The podcast crew continues the Juneteenth themed month of honoring Black entertainers this week:
In this loving tribute, we talk all about the beloved activist and actor Danny Glover.
Was he one of the best actors to portray Nelson Mandela on film?
Should he return as Lt. Harrigan in the next Predator sequel?
And more honoring of the legend!
INTRO CLIP:
Take2MarkTV Rewind: Danny Glover interview on early acting roles, impact of Lethal Weapon & more (1991 chat)
[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. Earlier in your career, some of your early films were bit parts in Choo Choo and the Philly Flash and Escape from Alcatraz with Clint Eastwood. Now those early film experiences with small roles, did you think at that time that they were satisfying that movies were the way to go or you were better off in the theater?
[00:00:29] Well, I mean, after getting, you know, losing the kind of aura that happens with stage and film actors, I ain't going to do a film. I'd be losing that. And after having, you know, the house and those stare you in the face, you see, maybe I can do both. Maybe I can make some sort of compromise in here, you know. Maybe I can take this role as a homeless person. That's what I played in Choo Choo and the Philly Flash.
[00:00:59] I mean, I don't know if I could take this role as a homeless person, slash a homeless person. It's a comedy, but maybe I can take this role and be a part of this and pay the rent. Now, two milestone films for you, The Color Purple and Lethal Weapon. Now, which film are you more proud of and which one had a bigger impact on your career?
[00:01:48] I mean, you know, what's the role of a film, you know, what's the role of a film? I mean, it's a comedy that's always been a part of what happens in this industry. Of films that you do often. To have one successful action film certainly gives a lot more visibility to your career than just to have, quote unquote, an event. The fact that you're in your big box office now, some people say- I don't know about that. I'm kind of like, kind of looking for the next job after this one. Okay.
[00:02:13] Well, some people think that helps make movies like The Sleep with Anger and A Rage in Harlem to be made. I mean, do you think that's true and do you enjoy that greater sense of power?
[00:02:23] Well, I mean, I try, you know, the wonderful thing about working is that, and being in this position, is that true, you're able to kind of throw out ideas and work with ideas or give some sort of push to things that normally would not have been made and considered, you know, because they're too eclectic or they're targeted for a specific group.
[00:02:52] And I'm happy with that, you know, the kind of balance that I'm able to achieve with both those realities. Danny, these days it seems almost chic for a lot of actors to become involved in politics, but back when you were in San Francisco State, you were quite active then. What happened in your life to make you politically active? Well, certainly because I was a product of the time, you know.
[00:03:20] I mean, you were immersed in a movement that was so, I mean, you couldn't deny it, you know. It was there, you know. You go on campus and you find students talking about how I can improve my relationship with the community I live in as a student. Yeah, I'm a student, but how can I take the information that I learned as a student in a very lofty, idealistic way and bring that back to community, you know.
[00:03:47] And so, I mean, yeah, I was involved in not conventional politics, albeit, but certainly involved in the social fabric that I lived in. Now, with Grand Canyon, it talks a lot about, you know, urban violence. Do you think in today's society a lot of people have gotten apathetic about what's going on in the streets?
[00:04:12] Well, I think what we as easily is noted by the voter registration and we've become so polarized and so concerned about our own little niche, our own little corner here, that we fail to kind of, to involve or engage ourselves in what's happening often with what happens right outside our door, you know. So, I think that's a danger.
[00:04:41] What the movie suggests also is that it's a danger that can perpetuate itself and that we have to put a stop to that, that we have to discontinue that. I have one really quick question. I'm doing a story on actors on location. When you go on location, what kind of things do you insist upon to make your life more comfortable, from your trailer to your lodgings? Nothing really specifically.
[00:05:07] You know, I know that I have a very functional apartment in Los Angeles here because rarely does my family come down here to visit me. So, I used to get one of these nice big places and nobody show up. But now, so I have a very functional apartment.
[00:05:30] And I know, I try to gear everything toward the idea of working, you know, that I'm going to spend the majority of my time in 13, 14 hours a day working and or resting, you know. We met. We loaded. We edited.
[00:05:56] Sometimes we get so deep into conversation that we have separate segments worthy of their own place in the sun. This is a reshuffled mini episode.
[00:06:12] Oh, well, so who are we talking about tonight, Gil? We're going to talk about America's granddad.
[00:06:31] He is an interesting individual in that I've just always known him to be just very cool, quiet, very atmospheric and, you know, the son of postal workers, just very chill. And then you never know if he's going to play these intense characters or not. So, Tom, what was your foray into the one, the only wise ass known as Danny Glover? I have to say my first real exposure when it was lethal weapon two.
[00:07:01] I didn't see the first one, but the second one, I could kind of see where he was coming from. And just an incredibly funny scene in there when he's on the toilet. That his final line when he shoots the evil guy who's doing the whole diplomatic immunity, doesn't he say something like passport revoked or something? That's like immunity revoked. That's what it is.
