Chris Marquette | From "The Girl Next Door" to Prime Video's "Reacher" | Stories From the Emerald Isle

[00:00:00] Chris Marquette: But yeah, I did all kinds of weird stuff out there, man. I mean, they, they filmed America's Most Wanted episodes out there. So like some of the first jobs I did were like those reenactments, you know, like kids finding their parents murdered and like

[00:00:13] Announcer: Welcome to Story and Craft. Now, here's your host, Marc Preston.

[00:00:17] Marc Preston: All right, here we go back again, another episode of Story and Craft. Thank you for stopping back by. Good to have you again. And if this is your first time coming to check out the show, welcome. Glad to have you here. Uh, good episode to check out today, sitting down with actor Chris Marquette. Uh, he has been on the scene for a long time, all the way back, uh, to when he was a child actor to, I think the first thing I remember seeing him in was, uh, the 2004 movie, The Girl Next Door with Elisha Cuthbert and, uh, Timothy Olyphant and Emile Hirsch.

[00:00:46] Marc Preston: Fun movie. Had a cool career doing all kinds of different, uh, type projects. Now, doing the action adventure thing, season four of Reacher on Prime Video, along with Alan Ritchson. Uh, cool show. I think I'm still working on season [00:01:00] three. And, uh, Chris is just a cool dude. Really enjoyed sitting down with him.

[00:01:04] Marc Preston: A nice guy, but, uh, just kind of a, just a good dude. Somebody that I would like to sit down and have a beer with. Uh, that is Chris Marquette, and I think you'll enjoy it as well. Do me a favor, uh, if you would. I always ask a small favor to make sure to follow Story and Craft on your podcast app. Uh, make sure to follow, like the episode, leave a comment if you so desire.

[00:01:24] Marc Preston: Uh, that way it helps folks to find Story and Craft, and doggone it, I appreciate it. Uh, also storyandcraftpod.com. The website, uh, past guests, past episodes, everything you wanna know about the show, it is right there. And, uh, of course, you can send me a message if you so desire, and I love hearing from you.

[00:01:43] Marc Preston: All right, so, hey, let's do this. Let's get into the show, 'cause this is a fun conversation. Uh, let's jump into it because today is Chris Marquette Day right here on Story and Craft. Where are you joining me from today? I

[00:01:56] Chris Marquette: am all the way on the west coast of Ireland, man. Isn't that [00:02:00] wild?

[00:02:00] Marc Preston: You're on the w- no kidding.

[00:02:02] Marc Preston: Really?

[00:02:03] Chris Marquette: That is where I am, yep.

[00:02:04] Marc Preston: Wait, is that home base for you or is that just kind of where you're at for a, a project or?

[00:02:09] Chris Marquette: No, it's, uh, it's now home base. I go, I go back, uh, and forth between Ireland and Los Angeles where, um, I grew up and where I lived for a long, long time.

[00:02:17] Marc Preston: That is awesome. I'd love... You know, I've always thought about going to Ireland.

[00:02:22] Marc Preston: Uh, you know, I just-

[00:02:23] Chris Marquette: Have you?

[00:02:23] Marc Preston: Did the t- well, you know, I did the, uh, was it, uh, the Ancestry thing and discovered I was one quarter, uh, Scottish. And so I, I- Ah ... started doing this deep dive and I realized, you know, I could actually track my family lineage back to I think the 1500s or something like that. I'm very intrigued by that part of the, uh, world.

[00:02:42] Chris Marquette: Scotland and Ireland got around, man. They, um, excuse me, they bred really, uh, feverishly and they, they, they traveled, man. So yeah, I think, um, there's quite, there's a lot of, uh, there's quite a lot of, uh, Scottish and Irish roots, um, all over the world, but particularly the [00:03:00] US. And I mean, I- Ireland has such a, there's a cliche here of Americans that come over looking for their, you know, great-great grand- grandparents, you know, and their ancestry, and finding it, and like actually finding it.

[00:03:13] Chris Marquette: So it's not, um, like an extraordinarily difficult thing.

[00:03:16] Marc Preston: I was telling my daughter the other day, she, uh, studied in Europe for, uh, was it the f- uh, last fall semester. And I was like, "Man, that'd be kind of cool just all the rolling green." I s- she went, I forgot where she went, the, the, uh... Wherever it was she saw some of the, was it the Highland cows or whatever?

[00:03:32] Marc Preston: You know, those long-haired, you know, whatever cow. And I was like- Oh, yeah ... a- and so the picture's like, oh, that's, that's kind of- Star

[00:03:37] Chris Marquette: Wars character cows.

[00:03:38] Marc Preston: E- b- exactly, yeah. Star Wars cows. To- you'd be able to look out and see just kind of rolling green always kind of entrance to me at some level, you know?

[00:03:46] Marc Preston: So but h- now how did you end up over there? Were you, was this some kind of lineage you were a- attaching to or you married somebody- No ... from there or just, you just lo- loved the idea- Exact- ... of being there?

[00:03:56] Chris Marquette: Exactly. A- and it is, to speak to what you just said, you know, and what your daughter [00:04:00] experienced, it is like a, it's like a, it's like a portrait postcard, you know, everywhere you look in this, uh, in this part of the world.

[00:04:06] Chris Marquette: It is just stone wall farms and- Uh, I haven't seen long-haired cows, but tons of cows and so many farm animal... It's just farms. It's beautiful little farms, like, all over the place. And, uh, no, no, I have got no Irish ancestry. I come from, like, poor white trash and immigrants. Uh, so, uh, from, from a different place, from Cuba and, um, and, uh, and European, other parts of Europe.

[00:04:26] Chris Marquette: No, I am here. My ex-wife is from Ireland, and we, uh, have a, I have a six-year-old daughter, and she was born here. And, uh, we split up years ago, and we decided to, uh, she was really tiny, we decided to, like, come raise her here. Uh, and, uh, and it was a, a big, wild decision to make. My family back home is what you call a dumpster fire.

[00:04:49] Chris Marquette: Her family's, like- ... lovely and amazing. And so, uh, so it wasn't, like, the hardest thing to do for, for, for my daughter's life and, um, and she's thriving

[00:04:57] Marc Preston: here. Yeah, you know, it's so funny you say that [00:05:00] 'cause I, uh, I'm not gonna point fingers or say anything, but I, I identify, except, um, you gotta be careful when you marry.

[00:05:06] Marc Preston: Mm. Sometimes you marry, you know, the thing you're trying to move away from, you're accidentally moving towards, and so you might end up in another fire and you didn't know that. Different family of raccoons hanging out, I guess. I don't know. You mean- So, um-

[00:05:19] Chris Marquette: You, you, you mean psychology is, is correct in thinking that, like, we're just trying to date our parents, you know, in some fashion?

[00:05:24] Chris Marquette: Yeah.

[00:05:25] Marc Preston: I, I- Like, find- ... I'd guess ...

[00:05:26] Chris Marquette: familiar... Yeah. I, I, I believe that. I mean, I, I could totally get behind, you know, finding familiar- I mean,

[00:05:31] Marc Preston: I can neither confirm nor deny, depending on who's listening right now.

[00:05:34] Chris Marquette: Yeah, yeah, fair.

[00:05:34] Marc Preston: Yeah. Um- But I'll confirm it, Marc. I'll

[00:05:35] Chris Marquette: confirm it. I'll confirm it 100%.

[00:05:38] Marc Preston: But that's wonderful, though.

[00:05:39] Marc Preston: You know, you being able to be in a place that is not familiar, uh, inherently. I've still got that wanderlust thing going on, and after about- Hmm ... three years of being in a place, I'm like-

[00:05:49] Chris Marquette: The globe is tiny these days. Earth is actually really small, man. Like, it's, uh, you know, it's like, I think, I think getting around is, um- I mean, you know, if you carve out the time and obviously have the means, like I, I [00:06:00] say do it, you know?

[00:06:00] Chris Marquette: You're in... Wait, you- you're in Dallas, Texas. That's

[00:06:03] Marc Preston: what I, I heard. Well, no, I'm origin- well, I'm originally from there, but I live on South Padre Island- I recently- ... which is in the very south, the tip of South Texas. It's, uh-

[00:06:10] Chris Marquette: Ah,

[00:06:10] Marc Preston: sweet ... a lot of people know it as a vac- a, a, a spring break destination, but it's a, a actually, you know, where they, uh, you know, they got this SpaceX Starship thing takes off like six miles south of me.

[00:06:21] Marc Preston: Uh, in- Gotcha ... which i- which is another thing of like how small we have a planet we live on. That thing takes off, and I think it- it's in the Indian Ocean in like under an hour or something like that. Yeah. It's like, it, it's like, yeah, dude, we do live in a small place. You're right. You're right. But- We're

[00:06:35] Chris Marquette: tiny, man.

[00:06:36] Chris Marquette: I, I read this, and to speak to that weird thing as a weird side tangent, there's a, a great... read this great book, uh, Bill Bryson wrote called, uh, A Short History of Nearly Everything, and he points out in it that not only is we in this tiny planet, but there's actually like this thin layer of atmosphere- Yeah

[00:06:51] Chris Marquette: this thin piece of crust at the top, and like everything that has ever happened in the history of humanity that we have written down and we understand it has all existed in this [00:07:00] like little thin layer in this gigantic unfathomably big cosmos. And, um, come to Ireland, Marc. I'll, I'll give you the, I'll give you a tour if you

[00:07:08] Marc Preston: want.

[00:07:08] Marc Preston: I, I would love to do that. The- I'm a big, I'm a big food guy, you know, so wherever I go, I gotta be di- You know, and you think Ireland, you,

[00:07:14] Chris Marquette: what- I don't know if you think of food

[00:07:17] Marc Preston: when you think Ireland, to be honest. E- exactly. Although we do have a little Ir- of all things here on the I- uh, on the island, we have an, uh, Irish pub, and they do the scotch eggs- They're everywhere

[00:07:23] Marc Preston: the fish- No. It's just they- Yeah,

[00:07:25] Chris Marquette: they're everywhere ...

[00:07:25] Marc Preston: dude, I'm on li- It's, it's hilarious ... I, I'm doing the, uh, statin, man. I can, I can, I can hit some cholesterol. It's cool. You know, I got a little defense. I

[00:07:31] Chris Marquette: mean, yeah, dude. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think they're... I, I wonder if they, they take the cake for high cholesterol.

[00:07:37] Chris Marquette: I'm sure. I mean, there's like- ... the grocery stores here, there's an entire aisle just dedicated to pork. It's not like the meat aisle like you'd find in the United States- Really? ... where it's like... Yeah, where you've got like turkey and chicken and steak and pork and lamb maybe. You... It's literally just one whole thing of pork and then another aisle of the meats.

[00:07:53] Chris Marquette: So like, yeah, yeah, they're, uh, they're, they're into that

[00:07:56] Marc Preston: for sure. A, a whole, a, a, the aisle of pork. Uh, they got the [00:08:00] aisle of man over there. The aisle of

[00:08:01] Chris Marquette: pork. The aisle

[00:08:01] Marc Preston: of pork,

[00:08:01] Chris Marquette: no. It's the aisle of, it's the Emerald Isle or the aisle of pork. Yeah, that's, uh- Well- Ireland's gonna throw me out after this.

[00:08:08] Marc Preston: Well, no, where did you grow up, though? Where, where was your home base as

[00:08:11] Chris Marquette: you were, uh- I'm kinda from, I'm from all over, and weirdly, I thought if you, if you were, uh, I thought if you were in Dallas. I grew up... Well, I didn't grow up, but I spent a, a portion of my young life, uh, in, in Plano, Texas. That's actually where I started-

[00:08:22] Marc Preston: Okay

[00:08:22] Marc Preston: acting. Oh, I, I grew up in, uh, in Richardson. Um- Oh,

[00:08:25] Chris Marquette: yeah, yeah.

