Cory Hardrict: Actor on navigating life after high-profile divorce, co-parenting, staying authentic to culture, focus on career, working with Tyler Perry, Meagan Good and what's next

Save 50% on your system, plus a free indoor security camera and your first month is free when you sign up for Core Monitoring. Visit https://SimpliSafe.com/pivot to customize yours! Try SimpliSafe risk-free. If you don’t love it, return it for a full refund within 60 days. "Black men have feelings. Black men hurt. Black men are in pain...and sometimes we feel like we're dealing with it alone..." Cory Hardrict Actor and Producer On this episode of the Pivot, in partnership with Fanatics, the guys have a conversation about the ups and downs of life, dealing with trauma and changes we never expected and how to find strength in our families and passions while celebrating the wins with gratitude instead of guilt. Cory Hardrict may seem like an overnight success but he's been climbing his way to the top of the box office for over two decades, he’s made a name for himself with roles in films like Never Been Kissed, American Sniper, Netflix’s Brotherly Love, and most recently, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black with costar Meagan Goo. Cory prides himself in always evolving and his dedication to perfecting his craft, and committed to being a role model—not just for other actors, but also for the Black community and his own kids. Beyond the bright lights of Hollywood, the guys touch on some real talk—being a Black man in today’s society, toxic masculinity, and the importance of uplifting fellow Black men. Cory shares experiences about overcoming hardship, staying focused, and using his platform to inspire others... While also getting honest on his divorce and moving forward in the most positive way. Cory lets his walls down and opens up to Ryan, Channing and Fred that everyone struggles from time to time and it shouldn’t be looked down upon for men, especially black men to cry, express themselves or ask for help. In a recent panel, Cory opens up on how he cried almost everyday for over a year as he adjusted to so many changes in his life from dealing with a high profile divorce from actress Tia Mowry to public misconceptions about his character to being strong for his children while focusing on his demanding career. Not shying away from the difficulties of headlines or public splits, Cory keeps it real saying he believes in unconditional love and that everything from this point on is for his kids and no room for mistakes or missteps. His divorce may have kept his name in tabloids for the past 2 years but his acting career has kept him atop the box office with several star roles. Working with Meagan Good has challenged him as well as lifted him to a different tier to be seen as a character who can play any role. Despite his love for acting, Cory shares his perspective on always proving yourself as a black man in Hollywood and staying grounded. He also opens up about growing up in Chicago, losing both his brother and mother, and how those pivotal moments pushed him to build a better life for his own family. Tap in now for this conversation that pulls you in and makes you look at life differently with the glass half full rather than half empty. All new episodes of The Pivot release every Tuesday at 12:00pm est and Friday at 3:30pm est. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:28Ryan Clark?

  He walk in like a actor. What's going on? He walk in like an actor. What up, my dog? What's up, bro? Hey, Freddie T. What's up, Freddie T? Freddie T, yo, you jealous because he got that edge up? You just cut yours off?

• 0:43Fred Taylor?

  Hey, mine was going, mine was leaving anyway.

• 0:45Speaker 03

  You got the Steve Harvey line on. Come on, man.

• 0:48Channing Crowder?

  That's a tape change.

• 0:49Speaker 03

  Come on, man, I'm from Chicago. I had to come represent him for y'all brothers.

• 0:53Ryan Clark?

  He still got the alcohol on, you know what I mean?

• 0:56Fred Taylor?

  Listen, you see the white smoke?

• 0:57Speaker 03

  You see the smoke, you know I wasn't playing.

• 1:00Ryan Clark?

  He still got that.

• 1:01Fred Taylor?

  That's what he does. That's what he does, yeah.

• 1:03Speaker 03

  Hey, I'm proud of y'all brothers, man. Thank you for having me, man.

• 1:06Fred Taylor?

  Appreciate you.

• 1:07Speaker 03

  That's awesome. So, y'all looking like former football players. Former, right?

• 1:10Ryan Clark?

  It's all former.

• 1:11Fred Taylor?

  It's a rap, man. That shit's over with.

• 1:13Speaker 03

  You still good out there, boy.

• 1:14Fred Taylor?

  Nah, nah, man. Probably two years ago, I realized that it's a rap. I was in KC, getting ready to do the rookie stuff for YouTube, and I was just simply putting my shoe on, and I twisted my leg like this, and I pulled my hair out.

• 1:27Speaker 03

  Twist the leg and just pop right there.

• 1:29Fred Taylor?

  That shit's over with.

• 1:30Speaker 03

  Oh, wow.

• 1:31Fred Taylor?

  It's a rap, yeah.

• 1:32Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you know Freddie T got to the league around the time you was earning your way into your high school Hall of Fame. Like, you know?

• 1:38Speaker 03

  You looked that up? I'm in the Hall of Fame of high school, bro. You've been doing some research.

• 1:43Ryan Clark?

  I mean, how else we gonna do this? You know what I'm saying? How else we gonna do this? Corey, man, welcome to the show.

• 1:55Speaker 03

  Thank you.

• 1:56Ryan Clark?

  Corey Hardick, this is Fred Taylor, Channing Crowder, I'm Ryan Clark. Welcome to the Pivot, a part of Fanatics. Pivot fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us as always. Man, I saw you recently, you know, he was on your social media singing, and uh...

• 2:09Speaker 03

  I was singing?

• 2:10Ryan Clark?

  Somebody put a comment on there and said that divorcing the black money got you acting different.

• 2:17Speaker 03

  I was in Chicago. We was riding around, I was having a good time. No, man, that money was different though. Shout out to Tyler Perry, you know, he gave me an amazing opportunity to do what I love to do. And he paid me really great, you know, and I worked on a film for three weeks. And it's a blessing just to do what I love, man. Yeah, so the money was happening.

• 2:41Channing Crowder?

  And bro, something I wanted to ask, man, like we hear Tyler Perry.

• 2:45Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 2:46Channing Crowder?

  We see Tyler Perry, people messing with about Madea and all that stuff. But how did he really change the game?

• 2:51Speaker 03

  Just culture, you know, just black culture and just overall, you know, just putting out great stuff that connects with us first and then taking it global. So when I got the call for Mr. Perry, Megan Good, you know, Megan Good, she's my sister. She told him that I got the actor that would kill this role, you know. She's like Corey Hardrict, that was the first name. She said, and he called me, and I always tell people this, he hit me, he was like, Corey, this is Tyler Perry, you know Tyler Perry? And then I was just like, wow, he's calling me. So I was just like, man, I had to wake up and wipe my eyes and everything. And then he said he was a fan of my work, you know, and he wanted to work with me. And he said the role is mine, but I got like 48 hours to read the script.

• 3:32Speaker 03

  And I read it and I connected with it and I felt like if someone's calling me like Tyler Perry, I'm like, I gotta, it's been a dream to always work with him on the right thing. And I was like, this is, this is only right. And we came out and it did all these crazy numbers globally and like biggest film on Amazon history. And I'm glad I was a part of that. So I'm very, very grateful, you know, to God.

• 3:55Fred Taylor?

  There's a cliche saying that goes, it's about who you know. I always like to tell people it's about who knows you, because they can speak to your character. You just mentioned Megan.

