Starring Taran Killam as Jordan Cahill in “Stuck in the Suburbs”

Well, thank you so much for joining us on our park Hopper episode this week, where we are going to be talking to I mean, I guess Dcom royalty in the way that En Sync is royalty, that the Backstreet Boys is royalty, that any pop star in the early aughts is royalty in that we are talking to Jordan

Nope, we gotta we gotta ask him about that. I really terrible assistant.

We love that. So if you could do us a favor and please help us welcome Taran Killer.

Hello, Hello, Hello, how are you? I'm good? How are you guys?

Welcome?

We're good having me.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm sure you've been asked to do tons of podcasts about like SNL and some of the movies you've done, but.

Is this the first?

This is the one peoples, Yeah, people are waiting for.

There I love that, you know what I mean.

Well, we just recapped the movie.

Okay, okay, awesome.

How long has it been since you've seen Stuck in Suburbs.

It's been a while. It's been a long time. Yeah, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna say five or six years.

Okay, Okay.

Vanessa Bayer, who I was on SNL with, became very obsessed with the fact that I was in this movie when I was twenty one, and so for a birthday for her, I was able to try down a DVD of it and gift that to her, and I think that was the last time I watched it. Was like for her birthday. For Vanessa Beyer's birthday, we watched Stuck in the Suburbs.

Well, she was like every other girl at that time, Okay, obsessed with the movie and with you as Jordan Gale, I mean, goes hand in hand. Sure, I can't hate her for.

That, you know, I can't hate her for anything. And I've tried really hard.

I've looked for a lot of reasons to hate for Essa.

No, I mean, it's so funny the way, and I'm sure you have covered this in previous watches or just explorations of your your premise in general. But Disney just just will replay the heck out of all these movies. Yeah, and in a way you know it hasn't died.

This isn't a thing from the past.

And because of that anytime I would leave SNL at the stage door. Stuck in the Suburbs was probably the thing I was asked about the most.

Ohow, we were gonna have amazing people are coming up to you a lot. It's true amazing.

I don't know if you're aware of this. There's been a huge resurgence in the love of the d Cooms.

We're a huge descendant's family or too appreciate that too, both.

Well, the thing about Disney's there, they're kind of evergreen, so you know you can go watch normally not people like myself who don't have young children, but you know, you can go and watch. A twelve or thirteen year old kid can go and watch Stuck in the Suburbs right now and enjoy it just as much as a twelve or thirteen year old kid.

Did in two thousand and four.

I mean, it's the same kind of It's just a nice movie.

Well, and it's available now with Disney. Plus these movies are available, that's all. Okay, we were just having a conversation of streaming is the way people watch TV majority of the date of the times now, especially young kids. So they see something that there's one actor, you know, if they're a Brenda song fan, they're all sudden booms. Stuck in the Suburbs is gonna come up of feature

Remember of course, now can you remember first hearing about Stuck in the Suburbs. Was this a typical there's an audition coming up? Or were you just asked me in the film or what happened?

No, no, no, no, no no no.

It's it was a long slog to get to offer.

Only well.

And still still like sitting by the phone, it brings in frequently. But this was an audition that was exciting because singing was required. They wanted someone who was able to sing, and I had been a musical theater major in college. So this was a very exciting opportunity to use those tools in theory. I auditioned, you know, I did my initial audition, and my memory is that pretty quickly I was like one of the producer's choices or

Because I didn't know who it was.

It was the hotel desk clerk that they try to get up to you or your character, so.

There was he wasn't he had a guitar, and I was like, oh no, damn it.

Oh no, that's like that is the next level of ability right there. And then there's another another actor and my memory is his first name's Sad. Forgive me that if that's even your name. He actually ended up playing my brother in Just Married. He's one of my older brothers in that, which or actually maybe that happened before.

Oh boy time, right guys, Yeah, yeah, alright.

Chat is sitting somewhere going it's Chat.

It's yeah, that's why I'm gonna be real soft at my thh. He was there and I'm remembering that better now that that because we knew each other, was like.

