David Webster: From Small-Town Theater To Netflix (Interview)

0:00ShareHayden:Hello, welcome to Entertain This, a podcast about movies, TV shows, and video games. My name is Hayden. With me I have Mitch. Hello. Mr. David Webster. How are you doing?

0:09ShareHello, hello. Thank you very much.

0:17ShareHayden:This is like your second or third interview today?

0:19ShareYeah, it's my third one. But uh third but last one. Um, very good.

0:29ShareHayden:I I uh I get winded just doing one. I couldn't imagine doing three, so uh I feel for you.

0:34ShareAnd he forgets what we were recording recording about.

0:36ShareHayden:So well I do have a life. So, Mr. Webster, uh I'm trying to figure out through our nosy detective uh mainly you know looking at your dev uh your IMDB and your your Wikipedia, you're like, I'm gonna take a shot in the dark. 24 years old.

0:59ShareUh you're right. Actually, you're you're you're you're you got it. Uh I'm 25. Uh what day is it? Um one one week from today, basically. Um you're still in the window. It's still still true. There you go.

1:12ShareHayden:Well, happy early birthday. Thank you. So October, my son's an October baby. So there you go. You're all special. A little Halloween weirdo. There we go.

1:21ShareWait, one I said one week, one month. I'm I'm this photo. Okay, you're thankful. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Different kind of brief. Yeah.

1:29ShareHayden:Um so you got into acting when you were 12. Yeah. And uh was that something that you knew you wanted to do very early on, or is this more like uh you just were fascinated with the film industry and took a shot at acting and it worked out?

1:45ShareUm I uh well when I was 12 I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I think I wanted to make Minecraft videos. I think that was that that was that was what I was thinking about when I was 12. That's still what I want to know. Yeah. Well, you know, it's not too late. Um do you stream? Uh I um Pardon me?

2:02ShareHayden:Do you stream?

2:03ShareNo, I don't stream. Yeah. Um I you know, it might not be a bad idea. Um I I I I I game every now and then. I game every now and then. Um but but uh I um basically my mom put me into like a theater, sort of like a local theater. I'm from a small town in like northern Ontario, Canada. Um so uh there was like a local theater production there. My mom put me in it, and they were doing a production of Les Miserables, and I played Gavarrosh, and somebody there suggested to my mom that uh I do a sort of competition called Faces of the North, which uh which you know we did, and there was an agent there, and I got scouted. And I kind of just started working that way. And you know, we'd make the drive.

2:47ShareI it's about um where I'm from is about like four to five hours away from Toronto. Yeah, it's a small drive. So we Yeah, exactly. So so we'd make we'd make the drive down sometimes like multiple times a week to like go to auditions and stuff in those early days, um, which uh which eventually chilled out as I kind of figured out how to do self-tapes, which is now the industry standard. But anyway, um it wasn't until I was 16 that I decided that I was like, okay, this is I think this is what I want to do for a living, or at least I want to be like involved in this world professionally, and that was um when I worked on um a pilot for a show that didn't end up coming out, but it was a big pilot um

3:25Shareand like like had like huge names attached to it. Um it was directed by uh Andy Machete, the guy who um did it 2017, yeah. Um so I was uh that was kind of when I decided, okay, I think this is this the the move here is to try to um transition to doing this professionally, and that's kind of what I've been doing since. I'd like to expand into doing other things in the industry, um, but uh but right now I'm still acting. So that's kind of where I have to foothold.

3:52ShareHayden:I've I've seen a couple of your uh your other you know notes in IMDB about you doing things like uh I think you're a gaffer and you did uh a soundtrack or something, which is cool. I mean, honestly, a lot of uh up and coming people, like I got a lot of friends that are in the industry. We we we got a friend down here, uh his name is Mark Dunilin, he's a director, but he got started in electrical work in in the film world and now he's like producing big movies and stuff. So goodness.

4:19ShareWhere whereabouts in the in the states are you guys?

4:22ShareHayden:Uh close to Atlanta.

4:23ShareYeah. In Georgia. Yeah, close to Atlanta. Okay, okay, cool.

4:27ShareHayden:Yeah, yeah, I to see a lot of people that want to make a career in the industry. Like obviously the the dream shot is being an actor or a writer or a director or something. But to have that fallback technical career, uh, I see a lot more people having that as well. Is that kind of something similar that you're playing both safe on both sides kind of thing?

4:51ShareYeah. Um so I went to film school um and uh like did film production. I I produced like a I I produced like a pro wrestling show in our like live TV thing, and I think I'm report for it. Yeah.

5:03ShareHayden:All right, mid safe and questions to the end.

5:06ShareUm and uh so so like I I'd like to work on those things. Um where I'm really kind of speciming into is my is writing. Um like I want I've I've uh got this feature which is just about done now. I'm just making a couple of like last little changes to it and then I'm gonna start trying to pitch it around. Um hopefully I'll have some good news about that in the near distant, but you know, it's uh it it's quite quite an uphill battle. Um and uh but yeah, like I I've worked in all kinds of things. Like I've I've worked in sound, I've boom opted a bunch of times. I wanted to really spec into um sound uh editing, like post-production sound. Really? Um because I really have a lot of fun doing that stuff.

5:45ShareFully, you know. Yeah. Um full fully is really fun. Um but uh I started working on the way home when it came time to like be able to to like get the the schooling in that area. So um I just missed like I was just away from school way too much to be able to do it. And uh and I know I wasn't filming in my second semesters, but the second semester you needed to take a sound class first semester, so I never ended up getting to it. So I'm kind of self-teaching right now. Like um uh I've been working it um with logic a lot recently. Um because I can't I can't do pro tools, I just can't do it. Uh I can't do it.

