Marla Sokoloff Meets World

Marla Sokoloff is best known for her successful career on TV shows like Full House, Friends and The Practice, but before all that - she was “Paige” (and almost Topanga) on Boy Meets World. 

The delightful actress stops by to talk to the gang about her prolific TGIF legacy, life at the Oakwoods and her memories of the infamous Topanga switch.

And they also dig deep into the psyche of the child actor, and the pressure that comes with auditioning. 

There’s a whole lot of ‘90s in this week’s interview, so bust out the scrunchies and capri pants because we’re time traveling.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
I am super excited about our guest today. Um. We
follow each other on Instagram and she sent me a
d M in reply to a story that I had
put up, and I was so excited to see her
name in there, and I was like, Hi, Oh my gosh, thanks,
And then I got so freaked out. I was like,
oh gosh, is this where I take my opportunity to
ask her to be a guest on pod Meats World?

(00:38):
Or do I not do that? I'm always so awkward
about asking people to do things. But I knew how
badly we wanted her on as a guest, and so
I was like, I'm not going to miss this opportunity.
And so I said, any possibility, maybe you'd like to
be a guest on pod Meats World and she was like,
are you kidding me? I'd be honored. I don't know
if that's true or not, but I was so excited
and I am. It was nice enough. It made me

(00:58):
so happy. I immediately texted the two of you and
I was like, Marla's suckle Off, So let me please
introduce Marla suckle Off. Guys. Oh my gosh, We're so
happy you're here. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks
for having me? Are you kidding? I just told the
story about how this even came about, that you sent

(01:20):
me a d M in reply to a story, and
I got so nervous, Just so you know, I got
so nervous to ask you because I thought, what if
I asked her to be on the pod Meats World
And she's like, um no, I really know. I wish
I wouldn't have applied to dear story. That was my thought.
But then you wrote back so quickly that you would
be happy to do it, and I immediately texted the
guys and we're just so happy you're here. Yes, I

(01:40):
was so excited that you message that to me because
I actually got when you guys talked about me on
the podcast, like seven seven thousand d ms about you guys.
So I went back and listened and I was like
that it like brought a tear to my eye. It
was just so thoughtful and sweet. So it really meant
a lot to me. Well, it's funny. It's because it's

(02:00):
a legendary episode, you know what I mean, Like you
were a part of this big thing. But then we
also like I knew you like two years before you did. Boy,
Meets World, Like we went all the way back to
the oak Wood days, Um explaining that, So I didn't
know that by the time she was on Boy Meats World,
you guys already knew each other. Yeah, we had been well, okay,
so Marley, you're from northern California originally, right, you're from

(02:23):
so we do like Bruce Detta manager coach acting class. Yeah,
so there was a contingent of us, like northern California
kids that would all come to the oak Woods for
Pilot Susan and we all kind of knew each other
and I would roller blade around. I don't remember if
you roller bladed, and we would like to hang out

(02:44):
at each other's apartments and hang out by the pool,
and like there's a group of us, I mean, like
one of the one of the guys I don't know
if you remember an actor named Sean Fox who was
in three Ninja's Um Sean Fox. Sean Fox, he's still
my best friend. He's he's an economist now it teaches
in at the University of Bristol in England, so completely
left the industry. But yeah, it's like, dude, and like

(03:06):
Jessica Bowman was an actor's who was also the world
later and she was like a friend of yours. I remember, Yeah, anyway,
there's just it was like a summer camp vibe that
something even funnier. I saw you and l miss like,
oh that's crazy, that's so fun. Well, for anyone who
doesn't know already, Marla played Page in the episode Coreries

(03:29):
Alternative Friends, which was season one, episode four of Boy
Meats World. It was such a legendary episode for you know,
writer feels like that's the episode where he really he
got really introduced to the show and took on all
of the third character friends lines. Um. It's also the
infamous episode of how I ended up becoming to Pango
Lawrence and um, Marla, you and I mean, going back

(03:53):
through your career, you are like a T G I
F ABC family sitcom. There is not It is not
a single amazing show you were not a part of. Yeah,
it was pretty It was a wild time. I mean,
the the full house of it all is the weirdest
because it was you know, we came to the oak

(04:14):
Wood for one month and my mom was like, you
get you know, you're gonna try this pilot season thing.
I don't know what it is. But we're not staying
too long. And then I got Full House like the
first week, which you guys know that doesn't happen. That
never happens. So it's like, oh, this it's easy, like
talking about talk to us about full House and who
you played and you obviously then you you came back

(04:35):
for Fuller House. Talk to us a little bit about that. Yeah,
So it was I was such a huge fan of
the show, like loved the show, as you know, all
kids our age did. And I remember I got the
audition and um, the casting director came out and told
my mom. She was like she's great, but she just
she's too sweet, like her face is so sweet or
you know something, which is so not true. I mean,
nobody has a bigger RBF than I do. But so, um,

(04:58):
my mom was like okay. And then I turned around,
like as we were leaving, and I said, can I
come back? I have an idea and she was like,
I mean, I guess, but you're just not right for it.
And my mom and I went to the good Will
and I got a denim vest and Doc Martin's and
then she had me come back for producers and she
came out and I I don't know where this like,

(05:20):
you know, confidence or you know, even level of hootzbuck
came from. But I was in character and she was
like Marlon. I was like what And I went in
the yeah, and I got the parting what great? And
that was that that's how old were you? Twelve? Of course?

(05:41):
Of course to have that kind of confidence as an
actor twelve of course, but it's also to dumb luck,
Like I didn't know how you were supposed to really
be at a professional auditions. You know, I didn't go
to a ton and you know, in northern California, we
did like mainly commercial work, right, like it was like
that kind of stuff. Um, So I think it's just
just like I don't care attitude that was so probably
refreshing to some people, but I miss that. Where is

(06:04):
that girl that would be so amazing but does not care?
You know? Well, you were also on an episode of
Step by Step. You were in an episode of Home Improvement.
What would you do on Home Improvement? What did I do?
I think I was, um zach Tayebrian's girlfriends right a party.
Maybe I don't really remember blooded together. It's just we've

(06:33):
also talked a lot on this podcast about how much
like making out there was on shows, and so if
you did make the rounds in the nineties on Guest Show,
it's like, it's pretty much like I was probably kissing somebody.
I was probably like somebody's girlfriend or boyfriend. That's ms
off to the side watching us, like I'm sitting in
the stands. So weird awkward times smoking that I did

(06:56):
on Full House, it's like that would not pass today,
you know. In fact, I actually made that TikTok, the
the teenage Dirtbag one and I put a picture of
me smoking on it and I got taken it got
taken down for inappropriate contents. Right, really, well, I mean
you also waited till twelve to smoke, so you're already
starting late. Will was an old and old he had

(07:18):
already been doing it for a few years by then.
But you were also on the Emmy winning show The
Practice for seven seasons. Yeah. Yeah, I remember seeing you
doing that and being like, man, that looks so fun
and so cool. Yeah, and talked about a transition from

(07:38):
sitcom to like real drama like harding. Yeah, such a
great Yeah, there was a lot of years in between.
I would say the sitcom component and moving on to
like the practice. I think, you know, we all go
through that like awkward stage in high school where you know,
I wasn't working as much. And then I decided I
wanted to go to normal school. You know, I felt
like I really got cheated, And so I went to

(08:01):
a normal high school for a few years. And did
you stay or yeah, yeah, we stayed here. At the time,
my parents had already separated, so we never went back.
Um and yeah, so I went to a high school
called Laxa, the l A County High School of the Arts. Yeah,
then I got the practice. And so were you acting
in high school? Then? Were you doing like theater and stuff? Really?

