Joy 101: Rosie Perez

"Some days are not easy. You know? And so what do I do? I text my therapist. I got her out of retirement. She told me she was retiring. I go, "you can't! I need you!'"-Rosie Perez Experience the full conversation on the "Joy 101 podcast with Hoda Kotb" wherever you listen to podcasts. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is Presented by CVS. Shop your local CVS, right around the corner. Experience the full conversation on the "Joy 101 podcast with Hoda Kotb" wherever you listen to podcasts. For more information please visit us at www.joy101.com/podcast https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joy101.com%2Fpodcast&data=05%7C02%7CBrianBurton%40iheartmedia.com%7C66e6369922ee45e4518d08deccb431af%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639173271484729655%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=iNsrbaYJoRqrwlHSzDiyAUy%2BHopgPPWxQJqL%2BsBHD4A%3D&reserved=0 See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

• 0:10Hoda Kotb?

  Hi guys, so I've been thinking a lot about sports, okay? Because I feel like I've been talking to so many different people and these athletes have become sort of their pinup person, the person that they look to for inspiration. So I spoke to Mariska Hargitay a couple of days ago when she talked to me about Jalen Brunson, who is a star player for the Knicks. And she said one of the things she loved about him was that no matter how great things got or how crummy things got, Jalen was in it for the work. He was in it for the work. It didn't matter how high things went or how low. And she admired that because he has a love of the work. So I started thinking about other athletes who have something similar to that.

• 0:54Hoda Kotb?

  And they're everywhere. People who are in it for the sheer love of it. Forget about if you get an award. Forget about whatever the thing is. It's just that do you love what you are doing? And I actually started thinking about my own mom. So this is so crazy. So when I was growing up, my mom always went running, okay? Every morning she'd lace up her shoes. Who wants to come? No, no, nobody wanted to go. She would run. She would run, she would run. When she turned 60, she decided that she was going to run her first marathon, okay? My brother and sister-in-law were like, oh my God, wait, what? My mom was running the Marine Corps Marathon. So she loved running. She just loved it. She didn't care what place, she didn't care anything. So the three of us, my brother, sister and I, went to watch her run the Marine Corps Marathon.

• 1:39Hoda Kotb?

  It was burning hot. It was a November day in DC and she was sweating at mile six. She was like drenched. My sister goes, my God, mom is dying. Like someone has to get in. Someone's got to get in. My sister had on sandals and my brother had on loafers and I had sneakers on. So I was the one who was elected to jump in the race with my mom. So I get in at mile six and start running with her. We're running, we're talking, she's delirious. We're at mile 12, we're at mile 15. You know, I'm like, you know, I'm in pants or whatever. It was like one of those weird running experiences, but it was so great. But there's a thing in the Marine Corps Marathon that if you don't get to a certain point by mile 23, they open the roads up, right? So everybody gets to go. All the cars get to come through.

• 2:23Hoda Kotb?

  And I'm looking at my watch and I know we're close to the time. And I see a policeman in front of us and we're at mile 23 or 24 of a 26.2 mile race. We're near the end. We get there and the guy blows his whistle and says, get on the bus. There's a bus right there. And I see faces of people on the bus at mile 24 of 26, right? So I go, Mom, get it. I go, just follow me, follow me. We're like so, it's such troubles. So I start running past the police officer. My mom's following me and giggling. It's all, all the highways open to traffic. So cars are literally licking the side of us as we're running. She's squealing with delight. It was amazing. We get to the bottom of the Iwo Jima Memorial and I just dead stop.

• 3:05Hoda Kotb?

  And I watch her, I have a towel in my hand and I'm swinging it around and I watch her run up that hill. And I'm, my brother and sister on the top of the hill and I see my brother, my sister's crying and my brother's crying, although he claimed he was hungry, whatever. Anyway, she finishes the race and I'll never forget it as long as I live. It's like, if she can do that, I can do this. She's in it for the work, the love of it and the accomplishment. Which brings me to the guest we're about to have on. Okay. So my guest is not an athlete, but she loves boxing. Okay. She loves to box. Boxing is a metaphor for her life. It is when you fall down, you get up.

• 3:50Hoda Kotb?

  When you fall down, you get up. I'm talking about Rosie Perez. You may know her as an Oscar and Emmy nominated actress. She's so much more than that, you guys. She is the definition of resilience and joy. She is someone who has overcome what I believe to be imaginable things in her youth. And she emerged as this incredible blossoming flower. And I think after you listen to this conversation with Rosie, you will say, if she can do that, all the things she's been through, then I can do this. So I hope you enjoy this conversation.

• 4:31Speaker 01

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• 4:36Hoda Kotb?

  Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS. I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels, and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joy Word Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to-do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Every purchase is a financial decision. So it's worth asking, what am I getting out of this? If you're using the Chase Freedom Flex Card,

• 5:19Hoda Kotb?

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• 5:41Speaker 02

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• 5:56Speaker 03

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• 6:11Speaker 04

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• 6:57Hoda Kotb?

  I'm just going to say this to you. When I started this podcast, they said, who do you want? And I thought of you immediately because A, you and I have this weird connection, which I have felt since the first time I met you. And secondly, because I think you're one of the most fascinating people I've ever met. So I just want to point out for people listening, Rosie rolled up by herself. You don't have like 15 people. You came in, you look glamorous. Were you in a fender bender or something on the way here? What happened?

• 7:30Speaker 06

  I ordered an Uber.

• 7:31Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 7:32Speaker 06

  And the Uber driver got in an accident. And, um, and I was like, oh my gosh, I gotta go. Are you okay? He goes, no, I'm not okay. Look in my car. And I go, oh, I'm so sorry. By the way, I'm fine.

• 7:48Speaker 06

  And, um, and then I just, I just hurried up back home because it was just a block away. And ordered another one and got in and.

• 7:56Hoda Kotb?

  I mean, this is, by the way, I just want to say, this is very emblematic or symbolic of how you live your life. Something happens, you're like, okay, fine, next. Like you don't let, someone else would have walked in here and said, oh my God, you're not, you didn't even bring it up. I only knew because you said, I'll be a couple of minutes late. I happen to have gotten into an accident, but that's kind of how you navigate life.

• 8:17Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 8:18Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 8:18Speaker 06

  I mean, my earlier life was just so chaotic and stressful that when I get stressed now, I just have like a reality check and like, girl, things are not that bad. You know, you know what bad is, you know? And, and, um, and so I just kind of have. Always been an optimistic person. I've always been the person who saw the glass half-full, not half-empty. I always felt like better things are to come. It used to drive people crazy when I was younger. It would irritate them.

• 8:55Hoda Kotb?

  Why? Because they wanted you to feel the pain of life?

• 8:58Speaker 06

  They wanted me to feel the pain of life. And then there were others that,

• 9:05Speaker 06

  well, one of the girls that I grew up with, Lydia, we're still friends to this day. We've known each other since we were four years old. And she said, I remember the day when someone said, you think you're special. And I was nine years old. And I said, no, I know I'm special, and so are you. Why don't you know it? At nine years old. At nine years old.

