Interview with Ethan Suplee
Ethan Suplee is an actor and the host of American Glutton.
Remember the Titans by Rob Zombie
Contents
Max Raskin: What’s your favorite scary movie?
Ethan Suplee: There are movies I watched in the '80s when I was a little kid that I did not enjoy watching, but I would watch because my friends were watching them. I feel like there was a piranha movie and maybe you saw some boobs. And so, I watched it for that reason. You know what I mean? Just waiting for the boobs.
For me, horror is a very specific thing. In horror, there will be a universe presented, and then the movie will break the rules of that universe. Michael Myers is in the world that you and I exist in ostensibly, and then suddenly he's indestructible. So he's breaking those rules. I didn't like those movies.
MR: Really?
ES: Those movies scared me and upset me and gave me nightmares and sent me home. When I think of a horror movie I like — and maybe you don't think this is a horror movie because it presents a kind of reality that it then doesn't break — the reality is vampires exist. My favorite movie that has blood and people killing other people is Near Dark.
MR: What's that movie about?
ES: Near Dark is, in my opinion, the greatest vampire movie ever made. Lance Henriksen is in it. Josh Miller is in it. Josh Miller is this actor who I met when I was a teenager, and I was in awe of this guy because this guy was in two of the greatest dark, esoteric movies of my childhood, Near Dark and River's Edge. Just the idea that he was the young kid in both of these movies was just incredible, and I got to be friends with him. But Near Dark is my favorite. Do you consider vampire movies horror? I think a lot of people would not.
MR: I don't think so. They’re fantasy, maybe.
ES: There's blood, there's killing people.
MR: So how did you get to be in a horror movie?
ES: I had been thinking about horror for a long time because it's popular, because my kids like it. A couple of my kids really like horror movies. I guess they liked My Name is Earl a bit, but there hasn't been a lot of stuff I’ve done that they’ve seen.
MR: Did they like Remember the Titans?
ES: No, they're girls. I don't even think they've seen Remember the Titans, to be honest.
MR: But isn’t Remember the Titans for everyone? There's no one who doesn't like that movie.
ES: I've certainly talked to a bunch of girls who like Remember the Titans, but they all tend to have dads who really like football, and I don't care about football at all.
MR: Is that the role that people recognize you for?
ES: Different people recognize me for different things.
MR: You’ve played a real range of roles.
ES: That was the thing that was super interesting to me about horror — I think about the roles where I played a straight up bad guy…it’s really only American History X, and even in that, I'm kind of a buffoonish bad guy.
Then I did a TV show called Chance, and I loved playing not a bad guy, but an intense guy, a very intelligent guy. The idea of playing somebody who's evil, who just wants to hurt people, who has that kind of sadistic streak in them, that's just something I hadn't done. The idea of doing that was interesting simply because I haven't done it. Then, unfortunately, Max, I really, really liked it. I still don't like watching horror movies, but fuck, man, do I like being in them. Being evil was somehow captivating to me and using my physicality in a menacing way and being covered in blood and filth. It was all a lot of fun.
MR: The aesthetic was very Rob Zombie-esque.
ES: It’s possible. I've not seen any of Rob Zombie's movies because I don't like horror movies.
Film Associations
MR: Do you do therapy now?
ES: No, I'm not in therapy.
MR: But have you been in your life?
ES: No. I've had a lot of issues in my life that I've addressed, but not proper sit down with a therapist therapy.
MR: Why not?
ES: It's just never appealed to me in a way that I felt like I've needed it.
MR: Are you religious?
ES: No.
MR: Do you believe in God?
ES: I believe in a higher power. I think I'm probably agnostic. I love Judaism because I have a connection to Maimonides talking about what God isn't, more so than I have had any kind of religious connection to anyone trying to explain what God is.
MR: Do you believe in an afterlife?
ES: Well, if I get scientific, I believe in thermodynamics and I believe that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change its form. And so, I am an animated meat sack right now talking to another animated meat sack. So on the most base scientific level, I believe that there's a spark of life within you that's scientifically energy, and when you die, it can't be killed. So it's going to do something else, that energy.
