Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome, fellow travelers, to fateswide wheel. I'm your host, Sam Feyne, and I am thrilled to once again be joined by none other than Caitlin Bassett, who plays Addison Augustine on Quantum Leap. Caitlin, hello. How are you? Welcome back.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Oh, thank you, Sam. I'm so excited to be back. How are you?
[00:00:19] Speaker A: I'm doing well. You know, I'm busy. Lots of stuff going on, but it's all good. My show opens tonight, so I'm thrilled about that. And it's an extra special day because I get to talk to you, so, yeah, I'm just so excited that we could make time for this and talk about season two, because there's a lot to talk about. The last time that we spoke, season two was about halfway through, so obviously so much happened since then, and, yeah, I'm just really looking forward to kind of digging in and talking more about that before we do. What have you been up to? What's going on in your world right now?
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Oh, good lord. Since the show ended?
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: I'm just kind of taking a beat.
I came to see some family.
I'm just kind of trying to absorb it all and digest it and process it and kind of figure out where we go from here, regardless of which way everything goes.
The show started in 2022, and then it never stopped until the strike, which was just mayhem of a moment, right? Yeah, and then we went back and finished it up. So I honestly feel like this is the first time I kind of have a moment to deeply reflect on the entire experience, which has been so amazing.
Yeah, I'm just taking a knee right now.
I have some of my own projects that I'm trying to work on more in the military sphere. I really want to kind of start becoming a storyteller in that world, as know, just trying to figure out who Caitlin is now, which is really exciting.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's so cool. I love hearing know a good friend of mine from college. He was in the marines, and of course, we were in theater together, and he had been discharged.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: That means a completely different thing in the military, because theater also means deployment. That's so funny. I was like, wait, what's theater? Hold on. Were you in the military? I didn't know that.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: No, that definitely would have come out beforehand.
But after he'd been medically discharged, he found his way to theater department, and so we were in theater together, and we were really good friends. And then he went on, and he has done some amazing big things, and one of the first things that he did, too, was try to find ways to kind of connect his earlier military career with his new acting career and providing theater on bases and doing things to just kind of connect the art to the soldiers and stuff, which I always thought was so fantastic.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: It's so important. And, yeah, that's kind of like the phase I'm in. I'm reaching out to veteran groups, and I just set a date to do, like, a class for actors that have been veterans and transitioning into acting. And then it's such a thing. I felt so healed, and there was so much growth that happened for me personally on my transition to be an actor from the military, and I would really like to find a way to share that and also get some military service members to be storytellers. You know what I mean? I think it would change the landscape a little bit, and there's such a high bar to entry in this industry, so it's definitely one of my passions, not only helping veterans in that community, but also making that pipeline a little bit more accessible.
Because to break into this industry, you just have to be okay with being poor for a very long time, and that's very hard to do, especially for people who aren't 22. Absolutely.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: It's a deep passion of mine, and I'm kind of adjusting to see where I can fit in, in that space, and hopefully I can make a difference. I don't know.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: I love that. I love that you're exploring that. I love that you're getting the opportunity to do that, and I hope that it goes very far because it's admirable, for sure. And I think it's necessary. It's necessary.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Yeah. If people who break through don't take the time to turn around and figure out how to keep those doors open, then you're just an exception. And I'd like to be less of an exception.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Well, it's funny you think about the way that the world has changed so much and the fact, know, after the second World War, there were a lot of actors who had served, right? And there were a lot of people who then came out of the war and then found their way to Hollywood or, and there were stories being told that were very different from the stories that were being told during the war or immediately prior to the war. And I think that one of the reasons why that shift was able to happen is because you had actors who had clout and had these experiences now that could then bring those in. And I think that things have shifted even further, obviously, since then. But the idea that as a country, as a global community experienced so much strife over the past 20 years in particular, and seen so many different wars breaking out and seemingly never ending, and to have the opportunity to get those perspectives and tell those types of stories and be able to feel like not only are those stories being told in ways that feel immediate, but also we're supporting people that may need that support in some way. Because, as I'm sure you well know, having a creative outlet can absolutely provide a lot of healing and perspective for yourself and from within. And then that all comes without which, I think is something that storytelling is all about. To be able to share that.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, heck, a lot of the movie making industry deeply reflects military structure, how things operate on set. It's very clear to me that the military and people with military experience were deeply entrenched in the birthing of how these things work. Right. It's clear.
I'm like, that's very familiar.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: It's very clear to.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: World. It's been a long time since the second World War, and we went through Vietnam, which was a whole other way, shift away from integration of any. You know what I mean? And then now we're back. And now, I think, as a society, we're in a weird place with our relationship with the military and what that means, and we're all exhausted with the never ending war. So there's a lot there, but that doesn't mean there's still not a lot of people who are left in the kind of dust of all of that being like, what do I do now? How do I get this? So, anyway, none of that's about quantum leap. I'm sorry.
Don't be sorry if you want, but, yeah, it's a deep passion of mine, and I hope I can make a difference in that space.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I hope so, too. This is the type of conversation that I love. I love talking about quantum leap, but I love talking about this stuff, too. I think that the most amazing thing about being able to have the ability to talk to people like you or getting to talk to Raymond, for instance, we talked about clowning and theater for probably a good 30 minutes of that interview before we even talked about anything quantum leap related. So to me, it's just the opportunity to be able to have these conversations. I hope it's important to me. I hope it's important to listeners. I hope it's important to you, and it sounds like it is, so I hope that that happens.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I could talk about veterans all day.
[00:08:14] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I mean, you are one, and one of the things that has been really cool is seeing some of the stuff that you have posted on Instagram, including stuff from the time when you were serving in the military, but also, I guess, to segue into some quantum leap stuff. You posted something about a month ago, which I just loved seeing, and it was a video of the day that you found out that you've been cast in Quantum Leap, and now you're talking about having the opportunity to maybe take a little bit of stock because you're not in this sort of crazy, like, okay, we finished season one. We're right into season two. Oh, my gosh, there's an actor know. It feels know. You can kind of take a bit of a breath in a way.
So, looking back and reflecting on that moment in it, what does it mean to you, and how do you feel about the growth of Caitlin, the human being, from that moment until now?
[00:09:11] Speaker B: Oh, man. I think I'm going to be dissecting that for years to come, truthfully. Look, I mean, there's always times of intense growth, but I can't name one that's been so clear and so intense. And I did watch Ray's interview, and it was nice to kind of see how he responded to the question of, like, when we found out we got a season two and we're still going. We're going straight through.
That was very real from the moment that you saw. I mean, from the moment I found out that I was being screen tested, even, I was like, really?
Me, all the way to the chemistry read with Ray.
And that moment where, you know, what stands out the most for me in that moment, honestly, Sam, is that I got to call my mother, who's alive, and I had a friend that cared enough to take a video, right?
So many things in this world are so important, and this was so important. And I got the biggest opportunity I've ever had, and I did the best I possibly could with it for where I was.
But it's really special when you take stock. And, like, I got to tell my mom and I had a friend who cared.
That stuff that you got to remember is so important, because that's not guaranteed.
[00:10:53] Speaker A: Absolutely.
It's one of those things that I know I've spoken with some of my actor friends about over the past 20 years, that you try not to go after that sense of validation, right, that your own self worth, it comes from someplace other than somebody giving you a job. But at the same time, it is incredibly validating, and it is validating.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: I wasn't insane, right?
