Snack Break! ᐧ EP609 with Austin Nichols

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Well, hello everyone, We have a treat today, guys, we sure do.

Are we allowed to call him a treat?

He's a snack. He's a snack, right, Yeah, a total snack.

Treat Drama Queen's Friends and fam We have none other than our very own Austin Nichols Julian Baker here with us today to talk about the inception of his character. Should we bring him in here?

Oh, Julia Baker, that bad boy? Do it?

Where is he?

You look so sharp with this haircut, Austin, the last time we saw you, you look like Jesus.

That's going on?

Right?

Yeah?

You know, I had long hair for a while, and you know, I've just been a bum over here in Texas, and then when I saw you guys in November, I was I had a mullet for Halloween.

You did, that's right, So what spawned the cleanup?

Yeah, you know, I'm planning to direct this movie here in the spring in Austin, Texas, and we're raising money and we're starting that whole process. You can add it for a while, and it's you know, it's an indie comedy about a struggling, beloved but crappy public golf course. And it's like got Dodgeball. It's about a family who just wants to protect their silly little home. And it's real sweet and real funny, and it's kind of based on a true place, a real place here in Austin

Julia Baker. It's like, did we all just morph into who we played?

It feels like we did.

That's funny.

It is funny, isn't it.

Did you write the screenplay for the film that you're getting ready to direct now to.

I did not write this one, and it's surprising because I always thought that the first movie I directed, I would write. But my friend Drew wrote this and I read it and I just flipped out. I was like, we got to do it.

Awesome.

I'm so happy to see all of you, and it's so it's always such a treat, in such a pleasure. You know. It's not often that you know, you work on something for so much of your life, especially young formative years, and anytime I see you guys, my heart just you know, melts, and it's it's truly special to be a part of this whole story.

Yeah.

Well, we saw you for the first time last episode, and Sophia and I had quite a time talking about you. It was real fun so for this episode, but we only got a glimpse of.

You last episode.

So for this one, this was like a super Julian heavy episode. They threw a ton of shit at you super super fast. First question is, have you ever watched the show? Did you watch yourself in it when we were doing it?

So, I don't think because I just watched my first two episodes this morning, and I don't think I ever watched those because I'm literally watching the show with fresh eyes, going, I don't think I ever saw these episodes. And it's weird now because with social media, people put clips in scenes I've seen, like Peyton and Julian in La Like, I've seen those scenes or I've seen like memes, so they're very familiar. But a lot of the other scenes with all the other characters, like I mean, I couldn't

Yeah, well, this is perfect because we have to read the synopsis. We have to tell the audience what episode we're doing, what happened in this episode? Will you do the honors? Will you do this for us?

Hey? Here we go? Synopsis Episode six oh nine, Season six, Episode nine, Sympathy for the Devil. Air date November third, two thousand and eight, Jamie and Haley really worried that Nathan might injure himself playing Slamball. Lucas agonizes over whether or how to write the key script seeing Julian demands Keith's death. Peyton wrestles with the right time to tell Lucas about her and Julian's past relationship. Owen pulls some Brook's own moves on her to get her attention. Favorite scene,

Actually got some interesting info from Mike about this this episode. I think it's this episode. It might be the next one, but it's better if I bring it up later. It'll fit in, Like, okay, Misterry the lead.

But I just want to I want to close the loop on this this weird thought I was having because I think sometimes when I'm playing characters, it probably happens to a lot of actors. It might be you guys. I play a lot of bad guys, and I guess I just, you know, drink my own kool aid, and I just think I'm like, not that bad of a guy. I remember doing these scenes and like people in the crew are coming up to me and going, wow, you're you're really scared, like you're bad playing a bad dude.

You know.

People of the crew always say stuff like that to me, and I'm like.

Really, why what are you saying?

I'm so clueless when it comes to this.

Are you a method actor? Austin? Could you? Here's the thing because we.

All had been living together, you know, for so many years at this point, and you came in the new guy, and you were just like, I'm cooler than you guys, and also I'm really handsome, and there was such a likability to it because it was like this motherfer knows he's cool, Like okay, Neat Yeah, it was very Julian.

Yeah. I mean I don't. I don't claim to be a method actor, and I don't really stay in character. There are moments sometimes where I like to steal from the method a little bit, and often it's stupid stuff like breathing heavy and I want to like run around the building a couple of times. You know, it's stupid stuff I got. But staying in character for you know, nine months, you know that's I'd go crazy. I don't.

It's not so this episode kicks off we're doing.

It's so nice at the strike is over because we actually get to talk about episodes with guests that come on.

Now.

Before we were just having to like make shut up every time people came on this episode, tell us what you like. Sometimes we go in order. Sometimes we just jump to the we.

Liked okay, and real quickly I had to say one more thing before we get to that, do you mind?

I love it?

A while back, whenever you guys started the podcast, I heard that you guys were doing this. I was like, Oh, that's cool, they're doing a podcast. Maybe they'll call me. All we did, and then all this time went by and I was like, are they mad at me? Why haven't they called?

Oh buddy?

And then I found out that you're doing it each episode, you know, in order. You're not going to call me for six years. Yeah.

But then even when we reached out, we couldn't get a hold of your team. And so you guys at home last night, Sophia and I are like feverishly texting Austin were.

