The Working Actor with Joel Johnstone (S3 E6)

AI Transcript: please excuse any typos.

Announcer:
Jonathan Pogash is the cocktail guru, a mixologist and hospitality expert. Ah, see? You know big words. Dude, I'm the cocktail guru. Cheers. Jeffrey's his dad, a wine and spirits author, historian, and consultant.

Jeffrey:
Well, I do my homework.

Announcer:
With decades of experience, they're always looking for the next big thing. Join this father and son duo for a few laughs as they explore the hottest trends in hospitality with the service industry's leading trailblazers and tastemakers. Welcome to the Cocktail Guru Podcast.

Jeffrey:
Here we are again, John.

Announcer:
Here we are.

Jeffrey:
So we're on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. So what do we expect to find on the corner of Hollywood? I don't know. You tell me. I would say Hollywood stars.

Jonathan:
Hollywood stars, absolutely. And they all hang out there.

Jeffrey:
And not just the ones on the Walk of Fame. I'm talking about the actual stars.

Jonathan:
So like we have today, our amazing guest today is none other than Joel Johnstone, who plays Archie on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which I believe just wrapped its fifth and final season. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Amazing show, won many, many awards. And of course, a friend of the Cocktail Guru podcast and my good buddy and former college roommate, Michael Ziegen, put us in touch. He is the glue. Joel Johnstone, welcome to the podcast.

Joel Johnstone:
sincerely my pleasure. Thank you.

Jonathan:
Thank you for having me. We always ask our guests first off, before anything else, what is your desert island cocktail?

Announcer:
A bourbon old-fashioned. Oh yeah.

Jonathan:
That's a good one.

Jeffrey:
My mouth is watering already.

Jonathan:
I'm tasting it in my mouth right now, and it's something that I kind of want to have in my hand right about now. Will you go make a drink for me, Dad? Sure, John. Okay, I'm just joking. After the interview. He actually would. He possibly would. So your character on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, pretty iconic because you and Joel Maisel are like BFFs and opened up a lounge together. The Button Club. The Button Club. But we were talking earlier and you have a hospitality background. I mean, you worked in clubs.

Joel Johnstone:
I did, yeah. When I moved to L.A. and wasn't even auditioning, let alone working, you know, I had to do what every actor does. You get a side gig, and I was just barbacking in nightclubs. That's a great way to do it. I barbacked, too. That was my first bar gig. Yeah, I slung a lot of ice. But, yeah, and the thing is, I didn't learn a whole lot about mixology. I didn't like, you know, we were making, you know, it was one of those clubs where, you know, I still have hearing damage from so nobody's going for the art of the drinks there. So it was just, you know, vodka, Red Bull. How much? Yeah. How much do you want with your Red Bull? That's that was pretty much it. But but yeah, you know, that that is my background. And I'm fascinated with mixology and the the the craft of of making drinks.

Jonathan:
yeah and you know my background I went to school for theater and moved to New York City to act and I did the same thing I started working in restaurants and bars and started off as a bar back and my pals Mike Ziegen kept getting all the roles that I wanted and same here yeah same deal Ziegen you're obviously watching this because you're a huge fan of the podcast and you have us all on every every you watch us every episode but um yeah I was I was jealous I was definitely very jealous.

Joel Johnstone:
Well Ziegen is is he was the first guy in our class of actors of our generation that I knew that was steadily working right away.

Jonathan:
The motherfucker didn't even have to work in a bar or restaurant. We can say it. He worked for like a summer in his dad's law office.

Joel Johnstone:
And right away on a brilliant show, on Rescue Me.

Jonathan:
But first it was the David Letterman, Dwight the Troubled Child, which was, yeah, I mean, that was insane. This is not a show about talking about Zegan. We want to talk about Joel.

Joel Johnstone:
We love you, Zegan.

Jonathan:
We love you, and you're the best. Joel Johnston. And you were saying you're originally from Wisconsin.

Joel Johnstone:
I was born and raised in Milwaukee.

Jeffrey:
Well, here's another connection. I went to college in Wisconsin. Where? A little place not far from Milwaukee called Ripon College.