[00:08:25] Marc Preston: Yeah, yeah.

[00:08:25] Chris Marquette: Okay. Yeah.

[00:08:26] Marc Preston: So you were- Yeah, yeah ... let's see. You see, hang on. I'm gonna put two and two together. So you were young. Young, yeah. I mean, young. When you were young. I'm trying to think when they were, they were producing Barney up there.

[00:08:35] Marc Preston: Barney and was like- Yeah, that was one of

[00:08:36] Chris Marquette: my first jobs, man.

[00:08:38] Marc Preston: Oh.

[00:08:38] Chris Marquette: Yeah, yeah.

[00:08:38] Marc Preston: No ki- So wait, you and Selena Gomez-

[00:08:41] Chris Marquette: Yeah, it was one of my

[00:08:41] Marc Preston: first jobs. Wait, Selena Gomez did that, didn't she?

[00:08:44] Chris Marquette: I don't know. I actually have no idea

[00:08:46] Marc Preston: Barney was like this random, uh, thing. By the way, right now it's a, I mean, total side, you know, side tangent, but I found somewhere somebody, you know, with AI and all that, they're over-dubbing like Barney episodes [00:09:00] and kind of in a- No, not in a, definitely not PG-13.

[00:09:04] Marc Preston: They got the curse. It, it is pretty funny. But yeah, Barney was a, a big thing for a while. They made him predator. This is, this is gonna g- this is going back to early, early '90s, I guess, is probably when it was. So, yeah.

[00:09:15] Chris Marquette: Yeah. Yeah. That's probably... It was late '80s, I think. Yeah, if I do the math right. Late '80s when I was, when I did, uh, or early '90s Yeah, it was a book on, it was books on tape and, um, and, or sorry, not books on tape.

[00:09:27] Chris Marquette: It was a, a cassette, it was a, a VHS tapes that you could send away for, um-

[00:09:32] Marc Preston: Oh. Oh, that's right. That's right. Like,

[00:09:34] Chris Marquette: yeah ... yeah, yeah. So you could like, you see one of those infomercials, and then you could order a set of tapes and, um, before it was like a televised,

[00:09:41] Marc Preston: you know, uh, so- Oh my God, you just brought back a memory.

[00:09:42] Marc Preston: I do remember seeing that before Barney, I guess, was a show, you could actually... That's right, 'cause they had all these different... I'm sorry. Yeah. It was like a training- I'm sitting here like you just brought back this odd memory, you know?

[00:09:51] Chris Marquette: Um. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Uh, I hope it was a gentle one. Uh, the, uh, the like the, the, yeah, the, it was, uh, it, it, you know, it was like a, I think like an educational tool [00:10:00] that they, um, they were doing and, you know, I don't know how...

[00:10:03] Chris Marquette: I mean, I know how I kind of started acting, how I got involved with that thing. I don't know how that exact thing kind of unfolded, um, getting Barney. But yeah, I did all kinds of weird stuff out there, man. I mean, they, they filmed America's Most Wanted episodes out there. So like some of the first jobs I did were like those, those reenactments, you know, like kids finding their parents murdered, like all...

[00:10:22] Chris Marquette: So they, they, they, and like weird commercials and, uh, tons of modeling and stuff. So, um, but, but yeah- Oh, yeah.

[00:10:28] Marc Preston: What, is that, was that where you were originally, uh, is that where you're originally from? Or did you come to Plano to do the, all that stuff?

[00:10:35] Chris Marquette: Yeah. I mean, w- I'm a lot to unpack, Marc, so if you gotta tell me- You're, you're a lot to-

[00:10:40] Chris Marquette: the short answer or the... Yeah. Uh, the, I'll give you the quick, yeah. I, I was born in Florida, and then I moved to Texas shortly afterwards. Um, my family moved to Texas. We went to Georgia for a, a very small stint, and then we went to Jersey, and we lived in Jersey for years. I worked in New York for a long time, and then we went out to California in LA and, and, [00:11:00] uh, in Southern California.

[00:11:01] Marc Preston: How old were you when you started, uh, acting on f- on film or on tape or whatever hap- Um, I, I almost want to feel like you're like, "Tell me about the Barney years."

[00:11:10] Chris Marquette: You know? Yeah, yeah. Tell me about, let's talk about the Barney thing. Um, if you want to, uh, uh, this is where it sort of gets a dramatic turn. Uh, the, uh, the, uh, let's see.

[00:11:19] Chris Marquette: I started when I was four, like, uh, just, just in preschool, strangely, so, um, professionally. And, um, uh, and it was like an extracurricular sport for, for me and for, uh, my family. And I have two younger brothers. They were both actors as well and, and, um- Really? Okay ... yeah, so we all did like modeling and acting and singing and, uh, and whatever, you know, whatever weird performing gigs we could find.

[00:11:43] Chris Marquette: And, and, uh, and we did that, uh, yeah, like yeah. L- I played soccer, I acted, and then Uh, when I was a, when I was about nine years old, um, we went to New Jersey. My family and I auditioned for a play on Broadway, and [00:12:00] I got the role, and they told my parents, "Hey, look, if we, if we give this to you, you, you gotta commit to doing this thing for, like, a year."

[00:12:07] Chris Marquette: Uh-huh. Yeah. "You can't just come in for a month or two." So we did, and that was the, a little pivot point for, um, the endeavor of acting. It, it became less of a, a sport and more of, um, like, a professional endeavor.

[00:12:18] Marc Preston: Yeah. But how old were you about, at that point in time?

[00:12:21] Chris Marquette: I was nine at that point. Um, but I had been, uh, in, in Texas I was four, four, four years old,

[00:12:26] Marc Preston: so.

[00:12:27] Marc Preston: That... I was gonna say, is this something your, your folks were encouraging? Were they down? I mean, at that age, they of course had to be down with it, you know? They you know. I

[00:12:36] Chris Marquette: suppose. Yeah, I wonder how, like... I mean, the story I hear of the genesis of that was that some guy, what my parents told me a long time ago, I haven't asked them this in a long time, but what I remember growing up, the story I heard was that some guy came around to, to the preschool there, the, the grade schools, uh, and was holding, like, seminars.

[00:12:57] Chris Marquette: Uh, I'm sure this guy's, like, on a, a sex offender [00:13:00] registry somewhere. But he's like, but he, like, came in and he said to all the parents, like, "Hey, I'll make your kids... I'll get them into acting. I'll make them, you know, famous." And, uh, and you go to these seminars, and then you walk away with headshots and connections to agents.

[00:13:11] Marc Preston: Ohhh. Yeah.

[00:13:12] Chris Marquette: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you could do that. And so, so I think a lot of other parents were doing it and, uh, and, uh, and my mom's a, a pretty dysfunctional human being. I think she just kinda went along with the, with the, uh, uh, the group think and, uh, got us into it. And they did... I mean, to their credit, my parents very much encouraged, uh, acting because, uh, I liked it and, and, like, I worked.

[00:13:34] Chris Marquette: And so they, um, so they, you know, they, they, they carved out the time. They put in the, the focus and energy to it. Uh, but it wasn't encouraged as in, like, my parents don't do anything like that, and they actually know nothing about the entertainment industry or, or how to navigate it. And so, um, so it was, uh...

[00:13:53] Chris Marquette: You know, maybe some, some parents kinda take young kids and turn them into professional performers in a When you hear the [00:14:00] word, when you hear the word encouraged, like in a sort of thoughtful process maybe. Mm-hmm. Uh, that was not the case for me. I think we just kind of like were du- we were just dumb and stumbled in and like whoever this guy was just got me a headshot and I started working a

[00:14:14] Marc Preston: bunch.

[00:14:14] Marc Preston: Yeah, well I'm sure it happened in, in the early 2000s like in Atlanta, I'm sure. You know, whenever there's a lot of activity in the, in the industry, there's always these people that show up suddenly with a magic pill. Like, "Just do this and you'll get to work in-" It is ... you know?

[00:14:27] Chris Marquette: It is. It's like snake oil salesmen.

[00:14:29] Marc Preston: Yeah, yeah.

[00:14:30] Chris Marquette: It's, uh, yeah. So- I'm sure there... And they still exist. It's all over the United States I think, you know? And, and

[00:14:34] Marc Preston: in thousands- Now I didn't do like tons and tons of like, like research research, 'cause I'm like, I'm not... But, uh, but I did notice that you, uh, you did spend some time at the Oakwood in LA, uh, when you were, uh, when you were in- Oh, man

[00:14:45] Marc Preston: Southern California. You did

[00:14:45] Chris Marquette: enough research to find that, Marc. I know. That's the last thing I thought you'd bring up.

[00:14:51] Marc Preston: Just stumbled across, 'cause I'm always entranced by the idea of that, 'cause I've spoken with- Yeah ... a few people who've, who've lived there. W- you know, I can imagine that would be a pretty magical place [00:15:00] of, you know, all the young Hollywood-

[00:15:02] Chris Marquette: Debauchery.

[00:15:03] Marc Preston: Well, yeah, 'cause g- yeah, there's, God only knows what's gonna be going on. You know, you have the, these talented kids and, uh, you had a, well, from what I understand, a fair share of, uh, the stage mothers, you know, living there. You know- It

[00:15:15] Chris Marquette: is ripe for prime mental health, let me tell you,

[00:15:18] Marc Preston: Marc. Was it positive vibes or was it a cautionary tale, your Oakwood experience there?

[00:15:23] Chris Marquette: Uh, you know, it's pro- it's both, man. Uh, it's so funny our conversation's, uh, immediately, uh, uh, devolving into, um, into child actor, like child actor landscape and the, uh, and the, the stories from, uh, from a life like that. Yeah, I, I think it's both. You know? I think it's a for sure cautionary tale and also, um, just really unique and kind of wonderful in ways, too.

[00:15:47] Chris Marquette: Uh, I think for the-- I mean, Oakwood, yeah. Oakwood for anybody listening that doesn't know what, what, what you're referencing is, um, a giant apartment complex in, uh, Burbank, California, uh, [00:16:00] near like a bunch of the studios, near Universal Studios when people, you know, come into for the amusement park. But also- It doesn't-- It has a different

[00:16:05] Marc Preston: name now, I think.

[00:16:06] Marc Preston: It's not The

[00:16:07] Chris Marquette: Oakwood anymore. It is. It's called Avon or something. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. They renamed it, yeah. And, uh, pr- pr- it definitely needed a, a facelift at some point and they, um, I'm sure they're, they had the, uh... The Oakwood did become synonymous with child actors and actors in general, but mostly child actors.

[00:16:22] Chris Marquette: I don't know how they did that. I, I wonder if they marketed across the United States in a specific way to families

[00:16:28] Marc Preston: who wanted

[00:16:28] Chris Marquette: to- Yeah,

[00:16:29] Marc Preston: I-- That's what I'm wondering. How did they, how did that become the epicenter where so many young actors... I, I don't know if it's 'cause it's a, maybe the, like you said, the proximity to the, uh, studios or whatever have you.

[00:16:39] Marc Preston: But you know, as, you know, speaking with what I say to kids, and they're no longer kids, but who were kids at that time, it's a place that even for a s- blink of an eye everybody just kind of passed through at least for a moment. Uh, now were you out there- For sure ... with your, your, your, like your folks and your two brothers or was it just you and-

[00:16:57] Chris Marquette: I, I went out different, different times and in [00:17:00] different, different ways.