• 4:05Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 4:06Fred Taylor?

  She told Tyler, look, I got the perfect person. How does it make you feel when she can go out there or other people can say, look, they can, they can vouch for you when you might not even be considered for a job or an opportunity? How does that make you feel?

• 4:20Speaker 03

  It makes me feel honored and blessed just to have people who can speak on my behalf, who knows me, and I've known Megan for like 20 plus years and always like in passing, but always like a good friendship. And that's what it's always been for her, just to speak my name in a room like that. And I go and do the film and I deliver. On a high level, because it's always been about work for me. None of the like celebrity, looking for attention. I've always been that take the stairs approach. I've been doing this thirty, like thirty-two years. You know, I feel like the hard work is paid off all the years and it just led up to this moment and I was prepared for it.

• 4:56Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, in saying though, you know, it's about the work and you don't do it for the celebrity. Whenever you do something in the public eye, as long as you have, the celebrity comes.

• 5:07Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 5:08Ryan Clark?

  And there's also the positive of when you do a good job, as you did in this latest movie, where people are, they want to talk to you. Us, you know, it was me watching the movie, hearing you talk about it, that made me want to speak with you. And then there's also the negativity that could surround you in your life and the way people focus on you. How do you deal with the microscope that comes with what you do for a living?

• 5:31Speaker 03

  I block out the noise, you know, I'm an artist and like I say, I've been in films, shooting people, killing violence, you know. I've never done that in real life, I've never been to prison in my life, but I know how to, I know how to tap into a character. And be authentic and be real, you know what I'm saying? And that's what, you know, that's what's got me this far. So when I read this, I was just like, there is no connection from the character to the personal, you know, guy. And people should be able to separate the two and just say, he's an artist, he's great at his craft. That's what it was. So I just block all the noise out and just say, you know what? I keep my head focused on, you know, the mission I'm on.

• 6:10Speaker 03

  I have children that I want them to look at daddy, you know, as a, as a positive influence for, for people in the generation behind me. And I, I got, you know, I got babies, man, so that's how I represent my life. You know, everything is for my kids and how I move in public eye, what I say, you know, what I don't say, I look at them first.

• 6:31Ryan Clark?

  You kind of stay out of. The public as far as your personal life, which I think is, you know, something that we as men truly respect because we try to do the same. Home is home. But when people start to look at the movie with you and Megan, obviously two people who publicly went through, you know, some of their things and their relationships and try to say, okay, they were picked for that reason. What do you have to say to some of those narratives that, no, we were picked because we were the best for the job to produce. It wasn't about our personal life because when you read certain things, that's kind of what people point to.

• 7:14Speaker 03

  Yeah, because people didn't know really what it was. The title can throw it off like, wait, you know, you're dealing with people who went through some real life situations. But, you know, speaking to Tyler, he picked the best people for the, for the job. Megan's been doing this 30 years plus, you know, she's earned this right. She's a producer on the project. She had say on who she wanted to work with and, you know, I'm thankful it was me in this role, you know, it's changed my career trajectory. Now everyone's, you know, they're like, wait, he's been doing this for so long, but he's really that dude, you know what I'm saying? I've been really doing this. Like if you look, I've just been taking the stairs, you know, and this film just with Tyler involved and, you know, Amazon and it just took it somewhere else. So now I'm just like, you know, I'm only doing my calling, man. That's it.

• 7:57Channing Crowder?

  And of course, speaking about them characters, like you say, you going to work, you're an artist. It's beautiful. But you brought it up. I done seen you kill niggas.

• 8:07Channing Crowder?

  I done seen you cry.

• 8:08Speaker 03

  I can do it all.

• 8:10Channing Crowder?

  You know, kind of, you know, just even right, like getting ready for those roles. What is that like? Like even driving in the morning that I'm, I'm a gangster, I'm a killer, or I'm a husband, I love my wife. Like, you know, oh, she doesn't like me anymore. Like, do you really have the mental?

• 8:27Speaker 03

  I can slap somebody's nose off quick in a movie. Like, real quick, you know what I'm saying? But it's, like I said, it's fun. You know, I grew up Chicago, man, so I grew up around it all. So I tried to, I took family members, incorporated them to characters, friends. I'm just true to my people. Like, I love us, man, and I ain't gonna never cheat us. That's why people rock with me, man. When they see me, I just, I love that, cuz I can, I connect. It's like there's a connection with me and the culture, man, and I wanna keep it there. And I took something and made it global, you know, saying, you know, "You don't lose your job, bitch."

• 9:06Speaker 03

  You know what I'm saying? And that went worldwide. Black man, natural, you know? So I ain't stopping. I'm gonna keep that same energy, you know? As long as the people rock it, man, I'm gonna keep doing it.

• 9:16Channing Crowder?

  And, you know, I got it. I asked Omari to.

• 9:19Speaker 03

  Omari Hardwick? Devout the same thing.

• 9:22Channing Crowder?

  I asked Devout to say, like, the acting man. "I seen you kill a nigga, I seen you cry, and I seen you fucking."

• 9:31Channing Crowder?

  But those sex scenes, like, who do you, do you pull from somebody?

• 9:35Speaker 03

  I didn't do the last part, I didn't, I haven't had that scene yet. The last ones, you said, you know, I ain't done that yet.

• 9:41Channing Crowder?

  Well, even the intimate stuff.

• 9:42Speaker 03

  The intimate stuff.

• 9:43Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, like, yeah, not, cuz Omari and what's the little Spanish girl's name? Gozia, they was going on. But just like that, like, the intimate side of stuff, the, like, you know what I'm saying? The marriage, you married and all this stuff. I don't, I'm not really married to you, all right? You know what I'm saying? Like, what do you, what do you pull from with all that?

• 9:59Speaker 03

  You know what? I think you still gotta be true to the character. You're not yourself. So you gotta serve as character, so you can give that to people, because you can't cheat people. I'm into, like, I can't cheat people. If I'm, the camera goes on, whatever it takes to get in that character, I gotta do it, you know, to a thousand, or I feel like I'm not doing my job, you know?

• 10:20Speaker 03

  That's just how I look at it.

• 10:21Channing Crowder?

  But it's not uncomfortable?

• 10:23Speaker 03

  I ain't had that scene. I'll let you know when it comes about that scene. You know, if I had to get, you know, down like that, but.

• 10:29Channing Crowder?

  But you been in 32 years, well, when you was a kid. We'll get to that when you was a kid, but as like, why not? Have you not, have you not been casted for it? It's not like.

• 10:38Speaker 03

  It just hasn't, it hasn't required that in the scripts yet, like for me. Like it's been like some kissing stuff. It's been insinuating, but it hasn't been like he gotta get naked. Like even in the scene me and Megan had, it was like a flashback and they piece it together. And that was very professional, like, you know, it's like a sex coordinator in there. They making sure the padding's in between you. They had the cover on, you're fully clothed. People don't know, yeah, so it's just not like you just on top of each other. And it was very respectful, but that was, it was just quick. It was a five second glimpse and that was like a scene, but it was so fast, you know? And when everyone's in between and looking, it's like.