[00:11:24] Speaker A: I didn't make a huge mistake.
No, I think that that's incredible. And I also think that one of the things that I've loved about the conversations that I've been privileged enough to have with you or with Ray or with Eliza in particular, is the vulnerability and being able to share some of those moments. Right. And being able to share some of those moments with this audience, not my audience, I'm talking about Instagram followers and that in the world and that sort of stuff. Because I think that sometimes we don't get that same sense of vulnerability from people that are in that arena, that are in film and television, that things feel very structured and varnished and polished. And I'm going to answer this way or that way. And I think it's one of the reasons why it's so refreshing when for a while there, we saw somebody like Jennifer Lawrence after she won her know, just being herself, like, wherever she went and whenever she did interviews or whatever, it was just sort of like. It was kind of refreshing. It was just sort of like, oh, yeah, great. It's not the same canned answer that we've heard 30 times or whatever. Not that there's anything wrong with that. People have to promote shows and films, but I just appreciate the way that you shared that because I know, as a fan of a show, as a fan of you, I don't know, it moved me to be able to just see your joy and that sense of, like, I did this thing and now I got to go do this thing, and it was just incredible. Right.
[00:12:55] Speaker B: Now I got to go do it. In fact.
Yeah, that's a constant every time.
Really? You're saying yes. Shit.
In fact, the class podcast, whatever it is, I'm going to give for the veterans. It's not just going to be for veterans, but the title is what happens when they say yes. Because everybody talks about getting the job and how you get there and managers and agents and auditions and tests and chemistry reads and contracts, and then nobody talks about what happens when they say yes, when you get that green light.
The closest I got was, honestly, Michael Caine's book, because he has some really nice. He just has some really practical things that, yes, are applicable in other realms. Plus, he's Michael Caine, so people would. They just want to know everything that happened, all of it, you know what I mean? And it was like this wonderful time in Hollywood, and he's the best, and he's funny and charming and authentic.
But, yeah, there's just not a lot of information out there of, like, what happens when they say go, especially if you haven't been around the block for years like Ray has, where he's done a ton of co stars, a ton of guest stars, a ton of recurs, a couple series regulars. Before he got like, that man was so ready to take on a number one position on a show as a person, as a father, as a know in every aspect of his, like, Ray was just, I can't say it enough. And you said a lot about creating safe spaces and he did. And I'm always going to be grateful for the rest of my life that Raymond Lee is the head of this show. He's just a different kind of person.
But I'm starting in my crop, right? Like my colleagues, people that I was in the Disney discovers showcase with, which is launch a lot of careers. They're starting to get these series regular jobs, these big jobs, and they're like, caitlin, can we have coffee? And I'm like, yes, babe, we can have coffee. And it's going to be 3 hours.
And I'm going to walk through what is about to happen to you.
And so, yeah, I'm going to do it for veterans as well because there's just not, but not just for veterans. I want it recorded. I want it out there so that three years from now, when some actor is like, what do I do now? I want them to find that video.
They can just have a little more preparedness.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's so fantastic. And it's funny you mentioned Michael Caine's book. I remember I was 15, I was in high school, and I had just started to kind of take theater acting somewhat seriously. Like, I think I want to do this. And I had an acting teacher and I was in her office and she grabbed that book off the shelf and handed it to me and she's like, read this. Just read this.
Yeah, I'm lucky to have had people like that along the way. But yeah, I think it's incredibly important to be able to have people to give back and to use that knowledge that they've been able to gather and say like, hey, this is accessible.
It doesn't have to feel like it's such a closed ecosystem, just sort of like feeding off of itself, that there can be open doors to say like, hey, sure, maybe you're never going to star on a TV show or a movie or whatever, but this is what I have and this is what I can show you that if that happens, you're more prepared for it, and now you have knowledge and I can share that knowledge.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: Right. And like you were saying, just kind of. There is a lot of canned answers that start to happen, and I get it because I've stepped in it a few times. I wish sometimes I had just stuck with the canned answers or somebody had given me some.
And I have stepped in it multiple times, both on set, nothing bad, because it always came out of a good place. It always just came out like, sorry, that's not my job.
And people sense that. People sense when mistakes are made, honestly, not some veil for some ulterior motive, which just never existed. I'm just like, how do I do it? I stand here, okay, I'll do that.
But just being honest about it, I don't know if that's the right way.
One thing that Ray said in his interview that I did appreciate, and it's true, I work from a very honest place.
That's just me as a human, right. So I'm going to make mistakes, but they're going to be mistakes made out of genuine gregariousness or know I trust myself in a sense of like, I know my motives are always very pure, so I'm just trying to figure it out. And so maybe I do reveal too much. I don't know, maybe I'm too honest and maybe that might bite me down the road, but it feels right for me. So I'm just going to go that route and see where that gets me.
[00:18:27] Speaker A: To me, that's the best way to be.
And when you are able to operate from that place where there is no ulterior motive, that you're not engaging in anything that's like manipulative or that there's nothing going on behind that.
First of all, that wouldn't be honest, right? That would be dishonest. So if you're just operating from a place of honesty and a place of truth, mistakes will be made, certainly. But at the same time, I think that that's the, for instance, the final scene of the finale, right?
When Ray says, I won't, after you say, don't let go. And from some points of view, that could be a mistake, right? Because that wasn't in the script. Nobody told him to do that. He just did it, right? And yet, because it was from this place of honesty, because it was from this place of just like, being in that moment and telling his truth, it's so incredible and it's this beautiful, beautiful moment. And I think that oftentimes when you operate from a place of honesty, even if it is a mistake, it does have beauty to it. I think about music, a lot of times, and they're like, you listen to some songs and some albums and not so much these days, but there was a time when mistakes would get left on the record, right?
When you would hear something that wasn't supposed to happen there. But it's beautiful because it was. It was something that was captured in the moment. And regardless of whether or not it was a mistake, there's a beauty to it because it's honest. So I don't think there's anything wrong with that whatsoever. And I appreciate your honesty.
That's one of the things, too, that I love about getting the opportunity to talk to you specifically is that since the first time you came on, there was this earnestness, right? There was this genuine, just human being talking to me, not somebody who was, I have to appear to be this and I have to respond in this fashion.
Great.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: There still really isn't a package.
[00:20:28] Speaker A: I mean, there can't be a filter, right? The minute you put out a filter, people know people.
I. So I appreciate it.
Let's talk a little bit about season two, because now that the whole thing is out there and people have seen it, or people can stream it on Peacock right now, and they should, if they haven't already, which if they're listening to this, they probably have. Exactly. Just turn your TV on, go to peacock, go to quantum leap, hit play, leave the room, do your dishes if you need to, whatever, and just let us all.
So now that the whole season is out there, we talked a lot last time that you were on the show about just the different directions that Addison was able to go and the growth of the character and that there were much more personal stakes being kind of grown throughout the course of the season, even in light of the fact that season one was all about, like, your fiance's lost in time and I have to try to get him back and what's going to happen. And yet this season somehow seemed to get even more personal. And as the season went on and progressed and the storyline with Tom progressed, there was just so much stakes for you at home on the HQ side of things, but also on the leap side of things with Ben. And by the end of the season, of course, it became very clear that in a lot of ways, this season was about Addison's growth and getting to know the hero in a lot of ways and the person that's willing to make the sacrifice in the same way that Ben made the sacrifice, that Sam made the sacrifice.