Like, dude, dud, dude, where are you out, Where are you tomorrow morning? What's going on?

What are you doing? I've got my number you know me. I'm in. I'm in.

Yeah, yeah, we are protty. You showed up last minute? Yeah, tell us, tell us what the hits were for you? What were we into?

Joe main Ganello is really fun to watch. Yeah, and Brooks relationship with him is really fun. And also I didn't really realize that I was coming in on the heels of that, so that was that was fun for me to see. And Slamball, like I said before, so impressive. James Lafferty, Wow, these Lucas's wide shirts.

Oh yeah, oh yeah that was brand new, huge fan.

Yep, collar bone, Collarbone's hot.

Yeah.

I wore a blazer in the flashback scene with you Hillary at the copy machine. That my favoriteable stitching on the back.

Yeah there were bats on the back of your jacket.

There were I didn't notice that.

Yeah, so fun watching it. What else stands out? Seeing Jamie and sam am with their know how to be a little crook is really really satisfying.

There were a lot of layers in this episode. There was so much, Yeah, there really was, but it flowed very well. I mean, Mike Daniels, you know what.

I loved I thought was so well done was the Brooks Gucci her four Things gold good.

I have a Gucci Gerber loved it.

The Gerber like pun was genius. Gerbert Daisies. Yeah, yeah, because Gerber baby food. And I was like, oh my god, that's really that's really good. And then when Joe did his with you know, PlayStation in that, I was like, that's really great cute.

Yeah, weekends, man, we got some nice comedy and callbacks in this episode, for sure.

Yeah. And it's also there's some fun and I'm also speaking about last episode two, but there's some fun industry winks and jokes in there. Says you know, CW actresses and all these people that you guys want to play you is really fun. And you know, getting to say, you know, Julian, getting to say stuff about Sun Dance, and you know, hiring another writer and it's just all this industry jargon.

That I thought was so fun when they brought you in and you got hired. What did they tell you about this character? What did you know and what did you not know? If you can remember, well, I remember, you know, getting pitched.

To do it. I don't remember a lot about the character. I think I was told he comes from la he had a thing with Peyton. We're gonna explore that in a flashback. Nobody knows that that's a secret from her past. And then what you're but you're gonna end up falling for Brooke and that's all I really knew.

Okay, so you knew the basics. This is good. Yeah, they didn't totally spring it on you.

You get to kiss every girl on the show. Congratulations.

I never got to know. This is almost a job. Sounds dumb.

She was married?

They married me off man, they married? Yeah, I'm really young, painted right?

How old were you when you got married.

In real life?

No?

On the show?

Oh and oh, Hailey got married. I think she was seventeen, right, wasn't sexteen or seventeen?

Really in high school? Or was it right out of high school?

It was senior year, still in high school? Wait, but I had actually gave birth graduation, so that would make a Maybe I was sixteen when I got married.

Yeah, because your parents had to give you permission.

Yeah, that is some southern stuff.

Yeah, I love it. Doesn't get more southern than that. Boy. I loved Peyton and Julian together in this episode. It was a really man Hillary that Wait, I have to find my actual note here because it says copy machine. That scene is why You're an indie movie queen, which feels like it should be a lyric in a song.

Was?

It worked so well And it's a really delicate line to tow so well done both of you.

Hey sake, thank you, matter how awkward that was, because the way this is written, we both say some of the most conceited ever to each other in this.

Like, look, don't pick me up right now. I'm having a moment, you know, like everything is so nice.

So direct, though, come on, that's so great. How badly do you want to say that to somebody?

Sometimes it's so presumptuous in a way that's like, oh god, we're gonna say it a loud Christ And I remember really struggling with that.

Like I would never say something like this, how do I do this?

And I had already filmed all these flashbacks with Lucas and like all the sad shit with Lucas a year ago, and so a year later, Austin and I had to pick up all of these flashbacks and then move them forward like they were all continuous things with what we shot a year ago.

It was confusing. I felt like I.

Was living on some sort of like sliding doors reality because I'm like, I don't even know what's real.

It's so hard to convey, you know, a meaningful relationship and a handful of scenes and that you know, we have the stuff the first date, the copyroom, the date, and then we go to a bedroom and then leaving for sundance, and it happened so fast you break up? Yeah, And I was like, oh my god, that was so fast. But I kind of feel like, you know, I got the information I needed. I thought it was, you know, pretty well executed by everyone.

I agree.

They told Austin and I to go to dinner. Somebody gave us the directive to go to dinner.

Do you ever go to the BSTRO and it just being so like awkward, Oh my god.

I forgot about that. That's hilarious. Yes, I remember.

It was a very awkward dinner because they're like great, so in the next step. I know, you guys just met, we're gonna have to convey the entirety of your relationship in four scenes. So if you guys could actually, like I don't know, get to know each other, be comfortable with each other, you're gonna have to straddle on Hillary like, have some fries and the steak at the f and bistro.

And so I picked tossed it up and it was just.

Like, oh, okay, tell me all about your life as quickly as well.

Come.

But the best thing that I think helped us, and I can't remember the timeline when it happened, is when you told me about this ghost ghost story and we drove down that road and I saw, I literally saw the Hillary did not tell me what the story was. She just said, we're gonna see what happens. And I saw the silhouette of a woman in a dress hanging from a tree. And do you remember this?

