Hockey on ESPN is blowing up. Hockey is back.
So, what does it look like now? The kids, Hughes, Celebrini, Schaefer—that's hockey. Ovechkin, Crosby—that's hockey. And with access to over a thousand out-of-market games, you can watch them and the rest of the league. Holy hockey!
That's more hockey to love for more fans who love it. The NHL's best on ESPN. Watch all season long on ABC, ESPN, ESPN Plus, and the. ESPN app. This is the Rich Eisen Show.
Hey, everybody! Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck! You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to three Eastern.
Miss the show? We've got a podcast, so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part: our YouTube channel. Subscribe at YouTube.com/slashRichEisenShow, and you'll never miss a moment.
Now. On with the show. This is the Rich Eisen show. Andre Smith, fifty-six yards. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles.
You know, to get a big victory against a divisional rival. I mean, this is what you dream about. Earlier on the show, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, former NFL head coach Sean McDermott. Coming up, Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali. And now, Rich Eisen.
The show is on the air. Everybody, the Academy Award-winning actor Merhershala Ali will be joining us on this show in less than twenty minutes' time. He's been on before. It's been a while since he's been on. How long has it been?
About ten years, maybe. Twenty sixteen was the last time he was on. My goodness gracious! And so, yeah, I think he came on to talk about Luke Cage. He was in the TV show.
Yeah, that's right. Luke Cage. His new film, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, is available nationwide on Friday, October ninth.
So he'll be joining us shortly on all of that. If you missed any of the first two hours, Sean McDermott was outstanding. The former Bills head coach talking about the Bills as well as last night and the interaction between McCarthy and Rogers that was caught by the prime video cameras. There was also hour one, Vinny Pasquintino, our friend from the Kansas. Royals talking about the baseball playoffs to date and what's to come.
Our podcast, all three hours, you can listen to it. Our Disney Plus page, if you go there as soon as the show's over, you can watch us back. You can also check out our YouTube channel, YouTube.com/slash Rich Eisen Show. All of our socials on not just YouTube, but also Facebook. The Rich Eisen Show, over a million followers there.
We appreciate all of you who have hit that button. Our Instagram account and TikTok, and so much more. Our shop page, RichEisenShop dot com. We're going to put some new shirts. I've already just took a look during the commercial break.
Some new shirts are going in there to celebrate your fandom of your favorite teams, as well as just the show. RichEisenShop dot com. Mugs, hats, shirts, so much more. Check out our new merchandise coming up. Over the weekend, eight four four two zero four.
Rich is the number to dial on the WeatherTech Fan Line. We'll get to that in a moment. Steelers lose last night.
Now you could already hear a couple times as Denzel Boston flipped the field on him in the first quarter, and you know, and then the rest of the night there were some passes open for Watson, and you could sit there and go, well, it would be great to have Joey Porter there.
Now he had full practice a couple times this week in advance, and then all of a sudden, ooh, my back. Then he's now got a star on his hat, as he was meeting with the media in his new spot in the Metroplex, talking about how he felt as a final in the final weeks as a Steeler. Definitely, definitely. Like I said, it was a hard process. A lot of ups and downs.
Definitely felt disrespected. Definitely felt undervalued. And um, but that's that's old news now. You know, that's how I look at it. I'm on to new beginnings, new chapters.
And like I said, I'm I'm a cowboy. I'm I'm in Dallas, so I'm happy about that. Do you look at this as a one year, and we'll see how it goes from here, or do you look at like this is the place where I may finish my career? I mean, I'm down with if they are. You know, I wanna, I wanna finish my career here.
So hopefully, I just perform like I know how to perform and do what I do, and I'm gonna let everything take care of the rest. Yeah, he wasn't, I guess, willing to do that in Pittsburgh any longer, but now he's gonna have to do it in Dallas. And the question is, is can his back clear in time for this weekend? That's it.
Well, we have a back expert in the house, fella. I mean. You want to go fly to the Metroplex and see if it was just the contract or it really is something? Yeah, yeah. I'll go check on them.
There you go. And that's how we go to the top five matchups for the rest of Week Four that I'm looking forward to seeing. Brought to you by Hyundai. Top five. One, two, three, four, five.
Riches top five. All right. Every week I do this on a Friday. The remaining schedule for a week in the NFL. My top five matchups I'm looking forward to the most.
Brought to you by Hyundai. Here for the rest of Week Four. Number five is Cowboys at Texans. Kind of feel like this is the end of the end of the line here for the Texans already. They are winless in September.
