Boston's own- Slaine joins! Legend Actor/Rapper has a new movie coming out next week!

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Boston's own- Slaine joins! Legend Actor/Rapper has a new movie coming out next week! You have to check out 'King Ivory'!   How did Ben Affleck get Slaine for 'Gone Baby Gone'?  Slaine talks his journey from being in a warehouse, to acting in major blockbusters like 'The Town'!

Transcript

00:00so i play um the partner of the main character james badgedale from high town who you were

00:06talking about i heard you talking about yeah he's good he's he's a really good actor he's great and

00:10a great guy too and he's phenomenal in this and uh i play his partner his son gets addicted to

00:15fentanyl and i don't want to give away the plot but ben foster plays an amazing role in this

00:20melissa leo who's who was in the fighter and is an academy award winner i've done a few movies with

00:25her don't worry wiggy will spoil it as soon as he's gonna like uh what's the name michael mandel

00:32nacho from better yeah he's amazing really good and that's the thing about this movie that when

00:37you see this film there's not per se movie stars in it but there's a lot of great actors and uh

00:44the ensemble cast is just something else and if you called the movie if you called the movie nacho

00:49wiggy would love it no matter what he was good and better call so i mean he's a great he's a

00:53tremendous actor he's in one of the spider-man movies um but yeah i i really enjoyed the the

00:59main guy james which say his name was james badger yeah from high town he's a he he did a good boston

01:04accent when he was on high town and i know from seeing the trailer it looks really really good

01:09where does the film take place in tulsa oklahoma also it's very popular i feel like in entertainment

01:15right now i've shot six films down there it's it's become kind of like a home away from home

01:19and partially because um the director of this movie is from tulsa and he and i uh have developed

01:27a pretty tight bond over the years creatively and personally he's a good friend of mine and also my

01:32former bandmate from house of pain and the coco noster danny boy he bought the outsiders house museum so

01:37i'm down in tulsa we did often yeah you should go there you love the outsiders i and i love and the

01:44tulsa is big obviously from the movie the outsiders i love that but also the tulsa king they show a lot

01:50about that there was this new show i just finished watching called the lowdown with ethan hawk what was

01:55based out of tulsa so they're doing a lot especially like a lot of like um drug type of crime stuff

02:01comes out of like you know i don't know i think tulsa's like kind of a rough area yeah so there's like

02:06a lot of shows that it's a major city though right like tulsa kind of i mean it's not like up here

02:11right no no not up here but for that area of the country i think it's like a growing city but i think

02:17formerly kind of dilapidated and right in a growing city but you know there's oil business down there

02:23and all that but the main thing whenever you see places kind of come up shooting movies and tv shows

02:28there's a tax credit right and that's you know that's why boston um shots for yeah because we had the

02:34great tax credit i think they got rid of that i think they're fighting for it i think it's still

02:39in effect but they're you know fighting to keep it and i hope they do because i would have never got

02:43my shot without that well the new i think the new tax credit is you get get credit if you make a film

02:49that on on bikes and uh in the bike king ivory i don't want to assume is king ivory the the kingpin

02:58or is that it's just the name it's one of the street names of fentanyl that okay they use in the

03:03and the movie so how did you end up with this role uh well john swab who's the director uh i've done

03:11five other movies with him and he reached out to me to be a part of this movie and you know it's

03:16something that's the subject is close to me you know like i you guys know what i do on a daily basis

03:22kind of on the front lines with addiction and uh i've lost a lot of people to fentanyl i think we all

03:27have right in the city so this kind of subject matter to me you know i got two movies coming

03:32out on the same day but this one's like my baby because it's like a real personal as an actor like

03:39do they send you a script immediately or do they just talk to you about the role like how does that

03:42work script it is yeah they'll send a script and you read it and you know i'll i'll get a lot of

03:48things that they send to audition but i don't really operate like that i don't chase auditions

03:52if somebody knows what i can do they they send me a script and if i like it then i'll do it and if

03:57i don't i'll just pass on it how difficult well i just want to ask because i don't know that i i

04:02don't know that you've ever told us a story and courtney asked how you got this how did you and how

04:06did ben affleck end up getting you or gone baby gone so the boston herald um did a story about my

04:15music in 2006 and i was in a rough spot at the time but uh you know i was squatting in a warehouse

04:21and the herald yeah where was that it was on shirley ave in roxbury and we were supposed to

