Anyways guys Thank you for joining in we appreciate
you coming out back on Thursday night 730 his
shout out to Everybody who's been tuning in commenting
following the podcast listening to the podcast
YouTube is doing great Also, I know when people
listen to the podcast what they say is not that
bad. It's not that already Okay, sure, whatever
but today we're gonna cut you off short, but
today we have a special guest with us. Yes, we
have a Can I use the word? I hope this isn't
offend this person but someone back ass person
on the podcast. Why don't we ask her? You know
what? Let's just get her on here. Ladies and
gentlemen, Miss Lauren Mary Kim in the podcast.
Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much for being
here. Oh, my God. Sounds like there's like a
million people back there. I don't know. I think
they're under there. Oh, God. That's what that
is. Miss Lauren Mary Kim. Yes. Oh my gosh. I
don't even know where to start. There's so much
stuff to talk about. But first things first,
thank you for coming on the podcast. We appreciate
it's an honor to have you on here. First things
first, tell us a little bit about yourself, where
you from and how we got to what we're doing right
now. Go ahead. Oh man. Um, so I'm actually from
Stockton, California. Um, I actually grew up
as a dancer. Um, and I had all these dreams of
becoming a dancer in Los Angeles. I wanted to
do tours and music videos and everything. So
I moved to LA. Um, and my first job was actually
a Laker girl. Um, yeah. And so I don't want to
date myself, but I did do, um, Did I was a Laker
girl during the Kobe Shack era. Oh my goodness.
Yeah I know so I actually got to get like a championship
ring It seems like a whole nother life like I
mean like that was a different Lauren, right?
That's crazy Wow, I know so then You know, I
was like, um, I did acrobatics as a child. And
so I went to a gymnastic class and I just met
some stunt guys and they're like, Oh, we do stunts
and you should do stunts. So I was like, what
is this? I didn't even know what it was. Like
it was like an industry that no one even like
really heard of. Um, and then, you know, I just
started training and then I fell in love with
martial arts. I started in Taekwondo, and then
I went to Filipino martial arts, and wushu, and
capoeira, and silad, and JKD. wealth or like
my thirst for knowledge just got me into more
the fighting and wire work and stunts. And I've
been doing stunts for about 20 years now. And
I thought it would be like a temporary thing.
Like I thought like, oh, you know, maybe when
I, in 10 years, I'll just transition into like,
like a real job, like a nine to five job. That's
what you're brought up to think what you should
be doing. So, but no, I never did. I like this
because I love it so much. And like, I feel like
I, I have like, I'm a child at work. Like I get
to do what I love to do. And I have so much fun.
Um, I don't know. So I'm still, I'm still doing
it. Were you surprised by how much you liked
the, like the physicality of what you do? Yeah,
I mean it was an easy transition since I was
a dancer so I was so used to using my body As
a tool so it was just an easy transition. Yeah
I'm considering the fact that the videos that
you sent me as far as the stunts that you show
me I was like, oh my gosh How many times did
this young lady get bumped into the wall broke
a leg broke an arm? It's crazy because these
are these are they're intense. They're intense
Yeah. How do you go by, I mean, doing the challenging
stunts that you do, I mean, when you perform
it, how do you do to prepare for it? I mean,
for that particular time? It's funny because
when I first started, I remember I like had to
fall on the ground hard and I was like, oh, my
God, how am I going to do that? Like, I can't
even because your whole life, you're like grown
to think like you can't you shouldn't do that.
Like, you know, you get hurt. So then you know
over the years you get in your brain like yeah
just do it like you just throw yourself down
like it's like you condition your mind to think
like yeah hit that ground like hit the ground
hard roll over this do that like you just you
just do it you're like a like a soldier in a
way right so you retrain your brain to like uh
to do things that society doesn't necessarily
want you to do Right been there every day every
day society's telling me not to do something
you still do it shut up comments I Feel you Mary.
Thank you. All right. Can you share an experience
or memorable experience that you had while working?
You know, I mean the main one that we I really
want to talk about the Mandalorian i mean i mean
for that what's what's what's the character name
again you know the character the mandalorian
no the actual characters he plays the one who
makes oh bocatan yes okay that fight scene was
i mean i mean all of them are amazing but that
one was just like yeah showed us how yeah badass
that character is you can say i mean when you
were doing that i mean what What was the mentality?
I mean, what was going through your mind when
you're doing? I know it's a constant choreographed
thing that you have to do. But at that moment,
did you like just get intense yourself? Yeah,
I think you're talking about the armorer fight,
right? Yeah, I mean. Yeah, I mean, in a way,
you have to like set your your mind up to like,
you know, mentally have the drive to hurt these
storm troopers. So, you know, there's some bit
of acting in there, you know You got to pull
energy from wherever you can because like I couldn't
move that well in that outfit It was very you
know, it's armor literally armor. I'm wearing
you could have fooled us Yeah, you could have
fooled us. It's an amazing It's an amazing piece
of choreography. Yeah, it is. It was really wonderful.
It really made the show. And I did have a monster,
so that helped. There you go. There you go. It
always does. It always helps when you have a
monster inside. That's true. That's so true.
I mean, I've taken it personally. I mean, as
far as safety, like anybody wants to go into
this business as being a stunt woman, a stunt
man, or stunt double, I mean, what are the key
elements that you need? I know most of it's gonna
be physical and you gotta be mentally prepared
for it, but I mean, what are the key elements
that you need to be in that situation, I mean,
when you're doing? Not having an ego, for sure,
because it's not about you. It's about the show.