It's their first October game. You see the Jaguars there at two and one. Houston after this game does visit Tennessee, and then they go to London to face the Jacksonville team that'll already been there for a week.
So, getting this win now and maybe going to Tennessee and having an opportunity to fly to London to get back to five hundred, which means they would fly back under their own excitement, not just the jet fuel. That's the way through here, and it's got to start this week. Against the Dallas Cowboys team that gave up a ton of points and just did it again in a different hemisphere, will Joey Porter Jr. play in this game? Will Nico Collins play in this game, Chris?
You got something latest on that? Trending, yes, for Nico Collins.
Okay, there you go.
Well, they they need him because that offense is not done very much without him. Big game, Cowboys and Texans. Number four on my top five remaining matchups. I'm putting Jaguars and Bengals here. Jaguars, the only team in the AFC South that's above 500, and then here are the Bengals coming off their first loss of the season, going back home.
Can't wait to see this. Jaguars and Bengals, two stout teams that are all around good. And this is one of those that if they wind up being wild card needy later on, this is going to be one of those back pocket tie breaks for both of them. This is going to be a lot of fun, an early window game for week number four. Normally three and O versus three and O is going to be higher up, but I'm putting Chiefs Raiders right here in the middle of this.
Okay, I'm looking forward to seeing the autumn win being a pirate. But we're not yet in autumn, in full on full autumn yet.
Well, let's see what goes down. What a tester! Again, Sean McDermott in hour two called this a buy-in game, where the buy-in that's already there can exponentially explode throughout the rest of the building and the rest of the city and the fan base nationwide. Of course, the Chiefs would be like to just basically say, "Nice three and zero start, you got there." That was cute. That was cute.
Cute. But this is somebody came in. There's a league. It's called the National Football League. But there's different leagues within this National Football League, and you're not in ours just yet.
Levels, Rich. There's levels to this. Levels to all of this. Can't wait. Late window game.
Rams Eagles are two. Here we go. Two. Oh yeah, he said two. I said two.
Let's go. The Eagles at two and one, coming off of that loss against the Chicago Bears, that has the entire city have their collective football hair on fire. That's a shame too. That's a shame. And here come the Rams at one and two after a tough loss in Denver.
The best one and two team in the sport. The team that I won't even quit if they're one and three. As Chris Brockman put me in that, what's more likely box an hour two? That's number two on this list. Can the Rams get back to five hundred?
Make the Eagles five hundred? This is another one of those moments where it's a listen. The Rams, as we all know, could not beat the Eagles a couple of years ago. Saquon ran all over him on Sunday Night Football in the building, and then. They had to go all the way across the country and play in a snowstorm and could not block Jalen Carter at the most crucial time.
Now here we go again. Aaron Donald's back in the mix. One would think Puka is expected to go. Can't wait. Number one on the list is Broncos Niners.
You know what I mean? Denver at San Francisco. Let's go! Great, love it. Love this matchup.
It's great. Nicks versus Purdy. You know, Kyle Shanahan versus Vance Joseph. What's going on when Raheem Morris is trying to match wits with Davis Webb? How often is Sean Payton going to get in the guy's ear?
Listen, we had him on Tuesday, and I'm like, give me your inner monologue, and he he basically is he's he's staying out of it while staying in it, the best that a head coach should. Can't wait. That's the top matchup of week number four.
Okay. All right, we'll get one more. Your game. There's no reason to put this. Why?
Why? Patriots Bills. Why is there no reason? You know how I feel. It's going to be gross.
No Christian Gonzalez. No Christian Barmore. No chance. Drake May in the in the training room all week. I got it.
And I'm not reverse jinxing for anyone who thinks the AFC East. AFC. Your AFC chances. Your AFC East chances are on the line. And again, it's October third when they're playing this game.
Pardon me, fourth. This is it, pretty big, man. Yeah, Patriots Bills. Let's see it. Let's see Drake may show up and say nobody believes in us.
I'll give it. I'll give you. I'll give you. It would be incredible. I know that's for you.
The win of his career, honestly, if that happens. Right.
So it'll either be that moment.
Well, the winner his career is the AFC Championship game today.
Now this is this game's more important.
Okay, okay, sure you. It's because it's the next one. It's because everyone thinks he sucks.
So you're either four quarters away from a 500 record or four quarters away from it truly being Celtics. Yeah, big time.
