Tracy Spiridakos | From "Chicago PD" to USA Network's "Anna Pigeon" | Canadian Mythos

[00:00:00] Tracy Spiridakos: I had worked at the bank and then in Vancouver I was, I was also bartending at, uh, one place and then I was serving at another place. And so all three of the jobs and auditioning and, and I remember just being like, "All I want is to just act."

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

[00:00:17] Marc Preston: Okay, here we go. Back again, another episode of Story and Craft. Thank you for stopping by. Uh, I'm Marc. If this is your first time checking out the show, welcome. Glad to have you. Today we are sitting down with actor Tracy Spiridakos. Uh, you may know her from Chicago PD, uh, going back some years to the TV show Revolution even.

[00:00:37] Marc Preston: Uh, got a new show on the USA Network. It is called Anna Pigeon. Uh, she was a delight to chat with. I mean, we talked about her journey from Canada to coming to the US. Uh, growing up, uh, part of her life in Greece to a Greek family and, uh, we naturally talked about Greek food. I mean, you know me. If you listen to this show, it's, it's gonna come up.

[00:00:57] Marc Preston: It was an enjoyable conversation. Really enjoyed sitting down with [00:01:00] Tracy, and I'm sure you will as well. Uh, hey, do me a favor. Make sure to pop over to your podcast app. Make sure to follow Story and Craft. Uh, you get a notification every time a new episode comes out. Also, leave a review, some stars. Uh, like the episode.

[00:01:14] Marc Preston: It helps people to find the show, and I appreciate that greatly. And everything you could possibly wanna know about the show, it is at storyandcraftpod.com. Right there. Past guests, past episodes, uh, the socials, what- whatever you wanna find out, just head, uh, to storyandcraftpod.com. Okay, so let's get after it.

[00:01:33] Marc Preston: It is time to talk television, Canada, Greece, and everything in between. Uh, 'cause today is Tracy Spiridakos day right here on Story and Craft. I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here. Like, you're of Greek descent, I'm assuming. Correct?

[00:01:49] Tracy Spiridakos: Yes. That's an excellent, excellent guess.

[00:01:52] Marc Preston: You are, you are the s- you are the second Greek guest of...

[00:01:54] Marc Preston: I'd had Chris Diamantopoulos on, and they're, y'all are my people. Y'all are my favorite, uh- [00:02:00] Yay ... you know, you know. I- and in my family, we always went to Greek restaurants for all birthdays, events. Greek restaurants were, like, our thing. Our family, it's big events, always Greek food. So Greek people always make me happy.

[00:02:11] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah. Aw.

[00:02:13] Marc Preston: Um, um, but, but, uh, where are you joining me from today?

[00:02:16] Tracy Spiridakos: I'm in Los Angeles. And also, my family owned a Greek restaurant, by the way- Yeah ... for a really long time, so there you go.

[00:02:21] Marc Preston: Well, Tracee, you and I gotta talk. Okay. So I can't ever get my g- lemon Greek potatoes to come out just right, and I tried that the other night with my daughter and I was like, "I just can't get it to come out the way it did at the Costa's Cafe back home in Dallas."

[00:02:35] Marc Preston: And I don't know if- I'll have to

[00:02:35] Tracy Spiridakos: link you up with my mom. My moms are-

[00:02:38] Marc Preston: I'll steal her from you. Perfect. Even better, I'll, like, lobby her to adopt me. I've al- I always thought that having a Greek mother, grandmother, you know, somewhere in the ecosystem would be, like, glorious. Did you have the whole, uh, Big Fat Greek Wedding type of extended family situation going on?

[00:02:52] Marc Preston: Or were you kind of a small family growing up?

[00:02:54] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, growing up, no. All my cousins, um, were, like, my extended [00:03:00] siblings. And so, yeah, I remember going out for, um, dinner one night with a girlfriend of mine, and my cousins were there as well. And I was introducing her to all, we all had all ga- gathered at this place.

[00:03:10] Tracy Spiridakos: And I was like, "This is, you know, my cousin Anna, my cousin Vicky, my cousin," I'm going around naming them all my cousin. And she goes, "Which one of these is actually your cousin?" I was like, "Oh, just Vicky." But there I'd, like, introduced my cousins to, like, there's, like, six other people

[00:03:22] Marc Preston: I remember in Dallas there were these two guys, all the Greek restaurants in Dallas, in one way or another, they're relat- literally related to one another in some way.

[00:03:30] Marc Preston: So I remember Zizi and Dimitri, I don't know what their last name was, but, uh, they made what I consider to be the best Greek food. And this is when I was a little kid, or not a kid, I'm a teenager. And then before my first daughter was born, we went out to go get Greek. It was like this very celebratory thing because it's like about to have a baby, I'm back at a Greek restaurant celebrating something.

[00:03:50] Marc Preston: Aw. Um, but no, they had the- That's awesome ... the big dolmas, you know, as opposed to like the little ones out, the big... Oh my God, I'm so hungry right now. Now you, you- And, and you're killing... I'm [00:04:00] down here on South Padre Island in Texas, and I'm telling you, there ain't no Greek restaurants around here. Anything Greek that happens has gotta happen in my kitchen, and eh, I don't know how that's gonna happen.

[00:04:07] Marc Preston: But were you doing the quintessential, uh, you know, as a youngin, were you on the weekends or evenings asked to come into the restaurant and, you know, the whole child labor thing?

[00:04:16] Tracy Spiridakos: Well, so we so we didn't... So I was actually raised in Greece. My folks, um, immigrated to Canada, had my brothers and I, and then went back to Greece.

[00:04:26] Tracy Spiridakos: And so we were there from when I was four until I was about nine years old. Oh. Um, and my dad was actually a hairdresser and, uh, owned a hair salon in Greece. And then when we moved back

[00:04:37] Marc Preston: to Canada- You're, I don't mean to cut you off, but you're killing me. You're, you're actually m- m- mark... Like, that, my friend, my parents had real good friends, they had a hair salon.

[00:04:44] Marc Preston: So it's like it's all matching up. Oh, really? Yeah, it was, um, this is back in the '80s when everybody, all the guys even, had perms, you know? He was the coolest dude, and I was like, I was like, "When I grow up, I wanna be like that guy. He seems to have it figured out," you know? But anyway, I'm sorry. So but you said the hair salon thing, I was like, "Oh, [00:05:00] man, it all, all roads lead back to my childhood here."

[00:05:03] Marc Preston: Um, so your father was a hairdresser, but was that, was that his, was that his trade from Greece, or was that something he kinda picked up a- along the way?

[00:05:10] Tracy Spiridakos: No, it was his passion. No, it was what he wanted. He, what's, it's what he really wanted to do. He had, he had actually come to Canada to study, or went to Canada to study hair- uh, to go to hair school and, and learn, and then he moved back to Greece, um, eventually and opened up his own place.

[00:05:27] Tracy Spiridakos: And then so that's where we were for a long time, and then we moved to Canada, back to Canada when I was nine years old. My dad tried getting back into the, the hair salon business, but it didn't quite work out for him, and then he went through a couple different restaurants, and then, uh, we ended up being able to get our own restaurant, and then he...

[00:05:44] Tracy Spiridakos: So once that happened, I was, I was about 17. So then, yes, I was working in the restaurant from then on. So that's when I was- So it was a restaurant in

[00:05:51] Marc Preston: Canada? Where in Canada was it again?

[00:05:53] Tracy Spiridakos: Winnipeg.

[00:05:54] Marc Preston: Winnipeg. Manitoba. Okay, okay. Um-

[00:05:56] Tracy Spiridakos: The Olympia Diner was the restaurant's name.

[00:05:58] Marc Preston: Olympia Diner. What was [00:06:00] your favorite thing on the menu?

[00:06:01] Marc Preston: Or did you do any of the cooking at all?

[00:06:02] Tracy Spiridakos: No, I wasn't- Oh ... I wasn't, I'm not the cooking, uh, one of the f- in the family. My brothers and my dad. My mom's an exceptional cook as well, but my brothers and my dad by far f- surpassed me in every way. So I was front of house. They were like, "You just talk to people."

[00:06:17] Tracy Spiridakos: I was like, "Okay, that works, that works well for me." Um- And I just got to eat all of their food, which was, uh, great. I- we had a really great... I mean, the, the, uh, calamari was great, and then, uh, that was one of my favorites. And then, but my mom made this really great tzatziki sauce, and so I really loved having, like, chicken in a pita, chicken souvlaki or gyro in a pita.

[00:06:39] Tracy Spiridakos: That was usually my, my staple go-to.

[00:06:41] Marc Preston: There's a comedian I was watching the other day, and I ca- I ca- maybe it's Chris something. He said, "Every culture's got its ranch dressing, and when you're Greek, you gotta do tzatziki. You know, you gotta... It's, it's that thing that goes on." Yeah. I love... I tried to do that once, but one thing I didn't understand, you gotta squeeze out all the moisture from the cucumber.

[00:06:57] Marc Preston: If not, it ends up being this- Ah ... you know. Yeah, [00:07:00] that was, that-

[00:07:00] Tracy Spiridakos: Yep ...

[00:07:01] Marc Preston: I've had many an accident in the kitchen, so, uh- Or m- or no, not an accident, but a misfire. We'll put it like that. Now

[00:07:07] Tracy Spiridakos: w- It's all trial and error.

