Brad Miller Interview: Letterkenny & Shoresy Assistant Director

The gang at The Produce Stand welcomes Brad Miller, Assistant Director on both Letterkenny and Shoresy.

Brad shares his unconventional path into the film industry, from a difficult high school experience and film school to post-production, DIT, locations, and eventually assistant directing. He talks about the mentors and connections that led him to Letterkenny Season 1 and later Shoresy, clears up some IMDb confusion involving other Brad Millers, and shares stories from working with Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Chevy Chase, Bill Paxton, and more.

Brad also discusses Chemical Valley Films, his punk-show photography, sobriety, and a documentary project about punk outsiders growing up in small-town Canada. He reflects on the supportive culture Jared Keeso and Mark Montefiore have built on Letterkenny and Shoresy, memorable fan set visits, and how some of his own Sarnia stories helped inspire “Bradley Is a Killer” and the legendary Three Jims.

Finally, Brad tackles listener questions about sobriety, favourite bands, his dream project, and the impact of industry strikes before we play him out with Teenage Bottlerocket’s “Skate or Die.”

Chapters:

00:00 – Opening
00:27 – Introduction
02:26 Sarnia Roots and Road to Film
03:30 Film School to AD Path
08:39 Networking and AD Mentors
12:21 IMDb Mix-Up and Credits
13:44 Career Highlights and Big Names
19:33 Punk Photography and Sobriety
21:53 Outsider Punk Documentary
25:21 Joining Letterkenny and Set Culture
30:47 Bradley Is a Killer Origins
34:06 Memorable Letterkenny Moments
39:12 Letterkenny vs Shoresy Vibe
40:16 Jared Sets The Tone
42:44 Office Crew Shoutout
43:44 Base Camp Rapid Fire
44:50 Origin Of The Jims
47:56 Staying Sober On Set
53:25 Punk Bands And Tattoos
56:35 Dream Projects And Comedy
59:13 Strikes And Industry Impact
01:05:30 Welcome To Letterkenny
01:09:21 Superfans Visit Set
01:13:44 What The Show Means
01:17:48 Follow And Sign Off

Links:

Al: [00:00:00] Hey everyone, Al here. Before we begin tonight’s special episode, I’d like to give a quick shout-out to our sponsor, Diabolical Coffee. It’s devilishly good coffee and diabolically awesome swag. There’s a roast for all tastes. You can order whole bean, coarse and standard grind, espresso. There’s even a K-cup option for single cup brewers.
And right now you can use the promo code Produce Stand for 20% off anything in the store. That’s 20% off all coffee and merch. Thank you Diabolical Coffee and Eric for your support. Now, here’s our chat with Brad Miller.
Clip: That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty. What do youse listen to? My Favorite Murder podcast.
Taggart and Torrance Podcast. The Produce Stand. Ah, fucking sexy.
Al: It’s Thirsty Thursday, and that means we are once again hanging out at The Produce Stand, the podcast covering everything in the universe
Now I know what you’re thinking. There are many other Letterkenny [00:01:00] podcasts out there, but this one’s actually interviewing somebody during a tornado warning. So if we see flying cows in behind them, we’re gonna probably cut this one short. I’m Al, your host, and joining me in the room, as always, is the lovely Tanya.
Online, we have Squirrely Matt. Victor couldn’t join us, uh, tonight due to a previous commitment. But joining us tonight, he’s a skateboarder from Sarnia. He’s a film school graduate from Confederation Colleges, and I don’t think he’d mind if I called him an honest to goodness punk. But we’re all going to get to know and love him tonight as assistant director on both Letterkenny and Shoresy.
Please join me in making some noise for Brad Miller.
Clip: Wondrous. Oh, my Gawd.
Brad: Oh, my
Clip: God. Oh, my God. Yeah, baby.
Oh
Brad: my God. Take me. Take me. I regret nothing!
Al: Welcome to The Produce Stand, Brad.
Brad: Hey, guys. How are you? How are you now?
Al: Good. You?
Brad: Oh, tip-top. Tip, tip-top.
Al: [00:02:00] So Brad, there’s some ominous gray clouds behind you. You’re in your car right now because you, you just finished telling us the power’s out at your house, so- Yeah
feel free, whenever, you know, give us a signal and we we will cut this thing short.
Brad: But the thing, like, it’s a clear sky in front of me.
Al: Oh, yeah?
Brad: Clouds are behind me, man. Okay. And, you know, I don’t know if that’s metaphorical, but- Yeah, just
Mat: don’t look back,
Al: right? Yeah. The
Mat: past is behind you.
Al: I have a feeling- Oh, man
that might be the theme for our interview tonight. So
Brad: let’s- Absolutely …
Al: where are you talking to us from?
Brad: I am talking to you from Sarnia, Ontario. Sarnia. So it’s just, uh, I’m just on the border of, uh, Michigan.
Al: Mm-hmm. Now, is that where you’re originally from?
Brad: Uh, yep. That I, I was, I was raised here in Sarnia, and, um, you know, when I, I went to college in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is, you know, north, north- Mm-hmm
uh, pretty north. Um- Yeah. Then, uh, I- That’s pretty close, man. Yeah. Then, you know, I went from there, I went to Toronto, then, uh, just, um, went to Sault [00:03:00] Ste. Marie, and they just happened to be shooting films up there. Mm-hmm. So I start… I was working up… I was working in Toronto for about eight years then, um… No, ni- nine years.
And then, um, yeah, then they started shooting stuff in Sault Ste. Marie, so I moved up there with my, uh, now ex-partner-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Brad: and, uh, kind of stayed up there, ’cause, you know, I got to work in film and not live in Toronto, which is, which was okay with me. Like, I, I, I l- I like small towns, right? Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah.
S-
Al: so w- when we won’t get too far of ahead ourselves, let’s, let’s first get you- Sure … into the film industry or the Canadian film industry anyway. I mean, what… I mean, what got you into it? Like, what were you like in, in high school, for example?
Brad: Oh, uh, man, I was, uh, I was not great. I was not a great student.
Horrible student.
Al: Mm.
Brad: And I just… Like, you know what got me into it? I s- someone asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, and I didn’t really know. Then, you know, I was kind of lucky. I w- in grade 11, like, I [00:04:00] was in my room one day and just, like, looked around my room and just, it was covered in movie posters.
I’m like, “Oh- Right … I should go work in film.” And so, but at that point, I ended up, uh, uh, pursuing film as, you know, as a career. Mm-hmm. And yeah, yeah.
Tanya: Nice.
Al: Um, but I mean, you were, you were in northern Ontario. W- was there any industry up there yet? I mean, we know now that Sudbury’s hopping and stuff, but, you know- Yeah
back then, was there any of that happening?
Brad: No. Uh, when I… So when I went to school, I went to school in, uh, ’99.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Graduated in, like, 2002, and there was no industry until, like… I, I wasn’t… I, I, I ha- I started in Toronto, right? I started post-production in Toronto.
Al: Right.
Brad: And, um- Yeah, by two… I think, like, 2006 or 2007 is when, you know, the, the, uh, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund started producing, you know- Yeah
these [00:05:00] tax, these tax credits, right? And it kind of s- it started, started in Sault Ste. Marie, then moved up to Sudbury, and now North Bay is huge. And, like, I’ve been all over, but, like, we do… I’m pretty, like, I, I’ve done a lot of work up there, so you know, I’ve, I’ve shot in Parry Sound, Timmins, Sudbury, North Bay.
Um, you know, all, kind of all over the area, right?
Al: Right. Nice.
Mat: Yeah. Can I, can I ask, so very first, man, it’s great to see you. We had such a blast- Yeah … meeting you up in Sudbury. Oh, absolutely, man. I, I know I’m not the only one. Chatting, chatting with you was probably one of the highlights. Like, you were just such a blast- Oh
to hang out with, so, uh- Oh, man. That’s … great to see you again, man. Wow. You look like you’re doing well. Um- Thank you … when you’re talking about school, so I know, we know where you are now, but, like, I, I, I went to film school originally. It didn’t pan out for me. But they teach you kinda everything, right? What were- Mm-hmm
your passions in, in film school? Like, as you were going through, where did you think your trajectory was heading?
Brad: Honestly, like, um, [00:06:00] you know, I kinda, I, I was always like… It’s funny because like I al- I was always kind of lost, right, in life, right? That’s why I always hung out, like on the fringes. Like I, like I skateboarded and listened- Mm
to punk rock, and then I got into film school, so, you know, kept, kept staying with the outsiders, right? And, um, you know, I, I, I, I could s- like, uh, I could spend fucking hours editing and
Clip: editing- At, so
Brad: your post? Yeah. Yeah. And you know, someone, you know, and I still was like pretty lost, so you know, someone said, “Hey, you’re good at post-production.”
And I’m like, “Okay.”
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: You know, and I’m like, “That’s what I’m gonna go do.” But you know, um, what happened is, you know, I was in post-production for a while, uh, for quite a while. Um, and then I just, I have, you know, I have a hard time sitting down, right? And, and it requires a lot of sitting down. Lots.
Mat: [00:07:00] Long nights.
Yeah.
Brad: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: And
Mat: that- Dedicated hours.
Brad: Oh, it is not my forte. Mm-hmm. Yeah. By far not my forte at all, right? So, um, yeah. So when I, when I kinda got, when I moved up to s- the Soo, I started doing, you know, uh, DIT, which is, you know, you’re working on set but you’re still kinda in the post- post-production world.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Um, then I stepped out and got like, got an opportunity to, to try locations. So I did that for like, you know, nine, 10 months. Then, um, you know, a friend of ours, I don’t know, I, I, I don’t know, I, I’m okay to say names, right? Like-
Al: Yeah. It’s up to you.
Brad: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Uh, so a guy up there, his name’s Brandon Jordan, he was a second it, se- he was a third AD at the time.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Um, we were shooting some, some film in Parry Sound and he c- he asked me to help him like lock up, right? So help him lock up the set, right? ‘Cause we were shooting at this cottage. [00:08:00]
Al: Right.
Brad: It was only him, so for me, like it was, it was all right, right? Like it gave me that opportunity to, you know, discover something- different even if it was just locking up and helping him out.
Right. But that, that did give me the opportunity, like when he, uh, down the road he wanted, he wanted to- he kind of taught me how to AD. Then I met some other people, and some more people, and then, uh, yeah, then I, I think my– Letterkenny was my, I think my fourth s- show as an AD, Letterkenny season one.
