Chatting with Christine Meyers

Christine Meyers, one of the stars of Beautiful Kid (pictured above) written by Mike Carty spoke with me about her number one passion, acting. Her and her new husband live in sunny LA and are soaking up their creative juices together(they are both working actors). It was fun to learn about the acting world out there and where it’s taking her. Her journey seems to have only just begun.

When did you move to LA?

My husband and I came out here almost two years ago. We were back and forth for a while but now we’re settled here.

How would you compare NY to LA?

I was just thinking about this…it’s taken me awhile to adjust to LA. I was in New York for ten years…everybody knows it’s a survival city and I was getting tired of the lifestyle and ready for a change.… so I really thought I would come to LA and immediately love it but it took me some time to adjust. They’re hard to compare because the lifestyle is very different.

Terror has said you were the favorite actress.

That’s so sweet to hear.

Didn’t you win an award?

No, but Dan won for best actor which was very deserved, he gave his everything to the film, he really did. And John won for best supporting actor which was awesome.

In college you studied acting?

Yeah, I studied acting (BFA) at NYU and graduated in 2000. I studied at Playwrights horizons for the first couple of years, then I got a minor in social/issue based theater, and then I studied at Stone Street Studios which is when I signed with an agency and started working professionally.

I read somewhere that you were in Vanilla Sky?

That was soon after I graduated….I had never been in a big budget movie production before so I answered an open call for extras. I was so excited to be there! I was talking to everyone, finding out what they all did. I ended up being moved to a spot right in front of the camera. I got to be directed by Cameron Crowe and while we were shooting Tom Cruise began an improv scene with me. Cameron Crowe liked it, so we improved a few more times. The improved scene didn't make the cut by I am still in there for a little scene near the beginning.

What’s he like?

He’s really nice, I had a good time.

Can you compare being part of a big production film like Vanilla Sky to a smaller one like Beautiful Kid?

I like that indie vibe…I like the scale. On an independent film, I feel very involved in the project and the whole process as opposed to a big film where you have less involvement unless you’re a big talent. I have had leads in a few more indie films that are in post production now. Making an indie film is special because you end up spending so much concentrated time with a small group of people and they become your family in a way. And when you go onto another film you meet new friends and become close to them and you start the process all over again.

How are indie actors paid?

Well it depends. For the ones that I worked on I was paid a day rate…and then the rest depends on percentages that you agree on in your contract for if the film gets bought and released…so we hope it gets released and everyone loves it.

On the set of Beautiful Kid, did you have a favorite person you liked working with?

Well the people I worked with the most were Dan and Javier and I worked a lot with John and they were unbelievable. Being the only girl on the set a lot of the time could have been tough, but I felt really safe and protected. A lot of that had to do with Colum and Patrick as well - they made the sure the environment was very supportive which was amazing for my first time on a feature set. And I realize now what a gift it is to feel that supported creatively because then you can be free to explore and play with your character. And John made me laugh all the time, he was so spontaneous, he would just pull out these phrases! And he really helped me to understand the characters and the vibe that we were going for in the film.

And Malachy! What was it like working with Malacy McCourt?

I had limited scenes with Malachy but he was great. He’s come to a couple of plays that I did in New York over the years and he is really wonderful actor and artist. And Frank…I thought was very present and free. I really enjoyed working with him. Especially after reading his books and being a fan… I worked him up and then to have met him! So, I guess I am saying I didn't have a favorite person!

What about the young girl?

Halley? Halley was great…she was unbelievable, I was really impressed with her work in the film. We didn’t have a lot of dialogue together. I did see she was really able to take risks. Her character is kind of the voice of reason and to she had to be the "mother" in a young child's body and that takes a lot of groundedness. And you can see with the way that her career has gone how talented she is. I was very impressed by her.

Is there more jobs for acting in LA?

Yes, because entertainment is the main industry here but the flip side is there are many more people in the field….it was a huge eye opener for me. I had no idea it was so big. At first it’s a bit daunting and you can get stuck thinking about all the actors here who look like you and do what you do and how hard it is and then you kind of realize that it’s pointless to think this way. Once you kind of determine what you want for yourself and what you have to offer, all you can do is go into the room and do what you do to the best of your ability. I’ve also found that the creativity here is incredible. Everyone has an idea and is working on something. Production in the industry is weird right now with the recession, but with Youtube and other outlets…it’s still a pretty creative time. So there is negative and positive aspects to it.

