This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hi everyone, welcome to Survival Jobs: The Podcast in collaboration with Broadway World and the Broadway Podcast Network.

[0:07] Jason A. Coombs: My name is Samantha Tuozzolo, and this is my boy, Jason A. Coombs.

[0:12] Jason A. Coombs: And this episode is powered by Welcome to Timesquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for a day.

[0:19] Samantha Tuozzolo: Jason, how fun we were on the billboard.

[0:23] Jason A. Coombs: I know.

[0:24] Jason A. Coombs: That was so iconic.

[0:25] Samantha Tuozzolo: We were a star for a day.

[0:26] Jason A. Coombs: I was a star for a day.

[0:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: You were a star for a day.

[0:29] Jason A. Coombs: We all were stars for a day.

[0:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: We love that.

[0:32] Jason A. Coombs: That was so cool.

[0:33] Samantha Tuozzolo: It was cool.

[0:33] Jason A. Coombs: We love it at the Welcome to Timesquare Studio.

[0:36] Samantha Tuozzolo: I'm so grateful to be here.

[0:37] Jason A. Coombs: Me too.

[0:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: I was just gonna say something that was crazy.

[0:40] Jason A. Coombs: Say it.

[0:41] Samantha Tuozzolo: There was like this racist person like giving hate speech.

[0:47] Jason A. Coombs: So I was like, oh my god, hope you can't hear this on the audio.

[0:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: They were like, you know, those like crazy people.

[0:53] Jason A. Coombs: Wait, while you were taking a photo in front of the billboard?

[0:56] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, yeah, I was doing video.

[0:57] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, yeah.

[0:59] Samantha Tuozzolo: I know you can like, you know, like when you had the video, you can just like pause it to get a good photo.

[1:05] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[1:06] Samantha Tuozzolo: So I had on my tripod, but this guy was being like, these guys are like on a megaphone, and I was like, I hope you can't hear it.

[1:11] Jason A. Coombs: So I was like, I can't post any audio because I'm gonna do it.

[1:13] Samantha Tuozzolo: I didn't hear I watched that video, I didn't hear it.

[1:15] Jason A. Coombs: Okay, good.

[1:16] Samantha Tuozzolo: Okay.

[1:17] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[1:17] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, I'm sorry your billboard story experience got tainted by crazies.

[1:22] Jason A. Coombs: New York City.

[1:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's like Times are shitty, but I'm pretty sure it can't get worse.

[1:27] Jason A. Coombs: It's a comfort to know when you're singing the hit the road blues.

[1:34] Samantha Tuozzolo: A pleasure cruise.

[1:36] Jason A. Coombs: And that was us performing live from Rent the Musical.

[1:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: Maybe you've heard of it.

[1:40] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[1:41] Samantha Tuozzolo: Did anybody like talk barmer anymore?

[1:42] Jason A. Coombs: I feel like that's just a classic.

[1:44] Samantha Tuozzolo: I don't know, Jason.

[1:45] Jason A. Coombs: So we're coming to, you know, we're in the thick of the summer.

[1:49] Samantha Tuozzolo: What's your favorite part about the summer?

[1:51] Jason A. Coombs: Um, you know, we were talking about this and we're like talking about it's like summer plans. Like, what do you do? And I'm like, I don't really do anything. I always have a film fest in September, so I'm always like sweating and crying getting ready for the film fest.

[2:03] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, I had a pretty shitty summer last year, so I'm sort of just hoping to relax, throw myself on the beach, maybe read some books, just really relax.

[2:15] Jason A. Coombs: It's been kind of a crazy spring, a crazy busy begin to the summer, right?

[2:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: Start to the summer, begin. I'm tired.

[2:23] Jason A. Coombs: Um, so I'm just really looking forward to like some rest and relaxation.

[2:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: Right.

[2:30] Jason A. Coombs: I do love the beach. I love like a beach snack. I love bringing a cooler with like a sandwich and some high noons.

[2:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: I used to love the beach when I was younger. Now I just I love a pool now. I can't stand all the sand everywhere and like just give me the pool, give me the chlorine.

[2:48] Jason A. Coombs: So I do agree. But I do want to say we're from Connecticut, obviously.

[2:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: For the listeners who are faithful, you know we're from Connecticut.

[2:56] Jason A. Coombs: If you're tuning in, we're from Connecticut.

[2:57] Samantha Tuozzolo: Right.

[2:57] Jason A. Coombs: Um, the beach in Norwalk, Connecticut, is nice, and they have something called a splash pad for the children.

[3:04] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, okay.

[3:04] Jason A. Coombs: But I do go on the splash pad when it gets a little warm because I'm not going in Long Island Sound and getting seaweed in between my toes.

[3:11] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, yeah.

[3:12] Jason A. Coombs: Anyway, guys, we're just excited about the summer. We wanted to chat about our summer vibe. And Jason's gonna be sweating and crying apparently, and I'll be at the splash.

[3:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: And I hope you guys all come to the Bridgeport Film Fest in September.

[3:23] Jason A. Coombs: September 12th.

[3:25] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes.

[3:26] Samantha Tuozzolo: Because our guest, Will Martinez, I actually met him because of the film fest. He was at Has Film the first year of the film fest, and we just like connected and like kept in touch the last couple years, and now he was on our show.

[3:38] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, and he's great. You know, also if you've been a faithful listener of ours, you'll know that I'm absolutely crazy and I like crazy about Grey's Anatomy.

[3:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[3:47] Jason A. Coombs: Got so crazy obsessed. I think maybe two years ago, and I watched it's actually mentally unwell. I watched the entire series.

[3:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[3:55] Jason A. Coombs: Like up until it was present in like three or four months, which by the way, if you know Grey's Anatomy, you know those are long episodes.

[4:05] Samantha Tuozzolo: And there's a lot of them.

[4:06] Jason A. Coombs: There's like 20 something episodes per season. I couldn't stop. I was so hooked.

[4:11] Samantha Tuozzolo: Right.

[4:12] Jason A. Coombs: It's really kind of wild. I mean, that's a great show. Like the story, the stories, the acting, the acting.

[4:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's like some of the best TV that exists.

[4:24] Jason A. Coombs: So all of that to say is that Will, our guest today, is on Grey's Anatomy season 19 as a recurring role.

[4:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: Uh, and no spoilers, but not sure that he's gonna be back. I don't know. Who knows what will happen in the storyline? He might die, I don't think.

[4:40] Jason A. Coombs: Well, you gotta watch, I guess.

[4:42] Samantha Tuozzolo: You gotta watch.

[4:42] Jason A. Coombs: I gotta catch up.

[4:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: But yeah, come to the Bridgeport Film Fest.

[4:46] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[4:46] Samantha Tuozzolo: Um, save the date, save the date. Put in your calendars right now, September 12th through the 14th.

[4:50] Jason A. Coombs: I will be there.

[4:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: I feel like I'm not looking at the right camera. So forgive us, forgive folks who are watching live.

[4:56] Jason A. Coombs: I feel like we are like coming live from like a high school journalism class, like the way we're staring.

[5:05] Samantha Tuozzolo: For those of you just listening, we're crazy today.

[5:08] Jason A. Coombs: We're always crazy when we're in the studio. We're in the welcome timesquares.com studios. Cheers.

[5:11] Samantha Tuozzolo: We love Will, we love the Bridgeport Film Festival, we love summer, and we love Grey's Anatomy.

[5:16] Jason A. Coombs: And uh enjoy this episode, y'all.

[5:18] Samantha Tuozzolo: Enjoy this episode.

[5:19] Jason A. Coombs: Cheers.

[5:19] Samantha Tuozzolo: Cheers.

[5:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: Will, welcome to Survival Jobs: A Podcast. This has been a long time coming. I am a crazy Grey's Anatomy fan. So, Jason, for yours, has been like, we gotta get Will on, we gotta get Will on. I was like, I love Grey's Anatomy, and I love Will, gotta get him on.