04:27build a recording studio there and uh things fell apart through a bunch of different circumstances i

04:33ended up squatting in this place for eight months and um excuse me and then uh the herald ran that

04:40story and ben kind of plucked me from obscurity and my career took off how did he find you in the

04:45in the warehouse like well i was in the paper he didn't he didn't know i was in the warehouse

04:50that's great i did my best to kind of feel like hanging out where ben affleck shows up

04:54to make sure i came clean and washed but but do you do you think a lot of do you think a lot of it is

05:02you know when you make movies right and they're good actors but sometimes the authenticity of an actor

05:10from that area the portrayal comes out a lot different on screen versus somebody who's not

05:16and they're trying to you know come up with the accent do you think that's part of like you know

05:20especially a movie like whether it's the the town or gone baby gone where they're like all right we

05:25want to try to get people from there but that are also a good actors yeah i think that's where ben

05:31always got it right you know he got authentic people you know he used a lot of local people

05:36but you know that can also go wrong you know there's a lot just everybody thinks they can act

05:42but yeah like kim kardashian right i think slate's story is so unique in that you got this job

05:51you got famous while you were still using and then you're here you are now with rehab facilities and

05:59your career you got a premiere coming next week with king ivory just how has that been for you where

06:05it's like you reach these highs literally and then now your career is taking off absent that

06:12what's changed and how has that sort of evolution been well yeah i think i had the opposite trajectory

06:18where my career kind of crashed once i got sober

06:21same i met brig and i don't think it's because i got sober i think i was actually kind of blackballed

06:29from my use i think you know nobody tells you when you're messing it up you know the phone just

06:34stops ringing so were you you were using you continued using during god baby god well i was

06:40actually yeah but not to the height of you know i was able to keep it together when we were shooting

06:45i wasn't on set like that what about the time during the town i was sober for the run of the town

06:50until the end of it and then uh and then things really started to unravel the worst trouble you can

06:56run into when you're in addiction is when you're having success right when the answer is always yes and

07:01your bread is getting buttered on both sides and you know yeah that's not great that's not great

07:06when you're when you're in active addiction how do you need to be authenticious what's the uh

07:12authenticious but authenticious how do you like i i guess like because you said like you know they

07:20see you and you're addicted and obviously it affects your performance it maybe affects you showing up

07:25but then they get this like you know this like uh oh he's not going to be able to show up and so how

07:32do you as an actor because you see so many people talking about staying a working actor is so difficult

07:38how do you fight that challenge where you're like all right i've changed you don't have to maybe worry

07:43about me not being what i need to be on set i think there's never been that kind of explanation i think

07:49it just has to happen organically and i don't think acting work came back for me until it was

07:54clear that i was like even just working as an advocate and doing all this work it was clear to

07:59everybody that i that i was a changed person uh but that's why i love john so much too because john

08:05when i was blackballed was giving me work in these movies and we were kind of building something

08:10together and not for nothing this movie which i'm really excited for you guys to see uh this is john's

08:16breakthrough movie it got into the venice film festival as an independent film it won an award

08:21and now he got signed to caa and he just got a big movie with jerry bruckheimer and will smith which

08:26he's about to direct now and that's why he's not going to be at the premiere because he's uh prepping

08:31to shoot this film wow will smith is still alive i didn't know where i didn't know where he's still out

08:36there but he's still out there um now you have graciously offered to do a premiere of the film

08:43on tuesday night and it benefits the greg hill foundation and the work that you do with grand

08:50rising and then those who are fighting addiction and i think we it's is it pretty much sold out like

08:57you announced it a couple days ago it's sold it's sold out okay i'm excited to work with you on that

09:02man you've been such a supporter for so many years so it's cool to be able to collaborate wiggy denies it

09:08but i'm a big hip-hop guy like i mean shine played the county crows there and i almost left

09:13the left the room uh he's a massive popcorn guy too so the movie's always free popcorn actually uh i

09:19like the um uh butterfingers that's my go-to at the at the movie theater what's your go-to uh candy

09:26i like the popcorn i like the uh sour patch kids for candy what is it with the sour thing it's driving

09:32me nuts i like the contrast between the the salt and you know the starch and then the yeah i like a

09:38bunch of crunch and then if you add them into the popcorn it gets a little chocolatey in the popcorn

09:43pro tip um greg just sneaks in a protein bar

09:46um we have though the opportunity for the last four seats essentially which we could auction off

