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Tony: Welcome back to the �����ԹϺ��� podcast with your awesome host, Paddy O'Connell. Kick it off po.

I am giving you some great sound bites. Dude.

PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: So to start things off, Tony, I have dug something up. Incredible from your past. I Tony, you attended Virginia Military Institute for college.

You were a division one athlete there. You played lacrosse at

Tony: Bingo. Yep.

Paddy: and in 2003 and 2004, the VMI keydets had games against the Bulldogs from Butler University. Do you know who was an attack man for Butler during those games? Me.

Tony: You?!.

Paddy: Yeah, dude. Holy hell, what a small world it is. We were on the exact same field together twice, we shook hands at the end of the game for sure. 'cause that's what you do in lacrosse. And now flash forward, 20 plus years later, we're talking on a podcast you, a world famous actor and me, a guy who professionally chit chats in the laundry room that he converted [00:01:00] into a recording studio.

Tony: This is blowing my mind

Paddy: isn't this insane? remember those

Tony: No idea you were a lax bro.

Paddy: , Do you remember the scores from those games?

Tony: Oh God. The first one was real bad. I think they were both probably real bad.

Paddy: Butler vs. VMI 2003 15 to two Dawgs,

2004, 15 to six Dawgs. I would be remiss if I didn't start this interview off by saying, go Dawgs. Go.

Tony: Man, dude. And the good thing, that program, that program is still just as strong today.

Paddy: Well, Butler doesn't have a program anymore

Tony: I know, that's why I said that.

Paddy: Oh, boo. Yeah,

Tony: Sorry bro.

Paddy: what a mean. What a mean guy.

Tony: You did blow my mind with that fact, bro..

PAUSE PAUSE

Welcome back to the �����ԹϺ��� podcast with your host Paddy O'Connell. Take it away. Pad.

MUSIC

PADDYO [00:02:00] VO:

So that hilarious, endearing agent of chaos, is actor Tony Cavalero. You probably know him as Dewey Finn in Nickelodeon's TV remake of "School of Rock." Maybe you remember him as Ozzy Osbourne in the Netflix film, "The Dirt." And there's a helluva a good chance you've busted your gut laughing at his character, Keefe Chambers, from the HBO smash hit series, "The Righteous Gemstones." I know Tony from all those roles too, but I also know Tony...from my DMs.

You see, a couple years ago, I opened up Instagram and, to my suprise, Tony had followed me and sent me a direct message. "Loved the pod this a.m,." it read. I immediatley thought it was a robot trying to steal my organs. I mean, famous actors don't listen to outdoorsy podcasts, defintely don't listen to me, and certainly don't send complimentary notes to a stranger --me-- over the [00:03:00] interwebz. Famous actors are busy being...well, famous and fancy, right? But then I got a couple more DMs and replys on posts from Tony. It seemed real and he seemed like a nice guy. And, as you heard in the bonkers fun fact of the cold open, our interactions date back prior to the invention of Instagram.

But Tony and I have more in common than sharing a college lacrosse field way back when. We both have felt a deep connection to the outdoors and adventuring since we were kids. And, unfortunaltely, we've felt the connection crumble under the debilitating weight of drug addiction and alcoholism. Luckily though, both Tony and I have been in longterm recovery since our twenties. And the incredible thing about chatting with someone who understands the desperation of a life spent tip-toeing the edge of oblivion, even a famous stranger on the internet, is the [00:04:00] shared unadulterated joy and gratitude in the rekindling of dormant passions, like going outside and laughing your ass off.

MUSIC

Paddy: So first things first, burnt toast.

What's your last humbling and or hilarious moment? �����ԹϺ���?

Tony: I went to go on a trail run the other day, one that I've done a million times up to the wisdom tree right here, , near our, neighborhood near, , lake Hollywood. Beautiful Vistas. You get to see the Burbank Airport, all of Toluca Lake, studio City, Burbank, and look over to Hollywood.

And I get three strides in and I hit like a little divot in the road

and immediately eat it. ,

Thank God I did. karate when I was a child because I was like, oh, I'm gonna catch myself. And then I was like, oh, no. And then I did a roll, dude. I rolled into it. This was like the dumbest, like, whoa, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Like literally cue Tom and Jerry cartoon noises,

Paddy: Essentially your last humbling experience outside is you just training to become the next [00:05:00] action star of Hollywood. ' cause you did a slick roll out of it.

Tony: Yeah, dude, I slick rolled out of it,

but there was another runner there and like, I honestly didn't know how messed up I was.

And this other runner takes his headphones off. He's like, you all right man? And I'm like, I honestly don't know.

