WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.119 --> 00:00:03.202 (light upbeat music) 2 00:00:04.050 --> 00:00:06.270 Welcome to Hadley Presents. 3 00:00:06.270 --> 00:00:08.160 I'm your host, Ricky Enger, 4 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:11.010 inviting you to sit back, relax, 5 00:00:11.010 --> 00:00:13.660 and enjoy a conversation with the experts. 6 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:18.000 In this episode, creator and performer Bruce Horak 7 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:20.085 joins us to discuss his new role 8 00:00:20.085 --> 00:00:22.796 on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds". 9 00:00:22.796 --> 00:00:24.701 Welcome to the show, Bruce. 10 00:00:24.701 --> 00:00:26.640 Thanks very much for having me, Ricky. 11 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:27.840 It's so good to have you. 12 00:00:27.840 --> 00:00:30.240 Although I have to say, it's a little bit surreal, 13 00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:31.830 or I feel like something's missing. 14 00:00:31.830 --> 00:00:33.779 I don't hear the warp engines 15 00:00:33.779 --> 00:00:36.203 in the background as I hear your voice. 16 00:00:36.203 --> 00:00:38.676 The thrum of the Enterprise, yes. 17 00:00:38.676 --> 00:00:41.433 Yes, (laughing) 18 00:00:41.433 --> 00:00:44.281 But hey, we'll muddle through somehow. 19 00:00:44.281 --> 00:00:48.600 You know, you are a really cool new character 20 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:52.770 on a very, very cool new "Star Trek" franchise. 21 00:00:52.770 --> 00:00:55.087 And it's Thursday, so I'm like, 22 00:00:55.087 --> 00:00:56.730 "I can't wait till work is over 23 00:00:56.730 --> 00:00:59.130 so that I can go and view the latest episode." 24 00:00:59.130 --> 00:01:03.930 But you have done some pretty cool things 25 00:01:03.930 --> 00:01:06.450 even before your role here. 26 00:01:06.450 --> 00:01:08.490 So before we talk about "Star Trek", 27 00:01:08.490 --> 00:01:10.260 why don't you just give us a bit of background 28 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:11.670 with a little history? 29 00:01:11.670 --> 00:01:14.040 Sure, well, I was born and raised 30 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:16.633 in the suburbs of Calgary, Alberta. 31 00:01:16.633 --> 00:01:19.080 I'm the youngest of four boys. 32 00:01:19.080 --> 00:01:21.060 My father was a high school English teacher 33 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:24.090 and a drama teacher, and an amateur cartoonist. 34 00:01:24.090 --> 00:01:27.180 My mom wrote quite prolifically 35 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:30.109 and is now exploring the world of painting and music. 36 00:01:30.109 --> 00:01:33.288 And she's just become a bit of a Renaissance woman. 37 00:01:33.288 --> 00:01:35.070 When I was 18 months of age, 38 00:01:35.070 --> 00:01:37.560 I was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma, 39 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:39.330 which is cancer of the eyes. 40 00:01:39.330 --> 00:01:41.190 And it was so bad in my right eye that the eye 41 00:01:41.190 --> 00:01:43.020 had to be removed completely. 42 00:01:43.020 --> 00:01:44.160 And my left eye, 43 00:01:44.160 --> 00:01:46.531 there were just three tumors on the retina. 44 00:01:46.531 --> 00:01:48.690 Sort of through circumstances, 45 00:01:48.690 --> 00:01:49.680 I was flown to Toronto 46 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:51.810 and they tried an experimental treatment 47 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:54.324 where they blasted my left eye with radiation. 48 00:01:54.324 --> 00:01:57.810 The general consensus was that scar tissue would develop 49 00:01:57.810 --> 00:01:59.580 and I might have some perception of light and shadow, 50 00:01:59.580 --> 00:02:01.020 but that would be about it. 51 00:02:01.020 --> 00:02:04.110 And by a happy accident, the middle of my retina, 52 00:02:04.110 --> 00:02:07.615 which was unblemished by cancer, remained clear. 53 00:02:07.615 --> 00:02:09.450 Scar tissue didn't develop there. 54 00:02:09.450 --> 00:02:12.330 But when I was about four-and-a-half years old, 55 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:15.210 a cataract developed, so I had cataract surgery. 56 00:02:15.210 --> 00:02:17.700 So, I'm left with about 9% vision. 57 00:02:17.700 --> 00:02:19.980 So, my visual acuity is quite narrow. 58 00:02:19.980 --> 00:02:21.660 It's extreme tunnel vision, 59 00:02:21.660 --> 00:02:24.509 as well as a lot of floaters and flashers 60 00:02:24.509 --> 00:02:26.520 and all that fun stuff 61 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:27.990 that goes along with visual impairment. 62 00:02:27.990 --> 00:02:30.462 It's been my normal ever since I was a kid. 63 00:02:30.462 --> 00:02:33.090 So, for me, that's just kind of how I've always seen. 64 00:02:33.090 --> 00:02:34.872 Being the youngest of four boys, 65 00:02:34.872 --> 00:02:37.450 just tried to keep up as best I could. 66 00:02:37.450 --> 00:02:40.020 You know, they didn't really let me get away with anything, 67 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:40.853 which was great. 68 00:02:40.853 --> 00:02:41.970 I mean, I learned to ride a bike. 69 00:02:41.970 --> 00:02:45.090 And they'd put me in goal when we'd play soccer, 70 00:02:45.090 --> 00:02:46.876 so they had something to kick at. 71 00:02:46.876 --> 00:02:49.080 Basically, I could see the ball well enough 72 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:51.450 to know where to jump and get in the way. 73 00:02:51.450 --> 00:02:53.923 Then I went to a regular school or integrated school. 74 00:02:53.923 --> 00:02:58.410 I guess back in like the early '80s, late '70s, 75 00:02:58.410 --> 00:03:01.020 there was still a real practice of kind of packing up 76 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:03.210 blind kids and sending them off to blind school. 77 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:05.989 But my parents said, "No, we're not going to do that. 78 00:03:05.989 --> 00:03:09.810 He's got enough eyesight that he can stay in." 79 00:03:09.810 --> 00:03:12.090 And I had an itinerant teacher 80 00:03:12.090 --> 00:03:14.550 who would come and see me once a week and teach me to type. 81 00:03:14.550 --> 00:03:16.711 And I used to have to sit right 82 00:03:16.711 --> 00:03:18.180 in the front of the classroom 83 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:19.440 and then get up out of my desk 84 00:03:19.440 --> 00:03:21.360 and walk six inches away from the board 85 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:22.620 to read what the teacher had written, 86 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:25.410 and then go back to my desk and write it down. 87 00:03:25.410 --> 00:03:27.450 As I said, my family is very artistic. 