(08:23):
Like I went super rogue and I was like, I'm
going to be in the music department. I don't want
to be, you know, in theater anymore. I just I
think I was very burned out and I just didn't
see I was so new and experiencing like rejection and
it just got to me, you know. So I remember
I called my agents one day and I was like,
I'm done. You don't need to send me out for

(08:43):
anything anymore, you know, I feel good. And how old
were you at that point? I was sixteen. Wow, and
how long had you been acting? I mean I professionally
started probably when I was like nine ten something like that. Um,
But doing theater and all that stuff wait earlier like seven. Um.

(09:04):
But yeah, I just I think I just needed to
like go experience normal school and not be on set
doing school. You know. I just really felt that poll. Yeah,
there's something like that. Everybody went through that at some point,
Like I definitely did, you know for we all get
me off this TV show, which is you know, which
is hard to explain to people, like we talked about

(09:25):
it on this podcast. It's like it sounds like we
were ungrateful little brats. But the truth is like there
is this desire for like whatever the you know, especially
when you start at a young age. It's like, but
I just want like a little bit of a corner
of the world that's my own, and I wanted to
be quote unquote normal. It's it's an impulse I think
across the board. There's something strange about I've noticed so

(09:49):
many actors that are young. We're young actors started professionally
at the age of ten. I don't know what it
is with that number, but I was ten. You ten. Yea,
it was Daniel and ten. If there's something about that
age and a bunch of young actors where they've started
at the age of ten. I don't know why. It's
just a weird coincidence, but I think that's a really

(10:10):
kind of formative year. I mean, I have a ten
year old and she it's like suddenly she's, you know,
so much more mature and like has, you know, her
own ideas and her own self. And I think that
probably has something to do with it, right, Like you're
finally I do actually want to do this, and it's
not your parents pushing acting. Hell no souls and ten.

(10:39):
I could see her doing it, to be honest with you,
but because of like our past and I feel and
it's I don't have a negative thought in my head
about it. I just feel like it's so important to
go to school and figure out what you want to
do and then I'll fully support it and help you
and do all that. But am I going to like
take you to auditions and like you know, you're leaving

(11:00):
the fifth grade? Yeah, when you say it out loud,
like you've done it and you're saying out loud where
it's like, well, it's I'm ten, time to start work.
It's like, oh, it's it's weird. It's weird. I love
that I did it, and I'm glad that I did it,
but it's it is. It's strange, But it's one of

(11:25):
those things like the insanity of it also kind of
points to the fact that we all of us on
this conversation, in this conversation, we're probably so driven that
you might not have been able to stop us, do
you know what I mean? It might have been like
that's what my parents talked about, how it was just
so apparent that you were like, we can't writer is
going to do this thing, like he's going to get

(11:46):
up on stage and he wants to do it, and
we have to sort of follow. I mean, even Marloe
your story about being like can I come back? Let
me go get my denim jacket and like nail this part,
Like that must be crazy as a parent to be
looking at your twelve year old do this thing that
you don't quite understand and be like, Okay, they've got
something going on. But it is also I think so

(12:06):
much about how um later than when the show ended,
when Boy Meets World ended, and I wanted so badly
to just like, I'm getting as far away from acting
as I can. I'm taking a break. I'm going to
jump into whatever normal life means for me. And then
you try to come back to it. Not necessarily because
oh wow, I feel the need to come back and
be a fantastic actor, but because all right, well, I

(12:27):
do need to make a living and this is the
only thing I know how to do. I don't I
don't know what else there is for me to do.
And I didn't go to college right after Boy Meets
World ended because I thought I was going to act
for the rest of my life. And then when it's
hard to get an acting job and you go, wait
a minute, Wait a minute. I have not thought this
out very well because if no one will hire me,

(12:49):
and I don't have an education, I mean I had
a high school education, but I didn't know what that
meant as far as like, so, now, what do I
want to do that involves a high school education? Do
I want to go to college? What do I want
to study? I know nothing about anything except this one thing.
And so yes, Marla, from your perspective, thinking about a
ten year old taking them out of school already for

(13:09):
auditions in the in the afternoon, and and yeah, there
is there's like I always feel like a downer when
people say, what's your best advice for someone who wants
to get into the entertainment industry, And like my first
piece of advice is always like, know what you're amazing
Plan B is. You know what your Plan B is.
That if you have to go to Plan B, you'll
be just as happy as if Plan A worked out.

(13:29):
Because if you know that and you can pursue that
at the same time that you're also pursuing your dream,
then there really is a safety net for you and
you're not just going to be flat on your face.
I don't think there's anything more scary than when you
had to make money at that at this career, you know.
I remember it was always like my mom saying, oh,
that's going in your you know, savings fund or whatever,

(13:51):
and you know, and when like I got a car
when I was sixteen and all that was really exciting.
And then I remember, you know, getting my first apartment
at eighteen, and it's like once that happens where it's
your your own responsibility and you need to like get
your hustle on that that was terrifying. And also you
just mentioned something very interesting that I think since we're
kind of talking about growing up as an actor and

(14:13):
making a living at it, you just mentioned your Cougan Fund,
and I think there's something that that we haven't really
talked about yet. So Jackie Coogan was a child actor,
um and and had lost all his money. I think
his parents had investeds, had taken took it all. So
they created something where is it is? That? Is that?
What it is? So if you are under the ten

(14:35):
of your money is automatically put away and can't be
touched just so you can't finish this and somebody can
take it all. A manager can take it all, a
parent can take it all. So um yeah, I mean
it's something that's interesting that you have to think about
it thirteen that it's like, you know, this amount of
money is being saved or this amount of money is
being spent or it's a it's yeah, you're because not
all parents are amazing, all are saying or savvy, right,

(15:01):
and and it does there is this bizarre thing that
happens where your your parents, like you know, my mom,
her life became my career. You know, in my brother's career.
She was driving us constantly, and I think about the commitment.
You know, she had a teaching job. She was teaching
and junior college. She quit her job. She would have
been running the nutrition department in a couple of years,

(15:23):
but she gave it up, you know, and job. Oh
my god, that's so crazy. So I could see how
a a a less a less scrupulous parent would just
be like, well, then that rationalizes me taking and all
the money. Oh you heard that, you you must have heard.
We all heard that from certain people where it was
like and I'm not saying people on our set, but

(15:44):
from people we grew up with, or things like that.
We heard actors where it was like, well, I drive
him around. I had to quit my job, so this
is my job now, so I get paid, you know
what I'm supposed to get paid. And it's like that's
your mom. You know. It's like and you you get
into this weird kind of gray area, which is again
I never had to deal with because both my parents
were lawyers and they're like, hey, we'll drive you to
the bus, but you gotta you gotta do you um,

(16:07):
but your public transportation on the East Coast and yeah,
somebody had to actually be. And by the way, when
a parent, especially a single parent, gives up a job
to be able to take there, how are they supposed
to make rent and pay for a car payment in
car insurance and all groceries? Like? There is you know,

(16:27):
there is there are certain expenses that are that makes
sense for a child who is kind of taken over
the family's day to day responsibilities for them for some
of their income to supplement some of that, um, you know,
and then and then what is the appropriate amount becomes
a real gray area. Um. So yeah, I mean it is.

