Ep #94: Acting, Life and Reinvention with Tim Omundson

You are listening to the overthinkers guide to joy episode 94 This is the one where
I get to interview my friend and actor Tim Omundson where we're going to talk about
acting life and Reinvention, let's dive in
This is a podcast for over thinkers over doers and over achievers who are tired of
feeling over anxious and just want to feel better I'm your host certified life
coach, Jackie de Crinis.
- So today I have a very special guest. It is a long time friend and somebody I
admire on so many levels. I am so tickled that he's here and agreed to do the
podcast and I have had the pleasure of being on his podcast. And today I get the
pleasure of returning the favor and hosting him here. He is most well -known,
although he has been in television and theater for decades. His most iconic role was
on a show that I did many, many years ago called "Psych," and he played Basseter.
His name is Tim Omundson, and I am so tickled to have him on the show today and
talk about all things vision, life, philosophy, and whatever else he feels like
talking about. Hello, my friend. It was really honor that you asked me to come talk
to you because I think you are a very incredibly wise person. And I'm really happy
to be, if not a little nervous too, that I imposter syndrome that I too, um, come
on and talk with you. Oh, no imposter syndrome at all. All fun and good.
So Tim, We have not gotten to see each other in person in many many years But we
have seen each other on zoom and have talked many times on email and all the
things So will you catch me up on what has been happening in your post psych life?
starting professionally with what you are doing Tour with your colleagues after um if
you post psych life, I "Psycholife" I was lucky enough to get on a show called
actually "The Psych Musical" which was a pretty transformative episode for a lot of
the cast, especially myself. Because I really kindled this love of singing in musical
theater that I'd forgotten that I had. After that I was able to just,
stupid luck I got on to, well also an Asian agent, I I got onto a show called
Galvan, which was this fairytale musical comedy from the genius of Dan Fogelman,
who did This Is Us, and then with songs written by the great Alan Menken. So that
took me to England, Wales, where we shot, I played this medieval European English
king, which was just, the show was like, if
Robert Oaks and Monty Python had an illicit love affair and they had a baby. This
show would have been that baby. Wow. That's high praise. Yeah. It was pretty, it
was just the, some of the most, I mean, to leave psych, which was the greatest
gift of a show I could possibly imagine happening and then get, find my way, having
to learn how to sing suddenly on that kind of level and traipsing around England
was just an absolute dream. - And what years were this that you were doing this?
- 2014 and 2015. - Okay, gotcha. - And we only did two seasons,
we did on 18 episodes, but they were pretty glorious 18 episodes. - And is that how
you met Dan for a later role in This Is Us? - Yes, that was how I first met Dan.
Wow. So that was great serendipity. It was an incredible, just as it's funny just
how life turns out.
So right after Galva entered around 2015, in 2017, I survived a massive stroke,
which took out the left side of my left arm and hand and foot and leg.
And then eventually, So, I mean, I was really in not in great condition at all Can
you talk very specifically about how that even happened? Absolutely. Yes, I mean for
not everybody who knows you you are a young tall thin vibrant active playful man so
people don't expect people who typically are in good health and have such good lives
and who travel and do and play for a living to then be struck with a stroke.
So I would love you to talk about that. Yeah, it was.
So we say no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. I was 48 years old, 6 foot 163
pounds, like the best shape of my life. I used to hike every day and work out
every day. And then What happened was I was, I'd gotten the point of my career was
having to take my shirt off a bit more. So, um, I was trying to get a certain
kind of shape and I was lifting weights too hard one day. We're not exactly sure
what it was, but we can pretty much complain the moment that I, what happens, I
tore a carotid artery in my, my right, my right carotid artery, which is a pretty
important artery to have because it carries the blood from your heart to your brain.
It's, it's probably the most important artery. Yeah. Yeah, what so what it wasn't
one of the ones you really don't want to injure I tore during a really heavy
Deadlift lifting weights And then about a week later. I am This where it gets
really glamorous. I collapsed in a in a man's room in the Tampa Airport. Oh my
god, I proceeded to spend several weeks in ICU in Tampa and Eventually recovering
enough to on the point where I could be medevaced back to Los Angeles, right, was
in a recovery rehab hospital in LA, eventually moving into a therapy,
like a residential therapy clinic. So I was in a clinic for about four years,
having to re -learn how to walk and just saw like physical, cognitive and
occupational of each you can possibly do. I was, I was really lucky in that there
was this great neuro rehab center near my home.
Wow. When you, or that crowded artery, it wasn't instantaneous.
It took a moment before that Tampa airport bathroom incident. And we sort of like
seeing the stars for about a week. And Alison, my wife, Alison, country like Reminds
me that I came home and said I feel like some weird like I thought I just
strained my my shoulder muscle Mm -hmm Mm -hmm, but she constantly will go back to
hurt me sending to get you saying it some feels a little weird Mm -hmm, but it
took a week to manifest. It's a full -blown stroke Yeah, and then how did somebody
even find you in the Tampa men's bathroom to get you to a hospital? So a clot
formed I assume in my brain. I think, I mean, I've only played Dr.
