One on One: Devon Michaels

I Am all In.

I Am all in with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast.

Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all In podcast, one on one interview, one eleven productions. iHeartRadio, iHeart Podcasts, iHeartMedia. Devin Michaels is joining us. Here are some Gilmore facts. He portrayed Bill for nine episodes of Gilmore Girls. That's a pretty good haul. Bill was a Yale Daily News student who eventually succeeded after Rory as editor in chief. He grew up in New York City doing theater. He debut on Broadway at age twelve, and I went on

Well, you know, I had gotten brought in years earlier. I think it was still season one for just a general interview with Jamie Rodowski and Mara Casey, and they kept saying, you know, faster, and this was, you know, before I really understood what that what that meant. And I did it, you know, my little New York theater experience growing up. I did it like ten percent faster, twelve percent faster, and it kept they kept saying faster, faster, and didn't hear from them for four and a half years.

It was based loosely.

On one of the writers of the show that that they that I reminded them of. And so it ended up I just had to not completely suck in the audition.

So you actually attended Yale University and you graduated from the theater program very maybe the most prestigious theater program in the United States other than Juilliard or I think Northwestern is up there, but I don't, you know, I think Juilliard, I'm sorry, Yale REP is just right up there. Or theater program. Now you you studied, uh is Bobby Lewis still a prominent name up there, and I I think he built that program. It's a three year program, is it not?

Well?

I did not actually do Yale Drama School for undergrad gotcha. I did major in theater studies and psychology with a philosophy concentration that uh, there was some overlap.

Of course. I had had some some.

Some connection to the drama school because it was right there, and did let some of the undergrad theater majors.

You know, talk to them once in a while. So it wasn't you know, complete silos.

But but no, I'm not familiar with the full you know, the full drama school program.

So you grew up in New York City. How did you get to Yale? What kind of grades did you need to have to get into Yale?

I did have very good grades probably you know, not unlike Bill, but I did. I was a kid actor. I started acting when I was eleven years old. I went to this theater camp stage door manor you might have heard of a lot of other.

You know, a lot of other people in LA have gone there.

And the directors of the camp who were fantastic, Jack Romano and the other people there that they thought I was really good and they introduced me to their agent friends in New York at the time, and I just started going out on auditions right away, and I ended up booking a Broadway show. And thought, that's the way that acting is. You just start auditioning and right away, you know, you get a Broadway show. But I found out later it's it's a good tiver.

Well, that's a good way to start a career. Yeah, I tell you your first audition, Bang, there you are.

It wasn't the first audition, but it was. It was the first year or so. Yeah, I was.

I was twelve when I when I was in Rags, which the name of that show, and I ended up inviting the entire cast to my bar Mitzvah that fall.

And quite a number of them came actually, so yeah, it was.

What is it like being that age, living from New York and starring on Broadway.

It's it's so.

Yeah, it's it's completely absurd, and and I've spent the rest of my life slowly, ever so slowly coming to an understanding of how that's not real life and people don't leap to their feet sixteen hundred people standing ovation every night just because you've you've made the perfect over easy egg that morning, which is you know, the more frequent.

Thing I my schedule lately.

So yeah, it's it's it's it's a ludicrous way to start, but it was great. I got exposed to so many incredible, incredible performers, and that was my you know, even before getting to Yale, that was my education.

I mean, who was in that play?

So it starred Teresa Stratus who was an opera big opera diva at the time, and and then Terrence Mann was in it, Judy Kune and uh Lonnie Price. Yeah, really it was it was quite the even just the the the members of the ensemble, which is we're all people that had done principal roles in.

Other Broadway shows. Now, did you ever actually go into the Yale Daily News when you were at Yale. Did you say it?

I was terrified of the real, the real Yale Daily News when.

I was what was the real daily News? Like, what was the what were the stories? What were the rumors?

Well, it wasn't so much about about what I had heard. It was more about the prospect of having deadlines like that. You know, I had actually been in high school. I am, I was. I was an editor on my high school newspaper, but luckily it came out about once a month, and that was the kind of deadline I could handle. But I was just I never went anywhere near trying to go into the Yale Daily News when I was actually at Yale, because they had to write and not procrastinate for weeks at a time.

Did you consult anybody with anybody who had experience in the actual Yale Daily News for research for the role?

I didn't. No.

Did you think Gilmore Girls accurately portrayed Yale?

It really did.

I was actually blown away by what they pulled off, even just in terms of the set decoration, you know, the when I got to set and I saw the whole classroom hallway there and the Yale Dale News main office, it resembled so closely one of the classroom buildings at Yale w lh so called Parkness Hall, and the wood paneling in the halls and even the font on the door numbers was they had their own font, the Yale font.

It for me.

Right, So do the Gilmour fans recognize you as Bill? Do they stop you on the street?

Yeah?

Yeah, this show is amazing that way, isn't it. It's just you know, it's been what seventeen eighteen years, and yeah, I still got recognized all the time from it, even just you know, going out to dinner and the hostess at the restaurant or yeah, it's it's a it's a regular thing. It's just people keep watching this show and rewatching it.