(16:47):
There's so many things I think about that I think
it really is no surprise at all when it when
it doesn't go the way. It's when it doesn't go
right for a child actor in the entertainment industry, it
actually makes it's actually it's so rare that it go
the right way, because it's just it's it's too it's
too gray. People always ask you, guys, I would say,
the biggest question I get, aside from like would you

(17:09):
put your children in acting? Which is very common, but
how did you escape? Because I think, like, you know,
the four of us did okay, like we aren't you know,
but we all know a lot of people who had
really rough roads and like got down the wrong track.
So do you guys get asked that question a lot. Yeah, yeah,
I get it. I get it, not even in the

(17:29):
form of question. I get it as a sort of
like weird backhanded compliment, like you're so healthy that it's
like I think, okay, thank you. But yeah, it's also
there's something there's something very interesting about There's the mentality
too of you know, hey, I was on a long
running sitcom and then I went and did something else

(17:50):
with my life. It's not oh, man, you are awesome
and really successful as an actor and then decided to
do something else. It's oh you you couldn't work again
after that thing, right, Like that's that's what happened. And
it's not like no, no, no, I because we've got
like you talked about, uh, step by Step. Stacy Keenan
was in everything on Step by Step. She's like the
district attorney of Los Angeles now, so there's like I'm

(18:12):
a lawyer. Yeah, she's a lawyer. So it's nobody would
be like, oh, you're not you know, they didn't want
you in the business anymore. It's like, no, I didn't
want to do this anymore. And I was hugely successful
in the business and now I have found another love
and huge and successful doing something there. But there is
this stigma of you're a child actor and now you're
not working all the time. You failed, and it's like, well,

(18:32):
it's an assumption of it's an assumption of like a
success ladder, like you know, I think when you start acting,
there's like, especially as a kid, there's like you get
this job, and then you get this job, and then
you get this job, and it's like the end result
is what that you become an a list actor, winning
Academy Awards, and that is so that is like the
two percent of people who if that's the point one

(18:54):
percent of people who decided to be actors, and of
child actors that is even fewer. There's this pressure that
and I remember feeling it and talking about it constantly
that like, oh there, this is you know, Boy Meets
World is part of a progression that should continue, and like,
I just wish I could go back and tell my
younger self, don't worry about it, man, just be where

(19:14):
you are right now and start figuring out what you
care about outside of this sort of need for fame
and success and money in this context, and like really
focus on those things because that you know, those are
the things that are always going to be there, that
that they're not out of your hands, because a life
in the arts is unpredictable and it has very little
to do with actual talent. It has everything to do

(19:36):
with timing. And you know, when we talk to the
casting directors for our show, it's like, oh my god,
it seems so arbitrary whether somebody actually gets cast in
something or not. Speaking of that, Marla, did you remember
so um did you audition for Ta Panga earlier in
the week before you auditioned to be Paige? Did you also?

(19:56):
I mean I was Paige and then I remember we
did a table read and there was I hope I'm
telling this story. There was a difference to Panca correct correct, yes, so,
and then she went somewhere we don't know where she went.
And then they were like, okay, we need to find
a new topanga. And I remember, like it was you
and meet when was there maybe one of the girl

(20:16):
who went. I think it was just you and me.
It was just you and me, and it's I don't
I think for some reason. I remember being at the
Burbank Airport, like going back home. You were you were okay,
because you go you were you were I think going
home almost every weekend. I get like, you weren't just
joking you guys. Wasn't the schedule like a Monday through

(20:37):
Friday because Friday Thursday, it would have been Friday evening. Yeah,
so it was a Friday afternoon. So yeah, so I
so you got the okay, So this is that I
didn't know. I auditioned for Topanga early in early in
the week and didn't get a call back, and then
auditioned for what we have lovingly dubbed fish Girls girl
the girl next to Page. I auditioned for that like

(21:01):
the next day and got that part. I knew. I
was like I after I mean, I literally didn't even
get a call back on to Beango walked out and
they were like, not her. And then I got fish Girl.
And so then on Friday we showed up for table Read.
There was a different to Pengga. You were Page. I
had like one or two lines to your kind of
bigger part as Page, and um I watched then those

(21:24):
scenes that we were in where Topanga was also in
I watched David Trainer work with her, and I had
I was like, oh, I totally see why I didn't
get a call back on this. I was not doing
anything they're asking. I was terrible in that role, Like,
no wonder I didn't get a call back. And then
they ended up letting her go at the end of
that day. And it was basically like, these two girls
are here, Marla and Danielle, let's bring them in. And

(21:44):
it's funny to hear you talk about it, because one
of my questions was do you remember this week being
as stressful as I do? And You're like, I don't know.
I'm not like you haven't getten to you. It was
not even to you. It was so not stressful. You
were like I think I was going to and I
think I was at the airport and I was like dying.
I was so stressed out. And I also remember feeling
this awkwardness of like you and I had been hanging

(22:06):
out all day, we had become friends, you know, to
twelve year old girls who are excited to be on
the show, and you know, just you had a lot
more experience than I did, but you were I just
remember being like this is so fun, and then all
of a sudden being like we're gonna need you to
to come over here, and then them just handing us pages,
and then there was no um competition feeling between us,

(22:27):
but more just a feeling of like, oh so weird.
I thought I had already envisioned the week that the
two of us were going to be together in these scenes,
like we're we're friends on the show. We were going
to be friends this whole week, and then all of
a sudden, there's a possibility one of us is leaving
that role behind and possibly changing over to another role.

(22:47):
So it's like you had like it's so crazy because
when you at my age now or our age now,
looking back on it, it's like it was so clear
that it was you and you like did such a
fantastic job, and if you think me as Tapanga, it
would be just such a different role and such, you know,
like everything happens for a reason, and that was such
a huge life changing thing for you. I don't remember

(23:08):
ever feeling you could correct me if I'm wrotten, but like,
you know, bitter about it or competitive about I remember
like you had to put like foam on your face
to lip stick the lipstick, like I just remember that
so clearly. Um, and that's how we took the lipstick off.
I think it was like shaving cream. I think shaving
creams helped take the lipstick off. So then there it
was not competitive. They didn't just break a bottle and

(23:29):
drop it in the middle of you and go, let's
see what happens. I feel like I've been before with
other actress friends where it's like I've gotten it, They've
gotten it, and they've been like, Okay, Daniel, you can
go home, you know, like writer, you can stay, and
you're just like this is like my friend right, really awkward.
That'd be the worst when they did that in front
of it. They did that in front of people like