[00:07:09] Marc Preston: Yes. Me too. Exact- so your mother, was that, was cooking her background? Was the, you know, was the culinary thing part of her career, or was she originally doing something else?

[00:07:18] Tracy Spiridakos: My mom, no. She, she, um, she actually wanted to be a teacher at one point, I think. Um, she was going a completely different direction, and then w- she had, they had us, and so she ended up raising us and then, uh, put her career stuff on hold for us. Um, she's an amazing human. And, uh, and, uh, and then when we opened the restaurant, she was...

[00:07:41] Tracy Spiridakos: That was kind of, everyone worked at the restaurant to help out. She was... We were a bit older. I'm, I'm the youngest, so I was already 17 at that point, so not much needing to take care of me at that point. So she worked in the restaurant, and she was actually cooking in the back. She was front of house for a bit, but then was cooking in the back, and then she, yeah, she worked there all the way up [00:08:00] until recently.

[00:08:00] Tracy Spiridakos: We sold it r- uh, the, the business, uh, right before COVID. So- Oh ... she was there up until then. Yeah.

[00:08:06] Marc Preston: Well, you know, honestly, uh, that was probably the best time. If you're gonna sell it, it's probably the best time to sell it. During COVID, nobody was going to restaurants, so probably the in- inherent value would be less.

[00:08:15] Marc Preston: But still, that had to be heartbreaking to... I imagine if you own a restaurant, not only is it, like, your family, but you got, like, the whole, you know, community. It's your socializing kind of a thing, and, uh... But was it a, uh- Yes ... was it a re- was it a relief for your folks when they cut it loose, or were they kinda, kinda sad about it, or?

[00:08:32] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, so my dad had, uh, my dad had passed away by the time we had sold them. He had passed away about 13 years ago. Um, so it was just my mom and one of my brothers that was running the restaurant at the time. My, my oldest brother is actually a diesel mechanic, so he, he was doing that. Um, and, uh, and so yeah, they were, I mean, they were relieved in that it was, it was exactly that.

[00:08:54] Tracy Spiridakos: It's very time-consuming. My mom was there from morning to night, and she was, she was ready to take [00:09:00] it easy a little bit. She's, she's retired. She just golfs all day now, which is great. That's exactly what she should be doing. Very nice. Very nice. Yeah. Is she still up in

[00:09:05] Marc Preston: Manitoba?

[00:09:07] Tracy Spiridakos: She is in Manitoba, yeah

[00:09:08] Marc Preston: Oh, okay.

[00:09:09] Marc Preston: So you, you're the youngest, but how many siblings do you have?

[00:09:12] Tracy Spiridakos: I have two older brothers.

[00:09:14] Marc Preston: So besides diesel, uh, mechanic, is the other brother by any chance, did he follow your path? Or, or did he go into the arts in any way, or is he doing something totally different?

[00:09:23] Tracy Spiridakos: No, um, not total- I mean, my, so my oldest brother is the, the mechanic, and then my middle brother, after the restaurant, he opened up his own business and he sells, like outdoor, uh, tiles for your patio and, like, turf and s- he's, he's an entrepreneur.

[00:09:41] Tracy Spiridakos: So, so no one is in the arts but me. He and I are writing some stuff together, so, my middle brother and I are writing some stuff together. So there, he's, he is ar- artistic and in that, but he's, he doesn't really know, you know, that this is his avenue in. So we're kind of playing around with some storytelling together.

[00:09:55] Tracy Spiridakos: But

[00:09:56] Marc Preston: Well, when you were young, were you, like, a theater kid? Was it, were, were you already [00:10:00] entranced by the whole performance thing, or did this kind of come a little bit later?

[00:10:04] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, I was, I was a theater kid. Um, and I always really enjoyed performing, and I've, I'll try to make people laugh and, you know, al- that was always my, uh, my MO.

[00:10:15] Tracy Spiridakos: And then, um, I was always told that you needed a backup career to do this job, especially, you know, coming out of Winnipeg. I didn't have anybody else that I knew that was in the industry at all to really help me, and so I, every, it was always, like, strongly encouraged, get, get, go to school, get a career- Mm-hmm

[00:10:32] Tracy Spiridakos: of some kind, and then you can pursue this. And, and so I was on that trajectory for a while. Um, not sure what I wanted to do. I was really passionate about, about acting, but I just didn't think that I could really do it as a job. And so I worked, actually, uh, my, my f- family had a restaurant, and then across the street was a bank.

[00:10:53] Tracy Spiridakos: And so we were friends with the bank manager across the street. My dad and him were really good friends. And so s- I, when I turned [00:11:00] 18, I went and applied there, and I got a job as a, working as a bank teller. Oh. And I did that split, split that for a bit and then decided to go out to Vancouver and kind of shoot my shot with acting.

[00:11:13] Tracy Spiridakos: And so I was like, "I have a job, a day job at least so I can pay some of the bills." And, and they allowed me. They were really great to me. I was a, a, a teller that would kind of do more fill-in relief work at that time in, in Vancouver, and I would go out and do auditions, and then they would let me go work if I booked something, and I would have a job to come back to when I was off.

[00:11:32] Tracy Spiridakos: Oh, that's very

[00:11:32] Marc Preston: nice. So that was kind of perfect. Yeah, when you're-

[00:11:34] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah ...

[00:11:34] Marc Preston: when you're getting going, uh, doing this thing, if you got people who are, uh, encouraging or at least not kind of throttling you back, you know. Was it well received by, by the folks when you said, "Hey, this is gonna be the thing I, I wanna do here," you know?

[00:11:48] Marc Preston: Or were they like, "Oh, I don't know. I don't know about that"?

[00:11:51] Tracy Spiridakos: My, yeah, my mom was like, "You do it." Like, "You go. Go get 'em." Um, my dad was encouraging but terrified, you know? I was moving [00:12:00] to... My, my family was, my dad was quite strict growing up as well. I was the youngest, the only girl, and so he was, like, you know, ver- very protective.

[00:12:08] Tracy Spiridakos: And I was then leaving the city, going to another city where I didn't know anyone, and I was gonna pursue this thing. So, so yeah, he was really nervous. But, um- But he was really sweet. You know, right before I went to leave to, to, to, um, my- We were having a going away party, and he had saved up a little bit of, of money for me and, and, you know, through gritted teeth and f- anxiety gave me an envelope and was like, "Please make good choices.

[00:12:36] Tracy Spiridakos: Here's-" Really? "... a little bit of money so you're not, um, you know, broke when you get there. Here's a little something, but just be smart." Um, so he was supportive at the end, but was just scared, you know?

[00:12:48] Marc Preston: So w- what was, let's say, the first time you, you, you got that feeling like, "Okay, I, I'm in the flow." I, I... You got, uh, the first, the first booking you got that really kind of made you feel like, "All right.

[00:12:59] Marc Preston: This is, this is [00:13:00] clicking for me"?

[00:13:02] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, you know, I don't... I think I always believed in myself in that I've, I've always just wanted an opportunity. Like, that was kind of my approach when I moved to Vancouver, is like I just want a, I want an opportunity to, to, to see if I can do this thing. And so, um, I don't know that I ever had a moment where I was like, "Ha, I've made it."

[00:13:24] Tracy Spiridakos: I think even s- like even now, I'm like, "Oh, God. What happens? What, what happens if these... What happens in my life?" Um, I think it's like a career choice that is I f- at least for me, I'm always like on edge just like... But, um, but back then I had booked, I'd uh, gone on a bunch of auditions and I had booked, uh, a job on Supernatural.

[00:13:47] Marc Preston: Okay.

[00:13:47] Tracy Spiridakos: I played a nurse, and it was my very... Which actually was really cool because later on I ended up working with Eric Kripke, who was the showrunner on Supernatural, was the showrunner on Revolution, which I then booked years later. Uh, [00:14:00] but it was my very, one of my very first jobs was, uh, Supernatural. I played a, a nurse.

[00:14:05] Tracy Spiridakos: It was like I had a couple lines. I was very excited. Nurse- We had this big viewing party with all my friends.

[00:14:10] Marc Preston: No, I actually really enjoyed... I, I, my s- that was when my son was, uh, when he was young, we loved Revolution. That was our like w- one of our dad-son shows- Uh-huh ... we watched. And, uh, no, actually one of our, one of my first guests on the show was Billy Burke, who, uh, is just- No way

[00:14:23] Marc Preston: just a, just a cool dude, you know? But that was a- Yeah ... that, that was a good cast. It was, what a great idea. I don't know, it's one of those shows that, uh, I think there was an era where a lot of shows just kind of left them like, "No, there's more here. Why did this end?" You know, I really enjoyed it. Anyway, I'm going back.

[00:14:39] Marc Preston: There were a lot of shows that- Thank you ... the, the... No, I, I thoroughly enjoy. Plus, uh, Giancarlo Esposito, Es- I think, I always say Esposito, but I think you pronounce it Esposito, I think. Um, he was in that as well. But it was just a, just a great little show. Not little, but you know- Yeah ... something that, something that ended too soon.

[00:14:55] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah.

[00:14:55] Marc Preston: But, so your-- When did you decide to make the move from, uh, [00:15:00] Canada, uh, to come down to, uh, to move to LA?

[00:15:03] Tracy Spiridakos: I had booked a little indie movie in, um, in Canada, and we had filmed, filmed it up there. And I, I, from that, I guess there had been some, um, uh, they had been casting in the States for the role, uh, that I g- ended up getting as well.

