[MUSIC PLAYING] JOANNA GROSS: Hi, everyone. Thank you so much for joining
us, and welcome to Talks At Google. My name is Joanna
Gross, and I am thrilled to be
moderating our talk today with the one
and only Noah Reid. As a bit of an
introduction, Noah Reid is a Toronto-born
actor and musician. In 2015, he was nominated
for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Original
Song in the feature film, "People Hold On." In 2016, Noah debuted
his first solo album, "Songs From a Broken Chair." Noah joined the cast of the
Canadian hit comedy series "Schitt's Creek"
in 2017 as Patrick, where his acoustic cover of Tina
Turner's pop hit, "The Best," cracked number three on
iTunes Canada charts. Noah's second studio
album, "Gemini," was released in May of
2020 and hit number one on the Canadian charts. Without further ado,
please welcome Noah Reid. NOAH REID: Hi. JOANNA GROSS: Hi, Noah. Thanks for joining us. NOAH REID: My pleasure. Thanks for having me. JOANNA GROSS: Absolutely. So we want to
talk, first of all, about your new, wonderful
album, "Gemini," which just came out in May. So first of all, can
you tell us a little bit about your inspiration
for the title? Why "Gemini"? Share a little bit with us. NOAH REID: Sure. Well, I guess I was looking
for a common denominator in the songs. And we had gone into the
studio with a handful of songs, I think probably about
17, and ended up with 12, and I was like, OK, what's
the defining thing that all of these songs have in common? Is there any common ground here? And I noticed that some of
them were coming from a really sort of hopeful, joyful
place, and others were coming from a real place of
doubt, not knowing, struggling. And I was like, well, that
sort of sums me up in a way. I'm a Gemini, and I've never put
a lot of stock into astrology, but I don't know, recently I've
been noticing this tendency that I have, some days I feel
super outgoing, other days, I feel completely reclusive,
and this sort of tug of war between the
darkness and the lightness that I identify with. And so I thought, well,
that's interesting. And then as I continued
to think about it, I was like, in
Canada, in Toronto, there used to be these things
called the Gemini Awards. And the Gemini Awards were given
for excellence in television, in Canadian television
broadcasting. And I was like, they phased
the Gemini Award out, I don't know,
probably about seven or eight years ago, and now
it's the Canadian Screen Award, which is a
beautiful thing, and that brought together
film and television in Canada. But as a Gemini, I
was always sort of mad that I would never be
able to win the Gemini. I was like, ah. I was like, I really wanted one
of these beautiful sculptures. So then I thought it would
be interesting, a little nod to my dual career path as
an actor and a musician to make that the focal
point of the album art. And I had my good friend Miles
Gertler recast the old Gemini Award and put a personal
and artistic spin on it that felt a little more
unique to my situation. And that was that. JOANNA GROSS: Fantastic. NOAH REID: Yeah. JOANNA GROSS: So every
album, I feel like, has a journey or a story. You kind of shared
that a little. Is there anything
else that might have been unique
about the journey to this particular album
that you could share with us? NOAH REID: Sure. Well, the songs on the record
really span a period of time that I was-- I don't know, it was a period of
real discovery for me, I think. I had had the experience
of breaking through, in some respect. For years, I've been
going to Los Angeles to look for work, like
every Canadian actor does. I guess like every
American actor does too. It's sort of a yearly gold
rush in the early months of the year, that we
call pilot season. So I would end up
in Los Angeles, trying to crack into the
American entertainment industry. And with little success,
but eventually did get this break on this
show "Kevin From Work" in which I played Kevin, and
that was sort of a culmination, in a way, of something
I had been working towards trying to get there. And then getting there
and having that experience and living in LA,
which is a town that I have a sort of
difficult history with. My mom's from LA, and I just
always felt kind of weird there. I never have felt
truly myself there. And so a lot of the songs
touch on that experience of being in Los Angeles or
achieving some goal that wasn't actually the goal. And also during that time,
I was falling in love. I was starting a relationship. And so there's a lot of-- there are those sort of love
songs on the record too. And so the split
between those things and trying to figure out, OK,
what am I actually discovering about myself? How can I listen to
myself in moments where I'm having doubts? Why am I having those doubts? Where is that trying to take me? I'm having this experience of
really falling for this person, and how can I follow that while
also following this career trajectory. It felt like there were a
lot of splits in this record and this sort of fork in
the road kind of thing. And trying to do both
is always a challenge. But I don't know. I think by the
end of the record, I feel when I listen
to it now, I'm like, OK, I have a pretty
good sense of where I was at during that time. And it's interesting to
look back on it now and say, OK, yes. Two things are possible. You can hold two realities
at the same time. It is possible to do. JOANNA GROSS: That makes sense. So this album is obviously
really meaningful to you, and all the songs are wonderful. But is there a particular
song on the album that you would
call your favorite, or a group of songs that you
would call your favorites? NOAH REID: I don't know. I mean, I think when we were in