88 00:03:27.450 --> 00:03:28.530 I've got three older brothers. 89 00:03:28.530 --> 00:03:30.623 They're all involved in the arts in some way. 90 00:03:30.623 --> 00:03:32.618 So, the Horak family reunions 91 00:03:32.618 --> 00:03:35.790 often involved the boys getting up and doing a show. 92 00:03:35.790 --> 00:03:38.310 And we'd perform. 93 00:03:38.310 --> 00:03:40.923 And you know, got into music really early on. 94 00:03:40.923 --> 00:03:43.456 Got into visual art very early on. 95 00:03:43.456 --> 00:03:45.330 And theater and acting. 96 00:03:45.330 --> 00:03:47.640 And I saw a play come to my school 97 00:03:47.640 --> 00:03:50.010 when I was in about grade three or so. 98 00:03:50.010 --> 00:03:53.070 And they transformed our school gymnasium into a theater. 99 00:03:53.070 --> 00:03:55.470 And it was kind of at that point that I thought, 100 00:03:55.470 --> 00:03:57.120 you know, "I wanna do this. 101 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:58.591 I wanna write. 102 00:03:58.591 --> 00:04:00.360 I wanna create shows like this." 103 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:02.070 As I went through school, 104 00:04:02.070 --> 00:04:05.640 I continued to pursue visual arts and music and theater. 105 00:04:05.640 --> 00:04:08.490 And eventually, I just kind of made my focus theater. 106 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:11.010 And I ended up meeting the director of the show 107 00:04:11.010 --> 00:04:13.080 that had come to my school when I was in grade three. 108 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:14.010 He and I hit it off. 109 00:04:14.010 --> 00:04:16.860 And I worked for him for a number of years in Calgary. 110 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:18.840 I did Shakespeare in the Park for a number of years, 111 00:04:18.840 --> 00:04:21.585 so doing outdoor theater in Calgary. 112 00:04:21.585 --> 00:04:25.320 And eventually, I joined up with a theater company 113 00:04:25.320 --> 00:04:26.640 that toured across the country. 114 00:04:26.640 --> 00:04:30.330 And I toured with them for a number of years creating shows. 115 00:04:30.330 --> 00:04:33.240 So one of our first shows with Monster Theater 116 00:04:33.240 --> 00:04:35.033 was called "The Canada Show", 117 00:04:35.033 --> 00:04:36.660 which was the complete history of Canada in one hour. 118 00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:38.100 We created the history of the world. 119 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:40.740 We created the history of the future. 120 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:43.290 That has been kind of the passion, 121 00:04:43.290 --> 00:04:45.312 is being on the road and doing shows 122 00:04:45.312 --> 00:04:48.372 and living the artistic lifestyle. 123 00:04:48.372 --> 00:04:50.847 I jokingly say that I'm just trying to avoid 124 00:04:50.847 --> 00:04:52.440 getting a real job. 125 00:04:52.440 --> 00:04:56.370 And so you did a lot of this stage acting, 126 00:04:56.370 --> 00:04:58.084 you did some music, 127 00:04:58.084 --> 00:05:00.810 all of these creative things 128 00:05:00.810 --> 00:05:03.569 that you've had the chance to enjoy. 129 00:05:03.569 --> 00:05:07.650 You, I guess, had an agent, I would assume. 130 00:05:07.650 --> 00:05:10.950 Somehow got the call to be 131 00:05:10.950 --> 00:05:14.340 on this lovely little series called "Star Trek". 132 00:05:14.340 --> 00:05:17.190 So curious how that came about. 133 00:05:17.190 --> 00:05:22.190 And even more so, I think the pandemic was in full swing 134 00:05:22.530 --> 00:05:23.430 at that time, right? 135 00:05:23.430 --> 00:05:25.810 So how were auditions different 136 00:05:25.810 --> 00:05:28.170 than they might have otherwise been? 137 00:05:28.170 --> 00:05:29.003 Well, I got the call from my agent, 138 00:05:29.003 --> 00:05:29.836 Chris Oldfield. 139 00:05:30.990 --> 00:05:33.720 And I've been with him for about 10 years now. 140 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:38.720 And over the last five or six years even, maybe longer, 141 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:42.540 but the call sheets have become very specific 142 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:45.600 in who they're looking for for certain roles. 143 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.610 Representation has become very important. 144 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:49.890 And when there are disabled characters 145 00:05:49.890 --> 00:05:51.180 being brought on the screen, 146 00:05:51.180 --> 00:05:52.170 they're looking for actors 147 00:05:52.170 --> 00:05:53.760 who have a bit of that lived experience. 148 00:05:53.760 --> 00:05:55.800 So when the call went out for "Star Trek", 149 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:59.970 the character that they were casting for was a blind alien. 150 00:05:59.970 --> 00:06:01.560 Chris knew that I'm a huge "Star Trek" fan. 151 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:03.120 He also knew that I checked the box 152 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:05.220 of that lived experience. 153 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:07.470 Kind of threw my hat in the ring for it. 154 00:06:07.470 --> 00:06:10.311 I did a little research on the Aenar, 155 00:06:10.311 --> 00:06:13.320 discovering that they're telepathic. 156 00:06:13.320 --> 00:06:16.110 They've got this wicked telepathic sense 157 00:06:16.110 --> 00:06:18.569 that basically they can see better than a new one else. 158 00:06:18.569 --> 00:06:22.609 We ended up doing, I think, about four auditions over Zoom. 159 00:06:22.609 --> 00:06:26.460 I was in Stratford and the casting agent was in Toronto, 160 00:06:26.460 --> 00:06:28.470 and then there was somebody in LA. 161 00:06:28.470 --> 00:06:30.390 And it was very "Star Trek". 162 00:06:30.390 --> 00:06:32.250 You know, I was set up in my kitchen 163 00:06:32.250 --> 00:06:33.810 and I had my computer out. 164 00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:37.680 And they were somewhere like, yeah, it was really surreal 165 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:39.480 and a lot of fun. 166 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:42.060 I really appreciated that. 167 00:06:42.060 --> 00:06:44.910 At home, you know, I was still pacing 168 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:47.270 like a fiend beforehand, but I was at home. 169 00:06:47.270 --> 00:06:50.923 And there was a bit of a sense of comfort to that. 170 00:06:50.923 --> 00:06:53.820 And I think that might have played a bit of a role in it. 171 00:06:53.820 --> 00:06:57.420 And all the way through the process, 172 00:06:57.420 --> 00:06:59.010 they were incredibly supportive. 