• 9:28Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 9:28Speaker 06

  And it's just who I was.

• 9:30Hoda Kotb?

  So I want to, let's, let's go there because I, I just want our listeners to know about you. So people meet you now. You are real. You're an Oscar and Emmy nominated actress. People know you from a million different types of movies. But if someone had met you, Rosie, at five years old, what child would they have met? Picture yourself at five, where you were.

• 9:58Speaker 06

  I was in a convent and, and being raised by nuns. Some of them were very sadistic. Others were great. With all children that I weren't, wasn't relate to, related to. There was a few that I was, but I didn't know I was related to them. And I was a kid that was always singing, always dancing, and always laughing and had a bad temper.

• 10:25Hoda Kotb?

  Those are all your things. So you said you're in this convent.

• 10:28Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 10:29Hoda Kotb?

  For children who were unwanted or orphans. But you weren't an orphan.

• 10:34Speaker 06

  No.

• 10:34Hoda Kotb?

  You, you had a mom and a dad. So how did you wind up there?

• 10:40Speaker 06

  My mother and father had an affair. I'm a product of scandalous, scandalous, you know.

• 10:47Hoda Kotb?

  Explains a lot.

• 10:49Speaker 06

  An affair. And back in those days, you know, if you had the child, you know, because my family was Catholic, you would put them in a convent. But there was no reason for me to be placed there because my mother gave me away when I was a week old to my father's sister. So I thought she was my mother. And she came back four years later only to rip me out of my aunt's arms and send me to this Catholic home for unwanted displaced or orphaned children.

• 11:23Hoda Kotb?

  Wow. So you were raised by a woman you thought was your mom, it was your aunt?

• 11:27Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 11:28Hoda Kotb?

  And then your mom one day just got a wild hair and came in and got you?

• 11:33Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 11:34Hoda Kotb?

  So weird, right?

• 11:35Speaker 06

  It is weird. She suffered from a paranoid schizophrenic. She was a paranoid schizophrenic.

• 11:43Speaker 06

  I still don't understand it to this day, and I've learned to just let it go. Because it used to drive me crazy, you know, and so, you know, and being in a place where you're not related to anybody, you start to really understand human nature on a certain level. I can come in a room and I can assess everybody's personality, but I keep it quiet to myself because that was how I learned how to survive. So I could tell who were the bad kids, who were the nice kids, who were the manipulative kids, who were the kids who wanted to be in cliques, who were the leaders, who were their jealous ones. You just learn that very, very quickly.

• 12:21Speaker 06

  And I just gravitated to the silly nerds, you know? And since I always loved old movies and I would watch them with my aunt and everything and, you know, I would just always be dancing and singing all the time.

• 12:42Hoda Kotb?

  You had that sunny personality and that you're this bright light, yet when I think about the way that you were raised there at this convent for kids who weren't wanted, what, how did you endure? Like, how bad did it get there?

• 12:59Speaker 06

  It got really bad. If you can think of the darkest, it was really bad. There were children who were...

• 13:07Speaker 06

  Being beaten on a daily, I was beaten a lot. Because this one nun, I don't want to say her real name, I call her Sister Renata, but that's not her real name.

• 13:19Speaker 06

  You know, she always would say, I'mma beat that spirit out of you. And then I would just go, no you won't. And then she, smack, smack, smack.

• 13:30Speaker 06

  It's still there, smack, smack, smack. It was like that. And then there were kids that were molested by priests and by nuns and by counselors.

• 13:42Speaker 06

  There were kids that were heavily medicated. You had to go see a therapist once a week on the grounds. He would, you know, sit there and smoke a pipe in front of a kid. It was weird. It was back then.

• 13:58Speaker 06

  And just ask you the same questions over and over. And you were terrified. You were terrified because if you answered incorrectly or if you behave, misbehave too much, you know that you were going to be placed on medication. And those kids would come back like zombies.

• 14:17Hoda Kotb?

  Zombies.

• 14:17Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 14:18Hoda Kotb?

  How did you endure? I mean, you're a kid. I mean, I'm just thinking about my own kids. I have a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old. So I think, how does, I can't imagine them surviving in this kind of environment. How did you?

• 14:33Speaker 06

  Through the grace of God. And through the love of my aunt. And my father, who I later found out was my father, I thought he was my uncle.

• 14:47Speaker 06

  And through some of the counselors that worked there. And I had a volunteer, which they call a big sister now, Ms. Claudia. She would take me, she was actually the kindergarten teacher. And she would take me on the weekends if my mother would prevent my aunt or my father from allowing me to go home on the weekends.

• 15:12Speaker 06

  Uh, there was Sister Anne, I could say her name. She was so lovely and sweet and young. Um, and there was Sister Margaret Frances that changed my life. She was one, she's the one that pushed me in a positive way. She never hit me, she never berated me, but she was also very stern in, in a very, very, um, firm but loving way. And, uh, she was always the person that's saying, you need to think about your future. And I'm going, annoying. And she would crack up. And I remember she was the first person to call me a pip.

• 15:56Hoda Kotb?

  A pip?

• 15:56Speaker 06

  She goes, she said, Rose, you're a pip. And I went, who is the pip we possess? There she goes, you know, so that's who I was, you know, so, uh, um, uh, and she was the one that she left the order, she left the convent, which was scandalous. Uh, and she came back a couple of weeks later after she left and she was sitting at the dining room table and she grabbed my arm and she said, get out of here any way you can. Your ticket out is your brain. Put your head down, study hard and get out because you can make it. But you have to do it. You have to do it. Promise me you're gonna do it.

• 16:37Speaker 06

  And she was squeezing my hand, my arm so hard and I went, I promise you. And there was tears coming down her eyes. I've never seen Sister Margaret Frances ever cry. And, and she was just like, promise me. And I go, I promise, I promise. She said, okay, got up and left and never saw again.

• 16:54Hoda Kotb?

  Never saw her again.

• 16:55Speaker 06

  No.

• 16:56Hoda Kotb?

  So she changed the course of your life there?

• 16:58Speaker 06

  She changed the course of my life.

• 17:01Hoda Kotb?

  Boy, one person can do that.

• 17:03Speaker 06

  One person.

• 17:04Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 17:04Speaker 06

  But it's, if you think about it, it also was a village.

• 17:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 17:07Speaker 06

  You know what I mean?

• 17:08Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 17:08Speaker 06

  It was, it was a village and people can change a young person's life. People, you know, that's why I always tell people, give back. Give back because you don't know, you don't know who you're gonna affect.

• 17:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 17:20Speaker 06

  You know?

• 17:21Hoda Kotb?

  So you

• 17:22Speaker 06

  This is what you do. Every time I tell you a story, you start crying. And I know you're pulling it back. You're really good at pulling it back, but I could see it. Yeah.

• 17:31Hoda Kotb?