09:56yeah is that true okay so um if you would like to go you can why don't you uh like shoot me a dm on

10:05instagram and tell me what uh how much are the tickets to go to the event i think we did a hundred

10:11bucks a ticket for the uh for the foundation okay and it and it includes a q a like we're gonna do

10:16yeah we're gonna do a q a with me and the producer okay you know we're gonna be hanging out there's a vip

10:21section and okay good all that good stuff and it's the first time you get the movie doesn't come out

10:25until friday so it's it's a premiere and it's happening down at patriot place at patriot place

10:30okay so um if you would like to make a donation and you would like to be there and see the film

10:36the premiere here locally then just shoot me a dm with uh with a bid or if you want you can you can

10:42call here and we'll see what we can raise for those final four seats at the movie theater which

10:47i'd love to go to the movie theater yeah uh it's it's a it's a lost it's a lost art and then when

10:53you're like certain movies like this when it looks like there's a lot of action there's a lot of high

10:57intensity you know you always want to to to be in the theater to see that especially on these new

11:03you know screens that they have but the one thing i'm always fascinated with to talk to actors

11:08because you talk about everybody thinks that they can act and every but everybody wants to do it right

11:14i think it's like we all fantasize about like you know if i could ever do anything being in a movie

11:19what's that like is it difficult to remember lines because i always find one they're like is

11:24that the hardest part for an actor is like kind of remembering your lines or do you just kind of

11:29like dive into it and become that person so i had no formal training as an actor and ben gave me kind

11:36of my he taught me you know and what an amazing opportunity to have him as as a director who i think

11:44he's one of the best directors in the world of this generation for sure i mean but um he told me

11:49don't worry about don't worry about the lines he goes understand the story and be the guy the lines

11:55or whatever and that was such a freedom to have for my first couple roles you know i made up

12:01authenticious i made up the jack clark line and you know like but it was stuff that you could play with

12:08in in kind of freestyle which i was used to doing just from a hip-hop background um i think the the

12:14biggest challenge is like the comfortability in front of the camera and not you sometimes i can

12:21watch somebody and and they can feel the camera on them you know and it's like super awkward it takes

12:27you out of the story right so it needs to be there's no cameras there you're just in the moment in the

12:32scene and that's the difference between somebody who could be good on screen and somebody who can't

12:36as far as the lines though that's the it's like a muscle the memory when i understood that memory is

12:43like a muscle the more you use it the stronger it gets okay the the town in your opinion is that his

12:49best film um i mean i'm posh i'm posh yeah i i like the town is his best film but argo is amazing

12:57yeah gone baby gone is great um i like the accountant both of the accountants oh yeah but i also like um

13:04i'm just talking about what he directed the the jordan movie the i forget the name of oh

13:08nike movie that was a good movie actually it didn't do that great but it was a good movie

13:14i think you know we're up against it with nobody goes to the theater anymore there's a whole different

13:18way to watch movies yeah so i think we're in this middle ground we were just talking about that that

13:22i love the movies and i think that certain movies should go to the theaters instead of going directly

13:28to streaming because people miss it on streaming there's too much content to consume there's a movie

13:32one battle after another that's out right now it's one of the best no i didn't say i said yes

13:38say it stinks i haven't seen it it's one of the best movies i've seen in 10 years and trailer was

13:42kind of yeah it's no but it's like if you like pulp fiction and those kind of movies it's did you

13:47see it i haven't seen it but i know but i i i heard i heard that it was great great say yes he

13:54thinks sinners was a good movie it is sinners was pretty good i thought pretty good okay it's not a

14:00great film no it's not a great film but this is this is this is a great film though this is a

14:05classic this is all right sean penn in this movie he'll win best supporting act really yeah i love

14:11sean penn it's phenomenal it's an iconic movie he doesn't make a bad movie really leonardo

14:16dicaprio i don't think he's made a bad film but dicaprio benicio del toro's in it and sean penn

14:21those are three of the best and i heard tiana tale is really good in it i heard good things about

14:26the movie greg said he heard bad things i don't know i just report the news yeah i know it lost

14:30a hundred million dollars but it lost a hundred million right but see the problem with and and

14:36sean uh slain you could talk about this oh my you could talk about this i'll confuse that yeah you

14:41could play shyme in a film though right if i could play him in a film but but you could talk about this