I do, And I remember it being kind of a test. I'm like, let's see if he's let's see if he's cool, Let's see what he can see.

Do you have a twinge of esp or not?

Or is he just like a creep who buys in which is my favorite.

Right right? No, but I swear I only have you know, Sophia and I share a ghost story.

We heard about this one.

Oh yeah, and you know you and I do, and I only have one other one in my life. So you know, I'm not the kind of guy to make this kind of stuff up. You know, I have three really strange ghost stories and you know two of them are with you.

Two.

Yeah.

Well, Wilmington is famously the one of the most haunted places in America, so it tracks, and sixty six percent of your ghost stories have occurred in this group, in that town.

It's wild.

It's really wild.

So did they just offer you the part? Did you read for this thing? What was the deal? Yeah?

I want you to tell the people what you were told, and then I'll tell the people what I was told.

That No, uh, it came. It came around, and you know, I said no at first, and I think you know that you know how that works.

They're like, oh, got to have them again.

And so I went in and had a meeting and you know, was pitched kind of what I said before. It was I don't remember is a long time ago. I don't really remember a lot of the meeting. But then I remember the offer coming back around.

He said.

My manager was like, you got to take them and just take the meet and you don't have to do it, just take the meeting. And you know that's you know, I got sold and I wanted. I wanted to do it, and I'm so glad I did because you know, look what it turned into. You know, one thing that I'm really proud of. I haven't really gotten a lot of like memorable, you know, the jobs of my life. I didn't get them from auditioning them because I went to

Oh god, perfect.

I shaved a line in the bathroom my head like a lawnmower. Went oh, what am I going to do?

This is the day before?

You felt?

Wait?

When was this the day before?

The night before? I wash and I was so embarrassed, and I told my team to tell everybody, alert everybody, tell them that I had this terrible I'm so sorry. I get there, I go into hair and makeup and they literally carries mom.

What was carry's mom's name, Julie, Julie, Yeah, Julie Delaney.

Julie goes okay, and this radio and Greg came in the door like a gorilla. Greg Range down, what's going on? And Greg Range would at the back of my hair and he goes, oh god. They had to like shave my hair way shorter. And I even remember they were. They had to fill it in with like this black you know.

This, Oh it's called topics.

Yeah, they did the little air you know, yeah, loon, yeah, fill it in, use makeup all this stuff.

It looks like a perfume diffuser. For those of you at home who don't know what this is, it's like a hair and makeup trailer. Trick, and it looks like a little bottle, little jar with a lid on it, but it has a perfume. It's a diffuser, is that what it's called.

It like a little round squeeze ball.

Squeeze thing, but it's just hair, So little fibers of hair come out of it onto people's beards or apparently the backs of their heads or whatever is na.

And they had to also shaved my head much shorter, cut it much shorter so that it wouldn't you couldn't see it. And in hindsight it made Julian much scarier.

Yeah, because he looks so much like Lucas too, like and you guys had the same hair haircut anyway, so it was interesting, like that.

Kind of hair, guys tend to sometimes just look a little bit more, a little bit more sketchy.

Yeah, it ups the villain energy for sure.

Yeah. Yeah, So hindsight, I'm glad it happened because you know, I came off a little bit more threatening and then it gave it, gave it somewhere to go, you know, over the next you know, four seasons and what Julian and Brooke would grow into. But anyway, my my hat's off to the team because I never could I never noticed it. I never saw it in any scene.

Yeah, I didn't track it. I'm too busy looking at Jamie's big old fake too.

Man.

Yeah, I guess I'm looking at it.

That kid's too, that sweet little boy.

So now I got to hear what you're of. What you heard about me being cast?

Well, okay, come, so you know for our friends on.

Surface, Yeah right.

I was in Carolina and I met you guys or some of you.

Did we play you in the softball game that we did for Hurricane Katrina?

Were you in that fundraiser there?

But I didn't play. I came stopped by and was in the crowd and I saw you guys playing. I saw these well playing softball.

I was like, oh, this month because here's the I didn't like the Surface game because they talked a lot to us and they were like, hey, we're.

In a network show. You guys are c w.

You did have a chip on your shoulder about that. You were always cared about that.

I was just like, who do these just think they are?

I didn't love it, and like I would get taken to parties that Surface would throw and they were really mean, and so you, being a surface guy, it felt like someone from your rival high school coming in and that like that's all I knew. I was like this, Oh we are not going to get along.

Oh no, wonder you didn't want to go to dinner?

Din't that funny?

And then canceled in the middle of season one and you guys go on to do nine.

Nice We brought you back. Well that's where we first met Austin because back then, remember we had the same manager. Yes, and she was like, oh, my other clients in Wilmington. And I don't even remember what where we went, but I remember us walking down Front Street.

Did he take you to the bestro?

I don't know, I don't know, but it was. I mean, it was like it was our season three and you know, I'd been through a not great breakup and decided I hated men and sweet Austin Nichols came along and took me on my first date since that, and so we'd been in each other's lives for a really long time. And when you came to Wilmington, I blew a gas it. I was like, what is happening? I've gone out with three people in a decade and one.

Of them's here, what's happening.