[00:07:27] And might I just add, he and he and Joe Pesci had just just this chemistry. Oh, getting on each other's nerves and just like back and forth, back and forth. You shut up. No, you listen to everybody. He still feels like he's in lethal weapon mode when he does the other Joel Silver production Predator two, but at the same time kind of gives it a different kind of thing persona.
[00:07:53] But it's so funny, like audiences acknowledge, but they're kind of uncomfortable when they see him be a bad guy. You know, when he's the abusive husband and Spillberg is the color purple. And then you see him, you know, as the bad guy in Witness not long after that. And then there's this one movie, I kid you not. I don't think it's a great movie. It's kind of average switchback where they unfortunately his voice is so recognizable. You instantly know the got the serial killer on the other end has to be Danny Glover. There's just no other person.
[00:08:21] He's the only other guy getting top billing. But this was a movie that as you call the HBO effect, I would see parts of it. I'm like, who is Dennis Quaid fighting on top of a? Oh, it's that's evil Danny Glover. What? But Gil, what do you think he kind of resonates with audiences? Like he just he smiles. Everyone else smiles.
[00:08:47] Well, he's got a certain kind of power to him that, you know, I don't he should have more lead roles than he has, I think. Yeah, he's done a lot of other just obscure and foreign films. And once the 2000s hit, he kind of ends up just being I'm going to be so and so's dad or do some brief recurring TV show roles. Or star in another Danny Trejo movie series. Yes, yeah, exactly.
[00:09:15] And given how much he's working with Danny Trejo, I don't think he's he's getting too over that kind of shit. Or did you see him as the bad guy in the movie Shooter? I know it's a mix. It doesn't have much to do with the books. It's just a born identity kind of movie. Who was in Shooter again? Marky Mark. Yeah, Marky Mark. OK, playing a character who should have been in his 60s, but whatever.
[00:09:39] I remember Shooter, but I don't think it was another I'm going to recruit you, kid. And of course, I'm going to betray you. But I think his role has got to be Grand Canyon. No one has seen this movie much, but it's it's basically Lawrence Kasten still doing another take on his big chill formula is like. But let's have Steve Martin be an overbearing movie producer. Let's have Kevin Kline and Mary McDonald be this couple expecting a kid.
[00:10:08] And let's have Danny Glover and Alfred Woodard be their unlikely best friends who are in a crappy downtown L.A. neighborhood. Yeah, let Rob Schneider be a stapler. Oh, my God. Thank goodness he was not in that. Oh, my God. He's interesting in that he kind of got all the fame right away. So when you see him in something, everyone's like, hey, we're happy to see you here.
[00:10:39] I think I read somewhere he got started in like 79. Yeah, it's like he's a big activist. And anytime I see him sit down on like a PBS or late night talk show, he is just ready to tell stories. And he's somehow just very engaging. Obviously, with his TV work, I definitely recommend Lonesome Dub. But he had some other recurring roles on ER. And I really dug the supernatural. Beloved.
[00:11:09] Well, that was a good movie. But he was in this other show, Touch. Where Kiefer's got a supernatural kid. And it was he played a guy who was discovering the conspiracy and knew too much. But sounds like Millennium. It was a little bit X-Files Millennium ish. He's kind of much like Morgan Freeman, where he just gets along with everybody. So he's like, hey, if you don't have anything great to say, just shut up.
[00:11:38] Like he's still buddies with Mel Gibson after his tirade. He's like, well, I don't know what was going on. He's like, well, they say that him and Mel Gibson kind of redefined the buddy cop genre. Yeah. He's the best part about Saw, a movie I cannot do. He was in that? Yeah, he's the detective. Okay. Well, I haven't watched any of the Saw movies. They haven't drawn me. Yeah. If you do, watch it with Riff Trax.
[00:12:07] But yeah, he's in Dreamgirls. And Beyond the Lights is a neat look at kind of the fashion and celebrity. And I think casting agents know, hey, if we're going to give him a good part, it better be a meaty role. We're not going to just give him a garbage, underwritten, wasted role. That would be just insulting to anybody. Well, I wouldn't mind seeing him come back to Predator. Of course, he's a little old.
[00:12:36] Although, I said he's a little old, but I forgot. Predator, Killer of Killers. Yeah. Yep. Animated. If you've seen that, you see at the end where you've got Dutch is in a freezer and the girl from Prey is in the freezer. Yeah. And also Danny Glover's character is in a freezer. Yeah. Kudos to a lot of the books.
[00:13:01] They've continued the Dutch character as well as his, again, his detective. I think that's his death. Like, he just brought, as Lieutenant Harrigan, he was just a different kind of LAPD guy. He just knows how to do grit and then just be the gentle giant. But I never can think of any role he was in where it was like, that was poorly written, that was whitewashed, or why'd they hire him? They didn't use him. You know? Yeah. You think he was used well in Badass? Oh, yes. Tom can speak to that.