Will you come look at me

Paddy: I'm six five , a deuce 50 when I fall, all of the air leaves my body

you'You're at at least like nimbly bimbly and like very like built

Tony: I've been called a ball of muscle many

Paddy: yoked yoked still 41 years old. Yoked

Tony: 41 yolked old dude.

Paddy: All right, let's get into it

MUSIC IN THE CLEAR FOR A BEAT

I Think the public knows you as a very funny, talented actor and also kind of like. A gym bro.

Tony: A hundred percent

Paddy: Uh, because you are a chiseled ball of muscle. You know, there's, there's more than one get ripped like Tony article out there. Um, but you come from a pretty [00:06:00] outdoorsy background,

your parents used to take you hiking on sections of the Appalachian Trail, right? Like near where you grew up in Virginia.

Tony: I grew up right outside of DC in Fairfax County and I mean, basically we came out of the womb in scout uniforms, um, and, you

Paddy: What badge do you get for that?

Tony: yeah, right. Um, birth the placenta badge.

Paddy: Oh God,

Tony: I know you're gonna ask me my favorite outdoor snack. I already gave you the answer, dude.

Paddy: dear Lord.

Tony: No, not deer dude. Dried placent. Uh, so, you know, when I was little, like my folks were always, we were biking or hiking or out on the boat, on the lake or in, in, you know, Pohick Bay. And we were just so lucky. I mean, growing up in Virginia, you just have access to so much. The beach is three hours, you know, the mountains are 30 minutes.

I mean, you go out 66 and you're in Shenandoah National Forest. it kind of [00:07:00] all started there when we were really little. We were camping and hiking and, you know, when you're broke, like we were growing up. I mean, that's the, that's the best way to save money.

We're going camping, you know, so we just did a ton of it. I remember. going out, to our, our old, garage. Right. My parents had a blue and a red. Those old school, they have like the brass frame.

Paddy: Oh, backpacks. Yeah, the

Tony: so sick. The most sick. Like, I wish I could go back in time and just be like, yoink,

Paddy: yeah,

Tony: all of that stuff and the bikes with the, the brown wheel covers and like, just the coolest looking vintage stuff.

And, you know, some of my earliest memories, man, were, were, um, hiking and camping and fishing, and then especially when we got into scouts, my dad was like the gung-ho scout leader who

Paddy: Oh, he was the scout leader too.

Tony: Oh yeah, he was one of our assistant scout masters. I'm not gonna say he was miserable with his job, but he hated his job.

And so like, he made [00:08:00] it like his life's quest to make scouts and scouting the coolest for my

Paddy: so cool. That's so cool.

Tony: yeah. I mean, Literally the whole reason why like the troops started doing high adventure camp, whitewater rafting, skiing, winter camping, all of that stuff. He would organize those trips.

He'd be the one behind it.

Paddy: so as a kid, it wasn't like you were like, oh, this is a thing that like parents are dragging me to. It was like, this is just you, this is your thing. This is just what the family does.

Tony: man, it was so cool. And like, it was so funny when, where we would like do school pictures, you know, uh, and other kids would be like, I'm not gonna wear my scout uniform for a school picture. I'd be

Paddy: Were you, were

Tony: oh, to the gills dude. I've got my BOLO tie and my sash, all my badges.

Paddy: you have the hat

Tony: Oh, full hat dude. Shortest shorts imaginable with the highest socks.

Paddy: That was your school picture every year.[00:09:00]

Tony: many times, dude.

Paddy: Seriously. Until when? Do you think that you like stopped that? Was that

Tony: I think, bro, I mean, there was probably a moment where, I don't know, even maybe like sophomore year in high school, I was like full

Paddy: Because

Tony: I mean, dude, the, the thing that was so cool when people are like, oh, you, you, did you tie knots over the weekend? It was like, no, dude. We went

Paddy: Yeah.

Tony: whitewater rafting and there were chicks there and I saw a woman who had, dreadlocks in her armpits and

rock climbing. You know, we're gonna go canoeing. I know canoeing sounds kinda lame,

Paddy: No, canoeing is awesome.

Whitewater canoeing is full on. That's sporty. Did you guys do that or were you just rafting?

Tony: No, dude, come on.

I mean, I, I was always, you know, a physical specimen. Um, but some of the other high adventure scouts, you know, , let's just say not everyone was built like a, a, a Cavalero oxen. And I say that when I was like [00:10:00] 220 pounds and like five, five my freshman year in high school. Just like not a ball of muscle, I was more a ball of Crisco.

Paddy: Yeah, I, I too used to use, butter as a fork and I was a bit of a, chunky little Irish lad my first growth spurt was east and west not north and south

Tony: Yes, dude, the best ever was my mom busted me one time drinking one of her strawberry slim fasts. And she's like, honey, what are you doing? Those are mine. And I go, yeah, I'm trying to lose weight. And she goes, but you had two bowls of cereal for breakfast. And I go, yeah, but doesn't this help?