Al: Wow.
That’s a good one to- Wow … to, to be on. Yeah.
Brad: Yeah.
Mat: And, and is it, is it hard to, to sort of pivot around the industry a bit? Like, like again, I work in an office now, so if I want a different job- Right … I, I, I kind of learn a bit about it, I apply for it, I get interview, and I get it or I don’t. But I suspect that’s not kind of how it happens in your world.
It’s like you sound like you, some guy taught you how to do something. Like, is, is it a kind of a different [00:09:00] method if you want to move around job roles and, and pick up new skills and things like that?
Brad: It is. It’s, um, it’s hard to sw- I, I, I find it difficult to switch, like when you’re good at something- Yeah
that’s what you’re known for, right? Mm-hmm. Like, um, I just happened to like, you know, and film is all networking. Right. Yeah. That’s all it is, is networking, right? And getting the right opportunities for the right people and saying yes to the right people and, you know, taking a chance, right? Like-
Clip: Yeah …
Brad: it, it, it can, you know, I, I remember my first time on set and it was horrifying and fucking s-
you know, being on a walkie, like-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Brad: you know, ’cause there’s all these things you need to know on a walkie- Yeah … right? How to, how to communicate, right? And you know, I just, I, I learned as I made mistakes, right? Yeah. And, and I, I’m super o- I was super okay with that. And, um, you know, eventually like especially [00:10:00] AD, there is, there isn’t a training cor- like there kind of is- But like, until you get on set and do it-
Clip: Mm-hmm
Brad: you just have no idea.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: Right? So,
Mat: you know- Even in high school, yeah, you’re right, there’s not an AD class. Like, there, it doesn’t, it’s not like a, a thing. It’s like you learn all these different aspects, and a lot of the roles, you, you don’t learn about them until you’re there and given- Yeah … the opportunity, and see how others are doing it, and pioneering and growing those spaces as well, right?
Brad: Yeah. There’s one thing, like, with ADing, right? Um, like, one of the… ‘Cause I had mentors throughout my c- uh, ADing career, right? Um, Aurel Goddet, that was the… He was the first AD on Shoresy season two. He actually, like, originally really trained me as an AD when I’m like, “Okay, I’m gonna pursue this.” Um, I did a f- uh, quite a few shows with him, and man, I hadn’t worked with him in like five years until l- [00:11:00] last season of Shoresy.
Mm-hmm. And like, oh man, the validation I seek from him, right?
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: Like, it was just like, “Hey, look at me, I’m doing good now.” And he just… He’s, he’s not a guy that d- he doesn’t give validation. Yeah. Unless I… Um, especially when I’m directly seeking it, he knows, too, right? But you know, there’s like one thing, there’s one thing to know what a, like, the different ADs do.
There’s like another thing, how do you act like an AD? Yeah. Right? You know, a- and that, that’s actually the m- more difficult, diff- the challenging part. Like, like knowing where to stand on set.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: That’s a, that’s a skill, right? Especially if, you know, like… You know? And just knowing, you know, like no one really tells me what to do, but I w- I just have to listen to everything, right?
Sure. And kinda, you know- Be, be a part of the conversation even if I’m not generally, like, specifically invited.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Um, just [00:12:00] knowing, you know, and having that confidence to stand there and stand beside the director and the DOP and, you know, being able to properly communicate to them. Yeah. ‘Cause, like, I’m usually a third AD.
On Shoresy and Letterkenny, I fourth AD, so a lot of that’s… You know, they’re, they’re completely two completely different jobs.
Al: Right.
Brad: Yeah.
Al: Uh, well, we’re gonna go through a couple of the, the, the credits that you have, um, just so we can talk about some of the people you’ve, you’ve been able to work with. Uh, uh, starting with w- something called Young Triffies Been Made Away With, uh, shot in Newfoundland.
Was that the first kinda job? It was 2005.
Brad: That actually wasn’t me.
Al: Oh.
Brad: That’s a hard one. Our IMDb, there’s, like, four Brad Millers in the film- Oh, no …
Al: industry. I was gonna ask you about working with Andrea Martin and Colin Mochrie. So you didn’t work with any of those people?
Brad: Nope, nope. Uh, no, it’s, it’s a hard one.
Yeah, there’s, like, four of us out there, and we all kinda know of each other. Right. So, yeah.
Al: So you know what? You just kinda… I think [00:13:00] my whole list, then, is based on that one, that Brad, Bradley Miller. Well,
Mat: I think you’re missing a real opportunity here though, Brad. Yeah, you could- You guys should all join your- Yeah
your, your- My brother … collective resumes together, and then just one of you shows up, and it’s like- Hmm. “All right- Yes … you need a job? Oh, this Brad’s taken. The other Brad, too, will step in. We’re good.” Yeah. And you just-
Al: Yeah. Yeah. That’s brilliant. Well, uh, ’cause I mean, the, the Canadian movie and television industry is such a small pl- like, the, the reason I like- Yeah
going through these was to kinda talk about some of the people you’ve worked with, and some of the re- recurring names, especially our American listeners, will be like, “Wow,” like, “these actors are in everything,” right? Well, yeah, ’cause it’s a small- Yeah … it’s a small world, right? So why don’t you kinda shout out maybe some of the, the people you’ve worked with other- outside of Letterkenny and Shoresy, ’cause we’ll, we’ll get to that, um, that maybe, you know, folks- Yeah, no
would
Brad: know you? Totally, uh, a lot, like, when I was in post-production, like, sometimes they didn’t, didn’t have things for me to do. They’d just send me to set.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: So, like, I’ve worked with Mark Wahlberg w- with the Incredible Hulk- Oh, wow … or he was, uh, sorry, Trader.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Um, I worked on [00:14:00] Trader with him. Um, Tim Roth I worked with on October Gale, uh, with Patricia Clarkson.
Oh,
Al: right, I do
Brad: have
Al: that one. Um- Yes.
Brad: Yeah. I worked with Chevy Cha- uh, Chevy Chase- Oh, wow … Arnold in, in Shelby the Dog Who Saved Christmas- Hmm … which was pretty awesome. Um, I worked on Bad Blood with, um- Kim Coates? Oh, Coatesy.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Yeah. I won’t get into that one, but yeah. Uh
Al: Whoa. Well, that’s a big one- Yeah
because that’s Kim Coates, that’s Melanie Scrofano, AKA Mrs. um, M- McMurray from, uh, Letterkenny. Yeah. Anna Hopkins was there too. Uh, Anthony- Yeah … Lapaglia, Paul Servino. I mean, that’s a, a, that’s not just- Great … a big-time Canadian cast, that’s a big-time cast.
Brad: That was a big-time cast, right? Mm. And that was a new me- that was New Metric, so that was, like-
Al: Oh, yeah
Brad: you know, s- same company that does Letterkenny and, um- Right … Shoresy. And we did it right after Shoresy. We did the sh- or right after Letterkenny [00:15:00] season one.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: We did this, like, brilliant show, and it’s, like, not on CraveTV anymore. It’s called What Would Sal Do?
Al: Oh, I was gonna- And- … ask you about that one too, ’cause there’s another, a lot of- Yeah
Letterkenny guys on, uh, pe- or actors on that one, too. Kenneth Hillern, Kate Trevor, Wilson. Yeah. And I watched that first season, and I kinda wished there was another season. That was a lot of fun. It was, that show was a lot of fun.
Brad: Such a well-written show, and, uh- Mm … Kurt Smeaton w- or I think I’m saying his, hopefully I’m saying his name, name right.
Kurt Smeaton was a writer on that, and he, he went on to do some pretty brilliant stuff. Uh, some really, I think he writes on Schitt’s Creek now. Right, yeah. Like, don’t quote me on this. Mm. But he, he’s on some pretty big, he’s on some pretty big stuff. Oh my God, I’m just thinking about all the, the shows I’ve done and- Yeah It’s
Mat: all coming back to you, right
Brad: Yeah.
I worked with half I worked, I worked with so many people from the show Growing Pains. Like- Really? Yeah. Oh, all, all the
Al: Hallmark movies, right?
Brad: Which is weird. All, all the Hallmark movies, right? Right.
Al: Yeah, [00:16:00]
Brad: yeah.
Al: Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: W- what, what, I mean, what are a couple, like, highlight productions that you’ve worked on over the years?
Like, things that really stood out to you as either growing moments or just fun places to be or whatever.
Brad: Um, yeah, you know what? Uh, one of my, like, most memorable show is this film called Two, Two Lovers and a Bear. Um, that’s with… It was with, uh, Orphan Black. Um, oh my God.
Al: Uh, I’ve got that- Yeah. I, I don’t have that name.
We all- But, uh, you did work with the late, great Gordon Pinsent on that one there. Yeah,
Brad: yeah. Yeah. And, uh, man, uh, Mean Dreams. I got to work on Mean Dreams with… I got some crazy stories from Mean Dreams with, uh, Bill Paxton
Al: and- I was going to say, l- speaking of Twister, wasn’t it, uh, Bill Paxton in Twister?
Brad: Oh, man. He was just-
Al: I’m sure.
Brad: Oh, man. Yeah. Well, I was in, like, you know, I was in my, uh, I don’t know, wouldn’t call it my prime, but that’s when I was, like, doing my stuff, right? Mm-hmm. And, like, um, him and I [00:17:00] got along really well. Uh-huh. And, like, I was always the, you know, making sure he had a beer. Mm-hmm. Or, like, I’d…
I would always meet up with him after and have a beer. Yeah, yeah. And we would just talk. And the first time, like, I sat with him, like, he was sitting in my truck and we’re, you know, ha- I don’t know, puffing a doob. Um, and then he’s sitting there and, like, we’re j- I’m just talking. Like, I’m, like, talking to Bill Paxton, right?
What do you say? Like- Hmm. The, “What’s it like being Bill Pa- Paxton?” Like- … like, just, I don’t know. And so he just kind of described a couple shows for me, like The Way of the Gun and Twister and then- Yeah,
Al: yeah …
Brad: started describing his own character. Um, and man, he’s like… So he plays this, like, kind of alcoholic, corrupt cop that lost his wife recently.
Mm-hmm. And, you know, he has this daughter that, like, he’s, you know, on the brink of, like, doing something, you know, you don’t want to do, right? Mm-hmm. And he gets into his character, man. And he’s like, [00:18:00] “You know, when I, when I see her, I just, I just remember my wife. And I, and when I smell her, and every time I take a drink, I just want to go over and grab her.”
