Welcome And Guest Introduction

Greg Staffa 0:00

You're listening to the Staffa Corner Podcast, a Staffatarian look at entertainment and life with your host, Greg Staffa. My guest this episode is actor Brent Huff. He's an actor, director, and filmmaker whose career has taken him from in front of the camera to behind the camera. From decades of acting and telling stories as a director, Brent has built a fascinating career. Brent, thanks for joining us today.

Brent Huff 0:46

Hey, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Greg Staffa 0:48

You grew up in Missouri. You're a Kansas City Chiefs fan. I won't hold that against you being in the hospital. We're in Minnesota, so we won't hold that against you. Oh, okay. Okay. We did not have a great year last year. No, we didn't either. You got started in theater at a young age in your high school, and you made it to the theater hall of fame at your high school. And in most cases, that would have been like uh you would have been like the the high school, you know, the name that everyone talks about. But you had to share that award with another actor who kind of did okay. What's it like being kind of compared to Brad Pitt?

Brent Huff 1:30

Is that hilarious? That uh people got when I tell people that Brad Pitt and I went to the same high school, they can't believe this uh high school in Springfield, Missouri. But uh yeah, so take a poo high school where I went in Springfield, Missouri. It's uh famous for Brad Pitt. So who knew?

Greg Staffa 1:48

And not only that, you

Missouri Roots And Brad Pitt Comparisons

Greg Staffa 1:50

also went to the same college, if I'm not mistaken. So we both went to the University of Missouri. So you could say that you paved the way for Brad Pitt.

Brent Huff 1:58

That's what I am saying to anybody that will listen. Brad Pitt would not have his career uh had it not been for me paving the way for him. And I'm sticking to that story. I I would stick to it too.

Greg Staffa 2:10

So you didn't just start out acting, you became a very prominent model in the 80s, going to New York. What was that like?

Brent Huff 2:18

Totally by accident. I had I didn't even know what a male model was when I when I was a theater major at the University of Missouri. I left and went to California. And so I was working at a place called the Huntley House Hotel in Santa Monica. And I could work, I did the graveyard shift where I could go on my acting auditions during the day. And the Huntley House Hotel in Santa Monica is right down the street from the Third Street Promenade, which is a very popular tourist destination. And there's a lot of shops there and restaurants and bars. And I was walking there one day on my way to work, and these two older women stopped me and asked me if I was a model. And I go, No, I'm not a model. Not even sure what that meant. And uh they said, Well, uh, why don't you come to our office? Uh the ladies were Nina Blanchard and Eileen Ford. Eileen Ford's former famous for the Ford modeling agency in New York. And so they said, show up tomorrow at 11 o'clock or something like that with a swimsuit and uh for this audition. So I did, and I was surrounded by uh, you know, all these attractive girls in swimsuits. I got the job and they paid me $250 for the day uh working with these cute girls in a swimsuit. And I'm uh that was more than I was making in the week at the Huntley House Hotel. So I decided right then I am a male model now. And so they sent me to New York. I modeled in New York with Fords, and then they sent me to Milan. So I did the whole European thing. It was uh it was quite an adventure. I got to travel all over the world. Um, and so it was sort of a film business adjacent. So I got to be comfortable in front of the camera, but uh it helped my career, and that's uh what I was doing when I got my first really big break as an actor. I was an uh I was modeling.

Greg Staffa 4:03

That story almost sounds like it could be like a potential Smitty backstory where we want you to show up in your swimsuit and hang out with a bunch of beautiful women, and we'll pay you.

Brent Huff 4:15

That just seems like a yeah, it's it's too good to be true. Well, what's really funny is uh uh Eric Winter, who plays Bradford on the show, is also a male model. Oh wow, yeah, a very uh successful

Accidental Modeling Career Breakthrough

Brent Huff 4:30

one, I might add.

Greg Staffa 4:31

So you are paving the way for many actors.

Brent Huff 4:34

Yeah, kinda. That's kind of my thing. Uh so yeah, not really. But yeah, that's Eric started that way as well.

Greg Staffa 4:44

So you went then to New York and Los Angeles to study acting, and that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Because when I think of acting these days, you know, you have like your Marlon Brando, your Tom Hanks, you have influencers now from YouTube that are becoming actors. When you go to study acting, what are you really studying? And there's so many different forms of acting that is there kind of a concrete way to learn how to be an actor.

Brent Huff 5:11

No, I always say, because I teach acting too. Uh I've tied down at a place called Performers Academy for years. I and I coach a lot of actors with uh with their private auditions and stuff. And it was like, well, Brett, who do you think you are when you don't book everything to coach all these other actors and tell them what to do? And they said, well, if you can't do your coach. I've learned from me coaching, because I didn't think I was qualified to coach, I'll say that right up front, but it's made me a better actor because I have to like really study acting and break down every scene with all these actors. It's made me a much better actor, and I'm also a director, so it's made me a better director as well. And there's no two, when I first came to Los Angeles, you know, like I said, I was a theater major at Missouri. I came out here and everybody was like me talking about method acting and stuff. And so I was really studying method, I studying Meisner. I was doing, I was, I was taking all the classes, and it did not work for me. But a lot of my favorite actors, like the Daniel Day Lewis's of the world and the Christian, um uh Christian Bells, they're method actors, and I and they're some of my favorites. You gotta find what works for you as an actor. And I eventually found over time I've sort of gotten to the pocket of what works for me as an actor. And so there's just not one way where, you know, like uh that works for every actor. I'll say that.