[5:35] Will Martinez: I feel like it's been years.

[5:36] Will Martinez: It has been like been talking about it for a while.

[5:38] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[5:39] Will Martinez: I'm happy to finally be here. Thank you for joining us in the studio on this gloomy, gloomy Tuesday.

[5:44] Will Martinez: You're bringing some light to the gloom.

[5:46] Samantha Tuozzolo: Literally, he's wearing this amazing shirt. It's popping on camera. Like, go Will.

[5:50] Jason A. Coombs: Go Will.

[5:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: Go Will, go Will.

[5:53] Jason A. Coombs: We're cheerleaders.

[5:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: So I want to congratulate you again on Aileen, right?

[5:59] Will Martinez: Aileen, yeah.

[6:00] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how you pronounce it.

[6:02] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[6:02] Will Martinez: I feel like I always say it wrong every single time. I'm like always nervous to say it.

[6:06] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah. Everybody's like, they don't know because there's a space between the aliens.

[6:09] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes, I'm like, so it's like, but it's a play on the words.

[6:12] Will Martinez: Right.

[6:12] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[6:13] Will Martinez: Because I was saying, oh my God, because Alex Morsenudo is from my hometown. And I was like, oh my God, A Lion.

[6:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's an A Lion.

[6:23] Will Martinez: I'm always like, oh my God, A Lion is nominated for an Oscar.

[6:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: Nominated.

[6:30] Will Martinez: Sorry, I interrupted you.

[6:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: No, it's okay. Nobody even knows what we're talking about.

[6:33] Will Martinez: Yes, so uh your short film that you started, and did you help you help produce it?

[6:38] Will Martinez: We were uh executive producer.

[6:40] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, I saw your name in the credits.

[6:41] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah.

[6:42] Will Martinez: I saw you, I saw you. And we watched it today, this morning. Made me freaking cry again because of what's happening in the world.

[6:49] Samantha Tuozzolo: Very, very timely.

[6:50] Will Martinez: Um, yeah, so we were just to get our listeners up to date. Say it again.

[6:53] Will Martinez: Uh Aileen, yes.

[6:57] Will Martinez: Alien.

[6:58] Will Martinez: Alien.

[7:00] Will Martinez: Like it's alien.

[7:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, well, yeah.

[7:01] Will Martinez: So it's a play on words. It's like Aileen, but then it's spelled it's a lean. Like, is it it's like having a lean on you know these immigrants that are here, but then it's also illegal alien as well. So it's a play on those words.

[7:13] Samantha Tuozzolo: I understand.

[7:16] Will Martinez: Don't listen to me.

[7:19] Will Martinez: Or 2008. But anyway, best live action short film nominated at the 2025 Oscars this year.

[7:26] Samantha Tuozzolo: So cute.

[7:28] Will Martinez: Yeah, it was uh we we I mean we didn't expect it. We filmed it so long ago, it felt like felt like three, three and a half, four years ago. And um, you know, it did a it did great on the film festival circuit. And we kind of thought after that, you know, it was we kind of lived it to life.

[7:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[7:44] Will Martinez: And then we heard that it got on the long list. We were like the long list for the Oscars. And I didn't really even know what that was at the point either. But I was like, that's cool. And then we got on the short list, and that's when Sam, the director, started calling us, and he was like, Well, this looks like this could be a possibility.

[8:01] Samantha Tuozzolo: And then that's what how'd you react to that?

[8:04] Will Martinez: Like, this is this is insane. I thought this is over, yeah.

[8:06] Will Martinez: So that's when we started paying attention. And uh I remember that morning when they did the they announced the Oscar nominees. I mean, I was cooking breakfast on my way to go to work, and I'm like cooking breakfast and I just have it there. And then they announced us first for that category, and I was just ecstatic by myself, just making breakfast.

[8:26] Samantha Tuozzolo: And then I'm like, I have to go to work after that's the life of an artist, right? Like you could be at the top of your art and then still have to go to your survival job, and it's like you're going through these like problems at work, and you're like, oh my god, like I'm going to the Oscars.

[8:43] Will Martinez: So you went to the Oscars.

[8:44] Will Martinez: Yeah, I got to go, yeah.

[8:45] Samantha Tuozzolo: We're gonna we're gonna get all into that.

[8:46] Will Martinez: We're gonna get all into that.

[8:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: But we no, it's okay, but we wanna go back to survival jobs, which is the the the name of our show, which is the theme of our show. Did you have a favorite survival job or um a memorable moment from my survival job that you want to share with us?

[9:01] Will Martinez: Yeah, no, so I mean I've had a few. Um honestly the best part of the survival jobs have been the friends that I've made from them because like it's all different walks of life because everybody's kind of you know dipping in and out of those jobs, but there's some that you stay with, there's some that you don't. So I mean I worked at uh I did sales for a gym uh for a little bit, like uh like a luxury gym, and me and this this one guy, we kind of just met and we've just like hung out, and then I ended up leaving pretty pretty early on, but we have stayed in touch and all of that, and we're like pretty close friends now, so it's like those those parts of it are cool.

[9:39] Jason A. Coombs: Right.

[9:39] Will Martinez: But sometimes the hours and all of that. And just all of it. It's just like exhausting. And you're just like, I want to just get paid to like do what I love and then just be able to focus on that, but you just wouldn't that be something.

[9:53] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, right, right.

[9:54] Samantha Tuozzolo: Do you ever have a survival job, an experience, or maybe somebody you've met, like you just talked about meeting different people that prepared you for one of your roles?

[10:03] Will Martinez: Um, yeah, I mean trying to think, let me see. I mean, I started with sales. I started doing in sales and then um very Michael Scott of you.

[10:17] Will Martinez: Huh?

[10:18] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah, I started in uh sales, and then after that, what did I do? I've done so many things. I've worked at a couple gyms.

[10:25] Jason A. Coombs: Right.

[10:25] Will Martinez: I'm trying to think of I can't like off the top of my head.

[10:30] Will Martinez: Oh, I'll get back to it.

[10:31] Will Martinez: But yeah, we can circle back.

[10:32] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, circle back, yeah.

[10:34] Will Martinez: Something's gonna pop in my head for sure.

[10:36] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, you've appeared on so many uh major shows FBI, Manifest, Law and Order.

[10:41] Jason A. Coombs: It's just a Law and Order girly right here.

[10:43] Will Martinez: Yeah, um, organized crime, the blacklist. What do you remember about your first like what was the first network job you booked, and like what was that feeling like?

[10:51] Will Martinez: Yeah, so the first network job I booked was FBI.

[10:54] Will Martinez: Wow.

[10:54] Will Martinez: And um, I remember it was it's a little intimidating because you walk on set and there was a whole a murder, so the police are gathered there, but there's also all the people that witnessed the murder that are there, so it's just so many people, and then I have to go in there and I have to uh I have to go in there and say one line.

[11:15] Will Martinez: And honestly, to this day, that's still the worst for me. If when you have to just pop into a scene, say a line, and then leave, there's kind of like no context, there's no like warm-up is a good thing.

[11:24] Samantha Tuozzolo: What was the line?

[11:26] Will Martinez: I forget. I'm just telling I was like, I just I'm basically telling the cops that oh, we saw the suspect go this way, right? Or whatever, the FBI agents that are there, and I come in and I kind of tell them that they asked me a question, I answer it, and then I leave.

[11:40] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, but it's you have the whole day just thinking about that one.

[11:45] Will Martinez: You start saying it so many times that it doesn't even sound like English to you anymore.

[11:48] Jason A. Coombs: Right, right.

[11:48] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Especially when it's like your first like network thing, I imagine you're like, oh my god, like the stakes are so high.

[11:56] Will Martinez: Yeah, so many different kinds of inflections you're working to put on trash line.

