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The Just Acting Up Channel
Spotlight: Steven Ray Byrd |Coyote vs. Acme ,Acting vs. Producing, Industry Gems & More!!!
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Today on the show, we are joined by the multi-talented actor, producer, and comedian Steven Ray Byrd! From living in Alaska to making waves in front of and behind the camera, Steven's journey is as unique as it is inspiring.
In this fun and engaging conversation, Steven opens up about how he got his start, his agency connection with DMe Talent, and his preference between acting and producing. He shares where his signature comedic energy comes from, how laughter has guided him through life, and his perspective on the viral, unreleased film Coyote vs. Acme. Plus, Steven drops valuable gems on career longevity, mindset, and staying joyful in the entertainment industry.
💬 Drop a comment below with your favorite funny moment from this interview!
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Mike, how you doing? I'm doing great. How you doing? Good, good, good. I'm doing good, man. Your boy Joffy in the building, Mike in the building for holding down for the podcast, this acting up show. We got a special guest in the building, man. He is an actor, producer, comedian. Man, this man is going far. We're here to talk about Coyote versus Agne. We'll get into that later. Ladies and gentlemen, round of applause for Steven Ray Burke.
SPEAKER_04Thank you. I appreciate that, man. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. Yeah, man. I hope I did you right with the introduction, brother.
SPEAKER_04What'd you say now?
SPEAKER_01I said, I hope I did you right with the introduction, man.
SPEAKER_04That was that was beautiful, man. Like I teared up a little bit. I wasn't expecting you.
SPEAKER_01Hey man, you know, I love it, bro. Appreciate it. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Appreciate that, man.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir, yes, sir. Man, let's let's go get into before we you know talk about Calyone versus Abby, let's learn, you know, hear about you. We know where you came from first. And um, you know, um, where are you originally from and how did your journey in this crazy industry get started?
SPEAKER_04Um so I've been kind of all over the place. My dad was in the military, and I um I kind of grew up though in Kentucky. That's where I went to out of all places, middle school, high school, I was in Kentucky. Always, always a goofy guy, always, you know, always acting silly. That's just me. And even though I'm pushing, I'm pushing 50, I'm 47 now, still act the same, you know, because you know, you live life once, so that's just how I'm gonna be. You know what I mean? But I I traveled all over, ended up in uh New Mexico. I also was in the Army Reserves for six years. I was a medic in the Army, so that's where my uh TikTok thing. I have like 700,000 plus followers on TikTok, and I I do comedian stuff on there. And uh my name's Laugh Medic on TikTok, and it I used to be a medic and I made people laugh, so Laugh Medic seemed fitting. And I um moved to New Mexico. Moved to New Mexico, and it's crazy. That's the film, the whole industry, the whole film thing started with me seeing something on TV, and it was a casting call for background actors. Now, keep in mind I didn't know anything about the film industry then. I was just like, what is this? Uh background, wait, background actor. What's that? Wait, you can just be in a movie? I didn't know how it worked, you know. And I I submitted a photo to it, and I remember I got called for it to be a background actor on a movie called Crazy Heart. This is a long time ago. Um, yeah, and I I I got booked as a security guard, and I was just I fell in love with the film industry after that. I wanted more, you know. I saw it and I was like, this is amazing. Uh, I want to do more with this, and that's how it all started.
SPEAKER_00Nice, nice, nice. So that's the introduction to your acting journey, correct? Yeah, okay, cool, cool. So, what made you want to what like motivated you? Because some people can get stuck into like being just okay with being in the background, which is nothing wrong with that. Right. But what made what motivated you to move just a little bit to the front?
SPEAKER_04You know, being on set, bro, like being on set and watching actors perform, you know. I'm like, man, that's that's where I want to be. You know, like you said, nothing wrong with background. I got a lot of good stuff out of being in background, a lot of experience. You learn how everything works, but then, you know, that motivation. Actually, a big thing was uh doing short films. So I was like, you know what, I want to do short films, and this is where it all started for me. I I did a short film and I was just gonna be background in the short film, but I was just trying to get experience, right? And the main actor uh got in a car accident. He he was okay, but he hurt his leg and he couldn't do it. And I kind of fit the bill of the main actor, and the guy's like, Hey, you want to step in, learn some lines, do this? I was like, Uh yeah, you know, okay, all right, that works for me. And the guy that I was acting opposite of, his name is Brian. He was um he was in the Transformers movie. You guys remember the first, the very first Transformers movie?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_04He he actually flew the helicopter. Remember at the beginning, that helicopter flies in, and he's the he's the hologram guy. I did not know that was him, like it's crazy, but I I acted opposite of him, you know. I learned the lines really quick, I did it, and he's like, You're you're pretty good, man. You got an agent. I was like, a what? I didn't even know what he was talking about. I didn't know you had to have an agent for anything. And he recommended me to his, and I I ended up getting an agent. Not the same now, you know, that agency's gone, but uh that's kind of where it all started, and and that's when I started getting auditions and stuff. But that was it was just kind of crazy how it worked. Doing a short film opened up an opportunity for me. And I my advice is like, yeah, when you're first starting for sure, do short films, and I still do short films, like when I can, you know, they matter. Yep, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Me and James was a part of a short film uh that we did in Oklahoma, it was pretty funny. Nice, yes, sir.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. So yeah, and I'm I'm doing a 48-hour film competition coming up this and it's in two weeks, you know, where you have to make a movie in 48 hours. Uh, you guys heard of that? You guys know what that is? No. Have you heard of? Oh, you have, okay. Yeah, you have to basically write, uh, film, edit a film in 48 hours. You have to do it all like it's it's a rush, you know. But it's been kind of slower here, uh, especially here in New Mexico. It's been a little slower, and I try to make sure I stay busy with whatever I can do.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That's the only way.
