Personally with long fueldsmen.
Happy New Year friends.
I hope you had a fun or relaxing time celebrating whatever your vibe was this year. We are back to regularly scheduled programming because it is the first official Monday of twenty twenty five. The last few episodes were holiday related. I did an episode with my best friend Julia while we were in Europe, and that was some crazy travel stories if you want to get into that one. And
there was an episode on holiday struggles. You all had sent in a bunch of things that you were personally dealing with over the holidays, and I wanted to share them in hopes that other people out there could relate to you and we could all feel a little less alone during a really hard time. But, like I said, we're back to some regular, normal content here as twenty twenty five gets starts arted. I am bringing on actor
Jesse Hutch. You may recognize him from a multitude of things that he's been in, but right now he's in a movie that's out in theaters called Homestead, and I'm really glad we got to sit down and talk not only about acting, but some really crazy life experiences he's had, so without any more chatting and talking, let's get into this interview. I'm really excited to be joined by Jesse Hutch today.
Jesse, how are you doing?
I'm doing great. People been asking me have you slept, and I'm like, don't ask me that. Then I'll think about it, and then I'll have an opinion, and then that'll probably cause me to go downhill. So we just don't talk about Bruno's.
That's a fair point, especially when you're in like the heat of everything happening. Most people know you for being an actor. That's your You've When I went to your IMDb page, you had over ninety five listings.
Is that crazy to you?
Yeah? I just passed like one hundred and something. Oh you did even I was like, okay, yeah, it's not like you get a badge or anything for that, but you know, personally, I was like, wow, Okay, I guess I've been doing this a little while.
Do you Is it easy to keep track of everything you've done or do you even lose track of somewhere You're like, I.
Don't remember doing no Alla. Fans come up to me and be like, oh my goodness, I loved you and this. I'm like, yes, I wasn't that. They're like and your character name was such and such. I'm like no, They're like yeah, and I was like, I don't think sh IMDb. Yeah, you're right, yep, yep. You know more about me than I know about myself. That's fair.
Well, that's probably hard to keep a lot of those tracks. I mean, over one hundred.
Is like, in your entire career spanning, you've played a variety of different roles, like just like Christmas movies to superhero TV shows to now this new one you're in.
And gosh, you love Christmas. You're in a lot of Christmas stuff.
So I had to look that up. So I just did an interview last week and they were like how many Christmas movies you've you been in?
It?
And I'm like, I don't know, like four, and they were like, nope, guess again. And I was like, you know, this is a trick question. So I was like, oh my god, and they made me look it up. They wouldn't even tell me. So I had to look it up and I counted and it was eleven.
You've been in a lot. Do you really love Christmas? Where did that come from?
People have been like you're mister Christmas, and I'm like, no, I didn't, Okay, I mean, I'm not opposed to it. I love Christmas, I do. And so somehow that's become kind of a genre that I've managed to sort of fall into, slip into, and to be honest, I love it. I love it because I don't just stay there. Yeah, and you mentioned I move around a lot, and as a performer, that's what I need. Like I knew early on as a kid that I needed a job that didn't entail going to the same place doing the exact
same thing every day. I'm just just not cut out for that. I don't do well. I don't have enough patience for that. And so I need to be in in an ever changing environment where I meet new people and we're telling new stories and we're filming in different locations, and that I love. And so I very much am appreciative and thankful that I've been able to, as you said, be in the CW world and kind of be in that superhero world. I've played bad guys, I've played the
romantic comedy. I've played military and police officer. I've been the jerk, you know, and the guy that nobody likes, and I like that because that's real life, that's the human heart. We all have kind of aspects of us that are very different, and so if I get an opportunity to share a character that maybe you resonate with, or maybe you hate, or maybe you love, then I really want to do that the best I can do.
You ever feel like doing so many different variations of characters that they.
Sometimes might bleed into each other.
We're in one moment you were really happy in this great guy, and then another where you're like, oh, I'm supposed to be mean here Has that ever happened while you're shooting the scene and you're like, this is the wrong character.
I mean not really, because you have to. You have to stay in that character, just be like super unprofessional. If I kinda all of a sudden, they're like, what's he doing?
Like who's that?
That's did you just say that? What's happening? So no, you kind of have to stay in the world. Although it was interesting recently because I went straight from the
set at Homestead straight the TV series. So we were just finished filming the second episode of the series and we went and then I literally flew straight to Northern Canada and sort of played the antagonist in a series called Win Hope Calls, And so that was different because I went from playing this like really strict military guy, you know, to super calm and cool headed to now I'm playing this other guy who's a little more on your face, kind of loves to push your buttons, rub
it in, you know, find whatever he can on you, and show the dirt to everybody. So that was kind of a little Yes, it bled over where I was like, wait, where am I What? I was just in Utah, Now I'm in the middle of nowhere in Canada. What am I doing? What hotel am I in?
Yeah?
Now, oh that happens. I wake up in hotels and I think I'm in a different hotel. Oh wow, So I like it totally happens where I wake up when I go to use the restroom and I'm like, there's a wall there. Wait, okay, the restroom's over here. It's super fun.