I’m like, “Jesus fuck.” So I’m sitting there high as fuck- … listening to Bill Paxton talk about this. So yeah, that was, that was kind of crazy.
Al: That’s pretty cool. Um, and it, so do you have, do you have any, uh, memories or, or anything working with Gordon Pinsent? I mean, he’s somebody we lost just this year, kind of a legendary Canadian ar- actor.
Uh, I don’t know how much you had to deal with him, though.
Brad: Well, he was like… I didn’t really, we didn’t really work with him- No? … ’cause, like, too much, ’cause I believe he was the voice. He was the voice of the bear.
Al: Oh, was he? Okay, so he wouldn’t have been on set. Gotcha.
Brad: No, we- I- we didn’t really get to- Yeah
see him too much.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Well- I think he came on set one, one day, but- Okay … like I can’t re- you know?
Al: On that movie too, though, of note was Joel G- Gagnier from Letterkenny- Yeah … joining you, right? Yeah. Was that your first time working- Yeah … with him?
Brad: [00:19:00] No, I had, you know… I knew Joel, um, from before from, like, he’s done a bunch of minor roles in some Hallmarks and- Mm-hmm
uh, you know, I had worked with him a few times. But yeah, we were up in Sh- we shot that in Timmins, Ottawa, and Iqaluit. Um, so we shot in three different cities- Wow … over, like, two months. And so he was in the Timmins portion of it.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: And by that time we kind of knew each other and, like, we’re, we’re pretty tight now, like, ever since, like, Letterkenny.
Like, we’re- Right … we’ve been pretty close, yeah.
Al: Yeah. Very cool. Uh, so let’s talk about, uh, first of all, what is Chemical Valley Films?
Brad: Uh, Chemical Valley Films is just, uh, it’s, uh, my company, so it’s like- Okay … it’s just my company for, I do, like, band photography- Mm … and, um, you know, I do photography. Like, I do photography, so that’s, that’s all it is.
All right. It’s just my company.
Al: Yeah. Your- Yeah … uh, if anyone, uh, follows you on IG, they’ll see a lot of pictures of live punk shows. So when I called you a punk off the [00:20:00] top, I wasn’t being insulting. Not at all. Uh, it’s something you, you actually identify and you’re a big fan. Are you a musician too, or are you just a fan?
Brad: Uh, no, I, I’m just a fan, man. Like, I don’t have any musical talent, so that’s-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Brad: and you know what happened is like I, I’ve been sober for about three and a half years, and like, but I still wanna go see punk bands, man. Sure.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: But going to a bar for me isn’t the greatest idea.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: But if I go with a camera-
Al: Mm-hmm
Brad: and look through that camera, everything in the, everything around me ceases to exist, right?
Al: Right.
Brad: I like that. And that it, it gives me a purpose, right? It gives me a purpose to be there, and you know, I have a, an 11 o’clock rule, right? Like, I don’t hang out, right? Mm-hmm. Like I kn- I, I know, I know where I’m at in life, and I’m okay with it.
Mat: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Yeah. ‘Cause I don’t hang out past 11. Yeah. Like, that’s when kinda shit gets- … you know- Right. Yeah … a little funny.
Mat: It starts to go downhill usually- Yeah … depending on- Yeah. Yeah.
Brad: Yeah, for me, 11 o’clock is where everything went downhill. Yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: Yeah.
Mat: But I love the angle of the camera, though. Like, [00:21:00] you know, a, a lot of people with any, with anything they deal with, they go through, just having some other outlet- Yeah
is always a fantastic way to, to cope and, and just- Mm-hmm … redirect, uh, whatever your instincts are, so that’s fantastic. My energy. Yeah, redirect your energy. As
Brad: much energy as my- It’s great, man … my, you know, just thinking my energy and my, uh, wh- where, where, where am I really looking, right? Mm-hmm. And that’s kinda-
Al: Your
Brad: focus, yeah
so that, that really helped me, like, just be able, and now I go to as many, uh, as many shows as I, as I want to, right? Mm-hmm. Like, I just did this band they’re a big band out of, um, uh, the States called Teenage Bottle Rocket. They’re like my favorite band.
Al: They might- Yeah,
Brad: we might,
Al: we might hear from them a little later.
Brad: Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: Is that what your, is that what your shirt is? Uh, oh, yeah,
Brad: yeah. Oh, yeah. Nice. Yeah, I have like seven Teenage Bottle Rocket shirts- Nice … ’cause they’re amazing.
Al: Yeah. That’s very cool. Uh, one last question before we move on to the- Sure … the advertised content. Uh, y- and it’s, uh, you know, about [00:22:00] the punk, your love for punk.
Can you, uh, maybe talk a little bit about a documentary you’re working on called From the Valley to the Grove, or that you worked on?
Brad: Yeah, this is a project, uh, this is a project I’ve been working on for a couple years. It’s a, it’s a, uh, film-type documentary that, um… So I’m planning, it’s still in kind of the works right now.
Mm-hmm. It’s, um, it’s a film style documentary where, like, I shoot things on purpose, but interviewing people, talking about, like, specif- very specific things. So it’s a, it’s more, it’s not about bands. It’s more about, uh, what I wanna do is, uh, make this short documentary showing, um, you know, the life of, like, being, being in that kinda outsider crew in small town Canada, right?
Mm-hmm. Um, so with that, what I’m planning to do is make, like, you know, a full length, uh, documentary, and I wanna go, uh, tour, like, [00:23:00] small towns, like Moncton and, like, all these… You know, not doing big, big cities- Right … like just focusing on the people in small towns- Yeah … because, you know, there’s a reason that, uh…
You know, when I was growing up anyway, there’s a reason why people were in the punk scene, is because they just didn’t fit in, right?
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: They didn’t fit in, fit in anywhere. And, you know, either they were getting bullied, and they found a group of people that just didn’t give a fuck what- where you came from, who you are-
Al: Mm-hmm
Brad: what, what you did, but we cared what you listened to maybe. Yeah,
Al: sure.
Brad: Might make fun of you for listening to something. But other than that, right? Like, you know, just people that just didn’t fit in with the, you know, the hockey boys or, you know, um, the… Really, like I, I grew up in like a Dazed and Confused type.
There was, you know, the punks versus the jocks. Sure. Rat on
Mat: rat on rat.
Al: Yeah, yeah.
Brad: Yeah, the stoners versus, you know, the punks, right? And we’re always just on the outside causing shi- criminal mischief. Just criminal mischief, right?
Al: So you, you, you relate more [00:24:00] to the skids on Letterkenny than, than the other two factions.
Brad: Um, I would definitely say I do- … to a sense.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Yes.
Mat: Okay. It almost looked like you were afraid to admit that, but- Yeah … but own it, right?
Brad: But I can relate to all of it, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Whatever, you know, just it’s funny. Um, you know, like it kind a brings, you know, the reality of, you know, the reality of what we do, what Letterkenny does.
Mm-hmm. Like, what you see in Letterkenny- If we were doing that shit in real life, that’s not the reality. We wouldn’t look that good doing it, right? Right. And I, you know, it’s kind of a part of my life is, like, I spend half my time in, um, film, then I spend my other, pretty much the other half working with, you know, addictions and, you know, um, I work in, like, I go to jai- I go to, uh, jails and, like, rehab centers and- Uh-huh
halfway houses- Wow … and go speak on, on addiction. Um, so a lot of my time, uh, is spent [00:25:00] there. So, like, when I, when I watch Letterkenny, I’m like- Mm … “Ah, wait, that’s, that’s too perfect.”
Al: Right. “
Brad: It’s too clean.” Yeah. “It’s not dirty enough,” right? Oh. But, you know, it, it’s that whole, you know, it, it, Letterkenny’s not meant to be like that, right?
It’s- No,
Al: it’s not meant to be gritty. Yeah. It’s, yeah. It’s- Yeah … meant to be funny. The, it’s- Yeah … it’s not funny. It’s a
Mat: caricature of reality. Yeah,
Al: yeah.
Brad: Of course. Of course.
Al: All right, so let’s get to the, the advertised content. I mean, first of all, how do you get involved in Letterkenny?
Brad: Oh man, um, for me it was being really lucky.
I was really lucky, um, to be asked to go third AD on this show when I wasn’t quite ready to third AD. Mm. And I kind of did it, I got through it. And you know, um, I was gonna call Mark about this before I said anything, but I’m sure he’d be okay with it. Like Mark, uh, Monsignore, um, he runs New Metric Media, right?
Mm-hmm, yeah. And dude, he like at [00:26:00] the beginning, like, and this is… He’s still a great guy, right? Yeah. But at the beginning, right, he really ga- he really cared about like his crew, and he still does.
Al: Sure.
Brad: Right? But he loves the, like original people. Mm-hmm. And like, I, I went back to school, uh, two years ago and like, I called his cell phone and he answered.
Al: Mm-hmm, yeah.
Brad: Right? And he’s doing a lot… I’m sure my phone call was n- not that important, right? Yeah. But he took it. And, um, so funny because on season three I ended up getting a bigger show. Um, it was Carter with Jerry O’Connell.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: And I took it without really… Like, I didn’t think about it, right? I just said, “Hey, I’m…”
I, I just took it, right? ‘Cause it was a longer show, it was more money.
Al: Sure.
Brad: And, uh, at the time that’s kind of like, I didn’t… Still like, you know, like your first five years of working in film, you’re still like new, right?
Al: Sure.
Brad: And so the dynamic, I had done season one and [00:27:00] season two. And season two I went to fourth AD, um, just because it was something I, I, I liked.
I liked doing it. I was really good at it. It was just to replace somebody else, and we just switched things. And I ended up staying there because I, I… Like being a fourth AD, so what we do is like we work at base camp. Mm-hmm. Um, a fourth AD works at base camp where all the hair, makeup, wardrobe, and everything, they get ready.
We do the paperwork. Um, but Letterkenny is a big show- Yeah … for a fourth AD. There’s been times where we had to get 18 people ready for-
Al: Sure …
Brad: the first scene, right? Yeah. Yeah. And it, it’s, you know, it’s, it’s a tough one. So, you know, I ended up staying there. Um, yeah, sorry, I kind of, I kind of lost my train of thought.
Al: So you went, you, you, you left, uh, Letterkenny for, for Carter, but then- Yeah … yeah.