[00:17:01] Chris Marquette: Um, and yeah, I mean, I remember going out there and like the cast of-- Like I think Jennifer Aniston used to chill by the pool, you know? And- Really? ... and, uh, just as "Friends" was starting. Yeah, so it was like, you know, and I was coming from Jersey from like a poor middle class place in Jersey. So I, for me, I was going out to, yeah, California and you go by this poolside and, you know, in Hollywood and, uh, and it was, uh, really idyllic and you'd see all these actors, you know, um, yeah, hanging out and tanning and running lines and stuff.

[00:17:26] Chris Marquette: Uh, which is really gross now that I think about it as an adult. But, uh, but I, yeah, there-- I went out in different ways. I, I think the first time I went out there's an actress named Ashley Tisdale who was a very successful kid actor and, uh- Like a

[00:17:37] Marc Preston: Disney Channel kid. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:17:39] Chris Marquette: Disney Channel, yeah, yeah.

[00:17:40] Chris Marquette: Yeah, the "High School Musical" franchise, uh, those movies and, and Ashley Tisdale and I knew each other in New York and our moms knew each other, so we came out and like we would share uh, apartments like, uh, you know, parents from Jersey would go sh- you know, go half, half and half on an apartment. And, um, and so the...

[00:17:57] Chris Marquette: You know, you'd stay with your, your, um, [00:18:00] you know, your mom in a, in a room and, and you come out for pilot season. That was the idea. Yeah. You come out for like two to three months, you audition for a bunch of pilots, and you, you're like trying to win the lottery and, and, uh, and then you, you know, if you were me, you go home, uh, being like, "Wha, wha, wha."

[00:18:15] Chris Marquette: And then like, and then like, you know, w- w- you know, trying your luck again next year. Um, but yeah, it's also my two closest friends to this day, also former kid actors. They haven't acted in 20 years, either of them, professionally. They do, um, you know, one of them does com- something completely different. Uh, I met there at Oakwood.

[00:18:32] Chris Marquette: You know, we met there and, um... Or at least we, we hung out there. We met in, in different places, but that's where we kind of, uh, spent a lot of our adolescence and, and forged our, uh, now lifelong friendships.

[00:18:43] Marc Preston: When did it become-- kind of go from being like fun or like, I don't want to say an adventure, but it ever transition for you into this is a job and this is, you know, you know, your mindset sw- switches from like, you know, when you're a kid it's good to play dress up to, [00:19:00] or whatever you want to call it, to okay, this is, this is a vocation.

[00:19:04] Marc Preston: Did, did that kind of hit you at a young age or was it-- were you business-minded from a young age, I guess you could say?

[00:19:10] Chris Marquette: Marc, four different therapists have asked me this question over the course of my life. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna just take a second to, to think about how on earth to respond to you and how open do we wanna-- uh, where do we wanna go with this one?

[00:19:20] Chris Marquette: Um, no, no, I, I actually d- um, joking aside, yeah, I, um, I don't know, man. I mean, I kind of like, I just really enjoyed-- I've been-- my whole life, like still to this day, I, I very much enjoy performing. I just, I like it. It's just something I like to do. I've tried-- I don't know if there was a specific time where You know, I suddenly felt like I needed to be professional and to, you know, um, maybe when actually way late.

[00:19:52] Chris Marquette: I, I probably make that decision like way, way late. Um, uh, you know, 'cause I was fortunate enough to like work a bunch as a teenager and then into [00:20:00] my 20s, so I just kind of kept going and going and, and to be honest, it took me a long time to realize, oh, this is a job and this is... And you are a business and, uh, you know, and, and, um, you know, filmmaking and, and, uh, film and TV and commercial, uh, you know, this is commerce.

[00:20:15] Chris Marquette: Um, it's art, um, you know, and, uh, and commerce mixed together.

[00:20:19] Marc Preston: When did you become cognizant of that? Because you're at the Oakwood, you're hanging out with, you know, uh, you know- Jennifer Aniston ... you're the, you're the center... You're chilling with Je- Jen, you know, by the pool. And-

[00:20:31] Chris Marquette: Running lines with Jen Aniston.

[00:20:33] Marc Preston: Yeah, abso- because that's, you know, that's what one does, you know?

[00:20:36] Chris Marquette: That's what one, one 13-year-old from Jersey does.

[00:20:40] Marc Preston: I mean, um- Yeah. Well, you're 13. Now, what a y- what an age to be hanging by... Okay, I was about to say... Um, but, you know, you're, you're kind of at the center of the universe. Here you are, kid actor.

[00:20:47] Chris Marquette: Mm.

[00:20:48] Marc Preston: And then- Mm ... when did you start realizing, okay, there are, there are people, there are investors, there's... You start seeing behind the curtain. When does that kind of happen? Does that change, reframe the way you look at the industry at that point? [00:21:00]

[00:21:00] Chris Marquette: Yeah, big time. Yeah, I mean, for me, I got like a crazy crash course when I was like 22 and 23, um, because I, I met the world and I r- I was really, all honestly, I was so naive.

[00:21:11] Chris Marquette: You know, I was just really sweetly dumb. My parents have n- still to this day have no concept of w- the, the entertainment business and the industry, like, at all. So I really wasn't prepared or taught, um, or given any context for the business that I was in and, and the profession I was choosing, uh, to be in.

[00:21:28] Chris Marquette: And so I got a really harsh lesson, if you want... Honestly, I honestly got i- all in my early 20s, mostly I got the experience from getting, like, kicked in the face a lot, just being met, you know, just going, you know... A- and, and that usually came from, I think, a really beautiful place, a place where I would, like, go perform and audition for something or read a script and, you know, and go at some opportunity with the, with this very innocent, naive, uh, ideology that said, "Well, hey, I'll give my best performance, and like, [00:22:00] you guys will pick the best actor and the right thing for this," and trust in this kind of romantic process- Right, right

[00:22:05] Chris Marquette: of, you know, how casting happens and how audit- the audition process happens. And then I would slowly come to find out like, "Nah, bruh, that's just, uh, that's just a romantic ideology that actually rarely happens in the way that, um, most actors, I'm sure, would like for it to happen." Uh, what actually happens is a business, you know?

[00:22:26] Chris Marquette: Yeah. And, uh, you know, th- that's this. So, so I learned through that. You know, I learned mostly from being like, "Wait, why didn't that thing work out?" And then sort of going, "Oh." Or finding good opportunity and being like, "Why am I given this good opportunity?" And, you know, and finding out why. And, um, and so that's, yeah, that's kind of, to be honest, that's really, uh, was my, like, you know, what do you call it?

[00:22:48] Chris Marquette: Trial by fire, you know? And, uh- Yeah. Yeah. And I'm s- and I'm still lear- I'm still learning that. I think, you know, like to this day, I think the, you know, the entertainment industry's in such a, a [00:23:00] weird, um, you know, uh, we'll call it transition, you know, in so many ways. And, you know, you're, I think actors and all, all artists and, you know, the, or anybody at mostly on the creative side of things, writers and directors and, uh, actors and producers are really, um, you know, figuring out how things, uh, can get done, how things can come together and, um, and how to get essentially back on a set again to make something.

[00:23:26] Chris Marquette: And that process is, uh, you know, is still changing and, and still has to be learned and navigated.

[00:23:40] Marc Preston: For someone who, who did have a pretty prolific y- y- their young years were spent on camera. You had that life where a lot of your youth, your young, you know, y- and, and it's, you know, on camera. It's on the screen. Do you ever look back and go... Kinda it's a general question. You know what it's like to look back and have your youth documented in a way which most of the [00:24:00] population simply doesn't.

[00:24:01] Chris Marquette: Yeah, or desperately would not want to have happen is usually the case for a lot of people's adolescence, I imagine. Uh, yeah, it's an interesting question or, or a interesting thought you, you put there. And, um, I mean,

[00:24:16] Marc Preston: I always think- Well, I kind of, kind of clarified it's 'cause when people watch it, they're gonna frame you like, "You're that person I saw in, in that movie back 20-something years ago.

[00:24:23] Marc Preston: God, that was, like, a couple lifetimes ago," or so much... I wonder if it's that feeling you meet people and you're kind of trapped in amber. You know, you are that person of that era to them forever. I don't know if that makes any sense at all, but.

[00:24:35] Chris Marquette: It does. No, no, for sure. I mean, that's, I mean, that's my experience in life.

[00:24:39] Chris Marquette: Like, to this day, I still... You know, there's things I worked on, uh, two decades ago that, um, you know, uh, people still kindly, uh You know, bring up and are excited to, to, um, to bring up to me. So, uh, you know, I think it's the same, I mean, I have the same thing, you know? I mean, there's like, sometimes I think about it and I think like, you know, I think there's like certain musicians and [00:25:00] bands that I listen to and, and you're like, "Oh yeah, I don't know if I've...

[00:25:02] Chris Marquette: Actually, I haven't listened to any of the music they've done in the last 30 years." Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But, but if I-- So I don't know what their life is or who they are, if they even enjoy music anymore or even play. But if I ran into them and I, I'd be like, "I still listen to that. It still means this thing to me."

[00:25:17] Chris Marquette: And, um, and so yeah, I think, you know, being in a little time capsule, uh, and part of people's lives is a really, it's a unique experience. It's, um, and it's, it's cool, you know? And, and, uh, and then it also like there's, I mean, there's hilarious... You ever see this movie called Along Came Polly? Do you remember that movie with Ben Stiller?

[00:25:33] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:25:34] Chris Marquette: Uh-huh.

[00:25:34] Marc Preston: Jennifer Aniston.

[00:25:34] Chris Marquette: Yeah. There's a n-

[00:25:35] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:25:36] Chris Marquette: Yeah. Yep. And there's a movie- It all

[00:25:37] Marc Preston: routes back to Jennifer Aniston. Yeah.

[00:25:39] Chris Marquette: Exactly. We're gonna s- we're gonna, we're gonna find our way back.

[00:25:42] Marc Preston: Well, Philip Seymour Hoffman, uh, had to leave a party because he... This is the first time I ever heard the phrase sharted.

[00:25:48] Chris Marquette: Shart. Uh, yeah. Yeah. I think they coined it there. They, yeah, if they, if they made it up, great. If they stole it, yeah, then the world knew right after that one.

[00:25:55] Marc Preston: Exactly.

[00:25:55] Chris Marquette: Exactly. That's the moment everybody remembers. You know, but he, that's, he, that character he [00:26:00] plays is a former kid actor- Yeah ... who's walking around in that, uh, in that movie, uh, sort of being haunted by this role he played as a teenager where he was like the chubby kid playing bagpipes and he was like the, the butt of a joke, you know, of this famous movie.

[00:26:16] Chris Marquette: And y- he was, you know, putting a veneer up and smiling every time somebody brought it up to him, but he was really tortured by it because he hadn't really worked since then and he, he didn't have the career he imagined he would when he was a young man. But everyone still goes like, "Hey man, you're that guy with the bagpipes," you know?

[00:26:33] Chris Marquette: And then it sort of, uh, it like taunts him. And I think there's, you know, there can be a bit of that for, um, you know, for actors. There certainly has been for me and, you know, where you feel a little like, uh, you know, there's like a strange shadow, you know, cast over you by some former work and, and, uh, and time goes by and, um, you know.

[00:26:50] Chris Marquette: And I, I think there's a really... In my opinion, you know, what I've found in my experience was that, uh, you can get really self-absorbed and, and, um, you know, and just sort of [00:27:00] insecure and, and allow th- that type of experience to feel taunting and to feel really, um, whatever. You know, to feel taunting. And, uh, and there's a way to move past that and actually just appreciate the fact that like I think it's really rare actually that anybody gets to be a part of something that 20 years later or 30 years later people still enjoy.