[00:15:18] Tracy Spiridakos: So I got a little attention from some representatives in the, in LA, um, and was able to set up a few meetings after that movie. And so I came down, um, I think it was about three years after living in Vancouver to Van- uh, to LA, and I was gonna come in for when there used to be pilot season.

[00:15:38] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:15:38] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, and I was coming in to, to do, uh, my pilot season, and I actually got...

[00:15:44] Tracy Spiridakos: That was the year I booked Revolution. It was kinda crazy. Uh-

[00:15:46] Marc Preston: Real- oh, so- Came in for- How cool is that? You come down your first pilot season, you get, you nail s- Pilot season, you can literally film a gajillion shows and none of them go anywhere. You know, you'd ha- you have multiple pilots. Yeah. Um, but- Yeah

[00:15:59] Marc Preston: what, what is it [00:16:00] like now? I know pilot season was always, well, it was a season, but is it kind of like year-round pilot season now? I'm like, what replaced the pilot season paradigm? Is it, is it truly, like, just kind of a year-round thing now? Or how does that, how do, how do you perceive that working? Yeah, I mean,

[00:16:13] Tracy Spiridakos: yeah, I mean, I think, I don't know that it's even been...

[00:16:16] Tracy Spiridakos: It's a, it's such a, it's just a different thing now entirely. It used to be, pilot season used to be, I mean, you would go, I would go on, like, three auditions in a day every day.

[00:16:26] Marc Preston: Really?

[00:16:27] Tracy Spiridakos: For co- Yeah, like, it was like... And by the, you would, you wouldn't even be able to memorize everything. By the end, you'd be like, "I can't."

[00:16:33] Tracy Spiridakos: But that was

[00:16:33] Marc Preston: the question I got for you.

[00:16:34] Tracy Spiridakos: You would have a

[00:16:35] Marc Preston: routine. It's like, not just memorization, but figure out what choices are you gonna make for each, each thing.

[00:16:40] Tracy Spiridakos: You just kinda had to, like, prioritize which one you really, really wanted, and then focus on, and then just hope for the best. Like, it was just so crazy.

[00:16:48] Marc Preston: Kinda fast-forward, what year did you start with Chicago PD? I

[00:16:52] Tracy Spiridakos: came on, um, at the end of their Season 4.

[00:16:56] Marc Preston: Okay. So

[00:16:59] Tracy Spiridakos: I think it [00:17:00] was 2017, I think it was. Okay. But um, yeah, at the end of their Season 4, I came in for the last three episodes. I had been brought on as that, to, to have a three-episode arc with the potential to recur.

[00:17:10] Tracy Spiridakos: So they were kinda trying me out to see how I got on with everybody and And how I did. And then, um, and then once the season came back, then, then they brought me back in, but only for a short ... It was still only short. I had come-- They brought me back for season five only for, I think, the first nine episodes, and then they were gonna let me know if they wanted me to stay for the rest.

[00:17:31] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, and then, and then they ended up keeping me on from there.

[00:17:34] Marc Preston: Like, that had to be, like, a really, once you got in the flow of doing that, kind of a n- for an actor, kind of a nice comfort zone. You know, you're doing the, something that's reliable. It's popular, you know. So h- how many years did you do that? Uh, pardon my- D- I know I got a note somewhere here, but how, how, how many years

[00:17:50] Tracy Spiridakos: did you- No, no, no, it's okay.

[00:17:50] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah. I was there for, um, I was there for seven full seasons, so it was, like, seven and a half years with the, with that, the end of four. So yeah, [00:18:00] it was. You definitely get into a comfort zone. You're also there with each other every day. You know, we shoot for nine and a half, 10 months, uh, a year, so our, this is your- Really?

[00:18:09] Tracy Spiridakos: This is your family. Oh,

[00:18:10] Marc Preston: I didn't know y'all shot a- Yeah ... I didn't know it's a series like that sh- uh, well, how, like, how many episodes a season do y'all come out with?

[00:18:15] Tracy Spiridakos: 22.

[00:18:16] Marc Preston: Oh, okay, okay.

[00:18:17] Tracy Spiridakos: 22, 23. Yeah. So we were there, we were there, yeah, you'd start shooting usually in July, and then, um, you were there for, like, n- you know, depending on how quickly it, uh, that you could get through the season and how many episodes they'd ordered, but usually about n- nine, nine to 10.

[00:18:31] Tracy Spiridakos: Nine and a half usually, somewhere in there.

[00:18:33] Marc Preston: So in episodic, uh- So it's, like, every

[00:18:34] Tracy Spiridakos: day.

[00:18:35] Marc Preston: Yeah, so in, like, episodic television years, seven is, like, a long time, you know? Kind of stepping out of that. Was that an easy decision for you? 'Cause, you know, it, for me, it's like, when you just kinda got the flow, it's feeling good.

[00:18:47] Marc Preston: It's like, I do get a lit- that little antsy, a little wanderlust, you know? Kinda like, there's other things I wanna do. Is that kinda the feeling that you got? Or was it just, what was the impetus for your next step, as it were?

[00:18:59] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, it was [00:19:00] just cur- I was curious about what else was out there for me, you know?

[00:19:04] Tracy Spiridakos: I, I had been doing the show for a, for seven years, and I was just, I was just curi- It was that cur- uh, exactly that. It was just the curiosity. But it was a very hard decision, 'cause I got on with everyone so well. I mean, we, we, there was a lot of tears when, when I left, and, um, everyone there, pr- from producers to the, the cast to the crew to the everyone.

[00:19:28] Tracy Spiridakos: We were all so, so close. So it was, it was a really hard decision. Um, but I felt like If I didn't kind of shoot my shot, I would always think about it, what if I would've left- Right ... and seen what else was out there for me. So I, I, uh, yeah, decided to, to take a leap of faith. Um, but it was, yeah, it was scary.

[00:19:50] Marc Preston: D- so when you did that, what was the first thing you did after, you know, nine, 10 months of shooting, seven years straight? Did you go on a vacation? Did you just sit on your sofa? [00:20:00] What, what'd you do to kind of hit reset?

[00:20:02] Tracy Spiridakos: Uh, I'm not super good at the sitting around part in life. I don't, I don't succeed there.

[00:20:08] Tracy Spiridakos: Uh, I just can't sit still. But I actually went, I went to, to Winnipeg. It was, uh, for Greek Easter. I hung out and, with my family for Greek Easter. Uh, we do it at my auntie's house. They, they do a full lamb roast in the backyard. And so I flew home when we wrapped, hung out with those guys, kind of, uh, my family's always really great for I, whenever I need any type of r- r- recalibration, it's, uh, it's in their hands.

[00:20:33] Tracy Spiridakos: And so I go hang out with them. And then I came home and, and then packed, and then actually ended up going to travel through Europe for a little while after that. Oh, really? So I went, came, moved to- Really? ... LA and then went to Europe. Yeah.

[00:20:46] Marc Preston: Where'd you go, where'd you go in Europe?

[00:20:48] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, I was in Budapest for a l- a, a long time, and then went to Greece for a bit, traveled, uh, was in Lisbon, was in Italy, in Venice.

[00:20:57] Marc Preston: Uh, so how long were you, uh, doing the, [00:21:00] the, uh, the European trip?

[00:21:01] Tracy Spiridakos: European adventure was... Well, I was also there, my boyfriend was working there, so I was, um, I was there hanging out for part of that. So I was there for about 10 months, and then, uh, and then left and came back, and then actually came back here and, and found out about Anna.

[00:21:17] Tracy Spiridakos: So I, I came back and, like, maybe a few weeks later, was in Calgary.

[00:21:30] Marc Preston: What else is kind of captivating you? What, like, when you are not thinking about work or, uh, when you're not acting, put it that way, what is it that's keeping you busy or, you know, keeping you active?

[00:21:40] Tracy Spiridakos: I, I mean, I'm writing, so I guess that's c- that counts as work. Um, I like to, uh, I'm a big traveler. I can't...

[00:21:48] Tracy Spiridakos: That's a big thing for me. Like, I always wanna go somewhere I haven't been. Um, hiking, being outside, hanging with my dog. My dog, actually the one that's behind me in this picture, uh, [00:22:00] has, uh, passed away when I was, uh, in Europe. She was with me in, in Budapest and- Aw, I'm sorry ... she passed away. And so, so we got...

[00:22:08] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, she was the best. Um, and so we, uh, uh, adopted a, uh, a new dog, and so there's a lot of spent, time spent with my dog, my, my other dog now. Uh, ha- hiking around with her, reading. Uh, I'm a pretty... Like, I don't know. I don't do anything too, too wild. I'm, I'm just... I t- whenever I'm not working, I try to, like, do the, my best to, to traveling, hanging out with friends and family, and then just taking it easy.

[00:22:35] Marc Preston: Well, it's cool you were able to bring your dog with you, though, you know, with, to, to, to Europe and tree. I, I had l- lost our golden retriever a little over three years ago, passed. Aw, I'm sorry. And it just hit me kind of hard. But we have this other little guy who's now two years old. He's, uh... It's like having a 13-year-old boy around the house.

[00:22:49] Marc Preston: He's very adolescent, you know, gregarious. Goldens are cute little puppies, then they're velociraptors for a couple of years. Yeah. And then they're, then they're these sweet el- you know, elder statesman goofballs, you know. But [00:23:00] right now he's in his velociraptor phase. Yes. Hence the reason why he's upstairs right now.