Okay. One and three still not the end of it. That's my top five. Brought to you by Hyundai. Get into the Hyundai Getaway sales event and get away with the deal so right it almost feels wrong.
Visit hyundaiusa dot com for details. Let's go to the WeatherTech Fan Line right now and go to Victor in Maine. That's your home state, right? One, the one that you closely associate yourself with. Absolutely.
What's up, Victor? What's going on? What you tell me? Ah, well, you guys are talking about the Bills right now. I'm.
My point was something a little unrelated. I am a Bills fan, and I just don't want to put all my eggs in one basket and. Be like Cowboys fans. It seems we're saying it's our year every year. We don't do that stuff.
I don't remember the last time a first-year head coach has won a Super Bowl.
So I don't think we're going to win it this year, like a lot of people are saying. I think next year we will.
Okay, Victor in Maine, right there. Very. I don't know. Joe Brady can do it. I'm.
I'm. I'm. Again, defensively, that's that's the issue. That's the issue. How are they going to stop people?
Week five might be that crucible for that conversation, where it's going to reach a more fever pitch. Forty-four, forty-two is the last time the Bills and the Rams had a game together in SoFi Stadium, so. They lost it. Back then, it was just like, "Well, Josh Allen is just unstoppable, and the Bills can outscore you and win it." But if they, you know, struggle against your Patriots after struggling against the Chargers, and then they go into the Rams and they can't stop them, can only hope to contain them, that'll be the conversation. But other than that, I'm I'm not looking at Joe Brady and saying that's the reason why they're not making it, right?
No, definitely not. Joe's been awesome, so I'm. I would push back on on Victor there in Maine, Mike in my adopted home state of Iowa. First and first up here on the program, he was the first in. What's going on, sir?
Oh, not much, my guy. I've been watching my Steelers lose and rooting for it because I know they need a quarterback.
So I got to see Deshaun Watson looking. Texans esque, but not quite there yet.
Okay, what's the realistic scenario in which Deshaun gets another contract in Cleveland after this nicely put tumultuous time there?
Now, Mike, when you come on this show, I would basically give you the the Zeus sign of don't feed the animals. You do. I don't know if you're aware, but in Overreaction Monday this past week. Chris Brockman's topic for one of the segments was Deshaun Watson's going to lead the Browns to the playoffs, and we'll get a new contract to stay there.
So you you're you're you're like smiling because here comes Mike after a win, yeah, you know, and asking that very question. Everyone's talking about it now. Yeah. Yeah. Listen, I just hear you guys talking about it, and I'm driving to Milwaukee so I can go to games one and two.
Go Blue Crew.
Okay. There you go. Well, Mike, here's my answer: is let's see how it all plays out in Cleveland. That's number one. Number two, by that I also mean how how you know the Browns can deal with.
Listen, we're talking about a redemption story for Deshaun Watson on the football field. Thanks for the call, Mike. We're talking about a redemption story for Deshaun Watson as a football player, and that is infuriating a large amount of the football fan base that cannot forget what happened in Houston with him off the field and everything with his court case and everything that went there and everything that he's trying to turn the page on. A lot of people aren't turning the page. They're not turning the page, and you know the dog pound can cheer, and it's just all that's about football.
But as you know, there's more to life than football. Again, I went on threads last night, and I'm like, wow, Deshaun Watson's turned the clock back, and the amount of people that basically yelled at me for trying to cover his tracks by talking about his football acumen. Was was, there was a lot, so Browns are going to have to suss all that out.
So it's not as just as simple as wow he's looking great as a football player.
So yeah, he takes him to the playoffs. We got to stick with him, and that's something he's going to have to deal with the rest of his career, and have to deal with and trying to talk to those fans if they want to if they want to even hear from him. People last night certainly want to hear from me talking about how wow he does look like the Texans version of himself. But if they go nine and eight, ten and seven, make the playoffs, I don't know what Deshaun's contract is like. But would they franchise him and just run it back one more year?
I mean, if they franchise him, would that be a pay cut? I don't know. There's we're we're we're three and one here. We're just and that's what that's what that's what Todd Munkin said. Three and one.
But it's not. It's not. It's not just a simple question of wins, losses. But it's not out of the realm of possibility now. I think that's the point.
I yeah, that is correct. Whereas a month ago, it was like, get out of here. Yeah, correct. He might not even start again. Exactly.
You know. Correct, a SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible. That's overcoming high interest credit card debt. Walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed rate monthly payment, no fees required, and as soon as the same day funding. That's right.
