Aaron Moten | From "Disjointed" to Prime Video’s "Fallout" | Keep Saying Yes

[00:00:00] Aaron Moten: And, and then he looked at me and he was like, "Do you have a harness?" And I was, like, fully wardrobed up, no harness. And I was like, "No." You know, he was like, "Oh, well we gotta get you one." And I was like, "Am I gonna die on my first day here? What is about to happen?"

[00:00:14] Announcer: Welcome to Story and Craft. Now, here's your host, Marc Preston.

[00:00:18] Marc Preston: Okay, here we go. Back again, another episode of Story and Craft. Welcome back. So nice to have you here. And if you are new to Story and Craft, welcome. Glad to have you, uh, being part of the shindig we got going on here. Great conversation today, sitting down with actor Aaron Moten. You know him as Maximus on the Prime Video series Fallout.

[00:00:41] Marc Preston: Uh, he was also in a Netflix show I really enjoyed with Kathy Bates called Disjointed. Just a cool conversation with a, uh, talented actor. Enjoyed it. And, uh, hey, do me a favor. Uh, whatever you're using right now, we're on all the podcast platforms. And whatever you're listening on, whether it be Apple or, uh, Spotify [00:01:00] or even YouTube, uh, make sure to follow the show.

[00:01:04] Marc Preston: Very importante. Uh, very important because if you follow, you leave a comment, uh, you know, you like it, like the episode, helps people to find Story and Craft. If you would do that, I'd, I, I'd appreciate it greatly. And if you would like to learn more about any of our episodes or any of the past guests we've had on, just go to storyandcraftpod.com.

[00:01:27] Marc Preston: Once again, storyandcraftpod.com. And don't forget, I love getting messages from you. Uh, just reach out if you got a note about any of the episodes we've had on, a question, anything. You know, just send me a note. You can do it through the website. Okay, so let's jump into it. Enjoyed this conversation. Let's you and I celebrate today Aaron Moten Day right here on Story and Craft And Mr.

[00:01:52] Marc Preston: Aaron, how are you doing today, sir?

[00:01:53] Aaron Moten: I'm so good, Marc. You?

[00:01:55] Marc Preston: Fantastic. You know what? You can appreciate this. I did a, I did a... I, I don't do a lot of [00:02:00] research, but I do just enough. I just had a, one of those big H-E-B tamales. I know y'all know all about H-E-B.

[00:02:07] Aaron Moten: Yeah. You can't avoid it. It's pervasive.

[00:02:10] Marc Preston: Yeah, I even got my...

[00:02:11] Marc Preston: Hang on. I got my H-E-B water. You know- ... it's got the whole thing. I'm, I'm down here on, uh, South Padre, so I know you were a hop, skip, and a jump up in Austin when you were growing up, right?

[00:02:19] Aaron Moten: Hey, we used to go yearly as a family vacation down there. That mile bridge is pretty, pretty, uh, legendary, I guess, in my mind of my memories of childhood.

[00:02:30] Marc Preston: Yeah. When you're coming over that bridge, it's like you get the whole view of the island and it's... As a kid, I was the same way. I got excited when I could, you know, get cl- 'cause I'm a, I'm a Dallas kid originally, so, um- Oh,

[00:02:41] Aaron Moten: okay. My brother's out there now. Oh. I love... I mean, I miss Texas. I'm, uh, my, my life and work won't seem to bring me back, but, uh, one day.

[00:02:49] Marc Preston: Well, you gotta get into a Taylor Sheridan program. That's 'cause he, he's shooting everything- ... uh, down this way, I guess. Yeah. But, uh- Yeah.

[00:02:57] Aaron Moten: I'll be walking on a studio called Taylor Sheridan Studio [00:03:00] by the time I get there.

[00:03:01] Marc Preston: Hey, where, where are you located right now, by the way?

[00:03:03] Aaron Moten: I just moved from Iceland to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago, so I'm, I'm a year and a half into my LA...

[00:03:11] Aaron Moten: I,

[00:03:11] Marc Preston: I saw you, you spent time in Iceland. That is, that is awesome. I, I imagine it's far enough removed from everything where after you work on something, you can go hit reset pretty easily, because it's just so different. Man,

[00:03:24] Aaron Moten: yes. And I don't know, uh, if you've, uh, gotten the chance to hear more Icelandic music than just Bjork, but the music scene out there is incredible, and I always attribute it to the, the, maybe the best blank canvas audibly that, that, that you can find is, is out there, you know?

[00:03:42] Aaron Moten: The, it is, uh, nothing. You can get out into the countryside where you may not see another person for, for a week at a time, you know? It's, it's, um, it's, it's, it's really fantastic to do that to your brain, at least every once in a while, I think. Uh-

[00:03:56] Marc Preston: You know, I was talking to somebody about this the other day, and I gotta remember what the psychological [00:04:00] principle of it is.

[00:04:00] Marc Preston: But if, like, if you stand on the beach and you look out at the ocean, you see nothing. And the same thing if you're in a desert and you look out. It, it kind of does this kind of a reset for you. You know? It kind of gets you back to, I don't know, something

[00:04:13] Aaron Moten: more elemental. Some kind of baseline.

[00:04:14] Marc Preston: Some kind of baseline.

[00:04:14] Marc Preston: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:04:15] Aaron Moten: Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:04:15] Marc Preston: So have you lived in LA before, or is this your, is this your first swing in LA?

[00:04:19] Aaron Moten: Uh, no, I lived in LA before. I was doing this, uh, television show with Kathy Bates

[00:04:25] Marc Preston: called- Oh, Destroying It. Yes.

[00:04:26] Aaron Moten: Yes. I

[00:04:26] Marc Preston: lo- I love that show. You were her- So good ... you were her son and- Oh ... the, the... Man, I tell you.

[00:04:31] Marc Preston: But anyway, we'll get on that in a second. But no- Right ... you said you, you were out there, uh, doing the, doing that show, right?

[00:04:36] Aaron Moten: Yeah, we were doing that. And, um, and then it was that thing that I think a lot of LA actors experience in, in the, in the last... I mean, this is, this was- Two years before COVID. Um, but, you know, where everything you booked out of LA seemed to really just be taking you outside of LA.

[00:04:55] Aaron Moten: Um, so I think the next thing I, I did was in Chicago in the [00:05:00] wintertime and, and we had our first daughter at that point, my wife and I. So we, we... I was kind of like, "Look, you're- why don't you go to where your family is, where we have support, and I'll just meet you there?" And it was kind of a temporary solution, to be honest, Iceland, uh, to, to our, to our, uh, where do we live problem.

[00:05:16] Aaron Moten: And then COVID hit, you know, and it became a little bit more permanent for five years.

[00:05:21] Marc Preston: So when you were working in Chicago, they headed out to Iceland, is what you said? Or-

[00:05:25] Aaron Moten: That's what happened, yeah.

[00:05:25] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:05:26] Aaron Moten: Yeah.