Your husband’s an actor?

Yeah, we met almost eight years ago on the set of Guiding Light.

Doing what?

I was working for a week shooting the part of a college girl who was friends with one of the main characters and he was a recurring character and we happened to be shooting on the same day….we just got married last June.

Where did you go for your wedding?

Cape Cod…

You did a few plays?

I did many off, and off-off broadway shows. I also worked with a theater company that was run out of one of the hospitals and dealt with education on HIV/AIDS and STDs. We would be trained and then develop shows that would be taken into the NYC schools, teen programs, and colleges in the Northeast. It was a great job and it was great to work with an issue I feel very strongly about. Since I’ve been out here I did a play that was a grant from the LA History project for Edgefest Theater festival exploring the history of the LA public school system and it's ability (or lack of ability) to meet the needs of the students and community schools…so there is theater in LA.

I just saw this incredible play, The Fifth of July and I remember thinking, how do these actors remember all these lines, it seems so impossible! When you’re doing plays whether it be in an education setting or as a huge production play, how do remember all those lines?

The memorization of the lines is part of your job as an actor. So if you don’t have a system you‘re in trouble. Memorizing is actually pretty easy for me. It’s playing a snapshot and it’s really about connecting with what the story is and once you get that, then the lines kind of come anyway and they just make sense. I actually love the type of acting a play entails because you get to play the whole arc of the character at once. Whereas in films you just do little bits. Sometimes it’s hard to walk off set and feel good about what you did.

Would you ever teach acting?

I have. I ran a theater program in New Jersey and I enjoyed it but teaching acting is not my calling. I actually do a lot of counseling of actors…I’m a nutritional counselor.

Oh, that’s your other job?

Yeah, I counsel actors who are losing or gaining weight for roles or who are trying to clean up their diets or stay at a healthy weight without starving themselves. Being in the business…your body is your instrument. When I started working professionally, I saw a lot of eating disorders and fad diets and I was thinking how can one be in this business and not have issues around food? I knew that if I was going to make a career out of acting, I wanted to get a clear handle on how to care for my body, keep it healthy, and lose or gain weight safely. So I went to a school in NYC, and while I was there I had an actress approach me about counseling her. And found out I really love it. It is very important to address this aspect of being an actor because if you get a part where you have to lose weight and you starve yourself to do it then by the time you get on set, you are in no shape to be creative - all you can think about is the fact that you are starving! And your work suffers. Versus, knowing how to lose the weight in a healthy way so that you are still creative and able to work and you’re not running off the set to grab slice of pizza. There are so many actors that have to leave the acting because of the damage they’ve done to their bodies.

Look at Jared Leto gaining like a hundred pounds for his lead in a role or Christian Bale becoming a skeleton for one of his…I think it’s great you are there to provide actors the right tools to do this and not damage themselves permanently! Can you compare yourself to Fiona or Bridget (the female characters of Beautiful Kid)?

My character, Bridget was quite a product of her environment. She was a character that really had a lot of pride toward the community and the people she grew up with. I think she’s very smart in her own way. Whereas the other character, Fiona really applied herself and was interested in getting out of the community. Having a future elsewhere. Bridget didn’t have that drive. I think they were pretty opposite, but I think both are smartly developed; one is engrossed in the world she grew up in and the other wasn't…and then there’s Dan's character who’s caught between the two. Bridget gave him a lot of slack for his desire to leave…she wanted her family of friends to remain there, those two guys were her family.

Are you more of a Bridget or a Fiona?

I left my home at 17, so in that way I’m similar to Fiona. But I go back to visit my family a lot and I have a lot of loyalty towards them, so in that way I am similar to Bridget. I guess a combination of the two. It would have been really hard to play this character without an understanding of why she does the things she does. She was very protective of them. Her actions were sometimes ones I wouldn’t chose, you know? When she has little understanding of Dan's character's desire to move, I wouldn’t do that. But I think Mike did a great job writing characters that are not black and white. You feel bad about what happens in the end, you'd love to see him move on, but yet there’s love there…he did a great job with creating "gray" characters. They are great to watch and to play.

I agree with you Christine! Beautiful Kid was beautiful! Everyone loved how you played your character. I think in no time you will be awarded best actress for it. I’m looking so forward to seeing you in Madness and Genius, please let me know of its release!