the mixing phase of the record, which is where most musicians
will tell you things really galvanize, it sort
of comes together, and the magic happens in the
mix, my producer Matt Barber and I would be going through,
and every song would take its little turn in the
driver's seat and be like, oh no, I like-- and it
would be down to one little lick or a riff or just
the way that a vocal line was said or something [INAUDIBLE]. Oh, I like that. That sounds good to me. But I would say the
one that jumps out to me now most is "Underwater." We had-- in the studio,
I think "Underwater" was one of the first-- I just really was
connecting to it at the time that we recorded it, and it
was one of the first songs that we attacked when
we were in the studio. And we kind of hit
a bit of a snag. Like we-- it was
feeling really good, and then we listened
back to it, and I was like, this isn't quite
what I had envisioned. And I talked to Matt about
it, and we were kind of like, yes, I don't know. So I think it was actually
a really cool version of it, but it was more experimental. It felt a bit more like
disco-y or something. And then after a few weeks-- or not after a few weeks. After a few days, I was
like, I wouldn't mind taking another run at that song. So we went back for
another recording. "Underwater" wasn't the only
song that we did that on. And we had the time
to go back and do that stuff to a certain extent. So it was nice to revisit
it with a different outlook, with a bit more information
and a sort of open attitude to see what we came up with. And the result was this
slowed down, much more mellow, and then we started
to add things in, like the horns and the
strings, and that all felt like it really came
together in a nice way. And I loved being in the
studio for days like that, because it just
taught me so much about the technical
side of making music, but also the collaborative
side and trying to listen to your
instincts and bring your instincts to the
table without forcing them around or throwing them around. And I was so grateful to
have Matt as a producer, because he's a friend of mine
and such an easy, collaborative energy. And so yes. That one, for many
reasons, sticks out to me. But I also just like
the way it sounds. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. That's so funny. I can't picture "Underwater"
as a disco song at all. [LAUGHS] NOAH REID: Yes, I was picturing
myself with roller skates on, at Scooter's Roller
Palace, just whipping around. JOANNA GROSS: Well, maybe
your next album, you can do a disco-inspired
album and have it take place at the roller rink. NOAH REID: I think that
would be very successful. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. I think so too. [LAUGHS] So you mentioned
that "Underwater" really means a lot. Are there any particular lyrics,
either in that song or in any of the other songs, that
are particularly meaningful? I know there's a lot of
themes here, falling in love, struggling with LA. Any lyrics you
could identify that have particular meaning to you? NOAH REID: Well, I mean,
I always felt like-- I find the way that
songwriting happens for me, it sort of happens in chunks. It's rare that a
song just comes out fully formed in one sitting. Maybe I'll get a verse that
way or a verse and a chorus, but generally, I'll
have to go back around to find the second verse
or the third verse. And I think with "Underwater,"
I had written the first two verses, and they
were just feeling so, I don't know, navel-gaze-y,
self-indulgent, you know, woe is me. So the first line of the
third verse is "there you are, you white North American,
prone to embarrassment. You're out of your element." It was just sort
of a reminder, I think, and relevant
in this time, when I listen to
it now too, of all of the gifts and the privileges
and the things that I've taken for granted in my own life. Just the ability to complain
about the way that I'm feeling is a massive privilege that
a lot of people don't have. So that sticks out
to me now as a bit of an interesting-- with
some re-contextualization. And I think I was linking it at
the time that I was writing it, there's an early lyric,
I'll never be president. I think like a lot of people,
I was feeling pretty-- I wasn't feeling super hopeful
about the direction of the US presidency, and I was sort
of making this snide comment about that on some
scale and the way that privileged,
particularly white people, have this blustery way
of just getting through. It is very show biz
related, the posturing, the mask that so many people
wear as a way to get through and not confront your
doubts or the things that make you unsure
or uncomfortable. And it will feel like
you're walking on water, but it's a lie. You're not. So yes, I don't know. That one certainly
stays with me, and I'm glad that we got
a recording of it that-- but I think I wanted to put
that song out as a single, but it felt a little too down
for where the world was at, so instead we put out "Hold On." [LAUGHS] It was just a little
more solidarity-based, I think. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. For sure. So I feel like in
your new album, there's of a lot of different
styles mixed into one, depending on the song. How would you describe
your musical style? NOAH REID: Boy, that's
a great question. I don't really know. Because I think
that there are so-- there is something
about them that each one feels a little bit like
it's in a different style. To me, the songs feel like
they're in their own style, they're in their own
little containers, and sometimes it's-- I mean, I could
group, say, "Honesty," and "American
Roads," it's driving, up-tempo rock and roll songs,