• 11:18Channing Crowder?

  It's not sexy.

• 11:19Speaker 03

  It's not like what you think it is, man. It's just like, you know? You're just like, okay, when is this over with? Like, you know?

• 11:27Fred Taylor?

  Corey, earlier you said, um, being able to separate art from, from real life.

• 11:32Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 11:32Fred Taylor?

  But not all like child actors can, can make this journey. Like you've been able to transcend for, for years. You mentioned 30 plus. Just talk about growth. The upbringing in Chicago, cause Chicago gets a whole lot of negative, you know, publicity to it. But your upbringing, like what got you into acting and how were you able to sustain?

• 11:53Speaker 03

  Yeah, I would say my mom, you know, my mom got me in acting. This was like 92. And she took me to an Oprah and casting call for Oprah Winfrey's movie called There Are No Children Here. I don't know if y'all remember that, but it was a long time ago. We went because we were on punishment and me and my brother got in trouble. And she said, y'all gonna go be in, in a movie, you know? But it was for background, like they were like reading people like to be extras. It was like a thousand kids at Harpoel Studios. Me and my brother got selected. And he actually got picked to say a line. It was just like one line in a movie. And I was just like background in that movie for like a month and a half. And that's where that's where it started for me.

• 12:34Speaker 03

  But then when I saw like Oprah from a distance, you know, back then it was Oprah, Jordan. You know, like that was Chicago. It was like, I'm like, oh, my gosh, you know, there's Oprah Winfrey. You know, it's still like that. I felt like something hit me where I said, I could possibly do this for a career. And it it happened out of that. And I did, my next movie was Sidney Poitier to Serve Love Part Two. They did a remake on television, like a television remake. And I got my first like few lines. And my mother was able to see that movie. And at the same time, she was going through her illness. And, you know, she she would be like, she was so proud of me just from those two jobs.

• 13:17Speaker 03

  And then I did something for S. Curl, like I was in Jet Magazine, right? And I had like this big, oh, remember them hair hairstyles, S. Curl? So I was on the like billboards, everything, Chicago. So she would keep her by a hospital bed. And she would show all the nurses, like, that's my baby. Like, she was so proud, so proud. And then, you know, she just wanted me to keep doing this, you know? Because she didn't think, we all didn't think this was gonna happen because it happened so fast. She was forty one years old. I was just like, if something happens, I'm gonna move to California, keep that dream alive for her. And praise God, man, I'm I'm still here.

• 13:56Ryan Clark?

  When you think back on what she sold into your life, because there's, God puts people in our lives to push us toward our passions. And sometimes it is, you know, your mother or your father. But how does the memories of, hey, I'm gonna take you to?

• 14:16Ryan Clark?

  Go try out or go audition for this movie that Oprah is doing? Or the excitement of even seeing you on a billboard? How does that continue to push you to live your passions and your dreams?

• 14:29Speaker 03

  The smile it put on her face, you know, that I made my mom proud. Before she left, she was, you couldn't tell me, like, I wasn't this Oscar award winner at that time. You know, she was so proud, like, that's my baby, you know? He's in the business and he's successful. Like, I was everything to her. So, losing your mom at that age, it actually, you know, prepared me for life. You know, for a lot of different obstacles that I had to face, like, moving here with no money and, you know, not being able to afford rent, odd jobs. But her strength has allowed me to continue to carry on every day. To say that it's never as bad as losing my mom.

• 15:12Speaker 03

  So, anything I go through now, it's just like, it's nothing. You know, it hurts, but it's like, it's, I'm gonna keep pushing on.

• 15:19Ryan Clark?

  When did it become your dream as well? Because as a parent, you can want something for your children. You have children, we all do. You can want something for your children, but if they don't want that same thing, and if they don't want it as badly as they need to in order to accomplish it, then they don't become that thing. Like, we all play football. You know, his child plays sports. His child played the same school he went to. You know, my child now plays at Notre Dame. And you push them and you want them to succeed, but they don't see that level of success without that level of commitment.

• 15:53Speaker 03

  Right.

• 15:53Ryan Clark?

  When did it stop being the punishment your mom enforced on you and started to become your dream?

• 16:01Speaker 03

  I would say after she passed away. I got serious, like, about the dream after she passed away. I sat around Chicago for three years, like, what am I gonna do with my life? I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what direction I wanted to go in. Because, you know, I was, my mom was everything. You like, from buying the Jordans to, you know, she worked at thrift stores, odd jobs, but I never was without. So, that was, you know, seeing how hard she worked for us. Just look back, it's just amazing just to see a woman like that. And she didn't like graduate high school, like she went to like ninth grade education. But I had it all, so I'm like, you know, my mom showed me what it was to like work hard for things in life. And have passion and go after it and have faith.

• 16:46Speaker 03

  So, yeah, but her passing, it got serious like three years later. And then I said, when I moved to LA, I was on a plane, I had a one-way ticket. I was looking out the window, like looking up and looking at her. Like, when I fly on planes, I have to have a window seat so I can talk to her. Like, every job I get, it's like that gets, that gets me closer to her. You know, I've been doing that for like 30 years.

• 17:10Ryan Clark?

  What's the conversation like to talk to her? Like, what are you, Fred has asked this question very often on this show. We've had, you know, multiple people lose parents that are extremely successful. And I love it when he asks this question. He always says, "Do you ever talk to them?" And when people say yes, he says, "What are those conversations about?" When you're sitting by that window, traveling, what are your conversations with your mother?

• 17:39Speaker 03

  Mom's still here. She always used to say something like, "Turn it up a notch," you know? And then that's what I always hear her tell me. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm still, I'm still in it like for the long game. You know, I'm not playing like short victories. I'm looking at what's the long-term effect of everything. And what I do now affects that, you know what I'm saying? So, um, like I say, I, I keep that in mind. I keep her at the center and in front of everything I'm doing. Just everything.

• 18:07Channing Crowder?

  Corey, with that, like, I thought about when Ryan said it, like, he trained his son. I know RC trains his son right now. My son's only 13, but I'm out there in the yard with him with the ladders and all that.

• 18:17Speaker 03

  Me too, yeah, my son, yeah.

• 18:19Channing Crowder?

  Okay, so he, yeah, so you know like the training, but from your angle, like you even say, your momma say, "Go harder." Being young and coming up and trying to... Be the man that you built yourself in to be.

• 18:30Speaker 03

  Right.

• 18:30Channing Crowder?

  There ain't no ladders. There ain't no weight bench. There ain't no forties.

• 18:34Speaker 03

  Yeah, right.

• 18:35Channing Crowder?

  How did you build this when you took it serious, as you said?

• 18:39Speaker 03

  How? Just hard work, man. Just, just hard work. Like I say, I've been a student of the game. Like, I've watched all my favorite actors' movies times 10 over. Wesley Snipes was always like my favorite. Denzel, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio. Like, I watch a lot of movies. And when I read scripts and I, I read my lines when I get auditions, I try to make each line an individual movie. Like, how do I make this line memorable forever? That's how I approach my material. That's why I have a lot of, like, classic one-liners, you know? Because I want that to always be like something that people always remember. You know, so I don't, I don't never phone it in or no performances. And that's just the mindset I have.