Sun to these, but that's kind of my effect. Right, right, right. And then you lost
movement on only the left side of your body or your entire body? It was just my
left side. So my left hand and foot and arm and leg went a little bit of my, I
can't do my standard laster left eyebrow raise anymore. Did you lose All speaking
ability or some? No, I just it lost I lost my ability to sing and I lost the um
You said a very subtle voice that had a lot of nuance in it now It's the it's a
bit more flat and a bit more um rather than a scalpel. It's the more of a
sledgehammer So but I'm really lucky in that In so many different ways But the
first ones are really coming to mind or in fact, I didn't lose my my memories like
my long -term memory is still really sharp. Wow. And I didn't lose my total ability
to speak, where there were a lot of people in this clinic who literally had no
vocal range at all. Right. So I was lucky that I could kind of roll,
I couldn't walk at the time. I was actually two person left to take me, two people
to help me get off a couch and into a wheelchair. So I was in a wheelchair for a
long time, slowly learning how to re -walk, he puts for therapy and eventually, I
remember the day there was, where I was sort of, they signed off me that I could
actually stand at the sink in the bathroom to brush my teeth without somebody
watching me and make sure it wasn't gonna fall. - Wow, so that was seven years ago.
- So yeah, my stroke was actually April 29th, yeah it'll be April 27th to be seven
years this year. - Wow. - Yeah, it's just a few weeks away, isn't it? - Yeah,
almost the seventh anniversary. In the last, what period of time has it been that
you have been able to start acting again, traveling again, all the things?
How did that progression go? - So,
I was in this rehab clinic doing therapy about several times a week for four years.
I finally sort of graduated out of the clinic and now to look and I don't see
what the day was. But it's been several years now since I moved back home and sort
of restarted my life back with my wife and daughters in the house.
But I was saying earlier, the part of the galvan while I was in my recovery To my
producers to my dear friends were sort of checking in on me as I slowly turned to
like They'll just walk and Speak again my and my as my mouth sort of caught up to
my brain as Chris Chris Hensie our friend would say Any and they would they were
sort of filling in Dan Fogelman on my progress And I'm remembering um, then who of
course did the show? This is us Mm -hmm, And I was at dinner one time with a
couple of our producers, and Dan and one of my Galavan director and producers was
there. And we were at one of my Galavan co -stars' homes. And I was in such a hot
shape that they literally had to lift me in the wheelchair over the threshold to
get into the dining room, to get into the dining room and have dinner with them.
And Dan and Chris Koch said, "Oh, Chris Koch, who's a producing director on this
set said yeah Dan and I were talking we thought maybe it could be on the show and
it was sort of like I was it was beyond all auto streams really even get back and
acting because I just still kind of didn't know what I was doing.
Now I mean I thought well yeah maybe I could be a guy in a wheelchair because my
left hand doesn't work I only can push the wheelchair with one hand so okay like
traditional you think of actors in wheelchairs chairs. I think it's somebody who uses
a wheelchair for mobility. They use two hands to move around. Yes. I can't even do
that. But one day I got a text from Dan Fogelman. I said, Hey, I'm thinking of
riding a guy deep in recovery from a stroke and putting him on. This is us. And
he put me in coach. So he, um, yeah, he wrote this, this guy who basically he
wrote me in my, my present physical condition. Because my, I I had no idea I'd
ever be able to get back to acting in any form. So my first day on set, again,
playing this guy, and I just said to Dan, it's like, if we're doing this, I want
to show warts and I want to show what is really, it's like, I can't pretend my
left, my, my right hand, my left hand works. Right. So we need to say like, it's
like, it is what it is. And I've actually played a couple of stroke swimmers now
as buddy, my friend said, be honest, did you have a stroke, Jesse, get on this is
us.
I hate to laugh at that but it is funny. Of course how actors think of each
other. I know.
So then from that point on I um Dan was actually on set with me that very first
day and it became much like our times on Gallaudet where he would just throw me
lines and I feel as I'm still I mean physically may not be what it was but I was
still I was still my himbo so I was still funny and my root and my wit and um
my comedy chops were still there even though it takes a little while maybe for the
joke to get out my mouth for everything to connect but it became quickly we kind
of realized right away that that also worked
that's amazing and it was just so just so incredibly blessed and lucky to have
friends who support me like that that of course after After, they kind of doing six
episodes of "This Is Us," always playing, again, playing the same character. And we
really got into, you got to dive into some of the issues behind the strokes of
our, which was, which was great, like the emotional part of the whole. There's
actually a thing with a left brain injury, like I have, a left hemisphere injury.
'Cause you're, yeah, or a right hemisphere, sorry, no, I have a right right
hemisphere. I understand because it's your left hand that's affected so it crosses
over so it's the right brain left hand right so there's something that um one of
my my action my cognitive therapist left me and let me know this little secret that
over the years they'll say to write hemisphere survivors what's the one thing that
really is the longest sort of lasting injury and they'll say empathy
Like sort of your ability to sort of feel and express empathy Which is kind of
important to have for an actor. It's like it's one of the main doctor needs so We
actually there was a scene where we got In this is us where um, I got to have a
little talk about empathy and Basically said you know said to Dan look if this is
the way this This is a real thing and if I can express this that would be really
lovely to do. So I am kind of mumbling off. So just to get Dan to have Dan say
yeah I want to let's put it all out there let's tell the whole full story was
just an incredible gift to be able to sort of represent people who have gone
through it.