6:23ShareHayden:Um but uh I'm an Adobe person, so I I I understand.

6:28ShareYeah. Um so uh anyway, I I've um I I like working in film. I like helping on my friends' films, I like writing films, I like uh I I just enjoyed that world.

6:41ShareHayden:Yeah, that's pretty sweet. Um, you know, that like that's kind of the culture for film nowadays. It used to be even just like 15, 20 years ago, used to be, you know, you just show up on set, you start throwing some cable around, and eventually you'll you'll get a job as a gaffer or or something like that, some grip or something. And nowadays it's like, hey, we're all everybody's doing small projects, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, and you know, hopefully one of your guys' projects take off and you everybody remembers everybody.

7:12ShareSo hopefully that's absolutely well you know, one of one one of the best, um the best films to work on, I find, are when you have a experienced team who's been working for a long time, who's making something out of out of pocket, essentially, with their their friends and people they're tight with. That's a passion project. I've done a lot of those. Um, those are my favorites. And you can always tell like when it's like uh um a short of kind of more amateur people versus short of like very experienced people um who don't need to be doing these smaller things, but they're doing it because they love it. Um so yeah, those that's that's the work to work in. So I'm I'm quite glad that the industry has kind of moved into

7:50Sharethat direction, at least.

7:51ShareHayden:I think everybody like back, you know, you look at obsession and backrooms and all these other small movies, the paranormal activities of today, like all these low budget movies that are that are just crushing it the box office. I think it's the way that you know the future is going. And eventually everybody can, you know, with the responsible help of AI, can have uh, you know, their own stance at being a contender if they're educated and artistic enough. So I I too went to film school and uh for me it wasn't a complete waste of time, but uh I learned a lot more from the experience of being on set and interacting with people that have the various uh stories to tell of their job and whatever they did, you know, working in a movie.

8:38ShareHayden:Um would you say that's the same, or do you think that film school helped you out tremendously? Were people kind of bitter? You know, uh when you go to a film uh set today and they hear that you're like the snobby film school kid, you know, is that a thing? Because I've had that happen before to me.

8:55ShareOh never. Um well I I think uh definitely nothing is better than actually being on set. Right. Um like like there's no better education than you can you can get than actually being there. Um so a lot of like I'm gonna say the more practical stuff going to film school was or at least maybe figuring out just what the vibes are on set. Like I was already pretty familiar with that. Um the things well, the main reason I went was because I was like, I want to meet people who have similar interests and people who I want to make things with, right? Like like build a community of of filmmakers and people interested in film and stuff. Um what I did learn that I didn't think would grab me as much as it did was I learned a lot about um like the history of

9:42Shareexperimental films. Um and uh the that I think has actually informed a lot of what I do with my project now more than probably anything else I learned in film school. And I kind of like w when I went into film school, I was like, I I I don't the degree doesn't really matter to me. Like that's not why I'm coming here. Um but and and yeah, exactly. And and then I ended up coming around to it really hard. And I was like, I think they were right when they were like, this is really important that you learn these things and you learn about these people and where some of these ideas come from. Um and uh Yeah, I think and I and just kind of the the mindset around it, which I'm gonna quote my professor.

10:30ShareHe said, like, don't look at these films as like a puzzle to be solved. That's not the point here. There's there's just just take it for what it is that's face value, kind of. Um just experience it. And I think that that I've taken with me into like a lot of ways. Uh yeah, I think that that's probably the most um artistically helpful thing that kind of came from it. I really liked the the live TV stuff as well. Um I learned that I just really, really, really like doing live TV stuff or just doing stuff live as a whole. Yeah, um, well, I mean that's why I said you know, I did my my that that pro wrestling show. Um we did that live. Um, but uh but yeah, um I I with that being said, if you want to

11:12Sharelearn how to work in film, you want to learn how film is and how sets work, you gotta be on a set. Yeah. Go to like like um work as a background actor or something. Just get on a set. Well, yeah, you were talking about experimental film. I'm kind of you know dumb when it comes to this kind of stuff. What what does that mean? French experiments. Uh so i experimental film basically would be like um in the early days of film, like like right at the beginning of the Soviet Union and stuff, um, you know, to kind of Russian experiment. Yeah, like well, I mean, the thing at the time though is the the line between just what film was and what experimental film was it gets kind of blurry because people were still

11:52Sharefiguring out the medium. Um and uh what's um what's the film that would jump jump to mind? Um what's that Russian film? That Russian film I'm thinking of with all the traffic um with all the traffic.

12:08ShareHayden:Yeah, it's like an hour of just chaos and traffic, and people don't understand it, but it's actually a big all the car chases now play homage to it.