• 19:18Channing Crowder?

  What's your favorite line, then? Cancel this bitch, I'll buy a new one? Or Always Better on Black?

• 19:23Speaker 03

  All Eyes on Me. I've never seen that movie.

• 19:25Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 19:25Speaker 03

  When I, when the dude walked up, that was an ad lib scene. I was just like, don't you ever get in my face again. I'll bite your motherfucking nose off. See, now go to nose again. I, I stuck with this nose like five, in five different movies and projects. That was ad lib.

• 19:40Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 19:41Speaker 03

  So when people come up, they always say, hey, man, I'll bite your... So I said, I got him, you know?

• 19:45Channing Crowder?

  You mean, Wesley? Wesley had one line, you know what I'm talking about? Oh, Wesley was hitting one. Wesley had one line. Even the training, like you said, you watch, uh, Denzel. You watch a Leo. Like, you watch it and then you pause it and try to do the line, like...

• 19:59Speaker 03

  Oh, do I watch?

• 20:00Channing Crowder?

  Like, do you watch a movie and try to be that person? Like, how do you... Bro, you, you're, it's a career, like, the practice of it. Like, that's the crazy thing to me is, is what you've done is amazing.

• 20:13Speaker 03

  Thank you, man. I appreciate that.

• 20:15Channing Crowder?

  But the young kids right now that want to be you...

• 20:16Speaker 03

  How to do it.

• 20:17Channing Crowder?

  How do they do it?

• 20:18Speaker 03

  How to do it.

• 20:18Channing Crowder?

  A dude that's 10, 11 years old.

• 20:19Speaker 03

  I would say, I would say work on your craft. Like, I've done a lot of classes. I still coach to this day, every job I get. Every night, I go back home to my acting coach or hotel, and we get in it in for the next day. So I still do that to this day. You know what I'm saying? Because I have to be, like, prepared. You know, I gotta know the other person's lines. I gotta know everything, storylines, arcs. So I still do that. So I would say work on your craft, because that'll give you the 30 years. A lot of people just get in and want to be on TV or, you know, want to be, do movies. And that's cool, too, but that's kind of, that could be short-lived. You know? It could be short-lived. So I'm like, let me always keep the craft. At the forefront and that's what's gonna sustain me for the career I want. And I'm still here and I feel like I'm a new artist.

• 21:04Speaker 03

  You know, there's directors I still wanna work with. I haven't had the opportunity to get in front of like the Spike Lee's, the Ryan Cooglers. Like Tyler was like the first one of our culture, big, you know, figure, who said he was a fan of me. I didn't even know he knew me. And now I work with Tyler and that's my guy. And we're, we're actually doing another film next summer, just from this opportunity. You know, he saw my work ethic, he saw my professionalism. And he saw that, you know, we, we broke records together, so let's keep it going. So I'm very grateful for him.

• 21:36Channing Crowder?

  I love that.

• 21:36Speaker 03

  And even if we cool, like we not cool when we filming. If we're like protecting, we not friends and nothing. I'm for the character, like always, and I want you to bring out your best. But it's all love though.

• 21:49Speaker 03

  So. No, I, I be putting little extras on it.

• 21:52Channing Crowder?

  You can't throw the, the B word out at black people, bro, just.

• 21:55Speaker 03

  But I like, you know, I like to trigger you on. I know. See, that's the thing. I like, you know, I did the same thing to Meghan the first day. Meghan showed up and here's a story I always say. Meghan came in and she had to sign a divorce papers at the table. I said something else and I said some bitch to her too. She looked at me like this. Tyler said, Corey, hold on, let me talk to you for a minute.

• 22:17Speaker 03

  Tyler pulled me around the corner, like Corey, I love what you're doing right now, but we, we not gonna do that right now, okay? I love it. Stay there. He said, stay there, but he knew what I was doing.

• 22:26Channing Crowder?

  Right.

• 22:26Speaker 03

  And he let me lock in and that was the last time he ever spoke to me like anything. I thought I was about to get fired and your ass going back to LA, man. You can't be called the star of the movie this, but Meghan knew what I was doing. And ever since me and Meg was locked in the whole film and, you know, look at the, look at the results, man. So I'm all about a, I'm just, look at the results. That's it.

• 22:48Channing Crowder?

  Smack of the bitch nose off and then they say cut, is it? Hey man, we gonna have a beer? Me and you, you can't tell me that shit. Now we cool as soon as they turn this camera off, nigga.

• 22:59Channing Crowder?

  We gotta talk about this around the corner where you and Tyler was.

• 23:02Speaker 03

  Look, I'm, like I said, I'm in the service and I gotta get a people what they wanna see. Like I can't, I'm always like, what do the people wanna see in my community, Chicago? What do they love? And I'm like, I'm gonna keep giving them that and it works for me. It works, so I'm gonna keep doing that.

• 23:19Fred Taylor?

  Have your kids, Cree and Cairo, right?

• 23:21Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 23:21Fred Taylor?

  Have they done anything bad enough to get forced into acting? Or coming up in your household? Have they seen enough to like just wanna go do it on their own?

• 23:31Speaker 03

  No, my son is a hooper. He's a ball player. Like he wants the ball. I got him with like Chris Johnson hoops. You know, and Corey's, so he wants to play ball. He's at a cool school and that's, that's his focus. His mom got him in acting and he had jobs, opportunities, but he was just like, after he did it, he was just like, ah, I'm cool. I wanna play ball, so, you know, us as parents, we respect him, listening to him. It's my job to put him in position to succeed and I'm, I'm doing that. And the rest is, he gotta want it, you know, and sometimes I wish he had that upbringing like me. Cause you know LA, you know, it's sushi involved. It's nannies, you know, all these first class trip, you know, so, but I try to give him that. I say the good times approach. Remember James Evans?

• 24:14Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 24:14Speaker 03

  Like I try to instill that type of thing into my son, that you gotta work for everything. You know, life is not easy, you know, cause when you get out of school, you know, it's a real world out there. You know, that's when life begins. So I'm trying to prepare him that, for that now.

• 24:30Ryan Clark?

  And parenting being, you being very involved and obviously their mother being very involved. The co-parenting side of it and trying to make sure that you both are still in the same lane of raising your children to the best of your ability. How has it been adapting to that and continuing to do such a good job as y'all are?

• 24:53Speaker 03

  Everything is about the kids, you know, their wellbeing, their future.

• 25:00Speaker 03

  And just co-parenting, you know what I'm saying? And keeping it still a family and keeping it love-based. You know, still keeping God first at the center of everything and just walking with love, man, that's all it's about. You know, I wish her the best with everything and that's unconditional for me. You know, I love unconditional. I can't get caught up in what's going on out there, what people are saying. I just know where my heart is at and I have to continue to move that way because I want all my blessings for me. You know, and if I succeed, she succeeds, our kids succeed. You know, so I have no room for failure or no room for no, you know, mistakes right now in my life. That's how I look at it.

• 25:40Ryan Clark?

  You know, obviously, this is our first time meeting.