Joel Johnstone:
I can't, seriously? I spent a couple of weeks there.

Announcer:
I was in Badger's Boys State. Oh yeah.

Joel Johnstone:
And they put us up at Ripon College.

Jeffrey:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, right. That's why I'm all the louder.

Jonathan:
Oh, right. Who else went to Ripon College?

Jeffrey:
Harrison Ford?

Jonathan:
Harrison Ford went to Rippon College.

Jeffrey:
That's right! Yes he did.

Joel Johnstone:
Also another fine actor. He works from time to time.

Jeffrey:
Spencer Tracy. Spencer Tracy went to Rippon College. Crazy, right? But he apparently, I don't know if I should say this, but there's a rumor that he climbed up the girl's dormitory and went inside to raid the dormitory and that he kind of got kicked out of school for that.

Joel Johnstone:
But I don't know if that's true or not.

Jonathan:
in New York?

Joel Johnstone:
I went to Fordham University yes yes I studied theater presumably yeah Denzel was and is my favorite and and I just kind of as I started gravitating towards theater in high school I was looking at my favorite actors where they studied and I saw Denzel went to Fordham and I was like I want to go there I gotta go I gotta follow Denzel

Jeffrey:
Yes, Fordham is where my daughter Jessica went to college. No kidding! Lincoln Center campus. What year?

Joel Johnstone:
What year? Is she older or younger?

Jeffrey:
She's three years younger than you. She's 40. I'm 44.

Joel Johnstone:
So yeah, yeah, yeah. Because we graduated the same year. Yeah. So you would not have seen her. But yeah.

Jonathan:
Lincoln Center campus? But yeah. And I lived in that area, too, after college.

Joel Johnstone:
Oh, yeah. I was in Harlem and Lincoln Center.

Jonathan:
Nice stomping grounds. You lived in New York and then were presumably auditioning, obviously, and then started getting some gigs.

Joel Johnstone:
I was doing a lot of theater, a lot of off, off, off, as far as off as you can get Broadway shows, Lower East Side, East Village, and performing to a crowd of about half a dozen people that are in here right now, about that. And it still is some of the most rewarding stuff I've done, but it was, you know, you'd leave and you're like, All this work, I put my heart and soul into this and five people saw it and so that started to wear on me and I got a few TV and film gigs here and there in New York and I was like, People can always see this, and I love that. I love the timeless effect that film and TV has. And there still is nothing to replace theater. There isn't. It's a thrill like no other. But I did want to concentrate more on TV and film. And I made the move out here and when did you do that?

Jonathan:
2007 so You spent a good like five years in New York.

Joel Johnstone:
Yeah, I did I did and I was doing it I did a lot of voiceovers that I was making my living doing voiceover Yeah, me and Zegan it's pretty it's lucrative be in that room together and and it was a very very different racket than it is now and you would go on five auditions a day in person and 20 people show up and one of you was gonna get it right and it was just a It's a very different world, but I was glad I did it and glad that I left when I did and came out here and immediately stopped working entirely.

Jonathan:
Mentally, that must have been insanely crushing.

Joel Johnstone:
It was. It was. It was a very, very tough time. I questioned the decision for several years. And just picked myself up and started pounding the pavement again and eventually got a couple of jobs back to back that got the ball rolling.

Jeffrey:
So when you first got here, you were not going out on auditions?

Joel Johnstone:
I was going on negative auditions. You had an agent presumably, yes? Or not really? Not really. Within the first year, I got an agent and manager that I'm no longer with either, but I had a series of reps and then I met my manager, which I attribute to the beginning of when things started to change for the better. I was here for about two and a half, almost three years, I think, before I met her. But then, and I didn't start working right away when I met her, but she, and I will always say this to any actor who's stressing about their reps and all their, I'm at this agency, but I don't want to be at that agency. And all you need is one person that really believes in you. And it doesn't matter what agency they're at. They have to believe in your talent and your ability more than any, more than you do. And if you meet that person, stick with them.