12:18ShareUm yeah, I mean that's a perfect example, right? Um, let's jump forward a little bit to like the the 60s um uh Jordan Belson's work. Um he did he made a lot of like really, really weird um films where it he was just kind of playing with light and creating like these really hypnotic patterns and stuff, and he was like making his own music too, which was also some of the most some of the early this is what I wrote my thesis on, I guess, was um the fact that he was kind of working in a lot of these films, they were developing ambient music before that kind of was uh a genre that had been coined. Um that kind of would come along with like Brian Eno's like um music for airport, stuff like that. But they were making, and and so I was trying to figure out how

13:01Sharepeople were making this music um before, and that's what I was trying to do is figure out the machinery and stuff that they're using. But anyway, Jordan Velson, um, he was actually offered to work on um 2001's uh Space Odyssey, uh Stanley Kubrick, um for the the sequence where you know all the lights are coming at the camera and he's like I I they're they're in Jupiter or something, I think. Um and uh trying to I'm trying to remember. Um it was it's been it's been a while. Um but uh they offered him to do that and he said no. So I can't remember who they did get to do it, but it it the whole that whole sequence was it entirely inspired by like Belton's work. Um and so much of uh um what what's another example or um is

13:48Shareit Arthur Flitwick? Um anyway, uh uh a gentleman uh his film was called Very Nice, Very Nice, and that um film basically got him booked in Hollywood for making like trailers and stuff. Like everybody wanted this guy to make their trailers um because of his tight editing style. Um Bruce Connor uh like he's considered to be the father of the music video, uh the way that like the the montage works and a lot of like his music videos that he made would um you know, the really common now loud off the top of my head, a lot of the montages in Breaking Bad totally, totally are like in Bruce Connor's wheelhouse. Um so so like it yeah, tons of like you said, a lot of these films um are kind of like the Bible for for how you shoot

14:37Sharecertain things in Hollywood or other films or whatever, like like they a lot of these techniques that we kind of take for granted now came from people just experimenting with their cameras and figuring these things out. Yeah, okay.

14:48ShareHayden:Yeah, uh I took a a couple classes in uh film theory and uh I thought it was gonna be boring, honestly, just to see like w it it is a peak behind the curtain for modern film because like when you study enough film to know like the precursors and what these like even the montages or whatever mean, you know, in a in a uh in in blocking a scene or setting up a scene, it's it's kind of like uh a foreshadow. So you know like things that are gonna happen the story beforehand because everybody you know does the building blocks of they're staying on the on the shoulders of giants, so to speak, when it comes to making a film. Yeah. So it's a gift and a curse. So learning a lot about a film. But uh yeah, so cool.

15:36ShareHayden:It sounds like you're very educated and you have like uh great aspirations to you know develop your own stories. It you said you wrote a feature script or are currently finishing one. Is this your first writing?

15:48ShareUh so when I was 15, I started writing uh a season of a show, um which was set during the outbreak of World War One, like right, right, right at the beginning, like August 1914, September 1914. Um it was 13 episodes. It was uh the German perspective through like the invasion of Belgium, then down to France, then getting stopped at the Battle of the Marne, and then moving up and digging in as the race of the sea occurs. Um and uh and then getting stuck in a trench warfare. And uh it was like this piece um, you know, covering that happening, but also like kind of examining this like this this the the the background, this like twisted relationship um that this character kind of had with their mother um and like

16:32Sharetrying to deal with that now in this place. Um and uh yeah, it was about a thousand pages. Wow. Um it was I mean it was 13 episodes, so it wasn't so the thousand pages isn't that crazy, but um it was uh it was a lot of writing. Um and I'm planning on kind of revisiting this idea and making changes to it because this this like the I'd aspiration supposed to be a five season show. Yeah, yeah. And like this would be like a 15 million dollar per episode show. Like this, like this this this would be so expensive. It's not impossible something like that could be made, but it's a little bit of like it like I don't know. I think it would be a hard sell for someone who's not like super duper duper veteran into like the writing aspect of the

17:16Shareindustry. So I've kind of like used my my learned wisdom through my additional 10-ish years of life. Um and uh have kind of altered the idea and I think improved it, and I'm gonna get started on that the end of this year, like trying to, you know, build build a new pilot. Kind of I I I have some ideas, but this feature is the first feature that I've finished. Oh, okay. I've started a lot of other features, um, and then but but but they all kind of like like I had the whole thing, but it wasn't as clear. This was a really like I've been really into like 90 minute movies recently. Um I love a long movie, but I also really like like like make something short, tight, and sweet and like to the point.

17:58ShareMake it move, make it move. Yeah, exactly. Like don't, don't, don't, let's not, let's not like uh trip over our heels here. Let's just keep the story moving. Um, and that's kind of what it's been, and I think it's probably the best thing I've written so far. Um I'm I'm really excited about it. Um I have a lot of faith in it, which obviously, you know, like I've worked on it, so you'd hope you'd hope I'd have faith in it, but I I do have a lot of faith in it. Um hopefully I can have some good news to share about that in the near distant future, but we'll uh we'll see.

18:30ShareHayden:Uh I've I've written a couple of things, they never amounted to anything. Yeah, but uh you know, everybody that you show it to says it's great and nothing happens. So hopefully you you have better friends than I'm that than mine.

18:42ShareSo yeah, I mean that's it, that's the advantage of working in the business, right? Is you know people. Um and and you you do have some in. Somebody knows somebody. Um I like last year um I was working on I got really into sitcoms and I wrote a sitcom pilot and I like drafted a bunch of other sitcom pilots and stuff. Um and uh I I had things ready to kind of I'm gonna say pull the trigger, not pull the trigger and get it made, but pull the trigger and like getting it into rooms with people and stuff, and then um didn't end up working out, but uh but you know what? That's the business, right? You never know. Yeah. I mean yeah, you could hold on to it for a couple of years and put it back out there and somebody find it and

19:17Sharewant to have it. So yeah. There you go, right?

19:20ShareHayden:Yeah, do you do you do a lot of circuit work, like uh film uh festival stuff?