I just like, I totally lost my shop. And I remember our bosses being like, don't worry, there's this amazing thing with him and Peyton and you guys will never interact on camera.

Is what they said to me.

What cut to our characters got married and had two kids, and I was like, I've been duped, but I'm not mad at it. Yeah, they they they played matchmaker for us in like the weirdest way, which I'm like, is that appropriate for like your bosses to do? But also it was.

Such a sweet season, so I remember hearing things like that and rumblings of that, and so probably not just on this show and others, but on this show it seemed pointed. You know, there was a lot of mining of your life and for better or worse. But that is interesting, you know.

I just love the we.

Got totally different stories and like, you know we obviously, I mean, you're here and we were just giggling about how much fun we all had in Wilmington. Like we've maintained such a close friendship for I mean almost twenty years now, and like you know that our sweet history is also such a lovely part of like our journey. But it is so funny to me that this pack of adults was matterally like playing two twenty something year old kids. I was like, God, you guys are nuts.

Could you imagine doing that at our age?

No? I can't imagine being.

An adult who would do that.

Now now in a million years.

To my child employees, we all sort of won the lottery because look at us now.

It worked out there, Rye.

And also so funny because you're young and you're you know, you're getting work and you're excited and there's so much going on, I think, and then you're just thrust into this really really intense, difficult, challenging career and you just go, oh, okay, this is how this works. Yeah, and you know there's no I feel that's my experience anyway. And I was like, I remember many times in my career going, really, that's what we're doing. Oh okay, I guess that's just how

Was it weird for you? I mean, you know, we talked about some of the things that you've worked on, and you've been in Wilmington before shooting Surface, which was such a big show. You had been on you know, your massive yeah, your massive HBO show, like you worked

It's terrifying, especially when the family, you know, whether we call it that or not, you know, the family is formed, and the group is formed, and the on this show, you know, the teams have formed and yeah, factions, you know, so and then you're and then you're playing ketchup and learning about the politics. So it's really hard. It's really scary and terrifying. You know. I think my outwards, you know, what I projected was I don't care. I'm not getting involved.

M I think those are the things that make a lot of series regular actors feel safe on a set when somebody new comes in, the fact that you're able to just put your head down to your work, show up and you're there to serve, you're there to give, and there's something about that that's like, oh, this person isn't looking for us to fill, to make them feel accepted, to make them feel to fill a void. You're just

He's just a flirt.

He flirts with the gramps, he blurts to the camera, tord, he flirts with this coast. He's all flirt And I'm still mad.

Like Hillary for just bringing it back to you.

Just look.

Austin walks into every room and he's like, I'm going to make these just love me like that. I watched you do it on The Walking Dead. Jeffrey got to gut you over it.

I love it.

I did want to mention that, you know, Hillary emailed and said Hillary emailed last night and was like I want to tell a story about I rushing you. And I was like, well, don't do that because Jeffrey already like gutted me on another TV and let's not throw more few on the fire.

No, he could do it again. Do I tell him this story?

Now?

We need that story.

I only told Sophia this story for the first time. We were just in Wilmington in November. We're never going to talk about this episode.

We were so when we were all in Wilmington for the convention in November, we went over were at Bevan's house and maybe we were talking about your mullet.

I don't even know how I got brought up, but I was talking.

About how you know when I met you, you were the surface guy and I was like, I don't know, not impressed.

We'll see.

And then by the time we'd finished filming this episode, and our characters had really great chemistry together, and you were asking so many questions. You were just like, who do you hang out with outside of work?

Here?

Oh my god, you want to produce movies? Can I read the script?

You have?

Cool? I've already learned all the names of all the crew members on the call sheet? Aren't I likable? And I was like, well, who is this? And I did not know friends that Sophia and Austin had hung out.

Hillary had zero idea that that had ever happened.

I never told anybody my business. What do you want from me?

I have been aship for the first five years of this show.

I'm finally single.

This fucking tall guy shows up and it's like, hey, do you want to hang out outside of work? I'll come help you and your best friend Nick make little independent movies. For those of you who haven't seen True Love tailor Boyfriend and Girlfriend, you should google that. And So Austin is being so charming and so cool, and instead of being downtown like a lot of the rest of us, he's got a beach house and he is Julian Baker. He is just so cool and oh frustrating

How can I forget going to Sabers wrestling match?

Oh my god, Sabers wrestling match.

Yeah.

So Saber invites the entire crew to the armory in Wilmington to come see his wrestling match. And like Sabers, like Sabertoothed Tiger, and naturally, Austin and I have been hanging out outside of work and I don't know which one of us suggested it, but we were gonna go together, and I'm like, hey, man, I'm gonna paint my face like a sabertoothed tiger. And You're like, oh my god, would you paint my face like a sabertoothed tiger? And

Stuff on Austin's face. My face is fully painted like a saber tooth tiger. And I'm like, are we gonna kiss? We're not gonna kiss. Our faces are so close, We're not gonna kiss. We're gonna kiss. We're just friends.

Like this so uncomfortable. And later I'm thinking, we're gonna kiss all this face paint off. This is gonna be awesome later, very massy awesome. And so we're driving to the armory and then we have to go pick up James Vanderbeek, and.

Vander Beech's like, I want to be a saber too.