[00:13:31] Like, he is just embracing it. And for a direct-to-video series, it really is a lot of fun. But it's wild how he's one of many actors who got to play Nelson Mandela in this one HBO movie, which, if anyone hasn't seen it, is good. But one of his first TV roles was a brief recurring part on Hill Street Blues. And I have seen some of his other TV movies of the week. Like, he just always, he must have a really good agent and just really good connections.
[00:14:01] Because I can't think of anything where, even if I don't like the movie, like, his part was awful or anything. I can't think of, if he's a phone dude in, he's really good at it. Because, like, he's just really engaging. Morgan Freeman directed him in this play adaptation where he played a black police officer in South Africa during the apartheid era. And same kind of deal. Yeah, it was really good. Bofa was the name of it. It comes on Showtime once in a while.
[00:14:30] And I'm always like, man, they made, they were able to make something that could have easily been melodramatic or too depressing. Just very engaging and very gripping as a light, dramatic thriller. For Noir guys, he did play Philip Marlowe in this Showtime anthology show, Fallen Angels. And that was kind of the next big thing after Tells from the Crypt. Everybody was getting on an anthology show if it was on the movie channels because they knew it would have a cool style. Get him an Emmy nom.
[00:15:00] That's irony. He's doing a Noir series. Noir, yes. He's not too old for this. Did any of you ever see Be Kind Rewind? Yeah. Oh, man. That's old as hell. It is. And it'd be funny to watch it now in a digital age, but I just remember watching that. I kind of follow Michael Gondry's just downright weird as a filmmaker, but he's kind of intriguing at the same time.
[00:15:29] And I was like, yeah, it was coming in at the perfect time when, you know, it was coming in around the time when videotape was starting to go out and DVDs were starting to come in. Yeah. And it's interesting how it's kind of a parallel for bootlegs and pirating is like, yeah, well, what if we can't afford to house the movies at our home, you know, family owned video store?
[00:15:54] Well, then let's remake them and sell them as the movie is like us in our backyard recreating everything. And most staff and Jeff Black were in it. But I was just like, he had a brief role in it. I'm like, yeah, someone needs to ground the movie in some kind of reality. Why don't you get Danny Club? We'll return after these messages. All right, folks, Hal Pack here. We've got a 90-minute weekly Shack Stop.
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[00:17:18] 12 p.m. Eastern time on MXTR FM and 10 p.m. Eastern time, 9 p.m. Central, 1077 K-Twins. Find everything on HalShack.com. HalShack. Do you ever find yourself thinking about who would win in a fight between Goku and Superman? Hi, I'm James Gavsey, and on the Who Would Win Show, me and my co-host Ray ignore anything important happening in the outside world
[00:17:45] and debate fictional battles between characters from comics, movies, and video games. We got a new show every week, and almost always am I the winner. Yeah, not true, Ray. In the past, we've discussed such matches as Captain America vs. Darth Vader, Solid Snake vs. the Iron Giant, classic matchups like Robocop vs. Terminator, and even the Muppets vs. Sesame Street. That one was crazy. So if you're a fan of geek culture and love a spirited debate, check out the Who Would Win Show wherever you get your podcasts,
[00:18:15] or check us out at whowouldwinshow.com. I've never seen him be an asshole in interviews or give a blunt interview like I regret at a movie. He just seems to love the whole process while also realizing, hey, it is time-consuming, and he's not going to do it if he doesn't want to do it, really. Like, that's the thing about him, I think, as a person and as an actor.
[00:18:43] There's a reason why he's revered. There's a reason why people keep going to see him, and it is because he's personal, he's professional, and like you said, I don't think there's anybody who can say a bad word about him. He's just the kind of guy that you would hope to be friends with or maybe a neighbor with, and that adds to that connection on the screen because you want to be his friend.
[00:19:12] He's low-budget Denzel Washington. Or maybe medium-version me. Or Morgan Freeman. He is kind of like fourth build. Like, first they get Denzel. If they can't get him, they're going to say, hey, well, if this is an older role, then let's get Morgan Freeman. Oh, no, Morgan doesn't want to do it or he's not available. He's doing five other movies this year. Or Sidney Poirier. He's dead.
[00:19:40] I wish we had Sidney Poirier. Like, well, this role isn't comedic, so we're not going to get Sam Jackson. Or will we? Wasn't Danny in a Raisin in the Sun? I thought he was or was considered for it. Let's see. Did he do a remake? No. Yeah, he did a remake. Oh, wow. Directed by Bill Duke for American Playhouse. No shit. Yes.