19:26ShareUm I haven't really, I probably should. Probably should. Um, like I uh the most interaction that I've had with like film festivals here is basically being in things and going to see the the screenings for them. Um so I went to uh I um my favorite thing that I've been was uh a short directed by Connor Jessup called Julian and the Wind. Um Julian and the Wind. I shouldn't I shouldn't swallow the name. Um it's uh it's really good. It's about I want to say like a 10-minute short. Um maybe a little bit longer. Um shot it on 16 mil. Um looks great, um, big fan. Um I did that and then I did another film called Doeth Part, which I really, really loved. Um that's one of my favorite like shooting experiences

20:16Sharebecause that was one of those like um very experienced team, uh very experienced team doing a film as a passion project. Um yeah, that's that's kind of been my extent with that. The thing is, like, I'm not good at making shorts. unknown: Really? Like I'm like I I kind of like I I start making a short and then it kind of just turns into a bigger idea, and it's pretty hard to like make a feature, you know, you know what I mean? But I have friends who who have great ideas for shorts, like it just it clicks with them a lot better. Um so so I help them with with those. Um, and we'll see if some of those get into to festivals sometime soon. Um it just means you have a bigger creative mind than what you can put in a short, yeah, that's all.

21:00ShareYeah, yeah, sure. Well we'll call it that. We'll call it that.

21:03ShareHayden:Yeah, the the friends that I know that do pretty successful short work, um they they focus more on concept shorts. Like they want to really uh tell a horror scene, uh like the the concept of uh something scary happening. Something like a a guy breaks into a house or something like that. It's just something quick and easy and uh they they keep it really choppy and and small, but they really sell the cinematic value of what they can portray in that moment. Yeah.

21:34ShareSo um well so you actually it's funny you say that. I had an idea recently um for the the you know, my new idea for that World War One thing. I was like, I think that I could sell a a decent concept short for that if I could if I could put that together. And I have a friend who's made something in a similar style. And I'm like, I should probably link it, link up with him and work on doing that. But I'm like, I gotta work on this feature first. But that's how you're absolutely Right. Like that, that is I think a lot of a lot of what short work is is like you you have to be very okay with making something very minimalist.

22:07ShareHayden:Yeah. 100%.

22:08ShareAnd and and okay with the limitations within that. But the limitations I think end up giving way to some of the more most interesting things that you can do because you know, limitations for creativity and all that fun stuff.

22:21ShareHayden:Um maybe I'm old school too, but I always look at shorts like uh con uh like we said a concept, but also kind of like a uh um uh you know like a a a piece for your Bible, for your pitch. Like this is what it could look like, you know, when you if you have enough money to make a feature. Yeah. Cool. Uh so you uh uh you have obviously varying uh experiences on film. Uh you talked a lot about these passion projects. You know, some of these uh uh I would assume you're kind of flying by the seat of your pants. You don't know if there's uh funding till you know the the rap day, all these other kind of stuff. And you've been on Unibomber, you know, a Netflix-backed movie that's got obviously a good enough budget to get Russell

23:11ShareHayden:Crowe on it or something like that. So what if what would be an example or what would be your favorite form of production? Kind of more of the loose fly by the sea of your pants sets where you know each day people are figuring out, or did you like the more strict regimented kind of more big studio Netflix stuff?

23:31ShareIt it's gotta be the loose flying by the sea of your pants. Like it's there's there's a lot more um not to say there isn't love behind like these bigger productions, but the love is a lot more tangible in the smaller productions because you're so in like like you're in the trenches um with everybody um all the time. Whereas like, you know, uh Unibomber like was a really um I I'm mechanical sounds like a put down, like like is it what but it was uh it was everything was a moving part on Unibomber. Um so for example, I'm flown in. It once somebody isn't needed, they're flown out. Um you're you're kept there about as long as you need to be. Um but at the same time, they're like it's important to have you

24:15Shareon hand. So for example, with Unibomber, like I I didn't shoot for that many days, but I was in Montreal shooting for about three weeks. Oh wow. They just they just had me hanging out, um which was lovely for me. Like a a a vacation basically. Um but uh the like you know, I I didn't meet like a ton of the the the cast unless I had like direct contact with them. Right. Because it's just it's that like you're you're there when we need you to be there, you're gone when you're not. Um whereas like and and and that's not that's not like every like super big budget production, like um, you know, I worked on the way home for years. Um and uh I I did get to meet everybody um with time, although because that was a time travel show and there's a bunch of

25:02Sharedifferent timelines going on, it's weird that like you would end up meeting people from the other timelines and it's like you've been on a totally different show um because uh you know everybody's had their own experiences and whatnot, um and mem memories and stuff with each other that you weren't there for. Um but yeah, um it it's it th I I guess like those smaller productions um you feel like you're part of the team more and less like a cog in the machine.

25:32ShareHayden:Yeah.

25:33ShareSo in both things you're a you're a piece of the puzzle, but you're but but but everybody has more agency in a smaller thing.

25:39ShareHayden:Yeah, I got friends that have uh gone to sets like the the passion project, so to speak, and everybody gets a copy of the script because you know who cares if information gets out, you know, nobody nobody knows what's going on. But I I would imagine for the bigger set stuff, you only get the the the portions of the script that you're allowed to have for your character.