[00:27:19] Chris Marquette: It's still a part of them and their life and, you know, in any capacity. So, uh, you know, I've, I've always felt very grateful to, um, yeah, to have had that experience. But also too, man, to answer maybe your, your question where you're getting at too, I mean, yeah, like, you know, there's some, there's some things I did probably as a teenager that like now I'd be like as an adult or even a young adult I'd be like No, I don't want the world to see that, you know?

[00:27:43] Chris Marquette: Like, you just do it at that time, you know? Uh, and I do wonder for c- for, like, young actors these days, you know, when social media exploded, I remember I looked at my buddies, we were all actors growing up together, and I was like, "Thank God there was no social media when we were chilling and hanging out." I was like, 'cause [00:28:00] there's like...

[00:28:01] Chris Marquette: I was like, "Dude, what a, what a weird world with you've got no control." But,

[00:28:04] Marc Preston: but in a way, don't you kind of wish... I, I wish we had more access to taking pictures. You know, there's some things I'd like to have documented, you know, or even video would be kind of cool. Uh, and then like my- look at my kids' generation, it's like literally everything's documented.

[00:28:19] Marc Preston: They can go back and, you know, see. Now a lot of the stuff I'm relying upon is, like, memories. Or A song w- we do talk about the music, you know, and like them the same way. Like, a song will come on, man, you're right back there, you know? And that- Yeah ... being late teens, early 20s, and getting something captured on film.

[00:28:35] Marc Preston: But that's a time- Yeah ...

[00:28:37] Chris Marquette: well, yeah, but that's a time, like, late, you know, your teenage years, early 20s, I mean, you're like, you're just becoming a, an adult, and you think you're an adult and you're not. And, like, you're gonna make all the mistakes in the entire world, guaranteed. Uh, I mean, most of us do. I'm sure there's a few of you perfect people out there, but-

[00:28:51] Chris Marquette: you know, but you, you know- Angels ... that's not the, it's, yeah, that's not the, the, the best representation of who you will most likely be. Or maybe it is, but, like, [00:29:00] hopefully it's not always the best representation of, you know, of who you will most likely be for the rest of your life.

[00:29:04] Marc Preston: Um, and- Yeah, I, I love that phrase that said if you look back-

[00:29:06] Marc Preston: that time ... could look back when you're 20-something years old, when you were a knucklehead, and you don't realize, you know, you don't, y- you don't see that you were a knucklehead. You're still a knucklehead, you know? Uh, or, but if you look back and, like, you ever have that occasional cringe moment like, "Oh, I did that.

[00:29:19] Marc Preston: I said that. Oh my God." Like, that's nothing bad, but it's just from- Every day,

[00:29:23] Chris Marquette: Marc. Every day.

[00:29:25] Marc Preston: But, but yeah, that was just the, the idea that I had. Yeah. As I was walking my dog, I thought, "God, what if I had these things captured for all to see for all time?" I, you know, I didn't know if that would be something to be done with, but, uh, but- Yeah

[00:29:37] Marc Preston: now you said your folks, they weren't really ke- they're not really keyed into the entertainment industry. What, what was their v- or what is their vocation?

[00:29:43] Chris Marquette: Oh, my, uh, my dad is a nuclear engineer. Mm-hmm. Um, and, uh, and so he works at power plants. He now works for the utilities company, uh, for Southern California Edison in, uh, Southern California, and, um, if the name didn't explain it.

[00:29:56] Chris Marquette: And, uh, my mom, uh, liked to deal drugs and, uh, go to [00:30:00] jail. So she- Oh ... that was her occupation for the most part. And, um, and then raise, uh, and raised three, as you put it, knuckleheads. And, um- Yeah.

[00:30:08] Marc Preston: I, I, I can identify with that. Like, I, I do have a... It's, what a random connection.

[00:30:12] Chris Marquette: Yeah, talking to your mom too? Come on now.

[00:30:13] Marc Preston: Well, it, it was a fa- Really? ... it was a father, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was, uh- Oh, nice ... yeah, it was, uh, growing up, I, I, uh, uh, the, well, the few memories I had, I wouldn't even know. I was a tween. I was like, "Who are these weird people that come by the house? Who are these people?" You know? It's like, you know, it's, it's just, you know, the- Those

[00:30:29] Chris Marquette: aren't cousins.

[00:30:29] Chris Marquette: Who is that? What's the, is that the mailman?

[00:30:31] Marc Preston: Yeah, and, and when, when you come to that realization- Is that the bank? ... I, I gather it, you know, it's like when you're at that age and you realize, I remember being 11, having this really specific memory going, "These two parental types, I don't think they got the DNA to be the, the parents."

[00:30:46] Marc Preston: Like, my friend's parents, I see them like, they seem like parent parents, you know, circa 1980-something. Right. Mine, they're on a frequency I don't get. I, and I'm going, "Am I kind of on my own to crack the code on this thing?" You know, because as a kid, I think that's- [00:31:00] A- a- as a kid, you have intuition, so you just inherently know something's just a little bit off.

[00:31:05] Marc Preston: Something

[00:31:05] Chris Marquette: shady.

[00:31:06] Marc Preston: And I think, you know, I think that kind of protects you, helps you. I don't know, you know. But there's a lot- Yeah ... of different ways it can go. But anyway, but- Yeah ... so you, you-

[00:31:13] Chris Marquette: There's a lot of ways to interpret that experience, for sure. And,

[00:31:15] Marc Preston: uh- It's educational,

[00:31:17] Chris Marquette: you know? And it, and it, it's a...

[00:31:17] Chris Marquette: Well, I was about to say, it's a unique skill set, you know, to, for someone to have. So y- I'm sure it taught you a few things and, um, you know, and if you've been, uh, acting and doing voiceovers for a long time, there's a certain hustle. There's a grind, you know, actors gotta have. So m- maybe it gave you a, maybe it gave you a little bit of that, who knows?

[00:31:33] Marc Preston: It, it ga- It was, uh, therapy- It

[00:31:35] Chris Marquette: gave me

[00:31:36] Marc Preston: something. It was th- therapy fuel. Yeah. Um-

[00:31:38] Chris Marquette: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah ...

[00:31:40] Marc Preston: so that,

[00:31:40] Chris Marquette: uh- It gave me therapy bills for the next 40 years is what it did.

[00:31:43] Marc Preston: So but you had your brothers there with you, which is nice. I was an only kid, you know. Mm. But I imagine having your brothers there, were they having kind of the same experience growing up you had?

[00:31:51] Marc Preston: Did they reference the same childhood you had, or is it sort of like, do they frame it differently? You know, I, I always try to live vicariously through others who had siblings growing up. [00:32:00] But, uh, was the- Oh, yeah ... experience of being a young, uh, Rodriguez Marquette was the same thing for you and your brothers?

[00:32:06] Chris Marquette: I think so. I mean, it was a little different for me only in that I really, I worked a lot, like, as a, as an actor. So I was really... Like, I had what I always felt was, like, my secret life, my sort of 007 You know, so I would like, you know, we'd come back and we'd do normal things on the weekends and play sports and, like, go to birthday parties, uh, and, uh, you know, I'd go to public schools and do things.

[00:32:29] Chris Marquette: And my brothers worked as well, but not as much. And so, um, you know, uh, you know, and then all of a sudden I would go off and be in these really unpredictably, uh, strange, you know, circumstances and new places and new people all the time, shooting some weird thing. And, you know, I have a day where I'm pretending like my back's broken and, you know, I'm-- I fell down the stairs and I, you know, and then I come home and, you know, my brother's just playing video games.

[00:32:51] Chris Marquette: Just finished their homework. Yeah. You know? And so, like, you know, and I would just sort of acclimate and go back and forth and oscillate between these two, uh, these two different, um, [00:33:00] environments. And so I think it was a little unique in that. But they, they worked enough, too. You know, they did, they did, you know, s- and they were auditioning a lot as well, like me.

[00:33:08] Chris Marquette: So they, you know, they knew what I was doing. It wasn't foreign to them. But, um, but, uh, maybe that's the only thing. But otherwise, no, we've, we've always agreed we all grew up in a very dysfunctional household.

[00:33:18] Marc Preston: Well, here's the thing, though. You know, when you get older, especially when you reconnect with people, you, well, uh...

[00:33:24] Marc Preston: I mean, I take it you probably did a lot-- you didn't go to regular school, like, didn't have that elementary, junior high, high school thing. But, you know-

[00:33:31] Chris Marquette: I did, yeah. I did have that.

[00:33:32] Marc Preston: Oh, you did? Were you-- So you actually went to regular school. Yeah. You weren't just, you weren't just doing the on-set, uh, uh, uh, uh, tutoring thing.

[00:33:40] Marc Preston: You actually had the-

[00:33:41] Chris Marquette: Both. Yeah.

[00:33:42] Marc Preston: Oh, look. Well, so, so, so d- can you look back on, like, the people you went to school with and go, you know... I think when you grow up in a dysfunctional, uh, household, you kind of look at everybody else and go, "Well, they-- Grass is always greener." And then you get a little bit older, then you reconnect, you realize, "Oh, man, they had shit going on also."

[00:33:58] Marc Preston: You know? And then, and it's,

[00:33:59] Chris Marquette: you know- Oh, no, for [00:34:00] sure. 'Cause I went to some rough schools too, man. So, like, I went to, like, you know, my, my first day in a In high school, my first week, you know, some kid was like, "Can I show you something?" And I was like, "Yeah." He's like, "Look in my backpack." And I looked down in his backpack, and he's like...

[00:34:13] Chris Marquette: I was like, "Is that a, a knife?" He was like, "Yeah." I was like, "That's like a Rambo knife. That's like a cr- that thing's like, like nine inches long. That's crazy." And he was like, "Yeah." And I was like, "Okay." So like, you know, I, I... For sure other kids had stuff going on at home as well.

[00:34:27] Marc Preston: You know, as you kind of progress on, you did kind of go from the doing the kid thing to the, then the, the girl, the Girl Next Door.

[00:34:34] Marc Preston: That's what it was called? The Girl Next... Yeah. 'Cause that's when I think I first became... You came on my radar, e- uh, even though I, you know, wasn't a big Barney guy, you know. But no, that-

[00:34:44] Chris Marquette: Yeah. Wasn't a big Barney guy. Was America's Most Wanted reenactment guy. That's- Yeah. That's... I forgive him. You know, I actually did tons of voiceovers growing up.

[00:34:51] Chris Marquette: I used to do all the, uh, all the, the cereal commercials, um, all, all the jingles and stuff. So for like, you know- Oh,

[00:34:57] Marc Preston: that's good money, too, you know.

[00:34:59] Chris Marquette: Yeah. It [00:35:00] was good money. Yeah, yeah. And y- you know, so I'd do all those things. I grew up in, in New York there doing all the, um... You know, any time there was a kid talking about cereal, it was usually, uh, usually my voice or, or whatever snack.

[00:35:09] Chris Marquette: Goldfish and, you know, Kraft Mac and Cheese, like all that stuff. And so, uh-

[00:35:13] Marc Preston: That, no, that is- Yeah, that was ... the... See, that's kinda, that's cool. See, uh, when I was young- Yeah ... I was always, like, into the theater of the mind. I loved being in the sound booth. I thought that was kind of magical. I don't remember, you know, the, as they say, the box office or whatever, but I remember The Girl Next Door was, uh, was it E- Elisha Cuthbert?