[00:05:27] Marc Preston: So that had to be a little rough for you. I mean, with all the, you know, when you have a new kid and, you know, you wanna kind of soak up every moment with them and-

[00:05:33] Aaron Moten: Yeah.

[00:05:34] Aaron Moten: Uh, and, uh, it's kind of why we've all moved to LA. With, with Fallout moving to LA, uh, we, we did do the FaceTime family thing from, from New York to Iceland whenever, uh, uh, Fallout was shooting out there. But, uh, uh, LA is a little too far. Nine-hour time difference at some points. You know, it just kind of felt like, well, let's, let's just move the whole family so I don't have to experience...

[00:05:59] Aaron Moten: What, what is [00:06:00] it? The, and maybe the worst thing for, for anyone who's got kids would know this. It's like one of the worst things is my oldest had one of those, like, really major growth spurts as a, as a kid where-

[00:06:09] Marc Preston: Oh, yeah ...

[00:06:10] Aaron Moten: super thick and chunky and like a little ball. A little, little belly ball, you know?

[00:06:15] Aaron Moten: And, uh, and then I came home from, from Chicago, and she had turned into, like, a spider monkey. I remember- ... you know, showing up and she waited for me in the window, and I, you know, got in there and she wrapped her arms and legs around me and I picked her up and I was like, "What happened to you?"

[00:06:31] Marc Preston: You know? Yeah.

[00:06:31] Marc Preston: It never s- it never stops, though. My oldest is 23, and I hadn't seen her in about a year and a half. Uh-huh. She'd started teaching school back in New Orleans, uh, where, you know, we lived for, like, 20 years. And she came to see me. I hadn't seen her, like, in a year and a half and And it's like, you notice little differences that only, sometimes only a parent will notice, you know?

[00:06:49] Marc Preston: Uh-huh. But it's still, you realize, when they're younger, though, that, that, that happens, like, every couple weeks- Every couple weeks ... or every month you'll notice something. Yeah.

[00:06:58] Aaron Moten: Definitely a change. Yeah. [00:07:00]

[00:07:00] Marc Preston: Especially in parenting. You think you got it all down, you got it all figured out, and then the next day happens.

[00:07:04] Marc Preston: There's a whole new psychological, like, growth, like, a maturity dynamic you're working with. Like, "Okay, we're starting all over on this." Um- Yeah ... but how many, how many kids do you got?

[00:07:13] Aaron Moten: I've got three. I've got

[00:07:18] Aaron Moten: 4, 5, and 8, uh, all girls. Uh, but you're right. It- it's like that realm of, uh, of, uh, stress as a parent. If, you know, it's like it just... It doesn't shrink or grow in size, but it just sort of shifts to different things.

[00:07:31] Marc Preston: Now, you're in LA. You, you did the time and, uh, uh, I don't know, did your time. I sound like you were in prison, but no, you, you spent your time in, in Iceland.

[00:07:39] Marc Preston: But for an Austin kid- Yeah ... uh, you still got, you still got s- like, a big, uh, a big tribe, a family in Texas, or you have a small family?

[00:07:48] Aaron Moten: Oh, gosh, yeah. I think Texas is just too big. They can't get out. Uh, you know, you drive eight hours in one direction, you're still in Texas. Uh, yeah, they're all there. Um, I, um, I, I mean, it, it br- it keeps bringing me [00:08:00] back for holidays, uh, everybody being there, but- Mm

[00:08:02] Aaron Moten: but, um, you know, they've, they've all... Everybody's, you know, sort of placed their roots there. Uh, my, my brother was going through a little bit of a job change. He's, he's, does the total opposite of me. He's in finance. I, I can't even explain to people what my brother does for, for, for creating programs.

[00:08:18] Marc Preston: This is the one up in Dallas?

[00:08:19] Aaron Moten: Yeah, up in Dallas. It's a place to do that, to be in finance.

[00:08:21] Marc Preston: Yeah, yeah.

[00:08:22] Aaron Moten: Uh-

[00:08:23] Marc Preston: Yeah, my best friend works at, what is it, Schwab, and he works with high net worth people. And I'm like, "I can't even understand." Like- Yeah ... I'll see, like, what's on his computer screen. I'm like, "It, to, it's, I don't even know what I'm looking at."

[00:08:34] Aaron Moten: Yes. Yes. But he's, uh, good, he's a good, good person to call when you have, like, a simple, simple person, a simpleton's understanding of a mortgage or a, or a, you know, a, a, a decision to make with finances. He kind of bangs it out in about five minutes, tell me what to do. It's like, "Oh."

[00:08:52] Marc Preston: So, so were you a theater kid growing up, uh, when you were...

[00:08:55] Marc Preston: Uh, or were you a sporting kind of a guy? Or what, what was the, what was the [00:09:00] upbringing like for you as far as what, what kept you busy?

[00:09:02] Aaron Moten: You know, I really... And I still am such a big sports fan. Love it, love it, love it. Uh, I, we-

[00:09:08] Marc Preston: Oh, I gotta ask you, though. I gotta ask you right in the middle. Rangers or Astros?

[00:09:12] Aaron Moten: Oh, God. Maybe 'cause of Bigelow Astros. Like I just, I've never really watched the Rangers, uh, and the A- yeah, I th- I've just spent more time rooting for the Astros in my time. But like I feel like all sports have started to change and shift for me in, in my age now. I don't really feel like I have, besides UT Austin-

[00:09:34] Marc Preston: Oh, of course

[00:09:35] Aaron Moten: yeah, I don't feel like I have a team of, of any sport. I, I root like- By the way,

[00:09:38] Marc Preston: by the way, folks can't, if you, folks can't see this, but you just did a Hook 'em Horns. It's like- Oh ... it's I just, I just had Rex Linn on and he was talking about this. He was a Texas guy and his family moved up to Oklahoma, but he refused to stop wearing burnt orange.

[00:09:52] Aaron Moten: Oh.

[00:09:52] Marc Preston: You know?

[00:09:53] Aaron Moten: But- Probably got plenty of, plenty of action out there ...

[00:09:56] Marc Preston: you know, you were, you were a big kind of a sports guy. But what, were you doing the [00:10:00] sports thing or were you doing the theater when you- Oh, yeah ... when

[00:10:02] Aaron Moten: you were in high school? No, I was, I was doing a lot of, like, like when we got to like, let's say, like high school time, I was doing a lot of theater because It took me...

[00:10:12] Aaron Moten: What is it? That, that thing for boys, sometimes you de- develop a little bit later, uh, where I was, what? I feel like my eight grade year I was still 4'11". N- ninth grade year- Mm-hmm ... I was maybe 5'6" and then, you know, I just incrementally made it up to 5'11". You know, it's, it's like it took my body so long to, h- uh, to, to grow that I was, I was still too awkward.