It's about the actress you're doubling. You're
trying, you're there to do a job. Your job is
to make sure your actor is safe and to make them
look like a badass. And, you know, just being
a good person, being a good human being, because
I've seen, like, you know... People be divas
on set whether whatever department you are and
I think that creates like a hostile environment
So I think having a good head on your shoulders
Willing to learn willing to listen to direction
I think that's a huge thing because we're constantly
getting notes all the time and 50 notes and you
have to try to like Organize them in your brain
and then do it right right and then you know
being self -aware of like, you know your body
and being safe and like Treating making sure
other people are safe around you. So, um, yeah
just having like the awareness Right visual awareness
and just um, yeah, um, what else? Yeah, there's
so many things thinking so many bumps the things
you might have forgotten a couple but That is
the thing too because like I've noticed like
my memory has gotten so much worse Like I was
driving on the freeway and I just got off it
Like, for no reason today. I was like, why did
I get off the freeway? And I noticed, let's go
off the freaking freeway. You'll be all right.
No, no, that's not what she meant. She got off
on the wrong exit for no reason. Oh, okay. Like
I just exited for no reason. I was like, why
did I do that? And yeah, your memory definitely.
Takes a toll. There you go. I'm not well, don't
feel too bad cuz I'm I'm not a stunt person and
I walked into my kitchen the other day and completely
forgot what the hell I was Like why am I in here?
What is life? And that's when I get the phone
calls at three in the morning, but that's a whole
different story And you've done not only the
Mandalorian, you've done actual video game play
also. I think the one with was Hardy Quinn, Wonder
Woman, Catwoman, I believe, is it Melina? I think
that's the other one, correct, if I'm mistaken?
Doing those, that's a whole different aspect,
considering the fact that I believe you're in
a green suit, if I'm mistaken. I mean, doing
that, How does that go about? I mean, is it a
little bit more difficult with somebody else
in front of you? You know, pretty much sparring.
I guess we would call it sparring with somebody
else. Actually, first, it's actually a mocap
suit. So we don't wear green screen suits. It's
actually like a black outfit that is like velvety.
And then they put all these points on different
like hinges of like like every point of your
movement area, like the hinge of your your wrist,
your elbows, so it tracks all your motion. It's
actually not that different from doing stunt
work. The only difference I would say is like
we don't have makeup and hair and like all the
other departments, so we move a lot faster. Right,
right, right. Yeah, that's that's pretty cool,
man. That's interesting. Yeah, I mean, you wouldn't.
I want a picture that I was thinking more like
the green screen. Yeah, I mean, that's then I
mean, we're not in the business, so we don't
know. That's why we ask these questions. But
I mean, as far as somebody, you said you've been
doing this for the past 20 years, 20 years. Wow.
That's amazing. That is amazing. So like no one
in your family was affiliated with stunt work
or anything like you're the very first one. What
is your family? Yeah, very, very first one. Yeah.
Wow. What does your family think about that?
Well, they thought it was a temporary thing.
I'm Chinese, so like. You know, it's all about
education, college, which I did. I did go to
school, but, um, they thought I would just. They're
like, I mean, in the beginning, they were like,
when are you going to get a real job? And I was
like, Oh, I don't know. You should have been
a doctor a few years ago. Yeah. Yeah. Or a lawyer,
you know, or something. Yeah. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Go ahead. I think what, cause my parents don't
know anything about the business. So when I first
got in there, my mom's like. Why don't you just
book a soap opera and become an actor on a soap
opera? They always work all the time. And I'm
like, do you realize how difficult it is to just
book a soap opera as a recurring character? How
hard can it be? It can't be that hard. It can't
be that hard. You just walk over there. I want
to be in that. I want to be in your soap opera.
All right. Get to work. What am I doing? You
throwing something at me? Am I going up a ball,
throwing up a wall? What am I doing? What am
I doing? Oh my goodness. Is there a specific,
can you tell us about a specific stunt that you,
at the moment when you were doing it, it's kind
of difficult, but at the end you succeeded. Is
there anything particular in your, in your career
so far that you said, man, this is one of the
most difficult stunts I've done, but it's memorable.
It's just, it sticks to the back of your mind.
Considering the fact that you don't have memory
loss but to the back of your mind I think the
one of the most scary ones I did was a car hit
where you actually get hit by a car and You know,
you always say you want to do them for work because
you know, it's kind of cool But at the time,
I mean I just wanted it to be over because it
was in the rain and I had So then it was a little
unpredictable the the wind the windshield the
windshield and the hood Yeah, the hood was like
really slippery. So I slipped up and everyone
thought I landed on my neck. But I didn't but
it looked like I did. So but I did experience
some trauma on that because I like literally
slept all weekend. I was so exhausted. So I was
just happy that was over. Yeah, because like
we were talking about, it seems like a very physically
tasking kind of job. But I mean, what do you
do to compress after something like that or decompress?
Yeah, I try to do everything like recovery wise
like I go to the chiropractor massage I started
going to physical therapy. I do like NAD NAD
drips like the IV drips Okay. All right. Yeah,
so that's supposed to help with like memory and
like recovery Okay, the last person I interviewed
that she was she was she was a stunt man stunt
woman. No, what is the correct? Correct term,
please. Because we've been arguing about this
all week. Actually, we haven't. I've been saying
stunt woman. I've been saying stunt double, stunt
double. What is the correct term, please? I would
say stunt woman, because one day we could be
a stunt double, one day we could be a stunt player,
one day we could be assistant. Coordinator, we
could be a stunt coordinator. Yeah, so I just
say stunt woman. Stunt woman is the key. Well,
the other stunt woman that I interviewed was
back in September of last year. It was with Miss
Jane Austin. She's I think she's based out there
in LA also in California. She says that I asked
her a question and I'm gonna ask you the same
one. Out of all the stunts you've done, what
do you prefer? And when I asked her, she said
she prefers to get burned. She likes to be on
fire. I'm like, you have a pyro problem. But
yeah, and I mean, is there one in particular
for yourself that you say, I love doing this
stunt? Is there one that you keep in your back
pocket for that? I just love doing fights and
wires. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's my jam. I mean,
I do martial arts, so that's just my passion.