And she goes, no, that's supposed to replace the meal

Paddy: yeah,

Tony: so then I never let her catch me again.

PAUSE PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: You now live in LA and. LA is kind of a sneaky, outdoorsy town.

What are some of your go-to daily adventures

Tony: so we live in this awesome little diamond in the rough is what we call it, neighborhood. It's called Lake Hollywood. And there [00:11:00] is a reservoir just below the Hollywood sign that was manmade, but I'm not even kidding, bro. Like, I could go right now we'll find a, a whole group of deer just on this lake and nobody knows about it.

And the vistas are crazy. And it's a 3.3 mile loop.

Paddy: Uhhuh,

Tony: So I do that like three days a week, two days a week, and I'll bike. from my house up to the back of the Hollywood sign.

And it's kinda like mixed with Road and Gravel. I've got this killer gravel bike from GT that I just, I'm obsessed with now, and it's like about 15 and a half miles.

I fish here in LA too, just like growing up fishing on the Shenandoah. My in-laws have a place on Toluca Lake, which people don't even believe there's a, an actual lake.

It's just a glorified pond. But dude, it is stocked to the gills with, uh, pun intended. It is stocked to the gills with bass. And like these blue gills are like huge 'cause nobody fishes on this lake. Like you said, LA is like sneaky outdoorsy. And [00:12:00] that's the truth. You gotta kind of search it out because you can really get lost in the concrete jungle here

Paddy: You are also a skier, so how often are you be able to get, uh, turns in? Do you plan like a few ski trips every winter?

Tony: So My wife Annie and I, she grew up in Sacramento, like two hours from Tahoe. So that's where she spent like her summers growing up. Just like the most incredible place. And I remember like, you know when we first met the idea of like driving seven and a half hours to go to Tahoe, I was like working as a janitor at the time trying to make ends meet.

And I'm like, when am I gonna make this trip? And then it's like, you get up there, dude. And that place is just incredible. And so usually we try to do like three weeks to a month in the summer and then three weeks to a month in January.

Paddy: Okay, cool.

Tony: so like last year I got 12 days in or something like that.

Incredible,

Paddy: Yeah.

What's the, crossover then with, skiing and your acting career like a. Do you love the, incredible canon of the ski romp genre? are you [00:13:00] watching ski patrol the movie all the time, which I absolutely love. Do you watch Aspen Extreme and think, oh my God, this is the Lawrence of Arabia of ski films?

Tony: Greg Stump, Maltese Flamingo. Blizzard of Oz.

and then the thing is, so like every winter, my roommates at VMI, who were, lax bros.

we would kill it, dude. We'd go to like Winter Park, Breck, we did Keystone. One year we'd do winter break in Colorado, and dude, as a warmup, we'd watch like out cold Aspen Extreme dude

RIP, Dexter Rutecki,

Paddy: You open up my clothes, 'em, tj,

PAUSE PAUSE PAUSE

what role does the outdoors play in the Hollywood crowd? Like for me, a lot of actual real life business gets done on the chairlift or the mountain bike trail or the back bumper at the, trail head is there an equivalent in Hollywood?

Tony: Yeah, I mean, kind of honestly. So like Runyon Canyon is kind of the big destination for everyone, and [00:14:00] it's like a a half mile loop dude,

Paddy: Oh, so it's, it's out, it's outdoor, outdoor light.

Tony: yes, but it's like my wife has seen Jim Carrey hiking up there. I've seen Jake Gyllenhaal shirtless jogging with his German Shepherd, like,

Paddy: Well, how weird was it when you stopped and just had your mouth agape and started drooling because of Jake  Gyllenhaal shirtless?

Tony: I am just glad I didn't Jill and fall on my face.

Do you feel like you draw from your time outside into your acting, or do you feel like your time outside then is like a respite from all the LA and Hollywood schmoozing, the concrete jungle?

You know, when I would work in Charleston, South Carolina on gemstones, I would specifically go out to the beach with my lines and just walk the beach and memorize. And it's kind of the same thing here. If I'm gonna like memorize, I wanna be outside, I wanna go for a hike,

I just finished this psychological thriller

Paddy: Is that what you were filming out in New Mexico?

Tony: Yeah, dude. And we were staying at this place called the Abiquiú and it [00:15:00] was Georgia O'Keefe's house back in the day.

Paddy: whoa.

Tony: And we were shooting just so cool.

And, and then we were shooting about 10 miles away at this place called Ghost Ranch. And they did like City s slickers the magnificent 7

Paddy: yeah, yeah,

Tony: Indiana Jones. And bro, like

every time they'd call lunch, whenever it was, I'd just be like, I'm going for a hike and I go

Paddy: like, walk around and

Tony: Walk around, dude. And,

Paddy: that you were like, oh, that's in, that's from Indy. Oh, that's from City Slickers.