[00:23:03] Marc Preston: But, um-

[00:23:04] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, yeah, same. Um, m- uh, my is in the other room. She's, she's als- she's a rottweiler, so you know, I understand- ... the velociraptor stage.

[00:23:13] Marc Preston: So speaking of the Ayanna Pigeon show, how did that come to you? Was it something that somebody said, "Hey, uh, Tracy, we got this thing, you know, check it out," or was it just like any other audition that came your way?

[00:23:24] Tracy Spiridakos: I was actually really fortunate that, no, it, it, my reps had sent it to me, um, to read. It was, uh... They had read, sent me the pilot to read and see how I felt about it. And, um, and it was while I was away, while I was traveling. Um, and I read it and fell in love with it. I thought that she was such a, a fun, complicated character.

[00:23:45] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, and I liked that she was, she was funny and sarcastic and it was just a t- it was, she was still this kind of fierce- badass woman that I loved, but she also... I got to be, you know, there's a little humor to [00:24:00] it, and it was, you know, a little, a little different tone. So I, I, I fell in love with it, and so I responded after I had read it that I, that I, uh, loved it.

[00:24:07] Tracy Spiridakos: Well, I mean, humor

[00:24:08] Marc Preston: has to figure in. I mean, you're from Canada. I mean, we rely on y'all to bring humor down here. You know? It's like, so, so, so was it, was it... Is the, the humor aspect... I mean, of course Chicago PD is not necessarily, uh, well, it's definitely not a comedy. Was that something you were ultimately looking for, is to kinda get into a little bit different genre?

[00:24:26] Marc Preston: Not genre. I guess it is a little bit of a genre shift. Uh, was that something you were hoping for?

[00:24:32] Tracy Spiridakos: I mean, it's a, it's an ex- it was just an exciting thing. I didn't really have any expectations as to what, what to... I wasn't looking for... I just wanted to see what was out there, so I didn't really have any set expectations as to what would be available to me.

[00:24:45] Tracy Spiridakos: But I, but I was delighted to see that it was a little different in that to- tone, and I, I was able to, to showcase a different side of myself, which I, I was really excited about. Um, and I think [00:25:00] that she's, she's also, you know, it's not... She's, she's like, it's that, that dry, um, sarcastic kind of- Mm-hmm ... comedy that, that I love.

[00:25:09] Tracy Spiridakos: Uh, so for me it wasn't, it wasn't necessarily something that I was chasing, but the f- but it was a very attractive quality in the project when I had read it That I, I fell in love with right away ...

[00:25:20] Marc Preston: So it's a, you're a park ranger, so, you know, I'm sure a lot of it's interiors, but were you, I mean, is this like park ranger, like, you know, uh, a forest kind of thing, or is it more like, you know, a, a Grand Canyon-ish?

[00:25:32] Marc Preston: So I was like, "Trees or rocks?" No, uh, but, but, but what, what is it that, uh, you're spending- Both. Oh, both? Okay.

[00:25:39] Tracy Spiridakos: S- s- Yeah, both. And we actually weren't inside a lot. We were outside. We were shooting on location a lot. Really? Okay. We were, we were o- not a lot. Like, we were, we had no stages, so we were, we had, there were these cabins that they had built o- our little, um, ranger stations at, and that's where we would set up, and then we would e- that, that was inside my cabin or the ranger station, were [00:26:00] these cabins on location.

[00:26:01] Tracy Spiridakos: And then other than that, we were outside. So it was, it's all... We were in the, like, I was hiking, uh, climbing trees. We had, um, horseback riding. Like, it was like, yeah, we were out there.

[00:26:13] Marc Preston: Were you able to bring your w- your dog up there with you when you were, uh, when you were shooting?

[00:26:17] Tracy Spiridakos: So I had, um, I didn't have the, the, our new girl.

[00:26:21] Tracy Spiridakos: Oh, okay. We just got her after that. Yeah, so she came, she came around at the, in February, and I, we were shooting, um, last July through to November. So, but, no, so she was, I didn't, she wasn't around yet. But, uh, but I would. You know, hopefully if we're so fortunate to get a second season, um, she absolutely would be there.

[00:26:42] Tracy Spiridakos: She

[00:26:42] Marc Preston: would. So if I was ever shooting a show like, like, uh, you know, uh, something long-term, you know, I would love to have my pooch with. I don't know if I could do that without my pooch being there, 'cause I d- I never understood when folks could, like, leave and, for months on end, not have their dog with them, you know?

[00:26:56] Marc Preston: I could, I could never do that. And that actually affects the traveling. Now it's [00:27:00] like I'm like, "Okay, anything right now which, road trip, I can bring the pup." I'm sort of an empty nester now, so it's like, I guess he's the kid, you know? Um- Yeah. So-

[00:27:09] Tracy Spiridakos: Well, and with Nala, with my last dog, she was, she was in Chicago with me.

[00:27:13] Tracy Spiridakos: She was in, in my trailer. She's been with me since Revolution. She had been with me- Really? ... since Revolution. Wow, okay. And she'd been with me throughout. Like in Chicago, she'd come to work with me almost every day. Yeah. Yeah, she, that, she was, she would hang out in my trailer, just chill out. Well- People would come in, take her for walks.

[00:27:31] Marc Preston: It was great ... No, so going back to when you, 'cause you d- you said y- your family, you know, you were born in Canada but you went to Greece and you came back to Canada. Does Greece have any kind of a home feeling to you when you go there? Does it feel... Do you feel the connection, or were you too young to really have established, uh, any kind of memories, uh, of a place, if you will?

[00:27:49] Tracy Spiridakos: Uh, no, I feel a deep connection to Greece. I think 'cause all of my, my formative years were there, you know? I was there from when I was four. I learned... I, I don't really remember. [00:28:00] Apparently I went to- Pre-kindergarten in Canada, but I don't really remember it. So my first language was Greek. You know, I learned by, like...

[00:28:09] Tracy Spiridakos: I was four when we had gone, so I, I, I know that I knew English when I had gone to Greece, but I don't remember it. Uh, and I've... When I came back from Greece, I, I, I only knew how to speak Greek. So all, you know, I've, I've... That's f- all of my memories of childhood are, are there Um, so I'm deeply, deeply connected to it.

[00:28:29] Tracy Spiridakos: And then, you know, both of my parents are from there. They have their family there. Um- Uh. And then- So

[00:28:34] Marc Preston: you still have family, still extended family is still there. Mm-hmm. Yeah. What, what, what pla- what place or what about it, it, when you say Greece that you immediately feel home? A, a, a location, a city, a, even a restaurant or a, anything.

[00:28:49] Marc Preston: What, what, when you think of it, like, whenever you go there, it's gotta be somewhere you go at least once whenever you go to Greece.

[00:28:55] Tracy Spiridakos: Oh, gosh. Uh, the... Honestly, I would... It's not a place. Uh, and I feel like a lot [00:29:00] of Greek people feel this way. It's, it's the whole... Like, when you land at the airport and you smell the air that hits you right when the doors open when you get to the Athens airport, I would say I, I feel like at least most of the Greeks that I know, we're like, "Ah.

[00:29:14] Tracy Spiridakos: Okay." Really? Really? I don't know, there's just, like, something to it. Yeah, and I feel... I'd be curious if you, if you asked other Greek people, uh, you know, later in life if they felt the same way. But everyone that I know, it's just, like, as soon as you just even smell the air, um, there's just something about it.

[00:29:29] Tracy Spiridakos: But the v- one thing I do no matter where I go, I go right into the ocean. I just go. I will go. I will dr- I don't care what time I get in. I will drop all my stuff, put on a bathing suit, go for a swim. That's the first- Really? Okay ... priority one.

[00:29:43] Marc Preston: Well, there's such beautiful water there, though. You know, there's that very blue, you know.

[00:29:48] Marc Preston: I don't know. I, I, I'm envious. It's the one place I've always wanted to go, uh, that has always kind of resonated. It goes back to the hairdresser's name was Dimitri. Remember, remember him? And whenever they would talk, they were, they were, uh, when they'd speak in [00:30:00] Greek, I thought they were angry at one another, and then they'd be, they'd go...

[00:30:02] Marc Preston: And then they'd start laughing. It was like, oh, they're just very passionate about the wa- You know, like he'd be speaking with his brother who was at the other barber chair or the... You know, as a kid sitting back, you know, you just kind of, like, absorb it and, like, these people are very passionate. They got this really amazing food.

[00:30:15] Marc Preston: I've gotta go. So Greece was always, you know, like, that poster every Greek restaurant has from up, you know, looking down from the, all the, all the whitewashed buildings and stu- You know, the, that one poster every Greek restaurant seems to have.

[00:30:26] Tracy Spiridakos: Santorini. That's all of Santorini. Santori-

[00:30:28] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:30:28] Tracy Spiridakos: Like, all... Yeah, it's like...

[00:30:30] Tracy Spiridakos: But yeah. Yeah,

[00:30:30] Marc Preston: and I was looking at it going, "Yeah." It's beautiful. I was like, "I gotta go to this place." And I noticed that Greek folks don't just cook the Greek food. They show up and pla- They may have the, like, the burger joint. It's, it's they f- they crack the code wherever they go and figure out, "Okay, what does this place need?