Up Next...Kate is coming up!

Several years ago, I went to see Mike Carty's movie, Beautiful Kid and I was impressed by the actors who portrayed his characters. Kate played the unattainable girl in the movie. The girl of every man's dreams. She frowned upon his drinking and way of life. She was college bound and had the power to help him aspire to be something more. However, fate had different plans and the two did not end up together adding to the already unfortunate events of the script. I met Kate briefly at the premiere and remembered her as bubbly. When I met her again almost eight years later I noticed she still had a dynamite personality and looked younger...I wonder what her secret is.

What do you do?

I’m an actress…as an actor you always come up with other interesting side jobs…but I’m an actress. I handed out coupons for a brand name mop…when swifter just came out. And people were like, ‘Fourteen dollars for a mop? No thanks!”

From my research I read you were in many soap operas-what was that like?

I like soap operas (All My Children, Guiding Light, As the World Turns) because they are very intimate and you learn a lot from the cast. The amount you learn in such a short time is immense.

What was it like switching?

It wasn’t a contract role.

Who were you most ga ga over?

I mean it’s always very nice to be around such attractive people…it’s part of the business. I see people for who they really are as opposed to, ‘Wow, he’s really hot but he’s not that nice.’

Biggest role in a movie so far?

I was in an independent film, Unreal that did really well in the independent film circuit. I made such great friends on that movie…when I have production questions, I can reach out to them, it was just a wonderful experience.

I loved you in A Beautiful Kid!

That was about eight years ago, we began to film right after 9/11. I look back and I think, ‘Did I really know what I was doing?’ It was so much fun though, I got to fly by the seat of my pants….don’t tell Mike though.

You were the good girl.

I was the good girl (insert evil laugh).

Do you prefer to play these kinds of roles?

Um,,,you always want to play fun roles. It’s fun to do things differently then what you would normally do.

What was it like working with Column McCann, Frank McCourt, Malachy McCourt and of course, Mike Carty?

It was such a great experience…working with people that are so down to earth, so genuine. I will always have a special place in my heart for the boys. I look back and think about how young I really was and the patience they had with me.

You missed out in the fight scenes.

Yes, I missed all of that…the smashing of the car, the bar scenes, I wasn’t there for any of that…(being the good girl character, the contrast to the have-nots)

Are you from Sydney?

No, I went over to work for a famous family as a Tutor and lived there for a bit.

For whom…(to be left omitted) OMG, how did you get that job?

I was student teaching and a friend who knew I was looking to teach in NYC got me hooked up with them.

You took risks! To just move to Sydney like that, I always thought that’s where you were from!

I did, when the opportunity arrived, they were like, ‘Did you want to think about it?’ I was like, no.

Were you able to get acting gigs over there?


While working…work experience adds to it…when I realized I was going to be there for longer than five months, I began to look for acting work and I was cast in a play, Hell Hath No Fury. It was great to be in a different country and working with many actors. You have this amazing thing in common and you’re half the world away.

Do you still communicate with the family?

Yes…

You’ve been back in NYC for awhile?

About a year and a half…I work with a few agents who submit me.

Is it hard to get an agent? I’m looking for one now for this book and I find it’s really tough.

It’s really hard…because if you’re too new, they want you to get more experience…you have to take all of your creativity and you just have to be persistent. Persistence really is the key. You just have to pick yourself up and look for the person who’s right for you.

Are they nice?

Any business is full of bad people and good people…the beautiful thing about the acting community in the business, everyone has heard of everything so if someone worked with a bad agent, it would be well-known…so there is hope.

Any actresses you aspire to?

There are many. I steal stuff from actors, people on the subway….’oh I could use that….’ I think Kate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, I have so many and right now, I’m drawing a blank. There are also all those people I’ve seen watching plays. There was this one actress in Sydney I saw on stage and I thought she was really good…I forget her name. So, I can get inspired by the famous or the unknown, both can be equally good.

Do you have a set schedule?

Um…it can be a little crazy. It depends upon the day. I make sure everyday I try to get to the gym. I try to work at least an hour a day on work and aside from that it’s up in the air.

How does one survive financially?

Oh, I have a day job…it’s kind of encouraging to me to know that I can work really hard at acting and have a day job and one day I’ll be able to just act.