Tony: And I'm not even that. It was just like you knew when you were out there, just like the way I feel at Tahoe, like the veil between the spirit world and our world is very thin in these places. It was something else, man. And I mean, I was getting like 25,000 steps a day. 'cause I just, they'd call cut and, and like anytime I had to memorize I'd, I'd go, I'd, I'm like, I gotta be outside.

Paddy: Did you ever get in trouble? Was like location ever, like, you know, like, is anybody seeing Tony? Jesus? Is he out on a walk again?

Tony: of course. Always.

Paddy: back like sunburnt [00:16:00] and sweaty and dehydrated and you're like, I need a snack.

Tony: because that's when I look my hottest sunburnt, dehydrated and sweaty. Like, dude, if I could just be like that all the time, I'd be so hot. I'd be like, so Brad Pitt and fucking Fight Club hot

PAUSE PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: you moved to LA to pursue acting 2006, 2010. You started classes with the world famous Groundlings. Then you got promoted to their Sunday company and main cast, which is no easy feat. So props,

Tony: Less than 1% of people that start classes there are getting to the

Paddy: Exactly, exactly. So I'm Gonna give you your flowers. This is a big deal.

Tell me how you're feeling when all of this is happening. Did it feel like, okay, I'm just like checking the boxes and this is a steady trudge and I'm, I'm working, I'm working, I'm working towards the thing. Or did it feel like, oh my God, I am holding onto this rocket ship and I, don't wanna let go 'cause I'm blasting off here.

Tony: I felt super lucky dude with the Groundlings. 'cause when I first [00:17:00] moved out here, you know, drug addict, alcoholic, no direction. I was working as a janitor on the verge of being fired every day because I just pass out, um, and not clean toilets. And my bosses would be like, dude, that stain has been on that upstate upstairs toilet for a good two weeks.

Now. We ca I mean, we're getting complaints. It's real bad. so when I finally. Audition. So you have to just, you have to even audition to take classes there. But from my audition,

my gut said this is it, dude, this is where you find your joy. This is where you find your people.

And sure enough, like my best friends here in la, my wife, we met in the junior company. And um,

, The great thing about the Groundlings was like, again, having all this experience with the outdoors, I was always bringing in like a ski sketch or a hiking sketch or a marathon sketch. I mean, dude, I had one that ran for so long where it was me and a girl at work and we'd been training for a marathon and we had a business meeting.

We had to do a presentation and we just kept cramping up. And so it would just be like, ah, [00:18:00] cramp. And we would eat shit left and right. And I'll tell you when it felt like a rocket ship, my first six months in that junior company, I was doing a Sunday show and I went in to like clean up or grab a wig or something on a Monday, and the managing director of the theater like poked her head out and was like, Tony, did anyone talk to you about last night?

And I go, no. And she goes, we may wanna talk to your representatives because SNL was here last night and they asked for your contact information.

Paddy: Oh my God. Did you, did you

Tony: shit a brick. I, I remember running outside and calling my brother right away and being like, dude,

Paddy: Because you used to do like Farley impressions as a kid, right? You were like, I mean, you were, you were the van down by the river. You were, yeah, ,

Tony: And then my wife was in the company shortly, thereafterwards like a couple months later. And we like, were in love right away. And so when I auditioned, we had been dating just for a few months and she flew with me to New York for the audition.

Paddy: how did that go?

Tony: It went great, dude. I thought I was gonna be on SNL for 10 years

Paddy: did they tell you what, happened?

Tony: it, it's funny man, they told me, um, that they, they really [00:19:00] liked me and that they really wanted to hire me and then I never got hired and. I was shooting a movie in Syracuse, New York, this is like three, four years ago. And I ran into that producer that was at the Groundlings, that was just the casting director at the time.

And she goes, you know, we wanted to hire you so bad, but we just didn't like you weren't the straight man. You were like a Farley in this like husky buff body. And we were like, what is this guy?

Where does he fit?

Paddy: So essentially they told you you were too athletic to be in Saturday Night Live.

Tony: kind of, yeah, but also dude, like my wife and I just met New York is crazy.

Paddy: yeah, yeah,

Tony: I was only like, that was 2011. I was like. Less than two years sober at that point. So I'm like thrown into that rat race, man. I think, you know, rejection is God's protection, truly. And like What's so funny is I finally like, grew my hair out, you know, was dating my wife finally. She believed in me the whole time. And [00:20:00] then like, I, I really truly feel like once I grew my hair out, they were like, oh. We gave, that's the surfer, bro. Oh, he is the loser musician that lives in the basement.