[12:01] Samantha Tuozzolo: You're like, oh, I remember I had one for what show was it? Uh I can't remember what show, but my line was batteries dead because they were filming a scene, and I was like the sound guy in this like in the show. So like they're filming something.

[12:12] Will Martinez: No, they're filming a promotional video, and then like the battery dies, and I'm supposed to be like, batteries dead, like and I was like, How do you booked it?

[12:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: So I must have to be able to do it.

[12:21] Will Martinez: You're like batteries dead.

[12:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: You didn't know Joe Dramatic Paul's right?

[12:26] Will Martinez: Batteries dead.

[12:28] Will Martinez: Dead.

[12:30] Samantha Tuozzolo: Um I have to talk about Grey's Anatomy.

[12:33] Will Martinez: I know I was chatting with you. I am such a Grey's Anatomy stan. Like psychotic even.

[12:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: So what can you talk a little bit about what that was like to book on such an iconic show?

[12:43] Will Martinez: And you started off as a guest star, right? And then moved to recurring. Well, yeah, it was always gonna be a recurring guest star, but I actually had auditioned for a series regular on it, and I was kind of in the running for one of the roles of the new interns. Yeah, and it was between me and I forget who it was. I think it was between me and like Harry Sean Jr. for that character. And um great Harry Sean Jr. My God. But um so iconic. Yeah, yeah. So like I didn't end up getting the role, but they said obviously they had enjoyed my audition and all of that, so I kind of just forgot about it. And then a couple months later they called and they said, "Hey, we have this role that's perfect for Will, it's his if he wants it."

Offer only. Okay. Uh yeah, yeah. You're like, "Yeah, I do want it. Thank you." Like, "Wait, let me just talk about this. Let me check my schedule. Um I don't know. I got some sales to do, but it's like, wait, let me check with my boss." But um, yeah, no, and then when they said that, I was like, "Of course." And I was super excited. And also first time getting to film out in LA. I've been to LA before, but I've never filmed out there. So getting to go out there and film was cool in the studio.

[14:00] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, I think that's a good thing. Five episodes, right?

[14:02] Will Martinez: Uh yeah, five or six. I think it was six that yeah.

[14:04] Jason A. Coombs: That is so iconic. You know, we've had that story happen before on our podcast where someone has auditioned for something else, and then they'll call back and say, "Actually, we have this," and I think that's such an important lesson. We have a lot of artist listeners that like, okay, if the thing that you thought was gonna happen doesn't happen, it doesn't always mean it was for nothing. You know, because then it turns into something. Can you give me any Grey's Anatomy tea to any of these people? Like, did you never have like a scene with Dr. Bailey?

[14:31] Will Martinez: No. No, I didn't have any scenes with Dr. Bailey, but I got to meet uh Dr. Bailey. I got to meet Shonda Rhimes.

[14:39] Jason A. Coombs: I'll tell us about that. We love Shonda Land. If people are regular listeners to our podcast, they know we love Shonda.

[14:50] Will Martinez: Yeah, so please give us the tea. She uh well, it was kind of post-COVID still. I mean, in Cali, they were kind of still keeping the whole testing for a lot longer on productions. And they were doing their readings virtually. So then for the season finale of that season was the first time that they were doing an in-person reading for like the first time in a few years because of COVID. And in that table read, everybody showed up. Fine. So Ellen Pompeo was there, Shonda Rhimes was there, and it was cool. It was a huge round table with everybody there. Just and she was just reading there, and I got to like shake her hand, so that was cool.

[15:27] Jason A. Coombs: Were you like chill and like, "Hey, like here I am, it's my job," or were you like nervous?

[15:33] Will Martinez: I would be sweating. I was well, the thing is too. The table reads that we've done before have all been Zoom, so I'll go in. It's very casual on the Zoom like table reads. Yeah, I would show up in my own. No pants on. Yeah, like I'm just hanging out, yeah, just finished eating, have some like food on my lip. And then I get there, and it's a whole setup. They have catered food and all of this, and I was like, "I was not prepared for all of this." I thought we were just gonna, you know, read the scene. So yeah, it was definitely a little nerve-wracking, and uh it was just cool to meet everybody as well. We like everybody got some photos. But yeah, no, definitely. At first when I walked in, I was like, "Oh, this is a big deal."

[16:14] Jason A. Coombs: Okay, everybody, please go to Netflix season 19.

[16:19] Will Martinez: You're just in 19.

[16:20] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, just season 19.

[16:21] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of twists and plots, and Trey is here to get his woman back.

[16:28] Jason A. Coombs: Oh he's trying to fight for his woman.

[16:30] Will Martinez: I want her back.

[16:31] Jason A. Coombs: No spoilers, but I don't think he gets her back.

[16:35] Will Martinez: You gotta tune in.

[16:39] Jason A. Coombs: You gotta tune in and see. They're on next season 22 now.

[16:42] Will Martinez: I believe so, yeah. I think that's wild. I was telling I was I was telling Will before I I watched the first season on a DVD. I remember like getting it from like Netflix.

[16:51] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[16:52] Jason A. Coombs: Or maybe it was two, but it was still like it was only seven episodes, and it was like on DVD. It doesn't happen anymore. Yeah. That's how long ago that was. Incredible.

[17:00] Will Martinez: That's yeah, you're part of that part of that legacy. You're part of that Shonda Rhimes family owner.

[17:04] Jason A. Coombs: Shondaland. Shout out Shonda.

[17:07] Will Martinez: Shout out Shonda.

[17:09] Jason A. Coombs: There we go. She's watching. Hey, Shonda. We love I love your book, Shonda. Cheers to that. I love her book as well. And I love every single show. This is now our third guest from the Shondaland universe.

[17:20] Will Martinez: Is it?

[17:21] Jason A. Coombs: Chris Cafara.

[17:22] Will Martinez: Chris Kaffaro, our girl, Edwina from The Residence.

[17:25] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, yeah. Okay, cool. And now Lucky number three.

[17:28] Will Martinez: That's my lucky number.

[17:29] Jason A. Coombs: Lucky number three. Cheers. Love that so much. So let's talk about Aline. How did that roll?

[17:34] Will Martinez: Did I say it wrong?

[17:36] Jason A. Coombs: I don't know, but you said it.

[17:41] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah. I don't think you said it. Oh, okay. I was trying to be confident.

[17:44] Jason A. Coombs: No, I'm just laughing at myself because Alien A Lying. Like, I don't know what I would do. I was like, "I'm just gonna say it with confidence."

[17:53] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah.

[17:53] Jason A. Coombs: And then I got nervous. I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at I'm gonna stop talking. Alan, can you mute my mic? Thank you. Shout out to Alan Seals in the corner there doing our tech.

[18:05] Will Martinez: Theater, theater podcast.

[18:07] Jason A. Coombs: What days do you drop the theater podcast?

[18:09] Will Martinez: Uh uh on Tuesdays regularly, and then if I have extra, um, I'll do Fridays.

[18:15] Jason A. Coombs: Okay. Leading up to um Tony's, I got like two, maybe three a week. It's kind of nuts. So now I'm gonna take a break.

[18:24] Will Martinez: You told me to mute your mic.

[18:27] Jason A. Coombs: I was doing a bit before. Thank you. I'm dead. Let's pick it up, sorry. Uh so well, how did the how did you get cast in this short film that ended up eventually at the Oscars two years later?

[18:40] Will Martinez: Yeah, that was actually a self-submission. So we filmed it so long ago. This was uh before I had representation. So I was just submitting on Actors Access, and then I got uh the director Sam, he went through the submissions himself. He said he went to a couple thousand for the two roles that um were like the starring roles. Yeah. And then we did a callback via Zoom. We did uh chemistry read via Zoom as well. But you know, it's kind of weird to do a chemistry read through Zoom. But this was like post-COVID, like right post COVID, so it was still weird. But he asked me and Victoria, my co-star, if we'd be willing to like to go to his backyard and kind of, you know, uh do a chemistry read there.