but it's harder to pinpoint the-- or Matt Barber would
call my acoustic guitar finger-picking songs, he'd
call them dusty old folk tunes, which I really enjoyed. I was like, maybe I should just
record all the dusty folk tunes and put them on their own song,
called "Dusty Old Folk Tunes." JOANNA GROSS: There you go. NOAH REID: [LAUGHS]
But yes, I don't know. I mean, I think
that probably that comes, in a way, from,
again, from being an actor. And characters are very
point-of-view based. If you step into the shoes
of a different character, you have to take a
look around at what their given circumstances
are, who their relationships are with, how they
relate to other people in different circumstances. And I feel the same
about these songs. I come at them, depending on
the day or the time of year or whatever conversation
I've just come out of, with a set of given
circumstances, and I take the song
from that perspective. So on a day where
I'm feeling great, and anything is possible, then
a song like "Honesty" comes out. And when I'm feeling
down and like I've been-- somehow my inner workings have
been called into question, then I get songs like
"Heroes and Ghosts," so it's hard to pinpoint. But I would say I draw a
lot of musical inspiration from the singer
songwriters of the '70s. And so my partner, Claire,
told me the other day that my music-- and I think she
meant this as a compliment-- that my music pays very
little attention to trend, which I think is nice,
because I agree I'm not-- any of my friends
will tell you, I'm not the trendiest guy
or the most up-to-date. But I don't know. I mean, they come out of-- I try to approach these
songs from a place of honesty and authenticity and try
to see how they fall off the truck, basically, and then
assign a genre afterwards, which I would say probably
in the folk rock region. But I don't know, it feels
cheap to put a label on it. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. I get that. So you've been in
show business a while. When did you start
writing music, though? NOAH REID: I think
probably I started-- I mean, my mom would
say that I've been writing music my whole life. I started playing the piano
probably when I was about five and instantly had a fascination
with coming up with melodies and writing down. She would write
down little melodies that I had come up with. And I think at one
point, I was entered into the Kiwanis Festival
Composition Competition. And I can't remember if I
came in third or something. I feel like probably I was
in and around the top three at the ripe old age of eight in
the Toronto Kiwanis Festival, for whatever that means. But I think probably
when I started writing songs was when I
was at the National Theater School of Canada. And I had brought my piano
with me out to Montreal, when I moved out of
my childhood home. And I was living alone
for the first time and with an incredible
group of people in my class and year, that year. And at that school,
we were always encouraged to be bringing
whatever we had to the table. If you could juggle,
then that's a thing that somebody
might hire you for, so how do you incorporate that
into your own creative process. And certainly, I think
in our second year there, there was a lot of self
work being generated. We were encouraged to write
little pieces of theater solo shows for ourselves. There were all kinds of little
assignments and projects that had to do with
creating things. And I would notice that a
lot of my creative process would be funneled musically. And I think I started writing
little songs from characters' perspectives as a way to
get in touch with what their world might be
like and access it from a different side. And then I think I started
applying that to my own life a little bit in the years
that followed and saying, hey, what if I'm the character,
[LAUGHS] and this song is about something
that I'm going through, or even something that
I'm imagining, you know? But so yes. I mean, they all-- I'd say I probably
started in my early 20s, actually writing songs
and putting them down. And then eventually, my
mom was like, what are you doing with these songs? Both of my parents
really were like, are you going to
record these things? And I was like, no, I
don't want to record them. They'll go away. And they were like,
you know what? They'll really go away. If you don't record
them, and then you'll have no record of them. So I'm really glad
that they pushed me to do that and that Matt
Barber came on and agreed to produce both of my records,
because they're definitely the biggest creative
outlet that I have. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. Great. So I know everyone's
interested in your rise to fame and what that's like. So I'd love just kind
of a fun question. What's your craziest fan story? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS] Oh,
my craziest fan story. You know, wrapping my
head around fandom at all is very difficult. [LAUGHS] JOANNA GROSS: Yes, I bet. NOAH REID: I don't
understand it. I mean, I do on a level. Like, I'm a fan of
Toronto sports teams pretty significantly,
so I do understand that when somebody really
appreciates something, you go in hard, and I get that. But it's very interesting. I mean, I'd say probably
the craziest thing was-- and this has been
a repeat thing-- is when the cast
of "Schitt's Creek" was on our live show tour, the
Up Close and Personal Tour, and we would come out. Dan and Eugene would
walk out on stage, and it would be like
The Beatles and the pope were there at the same time. And everybody was just
like-- these rooms full of-- theaters full
of thousands of people just losing it. And then one at a time,