  Well, I think it's beautiful because I, I, I mean, when I look at you right now, sitting here, I, I actually picture the little kid and the idea that through all of that, here you sit. Here you sit, cast in White Lotus. Here you sit in all these movies. Here you sit with Oscar and Emmy nominations. Here you sit with people on the street going, Rosie, you know, from that little kid to this. I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments, the birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So like this, I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow, the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for.

• 18:14Hoda Kotb?

  So maybe I'll grab a delicious well-marked snack, or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts, and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're going to save on things you're already buying, and those extra bucks really do add up. Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know life's busy. We're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS pharmacy.

• 18:55Hoda Kotb?

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• 19:35Hoda Kotb?

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• 20:10Speaker 07

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• 20:40Hoda Kotb?

  So you wanted to be a, you were in some kind of what biochemistry? What was it? What was your major?

• 20:45Speaker 06

  Biochem.

• 20:46Hoda Kotb?

  Biochem. What did you want to do?

• 20:48Speaker 06

  I wanted to be the female Jack Cousteau, which wasn't really smart because I didn't like to get into the ocean. I was afraid of the ocean. And I didn't like to get in water because I didn't like to get my hair wet.

• 20:59Hoda Kotb?

  Girl. Okay, I just want to say I feel seen. I feel great. Please, when, if it starts raining, you think there's incoming fire. I am like running, weather sensitive hair. Okay, continue.

• 21:13Speaker 06

  Yes, but I was fascinated. And it was because, talking about half glass.

• 21:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 21:20Speaker 06

  Half full is because. I almost drowned in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

• 21:25Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, jeez.

• 21:26Speaker 06

  In, in a riptide. And I kept having these nightmares.

• 21:29Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 21:30Speaker 06

  About all these sea creatures pulling me down. And I love the show Jack Gusteau. And so I was like, I'm gonna be the female Jack. I'm gonna be that. I'm gonna conquer this.

• 21:40Hoda Kotb?

  It's so funny, the thing you're the most terrified of, that's what you keep jumping into. Like, okay, so you were doing that for a while, but you are also gifted in so many ways. You love to dance. So dancing took up a big chunk of your life when you weren't studying, right?

• 21:55Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 21:56Hoda Kotb?

  Tell me about that.

• 21:57Speaker 06

  Um, I used to go to the nightclubs religiously. I would go to the nightclubs maybe five, six times a week.

• 22:04Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 22:04Speaker 06

  And the only reason why I could sustain that and still go to school and have a job, jobs, um, was because I was straight edge. I didn't smoke, I didn't drink, I didn't do anything. Until I met my best friend, Pa Had Julie.

• 22:18Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 22:19Speaker 06

  Um, and, uh, so it was just like, you know, I was just, I was free.

• 22:25Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 22:25Speaker 06

  You know what I mean? I was on my own.

• 22:26Hoda Kotb?

  Hmm.

• 22:27Speaker 06

  I was free, I was, I was going to, uh, create my path. And I just wanted to enjoy life. I, every single moment that I was awake, I wanted to enjoy life. Even if I wasn't doing anything, that had to be quality time of, I love being bored. And I have to have quality boredom, you know?

• 22:47Hoda Kotb?

  Quality boredom, what is that?

• 22:48Speaker 06

  Quality boredom.

• 22:49Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, I wanna know.

• 22:49Speaker 06

  Is when you sit on the couch and you turn on T C M. You know what I mean? And you have your favorite cup of tea there.

• 22:56Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 22:56Speaker 06

  You know, or maybe a nice glass of white sans cire. You know, or some other couture. And, um, you know, and you don't answer the phone.

• 23:05Hoda Kotb?

  Don't answer the phone.

• 23:05Speaker 06

  You don't do anything.

• 23:07Hoda Kotb?

  Free, I love it, quality boredom. Okay, I'm into that.

• 23:09Speaker 06

  It's just that.

• 23:10Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 23:10Speaker 06

  It's just that.

• 23:10Hoda Kotb?

  It's so funny, your discipline, because you are where you are because, well, you just said, I didn't know you had jobs and dancing and work. How did, like, what was a normal day when you were that age? How'd you do all the things?

• 23:24Speaker 06

  Uh, when I was going to college, um. Get up at the crack of dawn.

• 23:28Hoda Kotb?

  Uh huh.

• 23:28Speaker 06

  Go to one community college.

• 23:31Hoda Kotb?

  Mm hmm.

• 23:31Speaker 06

  Um, take the bus all the way across town in L A. Go to another community college, then take the bus back across town and go work at Sizzler's, which I hated.

• 23:43Hoda Kotb?

  Was that the steakhouse?

• 23:44Speaker 06

  Yeah, Sizzler's Steakhouse. And it was good because then like while um, you know, some when someone ordered like the endless uh bucket of shrimp. I was like, yes, cuz I would.

• 23:56Speaker 06

  You know, and just um, you know, cuz I was starving. Um, and then after that job, I would go and work at um Golden Bird Fried Chicken at the office. And then after that job, I would work at a record uh uh store doing inventory on La Brea Avenue. And then I would go home.

• 24:16Hoda Kotb?

  And you were, you did your homework in between?

• 24:18Speaker 06

  I did my homework in between. I would do my homework before I went to bed. Um, and then I would be finished cuz I was very, very disciplined. And then it was like time to go to the clubs.

• 24:29Hoda Kotb?

  And you would dance in the night?

• 24:30Speaker 06

  I would dance. I would always be at the clubs early, like at nine o'clock when it was ladies night so I could get in for free.

• 24:36Hoda Kotb?

  Uh huh.

• 24:37Speaker 06

  And then I would leave the club at eleven. Everybody's like, where are you going? I said, I gotta go to bed.

• 24:40Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah. Oh, my god. Okay, so you you wound up on Soul Train, which was like puts you kind of in the national spotlight, although you didn't get paid. You were just dancing. What did you like about Soul Train?

• 24:53Speaker 06

  Dancing.

• 24:53Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah. What did it give you? What's the feeling?

• 24:56Speaker 06

  Um, that I couldn't believe that I was on television and that Don Cornelius was right in front of me, you know? And um, it was just fun. And then you're seeing like your favorite recording artist come on stage.

• 25:10Hoda Kotb?

  How did they find you? How'd you even get that gig?

• 25:12Speaker 06

  I was working uh, no, I was um dancing with my girls, with my college buddies at Florentine Gardens. Uh, I don't know if it was Hollywood or Sunset um on ladies night. And uh, the talent scout from Soul Train was um at the club. And he said, I want you to be on Soul Train. I went, what? And I couldn't believe it. And I said, can my girlfriends come? He goes, do they look like you? I said, better. And I told my girls to come on over and they did and and we all got invited down.

• 25:45Hoda Kotb?

  Wow. And that was, that ended up being like a career changer. So you're dancing on Soul Train. People are noticing you, but your dad isn't such a fan.

• 25:53Speaker 06

  No, no, no, no.

• 25:55Hoda Kotb?

  No, what happened?