• 25:42Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 25:42Ryan Clark?

  Just even.

• 25:43Speaker 03

  I saw you in, um.

• 25:44Ryan Clark?

  Oh, we was at Essence, yeah, but we didn't get to talk. We just dapped off.

• 25:46Speaker 03

  Hey, what's going on? Yeah, I remember.

• 25:48Ryan Clark?

  Cause I was over there, I was like, man, I see Corey over there. I was like, I bought these tickets. It don't look like Corey bought these tickets. You know, the woman that run Essence Fest, she over there dancing. I was like.

• 25:59Channing Crowder?

  He was in line and he won't pass.

• 26:01Ryan Clark?

  I felt some type of way. Hey, look, he comes to dab me off. He got security in between me and him. I was like, I'm not gonna try to jump on Corey.

• 26:11Ryan Clark?

  I'm behind the railing.

• 26:13Channing Crowder?

  We saw Future in Vegas.

• 26:15Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 26:15Channing Crowder?

  And I put my hand out to give him dab, and the security guard slapped my wrist. I was like, nigga, you down. Don't act crazy, crazy now. I know this man famous, but, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 26:26Ryan Clark?

  Hey, fellas, you ever felt just a sense of uneasiness when you leave your crib? Like, something's gonna happen?

• 26:34Speaker 05

  I remember having my vehicle stolen.

• 26:35Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 26:36Speaker 05

  And that was the worst feeling ever. I mean, someone came in my yard and took a car. When all of that happened, I knew I needed something. I knew I needed something to keep my family safe. So now that I have Simply Safe, I can look through my phone, I can monitor everything. I get instant alerts. The response is quick, a few seconds, so I'm good.

• 26:56Channing Crowder?

  After we started all this traveling, I did the research, and I found Simply Safe. Man, the live monitoring, anything that happens, I can speak to. I see somebody outside the door with Simply Safe, I can talk to the intruder right there. Don't do that. Five seconds protection. You know what I'm saying? Like, I just love it. And right there on your phone, man, it makes me feel good for my baby to be in the house, my wife to be in the house with Simply Safe.

• 27:18Ryan Clark?

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• 27:25Channing Crowder?

  You're not locked into no long-term deal. It's a dollar a day. For the safety of your family, I love that.

• 27:32Ryan Clark?

  I mean, I can be anywhere in the world, I can log into the app, and I can have a sense of control of what's happening at my house, but more importantly, a sense of security. I mean, there's really no.

• 27:42Speaker 05

  Safe like Simply Safe.

• 27:43Channing Crowder?

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• 27:55Speaker 05

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• 28:13Ryan Clark?

  How do you tap into those other things, you know, like on the football field? That was our sanctuary. Like that's the place where the rules say you can go be these things. And you could be aggressive and you could be violent and it's actually applauded if you're that way. But then we had to cut that off, right? I had to go home and I had to raise two girls. I had to teach a son how to be a man and tell him, okay, you're gonna have to provide. You're gonna have to be a caretaker. Tell him all of those things. And then the next day, Sunday at 1 o'clock, when the ball is kicked, I had to leave all that there.

• 28:47Speaker 03

  I see.

• 28:48Ryan Clark?

  How do you separate those things? How you say, you know, you want to tap into a character and motivate Meghan? And motivate the other people you're working with by the way you approach them. How do you get there?

• 28:58Speaker 03

  How do I get there? I mean, easy. I feel like I've been doing it so long. I can turn, I can go from zero to 100 when the camera's rolling. And then when it cuts off, I can go right back to neutral quarry. Like I don't take it with me. Like, you know, I bring it when it's time. Like I don't need my space. Like say like when I get to work and I'm preparing in my trailer. You know, people know like, okay, he locked in. I can't be asking. I don't want to get all the small talk going. But, you know, I know how to separate the two, you know, pretty, pretty much like that.

• 29:27Ryan Clark?

  On recent panel, you said you couldn't sleep for a year and a half or something and that you cried.

• 29:35Ryan Clark?

  For a lot of that time. How difficult was that period in life for you? Because we know as men and as black men, we're starting to get into a space where we talk about not only mental health, but emotional health.

• 29:48Speaker 03

  Right.

• 29:49Ryan Clark?

  And we've learned ways to be vulnerable and open. But to share that in a room full of people, I mean, that's something that you felt deeply. How did you find a way to get through that time? While also having to still be a father, a provider.

• 30:09Speaker 03

  Right.

• 30:09Ryan Clark?

  And do your job.

• 30:11Speaker 03

  You know, I feel like you'll never get through that. You know what I'm saying? Like, a lot of praying, a lot of knowing that God is real. God is actually truly real in my life. A lot of stillness, man. When you sit still a lot, you know, you can hear a lot of things. For me, a lot of isolation, solitude, and just knowing, you know, if I can just put one foot in front of the other, you know, and take it a day at a time. Because I'm taking it a day at a time, still to this day.

• 30:40Ryan Clark?

  Really?

• 30:40Speaker 03

  Yeah, I just take it a day at a time. You know, black men have feelings. You know, black men hurt. Black men are in like pain and sometimes we don't have outlets to, you know, like, talking to you now. No one really asked me these questions, never, really. So it's like, sometimes we feel like we're dealing with it alone. Not unless you have like a therapist or, you know, a close confidant or like friend. But it's not easy because it feels like, as a black man, you can't show vulnerability to the world, you know, because it's a form of weakness. But it should be looked at as a form of strength. You know, like, men do need to cry. You know, because when it's all bottled up, you know, and inside, you know,

• 31:25Speaker 03

  that's when stress, things can happen, different tensions. You gotta be able to have an outlet to release. Like I said, that's the only way that you can get to the true healing of everything. So, um, yeah. When I was speaking in Miami, that's just how I was felt, how I felt at the time. You know, so to this day, I just... I look at my kids and say daddy got you forever. You know, I look at my daughter, you know, when they smile at me and they know daddy really loves them. My son knows daddy really loves me. That's what brings me joy right now and that's what keeps me saying, I'm on my way. I wanna be the biggest in the world, you know. From a humble place, but I feel like from a skill set, I feel like I am that dude.

• 32:09Speaker 03

  Like that's just how I really feel and I feel like I can step into that more because of my children. Because of my mom and having the promise I gave her and I'm, I'm ready to do all those things, so.

• 32:20Fred Taylor?

  That's also a Chicago mindset. We, we try to pride ourselves on this show with being transparent. We get messages all the time. The amount of people that, that tap in or email or DM that say how we've helped change their lives. I think we believe that's important. And you just mentioned being in Miami, just recently, not too long ago, Tyreek Hill got into a situation.

• 32:42Speaker 03

  Saw it, yeah.

• 32:43Fred Taylor?

  Some people say it was as simple as just rolling down the window. You said you got your children, you got them for life. If you had to tell your son, if he were in that situation, would you say, look, man, just roll down the damn window?

• 32:55Speaker 03

  I would say always listen to a police officer and follow, like if they're telling you to do something, comply.