Can I ask you what you do?

I teach second grade in a private school. I have a brilliant co-teacher who is so supportive of me.

Do you get paid for indie films?

It depends. Being in the business, you do a lot of free work. It’s hard to battle through when there are so many people out there that would do this for free. For some, just to get on TV…just to get the exposure…It’s a really grey area, you know?

Do you expect to be cast in an unexpected success indie, like Little Miss Sunshine or Slumdog?

While you’re waiting, it’s important to enjoy your work, it’s very easy to lose sight of why you’re doing it, you have to love doing it.

Do the actors/actresses get residuals on successful movies?

It depends,,,you can get points…it really depends on the contract.

Currently?

Teaching and auditioning.

Anything?

Everything…I think that would be fun which is good to think like this. I like all different roles, I work hard…

What is your philosophy of life?

Philosophy of life? Oh my goodness, That’s such a big question. I think, happiness. Find happiness in whatever you’re doing.

Favorite make up on stage?

I have to say, Mac…except I also love Maybelline black mascara.

I was going to say, your eyes look really good.

Thank you, you know you have to change (makeup) it so often and it’s really affordable.

While in Sydney, you did movies?

In Sydney I did plays and sort of like a commercial spot, it wound up being a commercial but it was more a campaign for climate change awareness.

No movies?

They’re really strict over there but we are quite welcoming of foreign talent whereas over there they’re more strict to make sure their actors get work.

Two movies all together?

Two features, just did a short film. I’ve done student films and industrial films also.

What is a short film?

Just in a different category…like 20 minutes. I think! But don’t quote me!

Do you have a specific genre?

It depends, as long as the writing is good and being surrounded by good actors…as long as the work is good, I don’t mind.

Music?

I think that’s the hardest question to ask, it depends on my mood really. I like all genres, I guess. I love classical, rock-in-roll…

What’s the longest time you‘ve dedicated to a role?

The acting is such a small piece of the project…it’s inevitable you’re waiting around a lot,,, there are so many other people involved in the process.

Compare the making of a movie to a play?

It’s about the behavior…it’s such a different journey for each. Theater is a different experience that you live out every night whereas films are moments from a day of your character’s life. The same skills are involved, you know, but in different ways.

The toughest project?

I was in a play that for some reason the character did not sit with me, I worked on it, I worked on it…maybe I wasn’t ready for that character…my soul just would not understand that character…it was a great learning experience though.

Ever see Sean since?

(character from A Beautiful Kid) Oh, Dan Brennan! This is what’s great about NY….I was walking down the street and I heard, “Kate?” and it was such an arbitrary experience and it just made me smile. We just shared in the coolness of the moment. He was a lot of fun….it was a good time.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I want to be happy doing what I love and to just be happy. A part of me thinks I’d love to do successful movies but at the same time, setting goals like that is good and bad…it’s good because it’s imperative, but it’s bad because you can’t…you can’t define yourself by whether or not you’ve accomplished these goals.

Thank you so much for sharing your acting experiences with me today.

You’re welcome. It’s like this book I read, The War of Art, about being creative and getting out of your own way…when you’re an artist it’s about treating it like it’s the real deal.

So, I should just get out of my own way?

Yeah, I really like the idea of this book, it’s good.

I appreciate all your encouragement…please let me know about your next play or film, I’m going to rent Unreal tonight!

(laughing) No problem!

John "The Terror" Carty: Award-winning actor of Beatiful Kid the movie

John Carty aka The Terror played the character Danny in Mike Carty's master piece, Beautiful Kid. It was a pleasure to talk with him and discuss his bad boy days, his best actor award and how things have changed...

Hey John, thanks for letting me ask you questions about Beautiful Kid.

So you’re writing a book? You should have Frank McCourt look at it.

You gotta ask him for me John.

I don’t,,,I haven’t seen him in over five years…

He’d still remember you John, you’re not easily forgotten. Alright, let’s talk about the movie. Okay, this movie was loosely based on growing up Irish in Woodlawn back-in-the-day. What was it really like growing up in Woodlawn…back then?

Growing up in Woodlawn…I was thinking about this the other day actually…if I could design the perfect place to grow up, it would be Woodlawn…do you like it, is that okay?

Umm…yeah, you can say anything. What about now, what are your feelings about it now?