[00:10:36] Aaron Moten: I was still too, um, incapable of even caring about living in the weight room. Uh, it- You know? Uh, I also... But I was so short, I loved basketball at that point. Uh, but being that size, you know, I kept being pressured to play point guard. Uh, you know, I, I would have loved if I could have played any other position besides running the offense.[00:11:00]

[00:11:00] Aaron Moten: It, it just felt like way too much pressure, way too much skill involved in, like, getting, getting handling and, and understanding how to, you know, keep your head up while somebody's, you know, reaching for the ball. You know, it's-

[00:11:13] Marc Preston: Oh, no, I, I couldn't, I couldn't remember plays. Like, plays to me were, I don't know, I never quite got my head around, like,

[00:11:18] Aaron Moten: plays.

[00:11:19] Aaron Moten: Yeah, what is this play? What is this play? I, I, I don- I

[00:11:19] Marc Preston: just, I was just, I felt like I was in a reme- remedial football program or something. But no, I, I, I... And I, for- not fortunately. I guess fortunately. I hurt my knee, nothing big. Uh-huh. I disloc- I, they call subluxated my patella, which is basically momentarily dislocated my kneecap, which s- hurts as much as it sounds.

[00:11:37] Marc Preston: Right. Um, and then I went to the doctor. Doctor says, "Oh, we can do this, this, this quick procedure. It's called lateral release. Our, our... Th- back to playing football." It's like, "Do I have to have this procedure done?" He's like, "Well, if you want to play football, I recommend it." It's like, "Well, I'm not that good."

[00:11:50] Marc Preston: He's like, "Well, don't worry about it."

[00:11:52] Aaron Moten: Sure.

[00:11:53] Marc Preston: So what, what were your folks up to? Uh, you know, what, uh, were, were they creative f- as well or w- were they in a whole [00:12:00] different ecosystem?

[00:12:01] Aaron Moten: Oh, well, creative in their way, yes. I mean, like, what... Maybe the best compliment I think somebody ever gave me when I was in college was th- they asked me if my parents were actors, because they felt like I, I acted like I was part of a lineage of actors or so.

[00:12:16] Aaron Moten: You know, I kind of loved that. But, but no, they... My, my father was a, a municipal court judge and a lawyer and, and my mother is a, a court stenographer. Um, so, so yeah, I, I mean, honestly, that's what I thought I would be doing. I thought I was going to law school. I think m- uh, uh, mock trial was maybe the first time of my life that I, playing a lawyer, I looked at the people playing witnesses, and I was like, "Yeah, I think that's more fun."

[00:12:43] Aaron Moten: You know? Uh, it was... the whole thing is pretend, but, but to, um, to look at the people who get to play a different person, you know what I mean? I felt like I was, I was being myself and just trying to catch them in a lie and understand the rules of, like, a courtroom and how that operated. Yeah. I was like, "This isn't nearly as fun as the guy that [00:13:00] gets to get up there and be like, 'No, I didn't have a drink.'"

[00:13:04] Marc Preston: You know what? You know the fun part, uh, is being in a j- I actually enjoyed being on a jury. I was like, I felt like they were putting on a show for me.

[00:13:12] Aaron Moten: I see.

[00:13:13] Marc Preston: Which kind of they are, you know? You show, you show, you show

[00:13:14] Aaron Moten: with your popcorn, a little, a little

[00:13:16] Marc Preston: snack. Yeah, I, I should have. You know, it was, it was...

[00:13:18] Marc Preston: you just watch everybody posturing and, you know, it's... there's bad acting that happens. I think every attorney probably should take an acting class of some sort. Oh, definitely. You know? Yeah. Um, so did your folks have any kind of guidance or influence on you, like, uh, "Hey, this acting thing, run with it," or, you know, "Let's be practical and do something which has a, a business card associated with it"?

[00:13:38] Aaron Moten: You know, uh, maybe, I m- maybe the most... One of the reasons I think it was fortunate for me to get accepted into Juilliard, I mean, I think I got accepted r- like, the, the, the day I turned 18 is what it kind of felt like. Uh, but, uh, it, it... I remember waking my mother up about even just going out to New York to visit Juilliard whenever they were [00:14:00] considering accepting me.

[00:14:01] Aaron Moten: And, uh, you know, she, she was like, "Well, New York, Aaron, that's really far away." And I think I said to her, you know, "Well, Mom, it's Juilliard." You know, it just, the, the, the institution sort of had a name that, that, that, uh, allowed them to sort of s- you know, say to themselves, I, I think, of like, "I think he's gonna be okay."

[00:14:18] Marc Preston: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I can see that. Yeah. You're the third Juilliard kid I've had on. You got to have, uh, I think Reed Diamond, uh, Michael Beach, I think, went to Juilliard. Oh, right. Okay, yeah. And so- Yeah ... so you're the third, uh, Juilliard grad, so, um-

[00:14:31] Aaron Moten: Here we go, Marc. Many more to come.

[00:14:33] Marc Preston: Yeah, yeah. Hey, you know, and more Texans.

[00:14:36] Marc Preston: See, I would imagine, you know, that's... you gotta go there. You're doing a thing, and you're good at it. You know, you have to audition, right? You've gotta be able to demonstrate you can do the thing. So when you get there, are you feeling the nerves like, "Oh, I've got to deliver on this kind of like subjective talent thing that I got going on"?

[00:14:54] Marc Preston: Or what, what was that vibe like?

[00:14:56] Aaron Moten: Oh. No, I don't... Uh, you know what, um, [00:15:00] gosh, I had just, like, such a great group. I, I just remember- Everything that dealt with the classroom and work was just grueling. It's really challenging to, to develop new skills. It's not really about nurturing your... But it is. It's about giving y- y- y- you more technical talents, you know?

[00:15:24] Aaron Moten: Uh, I think being at, being at that, that, that institution. I think it's, it's more about that. It's, it's like, yes, you, you've got this thing that, that you can do, and you can always lean on that thing. You know, you can always do your thing. But, like, what do you do when that thing doesn't work? You know, how do you, how do you-

[00:15:39] Marc Preston: So you're developing those tools, like, that, you know, you can fall back on if you need them and-

[00:15:43] Aaron Moten: Yeah.

[00:15:43] Aaron Moten: That, that is really what it is. But, you know, my classmates are, are, you know, uh, Danielle Brooks and Corey Hawkins and, uh, Jinkx Monsoon, you know, Cameron Scoggins, who's gonna be doing this, uh, great new, uh, Crystal Lake show over in New York City. You know, [00:16:00] it's, it's, um, it's a, it's a, the plethora of people that...

[00:16:03] Aaron Moten: Justine Loup. You know, the, uh, y- people that a lot of us are seeing on TV and movies these days. It's, I just felt really, really fortunate to be in that group. I felt like we had something really special, um, uh, s- something that isn't, isn't... A- as uncommon as it is to get into Juilliard, I feel like even more uncommon is to have a, a really special group of people.

[00:16:24] Aaron Moten: Um, I, I, I think about them all daily.

[00:16:28] Marc Preston: Were you, during your time at Juilliard, angling towards, like, "I wanna do Broadway," or you wanna do film, or, or, or is it just, like, wherever you can do the thing? What was your, where were you putting the target?