Brad: Oh yeah, the Mark. Yeah, for Mark. Mm-hmm. So, uh, when I did, Mark found out I took a new [00:28:00] show and he called me.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: I’m like, “Oh, this is weird.” I think I told the first AD, uh, Alex Champagne at the time, that I wa- I, I got this show.
He’s like, “Yeah, I don’t care. Okay, cool.”
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: I’m like, “Sweet.” And so then Mark called me, he’s like, “Hey, man.” Hey man, before you should have called me, like, if you’re gonna take another show, right?
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: I’m like, “Oh, I didn’t really think I had to.” Yeah. Like, I’ve never had to call the, you know- Yeah … executive producer of a show- Sure
to say that. And, but it does show, like, his character, right? Mm. Like, he gives a shit about the people- Yeah … that come work for him- Yeah … and, you know, Letterkenny’s al- Letterkenny and, you know, has always been s- like a home to me, right? Yeah. Yeah. And I’ve always been wel- welcome back, right?
Al: Well, and that’s the vibe we- Like, you know, they’re- Yeah.
That’s the vibe we get when we’ve, we’ve interviewed all the actors that we have so far. And, and some of the, the, the, the, uh, the background cast members, like, uh, Plywood and, and Danny Ellis. We’ve interviewed a few, and Billy Buttery. They all say to a [00:29:00] man, you know, and to a person that, uh- Mm … it’s, it’s a family at- at- atmosphere.
And we- Yeah … we felt that when we visited you guys at base camp, that, uh- Yeah … it’s totally like that. A-
Mat: a- and it’s so unique to see that even the story it is told, it star- it’s top-down. Mm. Right? Like, Mark- Yeah … Mark’s the guy, and even he, you know, you, like you said, it’s years ago. I’m sure New Metric has grown.
They have a lot more shows now. Oh, yeah. But even at the time, there’s still, he cared and he’s like, “You’re a guy on our show. I know you. What happened?” Mm. “Are you good?” Yeah. Like, he’s checking in, and that’s, that’s, you don’t see that in a lot of, um- No … w- not enough work environments- Yeah … do you see that.
Mm-hmm. So that’s cool.
Al: A- and in some places- It’s a top-down love … yeah, in some places, that would’ve made your persona non grata and not, you wouldn’t be asked back. But here you are. You’re back on Letterkenny. You’re back on Shoresy. So obviously he didn’t take it personally. He just wanted to make sure you weren’t leaving for any- Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, you’re not the first person to leave a job for more pay. Everyone does it all the time, right? So …
Brad: That’s, that’s it. But, you [00:30:00] know- Yeah … it, it did give, give me an idea, like, it is im- like, you know, you know, now that I’ve, you know, that was, I don’t know, in 2017. Sure. So, like I’ve, I’ve gotten a lot, like a lot more experience.
Yeah. And I’m v- you know, I’m very confident at what I do now. Yeah. Um, but, you know, it, it, it is that thing of, like, what’s more important, money or, you know, working with a good crew? Yeah. Mm. ‘Cause you can go work on a show and just not like anybody.
Clip: Yeah.
Mat: You can be miserable- And- … but are you, if you’re making more money, is it worth it?
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: Y- is it worth it? And today, like, you know, uh, 4 years ago, the answer would’ve been money is more important. Today, not at all. Mm-hmm. Today it would be, no, I’ll, I’ll take Letterken- like, I’ll take Letterkenny or Shoresy any day over any show.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Nice.
Al: Well, yeah. Now, when we, we were visiting you there in Sudbury at base camp, and it was awesome, and you told us some great stories, and I’m hoping maybe you can share a few of those with us.
Sure. For example, there’s a certain character in Letterkenny that might have been [00:31:00] written- um, you know, uh, about you or that you might have influenced the character. Right. Now, just going from your, by your name, Brad- Yes … Bradley. Uh, who would that character be?
Brad: That character, I don’t know if it was necessarily written about me, but there was some influence in there for sure.
Mm-hmm. It’s, uh, the episode, uh, Bradley is a Killer.
Al: Mm.
Brad: So that’s… Yeah, that was, uh- Bradley. Yeah. So what happened, um, every year, like, I grew up in a pretty, like, crazy… Like, I had a crazy lifestyle before. My life was- Mm-hmm … absolute mayhem, and, like, on the outside, very entertaining for others, especially, like, so-
Tanya: Oh.
Oh. We lost you there for a second.
Al: Hold on. Hold on, Brad. You’re muted. You’re muted. You… We lost you for a second, and you’re muted. No, you’re back.
Brad: Oh, that’s me touching things. That’s all right. That’s me touching- Buttons
Tanya: aren’t toys.
Brad: Yeah. Um, so, like, what happened, uh… Like, Jared and I, we’d like… ‘Cause [00:32:00] Jared loves, like…
He’s, he’ll spend time watching hockey fights on the internet. Sure. That’s what he watches. Yeah. He loves it. He grew up in that. And, you know, um, the city, uh, Wistool, that’s Letterkenny is based on is, you know, very much the same thing as I grew up. I grew up in a small town where we fought people. Mm. We got into fights.
That’s what we did for fun on Friday nights, man. And it wasn’t like, “Oh, I ac-…” No, it’s like, “We’re gonna get drunk, and we’re gonna fight people, and we’re gonna, you know…” And then we would, you know, shake hands and leave and- Mm. You know? But that’s what it was. So, like, every season, like- Jared would come up to me at the, like the very first, you know, thing we would talk about.
He’s like, “Okay, give me a start, give me a story about Sarnia.” And, and I’m like, “Okay.” Then I would just give him this story and he would just l- you know, kind of laugh his ass off at it and, you know, kind of relate to it too. And so, you know, [00:33:00] um, you know, so yeah, he kind of, he based some stories, like just some stories I told him from Sarnia and like- Mm-hmm
fighting and, and m- mostly my buddies too. Like they’re just fucking hilarious guys and, uh, in a very Letterkenny-esque- Mm-hmm … type of, type of upbringing, right? You know, crop, you know, crop touring where we’d- … take a truck and go drive through crops with beers and- … you know, this was back in the day, right?
Kind of, 20 years ago. So, you know, that kind of lifestyle, right? Mm-hmm. And every, so every season I would just give him another one and then sit there and give him another one and like- Amazing. Yeah. Yeah, so that’s kind of how it started. So then one day he came out and he had this script page. He’s like, “Hey man, I wrote this about you.”
And I read it. I’m like, “Oh shit. Sweet, dude. That’s awesome.”
Al: So what part of the Bradley character w- is about you? Is the, the fighting or- Yeah … can, or can you do a good Chris Rock impression?
Brad: No, no, [00:34:00] no, it’s not the impressions, that’s for
Al: sure. No, no.
Brad: Definitely not.
Al: Very cool. Uh, so I mean, talk about like, what are some of m- the more memorable moments of like, on working on Letterkenny?
Brad: Oh, um, damn. There’s so many good ones.
Al: Yeah?
Brad: You know, you kn- you know what, uh, some of the most memorable stuff is, is watching the, um… So Dan Skeen being our stunt, our stunt coordinator-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Brad: watching, um, him pr- the, the progression of how big the fights started getting- Right … and how the more rehearsal time and how much more work was put into the fight- Mm-hmm
into the fight scenes. And, um, shit, man, there’s, like, there’s a lot of good ones. You know, one of, one of my most, you know, one of my favorite things was, uh, when I, when Michelle went to go… She had her hair blonde [00:35:00] in, I think, seasons- Oh … seven or eight, I can’t
Mat: remember
Brad: Seven or eight, yeah, it’s
Mat: one of those.
Al: Yeah, one of our listeners- Yeah … would be yelling at us right now, “It’s season this,” blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I don’t remember, but go on.
Brad: And, um, so one of the best things, like, because we all work together and, like, we had been working together for years- Mm-hmm … but, like, we all just talk bullshit.
Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Brad: We just talk stupid shit, right?
And then, you know, but we don’t, like… Because we spend these, like, m- minute moments, right, especially, especially at the tra- when you’re working at the trailers, like, you get to sit down, ’cause a lot of them are just waiting for their scene, right? Yeah. So, you know, um, you get a lot of downtime with them, more so than you would on set.
Um, but yeah, one, um, I remember the season that Katie, or Michelle went to go get, get her hair dyed. We were shooting in one part of… We were shooting on a farm, then we had to go the, our, our tech move was over to [00:36:00] Mo Dean’s- Mm-hmm … which, uh, I can’t remember the city we shot Mo Dean’s in. Um- And so we had to like, you know, split people up, right?
So I ended up going to Modine’s with Katie and Chantel, the, uh, key hair at the time, and we ended up like having to drive through Sudbury. I think Modine… Oh, man, I can’t remember. Mm-hmm. There’s so many little cities around. Um, but yeah, that was the first time like we got to sit, and ’cause we spent a lot of time with, you know, Michelle.
We went to Starbucks and- Mm … k- went to Starbucks. Um- … and you know, got to sit down and like really chat about- Mm … like life and their family, right, and Michelle’s family. And, you know, you know, getting to, getting to know them on mo- on a more personal level- Right. Yeah … is, you know, it was pretty awesome. Uh, it was such a, you know, great time for me, man.
And- Right … um, you know, one of my most memorable things is one, a friend of [00:37:00] mine, um, she passed away of cancer a few years ago, and, um, I was working on one of the winter seasons of Letterkenny when, uh, the first season with Gay.
Clip: Mm-hmm. Wow.
Brad: Um, yeah, and so we were doing this like, you know, we were putting together this like raffle thing, and like a bunch of little companies in Sarnia had this like, um, oh, silent auction, right.
Right. That’s the word. Yeah. We were doing a little silent auction and get together and stuff. And, uh, so I ended up getting to put a package together of Letterkenny things, ’cause I was, you know, in the middle of shooting by the time I got home. Mm-hmm. It was happening. And so I to- got one of the Letterkenny shirts, and like every, I think from number one to like 30 signed it.
Like-
Clip: Wow …
Brad: the top 30 cast signed it. Wow. Cool. Yeah, then, uh, you know, like, um, uh, Cara gave that to me, [00:38:00] and you know, everyone was so willing to like sign it. And, you know, Jared ended up giving, giving me a bunch of money for it. Wow. Um, you know, and you know, and then I got like some, I don’t know, other Letterkenny stuff.
Mm. I can’t even remember. But then some puppers as well, and, you know- … got to auction it off. And yeah, that, you know, the, the willingness, you know, of every cast member, like when they step on the set of Letterkenny, it is not like any other set, right? It’s- Right. Mm … you know, the ego kind of g- that ego you get in film like kind of takes a step back because, you know, this is Letterkenny.