• 25:56Speaker 06

  Oh, man. I thought like, cause back then Puerto Rico didn't get all the American channels. So I'm thinking he'll never gonna see this, right? He's never gonna see this. Cause every time I would go back to Puerto Rico, I had like, you know, the dresses with the collar up to here and the sleeve down here and you know, and you know, the good, you know, little Catholic girl and you know, uh, bendición papi, you know, like that. And then cut to,

• 26:22Speaker 06

  you know, and and he was, they said he was mortified.

• 26:25Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, he was tech'd.

• 26:26Speaker 06

  He was so angry. He called me and he goes, allo. I go, hi daddy, how are you? I saw you. Where? In the Soul Train TV. And I went, oh, and he goes, no, no, no, no, no.

• 26:45Hoda Kotb?

  That was it?

• 26:46Speaker 06

  That was it.

• 26:47Hoda Kotb?

  You quit?

• 26:47Speaker 06

  I quit.

• 26:48Hoda Kotb?

  God, you really respected your dad, huh?

• 26:50Speaker 06

  Oh, yeah.

• 26:51Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 26:53Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 26:53Hoda Kotb?

  By the way, did, was your mom still around and she's, yeah, do you have any contact or?

• 26:58Speaker 06

  Um, my father made me.

• 27:00Hoda Kotb?

  Okay.

• 27:00Speaker 06

  My father made me have contact with her and I resented it. And, you know, in hindsight, I'm glad he he did.

• 27:10Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, he forced you.

• 27:11Speaker 06

  He forced me.

• 27:12Hoda Kotb?

  Um, so you, I mean, look, you're a great dancer, but you were made for movies and TV and stuff. Um, and Spike Lee was the one who found you.

• 27:20Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 27:20Hoda Kotb?

  Which I, first of all, I'm just so excited watching Spike on the sidelines of the Knicks. Are you freaking out, by the way, about the Knicks?

• 27:27Speaker 06

  Yes, yes.

• 27:29Hoda Kotb?

  So Spike sees you and cast you, but how?

• 27:33Speaker 06

  Um, well, happy most is that, um, uh, I was leaving California, cause I didn't like it. Um, so I was gonna transfer to Stony Brook. Um, out in Long Island and uh, it was my last night in L A. And uh, one of the people from Soul Train said, um, they're, they're having this party and they're asking some of the Soul Train dancers to come down, so it looks like it's a party. Um, uh, will you come? I go, nah. And my girlfriend Marion Way goes, let's go. She was never on Soul Train. She was my college buddy. And she was transferring to Howard and we were gonna fly to D C first and then drive up to New York.

• 28:14Speaker 06

  So we went, they're having a butt contest because he was promoting School Days and the uh, record that was the hit for the movie was doing the butt. And so these girls were like bending over and, and, and everything. And I said, is this what you want? And I got up on a, on a, a riser, on a, um, speaker and I said, this is what you want. Don't let, this is what y'all look like, da, da, da, da. Spike Lee comes over with two bodyguards and I go, oh, oh. And then I got scared. And um, and he goes, get down, get down. And, and I, I got down and I am trembling. He could see I'm trembling that I'm scared, but I fronted.

• 28:53Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 28:53Speaker 06

  And I went, what?

• 28:57Speaker 06

  And he goes, he starts laughing. He goes, where are you from? And I said, Brooklyn.

• 29:03Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 29:04Speaker 06

  And he goes, he starts laughing again. I said, what the? It's so funny.

• 29:08Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 29:08Speaker 06

  And he goes, oh my God, this is fate. Tonight's fate is fate. And he starts laughing. So I was gonna go. He goes, no, no, no, no, no way. I'm telling you, I'm telling you. This is fate. Tonight is fate. You're an actress. I go, I'm not an actress. I'm a biochem major. And he goes, no, you're an actress. Tonight is fate. And I went, oh, you wish. And he starts laughing again.

• 29:29Hoda Kotb?

  You're like totally poking him.

• 29:31Speaker 06

  And I'm not getting it.

• 29:32Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 29:33Speaker 06

  And my girlfriend Marion is like, bro, shut up. This is Spike Lee. I go, who?

• 29:39Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, you, you didn't know who he was?

• 29:40Speaker 06

  I didn't know who he was.

• 29:41Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 29:42Speaker 06

  I didn't know who he was. And then he told his producer, Monty Ross at the time, give him my card. And I looked at the card and I'm thinking.

• 29:54Speaker 06

  It's never gonna happen, dude. And it just kept making him laugh and he followed me out. He says, call me, okay? You gonna call me? You gonna call me? And I said, what is this, a scene from Saturday Night Fever? Tony, you're gonna call me? Tony, you didn't call me. You know that scene?

• 30:10Hoda Kotb?

  Of course.

• 30:11Speaker 06

  When he's up on the bridge, ready to kill himself? You didn't call me, Tony, right? And so Spike just keeps laughing. I leave the club and I throw the card into the garbage. And it was one of those tin round, big things. Marion dove into that garbage and took it out. She goes, are you crazy?

• 30:31Hoda Kotb?

  You can't let this one go. And the rest, and so you get, you get.

• 30:35Speaker 06

  She called him, I didn't. She called him the next morning. He says, I don't want to talk to you. I want to talk to the girl with the Puerto Rican accent. Now, in L.A., no one could figure out what my accent was.

• 30:46Hoda Kotb?

  They were probably like, what is that? Right, right.

• 30:47Speaker 06

  Yeah. And he goes, he wants to talk to the girl with the Puerto Rican accent. And that got my interest.

• 30:53Hoda Kotb?

  So you were like, ah, I'm into this. So you get cast and do the right thing. It's amazing. And then this shocked me. So you are in this movie. It gets lots of recognition. You don't get another part right away. You don't, no one's signing you. Like, what happened? I mean, this was a big deal.

• 31:12Speaker 06

  Well, everyone thought it was just a fluke. Um, and it was even a, I remember a, a reporter said, she's a fluke. And I saw him years later, when he interviewed me for Fearless. And I said, do you remember?

• 31:31Hoda Kotb?

  And by the way, we should point out Fearless is where you got your Oscar nomination. So, so this, this guy came up again, okay?

• 31:37Speaker 06

  So, um.

• 31:39Hoda Kotb?

  Isn't it funny, by the way, how we don't forget? Like, an ouch that comes even that early in our careers. It's like you can see the headline, you can think about the person.

• 31:49Speaker 06

  Yeah. Um, that's my childhood trauma. Because that was like Sister Renata. You're never gonna amount to anything. And I said, yes, I am.

• 31:58Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 31:58Speaker 06

  You know, and so it was, it was that. Um, and I decided to go back to college to finish. And my aunt was so upset, she wanted me to go back and get a job. And I'm like, she goes, do you think you could get a job as the secretary? And I said, oh, my God. Um, and then yeah. And but when the premiere came out, I sat in the theater and I sat there, couldn't move, tears coming down my eyes. And my half sister goes, is it the nudity? And I went, no, it's the magic. I said, this is what I want to do. Spike Lee was right. And that was it.