I still like it, it has changed though, it’s more diverse now.

What did you like most about it?

There was always fun things to do. I guess the drinking. You know like the keg party in the movie? That’s what we used to do. There was all different crowds but everyone usually got along. There were some fights but no serious black eyes or nothing…well not all the time anyway (laughing).

Sounds like you got a dog, I can hear a dog.

Yeah, her name is Cupcake, she’s a short-legged pit bull, same head as a pit bull, really smart dog.

Ahhh, how cute. How long was a typical day for you (in filming Beautiful Kid)?

Well, the days were really, really long. Do you know James O-?

No.

Well, once we were driving the car…that we were using in the movie and I crashed the car!

On purpose?

No, it was an accident. It was crazy and I still had the blood on my shirt from the movie. (fight scene)

Oh my god..

I was working at Ground Zero at the time and doing the movie at night and that night I was so exhausted I crashed the car and they had to film the movie from the passenger’s side (laughing). I smacked my head on the roof! I had to change the two front tires, it was a nightmare. Are you gonna ask me why I think the movie wasn’t bigger than it was?

Okay, why wasn’t it bigger than it was?

Because we're not Jews...we are not JEWISH!

Are you resentful about being Irish?

No! Irish is the best nationality that there is…and something that really pisses me off is people think it’s (the Irish flag) green, white and orange…it’s gold, but they changed it!

What was it like dismantling the car with a bat in one take?

Oh that was so much fun, you were there for that one, right?

Yeah, I was an extra and we were cheering you on…and I remember Mike saying that they had to do it in one take only cuz they only had the one car to bash and he bought it at a junk yard for $50!

Oh, it was so much fun...I did that for real once but this time it was for fun. I think everyone should try this,,,just go to a junk yard…

Wait…did you say you’ve done that for real?

Yes, a guy was messing with my girlfriend once. And once when a guy messed with my brother Cliff. Actually the guy lived in the apartment you live in now!

Seriously?
Yep, it happened right there at that building…the Hagens. I was outside the building crushing his car.

With a bat?

It was like a bat and I saw him in Rory Dolan’s recently and I apologized. He’s a cop now in York Town Heights. I wouldn’t want to piss him off now. It was New Years Eve. And some boys came down to my house and said, ‘Cliff just got beat up by the Hagens' and I started chasing them with the bar. Later, the cops came down and I said I wasn’t going out there and Cliff went down and had to get locked up for the night…Cliff was a dummy, he turned himself right in,,,I make them cops earn it, they’re gonna have to look for me.

What was the outcome?

Oh, I had a friend who had a friend…and the whole thing got squashed.

Thank god! Cliff’s a cop now?

No, he’s a fireman but he was a cop first. But this happened when we were kids. He was a cop for ten years.

Why did he retire? When you’re a cop or fireman the time carries over, he’ll be able to retire soon.

Wow. In the movie credits…they write your name, John “The Terror” Carty, that’s also been your nickname for a long time, how did you get it?

I was 16 years old and I got a motorcycle jacket and back then everyone had shaved heads and I went into a store and someone said, “Hey, that’s Terror from the Wonderers" and when I saw the movie I was like, ‘I don’t look like that’ and I wanted to change it back! But now, I do actually look like him and it’s crazy…and the stunt guy we had in Beautiful Kid was also in that movie!

That’s such a coincidence.

Yeah, the movie (Wonderers) was about gangs that hung out and fought…and we used to fight like that…it was really great growing up…it was really fun fighting.

Ever go to jail for fighting?

A lot.

Really?

Well, for beating people up, not really for fighting.

What was your longest stint?

Umm…I think six months,,,the most I ever did was two years.

What was that for?

A stolen car…going into that I had a lot of fights and that judge was mad. That was in 1992…in Valhalla I did six months a few times.

Oh gosh.

Once my mom had a fortune teller at her house and the cops knocked the door down!

No way…I’m sorry I’m laughing, it’s not funny. But your poor mom. I don’t know why I’m laughing right now, I’m sorry.

She (fortune teller) did my cards and she said, “there’s blood all over you and you’re gonna see people you know and people you don’t know” and while this is going on my brother Kevin calls and says, ‘the cops are looking for you‘ and I said I better call a cop (John Barnett) to take me in there and he told them where I was.

What a jerk for ratting you out!