MR: But do you believe in a personal consciousness after death?
ES: That I don't know. I hope. But again I think I'm agnostic to this kind of stuff. I do hope.
MR: Do you consider yourself a Millennial or a Gen X?
ES: I'm Gen X, and I think of that very proudly.
MR: What's a movie that people have not seen that you find yourself recommending they see?
ES: I feel like I talk about Near Dark and River’s Edge a lot.
MR: How about this? Let's do a free association round. I'm going to name you a genre of movie — you don't need to tell me what your favorite is, you just have to tell me the first movie that comes to your mind, okay?
ES: Okay. I really hope I don't embarrass myself.
MR: There's no right or wrong answer. The only way it's a wrong answer is if it's not the first movie that comes to mind.
Comedy.
ES: When Harry Met Sally.
MR: War movie?
ES: Lawrence of Arabia.
MR: Courtroom drama?
ES: 12 Angry Men.
MR: Arthouse film.
ES: The first movie that popped into my head was The Fountain, which I'm in, which Darren Aronofsky made, which he claimed at the time was the biggest arthouse movie ever made. I never saw it. Does that count?
MR: That definitely counts. That's a good story.
MR: Musical?
ES: Everybody Says I Love You.
I was truly obsessed with Woody Allen movies growing up. I loved his comedy so much. There was a period in my life where I was super into the old classics, and my favorite actor for sure is Peter Lorre. I just think Peter Lorre had such a sick career from his work in Germany all the way to his work here. Then I got obsessed with Humphrey Bogart. Then when I saw Play It Again, Sam, which is just an ode to Casablanca, I was like, "Oh, I've got to watch all of this guy's movies." Man, Woody Allen was making just some fucking awesome movies back then.
MR: Thriller?
ES: I call Once Upon a Time in America a thriller.
MR: Mob movie?
ES: I don't want to give the same answer twice, so Godfather Part II.
Ethan Stardust
MR: Have you ever met any of your heroes?
ES: I think growing up my hero was David Bowie. I loved David Bowie because he kept reinventing himself. He had all these alter egos and he would disappear into them. Was he the Thin White Duke or was he Ziggy Stardust?
I never met him formally, but I had an experience once…
So Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture was a concert film from the final show of the Ziggy Stardust tour. In it, David Bowie covers a Jacques Brel song, but he does it in English. The song is called “My Death.”
He's singing about death coming for him behind a door. At one point he says, " Angel or devil, I don't care/For in front of that door, there is…(you)," and then just trails off. All these people in the audience start shouting, "Me, me, me," basically let death come for me.
I saw David Bowie in concert in the '90s at The Palladium in Los Angeles. It was a Halloween concert and I think Nine Inch Nails opened for him. David Bowie played “My Death”, and he gets to the part and trails off and the only fucking person in that whole venue, that shouted “me” was me. I started shouting, "Me, me, me," like a maniac. He looked towards me, I can't say we locked eyes or anything, and he said, "Thank you." I was like…I met my hero.
MR: Wow. That’s so cool.
ES: That was a great moment for me.
MR: Did you follow bands around or anything like that?
ES: No. When I was a kid, I really liked punk rock a lot. I would go see whatever was playing at The Palladium, or there used to be a place called The Palace. Or little esoteric bands at the Sherman Oaks Country Club.
MR: Do you play an instrument?
ES: I learned to play the banjo to play three or four songs for a movie called Cold Mountain, and I could actually play those songs on the banjo.
MR: What are your top songs or albums on Spotify now?
ES: Right now I'm listening mostly to this Danish kid named Elias Ronnenfelt. He had a band called Ice Age that I like a lot.
MR: Is there a song you’d recommend?
ES: Marching Church, “Heart of Life.”
Remember Remember the Titans?
MR: I want to ask about the curb stomping scene in American History X.
ES: I remember them doing it and I've seen that clip of that movie. I've never watched the movie straight through.
MR: Really? This is the second movie you were in that you’ve never watched.
ES: I don't watch stuff I'm in.
MR: Did you watch Remember the Titans?
ES: No.
MR: What?