• 33:02Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 33:02Speaker 03

  Just do it because you wanna do what you can to get home. You know, not saying that, you know, Tyreek was in the wrong or anything like that. When I saw it, I feel like the police just rushing the car and I was just like, that was, that was a whole. It didn't have to go down that way, but being a black man, you have to always be extra cautious with everything. You gotta throw in some yes sirs, no sir.

• 33:24Fred Taylor?

  That's real.

• 33:24Speaker 03

  I act like when the police pull me over, I know like it could go left. If I say the wrong thing and he had a bad day, he can use it out on me. And I just say, nah, I'm getting home to my kids and daddy gotta, I gotta live.

• 33:38Fred Taylor?

  Hell, yeah.

• 33:38Speaker 03

  So that's what keeps me on swivel and how I'm moving.

• 33:42Channing Crowder?

  I wanna ask you about being, about being a black man and acting though.

• 33:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 33:47Channing Crowder?

  Because it's like Lamar Jackson and every time Lamar wins his MVP, Patrick Mahomes goes off. They're like, oh, you gotta bring up Doug Williams, you gotta bring up Grantor Cunningham, you gotta bring up like being a. Does it offend you when they're like, "He's a great black actor"? Because you're just a great actor.

• 34:05Speaker 03

  Here's the thing, I've worked with Clint Eastwood twice, you know? American Sniper, Gran Torino, those were his biggest films ever. In Warner Brothers history, they grossed almost a billion dollars. So it's just like, I've done seven action films. You know, so I've been doing this for like a while, but then it's still tough. You know, I can be in a film that breaks records at Amazon and then people still like, "Come here and audition." He still ain't enough, like, he still ain't proven. "Oh, I don't know if he's right." I'm just like, "I just did the biggest face on the billboard. It went global and I played a street dude." Like, he was a, from the hood, street guy. What more do I need to show you? So it's like, it's never enough for us. It feels like we gotta just keep proving and proving and proving. But you know what?

• 34:49Speaker 03

  That's what makes us resilient and strong. And I feel like we don't stop. And that, I love it this way. Because it just makes me keep, the hunger is still, "Okay, cool, y'all didn't get it." Like, you know, I just don't do hood films. I, you know, it's well-rounded. I've done films that travel overseas.

• 35:07Fred Taylor?

  Did that film with Drew Barrymore, right?

• 35:09Speaker 03

  Wow, that was a long. Back in the day. That was back in the day. Yeah, you're talking about Never Been Kissed?

• 35:14Fred Taylor?

  Right, right.

• 35:15Speaker 03

  Yeah, so it's just like, I have over 110 credits. Like, resume credits and I got my first, my first credit actually, SAG, SAG credit here. You know, and I'm just like, it's crazy. It's crazy.

• 35:29Fred Taylor?

  For today's video, we have a special one. I want to give a huge shout-out to today's sponsor, SoFi, the all-in-one finance app.

• 35:37Channing Crowder?

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• 35:46Ryan Clark?

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• 35:58Fred Taylor?

  That's $50,000 for one public high school team and $10,000 for five other public high school teams. Man, back in Belgrade, Muck City. We would have loved this type of opportunity.

• 36:10Channing Crowder?

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• 36:25Ryan Clark?

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• 36:40Channing Crowder?

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• 37:03Ryan Clark?

  You got a chance to bring Cree to the BET Awards.

• 37:07Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 37:07Ryan Clark?

  Right, and you know, that was the, in our sport, it's unless you start having babies early, they don't really get to experience the sport. You know, I had my son when I was 21, so in my career, he got to go to Super Bowls and he got to be a part of those things. And those are still memories we share and conversations we have. You get to this point this summer and it's an opportunity to say, hey, man, you come with me. I want, I want to show you this. And he said, it's not only like the first thing I've been to like this. It's the biggest event I've ever been to in my life. What's it like to stand on the carpet with him and take pictures and be like, man, this is my boy. And he knows that like my dad's doing something where people care about.

• 37:48Speaker 03

  That was, that was beautiful for him to see his father in that, in that space. And then he got inspired because he saw people that he admired. Like in L E, he took pictures where he's like, that's on his screensaver now. He's like, that's one of my favorite rappers. So that gave him some motivation to do better in school. He started this school year, you know, all the teachers like, my son's locked in. He's doing well, you know, he's focused, he's attentive, he's there. And you know, last year he started like on a slow start. But he got inspired like to do better in school, to do better in his, his eating, like his, his, uh, his regimen for basketball. And that was all because of, you know, BET Awards, I believe.

• 38:30Speaker 03

  You know, seeing that, you know, if you do the right things in life, you know, and what you're supposed to, and have the discipline, then you can get the rewards later. You know, you gotta just sacrifice now. And he's seen all the sacrifices I've been making. And also, I took him to Chicago a few weeks ago. I threw the first pitch out for the Cubs game. They surprised him with his jersey, and that was another moment. He was just like, Dad. He told me, Dad, I really wanna go to the NBA. And I said, Son, you can do it. You can do anything you put your mind to, but we have to work. And he said, Dad, I'm gonna work. I'm gonna do right in school. I always tell them, school first, because you can't play ball without education. They ain't gonna let you. So I always preach, school, you know, listening to your parents, and then hard work, dedication, and keeping God first.

• 39:11Channing Crowder?

  It's out there with the kids. I need, this is vice, honestly.

• 39:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 39:15Channing Crowder?

  When you do a show, movie, whatever you're doing, you're an artist.

• 39:19Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 39:20Channing Crowder?

  I struggle now. I have a 13, 11-year-old, and they have Instagram, they have social media.

• 39:24Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 39:25Channing Crowder?

  And they'll come home and tell me, my friend saw you talk to Shaq, or talk to Corey, or talk to somebody.

• 39:31Speaker 03

  Right.

• 39:31Channing Crowder?

  And I resist letting them watch the full episodes of The Pivot, because sometimes the conversation... As you should. I know, so sometimes the conversations get too deep. Sometimes different things. Like, we say, and we talk about, sitting here, I'm like, a 13-year-old shouldn't see that. Do your kids, can they, are they, is it open to watch anything that Daddy's in?

• 39:51Speaker 03

  It's not, it's not, but you know, kids are gonna watch it anyway, sometimes, you know, when you're not there. They still know, they're in tune. So I, sometimes I'm like, you know, you gotta know what the real world is like. Have the knowledge and knowing from your parents to know what's right and wrong. But I don't try to hide things from my son, because if you don't show him, or he don't see it now, he gonna go see it later. So he might as well just kinda know and see it. Be educated on what it is, but consequences of things that, you know, from your actions. You know what I'm saying? And what it could lead to. So I don't try to hide nothing.

• 40:23Ryan Clark?

  I tell people all the time, I was like, you know, I don't lie to my kids. No, there are things I don't tell my children.

• 40:30Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:30Ryan Clark?

  You know, but I don't lie to them. I don't ever want, whether it's my son or my two girls, to come to me and say, Daddy, I asked you this.

• 40:37Speaker 03

  Right.

• 40:38Ryan Clark?

  And you lied to me. Now, there may be some things that they find out down the line, and they may say, well, Dad, I never knew this. And I can say, well, at the time, I didn't think it was something you needed to know, or something that would be good for you to know. And communicating with them as they get older...