25:59ShareUm it depends. Um on Unibomber I got the whole script, but I uh I would say most of the time you get the whole script um if you're actually working on something. I have worked on things though. Uh actually I'm working on a show right now where I'm just kind of getting bits and pieces. Um, but uh yeah, it it it depends. It depends. I would say most of the time, even with the big stuff though, you get the uh the whole script. I think if it was something that was part of a franchise, like let's say, let's say um I I was shooting uh a a Marvel thing down there in Atlanta with you guys. Um and uh I'm sure unless I had a really big role, maybe like Tom Holland gets sick and they need a new Spider-Man or

26:40Sharesomething. Um like like um, yeah. Yeah, I volunteer. I volunteer. Yeah, you know what? I I I'll consider it. I'll consider playing Spider-Man. Um but uh I if something like that happened, I yeah, I feel like you know, with a smaller role, you'd probably just get what you're doing. I know with video game work also, um, you really you get almost nothing. You get exactly what they need you to say in the microphone or exactly the scene they need in a mocap. You don't know what the context is, you don't know who the main character is. Um that happens a lot. Um so it it depends. It depends.

27:17ShareHayden:Yeah, yeah. Video games is tough because they don't know what the characters are going to be doing, you know, closer to when the game goes gold because they they change everything all the time. So yeah.

27:29ShareWell, I I had a question for you know, since you've been a recurring character on a TV series and you've done movies, how do you kind of adjust your character when you have to be the same character, you know, week after week after week, as opposed to being a character for a single movie?

27:44ShareHayden:It's called acting.

27:45ShareWell, I I know this is cool, but I want to know how he does it. Uh I think like if you're um working on a series, I I every character you do kind of like embeds itself into your psyche a little bit. Um and a lot of the characters will kind of like let's say you know I'm doing a new character or whatever, I'm like, the a lot of the elements from a previous character will probably come out into that one and you'll kind of mix and match and stuff. Because at the end of the day, like any character you play, um, you're bringing a part of yourself to it. Like to an extent, it is it is you, you're just kind of folk playing pretend as whatever portion of yourself is is needed for the scene. Um but uh I I think like working on a series uh well I'll I'll

28:29ShareI'll put it this way. Uh my first scene on season two of The Way Home. So it's been about half a year since I've shot. Um and uh this is when I was a bit younger, so happy year felt longer than it does now. Um as I'm sure will continue to be the case as I as my life goes on. Um and uh it's so it was I had a bit of like, oh god, like I kind of gotta slip back into this and and it's something that I spent so much time in for so long. I I didn't know how easy it would be, and it was like putting on a glove. Um that fit. Um and uh yeah, it just you just kind of it comes back to you. Um you always kind of remember, you can keep it inside. Um other than that, I would say the biggest like difference,

29:18Sharelike this isn't so much a character thing, but um working on a show, uh you what what I always find happens when you work on a movie is that the crew working together doesn't find they don't find their synergy until about the last week of shooting.

29:34ShareHayden:Yeah.

29:34ShareUm and then and then and then it's over, right? Uh but a series you you hit that after about a month or two months, and then you got a whole bunch of months in front of you, so then you just got good work out of the way, and then right at the end, everybody just gasps out really hard. Yeah. Because everyone's like, We're so done with this, we're so done with this. Um I can imagine. But yeah.

29:56ShareHayden:Okay, I can imagine. Uh, did you come from a school of acting, or did you just kind of like uh you know, yourself taught, you know.

30:05ShareUm, I I guess I mean uh it like a little bit of both. I didn't go to like an art school, I just went to like a plain Jane high school. Um and uh I didn't like really engage in any of like the acting programs there. I did two drama classes, um but uh which were fun. I like those. Um but I did do training. I did workshops and um I trained with like a co I have a coach now who before almost all of my auditions I'll send him a script, do whatever we book about 20 to 30 minutes, we go over it, we find the beats of the seed, we figure out what the journey is together. And like I can't like like like a lot of that stuff I can still do by myself at this point, but it helps to have somebody who thinks about that all day, every day as a coach.

30:56ShareHow and and like his advice is great. A lot of the times I'm like he he'll be like, What if what if you just do that there? I'm like, that's so that's so smart. That's so smart. That's why we pay you the big buck. Um so uh it it's always good to have a coach and to work with somebody. Um but like I mean, for example, my audition for Unibomber, like I did that one myself just because I was like, I can see like it's it's very easy for me to see what the journey is in these scenes and what the what the beats are. Um so I just did that one myself. But yeah, I like I I I do train, but I didn't go to an acting school.

31:27ShareHayden:Okay. That's interesting. Uh I you know, most of the people that we talked to are are self-taught. We've we've had a couple that have gone to like I think one dude went to Juilliard. Um, you know. Uh but like uh most people don't talk about their coaches. So and I that's an interesting aspect to kind of have a perspective uh of the script and you as an actor that's you know completely neutral. Uh you know, that you're paying them to tell you if you're not good at it or what you can do better, or you know. So that's uh that's that's pretty smart. I never I never really thought about that to be honest with you.

32:05ShareYeah, I mean and you know it just it just helps to like have somebody to discuss with you know, I I worked on a film this summer with somebody who owns an acting studio here in the the the GTA. Um and she was like, I don't want people to think that they need us because they don't. It's just helps to have somebody to converse with it about.

32:25ShareHayden:And the acting schools down here would have the exact opposite. Yeah, well, they they charge big money and have to be a part of your whole journey.

32:36ShareWell, yeah, I mean to have one person that's not biased, they're they're not trying to butter you up to you know to make you feel better. They want they want you to succeed, but they're they're gonna tell you what you need to know to succeed. So exactly, exactly, yeah. Um no, that's that's also that's part of the reason why I didn't get like super into like an acting school or whatever, is um they can get a little bit culty. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure I'm sure you guys are familiar. Um and uh and I I'm just not here for that.