Hey, what's going on, man, Fad Luck and Bill?

There you go, Lu and Bill there you have it okay, And we had to do the scenes. There was a couple of scenes and then sing a song of our choice, and you knew Drew was going to do an original acoustic guitar something amazing. I sang Unchained Melody by the Everly Brothers yep as Famous and Ghost and it went well and went well, and that's the last I heard of it for some time, for like you know, days and maybe even weeks. And and after that, I had

Kids, Get close, Get close.

I was about to go into the audition for this sitcom that never happened, and I got a call and my reps were like, Disney just called. They want to offer you the role, but you have to you have to walk away from the test. You can't if you if you test, they're going to ask somebody else. Oh, And I was like, oh my god, I don't know what to do. And and my reps at the time were like, do the test.

Because of this show goes it could be a huge hit.

You never know, and as excited as you are about this, this Disney Channel original movie, it's just a better opportunity.

So I said no.

And I was so sad about it, and like, I feel like I was probably.

In my head about it. In the audition, was only me and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

Oh no.

Guitar.

He is a human guitar are basically he is the human equivalent.

J JTT. In the house, I was like, well, did you see him in the lobby too?

I saw him in the hallway. It was just him and we didn't I wanted to, you know, you never know whether you want to people want to engage.

Or social life quarter So I left him alone. Did the test get called the next day? You didn't get it.

JTT didn't get it either, So I think I think what happened is that the whole show imploded. Quite honestly, Okay, thanks for another podcast.

Yes whoops, yeah, yeah, whoopsie Daisy's Yeah, man.

I was so sad at that point in my life. I was, you know, twenty twenty one. I was like, I've I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot. And it was like a full forty eight hours of wallowing, of listening to the saddest you two songs. And then on day three, my reps call and they go, Okay, Disney's back, and we're they're willing to offer you triple the amount.

Before it was.

They thought, there you were holding out.

That's the best. It was so glory.

I I learned everything I need to know about negotiations.

Oh oh, they.

Were absolutely that is hysterical. And and then and then they go, you're going You're going to New Orleans. You're gonna fly to New Orleans for a month and pretend to be a pop star.

It was, it was so exciting.

What was the shoot?

Like?

Was new was shooting in New Orleans?

School was?

It's it to this day even probably the best most enjoyable job I've had, because I was.

Twenty one New Orleans at Jordan K. Hill.

You know, he's he's featured, but he but but it's mostly Danielle and Brandon set.

I had some time maybe ten days, maybe ten days out of the month. Yeah, all of.

My per diem went to Harris Casino. We got there the last week of Marty Gras, Ryan Belleville, who plays my best friend in the film, and then Todd Stashwick who is the manager. Brilliantly funny guys. We all come from improv stand up sketch.

Like I just saw Todd not longer.

Oh awesome. Yeah, so it was truly like a vacation of a job. It was extraordinary.

Oh wow, like airboat tours and holding alligators.

Yes, did the only new.

We just get off another interview that says, it's like I was filming in New Zealand for d com and it was like a vacation. It's like Disney. All you got to do is book a job on Disney.

Truly.

So before we get into then, what actually happened with the singing in the movie. And you've already said to us and set up and I could kind of see in the last scene that you don't actually play guitar.

Sure, well, I was being nice. I was I was chewing on the guitar.

It was not the best The guitar.

Wasn't the best part.

What was it like so me growing up, Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer. These were hugely important things to me. So what was it like working with Savage Steve.

Hond Yeah, I only found out that's who like that he had directed those films and One Crazy Summer in particular for me.

Is I watched it on a loop me too.

And he's the best. He's such a crazy, fun guy. He really was sort of like he enhanced that energy of like we're in New Orleans, we're having the time of our lives.

Let's shoot this really fun, charming movie, and then let's get out there you guys.