I'm you're gonna remember that Beak's like, you gotta.

Paint my face too.

So we come roll in three deep in face paint to the local armory, which is a very rough and tumble scene to root for Saber and I am having the time of my life and I know it's not a date, but I'm also like, why else would this man let me paint his face? Like this is fun? And then all of a sudden, Austin looks really distracted, like looking.

Over my shoulder, and I was like, oh, what's he looking at?

And I turn around and Sophia has entered the armory in like cash mere turtleneck and a blazer, and there's a wind machine and that's when dream Weaver is playing, you know, and there's just like God rays from.

Like the sunlight dying coming like shining on her glossy hair.

And I see heart emojis in Austin's eyeballs and I just turn around and I could I can still feel it in my bones, the oh, I.

Have so seriously misjudged that situation, O my god, so that I had to sit there for a whole other hour in face paint.

And know that I was a hangover.

And then James Vanderbeek wanted to go to dinner afterwards in the face paint.

Beacon I did. I don't know what you did, Austin.

You were probably busy rubbing your face paint off. But I was such an awkward single person that I cherish that memory of just like it's going to happen. I felt like every girl in every nineties rom com who like thinks they're going to go to the party and it's going to work out, and it didn't in such grand fashion. I felt I knew it was going to be a good story in the moment, and so even now, every time I see Saber, I think about it. I think, I'm just like fucking wrestling match.

There's pictures of it, Someway just sidebar. Have you seen him?

I see him on Facebook all the time. No, he's really successful.

That story's amazing, by the way, and I love it.

You listen, you screwed the pood I know chance.

But one thing I just want to put out there, I hope Scotty here's this is that I had no idea the process that he went through. And he'd be like, yeah, man, I'm at the gym, and I would see him at the gym getting ready, and then he'd he'd do the tanning and he bleached his hair and he did all this and he told me about shaving wots that cost fifteen hundred dollars.

And all the custom outfits, and I.

Thought, this is the most incredible little underworld microcosm. I just thought it was so cool.

That was that was another universe. Walking into that armory, everything all set up that way, and all of a sudden costume and.

Then like guys hitting each other with folding chairs.

I was like, what are we doing.

I remember going to one where Scotty was the winner and it was like all friends and family, and then going to another one where he was the bad guy.

Oh yeah, I remember the.

Friends and family and it was like, this is so cool.

Yeah, that was a good scene and and something so specific to Wilmington, Like I can't imagine if we were filming in la or New York that the entire cast and crew would.

Gather around ye armory and.

For amateur Yeah, that was part of the summer camp of the whole thing, right, Yeah, we were all even though we were living there, we were it still felt like we were on location or traveling.

Well, because it was so small and so niche, and it's interesting you use that word, like this summer camp vibe. That's what this whole episode felt like to me. Your guys's flashbacks were obviously setting a tone, and to your point earlier, Hillary had to catch the audience up in

Her teaching him to like hustle kids for hosts.

Deeric so funny.

You take him a snack bag out of the machine at the end, just like well, you know, if it's open, that a.

Little improv So if he did you just grab that or do they.

Write that, I don't know.

At that point, it might have just been me. It might have just been me wanting a snack.

There was a lot of comedy, a lot of nostalgia comedy with Owen in the backseat. Hilarious, you beating him out of your car with your bursts.

It's funny when I do, and it's not funny when you do.

It's so funny.

By the way, maybe the funniest line is him saying, at least you said I'm.

Big, So okay, I think it's so. When Mike Daniels texted me, he said, I think it's this episode, which I hope it is. But do you remember so when you guys had to do reshoots because the film went through the X ray machine at the airport what so?

Okay?

So what they used to do before we switched to digital for those of you who don't know, was they would film it and then it would be an actual film, and you weren't supposed to send it through the X ray machine at the airport because it was film, so it would get damage. There's a very specific process that was always taken to get the film from Wilmington to la and for some reason film ended up like from this whole day in somebody's bag that went through the

No, but it is.

Ringing a bell because when we did the scene where Joe's naked in my car and I get him out of the car, there was supposed to be the exchange at the end where I'm in his car, And as I'm watching the scene to prep for today, I was like, wait, I tell him we can't date because I have to

Yeah, and getting in the backseat to be cute, but only to tell him that you decided you're not gonna be It was. It was strange, it was made it work with Sam. Yeah, it was a dump a gentle dump band.

Oh my god, I've never that.

We have to use that more.

The next three times I saw Joe Manganello, he was like, not super thrilled with me.

Oh really, No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

I saw Joe in an audition like a year later in Los Angeles, and I was just like, He's like, You're not still in Wilmington And I was like, no, my guy, I'm gone and he was like, oh, I'm going too, you know.

Like it was, it's just kind of move, you know. I like it.

I liked it. I didn't mind the Brook was like, you know what, like not right now, because you don't have to date everyone that asks, just to ask Austin, because sometimes.

You can politely pass and it's fine and.

You can stay friends exactly. I thought Joe played that really well. It made I remember the reaction the audience had. It made the audience like him even more that he was such a cool guy about like pass.

Yeah, yeah, well yeah.

Then I remember you know, seeing him post training for True blood. We got to know the super shredded Joe Manganello and I was like, oh my god, buddy, Yeah.

Yeah, he's aware wolf.