[00:35:29] Marc Preston: Was that her? Is that her name? You know. Is she- 'Cause she was in 24, and that was really hot, and so that was- Mm-hmm ... so that got a lot of attention. Was that, was that your transition movie? Like, "I'm doing the kid thing. Now I'm shifting into grown-up stuff," you know? Is that-

[00:35:42] Chris Marquette: I think... Actually, I think the grown-up stuff actually came, like, six years ago if I'm being-

[00:35:47] Chris Marquette: totally honest. But I, uh, but it was definitely, yeah, the, that film was, um, for sure a change in my, in my life as an actor, and it was, uh... You know, whatever I worked on [00:36:00] prior, um, that, that got me attention like, like nothing had prior. And, um, and, uh, and it was, for me, I mean, at the time it felt like the, the first, like, quote-unquote, "adult role."

[00:36:12] Chris Marquette: You know, I mean, we're all in, in high school, so we're, we're children, but, um-

[00:36:16] Marc Preston: Now, now am I remembering right? ... you know, it felt that You were, you were into film and, uh, um, uh, this is an old memory- Yeah. He's like a- ... but you were like you, you wanna be a director when you, you know, got out of school.

[00:36:24] Chris Marquette: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:25] Chris Marquette: Okay. He's like a little arrogant, he's like a little a- a- arrogant, uh, wannabe filmmaker and, um, you know, and then, and then helps them make a, like a sex ed video, um, with, um- with, uh, porn stars, you know, that, um- Right ... 'cause that's the, like, the girl next door ends up being this, you know, um, she, she dabbled in porn was the idea, uh, for like a second.

[00:36:44] Chris Marquette: And, and, uh, and yeah. And weirdly though, you know, that movie, what it did for my life was strange and because that movie did, did horribly commercially. Like it-

[00:36:54] Marc Preston: Really? ...

[00:36:54] Chris Marquette: bombed. Yeah, it bombed in the box office. It didn't do anything. And, uh, and so, and [00:37:00] it, and it was... But it's a really good film, and it was really funny.

[00:37:03] Chris Marquette: And, you know, I think Luke Greenfield, that director, he did this incredible job making that movie and, and the actors are great. Like it, everything's so great, so it was so ripe. Everybody was anticipating, I think, a really big reaction and, uh, and a lot of success, and then it just like, whoop, it just bombed.

[00:37:19] Chris Marquette: And, and but then, like within a year or two, it caught on on DVD, and then it became then all the success sort of happened. So I led the... It, it kind of gave me this strange, uh, experience in my life where for years and years I would be treated at least like, you know, emotionally by people in the entertainment industry and, uh, and, and movie fans, I would be treated like that film made $100 million in the box office and I was suddenly like a little comedic movie star, you know?

[00:37:51] Chris Marquette: Wow. Um, but in all reality, it did almost nothing, um, for me professionally. So I was still very much in the, in [00:38:00] the same place and kind of grinding it out with auditions and, you know, and, uh- Really? Okay ... you know, it just...

[00:38:04] Marc Preston: Yeah, I guess- Yeah. There, there are some movies, I was talking to somebody the other day, uh, that s- sometimes it would be like it became a cable hit or a, a hit at Blockbuster.

[00:38:15] Marc Preston: Uh, you know, there, there are a lot of movies who just k- took a second life when, you know, uh, you know, when people were renting it. Um- Yeah ... so but when you were coming up, I'm curious, what were you... Because you're in it, you're doing it, but at the same time you're developing your own taste. What was it, what were the things you were watching, uh, on film or TV or the actors that were like, "God, this is, this is, this is my jam.

[00:38:37] Marc Preston: This is kind of where I'd like to see myself go," or, "This is where I'm, why I'm personally entertained." What, what were those things for you?

[00:38:44] Chris Marquette: I mean, I became very unhealthily obsessed with Ed Norton as like a 20-year-old, um, and, uh, i- in a really pretentious, dumb little, uh, young actor way, I think. Uh, which is just like he was like, you know, he was like peak Ed [00:39:00] Norton at that...

[00:39:00] Chris Marquette: Uh, when I was that age and, and, uh, and doing the coolest work ever. And he wasn't one of the quote-unquote old school actors, you know? He wasn't, you know, De Niro and Brando. He was just like, he was a new guy on the scene and he was doing this extraordinary work. So I became really obsessed with that. But I honestly, like I, like I said, like I was really naive to the...

[00:39:15] Chris Marquette: Like I, I wasn't taught, uh, by my parents or really anybody else about the industry or even movies in general. Like I... So when I was like, when I was like 16, I went off and shot a movie and some guy from s- this like actor's assistant, um, was this young dude around, you know, a few years older than me, and he would say like, he would say like, "Oh, you know, it's like that scene in 'Taxi Driver'" and blah, blah, and I'd be like, "What?"

[00:39:39] Chris Marquette: And he was like You never saw Ta-, you never, you never saw Taxi Driver? I was like, "What is Ta-..." I had no idea what anything was. And I remember that guy in particular, he would show me a few movies, and that's kind of became my education, is occasionally anything somebody mentioned to me, even in passing if someone was in conversation, I would immediately go find it.

[00:39:57] Chris Marquette: I'd go find it and watch. And, um, anything [00:40:00] that anyone talked about that sounded good or, or great. And I just learned by that, and I found ... And then if I found one actor that I thought was really good, I l- legit in a weird, um, a super i- intense obsessive way, I would go buy all of their films and I would watch all of them.

[00:40:17] Chris Marquette: Uh, and then eventually filmmakers, and then go watch, um- Oh, okay ... really good filmmakers, all their movies. Uh, and that's, that's kind of what I, um, fell

[00:40:24] Marc Preston: into. That's kind of the way I am now. You know, it's like I'll see something and then- Oh ... and you put in an actor and it's like, you know, in Roku all their stuff pops up.

[00:40:31] Marc Preston: I'm like, "I'm gonna check out their other stuff." But yeah, Ed Norton- Oh, nice ... he's, he's like that, uh, movie I remember seeing him in, uh, was it, um, Primal Fear? Was that what it was? Was, uh- Yeah, Primal

[00:40:39] Chris Marquette: Fear.

[00:40:40] Marc Preston: Yeah. Yeah. That, that was like, that was wild. I was like, "This guy is, like, on a different level." Now I watch him or listen to him in interviews talking about, uh, investments.

[00:40:48] Marc Preston: I'm like, "This guy's way too intelligent." You know, the ... It's like, you know-

[00:40:52] Chris Marquette: Yeah,

[00:40:52] Marc Preston: he's way too intelligent ... he, he's got the right and left brain banging. Yeah. What are you

[00:40:54] Chris Marquette: doing acting? Every now and then I think that. I was like, "What are you doing acting, buddy?" Like, "What are you doing acting? You got l- ... Go

[00:40:59] Chris Marquette: I'm sure you, you can [00:41:00] do a lot for the world. What are you doing with that brain acting?"

[00:41:02] Marc Preston: Um- Well, so, so if you were to say... L- like, your daughter's six now. Like, what ... Does she reference you y- as ... Has she seen you on TV or in film? Or does she just, like, you're dad, you know?

[00:41:13] Chris Marquette: No. She has, she has no idea. And actually this, uh, this...

[00:41:16] Chris Marquette: I have a, this show coming out, and last year it was the first time she got to come visit me on set and actually see what I do. Uh, which was for me a really beautiful experience and an extraordinary experience. Um, but otherwise she has no clue. I, I've, I've actually showed her... I found a couple things I did as a kid.

[00:41:38] Chris Marquette: I, there's a couple kid movies I would just show her, like, a picture of, um, you know, from, from like the internet. Uh, I have yet to show her, like, a full, full thing. Mostly because e- everything I did she can't watch till she's much older. But, uh, but I... Yeah, she really has no idea. It's really strange. And, and I, I worry about it because I'm like, "Yo, she just thinks her daddy's a bum," you know?

[00:41:59] Chris Marquette: [00:42:00] Like, I'm just like, I'm just like, she's like at home. I'm like, "Oh, I'm, you know, running line..." Like, she doesn't know what I'm doing and she's just like, "Who, who's this guy who's always in the living room?" You know? Uh, and so, um, I actually kind of try to make effort to be, you know, like if I made a self-tape, you know, or, uh, you know, or I, I, um, you know, just recently This job I got is this show Reacher that's coming out Mm-hmm

[00:42:19] Chris Marquette: and, you know, they, we released a, they released a trailer, and so I got to, like, show her a bit of the trailer and say like, "Hey, look who, who's that handsome guy on s- look at that guy." And she's like, "That's my..." You know, so that's, um, you know, that's, that's kinda how I expose her to it.

[00:42:32] Marc Preston: Yeah. L- l- the way my kids grew up, they are, like, used to either hearing me on things or, you know, occasionally seeing me do some stuff.

[00:42:39] Marc Preston: My youngest is the most unaffected. She's like, uh, just does not, like, care. It's, it's really interesting to see their reaction. I'm like, they're not, it's, they're not easily impressed, we'll put it like that. Yeah. Uh, or not impressed with me, one of the two. Uh, but without giving anything away, uh, you know- Hmm

[00:42:54] Marc Preston: kinda how do you enter into the Reacher ecosystem? How do you come into this season?

[00:42:59] Chris Marquette: Uh, [00:43:00] it's sorta, I mean, the trailer kinda gives a good hint, um, so I can go with that. It's, yeah, I come in, I mean, you know, like any, um, season of Reacher and any book, uh, you know, Reacher wanders into a new town, trouble finds him.

[00:43:13] Chris Marquette: Yeah. Uh, and he takes care of it. And in this one, I, um, you know, I, he stumbles onto this, this, uh, unfortunately violent, um, experience and, uh, and he immediately meets me. Um, and it, uh, is this thing that happens to my sister, you come to find out. Um, uh, she, um, like commits suicide in front of him. Uh, and he is like, "Jesus."

[00:43:42] Chris Marquette: And he comes to me and my, my, my character's like, uh, you know, goes, "I, I don't believe that's what happened to her, and I'm gonna figure out what actually happened to her." And he looks at me, I'm this like small town cop, um, half his size, and uh, and I say, "I'm gonna go solve this thing." And he goes, "You?" [00:44:00] And I'm like, "Yeah, man."

[00:44:01] Chris Marquette: He goes, "What are you gonna do?" And I'm like, "Uh, what I just said." And then he's like, "All right, bro. I'll help you." And then and then the two of us go off on this wildly epic adventure, uh, to go solve it, and we end up, um, unraveling I think the craziest, most unexpected like thrilling adventure story that, uh, that the Reacherverse has told so far, um- Oh,

[00:44:25] Marc Preston: really?

[00:44:25] Marc Preston: Yeah. Well, you said you're half his size. Well, everybody's half of Alan Ritchson's size.

[00:44:29] Chris Marquette: Everybody is. He's

[00:44:30] Marc Preston: like four- That guy, that guy's like a s- ... feet tall ... that guy's... Every time I look at him I'm like, "You're a specimen, dude. You're not real. You're, you're just, you were created in a lab. You're here to make all the rest of us look bad."

[00:44:40] Marc Preston: You ever done an

[00:44:41] Chris Marquette: action- Yeah, four athletes get together, they like push their fists together, a little light comes out- ... and then like Transformers they just like- Yeah ... just like, just like become one human man.

[00:44:49] Marc Preston: How, how tall is he, man? He, he seems like a, he- He's,

[00:44:53] Chris Marquette: he's so big that like there were days where like, you know, you're on set, you're hanging out and stuff, and like I'd be talking to somebody and then he just, you know, [00:45:00] not on purpose, he would just walk in and he's running lines or talking to somebody, and he would step kind of in front of you.