We all work together. We all know each other.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: You know, especially when it comes to someone new, it can be a bit intimidating.
Al: Sure.
Brad: Yeah. Right? E- E- You can even kind of see it in the cast a little bit. Right. But like it takes about- 30, 30 seconds for them to get comfortable. Yeah. And, you know, so that’s, you know, those, all those things are just, you know, just [00:39:00] wonderful memories.
Mat: Yeah. Very cool. I, I love that, like, all, all, everything you’ve described, not one of them had to do with shooting anything. It was all the experiences with the people. Yeah. Uh, which I love, and that’s so awesome. Really quickly though, ’cause again, you, you, you worked on, on both obviously. The, the, and, and obviously is, I’m not looking for any shots at him, but like a culture on set and, and on base camp between the two casts and crews, like I think of like Letterkenny and, and guys, you guys have been doing this for a long time with them.
Um, they all know each other really well, the very different, uh, you know, even, even the storylines are very different on Letterkenny. And then you get this group of like jocks that show up on Shoresy, who most of them have had zero acting, uh, background at all. They’ve just been pulled in to do, be themselves.
And so what’s the vibe on set between the two shows? Like, is there, was there any obvious note, like noticeable differences?
Brad: Like, not really, man. No? Honestly, like [00:40:00] there wa- it’s, there wasn’t too many because, you know, all those guys, you know, Jared really sets a tone for his sets. Yeah. And I, I will pro- and you know, um, same as Jacob, uh, Jacob Tierney as well.
Yeah. Um, but Jared, man, he sets a tone, right? Um, and everyone just has a such respect for him, and you know. Yeah. Um, it’s like working for like almost a small bus- not like it’s a big business, but you, when you work for, you know, a local business or a small business, like over, you know, a corporation, you’re gonna put a lot more work into the small business- Yeah
just because you want it to succeed- Mm. Yeah … no matter what. Yeah. And you w- and the willingness, you know, you know, it’s also a union thing, right? I’m in the DGC and like there’s IATSE and ACTRA and SAG all involved [00:41:00] and, you know, we’re just all, like a lot of sets, DGC members aren’t gonna help, uh, you know, a grip or an electric or anything, right?
A- and nor do they want you to, right?
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: But this set, man, it’s just no one… It’s not that they don’t care, it’s that we all kind of trust each other- Yeah … and like we all know each other so well, and Jared- Jared knows everybody on this set from- Mm-hmm … you know, um, from the security guard to the overnight security guard- Mm-hmm
to, you know, e- everybody in between, and he does not treat anyone different.
Mat: Yeah. That’s it. A- and I, I, and I believe you 100%. Yeah. Like, in the, in the short time we spent with Jared, the energy that he brought- … just to the room, and it was- Yeah … you, you, you can’t teach that. It’s, it’s natural, it’s… and it’s infectious, right?
Yeah. Like, you just- Yes … you, you, like, I got the vibe immediately like you want to do right by him and, and, [00:42:00] and you trust him and like- Yeah … he, he, just such a wicked energy about the dude.
Brad: And you just don’t wanna, you know, it’s like, you know, for me, w- like, you just, you, you just want it to be the best it can be, where that’s not necessarily the case for every show, right?
Right. It’s- Just,
Al: you know- You don’t wanna let him down, right?
Brad: Yeah, and that’s it. And he, he, he just gives you that… He just pa- like, he has… He’s pretty patient too, right? Mm-hmm. And, you know, if you don’t wanna be there, go h- like- Yeah … this is like, “Go home.”
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: Right?
Mat: He also doesn’t have the patience for that.
He’s like- … “If you’re here, be here. If not, fuck off.”
Brad: Yeah. And but it’s also, you know, that, that positivity that everyone brings, it’s hard not to be negative on that show. Yeah.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: And honestly, since the one thing I do know about every year it just gets from everyone in the crew, especially the office too.
Like, the office just makes everything so… And they just make it so easy for us. [00:43:00] Like- Yeah … especially as an AD, man, like they work so hard and that, like, is not always acknowledged on film
Mat: sets, like- Shout out to the office.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Yeah, yeah. You know, Tessa and everybody, like Alina, like everybody there, like they just ma- honestly, they made my job on Shores season two so easy because they just, they just keep getting…
Like, adding, finding ways to do better, or finding easier ways to communicate, or find, find, you know, ways to help. And it’s everybody just kinda helps each other and, you know, we’re… Other shows that- that’s not necessarily the case, right?
Al: Sure.
Brad: Yeah.
Al: So here, I got a few, uh, rapid questions for you. Spill the beans on, on Base Camp.
Which of the actors is most likely to be, you know, in their, in their, uh, um, trailer listening to the music the loudest, on, by themselves?
Brad: Oh my God, [00:44:00] Harlan.
Al: Harlan. Really?
Brad: Why? So loud.
Al: So loud? He does that. Is it like s- So loud … yeah? Okay, cool. So- So loud. So loud … whi- which of the actors is most likely to have mo- other actors in their trailer?
So, you know,
Brad: at- Oh … the party trailer. Dolo. Who?
Al: Dolo? Dolo. Of course.
Brad: Dolo. Same as Dio too, like she, she always had, uh, always had the guy. Uh, always had her people in there too- Yeah … which was always awesome.
Al: Mm-hmm. Which, which would-
Brad: But Dolo. Yeah.
Al: Yeah,
Mat: Dolo.
Al: Which of the actors- Yeah … would rather be, like, sitting in their trailer alone, un- like, not bothered?
Brad: Uh, John “Nasty” Mirasty, of course.
Al: Oh, yeah?
Mat: Really? Okay.
Brad: Yeah. He, he’s awesome, man. He just sits in his trailer, and when he says go, he gets up and he goes.
Al: Interesting.
Brad: And yeah, yeah.
Al: Uh, you had mentioned, uh, when, uh, during our visit, uh, like, uh, one of the… That you might have also been the, um, uh, inf- inspiration for the three Jims.
You [00:45:00] wanna talk about that real quick?
Brad: This is… Yeah, Jared did… I talked to Jared about this when you guys were on set. I’m like, “Hey, can I tell them how you stole, you know, my likeness?” And you know, like- And he just laughed at me. He’s like, “Yeah, go ahead.”
So the Jim thing comes from me and my buddies growing up. Like, so we had… Our buddy had this uncle, and for some reason he just called everyone Jim.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: No, no idea where it came from, why he did it, but he, he had been doing it for years. So you know, we started call… You know, and we looked up to him. Like, you know, we were in grade nine and he was calling each of us Jim, and like- Whatever.
I won’t say the name, but we’d go over there, smoke doobs- Mm … and blah, blah, blah. And, uh, so we just started, like, mocking him a little bit- But then we just started doing it. And then, like, everybody that I know, we all call each [00:46:00] other Jim. And so one time, like, I was telling Jared this story about, uh, I have these two buddies, um, and they’re brothers, and we’re, you know…
These guys would have, like, p- their… These guys’ parents would go out to dinner, and they w- they would call everyone they knew and say, “Hey, my parents are gone for the weekend. Come over. We’re having a party.”
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Then, like, an hour into the party, like, their parents would come home from dinner. Right ‘Cause they were just out for dinner.
Al: Sure.
Brad: And so… And these guys are, like, these, these guys are some of the toughest fucking dudes I know.
Al: Mm.
Brad: Um, and so one night, like, we’re all partying together, and all we hear is, like, “What’s that, Jim? What did you say to me, Jim?” Like, “Yeah, you heard me, Jim.” And they just start scrapping each other so fucking hard.
And they’re two brothers, so we let them do it. Then one fucking gets knocked out. And then you just hear, hear the other one, like, [00:47:00] over him. He’s like, “How did you like that, Jim?” And, um, like, we’re dying laughing. Like, we’re like, we can’t even help him because we’re fucking laughing so hard at two guys beating the shit out of each other, calling each other Jim.
And, uh, yeah, so then, you know, those are, these are stories I would… Like, one of the stories I told Jared. And, uh, yeah, then all of a sudden, uh, I just saw a call sheet one day as, uh, from Shoresy season, uh, one, uh- … and it just said Jim 1, Jim 2, and Jim 3 on like the motherfucker.
Al: Well
Mat: done. That’s so good.
Al: So you just never know- Yeah
what, what story you’re telling Jared m- will end up in a s- in a, a season of either Letterkenny or Shoresy.
Brad: That’s it, man. That’s it. Well, it’s also that small town, like, life, right? Mm. Yeah. That’s what we did, right? Yeah. We scrapped and we drank and we scrapped.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: And yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it was pretty fucking funny.
Al: Amazing. Uh, I’ve got some questions from our listeners. When we told them that you’re gonna be [00:48:00] on, they were all excited. Uh, first one here is from our buddy Adrian from Maine. Uh, he was one of the people who came up to Sudbury with us. Yep. Uh, he said, “Brad, it was great meeting you at base camp. Thank you so much for all the time you spent with us and the stories you shared, you’re a true beauty.
As a sober person myself, two years in, I know the struggles of working in-” Woo “… and around the industry with socializing over alcohol is commonplace.” He works at a brewery, and he’s, he’s sober. Uh, a- and- Good for him … yeah, “Any tips or tricks you’ve found on getting and staying sober in the industry?” You kind of already talked about some of those.
Uh, “Word of advice for those thinking of getting sober, uh, or those starting their journey and trying to stay that way?”
Brad: Sure, man. I got so much advice I could sit here for hours. But I know, uh, one thing is, uh, when I got sober, I took about a year and a half off film- Mm-hmm … to figure out what I wanted to do other than film, because they told me to change one thing, and that’s everything.
So I did.
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: And, you know, I just- I tried other things, and they just didn’t work, man. And, you know, [00:49:00] um, I tried going back to film pretty early, and then I just ran into everyone I used to use with, buy off of, dealt to. Like, I was in, I was in it pretty bad, and, um, I, I had to quit, uh, the, a day, day one of shooting.
And, um, so then I went back, you know, I went back to school. Then I happened to get an opportunity to work on a Netflix film that hasn’t come out yet, which is crazy-
Clip: Oh, wow …
Brad: um, ca- called Ivy, and it was shooting 45 minutes outside of Sarnia in Grand Bend, Ontario.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: And with someone, you know, I’d never used with or, you know, drank with.