Dan would call us out. And we'd walk out
onto the stage, and people would just like-- I mean, obviously
Catherine O'Hara would get the craziest ovation. But it was just a
very surreal feeling to be walking out to
that level of adulation. And I think it wasn't
until those live events that I realized what the
following of the show and how passionate
the fan base was and how much the
show meant to people and how much it contributed
to people's lives, and that they wanted to
pay that back in some way or let us know that it was
that meaningful to them. So I mean, little
individual things here and there jump to
mind, but really it's the big rooms that are
the most overwhelming. [LAUGHS] JOANNA GROSS: Yes. I was at the Detroit
up close and personal, and I can say for sure
that crowd was passionate. That's great. NOAH REID: That's wild. That was one of
the biggest places that we went, that
Masonic temple. That's an incredible building. JOANNA GROSS: Yes,
it's gorgeous. So some people may know,
some people may not, you were a child actor,
playing, very notably, Mr. Franklin the Turtle. NOAH REID: Yes I did. JOANNA GROSS: So what
was the experience like as a child actor? Were old enough to
process what was going on? Did you realize you
were becoming famous? Or just what was that
whole experience like? NOAH REID: Well, I
knew that there was-- I mean, it was
something that I'm sure my parents did
not want me to do, because it was a bit
of a hassle for them. I mean, they were trying to
navigate their own careers, and then have to deal
with me as a child being like, I want to perform! But they were very
good about it. And they're both visual
artists, and so they were like, OK, well, I guess we'll
see how this goes, and we'll do it as
much as you want. And so I did some plays. I did "Beauty and the Beast"
in Toronto, where I played Chip the Teacup for several months,
until I outgrew the costume, and then did a couple
of commercials. And Franklin was one of
the earliest voice gigs that I did and became a
real staple of my life as I went once a week
to record the episodes. I don't think I had much of a
concept of fame or anything, but I think that was, in a
way, the benefit of starting in the theater and animation,
because my face, by and large, wasn't-- outside of a Raisin
Bran commercial, it wasn't out there. People that I went to
school with sometimes would yell, hey, Raisin Bran
boy, and I'd be like, OK. Well, that's fine, I guess. But that was the extent of it. Not even that many people
knew about Franklin. I knew that it was-- especially as a Canadian, I read
the "Franklin the Turtle" books growing up. And it's such a
beautiful book series that I knew I was
part of something that was going to be hopefully
a lasting impact on younger people and lessons about
growing up and stuff. And I thought that
was pretty great, but I don't know that
I had a sense even that it could be a career. I don't know that I thought that
I would continue to do this. But it's just continued
to make itself available as a
career, so-- and I'm grateful that I didn't have
more exposure as a kid, I think, because I think it's
a difficult thing to navigate, especially when you're just
figuring out who you are. It can be-- we've seen countless
people get turned around by it. So yes, I'm glad that it
was mostly in the animation and theater world. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. So have you,
throughout your career, had any notable
mentors, and can you tell us a little bit
about how they helped you? NOAH REID: Well, yes. I mean, I guess in
the very early days, when I was at day
care, there was a guy who ran the day
care, named [? Duran. ?] I don't know his last name. But he was this
incredible, incredible guy, very charismatic. And he would get us all,
like three, four-year-olds, up in the playroom or
whatever, acting out whatever the latest Disney movie was. And that was so much fun. I just remember
really enjoying that. And he told my
parents that they had a young performer on their
hands and that I should probably continue to do that. And then they enrolled
me in some classes at the local library,
where a guy named KJ Grant ran a sort of
an improv group for kids, and he again really mentored me. And he was just an
encourager, you know? He was like, you can do this. So if you wanted to do
this, this would be how. Matt Barber is the greatest
example of a mentor to me in the music world. I mean, he has literally
made my music career possible by offering to not just
produce both my records, but he played drums on
"Songs from a Broken Chair." He mixed "Songs from
a Broken Chair," which is a painstaking process. On the first time on tour, he
was the opening act and playing drums in the band. So I don't think it gets
more mentoring than that. And in a perfect way, too. He's never prescriptive
or weird about it. It feels like I'm
just hanging out, which is the best kind
of mentorship, I think. I've had a number of
my personal friends be mentors to me, which
I think is amazing, in different fields of my
life, at different times. Certainly my parents
and my sister. I'm grateful to have a
family structure that is as supportive and as
creative as they come. And yes. I mean, probably my first
agent, Mary Swinton, and my second agent, Celia
[? Chassels, ?] both of whom I think have retired,
but it's hard to say. My current agent, Pam Winter. I'm surrounded by mentors. I've got too many. JOANNA GROSS: That's fantastic. Great. So I'd love to pivot and talk
a little bit about "Schitt's Creek," if that's OK with you. NOAH REID: Yes, of course. JOANNA GROSS: So the first
question that a lot of people told me they were
interested in is what was the audition process