• 32:42Speaker 06

  And nobody, no calls, no nothing, this and that. So I did my research and I started asking, how do actors get jobs? You need an agent. How do you get an agent? Well, that's tricky, you know? I was like, it's a catch 22. And I was like, oh. And then one actor said, well, there's this magazine called Backstage. And it's a casting call. And I went on it and I saw a casting for this HBO movie starring Forrest Whitaker and Anthony La Pagna and Jennifer Grey. And I went out for it. I just went in.

• 33:19Hoda Kotb?

  Just cold. You just, where's Rosie knocking on the door at the casting call? What happened?

• 33:23Speaker 06

  I got the role. I got the role. And then Jennifer Grey goes, who's your agent? And there was this woman at the time that was trying to rep me, but she asked if I could get a nose job and dye my hair blonde. And so I fired her. Yeah.

• 33:40Hoda Kotb?

  I'm trying to think of the number of people who probably tried to change you and you're so perfect as you are, but they probably said,

• 33:46Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 33:47Hoda Kotb?

  Get rid of the accent, get rid of it. Everyone wants to change everybody, even in the news business. They're like, cut your hair like this, talk like this, be like that, stand like this. And you resisted all of that.

• 33:57Speaker 06

  Yeah. I didn't know that about the news.

• 33:59Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, they did. They did that early on. They would tell you, get the, you have to have this look, get the blazer, drop your voice three octaves, because you know, everybody had to have this kind of thing. They used to, I had someone who went through my whole closet when I started working at NBC, they're like, no, no, no, no, maybe. No, no, no. And they took me right to a hair salon and I got this cut that is definitely yuck. But at the time, they were like, you gotta get the, but it was everybody trying to make you into something that fits their

• 34:34Speaker 06

  Right.

• 34:34Hoda Kotb?

  mold, just like for you.

• 34:35Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 34:36Hoda Kotb?

  So nose job, this blonde hair, you're like, bye. So then, then what?

• 34:40Speaker 06

  Um, Jennifer Grey, she said, come up to my room. And we were on location in Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh. And I went up to her room and I thought we were just gonna hang out. And I'm thinking, oh, this is so cool.

• 34:53Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, sweet.

• 34:55Speaker 06

  Uh, cuz I liked her instantly. And she said, hang on a second. And she called her agent, Jane Bellina and Kevin Hovain, and said, you need to sign this girl. And they said, who is it? Rosie Perez, she was in Do the Right Thing. And they said, signed, right then and there, over the phone. And so it was Jennifer Grey. Once again, someone came in and changed my life. You know, and that will see.

• 35:25Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 35:26Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 35:26Hoda Kotb?

  Wow.

• 35:27Speaker 06

  Shout out to Jennifer Grey.

• 35:28Hoda Kotb?

  Shout out to Jennifer Grey. She just, she just saw in you. It seems like Spike saw it in you. Jennifer saw it in you. Did you see it in you?

• 35:38Speaker 06

  I did. I didn't, like, when he asked me to be in the movie, I was so scared.

• 35:43Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 35:43Speaker 06

  You know, and I had to audition for Robbie Reed. Um, and she said, you're good. This is what you should be doing. And I went, really? And she said, yeah. And I said, okay, well, thank you. And I was walking out. I heard on the phone, and she says, Spike, cast her.

• 36:03Hoda Kotb?

  Done.

• 36:03Speaker 06

  Done. And, um, so I didn't see it. I didn't see it. But when I saw the premiere,

• 36:12Speaker 06

  I saw it, but I also, the person I am, also saw the room for improvement. I was like, oh, I could have did this differently.

• 36:20Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, you're already thinking of that.

• 36:21Speaker 06

  Yeah. And it was, uh, cuz on, on the set of Do the Right Thing, um, it was Mr. Danny Aiello, who told me to come to set every day, even when I wasn't working, and to sit next to him. On the days he was working. And he goes, let me show you how it goes, kid. And he says, first of all, you gotta calm down. And I was like, okay.

• 36:45Speaker 06

  Um, and he just was giving me tricks of the trade and stuff.

• 36:48Hoda Kotb?

  He became a student. You you seems like you're you're a perpetual student.

• 36:51Speaker 06

  Yes, yes, that's the one thing the convent did well.

• 36:55Hoda Kotb?

  What's that? Turn you into a student?

• 36:57Speaker 06

  They, yes, yes, they were preparing as well as they could have in their way. Um, the kids for real life. And so it wasn't just about uh book learning, it was also about life learning. Um, you know, they taught us how to cook, they taught us how to take care of our clothes, they taught us how to do the laundry and this and clean and this and this not. Um, because a lot of the children aged out, meaning once they got to eighteen years old, they had to get out. By law. And um, and we would see that a lot and it was terrifying.

• 37:36Speaker 06

  It was terrifying, the the pressure on it, but you just ended up, every day was a lesson.

• 37:43Hoda Kotb?

  Every day was a lesson. I mean, it's so interesting because, you know, the rejection that comes in your industry, in the acting industry, it's it's all the time. People don't like what you're doing, how you're doing it, change this, do this, do that. Um, but I was in wondering if because of the upbringing, what you've been through, I'm sure rejection felt like a nap on your shoulder. It's like, oh, they said no, okay. I mean, how did, how did that prepare you? Cause a lot of people can't stomach the rejection of Hollywood, it's too hard. Someone to your face saying you're not good enough. You're not what we're looking for, you're not right, you know? Tell me how you withstood that kind of stuff.

• 38:23Speaker 06

  I withstood that because like, um, some of the children in the home got to go to outside school, that only meant public school. Um, which was funny because most of the public kids wanted to be in the Catholic school. Um, but it was a, a, it was a strategy on the Catholic Church's part to integrate us into public life. And I remember this one teacher who

• 38:50Speaker 06

  Hit me in class and I was so tired of being hit. So I hit her back and she dragged me out of the classroom. This is first grade by my hair. And she told all the children she's in that convent because she's a bad girl. And this is the reason why nobody wants her, not even her mother wanted her. I remember this. I remember this and I was crying and crying and all of a sudden a calm came over me. And it was like, I'm gonna show her. It was that. And then when I did so well in class and and I couldn't be denied.

• 39:34Speaker 06

  She had to change and plus I told on her. I went to the principal of the school and I taught, I said what she did. And and so it's kind of like, okay, that's over. Let's move on because I gotta, I gotta get good grades. I gotta do well or else I'm back in the Catholic school. And I have to do this and I have to do that or this is going to happen. And then it's like, so I didn't get to go home on the weekend to see my father or my aunt. Okay, so what, what are we gonna do? And then like Lydia, what are we gonna do? Because we were stuck a lot by ourselves. So what are we gonna do? So it's like it was rejection, being pushed out constantly in my childhood. And it was like, what are you gonna do about it?