Oh, he's the creepy guy that picks outta the trash. Like,

Paddy: all it takes, a belief in yourself, uh, at a boy from, uh, the gal in your life and growing your hair shaggy

Tony: Bingo.

But still, it was like I booked that first regular gig where I could quit everything else like eight years in. And like, I just feel so grateful for those eight years where I just had to eat dukey,

MUSIC FOR A BEAT

 PADDYO VO:

The thing that prepared Tony to eat dukey professionally, as he says it, was to first work his way through eating dukey emotionally. That story, after the break.

MIDROLL MIDROLL MIDROLL MIDROLL MIDROLL

Paddy: you've been in recovery for 15 years. When you first got to Hollywood, how hard were you partying? What started in college right. Did it kind of erupt in Hollywood?

Tony: Well, when you go to [00:21:00] VMI, you don't really have the college experience, and I feel like I was like, well, I deserve the college experience now. So I partied all summer after graduating from VMI, and then my grand plan was I was gonna stop doing cocaine when I moved to la.

Paddy: I bet that went great.

Tony: Dude, that went good for about 48 hours.

Paddy: That's like saying like, I feel like I'm gonna, I'm gonna stop eating chocolate cake after I get this job in this bakery.

Tony: Yep, 100%, dude. And then it was full on like the opening sequence of the movie Blade. Like, you know, just, and, but I was so broke, dude. I was a janitor. No joke. There was a dollar store right down the street from where I lived, and I'd buy hot dogs and SlimFast.

But then dude, the Lord gifted me with an arrest. And then, uh, yeah, the rest is history, dude. I, I got into recovery and it's been a miracle

Paddy: In my twenties I was ski patrolling in Telluride. I was fully living the ski bum life. I was also [00:22:00] super active, alcoholic and drug addict, undiagnosed. I had no idea I was the last to arrive at that party, the only party I was the last to arrive to.

But I was, I was really struggling and I was barely holding onto my job on mountain. The only reason I was outside at all was because all of my jobs were based outside and in my free time, you know, I was too drunk and too depressed to really do anything outside. So were you pursuing any of your outdoor passions during this time where you were an active alcoholic and drug addict?

Or were you just completely unable to

Tony: zilch. like I was a weirdo. Cave dweller, I just had no idea who I was. And that's why I think I just feel so lucky now. Like there was such weird insecurity of like, I don't know who I, I came from this military college and sports and this and that. And then it's just like now I just get to let you know my freak flag fly man.

Paddy: I can totally relate with that because it was like I had a public self and I had a [00:23:00] private self. My private self was, tormented when I , was an active alcoholic and, drug addict.

And you like me, right? Were like, oh, I'm an outdoorsy guy. I'm an outdoorsy guy. And then when you get in the thick of alcoholism and drug addiction, everything, all of the joy leaves your life, including the passions and pursuits that you used to have,

Tony: because everything was an excuse dude, because I, you know, people, how'd you know you were an alcoholic? 'cause I drank to get drunk every time,

Paddy: yeah, yeah, yeah. I wanted to live in the blackout.

Tony: And it's hard for you to ski or swim or hike or any of that if you're trying to get blackout drunk every single time. It was just such a sad existence, bro. Like my, you

Paddy: Yeah. Yeah.

Tony: it was like so dark and weird liquor store across the street and I'd switch up Boozes and smoke packs, some Parliament lights and just no friends, no one to talk to, you know, like just, uh, you know, oh God. Like, it's so weird that like, that's what you think is gonna be your solution. Like, be [00:24:00] alone and high and, oh, it's

Paddy: Oh, I can cure this pain with more pain. It's like I'm a nail, so I better get a bunch of hammers.

Tony: You know. I just had this flash of like where I'm like a black belt in karate, a Eagle scout. I went to VMI, like, where did it all come crashing down? And now it's just so easy to see like, oh yeah, that's my life.

Drinking and using and that's my life, not drinking and using,

Dude. I, I got into recovery and , it's been a miracle and I think that's reconnected me with the outdoors now too, man.

PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: So, I got sober in Minnesota. I moved from Colorado to Minnesota to get

Tony: A

Paddy: I went to treatment, I lived in a sober house. In St. Paul. And, because of the circumstances of how I ended up in treatment, all my gear was still out in Colorado and pals of mine shipped all of my outdoor gear, my

Tony: sweet angel people.

Paddy: everything on a pallet. Yes. When it arrived, I cried and I immediately went camping and fishing.

I skied, I rekindled this love of the outdoors. I felt like I was returning to an old [00:25:00] friend and rebuilding this relationship, you know? Is there a moment outside that you had after getting sober that felt like a return to the same relationship you had when you were an Eagle Scout?