At what point, I'm curious, did it become kind of clear to you or did you have any idea where things were going for the end of the season before reading Drew's script for against time?
[00:22:27] Speaker B: I am pretty relentless on the writers, so I knew pretty early what the general plan was.
Not that that was official or probably what Martin and Dean wanted me to know, but I did.
I knew pretty early that that was kind of the general direction they were trying to. But. But also that wasn't like, NBC Universal could have been like, no, we don't really like that direction. We don't want two leapers. We don't want it to be hurt, like, whatever it is.
So it was an interesting ride because I knew the general area that they wanted me to go, but it wasn't completed right.
It wasn't guaranteed, it wasn't locked.
And there were some moments as she was walking down a path that people didn't want her to be walking down.
That was pretty hard for me because it was just pretty scary because I was constantly afraid we were going to do something with her that people wouldn't forgive.
I'm acutely aware of the what's her name on Breaking Bad. The Skyler.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:12] Speaker B: And so I think I probably had a bit more fear than maybe I should have. I think I needed to trust more generally as a note, as a person.
It's something I could work on.
But, yeah, it was really scary, and I just had to kind of keep being, remembering that these people really know what they're doing, and if they say they're going to bring her back, they're going to bring her back. And if they don't, then that must be the best thing for the story. Right.
It was pretty scary. And then when I saw the arc coming back, like, the weight of it lifted, and it was really. When I saw the episode ten script, maybe no episode. I'm sorry.
Well, yeah, episode ten was when I was like, okay, they're turning the ship around a little bit.
And that was really one of the most fun episodes to shoot. It was also one of the hardest episodes to shoot.
It was intense, but it was just because we were in the desert in a cave a lot.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:25:40] Speaker B: It wasn't necessarily because the material was. It was just the right.
[00:25:46] Speaker A: No, I could imagine it.
[00:25:50] Speaker B: Um, yeah, but when. When I started to see her come back around, it was. It was really exciting. And that's when I really started to really believe that this might happen, because it's hard to hold on to hope that you might get to go be a leaper. This might be, like, the next step for this character.
It was almost like, too good to be true for a second. And so I just held it with a glacier of salt until I saw the script. And then I saw the script and I started crying.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: So I'm so glad that you mentioned episode ten because to me, that was definitely the episode where I started to see things coming together for Addison as well.
You really, the character had been put through the wringer in a lot of different ways for the previous nine episodes. And there had been some incredible moments early on. And a lot of those moments were very engaging scenes between you and Ray and lonely Hearts Club being one of my favorites, where you tell him what was happening, what went down in those three years, and what that felt like for you.
Kind of the incredible thing about episodes, I would say ten and twelve in particular, is that we don't necessarily get those types of moments from Addison. And so you're not necessarily out there, like, delivering these powerful pieces of dialogue. What struck me the most is the story that you were telling in silence. And episode ten, that moment in the caves when the siblings are kind of over here having this conversation, and wisely, the camera is just focused on you and you're not saying a thing, you're not contributing to that conversation. You're telling your own story. And it was just such an incredible moment. And I'm curious for you, where did you find that? Because obviously, it's not necessarily something that's being assisted by the dialogue. Like, it's not something that involves the conversation that's taking place behind you at that moment. It's just the story that you're telling on your face. And I get that. It's clearly that there's something that you'reacting to in Ben, but it's just such a beautiful moment. And I would love to know what your feelings about that particular moment were and what your process was like in that moment.
[00:28:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we had a long time to build it.
Addison's story is now in me.
And it sounds like cheating, but sometimes you just have to listen and think about the, you know, the story comes out. It was one of those moments where I didn't have to deliver something. I just had to exist in a moment of wait.
Oh, it's I can't do.
And what I loved about what they did there because I was not a fan initially of what was happening.
I just felt like I was like, people aren't going to like me now. I'm hurting. Now Addison's hurting Tom too. Please stop. Please stop doing this.
Tom is a great character. And I think if we'd gone 18 episodes, we would have gotten a lot more. And Peter's so good and has such depth to him, and I think an 18 episode season would have been a little different for Peter and Tom, which I think would have been really cool.
And who knows? James Brain and I are kind of becoming friends, which is really nice.
[00:29:55] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:29:56] Speaker B: We're talking about character thoughts and things, and he pointed out to me that Addison has thoughts that sit very close to Caitlin's, but they're not exactly the same person.
And so sometimes it's hard to differentiate if Addison didn't want to hurt Tom or if Caitlin didn't. I'm not quite sure.
[00:30:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:25] Speaker B: So that's kind of something I'm trying to figure out as a performer, how to handle that, because I just didn't want it to go into something too painful. But what I did love about it is that sometimes you have to make a decision to find out if it's the right decision, because sitting in limbo is just exhausting as a person. It gets you nowhere, and it has to be exhausting as an audience to watch. It's just like, that's still that. So whatever is happening there, hopefully. And then as soon as she made a decision about it, we had this wonderful arc for her to see that wasn't the right decision. But would she have seen that if she hadn't already made the decision? Or would she still just exist treading water?
And so I think it was really smart that they did that and a lesson in character work and just acting for me. And so when that moment did come on camera, I just had to exist as her for a little bit and exist as someone who was doing the best that she could.
But sometimes things don't go the way you think and just be okay with that.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I think that one of the things that was so smart, too, and this is something that talked about on the show before, is that the way that Tom was written and, of course, everything you mentioned about Peter and the depth that he brings to the role, I think it showed us two mature people making mature decisions and certainly having feelings about those decisions, but not reacting in a way that felt overly melodramatic or didn't feel mean spirited in any way.
There was no, how could you do this to me? I'm going to get you instead.
It was just kind of pure and simple heartbreak. It's like, this sucks, and this isn't how I want this to be. But, yes, I understand. And I think because that was kind of the perspective that we got ultimately from the character Tom.
Again, it kind of benefited in a way that Addison made this decision, and it was clear that it sucked for, you mean, I think that was the other thing that was really just. It wasn't as simple as saying, like, hey, we're not going to do this. I'm going to go do this other thing. Know, there was so much weight behind.
I mean, I would love to kind of just hear about to go back just a know the engagement and the proposal, and Addison's just kind of like, yes, I'm going to do this. And it's funny because then there's kind of the follow up to that moment where we see the team reacting. And I remember as I was watching the episode and I texted somebody during this moment, I was fascinated because everyone is being very supportive. But there was something about Ernie's performance and magic, which is fascinating to me because magic had been so supportive throughout all of this, but there was something about the way that he was playing it that was just sort of like, okay. And it was really interesting to me.
I'm just curious about that moment in particular and coming in and sharing that with the team and what shooting that scene was like, because you've got everybody in the room as you're doing this thing that, as you just said, caitlin, the actor, wasn't 100% sure about. And now you're going in and you're having this. You're sharing this moment with these other actors, these other characters.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. I mean, there's a lot to talk about in that scene because that scene ended up a lot shorter than it was on the page.
There was a ring moment. I was supposed to show someone a ring, and I kind of hated that because I was like, I don't know if she's in a place of, like, oh, my, right. I don't know if that's where she is. But then me and Nan Risa worked out this beautiful little bit where, like, snatched my hand up and was like. And it was so then. But then we had to lose the ring because we'd shot a bunch without the ring. And then I was like, what am I going to do, have a ring and then not have a ring? It was a whole thing. We went around the bend on that scene. So just some inside baseball. There was, like, some really funny moments, just, like, set moments of, like, I literally walked up to the writers. I was like, so the bit about the ring. Very funny. Funny, funny. We didn't shoot the ring in any of the other, like, did she take it off? Is she, like, with Tom? You're like, thanks for the ring, babe. I'm going to go talk to the other guy now.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: Yeah. Can't wear this in the imaging chamber.