[00:30:44] Marc Preston: And we'll start cooking that." You know? It's not just Greek food, so, um-

[00:30:48] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah. I mean, I think it's a big part of for, for of our culture. It's just eating together. Like, I mean, it's even, even when you were asking me, like, "What do you do outside of work?" I'm like, oh gosh, it feels... It, [00:31:00] like, for me, getting together with friends and eating is, like, that's my happiest moment.

[00:31:04] Tracy Spiridakos: If I cook for them or if we are out at a restaurant, but, like, sitting down, having a meal Having a glass of wine, that is like, that is the most relaxed- It's so fundamental ... and relaxing thing.

[00:31:17] Marc Preston: You know, as I, in my couple years have been around, I kind of look around and go, "What are we missing?" You know? And I don't know.

[00:31:22] Marc Preston: It's like, I think that idea where you just get together with people and you eat. You may not agree with them necessarily, but there's something about just getting, sitting down with a bunch of people you like or kind of like, and you have something to eat. I don't know, we kind of need more of that, I think.

[00:31:36] Marc Preston: That big, the, the, you know, we need more Greek influence in our culture, I guess. But, uh, but you, it sounds like you kind of have your tribe in LA of people you can get together and have your, uh, dinners with. Is your, uh- Yeah ... is, is your boyfriend Greek by any chance?

[00:31:49] Tracy Spiridakos: No, he is not. Lucky.

[00:31:50] Marc Preston: Okay, he's lucky he's got you in his life then.

[00:31:52] Marc Preston: Okay, very good. So, so have you... When you were coming up, uh, when you were younger, did you have an aspiration of a certain kind of [00:32:00] work? Like you're like, "I want to do an episodic TV show," or, "I want to do film," or stage. What was the thing that was your North Star, you're going, "Okay, that's, that to me would be success"?

[00:32:10] Marc Preston: What was that for you?

[00:32:13] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, you know, I think I was, you know, growing up we would watch a lot of, my mom would watch a lot of rom-com movies, and that was her thing, and my dad watched a lot of action movies. That's what I grew up watching. Um, and so for me, getting to be in, in one of those was always, like, the drive.

[00:32:33] Tracy Spiridakos: Like, getting to be, like, an action hero or, like, a, um, you know, a funny, like a romantic comedy movie. Something like that was always something that I had aspired to. But, you know, when I started doing this, when I pur- when I moved to Vancouver to pursue it, I remember working at the bank and just being... I had three jobs at the time.

[00:32:52] Tracy Spiridakos: I had worked at the bank, and then in Vancouver I was, I was also bartending at a, at a, uh, one place, and then I was serving at another place. And so all three of the [00:33:00] jobs and auditioning. And, and I remember just being like, "All I want is to just act full time." Wow. I just wanna, I just want that to be my only source of income, and not have to w- have other jobs on the side.

[00:33:13] Tracy Spiridakos: And that, so that's what it evolved into. But as far as, um, you know, what I had wanted to do, yeah, I always wanted to, I think, like, doing, like, a, a comedy, a romantic comedy or doing, like, action movies and stuff, that, that was where I... That was the initial goal.

[00:33:28] Marc Preston: Well, you gotta tell me which rom-com or which action thing, uh, did your folks play that when you were young and you're like, "All right, that's cool."

[00:33:35] Marc Preston: That, like, what, what was, what were the memorable things when you were young that were, like, influential on you? The, the, uh, films or the TV shows. It's Indiana

[00:33:41] Tracy Spiridakos: Jones.

[00:33:42] Marc Preston: Of course.

[00:33:43] Tracy Spiridakos: Indiana Jones. I mean- What- ... 'cause it's, like, fun. It's funny. It's an adventure. I was like, "I could do that. I could do, I

[00:33:50] Marc Preston: could do that."

[00:33:50] Marc Preston: It's, there was al- I always lo- It, it's the same reason why I like James Bond movies, because there was travel. You weren't gonna stay static. You're gonna go a few different places and have different adventures, you know. But [00:34:00] which Indiana Jones, uh, which one of the tri- Well, it's not a trilogy anymore now.

[00:34:04] Marc Preston: It's, I don't know, there are five of them now? I, uh, but which one was your favorite when you were growing up?

[00:34:10] Tracy Spiridakos: I mean, I, uh, Raiders of the Lost Ark is just a, is... But they're all great. Yeah. But that one was, yeah. Definitely.

[00:34:17] Marc Preston: I wasn't, Temple of Doom wasn't my favorite. Wasn't my favorite. Then, of course, they ca- came back with a third one, which i- you know, with Sean Connery.

[00:34:23] Marc Preston: I was like, "Okay, this one, it lands." I don't, I loved those movies when I was a kid. But were, but the rom-coms, though. What was the rom-com thing that, uh, what was your one that your mom liked to watch over and over again and was her favorite rom-com?

[00:34:35] Tracy Spiridakos: She just watched all, you know, she, I don't even, I, there, what was the one?

[00:34:39] Tracy Spiridakos: There was one, the one that sticks out in my mind, but it wasn't even this one that inspired me, but, uh, uh, Sleepless in Seattle was one that my mom loved and would watch all the time. Um, but there's, I don't know if she watched, at that time she was watching all, we would watch all of them. It was all, like, so I can't even think to recall them in this moment.

[00:34:57] Tracy Spiridakos: Right. But, um, Sleepless in Seattle was one that she really, really [00:35:00] liked. But what was the one... Oh, While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock. Yeah, yeah. Loved that one. Um,

[00:35:07] Marc Preston: you know- Was, was it Bill Pullman? I don't know, you know- Was Bill Pullman in that? Am I thinking the right... Yeah, okay. Yeah,

[00:35:10] Tracy Spiridakos: I think so.

[00:35:10] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, yeah.

[00:35:11] Marc Preston: Um, so if you were to say ideally, you know, what kind of things out there are still left on the to-do list creatively for you that you haven't done? Is it directing or is it, uh, you know, something specific with film? What would that be for you?

[00:35:24] Tracy Spiridakos: Uh, so much. I feel like there's so much that I still really wanna do.

[00:35:31] Tracy Spiridakos: Um- You know, I think getting to play in more films would be wonderful. I love the TV forum and have been really fortunate to, to work there, which is great, but it'd be cool to get to be- do more film where you kind of have a, uh, the character, you know, from the beginning to the end, and you can... You know how it's gonna end, and you can arc that- Mm-hmm

[00:35:52] Tracy Spiridakos: you know, throughout. Whereas in TV, you know, it's, it, the character's continuing to grow and things are changing as you go. So, um, so that would be a really fun thing to get to [00:36:00] play with. Um, and, uh, um, I, I think that that would be... Like, the getting to play a little bit more in the, in the film world would be really, really fun.

[00:36:11] Tracy Spiridakos: Um-

[00:36:11] Marc Preston: Yeah, I think that would be l- a different... E- g- because when you do a show like, uh, Chicago PD, seven years, d- different directors cycling in, you know, ultimately, but you have a kind of a, the, the, the, the one constant is gonna be kinda, like, the writers. But you take full ownership of the character, so it's...

[00:36:27] Marc Preston: Here you are, let's say five, six seasons in. I would imagine that if you're, when you're getting direction, you... I mean, you know who you are as a character. You know how your character would think and act, and physicality and everything. And I, you know, I wonder, you know, like, when you go to film, though, that's, like, it's the director's medium.

[00:36:45] Marc Preston: Is that kind of a thing that, uh... Is that part of what you're looking to kind of explore a little bit, is kinda you move out of the realm of, like, "I know this character, and I'll tell you how I'm gonna say it"? Like, I'm not saying you're obstinate when you're doing TV. But, I mean, you take ownership, you know?

[00:36:59] Marc Preston: [00:37:00] Is that kind of, is that kind of the stretch that you're looking to make?

[00:37:02] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, I mean, I think it would be really amazing to get to, to work... Yes, you cl- you definitely, in TV you definitely collaborate with directors and, and get to play together. But yes, your character is your character, and you kind of play within that, that, um, uh, that realm.

[00:37:17] Tracy Spiridakos: But getting to do a film where you are working with a director, there's such a trust fall that comes with working with a director, and it really does feel like you're in their, in their hands. And if they, they push you in a certain direction then, uh, you wanna go there. And sometimes, w- in TV you can't necessarily 'cause that's not, it's not, that's not the character.

[00:37:37] Tracy Spiridakos: I don't necessarily think that that would be right. Whereas getting to work on a, on a film where we could explore different- Different and push- Yeah ... push me in different places and b- and kind of be in the care of a director, um, that was able to do that, right? That was able to, to push that, um, in that direction.

[00:37:56] Tracy Spiridakos: Because on TV you have to work within the parameters. And you also, we also don't have a ton of [00:38:00] time on TV, right? Yeah. You're right. Like, that's the other thing that a lot of people don't really know is we only have a small window of opportunity to get the scenes that you get. So you can play, I mean, me and, me and Lia played so much, uh, on the show, and I'm so grateful, and I've had so many wonderful directors working on TV that I absolutely love.

[00:38:18] Tracy Spiridakos: But you have to make your day. Mm-hmm. And you only have this amount of time to shoot these scenes. And so getting to work on a film where you have a little bit more time and you can explore a scene entirely, where you have the budget to be able to do that, would be something that I've never really had an opportunity to do, and I would be interested in, in that, you know?