You know, twenty five point two billion minutes consumed by viewers on Netflix in twenty twenty three, twenty five billion.

And that's why, you know, that's why I've made seven billion from that.

We haven't made seven cents.

Now wait, I have a seventeen cent check right over there.

I have no Actually, I have a couple myself. What are you up to? Now? What are you doing? Now?

You know I've gotten more. I'm still acting.

I still you know, I've been on a couple shows the last few years, but I've also gotten a lot more into writing and directing good. I mean, I've been writing and directing all this time, but in particular the last few years. I was fortunate enough to direct the premiere of a brand new play in New York last year, Brace for Impact, which was I mean still is Right now the producers are looking for the next venue and taking it to the next level. But it was just

But he's always.

Messing with the main the main character and kind of leading her in and out of different parts of her life and forcing her to face certain things.

And I kind of used him for some of the lighting.

I got him to plug in and and and uh and unplug the the plugs for the for the some of the light instruments that were based on the floor, just to just to keep almost that that's that same vibe that the character and airplane when he unplugs the runway lights. You know, it was just I got to have fun with so many aspects like that that.

That, Yeah, normally I don't get a chance to do.

And well, let me ask you, do you want to direct film?

Yeah?

I actually I have a script in development right now that actually it's between its second and third draft that you know, Fingers Crossed right now. I think they have about a third of the funding so far for it.

And who do you like? What directors do you really really inspire you? Who are your top people that you always watch their films whenever they're on.

Paul Thomas Anderson, Charlie Kaufman.

Oh sure, yeah, those are the two biggies who I don't miss.

I don't miss their work.

James Gray, James Gray he's a fascinating director.

I thought that one with Brad Pitt.

A couple of years ago was one of the most fascinating meditation.

Which one was that ad Astra? You know what? I love that film?

It was something, wasn't it was extraordinary.

I really like Brad Pitt. I think he's remarkably talented. Yeah, that film, to me proves the point that movie stars are few and far between. Can you imagine anyone else in that role trying to carry a film like that and you can't take your eyes off it. Yeah, that's what he brings to the table because not a lot of people can do that.

He's phenomenal.

And it's funny you should say, you know what you how you were just describing it. You know, I brought that film up to people and I've said, you know, ninety five percent of the film is the story is told in these two eyes. That's that's it. You know that there's there's very little dialogue. There's certain sequences that have it, but the story is so clear, yep, so clear and brutal.

Yeah, just remarkable filmmaking, a courageous filmmaking. Well, in my estimation, you're going to be a very fine director.

I brought that one up.

We're going to do a little thing called rapid fire. No pressure to answer quickly or speak rapidly. We just call it rapid fire. How do you like your coffee?

Very carefully?

Are your team Logan, Team Jess or Team Dean?

It's hard for me not to be Team Logan. That's you know, That's what I spent the most time with.

And Yeah, he's kind of irresistible, isn't he? Yeah, you know, he's a terrific guy. He's just such a great guy. You know your root for him. Yeah. Who's your film favorite? Gilmore Girls couple? Luke and Laurelo or Emily and Richard? Luke, laurla Yeah, I don't care what you say anything, It doesn't matter. Would you rather work with Michelle or Kirk? Again, don't care who you choose. Kirk, what would you order it?

Luke's diner, the perfect over easy eggs, so I can judge it against.

My own good Who would you rather hang out with Paris or Lane?

Paris?

I know that sounds strange coming from Yeah, but as much as Bill hated Paris in real life, I actually bonded with Liza more than anyone else on the set.

Let me ask you this, would you rather who would you rather hang with if you were in Paris, Paris or Lane? Would you like Lane in Paris or Paris in Paris.

I'm gonna stick with Paris.

I think I already know the answer to this, Harvard or Yale, as as.

I'm sure you you you must have already been told at some point Harvard secks. Yeah, there was this, you know, I tell it really quick. I tell this this horrendously pretentious story when sometimes people ask me about what it was like at Yale, and mostly, you know, it was this amazing place and actually people just.

This remarkable priciple of community and learning. And but.

I tell this story about you know, the game, the big football game that's usually between Harvard and Well, we called the game because it's between Harvard and the yel right, and that's the only one that matters. And that's why I just called the game. So when Princeton came to play one of the football games at the Yell Bowl, they started doing the chant from across the you know, from their side of the stadium, and they started yelling, you know, of course Yale sucks.

Yale sucks. Yeh sucks. That was the chance and.

The response the perfectly snobbish but but you know it's it's it's good enough to justify it. Response from our side of the stadium was Harvard sucks. Harvard sucks because Princeton doesn't even you know, register Why why are you guys here?

So Preston doesn't have too bad of a football team.

No, they don't.

And you know, in real real life, you know, of course, these are all amazing places.

That is that is just such a slight. Yeah, it has been a pleasure, Devin. We have enjoyed your acting on the show. We thought your head was going to explode and several several points during your episodic journey through Gilmore Girls, and we're glad to hear that you're friends with Liza and that it didn't take on the life of its own outside or off the set in the

You hey, everybody, and to forget.

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