It was, you know, uh, hi- first, his first name’s, uh, name’s, uh, Ryan Highland. He’s a first AD out of Toronto.
Clip: Mm.
Brad: And that was my first full experience working on a show, um, clean.
Mat: Right.
Brad: Um, for me, and, like, I, when I, when I went there, I just knew this is where I needed to be. [00:50:00] Um, but how do I, how do I do this without, you know, I, you know, running into anybody?
Like, first off, I had to ta- I had to take that year, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. To figure, to get comfortable with me, right? ‘Cause I was so uncomfortable being me for so long.
Al: Sure.
Brad: Um, and once I did, you know, and I, like, I do, I do the 12 step thing. Yeah. You don’t ha- not everyone has to do it. I do it. Works for me.
Mm-hmm. Doesn’t necessarily work for the world, right? But, um, you know, once I, once I went on my journey and, you know, figured out some things and learned to love myself and learned a few tricks, like knowing that feeling, the feel- feelings aren’t facts.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: That, that was a big one-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Brad: for me. What people think of Brad Miller is none of my business.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: That’s a big one for me.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Um, but, you know, you know, they s- they say stay away from people, places, and things. I had to eventually just figure out, you know, s- I had to go back to Sudbury. You know, I’ll tell you that Shoresy season two was my first time [00:51:00] back in Sudbury sober.
Clip: Wow.
Brad: And it turns out I’m the problem.
Not Sudbury. Is I’m the problem. Right. When I put myself in situations- Mm … and, you know, I ha- I have some type of reservation that maybe I can have one. Yeah. And, uh, for me, I, for me, I can’t, right? It’s, you know, um… And, you know, I just had to learn. I’m like, oh, North Bay is not the problem. Sudbury’s not the problem.
I’m the problem when I’m in it. Mm-hmm. And I decide to hang out with and do the things that I think are okay and which my brain will tell me, “Hey, you can do this.” Mm. And, you know, uh, I just have to take, you know, I have such a good, uh, group of people in my life now that, you know, a support system, right? I always have a support system, and an exit, and an exit plan, right?
Mm-hmm.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: I never go to concerts without driving myself, right? Yeah. You know, it, it, it’s all the little things that, you know, I was taught along the way. And, you know, since I got sober, [00:52:00] I’ve never been s- like, happier in my life, right? That’s good. And, uh, it’s the first time I’ve ever been happy in my life, right?
Wow. Yeah. That’s- Despite, despite the things I’ve gone to do. Like, I’ve had moments of, you know, this is awesome-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Brad: but never truly just happy with me being me, right?
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Today I’m probably one of the most content people. Just, it, it takes a lot to bother me.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Right? Yeah. Because, you know, I just…
There’s things I know about, you know, going through that, that, you know, I know today. And, um, you know, it just starts with, you know, if you, uh, you can’t drink if you don’t have it in your hand.
Mat: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Right? Yeah.
Mat: Mm-hmm. Something so simple, but it’s- That- Makes sense.
Brad: Just one day at a time too, right? Yeah. And, you know, the…
Sometimes if I was really hurting and I wanted to do drugs or drink, I’d be like, “Okay, w- just plan to do it tomorrow,” right? Yeah. Yeah. D- don’t do it today. Plan it tomorrow. Then when I woke up the next day, [00:53:00] same thing over and over again- Yeah … till finally I just didn’t have that desire, you know, anymore.
Yeah. Where today I don’t, I don’t have a desire to do any of those things, but sometimes I can feel left out.
Al: Sure.
Mat: Yeah.
Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: Well, congrats, man, on your sobriety. Yeah. I mean, you wear it proudly and you should. Yeah. Um, and I, and I love how open you are about it, ’cause I think that even in our forum, it helps others that may be listening, going through it, to know that- For
Brad: sure
Mat: it’s possible, so good on you, man. Mm-hmm. Congrats.
Brad: Thanks, brother. I appreciate it.
Al: Uh, Adrian had a follow-up. He’s a drummer and, uh, he wanted to know, your punk rock hardcore tats were amazing, Rancid and Minor Threat, if he recalls. Uh, what are- Oh, yes … you know, talk about some of your favorite bands and, and, um, maybe, you know, some of, uh, your favorite shows you’ve gone to.
Brad: Oh man, uh, shit man. The Daglo Abortions out of, uh, Vic- out of Vancouver Island or Victoria. I love them. Uh, I grew up with them. Um, Minor Threat, Rancid. Teenage Bottlerocket is like a [00:54:00] Ramones type, you know, band. I just went and saw them with the Queers, which are another f- favorite band of mine. I love the Forgotten Rebels out of Hamilton.
Al: Oh.
Brad: Um, shit, there’s so many. Oh, man. So just a few, right? Just, just a couple. I’m getting into the folk blues punk right now, so I’m w- like, my other favorite band’s Bridge City Sinners. Mm-hmm. And I’m listening to the guy right now called Yes Ma’am, and he’s, like, from the deep South of Louisiana, and just, just his lyrics are unbelievable, man.
And just, yeah, it’s, it’s… But my gen- my genre has changed even since I got clean. Like, I don’t listen to, you know, GG Allin anymore. If you don’t know who he is- Mm … look him up. I and I’m sorry if you looked him up because, yeah, he is, you know- … just, he- at the time I, I lived by his, you know, scumbuck traditions and just being, being a fuck- e- embracing that drugged out, drunk fucking [00:55:00] lifestyle.
Yeah. Right?
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Today I listened to some, like, you know… I don’t know, my music taste has changed a little bit. Not too much though.
Mat: Yeah. There you go.
Al: Uh, if we could pick… Oh, this is from Jeff in Maine. “If you could pick anyone for a guest spot on either Letterkenny or Shoresy, who would it be, and what would be, their role be?”
Time to be a little creative here.
Mat: That’s a good question.
Brad: So, so sorry, the, a guest spot on your show? Like-
Al: On, on Letterkenny or Shoresy
Brad: Oh, fuck yeah Oh, okay.
Mat: Character
Brad: role I, I’ve had, I’ve had one for so long. Oh. Tony Nappo, man.
Al: Nappo.
Brad: Tony Nappo.
Al: That’s a name that comes up so much in, in, in the circles around here.
Like, I’ve seen him… Like, he just did a workshop and a friend of mine who’s an actor- Yep … attended his workshop and, and couldn’t stop, like, raving about him. I just saw him in Van- or not Bandits, in, uh, for, um, Faking a Murder. Okay. A Stu Stone, uh- Yeah … um, uh, film and, and yeah, loved, like, he’s a hell of an actor.
Brad: He’s amazing, man. He w- he’s just, like, [00:56:00] one of my… Like, I, he, uh, I’ve, I’ve worked with him so much- Mm … and just, he’s a dude that, like, I, I respect so much. Uh, and he w- he’s so fucking funny. Yeah. In a, you know, you know, such a different way than Letterkenny. I would love to see the contrast of, like-
Al: Right …
Brad: his angry Italian type type, you know?
Al: Well, he could’ve easily been one of the Polichettis or, or something. Oh,
Brad: yeah.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Oh, yeah.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: He’s too fucking ugly, though. Like- … he’s just so fucking
Al: ugly. That’s amazing. Uh, great answer. Um, let’s see here. Tobias from M- Missouri, he, he’s asking, “What’s, who’s your favorite comedian?”
Brad: Who’s my favorite comedian?
Um, uh, f- fuck, I… Oh my God, I can’t believe I forget his name right now. And I was just thinking about him.
Al: Oh, yeah?
Brad: Shit, man. I don’t… I, I, that, that’s a hard one for me to answer. Um-
Al: Well, while you think of [00:57:00] that, um-
Brad: Yeah …
Al: uh, he’s also, there are a couple of follow-ups. Your dream project, what would be a dream project for you to work on?
Brad: Uh, my dream project, man, would, uh-
Just my own, right? Your, your punk documentary? Just doing my own thing, man.
Al: Yeah. Yeah.
Brad: Yeah, doing that. Doing… I have another script that I, I’m working on that, uh, it’s about, um, it’s about a cook that cooks for death row-
Al: Hmm.
Brad: Oh … that I, I’ve been working on and doing some research.
Al: Oh, interesting.
Brad: Oh. It’s about…
It’s a pretty int- Like, I didn’t know it, it went… There was so much about it, right? Like, about, you know, how, uh, how, um, cooks started. Like, h- why they hired anyone to cook for death row in the first place. Right. Yeah. And so then I, I was really interested in it. There’s this poem by a Canadian poet and his name’s Shane Koyczan.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: And-
Mat: Open, um, what they call a spoken word guy, right?
Brad: Yeah. Yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: And so he does, um, this [00:58:00] poem called Restaurant, and that’s where I kind of started looking into it and started researching. I was like, “Oh man, this is, this is- That’s cool … wild.” And so that, I would love to, uh, adapt that to a film.
Mat: I like that concept. Yeah. I mean, I… As soon as you said it I’m like, “Oh, that’s… There, there’s so many angles- Yeah, that could be, that could be interesting … and so much possibility and depth into- Oh, my … just a simple concept like that. The… So do you like doing storyline stuff over like… ‘Cause you talked about doing documentary stuff as well.
Like, where… What, what, what style or, or what, what-
Brad: I’d ra- I, I’d rather do, like, storytelling. Like, documentary, it would be based on real life, but I want to do it in a film. Like, I love- Yeah. Yeah … I love, like, you know, working with cameras and, you know, helping, having cameras tell the story. Mm-hmm. And, you know, I, I really love that part of, part where you…
Documentaries, you don’t necessarily get that ’cause you shoot what you shoot.
Mat: Yeah.
Brad: Yeah. Where, you know, where you’re using [00:59:00] the camera to, you know, transition and to tell different parts of the story- Yeah … rather than just the characters.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Yeah, absolutely.
Al: Just a couple of, uh, last questions here from our listeners.
Yeah. One here. Uh, we- we’ll get s- serious and then a little lighter. Sure. Your thoughts on the SAG/WGA strike and the stance of ACTRA. Uh, how does this kind of affect what, what’s happening up here? Does it? And this is from Mike in New Jersey.
Brad: Yeah, it does. Absolutely. Uh, like I just went on the hot list for the Director’s Guild of Canada, and it’s not great.
Like, it, you know, there’s so many sh- things shot in Toronto that are American. Yeah. Over half of them-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Brad: um, that aren’t going into production, right?
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: Um, and, you know, from on one side, on one side, this is our busy season.