So do you just try and look out the wind And I'd be like, which city is this?
How You're like, hold?
Sometimes it happens. Yeah, it's just like ah, whatever, you tell me where to go and when to be there. And what to say, and I'll show up and do my best.
Yeah, you also have a really awesome family. Do you feel like when you walk off the set, you're like, Okay, I have to close this door and this is back to my real life or do you feel like the character maybe buns into the real life. Maybe not on the set, but maybe in real life.
A little bit. I'm very much a box thinker, so I'm like in this box doing this thing, and then you know, my wife asked me to do that stuff, and I'm like, okay, hold on, to come out of the box. What are you asking? Okay, and then I go into that box. So it's the same when I act, I suppose it, it feels very sort of different. And yet I bring my family with me as much as I can, So we homeschool our kids, we travel together
as much as possible. My wife and I really saw the fruit of having our kids as close as we can for as long as we can, and so we've done what we can to change our schedule to really take responsibility for that, because you know, at times it was freaky. It's like, oh my goodness, we're gonna teach all three of them. They're all in different grades. This is crazy. My wife does the majority of that and
she's my superhero. She's amazing with the kids in the house, and so when they travel with me, it's it's pretty cool. Like so there is that bleedover and the blend, but now it's like, hey, I want you to know Dad and our family as a cohesive unit and not just like dead works like out in the universe somewhere and then he comes home and we only know him as this. It's like they get to see me on set and how I am there, and I think it's a it's just better for our family all around.
Yeah, it sounds like you guys are all like just really close and tight knit, which is really awesome. I mean close and tight knit enough that I believe one of your daughters was acting with you on Little Women's Christmas.
Yes, what was that like?
Oh, that was phenomenal. I felt very proud. I was happy. I almost cried on set. It was like really touching and she did a fantastic job. I'm so proud of her. It's like, it's crazy. She's really good, like just naturally, she kind of caught on really fast. She's technically driven, she understood the direction that was given to her. She was like number six on the call sheet. I was like number twelve or something, and that was part of the plan. But I was like so proud of her.
I'm like, this is amazing, Like you go girl. And yes, I was one of the party on A Little Women Christmas and we sold it to Great American Family and it's already aired, so if you haven't seen it, feel free to check it out. But you know, it's a
fun Christmas film. It's also one of the first ensemble casts that GIF has had, so mostly like all the lead girls and a couple of the guys in and of their own rights should be just leading their own movies, but they're very generous to kind of get on board and be a part of this project.
Oh that's that's really fun.
Did you at any point where you're like, oh, I don't know that I want my kids enacting a little hesitant to allow them to like come into that world.
Not really, I've never forced them. I've always brought them. And I asked her if she wanted to audition, and she was like yeah, and she just took it from there. So it's been kind of a natural progression. I think I still would never force them, like, I still don't expect her to. She was like, Hey, that's it, I'm done. That's cool. Yeah, I'm all right with that. She's got a lot of talents in other areas. And both of my boys are kind of interested maybe in stunts. Who knows.
I mean they're always doing crazy stuff and trying to fight and climbing on top of the church.
And is that because they're seeing dad do this, because I know you do a lot of your own stuns, right, yes.
Okay, yeah, I don't know if they've it's like definitely just in the DNA, I think, like I didn't expect that. There's things you do growing up that you're like, oh, it's fine, it's that's me. I'm making a choice for myself. And now that I have kids, and I'm like, what, they just got that out of my wife and out of me, Like we didn't even teach them that.
What just the genetics in there coming out.
I know, so part of it's a little freaky. You're like, okay, I guess they're picked that up. Here we go, yeah, Like we literally came out of church and I'm talking to another family and all of a sudden, I'm like, dad, my dad, and I'm like looking around, I can't see them, and I'm like I hear them, Like what the and he's literally up on the top of the factory, yeah, you know. And I'm like, uh, hey, bud, what's going on? And there's this dad underneath with his daughter and he's like, yeah,
come here. I told him not to be up there. And I walk over and this dad's like kind of it's freaking out a little bit, and he's like, yeah, you should get him down from there's like super dangerous. And I was like, okay, thank you, sorry, I appreciate your concern, you know. And I looked up and I was like, did you warm up? And his dad looks at me like and I was like, well, you might want to stretch me. I mean, that's a good twelve to fourteen feet I mean, and you're wearing your new
shoes or how are you good with the shoes? And he's like, oh, you're right, dad, these are my new shoes. I don't know if I want to jump off, And like I was like, yeah, well, how about you come down and we'll go jump off of something over there that's a little lower will warm up to this. And in that moment I realized that there's a difference and no help some people pair it. Yeah, and I didn't regret it. I honestly didn't. I was kind of proud
of him for doing that. At the same time, I was like, Okay, let's not like have the security team out here. But I can't fault them either because I did probably crazier things than that when I was growing up.
Well, I don't think anything anybody can fought you for the dentle side of parenting. I think you will definitely have kids that are fearless, though, and I think that's something really cool. Yeah, you do have a really interesting part of your story though before this acting, and we'll get into some more acting stuff. But you've had some near death experiences. Can you talk about those a little bit because those are wild?