[00:20:10] Friend or connection? Yeah. Yeah. That would be... I'm so disappointed that us in the Predator movie, Bennett, didn't do that. It was like, just to be assholes, it's like, which Predator actor directed a Predator 2 actor in a movie? I know what only... You would have literally only seen if you were literally had PBS on all day. I think the first movie I saw Danny in, fair warning, it's a pretty bad movie. Pure luck.
[00:20:39] Yeah, I remember my mother always wanted a comedy for movie night. And half the time, we would often be talking more about the actors instead of actually enjoying the movie just because the movies would just be terrible picks. And if I had some nerve, I would have been like, can I pick a movie next time? This sucks. And it was pure luck. Is that the one he was in with... Martin Short. Huh? Martin Short. Martin Short, okay. Yeah. It's not the worst of the worst, but it is...
[00:21:08] You keep waiting for any actual laughs to happen. And it's just like, you remade a French comedy that's acclaimed. It's pretty hard to redo the French. And yeah, he's kind of, again, he's a cop with another guy who's kind of a criminal who's on house arrest or some shit. And it's just like, he's just sort of like waiting for anything to kind of happen. And but he is amazing, though, in Silverado.
[00:21:36] Like as a mile, like he he brings a different kind of presence for the rest of the guys. You know, Costner's there, but like him and Scott Glenn and even Klein are just working overtime. And much like Cass, much like Spielberg's redoing serials with Indiana Jones, Kasten, who's part of that film, Brad's cycle is like, I want to do the best send up of all the Western tropes. You know, and with Tom's buddy, Jeff Goldblum, being one of the bad guys who betrays him at the end.
[00:22:06] I'm going to look in here and say, hello, you're playing a very good character. I don't want to be a good guy. I want to be a bad guy. So I go over here and we're going to do this and go pew pew. And it's going to be a very good thing. Pew pew. I took all your money. No box office for you. See the whole thing. You see the box office is you're going to get people to come in and buy a ticket and they're going to say, hello, we're going to buy a ticket for you. They're going to be OK, they'll be eight bucks.
[00:22:35] And then you go to the concession stands, you're going to be like, I'll take a small tub of popcorn. It's going to be thirty five dollars. Wow. Jeff, what would we do, man? Being how you guys are fans of Blaxploitation, did anyone ever see A Rage in Harlem? I can't say that. What year was that? That was 91. Once again, Bill Duke. He's adapting a book, A Rage in Harlem.
[00:23:00] So it's not it's by all means not necessarily Blaxploitation, but it is just, you know, sit during the 50s in Mississippi and it's a crime drama. And. It's so funny, like some people. Well, the producer intended as a comedy film, Bill Duke viewed it as a straight up crime film that has comedy, you know, you know, just brief comedic elements in it. I never thought of it as a comedy, despite.
[00:23:28] Yes, I did laugh a few times deliberately, but it's a drama. There's a bit of action in it at the end, but a lot of double crossing. You know, Robin Gibbons was mighty fine and beautiful. And Forrest Whitaker and Gregory Hines are the main stars. Well, I remember watching Beloved, but I think that had more to do with Sandy Newton. Or Sandy. What was her name? Yeah, it was Sandy Newton. OK.
[00:23:54] But yeah, that's that's a very sad, supernatural, gothic psychodrama during the Civil War. One Showtime movie that I well, it's not Showtime, but it was often on there. There was this unusual movie he was in that was like basically. It was by one of Spike Lee's protégé, Lee Davis, and I just always remember it just being very unusual, just taxi drivers kind of. And.
[00:24:20] Fell into make ends meet, and there's rumors of a serial killer going around, but it was an original kind of concept. Pam Greer and Michelle Rodriguez had were also part of the cast. He was great in it because it's like kind of just showing the day to day people go around not eating great, barely getting by. And you're hearing all kinds of rumors, but definitely an unusual kind of Sundance favorite that I always found interesting, but just a light thriller.
[00:24:46] But he's really good as the judge in John Grisham's The Rainmaker, which was adapted by Coppola. And I was like, yeah, if there's anybody who's going to bring a lot of gravitas, you'd need him as the judge. And I don't know why he went on credit. I don't know if he just did it as a favor because of a budget or what I or wanted to be a surprise. But it is a big, big role. So pretty wild. He went on credit there.
[00:25:17] But yeah, man, I don't. Anytime he even wants to just. Go in and just kind of. Have an unusual. Concept kind of a role. He's he's really captivating. And he's in a movie with John Cena, but. He shined brighter than him, and this is without him even being invisible. Yeah.
[00:25:43] Well, to be careful, if it's a John Cena movie, I can't see it. Yeah. Yeah. Inaccessible. Nowhere to be found. It was at this point they missed the joke completely. Stop making fun of my favorite wrestler. Wow. Last time is now.