Greg Staffa 6:33

And how does that work in a school then setting? I mean, when I think of history, history doesn't really change. You teach it and math is the same. So when you're teaching acting, what all encompasses going to study acting and what is, you know, how do you encapsulate all those different styles and what are you kind of teaching? I guess is my question.

Brent Huff 6:57

I would tell people that our job as an actor is to be interesting, if if I can break it down like that. It's it's how can I bring something that is not on the page to the uh to the film or television show that's uh not necessarily written. Of course, I have to be faithful to the script, it all starts on the page. How can I make this more entertaining? When I'm directing, a lot of times, you know, like say there's a crowd scene, and there might be somebody in all the crowd is just supposed to listen to whatever the speaker is saying in the scene. But somebody in the crowd might look away or, you know, uh roll their eyes or look down or do something interesting that's other than just listening, if that makes any sense. And I and uh so I find when I do a scene, I I come up with I when I get a script, I really mark it up. And I mark it up with things that I would find interesting, and over a time, you know, I might get rid of that. And it's acting behavior, you know. It's like I might look away, I might adjust my watch, I might do do something, but never take it away where it looks like I'm doing this. Uh it has to look natural, but interesting.

Greg Staffa 8:12

Now you've gone on and you've started more than 50 films, you've done a lot of TV shows from Jag, West Wing, Cold Case, Mad Men, NCIS. When you started becoming an act, I mean, acting is such cutthroat, and you know, you always hear the actors or waiters or waitresses to make things buy. At what point did you start feeling comfortable that this was the right career move going from modeling to acting?

Brent Huff 8:39

Uh man, I don't know that I've ever felt totally comfortable doing that. I gotta tell you, Greg, I still hustle as much now as I did the day I arrived in Hollywood. It's I've never been able to uh pump the brakes and go, man, I sit back now.

How Actors Learn To Be Interesting

Brent Huff 8:55

It's always I'm trying to get better. I'm always hustling for the next job. And it's just sort of who I am at this point. But um the one thing that I have gotten a lot better at than when I started, I don't take the rejection as personal as I used to. I just I move on. I literally, when I have an audition, I give it my absolute all, and then I don't think about it again because you'll make yourself crazy if you do that. And it's just uh it's something that I love to do. And I still to this day, when I see a play or a movie or a TV show with great actors, uh, I have sort of my actor's tool uh box. When I had I journal and it's like if somebody, an actor does something interesting, their director does something interesting with a camera move, I write it down and I study it. You know, it's sort of like Tom Brady studying um uh the other teens' films. It's I I I break it down and I find that just totally interesting to me.

Greg Staffa 9:52

No, I've had other actors on that talk about that same experience to getting used to that rejection. And one of the things that others have said is it almost helps you become a better actor because you start to learn why you got rejected. Sometimes it's nothing to do with you, but then you go see that film and see that character that you auditioned for and go, yeah, I was not right for that role.

Brent Huff 10:15

And that becomes yeah, Greg, you're absolutely right. And then sometimes it's it's very subjective. You know, you brought up mathematics earlier. So the mathematics and in sports, like say in track and field, and mathematics, there is a number that is correct. And and like I said, the 100-yard or 100-meter dash, someone wins and it's a clear cut, you know. Uh with acting, you and I may see the same performance, you might think he or she's terrible, and I think they're awesome. Uh, neither one of us is wrong. That's just how it affected us. So it's a different thing. You can you can be uh do a I've had auditions where I was like, I cannot do any better than that. That is absolutely as good as I can do, and I won't even get a call back. And then I'll have other ones where I go in and uh I say I I guess wrong because I make uh bold choices when I go in as an actor, and a bold choice doesn't necessarily mean overacting, it can mean really underplay something, and they don't like it at all. But uh sometimes I'll go in and think, man, that failed, and I'll get the job. So a lot of times you don't know, but I I now I'm willing to take chances as an actor. That's um I I think one of my strongest suits as an actor, and I'd be the greatest actor in the world, but I sure will take the chance, take chances.

Greg Staffa 11:37

Does taking a directing approach also helped you become a better actor because you're able to see the other end of because there's there's several equations going into when you're auditioning, not only your performance, but what the director is looking for, what the director sees. Does being

Rejection, Risk, And Audition Choices

Greg Staffa 11:55

a director help you become a better actor yourself? And does being an actor help you become a better director?