Jonathan:
And yeah, they've got to believe in you enough to send you out on things, because you're never going to get called for anything if you're not being submitted for it. I mean, that's just the basic of it all. But in any case, after moving to LA and spending some time here, what was the gig that you got where you were like, oh, I've got this gig, and I'm kind of like, OK, maybe I can coast through and get somewhere here?

Joel Johnstone:
The newsroom, I think, was... I wasn't working, wasn't working, wasn't working, was grinding in the nightclubs and in the span of 48 hours I got... this recurring gig on the newsroom and this other HBO pilot, potentially recurring gig on this HBO pilot of a little show that I love that not nearly enough people saw called Getting On with Laurie Metcalf and Alex Borstein and E.C. Nash. I got to follow Laurie Metcalf around on that show for two years. which was a master class, and I learned more in those two summers of following her around than I did in four years of college. And Newsroom. I mean, Newsroom, when I got on Newsroom, that was like the biggest show on HBO. Everybody wanted to be on it.

Jonathan:
I don't know if you got to catch Newsroom at all.

Jeffrey:
I know all about the show, and I've seen segments.

Joel Johnstone:
Yeah, and so it was kind of an insane 48 hours where all of a sudden I was in part of these two high-profile projects that I still attribute to really getting the ball rolling.

Jonathan:
Yeah. And then when did, and Maisel probably came about not too long after that.

Joel Johnstone:
And then Maisel was, yeah, that was next level.

Jonathan:
And then we were like, wow, okay, I've got a steady gig for five years.

Joel Johnstone:
Well, we didn't know we were gonna get picked up. You didn't know, of course. We didn't know. And then it was a total shock to me that they got picked up for two seasons when they, because I had never, I had been a part of a few pilots that either didn't go or did go, but it was always like, you finish one season, wait to hear for the next. But I'd never even heard of a show getting immediately picked up for two seasons. And that was just, I couldn't believe it. And I knew we had something special when we filmed the pilot. I knew it. But I don't think anybody could have seen what What was coming?

Jonathan:
I mean, I was probably hearing that you got that role and knowing that the paladinos were behind it and you're like, holy shit This is like the big time it it it I mean it felt like the big time from the pilot read the pilot read was

Joel Johnstone:
epic there were a hundred hundred fifty people in the room it was a performance and I have it's still to this day one of the best performance I've ever seen my life is Rachel at that table who was just right off the bat 26 or whatever that just owned this room because that pilot is all her yes right and she just I mean brought that room

Jonathan:
to a standstill, just I mean, it was it was and she and she was just she was she was just nominated for another Golden Globe. I know. I know.

Joel Johnstone:
She gets nominated. She's been nominated. She's never been nominated for anything. Right. Yeah. No. As she should be. She's she is. And I will say to anybody that doesn't know her, she is every bit as wonderful human being as you've heard. Yeah. She really is.

Jonathan:
That's what I've heard from Mike Ziegen.

Jeffrey:
Well, let's try to get her on the podcast.

Jonathan:
That might be tough. She's, like, always working. She has a production company, too, I think.

Joel Johnstone:
She's pretty busy. But I love her.

Jonathan:
She's great. And so after Maisel, you have some things happening. You've got some things in the works. Well, also, actually, we must mention that you're just coming off of the strike.

Joel Johnstone:
Which, me and the other 160,000. What was that? I mean, what's the deal, man? It was a grind this year. I'm so glad it's over, and I'm so grateful that... I really feel like the powers that be tried to break us. I really do. I think that there was every concerted effort into splintering us into different factions and and which is just I think would have been their endgame had they you know had their way but but the fact that we stuck together and got through it and there was a real cohesiveness at those picket lines that I went to many, many times.

Jonathan:
I saw a photo of you on your social, I think, at a picket line.

Joel Johnstone:
Yeah, those hot, hot days in Burbank. Yeah, I was lucky enough to be joined by, I mean, even after the, this is what I mean about the solidarity, even after the writers ended theirs, the writers room from the show I'm working on right now, CSI Vegas, they still came out to picket with the actors of the show, which was so, I thought that was so cool. And I understand that. the deal does not have unanimous agreement that this is the best that we, but I kind of never thought from the beginning that that was ever going to be, that was ever going to happen. There's never been a deal, I think, that every member of any union is like, yeah, this is it. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. Do we make some gains? Absolutely. Am I glad the strike's over? Absolutely.

