really knew was Woody Allen's.

[0:09:34]  A: New York City.

[0:09:35]  B: And I kind of lived in New York City through his films, and that was the New York it was that music and those shots of the city and those feelings that he was able to sort of create inside of those films that really gave you a taste of a version of New York City. And when I moved there, it was like I was in my own little personal Woody Allen film. I mean, it was amazing. I moved to the Upper West Side and it was just unbelievable.

[0:10:08]  B: I was 19. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what I knew that I lived in New York City. And that was just overwhelming to me in the most unbelievable way. I mean, I had this room in this old hotel that the school put me in and it was overlooking Broadway and it was on the 8th floor. And it was like I literally would just stand in awe whether I was looking out my window or standing on the corner. I thought.

[0:10:36]  B: I'm a part of this city now. I'm a part of it. And it was, oh, my God. The most exciting and I didn't know why I was so it was like you're meeting new people, you're performing, you're in school, you're learning, you're in the city. Every day you get up, you're in the city and your morning starts there. And your night ends there. I mean, that was like an incredible and inspiring and exciting time, for sure.

[0:11:04]  B: I feel very lucky to have lived in New York at that time.

[0:11:07]  A: And then how long was school there? Was it like a full four years?

[0:11:12]  B: No. Two years. It was a two year conservatory. It was two years. I loved it. I loved it all. And then from there, I just started going out into the world writing stuff, and I was starting to sort of find myself, I guess, in certain ways, however much you find at that time.

[0:11:36]  A: Do you stay in the city? Did you stay in the city afterwards?

[0:11:39]  B: I stayed in the city. I left for, like, eight months because I was doing some children's theater tours.

[0:11:45]  A: Nice.

[0:11:45]  B: So we were out on the road and just kind of driving in a van to all these different cities all across the country and performing in theaters and school cafeterias.

[0:11:57]  A: That's cool, man.

[0:11:59]  B: Yeah, so I did that for a while. Yeah. But I was still in the city. Then I came back and just continued to work, continued to do all work that I created for myself. Working at writing plays with friends and doing other table reads and other plays, stuff like that.

[0:12:19]  A: That's what it is in the beginning. And you see, obviously, it's happened forever, but you have a collective mind. I think that's why you said you felt comfortable, you felt at home when you were at Erie Community College in the acting class, because you're with so many people that it's not the easiest thing. Like every time I talk to any actors, it's like, you're not getting this job because you're like, man, I'm just going to act. That's it. It's easy. That's what I'm going to do. It's a hard thing because there's so much emotion involved, because you have to show emotion and the roller coaster of the job itself.

[0:12:53]  A: So, yeah, you connect, obviously, with people at the school. You're writing plays. Are you auditioning? Are you doing any plays off Broadway or on Broadway?

[0:13:04]  B: Oh, yeah, auditioning, cattle Calls, Actors Equity 500, in line reading for multiple casting directors, just doing that whole thing. And I don't think I ever, ever got a call out of any of those. But once again, these are the things that I can say that I experienced as an actor, that I lived in those times that we would look through backstage. I think eventually I was waiting and waiting. You kind of play this game of waiting, and then I just kind of got into the whole rhythm of, why, what am I waiting for?

[0:13:43]  B: I need to put myself to work. I'm doing no justice. And so that's when I started writing and working with a friend of mine at the time. We started writing a lot of things together and we direct plays, and so we were always working and so auditioning for stuff if we were able to. At that point, I wasn't union, I wasn't anything in that way. So when those opportunities would come along, it was great, but if they didn't come along, I was so wrapped up in performing all over the city in different clubs, and we're doing stand up and we were doing play stand up.

[0:14:23]  A: I could see comedy.

[0:14:26]  B: We did that for like, seven years and got featured on Comedy Central.

[0:14:34]  A: Did you guys have, like, a stick?

[0:14:36]  B: Yeah, I was like we were off Broadway for a long time that we brought to La. And we did a run out in La. That's some of the greatest creative moments of my life working with my partner at the time, and it was sort of a surrealist vaudeville thing that we did. And we did all these wonderful bits and short films and did this whole multimedia show music. Yeah, that was the best. That was like complete freedom, you know what I mean?

[0:15:12]  B: Yeah, we got into that. And so I just got on this path of like, look, man, you can wait around for other people to hire you or you can go and work and create and be a real artist. Really? If you want to be looked at as an artist, you got to go make art, you know what I mean? You can't do it by getting booking a couple of commercials, you know what I mean? It was a deeper thing for me. The things that I guess I needed and the labels I wanted around me were a part of that fuel to kind of, like, be out there.