Brent Huff 12:01

Absolutely, both ways. It it helps me both ways. With as a director, I'm seeing the whole picture, you know. Like an actor, sometimes when you're working on your material, you have all these interesting things that you want to do. And then you get to the set, and the actor working opposite of you doesn't give you what you thought that they were going to give you. So you gotta work, you know, you gotta go with what they give you. It's kind of like a tennis match. Whatever serve they give you, you got you got to work with that. And then I used to get kind of upset if I didn't get uh a lot of attention from the director when I'm trying to talk to them about what I thought my character should do. And then I realized when I started directing, as a director, I literally have to answer 500 questions a day, minimum. So me just if I'm a little short with an actor, it has nothing to do with the actors, not that I don't care. I've got uh 500 other fires I need to put out the same at the same time.

Greg Staffa 12:54

So it taught you a little bit of patience, I guess, doesn't it?

Brent Huff 12:56

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. And also taught me, you know, uh be easy to work with as an actor, which I've always been. Don't be difficult.

Greg Staffa 13:04

Now, you've done a bunch of TV shows, some guest appearances, some like the rookie where you've been on longer. Which is more fun for you? Coming on a show like Shameless and doing three episodes or so, or being able to develop a character like on the rookie where you have several seasons to kind of incorporate it?

Brent Huff 13:23

Well, I tell you, yesterday I went back for the first time in season nine. So I hadn't seen anybody since the finale of season eight. And it was like there was hugs everywhere. So it's all these familiar faces that I've known over nine years. So you're just really relaxed. I've known all the regular actors for a long time. So you're really very relaxed. When my first day on the Unshameless, which everybody was very nice on that, you know, William H. Macy was directing it. And so, you know, I had more nerves uh set in. And

Directing Perspective And Set Patience

Brent Huff 13:55

everybody's very welcoming, but it took me like till uh the third episode I did on shameless to really feel like more comfortable. And it had nothing to do with them, and it's all me. But the rookie, like I said yesterday, it was just like a love fest. And you know, everybody, all the 80s, all the crew people, we all we just all know each other. It's kind of we can talk shorthand to each other. Uh, and it's a it's a well-oiled machine by season nine of the rookie. Every it's well-oiled machine and just a lot of fun to work on.

Greg Staffa 14:22

And we'll get to the rookie in a little bit, but that's one of the things I like about the show is the use of social media and like TikTok and stuff like that. Many of the actors and actresses are using that, and you really see that kind of fun friendship that you're talking about, where it feels genuine that these people love working with each other, and they do little TikTok videos or little social media videos, and it seems clear, because I've been at other events where actors are together and none of them will talk to each other, they're there to promote something, but there's no chit-chat or there's no conversation, there's no personality between them. They're just there to promote it. And I get the feeling just watching little snippets that you guys really have kind of created that family affair.

Brent Huff 15:08

Oh, yeah, you could you can absolutely tell. I've been on other shows where it's like, you know, it's and not that they didn't like each other, but they were close at all. With this show, and they're very close. And TikTok, Eric Winter, he he was the one that pretty much got everybody into the uh the TikTok stuff. And we're also on

The Rookie Family Culture And TikTok

Brent Huff 15:25

Instagram. It's a lot of fun. So there's a lot of, as you know, there's a lot of waiting around when you're on a set in between shots and stuff. And so some one of the actors might grab you, like, let's go do a TikTok thing over here, this, that, and the other. And TikTok, and they've had a whole whole article in the Los Angeles Times about how social media is one of the reasons that um the rookie has become a hit that it has. Uh, because I went over to my first convention with the rookie uh people in May in Paris. And the amount of fans that are young, they're they're young fans. And you know, it's a prestigial police show that have this many young fans, and it's all because of social media and TikTok. And so we're we're we keep we're gonna keep that thing going.

Greg Staffa 16:13

Speaking of social media, you've been an actor for a long time. You've seen the growth of social media, but you've also seen the decay of VHS, the decay of DVDs. You have done you've done films that may not have performed well in the theater, but they may have found a second life on DVD. How is this shift from you know no longer DVDs being that popular to relying on social media to promote things? Does that shift have any worry for you as an actor for the future? Where do you see you know the industry right now as far as that goes?

Brent Huff 16:50

Well, you just have to adjust. You know, there's a lot of changes in the industry. We'll go back to like the DVDs. Well, I in the 80s, I was the lead to a lot of uh lower budget action films. I did a ton of those in the 80s, but they would go and be in Blockbuster. And so if you could go to Blockbuster, you could see a movie like Titanic, and then right next to it would be one of the movies that I did in the Philippines. So, you know, and I would go in sometimes. I'll uh I'd have this little, I'd go in and move my DVDs closer to the big big studio films. But you can also on a Friday night or whatever go in and shop in DVD. And that was a that was a fun thing to do, Blockbuster. I miss Blockbuster, so that part's not so good. But uh to get any kind of publicity back in the day when I was doing those movies, you had to hire a publicist. And I a lot of people who are doing lower budget movies, they don't have the money to pay. Publicists would be $5,000 a month sometimes, from $3,500 to $5,000, probably even $10,000. And you don't get near the publicity