Yeah, I mean they weren't planned first. Yeah. Yeah, I mean some of the injuries that I've had probably are ye. I put myself there, you know, I rode the bike on top of the train bridge. It was me trying to pull something off. It was me free climbing that cliff or I used to love climbing Church peoples. It's kind of like a thing.
You've always really had, this like kind of adrenaline side. Yeah, it sounds absolutely beyond the stunt.
Yeah. Yeah. So I've never drank alcohol, never done drugs. Swearing is not my thing. But for some reason when I was younger, it just started out that I was like, Oh, that sounds fun. I'll climb that thing. I can jump off there, I can. I'll try white water rafting or white water kayaking, and so excuse me, yes, I was a whitewater raft guide. I was a couple of years in.
I was in my first year of college, and it just happened to be in the right place at the right time and ended up drowning so full on right to the end, blacked out, and they found me a couple of miles down the river. They estimated I was underwater from eleven to twenty two minutes. Wow, and so rightfully, so I should be either dead, and or if alive, I should be I have complete brain damage or a loss of function, you know, physicality, memory, you name it.
And so the fact that I recovered from that is an absolute miracle. And I couldn't call it anything else. I can't be like, oh, the water was really cold and it froze me, Like it was nothing like that, Because how else do you explain that, you know what I mean?
Do you recall the rescue at all?
Like when people came to.
Mind you, Yeah, I had moments, moments of it, but really small little memories that I have that I'm like part of me is even like was that even an accurate memory? You know what I mean?
Yeah?
Are you like making it up because it's what you feel like happened?
I know, I just I remember being very cognitive obviously going into it. Right by the time I went underwater, I was guiding. It was a twelve foot Moravio raft. We hit the first wave. I had twelve people in
my boat. We had another guy in the front. We hit it and went straight up and we're just about to crest over as you should, and then everybody was having a great time and just we didn't have the power, and so we started to come back down and we started surfing, and so I'm keeping the paddle there and I'm keeping it straight and one of the guys that are to of the guys that fell off from the front as they fell, one of the guys managed to grab me. Not his fault. I mean, I'd be grabbing
on his stuff too if I was falling. It's just like, oh yeah, you know, he grabbed my life jacket kind of me around the back, and then I ended up sort of almost like water boarded. It was like I kept going into the water, out of the water, in the water, out of the water, and eventually I just was like, man, I'm getting whooped here, Like I can't shake this guy, so I'm gonna have to just bail. So I bailed, and I just happened to be right in that sweet spot where the veterans that I worked
with called the green room. So there's a current on the top of the river, and then there's another current that's maybe twelve to fifteen feet or so below the surface, and this rapid was called the colosseum, so it kind of fitting right that you think of these battles. And I ended up going under right there and went down really fast. Both my ear drums kind of could feel the pressure. I knew there was a shift. I was like,
oh that was different, okay. Immediately tried to swim, couldn't do it, and just felt like this the water pressure was like pushing everything together, and I was like, man, it's really hard to swim, and I I had to eventually abandon my paddle, which you never do as a as a guy that you get, you know, reamed out and everybody makes fun of you. But I was I knew this was a different situation and I wasn't able to get out of this yet, and so I let go of the paddle so I could really swim as
hard as I could, still couldn't break the current. So my training told me, all right, chill out, you got to go with the flow. I'm not going to beat the river. And so I just hung out and hung onto it, you know what I mean. And as I'm floating along, it's kind of you you go through the the process of like, so I'm underwater, you know, I like to be done with this soon so I can
get some oxygen. And I just I tried again. I tried to swim, you know, I used more energy, burn more of my strength, and then just couldn't get out And was like, okay, I have to just literally go completely numb to this. I just let everything go. Just I'm completely limp and trying to save my energy, right, so because I mean, oxygen still in my blood, so I'm like, okay, the less I can use my muscles.
I can't believe how much you're aware as all of this is happening.
Yeah, I mean, it was three years into being a guide. I'd done it for quite a while. I was also in college training for this very thing, you know, being an outdoor guide. Swift water rescue technician training I had. I was I head searched and rescue training. I had wilderness first aid training, which is pretty intense.
So you had all the tools for a potential survival out of this.
Yeah, and I've always been I knew going through that course that I was a person that I stay pretty calm when pressure hits. I actually operate better the more stress there is in my life. Sometimes there's certain family things where I'm still like navigating. I'm like, oh my goodness, I just fell apart. I couldn't handle that, Like why not?