If I wasn't doing stunts, I'd probably still
be training martial arts every day. I mean that
because she was telling me that and I go yeah
and then besides falling off buildings is another
one that my favorite and I asked her why he goes
that's where I met my husband for the first time
like oh okay I can say you can you can literally
say that I fell for him I'm like ha not my joke
her joke so I'm just laying you know you want
to say it but um I mean On the like like Chu
was saying on the downtime, what are your hobbies
besides before you before you go out there and
do your your your stunts and all that good stuff?
What are your downtimes and what do they look
like as far as, you know, I don't know, like.
Macramé, yeah, exactly. I mean, what do you want
movies? What do you like to do your hobbies,
in other words, besides stunts? I'm like a big
F1 fan, so I'm always watching the races. F1,
OK, yeah. Yeah, that's like my sport that I'm
like obsessed with. And then I have two cats.
I'm like a huge cat lady. So like my Instagram
feed is literally cat videos, F1 and travel videos
because I love to travel. Sweet. Wouldn't it
be awesome if there was an F1 driving cat? But
who's your who's your who's your main F1 person
I named my cat Max for stabbing. Oh, okay. Oh
Max. Yeah for Red Bull That's awesome, that's
so cute I know The week before we did have a
schedule, we had to schedule for podcasts and
I know you're very busy. I mean, use is there
a film that you're doing at the moment or you
can't really talk about it or can we dip into
that? I'm I'm in L .A. right now doing just hopping
on different TV shows right now. OK, a lot of.
A lot of shows got delayed because of the possible
strike and our strike. We had the sag strike
last year. I've been hearing about that. And
then there might be a possible Ayasi strike.
So that's why a lot of productions like halted
or they're waiting. So I think I think that a
lot of them might start in the summer. They're
like in pre -production now. So it's been a lot
of TV work right now. Okay. I mean, it's hard
to hear that when these groups are going on strike.
That means that they feel like they're being
slighted in some way. So we like to support all
the actors and everyone who works behind the
scenes like yourself. And I hope that this comes
to an amicable resolution for everyone. Exactly.
I mean, it is a job. I know there's a lot. It's
a dangerous job. It's a very dangerous job. It's
a very taxing job. How's your insurance, ma 'am?
No, don't talk about your COVID. We don't want
to know your COVID. Just tell us no. But yeah.
It's like I was saying, we hope that everyone
comes to an amicable decision because, you know.
Everyone suffers when when stuff goes down like
that, you know, people are working and people
aren't being entertained So it's just a lose
-lose all around. So we really hope everyone
comes to an amicable resolution with that eventually
Hopefully just come to an end so we can get back
to normal and get to go watching awesome movies.
Yes all together, man And uh, we just we said
that to say to uh really get to this question
Go ahead Go ahead. You're the one who wants to
ask it Have you met Pedro Pesco? Okay, so I did
see him in the parking lot while we were walking
by. I think we did say hi, or we kind of met
him, but that was about it. Okay, now here comes
the real question and the favor. Now that you've
seen him, you know where he parked. Ken, do you
think you can kick his butt? Oh my gosh. It's
not so much a question, it's more like more of
a favor. And why is that? He knows why. He knows
why. He knows exactly why. Just tell him chew
from the chewable podcast. A lot of movies that
I'm seeing here. You got Rebel Moon, Quantum
Leap, Candy Cane Land, Mortal Kombat, CSI Vegas,
Mandalorian. We have Ghost. You did one here.
Well, Stargirl is another one. The one that caught
my eye. was Black Dynamite. Oh my god. I'm like
that is my one of my favorite movies. That is
like what we ever what we live on. Yes. We want
to be Black Dynamite. My favorite line out of
the whole movies when he's fighting the guy inside
the in the warehouse and you see the shoe come
in and hits in the face. He goes I do that before
I came in. That was like the most hilarious.
Part of the movie, I could not stop laughing.
It was just classic. But I mean, you have Ms.
Marvel, you have Danger Force, and the list goes
on and on. Well, first of all, tell us stories
about Black Dynamite. Yeah. Oh my God, that was
so long ago. I had no idea it would become such
a cult classic. Yes. Yes, it is. Wow. Near did
we when we first saw it. It was like, this is
kind of a weird looking movie, but it was awesome.
Yeah, it was. It kind of makes me want to watch
it again. It's been so long since I've seen it.
Did you know they made a cartoon on it? Yes.
Cartoon Network around midnight or something.
Actually, the movie was based off of a cartoon
that was made. I think it was a comic strip at
first. And it actually got picked up. They made
the movie. Then they started making the cartoon.
And it's awesome. And I love it. I love it. It
really is a great movie. But that caught my eye
when I saw it. I'm gonna go back and really look
for her I think I doubled the blonde lady. Oh,
okay. Yeah All right, all right, so you got the
backhand pretty much is the one you because I
know he does a lot of backhands Thing about our
job we just have so much fun on set like the
most ridiculous things like I'll get caught like
I think the most ridiculous job I got called
for was like hey you're a dancer right I'm like
yeah and they're like hey um we need like um
someone that can like go on the like just do
some pole tricks and then like take a couple
like reactions and fall but you're gonna do it
as a clown stripper oh gosh you're like uh what's
the pain I was like, screw it. Sign me up, because
that sounds so good. I mean, that's one of the
ones you're going to remember for the rest of
your life. He's doing the math, by the way. He
raised that on. I don't see it. I don't see it.
It was the most ridiculous job ever. But I literally
had makeup that looked like the Joker. They made
my mouth a wide red. I was like, oh my god. You
can't make this up. This is insane. We gotta
find that movie. We're gonna find that movie.
We gotta research it and we're gonna find it.
Yes, we're gonna find it. I still haven't even
seen it, actually. We should. I should go watch
it, actually. We are gonna make this thing blow
up so big. Oh, no. And we're bringing next year
for, I'm gonna talk to Ramsey. Shout out to Ramsey,
man. I was coming into the podcast last week.
for the Comic Con, South Texas Comic Con. We're
gonna get Ramsey to bring you down so we can
see that movie together. It's gonna be a thing.