Right. So we went, we kind of just talked for a while, we were there, and we all just got along like right off the bat. We were there for like an hour, hour and a half. Oh, and then we we were about to leave. And he was like, "Oh, wait, uh maybe we should read some of the scenes and like while we're here." Oh, we're just like, "Yeah," because we were just hanging out, we were having a good time. She's like actually let's remember why we all came to the city. That's chemistry, right?

[19:49] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah. It's just like all right. So then yeah, we we read and then a week later he said he wanted us to he wanted us as the lead roles. And then we Victoria and I we met a couple times for coffee to kind of get to know each other more, build rapport and then, you know, like talk about the characters and the story. Right. And then I also went out to the park with uh Cora, the girl that played my daughter. So that she can kind of like, you know, be comfortable with me. So the day that we went on set, we kind of felt like a family, and you know, doing all that prep it felt nice because uh when we got onto set we did feel like a family and you know, it was we only shot for three or four days, but you know, when we all said bye, we were all like sad, like damn, we gotta say bye now. Yeah, you know, it's my favorite.

[20:34] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, it was my family, you know.

[20:38] Will Martinez: Two years later.

[20:40] Jason A. Coombs: I know, and then we get to all reunite for that. That was insane. But even working on the project, I've done a lot of short films and little indie films and that one felt different. It just felt the amount of like precision and attention to detail that everybody was kind of putting into it. It felt different at the time.

[20:58] Will Martinez: Yeah. I'd never thought Oscars. And you know, you're doing a short film, you're not thinking that. But the fact that it made that was it was nice. Nice just to get, you know, in a nominated film um at the Oscars. At the 97th Oscars. It's crazy. Iconic. Um so you said that it was only three days of filming. So what was the whole filming process like? And where did you guys film it? And there were two directors, right?

[21:24] Will Martinez: Two directors, yeah, yeah. So how was that? Like Sam and David, yeah. Yeah, how was that process with two directors and what was that collaboration like?

[21:32] Will Martinez: So it was um it was so we filmed most of it in Jersey in this uh like office that they made it kind of look like an immigration office where we were, and uh, you know, they've been doing this for so long. I mean, their brothers they grew up, but they've you know been filming projects since they were little, so it was kind of you know, when one was kind of focusing on the technical aspect of things, the other one was kind of talking to us actors and maybe the other actors trying to get that, but they kind of would flip-flop here and there. Yeah, so it was a good kind of mix of both, and also if you know if us actors weren't maybe understanding something on one end, another the other would come and kind of explain it maybe on a different angle, you know. So it was uh it was cool, and like I mean, they worked well together, so it was uh it was a nice experience for sure.

[22:21] Jason A. Coombs: I mean it really was a family affair.

[22:22] Will Martinez: Yeah, and then you feel like you're part of the family.

[22:24] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, then you feel like you're part of the family, so it was nice. Isn't that so special to you, even though you know it was just a three-day filming process to have that impact of like everybody feeling sad and you're feeling like a part of this brotherhood?

[22:37] Will Martinez: Oh, yeah. That's when real the real art is like birthed.

[22:42] Jason A. Coombs: Well, yeah, and we all you know Sam and I would hit each other up through throughout the years before the Oscars things to grab a beer and like just talk. Um, Alex and I now, after we went to the Oscars together, Alex and I are hanging out all the time now, too. But like it was all it was like a great project that obviously will be like special to me for sure.

[23:00] Will Martinez: Yeah, your first Oscars.

[23:01] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, many more.

[23:03] Will Martinez: Many more to come.

[23:04] Jason A. Coombs: But when you watch that film, this guy can act.

[23:10] Will Martinez: Can you imagine if we had a guest on and you're like, "This guy actually is not that good of an actor?"

[23:15] Jason A. Coombs: But this guy sucked.

[23:18] Will Martinez: I've seen better.

[23:20] Jason A. Coombs: We're just here doing the thing.

[23:21] Will Martinez: No, because I saw you in a film. How I found you was a film like the Bridgeport Film Fest, Kissing Carol.

[23:28] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, yes, that was that was a while ago. That was a long time ago.

[23:30] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[23:31] Jason A. Coombs: That wasn't our first Pittsburgh Film Fest year.

[23:33] Will Martinez: What is that? Someone's angry. Um, anyway, uh yeah, so that was like a long time ago. And then to see like how far you've come is really amazing. I hate to say like I'm proud of you because I feel like sometimes people can take that the wrong way, but I really am. Like it's really incredible.

[23:49] Will Martinez: I'll take it.

[23:51] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[23:53] Will Martinez: Um okay, so I was gonna say this film tackles such for people who don't know, it's about an undocumented person, right?

[24:00] Will Martinez: Yeah, um, who is trying to, you know, get things handled the legal way.

[24:05] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, the legal way. I thought you should be saying this.

[24:07] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, so he's trying to um get his papers illegally, and he's going in for his uh an interview, yeah. An interview that you have to go through to get your paperwork, and he's called upon by the government to go through that. But it's kind of honeypotted because ICE is waiting there as well. So which is I just telling you, I was watching it again today, literally this morning, like crying because of what's happening in the world. Like we're living through like this is such a timely film. Yeah, you know, we're like right now in Los Angeles, like people are resisting to ICE. And it's crazy though, because we filmed this, I said three or four years ago. And it's more timely now than it was when we filmed it, and it was when we filmed it as well.

So it's just obviously it shines light on it, but it's kind of disappointing that it's still relevant all this time, like after. And even becoming more and more relevant with all these things that are keep on happening.

[25:00] Will Martinez: Yeah, the dehumanization of people. Yeah, these are families that are being ripped apart from each other. Um what do you hope audiences take away after they watch this film, which you can watch now? It's a Vimeo short pick on Vimeo that you can watch right now.

[25:13] Jason A. Coombs: Yes, um we'll drop the link in our little notes. But um, why is films like this so important right now?

[25:19] Will Martinez: Well, I mean, uh just like you said right there, it humanizes it. I mean, I think if it doesn't sometimes there's a lot of people that if it doesn't impact them directly, you know, they don't see what's the big deal, you know, they'll say.

[25:31] Will Martinez: But then when you see a story like this, where it's like these lives are being completely impacted by this in a negative way, they're being stripped from their families. It helps people relate to it even more and say, "Oh wow, I see what's the problem is with this, you know. I see I can now I can relate to it, and now I can start to maybe do a little more research or actually start to care because I see how this is a human problem." And it's not just like, "Oh yeah, let's just get them out of it," you know. So I think that's what people would take away from it.

[26:05] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[26:05] Will Martinez: It's such a human, like I'm just like I don't understand how we live in a world where we can treat people in this way, which is yeah. That's crazy, which is why you know art is so important.

[26:16] Jason A. Coombs: Right.

[26:16] Will Martinez: And the importance of this film, like we've said a million times, is so important now more than ever.

[26:22] Jason A. Coombs: Of course.

[26:23] Will Martinez: So like to be a part of art that's impactful, yeah. I imagine is like so so rewarding. All art is rewarding, but when it's impactful to things that matter. Not that all art doesn't matter.

[26:35] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, no, no, but I agree with what you say. Like, you know, it's shedding a light on something that you know we have to make a change for, something that maybe it could help you know, might or bring eyes to it right for people that'll inspire them to, you know, help make a change.

[26:51] Will Martinez: My favorite quote was by Nina Simone who says an artist's duty is to reflect the times.

[26:55] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[26:55] Will Martinez: Which is so it's like a it's like a responsibility. You know, I was watching that talk yesterday with Lena Waithe and Felicia Rashad and they were talking about like just a way of being an artist. It's a responsibility. You know, people think it's fun and games, and yeah, it can be fun, and we could play games. It is fun, but we will be playing a game.