SPEAKER_04Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Yeah. I was gonna ask you, and you know, speaking of uh New Mexico, um shout out to Deidre. I see both me and you are a part of DME Talent. I'll just emailed her earlier and uh just to keep up with her and tell her, you know, thank you for everything that you do and everything. You know uh, you know, I'll always she says she's always appreciative of me checking in, which is a tip to you other actors. Check in with your agent just to say hey or just um just to um let them know what you're up to. So, you know, that's a little tip right there. You know, they are people too. Check in with your people.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. Yeah, and and Deidra's awesome. I I just booked a commercial with her uh that I'm filming next week again, and I you know super grateful. She's she's been awesome. Been with her for three years now? Three years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01D and me was was different too. Like when I um I don't know how it was when you auditioned, um, you auditioned for, but I know when I auditioned, they uh they said uh yeah, um have your monologue ready. Um no, they sent me for the scene and then uh yeah, and then yeah, I'll let whoever else try to sign DME, I'll let them, you know, go through that whole little process. I'm not gonna say what else happened. Okay, I they thought I was worthy since I got signed. So, you know, hey, y'all gotta do y'all part too. So do the work, man.
SPEAKER_04Yep, yep, exactly. I know it, I know it. The same process. I did the same thing. Yeah, I had I had COVID though when I did that, bro. I I was I had COVID and I was like, oh, I can't cancel this, I gotta do it. So during the audition, I was like, let's go, let's do it. I'm like, I can do this. Uh I still got it though, but man, that was a struggle, bro. I was like about to pass out during that. Oh man. Yeah, but I yeah, I'm I'm grateful, grateful for the agency.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, so like COVID was just yesterday. We just feel like we just got through that mess, man. And I'm I'm boy. Oh, for real, just all so um so also um you I read on the IMDB that you spent some time in Alaska too.
SPEAKER_04Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01Bro, how how was that experience right there? So tell me about Alaska because I've you know we you read different things, you hear about the mooses in the mooses and all the other random animals in the front yard. Tell me about that about this.
SPEAKER_04I got I got some I got a moose story for you. So um I lived in Alaska from eight to twelve, I was eight years old, so I remember Alaska very well. Actually, Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived in my life. Cold, yep, it's cold, and the sunlight uh darkness thing will mess with you, bro. Like I I was in Anchorage, so it's Fort Richardson, it was like Anchorage, Alaska. And you know, in the summer, it won't get dark until about one in the morning. 12:30, one in the morning, it gets dark uh at certain times, just weird. Like you have to get special, like those blackout blinds so you can go to sleep, yeah, you know, and then in the winter, it it'll get dark like at 2 30, 3 o'clock in the afternoon. So it messes with you a little bit. So that was that was kind of hard to get used to, bro. Like, you know, like the like that messes with you, but except for the summer, sometimes it was fun because remember, I was a kid. I'm like, mama, can I stay out till 11 at night and play? You know, I'm I'm I'm in the front yard playing, you know, it's 11 at night. That's like really cool, you know what I mean? Because it's still daylight, but uh it it gets the winters. I mean, I think the coldest it ever got when I was there was like 30 below, 30 below zero. Yeah, that the but the snowfall, the the sledding, all that stuff is so fun, though, you know, and then the summers, believe it or not, like they weren't bad. It gets like 60 degrees, it's like kind of cool but nice, you know. Like if it got to 55, we were putting shorts on, we're like, Yes, we're getting in the pool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's yeah. I've I I heard about how beautiful it is. Like, I heard like my people like taking um cruises during the summertime to see like the Aurora Borealis and everything, and I'm like, What?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, bro, the the northern lights. Oh, and the moose. So the the first time we went there, we got uh we got a hotel room and we got a lasagna. And my mom, my mom got a lasagna, and she put it in the window. Big mistake. She put the lasagna in the window, and then she comes over and there's a moose in the window, like trying to eat the lasagna. She screams, she's like, Oh my god! My dad's like, What's wrong? There's a moose in the window. Yeah, I was cracking up. And and my dad, by the way, he used to my dad used to feed him. My dad would like feed the freaking by the way, don't do that. They will come back, they will come back to your house. Yeah, they will come back to your house. My dad's like, it's okay, it's cool. And my mom's like, Stop feeding the damn moose, and you know what he's like, and they would come back, and yeah, they they knew our house, man. They would come back for whatever my dad was feeding them, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh good, that's that's classic, dude. So they just like the bigger stray cat that's just coming back, or dog to eat stuff.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, man, but they're massive, bro. Like those things are huge.
SPEAKER_01Yep, I've heard. I never experienced and saw one. I mean, I seen like like the figurines in like the museums or whatever, but once you the real live thing was right, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah, they're cool, bro. But um, yeah, that that they're definitely um an experience. There's this thing called uh moose nuggets. So when moose they're huge, but they they actually poop very tiny. It's weird. So yeah, they're yeah, they're called moose nuggets. And like, so look it up. You're gonna be like, yeah, they they they they poop very it's weird. Fun fact though, you know, you gotta learn something.