(23:50):
you can stay, you can stay, you guys can go home,
and it's like yikes. They would do that in theater
all the time. That was like a major because they
would have these like workshop, these sessions that were kind
of like rehearsals and to be mixing and matching people.
I just remember, like when I lived in New York,
constantly going to auditions and then being like you can
go home now, and then you'd call back the next day.
And be like, we actually want to bring you back happening. Yeah,

(24:11):
like I health. I think a healthy attitude is like
it's just play and it doesn't really matter. But it's
so hard, it's so hard to get your heart like broken.
And the actors are emotional people. Actors are by nature,
by by nature, emotional people, empathetic emotional people, and so
you put yourself into these things and if any anybody's
like me, you start you're sitting in the room and

(24:32):
you're already starting to imagine what it's going to be
like to be on said and oh god, I can
already can see what this character is going to be like.
And but and then it's like hi, Bill, you can go,
and it's like it's actually will but okay, thank you.
I mean it happens all the time. Well, and the
worst part about telling you is they make you sign
your contract before you get you envisioned some money. Yeah. Now,

(24:53):
one of one of my favorite stories that I still
talk about is that I was like thirteen and I
was just out in l A for one of my
first times ever, and I had a general meeting with
a big casting director and I walked in and we
had a nice night, gave her my picture and resume,
and um, I thought I had given her too by accident,
and it was like the last two that I had
and my parents and I walked out and I went, oh, wait,

(25:13):
I think she has my last picture and resume. Have
to go get it. And I walked back in and said,
excuse me, I think I left a picture of resume
here and she went, yeah, it's in the trash. And
I literally had to walk to the trash can at
thirteen and pull out my picture and resume and like
wipe it off and walk out of the walk out
of the room. And so it's that's what you would get.
And again as an after, you go thank you and

(25:34):
you walk, you walk out of the room exactly. I'm
sorry it was your trash can as a final but
it's But of course then I made a joke about it.
I made my mom laugh hysterically. Then for months after
where she'd be like, where's looks in the trash and like,
but you have to you like start making because it's
just you could be harsh, it could be really really harsh.

(25:56):
So thankfully, thankfully Marla and I there was none of
that feeling between Marla and I like we I found out,
I got the I got to Panga that night. I
went back to work on Monday. I was nervous that
maybe it would be weird, and it wasn't at all.
We just went right back into being two girls who
were friends. And now there was a new girl there
who was going to be um fish girl was taking

(26:18):
you had the two of you audition together for anything before.
Was there like a community of actors that you were
always with in Los Angeles? Like you guys had seen
each other at every kind of audition or No, probably,
but I don't remember time yet. Yeah, but over the
years I saw you at auditions exactly over the years,
then we would see each other. But but I don't
think yeah. I mean, I also don't really remember going on.

(26:39):
I had done all those commercials at ten or eleven,
but I don't really remember a whole lot of TV
show auditions. I wasn't quite getting those auditions yet, I
think because I was too green. My agent at the
time was like, we'll put you in a commercial workshop class,
and then I was basically like a commercial actor. Um,
and then you know, Full House was one of my

(27:00):
first ever jobs. I did two episodes of Full House
before I did Boy Meat's World. Um, So, yeah, it's
weird because in New York you were always with the
same like people every single time the room was always
the same people. And I think that's the case. I think, honestly,
Danielle was just too brand new. I think she just
like landed on Boy Meats World so early, because like
Marla and I knew each other, Like there was a

(27:22):
small community of people that we kept seeing, we all knew,
and like that's the irony is like all of those
people that like Marla and I hung out with at
um at the oak Woods ended up on Boy Meets
World at some point, you know, like they would guests
start at one point or another, or they would be
backstage hanging out with us because we just knew each other.
It was there was a sense of community, and it's
something that happens when you know, we're talking about making

(27:44):
the transition into being an adult actor. Part of the
challenges the pool gets bigger, Yeah, competition gets more fierce.
Like if you're a kid who can hit your marks
and say your lines, you're like one in a million
just just for that alone. And so there was a
there's a there's a sense in which, like you're the
it gets weeded out very quickly, and it gets down

(28:04):
to just the five people who like fit this type
and come to Ellen and whose parents are willing to
commute for them, and so the pool is very small
and when you hit like I remember being like twenty
two plus and going to auditions and it was like,
oh oh, people are coming out of n y U
now like actors. Actors have been getting trained, and those

(28:25):
are the people I'm up against, like the you know,
they were no names before and now they're like skilled,
trained actors, and like the competition just got fiercer. You know.
You were also Joey's sister on Friends? What was that like?
Was that a more fun set than Boy Meets World?
Who had a fun or set? You want to know
something so funny? It's like the same situation. There was

(28:46):
another actress playing the sister and I wasn't on the show,
but I got a call, like a last minute call
being like, they need to find Joey's sister. Can you
be at Warner Brothers at like noon or something like that,
And actually very good for end of mine. One of
my closest friends was one of the girls at the
audition and still to this day she I'm not over friends.

(29:07):
That never happened to me because he did that. They
go Marlatte, you can stay, um, just wait, just wait
for me right there, and they sent me right to
Wardrop and everybody else. You can come home, like thanks
for coming. And she was like so mortified. Anyway, so
it's between us. She's like, when you they asked me
to leave and you've got to stay. Do you never that?
But yeah, I mean that was another kind of like

(29:27):
surreal experience because I was such a pan I mean
I think that I think I did that when they
were in there, like eighth season or something. Oh my god.
Then the new cool shows like the show, you know,
show in the Country. Yeah, and I think I talked
to like nobody. I was so nervous. I was like,
oh my god, they're done for understand, and she's so
close to me, Like, I'm so star struck the whole time.
Did you get to do the live show in front

(29:49):
of the audience. Yeah, I also have been such an
exciting show to be on because it's so much energy.
I really wish I had gone to a taping of
their show or any show. I didn't even try, like
I did, never went to their taping, like when your
mom brought you down, you didn't go to a taping
for I went to Blossom. Wow. But this is like
and you guys know from being on a sitcom, It's

(30:09):
like I thought we were going to see Blossom. It's
going to be great. I remember like our SIXA was like, um,
can we get out of your And then like when
people wanted to come to even like Buller House, like
you know, any everybody was always asked me, can I
come to a taping? I'm like, you don't want to
come to a taping? Like now, forrest me, you can
come like visit, you know, but you don't want to.
They take your phone. Now you're like trapped in there.

(30:31):
You know, people they don't really get it yet. I know.
And you know when we were kids though, they were
like three and a half hours because they yeah, they
couldn't run long. But then you get into being an
adult and someone wants to come to a taping, You're like,
this is the worst you're gonna get it. You're gonna
be is if you're backstage our show backstage was like

(30:52):
all about the taping and like a gathering aroundcraft service
and video village. If you go backstage at like grown
up shows, though, they would have basic heart as back
catered dinner that was like open because like everyone from
the network would come and then be like dressing rooms
open because everybody would start drinking after like you know,
the show was over. We did it, and like none

(31:12):
of that happened on our show because we're like we
were teenagers. And I did finally go to a taping
in my twenties. I visited a friend of the show
and I was like, Oh, this is this is what
it could have been like if we were older. So

(31:33):
I have not even gotten to the fact that, well
I did. I mentioned that you were on seven seasons
of The Practice, and writer you did two episodes of
The Practice. Yeah, And I remember Marla coming over to
my dressing with my trailer and we didn't get work together,
but I remember her knocking on my door and like
waking me up because I was sleeping. You know, I
was Marlin knocking on your door because I had like

(31:54):
five AM calls. That's the thing we see, we weren't
used to that kind of crap because like on board
these world, we had six new schedules put on the practice.
It was a film schedule, so you had to be
there at like six am, like, and I was just
I remember being so weirded out by having to actually
work like normal film outright. But I loved that show.
I was so happy to be a part of it
because I just thought it was such a high quality show.