• 40:57Ryan Clark?

  What are some of the things that you want to instill in them that make you who you are? Right? Because like with me with my son, it's like, hey, man, hard work is important. Right? The dedication to making sure you and your mother and your sisters are good is important to me. Because I want those things to be important to him going forward. Now, for you, when you're sharing those gems with Cree or even in the protection of what it is to be a father to a young daughter in Cairo, what are some of the things you try to impart on them when you have those times?

• 41:31Speaker 03

  Just love, man. I just try to love my kids and just love on them and just be the best dad I could be. You know, not the perfect dad, but just the best dad I can be for my kids to know they're supported, they're loved. They can come to daddy for anything. But I also let my son know to, you know, keep dreaming for a living. You know, there's no limit, there's no ceiling to what you want to do, son. Like, he likes to fly planes and, you know, he wants to go to aviation school or take that up in college. And I'm like, you can do that, too. He said he wants to NBA and fly planes. I said, do both. You know, I'm not the dad to just be like, oh, that dream is too big. Nah, man, you gotta keep dreaming. As long as you put that out there in the world and have faith and you work hard,

• 42:16Speaker 03

  I think all things are attainable on this earth. And that's all I try to teach to my kids.

• 42:22Fred Taylor?

  Now, I just want to touch back on the Chicago Cubs moment. You know, just being there with your son, Wrigley Field. I was in Chicago not too long ago. And I just hear all these people around me talking about going out to a Cubs game. It's like a tourist destination.

• 42:36Speaker 03

  Tourist, yes.

• 42:37Fred Taylor?

  Right, right. So, but Wrigley Field, you know, how historical that is as an organization.

• 42:43Speaker 03

  The ID on the back, right.

• 42:45Fred Taylor?

  Correct. Like, that particular moment, you know, being able to cast out the first pitch. Growing up in Chicago, seeing just everything Chicago, but here you are throwing out the first pitch. What was that like?

• 42:55Speaker 03

  That was surreal because my first little league team was the Cubs. I put a slide on my Instagram to show that was my first baseball team. I grew up Cubs, you know, growing up, Chicago Cubs, like Andre Dawson, Ryan Sandberg, Sean. Like, I grew up that, so I'd never imagined ever that I would be able to be on that field. So, when they asked me, and then I saw my name all over the Wrigley Field and... You know, I did water up. And that was a moment when I was just like, "Man, Mom, I'm here," you know? Not even saying I made it. I'm just like, "Man, Mom, I'm really like here." You know, I have a long way to go, but this is something to take in and be grateful and thankful for. And then to see my son, and he's taking a piece on the side with me.

• 43:40Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 43:41Speaker 03

  He's just like, "Wow, Dad, this is so cool." You know what I'm saying? And just having him there with me. Man, that was a dream come true, man.

• 43:48Ryan Clark?

  Shane, man, you been watching the Yankees? Juan Soto killing them this year.

• 43:53Channing Crowder?

  Oh, boy, they might win it all. Juan and Big, Big Judge and them boys? Goddamn, man, they gonna do something.

• 43:58Ryan Clark?

  And, bruh, the Soto Shuffle? Hey, that's my joint. You think you could do it?

• 44:03Channing Crowder?

  I can try, but I ain't gonna disrespect Juan like that. The man himself, I like to watch him do it.

• 44:09Ryan Clark?

  And your knees touched, too, so that probably...

• 44:11Channing Crowder?

  My Kenny Smith ain't gonna do it.

• 44:14Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Fanatics is offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience to meet Juan Soto. All they gotta do is download the Fanatics app and play three daily games. And, bruh, you might get a chance to learn the Soto Shuffle from the man himself.

• 44:32Fred Taylor?

  Back to what RC said earlier. If she was here to see you throw out that pitch, what would she say to you?

• 44:40Speaker 03

  She would just hug me, tell me how much she loves me, how much she's proud of me. You know, as black men, or just men, period, you just wanna hear someone tell you they support you and they love you. You know, and that gives you strength to keep going and just give you a hug sometimes. That's all you need is a hug. And just say, "I'm proud of you." You know, we don't get it. I don't think we get enough of that. It's always a lot of tearing down. You know, it's a lot of divisiveness, putting people against people. But, you know, I don't believe in none of that. You know, I feel like it's not healthy for the future of anything. It's not... Nothing can be progressive with negative energy. You know, life is too short. And we had it hard enough to be in this position. I'm sure you guys had to fight to get the podcast

• 45:26Speaker 03

  or fight in the league. And I had to fight and struggle to get here. So why tear it down? Let's just continue to build up, you know? And be the example for the people behind us, our children. I don't believe in nothing, tearing nothing down. You'll never hear me speaking down on anyone.

• 45:44Ryan Clark?

  That's the question I wanted to ask you. You are here now and you've thrown out the pitch and you're talking. You and Tyler are gonna do another movie because of what you were able to create together. But your ascension hasn't been like this, right? It's been, there's been waves and dips and valleys in it. How have?

• 46:04Speaker 03

  Still dips.

• 46:05Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, it's to say like, how do you maintain like yourself in those moments? Because you can feel good, like you can have this emotional moment where you tear up with your son and you can bring him to the BET Awards. And then as entertainment goes, the next year, you may not be at those things. You may not be sitting down for all the interviews. What are those moments like where you kind of think to yourself, well, dog, I was just there. Like, I already showed y'all.

• 46:34Speaker 03

  I showed them and I keep showing them. Like, I've been in, like I tell you, number one films. I have like seven or eight projects on Netflix now, if you just type my name in. I did a film called Brotherly Love, you know? It was a low budget film. We shot in Philly. It did like 700 million hours on Netflix. So the young culture, I couldn't go nowhere. And I'm like, June, you know? Boy, I'm like, June.

• 46:58Speaker 03

  I'm like, I'm not June, y'all, stop. But what I'm saying is, it still feels sometimes like you starting over to prove yourself. And it's just like not to our people because I can't go nowhere outside of it. L.A., you know, you're a star, but they're like, we just seen Eddie Murphy. He ain't nothing.

• 47:16Speaker 03

  You know, L.A., it's different. But everywhere else, it's just like, I need some security and it's like, that's Corey. And I'm just like, sometimes I'm like, I wish Hollywood can see, like, I do have the culture, the people. You know, but to them, they're just like, you know. That's fine, though. It is what it is.

• 47:32Channing Crowder?

  To hell with Hollywood. You, because you brought up, like you said, worldwide, 700 million hours, all the, all the stuff you said, and we know it, 32 years. And the Cubs game, we were like, you teared up.

• 47:44Speaker 03

  I teared up.

• 47:44Channing Crowder?

  What's your proudest moment in your life where you look back and say, it's that?

• 47:52Speaker 03

  My proudest career moment?

• 47:53Channing Crowder?

  Your proudest career, well, you already gotta take the babies out of it, because, watch it. You gotta take the babies out of it. You gotta take all the, but your career moment, I worked this hard. I've watched, like you said, I've watched all these films. I worked on my craft, everything you said.