SPEAKER_01Hey man, that's true. Drew Gaffer, you know, teach us something, brother. Uh and I and you saying that too, who knew that a moose likes lasagna? I didn't, I mean, I mean you thought that was Garfield only, but no. What type of lasagna was it? Like vegetable lasagna, meat lasagna?
SPEAKER_04It was meat lasagna.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, oh your mom hooked it up, bro.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it was your mom hooked it up.
SPEAKER_00Yep. So my my next question um do you ever think about writing a book or anything? Like you can put the the moose and the lasagna inside the book.
SPEAKER_04That would be a good uh children's story. Yeah, I mean, I could yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, no, uh fun fact, I actually do want to write like some children's stories. I actually worked with kids, I know we didn't get too much into the personal thing, I kind of skipped to the acting, but like I used to be a children's counselor, I used to do uh behavior management, so I worked with kids who who they they had higher behavioral needs, they couldn't be in the public schools. So we had a special classroom, there's about 10 kids, and these kids couldn't be in public schools, but it was our job to get them ready to go back into the public schools, and I did that for a few years, and um uh that that was a tough job, but it was rewarding, super rewarding, you know. And then I I did uh I was a community support worker also. I helped families who were homeless um get into homes. I helped people who were behind on the rent pay the rent. I did all that also uh in my my job journey. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Nice, nice, nice.
SPEAKER_04And now it's just time for me to just chill, you know, entertain. Like this is what I do now. TikTok and and acting, that's what I do now.
SPEAKER_00Hey man, that's that that can be uh that can be a good book to write.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for real. Got that light bulb, seeing out that light bulb.
SPEAKER_00That could be a good, that's a good journey.
SPEAKER_04Hey, when you when you're out in the store and you see a book with a moose and uh eating lasagna, I'm like, bro, that was my idea.
SPEAKER_01I told him to do that. That's mine, man.
SPEAKER_04I'll put you on the credits somewhere in there.
SPEAKER_01Hey man, we appreciate it, bro. Man, that's funny. Get your own t-shirts and everything with that is funny, man. Yes, sir. And uh also I did want to uh pass this up. Thank you for your service too for a certain time in the military.
SPEAKER_04I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. My my my dad, so also I am adopted. Um, so I was born in Germany and I um I got adopted by a military family. Then I was taken all over the place. We ended up in Alaska and Pennsylvania, Maryland, Louisiana, all over Kentucky was the last place, though. Yep.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, you definitely gotta write a book, bro, about yeah, because I I always hear about military kids traveling miles like everywhere, everywhere.
SPEAKER_04But we went we moved from Alaska to Louisiana.
SPEAKER_00You want to talk about well you move, well you move from you move from what I want to say it is a Sunday, but you move from heaven to hell, yeah. No, for real.
SPEAKER_04Like, absolutely, man. Like that's crazy difference. I was oh man, the I don't know. Louisiana, the humidity, it gets you, yeah, like it gets you really bad, you know. And then Alaska's kind of dry, it's cool. Then Louisiana, it's not even 80 degrees in Louisiana is hot because you're just you're drenched because of the humidity, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's it's pretty rough.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's kind of like I play video games, so it's kind of like on Red Dead Redemption when you come from the mountains and you go and then you go down to St. Dean and then you see Arthur Morgan like doing these uncle books. We still got the and then he'll say, damn, it's hot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think that's the exact same thing I did. I was like, what is this?
SPEAKER_02Like, what the what is this? Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_01So laughter is, you know, is comedy. Laughter comedy is the best medicine, of course. Um, and I know I read one of your quotes on Instagram, a little smidgen of it where it says, you know, laughter always kept you going, you know. So, you know, I want to ask you, where does this joy come from for you like sharing jokes and just you know, just enjoying life? Is that what it is? You just really do enjoy life. Is that where the jokes come from?