I remember all of us kind of being like, are we Is this the moment? Are we meant to be impressed or scared? Or maybe both? Are we both?

We're both? Yeah, like the failing of both. I remember he was telling us it might have been while we were doing his last episode. He was telling us about the training, and I remember just going that sounds awful.

Yeah, were we sitting at lunch. I was there during a conversation when he was talking about training in a cafeteria.

Wake up, no food, nothing on the treadmill for forty five minutes is a warm up and then you just and then you would talk about the whole day. I was like, this sounds brudal.

I remember him being sick and talking about how he was hardcore, Like sickness is in your mind. I am going to plow through this. I'm gonna keep working out till I throw up. I gotta keep going. I'm like, yeah, but dude, like you're sick, like just you know, go to sleep for a day. It's fine.

Yeah, Like in three hundred they just painted on the abs and three hundred, like you don't have to have them.

Like, I just don't get that. Whatever that mentality is that some people have with their athleticism, or they're like, yeah, I'll just do this till I puke. I'm like you, or you could sit down before you throw up, you could just stop and not vomin.

That's how all the football players do it. They just go until they puke, not forget.

Yeah, but that's why he was so good, like blocking for Nathan, like he does the sports that he looked so football and.

Nathan looked so basketball, and so he had the best of both worlds in this episode. It was good. And then poor Chad is just off by himself crying this whole episode a rough episode.

He did great though. I loved the way that he navigated all of this. Julian was a real tole for saying we're gonna hire a whole new writer for one scene, because that's not a union thing.

Oh a new writer. I thought you were just saying you'd hire somebody to do that scene.

But ask any writer in Hollywood, it happens. Oh yeah, absolutely, But no, But Chad did a really good job wrestling with the Keith writing the Keiths scene, I thought that was it was really interesting. It was good.

I loved him and Dan on the bench, I too, Wow.

How did Dan find him?

They're always on the river court?

I mean the fact that everybody always seems to know where everybody is in this town.

Is everybody's got air tags on.

But I really liked that he said he can't write it because he can't see it. He can't see it because he can't understand it. He's really tracking you through the whole thing. And and the anger and the vulnerability in that scene between Lucas and Dan is so refreshing to see Lucas as this adult processing what he went through as a kid. And I loved a matter of fact, Dan was just like, this is what I did. It was quick and I have no answer. I'm just the villain in your story for somebody who.

Doesn't know remember as much as you guys do. When he said he had the shooter, what was his name? Keith had the shooter and then Dan shot him? Was that true? Or was Dan just trying to have him be remembered in different way?

Is that how went exactly true?

True?

I didn't like the last line though. It felt like a cop out, like he was being honest. I really, even just for Lucas's sake, I wanted him to I wanted him to say because Keith was better than me. I wanted him to say because I was jealous. I was jealous, say because I didn't I didn't want to have anybody else in my space, in my space. Whatever the line was, Yeah, I wanted that. The villain line felt kitschy to me.

That's a great point he put it on Lucas. It's like, you need the villain, so I guess I'll do you the favor of fulfilling.

That role I mean, which is so Dan.

Yeah yeah, instead of owning ish being like I was really jealous of my brother. Yeah yeah, But I do like the clarity there, and what a gift for Dan to finally just tell the truth instead of spin in it forever and ever. Yeah.

I loved that.

I just I got really I could feel my own anxiety when Lucas finds that picture.

Yeah, I was so stressed for you, girl.

I'm so glad that Peyton said something before he showed her the picture, because it was clear she was gonna always she was gonna tell him anyway.

You know, No, that was that was really well done. You guys crushed that because you know you set up that. You're like, you just said you want to get it out, but you're like, but he's right, he's happy.

He's focused.

I'm gonna do it, but I just need to wait a second. And then you're like, no, it's really well done. O.

But I hated the last line and all of those really conceited lines like hitting on me, God, you really have to leave me alone. The last line of Lucas is like.

So you guys dated in La and Peyton says we.

Were in love. I agree, agree.

They do not like that. No one would say that right, No one would say it, Oh what I mean, it's such a dunt.

Dunt.

It's good to go out like that for a show. But yeah, it's me. It's like you would try to minimize.

But yes, yes, Also, guys, did anybody track how weird it was in one of your flashback scenes where you're talking about having moved in with her and I was like, oh my god, Julian and Peyton moved in together.

Okay?

Tracking that and then you say I love you and it's so clearly the first time you guys have said it to each other.

And I was like, they moved.

In together before they told each other they loved it.

I never thought that.

In La is Expended.

It's so exciting.

Let's just try this out for a little while.

Yeah, I love you. You seem fine.

That was one of my catches that I was like, what. And then the other one was through the whole slam Ball game where you know, you've got Nathan and Owen looking so badass every time they cut to you and I joy it was the same. It was the same clip. Yeah, they used it three different times us cheering with the exact same clip over and overall.

I hate that they reused one of Joe too, like we're yelling at him.

What if that was on the footage?

I was going to say, I wonder if maybe some of that footage was what was damaged, And they were like, we're just going to keep repeating what we got.

Yep, because what are they going to reshoot a whole day of Slamball?

How many episodes?

Has Haley been like losing her mind at this point about Slamball?

It's your only storyline.