I know. So now this fortune teller is screaming, ‘don‘t come in, you’ll let the spirits out’ and I‘m trying to escape down the fire escape and I see this cop and they‘re saying ‘we‘re gonna break the door down!”…and she’s saying, ‘don‘t let the sprits out‘

(laughing)

I had just done my time in a jail. Once I went to jail for popping a guy’s eye out. And I went to jail for 6 months and I got out and had to go back for not paying a fine!

What did your father say?

When I got out that time I wanted to beat up the guy who got with my girlfriend when I was away but my dad was with me…Rest in peace…and was saying “no more fighting John, no more.” This car drove up next to us with a bumper sticker that said, ‘let go, let god’ and I just took it as a sign.

What was jail like?

It was horrible, it was nothing like Woodlawn (laughing), actually Valhalla… it was like a little vacation. No one really messed with me though, at Rikers. I was 290 pounds and had a bald head. I’d see people carrying stuff over their heads and I’d just carry it under my arm. There was this guy, Poft and he always asked people to get him stuff (food) and no one ever refused but I did…

Wow!

Yeah, I screamed at him, ‘I don’t get anything for anyone!‘ I’m really lucky he got out the next day. I wouldn’t be alive today. Once I was in a rec room and these guys were wrecking the pexi-glass and then they saw me and thought I’d say something cuz I was white. After that, I was fine.

Is it scary?

I was always aware. Once I was running…and I was praying and I heard this noise and I thought I was crazy because I heard someone running up behind and no one was there.

Hope it doesn’t make you blue…to talk about those days…

All this reminiscing…once I was gone and I had just missed Chinese food and one guy said, don’t worry, “We’re gonna have filet migon and he took out these two bologna sandwiches…it wasn’t funny at the time but you look back at it...you can laugh at it…you ever think about getting a tape recorder?

Yes, all the time.

And when I got out of jail that time when I met my future wife and she was in Ireland for a month and that fortune teller lady’s words came true and I got stabbed in the back with a knife...and I couldn’t go to the hospital because I was on parole and I woke up and my back was stuck to the bed…from all the blood.

What was your childhood like?

I had a crush on your mother (laughing)and I was mad when your dad married her…

I never heard that one.

Yeah back then your uncle and my dad used to come home with black eyes and no one really got locked up,,,fighting and drinking and all that...and no one got locked up and I remember Joe once said to me, “You gotta make a name for yourself….” And I seen him recently and I said, “I know you didn’t mean that kind of name"…and he was just laughing.

When you got the best actor award…

Oh, I wasn’t there but Mike (Carty) called me and said, ‘you got nominated but you’re not gonna win cuz you’re up against Eric Roberts…’

Julia Roberts brother?

Yeah. So I said, ‘did I get money or anything?' And then later he called me back and he was almost crying and he said, ‘Holy s###! You won the best actor award!' And that Method Fest award is a big deal, it’s what Robert Dinero won before he shot to stardom. And you wannna hear something f##### up?

Yeah.

Someone from my union stole it cuz I brought it to work to show it to the guys at work.

Oh man, I would have been pissed!

I went to another film festival and this black lady came over to me and said, ‘You got some balls!” And I thought she meant she really saw them (in the naked scene).

Was Frank (McCourt) there?

No but I went to another one at Lake Placed and I saw Frank across the street and he yelled over, “that’s my son.“ He was a really nice guy,,,I like his brother too.

What was the greatest memory of the movie?

There was the movie premiere night, remember that when we all went from Woodlawn?

Yeah, that was a lot of fun!

That was like…honestly… I don’t think of myself as an actor and so many people were like, ‘you were awesome’ but I don’t feel like it actually happened. I really like that girl,,,,Bridget, she was the nicest of all the actors.

Who were you closest to growing up?

My brother Cliff, we were Irish twins, 16 months apart.

And he never went to jail?

No, never got in trouble,,,,except for that time he turned himself in. Since 1993, I haven’t been locked up.

Got any other crazy stories?

Once we were going across the border to Canada and two guys couldn’t get over there because of what happened (their petty crimes) and we had to stay in Maine. We got into another bar fight. At that time I wasn’t drinking. I’m just standing there and next thing you know I look over and my friend Colum says, ‘that girl over there just stole my pack of smokes.' And I told him to forget about it and let it go. And next thing you know…he’s got one leg… and he’s got her in a head lock and everyone in the bar comes running over to us.