• 40:19Speaker 06

  We used to see the kids who would just get consumed by it. And and it's sad because, I mean, you know, not everybody's that strong and it's not their fault. You know what I mean? It's the adults fault and the circumstances that they were in. But it was also kind of like, well, what are we gonna do with the rest of the day? Let's just keep it moving.

• 40:38Hoda Kotb?

  That's pretty remarkable, which explains a lot about you. Because when I was reading and knew this from before, but you love boxing. And I always thought, wow, that's interesting. Rosie likes boxing. She likes to go to the matches. She likes to watch people box. And you like doing it, not competing, but doing it. But it all makes sense. Boxing is your life. It's like you get smacked down, you're flat on your back and. You pop up. I mean, has that been kind of the, the theme?

• 41:05Speaker 06

  Oh, yes. 100%. That's why I loved it.

• 41:07Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:07Speaker 06

  That's why I loved it. It's like when um I saw Ali get knocked down by Frazier and everybody was shocked and, and he rolls like Lazarus. Everybody's like, what? You know, and, and I remembered that as a young girl, like,

• 41:22Speaker 06

  I mean, it just made me, it was like, you know, the television, you know, and, and, and that's, that's why I love boxing because also it takes discipline and dedication and hard work to step in the ring. Not everybody gets to step in the ring. Not everybody gets a shot at being champion. You know, and even when you become champ, you gotta sustain. You know what I mean? And that's also another thing about Hollywood. It's like a lot, I see a lot of people, you know, Hollywood is like these, you know, your career goes up, it goes down and this and this and that. And one thing that I got from fighters, professional fighters, you can't let anyone see you sweat. You just gotta keep going, you know, until the next bout. Okay, you, you took an L on this one. All right, start training for the next one.

• 42:07Speaker 06

  And, and you just have to, that's what I mean. It's just like rejection is a part of life. It sucks. I'll get down for maybe, well, my manager, Tarek, goes, you're weird. And like, what do you mean? He goes, you're my only client. You go, oh, that sucks. I'm so sad. Yeah. And then he goes, and then you'll call me the next day and go, hey, did you see this on TV? What else am I supposed to do?

• 42:32Hoda Kotb?

  So that's the secret? If, if you're, if people are listening and going like, I'm going through some really bad stuff. Is that really it? Just getting up and clean slating it, kind of?

• 42:43Speaker 06

  No.

• 42:43Hoda Kotb?

  What?

• 42:44Speaker 06

  You have to take care of your mental health. I have therapy. I have medication. I, you know, you can't do it alone. You know, I have meditation, you know, I have time by myself. I have, you know, on my, on the phone with my sister Carmen every single day. It takes work. It takes work to, to rise above things.

• 43:07Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 43:07Speaker 06

  But once you get into kind of a routine of things, then you know how it goes. And also, it was one day, my aunt used to be very, very depressed. She was clinically depressed. Funny, lively woman, but severely depressed. And I remember, I said, Tia, what's wrong? Ay, Rossi, I'm so depressed. And I said, Yeah, I'm so sorry. She says, I guess, but you know, tomorrow's another fucking day.

• 43:39Speaker 06

  And that's my motto. That's my motto.

• 43:42Hoda Kotb?

  That's it.

• 43:42Speaker 06

  That's it.

• 43:43Hoda Kotb?

  That's it.

• 43:44Speaker 06

  That and Helen Thomas, when I saw her accept her Matrix award.

• 43:47Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, yeah, what?

• 43:48Speaker 06

  She was talking about, she went to France to cover Jackie Kennedy. Uh, and she was so nervous and she was doing all this prep and she, she bunks with this like older, uh, French journalist woman. And the woman goes, you need to relax. You're overprepared. And she said, you're, this is a, a, a chance of a lifetime. Just chill out and let's celebrate the moment. Go downstairs into my wine cellar and bring me a bottle of wine and let's just uncork it. And she said, okay. Helen Thomas says she goes downstairs and she goes, oh my God, there's so many expensive bottles. She picks out the cheapest one. And she goes back upstairs and the journalist tells her, Helen, life's too short to drink the house wine. Go downstairs and get the good stuff.

• 44:33Hoda Kotb?

  I love it. I love it. So that's it. That's your, that's, that's how you, that's how you navigate life.

• 44:38Speaker 06

  I mean, you could get down.

• 44:40Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 44:40Speaker 06

  You could get depressed. I'm not like superwoman. You know, I have my moments. I have my dark days and everything like that, but it's like, it's like, the alternative is what? I've seen it. I lived it. I've watched it with all these children that

• 45:00Speaker 06

  had such an unfortunate life, as I, as, as did I, but they didn't have an aunt. They didn't have a dad. You know? They didn't have anyone telling them they're special. You know what I mean? So I, I could see how darkness can come and take you. And I know that, I know that, and I wanna keep darkness at bay as much as possible. You know, cuz some days is not easy, Horta. Some days are not easy. You know, and so what do I do? I text my therapist. I got her out of retirement. She told me she was retiring. I go, you can't!

• 45:34Hoda Kotb?

  I need you. I need you. So on a, on a dark day, tell me what you would do. If someone's listening and thinking, I wanna get out of this funk that I'm in. What, what do you do?

• 45:43Speaker 06

  Well, everybody's, uh, diagnosis is different.

• 45:47Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 45:47Speaker 06

  Um, I have dysthymia, which is a low-grade chronic depression. It never goes away. I have PTSD and I have, um, high anxiety. Um, so what I have learned is cognitive therapy, which is one, you have to train yourself to recognize, I'm depressed. Okay. So if you can't get out of bed, or you're slow to get out of bed, or if you're slow to get your coffee, or you feel blah for no reason, or you feel sadness for no reason. Those are the signs. You know, you're like, okay, click. These are the signs. You know what you have to do. So what do I have to do is I have to go and tell myself, you're depressed.

• 46:27Hoda Kotb?

  Mm-hmm.

• 46:29Speaker 06

  And I go outside in the backyard and I have to have light. It's light therapy.

• 46:33Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 46:33Speaker 06

  And I have the light therapy. And I like, oh. And then I have to go upstairs and I get on the elliptical and I start moving.

• 46:42Hoda Kotb?

  Exercise.

• 46:42Speaker 06

  And exercise to pump the endorphins. And sometimes it still doesn't work.

• 46:47Hoda Kotb?

  Mm-hmm.

• 46:48Speaker 06

  And so that's when I call my sister Carmen and I talk it out with her. Or I tell my husband, or I text my therapist, I need an emergency session. You know, or sometimes she goes, you're fine. Do this, do that. And, um, we'll talk tomorrow. It's, it's all those things. You have to be proactive.

• 47:05Hoda Kotb?

  Don't ignore it and shove it under and think you'll go through the day.

• 47:09Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 47:10Hoda Kotb?