[00:26:11] There was this movie that I kept seeing at Redbox back in the day and everybody kind of found it. Man, I kind of like this unusual concept of a movie. It was called Donovan's Echo. There's just kind of an unusual. You saw this. OK, I was going to. I've heard of it. And it struck me like this is a cool concept. Yeah, I think everyone's mad. It doesn't really like go the full.
[00:26:38] Way of its concept, but I was like, still like I was never bored. I'm intrigued. I. But. Yeah. I saw a lot of people saying boring, predictable. I'm like, it's still trying a different concept. Like it's a puzzle piece. There's a bit of time travel, but not in the way you would think. He didn't need a car or a special watch to go where he needed. It's kind of still very involving, which is all I can ask for in any movie. Just don't bore me, man. Don't bore me.
[00:27:07] I actually I don't think I've seen Day of the Mummy, but I've seen a bunch of other movies he's been in where I'm like that was bad. But he was good in it. I don't know what he's doing here other than that he needs a paycheck. It's not uncommon. I'll be on a Nintendo channel and I will see him doing like a veteran's ad or something like that. There's this pretty fun diehard knockoff movie called Gridlock.
[00:27:33] It stars Dominic Purcell from Prison Break and Legends of Tomorrow. But he was playing like the off duty like officer set to retire. And of course, they couldn't help it. But he got in. I'm getting too old. Oh, before he's killed. And it was awesome. It was really a lot of fun. There are some clever deaths and dispatches of the bad guys. But yeah, man, I don't.
[00:28:02] There's plenty of other Nigerian productions he's been in, just other obscure festival stuff. He does what he wants to do at this point. I think the last thing I saw him in was the old man in the gun, which was a real life. Heist movie with Robert Redford in him. And it's kind of so funny. It's like they're just gentlemanly thieves, if you will. Like, and he doesn't really do any robbing with him. He just kind of gives him some resources. But it's just so funny.
[00:28:32] It's like, let me know when you're back. I'll have the beer and the hot dogs ready. I never know when he's going to show up. But he's always just a pleasant surprise. Because he's picked a lot of stuff where he at least is the lead, even if the movie lets him down. I can't think of anything where it's like, yeah, your agent should have screened this filmmaker better. Nothing you have all related. Yes.
[00:29:02] I mean, unless you wanted to. What would that look like? Although I have to admit, it would be an interesting casting choice for Iron Sky. Yeah, he looked good with Iron Sky. And he's in on the joke. Like, he really is a well-dispoken guy. He's going to read the script front to back and know what he's in for. I've never heard of anything of him arguing with a director or saying, I don't get it. Like, no, he's read it.
[00:29:32] He knows what it's about. Yeah, I think that speaks to him as so much of a professional. And the way I, the way even if he's in a crappy movie and he still is great, to me, it's he's still honing his craft. And even so, there's even a piece to me that thinks that he still thinks he's paying his dues. I kind of get that. Yeah. Yeah. And makes him hungry. Yeah. He wants to stay busy.
[00:30:02] He also. He's got to like it. He's got to like some part of it's got to land with him is like, hey, even if you're micro budget, better give me something that I can stick my teeth into. I'm going to, you know, keep working. And who would have guessed a guy who's basically just a featured extra and escaped from Alcatraz. And then. Just I see him in war movies growing up like that.
[00:30:28] Twenty one, which is a fun just behind enemy lines kind of thing. He's got to help Gene Hackman retrace his steps to an evacuation point. And Flight of the Intruder was another 2 a.m. in the morning on TNT kind of movie I saw. But I just remember seeing an interview, a few different interviews with him when he would talk, when he would reflect on the color purple. And it's like, hey, you know, it's an unusual kind of role. I'm not just an abusive husband. I'm also a guy who's, you know, he's been segregated all his life.
[00:30:58] And so he kind of suppresses everybody around him just to let that anger, you know, that that's where that source of that abuse comes. And near the end, you know, the guy he you know, his character is noteworthy for breaking down and everything. And I don't think he makes him likable, but I see what he means when he's saying I'm trying to show some kind of evolution of the character, even if he can't redeem himself fully. It's like he's not the same abusive husband by the start of that movie that he is at the end.
[00:31:27] And yeah, whenever I see him listed for one of the voices in various movies like Ants or Prince of Egypt, I'm like, yeah, I'm not surprised. He he's got to have some. But he goes kind of more for best friend who has an unusual backstory instead of just I'm going to be an authority figure, you know. And purple is not even his favorite color.
[00:31:54] Yeah, with and with mummy movies, it's that he's getting faro for this shit. Oh, what do you guys think is the worst movie on his resume? I'm sorry. I try to hold back, but I got on fishing. Oh, yes. That is a JJ from Stumpster Fire. But I remember my grandmother once asked me, you want to go see the Shaggy Dog?