I've had a lot of survivors reach out to me since that show aired and just
expressed their gratitude and not just for me, but for Dan, give me the platform to
sort of talk about or to show what happens in this situation. - Well, I think that
was the best thing about that series was how many different marginalized people and
circumstances, situations he brought to light, whether it was
Ability, obesity, finding love, narcissism, adoption,
premature death, losing a parent, losing a spouse, interracial marriages,
anxiety, like all of it. It was just so rich, it was such a rich tapestry of the
human condition and it was never in and it was never like beating you over the
head and and so I think it's so beautiful what he did for all the seasons that he
did it on on that show and I was always surprised I was like oh I wonder where
they'll go next because I thought well they've told their stories and he just always
found more. It just comes down to just Dan's true humanities is just a human being
And I'm just so lucky that I got teamed up with this man. But prior to the grace
that was Dan Fogelman, actually, I mean, I owe a lot to,
I go to this a lot of times after, in terms of talking about my return to sort
of my career and how Dan gave me my career back, but a lot of times I skip over
some of the most important people which was my psych family,
Because actually, when I had the stroke, they were in pre -production for our first
psych movie. I remember. We did eight seasons of that show, and then ended up doing
three movies. And while we find the gutter, we'd always wanted to do a movie, Steve
Franks, our creator. I always said it's eight seasons and six movies.
So as they were writing, I in pre -pick option and I, I'm suddenly the wild card
that they don't have to be in it. Steve and James Rodero Rodriguez, who you know,
hold up in a restaurant across the street from the hotel where we all stayed on
the show. And it was kind of one of our headquarters and they rewrote the script
in three days. We got how to get me in it, which is basically so I could make my
health insurance. So their mantra was like, how can we get Tim to get his health
insurance? How can we get Tim pay to get his health insurance? - Wow. - Just the
gift these people give. And then, so I showed up to Seth eventually. Well, actually,
no, I didn't show up to Seth because I was in no shape to travel. I could hardly
even walk. - Right. - So they wrote a cameo for me. So they wrote my scene, the
scene between myself and my partner, show Maggie Lawson, which we just say I'm a
face on call. Just, so it's kind of a cameo just like at least beyond screen and
they brought them they brought the mountain to Muhammad so we shot at my guest
house so they they set up a little skeleton crew down here and we came down we
shut they just because I couldn't trial all of us it's they um but while they were
shooting the other parts of the film I was in this I was really bad shape and
literally in a hospital and they would send me the whole crew it's Maggie especially
would send me videos of the crews holding up team Tim's science. Oh I like brings
tears to my eyes. It still gets me. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh I've been surrounded
by my colleagues. It's just like an addition to my my my immediate family.
Yeah
That's an amazing story. I'm sure to Just Allison your beautiful wife being by your
side and for the last seven years and many years before that, but getting you to
Probably be able to be mobile or somewhat mobile the true outside hero is really as
Allison my wife who?
Which is mean the fact she stuck it out Yeah, we're a lot of people necessarily
would not have. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. What has changed since the incident seven years
ago? What can you do now that you couldn't do seven years ago on April 30th?
Where to begin? The fact that I can even walk is amazing. And I now walk.
I mean, I use a wheelchair for longer distances, but I used to cane for just sort
of shorter distance around the house but even I try not to use the cane a lot so
I can I started back up with my one of my physical therapy she'll come once a
week and she'll work me out we've started actually walked halfway around the block
we ended up doing half a mile without the cane at all which
huge is astounding I remember the first the day I was in this sort of contraption
that holds you up when I first started
And they said I'd walked 45 yards, which I still can even believe I walked 45
yards
You sort of like I said held up in this contraction so then to walk Half a mile
without the cane was I'm still kind of gobsmacked by it But I started walking
actually every Anniversary of my stroke. I keep temperature a little more. So last
year for the six -year anniversary. I I walked, you know, sorry, two years ago for
the five year, I do sort of do, I put magnumized podcast on in my,
in my head and we, and I started doing laps in my backyard. And then I walked,
ended up walking just under two miles. Wow. For the fifth anniversary. So when six
came, I said, okay, I need to go past this. So again, I went out in the backyard,
put in our podcast, put on some of my favorite albums, my recovery albums. And
after 45 minutes, I ended up walking two and a half miles.
Wow. So to go from that 45 yards to then six years later, walking two and a half
miles in one stretch was pretty intensely wonderful. And now, so I'm just trying to
continue to build on that and get my, my gait a Mm -hmm,
and a little smoother. So I'm not I'm not so lurching. I look more like quote
-unquote normal Mm -hmm recovery is a marathon not a sprint. So I'm looking at the
tiny ways I can Someone's like cognitive on behavioral therapy. Yes You're looking at
it for the overall picture. Where's that can improve my voice and Speaking voice and
I'm trying to get my singing voice back slowly, but surely Amazing. And were you or
are you right -handed or left -handed? I'm right. Luckily I'm right -handed. Okay. So
at least those elements were already there. You didn't have to retrain your right
hand to hold a toothbrush, a fork, and things like that. Yeah. So I'm lucky there.
