Page 59 - Sharp September 2024

actor, showed up and was such a trooper. It was inspiring to see someone at her level still be cu- rious and have fun with it. You always learn so much by watching other people on these jobs.
I watched Channing because he also helped produce this movie. When he wasn’t on camera, he was back at the video village with the producers. I thought, “Take notes. This is the next level.” It planted a seed, and a year later, I produced my first movie. I was doing exactly what he was doing.
You’ve kind of done it all in your career. The impression I get from you is that you’re always just down to learn new skills; you’re a sponge. You even tried stand-up back in the day.
I did; I failed miserably. But sometimes in life, you have to find out who you are by finding out what you’re not — try all the rides at the carnival. I still want to try more stuff. It’s a weird thing we do when people say to me, like, ‘What do you do?’ I think we all do that as humans because we just want to put people in a box and label them. I always just have a weird response to that question because I’m going to be something else in five years. Maybe I’ll be a director.
On the topic of learning, you auditioned for Gus Van Sant years ago and he said that it was the worst audition that he had ever seen. But he also saw something in you and suggested act- ing classes. What did you learn from those? As soon as he said that, I thought, “Oh, shit, if Gus Van Sant is telling me to go to acting school, I better listen.” He’s a legend. So, I started going to acting school in New York and taking improv classes. I knew I didn’t want to be a VJ forever. This was my chance. I started taking theatre classes and classes specifically for sitcoms, all kinds of things.
My time on MTV naturally led to acting gigs, but you learn the most when you’re on set. You can go to acting school forever, but you truly learn the mechanics on set. I learned pretty quickly.
You’ve had a lot of ups and downs in your career. Is there anything you can say you’ve learned from it all?
You can’t take anything personally. It’s like the AA slogan — I’m not in AA, but there’s truth to it. It goes something like, “Give me the strength to worry about the things I can control, not worry about what I can’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.” If you’re the guy they’re looking for, you’ll probably get it. There’s so much out of your control. As an actor, you’re sitting around waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for things you can’t control. So, don’t worry about it.
I remember my high school basketball coach would always say, “Simon, let the game come to you.” I didn’t understand what he meant; it was a very Zen thing. But if you slow down and let the
game flow, that’s when you’ll hit your shot. I think that applies to life. It sounds corny, but that’s how life works — with women, work, money. The more you want it, the more it slips away.
Is it fair to say you’re a guy who doesn’t believe in regrets either?
I’ve made horrible decisions when I was younger. But if I didn’t do those things, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you right now. Whatever events happened formed the path that got me here. It’s tricky to say, like, if I went back, would I do anything different? I don’t think I would have because I’m pretty happy right now.
You’re a pretty optimistic guy.
That’s probably one of my better qualities. These are all the cliché bumper stickers, but they’re so often true, it’s like, you can either look at the glass half full or half empty. I think that’s just sort of a choice that you have to make. If you’re positive and around positive people, then life’s pretty good.
You moved to Joshua Tree a few years ago, before the pandemic. It’s one of the most beau-
tiful places in the world but also quite isolated. What called you to the desert?
After 20 years in L.A., the phone wasn’t ringing much. I was disenchanted with the industry and L.A. So, I moved to Joshua Tree. It was affordable, beautiful, and offered peace and quiet in nature. I fell in love with it, bought a tiny house on a bunch of land, and started spending time there, think- ing, “Let’s see what happens.” I knew I needed to shake things up.
Sure enough, after a few months, Sean Bak- er calls and says, “Hey, man, I know you don’t know me, but I have this movie. Can you come shoot?” It was Red Rocket. It’s funny how life works. As soon as I moved out of L.A., I got the best job of my life after 20 years.
Letting the game come to you.
That’s right. I have people asking, “You just moved to Joshua Tree, then you did Red Rocket. Should I move out there?” And I tell them, “You already won’t get that because you already want it.” I moved out there to surrender, to give up, and to see what happens. Then, everything kind of pulled me back in.
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