like for "Schitt's Creek"? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS]
Well, for me it was-- I think they were in the middle
of shooting season two when I got the sides for Patrick. And there was just one scene. It was the first scene. I auditioned with
the first scene that Patrick gets introduced
into the story, where David's coming into Ray's office to
ask about a business license, and clearly he has no idea
what he's talking about. Patrick's there, working
for Ray at the time. And I just connected
immediately with the tone of it. And I hadn't seen
the show, which was a problem for Dan
when he found that out. He still makes fun
of me about it. But I intentionally
didn't watch the show, because I was like, I'm
going to psych myself out. If I watch the show, and I
love it, or if I hate it, I will psych myself out equally. And it's probably better
if I don't know anything. I already knew that
Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy were in it, and
that was daunting enough. So I was like, maybe I'll just-- I'll arm myself
with ignorance here, and I'll just go in blind. And I felt like I
could justify that, because Patrick
didn't know anybody. He was new. So that was OK. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. NOAH REID: And yes. But I just love the tone,
the sarcastic quality of it, the banter. It was so clear
and so un-muddled. And I feel like at
that time, often when I was going into auditions, I
was adding a lot of stuff, because I was like, I've got
to bring something to this that nobody else can bring. I have to supplement
this in some way. And with those sides,
I didn't add anything. I was like, well,
this is all here. It's really-- it's
crystal clear. I expected that we would do a-- if it was going to
go to the next round, that we would do a
chemistry read or something, but we didn't, because
Dan was busy on set, writing the episodes and
doing wardrobe fittings and all kinds of stuff. So we never had
any chemistry test. We had met previously
just socially down in LA, in the Canadian gold
rush of pilot season. And so I knew him
socially a little bit, and I knew Annie as well. And so that made it a little
less scary for me too, I think. But I think I did two auditions. I did the main audition and then
a callback, and got the call, and was on set within
a couple of weeks. It all happened pretty fast. And I was like, oh boy, OK. Here we go. But everyone was incredibly
nice and welcoming. And both Eugene and
Catherine already knew my name, which
that was kind of major. I feel like that's a
lesson I take with me now. I'm like, if somebody
has learned your name, and they're in a
position of power, it means that they think you
belong there or something, that you're worth putting at
least that much effort into. So that was really nice. And yes, we went from there. JOANNA GROSS: That's awesome. So in terms of the
rise of Schitt's Creek, it came kind of suddenly, right? All of a sudden, everybody's
talking about the show. Why do you think it's gained
such an immense following in such a relatively
short amount of time? NOAH REID: Well, I think part
of it was just word of mouth and that taking its time
to make its way around. I think certainly the
American market is not used to watching CBC shows. And you know, Pop as a
network was relatively new to the American audience,
so not a ton of people had subscribed to
it yet or had it as part of their cable package. I mean, I think that probably
has changed quite a bit now that this show has gained
the following that it has, but I think it's a
combination of things too, that people need a show
that is as positive and as loving as "Schitt's Creek" is
without being sappy or corny. It certainly leans into
its emotional moments, but they're always undercut
by this sense of humor that plays throughout
the show and is really-- it's a comedy at
the end of the day. It's a comedy that
feels like a drama, or it's a drama that
feels like a comedy. It's hard to tell which. But I think there
is that feeling of positivity, and certainly
for the LGBTQ community, to have the relationship
between Patrick and David depicted as it was was a
major marker of progress and positivity and support that
a lot of people don't, I think, feel in their personal lives. And so if people could watch the
show and feel some of that love and support and feel
that they didn't always have to be watching a show that
depicted gay relationships as doom-filled, or that it
was going to end badly, or that it was different
simply because it was a gay relationship. I think that is a big reason. It's a big reason why we have
the following that we have and the show has
been able to work its way into so many
people's lives and hearts. The billboard that was
on Sunset Boulevard, about six stories tall,
of Dan and I kissing, that's one of those
groundbreaking moments that shouldn't be groundbreaking. That should be as
normal as seeing a billboard of a heterosexual
couple on a TV show kissing. But we've seen that
countless times, and I'd never seen anything like
that "Schitt's Creek" ad promo. So I feel like that kind of
advocacy and leading by example is a major part of what the
show brings to people's lives. JOANNA GROSS: Absolutely. I would agree with that. Any funny stories from the set? Anything that sticks out
that you could share with us? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS] Yes, sure. I mean, years of memories
of ridiculous things. I think of the day that we
shot Dan's side of "Simply the Best," where he
does his lip sync, and we drank half a
bottle of Prosecco. I'm going to say half a bottle. Might have been a
bottle at lunchtime. And he just
freestyled that dance. That was an incredible and