Tony: Oh, great question, dude. Yeah, probably when I started dating my wife and like that first time we went up to Tahoe and I was still doing distance running and there's a trail, like if I go from her house to down to Meek's Meadow, there's a trail. It's like seven and a half up and seven and a half back.

Paddy: Oof. O

Tony: Yeah. Brutal. 14 miles. And, and I did that the morning of my wedding with my brother and like it was, I think it was,

Paddy: Jesus,

Tony: yep, it was like up there running not only because I had met the woman of my dreams, I think, but also just this reconnection and like this slowing down and the pace of like getting away from LA where it's already a rat race even when you're not a drug addict, an alcoholic to like go up to Tahoe where it was just so.

Beautiful and [00:26:00] different and cool and relaxed. Like, I, I couldn't relax ever. And even in sobriety, it took me a long time to like stop gripping everything so tightly. You know, addictive personality. And I think that's, for me, it's like I know now when my body gives me that fear alert of like, you gotta get it done.

You gotta get it done. I gotta take a a few beats. I gotta breathe

Paddy: For me, like skiing helps me live in the moment and feel great joy and gratitude, right?

Like, I think that every yippee and laugh is a prayer of thanks. Trail running, endurance running puts me toe to toe with that same voice that used to just like absolutely rule my world when I was an active drunk. And druggie helps remind me that I'm tough enough to do tough shit, right? Do you have pursuits that hold up your sobriety or somehow bolster it?

Tony: So I, I do affirmations whenever I run or hike or bike. I am completely in touch with my higher power, like,

rather than cranking music all the time, [00:27:00] you know, I do. Several affirmations, you know, along with the Serenity Prayer. And it's the same when I'm like sitting in the sauna or the cold plunge or whatever. Or we'll go for a hike or, you know, a lot of people call it a God walk or whatever, higher power walk. There's just such a,, intricate complex connection between, nature and our higher power and sobriety.

Like I know it's what my higher power wants me to do, you know, is to not drink and use and like,

Paddy: yeah,

Tony: and to enjoy the world around us, you know? It's so dumb. Like I'll just be like, I'm not used to hummingbirds growing up in Virginia and they're everywhere here in California. And like literally I'll see a hummingbird and be like, thank you, man.

You know?

PAUSE PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: So you're finely, and very famously, mulleted character, Keith Chambers from the Righteous Gemstones is a kind, fiercely loyal, good hearted person. He is also an ex satanist.

[00:28:00] Now, do you pull things from your time outside, from your actual real life to create this character, to make this character come to life?

Tony: At some point he was a real person because, so when I got this audition for this character, man, it was so weird 'cause I, I didn't think I was right for it. And originally the character description originally when they were auditioning for it was not right for me at all. But they were just seeing comedians for the role.

Paddy: was the original,

Tony: He was a bigger, a bigger man and an older man.

Paddy: Oh, okay.

Tony: Yeah. So they were pushing and pushing and pushing to get me in to play. Danny's little brother, not knowing Adam had already gotten the part.

And the casting director had two daughters and they went to go see School of Rock, the Broadway version at the Pantages Theater out here in LA she goes, you know, I think there's a Nickelodeon show based off of this.

And she comes into work one day and there's my headshot on some assistant's desk. And she goes, you know what? Bring him in. and they're like, what for? She's like, I don't know. We're seeing [00:29:00] comedians for the Satanist role. and so like, I

Paddy: is, this is some serendipity

Tony: yeah. Weird, weird, weird, weird. And then I came in, we were actually in Tahoe when I got the notification.

It was like in May, I think we were up there for Memorial Day or something, and Annie and I popped into the car and the whole seven and a half hour drive down I was memorizing and we were work workshopping the character. And she was like, you should do that one character you did at the Groundlings that bombed.

And I was like, uh,

Paddy: What,

Tony: kind of bombed. And she's like, he's so funny. I think you should do that. And it was like, that's kind of it. So it was like this really insecure guy originally. I did this sketch where it was a weird, very nervous, eccentric man at a, uh, like a neighborhood picnic and they were doing a cakewalk.

You know what that is?

Paddy: As, as you walk from neighbor to neighbor house eating cake.

Tony: No, you're dumb, dude. It, it's, um,

Paddy: Thanks.

Tony: uh, I'm kidding. I love you. Uh, no. It's, it's this game where they have like circles on the ground and you buy a raffle [00:30:00] ticket and they play music. , It's like musical chairs and then whatever number you land on is the cake you get. And then they do it again, and you land on another number. And this poor man can't understand why he can't, he just wants to buy the lemon cake. And they're like, no, you can't buy it.

You can buy a ticket to do the cakewalk. So then he's just the whole

Paddy: You it straight the whole time?

Tony: Straight, but he wasn't southern. and eventually he had to buy, he bought the cake from someone who won it. It was

Paddy: And so this is the character that you bring into the audition.