(32:16):
But yeah, we didn't get to Workgether, but I remember
I loved that like every episode of really Yeah, Yeah,
I loved it. Wow, I loved it too, I really did.
It was such a great experience, and you know we
had I had the wonderful um position of being like
the youngest and just everybody was there to you know,

(32:37):
show me the ropes and you know, care for me.
So I wasn't if there was ever any like cast drama,
I didn't know about it because I was happy to
be there the whole time. And yeah, it was great. Well,
I hadn't seen you for years. And then we did
Hollywood Darlings together and it was just like two days
of just thrown together kind of like, oh, hey, it's
just everybody's back. Hey, how's everybody doing. What's Hollywood Darlins?

(33:00):
Hollywood doings was to show that that started Bacon and
Joe that's right, and and and so it was we
you know, they kind of threw everybody in from the
nineties for a party's supposed to be the two thousand's
are the the year two thousand New Year's party at
my house? Um, and so everybody's there and I'm dating

(33:21):
all three of the women at the same time, but
I end up actually with Marla at the end. Uh So, Yeah,
it's just fun. But so many people you hadn't seen,
and you're kind of like in this club, this like
nineties club, which we felt when we were at nineties
Con where we're just like everybody's back together again. It's
it's so strange. It's a fun kind of bond, you know,
you just pick up right where you left off. So, Marlot,
you mentioned that you have a ten year old. You

(33:43):
have a total of three daughters, what are their ages? Ten? Ten,
seven and seven months? Seven months? New one over decided
to join our family, and we also we have, um

(34:07):
we have I have a one year old, so am
I have one that's not that that much older than yours. Um.
But also we have both dress right I do, I
have I have to Yeah, I have I have a
three year old son and a one year old son.
Oh my gosh, um, yeah, I mean not as busy
as with three and a seven months. I don't know
how you do it. Agree with nine years split like
that is so intense. Yeah, yeah, it's your ten year

(34:30):
old helpful with your so helpful. Like he said to me, like, oh,
you're gonna have a built in babysitter. And I kept thinking,
this seems someone fair to put this on her, like
she didn't decide to have a baby, Like why everybody
was always saying that, like you gotta help mommy. But
I would always say to her, how many of you
want to you know, like this isn't your this isn't
your responsibility. Um. But she has taken it on and

(34:52):
they really have. I mean it's crazy. It's actually ten
year difference. Their birthdays two days apart, so they it's
just this whist relationship. And my middle daughter too, she's
very helpful. I mean she's only seven, so she's a
little less intend But you know, you you remember because
you're in the thick of it, Danielle. But like you know,
when you want to take a shower and you're like,
why do I put this kid? What do I do?

(35:13):
How do I really quickly? And you know I could
just like can you watch her really quickly? So honestly,
it's been just such a different experience and she's you know,
really made it a lot easier. But again, I don't
ever like push that on her because she's not you know,
it'll be a cool relationship though. My oldest brothers eight
years older than me, and we always had there's always
that kind of like it's almost like a second parent

(35:34):
in a way. But when you can really talk to
them about anything, um, so yeah, it's cool when you
have that kind of big split. Yeah. Yeah. And now
you are also you have moved behind the camera. You
are now a director. How do you know? Yeah? Yeah,
how did you make that transition? What? What what was

(35:56):
the idea behind it? What made that made you realize
you wanted to do that. I want to know everything
about this, like second stage of your career. Okay, so basically,
in the times that we don't work, you know, it
could be a year, it could be a week. I
was just writing content, you know, just things that I
was keeping myself busy with, and um, just because you know,
I always want to feel like I'm doing something when

(36:18):
you're waiting for your agent to give you an audition,
which was the most frustrating feeling to me. Um And
I was at a bar with my husband one night
and I was hysterically crying because I'm like, I'm like
what you were saying, Daniel, I'm like, I don't even
have any other skills, Like what am I gonna do
with life? I can't. And I also felt like I
had these two small children and they're always seeing me
like kind of identify with something that supposed to make

(36:39):
me happy, and if I didn't get a part, it
would be just like so upsetting to me. And that
was upsetting to me. I'm like, why do I care
so much? Still, like this is crazy? And so he
looked at me and he goes, you know what, you
have so many scripts, just go make one of them.
And I was like, what do you mean? And he
he was just like, get a camera, get a crew together,
and put something out there, like you know, put to

(37:00):
plan into action. If you want to direct, you should direct.
And within like a few weeks, you know, I just
called up people that I knew, like a cinematographer friend
of mine and a sound you know mixer who I
went to high school with, who like won an Academy
Award for Lalla Land, and you know, people want to help,
which is amazing, And I made a short and fell
in love. I I was just like, no, no, this

(37:22):
is what I'm supposed to be doing. And I felt
this intense poll and I took up like two and
a half years from acting to just shadow and um,
you know, learn as much as I could and get
the opportunities. And then finally one of the directors I
had shadowed put me up for a movie um that

(37:43):
he wasn't able to direct. And then I went and
took the meeting and I got it, which was full
imposter syndrome. Like I was like, oh, oh okay, great, yeah, no, no,
I could do this totally. Um like, no, I came
to the meeting, which means I am equipped to do this.
Yeah yeah, and um yeah. It was just it's been

(38:04):
so nice to kind of step away and be part
of the creative process in such a different way, but
still like have that love of acting and knowing what
the actors are going through and being able to communicate
with them. In ways that I which directors would have
been able to talk to me. Um, it's just been
it's been awesome. I mean the fallout from it is,

(38:26):
you know, people like your fans or my mother is
like such a shame that you don't know it's existing.
Is It's exactly. It's exactly what Will was saying. If
people don't see you in the same medium they're used
to seeing you, they think, I guess it's just over
for them. I don't know what they're doing, as opposed
to thinking they moved into some other new career. Yeah. Yeah,

(38:51):
I love that. It's your mom though too, putting yourself
in one of the ones you're direct Maybe you want
to do that. Actually, that is a good question. Have
you thought about that, because I know you've directed a
few Hallmark movies. Yeah, I've done Lifetime, which similar very um.
So the short that I'm telling that I started with

(39:11):
I was in. UM. It was me and my friend
Judy career. Um. It was kind of like one of
those things that we were making fun of the preschool
my kids were going to, because when you would walk
into their preschool there was a big build um bulletin
board that had everybody's picture and what they were allergic to.
I mean, my kids weren't allergic to anything. Luckily I
don't have a child with but I just was like,

(39:33):
read die number forty. Really I didn't think that's an allergy.
I think that your mom just doesn't want you to
have that. I made short ridiculous. That was a real
that that didn't make it up. Wow, And you know,
just kids having like crazy names and all of that stuff.