[27:17] Jason A. Coombs: And I think Viola Davis said it.

[27:18] Will Martinez: We're the only I guess the only kind of job where to live a life. What is it? What is it, Samantha?

[27:25] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, something like that.

[27:26] Will Martinez: I was gonna I was really close to pulling it, like the exact quote, the only job that knows how to live a life, something like that.

[27:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, yeah.

[27:33] Will Martinez: Oh, I love Viola.

[27:35] Samantha Tuozzolo: Speaking of Shondaland.

[27:36] Will Martinez: Right. No, I know we've talked so much about the Oscars already. I mean, how could we not? It's so iconic. So when you found this out, and then you were like figuring out how are you going and all this stuff, how did you navigate that and how did you like stay grounded in that whole process leading up to going?

[27:55] Will Martinez: Yeah, no, it was it was insane. I mean, I was reaching out to anybody that might have some experience to be like, "What do I expect? What do I wear? How do I even go about that?" Like, you know, and you can't just show up and yeah.

[28:11] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah, I can't like this. I can't come show up in this handy.

[28:15] Will Martinez: But um, I actually hit up Alexis Floyd who was my co-star in Grey's Anatomy, and she helped me a lot. She helped me, she hooked me up with her stylist.

[28:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, amazing.

[28:23] Will Martinez: So I got to do that. Stylist boy. Yeah, where I went in and they had suits ready for me there, and I was like, "Let's try all this on."

[28:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh my gosh.

[28:32] Will Martinez: So, um let's go. That was cool. I went a week before the actual ceremony, just so I could I try to like set up some meetings and do some networking before and using the Oscars as a way to get myself into some doors and stuff.

[28:47] Jason A. Coombs: I mean when it's hot, you do you gotta act while it's hot.

[28:50] Will Martinez: Yeah, so but then when I was at the actual ceremony, I mean we kept me and Victoria, my co-star, we kept looking at each other like, "We're at the Oscars right now." Like don't forget what we're doing.

[29:02] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, and like, but it's crazy because you're there and then you start to kind of like forget your present, but it's kind of an out of body experience, so you're like going back and forth between that, and you have to like look at each other and be like, "We're actually here."

[29:15] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[29:16] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's also something maybe I already said this, but the fact that you got this job from Actors Access and it brought you to the Oscars.

[29:26] Will Martinez: Yeah, is so yeah, I don't even know the word because you know, sometimes as an actor we get so defeated and tired with like auditions and submissions, and we think like, "Oh, this isn't gonna do anything, this will never lead anywhere."

[29:43] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah.

[29:43] Will Martinez: And you just never know.

[29:46] Jason A. Coombs: No.

[29:46] Will Martinez: Yeah, and you know, I especially, you know, I still work on like some short films and things like that, because I like to get my reps in and all of that, and you know, sometimes those thoughts creep in my head. But you know, I always kind of look back to Aileen. Not that I'm expecting anything out of it, because I do like to get to practice, but it's like you do never know. And you also never know the relationships you're gonna make and all of that.

[30:12] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[30:12] Will Martinez: So it's like who you're gonna meet. They might be somebody who's a collaborator with you in the future. I feel like you know, we can all like kind of come up together, so it's kind of cool to see everybody at this level, and then slowly like you know, you get that, you get this opportunity, and you kind of all help each other out.

[30:28] Jason A. Coombs: So does Issa say, like you don't network up the ladder, you network like across, so you go all like moving together.

[30:35] Will Martinez: And then you guys just move up together, yeah.

[30:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, excuse me.

[30:44] Will Martinez: It came right in hot.

[30:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: Okay, so can you tell us because I know we're gonna keep harping about this. I hope you never get tired of talking about your first Oscars. What is something that us regular folks don't know about it? Like, was there like tell us like a secret or something like that we would never kind of guess.

[31:01] Will Martinez: So the best networking area at the Oscars is their smoking section.

[31:06] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, what is that's what like there's there's a specific like smoking section, and that's where people go to like network.

[31:13] Will Martinez: So like I went I went out, I don't smoke, but I just went out there to you know, just to see who was out there.

[31:13] Jason A. Coombs: Who was out there?

[31:20] Will Martinez: I mean, I met a lot of international, yeah, no, I met a lot of like international actors, international filmmakers.

[31:25] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, but um it was and then when we went we went to the bar on the first floor, because we were up and up a couple floors, and I was just walking by, you know, Bob Iger, you know, the CEO of Netflix, and they're just walking past me to go get a drink.

[31:40] Jason A. Coombs: So that was that was insane.

[31:43] Will Martinez: Like, "Hey Bob, what's you drinking? It's on me."

[31:44] Jason A. Coombs: They're like, "Let me get your drink. It's on me."

[31:46] Will Martinez: I got it.

[31:47] Jason A. Coombs: No worry about it.

[31:49] Will Martinez: What again?

[31:50] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah.

[31:51] Will Martinez: That's so cool.

[31:52] Will Martinez: Yeah, I also um God, what's her name? So this was I was walking, and out came wow, what's her name? Uh Dakota Fanning.

[32:03] Jason A. Coombs: Al Fanning came and she walked in front of me, and I didn't realize her dress was super long.

[32:08] Will Martinez: No.

[32:09] Jason A. Coombs: So I was just like walking, and then I stepped on and she kind of like coiled back. But she turned around and she was super cool. But then a stylist came running out of nowhere and was like, "Oh my god, the dress."

[32:19] Will Martinez: And I was just closer.

[32:21] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah.

[32:22] Will Martinez: So make sure things like that don't happen. But she was she was cool with it, but I was like, of course I would.

[32:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: Who was like who did you see that like gagged you the most? That you were like, "Holy shit, I cannot believe I just saw."

[32:30] Will Martinez: Let's see. I saw uh Denis Villeneuve, the director of Dune and Prisoners and all of that. When he walked by, I was like, "Wow, this because I love his movies." And he did Sicario too, so I loved his film. So him going by was cool. Jeff Goldblum was right around us, he was super cool.

[32:52] Jason A. Coombs: And uh yeah, he's I mean he's the man.

[32:55] Will Martinez: He walks in and attention's all on him.

[32:57] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, great.

[32:57] Will Martinez: So um, yeah, that was very cool. I'm trying to think if there was anybody else. Got to see Zoe Saldana who won her first Oscar to like first female Dominican actress to win. So that was that was really cool to watch as well.

[33:10] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[33:11] Will Martinez: Um thank you for sharing for us who have never who have never gotten the chance to go to the Oscars just yet.

[33:18] Jason A. Coombs: We're gonna go into the case.

[33:20] Samantha Tuozzolo: Do they have uh they should really do a hundred year? That's something the Oscars?

[33:25] Will Martinez: Can you imagine the Oscars do like us podcasts has nothing to do with it?

[33:27] Jason A. Coombs: Alan, you have three years to get us there.

[33:29] Will Martinez: Come on.

[33:29] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, Alan, can you get us there?

[33:31] Will Martinez: On it.

[33:31] Jason A. Coombs: Thank you.

[33:32] Will Martinez: Thank you so much.

[33:33] Jason A. Coombs: This is film.

[33:35] Will Martinez: Yeah. Essentially.

[33:36] Jason A. Coombs: Um so the acting business is hard. It's tough to be an artist sometimes, you know. It's like the constant grind in between survival jobs, the constant audition, right? Keeping your mental health, keeping your physical health, it's all a lot. How do you stay inspired and how do you stay grounded in between gigs to keep your motivation going?