Very lucky there. And just slowly starting to slowly build my arm strength back in
my arm, or just some kind of range of ability in my left arm, even if it's not,
even if I can't do it just by thinking of it. Uh -huh. And so I'm just trying to
release everything I can to start either with some massage or just slowly start
focusing on my left hand and arm a little bit to get that one back. I wish this
had never happened to you. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I certainly
wouldn't wouldn't wish it on a dear friend. If there was a magic wand, you know, I
would make it go away, if I could, and never have happened. But given that it did,
and given that it has given you
really kind of a whole new appreciation, I would imagine for this second chapter of
your life, right, which is the gift of first of all life, And the relearning of
things that, you know, we all learn like when we're one and two years old, how to
walk, how to talk, how to eat, how to do all the things. - I had to relearn how
to chew and swallow. - Wow.
- 'Cause the muscles were so sort of weak and the left side, you can sort of, I
would pocket food in my cheeks and not really realize it.
- Kind of like having novocaine in that side of your face, you wouldn't know it was
there. See, do you not feel anything on your left side? I can feel,
I can't a little bit, I can't necessarily feel what somebody's like holding my arm.
But the strange thing is I can feel temperature of like, of water especially,
there's sort of a heat sense or a cold sensitivity. That's interesting. Just has the
nerves are sort of like, reforming I guess.
And is there belief that the neural wiring will return with the continued therapy so
that you might get movement back? Is that possible? I think it is. I'm not quite
sure on that one. It's called neural plasticity, which basically the brain is
starting to have to re -wire itself. Which years ago, with stroke survivors, they
just sort of leave, they just kind of leave me in a bed and that They'll be it.
But now they've realized that the brain actually can sort of rewire and heal and
continue to grow and build on itself The fact that my left leg is doing as much
as I'm a walking is sort of proof that there is That that there is something
possible to You are they say that the fingers and the toes take the longest to
sort of come back because they're farthest from the brain correct and Probably also
from the heart. So just circulation and blood availability, I would think too.
Because I know that when you cut your toe or break a toe, it can take a while to
heal for that same reason just because blood flow isn't as great. Yeah. So, but I'm
still hopeful and without help, there's not much point. So now bring me up to speed
on the psychologists are in your podcast with Maggie Lawson who was your co -star on
psych bring me up to and I've had her on the show as well so she told a little
bit about the history of it but not too much how that came to be and then also
the tour that you guys are doing now. Sure so Maggie called me one day and she
sold one of my closest friends and asked me if I would co -host a rewatch podcast
with her which Which was usually funny. We just choose from mine. It's the other
day on stage My initial answer was no joke. So I was I was scared. I didn't know
what it meant and how to I didn't know Really what the podcast was and I was sort
of scared of the whole zoom process and the technical process And so she gave me a
week and then he called me back and she circled back and sort of explained it You
said I'll take care of it. Just I'll get to the point where you just have to push
a button on your computer We'll do it And now it's become the, it's become the
greatest day of my week when we record the episode. And now it's become such a
popular thing. We actually are now on this, we did a nine CD tour this year, which
we've attached this sort of Comic -Con's and fan conventions where we do appearances
together. We'll do a panel and sign autographs and do photo ops and all that sort
of fan show stuff. And we started doing live, our podcast live on stage.
It's the point where we first did it at a comedy festival in San Francisco last
year and sold out a comedy club. We sold out a 400 seat comedy club almost every
night. We just did a show in Richmond, Virginia and sold out a 700 seat theater.
So it's become the interesting thing of the Comedy Festival in San Francisco.
My agent came in with Alice and was there and everyone sort of commented, as soon
as I hit stage and the stage lights hit me, like a flip, a switch flips. I've
become much more like, I've become much more alive, like much more like I was.
Because I sort of, I grew up doing theater. So is that, is that thing of getting
back on stage just made me feel alive again in a way that I haven't felt in a
long, long time.
And then knowing I'm on stage with my best friend who we've known each other and
we're together for 17 years Mm -hmm, and also our comedy rhythms are so tight -still
and I Knew she would take care of me.
So it was just it was just this gift that I wanted to keep building on So then
we've turned it into this tour which we have two shows left It's amazing.
So now it's an Allison because I can't really travel on my own like it's so
Allison now travels with me So we're getting to kind of when you started if it's a
city we really want to hang out and well out a few days on to under the trip and
See and just sort of explore a little bit Well, I think that's again just kind of
an amazing Celebration of seven years later because seven years ago you couldn't
travel Whether you wanted to or not I mean other than being airlifted back from
Tampa to Los Angeles so that you could live in a rehab clinic. And now here you're
doing a national tour where you're not just going,
but you're showing up live and performing live and with Maggie and in all these
different cities. I mean, wow. It's true. You know, it's good. And thank you for
kind of remind me of that. It is because you lose sight when you're forced for the
tree sort of thing.