Tony: Yeah. And southern-ized him and my wife was like, you gotta do the titty bounce. And so like, I can, you know, I can, make my pec bounce.

And so she was like, but just do one after you say like, night, night or whatever. And so I remember in the audition dude, when it like got to the final countdown and I was like in the audition with Danny and I did the one titty right before I left. He like was like, did you just bounce one titty and lost his mind?

And I was like, oh, Annie babe, you're gonna be so pumped on your one

Paddy: Okay. Two things. Were you [00:31:00] super psyched that you made Danny McBride laugh and like scream out loud and two, did you immediately leave the audition, drive home as fast as you could and like open mouth, kiss your wife and like, you're so smart. You're so smart. Thank you so much. You are the best.

Tony: Yep. I got her some peonies and I, I open mouth, kissed her,

Paddy: nice.

So you get this gig right? And your role on the righteous gemstones has to be a dream job, because one, you're part of an all-star cast, right? Like acting alongside, like you can't even, I don't have time to name everybody, but it's like John Goodman, Danny McBride,

Tony: Walton Goggins, ededie Patterson, Adam Devine. I mean, it's just

Paddy: It's insane. So what was it like to work on a daily basis with these super funny, super talented humans?

Tony: I never took any of it for granted, dude. I took every single beat breath experience with that show. You [00:32:00] know, very full of gratitude, man. 'cause that, like, that is a once in a lifetime gig, you know? And. Just never took it for granted. Man, the friendships,

I mean, the fact is, is you want, you wanna talk about outside, dude, you know, we, we live two blocks from the beach,

Paddy: because you, you filmed all on the east coast?

Tony: Yeah.

In Charleston, South Carolina. so every night we, we would take our pups, man, and we'd go and we'd walk, you know, like two miles on the beach, dude, and, watch the dolphins at sunset. And then on the weekends, hey, who's going to Asheville? And we'd go up to Asheville and hike up to the waterfalls there.

Paddy: Were you taking other cast members, into the outdoor world or were some of them already kind of like, under the radar skiers or bikers or, you know,

Tony: Well, you know, Adam's a big fi fisherman, man. So like, he'd be the one that's like, Hey dude, we're gonna go out, out, you know, outboard, outboard fishing or whatever. And then I'd be like, fishing for the reds on the intercoastal. And then, you know, and then we had a little, we have, we'd get a little boat there and we'd go, you know, out on the [00:33:00] boat for like sunset cruises or whatever.

Like it's a, you know, a total paradise there. And then what I love is that whole Asheville component, I mean, that's four hours away. You're in the middle of the, Appalachia. It's just insane, you know? just a totally different experience from la. So a great place to be by coastal for, uh, you know, seven years we were working on that show.

Paddy: Do you have any hilarious Onset Danny McBride or like Goggin's anecdotes or any of the other castmates

Tony: the first time I met Walton, we were walking on the beach with our dogs. And I see this man with a page in his hand, shirtless in like these short shorts, walking down the beach talking to himself. And I'm like, oh, I think that's Walton. And sure enough, he's memorizing his lines for Baby Billy.

First time I meet him Hey, uh, Walton, I'm Tony. I'm, I'm gonna be working with you on the show. Oh, so nice to meet you. He's great. Never broke character, dude. The first time I met him, yes. Annie and I, first time he was like in it memorizing, doing the whole like [00:34:00] shaking dancing

Paddy: Oh

Tony: first time it was like.

Whoa, that guy's intense. And then like the next time we saw him was at like a, you know, a party that weekend at Danny's house or watching Game of Thrones or something. And, and he was like, Hey man, how are ya doing? great. Just it was all your work is incr totally normal. It was just like, oh man, whoa.

Paddy: Yeah.

Tony: in, this guy's intense, but that's like his whole thing, dude. When he's in Baby Billy man, he's baby Billy. It's fucking cool.

And then, dude, I mean, I have to mention this, but like when we were doing that scene where, uh, the tip of my penis is sticking out, be below my shirt, like for, we're shooting that four in the morning for one in the middle of nowhere and my in-laws had flown in to visit and came right to set.

Paddy: oh my. No way

Tony: So like my father-in-law is getting like, you know, kind bars at craft services and jalapeno kettle chips, and they're just eating at video village, watching their son-in-law with the tip of his dick out. [00:35:00] First three takes dude, every time Danny ruined him, he was laughing so hard. Every time I'd enter and go, Hey guys, what's going on?

He'd be like,

Paddy: That

Tony: breaking so hard. And I'd see Danny and lose my mind till finally he had to turn around and have his back towards me

Paddy: Yeah. 'cause were you like my father and mother-in-law are here? Like, stop it. I wanna put some pants on.