[00:16:38] Aaron Moten: Yeah, I was putting the target on theater. Purely theater. I thought I was gonna be a martyr for the theater.

[00:16:43] Aaron Moten: Uh, I thought I thought I would, would starve just for, just, just to walk, walk across the boards every night. Um, I think I just found, Marc, uh, uh, that I was doing this play, it was Annie Baker's play, and it kind of [00:17:00] started my whole career, th- this play called The Flick. Mm-hmm. Uh, and I, I kinda just found that my whole life was revolving around playing this person, and this person had a, a, a bit of a stormy cloud over their head, for lack of a, you know, for, to, to be sort of quick about it.

[00:17:16] Aaron Moten: But it, it, it, it was really... Work affects you, you know? Yeah. Uh, it really affects you. And, uh, my wife and I, at the time we didn't have any kids, uh, when we were doing that play out in New York. And I don't know, we just kind of had this, this, uh, r- come to Jesus moment about it, where we were just like, "You know, I don't think we can support a family."

[00:17:45] Aaron Moten: I, I honestly didn't really know other than okay, well, maybe I, you know, I'll take these auditions for TV and film roles a little more seriously and really hope for the best to come out of those. I, I kind of just [00:18:00] decided to get a little bit more obsessed with cameras because I didn't really know how to translate what I did on a stage to-

[00:18:07] Marc Preston: Like the different millimeter, like, type of

[00:18:09] Aaron Moten: camera?

[00:18:10] Aaron Moten: Focal lengths. Or, you know- Focal lengths. Yeah, yeah, to, to understand what... You know, it's, there's so many, there's so many different things technically that I think that theater actors need to learn about, about working on a camera, like not blowing things in the wide, you know? I, I, I've, I've shared stories of like, you know, it's like y- y- your, your first job where you're doing, you know, whether it's like a Law & Order, you know, it's, you know-

[00:18:32] Aaron Moten: a little where you play your thing in, in New York City, and they hire you because, you know, you're, you, you're the person who, like, was able to get emotional in the audition or something like that. And, and, uh, and you get to set, and, you know, it's take one, and you're trying to go for it, and then, uh, you realize after, like, a full day of filming the scene that like, "Oh, we haven't even gotten the close-up yet.

[00:18:52] Aaron Moten: That was all-"

[00:18:54] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:18:54] Aaron Moten: So, you know, none of the, none of the tears ev- are gonna even make it onto the screen. You're just like, "Oh, so, [00:19:00] so now we're in the close-up, and I'm exhausted. I can't do this even if I if I try."

[00:19:05] Marc Preston: Yeah. You know, it's funny. I remember hearing an interview with Kevin Smith talking about directing, uh, Bruce Willis, and I think Bruce Willis asked him what lens he was using.

[00:19:14] Marc Preston: Uh-huh. And Kevin Smith is like I don't know, you know? Yeah. 'Cause it really hadn't, you know, kind of registered that that was a thing, and it affects the actor. Like you said, you know, like if you're not close up on me, you know, it gives me information on how to, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Um, now so do you consider yourself kind of a...

[00:19:33] Marc Preston: What would the technical term be? Like a techno- uh, like if the film technology, does that intrigue you or is it just that one aspect of-

[00:19:41] Aaron Moten: Yeah ...

[00:19:42] Marc Preston: you know, shooting? Film,

[00:19:42] Aaron Moten: film, film technology definitely intrigues me. Um, uh, to, to know that even film houses, like people that are building and creating lenses, uh, are often doing it at the behest of, uh, you know, ex-director [00:20:00] directing a studio feature, uh, because, you know, we need to shoot, uh, the whole movie in low light.

[00:20:06] Aaron Moten: Uh, and you know, we need a certain focal length that has like a quick, fast aperture so that we can- Yeah ... light it with, you know, lanterns. You know, I- it's, it's, it's, it's really remarkable to me. Um, and, and it is the, uh, uh, it's, it's, it's the future is, is always like creating a problem and then, you know, going to technology to try and, uh, solve it.

[00:20:29] Aaron Moten: Create something new to solve- Yeah, but s-

[00:20:30] Marc Preston: cinematographers and DPs, the, the really legendary ones, I can't remember his name, a fella from, uh, Budapest.

[00:20:35] Aaron Moten: Mm-hmm.

[00:20:35] Marc Preston: I think Spielberg used him. I th- may have been on Close Encounters. But you start recogn- when you s- not to geek out, but sometimes when you know which cinematographer did it and you see another film, you go like, "Oh, I see there's a style happening there."

[00:20:46] Marc Preston: You know? Mm-hmm. There is a... It is kind of fun to kind of nerd out on that a little bit. But- Mm-hmm ... like when you did Disjointed, that's different 'cause that's multi- that was multi-cam, uh- But actually- ... show, wasn't it?

[00:20:56] Aaron Moten: But actually, Marc, I think I learned the most about cameras from that [00:21:00] show because especially with the, when it comes to focal lengths.

[00:21:03] Aaron Moten: I learned how to guess a focal length based off of what we've said our coverage of the day will be- Mm-hmm ... based off of how far away the camera is from me or not from that show. Because, uh, a- and nobody would see this, but like if I open my arms Uh, to express what I think I should be expressed in this moment I had to learn that the camera that had the wide was over here, so I needed to turn toward that camera when doing it or else they can't use it.

[00:21:30] Aaron Moten: My face is blocked from it. Oh, yeah.

[00:21:33] Marc Preston: Yeah. You know?

[00:21:33] Aaron Moten: Uh, and if that is happening, if I'm opening my arms, I can do that because the camera that's on the other side of me that has my close, uh, they, they, you know, they wouldn't see that. It would just be my arms cut off in the frame. It would, you know, it'd be totally pointless as to trying to communicate what, you know, the character's going through in that moment or what the story-

[00:21:53] Marc Preston: You know, that reminds me of that Michael Caine, uh, acting on film, that little book I think everybody's read or that...

[00:21:58] Marc Preston: It came off of a BBC video [00:22:00] where he talks about how he said, "Don't be physically like you are in a wide shot when you're on the tight shot 'cause you're gonna look like you're losing your mind," you know? Yeah. So it, it- Yes ... it was such a, a subtle little thing. I was like, "I never would've thought of that," you know?

[00:22:12] Marc Preston: So, um-

[00:22:13] Aaron Moten: No, it is. I mean, it's, I think it's about, uh... I mean, one of the biggest differences is, uh, that if, if things are working properly, I think, on a production, you understand the conversation that the camera department is having. I almost feel like I... In my mind, I put the camera department ahead of actors.

[00:22:34] Aaron Moten: You know what I mean? I kind of, uh, feel like if I'm not paying attention to their conversation, then I don't know what to do because I don't then know- Uh, w- what, what part of the story we're telling. Like, you know, it all needs to go into camera. The truth has to go into the camera, right? It, it's, yeah, it's, it's, um, it, it does.