We're gonna build a festival around this movie.
I mean, it'd be the first time I see it, so yeah.
What better? Private screening. consider the
fact that you've done so many movies so many
stunts in your career is there one in particularly
show or series that you would love to be part
of that you say man I just hope I get the call
or you throw your name in the hat and say hey
I'm in just you know give me the green light
For like future projects. Yes. Yeah. Oh, there's
so many there's like I heard there's like gonna
be a Moana. Oh Yeah, that's right. That would
be really cool to work on. Of course Mandalorian
the movie would be like I Like I just want you
because I heard that would be the last one, right?
Right. Yeah, right. You're right. Yeah, it's
gonna be the big one. It's gonna be the huge
one. Yeah Yeah because there like I said, I mean
so many movies you you are a literally a diamond
in the rough, man, because I don't know, I've
seen so many stunts from different people and
everything, but watching that role that you sent
me, I was like, I was there going, oh, ow, ow,
damn. Jesus. I was sitting next to him while
I was watching it. Yeah, he was. I go, this lady
must have great insurance, man. Especially that
one where she gets pulled across the room into
the back corner of the wall, into the television.
That was crazy on that video. I'm like, oh my
gosh. Is that done by a pull rope? They pull
you from your back and they stretch you straight
backward. Yeah. That's wire work. Yeah. Oh my
gosh. That's wire work. That's amazing. Yeah.
I mean, just we were talking about too, just
the technicality of all of these things. Well,
first of all, kudos to you for keeping everything
straight and not getting hurt or anything. Yes.
And kudos to everyone that you work with, too.
They're just amazing, too. We appreciate all
the hard work that you guys do. Yes. Yeah, it
makes every film... Worth watching to see all
those stunts. I mean happen on screen. Yeah,
you know and then having it is like us try to
do the same thing also and end up in the hospital
for about a week, but you know, you know. Remember
that time I hurt myself time I shoot. Yeah, that
was awesome. That was great. That was a moment.
Oh my gosh, but. Go ahead. No, go ahead. Well,
I mean, Lauren, I want to ask you one of the
five, because I know we're we're trying to keep
it short for a 30 minute interview. Final question
for you. If you have a chance to speak to one
of these upcoming stunt, warming stuff matters
to performers. I mean is there any advice you
can give them? I mean through to reaching to
that career they want to get to Doing films like
you're doing hell even doing acting because I
know you did a little bit of acting also on I
believe it was on the defenders or I'm mistaken
Electra right? Oh, I I was the stunt double for
Electra Iron fist I had iron fist. I'm sorry
iron fist So, I mean any words of wisdom coming
from you our way that we can pass this out to
South Texas RGB down here. I think taking an
acting class helps with our craft to understand
actors to understand how characters work and
how to get into character because you're not
I mean you're portraying a character but you
want to pay homage to your actor when you're
doing the movement and you know have a good understanding
of emotions and how to portray it in your body.
I think staying humble is always like I think
for everyone in the world, but like because you
know you could Be on top of the world one day
and then you know the strike happens or a pandemic
and like, you know What are you? What are you
left with? You know and in the day it just works.
So just stay humble shut your mouth on set, like
don't run your mouth too much because that can
really annoy people on set. I don't know, sometimes
I think seeing less is more sometimes. Let your
actions speak, speak louder, like let your talent
speak louder. Yeah, I think and just being a
good human being because people end of the day,
they want to work with people that they can stand
to be around. You know, these connections with
people is really important. And so just be kind
to people, be kind to people that are in your
same category that you're up against in the same
job, because you know what? You could refer that
person and they could refer you for a job. So
it's always best to like have that camaraderie.
That's awesome. Well said. Well said. Build those
human connections because ultimately that's what
matters. Yeah, exactly. That's what really matters.
That's awesome. Being being humbled like one
of the one of the Yeah, it's the one thing that
really matters most of all, because you could
be on top one day and at the bottom the next
day. Yeah, exactly. I mean, thank you. No, especially
in a team environment. Yeah, especially in a
team. I personally care about choreographing
all those martial art moves. You got to be at
point because I mean, one wrong swing, one wrong
kick, and you're in the wrong angle. Yeah, that's
okay. Shut up now. Lauren, do you have any socials
for your fans out there? Yeah. So should we cut
that? Um, so I'm on Instagram as Lauren Mary
Kim and also have a YouTube channel channel for
like all my reels and fights and stuff. Nice.
Awesome. Awesome. Those aren't how to, they're
just reels, right? Just reals. Yeah. Okay. All
right. Do not follow her example guys. It's just
entertaining. Don't do this at home. Do not do
this at home. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. Unless
you're between the ages. No, no, no. No, just
don't do it. Just don't do it. Just don't do
it. Lauren, thank you so much. We appreciate
you coming with us on the podcast. I mean, it's
a blast. No, it's actually an honor to have you
come on our podcast. Yes. Talk to all the fans
down here in South Texas. And if you ever get
a chance to visit, you know, we highly recommend
it. It's a great place to visit on vacation.
So deep South Texas. I mean, we're kind of close
to the border, but not that close. We're close
enough. We're close enough. Oh, awesome. What
city is it? We are located in West Leco. Shout
out to West Leco, Texas. West Leco, Texas. Yeah.
There's a lot more down here than just South.
I'll tell you right now. So just to give you
a heads up, we're Jason. So whenever you get
a chance, you're down here. Hit us up and we'd
love to have you on the podcast. Absolutely.
Whenever we ever come down for a con or whenever
you would just write down, we got it on film
because you're gonna say yes right now. I appreciate
you coming out and talking to you and we appreciate
your time because I know you're very busy Good
luck on your journey Continue doing all these
movies and please be careful. God bless Guys
that was mr. Lauren Mary I kept on saying Marie
all this time. I don't know why. No wonder people
hate you. No, they hate me. Guys, first off,
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Go out there. Look for them on social media,
on Instagram and Facebook. Find the address.