It should be easier than that. But for whatever reason, when I'm on the river or I you know, I'm on set for twelve fourteen hours a day and this pressure hits, I just really feel comfortable, and so part of me felt okay. I got this, you know what I mean. And I don't think I was prideful, like I didn't have an attitude towards the river which you could get as a guide. I found some people you get like, oh my god, I'm the man, I'm the woman,
you know, I got this and now here. And I found myself in this situation where I'm like, wow, okay, I'm out of options. And so I held my breath as long as I could. Eventually my brain's telling me that you know, hey, you're gonna be breathing soon. And I know that my body and I'd never experienced that before, so I was like, I don't know what that's like, but I know it's coming because your body is like I could feel it right, You're starting to go like
you You're all your muscles are tensing. You're like and I could feel my body wanting to breathe, and I'm like, you can't breathe, dude, like you're underwater. And so there was this mish mash of like nature and how I'm built and then my logic, which is like not the right time and not the right place, and that was out of clash, and eventually you just start breathing. You can't you can't control it anymore. She was just like, and that first breath did me in. There was no
there was no more room after that. It was whatever I had left was now filled with water. There's a difference between you know, taking this and drinking it and or shoving your face into it and going and breathing it in. And so that was a new sensation for me. It felt like kind of liquid concrete just filled my entire body. It quickly became really heavy, and yet I'm still floating in water, and I I feel my body getting whipped around and you know, the rapids moving me.
And I'm like, but yet I'm in this undercurrent and I just kept breathing and my body kept trying to breathe. I was like, and but I had nothing left and I wasn't even controlling it, Like I was completely out of control. So that's where the moment where my logic left and I kind of had a bit of a panic where it was like, I'm like, I don't know what to do anymore, and uh, it was scary, and I felt very disconnected and I felt fear for sure. And then quickly after that, I would say the spiritual
kick then, and I was like, okay, I'm in your hands. Lord, I'm done. I can't do anything with this anymore. And that's where I had just like the most immense amount of peace. But it was quickly followed by like the most immense fear that I've ever felt. And I didn't know that those things could kind of live that close together, and yet I don't think they bled over into each other world. It was just like boom, all of a sudden, I was like one hundred percent piece. I knew I
had done everything I could do. I knew I was done. I completely gave it over to the Lord and said all right. I remember in my mind going, okay, I'm yours. Whatever you want to do from this point on is completely up to you. And I could hear the water right, it was like, oh, it's kind of peaceful. And then I could hear my heart. It was like and my heart kept slowing down and slowing down, and then it left and then uh, I still remember it.
And then the fact that you have just such vivid experience of this whole thing and yeah, you're able to recall it, does that make it harder for you?
Because that memory is so vivid versus you.
Just not having any recollection and it happened to you, or is it more important for you that you got to understand what happened.
It was a blessing that I'm able to understand what happened, because that was My life changed dramatically after that. Eventually they found me. You know, I don't know who they were, but someone else on another rafting trip ahead of us, I believe. And then I just remember these vague images
of like kind of life jackets. I remember the colors of people's life jackets, but I don't remember people specifically, and someone hitting my chest and then dragging my body, and then remember a ceiling, and then I remember just waking up in a pressure chamber in the hospital. It's like one of those things that goes quo. And that was free because I was like, where am I like? And they had to, I guess, bring my equilibrium back, so find the pressure where my equilibrium kind of regrouped.
And then that's my explanation of it. Yeah, And then they slowly brought me back because I went down too fast and I came up too fast, I think, so my ears never actually balanced out properly. There was no water left in my lungs. Somehow they were like they literally cleared me to leave pretty quick, and I went home. I think I maybe didn't go back to work for like two weeks. I just kind of was a little numb, I think in life and was like what am I doing? Like?
Do I really love this? Is this really what I was made for with? What's my purpose? Who you know? Do I want to finish what I've been doing? I don't know. And through that I was really afraid of water. I had this fear and I was like, Okay, I recognize that fear, and I don't want to be fearful because the scripture says you've not been given a spirit of fear, put of power, of love and a sound mind. Then I was like, how do I get that back? Did I even ever have it? And so I actually
called up the head of our river safety. His name was Riager, just like the manliest man you can imagine, like grew up on the River's like this deep voice, like no mess around, old school John Wayne kind of guy. And I called him up and I said, man, I'm afraid of the water. I said, would you come out with me. I think I need to go back to that rapid and I need to swim it. And he's
like yeah. I was like, okay, well, what day and time works for you, Because he's the one with the crazy schedule, right, this is around the clock, like tourism business. It's functioning. And he goes, I think maybe it was a Sunday or something, and he's like, all right, well we got one trip in the morning, and he goes, we'll go in the afternoon. Like okay. So I go out and I meet him park, you know, at the end of the dirt road out on the main road again in his truck. He's got the safety zodiac on
the back. We don't even speak. We just drive all the way down this road. We get there, we unload this zodiac, we put it in. He turns to me and he goes, okay, when you get up there, give me the signal. I said, okay. I walk all the way up. The sun goes away, the clouds cover it, it starts raining and it gets dark as heck, and I'm like what is this? And I'm like freaked. So I'm standing on this rock ledge overlooking the Colosseum River
or the colosseum rapid on the Ottawa River. You know, the far shore is technically Quebec, Canada, and the shore I'm on his Ontario. So I'm right in the middle of this border. There's three standing waves that are you know, six to fifteen feet apiece, and you know, on the size of this whole wall. And I'm like, okay, I'm back here again. And I was like, I gotta do this. And I was like trying to prep myself up and
I'm talking myself into it is just not working. I'm like, and it's raining and it's dark, and I'm like, why have you for a second. You know, It's like this total dramatic personal moment that nobody even sees except for maybe reader, but probably not because he's way down there. So anyway, I signaled to him and he holds up
a paddle to signal back, and I'm like okay. And the only thing I could do is I had to look at the far shore and I had to walk off the edge, like literally push myself off this cliff. I couldn't even really jump. I was like, okay, I can't, okay, so I just I just walked. It was probably sloppy. I landed MESSI I hit the water. I come up and I'm like, all right, that's it. We're in it. There's no way out now. A guy ain't swimming out of this.