Pull off your own debt-defying stunt right now with a SoFi personal loan. Visit sofi dot com slash trick to learn more. Loans originated by SoFi Bank NA, member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. NMLS six nine six eight nine one.
He's got a new film out called Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother. He is an Academy Award winner. He's Mahershala Ali, and he's next. Hiring for a small business is hard. You don't often have a team of people helping out.
That's why LinkedIn built Hiring Pro. It's like having a true hiring partner, and you can chat with it just like you would a recruiter. Hiring Pro listens, adjusts, and shows you the people that actually fit your needs. Eighty-eight percent of small businesses say they trust LinkedIn's candidate recommendations. Be confident in your hiring decisions with LinkedIn Hiring Pro.
It's your job for free at LinkedIn.com/slash Eisen. Terms and conditions apply. In a world in need of a hero, one man rises to the challenge in style. He is just driving the kids to soccer practice. Make every day feel epic in an all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid with up to an EPA-estimated 619 miles of range on select trims, advanced tech, and class-leading interior space.
Because when you're hauling kids, gear, snacks, and backpacks, space matters, and so does comfort. Just Make sure they keep their cleats off the seats. Visit hyundaiusa dot com or call five six two three one four four six zero three for details. Check engine, ABS, or maintenance light on? Take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O'Reilly VeriScan.
The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE-certified master technicians. And if you need help, we can recommend a shop for you. Ask for O'Reilly VeriScan today. O O O O'Reilly Auto Parts. The Rich Eisen Show podcast.
On this program, it was ten years ago. No way! In support of Luke Cage, that was just coming out. And you know, we'd like to take credit for things that we have nothing to do with, except for when people appear on this show, they get a Rich Eisen Show bump. And all that's happened between that appearance and this appearance, two Oscars—not one, but two.
Mahershala Ali here in support of his new movie, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, on the Rich Eisen Show. Great to see you, sir. How are you been? I've been well. Thanks for having me, Rich.
Appreciate it. You know, again, like obviously, you're very talented. Your projects are are well positioned and well thought out. But if you're sitting here wondering, you know, two Oscars. It's because you showed up here ten years ago, Mahersh.
Exactly. You know what I mean. Exactly. You're a good luck charm for me. I will take it.
And obviously, you've got a new film in select theaters now, available nationwide Friday, October ninth. Your mother. Your mother. Your mother. I give you the floor on on again the the the Film art.
The poster kind of tells a little bit of a story here, and it is a deep story. And you have a deep character. I give you the floor on it, Marcella. Yeah, the the film is essentially about a recently widowed assassin who is urgently searching for breast milk for his child, while also being hunted, and his child happens to be allergic to formula.
So the stakes are really high. It's about a man who is processing death and grieving, but it's also a film because of he himself being hunted. It it has some really beautiful action elements to it, and so I think for me the the film is just such a deep joy because it it checks so many boxes that. That I'm looking for, that I've been looking for as an actor, something where I really get challenged in terms of the writing and what the character asks me to do, but also like a real deep yearning to to get to do something physical, you know, to to be in the action space. You know, you might know I was a former athlete, and and acting can be so intellectual and emotional, but it's rare when Projects come along that ask you to bring so many skill sets to the table, and this is one of those.
For so for me, Basantark script and the story was was really a dream come true. Yeah, I mean it's very rare that I speak to obviously an actor of your stature, but also somebody who's playing a character who's a devout Muslim. A family man who also happens to be a contract killer. The photographs that were showing up on the screen, not just the the poster art of you with a child and a baby Bjorn, but also holding what appears to be a weapon. You know, like it's very rare that I would ask somebody who's searching for baby formula, "Hey, did you train with swords yourself for this film, Marushila?" Like, you know, you see what I'm saying?
Yes, yes, yes. Then it was it was a a year of training, wow. And then I had some time off, and you know I thought I was going to be able to use that training for Blade, and that that unfortunately didn't work out, but. This was as an actor. This was a bit redemptive for me.
So all that time and and love and commitment, it didn't go to waste. I got to sort of pick up where I left off, even with some of the same team members. My brother Donny Yehuda out in Atlanta was like so instrumental in me getting ready for this part, and so he and I just got to pick right back up where we left off and and get right back into it, and so. It was kind of like riding a bike, and and so we got to use a lot of a lot of what we had been committing to earlier for an entirely different project.