DVDs, Self Tapes, And AI Disruption

Brent Huff 17:55

that I can do myself on social media today. So that part is so much better. I can reach a lot of people with just sweat equity, my own hard work. Another way that you know the business has changed is the, you know, we have self-tape submissions, you know, rather than go into audition, those days are kind of gone now, which I miss. But a lot of people like that you can do self-tapes at home because you can do 15 takes of a scene before you like have one that you like that you can submit. That's changed, and of course, AI has changed the world, uh, entertainment world dramatically, especially I I do voiceovers, and that's sort of killed the voiceover business. Yeah, so there's there's a lot of changes, and you just have to adapt.

Greg Staffa 18:42

Now, we're also seeing, you know, shows like The Rookie is doing full seasons, but we're also seeing streaming and other networks doing smaller 10 episode seasons and stuff like that. Do you like the way that that's going? Do you like doing a full kind of full-blown conventional studio season?

Brent Huff 19:02

Oh, yeah. I would I would I would prefer that every season we did 22 episodes. Uh more more work for us.

Greg Staffa 19:09

And is there any concern that so much is going to like the 10 episodes?

Brent Huff 19:14

So much is going into the 10 episodes?

Greg Staffa 19:17

Well, so many, I mean, like Apple TV and most of their shows now are 10 episodes. Is there any fear that you're losing DVDs, you're losing. I mean, you the the product is becoming a lot more smaller and kind of focused.

Brent Huff 19:29

Right, right. Yeah. No, a lot of these shows uh I I I love the Apple stuff, which they like hit 10 episodes and stuff. I just watched um Cape Fear and did that. Uh I I I think it's a great time for TV right now, just in general. It's sort of the new golden age. Because I even if you're not in the film business, like when I go back to Missouri, people like you know talk at parties and stuff. What are you watching now? What's it? And they'll talk about storyline and stuff. And that wasn't that way when I was first growing up with television. There might be some like, you know, I love Lucy's and stuff like that. But now people are really invested in storylines and characters and these uh shows that are in Apple and Peacock and Prime and all that. It it's it's a good time for television.

Greg Staffa 20:14

Now, one of the things that you do is you're a director, you've directed films, but you also seem to really enjoy directing documentaries. And I've always I've always felt that documentaries kind of get the short end of the stick when it comes to things. I just watched

The New Golden Age Of Television

Greg Staffa 20:30

Chasing Beauty last night, which explores modeling the modeling industry and basically ties to what you used to do. Did doing that film and you know, directing it, did that cause you to reflect on the industry? Was this a result of your experience in the industry that you want to show? It's not a very fun, exciting film. It's kind of depressing at times.

Brent Huff 20:57

Well, I wanted to say what the modeling industry was really like. There are some people, like say myself, for instance, I absolutely had a blast in the modeling world. I did not have any bad experiences, but I saw a lot of people who did have bad experiences. And especially the young girls that were taken advantage of it. So I wanted to show not, it's just not a so I got blowback that I didn't make the modeling industry look as bad as it could be. And then I got a lot of blowback that I made it, you know, I could have made it look better. It's it that was how I saw the modeling world. And so I just wanted, and with every documentary I do, I want to show all sides of the story. So I didn't have like, I'm gonna go in here and show just what a great life this is. I didn't want to show what a great, horrible life it is. I go, this is it the good, the bad, and the ugly. The ugly side of being the ugly side of beauty, so to speak. First documentary that I ever

Chasing Beauty And Modeling’s Reality

Brent Huff 21:55

did. And how I got that is the Ford Modeling Agency had a models for you. In Beverly Hills, and they knew that I was a film director, and they asked me to film that. I was interviewing all these former models that were big models back the supermodels in the 80s, and it was it was fascinating. So that's that's what sort of generated that uh thought to make that into a documentary.

Greg Staffa 22:16

And I think, I mean, it was a fair uh look at the industry, I would say. It's just from someone that never been in that world or really experienced that world, some of it was a little bit jarring to hear there was a case of a 16-year-old that fainted, and they were more worried about the dress that she was wearing than the 16-year-old being rushed to the hospital. And it's just those kind of things where you realize that these models are there for their looks, but they're also just a vessel for the clothes that they're advertising for, and it became it was a very interesting thing. And one of the reasons I brought it up is you know, when you think documentaries, these aren't gonna be competing in the theater with like a Marvel film or anything like that. And I was recently at South by Southwest where Ethan Hawke was premiering his documentary and that he did on A Famous Couple. And one of the things that caught my eye was he showed up before the red carpet so his wife could take pictures of him in front of the marquee. And I realized that as a director, it didn't matter to Ethan Hawk, who was a major movie star. It didn't matter that if this was a documentary that he directed or you know a feature film that was gonna do millions. It was his story, and he was equally as proud of it. He tells a little bit about what goes into creating a documentary, knowing that you're not gonna get those accolades, but this is something that was deeply personal to you, the stories that you're telling, whether it be Chasing Beauty or Behind the Orange Curtain.