33:01ShareHayden:So well, it's good. I honestly I don't know if it's like a can Canadian thing, but like most people from Canada are pretty chill and just normal. A lot of there's a lot of actors that we've met are kind of pretentious, you know, especially from I don't know, New York. But uh so I don't know what's up with that, if that's like uh, you know, they they went to the special school or whatever, but yeah.

33:24ShareIt's possible. I mean, I don't know. People think I I found uh I find Canada is kind of a mix. There's uh we're we're definitely not as nice as the as the reputation kind of would lend itself to. Like I went to New York for the screening for Unibomber, and I was shocked because I hadn't been outside of Canada for a long time. I was shocked by how nice everybody was.

33:44ShareHayden:In New York?

33:45ShareIn New York, yeah. Like people are like really polite and really nice there. At least and and people were like, what are you talking about when I tell people from New York that? Um, and I'm like, but Toronto's like it's a mean place.

33:57ShareHayden:Yeah, meet her third co-host, he's not here today, but he's from New York, and he's not the nicest person on the world. Okay, okay.

34:05ShareHe'll tell you exactly what he thinks. DVD asking you a million questions about hockey right now, so I I'm not the person, not the person to be able to tell him, unfortunately. Good, you didn't. All right.

34:19ShareHayden:Uh cool. So Unibomber is obviously like your biggest thing that's out now. Um have you I'm sure you've seen it. You saw at the at the premiere and all that. Um like what what have you been hearing about it? I I watched it, I thought it was really good, and I just wanted to know what like what's like the inside take on it.

34:41ShareUm well, you know, a lot of uh a lot of like friends and family have been uh have been watching it. They've been they've been chime chiming in and um talking about it. It seems to be like like it's it's being overall positively received. I mean like it's it's uh it's run um uh you know number one on Netflix, I think in the States for it, I think it still is. I know it's dropped down to about number five in Canada now, but it's it's held that top spot for a while. Um so uh people seem to be liking it. That's good. Yeah, for sure. Now, question Are you the ladies' man that you are in the movie? Well, all right, hold on. Um I my initial my initial reaction was to be like, no. I don't think so. Uh-oh.

35:27ShareAnd but but you know what? Um I'm gonna take that. Uh no, no, I don't think so. Okay. Uh final answer. No, I don't think so. You've got like a girlfriend on screen going, no, you just think you can get a girlfriend or something. No, um, no, I'm uh I'm I I think I'm a a profoundly um I think I'm a profoundly awkward person who's very good at pretending that that I'm not awkward.

35:51ShareHayden:Well that's what makes a great actor.

35:52ShareSo I'm just awkward and pretend not to be awkward, but I still am, you know.

35:57ShareHayden:Yeah. Alright. Well, uh what about you are you you said you're working on a TV show right now besides your own personal product projects? Like uh what are you working on right now?

36:08ShareUm can't say, unfortunately. I'd love to. Um it's something it's something it's something cool. It's something cool. We won't tell anybody. Yeah. Um it's something cool, and uh hopefully I'll have more to say about it with time goes on. They're kind of figuring out um how much of a role I'm gonna play in this show. Okay. Um chatted with them a bit. No, I'm not dead. Um they're uh they're they're they're trying to figure out like I think they're they're they're kind of vibe-checking me a little bit. Uh I'm on a show that's been running all like they're on their their um their second season right now. Um and I think they're kind of vibe checking me to see like how I get on with the crew, how I get on with the other casts and

36:51Sharestuff to see kind of what they're gonna do with me. Because there's like pot like there's potential to have me around for like a while, and there's potential to not. So we'll see. Just buy everybody pizza one day.

37:02ShareHayden:You know, I'm gonna make sure everybody has coffee. Just bright.

37:05ShareYeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, well, the what's nice, I already know a lot of the the the crew on that, so I'm like there's some that's the thing with working up here too, is you run into a lot of the same people. Yeah um because it's uh it's it's a bit of a smaller world, and the further north you go, the smaller it gets. Um but yeah, um uh yeah, yeah, that that that's what I'm working on. I did a film this summer, which that one I can't talk about. It's called Killer Be Killed, um coming out probably early summer next year. Uh very excited for this movie. Um I I I hung out on set a lot when I wasn't filming because it was just that kind of film. Um everyone was tight.

37:42ShareHayden:Killer Be Killed.

37:43ShareSo I got to watch a lot Killer Be Killed. So I got to watch them shoot a lot of it. Uh it looks great. It looks so good. I'm really excited. I hope it turns out well.

37:50ShareHayden:Is it theatrical or is it gonna come streaming?

37:53ShareI don't know. Um they're they're they're figuring it out. They're I I'm leaning theatrical.

37:59ShareHayden:Oh wow, okay.

38:00ShareBut we'll see. Yeah, we'll see.

38:02ShareHayden:We'll have to get you back on after it comes out. So I would love to.

38:07ShareI'm kind of like the uh the the social media stalker out of the our group here. So I've kind of looked at your Instagram and had a couple questions for you. What is a colossal weight water drinking champion? Uh well, you see, I used to I used to drink a lot of water because I I used to fight. Um like I was I was kickboxing and stuff. I'll solve that too, yeah. Very hard to try very hard to stay hydrated. And I think uh at the most that I drank, I was doing about five to six liters a day, which I don't know what that is in uh in in Freedom Unit.

38:40ShareHayden:That sounds like sixty gallons. I don't know.