Tony: right? He was laughing so hard. I could see his shoulders going up and down. fricking cool though,

PAUSE PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: so I've chatted with musicians who will like, plan a tour around their outdoor passion, so they'll, be able to like, go fishing or hunting or like, , climbing

will you? Take jobs or try to get jobs because you know that ,, they're gonna be filming in this spot in Utah that I really wanna ski. Or they're gonna be filming at this fishing spot I've always wanted to go

Tony: I always consider location for sure. I'm about to be in Montreal for five months on my next show, DMV, on CBS,

and so I'm very curious what Montreal has to [00:36:00] offer outdoors wise.

I will do anything that takes me back to that area of the four corners for sure. then I would never shoot in Shreveport again. But I will say this dude, I did a terrible movie in Shreveport, Louisiana, with Simon Rex, who's a good buddy of mine,

and he has brought me along on the ride for a few films, for a couple things. But we did a terrible movie together in Shreveport, Louisiana. And my like favorite memory from that was we booked a fishing guide. For a Saturday that took us out we caught maybe three fish between the two of us, but he caught like six.

And then he took us to this little cabin in the woods, which is creepy, right? But we did a full fish fry dude at this guy's cabin that he grew up in and like, I'll never forget it,, like that's an experience, dude. Like for my 40th birthday party, I didn't wanna go to a bar, I didn't wanna do this.

So like my brother and I hiked five miles to the bridge to nowhere and bungee jumped 15 times.

Paddy: Jesus.

Tony: PAUSE PAUSE

Paddy: When you look at your life, your career, your recovery, your love of the outdoors, your marriage, your friendships, all the [00:37:00] things, right? How does it all combine to play off of one another in your life today?

Tony: Huh, dude, I think all of that stuff is like intermingled, you know what I mean? Like going to Tahoe and kayaking in the two person kayak is like, that's like part of it. Walking the dogs on trails with her on the beach with her is part of it. Still going on ski trips with my brother and my dad and my father-in-law and brother-in-law.

When I'm on set in Montreal, now I'm gonna be like, where's the nearest, like pond or, you know, where can I walk to? Like, you know what I mean? like,

Paddy: Who on the crew is a fisher? I wanna get to the fishing hole. Or who's the biker? I want to get to the cool trail

Tony: exactly, like even my, my wife when we first started dating,, I did a lifetime movie in Vancouver we would stay at the same hotel and our daily routine would be to go down to the, beautiful lake where there's like otters and raccoon and deer. And we'd go every day and just jog around this lake.

The outdoors have just been such a part of my life since, the get go.

It's totally connected, [00:38:00] man.

MUSIC IN THE CLEAR FOR A BEAT

Paddy: it is now time the final ramble. One piece of gear you cannot live without.

Tony: well, my wife has taught me, always have sunscreen. I'll also say my Danner boots. I love my boots. But I feel like that's a part of my body. and I mainly say sunscreen

'cause I just like didn't grow up wearing sunscreen ever.

So now I really appreciate it and, I wanna look young.

Paddy: Nice. Best outdoor snack.

Tony: There's this bread company called Hero Bread and they make like low carb, high protein buttermilk biscuits that taste so legit, like regular biscuits. With like a honey packet squirted on top around the campfire,

Paddy: ha. Yeah. Nice,

Tony: With a cup of coffee, cup of coffee. Dipping

Paddy: Oh,

Tony: with a little honey. Oh

Paddy: what is your hottest outdoor hot take?

Tony: I think jumby bunching is better than die skiving.

Okay, so my hot take is [00:39:00] that bungee jumping is better than skydiving. And it was so funny 'cause when I did my 40th birthday party, I called the bungee jumping guy and was like, my brother hasn't been skydiving, he's been bungee jumping before. We're thinking about doing one or the other.

And he goes. did you jump connected to someone when you skydive and I went, oh yeah. Yeah. We did. What's it called? Tandem. Yeah, I did tandem. And he

then you didn't skydive. Somebody pushed you out of a plane. Bungee jumping's better. And I was like, yes, dude. I love this guy.

Paddy: Flex. Dude. Flex. Okay. All right. Boom.

PADDYO VO:

Tony Cavalero is an actor, outdoorsy dude, and all around good guy. His new TV Show, DMV, will premiere this October on CBS. And be on the lookout for that psychological thriller he stars in too. It's called, "The Silence Game." Follow Tony and his hilarity on Instagram at Tony Cavalero.

 Also, dear listeners, we want to hear from you. Email us your guest nominations, show reactions, and any [00:40:00] and all thoughts on the show to �����ԹϺ��� Podcast At �����ԹϺ��� Inc Dot Com. We are, afterall, making this show for your head and your heart...and your ears...maybe even your big toe too.

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