Head out there. Great guys. Everything for your
entertainment, adult entertainment, anything.
Well, not adult entertainment. Adult novelties.
Adult novelties. Yes. Beer, liquor. all that
great stuff. I think tattoo, tattoo stuff also,
maybe we can get that stuff too. Yeah, go now
because of the great prices. Yeah, great price
right now. Also, another huge shout out to Ordimus
Construction LLC. Big shout out to them, man.
If you're thinking about building a commercial
building or residential home, give them a call.
Look them up on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
They also do remodeling. Yeah, renovations. Renovation.
They do renovations. Great, great craftsmanship,
craftsmanship, man, that I've seen that they've
sent me. You ever want to reach out to them,
look them up on Facebook and Instagram and get
all the information or tune into the podcast
onto our website or our Facebook page and all
their information there for you guys to get connected.
But guys, this next coming up next right now,
guys, I took a little trip to Annabert, Texas.
Big shout out to Press Star gave me Lalo Cortez.
Big shout out to Lalo. And I lit up for somebody.
What the hell? Where was I? It's not important.
But not important, not important at all. You
weren't there. It was so beautiful. But I got
a special interview with Stephanie. What are
you doing? It's not going to add up. It's not
adding up. Stephanie Ndoni. Stephanie Ndoni?
The kid of Goku and kid gohan and gohan and kid
trunks big shout out to her. She gave us a great
interview. Hope you enjoy it and let's just let's
just shut up and let's just show you the video.
Here we go. What's up guys? Welcome back to Juneau
Podcast. The second edition is part two. You
know who this is. You all know who this is. Hi
guys. Nadoni. Yes. Nadoni. Stephanie McDonnie.
Stephanie Nadoni. Yes. The kid of the kid. What
am I saying the kid? OG. Kim Goku. And Gohan.
There you go. He's fine. He trusts. That's so
awesome. From OKKL. Yes. Yes. Welcome back to
the RGV. I love it. I love coming down here every
time I have the second time I see it down here.
And it's such a first of all, it's an honor to
interview. Twice yeah, this is so awesome. I've
been following them. I'm not stalking you or
anything on Facebook But I have been following
you go to a lot of conventions. I do and it's
wild Yes, yeah, we can worry I've seen you up
in I think the last one I saw you was over in
the world the one I saw you on Facebook in somewhere
I do in New York I think it was in New York or
LA. LA was last August, New York was November.
Okay, that's the last one I saw. I saw you were
at it. This one is all over the place. Zip, zip,
zip, zip. Yes. Yeah, it's different. Every weekend
I could be on one side of the, or I could just
be down the street. Like last weekend I was near
Doss Fort Worth. Do you have one of these when
you travel from con to con? Oh yes, I do. I have
some great, I feature a lot of artist work. There's
some of my favorite artist work. on the table
that way, promote their creativity as well. I'm
talking about the Nimbus cloud. Yes, I could
use a flying Nimbus, head to Wisconsin, go. That's
awesome. Or whatever. That's awesome. I am hitting
some different spots this year. In fact, the
end of this month, I'll be in Wyoming, Casper,
Wyoming, which isn't brand new. the weekend before
that'll be in Ohio. So there's some areas I hadn't
been to yet. Okay. So I'm unsaturated there and
I get to kind of like pick and choose a little
bit. And when you go to these concerts, you travel
alone with, well, when you go with people that
are part of the cast also. Uh, it depends on
who the guests what the guest lineup is like
and um, sometimes You know every once in a blue
mouth you get only guests. Sometimes there's
smaller events, right? Right or comic book stores,
you know, right like wreath land in new england
comic book tour where I basically come to the
store tour it's tour Yeah, it's okay. It's all
it's all kind of more focused on the anime spots
and the pop culture comic book stores and we
basically just put it all together and then I
went up there and I know some people up there
now and we just go around with them and then
I take care of them. We cover all the expenses
and the gas and the food and then we just go
and have a good time. Yeah, that's awesome. So
if I don't have a comic con or an event that's
like already set in stone, I'll have some free
weekends to book things like that. I have a little
bit more control over when and where and how.
I do like to normally travel with my life. my
agent well he's my manager my best friend my
boyfriend my roommate my bodyguard my babysitter
my um what is he's also my um creative uh well
he's also my kind of my business partner right
right he's um he's like a puzzle piece so like
he he does a lot of the the technology stuff
and he handles recording of my auditions. He
works at a radio station and he'll be retiring
soon so he'll be traveling with me. I try to
bring him anyway but now once he's officially
retired I can bring him with me on pretty much
all of them and then I just you know can cover
his ticket with my you know we just kind of figure
it out as we go. Um, like this one i'm solo it's
just kind of a we got a little bit late start
on planning this one But i'm like i'm sitting
down there by myself, you know, it's really just
48 hours, you know There you go flying late friday
and go home sunday night There you go. You know
when you go do these events I know the fan the
fan base is very big as far as dragon ball dragon
ball z and so on so forth It's it's so huge.
Is there any any in particular? Uh fan that's
like wow, it's like a moment that you're like
it just Grab you. Yeah, I make friends with some
of my they start out as fans I guess and they
come and get a lot of grass and be like, you
know, we're hanging out or you know, we call
each other on social media More prominent Place
in their life for Dragon Ball like it like one
of my my super fan friend Stephanie She's down
and get a Goshen for SSJ Goshen for she's got
her own YouTube channel. Oh, she's been collecting
since she was 11 and she's early 30s now got
to be friends with her and then Sophia up in
the north England or New England area there's
a friend of mine up there named Sophia and we
got to be buds in fact she was the coordinator
and agent on that booking tour so I take care
of you know whoever books me or you know we just
share you share the wealth and everybody's happy
I try to do the win -win situations with the
sores they can benefit and or if it can be like
something fundraiser or help I know some kind
of local charity. I try to be a part of that
kind of stuff, too, because yeah, I get back.