173 00:06:59.010 --> 00:07:04.010 And I expressed from really early on my concern 174 00:07:05.280 --> 00:07:06.990 about being on, you know, 175 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:11.990 a multi-kajillion dollar film set, TV set. 176 00:07:12.390 --> 00:07:14.340 You know, they're just incredibly accommodating 177 00:07:14.340 --> 00:07:15.360 for all of that. 178 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.480 My nerves were immediately dispelled. 179 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:20.040 And in that respect, 180 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.860 I could just do the best work that I was able to do. 181 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:23.820 That is so cool. 182 00:07:23.820 --> 00:07:25.633 Because I was actually wondering about that. 183 00:07:25.633 --> 00:07:29.220 I was thinking, like, you know, stage acting is one thing 184 00:07:29.220 --> 00:07:33.864 and it has its own degree of nerves and all of that, 185 00:07:33.864 --> 00:07:36.690 but you've done it a lot so you're comfortable. 186 00:07:36.690 --> 00:07:38.490 And it's very dangerous. 187 00:07:38.490 --> 00:07:39.630 It's very dangerous. 188 00:07:39.630 --> 00:07:41.640 Being on stage, I think, I don't know. 189 00:07:41.640 --> 00:07:43.080 I read some statistics somewhere 190 00:07:43.080 --> 00:07:45.690 that, you know, it's one of the most dangerous places to be. 191 00:07:45.690 --> 00:07:46.830 Just so much can happen. 192 00:07:46.830 --> 00:07:48.693 And certainly, over my career, 193 00:07:48.693 --> 00:07:51.043 I've had some pretty near misses. 194 00:07:51.043 --> 00:07:53.550 You can rehearse and rehearse and rehearse, 195 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:56.250 but there's still the element of the live experience 196 00:07:56.250 --> 00:07:57.960 that, you know, is unpredictable. 197 00:07:57.960 --> 00:08:02.460 Certainly, you know, I spent a good chunk of my career 198 00:08:02.460 --> 00:08:03.720 doing improvisation as well, 199 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:04.830 so you can't even plan for that. 200 00:08:04.830 --> 00:08:07.890 You just basically have to go in, get a sense of the space. 201 00:08:07.890 --> 00:08:09.870 I figure out, "Okay, there's the lip of the stage. 202 00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:11.460 Don't go any further than that." 203 00:08:11.460 --> 00:08:13.050 Maybe put a few markers on the stage 204 00:08:13.050 --> 00:08:14.550 so I can find my way around. 205 00:08:14.550 --> 00:08:17.460 But it's just kind of leaping without a net. 206 00:08:17.460 --> 00:08:18.900 Going into the film and TV world, 207 00:08:18.900 --> 00:08:21.090 I mean, there's so much at stake 208 00:08:21.090 --> 00:08:23.040 in terms of the equipment 209 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.351 and just the general environment of it. 210 00:08:25.351 --> 00:08:27.060 And right from the start, 211 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:29.347 the production team at CBS Paramount said, 212 00:08:29.347 --> 00:08:30.840 "We're gonna make this an experience 213 00:08:30.840 --> 00:08:33.033 that will give you the confidence. 214 00:08:33.033 --> 00:08:35.010 You're going to feel safe." 215 00:08:35.010 --> 00:08:36.570 And I did right from the start. 216 00:08:36.570 --> 00:08:40.170 I had an assistant with me throughout the entire day 217 00:08:40.170 --> 00:08:43.650 to let me know where, you know, obstacles were. 218 00:08:43.650 --> 00:08:45.180 Because it's changing all the time as well. 219 00:08:45.180 --> 00:08:48.420 Like, you do a shot and then they turn it around. 220 00:08:48.420 --> 00:08:50.820 And suddenly, there was a wall there before 221 00:08:50.820 --> 00:08:52.465 and now it's a bank of cameras. 222 00:08:52.465 --> 00:08:54.305 You know, everything is changing around. 223 00:08:54.305 --> 00:08:57.180 There's boom mics and all of that. 224 00:08:57.180 --> 00:09:01.080 So they really, I just have to give 225 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:03.660 such a huge shout-out to the crew 226 00:09:03.660 --> 00:09:07.170 and to the assistants who were with me through all of that, 227 00:09:07.170 --> 00:09:11.598 because it just gave me the confidence to do the work. 228 00:09:11.598 --> 00:09:12.990 You know, for any artist, 229 00:09:12.990 --> 00:09:15.390 that confidence is really the first step. 230 00:09:15.390 --> 00:09:17.139 Absolutely, so you were able to relax 231 00:09:17.139 --> 00:09:19.350 and do what you were actually there for, 232 00:09:19.350 --> 00:09:22.620 rather than spending a lot of time worrying about 233 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:26.400 these things that were kind of beyond your control. 234 00:09:26.400 --> 00:09:28.190 And that's excellent. 235 00:09:28.190 --> 00:09:31.650 Your character is actually introduced 236 00:09:31.650 --> 00:09:35.040 in episode two of "Strange New Worlds". 237 00:09:35.040 --> 00:09:36.900 And it's a really cool scene. 238 00:09:36.900 --> 00:09:39.960 It's a short scene, but a ton of stuff happens. 239 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:41.820 And we learn a lot about your character 240 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:44.010 and kind of the interaction 241 00:09:44.010 --> 00:09:48.420 between you and the rest of the crew in this scene. 242 00:09:48.420 --> 00:09:52.080 You're preparing, along with a few other crew members, 243 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.120 for this dinner party with the captain. 244 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:56.820 And you're there chopping your veggies. 245 00:09:56.820 --> 00:09:59.640 And of course, you're chief engineer of the starship, 246 00:09:59.640 --> 00:10:02.863 so there's got to be some competence in there somewhere. 247 00:10:02.863 --> 00:10:04.957 Uhura just innocently asks, 248 00:10:04.957 --> 00:10:08.100 "Hey, you need some help with those veggies?" 249 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:10.530 And then off we go. 250 00:10:10.530 --> 00:10:14.790 This really short, but really impactful discussion. 251 00:10:14.790 --> 00:10:16.860 Can you talk a little about the scene? 252 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:20.010 And then I'm just curious what you felt 253 00:10:20.010 --> 00:10:22.667 when you first read that script. 254 00:10:22.667 --> 00:10:23.500 In the scene, The Blind Engineer, 255 00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:24.333 the Aenar character 256 00:10:27.180 --> 00:10:28.800 is preparing the vegetables. 