[00:45:04] Chris Marquette: And, you know, you don't realize it's like if you're in a busy area, if someone kinda gets in your line of vision from who you're talking to, you can just kinda lean a couple inches and you're- Yeah, yeah ... I remember I had to take, I had to take like three steps to like find... Like if he steps in your line of vision, he's like a, he's like an actual house.

[00:45:22] Chris Marquette: You have to like s- take three steps around him to, uh, find who you were talking to. Or a block. So he-

[00:45:27] Marc Preston: Yeah, I'm a block

[00:45:28] Chris Marquette: himself ... exactly, yes. Yeah,

[00:45:29] Marc Preston: yeah. But were you able to be v- pretty physical in this, uh, in this, uh, series? I

[00:45:33] Chris Marquette: had to be, yeah. Yeah. I'm like a, I'm a full-blown, uh, un- uh, unassuming action star in this thing.

[00:45:39] Chris Marquette: Um, I'm not, uh, uh, by no means is he good at it, but he, uh, I mean, boy does he, does he succeed as well. Uh, with that said, yeah, I, I can say that thing. But yeah, he, yeah, I, I mean, dude, I had to like, I had to do like the craziest running. It was the most physically demanding job I've, I've for sure ever done, and, and the most physically demanding opportunity I've ever been given.

[00:45:58] Chris Marquette: And, and it was great. [00:46:00] Well, well

[00:46:00] Marc Preston: then- It was so

[00:46:00] Chris Marquette: fun ...

[00:46:00] Marc Preston: inner young guy's gotta go, "Oh, this, this is kinda like..." You know, it was the first time you were able to kinda g- you know, have that kind of, uh, fun physical gig.

[00:46:09] Chris Marquette: Oh, big time, man. Are you kidding? I mean, to be honest, after a little bit I was like, I, I said to myself, I was like, "Oh, I thought this ship..."

[00:46:16] Chris Marquette: I mean, I'm 41 years old now, so like I was 40 when I filmed this. I was like, "I, I thought this ship had sailed." There was a part of me that thought, "Oh, maybe you'll be driving stunt cars and you dri- you know, and uh, and in action sequences." Like I gave that up 15 years ago. Uh-huh. So it's really, you know, it was really cool for sure.

[00:46:33] Chris Marquette: This part of me kinda came back online that was like, "Look at that, man. Like look at what you're doing today," you know? I,

[00:46:39] Marc Preston: I think that's, I think it's pretty badass, you know? To be able to go- Me

[00:46:42] Chris Marquette: too, man. Yeah,

[00:46:42] Marc Preston: man ... maybe there's a few more Advil a- at the end of the day, but you know.

[00:46:46] Chris Marquette: Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah.

[00:46:47] Chris Marquette: There's some creaky knees, you know?

[00:46:55] Marc Preston: Some I call my seven questions. It's a little extra fun, a little, you know. Uh, and I [00:47:00] always talk food at least once, uh, and it's just- Hmm ... kind of what I do. But, uh, but the first question, now you're in Ireland, I'm curious if there's anything going on there. Hmm. But if you were to say, "This is my favorite comfort food," what would that comfort food be?

[00:47:13] Marc Preston: You know, you have a crap day, it elevates you. If it's a great day, it's like, ah, it just kind of adds to it. What would that be for you?

[00:47:20] Chris Marquette: It's definitely not Irish food. In Ir- in Ireland, they like to put pig's blood in stuff. So there's no comfort food for me here in Ireland. Uh, I mean, I'm like a trash pig, you know?

[00:47:29] Chris Marquette: I grew up eating, uh, McDonald's and, and, and, uh, microwavable meals. So my comfort food is pretty gross. Uh, no, not really actually. Uh, the, these ... I eat clean, but I think... Oh, man, I'd have to say, uh, I'll name a couple if that's all right. Can I name a couple? Is that all right? I, I, I do like a full three-course meal is what, what I do.

[00:47:48] Chris Marquette: If churros are available, I will never, ever turn down a churro. That is, I will, uh, I will absolutely... And I will go to great lengths to find them. Um, and, uh, I, uh, Doritos, I will [00:48:00] crush a party-sized bag of Doritos, um, to define depression, uh, so extraordinarily well. And, um, and then I will eat, uh, any kind of cereal.

[00:48:10] Chris Marquette: I, I'm a... That, that's probably my biggest comfort food.

[00:48:12] Marc Preston: You got... So you got the crunch going on. Yeah. Plano is the headquarters of, uh, Frito-Lay, so you know.

[00:48:17] Chris Marquette: I know that. I know. It's wild. I know.

[00:48:20] Marc Preston: I remember I worked at a radio station in Dallas. First sta- station I ever worked at, it was, uh, uh, station Y95. Oh my God, this is going back.

[00:48:28] Marc Preston: 1990. And I was, uh, uh, uh, at, you know, whenever they do promotions, they go out all summer long. One of the... Doritos was a sponsor. So they have these boxes and boxes and boxes of the little snack-sized Doritos. End of the summer- Mm ... all the promotions are over with, you know, they're not going to pools and, you know, whatever they're doing.

[00:48:45] Marc Preston: "Uh, do you want some?" They're like, "I brought home these two enormous boxes of Doritos." I couldn't stand Doritos after that s- after I went through those boxes. That, that was my only snack food, you know?

[00:48:56] Chris Marquette: Marc, you're talking about my dream in life. You just threw it away.

[00:48:59] Marc Preston: Yeah. You just threw

[00:48:59] Chris Marquette: it away like [00:49:00] that.

[00:49:00] Chris Marquette: That is... Ugh, it makes me sick.

[00:49:02] Marc Preston: What's that thing? I did like when they came out with the Dorito taco shell thing at Taco Bell. I thought that was kind of cool. But, you know, that was,

[00:49:08] Chris Marquette: uh- Yeah, yeah, yeah ...

[00:49:08] Marc Preston: um-

[00:49:09] Chris Marquette: Or ac- I don't know. I thought, "God, we've steeped to new levels as a society."

[00:49:13] Marc Preston: Yeah. It's, it's either, it's either like we're just super serving the human species, or it's like we've just given up.

[00:49:18] Marc Preston: One or the other. Can't figure out which one

[00:49:19] Chris Marquette: we're doing. We've given up. Honestly, that was a, that was a give up move, I think.

[00:49:23] Marc Preston: For sure. It was a tasty, it was a tasty one, though. But I've never tried it. Do you have any restaurant memories from back in, uh, Texas? Like Whataburger or anything like that?

[00:49:30] Chris Marquette: No, not in the slightest, Bill.

[00:49:31] Chris Marquette: Too dumb. Ah. Yeah, yeah.

[00:49:32] Marc Preston: No. I mean, I'm in Texas, so I gotta ask that question. It's, it's qui- you know. Yeah, that's fair. Now, the next question I got for you, if you're gonna talk stories, sit down for a whole afternoon, you're gonna be having coffee with you and three people, living or not, who would be at that table with you?

[00:49:46] Marc Preston: If you could have anyone, three people, uh, for the afternoon.

[00:49:50] Chris Marquette: Oh. Three people for the afternoon. I ... Oh, man I got like an unhealthy obsession with Jake Gyllenhaal. I just [00:50:00] like, "Oh man, I wanna marry that dude." And, uh-

[00:50:02] Marc Preston: That's he, that's another guy. Like, did you see him in, uh, what is it, The Road House? Like-

[00:50:06] Chris Marquette: So did you hear me?

[00:50:07] Chris Marquette: I wanna marry him. Did I see Road House? Of course I saw Road House. Multiple times. Uh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, exactly. And

[00:50:13] Marc Preston: the, the thumb- every time I scroll through, uh, the thumbnail for that is just him hanging out with his shirt open. You know, I'm like, I'm like- Yeah ... you don't do that to us. You know, you're not giving any of the rest of us a chance.

[00:50:22] Marc Preston: Yeah, don't do that. You don't shame

[00:50:23] Chris Marquette: us. I know, he just shames everybody else in the world. I know. That's why I wanna talk to him. I wanna have a talk. Like, you're just spreading shame to the rest of us. You just... Like, relax, relax guy. You don't need to look that good. Uh, you don't need to be that good of an actor.

[00:50:34] Chris Marquette: Jesus, just relax. Yeah, I, um, yeah, Gyllenhaal for sure. Uh, uh, Rilke, Rainer Maria Rilke, the au- the, the poet, uh- Mm-hmm ... the author. I think I'd sit with that guy. Um, and then I would f- uh, one more I don't know who I'd choose. Yeah, I don't know who I'd choose between Robin Williams and Richard Pryor. But what, what- [00:51:00] Oh,

[00:51:00] Marc Preston: yeah

[00:51:00] Chris Marquette: if, if you let me, uh, yeah, if you let them be a package deal. Well, I

[00:51:02] Marc Preston: say this. Okay, I'd choose Robin Williams because it would be more than one person at that table, you know? 'Cause if he- Yes,

[00:51:08] Chris Marquette: that's true. Yeah, yeah, fair ...

[00:51:09] Marc Preston: he would turn into all these different people. So, uh, just- That's fair ... the, the improvisation, uh, you know.

[00:51:15] Marc Preston: Love Richard Pryor, you know. Absolutely. Yeah. But, uh, but yeah, Gyllenhaal, what was that, uh, movie he did with, uh, Michael, uh, what's his... He played a cop, you know, uh, i- i- End of- End of

[00:51:25] Chris Marquette: Watch. End

[00:51:26] Marc Preston: of Watch ... End of Watch. End of Watch. I thought that was the best after knowing, you know, some cops, that was the best representation, just the physicality.

[00:51:32] Marc Preston: You watch somebody that you know- It was, man ... put in the work, you know. You know-

[00:51:36] Chris Marquette: Yeah, yeah,

[00:51:36] Marc Preston: yeah ... like when you know somebody's done that hard work. Oh, that guy

[00:51:38] Chris Marquette: puts in the work.

[00:51:38] Marc Preston: Yeah. Yeah,

[00:51:39] Chris Marquette: yeah. No, he puts in the work. Yeah,

[00:51:41] Marc Preston: yeah. And, and for, and too mu- too much in the gym. Again, he's making us look bad. He's too

[00:51:44] Chris Marquette: good.

[00:51:44] Chris Marquette: He makes me sick. Yeah, exactly.

[00:51:45] Marc Preston: Um-

[00:51:46] Chris Marquette: Yeah, he's just, yeah ...

[00:51:46] Marc Preston: now, now kind of related yet unrelated, now going back to when you were young. Who was your very first celebrity crush when you were a young guy?

[00:51:55] Chris Marquette: Oh, man. Okay.

[00:51:57] Marc Preston: Again, because you were 13 years old- Besides, besides- ... with Jennifer Aniston by the [00:52:00] pool, so I don't know,

[00:52:00] Chris Marquette: like, you're, you're- Yeah, I was about to say.

[00:52:01] Chris Marquette: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. I was, I was exposed to some things. Uh, besides Jessica Rabbit from Roger Rabbit, who was a real human being, let's see. I, I think actually legit, and this came, this is a good story if you want a good, uh, a little, little side story. Mm-hmm. Uh, uh, Left Eye from TLC was my love. Oh, okay.

[00:52:18] Chris Marquette: Because my father-

[00:52:18] Marc Preston: Oh, okay. Okay ...

