Gemini and Beyond | Noah Reid | Talks at Google

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[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]
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Channel: Talks at Google
Views: 20,789
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Keywords: noah reid, noah reid gemini, noah reid gemini album, noah reid schitts creek, noah reid schitts creek interview, noah reid interview, noah reid new album, noah reid music, talks, talks at google, google talks, ted talks, inspirational talks, educational talks
Id: GS2qwoNNl6A
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Length: 54min 46sec (3286 seconds)
Published: Fri Jul 31 2020
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