Brent Huff 23:55

Well, anytime I pick a documentary, I want to make sure it's something that I'm really interested in because I'm gonna spend probably two years on it. The one thing is like as an actor, I don't ever want to just sit around and wait for the phone to ring. Because, you know, uh, so I'll do also I do short films all the time where they don't pay me. And now I'm doing these verticals where they, you know, I don't get paid because I I just love doing it. But I want to keep myself busy. And when I write a script and try to uh raise the finance for that, it takes forever. So the least favorite part of the job is trying, you know, trying to raise money and asking people for money and they don't want to give it to you, and then they'll say something, well, I'll invest in your movie if you promise me I won't lose my money. And I'm like, I can't promise that. I promise you I'm gonna give it 100%. I can basically raise enough money. I I'll use my own funds. I can make a documentary for very little money. I can go shoot it myself with my own DSLR camera. I can edit it myself if I have to, I can get royalty-free music, but I'm still a storyteller. And I can I can get like, you know, named people, stars to be in my documentaries for free. And it's, I hope my documentaries are entertaining and I hope they're informative, uh, maybe touch a nerve, but it's still storytelling, and I can do it for a lot less money, and I can still go to all these film festivals and uh be part of the industry. So it's just another part of storytelling that I can do for lower budget.

Greg Staffa 25:28

We mentioned Chasing Beauty, but one that is a little bit more current is Darcy's Day, and that's been in more than 50 film festivals. Tell us a little bit about that.

Brent Huff 25:37

I think it's even been more than that. I think it's like been over a hundred festivals. I actually am talking to the director tomorrow, Darcy's Day. Uh, he's now writing the script uh Darcy's Year. And so it's uh Darcy later on in life, and he's wanting to do that. Uh, but it was just uh one of the producers or two of the producers of Darcy's Day worked on the rookie. So that's how they I got involved. And then the actress in that, Kyla is terrific, and it was a great experience, and it was in all these

Why Documentaries Are Hard To Fund

Brent Huff 26:10

film festivals that did really well, but so well that they're gonna make a feature now. So I'm gonna talk to the director tomorrow about it.

Greg Staffa 26:17

Does the the fact that there's so much out there as far as you know, Peacock and Apple and all these streaming services, does that make it easier for a documentary to get that exposure, or does it kind of drown it out?

Brent Huff 26:32

It's still tough. It's like when I'm finished with the documentary, then I have to sell it. And so I try to get a producer's rep. And so you call the big agencies like the CAAs and the William Morris's and our WMEs and all that, and uh there's other independent producers' reps, and to get people to even sit down and watch it, because there's a lot of people out there trying to sell their films, and it's a it's a constant hustle. So it's a hustle to raise the money, it's a hustle to make the film, and then it's a hustle to sell the film. So it's like you got have to run three marathons back to back to back to get anybody to even see your film. But uh, I'm still doing it. I haven't run out of gas yet.

Greg Staffa 27:14

You're like, we made you the film industry king for the day, and you could make a few changes. What kind of changes would you make for like the documentary industry? Because your documentaries, they've they've won awards, they've been in hundreds of film festivals. They're when they're seen, they're getting appreciated and they're getting recognized, but yet it doesn't translate into a desire to fund more of them. What would you do, or what would you change to what hurdle would you remove to help documentaries get more eyes? Because when they do get the eyes, they are appreciated.

Brent Huff 27:54

Yeah, I think there's uh I mean there's certain people who go, I I talk to a lot of people that go, Oh, I love documentaries. I wish there were more documentaries in the theater. And even at the in the arthouse theaters, like the Limleys out here, that it used to be you'd have like really art house movies, documentaries, so on. Now you go to these art house movies, and it's still the big blockbuster films. So I don't know, man. You know, I'm sure they just weren't making the money that way. And so it's hard to get the money to advertise or whatever. I'm trying to think of the dot last documentary that just hit it out of the park, but there's not, you know, not that many. I wish I wish that wasn't the case. When my wife and I are scrolling at night, trying to watch something on Netflix or whatever, a lot of probably 50% of the time we end up on a documentary.

Greg Staffa 28:46

Do you think that is uh the studio mindset that is holding back documentaries? Do you think it's an audio or audience mindset that's holding back? Where where do you think that that hurdle is that they're getting awards? Why aren't more embracing it?

Brent Huff 29:01

Yeah, I I don't know. I don't know. Like let's say uh 20th Century Fox, they had a documentary and they put in the PA like they put in like some of these big blockbuster films, how it would do. Um you know, they wanted to get the younger audience. I don't know if the younger audience is in the documentaries or what, you know, but uh I think they could be. It would be interesting to see if uh a really there's a really good documentary, maybe something that wants Sundance, and a studio bought it and it said we're gonna go out to 3,000 theaters and we're gonna put a ton of PA into this, and you know they can test it first to see on the audience and just see how it does. Because they just don't do that. I don't know why, but I'm sure it all has to do with money.