[0:15:47]  A: Yeah. Did you do any improv in the city? I can see you doing that. I can just see from your no, improv.

[0:15:53]  B: Taught it. I taught it. Did it nice. Yeah, I taught it for a summer. I don't know what it was. It was in the summer. I don't know. But I taught it for a couple of months at public school up on the Upper West Side, worked at another company that used to do improv and teach these sort of Fortune 500 companies and teach them improv so they would communicate better and abuse children. There was a whole program we did with abused children that would come, and we would teach them.

[0:16:23]  B: So yes, doctors for bedside manner. We would go to hospitals and run improvs with surgeons and stuff like that.

[0:16:32]  A: That's pretty wild that they do that.

[0:16:34]  B: Yeah, it's wild. So always improv. I love improv. So much of my work is based on improv, and whatever I write is usually coming out of an improv.

[0:16:47]  A: No, I was just saying just for watching the offer. I don't know. We'll get to it in a little bit, but just watching your scenes, I'm like, obviously there's a script, but I was like, just the way you're delivering it, or that's how good you are at delivering the lines. It just seemed like it was such riffing because you could tell when somebody riffs. That's why I think improv is, like, such a beautiful thing. I took classes when we lived in Portland, Oregon, for a few years.

[0:17:11]  A: I think it's so cool because you'll never see it again. Like, what you just saw will never be seen again. Obviously, if somebody took the words and put them on paper, you could do it again, but it won't feel the same. It's such a weird thing. It's like mouth jazz. Like Matt. Besser of upper eight sins. Brief. He goes, mouth jazz. And that's what it is. Love that jamming out.

[0:17:36]  B: Yeah, that's exactly what it is. It's musical, it's a song. And yeah, it is. It's great. It's never going to happen again. And so you're very in the moment, and that's like, a really cool plan. I think improv on the larger scale, and you go, in life, we attain to be present, total presence, you know what I mean? It's not before. It's not after. It's right where we are right now. That's the most important thing that's happening, and that's the basis of improv.

[0:18:08]  B: You're exactly in the moment, and things are coming at you and you're moving and you're grooving and you're figuring it out. It's a really magical craft.

[0:18:19]  A: Yeah. No, it's addictive when you do it or listen to it. I love listening to it. So from there, so you're creating, because, again, when you're not working, like you said, when you're getting, like, a few commercials here and there, you're not having anything on tape of you. You're not home in your craft. Obviously, you can do acting classes and everything, but it's actually like going through the actual act of filming to be behind the camera in front of it.

[0:18:45]  A: In your timeline, when you get charmed or er, is that while you're doing all the things at the same time.

[0:18:54]  B: Or no, those are more probably eight years into my career at that point.

[0:19:02]  A: Okay.

[0:19:03]  B: And when our show went out to La. Then I stayed out in La. I'd done a budweiser commercial, and that was, like, the first that got me my SAG, that got me paid. That turned into eight commercial. I mean, it was like, I'd never made any money. You know what I mean? I never earned any money as an actor. And so that was incredible to me at that time. And I suddenly had all this money coming in about this commercial, which was very new to me because I had no money, and I was working in restaurants, et cetera, strip clubs. I worked in strip clubs.

[0:19:46]  B: And then that was out in La. So then the charm, the er, like, that started this other phase of my life, which was living in Los Angeles and kind of going through the business there, which is not how it was in New York. And I enjoyed it, and I kind of embraced it, but it wasn't really like it never really completely felt like home to me in the way that New York felt home. And I mean, that both with where I lived and also the craft and the environment and the landscape where it was, suddenly I was in rooms auditioning and pretty boys, and you kind of were like, these aren't my New York people, man. These guys are.

[0:20:33]  B: I think they've been doing this for, like, three days, and they're just like, I'm going to go in. There was a different vibe, man. So filmmaking became a little more important to me at that time because I was getting kind of sour on these kind of cheesy shows, and it wasn't my thing. I realized I had to do it, and then I was like, this isn't really my vibe, so I had to find another outlet in La. And that was harder to do, but I'm always very grateful for it because it was challenging to find things that inspired me. I did a lot of great work out there, and I was very I had a lot of really good times there. But it was different.

[0:21:09]  B: It was very different than the New York life.

[0:21:13]  A: Have you ever talked to anybody? I don't know if you talked to anybody that was older. And they say, like, back in the day, it was New York until, like, the mid eighty s. New York was the place to go because casting would really sort of outrun through there. But they would be like, let's go to New York to get all the actors from Broadway off Broadway. That's what they primarily did. And then there was, like, the switch in the mid 80s that it was like, La. Is where to go. You have to go to La.