I mean They're like, they're so fixated on Haley being a nervous Nelly and yeah, there's other.

Stuff to do.

Yeah, it's so strange, but yeah, there's other stuff to do. I wish they would have come up with something else, but there were also a lot of there were new people with new storylines, and there was a lot of other things to focus on. Sometimes you just need something stable, So I understand just giving me a very very minor d story for this for this part of the show. But yeah, like it just doesn't seem very Haley. Although

She's become a.

Very nervous Nelly. Her son was kidnapped.

Meanwhile, she'll give Jamie to Sam anytime, right, Well.

That kid the kidnapped him the other night.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dan, can you go pick him up for school from school for me? Thanks, buddy? Like what, yeah, I don't know. I don't know where Haley's at.

She's just so worried about Slamball.

That's what it is.

That's all she could think about.

All her worries in one bucket, so there's no more worry anywhere else.

Yeah, trying to control something. Does he continue Slamball? Do we remember?

Yeah?

How many episodes are there of Slamble?

Does he quit after this?

I don't know. I don't know because he says he doesn't need to. He says he's done. You know, he calls you you two his best trophies. Yeah, can we trust it?

I know that was tough though, watching Jamie say don't play slamball anymore because of I always have tough time with that. You know. I love to get back on the horse idea when something is bad, it's it's good to end things on a good note instead of teaching your kids to just run away because something is scary or something bad happens. Yeah, but also you know it is it is tough sports, I mean, on that level is really intense. So I wonder what happens.

I'm curious Dad went through glass. No, thank you, we had to.

We went through a period where like our kids are really freaked out about zombies and like that being real.

Really Oh well, of course, yeah, I don't considering they don't.

Like seeing their parents.

They watched me die on an episode of The Walking Dead, and they really don't like that, Like, kids shouldn't see their parents in peril.

Now, did they ever see you guys? Like I remember, there's been times where I haven't taken the blood off and I've gone Have you ever gone home or has Jeffrey ever come home without taking it off first? Or do you make sure to.

No, Jeffrey has flown home from Georgia with blood coming out of his ears, hilarious.

Because he can't see it. It's just like blood all over his neck and stuff. And I'm like, were you on the plane like this.

A spy?

You go to school, pick up probably loverred in blood, ballet of recitals.

Yeah, it's just mom and dad's work. But when your parents'.

Work is something that makes you anxious as a kid, I think you take it really seriously when your kid says, don't do that anymore. Like when our kids say to us, I don't want you to leave. I don't want you to leave and go do that job. You know, we don't sometimes, you know, my kids have asked me, they're like, can you just work from home?

Do you always have to travel?

And so you, as a parent You're like, you know what, Yes, I can say yes to my kid. And so I like that Nathan is saying yes to his kid. He's finally prioritizing his family over the Dan Scott basketball dream.

Well it's his dream too. He loves it, good at it. But like, come, well that I mean, but we need things, We need individual things. You can't just be all about everybody else in your life all the time. You have to be able to have something that feeds you so that you have something to give. So I struggle with that when I think about Nathan giving up basketball, Like what is he going to do that's really going to feed his soul to give him a place to have something basketball?

But the same way, like every dude that's in a band in his twenties knows he's not going to be in a band and his fifties. And so you need to learn how to produce, and you need to learn how to show, promote and things like that, like you pivot. Yeah, and that's a really important life skill. And so to see Nathan be like, Okay, well I don't need to keep playing. I don't need to prove anything anymore. I've proved that I can come back. Maybe it's time to pivot.

You know that confidence is that's swagger.

I like that.

Well, speaking of people on the other side of the court, mouth, are we avoiding talking about Mouth and Gigi and this whole mess?

You want to bring that up, Bring it up, tell us what you think, Austin.

As much as it's fun to watch, it's so over the top. Yeah, she comes on so strong, and then I remember this happened again with Julian and Janna Kramer's character Alex. Yeah, and it's so strong and it makes me go, Okay, that's a little over the time.

This fantasy are we playing?

There's a pattern?

Uh yeah, yeah, And I'm like, okay, you know whatever. But I will say that claiming him with the kiss was Yeah, it was hilarious.

I'll show that little hussy doud Do girls really talk that way? As a man?

Like?

Do people throw themselves at dudes that way?

Oh?

That's a good question.

You know, he has no idea answer, you know, not.

It's rare that it's right off the bat.

Mm hmm.

It usually comes later when you established that there's a mutual connection, But right off the bat, it's rare. It has it happened. Yeah, I think so.

After repeated, after repeated, like I have a.

Girlfriend, I have a girlfriend, I have a golfriend.

Oh, I wasn't. I was just I was thinking being single. You mean, if you're in a relationship or in a marriage.

Yeah, like the mouth and Gigi, like specifically the fact that she keeps throwing herself at mouth. We've talked a lot, as you know, a group of women about how the fact that clearly there were no women have an input on any of those scenes, because like, what are we talking about.

I mean, I'll be totally honest. I have had it happen to me while I was in a relationship. I've had a note passed to me with a phone number on it while I was with my girlfriend. And you know, it doesn't happen very many times, but it does happen. It does happen, and you know, yeah, I don't know what to say about that.

It's different though, I don't. I mean, was it a stranger or someone that you knew.