Greg Staffa 29:53

Does doing these kind of documentaries or doing these smaller films help you become a better director? Because a lot of times you're having to find ways to make 10 extras

Making Low Budget Work Look Big

Greg Staffa 30:05

look like 50 extras or a small room look like it's uh a room in you know Paris. You're having to find ways to kind of visually cheat and manipulate things because of budget restraints. Does that help make you a better director? And have you used that to expand on some of the bigger stuff that you've done?

Brent Huff 30:24

Well, I always try to make my films, no matter what whether they're uh scripted or you know, they're narrative or a documentary, I try to make the uh production value look really big. And I think I'm pretty good at doing that. But let's say I had a movie that I wanted to make a low-budget movie for a million dollars, and I wanted a scene in Times Square, New York City. It would be, you know, I can't pay for a permit, and I'd probably get shut down immediately if I had these two actors doing a walk and talk in there. Maybe I could try to cheat it with a, you know, a uh, you know, a phone shooting at a 4K. But I have gone into New York City, I just shot this Chasing Beauty, which you just saw last night. I'm in Times Square with a DSLR camera, I'm shooting the world in Times Square. I got thousands of extras and this huge um production value, and it cost me nothing. And that's in my documentary, and I played that in big theaters at film festivals, and it looks fantastic. But I couldn't do that if I was shooting a little independent uh narrative film.

Greg Staffa 31:28

Now, if Steven Spielberg came to you and said, I'm a big rookie fan, I love the work you do, I checked your out and I love the documentaries that you've done. I want to give you Steven Spielberg backing to create the documentary of your dreams. What would that story be?

Brent Huff 31:46

It would be the story of Amy Semple McPherson. Do you know who that is? Not off the top of my head. Okay. Amy Semple

The Dream Documentary Story Pitch

Brent Huff 31:55

McPherson was uh an evangelist in the 1920s in Los Angeles. She was this charismatic young girl, and uh she had a like an overbearing matriarchal uh matriarch mom, and she was the most famous woman in the 20s in Los Angeles, and she had a church called the Angeles Temple in Echo Park. And uh every Sunday that had four services that would pack and she was a faith healer, you know. Uh so people would come there to her services blind and then they could see, and the crippled uh would walk afterwards and throw their canes away and their crutches away. And she was uh unbelievable. Uh, but people didn't know if she was real or fake or what the deal was. And at the height of her popularity, she went for a swim at Santa Monica Pieru with her secretary, went out to the ocean and never returned. And the entire city of Los Angeles was in mourning. And uh some people went to uh uh looking for her, like the next day, 10,000 people showed up. Some threw themselves in the water, tried to kill themselves, and then some thought that they saw her in an ascension, like Jesus Christ going up to heaven. And it was a crazy time in Los Angeles. But there were rumors that a man was missing at a church who was married, and there's rumors that they were seen in Carmel. And 30 days later, Amy Steven McPherson shows up at the Mexico U.S. border and said that she was kidnapped in this wild story, and there was a huge trial that the whole city was mesmerized in. Uh seven people mysteriously died during that trial. Uh, her career was never the same. Later on, she did a one-woman show on Broadway that was a failure, and then she started preaching again in Oakland and uh died of a drug overdose at 53 years old. That's a crazy story that I would love to do the documentary about. That is a crazy story. And you look it up, Amy Sibyl McPherson. You can Google it and you can see footage of her. It is, it is, you can't believe it happened.

Greg Staffa 34:10

Are you it almost seems like you're drawn to unusual stories

Reinventing Yourself And Not Quitting

Greg Staffa 34:15

or people that are overcoming things? Yeah. Is that uh something that you're just drawn to, or is it the story? Is it the is it the character that you're drawn to? Is it the story? How do you navigate that?

Brent Huff 34:29

I love people who never give up. I love all these sports stories and people who beat all the odds. I've just written a book called My Playbook for Life, and I and I talk about a lot of a lot of times people just give up too soon. There was a lot of times in my acting career I could have given up where things look pretty bleak, but I I told myself I was never gonna quit. And I haven't. And so these people, I don't care if it's Tom Brady being you know, drafted in the seventh round, it's like uh, you know, Aaron Rodgers, nobody goes, um uh he didn't get the scholarships he wanted. The Josh Allen didn't, but they never gave up. And I love those stories, and um that's what a lot of my uh films are about.

Greg Staffa 35:11

Hmm. Maybe I'll have you direct my story someday. So yeah, I'd love to. There we go. So you've had a career that is, for the most part on paper, looks a little bit sporadic. You are an athlete, you were a model, you were a leading man, you're a character actor, a writer, director, documentary filmmaker. When you're looking back at your career, do you see them as like separate chapters? Do you see how there's a flow to it? How do you look back at your career?