[0:21:40]  A: Because the Comedy Store was there. There were just so many different things out there at that time. But no, I agree. New York has, like, this mystique to it. And La just I don't know, once you're in La or you visit La. You're like.

[0:21:55]  B: Yeah, New York has got this unbelievably, mysterious depth. You know what I mean? And it's everywhere. You can't avoid it. But I love La. Anyway, so the er, the charmed er is a funny story because I still get paid for er. Meanwhile, everything I did on that show got cut out. It's never aired in the role of Rudolph, nothing. I'm in the credits. People that interview me are like, So, er, they mention it and I'm always like, I didn't even make the cut.

[0:22:28]  B: Like, it never, ever went to air. That all ended up on the floor. So it's very funny to me when people like to pick it up because it's er and it's like, you did er. It's like, I did, but I didn't.

[0:22:41]  A: I talked to a woman, just a real quick anecdote she was in Best of the Best, the Eric Roberts movie. And it was funny. Her role in it was like, woman number one. So I just said to her because she was like, the final girl on Friday 13th Part Five. So I'm like, oh, I have to mention because you were I know it's probably just a little role, but it's one of my favorite movies. And she goes, oh, that's a really rough story. And I'm like, what do you mean? She goes, I was Eric Roberts girlfriend in the movie and I shot seven scenes with Eric into my head. I'm like, that's a lot of scenes to be in and to play his girlfriend. And then they looked at the cut and they were like, yeah, I don't think he needs a girlfriend.

[0:23:16]  A: And they cut her out of the whole movie and they didn't tell her. And she went to the premiere.

[0:23:22]  B: Oh, yeah, I've been in a similar situation that happened to yeah, that's socks that they didn't tell her. Jesus Christ.

[0:23:33]  A: Hey, before I forget, so when you go out with the comedy team, you and your buddy go out to La. How did the but obviously you're out there, you're like, hey, why don't I audition like I did in New York. So the butterwiser commercial, was that like one of the you said there was eight of them.

[0:23:49]  B: Well, it ended up being that over, like, a two year period. We just kept getting called to shoot more and more. Yeah, it was amazing.

[0:23:56]  A: Which ones were they weren't the was up commercials that are you talking about?

[0:23:59]  B: Yeah, they were the same series, but they were the how you doing? Commercials. The Sopranos, Alan Colton, who directed Sopranos, we did the whole thing of how you doing? How you doing? How you doing? How you doing? It's the first beer commercial ever shown on the Academy Awards.

[0:24:14]  A: It's amazing.

[0:24:16]  B: Yeah.

[0:24:17]  A: And commercials paid good back then.

[0:24:21]  B: Yes. That was those were the days when it actually paid really, really well. And I had no idea. And then I just like I moved to La. And then I was like I just get stacks of chat. I was like, what is happening with unbelievable. And it got me my union membership, and it was Alan Coulter who cast me in it, who directed it, who I went to the maps with. I was up to play Jackie Jr. On The Sopranos, and I went in a lot of callbacks with the folks over at HBO.

[0:24:59]  B: The next time I saw Alan was there, he said, oh, my God. And we had gone kind of we had kind of known each other because they were wanting I was almost up to play that role. So it was one of those things where you went, oh, my God, now he knows me. I hope I can make this work. This would be amazing. And I did. I got it, and that was it. And we shot many of them. Shot many of them.

[0:25:21]  A: That's awesome. So when did you move back so you moved back to after you were in La. For a while, you went back to the city?

[0:25:29]  B: Yeah, I was in La. For, like, eight years. I did Mama Mia in Vegas also. For a year. So I guess I was here for, like, I guess eight years. But one year I was in Vegas, I married my wife.

[0:25:41]  A: When did you guys reconnect, or were you always connected?

[0:25:45]  B: We were always connected, but we didn't fall in love until the mid 30s.

[0:25:48]  A: Look at that, man. That me and my wife went to high school together. She was a year older, and we didn't really talk in high school. I ran into her in Atlantic City at 04:00 in the morning at a slot machine.

[0:26:02]  B: Wow.

[0:26:03]  A: But that's cool. You guys connected after all those years. So when you're talking to her about, like, hey, what was that, like, 30 years ago? Because you knew her in kindergarten, that's pretty wild.

[0:26:12]  B: Yes, it's wild. It's wild. And so we got married, and then a year later, we had Luca.

[0:26:19]  A: Nice.