So he was just like the best social chair of a director. And I picked his brain at about certainly both those movies, but One Crazy Summer in particular because bobcat Goldwaite in that movie, like I would quote all the time, I could do it too, I could do it today. This is background a little fat kid that nobody liked and Curnis Armstrong or the little.

Just like a grandma bur.

Yeah, it's just like everything worked out all in my favor, from going from like oh no, I do it, I'll never have this to truly like one of the most formative jobs I've ever had.

The industry that's the industry in three days, isn't that?

I mean you almost were this close to buying your manager exactly. How could you even suggest to then it being so incredible? Okay, So the movie is obviously based around the you know, mecca of boy bands and seeing Backstreet Boys, you know, all of those pop sensations. What was told that That seems where Jordan ca Hill's you know your Son is built around what was told to you about Jordan Kate, Like, how did they prep you of how they wanted you to play that part of him?

Interesting? That's yeah, that part was a little it was more casual.

I was and am a huge fan of boy bands, you know, Backstreet Boys and SYNC in particular, So I think like I was kind of left to my own devices to kind of draw from whatever source material I that.

Spoke to me, that spoke to my heart.

So in my mind, it was definitely like more in the Timberlake lane than in the card or lane, if that makes sense.

Thank you for understanding.

Highlighted hair is in both lane.

Yeah, no, I know, but if you think about it, like what what real hair transformation did? Did like Nick go through But JT when he lost when he shaved, he shaved down the hair and went solo.

A difference the huge it was huge. Well Nick did the bold cut blonde to the spikes.

Actually the strangest conversation.

Strange conversation, you know, but again not as extreme nor cared about as much as it was actually a big day. That's exactly what I thought of when I saw the movie was this is like JT when he cut his hair off. No one could believe he cut those curly locks off.

I think that's what they were going for. But I have very he looked good. I yeah, I looked better. It was.

It was very interesting because the first half of my shoot had I had like these actual hair extensions and right they like hot they hot glued hair into it. And like at the time, I'm living in a in an apartment with like three of my college buddies, Like it's just in this disgusting like bachelor pad and I come home with you and they just gave me so much for them this because you know, like JT's got

Kind of flowing locks.

I'm like, I have not seen this kind of boy band member in my experience, Like, who's got long flowy nobody, nobody, No.

Some of the K pop stars do.

Now, if you're in the rain then of course, but.

Bts definitely never dips their toes shoulder.

We watched Brink a lot of the movies we've watched that were on the Disney Channel. That was their signature thing. Hello, Will had long gorgeous.

Like the nineties.

Will confirmed this for me because this is just wasn't yeah, this is this is out of that. But but that sort of sent that centered park flow like step cup thing to me. Edward verlong Terminator two is what made every guy of my generation want to have?

Is that toss? I don't know, I don't know.

I mean it was very it was very specific to me him on that dirt bike flipping that hair.

I was like, I gotta, I gotta grow my hair out.

I hate to say this because I know he was a rival of yours apparently at the time, but I think Jonathan Taylor Thomas was another one all improvement that kind of Yeah, we and we were right next to home improvement. We shared a gym class. We literally took gym class together. So I think it was all we all had the kind of sweeping middle part cut. Yeah, wow, was was the way we decided to go. So let's talk about a little bit about the singing.

Great because you can sing.

You were on Broadway, for God's sakes. You you can sing. So did you know going in that you weren't going to record the songs? Did you try to record the songs?

Like?

How did that whole thing work out?

I think in my like very hard line negotiation tactics, just.

Yeah, in that time production, I think like and and Steve may like may have.

Confirmed this at one point. I have like a faint memory, but I think they wanted that. I think, or I think Steve was like I like Thad and then a scheduling thing happened, and like, you know, like that's how that you know, the business works.

It was not like we got to get him. They weren't.

They weren't strategizing in a boardroom like how do we get darn. It was just kind of like, all right, second choice, we'll take him. And so but in that time, I think, because you know, we shot a old music video and there was choreography.

Yeah.