38:42ShareYeah, so I'm a billion gallons. Um but uh uh I uh and I'm not a big guy, I'm a I'm a little guy, so that was a lot of water for me. Um, but uh yeah, that's that's that's what that meant. I'm like, um, you know, I stay hydrated.

38:57ShareHayden:You're like you're that guy that can eat like a box of donuts and a whole thing of tacos and not you know not gain an ounce.

39:04ShareYeah, yeah, that's that's that's me. My my dad, my dad was the same way too. Um, but you know what? Yeah, well see, I'm I'm keeping that in mind. I was like the the the fighting was good because like I learned to cut weight and get like really strict about my diet and stuff. Um because I had to I'm not a b a big guy, but I had to drop about 10 pounds in like two months. See, I walk past an MM and I just blow up me. Um so I like mind you, a little bit of that was water cutting, but uh most of it was just like doing a ton of cardio and just like not eating very much. But um anyway, and so I'm like I'm like okay, when when 30 comes, I can I can I I have the skills up here, it's not gonna be totally alien to me.

39:47ShareYeah, then you wake up and you just hurt. Especially with that fighting. Oh, yeah, been there, been there. You know what's crazy? Yeah, well, it's because like I was fighting, um, I was gonna have a fight, and then I got concussed um in training like two weeks before, and I was like, okay, I'm gonna pull out of the fight. And I was like, maybe I should think about not doing this anymore. But I did like a whole month, like I was training so hard, I was training so hard. I took one bad step in the kitchen and like hyperextended my left knee. And it's never been and I was like, I did a whole camp totally fine. Yeah. And then and then one bad step in the kitchen, and my knees just ruined forever.

40:25ShareWhen you least expect it.

40:27ShareHayden:It gets worse. Yeah, exactly. It gets worse. You take a weird sneeze and your whole week is ruined.

40:32ShareI'm just so good for the sneezes. Yeah. You said you do fighting. What kind of fighting? Like what kind of martial arts did you study, or did you know just um so I was I was kickboxing. Um, so kind of like kickboxing slash muay thai. Um, although I only c competed in kickboxing, I trained at Muay Thai gyms. Um that was what I liked the most. I did a bit of jujitsu and a bit of wrestling. Um I never competed in those because I was as a as a little guy, it's harder to like kind of gauge how good you are. Um because you're usually gonna be training with people bigger than you and also way better than you. So every now and then there will be someone who's around the same size as you and about the same skill level, and it's like,

41:15Shareokay, actually I'm not half bad, but it was really hard to gauge just kind of like where I stood. Um whereas with striking, like like uh like like like with the kickboxing or mow tie or whatever, um I was able to be like, okay, actually like this clicks with me really easily. Because the thing is you can you could spar a dude who's like got even a hundred pounds on you and like win. Now obviously if you fought, yeah, he would he would dis you would destroy me. Right. But but when you're sparring, you're like, you're not trying to like like like murder the the kid who looks like 15 in the gym, right? Um exactly. So so like I was like I was quick and I was I was I was pretty good. Um but uh that was kind of why I transitioned to that.

42:00ShareBut but yeah, I can grapple. Like I th that was my party trick for a while was um was like I could outgrapple people with like like literally a hundred pounds on me. More actually. Um and uh and and that so anyway, it was a fun little party trick. Um I don't know if I can do that anymore. I'm I'm pretty out of shape now. But that's why when I was in high school, I did wrestling and I I was like in the unlimited class, but I weighed 230 and like to cut off like 225. Couldn't get below that. So I was wrestling guys that weighed like 280 and 300.

42:29ShareHayden:2280, like big, big boys, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Mitch is sitting on a park bench right now. 300. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh that's pretty cool that you have uh like I mean you can take a hit. So like are you thinking about that as far as uh choreography for for film and stuff too? Like Absolutely, yeah.

42:50ShareWell, you know, I I actually did choreography for a bunch of friends, uh, short films and stuff, like by choreography, um, and like teaching people how to like fall safely and like like that kind of stuff. Um that was you know it's we we we keep coming back to this pro wrestling show. Um I I like did all the choreography for that, although that's like obviously ridiculous and not like actual fighting. Um but uh it helped that I had two really athletic guys um doing it.

43:17ShareHayden:Uh but anyway, um yeah, fighting for cameras completely different.

43:22ShareYeah, totally. Um but but yeah, like if I have to do choreography or whatever um on a shoot, like it's pretty I don't know. I usually like if I tell the stunt guy I'm like, oh like I have like like martial arts experience, they're like, okay, this is we'll have an easier time with it, does this man? Okay, cool. That's nice. Yeah.

43:40ShareHayden:Yeah, as long as you're not like, well, this is how we did it, and you know, Master Ken Ken School.

43:47ShareYeah. No, none of that, none of that. All right, yeah. Um, I I do remember my my my my big flex was uh um on uh on the way home, like in season two, I have to like punch a hole through the wall and uh the stunks. Cornea was like, oh, your hands are gonna be hurt, your hands are gonna be hurting. Hands gonna be hurting for like, you know, whatever. Like, nah. That knuckle alignment, that knuckle to wrist alignment, straight through that that that thing, and uh, you're all good. Don't worry, we we'll just make him take hot sauce if you can.

44:15ShareHayden:Uh that's a thing we do on our podcast. Don't worry about that. Um, yeah, cool. So uh all right, Mitch has a bunch of wrestling questions he wants to ask you.