ES: No. I mean I've for sure seen clips and we have to go and do looping if the sound isn't perfect.
MR: You've never seen the whole movie?
ES: No.
MR: Why?
ES: I don't think I've seen the whole movie of anything I've done.
Matter of fact, the only whole movie I've seen was this horror movie I'm in that comes out soon. I saw that because I invited friends to come see a screening and then felt guilty about leaving.
MR: That's really bizarre to me that you haven't…You never saw Remember the Titans?
ES: No.
MR: Why? It's a great movie. You should watch it.
ES: Yeah, but I'm hypercritical of myself, and I don't want to be haunted by the idea that I could have done something different and better. So it's done. It's in the past.
Stuff and Food
MR: What was that backscratcher thing you were just using?
ES: This is something I think my wife got me for Christmas. It's a telescoping backscratcher. It just has a little claw.
MR: What else do you have there?
ES: on! nicotine and Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew.
MR: Are you a creature of habit?
ES: Yes.
MR: What about clothes? Do you have a uniform you wear?
ES: There was a brand called American Apparel — I think it's come back as Los Angeles Apparel. They had a tri-blend T-shirt. I don't know what the three different components were, but I really liked them so much. So when they were going out of business, I bought 200 black T-shirts from this company.
MR: What kind of shoes do you wear?
ES: Almost exclusively New Balance 574s. I also am terrified that they'll be different, so I buy six pairs at a time.
MR: So you have a little bit of an obsessive-compulsive streak.
ES: Yeah. I also think when you find something that works, why bother going and trying something else? I tried Adidas for a few years. My feet hurt more. New Balance are perfect.
MR: Where's the place you think you've eaten in New York City the most?
ES: Emilio's Ballato.
MR: Oh, wow. Do you know Josh Griffiths?
ES: No.
MR: He's my jujitsu trainer. Do you do jujitsu?
ES: I used to do jujitsu with Eddie Bravo in Los Angeles.
MR: You need to train with Josh at Clockwork — he’s the best. He’s always at Emilio’s.
ES: Do they do gi or no gi?
MR: Both.
ES: I've never trained in the gi.
MR: I feel like I’m going to hurt myself without a gi.
ES: I also have some injuries — I hyperextended my right arm, and then later ruptured the tendon there, which I believe was just the continuation of an injury that happened in jujitsu. I've got knee injuries. I'm terrified of leg locks.
MR: What do you get at Emilio’s?
ES: I love the veal parm.
MR: You said you like cooking.
ES: I do — going to the grocery store here feels like 18th century Europe, where you got a bread person, you got a meat person, you got a deli person. I know they’ve got grocery stores, but you can't get it all and then carry it all back to your house. I find myself getting components.
MR: If you want to impress someone and they're coming over, what's the thing you make?
ES: Short ribs.
MR: How do you make them?
ES: Braised, low and slow.
MR: What are the podcasts you listen to?
ES: I listen to The Fifth Column. I listen to Blocked and Reported. I like them a lot, they’re really good. I listen to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History.
Bingeing Sci-Fi
MR: I wanted to ask: First sci-fi movie that comes to your mind?
ES: That's fucking tricky, man. The first sci-fi movie that popped into my mind is Dune. But I think the first Dune sucks compared to the recent Dunes.
MR: Interesting.
ES: The recent Dunes are both home runs.
MR: Are you a sci-fi fan?
ES: I love science fiction.
MR: Me too. I love speculative sci-fi and stuff about how the apocalypse plays out.
ES: Cormac McCarthy's The Road?
MR: Not personally.
ES: That's such a beautiful book. It's like a long poem.
MR: Did you ever read Seveneves?
ES: No.
MR: That’s one of my favorite sci-fi books of all time. It’s Neal Stephenson.
ES: Oh, I really like Neal Stephenson, but I haven't read Seveneves.
MR: I couldn't put it down.
ES: My problem with him is he writes these massive books and then I so desperately want more.
With most of the science fiction I read, at least they'll give you a trilogy or they'll give you five books. There's a series called Red Rising that I think is really, really good.