Production had already needed to record the songs and didn't want to spend the time or money to re record them with my voice. So it was because it was a thing where it was like you got the gig going tomorrow to whatever Beverly Hill salon and have long dead person hair glued didn't on to your skull and then and then the next day we're.

Flying to New Orleans at the time, have you done these? Have experience these?

I've had them? Yes, my god, It's what Jennifer Andison was wearing at the time, so everyone had them. They're hurt to sleep, to sleep on there to.

Take they did it all start with Jennifer Aniston? Or was it really Eddie Furlong?

Okay, I have a theory. I don't know if this is confirmed or not for you, Terry, because I did look up a lot of the music producers of the time. I've worked with quite a few of those. They were like set Disney ones at the time, and that was right between two of my the movies that I did with the Cheetah Girls, so there was a lot of the same overview of producers Drew was locked in with a lot of them. I don't know how, but there's a chance. What I think happened was he was already

I'm still stuck on if if my hair is like that because of Eddie Furlong, I'm still.

Bond.

I'm Princess Bond.

I can't believe those were extensions because they looked wonderful. They looked so good never in my life. What I thought I was my question one of the questions I was going to say, how did you feel about cutting your hair? Was that like a hard thing for you?

So happy?

So happy because it was not your hair?

Correct?

Get it out of I want to I want to not have to sleep face down anymore. What was interesting is is and Todd was was the one who said this verses that without the extensions like that, long hair aged me up, and it is true. I remember watching the like go from like it's so interesting that long hair, and then and then going to the shortcut.

I looked, you know, he did like my hair. I looked like my age.

Suddenly, which is fascinating and and and and sort of related to the look. I do remember that the woman who designed the wardrobe had done Clueless, which.

Was very excited. Yes, Mona, Ma, did you work with her too?

She's amazing, so funny, so cool, and she Jordan had like legit stuff I had until maybe a year ago of her saucy jacket.

Like that's what she loves, leather jacket with like.

It seems like you could wear that anywhere.

Chowbiness.

Mona is known to do that. She takes her budget and if there's something in the movie that she thinks is going to be sort of a key to your iconic look, which that jacket, you know that she wants to spend good money on making that a great jacket, not getting a cheap she'll do cheap stuff other places to make it all round out. But she's brilliant at that absolutely and she's cool right.

Same now, when you were on SNL, did you or anybody ever pitch a stuck in the suburbs.

Let's get no. I think enough time passed, Enough time had passed. The first, the first and maybe only time I got called out for it was the first time Miley hosted. And on Monday, you go into Lauren's office and every cast member and every rider has to pitch an idea to the host to be like, I'm thinking about this this week to kind of get them excited. And when it came to me Lawrences and I.

Was like, oh, I know who you are. I know who you are. Yeah.

I was like anything that ever happened on Disney, I know everything about it, which is really funny and all of these like very funny but cynical, too cool for school.

How many people are like what the hell?

So they didn't even know about stuff?

No no.

When Vanessa found out about it, she didn't know. I wasn't no no, because like it was funny. Also, I remember Lauren's daughter was very excited that I was on the show.

Lauren came up to me and it was an.

Episode where Steve Martin was doing a cameo and Paul Simon and after our meeting between jessinayir. Lauren comes up and goes Steve Martin and Paul Simon in that room, and all the SHOPHI wanted to talk about was you. I was like, that's the power of Disney, and Lauren, I'm sorry.

Oh man, I can't even just so so amazing. So the girls were all One of the things we noticed was that they're all supposed to be in middle school, but Danielle and Brenda are probably sixteen at the time, so I imagine they're shooting kind of their own stuff essentially,

It was. It was definitely spread out throughout the month. You know.

It was like it wasn't like in terms of staying in it right right, Okay, I wasn't like to concerned. It was it was joyful and and Steve do.

Your thing, you know, take off. Yeah.

Yeah.

Like the biggest sort of heaviest moment was probably the fundraiser there at the end.

And I, you know, no.

Excuses, but excuse, I said, savage. Can someone teach me chords? Can someone?

No?