[00:32:21] And I politely went along and was like, oh, kids movies these days. There's something else. You ever seen the originals of that? I if I did, it was maybe in short bursts, but I highly doubt it. I'm trying to remember if it was Dean Jones or Tommy Kirk or it was Dean Jones, Dean Jones. And Tommy Kirk was in another one that was Shaggy Dog, I think. Well, this was during Shaggy DA or well, I don't know.
[00:32:51] This is during Shaggy. Yeah, I think it was it was still Dean Jones. OK. Well, I would say this is during the downfall of Tim Allen. So it was it was deeper. Yeah. Yeah. There's a good movie that everyone seems to hate that I saw in college by him that I thought was interesting, where he plays a. A strange Vietnam veteran who's living in a cabin in the woods and he feels like a failure because a lot of men died under his command.
[00:33:21] And he decides to. So firewoods and supplies and he's asked by David Straythorn, another ex-platoon member who's dying of cancer to expose. Well, not not expose. He he's dying from exposure to Agent Orange and he. He basically gets bombarded by some other violent forces outside, and it was just very atypical.
[00:33:49] I already wanted to see it because Linda Hamilton and Ron Prolman were in the cast, but it was a very unusual, dramatic thriller. And again, like he. He the camera loves him. He he can do a lot of that whole interior thinking. He does. Yes, he can give a speech and kick some ass, but like, man, he'll do so much kind of just. All right, just showing you physically what is on his mind right now.
[00:34:20] It's pretty hard to put him in a role where it's like that wouldn't have worked for anybody, though, because I don't know if it's just he is that diverse or he's just really good at picking them. But. Did anyone. Go ahead. I'd say it's a little bit of both. He he knows his work. He knows his value. He knows what he can do. So he can't afford to be a little choosy. But by the same token, it goes back to what I said earlier.
[00:34:49] He I think he's still in his mind and sees he's paying his dues. He's honing his fax so that, yeah, he'll make 15 cruddy moves in a row. But then when he gets into a bigger budget one, you'll know that, yeah, he belongs. Yep. He's narrated a lot of cool documentaries as well. I've never gotten a sense of. He his voice is interesting because it is one that's recognizable, but it's not like the first thing I think of.
[00:35:18] Like right away, he's always kind of he sneaks up on you in a pleasant way. I will be caught dead talking shit about him. I think he's great. So when they can't get Morgan Freeman, they get him. I guess so. I guess so. After that, Morgan Freeman can be a forward to be a little bit more picky. After all, he still has that electric company money coming in. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Now that is a reference. Mm-hmm.
[00:35:49] Oh, he's done some video games that I have not heard of, though. Crime Boss, Rock A City. I've never heard of that. There must not have been very good video games, then. Let's see. It's got an all-star cast including Kim. I kid you not. I'm reading this off now. Kim Pasinger, Michael Rooker, Danny Trejo, Vanilla Ice. Chuck Norris. I've heard of that game. I'm not. There was so many.
[00:36:19] There was a VTuber who was playing the heck out of it. And she legitimately loved the game. And then after some kerfuffle, they terminated her contract with her. They didn't want anything to do with her anymore. It was ultimately all bullshit. But still, she was the one really driving the game. Wow. Really putting it out there. So good on her. And good on Danny Glover. I guess so.
[00:36:51] You'll love this. Mixed to negative reviews. With four critics in Japan from Famitsu, giving it a 30 out of 40. Wow. And then the voiceover ones he did, I don't think there was a lot of attention for those. I remember hearing about Barnyard, but it was never one I was interested in ever seeing. I think my sister saw that one. But yeah, it he's done some stage plays as well from 82 to 2017. Believe it or not. He's.
[00:37:20] He's also just got that healthy mixture, like he'll do an urban or black demographic themed show or movie, and then he'll be just on a more mainstream kind of movie or show. I think I did see his. My name is Earl guest spot. Yes. He's in the first episode of Human Target, and he's so funny. He's like, you're not going to get out of the car right now. I'll be late. Yeah. He's really hysterical in the baseball episode of Psych.
[00:37:50] I haven't seen. I've seen one episode of Psych so far. Oh, man. That one's a funny one. But yeah. I never got into that show. That's a shame. I'm picky. I don't like different. I don't like all the new shit that's thrown out. It's like, I'm good. Well, that's not relatively new at this point. That's it. But for that, I'm framing USA Network throwing out show after show. Yeah, that was boring as well. I'm good.
[00:38:18] It was the only good USA one during that phase, I would say. But it did like traffic the miniseries. That was good. Oh, that was excellent. But I'm just meaning like later by the 2020 tense. I just give them credit because they're always coming out with like a new TV movie every Christmas or holiday season. That's hysterical. But I can't Hallmark for you. Go ahead. I can't seem to find anything. But did he have his own like production company or something like that?