[33:56] Will Martinez: Yeah, I mean, um I have a great support system. I mean my family, they uh they've always backed me, even when you know, I kind of took a break from acting for a bit, and I had a pretty stable job, and I decided to just come but go back into acting. I was like, "What am I what am I doing? This is what I want to do. Why do I keep going back and forth? Let's just go full throttle." And at that point, everybody a little bit was like, "That's risky, that's kind of crazy what he's doing."

[34:24] Samantha Tuozzolo: But how long did you so sorry to interrupt, but how how long did you take off from acting?

[34:29] Will Martinez: So I mean, honestly, in college I kind of stopped completely. So in college I was taking classes on the side, but I decided to go to school for marketing and information systems instead. And then but I knew I was gonna get back to acting, I just didn't know how.

[34:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[34:43] Will Martinez: So I decided the only place I'm gonna get a job, because I was in school in Pittsburgh.

[34:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: Okay.

[34:48] Will Martinez: So I decided to get a job in New York so that I could be around somehow. So then I worked in sales for a year. We had a pretty decent year, and I was just like, "You know what? I'm gonna go for it." So I left my job. Wasn't maybe the smartest idea.

[35:02] Jason A. Coombs: It worked out.

[35:03] Will Martinez: But it worked out.

[35:05] Will Martinez: Um, but yeah, no, everybody was a little like, "That's insane. What are you doing?" But now, after they seemed like it wasn't a joke, like I was really, you know, determined and focused. So having that support system is great. Being able to compartmentalize and having things outside of acting, right? Is huge.

[35:23] Jason A. Coombs: Can't have it be your whole personality.

[35:25] Will Martinez: Yeah, I have a lot of I know a lot of actors that are fully engrossed in acting. Their only friends are actors as well. And all they they live in like the bubble, and I think sometimes that can kind of hurt you because you start to get burnt out.

[35:39] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, right.

[35:39] Will Martinez: You know, you start to not the love for it starts to disappear because it's just everything.

[35:44] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[35:45] Will Martinez: So I think you know, having friends outside of the industry as well, where you're not always talking about what audition you have or what casting director you met, or you have other things.

[35:54] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, you know, you have other things to kind of a little bit more well-rounded.

[35:58] Will Martinez: Yeah, so I think just having some things outside of it and just like making sure it stays fun. Whenever it starts, yeah, whenever it starts getting a little too serious, I'm like, "I'm here because I love this thing. If it's not fun, it's not worth it." So just trying to make it fun.

[36:13] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love that.

[36:13] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[36:14] Samantha Tuozzolo: Keep the joy.

[36:15] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[36:16] Samantha Tuozzolo: Because then what's the point?

[36:17] Will Martinez: Yeah, like this is I mean, when I'm on set, that's the best feeling ever. So all of this is just opportunities for me to get on set, and I know that when I'm on set, it's all gonna pay off. So it's just like this, just enjoy the journey, and then we'll see where we get.

[36:32] Jason A. Coombs: It's all about the journey.

[36:33] Will Martinez: My high school theater teacher used to say it's all about the journey, people, not the destination.

[36:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[36:39] Will Martinez: And I think also one thing that helped me a lot, and I think a lot of other people, I used to have like a timeline. Like, if I don't get this by this age, then if I'm not here by 30, I'm done acting, I'm gonna I'll go back to a normal job. And once I let go of that, and I was like, "Listen, this is what I'm gonna do. It's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when, but when it happens, it'll happen." You know, just living in nature.

[37:03] Samantha Tuozzolo: Preaching.

[37:04] Will Martinez: It's uh it helped a lot.

[37:05] Jason A. Coombs: Love that.

[37:06] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah.

[37:07] Jason A. Coombs: Even Alan Snap ended.

[37:08] Will Martinez: And he hates films and Tribeca.

[37:12] Jason A. Coombs: I gotta know how to do it.

[37:15] Will Martinez: I gotta know where this is coming from.

[37:16] Jason A. Coombs: This hate of Tribeca.

[37:19] Will Martinez: It's kind of just a bit.

[37:20] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, I'm just busting his balls.

[37:22] Will Martinez: Tribeca always happens when my kids end school.

[37:25] Jason A. Coombs: So I can't do any Tribeca.

[37:27] Will Martinez: Oh, that's okay.

[37:28] Jason A. Coombs: I see.

[37:28] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[37:29] Jason A. Coombs: So you want to be there.

[37:30] Will Martinez: Yes, I want to be there.

[37:31] Jason A. Coombs: Okay, yeah.

[37:31] Will Martinez: I want to be there.

[37:32] Jason A. Coombs: When my kids get to college, I can finally go cover Tribeca.

[37:35] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[37:36] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[37:37] Will Martinez: So we have one last question, and then we're gonna play a really, really fun game. Hope you're ready. Hope you have your competitive panties on.

[37:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: Um so we talked about this world is insane right now. There's so much happening.

[37:50] Will Martinez: We don't have to go into all of it.

[37:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: But you know, there's a lot happening. What keeps you sane and grounded? Is there like a book or a movie? Or do you have like a ritual that really just feeds your soul and keeps keeps Will feeling good and ready to kick ass?

[38:06] Will Martinez: Yeah, no, I mean, uh I do love like I have to go to either go to the gym with some physical activity as much as I can.

[38:15] Will Martinez: I mean, maybe there's some days I don't do that. Uh, family's big for me, so spending time with my family and my friends. And, uh, I've noticed sometimes I like overwork myself a little bit. So giving myself a day or half a day or something where I can just relax and maybe, and just try to, yeah, and just try to turn this off. Great because it's like I don't have to do this, I don't have to reach out to this person. Could just sit there and just throw on a TV show and just laugh. Bloopers, I love bloopers.

[38:45] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, you like the office bloopers?

[38:46] Will Martinez: I can watch the office bloopers at any point and I'm on like, I'm just, I'm dying of laughter.

[38:52] Jason A. Coombs: That's fun.

[38:52] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[38:53] Jason A. Coombs: The SNL bloopers are really good too.

[38:55] Will Martinez: I've never watched it.

[38:56] Jason A. Coombs: If you watch like there's like compilations on YouTube of like when they break and they laugh, it's a lot of fun.

[39:00] Will Martinez: I've seen like Will Ferrell's, yeah, I've seen those.

[39:04] Jason A. Coombs: They're so good because they're laughing so hard and then you have no other option but to laugh.

[39:09] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[39:09] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. We love a good rot day.

[39:11] Will Martinez: I'm in desperate need of a rot day.

[39:13] Jason A. Coombs: Same. You know when you're looking forward to a rot day? That's when you know you're like doing a lot.

[39:18] Will Martinez: Yeah. Can't wait.

[39:19] Jason A. Coombs: Can't wait for my rot day.

[39:21] Will Martinez: When's the rot day?

[39:22] Jason A. Coombs: Next week.

[39:22] Will Martinez: Next week.

[39:24] Jason A. Coombs: You still got some time.

[39:26] Will Martinez: I actually have a while until my rot day, but I can't wait.

[39:26] Jason A. Coombs: Can't wait.

[39:31] Will Martinez: What are you saying?

[39:32] Jason A. Coombs: Rot.

[39:33] Will Martinez: R-O-T. A rot day. Like your cheat day and you're sitting in bed rot. Like you just let yourself, like you just relax. You don't do anything. You just rot in your life. Like your brain rots, like no skibbity, jail, no cap.

[39:47] Jason A. Coombs: What?

[39:49] Will Martinez: Brain rot. When your brain—never mind.

[39:52] Jason A. Coombs: Okay, Alan, yeah, exactly. Whatever you said, yeah.

[39:54] Will Martinez: Skibbity bee bot. You just put on like trash TV.

[39:58] Jason A. Coombs: You order, uh, DoorDash.

[40:01] Will Martinez: Yeah. And you just really can't rot.

[40:06] Jason A. Coombs: Sorry.

[40:08] Will Martinez: No rot days for you.

[40:10] Jason A. Coombs: My rot is playing video games with the kids.