[00:38:40] Marc Preston: Well, you said you and your brother are doing some writing. Is it a, is there a specific genre that you wanna explore? Is, is a, like a, doing a screenplay, or is there, you know, a story that you've wanted to tell or a kind of a genre that, that you'd like to play in?

[00:38:52] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, it's not a genre thing. It is a story that I've wanted to tell.

[00:38:55] Tracy Spiridakos: It's a story, uh, about me and a friend of mine growing [00:39:00] up. Um, and our friend, and it's a friend of my brother's as well who passed away. So that's the story that we're writing about

[00:39:05] Marc Preston: them. Oh, okay. Yeah. Very cool.

[00:39:07] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah.

[00:39:15] Marc Preston: One of the things I love doing on the back end of all my chats is something I call my seven questions. And, uh, the first question I'm gonna ask is, you know, it's, it's gonna bring joy to my heart to ask you specifically, is what is your favorite comfort food? I get to ask a Greek person this. I'm like, ah, I, I gotta find...

[00:39:31] Marc Preston: If you say macaroni and cheese, we're gonna get in trouble. You're gonna be in trouble. I'm- Yeah ... but, but hey, if that's the answer, that's the answer, but I'm, I'm curious, what is your favorite? The thing that just lights your day up when you're having a, a great day or, or if you have a bad day, it kinda makes you feel a little bit better.

[00:39:44] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, I mean, mine is a version of macaroni and cheese. It's, uh, pastitsio is my g- Oh ... is my, like, comfort food that I, I don't even know how to make it as well as, um, some of my aunties and, uh, and my mom. But, like a, a, [00:40:00] a homemade pastitsio where they put, like, the nutmeg on top and you smell it, it's just-

[00:40:04] Marc Preston: With the bechamel- That, that-

[00:40:05] Marc Preston: on top. Yeah, y- and, and that- Mm ... that, that meat that's got the, like, the- And you dream about that ... I don't know what they put in the meat. It's gotta be cinnamon. Cinnamon's gotta be in there somewhere. I don't know. You, you know, look on your face like, "I know the recipe. I'm not gonna give you that secret."

[00:40:19] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, that's the trick. No, no, no. 'Cause you know what I was gonna say? 'Cause I was just saying, like, I don't make my pastitsio very good. Like, mine's okay, but it's not that great. But, like, I- they do put, there is cinnamon in it. Um, and there's nutmeg. And, um, my auntie... I have to get, I have to get some recipes.

[00:40:31] Tracy Spiridakos: I really am failing. Uh, but my aunt- the way that my aunties, uh, make it, my, my one auntie, uh, particularly makes it so, so good. So that's the, that's the favorite.

[00:40:40] Marc Preston: I'm, I'm envious because when I used to go to this, aga- again, Costa's Cafe. I'm doing a commercial for him here, you know, uh, in Dallas. Actually, technically they're in Plano, which is North Dallas a bit.

[00:40:49] Marc Preston: Uh, but they, uh, they had this one plate that they kinda had, pastitsio, souvlaki, dolmas, um, the pot- oh, the potatoes. Man, I tell you. It was just like, it was [00:41:00] so... It was like one of those things I look at and go, "That's way more food than I should ever wanna sit down and eat, but if I don't eat all of it, then..."

[00:41:07] Marc Preston: Like it's, it's just, it's just seductive. I gotta... I mean, the next day I'm feeling it. But, but they m- but, but they have a big, I mean, a big piece of, a, a big, the, the, the, uh, pastitsio. They, it, it, they don't skimp on portions, and it's so just, ugh. God, I'm so hungry right now. Um, but like-

[00:41:25] Tracy Spiridakos: So now I'm, I wanna know what your favorite is.

[00:41:28] Tracy Spiridakos: I feel like it, is it- My go- What's your go-to?

[00:41:31] Marc Preston: My go... You know, for a Cr- you know, if I was to say a comfort food, uh, Greek would always be- Mm ... an anything. Just g- I go in a Greek restaurant, smell it, it just warms my soul. But for me, it's, like, as a Jewish kid, it's, like, uh, lox and bagels. You know? It's like, uh, you know, so give you an idea, Canter's Deli's always a station on the cross when I go to LA.

[00:41:50] Marc Preston: Gotta go in there and- Yeah ... matzo ball soup, you know. It's... But no, uh, uh, for me, you know what? I have ne- e- okay, when I've had a bad day and I've had Greek food, it's [00:42:00] always made it better. And whenever I've had Greek food and it's a great day, it's just, it's, it just, it's always a good time. It's always good vibes.

[00:42:06] Marc Preston: You know? So it's- ... one of those things that that's why I'm like, "Love you, but I hate you right now 'cause you're making me realize I can't get G- Greek food." Gotta, gotta, gotta do some driving here to, uh, I don't know, I have to explore. We are in the South Texas Valley. Uh, you know, I'm here on the island, but I don't really go into the valley too much.

[00:42:22] Marc Preston: Uh, there's gotta be a Greek restaurant somewhere. I'm gonna find it. That's my- I'm sure ... that's, that, when we get off today, I'm literally going on Google or I'm at AI something, I'm gonna be finding a Greek restaurant. Uh, that, that first bite of pastitsio, I'll be thinking about you. Um, now- Yes ... now the next question I got for you, if you're gonna be sitting down having coffee, uh, spending an afternoon talking story with three people, now living or not, who would those three people be that you would like to spend the afternoon at a table, a beautiful afternoon, just sitting down having coffee?

[00:42:50] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, ooh, this question will get me a little emotional because my f- number one choice would be my dad. Um, for me, it's the people that have, that have passed [00:43:00] away. So it would be my, it would be my dad, um, my, um, my Aunt Kiki, who's... They were very, they're very close, and then my, my friend Bobby who passed away.

[00:43:09] Tracy Spiridakos: So I know-

[00:43:11] Marc Preston: No,

[00:43:11] Tracy Spiridakos: no, no ... probably for other people it's like famous people- No, no, that's, yeah, that's wonderful ... for me it's like fam.

[00:43:14] Marc Preston: I, I think- Yeah ... I think one of them would be my grandfather, like, if I was doing it. But I think it'd be a couple people that passed, but I think, like, throwing in like a Don Rickles or somebody just to keep the mood light, you know, just, you know, to where there'd be some laughter, you know?

[00:43:26] Marc Preston: Um.

[00:43:26] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:43:27] Marc Preston: But one of the things I've found as you get older and, and the years go by, you start having questions now like, "How did I not know to ask that question back then?" You know? And that's, that's a thing that I encounter. Like, one of my, my kids, now they're a little bit older, they're in their ear- early 20s, and, uh, and, you know, life change.

[00:43:44] Marc Preston: I'm like, "Oh, God, I, I would love to ask my grandfather a question about fill in the blank," you know? It's like, that's, that's a- Yeah ... one thing I told, I, I would like to convey to my kids is like, you know, think of the things you would like to know 20, 30 years from now. Ask everybody. Talk to them.

[00:43:57] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, for sure.

[00:43:58] Tracy Spiridakos: But I feel like it's one of those, [00:44:00] like, you know, unfortunate things where, like, when, when somebody... You can't, you can't know what you would miss- Right ... you can't know what, what you would wanna ask until the opportunity comes and you're faced with it and you're like, "Ah, shit, I wish, I wish my dad was here.

[00:44:15] Tracy Spiridakos: He would know exactly how to deal with this situation," or you know what to say. And so it's, um, you know. Yeah. That's, that's... You get, you can't know until you're on the other side of it, unfortunately.

[00:44:25] Marc Preston: Now we're gonna go back when you were a, a, a young Tracy. Yes. Who was the first celebrity crush that you had?

[00:44:33] Tracy Spiridakos: Brad Pitt.

[00:44:33] Marc Preston: Brad Pitt. Uh, I'm very much a heterosexual male, but I can look at Brad Pitt and like, "I get that." I get, I get why- ... he's the guy, you know? Like, no matter what he does- Just- ... you buy in, whether he's in one of the Ocean's 11 movies or he's like, uh, the, uh, uh, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on a roof doing work.

[00:44:51] Marc Preston: I'm like, "I, I get why g- ladies like him. I get it. I get

[00:44:55] Tracy Spiridakos: it." Yeah. It's

[00:44:55] Marc Preston: like, damn. Yeah.

[00:44:56] Tracy Spiridakos: He just, he just is. Yeah.

[00:44:58] Marc Preston: He just is. He, he's fucking up the bell [00:45:00] curve- Brangelina for all ... you know, he's fucking up the bell curve for all of us, man. It's like he's making things difficult. Now, uh, now let's say you're gonna be somewhere, a beautiful Greek island, somewhere that a, a, an exotic island you would love to be.

[00:45:11] Marc Preston: It's, it's just, it's exotic, it's perfect, but no streaming. So that means you're gonna be there an entire year. You can only bring one CD and one DVD. So if you wanna listen to music, you need something to listen to over and over again, and a movie you can watch over and over again. What would that CD and what would that DVD be?

[00:45:31] Tracy Spiridakos: So the CD would be, I, I listen, right, uh, currently I listen to a lot of Greek music, so I would probably put, have Gigidia is her name. Uh, she's a Greek singer, and I would probably have her CD. Um, it'd be a toss-up between her and Mitropano, but, uh, probably Gigidia. And DVD. So as a DVD, it could be one movie or it can be like a ser- a series?