[00:35:15] Speaker B: Or are we going to shoot a thing where I sneakily take it off? Because that feels like a little. That's a choice.
[00:35:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Right?
[00:35:22] Speaker B: Yeah. So we 86 the ring and it was in the box. Then it was just in the box. So that way Peter could hold or his character could hold onto it and we could all be just, you know, inside baseball. Funny how that kind of came.
[00:35:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: In the performance of it, it was so fun.
Things. I remember Mason was mad because I didn't make eye contact enough with them and they were trying to do something funny in the corner, which was the best.
And then it was so fun because I hope we get to explore this in season three because the dynamics between how everybody is together is so, like, in that moment, who I felt was my biggest supporter was.
Right. Like, she. She was the one, like, Ben's not here. You know what? There's a. There's some practicality to her. So one of my favorite things is when little alliances form. Right? Like, Jen and Ian were on an alliance for a lot, and then sometimes it's me and Jen, and then sometimes it's magic and Jen and sometimes it's me and magic and there's these where we land in the same place and where we don't. So that's always very.
Then, I mean, Ernie. Ernie was. I think. I think he played more dad than he did boss in that moment.
I think that's what was happening. He was watching someone who the character loves dearly make a choice that he kind of knew wasn't necessarily maybe the best choice, but understood that it's the best choice she could make for where she was as a person, which I think is another. I mean, I say this all the time, but the show is such a lesson in love because it's all about not necessarily loving someone for what they give to you, but loving them for where they are and what they were able to do in that moment, even if it's fail and kind of being what they need. Especially Addison's certainly been that for Ben, the whole show, she always has to be the version of hers that he needs in that moment, not necessarily the version that she would like to.
It's a lot of that, which was cool.
[00:37:57] Speaker A: It's interesting, the family dynamics. It's not something, oddly enough, that I feel like I've talked a whole lot about, but you see the HQ team and this familial relationship has obviously developed over the course of these two seasons. And you do see, like, magic is the dad right?
Ian is clearly, like the youngest sibling. Clearly they're coming to you for big sister advice.
It's lovely to see the way that the relationships, the relationships have developed in that way, because there's obviously a lot of professionalism as well.
And clearly, everyone has their roles and their jobs that they have to do, and they're very good at that. But then the interpersonal relationships you talked about, you and Risa, and I feel like one of the things that's so great about that relationship is that there's just this very even ground between the two of you. I feel like Jen would come to Addison for advice. Addison would come to Jen for advice. They would lean on one another as needed.
Just out of curiosity, I'm not looking for all the juicy details or anything, but I am curious, how does that mirror or reflect the real life relationships that have developed between you and the cast?
[00:39:17] Speaker B: I think they're all about know Mason is when. When they step on, it's.
You never know which way they're going to go, but in the best way, but at the same time, is always ready to go, can drop in the most professional and simultaneously, like a spinning top in the best way.
And Nan is just this grounded force, and there's so much of who we are in these characters. And I think after 31 episodes, the writers really got a gauge for how we all kind of settle in and where we would land on the same side versus different sides. Right. And I think the only thing that doesn't really make it on screen that much is how much shit Ernie talks.
[00:40:18] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:40:19] Speaker B: And if he's shot his coverage and it's late in the night and it's just us on camera, he's not giving you that line. It's going to be nonsense and he's just screwing with you. And one time he fake died. It was just nonsense. It was nonsense he brings. So that's the only thing that people don't really see because his character has to be so grounded. But when he gets to make a joke, when he is messing with Ian about, what is this, a quantum balloon day? Whatever nonsense he gets to say, because it's so good, because they're like, that's earning.
That is earning.
[00:41:08] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:41:09] Speaker B: It's very close. Yeah. And it's super.
Hopefully, in a season three. That's what I'd love to see. I'd love to see Ben and Addison come down on different sides of things and then have holographic support and cross talk about that, because I feel like Ian's going to come down on the Ben side nine times out of ten, and I feel like Nan Risa is going to come down on the Addison side or Jen's going to come down on the Addison side nine times out of ten. So, like, kind of seeing where those things go in and out, I think would be a dynamic that we've never gotten to play out in the leaps before. It's always had to be split in HQ, so maybe yoking that could be even more fun. I don't.
[00:41:53] Speaker A: You know, it's funny because a lot of the speculation that I've had and that I've seen online has gone more towards what types of situations Ben and Addison would find themselves in. Right?
But a conversation that I even had recently, somebody, they were like, oh, I think Janice should come back and be on the show full time and be the observer or whatever. And it's like, well, that's cool, but I think that the greater opportunity exists to have everyone participate in that.
And I just think that it would be. Again, we've already seen this story, which makes sense because that's what the story was about, especially for the first season of Ben out there alone, his only connection being know. And then, of course, we got some great opportunities to see, like, Jen or know in then and then season know. We got to see kind of everybody have that opportunity, even Tom have that opportunity to be the hologram for a little bit. But I just think that in a way, season three presents an even greater opportunity to focus on the team and to be able to see this ensemble working together in ways that we haven't previously been able to really see because there are now two of you out there, which is fucking awesome.
So I want to go back just real quick, though, because one of the things that I loved about the last five episodes, four episodes especially, but I think that off the cuff obviously laid a lot of groundwork, especially with that final scene as Addison tells Ben about what's going to happen.
I almost said, jeffrey, with Josh and his death, it certainly kind of really lights that fuse that carries us through the last four episodes. Episode eleven, the outsider is such a beautiful episode in so many ways. And I think Nadine Ellis was just one of the most phenomenal guest stars that you all have had. She was so good.
I'm so glad I got to talk to her.
But of know there are multiple beating hearts in this episode, as far as I'm concerned. But one of the hearts of the episode was sort of the. I hesitate to use the word reconnection, but I will reconnection between Addison and Ben and seeing the way that they were working together and sharing some of these moments.
Can you talk a little bit about the work that went into that? Because I know that the last time that we spoke, you had talked about the fact that there was a moment during, you know, four episodes in where you kind of had to say goodbye to Ray, and it felt very real to you. It felt very real. Like, sort of like, Mary, bye, friend. I'll miss you. And now you're getting this opportunity to really reconnect as characters, but spending some time together as actors, that isn't necessarily just about, you got to go do this thing and then do this thing and having those conversations. Can you talk a little bit about that work and any prep that you and Ray might have done for those scenes?
[00:44:54] Speaker B: Well, 11, 12, 13 were easily my favorite run of the whole season, both seasons, I would say, because of exactly what you said in episode eleven.
The reconnection is the right word. We went from, yeah, I was back in the leaps by episode eight, but there was this chasm still. It was way more professional than it was anything else.
[00:45:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:31] Speaker B: And that's okay. Right?
But I do think episode eleven is really when the just honesty started again. I finally started to be, like, Addison was honest with Ben about what has been going on, and the pretense finally started to drop. And, like, you, like this show, know, Addison in particular, has been having to go on this journey. And it's always around the leap. It's always around, like, we can't talk about that right now because this guy's about to blow up a building, or this is happening, or you're about to die, or that kid's about to die. It just. Ain't nobody got time for that.