But you get seven books or eight books and you'll get another one. Neal Stephenson writes this book where he creates a universe and then you're done and you're like, "No, that's not it, bro. I want more."
Soft Bristles
MR: Do you nap?
ES: Occasionally I do. I never did before, but I'm starting to nap. I think it's because I'm very old now.
MR: When do you go to bed and when do you wake up?
ES: 10:00 to 5:00 typically is my sleep schedule.
MR: When you wake up, what’s the first thing you do?
ES: Brush my teeth.
MR: Do you floss?
ES: Not as much as I should, but I do a few times a week. But I wish I did it more.
MR: Do you have an electric toothbrush or a regular?
ES: Regular. Analog toothbrush.
MR: What kind of bristles? Like soft, hard, medium?
ES: Soft. Always soft.
MR: You sound like you feel pretty strongly about that?
ES: My wife said hard destroys the enamel of your teeth. I've been dealing with that knowledge from her for a quarter century now. So I don't feel strongly, but she could be completely wrong, to be honest with you.
MR: You mean you could be leaving bacteria in your mouth because the bristles are not strong enough?
ES: Right.
MR: That's why I go with medium just to hedge.
ES: Medium's a smart move. I might follow your lead on that.
MR: Do you have any woo-woo morning practices?
ES: Sometimes I'll be very hard on myself, and I will find myself having negative self-talk. If that's happening in the morning, I do recognize that that is likely to shape my day. And so, I won't leave the mirror until I find at least something about myself that isn't detestable. That's as woo-woo as I get.
MR: Then do you eat breakfast?
ES: Usually I have whey protein and water before the gym. And caffeine.
MR: Yeah. What's your coffee situation?
ES: I like instant coffee. If I go to Starbucks, I get Nitro Cold Brew because I find that I can drink it without cream and it doesn't need it. The acidity is not so high. I think with a hot coffee, I need a little cream to cut the acidity. But I can put a teaspoon of instant coffee in a cup of water and just drink it like a shot to get the caffeine. I'm not a coffee snob at all, but I do like a little caffeine.
Sharp Knives
MR: Are you a snob about anything? Do you collect anything?
ES: I collect French folding knives.
MR: Really?
ES: Yeah, pocketknives. They're regional, so every region of France has its own pocketknife, and I collect those.
MR: I didn’t know that.
ES: Some of them are really hard to find, to be honest with you.
MR: What’s your favorite one?
ES: The Corsican vendetta blade is my favorite. The Corsicans are hardcore. They would claim they're not even really a part of France, but they are.
MR: Of all the things you can collect, what do you think is the psychology behind collecting knives?
ES: I liked knives since I was a kid. My mom was really into musicals and she played us West Side Story when I was a kid, and I saw the switchblades they had. I was like, "Oh, I want one of those. That's cool. They got switchblades."
MR: Deep down in your psyche is the knife used against you or is it used against someone else? Are you sadistic or masochistic?
ES: I think if I'm being completely honest, I probably am masochistic.
MR: What was it like playing a sadist in the horror film?
ES: It was so fun. It was a total release.
MR: You think you'll do more horror?
ES: Yeah. We’re already going to do a prequel to this movie that is largely based on my character and the origins of another character, just to round out the universe that was created.
MR: So do you feel like you have a whole new career or persona now that you’re a podcaster in the mold of a Joe Rogan? It’s definitely a type — you’re not a Regis Philbin.
ES: But I think I might be more like that just in appearance. I have muscles and facial hair and a shaved head.
MR: But there’s a combination of self-improvement and fitness and diet and things like that. I guess what my question was getting at is do you feel like you've reinvented yourself. This is an odd question for an actor, but do you feel like you’ve gotten to the person you’re supposed to be? Or might you be completely different in 10 years?
ES: I am excited to grow and evolve. I think every time I've felt that I fully understood something or needed no more work, it was proven very quickly that I was thinking moronically. I find that there's always going to be room for mental growth, spiritual growth, physical growth, progress towards something.
I mean, listen, the things that I'm trying to preserve are sobriety and not gaining back all the weight I lost. Those are the two things that I would like to hold on to. Everything else, I'm open to growth.