Brent Huff 35:44

Well, as we talked about this earlier, it's just adapting, you know. I would love to play the young uh hero still, but I can't do that. I aged out of that. So I've got to adapt, you know, and it's like uh and as the business changes as I get older, and uh it's just it's a constant uh changing and reinventing myself.

Greg Staffa 36:08

I'd be remiss if we didn't talk a little

How Smitty Became A Fan Favorite

Greg Staffa 36:10

bit about the rookie before we wrapped up. Love the show. Smitty is one of those characters that could have been just showing up for an episode or two, but he's become a fan favorite. What point did you realize how beloved the character was?

Brent Huff 36:27

Oh, it it took a while. I didn't realize this. I don't know if you know the story. I've told it several times, but I was just supposed to be in one episode, a one-day part in season one of the rookie, where it was an older guy, my scene is with Nolan, and he's a rookie, and he's trying to tell it was his time to tell me, you know, they were letting the rookies kind of tell the uh the veterans what to do in this certain thing. And I didn't want to take uh direction from him. So I thought I was just being this like older, seasoned uh cop that didn't like rookies, and that's how I played it. Over time, starting the season two, they started giving me all this comedic stuff, and it became more and more fun, and and uh I'm just having a blast doing it. But I I never in a million years saw this coming that I would be still on the show nine years later. It's a gift for sure.

Greg Staffa 37:18

What does it say as an actor? I mean, it could have been easy for you to be dismissive, saying I'm only here to do a job one day or two days or however long it was to film. What does that say about your character as a person approaching these roles that you know you thought you're gonna be here for a short time and now you've been on for several seasons? Does your approach have to be positive? Is that I mean, is that something that you realized that you had in you that because of your attitude, your work ethic, that contributed to that, or was it just by luck?

Brent Huff 37:56

I don't know. It's it's and every every job I've ever done, and I've done a lot of jobs over the years. I am blessed to have everyone, and I love showing up to work. I'm I'm the easiest person to work with because I love it, and I know how lucky I am to be able to do that. I I never go in there with attitude like, oh, I'm all that, because uh it's just this gift that um I'm you know blessed with. I'm grateful. Yeah, I think that's the thing that keeps me going. I just have such gratitude.

Greg Staffa 38:26

And I mean, Svinny has mastered the art of doing as little work as possible while still being able to somehow keep his job. How much of that personality is on the page? You said that they came back and started adding more comedic stuff. How much did you create and do you have input in the character of you know you're working on a scene and you say, I don't think he would do that, or this is what I think he would do. Do you have that input? And how much of that character is deep down within you?

Brent Huff 38:54

Well, the biggest difference is Smitty is lazy and doesn't want to work and gets out of work. And in real life, me, Grant, um, I'm a workaholic. So we're completely opposite uh in that way. And Smitty eats candy and donuts all the time, and I eat pretty helping. But this is the I kind of play, see, Smitty, it's the more ridiculous version of myself. And I try to play every scene. I'd say the best way to describe it is off-kilter. And so I come up with these uh, like I said, I mark up my script. I go, this could be a good idea, this could be interesting, this could be fun. And sometimes the uh the writers and the directors and Alexi, the show writer, go, Oh, that's fantastic. And other times, ah, it doesn't really work. I go, no, no worries. Um, you know, they don't

Playing Police With Respect And Care

Brent Huff 39:40

all work, but uh they give me the free, I have the freedom to try stuff. I don't change the dialogue, but uh I try different things, and they're they've been very open to that. But I will give the writers all the credit for writing me fun stuff.

Greg Staffa 39:57

In this game and age, I think there's kind of some mixed emotions on people's feelings for cops. Uh coming from the Midwest, though, I have to wonder, you know, we dream of playing cops and robbers growing up as kids. What's it like to put on that uniform, even though you're playing an act, you know, you're playing a character, you're you're playing a role, but is there a sense of empowerment, of pride to to be doing that? And do you feel that there's a responsibility? You know, yeah, he's lazy and stuff like that, but he's still a cop. Is there kind of a personal feeling of responsibility to how you present someone in law enforcement, or is it just a role?

Brent Huff 40:39

Well, it's I I'll tell you uh an interesting story. I'm not gonna say it's a fun story, an interesting story. But you know, I I play Smitty like a goofy guy, but I I do know how important being a police officer is. Um, so I don't want to like make fun of them, but I have a lot of cops. And I mean a lot of cops come up to me and say, oh my God, we've got a Smitty at our station. Oh, I mean, I get hit with that all the time. So I I know, you know, the the ones that are just waiting to retire. But we had a day, and it was just uh Nathan and I, Nolan and I shooting a scene where we get uh a sniper is shooting at us. Uh and we're in downtown LA, and then there were real bullets. Somebody was really shooting in our direction. And it was like, as we have cops, real cops uh there on the set, you know, technical advisor chick and all then other cops there uh for traffic and whatever. And so they rushed Nathan and I out of there because they didn't know what was going on. And the real cops, we were running away from the danger, and the real cops that worked on our set were running towards the danger. And like, there you go. That that's a it takes a certain mentality to be a real cop. And so I saw it up front, I saw it in person. Happened. It was it was amazing.