[0:26:20]  B: And then that was sort of like I had already been a few years into, I got to get out of La. And I got to go back to New York. I was already ready to go back to the east coast, go home. And as soon as we had the kid, it was like, literally one year later, I said, I don't want to raise them here. I want to raise them on the east coast. So we turned one, and shortly after that, we all left and moved and moved to Brooklyn. Back to Brooklyn.

[0:26:52]  A: Nice. So what's the first thing you do when you get back? Is it just going back to going right back to plays, or is it because you were getting work when you were out there? Obviously, like you said, not something that filled your cup, or it wasn't, like, soul fulfilling.

[0:27:08]  B: Well, the business out there was kind of, like I said, soured me. So I had kind of said, you know what? I love what I do, but I don't like the taste of the industry. And I thought, you know what? I need to do myself a favor and step away. So I stepped away for a year. I told my agents and managers. I said, look, I don't want anything. Don't call me for I'm stepping away. And I started to get intrigued by editing and filmmaking, and that became a very big focus. So I stopped acting for, like, a year, focused on editing, really, primarily, and found a great love for editing.

[0:27:51]  B: And then we moved back to New York City, and I still was editing, and I wasn't auditioning yet, but I was like, I'm back, and I'll wait for the feeling. If I feel like I want to do it, I'll do it. If not, I'm very happy editing creatively, working on stuff and making films and whatever, doing bits. And then I felt like, okay, you know what? Maybe I felt the instinct of okay. And I called my managers, and I just said, hey, let's see what's going on. I'm ready to go out and see what's up.

[0:28:21]  B: And that was it. And then I just kind of slowly would get auditions here and there.

[0:28:27]  A: What made you start editing?

[0:28:29]  B: Well, editing was just I was stepping away from acting for a while, and I was doing some editing. When I was doing Mama mia, I had a lot of time. So I was like, you know what? Let me write a film and direct it and cut it so that I've done it on. I've made films, and I had done them with my friends, but I had never physically written it entirely. I didn't direct it. I didn't act. I didn't edit it. And I was like, I'll learn.

[0:28:53]  B: I have all this time every day before performance. I was like, I should be doing something. And so I started doing that. I started teaching myself how to edit during the day. I made, like, two films, two short films in Vegas with members. Of my cast of AMA Mia and I would bring everybody in and we'd shoot films. And then when I got back to La. I was like, hey, you know what? I don't like the scene.

[0:29:18]  B: And I got a job editing, like, short documentaries. And I was having a blast doing it, man. And I love it and do it to this day, I love editing.

[0:29:28]  A: That's awesome. I just interviewed an editor, like, three weeks ago. I think it's a fascinating thing because it's so hard. And I think it was like Jerry Seinfeld or Larry David said, like, the unsung heroes of Seinfeld are the editors because the cutting is so key for the laughter in that show.

[0:29:47]  B: It's a full blown rewrite. It's the last rewrite of the script. And it's just a really it's like being in the playground, and you've got every single toy you want and you can use them all, and it's like a constant kind of just playing. You've got it all. You've got every paint, every brush, every canvas. It's just a very magical, magical form. So I love editing, and that's what I discovered by letting go of that for that year.

[0:30:27]  B: And I've always edited it ever since.

[0:30:29]  A: Yeah, I feel like the one Ghost Adventures. You did that for a long time. 36.

[0:30:34]  B: Yeah.

[0:30:35]  A: That's great.

[0:30:36]  B: Sure. You better. Good deal, man. Yes. And I love it. I love it. It's great. Super fun.

[0:30:45]  A: Yeah.

[0:30:46]  B: And I only do things for fun. That's another thing. I decided on sandwiches unless I'm having fun doing it. And I love doing it, so I don't ever feel like I've ever worked, really. I've worked a lot of jobs. Trust me, it works. You know what I mean? But that was to maintain doing the fun shit.

[0:31:05]  A: But I think if you have that fun outlet, like when I'm working during the day as an accountant, it's not like I'm sitting like, this is awesome. But when you have that outlet of creativity that you can do at the end of the day, it makes the day go a lot better. But that's so cool that you found another passion within your passion, even though you're soured on one thing. Some people usually say, you know what? I'm going back to Pigmunkle, Arkansas, or whatever.

[0:31:30]  A: You hear the stories about actors and actresses all the time. They're like, yeah, I did two movies, and then I went back home.

[0:31:39]  B: No, listen, man, I'm very lucky that I found a passion within my passion. It's rare to find a passion. It's rare to find another one. And so that was a really when I realized I loved editing, I thought, oh, my God, this is my safety net. And it wasn't even a safety net, but I was like, this is just the greatest thing in the world. I love doing this so I'll never have to worry about it. I never have to do any and it's just a wonderful thing. So yeah. Very fortunate that I found editing.