257 00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:31.770 And Uhura asked to help if she can. 258 00:10:31.770 --> 00:10:36.770 And then her sort of response is that she was always, 259 00:10:36.900 --> 00:10:39.120 she was brought up to offer help to someone 260 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:40.440 with an impairment. 261 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:43.140 And Hemmer kind of goes off about the word impairment 262 00:10:43.140 --> 00:10:46.560 because he doesn't consider himself impaired. 263 00:10:46.560 --> 00:10:48.367 And his other senses compensate. 264 00:10:48.367 --> 00:10:50.721 As he says, they're superior. 265 00:10:50.721 --> 00:10:52.741 We just kind of go from that. 266 00:10:52.741 --> 00:10:56.370 Yeah, it's a really cool scene. 267 00:10:56.370 --> 00:10:58.678 And it was actually the first scene that I read. 268 00:10:58.678 --> 00:11:01.110 It was the one that I did in my audition. 269 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:04.200 Which was slightly different 270 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:06.390 than what ended up on the screen. 271 00:11:06.390 --> 00:11:10.710 There was a little bit more about his particular senses 272 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:12.570 and what they call his precognition. 273 00:11:12.570 --> 00:11:15.607 And he doesn't consider it precognition because he says, 274 00:11:15.607 --> 00:11:18.420 "Is it precognition to feel a temperature change 275 00:11:18.420 --> 00:11:19.710 or a breeze on your face 276 00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:22.050 or, you know, the heat on a light bulb? 277 00:11:22.050 --> 00:11:23.070 Is that precognition?" 278 00:11:23.070 --> 00:11:24.660 It's just, no, you just happen to be 279 00:11:24.660 --> 00:11:26.580 more aware of those things. 280 00:11:26.580 --> 00:11:29.040 And I really connected with that. 281 00:11:29.040 --> 00:11:29.910 I get that all the time. 282 00:11:29.910 --> 00:11:31.500 It's like, "Oh, you must have a super hearing 283 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:33.360 and you must have super smell," or whatever. 284 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:36.390 It's like, "No, it's not that it's any better. 285 00:11:36.390 --> 00:11:37.680 I just do it differently." 286 00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:40.080 I rely on it in a different way. 287 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:44.280 My hearing will kick in when I walk into a darkened room. 288 00:11:44.280 --> 00:11:46.898 And I'm able to pick up on where people are 289 00:11:46.898 --> 00:11:48.225 or where objects are. 290 00:11:48.225 --> 00:11:51.545 It's the same with sensing when a stove is on. 291 00:11:51.545 --> 00:11:54.021 We all do that with our hand or whatever, 292 00:11:54.021 --> 00:11:55.204 you can just hover. 293 00:11:55.204 --> 00:11:57.510 You don't have to touch it to know that it's on. 294 00:11:57.510 --> 00:11:59.130 You can feel the heat radiating from it. 295 00:11:59.130 --> 00:12:00.163 We all do this. 296 00:12:00.163 --> 00:12:03.330 I think that it was the way in for me to understand 297 00:12:03.330 --> 00:12:04.907 what his telepathy was like. 298 00:12:04.907 --> 00:12:07.560 Imagine if you could feel if a stove was on 299 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:09.390 without having to use your hand. 300 00:12:09.390 --> 00:12:12.090 If you could just feel that in your skin 301 00:12:12.090 --> 00:12:14.340 or you would just know that. 302 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:18.324 I kind of struggled at the beginning of trying to figure out 303 00:12:18.324 --> 00:12:21.840 how he would read the screens. 304 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:23.340 Because he's in engineering all the time 305 00:12:23.340 --> 00:12:25.950 and it's a lot of visual data coming off of these screens. 306 00:12:25.950 --> 00:12:29.460 But again, if you had such heightened awareness, 307 00:12:29.460 --> 00:12:32.340 you would be able to sense which part of the screen 308 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:35.120 was lit up, and maybe even what color it was. 309 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.830 Or, you know, if it was flashing red 310 00:12:37.830 --> 00:12:39.780 or if it was flashing green, or whatever. 311 00:12:39.780 --> 00:12:44.780 So that kind of telepathy, I was so jealous. 312 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:46.377 I'm like, "I want that." 313 00:12:48.210 --> 00:12:53.210 Just to have that incredible sense of the environment. 314 00:12:53.490 --> 00:12:56.268 There's a lot about Hemmer that I kind of aspire to 315 00:12:56.268 --> 00:12:59.432 and that would certainly be one of them to be that tuned in. 316 00:12:59.432 --> 00:13:02.460 I think it's such a cool history 317 00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:05.940 because even though that doesn't necessarily 318 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:07.909 get described on screen now, 319 00:13:07.909 --> 00:13:10.410 it still comes across 320 00:13:10.410 --> 00:13:13.800 whether through how you're portraying him 321 00:13:13.800 --> 00:13:16.800 and just lines here and there. 322 00:13:16.800 --> 00:13:19.197 So, it's really interesting to know 323 00:13:19.197 --> 00:13:22.050 the script was written a little differently, initially, 324 00:13:22.050 --> 00:13:26.296 and that helped you find your way into the character. 325 00:13:26.296 --> 00:13:29.010 I have loved "Star Trek" forever. 326 00:13:29.010 --> 00:13:30.480 And one of the things 327 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:33.030 that I've always appreciated about "Star Trek" 328 00:13:33.030 --> 00:13:35.820 and been really fascinated by is the technology. 329 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:38.850 Because I love tech in just my own life, 330 00:13:38.850 --> 00:13:43.477 but imagining this futuristic universe and thinking, 331 00:13:43.477 --> 00:13:46.140 "Oh, you know, I would love to take a quick trip 332 00:13:46.140 --> 00:13:48.420 to the beach in the holodeck," or whatever. 333 00:13:48.420 --> 00:13:52.650 Even now, there are things that when I was growing up, 334 00:13:52.650 --> 00:13:56.520 they sounded really just so sci-fi, 335 00:13:56.520 --> 00:13:59.460 like a data pad where you have all this information 336 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:00.293 at your fingertips. 