And now we did, in fact, have time for it, and the episode was us as a team that could have been on a different show. The fact that we weren't physically in the same environment really didn't play much of a factor anymore because it was research, and you can research as a hologram.
You ended up in these great moments, and it was just one of my favorite episodes. And I also think it was, like, a bit of a taste of what's to come. In the sense, hopefully, in the sense that you see two fully operating. People come together to work on something without the complications that there always seemed to be.
So it was a very fun episode to read. It was an incredibly fun episode to shoot. Nadine was spectacular.
It's so important when you have an episode especially like that, which is so guest star dependent. It was Nadine's movie for. Right.
And she crushed it. I want to work with her for the rest of my life. She's just very good and on set, it's amazing.
But yeah, the other half of this story was us and it finally got to be us and it was fun. It was definitely like a reconnection with an old friend, both for Addison and for know again, we'd been on set, so Ray and I, not Ray and I are always.
But, you know, as characters, we finally got to kind of step towards a more connected place. And it was really cool and it really set up the next two because we didn't have to talk about it in episode eleven then, or twelve when in towering Inferno. Right. Hannah's back. We're dealing with a lot of things and what was nice is because we had had so much in Nadine's episode that that just got to be with us. And so I don't know. In a weird way, it also helped Addison be more connected with Hannah because I think she felt more connected with.
And I don't just. It all worked in this really beautiful way, probably because we have really smart.
[00:49:08] Speaker A: You know, it's funny. Speaking of the smart writers, there were a couple of writers that I spoke know, kind of off the record, but they both mentioned about how that scene between Ben and Addison when they're sitting down and know, drinking after things have kind of just blown up in their face. And Addison tells know, I got engaged and then I got not engaged. And that that's one of their favorite scenes. Period of the is. That is one of their favorite scenes of the show because it is just so real and so honest and just this wonderful opportunity to see these two people reconnect based off of that honesty. It's a running theme today and how important that is and how when you get to see that, it's so immediately it becomes, like, tangible. You can almost hold it in your hand and just really feel it.
And I think that it was such an incredibly important scene for the series.
Not just the season, not just the episode, not just what was to come next, but just for the series as a whole. Because throughout the course of season one, we never really got any moments like that. There were moments where the two of you were able to, after Ben started to get his memory back and sort of stuff. There were certainly moments where there was some connection and that sort of stuff, but it always felt like there was. There was something else. There was something else that had to be dealt with. There's something else that had to be done. And so for that moment when it didn't feel like there was anything else that had to be done, and just to see that was incredibly powerful. And I love what you said about how you connected it to Addison's perspective on Hannah as well, because then going into the next know, one of my favorite scenes of the show, bar none, without a doubt, is the scene between you and Hannah when she's trapped under the rubble. That scene is flipping fantastic. And I love so much, again, it was one of those opportunities, like I mentioned earlier with episode ten, to just really see you as the actor acting between the lines, not out there in eleven, like delivering some of this amazing honesty and truth with Ben. Right. But in this episode, it's just she can't hear you, she can't see know. And yet you still have to have this conversation, basically.
It's just such a beautiful scene. I mean, again, probably one of my favorites of the entire show. You talk a little bit about that scene.
[00:51:35] Speaker B: One of my favorites to shoot as well. First of all, Eliza is special.
[00:51:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:51:42] Speaker B: And at this point, it's a dead horse, but she's just different. And I've learned so much from her, both as an actress and just as a person. Like, how to be on all of it.
She's just a different breed.
I think she's going to have her own show again very shortly. Very shortly.
Something just is just so switched on there and then to have. We had discussed at length. We didn't want this to be a weird love triangle. We didn't want team Hannah versus team Addison. We also didn't want girls who watch this to have to pick.
I think we grew up in a time where we all grew up watching one tree hill and you had to be like, team Peyton, we're over it. And no one, like, we're over it.
And to have these just women, women being in this conversation with each other, genuinely caring about the outcome of each other's lives and being connected through something much deeper than happenstance or location.
I don't know if I'm ever going to get a scene like that again in my life.
But what a special person to share that with, to get to do that with Eliza Taylor.
And also Eliza's my friend.
Like, we hang out. We went to the screening together. I drove. She's my friend, which is amazing, but I'm a big fan. So I just got to watch my friend do a great job. And I knew the take they were going to use because she's there. And then this little tear just pops off the bridge of her nose. And I was like, well, that's your take, baby girl.
That's going to be the one they're going to put on TV.
And then we sat together at the screening, and at the end of the episode, that episode, when I say goodbye and tell Hannah thank you, she looked over and gave my hand a squeeze because she thought I did a good job with that. And then when she was doing another part that I thought she just crushed, I'd squeeze her hand. And it was just fun to have. We're just fans, just to be supportive fans of each other. It's so nice.
[00:54:32] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I think that it's essential sometimes to making great work when you can sit there and watch your scene partner and just be like, you're so good. I love you so much, and I just want to keep doing this forever. Let's never stop. Yeah, I totally get that. One of the things that's amazing about that scene you tapped into this, too, is that there is, like, this respect and this understand that passes between these two characters in that moment. And it is different from a lot of what we see, frankly, on network television with dealing with women. It's not something that we often get to see.
I don't know. I appreciated it so much that it wasn't just a tender moment, that there was kind of like that mutual kind of understanding and respect of one another.
I really appreciated, and it sounds like while. Yeah, that's on the page, that it was also these two human beings getting a chance to work together and do that scene together. Would you agree with that?
[00:55:48] Speaker B: I think.
I think we were always, from the second we heard it was going to exist, we were very excited about, you know, Eliza has been on enough sets to know how everything, the dynamics of everything. And I think she also was. We haven't spoken about it, and I'll ask her about it one day, probably directly after this, because now I've said it on a podcast, but I think she was sensitive to the fact that I might have been.
There's a version of me that could have felt like she was coming on to replace me. The Internet certainly reflected that.
[00:56:35] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:56:36] Speaker B: And especially, like, same race.
There's so many things it's like, oh, I was the season one thing, and she's the season two thing.
I don't know if she anticipated that, but she had always made it such a big point to be so respectful of the show and what we had done already and introduced herself the second she met me, and there was just so much. She handled it so beautifully. I was too stupid to know anything. I was just like, hi, it's an actor. I was 1820 episodes deep at this point, being like, I'm just holding on for my life right now. But now, again, reflecting on it and seeing what a pro she is, I think she probably was a step ahead of me on. Like, you might not feel anything right now, but maybe one day you will. And so I think there was just how she handled it was perfect. And again, there's a part golden retriever in me. For sure it exists. It's okay.
It's not all of me, but I'm 20% golden retriever. So I was just like, hi, are you a human?
And luckily she was.
[00:57:57] Speaker A: I love that. And one of the things that Hannah says, and Dean said this a while back, I think when we talked about, know that idea that love is that I think there are people out there that have a hard time conceptualizing or accepting the idea that not only is it possible to love many people, but that it's okay to love many people, that it's not some sort of taboo. And I'm not sitting here, like, saying everybody should be polyamorous or anything like that. It's not about that.
It's something deeper than that. And it's the idea that, I think for the way that these characters worked, and not just Hannah and Addison, but Ben and Tom and just everybody on the show and the way that these relationships are handled and certainly with what we see in against time, when Beth and know come and kind of tell the whole story, that idea that the love that exists is so much bigger than any one person.