  I think we spend so much of our lives waiting for the big moments. The birthdays, the vacations, the milestones. But the truth is, some of the happiest moments show up on the most ordinary days. So, like this. I'll stop into a CVS because I need one thing. Somehow, the best part of the trip is never the thing I came for. So maybe I'll grab a delicious well-market snack, or maybe I'll wander over to the Joyward Collection. It's really full of fun, cool, seasonal decor, thoughtful little gifts, and those little discoveries that make you so glad you stopped in. I have to tell you, if you're an Extra Care member, you're going to save on things you're already buying, and those extra bucks really do add up.

• 47:53Hoda Kotb?

  Just watching that total go down at the checkout never, ever gets old. I know, life's busy. We're all juggling a lot. And that's why I think those little unexpected moments of joy matter so much. So, the next time you're running errands, stop by your local CVS Pharmacy. You may go in for something you need, but don't be surprised if you leave with something that simply makes your day a little brighter. Visit your local CVS Pharmacy, sponsored by CVS. Halloween has a funny way of making you buy things you'd never normally buy. A 10-foot skeleton? Sure. A full-size fog machine? Why not? Three bags of candy that somehow become six bags of candy? It happens. Which brings me to the Chase Freedom Flex Card,

• 48:38Hoda Kotb?

  the savvy decision that will earn you more cash back on the everyday purchases, plus the extraordinary Halloween tricks and treats. With Freedom Flex, you earn even more treats on your Halloween and everyday needs. You get 5% cash back on popular rotating quarterly categories, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. That's no tricks, all treats. More ways to earn, more ways to get rewarded. So sign up for the Chase Freedom Flex Card. Learn more at chase.com/getflex. This is a paid collaboration with Chase Freedom Flex. Cards issued by JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., member FDIC.

• 49:21Hoda Kotb?

  Subject to credit approval. Offer subject to change. Terms apply.

• 49:25Speaker 07

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• 49:56Hoda Kotb?

  Did you, after your upbringing, I mean, I, I happen to have been at a Broadway show called Every Brilliant Thing and saw your daughter-in-law.

• 50:03Speaker 06

  I know, Tara.

• 50:04Hoda Kotb?

  I know, she's so sweet. But then I was just thinking about you because you're a grandma, right?

• 50:08Speaker 06

  Yes, I'm a grandma.

• 50:09Hoda Kotb?

  So I was thinking about you just as a mom, just wanting, did you, given your upbringing, I think other people might have chosen not to go down the road of having children. And I've heard that multiple times, not after what I went through. I'm not doing that. What made you want to become a mom?

• 50:26Speaker 06

  I don't know. No one's ever asked me that. I don't know.

• 50:32Speaker 06

  I don't know. But

• 50:36Speaker 06

  it was the hardest job I ever had.

• 50:39Speaker 06

  And the most rewarding job I ever had. It was very, very difficult. You deal with a lot of guilt because of your career. You know what I mean? You wonder if you're being selfish, wondering if you did enough. Did you do things right? You know, but then the laughter and the joy, sitting on the couch, under the blanket, watching TCM, you know, film the war, you know? This is Burt Lancaster. He's a hunk of hunk of burning love. Well, Barbara Stanwyck, oh my God, you know, and then, you know, just moments like that. And then like even with my grandson, you know, teaching him how to break dance at the age of three. He's hilarious.

• 51:19Hoda Kotb?

  Does he really know how?

• 51:20Speaker 06

  Yes, he does.

• 51:21Hoda Kotb?

  He's so crazy.

• 51:23Speaker 06

  But we don't tell him that, you know? But all I have to do is go, Dicky, Dicky, boy, boy. And he goes. You know, and he got the moves and stuff, and he does the face.

• 51:33Hoda Kotb?

  I love it.

• 51:34Speaker 06

  You know, and um, I, I was telling, um, Kaylee Cuoco when I did Flight Attendant.

• 51:42Speaker 06

  That's another game changer in my career.

• 51:44Hoda Kotb?

  Kaila Cuoco in Flight Attendant?

• 51:45Speaker 06

  Kaila Cuoco, for her to offer me that role. And I said no, and she goes, I'm on a plane and she met with me. And she says, you have to say yes. And it was what my career needed at that time, and I'm very grateful to her. I really am.

• 52:01Hoda Kotb?

  So many guardian angels.

• 52:02Speaker 06

  I do.

• 52:03Hoda Kotb?

  That are just, they see you. Yeah.

• 52:05Speaker 06

  And, um, and I told her that when we were in second season on the cliffs in, in, in Iceland. And I just started crying. I said, thank you, Kaila. Thank you.

• 52:15Hoda Kotb?

  By the way, you almost didn't take that job because you hate flying.

• 52:18Speaker 06

  That's right.

• 52:19Hoda Kotb?

  And I just want, which brings us back to White Lotus, which is where we started. Okay, first of all, when I heard you in White Lotus, I was like, perfect. And then I said, where are they shooting and is Rosie getting on a plane? So you do not like to fly and that can sometimes be a deal breaker for you.

• 52:34Speaker 06

  Yep.

• 52:36Hoda Kotb?

  But yet it was not for White Lotus. What made you say yes?

• 52:40Speaker 06

  I almost said no to that too.

• 52:41Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 52:42Speaker 06

  It's that I, uh, it's when, uh, Mike White called me. And it's, it's a small role. I said, there's nothing here, Mike.

• 52:52Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 52:52Speaker 06

  What am I doing this for? He goes, well, first of all, I didn't know that I was gonna get you.

• 52:56Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 52:57Speaker 06

  And he says, and second of all, I love you. I imitate you. I did a part. He said, I go, this is weird, Mike. All right. You're being weird. And he's laughing. I go, I'm fucking serious, Mike. Stop laughing. And he's just laughing. And I said, no, cause like, look at, at this line, he goes, don't tell me what to write. I got you. I got you. Yes, I can't give you more scenes, but I'm gonna give you a scene.

• 53:21Speaker 06

  Please trust me. Don't say yes now, but please trust me. And I went, ah, okay. I said, but, but he goes, I always wanted you to be in White Lotus. I go. Well, why didn't you ask me before? Right? And he just couldn't stop laughing and and I was like, this man is crazy. And um, and I go, and I love him. I loved him.

• 53:44Hoda Kotb?

  And that's why you did it.

• 53:45Speaker 06

  And that's why I did it. I believed him. I believed him.

• 53:48Hoda Kotb?

  I mean, I'm so fascinated. Your career is like you always are like, good stuff just keeps happening to you. It's like when they said your name with White Lotus, I thought, of course. But when I think of you and do the right thing and all the iterations since, why do you think? It all keeps coming. Why do roles keep coming? Most people are starving for roles. I feel like you're getting them and thinking about rejecting them.

• 54:16Speaker 06

  I don't reject everything and I don't get everything. So I just want people to know that, especially like actors who are struggling. And and it's it's not an easy job. It isn't. And you do have to deal with a lot of rejection. And I hate when other actors act like, eh, you know, I only get up first. Oh, shut up, you know? You know, it's just like, shut up, because this is hard. You know, there's only less than one percent that it's easy for. You know, so ninety nine point five percent of us, it's a job. And I look at it that half of my job, I I tell Tara, my daughter in law, I said, I'm working to get work right now. She goes, what does that mean?

