I've been doing real good.
I just had a down month.
I got an interview tomorrow, Mom.
Otherwise, I'd-- - No.
Oh, you know me.
I always land on my feet.
I've been wanting to work with Ron since I
first put my little hopes and dreams on the ground
in Hollywood.
I made a list of directors, and there was Ron on it.
And so when he called up, I knew that was
something I wanted to explore.
It's a luxury, yeah, and a privilege
as an actor to work with Ron.
First of all, that he is a humanist to his molecules.
And I mean that in that he is incredibly
sensitive to the human condition and to character.
Great directors allow actors to be subjective.
You don't want to have to be objective
about what you're doing.
You feel that you're in great, safe hands,
because he is objectifying.
He is making sure that your work is good.
You got to think about these kids.
What do you think I've been thinking about
since I was 18 years old, huh?
Never had a life where I wasn't thinking about the kids.
Think of his career.
He started acting when he was four years old.
So the way he handled Owen was really moving to see.
And then Gabe--
Ron has-- you know, he has the experience
both as an actor, and as a director, and as a producer.
It was just a wonderful thing to watch.
I was always dealt with with a lot of maturity
all through The Andy Griffith Show, all through all of that.
The best directors were the ones that would have
honest conversations with me.
So I treated Owen as though, yeah, he might be a little bit
green, these are the kinds of scenes he hasn't done before,
but here's what it takes.
And Amy and Glenn picked it up from there
and made him a part of the process.
He wasn't a prop.
He was a collaborator, you know?
And I think that made a lot of difference.
And I think he learned a lot.
You let her get away with this every time.
I told you that I would do better.
You always say that!
You're lying.
And I always try.
I thought it was incredible.
And I'm so blessed to be able to be put in the situation
that I get to go to set and work with these people
who are so on top of their game and who
are so good at what they do.
And it sort of forces you to be on top of your game
and to really step it up, because you
know you don't want to--
you don't want to fall behind.
I think, yeah, just coming to the set every day
and being the sponge for knowledge
was something that I'll never, ever, ever take for granted.
Ron, you know, obviously it was a huge blessing
to work with him.
It was very fortunate--
I was very fortunate to be cast in the film.
Even going through the audition process with him,
I guarantee you he's very thoughtful,
and he's very genuine.
And I guarantee you he helped all of the other actors
regardless if they got the role or not.
He's very giving in that sense and really respected
you for even being in the room.
I thought your mama was going to be all right.
Be happy.
I know I could have done better.
But you, you got to decide you want to be somebody or not.
I wasn't interested in the-- sort of the sociopolitical
side of the book.
That wasn't the story that intrigued me.
I was interested in understanding this gauntlet
that he had been through, these two crisis
points in his life that were so intense
and yet particular and small.
In some ways, they're culturally specific,
reflecting cycles of dysfunction or generational
trauma or cultural trauma, but in most ways,
just another version of what almost every family
goes through.
I loved what his intent was for this to sort of lean
into the family and to tell the story of JD
through the women who really helped shape him.
I love that idea of women stepping
up and helping their family continue on through hard times.
He knows when you've got it even though you might not.
We're insecure breed, you know?
It's heaven to work with him.