SPEAKER_04Are you it's a it's it's pretty deep actually. It's uh you know, growing up, I mean, things were hard. You know, I ain't gonna lie, like things things are hard. And joy like laughter kept me going, it kept me in the right mindset because I've been through when I tell you I've been through stuff, I've been through stuff, you know. Uh, and I'm I'm open to share stuff. I I talk about this like an open book because I think it's important for people to know certain things and hear other people's stories, because then if somebody else is going through it or something like it, then they can like, oh, you know what, okay, yeah, I get it, you know. So it like when I grew up, it was tough, especially because my parents that adopted me were like grandparent age. Okay, so they were way older. You know, I never got to experience a lot of things that a lot of kids do. You know, we didn't always have much money, so of course, things like that. But you know, I always like I always made I would I would make my mom and dad laugh all the time, even if I saw that they were kind of like down, you know, I would go up there, I would dance in front of my dad. And my dad, my dad was funny because he's a serious man. He was a serious man. He's just, you know, and I go up in there and I'd just be like, you know, doing stuff, and he's like, and then he'd bust out laughing, you know. He's like, man, you crazy, you crazy, son. You crazy. You know, you know, but uh I do it, I I like bringing laughter to people because I think it helps people even in the worst of times, you know. You you never know what somebody's going through any given day. And if I can make somebody laugh and brighten their day, you know, it means the world to me makes me feel better to because I don't like to see people hurting, you know. Like I said, it gets kind of deep because I've hurt a lot in my life. I I mean I lost my parents. Um, so it gets a little deep here. I'm gonna tell you guys like a little bit like where the laughter and how I still continue to do what I do even after the tragedy. Uh my my mom and dad, so my my dad passed away 10 days after my my first daughter was born, 10 days after. And he promised me though, he said, Hey son, I'm gonna be here. I'm gonna be here to hold my grandbaby, and he did. He held her four days before, um, and then he passed away. And uh my mom died on my other daughter's birthday. Right. And but these are these these were my rocks. Like they they took me in when somebody didn't want me, they raised me right. And um, like I said, that that humor, it always kept me going. And even even after they passed away, I still continue my. I mean, I was hurting, obviously. I'm always hurting, you know, from that, but it it keeps it the humor that I do, it gives me a reason to, you know, to keep going strong, keep going and keep going and keep going. And it's it's like uh it's a comfort for me, you know, especially to make other people laugh. And then it reminds me of when I would make my mom and dad laugh. And uh, when we get into coyote versus acme, I'll explain more into detail like the whole reason of Coyote versus Acme and why it's so huge to me, uh, because it involves my son and my mom. My mom was a big John Cena fan, and my son was a big John Cena fan, but we'll get into that later. But the laughter for me, like I said, it's just I just think the the world that we live in needs laughter, like absolutely way too much, way too much uh way too many hardships going on in the world, you know, to to ignore fun and laughter. So that's just kind of why I do it. And it's it's natural though, it's not fake, you know what I mean? Like I I'm just goofy, it's just how I feel. I just enjoy it, you know, and so I just keep doing it.
SPEAKER_01I love that, man. That's that's great that you, you know, you find laughter with uh the hard, like you said, the hardships of what's in the world and what happened in your life and everything. And I think we do need more of that. Like myself, Mike, and our other uh co-hosts were talking about that um here in the state that we live in, Houston, um there's a lot of you know, drama and thriller and suspense and horror and and uh films being made. And you know, you have your realistic stories, but you know, it was like, man, nobody's really putting out that comedy, and we need that. Yeah, we need that. Like I'm not even gonna lie to you. Me and Mike, we were talking about uh Candyman one time, and we or sometime we talk about some horror movies, yeah. I won't say it.
SPEAKER_03Don't say it again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, request for somebody to come and come and get me. But um we'll be every time we talk about uh horror movies, we always find somehow, some way we always find like a funny moment in there to laugh. And it was one moment me and Mike laughed at where um Yaha Abdumateen went to this lady's house and she he told her about what happened. She didn't believe it, and then you know, they're gonna try it. Yeah, it was that one scene where like He him himself, C Man, was like in the bathroom, he like dug on the duck right back on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Here he goes.
SPEAKER_01I couldn't help but it was just funny. I feel you, man. Something horrific is about to happen, but it just I it felt like a cartoon. It reminded me of yes, yeah. Like like when I'm like just like yeah, that little peacock. Yeah, you don't see me.
SPEAKER_04Yep.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I I do that too, bro. Yeah. Yeah, you do. Yeah. Oh, yeah, man. I that that movie that everybody's raving about. I don't know if you guys have seen Obsession.
SPEAKER_00Oh my God. Yes.
SPEAKER_04Yes. So I I unfortunately I laughed. Uh, you're you might y'all might think I'm crazy, but I laughed. Hey, I laughed quite a few times. I laughed quite a few times at that movie. I was cracking up like when she was laying in the bed. She's like, stop it.
SPEAKER_00I was like, Boy, that was so funny. He was like trying to ease up out that bed. Like Eddie, like Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy tried to get hit on Blue Ray. She was like, stop.
SPEAKER_03I'm like, what are you doing? That was funny.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'm like the only one. Yeah, me and my girlfriend, the only ones laughing in the theater, and everybody else is like, oh my god. I'm like, that was funny. Y'all don't know. That was that was funny. I do that too.
SPEAKER_00It was funny. I do that. It was it was hilarious. When I it was it was creepy when I first saw it when she was hiding in the corner. And oh yeah, that then she started to walk up, and then he's like, turn the light on. And she was like, No, no. She said, I would have fucking threw the blanket and I would have been before the blanket landing on the bed, I would have been gone.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's that is kind of weird how he would not leave. Like, I'm like, dude, this is pretty time to leave, right?
SPEAKER_01But he she duct taped the door, bro. I'm like, no, I'm getting out of here. Like, if that is everything okay, yeah, it's fine, it's fine. No, no, it's not fine.
SPEAKER_04And by the way, duct taping the door doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean, you know, most of the duct tape is on the door itself, you know. You just need to open it, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's just the amount of insanity that she duct tape. She did.
SPEAKER_03How many roles does she use?
SPEAKER_00That's another thing. I just thought about that. Like, how many roles do you have in your home?
SPEAKER_03He just has a stash of yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04I I I know I do that. You know, I think we all do that. You look at him, you'll be like, Wait, what? But uh, you know, it's still fun. But hey, props to that movie for making all the money it did. Props on that low budget, man. That's crazy work.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that is crazy that's what I want to do, though.