And I think that one of the things that's been lovely about the effect of this season on the fandom and the community and some of the comments that I've seen online is that, yes, you're always going to have the haters. Nothing we can do about them, right. But I see more and more people that, frankly, were towards the middle or maybe even a little bit on that hating side during season one, that have gone towards the I like this, and I like the story that they've told, and I like these people, and I like these characters. And even as it relates to the relationships between Ben and Hannah and Ben and Addison. And then eventually, obviously, Addison and Hannah, which I think is incredibly important to the story as well.
I was told that once upon a time, there was an idea to have Addison receive a letter from Hannah.
I'm assuming you've read the letter. You know about the letter.
[01:00:01] Speaker B: I have read that.
You.
[01:00:05] Speaker A: Can you tell me? Because it's not something that we've talked a lot about on the show. I've read the letter, and I'm curious, when did you read the letter, and what were your initial reactions to that letter?
[01:00:21] Speaker B: I read it before we in towering Inferno the day of, or the day before we shot the scene together.
[01:00:31] Speaker A: Okay.
[01:00:33] Speaker B: And honestly, at that point, nothing in that letter surprised me.
[01:00:38] Speaker A: Sure.
[01:00:39] Speaker B: If anything, the letter, it almost had evolved even past that, because in that letter, there was some mention of, I thought I was going to not like you.
I was looking for a reason not to.
And I think by the end of how we shot that and who Hannah was and what Eliza brought to it, I don't even think that line would have applied.
Think. I think at that point, Addison and Hannah had a relationship.
She wasn't just the first girl Ben loved.
It was something different by then, but it was so beautiful to see what seed she had been planted by and the love and maturity and humanity that the writer had written that with.
And that's the kind of thing that you're like, well, that's why we have a nice show. That's why we have a nice show with nice people and nice characters is because when you conceive a character with that kind of depth and beauty, you're starting out in a great place. You can only go up from there, and they did only go up from there. Right. Because.
[01:02:18] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I think part of that is also, it goes to exactly what you're saying, because it's not only you're able to start from this place of beauty, but you're able to keep yourself open to the possibility that more exists and to see what Eliza was doing with the role and to make those adjustments. And by the time we get to nomads, when she's all like, hi, you must be.
Of course. Of course. And it does move past where it had started, which is always great, because I think it's one of the things that also, so much has been made over the past 15 years or so about, like, prestige television in particular. Right. You've got your Game of Thrones type shows or whatever, and they're great. They're amazing. I'm not denying that, but one of the things that they don't have is the opportunity to really, truly make adjustments within that block of episodes that they're shooting. Because oftentimes with Game of Thrones, for instance, they might be shooting something for episode six before they ever shoot something for episode one. So they're locked in, right. So they've got to tell that story. But with this show, the thing that's so amazing is you get the opportunity to kind of feel how things are going along the way and make those little adjustments that still honor maybe that initial thread that you want to pay off in the end, but you've allowed that flexibility to kind of stay open to the possibility that something better is out there, that something more right for this story that's being told is out there. And I just think that that's one of the things about this season in particular that paid off so well is it's like, it's clear that there was a threat. It's clear that there was like an established, like, this is the story we want to tell. But there also were the ability to kind of flow along the way and make those adjustments to help to tell and support that story in even more magnificent ways than what was initially thought up.
[01:04:13] Speaker B: I think that's a combination of writers and just who Eliza is and what she think. There's just something to relegate that performance or person or character to. Maintaining any sort of hidden secret jealousy or something like that, I think is just not true.
I think she had this deep acceptance that kept showing up that it would be silly, that that maintained that just wasn't who it was.
And we have a phenomenal writing staff that adjusts with that rather than know forcing a preconceived know that's Martin, Dean, and everybody else. It's just a special group.
Well, it's just a really special group.
[01:05:14] Speaker A: It is incredibly special. And I feel so fortunate to have gotten to have conversations with so many people because it's easily identifiable. I thought that early on, right when I had my first conversation with Dean, I was just sort of like something different about, like, I don't know shit about, right? Like, I've never been on a TV series set, right. I've done a couple of pilots or whatever, but I've done stuff like that, but I've never done this. I don't know this, but I've done theater and I've worked in creative environments. This feels different. This feels special. And the more I talked to people, the more and more that became clear. And it was just sort of like, this is special, and it continues to be that way. And you get that sense even from the guest stars that come in. Right.
Again, it's just sort of like, wow, they even feel that way. That's one of the things that Nadine said. Like, Nadine said in our interview that she couldn't believe it. She had heard there had been a couple of people that had said things to her when she was in her makeup trailer, and people like, have you met Ray yet? Have you met, you know, and all this sort of stuff. She's like, well, I got to meet mean. I'm paraphrasing, but she said that he was everything that she thought that he would be and more based off of what she had said. And it's not just him, right? It's you, it is Dean, it is Martin, it's Drew, it's Shakina. It's everybody involved. And I think that it's so incredible to see that.
And I think that one of the other things, too, is, in my opinion, it wasn't just the changes or whatever, the way that Hannah was written around, but I think it's you, too, because what we see in the season finale, in against time, it just feels like such a genuine payoff for everything that's come before. I had conversations with Drew early on, before I seen the episode, and I didn't know anything about it. That was something that everybody kept top secret. I've gotten some stuff out of people before, and that's cool, but this was something that nobody told me anything. And so as we got closer and closer, one of the things that he kept saying is, you're really going to want to go back and watch the whole season. And then I watched the episode, and I remember I talked to him immediately afterwards, and I was like, I don't just want to go watch the whole past season. I want to go back and watch the whole series. Because is like, we've just seen Addison's origin story. We've seen what builds her into being a leaper, because in that very first episode, you say I was supposed to be the leaper. And I'll be honest with you, I don't know if I felt like she was ready to be the leaper. And then by the time we get to the end of against time and she steps out of that imaging chamber, it's like, yep, yeah, she's ready. Like, she knows. And part of that is the scene where you're driving to Hannah and Jeffrey's house and the scene in the car is phenomenal, by the way, and echoes so lovely the stuff that happens in episode eleven when you two are sitting on the floor talking but getting there. And Ben's supposed to smash this computer.
And as much as to be made rightfully so, of the way that Ben saves Jeffrey Gideon by showing him how to save a life, how to save the day, how to be a hero, I feel like in a way there was this element of him also showing Addison that and reaffirming that for her.
What do you think about that?
[01:08:38] Speaker B: I think that's right.
I think Addison's military background and how she viewed the world, there is a utilitarianism to her that does not exist in Ben.
Ben is like.
He is the Sam Beckett he is though. Like when you lead with hope and love and let people make their choices from that, the world will be better.
Addison, I don't think, inherently fell on that side. I think she fell on the side of this we know will make a difference, especially with the fact that Jen was know. I think Addison is more loyal than she is, you know, at that know, maybe without Jen being dead in a bag, it'd be a little know. She'd be like, okay, maybe we shouldn't ruin this kid's life. At that point, I think she was like, smash. Go like, this is. This is how we do this.
And Ben kind of doing what he did did help her see that you don't have to pull the trigger to make a difference.