337 00:14:00.293 --> 00:14:02.040 And yet, here we are. 338 00:14:02.040 --> 00:14:03.420 There's the iPad. 339 00:14:03.420 --> 00:14:05.400 It's basically a data pad. 340 00:14:05.400 --> 00:14:08.340 So, are there things for you 341 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:11.086 that kind of fit the bill in that way? 342 00:14:11.086 --> 00:14:13.680 Tech in your everyday life 343 00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:15.720 that have opened doors for you 344 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.050 or that helped you prepare for either your role here 345 00:14:19.050 --> 00:14:21.990 or just help you in everyday life in some way? 346 00:14:21.990 --> 00:14:26.040 Well, even going back to elementary school, 347 00:14:26.040 --> 00:14:28.530 when they taught me how to type on a typewriter. 348 00:14:28.530 --> 00:14:30.960 I mean, that was really my first experience 349 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:34.770 of that kind of tech and how it can help me to, you know, 350 00:14:34.770 --> 00:14:36.660 stay in the pack, as it were. 351 00:14:36.660 --> 00:14:40.800 And then it's like things hit warp speed 352 00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:44.509 with the computer and the cell phone. 353 00:14:44.509 --> 00:14:48.210 I mean, my goodness, the iPhone now is, I mean, 354 00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:50.310 it's just the most remarkable piece of technology 355 00:14:50.310 --> 00:14:53.280 with the, you know, I can dictate to the phone. 356 00:14:53.280 --> 00:14:54.600 I can have it read to me. 357 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.300 I use GPS on a daily basis. 358 00:14:57.300 --> 00:14:59.940 I get, you know, my Google Maps to walk me around. 359 00:14:59.940 --> 00:15:03.232 As, you know, someone who loves to travel like I do, 360 00:15:03.232 --> 00:15:06.420 I never imagined that I would be able to do it on my own. 361 00:15:06.420 --> 00:15:08.900 I always wanted to do it, but I thought, 362 00:15:08.900 --> 00:15:10.050 "I got to have a partner. 363 00:15:10.050 --> 00:15:11.160 I got to have a buddy. 364 00:15:11.160 --> 00:15:13.380 I got to, you know, have a group of people 365 00:15:13.380 --> 00:15:15.510 that are gonna drive me around 366 00:15:15.510 --> 00:15:17.776 and get me to places on time," 367 00:15:17.776 --> 00:15:20.430 and you know, all of that. 368 00:15:20.430 --> 00:15:23.790 And you know, I laughingly remember most of my teens, 369 00:15:23.790 --> 00:15:25.530 I spent sitting by the front window waiting 370 00:15:25.530 --> 00:15:29.310 for a car to pull up so I could get out of the suburbs. 371 00:15:29.310 --> 00:15:32.605 And now it's like, "Oh, you can get an Uber." 372 00:15:32.605 --> 00:15:37.530 Every day I'm just so grateful for the tech that we have. 373 00:15:37.530 --> 00:15:41.700 Oh, and speaking of the tech and "Star Trek" 374 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:42.960 and all of that. 375 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:46.050 So in the initial testing for the character, 376 00:15:46.050 --> 00:15:49.980 they wanted to put these contact lenses in my eyes 377 00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:54.900 that would white out the pupil and the iris, and whatever. 378 00:15:54.900 --> 00:15:56.880 So of course, my right eye is artificial. 379 00:15:56.880 --> 00:16:01.050 So the production team was already in negotiations 380 00:16:01.050 --> 00:16:04.140 to have me a new eye made that would be painted 381 00:16:04.140 --> 00:16:04.973 with the white. 382 00:16:04.973 --> 00:16:07.320 And then they were going to try these lenses on me. 383 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.080 So, they brought me into a eye specialist. 384 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.000 And he kind of took a history of it. 385 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.030 And they tried one of these lenses on me. 386 00:16:15.030 --> 00:16:17.280 Now, because of the makeup on my hands, 387 00:16:17.280 --> 00:16:19.980 I wouldn't be able to put the lens in myself or take it out. 388 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:22.050 So, somebody else would have to do that, 389 00:16:22.050 --> 00:16:24.900 which just made me almost instantly nauseous. 390 00:16:24.900 --> 00:16:27.060 But when they put the contact lens in, 391 00:16:27.060 --> 00:16:30.420 it was just such a distressing and upsetting thing. 392 00:16:30.420 --> 00:16:32.640 Anyway, the doctor said, "Look, you got 9% vision. 393 00:16:32.640 --> 00:16:34.080 Let's not mess around with it." 394 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:35.430 The production team just rolled around 395 00:16:35.430 --> 00:16:36.510 and said, "No problem." 396 00:16:36.510 --> 00:16:37.710 They fixed it in post. 397 00:16:37.710 --> 00:16:39.660 So, what you see now on the screen 398 00:16:39.660 --> 00:16:41.250 is my eyes are digital. 399 00:16:41.250 --> 00:16:43.080 They've given me new eyes. 400 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:44.999 And that's that level of technology 401 00:16:44.999 --> 00:16:49.140 that I see moving things forward for performers. 402 00:16:49.140 --> 00:16:51.151 I imagine a time where, like, 403 00:16:51.151 --> 00:16:53.070 if they can give a blind man new eyes, 404 00:16:53.070 --> 00:16:54.780 imagine what the next stage is. 405 00:16:54.780 --> 00:16:56.100 The sky is the limit with that. 406 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:57.889 And you know, as an actor, 407 00:16:57.889 --> 00:17:01.380 one of the things that attracted me to acting 408 00:17:01.380 --> 00:17:03.090 in the first place was just getting on stage 409 00:17:03.090 --> 00:17:04.320 and getting to be somebody else, 410 00:17:04.320 --> 00:17:06.300 getting to transform myself. 411 00:17:06.300 --> 00:17:08.954 Putting myself in somebody else's shoes 412 00:17:08.954 --> 00:17:11.541 and seeing the world from a new perspective. 413 00:17:11.541 --> 00:17:16.280 And you know, it's an exercise in empathy and compassion. 414 00:17:16.280 --> 00:17:18.604 That's such a huge draw for me. 415 00:17:18.604 --> 00:17:21.330 And I felt like, "Well, there's a limitation here 416 00:17:21.330 --> 00:17:23.580 because there's certain characters that." 417 00:17:23.580 --> 00:17:24.570 Certainly on camera. 418 00:17:24.570 --> 00:17:25.890 The camera doesn't lie. 419 00:17:25.890 --> 00:17:27.330 When I was in theater school, 420 00:17:27.330 --> 00:17:29.100 we would do the film and television classes 421 00:17:29.100 --> 00:17:30.390 and they'd film me. 422 00:17:30.390 --> 00:17:31.477 I would look back and I'd go, 423 00:17:31.477 --> 00:17:34.623 "Okay, the guy's eyes are obviously messed up. 424 00:17:36.120 --> 00:17:37.020 Is this a thing? 425 00:17:37.020 --> 00:17:38.400 Like, do we have to acknowledge it? 426 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.780 Is it a whole storyline?" 