[00:45:56] Tracy Spiridakos: Or just one-

[00:45:58] Marc Preston: Uh, you know, it could be a box

[00:45:59] Tracy Spiridakos: set ... one of each situation. It could be a

[00:45:59] Marc Preston: [00:46:00] box set, absolutely. I do allow for box sets.

[00:46:02] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, probably Friends, I think. I would want some levity. If I was there and I was there for a year, I'd need someone to do a little, have a little laugh, you know? And that'd be Friends-

[00:46:13] Marc Preston: Exactly

[00:46:13] Marc Preston: for me. Well, tell you what, L- now, if you were to look at the recipe for the perfect day, like from the time you get up to the time you go to bed, what would be the key ingredients to say at the end of the day you go, "That was a perfect day for me"? What would, what would go into that day?

[00:46:27] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, it would be...

[00:46:29] Tracy Spiridakos: Well, it would, it would probably take place in Greece. Um, though going for a, a swim in the, in the, in the Med, in the, in the Mediterranean, um And having a really lovely long four-hour long dinner like you do in Greece with, um, with my brothers and my mom and my cousins and, um, a little glass of wine, um, and, [00:47:00] uh, relaxing by the, by the beach in, in Greece.

[00:47:05] Marc Preston: Now I got a- Me and family ... I got a question though. What kind of wine are you? You red or white? Kind of, is there a specific wine? Uh,

[00:47:11] Tracy Spiridakos: I mean, I'll, I'll drink it all, Marc. Uh

[00:47:16] Marc Preston: but, um- You do not discriminate. Okay, good.

[00:47:17] Tracy Spiridakos: I will not. Um, but I, I mean, I pro- I lean towards, uh, some a white wine usually. Yeah. But particularly in a hot Greek day-

[00:47:24] Marc Preston: Nice chilled wine, yeah

[00:47:25] Marc Preston: you know, sunny day. I'm there. No, I'm, I'm there with you. A nice

[00:47:26] Tracy Spiridakos: chilled white.

[00:47:27] Marc Preston: I'm in the South, man. I te- I, I, it's something about just a nice chilled white. Uh, now it does d- depend on the food though, you know? So that's, that's the... Now, okay, let's add, now what are you, what are you eating with pastitsio? Or what are you drinking rather with pastitsio?

[00:47:41] Marc Preston: What kind of wine goes?

[00:47:42] Tracy Spiridakos: I feel like I'm probably the wrong... I, 'cause I'll, if I'm outside and it's hot, I'm gonna have a, a glass of white wine even though I know if you're having meat and steak and stuff, they say you're supposed to have it with red wine. Right. But for me, I enjoy, I enjoy a nice crisp glass of white wine.

[00:47:57] Tracy Spiridakos: So-

[00:47:58] Marc Preston: Okay, you're a weirdo just

[00:47:59] Tracy Spiridakos: like me ... I'll probably

[00:47:59] Marc Preston: do

[00:47:59] Tracy Spiridakos: that. And then if it's

[00:47:59] Marc Preston: like- [00:48:00] I'm like whatever tastes good- Yeah ... that's a good wine for me. You know? I'm not, I'm- Yeah ... I'm a basic sommelier. I'm a, you know, whatever, whatever tastes good goes to, the, this, but it's a chilled thing. Yeah, I dig that.

[00:48:10] Tracy Spiridakos: Now- Yeah, and then if it's like winter and it's sitting by the fire, a nice cozy red sounds nice, you know?

[00:48:16] Tracy Spiridakos: So really just a, it's environment for me.

[00:48:19] Marc Preston: I was, my intent by the way was not to focus so much on the Greek thing now, but I'm like, I was like, I just, I, it's, uh, it, it's a, it's enough of a nugget, a, a, a, a, an echo of my history intermittently and different people so it's always nice to connect with Greek folks.

[00:48:33] Marc Preston: But I did ask, by the way, Christine Toplis asked him about a recipe. He said, "Marc, Marc, Marc, let me stop you." Don't worry about the recipe, don't go shopping, just go to the restaurant and get it. He said, 'cause he kn- 'cause it's, it's so specific to where you just can't get it just quite right, and there's that disappointment.

[00:48:48] Marc Preston: You spend all that time do- He's like, "Just go to a restaurant." I said, I said, "Chris, I, I can't, you know, 'cause I'm here and there's not one around me." But he, he, he, uh- When

[00:48:55] Tracy Spiridakos: you go to Greece, one day you're gonna go to Greece, and when you go, it will ruin Greek [00:49:00] food for you.

[00:49:00] Marc Preston: I see, I imagine- Because when you come back- That's, that's the one downside- Yeah

[00:49:03] Marc Preston: it's that, uh, going back to Bourdain, and he said something once that, uh, he is sad when he's having something that's just purely amazing, knowing that there's a outside chance he'll never have it again. Or the only place he can have it is in that one place, in that one country, in that one... You know. So there's a, an inherent sadness.

[00:49:21] Marc Preston: It's only momentary you get to enjoy it. And that's the thing with Greece for me. I think I would like... I don't know. Technically, hey man, uh, my kids are out of the house. I can be a digital nomad. I can go, I can go there, you know. Uh- Yeah ... put on a few pounds, and I got, you know, I got, I got- ... Lipitor handy.

[00:49:36] Marc Preston: Don't worry, I'll get to town. Now, the next question. Now, if you weren't doing this for a living, if, so, you know, Tracy, acting, it, it is just not on the agenda for you anymore. What would be the number two, the vocation that you would, you could see yourself doing besides acting?

[00:49:50] Tracy Spiridakos: Um, hmm. I, I think I would be really interested in being a therapist, which just [00:50:00] sounds so weird.

[00:50:01] Tracy Spiridakos: No. No, no. But I think I'd be really interested in, like, I'm, I'm always fascinated by, by people and, and why we do the things that we do and, and how, you know, we make these choices that we make. And so I, I would be really interested to be able to-

[00:50:17] Marc Preston: Greek

[00:50:17] Tracy Spiridakos: ph- ... talk to people about their life and- 'Cause that's the Greek philosopher

[00:50:19] Marc Preston: in you.

[00:50:20] Marc Preston: You know, that's-

[00:50:21] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah. Very, yeah. And, and just be able to like... You know, I, I love even just with friends and family, digging into something that's going on and finding a solution and, and helping, you know, them find a, a, feel better about it or finding some sort of resolution internally that, that, um, can help them through that hard time or whatever it is.

[00:50:40] Tracy Spiridakos: So that would be something that I would be-

[00:50:42] Marc Preston: Well, as an actor- ... um, interested in ... I mean, you're, you're inherently an empathetic creature, and I think that, that probably... You know, you're the only, I, I think one, maybe two other people I've, I've spoken with over the years have mentioned the therapy or counseling or something like that.

[00:50:55] Marc Preston: Teacher comes up a lot. But the counseling thing- Um- ... I think would be a, a natural [00:51:00] segue for a lot of actors because- W- your job is to listen, you know? And your job is to listen and, and, and react and... But again, the Greek philosopher. Maybe it's in the DNA, you know? It's a- Yeah. ... think, the thinky side. Yeah.

[00:51:13] Marc Preston: Now, if you were to j- last question, if you were to jump on a, in that DeLorean and you could travel back and spend just a few minutes with you at 16 years old, what piece of advice would you offer yourself at that time, uh, to make that moment of life a little bit better for you or to, to kind of get you on a little bit different trajectory?

[00:51:30] Marc Preston: What would, what would you tell 16-year-old you if you had a few minutes?

[00:51:34] Tracy Spiridakos: To quit smoking. I smoked back then.

[00:51:37] Marc Preston: Isn't that the dumbest habit? No, I did it as well. You know, it just- I know. You're

[00:51:39] Tracy Spiridakos: like, "Come on." Um, yeah, I think-

[00:51:44] Marc Preston: Wait, wait, you were smoking at 16? You bad kid. You know, you're... I'm

[00:51:48] Tracy Spiridakos: s- I know. I was, I was bad.

[00:51:51] Tracy Spiridakos: I was bad. But like, you know, that's true. Um, but I... It would be that, or I mean, the, look, the sentimental part of me would be like, "Go hang out with your [00:52:00] dad all day, every day, and your mom," you know? Like, spend more time with Mom and Dad, uh, particularly especially because my dad passed away. We were so, so close, and so I'd be like, "Just stop hanging out with your friends.

[00:52:10] Tracy Spiridakos: Hang out with your dad." Um, so that would be a, a big one. But, uh, but really it's, it's to like t- uh, health-wise. I smoked for a while, actually. I smoked for like- A good four or five years, and I smoked like a pack a day

[00:52:26] Marc Preston: The only thing I miss about smoking, and I didn't really... There was a thing that, uh, I never really considered myself a smoker, and then I was working on the radio.

[00:52:35] Marc Preston: It wasn't the era where you can smoke in the studio. You could actually... You had to run. I timed it. I'd say, "I got a long song. Takes 30 seconds to get here. Light it up, smoke." And I, I was like, "This is dominating my life. Why am I..." You know, I haven't had a cigarette in well over 10, 15 years whenever w- Yeah And, but, and then I got in a phase like, "Well, I'm gonna smoke the good stuff," you know, like, uh, what was it?