The only way to go through.
The only way through is through. So I was like, okay, praise the Lord made that step. And when you're in white water, you want to either swim aggressively or you got to get on your back and you have to try to almost slow down a little bit. You don't necessarily want to go to the exact speed of the current. So I just leaned into it and swam aggressively at first, you know, legs behind me, and swam as hard as
I could, man, and I hit those waves. And as soon as I came up after the first wag and popped up, I was like just covered in this light. I was freaking out. Was like, yeah, we're good. Like there's no way I'm going to the green room this time. And I just swam that out and I was just getting beat up, and I was loving it. And I get to the bottom and he picks me up in the zodiac. We put the zodiac back on the trailer. We drove all the way out, and nobody said a
word to each other. He got out of the truck and he walked around to the front and he just shook my hand and he got back into the truck and he drove away, and then I just wept, like just lost it, and I was like so thankful. I still learned from that this day to this day that fear only has the hold on you that you let it. You know, it's not something that you can't shake. It's just something that comes to you and you have to just get through it somehow, so you have to find
out what that strength is. For me, it was honestly just a belief in Jesus Christ and my faith in God. And it really grew at that time because before that I was like, yeah, I was you know, I was a believer and I prayed and I you know, I had a certain love for faith. But after that, I was like, Okay, something something biggers that play. Because there's no way I just walk away from that and and.
Live you and go back through a crazy curring and that you had just experienced.
Yeah, yeah, I don't I mean, did I need to do that? I don't know.
I felt like I had to well, it sounds like it was helpful for conquering a fear of something that you didn't originally have a fear for.
I mean, you much like you teach your kids. It sounds like you were very fearless.
You want to try things, You want to live your life in the way that you want to live your life, and I think that's really awesome, so beautiful.
It's also hard to.
Live fearlessly, not just for things that are adrenaline racing in your heart pounding. It's hard to be fearless in life.
Yeah, And when.
You can be fearless in the face of things that are very dangerous like that, I think it makes the rest of it feel really small and easier to conquer.
Yeah, there's definitely a character in you that's built, I think, and you don't always know that, right. I mean, how do you get experience. You have to go through something and then you get the experience. You never get it before. You don't get it about reading about it or talking to some friends and sort of you know, hashing it out. It's like you have to do it. You have to
go through that hard thing. You have to go through the peak, you have to go through the valley and when you get to the other side, then you have a change in yourself. And you know, my wife's lived through a number of things as well. And so at some point we're living in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and we're two years into COVID, We're trying to raise three young kids, and it's just a gnarly time right for all of us, and we're like, man, this is whacked, Like, how do
we raise our kids here? How do we navigating live through this? And I had to work fees to go through and God kind of was already putting it on our hearts as a couple to be like, hey, it's time for a change. And we're like, well, what's that change. I don't know what that's going to be. Necessarily, you know, maybe we switch gears and I go somewhere else in audition for a bit, try a different market. I don't know. And so anyway, God's like, yep, pack up. We're like, okay,
we're packing. Where are we going? He's like yeah, We're like cool, uh, you know, okay, we have enough clothes. Where are we going? And He's like yep, And we're like okay. So and then my lawyer calls and he goes, Hey, I'm just calling to let you know that we're hearing rumors down here in LA that you know, canad is going to be closing the borders to their own people and not let them out. And I'm like, what are you talking about? That's is that even legal? He's like,
that doesn't matter. We're hearing what's happening. And we're like, okay, how long, Like is there like a date on this? And he goes, I don't know. We're hearing roughly twelve days, wow, And we're like okay, so we left in six.
Well, as an actor, you need to be able to move anywhere and like navigate.
To all these different places.
So that would have completely shut down your career unless it was in Canada, yeah.
Which was And we didn't know where we were going. So we literally just prayed, drove stops and that's all we did until we drove for two months, two weeks from Vancouver, BC to Florida.
Okay, by Florida, any.
We just kind of cut right across the whole country. We knew LA wasn't really an option. I'd already lived there in the two thousands when I was single and I just didn't. I knew that wasn't where we were going to raise a family and be. We had friends in different places where we were like, okay, well, like you know, naturally, let's go try to visit some friends along the way. So we did that. My wife was friends with another girl, but she'd never matter in person.
She was in Franklin, and we're like, hey, well we'll swing through Franklin at some point. So we drove through Franklin, Tennessee, and when we got there, it was like this immense piece just hit my wife and I. We were like, what the what feels like we lived here a whole lives. These people are amazing. The town is like the sun like hits everything perfectly. What is happening? Are we just dreaming?