[00:38:45] I have not seen anything on it, but I wouldn't doubt it if he had at some point done something engaging. But I've seen some of his other. Go ahead. There was a thing that A&E did. It was like an almost actor's studio kind of thing where you saw these televised versions of plays. There was one called The Pool Hall.
[00:39:12] The one I saw that starred Jane Beryl Jones and Mario Van Peebles. I got thinking about that just now. I said, you know who would be great if they were ever to be recast and redone? Danny Glover would be the perfect foil for a younger pool hustler. And he would fall into the role of Jane Beryl Jones very quickly and very easily. Probably.
[00:39:40] I see it says he was co-founder of something called Low Virtue Films. Yeah, because he's kind of that healthy mix. Like he can be a captivating supporting role, kind of like Forrest Whitaker, but he often will kind of do a mixture of I'm going to play everybody's dad, kind of like Ernie Hudson, and then kind of mix in I got a military background or I used to be a cop or a principal.
[00:40:08] But man, some of his others just TNT and Showtime movies are just very interesting. I really do like Buffalo Rider Soldiers where he played one of the first Black Cavalry Corps during the Civil War, but he must be a train really good at just riding horses and everything because he's done so many of those intense kinds of roles. Going back at least to Silverado.
[00:40:38] Mm-hmm. Did any of you see his Captain Planet episode? Which one? I know he did one where he was like a professor. It's the Isle of Solar Energy episode. I don't remember that one. I've seen the HBO TV movie Dan Ben Out. That was an interesting prison psych ward kind of setting, but I've seen him in this
[00:41:06] other recent Western he did called Handel's Law that he had a lot of fun in. You think he tries to bring his politics into his work? I definitely, but not really in an intrusive way. That's the other thing, too. When he's, everything that he does, he usually makes sure he's ready to talk about what he's going to talk about. So I think that's his debt.
[00:41:29] Regardless of what part of the political aisles you're on, he doesn't overstay his welcome or just go on a rant. He just is ready to give you a speech and then he's going to, when the protest is over, he's going to go home. He's not going to... Or in one case, get arrested. Yeah, he seems to have just picked some good causes where he's like, I know everyone's ready to listen and no one's going to mess with me. He was really good as third good Marshall in Muhammad Ali's greatest fight.
[00:42:00] But I did see the Criminal Minds episode he was on. He's playing a member of Shamar Moore's family. And he was on an episode of Blackish recently that was pretty good. But yeah, he's... He's just that healthy mix. He'll either do like a TV movie of the week and then mix it in with like something your kids can watch and then do some other big genre movie. I mean, hell, he's in one of the Death Race movies. So, I mean...
[00:42:30] Yes, he is. Underrated... Underrated classic movie series, I have to admit. I love those movies. They're so much fun. I mean, hell, he was in Jumanji. Free, for God's sakes. Yeah, playing somebody's grandfather or father or grandfather? Is it grandfather? I think it was his granddad, yeah. Yeah, I... But who also... Who also was in it? Danny... Was it Danny DeVito or...
[00:42:56] Yeah, he was in there as well as, you know, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan. Rock. Yep. He's slowing down now, too. Well, Tom and I have talked about the sad tire. Sorry to bother you. Oh. There's a key role in that. Yeah. There's a... There's a... The best... The best two-thirds of a movie I've seen since Inception.
[00:43:26] I don't think they had it as bad as Inception, but I hear you. Yeah. But the concept was great, and of course, who's going to... Who's going to diss Danny Glover? If you do that... I think it's under the law. I think it's constitution... I think it constitutes treason. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If someone comes to your house, they're not here to pick a fight with Danny Glover. They're here to arrest you for defamation of character. Well, he's not someone that you've heard anything really bad about.
[00:43:56] I've never heard him walking off the set or refusing to come out of his trailer. I've never seen him misinterpret or be outspoken in an interview. I think he's just very naturally sharp, and even when he and Emily stars in some of these cheesy, men-on-a-mission kinds of video-on-demand movies, he wants to have a meaty role. He's definitely the kind of guy... I don't know if it's... He's ready to do comedy, but it's got to be kind of just very atypical.
[00:44:26] He doesn't want to be a fool, and he also doesn't want to be just a gratuitous role. If he's going to be a bad guy, he better be an absolute deceiver. He doesn't want to be rapist number five. Yeah. In that respect, he's a lot like Fred Williamson was when he was doing Black Wightation. He had certain demands and... And John Amos. Oh, yes. Another parent actor. Go ahead. Just another parent actor.
[00:44:57] Yeah. And I was going to say, it's almost like there's a small group of people or actors who are like that in that particular point in time. And people who are willing to take a stand on something artistically or otherwise. And people... I think that can bring them a lot of respect. It may not have necessarily...
[00:45:19] None of them bigger roles in bigger main pictures, but it's something that... There's something very admirable about that. Just saying, you know what? Here are my conditions. I'm not going to play a junkie. I'm not going to play this kind of thing, but I will play a strong figure in this way. And this is how I want to come off. And they do it in such a way that it was respectable and respected.