427 00:17:39.780 --> 00:17:43.890 Or you know, there's that great story about Peter Falk 428 00:17:43.890 --> 00:17:46.138 who had the same cancer as me. 429 00:17:46.138 --> 00:17:48.780 Lost one of his eyes to retinoblastoma. 430 00:17:48.780 --> 00:17:51.487 He was told by a producer once, basically, 431 00:17:51.487 --> 00:17:53.370 "Why would I hire you when for the same money 432 00:17:53.370 --> 00:17:55.470 I can get an actor with two eyes?" 433 00:17:55.470 --> 00:17:58.680 That has now, I think, changed. 434 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.060 I think we're moving forward. 435 00:18:00.060 --> 00:18:03.810 And also, the technology is enhancing 436 00:18:03.810 --> 00:18:06.756 and helping to push those kind of preconceptions 437 00:18:06.756 --> 00:18:09.060 and those notions aside. 438 00:18:09.060 --> 00:18:10.290 Finally is right. 439 00:18:10.290 --> 00:18:12.480 And I think it's such an important thing. 440 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.710 And "Star Trek" is good at that in general, right? 441 00:18:16.710 --> 00:18:20.820 There's this founding principle of IDIC, 442 00:18:20.820 --> 00:18:23.370 infinite diversity in infinite combinations, 443 00:18:23.370 --> 00:18:26.250 which was one of the huge things 444 00:18:26.250 --> 00:18:27.960 that attracted me to "Star Trek". 445 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:31.108 Because it was, rather than thinking of disability 446 00:18:31.108 --> 00:18:34.717 as this departure from the norm, 447 00:18:34.717 --> 00:18:39.717 it was just another totally legitimate way of being 448 00:18:40.500 --> 00:18:42.840 in this infinite list of possibilities. 449 00:18:42.840 --> 00:18:45.470 So, it didn't have to be not normal, 450 00:18:45.470 --> 00:18:49.049 its own thing that was perfectly fine. 451 00:18:49.049 --> 00:18:51.777 "Star Trek" is great about that. 452 00:18:51.777 --> 00:18:54.300 And it's great about storytelling. 453 00:18:54.300 --> 00:18:57.007 You know, there's the escapism, certainly. 454 00:18:57.007 --> 00:19:02.007 "Star Trek" is also willing to explore societal issues 455 00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:05.220 that we deal with right now. 456 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:09.510 I'm sure that for you, there's a little bit of pressure 457 00:19:09.510 --> 00:19:13.350 as you're basically bringing this character to life. 458 00:19:13.350 --> 00:19:15.060 And you're creating "Star Trek" canon 459 00:19:15.060 --> 00:19:18.900 because not a lot is known about this particular race. 460 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:22.038 So, you're it, in a sense. 461 00:19:22.038 --> 00:19:27.000 As you're bringing this character to life on screen, 462 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:32.000 do you think about what you want people to take away 463 00:19:32.100 --> 00:19:35.040 from the experience as they're watching Hemmer? 464 00:19:35.040 --> 00:19:36.480 It's even a little emotional for me 465 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.790 because, you know, being raised on "Star Trek" 466 00:19:38.790 --> 00:19:42.393 and in the kind of science fiction canon, 467 00:19:42.393 --> 00:19:44.700 that it just holds such a place for me. 468 00:19:44.700 --> 00:19:46.620 And it's about hope. 469 00:19:46.620 --> 00:19:49.110 It's about optimism for the future. 470 00:19:49.110 --> 00:19:53.520 It's about imagining the best of us and bringing that out. 471 00:19:53.520 --> 00:19:56.371 And my dad had this expression that, 472 00:19:56.371 --> 00:19:58.470 "Let us be the angels of the world, 473 00:19:58.470 --> 00:20:00.090 for the devils have had their day." 474 00:20:00.090 --> 00:20:04.080 And that just encapsulates so much of the ethos 475 00:20:04.080 --> 00:20:07.200 of what "Star Trek" is trying to do. 476 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:10.590 You know I could talk about "Star Trek" all day, 477 00:20:10.590 --> 00:20:11.850 just ask my coworkers. 478 00:20:11.850 --> 00:20:13.260 I really could. 479 00:20:13.260 --> 00:20:18.260 But you do other things aside from acting. 480 00:20:20.130 --> 00:20:22.565 You know, it's not just about "Star Trek". 481 00:20:22.565 --> 00:20:26.340 You actually have done some painting. 482 00:20:26.340 --> 00:20:28.830 I'm sure this is a surprise to some people, 483 00:20:28.830 --> 00:20:30.247 because people think, you know, 484 00:20:30.247 --> 00:20:33.930 "Don't you need some really good vision to do this stuff 485 00:20:33.930 --> 00:20:36.120 that people are going to actually look at?" 486 00:20:36.120 --> 00:20:38.190 Clearly, you don't. 487 00:20:38.190 --> 00:20:40.020 You've enjoyed painting. 488 00:20:40.020 --> 00:20:41.040 You got into it. 489 00:20:41.040 --> 00:20:43.200 You're doing some portraits now. 490 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:46.380 How did you actually get into exploring 491 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:47.640 what it was like to paint? 492 00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:50.010 And what's keeping it fun for you? 493 00:20:50.010 --> 00:20:53.310 Through most of my 20s and early 30s, 494 00:20:53.310 --> 00:20:57.261 I tried to hide my visual impairment. 495 00:20:57.261 --> 00:21:00.810 Going through theater school, and certainly, starting out, 496 00:21:00.810 --> 00:21:04.320 anything that I could do to appear fully sighted, 497 00:21:04.320 --> 00:21:05.610 I would work on that. 498 00:21:05.610 --> 00:21:07.740 Certainly, getting into acting, 499 00:21:07.740 --> 00:21:09.810 you know, you're just basically lying anyway. 500 00:21:09.810 --> 00:21:13.710 So that just seemed obvious to me to do that. 501 00:21:13.710 --> 00:21:15.600 And you know, I was obviously concerned 502 00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:20.600 that my disability would stop me from getting roles 503 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:22.725 and stop me from getting work. 504 00:21:22.725 --> 00:21:24.420 So if I could fake it, I would. 505 00:21:24.420 --> 00:21:29.420 When I was 33, I auditioned for a role in a film in Toronto. 506 00:21:29.520 --> 00:21:32.190 And the role was calling for a blind person. 507 00:21:32.190 --> 00:21:34.946 My agent told me that I didn't look blind enough. 508 00:21:34.946 --> 00:21:36.660 Wondered if I could look more blind. 509 00:21:36.660 --> 00:21:39.900 So, I went to the CNIB and I got my very first white cane, 510 00:21:39.900 --> 00:21:41.790 which was life-changing. 511 00:21:41.790 --> 00:21:44.940 I mean, I had some mobility training. 512 00:21:44.940 --> 00:21:47.760 And myself and my guide 513 00:21:47.760 --> 00:21:49.380 went out onto Young Street in Toronto, 514 00:21:49.380 --> 00:21:51.090 which is a very busy street 515 00:21:51.090 --> 00:21:53.234 that I had been living on for a number of years. 