[00:22:55] Aaron Moten: It feels, it, it feels like if I, if... Like, that would be the first question I'd [00:23:00] have, is like, "Well, where, where are we starting? I see camera here. Uh, so this is the two shot of us. Okay." And-

[00:23:07] Marc Preston: Plus it helps you understand, like, how important it is to hit the mark. Are you gonna walk right through the focus and that kind of stuff, yeah.

[00:23:12] Aaron Moten: Yeah, yeah. Especially, like, if, or what T-stop are we on is usually my, my question these days, because it's not something you could just know, uh, without asking or looking at the lens. But i- if, if we're in a, a shallow depth of field, I know that we've got a focus puller who from one line to another line is pulling the focus, right?

[00:23:31] Aaron Moten: Uh, it's different than us being stopped down and everything is in clear focus, you know, where- Mm-hmm ... I could just, I could cut the other actor off if I needed to. I could just say my line when I feel, you know, when w- however the, the scene is playing out is going to be different based off of that. Whether I know that there needs to be a little bit of time from one line to another because the focus pull takes some time.

[00:23:52] Marc Preston: Yeah, in Fallout though, they have some pretty big cinematic shots, uh, like the exterior shots. You know, it, it's funny, but actually real [00:24:00] quick before I g- get to that, I gotta go back- Yeah ... real ... 'Cause I... This joint was such a cool little show, man. I just, I... Kathy Bates for me, that, like, I don't know how many things she's done where she's had kids, but you got a chance to play Kathy Bates' son.

[00:24:12] Marc Preston: Yeah. I gotta check in on that, you know. Um- Yeah ... and any fun feedback from, uh, working in a, uh, a dispensary w- w- with Kathy Bates.

[00:24:22] Aaron Moten: That is a really good... It was a really good time. Um, I, I mean, that show is, that show was really special. I think ultimately the, uh, I mean, the, the main reason why that show, I think isn't still happening is, is, is mostly about, I think, putting animators on a schedule is very expensive.

[00:24:43] Aaron Moten: Mm-hmm. Uh, we had the animation in each episode. Um, you know, that, that becomes really expensive. Uh, it's one thing to ask an animator to, you know, create something, but it's another thing to put them on a schedule. It means that the, you know, the work has to be done by a certain cutoff date and, you know, I think that, that just became expensive.

[00:24:59] Aaron Moten: But [00:25:00] Kathy is, um- For lack of a better word, Kathy's a beast. You know, I, she's, um, she, she was going through a lot of, uh, a lot of different things, ups and downs in her own personal life and dealing with her health. And a- at the same time, like, that woman was never late. The, the- Mm-hmm ... that woman, uh, would also defend me for, for choices that I was trying to make with, with things and, and you know, and, and really made me...

[00:25:28] Aaron Moten: She became an advocate for me to have a voice. Um, because I think she, she, I mean, she knew what being number one on the call sheet was. I didn't know- Yeah, yeah ... what number two on the call sheet was at that time. You know what I mean? I didn't know what that would feel like.

[00:25:41] Marc Preston: Well, number one, you're, yeah, it hurts, I think it was Tom Hanks said it.

[00:25:45] Marc Preston: Something like, "You put the production on your shoulders and you're the one ultimately carrying it." You know, 'cause you're setting a tone in a way, you know. Mm-hmm. So that, that's really good that she took that opportunity with you. And, and you know, the f- I, I gotta say that, I can't, I don't know her name, but Chris Redd [00:26:00] and, but his girlfriend in the show-

[00:26:01] Aaron Moten: Betsy.

[00:26:02] Aaron Moten: Betsy Sodaro.

[00:26:03] Marc Preston: Yeah ... their, their interactions are just so ridiculously awesome. It just, I know it was a f- it was a fun show to watch. It was just different. Y- if I'm not mistaken, weren't you, like, you, didn't you have, like, a business degree or something like th- or you were like, you're the business mind of, of the dispensary, right?

[00:26:19] Aaron Moten: Yeah, he had just graduated with an MBA, like a master's in business and, and was coming to help his mom run this dispensary. Uh-

[00:26:26] Marc Preston: Y- ...

[00:26:27] Aaron Moten: and that, that's why he would have the, the bright idea to bring Dank and Dabby in and- ... have, have them just advertise for the shop.

[00:26:35] Marc Preston: They're, they're your, they're your branding pieces.

[00:26:37] Marc Preston: They're your marketing. Right. Yeah. Book marketing. Um, actually, I've only, with Fallout, I've only gotten one episode in. That's my, 'cause my son is in New Orleans also, so that's a show he watches when he comes to town. Okay. We'll sit down and we have our shows we watch, you know. Yeah. Like, my, my daughter has a show, so we, like, catch up, like, power watch all, through, the way through 'em.

[00:26:55] Marc Preston: But, um, but I, I tell you, the tone of the show, it, [00:27:00] it's just interesting to me, and I know it's based off a video game, and that's more my k- my son's domain. Did you have any kind of, kind of the lore or the background or the, the story or anything about Fallout prior to getting, uh, g- jumping into it?

[00:27:15] Aaron Moten: No. No, I would've recognized the poster.

[00:27:19] Aaron Moten: Um, or I would've recognized the suit, you know, the helmet, the, the big, uh- power armor suit. Uh, I would have recognized it, but I, I, I had not delved into the games. Uh, I st- I still haven't beyond that I do a lot of research of watching other people play or talk about the games. I mean, YouTube and Twitch are an incredible resource to an actor, you know, who's, who's gonna do a video game adaptation.

[00:27:45] Marc Preston: Yeah. You know, that's... I don't even know what the suit was called that you had to have on, but that was like, I don't know, there's this odyssey you're on. I don't know how, it's, it's almost, um, I don't wanna say Shakespearean. I don't know. There, there's kind of like you're, y- you're on your own journey, you know?

[00:27:58] Marc Preston: And have you had, I [00:28:00] can't remember, did you, have you had any scenes with Walton Goggins? I don't,

[00:28:02] Aaron Moten: I don't- I have, I have now. In the second season we've worked together now.

[00:28:05] Marc Preston: Okay.

[00:28:06] Aaron Moten: Um, in, in our first season it, it was always with the suit that I worked with him. Uh, so not a real, like, scene. No dialogue- Mm-hmm

[00:28:17] Aaron Moten: or, or anyth- and not nothing, I will say not real. I mean, we spoke, but speaking through the suits.

[00:28:22] Marc Preston: Right, right, right.

[00:28:23] Aaron Moten: The system, you know what I mean?

[00:28:24] Marc Preston: But that's kind of fun, though. Was there like a, was there like a 13-year-old version of you that was like, "This is awesome," you

[00:28:30] Aaron Moten: know? Yeah. Yes. I mean, mostly because of just a lot of jobs I've done haven't gotten the...

[00:28:36] Aaron Moten: I've never had the opportunity really to be this physical, um, to be doing stunt work and b- to be on wires and to be, um... It's just so fun. It, it, you know, it's a... I think my first day was Jonah Nolan walking me to the, the Verde Bird helicopter set up. And, and Jonah really [00:29:00] particularly likes giving actors, like, their toughest day first.