Maybe we should go to Florida. So we went ahead to Florida and while we're there, we're talking about Franklin, and then we're like, let's go back to Franklin. So we go back to Franklin and then we're there another week and we're like, hey, maybe we should go back to Texas. So we go back to Texas for Christmas, and while we're there, we're like, nope, can't shake Franklin man.
All right, it's fine a place, and ultimately we found a fully furnished place to rent and we left Canada with five pieces of luggage, one per family and four bins and our stuff is still in a storage locker on the West coast. It's been three years and seven months almost.
Now.
Do you guys have any plans to go get there?
Or is it just I've tried. If anybody out there has a moving company that would love to help, let me know, because I actually called three professional companies and not a single one of them followed through. At some point with the job, it was like for some reason, the door just kept slamming, and I was like, fine, I'll leave my tools there. Fine, I mean I'd really like them. I'd love to have all my hammers and screws and nails and you know, but one day you get one day I planned to go there, you.
Found the city. It didn't come with all of your things.
Uh huh. I have gone back since and like narrowed everything down. So I just went in by myself until.
At least you visited it.
You know, it's still there, it's still there. Found some dead mice, yeah, I did had I was like, oh no, sorry, sweetheart, some of your clothes are gone. Why don't worry about it.
It's better off, doesn't.
It's better off you don't see the pictures?
Yes, now, okay, so getting into acting. So this happens in your life.
And then you go into acting. What was that like?
I never wanted to be an actor at all. I love movies growing up. I did that all a mint. I collected the posters. I enjoyed going to movie theaters. I enjoyed watching movies at home, you know, get the VHS. That was the time I grew up, and I just kind of get whisked away in these stories and I always loved it. So that was definitely in me. But never was I like I'm going to be an actor. I'm gonna make films, I'm gonna direct and produce. No, not even on my radar. After the drowning occurred, I
really started questioning, like, okay, what am I doing? And I was. I had gone back to work after because I was like, hey, I gotta, you know, keep making money somehow, because I was trying to put myself through second year of college and this ad came on the radio for something called Model Search America. If anybody ever remembers.
This image that sounds oddly familiar.
It was a bit of a money grab, like hey, pay money and you can come to the big event and maybe get discovered, you know what I mean. And it wasn't even that. I was literally just cutting carrots or something ridiculous in the kitchen and I heard this ad come on. I was like, oh, no, you can model and meet you know wm E maybe was on there, Wilhelmina. Is that a modeling agency. I don't know all these
modeling agencies. And at the very end it was like you could meet the casting director for twenty century Fox and I was like, oh, they got cool movies. I'm going I'm.
Going thinking about the movies here.
Yeah, And I was like I can meet that. Guy's like that's cool. Maybe I'll ask some questions or something. So I like turned to my buddy and I'm like I'm going to the thing and he's like what thing. It was like the thing on the radio. And he's like, I don't know what you're talking about. And I'm like, I'll see you later and he's like you're leaving now, You're gonna get fired, like we had the craziest boss. He was from Paris, amazing chef. But he's like, for
sure gonna he's gonna like hurt me. I'm like, I'm out. I get my JELOPI Volkswagon car that I drove, you know, and second year of college, and I'm like, dude, and I cruised to the nearest big city that this thing was happening. That night. I heard it on the radio. So I was like, hey, I'm going to that hotel. I show up at this hotel. I'm wearing jeans and a T shirt probably pretty close to what I'm wearing now,
and all these people are lined up. There's thousands of them, and I'm like, oh my goodness, what the what is happening right now? Is everybody's like dulled to the max. I was like, I don't fit in here, but I'm like whatever I get in line, everybody's you know, looking at me, like you know, this guy, there's like no fashion, which I didn't and I still don't really. Uh, you have a scarf on and this is this is pretty new. I just bought this and that I'm evolving. It only
took me, you know, a couple of decades. It's fine, I'll catch up. If anybody out there has any ideas, please send them my way. John Barbados. Actually it's where I got this, and it's like one of the best fitting coats I've ever had. I was like, this is nice, it's okay, So I'm in. Take a little longer, I'm in. I I just takes me a while to get there.
But you obviously didn't need it. So did you get discovered at this?
I'm kind of it was like it was the kickstart to something that eventually led me down this path. So yeah, ultimately I got, you know, through that sort of round of like hey, basically they said, well, you have teeth and you can smile, and so yeah, maybe you can come to the big event. And I was like okay. So I go to the big event and I had some pictures and I do all these runway walks, which I was like, I'm not a model. I don't know why I'm doing this.
You're like, am I just like walk? You're just like walking like normal.