I mean, I guess you're circumstance.

She has, doesn't know if it's a girlfriend or I've actually I've met somebody that way once and I don't like if you don't know what the person's situation is, sure, you know, hey, here's my number. I don't know if this is the first date that you're on right now or the you know, one hundredth but call me if it's not serious.

So bold joy, but I did.

It was fun. But god, somebody coming up, like somebody that you know coming up to you and saying, I just want to be the one night stand that your girlfriend doesn't have to know about.

Oh, does that happen?

Yeah?

Ah, I can't imagine. No, I could never.

I could never.

No, Yeah, you gross, it happens. There are people with you know, they get off on it a questionable you know, morals everywhere.

Maybe it's the fact that Gigi is so she seems so kind of innocent and cute about it and like it's not a big deal, like ha ha whatever. It feels like trauma.

Like it, it feels like trauma. That's a great way to put it.

Yeah. And the one that like she does it when they're interviewing James at Slamball and then she says sexy to mouth like right after they cut that one. You know, I'm like, you know, okay, if this was happening behind closed doors be more realistic, but that you know that stuff, it's all like, you know, hard to swallow.

Yeah, So we'll do a fan question. So, okay, the listener question is from Jess, and she says.

Well, is this related to this episode?

Because Brooke and Owens aren't are just broke up?

Okay, it's because everyone knows what's coming, we.

Know where it's going. Okay, Jess wants to know does it bother you guys that Julian is Peyton's ex? Brooke deserves her.

Own man, snap, I mean Lucas is also books X, so like, you know, it's all so incestuous and Treo, Yeah, it really is.

Yeah, it doesn't bother me personally, it bothers me.

Does it?

It bothers me a little bit too, because it's just like, I mean.

How long has it been? How long is it? What's the time lapse between Peyton and Julian.

I don't even know the answer to that because how long has Peyton been home? Like was it the breakup with Julian that spawned Peyton to call Brooke at the beginning of season five and be like, oh, I.

Think so often when you're writing a series you bring people in as love interests and you're not sure if it's going to pan out. I think, you know, this was not necessarily I don't think they knew what this would become by the end of nine with marriage and kids. And had they known that they have, they might have done the beginning different. You know, so much of television like this is about the love triangle, as we all know,

Yeah, And Brooke did get her own man, she got her she got the right man. It wasn't right with Peyton and Julian, so it didn't work out.

So here's the thing.

Here's the thing that's a little different is that like Brooke dumped Lucas, like Brooke was in the driver's seat, like you are not living up to my expectations enough, right, So Brooke dumped him, Julian dumped Peyton, and so in my mind, I'm like, Brooke should be like Cam, that guy dumped you for what and he left you after you, you know, packed your bags for Sundance.

What a creep. It's the person who does the dumping.

Really changes the situ way I I can see that.

Yeah, but it is actually really interesting when you think about it that way, right.

I didn't remember that he dumped Peyton. I didn't remember that part well.

And by the way that he did it, because as he said, I'm sick of having to share you with Lucas, like he saw through it. And there is something really interesting that I'm hitting me in real time that Brooke and Julian both said, like we're involved in a toxic thing that isn't even about us.

That makes sense.

It's kind of interesting that in a way, like we both got burned by the same other, a relationship from two you know, from two different ends.

I didn't think about that.

I wonder if we bonded over that.

That's a sort analysis. You're like, good, let's ditch these losers.

We deserve better, damn it.

T I feel like we could talk for hours with you, Austin. I'm so glad that you joined us for this.

Thank you for having me, and also can I come back for another episode?

Yes?

Do you have a specific one.

The one that jumps to mine is when Brooke and I crashed the car into the water.

Yeah.

Wait, there's another car crush in water?

Yes, danger, Yeah, was off the bridge.

That's eight.

So it was mine off a bridge. I mean, Nathan spit.

But remember you drove up at the end of it, Enjoy.

You were there.

You drive up at the end of Enjoy.

Drive up and Mike look in the rain?

What she blacked it out?

Well, that'll be fun to relive.

Yeah, Jamie was there. Yeah, he was in the car with us, in the car with us.

Oh, so I was giving him CPR.

Oh no, I think the only CPR was me giving Brooks CPR. And then Jamie was fin got him out and then he ran to you guys.

I think, well, let's have you back for that. I do not remember that fun.

That would be super fun.

Yeah, you guys.

Next week We've got season six, episode ten next week. Even fairy tale characters would be jealous.

Austin, you're a delight.

We're going to.

Spin a wheel, so you have to pick a real life.

Person from our One Tree Hill family and then a character from the show that fits this bill. And this week we have most likely to cry at every single movie they watch. So which character do we think cries at everything?

Character?

Oh?

Great question?

Skills.

I was gonna say skills though, because he got notebooked but is also a tender creature.

Well, Sophia is the real life version for sure.

Yeah.

I cry every every movie, all the time, dog food commercials, making commercials.

Shut up, baby, I know it's a killer.

Creature, sensitive gal.

All right, you guys, Austin's coming back. He said it here first.

Ben, Hey, thanks for listening.

Don't forget to leave us a review. You can also follow us on Instagram at Drama Queen's ot.

H or email us at Drama Queens at iHeartRadio dot com.

See you next time.

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