SPEAKER_04I want to do something like that, you know. Make uh um, well, kind of going tying into it. I'm actually I have an idea. I actually had a dream, uh, and it was a creepy story in my dream. And I was like, Yep, that's that I need to write this. And so I'm working on something, and I'll tell you guys about that in a future thing. Yeah, maybe y'all can maybe y'all can be in it or something.
SPEAKER_01Hey man, I'm down, bro. I'm down, bro. I'm down.
SPEAKER_04It's gonna be it's gonna be it's gonna be gory as hell though. It's gonna be pretty rough.
SPEAKER_00I'm down for it. I'm down, yeah, I'm down for it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00So um let's talk about uh coyote versus acme.
SPEAKER_04All right, all right, yeah.
SPEAKER_00As much as you can, yeah.
SPEAKER_04The the journey. I'll I'll say what I'll say without saying certain things, but so the whole coyote versus acme saga, it started um so this is where it kind of gets deep. I had lost my son. Um, my son was 21. I lost my son uh five months before Coyote versus Acme filmed. And you know, I was, I mean, it it was tough, like in a very dark place, but you know, like stay strong because of his siblings, you know, and I still had to make sure that they're good. You know, like I said, I've been through tragedy, and I um I was like I was sitting there and I I saw that they were doing a movie with John Cena, uh, and I was like, man, like my son loved John Cena, my mom loved John Cena. My mom had a crush on John Cena. You know, like I was like, I was like, you know what? Like uh it now this and keep in mind this was a background role, and I had to ask, you know, I always talk to Deidre, I'm like, hey, this is just a background role for like I I know they didn't have the auditions, I didn't get to audition for it, but I said, Deidre, like you cool with me working on this, and she's always cool with you working on a movie. Not, you know, if you guys know you don't do TV shows because you know you don't ever want to do a background on a TV show. But uh she was like, no, Steve, yeah, like if you want to, if you want to do it, do it. And I was like, okay, I submit it to be a lawyer. Now it's it's a featured thing, and it ends up being very fe like when I tell you everything, it's gonna be crazy how the journey weren't. And I this is where I think my son and my mom, like, I just think they were there with me. And I'll explain all this because it's it's deep that I'm now going to the premiere in LA um this month. And it went from that to you know, from all the way back there to this, and I'll explain the journey. But I I got I submitted my photo in my nice suit, you know, and I got a call, and they're like, Yeah, you're gonna be uh we'd like to have you as one of the featured you know lawyers on John Cena's team. And I was like, awesome, that's that's awesome, you know. And I filmed for three weeks, and I remember being on that set, and for the first time in a while, I smiled, you know. I was like, you know, this is this is this is great. And I remember uh the first day we filmed, they put me on in the row with John Cena and uh PJ Byrne, and I was like, this is awesome, this is really cool, and everybody was having fun. Dave Green, the director, is the most amazing dude ever, and I'll explain more of that too. He's he's always reaching out. I've been in touch with him since this movie got canceled. Um, it got canceled for certain reasons. Sometimes movies get canceled, right? But the only thing with this movie, it was completed. So it was it was everything was done, it was edited, it was ready to go. Even test screenings happened. But you know, certain companies made a business decision and they were like, no, we're not gonna do this. And at that point, when it got canceled, uh, I was on vacation with my lady, and I remember I straight up busted out in tears because the movie meant a lot to me, as I explained. You know, the movie had a lot of personal, personal um feelings for me. And then the cast and crew made me feel so good. So it was like, wait, you just canceled everybody's work? Like, what are we doing? No, no, no, no, no, no, this can't be happening. So I started a petition. I started a petition, and it had thousands and thousands and thousands of signatures. Like I started spreading that. Remember, I have a big following on TikTok. I was like, guys, please help me out. And they overturned it. They said, Hey, um, you know what, we're gonna sell it, we're gonna sell it to somebody, but then nobody bought it. And I was like, Oh my gosh, man. So we were celebrating, like, yes, they're gonna sell this movie, and it's gonna be, you know, at least streamed, at least, and uh nobody bought it. So time went on and on and on. And I still every day I was posting, talking about it, guys. Save Cognitive versus acne, let's do this, we can do this. And a lot of people came together, and finally, someone actually bought it. Ketchup Entertainment, big shout out to Ketchup Entertainment for saving this movie and giving it a theatrical release, worldwide theatrical release. So that's really gigantic. Uh because I I think as an artist, you know, like I said, I don't, I'm, I will never I even when this happened, I didn't really criticize who did it because you can't, I I'm not a I'm an actor, I'm not, I don't run a multi-billion or you know, million-dollar company, I don't make business decisions, but I do think like when art is completed, it should be shown. Like that's just my personal opinion. Like, if it's completed, you know, I get it. If something's like halfway completed and it's like, oh, this is not working, you know, like this ain't gonna work. Okay, okay. But when something's completed, like we need to show, you know, it means a lot to people, but it it's money, and I'm not gonna get too much into that, but I'm glad that they did what they did. So bravo to them for at least selling the movie and Looney Tunes. I mean, I don't I don't know how familiar you guys are with Looney Tunes, but since I've been a kid, I I mean Looney Tunes was my thing, you know. When I was a kid, I watched I watched Looney Tunes all the time. Um and you guys remember Roger Rabbit? Who framed Roger Rabbit? Oh, yeah, yeah. This movie is, I mean, it's being compared to that level of of awesomeness. Yeah, and I'm telling you, like it has all kinds