[00:29:04] Aaron Moten: Uh- Really? Yeah. He, he's made some comments about, like, it's not like he gets... I think he gets secret joy out of it. But he, you know, he, he'll, he'll pass it off as like, "You know, it's sometimes good to just, like, let people jump into the deep end," you know? And, and then the rest of the stuff- Baptism by fire kind of a thing?

[00:29:19] Aaron Moten: Baptism by fire a little bit, yeah. Because it did, it, it sort of set the tone for, you know, the, what this whole show has been for me. But he walked me to the set and explained what I was gonna do on action, and the helicopter's gonna be taking off, you know, and I gotta jump in, throw the, you know, this big heavy bag inside.

[00:29:36] Aaron Moten: And, and, uh, then, and then he looked at me and he was like, "Do you have a harness?" And I was, like, fully, fully wardrobed up, no harness. And I was like, "No." You know? He's like, "Oh, well, we gotta get you one." And I was like, you know, turning around frantically just like, "Oh, my God, am I gonna... Is, am, am I gonna die on my first day here?

[00:29:57] Aaron Moten: What is about to happen?"

[00:29:59] Marc Preston: Uh, this, [00:30:00] so has your, has your oldest daughter, uh, has she seen you? Has she had any feedback on, uh, Dad wearing a suit doing crazy stuff?

[00:30:07] Aaron Moten: Oka- okay. Well, you know, they, they make these action figures and, and, uh, all kinds of, um- There's all this memorabilia. There's all, there's so many things that have been made from the shows now.

[00:30:19] Aaron Moten: So like I've been gifted a lot of action figures. So my, my daughter, my, my daughter has one. But it's, it, it's s- I can't let her watch the show yet. Maybe, maybe when she's, you know-

[00:30:29] Marc Preston: Yeah, yeah. There's... You, you would have to be selective and on a scene by scene basis.

[00:30:33] Aaron Moten: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so but, you know, she, that, that, that action figure of me gets played with just like the Barbies get played with, you know?

[00:30:41] Marc Preston: What, what's that like to have your own, uh, action figure, you know? I was a kid who grew up Star Wars, the action figures, and, and just thinking- Yeah ... wow, that you did a thing where they made an action figure out of it. Uh, what's that like?

[00:30:52] Aaron Moten: No, that is, I, that, I mean, that, it is surreal. I don't know that the pin, or, or I don't know that it's ever dropped on the other [00:31:00] side of it, because I know it's a real thing.

[00:31:02] Aaron Moten: But it, it is. I, I grew up with tons of, like y- I had the big chest of action figures. You know what I mean? It was like my brother and I would just like dump the whole chest out, you know, and start playing with everything at the same time. It's, it, it's, it's, um, it's really, it's really out there. I never thought it was gonna happen.

[00:31:19] Aaron Moten: I feel like I remember reading some sub-section of my contract, and it mentioned action figures or your likeness being used. And I remember just kind of thinking like, "Nah, nah." "Nah. This this can't be real."

[00:31:35] Marc Preston: Now, have you played with your own action figure yet? Have you kinda like, you know, set up a scene and, you know, I'm gonna do it this way, you

[00:31:42] Aaron Moten: know?

[00:31:42] Aaron Moten: Yeah, that'd be really great. Okay, so camera's here.

[00:31:45] Marc Preston: Yeah. I was about to say, you're in the technical. You can set up the scene with an action figure of you. That's- Yeah. That seems like a lot of fun.

[00:31:51] Aaron Moten: I'm gonna start, I'm gonna start bringing my action figure to set and show them my rehearsal with the action figure.

[00:31:56] Aaron Moten: So I'm walking here, right?

[00:31:58] Marc Preston: You know, shoot it with your iPhone, just kinda [00:32:00] like, okay- Yeah ... I got the whole setup. I block this thing, so this- Yeah ... is what I want, you know? This is what I want. Um, where were they shooting it, uh, originally? Were they shooting in like Atlanta? Uh-

[00:32:08] Aaron Moten: No, New York.

[00:32:09] Marc Preston: New York. Oh, they were, wait, they were shooting Fallout in New York?

[00:32:11] Aaron Moten: Yes.

[00:32:12] Marc Preston: Really?

[00:32:13] Aaron Moten: Yes. And then our, so most of our exteriors were shot in Namibia. It's like southwest Africa You know, the, the, the ci- cinematic, very extremely cinematic shot, uh, uh, of, uh, the Santa Monica Pier when-

[00:32:30] Marc Preston: Yeah ... the

[00:32:30] Aaron Moten: Lucy character first comes out of the vault. That's, that's Namibia.

[00:32:34] Marc Preston: Really? And

[00:32:35] Aaron Moten: the only thing that was added was, I think, the, uh, the little decrepit, uh, Ferris wheel on the side there.

[00:32:42] Aaron Moten: But that, that is... It's amazing. The desert meets the ocean out there in Namibia, and it really, really looks like it could be Santa Monica if, if a bomb had hit it. Um-

[00:32:51] Marc Preston: That is, that is wild. Yeah, the, the, the visuals in that show are just, you know, especially the way all the characters are shot, and they're...

[00:32:58] Marc Preston: It seems, especially with, [00:33:00] uh, Walton Goggins. You know, I mean, all y'all have kind of created your own thing. And like I said, I didn't know what I was gonna think when I first... I was like, "Okay, first blush, it's, it's, it was a video game. Now it's a show on our own. What are we gonna do here?" Yeah. And I was in it immediately.

[00:33:12] Marc Preston: You know? Yeah. It's, it's got, it, it, it really has you thinking what if, and kind of, you know, which, uh, which is, you know, kind of like what would happen in this scenario, you know?

[00:33:22] Aaron Moten: Yes. We-

[00:33:23] Marc Preston: Especially when you go, "This could never happen," and then you look at our current, like, political makeup and you go, "Yeah, some of those kind of, uh, people that have nefarious intent, yeah, they're out there," you

[00:33:32] Aaron Moten: know?

[00:33:32] Aaron Moten: Yeah. No, they are. And, you know, I do feel like the, there's a, the thing that feels healthy to me is I like going there in my mind because it makes me feel like, oh, well- If I go there in my mind, maybe I'm protecting myself from it happening for real, you know? Like, it, it, it... As, as many parallels that I wish that didn't exist between this show and the world that we live in, because it is very different.

[00:33:55] Aaron Moten: Um, but, but it, um, yeah, it makes me feel, makes me hope that it doesn't happen, you [00:34:00] know? It's like let me think about getting in a car accident before I drive the car so that I don't get in a car accident, uh, and I make it, make it to my destination safely.

[00:34:09] Marc Preston: Now, all the episodes are out. Season Two, all the episodes are out now, right?

[00:34:12] Marc Preston: Mm-hmm. They've all been released. Okay. So, um, has there been talk Season Three? Has it been locked in? Do y'all know? Oh,

[00:34:19] Aaron Moten: yeah. We're locked in. We start in about a week.