I still do think that there's a fundamental difference between how they're always going to approach things, which I think is a good thing. I think there's a positivity to the fact that Ben and Addison aren't always going to agree on the best way to do something. And I think that what's going to be really interesting is when Ben has to learn that sometimes you do have to make a hard decision, and even though it doesn't make you feel good, it's ultimately going to make everybody else in a much better place. Right. So I'm excited for the opportunity for Addison to kind of have to be a little harder.
And I think that there's room for that. Right. Without being a bad person or. You know what I mean? You have to do it in a very special way. But yeah, that's the show. The show is if you lead with love and hope, then the world is a better place.
And sometimes you have to let bad things happen or risk letting bad things happen because it's not your place. To control that. And that's kind of what Ben said to Gideon and then even showed Addison and the rest of the world right. With his choice.
[01:11:37] Speaker A: Something else that happens in 212 to take a completely different spin on things. That was kind of cool to see. And this is something that, again, when I talked to Drew, he was just like. He's like, oh, I've been waiting for that is when you disarm one of Gideon's goons.
Yeah, talk about that. Because it seemed like, I mean, it's cool.
I can't find any other word for it. It's a cool scene.
[01:12:05] Speaker B: It's a cool scene.
And I loved it because I feel right. They looked for someone like me with my background or Addison's background. They wanted somebody who could do this. I got to do a little bit of it in the season finale. And honestly, one of my favorite parts to ever play in this show was younger Addison, because she was making decisions in a different way, just like in episode eleven, when she wasn't kind of attached to a guy.
You operate a little differently when I'm on my own train tracks right now.
And she got to be Addison with the guns and the things, and like, no, I know how to do this.
And so they cast a role, they wrote a role for somebody who's kind of an action person, a man, a woman of action.
And then they put her in a hologram position. So you never got to see what she's good at.
Yes, she can talk you through a crazy situation. Yes, she can handle when a lot of things are coming at her. She can be a steady voice. There's a lot of things that she is good at that is different between how the observer operates in this show versus the original show, where he kind of came in to give some information, have a scene, and then he's mostly out of there for the thick of it, except for a couple of moments. Right.
Unless he's actually affecting the outcome. He's stepping in to fly the plane. He's stepping in to help with those types of things.
[01:13:55] Speaker A: Right.
[01:13:56] Speaker B: Where it's different here, where I'm crazily similar to my old world, where I'm on the shoulder in your ear, I'm letting you know, someone's a kilometer behind you, someone's over here.
That's kind of the role that she's in. And so, again, I think the writers just like episode eleven.
This is what you could see for season three, this partnership. They gave Addison a moment to do something that Ben wouldn't, couldn't do. Ben can throw a punch. Ben can get himself out of a like, for sure. You know what I mean? And Ray's a phenomenal physical actor. He's so athletic that sometimes he has to tone it down a bit because he, you know what mean, like, bro, like, calm down. You're not supposed to look like a professional sports, uh, but Addison's good at that stuff. And so I think it also gave audiences, like, a little bit of a taste of, like, this is the character that she's been, but it's kind of been behind this veil. And now that she's in the leaps, is the character that you're going to see a lot more of, which is, I think, really cool. I mean, it's not very often on a show, especially a network show, that an actor gets to do a different.
It's, you know, very, very grateful for it. Know, very hopeful that we get to do it.
[01:15:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I completely know. One of the things that's kind of interesting to me, too, is I don't know if we talked about this before or not, but in the original pilot script, Addison was actually written as having been a former medic in the army, which I thought was so interesting.
And obviously, the adjustments that were made once you were brought in make total sense and kind of speak to what we were talking about earlier with being open to that sort of stuff. But I agree. And I think that one of the things that is incredibly exciting about the possibility of season three is that there are so many different types of situations.
Even looking back on the previous 31 episodes, imagine if Addison had been there physically, right, how things might have been a little bit different and just the different combinations. And I want to get to that in a minute. But before we do, I definitely want to talk about the final scene of season two.
It's breathtaking.
It induces all the feels, as the kids say, it is an incredibly powerful scene. And it's one of those moments, again, that just feels so palpable and everything is so perfect about it.
From the music, the way your hair is styled, everything about.
[01:16:39] Speaker B: I'm going to post that next.
I will. Tell me when you post.
[01:16:45] Speaker A: Okay.
[01:16:45] Speaker B: I'll post my hair transformation because the girls, I have a whole time lapse. And don't worry, I'm going to do it just now that, you know, that's awesome. I'm so.
[01:16:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm going to cry.
The first thing I said is I just said it. It looks like Caitlin stepped out of Casablanca. Like, it's just so know. And then you look over and you see Ben there and Ray. When I spoke to he, it was funny because he balanced, I think, the emotion of the scene also with a sense of humor about physically, the idea that you, even as actors, much less as the characters, didn't know how to touch one another.
[01:17:32] Speaker B: Wait, again, it was. Yeah. And there was a moment where I was like, is this going to go bad?
Do we not know what to do actually at all?
Because it's so know. She touches Jen and Ian and magic all the time, and there's a comfortability to how they touch each.
[01:18:01] Speaker A: Like, well, there's even that really beautiful scene in Oye of little faith where the two of you got to touch one another a little bit.
[01:18:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:18:09] Speaker A: In the dream sequence. But that's also been 20 plus episodes ago.
[01:18:15] Speaker B: And they cut a lot out of that. It was a little hotter, but I get it. But it was cool. And I was playing a different thing then because I was playing dream Addison, which allowed me to touch him in ways I don't think it even made it. But I think there was a moment where, like, ran my hand across his chest, which is not something real Addison would probably do. I mean, she wouldn't maybe, like, an intimate moment in having coffee, but know, trying to sort out a problem. She's probably not, like, draped all over him. But in dream Addison could do that. Right. And that was really fun in a different way. And I think Ray and I both played with was I was, like, almost an antagonist because he was like, what is to my motivation was so different because I was not real Addison. I was dream Addison, which was so fun. I want to do a whole movie like that. That is so fun.
You just get this abandonment, like, no rules. There are no rules.
I get to decide what your subconscious thought of me is. That's fun.
[01:19:24] Speaker A: Yeah, right?
[01:19:25] Speaker B: Buckle up, kid.
But anyway.
Yes. So there was a moment of, like, oh, I don't know how to touch you.
But that quickly went away, and we were like, wait. Hey, we're good. Okay, let's try this again.
And everything about that scene was amazing.
The background was phenomenal. There was a guy, the guy that ran into me. We had very multiple iterations of how hard he ran into me. And at one point, he bounced me right off camera.
[01:20:10] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[01:20:11] Speaker B: Right off camera.
It was like, boom. And then, like, jump back in.
I'm here, and Ray is just dying over there because I'm never getting wrecked in the scenes.
[01:20:29] Speaker A: Right.
[01:20:30] Speaker B: So there was some levels of just fun that we were having. But everything about that day from the moment they did my hair and I went and changed and I was in a period piece.
How the crew treated me was different.
How I got out of the van at set and Ray kind of looked me up and down in the good way. It was just welcome.
Like, this is different for you and everybody respects it. And Chris Grismur was just in the most respectful way. It was like, you look beautiful. And it was just said, as a friend and a director and trailer, first ad, who I know you've heard about, he's just amazing. You should interview him at some point because he's.
[01:21:26] Speaker A: I would love to.
[01:21:27] Speaker B: He's amazing.
He just kind of came over and put his arm around me and there was just this feeling of like, you did it.
We're going to do this with you.