And you're, you know, packing in 400, 500, 700 fans, not to mention all those who
didn't get tickets and wanted to see it, but you were sold out. And you've got
this podcast with a huge following. And again, you know, it's called The
Psychologists are in for those, if I mumbled through that earlier, it's just amazing.
It's amazing that it's the gift that keeps on giving, not just in friendship and
not just in career, but just in soul fulfillment. - No,
and just to go back because Syke was, I think Maggie and I were the same mind of
like, Syke was one of the greatest gifts in our lives, certainly our careers in our
lives. I mean, it's the Syke family that we've all built still. In fact,
Corbyn Bernstein was our first live guest. - Oh, fun. I love Corbyn.
- We have a psych family text that Corbyn said, and there's probably not three days
that go past where one of us doesn't check and it's sort of say hi to the other.
- That's amazing. - It is just this incredible gift that we were given thanks to
Steve Frank and
Well, thank you good. No jacket. We would we wouldn't be here without without you
and you're You're great support and in credit your incredible support Well,
my it's such an extreme pleasure as I've said many times on your podcast Maggie's I
didn't have to do much because you guys are all so talented and so fun that all I
had to do was cheerlead because it was just Fun it was fun from the beginning No,
but you're applying the road for us. Definitely. Well, thank you. I will I will
receive that compliment and I thank you for that Tell me There you had talked a
little bit about future projects when I had spoken to you last Do you have
something when this city this national tour is over? Is there something that we can
talk about yet is announce a bowl for the next Round of tours or is there
something for Comic -Con? Yes, I mean we're back to Maggie and I are gonna get
together next two weeks We get now that we have low break on the tour and have it
sort of a caught one of our regular coffee dates and Brainstorm what we're doing as
we run out of episodes
So we're not entirely sure but we're also talking about with it because we share we
share a an appearance agent So she's trying to build on the success of the 24 tour
and hopefully we'll do a 25 tour. Love it. And we're kind of talking about me even
trying to do like a European,
some sort of European tour whether it's through European Comic -Cons or um or we're
not sure yet. Love it. But there's definitely this the the podcast is definitely
going to grow even past um the episodes.
And ultimately, I think it's whether Maggie and I do some kind of, like she's
always just had dinner, I had like hosting a variety show.
We know we have so many talented, wonderful friends who could pop under this man.
And she's a tremendous singer. I'm working my voice. So up to my big dream is to
get us singing on stage again. Oh, I'd love to see that. I would love it. When
you were doing the rewatch episodes, you did them chronologically. Yes, one at a
time. We saw it with the pilot. Yeah. Okay. Did you have to rewatch each episode
prior to your podcast, or did you do it based on memory, or did you sometimes
watch it? Absolutely, rewatch. We don't sort of jog my memory of what stories there
were. Is it amazing how once you watch an episode,
how the memories come flooding back the details of it? Yeah, it's the memories like
specific memories we just did one we were all shooting in Westlern which we just
recorded yesterday and we were talking about evenings out and like dinners we had
with guest cast and uh -huh and just but it's really it's it's not so much the um
the specific memories it's it's more the feeling the feeling of the joy and love
that we all had. - Yeah. Do you ever watch, 'cause I know I do this, and look,
I worked on a lot of television shows over 30 years, but I'll watch something, and
I don't remember that I've read it, noted it, watched it,
re -watched it, re -noted it, and I'm like, wow, I don't remember.
But then there will be other things I'll see, And I know every line, and it's not
that I watched that one more. It's just, just how the brain processes information.
I've seen who I'll remember every detail of the scene. Exactly. That's what I'm
asking. Yeah. But then there's somes where like, there's, there's episodes where like,
I, I'll see the title and go, I have no idea what this episode is about or what
happened. So I'll go on IMDb and I'll look who the guest has was. And that'll,
before I actually watch the episode, that'll jog my memory of - Oh, that's right,
'cause we went to dinner with that person at such and such a place that time.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You did so many episodes. I don't even know the total. I know it was the-- - 121
total. - 121 episodes, not including the movies. - Not including the movies. - Of the
121 episodes, which is kind of amazing. Is there one or two that stand out for
you. And if you say, no, I can't, I love them all, they're all my babies. But is
there one or two where you're like, oh, working with that guest star or having that
person who I always wanted to be on screen with, or I always wanted to meet, was
there one or two that you're like, that one? Because I asked for a day this
question, I was actually surprised about his answer. I think the first one was
probably last night Gus. - Okay, I don't remember who started it. - It was our
homage to the hangover. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember that. - Just because that, I
got so, it was so, I got to do so much uncharacteristic classroom stuff.
- So not specific to a guest star being on it, just that episode for you was the
most fun. - 'Cause all of us were, the cast was
out of our usual, uh, comfort zones, and we just had so much fun laughing together.
Okay. So that was your favorite, just in terms of like stretching the muscle for
you. Yes. And then up to that would be, um, this are our mosh, the shining. Here's
Lassie. Oh yeah. Rodriguez wrote and directed along with Jared Hart on it.