(39:54):
So um, but I was in that and and I
really realized, you know, in the shooting of that, like
every time it was time for me to go back
in front of the camera, and it was obviously my
first time directing, I felt not sad, but I was
just kind of like, oh, okay, yeah, let's do that.
It wasn't as I didn't feel like I could do
both well, you know, I wanted to be really great

(40:16):
at the thing I was focusing on, and it felt
like almost a distraction. I mean, I think eventually, I
think the space I work in is like a little
bit lower in the budget world. If I were to
do something it was like fifty million dollars, I was like,
let's shoot one scene a day and I'll bring that,
you know, a body double, Like I think, like now,

(40:36):
it's just like everything so quick that I would feel
stressed by that. Aren't those? Aren't those lifetime movie shot
in like ten days and it's like you have a
full film script in like ten or eleven days or shooting.
It's not ten, but it's close. It's like anywhere from
fifteen to twenty. Um. Actually, the last one I just
did was thirteen and I won't I won't do that again.

(40:57):
That was I'm about to start one that's fourteen. You
can do it. You could do fourteen. How long is
the script? Um, it's a I don't know, it's a
full it's like hundred hundred five pages. Kind what is
the one that you're doing? It's for to be. No,
it's not holiday, it's for to be. It's a college comedy.

(41:19):
So the good news is we are shooting on a
college campus, and the college campus has a lot of
the locations we need. A majority of the movie takes
place on a college campus, and the campus we picked
everything is like the set ups in different places. It
will be very close, Like we can definitely have people
setting up by the time we're done with this one
will be mostly set up over there, um, and then

(41:41):
we found one other location that also houses some of
like a majority of the other ones. We're hoping to
only have like two maybe three company moves in the
whole time, which will save us a ton of time.
But still I'm very nervous about it. As a matter
of fact, Writer and I have a zoom later today
where writer is going to talk me off a ledge, right,
Are I need you? So? Marla? I may call on

(42:03):
you as well, because I actually did another movie that
was you guys are Gonna Die and I haven't even
told people like how many days this was. So I
did a movie that it was an Indian I loved
the script so much, called Roselle Day. It's actually gonna
be streaming in November, but we shot it. Are you
ready in five days? Did it all take place in
one room? How did you back you out? You have to, okay, okay,

(42:27):
get an advice that you're not asking for. It's like
two I am asking really kind of get with your
actors and make sure that they're prepared because unfortunately, your
preparation relies heavily on them coming and like showing up.
You know, you can't have somebody take you down like that.
So that's a big one. And then the location is
a big one. And then just you know, your shot
list is going to look completely different than it ever

(42:49):
would look because you can't do the long, you know
list that you're used to. I know, That's what I was.
That's exactly what I'm talking to writer about today. I'm like,
so I have twelve setups in this one um one
and a half page scene. Is that gonna work? Is that's?
How is that going to go? Uh? Yeah, I don't.
I don't know how. And then and then having three children,
like I am, truthfully, this is it's gonna be a

(43:11):
fourteen day shoot, and I'm we're probably gonna be shooting
seven to seven, and that means I will have to
leave my house at six and I won't get home
until eight, which means from six am to eight pm
at the earliest, I won't see my children. My children
get up at six thirty and my my oldest son
goes to bed at seven thirty, So I won't see
my kids for those fourteen days. Now, granted there are

(43:33):
weekends in between. I think we're doing We're doing five
day weeks Monday through Friday and then I will get
the weekend with them. But I've never not seen my
kids for five days, like I've never I don't know,
I've never done that. Um. So I am like, I
don't when I talked to other working parents and I
and you know, because people ask me all the time,
how do you do it? And I think I don't know?

(43:55):
Tons of help is the number one answer. I have
a fantastic nanny. I would not be able to do
it alone. My house have been disabled to be present.
But my husband wrote this movie. I'm about to start directing,
so he's gonna he's gonna want to be there. Um
And so I just like, really, marlat, how do you?
How do you do it all? I mean, the one
tip I'm going to give you on that front with
the kids is, um, I did a movie in Utah

(44:17):
and it was it was it was a Christmas and
it was the first time I even left. I didn't
even leave to act. It was like I'm leaving and
I'm gonna be gone. Because I had, you know, prep
first and then and um, I had I could send
it to you. I made like a schedule. I guess
you have a one year old it's so different. My
daughters were four and seven at the time, but like
every day they had stuff to do, you know, it

(44:38):
was like the nanny would pick them up and they
would go here, they would go there, and so I
never I could shut that part of my brain off
because you're gonna have to. You can't be a piano,
you know. You have to just let your fantastic nanny
do the things and only contact you if you know,
we had a time, a set time every day that
we would face time, and I knew I could do

(44:59):
it um and just have it all planned out. It's
like your director prep, you know, but you got right prep.
It's just like a whole extra set of you know,
things for you to do. But it's just gonna make
your life so much easier, you know, family prep a
little bit harder. Yeah, but I am. I mean, it
is exactly the same thing I've already started thinking about. Okay,
so is Jensen going to take my kid to school
in the morning and then he gets picked up at midday,

(45:20):
so our nanny will have to pick him up at midday,
and you know it is it's just it, it's it's
the family prep that goes into it and then the
normal work prep that is working parents is I mean, man,
I don't know. I really to every working parent, I
just you are a superstar because it's it is. It's
so hard, and it's so hard to feel like you're
good at both. You know that, like kids will be

(45:40):
great like you won't. They're not going to do any
crazy like mommy, don't go like, They're just gonna be
you know, they'll be good for kids to see mom,
you know, going to work and fulfilling her dreams and
all of that stuff. So to ask your mom's question,
do you see yourself ever wanting to jump in front
of the camera? Are you still audition? Have you told
your agents just take you out of it, you're going

(46:02):
to focus full time on directing. Where do you stand
with that? I'm definitely focusing full time undirecting. I haven't
had an audition in a jillion years, But I never
had the conversation with my agents. I think they kind
of just caught on that, you know, that was kind
of more my focus. Um, I think I'm now just starting.
I mean, this has been the first I think it's
two thousand and seventeen is when I kind of pulled away.
So I think I'm just now starting to feel like

(46:25):
I wouldn't be mad if I got something, you know,
it could be kind of fun to go do you
know a little something. The part that I'm not ready
to revisit is that hustle of like do you like me?
Do you want to hire me? No? What about you
do you like? I really got burnt out, really truly
got burned down. I would pull up to auditions and
I would want to drive away, like I physically kind

(46:47):
of go in because you know they always say, like
once it's not fun, don't do it. It really did
get unfun for me. Yeah, auditioning is really hard. It's
a every aspect of it is difficult. Like I I
was never great at auditioning. I was one of those
people who at home could really do a performance that
I felt like there, I feel like this is the