Probably I just walked out and like stood there and I'm like, okay, I stay here for a couple of seconds, like everybody else is doing and I walked at the end and I and I smile, and I turn around and I leave. And that's what I did basically for two days. And all these judges are out there and their papers and everybody's panicking. I was like, well, I'm
along for the ride. And so this was in Rochester, New York at the time, and it's at like no word of a lie at the very end, and I met a bunch of people right and a couple of them got some like callbacks. It was called. Their number was called, and they're excited and then they were like, all right, ladies and gentlemen, that's it for this year, thank you for coming out. It's like twenty five hundred people maybe at this thing, Wow, packed out and they go, oh,
hold on, we got one more number. And it's like crammed in here, like hang on, and they open it and it's like read you know, one, seven, nine, five, two four six, this crazy ridiculous long number. And I'm like, what, I think that's my number, and they're like for twentieth century Fox. And I was like what. So I literally went and I met the casting director at the time of twentieth Century Fox. His name was Christian Kaplan, and I go in and I do this cold read for him,
and he's like, who are you? Like, where are you from? Where's your accent from? Do you have any Your pictures are horrible, You're clearly green. You don't know what you're doing. Like, but there's something. That's what he said. There's something, And I'm not going to say that it'll go anywhere, but if you pursue this, maybe something would happen. And that was enough for me to just get started, and ultimately I called his office at some point. A couple months later.
I started taking some improv classes that I found nearby was all I could find, and uh. He was on the phone with a casting director in Vancouver, BC, and he said, how far are you from Vancouver? I was like six and a half hour flight. He's like, wow, okay, well she's willing to see if you want to go there, I gotta go bye. I was like, huh okay. So I was like all right. My best friends at the time helped me gather some money together because we're all
trying to get through college. Yeah, I'm living off mister noodles.
And this is not at all part of any plan that.
You had no plan whatsoever. I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. A fly to Vancouver, and ultimately I did a cold read audition for Caren Mayors and Heike Brandstatter, who you know. They are the same people that cast the X Men movies and the Planet of the Apes films, and so that was kind of a second little piece of breadcrumb where I went in and I did this cold read in front of all these people, and I
almost like poop my pants. It was crazy. There was all these people in the lights and the mark and I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. And I read these lines with this person that I've never met, and then they're like thank you, and I left, and I was like, what just happened in there? That was like ridiculous. I flew all the way over here for thirty five forty seconds maybe yeah, okay, great, and they're like thank you, we'll see you. And I leave. Well, it turns out she calls me back. I go in
the next day, nobody's there. I sit down. She goes, where are you from? I was like, you know, from Meganville, Ontario? What where's that Ontario? Okay? Your pictures are horrible, your accent's bad, you have no experience, you're clearly new to this. But there's something. And I said, Okay, what do I do with that something? And she said, well, you need to move here or go somewhere where there's a market, and you need to and you need to start training and you know, but it's up to you. I can't
guarantee anything, but there's something. If you want to pursue it, maybe, So again, that was another thing, and you know, here we are, twenty four and a half years later, I'm still falling the breadcrumbs, and I feel like just now I'm about to start, Like I feel like it's go time.
You know, they've always called, at least like for Nashville in the music industry, it's this ten year town. It takes artists at least ten years to finally kind of hit their moment.
And I would imagine.
Something similar in the acting entertainment world.
But even more. I mean, you're competing on multiple.
Levels, but I for you, what was the most at this point, the most impactful acting role you feel like you've.
Had impact on me or others.
On you, or others whatever you feel like really changed at least maybe a perspective for you or an experience for you. Maybe it was an acting and you're like, Okay, this is a direction I need to take.
I mean, I've developed a saying I think over time where it's like I give up every day, but I'm never going to quit because it very much feels like you're in the twelfth round all the time, like you're so so close to the end and to victory, but you you just aren't quite there yet. And it's been
a very interesting ride. Every job has been a stepping stone that I've definitely learned from as an actor, as a human being, as a husband, as a father, you know, as a son and a brother, and even as a stranger. It teaches me how to be a member of my community, because you can't just live your life, and at least I don't think you should live your life. Try to get to the end and you're the only ones standing there,
like I did it. You know. If that's the case, then I don't believe you did it the right way. And so there's been a number of jobs that have definitely impacted me personally. Was in a series called Heartland.
Very long standing series.
Yeah, yeah, and I played a paraplegic who ultimately was a cowboy, went off to war, ended up paralyzed from the waist down, came back and kind of had to live through the anger and the loss of his legs and his love for horseback riding. And so I actually worked with like the pair of Massage gold medalist and
I rode horses sitting on top of basketballs. And I actually got a wheelchair and went out to public and just acted like I was in a wheelchair, like not to offend anybody, but I wanted to actually get that perspective. And you know, I'm not a method actor, but I do appreciate learning, and so that was kind of the furthest I would go, right, Like if you hired me to like play this like drug dealer or something like, I wouldn't be like going out and trying to do
hard drugs just to see what it's like. You know, like I'm not that addicted, Like I don't need to go that that hardcore. But that really taught me a lot because I started to see the perspective of other people on you the movie that I'm in the series I'm in right now Homestead, This I think has been something that I'm just like real time seeing people respond it, and that's it's like affecting their lives and it has
affected mind. But now I'm getting to see people in the movie theater, you know, Like I'm sitting in these red carpet premieres with people and I'm like, I'm hearing them laugh, I'm seeing them cry, I'm noticing. And then they come up after and they just share their heart with you, and You're like, wow, this is meaningful. There's something in this story that really touches people. And then as a performer, excuse me, you know, as an actor, it is a role that people are like you fit there.