I don't worry about it, buddy, we're gonna, we're gonna.

We were gonna asks like, did they not at least teach him a chord to p.

Pleague and say he's like, no, don't any word, just just go up there and do it.

Oh, you're gonna be great, buddy. Teach him a G teaching one G chord.

Normal, just three chords is all you probably needed to do, truly, three one, two three, And.

I know for a fact there were takes where I was at least moving my hand around.

And of course the one.

That they didn't they didn't use those dead fingers, dead fingers on the thread.

Ah.

And there's also the great Disney trope we've noticed, which is towards the Big did the end, Big finale? No microphones are needed.

No microphones, there's a band, no microphones.

No, they cut to one guy on drums, and there's here's your band at.

Act three D coms have their own reverb.

They do, yes, they do.

Was it the only one of the because we enjoyed the movie? I mean it's a good it's a fun good movie.

We really did a great movie.

One of the things that bumped us, though, One of the things that bumped us, did anybody mentioned that maybe the phone should have looked a little more like each.

Other's right right? Pink, No and silver.

Never never brought up, not even they're not even the.

Same ship brand now Yep, No, okay, I think I think just the sort of star wattage of being in Jordan Cahill's presence kind of numbs the hands, numbs the eyes.

That makes sense.

Do you still talk to anybody from the.

Movie, Ryan and Todd, Ryan Bellville and his brother Jason, who's very a very very funny TV writer, I see frequently. We actually were going to because we filmed it in I guess we filmed it in March February of maybe two thousand and three.

Yeah.

It premiered in two thousand and four, so probably.

Yeah, So it was like sort of the twentieth anniversary of it coming out in US filming. We were gonna go to New Orleans together, me and the Belleville's all together and bring our now our wives and say where I had princess beads here?

No princess beads.

There and then I said that, I said.

That something different. That's funny though. We were gonna go and then of course life happens, and.

Yeah, that's the way it works. And yeah, Stashwick is actually he has DM for me, so for the Fort Dragons. Yes, and I've seen him at seven. Okay, he's great, He's got you. Yeah, we got Kim Possible as well. Yeah, so you know he was in the live action version. I was in the cartoon. But yes, we have that link as well. And then we see each other at conventions all the time. So very good guy, very funny guy.

So funny.

Was this the only movie you've been in where you had to wear a fedora? Ooh ooh.

Maybe try to get to the TV.

But yeah, gosh, I mean that fedora is maybe something I tried to buy off of, Like I went crazy. I'm like, I'm twenty one, I'm a freaking hard thrub pop star. I gotta buy all this because everything at home is urban outfitter t shirts. Everything at home is cargo shorts, an urban outfitter like old movie reference T shirts.

Oh god, that's where did you grow up?

I grew up in Big Bear, California. Represent Big Bear the cabin up there. I saw your your Are you at moon Ridge?

We are right off of moon Ridge?

Yes, very nice. Yeah, Big Bear. I did Scondz second grade and through ninth grade. We lived we lived there. Yeah. So did you go to that?

That high school that's right up in that area?

So people go past rim of the World, and that's the one that people ask about. But that's Arrowhead, That's that's right. I was okay, okay, No, Big Bear has its own high school, Bear big Bear High School, and I went there. Yeah, Big Bear High the Bears, that the Bears.

I love that. And then do you go up there at all?

It would have been a missed up. It would have been.

Weird like Big Band Big Bear.

Were the Eagles like.

The Big Bear comments? Yeah, making these guys.

How are we the spartan?

Yeah?

Yeah, yeah, we I try.

I was doing like a like a President's Day weekend for a few is running okay, and but we haven't been up in maybe two years now something like that.

Yeah. We when we moved from.

There, we moved down here to Los Angeles and I went to the I went to LASA, which is the La.

County High School for the Arts.

Okay, so that's where I graduated from, and all my family is still down.

Here in the area.

So you said it is now twenty years since yeah, yeah, since the movie came.

Out, you have trying to make that New Orleans trip.

Yeah, yeah, we will.