So, yeah, we it's it's it worked out.
So, would you call this an action film? I wouldn't call it an action film. I would I would, but it has it has undeniable. Fleshed out action elements, you know. It's and I and honestly, I think anyone who's seen the film, from folks in the studio to to select press, I think have a really difficult time putting it in a genre.
Right.
I really think it's a film. It might be arrogant to say that it's it's it it's its own. It's its own film. It's its own genre. It's it's like nothing you've ever seen before.
It's like nothing I've ever seen before. People have a really difficult time comparing it to anything, and so, and that alone makes it worth seeing to me. I'm really, I'm very proud of it. I'm proud of our execution and the wonderful team involved from top to bottom. Again, beginning with Bassam Tarek, our director.
To just a wonderful cast and crew, so it's I think it kind of defies category a bit. Yeah, I mean it's really exciting, and and I think people need things in this time where there's been decades of people seeing every iteration of everything, and so I think this is a this is a new offering, and which is really attractive to me as an actor. I I much rather lean towards doing projects that feel unique and and really worthy of people's time because you have to earn people's time and energy now because there's so many things to fill those voids and and that can be a distraction and so to get people to sit down for an hour and forty five minutes or two hours is it's very difficult to do. But I sincerely feel like this is worth people's time. Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali here in support of your mother.
Your mother. Your mother. Available in select theaters now, and available nationwide on Friday, October ninth. Do you get a lot of Luke Cage still? Again, that was the way we started.
You know, talking one another, walking around. Do you still get people talking you about that? Not really.
Okay. Unfortunately, I've been able to do. I've been able to do a lot of work since then, or enough work. I feel like has been able to resonate with folks. But what I so appreciate about Luke Cage and particularly the character of Cottonmouth is that I feel like it holds up in some ways.
That I I've seen people, even recently, speaking online, in a really positive way, in a positive light about that character and about the show. And so, very very grateful to Chael for for giving me that. That that launched. I think that helped get me into some different homes, in front of some different audiences, and from some different people. And I loved playing that character because it felt so against type.
At least what I had gotten to do up until that point. And I think it really stretched me as an actor.
So it was wonderful getting to. Dip into that comic book space through that character.
Well, let's dip into your career with our one of our favorite segments. We like to play celebrity true or false, where we learn about your filmography, TV shows, and whether what's being reported is true or not. And we, as always, have some terrific production value. Mahershala Ali, celebrity true or false? Hit it, please.
Celebrity true or false? All right, that's it. Celebrity true or false here with Mahershala Ali. You you referenced it earlier in this interview, being an athlete. True or false?
You attended St. Mary's on a basketball scholarship under the name Hershel Gilmore, but chose grad school at NYU for acting instead of pursuing that. True. Almost true, Mahershala Gilmore.
Okay. But they called me Herschel. My nickname is Herschel. But yes, so true.
Okay. So and so, how how how good were you playing? You know, I wasn't good enough to be on the court more. You know, I had my moments. There was, I think, I kind of.
I learned a lot. I learned so much about myself and about about commitment, setting new goals. Um. Really taking control of of your life and your aspirations, and not leaving those things to someone else, like a coach, to sort of pick you. Like you have to go out there and take it.
And so, I wouldn't change those experiences. For the world, you know, it's been an education that has served me for you know thirty years since I since I left St. Mary's College.
So it was I played for sure. I played, and there was parts of seasons and years where I played more than others, but it was it was inconsistent. But I'm grateful for the experience, and I made a lot of great friends from that time that are still in my life today.
So, where you forward guard? Where where were you on the court? I was a tweener. Um, I like a. I was a two guard that kind of had to play the had to play the the point a bit, but you know, I was a bit of a tweener.
Okay. Then the follow up here is: It true or false that you initially turned down Santa Clara and went to St. Mary's? Which left an extra scholarship at Santa Clara that went to a player named Steve Nash. Is that true?
Very true. No way. Yeah. Wow.
So you opened a door, if you will, for Steve Nash. Right at Santa Clara, and you went to St. Mary's. That happened. I am still waiting for my thank you card from Steve.
He has not thanked me yet, man. No, yeah, yeah.
So Steve took advantage of that opportunity, and I got to see him become a a star, not only in our league, but in the in the NBA and the MVP and all that. You know, we all know and. Steve and what what he's been able to do with his career is such an extraordinary athlete and and just a high IQ basketball player. Went on to be a coach and like Steve's amazing.