[40:12] Will Martinez: Hey, that's nice.

[40:15] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[40:16] Will Martinez: If you's a version of the listening, this is your cue to take a rot day. You deserve it. Love you. Take your rot day.

[40:21] Jason A. Coombs: That's right. What's the last thing you watched on your rot day?

[40:25] Will Martinez: Um, I binge-watched, um, Mob Land on Paramount Plus with, uh, it's like, uh, Tom Hardy's new show.

[40:32] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, I just, I binged it. I watched one episode. I was like, I love like the mob type movies and shows. So I saw the first episode and then I watched the whole season in a day.

[40:44] Will Martinez: So love the mob.

[40:46] Jason A. Coombs: We all love the mob.

[40:47] Will Martinez: We all love the mob.

[40:48] Jason A. Coombs: We all love the mob, just to be clear.

[40:50] Will Martinez: Yeah. Wait, and you're on that new show with, um, the guy from Madam, yeah.

[40:50] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[40:50] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[40:57] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, that's so cool.

[40:57] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah.

[40:58] Jason A. Coombs: Your Friends and Neighbors, yeah.

[40:59] Will Martinez: Yeah, check it out.

[41:00] Jason A. Coombs: Your Friends and Neighbors, yeah.

[41:02] Will Martinez: Your Friends and Neighbors, season one, Apple TV.

[41:05] Jason A. Coombs: Yes, I keep hearing about that too. Check it out.

[41:07] Will Martinez: I saw your IMDB, and I was like, oh, now I definitely have to watch it now.

[41:11] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah. It's, uh, it's actually, it's a very good show. I enjoy it. I'm not just saying that because I'm in it. I actually enjoy the show, so I definitely recommend it.

[41:18] Jason A. Coombs: Is Jon Hamm nice?

[41:20] Will Martinez: Uh, yeah, yeah. I got to meet him at the wrap party. I didn't have any scenes with him, but I met him at the wrap party. He was super cool. Everybody on that set was super cool. So we're currently, um, filming season two now. So busy and blessed right here.

[41:39] Jason A. Coombs: Well, thank you for coming and chatting with us and talking all things about the Oscars and giving us all the insight scoop. Everybody will see you in the smoking section at the Oscars in five years.

[41:50] Will Martinez: No, 2028, 2020.

[41:51] Jason A. Coombs: In 2028 and three years. See you then. We'll be nominated for best film podcast.

[41:57] Will Martinez: I believe, I believe in you.

[41:59] Jason A. Coombs: Well, we'll be accepting his Oscar for Best Actor.

[42:02] Will Martinez: I'll be, I'll be announcing the nominees for Best Film Podcast.

[42:06] Jason A. Coombs: And then you guys will win. That's what I was going to be.

[42:08] Will Martinez: Alan will be there winning best tech design.

[42:11] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah.

[42:13] Will Martinez: And we're all just gonna be together in the smoking section, drinking from water bottles with straws.

[42:20] Jason A. Coombs: Yep.

[42:20] Will Martinez: Yeah. And that's the mic drop. Um, this has been so fun, but like Jason said, we always love to end every episode with a game.

[42:26] Jason A. Coombs: Right. Go ahead, Jay. Can you explain the game?

[42:29] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, so I was trying to think about a game that could just blend the two worlds that we're in right now, right? So you were at the Oscars in March, and the Tonys was this past weekend. It's the Tony Awards for theater. So I figured we do a little double crowned Oscar and Tony edition, a game about actors winning or not winning Oscars and Tonys.

[42:48] Will Martinez: Okay.

[42:48] Jason A. Coombs: So let's see how well you know your actors. And it's just some true or false, just some multiple choice.

[42:54] Will Martinez: All right.

[42:55] Jason A. Coombs: And this is the cheat queen right here. So if you need a link, just give her a little bit.

[42:59] Will Martinez: Okay, okay, got it.

[43:01] Jason A. Coombs: Zun so.

[43:01] Will Martinez: I'm not the cheat king. I'm very competitive.

[43:03] Jason A. Coombs: He doesn't cheat.

[43:04] Will Martinez: I always cheat.

[43:05] Jason A. Coombs: Gotcha. I just think, you know, if someone wants to get a perfect score and I can help, why not?

[43:10] Will Martinez: Why not? Right.

[43:10] Jason A. Coombs: Why not? I'm a socialist.

[43:13] Will Martinez: I like that. I'm a socialist in other areas, but not in a game.

[43:16] Jason A. Coombs: Okay. Are you ready?

[43:18] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[43:18] Jason A. Coombs: Number one. True or false. Viola Davis won an Oscar and a Tony for the same role in Fences, the film and Broadway play as Rose Maxon.

[43:30] Will Martinez: Oh, was she in the play? I know she won an Oscar. I'm going to say yes.

[43:37] Jason A. Coombs: Dun dun dun. That's correct.

[43:39] Will Martinez: It's not because I saw the nod happening.

[43:42] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, I didn't even cheat that time.

[43:43] Will Martinez: Oh no, I went to the show. I thought you were going like this.

[43:45] Jason A. Coombs: Oh no, I was just like dancing, I think.

[43:47] Will Martinez: That isn't well, I'm happy it worked out. Can you imagine if you thought I was just a little bit more than a little bit of a few years?

[43:51] Jason A. Coombs: I think you were doing it subconsciously.

[43:52] Will Martinez: Yeah, maybe. I think you were doing it like, yeah. Good thing I wasn't dancing like this.

[43:56] Jason A. Coombs: We could have said false, and then we would already have one.

[43:59] Will Martinez: Yeah. We're on top, though.

[44:01] Jason A. Coombs: We're on top.

[44:02] Will Martinez: We're on top.

[44:02] Jason A. Coombs: Okay. Multiple choice. Which of these actresses, female actors, has won both a Tony and an Oscar? A. Helen Mirren. B. Nicole Kidman, or C. Kate Winslet.

[44:17] Will Martinez: I wanna say that Alan's fact-checking me.

[44:22] Jason A. Coombs: Correct.

[44:22] Will Martinez: Yes. Helen Mirren won an Oscar for The Queen and a Tony for The Audience.

[44:33] Jason A. Coombs: I liked it. Shout out to Helen Mirren.

[44:36] Will Martinez: Okay, number two. She's in the show Mobland.

[44:39] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, I didn't even know. Guys, and Pierce Brosnan.

[44:42] Will Martinez: It's a great show.

[44:43] Jason A. Coombs: We love the mob.

[44:44] Will Martinez: I love Pierce.

[44:45] Jason A. Coombs: We love Pierce and we love the mob.

[44:47] Will Martinez: He's my second favorite Bond.

[44:48] Jason A. Coombs: Who's your first?

[44:49] Will Martinez: Daniel Craig.

[44:50] Jason A. Coombs: Come on.

[44:50] Will Martinez: Okay. Sorry, I don't know anything about those films, so I actually have no idea.

[44:55] Jason A. Coombs: Well, I know the Daniel Craig and that one.

[44:59] Will Martinez: Huh?

[44:59] Jason A. Coombs: I only know those recent ones. I'm not sure.

[45:03] Will Martinez: He's like the most newest one.

[45:04] Jason A. Coombs: He's like our newest one, yeah.

[45:05] Will Martinez: He's like our—

[45:06] Jason A. Coombs: But I think Pierce Brosnan was right before.

[45:08] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[45:08] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[45:09] Will Martinez: Yeah. Cool.

[45:10] Jason A. Coombs: Number three. I agree. I sign off. Number three, true or false. Lin-Manuel Miranda has won both a Tony Award and an Oscar.

[45:22] Will Martinez: Did you win an Oscar?

[45:26] Jason A. Coombs: I'm gonna say false.

[45:29] Will Martinez: Correct. False. He's won Tonys, Grammys, and Emmys, but not an Oscar.