[0:32:10]  A: And I think the timing that you moved back, I would guess that would be like 2012, 2011, right? You came back to Brooklyn. Yeah, right around, yep. I was just saying the timing of it because then that's when shows are like, you know what, we could film anywhere. That's when you really had, like even in Jersey now they're doing that Netflix studio at the old Air Force base down the shore. But that's going to be, like, huge for people that live in this area.

[0:32:42]  B: Yeah, absolutely.

[0:32:44]  A: But I mentioned that because the Boardwalk Empire yes. And taxi Brooklyn. So all within those few years, there are shows that are local that you're like, hey, you know what? Especially you have that editing there as well. You still have all these shows that come up. So like, Borg Empire must have been so cool. Especially, like, auditioning for HBO in the past, like you said, for Sabrina.

[0:33:08]  B: Oh, my God. Yes. And that was cool. Yeah. And I'd gone into edit or I'd gone into audition for HBO for Boardwalk. Oh, God, probably five or six times before I ended up doing the role that I got. But that's how it works. Casting likes you, but they find that role that works. And that was Boardwalk. And that was great, too. Yeah. Love shooting that. Love it.

[0:33:38]  A: Yeah. And then it's all about, like, momentum. And even like, you have Taxi Brooklyn, Unforgettable, and there's all these things. And then you have the Deuce. And when they see US, which was like, a big show, and then the Irishman, which must have been like, yeah.

[0:33:58]  B: But it was great. It's amazing. Unbelievable. What can you say? I work with Scorsese. Enough. That's enough. And then they put me at a table with Deniero Pacino. It was the dream. It was an absolute dream.

[0:34:18]  A: How do you even like, when they call and they say, you got it, or how did that work out? Did they tell you in the audition room? Or was it a call after?

[0:34:26]  B: No, it was months and months of film. Sometimes it takes months if they even put you on hold, you know what I mean? Like, you don't film takes a lot longer. So that took many months. I was like, I knew casting, and I knew who I was reading for. And I know it was a Scorsese movie. So of course my feeling was like, oh my God, you got to do this really well because this isn't going to come around again. You're not going to get it. So after that, I remember I left the office where I read, and I was like, oh my God, you blew it. You fucking blew it. I did not feel good at all. I remember sitting on a curb, and I was like, that was it. That's it. That's it. You had a chance, and it's not going to happen. Like, even if you didn't blow it, you didn't do well enough to be sifted out of the very big handful of Italian American men that they brought in, actors that they brought in to read this role, like, you're not going to stand out and not that guy.

[0:35:30]  B: So I thought I lost it. And then a couple of months later, I found out that I got it. I was like and it was yes, it was a dream come true. Fucking dream come true.

[0:35:41]  A: Especially the waiting for a few months. That's pretty wild. I'm sure that happens for a ton of roles because they don't know when they're going to shoot like you said, they don't know when they're going to shoot that scene. So why tell the guy?

[0:35:50]  B: Yeah.

[0:35:50]  A: Now, but wow. Yeah, they're waiting for that.

[0:35:55]  B: It was an amazing yeah, thanks. And it was a great it was just one of those rare things where you're just kind of like, wow. Yeah, it was pretty amazing. That's pretty amazing.

[0:36:10]  A: I would say the next thing we're going to talk about is probably the most amazing thing because obviously you're playing a person in the offer, mario Puzzo. That is quite the character, which I never really knew that. How do you prepare for something like that? I'm sure there's some kind of archive footage of him or, like audio.

[0:36:35]  B: Yeah, listen, he was a soft smoking guy, super funny guy. And I said this in other interviews, and it was as simple as making this decision to either do an impression or an interpretation. I was not going to try to do an impression of Mario puzzle. It's not what I do, and that wasn't what I was. I wanted more time to kind of hone in on his spirit. And I thought, there are enough similarities between Patrick and Puzzo just in the way of caring about art and also the insecurities of being looked at and valued when you read about him. And he did have those feelings about things.

[0:37:22]  B: He never wanted to do the mainstream, you know what I mean? And I've always been that way, too, where it's like, I'd rather people not understand me than understand me. And so those similarities were there, and I thought, okay, well, if we have those things in common, I'm going to just try to hone in on his spirit. And whenever I do this, whenever we work, that's what I'm going to try to put out on film.

[0:37:49]  B: And that was what I did. So, like I said, it wasn't an impression. It was an interpretation. He was, like I said, a soft spoken guy. He was a man of very few words. And when he said something, it brought the room down in three words, you know what I mean? Like, he was that guy, and he loved his family and he loved people, but he wasn't, I think, as gregarious as I might have come off. But like I said, it was sort of me, Patrick Gallon kind of trying to sort of hold his spirit out in central stage as best as I could if I did.