People that need our help, you know. Yeah, and
that's the cool thing about the podcast now.
From the last time we talked, it's more about
asking people like yourself, people that are
in the business, you know, helping the young
entrepreneurs to know what to expect. You know,
say somebody wants to do it with a voice actor.
Somebody wants to do theater. Somebody wants
to do movies. You know, it's good. try to get
the inside track from the person that's been
through there. It's it's competitive You basically
you audition or you get you do something and
then you you put it aside, right? You're moving
on to the next one and somebody reaches out great
If you can manage it and you know, then go for
it, right? So, um, but yeah right now focusing
on my appearances doing a lot of booking of travel
Um, you know dave and I are coordinating a lot
of the calendar He also helps me with my website
and my demos and auditions and so he's kind of
more technical and he's also I'm a bass player
in my band. There you go, there you go. That's
how I met him, was in the music industry in 2003
and he was bass player in the band. I was hired
to work in. Right. And so now, you know, we've
got a rich history with music and now with this
voice acting. That's awesome. Appearance, meet
and greet type stuff. And as far as the music
concerned, are you gigging? Well, are you gigging?
Are you gigging? I gig for a long time. That's
my day. In fact, Dan was in a band. that uh bill
tillman um a guy from blood sweat and tears he
was in a band and i was in a band we didn't know
each other yet but i was with vince vance and
the valiance um they started out in new orleans
in 1971 okay i joined in 91 and um traveled with
them for a while i still get called like you
know uh sit in or like somebody gets sick if
i can do it i do it right right most of them
are weekends so they kind of clash a little bit
okay so i kind of have to pick and choose right
um but the music is definitely not I mean, it's
kind of on the back burner, it's never gonna
be gone. That's kind of where my roots are all
in music and Sarah Dan, so I'm hoping to get
back in the studio and record, because I've done
some stuff where I've been hired to do some background
vocals for people's original music, and then
I have my own album that hasn't been... released
back in like 1997. So I'm going to try to get
a hold of that and figure out how to do get that
out there for fans want to hear it. Because a
lot of my fans were earlier than a singer. Animated
themes, I did a kid grade opening and closing,
case closed, and then Yu Yu Hakusho's Sayonara
Bye Bye was the main theme from that. And I wasn't
credited for whatever reason, but it's kind of
a trivia thing at this point. It's like, oh,
that was you, you know? Some of the Dragon Ball
Z fans are also fans of some of these other shows,
because they were kind of being dubbed around
the same. exactly exactly and then well knowing
that i mean oh this is gonna be kind of difficult
for me because i mean go i i'm uh i'm not what
you call like a huge enemy person i mean i i
do follow dragon balls even the first dragon
ball and dragon one first came out right now
that now that the uh oh god i can't even say
his name uh he's no longer with us And it shook
the world. Yes, it shook the world. A very sad
moment in anime. If you're into any kind of anime,
that was, it was kind of heartbreaking because
I mean, a lot of myself, not really grew up on
it, but caught at the time where I was like,
man, this is... This is awesome. You know, this
is, this is it. This is what I want to see. I
mean, and the first thing that crossed my mind
when that happened, you were the first one to
press my mind. Oh my gosh. What is she going
through? How is she taking it? Knowing that this
was an opportunity. I mean, this was an opportunity
that was given to you to become kid Goku, young
Goku. I mean, when you heard the news. I was
sad because he's got such a legacy. I mean, that's
the good thing is he has this amazing You know
along with Pokemon and did you So, um, you know,
I think what last I heard is he was also kind
of still working on some new projects Yes, and
he was 68 which you know I mean, it's a long
life, but it's never good. I mean, it's always
hard, especially when somebody has such influence
on something huge that millions of people are
a part of now. The show is dubbed in countless
languages. I was in Italy doing a show band appearance
in the year 2000 and turned on my TV in my hotel
room. And there's Gohan speaking in Italian.
And that's when I finally realized kind of the...
I was a part of something much larger than I
originally thought. That and when they put out
the Burger King toys with the kids meal. Yes,
yes, yes, yes. Yeah, I was like, this is pretty
cool. I still kind of thought he was going to
die because I know that a lot of things end.
Yeah. But it just kept going. Exactly. Now that
it's been all this time passed, I'm like, well,
why do you want me there? five years ago 20 years
ago right right it's the nostalgia yes it is
it is retro nostalgia they grew up with it and
i think about wow the things i grew up with i
understand that that's why pop culture in general
is so important because it shapes us we it's
whatever we watched on tv or or whatever we read
whether it's books or comics or if you're into
movies or you know there's something out there
for everybody so pop culture is just huge and
it's always changing and growing and I mean,
you got Marvel, DC, you got, I mean, it's never
ending, really. There's a whole line of wrestlers
that come into appearances. There's the Power
Rangers. And I've met some of them. I've met
some of those guys. And I've got like an extended
family. And then I've met a lot of the vendors
and the artists. I've got a lot of the artwork
on my table. The virus down in Orlando. He's
the one that did this one. This is one of my
favorites here. He's amazing. It's like eye candy,
right? Yes, it is. And this one too, this is
one we did together. This is a collaboration
where I said I wanted to do one in Gohan because
he's injured in the self -sacrifice and he ends
up with one arm to finish him off. And so I said
I kind of want something like that. And he did
this one for me about three years ago. And I
just saw him last weekend, two weekends in a
row. for a couple of events. There's Weeb Con
and Grapevine outside of Dallas. And then we
had before that was Orlando Pop Con and more.