• 55:00Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, what does it mean?

• 55:01Speaker 06

  And I said, I get up, I call my manager, Tork, what's on the agenda? What's out there? Anytime he's he says, read this, I don't wait. I can't believe actors wait. Like, I'll get to it next week. Next week? I'm reading it tomorrow. I'm reading it today, you know? I exercise and try not to become like a blimped whale, which I can, because my family's full of fat cells, like enlarged fat cells. I have so much sympathy. God bless Manjaro and Ozempic. It's a godsend for people. People don't understand when you're born with enlarged fat cells. It's hard. It's hard. I have a spank on right now that's killing me, you know? And um, but I digress. But you know, I it's it's it's work.

• 55:44Speaker 06

  It's it's doesn't. It's not like I'm like Keenan said, some actors are like, they think it's like they open the door and go, job? Job? No, it it takes, it takes.

• 55:54Hoda Kotb?

  But I like that you have even on your non-working days, you're working.

• 55:58Speaker 06

  I'm working.

• 55:59Hoda Kotb?

  You're working, you're talking, you're manager, you're exercising, you're putting yourself where you want to be.

• 56:03Speaker 06

  I'm coming up with ideas.

• 56:04Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 56:05Speaker 06

  I'm I'm I'm making like, like, oh, so and so wants to speak to you, let's set it up.

• 56:10Hoda Kotb?

  Good.

• 56:10Speaker 06

  God bless America for Zooms, because I couldn't stand like going out and doing the hair and makeup and stuff. So like, I look good from here up. That's all I have to worry about.

• 56:18Hoda Kotb?

  By the way, that's such a smart thing to do if anyone's like in between jobs, but work like you're working.

• 56:23Speaker 06

  That's right.

• 56:24Hoda Kotb?

  Get up, start your day, have your breakfast, do your exercise, start looking at whatever at whatever's out there, and then make efforts like you're doing it. It's funny because Maria, Maria Shriver and I were at a retreat and I was interviewing her and a lady raised her hand and I remember it because she raised her hand and she said, Maria, um, I am lost. My kids are, I'm an empty nester. My husband and I don't have, you know, we're not really connecting. I'm lost, I'm lost, I'm lost. We were at this retreat. She goes, can you help me? And Maria said, well, I don't, I don't know you, so I can't give you advice, but I will give you, I'll, I'll give you a tiny bit of advice. And she said, words matter. She said, you're not lost, you're here. You're not lost, you're seeking.

• 57:07Speaker 06

  Mm-hmm.

• 57:07Hoda Kotb?

  You're not out of work, you're seeking.

• 57:10Speaker 06

  Yep.

• 57:10Hoda Kotb?

  You're not unemployed, you are in search of, un, or in search of. So I was thinking like, when you are in a position where you don't have work, what you're doing, you're, you just, you just put into words exactly what she was saying, which is, I'm a seeker right now. I'm seeking work. Are you out of work? No, I'm seeking work. I'm not out of work.

• 57:30Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 57:30Hoda Kotb?

  I'm, I'm gonna get it.

• 57:32Speaker 06

  Yeah, and, and also I do charities, charitable work, that takes up a lot of my time. You know, so I'm not just sitting and moping and wondering why things aren't happening. I do a lot of voiceover work.

• 57:43Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 57:44Speaker 06

  Which is so much fun.

• 57:45Hoda Kotb?

  So fun, so fun.

• 57:46Speaker 06

  No hair and makeup, you know?

• 57:48Hoda Kotb?

  Enjoy.

• 57:48Speaker 06

  Um, you know, that's, that's, that's been such a blessing, you know, I, it's, that's, you just have to keep moving forward.

• 57:58Hoda Kotb?

  Forward.

• 57:59Speaker 06

  You have to keep moving forward.

• 58:00Hoda Kotb?

  Um, lastly, as we wrap up, sadly, I'm so bummed, I don't, I, I couldn't do this conversation all day, but what in this season of life brings you joy? Like, what, what lights you up? What turns you on these days?

• 58:15Speaker 06

  That's easy. My grandson.

• 58:17Hoda Kotb?

  Oh.

• 58:18Speaker 06

  My grandson FaceTime, you know, and I, I, I, I primed him to get used to FaceTime because I was on, always on location. So I made up a song and it went, it's Abuela in the phone, it's Abuela in the phone and she's gonna rush her home to see Declan. And so he got so used to it. Tara says, you're the only one that he goes, I wanna FaceTime Buella.

• 58:44Hoda Kotb?

  Cause he knows the song's coming and you're coming. Oh my God.

• 58:48Speaker 06

  He's four years old and we FaceTime every day, every day.

• 58:51Hoda Kotb?

  Rosie, you bring joy. I love you. Thank you for coming on my podcast.

• 58:54Speaker 06

  Thank you for having me.

• 58:58Hoda Kotb?

  Okay. I'm just saying, wow, that interview with Rosie Perez was everything to me. I mean, when I look at her and I think of what she endured in her life and her superpower, like I think something we can all take from this, her superpower is when she gets knocked down flat, if she gets rejected, if she gets, if something bad happens to her, she pops back up, but it's not like, she's not like, oh, I swallowed a happy pill and I'm up and yay. She doesn't do that. She puts in the work, which I think is so important. It's like she takes time, she does her meditate, she does all kinds of things. She doesn't expect it to be in her DNA, but which is such a great thing for all of us. So if you don't wake up

• 59:44Hoda Kotb?

  happy all the time or joyful all the time, it's okay. There is a way to get there. And I think what Rosie does is she shows us that path. And listening to her childhood and what she endured and what she had to live through, the rejection and all that pain, and to be sitting here opposite me, talking about what a beautiful life she has. She's chosen it. She's chosen joy. And um, she's just someone who does all that. My God, I'm gonna practice all of Rosie's things after. Okay. You know, I love a poem. How about this one? This is a poem by Raquel Franco. It's called "You Are Alive." It's almost summer and the swings are empty. They're braided chains creaking, waiting for joy to come and sit with them. You are alive.

• 1:00:29Hoda Kotb?

  And yes, there's always something to be sad about. But joy's always wanting. We are creatures with mighty lungs that love to lick the air. You are alive and you could be one green light, one good cry, or a stack of pancakes away from bumping into her. Raquel Franco. I hope Rosie's words stay with you like they're gonna stay with me.

• 1:00:56Hoda Kotb?

  I've realized that joy doesn't always come from those big moments. Sometimes you find it on the most ordinary day. I'll pop into a CVS for toothpaste or paper towels and it never seems to be just a quick errand. Maybe I'll grab a delicious Well Market Trail Mix or wander over to the Joyward Collection. That's part of the fun. So the next time you're checking something off your to-do list, stop by your local CVS pharmacy. You might go in for one thing and leave with a little more joy. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS.

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• 1:02:27Speaker 01

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.