[0:38:36]  A: What was your audition process for that? Like, was that a long process?

[0:38:44]  B: It was a couple of weeks. It was like a couple of weeks. I remember I did it. I read for it. I didn't really know what it was. I could tell after I read the script, I didn't know what it was, wasn't invested in it, necessarily because you give a lot of auditions and you don't really put too much you know, 99.9% of them, you do them and then you never hear about them again. And then I got a little word that they were interested, but they wanted me to read again.

[0:39:15]  B: And I was like, oh, now I'm invested. Because that's unbelievable. And then Dexter Fletcher wanted to get on the horn with me and we zoomed. He was in London, who was our director and that was super cool to meet him. And we hit it off and he kind of gave me a couple of little bits and pieces for the network, for the studio to kind of say, like, this is what we need to give them to bring you right to the finish line.

[0:39:47]  B: And then I read again and we sent it in. Another couple of weeks went by and I heard nothing. And I was like, oh, my. Now I was invested. I was like, what the fuck? And then finally I got the word that I got it. And two days later I was on a plane. I was in La. And I was in a warehouse with Dexter and Miles and Danny and Juno and we were all fucking rehearsing and playing and loving each other, fighting all the love.

[0:40:22]  B: It was great. It was amazing. It was beautiful.

[0:40:25]  A: You and Dan had some great scenes together.

[0:40:28]  B: Yeah.

[0:40:30]  A: Because he's the kind of you look at a lot of his roles, he's very out, outgoing, and it's really cool. It almost seems like somebody's, like, off camera, like, okay, tone it because that's who Coco was. You know, even interviews, no matter when you see him. I remember watching one on Howard. I think that was the first time I was listening to Stern and he was talking to Copola. That's the first time I ever knew anything about any of this.

[0:40:56]  A: Like that there was, like, a thing to get this movie made. I had no clue. You're just like, oh, my God. One of the greatest movies of all time.

[0:41:05]  B: There's my baby girl. Baby, baby. You want to meet dog?

[0:41:09]  A: Comer look at that. A dog. Yes. I love it. Look at that.

[0:41:28]  B: It was pretty great.

[0:41:31]  A: I always like to ask people, so obviously we can't cover everything that you worked on. So what are some things that you'd love to do? Like, is there another type of role or a genre that you'd like, if I gave you a blank check or you'd be like, all right, I would do this.

[0:41:48]  B: Not really. I wrote a film that I'm trying to get together right now that we're going to shoot. I got to tell you, Doug, I'm very much in the moment. I'm very present. I really don't think outside of right this very second.

[0:42:11]  A: Improv.

[0:42:13]  B: Yeah, exactly. I don't know, man. Shift. This kind of like will come around. And if I'm into it, I'm down. And if I'm not, I got an audition yesterday. I was like, doesn't interest me at all. No, I'm not going to do it. It's not a harsh thing. It's just like you get to this point, I think, where you just go, no, I just want to do stuff that I want to do. And I don't know what that is. It comes and then I go, oh, yeah, that's fun.

[0:42:42]  B: I'll do that. So it just kind of comes. I never know when it's going to happen. And I don't think about it that much.

[0:42:50]  A: It's good to be present, for sure.

[0:42:53]  B: Yeah.

[0:42:54]  A: I could just see it just from talking to you. I could see you be like the buddy on a movie. Like you could be that.

[0:43:03]  B: You're a great buddy, right?

[0:43:04]  A: Yeah. I think he's your good buddy and you're a funny guy. Totally through that. So across your career, obviously. I haven't seen America Wedding in a long time. And we always cover sequels. What was it like being in that movie? I know you just had a small role.

[0:43:21]  B: Yeah, it was great. I had a blast shooting that was all improv. Jacob Dylan directed it and it was all improv. What's her name? Alice and Hannigan.

[0:43:33]  A: Oh, yeah.

[0:43:35]  B: Her name Alice. And it was great. It was all improv, man. It was super fun. I had a blast that day. I loved it all on steadicam. And it was really a fun shoot. Yeah. That was the one where I was shooting another movie in Florida and it premiered. It opened up the movie theaters. And I was like, oh, my god, I'm going to get the entire cast and crew to go to the movies tonight to see American Wedding. I'm in it. I was like, I felt like the biggest movie star in the world. And I was like, I'm in the movie and I haven't seen it. It's going to be amazing.