[00:52:55] Marc Preston: Like, American Spirit or whatever, you know? Like, you know, not the, not the thing everybody else is smoking and, and then [00:53:00] I'm tricking myself into thinking, "Somehow you're being healthier." No, you're not. But-

[00:53:03] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah.

[00:53:04] Marc Preston: But it's like, but it's like every time I hang out with somebody who smokes, I got no desire to smoke, but the only thing I miss about it, or the only thing that brings any aspect of nostalgia is the social aspect.

[00:53:15] Marc Preston: You know, like- Yeah ... you're sitting around. There's that ritualistic thing of lighting the cigarette and with other people, and I was with some folks the other day, and they, they smoked, which is kind of weird. I don't know anybody who smokes really these days.

[00:53:27] Tracy Spiridakos: You know? I know. I was gonna say, I feel like it's

[00:53:28] Marc Preston: rare now.

[00:53:28] Marc Preston: Yeah. Which is really, you know, down here on the island, it's, uh, they do something. They have s- what they call winter Texans, people from even up in Canada. Uh, I see some Can- Canada license plates, but like Minnesota and North Dakota, and they come down, I think starting, like, well, their win- wintertime they're down here.

[00:53:44] Marc Preston: And there's two things they bring, a love for Busch Beer and smoking. Like, everywhere you go, there's smoke. It's like, the, because they're all, you know, boomers, you know? But I don't know anyone who still smokes. So sometimes they vape, and that's kind of was my, my [00:54:00] outro to smoking. That helped me kind of stop smoking.

[00:54:02] Marc Preston: Uh, that's the only benefit of that. Yeah. But this is going back years and years ago, back before they knew vaping was so bad. Um, but yeah- Yeah ... but 16, man, I, you know, I'm old enough to remember my junior high school Uh, had a courtyard in the middle. It was built like a square, and th- that was a smoking area.

[00:54:19] Marc Preston: Do you ever, you ever do this? I know I'm belaboring the point, but do you ever see a kid smoking going, "What are you doing?" Like, you're, you're, like, a te- like, nobody, none of your contemporaries are probably smoking. But I'm noticing some, it's kind of a retro thing, I guess, for the retro cultural thing for

[00:54:33] Tracy Spiridakos: the- Well, and you're, you know, for, like, you know, I was, if we're young, you're still developing.

[00:54:37] Tracy Spiridakos: You're 16 years old. You know? Like, I'm like, "Oh, gosh, what were you thinking?"

[00:54:41] Marc Preston: And everything smells like crap, you know? It's like all your... You don't, you don't realize what, what kind of a stink fest you are, and your clothes are all getting smoke, you know. But then again, the Greek thing, isn't that part of the cu- everybody who knows G- they, they all were sm- I don't know if it was the era I grew up in, but they were all...

[00:54:59] Marc Preston: I remember they [00:55:00] hand-rolled cigarettes, too. Like, these guys were, like, real serious about their smoking. Uh, but is that- Yeah ... a cultural thing in Greece? 'Cause every time I see 'em, even on TV, they, it's, it's just like a, it's a social thing kind of, isn't it?

[00:55:09] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah. Everyone s- everyone still smokes in Greece, for sure.

[00:55:12] Tracy Spiridakos: A lot, a lot of people do, and there's even, I mean, there's, like, ashtrays everywhere. You could s- there's no, like, no smoking section. If you sit down outside, they'll bring you an ashtray. Yeah, it's, it is cultural. A lot of, a lot of people still smoke. And look, like, you know,

[00:55:22] Marc Preston: getting- Do you still get t- now, do you still get tempted though?

[00:55:24] Marc Preston: Do you still, do you ever have a temptation like, "Mm," or is it like, "Ugh," you know? I mean, I did the hypnosis thing- You know, I- ... and everything, so I don't know if that's wired in. Oh, really? I just never have a desire, you know.

[00:55:33] Tracy Spiridakos: I do. I do get tempted. I do get tempted, and every once in a while I'll dabble. Uh, and then after I'm like, "Ah."

[00:55:39] Tracy Spiridakos: But, um, but I, I think I always enjoyed the act of smoking. Like, I loved everything about it. It's just that it wasn't good for you. Um, and I, I have a pretty... I can, I, I don't have an addictive personality, so I can separate from it and, and put it away. But when I... Usually the only time I'm tempted is when I'm in [00:56:00] Greece.

[00:56:00] Marc Preston: Yeah.

[00:56:01] Tracy Spiridakos: I'm sitting outside, everyone's lighting up, I'm like, "Ah, please." Oh, you, you know, you

[00:56:04] Marc Preston: know the time that I thought, "Man, this is stupid," uh, was I remember I was at an event. I was in LA for something, and my agent was... There was, there was some kind of conference going on, and they had, they invited some of the buyers.

[00:56:14] Marc Preston: Oh, long story short, a place called Barfly on Sunset And that was when they first started saying, "You gotta go outside to smoke." And they had this area, and I'm like, I don't know, that's about four, maybe four feet wide from the, you know, in front of the, in front of the bar where you had to go out there and like, like sardines, like you're all packed in smoking.

[00:56:33] Marc Preston: I'm like, "This does, this feels like I'm a pariah out here," you know, 'cause you have to leave the, all the action, and anybody that's a smoker is kinda like packed in and, and there's this cloud of smoke, and I'm sitting there going, "This is a silly habit I'm engaged in right now. This is a-" Right ... you know?

[00:56:47] Marc Preston: But, uh, but yeah, that's, that's where we're- The

[00:56:49] Tracy Spiridakos: Winnipeg winters is what, what got me. Standing outside in the Winnipeg winter with your winter coat on outside smoking, I was like, "Wait a minute. I feel like I could not do this." [00:57:00] Well- Freezing outside.

[00:57:01] Marc Preston: Yeah, that's, uh, uh, kids, if you're listening, don't smoke.

[00:57:05] Marc Preston: It is, uh, it's arguably the dumbest... Like, when you really think about it, it's just like a dumb habit, but I get it, but it's like I'm glad I don't do it anymore.

[00:57:12] Tracy Spiridakos: Yeah, yeah. It had its time for me, and now I'm glad I don't do it. Yeah, exactly.

[00:57:15] Marc Preston: I feel like this has been a very weird PSA. Um- Especially '

[00:57:18] Tracy Spiridakos: cause you're like, "Do you still, are you still tempted?"

[00:57:19] Tracy Spiridakos: I'm like, "Yeah." Yeah, yeah,

[00:57:21] Marc Preston: yeah. Well, very cool. Well, tell me, Tracey, it's been so much fun, and, uh, again, I, I, I, I apologize for just, just grooving so much on the Greek thing. I, I did the same thing with- No, it's great ... Christina Tontos. So like, yeah, I feel like y'all are like, uh, y'all are cultural cousins in some way.

[00:57:35] Marc Preston: I don't know. Tracey, well, but best of luck with the show, man. I'm excited to check it out. I, I hope we have a chance to catch up down the line and, you know, maybe if I'm ever in LA, I'll ping you and go, "Where should I eat for Greek," you know?

[00:57:46] Tracy Spiridakos: Yes.

[00:57:46] Marc Preston: And I, I know that- And I can

[00:57:47] Tracy Spiridakos: give you that lemon potato recipe

[00:57:50] Marc Preston: I don't know if I didn't put enough lemon. I think it had something to do with too much chicken stock. I don't know. I was... My daughter was eating it, says, "Is that good?" She's like, "Yeah." I was like, "It's just not lemony enough." There's work yet to be done, but I appreciate [00:58:00] your time- ... more than you know, and, uh, I, I really do, and I, I wish you nothing but the best and hopefully have a chance to catch up down the line.

[00:58:06] Tracy Spiridakos: Sounds good. Thank you very much. It was a pleasure.

[00:58:10] Marc Preston: Well, there you go. Tracy Spiridakis, uh, charming, really enjoyed the conversation. You know, we went to Canada, we went to Greece, we talked, uh, TV. Uh, just enjoyed the conversation with Tracy, and, uh, I got to, I got to work on my, uh, Greek cooking skills. That, that...

[00:58:26] Marc Preston: I'm gonna cook dinner here in just a second. So got potatoes, got lemons. I'm gonna try to make some things happen. Okay, so do me a favor if you would, make sure to follow Story and Craft. It is a cool way to make sure you get notifications every time new episodes come out, and also you can, uh, leave a comment, stars, uh, reviews, whatever have you.

[00:58:45] Marc Preston: It does help people to find Story and Craft, and I appreciate that. Also, storyandcraftpod.com, everything about the show is right there, past guests, past episodes. Just head to the website, all the socials, everything. It's, it's just all right there. All right, so I'm gonna [00:59:00] get on out of here. I'm gonna jump in the kitchen and try to make some, uh, make some magic now.

[00:59:03] Marc Preston: We'll be back in a couple of days with another episode. And as always, thank you for making what I've got going on part of whatever you've got going on. It means a lot. And you take care, and, uh, we'll talk to you in a couple of days right here on Story and Craft.

[00:59:17] Announcer: That's it for this episode of Story and Craft.

[00:59:20] Announcer: 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. Associate producer is Zachary Holden. Please rate and review Story and Craft on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

[00:59:45] Announcer: You can subscribe to show updates and stay in the know. Just head to storyandcraftpod.com and sign up for the newsletter. I'm Emma Dylan. See you next time, and remember, keep telling your [01:00:00] story.