[00:45:49] So, yeah. So, if there are anything, I'd say that... That... Yeah. That Danny Glover is like a... I'm going to use bad phrasing, so I apologize. But it's like almost a cleaned up version of Fred Williams. Yeah. He doesn't do... Like, Fred's going to be the straight guy in any kind of big B movie. And...
[00:46:17] Danny is going to kind of be more in just kind of... A typical kind of stage plays and... Just coming of age kind of movies. And then mixes it in with some adventure and... Creepy mystery movies. Yeah. They both play around with genres. But, yeah. He definitely is kind of a bit... He's going to be in a very classy joint. But also just a very... Acclaimed and well-polished product. I...
[00:46:45] When we talked about Giancarlo Esposito eons ago, he was in this drama that Giancarlo directed called Gospel Hill, which was a... About a fictional South Carolina town with some unusual characters. And he was having to be a civil rights activist's son who was trying to oversee just an unusual murder in this town. It was like, see? That's another classic example of someone who's like...
[00:47:11] If you're going to give me a big part, you better have me be the main straight man who's in this, you know, gritty drama. Oh, yeah. I can... He was also in The Hunger, too. The Hunger? Yeah. Wasn't that a vampire movie? No, TV series. Oh, TV series. The Hunger TV? Two seasons. First season was hosted by David Belly. Second season was hosted by... Someone else. I forget who it was, though.
[00:47:41] I bought both seasons. Because I was surprised. Yeah. You guessed it. Frank Stallone. I mean, someone's got a record for all of us. Yep. That's usually my job. Oh, no. No, that's Frank's job. What are you talking about? Like, I saw this one Showtime film he was in with Whoopi Goldberg years ago.
[00:48:11] It was a satire on just a black elite family in Connecticut in the 70s. And him and the big Goldberg were in it. And I didn't think it was very great, but their acting was good. Is that the one where he's playing her husband or something? Yeah, yeah. It's kind of a partial farce as well as just a social drama. It's not dumb, but it just kind of... Sounds like Karina Karina.
[00:48:41] Well, Karina Karina, I could say is good. What do I know? Actually, Ted Danson and Wooti actually had an affair during that movie. That's what I heard. Yeah. It wasn't Frank Stallone. I had no idea he was on The Hunger. Well, I mean, I've seen The Hunger Heroes. Do we have the same Hunger? No, this is a TV series.
[00:49:11] No, I know what you're talking about. The only Hunger I could think of is the one that has Susan Sarandon in it. Well, that's what it was a Showtime version of, but I'm not seeing it. Oreo. No, I'm talking about Gun. You're talking about Esposito. That's where he was on. Oh. Yeah. Jesus. Sorry. Yeah. There's actually a lot of talent in that series. I was surprised by that. Yeah, I was too.
[00:49:38] When I got my picture taken with Giancarlo Esposito, I was walking away. I said, loved you in Bakersfield PD. And he goes, boy, that's a blast from the past as I was walking away. Oh, that's awesome. That was on Bravo's Brilliant but Cancelled. But that's what these talents love. They love it when you just lash out to them and ask them a question they haven't been asked. It's like, wow.
[00:50:07] Someone's a bigger fan of me than me, personally. Maybe it's at Baltimore Comic Con this year, actually. I would love to see it. Esposito, that is. I didn't think Danny Clover did Comic Con. It'd be interesting to see him there for that. I think, I'm sure he'd want to if it was a good panel.
[00:50:37] Yeah. And placement, too. Yeah. That definitely plays into it all. Well, what do you know? There's a 2023 thing. Yeah. 2023 thing. Oh, yeah. Comic Con. Yep. London Film Comic Con for 2025 as well. Yeah. So he's doing some of them, but it's kind of here and there. I don't really see that he does a lot for that. Yeah. Yeah. It's got to be just kind of exclusive, just special. It's got to be easy, too. Yeah.
[00:51:07] Yeah. I thought about going to Baltimore Comic Con this weekend, but like, nah, I'm good. Like, months ago, I thought about it. Yeah, I'll go. It also varies. There's some where it's like, I just want someone to upload video they've taken. That'll be entertaining. I can't ever seem to go to a Comic Con without spending at least a thousand bucks. Yeah. Yeah. It'll break your bank account. Yeah. For me, I'd rather just meet my artist friends that go there because I know a couple of them that have been to Baltimore Comic Con.
[00:51:37] I'm like, yeah, I missed meeting you last year. Shit. It's like Danny. We're getting we're getting a little too old. Follow us on the web on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Anchor, Apple and anywhere else. Podcasts are available.
[00:52:05] Feel free to review our show and leave comments on any of those sites. Thanks a million for listening. It's a jacked up review show. It's a jacked up review show.