(laughing)

Luckily the owner liked us and was like, ‘that girl stole his cigs’ and we just got outta there…shortly after that he was outside the hotel room with his pants around his ankles and he’s playing the bag pipes…and later he bought crisps and beans and I had to open it with a knife and he poured the beans right over the chips and he’s eating them and there’s beans all over his face.
That’s disgusting. What was your last horah?

Two Wednesdays ago. ..I went to the Rambling House until 4 in the morning and I got in trouble for that…I don’t think that’s gonna be my last one.

Describe the fight scene in the movie?

It was kind of fake to me because in a real fight I’d be a lot faster even though I’m a fat bastard. In the movie we had to move slowly. When I was younger I never thought I could have killed someone and one time I got whacked with a bat and saw stars. I seen this girl and I asked her ‘how does it look?’ The blood was warm flowing down my face and she just looks at me and screams. Another time I got bashed with a hurling stick…another crazy night on Katona Ave!

Jesus! What’d you do?

I saw this lady with her kid and I said, “Is that your kid?“ And she just scowled at me and next thing you know her husband comes over and hits me. I went home and got my crow bar and knife and went back over to him. When the cops got there they asked who the knife belonged to and we both said, ‘We don’t know.' And then the cops asked me if he hit me and I said no…cuz I didn’t want to press charges and he turned himself in!

What? He admitted to it?

When the cops said, “Did you do this to his face?” He said, “I certainly did!" and they just took him away in hand cuffs, he was an idiot.

I loved Beautiful Kid,,,it was so well done.

I love the movie,,,and I still watch it and that movie was really true…those things really happened…

Like what?

You know that scene where the guy goes to get drugs and gets killed? That really happened but not exactly, want me to tell you the real story?

Yeah.

Mike Murphy and Johnny Stack and I were doing this thing called the three-man-sling shot-and you shoot it out at people walking by and we hit some lady…we ran out of water balloons so we started shooting other things: apples, etc then the cops came and everyone scattered and I ripped my pants and I remember I was changing my pants and I was thinking I was just gonna stay home and decided to stay home. So, Johnny and Murph go and give the guy the money (to buy drugs) and wait and the two guys start fighting and they turn and grab a bat and start chasing this black guy and they get through three projects and the Dominicans turned their bullets lose. Johnny got shot three times and Murph 20 times…Johnny survived.

Is he still alive?

Yeah. He got stabbed on Katona Avenue after that and another time he got a knife stabbed right through him out the other side,,,,and another time he flipped a car in a black out and killed the other guy in the car. I swear to god he has nine lives…and he’s fine, he’s still crazy,,, he’d still fight and he wouldn’t even think twice about it.

You been to Ireland?

Yeah, four times, the last time I went like six years ago…the seats are not big enough for me. Last time I was there I was in a bar and I was buying beers and ice and this guy gave me a little baggy of ice. Another time we were getting a ham sandwich and we asked for it ‘thinly sliced’ and the guy gave us one slice and another time I thought this guy buying beer with change was a bum because he was buying beers with coins and I thought he was hurting but he was just a regular guy (the Euro is coins).

Would you want your kids to grow up in Woodlawn?

No.

Why?

I don’t know,,,it’s not like it used to be…the schools have changed and I’d rather my kids go somewhere else. I was raised as a racist but I’m not a racist anymore,,,things were different back then.

Getting back to your friend who was shot 20 times, did that make big news?

Just a little newspaper article…and his brother was a cop.

At the time?

Yes and his other brother was a fireman and the other brother later became a cop.

What happened to the guy who pulled the trigger?

He got twenty years…and when he got out he got killed. And the guy who ran away from them,,,he got killed.

How?

He got shoved in the back of the car and ran over.

That’s a tragic story, I‘m sorry you lost your friend…

In the movie, that part seemed so real. In reality, it was the hardest part,,, I was getting screamed at and it so crazy I couldn't even remember my lines.

You guys did such an amazing job when I watched that part when you and your friends’ lives were being threatened I got so scared, the acting was so good, I thought is was real for a second. John, you’re amazing. I want you guys to get together and do another movie like that.

Thanks, the movie was based on real life events but was really watered down…and some people complained it was too violent….but it’s real life, you know?

I do…I loved it, it was amazing.