Jonathan:
And you're working on, so now you're working on CSI Vegas. You were telling us you have a recurring role working in the morgue, right? You're a coroner.

Joel Johnstone:
Yes, yes. I am one of the morgue techs. I'm the coroner. I go and get the bodies. And it's a really, really fun show to be a part of. And my role is I play Jack. And it did start as this brother-sister team, and now my sister's in a coma. But she's not dead. She's not dead. But they have somebody else that I now work with who's wonderful. And I guess I could say I'm a little bit of a comic relief, as much as one can be in a morgue. I can see that.

Jonathan:
And it's a lot of fun. Are those episodes out yet?

Joel Johnstone:
Okay, I'm sorry.

Jonathan:
I haven't seen you, but is it um are you like so comic relief or do you have like these snarky? I like are you on snarky like what's the character um do you have these comebacks that are like?

Joel Johnstone:
No, I think I think yes, but I think Speaking as my character. I think I'm a little unaware of of why I might be considered funny. I Okay, I I think You know, he's a bit of a lab geek, and unaware of how he is perceived by others.

Jonathan:
Understood and we were also talking earlier That you have you have a family So, you know work family life is definitely a challenge and trying to get time out and going out and about with your wife Has been something that you guys are trying to figure out. Yeah, you're asking, you know, what are the what are some great spots here in LA?

Joel Johnstone:
Yes. Yeah, we're trying to stockpile some some date nights we have we have a one-year-old as you know, you know, like when you have a newborn, you know the The weekly or bi-weekly date nights are off the table for a set period. And now that he's won, we're trying to put a bunch of dates in the books of places we've never been. Because we've exhausted all of the places around where we live. That's one of the things I was excited to talk to you about, because you guys know all the hot spots in every town. I've lived here 16 years. I don't know.

Jeffrey:
I don't know. Well, we know something about the hot dog hot spots. That's for sure.

Jonathan:
I mean, other than Pink's, where did you go? In Burbank, Chili John's. Chili John's. A lot of people haven't heard of it.

Jeffrey:
Chili John's. Yes, not just incredible chili, but several types of chili, but also Fantastic.

Joel Johnstone:
Oh, I do know another hot dog because my what is it in the valley? It's in the movie. Last Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Not Larry's. It's in the valley. They're eating hot dogs there. Philip Seymour Hoffman's son is eating hot dog there. It'll come to me and it'll come to me as soon as we stop.

Jeffrey:
There's a place called fab fabs.

Joel Johnstone:
What was your favorite? What was your favorite that you had?

Jonathan:
Do you mean of the actual hot dog? I was only at Chili John's, but you went to Pink's also.

Jeffrey:
Yeah, but the Chili John's hot dog was just fantastic. Chili John's, okay, it's like full-on chili. They have three different types of chili. Relish, mustard, I mean, you can get whatever you want, but it's just incredible.

Jonathan:
Talking about it kind of makes me feel more full, actually.

Jeffrey:
Yes, everyone's agreeing, they were all there. And it's not just beef chili, it's with the turkey, chicken. They have a turducken. A turducken chili dog. Yeah. Chili. Right. The turducken. Yes. It's turkey, chicken, and duck.

Jonathan:
But I forget that.

Joel Johnstone:
The cardiologist just follows you around.

Jeffrey:
Yeah, but that is incredibly, incredibly rich and flavorful chili. That one. Amazing.

Joel Johnstone:
So they can see you in the morgue, that's why.

Jeffrey:
That's exactly. Exactly. And he does something for Thanksgiving with that as well, like a stuffing of some sort. Oh my God. With that chili.

Joel Johnstone:
Oh my God. All right, well, food for thought, yeah.

Jonathan:
And so aside from your CSI gig, you're auditioning for things.

Joel Johnstone:
Well, now I am. Now I am. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was lucky enough to get put on one of those wavered films during the strike. I filmed a couple of weeks in Utah. Oh, good.

Announcer:
Oh, so you kept kind of a thriller. Yeah.