So yeah, it's just, there's a whole like whole
another universe almost. Yeah. I could assume,
you know, that as far as like when you go to
cons or have events, It's kind of those people
that are actually they're kind of your family
because yeah, it's like a traveling dinner, you
know saturday night We might all go meet for
dinner unofficially or officially set some kind
of plan And then next thing you know, it's like
well, you're exchanging numbers with some of
the other guys It's like hey, let me hang out
like let me know when you're in this area Let
me know and those hangouts that you have with
your with your con family when you go do any
of them kind of geek out a little bit ask you
do the voice do the voice oh yeah sometimes like
sometimes the server will be like oh i'm a dragon
ball z fan and i'll do the voice and we'll be
like oh my god i can't believe it yeah yeah we
throw the voices in from time to time do you
ask any of them do you do if i'll do the voice
you do the voice or let's have a conversation
i've even gotten to where i've got content for
my social media and my um I've got a TikTok and
a Instagram and I've got a social media manager
that I send stuff to and he determines, you know,
oh, that'll be, let's post that or let's post
it. Okay. Okay. He's kind of like, kind of like
shifting me to know kind of get to the point
and like, right, right. Certain things you got
to know about social media. People just don't
have that long of an attention span. Yes. So
I'll do some of these interactive videos where
they'll make me and I'll make them or we'll trade
off. Right. Right. Right. Or we'll just come
up with something wacky. Try to match the worlds
together It's always trending right so you know
the thing right now is I'm a voice actor of course
I'm gonna use my voice when I check into a hotel
or I'm a voice actor of course I'm gonna wear
shirts with my character You know so we I follow
the trends and try to get content pretty much
when I'm out right in the field We when you're
out on the field or out shopping or doing your
thing and you come across This little character
I mean and do you you just say wow I mean does
it on the merch you're right when you see it
on the open I mean, you're just you're not even
thinking about it. It just pops up. Yeah, what
crosses your mind when you see that? Well, it's
like it just it's just another reminder of how
big the franchise is It's just it's like it's
a legacy. It's a it's it's not nothing ever really
goes away. I mean, once it's out, it's out, but
the fact that it's still very much alive and
it's still, you know, I hear stories about. people
going through hard times and kids that would
come running home from school to watch Dragon
Ball Z and shut the door because their parents
were fighting or were fighting some kind of illness
or they were bullied at school. You know, those
types of interactions are precious to me. Right.
I wasn't able to have kids of my own. I wanted
kids and wasn't able to have kids. And so I embrace
and I'm open to the kids in front of me, which
now they're there. Oh, you've got a huge family,
a huge following. They're in their 30s and I'm
like, well, I'll just be the anime mom. I had
a great mom and she was very nurturing and sweet
and kind and so I I just kind of feel like I'm
kind of a reflection of her and So, you know
these kids come up and talk about the things
they've been through and it's very impactful
It makes me feel like I was really more of a
part of something bigger than I even knew when
I was in the booth recording. Exactly. And rewinding
and fast forwarding and whatever we were doing
back then, you know, releasing them on VHS tapes.
Yeah. And the same thing you're saying is when
we interviewed Picapella, he says, yeah, there's
a lot of fans that come up, you know, I'm asking
you what do you want me to have signed? And then
they just told me a story. Yeah. How that in
particular character affected their life in a
positive way. They were going through a dark
time. Right. Or it's something happened at that
moment and maybe he was playing a game or maybe
he was watching Dragon Ball and it's forever
imprinted in his mind. Something about the show
or the arc or the storyline or something empowered
them, you know, whether it's even something like
light over dark or the good versus evil, whatever
the concept is or the moral of the. property
and what's exactly going on in the story. What's
interesting and what's absolutely mind -boggling
to me is when I was going through my hard times,
not being able to have kids and going through
some tumultuous more losses, my mom's sister
passed and all these things were happening and
my job came to an end, I had to get down to the
bottom and rebuild my life, rise in the phoenix.
my fans and getting out and doing conventions
when people are starting to reach out to me,
why aren't you doing conventions? And I'm like,
why? Why would they want me? But it empowered
me and brought me out of the darkest times in
my life. It made me feel like I had a purpose.
This was a time when I had lost my way. And I
was all alone and I didn't know what to do. And
then I was just like, no, there's a whole...
And then I try to give everybody, even if it's
real busy, some time to chat for a while. It's
not about just give me your money and I'll sign
your thing. It's not that. It's now. It's not
that. But, you know, so that there's a memory
that's a positive experience. Because you always
want to think that your hero is a nice person,
a kind, open -hearted, compassionate person.
And that's just the real genuine me. So in fact,
I have sometimes if there's a line, my manager's
like, hey, there's people waiting. I'm still
talking to you. So you just have to. Right. Actually,
most of my experiences have been nothing but
great, like the people online, they're waiting
because they want an experience too. So they're
very patient and they're like, oh, no, no, you're
good. Or here, let me take a picture. At least
the anime fans are great. They're very patient,
very loyal, playful, fun -spirited people. And
these comic cons are a place for them to come
and... relax and be who they are and you know
dress up like their favorite character. Right,
right. Just feel accepted and because there's
so much going on at these events and and everybody's
just like come on in and just do and be who you
are and and have a nice little weekend of fun
escaping human suffering that we escape from
reality and come to a fantasy for a little while
yeah yeah and that's so fun and make you know
go out and meet people like -minded people people
that support you and right and people make friends
with these events they become the They're best
buddies from all over the even overseas like
I have some fans over in Australia, New Zealand.
There you go. And we've done some podcast interviews
and we're going there this summer. So awesome.
Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. I'm going to be traveling
quite a bit this year. Oh my goodness. You know,
you need one of these. I need a line. And I need
a power pole. There you go. Fight off the bad
guys. Negative I got you. Yeah, exactly bullies
out there and it's true what you say about about
the cons You know, even even in science like
you're doing right now I had a personal experience
with my son. I took him to the gamer expo and
we that's the first time we got to meet a Sonic
and silver sonic there at the episode there and
my son my son and by the way this one is ever
look on this is actually a big This is a big
support for Autism Month. My son is autistic
and it's weird, you know, when we got there.