Yeah. That was a good one. So that was just to get, to do my, my jackal mosh
was, But the funny part being, I always said, it was the scariest movie in the
world to me. And I would never watch it again. And Roger was like, 'cause it's one
of his favorite movies. - It is amazing. - He was like, "No, you have to watch it,
otherwise you'll miss all the jokes." So because I'm such a scaredy cat, the only
way I could watch it was flying back and forth to LA from Vancouver,
sitting on the plane, Early running flights bright sunny Airline cabin watching on my
laptop surrounded by people in the Sun China's the only way I could possibly watch
that movie So just scared the hell out of me. It scared the hell out of me, too
You know, it's so funny. Um, we were in Oregon recently visiting more kids and we
just went on this drive Up the mountain a bit and we were kind of to be honest.
We were kind of we weren't lost We were just The ambling around We had a couple
hours to kill and my husband wanted to go up the mountain or whatever. And we
ended up at this lodge randomly and it was, I guess it must have been summertime
because everybody was wearing shorts. I was probably cold because I'm always cold,
but the tourists were all wearing shorts and it was quite packed. The parking lot
was packed and it was an interesting, apparently it's a very famous lodge. I walk
around And I'm like, and I can see that it's a ski resort in the winter. Like
they have lifts and ski rental and all the things, but obviously it's close just
summertime. So people are bike riding, you know, dirt bike riding and mountain bike
riding up, down on the lifts. I'm walking around and I've never, I've been to
Portland many, many, many times because my kids live there, but I've never been up
this mountain. I know I haven't because I know how many times I've been to
important. And I'm like, Ooh, deja vu.
And, and my husband goes, really? Have you ever been here? And I'm like, no,
but like serious deja vu. And then we got separated in the lodge. At some point,
he had gone downstairs, I had gone upstairs, I thought he was here, he was there,
whatever. And then I'm like, No, like, no, this isn't deja vu anymore.
This is like, I've been here. I've been here. Well,
it turns out it was the set for the shining or at least the interiors. But there's
a scene I guess there's a famous scene that's in one of the rooms or one of the
it's not so it's not the hotel for the shining but it was where it was where they
shot a big piece of it and there's some I'll double check But they had some
signage that said, yes, this looks familiar because I was like, oh, there we are.
Because the actual overlook, the real overlook hotel from the movie was somewhere up
in Banff in Canada. I thought I could be wrong. Could be wrong. So now I'm going
to, now I have to double check. Was any of the shining or maybe they modeled,
I can't, they can't imagine they modeled the hotel because it was a hundred years
old. The shining shot in, I don't know what it's called,
it's not Portland, but it's outside. The exterior shots of the overlook were shot at
the Timberland Lodge in Oregon. The exterior shots of the overlook hotel were filmed
at the Timberland Lodge. Well, the interiors were filmed at the Elles Tree Studios
in England and the opening sequence was filmed in Glacier Park, Montana.
- All right, yeah, with the Volkswagen bug and that scary, scary tuba. - Yeah,
so Timberline Lodge was where we were, and it was the exterior hotel. Talk about
kind of spooky and scary and awesome. And what I love is, I didn't know you were
a scaredy cat, that makes me kind of giggle,
because Rode Rodriguez can't get enough of horror films. He can't watch enough.
He can't write enough. He can't direct enough. He can't talk about enough And so
it's so funny knowing how close you guys are and these two genres are not Both
love affairs or not. I should say these two genres are not love affairs for both
of you because He adores them Like it is it is in his blood.
I think His Genesis story was his mother took me to the American in London where
he was younger than most people would see that movie. - Uh -huh.
- And it just, it's funny how we have those moments in our life that that one just
formed his brain. - Yeah. - Of that's what he wanted to do. - I was, and I think
in high school and I saw it and I jumped out of my seat and landed.
And I think I banged my the, the, you know, wooden arm rest in the Westwood
theaters when I saw it. Like that's how far I jumped out of my seat when his dead
friend is sitting in the movie theater next to him and he turns and sees him
decaying. I was like, oh, and he's like, oh, I loved it. Yeah,
the zombie Griffin done, right? Zombie Griffin done. Zombie Griffin done. I wonder
how many people say that. Um, so, So fun, so fun. So yeah,
those were two great episodes. No, I was actually asking a different question,
but I love the answer to that question. My question was actually guest star -wise.
Was there anybody who ever came on the show that you were like, I always wanted to
meet with them or I always wanted to meet them or I always wanted to work with
them? - Yeah, Tim Curry. So the Tim Curry episodes are really special. I remember
reading a kid and watching a television movie version of Oliver where he played Bill
Sykes and it just, it just, I can vividly remember his, his face in this movie.
So then to have Tim Curry on set with us, it was just like, what on earth, what
is my life now? This is insane. Yeah, I had that feeling when I met him on the
series Monk. I had lunch with him one day, we were on the set and I could not
believe that I was sitting next to Tim Curry having lunch like I just
and I remember saying it out loud to him like I just can't believe this and he
was very sweet and humble and flattered and charming and all the things he is. It's
a lovely lovely everything all the great versions you'd want than me. What is the
line what is my favorite line in psych where he's in the back of the car and he
says I feel like I'm incarcerated in the blueberry. Is that what the line is? That
car became known as the blueberry. Yeah, that was one of the greatest lines ever. I
just loved it. He's wearing Henry's robe and he was like, I'm a baby swaddled in
like a cloud or a cocoon of cloud or something. But just the joint twinkle, like
the twinkle in that man's eye was just constant. Yeah
Did he also I feel like is it possible did I make this up? Did he also suffer
from a stroke? I was just gonna say he's also a stroke survivor as well, and that
was fairly recent also Like in the last seven years maybe nine years ago.