We'll we'll find it, We'll find it. It was just nice that it was very like, you know, it's yeah when it's supposed to make the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the actual anniversary.

Twenty years later. What is Jordan Cahill doing right now?

Oh gosh, gosh.

I mean he's probably got a residency somewhere, you know, don't you.

Okay, he made it, so he made it.

He made it.

Because his own word.

He didn't want to sell out.

His own world is his own thing, and so he's like maybe downtown singer songwriter, like storytelling.

Okay, and you know, like and once I was.

I remember being in this little playground cement to with these two big fans of mine said, who are be true to you?

And be true too.

That's awesome. I don't play chords. I just am the guitar.

Only do the slides, just the side.

Oh my, well, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about thanks for the movie, because we really had a lot of fun watching it.

Oh good, good, good good.

And I know it's been five or six years, but you should go back and have your kids.

Watched this movie.

No, that was the closest we came to watching it again was Disney Plus they're like, oh, it's on streaming, and so I showed them the thing, the title.

It was a hard pass from both of my children.

How are they?

My oldest is fourteen, my youngest is nine. I bet my year old age.

My fourteen year old is like, I want Bridgerton, I want Bridgeton.

Yeah, they're so grown. Now is not the age that's really caring about Disney at all? Maybe nine though.

And she's like she but she likes Bluey.

We're loving, loving, and this is good cross promotion because it's in the family X X Men ninety seven.

Oh it's just so good.

I'm like getting teary eyed because it's this perfect blend, just really well executed material but also so nostalgic. But it's like just hitting my core and every scene, every line of dialogue, everybody.

And you're doing it now together with the yeah yeah.

Exactly is really cool.

Thank you again for joining us.

Of course, yes, thank you so fun. You guys go chronologically all over the place.

You know one one movie since you were on Disney Plus that we would like to recommend. It's called buzz Bucket.

If you see a buzz bucket, no, no, not familiar.

It is a forty six minute movie.

Forty six minute film.

Great that wish you with lots of questions, but would probably give you a ton of material material.

We're pretty sure we saw it and now we did not share a payote trip understood.

It is in my bucket.

Fuzzy budget, It's in the promise.

It's worth it. That's a style of hair extensions too, it is it is.

Well, when you watch.

Your fuzz bucket, you'll understand.

Yeah, yeah, I was a big Susie Ce Susie Cuns.

That was my Yeah, Amy, Joe Johnson, Susie c That was huge for me. That was my my era.

Well, again, thank you so much for joining us. Yes, and everybody out there go once again watch Stuck in the Suburbs.

Because it's best with Jordan K. Hill like the rest of the girls in two thousand and four.

Thanks so much. Terror appreciate it.

Thank you guys.

God, that was funny. He has some great stories of that, just being in New World, the idea that this is such an industry thing that he turns something down because he's given the advice to turn it down, and it crushes him that he has to do that, and Disney thinks he's holding out so times the amount of money to come back.

Absolutely, they most likely thought that he booked the job and not to get him to actually come do the movie. He was going to need more money, which I'm sure his manager would like to own.

That's not how that worked with the.

Manager at all. But wow, good for him though. That's incredible.

It's also the perfect example of the industry. You're down and then you're up, and then you're down and then you're up. I mean, it's just the way it.

Works, fluctuates, and you just got to be able to take the ride. And if you've got him, that is not the industry at all. You know what I love here? And I feel like so many when we talk when we ask them about the audition process, how it's such human nature, especially as an actor. You know you're you're competitive, but yet you know respectful and everything that you sit there and you do size up.

Oh you're either.

Like I got this over you, which we've heard from actors, and then it's also.

You showed up with a good suchar yes.

Exactly, you never know.

It's it's how that those lobbies of the auditions you have got to stay so focused because I mean your brain can go either way with the drop of a hat.

Yeah, well usually it's right when you're starting in an industry, you're in a room with fifty other people who look exactly like you. Yes, and then if you can get to a higher part of the industry, then you're with