[00:34:23] Marc Preston: Wow, you're about to jump- Yeah ... right back in it, man. Yeah. All right. Awesome.

[00:34:26] Aaron Moten: We're about to get back in it. Um- Well,

[00:34:27] Marc Preston: the... What, what else do you have working right now?

[00:34:29] Marc Preston: I mean, do you have any... I mean, or is this kinda occupying all your bandwidth, or do you have anything else going on? Uh,

[00:34:33] Aaron Moten: no, I mean, I, I g- I took some time to do a couple of different films. Uh, I, I shot one in New York w- um, with Asif Kapadia and, uh, Blaise Baynham directing it, uh, called Callback. And then we shot one out here, uh, I think the name is gonna be Night Watching with Mila Kunis and Corey Hawkins, one of my Julliard, uh,

[00:34:51] Marc Preston: classmates.

[00:34:52] Marc Preston: Okay. Okay.

[00:34:52] Aaron Moten: Um, which, uh, was really fun.

[00:34:55] Marc Preston: Really. Wait, I saw... Night Watch, isn't that also with, uh, uh, uh, what's his name? Starts with a C. [00:35:00] Um, Mr. Crab from, uh, SpongeBob. Uh, which, uh, wh- uh, uh, uh, Clancy, in Clancy, um... Is that the project he's in?

[00:35:07] Aaron Moten: Clancy Brown, yes.

[00:35:08] Marc Preston: Yeah. Okay. Good, good.

[00:35:09] Aaron Moten: But, but Clancy... Okay, Clancy is also in Fallout Season Two.

[00:35:13] Marc Preston: Oh, he is? Oh, okay. I, I'm look- He is ... okay.

[00:35:15] Aaron Moten: And the-

[00:35:15] Marc Preston: He is, he is great. He is great. I, I've s- just saw him in something with, uh, McKenna Grace and, uh- Yeah ... where he played her boyfriend's grandfather or something. But he's g- But yeah, but for me having my kids my age, he's Mr. Crab, you know? So,

[00:35:28] Aaron Moten: Yes, and he's he's really fun guy.

[00:35:31] Aaron Moten: Man, he's really... I like, I like, uh, I like guys that are calm. I'm, I'm pretty calm on set. Yeah. You know? Some people have, like, a lot of energy and maybe they, like, go up and down with their en- He's, he's pretty even keel. I kinda like that.

[00:35:50] Marc Preston: Before we get going, I always have what I call my seven questions. I always kind of l- put them on the back end. Okay. A little fun. Always talk food at least once, and we started off talking about my H-E-B tamale. But, uh, [00:36:00] the first question I ask is what- l- like, what is your favorite comfort food? Great day, you want it, makes it better.

[00:36:06] Marc Preston: Bad day, just kinda- kinda softens the rough edges. What would that be for you?

[00:36:11] Aaron Moten: It's gotta be pizza. Uh, whether- whether- whether you're making it yourself and firing it outside or, or ordering it from Domino's, I wouldn't care. It's such a comfort food to me, pizza. Pizza's usually, usually my go-to. Bad day, good day.

[00:36:29] Marc Preston: Yeah. What, what, what's the number one ingredient you got on there?

[00:36:33] Aaron Moten: I actually- You know what? The, the number one ingredient has to be the tomato sauce and cheese. Yeah. I'm not a big fan of, you know, white sauce or, or you know, I- I, I just, I need that basic and then I'll do anything on top of it.

[00:36:45] Marc Preston: Yeah, my youngest daughter and I are both into extra sauce.

[00:36:47] Marc Preston: I'm a big fan of, like, good local pizza joint. You go in there and you smell it. Like, "Oh, this is gonna be good pizza," you know?

[00:36:53] Aaron Moten: Oh.

[00:36:53] Marc Preston: Now, the next question I got for you is, uh, if they're- you're gonna be sitting down talking story for a few hours, having coffee. Um, now [00:37:00] living or not, what would- or who would those three people be you would like to be sitting down with?

[00:37:05] Marc Preston: For- So the four of y'all sitting down just all afternoon over coffee, just, just, uh, just collaborating, talking. Uh, who would those people be?

[00:37:12] Aaron Moten: Oh, man. Give me Kubrick, give me- Why not Shakespeare? Give me, uh... I'm gonna be real about this one. Jonathan Nolan. Give me Jonah. Add him to that conversation. Uh, a- and it really is about, like-

[00:37:36] Marc Preston: That would be a masterclass right there

[00:37:38] Aaron Moten: Oh, God, yeah. Um, th- and, uh, who else? Giving or not, uh, I, you know, I did know Phil briefly, uh, before he passed away, so let's b- let's add Phil- Philip Seymour in there.

[00:37:52] Marc Preston: Oh, I just- Yeah ... I just saw him last night. I was watching, uh, Along Came Polly just for the heck of it, you know, that, uh, movie he was in [00:38:00] with, um- BrainMan

[00:38:01] Marc Preston: uh, Ben Stiller.

[00:38:02] Aaron Moten: Yeah.

[00:38:03] Marc Preston: Yeah, it was... The, the, the thing with him is like, "Man, I gotta leave the party, man." "Why? Why?" "I just sharted." "

[00:38:08] Aaron Moten: I just

[00:38:08] Marc Preston: sharted." You know, he, he... There was nothing he couldn't do. The, my, one of my favorites, though, was, uh, it was called Pirate Radio. It was about the guys, uh, they were off in England.

[00:38:17] Marc Preston: They had this ship off the coast broadcasting a rock thing. You know, everything he did, he was awesome. Yeah.

[00:38:21] Aaron Moten: Yeah, really terrific, and honestly, one of l- like the sweetest, uh, men I've ever met, you know? Uh, a big, big, big friendly guy. Really a good hugger. Like, loved him. L- Yeah ... good listener. Really great.

[00:38:35] Aaron Moten: Like, he, you would always wanna hang out with Phil. Like, you hung out with him one time, you would probably always wanna hang out with him.

[00:38:40] Marc Preston: He seems like the kind of guy who just enjoyed hanging out with actors and, you know, they're his tribe, you know? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Uh, now, uh, next question I got for you, celebrity crush.

[00:38:49] Marc Preston: When you were a kid, who was that celebrity crush, so your first one?

[00:38:53] Aaron Moten: Oh, man. I don't know. There's so many. Gosh, um, [00:39:00] you know, Penélope Cruz was up there. I remember Cameron Diaz in The Mask. I mean, this is the, I mean- Oh,

[00:39:05] Marc Preston: yeah ...

[00:39:05] Aaron Moten: I feel like that's, it's gotta be, like, I'm trying to look for that, like, mid-'90s flavor 'cause, like, that's really when I would've...

[00:39:12] Aaron Moten: You know, mid to late '90s. Um, but Kirsten Dunst. I remember Jumanji was, like, really big to me. Uh, you know, uh, obviously, like, Robin Williams was in so many of those kids movies, but they, the, I remember Kirsten Dunst so, so vividly- Yeah, yeah ... from Jumanji. Um, but maybe it was 'cause I was just like, "I need to be looked after by a big sister."