hilarious and amazing and emotional day, actually. But we had-- I had a great
time watching him do that, because he was in
this leather sweater, in this tiny heat
box of a set, dancing to what he thought was the
radio edit of the song, but it was the long play. And it was like eight minutes. And he was like,
when can I stop? He was drenched. It was remarkable. Also days like the
last day that-- the day that we shot "The
Cabaret," season 5 finale, was a pretty special one,
because everyone was on set that day. And it felt like we were
actually doing a play. Towards the end of the day,
we were running out of time, and we still had
to do "Willkomen." And we were like,
oh man, we only get like three takes at this. We better nail this. And so it was fun. We actually had
backstage jitters. And we were all
hanging out backstage at this theater in Toronto. And it was pretty-- that was a pretty
remarkable day. I also really loved being
in the tree line, when we did the ropes
course episode, I think at the
beginning of season 5, because that was just Dan,
me, and Annie and Dustin. And we [LAUGHS] did,
like, a safety course at the beginning of the day. And then we were up there. And Dan was actually pretty
naturally good at it. And so was Dustin. I don't remember Annie
doing much of it, but I was very surprised at how
bad I was at the ropes course and was like fall-- like flying-- like, your body
is basically telling you, don't do this. Your body doesn't
really recognize that you're strapped
to the cable, and you're fine, even if
you fell, you'd be OK. My body was like, get
down from this tree. You are not safe. So that was a nice time. And of course, a
personal favorite for me, the baseball day. I just loved that. As a baseball fan, I was-- and as somebody who-- I take some credit for that
episode existing, because Dan once came to a birthday
baseball game of mine, and I feel like
that had something to do with the episode. And so that was just a blast to
be out there chewing sunflower seeds and spitting
them all over, spitting them at Dan, in
his general direction, which of course I
would never do now, because there's a pandemic. But you know. [LAUGHS] JOANNA GROSS: Fair enough. Fair enough. What do you miss most about the
set or the cast or the show? I'm sure there's
a ton of things. NOAH REID: Yes. I mean, mostly the
people, just getting to be in the company of that
exceptional group of people. And that's not just Catherine,
Eugene, Dan, and Annie. That goes all the way down
the line of Dustin and Chris and Jen and Rizwan and Karen
and John and Sarah Levy. I mean, the cast of the show
over that course of time became so close. And there was such a
beautiful, light, familial air to shooting on those sets. And I just couldn't wait
to go to work, you know? And that has not
always been the way. So I'm so grateful for that
time and for those friendships. And thankfully, I will get to
see those people again and hang out. But I'd say just going to
work and getting to hang out between scenes, while
things are getting set up, just sitting around
and goofing off. Can't be better than that. JOANNA GROSS: Absolutely. Well, great. Well, thank you for that. So I'd love to open it up
to audience questions now. Folks, if you weren't aware, on
the right side of your screen, on the right side
of the video, you can actually type
in questions, and we will answer as many as we can. NOAH REID: I'm hoping,
Joanna, that you will answer all of the questions. JOANNA GROSS: Sure. NOAH REID: [LAUGHS] If
that's cool with you. JOANNA GROSS: Absolutely. So Kate asks, do
you have any rituals before taping a scene
for "Schitt's Creek," and what helped you
get into character? NOAH REID: Hmm. I'd say the thing that most
helps me get into character has been putting on the
Patrick uniform, which is a pair of tight jeans,
a braided brown belt, a button-down blue shirt
with the sleeves rolled up. I think as soon as I have--
and probably a pair of Oxfords or something. As soon as I have that
going on, I know who I am. I know how I stand. I know how I am in the world. And one of the things that
would drive Dan crazy, which I felt like that was a
fun element of our friendship and our on-screen
situation too, is that there was always this sort
of game going on and making fun of each other. So I would carry
around this green apple and just throw it up
and down for hours and then put it
somewhere on the set, hide it somewhere on the set. And then as soon as they
called cut, I'd go get my apple and start tossing
it up and down. And Dan would just be like,
are you-- do you eat the apple, are you-- no, no, well, I keep it
with me throughout the day, and then I'll take it home. And so I'd like to show up
every day with a green apple that I would never eat. [LAUGHS] And at the
end of the week, I'd have about 17
apples in my kitchen. Yes. JOANNA GROSS: All right. So Mara asks, is it hard to
keep a straight face when doing scenes with Catherine? She's got such a
hilarious affect. NOAH REID: Yes. It is incredibly
difficult. I didn't have a ton of scenes
one-on-one with Catherine, but anytime that she
was in a scene, anytime that she entered a room,
you just never quite knew what Moira was going to do,
what she was going to say, how she was going to
react to something. It was like you're just
on your toes and hoping. And I feel like I
kind of let that creep into Patrick a little bit. Because I think
Patrick was endlessly fascinated with Moira and
sort of questioning her at every turn, but just sort of
letting a little bit of that oh boy, what's it going to
be, what's she going to do, come through. It was a lot of fun. You just have to be careful