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: This is, this is when we work, right?
Al: Yeah.
Brad: So, you know, depending on where you’re at, you know, financially and what you’re doing.
Like, I live in… I don’t live in Tr- I, I choose to live in [01:00:00] Sarnia.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: I go work in Toronto and Sudbury, but, you know, for me, like- And kind of being sober, I have a pretty cheap lifestyle. Like- … I don’t cost much money. I don’t have kids. I don’t have a wife. Right. You know?
Mat: Oh, tell me about it. But- Sounds wonderful.
Brad: You know? I don’t c- I cost, like, $5 a day. Right? For me, right? Like, we’re, if you’re like- Your
Mat: overhead is right, right there where you need it. Yeah. Especially in today’s market, oh, it’s perfect.
Brad: Crazy, man. So you know, uh, but if you have a family and you have kids- Sure … like-
Al: Yeah …
Brad: you’re fucked. And, um- Yeah, it’s true.
It’s, that’s it. And i- it’s hard because of, you know, and they, the, I- I- I agree 100% with why they’re striking a- and what’s going on. It, it’s just interesting how it affects other, the other unions, right? Sure. Mm-hmm. ‘Cause you can’t sh- we, you know, the DGC, like, you know, you have IATSE being affected, the DGC, [01:01:00] ACTRA up in, um, in Quebec- Mm
like, they’re being affected. And just the amount of people that are affected by the two unions, it’s so much bigger than the actors and- Yeah … you know, the actor, and you, you know, the amount of actors that aren’t getting paid tons of money each day. I know, I know Tony Nappel, for instance, like, I know he paints when he’s not working, right?
Yeah. He goes and paints houses.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: You know? Um, I have a c- I have a couple of side hustles.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: You know? So, you know, that’s kinda helping me sustain. But, you know, as far as, um, you know, when most of us are on unemployment because, you know, we take gigs, and in between we’ll get unemployment, um- I think it’s going to affect the next eight to nine months because people aren’t going to, A, get their hours when they are off during December.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Um, they’re not gonna- they’re not gonna get that un- that money from unemployment, which I kind of rely on a little bit.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Like I said, I cost [01:02:00] like five, six dollars a day, so you know, that’s not… It doesn’t affect me as much as, you know, someone else that, you know- Yeah … has to take care of a family or have a partner or- Sure
live in Toronto, right?
Mat: Yeah. Yeah. It’s wildly- Yeah … so, so my, my neighbor works in the industry. W- he works on a lot of, uh, like m- American things. He worked on Titans and Reacher and stuff like that. Yeah. And he was saying, uh, similar stuff. He’s like, “Oh yeah, we’re hard shut down. A- anything I’m involved in, I’m out.”
But he talked about it too, about, you know, it’s much bigger than what you just see in front of you. And the example he used, he’s like, there are guys that own, like, food trucks who exclusively support sets. Like, they’ll show up on sets, and that’s where they make all their money. Even they’re not working, ’cause there’s no sets, therefore they can’t make money.
Like, it’s so… The reach of this shutdown is way beyond just those 1%- It’s fucked … millionaires at the top. It’s everyone underneath it is being, is being hit by this. And, um, it, it needs the attention. And, and I get it. It’s, [01:03:00] it’s just, it’s fucked. It’s so
Brad: fucked. Yeah, it, it is wild. And you know, I understand that, you know, like, you know, Spotify pays their artists.
Why, why can’t Netflix pay their, you know, residuals to their actors, right? Yeah. Like, I don’t, I don’t get it as much as… You know, I’m sure there’s t- a ton more of stuff I, I don’t get. I… But I do know the effect that… Lots of people are on vacation now. Mm-hmm. Lots of… You know, on a positive note, when do we get, when do we get a summer off?
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Right? Never.
Clip: Fair enough.
Brad: Right? The fact is, work’s gonna come, come back again. It’s just a matter of, uh, waiting, right? Mm. Having that patience. And you know, for me, like, I can have a little more patience than others though, right? Some people can’t- Sure, yeah … be off work for as long. It’s just not feasible, um, to them, you know?
For me, I’m like, “Oh, cool.” Uh, like I’m literally working in a food truck right now.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Um, you know, t- I just got off today. And, um- [01:04:00] You know, that, that’s like I have a s- that I do photography too, right? Sure. I have that side hustle.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: And, um, m- a lot of people do too, right?
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: So,
Al: yeah. So, um, for the purely Canadian productions though, like for example, Letterkenny or Shoresy, are they affected?
Because that’s all Canadian, and right now…
Brad: It’s, it’s, you know, it’s really hard to say. I know, uh, Motorheads is going on right now. Um, there’s a show, uh, coming up in Sudbury in August, September.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: I know they held off on, um, hiring any actors ’cause they wanted some SAG actors.
Al: Oh, I see.
Brad: I, I… And I’m not really sure how ACTRA is gonna react to SAG, like in the next, you know, f- 10 days from now.
Like-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Brad: is SAG gonna stand, like is ACTRA standing with SAG? Like I, like I ha-
Al: Yeah, with sol- in solidarity. Yeah, right, yeah. They’re, they’re, they’re gonna support.
Brad: Right.
Al: Yeah.
Brad: And then the DGC, I wonder, you know, what’s gonna happen with them, right? Mm-hmm. What, [01:05:00] what are we, what are we as a… Like there isn’t too much in- information out there, so.
Yeah. You know, I’ve kind of been following it, but at the same time I, I need to live life and- Sure … you know?
Al: Yeah.
Brad: Um, you know, like I said, I kind of do other things, right? And you know, w- I love film-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Brad: but, um, you know, my desire is to, you know, become a director or a first AD one day, but you know, today’s not that day, right?
Yeah. And so, yeah. Yeah, it is what it is, man.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Fair enough.
Al: Last question from our listener. This is from our friend Aaron in Chicago. Let’s say our first day on Letterkenny or Shoresy as an actor, crew member. What’s the best advice you can give them in order to vibe in the culture and the community on set?
Brad: Welcome to Letterkenny
Al: Yeah, that’s
Brad: it. That’s it. That’s it, man.
Mat: That’s perfect.
Brad: It’s… That- that’s, that’s all, that’s all I say. I just, I, I… You know, one of my favorite things is, like, hey, Trav, when, like, a new cast member would come, come on, [01:06:00] like, there w- there was, that, that, that phrase, “Welcome to Letterkenny”-
Clip: Mm-hmm
Brad: was, was powerful.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Right? That’s just like, “Oh, I’m not on a film set,” right? I, I’m, I, I’m at, I’m in Letterkenny right now. Yeah. And right? And that kind of ease, and you just look around, and you know that energy is… You, you can feel that energy. Like, it’s very vibrant through- throughout the whole entire set, from the trans- the person that picks you up- Yeah
to, you know, you meet me as a fourth AD, you’ll meet me at base camp. Hopefully, you know, I’m like, you know, I’m, I’m in a pretty good mood most of the times, right? Um, to the when you, you know, and Jared’s usually always there, like, he’ll go up and meet, like, when there’s a new cast member on set that hasn’t been on set before.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Brad: Goes up, right up to them, and-
Clip: Yeah …
Brad: knocks on the door and shoots the shit with them, right? And you know, that, that ease right there, [01:07:00] it’s, you know, going back to, like, it’s Jar- Jared’s, you know how Jared is. It’s that welcome to Letterkenny, and you’re- Mm … you’re truly welcomed. Mm-hmm. Right? Where, you know, you know, it’s, there’s a lot of fakeness in this industry and a lot of ego, and that, that ego, you know, the ego doesn’t work that well on Letterkenny, right?
If, you know, with act- you… And you know how, I know how Jared… You know, I kind of have an idea how Jared decides to, like, h- hire people, and he doesn’t always hire people based on their acting ability. Mm-hmm. He hires them based on-
Al: Personality …
Brad: what they’re like.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: Yeah,
Brad: character.
Al: Character. Character, yeah.
Brad: Like, I know a lot of guys from Shoresy. I was talking to Jared about this. A lot of guys from Shoresy, he hired them just based on how they fought, right? And if they were gentlemen about it and shook hands after. Those are the guys, those are the scrappers he wanted. He didn’t want, you know, guys that were complete [01:08:00] assholes, right?
Yeah. Like, you know, you knew, like, you saw, you saw those, that, that type, right?
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: And all, all the, all the, like, you know, our, everyone on the Bulldogs, and anybody on the ice, man, that’s on Shoresy. They all come from… They all have that same general- Like, I don’t even know how to s- vibe.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Brad: That, you know, they’re just respectable, very, very respectable people, right?
Just, you know, and, you know, wanna do a good job. And yeah, it’s, it’s frigging awesome, man.
Al: That’s great.
Clip: Love
Brad: it.
Al: Uh, so, uh, yeah, we’re d- we’re, you know, at the end of our, uh, listener question round. So we’ll just have a few more questions around the table. And then- Sure … if, uh, and we’ll let you go. And man, we really appreciate all the time you’ve given us.
And, uh- Absolutely … right now we’re getting hit by the storm that was, uh, that came through Sarnia, I think. Oh,
Brad: dear.
Tanya: My apologies for running out. We were very much in a tornado [01:09:00] watch at the things were, were going sideways quite quickly.
Al: It got pretty crazy. So- Like,
Brad: seriously.
Al: Yeah. Like
Brad: I was in that
Al: tornado.
Brad: Yeah. It was crazy.
Al: Yeah. Matt- Yeah … uh, it’s, it’s coming for you, man. Uh, so anyway, Matt, I’ll let you ask your question.
Mat: Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I was getting ready to wrap, man. It’s been such a pleasure. Uh, my ask is to everyone, I mean, as fans, I mean … Well, sorry, I’m gonna ask two questions. One, I, I’m super curious, first off, when we arrived on set-
the what, 12 of us or whatever roll in- Yeah … did you guys know we were coming? And what was the, the chatter afterwards when we like, this random group of super fans shows up and chirps you guys all, and chatting for like … Like there must have been some laughs- Yeah … like, “Who the fuck are these guys, and what’s happening?”
Brad: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Mat: Right?
Brad: I think too, you know, when, you know, it’s- All right. Honestly- Go.
Mat: I wanna hear
Brad: it …
Mat: yes, we
Brad: went on- This is the hard part. When you got like- We
Mat: invaded your space.
Brad: Yeah. Well, it’s [01:10:00] okay though. Like, for me it’s okay. I’m okay with it. It’s hard because there are… On Letterkenny it doesn’t run like a regular set, right?