It's so crowded, you know, it's so crowded. There's
a lot of people, but it can be kind of overwhelming.
But the cool thing is that my son was in line
waiting for that autograph. and he was conversating
with everybody. Something I have never seen personally
as a parent, you know, I see him, yeah, he'll
say something and look away, you know, he'll
say something and look away, but he was like
in his element. I was like, I choked up a little
bit, I was like, wow. And he was drawing on his
phone little Sonic characters and he showed it
to Jason and he showed it to P and they were
like. You did this while you were in line. He
goes. Yeah, I did it in my life. Yeah, he even
did a voice a voice over with with jason also
But the thing is that he was in the element and
he was he was in his in a comforting place Yes,
like a you know a safety fortress kind of thing
exactly and that was the most beautiful thing
i'm seeing as a father Yeah, i'd never seen that
but I mean, that's why that's why I say when
I voice actors, you know computer games even
even cartoon tv shows it's important not only
for the older guy like me right here who likes
to watch it but the younger kids that are growing
up that may have uh uh maybe maybe on the spectrum
maybe a little difficult maybe there's something
wrong with them they could be like have a social
anxiety exactly you know or like i don't know
what to do or who to talk to and i'm kind of
like overwhelmed or sensory overload and then
to take a break and stuff right right So, yeah,
it's always good to be open -minded and accepting
of that. Yeah, and that's why I say I appreciate
all the votes. Especially you, Stephanie. You're
great. I've been a big fan since I was a kid.
Thank you, thank you. No, seriously, stop. You
can hear the applause in the background. But
no, I appreciate I'm gonna take too much of your
time because I know you're gonna get more people
walking they want to sign some stuff and I know
you're The tummy get a little hungry. Just like
Goku. Yeah, exactly. No sentries means here.
So this is actually real food. Oh You do. Yes.
Okay. I'm not just gonna take a peck for me Lord.
No, they Yeah That's awesome Stephanie. It is
a pleasure to come out here and talk to you for
a second time There is you'll be coming down
the RGB again, and I'm not mistaken. You were
saying yes. I'll be down this way in July 14th
2014 we're doing pokey fest put down your counters
come see this a magazine person in line in line
bring your stuff to get signed guys face to face
and making memories yes let's do this i appreciate
you being on the podcast for the second time
oh this will be a third time again we'll do it
again yeah i'll make sure i bring that little
baby clothing the one i was telling you oh you
just signed it for safe yes thank you lalo oh
yeah oh yeah oh yeah also thank you to lalo A
lot of a man a great guy goes great star gaming
great co -host also on the pika -pala interview
That was awesome to you a lot of fun. So but
guys Make sure you tune in every week Thursday
at 7 30 p .m. On Facebook live. Thank you Sanitize.
Sanitize. Thank you again. You're welcome. Any
last words for your fans? All I can say is StephanieNidonley
.com. I do have, I try to put some upcoming events
there. It's also got some just funny demos and
some music and some songs I've written and sang
like Goku and Gohan which is kind of fun. That's
awesome. For the kids. For the children. And
uh instagram, I know you got to feed that little
kid. Um, the instagram is just stephanie .nudolny
I've got stephanie .nudolny voice actress on
facebook and I write back to Everybody it may
not be right away, but I write everybody back
all my fans all my anime Yes, she does. She does.
Yes, if you're going through something i'll throw
you some love and support If if there's something
you want to do or if there's an if you want to
know where i'm going to be and you live in york
or Maine I'm doing something near Maine like
you know Reach out to me, and I usually have
my schedule right like four to six months out
sometimes We will look forward to see you come
back to the RGB again, yeah, and we will be happy
if we get a chance I grew up in Eagle Pass We're
hoping for episode three with Stephanie when
she peace three three three thank you once again
i appreciate you thank you and guys we will see
you next time ladies gators that was stephanie
great interview with her bro that was amazing
awesome interview had a lot of fun with her what
a legend yeah she's great epic man she's so You
know when you meet somebody you find you know,
they're real, you know, they're people feed their
people people people people and Meeting her for
the first time the second time. It was awesome.
It was a blast for me You know the first time
you would stop talking about how great I know
the second time especially when she signed that
that canvas of Kid kid go core. Yep, very man.
So that was awesome. She's she even sent me an
interview Yes, yes That was awesome guys Thank
you so much guys for tuning in. Oh, well, we
got a lot Brian big shout to Brian Sean, and
they've got who's this miss? Who's what's up?
Awesome. Oh, yeah, I forgot our number one fan
here. Here we go. There you go. Three two one
There you go, buddy. I'm sorry late, but you
got it They're late than never man guys. I appreciate
Each and every one of you that stuck around to
watch the first interview with Lauren Mary Kim
Stunt woman, awesome stunt woman man. Amazing
stunt woman. You didn't get a chance to watch
that. You can go back and watch the show after
this or wait for it to come out on YouTube on
our YouTube channel so you can see where I butter
it up, make it look real nice. All right. You
know what I'm saying? All right. Stop doing that.
Sorry. But yeah, man, I appreciate every single
one of you guys coming out. Having some fun with
this ugly thing and myself, man, and I appreciate
it. And he has the bottle head now. Yeah, Jay
Leno. Yeah. All right. So all right. We will
see you next week. Yes. On Thursday, we have
Jay Munoz coming in. It's going to be a great
guitar player, guys. Very good. I'm going to
bring the power with him. Pretty cool to listen
to. You know, what's going to happen? I don't
know. I thought I hit you with him, which I would
love to see. I got a leg. And I'm taking it off.
You've had a leg. Your show is going on too long.
I'm taking my leg off. Any last words to you?
Taking my leg off. Oh, God. Guys, thank you once
again. We will see you next week at 730. And
always, Laters, Gators! Thank you!