not to ruin takes by laughing, but it did happen. JOANNA GROSS: All right. Rob asked, do you have
a favorite Moira wig, and do you know its name? NOAH REID: Oh, man. I don't know. I like the-- I like that pink one, but I
don't know what the name of it is. I like that she named
a couple of the wigs after her sisters, which
I think was very cool. [LAUGHS] JOANNA GROSS: Yes. NOAH REID: Yes. JOANNA GROSS: Rani asks,
can you share your favorite behind the scenes moment
from "Schitt's Creek"? NOAH REID: Hard to
pick a favorite. I don't know. I mean, right now the
freshest thing in my memory is our last day of
shooting, which was just another one of those days
where everybody was in, and we were shooting
the final farewell. And it really-- it just
felt like this beautiful, culminating moment. Everybody was crying and having
to get makeup touch-ups done. Annie and Emily and
I got these hats made that said Bob's
Garage on them, and passed them
out to everybody. And Eugene made a speech. And there was champagne. And everybody was hugging. It was something else. That's probably my
favorite all-time memory. JOANNA GROSS: Nice. All right. Rachel asks, what
was a scene when you couldn't stop laughing? NOAH REID: Oh my god,
suggesting the brave photo shoot with the spray tan. Yeah, I don't know. I really try to keep my
stuff together on set as best as I could. I can't remember if there was
one that I just was losing it. There probably was,
but I've blocked it strategically from my memory. I do remember that the day
that we did the spray tan shoot, watching Dan navigate
that photo shoot was incredible, because he
just was posing up a storm, and I had to look
sort of pissed off. [LAUGHS] That was tough. But thankfully it
was still photos, so I was able to keep it
together for long enough to get some that were usable. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. Great. Rachel asks, is everything
scripted, or is some of it improv? NOAH REID: Yes. Well, it's all
painstakingly scripted, with the exception of a couple
of little buttons on scenes or little things that
just happen differently in the course of shooting. I mean, I'm sure
that Catherine threw in a number of little
things, because that's just what she does
and who she is, and she does it better
than almost anybody. But I had the sense that the
writing was probably smarter than my improvisational
skills, so I kept it for the end of the scenes, when
I knew it could be cut out. Emily was always making fun of
me for throwing a button on. But I liked throwing
buttons, you know? What am I going do? I've got to occupy myself. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. All right. Meirav asks, did you know
going into the project that you'd be asked to
compose this emotional version of "Simply the Best," or
was this something that was suggested after your
musical talents became known? NOAH REID: So I think I
released my first record, "Songs from a Broken Chair," in
the summer between shooting season three and season four. So the open mic episode
was in season four, and I think we had just
finished shooting season three. And I remember at my
album release party, Dan came, and I could see his
glasses standing in the back. And so I had the
sense that he knew that I was also a musician. And I think one of
Dan's great strengths as a writer is that he
writes to the strengths of his performers,
and he has a sense of what you might be
able to do really well. And so in season four, he
had written in this episode, but he never talked
to me about it. It was a classic Dan maneuver. He never discussed it,
he just sent the script. And I was like, OK. All right. Here we go. So yes, it hadn't been sort of-- it certainly hadn't been planned
when I signed on to the show, but it was definitely an
opportunity thrown my way that I did not want to mess up. And yes, I mean,
I think it's rare that you get that kind of
freedom to interpret things. On a lot of shows, I know that
would have been outsourced, and I would have been
handed an arrangement. And Dan really gave me
the space and the time to figure that out and see
how I wanted to approach it, which ended up
being a lot of fun. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. Great. All right. Troy asked, what
was it like shooting the "Dear Class of 2020"
segment with Mariah Carey? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS] Well, that
was a very strange and amazing moment. Pretty interesting
to get that call. And yes, it was a bizarre
afternoon, with all of us sort of in character,
staring into our laptops and trying to remember what
our characters were like. But anytime you get to sing with
the incomparable Mariah Carey, it's a good day. [LAUGHS] JOANNA GROSS: Yes, for sure. NOAH REID: I think we were
all pretty psyched about that, probably Dan most of all. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. All right. Maggie asks, can
you share the story behind you selecting "Simply
the Best" to perform? NOAH REID: Sure. Well, I would love
to take the credit, but I think that had
always been a song that Dan had a notion about. He's spoken a few times about
being the person on the dance floor at whatever party
and being like, no, you guys listen to the lyrics! It's amazing! And it's true. I mean, I really think
what-- as soon as I-- I likely wouldn't
have chosen that song, but I'm glad that he did,
because as soon as I started digging into it a little
bit, I was like, oh yeah, there is an, actually, a
really beautifully crafted love song in these lyrics
and in this melody. And especially when it turned
towards those characters and what it meant for them
in that moment of trying to expand their business, but
also a public proclamation of love and how uncomfortable