Mm-hmm. Like, we do, like, it… And, and when something gets, like a wrench gets thrown in it-
Mat: Yeah …
Brad: you’re just like, “Oh, fuck. Goddammit.” And you’re like, “Who are these fucking guys?” And, uh- You know, but as soon as we met you, like, I thought about, you know, I thought about, like, you know, right after I met you guys, man, like, because, you know, my life right is I, I find the gratitude in life a lot, right?
Like gratitude is what keeps me sober. And what, it’s what keeps me content in life. And you know, I was thinking about it for a bit right after I met you guys, and I was like, “Man, these guys are vacationing-” “… at my work.”
Al: Right? Yeah. That’s right. That’s a-
Mat: 100% …
Al: great way to put that. Yeah, [01:11:00] it’d be like somebody coming, like, to my office and going, “It’s really cool what you do here.”
I’m like, “What? I’m just working. Yeah.”
Mat: Like, literally this is my day. Like, this is what I get paid to do.
Brad: You know- That’s funny … it’s that, it’s that thing like, you know, I, I, I forget… Sometimes I forget the 95% of amazingness- Mm-hmm … that we get to work, uh, with this crew, um, this cast, the, and the people on it, like everyone involved.
‘Cause we can focus on the 5% that’s not going our way, right? Yeah. Or something’s fucked up, right? Yeah. Where, you know, when I did sit down and see you guys and, like, your eyes, like, kind of light up, right? And being like, “Holy shit, this is awesome,” I’m like- “Yeah, this, this is awesome” … this is awesome. This is fucking awesome, man.
You know? And, uh, that, that, like, that instant, like, as soon as I met you guys, like, oh, you guys are coming… You paid to come to my work. Like, uh, then I thought about it for a sec. I’m [01:12:00] like, “Fuck, I’m such an ungrateful bastard.” And I’m like, “Jeez.” I’m like, “Jeez.” I’m like, “This is amazing, man.” I’m like, “I have a pretty sweet job,” right?
And-
Mat: Yeah …
Brad: you know, being in Sarnia, like, there’s not many… There’s, like, five of us that work in film in Sarnia. And, um, you know, I get a… Like, I don’t talk about my job a lot, just ’cause it sounds like bragging ’cause most people work in the plants.
Clip: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Brad: And you know, um, I try to keep humble. Tr- I try to be as humble as possible.
Um, I’m not always like that, but then when, you know, I got to see you guys and just found out where you guys c- a lot of them came from- Yeah. That’s wild … I was like, “Oh, shit.” Yeah. “Oh, like you guys came from a f- like you guys came
Mat: from-” Yeah, it’s wild. It blew even our minds. Like we’re, we’re a four-and-a-half-hour drive from up there, but like as far as California, we’re like, “Holy…”
Like we were just as blown away.
Clip: Yeah.
Brad: Yeah. And so, you know, that, that gratitude of like, you know, and like, you know, like it’s cool. It feels like, like you’re a celebrity a bit, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. And you know, it makes you feel good, [01:13:00] like, you know, if I- Yeah … I try to treat peop- everyone equal, right? No matter who you are, even if you’re in my way- Yeah
I’ll still, I’ll still… Like once I sit down- Yeah … and kind of talk, I’m like, “Oh- You guys are… Yeah, no, I’m grateful. Yeah. I, I’m freaking grateful you guys are here, man. Amazing. And so,
Mat: yeah.
Brad: Well- So I got, I got to talk to a few of them after, like, at the hotel after we were in just… You know, it, it was pretty cool, man.
Mat: That’s good.
Brad: That
Mat: was- I, I’m glad, I’m glad. I hope it all came across well, and we, we were so- Yeah … grateful for everyone’s time, because it was a treat for us. And which, I mean, you kind of half answered my other question I ask everyone, right? Like, for us as fans, and we were being referred to as super fans on set, which was hilarious to us.
But I guess we have a podcast and we tra- so I, I guess it’s, it fits. Um, but we know the reach of this show. We, we understand what Letterkenny, what Shoresy, beyond just being funny shows, had meant to a lot of people, right? Yeah. It’s really… Like, it really got a lot of people through some shit, through the pandemic, things like that.
Like, how has it [01:14:00] meant, and answer this in any way that you see fit, but what has it meant to you to be a part of the show, shows?
Brad: Oh. Uh, man, it, it means the world to me. Um, you know, there is a family dynamic there, right? And for someone that’s always had a hard time with, uh, fitting in and family and, um, stuff like that, man, it, it, it’s something else, man.
It’s… It, it is hard to describe. Like, you know, like I said, um- I, I don’t need… The end of the day, I don’t need crazy stories for Jared and tell him crazy stories. I don’t need anything because everyone’s just fucking happy to be there. And, um, you know, you, when you’re in Letterkenny, you’re just, you- you’re just part of it.
Clip: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Brad: Doesn’t matter if it’s your first season or your, you know, 12- 11th season, man, you’re just a part of it. And, um, the door’s, the door’s always open for you to leave if you don’t like it, right? [01:15:00]
Al: Yeah.
Brad: And that’s a thing. But, you know, and the, you know, when that door opens, it stays open, right? Th- they hire…
They bring back… Like, they do not have to, by any means, put me up in a hotel, pay me per diem, ’cause they could find someone else in the s- in the city to do it, and they- Yeah … call me, right? And that, that’s a big deal, and that, that means that it’s, it’s not just about money. Yeah. It’s about, you know, keeping that family together at, at, you know…
And with film, like, that expense, it, it’s not always… Sometimes it’s better to, you know… Um, maybe I’m t- talking myself out of a job, but, you know, you can, um… Which I don’t think I- Hope not. I don’t actually think that. No. But, you know, they can hire someone that’s local, that’s never worked on a show, or they can hire someone that knows the system, knows the actors, is comfortable with them, and, um, just treated very well.
Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Brad: [01:16:00] Very, very well, man. So, you know… And the shooting, the shooting, the hours are awesome too. For a film set- Yeah … the hours are frigging sweet.
Mat: That’s awesome.
Al: That’s awesome. That’s awesome.
Mat: Yeah, man. Well, thanks, Brad. You’re a fucking beaut, bud. Appreciate you. Do
Al: you have any,
Brad: uh- Thanks, brother … yeah, any- Frigging appreciate it, boys.
Al: Any questions, Tanya?
Tanya: Brad, I just want to say thank you so much for, for spending some time with us, and, uh- No … meeting you was phenomenal. Um, I, I’ve ta- I took that, that meet that we had, and your, like, amazing spreadsheet ability-
Al: That’s what she got out of it, his fucking spreadsheets … I
Tanya: love- Everyone
Al: else
Tanya: was like, “Oh, you”- I love spreadsheets.
Can
Mat: I say you were a highlight? I wasn’t
Tanya: kidding. I love spreadsheets.
Mat: Tanya hasn’t stopped talking about fucking
Tanya: spreadsheets. I, I implemented one of your systems into my system. I, like, I incorporated it, and I’m running with it, and it’s working for me, so thank you for that. And, uh-
Brad: That’s okay. I’m, I’m so used to Letterkenny stealing my likeness.
It’s okay. You can steal
Tanya: it too. Yeah. You- The
Mat: legend of Bradley Miller.
Tanya: Y- [01:17:00] you, I, I love the… And I’m so glad that you told the three Jim story- … ’cause I do remember that story, and, and you, uh, you just have a smile on your face, and you were beaming. You were, it, it… So I’m so glad you shared it with us again.
Brad: Oh, man. My pleasure, man. Thank you so much, man.
Al: Yeah,
Brad: thank- Thank you for having me on, man. I just am blown away I get to do something like this.
Al: Oh, I mean, we… Look, like you said, you know, we try to treat everyone we’ve interviewed, from the actors to the behind the scenes people. We’ve had Plywood on, we’ve had, uh, um- Billy
Bill- We had Billy Critch on … yeah, we had Billy on. Yeah, and we had- Billy Summers … Billy on twice now. Claus was on. Um, we had, uh, yeah, like we’ve had a bunch of people from behind the scenes, and to, to us, you guys are all responsible for making this show. Uh, you know, so there’s nobody more important than- Magic
yeah, it’s, it’s just magic, so we appreciate it. Is there anything you want to shed light on, um, before we let you go or, or- Sure … would you, where would you like people to follow you, if you want them to follow you at all?
Brad: Sure. Um, you know what? [01:18:00] Uh, my Instagram is @chemicalvalleyfilms. Feel free to follow me or just keep watching, like keep watching Letterkenny.
Mm. Keep watching the show. Keep talking, keep, you know, keep chirping each other, right?
Clip: Yes.
Brad: Like, just that’s it, right? Like, that’s, that, it’s that, that culture, right? Like, that culture is a thing, and people like… When people, it’s like where, you know, you know what my thing is, is like when I wear punk shirts or like band T-shirts that are like well-known and I walk down the street and this guy says, “Hey, man, nice shirt,” like I instantly get along with him.
And like I throw, I talk Letterkenny, right? Mm-hmm. Like, I just talk Letterkenny sometimes, and like I say pitter-patter, boys, all the time and like it’s like wearing a punk T-shirt. If you know, you know- Exactly … and if you don’t, well, fuck, that sucks for you, right?
Tanya: Yeah. I love that. Love it.
Brad: Yeah, man.
Al: So I asked you, uh, uh, ahead of time if there was a song we could play you off, uh, with, [01:19:00] and you sent me a couple of, uh, uh, options.
I took, I think I p- I picked the right option given the T-shirt you’re wearing. Uh, we’re gonna play you off b- uh, with a song called Skate or Die by Teenage Bottlerocket. Let’s listen to this, uh, for a second here.
And that’s all we have for this episode. Don’t forget, you can use the promo code protosan for 20% [01:20:00] off any purchase at dialoguewithcoffee.com. If you’d like to support the podcast, rate us on iTunes, Spotify, or become a patron. You can follow us on most social media outlets @Protosampod. Thank you for joining us.
Now we’re off to have some, some sodas with our new friend Bradley. On behalf of Brad, Tanya, Matt, and myself, thank you for listening and have a great week.
Clip: He brings you joy. The second coming of Dan is Joy.
Al: All right. We lost Brad.
Mat: I mean, if, if, if his thing shut down, it was perfect timing

TPS191: An Interview With Brad Miller (AD on Letterkenny and Shoresy)

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