(47:08):
best I can do with it. And then you walk
into the room and there's so many factors that are
completely out of your control. Who else is in the room,
how thin the walls are, whether you could hear somebody
else auditioning, and then you hear them do something and
you go, oh gosh, I'm not doing that? Am I missing?
Should I? And then you look back down at your
sides you start questioning the decisions you've made. And then
you go in there and the first thought you have
is like, now all those people are listening to me

(47:28):
do my audition. And then if you start off on
the wrong foot, even with the slate, I mean, there
were times that I would walk into an audition and
back when they used to say, like okay, say your name,
your age, your height, and your weight, and then they
pan the camera up and down your body while you
do a slow turn and then start your scene, and
like any insecurity, you have starts coming out and then

(47:50):
you have to deliver a performance where you hope they
just that they think it's good, and you know that
that tape is now going to somebody. It's every aspect
of it is brutal. I think we we also because
we started working so young. I think you go through
ebbs and flows no matter what you do for a career,
and when you've been in something anything for thirty years,

(48:11):
you get burned out on it. I don't care what
it is. You just after a while it's like I'm
doing the same thing thirty years. I mean, we have.
You know, it's certainly different what we do with certain
you know. Uh. People are constantly amazed at the what
we call the zero to a thousand where you're not
doing anything for two weeks and then all of a sudden,
you're doing everything for a month, and then you're not
doing everything for three weeks. I mean, it's like you're

(48:31):
either it's feast or famine. Um, but I don't care
what you're doing, any job you do after you just
get burnt. It's just like, I can't do this right
now anymore. And that doesn't mean you're not gonna come
back and you're not gonna find the love for it again,
whatever it is. But I think it's okay to step
back and just go, wow, this this isn't for me
right now. But there is something unique to acting like
that I've noticed, Like when I get rejected on a

(48:54):
writing pitch or directing pitch, no problem, Like just walk
away going like that person is horrible to if I
get rejected as an actor. And this is why I'm
not acting anymore, is because I would. It was like
I felt like it was a rejection of me. It
felt like a rejection of of my my face, my voice,
my my my personhood in some like very real way.

(49:15):
And you know, I think that that probably just goes
back to the personal psychology of being a child actor,
because when I talked to the most successful actors, I know,
they have a great cavalier attitude about keep rejection. You know,
it's like they still want it and it still hurts,
but they're also like, this is the job here I am,

(49:35):
you know, and I just couldn't never do that. I
just was like, uh so part of being burnt out
was like losing that ability to just like bring it
back up again and show it off and then get
rejected and then do it the next day. Like, No,
that was in a different boat because I wanted to
keep going and my mental health said not not gonna
let you do that. So that's what stopped me was

(49:56):
when you know, I wanted to keep auditioning. I wanted
that rush, I wanted that vibe, and then the anxiety
hit and it was just like, no, we're not We're
not letting you do this anymore. And then I kind
of went back more philosophical about it was like, well,
I yeah, I needed the break and everything, but it
was yeah, it's so strange to just see people's different
journeys because it is it's such a personal thing acting
and you know what you bring to it, what you
want to bring to it. And and then the kind

(50:18):
of seeing the people that then are successful, um, where
they take it from there, because you do see some
people that don't appreciate it when they get it. You
see other people that are so appreciative even when they
don't get it, just for the opportunity to do it. Um.
And then you see some people that it's just all
they've ever known. So it's like this is just this
is just me. Um. Yeah, it's very strange. It is

(50:38):
such a strange business to be in. It really is, Marla.
Have you ever directed children? Yeah? So the preschool in
l A that I was telling about kids, that's amazing.
Did did you feel now they were preschool age, so
they were younger than you were when you started acting,
But like, was there any part of you that felt
like you were actually directing a young you No, not

(51:01):
as a director, but as an actor. Throughout the years,
I've seen like younger kids on set, and I mean
even seeing them with like their you know, onset teacher
or their mom, like it is kind of a strange feeling. Um,
but yeah, no, I haven't run into that yet where
I'm like, oh, you remind me of that time of
my life. Yeah. I mostly direct Disney Channel sitcoms, so

(51:25):
all of my directing experience is with twelve, thirteen, fourteen,
maybe fifteen year old actors. And I just feel like
I'm looking directly into my childhood face. And and it
gave such an advantage, doesn't it, Like you're doing Oh
my god. I did a pilot and it was started
twelve year old, and um, it was so funny, Like

(51:49):
it was a very you know, low but we did
not have enough money. But but it was like once
we can once we were casting this kid, I was
able to say to the casting director and the producers,
here's what we need to do. We need to meet
the parents. I need to have dinner with the parents,
and we need to have rehearsals where I hang out.
You know. I was like, I knew what made me
comfortable at that age with the directors, and it worked.

(52:11):
It was amazing. It was like and rehearsal was mostly
just hanging out with him, you know, like just making
him comfortable with like me as a person and like
what we're gonna do, and and then the parents like
making the parents comfortable. And I remember our producers being like,
what the parents, I'm like, trust me, that is the
most important thing in this scenario. But we always had
great directors. Boy, that was the thing. We always had
great We had one great director after another great director

(52:34):
that you could really trust, which was which was great.
So that was super helpful. Yeah, that is definitely helpful.
But also being able to, like one of my favorite
things to do with when directing kids is really make
them start thinking about their characters, telling them like, listen,
you're the expert of your character. I can easily walk
in here and tell you where you're going and where

(52:54):
you're supposed to sit and what you're supposed to be
doing while you're doing it. But ultimately, if it just
says we walk in and this character is sitting on
the couch, what time of day is it? What would
your character be doing at this time of day? So
before school, after school, is it a weekend? What is
your character like to do? Are they on their phone?
Are they reading a book? Are they into comics? Are
they playing a game? You start thinking of those things,

(53:15):
so that I can start relying on you to bring
those things to the table instead of you just acting
as though you're my I don't want to I don't
want you to be a puppet. I want you to
be an expert. I want you to think about what's
happening for you in the story and what's what's propelling
you forward. And like being able to have those kinds
of conversations and seeing the lightbulbs go off in their

(53:35):
head and for them to take agency over what they're doing.
I just I love it because directors have given them
that power none probably, And that's why it's so great
to come from where you're coming from, you know, because
you know exactly what to say because you wanted someone
to say it to you. You know. Um, I think

(53:55):
that's great. Yeah, it's it's really fun. And I get
the same I got the sense Marlow, when you talking
about the things you've directed, that you get that same
um sense of accomplishment we get as actors. Directing other actors,
watching other actors deliver incredible performances gives me the feeling
as if I just did it myself. I'm like, oh
my gosh, the rush you get watching someone just nail

(54:18):
something and and knowing you're behind the camera watching it
and you had a tiny little bit of help bringing
it to that spot is just so rewarding. It's you're
getting it's we're getting older. It's it's you. You hit it.
You hit an age where all of a sudden, giving
a gift is way more important than getting a gift.
And it's like, that's you. It's that same kind of thing.
It's that's how I knew I was getting older at

(54:39):
Christmas or was like I can't wait to give this
person this thing and I don't care what I get.
It's like, yeah, just getting older. Yeah, that's really cool. Well,
I'm so happy you came and joined us today. Um
I I really I could sit and talk to you
about this stuff forever. And I'm serious that I'm going
to get your number and I'm probably going to hit
you up to talk about my my panics. So that
writer is not the only person I'm nicking too. It's

(55:01):
got it. You're going to be great. But yeah, feel
free to call me anytime you want. Thank you so
much for having me on you guys. This is the best.
Give my love to Shiloh. Wait, tell us tell us
where we can see you now, where we can find you,
what projects of yours we can watch? Tell us everything,
because I know everyone's gonna want to find you. Um,
you can find me on Instagram. Okay, suck off. Um,
I don't really do any of the other ones, like

(55:23):
dabbled but not really. Um, I'm sorry, is dabbled? A
thing is dabbled? Something on dabbled, I'm like, what the
hell is dabbled? Like, Okay, I'm getting old Dallas will
That's what I said, Like what I don't know what
it was? TikTok is something. It's like, what is dabble?