That was you know, that was really good to see.
Is that one of the coolest compliments you can get as an actor, Like you fit there?
Like that this makes sense, you know what I mean?
Does that feel really cool for you to hear that from just strangers?
Yeah, yeah, it does. We were in Salt Lake City we did a premiere and there was I had three like veterans come up to me at separate times and tell me that they thought that I served as well and like that I played the role where it reminded them of people they serve with and guys that they were with, you know, and some of them shared some stories of friends they lost, you know, and and that's a highly impactful I was like, that's the highest compliment
because as a performer, you really want to honor the people that you represent to the best of your ability. If you're playing a cook, then try to be the best cook you can be, you know, on screen. And
in this case, I'm playing a Green Beret. And so they had the opportunity to train, to train with Jeff Kirkham, who helped write the books Black Autumn, which Homestead is based on, and to just go out and actually hear stories from him and train with him and actually doing live fire and you know, we're going from ar to pistol and we're running these drills and you start to get it into your body and you feel a little bit of that world, you know, like just a fraction
of it, and you're like, wow, this is a wild ride. But I love it.
That's exciting.
I'm excited for everyone to see Homestead. And that's the newest project for you. What is a little taste before we get out of here? Because you have so many things to go do, and lots of more premieres to do. If people want to check out Homestead, Like, what would you tell them they're getting? What's the view of Homestead that they're going to get by watching?
I mean, ultimately Homestead. You know, a series of events kick off on the West coast. It's a nuclear bomb and the power grid goes out, goes down, the internet's out, the world starts to fall apart a little bit. And so this follows a group of people from all walks of life that ultimately end up on a three hundred acre homestead. And I play a character, even Lee, who's part of the security detail that's hired to protect the homestead. And so you have all those avenues. You have those
who are going to protect with force. You have those that want to bring grace, You have those that want to help the people outside of the gate. You have that are like and you can't trust the people outside of the gate. Then you have people that maybe you can't trust, some that you maybe you misread them, you know. And so I think ultimately Homestead is for everyone. There is a character in there that I guarantee you'll connect with, and when you connect with them, we're not going to
take you on a journey of fear. We do present potential fears, but what we take you on is a journey of hope and a journey of kind of self discovery. And hopefully you dream right, hopefully you go, you know what, I can do that thing, and i can take charge of that in my life, and I'm going to do it. That's what I hope people get out of it. And so the movies. The movie's good. I'm proud of it. Like I love everybody's performances, I love how it looks.
The music, Oh my goodness, it's like it's really cool to be a part of it. When you're done watching the film. It opens December twentieth in theaters. There'll be a QR code at the end of the movie. You can scan it, and if you pay it for basically like buy some tickets for other people to go watch it, you get to go home that night and actually start watching a TV series on Angel. So and the TV series is like it like amps it up.
Okay, I mean this is like, this is a movie that turns into a TV series, Yes, which is unusual.
I haven't heard of that before.
And we also have something called homestead Family Survival, which is us going out and interviewing actual homesteaders. So how do you make bread, how do you get chickens? How do you maybe you know, if you want to go down that road, how do you do it? And then we also have homestead gear dot Com, which you can actually go start buying everything you need. So we have water irrigation systems, we have fire starting kits, we have
food supplies. There's watches, there's knives. Like, it's pretty wild.
I'm very integrated into real life.
Yeah, and really we're not just like trying to make a story that you watch and then you walk away from and you're like that was cool. Forget about it. You know. It's actually like something that you're like, wow, I can keep learning a little more if I want. Yeah, I'd love to make bread at home. Like you don't have to go home and all of a sudden, just like you know, put a bunker in your basement, Like that's that's not what we're presenting to you. If you want to do that, go for it.
Just understand a little bit more about survival.
Yeah, in a different way. That's really cool. Well, Jesse, thank you so much for sharing pieces of your story and also a really really hard one and just all of it.
But also congratulations on your.
Success, and I hope for continued success for you, because it obviously to me you're already there, you're already on your way, but I know for you that's a different experience. But congratulations, and thank you for.
Being here, thank you for having me on listening. I truly think that time is one of the greatest currencies, So when someone gives their time, I just want to respect that, honor it, because once it's spent, it's literally gone.
So thank you, It's true. Thank you Jesse so many words of wisdom.
I'm going to like leave here with a lot of lessons. Jesse's story is so inspiring in many ways, so be sure to check out his new movie in theaters, Homestead, and follow him on social media at Jesse Underscore Hutch. It's spelled at j e ss E Underscore h U T CCH. I always love seeing when you guys enjoy an episode, so tag me on socials or dm me. You can do it at web Girl Morgan or at take this personally. Also, I'm trying to figure out some fun new guests to bring on here. Experts and people
who have incredible stories, So reach out to me. Let me know who you want to hear from and what topics you want.
Us to discuss.
But that's all for now, so thanks for being here and I hope your new year starts off exactly as you want it to.