Yeah, I Could be totally off on it, but um, yeah, we share an agent of all um
grid ironies. That is weird. That is weird irony.
And just from the photos I've seen, I don't think Tim's doing nearly as well as I
am. Yeah, he's quite a bit older too. The fact that I was as young as I was,
and as previously healthy as I was, had a lot to do with my ability to recover as
much as I have.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
So again, besides that you're my friend, And besides that, I'm a fan of your talent
and your acting and all the things. One of the reasons I wanted to have you on
today was because I love stories of inspiration. And I think your story is so
inspirational, not just the incredibly privileged life you have as a wonderful actor
who continues to work
strike in your life and that you overcame it and I know there's still a long road
to hoe I'm not pretending but you are traveling you are working you are doing what
you love you are prolific you are surrounded to dinner last night and there's always
the question of like should we take the wheelchair because never quite sure what
train we're gonna hit yeah how far we'll have to park and yeah so we actually
didn't take the chair in and I was going to walk in and out of this restaurant as
I got in the car I was like to go hey no wheelchair like we just like check
their progress that way and yeah we could do that it is out of loneliness an
incredible thing where
there was a there I guess my my um original neurosurgeon told I told Alison,
like the stroke was so big, then we're sure if I ever walk again, which I only
learned after I walked into a restaurant and sat down to a business dinner with my
agent manager. And Alison told me the story and I was like, why I didn't know
this. - Wow.
Is there any, aside from again, the physical therapy and coming back to work again
and all the things that have been part of the recipe for healing, which no one
knows what the recipe for healing is because it's trial and error, right? Because
not everything works for everybody. But your recipe has been determination and
physical therapy and rehab and and obviously getting back to work as much as you
could physically manage. Is there any thought or
or unusual
thing that you adopted or did that was kind of your I don't want to say mantra I
don't want to oversimplify anything because I know that it's a collection but is
there anything that you would share with the audience in our last few minutes
together just that kind of was your guiding light or your beacon Yeah,
I would say and um, but it's like yeah, actually when you ask me about other
projects other than the on the podcast I would you teed me up, which I I didn't
hit the ball, but um, I'm actually running in the process of running one man show
about my Stroke and recovering just the recovery the journey that I've been on Which
is I'm co -running with um a cycle on guest are my friend Ethan Sandler And it's
being, it's going to be directed by our dear friend James Rodero Rodriguez. We were
able to rope him into a consultant and direct. Oh, I love that. So, we're one
draft into it now and I was trying to, which kind of, it just explores the whole
experience of what that was and what that meant to us. I think my biggest mantra
was, right from the get -go, I, I don't know if it's a mantra,
but my mindset was,
sitting in the corner and having a pity party isn't going to get me walking again.
Whichever we're going into my own, they had an emotional therapist counselor at this
clinic and one of my first sessions in, she said, "How are you?" I said, "I'm
great." She goes, "Yeah, that's what I hear. Why do you think that is?" And I kind
of, to oversimplify it, which now I'm kind of diving into a bit more, but the time
my first reaction was, I don't know, I guess my parents were depression era. So you
don't sit in bitching moan, you just got to move forward.
And then Allison has repeatedly said that had I not had the attitude of moving
forward, that to be strong for it, she would not have been able to persist.
So I think knowing that we said our daughters were really young at the time. They
were early in their young teens. We sat them down sort of once I was able to get
home again. And just kind of said, look, I don't know why this happened. But all I
do notice that maybe the greater lesson here is we're not defined by the things
that happen to us. We're defined by how we act to them.
So if anything I had to be sort of an example to them of just moving I think
what mantra was I think the biggest thing that I always immediately played to my
head was That great line from Shashik Redemption of Get Busy Living or Get Busy
Dying
One of my favorite movies mine as well, so I just that's really been To my heart
and then there was an album that I am
Obsessed over In a really hard way with a who's this ink is a This English
musician in prank prank turn who when I was working on galvan. I'd already liked
his music and he I Strangely became friends And he he's got there was one song
particular one of his my favorite albums of his That I happen to be in England
while he was touring with Called the next drum which is all about it's about
persevering and Facing the next storm so that really like it went so hard into my
heart, this one particular album, and I've spoken about it many times. And so it's
all, it's going to be in the show as well. How wonderful. Can you spell his last
name, Frank? Turner, T -U -R -N -E -R. Okay. I'd just like to look him up and other
people might too. And then tell me, the dream for the one man show is on stage I
think ultimately it's on stage which all which really came from that first podcast
with Maggie Bing Bing on stage and realizing how much I loved it means going I've
got to get back this I need to get back on stage that's where I'm that's where
I'm most an artist originally
but then I think we're writing it in a way that and James is such a brilliant
director we can easily transfer it to And there's a lot there's a lot of really
funny, but I have a photo album on my phone of just my recovery album of
Just photos and videos. It's funny. There's an actor named Joe McHale who um, mm
-hmm
Actually played my dad in one of the in the third psych movie and it's a dear
friend of mine and and We and our family and family ended up, we met,
in terms of we grew up 20 minutes from each other in the Seattle area. Met first
LA when our kids went to the same elementary school.