[45:34] Jason A. Coombs: Oscar yet.

[45:35] Will Martinez: Yeah, he was a big one. But I'm pretty confident he probably will.

[45:38] Jason A. Coombs: He will.

[45:39] Will Martinez: He's been nominated for an Oscar.

[45:41] Jason A. Coombs: For what though?

[45:42] Will Martinez: Moana.

[45:43] Jason A. Coombs: Moana, yeah. Is that true?

[45:44] Will Martinez: The music, right?

[45:45] Jason A. Coombs: I think. I think he was. I'm yeah, because Moana performed at the Oscars. And I remember them saying something about it.

[45:55] Will Martinez: She's not Sally Bowles anymore.

[45:56] Jason A. Coombs: She was. I'm so sorry.

[45:57] Will Martinez: Moana? The girl who played Moana. Her name is slipping my mind, and I apologize. But I did see her as Sally Bowles, and she was excellent.

[46:06] Jason A. Coombs: Nice. True or false. Okay, let's hear it. Rita Moreno is one of the few performers in history to achieve EGOT status. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

[46:14] Will Martinez: Correct.

[46:20] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. And last you have a perfect score.

[46:27] Will Martinez: Is that true?

[46:28] Jason A. Coombs: Without with minimal cheating.

[46:30] Will Martinez: Minimal cheating, yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll say like 25%.

[46:32] Jason A. Coombs: 25%. Okay, last question. Which of the following actors has not won an Oscar and a Tony for acting? A. Whoopi Goldberg. B. Denzel Washington. Or C. Al Pacino.

[46:45] Will Martinez: That they've won nothing.

[46:47] Jason A. Coombs: That they have not won an Oscar and a Tony for acting.

[46:50] Will Martinez: For Whoopi Goldberg.

[46:51] Jason A. Coombs: For acting, correct?

[46:52] Will Martinez: Yes, Whoopi Goldberg.

[46:53] Jason A. Coombs: That's correct.

[46:53] Will Martinez: Oh yeah. I mean, yeah. Her Tony is for producing Thoroughly Modern Millie.

[46:57] Jason A. Coombs: Got it, got it. I didn't know that.

[47:00] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah. 100%.

[47:00] Jason A. Coombs: I didn't, I didn't know she was.

[47:02] Will Martinez: Alan?

[47:03] Jason A. Coombs: Alan.

[47:03] Will Martinez: He got 100%.

[47:07] Jason A. Coombs: Your prize is a VIP invite to the season four launch party of Survival Jobs sometime in the fall.

[47:14] Will Martinez: Do you think that's a bad prize?

[47:16] Jason A. Coombs: No, I think it's cool. I just, I'm bummed he didn't get anything wrong because I love sad trombone.

[47:21] Will Martinez: Okay, Alan, let's see if you get an invite.

[47:24] Jason A. Coombs: He's paying for it.

[47:25] Will Martinez: What do you mean?

[47:26] Jason A. Coombs: He's paying for it, but not invited.

[47:28] Will Martinez: Yeah, not on the guest list.

[47:30] Jason A. Coombs: We'll have a strict door, just like they did at the Carlisle after party at the Tony Awards 2025.

[47:36] Will Martinez: Oh, well, look at you, Flex.

[47:39] Jason A. Coombs: Will, this has been so much fun? Normally we're more normal, but I mean you're pretty normal today.

[47:46] Will Martinez: I'm weird.

[47:47] Jason A. Coombs: I'm weird today.

[47:48] Will Martinez: I like, I like weird today.

[47:49] Jason A. Coombs: Before you go, please drop your Instagram or any socials and how everybody listening can keep up with you.

[47:55] Will Martinez: Right. Yeah, you can, uh, follow me on Instagram at WillMartinez07 and, uh, tune in to Your Friends and Neighbors season one now on Apple TV. And, uh, hopefully you'll be seeing me in some other things soon as well.

[48:09] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, and please go watch him in Grey's Anatomy, he's excellent.

[48:11] Will Martinez: He's on FaceTime a lot in Grey's Anatomy.

[48:13] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, Vimeo Staff Pick. Um, Aileen as well, yes.

[48:15] Will Martinez: Aileen, Grey's Anatomy.

[48:23] Jason A. Coombs: And if you're tuning in because you are a Will fan and you don't follow us yet, you want to take it away, Jay?

[48:28] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, you can follow us at Survival Jobs Pod on Instagram and TikTok and Twitter.

[48:36] Will Martinez: Do we do we write on Twitter?

[48:38] Jason A. Coombs: I'd be sharing some stuff sometime.

[48:40] Will Martinez: Oh, okay. I didn't even know we still had a Twitter.

[48:44] Jason A. Coombs: And, uh, Twitter.

[48:46] Will Martinez: Yeah, yeah.

[48:48] Jason A. Coombs: I have no idea. And then, uh, you can send us an email at survivaljobspod@gmail.com. You can request a guest, you can give us feedback, tell us how much you love us, and then follow my girl over here, Samantha Tuozzolo at SammyTuts, S-A-M-M-Y-T-U-T-Z.

[49:05] Will Martinez: And I'm at Jason A. Coombs on all the social medias.

[49:09] Jason A. Coombs: And please rate us, like us, subscribe to us. And if you didn't like the show, we're not Survival Jobs. We're the Theatre Podcast.

[49:15] Will Martinez: The Theatre Podcast hosted by Alan Seales.

[49:19] Jason A. Coombs: We're all Alan Seales.

[49:21] Will Martinez: We're all Alan Seales.

[49:23] Jason A. Coombs: Thank you so much. By the way, is Twitter called Twitter?

[49:26] Will Martinez: It's called X.

[49:27] Jason A. Coombs: It'll always be Twitter.

[49:29] Will Martinez: I call it Shitter because it's X the X-I-T-T-E-R. It's like shitter.

[49:33] Jason A. Coombs: Oh yeah. Alan, if you're in a guest come on our show, could you please not use profanity?

[49:39] Will Martinez: Yeah.

[49:41] Jason A. Coombs: Thank you guys. Will, you are a star. Happy to be able to do that. Can't wait to see you at the Oscars again when you win Best Actor.

[49:49] Will Martinez: Yes, yes.

[49:49] Jason A. Coombs: And thank you to the welcome timesquare.com studio. Cheers to them. We love it here.

[49:54] Will Martinez: Cheers to them.

[49:55] Jason A. Coombs: Like and subscribe, right?

[49:56] Will Martinez: Right.

[49:57] Jason A. Coombs: That's what you're saying these, right?

[49:58] Will Martinez: That's what we say.

[49:59] Jason A. Coombs: That's what we do.

[50:00] Will Martinez: Woo.

[50:01] Jason A. Coombs: All right. Samantha, that was such a great episode. I love talking with Will. It was a long time coming.

[50:06] Samantha Tuozzolo: We've been waiting. I feel like if we went into our inbox, there's so many emails being like, hey, what about this guy? And like links like multiple times. And you know, we're busy. We're busy people. Sometimes the timing doesn't work out. We have to do a lot of scheduling. So we're going to be able to do it.

[50:22] Jason A. Coombs: F***ed and busy and blessed, man.

[50:24] Samantha Tuozzolo: We love that for him.

[50:25] Jason A. Coombs: We love that. So thank you for tuning in, Survivors. We appreciate you. We appreciate your support. Like we said before, like, follow, subscribe, all those, all those good things. Give us the love and support, and we'll keep bringing you quality episodes.

[50:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: Right, Samantha Tuozzolo.

[50:39] Jason A. Coombs: You said quality episodes, and I was like, quality meets.

[50:42] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love that restaurant.

[50:43] Jason A. Coombs: Shout out to Quality Meets.

[50:45] Samantha Tuozzolo: We love a quality meet.

[50:47] Jason A. Coombs: And catch you next time.