So did you at one point while playing point, wind up guarding him? All the time. Oh yeah, yeah. He was yeah. He was running me off picks like crazy.
Paying, excuse me, to guard. Yeah, had nightmares about that. Did you ever cross him over at one point? No, no, no, no, no. All right.
Well, let's see him try to act. Right.
Let's see him try to act. A few more for you here. True or false? You create mixtapes for each of the characters you portray in your career. Is that true?
True, why? Yes, what did you do? Of what that, and you know where that came from, really was there was a period of time, like right, probably around the time I met you.
Okay, I think where I really got committed to that idea because I was playing several parts at once. Things began to sort of open up for my career, and so I felt like I needed to kind of create some, like a sense memory cheat.
So if I was playing one character, I played that character's playlist, so I could kind of remind my mind, body, spirit who I was playing, so I could kind of help help me drop in the character.
So so yeah, I would create playlists and things that were like sonically specific to the character and the time of the character, either what. He would be listening to, or what he would have heard, sort of in his world. Whether he liked the music or not, it would still be sort of sonically appropriate for that character. And that helps you create sort of a narrative that helps you portray the character. When I was a kid, I was kind of aware of how music would change your frequency.
Like, so if you listen to certain things, you might want to lift weights, or if you, or something could make you sad, or something could help you process something. And so I kind of just thought, huh, maybe if I come up with a collection of songs that feel specifically for the character. They could help take me to a place that felt appropriate for that character's world.
So I think what it does is it sort of creates an opportunity for your frequency to shift, which a lot of how you discover character, I think, is it has to do with like frequencies and rhythms. And so it's just me exploring and asking asking questions and being curious on in terms of how to create and how to resonate with people. I love it. Three more Mahershala Ali celebrity true or false? True or false?
You auditioned for Game of Thrones once. Is that true? True. What? True.
Which character? Oh, I can't remember the character's name. I just remember he got like ended up getting like locked in like a safe or something like that. And it was a terrible audition. It was horrible.
I had all this stuff worked out that I was going to do, and I was using the chair certain way to do things, and kind of. Create sort of like a sense of power, and I had all this worked out, and then i got in the I got in the room, and the audition was on a stool, and it had no back to it, and I was suddenly like totally thrown off, and like there was no other chair option in the space, and I didn't feel like I really had the power to ask for what I needed, and yeah, it was a bad audition, and so um. Yeah, yeah, that didn't happen, but you know, it's what it is. They worked out for you. What's your guess, Chris?
It was the character Varus. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, maybe, maybe I don't know. Trying to think of. Doesn't matter, I guess.
In the long run, it all worked out for you. All right, let's finish up with a couple of projects that you're obviously you won your Oscars for. True or false, Mahershala Ali. The scene in Moonlight where Juan teaches Little how to swim—you are actually teaching the actor Alex R. Hibbert, who did not know how to swim, how to swim.
Is that true? True. No way. True. True.
Are you a swim instructor by nature, or I was pretending to be one. Very well at that, I might add. I was pretending to be one, so it gave us a extra set of things to like. It helped. It helped us all focus in, and was such a beautiful experience.
And Alex, Alex was just an absolute joy to work with. That kid is special. No kidding.
So, did you have conversations with him beforehand? Was he nervous? Like, what was was the back story? If he was nervous, he didn't show it. Right.
He was. He was just so committed and. Always ready to go. Everyone was. I could.
I could almost. I get emotional thinking about that project and anything around it. It was just such a special time and. A lot of just really remarkable people, but but yeah, he was he was ready to go. He was down.
That had a lot of people out there, so it was it was it was safe, right? Of course, no, no. But it has to add some serious realism to the scene here. Stakes, you know, some stakes. It helped drop us in, and like, and it it just felt real.
We weren't we we really weren't pretending. We were. It was really happening, and you know, I was really trying to teach him how to swim, and he was willing to learn how to float and and all that.
So, so yeah.
Well, speaking of really happening, when you heard La La Land won initially, and then not so much than your movie did. What what was? Walk me through where you were when you when that all happened.
So, I was sitting there in the audience. Yeah, mind you, we had we had kind of won several awards leading up into that moment, but there was no real arrogance or expectation around winning, you know. And you try not to even get too caught up into that. Like you just want you really want to focus on on your gratitude around just being recognized, you know, because there was so much great work that year, right? We had we had gotten to know the La La Land people.