14:47better than anybody right sometimes we get caught up in how much money the movie makes right you look

14:53at marvel you look at some of these dc movies and they make it yeah wicked they make a ton of movies

14:58but and people get caught like cecil b de mill but but some of the best movies don't make that much

15:05money that's true and so and i think that's what people will instantly go oh it didn't make money at

15:10the box office so it's got to stink yeah and i i mean i don't view things like that at all i mean

15:16you know my favorite movies are indie movies and kind of art films so i'm maybe i'm different than most

15:21people but you know action movies to me you know where they're going you know how they're gonna end

15:26they're fun you know but i i'd rather see a movie like one battle after another which is like

15:31iconic can i ask you one more question yeah when do you know a movie like the town's gonna be great

15:37like is it when you're reading the script is it you know what when do you feel like you know you're

15:42a part of something that's gonna be transcendent not until you see it in the theater and it's like

15:46it's so nerve-wracking to see something for the first time because i've been on both sides of the coin

15:51you know where you go into it there and you go oh my god i'm embarrassed to be in this

15:55and then you know and then the town which was just so good when we saw it it was like boom and i did

16:02see the town in advance uh ben screened it for me in la and i got the chance to see it before it came

16:08out but uh yeah you don't really know until you see it because there's so many things that can go

16:12wrong it's not like music and music you make the song with the producer and that's it in a movie

16:19you have so many people who are on the team i mean that's why you don't see you don't see actors

16:24who are you know have as big egos as like a kanye west or somebody like that because they're depending

16:30on the rest of the team an editor can make one performance either great or the same performance

16:35can be terrible based on the edit the sound man can mess the movie up the lighting can mess the movie

16:41up the direction the script right so you never really know until you see it come all together and

16:47that's part of the magic of it i felt that way when i saw the fighter for the first time i was

16:51an extra in that and i was very nervous about my appearance yeah yeah i was yeah i made it you made

16:56it yeah the fighter was great yeah that's a great film thank you and then some movies turn into cult

17:01classics where they don't do as good in the box office but then later on when it streams or when

17:06it you know back in the day when it came out i thought you were going to ask him the question you

17:09asked keifer sutherland that i still think about this day what's that this day where you were like

17:13have you did you turn down a movie that you regret oh like a role yeah like you read a script you're

17:19like nah not for me and then you watch it you said yeah i actually have one like that um there

17:24were did you ever see the movie fruitvale station speaking of sinners michael p jordan yeah so i got

17:29offered um it was a small role on that but it was like the guy who sparks off the riot on the train

17:35whatever it was a cool role and i didn't turn it down because i didn't want to be a part of it i like

17:40the script but i had a tour booked and i had missed a couple tours because we shot the town

17:46and some other stuff and you know the band needed me to be on the road so i tried to get the dates

17:51moved around and they were like nah man we rented the the subway station for that day like i need you

17:57that day and i had like i would have cost the guys in the group a lot of money to miss those shows

18:02so i turned that down and ryan kugler is my agent dropped me because i turned it down she's like you

18:08don't understand this guy's gonna be the next spike lee and you're gonna turn this role down you could

18:14have been in sinners yeah i know ryan kugler man he's like one of the young up-and-coming uh directors

18:20and and i did see like here's somebody talking about like even those opportunities where it might

18:25not even be the role but it might be the director where fruitville station was ryan kugler

18:30and then this guy goes on to do black panther and you know makes a bunch of you know he's like

18:36making a bunch of great movies and you're like yeah yeah yeah to be thought of like that you know

18:41and you could be somebody could love what you do as an actor and you could have a good relationship

18:47and two or three movies can go by and there's just not something for you right but to be in the

18:51bullpen with those i mean especially i'm a character actor i'm not a movie star so to be thought of

18:57especially when someone's doing a great project it's like to me i don't care how big

19:01the role is if i have a moment and it's a great script i'm down it's so cool yeah it is uh it's

19:07called king ivory and it's in theaters next november 14th november 14th yep uh but we will see it with

19:14you on tuesday yeah all right we're gonna have a good time good luck on it yeah man thanks for

19:19thinking of us thanks for coming by this morning slain of course you also i have a new album out it's

19:24called the new state of grace came out two weeks ago oh okay it's with static uh if shine we're

19:28going to rejoin later with the song what would uh what would you like it's all good it's all good

19:33okay all right we'll do that later slain nice to see you

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