[00:52:19] Chris Marquette: yeah. Because I, I got to meet her and, um, and I asked her and TLC to sign a, a CD for me. And, uh, and they thought, they, they looked at me, uh, I'll never forget, they were like, "You're so adorable." And I was like, "Am I?" And I played this up. And, uh, and they signed the CD, and then they, they had like, you know, really cool makeup on, and they gave me a kiss on the cheek, one of them.

[00:52:43] Chris Marquette: And it showed up, like, purple, and I went, "Oh, great." And someone commented like, "You have this purple thing." And I asked for more, and so- ... the three of them gave me just-

[00:52:51] Marc Preston: Asked

[00:52:51] Chris Marquette: for more ... yeah. Literally I was like, "Come on, give me some more." Uh, it's telling how my my adult it turns out. But I, uh, uh, that's a weird [00:53:00] comment to make.

[00:53:00] Chris Marquette: Anyway, uh, the it's... Oh, man. But I'd say- You're working the angles,

[00:53:05] Marc Preston: you

[00:53:05] Chris Marquette: know? Uh, well, exactly. Yeah, yeah. There was a part of me that was like, uh, would I like, uh, kisses all over my face? Absolutely. Uh, so yeah, but, but TLC, uh, Left Eye was my, my big childhood crush. And then Jennifer Love Hewitt became the, like the- I

[00:53:18] Marc Preston: just-

[00:53:18] Chris Marquette: you know, like she might have need a restraining order against me with what I binded

[00:53:21] Marc Preston: to her. I was

[00:53:21] Chris Marquette: just

[00:53:21] Marc Preston: watching, uh, last night with my daughter. Uh, was it Heartbreakers? With she, uh, where she- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah ... she and her mom, um, would, would scam guys. And I was watching it- Yeah I rem- I watched, I watched it with my daughter last time going, "How did any guy not, not just be in love with her back in the day?"

[00:53:36] Marc Preston: You know?

[00:53:36] Chris Marquette: Yeah.

[00:53:37] Marc Preston: Jennifer Love Hewitt. Yeah. I

[00:53:38] Chris Marquette: mean, it's, it was impossible. Yeah. It was just, she just, she, she was it.

[00:53:42] Marc Preston: Mm-hmm. Now, the next question I got, if you're gonna be chilling on a, an exotic island, somewhere tropical, you love being there. It's a really nice place to be, but no streaming. So you're gonna be there a whole year, and if you wanna listen to music, you gotta bring one CD, and a movie, you gotta bring one DVD.

[00:53:57] Marc Preston: What would that CD and DVD be [00:54:00] for that whole year on the island?

[00:54:02] Chris Marquette: Ooh. I think we put all the DVDs in a big heap in a, in, in the ground somewhere in a landfill, Marc. I don't know if they're around anymore, but I, uh, let's see.

[00:54:11] Marc Preston: I think they're, I think they're making a slight comeback now, you know?

[00:54:14] Chris Marquette: Are they?

[00:54:15] Chris Marquette: Oh, that's

[00:54:15] Marc Preston: great. Well, because you, you got those people who with different streaming services have had, uh, who have paid-

[00:54:20] Chris Marquette: Mm ...

[00:54:20] Marc Preston: uh, for movies and then they s- then the license got wonky or whatever, and then they no longer have this movie they paid for. So there's ki- Yeah ... well, you know, the millennials brought back vinyl records.

[00:54:31] Marc Preston: I think my kids' generation's digging on the DVD thing, but-

[00:54:34] Chris Marquette: Oh, nice. That's awesome. Well- Oh, that's great to hear. Um, yeah, that, uh- It's, uh,

[00:54:37] Marc Preston: aspirational hopefully- Let's see.

[00:54:39] Chris Marquette: DVD ... you know. Yeah, yeah. I don't... It's gonna be hard. Can I, uh, can I rattle off probably the, a couple, just a couple? Yeah, go for

[00:54:45] Marc Preston: it.

[00:54:46] Chris Marquette: Yeah, let's see.

[00:54:46] Chris Marquette: Music-wise, In Rainbows, Radiohead, uh, Eminem Show Uh, Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads, and I mean, all week I was listening to Buena Vista Social Club. Um, that's like, uh, th- [00:55:00] those are all the albums that I always go back to. Um, and movies, Hook- Okay ... uh, Dumb and Dumber, Braveheart, and then I can never stop watching Men of Honor, Cuba Gooding Jr.

[00:55:14] Chris Marquette: and Robert Downey Jr. That's the-

[00:55:15] Marc Preston: Oh, okay. Yeah ...

[00:55:17] Chris Marquette: it's all, all, all those. Yeah, the, the, those, th- those movies. One of the... I don't know how to choose between any one out of any of those things.

[00:55:22] Marc Preston: I'm kind of the same way. You know, you take me like- Yeah ... you know, you set me down at a restaurant with too big of a menu, I'm like, "I'm gonna have to get a couple things," you know?

[00:55:28] Marc Preston: Um- Yeah, I give up.

[00:55:29] Chris Marquette: Yeah ...

[00:55:30] Marc Preston: now, the next question, if you were to say from the time you get up to the time you go to bed, if you say, "Okay, these are the ingredients for me for a perfect day," what would that r- for that recipe of a perfect day, what would those ingredients be? The things that just, like, if this and this and this happened, boom, perfect day.

[00:55:47] Chris Marquette: I mean, nobody got cancer, nobody went to jail. Like, nobody I know that I care about. Uh, my reps call and they're like, "Hey buddy, you're working again." [00:56:00] That's nice. Um, no, for real, for real, uh, I really... You know, I'm a single dad. Uh, my, my, one of my secret goals always, uh, my day when I'm with my daughter is, um, if I can make her cackle, like not just giggle or laugh, but like belly laugh cackle, that's, that's a goal of mine.

[00:56:19] Chris Marquette: And, uh-

[00:56:20] Marc Preston: I'm still, I'm still trying to do that, but I, I'm just like, I get sidetracked. Yeah. I get sidetracked sometimes. It's tough.

[00:56:25] Chris Marquette: Yeah. It's, it's almost all sides. You gotta persevere, man. It's the, it's, it's a hard job. It is, uh, it's a lot of rejection. It's, uh, it's a lot of, it's a lot of, it's self-effacement.

[00:56:34] Chris Marquette: You gotta really, you gotta, you just gotta push through. Yeah, 'cause they're not gonna- But

[00:56:37] Marc Preston: there, there is- They give out the easy- There is a joy when you know- ... they don't, it's- ... that they're intentionally trying to keep from laughing and you just gotta, you know, rattle 'em a little bit-

[00:56:45] Chris Marquette: Exactly ...

[00:56:45] Marc Preston: and then the burst out laughing.

[00:56:45] Chris Marquette: Yeah. Yeah. No, it is. When they give you that hint, yeah, you gotta, you gotta attack. It's attack mode. That's when you go. That, that's it. So it's ripe. So you got that, and then honestly, man, a, a good day is just to be, to stay present. You know, I think stay out of the future, stay out of worrying about the future and, [00:57:00] um, you know, stay where your, where, where my feet are and, uh, and with, uh, the next, the next right little thing I gotta do today, you know?

[00:57:07] Chris Marquette: That's, that's a really nice day.

[00:57:09] Marc Preston: Yeah, so that's, that's a good reminder 'cause it's so... I think nowadays it's so easy to be looking at the future. But, you know, I kind of envy you being across the pond there, you know, 'cause it's, uh, things are weird over here right now, man. Um-

[00:57:23] Chris Marquette: Yeah, that's true ...

[00:57:24] Marc Preston: weird, I tell you.

[00:57:26] Marc Preston: To say the least. Yeah. Um, so now if you weren't doing this, um, if somebody said, "Hey, you know, Chris, acting, it, it's not gonna be there for you anymore. It's just not, you know, for whate- in whatever universe, acting's not available," what would be the next vocation? Something you think would, you would derive joy from and that would be a, that would feel ri- right for you

[00:57:49] Chris Marquette: Um, let's see.

[00:57:52] Chris Marquette: I didn't realize you asked this question to everybody, actually. I listened, uh, I went through a couple episodes, um, and then I skipped through [00:58:00] a couple and, uh, Rob Corddry answered this one- Uh-huh ... and I just thought this was a part of your guys' conversations. And I was- Oh ... he said, he said, he said truck driver.

[00:58:08] Chris Marquette: And, and then he said, uh, and he said, "Yeah, yeah, I think a truck driver. I always thought truck driver, it's really romantic." And I thought, for a serial killer? I

[00:58:15] Marc Preston: was like, what does he mean? No, I, I, I dug, I dug that idea 'cause you're always meeting new people, you get different truck... Well, truck stops- For

[00:58:21] Chris Marquette: predators.

[00:58:22] Marc Preston: Yeah, per- yeah You

[00:58:29] Chris Marquette: always

[00:58:29] Marc Preston: meet new people. Yeah. I don't know. You have, uh, oh, god, predators. I don't know, it's like truck driver. It's, it's kinda like either it's, you, you got this person with wanderlust who just wants to see the country, and you got predators, you know? Yeah. So it's

[00:58:36] Chris Marquette: like- Yeah, you got predators. Yeah, fair, yeah

[00:58:37] Marc Preston: truck stops are just an interesting mishmash of personalities. Yeah,

[00:58:39] Chris Marquette: I don't mean to... Yeah, exactly. I, I know there's wonderful truck drivers out there. Yeah, let me see. I, I actually, I have another vocation. I have a whole other thing that I've done for years and years and years. Um, and, uh, and I, I, um, that I, uh, that's a rewarding part of my life.

[00:58:53] Chris Marquette: I, I have a small addiction treatment center- Uh-huh ... uh, that I started. So, uh, so I, I've, I've answered that question in [00:59:00] reality, um, outside of what's, uh, what I

[00:59:01] Marc Preston: would do. Well, that's very cool. Is it where, uh, is it, uh, uh, I don't know if you can say, but where is it located?

[00:59:07] Chris Marquette: Yeah, it's in Los Angeles. Yeah, in, uh, it's LA and, and, uh, yeah, it helps, uh, people struggling with addiction and mental health and, and, um, yeah.

[00:59:16] Marc Preston: Yeah. It's, it's- That's, that's quite, that's quite admirable, I think it's, especially- Oh, thanks ... if your life has been in any way touched by, by that and you see, you know, it's sort of a... It's a great way to pay it forward. You know, uh, by the way, just a s- a, a little side note here on the island, we've got, uh, a couple- Lots

[00:59:32] Chris Marquette: of drug addicts.

[00:59:33] Chris Marquette: Sorry.

[00:59:35] Marc Preston: Well, here, no, not really. They actually have a couple treat- Well, we only got like 3,000 full-time residents even though it's many, many, many, many times more th- than that in, uh, people- Oh, wow ... tourists. But they, I think Dr. Phil, they have a Dr. Ph- Well, Dr. Phil, I think he has like one or two like little s- like outpatient like recovery th- Yeah

[00:59:52] Marc Preston: they have a, they have a men's one and a women's one, I think. Uh, you know, so it's like- Oh, cool. Yeah ... I didn't know what it was. My cousin was telling me. He's like, "Oh yeah, this place." Like I looked it up. I was like, "Oh, Dr. [01:00:00] Phil's place." I think that's w- you know, so anyway. Wow. But that's, that's very cool. Oh, wow.

[01:00:03] Marc Preston: Oh, uh, there's a, um-

[01:00:05] Chris Marquette: Yeah, me and Dr. Phil, man.

[01:00:07] Marc Preston: You know? There's a, there's a movie with Johnny Knoxville that came out in the last few years, I don't know if you saw it, uh, where he goes-

[01:00:13] Chris Marquette: I did actually.

[01:00:14] Marc Preston: Okay. Okay.