We had been with them from the beginning since Telluride when we premiered, like all the way back. And I think it was like September or something. And so, but I'll never forget. One of the producers, a gentleman by the name of Jordan, was up there, and he was accepting the award, and something fell off. I just, I kid you not, I was like, huh.
Interesting, and I wasn't again. I wasn't trying to be like we should have won, but it just something felt strange to me, right? And suddenly, in my peripheral, I see this like what I determined was like a security guard or something start walking up on the stage, and I was sitting there with my with my manager at the time, and I kind of thought to myself, I said, "Oh, we won." Kid you not? I said, "We won." And this person comes up, and I think hands Jordan something, or whispers something to Jordan. And Jordan immediately goes, "Hold up, hold up!
We didn't win. Moonlight won." And you see Trubante go crazy, and we all jumped up.
So it was like it was such a strange moment because then you felt a little bit. It was like we had to hold in a sneeze or something. It all kind of got cut off, and you didn't want to be rude to the people that were up there because they had thought they won. Then by the time we got up there, we could. It was like a weird kind of muted celebration.
Yeah, but it was one of the more wonderful surprises of our lives, at least of my life. Yeah. So because they had to get off the stage, I don't know if someone coming down the steps, you were going up. It was a little weird. It was a little weird.
Yeah, a little weird. But um, and it was probably the most memorable moment of the Oscars up until that point. Until maybe a few years later. Yes. I think we got to get into that, but yes, it was it was a pretty crazy.
Last one for you: True or false? One of the sixty-two Cadillac Devilles used in the filming of Green Book became so loaded with equipment that the coil spring collapsed and the roof caved in. Is that true or false? That's false. That's we finally found a false one.
All right, not true. That never happened. That was false.
Okay. Yeah, that you got any good memories of shooting that film? We laughed a lot. Vigo was great to work with. We had, I think, we had really wonderful chemistry.
Yeah, it was it was really the joy, and that was working with Vigo. I remember one thing was really wild. He he decided to walk to work one day, and I guess we were shooting in downtown New Orleans. And his, I feel like his hotel was less than like a mile away, so he decides to walk to work. He comes into the trailer holding a crow, and I'm like, "Vigo, where you get a crow from, bro?" And he's like, "Yeah, man, I found it on the street." He was holding his crow, and he's petting it as makeup artist.
Like he always finds these birds, and he had on a tank top, and he had like a crow tattoo on his on his arm.
So he had some special connection with crows.
So I remember him bringing a crow, an injured crow, into the makeup trailer that he named.
Somehow got to some facility, and I think they were able to help the crow. I think, but um, but yeah.
So I do remember Vigo finding a stray crow. Yeah! Wow.
So I don't even know if I have a follow up for that one. There probably isn't one. You know, I've got what? I guess we should be happy to have like a Bengal tiger tattoo on his. And all of a sudden, he's just bringing in all these, you know, these wild animals.
No kidding, just walks in with a crow. Just walks in with a crow. He he was he was hilarious and a blast to work with. We had we had a good time.
Well, congrats on everything that's happened in your career. Let's not do this once every ten years. Let's do this more often. I look forward. I really appreciate your time and your talent and your your friendship to the program.
And congrats on the new film. Thank you, Rich. Thanks for having me. You bet. Your mother, your mother, your mother.
Available in select theaters now, and available nationwide Friday, October ninth. What a great cast: John Cho, Tramell Tillman, Giancarlo Esposito, and Mahershala Ali. Rich Eisen here for gusto. After all these years talking to athletes, coaches, entertainers, and people at the top of what they do, one thing is pretty clear. Success usually depends on getting the details right.
For small business owners, that includes payroll, hiring, onboarding, benefits—you know, the work that keeps everything moving, even if it's not the reason you started the business in the first place. That's why there's Gusto. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all-in-one, remote-friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire, onboard, and support your team from anywhere. Automatic payroll, tax filing.
Simple direct deposits, health benefits, commuter benefits, workers' comp, 401k—you name it. Gusto makes it simple and has options for nearly every budget, and it's all built to save you time with built-in automated tools for offer letters, onboarding docs, direct deposit, and more. Plus, you get unlimited payroll runs for one monthly price—no hidden fees, no surprises. Try Gusto today at gusto.com/rich and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at Gusto.
dot com slash rich. One more time, Gusto. dot com slash rich. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast. Yeah, I couldn't tell from the the clip we just showed on the TV side of things.