of Looney Tunes in it, like a ton. And it was the first time I ever acted. I actually, oh, and this is another cool thing. Uh, this is where I told you I think my mom and my son were there. So the lawyers were all sitting on the couch, right? And then Dave Green, the director, he comes out and he's like, the the PA is like, We're gonna need somebody to sit with John Cena, right? We're gonna need somebody to sit with John Cena. And he looks and he's like, This guy, and he points right to me. And I was like, Yep, yeah, I feel you, I feel you, yeah. You know, and that's where I got my icon, my awesome photo. I don't know if you've seen my photo of me and John Cena uh from the film, but I was like, that's that's amazing. Like I couldn't believe I was like, that's so cool. And you know, keep in mind, like I I hadn't done background in a while, you know, but it just it wasn't just yes, I'm in a scene with him. It it had a lot of meaning to me, you know. Like I'm like my mom, and and my son would be like, oh my gosh, you know, my mom uh my mom would probably make up something. My mom was funny. Like I I worked on Book of Eli as an extra, and my mom, my mom told people, yeah, my son's best friends with Denzel. And and yeah, I talked to him, he called me from set, and I'm like, mom, stop telling people that because you're she's funny though, but she's like she's proud, but she was like, you know, she liked to stretch the truth a little bit. I'm like, mom, I I I I waved at her mom, that was it, but that wave went to a full-blown conversation. But it makes me laugh because but I know my mom and my son would you know I know they're proud, and my my daughters are absolutely proud. And it's just that you know, I fought for this movie so hard that uh I went to Comic-Con. They invited me to Comic-Con, not this year, the the previous year, when they announced that the the release date of Coyote vs. Acme, they invited me to Comic-Con. They bought my tickets and everything, the the Comic-Con tickets, and me and my lady went out there, and I got invited to the back, and they signed a poster for me. I have it on my wall. They signed a poster saying thank you. Will Forte signed it. John Cena wasn't at that particular event uh for Coyote vs. Acme, but they gave me like all this stuff, and we kept in touch the whole time, and they were like, Hey, you want to help promote this film? So I'm like, with the marketing team, I'm you know, finding out stuff before other people do. Like, I they put me in it, like the they put me in the business basically to help promote this movie, and then they invited me to the premiere in LA, and I'm like, this is crazy, like the journey. It started, you know, like it's crazy where it was and where it's at now. And so now me and my my girlfriend are going out to LA for the premiere, and it's it's like the the awesome ending to this wild story that is uh coyote versus acme.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's beautiful, man. I love it. That's beautiful. I love that. I love it, and my condolences to you. I'm also a father. We all three of us are fathers.
SPEAKER_04So thank you, thank you, man. Thank you. I and that's you you want to talk about my motivation, bro? Like, you know, I'm I'm sorry, I told you I'm an older guy. I mean, I'm 47, but I still act goofy, I still act crazy. I I don't care what people think of me because my happiness is my happiness, you know. Like you'll get you'll get strangers out there like, grown man, what are you doing? Like, bro, I'm having fun. One of my son's messages was live your best life, you know. Um, live your best life, and that's what I'm doing. And you know, that that's something I'm gonna do for the rest of my life. I'll be goofy when I'm 60, 65. I mean, you know, you can be goofy as long as you want, just because you're an adult don't mean you can't have fun. And that that's something I always push preach to people. Like, man, it's you know, I now when I need to be serious, oh, I can be serious, yeah, you know, like absolutely. But yeah, you know, there's there's nothing wrong being goofy having fun. So that's my little message.
SPEAKER_00That's and that's gonna be um our next thing to ask you. But the piggyback on that, I work in pest control. I'm an actor too podcaster, but make my money. I work in pest control, and I never forget I did this older guy's home. He had to be in his 80s, bro. And I walk in, he got deer heads and on the walls and stuff, and everything. It's like, oh, okay, he's a much older guy, he likes to go hunting. Bro, he has a game room, he was in there playing Minecraft. Said, what? I said, wait a minute, just wait, wait goddamn minute. Bro, I I I I kid you not. That was like my first time ever just blown away besides 80. He lives at home by himself. I think his wife had passed away, so he's in in home, and the house is just super, super clean. He actually has a bear, a stuffed bear in his in his room. Yeah, and I walk in and I'm like, he's on an Xbox, the latest Xbox playing Minecraft. I'm like, he gotta have a grandson or a nephew, somebody here. So I'm hello, I'm friends, and there's no kids, bro. There's no kids. And he walks, yeah. He just he goes to say, Oh man, appreciate it. Yeah, you can do the outside, everything is all right, and then he goes right back in his room. I said to him, so everyone that's out there that say, Yo, grow man, that guy is 80 playing video games. I don't want to hear that. I don't want to hear that. I don't want to hear it.
SPEAKER_04Seriously, I think as long as you're taking care of yours, right? Uh you could play, you can play video games as long as you're taking care of your family, doing what you need to do, taking care of yourself. Man, who cares about playing video games? I play, I play Minecraft with my my daughter still, and my daughter's about to turn 18. I mean, I still I still play games, you know. Hey dad, you want to play, you want to play some games? Yeah, let's go. Let's play some games. I have a PlayStation. I still play uh I still play games. Like I don't see nothing wrong with that. But like I said, as long as you're taking care of yourself, who cares? You know, that it's a it's an outlet, right? Playing games, right? Relaxing.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_04Do you guys still play old stuff or you just play every all new stuff?