Greg Staffa 42:00

Now you said you just started filming the new season, or your character.

Brent Huff 42:05

My character just started. And yesterday was my first day of season nine, it was so great to be back. Is there any time to start it?

Greg Staffa 42:11

Is there anything? I know you can't spoil anything, but is there anything that you're looking forward to that is challenging for you as an actor that you're excited about? And I don't need you to tell us details, but is there enough

Advice To Younger Actors

Greg Staffa 42:25

going on with your character that still keeps you excited to keep coming back? Or is it just a fun character in general to play?

Brent Huff 42:31

It's a fun character in general to play, and then every time I get sent a new script, I just can't wait to read it and to see what shenanigans Smithy's up to. And I'm like, oh my and so my wife has sent us something. She goes, What's he doing now? I go, Oh, you're gonna love it, you know, kind of thing. So it's uh I never know. It's sort of like one of those surprise gift bags. You just never know when I open a script what you're gonna get. And so then it's then it's a challenge. I go, how can I make this work?

Greg Staffa 42:59

You came into the acting industry at a younger age. I mean, you studied it in high school and college. If you could sit down with the Brenton Huff first arriving in Hollywood and give them a piece of advice, what would you tell them?

Brent Huff 43:15

Uh I would say there's not one. I every time I would do these, I and I I've done in a million acting classes, and I go, this is the only way to do it. You got to do it this way. I would say, now throw that, take from each teacher the best of the best and what works for you. And even if it works for someone else, it might not work for you. You know, don't take the rejection personally. And know that you're in, oh, and be happy for other actors when they do book the role that wasn't meant for you. You know, it it wasn't meant for you. Uh you can pout and get angry about it on this, that, and that, but be happy for your fellow actors. We're all we're all struggling in this business and trying to do, you know, good work. So uh jealousy does not look good on anybody.

Greg Staffa 43:59

Well said.

Book Release, Audiobook, And Charity

Greg Staffa 44:00

And wrapping things up, and I do appreciate you coming on. Is there anything that you want to talk about, promote? Anything that's coming up in the near future that you're working on or filming or writing?

Brent Huff 44:10

Yeah, well, I'll keep watching the rookie. I'm I'm um pitching that. And also in November the 6th, I have my book coming out. It's called My Playbook for Life. And I have read self-help books since I was in high school, and I've always kept journals in. So every self-help book I read, I um I might only get one sentence of something, of something that I can use to help uh course correct my life and uh career. But I've written all those down over the years and I've taken the best of the best of all of these books and I put it into my own book called My Playbook for Life. And it has helped me tremendously, and I think that anybody that reads this book, it will help them.

Greg Staffa 44:54

Now, you've done voiceover work for the Schmidtis out there. Is there gonna be an audio version with you recording it?

Brent Huff 45:02

Is there an audio version of me recording what Smitty?

Greg Staffa 45:05

For no, for the Schmidtis out there that are don't want to read the book.

Brent Huff 45:09

Oh, did I do an audio book? Well, you do an audio book. I did it. And let me tell you, Greg, it's not easy. So my book is 323 pages. So it took me over 200 hours to record the video book or the audio book. And uh, you know, because you make mistakes and you got to edit and all this kind of stuff. And there's these companies out there right now that can take my voice and give me a voice match. I can send them my manuscript, and for like from three to five hundred dollars, very little money, and save me 200 hours, they can make an AI version of uh the audiobook that sounds pretty much like me, but I did not do it because I want to support actors as fighting the AI. And it would, you know, trust me, there is it, it was a lot of work. But uh yeah, that that's how the business has changed. If I wanted to do it on AI or sounded like me, I could have done it a lot easier in a lot, really cheaper.

Greg Staffa 46:10

Wow. And not to put you on the spot or anything, but is there any charities that are important to you that you'd like to plug?

Brent Huff 46:17

Yes, RhettSyndrome.org. Uh

Gratitude And Final Goodbye

Brent Huff 46:20

these young girls who suffer from Rhett Syndrome, I've been involved with them for like 15 years. It's a neurological disorder that affects mostly young girls. And it's uh it's tragic, and their parents are superstars to raise these young girls. But uh uh look it up, RhettSyndrome.org.

Greg Staffa 46:40

Okay, and I'll put a link to that on your blurb. Final question, and again, I appreciate you coming on. But you've had a long career, like I said, actor, athlete, model, leading man. But when you get up in the morning, splash a little water on your face, and look in the mirror, who is it that you see?

Brent Huff 46:58

Honestly, someone who's very grateful for life and we're very grateful for all the blessings I've been given. I've got a beautiful wife, daughter, grandkids. It's uh I have no complaints.

Greg Staffa 47:10

Well said. Well, Brenton Huff, thank you so much for coming on. I know you've had a busy day this mor already, and I appreciate your time.

Brent Huff 47:18

Greg, thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.