[00:39:32] Aaron Moten: I only had a little sister. Yeah. My older brother would just beat me up. You know, um, may- maybe one of, one of those.

[00:39:38] Marc Preston: Very good. Very good. Now, if I say you're gonna be living on an exotic island for a year, uh- Uh-huh ... it's somewhere you wanna be. It's very, something very cool. Now, you don't have streaming, though, so if you wanna watch a movie, you gotta bring one DVD, and if you wanna listen to music, you gotta bring one CD, or I'll give you a box set.

[00:39:55] Marc Preston: What would that DVD be that you could watch over and over, and what would that CD be that you could listen to [00:40:00] all year long?

[00:40:01] Aaron Moten: Oh, man. DVD. Okay, I'm gonna- I'm slightly- I feel like I'm slightly cheating here, but the DVD is gonna be, it's gonna be season two of the US version of The Office

[00:40:19] Marc Preston: Okay. It

[00:40:20] Aaron Moten: is like the best, like, palate cleanser.

[00:40:23] Aaron Moten: If I had a good day or a bad day, I could find something that, that I would, I would enjoy watching. Uh, and, uh, I think the record is gonna e- easily be In Rainbows, Radiohead.

[00:40:33] Marc Preston: I like that when somebody knows exactly what that CD's gonna be. Oh,

[00:40:36] Aaron Moten: yeah, that's-

[00:40:36] Marc Preston: Um-

[00:40:37] Aaron Moten: I, I feel like that's what I do whenever I have to go to a hotel alone, is, like, that first shower in a hotel room is In Rainbows playing.

[00:40:45] Marc Preston: Very good. Now, uh, if you were to say, next question, um, definition perfect day. If you said the recipe for my perfect day would be these ingredients, what would that be for you?

[00:40:57] Aaron Moten: No work, like nothing to do, nothing [00:41:00] scheduled. Sleep in. My kids outside with a pool and a grill. Uh, and then I need like a, a, a, a nice like, m- Puligny-Montrachet Mer- like a, or, or a Meursault, like a white Burgundy that, that I've got like two bottles of the same thing.

[00:41:22] Marc Preston: You know, isn't it nice when you're grilling, people think it's a beer, but a glass of wine is civilized, you know? Oh.

[00:41:28] Aaron Moten: Oh, there's nothing like... A little sugar, you know? Nothing like a little...

[00:41:31] Marc Preston: Exactly. Well, last couple questions I got for you real quick. If you weren't doing this, somebody said, "Hey, Aaron, acting not gonna happen for you anymore," what would be career or vocation number two?

[00:41:40] Aaron Moten: If I have to get out of the industry entirely?

[00:41:43] Marc Preston: Mm-hmm.

[00:41:43] Aaron Moten: Uh, I could be a fisherman. I could, I could get down with that.

[00:41:48] Marc Preston: I think Jimmy Buffett lifestyle out on a boat probably would work fine for me as well. Yeah,

[00:41:52] Aaron Moten: yeah. Very good.

[00:41:53] Marc Preston: Now, the last question I got for you. If you're gonna jump in that DeLorean and you can travel back to when you're 16 years old, you got a piece of advice that [00:42:00] you can offer yourself to make that moment better or maybe put yourself on a little different track, what would advice to 16-year-old you be?

[00:42:08] Aaron Moten: I think I'd j- just be like, you know, just, just

[00:42:13] Aaron Moten: keep saying yes but keep being careful, you know? Keep saying yes but keep being careful. I, uh, there is a, that thing that, like, th- there's some things that I think, you know, as kids we, we say no to out of, out of, uh... Well, what am I trying to say? It's like w- we... D- Don't, uh, don't be afraid. I don't know. It's so tough, but, like- Uh, I think, I think we, we, we, uh, we were all, I think, so worried at 16- Mm-hmm

[00:42:40] Aaron Moten: as to like what was gonna happen. I feel like it's that time that you really start thinking about your life and what's gonna happen and you know what I mean? I f- I feel like a 16-year-old boy can already start relating to The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman, you know what I mean? It just, you really are worried.

[00:42:55] Aaron Moten: Exactly. People are constantly saying things to you. Uh, you know, it's saying, you know [00:43:00] what, just, just, just, just don't be afraid.

[00:43:02] Marc Preston: Kind of trust yourself. Yeah, yeah. Trust,

[00:43:04] Aaron Moten: yeah.

[00:43:05] Marc Preston: Now, man, I appreciate you spending some time with me today. This has been awesome. Mm-hmm. I, I appreciate talking to a fellow Texan.

[00:43:11] Marc Preston: I've been very fortunate. I've had a few, uh, past episodes recently where I've had an opportunity to connect and, uh, you know, next time you're down in Austin, go to, you know, Franklin Barbecue. Get a bite for me while you're down there. But, uh- Yeah, I

[00:43:21] Aaron Moten: will. I will.

[00:43:24] Marc Preston: Okay, there you go. Aaron Moten, cool dude.

[00:43:27] Marc Preston: Enjoyed this conversation. You know, you can catch him right now, uh, season two, which is out, Amazon Prime's Fallout. Make sure to jump on, check it out. Jazzed, season three is gonna happen. Also, if you haven't seen it already, uh, dial up Netflix, fun comedy, uh, the one we discussed with Kathy Bates. It is called Disjointed.

[00:43:47] Marc Preston: Really enjoyed sitting down with Aaron. Really enjoyed chatting with everybody we have on. Uh, it's always a fun day for me and, uh, I, I hope it is for you as well. Uh, and make sure to do me a, a small favor. Make sure to follow the show. [00:44:00] Follow Story and Craft. No matter what podcast app you use, follow, like the show, leave a comment.

[00:44:06] Marc Preston: It does help people to find and enjoy the jocularity and mischief we have going on here. And, uh, also you can go to storyandcraftpod.com. Once again, storyandcraftpod.com. Uh, everything about the show, past guest, past episodes, it's all right there. You can also send me a message if you'd like. Love hearing from you.

[00:44:27] Marc Preston: And, uh, I do appreciate it and, uh, as I always say, thank you very much. It does mean a lot to me that you make what I got going on here part of whatever you've got going on. And I do look forward to connecting with you very shortly, just a couple days away, uh, right here again for another fun conversation on Story and Craft.

[00:44:45] Announcer: That's it for this episode of Story and Craft. Join Marc next week for more conversation right here on Story and Craft. Story and Craft is a presentation of Marc Preston Productions, LLC. Executive producer is [00:45:00] Marc Preston. Associate producer is Zachary Holden. Please rate and review Story and Craft on Apple Podcasts.

[00:45:07] Announcer: Don't forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. You can subscribe to show updates and stay in the know. Just head to storyandcraftpod.com and sign up for the newsletter. I'm Emma Dylan. See you next time, and remember, keep telling your story.