SPEAKER_00I I play I haven't played the old stuff in a while, but I I go back to playing the old school God war. Yeah, you know, I go back and I play that. Um never I wasn't a fan of Donkey Kong, but I was a fan of Banjo Kazooie.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, I remember Banjo, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04So I've been on a little Mike Tyson punch out thing. That's old school, old school.
SPEAKER_01Throwback, yeah.
unknownThrowback.
SPEAKER_03Throwback, throwback, yep.
SPEAKER_01It's uh one of those handheld things. I forgot. You got things I get on TikTok or something where they have like all the retro games and everything.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I have I have that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, you're a legend, bro. Yeah, yeah, man. Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_04Those retro games are fun.
SPEAKER_01Nothing wrong with it. Nothing wrong with it.
SPEAKER_04I I just started Red Dead Redemption 2. My uh my girlfriend's son, he's like, Steve, you need to play it. It starts off slow, but it picks up. You need to play it. I'm like, Yeah, I'm gonna, I got this, I got this. So I just started like playing a little bit, and then Assassin's Creed. I just started playing too. But yeah, yeah, I like games, man. Games are good, good uh relaxation thing. I don't take I don't take uh uh a lot of so I work from home now, so TikTok is my I don't know if you guys know this, but TikTok is my full-time gig now. Like I I never imagined, I was and my girlfriend, she she's like my biggest fan. So I never imagine if you guys don't know what I do on TikTok, so I uh I do like impressions and stuff sometimes, but I do like this little finger boxing thing. I got some animals that box each other, and then I also put heads on them like Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, and I do this finger boxing, and I was like the other day, she walked by and I had some like goofy teeth in and a wig on, and and she just walks by and she just looks and she's like you know, like that's mine. That's my yeah, you know, like that's my butt I never imagined that playing with finger puppets would give me the best like income source that I've ever had in my life as compared to being an ATT store manager, a target manager. It's just crazy how the world works now. Like you find different things that work for you, and that works for me as of now, at least, you know, and now I can focus on film. I'm trying to like now I said I'm kind of like just doing I'm trying to be my own boss right now at this time, you know. I I worked hard my whole life, and and you know what? Even entertaining is still work too, bro. I get so many haters on my live streams because they they say, you know, get it, get a get a job, get dude, do this. I'm like, dude, you don't know what I've done in my life. I've done a lot in my life, and you know, my my fans be like, he's entertaining us, be quiet. Like, what are you talking about? He's an entertainer, he's been in commercials, be quiet.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, You just not to cut you off, you just remember I recently went to DreamCon um last month, and you know, that's what the anime and superheroes and everything else, yeah. And so they have like this tear list. There's one these I don't know what their name was or who they were, but this one group they had like this, you know, anime villain tier list, you know, we got the A, the S, the B, C, and whatever. Somebody took the wrong character from the bottom and replaced it with a popular character from the top. And you saying that, how people were like coming at you, reminding me of that, and they were like, Man, get out of here, man, get out of here, get out of here. Like they it's the most hilarious thing. And is but it's like it's real because it's like it's something that is for all of us, and what you do is for others, and they love it and they enjoying it. So when the wrong person comes in and does the wrong thing or says the wrong thing, we're like, oh no, hey, get that guy out of here, yeah. Yep, yep. They really like they didn't like visit each other, but they pushed them out of there, get out of here, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Go away, yeah. Messing up everything, yeah. Yeah, that's exactly yeah, yep. Yeah, and but me, I've learned like the the reason I get through because trust me, I get a lot of hate, but I've learned like I don't care what a stranger, somebody, I don't know anything about them. I'll tell people because they're like, when they tell me get a job, I'm like, Do I owe you money or do I owe your mama money? Because if not, like I'll mess with them, you know, like I'll play around with them, you know. I'm like, Do I owe you money? But why do you care what I make? Like, why as long as my kids are good and my you know, you don't care. I I figured out it's rage bait. Like some of them they literally just want you to a reaction and you they want you to get mad and they want to ruin you. You know, it's usually like I want to pull this guy down. He looks too happy. Why is this why is this grown man happy? I don't like this. Hey man, hey, say something to me. So I figured it out. It none of it matters, none of it matters to me. I'm just gonna keep doing my thing, you know.
SPEAKER_00And trust me, when you done been through some ish, somebody can tell you the sky's crawling and you walk out and be like, Well shit, it is, I guess. Oh look at that.
SPEAKER_03Would you look at that?