[0:44:08]  B: And we all go to the movies and their only shot of me is in a dissolve in a montage. And I was like, oh, my god. I was like I mean, I got up and laughed. I was like, I wouldn't have come seeing this movie if I wasn't in it. And now I invited everyone here to see it and I'm in a dissolve. I couldn't believe it. I was totally devastated. But I love the story. It's a great story.

[0:44:37]  A: It is a good story. Now my buddy this guy I'm helping write a book, Larry Hankin. He's a big time character actor, so I helped him put together his memoirs. And one of his stories is about being in well, not really in Pretty Woman. He was the landlord to Julia Roberts. So he filmed all these scenes and his recollection because he had, like, this moment years before with Gary Marshall. Larry was rehearsing with Penny on Laverne Shirley and Gary didn't like that.

[0:45:11]  A: Larry was, like, holding Laverne in this scene. He really didn't like it. So, anyway, years later, Larry goes to proof the premiere and all he sees is the back of his head in the opening scene. It's like the camera, like, probably steadicam shot. They go into the stairwell and he's, like, getting ready to shout something and they cut before you even hear his voice. And you just see the back of his up.

[0:45:39]  B: Yeah, it's rough, man. It's rough.

[0:45:41]  A: But what's cool about it, obviously it's not there, but obviously any residuals come in. And also you have the experience of being on set for the movie. I know it's terrible for that to happen.

[0:45:54]  B: No, the experience of doing it was great. It's always the best part of it. You know what I mean? I'm looking back on it. I'm sure back then I was really harsh about it. Really mad and dramatic and upset about it. Now I think I like the story better than being in the movie. You know what I mean? So it worked out for me either way.

[0:46:18]  A: Yeah. So that's cool. You're writing a movie. Is it something that you, like, set.

[0:46:23]  B: In Brooklyn, short with short films? Short film, yeah, just short film that I wrote, I love and just kind of want to do it the right way. So I'm kind of in the midst of getting it budgeted and figuring it out and that's sort of the next thing. But once again, like I said, that's happening. And then you never kind of know what rolls your way. I'm getting ready to shoot something in Los Angeles. I sadly, I cannot mention it.

[0:46:50]  A: That's cool.

[0:46:51]  B: But I will say that you've mentioned someone involved in it already.

[0:46:57]  A: Okay. Two questions I love asking people. One is really interesting because, again, you're super present. So, like, along the way, when you're acting and you're doing your first job whether it be, like, even, like, something like charmed or Er when you're on set along the way, did you take any mementos, like, scripts or wardrobe? You have any of that?

[0:47:22]  B: No, I'm terrible that way, man. I don't cold, I don't keep anything. I have literally walked out of apartments with all my belongings and never returned. Yeah, so some deep rooted thing is going on there. But no, I'm not a real I mean, I guess somewhere in a box I have Polaroids, like wardrobe Polaroids from almost every show I've done.

[0:47:51]  A: Well, that's cool.

[0:47:53]  B: So that's a good thing, and I don't know where the hell it is, but it's in a box. And I have my chair from the offer.

[0:47:59]  A: You got to keep that.

[0:48:02]  B: Yeah, I have some cool stuff, but it's more recent. I'm not like that guy. You know what I mean? I wish I was. I had a great jacket for the Irishman, like a sweatshirt. But I gave it to Danny Fogler, who played Gopal in the movie. I passed it on to him.

[0:48:24]  A: You're very nice.

[0:48:25]  B: He loved it. I was like, I'm passing it on to you. So yeah, I don't really have that.

[0:48:29]  A: Much that's, like, good vibes. One day you're going to be on a movie or show and you're going to see somebody with a cool jacket and you're like, oh my God, I love that. And then you're like, you know what, Daega?

[0:48:41]  B: Yeah.

[0:48:42]  A: Peter Jason did that character actor, Peter Jason, he was talking about like, Carpenter would always give, like, really cool gifts at the end. So he was like Carpenter's right hand man, whether it be a small role, a larger role in the movie. So he did. For God, not serpent in the rainbow. What's the vampire movie that he did? Carpenter? I should know this. I feel like a dummy.

[0:49:08]  B: Oh, yeah. I can't think of it, man.

[0:49:13]  A: Whatever it was at the end of the game, whatever. So anyway, so he had the jacket on and he's wearing the jacket. And he was like he's like, placed tennis. And so, like tennis like a professional tennis player was like, oh, my God, that's such a cool oh, Prince of Darkness. So somebody sees the jacket and they think it's a reference to not just prints, but to somebody. And Peter Jason's like, yeah, you can have it. Like, here, it's yours. Like this. Like one.