So Allison ran in Joel.
The day she, the morning she was got the news and was taking an emergency flight
to Tampa. I met him at LAX in the security And I told him what happened and then
Joel proceeded to, I mean, God, my story really is a story of just love and
support from my friends.
Joel would start sending me texts and dumb videos and they would hold up my phone,
my A -phone through their Allison's phone or my phone and play me the syncs while I
was in the ICU just to make me laugh.
His first one was, you might You might believe it, but Tim you don't know this
yet, but you're fucked. You had a stroke
that's supportive Just I mean no, you just know it. I mean sorry. No,
you get you giggled obviously. Yes. Absolutely and coming from him It's hilarious,
right? Yeah, so he's been a dear friend and
So there's a lot So then he and I, I've got all these videos that he and I would
send each other. I was living when I was in the rehab, in the residential portion
of this, of the rehab part, sort of bored out of my mind. We just sent each other
videos. Just needed to make myself laugh and to make him laugh. So I didn't keep
that funny move, that funny muscle going. So similar, I eventually want to
incorporate those in the show, whether it's on a screen behind me. I don't know,
but absolutely. Did you see Bo Burnham's one man show on Netflix?
Yeah, he, that was, I mean, a little long, but extraordinary in terms of what he
achieved in terms of color, sound, you know, mood.
- Not a big sort of solo show
motion right now and But really it was the the whole impetus was me getting back
on a stage doing what I started out doing. Yeah I love that stage telling people
stories and hopefully make them happy or laugh or cry or change their lives Well,
you have a huge audience including me who's waiting for this one -man show So you
need to get a move on and get it done You're right. Actually, I helped myself to
the fire. I actually announced it on the podcast with Megan said, okay, I'm now
saying this out loud. - Yeah. - So I need to make sure it happens. - Yeah, 'cause
you said it to me in passing a few months ago, but just very sort of under your
breath.
And now it has to happen. - So like I said, Ethan and I are one draft in.
No, I need to get back together. And James has now moved to New York. So we're
kind of trying to coordinate him being in talent. And that's where they get into
work. Yeah, we're waiting for it. Which part when you when you email asked me to
be on the show, and did that talk about this might be one of the topics, this
would be a really great impetus, because it's kind of gone in the back burner a
little bit, because with with being so busy touring, but yeah, I thought this would
be a great, a really great impetus to have this conversation with you to kind of
remind me of why I'm doing this thing and what what I'm trying to do. It's
important. It's important because it happened to you and it's important because it's
inspiration for a lot of people who have, again, you said, you know,
I said unfortunate circumstances that we don't foresee, said, um, we didn't see the
Spanish Inquisition coming, you know, like it doesn't matter what the situation is.
It's important. And, and I think that, again, having,
whether it's a rags to riches story, whether it's a recovery story, whether it's a,
I was going to give up and then this fabulous thing happened story. Those are the,
those are the stories I love. And those are the stories that, you know, lean, as
they say, lead us all to feel inspired and do more and believe when we feel stuck.
So we need you to tell this story. Well, when you came on the podcast, when you
were kind of the guest on Magnumize podcast, you talked about how your love of
stories and storytelling, and that really did, that was like one more,
One more spur on my side to really get this thing on, on it, up on his feet,
literally and physically. Well, now I'm going to send you a weekly email and be
like, how are we doing? I love it. I'm going to hold your feet to the fire as a
coach. Eventually, I'm going to start getting emails from you saying, I need pages.
I need pages. I have some notes. All right, Tim, I want to thank you so much for
taking the time. I know you've been super busy with your travel schedule and it was
great that we even got this on the calendar and I just am so happy to see you
and talk to you and connect with you and hear your story and I hope on the
seventh anniversary you're at three miles and on a second draft of your one -man
show. I'll take it. Jackie, I thank you so much for asking me to come on and talk
to you. I've always been a huge fan of yours and admire of yours and you just,
you know, Alison loves you dearly and our time together in the last ten of years
has been brief but the times we have got together in the same room we're very
quality time so and even even just on the zoom times with your show my show
anytime I just I get I'm through it every time I get an email from you, so thank
you for having me on. - Oh, you're gonna get one next week? (laughing)
- Just the subject will be pages, question mark, exclamation point. - Exactly, all
right. Tim, thank you again, have a great week, and I so appreciate you being here.
- I appreciate you having me here. - We'll talk soon. - Bye bye sweetheart. - Bye
bye.
If you would like to learn more about working with me as a coach, you can connect
with me through my website at jackiedecrinis.com. That's J -A -C -K -I -E -D -E -C -R -I  -N -I -S .com.