516 00:21:53.234 --> 00:21:55.824 I had my cane out and suddenly I could walk 517 00:21:55.824 --> 00:21:59.460 with my shoulders up, my head up, and my shoulders back. 518 00:21:59.460 --> 00:22:02.640 And I was able to navigate the sidewalk 519 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.620 in a way that I'd never navigated before. 520 00:22:04.620 --> 00:22:06.450 And people were getting out of my way 521 00:22:06.450 --> 00:22:08.250 and people were offering arms. 522 00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:12.090 It was just like, "Why did I never have this cane?" 523 00:22:12.090 --> 00:22:15.300 It was so silly. 524 00:22:15.300 --> 00:22:16.380 It was ego. 525 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:17.430 It was ego. 526 00:22:17.430 --> 00:22:19.500 Anyway, so flash forward a couple of years. 527 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:21.955 And I was on stage, and I did a show. 528 00:22:21.955 --> 00:22:24.210 When I got off stage, I grabbed my white cane. 529 00:22:24.210 --> 00:22:25.230 This old friend of mine 530 00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:27.967 that I had actually gone to college with saw the cane, said, 531 00:22:27.967 --> 00:22:29.070 "What's up with the cane? 532 00:22:29.070 --> 00:22:30.630 Like, is it a prop? 533 00:22:30.630 --> 00:22:33.510 Are you planning for a new role or something?" 534 00:22:33.510 --> 00:22:35.730 I explained to him about my eyesight. 535 00:22:35.730 --> 00:22:37.807 He had no idea. I said, 536 00:22:37.807 --> 00:22:41.040 "Well, I'm going to try to paint a portrait of you 537 00:22:41.040 --> 00:22:42.870 and show you how I see you." 538 00:22:42.870 --> 00:22:44.850 We sat for a couple of hours. 539 00:22:44.850 --> 00:22:46.770 I threw some acrylic paint on a canvas 540 00:22:46.770 --> 00:22:49.950 and tried to sort of capture all the distortions. 541 00:22:49.950 --> 00:22:53.040 And you know, I see auras, so I tried to capture that. 542 00:22:53.040 --> 00:22:56.118 I just disappeared into this acrylic paint. 543 00:22:56.118 --> 00:22:58.714 We had the most incredible conversation 544 00:22:58.714 --> 00:23:01.380 that was, Brandon and I have been friends 545 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:03.306 since our early 20s. 546 00:23:03.306 --> 00:23:07.860 Yeah, it was like this barrier had been shattered. 547 00:23:07.860 --> 00:23:10.200 And while we sat there, we just connected 548 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:12.600 and had a really, really wonderful time. 549 00:23:12.600 --> 00:23:14.527 That same day, I just put a call out and I said, 550 00:23:14.527 --> 00:23:15.780 "I'm going to be doing portraits. 551 00:23:15.780 --> 00:23:17.010 I've got a studio. 552 00:23:17.010 --> 00:23:18.090 I'm sitting for two weeks. 553 00:23:18.090 --> 00:23:20.280 If you want to come and have your portrait done." 554 00:23:20.280 --> 00:23:22.470 The response, I was in Calgary at the time, 555 00:23:22.470 --> 00:23:24.327 and honestly, the response from the theater community 556 00:23:24.327 --> 00:23:25.920 was just incredible. 557 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:27.150 Like I was booked solid. 558 00:23:27.150 --> 00:23:28.680 I was doing three a day. 559 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:32.100 At the end of the first year, I had done 365 portraits. 560 00:23:32.100 --> 00:23:34.770 I had a showing at the Kelowna Art Gallery. 561 00:23:34.770 --> 00:23:37.590 I had a showing at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. 562 00:23:37.590 --> 00:23:39.780 It's like this whole other career just started picking up. 563 00:23:39.780 --> 00:23:41.400 And then I was introduced 564 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:44.100 to the Disability Arts Network in Canada. 565 00:23:44.100 --> 00:23:46.994 And finding all of these other artists 566 00:23:46.994 --> 00:23:50.700 who identify as disabled, and what they were working on, 567 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.020 how they were working on. 568 00:23:52.020 --> 00:23:53.940 You know, the struggles and the triumphs. 569 00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:55.196 Just everything about it. 570 00:23:55.196 --> 00:23:57.261 It was like finding my people. 571 00:23:57.261 --> 00:24:01.140 And there was absolutely no shame 572 00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:02.640 in the work that was created. 573 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:05.681 It was a celebration of the vision. 574 00:24:05.681 --> 00:24:08.753 I mean, vision in artistic sense 575 00:24:08.753 --> 00:24:11.476 that we all have, creativity. 576 00:24:11.476 --> 00:24:14.881 For me, the portraits are about connection. 577 00:24:14.881 --> 00:24:18.870 They're about seeing and being seen. 578 00:24:18.870 --> 00:24:23.550 Which people are hungry for, just to be seen, to be heard. 579 00:24:23.550 --> 00:24:26.880 Since the pandemic, I have moved my practice online. 580 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:28.650 So, people go to my website 581 00:24:28.650 --> 00:24:30.900 and they book a portrait sitting. 582 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:31.860 We sit for an hour. 583 00:24:31.860 --> 00:24:35.040 I do a digital sketch, which then gets emailed 584 00:24:35.040 --> 00:24:36.420 at the end of the session. 585 00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:39.600 Also, I can do an acrylic 8-by-10 canvas as well. 586 00:24:39.600 --> 00:24:42.315 So I'll record the session and take screenshots. 587 00:24:42.315 --> 00:24:44.910 And then I work up an acrylic canvas from that. 588 00:24:44.910 --> 00:24:46.830 I'm working towards 1000 paintings 589 00:24:46.830 --> 00:24:49.192 and I'm at 635 right now. 590 00:24:49.192 --> 00:24:51.870 Yeah, not too much further to go. 591 00:24:51.870 --> 00:24:53.970 It'll be interesting to see what happens 592 00:24:53.970 --> 00:24:55.320 when you reach 1000. 593 00:24:55.320 --> 00:24:57.090 If you decide, "Hey, I really love this. 594 00:24:57.090 --> 00:24:58.170 I'm going to continue." 595 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:02.010 And you know, that's fascinating to look back through, 596 00:25:02.010 --> 00:25:04.049 even just the last year, and go, 597 00:25:04.049 --> 00:25:06.110 "Wow, things have changed." 598 00:25:06.110 --> 00:25:09.030 Maybe your approach even has changed 599 00:25:09.030 --> 00:25:11.067 since that very first painting. 600 00:25:11.067 --> 00:25:14.700 I can see the leaps and bounds 601 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:17.160 that my technique has taken. 