Oshay Jackson Jr. is here. Our radio audience has just returned here on the program, so. The the information is tonight ten o'clock Eastern on YouTube. Where do you find us?
On your your channel. Oh, it is on the the Patrick Foxy channel on YouTube at 7 p.m. Pacific, and it's something that I have been behind for a few months now. And we're trying to grow this thing into something massive, man. You know, a lot of cartoons, a lot of animated series have found, um, have found a home through YouTube and other outlets, and grown onto you know bigger and better things.
And this is something that I'm real passionate. About because I've been wanting to get into voice acting for a long time, and this is my my first shot. You know, everybody over at Team Foxy is very excited to finally give you guys episode two. And if you want them to go faster, funding is very welcome, Rich.
Okay, very welcome.
Well, Shea, great to see you. Thanks for you know sharing that with us, and you're you're the man. Thanks for allowing me to share it. Is TJ there? There he is.
Oh, what up, though? TJ, big fan, man, big fan. You see the T-shirt I'm rocking. I see. Listen, I got I got Apollo.
You see me? You see me? Yeah, fantastic. We had Slice alone this week, and now Apollo Creed.
Well, Rich, we had a really good episode of No Contest this week. We honored a wrestler that passed away, Benjamin Satterley, and it's pretty emotional.
So everyone kind of watched and. That's on our YouTube channel as well. YouTube.com/cw. Have a great day, Rich. Take care, pal.
Have a great weekend. Go see Chris Junior. See in the group chat, everybody. Hyundai Hope on Wheels is something we've been talking about for quite some time, and we're very proud to be supporting it because for the last 28 years, with support from Hyundai, their dealers and every new Hyundai sold, Hope on Wheels has contributed over 300 million dollars to childhood cancer research, helping save more than 40 thousand kids. Join our fight at hyundaiwarriors dot com.
All right, news out of San Francisco: Brock Purdy is the. NFC offensive player of the month of September, and that's all we need to talk about about the San Francisco Forty Nineers offense, right?
So, okay, so moving on. Rich, I think that's it. Wait a minute, something happened. Did Kittle say something? Oh yeah, you came up.
Yeah, he did. Oh, the subject of me wearing his Iowa Hawkeyes helmet. How could it not? To pay off a bet. Yeah, that came up.
Ten whole minutes and one second. You're welcome. You're welcome. Rich, he complains way more too. It was awesome.
It was very satisfying. I really appreciate him too. That like he did a ten minute promo, talked really nicely. I appreciate him for that, and I think a lot of Ohio State people were very happy as well. Yeah, he's got to send that helmet back.
Oh yeah, yeah. No, it's it's in the mail already. Yeah, yeah. No, that's coming home. I'll send him another one though.
That'll be fun. One a little wider, please, George. It is being sent back, right? I guess.
Okay, great. I mean, we tried to keep it. TJ and I wanted to keep it here, but wow! Can confirm based on the responses that he made a lot of Ohio State fans happy. Oh, yeah.
Hey, George, how about return the favor and make him unhappy this weekend? How about your alma mater be fair and balanced? Shall we? I'll be watching that this weekend. All right.
Meanwhile, okay. Take the photograph down. I get the picture. Rich, we could do the whole rest of the show with the photo up, huh? It's the same.
It's you, but just in a helmet.
Okay. Some pretty. You want some news coming out the door? Yeah. Here we go.
So Puka will play for the Rams. Aaron Donald will not. Aaron Donald's out. Colby Parkinson questionable. Terrence Ferguson out.
Jalen Watson's out too. I saw the Rams. Yeah, Justin Jefferson out for Minnesota. Let's see. Keon Coleman should be ready to go.
Optimistic Bears on DeAndre Swift. Caleb Williams will not play. Going to be a lot of rain Sunday night in Carolina. Christian Gonzalez, Christian Barmore out for New England. Keenan.
And questionable for Indy. Is Coke around or not? Is Coke around? No update on Coke. Or he was seen with his helmet in practice, but then was off to the side working with trainers.
So unclear. Did you say seen with his helmet just to see if they can sneak one more photograph of me with the helmet in before we go to? I was I was hoping, but you never know. Rashad White out. Terry McLaurin questionable popped up on the injury report just today.
All right, that's a practice thing. Be there on NFL Network because I'll be there. There at four in the morning, our time. Oh, put okay. There we go.
Yes, that is it. That's crazy. Corn fed. That's not. That's a field of nightmares.
That's a field of nightmares. That's not cool at all. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to three Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.