[01:00:15] Chris Marquette: Yeah, when he goes... Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Uh, I forgot the name of it now, but yeah, it's real fun and, and,

[01:00:20] Marc Preston: um- I thought, I thought, you know, he's, I think a little underrated as an actor.

[01:00:23] Marc Preston: I think he, he did a, he's, he's- Me too ... he's a solid s- uh, solid talent. Um-

[01:00:29] Chris Marquette: Me too. I agree ...

[01:00:29] Marc Preston: but you're talking about somebody who needs Advil at this age. God, he must need a ton, you know, from Jackass days. Yeah,

[01:00:34] Chris Marquette: sure.

[01:00:35] Marc Preston: Um, but-

[01:00:35] Chris Marquette: Yeah, same, yeah ...

[01:00:36] Marc Preston: the la- last question I got for you, if you were to jump in that DeLorean and you could go back to- Uh, when you were a young guy, 16 years old let's say, and you've got a piece of advice for you to make that moment of your life a little bit better or maybe to, or maybe get yourself on a little bit different track, what would that piece of advice be to 16-year-old Chris?

[01:00:54] Chris Marquette: Oh, man. Okay. Get myself on a different... Uh, I'd say, "Buddy, I know you're being [01:01:00] ignored by all the girls, all of them. Don't you worry, guy. You're gonna be fine." Uh, no, I... What? Man, I'm gonna tell that guy, uh, y- that, that, uh, you're gonna make all the mistakes, like all of them, and, um And , you know, and, uh, cont- and choosing to, uh, meet, like dysfunction and unhealthy things in life with, uh, health and the search for, um, better ways to live is, uh, is so worth it.

[01:01:40] Chris Marquette: Um, it's really, really worth it despite it being really difficult. And I'd also tell them that the entertainment industry sucks. That it's really hard. It's a really, it's a really, uh, it's a sucky thing, and to find a way of life outside of just the pursuit of being, uh, making a living in the entertainment industry is really important.

[01:01:59] Chris Marquette: [01:02:00] Uh, and to find... So that you can be a part of it, you know, if you really ultimately want to, in a healthy way where your experience is proportionate, you know, to the, um, you know, to what's happening instead of, uh, what I, what I find is disproportionate, if that's a very weird way to s- That's

[01:02:15] Marc Preston: probably, mental health-wise, that's probably gotta be the hardest thing for, you know, a, a youngin', you know, who's in the industry, especially if you're getting a lot of attention and you're working, is you, you know, to, to really not understand the ebb and flow, you know, for- Mm

[01:02:31] Marc Preston: of a career, you know? It's, it's a lot to ask of a kid, and so that's why I marvel at folks who kind of move through the, uh- It's- ... kid phase into the adult phase and, you know, you know, I wanna say unscathed, but I don't think anybody's ever unscathed by, you know-

[01:02:45] Chris Marquette: Nobody's unscathed ... life. Yeah. Nah, nah. Yeah.

[01:02:48] Chris Marquette: Yeah, maybe there's like four people, and they are strange. Yeah- ... I think, I think like, you know, yeah, yeah. I mean, I th- I don't think it's, I don't think it's just young people. I think it's everybody, you know? I think it's, uh, you know, it's, um, you [01:03:00] gotta have a lot of resilience and, um, and some strange inner belief, you know, and, and, uh, and, and tether to, um, you know, so- some part of you that, uh, lies outside of, you know, um, the opinions and thoughts of others, you know?

[01:03:16] Marc Preston: Having kids I think help- helps keep you... Well, if, once you get to that phase- Oh, true ... keeps you grounded. And it's like, oh- Yeah, for sure ... it, it really calibrates what's important, what's not. I mean, I know it's cliche, but it's like, "Oh, this is silly. Why am I worried about this? I gotta... I mean, I was cover- covered in poop earlier today."

[01:03:32] Marc Preston: I mean, I was like, you know, that- You know, my ki- you know, my daughter, so you know, she, she bartends at the, like there's this real big beach bar here. So when she's home from school, she bartends there. I'm like Uh, and then, uh, you know, you got those mem- social media memories that pop up, like a picture from 16 years ago, and I showed it to her.

[01:03:48] Marc Preston: I was like, "Remember when you used to be that teeny tiny?" I was like, "I was changing your diapers at that point," you know. She's like, "Yeah, I know, whatever," you know. Um-

[01:03:55] Chris Marquette: And then she put more poop on you.[01:04:00]

[01:04:01] Chris Marquette: Yeah,

[01:04:01] Marc Preston: yeah. They figured

[01:04:01] Chris Marquette: it would- When you said yesterday I had some poop on me, I was like, "Uh-oh, I think your kids are grown." But

[01:04:06] Marc Preston: yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, no, I- For a 20-year-old, that could, that could, that could invoke some, you know... That, that's gonna open up a whole new can of worms that, which could take some unraveling, you know.

[01:04:14] Marc Preston: Um, but- Marc,

[01:04:15] Chris Marquette: this is dad talk for sure. Listen to us.

[01:04:17] Marc Preston: Yeah, it's, you know- No jokes ... the diaper genie was a lifesaver, that's all I'll say. Um- For sure ... but no, what do you got coming up, uh, besides your, your new, uh, Reacher project? What else do you have queued up, or are you, are you working on something else right now?

[01:04:32] Chris Marquette: Uh, yeah, the Reacher show and, uh, and then no, man, I am single and ready to mingle. You know what I mean? So I'm, I'm ready to work. Uh, I actually, I'm, I'm writing, uh, for Screen Ireland and a wonderful production company in Ireland, uh, Arru Films. Uh, I've begun writing a, a pilot, um, a series that I created, uh, you know, about, actually about an American who, uh, immigrates to the Emerald Isle, um, to the Isle of [01:05:00] Pork and, uh- The Isle of Pork

[01:05:02] Chris Marquette: and, uh, yeah, so that's what I'm, that's what, yeah, that's what I'm working on at the moment, uh, while I, while I, uh, while I make self-tapes and, uh-

[01:05:08] Marc Preston: D- last question, do you miss actually going in for auditions in LA or are you like, "Nope, I'm just fine with my camera and my backdrop and all that stuff"?

[01:05:16] Chris Marquette: No, so much so.

[01:05:17] Chris Marquette: I miss it so much so. I mean, you know, I think acting and, you know, and, and all of filmmaking is, it's a collaborative art form and, and, uh, I think it's, um, you know, I always feel extraordinarily cut off from, uh, the thing that I always felt really comes alive in me when you're, um, you know, amongst other people and, and trying to perform.

[01:05:36] Chris Marquette: Um, so I miss it desperately,

[01:05:38] Marc Preston: to be honest. Well, you're there. You're, you've got this ex- new experiential fuel. You know, you got new creative i- Mm ... like you're writing a screenplay. You know, it's a, you know, had you not been there- Yeah ... this might not have come together. Plus you get to have, uh, good daddy-daughter time, which I'm always a big fan of.

[01:05:51] Marc Preston: You know, so. Me too. But, uh, my friend, I, I appreciate you spending some time with me. Uh-

[01:05:56] Chris Marquette: Me too.

[01:05:56] Marc Preston: I so appreciate you having- And you're, oh yeah, you're, you're, you're like- Yeah ... you're like almo- you're, oh, you're, I [01:06:00] for- you're over there so it's evening time for you. Yeah,

[01:06:02] Chris Marquette: yeah.

[01:06:02] Marc Preston: So it's dinner.

[01:06:03] Chris Marquette: Well- And that's why I appreciate you accommodating the morning time and, and stuff and, uh, it was just gonna get late over here and, and um, and I figured it'd be a little easier for you this time.

[01:06:10] Chris Marquette: Oh,

[01:06:11] Marc Preston: no, no, no. My, my pleasure, man. But,

[01:06:13] Chris Marquette: but also too, like, uh, I hope today was, was, uh, was good for, you know, I don't know, I know, you know, s- talking story and craft, I don't know how deep we got into the woods with, uh, into the weeds with that conversation, but, um, I, I really loved your podcast. I listen to, I, I know Olivia Taylor Dudley and I listen to Rob Corddry and, uh, Thomas Jane I've worked with.

[01:06:30] Marc Preston: Oh yeah. And so, yeah. By the way, it was, uh, you know, the little thing on our screen, you have your name on there. It was funny, Rob putting down, uh, uh, Lorne Michaels. I thought -

[01:06:38] Chris Marquette: Oh, funny. Yeah ...

[01:06:39] Marc Preston: he was, he was a blast. He was a blast. But- Yeah,

[01:06:41] Chris Marquette: yeah, he was fun. Yeah.

[01:06:42] Marc Preston: But my friend, go give the little girl, uh, your, your daughter a hug for me, uh, 'cause it's like little people.

[01:06:47] Marc Preston: Yeah. It's like I, I, I, I miss that. Now my kids, my daugh- oldest is teaching elementary now, like I'm missing those- Oh, man. That is- I'm at that phase now where I'm missing the little people. You know. Yeah. Uh, now, now they're like pat me on the head- Try to, try to- ... going, "Bless your heart, Dad." Um-

[01:06:59] Chris Marquette: [01:07:00] Yeah, bless your heart, Dad.

[01:07:00] Chris Marquette: Yeah.

[01:07:01] Marc Preston: Good ... but, uh, ooh, but I'm looking forward to ch- to checking out, uh, Reacher. Good, I, I just, I enjoy it. Thanks, dude. It's always a great ride and I'm glad- Good, yeah ... you get yourself a good, uh, you know, a good opportunity to, uh, showcase your action skills. So, um- Thanks,

[01:07:14] Chris Marquette: man. Yeah.

[01:07:15] Marc Preston: But, uh, hopefully we'll have a chance to catch up down the line, my friend.

[01:07:18] Chris Marquette: I would hope so. Yeah. And I really enjoyed today, so thank you so much. And really, I mean it, I'm very grateful you, you, uh, have me on here.

[01:07:24] Marc Preston: Ah, ah, man, the pleasure is all mine. Well, there you go, Chris Marquette. It was a great conversation. I mentioned it at the beginning. He's a cool dude. I really enjoyed the sit-down, and you can check him out right now.

[01:07:37] Marc Preston: Season four of Reacher is on Prime Video, and, uh, I'm still working my way through season three. Almost done. Ready for season four, so I'm looking forward to seeing Chris do the, uh, do the action-adventure thing. Again, enjoy the conversation. Chris is a cool dude. Uh, do me a favor if you would. Pop on over to your podcast app.

[01:07:54] Marc Preston: Make sure to follow Story and Craft. Get notified every time a new episode comes out. Uh, like the episode, [01:08:00] leave a comment. It helps people to find the show, and I appreciate you doing that. And if you, uh, wanna find out anything else about the show, past guests, past episodes, it is all at storyandcraftpod.com.

[01:08:12] Marc Preston: Uh, I'm gonna get on out of here. Uh, it's time for me to take the pup out. Uh, Ranger, our crazy golden retriever here, is, is bugging me to go outside. It's a sunny day, so. So gonna head outside, take him for a walk. You go have a wonderful rest of your, uh, day, weekend. And, uh, as I always say, thank you so much for making what I got going on part of whatever you've got going on, because it does mean a lot to me.

[01:08:32] Marc Preston: You take care of yourself, and, uh, we'll see you next time right here on Story and Craft.

[01:08:37] 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 Marc Preston.

[01:08:53] Announcer: Associate producer is Zachary Holden. Please rate and review Story and Craft on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget [01:09:00] 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.

[01:09:13] Announcer: I'm Emma Dylan. See you next time, and remember, keep telling your story.