• 48:07Speaker 03

  I would.

• 48:08Channing Crowder?

  I did this.

• 48:10Speaker 03

  I would say the new film that just came out, Divorce in the Black, because this was the first film for like our culture that I was like a face of, like major face of. And then I proved like myself, you know, I mean Tyler, he set it up for us to succeed with this. But, you know, we still had to go out and do the characters and stuff, but the film, it was a global number one film. I never had a global number one film that I was like a part of, a face of. And like I said, they're still saying, can he do more, you know?

• 48:41Channing Crowder?

  Show us again.

• 48:42Speaker 03

  I'm like, damn, you know, I'm showing that I'm a leading man, you know, I'm showing that, you know, I can get out there and rock with the best of them, and that's all I want. I wish it was fair, but it's not fair. But, that's okay. I would say this film, right here.

• 48:57Channing Crowder?

  That's cool.

• 48:58Speaker 03

  Yeah, this film.

• 48:59Channing Crowder?

  Like, how, you know, because I always talk about Crabs in the Barrel.

• 49:03Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 49:04Channing Crowder?

  Right, and you mentioned, like, you're never gonna be a part of tearing anything down, which I love. Right, and I talk about history sometimes and how certain spaces have made us feel, or they try to make us feel like it's not enough room for us all.

• 49:20Ryan Clark?

  Right, when I always try to tell people, hey, we all can eat. And if I'm eating good over here, there are ways I can bring you with me. How competitive is it, though, for black actors? Right, where it's like, okay, how you said, man, I can play a street dude, I can do this. But sometimes you get typecast as this is what you're gonna be.

• 49:39Speaker 03

  Right.

• 49:40Ryan Clark?

  How difficult is that to prove and dispel that you do have the ability to be a diverse? Hell, that's being.

• 49:49Speaker 03

  That's being. I've showed that, like the show I'm on, All American Homecoming, I played a coach, father figure. You know what I'm saying? He was all positive, he was hard-nosed, he was tough, you know, he loved the students. So I showed that, you know, that type of character as well with that is very inspiring. But like I said, I'm, you know, God willing, I don't, I don't think I'm get typecast at all because I'm versatile, I'm an actor. You know, I would love to play romantic comedies, I'm funny, you know, a lot of my drama is funny. It's just grounded and just straight, you know, but it's funny, people laughing off of it. Like I said, I can, I can play any character, you know, and I feel like it's not just about black

• 50:30Speaker 03

  and white or anything, it's just all about playing good characters and good roles, you know, that transcend for the world and I feel like I'm a global actor. I showed that, you know, I really do feel that way.

• 50:42Ryan Clark?

  He can't play an old dude with facial hair because he clearly can't grow no.

• 50:46Speaker 03

  You saw inside, bro.

• 50:48Ryan Clark?

  Hey, my dog can't grow no facial hair.

• 50:51Speaker 03

  They comparing me to Ike Turner, man.

• 50:52Ryan Clark?

  That one yours.

• 50:55Ryan Clark?

  What role is most like yourself that you've played?

• 51:00Speaker 03

  I would say Battle of Los Angeles, I don't know if y'all seen this film I did. Alien Invasion film, Fight in L.A., the kid, the character, this is how I'll tell you how great God is. The character on paper, he was written Italian and I went in, auditioned for him and changed the name to Lockett. But the guy was from the South Side of Chicago, he lost his mother and he lost his brother. And that was on the breakdown and I had lost my brother. He was murdered in Chicago 16 years ago and my mom. And I said, and he was, the guy was from the South Side, so I felt like that role was written for me. And this was before I got the role, you know, and I was just like, oh, this has to be a sign. And then I wound up getting, that was like my first big studio movie, so that one meant. The most to me and still do to this day.

• 51:41Fred Taylor?

  Corey Chan asks you your most proud moment or your proudest moment. I want to ask you what's been your biggest pivot. Your biggest pivot in life, that's or pivots, that's a moment or moments where you can look back and say, without this happening to me, I wouldn't be who I am today.

• 51:58Speaker 03

  I would say my children. That changed me, you know, for the best and for the better. You know, just in having a daughter, you know, changed me as well. You know, because you look at, you look at everything different when you have a daughter. It's like it's delicate situation, everything is, you gotta be gentle. You know, you gotta listen more. But yeah, having a daughter changed it all for me and my son, of course, but just that daughter moment like, you know, it's like, because the daughter, when you see her, you can just break down in her, you know, it's like, you know, I love that feeling too. And I love that she knows that I got her, you know, for the rest of her life, so.

• 52:38Ryan Clark?

  When we become one with a person, especially somebody that does the same thing that we do, the culture grabs on to it. You know, we got into a little trouble when our show first started because we said something about Ciara and Russell Wilson. And it was, it was a pain and it wasn't negative about who they were, but the culture in our community was like, those are ours, you know. And then to see you stand alone, man, and continue to be your authentic self and continue to show love and continue to not tear down, I just want to say I commend you for that.

• 53:19Ryan Clark?

  The ability to be open and to be vulnerable when people may not be saying the best things about you. Because they don't know what's actually going on in your life. They don't know how you truly behave. They don't know how you truly treat people. And for me, man, so even in researching to sit down with you today, to never see you say anything negative, to never see you cause any division based on what you allow people to know publicly, I think that's so commendable. And I think more, not just black men, more men need to understand that there's a responsibility as a man to behave as one.

• 54:00Ryan Clark?

  You know, and I think you've exemplified that, you know, through what at least we've been able to see publicly, and I didn't want to let you leave here without knowing that I appreciate that example, you know, from you.

• 54:13Speaker 03

  Thank you.

• 54:14Ryan Clark?

  I truly do.

• 54:15Speaker 03

  That means a lot, just from y'all brothers, positive brothers, just having me here with y'all. You know, I feel the love in the room, and it's genuine, it's real, and um, thank you.

• 54:24Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 54:25Speaker 03

  Thank you, proud of you guys.

• 54:26Ryan Clark?

  That's perfect, man.

• 54:27Channing Crowder?

  Bro, don't ask us, have you seen this movie? Nigga, we seen all your movies, man.

• 54:30Ryan Clark?

  I don't be knowing, man.

• 54:31Speaker 03

  I know Hollywood.

• 54:32Ryan Clark?

  No, I can't believe it.

• 54:33Channing Crowder?

  Man, we done seen everything, bro.

• 54:35Ryan Clark?

  I can't believe that you just make that jump up though.

• 54:38Speaker 03

  Thank you, brother.

• 54:39Ryan Clark?

  Hey, cause I can't act like that.

• 54:41Speaker 03

  They not gonna make the playoffs.

• 54:42Channing Crowder?

  One of them shots he says, I don't do it, y'all see?

• 54:44Speaker 03

  They came off the gate, no, they just started. Always win like two or three early, and then shit just start going bad after the seventh game. What we doing? We doing the penitentiary? That's what we doing?

• 54:53Ryan Clark?

  Whatever you guys. Yeah, we do, we do.

• 54:55Speaker 03

  I ain't gonna do that, man.

• 54:56Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you do. I ain't been to the penitentiary, buddy.