Joel Johnstone:
Thriller about the the most deadly real-life grizzly attack in history The movie is called currently it's called grizzly night And we filmed in Park City for three weeks on the top of a mountain at night for three It was it was if you've never been to Park City I've never been to Park City. If you want to talk about natural beauty, I would put that against anywhere else you'll go in America. It is stunning.

Jonathan:
Well, I went with my, we took a family trip at the end of the summer to Yellowstone and Grand Teton and Jackson Hole. And that was like, yeah. Beautiful. The kids loved it. They love wildlife and some great spots to just... Have you taken them to Zion in Utah?

Joel Johnstone:
No. Zion and Yosemite also. You can't miss those.

Jeffrey:
Definitely Yosemite. You were in Yosemite. I was? As a child. I don't remember. No, you were 14 or 15. We went to Yosemite. If I don't remember it, I don't believe it. Show me the pictures.

Jonathan:
Well, Joel Johnstone, thank you so much for joining us on the Cocktail Group. It was my pleasure. It was great to meet you, and I've heard a lot about you, and thanks to Zegan for introducing us, and all the best. I hope when you come out to New York, you said you were going to be in New York, but I probably won't see you then, but in the future, would be cool to hang out.

Joel Johnstone:
I would love that. Yeah, I would love to see your spots in New York as well because I, you know, a lot of my old spots are gone.

Jonathan:
That'll be great. You know, now that I'm thinking, I wonder if while we were actors in New York, if you ever came to visit me at one of my bars with Mike. You may have.

Joel Johnstone:
I never really... You didn't really go out? Ironically, I never hung out with Zina until we owned a fictitious bar. Okay, alright. Amazing.

Jonathan:
Cool.

Jeffrey:
Thanks. That's great. Thank you. This was a lot of fun.

Announcer:
Pleasure.

Jeffrey:
So much. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Cheers. Thank you. See you again.

Announcer:
The Cocktail Guru presents Cocktail Commentary with Jeffrey Pogash. Sit back and enjoy the story of the Rob Roy cocktail.

Jeffrey:
Hello, my friends, and welcome to Cocktail Commentary, a very special edition of Cocktail Commentary. Is there anything better than scotch whiskey, sweet vermouth, and aromatic bitters? I don't know. Probably not. And things get even better when you mix the three together and add a Scotty along with it. Mr. McTavish here. Does this drink sound familiar to you? Well, if you like the Manhattan cocktail made with American rye, whiskey, or bourbon, you will probably like the cocktail I just described, known as the Rob Roy. Yes, a Scottish cocktail. and I have my Scotty here supporting me with that cocktail. Remember, just as spirits were originally created as medicines, cocktails, a mixture of spirits, fruit, water, and bitters, were created partly as a hangover cure and as a sort of wake-me-up drink in the morning. Back in the 19th century, cocktails were thought to clear the head, you know, sweep the cobwebs and fog from the brain. And bitters were used to help digestion and to cure an upset stomach. But all of this begs the question, how and why did this particular cocktail, known as the Rob Roy, come about? Do you know, Mr. McTavish? Can you tell us? Well, that, my friends, is the rest of the story. The year was 1894, and the Broadway theater scene in New York City was thriving. The Taming of the Shrew, Napoleon Bonaparte, Gizmonda, starring the legendary Sarah Bernhardt, who also directed the play, Miss Dynamite, On the Bowery, A Doll's House, and A Trip to Chinatown were just a few of the plays and shows being performed. In addition, there was an operetta in production called Rob Roy, based loosely on the Scottish outlaw who became a folk hero, Robert Roy MacGregor. He had flaming curly red hair, was a cattle dealer, and a champion of the common man by taking from the rich and giving to the poor. He was the Robin Hood of Scotland. The operetta was the precursor of the musical comedy that we see today on Broadway. It began in France around 1850 and fell out of favor by the 1920s as musical comedies gained popularity. Some impresario decided that Rob Roy McGregor would be a great subject for a Broadway production, and to publicize it, he asked a bartender at the prestigious luxury hotel, the Waldorf Astoria, to create a cocktail. And voila, that is how the Rob Roy was born. The bartender might have been Johnny Solanz, the most famous bartender at the Waldorf, who created the famous Bronx cocktail. But we don't seem to have a written record of precisely who it was. Do we, Mr. McTavish? Don't think so. That doesn't really matter, since we have a great drink that has become a classic in the annals of cocktail history. And here's how to make it. Tell me how to make it, Mr. McTavish. Okay, two ounces Glenmorangie single malt scotch whiskey. Thank you. What comes next? Oh, one ounce sweet Italian vermouth. Antica formula is the one I usually use. Two dashes Angostura bitters. Oh, and two dashes orange bitters. Combine ingredients in a shaker, half filled with ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a cherry or lemon twist. Harry Craddock, author of the Savoy Cocktail Book from the Savoy Hotel in London, suggests shaking this cocktail. The Waldorf Astoria recipe indicates stirring the drink. The Waldorf uses orange bitters in its recipe, but today most people will use Angostura bitters. The Rob Roy is a great way to show off the characteristics of a fine single malt scotch whiskey. And now you know the rest of the story. Cheers. Mmm. Delicious. Thank you, Mr. McTavish.