SPEAKER_04You're not lying. Yep, no, for real. For real. Like, yeah, I don't let that stuff bother me. I in fact, I kind of sometimes I have maybe too much fun with it. Like, I'll even I'll even pin sometimes the haters' comments. I'm like, hold on, you know, they're saying, look at this guy, blah blah blah. So I'll pin him. And I'm like, hold on, guys, let's just let's just give this guy just a few seconds. All right, we're gonna acknowledge it. You feel better now? You good? You good? All right, and then I'll block him, you know. Like I'll I'll mess with them because they they hate that. They're like, Hey, why are you pinning? Wait, why are you pinning me, bro? You know, I've even had haters, they come to me later, they're now my biggest fans because they're like, dude, you handle that stuff well. You know what? Actually, you're kind of cool. I'm like, there you go.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. We got a somewhat of a similar story. I'll Mike and laugh at Mike will attest to this too. I was on Pop the Balloon, like I think sometime around somewhere around last year, around this time. I was gonna race for it. Oh, you did that? Yeah, yeah, dude. But my friend, she signed me up for it. I was like, I don't know. Yeah, episode 69. The number in itself is yeah, the number in itself. Yeah. But um, I wound up going there and you know, it's a quick trip to Arizona, one-day trip. I took a few things with me to wear, but I didn't take everything because I had this thought mindset of this is the time they want me there. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna get here early, I'm gonna go to the store, buy other things to add to my wardrobe because my backpack couldn't fill everything in it. And I got the wrong call time. So, you know, us as actors, you know, when they say you need to hurry get your set, get you the set. So I'm I'm like freaking out. I jumped in the Uber, I get there, and I'm like, This is not what I wanted to wear. No, yeah, so I'm up there, bro, and you know, they you know, I'm like trying to make it the best of it, you know. Long story short, you know, you go through read the comments, everybody loved me. Some hated, some laughed, some you know, comment on what I wore, some said it was okay. But they got on my pumas. The the puma tennis shoes. And fast, and you know, afterwards, you know, after you know the show came out, I had older women coming to me, giving me hugs, a high-fiving me, same thing like they were telling me you like you're actually a pretty cool guy. Oh, you're actually an actor, oh, you do this, you did that. Then I got put for this other stuff, and they're like, Oh, you're about to be in there, and then and they like dude, what's and so but also after all that, fast forward to me again being at DreamCon, seeing one of the legends, Phil Lamar, on stage. And what is Phil Lamar, Green Lantern, wearing? Pumas.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, nice. I'm like, bro, see, come on, what about yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, man. It's it's funny, it's funny, man. It's just these and then they're gonna laugh more once they see the the movie that I was in that comes out next year. But we'll talk about that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and you know what, it's just part of especially this business. Like, you're gonna well, even if you're not an act, you're gonna get hate regardless. People are gonna hate on you. If you're successful in anything, they're gonna hate on you. There's gonna always be haters, you know, and that that's just part of life. You just I I block that noise though. I focus on the you know, my success is my success, and you know, the the haters don't matter, right? Yeah, and then like I said, that's not just in film, like if you have a good job, people are gonna that's in life, right? That's in life in general. Anytime somebody there's just people that want to pull you down, that's it. But I'm one of those guys that are gonna wait, pull you up. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00Poll you up, pull it down, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Pick you up, pick you up, right? I was like, pull pull you up, pick you up, something like that. Yeah, it makes sense to somebody. So yeah, so somebody gets that, yep.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. Dude, we would love to talk to you more, but we know um how everybody, you know, time is pressure, everything. But um, tell everybody what we can follow you at, man.
SPEAKER_04Uh yeah, so TikTok, laughtermedic.official. That's the main thing. Actually, on Instagram too, laughtermedic.official. And then I think I have an acting Instagram too, but I pretty much put everything on Laughter Medic. So if you want to find anything, laughtermedic.official is is where to find me. And then uh Facebook's just Stephen Ray Bird. I go, I go my full name, Stephen Ray Bird, for acting, you know, because it sounds so cool, Stephen Ray Bird.
SPEAKER_01Stephen Ray Bird.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Man, I appreciate it. We love the gems, love the laughter. We appreciate the laughter and the stories you share with us. Um, such a very man, healing and enjoyable uh conversation we had with you. Yeah, it was fun, man. Really fun. Yeah, man. We definitely love to have you come on again um and work with you in the future. And um, and uh man, shout out to you, many blessings to you and your family. Um, rest and power to the ones who are no longer here with us.
SPEAKER_04Shout out to thank you, thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir, yes, sir, man. Gotta acknowledge that. Um, shout out to John Cena. Um, hustle loyalty respect, the champ is still here. Appreciate you for you know what you've done to wrestling, sir. I don't know, man, personally, but thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Um, hopefully I'll get a chance to work with you. We all of us get a chance to work with you and ready to work with you again. Um quick shout out to Minnie Taylor who came on the show, also a part of Coyote versus Agme. I'm already hooked and sold. I'm gonna go watch it regardless, cuz I just love Looney Tunes and cartoons, and it just yes, it sounds like a hilarious. I'm like, it's a me and Mike, when we was talking to Minnie on here, we was like, it's about damn time that Coyote does something about this.
SPEAKER_04Right, yeah, yeah. And this story is it's really funny and it's heartfelt too. Like there's some sadness, so yeah, you gotta check it out. Yeah, check it out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely, definitely, definitely will. And when does it come to theaters again?
SPEAKER_04Uh August 28th. And actually, check because it's like here in Roswell, it's coming out on the 20th. But the 28th is the nationwide release, though. So yeah, gotcha. And maybe maybe we can talk again. You guys let me know what you think of it.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, most definitely. Definitely. We can get uh you Benny on here and then uh see. Yeah, that would be cool. It's in the movie, but we definitely would see we can get who else we can get come on and and talk about it. Maybe we'll do a live and talk about it.
SPEAKER_03Um yeah, that'd be fun. That'd be cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. So yeah, well, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Steven Ray Merg, man. I got to say Folk.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's just my middle name.
SPEAKER_01Appreciate you, man. Thank you.