it was going to make David. I just-- I wanted
to make sure that it honored all of
those things and was a different enough
take on the song that we hadn't heard before. So it took some
time figuring out how to keep the drive
of the song alive, because I think that the tempo
of that song is important. It didn't feel-- it felt
like the structure was built into the song, and it needed
to have some rhythmic quality to it, but it also wanted
to feel lyrical and probably a little more sensitive
than the Tina version, which is like an all-out pop anthem. So it was fun to try to
walk that line a little bit and see what I
could come up with. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. Awesome. All right. Nancy asked, who or what has
been your biggest inspiration through your career? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS] I could
see the end of that question. That's cool. That's amazing. A lot of people have
walked down the aisle or had a first
dance to this song, and that's pretty amazing. The first part of
the question was who's my biggest inspiration? JOANNA GROSS: Can we pull
up the question again? NOAH REID: I got distracted. I was distracted by flattery. JOANNA GROSS: Who or what has
been your biggest inspiration throughout your career? NOAH REID: OK. I don't know. I think that's shifted
from time to time, but I've always been
drawn to artists who are uniquely
themselves and who are able to shape shift within
that definition a little bit. People who come to mind
musically, somebody like Tom Waits or Bob Dylan,
those are probably my two musical guys, songwriter
guys, performance guys, that I say, those two
voices, they really changed throughout
their careers a lot, but they were always
being themselves in some version of it. You know? And I think similarly
with actors, somebody like Philip Seymour
Hoffman, who you know is-- there's always some element
of him shining through it, but he's also able to turn it
a little bit towards whatever the part is and come at it with
a little bit of strangeness and a lot of heart
and soul and guts. So even in the
visual art medium, I appreciate that, the
darker underbelly of what's going on beneath the surface. I've always appreciated
that, and that's something that's certainly
alive in my dad's work. And my mom's work is probably
a little more serene, which I appreciate
in equal measure. So yes. I mean, new
inspirations every day, really, depending on what I'm
listening to or looking at. JOANNA GROSS: Great. Justin asks, the series
ends with Patrick and David staying behind in
Schitt's Creek. Do you see any
possibility of a spinoff? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS] I think
we get this question a lot from people who want
there to be more, and I count myself among them. I would love nothing more than
to revisit these characters if it was right in any way. You know, it's a
tough thing though. Spin-offs are-- they
don't always work, and you certainly don't want
to diminish the things that have worked about the show
and the level of quality that the whole team is
able to bring to it. And so I think probably in
the hands of Dan and Eugene, they'll be able to figure out
if there's an appropriate way to bring something back or to
move the story on in some way. I'd certainly be open to it,
just because I love the show, and I love the people so much. But probably, thankfully
for everybody, I don't hold the cards. JOANNA GROSS:
[LAUGHS] All right. We probably have time for about
two or three more questions. Tony asks, looking ahead, how
do you see yourself pushing your boundaries as a
musician and as an actor, and which excites you more? NOAH REID: Yes. That's-- thanks, Tony. That's a question that
I ask myself a lot. I think that increasingly there
are opportunities for there to be some crossover between
my music and my acting life, and I think that's-- it's interesting,
and it's dangerous. Personally, I've
always kind of wanted to keep those things
separate, but I can see how they
overlap in so many ways. And so I think probably I'll
try to be strategic enough in both worlds to allow
each path its own integrity but certainly be
open to crossover when it feels appropriate. Now that touring is not
really a doable thing for the immediately
foreseeable future, I'm certainly looking at
writing more and trying to get back in the studio. But yes, I hope, sort of
like with the Gemini notion, that I can have these parallel
reflecting lives that I can-- if one leg gets a little
tired, I'll hop on to the other and see how I can
achieve balance that way. JOANNA GROSS: Awesome. All right. Do we have another question? Nina asks, are there
any movies or shows you're currently working on? NOAH REID: Well,
nothing I can really-- nothing I can really
talk about, but hopefully something interesting to do
in the next little while. And in the meantime, just
trying to write some new songs. And I'm getting married
shortly, so that's taking up most of my energy. That's the show I'm
really focusing on. JOANNA GROSS: Yes. All right. I think we have
time for one more. So Justin asks-- or says,
congrats on your engagement. When is your big day? NOAH REID: [LAUGHS]
Thanks, Justin. I'm going to keep
that to myself, but I appreciate the interest. [LAUGHS] JOANNA GROSS: All right. Well, Noah, thank you
so much for joining us. We were so excited to have you. And everyone on
YouTube Live, thank you so much for joining us as well. It's been great to
talk to you, Noah. Any last, final words
before we sign off? NOAH REID: Oh, just that this
has been a real pleasure, and thanks for having me,
and thanks to everybody for tuning in. JOANNA GROSS: Absolutely. [MUSIC PLAYING]
