Beloved by Tarantino, DiCaprio & Pitt: Actor Spencer Garrett: He’s That Guy
Los Angeles, CA (February 20, 2024): A third generation actor and one of the most recognized faces in both comedy and drama, Spencer Garrett is the ultimate undercover cop…or the face of a disgraced Senator…or a Starfleet doctor.
On today’s episode of Hollywood at Home, Garrett reveals what was behind the secrecy surrounding Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, bonds he formed with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, his experience during Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” and what it took to embody the larger-than-life Chick Hearn in “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”
Join us as he shares the intimate, behind-the-scenes moments that have shaped his illustrious career, providing listeners with a bold look into the heart and soul of Hollywood.
Hollywood at Home is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and more.
Listen now at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beloved-in-hollywood-with-guest-spencer-garrett/id1521900273?i=1000645985080
For planned coverage, please link to:
http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast
Highlights from Hollywood at Home featuring Spencer Garrett:
On the challenges of playing legendary sportscaster Chick Hearn in “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”: “I played Chick Hearn, who was the voice of the Lakers for 40 years…I’m covered in prosthetics. I had a two-and-a-half hour makeup process every morning to put on this nose and wig and chin…”
On working on “Winning Time…” scenes with actor Adrien Brody: “The first day we met, our trailers were next door to each other, and I jumped into his trailer, and we had pretty much all day to figure out how we were going to play the first scene together. The very first scene that we had was Pat Riley coming to Chick Hearn’s office, kind of hat in hand, asking him for a job, and Chick sort of relents and agrees to let Pat Riley make a demo tape for him. And so we worked out all of our stuff together, and it was just one of those days as an actor where we finished that scene, and we looked at each other, and knew that some magic was made.”
On shooting hoops with actor Jason SegaI— the real vs. AI: “We would shoot all of the basketball stuff [with] literally 700 extras. They recreated the Forum on a soundstage at Warner Brothers…. it’s funny, I was thinking about this new SAG-AFTRA contract and AI, and I’m fearful that a lot of those background actors are going to be replaced by AI down the road…You can’t replace a real actor with a robot…Strange times that we’re heading towards.”
Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas on casting Garrett as Hearn: “The maître d’ brought Bob Costas over to our table and said, ‘This is the cast of the Laker show.’ He took a guess as to who each of us was going to be playing…and when he got to me, he said, ‘Who are you playing?’ and I said, ‘I’m playing Chick Hearn.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I don’t see it.’ And I said, ‘Well, wait until you see the show.’ I showed him a picture of me in full makeup with the nose and the outfits and everything else. I showed him and he sort of took a step back. He said, ‘That’s unbelievable.’ So he became a big fan of the show.”
On the genuine nerves of working with his hero Patrick Stewart on “Star Trek”: “If you ever run across that episode…you will see a 25-year-old kid who was genuinely scared to be where he was sitting across from Patrick Stewart. So there was not a lot of acting involved. I was really nervous.”
The secrets of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: “There was no script to see; we weren’t allowed to read the script. I was told that if I wanted to read the full script, I could sit in a locked room and sign an NDA…It was very hush-hush.”
On Quentin Tarantino: “He referenced certain roles that I had done in certain things – over 200 films and TV shows that I’ve been in the last 30 years. He just does his research. He knew about me.”
Tarantino let him create his character’s ending in Once Upon a Time: “He said, ‘This needs a button. It needs an ending.’ And I couldn’t believe it. I mean, Quentin Tarantino was asking me to write the ending of my character. So I came up with, ‘Join us next week on the set of ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ where we meet those wacky and talented comics, those comical cut ups Morey Amsterdam and Rosemarie,’ and he said, ‘That’s it. Cut. Bye.’ He was terrific.”
On “Dallas,” “Matlock,” Pitt and DiCaprio: “Brad, he said, ‘You’re so familiar to me. Have we worked together before?’ And I said, ‘You probably don’t remember this, but you and I did the last three episodes of ‘Dallas’ together.’ He was a 19-year-old kid…And he remembered me from that. And then Leo turned to him and he said, ‘Did you ever do ‘Matlock?’ And I said, ‘I did a ‘Matlock,’ I did a ‘Falcon Crest,’ I did a ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ And they’re telling me about the guest spots that they did as they were making their bones as young actors…It kind of put me at ease because I thought, ‘We’re just three guys who came up in the business by doing guest spots as young actors.’ I felt like at the end of the day, we’re just like a couple of guys…And we’re all here to do the same job. It was a lovely collaboration between those two guys.”
On Issa Rae’s “Insecure”: “It was all women, a diverse crew, diverse cast – which is very unique in our business – a heavily female-run set, which was amazing. And, I had a great time. I love Issa.”
More about Hollywood at Home:
Hosted by The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, “Hollywood at Home” brings listeners intimate portraits, key moments of discovery, and “art and soul” conversations with iconic entertainment industry personalities from the big screen to the boardroom, from L.A. to D.C. Listen now at http://thecreativecoalition.org/podcast.
Previous guests include Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), Marlee Matlin (“CODA”), Jason Alexander (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Alan Cumming (“Schmigadoon!, “The Good Wife”), Patricia Heaton (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The Middle”), Eric McCormack (“Will and Grace”), Willie Garson (“And Just Like That…”), Colman Domingo (“Euphoria”), Kerry Ehrin (“The Morning Show”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Ken Olin (“This is Us,” “Thirtysomething”), Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Grace Caroline Currey (Shazam!), and Alfre Woodard (Clemency, “Luke Cage”), among others.
More about The Creative Coalition:
Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is the premier nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization of the arts and entertainment community. The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance. The Creative Coalition also creates award-winning public service campaigns, including #RightToBearArts, to promote the efficacy of the arts. Actor Tim Daly serves as the organization’s President. For more information, visit https://thecreativecoalition.org.
Media Contact:
Lauren Peteroy
Scenario Communications
Lauren.Peteroy@scenariopr.com
C: 424-303-3861
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