Jonathan:
Well hello folks, Tipple Time coming at you here again from North Hollywood, California, the Tonga Hut. So excited to be here and to make cocktails for you, our listeners and viewers at home. I love a good Moscow Mule, which of course is vodka and ginger beer and a little lime, but did you know that there actually exists a cocktail that is essentially a Moscow Mule but with scotch whiskey? I bet you didn't know, or maybe you did. I have no idea. But in any case, this drink is called a Mamie Taylor, and it dates back to Prohibition era, and it is very simply ginger beer and scotch whiskey. So today we're using, oh man, folks, this is a real treat. This is the Glenmorengie Tokyo, or a Tale of Tokyo. And what makes it special is that it is aged in Mizunara oak casks. And it has this really nice, rich, buttery, flavor to it. Delicious on its own with like a little cigar or something like that, but also great in a cocktail. And it is a luxurious cocktail, to say the least, if you're using it in a mixed drink. But we're going to do this Mamie Taylor and we're adding two ounces of our Glenmore & Gee A Tale of Tokyo to our highball glass here. I have some ginger beer and I'm going to fill it up all the way till about halfway in the glass. And now I'll add some ice. Yeah. And it's this is such a simple drink, guys, I have like two minutes left and I don't even know what to talk about with you. But what I can say is that actually, you know what we're going to do? Oh, yeah. I'm going to I'm going to have a little tasty taste of just the tale of Tokyo here before I go ahead and taste the Mamie Taylor. Yes, like I said, really rich, buttery, Oh, you get that, those wooden, those oak notes, some vanilla, some spice in there as well. Really, really nice. Now let's take a spoon and give this, oh, there's my spoon, a little bit of a stir and a nice lime wheel that we'll add to the drink just like that. This is really nice. This is what I would call a porch pounder. You know, you're sitting on the porch, you've got a bottle of Glenmore & G Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, you're wondering, well, what else can I do with my Glenmore & G Single Malt? A Mamie Taylor, which is a Moscow Mule variation. I'm going to give it a little taste. I get that fresh lime zest right off the bat. As I dribble a little bit on myself, but that's OK. That's why I have an apron. That's really delicious. You know, the ginger beer really balances out the oak and the spice notes in the single malt scotch whiskey. That's a really delicious, lesser known classic cocktail, the Mamie Taylor. I will see you all next time right here on Tipple Time at the Cocktail Guru podcast. Cheers.

Jeffrey:
Tipple Time is brought to you in part by Glenmorangie and Barrett's Ginger Beer.

Jonathan:
That does it for today's show.

Jeffrey:
If you enjoy what we do, please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast.

Jonathan:
To watch or listen to today's episode or to see the show notes, visit the cocktail guru podcast.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, YouTube, x Instagram or tick tock.

Announcer:
The Cocktail Guru podcast is produced by First Real Entertainment and can be seen on eatstrinkstv.com, Spotify, and Zencastr, or heard on Apple, Google, Amazon, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Travel arrangements provided in part by Zell Travel.