(55:44):
What am I missing? Okay, movie coming on? A thriller
that I directed past Nightmare Creepy. It's like a fatal
attraction but the man becomes obsessed with the woman. That
will be September twenty lifetime and um yeah, just a
couple of things like coming up that you know who

(56:05):
wants to hear about that now? But you probably quote
it on Instagram. So Marla sockle off s O K
O L O f F that is correct. And I'm
going to need your help because one of my ultimate
dreams is to be in a Hallmark Christmas movie. That's
I just even one line. So I'm gonna need I'm
gonna need your help with that. It happen for you. Yes,

(56:26):
thank you so much, Marla, Thank you bye. She literally
doesn't age, and I'm using literally correctly by the way.

(56:46):
She doesn't age. It's amazing. She's so amazing, and I
love that. All these years later, you know, we we have,
um not really kept in touch, and not for any
particular reason. We just never really We would see each
other a key aasionally at auditions here and there, and then, um,
you know, I lived in Orange County growing up, and
then around my mid twenties, I moved back to Orange County. Um,

(57:09):
and so I then, as far as like having l
A friends, I don't really have a whole lot of
l A actor friends. I have you guys, and then
I have you know, friends that I've known for a
long time, like Jonathan and you know, stuff like that.
But for the most part, my friend group are the
same five or six girls I went to junior high
in high school with, and I keep in touch with them,
and I don't I'm not. I don't have a lot

(57:30):
of actor friends. And I think she's you know, She's
worked literally NonStop since Boy Meats World went off the air.
She was consistently working. She has an incredible career. I
did not have such an incredible career, and um, we
just had different friend groups. And so it's one of
those things where you start to wonder, like, I wonder
if there's any bitterness about the fact that I ended
up being the one who got to Penga and she didn't.

(57:52):
We've never talked about it. We even though that week
that we worked together went fine and there was no competition,
you never really know, and then you wonder, like, over
the years hearing hearing me tell the story of how
I got to Pang and I've always said her name,
it was me and Marla sockle Off, And I've always thought, like,
I wonder if have I wonder if I shouldn't have
said that. I wonder if that pisces her off, or
if there's any I don't think she gave it a
second thought. It sounds I mean, partly because she had

(58:13):
her own great career right when she ended up on
the practice, she was totally like probably stoked to be
in a drama and doing, you know, like she just
but she also just seems like one of those people
that like had a healthy attitude about to Yeah, she
just knew she was always going to work and find working.
She actually had more a lot more experience than you

(58:34):
already at that age. More in some ways she was
better prepared for the rejection than you would have been.
That's an interesting way to look at it. True. Yeah,
if if the if the roles had been reversed, I
bet you well you talked about how you thought you
hadn't gotten the part and that that was super devastating.
And it sounds like she didn't even give She was
like the airport, you know, Okay, cool, And that's exactly

(58:59):
my point is that it's amazing that like for me,
it was the week is so indelible in my mind,
and I could tell you exactly, yes, changed my life,
and it was just another week in her life of
a very successful, busy childhood career and then adult career.
You can you can also tell the younger actors that
learned that lesson and take that lesson heart, learn the
rejection lesson where it's like, this is how it's going

(59:21):
to be. I better thicken my skin up, or this
is not for me and you can tell the people
that that get that at eleven or twelve, because there
are some, and I think she was one of them
who was like, this is my job. You know, I'm
gonna be all right, move on to the next one
described herself when she was talking about like I don't
know where this kut spun, this confidence came from. That's
what I remember about her. Um when we used to

(59:41):
hang out, she was one of the smartest, most in
control of her life, like eleven year old I had
ever met. I loved her back then. I was so
I mean like I didn't I didn't actually have a
crush on or anything. I just respected her so much
like I do you remember, Like we we just formed
this like mutual respect and and that's exactly who she was.
She was like what you saw is what you got,
and she had no apologies for it, like it was

(01:00:03):
always just like she And in a way that a
lot of young actors at eleven and twelve, especially girls
at that time, it was all about insecurity. It was
all about how do I make myself? What what men
like you know? Or like how do I impress this
casting director? How do I fit this role? And Marlon
never she always gave and her mom. I remember her

(01:00:24):
mom was also a very confident woman, and they were
just very smart. And I just remember like going over
to Marlow's apartment and feeling very comfortable with her and
her mom, like as opposed to other moms that I remember,
it was always like who do we have to please?
How do we get at the job? How do we
make that? And like there was just none of that
rattled sense. She was always such a cool, confident kid.
That's amazing. Yeah, I love it. I love that we're

(01:00:45):
that thirty years later, we're still able to like reconnect
with people that you know that we knew back then,
and it does. It's so it's so weird that it
really does feel like no time has passed. Like I
kind of sat there and talked to her for about
anything for It's it's really fun. Well, thank you guys
for joining us for this episode of pod Meats World.
You can follow us on Instagram at pod Meats World Show.
You can email us at pod Meats World Show at

(01:01:07):
gmail dot com. And we have got March. By the way,
we have um team backyard t shirts. Now, is there
a team side yard? I'm curious because I'm in control
makes the shirt. I figured that. I figured that that's fine.
That's fine. I'm gonna make my own T shirt at home.
I'm gonna draw it up myself with sharpie, and it's
just gonna be like after I invented this podcast, I

(01:01:29):
decided exactly how the team backyard should be in its
side yard. Yeah, alright, you draw your map, I'll mine.
I do want to see maps. I don't draw maps, dude,
I don't like. I want to see your map. I
want to see Will's callin. I'm gonna make a train town.
I'm gonna build like a whole little I want to see.
I want it. I want it in the h scale, Yes,

(01:01:49):
I want I want it all like that, Yes, hysterical
want tiny little Mr Feeney teaching every single class. That's
what I want. That's what I want. Well, thank you
guys for being here. Who's going to do our out?
I think it's Writer Stern. We love you all. Pod dismissed.
Pod Meets Worlds, an I heart podcast produced and hosted

(01:02:12):
by Daniel Fisher, Wilfred l and Writer Strong. Executive producers
Jensen Cart and Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge of production
Danielle Romo, producer and editor, Tara sud Backs producer, Jackie Rodriguez,
engineer and Boy Meets World super fan Easton Allen. Our
theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. You can
follow us on Instagram at Pod Meets World Show or

(01:02:33):
email us at Pod Meets World Show at gmail dot
com