44:25ShareSo I'll just I don't have a bunch, but since you said you like pro wrestling, do you do you watch wrestling? Uh I don't I didn't actually even discover it until I was much older. Oh, because my parents were always like yeah, my parents were always like, that's really they were they're they're like, that's dumb, don't watch that. Your parents made you right. That's hate. And then and then I was like, I think I was like twenty nineteen or twenty when I started like watching like the the old ones um online. Like basically what you could just find online, but like you know, the golden era of of of like like like W W W W W W F. Yeah. I was like, this is so funny. Like this show, this this shows like I was like, this is this is

45:09Sharelike exactly up my alley theater. Like this is this is so dope. Um it's just a fun kind of sit and like mindless just watch what's going on. Can relax. Yeah, exactly. Uh I I I remember the clip that kind of sold me on it. Is um if if you're a fan, you might know this. Um, but Buddy like puts like a like a like a sock on his hand, which is like a snake. Oh, mankind, yeah. And the other dude's playing playing the playing the flute to try to like get the snake and turn it back on him. Oh Santino Morella. Is that is that the one I I saw anyway, that clip kind of went viral like a few years ago, and I was like, this I was like, why have how have I never watched this before? This is so funny. Um so I got really into it uh for that that little period, but

45:54Shareum kept up with like it's corrupting all your elite film knowledge.

46:00ShareHayden:You're gonna start making trash now. Don't do it, don't do it.

46:05ShareWell, well, you know what? I I I I I do like a I do like a good bit of uh trash. I guess I can't lie. I guess everybody does. Yeah. Um but anyway, yeah, it was it was cool and I was feeling very inspired, and it kind of uh coincided with with the live TV program um at my uh in school. So uh I I pitched it and we did it, and uh I ended up getting reimbursed because I I paid for like a lot of lot of crap out of pocket. Um and they were and they kept being like, you don't have to like the president's like, you don't have to do this. I'm like, you don't understand, you don't understand. The show needs to be great. The show needs to be great. Um, so I bought a lot of stuff. Uh and then I ended up winning an award for it, so I got

46:45Sharereimbursed, which was really nice. I didn't did not expect to get that money back, but uh, but but it worked out.

46:51ShareHayden:Yeah, that's a nice feather in your hat, you know. So yeah, yeah. Well, cool, man. Uh hey, it's really interesting to talk to you and to see your journey to where you're at now. Um before I, you know, uh ask my last question. Mitch, did you have any other questions? No.

47:09ShareNo, I asked my uh my question about his colossal weight uh drinking championship.

47:14ShareHayden:You get your dissertation on wrestling. Um I noted. I'll watch that in mind.

47:21ShareI've been watching it since I was little.

47:24ShareHayden:Is uh there anything that you want to talk about? Anything that you need to plug? I know we've already kind of talked uh about Unibomber and other things.

47:32ShareSo um, I think uh the only thing I want to plug is just like for for for any viewers of the show, go follow my Instagram. Um that's the only social I have. It's the only one that I I care about. Um which which you can see if I care about, I should probably post on it more. But I'm I'm working on it. Um yeah, uh check out my Instagram. I post like pictures that I take that I like and music that I like. Um a lot of music content on there.

47:59ShareHayden:Um you sure you want to give out your phone number? You know, we can get everybody to call you that way.

48:04ShareOh yeah, yeah, no, it's uh um Sure. Five five five. Yeah, um working on an album, maybe in the distant future, that'll be done, and uh and I can plug that, but um we're we're we're we're chugging along through logic right now, trying to trying to make that work and get the production right.

48:25ShareHayden:What's your band call?

48:28ShareI don't know. I'd I'd find like it's because it's just me. Um like I like I have friends who do music stuff, but this is just like and and I've worked with them a little bit, but this is just um it's just my thing. I don't know, maybe I'll maybe it'll be a self-title, like like just my name. Deadmouth. Maybe I'll call it something else. I really don't know. Yeah, okay, yeah, dad um Dead Mouth the Band. Um that's what we'll call it. Um what kind of music is? Yeah, uh it's like uh it's like alt post rock stuff. Okay. Like like like alt rock, post-rock. Um it's uh kind of floating without like a really strong label right now because there's a couple of like black metalied elements to it, um but not like that much.

49:13ShareI would say post-rock's probably the strongest um label that I could give it.

49:19ShareHayden:That's crazy. So you can act, produce, direct, and do the music. You don't you don't even need people. Um can you be the your own cameraman too?

49:29ShareYeah, there we go. Um well uh you're assuming any of these things will turn out well. Uh it's better than what I could do. I could pretend that much. I was gonna think positive. Yeah. So that's yeah, that's it. Just check out my Instagram. unknown: Okay.

49:43ShareHayden:All right. Well, Mr. David Webster, it was a pleasure talking to you. And uh I hope you don't stay uh you you're not a stranger to us now, so I hope you it stays that.

49:52ShareNo, not absolutely. I I had a great time.

49:54ShareHayden:This is a good this is a dope show. Yeah, the best of your three interviews today, correct.

49:59ShareWell, yeah, well I I enjoyed the show quite thoroughly. Okay. I'll take it.

50:07ShareHayden:C plus interview.

50:11ShareYeah.

50:13ShareHayden:But yeah, when uh you can announce some of the cooler stuff coming out next year, and especially if it's a theatrical release and or even on streaming, we'll we'd love to have you back. Killer Be Killed and uh Ghost Team on Univorg.

50:24ShareAbsolutely. Yeah, yeah.

50:26ShareHayden:So thank you, Mr. David Webster.