And Ray came, like, wanted to watch my eyeball shot just because, just to support this, from the hair and makeup to costumes to what do you like? There was this support that all kind of coalesced to make this moment special to the background.
I don't know why, but it was one of the most special moments I've ever shot. I'll remember it forever. And everybody on set knew something was happening, something special was about to happen, something different was about to happen. And I could play that like a movie. I remember how it felt. I remember where I stepped. I remember running off. I remember how it felt to smile when I was running off. Like, I remember all of it because there was just this respect and love for this moment because we all understood something big was happening.
[01:22:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:22:51] Speaker B: And we were never going to do it again. This is the only time we get to do. And we did, and it worked to. I know I talked about Ray a lot and all the things that he does perfectly, and we all get it, right, but there was a moment where we're hugging, right? So I kind of melt into him and he picks up and it was this beautiful moment between actors and friends.
But hugging is actually kind of tricky on set sometimes when you're shooting it, because especially when you're hugging somebody who's taller than you, you can lose your face, right. So I'm hugging and my shoulder goes, I hope I can get through this. And they have to come close on my face because you need to read what I'm going through, just like you have to read what he's going through. But he knew he was taller than me and nobody asked him to do it. I ever said, know, I try and get up on my tiptoes a little bit because we're on eye coverage, so it's not getting our full bodies so I can cheat myself up. And Ray just simply knowing when the camera was going to push in, just dropped his shoulder just so that.
Just to make space for me. And that is who Ray is.
[01:24:24] Speaker A: I am so grateful that I get the chance to talk about these things and hear these stories like this.
Not because of quantum leap, not because of this show that I've talked about for like, seven years now, but because I love this art form so much.
I love actors so much.
When it's good and it's right, and when people are being generous and thoughtful and honest, it really does, in my opinion. It invests the work with something so special.
And I think it's one of those things sometimes that not everyone really understands. It's not just about learning lines and feeling things.
It is about that generosity and that trust and that kindness and creating those safe spaces. And I think that.
How wonderful to have someone that is able to create that space. Right.
I love hearing that. Thank you.
So just a couple more questions before we get out of here.
We've talked a little bit about it, but I'm curious for you.
What do you want to do at season three? When do you want to go? Where do you want to go? What kind of combinations do you want to see?
[01:26:07] Speaker B: I want to go everywhere. Yeah, we've talked a little bit about it, but there's so many opportunities that present themselves with two leapers, more holograms. Do we even show up in the same place? Do we show up in the same place in different time periods and have dual objectives?
What happens when we have seemingly opposing objectives? What happens when one of us seems to be in danger? How does the other one react to it?
How will we stack that up against the know when? Just in my head, trying to understand the difference. Know Addison and Ben. When it comes to if there's a choice between the leap, host the person and think, I think Addison's going to protect Ben. And so what does that do now? He has to deal with somebody who might be working against him, for him, in a way.
[01:27:26] Speaker A: And the opposite could be true as well, right?
[01:27:28] Speaker B: The opposite could be true. Yeah, absolutely.
When can we not help each other? When do one of us have to be one place and the other one somewhere completely different?
There's just so many opportunities, and it's like a brand new stinking show. And to be able to do that is to change the rules is just what we can do on quantum leap.
It's a lot to lose so I'm trying to kind of temper my own hopes because decisions get made for reasons that have nothing to do with my feelings, unfortunately.
[01:28:15] Speaker A: Just say it isn't so.
[01:28:17] Speaker B: Yeah, it's nonsense.
That was not as advertised as when I was a kid.
My feelings really went a long way.
There's so many things I'd love to see. Scott, there's a lot of things I'd love to see, and I hope we get the chance to get there.
[01:28:44] Speaker A: Me too. Me, too.
I've been wrapping up, and it's interesting because I feel like more than anyone, quite frankly, that I've spoken to, asking this question and talking about this feels very different because of some of the conversations that you and I have had. And I know how incredibly moved I was to see your message honoring Matt Dale after he suddenly passed.
And I know that there have been moments in these final five episodes when the final two in particular, when Matt was on people's minds, the people who were making this show were thinking about him, and I think about him all the time, and I miss him dearly. And one of the things that I've tried to do to honor him and keep his memory alive is talk about what inspires people, because Matt has certainly helped to inspire.
You know, I've told this story before, but when Georgina Riley was on the show for the first time, she was scheduled to be on the know weeks in advance the day after I had learned about Matt's passing. And I remember emailing her and just saying, like, hey, I don't know about this. And she was like, no, we should do this. And I'm so glad that we did. And one of the things that we talked about was inspiration. So, you know, what did Matt mean to you?
And then I'll get to my final question.
[01:30:51] Speaker B: Well, hold on. Ask your final question.
[01:30:56] Speaker A: Okay.
What inspires you?
[01:31:00] Speaker B: They're going to be a very similar answer. And that's why I wanted you to ask it.
I was a kid on a couch who watched her whole life fall apart with her parents and a lot of other things.
And I turned to television.
I turned to people on screens that made me feel like there was more out there.
And so it was people like Matt, because I feel like I got here so that those people like Matt could keep dreaming and keep turning to screens in the best way, not in the escape, this awful way, the social media era, but to watch somebody do better for themselves and for the people around them and for people like Matt who really cared, who really care about that stuff. Not everybody needs to care about television. Not everybody needs to care about quantum leap. It's okay. Everybody has their things. But I really learned how to dream by watching stories.
And I appreciated what it gave me in my life, and Matt appreciated it as well. And so what inspires me is that maybe all of this work and stress and being on the bubble know no's and yeses and comments online and all of that might be worth it because somebody might watch from a couch one day and feel like Matt felt.
So that inspires me.
[01:33:23] Speaker A: Well, I will never get tired of hearing answers to that question.
I have to find lots of more people to keep asking that question to.
I love that, and I appreciate it so much. And I think that one of the things that I've personally experienced over the past year and a half is a genuine feeling that the connection that I've had to this show and the opportunity to speak to you and others has inspired me to not just do this right, but to keep going out there and auditioning and telling stories. And it's connected in a way with me to allow me to be just more who I am. And there have been a lot of times over the past few weeks where I've been tired and working so hard and doing 10 hours worth of podcasting in a week because the finale is airing. And I'm trying to talk to people and do all these things, and I'm in rehearsals, and I'm trying to be a parent, and I'm trying to be a partner.
And the wellspring of inspiration that I find from you and people like you that I get the chance to speak with is so invigorating. And so I just have to say, mission accomplished. You are already doing that.
And if that is part of what inspires you, then keep doing it, because you will keep doing it, and other people will feel the same way that I feel. So, thank you.
[01:35:27] Speaker B: Thank you.
[01:35:29] Speaker A: You're welcome.
All right, so before we go through a box of tissues, we'll get out of here.
We'll say goodbye for now. But as I have said multiple times, that I am just so gracious for the opportunity to talk to you and to ask these questions and have these conversations, because each one of them has been so special. And I want you to know that no matter what happens, I hope that we continue to get the chance to do this, because whatever it is that you're doing, I will be paying attention.
[01:36:07] Speaker B: Thank you, Sam.
[01:36:09] Speaker A: You're welcome. All right. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you.
So that's it for now, fellow travelers. Thank you so much to Caitlin Bassett once again. And thank you all for taking the time to listen and give up your time for us. We'll be back soon with much, much more. But in the meantime, take care of yourselves. Take care of one another. Stay safe out there. And just like Addison would always, always leap responsibly.