[0:49:42]  A: He's like, I have a ton of this stuff. I don't need it anymore. You know?

[0:49:47]  B: Yeah.

[0:49:48]  A: And last question. Patrick, this has been awesome. If you didn't do this, if you didn't start find that creative bug. When you're in middle school, was there anything do you have any other career path that you think that you would ended up doing?

[0:50:03]  B: I think at one point, funny as it is, I wanted to be like a cop in New York City, and I just wanted to get to New York. But I remember thinking, like, it'd be cool to be a cop in New York. It just seemed like, yeah, I don't know what I'd be doing. God. Jesus Christ.

[0:50:27]  A: And I got to say, that's why you're doing it. I got to tell you, most of the time I ask people that most of the time. I never ask somebody that. I'm like, you know what? I was going to do blank. It's usually that they're like, I really don't know which shows you because you have to have that drive. You're never going to make it like we talked about in the beginning. It's not like you're ever going to wake up and be like, you know what? I want to work in the movies.

[0:50:47]  A: That's it.

[0:50:48]  B: Yeah. I don't think it was never that. It was always that. I just wanted to be part of the art scene. That was it. And I think probably still to a certain extent, but yeah, I just think I don't know. I have no idea. No idea. No idea.

[0:51:08]  A: That's why you're here. And I have to mention coffee shop or something.

[0:51:15]  B: I could see me owning a coffee shop with, like, sandwiches.

[0:51:20]  A: Gallows. Gallows. I don't know. Is there another food or something that starts with jigs?

[0:51:26]  B: Straight up. Straight up. This is who owns it. This is what you get here. Come on in. If you want something special, like, I'll make it. Come back in the kitchen and make it with me. Yeah, I'm that guy. Bring you right in the kitchen. Maybe I would have owned, like, a cafe. That's it. Maybe I would have owned a cafe.

[0:51:44]  A: Come on. Come in here. You want to work the spatula? Come on.

[0:51:48]  B: Yeah, flip those eggs for me.

[0:51:53]  A: I got to say, before we end this, your mini bio on IMDb is the funniest thing ever. You didn't write that? Somebody else wrote that?

[0:52:06]  B: No. What does the name say?

[0:52:09]  A: I just said, like, mini biography.

[0:52:11]  B: Yeah.

[0:52:11]  A: Doctor Sharon Leventhal.

[0:52:13]  B: Yeah. That's just a made up name. I made that name up. That was the name I wanted to name my dog before we got our dog and my wife. And people are like, no, you're not naming the dog Dr. Sharon Levinson.

[0:52:25]  A: Pretty funny.

[0:52:26]  B: All right. There's my bio.

[0:52:27]  A: How about that? I didn't even notice that until I fully clicked on it. And then you see it, but I love it. It's like all these things about you. And then his favorite sandwich is chicken salad.

[0:52:38]  B: I mean, it's important. I mean, it's really an important thing. I don't see why we wouldn't all tell each other what our favorite sandwich is.

[0:52:45]  A: That's true, that's true. And that's what I guess, like, he has done improv or comedy or something like that. No serious dramatic person is going to think that. But, man, Patrick, this has been awesome, man. I'm really happy we connected.

[0:52:58]  B: Absolutely, brother. Thank you for the time, man.

[0:53:00]  A: I appreciate it, too, man. Patrick is the guy he'll give you the shirt off his back, and he did that in a sense because he gave away his jacket. Then he got an Irishman, which is so kind, and, man, so many great stories from his career, and it's still going. I love talking to Patrick improv, man, I could really see him when I said that to him, I meant that from the bottom of my heart. I could see him be that buddy in a movie. Like, I would kill to be a buddy in some of my favorite movies. The buddies are so great.

[0:53:37]  A: Like, what's the name? Tyler Lebeen. And what is it? The greatest orgy with Jason Sedacuse. Perfect buddy in that movie. Just so many people nail it. And I think he could, too. But he has so many irons in the fire because he loves editing. He wants to make his own stuff. And then every so often, he's auditioning like you talked about. He's got something in the works. So I'll make sure he put his Instagram in the episode notes so you can get him a follow.

[0:54:01]  A: So when he posts about that, you could be like, oh, yeah. So. Thanks, Patrick. And now your homework. American wedding. Jim is getting married. Oh, my gosh. This is going to be something. And we're all invited. Well, you're invited. And then me and Jamie are going to talk about it. So don't forget to review rate, share a podcast. Follow us on all social media at sequels only. And don't forget to check out our website, sequelsonly.com.

[0:54:31]  A: Good night.

[0:54:33]  B: Good night, God. Bye.