602 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:20.100 You know, I really wasn't a great student in school, 603 00:25:20.100 --> 00:25:23.160 but I absolutely devour textbooks 604 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.590 and art instruction books now. 605 00:25:25.590 --> 00:25:28.247 You know, all the exercises that are given in these things, 606 00:25:28.247 --> 00:25:31.582 every 100 portraits, I do a self-portrait. 607 00:25:31.582 --> 00:25:34.290 So, I could definitely see 608 00:25:34.290 --> 00:25:36.390 within what I've been painting of myself, 609 00:25:36.390 --> 00:25:38.526 how it's all been changing. 610 00:25:38.526 --> 00:25:40.950 Yeah, honestly, I can't wait for 1000. 611 00:25:40.950 --> 00:25:42.652 We'll see what happens after that. 612 00:25:42.652 --> 00:25:44.790 Maybe I'll just add another zero. 613 00:25:44.790 --> 00:25:46.230 There you go. 614 00:25:46.230 --> 00:25:50.820 So I have one last question before we wrap up. 615 00:25:50.820 --> 00:25:55.770 And this one is probably the most profound, 616 00:25:55.770 --> 00:25:59.640 the most impactful question of this whole thing. 617 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.880 Did you get a chance to sit in the captain's chair? 618 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:04.530 I did, I did. 619 00:26:04.530 --> 00:26:05.755 What a relief. 620 00:26:05.755 --> 00:26:06.840 That is awesome. What a relief. 621 00:26:06.840 --> 00:26:09.570 Yes, it was, you know, it took a while. 622 00:26:09.570 --> 00:26:12.727 I really had to work up the nerve to do it. 623 00:26:12.727 --> 00:26:15.600 My first day, on-camera test, 624 00:26:15.600 --> 00:26:17.648 I did my camera test on the bridge, 625 00:26:17.648 --> 00:26:21.960 I just remember I was circling the chair 626 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:24.090 getting closer and closer. 627 00:26:24.090 --> 00:26:26.790 Put my hand on it and thought, "No, I can't do it." 628 00:26:26.790 --> 00:26:29.774 It took me almost a year later. 629 00:26:29.774 --> 00:26:34.170 And you know, I talked to one of the assistants, 630 00:26:34.170 --> 00:26:36.630 and she said, "Do you want to go and sit in it?" 631 00:26:36.630 --> 00:26:40.320 Yeah, it's one of those boxes on "Star Trek" bingo 632 00:26:40.320 --> 00:26:42.270 that you just got to check off. 633 00:26:42.270 --> 00:26:44.280 For sure, if you have the chance, 634 00:26:44.280 --> 00:26:46.817 there's no way you shouldn't take it. 635 00:26:46.817 --> 00:26:49.260 So, as we wrap up, 636 00:26:49.260 --> 00:26:53.370 where can people go to keep up with you, 637 00:26:53.370 --> 00:26:56.130 find out kind of what's happening in your world? 638 00:26:56.130 --> 00:26:58.680 Well, you can find me at brucehorak.com. 639 00:26:58.680 --> 00:27:01.440 That's my website, which has got links there 640 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:04.020 to pretty much everything I'm working on. 641 00:27:04.020 --> 00:27:06.690 It's got a current and upcoming events page. 642 00:27:06.690 --> 00:27:08.490 So all the announcements for the shows 643 00:27:08.490 --> 00:27:10.410 that I'm working on and will be presented 644 00:27:10.410 --> 00:27:11.910 in the next year or so. 645 00:27:11.910 --> 00:27:14.790 I also publish a monthly update, 646 00:27:14.790 --> 00:27:17.370 what I call The HoboSapien Chronicle. 647 00:27:17.370 --> 00:27:20.760 So it's kind of covering the last month 648 00:27:20.760 --> 00:27:23.370 and a little bit musing on what I'm up to, 649 00:27:23.370 --> 00:27:24.990 and then the month ahead. 650 00:27:24.990 --> 00:27:26.760 I also have a Patreon page. 651 00:27:26.760 --> 00:27:29.143 So, if you would like to support me in my journey 652 00:27:29.143 --> 00:27:30.924 , you can sign up as a patron. 653 00:27:30.924 --> 00:27:32.700 Top-tier patrons, 654 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:35.370 I actually make a hand-drawn card every month. 655 00:27:35.370 --> 00:27:36.480 So, you get that in the mail, 656 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:38.550 plus all the updates and all the info. 657 00:27:38.550 --> 00:27:40.860 I'm on all the social medias, 658 00:27:40.860 --> 00:27:42.360 you know, Twitter and Instagram 659 00:27:42.360 --> 00:27:44.400 and Facebook as Bruce Horak. 660 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:46.740 Excellent, we'll have that in our show notes. 661 00:27:46.740 --> 00:27:51.540 And if you're not watching "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", 662 00:27:51.540 --> 00:27:52.800 you should be. 663 00:27:52.800 --> 00:27:55.380 It's streaming on Paramount+ right now. 664 00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:57.780 And the great thing is that I don't think 665 00:27:57.780 --> 00:28:00.990 you really have to have ever seen 666 00:28:00.990 --> 00:28:02.610 another "Star Trek" franchise 667 00:28:02.610 --> 00:28:06.177 in order to just jump into the story and enjoy this, right? 668 00:28:06.177 --> 00:28:07.530 Oh, yeah, yeah. 669 00:28:07.530 --> 00:28:09.843 It's a prequel to the original series. 670 00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:12.750 Basically, everything that's happened 671 00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:14.670 in the "Star Trek" world hasn't happened yet. 672 00:28:14.670 --> 00:28:16.830 Other than the first two seasons of "Discovery", 673 00:28:16.830 --> 00:28:18.180 but we won't get into that. 674 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:20.550 Exactly, that's a different series. 675 00:28:20.550 --> 00:28:23.190 Well, Bruce, thank you so much 676 00:28:23.190 --> 00:28:26.579 for stopping by and spending a little time with us. 677 00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:30.270 Really look forward to learning more about 678 00:28:30.270 --> 00:28:31.440 the character of Hemmer. 679 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:34.770 And also look forward to keeping up with you in general. 680 00:28:34.770 --> 00:28:36.030 Thank you, again. 681 00:28:36.030 --> 00:28:36.863 Thanks, Ricky. 682 00:28:36.863 --> 00:28:38.280 Thanks for having me. 683 00:28:38.280 --> 00:28:39.810 Got something to say? 684 00:28:39.810 --> 00:28:42.900 Share your thoughts about this episode of Hadley Presents 685 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:45.450 or make suggestions for future episodes. 686 00:28:45.450 --> 00:28:47.100 We'd love to hear from you. 687 00:28:47.100 --> 00:28:51.390 Send us an email at podcast@hadley.edu. 688 00:28:51.390 --> 00:28:56.390 That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T @hadley.edu. 689 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:59.617 Or leave us a message at 847-784-2870. 690 00:29:03.030 --> 00:29:04.776 Thanks for listening. 691 00:29:04.776 --> 00:29:07.859 (light upbeat music)